Elliot's Trackside Diner, Mark XVIII

Robby P.

I spotted Norfolk Southern doing some local switching in Leetsdale this afternoon, including this hopper. I immeadiately thought of you. What caught my eye was the rust wasn't where I would have expected it to be. It's on the face of the ribs and the centers of the sidewall panels. I would have thought it would be where the ribs meet the sidewall. Shows what I know, and why I don't weather.

Tom

Hey,all. Just checking in, it's hard to keep up with the pages sometimes!!

Terry

 Man, I hate freaking sinus infections. Hey, least Green bay won 21-15.

I'm playing in my soccer game tomorrow, I ain't letting this stop me.

Tom......Thanks for the picture.  I heard Pittsburgh is a good place to "railfan".  Just haven't made it that way yet.  I have a CSX mainline near me, and a NS coal line.   I don't make it to get shots that way either .

Here's the lantern if you forgot something at the old spot.

Good Evening--

Got all my shopping done so I'm now 'ready'--such as that is--for work and all those classes and---honey do lists that WILL show up

I'm about done the one new elevator project and now it'll be time to figure out my camera's macro mode---

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and some pork on a bun please---I'll be at the RC

 We're socked in by thunderstorms here. AT 5:30 pm it looked like 8:00 pm outside amidst the pouring rain. At least I got to town today and got most of the meds I went after. I came back with all but 1 of the 6 I went to get after jumping through 5 dozen hoops of bureaucratic bull crap. The co-pay was $7 and was about the only good thing of the day.

Broiled Seafood Platter, please.

***Ulrich, good hearing from you. Hang in there and keep us posted on your progress. Sending healing thoughts your way.

The new N scale Kato SD70M arrived today. Will run it tomorrow. Sure is a beauty, at least to my eyes. Also, an HO scale model UPS truck arrived, so my friend (a UPS driver) will be represented on my wife's layout.

FIL is running a 103 temp, so wife is staying there tonight to keep an eye on him.

Very long day for me...beyond tired. Managed (with help) to load the wife's cement horse into the pickup and bring it home. By the time I was done everything else I had to do today, I didn't have any strength left to unload it, so used the tractor. If I fall asleep in the corner booth, just let me be. Thanks!

Have a good night all.

Rob

Cederstrand

Broiled Seafood Platter, please.

Chloe, that sounds good!  Make it two please!

pcarrell

Cederstrand

Broiled Seafood Platter, please.

Chloe, that sounds good!  Make it two please!

Make that 3 Chloe.....

I'll go sit in the back booth with some of the others and rest a bit while I polish off that platter.

As of 7:15 this evening, I am no longer the Vice-President of the Martin Luther King Committee here......  As of 7:15 this evening I am now the Treasurer of the committee.  Basically the treasurer and I agreed to switch jobs since I have had the checkbook in my hands for the last couple of months anyway and she can't get down to the bank during the day to sign the forms.  Poor thing has to do something called W**k!  We also passed some basic good accounting practices that I will put in place. 

BTW, the new location looks to be next to a busy mainline so we should have several long trains to entertain us daily.......

Hope you are having a great evening!

73

howmus

pcarrell

Cederstrand

Broiled Seafood Platter, please.

Chloe, that sounds good!  Make it two please!

 

Make that 3 Chloe.....

I'll go sit in the back booth with some of the others and rest a bit while I polish off that platter.

Make that 4 Chloe----busy night tonight---

Got some more scratchbuilding done--now I've got to get more columns and I beams and all that other stuff---mmm, I thought i had enough in here----my so called stock pile was not as piled up as I thought---mmm--chin stroking time, where'd it all go? ---mmm

Yeah, I asked our kind switcher crew to please put us somewhere interesting.  Guess this is their idea.  Like you said, mainline triple track running on one side, beautiful forrest and nature on the other!  Well, I'm taking a break from the ever-growing list of cars and stuff on the "project/wish" list.  I've been just on one site so far and I've come up with possibly MORE than I'll really need, but hey, I'm going to keep looking so's the wife (and I) will both have several options of where to get stuff when we're able to buy for my dear little CSX Dothan Subdivision layout.

BTW guys, I brought in a big pot of spaghetti sauce and plenty of spaghetti for those that might not want the seafood platter (and to give Chloe and our wonderful staff a break)

Evening Gang: Well I spent a couple of hours trying to get some computer problems fixed finally ended up not getting anything fixed. I was on the phone all that time with my computer savy friend and even he couldn't work it out. He's going to come out later this week and we'll try again.

Ulrich take care of yourself. I'm still pulling for you.

Well it's bed time so I'll say good night all.

Evening All...Just stopped in for a RBF before bed...You all have a good nite...Jerry

Hi again, Chloe - had to run to catch up with the switcher - they took off kinda quick on me...

