Good morning, diners. Chloe, I'll have bacon, eggs, and coffee please.
Today more yardwork is scheduled, but there should be time for some layout work, too. On the layout, it seems like when I finish one thing, I realize three more things need work.
David, please send some of your rain to us. We need it.
MisterBeasley, I have never seen or heard of the movie 'Knowing'. I'll have to look around to see if I can find it.
Brent, good luck with your Sunday celebration. For me, it's nice to have a bunch of people at the house, and it's also nice when they all leave and everything goes back to normal.
Terry and TF, thanks for checking in.
Ed, that's too bad about the lowered resistance, but I guess it makes sense. I guess you'll have to live a very private life for a while until your body gets back to normal.
Chris, that's funny about the scene in the movie. After living in New Orleans, we would also laugh about certain movie scenes from New Orleans that had mountains in the background or people talking with southern accents.
It's time to walk the dog Cookie and get busy. For all the diners, I hope everyone has a great day.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/bluegrass-railroad-museum-cabooses.94328/full
Edit: I'll ask for everyone's forgiveness. I posted this in the morning, and I just looked at it now and found that I was at the top of the page. I don't believe that was true this morning, but ...
Anyway, it's later in the evening now. Join me in a glass of after dinner (supper?) wine. One glass is on me. If you drink more, you'll have to pay for it yourself.
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
As the newest diner here, I have a question regarding staffing. I've noticed mentioning of 2 expertly skilled servers by you veteran diners, Chloe and Brunhilda. But over the years my casual look in thru the front window I seem to remember a Flo? Does she still work here? My first few orders for breakfast since joining I have directed to Flo Without any correction from the staff or diners. Just wondering if she's still, or ever was, employed here at the diner.
Regards, Chris
Tophias As the newest diner here, I have a question regarding staffing. I've noticed mentioning of 2 expertly skilled servers by you veteran diners, Chloe and Brunhilda. But over the years my casual look in thru the front window I seem to remember a Flo? Does she still work here? My first few orders for breakfast since joining I have directed to Flo Without any correction from the staff or diners. Just wondering if she's still, or ever was, employed here at the diner. Regards, Chris
There is Chloe, Zoe, Flo, Brunhilda and Janie. What with Diners joining from around the world we cannot have the same girl on 24/7.
Be careful with Chloe. She tends to flirt with the Diners. All good fun off course.
I do not see Zoe much. Either she is on the 'other shift' or part time not sure.
Flo, Janie and Brunhida stand no nonsense. They know your order almost before you do.
Whilst I am here I might as well have a Pusser Royal Navy rum please, Janie. I'll sit by the window and watch the world go by.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
I believe that Flo has a second job. She is working in a diner on the night shift at another model railroad forum. I've reduced my tips to her because of her disloyalty.
York1 MisterBeasley, I have never seen or heard of the movie 'Knowing'. I'll have to look around to see if I can find it. Chris, that's funny about the scene in the movie. After living in New Orleans, we would also laugh about certain movie scenes from New Orleans that had mountains in the background or people talking with southern accents.
It was a Nicholas cage movie. It was really more of a wait-for-it-to-be-on-TV movie than a theater movie. I do remember one scene at a gas station where beer was sold, only because beer is not sold in Massachusetts at gas stations.
And of course there was the old movie White Christmas where the stars were traveling from Florida to Vermont on the Santa Fe Super Chief....
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
York1I believe that Flo has a second job.
Yes, she performs with Diana and Mary.
I also noticed the price of gas at that gas station was $3.69 (or maybe even $3.89). I don't think we were paying that here in 2009. But maybe Australia (where most of the move was filmed)?
maxman York1 I believe that Flo has a second job. Yes, she performs with Diana and Mary.
York1 I believe that Flo has a second job.
If she needs a second job, album residuals must not be what they once were.
York1If she needs a second job, album residuals must not be what they once were
They're not. Ever since the Diner removed the jukebox and started streaming music you might say that the residuals are toast
One for 'Flyover' John:
The North Platte Canteen (the original Diner?) back in '45! The ladies have turned out in their Sunday Best to greet the troops...
