Tankerman

6 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Excellent! I think that settles it, then.

 

Do you think I should go for the singular or plural (possessive?) form?

Definitely the singular.

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I'd never asked.

 

My preference at the moment is Great Rosevear Consols.

 

Rosevear is a nice Cornish-sounding name and also (almost) the name of a very nice historic pub in a small village on the left bank of the Tamar north of Launceston, just south of Exeter and not far from Grindelwald.

 

Oh, that's the Tamar in Tasmania, by the way, in case anyone thinks I've lost my sense of direction completely.

There's a park home site called Rosevear Park about a mile north east of St Dennis, so Rosevear would fit in nicely with your layout's area. The only other Rosevear I know of is in the Scilly Isles which would need the building of a very long tunnel.

Apologies for my suggestion, I tried to resist posting it, but my Cornish sense of humour got the better of me.

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Thanks Simon. I've already got one Wheal, so it won't be another of those but that's a great name.

 

I think it will start with "Great" and end with "Consols" but I'm still mulling over the bit in the middle. I have one strong idea but if anyone comes up with a better one I'll think about changing it.

Great Wheal Consols?

On 19/10/2021 at 18:31, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 

Sheer genius.

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

RMweb Gold is a lot cheaper than a TV licence and some people spend longer on here.

Given the BBC's assumed level of intelligence of the majority of their viewers, based on their current programming, I'm not surprised. 

On 15/10/2021 at 14:52, Johann Marsbar said:

The Radio Caroline ship, the former trawler Ross Revenge,  used by them since the early 1980's has recently been granted Charitable Status....

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5172054/charity-overview

Hopefully this will open the door to various Grants as the vessel needs dry-docking and considerable work done on it to put it back into a good state of order below the waterline  - particularly as it is one of the few vessels that ended up on the Goodwin Sands and survived!

It was placed on the UK Historic Ships Register a few years back, not only for its status as the last genuine "Pirate Radio" vessel, but for its prior fishing exploits in the Ross Fisheries fleet, including during the "Cod War" (remember that...?).

A view from when it was moored off Clacton for a special broadcast back in 1995....

 

 

That's good news as she must be one, if not the only, British flag side trawler in existence.

On 12/10/2021 at 19:47, KeithMacdonald said:

Here's an interesting and insightful video from West Coast USA, in response to this article:

https://gcaptain.com/containergeddon/

 

Amazon (and other big names) using bulk carriers (with their own cranes) and 53-feet containers to use other ports and bypass the shipping jams in LA and Long Beach.

 

 

 

I will very surprised if a steamship is being used to carry the Amazon cargo, or any other dry cargo. The ship in the photograph is a motor ship, as are all but a very small handful of cargo vessels.

15 hours ago, Russell Saxton said:

My new book is out now 'Liveries Of The WR Hydraulics' .

156 colour pics with detailed captions about the changing liveries of the WR hydraulic fleet 1958-77, most pics never before published and loads of gen that you (hopefully) don't know.
https://shop.keypublishing.com/product/View/productCode/KB0102/Liveries of the WR Diesel Hydraulics

Thanks for posting this, I've ordered a copy.

20 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

Years back, my boss asked me if I could do his job, and was a little bit surprised at my answer of "probably, but why would I want to ?"  Rather than doing "stuff" (which I enjoyed), I would have spent most of my time doing management (I already did a bit of that, and didn't enjoy it), and if I was lucky, I'd get the odd chance of keeping my hand in at doing "stuff".  Some people have that magic something that makes them a good manager (*), others don't and some of them are best kept away from any sort of management role.  Good employers (to my way of thinking) recognise this, and find a way of rewarding those who are good are doing "stuff", rather than making them managers.

 

(*) I'm of the view that management (and leadership) to a certain extent isn't a skill that can be taught, it is an aptitude.   Much like playing a musical instrument, some people can spend ages taking lessons, but still can't play a decent tune, others have that knack of being able to do so.

 

Adrian

I totally agree with your last paragraph. I suffered under a couple of managers who had been promoted from being engineer surveyors to being team/area managers and who had no idea of man management. After a shuffle around of the upper management the manager of our team was replaced by a manager from outside the company who did not have an engineering background,

At the first team meeting after his appointment he introduced himself and then said "I know virtually nothing about your work as engineer surveyors, you do as that is your job. My job is to ensure that you have all that you need to do your job and deal with any other problems you may have such as ill health, family troubles etc. and ensure that another surveyor covers your work. In over thirty years as an engineer surveyor he was the best manager I ever had,

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Oh dear.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/couples-toyota-yaris-flips-over-5956514

Proof that sometimes the earth does move when having intercourse.

1 hour ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 And 3 wives equals 3 mother in laws .   

