WELCOME 2021! Jeffrey's Trackside Diner In North America!

[SeeYou190]

That cheeseburger looks delicious!

Thanks TF.

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I guess drinks are on me again. Nothing goes better with a cheeseburger than an ice cold Coca-Cola from Atlanta.

-Kevin

[NorthBrit]

Kevin.  Thanks for the Coca-Cola before dinner.

  Mexican Style Beef and wedges with the trimmings.

 

David

[SeeYou190]

Thoughts about avatars.

While assembling the yearbook mosaic, I got to look at everyones avatars in one place. That got me to wondering about why people select the avatars they use.

Some choices are obvious, like the one I use here, it is my railroad.

I have used these twelve avatars on various discussion forums for the past 20 years. This is the only place I use the SGRR herald. I use the versions of the ENTRALGIA shield/heraldry on wargame forums.

The generic Planet Express, The Wall, and Rocky Horror Picture Show I use where I want to just be anonymous.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

Good evening

Thanks for the Coke Kevin everything always taste better out of a bottle than a can.

 

Stillwater Minnesota is one of Minnesota's biggest tourist attractions.  Many famous people visit every year.  It borders the beautiful St. Croix River with Wisconsin just across the way.  Meg Ryan was at the table right next to Judy and I when we ate out on the deck overlooking the river at a fancy restaurant there.

Here is historic Commander one of the tallest and oldest preserved grain elevators in Minnesota.

It was built in 1889 and was relocated to its current position in 1904.  Kind of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn't it?

A while back a coffee shop restaurant was open on the first floor called the Tin Bin.  Apparently there's some high buck Apartments up towards the top that overlooks the river.  I wonder if things roll off the table up there

Judy and I go to Stillwater about four or five times a Summer.  It's a fun little town and one of the funnest things to do is go on the Paddle Wheel Boat and they feed you.

It was fascinating watching them build this bridge when the Paddle Wheel went right under it.  It was only the second bridge of its kind in the world at the time of construction.

25 minutes north of there is Taylor Falls.  Another tourist trap because of its unique beautiful Rock Bluffs.

 

Two minutes away over the St. Croix is the Osceola Railway in Osceola Wisconsin.

Might as well say Hi to Mike and Terry, that live a ways Northeast from here.

 

 

Maybe we should stop up at the Duluth Depot 2 hours from here.

 

 

 

TF

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good afternoon . 

Steve O .... Hi ! 

TF ...... Thanks for posting all of the interesting photos ! ... One of your Big Boy photos has a concrete highway bridge. Below is a picture showing one of those bridges on my layout. 

 

 

[gmpullman]

York1

Ed, thanks for the picture of the way real trains are supposed to look:

Hear, hear, John!

That sentiment deserves another:

CRIP_E8_649 by Edmund, on Flickr

Thanks for the Coke, Kevin!

The slogan was supposed to be "Things Trains Go Better With Coke"

Coke_Truck by Edmund, on Flickr

Hey, the Woolworth is still open in St. Paul. My treat!

Woolworth-menu by Edmund, on Flickr

You WILL like it! 

Cheers, Ed

[Track fiddler]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Twin Bridges Garry, ...Sweet

I had to put them side-by-side because they are identical.

I I like your layout scene too, ...Nice!

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

Hi Steve O

I see you lurking down there making sure we all behave

I'll bet you're glad you're punching out in 2 minutes and going home, aren't you?

Anyway, good to see ya

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

gmpullman

Hey, the Woolworth is still open in St. Paul. My treat!

 

  Yeah they are Ed.  Looks like you got off cheap with the yesteryear prices

Thanks for that one as it is a blast from the past.  Fun to see that menu again.

My Grandmother always went shopping Downtown and used to take me there frequently when I was a little boy.  They had a horseshoe counter at the Cafe with chrome & red round swivel stools with metallic sparkles bolted to the floor.

If I was a good boy that day and I always was,  my Grandmother always bought me a chocolate or vanilla milkshake with my cheeseburger.  I remember they had hot dogs and burgers at the Minneapolis one.

