... Ireland versus UK! (mini-blog)
In yesterday's blog, fbb wrote that The Republic Of Ireland is, at one time, the same as its former UK buddy; yet sometimes different!
That green coach ...
.. is very similar to the British Railways Mark 1 above. Mark 1 coaches had a chassis and a framed body.
Then along came the BR Mark 2 in various varieties as 2a, 2b and 2c.
This marque had no chassis with its strength being derived from the long tube of its upper parts. The type can be spotted by its rounded corners.
Irish Railways has similar body styles, as here in the orange and black.
Back this side of the water, BR's cunning plan was that the Mark 2 would bei retro-fitted with full air conditioning. In the end, this did not happen, but Mark 2d, e and f did materialise with sealed windows and aircon.
20 bags at 93p each makes for expensive crisps but the bags do contain 35g. Normal bags of crisps weigh just 24g.
To avoid possible for confusion, note the assorted bits and bobs bolted to the tube of the coach on BR (above) and Irish versions.
Also note the door handles. All Mark 2 vehicles had slam doors.
Mark 3s were best known as the teaching stock of the High Speed Train (HST).
They, too, had slam doors, but differed from Mark 2s in having a big slab of underparts all locked away in a long tin box.
Ditto for the oranges.
Along came Mark 4!
These are similar to their immediate predecessors but now we have power doors - look no door handles!
Ireland has Mark 4 vehicles but they are not orange!
The livery has hints of that earlier all-over shamrock green. Also door handles are decidedly deficient.
In the UK we now have Mark 5s, examples being with Scottish Sleeper 'day' vehicles ..
... and the loco-hauled push-pull sets for TransPennine.
Here endeth the lesson on BR and IR similar coach types - hardly an in depth study, but a reasonable introduction to the orange Irish vehicle you easily excitable blogger has purchased.
So which marque of Irish orange has fbb acquired?
Suffice it to say, the coach which fbb would have preferred cost neary twice as much.
Potato Or Meat!
An fbb snack review; ideal for train journeys!
No 3 son came across this product on-line and liked the brand name! His email implied that the products were flavoured crisps.
But hold fast, there. The company also sells crisps ...
... in this case £1 for a 40g bag.
But the Gruntled product is listed under 'Meat' snacks ...
... and one of the five Gruntled flavours is ...
... pork scratchings - definitely fbb's snack of choice (and with at least 5000 calories a bag!). So Gruntled flavours are all versions of the delectable pork scratchings tasty bite!
Like No 3 son, fbb loves the name.
A Belgian acquaintance of fbb once queried a sad omission from the varied but vexed panoply of the English language. Why, she asked, can you be disgruntled in England but you can never be gruntled?
Maybe the arruval of flavoured pork scratchings will encourage the use if the missing word, presumably meaning a state of contentment with things.
fbb is very gruntled with this particular blog.
Sadly, and steadily salivating, fbb must now return to the world of orange. Well 'orange' is healthy, after all.
Snippet
For those who thought plastic kits were for kids! Here is a 3D printed model at 1/16 scale.
That's big!
The advertiser, Jadlam Models, tells us it is named "Old Duch".
It isn't .
The real thing is called "Old Dutch", as in thr cockney song.
The kit costs a modest £300.
Yikes!
Next Irish Orange blog : Weds 29th April
