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June 2022 Coffee Pot - Grads Dads and Brides - Plenty of Coffee Sweet Southern Iced Tea and Sticky bun or two Locked

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Posted by pennytrains on Sunday, June 19, 2022 6:14 PM

Last time I was there, we (mom and I) were the only customers.  The food was just as good as always.  I loved, loved, loved their chicken noodle soup!  I always also had their chicken strips with their rice on the side.  And of course, a big malt!  We always went home with at least 3 cartons of ice cream too.

But the ice cream started showing up in supermarkets and I think people stopped coming to the restaurants when they could buy their favorites on their regular shopping trips.

Unlike Howard Johnsons, they gave the power over the disposition of their restaurants to the franchisees.  So many of them started selling out to land developers that the whole chain collapsed.

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by smokey1 on Sunday, June 19, 2022 6:35 PM

Evening all.

Happy fathers day to the fathers in here.

Many, many moons ago my oldest brother was an asst. manager in one.

I have been working on getting the second floor into my storage room. just about done doing so. My neighbor is going to come over and help me put the attic steps in tomorrow. Then I can finish getting the floor down and the rest of the insulation in. 

Otherwise not much going on around here.

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Posted by TheWaysideRailroader on Sunday, June 19, 2022 7:20 PM

Evening folks, and happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

Not much going on here. I did give my father a Texas Roadhouse gift card. 
Might go bowling with some friends tomorrow.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Sunday, June 19, 2022 7:27 PM

Texas Roadhouse is a great place!  Much better than Longhorns.  

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Posted by pennytrains on Monday, June 20, 2022 6:00 PM

I miss Ponderosa, great buffet.  York Steakhouse, great dinner rolls.  Mister Donut, donut a stick.  Fanny Farmer, in Cleveland Union Terminal's basement.  Howard Johnsons, Frankfurters and malts.  Arthur Treacher's, loved the crunch pups.  T-bone steaks at the grocery store that cost less than $20 a pound!  Sad

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by fifedog on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 8:07 AM

Morni...y'all making' me hungry. Stop it. Dinner

Train of Thought***

Wifey and nurse princess took grandson for hike Saturday. They arrived right after 1309 passed by, at Helmstetters Curve. Parking lot was full. As they walked, they saw a throng of photographers walking back to their cars, to which my daughter said,"Mom, these guys are all young. I thought train fans were all old, like Daddy..."

 

 

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 9:30 AM

fifedog
I thought train fans were all old, like Daddy...

Not at all!  There's a whole rising generation of young railfans!  Here's a few worth watching:

https://www.youtube.com/c/NorthCountryTrains/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/CentralPennRailProductions/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/EastPennRailfanProductions/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/RailfanRowan01/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/MrNewJerseyTransit/featured

https://www.youtube.com/c/LibertyRailfan

https://www.youtube.com/c/NixCrossing/videos

All well worth a look, especially on those nights when there's "Nuthin on!"  which seems to be the case nowadays.

 

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Posted by pennytrains on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 6:13 PM

Oh, I don't know.  I just picked up a new channel yesterday: Story Television.  Monday was military history day so being June, a lot of the episodes were D-Day and WWII related.  Today is science day and they seem determined to find as many ways as possible to blow up the earth!  Laugh  Unfortunately I had to lose Retro tv, my Doctor Who connection, to get Story TV.  Sad

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 7:08 PM

pennytrains
my Doctor Who connection,

We get Doctor Who on BBC America but we've got to pay for that one.  Lady F says after the 60th Anniversary special she may just drop it, Doctor W's not as good as it used to be.  Gotten downright weird.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 7:15 PM

pennytrains
York Steakhouse, great dinner rolls. 

Sounds like Ryans with the dinner rolls, we LOVED that place.  Then one day they were gone and we don't know why.

Golden Corral took it's place but we gave up on that one.  Let's just say it attracted some rather bizarre people.  We're not snobs by any means but when we started calling the place "The Freak Show" it was time to move on.  

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Posted by fifedog on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 5:24 AM

Mornin' guys and gals. Cloudy and 78 along the Patterson Creek cut-off, with some juicy Lightning for the afternoon. Need the rain, just not 1-3 inches all at once. Oh well. FifeMax has vet visit this morning.

We attended the Diamond J rodeo at the Mineral County Fair last night. It was the bovines' night. By my count, the score was Bulls 18 Cowboys 6. And quite a few of those Cowboy walked away holding some body parts. Wifey loves watching the rodeo clowns.

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Posted by pennytrains on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 5:56 PM

Flintlock76

 

 
pennytrains
my Doctor Who connection,

 

We get Doctor Who on BBC America but we've got to pay for that one.  Lady F says after the 60th Anniversary special she may just drop it, Doctor W's not as good as it used to be.  Gotten downright weird.

