Elliot's Trackside Diner XXII-Just a track over

Evening all.

Had practice today, and then we went to the Diner (the other one, non railroad themed ). That's about it.

Tomorrow we get out at 1:04 because of a faculty meeting, so that's good. And then I have practice at 9, but this rink's REALLY FAR away... So if practice is at 9, I need to be there at 8, so I need to leave here at 7. Grrrreeeaaatttt.... NOT...

I'll be catching up a bit over at the RC.

Packers#1

I'm left lock in the scrums

I watched a guy get knocked in the scrums once...dropped him like a sack of wet..........

Chris

Please excuse the double post, but I'm just catching up before goin ta bed... EDIT: I see THAT Chris beat me to posting, so I guess it's no longer a double post. Then I don't feel so bad...

Hmm, so this must be the famous Ed I always hear about... You make great OJ!

Ulrich, the plan looks good! And Ditto to what everyone else suggested

Wow Johnboy, that's great!!

Thanks Jim (for the compliment on the photo, as well as the wishes). School is going, well, like school. I guess there's no other way to put it. Exams are in just under two weeks... But, as you said, It's all over in 5 months, and that's half of HS! AND, the day after the last day of school is my bday, so I get my permit!

Dick, I don't blame ya. We passed one small accident, and heard there was another one just behind us. That stuff accumulates fast up your way!

Well, it seems we'll be needing a new diner shortly. I have a feeling that by the time I check in tomorrow afternoon, we'll be even further down the line...

Night!

EDIT #2: I just saw that this is my 900th post in the forums, so I'll buy (especially since my dad just gave me some money for helping him with some work, so I'll be able to buy new hockey gloves since the ones I have are shredded to bits...), since Barry seems to be busy digging out of the snow...
I'd also like to say that in the past slightly over a year that I've been on the forums, and probably about a year since I first stepped foot in this Diner, it has been a great experience, and thank you! Here's to more fun times!

A Cold Good Evening to you, Chloe - how about a hot fudge sundae brownie and a Rio Grande mug, please? Thank you. Need a little something to warm up after coming over here in this weather. Brrr!!

der5997

Lee sent an email about a free MRR magazine  It has a Forum, one thread devoted to track planning and plans. FYI. 

And also, DerJohn, Ryan has been writing some instructional articles on the 3rdPlanIt software for that same magazine, I happen to know. After seeing the duckboard 'after', I'm hoping you had the canoe(s) stored and put away safe and sound. How much rain did you get there?  As for the story of your English (non-?)farmer-to-be... ROTFLMAO - Choice!

Jeffrey, sorry to hear about your computer dying on you. Hope it turns out to be the least expensive part that's the culprit of that. Great to hear the fix was simple and free (that's the best kind of fix)! Good report from your doctor, too. Now, don't go overdoing it; let's get your foot healed up the rest of the way.

JR, I hear you about the layout plan books and all - I think I have 7 or 8 of those books (including the 101 and the 102 books), and if you've noticed, I keep fiddling around with my layout design software, trying to find a way to fit everything I would like (and all the structures, etc.) in the space I think I might have. I was saying yesterday to our MRR club member/LHS owner that I keep thinking I'm gonna need a lot more room than what I expect to have available anytime soon.

They've revised our forecast now, to a winter storm watch (starting Wednesday night), maybe getting 2-4 inches of that white stuff (3-5 in areas closer to St. Louis). Shouldn't be too bad, but the sn*w'll likely stick for a while, since the ground is cold the past couple of days (and after the front goes through, the temp will drop back down. Suprising thing was, it began warming up some today (made it to - I think - about 27 degrees F, and is supposed to reach 32 F tomorrow (before the bottom drops). But I'm thankful that I'm not a few hundred miles north - and that spring is coming! Oh yeah, and our local electric utility company wants to raise rates (because of last year's ice storm) 18 percent this year.

Speaking of the cold, Chris - I've seen some O. Winston Link photos, and given the time period when he did his photos, those flash units were the big silver reflectors with the fist-sized flash bulbs (that you put in the trash can after you were done, but had to let them cool first). I think his were bigger than those I've seen in photos of former press photogs using those 'Speed Graphics' (or was that Graflex?) Hey, good to hear that Tori is ready for another 200,000 miles. (well, how about another 50-75,000?). Hey, I can remember reading the paper for news... (instead of for the funny pages on the front page) It was good to read that you get paid hourly (and not by how many articles you turn in).

