#Diesel Fire Pumps

[midseo]

Skid Mounted Fire Pumps, Fire Fighting Pumps, Manufacturer, India

We are Manufacturer, Supplier, Exporter of Skid Mounted Fire Pumps, Fire Fighting Pumps, Fire Pump Skid from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India.

Skid Mounted Fire Pumps, Fire Fighting Pumps, Fire Pumps Skid, Diesel Fire Fighting Pump, Diesel Fire Fighting Pumps, Diesel Fire Pumps, Diesel Fire Pumps, Diesel Portable Fire Fighting Pump, Diesel Portable Fire Fighting Pumps, Diesel Portable Fire Pumps, Fire Hawk PTO, Fire Hawk Power Take Off, Power Take Off, Fog Gun, Fog Guns, Manufacturer, Supplier, Exporter, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India.

[safetylinellc]

Diesel Engine Fire Pump

A diesel engine fire pump is a type of fire pump that uses a diesel engine rather than electricity or another source of power. Fire pumps are key components of fire protection systems that are designed to deliver a consistent high-pressure water supply to firefighting sprinkler systems, standpipes, or fire hydrants.

[hydromansubmersiblepump]

Tobee® Horizontal Centrifugal Water Pump

Email: Sales2@tobeepump.com Web: www.tobeepump.com | www.slurrypumpsupply.com | www.tobee.store

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I have never seen anything like this- it's a mansion in the middle of a residential area. Built in 2000, in Dallas, TX, it has 0bds. 1ba, & is listed for $2.4M.

Surprise! The beautiful entrance foyer. Does anyone want to buy a Bitcoin Mining Center?

This looks like a break room.

According to the description: Formerly AT&T, this upgraded turnkey Tier 2 Data Center is a Full Liquid Cooling Immersion System. True multi-use facility whether you need AI services, cloud hosting, traditional data center, servers or even Bitcoin Mining - this site has it all! This property comes with all equipment included!

I don't even know what I'm looking at.

Steel Reinforced CMU, 3 Phase Power, 2 Power Grids, Backup Diesel Generator, Sites on Main Branch Lines of Communication Infrastructure for Dallas, Fire Suppression, Electronic Access, Bulletproof Glass, Double Safe Room Door, Raised Floor. There's a safe room?

Upgrades include: 500kw 3 Phase Panels with digital monitors, Full Liquid Immersion System, 500kw Dry Cooler, 3 Phase Pump, 3 Slic Tanks, 5 New HVAC Units.

So, they can just sell all this? They said it's turn key. So, is it bitcoin or what? I wonder why they're selling it. That's suspicious- maybe it's not making money, anymore.

Out back. That's all they have, a wood stockade fence around the property?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13229-Southview-Ln-Dallas-TX-75240/118222349_zpid/

[leanuponmybar]

I JUST SAW STARLIGHT LONDON AND I HAVE THOUGHTS SPOILERS AHEAD

ACT 1:

There’s whistle sounds playing in the house and stop lights scattered around the set when you walk in

The coaches except Pearl make their entrance during the end of rolling stock

Belle's the one that leads I am me

In one rock and roll, greaseball, electra and slick have their own solo portions starting with greaseball

Controls onstage more (during I am me, starlight express, and others)

He makes pearls choice for her (annoyed with her indecisiveness

Rusty and momma’s backpacks actually smoke

“Get out of my way” gb’s goes through the center track onto the stage for her entrance

the other racers bully pearl a little bit after her introduction and the other coaches tell them to stop

During ac/dc, Electra and the components have silver inflatable lightning bolts that come out of their backpacks (idk if I like this, they switch to regular backpacks after the number)

During the dance break during pumping iron, gb holds a prop gun that shoots sparks

A slower version of crazy is sung in its original spot

ACT 2:

Before the final race, greaseball, Electra and later Rusty get fueled up with diesel, electricity, and hydrogen

one of the other racers was connecting a cable thats connected to a barrel of diesel fuel and electra put both of their hands on two conductors of electricity from a barrel of electric fuel

Slick uses 2018! Caboose element of crashing for money

There’s 2 new lyrics in uncoupled, one about being left on the shelf and I don’t remember the first one

belle and tassita have little interjections in the first couple lines of uncoupled (more in a reaction type of way to the things dinah's saying)

Dinah sings in a British accent except for one line in uncoupled

Control brings out a tissue box and hands a tissue to Dinah during uncoupled

Control comforts Rusty before starlight sequence

Lights appear and hang over the audience during starlight sequence

When Electra picks Dinah and Pearl to race with them, there’s a lighting effect that surrounds Dinah and Pearl, freezing them

