The Night Mail

[AndyID]

I had almost finished chipping all the branches from the ponderosa I took down when the motor slowed down. Inspection revealed that the air filter was about to fall off the carb!

 

When I removed it the small bolts that attach the filter housing to the carb two bolts were not to be found. It looks like they were inhaled into the engine. I thought I had torqued them enough but evidently I did not . Oh shoot, oh dear.

 

I suppose I better take the cylinder head off.  😘

[AndyID]

I see Cinco de Mayo has fallen on the fifth again.

[Dave Hunt]

Just getting ready to go travelling. Tomorrow we are going to a friend's wedding in the Cotswolds (booked long before KC III decided to hold a coronation) so I'm hoping that lots and lots of people will be glued to their tellies and not clogging up the roads. Then on Sunday we go from the wedding hotel to a friend's house in Oakham whence we leave at O double dark on Monday morning to fly out to Spain. Said friend has a house in a little Andalucian mountain village that is quite delightful but over the last few months has had to have considerable building work done following a bad water leak in one of the walls that wasn't discovered until it had been p!ssing out for several months, thus causing quite a lot of damage. The Spanish cockwombles who refurbished the place about 30 years ago decided that it would be a good idea to bury the copper water pipes in the walls then render on top of them with a lime based material that has happily corroded the copper with unfortunate results. Hence we are going out with our friend to help clear up after the builders. With any luck, though, there should be a few days to get some rays and test out my bouyancy in the pool. And just in case any wandering bears or pachyderms are thinking of making cake raids on Hunt Towers we have not only Horace the cat on guard duty but also another friend house sitting for us. 

 

I'm not sure about the internet connectivity where we are going so I may be absent from these halllowed portals as of tomorrow.

 

Dave 

[bbishop]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Just getting ready to go travelling. Tomorrow we are going to a friend's wedding in the Cotswolds (booked long before KC III decided to hold a coronation) so I'm hoping that lots and lots of people will be glued to their tellies and not clogging up the roads. Then on Sunday we go from the wedding hotel to a friend's house in Oakham whence we leave at O double dark on Monday morning to fly out to Spain. Said friend has a house in a little Andalucian mountain village that is quite delightful but over the last few months has had to have considerable building work done following a bad water leak in one of the walls that wasn't discovered until it had been p!ssing out for several months, thus causing quite a lot of damage. The Spanish cockwombles who refurbished the place about 30 years ago decided that it would be a good idea to bury the copper water pipes in the walls then render on top of them with a lime based material that has happily corroded the copper with unfortunate results. Hence we are going out with our friend to help clear up after the builders. With any luck, though, there should be a few days to get some rays and test out my bouyancy in the pool. And just in case any wandering bears or pachyderms are thinking of making cake raids on Hunt Towers we have not only Horace the cat on guard duty but also another friend house sitting for us. 

 

I'm not sure about the internet connectivity where we are going so I may be absent from these halllowed portals as of tomorrow.

 

Dave 

Let me guess. Dave = one piece of hand luggage.  Jill = ditto plus four large suitcases. 

[Dave Hunt]

Close Bill but since my campaign for lighter travel she is now down to one large suitcase plus cabin bag plus handbag (which in itself is the size of a cabin bag) whilst I am taking one cabin bag. Of course, there is a separate bag for the wedding trip but since that is being left behind at our friend's house when we go to Spain I am reliably informed that it doesn't count; neither does the outfit on a hanger that will be hanging up in the car. I am also reliably informed that any more carping criticism from me regarding how to reduce our carbon footprint by about 60% by cutting down on baggage and not needing a separate cargo aircraft will be detrimental to my chances of continuing to enjoy some of life's little luxuries such as sleeping indoors. 

 

Dave

[AndyID]

8 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 detrimental to my chances of continuing to enjoy some of life's little luxuries such as sleeping indoors. 

 

 

Thank goodness for sheds.

[Dave Hunt]

Those of us with a shed within a shed are doubly fortunate (but don't tell a certain TNMer)

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

Steel yourselves!

