drmditch

Glad that you recognise that locomotives have souls. How could one imagine heaven without them?

Would it be possible to reproduce your 1979 photograph on here? It would be very useful to those who model the late LNER.

Re: Mr Edwardian's 'Flu Do take care, and try to think of interesting things to do. I'm sure that staying cheerful is very important for boosting the human immune system. I look forward to reading the history of this pandemic in say, 30 years time. (Subject to all the usual provisos and qualifications.) I am about to launch a major appeal for help with my mysterious malfunction in a point-switching diode matrix. I have been failing to identify and correct this for two months, and whereas I normally take pride in my problem solving abilities the time has come to admit my human inadequacies! Photographs taken and diagrams prepared - what's the betting that when writing the text I find the problem? Anytime you want a light-hearted exchange about historical irrelevancies (although I would not regard WEG as one of those) do feel free to make contact. By the way have you read Roy Jenkins' 1995 biography of the Grand Old Man? It's interesting to compare it with Magnus who I grew up with. Need to go out for possibly the last time this week, and then major concentration on railway construction and engineering!

Thank you. Please take care.

Not sure the HRE would be capable of revival having been abolished in 1806 (?) by Napoleon on the grounds of being neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. As for the KuK Austro-Hungarian Empire, I think that's a bit unlikely as well. The Austrians I know are happy to view it with a kind of suffused romanticism, and take (took?) the tourist revenues. Not at all sure Hungarians would like it.

Not sure I entirely agree with that. Have you read 'Sybil' ? I do have a copy, and will add it to my re-reading list for the next few months. I never understood why Mr G so enjoyed chopping down trees. (Although of course we have to thank him for the 42 and 44 Railway Acts and the consequence of 'parliamentary trains'.)

Re: Arthropods and Webb Compounds. I do have a concern that our human self-satisfaction with our evolutionary form, social abilities, and body structure have blinded us to the absurdity of carrying round a heavy weight on top of a long pole. Surely a multi-limbed structure with the heavy bits in the middle and, perhaps, sensory organs on stalks of variable lengths would make much more sense. Of course an exo-skeleton with it's attendant weight issues would have had to be discarded. Personally, I think that Octopus would make a good candidate for a dominant species, once we have eliminated ourselves by our greed and arrogance, or been eliminated by our inability to manage our liability to parasite infection. Perhaps if Octopus learned how to become a social animal? As regards Webb, irrespective of some of his developed arrogance, it is significant that so many excellent locomotive engineers were trained under him.

Re: - The Jack Aubrey novels. I hope you are nor expressing approval of the mid to late 18thC Royal Navy (Ref N.A.M. Rodger's 'The Wooden World' and others of his works. ) My the second decade of the 19thC this was seen dangerously democratic! Good Heavens - a 'gentleman' could end up being commanded by an officer from the 'lower orders' - merely because that officer was a better seaman and sea officer! There is a splendid letter from a concerned mother expressing precisely this sentiment! The only problem that as the RN grew more socially correct and hidebound it became less and less effective as a fighting navy! (See 'The Rules of the Game' by Andrew Norman - which has been referenced on this thread before.) The treatment of Tom Pullings in the O'Brian novels deals with precisely this issue. Re:- Collective nouns for young women My OED (published 1964) states: bevy, n. Company (prop of ladies, roes, quails, larks). [orig. unkn.] I hope this does not imply any equivalence. Re:- Rocket (L&M 1829) I have glad you have got your model working. I hope you do not run over any politicians with it. I trust that after a month or so it will be relegated to ballast and construction trains? The original was of course obsolete after six months, so what will you do with yours after that? It might look good on a section of the Lambley Fell railway! Re: Real and current 'current' problems. I seem unable to solve a problem with a diode switching matrix. It is very annoying and has cost me weeks. I have one other test to make - then it may be time to revert to a mechanical lever frame! I may be appealing for help on RM Web by tomorrow!

Not sure that the collective noun is correct. Should we not be celebrating a 'planet full' of beautiful women, who come in all ages and shapes?

