This is the first blog post for quite a while simply because circumstances have dictated I haven’t been away in the campervan. Since last year I’ve spent Easter in Huddersfield (in a hotel) and been to Norway on a cruise so there’s been no chance to get away. The other change in circumstances is that the ‘van is no longer my daily driver as Suzie Two, a Vitara, has been added to the fleet.
I’m in York, promoted by a model show at the National Railway Museum, hence the Trains in the title. The only issue I had before the trip was to get the starter battery fully charged, as the vehicle hasn’t moved since January it was completely flat; I need to do something about that so I’ll make sure it gets charged every few weeks if I’m not away - it would be good to contrive some way for the solar panel to keep both batteries topped up but I’m not sure it would be easy to do. Apart from that it was mainly just restocking food and checking things over.
I drove up to the caravan site outside the city on Friday, via the barbers and Sainsbugs in Market Harborough. I was a bit ahead of time but a break at a service station and then delays on the A1 (which I avoided by staying on the M1 but it added time to the journey) meant I arrived at a bit after one. One concern on the way up was a bumping noise; I checked the roof rack was secure when I stopped, all fine as it should be, I was almost at the site when I realised it was almost certainly the radio aerial hitting the roof rack! I had hoped the site might have a fish and chip van visit, they often do, but it turned out they have a pizza trailer instead! It was a nice pizza from a wood fired oven but give me fish and chips on a Friday for preference.
The site is just over two miles from one of the park and ride locations, just on the cusp between walking and driving. I decided on the former and it wasn’t too bad but when I saw the plentiful bike parking I wished I’d brought the folder with me. Everything went smoothly and more quickly than I expected so I was at the Museum just after 9am, with the show not opening until 10. Although I wasn’t actually first there I did end up being at the front of the queue as it formed - that turned out to be a huge advantage as by the time we started to go in the queue was getting very long and, due to limitations on overall numbers, they were admitting people in batches of 30 or so.
The show itself was spread over a few rooms and a corridor in the conference centre which wasn’t ideal. I understand it wasn’t what was envisaged when the venue was chosen but circumstances prevailed. It was enjoyable enough, and I had a few chats with people. The company I bought the last batch of ballast from were there, which gave me a chance to congratulate them on their product which, to my mind, is about the most realistic one you can get for N Gauge in both size and colour. I also talked to the people who’d brought some briefcase and suitcase layouts, in three separate places as they ended up spread out which wasn’t great; I picked up a few useful tips for the one I’m currently building and clarified that I’m going the right way.
The next attraction was the railway museum itself, as it’s a few years since I last visited. Unfortunately part of it is currently closed for refurbishment (roof problems I understand) and they’re reorganising other bits so everything is even more crammed in than normal. It was still enjoyable though.
After that I wandered back into the City, grabbing a pint of cider in a cellar bar, sadly the nice peaceful drink ended when a group of noisy youngsters came in, one of whom was very loud with a grating voice.
A few weeks ago, for no reason, I had a thought that I hadn’t had hot fresh doughnuts for many years, as they’re not sold in our village I didn’t think much more about it! As I was ambling towards the bus stop, and thinking a snack would be nice, a donut van (I’ll use both spellings to avoid arguments) hove into view. “What a coincidence”, I thought, or words to that effect. As they were cooking I was chatting to the lad serving and mentioned I’d been to the railway museum, it turned out he’s descended from the Kitson family, locomotives builders in the Leeds area from 1835 until 1938. If you think hybrids are a new idea you’d be wrong! In 1926 they built an experimental Kitson-Still system steam-diesel hybrid loco for the LNER, the theory being the steam would provide the high tractive force needed for starting things moving but the diesel would be more efficient above about 5mph. It worked and was economical but was complex and any savings depended on the price differential of diesel and coal which was unfavourable at the time. They didn’t have the finance to develop it into a commercial product and ultimately the development costs contributed to the company going into receivership. There’s an added coincidence for anyone who’s read my blogs over a number of years, at one time Kitsons employed Charles Parsons who later developed the steam turbine and built the boat Turbinia, which changed maritime history and is now in the Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
That’s about it for the day, I got the park and ride bus back then walked the couple of miles back to the caravan site. It was a bit warm, having been chilly when I went out this morning, but fortunately after a hiatus caused by COVID the site shops are back open so I was able to procure a Magnum Mint on my way to the ‘van. Tomorrow I’ll probably drive to the park and ride, it’ll give me more opportunity to then visit the city centre without completely tiring myself.
One final oddity, the local sports ground was on the walk between the bus and the site with the usual sports teams listed, plus a model railway club!
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