 

Train stuff....

 

Old meets new at Pantmawr North.

 

Looking south to the bridge which spans the main line and the colliery access point,  Brian will be furious to have missed 9518 sitting next to the water tank on a training run from Canton.  Meanwhile, 1401 seems to have stayed in service far longer than officially permitted and stands at the Up home, heading north with a 16 ton AA3 brake van in tow.

 

The water tank appear to have been removed over night.

 

Turning and looking north, once can see a rather grubby unfitted hutch of the type frequented by The Johnster standing on the No 1 siding.  A solitary 16 ton mineral sits awaiting collection.

 

The pig iron wagon and the roll wagon on No 2 siding are courtesy of  Brian.

 

Some metal fairies appear have stripped the skin off the old pagoda the graces the platform of the colliers halt.

 

The bridge to the North serving both a farm track and the footpath to the Colliery. 

 

 

 

This is the bracket signal that protects the line south and allows access to the Colliery.

 

It is incredible that someone has removed the roof of the lamp hut!

 

Seems they might have gutted the signal cabin whilst they were as it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 over the last few months has had to have considerable building work done following a bad water leak in one of the walls that wasn't discovered until it had been p!ssing out for several months, thus causing quite a lot of damage.

 

 

Owning property at a distance can easily turn into a gigantic PITA. At one point we had three homes! The house here near Coeur d'Alene, another in Orange County California (1,400 miles away) and an apartment conveniently situated half-way between them at Park City Utah, which by a remarkable coincidence just happened be be near some of the best ski slopes in the US.

 

The only time we allowed someone to make use of the house here for a couple of days while we were in CA the twit failed to turn the water off properly. During a really cold spell that Winter the pipes to the washing machine in the utility room on the North side of the house froze and burst. Part of the ceiling came down in the garage and there was a lot of other damage. Fortunately I happened to come up here not long after that happened or the damage would have been a lot worse.

 

I was a lot happier when we got back to a single home.

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

Part of the ceiling came down in the garage and there was a lot of other damage.

Aditi’s Dad’s GP surgery was part of their family home. When they moved out to a village the surgery was extended and the upstairs converted to a flat. At first her Dad thought he would let to a medical professional assuming they were responsible. He let it to a dentist,working at the local hospital. He and his family wrecked the place.  After repairs and redecoration he let it to students.He said they were nice lads but managed to flood his surgery a couple of times. He then let it to one of the major road building contractors. No problems, always clean,no floods. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Tony_S

[br2975]

27 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Steel yourselves!

 

Train stuff....

 

Old meets new at Pantmawr North.

 

Looking south to the bridge which spans the main line and the colliery access point,  Brian will be furious to have missed 9518 sitting next to the water tank on a training run from Canton.  Meanwhile, 1401 seems to have stayed in service far longer than officially permitted and stands at the Up home, heading north with a 16 ton AA3 brake van in tow.

 

The water tank appear to have been removed over night.

 

Turning and looking north, once can see a rather grubby unfitted hutch of the type frequented by The Johnster standing on the No 1 siding.  A solitary 16 ton mineral sits awaiting collection.

 

The pig iron wagon and the roll wagon on No 2 siding are courtesy of  Brian.

 

Some metal fairies appear have stripped the skin off the old pagoda the graces the platform of the colliers halt.

 

The bridge to the North serving both a farm track and the footpath to the Colliery. 

 

 

 

This is the bracket signal that protects the line south and allows access to the Colliery.

 

It is incredible that someone has removed the roof of the lamp hut!

 

Seems they might have gutted the signal cabin whilst they were as it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Bah !

Humbug !

.

D9518 a local legend; the last one to be used in BR revenue service Saturday 19th. April, 1969, just over the hill from here at Radyr.

.

A Hippo knows how to tug at the heart strings.

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Just getting ready to go travelling. Tomorrow we are going to a friend's wedding in the Cotswolds (booked long before KC III decided to hold a coronation) so I'm hoping that lots and lots of people will be glued to their tellies and not clogging up the roads.

