Paris Temps

[maddox]

Percheron is a heavy horse, like the Friesians, Brabander and Shire. Originaly sees as horse for the heavy knights.

And the Percheron is  a smart cookie for such a tall one, so, those have certain uses.

Also, what kind of horseteam would you like to draw a 155mm houwitser and munition wagon in a dress show?

[Borys]

Also, what kind of horseteam would you like to draw a 155mm houwitser and munition wagon in a dress show?

OK - I understand now :)
Borys

[Tanthalas]

OOC
Ahoj!

Saumur, "École d'Instruction des Troupes à cheval"

But those duties won't be part of the Corps Cavalery, what will just be this schooling facility. Funding will be generous, but the expectations will be high, and not only from the military. We want you Brigade General, Honeupe to form a Cadre, a cadre of superbe horsemen to rival the L'École espagnole de Vienne. To make it obvious, the chozen colors are black uniforms, and the horsebreeds, we want to have at least  a dozen Percherons. The others are up to you.[/i]

I don't know so much about horses, but is the Percheron a riding breed? I think it is a cold blooded draught horse, no?
Borys

While a work horse the Perch is considerd a warm blood.

[Borys]

Ahoj!

While a work horse the Perch is considerd a warm blood.

OK - I'm out of my depth. I wouldn't know a warm from a cold blood if it kicked me!
Borys

[maddox]

Doesn't matter that much for me.

Young horse gives good steak, old horse makes fine stew.

[maddox]

February 27 1919.

Rail yard at Courrieres.  A wrong lever is pulled, a switch moving where it shouldn't.

BANG

A fully loaded coalwagon bumps into a locomotive. The heavier locomotive doesn't budge a lot,  the loaded coaler neither, but something has to give. In this case, the fenders and connections on the end of the wagon.  Untangling doesn't take long, locomotives in reverse, and the damaged coaler is wheeled by a shunter to the repair yard.

The reparation of the wagon will take more time and spare parts than available , so the wagon set aside, and some pieces are scavanged. One of those pieces is a simple device, called a ball valve. This valve is used to close the lines for the air brakes. But the handle is bend , so the apprentice handling it fits a new handle on the square lug. Tags the valve as "suitable for service" and puts it in the magazine.

The night between march 1 and 2.  A coal train is assembled, and when the locomotive is  connected, the basic checks are made.
The last wagons airbrake line ballvalve leaks seriously, and can't be closed. The airline is shut on the other side of the wagon,and the valve removed, the fated ballvalve of the crash 2 days earlier taken from the magazine and fitted. The cold sleet filled night annoys the workers to no end.
When the airline is opened again, it is obvious that the new valve is assembled wrongly. The handle is on it at 90° of normal, so open is close and close open. The blast of compressed air is a clear indication.
The workers, already annoyed by the situation just close the valve by turning the handle in "open" and clear the train, checklist completed.

To be continued

[maddox]

Continued

30 hours later, the locomotive of the coal train has developed a leak in the left front Hi pressure piston,and loses power by the kilometer.
The diversion towards Modane isn't helping a bit, the more hilly landscape slowing the progress to a crawl. The machinist assesses that the locomotive can't climb up the 300 meter rise towards the Fréjus tunnel and border crossing.

He refuses to leave the trainstation unless the engine is fixed. But the stations master has the last word, and a compromise is found.

During the time the local repair men attempt to fix the piston, the coal wagons are being shunted and will be put behind a passenger train that is expected in 4 hours.

The repairmen can't fix the piston, the locomotive will stay at Modane.

The passenger train can leave with only a small delay, with the coal wagons coupled at the back.

During the shunting, the wagon with the "non standard" valve is coupled first to the passenger wagons. Followed by the others.
The delay of the passenger train is urging the railway people, and the checks degrade from "manual" to visual.  And all the handles are perfectly aligned along the axis of the train.

[ctwaterman]

*cringe*

[Carthaginian]

Bad things, man... bad things...

[maddox]

The slope of the Fréjus rail passage. The speed of the train is picking up. dedeng   dedeng  dedeng dedeng

Lessening the steampressure towards the pistons.  Speed still picking up.
Brakes applied gently. The shock of the wagons and tender being pushed in the locomotive
Speed still increasing.
Brakes engaging more vigorous.
Speeding up more, going over 50mph.
dedengdendengedengdngdngDngDNgDNGDNG
Emergency brakes applied.  The wheels from the passenger cars lock, sparks fly. The locomotive shudders.
60mph, the gentle curve in the track is making itself clear, the wagons start to heel over.
The weight of the unbraked coal wagons pushes the braking passenger wagons up the last passenger car loses any contact with the rails.  People scream and grab hold of anything remotely sturdy.

The swaying wagons and the way to high speed pull the locomotive from the tracks, and...

[Kaiser Kirk]

nice picture, bad accident

[maddox]

OOC @ Walter. That picture was a lucky find.

IC
The aftermath.

The 4 of the 5 passenger wagons are totaly crushed under tons of coal, that was ignited by the fire of the locomotive. The picture just shows the least horrible angle of the Fréjus Disaster¹.

Non of the 186 people on the train survived.

A torough investigation is made, and the following conclusions are forwarded.

The coal wagons weren't braked even equipped with the newest airbrakes, no idea why. 
A recommendation to change the setup from :

braking by appyling air-pressure from an outside source   
to
braking by lack of airpressure from an outside source.
One of the engineers doing the investigation suggests heavy coil springs to replace the pneumatic pistons powering the brakes and using the same pistons to compress the springs and therefore releasing the brakes.


