Hello, and I hope this is a good Sunday Evening to everyone.
Everybody is welcome to join me while we enjoy a can or two of Two Lane Lager. This is good stuff.
Same old story here... still working on the house. I am going to continue doing as much as I can to the outside before the rainy season begins. Once the rains begin, I will go back inside and finish the master bedroom.
The pedestal (maybe a plinth) for sir Knightlight has been completed. I poured a bunch of concrete around the plinth to secure everything, then put the foundation stone in place.
I hope I can get the statue next week.
I have also been working on the wall for the front garden. This is now 90% done, and hopefully will be planted and finished this week as well.
I think my old Milwaukee 3/4" drill is in trouble. While mixing thin-set today, grease started coming out from behind the chuck. This has me worried. I need this drill to last just a bit longer. I am not prepared to replace a 3/4" drill.
Tomorrow my wife and I get our second Covid-19 vaccination shots. That is a huge milestone.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Kevin, the work looks good. I'm glad it's you and not me doing all that work.
We are in the middle of a pretty good thunderstorm right now. The thunder is pretty much constant, and we've had a lot of small hail. Once this passes, we are going to have cooler weather for a week or so.
I am going to plant some grass tomorrow. I have several areas where Daisy the Dachshund used all winter for her restroom. She really killed a lot of grass. This was in two areas that I scooped snow off the grass so that she could go. I still want to Astroturf the yard.
I'm watching John Wayne in "El Dorado" on TV right now. It's not one of my favorites, but any John Wayne movie is better than what is on the other channels. Later this week they'll show "Rio Bravo", that is a Wayne movie I watch whenever it's on.
Doctor appt. tomorrow morning for work on the knee. I'm walking like I'm an old man. You can't make any snide comments that my wife hasn't already said.
Have a good evening.
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."
Grease like that isnt good, bearings or seal is shot.
Since this month is in anthricite country, I have a seperate thread on the early coal cars and a new kit for them . plus a breif trunkated history for them. From what I could find.
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
York1 Kevin, the work looks good. I'm glad it's you and not me doing all that work. We are in the middle of a pretty good thunderstorm right now. The thunder is pretty much constant, and we've had a lot of small hail. Once this passes, we are going to have cooler weather for a week or so. I am going to plant some grass tomorrow. I have several areas where Daisy the Dachshund used all winter for her restroom. She really killed a lot of grass. This was in two areas that I scooped snow off the grass so that she could go. I still want to Astroturf the yard. I'm watching John Wayne in "El Dorado" on TV right now. It's not one of my favorites, but any John Wayne movie is better than what is on the other channels. Later this week they'll show "Rio Bravo", that is a Wayne movie I watch whenever it's on. Doctor appt. tomorrow morning for work on the knee. I'm walking like I'm an old man. You can't make any snide comments that my wife hasn't already said. Have a good evening.
I'm a John Wayne fan, have a large percentage on tape and DVD.
While those you mentioned are great films, my favorites include "Big Jake", "McLintock" and "Chisum".
But ANY John Wayne film is a good watch for me.
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL York1 Kevin, the work looks good. I'm glad it's you and not me doing all that work. We are in the middle of a pretty good thunderstorm right now. The thunder is pretty much constant, and we've had a lot of small hail. Once this passes, we are going to have cooler weather for a week or so. I am going to plant some grass tomorrow. I have several areas where Daisy the Dachshund used all winter for her restroom. She really killed a lot of grass. This was in two areas that I scooped snow off the grass so that she could go. I still want to Astroturf the yard. I'm watching John Wayne in "El Dorado" on TV right now. It's not one of my favorites, but any John Wayne movie is better than what is on the other channels. Later this week they'll show "Rio Bravo", that is a Wayne movie I watch whenever it's on. Doctor appt. tomorrow morning for work on the knee. I'm walking like I'm an old man. You can't make any snide comments that my wife hasn't already said. Have a good evening. I'm a John Wayne fan, have a large percentage on tape and DVD. While those you mentioned are great films, my favorites include "Big Jake", "McLintock" and "Chisum". But ANY John Wayne film is a good watch for me. Sheldon
I concur with these two Kevin. You been working awfully hard and it shows at the homestead down there. Maybe an R&R day at the modeling table is in order soon
I know all about that doggie day cleanup in the spring John. We had both Magnum and Nellie when we last lived in Prior Lake. They had their own dog yard that was quite the mine field of a chore to deal with every spring, ...Yuck Better you than me now
I've been known to watch some John Wayne myself Sheldon. Too bad the p.m. function doesn't work here for me. I got gifted a collection of his older films twice. This one isn't even open and I'd happily give it to ya.
11 O'clock and I'm hitting the rack. Rest well and I'll see ya guys tomorrow.
TF
Monday already!! ??
This is a review of a railroad DVD but it has some merits for background on Anthracite lines:
Cheers, Ed
Good evening.
