News

These are just small snippets of info that I post here on an irregular basis.

Saturday 4th February 2012

General meeting today was a long winded affair, running almost 2 hours which is 1hr 55 minutes longer than normal. However, it was necessary as there was a lot of stuff to discuss. It will make interesting reading when I receive the minutes.

If you have any spare time, the Wednesday Workers would appreciate some assistance between about 8:30 and noon. There's a lot of track maintenance needed before the HPR.

Thought of the day
Instructions for living:
Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches.

Tuesday 31st January 2012

Ho hum! Isn't owning a loco great fun.
I had to rebuild my axle pump and finished it this afternoon. I thought I had better test it, knowing my fitting/machining ability. I connected it up, put Woody on air and started the compressor. What! No water! Why?
I checked all the fittings and (surprisingly) there were no leaks. I pulled the pump off (again) and tried it in a bucket of water. Beautiful! Put it back on the loco (again) and nothing!
I knew I should have given up, but I pulled the pump off (again) in case I had blocked the inlet/outlet pipes. No, clear as a whistle. Put the pump back on (again) and wait!!! What is that pipe doing there???? I had connected the axle pump water inlet pipe from the bum truck to the vacuum line instead of the axle pump line! No wonder it wouldn't work.
Now it does!

Thought of the day
If you can still do at 60 what you did at 20, it means you weren't doing much at 20.

Saturday 28th January 2012

Workday was a matter of catching up on tidying the grounds. The weather hasn't been kind to us, and we had our 12 hour run when no work was done. There's just over 4 months to the Hot Pot Run and we need to get stuck into tidying up/repairing the track.

I'll tell you how desperate things are - Rob and Ross were both seen putting in a good days work.

The track alongside Fairy Creek has been pulled up and is being reconditioned in preparation of raising it 6 inches.

Jeff armstrong sent me 5 photos of the 12 hour TTR. Click here.

Thought of the day
Never tell anyone your problems. 20% don't care, and the other 80% are glad you have them.

Sunday 22nd January 2012

Public Running Day, and it was great to be back in the saddle. Inspite of the weathermans' promise, it turned out to be a beautiful day.
The crowds were a bit slow to start with, but picked up by 11am and we were flat out until mid afternoon.
Luclily, there weren't as many passengers as usual because our locos played up. Denis had a mechanical problem, Helmut had lubricator problems, Woody had lubricator problems (but Helmut fixed it and he was soon back on the track), Harvey had a problem and I think there were a couple of other delays at times.

Dave Clifford on Ugly heard "STOP" from someone behind him, and thinking there was a problem, jammed on the brakes just behind South Box. When he turned around to see why, one lady said "I just want to take a picture!"

I took some photos as usual. Have a look at the picture page or click here

Thought of the day
I'm going healthy with the CSIRO diet -
Chocolate
Sweets
Ice cream
Rum
Ouzo

Friday 20th January 2012

I have uploaded a report on the 12 Hour timetable run. Have a look at the bottom of the menue on the left and click on Miscellaneous or click here.

Thought of the day

Sunday 15th January 2012

What a weekend!

Col organised the 12 hour TimeTable Run, and apart from the Hot Pot Runs, it was the best weekend I have ever had at ILS.

Friday evening was very sociable with several groups at different tables just chatting. When you lost interest in one group, you went and joined another and had more stimulating conversation. The weather was fine and warm too, until we went to bed when a light rain fell.

Saturday morning was fine with light rain very occasionally, but not enough to dampen the spirit. A big thanks must go to Doug Mazonowicz who was in the kitchen before most of us were out of bed! A breakfst of cereal and egg/bacon rolls gave us an energy boost to start the day.

What a day it was. We had to run for an hour and do 4 laps of the 1.5km Double Eight track. Points were lost for late or early arrivals. A few members (Denis McAllister was first) managed to do the lap in exactly 15 minutes, which was amazing.

We had a half hour break around lunch time and then had to do the trip in reverse drection with 5 laps in the hour, or a lap time of 12 minutes.

Both these runs were enjoyable, BUT sitting on a loco for an hour is very painful. I have aches in muscles I never knew I had, and my bum/bum truck isn't as well padded as I thought it was. Oh, my aching body. Never again! (well, maybe next year).

We sat down to a mixed grill meal around 7pm, after which, our computer guru/lap timer Greg showed some photos and told us the statistics about the day.

Who was the winner? Our Club! We had over 80 people at the track and even the evening showers didn't spoil the evening.

Thought of the day
A pessimist is someone who looks at the land of milk and honey and sees only calories and cholesterol.

Thursday 12th January 2012

Yesterdays Old Farts was well attended and we all had a great time. Just a warm up for the 12 hour/POETS weekend starting on Friday around lunch time. I have just noticed it is Friday 13th.

Looks like quite a few are sleeping over on Friday night, so we should have a great party and be fit for the early start on Satureday morning. I believe some members have offered Col a bribe so they don't get the 7am start

I have received the minutes of the December meeting and they are in the Members Area.

Thought of the day
I have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life ... provided I die next Tuesday.

Saturday 7th January 2012

Back to the grindstone again. Mother Nature sure had a good time while we weren't at the track, but as usual, the two dozen of us got stuck into the tidying up and the place is now looking respectable (almost) again.

Don't forget Wednesday is Old Farts day.

Next Friday is the POETS weekend leading up to the 12 hour run. I was told that wives are invited to supper on Saturday evening so we will all have to be on our best behaviour.

Thought of the day
Why do they give you a watch when you retire? It's the first time in your life you really don't care what time it is!