Early Risers.

[BlackRat]

Home again, home again.....

 

Bikes now with Ocean BMW inPlymouth, they've always looked after me and the bike very well so fingers crossed.

 

Week off now (hurrah for hols!) got a few .. shhhhhh bits to do with the 7mm and need to try and sort out an erratically running class 14.

 

Should take my mind off of the bike!

[AndyB]

Ivan. Could you cut 4 slots in the bottom of the horsebox and get an extra horsepower? 

[Horsetan]

Ivan. Could you cut 4 slots in the bottom of the horsebox and get an extra horsepower? 

 

I'm not sure you could train the horse to do a Fred Flintstone.

[TheQ]

138Hp is more than My Landrover 110 and more than 99% of the Series, 90s, 110s, and Defenders ever had.

 

Your weight might be more of the problem I believe a CX weight between 1300 and 1400KG, the weight of your Horse box with horsey will probably be above that.

Unlike the Landrovers, I doubt your handbook will have a towing weight above that of the vehicle..

[Horsetan]

....Your weight might be more of the problem I believe a CX weight between 1300 and 1400KG, the weight of your Horse box with horsey will probably be above that.

Unlike the Landrovers, I doubt your handbook will have a towing weight above that of the vehicle..

 

I've looked at one of the lightweight single trailers from Ifor Williams, which weighs in at 920kg 767 kg unladen. With Bill (up to 550kg, we estimate) on board, that looks like over the limit. 

 

The problem is everyone's got different types of horse trailer, so the unladen weights are never going to be consistent, plus the older designs tend to be heavier. I already know that a double horse trailer is not within the CX's capability.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Horsetan

[The Stationmaster]

Morning (just) all,

 

Well the visitors to Finland have departed - rather cleverly using the Good Doctor's car to get to the station and leaving it there for me to collect.  And a self-catering breakfast so today I had bacon sarnies, a distinct improvement on what I normally get (nothing).  Little else of note but an interesting website uncovered yesterday elsewhere on RMweb contains the fascinating information that various private houses in the town are owned by off shore companies.  George Harrison's place comes as no real surprise of course but a terraced house?????

 

http://map.whoownsengland.org

 

Have a good day one and all

[jamie92208]

Congrats and commiserations as required.

 

My daily commute is fairly c*ckwomble free, but today was one of those days. I'm normally fairly calm when it comes to traffic matters having spent a large proportion of 2003-2017 on the road.

 

I cross the  A65 Settle bypass to access the road across Rathmell bottoms (Jamie will know exactly which road). There were a few more vehicles than normal turning into it from the opposite direction, which usually means a traffic incident between Settle and Long Preston. As I turned in - underneath a 12 foot clearance bridge under the Settle Junction-Carnforth line, a coach was coming the other way and just pulling up with the driver sharing a joke with her passengers along the lines of "Oh look, we won't fit under there" and stopping to hold up traffic in both directions. There was a large queue of traffic behind the coach as it was all coming the other way whilst diverting from the same road blockage.

 

Our line of cars managed to pass, leaving a lot of vehicles going the other way with very unhappy looks on their faces as there was precious little room for the coach to turn round on a narrow road. ANd more vehicles arriving by the minute.

It would indeed, not fit. She had clearly passed the sign about two miles previous warning of a low bridge. What was even more galling was that the coach was from Ingleton, just a few miles up the A65 and the driver would be expected to have reasonable local knowledge. A henwomble of the highest order.

 

There was indeed a road incident adjacent to Settle Junction signal box with at least two emergency vehicles in attendance and long queues of standing traffic either side of them. I hope those involved are OK, although there was a radio traffic report of an air ambulance being used.

 

Nearer home, I detoured to pick up supplies at a supermarket and was confronted with a huge number of cars parked on the pavement on both sides of the road about 400 yards in advance of the local grammar school. This evening must be the annual entrance exams (basically 11 plus), which attracts a large number of parents plus offspring from a considerable distance away. Many of whom would not realise that they've parked on a bus route. There was only just enough room for two cars to pass, never mind the bus coming the other way. Another queue ensued, but eventually squeezed past, but the Transit behind me had no chance.