Lee, thanks for the information on the pull-rod throws (and lights). Got any pics/diagrams of that (or a link to same)? I've been thinking about something on that order for the backmost turnouts on the layout, and single-finger throws on the front ones (where I want to use Pecos). Looks like your area has been getting some snow each time a front moves through lately. Sounds like you got the letter that a bunch of retired folks got this year, and they weren't any happier about it than you were. I guess I shouldn't point out that Congress and the Senate, however, did vote themselves an increase to $158 thousand something...Nope, shouldn't mention that...

Todd, good luck with the layout w**k, and I'll give you your propers for refraining from saying the dreaded ITYS (I-told-you-...) remark more than once. Better for keeping your head, too! And Lee has me wondering too about THAT town...

Ulrich, you could have a switching layout with the "L" parts at the bottom and left sides of your diagram, and put some background/shallow structures along the wall/backdrop. Might not hurt to look at how some modular club layouts connect up so that they're sturdy, and use a few ideas for your layout.

Ray - "Anacrusis..."  (I had to look it up, but well worth it). Sounds like that farmer saw your wife coming on her/your VW.

Dick, you'd better unload some of those photos off the camera before the memory card fills up, it sounds like! And how many inches of "global warming" did you wind up with for a total?

Robby (and other Diners), if your local library carries MR, check to see if they have an annual book sale like ours here does. I picked up a whole year of back issues a bit back, at dirt cheap prices.

It's good to see some Diners actually think as far as 8 months ahead of CFO's birthday presents. Gives you time to save up (if it'll be something impressive), as well as time to get it wrapped and stored somewhere OUTSIDE of the home.

Sam, will keep your exam in mind and . Vacations are never long enough, I'd say.

Joe, I hear you about school - some days are like that. Then there are the fun days. I think for me in high school, that was usually the last day before Memorial Day (when all the schools in the area got out for summer!). You want to talk about fun times...

Tomorrow being Jan. 6th (Epiphany), I will be taking down the Christmas tree, lights, and decorations. Also need to call the office and see if I have any therapy appointments tomorrow before I go on-call at 4:30 p.m. With the forecast, I will be surprised if I get much of any calls through the night.

Found some things I'll need to be sending out on or after Thursday, and will get the shipping stuff on Thursday for those, also. (Payday! ) I did get some files moved off the laptop's hard drive to an external drive today - had to, I was getting error messages that told me the drive was about full up. Better now.Tomorrow before I go in, hope to get back to Delaney Transfer Company's painting and get some photos done of that.

Prayers for continued healing and comfort, as well as safe driving and a warm place for the evening.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

 

Hello everybody ....

It's RBF time for me......

Too much non-mrr stuff going on, but I did some work on the layout. I ripped out some wiring that was use to operate the steel mill. that part of the layout is now DCC. ... Also, I weathered some freight cars, and I'm continuing my FT locomotive project. ... Another project is assembling an old truck trailer and painting it to look like a Great Northern piggyback trailer. .... So, to answer queations from some of you my work area is not particularly neat right now.

Ulrich, have you heard of an old line of HO models called "Ulrich Models"? The trailer I'm putting together is an old Ulrich kit. It is all metal castings. Some of my old highway trucks already are old Ulrich models.

Duke .. You had asked if I had seen any live steam Berkshires. I don't recall any. Who would pay attention to one of those. ..... I do recall seein ga live team Yellowstone however. Don't tell Cal Tom.

It's ..c' c' c' ... cold ! No global warming going on here. Brrrrrrrrr.......

Edit ... While I was typing, Jim CG was sneaking in the side door..... Hmmmm. .. I wonder why he did that?

 

Good Even'nin, a hot fudge sundae (heavy on the hot fudge...) sounds pretty good.

JimRCGMO

They've revised our forecast now, to a winter storm watch (starting Wednesday night), maybe getting 2-4 inches of that white stuff

We're supposed to start getting the white stuff "in the afternoon," and winter storm watch goes active at 1500. Yip, yip, yip, yippee. We're supposed to get 2-4 of "powdery" s**w, with winds whipping it around making visibilities near zero, drifting, slicking up the still slick roads. Loving Wife is probably gonna escape from w**k early to avoid the rush hour crazies.

