Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

I'm surprised Kenton hasn't met you.....

Aditi is acceptably normal, just suspicious of others motives. The rest of her family would make Kenton seem overly trusting.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Tony_S

[Tony_S]

I did go out to the garage for a while this afternoon. It has slightly irritated me that although my station could cope with 8 mark 1 BR coaches it couldn't manage a locomotive as well. I have added a bit more to the scenic area to deal with this. I think this will look better. I even found my bendy MDF for the extended backscene. The end of the scenic area will of course be a bus on a bridge but this is quite prototypical.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Tony_S

[AndyID]

Aditi is acceptably normal, just suspicious of others motives. The rest of her family would make Kenton seem overly trusting.

How are they with hedgehogs?

[Tony_S]

How are they with hedgehogs?

I don't think they are aware of hedgehogs. However, snakes...

[BoD]

I did go out to the garage for a while this afternoon. It has slightly irritated me that although my station could cope with 8 mark 1 BR coaches it couldn't manage a locomotive as well. I have added a bit more to the scenic area to deal with this. I think this will look better. I even found my bendy MDF for the extended backscene. The end of the scenic area will of course be a bus on a bridge but this is quite prototypical.

That's some garage you must have.

[Tony_S]

That's some garage you must have.

Well, this is Essex.

[Tony_S]

Well, this is Essex.

And our garden is the smallest one in our road.

[newbryford]

Many thanks for the friendly/supportive and messages after Junior NB's incident last night.

 

She didn't sleep too well last night, probably still coming down from the adrenaline/shock. She's fine now.

 

Late last night, I started looking at a replacement mirror as she heads back south on Tuesday. There were a few on ebay, but unlikely to get it in time. I found "Wing Mirror Man" in Bury, about 25 miles away with a new aftermarket one for £30. They were listed as open from 9-2 on Saturdays. As I was at work, I couldn't get there, but was going to send Junior to collect. After a few unanswered phone calls up to 10am, I gave up. So I rang a local car breakers about 5 miles form home. Assured that they had the same model of car somewhere in the yard and that they would take it off the car. I was told it would be £15. Junior was despatched to the breakers yard. Past experience of breaker's yards has been mixed because of some the roguish characters that can be found in such places. They were very good with her and the cash was duly handed over for a mirror and housing in quite good condition. It's only three bolts to fix it, so that's one of my jobs to fit in tomorrow after work. Must locate my 13mm socket.

 

Hockey watched tonight. Despite a good start and leading 2-1 after the second period, the Hawks succumbed to a 2-4 loss against the team bottom of the league......

 

At the moment, there are four teams within 2 points of each other, with between 3 and 6 games to play. Bottom (8th)  is relegated, 7th goes into a relegation playoff. The other two teams both lost. We are 6th with 6 to play.

 

Back to the good stuff.

 

Much catching up accomplished at work today with lots of little jobs ticked off. Gives me chance to get back on one of the longer term projects tomorrow as I know that I won't be distracted with stuff arriving in the post.

 

Just waiting for the weather to warm and dry up a bit as I have 17 items awaiting airbrushing (mostly yellow!)

 

Have a good Sunday folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Horsetan]

That's some garage you must have.

 

There's probably stone cladding on the walls, and carriage lamps on the drive....

[Tony_S]

If Matthew ever has a car I can see myself helping with repairs. In fact if he ever had a house I can see myself helping or just doing. His skills do not reveal themselves in tool wielding. He can cook nicely though. Recent health problems will delay him driving for the near future. Fortunately he said he isn't planning to live anywhere that doesn't have decent public transport. I am not sure where he is this weekend. He went to Reading to visit friends and they are going somewhere "random" to celebrate his friend's birthday! He flew KLM to Heathrow, although the flight was more expensive the total journey cost was less and he could travel at sensible times.

Tony

[Tony_S]

There's probably stone cladding on the walls, and carriage lamps on the drive....

No carriage lamps on the drive, we have one of the two streetlamps down the road outside our house.

We are fortunate that our house is boring brick. Some are mock Tudor or mock Georgian. We had a house with shiplap timber clad upstairs before. Never again!

We do have a 4x4 and a white Fiesta with a spoiler so we can fit in though.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Tony_S

[jamie92208]

No carriage lamps on the drive, we have one of the two streetlamps down the road outside our house.

We are fortunate that our house is boring brick. Some are mock Tudor or mock Georgian. We had a house with shiplap timber clad upstairs before. Never again!

We do have a 4x4 and a white Fiesta with a spoiler so we can fit in though.

 

Ah but do they have windscreen stickers saying Tony and Aditi above the furry dice.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

Ah but do they have windscreen stickers saying Tony and Aditi above the furry dice.

 

Jamie

I think the dashcam has replaced the furry dice on most local vehicles

[BSW01]

Goodnight all

[lightengine]

Ah but do they have windscreen stickers saying Tony and Aditi above the furry dice.

 

Jamie

and 2.4 children?

[Donw]

Isn't it a requirement that outside buildings have to be on a separate feed - with a double pole switch at each end?

 

it has been specified for many years that any outbuilding the supply should be able to be isolated by a double pole switch as near as practical to the point of entry and before any socket or light fittings. Any lights should be protected by a suitable fused spur with an appropriate fuse rating or by a plug and socket with an appropriate fuse. So far as I am aware the circuit should be taken direct from the consumer unit but must be protected by a suitable RCD. However you will often come across existing installations which have a cable direct from the fuse unit running overhead straight into a detached garage with lights wired direct so that they are only protected by a 15 or 20A fuse in the house no means of isolation in the garage. 

A double pole switch after the consumer unit  can be convenient to isolate the supply to outbuildings but I don't think it is mandatory.

