Quote from: BernardTPM on January 08, 2016, 09:59:21 PM

Quote from: joe cassidy on January 08, 2016, 09:54:05 PM
I assume this bar was used to turn the gas supply on and off ?

No, it would have been to lean a ladder against for repairs and maintenance. Turning on and off was done with a pole operating a valve inside the glass section, accessed from below.

Yes,
and maybe,, my memory is very hazy here,, to adjust the clockwork timer mechanism of automated ones, maybe even to wind them up ? Or am I totally dreaming up false memories, or maybe that was the electrified ones* ?

Oh for a time machine to revisit all those things we paid no heed to at the time !

* on the other hand, the electrified ones could have been switched/timed from a central location from very early on, as they were for many years on phase distributed residential areas.

Quote from: MalcolmAL on January 08, 2016, 11:04:57 PM

Quote from: BernardTPM on January 08, 2016, 09:59:21 PM

Quote from: joe cassidy on January 08, 2016, 09:54:05 PM
I assume this bar was used to turn the gas supply on and off ?

No, it would have been to lean a ladder against for repairs and maintenance. Turning on and off was done with a pole operating a valve inside the glass section, accessed from below.

Yes,
and maybe,, my memory is very hazy here,, to adjust the clockwork timer mechanism of automated ones, maybe even to wind them up ? Or am I totally dreaming up false memories, or maybe that was the electrified ones* ?

Oh for a time machine to revisit all those things we paid no heed to at the time !

* on the other hand, the electrified ones could have been switched/timed from a central location from very early on, as they were for many years on phase distributed residential areas.

Definitely not a false memory Malc. We had one of these lamps at the bottom of our street that was next to a low wall. The bar made a great piece of gym equipment for pull ups and swinging from. The other trick was to go round kicking these lamps so that the pilot flame lit the gauze bulb. O the joys of innocent youth. 

Quote from: ColinH on January 08, 2016, 11:16:31 PMDefinitely not a false memory Malc.
,
joys of innocent youth.

Thanks for that, amazing what bubbles up ( sometimes !) from the memory banks !
I thought I remembered 'man with ladder' but cannot bring to mind the frequency of his patrol !
,
or not quite so innocent

On a slight diversion :
not long ago I had need of a time machine to go back and retrieve some of those gas mantles, , ,
I was asked by a local school to repair their defunct Geiger-Muller monitor !
All we had to hand was background radiation and an epoxy encapsulated* ye golden olde (radium) glow-in-the-dark alarm clock.
Those old style mantles were thorium based and would have provided another check point.
Not to worry though, I got it working and it agrees with the environment agency background map for this area

*elfinsafety had got there before me and had had their wicked ways with it !!

Thanks for all your input (and memories).

I'll have a go at adding bars made from plastic rod. The lamp post is square section so hopefully I'll be able to attach them with glue.

Best regards,


Joe

Quote from: joe cassidy on January 09, 2016, 07:54:43 AM
Thanks for all your input (and memories).
I'll have a go at adding bars made from plastic rod. The lamp post is square section so hopefully I'll be able to attach them with glue.

A random thought over my morning coffee :
Perhaps a very thin metal wire or pin, heated, could be passed through it.
Maybe the thinest botanists mounting pin or whatever they are called , the things they mount their bugs on.
Not researched it so ymmv good luck, will be interested to hear how you get on.

I wonder who does a man with ladder, dont think there is one in Scenecraft

That's a thought Malcolm.

I've got some handrail wire.

I could heat that, make the hole as you suggest, then leave it in situ and trim off the ends.

Could I use the flame of the gas cooker to do this or would that be too hot ?

Best regards,


Joe

Quote from: joe cassidy on January 09, 2016, 12:28:09 PM
flame of the gas cooker

Ooooh real prototypical Gas Lighting, that could be a first in N 

But seriously :
Yes I suppose so, dont hold it in too long ! or too close, probably heat up the wire and then move ( quickly?) over to where the lamp is,  practice on some scrap plastic first ? to judge the retained heat of the wire ,  wonder what type of plastic the lampost is made from.

I was thinking soldering iron or perhaps a cig.lighter

I don't have a soldering iron nor a lighter so I'll start with a candle.

That's what I used to use to heat a scewdriver blade to join the tank tracks on the old Airfix tank kits.

Best regards,


Joe

Good good

Me, being clumsy, have a nasty tendency to knock candles over, them being inherently unstable !

Just for fun may I suggest DIY Oil Lamps, (google is the search of choice)
wide base jar, some cooking/olive/sunflower/peanut/you get the idea oil
some water (not totally necessary, but economises on oil incase of accident )
some string for the wick and a means of suspending the wick such as 4 corks and 2 wire loops or similar. Or hole in metal lid and a pin.

Hours of fun to be had when it's raining outside, again,
and all prepared for mid-winter power cuts 


Good luck.

Tea lights are less prone to falling over - get a pack in the local £shops
You still have a suitable lighting supply for power cuts and just to be on the safe side place them in a saucer