The Night Mail

[woodenhead]

16 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

The thing with out sourcing is that when its applied to 'blue collar' workers i.e people who work with there hands, the 'white collar' staff i.e the people who supervise the blue collar workers are all for it as it 'saves money', however when its applied to 'white collar' roles somehow it never seems to work or save money.

 

15 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

That's because the senior managers are patting themselves on the back for reducing costs and giving themselves a massive pay rise and while about it make a lot of the junior managers and white collar staff redundant.

 

15 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 What we have to remember is that the Victorian industrial revolution was built on poor people working in awful conditions for the benefit of rich (and getting richer) owners.  They employed as many people as they needed and when mechanisation came along they embraced it with open arms to reduce workforce and increase profit to themselves and their investors.

 

Unions improved working conditions and made life better, the owners didn't change they just succumbed to the legislation that the unions worked hard to bring about.

 

We shouldn't look back and think things were better in the past, they weren't, it was just the rich needed more resources to get richer, these days with computers they can get by with a lot less resource and I would imagine they see AI and robotics as the next big step to removing those awful humans from their industry and then getting even richer.

[Hroth]

9 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

 

 

 What we have to remember is that the Victorian industrial revolution was built on poor people working in awful conditions for the benefit of rich (and getting richer) owners.  They employed as many people as they needed and when mechanisation came along they embraced it with open arms to reduce workforce and increase profit to themselves and their investors.

 

Unions improved working conditions and made life better, the owners didn't change they just succumbed to the legislation that the unions worked hard to bring about.

 

We shouldn't look back and think things were better in the past, they weren't, it was just the rich needed more resources to get richer, these days with computers they can get by with a lot less resource and I would imagine they see AI and robotics as the next big step to removing those awful humans from their industry and then getting even richer.

 

I see rmweb hiccuped again...

 

The problem with removing the "awful humans" is that eventually there will be fewer and fewer customers for their products and services...

 

But short-termism never harms the apex predators.

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Hroth
spelin

[woodenhead]

@Hroth More than hiccuped - I didn't think it even posted, the page did not show it posted after hitting submit. 😄

[TheQ]

The last company I worked for had about 100 to 120 employees when I joined, around 15 years ago, they still had about 100 working there when I left, but only about 50 employees..

Most of production is now zero hour subcontracted labour. 

[SM42]

The other attractive thing about subbing out is that it is a lot easier and cheaper to cut back on staff if you don't have all that nasty legislation protecting your employee's rights to worry about. 

 

Andy

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, BachelorBoy said:

Mr Dibnah was not such a saint.

 

One of our best friends is 'family'  he was FAR from a saint.....

[DenysW]

52 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

One of our best friends is 'family'  he was FAR from a saint.....

But he apparently held back from the ultimate sin/degradation of becoming involved in politics. Could have been worse.

[skipepsi]

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

 

 

 What we have to remember is that the Victorian industrial revolution was built on poor people working in awful conditions for the benefit of rich (and getting richer) owners.  They employed as many people as they needed and when mechanisation came along they embraced it with open arms to reduce workforce and increase profit to themselves and their investors.

 

Unions improved working conditions and made life better, the owners didn't change they just succumbed to the legislation that the unions worked hard to bring about.

 

We shouldn't look back and think things were better in the past, they weren't, it was just the rich needed more resources to get richer, these days with computers they can get by with a lot less resource and I would imagine they see AI and robotics as the next big step to removing those awful humans from their industry and then getting even richer.

Not altogether accurate a lot of mill owners kept the old machines and imported cheaper labour from abroad, this was before the days of minimum wages.

[woodenhead]

 

de doo diddy do dee 🤣

Edited December 13, 2023 by woodenhead

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Actually you cannot abdicate responsibility for that in law.  You are expected to have taken reasonable measures to ensure your contractors are working within the law.  If your contractor is employing illegal immigrant labour and/or below the minimum wage, you really can't claim to adhere to the Modern Slavery Policy which is no doubt easily accessible from your company website.....

 

Does this mean that if A Certain Bear were to employ/contract Hermes to deliver a parcel for me - and the driver turned out to be illegal/below minimum wage (Shurely Shome Mishtake.....) then I'm liable.

Yours,

Worried, of Bear Towers

 

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

One of our best friends is 'family'  he was FAR from a saint.....

 

Bear once briefly came across one of his Neighbours whilst at a Museum (Beamish) - he said "You want to try living in the same street as him......."

[Hroth]

42 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

 

de doo diddy do dee 🤣

 

Thats when he SHOULD have been James Bond...

 

[Happy Hippo]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Does this mean that if A Certain Bear were to employ/contract Hermes to deliver a parcel for me - and the driver turned out to be illegal/below minimum wage (Shurely Shome Mishtake.....) then I'm liable.

Yours,

Worried, of Bear Towers

 

I would be very worried if Hermes turned up to deliver a parcel, as they no longer exist!

 

(They have rebranded as Evri, and I've no complaints with then either delivering parcels I've sent, or stuff I receive.)

[Happy Hippo]

I have achieved a long held dream:  To design a  7 mm scale, double tracked continuous run to fit into our garage.

 

I had produced a single line version serving a lineside industry last week, and hoped I could complete the double.

 

Not only that, but the 'scenic side' has enough space for the lineside industry to be part of a tinplate works.

