This video doesn't contain any trains but it certainly evokes the Christmas spirit. The scene was created by our massage therapist, Brenda Scott, using scenery construction methods from a model railroading book which I gave her. I personally think that the mountains are particularly well done. they are three feet high but only six inches deep. The scene is intended to be whimsical as opposed to realistic.
She and a friend did the vocals and the arrangements were done by Dr. John Brown, Brenda's husband. Eventually she plans on incorporating a train into the scene.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My nephew Derek is coming over tomorrow morning to help me put the plank floor down. Just love that Kid. He's had some problems, but when there's a problem, family sticks by. We're going to have a great time laying that floor tomorrow.
And the next day, and the day after that.
He's sure gonna make things much easier on the old guy
TF
Good morning! Third grade elementary students lined up for a ride to Frankfort IN at the Tipton IN NKP depot circa 1949.
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Morning Diners. Chloe, a bowl of frosted flakes please.
TF, the cabinets look great! Fine work. Good for you for getting the nephew involved with the floor too. I've got a nephew who sounds similar to yours. Keeping them involved with stuff like that is important. Being a good role model and showing them a better way to be is immeasurably important.
Anybody else notice the Rapido add for the Christmas mystery box? I hope they have success with it. I think it's a great idea. Aside from the obvious use by family members, the thought hit me how much fun it would be for someone that didn't have anyone. The idea that you could conceivably get yourself a gift that you are almost certain to like and have no idea what it is until you open it Christmas morning is wonderful. Good for them.
6 days left. Better get your shopping done.
Mike
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, Chloe.
TF, that looks like a great job with the cabinets. Have fun with your nephew working on the floor.
On the other forum, some posters mentioned the movie White Christmas. We just got back from visiting our granddaughters. They had watched the movie, and we all went to the museum to see some of the movie costumes. Some of the dresses are not the vivid technicolor seen in the movie, but still fun to see:
Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye uniforms:
Dean Jagger uniform:
Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen dresses and fan:
The granddaughters loved the display. Now if I had taken my grandsons, maybe it wouldn't have worked out as well.
I should have some layout time today. I've finally gotten some trains running after I completed the track re-routing. Everything seemed to go well, but I still have to add one more set of power feeders to the new track.
Have a great day, everyone.
Union Station in Omaha, now a museum.
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."
Water Level Route TF, the cabinets look great! Fine work. Good for you for getting the nephew involved with the floor too. I've got a nephew who sounds similar to yours. Keeping them involved with stuff like that is important. Being a good role model and showing them a better way to be is immeasurably important.
Thanks Mike, my phones not working well connecting to the Forum here lately, the site flanks and flutters up and down and than the page is lost.
Is why I've not been posting to the Have You Found Any Good Goodies For Yourself Lately thread, cuz my Imgure hasn't been working right here either.
My nephew was just a delight today, and we got half the floor done. That Kid ROCKS! I'm so proud of him.
Thanks Mike, your much appreciated here.
PS. That took about 25 minutes to post, but I'll hang in here till the wheels fall off, as Peter said...
York1 TF, that looks like a great job with the cabinets. Have fun with your nephew working on the floor.
Thanks John.
We're going to hit it hard on Wednesday, and have the floor done by Thursday, early after noon, when she gets here, driving down from Bismarck for a look.
Cabinets and the floor are the bigger part of the job, I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and feeling mighty good by cranky
Good morning! Depot at Forrest IN on the CLOVERLEAF (NKP)
Good morning Diners. A coffee on the go please, Chloe.
Short and sweet message as I keep getting 'timed out ' and don't have the time.
Well done TF.
Those with challenges: hopefully all will be resolved soon.
Try again later.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning
Thanks David, Challenges, Yes. Got one of those this morning, there's some concrete blobs near a quarter inch high in the bed room. Those ain't gonna fly! They just laughed at my ice scraper. I'm gonna have to get out the grinder and put a fan blowing out the window, and finish with dependable skin coat.
Yuk, there's at least a couple hours of prep, before continuing the floor, but its gonna be another great day.
Emojis don't work this morning.
Have a good day Y'all.
Track fiddlerGot one of those this morning, there's some concrete blobs near a quarter inch high in the bed room... ...They just laughed at my ice scraper. I'm gonna have to get out the grinder and put a fan blowing out the window,.. ...Yuk, there's at least a couple hours of prep, before continuing the floor,
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Friends visiting today to talk trains and run the layout. Looking forward to the camaraderie!
NYCentral_Lionel by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good morning!
Depot Bluffton Ohio (LE&W/NKP).
Good morning, everyone. It's a foggy, cold morning on the plains.
Brunhilda, I'll have bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
My appts., projects, and meetings are all over. Now the real work begins -- cleaning the house for the entire family to show up for several days.
It's an experience to have eight adults and eight kids all staying here. Of course, it's tripping over kids on the floor, getting an open bathroom, making sure the snacks are continually replenished, etc.
The house seems very big and empty when everyone leaves.
Ed and others, I love all the winter train photos and ads. I found these on the Union Pacific calendars. Sun Valley was built by the UP in the 1930s. I read that UP bought the land, almost 4,000 acres, for $4 an acre! I have been close, but have never visited Sun Valley itself.
Good Afternoon,
Very warm here as in 34F.
Wife fell on ice last Sunday and really hurt her arm so off to the doc early Monday. We were at his office by 6 am. He does start early. She had an Xray by 7:30 and no break luckily. Much better now.