Not quite the same but on the morning of Princess Diana's funeral I went for a ride on the Suzuki; I'd never been keen on the woman and really hated the collective insistence that everyone should be publicly overwhelmed with grief for this near-saint who had been murdered by the press (in reality she was someone they didn't actually know, who had died in a tragic road accident). 

 

Saturday at 0900 in Fleet was like 0500 on a Sunday and the run down the Meon Valley and back was brilliant.  I think I saw three cars and about 30 other motorbikes.  I've never experienced another time like it since then while my attitude to the late Princess has mellowed a little.

[BoD]

10 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

By the way, had anyone here ever seen a pickle barrel and, if so, what size is it?

 

Dave

It was a Firkin big one.

[bbishop]

On duty tonight and just had a ROSC. And it was my paw what pressed the button. 

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

During a really cold spell that Winter the pipes to the washing machine in the utility room on the North side of the house froze and burst. Part of the ceiling came down in the garage and there was a lot of other damage. Fortunately I happened to come up here not long after that happened or the damage would have been a lot worse.

 

One of the worst things that ever happened to us was when we returned from holiday to find the kitchen flooded and water running down the wall. Going upstairs we found more water running down walls in two of the bedrooms and soaking wet carpets. It turned out that the previous occupants of the house had put an extra layer of insulation in the loft using sheets of some sort of felt and when they came to the open top cold water storage tank had simply draped the stuff over the top. After a while the felt had dipped and contacted the surface of the water, which had soaked it and made it heavier, thus dipping it further into the tank etc. etc. until it pressed down the ballcock and prevented it from cutting the water off when the tank was full. The result was that the tank overflowed and kept on doing so with catastrophic results. The so-called surveyor had completely failed to notice this ticking time bomb and we were unaware until the flooding, which was only a matter of months after we moved in. Several lessons were learned!

 

Dave   

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

and when they came to the open top cold water storage tank had simply draped the stuff over the top.

I didn’t make any mistakes with my cold tank when I brought the loft insulation up to modern standards last year. I was also careful to fit little hats over downlighters to prevent them being fire hazards. Though I suspect the low wattage leds are less hot than the 50W halogens they replaced. What I did do wrong was laying the flexible vent hose from the shower across the top of the new insulation. It was so cold up there that the vented vapour from the shower condensed in the pipe and flowed back into the fan. This caused a loud noise. I relayed the hose under the insulation. It seems ok when we had another cold spell but it must be a well known (well to other people) problem as it is possible to fit a condensation trap.

Edited May 5, 2023 by Tony_S

[BoD]

12 minutes ago, bbishop said:

On duty tonight and just had a ROSC. And it was my paw what pressed the button. 

That must be a good feeling.

Or does it just become part of the job…

Which ever, well done.

 

[New Haven Neil]

4 hours ago, DaveF said:

and somehow ended up ordering a red Jinty - but it was at a discount which makes it OK.

 

Oh....funny, that.

 

 

 

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

Owning property at a distance can easily turn into a gigantic PITA. At one point we had three homes! The house here near Coeur d'Alene, another in Orange County California (1,400 miles away) and an apartment conveniently situated half-way between them at Park City Utah, which by a remarkable coincidence just happened be be near some of the best ski slopes in the US.

 

The only time we allowed someone to make use of the house here for a couple of days while we were in CA the twit failed to turn the water off properly. During a really cold spell that Winter the pipes to the washing machine in the utility room on the North side of the house froze and burst. Part of the ceiling came down in the garage and there was a lot of other damage. Fortunately I happened to come up here not long after that happened or the damage would have been a lot worse.

 

I was a lot happier when we got back to a single home.

 

My ex-landlord let the flat upstairs from mine to an Indian mathematician who was on some sort of exchange/secondment for a year from Delhi University to UCW Cardiff, on the assumption that he was a reliable professional who would be a Good Tenant.  He was, delightful bloke and a pleasure to have as a neighbour, but he had a wife and kid about 6 years old in tow, and they were a complete and absolute 'mare.  I know they came from a culture in which boy children are revered and spoiled, but this was taken to another level, and she had no control at all over the kid; in fact she gave every impression of having the lights on but nobody home in most respects.  She was a looker, which I assume was the attraction, as she had nothing else going for her, a wilderness crying in a voice, you could see the tumbleweeds between the ears.