Not sure this is fair to William III. After all he was 'invited' after a fashion, and it was his wife Mary who was the popular one. Also, although the Dutch became unpopular, the 'Glorious Revolution' did keep us out of the hands of the Roi Soleil. When choosing cross-channel alliances you have to choose the right one. Not sure what happens when you choose none! Also, perhaps we could show some sympathy for the Stuart sisters, Mary and Anne. In their attempts to provide for the succession the miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant mortalities reached numbers which we can only see as horrific; and they had to carry on ruling the country as well. Also (for the third time!) would not consider her late and great Majesty Elizabeth, (the first of that name) to have been truly English?

Re: Female Complexions. At this time of year it is worth pointing out that dim lighting is the 'older' woman's best friend, or at least I find it so.

Don't forget Knitsley Grange Farm shop. I might try to get there tomorrow if the frost clears reasonably quickly. (Don't like ice when cycling!)

You see what attractions you are missing on the other side of the high hills? Hope everything goes well at Southampton.

North of York one could also include the various through services from other railways. Really Mill bewildering? Surely not! There would also be bankers (for Southbound services.) Somehow I've got to obtain/make an NER Atlantic.

If replacing and/or filling the lamps on that gantry seems to have been hazardous, what about the one on Durham Viaduct?

I believe the actual quotation was 'Pepp, if you design an express locomotive with five driving wheels your name is made!' Now I will have to look up my source for that - but please may I get some sleep first!

Re: Watertube boilers. Didn't the Sentinel Railcars have a (small and compact) watertube boiler?

I hope you take proper care of your (very nice) loaded Cattle Wagon; running it in the proper place in a train and stopping to water the cattle at appropriate intervals. I was going to ask if you had enough water in your continent, but there was a very sad news article yesterday about dairy/livestock farms in the aftermath of bushfires. I hope you and yours are not too badly affected.

Do thoroughly recommend Mr Brown's book. (Although it seems to have a silly price on Amazon!)

What a shame the Hush-Hush never got a tender with a suitably matching profile! It's even more of a shame that the simple engineering faults were never properly corrected. (Ref. William Brown's most interesting book.)

Please may I make a small comment about reliable running. I should say that I have never built or operated a railway for public exhibition, and am full of admiration for those that do. My railway is quite private, although occasionally friends have been (and hopefully will be) invited to see it. There is of course a rule that on such occasions something will go wrong, even if that precise failure had not happened before. If this applies when one or two people are visiting, then heaven knows what will happen with lots and lots of people watching! Two things that I didn't note in Tony's list or the comments above are:- 1. Adequate weighting of vehicles (especially goods and mineral vehicles) which are quite small. 2. Consistent standards for couplings and buffer lengths, and testing of these in trains. Only yesterday I discovered that one scratchbuilt wagon (of which I am reasonably proud) caused a derailment when connected to another scratchbuilt wagon (of which I am actually even more proud), but elsewhere in the train caused no problems! Thank you for all the splendid photographs and comments.

Re: Steam Road Cars. May I recommend Rudyard Kipling's short story 'Steam Tactics'; published 1902. Can be found in the 'Traffics and Discoveries' collection.

There is a picture of the (original - whatever that means) W1 on exhibition at Durham Elvet station. It is surprising it was light enough to get there! I must check and work out a route!

Yes, but then re-building them! For example No.251. Such a shame that Midlothian having been 'restored' then succumbed to a greater crisis. Let us not go down the path of what is 'original' heritage! Working machines wear out, and need repair and replacement parts. I was interested when in York in November to see the 'original' Rocket. It clearly evolved considerably during it's working life. As for 'Locomotion' - most of what is in Darlington 'Head of Steam' museum certainly isn't original to 1824. It did suffer a boiler explosion in 1828. Both it and the replica are on Hackworth wheels, when the originals were spoked. I'm more concerned about the scrapping of so many railway routes and structures - when it now appears we have need of them. Most of this has happened in my lifetime, which is quite depressing.

Thank you. Fascinating picture. Is the leading MR/LMS vehicle carrying horses do you think.? I am not expert on equine vs bovine anatomy but the quarters on the animal at the rear end of the leading vehicle look horselike to me. What with the rest of the train being horseboxes could this be an example of 'third class' accommodation for horses? Both leading vehicles are presumably 'piped' rather than 'fitted', and I am happy to say I have made models of both the GN and the MR/LMS designs. Do you have more information about the photograph?