Good morning
Man! Dat new coffee sure Packs A Wallop! today
Cut some larger tubes to re-vamp that homely looking bridge I just finished for a later date. Dem extra plumbing parts finally came in handy for something.
I don't have it in me to cut something up I just spent a bunch of hours on right away. Bridge #7 goes on the back-burner to cool off for a while
For now, it's time to move on to bridge #8, The Last One! Except for that one bridge or two that'll go up on the ore horseshoe
The plan is to get all eight bridges painted in the Boiler Room through the beginning of the new year. Then I can finally lay my track There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel after 3-4 years now
Have a great day y'all
TF
LMS_1946 by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good morning Diners. A bowl of porridge with some whisky please, Zoe.
A quick visit as the electric is being switched off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EogVZKgWDvg&ab_channel=cmeonthemove
Back later.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
We are supposed to have some nasty winter weather today and tomorrow. This sums up my attitude pretty well:
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good evening from the ice-covered West Coast. We have freezing rain going on right now which just never happens here. This weather is just getting stranger and stranger.
We were without power for 10 hours today as BC Hydro was doing a major upgrade. The second one in 10 days, we had plenty of notice so all was good. The generator purred all day long without missing a beat.
The daughter spent time on the grand piano, I was in heaven. I did play my guitars for about 3 hours and my fingers are sore which rarely happens. Getting old sucks.
The boss made an incredible feast of Thai food for dinner which made a perfect way to celebrate the power coming back on.
High school plays, I remember being in a couple of musicals half a century ago. Wow, time flies.
Mike, glad you could snag a favourite beer or 12 for Christmas. The Everything Wine store had my favorite Wine in stock which is very rare so I bought two cases, that otta see me through Christmas and then some.
Ed, great Canadian Pacific poster, and the video was quite something as well. Shocking!
I Hope Kevin is okay, with covid taking off again you just never know what's going on. Things are really shutting down here again and the family has agreed staying apart is the best, smartest decision although it took a couple of days to sink in.
What to do with this huge turkey for 20 plus people now. Lots of meals for the seniors we keep an eye on.
Bobby Goldsboro, that takes me back to some rock-solid memories down in Oregon sitting in the car high on a cliff looking over the ocean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ruZX5JdCk&ab_channel=TOP401973
What kind of car you ask? A 1962 Mercury Comet.
Spent hours in the train room runnin things yesterday, it was a good day. Today I was in there housekeeping. I didn't run trains as my DCC system is one of those things I don't like to run using the generator along with the other high-end electronics. The old TVs and other second-string electronics get to fill in on generator power days, if there is a surge I can handle seeing them blow up. Never had an issue with the generator but if too many things kick in at the same time it could complain. Today the fridge and freezer kicked in just as we turned on the microwave and it sounded a little grumpy.
Early rack time tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6tw5c7uuxI&ab_channel=AlexBudovsky
Sleep tight all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Hi TF,
Track fiddlerI've heard storing paints upside-down is the best way to keep them. The rim can get gunked up and cause small air leaks that raise havoc over time. Upside-down the breeches dry seal themselves.
I store my paints right side up and they don't dry out. To get a good seal I always wipe the rim of the bottle and the inside of the cap with a clean paper towel. That seems to make the seal work properly, and it also makes the jars easy to open the next time I want to use them.
Track fiddlerI have old CA glue that doesn't want to dry, even with accelerator. I don't know what that's all about.
I have read several times that CA has a limited shelf life. I buy mine in mini tubes. There are three or four in a package. I don't know if CA goes bad if the tubes are not opened.
Hi, I've been bogged-down in Emergency-exit Stairways and Roof-top Decking drawings + Storm damage repairs, but nothing like those poor unfortunate people in Kentucky.
But, looking on the bright-side - this day of the year is to me, the best part of Christmas coming. The shortest day of the year.
As of tomorrow the days are getting longer and Summer is on its way.
I may a bit optimistic in these rather grim times, but as ever I cannot stop singing this song today. It is so cheerful and I find it cannot help but lift my spirits wherever I am or whatever I am doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5OpZ1uBagA&ab_channel=OldiesButGoodies
1974, where have all the years gone? Paul
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".
MisterBeasley, it's great to see those old movies each year. Unfortunately, there are several movies that are owned by different companies, making it difficult to see them on TV unless one subscribes to a special network.
