Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[RED-DOG]

I've been waiting for my diary traffic to recover since 2007.

I still enjoy it though. I can't wait to see what I'm going to post next.

[tikay]

We were stood on the platform at Union Station Los Angeles admiring the locomotive, and something on the driving wheel caught my eye - that sort of curly pipe which sits close to the gear ring or cog which is attached to the driving wheel. Any idea what it might do? Might be something to do with a speedometer, but just guessing.

 

Click to see full-size image.

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She had her eyeball tattooed and now she's warning others against it.

Phew! Glad I saw this in time.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5141291/Ottawa-woman-risk-losing-eye-botched-tattoo.html

[RED-DOG]

We were stood on the platform at Union Station Los Angeles admiring the locomotive, and something on the driving wheel caught my eye - that sort of curly pipe which sits close to the gear ring or cog which is attached to the driving wheel. Any idea what it might do? Might be something to do with a speedometer, but just guessing.

 

Click to see full-size image.

It looks like an air or fluid pipe. Could it be cooling that sprocket with compressed air?

I need to understand what that cog/sprocket does.

Does it turn the wheel directly and if so what turns it?

Why is it dry? It must me under tremendous pressure. I understand the need to keep oil off the track but my goodness those teeth must be hard if they run without lubrication.

[tikay]

There's a bit of a side story to that photo.

We were dressed in full tourist regalia, & I was crouching down using my 'phone to take that photo.

I get a tap on the shoulder, & there's a fella stood there, he was a full-on FBI caricature - dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, shades. He told me to stop taking photos. 

I guess I must have arched an eyebrow, so he went on to explain that surely I understood that in these days or terrorism we can't go round taking photos of stuff willy-nilly. 

I was a little put out, but Gill, who suffers from an abundance of common-sense, shot me a disapproving look, so I thought I had better button my lip.

Good job that fella has never been to the UK, where railway platforms are often full of geeks all taking train photos & scribbling notes.

[tikay]

We were stood on the platform at Union Station Los Angeles admiring the locomotive, and something on the driving wheel caught my eye - that sort of curly pipe which sits close to the gear ring or cog which is attached to the driving wheel. Any idea what it might do? Might be something to do with a speedometer, but just guessing.

 

Click to see full-size image.

It looks like an air or fluid pipe. Could it be cooling that sprocket with compressed air?

I need to understand what that cog/sprocket does.

Does it turn the wheel directly and if so what turns it?

Why is it dry? It must me under tremendous pressure. I understand the need to keep oil off the track but my goodness those teeth must be hard if they run without lubrication.

I have no idea of the answers to any of those questions. It just struck me as odd. I would think it unlikely that it drives the wheel, too small.

I bet Mr Long or atdc will know.  

[RED-DOG]

There's a bit of a side story to that photo.

We were dressed in full tourist regalia, & I was crouching down using my 'phone to take that photo.

I get a tap on the shoulder, & there's a fella stood there, he was a full-on FBI caricature - dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, shades. He told me to stop taking photos. 

I guess I must have arched an eyebrow, so he went on to explain that surely I understood that in these days or terrorism we can't go round taking photos of stuff willy-nilly. 

I was a little put out, but Gill, who suffers from an abundance of common-sense, shot me a disapproving look, so I thought I had better button my lip.

Good job that fella has never been to the UK, where railway platforms are often full of geeks all taking train photos & scribbling notes.

A WPC  once told me to stop taking photographs in Chesterfield market because there was an ATM machine in shot. I continued to take photos and invited her to arrest me, she declined.

I would have loved that day in court.

Had I been in the US of A facing the FB of I, my course of action may well have been different.

[Longines]

I have no idea of the answers to any of those questions. It just struck me as odd. I would think it unlikely that it drives the wheel, too small.

I bet Mr Long or atdc will know.  

Well that was a fascinating 15 minutes of testing my google fu. Started with 'rail vehicle wheel transducer' and now know more than I ever want to about rail speed detection.

http://www.arrowvale.co.uk/rail/rail-sensors/railspeedsensors
https://www.lenord.com/fileadmin/kundenbereich/.../BRO_railway-solutions_EN.pdf

Always makes we wonder about the people for whom making, selling, designing this stuff is their day job, the long days must just fly by.

