Early Risers.

[Ian Abel]

Arrghh...time for a fast post, trying to get about 10-12 hours work in today! Need to spend 4+ hours training one client, whilst as much time with another in between, AND needing to check in on a third..buys, busy, busy...

 

2-BIL arrived yesterday, AMAZING since I only ordered it late Saturday US time!!! Hornby DO manage to ship FAST to the US, using DHL 2-day delivery. I now have a 4-BIL har-har... SIlly me though, didn't expect it to arrive QUITE so fast so didn't order the decoder until Monday morning, due to arrive today though hopefully, if not tomorrow for sure.

 

Was 7 when I got up this morning partly cloudy and expecting a MAX of 14! down to 5-6 overnight. Northern Minnesota got a dusting of SNOW yesterday evening!! ARRGHHHH!!

 

Have a good day - I'll be trying to cehck in later if I can squeeze the time out of my schedule

[PhilJ W]

Both my sister and myself knew someone who died in the 9-11 and 7-7 attacks. My sisters colleague was responsible for evacuating the company's staff from the second tower to be hit, this he did successfully and all the staff survived, he then went back into the tower to help evacuate other people. That was the last time he was seen. A former colleague of mine was standing next to one of the 7-7 bombers when he detonated his bomb.

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

It's quite bright and sunny here today, and I'm a bit tired now, having got up early to take 30747 to work for eight, then onwards to those emporia of all things foody - Morrisons' and Aldi. then on domestic duties as well.  Retirement - when is the modelling time/me time that I've been promised for the last 40 or so years while at the daily grind.....

 

Sorry to say that the RMWeb Live event will have to be a 45156 free zone this year (again - I've only made one event since they started!).

 

Due to vast quantities of catching up since last night, it has to be ticking the like etc boxes and generic greetings/congratulations/commiserations.  However, I'd just add for Jam that any departure from a job under a cloud these days can jeapordise future prospects for a ling time afterwards, so please be careful how you word your resignation.

 

{train alert - train alert - Debs beware}

 

May not get on tomorrow until later as I've got to go to visit the hospital tomorrow to have my abominal region looked at - appontment is at twenty to three and the Duchess of Sutherland is due to leave Lancaster station at 15.37 for Edinburgh - some chance of making both!  I know which I'd rather, and the clue is it's got four cylinders and is one of the most beautiful locos ever built (ducks under parapet).

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

Regards

[Rugd1022]

 

May not get on tomorrow until later as I've got to go to visit the hospital tomorrow to have my abominal region looked at - appontment is at twenty to three and the Duchess of Sutherland is due to leave Lancaster station at 15.37 for Edinburgh - some chance of making both!  I know which I'd rather, and the clue is it's got four cylinders and is one of the most beautiful locos ever built (ducks under parapet).

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

Regards

 

Have to agree re the Duchess Stewart, despite my inate Western leanings, the thought of going out just to see this wonderful machine in action makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. Some years ago I was stood with a colleague beside the Down Fast at Rugby, just by the old LNWR footbridge as 6233 came literally thundering past us, barely ten feet away... the noise and the way the ground beneath our feet shook are etched in my mind. It was utterley fantastic! To think that my Dad would have been doing it almost daily in the '40s and '50s when he was growing up blows my mind more than a little bit, yet to him at the time it wasn't considered to be anything special - when he told me all this years later he just shrugged it off!

[jamie92208]

{train alert - train alert - Debs beware}

 

May not get on tomorrow until later as I've got to go to visit the hospital tomorrow to have my abominal region looked at - appontment is at twenty to three and the Duchess of Sutherland is due to leave Lancaster station at 15.37 for Edinburgh - some chance of making both!  I know which I'd rather, and the clue is it's got four cylinders and is one of the most beautiful locos ever built (ducks under parapet).

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

Regards

I am also in complete agreement Stewart and hope your appointment is short and not too unpleasant.  I had the joy of seeing maroon duchesses near Lowgill when i was 7 from a field which is now the M6 and have never forgotten their power and grace.   Some years ago I had to do an after dinner speech to a railway circle and talked about the influence of railways in my life.  I was not in my comfort zone but included the following :- As a Christian and a railway enthusiast I have an advantage as I have already had a near glimpse of heaven.  "How much nearer could you get than watching a maroon duchess starting a train in the evening sun whilst England were thumping Australia in a test match."  The line seemed to go down quite well.

 

Jamie

Edited September 11, 2014 by jamie92208

[DDolfelin]

DD, I mainly used Girona on my many trips to Barcelona, further away but smaller and easier to exit

 

Thanks, Jock.

I don't think I'll have much influence over where the thing lands.

We have a coach transfer to the hotel and have our instructions accordingly:

 

"On Arrival in Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN) your transfer provider is Eros Bus Travel - Barcelona. 

On arrival, please collect your luggage and proceed to the following locations: 

For arrivals at Barcelona Airport Terminal 1 you will find a representative in “CAFÉ DI FIORE”, who will advise you 

to proceed to the downstairs exit door of the airport and take the free green Terminal Shuttle to Terminal 2B. 