Of all the 'Christmas' movies, I think The Bishop's Wife, Desk Set, and The Apartment are the ones I don't want to miss each year. I'll add White Christmas, but I can fast-forward through parts of that.
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."
We were out last night at a new favorite local brewery, Burley Oak. The had a festival of sorts, with craft vendors, and the attached taco place was open. Very cold, just about freezing. We bought a few Christmas items and had a couple of fresh drafts.
Then we came home and watched It's a Wonderful Life, a tradition with us.
John, I remember The Man Who Came to Dinner. It was our senior play in high school. I had a bit part as Professor Metz, a German expert on cockroaches. I don't think that part even made it to the movie version. I got the part because I was the only one who could fake a German accent.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good morning, diners! Lots of black coffee this morning, Chloe.
We've finally reached the shortest day of the year (or the longest for Bear). Since I walk early in the morning, it will be nice to get to days when I am walking in some daylight. It will be late January before that happens.
Henry, those Bourbon balls look good. I like your idea of using less syrup and more Bourbon!
Jim, I've only been a model railroader for four years, but I already have a supply of things that I haven't used and won't use. I even have some paints that, at the time I bought them, I thought I needed them. Now I see that not only didn't I use them, but I probably never will. I also am in a cleaning mode.
Ed, I'm continuing to enjoy your ads!
Dave, in the 1960s, I used to use the little bottles of Testor's paints when I built model cars. I remember quite a few fingerprints in the paint because I thought that after several days, the paint would be dry. I never found out what happened to my model cars, but I think they went away with my mother's housecleaning when I was away at college (along with my baseball cards).
David, that snow train to the ski village layout was something. It must have been a lot of work for a temporary layout. I hadn't seen a ski lift like that before.
TF, I'm sure your bridge is OK, but I know what you mean about building something that you feel just isn't exactly right. Something like that will bother me everytime I see it.
Mike, I don't have Apple TV, but I've heard about that program and I think I would like it. Maybe one day it will be sold to a regular cable channel and I will catch up with it. By the way, you can keep your flavored beers! I'll stick with regulars. My sons-in-law like to try different flavors like that, but not me.
My day will be spent with more cleaning and grocery shopping. I do most of it since my wife isn't able to do much of the heavier stuff. I actually don't mind the grocery shopping -- I see a lot of former students while I'm out and about.
How would you like to buy your Christmas tree delivered this way?
I hope everyone has a great Winter Solstice day!
Good morning all. Flo, a ham & cheese omelette with a side of bacon and a bottle of tabasco sauce please.
Just finished up my last grocery run before the holidays and it went surprisingly well. Was able to get everything I needed, although I did have to make two substitutions. Surprising given the sheer amount of things the store was just plain out of. As a bonus, I even found a beer I've been searching for forever.
It's only ever been available around these parts in an assorted box during the holidays. Never wanted to buy a 12 bottle box just to get two or three bottles of this. The store had one 12 pack of cans of this. Sadly, they did not have Lenie's vanilla porter like they always do. That is one of my winter favorites. Oh well, this one will do.
Wired up my program track booster finally last night. That sure is nice now having that combination with Decoder Pro going as well. Now to work on getting all the locomotives entered into the system. Hoping it will finally shed some light (no pun intended) on why one of my F3's has a headlight that misbehaves while another with the same decoder does not. By my notes, they were programmed identically, but obviously something went wrong.
We started watching Ted Lasso last night on AppleTV. The first episode simply set up the premise of the show but didn't hook me. The second episode did. We stopped after watching four of them. It is a really fun, likeable show so far. There are very few TV series that I watch, but this will certainly be one of them. It's now officially on our holiday binge watch list. I usually can't stand binge watching anything, but with this being so fresh (and the episodes are only 30 minutes), it will be fine for a while.
I'll try to check back later. Cheers!
Mike
Ya know, ...I always remember it being the slowest time of the year in the Forum at Holiday time for as long as I've been here. Just a busy time for most is all it is.
Bridge #7 flopped cosmetically I seen as I finished it. It's the first bridge I didn't start with scale drawings. Being that it was so simple I decided to wing it. I found how important those drawings are now.
I've heard storing paints upside-down is the best way to keep them. The rim can get gunked up and cause small air leaks that raise havoc over time. Upside-down the breeches dry seal themselves.