I can only hope that a few lot of cockwomble cars had their mirrors taken off.

 

Rant over.

 

The good news was delivery of a very well priced sound fitted Bachmann 37025 to bolster my test train loco roster.

Further good news in that I'll be taking my layout to Hazel Grove exhibition at the end of October as a short-notice fill in. My boss is very understanding of my requests to shuffle days off to fit it in.

 

Tomorrow is a day off and three of us are going on yet another photo recon to Peak Forest for our in-build club layout. 

There is a yellow train due into the Peak area tomorrow, with the promise of a non-freight train on the Hindlow branch. Cameras are suitably charged with spare memory,

 

Have a good Thursday folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Just a quick reply to that Mick.   Not an easy way out for the bus.  There would first have to a long reverse and possibly open a field gate to turn round.  Then back to Rathmell turn right and go round through Rome before coming back onto what I know as the High Rigg road that parallels the bypass on the other side of the railway, then turn left and eventually at Paley Green turn back onto the A65.  The road via Rome (Which is actually only a farm,) woud be interesting in a large vehicle.

 

Simples.

 

Jamie

[BlackRat]

When it comes to towing.......most people seem to overlook the 'noseweight'......

 

i.e. The weight bearing down on the nose of the thing hitch, well worth checking for the vehicle being driven.

 

Summer checks used to reveal just about every other towing vehicle was well over the nose limit.

[Horsetan]

When it comes to towing.......most people seem to overlook the 'noseweight'......

 

i.e. The weight bearing down on the nose of the thing hitch, well worth checking for the vehicle being driven.

 

Summer checks used to reveal just about every other towing vehicle was well over the nose limit.

 

How many of those that you checked were Citroen-hauled? Were they equally affected?

[TheQ]

It probably has less effect on a landrover (150kg max on my Landrover), but I've always checked my nose weight as it has a huge effect on the steering of front wheel drive cars which I used to drive. Always used to carry an old set of human scales and a block of wood to fit under the coupling hitch..

Most landrovers (Series to Defender) have  an adjustable height tow bar as well and that can make a huge difference.

[bluebottle]

Out and about earlier than is my wont, this morning, I caught up with a gaggle of children waiting for the lollipop lady to clear their passage across a busy road, on their way to the local primary school. Several of them were discussing their pocket money, mentioning sums which would have seemed fabulous to me back in the late 1940s/early 50s. I remembered asking my mother when we were going to get a television set, as did a few of the wealthier inhabitants of our tenement street: "Oh, not for a while, they're still too dear", she said. "What, you mean a pound?" "Aye, that's right, son."

Back to today on Southey Green Road, when I overheard one small girl say that she got two pounds a week, I was sorely tempted to say: "When I was your age, you could buy two tellys for that!"

[iL Dottore]

Afternoon all,

 

I have been much remiss with both my railway modelling and my RMWeb posting as of late. For fairly reasonable reasons. Dominating my life at the moment is getting my company's website to turn up in Google searches. I have used a DIY website creator (WIX) and have followed the instructions religiously and all the tick boxes for a successful SEO (search engine optimisation) and I have connected to the Google Search Console (which apparently takes a few weeks to start listing new web pages) and I still don't see my company when I search for it. I have a computer savvy friend coming to visit on Saturday and I'll pick his brains (it's not that I am not "computer savvy" what with me be an early adopter of the technology [in 1983 with an Apple IIe], but I stopped keeping up with technology about 2006 - finding other things to do with my life...).

 

When I'm not fussing over the company website or taking care of the Wolfpack, I've been playing guitar - as opposed to railway modelling - one reason being is that it's something I do at the end of the day. So if I'm tired and I muck up playing a Dsus2 or some such - no harm accrues, but if I'm carving stonework into DAS and I bu99er it up - then I'm in a world of hurt.

