Darth Santa FeWell, it's finally done! After nearly 5 years, I've finished pulling all my photos off from Photobucket (remember the 2017 photo ransom?), transferred to Imgur and edited as many of my old posts as I could find with new links.
Congratulations Darth!
I have about 400 photos still on Photobucket. I'll have to get my butt in gear and do the same.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Well, it's finally done! After nearly 5 years, I've finished pulling all my photos off from Photobucket (remember the 2017 photo ransom?), transferred to Imgur and edited as many of my old posts as I could find with new links. That was close to 800 photos of projects, reviews and other work I'd done over a 12 year period! There were some posts and topics I couldn't find, but I was at least able to restore everything important. So, that's a big weight off! They have at least lowered their prices from $400 a year to about $85 per year to host images, but I like free more.
Now, back to work on the railroad!
_________________________________________________________________
Glad to see some flowers AND E units duing these dreary winter days!
Flower Power by Don Kalkman, on Flickr
And if Green is your prefered color in Es we have that, too.
Still some green in the dinky parade by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Who says you have too many locomotives?
More stripes by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
hon30critterDo you have a large disc sander? If so, you could try using the coarsest (sp) disc with not too much pressure to see if the caulk will come off. You don't want to put too much pressure on the disc because that will generate a lot of heat and the caulk will be more likely to stick to the disc.
I have a disc sander! It's not large, and I haven't used it much. I inherited it from my father-in-law when he died.
I honestly didn't think of using that sander. I will try that as soon as I get the rest of the track up. Thanks!
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."
York1The other issue is that there is caulk residue on the plywood.
Hi John,
Do you have a large disc sander? If so, you could try using the coarsest (sp) disc with not too much pressure to see if the caulk will come off. You don't want to put too much pressure on the disc because that will generate a lot of heat and the caulk will be more likely to stick to the disc.
I have used my 9" disc sander to remove heavy paint and varnish. It works pretty fast. If you go down too far you can level the surface with caulk, wood filler or foam putty. I don't recommend leveling with plaster products.
If you don't have a disc sander, is there a rental place close by?
Good luck,
Evenin' Folks!
Some great photos being put up here today! Enjoying them thoroughly...
Just poped in to send a message to Brent (and anyone else that might care???).
I, as of today, since I purchased my first fitbit... (that was 3 years and 9 months ago) have collected 6,000 miles of running and walking.
I am sitting here listening to my printer run as I have finally completed the bi-monthly newsletter for my division of the NMRA. This one is the largest newsletter the Division has ever done... It is 17 pages long. Not many years ago we were putting out a newsletter that was 2 or 3 pages. Our membership has been growing and we are getting a lot more news and articles to publish. This one is so large it can't be emailed from our website so members will have to go to the site to download it. We have 7 life members of the division who do not use computers so those are what is printing here to be mailed.
We are looking at some more nasty cold snowy weather Thursday and Friday this week. That will cut down the possibility of my having a date with a wonderful lady I met recently... Well, keeping my fingers crossed that our schedules will find some way for us to go out someplace on the days the weather will co-operate.
Have a great one and stay safe out there!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Evening guys. They used to have us watch the televised launches of the shuttles in school, so I was staring at a TV when that happened. I don't recall if they ever televised another launch again. I know I haven't seen another one. Sad day.
Mike
MisterBeasley "Doesn't anyone else recognize this?
Likewise, I met with some friends at a railroad convention in Kansas City in the early 2000s. We were in the hotel lobby at the Sheraton Crown Center and someone in the group of five other people I was with finally asked me why I was craning my head around "looking" for something.
Hyatt Regency - Kansas City, Missouri by Cardboard America Collection, on Flickr
I said I was trying to imagine the layout and looking for evidence of the three walkways that once spanned the atrium. None of the other five knew what I was talking about and the one couple lived in K-C but they moved there after 1981.
I explained the whole scenario as best I could remember it and they were incredulous that something like that could have happened here. They were kind of creeped-out when I mentioned that over a hundred people were killed exactly right there, and pointed to the area of the main floor.
I guess it stuck with me since I was pretty familiar with welding together box beams and using plain old steel channel for structural work in my job. Again, another disaster where further investigation brought out "failures" in the system that was supposed to have redundant checks and inspections.
I did get some nice shots of Kansas City Union Station, though
KC_UToutside2 by Edmund, on Flickr
And in earlier times:
Kansas_City_ex-NKP by Edmund, on Flickr
CNCharlieWhen the windchill is -40 your skin can freeze in minutes. Ears are especially vulnerable. I've had mine nipped more than once when I was young and foolish.
When I was a kid I had a paper route. One winter, it was extremely cold one afternoon. I wore a pair of gloves that had a tiny open spot along one of the seams.
I got frostbite there. The skin turned dark, and for days it felt like someone was holding a lit match on my skin. It was true frostbite, and I remember parents and others saying it was dangerous, since that tissue can easily get infected. I remember really suffering from that tiny spot.