JimRCGMO

I think his were bigger than those I've seen in photos of former press photogs using those 'Speed Graphics' (or was that Graflex?)

Graflex (sp?) made the "Speed Graphic," THE quintessential press camera. The famous Weegee used one, and immortalized them. I've wanted one for years, just to have on the shelf. I believe if one in w**king condition were acquired, it could still be used. I think 4x5 film is still made... maybe not. Sure was the last time I was in the newspaper bid-ness.

JimRCGMO

It's good to see some Diners actually think as far as 8 months ahead of CFO's birthday presents. Gives you time to save up (if it'll be something impressive), as well as time to get it wrapped and stored somewhere OUTSIDE of the home

Hee hee hee. I've actually placed her birthday present, unwrapped, in plain sight... she never saw it. I love driving her nuts THAT way. IF I wrap it, she'll shake the bejebbers out of it trying to figure out what's in it. If I hide it in plain sight...she'll go looking, and more often than not, look right past it.

Priceless.

I suppose by this time tomorrow we'll be in a new location, seeya there.

Goodnight, and best wishes to all of us.

 

Chris

 Good Morning - Janie, I urgently need a hot & black coffee, and pan cakes with maple syrup, please.

Another day in THAT re-education boot camp. I am just being told how to create a pdf-file - YAAAWN! 

Chris - reading your post, I just pictured our local Feuerwehr storming the layout room, ruining the precious work of many years, just to save my not so important life -  not a nice thought. So accessibilty will be very important. Tori - good name for a truck. My wife called her green bug "Kermit", my blue bug listened to the name of "Grover" - being somewhat fury and blue...

Jim - your suggestion of building a L-shaped  switcher brings me back to a plan I had developed last year.

The above plan could be realized in HO scale. Mmmh - should think about it. (I still have my Bowser ARR F7A with that grat Tsunami sound). OK, it lacks the chance for continous running, but opens up a whole bunch of operation possibilities - especially with a detachable car float acting as staging. I still like that plan a lot, but need to mirror it to fit into the room.

Garry - I have heard of Ulrich Models - unfortunately, no relation of mine 

 The weather guesser predict temperatures of - 19 C for the next nights, and a snow storm is due for the weekend, supposedly dumping up to 40" of that cold white stuff onto us. This will bring public life to a complete halt, as most communities sold their snow fighting equipment, expecting the "Global Warming" to take care of that.To be fair, the last years usually saw a maximum of just an inch of sn*w, which usually was gone by mid-day.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 I see the switcher is getting ready to move the Diner again. I will wait for some more of you to join, before the move is facilitated.

Good Morning all,

John, with PECO switches you can power route the turnout and use the routing to operate the indicating light.  I would use a dual LED with a common ground vs. one that responded to variations in voltage direction.   If I had unlimited funds I would switch to Peco no questions asked, truly a remarkable set up.

 

Sam, remember your operating system limits the amount of RAM you can have on your computer as well as the capacity of the mother board.  Windows XP Pro is only rated at 4 GB if I remember correctly.  I installed 8 GB and the operating system only recognized 3.92 GB.  Check the documentation of your current operating system before you up grade.

Good Morning

Got some more snow last night so it was out with the snowblower again. About 6" fell for us and the forecast is for more of the dang stuff today, tonight, tomorrow---but hey--by Saturday/Sunday it'll be all SUNNY!!----just in time for the winter term weekend seminar series to fire back up again

Finished off the elevator that 'Spring' played with----and put it where it was supposed to be-----instead of on a shelf---in the living room----

Sam; I agree with LEE about that issue. XP Pro recognizes up to 4Gb.

I'm going to be doing some hunting for HO stuff for a diorama I'm building. This diorama is going to be used to demonstrate compressive scenery, as well as to get certain aspects of my so called photography skills built up

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and toast with jam please----I'll be at the RC

Yup.....thats me this morning!

Oh, and maybe someone could send some of those fireballs from the sky over this way.  IT'S FREEZING OUT THERE!!!!!!  AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO GET COLDER!!!!!!!!!!

Trainman Sam

Jeff- I'm trying to upgrade the RAM in my HP Pavilion Slimline 3600f  (running Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 2)

I currently have two 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM cards (guessing that means 2GB cause the "properties" portion of "my computer" said that...

The PNY 2 pack 2GB PC2-6400/800MHz DDR2 DIMM memory kit (available from B*st B*y) seems to be the highest RAM upgrade I can find?