 

I'm afraid that my "gearhead bug" has returned and whilst I can't justify the price of one of these: http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2016/Custom/True-Historic-1957-Les-Paul-Goldtop.aspx, I might be able to get away with (and sneak into the house) one of these: http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Epiphone-Ltd-Ed-Les-Paul-Custom-PRO-KOA.aspx or one of these: http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/1956-Les-Paul-Standard-PRO.aspx (what's the point of being the CEO of my own company if I can't award myself HUGE bonuses???)

 

In an earlier post I mentioned that I have been watching the railway programmes on NHK, well they recently featured some of their "luxury" trains.  As I see it Japan Railways (in it's various incarnations - such as JR West or JR East) have come up with a plan to utilise the various secondary and rural lines  to generate a profit, now that the Shinkansen network is so extensive and the plan is to enjoy "going slow" in a luxury train. Unlike in the West - where luxury trains, such as the Orient Express, look to the past, Japan Railways very much looks to the future. Three particularly impressed me: The "Twilight Express Mizukaze" (http://twilightexpress-mizukaze.jp/en/), the "Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu (http://www.cruisetrain-sevenstars.com/seven-stars/#about ) - Suite 701 for me! and the "Train Suite Shiki Shima" (https://www.jreast.co.jp/shiki-shima/en/ ) whose technology makes the majority of the rolling stock in Britain look positively antediluvian...

 

What is it with the railways in Britain? In Japan the railways are privatised yet the companies mange to run clean, comfortable, timely and profitable services. I took the Nozomi Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station and was incredibly impressed by station, train and service (as I was travelling "Green Class", the attractive young female ticket collector[???] offered me a complimentary refreshing towel after checking my ticket - how about that, Southern Rail?).  The railway stations not only had food outlets and other shops and one - I forget which one (Tokyo station, Shinagawa staion or Shinjuku station) even had a model railway shop (well souvenir shop that sold model railways).

 

Dare I say it? But could it be, given the huge difference between the Japanese and the British attitudes to public behaviour, respect for public property, etc., that the British get the railways they deserve??? Presumably, the stereotypical national characteristics have a bearing on the sorts of public transport a nation gets? The Swiss are supposed to be clean, tidy and punctual and their trains (for the most part) reflect that. Of course, there are critics who claim that the SBB has gone downhill (and even the SBB is not immune to some of the ***** wafting out of the EU [the Swiss generally have a very healthy scepticism about the EU]), but these critics haven't travelled into Waterloo lately...

 

Have a great day folks

 

iD

 

p.s. diet proceeds apace, I've now lost 30Kg and I'm still counting...

Edited September 14, 2017 by iL Dottore

[Horsetan]

....I remembered asking my mother when we were going to get a television set, as did a few of the wealthier inhabitants of our tenement street: "Oh, not for a while, they're still too dear", she said. "What, you mean a pound?" "Aye, that's right, son."

Back to today on Southey Green Road, when I overheard one small girl say that she got two pounds a week, I was sorely tempted to say: "When I was your age, you could buy two tellys for that!"

 

Sets certainly weighed a lot back then. Would have taken at least two people to lift one. Nowadays you can tuck a flatscreen under your arm and walk away.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

... I caught up with a gaggle of children waiting for the lollipop lady to clear their passage across a busy road, on their way to the local primary school. Several of them were discussing their pocket money, mentioning sums which would have seemed fabulous to me back in the late 1940s/early 50s...

And just think how fabulous your childhood self would have felt back then, had you been in possession of the unimaginable private communicator that doubtless at least some of those children now possess.

[AndyB]

Afternoon all,

 

I have been much remiss with both my railway modelling and my RMWeb posting as of late. For fairly reasonable reasons. Dominating my life at the moment is getting my company's website to turn up in Google searches. I have used a DIY website creator (WIX) and have followed the instructions religiously and all the tick boxes for a successful SEO (search engine optimisation) and I have connected to the Google Search Console (which apparently takes a few weeks to start listing new web pages) and I still don't see my company when I search for it. I have a computer savvy friend coming to visit on Saturday and I'll pick his brains (it's not that I am not "computer savvy" what with me be an early adopter of the technology [in 1983 with an Apple IIe], but I stopped keeping up with technology about 2006 - finding other things to do with my life...).