[Edit] - and looks like I have the late night/early breakfast tab covered, Diners!

Packer

Jim, uhoh, I just hope that soldering iron wasn't on or you'd have more troubles than just derailed cars.

Heck, Vincent - that iron hasn't been on for several weeks! Now that I have a track guage and rail cutters (picked up the latter at the MRR club tonight), I might make some progress to the point of using the thing come Sunday (on-call Saturday, so can't count on any for sure time then...). But hopefully my on-call won't be like my supervisor's was yesterday. She was on for 24 hours, and spent 13 of them in various times at the ER. She came in this morning, but left early to go home and crash. Don't blame her a bit! Oh, and Vincent, I'm guessing you wouldn't be wild about the proctologist job?

Ray, except for the drive to/from your day at the museum, sounded like a pleasant enough day.

Barry - so Spring isn't wild about your locos with sound?

Lee, thanks for the reminder - I'd sorta heard that before, but had been wondering what kind of eraser to use (let's see, I have kneaded eraser, plain ol' pencil eraser, and another one or two. Maybe I'll just try some). Though I could see it being my luck if the dates were painted one and wouldn't erase (Hmm...)

Jeff, I guess it was too good to last for you to have a 'dry' (not-quite-so-wet) spell. I saw the weather map this morning and was thinking you might get some more. Have you had to use the heater yet?

Okay, Todd, so how many dumpsters full have you hauled out so far (well, maybe only in your mind, the way your Mom's putting the brakes on most of it)? And why have your dogs been going through the corn chips, anyway? (Oh, you meant your feet!... Sorry 'bout that!)

Paul, good to see you in, and hope you can get caught up a little on things and catch your breath there. Whew! Yeah, I'd bug the heck out of the gas/oil people. Can you cite eminent domain for abandoned implements/tools/gear?

YAYYYYYYY!!!! Ulrich's (sort of) up and around! Hey, we'll keep the prayers and thoughts going so you can get done with that hospital business for a while. Maybe the hospital was trying to hold down their RBF bill by keeping you out for a bit longer?   Build up your strength and use that internet cafe as you have the time and strength. We'll keep the Diner open while you're busy there (or leave a bread crumb trail if we have to move it again soon).

Congratulations, Nik.n - and congratulate your cousin from us, as well. Didja get a trophy or some prize (like food)?

Bama, that wishlist sounds like an excellent idea for the wife. Better than leaving pages in the Walthers catalog highlighted and hoping she catches the hint... Any plans drawn out yet?

Rob, after moving that horse, you no doubt need to rest up. We'll prop you up against Duke (how did he sleep through the move?) and wake you up in the morning for breakfast. Bet you'll have fun with your newest loco (when you get rested up). Keeping your FIL in my

MRR club tonight was mostly spent figuring building arrangements for our biggest town, fiddlin' with what goes where. I also paid my August and September dues... Will be getting a Victorian style house (DPM/Woodland Scenics kit) - it's one of the two that are in the Gold Kits (except without the second house and all those white metal detail thingees). It'll cost me $10 from the club (but I'll have to get more cash, as I'd already spent most of my money on dues), so a good price.

Another thing I decided today that I need to do, is to figure what decoder I will need for each of my locos (except for the 2-truck Shay, which already has one in it). May put a sound decoder in one or two, if it's not too complicated. But all that will be down the road a bit.

Hope everyone gets a good night's rest (after those good meals that the twins and our staff here fix for us).

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

JimRCGMO

Jeff, I guess it was too good to last for you to have a 'dry' (not-quite-so-wet) spell. I saw the weather map this morning and was thinking you might get some more. Have you had to use the heater yet?

Eh, I've got one really really crude set of plans that I currently can't find right now.  Since I'm off for the foreseeable week ahead, I'll probably work on redrawing them and going from there.  Only thing is I know that they won't be to-scale at all.  I've never been all that good at drawing to-scale, oh well.  And yes, the list is a good idea especially since my wife knows that I'm going to need a lot of stuff over time.  Of course right now all I need is the stuff to rebuild, detail, paint, and decal my GP40-2.  Speaking of that engine, I'm thinking that I'm going to be putting sound in it.  I'm thinking a Tsunami sound decoder (heard they're pretty good from everyone on here), I guess my biggest search will be finding one.

JimRCGMO

Barry - so Spring isn't wild about your locos with sound?

Nope. He is very watchful around them now----heeheehee

blownout cylinder

JimRCGMO

Barry - so Spring isn't wild about your locos with sound?

Nope. He is very watchful around them now----heeheehee

Got a cure for ya Barry....  Do what I do here.  I planted some catnip by my front porch a few weeks ago and today since the plant has now established itself, I brought in a bit of it for the boys.   Talk about two completely drunk cats!  They have been sleeping it off all evening.  They were very happy!

