Quote from: Trainfish on July 07, 2025, 01:43:11 PMYou lot have absolutely no idea how lucky I feel to be only 60. Mind you, I may have to reassess after visiting the bum doctor on Thursday.

I believe 'proctologist' is the word you seek 
Or is he/she just no good?

Beware - could be quite yawn making 

w/c 23.6.25 I made another Scottish Road Trip, with the intention of spending a full day on the Isle of Skye. Monday was spent driving from home to Killin (just to the east of Crianlarich) where I spent the night in the Falls of Dochart Inn.
Tuesday, after a hearty breakfast, I then drove from Killin to Mallaig in diabolical weather. I deliberately reached Mallaig early as I hoped they could get me on an earlier ferry than the last one of the day which I was booked on (if you can't get the ferry it's a 3 hour drive from Mallaig round to the bridge across to the island at Kyle of Lochalsh!!). I was told to come back to the ferry terminal an hour later and they'd see what they could do. Therefore, I drove down the road a bit and parked up in a layby and had a coffee.



It looked like a railway line ran alongside the road and sea so I surmised it must be the Mallaig-Fort William line and, on checking t'interweb, saw the 'Jacobite' was due to leave Mallaig at 14.10hrs but diesel hauled, yet I'd seen glimpses of a Black 5 in Mallaig a little earlier. I got the camera/tripod out and waited and, sure enough, Black 5 45407 came along tender first and duly got filmed. I then went back to the ferry terminal and, deep joy, got on an earlier ferry for the 45 minute crossing to Skye, arriving around 16.15hrs whence I proceeded to my B & B booked for 2 nights (Tues & Weds).



Wednesday morning, and with another Scottish breakfast sitting heavy in my belly, off I went to explore the Isle of Skye. I'd bought a map but huge thanks go to forum member @chrism  who'd taken the time and effort to send me an itinerary which occupied my one day on the island. With the odd alteration, I drove 200 miles round the island but have not encountered so many miles of single track roads with passing places in ages, and I'd forgotten just how poorly other drivers understand them. At one point a herd of cattle came the other way and I just had to sit wondering "How am I going to explain these dents to my car insurance?" but, despite one trying to mount another in front of my car, they all streamed past on both sides without even disturbing a wing mirror. I guess they must be used to seeing modern contraptions.

The Old Man of Storr across Loch Fada


The Uig ferry about to depart


The Castle at Dunvegan (believe me, it's there!)


Somewhat knackered, I found somewhere to eat and then returned to my B & B.

Thursday came and I plumped for a lighter breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast (the eggs coming from the B & B owners own chickens), before heading for the bridge off the island and over to Kyle of Lochalsh. The bridge was impressive but the road was, it seemed, a corrugated washboard, maybe to allow decent drainage. The road from Kyle of Lochalsh down to Spean Bridge was hugely scenic but from there to Dumbarton for my next night's stop it was a case of "I've travelled this both last year and this year". Thursday night was spent in a Premier Inn. I always like these as you know exactly what you're going to get for your dosh and, as @Bealman  can verify, their breakfasts are really good.
Friday, and after the aforementioned breakfast, I loaded up and headed for home in filthy weather. At one point on the M6 my satnag told me to get off at Junction 40 (and matrix signs indicated the motorway was closed after that junction), but several of us carried on to see no blockage, no stoppage, in fact.......zilch. I just felt sorry for all those villages/towns who'd had all the diverted lorries etc disturb their peace and pollute the air. I arrived home at about 13.30 hrs after a total of 1002 miles in mostly foul weather but my good Qashqai never missed a beat and I had an overall fuel consumption of 47.3mpg.

Now to the bad bits (if you're still awake).

The Isle of Skye itself
Weather aside, it is obvious the roads have been severely neglected, to the extent  I was guessing which pothole to hit without knowing how deep they were. It must have been a nightmare for the many motorcyclists/cyclists I saw over there.
There are many single track roads with passing places but not many seemed to know how to use them, while some locals just used brute force even if they were in the wrong.
Many of the roads signs were so filthy as to be illegible and I would swear many had been sprayed in some form of 'anti tourist action' which seems to be the in thing nowadays.
The island seemed rammed and many of the tourist spots were just driven past as there was just nowhere to stop. Every car park/layby was chock full.


Each night I downloaded all the film clips from my front and rear dashcams to a memory stick. On average there would be 320 x 3 minute clips to download which would take a couple of hours or so. Then the SD card in the dashcam would be formatted so it was ready for the next day. This worked just fine for the first 2 days but from Tuesday night onwards, although the footage is there on the memory stick, my laptop will just not open any of the .MOV films or even .jpgs. Therefore my day on Skye and the return journey is lost to me, hopefully temporarily. This includes my film of the Black 5 which, although taken Tuesday, was downloaded on the Wednesday evening.


(I have been to my computer guru this morning 7.7.25 and he can't do anything but believes it's all there and will need someone with maybe photo/video editing software to salvage it for me)

You lot have absolutely no idea how lucky I feel to be only 60. Mind you, I may have to reassess after visiting the bum doctor on Thursday.

Quote from: ntpntpntp on September 06, 2020, 11:23:34 AMThe NEM coupling pocket is usually quite distinctive compared to the older T shank pocket. 

NEM is a standard "box" with a horizontal slot across the front, and the shaft of the coupling is quite wide.

T shank comes in various designs of pocket, sometimes with a metal or plastic cover plate. sometimes the internal spring is visible from underneath.  The front of the pocket has a vertical slot, and the coupling shaft is not as wide as an NEM coupling.   

Be aware that early Graham Farish wagons used a coupling with no spring, held in place with a round plastic pin and with a characteristic "U-bend" shape to the coupling shaft.

Here is NEM coupling and pocket on the left, T shank and spring on the right

I know this is an old post, but wanted to thank you as this photo has helped me a lot identifying NEM pockets on my rolling stock.

but funnily enough only overnight.     

A bit    yet again;

One place where the loco did regularly shunt across  wagon turntables was the Midland Railway depot in West India docks, London.

However, the loco permitted to do so was specially constructed; Midland # 1550, but B.E.L.No.1 in BR days. It was a battery electric 0-4-0 shunter, with a diminutive centre cab and two 'bonnets', one either side of the cab.

Martyn

Ok, just wondering about the OP post.... solution achieved?

Quote from: PLD on July 07, 2025, 12:17:35 AM

Quote from: PLD on July 06, 2025, 01:43:47 PMIn larger yards there may be some steam powered capstans to provide the power, otherwise it may be the rope attached to a loco on another track, or in the most basic cases horse-power (later mechanical horse/tractor)

Quote from: PhilD on July 06, 2025, 11:50:31 PMor horses!

Sorry, should have explained. In the olden days, horses were used to pull the wagons, in and out of the buildings and along the feeder and storage sidings, using ropes and capstans to redirect the direction of pull.

Quote from: Bealman on July 07, 2025, 06:15:01 AMYep, that's when it all starts going wrong, though some old rock stars seem to be handling it

Just like Ozzy Osbourne at the Villa Park bash, I seem to spend an awful amount of time on the throne

I admit defeat, but also admiration!