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The thoughts of Chairman Q


TheQ
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I was trying to think of a title for this thread and now you see it. Until recently I was the chairman of a national sailing association, well since its the only one for that class in the world, you could say I was chairman of a world class association, it's easy to be a big fish in a very small pool. Anyway I've escaped that pond :D and now I have time to annoy you with my thoughts, :twisted: but for now that's it, I'm off down the model railway club.

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Bad news, ... It was so cold this morning my fingers hurt, the perils of getting old and diabetes hence only shed work today no garden railway work

Good news ....a card through the post from BT the fibre optic cable and box has been completed to the nearest village, pity I'm a mile and a half from the box, I wonder what speed I'd get? Just had a look on the web about that it says about 20mb, I get 6 at the moment so would it be worth it?

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TheQ said:

...Good news ....a card through the post from BT the fibre optic cable and box has been completed to the nearest village, pity I'm a mile and a half from the box, I wonder what speed I'd get? Just had a look on the web about that it says about 20mb, I get 6 at the moment so would it be worth it?

I have cable and at the moment we get "up to 152Mb", and I'm informed we are due a speed increase this autumn. I've used those online broadband speed checkers and normally we average round about 60Mb but it has been much higher on occasion. However, I don't do anything that takes advantage of this speed - no downloading films, games, or watching online tv but the small files I do download, webpages etc, are very, very quick indeed. I couldn't imagine reverting to 6Mb. I guess it all depends on what your browsing habits are as to whether it's worth upgrading, especially if the rental is much higher.

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Good news ....a card through the post from BT the fibre optic cable and box has been completed to the nearest village, pity I'm a mile and a half from the box, I wonder what speed I'd get? Just had a look on the web about that it says about 20mb, I get 6 at the moment so would it be worth it?

HI The Q, interesting about you guys getting fibre optic cable over here in Australia it started rolling out 2012 by the Labor but 2013 saw a new government the Liberal party and they choose the cheap way, Labor promised 100 MB's second call the NBN. , They when for 25MB's with a catch extra speed you have to pay an extra $30 n your contract to get the hirer 100mb's a second on NBN, being told the old copper network will be switched off in a year have no choice as the phone is in the NBN as well.

With fibre optic you should get that speed to your house it is the amount of people on at once, we have Netflix in down under and in Brisbane a couple of months back the NBN network couldn't cope at the lower speeds, go for the hirer speed offered.

That is awesome Mick 152mb's a second wow, 100mb's a second on our board band we watch a lot of TV shows on Netflix now as our main TV channels are going for reality shows, I like the older shows, there are a couple of other channels that show doco's.

Would be get good to see some pics of your layout The Q, keep warm.

Tony from down under.

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Sadly there is little to see in the shed yet, I started to build it 10 years ago and internally its not yet finished.

We have a mobile home in the garden put there when the previous owners had the house rebuilt, the mobile home has a family only restriction from the planners and boy do the family use it! One year we had 22weeks of visitors and I can't get anything done while they're here.

Added to that I'm an enthusiastic all year round sailor, normally in these, www.yeomankinsman.com

However as the number of visiting relatives has reduced, old age is picking them off.... And I'm having an enforced break from sailing due to reawakening an old back injury. So The shed and garden is advancing at last, although the last two days was spent mostly cladding the ceiling which won't have done my back any good, I also built the tea bar for SWMBO and readied the space beneath for a fridge for my cider.

I think the shed should be finished within a year and the wall / viaduct for the railway will be well under way. One thing with my shed is the supports to the layout are built in, so it will be straight onto baseboards for which some pieces have been cut as I go along.

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Bad news... When building the Tea bar, I put a up a cup shelf and used my 2ft spirit level, it's not been used for some time. I found the main bubble "glass" was distorted, the bubble "glass" is made of plastic and now has a distinct bend. I can only assume the high temperatures in the shed a few weeks ago softened the plastic, I do need to fit an automatic opener for the air vent in the roof). It caused a 1 inch difference in height over a 3ft length of wood!!

Good news... I did the shelf mostly by eye and the new spirit level says it's OK!

