Deleted by York1
Good morning all. It is raining.
Flo. A large coffee on the go please.
Oldest grandson was knocked sideways yesterday. (Never backwards.) He had lost a lot more blood.
He had a major operation through the night.
Family stayed at the hospital.
We arrived home this morning and had a couple of hours sleep.
Going back to the hospital shortly.
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Good frost this morning then it clouded over and never really warmed up all day, not that I needed an excuse, but a wee dram of Ratu helped warm me up.
The following are bridges on the Taringamotu Tramway, in the Taumarunui District, which had the nickname âThe Taringamotu Express?â Though while the bridges were probably quite safe, I personally think the nickname was probably ironic. That said, I canât but help admire the builders who worked with mainly hand tools and in conditions, âweâ would baulk at!!
80 foot high and 120 foot long timber trestle viaduct, built in 1922, leading to the tunnel of the Taringamotu Tramway. Unknown Photographer.
Railway bridge over the Taringamotu River. Photograph taken by Albert Percy Godber, circa 1922. âGodber Collection, Alexander Turnbull Libraryâ
Bridge over Taringamutu River. by Bear, on Flickr
Frank Wardâs double-deck viaduct, 105 foot high and 300 foot in length on the Taringamotu Tramway (Ted Lattery collection, ref 17957)
Frank Wards trestle by Bear, on Flickr
Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them. Kia Kaha.
Cheers, the Bear. 
Especial thoughts to Davids grandson, and all the family.
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Good morning, everyone.
David, thatâs not good news. Hoping and praying for your grandson.
Bear, I agree. Iâve always marveled at the work those and other structures from the past were done, mainly by hand work. No power tools, no diesel trucks, etc. Amazing.
Small part of bridge system holding up the track in the Royal Gorge, Colorado.
The president visiting the site:
Today:
Have a great day, everyone.
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Howdy everyone. Janie, a chocolate malt please.
David, more prayers heading your way. Stay strong.
So true. And, their results were incredible. I mostly remember a bit out of the Stephen Ambrose book âNothing Like It In The Worldâ describing one of the many feats of the builders of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific was boring a particularly long tunnel through one of the mountains, so to speed up progress, they worked from both sides of the mountain toward the middle. Can you imagine two tunnel gangs trying to meet up underground in the literal middle of the mountain in an era where everything was done by hand, including trying to figure out where you were in the mountain? When the two gangs met, they were only a couple inches off of perfectly aligned. Astonishing.
I wore my contacts for part of the day yesterday, and she was right, they did help. Still, with discomfort still present, Iâm minimizing my time in them. I just canât shake the other time I scratched an eye and couldnât wear my contacts for some time. That one was worse as I had an antibiotic prescribed, plus was given some high dollar eye drops from the eye doctor. Donât have any of that this time around.
Hope everyone has a good day!
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Morning all from the smokey West Coast where it is 20c/HOC. This is the first real smokey day we have had this year. After a quieter than usual fire season the forest are now exploding as we have also had a much dryer summer than usual. The smoke we get comes up from Washington and Oregon mostly. I can actually taste it, so I think the train room may have a summer time visit today.
David, thinking of your family at this time, hoping this is just a small setback.
Mike eye injuries can be scary. In the early eighties I was ripping through the forest and got a good THWAP from a branch of a tree. Ten minutes later I could not see out of the eye as it had filled with blood. I had to wear a patch for a couple of weeks, but the blood cleared out and the eye was back to normal. I felt lucky.
I sure must be moving slower these days. While at 68, I still never take a nap and I can still work all day long, however, even though I donât stop, the amount I get done is a whole lot less than it used to be. 
My favourite bridge.
All the best to all.
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For some odd reason the forum software keeps hiding the diner. Not much goinâ on here. Just stoppinâ in for a beer and some street tacos.
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When youâre in the diner, check at the bottom to see a box that may be marked âmutedâ. Try un-muting it. That happened to me.
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Seems Iâve lost my âregularâ designation (follows the forum name next to the avatar). Wonder why? Maybe they decided Iâm not regular, but strange? 
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Iâm regular and youâre not! 
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Hi Diners, despite it being very windy outside over here, Iâm not wearing my hat indoors so it does not bother me, albeit I had to rescue some Patio furniture earlier on.
Flo, please could I have another Pilsner Urquell, thank you.
The Royal Border Bridge is a Grade I listed railway viaduct that spans the River Tweed at Berwick-Upon-Tweed and is still in regular use today as part of the East Coast Main Line.
It is one of 3 bridges that span the Tweed here.
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The 17th Century âLowâ road bridge, the 1920s High-level road bridge and the railway bridge.
This view looking west inland, taken from the old quayside on the north bank.
The Bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson, assisted by Thomas E. Harrison, and built by contractors McKay & Blackstock.
The North British Railway built a 57 mile railway linking Edinburgh with Berwick and the line was opened on 18 June 1846, terminating on the north bank.
York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway had built a line up to Tweedmouth, terminating on the south bank.
Before the Royal Border Bridge was opened in 1850, goods and passengers were conveyed between Tweedmouth station and Berwick station by Horse-Drawn Coaches.
This was a temporary solution until a permanent rail connection could be established.
In 1848, a temporary bridge was constructed across the River Tweed, allowing trains to continue from Tweedmouth to Berwick and connect with the North British Railway.
