PhilJ W

When I visited the states back in '79 I spent a few days with a friend in rural Connecticut. It was during the deer hunting season and the main target species was the white tailed deer. We went out shopping and one of the items on display in the store was camouflage toilet paper, my friend explained to me that every year several deer hunters get shot by their fellow hunters, sometimes fatally, and if your hunting white tailed deer you are looking for the 'flash' of white!!!

Around here we have an invasion of magpies. About this time last year I was walking into town when there was a commotion among the magpies, a cat had managed to kill one and was running off with it in its mouth so they don't always have it their own way.

There is a film on Facebook of a bus actually stopped with the rear across the tracks on an ungated crossing protected by a box. The warning lights operated and a train hauled by a class 66 came into view. Fortunately the train was able to stop and wait until the crossing was clear. Apparently the bus driver was subsequently sacked, the incident took place in Southampton on one of the lines into the docks. The 66 was leaving the docks with a train of empty car carriers.

Here is how they work >> http://www.animatedengines.com/gnome.html Some very interesting engines on this site. EDIT typo error in URL try this http://www.animatedengines.com/gnome.html

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Bright and sunny at the moment and the weather report is that its going to stay that way for a couple of days at least, OK as long as I don't look at the garden . Commiserations Ashers with regards to your aunt, she is obviously well loved and will be remembered by those who loved her. Woken up by the arthritis at 4 o'clock, I'd rolled into a position where a lot of weight was put onto the hip in question, I managed to get back to sleep again and things seem to be OK at the moment.

Goodnight all.

The one I visited was at Rayleigh, the chap who runs it under the name of SRP toy fairs also runs them in Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The Kent ones are held in Orpington, Dartford, Herne Bay, (Sunday) Hawkinge, (Saturday) and Tonbridge (Tuesday). The Orpington one is 9 or 10 times a year but the others are only six times a year or less as are the Sussex and Surrey ones. The next Orpington ones are the 21st of June, 26th of July and 23rd of August held at Crofton Halls 10am to 2pm. The next one in Kent is 7th June at the Dartford Science and Technology College. You can pick up a flyer giving details of all his toy fairs on the door his e-mail is http://srptoys1@hotmail.co.uk and the website is http://www.srptoyfairs1.co.uk

Not just the Scots.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. A successful trip to the swap meet this morning, managed to bag a few bargains, some Oxford and Classix cars and vans at £2.50 each, an EFE Bristol Lodekker (factory reject?) in post 1971 NBC green and marked up Eastern National but no destinations or number plates and in the clear plastic 'inners'. The dealer had a large box of them at £4.50 each, I should have got more of them as they would be ideal for code 3's. The last diecast I got was a code 3, an EFE RT converted to an emergency tender. A very neat and well executed conversion for £10 but I intend to make a few alterations. On the flanged wheel front I picked up a 'complete' 009 model railway for £20. Consisting of an almost finished white metal model of FR 4-6-0T Mountaineer with Arnold chassis, 3 FR coaches, also part built but one coach minus a bogie and 4 unmade wagons, also all white metal. There was also an oval of N gauge set track as well. The last item was a PC models chassis kit for a 4 wheel tram with an adjustable wheelbase and complete with a Mabuchi motor, all for the grand sum of £2.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Only going to swap meet today nowhere special, waiting for some items from E-bay this week, two from the UK and one from Hong Kong.

Goodnight all.

Have a great day Station cat.

That reminds me, I must get a new pruning saw to attack the 'Triffid' in the front of the house.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Brightened up a bit since Tony's post. I'll have to ask the skip people to come and collect their skip despite it only being half full, its been in the front garden for two months now. I even tried to find things to fill it up, not easy when your an inveterate hoarder like me. Have a good day all.

That IIRC was incorporated in the fuel efficiency. Road noise needs energy to create it = using more fuel. My car is a Hyundai i10, for a car of its size the fuel consumption is not the best so I hope to find out if the new tyres make any difference. My previous car was a Hyundai Amica which had basically the same engine and the fuel consumption was far better. The i10 however weighs about 10 to 15% more than similar cars.

I can understand the use of remold tyres on vintage and classic vehicles as when taking costs and availability into account and also the fact that most of such vehicles would be driven carefully. On the subject of driving ability I quite agree, the standard of driving in countries that have a far stricter test is noticeably far higher than those that do not. I passed an advanced drivers test many years ago after taking a bit of instruction and I was a little shocked/surprised of the lax driving habits that had crept in during the twenty years or so since I passed my test. For those that are interested my 'bad' habits were crossing hands on the steering and de-clutching when braking the first I very rarely do now, its all a matter of practice. The second I still need to practice more, even after another twenty years! Further on remolds, the incident I spoke of happened nearly thirty years ago and its good to see the standards have been raised.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Weather is as described by Tony and a bit muggy as well. Still undecided about where to go for the bank holiday but today I need to do some shopping so thats today taken care of. Congratulations and commiserations where required and have a good bank holiday all.

They will have to or they will break discrimination laws.

Alastair, I would never have remoulds on any vehicle I own (a) because I knew someone who was killed by a badly made remould and ( B) as you said there are plenty of budget tyres available that are as good as the main makers (see my post # 1600 above).

On the matter of tyres, I recently replaced all the tyres on my car because at least one possibly two had suffered pot hole damage. I went onto the black circles website and chose Yokohama tyres, not the cheapest but I've had them before and found them to be very good tyres. When I took the car into have the tyres fitted the fitter showed me a Pirelli tyre, apart from the name on the casing they were identical. Apparently all the major tyre companies, Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop, Goodyear and Firestone all put different names on their products so if the 'ditch-finder' looks like a Michelin it probably is. They are identical in every way including things like rubber compound except that they are somewhat cheaper. There are tyres out there that are not connected with a 'big name' manufacturer that should be avoided. Companies like Black Circles only stock reliable makes and they also rate the tyres in a similar way to electrical appliances with an ABC code, but on three separate parameters, fuel economy, the type of tyre fitted can affect your fuel consumption, ability in wet conditions to clear water and durability.

Those 'stretch' estate cars are used as mini coaches in New York on the 'Parkway' roads that were built for cars only and had a limited headroom of about ten feet. Standard sedans usually Fords or Chevrolets were also converted but I espied one there based on a Checker cab. The Parkways were built in the 1930/40's to take commuter traffic and operate on a one way system on a single carriageway, inwards in the morning and outwards in the evening. Some I believe are closed at the other times of day. I came across them, and used one, in the late 70's when I visited New York.

Pat, you forgot the vacuum wipers so beloved by Fords that stopped working when you needed them the most.

Is that the beer or those who drink the stuff?

The original factory built for McKewan-Pratt in 1905 for the manufacture of their narrow gauge petrol industrial locomotives still exists substantially as it was built. It is located at the junction of Wick Lane and Russell Gardens Wickford. Although it has had alterations and extensions it is still readily identifiable compared to old photographs. At present it is being used for the manufacture of double glazed windows and conservatory's some of which are attached to the building for display purposes.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Still no new shoes yet, not seen anything yet that I really fancy even though I dress for comfort nowadays rather than fashion. I took the meal with the chicken bum holes in it back to Tesco's and they will be taking up the matter with their suppliers. I could have made more of a fuss but I was satisfied with my money back though there might be a voucher with the letter of apology thats supposed to be on its way to me. When I took the item back the contents had become a lot of mush with very little being identifiable as what it was so I declined the offer of a replacement. Walking into town today so I might find some suitable shoes there, have a meal and get a few things for the bank holiday weekend.