I spent the last hour setting up a spreadsheet for the committee finances.  We all agreed to just draw a line across and start fresh with the checking account.  I now have the accounts separated into the general funds, and the Scholarship fund.  Prior to this everything was just kept in the checkbook itself or from the statements from the bank.  Money was spent without much thought of where it was to come from so we overspent a few thousand each year for the last few years.  The bank account is fairly slim at the moment and the spending spree has stopped...  I'm sure I will be labeled a miser by the end of next June.

Zoe, I'll just have a cup of decafe to make me sleepy.

have a great evening all!

73

howmus

I spent the last hour setting up a spreadsheet for the committee finances.  We all agreed to just draw a line across and start fresh with the checking account.  I now have the accounts separated into the general funds, and the Scholarship fund.  Prior to this everything was just kept in the checkbook itself or from the statements from the bank.  Money was spent without much thought of where it was to come from so we overspent a few thousand each year for the last few years.  The bank account is fairly slim at the moment and the spending spree has stopped...  I'm sure I will be labeled a miser by the end of next June.

I see that they roped you into that position right now didn't they? Sneaky Sneaky! BTDT---not fun---but then again---if the situation warrents it then------

Moved around again? Geez this is a chatty bunch lol. 

JimRCGMO

Heck, Vincent - that iron hasn't been on for several weeks! Now that I have a track guage and rail cutters (picked up the latter at the MRR club tonight), I might make some progress to the point of using the thing come Sunday (on-call Saturday, so can't count on any for sure time then...). But hopefully my on-call won't be like my supervisor's was yesterday. She was on for 24 hours, and spent 13 of them in various times at the ER. She came in this morning, but left early to go home and crash. Don't blame her a bit! Oh, and Vincent, I'm guessing you wouldn't be wild about the proctologist job?

Nah, the pay might be good but there are some places where hands just shouldn't go. Besides crop-dusting would kind of be like being an A-10 pilot, except the "tanks" are really just bugs and weeds.

New stuff came in yesterday, here's U30C 1776


Here it is with SD40-2 1876.

Now to kitbash an SDP40 someday for 1976. (need a undecorated Kato SD40)

Here a brand new P2K GP38-2:



Best part is the the GP38-2 and U30C cost me 100 bucks when put together, and the U30C had DCC (almost impossible to find 1876 for under 100). Now the U30C has the sound/dcc decoder that I put in the SD40-2.

Good Morning!!

I'm all awake and energetic--which is interesting--usually I drag butt but oh well---I'll take this as a good sign!

I'll be working this afternoon then heading up to the university for the evening classes---maybe find a small corner to do some reading. I may get on tonight who knows---

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and a sausage on a bun--- I'll be over at the RC

 Good morning.

It's 72 and cloudy. The high will be around 86 and there's a chance of rain.

Yesterday was a lot wetter than I thought it would be. Excellent weather if you're a duck. I'm more like a cat and don't like getting wet. Today is shaping up to be another lousy day. Moved a couple of things around in the trailer and rearranged a few structures on the layout. Eventually I'll come up with an arrangement I like. This afternoon I go to see the foot doc again. I think the foot is doing pretty well but I can't see all of it. I also made a critical modification in the heat sink I use while soldering rails together. It's designed to clip onto whatever is being soldered but I doubt the maker knew that material would be model railroad track. Many times it would just pop off. So I used my Dremel with a diamond cut-off disk to cut two small grooves (one in each of the clips jaws). Now I can just clip it onto the rail and it will stay there until I take it off. At a price of less than $2 I'm thinking about getting another one so I can have a heat sink on either side of the solcer area.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      9/15/2009

Heat Index:  77°F
Humidity:  95%
Dew Point:  70°F

So Far Today
High:  75°F
Low:  72°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  7mph WSW

Today  High: 88    Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight  Low: 72    Partly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening...then a 20 percent chance after midnight. Lows in the lower 70s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

Mornin' all!

So wheres the coffee?  I need some coffee!

 Good morning.  Just got off, and its about time for a few hour nap.

 I will pop back in later.

Good morning. Sweet roll and a cup of coffee please. Thanks. I'll take it at the booth.

Today I shall be in the train room if needed. Except for of course, a trip to the restaurant to put away the groceries. Then work at 4:30 CST. Yesterday I applied a black wash to my learners car. Didn't go well. I now have these ameba looking designs. Luckily I Dullcoted the thing after the fade so it'll be an easy erase.

