Elliot´s Trackside Diner XXIV - on a new track

[AmanaMedic]

jeffrey-wimberly

Put almost 300,000 miles on it before I consigned it to the scrap heap.

WOW! And I'm thankful (everytime I go to turn the key) THAT my '97 Ranger has 205,300+, and counting... I don't remember what the '83 Dodge Aires had on her when she finally went to the scrapyard in the spring of '93. Now THERE was a car! Yessiree Bob! I have GOT to find one in a metallic gray with red trim...need it for the future layout. I mean, THAT was one awesome little ride! Why, Jack Webb's Joe Friday woulda looked right at home piloting THAT unit... And the chicks, man...the chicks REALLY dig an Aires...yepper.... Seriously though, the Aires got me where I had to go...and a lot of other places too...

Then, there was the '84 Chevy Celebrity I bought from my Dad to replace the Aires...racked up a ga-zillion miles on her too before she went to the scrap yard in early '97. We took her under her own power (to save the cost of towing it), but she just barely made it. Ah, she was a fine ride too... Need a medium blue one of those in HO for the future layout as well...

Omni, Escort, Citation... I kinda miss the old econo-carts. Like a lot of things, they just looked better then compared to the...econo-carts of today in my not-so humble opinionated opinion.

jeffrey-wimberly

Got a new (to me) covered hopper in the mail today. Internet search comes back as a Roundhouse FMC covered hopper XTRX 76990

Nice catch! I've got a small fleet of XTRA hoppers gathering. Two FMCs (one Roundhouse painted, one by me and Microscale), and two Portec hoppers rebuilt from Athearn PS 3-bays. I figure to add a few more in the coming years. In 1985, I saw hundreds of them parked in-storage on tracks along Hwy. 59 in SW Iowa. I guess they kinda stuck with me.

Gotta go cover girls' district basketball tonight in Wilton...about 30 miles away. IF the Solon girls win, I believe Sub-State is next on the road to State Tournament play in Des Moines. Should find out later tonight if I'll have any wrestlers to cover in Des Moines for their State Tourney in a week or two.

Have a good'en,

Chris

***EDIT*** Top...OK guys (and of course Sue too if she stops by...) order UP!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good afternoon. ... Time for a snack.

Happy birthday to Petra.

Chris ... I like the CNW F units.

Flip ... Sorry to learn Deb is having surgery. Prayers for her.

Jeff. ... Your KCS switcher looks very good.

Ray .... I like the scenry in that photo.

Keith .... Sounds like quite an adventure. Time to flip the bird. (Fowl humor)

There is a thread about the Walthers meat packing plant, and I posted photos. I normally take photos of the front of mine, but Serge was asking about the back side of the Walthers building, and so I held the camera to the back of the building.. If you are interested, take a look in that thread.

Happy Model Railroading 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

AmanaMedic

jeffrey-wimberly

Put almost 300,000 miles on it before I consigned it to the scrap heap.

WOW! And I'm thankful (everytime I go to turn the key) THAT my '97 Ranger has 205,300+, and counting... I don't remember what the '83 Dodge Aires had on her when she finally went to the scrapyard in the spring of '93. Now THERE was a car! Yessiree Bob! I have GOT to find one in a metallic gray with red trim...need it for the future layout. I mean, THAT was one awesome little ride! Why, Jack Webb's Joe Friday woulda looked right at home piloting THAT unit... And the chicks, man...the chicks REALLY dig an Aires...yepper.... Seriously though, the Aires got me where I had to go...and a lot of other places too...

My 94 Century has over 300,000 on it. I can't tell exactly because both of the odometers quit working about that time. That was two or three years ago.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

I just spent a marvelous day with about 12 other people as we got our seminar off to a questionable start---dang snowsqualls

PETRA!!

Ray, Chris: My sister had, at one time, a sad puppy of a 1984 Plymouth Horizon that gave her no end of trouble. It got to the point that she needed to build up a head of steam to get up over a couple of hills on her way to and from Mount Forest ON to Woodstock ON. If she hit 80kmh at the bottom of these hills she was lucky if'n she was doing 40kmh by the time she got to the top. And those things were not all that steep! During that period I had a 1972 International Scout II 4x4 that had a 10T winch on both front and back and was about 4" higher than stock. I was needed a lot by her because the dang thing would coff coff and die I kinda wish that I did not sell that Scout now a days--

Chloe, I'll just have a coffee for now please---oh--give me a coupla of those quadruplexes as well please---I'll be at the RC

[TMarsh]

Evening, coffee please. Thanks. Things went well in Pittsfield today. Mom and her sister were very surprised and happy. Also got my dollar car today in excellent shape. Kinda hard to hurt and old TYCO though. Not much to break off.

Flip- yup, I see why you may not get in just anytime you want. By the way, will put Deb in the prayers, even though the surgery isn't til Tuesday, can't hurt to get a good jump on thongs.EDIT: I meant "things".