I would also advise that any outside sockets or are supplied by a separate supply (or the one to an outbuilding or garage) these or any socket where the cable for external apparatus (mowers etc.) may be plugged in must be protected by an RCD.

Personally I would consider the cost of replacing an old consumer unit with a modern one with RCD protection worth every penny. 

 

Don

[The Stationmaster]

I have had a few calls from "Talktalk" a while back saying that due to problems with my internet, could I log on and do some checks for them. I assume that these checks would at some point require me to give them access to my PC. Needless so say, I declined their checks. These scammers are quite convincing and it is easy to see how people are fooled.

 

I had one of those a couple of weeks ago but he was on the good old 'you've had an accident story so I played him along for a little while until he started to tell me the accident was in London and I was driving a car - at which point I told him that he was talking a particular kind of rubbish and suggested that he should go forth and ur*nate (or words to that effect).

[emt_911]

After my wasted morning, much of the rest of the day has been spent watching some excellent rugby and learning more about Digitrax and Rocrail working together by playing testing.

 

Night all

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[Tony_S]

and 2.4 children?

We would have liked more than the one we managed but are very happy with the one we got.

[Donw]

It is. It's actually on a different phase from the house!!!

 

The supply, for the mobile home, is mounted, on a telegraph pole, to which I replaced the old wooden consumer cabinet with a fibreglass one recently. From the meter tails there are the main double breaker (80A) and RCD. From the RCD there are two output cables one to the railway shed, one to the mobile home.

 

The mobile home has a full domestic distribution box with RCD and breakers. I replaced the old, "fuse wire" box ages ago. ( I had to rewire the mobile home, I found spurs, off spurs, off spurs.)

 

The model railway shed has a small distribution unit with RCD main double breaker, light breaker (6A) and ring main breaker(13A). All the cables run through the ceiling space with access hatches.

There will be 5 lighting zones, SWMBOs art area, the entrance and tea bar, the main corridor down the middle of the roundy roundy layout, the tin shed, and of course the layout.

 

The ring main has double sockets mounted generally at around the 3 ft layout level, there are currently 10 sockets, with 4 more general purpose sockets still to be fitted.

The model railway bench and electronics bench will have specialist workbench multiple socket units with their own RCDs.

 

You obviously know what you are doing and take a belt and braces approach.  One thing that can be useful with Railway rooms is to have the isolating switch by the door and leave a light permenantly switched on but throw the isolator when leaving the room so that all the circuits are dead and no soldering irons or solenoids are left on. The light acts as a warning. I tend to use a multi way extension to feed the bench which includes the desk lamp so switching the extension lead off at the socket isolates all the items on the bench.

Don

Don

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

On little more than impulse, I made the trek up the A1 to Newark showground yesterday for the Lincoln show, prompted in part by my cousin 88C who was operating one of the layouts.  It is always pleasant to be in the company of familiar faces and to put names to new ones.  The trek is about an hour and a half each way, more if one pauses at a Little Chef for breakfast on the outward run.  On the way I listened to the final Sounds of the 60s to be presented by Brian Matthew, who at the age of 88 has decided not to continue.  From next week it will be on at 6 am, which means that I will not hear it nearly so often on the road to somewhere.  Tony Blackburn will take over as presenter.  I still say that he wants to be a DJ when he grows up.

 

Today will see some unspecified pottering, probably all indoors.  The time has come for the remaining gammon steak to be consumed and it will comprise the centrepiece of Sunday lunch.  It is probably good for productivity that there is precious little worth watching on TV today.  The set is on right now but this is purely to provide a more acceptable background noise than the mumbo-jumbo carried by Radio 4 on Sunday mornings.

 

Warm thoughts to all, particularly those in distress of any kind

 

Chris 

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Not too cold or breezy this morning. Slight drizzle. I went down at 6am as I thought Robbie was barking but I must have been dreaming as he was asleep.

We seen to be getting into a routine of going to Enfield to see MiL on Sundays. We will be there for lunch.

Have a good day.

Tony

[TheQ]

You obviously know what you are doing and take a belt and braces approach.  One thing that can be useful with Railway rooms is to have the isolating switch by the door and leave a light permenantly switched on but throw the isolator when leaving the room so that all the circuits are dead and no soldering irons or solenoids are left on. The light acts as a warning. I tend to use a multi way extension to feed the bench which includes the desk lamp so switching the extension lead off at the socket isolates all the items on the bench.

Don

Don

The distribution box is by the main door ( there are two other doors), I have three fridges in the shed which means unless I fit another breaker I can't switch off the ring main. Unfortunately I've used a small garage sized distribution box so there is no room for another breaker.

I like the idea of the desk lamp though.

 

The fridges are:

Very small one with SWMBO's, volatile art substances in to reduce evaporation.

Very small one with my, volatile model railway substances in to reduce evaporation.

A house fridge with my cider and milk for SWMBO's gallons of tea.

 

The two very small fridges came with the mobile home when we bought the property.

 

The mobile home was placed on site when the previous owners of the place, had the house reroofed / re wired / woodworm treated ( family only planning restriction). It was secondhand from a holiday camp, laid out for such use and was originally gas lit!!!!. The previous owners had the electric lights fitted, and the worrying electric socket wiring.

As I live near the sea and the Norfolk Broads, we have become very popular for free family holidays, 20 weeks of visitors one year.

 

Many of the visitors are elderly and can't manage the steep stairs in the house. So I've reduced the number of bedrooms in the mobile home from the sardine like 3 bedrooms. Rebuilt the tiny bath room, into a walk into shower and rebuilt the kitchen so a house fridge is at table level, instead of two tiny fridges on the floor. Just after that we inherited another house fridge.

 

I see storm Ewan is on its way, but luckily for me it's heading for Scotland so it shouldn't affect my sailing today. Time for breakfast and then time to head out...