@cambrian-explorer.bsky.social
Half of the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park events team. Assistant school exams officer. Mender, tinkerer, maker. No anti-car zealots or authoritarians of any stripe.
A good selection of old school Southern 3rd rail EMUs there! The footage is presumably a bit earlier than 1970 though as I'd expect to see more BR blue by then.
February 11, 2026 at 11:06 PM
A good selection of old school Southern 3rd rail EMUs there! The footage is presumably a bit earlier than 1970 though as I'd expect to see more BR blue by then.
The inevitable result is all blades being outlawed. Which mostly makes life hard for those who would carry one as a tool, not a weapon.
February 11, 2026 at 10:51 PM
The inevitable result is all blades being outlawed. Which mostly makes life hard for those who would carry one as a tool, not a weapon.
I have...a few...
Four in O scale (two of them rescues from the NQP section at Dapol HQ), an ancient Hornby Dublo one with a neo magnet (cures the overheating problems they suffered from when new) and the two old Farish ones. Amusingly Dublo managed the outside frames over sixty years ago!
Four in O scale (two of them rescues from the NQP section at Dapol HQ), an ancient Hornby Dublo one with a neo magnet (cures the overheating problems they suffered from when new) and the two old Farish ones. Amusingly Dublo managed the outside frames over sixty years ago!
February 11, 2026 at 10:47 PM
I have...a few...
Four in O scale (two of them rescues from the NQP section at Dapol HQ), an ancient Hornby Dublo one with a neo magnet (cures the overheating problems they suffered from when new) and the two old Farish ones. Amusingly Dublo managed the outside frames over sixty years ago!
Four in O scale (two of them rescues from the NQP section at Dapol HQ), an ancient Hornby Dublo one with a neo magnet (cures the overheating problems they suffered from when new) and the two old Farish ones. Amusingly Dublo managed the outside frames over sixty years ago!
These older Farish are very prone to splitting gears, and replacements can be hard to find. I have an otherwise minty London Transport ex-GWR pannier tank from about 1995 which needs a new axle gear to return to service.
February 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
These older Farish are very prone to splitting gears, and replacements can be hard to find. I have an otherwise minty London Transport ex-GWR pannier tank from about 1995 which needs a new axle gear to return to service.
Bear in mind that's the old model too - Farish used the same inside frame chassis as their J94/Austerity. I do have a couple for nostalgia (one with the unsplittable brass gears), but they've released a proper outside frame version since the Bachmann takeover.
February 11, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Bear in mind that's the old model too - Farish used the same inside frame chassis as their J94/Austerity. I do have a couple for nostalgia (one with the unsplittable brass gears), but they've released a proper outside frame version since the Bachmann takeover.
Stand by for the same lies Britain was force-fed from circa 1996 until 2016...
February 11, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Stand by for the same lies Britain was force-fed from circa 1996 until 2016...
There's a tale about the SAS chaps who went ashore in Normandy to recce the beaches for D Day. When presenting their findings to the assembled Generals one of them warned Bradley that losses would be terrible. His reaction was a quiet, resigned, "I know".
February 11, 2026 at 11:51 AM
There's a tale about the SAS chaps who went ashore in Normandy to recce the beaches for D Day. When presenting their findings to the assembled Generals one of them warned Bradley that losses would be terrible. His reaction was a quiet, resigned, "I know".
Would guess somewhere Western Region judging by the number of diesel hydraulics there.
February 11, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Would guess somewhere Western Region judging by the number of diesel hydraulics there.
I see Obama Derangement Syndrome is in full effect still. Dementia can go that way, the patient becomes obsessed with something or someone to the point of irrational anger.
February 10, 2026 at 11:20 AM
I see Obama Derangement Syndrome is in full effect still. Dementia can go that way, the patient becomes obsessed with something or someone to the point of irrational anger.
He's not wrong. USA and Russia are funding and running disinformation campaigns on behalf of christofascist thugs across western Europe.
February 10, 2026 at 11:01 AM
He's not wrong. USA and Russia are funding and running disinformation campaigns on behalf of christofascist thugs across western Europe.
That's how an effective army works. The best you can do is use people who aren't suitable for the front line for the logistics and repair jobs. An army which isn't getting deliveries of food and ammo can't fight.
February 9, 2026 at 11:11 PM
That's how an effective army works. The best you can do is use people who aren't suitable for the front line for the logistics and repair jobs. An army which isn't getting deliveries of food and ammo can't fight.
Any surgeon who's willing to listen to a clanker shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a living patient!
I mean, this sounds as if I'd do better using my modelmaking skills and what I learned from watching MASH...
I mean, this sounds as if I'd do better using my modelmaking skills and what I learned from watching MASH...
February 9, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Any surgeon who's willing to listen to a clanker shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a living patient!
I mean, this sounds as if I'd do better using my modelmaking skills and what I learned from watching MASH...