 

It's early, I think I'll head on down and tear up some more old layout.

[Cederstrand]

Fruit & veggie smoothie, please. 

***Ray, neat 0-6-0 and surrounding scenery. It's now our new desktop pic.

***Jeffrey, sounds like you treat your autos as you do your trains.

***Petra, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

Had 3"+ snow last night. Sure was pretty this morning, but was mostly melted by this evening. Got the tractor stuck in slick mud to day between pasture gates. So much so, I couldn't even back it out with help from the loader. Wife used the Polaris 6x6 with long strap to give it enough extra hp to get it out of there. That little Ranger sure comes in handy this time of year. Long day...I am ready for summer.

Hope everyone is doing well. Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Cederstrand

***Jeffrey, sounds like you treat your autos as you do your trains.

If you mean that I try to squeeze every last mile out of them you're right. I had the entire front end of the Century rebuilt last year (control arms, tie rods, tierod ends, wheel bearings, cv axles, etc) so I can drive it for several more years at least.

[howmus]

Evenin' Folks!

Zoe Just a hot chocolate for me tonight.  I'll go sit at the Rivet Counter.

Gary and Rob, thanks for the compliments on the photo.  The photoshopped version of the same photo took 2nd plce in its class at the Niagara Frontier Region, NMRA Convention last Spring.  It is one of my favorites.

Have started w*rk on an engine house for the logging area.  Drew myself a very rough looking blueprint from an old Pola (????) plastic kit I more or less assembled about 25 years ago.  Mine will be made out of wood and will have some modifications to fit the spot it will sit on.  I hope to detail it enough and have it removable fro the layout to be able to enter it in competition next fall (If I get it done by then).  Photos when I have enough built to make any sense.......

My sister called me.  She is freaking out with her new computer.....  Her mail icon in the Dock (MacBook Pro) was missing.  Told her she undoubtedly pulled it out of the dock when she clicked on it (She still doesn't have the mouse click thing down....).  And, she can't find the applications folder which was in the dock either.  Since she doesn't have the HD Icon on the desktop, I told her how to find the applications folder by going to "find".  I ask her in "find" does it say Macintosh Harddrive/Applications Folder at the bottom of the window?  She says Yes....  I tell her to drag the folder to the dock.  She drags it to the Desktop instead......  And so now she has all her Applications copied to the Desktop...  I have her check to make sure the Applications folder is still found in the HD Folder via the same way we just did.  After about 25 minutes of over the phone tech support from me, she has the mail app back on the Dock....  Computer Tech Service is one job I would really like NOT to have!  

Back to doing something useful with the laout.  Oh, it is nice to be able to access the forum downstairs agian...... Later!

73

[Robby P.]

 Good evening.   Just a quick stop.

 Went out today and got a few valentine gifts.  A shop lamp, and a turn out.  Might not be much, but I've been needing them both.

 Chris........ Here's a picture of one of my VW.  It had drop spindles on the front, and I added a roll cage.  Next was the motor, but I ended up selling it.  I thought you/your wife might like to see it.  I believe it was a '66.

 

 

 Vincent..........Here's a shot of my mustang.  I never did get a shot of the motor.

 

 Everybody else......................... Here's some shots of the "New River Gorge".  The VERY tall bridge in West Virginia.  I thought the "bridge guys" might like them.  The one shot is a trestle below the bridge.

 

 

[Packer]

Evening ya'll. RBF for me!

Went to a friends op session today. Haven't been able to do that in a while between fixing my car and work. replacing the tank will wait til monday. I can get more help on it that way. 

All the talk about cars has me glad that my car only has 158K, with a new suspension (the brakes, springs, struts, tires, shocks, conrtol arms, etc. were all less than a year old when salvaged from my '97). The current drive train only has to hold up for a few years till I graduate college. Then comes a modded 5.0 (Mustang Cobra engine) or 4.6 (Lincon Mark 8 engine) V8 to replace the 2.3 I4, that will be modified to over 300 rwhp.

Chris and Garry: Why not something like this:

     Okay, not really... Maybe with an LTD or something

Jeff, over 300K? geez.

Robby, I love those body styles. I've been trying to find one that I could afford, but so far nothing.

[NittanyLion]

 

Robby P.

 

 If you've never been here, its hard to get the scaling of how huge everything involved really is.  That bridge down there is a pretty good size on its own.

 

Look at how tiny the people with the rafts are.

Next time I pass through there, I'm going to have to make sure I have the time to descend to the river.

[Trainman Sam]

Hello again all!

Chloe, may I have a Large RBF with extra vanilla ice cream, please? Thanks

Ulrich- I’d be very grateful to see the track plan on legitimate software, just to see if it works! Thank You!

Sawyer- I enjoyed the layout update, unfortunately I couldn’t see out the window at the end… Not a problem though, all I have to do to see snow is look out MY windows…

Well, I had a lot of fun at the zoo today. I learned about several animals mating habits… I was unaware that kangaroo’s have TWO reproductive organs, both Male and Female… Interesting. Also got to see the new Cat house… AWESOME, you just have a piece of glass or wire netting between you and Lyons, Tigers, and… Puma’s (Oh My!).

