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Jeffrey's Trackside Diner, September 2017, Any and All are Welcome, All Aboard! Locked

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Posted by FRRYKid on Thursday, September 21, 2017 10:45 PM

Evening all! Hey Flo, could I get an orange juice milkshake? (Just about 1 1/2 cup of OJ to lots of ice cream. Make it thick please. Arguing with a cold and a bit of a sore throat.) Thank you so much.

Hobby Front: I have so many projects at the moment it isn't even funny. One engine (new part to be ordered in October), 3 freight cars (1 drop-end gondola and load, a second gondola needing to be weathered for my era, and a ballast hopper needed the load finished), 3 excursion cars (roofs to be painted green rather than the stock black) and 1 caboose (kitbash from 2 cabooses).

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, September 21, 2017 9:14 PM

Sir Madog
I don´t think they are sold in the US or Canada, so this is what they look like:

Ulrich:

Ladas used to be sold in Canada. I'm not sure if they still are - I don't think so.

A good friend of ours used to drive Ladas. He got razzed a lot for it but ultimately I think he came out ahead of us. He could get a gently used one for peanuts, and he drove the heck out of them. If something broke that he couldn't fix, he just scrapped the car and bought another one, keeping the old car for spares.

That was a long time ago. I'm sure that the quality must have been improved if they are still in business after the market opened up.

Ulrich, for you my biggest concern would be having the car only driven for short distances each time you use it. If you are only making short trips then you might be inviting corrosion to happen in the exhaust system and the engine. I would certainly change the oil on a seasonal basis instead of by mileage, and if you don't do it already, I would take it for a longer trip every few weeks to get the moisture out of things.

I'm thinking of buying a small used car. Being stuck in the house during weekdays is growing a bit thin. Dianne would get to drive the small car if only to save fuel on her daily commute, and I would have the Odyssey van when I needed it.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by howmus on Thursday, September 21, 2017 7:05 PM

Evenin' folks!

Janie, I could use a large mug of decaf please!  No snacks for the moment, I found out just about the time I headed out to a Boy Scout Troop meeting for a Commissioner's Visit that I never took my morning meds....  Can't wait to see what my sugar is tonight. Sigh

Well, Galaxy,  if you haven't moved since Jan. 8, 2016 I have the address....  Will see what I can do for you!  Good to see you in the diner........

Bought a Gal. of deck stain and sealer.  Should just about do the whole deck if I Missunderestimated correctly.  That will be the project for much of the day tomorrow.  Sun is supposed to be out most of the day, and I will see how much I can get done.  Also need to continue cleaning the train room in hopes that I can have guests here for the Fall Meet of the NMRA Division in November.  Want to get as much done on everything before I have to make a daily trek to my sister's house to do her chores for her while she is taking another trip to the "Very Far" for the month of October.....

I have also got to finish up a newsletter for the Division Membership and get that out this weekend.  Busy, Busy, Busy!

Thanks for the heads up on the "Other Place"!

Hope all of you have a great evening!  Prayers for all those who have lost so much in the recent storms!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:34 PM

Ray.   There is a problem with the site across the street. I get the red screen with the scary message too.  I can get into it in the iPhone but not on the iMac. Now the iMac has been screwed up.  Safari will not open. i called Apple support. Now they have me reinstalling Mac OS Sierra .  It is processing now so I am typing this on the iPhone . 

CN Charlie ..  good to see you.  If you contact JimCG and Galaxy, please tell them I am thinking of them. I lost many of my email address contacts. (Actually I'm not good about emailing anyhow) 

(Posting briefly on iPhone)

 

edit.  Galaxy! Good to see you!  Thanks for birthday wishes. hope yours is good. 

Cant type much more on this phone. 

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

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Posted by galaxy on Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:28 PM

(Pokes head in to see if there's someone I know)

Hey there!

Hideo hoe there neighbors!

 

I skimmed the first few posts on the first pages of this month's diner.

I saw nakedness and beefcake??? ( no beard and ....again, Mr B...beefcake??)

I'm on a new cell phone from Samsung,  nor sure I like it, especially it's autocorrect!!! I can type bad enough, but when my words morph into something entirely NOT what I meant, or into gobbledygook I'm not liking it.

