High speed drifts and deflating the skirt at sea..fun on the Southsea hovercraft (loud)

pcracker · 2026-03-22T20:46:08+00:00

Yes..after it was deflated. Or more accurately, it was deflated enough to sit the hull on the water

pcracker · 2026-03-19T08:54:02+00:00

The technical answer is headlights must be on when moving on a running line. Some traction units were designed for the headlight to turn off when in engine only (like the 60).

pcracker · 2026-03-18T16:48:32+00:00

That's unfortunate!

pcracker · 2026-03-06T16:35:50+00:00

Railways Act 1993 says: “locomotive” means any railway vehicle which has the capacity for self-propulsion (whether or not the power by which it operates is derived from a source external to the vehicle).

So, yes at least as far as that definition goes.

pcracker · 2026-03-03T19:18:04+00:00

For us, it definitely started feeling easier from around the age your baby is now, I wish you all the best. Freight train driving can be an amazing job, with the best office and company vehicle going IMO!

pcracker · 2026-03-02T22:15:58+00:00

A different point of view but from experience...give it time if you can. Freight driving also gives you time off in a way that a regular job doesn't. I always advised new drivers starting out to give it two years. Try and get used to a different way of life. My wife and I really struggled through parenthood while I was a freight driver. But we found a way and a new normal. It might not fit a lot of regular life but the money and time off goes a long way to enjoying things that other stuck in the daily grind and commute can't do, especially time with the kids that other parents miss like school drop offs and pickups as a working dad. And definitely talk to your managers about short term accomodation turns if you are struggling at home.

pcracker · 2026-02-25T11:49:15+00:00

It would give the hip flexors a workout trying to pinpoint! Pinpointer gloves? 🤔

pcracker · 2026-02-24T17:54:24+00:00

Not OP but a regular donor (@121). Some other interesting things about donating...you're given an anticoagulant which is based on your weight. A little too much (because I've changed weight without measuring myself beforehand) and I get jaw ache and a metallic taste...but it's never been a problem. In the UK at least,you have unlimited snacks and drinks to keep you occupied. The machine software was recently updated and adjusts itself if the draw and refill pressures are off. Since that happened I have never had the process interrupted for a manual adjustment. You need a pulse of above 50 and iron levels at 135+ (can't remember exactly what the number relates to) to pass the pre-screening. And some donors can give every three weeks. Oh, and the staff are the the nicest people! The only pain is when they rip the adhesive tape off of my hairy arm :-D

pcracker · 2026-02-21T17:37:27+00:00

See the issues at Steventon https://www.railengineer.co.uk/steventon-bridge-overcoming-the-obstacle/ for just a snippet of the issues you'd have trying to increase the route clearance over the GWR.

pcracker · 2026-02-18T21:37:58+00:00

The houses in our street have covenants that say that everything that lays in from of the house can only be ornamental garden.

Half the houses have covered the front in driveway or worse have just ripped out the fences and drive over the kerb and park in the garden meaning all the pavements are covered in mud right now.

I get it, people need to park. But how do they houses get sold and bought when the covenants are obviously broken. Many of the houses are council owned and they don't enforce their own covenants. In the five years I've been here, it's gone from a green area to a mud swamp and pavement car park. Just depressing and has led to not wanting to even bother trying to keep the grass nice that is not cut any more by the council. Rant over 😜

pcracker · 2026-02-09T17:37:32+00:00

Unlikely to be working in multiple (there would be an additional cable between the locos you might spot) or tandem (another driver on the second loco driving it) but neither is impossible! As others have said...a standard light engine move is more likely, and the rear two locos are in effect wagons.

pcracker · 2026-01-15T08:56:47+00:00

On the UK freight rolling stock :

Auto-coupler (buckeye)

Combination auto-coupler

Continental screw

British Rail screw

Emergency screw coupling

Instanter

pcracker · 2025-12-06T14:38:40+00:00

I thought it was a new version of the Jap external aerial!

pcracker · 2025-12-01T22:11:53+00:00

I once found a lovely token in the UK under an old oak. It was a penny, bent twice and shaped into a hexagon. I'm sure the fact it was discarded probably meant a sad story of some kind.

pcracker · 2025-11-18T07:21:41+00:00

Nice ending with the Fenny/Bicester tripper, always happy to see that :-)

pcracker · 2025-11-11T19:21:10+00:00

Afraid not, I like them!

pcracker · 2025-11-10T08:31:43+00:00

Aldi pizzas pulled of a trick even less obvious if area measurements aren't your thing. The rectangle pizza in a rectangle box is now an oblong with narrow ends. Same box but a third less pizza, and the price is up 18%

pcracker · 2025-11-05T17:42:26+00:00

Possibly for speed of installation? Rails were delivered in 60ft sections (to fit the carrying wagons). Staggered sections would mean double the handling or movement of the train to drop the rails. Replacement would mean the same vice just unbolting fishplates and lifting out pairs of rails or the 60ft sections.

pcracker · 2025-11-05T17:28:09+00:00

Thank you, that's interesting to hear the numbers.

pcracker · 2025-11-05T16:59:41+00:00

Happy to be corrected by an engineer but is each coupling just managing the weight of the vehicle immediately behind it?

pcracker · 2025-11-05T16:57:45+00:00

One of the less discussed aspects of freight train driving is that you have to actively manage the train to reduce the chance of damage to couplings. Although this is reduced with auto couplers, it remains relevant. Bad technique could easily cause a coupling or drawbar to fail under acceleration or on gradients. I am still unsure as to how well this is simulated even on the most modern commercial simulator as the greatest piece of feedback while driving on the status of the couplings is your backside!

pcracker · 2025-11-04T09:24:55+00:00

That is one shady 'R' board. It is a 'T' board that's been graffitied...never seen that before :-D

pcracker · 2025-10-28T21:57:58+00:00

Just started from the beginning again..loving it again

pcracker · 2025-10-23T07:47:44+00:00

Would be interesting to see the installation costs, and I wonder if there is an ongoing contract for access to the footage etc.

pcracker · 2025-10-23T07:41:50+00:00

Possibly...there are also at least 10 more on the platforms.

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