Then please proceed to the meeting point located at the black horse statue in the centre of the arrivals hall. 

If arriving at Terminal 2B follow the exit signs to the arrivals hall, turn left to the meeting point, the black horse 

statue. DON’T MOVE FROM TERMINAL 2B. 

Simply present your transfer voucher to the local representative and you will be escorted to your waiting transfer 

vehicle. 

You will leave the airport no more than 45 minutes after registering with your transfer representative. 

In the event of any delay reaching the arrivals area please send one person from your party to the representative 

meeting point as it is vital that you make contact within 1 hour of landing. If you have problems locating your 

representative in the airport please call 0034 902 676 975 and ask for assistance. Please do not leave the airport 

without contacting this number. "

 

If I get through all this without giving someone a slap then we'll be off to a fine start.

[travelintrev]

Good Afternoon all, 

 

 

I remember this day thirteen years ago,   I was just  leaving what was then  "Western Excavating" (ECC)  heavy plant office in  Nanpean (Nr St Austell), when the local radio announced that a plane had crashed into the first tower - we for some reason assumed it was a small plane. 

 

Then as I got in the car to drive back, Radio four had the full and unfolding horror ongoing broadcast - I dont think I'll ever forget that drive. 

 

Off now to see if  the salmon are running.  (and to meet a lady minister!)

 

Pics (much) later.

 

Trev.

[Jock67B]

Amazing post Stewart, as I read it at my desk on the PC and glanced up, there she is in all her glory - a 3ft long print of the beautiful lady, 6233 by Geoffrey Wheeler. Always feel that I am incredibly lucky to have been on the footplate of several of the class when dad was driving! To his great delight, when the 'Duchess' was at Bressingham, he was once invited to take the regulator by the driver of the day. I remember the schoolboy grin well - it lasted for days! Sadly, the old chap passed away at 83 some nine years ago.

Good luck and I hope you can get a photograph if you get there on time.

Kind regards,

Jock.

[trisonic]

I heard that the ghost of “Cock of the North” can be seen and heard above the Ricoh Centre gently hissing into the breeze....

 

Shame I can’t make it really!

 

Best, Pete.

[NGT6 1315]

It's A Beautiful Noise:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIywhVLJlpw

[station cat]

Every time 9/11rolls round I come back to this, I can't even remember which website I first saw it on

 

 

 

9/11
At that time I worked for the American Red Cross: Carolinas Blood Services.
I wasn’t due to be at work until 11AM. So I was enjoying a rare morning with my 3 yo son.
We had finished breakfast, and I turned on the TV, so he could watch Sesame Street.
TV came on to the images of the first Tower burning. My son was a fireman fan at the time, so we discussed how the firemen were going to put out the fire and rescue all the people. My son brought his firetrucks into the room, and we talked more. I was about to turn the channel to Sesame Street when the second plane hit.
I cannot explain nor can I ever forget the heartbreak in my son’s eyes when we saw that. He looked at me, and simply said: “Daddy, all the firemen are dead.” He then went to his room and cried. I finished getting ready, and went directly to work.
My little (40 unit goal) blood drive started 1.5 hours early, and ended up running 8 hours over its scheduled time. We collected 450+ units, and had nearly 1000 potential donors show up.
My son never touched his firetruck collection again.
His firetrucks are boxed up in the shed, because I can’t part with them.
9/11 victimized all of us.
United We Stand.

[Smiffy2]

It was the end of the school day on September 11th, and the kids were milling about on the lower foyer. Someone had a TV on in one of the offices and called me over. Some of the kids got wind of what was happening, and soon there were dozens packed into a small office and many more outside. As 'the history teacher' I was expected to describe and explain it, which was tricky. I remember that a young science teacher said, in front of the kids, that the Americans deserved it, and for the only time in my career I gave a teacher a dressing-down in public. She later apologised and said that I was right to do it. We were all pretty much in shock, with no idea at the time if the casualties would be in the tens of thousands, although the 3000-odd was bad enough.

 

It was only later that evening that I got a call from #2 son who at that time was working for Jane's Defence Weekly and he filled me in on Al Qaida. I'd never heard of them.

 

On7/7 I was on one of the trains that went into the chaos at Victoria, having gone on secondment to the DfE. It was a colleague's birthday, and two of us had gone out to the Apple Store for a gift - it was awful. We ended up stranded and had to walk back to Westminster in deserted streets, apart from the police cars and ambulances, and all we could hear were sirens, near and far. One of our colleagues was killed, we found out later.

 

There were almost no trains that evening, and I had to get the only one running on the Brighton line, and Julie had to come and pick me up at Purley Oaks. 

 

By the next day everything was back to normal, and we got onto the trains with a defiant mood. Does anyone remember the 'We're not scared' campaign?

[bbishop]

Sorry DD, I couldn't cope with all that faffing about.  I now take full control (and full responsibility) for booking trains and hotels when I go on holiday.

