On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:20:25 GMT, David Bostwick wrote:

Why would you put sausages into apples, and how did you get them to
explode?

Ah, the innocnence of modern youth. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Dave Fawthrop said the following on 15/02/07 08:34:
On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:26:50 -0000, "Mike Cawood, HND BIT"
wrote:

|!"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...
|! alexander.keys1 said the following on 13/02/07 20:43:
|!
|! There was a great kids book in the local library that mentioned that
|! hydrogen peroxide mixed with manganese dioxide was what powered some WWII
|! torpedoes. There was also a small projectile launcher experiment using
|! the two same materials on the same page.

|!Isn't getting kids to experiment with explosive materials somewhat
|!irresponsible, even in those days?

I never lost a friend to explosive experiments, or putting bangers into
bottles, or shooting rockets at each other

I just remembered a mate of mine who was a bit of a nutter. His
grandfather had the usual workbench in the garage, so clamped a length
of fishing rod in the vice, filled the end with weedkiller and sugar,
bent the end around and put a small pile of the same on the bench and
lit it. Someone had decided to shut the garage doors which were made
out of that sheet asbestos and the brass fitting made a neat hole in the
door.

Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

Richard.

--
"This week I have mostly been listening to -
RVW's "A Sea Symphony" and lots of William Alwyn stuff.

Andy Dingley said the following on 15/02/07 18:17:
On 15 Feb, 09:51, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:

That and the pellets that make those snakes was all part of the indoor
fireworks pages.

I _really_ wouldn't make those these days (My Dad made them when I was
a kid). Apart from a few recipes that just aren't impressive enough to
be worth it, they really are nastily carcinogenic.


I remember you could buy those on a card of indoor fireworks. The
black-green smoke and the stink was enough to put you off.

For a short while I did go into the chemist and asked for some of the
chemicals that appeared in the books but I got bored with being told
"no!" Well, would you sell stuff to a schoolboy ?

For those who haven't grown up yet!
http://www.fyrverkerifabriken.se/lit.e.html

Richard.

--
"This week I have mostly been listening to -
RVW's "A Sea Symphony" and lots of William Alwyn stuff.

Androcles wrote:



They were better in jellyfish caught down at the Strand or the
Esplanade.

Alas I wasn't brung up in the Medway Towns, I'm an east London lad.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 22:10:42 +0000, Richard Brooks
wrote:

|!Dave Fawthrop said the following on 15/02/07 08:34:
|! On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:26:50 -0000, "Mike Cawood, HND BIT"
|! wrote:
|!
|! |!"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
|! ...
|! |! alexander.keys1 said the following on 13/02/07 20:43:
|! |!
|! |! There was a great kids book in the local library that mentioned that
|! |! hydrogen peroxide mixed with manganese dioxide was what powered some WWII
|! |! torpedoes. There was also a small projectile launcher experiment using
|! |! the two same materials on the same page.
|!
|! |!Isn't getting kids to experiment with explosive materials somewhat
|! |!irresponsible, even in those days?
|!
|! I never lost a friend to explosive experiments, or putting bangers into
|! bottles, or shooting rockets at each other
|!
|!I just remembered a mate of mine who was a bit of a nutter.

Darwinian evolution. Gets rid of the nutters before they can have children

|!His
|!grandfather had the usual workbench in the garage, so clamped a length
|!of fishing rod in the vice, filled the end with weedkiller and sugar,
|!bent the end around and put a small pile of the same on the bench and
|!lit it. Someone had decided to shut the garage doors which were made
|!out of that sheet asbestos and the brass fitting made a neat hole in the
|!door.
|!
|!Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
|!and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
|!We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
|!school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
|!other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
20,000 free e-books at Project Gutenberg! http://www.gutenberg.org
For Yorkshire Dialect go to www.hyphenologist.co.uk/songs/
http://www.gutenberg.org/author/John_Hartley
http://www.gutenberg.org/author/F_W_Moorman

On 15 Feb, 22:10, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Dave Fawthrop said the following on 15/02/07 08:34:





On Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:26:50 -0000, "Mike Cawood, HND BIT"
wrote:

|!"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...
|! alexander.keys1 said the following on 13/02/07 20:43:
|!
|! There was a great kids book in the local library that mentioned that
|! hydrogen peroxide mixed with manganese dioxide was what powered some WWII
|! torpedoes. There was also a small projectile launcher experiment using
|! the two same materials on the same page.

|!Isn't getting kids to experiment with explosive materials somewhat
|!irresponsible, even in those days?

I never lost a friend to explosive experiments, or putting bangers into
bottles, or shooting rockets at each other

I just remembered a mate of mine who was a bit of a nutter. His
grandfather had the usual workbench in the garage, so clamped a length
of fishing rod in the vice, filled the end with weedkiller and sugar,
bent the end around and put a small pile of the same on the bench and
lit it. Someone had decided to shut the garage doors which were made
out of that sheet asbestos and the brass fitting made a neat hole in the
door.

Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

We used to have a police man come round and show those little metal
things that went on the track and exploded as the train went over
them . The school was by a railway , why they couldn't just look after
the bloody things properly got to me even in the infants!!

Sofa - Spud said the following on 16/02/07 09:28:
On 15 Feb, 22:10, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

We used to have a police man come round and show those little metal
things that went on the track and exploded as the train went over
them . The school was by a railway , why they couldn't just look after
the bloody things properly got to me even in the infants!!

The very same things! Had two lead straps to hold them onto the rail.
Of course we wouldn't have known that until the kind police officer came
to our school to draw them for us on the blackboard.

Damn! We should have tried a game of cricket with them.


Richard.

--
"This week I have mostly been listening to -
RVW's "A Sea Symphony" and lots of William Alwyn stuff.

Richard Brooks wrote:
Sofa - Spud said the following on 16/02/07 09:28:
On 15 Feb, 22:10, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

We used to have a police man come round and show those little metal
things that went on the track and exploded as the train went over
them . The school was by a railway , why they couldn't just look after
the bloody things properly got to me even in the infants!!

The very same things! Had two lead straps to hold them onto the rail.
Of course we wouldn't have known that until the kind police officer came
to our school to draw them for us on the blackboard.

Damn! We should have tried a game of cricket with them.


Richard.

That was back in the days when HE and detonators were kept in a
padlocked shed in quarries, with no watchman at night and nobody there
weekends.

--
Dirk

http://www.onetribe.me.uk - The UK's only occult talk show
Presented by Dirk Bruere and Marc Power on ResonanceFM 104.4
http://www.resonancefm.com

On 16 Feb, 10:46, Dirk Bruere at NeoPax wrote:
Richard Brooks wrote:
Sofa - Spud said the following on 16/02/07 09:28:
On 15 Feb, 22:10, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

We used to have a police man come round and show those little metal
things that went on the track and exploded as the train went over
them . The school was by a railway , why they couldn't just look after
the bloody things properly got to me even in the infants!!

The very same things! Had two lead straps to hold them onto the rail.
Of course we wouldn't have known that until the kind police officer came
to our school to draw them for us on the blackboard.

Damn! We should have tried a game of cricket with them.

Richard.

That was back in the days when HE and detonators were kept in a
padlocked shed in quarries, with no watchman at night and nobody there
weekends.


If only Alan Rickman had known that. It would have saved him a lot of
bother.

--
Halmyre

On 16 Feb, 10:17, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Sofa - Spud said the following on 16/02/07 09:28:

On 15 Feb, 22:10, Richard Brooks richardbro...@vickers-
supermarine.com wrote:
Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.

We used to have a police man come round and show those little metal
things that went on the track and exploded as the train went over
them . The school was by a railway , why they couldn't just look after
the bloody things properly got to me even in the infants!!

The very same things! Had two lead straps to hold them onto the rail.
Of course we wouldn't have known that until the kind police officer came
to our school to draw them for us on the blackboard.

Damn! We should have tried a game of cricket with them.

We never found any but some lads put old pennies on the line to see
what happened.

"Richard Brooks"

|
| Then again, he used to throw railway fog warning mines at brick walls
| and pick up the ones that were dented and threw them back at the wall.
| We didn't know such things existed until a police officer came to our
| school and described them with drawing on a blackboard to us as some
| other kids had knicked a consignment earlier.
|
| Richard.
|


---------
On this side of da pond RR fog signals are called RR torpedoes. Oh - by da there
were also explosive lighthouse fog signals.

He be a report on an accident involving a SL of fog signals/torpedoes ..........

Bureau Of Explosives. [Association of American Railroads.]
19-7119 ..... June 17, 1926
RAILWAY TORPEDOES

See - the - car. Was - the - car - in - a - del-rail-ment? It -was -not; try - again, -
chil-dren. Could - it - have- been - an -ex-plos-i-on? You're - right - it - could!

All this is by the way of being sure that the situation is fully understood, even
by those immediately responsible for the not-so-good practice that produced the
results shown in the picture. The day-coach illustrated was not being used as a
carrier of forbidden material packed in an unauthorized manner. On the
contrary, it was as we know, empty and just standing on a yard track minding
its own business. As the matter of fact, this car had nothing to do with what
happened, except in-so-far as it was on the receiving end of the excitement,
along with other cars and the windows of houses for some distance around.

