March 2020 Coffee Pot. 15 years old. Bacon and Country Ham to smell up the kitchen. Some Eggs and Hot Coffee.

[cheapclassics]

Good afternoon all,

Quiet day at work.  What I had to do, I got done in fairly good order.  Ordered a new blade for old John deere mower (surprised I could get it).  Lobby to dealer is closed.  I have to call when I am on my way and they will set it outside in a bin for me to pick up.  Wow.  Life sure has changed.  I just wonder what it will be like if and when we get back to "normal"?   Got my regular issue of May CTT yesterday, just like the preview copy  :-)  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Banks]

Hello there,

cloudy and cool here.

Still plugging away at the bathroom and need to clean up some limbs in the yard. Some are starting to mow grass, dosen't look like it did much good.

Haven't paid attention to the price of gas but I'm thinking about checking on heating oil. Got about 1/4 of a tank that will last several years but might as well fill up. Probably won't be this cheap for long.

best get toit.

Prayers for this pandemic to end.

[ChiefEagles]

Morning.  54 [ouch] and cloudy.  SUPPOSE to be raining.  Had to turn heat back on.  Suppose to be that way for a couple of days.

Probably going to FIL's to put a few touches on tractor.  Waiting for guy to call on pickup.  Had a leak from under dash.  Had that several years back.  Drains stopped up.  Could be new windshield.  Not in the trailer parks feeding kids now.  Dream Center has volunteers doing it for me now.

County closed gun stores as non-essential.  Governor did not.  Now feds say OK.  Gun stores back open.  [ha ha, told you so when you did it Co. Comm.]  

New Pot tonight.

Enjoy your day.

[wrmcclellan]

Morning folks!

Well it is very cloudy and no sun as promised. Got quite a bit of rain all afternoon yesterday but I do not think we set a new record. Unfortunately the forecast is for more rain, 5 days, starting again Thursday....ugh.

Made it to the grocery store yesterday and they are about 90%, but I fail to understand the continuing shortage of TP. Maybe since they can't go to work and steal it from there????

[KRM]

Good morning from a gray cool and damp North Bluff.

 Spring one day, winter the next, the way March is here. No grass cutting here yet. Working off the last bag of deer corn and that will be it till next fall. Wife’s opossum she has named Charley has been raiding everything around here day and night. We had to take in the cat water because he was coming up on the porch and helping himself.

 

Tomorrow is pension pay day so I guess I will venture out to Krogers and see how it goes. Wife went to Walmart yesterday for meds and said it was a nut house? Why I go very early.

 

I have a very dirty N95 mask I have used for dirty car work over the years. Thinking if I wear that to the store everyone will run like He!! from me.

 

Sounds bad by SJ and getting worse? Be safe!

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Cloudy and 42 along the Patterson Creek cut-off.  Bird feeder was on ground, so black bear probably visited overnight.  Wifey will be all excited, and will want the trailcam back on.  Mowed the lawn for the first time, and it is plush and green.  Hostas and tulips emerging.  WV not locked down, but Gov wants non-residents to Keep Out.

[wrmcclellan]

Afternoon folks!

Cloudy and raining. It seems as if has been raining since January. Depending on how things end tonight at midnight. It will the wettest or second wettest March on record. All the lakes are full or above pool levels. 

Finished the train inventory! Finally! Whew! Now gotta get it stuffed back into the closets for now. No sense in trying to get an offer on it as unlikely anyone buying much at this time. Local buyer guys told me they move collections to other buyers (friends of mine in business say no one wants to spend any money right now), at train shows (none of those) plus selling some on line (tedious). I will wait until later this year or when things right to even keel, hopefully.

MikeC - I have a few Marx items (4 wheel cars, NYC 4 wheel tender, Commodore loco, semaphore - for parts only, over the track gantry crane, a switch tower, plast.ic water tower, and several of the yard lights). Other than the yard lights, they are listed at $0 in my inventory. They are pretty worn, but were a gift to me from an older cousin (unfortunately deceased) in Akron, back when I was a little kid and he was a teenager. His oldest son has all the Lionel stuff he had on a simple layout in their basement. I treasure the items for the memories.