I have old CA glue that doesn't want to dry, even with accelerator. I don't know what that's all about.
Liked the Christmas ski village David.
Wishing everyone well and hope you all enjoy the Holidays
https://youtu.be/hTSkS0Abas4
Good morning Diners. It is a cold day today and it is late morning, so I shall have Brunch please, Janie.
I guess I shall cull some old paints I have, as well. In fact I think I need to dispose of stuff I have colllected and never used.
A number of Diners are still missing. I hope it is just a busy time for them. A speedy return is requested.
A Christmas Ski Village.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV3gMwhTOtQ&ab_channel=DylanFick
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require
up831 When I discovered how much paint I had saved that's now well past it's usable life span it was, I knew it was time to do some wholesale cleaning out.
Hi Jim,
The last time I opened a couple of bottles of my Polly Scale paints they seemed to be in pretty good condition. I was actually surprised because I had purchased them more than 10 years ago and who knows how old they were when I bought them.
I have thrown out some Testors paints even though they weren't dried out. I have always had problems with Testors paints in the little glass bottles not drying properly. I have found that with the gloss colours the paint is still soft enough after a few weeks that my fingerprints will leave a mark if I hold the painted object for more than a few seconds. Silver is the worst. Strangely, their matt finishes seem to stand up better but they are still not great.
I'm not a fan of brush painting (mainly because I am no good at it!), but I have found that Humbrol enamels seem to be the most forgiving.
I guess it's time to cull my paint collection!
Things are peaceful here. Six cats snoring. Time to mess around with some model projects.
Back when posters were truly works of art! There's no caption but I'm reading that this is the son's first run as a fireman? Dad and grandpa looking on?
Canadian_Pacific-1931 by Edmund, on Flickr
That's my take on it anyway.
12' 9" Duchess meets 12' 8½" catenary!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwo2bJxuvdk
Have a great evening, everyone.
up831Had to throw all of the paint away
When I used to go to Timonium, there was a guy that sold dried up paint. As of 2 years ago, I was in hobby shops that still sold Floquil and Polly S, none in colors anyone would want.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilda, coffee with cream, please.
Well, I dug out a box of some of my old modeling tools and paints from when I was a youth. Had to throw all of the paint away. It was a minimum of 40 years old and i had some old Testors bottles that were over 60 years old. I threw out over 50 of those little paint bottles that I used to get. Looking through them I realized that I used a lot of Pactra paint. I preferred it to Testors. It seemed to go on smoother than Testors. Back then I brush painted everything. I'm sure those skills are long gone now. Also threw out a few rattle cans.
The whole point of the exercise was to inventory and assess the stuff I have and to see how much if anything was still usable. When I discovered how much paint I had saved that's now well past it's usable life span it was, I knew it was time to do some wholesale cleaning out. Included in the stuff is a couple of un opened bottles of Floquil and a half gone (through evaporation) bottle of Hobsco Solveaset. I'm keeping those for a little while, but will probably end up pitching those as well eventually. Ugh!
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Quiet day in the diner.
Scheduling labs and consults physical therapy and covid test for my surgery. There are several high proffile vaccinated people in the news who have been infected. Jim Cramer is a least political person I could mention. I've decided to stop going to the gym or any Christmas parties.
I made Bourbon balls. I inherited lots of recipes from my mother, none of them in any organized fashion and threw them all away. Hers were very good.
Note to self; I used 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup bourbon, next time use 2 tbsp corn syrup and 1/2 cup bourbon.
BBC news had a good explanaton of the Metaverse and a link to create an Avatar.
No idea what the logo on the cap means. If you think MR may restore change your Avatar function, you can get one here for free.
https://readyplayer.me/
Good morning, diners. It was 19° for this morning's walk, but no wind, so it was pretty comfortable out.
I am watching a lot of Christmas movies while I work on the layout. This morning the classic "The Man Who Came to Dinner" was on. I've seen it many times, but it's funny each time.
Today it starts! Time to start cleaning for the Christmas visitors. Christmas day I will drive to the airport and pick up the first group. We're sorry there won't be snow for them this year -- they are from the south and the granddaughters love coming here when it snows.
I'll also start the layout cleaning. I've been pretty lax about keeping the railroad cleaned and neat. There's a lot of junk laying around, and the track needs to be worked on. I can tell how dirty it is by how much the City of Los Angeles cars' lights are flickering.