I can't imagine the pain people go through with more widespread frostbite.
MisterBeasley I was disappointed that only I recognized the scenario. I was working for a large, well-known and well-respected aerospace company at the time. It seems to me that the members of the model railroad forum are better informed than my associates in the industry.
I was disappointed that only I recognized the scenario. I was working for a large, well-known and well-respected aerospace company at the time. It seems to me that the members of the model railroad forum are better informed than my associates in the industry.
That's a little scary.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Little late in the day, but I'm here and with my coffee. It's coooooold-da-da-da today. I hope you guys had a good weekend.Looking to take kids to New York on the Acela. It's been something they both wanted to do for a while now.
Good Afternoon,
TF, the clipper has been delayed a bit but is now supposed to start this evening, not sure how much snow we will get but it will get cold on Wed. When it is -30 the air can't hold much moisture so it is dry but believe me it is nothing like -5 with high humidity especially with a wind. When the windchill is -40 your skin can freeze in minutes. Ears are especially vulnerable. I've had mine nipped more than once when I was young and foolish.
Put the CP Hudson on the rails to give it a little run. I only have a baggage car and observation for it to pull but it looks ok. Started on assembling the other truck for that sleeper car kit. Silly not to finish it but doubt I will build the other kit I have.
Time for tea and a biscuit.
CN Charlie
es
I also remember that sad day for the Shuttle. It was much colder than launch limits, but there was pressure from above to get the launch off on that day for purely political images purposes. I believe the Morton Thikol engineer on site left the control room because he couldn't convince them of the folly of their plans.
A few years later, I was in one of those engineering training classes where they presented each team with a problem. My group got the Challenger disaster, but the specific incident was not revealed. The simple question was, launch or do not launch?
I was probably the most senior guy on the team, and I realized what the scenario was. I kept quiet until everyone else had spoken, and then asked, "Doesn't anyone else recognize this? It's the Challenger."
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
York1The other issue is that there is caulk residue on the plywood. That means that unless I can get that old caulk completely removed, I'm going to run into issue of an un-flat surface for the new tracks.
John, can you flip it over? use the other side?
A sharp chisel or keep a sharp onge on a narrow putty knife, should remove it. Time consuming, buy cheaper than all new plywood
Mike.
My You Tube
I guess it didn't help that the SRBs were manufactured in Utah and delivered to Florida by rail. I seem to recall some problems with the propellant settling in transport and making the connections, where the O rings resided, out of round.
Throw the cold temperatures (Morton Thiokol said 39F should be the minimum but a launch a year earlier at 53F showed O ring failures) and you have, as they say, a recipe for disaster.
Sadly it often takes an event like this to root out some inherent problems.
Onward and upward — Cheers, Ed
Hi Ed,
We were just getting off the plane in Orlando to go to the Daytona24 when the Challenger launched. We got to an open area where we could see better and watched the flight take off witnessing the plume diverge and fizzle out. We knew that something had gone horribly wrong but assumed there was some sort of escape mechanism (I remember one from the original concepts). By the time we reached the track the news carried the truth. Such a sad day.
My brother in law worked on the boosters for Morton Thiekol(sp) and he took a long time to get over what had happened. The engineers in control that day knew the craft was below minimum temperature but seem to have been overruled. Viton O-rings work great at elevated temperatures but are stiff below 40 degrees.
All this talk about cold weather in Florida keeps me thinking about the events of January 28, 1986. Overnight air temperatures were recorded at 18°F and at the time of launch of STS-51-L the ambient temperature had only risen to 36°F.
Temperatures recorded at the solid rocket booster were shown to be 8°F (I presume this is due to the LOX presence?) Anyway, we now know it was too cold to keep the O rings pliable. Rest in Peace Challenger crew.
Icicles_on_the_Launch_Tower by Edmund, on Flickr
Ye, it is vivid in my memory. Several events occurred that week including an earthquake in my neighborhood. My first wife passed away a day after that as well. Yes, vivid memories.
A different kind of "double-stack"
Farmdale crossing by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Green on the bridge:
BN No. 1 by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Good morning, everyone. Actually, good afternoon.
I've been working on the layout this morning, and I've got to face a decision.
Originally, I planned to remove everything down to the plywood base and start there, since the footprint of the table is not changing.
I originally thought I would buy all new track. However, once I started, I decided to try to recycle some track. That's not going well.
The other issue is that there is caulk residue on the plywood. That means that unless I can get that old caulk completely removed, I'm going to run into issue of an un-flat surface for the new tracks.
I think my answer is probably to drive 50 miles to Home Depot or Menards, and buy new plywood. I don't know.
Right now I decided to sit in my chair and watch reruns of Maine Cabin Masters.
I hope everyone has a good day today.
Good morning
One more mild day and she drops tomorrow to below 0 for a while again. Haven't heard anything about Charlie's Clipper, perhaps the jet stream has reversed and he's going to get our warm streak we just had.