Garry: happy birthday! My birthday is still coming...irs the 25th. I'll be 54. I know many of you are older,  but some, like our esteemed Mr. Otte ARE indeed younger than I am. I'm actually looking forward to the double nickel next year! I'm NOT the baby here after all!!!

So...where habe I  been? Well if you remember,  I went back to work....nit easy on my back hip or knees all of whom have their own problems. The hotel has been busy, summer travelers, the university traffic and all. I don't know if I can do this job for another many years or not. I've applied to sit down jobs but nothing comes of them. Yet, any way.

 

Then my garden, with work it didn't get the attention it deserves, and with nothing but rain nearly every blasted day this year, some things died of leaf rot. Strawberries were rotting on the vines before they got ripe. Way too much moisture thus year!

No, no trains now for me. They are still in boxes...nobplace in a full basement and garage to put them! I'm beginning to wonder if they will ever be "played" with again. I miss the creative aspect of it...tgough. I have no trains shops here, and wholesaletrains.com seems to have taken down their web site. They are nearby in horseheads, N.Y.. I don't know if the shop still exists or not.

 

On the "relationship" front, I've decided for now my OH is as good a spouse as any. We have a history together and a planned retirement.  I do still have my side sig other. My OH is ok with it, so.

Mr. B. I MAY HAVE Missed it, but where are you going to go? Do youbknow ?

RAY..i doubt I will get a copy of the Mr with your article in it, do you think you can get a copy for me? You still have my address, no?

Well. Dinner tonight is liver bacon and onions!!! Mmm mmm. But I doubt it will cook itself...so best get going.

 

Just thought I'd stop in to say HI to old friends and new.

Have a great evening...

Geeked

 

 

-G .

Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.

 HO and N Scale.

After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.

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Posted by CNCharlie on Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:22 PM

Good Afternoon,

A cloudy day here now  but it was sunny and we managed to get up to about 70F which is about 10 degrees above normal. 

Ray, I have encountered the same issue when trying to get on that forum. I don't post there but I do look in from time to time. They seem to have a major problem with that site. 

Ulrich, glad to see you back. I do like to hear from you. Regarding those Ladas, they did sell them here about 20 years ago and they looked the same. They had a very poor reputation for relability. Your layout is amazing. 

I actually ran the HO RR yesterday for about a half hour. I had a Pacific pulling an express reefer train. Next up will be the RS3 and a freight. It was nice to run the trains. 

I wonder how Galaxy is doing. Haven't heard from him in quite a while. I used to  get the odd e-mail from Cape Jim but not for some time. I will drop him a line and see if he answers.

Well, time for a little dinner,

CN Charlie

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Posted by cudaken on Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:08 PM

 Afternoon Diners

 Flo, Brent, Inch, Gary, Ed, Jan, Bear and I will have a Beer please.

 Still in the dumps. The last 30 days of paychecks as been some of the worse in the last 4 years.

 Ed I watched the video you posted on the main page. While it was amazing what it takes to make a modle train engine and the work everorment looked good I still felt sorry for them. Heck, most of us hate clipping grap irons, instailling couplers and so forth. Wonder how many hours they work a week?

 Later, Ken

I hate Rust

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Posted by BATMAN on Thursday, September 21, 2017 11:55 AM

Good morning from the sunny as usual West Coast of Canuckville 4732 Kms South of the North Pole.

I am way behind so let me catch up. 

Bear I was impressed by your quick response to my diesel displacement question, I thought it would be you or Angelo with the quick answer.

The wife did really well at the dog over the five days she was there, better than usual. She stayed in the trailer for the show as it was an hour away. We had a big birthday bash for her on Saturday night and went and picked up a boatload of Chinese food for it. A good time. Now she wants me to take the trailer back in two weeks for another show. I don't mind it a bit as she enjoys it so much. In three weeks our big train show is at the same spot, so I will be making yet another trip out.

 Ulrich mentioned getting a pickup truck. I always take the truck to the train show as the parking attendants park all the pickups together on the near side of the lot in the photo. It looks really cool having hundreds of pickups all parked together.

 

I remember being at the train show when my truck was new and people would check it out and ask questions, now it is seventeen years old and people can't believe how good a shape it is in. Can't bring myself to get a new one.

