M-m-mornin' b-b-boys and g-g-girl(s). Sunny and 18 along the P-p-patteson Creek cut-off. Got the pellet stove rolling, and soon I'll open the stairwell door to warm the main room.
Did some tie work after dinner, making loads for a couple of 19th century flatcars, and stacks for my tie plant. I started to get a little lower back pain, and looked up and realized I had been standing in the same spot for 90 minutes. Will do another batch tonight.
He's mister White Christmas, he's mister snow...Bah-duh-duh-duh.
Sunny and just over 50 here in mid Mo. The dumpster was finally delivered Monday. This lets me start on the next step of my porch project. Original plan was to peel the roof deck off, replace whatever rafters that needed replacing, then put a new deck and roof on it.
Well, I started peeling the deck off today. All of the rafters I have exposed so far need to be replaced. Also, I have uncovered 3 repairs in the small area where I picked up the deck. I'll probably end up rebuilding the whole porch roof with new. Not surprising for a job on a 100 year old house....
I am mentoring the local high school's robotics team. They are competing in the First Robotics Competition. Their build season started this week. The kids have decided what their robot needs to do to play this year's game, an are starting to prototype the mechanisms to manuiplate the game pieces.
I really enjoy watching the kids work through the design and build process - especially when they realize that what they are learning in their trig or algebra classes really does have applications in the real world.
Mornin' guys and gal(s). Sunny and 32 in the Potomac Highlands. Took the youngest princess back to college yesterday. She certainly was happy to get back to Shepherdstown. On the way back, Wifey and I stopped at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I picked up a neat little rowboat and a 12 pack of pine trees. You could tell that the merch was still on those container ships. Wound up dining at Chili's.
Been making headway with my RR tie plant, for my area depicting Green Spring, WV. Had two big freezer bags of stained ties from the last show I attended. Made stacks of ties for a faux siding, and tie stack loads for a couple of my 19th century flatcars. Turned out nice.
Another sunny 50 degree day here in mid Mo. Stopped by Menards for more sawsall blades. They have a 15% off everything that fits in the bag sale going. When I wandered past the train shelf a yellow B&O box car with the blue chessie cat logo on it caught my eye. There was room in the bag, so my collection grew a little today.
Sunday morning here in the greater Richmond VA area, and the snow is coming down. Actually looks pretty out there, and we're not going anywhere anyway.
You should have seen all the panic buying at the supermarkets yesterday!
Snohizo just started along the Patterson Creek cut-off. Calling for 8 inches +/-... Just shot a quick video in the train room for SPF.
Slow here, Hope all of you out East did okay with the storms. They skipped around us for once.
WOW, Sandra, Lexi, Jordan and I saw a Red Fox out back today. First one I have seen in about 14 years. Weather has been cold and that is fine. I would rather have it frozen than slop.
On a sad note: a very good friend of mine for over 45 years informed me today that his step daughter is in grave shape out in SC. Born with child diabetes, many bad life choices and now the C-19. She is the mother of three young children, 4,8,&10 that are living with my friend and his wife, mother of the girl. Prayers for all involved. Just so sad.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Evenin' guys and gal(s). Pretty but cold along the Allegany front range. Got about a foot of snohizo, and Wifey and I got most of it off the driveway, front walk, and deck. Might get trackside tomorrow with the camera; depends on the sun.
Been milling about in the train room, taking the Generals off and putting the Chessie era rolling stock on the rails for awhile. My engineer buddy is going to sell his Williams C&O GP-30 to me, because it really likes my layout... It's similar to when George lost Patty B to Clapton; still good friends...
KRM - Sad news about your friend's daughter.
On similar topic, Rich's fiancé is slowly improving. Continued .
Mornin' boys. Flurries and 27 along the Patterson Creek cut-off. Actually giving the pellet stove a day off, after running all weekend. Girls have been running around all over getting things ready for youngest grandson's 1st birthday bash. Time flies...
Did bring home my new-to-me Williams GP30 (C&O 3003) on Wednesday (after the NRHS meeting). It's now on the mainline with a coal extra. It moves so easily at 9.3 volts/3 amps. Nice diesel, horn, bell sounds. No smoke or cab-chat, and that's ok by me. When you got 4 trains running simultaneously, in a 17x12 room, it can get a little nerve rackin'. Did run everything last night after dinner. No pile-ups, but a couple swipey-swipeys. I built the layout with Lionel Generals in mind. No problem running that equipment, nor with Postwar equipment. Modern scale equipment has some problems with several "pinch" points in Cumberland.
Youngest Princess came home for the weekend, and helped me order wedding pics from FifePup's nuptuals, back in November. Her BF will drive her back to college today.
