Merthyr Imp
-
Content Count
1,815 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
Posts posted by Merthyr Imp
-
-
Talking of coal fires, did anyone else's dad use a sheet of newspaper held in front of the fire to 'draw it' up.
If the paper caught fire he just used to screw it up in his hands and throw it on the fire back.
Yes - that was quite commonly needed to do, although I don't ever remember the paper catching fire.
What I do remember seeing is if the fire wasn't burning up very well, my father would get a can of what I thought at the time was petrol, but which I have since been told was more likely paraffin, and splash some of that onto it to create a blaze!
Also, when a fire needed to be got going quickly and there was a fire in another room I can remember a shovelful of some of the burning coals being carried through the house from one fire to the other.
Well, my parents never burned the house down doing either of these things, so I suppose it's all down to knowing what you're doing.
-
3
-
-
At High Pavement in the last day or two before the Christmas holidays there used to be film shows in the Science Lecture Room as an alternative for those who couldn't be accommodated in the Hall for the house play competition. The only two films that I can remember seeing are 'The Ladykillers' and 'Doctor at Sea'.
-
Refering to post #70, you are not the first person I've heard mentioning a Hymek on the GC line. I thought this a little odd until I remember they were built by Beyer Peacock at a factory in Manchester I think. So the GC line was an obvious "delivery route".
Yes, the Hymeks were mentioned on another thread a while back.
From Manchester they were routed over Woodhead and down the GC line to Woodford then on the link to Banbury to reach the Western Region.
When we used to go trainspotting to the Rat Hole at lunchtimes at High Pavement we would often see them go past light engine, sometimes 2 coupled together.
-
WD and 9F are available but I don't have them yet, it's quite an expensive hobby to be able to have everything
To me the expensive part is having a computer with a graphics capability of running the simulator smoothly! I've more or less given up on this one.
-
I think it was the 2Ps that were on the Northampton trains, but that was mid to late 50s. I spotted at Vic mid 50s till mid 62, and the real Midlandisation hadn't really set in, although there was always the occasional Black 5 . You're right about lack of names, the few V2s put in a rare appearance along with B1s and Directors D11s. Mid 50's there were the A3s and B17's. Great days, then the Midland took a hold mid 60's and the odd ex GW namers appeared.
Without being bothered to look it up, I think the Northampton trains finished in 1955.
Even V2s had finished by my time, let alone the A3s, Directors and B17s. To be honest, there was more of interest to be seen at the Midland Station by then (although the Peaks would have started their infiltration by 1961) but I hardly ever went there, mainly because first Victoria and then Perry Road bridge were literally closer to home. And of course the Rat Hole too, being close to school.
Re N2 tanks, they were based at Grantham in the late 1950s so I suppose may have worked in from there. Can't remember for sure seeing a photo of one at Vic'.
-
Working to Northampton via the Grantham line, Saxondale Junction and Melton Mowbray
You're right! There's a photo of a 2P on such a working in the Foxline book mentioned earlier.
Now I look more closely at that photo I can see it's a compound.
I don't remember seeing a photo of a compound at Victoria myself - except maybe of the preserved no. 1000 on a special working. The last compound was withdrawn in 1961, I believe, but there weren't many of them left by then. As for LMS locos through Victoria, the Jubilees and Scots were more towards the end of its life, along with Black 5s and various freight types. In my spotting days on the GC line/Victoria - roughly in the 1960-62 period - you never saw any 'namers' apart from a very occasional named B1 or a Britannia on the fish train. What I'm getting at is, by the time the ex-LMS passenger engines (also including Black 5s) were moved in there were no compounds left.
-
People will now ask what a former LMS 2P 4-4-0 is doing in Victoria Station!
-
I used to work at the Dept for Work & Pensions office here in Merthyr, and a few years ago when tasked with clearing old files out of the manager's filing cabinet at the back I came across a file of official documents that one of her predecessors had preserved from when the disaster happened. Two items were particularly poignant - one was a report written by someone at the little local Ministry of Social Security office, as it was in those days, at the mining village of Merthyr Vale which is where the colliery was. It told how the people working there first became aware of something going on, and how it was first thought to be a disaster at the pit itself, but then they found out about the school - where some members of staff had children...