Speaking of roughing it. We come from Winnipeg and my Dad and his two sisters each had land on a lake called Ottermere in Ontario. It was about two hours East of Winnipeg by train, the only way in. CN would run the (campers special) out through the lake country. Friday nights were the big event as everyone would go by boat to meet the train and help unload all the supplies. They would sometimes drop a boxcar on the small siding if there was a lot of lumber or other things and all the campers would unload it. I remember watching these little boats making many trips loaded with lumber heading back and forth across the lake. Sometimes they tied it in bundles and towed it behind. 

We had a coal oil fridge and a hand pump for water or you could drink lake water. Lots of good memories. We moved out to Vancouver and the long three-day drive (each way) back to Winnipeg when my Dad had his annual vacation, started to get old and so he sold it.

Finally got the two big trees cut down and have begun to move all the branches to the road for the city to grind up. I can't even move the rounds in the lower half as they must be almost four feet across. A sledge and wedge will make short work of those. The lower branches are ten inches in diametre. It is a 400-foot trip each way to the road. My old John Deere still runs and it doesn't have the mower part anymore as it rusted away, so I use that to haul the stuff to the street. 

I was talking to a friends kid who wanted to be an auto mechanic but realizes combustion engines in cars won't be around much longer, or at least long enough to make a lifelong career of fixing them. We talked about being a heavy duty mechanic and I suggested locomotives. He watched some videos on being a loco mechanic and thinks that might be the way to go.

Well, there is a lot of tree to move today, best get on with it.

All the best to all.

 There is still a little life left in the old girl. (just like the wife!Smile, Wink & GrinLaugh)

 

 

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by tcwright973 on Thursday, September 21, 2017 11:33 AM

Ed - I haven't been to the Berea Train Show for a couple of years. The last 2 times we went it rained & the parking lot was a swamp. On the way home on Wednesday, we did talk about going to the show this year, but nothing has been decided yet. The weather forecast would have to look pretty good. I don't need anything, but I like to walk around & check things out. Although I have been known to buy things I don't really need. And it was a good show when we did go.

Tom

Pittsburgh, PA

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, September 21, 2017 11:12 AM

howmus
Speaking of maintainance.... Ulrich, I had to take my Volt in for it's first MAJOR service at 7500 miles. Yep, they had to rotate the tires. Next year they may have to do an oil change.... Actually even if it doesn't need the oil change yet I will have them do it so I won't have to pay for it to be done in another year after that.... At the rate I am going it may need to have the brakes serviced in, oh 35 years..... Maybe. Doubt if I will be driving then anyway...... Whistling

Ray, for that very reason I´d love to have a electric car, but none of the models available in thois country are anywhere near to what I can afford to spend on transportation. The "cheaper" models do not include the battery, which you have to rent at a monthly price which is more than quadruple of what my gas bill is.

Things may change in the next 10-15 years, but at the moment, electric or even hybrid cars are for enthusiasts with thick wallets only.

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Posted by howmus on Thursday, September 21, 2017 10:40 AM

Mornin' folks!

Zoe, I'll have a bowl of pumpkin seed flax organic granola to go with my pot of Seneca Lake Blend Organic, Fair Traded, Dark Roast coffee this morning.  Oh...  My FGLK Mug will sevre nicely for that.

Quite overcast outside this morning.  At the moment the sun is trying (unsuccessfully) to peek through. Curently 70°F outside with a high of 81 late this afternoon here in the Finger Lakes Region. 

Ah, Garry, and a few others who hang out over across the street (I'm sure Garry knows which site I mean, only other train board I ever use), have you had any strange screens pop up lately over there?  Every time I try to access the site Firefox shows a red screen with a major warning on it:

"Deceptive Site!

This web page at www.----------------.com has been reported as a deceptive site and has been blocked based on your security preferences.

Deceptive sites are designed to trick you into doing something dangerous, like installing software, or revealing your personal information, like passwords, phone numbers or credit cards.

Entering any information on this web page may result in identity theft or other fraud."

This started a couple evenings ago, and contiues to come up every time I have tried to access the site.  I don't often post over there, but have checked out the post from time to time.  Just curious whether anyone else has had the same thing happen.

