Slippery Manhole Covers

Image courtesy Google Street View

I don't want to be ranting on about them all the time and get a reputation as a manhole crank, but there's a really slippery one outside the heritage centre. I slipped on it on Friday when out running. I wasn't running at the time, but just stepped in off the road after stepping off the kerb to avoid some pedestrians and maybe turned too quickly on the cover. My foot went from under me on the surface and I wrenched my shoulder, throwing myself forwards to avoid falling backwards. It had to be the bad shoulder I damaged eight months ago after falling when sprinting. Anyway, I think the problem with these galvanised manhole covers (Eir ones) is that the bumps/tread pattern they put on them for grip is too rounded and shallow, unlike the square bumps on the older cast iron covers. They're probably polished from foot traffic also.

Edit: I think it's an Eir one, but maybe ESB Networks.

Pump House, County Board of Health

Last edition 6" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

This was a small hut, from what I can remember, with a slate or corrugated-iron roof, located in the council yard beside the old canoe club building (a "Barna Building"-style timber hut). There was a good view of it from the playing field of the BNS (now the library building) from where we used to throw stones and see if we could get them into the river. I presume the function of the pump was to pump water from the Ballymore Eustace water treatment works to a reservoir on raised ground at the back of Dunlea's garage, before the cavernous underground reservoir was built at Old Kilcullen. I'm not sure whether the town still gets water indirectly from the former, or directly from the Old Kilcullen reservoir. It's difficult to get information out of Uisce Éireann. Perhaps this was a sewage pumping setup, but the sewage treatment "plant" was in the woods, just downstream of Liffey Bank House, and gravity fed by the sewerage system from both ends of the town, so pumping shouldn't have been necessary.

This is an excerpt from the six inch, last edition OSI map, post-1939 and pre-1950. (Logstown houses haven't been built yet).
Historical OSI maps are available on their "Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer" website here.

Edit: The "County Kildare Board of Health and Public Assistance " was the precursor of the Eastern Health Board and later the HSE.

More information here.

Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

Mill Stream Rerouted

Mill stream, Kilcullen. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

I'm always trying to spot things I've missed on the Ordnance Survey (now Tailte Éireann) historical maps. One thing I hadn't noticed previously was that the mill stream was rerouted, sometime after 1939. The first image is a satellite photo and the next three, from top to bottom are the c. 1837 6" first edition map., the c. 1900 25" map and the last edition 6" map (which is post-1939, since the Nicholastown housing estate has been built, but pre-1950 because the Logstown estate hasn't been built yet).

On the last edition map, the area around the mill stream is marked as "liable to floods". Perhaps the meander had a shallow bed and was removed from the stream to improve flow rate, by carrying water through a deeper channel directly to the river to prevent flooding? (The channelcould have been widened also). The original stream bed can be faintly made out in the satellite photo.

Maybe some older locals would know something about this?

 

The Irish Townland and Historical Maps Viewer can be accessed here:

 

https://osi.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html...

 

Images courtesy Tailte Éireann.

 

c. 1837 6" first edition map. Images courtesy Tailte Éireann.

c. 1900 25" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

Last edition 6" map. Image courtesy Tailte Éireann.

Install Lighting at the Recycling Facility at Leinster Marts

Created with Grok Imagine

Just an idea so we don't end up stepping on broken-bottle ends at night, which I've seen every so often. I usually bring a torch, but safety shoes with steel insoles would be advised. Getting ESB Networks to install an electrical supply for lighting always seems to be a hassle and costly, as we saw recently when a pedestrian crossing was installed, so maybe lights could be solar powered and on sensors? They'd only need to turn on intermittently, so average power use would be low and therefore solar panels for powering the system wouldn't have to be large. In fact, a sensor could be mounted on the nearest light to the gate to control a string of maybe three streetlamps.

Edit: Grok made the image, so send the Grammar Police to them if you're concerned about spelling.

Bad Water Quality In Kilcullen

AI image created by Grok for illustrative purposes.

Am I the only one who is experiencing corrosion of aluminium fittings because of the excessive lime in the water? Lime builds up in lumps, these act as sponges, holding water in contact with metal. Chlorine in water can make it acidic or alkaline and fluorine in the water also makes it acidic. The result is pitting damage on for example the frame members of showers.
Maybe it's time to lobby Uisce Éireann again? They say water quality is to recommended standards, but I have my doubts. It may be safe to drink, but it's obviously causing problems. Have there been any changes at the water treatment plant at Srowland, Athy to improve water quality since this article in the Kilcullen Diary in 2022?