Dinah seems controlled by Electra during their race (in some sort of daze)

no GreaseDinah kiss but she does give her support and a thumbs up while clapping

During I do, control held the train that represents Rusty from the set, moves around a little, goes in between Rusty and Pearl and goes offstage

during starlight express, make up my heart, and starlight sequence, the planets fly down above the stage

Light end with mama hugging control in the center

There’s a trophy that control gives to Rusty during Long live Rusty

GENERAL:

The screens in the back keep track of who’s in which heat and the race standings

More of the trains acknowledge control (ex gb pushes them out of the way at her entrance)

There’s a turn table that’s used in different points during the show such as freight and I do and the middle part of the stage raises up in ac/dc and other numbers

Hydra has a small vocal echo effect (idk if it’s for the whole show tho. I just heard it during the bits of his song in act 1 and during freight)

There’s fire effects in songs like wide smile and freight

this is all the notes I quickly took down during intermission and on the way back to my hotel. If any of you have seen the show and I’m missing something, feel free to sound off in the comments/tags!

Overall I had the time of my life, Al knott serves so much cunt and I love train lesbians

[pierkyn]

Baldur's Gate 3 - Origin: Kalrach - Tiefling Barbarian

From the Community Update #20:

Karlach's battle history is written across her body in scars, burns, and tattoos, the indelible marks of a legendary warrior with unyielding resilience. After finally escaping from this endless war between devils and demons, she is determined to live life to the fullest. Or at least as much as she can given the unholy machine pumping hellish fire through her veins. This little present from the archdevil she served makes her a beast in battle, but if she gets too worked up, she'll destroy anything she touches - including you.

In the words of writer Sarah Baylus: “In a 2023 setting, [Karlach would] roll in on a Harley with shades and a cigar between her teeth, blaring Sabbath - a diesel-soaked dynamo with a heart of gold. She seeks justice for the oppressed, camaraderie, and revenge on the bastard who sold her to Hell.”

[1863-project]

As a Guy who Fixes Machines for a living, but unfortunately doesn't have Much experience with engines, *but* has read a Ton about them: please tell me about steam engines and/or their Repair Quirks and Logistics. Infodump Away :chinhands:

I'm going to be honest with you - this is one of the most flattering asks I've ever received in my 14+ years on this website.

Steam locomotives seem pretty overwhelming at first because, as you'd expect, there's a lot of moving parts, and they're actually huge. Like many large animals, people often don't realize how big they can actually get until they're in the presence of one. The one I drove, Strasburg #90, weighs in at 212,000 lbs - and she's smaller than a lot of the active steam locomotives operating today. 106 tons is nothing to sneeze at, and she's still considered smaller.

You probably don't need this in layman's terms, but I'm going to try to keep the explanations easy to understand in case anyone who doesn't work with machines reads this.

How do the beasts run?

Continuing the metaphor of these things basically being really large animals, you have to feed and water them. Early steam locomotives ran on wood, but as time went on the most common fuels became coal and oil, and today some can even run clean on vegetable oil or torrefied biomass. The fact that they need to be fed and watered fairly regularly is why there's always at least two people in the locomotive cab - you've got an engineer driving and a fireman keeping the beast fed and monitoring the water levels in the boiler.

This is a diagram of a fire tube boiler from Wikipedia. Steam locomotives generally use this type of boiler, which gives them their familiar shape. The fuel is thrown into the firebox on the left of the diagram, and the heat from the fire flows up to the tubes in the boiler. The water in the boiler becomes steam (specifically what's called "wet steam" because it's saturated). The steam rises to the highest point in the boiler, the steam dome at the top. From here, the steam is sent down into a superheater, which dries it out and produces superheated steam, and that's what's directed down to the cylinders to get everything moving. The smokestack on the right of the diagram is where the exhaust gasses are released, giving off that plume of smoke everyone expects to see.

Now that the steam is at the cylinders, the pistons can start pumping and moving the driving rods on the driving wheels (the big ones). Here's an animated gif of that process, again from Wikipedia.

At this point, it's basically like any other engine with pistons - the pistons get pumping and the machine starts operating. This whole section of the locomotive is referred to as the running gear, and includes the valve gear, connecting rods, brake gear, wheelsets, axleboxes, and springing.

Essentially, it's a steam engine with wheels that is capable of pulling incredible amounts of weight if everything is done correctly. Your average steam locomotive is still stronger than your average diesel or electric locomotive is. Depending on what you needed your steam locomotive to do, the size of the driving wheels would differ - locomotives built for high speed tend to have really large drive wheels, whilst locomotives designed to go slower but pull more weight have smaller drivers for better adhesion and traction.

