Elliot's Trackside Diner OCTOBER 2010

"OK!  3 car lengths.... 2 car lengths, 1.....  You got 'er.  OK, Hand brakes are set and the loco air pipe closed.  Go ahead and put her away." ("Roger that!" - [Dual Catapiller Prime movers rev up to notch 3..])  Pop!  phiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh........

Hey Flo, how long will it take to get a cup of decaf?  THAT quick huh?  Oh you kept it warm with the kerosine burner.  Well I need a cup!  Thanks, and how about a chocolate brownie as well.  I see they got the diner set right between the Reefer and the old Baggage car (now how'd they do THAT without moving the baggage car???  Hmmmmm).  Nice!  Quick access to the "facilities" inside the Depot.  Can't quite see the diner, but she is right behind the Yellow Reefer there.....

Unfortuately 1941 was still in the shop tonight waiting for a new fuel pump, they had to use ex US Army, R&GV RR 80 tonner # 1654 for the final spotting of the diner.

Later!

73

howmus

"OK!  3 car lengths.... 2 car lengths, 1.....  You got 'er.  OK, Hand brakes are set and the loco air pipe closed.  Go ahead and put her away." ("Roger that!" - [Dual Catapiller Prime movers rev up to notch 3..])  Pop!  phiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh........

Hey Ray! welcome to the diner in our neck of the woods.

Update: CAbot Oil and Gas { 'memba them for fracking in PA?} has been found bythe DEP to have INDEED polluted teh wells of Dimock, PA township with methane gas causing the well water at the tap to be set afire for the last two years.{and fracking chemicals}. They are seeking to make Cabot Oil and Gas foot the bill for a 13 mile pipeline and hookups to the houses whose wells are affected. Cabot, of course, denies that they are at fault. Action against them will be taken if the refuse to bear the cost of the new pipeline form nearby municipality water source. Now watch the action will be another fine that will be cheaper than the cost of the pipeline. They should be shut down until they build the pipeline, though they may then abandon the wells and never pay it up or put in the pipeline.

HEY ! .... Wait for me! ....

The Hudson is running as fast as it can! .... Look how blurred it looks here!

Here is a New York Central Diner. See how clean it is all fresh from the wash rack!

Here's another view of the 4-6-4 ....

One more photo. Check out the lightning stripe F-units.

These are very old model locomotives. I took them off my display shelf just for the ocasion. I have owned the Hudson for about 55 years. It has a long story for sure.

This is my treat for the Upstate New York guys. Galaxy and Ray. This month is "Water Level Route" Month.

Garry, thanks for getting the diner moved up to Rochester with THAT beautiful NYC Hudson.  Looks like she can still tear up some tracks!  Of course the Erie had to bring her down to Industry from the Rochester Interchange with an S-4 Berkshire.....  (Hello Duke!) where old #1654 set her in place between the .....  Still haven't figured out they did THAT!

Nice photos, nice layout!

Just went down cellar to turn off all the lights I had left on before I went to the Pack meeting tonight.  Very, very good thing I did.  The almost 2" of rain we got to day was enough to start flooding the basement.  First time I have had water down there in about a year and a half.  It is just coming in the workshop.  I got the siphon started in a place it backs up in the stairwell.  From there it runs over and into the rest of the basement.  Sump pump is running once every minute at the moment. 

Hope all of you have been able to stay dry today!

Later!

73

Hey Galaxy, thanks for taking care of the move.

TSF, luckily, I don't get too much weekend stuff. I already got my Theology homework done today during our double, but I'm going to have an English essay (only 5 paragraphs on A Tale of Two Cities, NBD), a lab for Physics due next Thursday, and my Faith and Values project, in addition to whatever other homework I get (probably no English, Theo, or Faith/Values).

Well, it's getting late. I probably won't be able to make it in tomorrow because it is the first work day for my Eagle Project, so wish me luck!

Night!

Good evening. Wow! It's darker in New York at night than in Illinoy.

Garry- Thanks! Great loco you used too. (nice photos by the way.

Think Jeff will come all the way to New York? Hope so.  He's kinda Southern you know. I hope he didn't end up in the hospital over the foot.

Thanks for putting us near the "facilities" Ray. Usually it's quite a ways away (well, except for the month in the woods in Canada). As much as we eat and drink in this place the tanks fill up quick. We need to start setting up a service with the loal Honey Wagons.

Great. I think I stepped in something outside. I'm gonna start packing a flashlight with me.

PFTIN. 

Hello folks!

I'll have a caffeine free diet Dr Pepper, please!

Beautiful fall weather here the last few days...a big improvement over last weeks 90s with high humidity.

I hope all are well.   I'm still fighting lack of energy problems, and everyone here has some kind of bug that has us all coughing...otherwise doing OK I guess.

On the train front, I finally got the estimates for decoder installation...$25 each on the F-units and VO1000, and $35 on the RDCs.   Not  too bad...definately better than what the shop owner had me expecting.  I have most of the pre-wiring of the the underside of the  layout done.  Not much else happening on the layout but planning and re-planning.  The next step is going to be building the layout cabinet/base, and that will require a lot of help from my very busy friend.  It's SO frustrating having to rely on others for the things I could easily have done myself not long ago.

Have a good one, all.

Morning all!

Welcome again!