Saw Setting and Yield Strength

© Eugene Brennan

 

My bow saw blade is years old. I've cut up loads of logs and full trees with it and I sharpen it every so often (an extremely boring and tedious job, because there's probably over a hundred edges to do.) However, it was binding, because I reckoned, the faces of the teeth were worn and there was no kerf remaining. The teeth of a saw blade are alternately set to the left and right, so that they point slightly away from the blade. This gives the saw a kerf, making the width of the cut wider than the body of the blade behind the teeth so the blade doesn't bind. Without a kerf, a blade would stick in damp timber. I used a saw set tool on the blade (one of several old hand tools belonging to my grandfather) and it's working beautifully now, no problem cutting logs up to 5" thick. (Handier than taking out the chainsaw and good for upper body exercise.)

I tried using a saw set on a carpenter's hand saw once and it broke one of the teeth. So I'm wondering can only some modern saws/saw blades be used with a saw set because the teeth are so hard and the ultimate strength of the steel isn't much higher than the yield strength. I.e. once the elastic limit is reached, teeth don't deform plastically and just break? The engineering aspect of this post is that materials have a yield strength which is the max strain they can undergo elastically without permanent deformation. After that they deform plastically and don't spring back into shape. The ultimate strength, measured in units of newtons per square metre or pascals (a pressure measurement) is the point at which a material will fracture.

Parish Centre Windows and Lawn Mower Decks

A counterbalance used to balance a lever. These are often seen on road barriers where one end of the lever is much shorter than the other end. © Eugene Brennan

Standing at the side of the parish church this morning, collecting for the SVP, I noticed the parish centre still has sash windows. I’m not sure whether these are the original ones; I would have thought they’d have rotted away by now. So maybe some or all of them are timber replacements. As six-year-olds in Sr Brendan's senior infants or "high infants" as we called it, one of the chores that was sought after was being allowed to sweep the leaves on the lane up to the playing field, where the Millstream Court houses are now located. The other was being given the job of opening or closing the sash windows in the classroom. In our young minds, either of these tasks gave us a sense of being very important people. Opening the sash windows required a special tool: a long pole with a brass attachment on one end that hooked into a ring on the window. A quick Google search tells me these are called "sash lifts", "ring pulls" or "sash loops".  Light sashes, like the ones we used to have in our houses in Nicholastown can be lifted by hand. Heavier sashes require a counterbalance. 

What are counterbalances used for?

A counterbalance is a weight added to one end of a pivoted or suspended structure so that it becomes balanced (the turning moments clockwise and anti-clockwise are equalised). The weight of the counterbalance and its position relative to the pivot are set so that the structure can stay at any angle without turning. The advantage of a counterbalance is that a structure only has to be displaced and doesn't have to be physically lifted. So for instance a heavy road barrier could be raised by a human if it moves freely on its pivot, without the assistance of a motor or hydraulics. If there was no counterbalance, they would have to push down a lot harder on the barrier to lift the other end. Counterbalances are also used on tower cranes to balance the boom so that the crane doesn't topple over. These counterbalances are usually large blocks of concrete. Swing bridges use counterbalances to balance the weight of the swing section. Sometimes the counterbalancing force is provided by a spring instead of a weight. For instance springs are sometimes used on the deck of a lawn mower so a user doesn't have to lift the deck when adjusting the height. Also springs might be used on the lid of a home appliance such as a chest freezer to stop the lid falling down when raised.

A tower crane. The counterbalance consisting of a collection of concrete slabs can be seen on the underside of the boom. Conquip, public domain image via Pixabay.com

Heavy sash windows, like those found in old Georgian houses, have sash weights that counterbalance the weight of the sashes. Without these weights, it would be difficult to raise and lower the sashes by hand using a pole. A sash cord is attached to each side of the sash; these cords pass up and over pulleys at the side of the window and then back down to the sash weights. The sash cords, pulleys and weights are hidden within compartments at the sides of the windows, accessible by opening hinged panels. When I was in college, I had to replace a broken sash cord on a window in a flat I was staying in (quicker than getting the landlord to do it). In those days it was easy to get such cord in a hardware store. I'm not sure whether it's still readily available. Perhaps in Dublin it is, considering the numbers of terraces of Georgian houses with sash cord that may be hundreds of years old. 

ESB Networks Account

Generated using Bing Image Creator

Did you know, you can register for an ESB Networks account that allows you to access lots of information about the electricity usage logged by your smart meter, irrespective of which supplier you're with? The details are more comprehensive than those provided by electricity providers. Also, meter readings are shown and it's possible to download a comma separated values (CSV) file that contains meter readings which can be read by spreadsheet software such as Excel. Time and date-stamped daily readings are provided, with a precision of two decimal places. I switched to SSE Airtricity recently and was annoyed to discover that their bills don't show meter readings, just usage. So there's no way to double check whether the figure they quote tallies with meter readings.