Maintenance?

As expected, since they have a lot of moving parts, steam locomotives need a lot of active maintenance. They're checked frequently, have mandated annual inspections, and are required by the Federal Railroad Administration in the United States to have a more thorough inspection every 1,472 days of active service - so it's basically 15 years or 1,472 days of operation, whichever comes first. 90, the locomotive I drove at Strasburg, is currently undergoing her 1,472-day inspection as I write this post and she'll hopefully be back in operation for her 100th birthday next year.

One of the things that's unique about steam locomotive maintenance is that the boiler regularly has to be cleaned out, which is why the boilerplate on the front has hinges - that thing's a door! This job was more dangerous historically because boilers were often insulated with asbestos, but pretty much anything operating today has had any asbestos removed or wasn't built with it in the first place. This website has a really good explanation of the process of cleaning out and fixing up a locomotive boiler for a 1,472 day inspection, complete with photos!

In terms of steam locomotive shops, I'm biased towards Strasburg because I grew up going there all the time, but they really do perform incredible work. Late last year, one of their locomotives, #475, had a run-in with a crane left on the track due to a misthrown switch, and her smokebox took some damage. Fortunately, the damage was minor, and they were able to get her repaired in a mere 96 hours.

She now looks like this:

They opted to braze weld her and didn't smooth it out as a reminder to crews to stay vigilant, so she now has some really cool battle scars.

I'm not as well-versed in repair since I don't have hands-on experience with it (yet), but once I can start volunteering I'll hopefully have some more stuff to talk about since I'm hoping to learn to work with these machines more closely! (And drive. Drive all the time. Drive forever.)

[wizard-irl]

Buying Crystals - Ethics

Part 1 of 7 for a guide on buying crystals. Read the rest here!

Obligatory “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism,” but there are ethical ways to get crystals. It isn’t easy because hiding where and how your crystals are mined is profitable.

Content warning for discussions of violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, worker exploitation, and environmental exploitation. I promise the following parts won’t be so heavy, but this needs to be said before I discuss anything else. I’m unsure these tags are adequate, so tell me if I should be tagging differently.

Many mines, especially in developing countries, have terrible conditions. People work without proper ventilation, proper safety equipment, proper pay, and proper compensation to their families if they die from their work. Miners who refuse to work in dangerous conditions are often fired. Women are paid much less and are subject to sexual harassment.¹ Children too often work in the mines. Furthermore, mining operations contribute to the finances of militant groups, which can further press and abuse people into working for them, furthering the violence they perpetuate.² There have also been links between mining conflict minerals and rates of sexual violence and torture in a region. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone from 2012 to 2014, up to 90% of money from mining conflict minerals went into armed groups, and one-third of the 2 million miners were children.³

Big corporations are not the only ones who buy conflict minerals, or minerals mined in these tumultuous regions that go to fund further human suffering. Of twenty Etsy shops interviewed that had sold between 4,000 and 50,000 products since opening, only four listed what country their crystals are from, and none gave specific mines. When pressed, fourteen said their crystals were ethical, but most didn’t share details about specific mines. Even with the shop owners knowing the mines, they rely on the word of their suppliers, who in turn rely on the word of the mine owners. The mine owner could (and can) lie to the supplier, who repeats that information to the seller, who then believes they are selling ethical products.⁴ Further, there is a financial incentive for keeping quiet: if you tell everyone where you source your products, other sellers will also go to them, losing you profits.⁴⁻⁵ Finally, there are no international requirements to track crystals, so sellers/suppliers may not even have documentation on where a crystal came from.⁶

Beyond the human exploitation, there is also an environmental impact. Water is easily contaminated with byproducts from the mining itself and chemicals like battery acid, diesel, and trash associated with mining. Rivers may be diverted which can cause flooding, and pumped groundwater depletes the groundwater supply that communities may rely on as their source of fresh water. Soil may be eroded, lost, or contaminated, causing agricultural issues. Mining operations may cause the destruction of forests and savannahs, as well as poaching.⁷

If you want a 100% ethical crystal, you need to mine it or find it yourself. Since most of us can’t do that, what can we do to ensure we buy ethical crystals? Look for:⁸⁻⁹

What mine a crystal was mined in. If a supplier/seller doesn’t list this, ask. If they refuse to say, don’t buy.

Countries with strict regulations on mining. This may vary by crystal, but the US, Canada, EU, and Australia have regulations ensuring workers are safe and paid.

Supply chain transparency from the supplier/seller.

Open discussion of a mine’s working conditions, wages, and environmental impact.

Lab-grown crystals. I will discuss these further in a later post.