The Handy Man called yesterday at 5PM and asked if he could come over and do the two small projects I wanted him to do.  He appologized profusly that he was supposed to get this done two days ago....  Several of his jobs lately have turned out to be more than was originally supposed to be done.  He arrived right at 5:30, and was finished and was gone by 6:45 (incuding a half hour of us just chatting about solar power and such).  he is considering buyongh ionto a local installers deal where you buy into their solar arrays just outside the city to provide solar electricity for users.  Looks to be less expensive than installing on the homeowners rooftop....  Neighbor accross the street ( a teacher I worked with) is also just about ready to buy into the same project.  His wife was over telling me about it yesterday as well.  Geneva is on the verge of producing more Green electricity than is used in the city!

Speaking of maintainance....  Ulrich, I had to take my Volt in for it's first MAJOR service at 7500 miles.  Yep, they had to rotate the tires.   Next year they may have to do an oil change....  Actually even if it doesn't need the oil change yet I will have them do it so I won't have to pay for it to be done in another year after that....  At the rate I am going it may need to have the brakes serviced in, oh 35 years.....  Maybe.  Doubt if I will be driving then anyway...... Whistling

I really need to spend a day cleaning up and putting away stuff in the trainroom.  I think a few hours will be spent doing that today!  Catch you all later!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, September 21, 2017 6:56 AM

Good Afternoon!

I tried to get a mid day nap, but the folks installing the new furnace are making too much noise. So here I am, feeling a little tired.

Janie, coffee in an IV bag, please!

Bear - the Lada 4x4s are quite popular among hunters in this country, as they are about the cheapest off-roader one can by here. Even a simple ATV is more expensive. Yes, they are based on the old Fiat  124, which was made under license in Togliattigrad, and they still have the same old engine. The best one can saqy about them is they are simple to maintain, but they do require a lot of maintenance to keep them running. That rules them out for me.

Back to square 1 and start a new search. I think I´d better stay with a brand which has a garage near by, just in case. This limits my choice to VW, Skoda, Kia, Opel, Hyundai and Nissan. I might go for va VW again, depending on what I can get for the money I can spend.

Still dreaming of that pickup truck, though.

Have a great one!

 

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Posted by "JaBear" on Thursday, September 21, 2017 5:29 AM
Gidday Chloe, a small buttered rum before bed might be just the shot!!

Jim,this may be a silly question, but I presume this wild rice you go and help harvest, is actual rice growing wild. I only ask because I service a Lycoming aero engine powered airboat for an operator (NZ’s only Airboat operator) who is involved in the control programme for the accidently introduced “Manchurian Wild Rice” that is viewed as an invasive weed. 

Sir Madog
Maybe I should have a look at a Russian Lada Niva compact 4WD SUV. These are Siberia tested, rugged, but no frills cars that sell for literally nothing. I don´t think they are sold in the US or Canada, so this is what they look like:

In the early 80s NZ was “flooded” by Lada cars and Belarus tractors as part as a trade “deal”. The local garage I worked for on a casual basis were the local regional agents for the Belarus wheeled tractors. For the time, they were quite well spec’d but we found they were let down badly by poor castings, prone to cracking/breaking.
 
The Lada cars at that time were based on the 1966 Fiat 124, I suppose that “cheap and cheerful” would be a fair assessment. I would assume/ hope that there have been improvements to the new ones.
 
I guess that with the Soviets, once they were on to a “good thing” that was not a necessity to wage the “Cold War” with, they stuck to it, as is. I got an opportunity to go aboard an Antonov 12, a 4 engine transport, comparable (?) to a C130 Hercules, my first impression being the tail gunners position that had the glazing replaced with aluminium sheet, followed by the large number of large Bakelite switches, as seen in older houses, in the flight engineers position. The Antonov was also no stealth aeroplane as the amount of sooty unburnt fuel emitted from the four engines tail pipes showed up as black contrails on a relatively calm day.
 
I was grateful to the Bulgarian Flight Engineer who showed me around, and managed to give me the general idea, even though we did not have a common language.
 
Speaking of common languages and differing accents, in the early days when email was not commonly available, I had to contact a company based in Georgia, USA, so gave them a telephone call. I’m still not sure who had the greatest difficulty understanding the other!!
 