Artemis II On Schedule

Artemis II crew. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Artemis I mission, launched in 2022, involved sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into orbit around the Moon and bringing it back to Earth. Artemis II will be a crewed mission, launching four astronauts into a free-return orbit around the Moon and back to Earth, the first time humans will have been in lunar orbit since 1972. The mission had been delayed until September 2026 due to technical problems, but has now been brought forward to April of next year or possibly earlier. NASA's Orion spacecraft comprising of a command and service module sits on top of the unimaginatively-named Space Launch System (SLS), the equivalent of the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo program. The 8.4 m (27.6 ft) diameter, 98 m (322 ft) tall SLS is a two-and-a-half-stage rocket, powered by engines that burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, assisted by two solid rocket boosters.

Turlough Hill Transmission Lines

Twin 220 kV lines crossing the mountains from Turlough Hill hydro station. © Eugene Brennan

One of my cycles back in mid-August (the long days of summer seem to be a distant memory now) was from Kilcullen to within a few miles of Turlough Hill. This is the location of Ireland's only pumped storage power station. When there's a surplus of power which the grid can't use, pumps at the station send water to an artificial lake located on top of the mountain. Once there's a demand for power, the motors and pumps switch function and become turbines and generators, the turbines driven by water as it rushes down through penstocks (large pipes) to a natural lake, located at the base of the mountain. Turlough Hill power station is net inefficient (power out is less than power in due to losses in the system). However it acts as a buffer on the grid, being capable of supplying power within a short space of time, unlike conventional thermal power stations. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) will replace this type of system in the future, to cope with the erratic nature of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind generation. Although getting planning approval for BESS facilities can be difficult (as we saw locally), it's probably a lot easier than getting permission for a facility which would end up "ruining" a mountain as some would see it, or planning permission to flood a valley for a hydro station. 

My route. It's roundabout to avoid very steep hills and busy roads. © Eugene Brennan

 

Maps courtesy Open Infratructure Maps.

Maps courtesy Open Infratructure Maps.

When I'm heading for Turlough Hill, I turn right just before the left turn for Valleymount on the Hollywood-Glendalough road. This road is a cul-de-sac that runs along the King's River for around three miles before becoming a track that meanders through open landscape (with nice scenery) and forest. It's possible to cycle for another three miles or so over logging trails before rejoining the road to Glendalough, near the bridge over the King's River.  Twin 220 kV transmission lines from Turlough Hill run parallel to the King's River, on their way to Dunstown 400 kV Substation and Maynooth 220 kV Substation. (One of the transmission lines from Turlough Hill and another from Great Island Power Station in Waterford cross Boleybeg Hill near Branncockstown on their way to Dunshane substation.) These are transmission lines, carrying power long distance throughout the country. Distribution lines carry power locally, to and from smaller substations that serve towns and villages.

Forestry trail that runs parallel to the Kings River. © Eugene Brennan

Mountain rowan. © Eugene Brennan

The 220 kV transmission lines run along the cul-de-sac road that branches off the Hollywood-Glendalough road. © Eugene Brennan

Twin 220 kV lines crossing the mountains from Turlough Hill. © Eugene Brennan

Trail through forestry. © Eugene Brennan

All Good

Created by Grok

 

Real Time Displays at Kilcullen Bus Stops

Image © Google Maps

I asked the NTA for information on whether real time passenger information displays could be installed at bus stops. This was the response:

Case #402630

Dear Eugene,

 

I refer to your recent correspondence regarding the provision of an RTPI (Real Time Passenger Information) unit at the following bus stop locations, images attached, which was forwarded to the National Transport Authority (NTA) to respond to you:

 

• stop number 136431, Kilcullen (Opposite Service Station), Castlemartin, Co. Kildare; and
• stop number 132641, Kilcullen (Outside Service Station), Castlemartin, Co. Kildare.

 

At present there are over 12,000 bus stops in Ireland serving a variety of bus services including local, urban, and regional bus services across a variety of operators.  Because of the costs associated with the provision of on-street RTPI signage, it is not feasible to provide Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) signs at all bus stop locations. 

