Early Risers.

[emt_911]

Morning all. 5 degrees and overcast this morning. According to the Southern website delays between LBG and Sydenham till at least 07:30. Probably have a knock on effect on others.

 

Hopefully POETS day today. Have a good one.

[emt_911]

Announcement at ECR. All trains from here to LBG suspended

[Ohmisterporter]

Morning all, it is dark and raining here. Not been able to spend much time on here in the last week so congratulations and commiserations where appropriate. The saga of my garden wall continues. Still awaiting quotes from two firms who promised them; one hasn't even been to see the job yet and we don't think that he will do so. The job will get done eventually. Enjoy the day all.

[newbryford]

Hey-ho. Off to Glasgow.

 

Mornin' all.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

The castle is well worth a visit next time you are there.

 

....on the list too.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is another cloudy morning here, but not too cold.

 

Dave (TG), sounds like you had a great break - didn't you get a chance to visit the Kent & East Sussex Railway, just up the road from Rye? I spent one of my six months in industry (part of my uni. course) in Rye with Weslakes, the engine development company. At that time we were working on Dan Gurney's Eagle Weslake F1 engine, as well as a highly tuned big Chevy engine for John Surtees' Can-Am car! Loved the Mermaid then, and when we visited recently, it seems not to have changed much since. Sad to admit that I used to read the 'Dr Syn' stories by 'Russell Thorndyke', based on smuggling in the area - probably be very dated now. Will there be any pictures forthcoming?

 

Small world, Jock (and Dave).  I went to school in Rye.

 

To be honest, nothing much has changed there - except the time before last when I went back, I found out that both one of the better pubs (The Standard) and my favourite bookshop had closed.  Proof that nothing stays still.  Of course, Weslake still exist, but left Rye quite a few years ago.

 

Have a good day everyone...

Edited February 20, 2015 by Robert

[Robert]

I don't want to steal Dave's thunder, but here are a few Photos from Rye - taken on a very wet day a couple of years ago.

 

 

The Ypres Tower - Down the steps behind the tower is the Gun Gardens and the Ypres Castle Inn (known locally as "the Wipers")

 

 

Mermaid Street

 

 

Strand Quay from the town

 

 

Rye Church

 

 

The end of the High Street. That shop on the right hand side which sticks out, Adams, has been there since long before I was born. It is a real old fashioned traditional newsagents.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Robert

[Tony_S]

Morning.

It is raining here. Robbie was rather damp when he returned from a 6 am patrol of the garden.

I will probably have the go shopping today as I am sure Aditi would like something fishy for dinner.

Matthew rang yesterday, he had got some work back and was fairly pleased with the grades. He has also got a place on the trip at Easter to Dubai that he applied for. MiL of course has cousins there but I suspect he will be in the conference hotel!

Tony

[roundhouse]

Announcement at ECR. All trains from here to LBG suspended

First day back to work and signal problems at anew Cross Gate. No mention of them being suspended at a Redhill but decided to catch Thameslink and change at Elephant and Castle. These 387 seats are very hard and uncomfortable (first time that I have actually managed to get a seat in one).

[NGT6 1315]

Morning all. Kind of ropey again, so cocoa brewed. Here's hoping school will restart without too much trouble next week...

[Barry O]

Ready for the trip to moreasons as I caught up with my sleep! Morning debs...see you are lurking in the shadows....

Hope we get some news from Trev soon....

Have a good Friday everyone

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Seems to be drier at the moment and there is a chance of some hazy sunshine.

Lots on today as we're having a bit of a family & friends "do" here for Abbie's 16th birthday (our house is a little bit bigger than theirs) 

Sounds like another list is being prepared so I may be gone for some time. (or possibly not)

Have good one,

Bob.

[Smiffy2]

Greetings from a wet and dismal Carshalton-sur-Mer. It's so overcast I can scarcely see the lighthouse. I must go there some day.

 

Nice photos of Rye, Robert. Any idea why it's called the Ypres Tower?

 

Off to check on the guinea pigs and get some coffee and then get some coffee and after that, not sure. Julie's in the shop today, so perhaps some modelling. If it works, look out on the GBL thread...

 

And as the fish fingers of Friday slip into the frying pan of the weekend, have a largely unexciting day.

[martin1]

morning all,cold here,though thankfully not as cold as some of our readers ! all soundly asleep as I left,even the rabbits were sleepy....just had a counter banger at work....what ever happened to asking politely.....must be me,or im getting old,or as the missis said .....both !! have a good day all.

[Killybegs]

Cold and windy, stormy seas and another high tide, no beach to walk on so the dogs had to make do with a couple of circuits of the dunes. Just made it back to the car before the heavens opened. Yesterday was a mix of blue skies and heavy showers accompanied by hail and thunder. I think we are in for more of the same today, so it's probably household chores and a spot of modelling today. No change there then!

 

Daughter Lucy is getting a visit from the BBC Scotland next week who are doing a piece on her for the Scottish version of Country File so I spent last night working out how to load the Scottish channels on to my Sky box. Turned out to be easier than I thought once I stopped trying to load the HD options.

 

Make the most of POETS day.

[AndrewC]

Morning all from the boring boring borough.

 

TFIF

 

That is about it. Have a great weekend everyone.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Mornin' all,

 

Cool, sunny, calm and dry in the Moorlands. More calories to burn again after the fried breakfasts and marvellous ales of the last 3 days, so best energetic foot down on this morning's constitutional. Diversion required to collect the new sanctuary lamp glass parcel ordered before we left (3 inch x 5 inch cylinder of red glass), alas the company sending the glass decided to send it in a cardboard box 2 and a half feet long x 1 foot square so that they could fill the rest with sales catalogues etc....a bit tricky trying to strap such a carton to the push bike with sticky tape for a lengthy cycle ride home!