 

Newest Dr Who episode I've ever seen starred Sylvester McCoy!  Wink   Well, not counting the Fox movie.

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by pennytrains on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 6:03 PM

I just looked, there's still a York Steak House in Columbus!  Google them to see the dinner rolls!  Chef  I also saw a picture of a sign advertising a Kansas City strip steak dinner for $3.99!!!!  Crying

I miss the Ground Round too.

Getting hungry yet Fife?  Smile, Wink & Grin

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 7:05 PM

pennytrains
Newest Dr Who episode I've ever seen starred Sylvester McCoy!     Well, not counting the Fox movie.

Yikes!  That's 35 years ago!  

The most recent revivals with David Tennant and Matt Smith were pretty good!  The Peter Capaldi ones were strange and got stranger as time went on.  The last Doctor we didn't bother with. Well, actually Lady F watched one or two but lost interest quickly.  Still strange. 

We watched the Fox TV movie though.  I don't remember who played the Doctor but I DO remember Eric Roberts as The Master.  He did a good job with the role too, funny like Roger Delgado and scary like Anthony Ainley, a nice combination.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 7:14 PM

pennytrains
I just looked, there's still a York Steak House in Columbus!  Google them to see the dinner rolls!  

I just did!  Wow!  Reminded me of the Ryan's rolls!  

This is the first I've heard of the York Steak House, I don't think they made it to NJ, at least to our area.  They've never been to the Richmond area either to my knowledge.

I've heard of the Ground Round though.  I think they might have been to NJ but I'm not sure, I've never been.  I remember the commercials though.

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Posted by fifedog on Thursday, June 23, 2022 7:32 AM

Mornin' guys and gals. Clearing and 70 along the Alleghany front range. Pretty good rain overnight, and FifeMax had his usual meltdown...

After dinner (homemade chix pot-pie), lettered my project flatcars, with a combination of Herald King decals and Woodland Scenics dry transfers. Slow and steady, as the materials were all 2 decades old. Very happy with results, but need to pick up a small can of Dullcoat to seal my work.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, June 23, 2022 8:36 AM

fifedog
need to pick up a small can of Dullcoat

Wow.  Better move fast, the Testors line of paints have been discontinued by their owner, Rust-Oleum if I'm not mistaken, or so I've been told by the folks at Hobbytown who were just as shocked as I was.  Testors was the standard for decades.

In lieu of Testors I've been using Tamiya paints.  Their versions of Dullcoat work very well.  The rest of the paint line's pretty comprehensive as well and the quality's excellent. 

Chicken pot pie?  Yum!  I'll tell you though, for a great over-the-counter CPP try Marie Callender's.  Excellent quality but DON'T microwave them, do them in a conventional oven, they come out MUCH better that way.  M-C's turkey pot pies are excellent as well.

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Posted by pennytrains on Thursday, June 23, 2022 8:58 PM

Flintlock76

 

 
pennytrains
I just looked, there's still a York Steak House in Columbus!  Google them to see the dinner rolls!  

 

I just did!  Wow!  Reminded me of the Ryan's rolls!  

This is the first I've heard of the York Steak House, I don't think they made it to NJ, at least to our area.  They've never been to the Richmond area either to my knowledge.

I've heard of the Ground Round though.  I think they might have been to NJ but I'm not sure, I've never been.  I remember the commercials though.

 

Ground Round was a Howard Johnsons brand.  Popcorn and peanuts for appetizers and you were encouraged to throw the shells on the floor!  There's still one of those in Ohio too, South of Toledo.  I need a driver who wants to do a "favorite restaurants tour".  Chef  The nearest Stuckey's is about 30 or 40 miles away so I haven't been to one of those in ages either.  Too bad there aren't any Roy Rogers or Red Barn restaurants around anymore.  Sad

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by pennytrains on Thursday, June 23, 2022 9:04 PM

Flintlock76

 

 
pennytrains
Newest Dr Who episode I've ever seen starred Sylvester McCoy!     Well, not counting the Fox movie.

 

Yikes!  That's 35 years ago!  

The most recent revivals with David Tennant and Matt Smith were pretty good!  The Peter Capaldi ones were strange and got stranger as time went on.  The last Doctor we didn't bother with. Well, actually Lady F watched one or two but lost interest quickly.  Still strange. 

We watched the Fox TV movie though.  I don't remember who played the Doctor but I DO remember Eric Roberts as The Master.  He did a good job with the role too, funny like Roger Delgado and scary like Anthony Ainley, a nice combination.

 

https://m.imdb.com/list/ls000417274/

Paul McGann.

There's a 14th doctor now (not counting Peter Cushing or Richard Hurndall).