I visited this very same depot some 21 years later. Steam was gone and there are two more stars on the flag. Otherwise pretty much the same.
Cheers, Ed
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please, Brunhilda.
Ed, thanks for the video. I have been through North Platte a number of times, but I've never stopped at the depot. We are always in a hurry to get through to Denver or Wyoming and don't stop. One of these years ...
More layout work today. I doing my second most unfavorite job -- landscaping with trees. That said, it's much more pleasant than my most unfavorite -- ballasting track.
I've only been railroading for five years. Before that, I never would have guessed what would become my most favorite part of the hobby, scratch building structures. If I lived close to someone who also had a railroad, I might offer to build structures for them if they would ballast and landscape for me.
Our dog had a wonderful morning. She had the neighbor's cat up a tree for over an hour. By the time I went out, the cat was in the process of escaping along the top of the wooden fence in our backyard, with our dog barking and following on the ground. I don't know if the dog would have known what to do if the cat had fallen to the ground.
Have a great Saturday, everyone.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/cnw-dead-bay-windows.20009/
This caboose is at Campbell Hall, NY, just off Route 208 along Neelytown Road.
The inside is fitted out like a little museum.
There's a story behind how it got where it is today. We used to use it on the Campbell Hall local (Conrail) when I worked there (off and on from 1985 to 1991). This is in Orange County, NY, actually former Erie territory -- I got into the place because the job had "split equity" between former Erie, Lehigh & Hudson River, and New Haven crews.
I wasn't there the day it happened, but on that day the job was working a large supermarket warehouse a few miles west in Red Onion (you can see it from I-84). The place had a couple of inside tracks, and one or two down along the outside.
On that day, they were backing off some cars, and the conductor's radio failed at just the wrong moment, and the caboose hit a bumping block. I don't think it derailed, but it broke the draft gear and the coupler ended pushed off to one side.
They ended up parking the busted caboose on a siding at Campbell Hall, and just got another caboose from somewhere (they had been taken off the road jobs by then).
Then someone involved with a local historical society (or something along that line) got ahold of it, and had it placed where it is, with some displays outside and a collection of railroad gear inside. I believe the fellow responsible did some work for Metro North, and lives in a house just across from the "caboose track".
Haven't been by there in some time. I'd like to take one more trip over to see Campbell Hall while I still can -- it was one of the best places I worked. Might have been my favorite job of all...
York1John I tried to send you some rain, but the paperwork at the customs got wet, so the rain was returned. Sorry!
Good morning. Just coffee for me, it's donut day.
The landscaping is going slowly on the layout. I'm hoping to get more done today. Tomorrow, it's back to outside work on the lawn.
David, thanks for the effort on sending rain. Maybe not all is lost. The weather 'experts' are predicting some rain tomorrow.
We need a lot more to get us out of this several-year-long drought. The strange part is that fifty miles west and fifty miles east, they've had plenty of rain the past several years. We are wondering what we did wrong.
Have a great Sunday, everyone.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/durham-and-southern-caboose.36627/
York1I believe that Flo has a second job. She is working in a diner on the night shift at another model railroad forum. I've reduced my tips to her because of her disloyalty.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good Morning Diners. Zoe, a large mug of coffee. Actually, make it the whole pot.
Had a very busy weekend. Spent part of it down in Rich's (and UP831's) neck of the woods. My daughter had a soccer recruiting visit at a university in Chicago. It was neat to see how that sort of thing works, but it also burned up two full days with travel (we took Friday off work). Then had to go see my other daughter yesterday to help her pack up and haul back a bunch of stuff from her dorm, so that combined with my father-in-law's birthday dinner burned up yesterday. That daughter comes home for the summer this Friday, so we'll be back to a full house again in a few days. Looking forward to soaking that in as this weekend was a stark reminder that those days are numbered.
Old Engineman, neat story and neat little museum!