Certifications and complying with standards, such as the Kimberly Process for diamonds, Responsible Minerals Assurance Process, Regional Certification Mechanism, Standard for Responsible Mining, Responsible Mining Index, Fair Stone standard, Certified Trading Chains Programme, XertifiX, and the Responsible Jewellery Council, among others.

In the next part, thankfully a much lighter topic, I will discuss how crystals may be modified without changing their structure or composition.

Sources

“Technology and conflict minerals,” Ethical Consumer.

“Sexual violence and conflict minerals: international demand fuels cycle,“ - The Guardian

“Conflict minerals,“ Shop Ethical.

“Buying Ethical Crystals Shouldn’t Be This Hard,“ Cosmopolitan.

“Are crystals the new blood diamonds?“, The Guardian.

“Do You Know Where Your Healing Crystals Come From?“, The New Republic.

“Environmental Stewardship in Gemstone Mining: Quo Vadis?“,  University of Basel.

“10 Most Ethical Gemstones: Is Mining Ethically Possible?“, Our Endangered World.

“Approaches to responsible sourcing in mineral supply chains“, Resources, Conservation, and Recycling.

[safetylinellc]

The Importance of Fire Pumps

Fire pumps play a critical role in fire protection systems and are essential for the safety of buildings, industries, and communities. Learn some key reasons why fire pumps are important.

[bluecoolr]

🎱 Darrell Todd NSFW Alphabet 🎱

A/N: Keep in mind our boy is bi. I tried keeping this gender neutral, though. This is in Darrell Todd x You format. Also keep in mind he is a vers. I once said he gave subby energy, but soft dom is also applicable.

Absolutely not proofread. I charged through this like a diesel train firing on all cylinders.

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

He's usually light-headed after sex. When he comes down from his high he'll make sure to attend to you. He helps you clean up (if you want) and would get both of you a drink of water. Tucks your hair behind your ear/brushes your hair from your forehead while you drink.

Would love to cuddle after, share a kiss or 2 … or 3 before falling asleep with you in his arms.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His hands. They're big with prominent knuckles. There's a couple of freckles on the backs of his hands and one mole on his right wrist. He has vertically long fingernails which have a sort of pale pink nail bed and barely there lunulas. He keeps his nails trimmed and clean.

His hands are reliable. They can touch, caress, hold, grope, and pull orgasms out of you.

Of course he also likes his dick. He's all about closeness and thinks having it buried balls deep inside you would be the epitome of closeness.

Your tits and thighs and lips. Don't get me wrong he appreciates a nice ass, but tits drive him wild. Chronic case of lemme suck them tiddies. He can get off on it alone.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

Thick and white, which is relatively surprising for someone who has bad eating habits and who leisurely smokes.

Would love to cum inside you every chance he gets, but if you don't want that he'll gladly cum on your belly or your thighs.

Likes to see his cock covered in both your juices when he pulls out.

Gathers any that leaks out and pushes it back in.

Likes it when you swallow.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Would just love to bite you

He settles for nips and hickeys but he would love to sink his teeth down and mark you up

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He's pretty experienced and kinda knows his way around.

Deadset on learning how you like it so he can satisfy you. He will find that sweet spot and make it his fucking mission to hit it every single time. He sleeps well knowing he did a good job for you.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Missionary and its variations: Both legs on his shoulders. One leg up. Your ankles locked around his waist/the small of his back.

He thinks it's perfect because you can have eye contact and its easier for spotting any signs of discomfort (no matter who's topping)

Also allows for deeper penetration and gives him front row seats to your tits. Makes your lips more accessible to deep, heated kisses.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

Somewhere in the middle, I suppose. Likes to enjoy the closeness, wants to focus on how good it feels throughout.

Won't actively joke but he'd make you smile with honest, genuine praise.

Praise him and you'll get him very red and smiley.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

The carpet obvs doesn't match the drapes. He doesn't shave but trims it to help with clean up and comfort.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Very intimate.

Leans down all the time to kiss you. Thinks he can manifest his feelings through kissing. Outside of a sexual setting his kisses hold a lot of meaning too.

Kisses every bit of skin he can reach.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Jerks off a lot. It's one of the ways he relieves stress.

He'll be at work and very subtly reach down and palm himself behind the counter. Sometimes he disappears into the gas station bathroom to pump one out. Things get more interesting in his trailer.

He humps his pillow, hands clutching it in a death grip, while he lets his thoughts wander or while looking at pictures of you.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

BREEDING

Praise kink

Mutual masturbation

Taking pictures/getting his picture taken

Outdoor sex/Agoraphilia

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

His trailer, in the woods or by the lake of Devil's Peak

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Dirty talk and naughty texts

Send him a pic and he's fucking feral, itching to get off his shift

On the opposite end however, he also gets turned on when you're just relaxing/cuddling. Loves it when there's this shared air of trust and open affection that wraps around you.