“Jan is giving a gallon of his New Stuff? No, leave it where it is till I lose another 10 pounds so I can get into my Fire Safety Drag Racing Suite again”.
 
If you manage to fit your flame proof racing suit again Ken, I was wondering if herrinchokers new stuff might be better used to give the “Cuda” some more punch down the drag strip!Smile, Wink & Grin
 
“Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery - it recharges by running”. Bill Watterson

Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them.

Cheers, the Bear.Smile

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by gmpullman on Thursday, September 21, 2017 4:31 AM

Hi, Folks

Stopping by for a quick 'howdy' do" before turning in. Maybe a little buttered rum hot toddy from that jug Brunhilda has hidden behind the milk shake mixer will make a nice night-cap...

tcwright973
So off to Berea, Ohio, a 2 hour drive. I've been to Berea before at a train show, but never railfanning.

Will you be attending the Berea show this year, Tom?

http://www.thegreatbereatrainshow.org/

Maybe some of the forum denizens can meet-up? You came all the way to Cleveland and didn't stop to see the visiting 765?

It will be running in the Cuyahoga Valley again this weekend. (The above photo was from last year when she was masquerading as the 767) https://www.cvsr.com/

 

There's summer-like weather in NE Ohio these days, something about a stalled high pressure cell or something. Nice days to be finishing up some outdoor chores.


 

I've been getting a brass HO model of a PRR PS21b "Inn" series 21 roomette car painted in Alclad 2 {Thank You Antonio} so I can give it to my nephew for a Christmas gift. He bought the Van Wert Inn from Ringling Brothers and I thought a model of it would make a nice gift.

I have that car and a PRR twin unit diner in the oven as I type. I had better get them out before I turn in. My luck—  Mrs. Pullman will get up and decide to bake a pie at 375°F! 

Well, heres a couple of shots of "Covered Wagons" for Ken!

This is looking west, toward Cleveland, at Collinwood, Ohio back in June of 1960. Much of the catenary structure is still up even though the wire was removed in 1953.

 

This one, from about the same date, looking east in Euclid, Ohio, on the New York Central's Chicago, Buffalo, Albany, NYC main line. That globe in the right background is the Lincoln Electric water tower and the peaked roof is the Euclid Road Division where some of the big scrapers and dumps were built.

The white house on the left sits exactly where Interstate 90 passes through today.

I hope everyone is doing fine today and I wish you all glad tidings and good health!

Regards, Ed

 

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Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, September 21, 2017 1:01 AM

BigDaddy
Dave while there were 0% car loans a few years ago, it was never cheaper to get a loan than to buy outright.  I have not seen an exception to that rule. 

You are absolutely right! It sounded too good to be true so I did the math and voila, major bucks for the rental! I will voice my opinions about the sales pitch at the appropriate time. I'm considering going to the Consumer Protection branch of the Ontario government. First, I'm going to see what happens after I make my comments known to the supplier before I go into full attack mode.AngrySmile, Wink & Grin

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by hon30critter on Thursday, September 21, 2017 12:54 AM

Heartland Division CB&Q
Dave .... I hope your new furnace and a/c works out well for you. 

Hi Garry:

Thanks. Unfortunately I already have a couple of issues.

One problem is that the new furnace is way louder than the old one. If I wasn't sitting right next to it when I am on the computer it might not be a problem, but the fact is that it's only about three feet away and the furnace room is open to my office/workshop area. I'll have to look at closing it in. Since it is a high efficiency unit which takes the combustion air from outside the house I don't have to worry about blocking the air supply for the burner. Perhaps I should have gone for the more expensive Carrier system but it was another $2000.00.Grumpy

The other thing which bothers me is that they re-used the old coolant lines. That is a bit risky given that the reason we replaced the system in the first place was because there was a coolant leak, the location of which was never determined. I'm going to call the sales rep and tell him that if using the old lines causes a problem it will be on them, and I want that in writing.

Overall, this has not been a great experience, not horrible, but not great either. Oh well, I'll try not to cry in my coffee.Smile, Wink & GrinLaughLaughLaugh

Cheers everyone!!

