Picture(s) of the day....

[myglaren]

A couple of 'might have beens'

Waiting at the hospital I saw what I am sure is Penshaw Monument (Washington/Sunderland) from the hospital in Durham.
Only phone with me so completely rubbish photo.

Almost visible if zoomed in to 200000000x
Also a pair of undefined raptors in the sky. No chance of a photo with the phone.

Some strange arty s**t on the 'country walk'

[Peter.N.]

I think I may have posted this before, but while we are on the subject .... At The fleet near Golspie Sutherland

[NewcastleFalcon]

The government has said no to open cast coal mining at Druridge Bay in Northumberland.

Looks ripe for digging up surely, just pile up the spoil on the beach, plenty of room.

https://twitter.com/simonbullock/status ... 21/photo/1

Regards Neil

sarcasm in italics! nice picture in the link

[Gibbo2286]

There was a similar situation here just outside Coleford back in the 1950s, they got permission, took the topsoil off, dug all the coal out and put the topsoil back, looking at it now it's just a pleasant meadow and grazing land for cattle, you wouldn't know they'd ever been there.

[myglaren]

Same here, what was essentially a dump for the pit is now a country park. Much improved over what it had been.

[Gibbo2286]

My picture for today would be me with a very red face, if I could be bothered to get the camera out.

I was supposed to meet Mick at Lydney but the C5 started and immediately stopped and wouldn't start again.

Just got it going, it was a pin hole in the primer bulb but even with it primed it still wouldn't start, must have got an air bubble in the fuel rail, put the engine management light on.
Found the damage and fixed gave it a blast of Easy start, it's up and running and the EM light is off.

Mick and Bob came up to my place instead.

[CitroJim]

The government has said no to open cast coal mining at Druridge Bay in Northumberland.

The steam railway folk are up in arms about this... British steam locomotives don't generally like a diet of 'foreign' coal and the cost of importing decent and suitable stuff from overseas is likely to be prohibitively expensive...

It may see some preserved railways severely curtail how much they run their steam locomotives...

On top of Covid-19 with a lengthy closure and now severely restricted passenger capacity it could be the end for some...

Mining in the UK will end when the last pit closes in 2021 and the domestic burning of lump coal, the stuff that steam locomotives need, is banned from 2023...

This is not only affecting railways but anything that traditionally burns coal such as showman's (traction) engines and canal boats amongst many others...

Trials with synthetic (bio) coal, wood, biomass and oil-firing on steam locomotives has not been particularly successful...

The Irish are experimenting again with peat as years back some of their locomotives did indeed burn peat!

Locomotives can burn oil but extensive and expensive modifications are needed - mostly beyond the budgets of most preserved railways...

One side benefit for me at least is many more first-generation diesel locomotives may be seen running in preservation I like them a lot... Nothing like the sound of a nice Class 37 'Tractor' at full-chat and chucking out clouds of clag

I fear my secret is now out Yes, I'm an old railway geek too

[Peter.N.]

I like railways as well Jim, probably because all my best holiday memories involved steam travel. Nostalgia is not what it used to be

They have a very nice steam passenger railway at Trago Mills at Newton Abbot, quite a long track. They also run at least one scale model diesel loco and I'm not sure that the steam locos are not oil fired. The grand kids took me on it, about a fiver or less for 20 minutes or more, it has three stations.

Peter

[Peter.N.]

Back to an earlier subject. This was my first workshop manual from the '50s. Even showed you how to rebuild the gearbox!

[Gibbo2286]

That's very familiar to me Peter, I must have stripped and repaired dozens, maybe hundreds of those boxes.

They didn't differ much right through the range apart from ratios.

We had a fair batch of them with 'hissy' first motion shaft bearings to fix under warranty so had all the home made tools to keep the needle roller bearings in place etc. ( I think I still have one in my toolbox.

[CitroJim]

Back to an earlier subject. This was my first workshop manual from the '50s. Even showed you how to rebuild the gearbox!

I was happy, and not a little surprised to see the Haynes manual for my AX includes full details of how to rebuild the gearbox

I like railways as well Jim, probably because all my best holiday memories involved steam travel.

I'm not sure where my love came from but I think it stems from what is now the West Somerset Railway... I saw the last BR train leave Blue Anchor station and saw the first steam train run into the same station in preservation

Between those two events it was my childhood playground

[Peter.N.]

Jim

Frequently been past the West Somerset Railway but never been on it.

Gibbo

Didn't think there was anyone old enough on thea to have worked on them I take it they were similar to the later Minx other Roots group cars.

I stripped down many Vauxhall gearboxes as I use to buy and modify overdrive ones from the VX490/ Ventora and similar for my diesel conversions. I haven't had a gearbox apart for years until my sons Ford Ranger box lost 5th gear, I very reluctantly agreed to look at it if he removed it and put it on my bench. I was very pleased I managed to fix it, 5th gear thrust washer had broken. Sadly it has no reversing lights now, my fault I suspect. He says he would rather have 5th gear fortunately.

Peter

[NewcastleFalcon]

Druridge Bay Sept 17th 2020

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Oooops!

[CitroJim]

Oooops!

Oh gosh!

Paint?