Where was bignosemac today, 15th May 2019

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Sadly I couldn't get to Reading today to help out at Community Rail in the City event as my delayed house move is finally coming together. Today is carpet fitting day.

To get out from under the feet of the fitters, Finn and I took a local trip. Ended up finding this piece of railway architecture. Where?

[bradshaw]

Pitcombe, near Bruton. The viaduct carried the S&D^▸ (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway) over Mill Lane. Cole Station was just to the north.

What was the arch doing; just for support?

[JayMac]

I suspected it would be you bradshaw that got it right.

The arch on the right of span two gives access to a culvert.

Now, if this is mileage, where's it measured from?

[bradshaw]

The S&D^▸ (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway) mileages were redone by the Midland, so I would guess Derby.

It was quite tricky, but the sun indicated a N-S alignment. The viaduct is constructed from Blue Lias and so a quick look at a geology map helped as the outcrops are not too common.

That arch abutting on the central pillar intrigued me.

Finally, I remembered that Marion and I visited the same place while setting up a series of walks from the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)’s Weymouth line for BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) and local councils. The aim was a walk from each station, with some linked to produce a longer walk.

Hope the move goes well, have you a date yet?

[JayMac]

I'll be all settled in the new flat in Templecombe by next week. I'm in the fortunate position that all costs are being met by my housing association as they're selling my old flat block. And with no incoming tenants, I can be quite leisurely. Some dates are fixed though, such as today being carpet fitting, tomorrow being new furniture delivery.

Another wide angle view (love the camera features on new phone - Huawei P30 Pro), this one from t'other side.

[PhilWakely]

I suspect the number 122 relates to 'Bridge number 122' rather than mileage - but no idea where number 1 might be.

[JayMac]

Yes, I thought perhaps 122 wasn't a high enough mileage from Derby to Pitcombe, whatever route was being measured.

EDIT: I've found the following:
https://datacac.uk/csvTable/united-kingdom/Property-Data-28-02-2014-80.html (a csv data table of structures - doesn't render perfectly in html though)

For the Pitcombe viaduct it lists the following:

PITCOMBE ROADBA10 0PTSAD/1221 SOMERSET AND DORSET (BATH - TEMPLECOMBE)

SAD/122# Structure 1382 - 28 miles 79 chains PITCOMBE 3-ARCH BRIDGEBA10 0PQ

That mileage would appear to be from Bath Green Park. It's 27 miles from Bath to Pitcombe by road.

[Phantom]

Off topic, I have to say I love the footer on your posts @Bignosemac

[JayMac]

Off topic, I have to say I love the footer on your posts @Bignosemac

Thanks Phantom. My thanks goes to Phil Wakely who forwarded the image to me. A little editing on my part to remove the white background and resize.

[SandTEngineer]

BNM.  I'm finding your new photographs are taking a long time to download each time I read the topic.  Is the file size bigger than it needs to be for the forum use?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for posing the question, SandTEngineer, and I'm sure BNM will have details. However, if it helps, my own laptop, which is somewhat sluggish these days in downloading almost anything, seemed to have no problem at all with BNM's images. 

[bobm]

Off topic, I have to say I love the footer on your posts @Bignosemac

Thanks Phantom. My thanks goes to Phil Wakely who forwarded the image to me. A little editing on my part to remove the white background and resize.

I was going to post that the graphic only has three carriages - however one of the Castle sets is currently running around as a 2+3 and limited to 75mph!

[grahame]

I was going to post that the graphic only has three carriages - however one of the Castle sets is currently running around as a 2+3 and limited to 75mph!

I noticed a post elsewhere about the Scottish short HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) being limited to 100mph and it was suggested that it was to allow a slightly more relaxed maintenance scheme - however, don't I recall comment about power cars alone / in pairs being very restricted due to braking at high speed and the brakes of the carriages being vital.  So the shorter the set, the slower maximum speed.  Can anyone confirm?

I appreciate that in Scotland they probably wouldn't have any routes they could do at over 100mph until HS4 opens from Edinburgh to Glasgow ...

[JayMac]

BNM.  I'm finding your new photographs are taking a long time to download each time I read the topic.  Is the file size bigger than it needs to be for the forum use?

I used to resize my images off forum and then upload. The problem with that is that nearly all resizing software available as Android apps also compresses the files which reduces image quality. Once I'm set up in my new flat and back to using a PC/Laptop regularly I may revert to more capable image editing software and return to resizing images before upload.

Currently I'm uploading my images to the forum as they were originally taken and changing the size by adjusting the img tags - {img width=xxx}pic url{/img}. I'm told that doing this means the forum loads the full size image in the background as it resizes it.

I've only noticed a slight delay when images first load. I guess any delay is compounded by the end user's Internet speed, and possibly the capabilities of the device being used to view the forum. Browser type may also be a factor.

Paging grahame for a more technical explanation.


Regarding my forum signature. I do plan to make the set a 2+4 'Castle'. Again, that's a job for more capable image editing software than is available on my Android phone.

[stuving]

Currently I'm uploading my images to the forum as they were originally taken and changing the size by adjusting the img tags - {img width=xxx}pic url{/img}. I'm told that doing this means the forum loads the full size image in the background as it resizes it.

I've only noticed a slight delay when images first load. I guess any delay is compounded by the end user's Internet speed, and possibly the capabilities of the device being used to view the forum. Browser type may also be a factor.

Paging grahame for a more technical explanation.

Looking at the image info (in Firefox) shows that it is downloaded full size:

Location:      http:// ... _112636_zpsmlmojofe.jpg
Type:           WEBP Image
Size:            5,810.95 KB (5,950,416 bytes)
Dimensions:   5,120px × 2,368px (scaled to 1,024px × 474px)

6 MB in a concentrated lump in a web page is going to be noticeable on a VSDL line that's now only "fast", though from memory it was slower than that when first seen. As to why it's a .jpg file but identified as a WEBP image ... that needs an even more technical explanation!