Ed .... I watched the video ( hard coal roads) you posted . It's a good one.
Everybody .... Have a nice night.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Track fiddlerI concur with these two Kevin. You been working awfully hard and it shows at the homestead down there. Maybe an R&R day at the modeling table is in order soon
Oh I wish!
My model building desk is completely disassembled and stored away in the room that will become the master bedroom.
It is supposed to look like this:
I really want to get back to model building.
gmpullmanMonday already!! ?? This is a review of a railroad DVD but it has some merits for background on Anthracite lines:
Hi Ed, Thanks for maintaining a connection to the Railroad scene. Cheers, Paul
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".
Good morning Diners. The usual toast & tea, please, Brunhilda.
Having spent part of my life talking to miners and ex-miners and listening to their stories I am glad not to be a miner. I have a deep fear of fire, and being trapped underground.
Then I came across the story of Centralia PA.
A drone over Reading PA
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Glad you're enjoying the tour, Paul.
One of the big players in the Anthracite region was the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western:
I followed much of their main line back in the late '60s and it was quite picturesque. I remember being in one of their poured concrete signal towers and I wanted one for my layout:
DLnW_tower by Edmund, on Flickr
The Lackawanna was BIG on concrete:
EL, Nicolson, Pennsylvania, 1974 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
DLW, Delaware River Bridge, Pennsylvania by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Enjoy your day, Ed
Good morning
Thanks for the tour so far Ed. I sure like the Nicolson and Delaware River Viaduct Bridges. Lots of concrete.
My son came down for a visit with his new Indy pace car model Corvette. It has a 436 horsepower 6.2 L engine He wanted to take it out for the first road trip. It only had one owner and was a Florida car with low miles. My son likes red on black like his dad. You can't see the removable sunroof is black and looks really cool.
We all went out for my favorite pizza last night.
It's the pizza restaurant with the O-Scale New York Central running along the ceiling.
Someone sure did a good job at building the wooden steamers.
Make it a great Monday everyone
gmpullmanOne of the big players in the Anthracite region was the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western:
One of my best friends back in the high school days modeled the ERIE LACKAWANNA railroad. Back then, you could get railroad models in just about any roadname. I have not seen a factory painted model in EL gray and maroon in a long time.
I had lots of pictures of me and him working on our layouts, but like most things from when I was a child, they all disappeared as my dad moved several times in the 1980s and things got lost.
Ed, I am enjoying the information you are sharing. Like nearly all things railroad related, I know very little about the READING and other "anthracite" railroads.
I wish RDGCasey was still around. His READING models were stunning, and I am sure he would have a lot to share.
Took one of the monks to the hospital last night.
Him had three broken ribs...
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
LION RULE #1... LOOK at the soldering iron BEFORE picking it up.
LION RULE #2... Adjust your eye glasses BEFORE picking up the soldering iron.
LION RULE #3... Do not get hot soldier on your nice soft fur.
Things seem better with the Lion around.
Our local minor league baseball team used to be the Fort Myers Mircacle. They changed their name to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
They have revealed their new mascot, "Mussel Man", and this thing is creepy!
SeeYou190I have not seen a factory painted model in EL gray and maroon in a long time.
That guy from Ontario fixed that:
EL_7381-pit by Edmund, on Flickr
— and his upcoming E8 will be available in E-L, a former Lackawanna unit, though.
(This one is L-L Proto)
DLW_tower4 by Edmund, on Flickr
THIS is a car I wish Rapido or Walthers would tackle:
Lackawanna_Tavern by Edmund, on Flickr
TF, speaking of concrete!
16-5685cr-1x3 by George Hamlin, on Flickr
Norfolk Southern train 12R crossing the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the former Reading Railroad''s bridge.
Everyone thinks the "Rockville" bridge on the PRR is the king of all spans near Harrisburg. I think this former Reading example has merit.
I have some errands to run so I'll be back later.
gmpullmanI followed much of their main line back in the late '60s and it was quite picturesque. I remember being in one of their poured concrete signal towers and I wanted one for my layout:
Hi Ed, digging this footage. The Narrator's voice is knockout too and the music is classic 70/80's TV series theme stuff. Right-on.
("I'm warning you Quincy, don't you go above those Budgets". "Oh yeah, sorry Asten, I forgot about the Budgets")
It is also interesting to see a visual insight into USA R/R history, leading upto the creation of Conrail. Paul
Thanks for the videos and pictures, Ed.
I'm kind of sore -- the physical therapist beat me up this morning. What's worse is that insurance pays him to do it.
David I have neglected to thank you for your efforts last month.
This month seems to be off to a good start.
