tomparryharry

Mr. Kohler is retiring, and we will surely wish him a happy retirement. Good for him, I say; he's earned it. In the last decade we've seen Hornby move up a notch. Apart from the faux-pa  with the big Western tanks, other releases are well worthy of note. 

However....

Madge (she does the fruit & veg at Tescos, Westwood) has heard a rumour that Mr. Kohler has commissioned some 17 different locomotive liveries for yes.... you guessed it:- Flying Scotsman!. You can't have enough of a good thing..... So I'm told....

Best wishes, Mr Kohler.

17 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

The snippets that I saw of the Coronation the king had a face as long as a wet week. It makes me wonder if the Archbishop of Canterbury didn't  let the anointing oil run down his neck.

 

I think he realised the absolute magnitude of the journey he has begun. I'd guess the training is only so good, until he's faced with the real thing. 

Best wishes to him. 

"Right! I've been training for this task for 60 years.!"

"Righto, your Majesty!  Here's the enclosure! Inside is a hungry lion, and here is your plastic spoon....."

"Did you enjoy the Coronation?

"Oh yes! We had it over fruit salad, pineapple & peach slices!

" I think you mean Coronation, not Carnation....."

Depending on your preferred era, an auto-fitted 1661 pannier might be a thought.

Or, a 54xx....

I don't mind, honest... 

Apart from the 2251 revamp as mentioned earlier, I'd suggest Bachmann have breathed their last, as far as GWR steam is concerned.  The age target continues to diminish, as us old bu66ers continue to die off. 

If Bachmann want to have a new Western steam model, may I suggest a Bulldog?  Bachmann have done nearly all of their own hard work with making the 90xx, so the Bulldog is only a hop, skip & jump away. 

Diesel locomotives? How about 15000, the Western 08 version, or Railcar 18? 

Could a new Toad, with different branding. Oh, hang on......

On 27/04/2023 at 11:44, Mallard60022 said:

A little birdy has told me it's a Platform Chocolate Machine.

 A. Wrapper.

With an old sixpence stuck in the slot....

I went shopping this week.

Whilst loading up the car, two extremely attractive young ladies approached me, and engaged in rather salacious  conversation. 

When they departed, I discovered I had lost my wallet, car keys & phone.....

I'm not complaining; I'm just hoping they are still there next Thursday....

The Western had a hot water flushing plant at sheds like Old Oak, Bristol, Ebbw Jct, etc.  Its principal aim was to keep the boiler reasonably warm when being washed out. My electrics isn't too hot, but depending on the usage, something similar such as a battery charger for a milk float would be technically feasible. 

Hot water vis-a-vis  injector is a bit of a no-no. The temperature difference  between cold water & pressurised steam is the 'working envelope' to enable kinetic energy to be created. The hotter the feed water, the less efficient the injector becomes.

Thanks for the heads-up, folks. 

I used to use stick (MMA). and sometimes brazing, but Mig,  I've never got the hang of it yet.  I see the cored gasless sets on offer, hence the question. All of my working  time was with AC units, but it seems inverter sets are the way forward. 

1 hour ago, Damo666 said:

 

Where is that, near Coedely, (in Rhondda Cynon Taff)?

Yes, it's (was) linked to Cwm llantwit. Check the Welsh coal mines web pages.

Hello Folks,

I've been observing some welders, which appear to be new to market. They appear to be a 7-in-1 function model; MiG, TiG, MMA, plasma, etc. Additionally, it also sees a extremely cheap price; somewhere about £100.

A scam? Or the real deal?

Opinions & views from the collective, as usual.

Many thanks ,

Ian. 

Keeping a heater going for boiler water is quite common practice, especially in colder climates. The process uses an immersion heater, although a bit bigger than your average   hot water cylinder. In a typical locomotive boiler, a large amount of fuel is consumed getting the water up to the point where steam is generated. Some variables come into play, such as ambient temperatures, and the condition of the fire being made.  I think one of the Swiss rack railways uses the immersion heater process, and the Snowdon also? 

In the UK, cylinder drains would normally be open when stationary. As others have said, steam condensate needs to be expelled when starting away. Once you've got 3-4 full revolutions, you can normally close the valves, and let the loco cylinders warm up. 

Some American locomotive practices keep the cylinder cocks open all of the time. It's a bit wasteful, IMHO.

