Tal-y-Llyn Railway troubles

Just getting the word out. Not sure how to help, but the Tal-y-Llyn railway on the coast of Wales would seem to be suffering from the slack economy. Word is that the operation lost about 100,000 pounds, roughly $180,000 last year.
The Tal-y-Llin is one of the oldest restored railways in the U.K., but suffers from being some distance off the be beatin track. About halfway between Porthmadog, and Aberystwth Wales, this wonderful little railway is passed by on the way to other destinations.
Check them out at www.talyllin.co.uk.. it’s worth the look, and if you happen to get to the U.K. a trip through Wales is worth the time. You don’t really need a rental car as the train service is good. The only notable gap in transportation, being that the west and north coast railways have no direct connection. If you have the time, one can take the Ffestiniog from Porthmadog to Ffestiniog, and catch the Conwy Valley standard gauge line to the coast.
The Cambrian Coast route stops right at the west end of the Tal-y-Llin railway, a 1/2 block walk to the narrow gauge station and museum.
Anyway here’s the question for you. Any ideas on how to get the word out about the trains of Wales. I know there are sites out there (Great Little Trains of Wales) and other, but their visibility seems low. I’m not in the travel industry, but it seems like that might be the key to helping out these small railways. It would be a shame to lose some of them.

66 Valiant

A couple people have asked about the Valiant, so here it is.

Still in need of some work, there are a couple bad spots on the rear floor area, and it’s kind of trapped behind Robert’s 66 Charger at this point. But as time permits, I think we’re going to try to modify the fuel injection from a mid 70s Volvo to fit the slant six.

Also considering:

Seats from a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, get good seats and shoulder straps that way.

Super Six (2 barrel carb) set from a 76 Aspen, also has a much larger exhaust.

Going to have 100/1000ths cut from the head. Big boost in compression.

Electronic ignition. This ones easy from a wrecking yard, we have done this before.

Front and rear anti sway bars. These are on the shelf, just got to bolt them on.

Power disc brakes. Anybody that has worked with an older car knows how important this is.

Battery is being moved to the trunk, and a cold air intake goes in the old battery location.

Finally, since this is going to be a daily driver, air conditioning.

We will see how it all goes, but my intention is to keep this a budget project. Also we’re going to take notes and photos of the progress.  Much of what we’re going to do is Valiant/Dart specific, but might be of note to those thinking about the same idea with a Nova/Falcon or any other 60s compact.

My feeling is that in an age of $100,000 plus Challengers,  Mustangs,  and  Camaros, those of us that have to stick to some kind of a budget will be turning to the Dart,  Nova,  Falcon class of car.

This particular Valiant was purchased from the Kidney Car people, and cost $300. Hope to keep the project to under $2,000 including the car.  OK maybe when I’m done, I let a good paint job take me over that, but the idea is to do as much from U-Pull-It wrecking yards, as is possible.

Comments and ideas are most welcome, we all have a lot to learn.

Welsh Highland Update 3.0

Latest news is that  the Welsh Highland will begin service to the public over the entire route in July 2009.

Might be worth planning some vacation time for late summer or early fall. The dollar is quite strong against the pound right now, and airfares have dropped to levels we haven’t seen in a year.

If you are thinking about a day or two in Porthmadog, the Oakeley Arms, about 5 miles from Porthmadog in Maentwrog, is worth a look.  A delightful hotel with a Pub/Restaurant in the building.  And old building with many odd hallways, and stairs, it’s easy to get lost on your way to your room.  When we checked in last year, the desk clerk had some time finding our rooms.  Oh the food in the pub is first rate, and priced for a budget.

For those on a tight budget, a Travel Lodge has opened in Porthmadog.  The rates are on a par with U.S. motels.

Remember to stop by Spooners in the Ffestiniog station at Porthmadog and have an ale with “The Princess”

B-29 “Boxcar”

Boxcar

Just another photo from the Wright Patterson museum.
For those of you that don’t know. This is the aircraft that dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, pretty much ending World War Two.
As with most of my aircraft photos, if you should like the huge file to print from, just let me know. Their free.

Got a little bit of snow.

December 24th.

Bit more snow than we have had in the Portland area for awhile.  The Van on the left is the $175 Dodge mentioned in an earlier post.  The snow drift on the right is our 93 Dodge Intrepid.

Took this Christmas Eve, looks like I might be able to get the Intrepid out today (Friday).

After sitting in The Dalles, Oregon,  Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday morning. I finally gave up and drove back to Biggs Junction, then south on 97 to Madras, then over Mt. Hood to Portland.  Talked to a State Policeman that told me it was open, but he didn’t want everybody to try it. I used to run Portland to Prineville every day, so I’m used to Mt. Hood in winter.  What the State Police didn’t want was a bunch of trucks from the Midwest to take a try at the mountain. That would have been a mess.

This was the end of a 7 week trip. One new tire, and a heater fan that broke in South Dakota, on a 5 degree night. Not bad for what was going to be a ten day out and back.

Ouch: Ask before you grab that taxi.

So we’re in Denver and it looks like freight to Portland just isn’t going to happen.  June has  to be home this weekend, so I got a ticket on Alaska Air from Denver to Portland.  Go rid of the load of card board this morning, and found the only thing going is back to Indiana.