 

When I'm not fussing over the company website or taking care of the Wolfpack, I've been playing guitar - as opposed to railway modelling - one reason being is that it's something I do at the end of the day. So if I'm tired and I muck up playing a Dsus2 or some such - no harm accrues, but if I'm carving stonework into DAS and I bu99er it up - then I'm in a world of hurt.

 

I'm afraid that my "gearhead bug" has returned and whilst I can't justify the price of one of these: http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/2016/Custom/True-Historic-1957-Les-Paul-Goldtop.aspx, I might be able to get away with (and sneak into the house) one of these: http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Epiphone-Ltd-Ed-Les-Paul-Custom-PRO-KOA.aspx or one of these: http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/1956-Les-Paul-Standard-PRO.aspx (what's the point of being the CEO of my own company if I can't award myself HUGE bonuses???)

 

In an earlier post I mentioned that I have been watching the railway programmes on NHK, well they recently featured some of their "luxury" trains.  As I see it Japan Railways (in it's various incarnations - such as JR West or JR East) have come up with a plan to utilise the various secondary and rural lines  to generate a profit, now that the Shinkansen network is so extensive and the plan is to enjoy "going slow" in a luxury train. Unlike in the West - where luxury trains, such as the Orient Express, look to the past, Japan Railways very much looks to the future. Three particularly impressed me: The "Twilight Express Mizukaze" (http://twilightexpress-mizukaze.jp/en/), the "Cruise Train Seven Stars in Kyushu (http://www.cruisetrain-sevenstars.com/seven-stars/#about) - Suite 701 for me! and the "Train Suite Shiki Shima" (https://www.jreast.co.jp/shiki-shima/en/) whose technology makes the majority of the rolling stock in Britain look positively antediluvian...

 

What is it with the railways in Britain? In Japan the railways are privatised yet the companies mange to run clean, comfortable, timely and profitable services. I took the Nozomi Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station and was incredibly impressed by station, train and service (as I was travelling "Green Class", the attractive young female ticket collector[???] offered me a complimentary refreshing towel after checking my ticket - how about that, Southern Rail?).  The railway stations not only had food outlets and other shops and one - I forget which one (Tokyo station, Shinagawa staion or Shinjuku station) even had a model railway shop (well souvenir shop that sold model railways).

 

Dare I say it? But could it be, given the huge difference between the Japanese and the British attitudes to public behaviour, respect for public property, etc., that the British get the railways they deserve??? Presumably, the stereotypical national characteristics have a bearing on the sorts of public transport a nation gets? The Swiss are supposed to be clean, tidy and punctual and their trains (for the most part) reflect that. Of course, there are critics who claim that the SBB has gone downhill (and even the SBB is not immune to some of the ***** wafting out of the EU [the Swiss generally have a very healthy scepticism about the EU]), but these critics haven't travelled into Waterloo lately...

 

Have a great day folks

 

iD

 

Good to see you posting, Flavio.

It's been a while since I worked on developing websites and others on here will know doubt no better. 

However, a couple of thoughts if I may?

Web page content is very important in appearing in search results. Refreshing the content is also important to let them know that the website is actively maintained.

I'm guessing that as a seasoned expert in your field you'll be able to put together some white papers (thought pieces) on your specialist area, publishing regularly, commenting on new issues in the industry. That in its own right will drive meaningful traffic to you. There is also a specific writing style to get the attention of search engines - basically a little repetitive of your key words and a tad laboured, but effective, as I understand these things. 

Personally to make it easier to achieve all that I'd have gone down the Wordpress route.

You can also internationalise your .com site more easily using specific language pages covering the same content. I used a plugin from https://wpml.org/  

Don't forget to put an analytics tool onto the site to quantify and help analyse where your traffic comes from, what they were looking for and what they did on your site. It's more meaningful than page ranking, imho. You'll need to put a cookie notice on - again widgets are available and just 5 mins work. 