 

The kid thought it was the height of amusement to turn on the bath taps and leave them running to watch the resultant waterfall.  This would lead to water dripping from the light fittings in the hallway and damp damage to the plaster here.  On the third occasion the ceiling came down in the hallway, and as I'd warned her after the second flood that I'd be reporting it to the landlord next time, I had no hesitation in doing so.  You would knock on the door, she'd answer, you'd tell her that water was coming through and even show her the streams coming from the hall light fitting, but it just didn't seem to register and she seemed incapable of remonstrating with the kid in any way at all.  She was also exceptionally skilled in the art of setting off the smoke alarm in the middle of the night as well.  The father would lay the law down when he came home, but that was equally ineffective when he was out at work. 

 

They were evicted with only two months before the temporary tenancy was up, and I was not sorry to see the back of them.  That was the end of letting to the University at chez Johnster!

 

The current landlord operates through an agency, who are very professional and efficient compared to the previous regime.  They've inherited me from the previous owner, and seem quite happy with me being here, but seem to specialise in youngish professionals, who seem to be ok as neigbours and cause no problems. 

[jamie92208]

5 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Do they still have those there?

Yes we find them noa and again.  Often in Aires on the autoroute. 

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Only at Shattaux Guest

Certainly not my dear fellow. 

 

Jamie

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Steel yourselves!

 

Train stuff....

 

Old meets new at Pantmawr North.

 

Looking south to the bridge which spans the main line and the colliery access point,  Brian will be furious to have missed 9518 sitting next to the water tank on a training run from Canton.  Meanwhile, 1401 seems to have stayed in service far longer than officially permitted and stands at the Up home, heading north with a 16 ton AA3 brake van in tow.

 

The water tank appear to have been removed over night.

 

Turning and looking north, once can see a rather grubby unfitted hutch of the type frequented by The Johnster standing on the No 1 siding.  A solitary 16 ton mineral sits awaiting collection.

 

The pig iron wagon and the roll wagon on No 2 siding are courtesy of  Brian.

 

Some metal fairies appear have stripped the skin off the old pagoda the graces the platform of the colliers halt.

 

The bridge to the North serving both a farm track and the footpath to the Colliery. 

 

 

 

This is the bracket signal that protects the line south and allows access to the Colliery.

 

It is incredible that someone has removed the roof of the lamp hut!

 

Seems they might have gutted the signal cabin whilst they were as it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see no paneers.

[newbryford]

Not a good time at NB Towers tonight.

Barney - "my" cat of nearly 18 years hasn't been too well for the last few days  - not eaten or drunk for two days - so when I arrived home from work, I booked him into a late appointment at the vet.

 

Unfortunately, he died in the car on the way there.

 

He is now in a place where he spent many hours -hunting for mice on the railway side behind my house.

 

RIP Barney.

 

 

[AndyID]

The good thing about side-valve engines is it's easy to get the cylinder head off. 🙂  I did that and fortunately no signs of damage. In fact the little carb screws are too big to have got past the valves so they must still be in the carb body or in the intake port beneath the intake valve. The carb is a bit tricky to remove. Will attempt that tomorrow.

[BR60103]

The first year we had our motorhome we took it down to Florida (the mouse) in the winter. When we reached Atlanta, I hooked up the water and started to fill the water system.  A big sheet of water came out from under the sink and across the floor. Immediate shut off.

There was a travelling serviceman in the campground. He decided that there was a leak in the water heater. When he removed it, it was full of ice.  Turned out that the outfit that "winterised" the vehicle hadn't drained the tank. There was a dispute when we got back, with the outfit claiming that the tank had been drained.

Ever after, I did my own winterising.

Coronation coverage on the TV will start at 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning, our time.

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by BR60103