The other moving thing was the document that had to be drawn up afterwards listing all the Family Allowance books that had been returned to the office. It hardly bears thinking about what dealing with that must have been like.
This archive, I believe, was later donated to the local library as a small piece of history relating to the disaster.
-
I, now am very sorry to say that i had my mother in laws knocking around unused for many years; the result being we sent it to the Car Boot. Guess who's sorry now?
Connie Francis, wasn't it?
-
3
-
-
Interesting that the Black Boy isn't on that list.
Also the County Hotel next door to the Theatre Royal.
-
A couple of Zs - Ford Zephyr and Ford Zodiac
And a V - Standard Vanguard
Can't think of a Q off hand - or an X!
-
1
-
-
Hi Stan
I think the last time I was up that way was in the 1980s. It was the first time I had been to the area since the mid-1960s and I couldn't believe it - EVERYTHING had gone! All new build houses and everything - the only way I could work out even approximately where Blue Bell Hill Road used to be was the rise of the ground. I think, as you say, there was one small part of the old school buildings left, but literally nothing else of the school or anything round about.
I don't remember those names. I was there from autumn 1959 until summer 1961. Headmaster was Mr Leigh. We had Mr Lowe for my class in my last year. Only other male teacher I remember is Mr Tennyson. First year I was there (1959/60) class teacher was Miss Woods. I've put a class photo from 1960 on one of the other threads somewhere on this Forum.
-
Sean Connery had a starring role in the Disney film 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People' that was released in 1959:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052722/
I remember seeing that at the Cavendish on St Ann's Well Road in autumn 1959 the night before my first day at Blue Bell Hill School after we moved to Nottingham. I found the ghost scenes - with the Banshee - all a bit scary!
-
The main books we are using are these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Northern-Railway-East-Midlands/dp/090111586X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381685404&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+northern+in+the+east+midlands They cover the route we are building in great detail and are very interesting and full of detail. Quite an eye opener too to how Nottingham used to be. I think there is a set of 3 in total. Not sure if there was a 4th as i have never seen it.
Yes, there are four books in the series - the one shown there plus the following:
Vol 1 - Colwick Yards, Nottingham London Road, Gedling, Basford
Vol 3 - The Erewash Valley Lines, Pinxton Branch, Awsworth to Ilkeston, the Heanor and Stanton Branches
Vol 4 - Nottingham to Grantham, Bottesford to Newark, Melton Mowbray, the Leicester Line and Ironstone Branches
-
Came across this new book today - 'Forward to Nottingham Victoria' by Ken Grainger, published by Book Law:
There are lots of good photos of Victoria, including several of the booking hall and of the platforms inside the station.
It will be on my Christmas list (hint).
-
I asked the (already frustrated) girl on there the other morning how they would go on , (there's 20 of them in our Morrisons and they're always flashing away with problems , so how she can be giving carriers to everyone too is beyond me!!
Not everyone would be asking for a bag. A few people do at my local Tesco, but not many as - like me - most come with their own bag.
-
How are they going to go on when they bring in the 5p charge for a carrier bag??
We already have that here in Wales - you have to ask an assistant for a bag. There's usually one near the self-service machines (an assistant I mean, not a bag)
-
I've found a few measurements for you from various books - of course you may already have this information:
The bay platforms were 400 feet long.
Beyond the train shed, the platform awnings were 220 feet long
The Union Road bridge (north end of the station) was 280 feet in length
The main block of street level buildings on Milton Street were 250 feet wide, 100 feet of which was taken up by the awning to shelter 'arriving carriages'.
