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Robin Stuart

You wrote about the SS Broxton and also the Dunedin Time Ball.  You said the SS Broxton was the worlds largest steamship; well attached is one of the smallest, the model steam pinace Susan Abigail.  I made her for my No1 daughter when she was about five years old, and she's now 51.  I've not had the non-radio control Susan Abigail in steam on the water since about 1975, but I was tempted by the model yacht sailing pool at Sheringham were we visit in Norfolk.  It's a constant 18" deep, and you can walk all the way round, so you can't lose your boat.  As you'll hear she still has the ability to attract small boys from all around.

You also mention time balls.  Prompted by your post something caught my eye for the first time that very day as we were driving home.  It's the old swing bridge at Sutton Bridge over the R. Nene in Lincolnshire.  It's not a ball it's a hexagonal cube, and it's not a time signal.  It appears to be a signal to river traffic to show the bridge is manned.  If you look carefully, you can see it in this link https://liberalengland.blogspot.com/2017/11/sutton-bridge-and-relics-of.html .  The swing bridge was unused for many years, but they got it  working again a few years ago to allow tanker traffic to the newly built twin BS Olympus (similar to those in the Vulcan and Concorde) powered standby power station.  The exhausts point vertically upwards silenced through divergent ducts, and you can get quite a shock if you inadvertantly fly over one in a light aircraft while it's working. DaveP

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