Mike
Good afternoon Diners. Keep the coffee coming please. Janie.
Took the granddaughters' to the Aircraft & Transport Museum.
Are they following my mother and son's footsteps in flying aircraft?
Click on picture for proper one
Good afternoon, diners. It's mid-afternoon in my time zone. Not yet ready for happy hour. However, I just walked the dog and it's in the 80s out there, so it's time for an ice-cold beer.
JaBear“My Word, Chloe!!!” I wouldn’t have picked York1John for being such a “Hard Man!!” Perhaps it’s that what he learnt while becoming a High School Principal!! I would have said that it was the lack of patronage and therefore lack of tips here, that drove her to seek employment at the other Diner.
You're right, Bear -- I shouldn't have judged her so harshly. It's just that I saw her leave the diner after her shift last week, and she was driving a new Lamborghini Veneno. I figured she needed another job to make the payments.
Mike, enjoy the summer with your kids all home. I really miss those days, and I'm afraid I didn't treasure them as much as I should. When the last girl headed to college, the house seemed very empty.
David, great photo of your grandchildren sitting in the cockpit.
I'm heading out the door to put spread some lawn fertilizer. The forecast is for rain tonight, but I've heard that story before. Maybe this time it will be accurate.
Have a great afternoon, everyone.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/photos-from-the-seventies.46491/
York 1John Both granddaughters are called Julia and love being at the museum. They both love to be in the cockpit of aircraft; especially fighter aircraft. My mother used to deliver aircraft from the factories to air bases during WW2.
My son was in the RAF during the Falklands and was based in the U.K..
Good Happy Hour from the West side.
Had a Bridal Shower for the future DIL yesterday and it was a great success with 34 in attendance. It was supposed to be from 1 pm to 4 pm but lasted until 7 pm. Then I had to drive my daughter to the ferry as she had an exam today. To say we are exhausted is an understatement. Did 4km with the dogs and it felt like the 100-mile march.
David that is very cool about your Mom being a ferry pilot, there are some very good documentaries on that on the pay services. I had several people in my orbit that flew in WWII. My Uncle was a double member of the Caterpillar club, meaning he bailed out of his Lancaster twice. Another Uncle was a senior officer in the "Great Escape" camp and grumbled about the accuracy of the movie. As a kid I would sit in silence as the drinks were served and the stories came forth. I sat for a three-hour exam for the RCAF in about 1980 and they kept phoning me for two years after to see if I was still interested. They must have been desperate.
I took my Mom back to England in 1993 and she had me take her to a church graveyard to visit the grave of her cousin whom she was close to as she was an only child. He was a pilot in the Dambuster raid and he was killed in that raid.
Tipping, I always tip well but I hate the concept. IMO, everyone should do their job to the best of their ability and be compensated by the employer. Some automated checkouts at stores now ask if you would like to leave a tip. For whom, the machine?
Ed enjoyed the North Plate Canteen video, and a few similar ones popped up as well that I watched. My Uncle signed up in 1939 the day Canada declared war on Germany. He went ashore on D-Day and when the war in Europe was over he volunteered for the Pacific theatre. Halfway across Canada on the train to board a ship in Vancouver for Asia the Japanese surrendered so he got to go home to Winnipeg.
Bear, loved the "floating in the sky" pic. What are we looking at? When I was in Australia this guy landed on the beach and said "Who wants to go for a ride"? I was in that plane so fast it would have made your head spin. He let me drive for a while but that guy was nuts. We had a lot of fun.
I found a pic of a caboose or three waiting for the last spike a long, long time ago.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I also hate tipping. Some restaurants now automatically add a percentage to the check. Even more annoying is the tip jar one sees on the counter when picking up a donut or pizza order. They should tip me for driving out of my way to get there.
maxman Even more annoying is the tip jar one sees on the counter when picking up a donut or pizza order. They should tip me for driving out of my way to get there.
Even more annoying is the tip jar one sees on the counter when picking up a donut or pizza order. They should tip me for driving out of my way to get there.
