Elliott's Trackside Diner X - Are We There Yet?

Good FRIDAY Evening, Diners. Chloe, I'll have the grilled salmon, side salad, baked potato with sour cream and butter on the side, and some peach cobbler for dessert, please. Oh, yes, and a glass of wine - Vinnie offered to get me a cab home if I need one. Thanks!

Ah, it's Friday, and the weekend has arrived, and except for if I get called by my on-call on Sunday, the rest of the weekend is mine.  And today at w**k went better than yesterday did (but then again, 'most any day could've done that. Wonder if I got my Friday the 13th a day early or something?

Rob, haven't seen what others may have mentioned already on your plan, but I would think that how your right-hand ('vertical') part of the layout in your drawing is, may determine how you'll need to lead the mainlines into the turnaround before the yard. I'm not that familiar with the sections/parts of the Northland layout, but it is one impressive layout, for sure! Now the tornado idea could work, depending on how well you could get the tornado on the backdrop... Just add some sound effects, and you might want to put up a warning for small kids and such. Say, have you thought about naming your prison the Bernard Madoff Memorial Penitentiary??

Chris, glad you got 'that' Amtrak article knocked out. Maybe your (school board, right?) VP's doc is still getting her medication adjusted....?

Garry - hey, it's good that you and the 'bean-counters' are around to rein in some of us creative types from spending it all. You do know that there's a fine line between creativity and insanity, right? (Otherwise, how do you think I switched so readily from being an art teacher to working in the mental health field....) Hey that was neat about the friend of yours with the E8's!

Hope Todd and his buddy are surviving their fish fry preparations and fixing. I think the same folks who want them to start earlier must be the same as those who schedule soccer games for kids all week long and all weekend, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday at all hours. Whatever were they thinking?

Robby, I hope with that paying the trash-hauling fee annually, that they give you a discount over paying it monthly like ones around here do (for homes, anyway). 

Ray - Amen! about those 'friends' when they discover someone's retired! When I was working in Sears (Paint & Hardware dept.) while getting through my Master's, I'd have the retired guys coming in for various things, and they'd say that their 'friends' would ask them to 'please' make this or that, "since you have all that free time now, and have those power tools in your shop..." (Kinda like "Do I have 'SUCKER' written across my forehead?")

And Johnboy, for you, here are the 1/2 to 2/3rds of my kits, details, scenery stuff, etc.:

That, and my stack of P2K kits that are on and under the shelf below the first photo... and my Accurail kits (which are stacked under the keyboard for my desktop computer). So , I'm trying to keep the kit tradition going, Johnboy!

I also missed posting this on last weekend (when I actually did it), but here's some pics of my progress on my Roberts Printing kitbash (which will be some kind of electronics manufacturer on my layout).

Before painting, 

After masking (I think this was 3M paint masking tape I used),

After painting,

and with the tape off (but I still need to paint with a 'concrete' color - haven't decided on which color yet):

I've also decided I need a bigger memory card for the camera - I could fit about 3 images on the card that came with it. So I've figured out how to cut the original size of the photos down to 1600 X 1200 pixels, which will be plenty big enough to start with for most needs I'll have. But as inexpensive as the memory cards are, I'll get a GB-sized one and not have to dump pics to the computer as often.

Well, I'm gonna settle down in the side window booth - it has a nice view of the industrial district. Chloe, could I have another glass of wine? Thanks.

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

Oh--is this the new place? I heard rumours to the effect that it was about time we switched tracks--but gee, the other one is still open---WHY??

Tall glass of cool lemon water, please & thanks.

***CN Charlie, I really like the idea of a tropical theme for both the volcano and the prison with gators. Only problem with that (for me) is the wife is laying claim to all the trees, so my scenery will be more of a barren wasteland. Besides, I really like the desert & lots of rocks. Only exceptions will be a farm or two. (I know, sounds rediculous)

***Jim, I think the painting of a tornado should not be much of a problem for me, although that particular subject will be a first for me. Not commited to it yet, nor the volcano concept. These happen to be two of the more prominent ideas tumbling around in my head presently. The "Bernard Madoff Memorial Penitentiary".