I put up my elevator a couple of days ago (it appears things are happening both sides of the border). I thought it looked different so I as I was passing the real one I looked and looked and said "gee it looks different, but the same". Got back home and stared at the model and said "Gee it looks the same, but different". Then it hit me. The supports. The supporting structure is not with the model. The thing would collapse and/or fall over if built the way the model kit is. Soooo, I need to hit the FLHS to get some stock to scratch build the frame work. Should be interesting to say the least. The concrete based I built because the one with the model was too small, (there was no way to get access to the transfer belt with a pad that size) is now a taste too small for the structure once again. We will see what it looks like visually when I mock up a side. Hey, Zoe. Why are you taking my stuff to the rivet counter? Oh, funny, real funny, now bring that back.

Bama- Nice spot. Thanks for keeping us out of hot water with the Yardmaster.

Paul- Did you get the foot of rain or were you on the "drier" side?

Jim- So far there I have filled 3 roll off dumpsters out of her house. A 20 yard, a 15 and a 10. It sounds bad and it is, but if you've ever seen that hoarders show on the Discovery Channel you will get the wrong idea of what was "trash" There was no rotten food or "garbage" just things that most, but admittedly not all, would have thrown away. Magazines, old bills, boxes and alot of, well, junk. Luckily she did not gather food. But I do believe she has every spoon and old kitchen whatever she and my Grandmother ever had. She has every plastic carry out eating utensile set, most all Ketchup and mustard packet and salad dressing packet she ever got. She still has bills from 10 years ago that she "has to go through yet" (why?) before they can be tossed. We've already disposed of the 50's through most the 90's. She has a stack of phone book covers with phone numbers written on them because she "needs them". It saves her from having to look them up, and get this, some aren't in the book any more or moved and she'll know what their phone number used to be.  

Ray- That sounds like the church account when I took over. Trust me, they will be much happier your way. The right way. Oh at first they'll grumble a bit but stand firm, It's tough to turn a moving train. When the account starts to grow and they see how you manage money by accounts and you can tell them what they can or can't spend and the checks don't bounce, ands suddenly they look at you and say "we have money for that?" after awhile.........., you'll be a hero.

Best get a move on.

Have a Great Day!!

Good morning!  I'll take a big glass of milk, two waffles, and a order of bacon.  Well, I'm still compiling my project/wish list.  It'll probably take a while since I know I'll be running a good number of trains.  At least I've found a whole lot of the cars on the online portion of a hobby shop down in Pensecola (which is nice since Amy's got an aunt that lives down there).  So I'm either going to order the stuff online, or we might plan a little trip down there every now and again and buy in-person.   On a side note, I've found a hobby shop listed on hobbyretailer.com that's in Enterprise, AL, just gotta call them and see what the hours are, then possibly run over that way. 

Weather for today 40-50% chance of rain (got some of it this morning), high in the 80s.  Looks like a possibly pretty wet day, so I dunno about going the 30-ish miles to Enterprise on the bike (only other vehicle is my 8mpg, 33yo truck).  Who knows, I might be able to squirt over there.  Welp, I'll inhale my breakfast and then I think I'm going to head back to my list.

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, need COFFEE!  Dark roast in a FGLK mug if you please.  I'll have an English Muffin with real butter to go along with that.  I'll be at The Rivet Counter with a couple others.

Looks tobe a nice Fallish day here in the Finger Lakes.  Currently 69°F under partly cloudy skies.  That is the high for today as well.  Might be a good day to get some odds and ends done outside.

blownout cylinder

I see that they roped you into that position right now didn't they? Sneaky Sneaky! BTDT---not fun---but then again---if the situation warrents it then------

Actually, I suggested the change to our new president and he jumped at the chance to put me in that position.  The lady who has been the treasurer was not at all upset to switch to being Vice-President.  The biggest discussion of the meeting was going over my proposed method of keeping the books.  Most of the problem in the past had to do with our having a president in her 80s who is dealing with early dementia, an aging husband with mid stage dementia and some other health issues (she didn't make last nights meeting as the ambulance was on its way to take her husband to the ER), and a severely developmentally disabled son who is not able to talk or walk or do much of anything.  The treasurer is a wonderful lady who is very active in several organizations locally and works full time for the courts.  She just doesn't have the time to keep the books.  In fact most of the time the checkbook was in the hands of the president.  I did mention the dementia......... The new President and I signed the papers at the bank for the account several months ago, and the treasurer hasn't been able to get to the bank during hours (all 3 of us have to be there together) to sign. I have had the checkbook here for the last month anyway and have been making all the deposits for the last 5 or 6 years.  Anyway it looks like we are off to a good "new" start with the organization.

Well, I had best get myself moving....  Another meeting tonight.  Big vote (rubber stamp) for the new Boy Scout Council.  We have to vote on the new name of the council which is already on all the documents being handed out for the past couple of weeks to all the packs and troops.........  Hmmmm???

Later!

73