Rich's Jenni is off the ventilator now, and improving day-by-day. He is touched by all the support and prayers. What a stretch he's going through...
Stay frosty my friends.
fife,
Staying frosty is about the only activity that we can do up here in the frozen north. The temp dipped to -16 last night with some awful negative wind chills. It is currently -14. Thanks for the reminder of laz. Cold weather like this is hard on people and things. Our son had frozen pipes yesterday and a car that won't start. There is a bright blue sky and sunshine, so there is hope.
Northwoods Flyer
Greg
The Northwoods Flyer Collection
of
American Flyer Trains
"The Toy For the Boy"
Good morning,
Northwoods, not much better here in North Central IL. 0 when I got up and going down to -10 tonight. We do have full sun as well. You are so right. When it gets to that -10 mark all he!! breaks loose and everything is stressed. I Shut down the water line to the shed hydrent JIC. The only good news is that it looks like in a day or two things will get back to the 30s for us and that will help. Those long streaks of cold kill you. My friend is up in Silver Cliff and wanted to know if I wanted to come up. NO is all I said. Don't like leaving the wife home alone in weather like this. I have found the best way to fight the cold is with extra heat but that sure hurts the pocketbook.
So other than trying to stay warm,,, not much to report.
Be good.
Northwoods - When I want to feel like I'm in , I watch the Duluth Live-cam. No problems here.
Well wishes to Rich and Jenni both :) hope things continue to improve from the last updateIt's been quite cold here in western MA. We had some snow last night I believe, and more today- maybe 1-2 inches. I decided to try and set up some HO on my family's dining room table to take video of a few trains, but spent all day working on cleaning old track! I wanted to use something that looked more period apropriate for the 1950s and 1960s trains I was going to put in the video. It was also the first time in a while that the Märklin HO has come out. It's very fun- 3-rail AC in HO scale- I love the look and feel of the lithographed steel track. I believe the set (and odds and ends with it) I have date to the '80s. Very well made, for a set that looks like it was marketed for a younger audience.I've been adjusting to life with two of my brothers off in college again- the house gets very quiet with them gone. The cats are still around to bother me though. I suspect tomorrow I'll need to shuttle more wood in from our mudroom to feed the stove.I was poking around a japanese auction site looking at lithiographed toys for fun, and saw a listing for a Marx 'Mickey Mouse' set of all things. I wonder how it managed to get over there!Hope all is well with folks, take care and stay out of trouble!-Ellie
"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"
FINALLY - I can post
Jenni is improving, she is out of ICU and in a regular room. Stiil, a long way to go. She can't talk just yet, but whispering her word and I can communicate with her when we do the video chat.
Thanks Fife, for keeping everyone updated.
Thank you all for your love and prayers - yeah, been a very difficult time for us. My sister, BIL, SIL and my brother (who travels 3 hours from VA) have been working on Mom and Dad's room the last few Saturdays. There is a lot to go through.
We still have a dining room and kitchen full of flowers, Mom was beloved throughout the town and especially the Church, where she is sorely missed.
I hope to be back posting as much as possible.
Thanks again everyone - we'll get through this, just a tough time right now.
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
anjdevil - Only too happy to do it.
Mornin' guys and gal(s). Only got a dusting along the Allegany front range. Pretty cold though. Had youngest fifeling's 1st birthday party, and the grandsons have been keeping me busy.
You know you are "jonesing" for a train show bad enough, when you find yourself glued to the VR livestream from Amherst. Nice to see orange boxes on tables, and trains running on modular displays...when some contrarian is pointing the camera right into a support column...
Called anjdevil a couple days ago. Nice long personal chat, with promises to visit when the dust settles.
Made a run up to Michigan last week to clean out the PO box and check on the property. Dog and I took a walk on the lake while we were there. Was between 0 and the mid teens while I was there.
Drove back on Friday. I routed myself through Lowell, Indiana and was pleasantly surprised to find Spike's Railhead was open. There was even an empty parking spot in front of the store. I stopped by to see if he might have a 736 Berkshire in stock. He didn't, but I did pick up a MTH heavy duty 4 truck flat car and a 180 watt Powerhouse brick to replace mine that has failed. Talking with the owner of Spike's Railhead, I found out that there is an internal fuse in the Powerhouse that might have blown. Will have to open that one up and take a look.
Still spending time with the robotics team. The kids are well along on building the prototype robot. We have a complete robot for systems testing and development.