Oh, Battlestar Galactica is on. Later.... Rob

What the hey?   Oh there is the diner, only one track down.........  Thought I was seeing things!  Looks the same, didn't even redecorate this time.  I like the new view of the yard, better angle so you can watch more of what is going on out there.

Zoe I'll have that crawdad stuff that Ryan was having before they moved the place, that looked and smelled great!  Oh and some decafe in a R&GV Museum Mug if you don't mind.

The next two weeks will be busy, busy, busy!  I went over to the High School tonight to scout out the needs for sound for the Musical.  They're doing "Kiss Me Kate".  It should be fun.  I'll need to find 15 working Radio mics.  They have a kid gung-ho to help with sound.  Seems like a great kid as well.  The performances are in 2 weeks, and the Division NMRA Meet is in one.  Luckily the layout is almost ready for the layout tour.  This is what I get to play with at School:

40 channel Soundcraft and next to it a 16 times 2 (32 channel) Yamaha Digital board.  The digital board is what is used for the radio mics.  Everything is preset for each scene.  When it works well it is great!

Eric, I think Rob said it very well.  I have been there and I still miss not just my parents, but my MIL and so many other people who came before.  The hardest is that I still miss my wife and think of her every day.  She died of Leukemia 22 years ago.   Hang in there and know that you are in our prayers and thoughts! 

Rob, a volcano, alligators and a prison.......  Well they say there is a prototype for everything, I think that could be a fun layout! 

I be in the back by the stove getting warm.  Another cold night here in the Finger lakes. 

hey jim nice to meet you I am in poplar bluff mo was wondering if there was a different place for you go to for your items other than Hobby Lobby  or   cape art mart    I am gonna be in cape in a few weeks and was just curious.

thanks,,,steve

blownout cylinder

Oh--is this the new place? I heard rumours to the effect that it was about time we switched tracks--but gee, the other one is still open---WHY??

Evening All...Like the new location!...I'll have a RBF please...Thank You...You all have a good nite..Jerry

JimRCGMO

Chris, glad you got 'that' Amtrak article knocked out. Maybe your (school board, right?) VP's doc is still getting her medication adjusted....?

Oh JIM...this one just gets better and better. You see, her husband IS a doctor! As a matter of fact, he's the little jerk who threw me under the bus, and got me fired from being the Amana Medic. It's a long story, but MY conscience is clear in regards to the incident. Don't know about his. I'm not a violent man...but someday, my fist might just accidentally make contact with his nose...

Gee, a new diner already??

Wow.

 Well, guess a large 7-UP and a plate of fries (done up in beef fat please, the way they used to do it), and I'll settle into a corner booth and see who else comes in this evening.

Chris

Here's one of the structures I received in the mail today. Hanson's service station. It'll be boarded up when I'm through with it.


 

 Hey, jsut popping in to check out the diner. looks good y'all.

been a long day, none of which I should go into here, let's jsut say, I'll be happy to go to sleep tonight.

A new location already!!! You guys must be long winded, and using up lots of memory!

Ray .... You mean that's not you at the control panal for your layout???

My old steel mill thread was resurrected, and so I posted new pictures. I cleaned out my photobucket account long ago, and it no longer had those pictures. If you are interested, take a look.

 Good Morning ! from TIPTON IN.

Good Morning from London ON--We're going to a high of 10C today with our low going to -3C tonight--And we're going to be sunny!!  In fact, we're going to be that way until Monday when we'll have a 40% chance of showers but--still getting sun--heeheehee

Audrey & I are going fleamarket hunting today as well as visiting some friends for the afternoon. Someone has found that this one fleamarket seems to have a bunch of N scale stuff--so I'll investigate the place

Rob-When I think about the volcano and prison--I keep thinking of a prison sitting over the volcano--"Hell's Prison-presenting Bernie Mad(e)off---"

Chloe, I'll have a jug of coffee and a toasted muffin with cream cheese please---I'll go to back by the windows and watch the trains---

Morning all!!! Floe, Bacon&eggs with rye toast and a decaf please.