I know Kevin told us he had a lot of outdoor landscaping projects going, and that he said he was having trouble posting. I sure hope nothing is wrong and that he can get back to the forum soon.
Henry, when is your surgery? Hope you can relax through the holidays.
Part of Grand Central Station's Christmas display:
Hope everyone has a good day.
Good Morning Diners. Brunhilda, a raspberry danish please.
So a busy busy day yesterday yielded great results. Found out our exchange student's sister is engaged. Got an opportunity to talk to him for the first time and he seems like a nice guy. They sure seemed happy together. They've been dating for about 3 years and their whole family seems to like him, so that's a good sign.
Cookie baking went well also. Now I've got plenty of goodies to keep me fat and happy until Christmas. I suppose I'll let the family eat some too. Today will be gift wrapping and taking a survey of stocking stuffers. Making my hopefully last trip to the store before Xmas tomorrow, so I need to figure out today if I need anything else. My plan is to go early and hopefully won't be as busy.
I reached out to Kevin the other day but didn't hear anything back. I'll try again in a day or so. I forgot to put MR Forum in the subject line, so maybe he didn't notice it.
Good Morning All,
I see Brunhilda is on this morning. I'll have a regular to go please and a blueberry muffin toasted with some butter in the middle.
16F this morning but the wind is down. Yesterday it was twice the temp but the breeze just cut right through like a knife. Did mostly inside chores though we did go over to see grandson Sam meet Santa Claus. The local VFD does a drive around with a fire truck (what little kid doesn't like fire trucks) and Santa in the front seat. It went really well and raises money for the volunteers which is a good thing. You never know what Sam you will get as some days (at 2 1/2) he is really clingy but he was on point yesterday.
For Christmas morning we will just have immediate family and not for too long. We won't see Amina (the new grandaughter) yet as she is doing well but still in NICU. If the CFO and I feel well (no sniffles or anything) we will go see her this week.
Slowly making progress on the house and even a bit in the basement. The window people are now scheduled for the week after Christmas so that will be good. I hope to finish up the gearbox I owe to England so we can ship right after the holidays. Hope you are all well or recovering and that our missing diners find their way in the door soon. All for now, Ciao, J.R.
Good morning Diners. It is a cold, wet day. A bowl of porridge with a shot of whisky please, Brunhilda.
I hope Chloe has managed to contact Kevin. (Great cartoon, Bear).
We have all the Christmas presents bought for the family & friends. As we normally buy what we want when we see it, Dawn & I normally buy our own things. I am a little worried as Dawn hasn't bought herself anything yet. I guess I shall have surprise her with a gift or three.
The Jarrettsville VFC Holiday Train Display
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5CscXEdvA&ab_channel=ModelTrainStuff
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
Agreed! C'mon, Kevin — where you be?
Hey, what's that smokey, old Hudson doing poking its smokestack into Grand Central for???
NYC_Century_GCT by Edmund, on Flickr
Neither jolt nor jar...
NYC_1938-Cradle by Edmund, on Flickr
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Is everybody ready for Christmas? I wrapped all of Dianne's stocking stuffers on Sunday night and she has quite a stack! Some of the items are for both of us, like a pair of tea towels with birds on them and a salt cellar. I have always wanted a salt cellar so I could add 'a pinch of salt' to my cooking just like the pros do. Probably not the healthiest thing on the kitchen counter, but we generally eat healthy meals so I'm not worried. Besides, Dianne always under salts things so maybe this will encourage her to be a little more spicy, in the kitchen that is. Get your minds out of the gutter!!
We have already given our son and daughter in law their main present which was a Bradley smoker. We gave it to them in September so they could enjoy it through the fall and they have made good use of it.
We gave our daughter in law's parents an interesting gift. It is a visit to an Alpaca farm just north of us. We will share the visit with them and our son and daughter in law. The visit is a private tour so the risk of being exposed to Covid-19 is reduced, and the ticket can be used any time so we can wait for better times Covid wise if we need to.
I know that I am getting train stuff and that makes me very happy even though I bought it all myself. I'm getting a Bowser 4-4-2 locomotive kit and a couple of freight cars. One is an Atlas THB slab sided hopper car. Those cars are among my favourite pieces of rolling stock. The only thing I intend to do to it is paint over the Canadian Centenial 1867 - 1967 logo which is a bit too new for my era.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and that you get what you put on your list to Santa!
