Broithe

I was very impressed that the old one on the ramp of Platform 1 at Ballybrophy survived - the track there was even disconnected during the Great Leap Forward and yet it still wasn't removed. It would be interesting to have a dendrochronological investigation of the old wooden beam - I wonder if it is original?

Anything to do with the electrification for the DART..?

Hydraulic stop, with additional, friction clamps in action..

Just that. They are a sort of additive brake. The buffer stop is merely clamped to the rail such that it will slide, if hit hard enough, but there is quite a bit of friction involved, due to the clamp blocks. If the clamps on the stop itself don't have enough friction to halt the progress, then, the whole assembly will start to slide on the rails. It will then successively 'collect' each pair of additional brakes, thus adding to the friction available in a series of steps, and thus providing a very high braking force when it becomes needed, but not applying such a high force for a smaller impact. To some extent, though, it does rely on those fish-plate bolts surviving the additional force pulling the rails apart, too. That may be why there's a bit of additional ballast - to support each sleeper sideways... Note:- Always check the time of arrival of the next train from Nenagh before using the gents' at Ballybrophy!! Those new stops at Heuston are bolted through the rails - you're on your own if you hit them. I suppose that, where they are, there is very little likelihood of them being hit at any real speed - or with passengers aboard..?

Old and new on the Nenagh platform at Ballybrophy.

Sounds like it was a good do - hasn't put you off, then..?

If you were standing behind him, you would be alright..

+ right chap.

New planes always have 'issues' - it's not like they've even hurt anybody - yet....

Indeed. They flew me 1,000 miles to Prague, and back, for £12:00 - it cost me £11:70 to go the 30 miles to the airport, and it took longer..

This is actually a Ryanair fuselage. Imagine if they got the franchise... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwbPdF5dIgQ

No need to change. Just slap the wings on when you get to the airport...

Stranger things have appeared..

Get some stickers and whack a few Hymeks on eBay..

It is weird, though, that it costs more to post from Holyhead to Dublin than from the Scilly Isles to Fair Isle.

I haven't made many comments on this thread, as I would soon run out of superlatives, or just keep repeating them - but, bugger it, I've got to say something - That is, as Julian and Sandy would have said, Fantabulosa!

There's a lot of impurists as well.

For only another €100 you could get a Hymek with a sticker on the front..

Makes sense. It was always handy for me - I could leave my stuff in the van and it would be at the foot of the bridge when I got out..

It may not be 100% true, but I noticed that, on the trains out of Heuston, the EGV was always at the Galway/Tralee/Cork end of the train.

He hasn't even railed it properly...

And there was you thinking, "Sofa so good"...?

Not to be messed with - you die very quickly...

When I had a proper job, I once returned to the office, having just done a half-million volt test in the open air, with kit similar to that, only to be told that I couldn't use the kettle because it didn't have a safety compliance sticker on it. I made my tea!

It is good - one of the few where the stick is proportional, rather than on or off ...