Rob, thanks for the insight and support. Ray, I can't imagine that type of hurt.  God bless you and all my other friends.

Jeff, That station looks familiar, seems I've seen it somewhere before......

Jim, your kitbash looks great.  The paint job would answer my question... what kind of paint did you use?

Eric

A new place, well someones stocks didn't fall .

Well I spent 5 hours in the ER last night.  Ok I didn't but the wife was in bad shape.  That "female problem" was acting up.  So they gave a ultrasound, and some meds.  Well nothing new, same ole' problem.  Thats why we are seeing another doctor in April.  Hopefully we can get rid of the problem. 

I guess we will go shopping early, kinda beat the Sat. crowd.

Good morning everyone!

I'm glad someone left the trail of pie crusts out there leading to the new diner location.  I thought we had the terms for the previous siding for longer than a months time?  I guess the yardmaster decided to use the MoW equipment that was behind it huh?

Well, I'm sure glad to see that we are all still here!

I've had an interesting week at the 1:1 scale RR...  Thursday we had a "Field Day", where they taught us the proper procedures and safety rules for walking in yards and climbing on equipment, how to set the hand brake properly, how far away from equipment you have to be in order to cross the tracks in front of it (15 feet).  Very fun day as all the information now floating in my brain started to click into place!

We got to take a tour of the locomotive maintenance facility, WOW!  you should see the size of the cylinders that are in the prime movers!!!

I hope everyone is traversing these economic times well?  Prayers for all who need them.

I'll be sitting in the corner booth, finishing the massive ammopunt of homework I have been assigned for the weekend!

Chloe, can I please have a RBF along with an order of scrambled eggs, scrapple, and some whole wheat toast?  Thank you!

Mornin' everyone!

Just popping in to grab a mug of java on my way to a funeral this morning.  The deceased was a retired State Trooper  and a fine Saxophone player.  Member of my church and the husband of one of the ladies on the board of deacons.  He was a very kind, generous, and helpful person who will be missed!

I catch up to you all later (if they don't move the place again..........) 

 Good morning.

It's 42 cloudy. Looks like the high will be in the 50's and there's light rain on tap.

Spent part of yesterday working on some structures I received in the mail. A Bachmann Plasticville gas station, a small machine shop, a loading dock and a trackside shack. The gas station and loading dock are already on the layout. The gas station will receive som e weathering and will be boarded up. Being across the street from Ezra's gas station isn't good for business in today's economy. I probably won't be doing much today. Wasn't feeling too good this morning.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      3/14/2009

Wind Chill:  37°F
Humidity:  93%
Dew Point:  40°F

So Far Today
High:  43°F
Low:  41°F
Rain:  0.51"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  8mph ENE

Today  High: 52    Cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.    

Tonight  Low: 38    Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain. Lows in the upper 30s. Northwest winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming northeast after midnight.

(pant, pant, puff, puff) Whew, took the long way from page two to get here. Had to catch up.

Eric- Red primer works good for brick as you said. I've also use Polly scale MRR Maroon as a touch of darker stained brick kinda thing.

Gotta go clean the Township garage then off to a benefit fund raiser for some friends of ours son who has Leukimia.

Have a great day

Cold rain here. Late start, so a Large Coffee TO GO, please & thanks.

***Sam, that sounded like a fun & informative field trip.

Have a good day y'all.

Rob

Southern or Frisco fans may appreciate this old photo in Birmingham, AL of a SOU E6 and a Frisco E8. 

 Love that E6 Garry!

How about a modern day rendition? Norfolk Southern F9A is parked at the head of a cut of coaches during masters week in 2008 at NS's compound for their business train in Augusta.

and this is the shot that's my profile pic (yes, I took both)

Well, gonna be a lazy Saturday here. probably going for a run soon before it starts raining. Thank the Lord for sleeping in late!