Tenderness.

Confident and genuine smiles, twinkling eyes, and having some outspoken passion for an interest enthralls him too

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Bondage

Knife or bloodplay

Degradation

Any form of hitting (spanking or slapping)

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Honestly, he loves both. He knows how to go down on you for sure.

Great hand-tongue coordination *wink wonk*

He likes to lace his fingers with yours while giving/receiving

Absolutely loves when you come in his mouth and swallows every drop

Will not hesitate to kiss you even with the taste of him on your tongue.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He gives you time to adjust once he bottoms out, but he's quick to settle on a pace you both enjoy.

Knows how important good rhythm is, so he's gonna commit to that.

Gets faster as both of you are close.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Loves a good quickie <3

Willing to risk it all for a quickie

If he's stuck at work, you're more than welcome to drop by and take him in the storage closet or bathroom.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

50/50… if it makes him uncomfortable or bears any form of resemblance to his turn offs, I'm sorry he isn't doing it.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Baby can take 2 max, but each round lasts a while so you both would have had your fill by then.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Surprisingly doesn't own toys. Considered buying one of those doll torsos, but decided against it. Didn't appreciate how desperate he seemed.

If you do have toys, he'll gladly use them on you, and if you get him any he's very willing to try them.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Doesn't tease much. Doesn't like to be teased either. If you want him, you'll get him and would appreciate it if you return the favor. He gets embarrassed/incredibly needy when you tease.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Loud. Can't help it. Absolutely vocal.

Sprinkle of expletives here and there

So much moaning it might surprise you because in a normal setting he isn't too talkative.

Petnames galore. Says "ma'am/sir" or "mama/daddy" when subbing, but always uses "baby".

Out of breath by the time he's about to cum. Just helpless pathetic whimpers that he buries in the crook of your neck.

Begging. That's it.

Stumbles over his words.

His orgasm pulls out a deep, satisfied, moan out of him.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Thoroughly believes that sex isn't good sex unless it's sloppy so... let's hope you're at the lake or near some running water and paper towels.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

*cracks knuckles* I've said before that he's big in every sense of the word and I stand by it. He's a good 8 inches in length, maybe a spare .02 or .04 or so, and a decent 5 inches in girth. Uncircumcised. (Gasp! An uncircumcised Christian?! Heresy! Bloo is burnt at the stake)

A shower. When you pull down his pants, it's a bit of a shocker and he always chuckles at your reaction.

Worried that you genuinely can't take it.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Relatively average sex drive? Although it's pretty high when you're around.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Pretty fast, only because he's absolutely spent afterwards, but he'll force himself to listen to you if you wanna talk after. He'll insist he's just resting his eyes when he closes them. Pretty soon his replies turn into sweet but monosyllabic mmm's. Then he's out.

Gonna tag some people who interacted with my post: @rottent33th @fraidy-farfelle @vincent-sinclair-deserved-better @solmints-messyocdiary @probably-a-plant-thing @damien-mlm

[trainsinanime]

There's a developing story in german railroads that I need to share with you all because it has become a meme at this point. It concerns this type of vehicle:

Source: Falk2 on Wikimedia commons, CC-BY-SA

This is the class 711.1 overhead line maintenance car, one of several different types of similar vehicles. It is designed to fix any problems that may develop with the overhead lines. It's diesel-powered, obviously, and it has a big workshop on the inside full of all sorts of copper equipment, and on the top, a special pantograph for checking wire alignment and a working platform from where you can actually touch and work on the wires.

The official nickname for them when they were introduced was Hubarbeitsbühnen-Instandhaltungsfahrzeug für Oberleitungsanlagen (lift working platform maintenance vehicle for overhead line equipment), or in short HIOB, the german spelling of the biblical Job, which was definitely not a bad omen at all.

22 of these were built between 2002 and 2004, and they (as well as other similar vehicles) are stationed all over Germany to react quickly to any issues with overhead lines, as well as do various forms of regular checks and maintenance. The 711.1 is special, though: It keeps catching on fire.

Picture by fire brigade Bienenbüttel, found at https://www.az-online.de/uelzen/bienenbuettel/flammen-bahn-1605363.html

The first one burned down in 2012. Nobody got hurt (in any of the following incidents), and it was treated like a freak accident. Specifically, the investigation revealed that it's related to how the train functions. Normally, for a diesel train, you either have a direct mechanical connection from the motor to the driven wheels (sometimes including something like the torque converter in an automatic gearbox), or sometimes the diesel engine drives an electric generator and electric motors at the wheels drive the train. This, on the other hand, has a hydrostatic transmission: The main engine drives a pump that creates pressure in an oil system, and this high-pressure oil is then used in motors at the wheels to drive the train.

