Evening diners. Getting ready to watch the Lions and Rams play. Spent a good portion of the day reprogramming decoders, but I got the entire fleet done. Phew!
John, congratulations on getting the streetcar line working. Has to feel good and it will be neat to have it running while you do other work. Brent, nice having the fireplace in the train room. Wish I had one! I had my little space heater running hard the whole time I was down there.
Bear, maybe a field trip to North America during your winter. Can't imagine what that would cost as we would all want you to stop by!
Have a great night guys.
Yikes! I missed I was top of the page. Drinks are on me.
Mike
-17 degrees with -40 wind chill.
There is no heat in our hallways, reminds me of when we went to school at Hogwarts.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
BATMANThink I'll see how many trains I can juggle today. I am worried about not having enough power with only 5 amps, I have 20 locos on the layout and was running seven with no issues. I will stick the meter on it to see where I am at.
My power supply puts out 10 regulated amps of power.It has an ameter and a voltmeter and I have never drawn as much as two amps even with all of the trains running.
If the power supply were not regulated trains would change speeds as the started and stopped independantly from each other. With DCC, I guess that accounts for such vagrencies by itself.
Good morning!IMC District (former LE&W/NKP ) Tipton, IN to Indianapolis, IN
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good morning, diners. I'll have bacon, eggs, and black coffee.
It was an early morning -- I took my wife to the hospital for some exploratory surgery. Hopefully we get a good report. I'm not sure why it was so early.
Mike and Ray, you talked about sympathetic vibration. I've often wondered about large football stadiums. For example, in Madison, Wisconsin, the students at the college football stadium have their jump around. The entire stadium shakes -- alot. I've wondered how much stress that puts on the structure.
Brent, I was surprised when I set my NCE controller to show the amperage draw when running my trains. Mine is N scale. I was surprised that, with three trains running, one of them with sound, the draw was less than a tenth of an amp. I expected it would be more.
Mike, it was good to see the Lions finally win a playoff game. I can't remember the last time that happened.
Lion, it's been good to hear from you again. Do you keep busy enough that you don't miss your trains? With your North Dakota weather, I imagine you're inside all winter.
Bill, you have a nice collection of old train photographs. I'm glad you're posting them for us.
David, I hope your weekend visit with the granddaughter went well. If you're like me, you look forward to the visit, and you sigh with relaxation when they leave.
Ed and Jim, are you all dug out from the storm? It looked like you were going to get quite a bit of snow.
MisterBeasley, I watch "This Old House" each week. The latest is another house in Massachusetts. I'm always amazed at all the regulations the builders have to follow -- far beyond what we do out here. Just the amount of insulation, energy, and water regulations are amazing. I would imagine it would add a huge amount to anyone building a new house there.
Dave, I hope your new layout is coming along. Your garage is going to seem a lot bigger when you're finished removing all the stuff from years of living.
Charlie, I also watch those car auctions. Same thing here -- I'm amazed at the prices. It's obvious there are a lot of people who have way more money than me to use on a hobby.
Bear, I don't want to hear anything from you about your weather until at least April! We won't be above zero F for several more days. Even the dog comes in quickly when she goes outside.
For any diners not mentioned, I hope you're doing well.
It's nice to have a group of friends in the diner. I know we've lost quite a few over the past months, but I still enjoy coming here for the friendships.
The bacon is done. Time to eat.
For people my age, Laos was important in the news about fifty years ago:
DMU leaving Thanaleng for Nong Khai by Don Glover, on Flickr
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."
Oh my gosh, people are acting like Snowmageddon is coming! It's going to be below freezing! We could get 1 (one) inch of snow! The GF thinks we should stock up with a lot of food to tide us over. Of course, it will warm up and rain after dinner and wash the flakes away. But, never let a good crisis go to waste. Time to go buy beer.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
York1Ed and Jim, are you all dug out from the storm? It looked like you were going to get quite a bit of snow.
Completely missed us this time, thanks for asking John. Maybe an inch. We do have a chilly minus 1°F this morning.
A few years ago...
Looking_West by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Evening
Been busy down the hall here
First and foremost, was so saddened to hear about Wilson Ed. Your favorite pet, and rightfully so, one Cool Cat
My favorite picture of Wilson is the Caboose Watch Cat. And what a great job you did restoring the exterior of the Caboose a few years ago
And a favorite picture of one of my better Freinds here, also from my railroad log, ain't too shabby either
How could one not Love these guys?
Prayers, thoughts, and best wishes come from our home here. Hopefully help with a tougher road ahead.