I have made a decision about my basement plans. I will NOT be using it as a Home Theatre, as all the space will be taken up by the layout. I’m fine with THAT, as my wife would rather keep the current room we are using for the Entertainment Center!

Off to gather some more info, and attempt to see if this track plan can be improved a little. I would like to try to put some more space between New Hope and Lahaska, we shall see! Another improvement I would like to incorporate is to have an automotive dealership located between Lahaska and Ivyland. This addition would justify having several auto racks on property, not just as through freight!

Have a good one my friends… for those who need them!

[LSWrr]

Good evening all,

Well phase one of the roundhouse is complete.  Phase two will be to detail the interior.  The roof panels are free floating and all of them can be removed to gain access to the interior.  The Machine shop is not mounted.  I had to replace the inside rail for the turntable pit and I’m installing a brick wall inside the turntable pit.  I also had to go from a split rail set up for the bridge power to a direct wire system or buy an automatic current reversing circuit.  I need to sand a couple of the roof panels to allow them to lay flat.Overall the Machine Shop and the Roundhouse took 9 days to complete, but I only worked 1-2 hours a night.  Enjoy the pictures.Please excuse the total chaos surrounding the roundhouse.  http://community.webshots.com/album/576376778QCKZMD?vhost=community&start=12

 

[fec153]

Todd- Thankyou. Any and all prayers gladly appreciated. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife. May will be 29 years. Where have the years gone? Don't hold a candle to Dick,[SilverFox] he is at 50 years with his lady.  Rerun is a beautiful family member. I can tell he is well loved.

I wish to say to each one in the diner, Thankyou for your friendship. I marvel at your talents and enjoy our tete-a-tetes. No , I don't join in as much as most of you but doesn't mean I don't feel for those that are hurting either in mind or body for a family member. Love you all and wish everyone peace, health and happiness. [and someone to shovel your sn--.]

Blessings and Prayers.

Flip

 

[nik .n]

 Chris: I will see what I can do. I just have to get the measurements, but they are not cooperating. :P

[twhite]

Evening all from StillSunnyCal: 

Something due in next week, sometime.  Our Omnipitant Weatherperson still is telling us that El Nino out there in the Pacific still has some surprises waiting for us in February and March.  In other words--WET!   I also read in the paper that the only state in the union that has no snow on the ground as of this morning is Hawaii. 

Not much new around here, though I did get the Little Lady's base coat of Grimy Black on, yesterday.  She's still curing.  But she looks a lot better than she did when I got her out of the box, about a month ago, LOL!   I'll start work on the tender tomorrow with the decals.  Then a new coal load and a lens for the backup light.

And to think when I bought her, I was just going to take her out of the box and put her on the layout.  Oh well-- 

I'm going to have to brush-paint the smokebox and firebox--there's too much detail to mask for spraying, but since I'm using camel-hair brushes and Floquil, it ought to turn out okay.  Still thinking about a green boiler for her, but I'll have to brush-paint that on, too.  Whew, this is a PROJECT!!   But the mechanism is running in better and better every day, so by the time I get her all done, she should be a good little lokie.  God knows she's got enough weight put back into her superstructure. 

Wolfgang:  Yah, I know, I should be taking pictures, but I just get too busy to grab the camera, LOL! 

Robby:  Holy COW!   A bridge like THAT over the New River Gorge and they wasted it on a HIGHWAY?   That's spectacular!!  It looks like that famous Canadian Pacific railroad bridge.  Heck, for that matter, it looks like one of MINE, LOL! 

Well, that's about it for now.  TCM is showing GLADIATOR on their "31 Days Of Oscar", and I like that movie a lot.  Bloody (and I mean BLOODY!) good fun. 

Best to all, prayers for those in need.

Tom

PS:  Lent arrives Wednesday.  I hope everyone is suitably depressed, LOL! 

PPS:  Wow, it looks as if I just bought late nite dinner or early morning breakfast, whichever you guys prefer.  Eat up, I just paid off the Visa bill. 

 

 

[ns3010]

Evening (or morning, depending on how you look at it) all.

It seems we have moved to a new track again

I'll catch up the tail end of this track, as well as the new one, in the morning...

[AztecEagle]

Now that's a Jeff Foxworthy Routine waiting to happen!!!

[AztecEagle]

Happy Belated Birthday Rerun!!

If I were there,I'd scratch behind your ears and say"Who's a Good Dog??You Are!!Yes You Are!!".

[Anonymous]

 The Diner has moved on - it´s now down by Milepost 25!

THIS THREAD IS CLOSED

[AztecEagle]

The worst car I ever had  was a Ford Escort!!

Damned thing blew a headgasket on me twice as well as varied and sundry electrical problems!!

I swear that damned car was either hauntedor possessed!!!!