I have been married twice, in both instances I got on with my mother-in-laws better than I did with their daughters. I think the main reason for this was that my wives took after their fathers.

To me that facebook post post has all the hallmarks of a send up. Unless it originated in the USA. 

2 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I believe the Directors were diesel tugs, not steam powered as one automatically expects of paddlers, and paddle propulsion was indeed chosen for the extreme manoeverability that was available from independently driven paddles.  Steam paddlers usually drove a central cranked drive shaft 'axle' that drove both paddles in unison, not unlike the driven axle of a steam locomotive.  It would be interesting to know why the Navy considered that tugs with this sort of independent paddle propulsion were particularly suitable for use with aircraft carriers, which, apart from the flat top shape, are similar to any other large naval vessel or passenger liner built for speed, and probably indistinguishable if veiwed from below the waterline.  One would also assume that there was some means of conncecting the paddles so that they were driven simultaneously and not seperately, as maintaining a course in a seaway with a paddle driven vessel is hard enough work for the helmsman already...

 

I would imagine that an aircraft carrier is particularly prone to being affected by side winds at low, manouevering speeds, as are large passenger vessels unless they have bow thrusters to compensate for this.   Don't think bow thrusters were a feature of 1950s aircraft carriers, though I can see a role for stabilisers in increasing the range of weather and operating conditions in which aircraft can be flown off and landed.

Apologies Johnster, There is a tendency with any subject in which you have a keen interest to assume that others have the same knowledge. I shouldn't have assumed that the Directors were known to be diesel, actually diesel-electric, powered with the paddles driven by separate motors. The motors could also be controlled so that they ran at the same speed when towing a ship or running light (without a tow)

I sometimes have to look up railway related terms on here as my knowledge of railway subjects before 1923 and after the 1970's is somewhat sketchy, but I have learnt a lot from the forum.

One of the reasons for paddler propulsion was that the hull and superstructure could be lower than a conventional tug. This allowed them to get in under the overhang of the flight deck, particularly the angled type, so that they could push against the ships hull. They were fitted with folding masts for the same reason.

5 hours ago, billy_anorak59 said:

 

Ah, Truro - scene of my worst spotting experience*

As a lad from Wirral, to find myself on holiday in Cornwall was a chance of a lifetime to spot the exotic - Warships, NBL 22's, Hymeks - that sort of thing. However, this was July 1972, and unbeknown to me, all the Warships had gone just a few months before.

 

Anyway, while my parents and sisters walked round Truro, I said I would wait on the platform at the station. Two and a half hours I was there, and nothing.

No trains what-so-ever. Zilch.

Couldn't believe it. Still bemused to this day - I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Sunday.

 

*Except perhaps persuading my Dad to take me to Newton-le-Willows Motorail terminal, expecting some massive hub of locomotives and cartics. Erm, no...

If it was mid afternoon, particularly on a Saturday, it was always like that. IIRC one of the up milk trains used to arrive at platform 3 about 2.30/3.00 o'clock and sit there for at least half an hour. There was certainly around a two hour gap in the passenger service at Penryn about that time.

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

"Bantams" were a small type of "prime mover" specifically designed for canal use, mainly for shifting engineless "barges" used for dredging, etc about. They're mainly a floating engine and designed to be able to turn around in the navigable width of the canal being worked on.

 

 

Pushing, nudging, etc.

 

 

Which were less efficient!  See HMS Rattler vs Alecto

 

 

It depends on the circumstances. All tugs will do both depending on how the vessel being attended needs to be positioned.  A Bantam tug on a canal (in UK terms broad or narrow) is often circumscribed as to which end it can get to!

 

 

I suppose the "Cock Tugs" were so named because the owners of the company decided that naming their boats in that way indicated their diminuitive power compared with the ships they were bossing about, and users gradually began requesting "Cock" tugs when they wanted assistance.

 

Its interesting to see that rather than being able to read the tugs name at a distance, the company had a representation of a cock at the masthead...

 

 

'Quote'  Which were less efficient!  See HMS Rattler vs Alecto

The RN built seven paddle tugs in the mid 1950's, known as the Director class, which had independently driven paddles and were specifically designed to work with the aircraft carriers. One of the advantages of independently driven paddle propulsion is that the vessel can turn on its own axis and therefore they were highly manoeuvrable.

The other huge advantage is that the paddles are roughly amidships, unlike a propellor which is near the stern, this greatly reduces the possibility of the tug capsizing if the tow wire is somewhere on the beam.

Modern tugs which use various forms of steerable propellors mounted on the hull, known as tractor tugs, are the modern form of the Directors.

5 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Do you know a tame napalm supplier?

Just get the strongest bleach you can buy and a large fine spray watering can, dilute the bleach 2:1 and wait for a dark wet night.