Big Smile  Same me, different spelling!  Big Smile

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, June 24, 2022 8:59 AM

pennytrains
The nearest Stuckey's is about 30 or 40 miles away so I haven't been to one of those in ages either.  Too bad there aren't any Roy Rogers

Man, Stuckey's used to be a standard on I-95 from central Virginia all the way down to Florida.  And not just for the pecan products, if there was a gift shop attached a Stuckey's was a good place to get fireworks at a reasonable price.  Forget "South Of The Border,"  always overpriced!   All gone now, the only thing left of Stuckey's are the ruins.  It looks like they just emptied the places out, locked the doors, and let nature take its course with the building and grounds.

Back in the Jurassic Age when Lady Firestorm and I were dating the "Gold Standard" for Roy Rogers was a place in Midland Park NJ.  All the Roy's were great but this one was superb!  All the Roy's in NJ were popular and were always doing business but then one day they were GONE!  What the hell?  People were NOT happy!  Angry 

The closest Roy Rogers to us is in La Plata MD, about 70 miles away. Too far to drive just for fun, but we usually stop there for an early dinner on the way home from up north.  Wow, do we miss Roys!  There was one 20 miles north of us but it closed 30 years ago.  

Paul McGann!  That's the guy!

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Posted by anjdevil2 on Friday, June 24, 2022 11:43 AM

Hey - quick stop by

Stucky's is still in business - https://stuckeys.com/

LOVED Roy Rogers - last one close by was at the Molly Pitcher Service area on the NJTP near me (Exit 8).  Double R Bar burger was the BEST

Heading out to Lansdale Chrysler show tomorrow after work, hope to meet up with Harry Henning III with his Challenger.  Alas, will not be able to make the train store, they will close at 5. 

 

Weather will be nice in the upper 80s, will pack the car up later.  No rain until Monday.

Not much going on train wise, everything has ground to a halt due to weddings and such.  Nothing is catching my interest, either.  Maybe soon, lol. 

Off to work.....

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


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Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, June 24, 2022 11:54 AM

Too bad you can't make Henning's 'Devil, but say "Hi!" to Harry for us if you see him!  

Good to know Stuckey's is still around, thanks!  

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Posted by Leverettrailfan on Friday, June 24, 2022 7:17 PM

Well, it's been a while since I posted- I've been busy, and right now I'm enjoying a vacation trip with the family. But seeing as I bought some trains, it reminded me I should check in.

Congrats to Anjdevil & Jenni on the marraige! 
I wonder why zinc pest is still so prevalent? I can only assume that quality control issues extend to the materials used, not just the assembly process. The less time they spend making sure stuff is well made, the bigger the profit margin Sigh

Wayne's kind donation of a pellet smoker kit for my 681 got put to use in the week before we left, I couldn't get it to work at first but the solution was give it more time in neutral to heat up the smoke chamber, and shorten the nichrome wire by a couple turns.

At the moment, I've enjoyed taking many relaxing walks along the beach, mostly hunting for sea glass. Planning another walk this evening. I've been spending more time away from my computer (by choice) than I have in possibly over a year, it's been nice. 
I'll maybe keep the detail of 'what did I buy' to another post, but the short version is I visited two palces- a train store I always stop in at least once for the great deals you can get on stuff, and an antique store I'd visited last year that had been willing to part with an awful lot of O gauge trains for dirt cheap. In the latter case, they'd managed to sell off almost everything, and gone the opposite direction- what few things remained were marked well above market value, even at the 50% off sale they were having... apparently they're closing down. I managed to walk away with a couple of the cheaper items after some intense negotiating, but that was it.
As for the former, a very different story. I ended up with a number of things I wasn't expecting to find, but you'd have a hard time finding a better price anywhere else. I found some Gilbert HO rolling stock, including a nearly complete pikemaster set scattered throughout the store. I think everything was there except the locomotive, but the set box didn't come with me as it was in such disgusting condition it shoulda been thrown out ages ago. Also wound up with more Marx ho track than I know what to do with (I only wanted some, but was told to just 'take the whole box', what was I to do?).
In my opinion, the best finds were an LW that's missing the green pilot light cover (Ever since I learned about em, I had to have one, they look way cool!!), another Marx HO Rock Island F3 A-B in ok shape, and a 3356 Horse Car complete with the corral, horses (in their original box), and No. 90 Control Switch. The only thing it's missing as far as I'm concerned is the instruction manual and box! Not in flawless condition, but certainly not too bad. The LW was only $5, I think I paid $10 for the Marx track which had the F3 in it, and the 3356 kit n kaboodle was a steal at $25. 

Tomorrow should be fun, some family are going to join us for the day and I should have a little cousin to entertain briefly with my trains.

