Broithe

If customisable sounds become available on EVs, I'll be looking for Shackleton sound files.

It seems to me that it should be fairly easy to have convincing sound effects, both inside and outside the vehicle. Almost like DCC sound is, but with a bit more 'scale and depth'.

I once saw a 66 at Holyhead, that, apart from the sweeps of the wipers, looked like the whole thing had just been given a nice even coat of Halfords grey primer. I wasn't in a position to record the image, unfortunately.

Be fair! You would need a big pipe to get a coach in and the fumes would not be ideal.

Where I worked, we would often get requests for spares from the past. As is common, some very early products will last a long time, before people get pressures from accountants to cut costs, once some experience has been got. I once got a letter from some obscure place in the ex-colonies, asking for a spare terminal bushing* for a thing that I'd never heard of. Some searching found the details of the component. It was clear that there would not be 'one lying about somewhere' and, it would be hugely expensive to attempt to make one, plus the design required materials that would have been illegal many years before, so it would require a completely new design. I informed the potential customer of the ridiculous price that we would require, should we agree to have a go at making something that might work. They got quite shirty about us not having one on the shelf, even after I pointed out that they had bought it before my father was born. * This sort of thing.

I hadn't noticed the white circle! I must find out if that is intentional. The school has a quiz running tonight, that I have been roped into - I'll see if I can find out who is responsible...

Do you have an obtrusive oil tank? And a bit of spare paint..? Street View caught it in process... https://www.google.com/maps/@52.8515444,-7.672642,3a,15y,274.61h,89.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7cuZr9Zfj1o3Ft6FGlo4BA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 I await complaints about the livery...

An article about hybrid trains. https://dublininquirer.com/2023/03/01/to-cut-fuel-use-and-pollution-irish-rail-adds-new-transmissions-and-batteries-to-its-trains

I remember the excitement when I saw the "overhead live wires" warning sign, between Ballybrophy and Lisduff - then realised that it was just a trespassing rural electrification cable taking a short cut.

I understand that, as the cost of LPG rises, people are looking for alternatives to the current automated bird-scarers.

We await the RAIU report...

I became aware of this today. It may be of interest to some. https://niallbrn.wordpress.com/2023/02/28/tallow-road-railway-station-staff/

They are watching us - all the time - I keep a piece of tape over the webcam lens...

10:30am tomorrow. Stand by your beds.

Somewhere, I have a biography of Anthony Fokker. The author spent some time interviewing Rheinhold Platz, his chief designer, in the early 1960s. To aid the discussion, the author brought a lot of Fokker's notes about tests and preliminary ideas. Platz said that he had never seen most of this before that visit, Fokker would tell him as little as possible and leave him to 'just guess' what he was supposed to be doing... Sometimes it worked, but they made a lot of weird stuff that never got very far and was just forgotten.

I only meant real trains.

Odd passengers shouldn't be allowed on trains anyway.

I'm reminded of the time we wanted a foot of 30mm brass bar, but a spare bit and some to be tested seemed a good idea, so a metre was decided to be the amount. Due to our bizarre computer system, we need to order 1,000mm, rather than 1m. This was no problem, until the typist missed the second m. The bemused look from the lorry driver when I responded to "Where do you want it?" with "Just leave it under my desk." "I've got two lorry loads outside..."

I didn't expect that...

Do you have any buses in the right scale? To provide a basic replacement service during the remedial work...

They wouldn't fit in the guillotine the first time...

The Stradbally item above says that there's one at the Brockham Museum in Surrey. I can find a picture of the loco they have, but nothing of the adaptor.