Edited September 14, 2017 by AndyB

[iL Dottore]

Many thanks for the informative and erudite answer, Andy. When I am back at the coalface (tomorrow morning sometime), I'll follow up on your advice.

 

Thanks

 

iD

[AndyB]

Many thanks for the informative and erudite answer, Andy. When I am back at the coalface (tomorrow morning sometime), I'll follow up on your advice.

 

Thanks

 

iD

 

No worries. Give me a shout if you need anything. 

Here's a link showing you how to migrate with the pros and cons. 

[The Stationmaster]

I might be wrong Flavio but I understand that the order in which sites come up on a Google search relates directly to the number of previous hits.  Thus if you used the rather naff sounding term 'pharma development' or the much simpler 'cancer treatments' you should get more hits and therefore climb the slippery pole of Google stats and get, eventually, onto page one.  Might sound simplistic - as no doubt are the expressions I quoted - but there might be something in it?

[Tony_S]

I might be wrong Flavio but I understand that the order in which sites come up on a Google search relates directly to the number of previous hits. Thus if you used the rather naff sounding term 'pharma development' or the much simpler 'cancer treatments' you should get more hits and therefore climb the slippery pole of Google stats and get, eventually, onto page one. Might sound simplistic - as no doubt are the expressions I quoted - but there might be something in it?

I thought you just had to include @@@@RARE@@@@ to attract attention.

 

I am back from a trip to Stansted. We left Matthew at the terminal a couple of hours before his flight. He doesn't like rushing through airports. Hopefully we will be using the new routes from Southend for future flights to Dublin.

Matthew looking relaxed before departing for Ireland.

Tony

It is a very nice day here now, quite sunny in fact.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Tony_S

[Horsetan]

.....We left Matthew at the terminal a couple of hours before his flight. He doesn't like rushing through airports....

 

With all the security hoops to jump through before boarding, you can't rush anything now. The last time I boarded a flight (to Rome), the zig-zag queue to go through security at Luton reminded me of a cattle market.

[AndyID]

How many of those that you checked were Citroen-hauled? Were they equally affected?

You might be able to get a weight distributing hitch. They have two spring bars that attach to the trailer and lift the rear of the towing vehicle so that weight is transferred to the front of the towing vehicle.

 

I'd also be concerned about the brakes. Do horseboxes have electric brakes?

[bluebottle]

And just think how fabulous your childhood self would have felt back then, had you been in possession of the unimaginable private communicator that doubtless at least some of those children now possess.

 

Well, I was using "fabulous" in its old sense "Such as is met with only in fable; beyond the usual range of fact"; rather than the latterday "Now frequently in trivial use, esp. = ‘marvellous’, ‘terrific’." (OED)

I could have added that I was, in fact, "Contented with little and cantie wi' mair". e.g. a copy of the Wizard or Rover and a bag of "soor plooms" sweeties.

Edited September 14, 2017 by bluebottle

[Horsetan]

You might be able to get a weight distributing hitch. They have two spring bars that attach to the trailer and lift the rear of the towing vehicle so that weight is transferred to the front of the towing vehicle.

 

I'd also be concerned about the brakes. Do horseboxes have electric brakes?

 

The CX already has its own towbar, but I've not seen a weight-distributing hitch in use before.

 

Funny you should ask about the brakes; I was looking into this, and most, if not all, of the new production trailers come with a braking system nowadays, including the single horse Ifor Wiliams I linked to earlier.

[bluebottle]

Matthew looking relaxed before departing for Ireland.

 

Certainly looks like a happy chap!

Best wishes, Matthew!

Edited September 14, 2017 by bluebottle

[Tony_S]

The CX would probably pull a trailer rather better than my Freelander. Mainly because it doesn't have a tow bar.

I have read the sections in the manual about towingd They seem to require some modification to the rear view camera to assist with backing up to a trailer. Looked complicated. I don't think we have exceeded or even approached the cars 500kg payload limit yet so we aren't in need if a trailer. I would probably prefer to hire a van. When my neighbours daughter lived at home she had a horse box but not a trailer it was like a pantechnicon.

Tony

Edited September 14, 2017 by Tony_S