[Skippy]

Is the American standard gauge wider than ours?

No, exactly the same as the UK - 4 foot 8 & a half inches.

Lol. That's a nice round number. How did they get there?

I assume that's standard for Europe too?

All of Europe uses "Standard Gauge" except Russia, Finland & ...... Ireland.

If Brunel had his way, the gauge would be 7', & his original railways were all built to that wide gauge. All the other UK railways were built to what is now known as Standard Gauge though, so he was forced to adopt it too.

The benefits of the wider gauge were better stability, & it's a shame he had to change, 7' would be so much better in so many ways.

Erm.... Iberian gauge?

(in Spain they have trains that go through a building and they squish their wheels together so they go in on one gauge and leave on another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiH4kt14yGw

)

[tikay]

Is the American standard gauge wider than ours?

No, exactly the same as the UK - 4 foot 8 & a half inches.

Lol. That's a nice round number. How did they get there?

I assume that's standard for Europe too?

All of Europe uses "Standard Gauge" except Russia, Finland & ...... Ireland.

If Brunel had his way, the gauge would be 7', & his original railways were all built to that wide gauge. All the other UK railways were built to what is now known as Standard Gauge though, so he was forced to adopt it too.

The benefits of the wider gauge were better stability, & it's a shame he had to change, 7' would be so much better in so many ways.

Erm.... Iberian gauge?

(in Spain they have trains that go through a building and they squish their wheels together so they go in on one gauge and leave on another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiH4kt14yGw

)

Fair point, but Spanish Railways are toytown stuff, not proper grown-up railways.

[tikay]

I have no idea of the answers to any of those questions. It just struck me as odd. I would think it unlikely that it drives the wheel, too small.

I bet Mr Long or atdc will know.  

Well that was a fascinating 15 minutes of testing my google fu. Started with 'rail vehicle wheel transducer' and now know more than I ever want to about rail speed detection.

http://www.arrowvale.co.uk/rail/rail-sensors/railspeedsensors
https://www.lenord.com/fileadmin/kundenbereich/.../BRO_railway-solutions_EN.pdf

Always makes we wonder about the people for whom making, selling, designing this stuff is their day job, the long days must just fly by.

Stop it. Best jobs in the world are on the railways. Huge regret that I never followed the family into railway work.

[RED-DOG]

I never even considered that it could be a transducer.

One thing still puzzles me. How did you get an know that Longy would know?

[tikay]

I never even considered that it could be a transducer.

One thing still puzzles me. How did you get an know that Longy would know?

*googles transducer, none the wiser*

Longines knows everything. Even how to change a power-steering thing.

[Jon MW]

There's a bit of a side story to that photo.

We were dressed in full tourist regalia, & I was crouching down using my 'phone to take that photo.

I get a tap on the shoulder, & there's a fella stood there, he was a full-on FBI caricature - dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, shades. He told me to stop taking photos. 

I guess I must have arched an eyebrow, so he went on to explain that surely I understood that in these days or terrorism we can't go round taking photos of stuff willy-nilly. 

I was a little put out, but Gill, who suffers from an abundance of common-sense, shot me a disapproving look, so I thought I had better button my lip.

Good job that fella has never been to the UK, where railway platforms are often full of geeks all taking train photos & scribbling notes.

A WPC  once told me to stop taking photographs in Chesterfield market because there was an ATM machine in shot. I continued to take photos and invited her to arrest me, she declined.

I would have loved that day in court.

Had I been in the US of A facing the FB of I, my course of action may well have been different.

I was told in a New York hotel to stop taking photo's of the murals on the walls because... terrorism.

I had already taken them and we were checking out so there wasn't any reason to make a fuss but I've seen before in photography articles it bugs the hell out of photographers.

If nothing else because the one thing terrorists don't do before an attack is go and take photo's of the target. It's the one clear way to make sure you're on the radar of the people who are trying to stop you.

[RED-DOG]

If nothing else because the one thing terrorists don't do before an attack is go and take photo's of the target. It's the one clear way to make sure you're on the radar of the people who are trying to stop you.

I was once alerted to a blog post, (I think it was on mumsnet) that twigs arranged in the shape of an arrow near your stables or paddock means the Gypsies are going to steal your horse.