 

All the memories  Thanks for sparking that one up Ed

 

 

 

TF

[PM Railfan]

Hello Railfans!

Top of the day to ya! This is what you get when you leave the door unlocked.

Woolworths, laminated menus, and "looking the way trains should". Seems like i walked in about the right time. Pass on the Coke, I'll take a Pepsi instead.

I guess its safe to say the parcel systems are back up to speed. I got my model today (Dave got his RDC - albeit finally). I was expecting missing pieces, rust, and a tattered box. Wow! All the parts bags were still factory sealed. A complete kit no doubt! Its nice when something turns out better than expected.

Today was fairly nice, for being daytime i guess. Worked on a Ford, got it back on the road. Pretty decent temp wise to get outside for a bit. Got a couple other errands run. Back under my rock i go. Rumor has it snow flurries tomarrow. Drole, tres drole! (moderator - no need to strike that, its not dirty, its French for HUMBUG! )

Thats all from my side of the fence neighbor. Have a good evening all!

 

Green Lights,

Douglas

[moelarrycurly4]

Greetings from the South House,

 

we decided to sneak off to our Mississippi place to get away for a bit.

 

not much going on here, Strange thing is they got 2 inches of snow here earlier n th week and we got nothing in KY 

now it might snow in KY while we are here.

 

[York1]

moelarrycurly4

not much going on here, Strange thing is they got 2 inches of snow here earlier n th week and we got nothing in KY  now it might snow in KY while we are here.

 

Since the snow seems to avoid you, would you consider moving to Nebraska for a month or two?

[BigDaddy]

I had Jonah's claws tonight.  They come from a crab in Maine that is said to be like the Dungeness crab.  The meat was coarse and had no taste whatsoever, except for the dipping sauce.  I cannot recommend them.

 

[SeeYou190]

Henry,

Those look like Stone Crab Claws that we eat down here.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

I've been crabby my whole life

 

My favorite Duluth Depot pic.

I would be proud to present this one too 

Or Three

A foggy day in Duluth

 .

 

Thanks for stopping by Minnesota

 

I was glad to have you all here for a short time

 

 

 

 

TF

[PM Railfan]

Ah thanks TF! Ole #1 looks and smells a DARN SIGHT better than the last two pics! (Very nice lqqking ole girl indeed!)

When the pics of those seafood things popped up, a microsoft device came down from the cieling like on a plane. E-Gadz! Careful yall dont stink up the place. If they cant get that smell out of the ocean, think about the poor diner!

(are dutch door seats available on this tour?)

 

Doubling up on masks here.

Douglas

[SeeYou190]

The ceiling texture has been put off until Monday. That is a minor wrench in the works, but not too bad. I will work on the back porch for the next couple of days.

I went to the grocery store today with my wife. I bought the most beautiful steak I have seen in a long time for dinner tomorrow. I am looking very forward to it.

I had curry chicken for dinner tonight from an Indian take-out place. It was incredible. Maybe it has just been too long since I ate many of my favorite dishes. I really want to go to Georgia for some good barbeque.

The World Is A Beautiful Place.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

Prost

[SeeYou190]

NorthBrit

Kevin, Thanks for the Coca-Cola before dinner.

Track fiddler

Thanks for the Coke Kevin

gmpullman

Thanks for the Coke, Kevin!

You are all entirely welcome. I hope it was enjoyed, with a smile of course.

Maybe I will get the top of the page again... and get to spread more joy.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

Don't forget the lift bridge before you leave Minnesota

Built tall enough to clear the Ships of the Great Lakes

Duluth

 

And the railroad lift bridge in Prescott of course 

I saw it one summer day when it looked like that 

 

 

 

TF

 

[hon30critter]

Another old friend turned up today.

Wow Bear! Two DC3s in a week! They are perhaps my most beloved aircraft. They just never seem to quit. I got to ride in a couple of them when I was in Sweden with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in 1972. One was polished to perfection. Our pilot on that flight must have been a bit of a cheeky sort because he flew us head first into a storm. I have never experienced turbulence like that. Obviously he wasn't worried about the plane being damaged.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers!!