Dave

 

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by cudaken on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 10:01 PM

 Eveing Diners

 Flo, Ed, Gary, Inch, Brent, Jan and I will have a Beer please. Flo, Jan is giving a gallon of his New Stuff? No, leave it where it is till I lose another 10 pounds so I can get into my Fire Safty Drag Racing Suite again.

 Dang It Was Hot Today! I was sweating just a tad at work and 2 the 4 A/C units still work. No hope of getting Mavien (owner) to fix them, he does not work in the store. He is cheaper than Jack Benny!

 Jim what is a sea-gainer? Something to harvest with, or store tools in? $15,000.00 for a out house? Last one I used could be bulit in todays money for $500.00. Not counting digging a deep hole labor.

 Later, Ken

I hate Rust

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Posted by tcwright973 on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 5:25 PM

One of the things I have enjoyed about retirement is the flexability it affords. For instance, we got up this morning & I simply didn't feel like doing any of the chores that await my attention. Instead, we decided to go railfanning where we haven't been before. So off to Berea, Ohio, a 2 hour drive. I've been to Berea before at a train show, but never railfanning. We found a nice spot at CP 194, set up the folding chairs under a tree, & watched NS & CSX trains for the next 4 hours. Ended up with 9 trains, 7 Norfolk Southern & 2 CSX. 1 auto rack, 3 mixed freight, 4 intermodal & 1 coal train. A nice mix of foreign power consisting of 2 BNSF, 2 Union Pacific & 1 Canadian Pacific. A good day, but I had been hoping to see more CSX traffic. All in all, a nice change of pace. The down side is my list of chores for tomorrow looks a little daunting right now. Maybe we should go railfan somewhere else to ease the pressure.

Tom

Pittsburgh, PA

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Posted by tcwright973 on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 4:13 PM

Kevin - After basic training in 1966, I was sent to school to become an aircraft engine repairman. One of the final tests was at the test cell where the instructors bugged piston engines by placing a rivet in an oil line, installing a broken wire, etc. I think we spent 2 days on a variety of piston engines. It was fun, but also informative. A good way to learn. We did have a couple of days of turbine theory, but I never a saw a completely built up engine. Naturally, the US Army sent me to Viet Nam where I became responsible for 34 turbine driven Hueys. Thank goodness for great tech manuals.

Tom

Pittsburgh, PA

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 3:39 PM

angelob6660
Kevin- What does somebody do in those truck conversations?

.

This was a week long convention for the "Technology and Maintenance Council", of the "American Trucking Association."

.

My main involvement was part of the "Supertech" competition to find the best truck technician from among the competitors.

.

This is an action shot from my station:

.

 

.

This was an interesting event. The time for each station was only allowed to be 23 minutes. That meant the "bug" had to me both quick to find, but require knowledge to figure it out. Also, we only had 5 minutes to "reset" the station, so it could not be too colmplicated to install.

.

I don't think this is the best way to determine who the top technician is, but if you are going to have a contest there will be compromises. When I qualify a professional technician as being competent and trained on a product the process takes about 2 1/2 hours. I wonder how many of these competitors would have passed an actual professional qualification event?

.

I attended a few of the professional council meetings also.

.

-Kevin

.

Living the dream.

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Posted by JAMES MOON on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 1:19 PM

Have truly been off line for several days.  Some times it is hard to believe there are places you can get away from phone, TV, Internet and public electricity.  Been helping harvest wild rice again this year.  At 75, not sure how many chances I will get to do this fairly physical work.

today we are taking off as it is finally raining after a long dry summer.  Last rain was July 5th.  The rain seems to have brought a huge forest fire under control.  The fire consumed over 115,000 hectares of forest, caused a two week long highway closure and the evacuation of one First  Nations village.  We have had to live with smoke for almost six weeks.  No smoke today,just rain.

Good to see Ulrich back on the forum.

Steve Otte, your cabin picture reminds me of  woman telling about her forest fire experience two years ago.  She said they had a Sea-tainer full of tools on their property and an outhouse.  She said the fire-fighters water bombed and saved the outhouse but let the sea-tainer burn up.  she said they figured they had a $15,000 outhouse as that was the cost of lost tools.

Time to go to town for grocery shopping.

Jim

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 11:19 AM

angelob6660
Ulrich- You can keep warm if you have a heating blanket? Then wrapping it around a normal blanket?