I'm thinking of you in the weeks ahead Ed. Love Ya Man!
Come on Brent, you should know who your friends are by now. I've been your friend since you told me the story about the native family across the lake you befriended one Summer, and had a good time that year back in the day.
And the exchange of Gordon Lightfoot back and forth throughout the years here, and the Edmond Fitzgerald snow sculpture. Maybe even an occasional UFO or two flying around now and then.
Long winded is labeled by me, at the end of some of my long posts, let alone yours. It's not the length of the posts. Long winded for example is personal finance and wealth, that's nobody's business but ones own.
You may have taken things out of context here. I'll always say it like it is, being a Scotsman. You're already Man enough from deep down within, as that's all that really matters, and understood here. There's no need to add any extra Bells or Whistles.
We're all good here
I've had a sore shoulder in the morning, from lesser words spoken at the Joint. Some nights it's a Challenger, to see what one gets away with...... Kidding
(The Joint), Minneapolis
MisterBeasley Oh my gosh, people are acting like Snowmageddon is coming!
Oh my gosh, people are acting like Snowmageddon is coming!
Mister B, Snowmageddon?, but what about Rodan?
Well, ........ Categorized as some classic cheesy good yucks
This site is still really freaky, it's almost impossible to post from a phone, let alone from a phone to a freind?
Have a good evening gentlemen.
TF
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning!
Former dispatcher's board at Lima Ohio (NKP/N&W).
The dispatcher is the late Bob Rafferty.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee please, Zoe.
Well the weekend went well. Younger granddaughter, Julia arrived on Friday. Here she can do girly things with Dawn; dancing, dressing up and play with girls toys. No interference from her two older brothers.
Saturday I took her to the Aircraft and Transport Museum. (She asked to go there.) Great fun sitting at the controls of a light aircraft. (Made me think of my mother piloting (unarmed) aircraft during WW2 ferrying them to air bases.
Then Julia looked around Military Hardware, Tanks, AA Guns, Jeeps etc.. She was allowed to sit in most of them. (No girly thoughts. Oh no!)
Nearby is an indoor kiddies play area were she could 'let off steam' climbing and running around. Julia met a couple of other 'single girls' her age which made it more fun for her.
One tired girl Saturday night.
Sunday was 'baking day'. Cheese, bacon and tomato wrap was the order. Julia was adamant it was a pasty. Whatever, pastry made, bacon in the air fryer, tomato sliced and the cheese grated. Julia did 75% of the work and a very good job it was. So much so, Dawn wants us to bake again next time Julia stays over.
Have I been teaching Julia well? Is she a very good baker (without my help) like her great, great, grandmother was?
The house was rather quiet Sunday evening.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good Morning Diners. Zoe, a large mocha please.
Chilly this morning. Currently 9F with a wind chill of -7F. I will say this though. All the snow we got sure is beautiful! I love it.
John (York1), I hope your wife is okay. One thing about an early morning surgery is they seem to get you processed and on your way faster.
It was great to see the Lions win a playoff game. It's been a long time! For that matter, I was happy with how all of the games came out, other than the Packers/Cowboys. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the Cowboys lost, but would have been happier if they both could have lost that game!
MisterBeasleynever let a good crisis go to waste. Time to go buy beer.
Track Fiddler, glad to have you back! How is the latest project coming along?
Bear, I got stuck halfway home on a work trip one time as my company would not pay the $20 fee to reserve my seat on the flight. That cost them as half of my travel time was being paid as overtime, not to mention not having me available the next day. Silliness.
Bill, keep the neat old pictures coming. Any connection to the Mr. Rafferty in the photo?
David, sounds like a lovely time with Julia. Great memories for all involved, I'm sure.
Building the Panama Canal. Such smooth trackwork!
Track fiddlerPrayers, thoughts, and best wishes come from our home here. Hopefully help with a tougher road ahead. I'm thinking of you in the weeks ahead Ed.
Thanks, TF! I went to my second radiation therapy 'simulation' yesterday. At least they didn't have to give me three more tatoos, they can use the three they already gave me back in November. I have THIRTY SEVEN daily radiation doses coming up!
Wilson would have loved to meet you and invite you to his caboose for a round of cold ones!
Wilson on patrol by Edmund, on Flickr
Buster Keaton, before CGI — how did he accomplish this without getting killed?
Good morning
Thanks Mike, haven't got to any of the preferred projects this Winter yet. I'd certainly like to do so, as soon as possible.