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Not garden railways I know but

This Saturday is the Broadland Model Railway clubs annual show,

You can also if you wish go to the Hoveton, (Wroxham), Bure Valley Railway station, across the road from the BR station and get a combined trip and show entrance ticket from there. parking for the show is at the, Bure Valley Railway station car park, Aylsham , unless disabled then there is Very limited parking at the hall.

I'll be wearing the BMRC shirt and assisting on Shirebeck some of the time.

The 2015 model railway exhibition sponsored by the Bure Valley Railway will be held again in the Jubilee Centre, Aylsham, NR12 6JG on Saturday 3rd October from 10.15 until 16.30. There will be models of different gauges and sizes. These range from N gauge to 0 gauge with model steam and diesel traction. The nostalgic scene continues outside the Centre by the very popular vintage Eastern Counties coach transporting many of the exhibition visitors to and from the Bure Valley Railway station car park. Exhibitors will be coming from several parts of the surrounding counties of East Anglia.

The exhibition owes much of its success to the catering support given by the ladies of the Royal British Legion, Aylsham Branch Women’s Section. They do a magnificent job providing sandwiches, tea and cakes for the visitors and meals for the exhibitors.

2015 EXHIBITORS booked so far are:

Grandad's Trains version 2(Tinplate)

Jakes Yard (OO)

Shirebeck in Emswell (EM) - Marlow and Maidenhead MRC

Lochty Lane SP (7mm) - Ian Futers

Barbers Bridge (EM) - Alan Monk

Essellty (OO) - Dave Carson

La Garita Hills Railroad (On30)- Alan Harper-Bourne

Melbury (N) - Doug Cole

Bishops Lane Brewery (O) - Colin French

Ashfield Green (OO9) - Chris Seago

Marsh Lane (OO) - Kevin Barnes

Thomas & Friends - Malcolm Cooper

Broadsea (OO) - BMRC

Knype - David Hall (Diss MRS) New

Advent Modellers (Modelling Demo's)

Norfolk Mardler's (Modelling Demo's) New

SOCIETIES

Friends of the BVR

Norfolk Railway Society

M&GN (NNR)

TRADERS

Bure Valley Railway Model Shop

Bob Pearman Books

Train Tech

Joe Lock (Pre-owned sales)

Railway Memories

Train Terrain (Paul Rice)

Railway Photo Man

Artist Dave Rowlands

Correct as at 20 September 2015

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Well I helped set up the show on friday, 10:00 to18:00(including travelling) and then Was there for the set up, the show and pack up 07:00-19:00 on Saturday. It went well I spent the show itself assisting the Shirebeck layout.

What did I learn?

Have comfortable shoes, its a long day!! Shirebeck had a roll of soft carpet as well! I'd use interlocking rubber mats.

Don't use 3link couplings on a show layout, 7 hours peering at little loop of wire, and trying to hook them up on the fiddle yard plus the hand of God stretching into the display layout doesn't impress the punters. However Shirebeck was well modelled as was the railway stock.

Design your layout folding/ packing system well, after a long day spending long periods unbolting the layout while lying on the floor is not what you need, Shirebeck folds easily onto wheels and trundled out of the hall.

Don't take too much stock,, you only need to fill your fiddle yard once, but take a spare loco or two.

Ensure you have a well thought out toolbox with you.

Remember your extension cables!!! Luckily the club took spares.a couple of outside layouts needed them.

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Thought for the day, just why is the BBC trying to distort the English language?

Today the they keep describing the last Vulcan aircraft, as a "Vulcan warplane" instead of "Vulcan aircraft" or "Vulcan Bomber"

they've recently taken to calling railway stations "train stations"

they took up saying we'll keep "across" the story

And yesterday one of the newsreaders said "one thousand fourty two" instead of one thousand and fourty two.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The company I work for has some very strange Ideas, if you keep spares in stock they are costing money in depreciation and storage, therefore if you get rid of it there is no loss to storage and depreciation! :? They believe in just in time delivery too....

However one good idea they have is that anything being disposed of is offered to employees first.