 

One of the main reasons for these costs is the need for an independent power supply for RTPI signs.  These signs require an electrical supply in order to operate and there is a prohibition under statutory regulation, derived from European legislation, that prevents the NTA from taking an electrical connection from an existing public lighting power supply, even where convenient and adjacent.  Instead, separate independent electrical connection is required from ESB Networks, which can often necessitate extensive trenching, road crossings, and major reinstatement work, all contributing to significant costs.  As a result of these costs, and to ensure value for money, it is intended to only provide RTPI as an integrated sign within a new bus shelter or, depending on suitability, within an existing bus shelter that already has an independent power supply and has been designed to accommodate an integrated RTPI sign.  In that way, a cost-effective single integrated power supply can be provided, powering both the bus shelter lighting and the RTPI sign. 

 

Regarding the aforementioned bus stops, we note that currently there are no plans to install bus shelters at the bus stop locations. As part of a past programme of shelter installations throughout County Kildare the feasibility of installing shelters at both stops was assessed. However both locations were discounted for technical reasons, such as sight line safety issues relating to stop number 132641 and insufficient footpath space relating to stop number 136431. Additionally, we note that the bus stops are not ducted and connected to the ESB network.

 

Notwithstanding the constraints and limitations outlined above, it is worth noting that all of the information available on such RTPI Displays is also available through the NTA’s app for RTPI. The “TFI Real Time Ireland App” and the RTPI The App is available free on Apple App store and the Google Play store and combines all real time information services from Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Iarnród Éireann and Luas.  All bus stops have a number at the top of the bus pole indicating the particular bus stop number.  Simply inserting that number into the App provides the RTPI information on bus arrival times at that stop. The App and the RTPI units are supported by the same back of house data feed. There is no difference between the information contained on RTPI units and App. We would encourage travelling passengers to download and trial the app to get familiar with all the real time information available to passengers at each bus stop. Additionally, we also note that when passengers scan the QR code contained on the timetable panel it should bring them to that particular stop number within the TFI Live app.

 

We regret that we are not in a position to provide a more positive response to this request at this point in time for the reasons outlined above. We trust that the above information is of assistance and clarifies the matter.

 

This mailbox has a no-reply functionality so, if you have any further questions on this, or anything else, please don’t reply here, instead, please email info@nationaltransport.ie, quoting this reference number : Case #402630, to ensure a response.   

  

We’re here to help. 

 

I hope that this is helpful and wish you safe onward travels 

  

Kind Regards 

Josephine

National Transport Authority   

Chapel Lane, New Ross

Image © Google Maps

Unlike the UK, where medieval houses are plentiful, we have relatively few pre-18th century houses in Ireland. There are castles dating back to medieval times, but there are few, if any, "ordinary" houses from the medieval period, as we would think of a house today. However, fortified tower houses exist. One probable reason is that there was no substantial middle class who could afford "proper" houses, built from timber or brick and most people were poor and lived in mud cabins. Or maybe the climate was hostile to the half-timbered houses like those that still exist in the UK (if they even existed here), and they decayed over the centuries. Most of the houses in the country date no further back than the Georgian era, which extended from 1714 to 1837. There are some examples of Queen Anne style architecture, such as the Red House in Youghal, Marsh's Library in Dublin and The Rubrics in Trinity College. These were built in the 1710s and have a distinctive "doll's house" appearance. A few Tudor/Elizabethan-era buildings exist, such as Rothe House in Kilkenny; Ormond Castle, a manor house in Carrick-on-Suir; and Myrtle Grove, Sir Walter Raleigh's home in Youghal. It's possible also that some houses were later "Georgianified", their older fabric concealed beneath a more modern facade. That's the case with some of the so-called "Dutch Billys" in Dublin, a pre-Georgian architectural style brought by the Huguenots, Protestants who fled persecution in France around the end of the 17th century. So to cut a long story short, I came across this some time ago. I think it was Colm Moriarty, a Wexford-based archaeologist who mentioned the street in New Ross in a social media post. The facades at the front are plain-rendered, but the back of the terrace of houses reveal the medieval origin of at least one of the buildings.

 

Google Maps link to Chapel Lane in New Ross here 

Maps for Council Workers

Image © Google Maps

Apparently when we report road or other issues on the KCC portal and specify the location of the problem, repair crews just get a description, but not the map pinpointing where they have to fix them (there's an option to tag the position on a map when making a report on the portal). I had a long discussion with a repair crew a month or so ago and got a great insight into how they feel about this and other things. If someone reporting a problem doesn't clearly specify road numbers and distances from landmarks, obviously it can be difficult for a repair crew to find the problem. Saying that it's "just down the road from Johnny's house" or similar isn't very helpful. A point on a map would be more logical (assuming the person who made the report zoomed in sufficiently to accurately place a tag). Reading a map is hardly rocket science and I'm sure KCC can train workers to do so.