I nearly got electrocuted some years ago, when the heating blanket I had wrapped around me developed a short. Since that day, I stay away from such things.

A woolen blanket will do the same job. At night, my wife and I cuddle up - just like in the good old days....

Talking of cars - no progress to report on that front. In my younger days, I was really car crazy, but now - I just don´t seem to be interested in cars any longer. I have no idea what to look for. I want to get a simple and rugged vehicle, nothing fancy, loaded with gdgets i don´t need. Even fuel consumption is not at all important - the little we drive these days, it´s only the question of two fillings or 2 1/2 each year! Maybe I should have a look at a Russian Lada Niva compact 4WD SUV. These are Siberia tested, rugged, but no frills cars that sell for literally nothing.

I don´t think they are sold in the US or Canada, so this is what they look like:

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,342 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 10:31 AM

And welcome back, Ulrich!

The house goes on the market next week, so I've been very busy.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,342 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 10:30 AM

BigDaddy
Dave while there were 0% car loans a few years ago, it was never cheaper to get a loan than to buy outright. I have not seen an exception to that rule.

I actually found a car dealer that offered a discount (something like $500) for taking out a car loan with them.  I took out the loan and then paid it off completely the next month.  I had intended to pay cash anyway, but if they're going to give me $500 I'll take it.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    May 2012
  • 1,855 posts
Posted by angelob6660 on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 10:09 AM

Morning diners,

Ulrich- You can keep warm if you have a heating blanket? Then wrapping it around a normal blanket?

Kevin- What does somebody do in those truck conversations?

Yesterday I recently won an auction for a Atlas wooden reefer. It will be the start of that small 40s layout with 3 steam locomotives.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 9:48 AM

New boiler for the house of LION...

ROARING...

 

It was supposed to be a back-up to our main coal fired biler, but it has far more rated HP. We ran it only in the summer for many years, but now that gas is cheaper than coal, the roles are reversed.

 

ROAR

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 9:33 AM

Jimmy_Braum
SO MUCH POISON IVY. Guess I am not affected by it thankfully.

I thought that too, however it is a sensitizer which means if not now, then later. 

Dave while there were 0% car loans a few years ago, it was never cheaper to get a loan than to buy outright.  I have not seen an exception to that rule. 

We bought a Trane furnace and AC.  It's been a bout 3 years but  $8 or $9K sounds about right, and cheaper than the competitors.  Less than a year later it lost all its freon from a bad solder joint and a year after that the compressor died.  The fixed both, no charge, but it took several days, each time, meanwhile it was 90 degrees in the house.

Active crickets on this weeks free youtube webcam from Shenandoah VA, search Railstream.  The NDC crosses CSX via girder bridge

Edit In public school I knew many of the kids for 12 years.  Only recently have I gotten in touch with some of them on Facebook.  One of my first friends who became a hippie, not all of us were in 1967, describes his college education a Semiotics (a new word for me, where is Galaxy) and Independent study of mythology to explain the Watergate break in as a mythological event.

Some how it makes sense if you knew the guy.

Semiotics is the study of how meaning is conveyed by signs, symbols both linguistic and visually.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Kentucky
  • 10,660 posts
Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 8:45 AM

Good morning .... Coffee and a bear claw please. 

Kevin .... That looks like an interesting job.

Ed .... The catenary is very impressive.. I don't think I have seen it over a turntable before. 

Ulrich ... Stay warm. We don't need heat here yet. Temperatures will be about 90 F today. 

Dave .... I hope your new furnace and a/c works out well for you. 

...

 

I worked on the latest bridge project yesterday. This should be the last brdige I install on this layout. 

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 5:29 AM

Thanks for ahring the photo, Ed!

Try modelling the catenary in HO scale Whistling

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
  • 16,233 posts
Posted by gmpullman on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 4:29 AM

Hello, Folks!

I came across a neat photo that should warm the heart, if not the feet, of Ulrich—at least until his heating system is repaired.  It is his beloved RhB.

Here is the link for the photographer's information:

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/630907

That catenary must have been a fun job to string— and isn't that the prototype for the Atlas turntable?

 

I hope you are all well and healthy these days—

Prayers for those not so...Angel

Regards, Ed

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