Monday, January 30, 2023

Sorry!!!

None of my pics and video will transfer to Blogger AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS happens EVERY time!!!!!!

All I get is blank squares like this:

I tried for two hours......

I give up!

:o(

Friday, January 27, 2023

Friday Night Steam

Enjoy!

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Info here:
http://www.docbrown.info/docspics/ArchiveSteam/loco44871.htm

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Info here:
http://www.docbrown.info/docspics/ArchiveSteam/loco45407.htm

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Info here: http://www.docbrown.info/docspics/ArchiveSteam/loco46115.htm

:o)

Not much to write home about....

Had some snow on Monday:

A beautiful sunrise on Tuesday:

The snow on Sunrise Mountain:

The gang:

Had more snow on Wednesday, but rain washed it all away overnight:

Bella and Gina:

Like I said, not much happening here. Hubby did help me with chicken duty when

I wasn't feeling well.

He's a REAL trooper! 💔

:o)

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Got a .....

........ bug.

I ache all over...no fever though...

Gonna take a few days off - nothing happening around here anyway.....

:o(

Monday, January 23, 2023

The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler and ordinary, is a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel. It was popular after the boneshaker until the development of the safety bicycle in the 1880s. It was the first machine to be called a "bicycle".
Although the name "penny-farthing" is now the most common, it was probably not used until the machines were nearly outdated; the first recorded print reference is from 1891 in Bicycling News. It comes from the British penny and farthing coins, one much larger than the other, so that the side view resembles a penny leading a farthing. For most of their reign, they were simply known as "bicycles". In the late 1890s, the name "ordinary" began to be used, to distinguish them from the emerging safety bicycles;^[5] this term and "hi-wheel" (and variants) are preferred by many modern enthusiasts.
In 1869, Eugène Meyer, a Frenchman, invented the High-Bicycle design and fashioned the wire-spoke tension wheel.^[ Around 1870, English inventor James Starley, described as the father of the bicycle industry, and others, began producing bicycles based on the French boneshaker but with front wheels of increasing size, because larger front wheels, up to 1.5 m (60 in) in diameter, enabled higher speeds on bicycles limited to direct drive.In 1878, Albert Pope began manufacturing the Columbia bicycle outside of Boston, starting their two-decade heyday in America.^]
Although the trend was short-lived, the penny-farthing became a symbol of the late Victorian era. Its popularity also coincided with the birth of cycling as a sport.

:o)

Today's funny :o)

:o)

More of the same....

...... cold, windy and dreary weather:

Even the horses were bundled up:

Chipper is ALWAYS first:

Benji squawking:

Kitty-Kat taking a nap with his favorite toys:

It was a good day to make soup:

And we did get some snow Sunday night:

:o)

Friday, January 20, 2023

Friday Night Steam

Lots of steam on this one!

From: http://www.viator.com/Edinburgh-attractions/Hogwarts-Express-Train/d739-a3573

Hogwarts Express Train

Scotland’s legendary West Highland Line is dubbed the Hogwarts Express Train line, photogenically featured in the Harry Potter films when Harry and crew are transported by train to Hogwarts School from King’s Cross Station’s Platform 9 3/4.

Away from the cameras, the historic steam train is called The Jacobite and runs from Fort William to Mallaig, essential destinations if you’re touring Scotland’s West Coast.

The route winds through Highlands valleys and beside lochs and glens. It begins in the Highlands capital, Fort William, under the shadow of Ben Nevis at the southern end of the Great Glen.

One of the main highlights of the journey is crossing the 21 arches of the Glenfinnan viaduct, memorably captured in the Harry Potter films and overlooking Loch Shiel. You can alight at Glenfinnan station to stretch your legs and visit the West Highland Railway Museum.

By request, the train can also stop at the quiet little village of Arisaig before reaching the end of the line at Mallaig, the ferry port for the Isle of Skye. Views from Mallaig stretch across the water to the islands, and the little harbor town is small enough to discover on foot during a Hogwarts Express stopover. Good British fish and chips is a specialty here.

You can ride a leg of the Hogwarts Express train from Mallaig to Fort William as part of a three- or five-day excursion from Edinburgh to Skye, the Cairngorms and Scotland’s West Coast.

Practical Info

The 84-mile (135km) round trip from Fort William to Mallaig and back is one of the world’s great railway journeys, with old-fashioned carriages and compartments, and the pure nostalgia of traveling under the power of steam. Try to book a seat in carriage D, featured in the Harry Potter movies.

The train runs from May to October.

History of K1 class locomotive 62005 Lord of the Isles

Martin Lloyd

62005 at Grosmont, 23^rd April 1984 D Pearson

K1 62005 was designed by the London and North Eastern Railway, built by the North British Locomotive Company in their Queen’s Park Works, Glasgow as NBL no 26609 and delivered to the fledgling British Railways in June 1949.

The K1 Pedigree

The locomotive’s design is attributed to A H Peppercorn but its pedigree goes back to the Great Northern Railway. A young Nigel Gresley’s first loco design was influenced by the popularity of the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement in North America. The result was the GNR class H2 later LNER original class K1. This developed into Gresley’s highly successful K2 design that served the three railway eras, GNR, LNER and British Railways. Several K2s saw service on the West Highland lines and even had special, side window, cabs fitted to help cope with the climate (the summer version of which, the NELPG support groups know only too well).
Gresley wanted a more powerful mogul for the West Highland and developed his three cylinder K4 but this small class of only six locos posed maintenance difficulties during and after the dark days of World War 2. Edward Thompson became Chief Mechanical Engineer, in 1941, after Gresley’s death. In 1945, he modified no 3445 (later numbered 1997) to a two cylinder design. This prototype, MacCailin Mor proved to be successful such that, after Thompson’s retirement, Arthur Peppercorn, his successor, made a few more design alterations and ordered a batch of 70 from the North British Locomotive Company. Although to an LNER design, all were delivered after nationalisation. All the original LNER K1s had been converted to K2s by 1937 so the new design took over the K1 classification with the prototype being K1/1.

The K1 Design and Development

Thompson’s design modifications included replacing three 18.5 inch cylinders with two of 20 inch diameter. The valve sizes were increased from 8 to 10 inch diameter and the boiler pressure was increased from 200 to 225 psi. The K4 was a totally vacuum braked loco but this new loco was fitted with steam brake on loco and tender. The graceful sweep of the running plate ahead of the driving wheels was lost to accommodate the larger valves and cylinders. The K4 pony truck, to a Gresley double swing link design, was changed to utilise a side spring control system. Thompson was driven to improve standardisation of parts and as a result the K1 cylinders are the same as those on a B1. Similarly, the K1 boiler is a shortened version of the B1 boiler with identical firebox.
When Arthur Peppercorn succeeded Edward Thompson, he made a few further modifications to the rebuilt K4 design and then ordered 70 of these K1s from NBLCo. Peppercorn replaced the 3 bar slide bar by a single bar design. This had a different motion bracket. A gap was put at the front of the running plate to give better access for valve removal. A rocking grate and hopper ashpan were fitted and the pony truck was modified again to utilise coil rather than leaf springs. To increase range, the 3,500 gallon group standard tender inherited (and retained) by the K1/1 was changed to ones of 4,200 gallon capacity for all of the K1s.
All of the class were fitted with a BTH speedometer and electric lighting powered by a Stones steam turbine. Most of the class retained their generators but all lost the speedometers even though some retained the support brackets.
Further modifications in BR days included fitting an automatic warning system to some locos, including 62005. This involved moving the drivers side injector over to the fireman’s side to clear space for the AWS battery box. However the pipework within the cab remained unchanged. The steam brake valve inside the cab was repositioned to give space for the drivers AWS control box. Ironically, had the smaller design of steam brake valve fitted to the BR standard locos, been available in 1949, it could possibly have stayed in its original position resulting in a tidier cab layout.

62005 in Service

Loco 62005, like all of the class went for running in to Eastfield shed, Glasgow. From there it went first to Darlington, then Heaton in Sept 49, back to Darlington in July 52, Ardsley in June 59, York in August 59, North Blyth in March 66, Tyne Dock in May 67 and finally Holbeck in September 67.
It was condemned on 30^thDecember 1967 and eventually sold to a consortium of Viscount Garnock, Geoff Drury, Brian Hollingsworth and George Nissen on 30^th May 1969 for the boiler to be saved as a spare for the K4 61994 (LNER 3442) The Great Marquess, which they had bought. No 62005 had only survived until then because it had been used for a brief period as a temporary stationary boiler on the ICI North Tees Works. The boiler was not needed for the K4 so the loco was kindly donated to the infant but ambitious NELPG in 1972 and was delivered to BR’s Thornaby Depot on 14^th June of that year.

62005, a few days old at Eastfield MPD, June 1949 (C Lawson- Kerr) NELPG Collection

62005 at Bedale, 9^th March 1959 (Hugh Davies) NELPG

Collection

Finish reading about her here:

http://www.nelpg.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=4

(You'll be glad you did!)

:o)

Today's funny :o)

Now, under my chin...Aaahhhhh!

:o)

'Twas nice...

... on Wednesday:

Their afternoon treats:

They get so excited when they see me walk over with them!

Chipper usually gets to it first:

Even got another egg!

That evening the clouds stated to roll in:

It rained all day yesterday:

At least it wasn't snow!!

:o)

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Sew, Sew, sew your boat.......

Making a birchbark canoe

Hint: It's a LOT of work!

:o)

Today's funny :o)

ALZHEIMER'S EYE TEST

Count every "F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.....
(SEE BELOW)

HOW MANY 'F's?

Count them again.

WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke..

READ IT AGAIN !

Really, go back and try to find the 6 'F's before you scroll down.

The reasoning behind this is further down.

The brain cannot process "OF".

F INISHED F ILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
F IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.....

I flunked....

:o(

Just a typical January day....

Started off with a pretty view of Sunrise Mountain:

It was really nice out, so the gangs spend some time in the yard:

Hubby sawing some stumps - got lots of shaving for the coop:

Dolly making her inspection:

She decided it was a good time to try out the fluffy, clean nest box and let everyone know what such a good chicken she is!

Every afternoon they get one or two cut up in bite size pieces, Benji loves 'em!

:o)

Monday, January 16, 2023

Fishing with boids

Cormorant fishing

Chinese fisherman with one of his cormorants on Erhai Lake near Dali, Yunnan. The bird's throat snare is visible via the constriction in the bird's neck.

Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to fish in rivers. Historically, cormorant fishing has taken place in Japan and China since about 960 AD It is described as a method used by the ancient Japanese in the Book of Sui, the official history of the Sui Dynasty of China, completed in 636 AD. This technique has also been used in other countries but is currently under threat in China.

To control the birds, the fishermen tie a snare near the base of the bird's throat. This prevents the birds from swallowing larger fish, which are held in their throat, but the birds can swallow smaller fish. When a cormorant has caught a fish in its throat, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat and has the bird spit the fish up. Though cormorant fishing once was a successful industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry.

The types of cormorants used differ based on the location. In Gifu, Japan, the Japanese cormorant (P. capillatus) is used; Chinese fishermen often employ great cormorants (P. carbo). Darters (anhinga), which are very close relatives of cormorants, are also used for this fishing technique on occasion.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormorant_fishing

:o)

Today's funny :o)

H/T to Roberta!!

:o)

Cold

Saturday:

Cold and cloudy - but it made for a nice sunset:

Sunday:

Still cold :

But at least it was sunny out! The gang enjoying their afternoon treats:

One egg. Don't know why Benji's feather was in there......

The squirrels finished off the pumpkins in the garden:

Kitty-Kat made a fort and took a nap!

:o)

Friday, January 13, 2023

Friday Night Steam

The 1309!

Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 #1309

Last revised: July 21, 2022

By: Adam Burns

The years 2013 and 2014 witnessed some incredible announcements in regards to steam locomotive restoration. First, in early 2013 word came that Norfolk & Western J Class #611 would likely return to operation.

This was followed by the biggest announcement of all, Union Pacific's blockbuster move to restore 4-8-8-4 Big Boy #4014. Finally, in late summer of 2013 news broke that the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad was eyeing Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 #1309 for possible overhaul and restoration.

This was later confirmed during the following May. The big compound Mallet, built for coal service, will be the largest of its kind in operation and only the third such type currently under steam. The locomotive will be WMSR's primary power in excursion service.

Alas, the restoration of #1309 has not been the fast and efficient project of Union Pacific #4014, or even what the railroad had hoped.

WMSR has dealt with setback after setback; after costs soared the railroad discovered a prominent employee stole twelve drive-wheel journal boxes off the locomotive, totaling an incredible $251,000.

The big Mallet was test-fired by the railroad on June 29, 2020 and on December 31, 2020 moved under its own power for the first time in over 64 years. Its restoration was officially completed on November 19, 2021.

She made her first revenue runs over the Western Maryland Scenic leading The Polar Express during the weekend of December 17 - 19, 2021.

A Baldwin Locomotive Works photo of new Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 #1309 circa 1949.