Today, I got a mains fume extractor with carbon filters for a total cost of......£0.00!!! :D:D:D

I now where can I fit a spray booth in the railway shed? :?:

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I understand the low stock thing, but companys take it too far. I wanted some new plug leads for the car. Halfords stock one lead of every size, but no sets of anything. It was a kit car, and the spotty Yoof couldn't suggest anything without a registration number which had been scrapped with the remains of the donor car. just now, I'm needing 12 simple 12volt on off switches. Check all of the shops including Maplins. Maximum stock level is 2. These people just shoot themselves in the foot. I would rather buy from the internet than wait for their ordering system. Grrrr.

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Which Kit Car?

I'd agree with you there, I stopped using Halfords many years ago when it became a bicycle shop and no longer supplied the bits I need.

I started using Maplins in the late 70s when they were a mail order company in Southend and issued a large catalogue each year with the picture of all the staff in the front and a free sci-fi wall poster in it.

Then they expanded with shops everywhere, filled the catalogue with a lot of toys and put their prices up. I hardly use them now unless it's something I need in a hurry and I can drop down to the nearest shop on the way home from work.

Those companies are unlike Screwfix, I started using them when they were the Woodscrew Supply Company in about 1980, buying stainless screws for my dinghy by mail order. I kept with them until they were taken over by BQ in 1999 they went through a very bad patch then when BQ dropped a lot of the parts I used, but by a couple of years later they had sorted themselves out and I went back to using them again and now they have a branch 800 yards from where I work so it's very convenient, but saying that I need 600 20mm screws and they only stock 2 boxes of 200 hundred so I'll have to make 2 trips.

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That car was a Spartan. Powered by a Fiat engine. Bought as a box of parts, I got it together and running before selling it on to a wedding company who were going to finish it off.

Laughing about screws. In Russia I wanted 1000 woodscrews when doing building work in our house. Went off to the shop and it was a case of the assistant bringing out a ruddy great box and counting 1000 into a piece of paper.

Another funny story as we are getting closer to Christmas. I wanted to send a dozen cards to family and people back here. Went to the Post Office who had a glass cabinet display. Pointed to the ones that I wanted and she went off to get the cards. Please may I have envelopes for them. Dirty look, but off she goes and comes back with envelopes. Postage stamps for Great Britain please. Now there was an audible tut, because she had to stick the stamps to the envelopes and they only use small denomination, so 12 envelopes x 8 stamps. Funny old place, but I loved the people.

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I remember the Spartan, I assume the Morgan type car not the six wheel Motor caravan!! Always wanted to build a kit car but my jobs always got in the way and now I have my Landrover a big Meccano kit in itself...

Counting screws out reminds me of this place http://www.stonystratford.co.uk/odells.html read the history on the first page. I used to use it when I lived in MK.

Two old codgers wandering around behind the counter in long brown warehouse coats ask them anything they disappear out the back and reappear carrying what you want. but for the screws of that number they weigh them out!!

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Four Candles. Those old shops are a thing of the past unfortunately, as are car parts shops with guys who knew what would fit regardless of make or model. As for the big sheds, why would anybody think of going to B&Q for a duvet? If they concentrated on DIY, they might do a bit better. Halfords have reduced themselves to bikes and go-faster stripes, although their range of Professional tools are very good, especially if you can catch them on offer. We are turning into grumpy old men Q.

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What a small world! I also built a Spartan but it was based on a Triumph Herald chassis (EHP 77C). It handled well and was fun to drive but it was never suitable for every day use and I had nowhere secure to keep it so it was part-exchanged for a Jaguar XJ6 (of the British Leyland era!)

With hindsight, I should have spent my time restoring the Triumph Herald. I would like to have that now.

Riddles

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My Spartan was the Triumph based one rather than the later Ford. I now drive a Mazda MX5, always top down unless in very heavy rain. Fantastic little car especially on the twisties such as the Lakes. Terrific holiday in France earlier this year with it.

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I could be wrong, but I imagine your MX5 doesn't have pieces of perspex (with 2 rods bolted on, to drop in the tops of your doors) as windows. :)

I am sure you get a lot of fun out of your Mazda. It's motorhome holidays with the dogs for us these days (including a visit this year to Trevor Jones's Great Wakering, Flackwell Heath, & Whitefield Railway). Thanks Trevor and Hornby Magazine.

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