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

Given the decrease in memory capacity I have, I am not sure if I mentioned the small collection of Marx equipment recently given to me.   First I managed to get the train running, and now the handcar is functional.   Also, a barrel loader is working and the 100 watt transformer is producing power.   I moved the small layout that was under one of the other layouts onto the "craft" table we have and tested the train thru some Marx switches.  Appears to move smoothly thru those as well, both backward and forward.  Some enhancements to the wiring and other aspects will occur soon before wife wants her table back.   Maybe I will finally get the carpet laid for that railroad.   I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Banks]

Hello there,

Start'n t get used to watching daily Mass on EWTN.

Didn't do much yesterday other than do our grocery pickup. The rains continued through noon, then the sun returned and 70 degrees. Sunny cool and mud everywhere this morning.

Not sure what the day will bring other than more bathroom work

Best get toit.

 

Prayers this pandemic ends soon

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Sunny and a bit breezy in the Potomac Highlands.  Youngest Princess is attending her college class (at our dining room table...).  House is back together, and Wifey has put all her Easter knicky-knacks out again.  After dinner, I spent a few hours working on my train "garden".

cheapclassics - I'm not knockin' it, I'm just not Jonesing for motorsports bad enough to watch i-anything.  The double-header at Indy should be interesting.

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

A good weekend.  Watched an Indy car IRacing contest on Youtube.  If one did not look too close or watch the pit stops with no crew over the wall, you would think it was the real thing.  Even had "incar" camera shots.   Got the John Deere mower ready as well.  Binged watch some Hill Street Blues.   Took a nice walk outside Saturday and did a few errands today.  Weather is finally drying out.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[fifedog]

Grandsons went back home.  Oldest Princess had them packed up and out of here by 1100 hrs.  Oldest boy did a little rock work, with some leftover joint compound, which looks pretty good.  He also got to run his favorite locomotive, C&O Allegheny #1601, on the high line.  I held my breath as it rolled through the newly sceniced area, but it wound up having enough clearance on the curvature.

Now Wifey is pacing around piecing her beautiful home back together.  I've done my part, and now just keeping out of her way. 

V8Vega - No time like the present to get workin' on that railroad. 

[wrmcclellan]

Dennis - you da man! Getting through anyone's cust svc nowadays is an epic challenge!! Congrats!!!

[wrmcclellan]

Morning folks!

Rained yesterday morning and eventually a little sun peaked out. Partly sunny this am and started at 48-49. 75 on tap for the afternoon. Supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow. Rain washes the massive amount of pollen outa the air! We spent yesterday evening on the back porch with adult beverages.

Train inventory - completed the big closet and the next partial closet. I keep digging stuff up and have another closet and the garage to go. All this accumulation coming out reminds me of "The Trouble with Tribbles" Star Trek episode. O...M...G....

Now the issue is stuffing it all back into the closets...unfortunately I am a very efficient rat packer....

BTW - the NASCAR Homestead virtual iRace last weekend drew over 900,000 viewers. So they are doing another iRace today at noon CDT featuring Texas Motor Speedway. The irace last weekend was kinda interesting - and no one gets hurt in a wreck!

[ChiefEagles]

Morning.  84 and sunny.  Lowes and then FIL's.

Fifey, hooked up Woods finishing mower to tractor yesterday.  I know it will need belts.  Been sitting in the weather [tarp was in horrible shape] and not used for several years.

Stay well.

[fifedog]

Buckeye - Can't say that I've ever seen those clips before.  Nice.

[Buckeye Riveter]

fifedog

Need to get the older grandson under the layout to string some feeder wires.  Maybe also get him to make an updated video.

fife...Have you ever thought about using these cable clips? Easy to install and easy to put the wire into the clip.