The good thing about this arrangement is that the train can run both fast (up to 160 km/h or 100 mph) to quickly reach the place where it's needed, but also really slowly, walking pace or slower, so someone standing on the roof working platform can check every part of the wires carefully.

The bad thing about this arrangement is that the oil in the system is flammable. If there's a leak, it sprays out, and if that spray hits something hot, it can ignite. That's what happened here. Okay, gotta do better maintenance, alright.

Then it happened again, in July 2020.

Source: German Federal Police, via official accident investigation report

The cause was pretty much the same, but the effect was much more noticeable. The train was underway on a training run when it came to a stop for no clear reason. The staff activated the parking brake, got out, and noticed that their train was on fire. As they were calling firefighters, however, the train suddenly started to move. The engineer actually climbed back on board and tried to activate every braking system the train had, and it had a lot of them; this one was specifically equipped for more mountainous railway lines. But none of it worked, and the engineer jumped back out at still low speeds (no reported injuries).

It kept rolling downhill for 22 kilometres (about 14 miles). Station staff tried to stop it by putting signals on red and hoping for the automatic train control system to stop it, but train control systems can't do anything if there are no brakes. Others tried to put wheel chocks on the rails, but those are for parked trains, fast trains will just throw them to the say. So on it went, burning more and more. In the end the railway decided to find a nice save spot where nothing important was around and firefighters would have easy access, and let it derail there. That's what the picture above shows.

What happened? Well, the same as before, but this time with an additional twist. The fire had destroyed all normal braking systems. It hadn't destroyed the parking brake, but on this train, the parking brake is electrically controlled. You don't need to electricity for it to stay active, but you need it to activate or deactivate it. The fire had already destroyed the relevant electrical lines when the engineer thought they activated the parking brake.

Two trains of the same type burning down for the same reason is scary and warrants action, even if it's eight years apart, and the accident investigation report lists a number of steps already taken and others that were planned, like more checks for leaks, new procedures for leaving the train so it doesn't roll away, perhaps changing some equipment out.

And it seems to me personally that these changes had an effect. Of sorts.

You can ignore the narration (which consistently calls it an engine even though it's a rail car), just admire these pictures of a driverless burning train coming towards you. Yes, in January 2023, another of these trains caught fire, it rolled away again, and got derailed on purpose again. We don't have an official accident investigation report yet, so who knows what happened here, but, like, it's not exactly hard to make a guess.

Just to really hammer the point home, let's go to February 2023, just a month later, and this time we see the same thing in Dresden.

Picture: Credited to "Firefighters", from https://bahnblogstelle.com/198726/erneut-brand-von-instandhaltungsfahrzeug-diesmal-in-dresden/

This time it didn't run away! My understanding is that the train drivers, well aware of the history of this type, placed wheel chocks in front of the wheels before it had the chance to do anything crazy.

Which brings us to last month. You won't believe what happened June 13th, 2024:

Picture: Firefighters Haan, via https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/haan/triebwagen-brennt-auf-der-bahnstrecke-gruiten-hochdahl_aid-114420335

So as the Wikipedia infobox helpfully says,

that's five out of 22 burned down. I gotta say, if your train's Wikipedia article has a "train burned down" counter and a section of fires that's nearly a third of the whole article, that's an issue.

(Ironically, it is actually not the most-burned-down german train by percentage. That dubious honour goes to the MaK DE 1024, an experimental heavy diesel locomotive. Three were built, two of them burned down eventually. The sole survivor was, in the numbering scheme of its last and longest owner, number 13.)

As of right now, DB has decided that these trains can't be trusted with engines, so for now they will all have to be pulled by locomotives. To me that sounds like it should fix the issue, for some value of "fix".

It's definitely notable that during the first 18 years of this type's use, they suffered two fires, and after they implemented all sorts of fixes after the second, three more burned down in just four years. I don't want to say the fixes made it worse, maybe it's just age starting to show, but it doesn't seem to have helped any.

Anyway, I hope that they either manage to fix or replace these trains before more burn down, but I have to admit that it's also very funny to open social media (mostly Bluesky for me these days, I haven't yet decided on a Mastodon server) and see the rail bubble shout because yet another of these machines has burned down.

[sohannabarberaesque]

Postcards from Snagglepuss

So who was O. Winston Link, anyway?