Also, just watched most of Alien Vs. Predator on FX. I'm gona have to rent that sometime! Was as good as the movie Doom (yes, they made a movie version of the video game: it had dwayne Johnson in it).

Trainman Sam

We got to take a tour of the locomotive maintenance facility, WOW!  you should see the size of the cylinders that are in the prime movers!!!

I'd rather not. If I have to see them, that usually means something broke...

Morning All. Ugh, not another new place. before long, we're gonna have to change the name. The Roman numerals will be longer than the store front.

Outside chores finished. Time for a coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please & thanks.

OK, so what Industries could revolve around a volcano? Thermal Energy plant, Colored glass making, Pumice Soap, what else? Anything to do with building roads? Any suggestions will be appreciated. IF I do this thing, there should be more to it than just the volcano.

Rob

Hi,

I haven't been on in forever. This is due mostly to my layout not being up and not getting or doing anything with trains...

Good afternoon all, hope everybody is having a good and safe Saturday. Sunny, and WARM (50's) here in Clarence. Just waiting to roll on a field fire, seems a lot of other depts. are out today playing in the grass.

Had another DOH! moment in track planning last night. I dusted off an old favorite from the pages of Model Railroader, it was called The Free Haven Terminal RR, and ran in October of '90. Whoever it was that drew it up, devised an around the room (10'x11') based around a port. At the time, I fell in lust with it, as it was similar to the CNW and CCP around Cedar Lake in Cedar Rapids; the area I want to try and recreate in one form or another.

So, last night, I'm fiddiling around with the plan, and realize with a little track addition here, and a little shifting there...I can have a Quaker Oats plant similar to the real one, with multiple tracks coming in from multiple directions (again, like the real one).

 EUREAKA!

I'm a happy guy.

I figure, I'm finally on to something I started back in Oct. of '90. At the time, I had all sorts of diagrams, and lists, and what-not on how it would work. It was going to be great! It was going to be spectacular!

Of course, I can't find ANY of that paperwork now that I can actually USE it for something.

I'm still a happy guy (at this point), however.

Then reality crashes back down upon me.

I double check a few measurements, and realize the farthest track in the Quaker complex would be...oh, SIX FEET from the aisle. Don't know about any of you guys...but I know I can't reach that far. Oh, and it would be in a "canyon" formed by grain silos and a mill building too. Even if the RR was built 2 feet off the floor, I'd never be able to reach in there.

The original, published plan had the farthest track 4 feet off the aisle, which still seems like a long reach, especially over the yard tracks.

I thought about getting one of those reacher/grabber things, the home healthcare place I used to work for had them up to 3 feet long...but I don't think that's the way to go. Back to the layout article file, I guess...see what else I clipped over the years.

My loving wife suggested a "Mission Impossible" harness suspending me from the ceiling over the layout.

*sigh*

I said it before, I'll say it again...WHY do we do this????

Ladies, a double bacon cheeseburger, fries cooked up in beef fat (the way it used to be), and a large Coke please while I go sit in the corner and sulk...again...

Chris

AmanaMedic

My loving wife suggested a "Mission Impossible" harness suspending me from the ceiling over the layout.

*sigh*

I said it before, I'll say it again...WHY do we do this????

Suggestion: Build the benchwork with carjacks in the legs That way, when something fails, you can drop it straight downin sections, and bend over instead. (If yu can make this work, we MRRs would love you forever)

Cederstrand

OK, so what Industries could revolve around a volcano?

Hot pads. ROFL.

Sorry Rob, no help but I couldn't resist. Besides, Ray was gonna say it anyway.

Flashwave

Suggestion: Build the benchwork with carjacks in the legs That way, when something fails, you can drop it straight downin sections, and bend over instead. (If yu can make this work, we MRRs would love you forever)

Maybe I'll just lay the track on the floor... and play GODZILLA everytime I need to switch "Elevator G", "Short 6," and "Mill 6" tracks.

Anybody know where I can hire some 1/87th scaled switchmen? Not sure how they'd open up those Kadee 5s though.

*sigh*

Anybody know if Phillip's pie case made the move?

Chris