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Sunday 31 December 2017

Welcome Comrade/s

There seems to be intense interest in water towers today in Russia:

click to enlargeski

The intensity of the green indicates the Old Year's Day traffic sources.

If there's somebody out there in Russia with an old water tower to rescue (and there could well be) we'd be delighted to hear about it.   There are loads of water tower crack pots around the world with common problems and a wealth of experience.

Wednesday 27 December 2017

Harbingers

Noticed these little fellows peeping through the winter gloom today.   Daffodils on the station approach drive.


Harbingers is one of those strange words with a limited number of add-ons.

Doom and spring are the only ones that immediately spring (sorry) to mind.

Tuesday 26 December 2017

Another Old Water Tower Picture

This must be in the running for the most boring picture postcard ever produced:

click to enlarge

Settle station and water tower are about midway up on the left.   Just.

I can only think the main focus of attention was the row of newly built semis on Cammock Lane.

Monday 25 December 2017

Crimbo

We are having a lovely Christmas Day, just the two of us plus dog Bess and cat Purrcy - plus a cock pheasant at the bird table.   Very, very restful and Christmassy.

Father Christmas has difficulty here, with no real chimney, so he uses the lift shaft, resourceful chap:


His bounty knew no bounds this year and included an iPhone 6S and an Alexa plus lots of super railway books of the dip-into sort.   Just the thing for the middle of the night when I am reading myself back to sleep.   When I have cleared lots of hurdles my Apple Mac computer, the iPhone and the Alexa will all connect seamlessly but I shall have to get used to 'apps' before then.

You may be wondering about the big parcel propped against the lift's control panel.   You need to hark back a week or two when I Blogged about an amazing painting that was for sale in Settle - a Settle-scape which featured both the Folly and the Water Tower.   Well I was able to buy it and here it is:

click to enlarge

There's the water tower now a Settle icon!   It was painted by local artist Georgia Winder and we shall cherish it.   It is 4 feet long by 2 feet tall.

  Buildings depicted include

Top row - the Water Tower, The Shambles, The Folly, The Signal Box
Middle row - The Naked Man Cafe, The Social Club
Bottom row - The Royal Oak, Poppies Tea Room, Nelson's Shoe Shop, the Bike Shop and Lamberts Newsagents.

To complete the festive scene here is our main room, gently dressed up for Christmas


It seems almost no time since this cosy room was a derelict and forbidding space.


The recent very cold weather prompted us to review our heating arrangements as the temperature in our 'cosy' room fell to 15 degrees C.   Did we need a more powerful boiler perhaps?

Local electrical & heating magnate Jonathan Mousey responded to our plea for heating help.   We did not need a new boiler but we did need to make better use of the existing one (he could have sold us a new boiler but didn't, bless him).   Among his recommendations was to double the number of heat propelled fans above the gas stove in the main room.   This we have done and what a difference it has made:


Not only are these things visual fun, they blast hot air to where it is needed.

Another device I am adopting is to fit concealed hinge-side door closers on all the internal doors.   They are fire doors after all so should remain closed on that account alone.   Just two doors have so far been fitted but boy, what a difference it makes.







Happy Christmas Day

Happy Christmas from Settle Station's famous water tower.


This lovely painting of Ribblehead seems to be a fitting finale to my little series of advent pictures.  

A very happy Christmas to visitors to our Blog,
especially those of you in GCHQ, the Kremlin and the
Pentagon, working on Christmas Day.   Regular followers will understand
that little joke.   Casual visitors will think I have finally flipped.

If you are at GCHQ etc, keep up the good work.

Let s all pray for a World when there is no longer the need.

Sunday 24 December 2017

Happy Christmas 24th December


c
click to enlarge

Blea Moor signal box and up line water tower.   The water tower no longer exists but the signal box very much does - and is manned 24/7.

Friday 22 December 2017

Wednesday 20 December 2017

Happy Christmas December 20th

This is Appleby on 16 February 1979 and the Carlisle snowploughs, powered by 25172 and 25285 are seen getting train crew relief before setting off for Blea Moor.


Nowadays the trolley kitchens at Settle and Appleby are havens of festive cheer for snow plough crews in the know ho ho.

Sunday 17 December 2017

Happy Christmas December 17th

Number two on my little Advent calendar:

click to enlarge

This is a driver's eye view of Ribblehead station, heading south.   And for comparison here is the same scene in summer:


The Ribblehead quarry siding can more clearly seen to the right of the down line in this view.   Good news yesterday  - ten trainloads of aggregate will depart from that siding, starting tomorrow, Monday.

Pictures credit 225studios.com

Saturday 16 December 2017

Happy Christmas December 16th

Thought it might be a nice idea to use the next ten days until you-know-when by posting some Christmassy Settle-Carlisle images, starting with this year's FoSCL Christmas card by Andrew Griffiths:

click to enlarge

It shows a stranger on the line - a South West Trains class 158 unit on loan to Northern in a snow covered Mallerstang.

Monday 11 December 2017

Sunset and Christmas Lights

We try our best with Christmas on the tower - not overdoing it but doing something.   Today I strung up our string of cherry LEDs and the winter sunset obliged.


at the northern end the sky was dark but the unseasonably early snow made for a pretty-ish picture



Sunday 3 December 2017

Christmas has Started in Settle

They really do Christmas well here.


click to enlarge

Picture above shows The Shambles in the Market Place with Settle Town Hall and fireworks from Castlebergh rock.

And below is the Naked Man Cafe later in the week.

 


Saturday 2 December 2017

One of the World's Awesome Water Tower Homes it Seems

Just received a Google Alert about this rather upmarket website on which we feature among the World's 'awesome water tower homes':

http://myppmc.com/water-tower-home

Crikey.