It's COLD just like everyone else here, but we've only had two or three dustings of snow. Stillwater doesn't have any, so Afton Alps Ski Resort made some snow for them. How neighborly is that? Now they can still have their annual Snow Sculpture event.
One of these years I'd like to enter, and do a neat Steamer, maybe a 4-4-0 might be fun.
Have a great Taco Tuesday gentleman
Good morning again
That's how long it takes to post from a phone anymore. No longer than get done hitting the submit button, and here's Buster Keaton over coffee this morning
Good thing Lions like him too
Hi Everyone,
John: We got over 8" of snow, it quit, then added another inch or two later. Then, as expected, the temperature dropped like a rock and we're now in sub-zerofor the last couple of days, and it's supposed to stay like that into next week.
Yesterday, I cleaned off the other car and tried to get it started to no avail. This was in midday when it was "warmest" and had best chance of starting. Well, had to go get a new battery because my wife needed the car today to babysit our granddaughters. Paid a towing service to install it and we got it done before dark. If I had tried to install it, I would have been 3 weeks from Tuesday trying to gat the right wrench (es) and any other tools needed. I stood there and held the flashlight. It was cold!
Thats my little escapade. Cold as it was, my wife now has a brand new battery and she should be safe for awhile.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Good morning, diners.
The surgery yesterday was a little unsettling for us. The surgeon wouldn't say much other than he wanted an appointment with us in two weeks. My wife feels great -- just not anxious to wait two weeks to hear what she assumes will be bad news.
I was happy to get my walk this morning at the college field house. The elevated track is nice to walk on, and the college track team practicing below gives me something to watch while I walk. I'm very thankful the university lets me in to use the facility.
The good news today -- this afternoon we get out of minus F temperatures. We are getting a high of 6°! First time in five days to be above zero.
Our state patrol and local police had an interesting night. Last evening after dark, three semis collided on the interstate about three miles south of our house. One of the trucks was loaded with cattle, which got loose. The patrol closed about 15 miles of interstate until they could round up the animals.
Meanwhile, all the people traveling through tried to get around the mess by using county roads. Unfortunately, the county roads were all still drifted shut from the 18 inches of snow and high winds. The police spent the night rescuing people from their stuck cars and hauling the people to motels. This morning, the towing companies will be making a lot of money.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Vietnam:
Vietnam by Hugh Dickson, on Flickr
York1 Our state patrol and local police had an interesting night. Last evening after dark, three semis collided on the interstate about three miles south of our house. One of the trucks was loaded with cattle, which got loose. The patrol closed about 15 miles of interstate until they could round up the animals.
"My kingdom for a horse!"
Our snow turned out to be just a dusting, and even that was all gone by morning. I did get out for beer, and cat food for Whiskey and Snowflake.
I do remember the time we got caught up in that "bomb cyclone" thing, another invented term to keep people watching the weather until the power went out. Fortunately, we were in Maine at a resort. They know how to deal with snow there. The parking lot was plowed and we drove out to a fine little breakfast place in town.
Mr B got the beer and cat food out for Whiskey and Snowflake?
The cats will be singing tonight!
Good morning all from the wintery West Coast.
The weatherman on the tube says we will get hammered through Thursday with snow, freezing rain, then back to snow. Yesterday, I filled the empty gas cans and made sure the generator started, as well as the chainsaws. Freezing rain always means trees down on the road and, we are low-priority for getting help in that department. The wife loaded up at Costco as my son and his GF are coming to stay as their work commitments are closer to where we are. Besides they have two useless vehicles as far as snow goes so I will likely have to drive his GF to work.
Tow ropes are in the truck for trees and neighbours who get stuck.LOL.
John, thanks for reminding me of the Amp meter in the NCE controller. I didn't look at it when I ran trains the other day but will next time. I had nine locos going on Sunday with no issues whatsoever. 2 RDCs, 2 Hudsons, 2 D-10s, 3 F-Units. Four trains in all and once I had the speeds set they ran with little fear of an unfortunate interaction. LOL.
TF, no worries my friend just let me know when I stray off course. Like I said, I chat on here as if you were sitting in my living room and that probably comes across differently on the forum as it would talking in person. No more bragging about driving a 24-year-old truck. LOL.
I must admit I am jealous of Ed's John Deere tractor especially all the attachments he has for it. It's 10 times the size of mine. I am not sure the dog could reach the pedals though.
I am a very matter-of-fact type of person and do not sugarcoat anything. People phone my sister and my wife asking them if they think it would be alright to ask me for advice on things I know a little bit about. They always say sure, but don't expect warm and fuzzy.