[fifedog]

Dougnottta - I thought was a cute one-piece.  Shows you where my mind was...

Mornin' boys.  Foggy and 51 right now in Fifedom.  Noticed 2 of the sofa cushions were scrubbed down and drying in dining room, so something transpired after I went to bed.  Only activity in train room was adding wisteria vines, from an old AMSI landscape kit, to the 106 tinplate bridge.  Need to get the older grandson under the layout to string some feeder wires.  Maybe also get him to make an updated video.

 

[dougdagrump]

A sign of the times.

[KRM]

Banks, My dad was a Minneapolis-Moline guy. We had a U and a Z

 

Well now that that is done,,, what to do tomorrow?

Man I love that Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax. It sure works good and gives a deep shine. Not hard to do either. So everything is clean and it is raining. I even got the old Trident done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Banks]

Hello there.

Still "social distancing", 2nd Blair county case reported this morning. A grocery store employee, has everybody freaking out.

Tried to order from WalyWorld yesterday. but no dates or times available. Got a pickup scheduled for 5 to 6 PM tomorrow at a local chain grocery. (different than above)

Thunder storms just before daylight this morning then off and on showers. About 11 had a huge downpour with pea size hail. Mid 50's now, 70 predicted tomorrow

I prefer OLIVER green.

Buckey........Great story!!!  HILTI tools are the best, I've used them a lot. For your use I'd recommend this

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-45a-hammer-drill-64119.html 

and plastic anchors. Cheap but under light use work and last well.

Best move on.

 

Prayers for those in need

[KRM]

Fife,

"Nothing" Runs like a Deere!  

Dennis, best run with it and hope they are getting their advice from the medical professionals not a politician.

Rain all day so as long as we are locked in the plan for the day is detail and wax the Colorado. Sure glad I have my shed. I would go nuts locked in the house all day. Only so much to do on the layout.

[fifedog]

Chief - I like Farmall Red, better than green.  (sorry JonAdel, wherever you are)

Buckeye - Quite the story. 

cnw1995 - Thanks for checking in, matie. 

 

[ChiefEagles]

Morning. 78 and sunny. Been relaxing for a while. Did sleep until 8:15. Much needed sleep. Wiley the Yorkie had to come wake me as Mom was outside digging in gardens. Off to FIL's to work and have lunch. Seems Uncles and Cousins cook every Saturday. Those folks don't understand I have things here to do. Move there, will always be in your business. Expected to be in theirs's. No feeding sites open and not delivery food this weekend. Why we delivered weekend boxes yesterday. Lost a State Trooper last night in an auto crash. Not much details on the news. Inheited Farmall 140.  Running like new now. Gas is $1.51 now.   Everyone stay safe and well.

 

[Buckeye Riveter]

Good morning from the Valley,

Don... For a state that has oil wells, $ 2.49/ gallon is not much to be happy about. We are bouncing around at $ 1.65/gal. 

Dennis.... You want a good story? Here it is:

The  National Limited Train Wreck

---

May 1956

We left Baltimore’s Mount Royal Station in the usual fashion late in the evening.  The big diesel engines growled as the brakes squealed entering the train shed.  We boarded and took our seats in the sleeper car as usual.  In the middle of the night we awoke from an awful commotion.  The porter was yelling and my mother said we had to move.  We left the compartment and began walking towards the back of the train.   Injured passengers in the coach behind us could be seen in the dim blue night lights.   Relocating to another sleeper car I fell back to sleep.

 

 

The train was traveling backwards when  I awoke the next morning, and breakfast was not being served.  At mid morning the train stopped in a small mountain town. We disembarked and walked to a small coffee shop near the train platform.  A small breakfast was purchased, and we returned to the train just in time to see a railroad relic uncouple from the remainder of our train. The small coal black steam engine chugged along the tracks towards the old roundhouse, much to my delight.

 

Later we learned that our train had been wrecked when it struck a rock slide exiting a tunnel. The engines and baggage cars derailed and plunged  from a bridge into a steep river gorge. Several cars left the tracks, including the dining car located directly ahead of our sleeper.  The engineer and fireman were killed in the wreck.

 

March 2002

To celebrate my birthday this year, Molly and Kathy planned an outing at North Bend State Park in West Virginia.  Molly being a senior at WVU, would meet us at the park.  After reading the literature in the room at the park’s lodge, we discovered that the bike trail followed the tracks of the B&O National Limited. In the pamphlet it said that on May 31, 1956, the B&O’s National Limited exited Tunnel No. 13, struck a rock on the tracks and plunged into the creek, killing the engineer and fireman.  I excitedly read to Kathy and Molly the story in the pamphlet, and Kathy looked at me and said that was the same story I had been telling her for years about my train wreck.  We drove down to the wreck site and tunnel and took photos.  What a wonderful birthday surprise!

[anjdevil2]

TGIF ! ! ! ! ! !

Hey, all....

Went shopping last night, got food for all of God's creatures, including us and scored a 20 pack of Scott's TP!!!  YEA!!!

Hammer fell today, I've been cut back to 30 hours per week, so now I work 9 to 3 Monday to Friday.  No one on my team is being laid off or furloughed, so that is a positive.  Not sure how the finances will shake out, but fortunately, I have my tax return and should be my last fat check coming next Friday, so the AmEx will be paid off and the Mortgage paid.  Not sure about the car payment, but that's the last think I need to worry about right now.

Got my NS First Responders set and it's pretty cool, Jenni is trying to make the helicopter fly while I work.....lol

62F right now, BRIGHT SUN so I can't enjoy it right now, but come Monday I will be able to.  Especially since I can't spend any money or go anywhere.  And gas is $2.19/gallon...time to break out the muscle car!!!!

[dbaker48]

Howdy,

Boy, the national and local news is frightning!  But it is what it is.  Gas down to $2.49 !  Cant remember when it was that low!  Must be barely covering the taxes.  We did go for a bike ride yesterday, plan to make that a daily event. Unless traffic gets really bad.  We stay in our tract, but I have never seen as many people as there is out walking etc.,  Dogs must really be getting tired of all this.  I haven't seen any dogs with masks on yet.

We did discover reruns of "The Virginian" on TV, and been recording them.  My family didn't watch that show as a kid, I think probably because they were a hour and half long episodes.  But what we like is the stories and plots are different, not just good guy vs bad guy, but interesting.

Had the oil changed today, 3 attempts.  The usual place we go to was closed went I went there.  Called this am, and they were closing areound 1 or 2 if they were not busy.  Can't blame them, but did get in to them today.

Hopefully the weather is going to warm up, its been in the low 60's here for the past week.  Suppose to be warmer starting tomorrow and through next week.

Finally, I believe the USN Hospital ship is arriving today in the LA Harbor, will be docking at one of the cruise ship berths.  Its only going to be handling NON Virus cases, freeing up  space for the other hospitals.

Wishing the best for all of us!  Be Safe!

[cheapclassics]

Good afternoon all,

Yesterday was a great day.  The 500 was rescheduled for August and I mowed the yard for the first time of the season before the neighbor did (never did that before).  Work is still going well but few people here.  Weather is wet now but was dry enough last night for me to get yard work done.   Person at work asked me if virus would prevent 500 in August.  I said if it is still this bad by then, no one will be around to watch it.  Felt good to be outside doing a "normal" activity.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Banks]

Hello there,

Roy.........Mrs has been coughing for near a month. Had a round of antibiotics and Doc says cough could last 8 to 10 weeks.

Gable's Dept store in Altoona had display layouts as a kid. The Altoona Model Railroad Club had scale layouts ne HO, S and O two rail. They opened every year for the holidays. They're still in existance in a different location with N, HO and O scale. Also saw the layout at the Carnegie Sciene Center in Pittsburgh. Then there was my uncle who's Christmas layout covered his living and dining rooms

Best move on.

 

Prayers this pandemic ends soon