Diary of an Ordinary Van

[transitandy]

Very random indeed but oh so interesting at the same time and one of the best threads on the forum

[Vee4]

Very random indeed but oh so interesting at the same time and one of the best threads on the forum

I'm pleased to hear that you still enjoy reading the Diary. Following your original suggestion, I try to include relevant illustrations in each major entry. There's a long list of entries waiting in the 'drafts' folder ... I need to find that elusive eighth day and devote it to the Forum!


It was released as a single in the USA.

[Vee4]

What is it with car drivers?

Another dent in the Ordinary Van, this time in the passenger door. Car drivers seem to to think that using public roads and car parks is some kind of contact sport: when you open your door, just open it until it hits something; when parking, go backwards (or forwards) until you hit something. Yes, I've had that too.

A weakness in the design of the Mk6/Mk7 body is the convex styling line down the side - just the right height to be hit by careless car drivers and rigid enough to dent rather than spring out of the way. On the Mk5, the line is concave so perhaps that's why it didn't seem to be a problem.

Perhaps I should just give up and buy a Citroen H van with corrugated sides:


Picture from www.thepizzavan.co.uk

[redcube]

You should see my mk5 driver side it looks like someone as been playing kick the van there is dents every where and a deep mark down the side now

[Vee4]

You should see my mk5

Interesting! Is that from car-door damage or work-related incidents? I didn't seem to have the problem with my Mk5: wing mirror stripes and bent bumpers, yes; dents, no.

[bigjohnthomas]

Very random indeed but oh so interesting at the same time and one of the best threads on the forum

I'm pleased to hear that you still enjoy reading the Diary. Following your original suggestion, I try to include relevant illustrations in each major entry. There's a long list of entries waiting in the 'drafts' folder ... I need to find that elusive eighth day and devote it to the Forum!


It was released as a single in the USA.

I have a dog called johnny b good the entire litter was named after beetles songs however I think chuck berry sung it originaly and the beetles is a not as good cover
Making him a fakey cakey



Have his sis don't pass me by. Too

[redcube]

You should see my mk5

Interesting! Is that from car-door damage or work-related incidents? I didn't seem to have the problem with my Mk5: wing mirror stripes and bent bumpers, yes; dents, no.

All car doors and cars in parking lots the must see red and go made

[Vee4]

All car doors and cars in parking lots - they must see red and go mad.

In the new avatar picture, it looks as if you are submerged in the Shannon. At least they won't be able to get you in there!

[redcube]

I used trained in Shannon thats where almost all the dents came from when i used to leave the van parked at FAS

[Vee4]

Joining up the dots

Last week, I was up and down the A1(M) in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and the Ordinary Van.

A 400kV Supergrid line follows the route and crosses it a few times. As the A1 skirts round St Neots, we find the Eaton Socon substation, where Little Barford Power Station joins the National Grid. The Supergrid also links to Sundon, as previously mentioned.


Little Barford Power Station

I'm currently learning how to tell the difference between L6 and L12 pylons (or towers, as they are known 'in the trade'). The right-angle and isosceles triangles provide the key to instant recognition.

[Vee4]

Can the circle be unbroken?

In a correctly designed network it can be, because there will be an alternative route that can be used if the direct route is broken. That is the case with the National Grid.

I was out on the the road at the weekend in the rain and the Ordinary Van (that one's for you, Altransit!). If you go down a motorway, you're certain to see some pylons. They seem to follow each other, together with railway lines and canals, in 'communication corridors'. Along the M6 and M42 in the West Midlands, there are plenty of L6 to see and one was featured as Pylon of the Month:


Pylon of the Month July 2009

There was also an L12 sighting by the side of the A40 at Uxbridge. Until recently, it would have been just another pylon!

[Altransit]

I can see you turning us all into pylon spotters

I'm sure that there is an L12 next to the M40 between J9 and J8a They are the ones that carry the wires round a route deviation (a corner one ) .............. I think

[transitandy]

I can see you turning us all into pylon spotters

I think you may be right

[Vee4]

Still going a roving

Unlike George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824). Whenever I set off in the light of a full moon and the Ordinary Van (this could become a feature!), I find myself reciting the lines of Byron's poem:

"So we'll go no more a roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright ..."


The 'Earthrise' picture from Apollo 8

More on pylons next, but I had to put this one in while it was topical: there was a full moon on 15 June 2011.
More on Byron too, at a future date.

[Vee4]

I'm sure that there is an L12 next to the M40 between J9 and J8a

I was on the M40 in the Ordinary Van myself last week. I thought those were L6 but the weather conditions were atrocious so I had to be watching the road instead of the skyline. More study is needed, or it may be necessary to use the Great Badger Mystery solution of having a passenger equipped with binoculars, lists, charts and illustrations. I'm not sure about my L12 sighting now - it might have been an L9! I'll have another look next time.

Here is an interesting picture of L6 and L12 side-by-side:



It clearly shows the difference. From what I've read, the more slender design of the L12 was made possible by the use of high-tensile steels and computer-aided design of the lattice. Also, the L12 carries dual 825mm² aluminium alloy conductors (try fitting those in your consumer unit!), while the L6 carries quad 400mm² steel-cored conductors and that appears to be the case in the above picture.

The cross arms of the L12 appear as isosceles triangles and on the L6 they are more like right-angle triangles. I thought this might be the clue to telling them apart but the isosceles arms appear on some other pylons too. Perhaps the new design is used for modification or repair of existing pylons.

Repeat after me: "the square on the hypotenuse ..."