Bear, I have been many times to the town where that RDC photo was taken back when I was working. It is in southern Alberta . Watched a show about the train from Christchurch to Picton. Beautiful scenery.
Ray hasn't been in lately. Hope he is ok.
Nothing new here. Will just be the two of us at Christmas. My wife's anxiety won't let her be with anyone due to covid fear.
CN Charlie
CNCharlie My wife's anxiety won't let her be with anyone due to covid fear. CN Charlie
My wife's anxiety won't let her be with anyone due to covid fear.
Hi Everyone,
Today was the first day of winter. Fortunately, we have had very little snow and mild temps in the 40's F. I got out my wife's snowman coffee mugs and put them on the mug tree. I get them out at either the first significant snowfall or the first day of winter, whichever comes first. Then they get put away on the first day of Spring.
John: I didn't know that the UP bought and built Sun Valley. Thats what CP did with Banff and Lake Louise.
Enjoying everyone's winter scenes and the depots.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Good morning all. A coffee on the go please, Brunhilda. Just had the 'Christmas Groceries' delivered. Had to return some items. The store sent some items that have to be eaten today? Now I have to do a mini shop.
Charlie. Hope your wife gets over the fear of Covid. Here in the U.K. the media keep giving out news to try and keep the fear factor in the country. Yet those spreading the news carry on as normal.
Our local hospitals are at nearly 100% capacity with respiratory illnesses, and nearly all of that is flu and COVID. But it must be a conspiracy to increase fear and control when people are asked to show compassion and respect for others by being aware and not spreading disease.
AEP528 But it must be a conspiracy to increase fear and control when people are asked to show compassion and respect for others by being aware and not spreading disease.
But it must be a conspiracy to increase fear and control when people are asked to show compassion and respect for others by being aware and not spreading disease.
Good morning, all! NKP map, 1937
Good Morning,
AEP528, Exactly. My wife's fear is long covid which is a real possibility. We don't have any family for support so long covid would be devastating.
While driving on a grocery run this morning, they were playing Stuart McLean's Christmas story from his Vinyl Cafe series. Truly one of the funniest stories I have heard. We have several of his CDs. I think it is on Youtube if you want a good laugh.
CNCharlie AEP528, Exactly. My wife's fear is long covid which is a real possibility. We don't have any family for support so long covid would be devastating. CN Charlie
Good afternoon diners. Chloe, milk and cookies please.
I've got prepped what I can for Christmas Eve. We will be at my family's tomorrow, so won't have the prep time I otherwise would have. We'll make it work though. We took a drive last night to look at Christmas lights around the town. It was a nice time. Some places though that put up more, more, more, without any cohesiveness to what they put up or any sense of taste...sheesh! I have a lot of outdoor lights up, but they fit to a theme/style and it is tastefully done. The places that fill their yard with blinking snowflakes, inflatable abominable snowmen, a manger scene, etc, etc...It's those places I feel bad for their neighbors!
John, thanks for understanding.
I'm about to tuck into a mincemeat tart infused with Glendfiddich accompanied by a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea. Join me in the Diner.
Nice to hear about the Christmas prep some of you are doing. The older I get the more I miss that and loved ones now gone. Dad passed at Christmas 31 years ago and Nazareth 41 years ago. I seem to miss Nazareth more and more. Never had such a strong bond with any other dog, not even most people. He liked to lie against the sofa and rest his chin on my leg for ear scratches. If I stopped too soon he would flip my hand with his nose.
CNCharlie
I love mincemeat tarts! I would have made a batch this Christmas but I have been so hobbled with knee, back and shoulder problems that it just wasn't feasible. Also, the reviews for Robertson's mince filling were very poor. Apparently they have changed the recipe and not for the better.
To make things worse, last night I watched a true Scotsman making mincemeat tarts from scratch including the filling. They looked sooooo good!
Cheers everyone!! May your indulgements this Christmas make you happy!!
Dave, mine were made by Walkers. I had their regular ones last year but found them to be too sweet. The ones with the Scotch in them are really good. Wish I had ordered 2 boxes. My wife doesn't like them which is good for me.
CNCharlieDave, mine were made by Walkers.
Hi CN Charlie,
Thanks for the suggestion. I just ordered a box. I trust your word that they will be worth the price!
Good morning! Just two days more!
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
I don't know why I check the weather for the forecast. Every day, what was predicted is changed.
For Christmas, the forecast was cloudy. The next day, the forecast was cloudy and rain. It stayed that way for two more days until yesterday.
Now the forecast for Christmas is four to six inches of snow. That means that by Monday, we will either have sunny weather with highs in the 60s(F), or we will have two feet of snow. Your guess is as good as the guys that are paid to predict.
It's a little unsettling since the kids who live in the south where it doesn't snow, will be driving through it to get here. If we see it's going to be really bad, I guess we will tell them to delay the trip by a day to give the road crews time to clear things.
My day today? Just in case it's worse than they predict, I'm going to fire up the snow blower to make sure it's working. It's 87 days, 13 hours, and one minute until Spring.
https://days.to/spring/2024
After all the layout's work the past weeks, running trains show one issue with the track. Strangely, it's not where I was working. I kept getting certain cars derailing in the same spot right past a turnout. I think I've got that fixed.
It has been fun to get back to the layout after a long summer of house work and other projects. Winter is good for something!
I hope everyone's preparations for Christmas are going well, and everyone's health is good.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, Union Pacific station: