Re: Llewellyn Loco Works #1
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 10:09 am
Come on now..... you've been out and bought new ones, haven't you?
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Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed May 23, 2018 10:09 am Come on now..... you've been out and bought new ones, haven't you?
There is a "Blue Room" here as well, but only for work.FWLR wrote: ↑Thu May 24, 2018 7:19 am Red room, our toolroom was called “The Blue Room”….mainly because a couple of the guys were members of the local Railway Club, that had a room for committee members only which was called “The Blue Room”.
I joined when my parents asked me to go with them for a drink…..couldn’t believe how cheap the drinks were then!
It all comes with practice. It soon becomes second nature. Wide fireboxes are the hardest to master. LNER engines can be difficult to fire through the "cat flap", especially if they have a long narrow firebox.Hydrostatic Dazza wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 10:56 pm
I have done a wee bit of firing before (nothing that be could called remotely proficient) and it was nice to to get it down the front of the 8" long grate, after a wee bit of practice and not hook it all to the left or make too much of Turkey's nest in the middle. A long way to go but.............
Ian , yes, it is great day when you have a good team on the loco and train. The 2 hour drive home after the day is one of reflections of the things that went well or adjustments needed and also the things learnt during the day. Last night it was home for Salmon, home made chips and peas and two glasses of red grape juice to cap it all off. One lives for those days, the other days you have just got to get them over and done with and get on with tomorrow. It is not long now till the Mary Valley Rattler starts operations down the 20km branch. Just waiting on the track to be signed off and we can start learning the road etc. If all goes well, July!IanC wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 11:50 pmIt all comes with practice. It soon becomes second nature. Wide fireboxes are the hardest to master. LNER engines can be difficult to fire through the "cat flap", especially if they have a long narrow firebox.Hydrostatic Dazza wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 10:56 pm
I have done a wee bit of firing before (nothing that be could called remotely proficient) and it was nice to to get it down the front of the 8" long grate, after a wee bit of practice and not hook it all to the left or make too much of Turkey's nest in the middle. A long way to go but.............
It's a fantastic feeling though when it all goes well and you have a good mate on the footplate. Days don't come much better.
Ian
The hard bit is bouncing along on the rough branch line track and getting the swing right, the technique so the coal just flies off the shovel through the fire hole and lands where you want it on demand, 8 feet away. I am yet to master this, but I just need more time firing. By the time I have put 50 to 100 tons onto the grate I hope my driver will no longer laugh or frown down upon me.
It will happen. Dazza. I have had 15 years now on the footplate, and a lot of trips with many engines and drivers. Every one different. The best drivers are the ex BR ones. When you did things daily, as they did, then everything becomes easy and second nature. Experience and practice are invaluable. The bad days are just as valuable from a learning point of view as the good ones.Hydrostatic Dazza wrote: ↑Sun May 27, 2018 3:46 amIan , yes, it is great day when you have a good team on the loco and train. The 2 hour drive home after the day is one of reflections of the things that went well or adjustments needed and also the things learnt during the day. Last night it was home for Salmon, home made chips and peas and two glasses of red grape juice to cap it all off. One lives for those days, the other days you have just got to get them over and done with and get on with tomorrow. It is not long now till the Mary Valley Rattler starts operations down the 20km branch. Just waiting on the track to be signed off and we can start learning the road etc. If all goes well, July!IanC wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 11:50 pmIt all comes with practice. It soon becomes second nature. Wide fireboxes are the hardest to master. LNER engines can be difficult to fire through the "cat flap", especially if they have a long narrow firebox.Hydrostatic Dazza wrote: ↑Sat May 26, 2018 10:56 pm
I have done a wee bit of firing before (nothing that be could called remotely proficient) and it was nice to to get it down the front of the 8" long grate, after a wee bit of practice and not hook it all to the left or make too much of Turkey's nest in the middle. A long way to go but.............
It's a fantastic feeling though when it all goes well and you have a good mate on the footplate. Days don't come much better.
Ian