Alton Junction
In the past, the waitress (or waiter, or wait person?) took the bill along with the cash to the register and returned with the change. Before leaving, you could leave a cash tip on the table.
Now with a cashless society, the waitress brings the card reader to the table. Your card goes in, and before you click the green button to OK the bill, the tip screen comes up with 10%, 20%, 30%, or other. With the waitress standing right there watching, you have to pick one. The pressure is on!
David, some of your rain came this morning. Unfortunately, the hail came with it. After about five minutes of heavy hail, the ground looked like it had snowed. Thankfully, the hail was about dime-size, so I don't think the roof was damaged. Our roof is only one-year-old after being replaced after the last hail storm.
What was damaged this time were the trees. They had all just budded out, and now the ground is full of the buds and the trees look bare again.
The good news? We got almost a half-inch of rain.
Have a great day, everyone.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/bringing-up-the-rear-in-santa-fe-style.46756/
John: We were supposed to get some of that rain (tornado watch til 3:00 am) last night, too; but it all went north of here. Dry as the proverbial bone. Wind is blowing 30+ mph, with gusts to 60 mph.
David: Always look forward to hearing good news about Dawn. She is always in our good thoughts and prayers.
Tin Can II David: Always look forward to hearing good news about Dawn. She is always in our good thoughts and prayers.
Thanks TCll Dawn has good days and bad with some in between.
Lately they have been bad. She is struggling to walk. Thank goodness we had the elevator installed. Her left hand is painful and causing it to be difficult to hold anything. (She is left handed.)
Hopefully the good days are not far away.
York1Now with a cashless society, the waitress brings the card reader to the table. Your card goes in, and before you click the green button to OK the bill, the tip screen comes up with 10%, 20%, 30%, or other. With the waitress standing right there watching, you have to pick one. The pressure is on!
I don't do that. If I'm going to a place where a tip is expected (rather than deserved), I always take cash. Then I'll leave the tip on the table.
That way the server can decide what they want to declare.
Good day, all, It is another sunny warm day on the Pacific Rim and I am about to go for my 10 km scoot with a mutt.
I got an hour in on the guitar before friends showed up for coffee. The sister of one of them just passed away from brain cancer. She had skin cancer on her face that she would not address which would have been an easy fix and it spread into her brain. Stupid is as stupid does, as her brother said sitting at our kitchen table.
I got a call from a researcher who wanted to know how I slept. I sent him last night's Garmin Info. It showed I slept like a corpse, hardly moving. My respiration rate was 6 breaths per minute while my resting heart rate was 42 bpm. He asked how often I get up to pee in the night and I said never! Why would I wreck a good night's sleep to get up and go pee?
The job jar is a little more full than usual so I had better get at it.
An orange caboose under wire:
Preston Cook MILW East End of the Wire-002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
The ERIE on high:
Preston Cook E-L283 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
— and in classy colors:
Preston Cook E-L234 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Good morning. Nothing but coffee today, Chloe. It's a busy day with a project out-of-town.
I'll check back into the diner this evening when I get home.
Not sure about anyone else, but it seems the past several days I've had trouble getting into the diner again. The diner's management needs to hire more waitresses.
https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?media/ex-ri-caboose.71252/
Good morning all. Flo, late breakfast for me today, so a half waffle with a side of home fries and bacon and some coffee if you please. Just finished removing and cutting up 2 large limbs of one of our birch trees that hangs over into the street. Been putting it off but now done.
Yesterday was a sure sign that summer isn't too far away here in Massachusetts. I got my '73 corvette out of winter storage. I've had it since '79, I'm the 3rd owner. My late brother gave it to me when he passed that year. I don't really think of myself as the owner, more as a custodian for my brother, even after all these years. I guess it helps me to stay connected to him in some odd way. His wife continues to be considered part of our family so that also helps.
That's it for now, got to go clean up and give my John Deere (sorry Sheldon) it's annual washing And wait for the grass to grow.