Where to site a vibrant PA community after TSHTF

[Tartar Horde]

I can't remember if it is Dartmoor or Bodmin that has a village called BEER, I remember passing through years ago. As a child we spent many holidays at Ilfracombe, Bidecombe etc. The North Devon coast has some great rock fishing possibilities.

[NorthernRaider]

BEER on the south coast is where Pecorama is the model railway village and the home of PECO model railways.

[Tartar Horde]

(17 June 2013, 11:50)NorthernRaider Wrote: BEER on the south coast is where Pecorama is the model railway village and the home of PECO model railways.

South Coast of Devon?

[bigpaul]

their's a BEER in Devon and another in Somerset! the Devon one is near Seaton/Sidmouth area,east Devon, the Somerset one is near Somerton not far from Glastonbury.

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so nowhere near Dartmoor or Bodmin or North devon.

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and TH, its BideFORD not Bidecombe. jees, dosent anyone own a map or a GB road Atlas at the very least!

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sorry guys, NOT having a go at any one personally, but the SOUTH WEST is my patch, and I am very patriotic about it, and I get a bit peeved when people cant get it right.

[Skean Dhude]

NR,

You make some good points there, well worth consideration.

I think you don't consider the road network enough though. The road network extends much further than the rail or canal network and could be recovered for use depending on the number of survivors. Cars will still be available although not running on petrol or diesel and without the restrictions in place now we should get quite a few years out of them, certainly until we can rebuild them. With lack of food compitition in the UK and us not exporting food we should be able to grow enough agrifuel for our needs.

If we recover some power stations we may be able to power our local transport, underground, railways, trams, etc. are all feasible at a less complex tech level.

This expands the areas we can recover and power allows us to use mechanical advantage to increase productivity.

[NorthernRaider]

(17 June 2013, 11:58)Tartar Horde Wrote:

(17 June 2013, 11:50)NorthernRaider Wrote: BEER on the south coast is where Pecorama is the model railway village and the home of PECO model railways.

South Coast of Devon?

Yup BEER on the south coast of Devon
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

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(17 June 2013, 13:12)Skean Dhude Wrote: NR,

You make some good points there, well worth consideration.

I think you don't consider the road network enough though. The road network extends much further than the rail or canal network and could be recovered for use depending on the number of survivors. Cars will still be available although not running on petrol or diesel and without the restrictions in place now we should get quite a few years out of them, certainly until we can rebuild them. With lack of food compitition in the UK and us not exporting food we should be able to grow enough agrifuel for our needs.

If we recover some power stations we may be able to power our local transport, underground, railways, trams, etc. are all feasible at a less complex tech level.

This expands the areas we can recover and power allows us to use mechanical advantage to increase productivity.

Roads unless kept maintaind will disapear or become blocked within 3 years with fallen trees etc plants growing over it. Roads will be LABOUR intensive. Trains need Water / Wood or Coal, Some grease to work for decades,Tracks and ballast can and do last decades longer than tarmac roads. Cars need oil, refined petrolium products, tyres that will rot away along with hoses, wipers and other perishable products. A boat needs a sail or oars or a horse to pull it. A choo choo or boat is harder to hijack than a car on a long abandoned road.
Thats my thinking anyway. Railways can be sustainable without imported or expensive resources.

[Skean Dhude]

NR,

Agree with your thinking but there is a reason you have a car in your drive, and most of your neighbours do, and not a set of train tracks.

Our roads are not maintained for years and pot holes are caused by heavy traffic. Roads are not as easily taken over as you imply. Cars too. Certainly they will last long enough to get us to a stage where we can work out what is the best way to go.

If we then move nearer a canal or railway then so be it but I suspect there will still be cars around for some time.

[NorthernRaider]

Even a marsh gas powered single cylinder gandydancer (or track inspection car) can carry 1/2 ton of supplies or people at 30 mph along railway lines and those lines can be manually switched in this area as an example to run direct from upper Weardale to Whitby in one smooth movement. Same can be said for utilising say the West Somerset railway from minehead to Taunton and Exeter / Bristol with much less maintenance and man power that would be needed to keep the roads open.

A horsey can carry 10 stone , two can pull a 1 ton cart at 5 mph, a small motorised track car can shift upwards of a ton at 30 mph.

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Absolutely agree with you SD but as small self contained sustainable communities AFTER TSHTF trying to communicate, trade and travel its far more cost effective to use the rail lines already in place for mass transit and trade, and keep motorised vehicles and their higher MTCE needs in reserve for emergencies and security.

[Franc]

for that matter, you could just use a handcar with a flatbed carriage. on a railroad. It would work well enough for smallish groups (taking turns to pump), or lightish loads. no need for steam. for that matter, a rail car, could be easily improvised from a largish scrap yard. well, assuming theres no central authority issuing certificates of road, or rail worthiness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railcar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handcar

[bigpaul]

don't rail engine's even steam ones need oil and grease and a certain amount of maintenance ?? and we can still get trees down on railway lines its not just roads. railway lines themselves need replacing from time to time as metal rails and metal bolts rust and what about flooding?? big flood this last winter at Cowley Bridge near Exeter the lines were under water for a long time .