In one end of a box car there were loaded 36,000 railway torpedoes and a
collection of fusees, properly packed, and carefully braced in the car. This care,
however, did not extend to putting "INFLAMMABLE" placards on the car, as
required by I.C.C. Regulations, nor did it prevent the loading in the other end
of the same car, of a collection of heavy castings, forgings, iron pipe, brake
shoes, and other trifling hardware, which, as is customary for that class of
material, was loaded in bulk and unbraced. The whole outfit, in sort, was
company supplies.

Well, then, this car, with others, was spotted on a track near the storehouse. In
the meantime, a switcher went after some more cars of material, to go in on the
same track. The switcher proceeded to kick the string consisting of two cars, in
along the stores track where the original car was. There happened to be a low
place in the track near the torpedo car, and that car, persuaded by gravity,
began to roll gently in the direction of the oncoming string. The foremost of the
two approaching cars was a steel gondola loaded with switch material. What
with the liberal weight of iron present, the gondola and the torpedo car came
together with something less then perfect gentleness. An umpteenth of a second
later there arose a large,[?] a very loud noise, and pieces of this and that began
sailing through the air thereabouts like a flock of pigeons. The steel end of the
gondola was neatly removed from its proper place, and flew two hundred feet
before it returned to earth. The passenger car in the picture [Photo of a railway
coach in sorry shape; windows blown out &c..] was 120 feet away
from the meeting place, but that didn't help much, as the picture demonstrates.
As already indicated, the echo of the blast was punctuated by the tinkering of
broken glass, as most of the windows in the vicinity bowed gracefully to the
inevitable. We need not explain why we show no picture of the torpedo car after
the bump.

It would seem that the cars didn't strike hard enough to explode the properly
packed torpedoes, but some of the not-exactly-feather-dusters loaded in the far
end of the torpedo car must have trespassed on forbidden territory as a result of
the bump. Railway torpedoes are made to explode; they aren't good for anything
else. The torpedoes in the shipment were not unduly sensitive; but the worm
will turn, and even properly packed torpedoes cannot be expected to regard
with indifference the impact of a few hundred pounds of iron in one chunk. Be
that as it may, these didn't! Aside form the mess that followed this fact, two
men were hit by flying pieces, one man being pretty badly hurt. This was, as
usual, NOT the man who loaded the iron works into the car with the torpedoes!


----------------
19-2221 ..... January 24, 1913.

RAILWAY TORPEDO. -- While a team was driving up to the freight platform
to discharge some freight, a railway torpedo, lying on the frozen ground, was
exploded either by the wagon wheel running over it or by the horses stamping
on it. A piece of the torpedo struck one of the horses in the left shank,
producing a serious injury, which resulted in blood poisoning, followed by the
death of the animal a few days later. Loss $300.

[Railway torpedoes contained a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulphur, sand,
binder and a neutralizer. (Ellern #155). They were placed on the track behind
parked trains and such. The weight of a following train crossing over a torpedo
would cause it to detonate warning the engineer to stop. /djh/]

[I can say from personal experience during my misspent youth with both the
real thing and one home-made device, they function well. Just remember one
thing if you are planning on replicating one of these devices; I have replaced
the luck of my youth with knowledge and experience plus not a few gray hairs.
Fireworks should be fun. Loss of your vision or sundry body parts from
using compositions/devices such as these is not fun with fireworks - n'est-ce
pas? [djh]




--
donald j haarmann
----------------------------
An explosion may be defined as a loud noise
accompanied by the sudden going away of
things from the places where they were before.
Joseph Needham

donald haarmann said the following on 16/02/07 22:38:

---------
On this side of da pond RR fog signals are called RR torpedoes. Oh - by da there
were also explosive lighthouse fog signals.

[great stories snipped]

[Railway torpedoes contained a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulphur, sand,
binder and a neutralizer. (Ellern #155). They were placed on the track behind
parked trains and such. The weight of a following train crossing over a torpedo
would cause it to detonate warning the engineer to stop. /djh/]

There must have been a couple of different types as the early ones I met
were tin plate with a mercury fulminate bulb or so a documentary on
explosives explained, well we never did find much after, but the ones I
saw a few years back felt a bit heavier.

[I can say from personal experience during my misspent youth with both the
real thing and one home-made device, they function well. Just remember one
thing if you are planning on replicating one of these devices; I have replaced
the luck of my youth with knowledge and experience plus not a few gray hairs.
Fireworks should be fun. Loss of your vision or sundry body parts from
using compositions/devices such as these is not fun with fireworks - n'est-ce
pas? [djh]

It seems all the fun things were dangerous. After seeing a schools
documentary about dyes which showed a small segment about the Red Arrows
aerobatic display team once using Aniline dye before changing over to
oils for making their smoke I thought my brother might like to try it
for his radio controlled model aircraft. The stuff wasn't readily
available so it never happened but I've just read up on the effects it has.


Richard.




--
"This week I have mostly been listening to -
RVW's "A Sea Symphony" and lots of William Alwyn stuff.