Broithe

I did something along those lines in Lidl a couple of weeks ago. I had gone for supplies - "not buying any beer this week!" - but there was a woman there who wanted just a single can of Guinness for her Christmas cake - of course there were only 4, 8 and 12 can multipacks available. For some reason, the 8-pack had the lowest unit price, so I got one and gave her one of the cans. On my return home, I expected to be strongly congratulated on my high sense of seasonal goodwill - but, of course, it looked like I had just bought beer anyway - and I'd, obviously, also drunk a can on the way home... Bah, humbug!

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/routine-safety-failure-blamed-for-train-crash-26195647.html

Depending on how you are operating the point, you may not actually need the spring to be there at all.

Broken - or distorted? If it's distorted, can you re-bend it to shape? If it has dislodged, can you replace it properly? There are lots of videos on YouTube, depending upon what the problem actually is. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDTLbJzBnZM/VLASkU2wZDI/AAAAAAAAHvc/ARdk83mBTns/s1600/Peco%2BSL-8352-1mc.jpg

Is this the biasing spring? Or one of the "switch blades"?

There is no perfect solution. You just need to select one that is adequate for your application. You can even have corrosion issues, from the junction between dissimilar metals. A lot of us will have suffered from having a screw loose now and then...

For a line that has seemed to be 'at risk' for the whole of living memory, it has survived quite well...

https://www.facebook.com/angardasiochana/photos/pcb.10159648116608001/10159648112353001/

Warning! Contains large amounts of yellow paint.

Last time I looked at the conditions of the Gaugemaster guarantee, it boiled down to "If you have one that doesn't work, we'll fix it or replace it" - no 'proof of purchase', timescale, or any other issue - if it breaks, they'll fix it - (but, it won't break, of course, so they can say that fairly safely).

If the Hornby controller is one of these - - then they are a fairly poor device. The output, particularly at the lower settings, is very 'choppy', electrically, and it may upset the more modern motor systems - possibly. Also, they have a thermal cut-out in them, for safety reasons, but the component used for this can have very variable responses, sometimes they are OK, but I had one that could only be used in the garage, in the winter - in the house, or if the Sun came out, it would quickly 'think it was over-heated' and turn itself off. I'm a fan of the Gaugemaster devices - fine, if you're going to stay DC - and they can sometimes be picked up second-hand, as people go DCC. Edit - Ah, I see that the controller is one of these - - I've never used one of those, but I wonder if it is just a 'repackaged' casing, with the original components within?

It's good that the guarantee is still valid. Keep an eye on things and keep us informed - thanks.

Image reversal 'to fit the page layout' is a modern plague. The Screwfix catalogue used to be full of pictures of woodscrews with left-handed threads, as if anybody has ever made one.

A Class picture reversed? Or the platform clock ten minutes slow?

Talk elsewhere of consultants reminded me of an event in the mid 1980s. The mob I worked for were what would be termed "vulture capitalists" these days - they traded on the (once justified) reputations of companies that they had taken over and were strangling to death. They generally employed consultants as a way of advertising how serious they were about an issue that they had no intention of actually addressing at all. We were once treated to a chap who was going to refine our design processes, but without the slightest understanding of the peculiar difficulties that our products presented. One lecture took place (for added importance) in the oak-panelled boardroom. After a couple of hours of irrelevant, patronising nonsense, I became aware that Les, the design drawing office manager, sitting next to me, was becoming more and more angry. Normally, he was a very dour and professional man and, whilst the rest of us were happy enough with 'two hours rest', he had proper work to do. Les was actually gripping the table, in an effort to contain his anger. We were coming towards the end and I decided to 'keep an eye on him' until we could escape back to reality. But my scheme failed - a bit, but not as much as I thought it was going to. On the table (this was the 80s!) was an ashtray - it was a disposable foil ashtray, but, as the company never spent anything on anything, it was probably about fifteen years old, as no replacement would ever be available. Our mentor picked it up and held it aloft -"Can anybody tell me what this is?", he bellowed. There were about twenty of us in the room and nobody was going to answer, as whatever we said would be wrong - by this stage, the veins on Les's neck were standing out and I, lounging back in my seat, put my leg behind his chair, as I was getting concerned that he might genuinely attack the lecturer. "Come on! Tell me what this is - Come on, tell me. Tell me!" Les could hold it no longer - "It's a bloody* ashtray" "Ah, no, it isn't!" "Yes it bloody* well is!" "No, it isn't - it's whatever you want it to be" "It's a bloody* ashtray! It's got bloody* dog-ends in it!" By this stage, Les had, by the sheer grip of his hands on the table, raised himself from his seat - and I was preparing to try to impede him, if he made a lunge at his tormentor. The engineering director had spotted the feeling in the room by this point, and we were approaching the end of the session anyway, so ""I think we'll call it a day now - and thank you for your most interesting talk". For those who didn't know Les - it was all the more shocking as he never swore - and he didn't say "bloody", in fact...

https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/1202/1264407-dart-damage/

Delivery has occurred. I am now thoroughly spoiled.

Elsewhere, I have mentioned the Japanese chap that I worked with on the Big Island - our management had no idea what was going on, but did have the capacity to allow or deny funds for a project. He applied, with a hand-drawn graph as the main evidence for his proposal. They felt that it was all too vague. So, he got a printed version done - no new calculations, simply a print of his back-of-the-envelope sums - this became viewed as a 'computer prediction' and so it was true now - he got the money for the project.

There is a lot of words - it would be nice to think that something might actually happen as a result of writing all that... When I had a proper job, I developed a fairly accurate way of assessing the future reality compared to the flashy predictions promised. 2040 is a long way away and the last two years, in particular, have shown how plans can easily go awry. Time will tell, but the absence of the word 'Rosslare' makes you wonder how close to reality it all is.

Even more freight in the future - possibly. https://www.irishrail.ie/Admin/getmedia/685e9919-f012-4018-879b-06618bb536af/IE_Rail-Freight-2040-Strategy_Public_Final_20210715.pdf

Reindeer steak?

They must have left Alexa turned on and she's sent me a confirmation email. I'm always reminded of a friend who lived a couple of hundred yards from a supermarket. His wife wanted to get all the Christmas stuff in stock early. He demanded that it be left to the last minute, as they would sell off the last bits to shut up early and go home. She argued, but eventually gave in, when he said we would procure the whole list himself - at a great saving. He went across on Christmas Eve, confident in proving his point. The shop was shut and in total darkness - as was everywhere else. They had sardines on toast for Christmas dinner. He is regularly reminded of this...

Phew! I think I managed to 'spoil myself' at 17:59. And, my mobile hasn't had a text from the bank yet, with their traditional "Is this really you?' alert, as usually happens when i deal with IRM...

They will be more than adequate for anything likely to be required on a model rail set-up - and they have the advantage that the wire isn't subject to the turning end of a screw as it is tightened up.