PhilJ W

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Hard water is best for brewing beer but soft water is best for brewing tea. That is why if they start brewing beer at a different brewery miles away from the original brewery it tastes different, its all in the water. I don't know if Tony's noticed it but the local water hereabouts leaves a reddish brown stain. That is due to some of the old cast iron trunk mains still being in use, the stain is rust. Most of the local water here comes from deep boreholes down into the chalk which underlies most of south east England and indeed the near continent.

Marzipan goes crying to daddy. https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/67120/mazepin-accuses-f1-of-being-two-faced-and-claims-drivers-should-grow-up/

Afternoon all from Estuary-land. Happy birthday Pete and I'm not far behind you, I will have made my 73rd solar circuit tomorrow. I've seen some kitchen fitters using a home made template to fit cupboard door handles. It was a piece of plywood about 18" by 6" with a piece of 2x1 timber screwed across the top and one side. It had two holes drilled in it corresponding to the handles and the kitchen fitter dropped it over the door and drilled through the holes. He had two in fact, one left handed and one right handed. He had a lot more than two doors to do, he was working on a new build estate.

I've been looking into screening for layouts and found this. https://www.plasticsheets.com/clear-perspex-acrylic-sheet/ https://www.plasticsheets.com/plastic-sheet-cut-to-size/ Quite expensive especially if its for a large layout. That used in shops is usually 5mm and the price of a 2' X 4' sheet is over £40 so if your layout is the usual four foot baseboards that is the cost per baseboard. You will also need the top of the screen to be at least 1.7 metres (5'6") above floor level which is just above the typical eye level of an adult male. There are thinner sizes down to 2mm but that would be more fragile and liable to flex if people lean on it unless reinforced with a frame. Cutting and drilling can be difficult as well thats why such a service is available.

As I said above I drive under that bridge on an almost daily basis and it is several years since the road was re-surfaced. The road markings were getting worn however and were only repainted in the last 18 months.

The timberwork is getting a bit iffy but that is easily repaired or replaced. They were quite substantially built vehicles so that the metalwork should be OK apart from a bit of rust. Someone has posted some recent photographs of it either on this thread or the 'Ghosts in the machine' thread.

I have done so, ready for when exhibitions open up again. Quite legal as you're entering private premises. That comes under the H&S at work acts.

I once went to an exhibition and they had a selection of 3 scale American locomotives on display. Some were priced in the thousands (££££).

I've had a good look on Google Earth and there is a way to move the Shenfield Shark. At the other end of the siding on which it is a point with one line connecting to the running lines and the other to a short spur. This spur has no OHLE and ends in the car park. As there is no OHLE to the spur it should be possible to crane it out. If it wasn't for the relay boxes (on left of picture) it would have been possible to roll it on to a low loader. Here is a pic of the Shark from Google Earth, just above the 'L' in Shenfield.

Its actually visible on Google Earth. Go to Shenfield Station car park and zoom in. It also shows the reasons why it will be difficult to remove it as I suggested, there is a line of buildings between the siding and the entrance road to the car park, they look like portacabins. However there's a couple of places at the other end of the siding where it might be possible to extract it but clearances would be very tight.

I thought at first that was an old shed on the second wagon but it appears to be a crane.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis was beating on his drum this morning but as soon as I was moving he disappeared. I will continue to wear a mask even though Bojo says we don't have to. Tomorrow I will have completed 73 circuits of the sun, no celebrations though I might have a nip of something. Is the water hard or soft? that is all that is required. In most of the UK the water is hard.

Goodnight all.

According to the signage the bridge is 13' 6" so that still leaves four foot. I suspect the container was empty and the lorry was riding high. Another mystery is why was he driving on that particular piece of road when the A13 running parallel was only a few metres away.

I'm not sure as to whether its a *Hot Wheels or Matchbox but in my local Tesco's they have a Holden Ute in plain white. *They are mixed together in one box. It looks to be about 1/72 scale. Some more modern American pickups are in the matchbox range, one described as a Nissan Titan is spot on 1/76 scale.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I forgot to look at the Dawlish live webcam earlier so if there was any excitement I was too late. Thats one thing on my bucket list in the possible but unlikely category. To ride a train through Dawlish with the waves breaking over the train.

Even that has its problems due to the OHLE. Not only in the siding but on the running line alongside.

The question is how did it get stuck in the first place? I drive under that bridge on an almost daily basis and even normal double deck buses have no problem negotiating that bridge. It appears to be a standard shipping container on a normal skeletal trailer.

Undoubtedly there will be fewer exhibitions to attend. Not necessarily due to Covid, I can think of three exhibitions that I used to attend on a regular basis that folded in the couple of years prior to the pandemic. This trend was also noticeably increasing as time went by.

Standard gauge former tender frames perhaps?

As I stated above the nearest place that it can be craned off of the line is now Chelmsford. I understand that the track layout has been altered at Shenfield so I don't know if this suggestion is viable. There is (was?) a car park on the up side of the station quite close to the siding upon which it stands. Park a low loader in the car park parallel to the siding, move the shark opposite the low loader and then jack it sideways onto the low loader. Obviously that is an over simplification of what would be a complex task and might not be possible.

IIRC it is not known who owns it and that is the problem. A couple of preserved lines were offered it but none were prepared to pay the costs or could afford it. The nearest place where it could be removed from the tracks apparently is Chelmsford and the only way to move it would be on a skate. There's the rub, about ten miles of one of the busiest commuter lines in the country with a vehicle moving at walking pace or less with a high likelihood of something going wrong, (after all it hasn't turned a wheel for years). If something was to go wrong in such a manoeuvre who picks up the bill?

I popped down to Tess Coes Pitsea this afternoon only having to turn round within sight of the store and take a four mile detour due to a truck stuck under the bridge at Pitsea. When I left the store I saw a Network Rail van marked response unit passed by heading for the station and the truck was still stuck under the bridge.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Nipped down to Tess Coes after lunch only having to take a four mile detour when I got within sight of the store. The reason was a heavy lorry jammed under the railway bridge at Pitsea so I had to retrace my steps and go via the A13. Not sure if the trains were stopped but I did see a van marked up 'Network Rail Response Unit' as I left Tess Coes. All was not lost however as my return route took me past the garage that services my car so I booked it in for a service and MoT which is due by the end of the month. Tea is mashed, be back later.

Will it though? Possibly there will be a glut and you can't even give them away.