duncan

Quite a number of foreign cars there, more than in most photos from 1980

If you go for a log cabin, I suggest you avoid a door which is almost at the end of the wall. It can be difficult to ensure that the very short (about a foot long) wall from the door to the corner stays in place & does not drift towards the corner. I am now considering putting in a tie rod below the door to tie the 2 front corners together. The short wall is trying to fall off the corner, due to the weight of the whole corner above it. Just a thought.

Not bridge bashing per say. During the first day on public roads of bus driving training on the single decker (3 trainees on the bus), we were taken down a road with a bridge which was too low even for us. The instructor of course knew this, and there were 2 escape junctions before the clearly signposted bridge. The instructor was waiting for us to query the route he had told us to take. I knew the area, but the other 2 didn't and was just about to mention the bridge when the instructor told the driver to stop before the junction and asked for comments. So no danger of a bridge bash. Just some flustered trainees who learnt to be observant and were encouraged to question the instructor if they had the slightest reservations. Made us more observant drivers. Didn't always work, as the first day on a 60mph duel carriageway, instructor said take the 1st exit on the roundabout for Glasgow, we queried and he confirmed it. The trainee took the 1st exit and ended up in a housing estate which took a bit of manouvering to get out of, the instructor had mistaken the roundabout ! But, we had previously been driving round other estates following the local service bus as practice, good practice as we were larger than the service bus, but the instructor knew the routes, so the trainee thought nothing of another estate, just assumed it was the slow way home. Only a red faced instructor, had to bribe us with ice creams to keep quiet.

What do you do if your car does not have a clock !!!!

Looks like another strike, couldn't be better timed for Easter ! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c720qy2x03go

I have received word from Mike Williams, who is preparing the "bible" on Scottish Traders' Wagons, picking up from the work of others. The first volume is, I think, due out later this year or next year, in conjunction with the Caledonian Railway Association. Anyway, enough of the plug. Mike confirms that it's the Eddlewood Colliery according to the RY Pickering order book. Eddlewood Colliery was purchased in 1896 by John Watson, by the way. All this and a whole lot more will be revealed in the first volume of Scottish Traders' Wagons. There were two Co-ops in Brechin - the Brechin Equitable and the United Co-operative Association, Brechin which merged in 1913 to form the Brechin United Cooperative Society Ltd. I doubt that the CR got much coal from Fife, as it was a NBR stronghold. Most coal would come from Lanarkshire, a CR stronghold Also some pits round Stirling eg Plean (Moyes, Murray & Co), Bannockburn Coal Co, Alloa Coal Co, Polmaise, Fallin & Millhall (Archibald Russell & Co). Output in the Stirling area alone was over 200,000 tons at the turn of the century. Info from the late Donald Peddie's book, The Railways of Stirling. https://www.crassoc.org.uk/web/books

I have put a post up on the Caledonian Railway Association forum, and shall put any information received here, unless someone beats me to it.

I recommend reading The Birth & Death of a Highland Railway - The Ballachulish Line by Duncan Kennedy ISBB 1-899863-11-7 He was a local lad who wanted to become a surveyor / engineer, and asked on site if there were any openings when the line was being built in the early 1900s. Well written and full of the information you are probably looking for.

I think I read somewhere that the max permitted load of explosives was actually quite small, in peacetime, might have been on the old forum. Can anyone confirm this ?

I "found" the HH one by mistake in February, just after I collected the caravan, that was fun, I think the locals were pleased to see the back of me.

Just keeping in practice

We had a large visitor to Glasgow at the start of the week, despite living a couple of miles from the airport, I didn't see or hear it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-65082419 www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-64264350 photo from the BBC News website, & above article

Waiting for the news as follows - Strong winds catamaran can't berth at Ardrossan, stuck out in the firth, Arran revolts at lack of ferry, those demanding CalMac replace big ships with wee catamarans keep quiet, sandwiches cold Strong winds catamaran tries to berth at Ardrossan, nudges berth & sinks (slightly with no humans injured), blocks berth, Arran revolts at lack of ferry, those demanding CalMac replace big ships with wee catamarans keep quiet, sandwiches soggy

Will be very interesting to see her entering Ardrossan in windy weather !!

There is apparently a stoochie starting as senior management appear to have awarded themselves performance bonuses, without govt approval ! www.scotsman.com/news/transport/ferguson-marine-ps87000-bonus-payments-unacceptable-audit-scotland-4064015