This enabled rail traffic to continue while the permanent Royal Border Bridge was under construction and it was built alongside the future site of the Royal Border Bridge.
It was a Wooden structure, sufficient for temporary rail use and linked the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (south of the Tweed) with the North British Railway (north of the Tweed) allowing uninterrupted travel between England and Scotland.
© Copyright Rojabro - own work.
In building the bridge, the ruins of Berwick Castle were cut in two and partly demolished!
You can just see these, to the left. This view is looking east, out to sea and shows all 28 arches.
The bridge is constructed primarily of stone and brick which has been faced with stone to provide a more aesthetic finish to the arches.
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The bridge is 125ft (38m) above the river itself and is 2162ft (659m) long.
Its 29 piers are set into the bed of the River Tweed and protected from the strong currents of the tidal river by âCutwatersâ.
The bridge arches were built using a technique called âCentringâ.
Centring is a temporary support structure that is used to hold the arches in place while they are being built.
The Centring for the Royal Border Bridge was made of timber and it was supported by a series of temporary piers. Once the arches were completed, the Centring was removed and the bridge became self-supporting.
The foundation stone was laid on the 15th of May 1847 and The Royal Border Bridge was officially opened by Queen Victoria on 29th August 1850.
The Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque (not this one) on the bridge, and she also granted her permission for it to be named the Royal Border Bridge.
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This view is south along the coast towards Holy Island and Bamburgh
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In 1989, the Royal Border Bridge was electrified as part of the electrification of the East Coast Main Line. This allowed faster and more efficient train services to operate between London and Edinburgh.
This view shows a (noisy) âVoyagerâ brace of DMUs crossing over, at hightide.
This view shows a pair of EMD Class 66 DEs, heading south on the âUpâ line with the midday Intermodal - about as exciting as freight trains are, these days.
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The loco on the point retains its former owners, English, Welsh, Scottish (EWS) Wisconsin Central influenced livery, much more attractive than the current owners DB Cargo UK red livery, IMO.
In the 1990s, the Royal Border Bridge underwent a major restoration project. This work was necessary to repair the damage that had been caused by years of wear and tear. The bridge was also strengthened to allow it to carry heavier trains.
The Royal Border Bridge is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Berwick-upon-Tweed and was used on the iconic railway posters for the East Coast Line. It is a testament to the engineering skill of Robert Stephenson and his team, and it is a reminder of the important role that the bridge has played in the history of the town and the surrounding area.
This view looking west, portrays former LNER A3 Pacific âFlying Scotsmanâ 4472 heading north, on the âDownâ line. She is decorated as BR 60103 in BR Brunswick Green with a white cab roof and has German style Smoke Deflectors fitted (âJerry Blinkersâ)
The coaches are decorated in âPullmanâ Umber brown and cream livery.
Floâ, another beer please, Paul.
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Good afternoon on a holiday Monday. When I lived in England this would have been âAugust Bank Holiday Mondayâ. Donât know if it still is.
Our thoughts and prayers are with and for all going through difficult medical and other times.
Our elder grandson phoned to say his wife has left him, taking the two children. She said she had never really loved him⊠(our question âthen why marry him?â is left unaskedâŠ)
On the layout, I was about to plant the batches of trees when I realized that the ground was unsceniced. So thatâs what Iâve been up to. The first dusting of green for the grass looked too much like a bowling green! Fortuenately I had some Woodland Scenics Burnt Grass in the supplies, so that made things better looking. All is now drying from a dilute Mod Podge soaking, and tree planting will happen in due course. Havenât done any landscsping for a while. Glad to find my 'right hand hath not lost its cunning!
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Nice work!
The Burnt Grass is now my favorite for ground cover.
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Well, I did a quick search and think I found my answer. I donât think Iâm getting âRegularâ status back for a long time.
According to Google AI, to achieve regular status in Discourse forum software, one must:
In the last 100 days:
- Active Participation: Visit the forum on at least 50% of the days.
- Topic Engagement: Reply to at least 10 different topics.
- Content Consumption: View at least 25% of posts and topics created during that period (capped at 20,000 posts and 500 topics).
- Positive Interactions: Receive 20 likes and give 30 likes across a variety of users and days.
- Good Standing: Have no more than 5 spam or offensive flags, and not have been suspended or silenced in the last 6 months.
Active participation? Check.
Topic Engagement? Probably okay, but could be close.
Content Consumption? Also probably okay, but perhaps not.
Positive Interactions? Give 30 likes=not a problem, received 20 across a variety of users=not likely.
Good Standing? Check. Seriously, you could regularly be offensive and still have good standing? Sheesh.
Guess Iâll just have to settle for being irregular!
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Looking at those categories, I think I may be spending too much time online.
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LOL
Donât we all?
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I have never been labeled âRegularâ although I check all of the boxes.
Rich
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Good morning, diners. Brunhilda, Iâll have bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
I believe you can get it on your preferences page after clicking on your avatar. If I remember, I had to request it.
Itâs a another beautiful day on the plains. Iâm so happy to be here. Twenty years of living and working in mid-city New Orleans makes me appreciate so much more living out here in flyover country.
We have to (not get to) attend a wedding this weekend. Iâd rather cut grass than attend a wedding.
Still one of the best-looking trains ever â crossing a bridge in the San Joaquin Valley in California:
Have a great day, everyone.
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Oh yeah!
The Forth Rail Bridge
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