Up to the truck stop, grab a bite, and thought, why not get June a cab to the airport. Don’t know if Denver International is truck friendly, and it was a 15 minute drive, so it made sense. Or at least you would think so.  $56 for a ten mile ride in an old Ford Crown Vic.  OK I’m really in the wrong business, that’s something like $5 a mile using a car that cost less than one truck payment.

U-Haul Rant

I’ll depart from my normal posts to warn you about U-Haul.  You see the vans around town with that “Rent this truck for 29.95 a day” painted on the side.

Well what they don’t tell you is that their going to add a huge mileage charge to that daily fee.

Last week my oldest Daughter was faced with an quick move, oh and there’s a whole story about that.  Anyway I happen to get the chance for a trip to Phoenix, and would be in the area during her move.  The was apparent that we needed a van or pick-up for some of the move, my 53 foot trailer and Freightliner tractor, could not get into the apartment complex. 74 feet of truck is a little bulky at times.

Well, I went to the local U-Hual and rented a Ford Van.  One short move, for many reasons I’ll not say to where, returned the Van and payed $93.00 for the daily plus mileage.  Mind you, I could have dropped my 53 foot trailer, and rented a 28 foot furniture van for $35 for the day.

To be fair power is way more expensive that trailers.  If you should, always try to get the job done with a trailer.  Even if your car is a Mini, or a Golf, think about getting a proper trailer hitch, that way when the need comes along, you can rent a small trailer, for $20 a day, and no mileage charge.  It’s just a better idea.

With a 28 foot trailer, both apartments would have been no problem.

Just something to think about before you rent a truck.  Think about passing some cash to a friend with a pick-up, or a Van.  To many people $50 will get you a Van and some help for the move.

Welsh Highland update (update)

Just so you know.. While pretty much complete, the link from the Welsh Highland Railway to the Ffestiniog will become fully operational during June 2009.  And it looks at this point like those who want to take the entire trip will have to change trains twice.

The Welsh Highland out of Caernarfon will operate as far as Beddgelert.  From Beddgelert to Porthmadog looks like a combination of Welsh Highland Porthmadog, and some Ffestiniog trains.  Then of course from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog will be much like the current Ffestiniog service.

Probably this is a good thing. Quick walk changing trains, and you will get to see at least three different locomotives in the process.

For those of you that haven’t been to Wales, and I suspect that’s most of you.  Wales is a step back in time, the Railroads, Castles, and most of all, the people are great.  Less expensive than a vacation in England and a bit less frantic.  I have other posts that go into some detail on the railways of Wales, if your interested it’s worth a quick look.  In that post I’ve covered the railways I have seen in person. But there are many more, and I may add an additional post using some second hand information, until I can get to them as well.

My daughter rode the Vale of Rheidol Railway, out of Aberystwyth, and she tells me it’s a very nice ride, and a well run operation.

The other must ride (although I haven’t as yet) would have to be Snowdon Mountain Railway. This railway is so steep that the locomotives have a cog wheel under the center of the frame that runs on a third rack rail.

Start saving now, it’s worth the trip.  Just a quick thought.  After mid September air fairs and room rates drop quite a bit, and Wales in fall is very nice.

Recaps on a bus?

Something that might get past some of you. The bus that crashed this week in Texas had recapped tires in the steer position. Now I run recapped tires on my trailer, I used to on my tractor, but, never on the steer axle.  Recapped tires are know for tread separation, and sometimes the body of the tire is so old that the tire just explodes. I’ve had this happen.

First of all it’s not legal, second it’s just stupid. The front tires are more heavily loaded than the other tires on most trucks, or buses.  On my Freightliner the steers hold 5,500 pounds each, and I’ve owned trucks where this ran as high as 6,200 pounds.  In the drive and trailer position you have a maximum of 34,000 pounds but the is split between 8 tires, 4,250 per tire. And while the drive and trailer tires are paired with another tire, the steer tires are on their own, and are subject to the force of turning, a hard turn trying to rip the bonded cap off the body of the tire.

Any vehicle in interstate operation mush use new tires in the steer positions. Even in local operations where these rules don’t apply, such as local container haulers, I’ve never seen anyone use recapped tires on the steer axle. And some of these are guys moving containers around town, with a beat up old Cabover that they picked up for less than ten grand.

This bus company is probably out of business, and should be. Top of the line Michelins are $550 each, the caps they bought where probably $300. OK so you saved $500 on a pair of tires, nice job guys.

Memory is funny sometimes.

Had a delivery to Waldport, Oregon yesterday.  Some planters for the main street fix up.

Haven’t been to that area of the coast in a long time, but happen to get a glance of the house my aunt lived in back in the 60s.  Just east of hiway 101 the garage is long gone, but the house is still there.

When I was a little person, I spent a summer or two down there, and I remember the house as much larger than it is.  My aunt, her husband and six kids lived in this place, although the boys slept in a bunk house type setup in the garage.  Still this house, looking at it now, couldn’t be 900 square feet.  Kind of funny to thing about a family and guests, crowded into the little place.

I think I will remember it with fresh paint, and a trim yard, as it was in 1963.

By the way, Waldport hasn’t changed much, a little bigger, but like many coastal towns, stuck in the late 50s.  And that might not be a bad thing.