The snow storm that the forecast warned of was thankfully not too bad where I live. We might have gotten as much as the 6-8" they advised, but it was so windy and the snow so powdery that it got swept all over. Today was spent shoveling, this winter two of my siblings are in college and the remaining one seldom takes to a shovel so it was just me out there.I unfortunately lost the last auction I bid on for a piece of rolling stock to accompany the Japanese O gauge locomotive I bought. I'm waiting on one last item to reach the warehouse where everything will be packed up. It looks like I can expect to pay as little as $40 for the international shipping, hopefully I don't have to pay more without resorting to surface mail . That will all be down to weight most likely. If all goes well, then I can have them pack everything up some time tomorrow, and maybe even expect it within a week (very dependant on which courrier service is used).Cats are up to their usual mischief, family is well, and the house is nice and warm thanks to the wood stove (unless I forget to keep feeding it!). Feeling a little sad I didn't get to attend the big train show in Springfield this year, but on the whole I think it was the right call to make.Hope folks are well! Stay warm :)-Ellie
Mornin' guys and gal(s). Mostly cloudy and 23 along the Patterson Creek cut-off. And it's quiet, once again. Oldest princess took the grandsons home, and we ran youngest princess back to college yesterday. It was a nice visit, and the boys spent a decent amount of time playing trains.
Leftover pizza for breakfast, then I will jump back into eating better tomorrow. Everything is still loose, and want to keep it that way.
Wifey and I dined at the Black Rock restaurant, in Hagerstown, on the way home. It was a fun experience, where they bring hot stones to your table, and you cook your meat on top of them. Steak and shrimp combo, Thai wings appatizer, salad, everything was excellent. I had the sweet potato fries for my side, and they were the best I've ever had. Kelly loved the meal. A little pricey ($88 for the two of us, with adult beverage), but we will do it again, for sure.
fifedog A little pricey ($88 for the two of us, with adult beverage), but we will do it again, for sure.
Hey, as far as I'm concerned if you believe you got your money's worth it's worth it! Sometimes you just have to indulge yourself a bit, you know?
Caught Whitmore's trains on YouTube. Wes, love what you're building.
Check out dagryffynhobby on YouTube! Some real fun stuff there, classic Lionel running and repair tips.
to our smokey1
Nuthin' new here the past few days, so...
We're not ones for blowing our own horns (well sometimes) but Lady Firestorm and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary yesterday! We made this the "Toaster Anniversary" since our old one blew on Wednesday and I bought a super-deluxe Black and Decker four-slot to replace it. When you're married 45 years this is where the thrills come from!
Went to our favorite Italian place last night for a celebratory dinner, came home full of food and fell asleep watching Doctor Pol. A very well-spent evening.
How'd we make it 45 years so far? Remember what ol' Ben Franklin once said:
"Before marriage, keep both eyes open. After marriage, keep one eye shut!"
Wise man ol' Ben!
Flint - Big CONGRATS on 45! Smooth move on the toaster...
Here's the video I made last week when the grandsons were here. You'll see the former placement of the Z4000...
Pop’s Trains Diesel Days PT. 2 +Bloopers - YouTube
Great video on the other thread. I left some comments there.
It is so sad to see that this thread slowly seems to be slipping into dormancy. I have read it for most of the 14 years that I have been on the CTT site. I haven't been much of a participant over the years for a variety of reasons, and yet I have read it every day. I remember counting down the days with you as you moved toward retirement. I remember many of the folks who posted here regularly and how long it could take to read through just 1 day's postings. I know that many of the participants are no longer with us. This thread was the Chief's baby, and he was quite proud of it.
I know that participation on my Prewar Flyer thread has diminished significantly too. I hope to keep it going as long as Kalmbach Media continues to provide the platform.
This hobby is still the World's Greatest Hobby in my opinion and I hope that there will be new folks who join in enthusiastically to ask questions and post their experiences with trains.
Northwoods - You just keep doing what you're doing, and so will I. Folks care enough, they'll check in.
I'm not going anywhere. Neither are Wayne and Lady Firestorm! Congratulations!
Same me, different spelling!
Mornin' guys and gals. Sunny and 28 in the Potomac Highlands, and when I emerged from my bunker I saw my shadow... But warmer temps on the way this week, and we had three Bluebirds at the feeder yesterday. Oldest Princess said that when the curly-top watched the latest video, he provided a cute commentary through the whole show.
My buddy Tom informed me of an upcoming train show near Hagerstown, this coming Saturday. Just an hour away, so I'm thinkin' about it...
I didn't think I'd like the Nascar race at LA Colliseum, but it was entertaining. I had to change the channel during the "halftime show". Woof. Not watching the Olympics, and couldn't name a single player in the "Big Game". BUUUUT, was happy to see the Clydesdales are back.
Continued lifted.
Thanks for the sentiments all!
And Fife, I haven't been watching the Olympics either. I should care but I just don't.
Maybe because it just hasn't been the same since ABC stopped covering them years ago?
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