ploughman

Do not know if it is the same as the Military one on the leaflet shown earlier but I remember seeing one very similar on the Scilly Isles in 1972 in use as a Police Car.

Our fitter has been looking at the state of the engine over the last couple of days. Not possible to bar the engine over so he has removed one of the heads from the Gardner Diesel. Stuck his hand into the piston and found about 4" of water. Looks like more of the cylinders are similar so I think it means an engine out job sometime in the future.

When I have been across a tank wash in RE plant vehicles, it was usually a deep pit full of water and mud but with a steel girder framework over the top as a driving surface. Anything more than 1/2 inch below water level was invisible. We used to get the job of digging the mud out with a backacter but most of the water stayed in. Water supply was usually to a number of fire hoses used manually and at times there was a fixed pipe arrangement directing water at full bore at the tracks area and underbody.

I got the impression Ruddington was a disposal site. I took some vehicles there in 82 that were up for auction.

Re the crane. It has been available for purchase for over a year now, all we ask scrap price and that it is removed from the railway. As a guide we estimate approx 35 tonnes x £150 / ton Last in use about 8 years ago and laid aside as larger cranes were more readily available. There is also likely to be number of wagons destined for a similar fate unless someone steps in quickly.

Well it's a British Vehicle so I thought it best to put it here. Our Group on the NYMR ( North Yorkshire Moors Railway) had this loco donated to us a number of years back by BP at Saltend near Hull. Drewry Shunter 0-4-0 DM 70037 - MEF 44 or BP 16 This loco may be the most travelled loco on the NYMR. Built by Drewry Car Company at Burton on Trent in 1941 for the WD as number 37 0f a batch of 20 (29-48) Electrical equipment and the exhaust system were flameproofed for use in munitions factories and fuel dumps. Worked in The UK until 1943 then shipped out to the Middle East and renumbered MEF 44 and later 70037, working mainly around Suez. Returned to the UK in 1947 to Kings Norton WD Depot near Derby from where it was sold in Feb 1948 to Shell Mex / BP for work at Manchester Trafford Park becoming number 12. 1950 transferred to BP at Jarrow on Tyneside and again renumbered this time becoming No 16, it worked at Jarrow until 1964. Then for repair by Bagueley’s then to BP Saltend near Hull until 1984 when it was donated to the York Are Group for use on the NYMR. Work on the NYMR was on Civil Engineers PW trains hauling work trains on the line. Out of use now since 1999 but a requirement for another loco at Newbridge may mean its return to service. As part of this it was extricated from the bramble patch at the end of the yard and placed in the shed were our fitter can begin to check it over. 2 main areas initially, Check that the engine will turn over and if possible start. and also to check on the state of the Torque Converter. A brochure is available on the web detailing the capacities etc as built. http://www.enuii.org/vulcan_foundry/photographs/Pre%20EE%20Diesel/vulcan%20drewry%200-4-0%20shunters.pdf Note the photo of in service locos 1 being the beach landing in Normandy of 2 similar locos There is another available of the same 2 locos on a rebuilt bridge near Caen but copyright may be a problem. Unfortunately no one had a camera that we know of out in Suez.

We went over to Cyprus for an excercise (Holiday) in 1981 When we went up to Akamas training area we were camped out on the beach, the Cooks ( Well thats what they called themselves)set up a field kitchen using some of these burners. One of them eventually thought about refuelling it, only trouble was he forgot to turn it off and release the pressure. The result was one cook casevaced by chopper to Akrotiri Hospital with 75% burns. He returned to us back at Perham Down near Tidworth about a year later on release from Hospital. The Master Chef immediately made him the field cooking instructor. He knew the hazards. One other tip when using these burners Do not use them buried in a roadside heap of gravel chippings.

You could have a look at this article. http://www.bluebell-railway-museum.co.uk/archive/newsletter/027/newsletter.htm Scroll down to the bottom and there is a feature with links to film clips of Railway cranes changing coastal battery guns.

I have just asked a bus nut. Will let you know his answer.

Who has been listening to the story of "Murphy and the Bricks"? Often to be heard on BBC Radio 2 on Terry Wogan's show.