The PNY - XLR8 2=pack 1GB PC2-6400 DDR2 DIMM is NVIDIA SLI certified with EPP support

does that make a difference with performance over the 2 2GB cards?

again, I feel like such a techno-infant because I have no idea what any of THAT stuff means.. those are just the upgrades that Beast Bye told me would work with my puter... but they don't explain the differences in the two...

I think (after searching online for a half hour) that HP says that my puter can handle up to 16GB of RAM, but only has 2GB currently...

Please correct me if I wrote something wrong above... my head is spinning with all this info!

First make sure that the sticks you're looking at are SDRAM (standard). There's a rare type out there called PRAM (parity). Parity memory WILL NOT work in your computer. As I said, it is rare. I've only seen it twice in ten years and that was in older systems. You have to be sure your system can handle the higher speed of the new sticks. If the sticks you have in there now are rated at 667 and that's all the system can take then 667 is the highest you can use. If, on the other hand, it's rated to use the 800's then use them. The increase in speed will make a difference. Mine has two 667's in it at present (scavenged from the old board) but I'll be replacing them with 800's at the earliest opportunity.

 Good morning. It's 25 and clear. The high is projected to hit 55 and it will be partly cloudy.

Nothing accomplished layout wise yesterday except to see a couple vacant spots that were occupied by rolling stock that's been sent off to their new owners. I also sent a couple of mostly complete Athearn chassis to a modeler who wanted them. Nothing special going on today. The Home Health nurse will be coming out later to redress the wound vacuum that the doctor removed yesterday. Oh well, I enjoyed my day of freedom.

 Good cold, snowy, freezing drizzle, windy morning.  Its finally not snowing, but we are having some light freezing drizzle right now.  This weather just can't make its mind up.  Even Jamacia is in the 60's.

 I went by the library and grabbed up the book 303 tips on Detailing Model Railroad Scenery and Structures.   Looks like it might be a good magazine.   I also checked out three MRR magazines. 

 Might not do much layout work, but got something to read.

 Jim....That would be a good idea on to buy some older books .  I haven't really looked to see what they might have.   Some of the books they did have were very old.  Some wouldn't even help me out.   Some were last checked out back in the 80's.

 Hope everybody has a good morning.

 

 

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with NYS Maple Syrup and a side of breakfast sausage links.  Need my mug filled with some dark roast coffee as well.  I'll go sit in the front booth and wait for the switcher to arrive.

Currently 20°F here in the beautiful Finger Lakes with a high of around 23°F later today.  We got a dusting of "white stuff" last night.  Some other places not far away had the lake effect machine cranking out lots of the fluffy stuff.  Auburn, NY (where we are having an NMRA Meet Saturday) got 4.5 inches last night and Rochester got up to 3.6 inches in places.

Got a few things needing to get done today before I go to Deacons tonight.  Catch you all in the new location!

73

Morning all, looks like we're going to be getting hooked up to the switcher here in a minute, so i"ll probably get my "real" post set up in there.  I'll also help our wonderful staff get prepped for the move...

 All aboard, please!

The Diners is about to be moved!

The new location can be found here  !

Morning ya'll.

I looked a few weather sites and they all say about the same thing. There is a chance for snow for tomorrow, and this is florida!! Granted it may only be a few inches at most, but I ain't seen it in a while. The temps for the following week or so is lows in the 20s, highs in the mid 40s.

I talked to the GM and one of the other managers that I used to work with last night. They both asked for my side of the incident, and both doubted what the one girl and the one manager told them. I told them my side and they said it my side was the most likely. The GM said that if I wanted to, call him on sunday to see what all happens. Now that I look back on it, they were flexible with working with my college schedule. Lots of the other stuff I've found has been full time (the radio shack job might be flexible; I know a girl who works there that goes to college); which means night classes. I hate night classes.

Anyways, I'm just sitting in my break between my 2nd and 3rd classes. The 1st classes instructor is crazy; the first day and we have to read close to 40 pages and do a 650 word essay. Now I remember why I hated english classes so much... The 2nd class seems like there will be very little homework. Dunno about the 3rd class.

Chris and PC, the friend that wants my eliminator scoop is restoring a 1970 one; and a neighbor has a gold '67 one.

 This thread is closed. Please post in the new one HERE. HERE.

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