O. WINSTON LINK MUSEUM, ROANOKE, VA: Outside of railfans (especially such fond of the Norfolk and Western Railway, which has long had a presence in Roanoke, one continuing in its contemporary form as Norfolk Southern) and students of photography, the name O. Winston Link (1914-2001) probably doesn't ring quite a bell.

But in the Blue Ridge country, his photography of tne Norfolk and Western Railway as it was preparing to make the transition from steam to diesel locomotion in the late 1950's is something of the stuff of legend. Especially a two-year initiative of his during 1955 and 1956 in particular, which featured plenty of night scenes of steam draped against backdrops rural, semi-urban and urban ... the sort, you might say, bound to strike the fascination of Super Snooper and Blabbermouse. Who, for some reason, decided to join our own party of vagabonds in Roanoke's former Norfolk and Western station, as houses the Roanoke Historical Museum, of which the O. Winston Link such is a part and parcel.

"It just seems particularly fascinating, Blab," Snoop could be heard remarking, "how one could situate a hotshot freight train in the background of a drive-in movie theater, with the inevitable pair of lovers kissing away in the foreground."

"And wondering what to pay the more attention to--the movie or the train," remarked I. (Which, you might like to know, was taken in the summer of 1956 in Iaeger, West Virginia.)

"It just gets me here, Snoop," Blabbermouse was quick to note on seeing a picture of a coal train passing through a small West Virginia town in the proverbial wee small hours of the night as the late shift waitress was being picked up from her shift at the local cafe. Like sentiment was directed at a nighttime wedge shot out of Luray, Virginia as the engine was preparing to take on water.

Crazy Claws was quick to chime in as well: "And you wonder how many flash bulbs he went through just to get the shot, to begin with!" (As a matter of fact, Link and his assistant, George Thom, relied on the asynchronous firing of no less than 42 #2 flashbulbs and one #0 flashbulb just to get that shot at the Iaeger drive-in. As Link himself famously explained that penchant of his for night photography in that project of N&W steam in its twilight, "I can't move the sun — and it's always in the wrong place — and I can't even move the tracks, so I had to create my own environment through lighting.")

Breathe in, then, such sentiment for times long past, bringing in a sense of moodiness in a landscape doubtless much changed. Yet it makes you wonder, especially as moi, Huck, Snoop and Blab took note of one shot of a gravity-feed gas pump at the local store in Vesuvius, Virgina as the N&W's premier overnight train, the Pocahontas, passed by at close range ... in the middle of a power outage affecting the village!

*************

@warnerbrosentertainment @groovybribri @jellystone-enjoyer @ultrakeencollectionbreadfan @zodiacfan32 @artistic-octopus @archive-archives @thylordshipofbutts @thebigdingle @themineralyoucrave @screamingtoosoftly @warnerbros-blog1 @iheartgod175 @indigo-corvus @theweekenddigest @funtasticworld @warnerbrosent-blog

[unknowncreature19]

This is part two for the last one

But I decided to make a little story instead of a comic, because I was in a rush-so yeah 😅. Who knows maybe will be a part three but who knows. the other art style and the diesel sona belongs to do my great friend @projectanimations! Please check their art. They are awesome! And support them ^^ have a nice day

*Speedy can see them, he felt very cold. Of course it was the first time seeing spirits but yet he didn’t get scared by them. More like getting more pissed off inside knowing they were looking at him. After all they did something bad in the past, like speedy right now, he is making everyone’s lives awful. He looked at project.* “ I can see that you have friends with you. But no matter what… it won’t stop me.”

* the redeye was staring two projects soul. But inside his eye was a fire, a flame that never been stopped.* “ go ahead and try to stop me, but you’re gonna be after whirls if you do…. Even your friends will be part of it.” * he was grinning cheek to cheek, as he was looking at the two spirits after that.* “ do you really think it makes me scare you both? pathetic. you’re nothing more but a piece of shit who died from your own life”

* steam pump in the shed so much that it was hard to see even a spirits having a hard time seeing* “ I would like to talk more to you brats but I have two trains to meet. I’m having a game all set up for them.” * wheels can’t be hard going out the shed out to the outside.* “ Scorpio~ scooter~ let’s play a game.” * when The steam goes away that everyone can see speedy going away going to a station Hearing his final words* “ it’s called cat and mouse… I am the cat and you two are the mice” * and after that crazy laughed, boomed in the air as he is gone. Leaving the spirits, the diesel, and the human behind.*

#story #projectanimation013 #Scorpio #scooter #The spirits #Diesel

[atlanticcanada]

'Youre going to have to pay it no matter what': Maritimers come to terms with federal carbon tax

Two days after the federal carbon tax took effect in Atlantic Canada, residents of Saint John, N.B., are coming to terms with their new reality at the pumps.