Got the shoes on my tripple warren bridge last week and gonna work on the piers and sizing the abutment today.
Quiet, Too bad nothings going wrong or breaking in the building lately. Lots to do outside but involves painting products. I would imagine a guy would have to live down south to stay busy all winter when there's not enough inside things to do.
There's another hot air balloon event scheduled in Hudson Wisconsin this weekend. We know to go the first night on Friday now. I wonder how cold its gonna be by then. We'll have to wait and see.
Well, off to drive Judy to work. Make it a great day everyone
TF
Good Morning All,
A regular to go please Zoe. It's a toasty -4F here this morning. Toasty at least compared to what TF has been dealing with. I feel for you Kevin. The lady who does our track hospitality was at Daytona this weekend with Sean Creech Motorsports (they came 2nd in class an excellent result). She said it was just a touch above 30 yesterday morning which is bad for Florida but a couple of degrees above our recorded high temp. I've done the proper 24 a few times and can attest to how miserable it gets in the early morning hours especially when you are stuck in the pits. The cold ends up infiltrating even a warm down coat.
Nothing to report on the layout yet though I continue to make progress putting things away and getting a workbench together. Ciao, J.R.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee and blueberry muffin please, Zoe.
All this talk of cold weather and snow is enough to wrap up and stay in bed.
Here in te U.K. the snow is 'wet snow'. It soaks everything it touches making everything wet and feel much colder than it really is. Many years back I met two young ladies who were from Boise, Idaho. They were not impressed with our snow.
Over the pond (and parts of Europe) it is dry snow. Hence, it does not feel as cold, yet the temperatures are much lower.
Yesterday I ran my 'big' steam engines. All good fun.
Stay Safe Everyone.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Well, we have dipped into the 30s, 38 degrees outside right now.
I ventured outside, and there is frost on my truck. I sure hope all my vegetation survives tonight.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Post Hog!
Tacos on warm since 8:00 that we had for dinner on my Son's grade school art project plate. Late night leftovers
And then I'm hitting the rack so sleep well my friends
Judy and I had a discussion the other day because this winter has been relatively the same as last winter only a little bit milder sometimes. Last year the Frigid Freeze Factor lasted for months.
I took her to work one day I think last week and it was - 17°F with -35°F (FFF) and Judy said man it's cold.
I told her it doesn't matter anymore. When it gets to this point you can just forget the thermometer because cold is just cold
Now we have evolved after all these years to pulling the truck to the front main entry of the condo complex when it's that cold. I don't know how we haven't thought of that before. We sit on the electric radiant heat in the breezeway for 10 minutes while the truck warms up.
I have a friend Gary who lives in Fridley and another friend Jeff that lives a bit more Northwest in Elk River.
I have seen -50 actual 80 below wind chill factor in Tower Minnesota. We went to a basketball game that night in our high school days and I don't even like basketball because I like hockey
Here's a more recent one which is an all time record low. Probably not including Alaska.
Track fiddler I knew somewhere, sometime you had hacked out the frost in one of those chilly southern states
The coldest I have ever seen was in Fridley, Minnesota, in the early 2010s.
My former employer introduced a generator set that could only be sold in the tropics because the engine and components would not withstand freezing temperatures.
For some reason, they decided to have certification on this product in FRIDLEY, MINNESOTA in JANUARY!
The class had six people, me, two guys from Mexico, one from Belize, one from Suriname, and one from Curacao. One day the temperature was -20 degrees. I really thought those poor fellows from the Caribbean were going to die. None of them had ever seen temperatures below 50 before, and certainly not snow.
It was quite an experience.
SeeYou190 I spent one Winter in Nashville when I was in college. It got so cold that ice actually formed in the ditches.
I spent one Winter in Nashville when I was in college. It got so cold that ice actually formed in the ditches.
gmpullman Hello, everyone! Hey! Where's that LION been? Anyone hear his ROAR lately? He's got a good racket going at the Washington Zoo... Lost_Lion1 by Edmund, on Flickr Sure, just drop off the little, unsuspecting, tasty tykes at the Lion House and we will be sure to see that they are well cared for (and seasoned).
Hello, everyone!
Hey! Where's that LION been? Anyone hear his ROAR lately?
He's got a good racket going at the Washington Zoo...
Lost_Lion1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Sure, just drop off the little, unsuspecting, tasty tykes at the Lion House and we will be sure to see that they are well cared for (and seasoned).
Track fiddlerI don't think you'd have any idea what freezing cold actually is Kevin
Oh sure I do.
I spent one Winter in Nashville when I was in college. It got so cold that ice actually formed in the ditches. No fooley, no fooley. It actually made ice outdoors!
Somehow I survived, but I am still traumatized by the memory.
The horror, the horror.
SeeYou190 Hello everyone. It is (almost) freezing cold down here.
Hello everyone. It is (almost) freezing cold down here.