RMweb Gold BoD Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 Morning. Rather overcast here, dry though. I am tasked today with a couple of garden jobs. Tar bands on pear trees and I can't remember what the other one was. Tony If you sit quietly for a while it will probably grow on you. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 Thanks for the explanation, Mike. What I don't understand (have never worked in the rail industry) is why essentially European state operators DB and Abellio, for instance, are allowed to bid for franchises in the UK, but DOR was not able to bid for the EC franchise. Am probably missing something very straightforward. Apologies for being off-topic for ERs. Mal Equally simple really Mal. under the original proposals BR was going to be left in existence as an 'operator of last resort' which would take over any failed franchise or run them while bidding was going on. But that idea was effectively scotched when the legislation was passed which specifically forbade BR from bidding for franchises - probably done in order to prevent them winning any which would probably have been the case. thus BR residual (known as BR2 or BRBR) remained as really no more than a shell property company for land assets which Railtrack couldn't be bothered with and not much else. Thus when franchises began to fail the Govt had no choice but to invent Directly Operated Railways (DOR) in order to pick up the pieces. Although don't be misled - in reality DOR is not much more than another franchisee, it has (AFAIK) no permanent staff or pool of managers which it can draft in. It does the same as anybody else and goes out and hires people who have seemingly blameless records of 'achievement' (which in some cases meant they were with a franchise, or even a succession of franchises, long enough to make their name but got out before the shambles they had created caught up with them) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) G'day all, Bit of a grey day out there but I might venture out this afternoon to collect my auction gains (and having to pay commission and VAT on it of course - without checking that will probably add about 15-18% to the hammer price, rather different when it comes to selling as I have a specially agreed commission rate which is somewhat lower than the standard one ). Not much else of note and I don't really fancy the £1 million house with 'model railway' as the latter is little more than a raised circular set of tracks out in a field on a large lawn. Have a good day one & all Edited October 19, 2015 by The Stationmaster 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightengine Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 On the subject of properties for sale there is a property mentioned on its own thread here with a garden railway attached. A million quid if your interested, I'm going to check my lottery ticket. It was in the Mail on Sunday yesterday I think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 I spent bwoody hours looking for the differences! Ah, but did you find Wally? 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Greetings all, it's grey over Borough market junction, and cold, but not wet. After trying to catch up with the weekend I have abandoned my attempt so congratulations and commiserations must, I'm afraid, be imagined. It's been a quiet weekend, we've all been slightly under the weather so not too much to report. Work is busy and the boss is back in, having left the Philippines about 24 hours before the typhoon arrived. In other minor triumphs, I managed to restore the red button/text service to the telly. I'm amazed how much I missed being able to look up the latest footie scores or how the ets match was going. I know there are other ways but... Have a good remainder of the day 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Monday morning finds me on Long Island again <sigh> not that it's not a nice place, just that it means a week working in a basement! Relatively quiet weekend, so little to report, then off to the airport for JFK flight yesterday. This week everything went amazingly well/swiftly. I think we managed a record time - from wheels up at Minneapolis, to being IN the hotel room o n Long Island was a mere 3:31 - about an hour or so LESS than the usual struggle. Chillier here than in Minnesota today (and for a couple of days looks like!!) with 2C on the drive to the dungeon, but sunny and crisp with no breeze. Forecast calls for a high of 11 and party sunny all day. Hope the week start well for everyone. 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Greetings all. Hope that those afflicted are bearing up. It's a tense day for me, I have to face the Brownies this evening, reason unknown but 'I will like it'. Not sure whether to construe that as a threat or a promise. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightengine Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Any lil old wine drinkers out there, a supermarket beginning with a W has Koonunga Hill Australian shiraz cabernet at under £8 (25% off) a bottle with a further 10% off with their card. I can fully recommend it Other supermarkets and other wines are available. I am in no way connected with W. Hic! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Shedman5 Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 Afternoon, a busy weekend and not just with all the sport on offer! and yes Scotland were robbed in my opinion! Mother in laws bungalow sale completed to day and that is a big weight off my wifes shoulders, I took all the meter readings and rang them through, when it came to the water the very nice young lady said to me that is a high reading for a house thats been empty since the last reading. So off I went back to double check, I had given a reading of 1066 hmm it should have been 9901 I had read it upside down!!!!!!!! Oh well all sorted, given all the crap we have had to endure of late we have arranged to go to Florida and see friends amongst other things for a month. Whilst this will curtail modeling activities I think we need a break. So we will be there for thanksgiving day which should be fun, turkey maybe? Weather is still good! just mowed the lawns again! hoovered beech and ash leaves at the same time, normally my mower is stood down for the winter by now, we are due rain on Wednesday though. Hope everyone is coping and enjoy the rest of the day. Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 just that it means a week working in a basement! Yep, it’s better to work in your own basement. Best, Pete. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Afternoon, a busy weekend and not just with all the sport on offer! and yes Scotland were robbed in my opinion! Mother in laws bungalow sale completed to day and that is a big weight off my wifes shoulders, I took all the meter readings and rang them through, when it came to the water the very nice young lady said to me that is a high reading for a house thats been empty since the last reading. So off I went back to double check, I had given a reading of 1066 hmm it should have been 9901 I had read it upside down!!!!!!!! Oh well all sorted, given all the crap we have had to endure of late we have arranged to go to Florida and see friends amongst other things for a month. Whilst this will curtail modeling activities I think we need a break. So we will be there for thanksgiving day which should be fun, turkey maybe? Weather is still good! just mowed the lawns again! hoovered beech and ash leaves at the same time, normally my mower is stood down for the winter by now, we are due rain on Wednesday though. Hope everyone is coping and enjoy the rest of the day. Alan If the "friends" are American, or have been here an extensive amount of time, "turkey maybe" is a probably a non-starter. It'll be "turkey FOR SURE!!!" Forgot to post a couple of pictures I took from the plane into JFK last night. It was EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAR and we flew right over the top of Manhattan and JFK on the inbound route. Not the best pictures as I had to use my phone, nevertheless at least "something" to look at. Fumbling with phone meant I missed the immediately OVERHEAD Manhattan shot, this is what I got... You can see lower Manhattan at right-mid shot, the new World Trade tower visible, and the bridges to Brooklyn on the left side of island. The bridge at left-upper shot is the Verrazano Narrows bridge linking Brooklyn with Staten Island. It's also the ocean/New York harbor boundary... JFK from about 8,000ft. We crossed just north of JFK eastbound then an immediate right turn and south for the approach onto runway 04R which is the black space on the left side of the brightly lite terminal buildings in mid-shot, running almost top to bottom... 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) Ian, Nice UFO in the first shot! My favorite bridge in the area is Bayonne Bridge - which is similar to the Sydney Harbor bridge but slightly bigger......(as seen falling over in the “War of the Worlds” remake, at the beginning - which was filmed in Bayonne). Great for old railroad/industrial archaeology too. My Precision bass is on the way from Sweetwater in Indiana - they sent me a pic: Keen eyed guitar freaks will notice it is actually a “modded” Precision with the addition of a second “Jazz Bass” pick up. Best, Pete. Edited October 19, 2015 by trisonic 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 Afternoon - auction purchases duly collected and no money changed hands as my sales outdid my purchases and the balance will be paid to me in a few weeks from now. I seem to have acquired a considerable number of cards of LNER hotels and 'places on the LNER' all being 'RP' (real photographs in the jargon of the postcard world) and them seemingly all ex dealer stock judging by some very optimistic prices pencilled on the back of some of the; they will be going back into the auction pot with various other duplicates and unwanted cards for a future sale. That is of course the way this sort of collecting goes - in order to get something you really want you sometimes have to put up with (and pay for) a load of stuff you don't really want. And there's some soft rain about - making the roads rather greasy, not bad when you consider we were forecast to have only a 10% chance of rain today. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) My Precision bass is on the way from Sweetwater in Indiana - they sent me a pic: ICS15181198-front-large.jpg Keen eyed guitar freaks will notice it is actually a “modded” Precision with the addition of a second “Jazz Bass” pick up. Best, Pete. Have you already got a bass amp or is that arriving too? Edited October 19, 2015 by Tony_S Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iL Dottore Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Ian, Nice UFO in the first shot! My favorite bridge in the area is Bayonne Bridge - which is similar to the Sydney Harbor bridge but slightly bigger......(as seen falling over in the “War of the Worlds” remake, at the beginning - which was filmed in Bayonne). Great for old railroad/industrial archaeology too. My Precision bass is on the way from Sweetwater in Indiana - they sent me a pic: ICS15181198-front-large.jpg Keen eyed guitar freaks will notice it is actually a “modded” Precision with the addition of a second “Jazz Bass” pick up. Best, Pete. Nice Axe, Pete. Interesting, though, how all the current Precision Basses (Fender or Squier) no longer have the chrome metal covers to the pickups and bridge, except for their vintage/relic models (see: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons)/b/b4/Fender_Precision_Bass_1981_4.jpg)I wonder why? It seems to be a post 1970s modification (says he wildly guessing....) iD 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) Ian, Nice UFO in the first shot! My favorite bridge in the area is Bayonne Bridge - which is similar to the Sydney Harbor bridge but slightly bigger......