Good afternoon, it is a beautiful sunny day here.
I just drove my daughter into Vancouver to meet up with her brother as I did not want her getting on a bus with covid running rampant. He is coming for dinner and Christmas movie night and will bring her back. I think they are Christmas shopping. PWRS is not in Vancouver so I am not sure why they had to go into big-town,
MisterBeasley Brent, was that the movie where Sandra Bullock and a a co-worker pretended to be getting married to avoid deportation? I remember noting that the film was not actually filmed in Rockport, MA, but rather in Canada. I thought that was weird, because Massachusetts was very generous to the film industry if they filmed there.
Brent, was that the movie where Sandra Bullock and a a co-worker pretended to be getting married to avoid deportation? I remember noting that the film was not actually filmed in Rockport, MA, but rather in Canada. I thought that was weird, because Massachusetts was very generous to the film industry if they filmed there.
There is a small waterfront community here called "White Rock" that always fills in for East Coast U.S. Especially in all those creepy Stephen King movies. Check out some pics on Google and you will probably recognize it. There are always movie/TV people there. Lots of great restaurants along the water, worth the drive for us. The X-Files practically lived there.
Mr B, I had to look the name of the movie up on IMDB, it is called "The Unforgivable".
I also found a list of 10,896 Movie/TV titles shot in Vancouver if you are interested. We who live here have to just close our eyes and pretend quite often.
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Vancouver,%20British%20Columbia,%20Canada&ref_=adv_prv
I use to love the X-Files and they would always show an ariel view of Washington D.C. and the very next scene they would be somewhere around Vancouver. We have this tiny country church about a ten-minute walk from here that is over a hundred years old. Shows like X-Files and Super Natural used it dozens of times over the years. We always get a chuckle when we see it.
In 2017 B.C. passed California in total production dollars. The State of Georgia still has higher numbers than BC, but BC is closing fast. You want a job in the movies take your pick on what you want to be involved in and you are hired. They are screaming for people.
I looked at my kid's page on IMDB, it has been a long time since I have looked at it. Someone updated it and there is a bunch of things we still have not watched that he worked on. He worked on "The Predator" for a week or so and we still haven't watched it, neither has he. The novelty of being a movie star wears off pretty quickly I guess. He was in four episodes of Legion and we only watched one of those so far. I was surprised at how much stuff he has worked on it is a pretty long list considering the short amount of time he did it for. No life for the sane but really good money if you are good at it.
The temps are heading below freezing this week and that doesn't happen very often around here. They are forecasting a white Christmas which happens about once every 30 years or so. I think I still have a snow shovel. I better go find it.
Hockey is done until the new year at least.
All the best to all
Track fiddlerI told my knee surgeon once, "My shoulder hurts when I do this". His professional reply was "Don't do that anymore!"
The "hurts when I do this" has progressed from things over 40 pounds to just a cup of coffee.
My SIL invited us to a Christmas party with 16 other people. We and 4 other couples did not go.
She and her husband were supposed to come for Christmas dinner, but they want to bring another couple who is traveling extensively from Maryland to Tennessee to Florida. I don't think so. I don't want to get sick before my CAT scan or surgery.
Except for some stores and Dr offices that require a mask. I'd guess only 10% of people are wearing masks around here.
Good Morning Diners! Flo, a large black coffee and a cinnamon roll please.
BATMANOnce they left I was fine
I feel like the old version of the locomotive in Brent's post this morning. I knew I would feel the fence post work today and I was right. Might be a good night for a soak in the hot tub.
Cookie baking day today. Starting after church, but will have to take a pause in the middle to skype one of our former exchange students. They're like are family. Then back at it until we are done. I always enjoy the fruits of these labors!
Good afternoon Diners. An omeletthat TF left please, Flo.
A wet, cold and foggy day. Not a day to be outside. Unfortunately I shall be this afternoon.
Our younger granddaughter has gone home. She always brighten up any place she is in.
Ed. A great looking sign.
Brent. We were watching a film that was supposed to show Newcastle upon Tyne, England. A large number of scenes were of Newcastle, yet they showed a scene of a Canadian train arriving at Newcastle???
If they did film in the city surely they should have gone to the station.
Everyone else I am not ignoring. Just a busy time.
A simple Christmas layout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAKxWLLMtSQ&ab_channel=AndreasStauder