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

Just ensured one didn't even get CLOSE to its eat by date!

My first Sunday lunch with the in-laws.  MiL cooked a really nice lamb roast, followed by a huge trifle. After serving, some 3/4 remained. "Ian'll have it," sez the future Mrs Smith. "He can't possibly eat all that! said the ensemble...

I still don't know if they were impressed, or shocked...... I do remember it was very nice.

2 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

 

Presumably when you were doing whatever you were doing on steam work it must have helped develop you r skills so in fact your employer may well have benefited, clearly they were wise enough to realise this. 

Well, it did happen to a degree.  One occasion was 'overner' whilst on rest day nights. The fitters bought in a broken bracket for a hydraulic ram. Being the only welder on the site, I proceeded to weld it up. After all, it was Quid Pro Quo. Who wouldn't?  One free period entailed running a foundry melt shop. I didn't want to, but there is was. Mucho kudos, 12 hours @ double time, and a rather big pat on the back. It wasn't being Super Good, just happening to be in the right place, at the right time. Other works staff completely outdid me.    One weekend saw some traction engine wheels in our shotblast room. Just over 6'6", and about 18" wide. Came up lovely, as well.....

"What came first, the chicken, or the egg?

"The potato!

"What?

"The potato! You can't have egg without chips! What are you, some kind of pervert?

A genuine conversation between  two work colleagues, at 3am on a nightshift.... 

2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

You're a trifle out of date there. 

Trifle??? I like trifle, and any trifle here, never goes out of date....

On 18/04/2023 at 18:30, 57xx said:

 

Indeed, completely the opposite of the real world I've been employed in for the last 30+ years.

I went to work, and for my time there. I gave 100% attention to any job I had. For that, I bought my house, which was the principal prize. My bosses all knew of my involvement with steam preservation, and most of them fully supported it. I had a complete use of our machine shop, and any work outside hours was ok. Some of my colleagues just signed in, work, and signed out; which was the sum total of their work experience. Many expressed astonishment of seeing  me working 'out of hours' on some project or other, but one senior manager said; "If he's in work, he's on call".  I didn't get away with murder, but I had a lot of fun 'stretching the envelope', and boy, did it get stretched....

It just depends on who you are and how your personality is wired.  Me? Twisted? I couldn't possibly comment. 

Finally, how to p!ss off a boss. Smile at them. Anytime you see them, just smile.  The recipient of the smile is normally caught up in their own little world, with all their problems, perceived or otherwise. To see someone smiling is out of character for them, whereas, they cannot.  It works. Believe me, it works.....

St. Edmund, surely?

I can't argue against that; very true. 

However, tenancies & leases need to be taken into account when going down this road. But! The prospect of sub-divided shops do indeed work. A notable example is Lord & Butler, who started out with a smaller shop in the Pump House, Cardiff. Some years later, to migrate just down the road to larger premises. Power to their elbow, I say. 

30 miles away, In Blaenavon, is the model railway shop for the Pontypool & Blaenavon. It started out as a tourist information centre, funded in part by a small local grant, with model railways as a sideline. Over the years, the model railway aspect continues to grow. Once again, Kudos.

Being a society member at Blaenavon gets you a discount as well, so it's a bit of a win-win. Added to that, you can see your prospective purchase in the flesh before you buy. 

Shameless plug over.... 

It's nice to see Victory (AB2201/45) on the list. Very happy memories with he loco at Caerphilly.

Will I buy one? Oh, yes...

It's taken long enough for me,  but I think my particular problem is euphoria, or rather, lack of it. I should have finished he shed project some 2 years ago, but I'm still struggling. I think I can balance euphoria,; finish one job or project, and move onto the next. The problem now, is seeing projects stretching out into the distance of time. 

The weather, is much, much better, and it does lighten the mood, but that confounded list continues to creep!

AARGH!!!!!

Vote no. 2 for North West Frontier. For humour, it's got to be  the 'Airplane! scene "Roger, Roger." No trains as such, but the implied connections  are funny.

Also, vote no. 2 for The Wrong Trousers'.

3 hours ago, Nick C said:

41312 has been for several trips since restoration though.

Certainly!

10 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

It has visited the Llangollen though hasn't it?

Errm, not sure. I'm sure that more knowledgeable people  can answer that correctly.