The Night Mail

[iL Dottore]

One thing that was pointed out to me, talking to our Tokyo correspondent @railsquid is the almost total lack of crossovers at the station throat of Tokyo station, very unlike – as  @jamie92208 can attest - the station throat at SBB Basel which is a veritable spaghetti junction.

 

This lack of turnovers means that trains do not have to negotiate intricate pathways in order to get to their designated platform (which is always the same for a given service). So no waiting for the slow train from Chiba (or whatever the Japanese equivalent of Croydon is) to clear the points before being able to depart. This certainly speeds up arrivals and departures (aided in grand part by the very short dwell time permitted at the station - passenger loading and unloading is very fast, aided no doubt by the passengers waiting patiently at the allocated boarding points as the train comes in.

[Dave Hunt]

1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

Is that the lady who trashed the American F15  driving motormouth?

 

Yep, that's the one. She took him on in 1v1 guns only combat and tore him to shreds, much to everyone else's delight. He was so embarrassed that he invented some excuse to go back home.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

I think that I have avoided Bear's list because I only have a 20ft x 23ft car storage facility and a 35ft x 20ft workshop - no garage or shed.

 

Dave

[bbishop]

Play has (finally) begun.  And the sun is out. 

[Tony_S]

I have discovered that my garage which is attached to the house lowers my energy rating! 

[J. S. Bach]

I am currently on generator power (since about 0630 EDT) thanks to a not so nice lady named Helene.  Hopefully Duke will not take too much time restoring service. I just checked and the Generac is putting out118VAC, Duke usually averages 121VAC.

[PhilJ W]

The last three posts have been duplicated?

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I have discovered that my garage which is attached to the house lowers my energy rating! 

 

Bear doesn't have that problem....

(Have I mentioned why?)

[pH]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

What a load of rubbish. Distributed by a company called 'The Asylum', very apt.

Going by the title, you were expecting a production to rival “Gone With The Wind”?

[zarniwhoop]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

The last three posts have been duplicated?

Not here.  Page 2154, several posts above yours but no duplicates.

[jamie92208]

Just to avoid doubt I do have a quickly stolen picture of Sclhoss ID2.  Obviously I can't pinpoint the exact location.

 

Jamie

 

It does have a moat and doubtless other defences.

 

Jamie

[SM42]

The neighbour's cat visited about 2 hours ago and went to sleep in the spare room. 

 

We went out for dinner. 

 

It didn't bat an eyelid. 

 

It might decide to go home at some point this evening or tomorrow. 

 

 

Andy

Edited 3 hours ago by SM42

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I am currently on generator power (since about 0630 EDT) thanks to a not so nice lady named Helene.  Hopefully Duke will not take too much time restoring service. I just checked and the Generac is putting out118VAC, Duke usually averages 121VAC.

 

Shouldn't be a problem. Well within spec. I think it's unlikely we will feel her effects here.

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I have discovered that my garage which is attached to the house lowers my energy rating! 

 

I'm not entirely sure what "energy rating" is all about but our vehicle storage facility is under the house. Would that be good too?

[SM42]

The cat has left the building. 

 

Andy

[jjb1970]

I love cats, I love the fact they view us humans as their inferiors and are so independent. There's a cat that lives near us and sometimes I sit on the bedroom balcony watching it stalk prey in trees, there's something incredibly graceful and elegant about how it moves when stalking. 

[jjb1970]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

One thing that was pointed out to me, talking to our Tokyo correspondent @railsquid is the almost total lack of crossovers at the station throat of Tokyo station, very unlike – as  @jamie92208 can attest - the station throat at SBB Basel which is a veritable spaghetti junction.

 

This lack of turnovers means that trains do not have to negotiate intricate pathways in order to get to their designated platform (which is always the same for a given service). So no waiting for the slow train from Chiba (or whatever the Japanese equivalent of Croydon is) to clear the points before being able to depart. This certainly speeds up arrivals and departures (aided in grand part by the very short dwell time permitted at the station - passenger loading and unloading is very fast, aided no doubt by the passengers waiting patiently at the allocated boarding points as the train comes in.

 

Tokyo station is bonkers, I often wonder if selection for Japanese special forces and secret agents is to be plonked somewhere in Tokyo station and told to find another part of the station within a time limit. The lines are arranged very differently to European practice as many of them are basically discrete, independent tracks rather than sharing a common set of tracks which diverge as branches split off and join, so the station track plan does indeed look a lot simpler. The platforms are dedicated to particular lines and once you figure out how it works it's actually very user friendly.

[jjb1970]

Another high speed service which is deeply impressive is China. Their HS rail network is now huge, and growing and the trains are fitted out to very high standards. The CR400 Fuxing series (please, no sniggers......🫣🤣) are lovely trains. The Jakarta - Bandung high speed railway in Indonesia uses an export version of the Fuxing.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

I'm not entirely sure what "energy rating" is all about but our vehicle storage facility is under the house. Would that be good too?

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/guide-to-energy-performance-certificates-epcs/
If we decide to investigate fitting something like an air source heat pump we would need an energy performance certificate to get a grant offsetting the cost. They are also required for some other  purposes too. Our garage is basicall6 an unheated room joined to the house. Our bay window also reduces the ep rating. To get an A rating would require you to live in a sealed box with small triple glazed windows. I expect our 1990 buil5 house will get a D rating. Probable suggestions I expect will be to fit thermostatic radiator valves and get a “smart “ thermostat . We don’t really need them as we are at home a lot and adjust as necessary. The extra loft insulation I put in was fine.  

[polybear]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

I'm not entirely sure what "energy rating" is all about but our vehicle storage facility is under the house. Would that be good too?

 

Not if the car catches fire....

[polybear]

49 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I love cats, I love the fact they view us humans as their inferiors and are so independent. There's a cat that lives near us and sometimes I sit on the bedroom balcony watching it stalk prey in trees, there's something incredibly graceful and elegant about how it moves when stalking. 

 

Bear too; I'd love one but the way the tw@ts drive around Bearsville would mean I'd worry sooooo much about kitty getting squidged under some a55holes's car.

[Happy Hippo]

The only thing I can say with any great certainty about cats, is they can't half shift when being chased down by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

 

This is probably the reason why for many years, cats did not venture into our garden(s).