“It doesn’t really matter how much they put it up because, no matter what, you’re still going to need a car to drive,” said one resident. “You’re going to have to pay it no matter what they put it up to.”

Other residents are more frustrated by the implementation.

“Honestly I think just like a lot of other Canadians, it’s just a government cash grab like every other tax they implement.”

The majority of pumps within Saint John Monday posted a fuel price just below $1.62. The highest price for gas in the province came in at $1.65. Nova Scotia remains the most expensive Maritime province to fill up in at $1.69, while Prince Edward Island fuel maxes out at $1.64.

The price of diesel is $1.64 in New Brunswick, $1.62 in Nova Scotia, and $1.63 in P.E.I.

Home heating oil prices also remain high.

Not only are gas prices rising, trips to the pump may become more frequent.

“The so-called clean fuel standard,” details Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy. “And that means whatever a refinery does in most of Canada, with the exception of British Columbia and Atlantic Canada, they will be blending more ethanol into gasoline. That means wherever you have gone in the past, it’s going to take a little bit more money to do the same thing simply because ethanol does not burn like gasoline.”

Federal Climate Change and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the tax will make fossil fuels more expensive.

“People can decide and say, “OK, I’m going to continue my behavior and not change anything and the government is paying me for the extra cost,’” says Guilbeault in reference to carbon rebates Maritimers can expect in the future.

“Or as a consumer, you can say, ‘I’m going to go for a smaller vehicle, a more efficient vehicle, for example, and I’m going to have more money in my pockets to do what I want to do.”

The minister says tens of thousands of Canadians have already moved away from gas cars and heating oil to electric options, and folks in Atlantic Canada will do the same.

“If we don’t tackle our climate pollution, there will be more Fionas,” warns the minister. “There will be more forest fires, there will be more heatwaves.”

Another fuel hike is expected to hit the region by the end of the week.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/f5AGmIR

[where-skies-end]

winter weather driving tips from someone with a lot of cars and a lot of winter weather

you can drive on snow. if it's actual ice don't try

FOUR WHEEL DRIVE AINT FOUR WHEEL STOP!!!! I avoid doing above 35 on unplowed roads

four wheel drive is best because the steering/direction-determining front wheels have power but it's evenly distributed among all four wheels and reduces skidding on takeoff

front wheel drive is second best. wheels with power are wheels pointing where you want to go. prone to skidding on takeoff

rear wheel drive just requires you be really, really mindful of how you approach turns

do everything like it's slow mo. slow down way back. move slow through every turn.

if you start to skid, do NOT jerk the wheel or slam on the brakes. point where you want your car to go, don't touch the pedals (except for MAYBE soft brake pressure) and let it correct itself

if you do need to stop hard, know whether or not your car has abs brakes. abs brakes prevent skidding by pumping the brakes rapidly to avoid locking up, far faster than a human driver consciously can. if you don't have abs brakes and have to stop hard, pump them rapid fire so they don't lock up. and again don't jerk the wheel

seriously just go slow. everything is slow. accelerate slow stop slow turn slow move slow. no sudden moves

and just be mindful of where the bulk of your cars weight is. some pickup drivers will load up with bricks or whatnot in the back of the bed to keep them more balanced as pickup trucks are very very front end heavy

stuck? kitty litter or sheets of cardboard. don't spin endlessly or you'll have nothing to grab when you do get kitty litter or cardboard. quite a few experienced winter drivers, myself included, carry it with us to help us or others

if it's your first time, go find a nearby empty parking lot (churches during weekdays are great) and just fuck around and get a feel for how your car handles in snow

oh yeah uh. don't overinflate your tires. this varies by tire but most passenger cars should be around 32 psi. the cold will probably drop it some. this is normal, the light coming on is normal.

also some general car maintenance stuff

(gasoline and diesel) cars running rich and/or having a really high idle rpm when you start them cold is normal. give the engine a few minutes to idle and warm up a bit. some cars may have a safety built in that won't let them go above a certain speed until the engine warms up enough. again this is normal depending on the car you drive and done to preserve engine life

if it's not going to be rain/slush switching to snow and your car is outside, put cardboard under the wipers to keep from freezing rather than lifting them up in the air. less chance of breakage and less exposure to the rubber

defrost will help you scrape ice. let it run while you scrape its SO much easier

when the weather warms go through a car wash with an undercarriage rinse to get the salt off. salt eats metal so washing it keeps your car rust free and on the road longer

I keep feeling like I'm missing something but this is already a long post as is. I'll probably edit it if I have more to add