I have to push a little bit of paper at the desk here and then it is out with the dog for a scoot as it has warmed up to -5c. I am quite restless to get a few km under my belt.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Track fiddlerEvening
Yep!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Chloe.
No snow, but a hard frost.
Middle grandson is undergoing surgery on his mouth.
Other than that, a quiet day.
edit: Just heard, grandson is out of surgery. All is well.
Good morning!NKP #761 at "NR" Interlocker (Osborn IN)
Good Morning Diners. Janie, coffee and a cinnamon roll please.
Interesting evening yesterday. I was in the middle of running some errands after work when my wife texted me that she had just gotten home and the heat wasn't working in the house. Great. I told her where the space heaters were and that I would be home soon. 10 degrees outside and no heat, with two sick family members. Sure enough, our boiler was flashing a code that it couldn't ignite or sense a flame. Called an HVAC company when I got home and was told they are too busy to help new customers. Yikes! Called a second and they sent someone right over thank goodness. Turns out talking to the guy that they had the same no new customer policy unless they weren't busy (they were swamped too) but apparently fate smiled upon us last night. He determines it was the igniter, but says they don't normally work on my brand of boiler so doesn't think they will have one for it. He heads to their shop and returns about 5 minutes later with the igniter. Thank heavens. I was happy to pay him and gave him a tip for both helping us out and being prompt about it. Besides, he was at our house after their closing time and still had one more call to go to. I know he gets paid for it, but he stayed late to help us when they could have said no. I'll certainly be calling them today and setting them up to come out for an annual service from here on out, if for no other reason that to keep us from being a "new" customer should we have a problem again.
Brent, good luck with your weather adventures. They house I grew up in was on a not very populated road, so we were always one of the last ones plowed out. As a kid I didn't mind it, but my mom sure wasn't happy about it! Speaking of pushing papers, are you all done with that estate you had to handle?
Cheers guys!
We're still in the freezer here, right next to the frozen meatballs. The Apple weather app says it's supposed to get up into the 20's by next Thursday, so another week of this. Personally, I think of anything below 20 degrees F as all the same,...its cold! But, 20F down to -10F is a 30 degree temperature difference. If we were to transfer that to the other end, that's the difference between 70F to 100F. Of the two, I'll take the heat any day. Of course, one must factor in humidity to have a complete picture.
Seen one of those Snow Dogs on the way home yesterday John. It was one of those fancy rainbow ones. Sorry, didn't have my camera ready.
A camera never did give any justice to a natural phenomena like that anyway, as seeing it through your own eyes
But the Canadian musical group does a number like that.
Geddy Lee was always a bit nuts in the way he played his bass in-between his keyboards. Perhaps he must have thought it was just a regular guitar.
Good morning.
TF, that's pretty neat to see that kind of sun dogs.
David, it's good to hear your grandson's surgery went well.
Jim, I know what you mean about the temps. This morning we were 10°F, and it felt so much warmer. Unfortunately, we get more snow tomorrow, and by tomorrow night, we'll be back down in the minus 20s. Some day, we may make it above freezing.
On the layout front, I made a discovery that I'm sure most of you already know.
I use several different power sources for the layout. I have an NCE DCC control for the trains. For some of the arduino things I've done, I use a 12 volt converter, and for some other lighting and things, I use several other sources.
The other day, while powering up the new streetcar, I was having issues, so I decided to use my voltmeter to see if I could track down the problem.
I found that one power source said output 12 volts, but when I tested it, it was closer to 9 volts. So I decided to test them all. Every power source that was on cheap wall warts had voltage output all over the map.
I guess I need to replace those all with some better, regulated power sources. After working on a layout for five years, it's probably something I should have looked at long before now. Learning!
Have a great day, everyone.
Locomotive, gare d'Hô Chi Minh City, Vietnam . by vomincho, on Flickr
Middle grandson was in hospital this morning and home by 11.30am after surgery.Collected grandchildren from school and took them home. Saw an idiot had parked their car denying wheelchair access!! Then afterwards a woman walking her two children home on the road, then crossed the road directly in front of me without looking. Had I knocked them down I would have been guilty.
NorthBrit Saw an idiot had parked their car denying wheelchair access!! Then afterwards a woman walking her two children home on the road, then crossed the road directly in front of me without looking. David
Saw an idiot had parked their car denying wheelchair access!! Then afterwards a woman walking her two children home on the road, then crossed the road directly in front of me without looking.