I mean, this sounds as if I'd do better using my modelmaking skills and what I learned from watching MASH...
They just close them to everyone else. Trying to use the roads your taxes paid for? Forget it, city's shut for visiting fash.
February 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
They just close them to everyone else. Trying to use the roads your taxes paid for? Forget it, city's shut for visiting fash.
This sounds like "Why Father Dougal isn't allowed to run funerals"...
February 9, 2026 at 4:30 PM
This sounds like "Why Father Dougal isn't allowed to run funerals"...
I've said it before, but I'm waiting for the next industrial disaster to involve AI. "I couldn't get hold of my supervisor so I asked AI, now half the country won't be safe to live in for the next 3000 years"...
February 9, 2026 at 1:14 PM
I've said it before, but I'm waiting for the next industrial disaster to involve AI. "I couldn't get hold of my supervisor so I asked AI, now half the country won't be safe to live in for the next 3000 years"...
He's a fascist grifter who would make life hell for the population. There'd be no NHS, no human rights, no employment rights. Cannot believe how many are unable to see this.
February 9, 2026 at 12:46 PM
He's a fascist grifter who would make life hell for the population. There'd be no NHS, no human rights, no employment rights. Cannot believe how many are unable to see this.
The model yacht lake can't be much newer than 1900? They're quite rare now, the circular shape is a giveaway.
February 9, 2026 at 12:34 PM
The model yacht lake can't be much newer than 1900? They're quite rare now, the circular shape is a giveaway.
The live brown bear stands under a neutral blue sky on the green earth (high school physics lesson circa 1995). Wiring a plug is still on the curriculum now.
Honestly waiting for a major disaster because someone couldn't contact their boss and AI will confidently give the wrong instructions.
Honestly waiting for a major disaster because someone couldn't contact their boss and AI will confidently give the wrong instructions.
February 9, 2026 at 7:47 AM
The live brown bear stands under a neutral blue sky on the green earth (high school physics lesson circa 1995). Wiring a plug is still on the curriculum now.
Honestly waiting for a major disaster because someone couldn't contact their boss and AI will confidently give the wrong instructions.
Honestly waiting for a major disaster because someone couldn't contact their boss and AI will confidently give the wrong instructions.
Same here. Why is everything a video now? Just explain it. It takes less time to read "Hold volume up and power on buttons and release when device powers on" than it does to sit through a self-proclaimed "personality" introducing themselves and their sponsors.
February 8, 2026 at 9:21 PM
Same here. Why is everything a video now? Just explain it. It takes less time to read "Hold volume up and power on buttons and release when device powers on" than it does to sit through a self-proclaimed "personality" introducing themselves and their sponsors.
I see these occasionally elsewhere. They get amusingly angry if you point out that wealth is mostly the result of a massive amount of luck (be born to rich parents, be born attractive, be born talented, meet the right people, etc).
February 8, 2026 at 11:17 AM
I see these occasionally elsewhere. They get amusingly angry if you point out that wealth is mostly the result of a massive amount of luck (be born to rich parents, be born attractive, be born talented, meet the right people, etc).
Unfortunately the BBC coverage was spoiled by commentators who felt they had to do a Greek Chorus impression. It's more fun when you have absolutely no idea why there are three giant heads unrolling music while people dressed as coffee pots dance around!
February 6, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Unfortunately the BBC coverage was spoiled by commentators who felt they had to do a Greek Chorus impression. It's more fun when you have absolutely no idea why there are three giant heads unrolling music while people dressed as coffee pots dance around!
Not so sure. I have a feeling there was a phase 2 version with a normal dashboard (in the hope that it'd work for more than 24hrs)? The originals had a weird steering wheel and the dashboard buttons were mounted under a flexible membrane, this has a conventional 2 spoke wheel and switches.
February 6, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Not so sure. I have a feeling there was a phase 2 version with a normal dashboard (in the hope that it'd work for more than 24hrs)? The originals had a weird steering wheel and the dashboard buttons were mounted under a flexible membrane, this has a conventional 2 spoke wheel and switches.
I've often wondered if a Haltech ECU, EFI conversion, and a modern digital dash could fix one of these. You could have an LCD programmed to show the same things as the factory CRTs, same shape/typefaces/colours/etc.
February 6, 2026 at 10:07 PM
I've often wondered if a Haltech ECU, EFI conversion, and a modern digital dash could fix one of these. You could have an LCD programmed to show the same things as the factory CRTs, same shape/typefaces/colours/etc.
Hang on, there's a ferry company based around there...
February 6, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Hang on, there's a ferry company based around there...
My Yr7 History teacher actually encouraged us to read whatever we'd brought if we finished the work he'd set. He was retiring at the end of the year and we were his last new class. Absolute gent.
February 5, 2026 at 10:32 PM
My Yr7 History teacher actually encouraged us to read whatever we'd brought if we finished the work he'd set. He was retiring at the end of the year and we were his last new class. Absolute gent.