This bit of snow

[Bob Eager]

Or a tight tunnel.

[Tony Bryer]

Here in Melbourne we have two gauges - standard gauge (1435mm) and Irish gauge (1600mm). Our suburban and intra-state trains use the latter, interstate trains the former. In places there are dual gauge tracks - two rails on one side, one on the other - very interesting when it gets to points.

[PeterC]

[e-mail]

I was on a bus that was following a gritting lorry. The grit was mostly on the nearside with only about a third of the offside receiving noticeable distribution. This was a road just wide enough for 2 buses if they slowed down. It would be fairly easy, I'd have thought, to bias the throw and sense the verges/kerbs and adjust the thrower to cover the road. When the bus route diverged from the lorry's route we were on snow and ice - over a week and a bus route still untreated!

[Frank Erskine]

No - it makes sense to do one side of the road and the adjacent footway, then the same on his return journey, so that footways and the carriageway are treated.

[Nightjar]

On 03/12/2010 18:55, Vernon wrote: ...

Does it snow every year? Is there a military need to keep the airport open? Do those factors apply in the UK?

Colin Bignell

[Vernon]

It snows without warning, yes every year. Yes there is a need for the airport to stay open.

If the cost of the disruption caused by snow is so high(and supposedly it is), then yes UK airports, highways agencies, rail networks should spend more money preventing a re-occurrence, it is not good enough to say it is a one off event, and then spend no money preventing it happening again. We do not need to spend vast sums of money, but simply making some changes would have a big effect. I guess most companies put profit first.

[PeterC]

Unfortunately this is the sort of road that gets done once; there are no footways. The pattern to the nearside didn't seem to go far enough to do much for a footway. I wonder if there is some sort of adjustment for wider roads, especially dual carriageways - the return journey could be 'interesting' for the outer lane!

[The Natural Philosopher]

theh above quote doesn't mention regs.

You can't plough frozen ground.

[The Natural Philosopher]

OK we are essentially arable here, so no livestock to market stuff, and the sugar beet is all 30 ton road going lorries once it's in the clamps.

However it doesn't affect the point that the winter is when you don't see many tractors about.

ALSO tractors are allowed on roads for agricultural purposes only.

Once they are on there for non agricultural, different rules apply apparently.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not if no LSD or wheel braking is in effect.

One spinning wheel robs power from all the others

I am not sure, but I think the land rovers of modern ilk have automagically lockable front rear and center diffs if wheelspin is detected.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I live surrounded by farms.

I am not ignorant of what goes on. I spend many interesting hours uderstanding framing, because the manager and tractor driver is always in for coffee when he is working the land.

He isn't working it right now. He usually oes on holiday in Jan/Feb because there is little TO do.

Agreed its an arable, not livestock farm.

But we have livestock nearby - stud farms. THEY are not using their lifters and loaders much either..a little feed shifting and muck shifting.

Not too much point spraying or spreading when the stuff wont get absorbed. We use mainly liquid sprays here, so not good sub zero. Powdering works though.

But I never said 'no work' just 'not much work' Compared with ploughing or harvesting. spraying or dressing is very fast.

But then you always prefer to let your prejudice put words into my mouth don't you?

[Tim Streater]

Sorry - I meant tractors doing *snow* ploughing.

You said above "Just fix the silly regs" and hence my question, but I think you answered that in another post - red diesel etc.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Nightjar saying something like:

And what did I ask in that vein at the beginning of the year? I'm amazed it wasn't done as a matter of course.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Tim Streater saying something like:

You seem to be confusing manly proper Landies of fond memory with the latest crop of effete 4x4s.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Right... cleared that one up then ;-)

Was what a farmer on the beeb said.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Defender is still pretty much the basic landy, but refined a bit.

apart from the tyres on it, it would do anything the series III would do, better.

If I had had v pattern tractor tyres on it, it would have been the best on all points.

[Graeme]

In message , Vernon writes

I think the problem is the same money, but in different columns (or pockets!). We talk about millions wasted, or lost, by the bad weather, but by whom? Not the local authorities who would have the expense of the additional equipment. Doubtless LAs would see themselves spending money from a tight budget, to save money for everyone else, so cannot justify the expense.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Tim Streater saying something like:

the dual voltage was apparent on an old unit when it changed over. Bit of a thump and the lights would dim.

[Vernon]

This is the main problem, ie "not my problem" as we have devolved power from central government outwards, so responsibility goes with it.

If we are talking about public highways, then the problem is one of which pot of cash funds what. It is clear that where the highways agency is responsible, roads are cleared fairly effectively, although there have been some failures there, which can be addressed by central government funding. Just give less foreign aid to compensate. Local roads are a difficult one, as again they are important if people are to get to work. So should business rates increase to cover the extra costs?

Of course if you look at airports (or railways), then I would say they should fund their own equipment, if it costs more then no doubt landing fees etc will increase too. But if the airport is open more as a result, then everyone is a winner including the airlines.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That's not the problem: that's the solution.

It means its your local elected council and the appointed £1/4 million a year execeutive twatface that runs it that you can potentially clear out by local elections.

Not a bunch of whitehall morons who are untouchable by mere mortals.

Its very simple. If central government clears away red tape surrounding subcontractors doing it, it needs no extra workforce at all: or capital investment. Just a pot of cash to do the job when its needed.

I heard today that the guvmint is allowing truck drivers to blow their daily hours quotas over the next 4 days. What sanity! That law is to prevent persistent abuse of hours, not stop emergency deliveries.

No airport can stay open 254x7x52 .. adverse weather will always affect flights. Its simply that whining public people expect everything to 'just work'

Te cost of heated runways etc would be massively reflected in airport cgharges..and as has been pointed out landing into a bank of fog created by it, is no solution.

ploughs and salt do what they can, but there are simply limits to what CAN be done.

Ships wont dock in a gale either.