 

There is another thread about a through train from St Pancras to Marseille.  On the return journey one has to detrain at Lille and spend the best part of two hours passing through security, immigration and customs.  Sorry!  No way!!  Not with my hatred of queuing.  I can just about cope with St Pancras and Brussels, especially as DB tickets don't work in Eurostar machines, and at Brussels one can use the Business Premier route. Paris?  No way.

 

Bill

[Tony_S]

 

 

If I get through all this without giving someone a slap then we'll be off to a fine start.

I'm sure you will be fine but having closely observed my fellow citizens on holiday over many years I would be amazed if someone doesn't get confused.

[bbishop]

My experiences were with the IRA campaigns, with two close calls. 

 

First time the compartment that I had travelled to Cannon Street was blown up as the train returned ES towards Borough Market.  I went to New Scotland Yard for an interview.  The detective thought the bomb had been primed at Cannon Street; I'm pretty certain the bomber got off at Grove Park on the up journey and I was lucky that his timing was wrong.

 

Second time was the bomb outside the toilets on platform 3 at London Bridge.  I was on the last train to Cannon Street before the detonation.

 

Bill

[Ian Abel]

Lunch break...it was BIN day today and we were Yellow CARDED (literally)...apparently cardboard boxes are to be cut up and placed in the bin, OK, BUT the last time I put cardboard boxes out we had to tie them in bundles beside the bin, so that's what I did last night!

At what point to I tell the assclowns that if the CHANGE the requirements they should consider INFORMING the customers????        

[shortliner]

Pete - not the Ghost of "Cock of the north" but "Black Ghost" in Klaipeda, Lithuania - one of  series of brilliant sculptures from around the world sent to me by a friend - somehow this seems slightly appropriate today!

 

 

 

.....and to lighten the mood a little, one which encapsulates the "Freedom" ethic, from New York

 

Edited September 11, 2014 by shortliner

[Killybegs]

This evening SWMBO has gone off in the motorhome to a quilting symposium for a couple of days. Two days of uninterrupted modelling? Probably not, grass to be cut tomorrow and a few other domestic chores that require my attention. Oh well.

 

John

[SouthernRegionSteam]

Those are fantastic sculptures!

I've actually been outside today in the garden for once in my life. I've cleared out about half of the land ready for the studio now (with the help of mum of course). We now have some blackcurrant, gooseberry and other plants to replant up the top end of the garden. Not much left to go until the whole site is clear - I'm really getting excited and have something to look forward to again. Also saw a cute frog today, i'll post a photo later.

[Coombe Barton]

In 2001 I was at a training course at IBM Hursley (Winchester) when the news came on at Lunchtime. half the attended were American, as we're some of the presenters.

 

Not much got done after that.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

....I was driving at the time and heard the newscaster on the radio describe a terrible accident in New York involving an aeroplane crashing into the World Trade centre...I pulled off the road and listened intently....the hairs had already risen on the back of my neck....news of the second impact merely confirmed what my instinct had detected.

 

Dave

[BoD]

For arrivals at Barcelona Airport Terminal 1 you will find a representative in “CAFÉ DI FIORE”, who will advise you 

to proceed to the downstairs exit door of the airport and take the free green Terminal Shuttle to Terminal 2B. 

Then please proceed to the meeting point located at the black horse statue in the centre of the arrivals hall. 

If arriving at Terminal 2B follow the exit signs to the arrivals hall, turn left to the meeting point, the black horse 

statue. DON’T MOVE FROM TERMINAL 2B. 

 

Tis simple DD

2B or not 2B, that is the question.

[skipepsi]

Evening all, didn't get on this morning but had nothing exciting to report. Training today included bereavement and loss which was sad, apparently 70% of schools have at least one bereaved child in them....  Better news at least one new member of staff will be appointed so the chances of working until I want to retire have improved, slightly.

[PhilJ W]

This evening SWMBO has gone off in the motorhome to a quilting symposium for a couple of days. Two days of uninterrupted modelling? Probably not, grass to be cut tomorrow and a few other domestic chores that require my attention. Oh well.

 

John

If its not on the list (left by SWMBO) you don't have to do it.

[45156]

Just a quick pop in to see who's here and what's what.

 

Again, I hope to view the Duchess but knowing hospitals, just a few minutes over-run will put the mockers on it.  I too remember this class in passenger service - saw many of them on the secondary WCML services (Liverpool - Glasgow etc) but the London services were already in the hands of the EE type 4s by then - but a Duchess at Abington climbing Soutbound was quite a sight - and the Northbounds bucketing down with just a whisper of steam.  The oddest memory I had was when I used to go by train to Kilmarnock after school, arriving there about 5 pm having a quick gander at what was about, then back on the 6.06 pm branch train - this originated at St Enoch, and was Barrhead and all to Kilmarnock running ahead of the 5.30 pm stopper to Carlisle (Kilmarnock and all to Carlisle), which carried a Class 2 headlight and which overtook the earlier service, thereby giving a Southbound connection from the intermediate stations.  This service was Duchess worked until the finally were scrapped.  Derek Cross was fond of turning out to photograph this one.