(as seen falling over in the “War of the Worlds” remake, at the beginning - which was filmed in Bayonne). Great for old railroad/industrial archaeology too. My Precision bass is on the way from Sweetwater in Indiana - they sent me a pic: ICS15181198-front-large.jpg Keen eyed guitar freaks will notice it is actually a “modded” Precision with the addition of a second “Jazz Bass” pick up. Best, Pete. Ahh yes, the UFO courtesy the phone camera AND the airplane window. In reality it was quite an excellent looking moon, I knew it'd not reproduce well in "film" Only guitar (bass also) I owned was in the '60s and sadly I forgot the make Was red/white and I installed black strings as they appeared trendy at the time, someone famous was using them, Jet Harris I think?? Edited October 19, 2015 by Ian Abel 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 And a Hippo's normal colour is what ???? Well mine's pink according to my avatar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post southern42 Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) Evening all, reporting in again form red dragon land.Grey - that just about sums it up today. Chris, I guess they chop the rind off the bacon to get rid of all that fat, though quite often there's still more fat left than bacon, and when it's prepacked the fatty bit is never on view in the see-through window, of course, so it may look lean, but you find out, later, that it isn't. Yes, give me a good slice of lean bacon with the rind left on. Oh! And without all that water so that it fries crisp nd not like a strip of leather. I wonder how this new estate agent culture would dabble in the 2 up 2 down quarryman's cottage (with back yard if you're lucky) market round here - "adventurous heritage living"; "bringing back the historic past";"romantically preserved" spring to mind. It's a tumble down and needs gutting! Yup! Seen it all! Hope the tidying and cleaning get done soon and is not too irksome for the Welding couple. Jock and others, hope today goes better for you. And a few pics from Thursday at the Midland Modelling Engineering Exhibition in Warwick - not far Leamington Spa Railway Station. I wondered where it was - Leamington Spa Station, that is, not the exhibition! Another T-Shirt I can wear! Maybe I need to visit rather than pass the station, first. Anyway, pardon the distraction, we went to the show with the North Wales group but only had about 3 hours but could have done with a couple more, but very enjoyable nonetheless. . King Arthur Class 771 Sir Sagramore. GWR 4700 (81C loco 1961-1962) GWR 6854 Roundhill Grange (former 81C visitor from 2B, 5 June 1965) There was also a special display of Pollys in memory of John Clarke, the originator of the Polly loco. There's more here, far more representative, and includes plenty of moving traction engines inside and out, though I did put the sound off: Edited October 19, 2015 by southern42 22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 Top tip: Tar bands above usual dog height! (from experience).Opening the packet revealed these are grease bands. I followed the instructions on the packet and Dd's advice. I don't think any insects will be affecting my hands either, a mucky sticky task. I wonder why I was asked to do it!I did have a look at Matthews's bass guitar. It is red and has four knobs that look as if they are important. I know it is an electric bass as there is a plastic cover on the back that states "9V battery here". I dusted it so it looks better now. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) Once more out to meet the golden, the yellowing, the spiralling, the spinning, the waning, the dipping, the shortening, the dimming and the filling. An afternoon circuit mainly looking out towards sunshine elsewhere.... Is is now back on par and coping well with the lingering effects of chemo 5....much conversation just now about scans & order/level of forthcoming operations, beyond the (hopefully) last chemo 6 Enjoy what you do Dave Edited October 19, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Have you already got a bass amp or is that arriving too? Have several amps I can use. #1 is the Maven Peal “Ganesha” which is based on a late sixties Marshall 100 watt head and can be configured for “SuperLead” or “SuperBass” by the flick of a couple of switches. The best thing about this amp is that it can be adjusted by knob from 1 Watt to 100 Watts. Now, anyone who knows about valve/tube amps knows that this is not at all simple to do - Dave Zimmermann who built it has a crapload of patents for his novel wiring - which is completely outside of the normal signal path. It’s more complicated than that but the important thing is that it works and it does sound beautiful... Another photo sent from Sweetwater: Best, Pete. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Polly, Amazing stuff! What gauge/scale is the King Arthur and the other locos? I could use a couple of the traction engines in my garden................. Thanks for posting! Best, Pete. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted October 19, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2015 I did have a look at Matthews's bass guitar. It is red and has four knobs that look as if they are important. I know it is an electric bass as there is a plastic cover on the back that states "9V battery here". I dusted it so it looks better now. I didn't know electric guitars used batteries. Safer than plugging directly to the mains I suppose. What happens if the battery goes flat during a concert. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 NYC-1.jpg You can see lower Manhattan at right-mid shot, the new World Trade tower visible, and the bridges to Brooklyn on the left side of island. The bridge at left-upper shot is the Verrazano Narrows bridge linking Brooklyn with Staten Island. It's also the ocean/New York harbor boundary... I hadn't realised that "Galloping Gertie" was so close to NYC. I guess that's why there were people on hand to film its demise. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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