 

This would allow the br2975 collection of tin work related rolling stock, to be utilised in a realistic manner. 

 

It still needs a few tweaks here and there, but it looks workable in principle.

 

The one downside are the 1.37 M (4' 6") curves on the inner circuit.  All the point 'V's correspond to 1.8 M radius. 

 

However, when the vast majority of the traffic likely to be seen are tank engines and 4 wheel stock, I can live with this.

 

Overall dimensions are 5 M x 4.2 M.

 

The fiddle yard being an 1.8 M traverser with 8 roads.

 

I may reduce this to 6 roads as there is enough room for stub sidings off each end of the traverser, for additional storage.

 

Brian and I are both in agreement that using the ellipse rather than straights and right angle ends, disguises the sharp radius on the scenic side of the model.

 

For those who lust after prototype information.  The track arrangement of the trailing crossover onto the up line, and the trailing crossover/single slip arrangement to access the down line is a copy of the track layout at Tredomen on the Ystrad Mynach to Penalltau Junction section of the Rhymney Railway.

 

It makes signalling a breeze, as I have a copy of the signal box diagram.

 

Of course the usual caveat remains in that although it's been drawn, there is no guarantee it will ever get built

 

 

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

34 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I would be very worried if Hermes turned up to deliver a parcel, as they no longer exist!

 

(They have rebranded as Evri, and I've no complaints with then either delivering parcels I've sent, or stuff I receive.)

That's alright I sent my chrimbo cards out by Royal Mail. No exploitation of the workers there then.

[polybear]

12 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have achieved a long held dream........

 

Midland?

[Winslow Boy]

6 hours ago, woodenhead said:

 

 

 What we have to remember is that the Victorian industrial revolution was built on poor people working in awful conditions for the benefit of rich (and getting richer) owners.  They employed as many people as they needed and when mechanisation came along they embraced it with open arms to reduce workforce and increase profit to themselves and their investors.

 

Unions improved working conditions and made life better, the owners didn't change they just succumbed to the legislation that the unions worked hard to bring about.

 

We shouldn't look back and think things were better in the past, they weren't, it was just the rich needed more resources to get richer, these days with computers they can get by with a lot less resource and I would imagine they see AI and robotics as the next big step to removing those awful humans from their industry and then getting even richer.

I miss the unions. They really made a difference on the burger.

[Hroth]

20 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Midland?

 

More of a blood-boltered nightmare....

 

[Happy Hippo]

55 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Midland?

Well with quite sharp curves, their small engine policy*, could be a boon to smooth running

 

* I shall now amble into my nuclear fallout shelter and listen for the whine of incoming whines.

[New Haven Neil]

52 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Well with quite sharp curves, their small engine policy*, could be a boon to smooth running

 

* I shall now amble into my nuclear fallout shelter and listen for the whine of incoming whines.

 

Around here the 'Big Engine' is a Prairie.  It also has axleboxes that don't run hot.

 

Joining HH in that fallout shelter.

[Hroth]

53 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Well with quite sharp curves, their small engine policy*, could be a boon to smooth running

 

* I shall now amble into my nuclear fallout shelter and listen for the whine of incoming whines.

 

A red whine?

 

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I would be very worried if Hermes turned up to deliver a parcel, as they no longer exist!

 

(They have rebranded as Evri, and I've no complaints with then either delivering parcels I've sent, or stuff I receive.)

 

Used to be really awful here, although the current guy is actually very good indeed.  Then I saw this in the news today:

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/delivery-driver-stole-parcels-he-was-supposed-to-be-delivering/

 

[Hroth]

4 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Used to be really awful here, although the current guy is actually very good indeed.  Then I saw this in the news today:

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/delivery-driver-stole-parcels-he-was-supposed-to-be-delivering/

 

 

Anecdotally, a friend of mine has had bad experiences of EVRI delivery methods over the past couple of weeks, where packages were "delivered" over the back fence. There was some thought in the delivery, the packages were placed in black bin bags to keep them dry...

 

[polybear]

14 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Used to be really awful here, although the current guy is actually very good indeed.  Then I saw this in the news today:

 

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/delivery-driver-stole-parcels-he-was-supposed-to-be-delivering/

 

 

What with the Big River's Habit of dumping and running it'd be all too easy for them to take a piccy with it on the doorstep to prove delivery, then buggeroffwithit again......

I've had some Couriers (not Amazon) wanting a piccy of the parcel sitting inside the open doorway - that's a much better idea.

Edited December 13, 2023 by polybear

[New Haven Neil]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

What with the Big River's Habit of dumping and running it'd be all too easy for them to take a piccy with it on the doorstep to prove delivery, then buggeroffwithit again......

I've had some Couriers (not Amazon) wanting a piccy of the parcel sitting inside the open doorway - that's a much better idea.

 

The new guy does that - leaves things in the back porch (and even shuts the door and gate properly) with the photo of it there.  It's the journey from the sender to him that is the issue, takes forever.  

[coastalview]

28 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

What with the Big River's Habit of dumping and running it'd be all too easy for them to take a piccy with it on the doorstep to prove delivery, then buggeroffwithit again......

I've had some Couriers (not Amazon) wanting a piccy of the parcel sitting inside the open doorway - that's a much better idea.

Just had a mobile phone delivered by DPD and you have to enter a four digit pin that they sent by text into the handset he uses. 

 

Certainly improves security