¹
Directly copied from Wikipedia
The line was the scene of one of the world's worst train accidents on 12 December 1917, when between 800-1000 French soldiers returning home on leave from fighting in North East Italy were killed in a catastrophic crash. During World War I there was a shortage of locomotives able to run in the area, so the decision was made to couple two trains, consisting of nineteen coaches carrying the troops, to a single 4-6-0 engine; of those coaches only the first three had air brakes, the remaining coaches only had hand brakes or no brakes at all. The driver initially refused to drive the engine with such an overloaded train, which was now four times the safety limit for the engine, but the driver was threatened with military discipline and the train continued. On its approach to Modane the train descended into a valley, the driver applied the brakes without effect due to the heavy load. After continuing with excessive speeds into the valley for nearly 4 miles at an estimated 75 mph the first coach derailed causing a pile-up that resulted in a fire. Because of the fire and impact, only 425 of the 800-1000 troops killed could be identified.[4]

[maddox]

Le Monde.

From our correspondent in Phoenix, New Swiss.

A Public statement about the situation with the Roman Conquerors.

New Switzerland is very confused by the Italian Emperor's speech. Is Italy accusing New Switzerland of a deliberate attack on Italian forces on their own soil? New Switzerland has no idea what Italy is talking about. Why would we do such a thing? New Switzerland finds the comments by the Emperor very insulting and provocative. If the Italians truly want peace they will withdraw their inflammatory statements.

Not only is France a whore, but now we know her pimp. The obsolete remnants of the Imperial Roman Empire.
Let the People Of France Rise and demant a just and honnest government, and not a Rome worshipping persiflage of the Moulin Rouge.
The New Swiss , after a short intermezzo with a wannabe King, regained their strength and straightforwardness, and in the spirit of a true Republic, these galant providers of Freedom reach out the hand to all of good will.

[maddox]

Paris, April 16th
Premier Galpoux's offices.   Monsieur Grange visiting.

Grange,  I need your advice. The liberation of Sparrow sits badly in my stomache.

Not only yours Premier Galpoux. My Securité suffered from that debacle too. But at least I have 2 of my agents on his trail. Unfortunatly, those 2 are incommunicado. But I expect a message any moment.

Not your fault. I think Minister Capet will have to explain a lot. Not in the least his theatrics wooing the Romanian Princess/Empress. No, I need your insight to determinate we need to kick out the New Swiss ambassador or not.

No, not ambassador Aretas Akers-Douglas. He was appointed by King Henry, and that makes him persona very non grata in New Switserland at the moment. Even if his offices still do the NS communications.
We have 2 options at this time.

• 1) pretend nothing happened, and any message from King Henry caries the full power/
• 2) accept the change in Phoenix, and ask for another ambassador, sending Aretas to Italia.

I suggest accepting 1. But in name of Glorious France and the spiritual guidance of our republican starters I have to admit option 2 is more honnest.

[maddox]

Paris, Parliament.

Premier Galpoux,  what is your answer to the New Swiss insult?

Secretaire DeGaulle. What insult?

The one offered trough the Italian communiquee.  I quote
New Switzerland can agree to meet Italian representatives, but only in a neutral location, and not with an Italian Ally.

What is the insult? We are firmly allied with the Romans, and we should make that even stronger. We offered the palace of Versailles as a convenient meeting place to talk trough the potential problems. That's all.
If the communist New Swiss with their idiotic point of views reject this honnest offer, it's clearly their collective paranoïa is worse than we expected.
I have more information than most of us. And I can garanty you, since the gouvernment of Jardan, the New Swiss provoked and provoked again, goading Glorious France into war. New Swiss in the last 20 years has caused France more naval loses  than any other conflict official or unofficial. We  know New Swiss  actions sunk us 1 Magenta class battleship, 2 Gloire class  large protected cruisers, 1 sloop of the Lavaisier class and we suspect one Chardon class sloop and having a hand in the damaging of Napoleon the Great and of another Gloire class cruiser. That's over 1500 sailors and more than 40 000 tons of hard worked for high quality steel. The only time New Swiss wasn't needling or annoying any state was, unfortunatly to admit, during King Henry's reign.
This only proves that barbarians need a firm hand to guide them into Liberté, égalité, fraternité and the gentle transition to the best form of leadership, Democracy.

If you put it that way Premier, I have only one question.  Why don't we get rid of the remnants of our ancient enemy?

Because Glorious France is above Cavemen level.

But rest assured,  my ministers are working tirelessly on solutions, and if  those solutions mean we have the squeeze out the brains of cavemen with nice toys, we'll squeeze untill nothing is left to squeeze.
More questions?

eerie silence, tumbleweed rolling over the floor.....

Messieurs? I just need your approval to talk to the de facto ambassador of New Swiss in France,ambassador Aretas Akers-Douglas.
From here we have 3 options.

• 1) neutrality, like since the eviction of the Swiss rabblerousers in 1805.
• 2) Dialogue with the current ,insulting and previous killing,red plague New Swiss leaders.
• 3) Support for "King" Henry.
  

• Option 1, I just ask the question "how many of our valliant sailors and their hard worked for ships will we lose untill our successors lose their patience"?
• Option 2. What will it change to the current situation?
• Option 3. Perverse as it is, supporting royalty, what would it do worse? We deal daily with republics like the CSA or the Orange Republic.
  Theocracies like Firenje or the Ottomans. Royalties, Italia and the United Norman Kingdom,  since 2 decades our valuable allies. Or even mixtures of both, the successors of the Caliphate of Caïro, the Egyptians.

I await your answer.