 

Maybe someone can let me know whether the tarmac is broken up and gone from around this drain opposite LaTouche Cottage in Brannockstown so I can report it? I make mental notes of these things when I'm out and about on the bike, but I've got a head like a sieve and forget where I've seen the defects. I don't want to make a false report. A cyclist could easily lose control if they hit this. It was ok last August when the Street View imagery was taken, but as far as I recall, the tarmac fill around the drain has now disintegrated.

A Little Ladder Logic

Ladder logic program. © Eugene Brennan

Just found this among documents I was going through after getting the oil boiler serviced last week. I had forgotten all about it. The electrician made a minor cockup when wiring the controls for the dual oil/solid fuel heating system 9 years ago. So I had to go off and look for a CAD package to draw a ladder logic diagram for him, showing how it should have been wired. (He had his own ladder logic diagram, but it made more sense for me to draw a new one, rather than trying to explain the error in English). Ladder logic is a schematic system for showing the wiring in an electrical/electromechanical system, input devices such as switches and sensors and output devices, e.g. motors and relays being shown as symbols on a diagram. It has evolved into a graphical programming language, the graphical program used to control programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These are basically modular, industrial control computers, built into a box, with terminals for connecting inputs and outputs. A computer can be connected for programming and they can be linked-to by various computer networks.

I'm rusty on this stuff. It's a shame when you learn stuff, and then forget it all if you're not applying the knowledge on a daily basis (I never really used this practically, even though I studied industrial automation).

See if you can understand what this does. Hint: MV1, 2 & 3 are zone valves, R1 & R2 are relays. SF is solid fuel.

Heritage Week Sunday Cycle

Historical buildings in Ballitore and Calverstown.© Eugene Brennan

My Sunday cycle this week was supposed to be to Kilkea Castle, but it was 4 pm by the time I set out and I changed plans midway. (Sometimes I make up the route as I go along and let the bicycle decide). Usually on the steep road out of Crookstown heading west towards the Athy road direction, I turn left for Mullaghmast at the top of the hill. I travel cross country to Kilkea this way, crossing the new N78 Athy Link Road at the bottom of Mullaghmast Hill, and then take a right just before the Moone Inn. On Sunday, I took the second turn after the Mullaghmast turn on the Crookstown road. This leads to the Burtown area on the new N78. I travelled a few miles east on the N78, and then exited for Ballitore. In the village I took some photos of the historic Quaker buildings including the Meeting House and Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. Leadbeater (1758 - 1826 ) was a Quaker and author who lived in the village and documented events during the 1798 rebellion. 

Mary Leadbeater's house, now a library and museum. © Eugene Brennan

A school established in 1726 by Abraham Shackleton. It's now a Quaker meeting house. © Eugene Brennan

Next I headed to the outskirts of the village and the location of Ballitore Mill. This a large, ruined structure, built in the early 19th century. An EPA hydrometric station that monitors water level and flow is located on the River Griese, which runs alongside the mill. The Griese in addition to powering this mill also powered a second mill in Ballitore, located down a cull-de-sac in the village. I headed back on the old section of road towards Crookstown. This was the original Carlow road before it was replaced by a wider section several decades ago. It's amazing how the ditches of a road that's no longer used begin to creep inwards and the accumulation of leaves and other debris begin to return it to nature, obscuring the tarmac. 

Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan

Ballitore Mill. © Eugene Brennan

EPA hydrometric station. © Eugene Brennan

From Crookstown, I headed back towards Calverstown via Narraghmore Bog. I took the road that runs alongside Crookstown Millview AC's track and then turned off that to pickup up the Narraghmore - Calverstown road. I've always intended to visit Blackhall Castle, and I've passed the entrance multiple times over the decades, so I decided to investigate it on Sunday. A long, wooded lane leads down to the castle, situated in the grounds of an old farmhouse, probably dating to the Georgian period and owned by Jeffrey and Naomi White. The owner, Naomi, and a barking Cocker Spaniel greeted me and Naomi explained some details about the ruin. The four story castle was built by the Eustace family in the 16th century and appears to have a large , impressive fireplace on the fourth floor. Unfortunately half of the castle collapsed in 1999, due to instability in the structure. Naomi told me they had secured a grant to stabilise the structure, but it's a shame the collapse happened before this work could be done. There's also a "Sheela na Gig" carving which was luckily recovered from the rubble after the collapse and is now mounted in a ground floor wall. More information on Blackhall Castle is available on the Irish Historic Houses blog here.

Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan

 

Blackhall Castle. © Eugene Brennan

 

Sheela na gig carving. © Eugene Brennan

 

My cycle route. © Eugene Brennan