Visiting Capt. Bob's RR, take II

[tangerine-jack]

Found myself out by Capt Bob's way again this weekend. Took along the trusty camera and snapped a few shots.

I think Bob let me come over to get his RR running again. I really came for the food, his wife makes a mean sandwich![dinner]

Here is Bob opening the tool box to tackle a short.


I found the short and fixed it for him. Basicaly a small piece of ballast got into one of the expansion joints and caused the rails at the switch frog to contact and short. A few minutes with a pair of pliers and some insulating tape got the job done. A more permanent fix would be to motor tool the gap a little wider and epoxy in a styrene shim to prevent this from happening again.


Sooooo............. with that problem solved, I then had to clean his track, get his loco running and pet the dog. Gee Bob, you done anything yourself??? Here is the Chrismass loco by Aristocraft, it ran good once I cleaned the spiders off.


This is Bob's storage and filing system. Very effective. The rolling stock is close at hand to the RR, and he has some rolling racks nearing completion to aid in the moving of the cars.


We did a little night running of the Christmass loco



You know, we laugh and joke each other, but when it comes down to it, I think we all have a big heart, and Bob has the biggest of all in my opinion. Here is a shot of Laura, age 12, who is 95% blind, riding on Bob's tractor. I can't begin to express how meaningful that was to her, as that may well be the only vehicle she ever gets to drive. Thanks Bob, you're number ONE!!!


Did I mention his wife makes a mean sandwich? Here is a shot of both our better halves..................


I had a great time visiting. Bob has a lot of projects in the works, I can't wait to see how they turn out!

[TurboOne]

Hey TJ and Bob. It looks like two little kids in the candy store. Looks like an awesome layout. Tell us about the pond/lake the train goes around.


Tim

[Puckdropper]

TJ, the backgrounds on the night running pictures are just amazing. How'd you take the picture? With or without flash?

That's a very true black. I bet if I looked at it in an image program it'd show 0 red 0 green 0 blue.

[tangerine-jack]

Turbo One, nice to have you back! I don't know the technicals of the lake, but it is very large and has a waterfall. Here is another shot of it showing the lighthouse and the overall scope.

So far there isn't much scenery around it, I thoroughly chastised Bob for that oversight, so look for more progress in the future! It will be quite impressive when finished, of that I have no doubts.

Puckdropper, you should see the ones that didn't come out! I found it very difficult to get a good shot of a moving train at night. Basicaly I have a Kodak CX7430 set on "night" with auto fill flash. I like the non flash night shots better, but it is nearly impossible to get a clear image without using a tripod, and the moving train is only a blur since the fstop stetting is very slow. As it is, I had to brace the camera against the retaining wall to get a clear enough image. As far as the black of the background, it is very dramatic and works well in these photos, but what can I say- that's just Delaware for you I guess....... These were my first attempts at night photography.

[Tom The Brat]

A great day!

[Anonymous]

TJ
YOU MUST STOP back in penna. some time again on your travels .I hope you had a good thanksgiving. HI CAPT. BOB . I HOPE YOU DIDN'T EAT TO MUCH. BEN

[bman36]

Hey TJ,
Great shots...thanks for sharing. I too have had a great time visiting railroads in my travels. Marty Kozad in Nebraska. OLD DAD (Larry TeGantvoort) in the Twin Cities, along with a few others in the Twin Cities who are not on this forum. Garden Railroaders are a unique bunch. I thoroughly enjoy meeting them when I can. I look forward to the day when others from the forum are able to come to Winnipeg for some authentic Back Bacon and trains. Garden Railroading Canadian style eh. Glad you had such an awesome visit. Anyone planning to come to Winnipeg ever...let me know. Later eh...Brian.

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Benny,
If I ate too much the guy at the gym worked it off of me this morning! After I did the Cardiac rehab at the hospital, I started in at the gym at the YMCA 3 days a week! A bit over a year and a half now, and all those guys in the fancy lab coats seem to be happy; if not with the progress, then with the big bucks they are collecting!

TJ,
It was good fun to have you guys here, just holler, you're welcome! Maybe sometime when it's too cold & icy for trains you give me enough notice & I'll put a roast on and we'll have some real eats!

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Turbo,
Pond is roughly 22 feet wide by 40 feet long. Runs from about 2 foot depth at falls end to about 38 inches at far end (to facilitate pumpout & washdown). 1 - 2' catfish, 1 - 18" catfish, and a bunch of koi and goldfish. Sides are pretty steep. Herons are a wading bird and feed on what swims around thier feet, so if you don't leave them a place to wade, they don't get your expensive fish! I forget the GPH on the pump, but it was the biggest the manufacturer made at the time, i think 10,000 gal/hr. Also has a light filter in a vain attempt to hold the alge down, and that has a 3,000 gph pump on it!

I figure the cost of running the pumps is about $60.00 a month. That is running 24/7/365. Pond will ice over except right where fall spills, and top of fall will ice over with water running beneath the ice. Kinda neat to hear the water falling but can't see it happening! Fish go to bottom in deep end to overwinter, no problems there!

Big prob is with alge as there is no shade. get enough plants in there to help with alge, and you can't see fish. Other big problem is that it can get so fascinating watching fi***hat you forget to work on railroad!

The whole concept was to come up with something reminiscent of Horseshoe Curve. I'm told i've come close. Rather neat to see trains reflected in the water in the spring and summer afternoons and evenings! Somewhere on Aristo forum Pete Eggink took some pics of it at an open house and they show some of the reflections.

[Marty Cozad]

John, looks like a fun day. Thanks for sharing the photos.

[tangerine-jack]

Yes, I had a great time. I'd like to visit Benny again, but I don't see me being out that way anytime soon. Maybe next summer. HOWEVER, as fate may decide, it looks like I just may be in Nebraska in March. Hmmm, who do I know in Nebraska????[:D]

[Capt Bob Johnson]

TJ,
You go to Marty's without your trusty camera and you'll be shark bait! That guy's so multi talented that it oughta be a crime! Can't see enough pics of his layout!

[route_rock]

Very very cool! Love the shots . This is helping me convince the wife I not only need trains in the house but behind the house !

[Anonymous]

WHERE'S THE PICTURE OF THE SANDWICH!

Glad to see you all had fun.

[tangerine-jack]

QUOTE: Originally posted by carpenter matt

WHERE'S THE PICTURE OF THE SANDWICH!

Glad to see you all had fun.

DANG! Knew I was forgetting something! I guess there is nothing to do but go back and get another one![;)]

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Well, if you do stop in I can guarantee it won't be one of those church social sandwiches; you know, 1 slice of ham & 1 slice of cheese on dry bread! That would be about the only grounds for divorce I can think of! Eat hearty and give the ship a good name! They don't call me the fat capt for nothing!