60163 Tornado
In some ways one of the aspects of seeing the Winton Train at Boreham, was how professional it all was. Tornado steamed into view at the same speed of all the modern electrics on the line and in a few seconds, she was gone. Are railway engines female like ships?
It was just like how as a child, when I used to see the Streaks (A4 Pacifics) at Oakleigh Park in the late 1950s and 1960s. But then if you read the history of the new-build A1 Pacific, Tornado, you would expect that, as it is just a very professional engineering project, albeit with a rather unusual product.
There was criticism when Tornado was built that this British project had to use a German boiler. Wikipedia says this.
While the manufacturing facilities still existed in Britain to manufacture such a large component, due to the design differences from the originals, the Trust required a supplier with the specific experience of designing, building and certification of steam engine boilers to modern day safety regulations, as required by the European Union’s Pressure Equipment Directive.
In early 2002, the Deutsche Bahn Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works in the former East Germany was identified as a supplier. They possessed the required knowledge as mainline steam operation had continued in East Germany until the mid-1980s, and 70% of its work still involved steam, and they still possessed the powerful plate roller machines.
That to me is a very good reason for using a German boiler. It also cost about the same as a complete rebuild of the boiler of the Flying Scotsman.
In a lot of other areas too, Tornado is modern, in that it can operate under the wires and in a completely safe environment on a modern railway. She also has a modern air braking system.
Let’s hope we see Tornado a lot more in the next few years.
An interesting aside in the Wikipedia article is this.
While Tornado will be limited to 90 mph (140 km/h) on the UK main line, there is a possibility that she could reach higher speeds, if transported to Germany. If she was towed through the Channel Tunnel, according to the Trust, Deutsche Bahn had informed the Trust that Tornado would be allowed to run “as fast as [they] like”.
Perhaps, if there is another Winton train, Tornado could do the whole route!
The Winton Train at Boreham
This short video shows the passage of the Winton Train through Boreham in Essex.
I’m afraid that the quality isn’t as good as I’d have liked. Partly this was because of the wind and the camera shake that it induced. And of course I can’t really ask the train to go back again so I could take a second shot.
I must admit that filming it and creating the short film clip did bring a tear to my eye. I have been through a lot in the last couple of years. I think now I understand what went on in Europe in the Second World War so much better.
BP’s Oil Find
BP seem to have struck oil. Or is it gold? But the technology to get it to market will be awesome.
Many years ago, I remember when they found the Forties Field and how they said they’d never get that oil ashore. They did then and the Project Management System that I wrote at the time, Artemis, was a great help in the planning of the whole of the North Sea. It certainly helped us go from a little company to one with global clout. The strange thing though, is that we probably made a lot of sales because our systems didn’t need the installation of the large mainframe computers everybody used at the time.
So when I see a find like BP have made in the Gulf of Mexico, I smile a bit and thank Aberdeen and its oil industry for my success.
This is what the Guardian said about the find.
BP has reopened the debate on when the “peak oil” supply will be reached by announcing a big new discovery in the Gulf of Mexico which some believe could be as large as the Forties, the biggest field ever found in the North Sea.
The strike comes days after Iran unveiled an even larger find of 8.8bn barrels of crude oil, and the moves have encouraged sceptics of theories which say that peak production has been reached, or soon will be, to hail a new golden age of exploration and supply.
BP, already the largest producer of hydrocarbons in the US, said its “giant” Tiber discovery in 4,100ft (1,250m) of water was particularly exciting because it promised to open up a whole new area.
I tend to agree that the forecast of oil running out is based on doom cults, rather than sensible science.
If you look at a large oil field, it is not actually that large in terms of area, so when you look for it, it’s very very difficult. And in BP’s latest case, even more so, as you are at depths higher than Mount Everest.
So it’s my belief and this has been confirmed by BP and Iran, that there is a lot of coal out there, but we just don’t have the technology to look for it.
As an aside to this, the Selby coalfield was one of the largest in the UK. But it was only discovered in the 1960s and that in a country which is probably the most explored in the world.
Thunder Thighs Are Good
That is the message being posted on the news this morning, but it is not quite that if you read the news report.
I heard it that if your thighs were less than 60 cm. then this was bad for your heart. It’s actually, if your thighs are less than 55 cm., then this is true. Here’s what the report says.
The study looked at more than 2800 men and women with an average age of around 50.
It found that the risk of heart disease more than doubled for both men and women who had a thigh circumference of less than 55 centimetres.
Those participants with thighs between 55 and 60 centimetres received a protective effect against heart disease, the study reports.
But that protective effect reduced for people with thighs above 60 centimetres in circumference.
So because my thighs are only 48 cm. (19 in.) does that put me at risk? Possibly not, as my waist is only 75 cm. (30 in.)?
Probably not, if I read the next bit.
Associate Professor David Cameron-Smith, of Deakin University in Melbourne, says this is very powerful research.
He says a growing body of research is showing the increased risk of heart disease associated with living a sedentary lifestyle.
According to Cameron-Smith, thigh circumference is a broad indicator of physical activity and muscle mass is related to how much exercise you do.
I don’t live that sort of lifestyle all the time. In fact when my fitness was last checked a few months ago, it was probably that of a man ten years younger than me. It wasn’t always so and has improved over the last few years since I was diagnosed as a coeliac and have gone on a gluten free diet.
I also get a lot of exercise trying to find good clothes that fit properly.
The Anonymous Widower 