Kevin can you send me some of your energy and ambition? We have a small garden area. The landscapers left 6" of mulch, on a paper thin layer of topsoil on top of the gooeyist clay I have seen in my life. The Civil War battlefield up the road calls it the Field of Shoes. I had to move the mulch from side to side to add 12 bags of topsoil. The result may attract the cops.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy The Civil War battlefield up the road calls it the Field of Shoes.
Henry, is that the "Field Of Lost Shoes" from the Battle Of New Market? I have visited that battlefield, and the story is amazing. True heroic actions and sacrifice.
Yep where they marched the cadets from VMI 80 miles from Lexington, where 10 died, including Thomas Jefferson, nephew of TJ and one with the unfortunate name of Jaqueline Beverly Stanard. That's worse than a boy named Sue.
Henry, You live in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever visited. The scenery in that part of Virginia is just breathtaking.
I hope the rest of your life is as wonderful as the setting.
Good Evening
It's good to have the Lion back around again. I seen he had ribs for breakfast this morning I hope your friends ribs heal up soon Lion, if they're all still intact
Ed that former reading railroad bridge is something else. I lost count of the arches at number 29 somewhere down there in the vanishing point of the thing. I could see there was more and who knows how many more on the other side out of the right side of the picture.
I picked up Judy from work this evening and took her to the Rusty Taco and then over to Cold Stone for a treat. Stuffed and getting tired here
For some reason I only got three hours of sleep last night so I think I'll be hitting the rack early tonight.
Have a great evening everyone
Track fiddlerEd that former reading railroad bridge is something else. I lost count of the arches at number 29 somewhere down there in the vanishing point of the thing. I could see there was more and who knows how many more on the other side out of the right side of the picture.
Fifty one arches, TF! Roughly 3500 feet long.
https://bridgehunter.com/pa/dauphin/bh46448/
Reading_Susquehanna by Edmund, on Flickr
Conrail - Harrisburg, PA by d.w.davidson, on Flickr
I hope everyone is doing well —
Good evening everyone.
We went for our second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine today. This was also the first day that Florida allowed anyone to come to the state vaccination site without an appointment.
It was complete pandemonium. There must have been 500 people there, all screaming about how long they had to wait.
Fortuntately, once we were in the door and they verified we had an appointment from 4 weeks ago we went right to the front of the line. I was so relieved they were honoring the previously assigned appointment times.
We were in and out in about 45 minutes. I could not get out of there fast enough. I was amazed how rude people were being to the workers. All these people showed up with no appointment on the first day of this chaos and thought... well, I do not know what they were thinking.
We were out of there quickly enough that I had time to go buy the knight statue for the front of the house.
Sir Knightlight is now in his proper location.
I am really happy with this little guy. Now I will not be walking into that low hanging lantern again. If you ever want to know what a $250.00 solution to a two-bit problem looks like... there you are.
The new garage door is only a couple of weeks away!
This house across the road from me will be for sale very soon. I do not like getting new neighbors. Hopefully the new inhabitants will be good people. The problem with this house is that it was purpose-built as a retirement home. It is a one-bedroom loft with a small office. It is not set up for a family. I am afraid a hard-partying single guy might end up in it.
Or worse, it could become another weekly rental party house. We already have one of those on the next street over.
Nothing is blooming in my yard. As I drove to the vaccination site today I saw Crape Myrtels, Royal Poincianas, and Madagacar Palms all in full bloom. My trees do not even have a single bud on them.
I wonder if all the work in the yard has them upset at me.
I might not have any flowers, but the mango tree is producing fruit! Today the first mango of the season was ripe enough to eat.
It would have been better tomorrow, but I just could not wait.
That is all for now. I hope all are well.
Got my second shot Sunday, still strictly appointments here. Smooth as clockwork.
Kevin, the statue is nice.
Hi Kevin,
I like the statue, but I have one question. Have you anchored it permanently to the base? Pardon me for being paranoid, but I fear that it is a sitting duck for someone to push it over or haul it away. Hopefully your neighborhood doesn't suffer from those problems, but you can never say never.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
ATLANTIC CENTRALKevin, the statue is nice.
Thank you. When we went to get it, they had a statue of Artemis that really tempted me. I decided that I really did not want a statue in a dynamic pose, and went for the very column-like knight as originally planned.
hon30critterHave you anchored it permanently to the base?
It is not anchored.
I have not 100% decided to leave it on the brown base stone. I am thinking I might just put the round cast-in base on the plinth and fill it in with gravel around it.
I am not sure the best way to anchor it once I make up my mind. I hope Loctite PL-500 landscape glue would be a good solution. It sure would be easy.
Our son Cole did a little construction project for us on Saturday. He changed the steps leading from our patio door down to the deck so that the first step is level with the floor inside. Previously the first step was below the threshold so when you went out the door you had to immediately step down about 7 1/2". When we put the new patio door in last year, the sill height increased by about 1" so stepping down to the first step became a bit of a stretch. Now with the floor inside and the step outside at the same level going out the door is very comfortable.