-Ellie

"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Saturday, June 25, 2022 10:49 AM

Leverettrailfan
I wonder why zinc pest is still so prevalent?

I suspect they're not being as careful with the smelting process as they should be, but that's the problem, HOW do you maintain quality control when the stuff's being made on the other side of the world?

In fact, I was watching a Henning's Trains video about a month ago and they tried demonstrating a new Lionel engine that turned out to be defective right out of the box.  Very embarassing for the boys, but they were glad they found it before a customer did.

Glad you made good use of the smoke unit rebuild kit Ellie, even if you had to modify it a bit.  One thing I learned with the rebuild kits (by trial and error) is don't overstuff the pot with the new batting material, leave a little open space between the heating element and the batting, it seems to work better that way. 

Good to have you back!  I was getting worried!

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Posted by Leverettrailfan on Saturday, June 25, 2022 8:29 PM

Oh whew, sorry to make anyone nervous. I may see about lowering how much batting I use, I tried a few different levels before I "cracked the code" with getting smoke, maybe I need to go back an play around with that more. I don't think I used all of it.

I suspect I'm going to be very active here again, especially once I get back home part way through the coming week. As if I wasn't already a regular Smile Eager to share pictures of my new 'loot' as well as try to learn more about a couple things I have questions on.

-Ellie

"Unless bought from a known and trusted dealer who can vouch otherwise, assume every train for sale requires servicing before use"

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Posted by TheWaysideRailroader on Sunday, June 26, 2022 10:14 PM

Evening everyone,

I haven't had time to do much lately, my father had a total hip replacement recently and I along with my mother have been making sure he's alright 

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, June 27, 2022 5:15 AM

Mornin' guys and gals. Good soaking Storm and 70 along the Patterson Creek cut-off. Spent the weekend back east, as my best friend/best man Mac has the big C. Came on quick, trying to help his wife best I can, and be strong. Broken Heart

KRM
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Posted by KRM on Monday, June 27, 2022 1:02 PM

Been around but nothing going on train wise. Weather has been great the last few days. Low humidity and 70s. We had the grand-pup Nala for 6 days up to yesterday. The cat is now back to king George. I have been slow slow slow getting better but at least not going backwards. Wink I have to just look for the good. We did have .6" of much needed rain and the corn jumped a foot the same day. We could use 1" or 2" more. Grass was burnt brown and is now green but I am holding back on cutting it for a few more days to try to let it recover some.

Sorry about your friend Mac, Fife, good your there for him and his wife! Yes How old is he? Angel

Best go.

 

Joined 1-21-2011    TCA 13-68614

Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL. Whistling

 

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, June 27, 2022 8:31 PM

Thanks Kev.

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Posted by lion88roar on Monday, June 27, 2022 9:04 PM

Evenin' Fellas

Been a while again. I know.

Fife - prayers for Mac. Been seeing/hearing a lot about the C again. Sad. Very Sad. Tell princess nurse we aren't old. Wink

We were in Turks & Caicos from 6/15 - 6/22. Our flight from TCI to Ft Lauderdale was uneventful... till we landed. The SW threw one of our large luggage on the belt upside down and the TSA lock got jammed in the conveyor belt causing the belt to rip the lock and one of the zippers off and broke the other zipper. Then 5 hours later they informed us our flight had been cancelled due to weather and the next flight they had for us was at 10:35pm on Thursday. Well that wouldn't work as TheQ and I both had to work Friday... so we visited AVIS and a nice young man was able to locate us a Buick Enclave to drive home. 16 hour drive turned into 18.5 to BWI to get my SUV and another 1.5 hours to retrieve the SUV, turn in the rental, and drive home. By the time we got home everyone was beat and after a quick dinner (no one remembers what we had Thursday... lol) we were all in bed and asleep by 7:30. Didn't fully recover till Sunday. Definitely not as easy as the drives home with Christina and Matthew after their adoptions.

While we were on vacation TheQ and I celebrated our 16th anniversary. I surprised her with a saphire ring. She needs to send it in for resizing, but not sure when she will as she leaves for South Africa on the 10th and then leaves for Minnesota a week after she gets back from SA.

Christina joined local swim team and she had her first meet this past Saturday. She took 2nd in her heat for the free style and 1st for her heat in the back stroke. Pretty good for her first meet ever! She continues to improve every practice, so we'll see how she does at the meet this weekend.

Matthew is just being Matthew for now. He wanted to join the swim team, but we didn't think he was swimming well enough last year... well while on vacation we learned how wrong we were. He actually went snorkeling with me and had a blast! He also enjoyed our trip to iguana island where he was in his elements with the reptiles (and yes he asked if he could bring one home).

That is about all for me for now.

https://brentsandsusanspicutures.shutterfly.com/

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