 

Feathered ones remembered

 

Enjoy what you do

 

Dave

Edited February 20, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[Oldddudders]

Morning all

 

A wet day. Sheena here for coffee at 11. Usual attempt to keep off tricky subjects.

 

Meanwhile, this stolen from Facebook :

 

The small extract below recalls part of a chap's trip on the footplate of the eleven o’clock Brighton to Cardiff on Monday 11th July 1955. Brighton men used to work this train as far as Salisbury. The Brighton fireman on this trip was Reg Craft, who showed how he would cope with the firing whilst working up Dean bank. It also records the feelings of Brighton engine-men’s towards their fellow South Western enginemen. A photo reveals the loco to be 34046 Braunton.
An extract from the Fred Rich Journals
We had no booked stops over the 24.5 miles between Southampton and Salisbury; and from Nursling [4.5 miles beyond Southampton] we began the 16 mile climb up to Bridge 44. At this point Reg initiated me into a bit of nonsense which, for him, was utterly out of character. He (along with many others from 75A) feels that most “South-Western” enginemen think too much of themselves and their railway. At Dean [about 4.75 miles from Bridge 44] the ‘eleven o’clock Cardiff’ always passes a goods engine in the sidings, with Salisbury men in charge of it; and Reg likes to show ‘em what he thinks of their Dean bank. The game is to have a ‘a potful of water’ and a full head of steam after passing through Romsey. This produces (for the benefit of those Salisbury men) the spectacle of a Brighton ‘West Country’, trailing 10 corridors, hurtling up through Dean with safety valves blowing and with the fireman relaxing in his seat, smoking a cigarette and preferably reading a newspaper.
Fred Rich worked as an engineering apprentice at Brighton Locomotive Works and commuted from Tunbridge Wells. Fred became known to a number of engine-men at Brighton. On his days off Fred would see if he could get a cab ride with the various engine-men that he knew and spent most of the trips doing some of the firing.

 

Hope your week finishes on a high note.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Looking like its going to brighten up, kettles on and bread toasting have a good POETS day all.

[Donw]

Morning all. I haven't checked in lately I hope all are well. It was nice to see a spotted woodpecker yesterday. As it was wet I didn't have the camera but this picture taken on the IOW shows a pair

 

 

Don

[skipepsi]

Morning all, felt lousy so haven't gone to work today probably shouldn't have gone yesterday but I did. Today will be about dozing and pottering, trying to think clearly with a head full of grot is not working.

[railsquid]

And as the fish fingers of Friday slip into the frying pan of the weekend, have a largely unexciting day.

 

Snaffling some "fish and chips" here at my favoured happy hour "British pub" here in Tokyo. The trick to living in Tokyo is to know where the "quiet" places are, this is one of them. Only customer in the joint until just now.

 

Feeling mellow in part because on my perambulations I scored a new boxed set of Tomix track containing two motorised curved points of the type I was after for about a fiver, or 1/10th of RRP. One of the local electronics department stores has a "hobby" floor, which is mainly full of that freaky anime figurine stuff Japan is infamous for, but there's also a model railway aisle which contains what appears to be mainly very outdated stuff which they're selling off bit by bit.

[DDolfelin]

I may call in at a model railway exhibition today.

Forecast is dismal and sounds downright dangerous from tonight onwards.

You know what they say about forecasts - well, not a lot as they leave one speechless.

[Happy Hippo]

Last night the new furniture for the spare bedroom arrived.

 

This morning the hippodrome looks like a junk shop.

 

Cardboard boxes all over the place: bits of polystyrene chips on the floor, and all sorts of wrapping.

 

This will be carefully sorted through to ensure no suitable modelling materiel goes amiss.

 

My office will now be restored form stockroom to junk room as all the stuff stacked at the far end (and all the other ends too) is placed in new drawers.

 

Even better news is the Obergrumpenfuhrer will carry out this task, as I've screwed all the drawer knobs on this morning!

 

Also screwed was the axle I tried making yesterday afternoon.

 

I still cannot understand how I managed to  leave so much overhanging out of the end of the chuck, and then tried to machine it down.  as soon as the tool touched it, it was going to get bent, but did I remember or even care?

 

The moral of the story is do not let a simple mind attempt even a simple task!

 

Still the next one turned out fine.

 

There is a slight difference in making 2mm dia axles as opposed to making my usual 6.35mm dia axles!

 

A fine start to the weekend here, and a trip to the shops to look for a  stair carpet and a suitable bit of wool for the sitting room floor is next on the agenda.

[railsquid]

Last night the new furniture for the spare bedroom arrived.

 

This morning the hippodrome looks like a junk shop.

 

Cardboard boxes all over the place: bits of polystyrene chips on the floor, and all sorts of wrapping.

 

This will be carefully sorted through to ensure no suitable modelling materiel goes amiss.

 

I have banned Mrs. Squid from all cleaning-related activities in my office-######-railwayzone after she attempted to remove a bag full of bits of polystyrene on recycling day.

 

Also the other day I was tearing up an old spiral-bound notebook when I realised the spiral binding and the plastic covers might be useful for... something.

 

On the plus side Mrs. Squid did announce the other night that it would be nice to travel across the US from coast to coast by train some day. A sentiment which I found it hard to disagree with.

Edited February 20, 2015 by railsquid