Little things - for the layout outside the railway fence

[steve1]

Interesting plaque.

 

steve

 

 

[jcm@gwr]

2 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

Please keep them coming.

More watery things this week. It is surprising how many fire hydrant and other markers there are in the countryside. Some are concrete, and may be painted all over, like this.

 

Others also concrete may be blue. I have not worked out why, but perhaps someone here knows.

 

Others just have the plate yellow; and they can be pretty unobtrusive.

 

And they don’t necessarily come alone. Again, not very conspicuous.

 

There are also places where the plate is fixed to a fence. I am not sure why we have both here.

 

Sometimes, but by no means always, the manhole or cover is also painted so one can find it in the undergrowth.

 

Any why have one when you can have four! Note that two have SV and two have WO.

 

And if you can’t get hold of castings for these things, and don’t feel up to scratch building, then a bit of blue paint will suffice.

 

Next time, things seen in fields.

Jonathan

 

 

FYI, H indicates, as we all know, a Fire Hydrant, which is where the Fire Brigade can 

attach their hoses to access water, from the mains supply.

SV is a Service Valve, where Water Company employees can isolate parts of the system. 

[Kris]

Don't forget that if you have fields with animals in, then you need to provide them with water to drink. 

 

[Ray Von]

Rail section, purpose(?) -

[corneliuslundie]

I suspect that it was to protect the corner of the building before the bollards were installed (they look pretty recent, in comparison, to me). If it was thought necessary to put the bollards in I suspect there was a history of vehicles getting too close to the building.

Jonathan

[Ray Von]

20 minutes ago, corneliuslundie said:

I suspect that it was to protect the corner of the building before the bollards were installed (they look pretty recent, in comparison, to me). If it was thought necessary to put the bollards in I suspect there was a history of vehicles getting too close to the building.

Jonathan

That's very probable, it has also been bent right over to meet the wall - maybe to lock up the Station Master's bike? 

[MrWolf]

This is a knocked up in the railway workshop wall protector. Usually seen either side of gateways. They are often cast iron bollards, shaped like the small some topped concrete ones, that has a quarter circle cut out to allow it to wrap around a wall corner. 

Horse drawn carts had wrought iron tyres and hub bands, with cast iron or bronze hubcaps which often resulted in real life Ben Hur moments to anything that couldn't get out of the way.

It's been bent over so that vehicles or whatever get deflected away from it. A van getting hung up on a post would cause a lot of damage. A cart drawn by up to four horses coming to a sudden halt hung up on that rail could be disastrous.

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by MrWolf
Missed a bit

[steve1]

This is part of a large, old, house in my village. No idea of the purpose, I could guess at deliveries to the kitchen maybe?

 

steve

 

 

[steve1]

And then there are these. Ancient and modern.

 

Incidentally, Scale Model Scenery do these in 4mm. 

 

https://www.scalemodelscenery.co.uk/lx009-oo-laser-cut-concrete-marker-posts-fire-hydrant-gas-water-etc-pack-of-60-oo4mm176-356-p.asp

 

 

[Ray Von]

16 minutes ago, steve1 said:

This is part of a large, old, house in my village. No idea of the purpose, I could guess at deliveries to the kitchen maybe?

 

steve

 

 

Curious isn't it? It opens outward it seems, that would mean the onus would be on "deliverer" rather than the occupant to open and close it.  Maybe for coal, bit high up though.  I'd bet it was for something in sacks, the aperture is pretty big. 

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, steve1 said:

This is part of a large, old, house in my village. No idea of the purpose, I could guess at deliveries to the kitchen maybe?

 

steve

 

 

 

My first house had a door like that in one of the outbuildings, it led into a wooden coal staithe inside the shed.

If there's a door (bricked up in the case of my old house) that looks identical at ground level, that was the access for the "Night Soil Men" to drag out the ash pan from under your ash pan lavatory and empty it into a cart.

Must have been a lovely job!

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by MrWolf
PostScript!

[steve1]

Further down the same road, I found this. I suspect @MrWolf has hit the nail on the head with his coal delivery theory.

 

steve

 

 

[steve1]

Something to dress up a Metcalfe church. The gargoyle would probably need to be carved. Milliput maybe?

 

steve

 

 

[Ray Von]

Some seaside pics -

 

Heavy Rope Fence:

 

There used to several of these on the clifftops, only one or two left now:

 

 

Not sure why this mass of barbed wire needs the sign!

 

[corneliuslundie]

Presumably for those who pass my on their hands and knees and therefore need the sign to be on its side.

Jonathan

[MrWolf]

It's a safeguard to stop greedy idiots suing for damages I believe

[MrWolf]

We've been out on our bicycles admiring the unnoticed

 

 

Victorian outbuildings with 1930s/50s sliding garage doors.

 

 

Modern bollard and an unusually coloured cat.

 

Old stone garage / boatshed which originally had double sliding doors recessed into the wall

 

 

The wrought iron runners are worth a look

 

 

Double garage, probably 30s, 

 

The sliding doors have one of these types of handle at one end and often another in the middle, either brass or alloy, often picked out in black on coloured doors.

[Ray Von]

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

It's a safeguard to stop greedy idiots suing for damages I believe

What if they can't read....?!

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Ray Von said:

What if they can't read....?!

 

You can't account for stupid.

[MrWolf]

More from today's exercise jaunt.

 

 

Another prewar garage, this time with its windows intact. I like the greenery up the driveway.

 

 

18th century chimney breast acting as a buttress.

 

 

Very hefty salt glazed coping on garden wall. Note that the number on the telephone pole is a modern thing. Previously they had individual metal figures in a square block spiked on.

 

 

Remnants of a cottage wall as a buttress.

 

 

Telephone pole covered in ivy

[Philou]

Returning to the 'hydrant' signs, H and SV have been covered, WO is a Wash Out valve so the water pipe can be emptied once isolated by the SVs.

 

The doors in the wall are or were coal-holes (someone mention coal staiths behind). Just as a by-the-by, Scalescenes reproduce these doors as part of their terraced houses.

 

In many parts of S Wales, the rows of houses were served by back-lanes and it is still common to find worked stone corner protectors at the entrance to the lane. I haven't photos of my own, but there is also the change in surfacing between roads at their junctions. Some might be tar and chip to macadam to cobbles at lane entrances.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[steve1]

Duo brick wall, Howden.

 

steve

 

 

[Ray Von]

2 minutes ago, steve1 said:

Duo brick wall, Howden.

 

steve

 

 

I love this picture! Imagine the remarks if you modelled it though... 

[Ray Von]

This sea defence pic wasn't taken specifically for this thread, but in the background is an interesting phenomena - bricks eroding more rapidly than the mortar: 

[Philou]

..... and note the difference in brick sizes too. Quite common when using 'modern' bricks within older walls. IIRC metricated bricks are 225 x 112.5 x 75mm against 9" x 4 1/2" x 3" and even that doesn't take into account regional differences! (And differences in mortar bed thicknesses too).

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Edited March 18, 2021 by Philou
Post out of sync!