Dave

[Track fiddler]

Midnight snack before you go if you havn't already

I recommend the Depot in Historic Hastings for the Philly Cheesesteak!

I have a special booth reserved for you

Have a seat

I'll tell the waitress to get your order ready

 

Thanks for visiting Minnesota

 

 

If you would like to stay you will have to fill out the card I gave you when you came in for tolerated approval

 

 

 

 

 

TF

[SeeYou190]

Track fiddler

I recommend the Depot in Historic Hastings for the Philly Cheesesteak!

Oooh... a Philly Cheesesteak sounds really good right now.

I think I will have one.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

Okay Kevin

I think I will eat one of those hot Phillies too

If you want to stay and eat your hot Philly here,  make sure you fill out your pre-approval toleration card for approval to stay in Minnesota

Take your time though.  I don't think the judges wake up until noon on Monday and our Train leaves way before then

 

 

TF

[herrinchoker]

Henry,

Those were rock crab claws, probably processed 1-1/2 - 2 years ago. Cooked the same day we catch them, they are as good as blue point---Much of the sea food like this is cooked/frozen, and then held for long periods of time. Canadian lobsters held in a pound for months before being sold are no where as good as those caught  fresh. We would always check the NY/Boston markets to see if the Canadians were going to empty the pounds, as it would drive the price here down, and we would move our product quicker to get a higher price. I would try to land my fish Mo.-Th. as the price would be higher than on Fr.-Su., when the trip boats would be in from Georges/Grand Banks, flooding the markets.

Most people do not know what fresh seafood smells/tastes like. which is unfortuniate. My present wife could not believe the difference in tase, smell of the fish/scallops/lobsters, that I would bring home the last two years that I fished. She finally realized why I would refuse to buy any form of seafood from a market. If it "smells fishey", it is not fresh.

Fish from a boat fishing off shore is at least 7 days old, sits(depending on when it's landed) from 1-3 days at the fish buyers, 1-2 days after it hits what ever store sell it. So much of what is bought is at least 2 weeks old. I was involved in the industry for over 60 years, and worked from the Tail on Grand Bank, all of Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine, down to Frying Pan Shoals on Cape Fear, fishing out of Southport NC.

 

herrinchoker

 

 

 

 

 

[Track fiddler]

Owatonna Minnesota

One of the most beautiful old school Depot's that I have ever seen.  40 minutes from my backyard

There were no railroad tracks next to it or even two miles from it

 

Some of them are still classified as Historic and preserved guys

 

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

And when you think there is no longer any old school grain elevators

These tracks will take you there

That was then, this is now.  The very first prototypical cylinder grain elevator ever built is in St Louis Park Minnesota.  It was the experiment for All Grain elevators that stand today

So many years ago that I used to look out the window in my grade school across Highway 100 and look at the cylinder Standing Tall and wondered what it was

 

At the very least it was preserved as the first example ever

 

 

 

TF

 

[Track fiddler]

I still find a few

Still looking 

 

 

 

 

TF

 

[NorthBrit]

Good morning Diners'.     Another bittery cold day with the temperature  staying below freezing.

Some trains to run, but before that  

Muffins are on the table.   The blueberry one is mine.

 

Stay Safe 

 

David

["JaBear"]

hon30critter

Wow Bear! Two DC3s in a week! They are perhaps my most beloved aircraft.

Gidday Dave, yeah, the Dak has just the right level of technology for the Bear. Two double row radials, simple hydraulics, analogue instrumentation, no fly by wire and “flash” electronic gizmos. Besides, climbing up and down the work stands while carrying out maintenance on the engines kept me fit!

 

While I’m enjoying ever one’s photos, I must say that I like MR. TFs, ones of the Osceola Depot. It looks that scratch built versions could look right at home on the future layout.

 

“…there is an art to flying"…or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” ― Douglas Adams.

 

Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them. Kia Kaha.

Cheers, the Bear.