The booking hall measured 104 feet
(The above is from 'The Rise and Fall of Nottingham's Railway Network Volume 1' by Hayden J. Reed, published by Book Law Publications)
The main buldings, facing Mansfield Road/Milton Street were 'some 250 feet' long (as opposed to wide - see above)
The clock tower was 'over 100 feet' high
The footbridge spanning the platforms was 'more than 20 feet' wide
The island platforms were '1,250 to 1,270 feet' long'
The extreme width at the centre of the station was 250 feet excluding the booking hall.
The main roof was 450 feet long, with a centre span of 84 feet 3 inches, and a pair of flanking spans each of 63 feet 9 inches. The roof was supported on columns 42 feet 6 inches in height above the platforms
The above is from 'Great Central Volume 3' by George Dow, first published by Ian Allan in 1965
The book I mentioned in a previous post - 'Railways in and Around Nottingham' - also gives the height of the clock tower as 'more than 100 feet'. It gives the width of the booking hall as 'some 66 feet', and says it was 'panelled in best quality pine to a height of about 11 feet, whilst some 20 feet or so above the...floor...a balcony ran across part of the length. The overall height was 35 feet. This book gives the length of the island platforms as 1,270 feet and 'the maximum width' as 68 feet.
This book gives slightly different measurements to some of those given above: the main roof is said to be 420 feet long, and the awnings beyond it 224 feet long
So - 'over 100 feet' for the height of the clock tower, but nothing here to say how much over!
-
Not sure but did the turntables work off the train vacuum pipe? graphics looking good with what you've posted so far bryeo
Rog
Yes, I would have said either vacuum operated, electric - or by manpower. I think vacuum power off the engine or the driver and fireman pushing the thing round were the most common.
-
Here's a couple of references I've found:
'...beneath the platforms, connected to them by hydraulic lifts, ran a tunnel for the transfer of luggage and parcels to and from the main buildings on Parliament Street.'
('Rail Centres: Nottingham' by Michael A. Vanns, first published by Ian Allan in 1993)
'...the traveller...could, if he wished send his luggage ahead by using one of the two hydralic lifts which connected with the subway system, a liitle known feature of this great station. This subway was also used for mail and parcels and was truly located in the bowels of the station below rail level connecting the main station buildings wih the two island platforms.'
('Railways in and Around Nottingham' by V. Forster & W. Taylor, first published by Foxline Publishing in 1991)
Following a quick look I've come across a photo of an engine on one of the turntables being pushed round by hand, but of course that might not be conclusive.
-
Re the hydraulic power house, I could be wrong, but I think it may have been to power the lifts down to the tunnels that connected the platforms for conveying luggage and paracels, etc.
I could be wrong (again) but I don't think turntables were worked by hydraulic power.
-
Tesco steak pie, home made chips, baked beans and instant gravy.
-
Germany had the same contact with inter-dimentional beings......and arranged their own deals with them.....have you ever seen the UFO craft that Germany made? So easy to debunk everything......the research is so much more rewarding!
I found it quite rewarding to have researched this site - but I expect you would debunk everything in it:-
-
I must say the above cartoon sums up my feelings about the whole business of aliens in flying saucers or UFOs or what have you.
I quite agree that it's highly unlikely (although we can't say impossible) that intelligent life doesn't exist anywhere else in the universe, nor is it inconceivable that somewhere out there intelligent life has developed a way of travelling between the stars.
But if they have visited the Earth I do feel they'd either make proper contact with humanity - or else, considering they're advanced enough to have travelled all this way they'd be competent enough to completely conceal their presence without giving rise to these stories of 'abductions' and sightings of lights in the sky, etc, etc.
Lancaster PM-M City of Lincoln
in General Hobbies and Interest Chat
Posted
I would venture to say the opposite was true - the number of trained crew was finite, and I'm sure it would have take longer to train up new personnel than to build a new aircraft. Reduced to its basics, it would only take a matter of days to build a new aircraft from scratch - compared to 20 or so years to produce 7 new people from scratch to fly it.
I know a Spitfire is smaller than a Lancaster and would therefore take less time to build, but I've always understood the fear during the Battle of Britain was not that we'd run out of aircraft but that we'd run out of people to fly them. I would think the same applied during the bomber offensive.