I started by travelling from Penryn to Truro, the 'big' station to train spot, when I was about 8. By the time I was 12 I knew quite a bit about railways and travelled on my own from Truro to Blackpool, which reversed direction at either Newport or Cardiff, including changing trains at Crewe. However travelling home, the ticket being bought at Blackpool, I changed at Crewe onto a train which took me back to Truro via Bristol. 

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

And you also need to define  'a normal lifespan' if you are to make any meaningful sense of the capital cost over the life of anything.    Judging by later Swindon figures for mileages between various levels of works attention I would think  'Tornado' had already undergone at least one shopping before withdrawal and would be approaching, or past, the need for major work at that sort of milage.  So avoided repair/overhaul costs will become at least as important as original capital cost and there is then the matter of reusable components and/or scrap value.

 

As far as the end oof steam is concerned there were numerous reasons.  The principal one was undoubtedly reduction of operating costs (albeit at the expense of massive capital investment) but labour problems were definitely a factor as recruitment was becoming increasingly difficult as many mre attractive jobs were appearing in the labour market.  And that meant not just the driving and firing aspect but also the large labour needed at running sheds involving a lot of unpleasant low-skilled (and therefore poorly paid) work.  i suspect, but don't know, that the cost of coal compared with gas oil/diesel was probably another factor as was the cost of moving that coal to running sheds and removing the resultant ash & clinker from them.   Decline in coal qulaity might have played a part but was perhaps a far lesser consideration.

Regarding the cost of coal compared to oil, I was told by someone that worked at Truro shed that the reason for Cornwall/West Devon being completely changed to diesel traction very early on was that the saving in transporting oil, instead of coal from the mines, to the various loco sheds was a very significant one.

On 26/08/2021 at 19:23, PhilJ W said:

Dampf is German for steam, for example dampfschiff means steamship, however given the items in the shop window the name appears to be part German, dampf and part English, art. Since steam is generally very hot it could be that the sign should be taken to mean Hot Art.

On 11/02/2021 at 16:29, The Stationmaster said:

'Granges' were very well liked and the cognoscenti among experienced Enginemen definitely preferred them to 'Halls' because of the extra 'bottom end' power they delivered and their far better hill climbing ability.  Everybody I ever spoke to who had worked the heavy potato or tomato trains out of Weymouth up the bank said the Grange was by far the better of the two and could run faster as well.  They had the advantage of having a larger steam chest.  I always wonder what might have happened if the original Churchward scheme proposal for a 4-6-0 with 5ft 8" driving wheels had gone ahead as we might never have seen the 2-6-0s (except perhaps in limited numbers for certain secondary lines?) or the 'Halls'

When I was a member of Falmouth Model Railway Club, very many years ago now, we were given a talk by someone from Newton Abbott shed. After his talk he asked if anybody had any questions, someone then asked for his opinion on the best locomotive the GWR had built.

His reply was that the best locomotive was the 47XX 2-8-0's as they could be used for anything from an express to an unfitted goods and he wished far more of them had been built. He then said that west of Exeter the Granges were superior to any other locomotive. The size of the boiler, combined with 5ft 8in driving wheels, gave them the starting power and acceleration necessary to deal with the gradients and start/stop nature of running due to the short distance between the stations.

On 24/08/2021 at 12:37, Bartb said:

Received my class 122  today and well pleased with it.  plenty of destinations to choose from. Well done Dapol

It's St Erth, not St Earth, but then you cen't spect they up country people to know much bout west Kernow can 'ee!

10 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

 

 

Funnily enough, I'd thought about that!

 

My plan is to use the usual red and black wires but with a wrap of the opposite colour insulation tape near each joint, so Stu (perhaps unintentionally) has got it right. The labels will identify the wires too of course - "Polperran Front" and "Polperran Back".

Which is very similar to what electricians do with the switch wire from the lighting switch when wiring a four plate junction box on a lighting circuit.

12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

This brought back memories of the happy four months I spent as the commissioning Electrical officer of a ship being built at Moss Verft in 1975. Each day a number of trucks passed through Moss with the word Fartings or something similar on their sides.

As we used to have a drink with some of the yard staff in a bar called the Parketten in the evenings we asked what fart meant. We were told that it is pronounced far-ta and was the Swedish word for speedy or quick. 

As you can imagine this information, after a few drinks, and to the bewilderment of the Norwegians, sent us into roars of laughter. When we explained the meaning of the word in English they joined in the laughter. 

19 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Well at least we know what part of the animal the meat came from.

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Well, sort of...

 

 

I haven't yet thought of an excuse to run the brake vans branded St Erth, Gwinear Road or Bodmin though...

 

 

How about Truro, the other one KM produced? Very unlikely but it might have got to St Blazey on a trip from Truro yard.