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Numbers for everything

  • Thread starter Thread starter Catkin
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Catkin

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Did you know that the Railway had numbers for everything even the station clock and the every railway bridge,when you read about them you will understand how clever it was. Like the old saying there is a place for everything and everything should be in it's place...Cat
 
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Catkin said:
Did you know that the Railway had numbers for everything even the station clock and the every railway bridge,when you read about them you will understand how clever it was. Like the old saying there is a place for everything and everything should be in it's place...Cat
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Hi Cat,

Numbering systems are fine if you get the number right!! I worked for the Westminster Bank in the early 1960s, and we ordered a batch of tally rolls for the adding and accounting machines from the stationery stores at London. I seem to remember that the number was MA18 (the 'MA' was for
Machine Accountancy), but whoever made out the order missed off the MA and we received a very large batch of toilet rolls instead!!

Kind regards

Dave
 
Hello Dave, Foresight... storing them up for the future no doubt lol...Cat

Where is Smiths wood.?
 
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Re-numbers, In the early days Midland Red and its constituent companies used the registration number as the 'reference' to a bus, but this became fraught with problems as numbers could be changed from one vehicle to another - and often stayed with the body rather than the chassis to save repainting the numbers, if moved at overhaul. Eventually the company's accountants had enough and started a list (the 'A' list - A for Accountants) from 1, which was the oldest vehicle left after Birmingham Corporation took over most of the fleet, routes and Tennant Street depot in 1914. The list continued in more-or-less order of entry into service until eventually becoming the displayed fleet number in the 1940s.

Birmingham Corporation's Tramway department, being organised by local government officers was more regimented and kept seperate lists for trams, buses, trolleybuses, service lorries etc.
Strangely the first bus appears to have been numbered 0 (registered O 8200), although all other lists started normally at 1.
 
Catkin said:
Hello Dave, Foresight... storing them up for the future no doubt lol...Cat

Where is Smiths wood.?
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Smith's Wood used to be called Chelmsley Wood Extension, and lies along the side of the A452 Collector Road with Auckland Drive, Windward Way
and Lanchester Way forming its boundaries. As with all of Chelmsley Wood
it was divided originally by area numbers, Smith's Wood being areas 10, 11, 12, and 13. All roads in area 10 were named after islands, area 11
after birds, area 12 after rivers, and area 13 after cars.

Kind regards

Dave
 
Lists of similar numbers can cause problems . Some years ago a large brewery in the midlands, which is now , I gather, a housing estate, had a bit of a disaster with similar numbers. They used a water treatment system to obtain the correct water composition for brewing. This system had to be regularly regenerated by passing through a solution of a commercial chemical . Can't remember the number but say it was XXX 21. When the time came for treatment one day the operator couldn't find any XXX 21, but there was XXX 22. He thought "that will be ok, must be similar" and treated the plant with XXX 22. Unfortunately XXX 22 was a completely different chemical , a detergent. Not poisonous or anything , but, as pub landlords and others will be aware, detergents, or fat, on a glass, or in a beer, result in no head. The result was over half a million bottles of beer that tasted fine and still had a very nice taste, but which, on pouring, gave no head whatsoever.
 
Thank you all for the information.

I have just googled ......Where do numbers come from......
It's a little mine field, all done by numbers of course.

It's all Greek to me...Cat
 
Catkin said:
Did you know that the Railway had numbers for everything even the station clock and the every railway bridge,when you read about them you will understand how clever it was. Like the old saying there is a place for everything and everything should be in it's place...Cat
Click to expand...

I have 2 railway clocks that I bought in the early 70's from a sort of railway disposal warehouse, just behind Euston Station.
The larger of the two is screwed onto the wall keeps good time has a small brass plate LMS no. 11104. Made by John Smith and Sons, Derby.
The second clock in a 6 inch square box has L.M.S.R. printed on the face and a white enameled plaque with the numbers 5258 screwed on the side.
A clock repairer told me the smaller clock was made in the USA.

ladywood
 
Thank you for that information Ladywood, They are in all probability from Euston station, but this can be checked by the number...Cat
 
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