I suppose this would come under Towing.

Is it laid on its side? Possible that it may be a stand off charge for demolitions. Legs at left with the shaped charge being formed in the cone.

Ok who is going to own up to having the 2 Lightweights in the background of this report? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-23041259

We just had Hanger 1 as our bedroom. Every year some Blue job thought it funny to try and bring a jag in on a sunday morning. He usually met a wall of thrown boots. And yes it was us that were present that night the Border Bar burnt down.

For example at Perham Down when I was there. 22 Engineer Regt comprised of 3, 6, 8 and 52 Sqns This was a fairly typical make up of each Engineer regt. 2 Field Engineer Sqns 3 and 8, 6 was an AMFL Sqn so often out in Norway and other places with a lack of heat and 52 an Airfield Sqn. The dedicated ADR units were 50, 51, 52 and 53. However some other units also had an Airfield element but not to the same extent or possibly in a different area of expertise. Also as the RAF arose out of the RFC and the Balloon Corps which arose out of the Royal Engineers it is the RAF that has nicked the SQN terminology. Ted we may have met at Bruggen. 1979 - 82 working on the bags crawling about inside trying to shove more blankets in as padding. How do you cover all the sharp edges on a Grader, Michigan 275 or a Barford tipper?

Not sure about your particular era but from my own experience from the 70s onwards with Airfield units The D6s were used by the 4 Field Squadrons ADR Const RE. That looked after Airfield work in the 70s - 90s 50, 51, 52 and 53 I think 50 was at Maidstone 51 at Ripon 52 Perham Down Tidworth (my unit) 53 Waterbeach. Each Sqn would have one D6 (possibly D6D) at least at home in the UK and as the Sqns were all allocated an RAF Airfield in BAOR the designated Airfield would have in its plant allocation probably 2 more D6s making 3 each per Sqn The work was renamed a couple of times starting I think with RRR - Rapid Runway Repair but changed to ADR Airfield Damage Repair to more fully describe the total work covered. 39 Reg later took on the TA ADR units but these units did not have D6s allocated, they would have been issued however if anything had required it. ( I was in 234 at Leeming as well) D6s were also in use at Chattendene RSME I seem to remember these as being D6C and most Bridging units would have had one on call as well.

Description of load method - Roll or pipe on bearers. 2nd mark could be Squared packing with right angle corners.

Slightly different this one. Feel free to skip forward as there is a lot of time stood doing not much.

Where I live alongside the York Ring Rd we get all forms of Military Chopper following the road and at night even stopping at the roundabouts and using the spotlight to read the road signs. I think most of the air traffic is headed for Dishforth eventually.

From the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22846645

As an aside to that. I was in Canada in 1982 on Ex Waterleap working on a Canadian Army Tank range at Meaford. We were upgrading a dirt track of about 10 miles in length through a forest so numerous trees had to come out. I was using A John Deere Dozer dragging out tree trunks and managed to belly the thing. No problem I thought there are a couple of trees still standing, lash the winch rope round the nearest one and drag myself out. Pulled the fxxxing tree out. The other tree was just too far to reach so had to call up the D8. That got me out and cost me a crate. The standard rate in our unit if you had to be helped. The other tree stump resisted all attempts to extract it and ended up being blown out with about 25kg of plastic.

Both links failed to find anything.

When we deployed to Bruggen we used to have to change a few tyres ourselves using the tyre bay. However our Earthmover / Bucket loader tyres were too big for the normal gear stocked so it was improvise time. To break the bead we drove a Bulldozer over the tyre. Then held it up on forks and beat hell out of it with sledge hammers to get it to drop out. Reassembly fairly straightforward just make sure you use some Swarfega that always helps to lubricate things. Reinflation stand to the side and park something in front of the tyre. There was a reminder why in the roof of the tyre bay from a smaller RAF vehicle which blew the ring into the roof. Later on we abandoned our own earthmover tyre changes and got a contractor in instead. Especially when you had to change 4 tyres on a Michigan 275.

I thought that a double wheeler was a 5 tonner.

Just one minor point. I assume it got into the garage but looking at the top of the turret and the top of the garage door it looks a bit tight.