Most of the rain is over with a little  flooding reported. The Susquehanna, Tioughnioga {tee-off-knee-oh-ga}, Chenango rivers were all low {scraping bottom} so that they had lots of room for water. Thank goodness! BUT, it didn't stop them from topping their banks in some low level spots! One town, McGraw, was shut down completely last night.

I see Jeffrey W. DID post something in another thread yesterday so he is still around, but hasn't been in the diner lately. I hope somebody didn't pick on him or something and make him mad!

WEll, best start my day!

TTYALLL8R

Good Morning

We are going to be sunny and a high of 16C expected. Then along comes the weekend and we'll get our ever popular chance of rain then. And the high for Saturday and Sunday will be a somewhat chilly 12C--with those showers

Today I'll be getting ready to go into w**k for another on-call weekend. Hopefully things will go according to plan and there will be no emergency situmications occuring

Welb. A few days ago I had the MOGU test--a heart wall motion test--to check on my heart's so-called health---so far no panic stricken doctor calls yet---which is a good thng I'm supposed to hear from someone in the next week if all goes according to plan.

Flo, I'll just have a coffee and an english breakfast muffin please--I'll be at the window booth for now

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

Good Morning Folks!

Just some coffee please!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Steven

Good Morning,

Garry & Ray don’t forget to set the derailer we don’t need to roll out onto the main.  Nice job moving us and keeping the coffee hot.

I’m praying for dryer weather for all those east of the Appalachians that are getting flooding amounts of rain.

Jeff, I hope your foot is healing and you’re feeling better real soon.

  Mourning Folks!

  Flo, English Muffin and Diet Dew Please.

 Well I made my way up to NY with no problem.

 So Howmus, this is a museum? What is the Black and Gold engine to the far right? Looks like the back of a BL 2 in Monon Colors to me. Could I be that lucky?

 Beside doing a trash run, not sure what I will be doing today. Well, looks like I will be doing the dishes, Sue has let them pile up again.

 Will drop by a little later, got to run.

                             Ken

 Good morning.

 Its finally sunny, and the rain has passed.   We didn't get as much rain as the "eastern" people.   

 Lets see what's on tap for today.  I will try to get a car posted on "the bay".   Maybe start on the next car as well.   Jessica is going to the doctor today,  Seems like she is still having bad headaches from her concussion.   Even thou its been several months later.

 That's pretty much my day. 

 *Note*  I think we (diners) will be fine up north for a few months, but with the snow we had last year........we might wanna try Jeff's neck of the woods soon !!!

Good morning. It's 65 and clear. The high will be 85 and it will be sunny.

I've been laid up mostly the past few days. Been using the time to get some rest, watch some DVD's and make the doc happy by staying off my feet as much as possible. However I'm going to have to disappoint him today. Gotta get out to pay some bills that can't be paid on the net or by mail then there's the grocery shopping to do.

Good Morning! Coffee and whatever is popular for breakfast in this area. I’m all for trying foreign cuisine.

Sunny, with a high near 72. Calm wind. Suppose to cool off even more tomorrow. "Slight frost advisory" (what ever that is) for tomorrow night.  

I heard that you guys up here play golf kinda different than us. “Tee off the knee” is rather dangerous. No wonder you finish with "oh ga!!!"

Computer’s running a bit slow today. I’m scanning for viruses and adware/spy ware before shutting down to reboot. If I don’t show up for a few days….., I shouldn’t have rebooted. Everything seems to work and load ok, just after clicking on an icon, it seems to think and poke around a bit too long, like it’s sending info to someone before it does it. I wonder how much the ad companies are paying for one of my diner posts. Probably ask for a refund’s more like it.

Zan- Glad to hear you are at least getting something done with the RR. More than I can say.

Well, I best get going. Today is my whacked out day. It’s a bit airish yet out there so I will go to Mom’s house and work some more on that, the come back and put away the grocery truck for the restaurant, then I should pull a Ken and Ray and mow my what used to be a yard while I can still find the shed. OH! I think it’s burning season in old Billtown! I’ve got a pile that needs to be turned to ash….. crud. It’s Friday. Wrong day.

What’s this? Bacon, sausage patties, eggs over easy, two pancakes with maple syrup and a small bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar? Huh. Looks like you folks eat the same things we do for breakfast.

Y’all have a Great Day now ya hear?!!!

Good morning All,

     Still bucketing down rain though the high winds have slacked off for now. Hopefully it'll all blow over before long. One leak in the basement in a new place but just by the floor drain so no worries yet. It is smack dab in the middle of my alloted layout space though.

   Thanks to Galaxy, Ray and Garry for getting the move done so efficiently. Those Central Hudsons sure can move when you feed 'em the coal! Puts the romance right back in the rails. Wonder if Duke napped right through the whole move.

   Garry - where did the backrounds come from on your layout? I had some photo stuff on mine but wasn't entirely happy with the sizing of the foreground where it met the layout. Yours seems much more believeable. That is a great group of NYC train sets by the way. Antique you say?

   Ken - Looks more like the venerable ex-Eastman RS-1 on the far right to me. Easier for the crews to use as well with better visibility not to mention the ability to escape behind a smokescreen when required. In Danbury, besides the RDC, we have an operational SW-8 (ex R.I and Pfizer) and RS-2 at the museum (and hopefully soon a 44Tonner - ex New Haven and Electric Boat). The RS-2 is the preferred device for yard w..k.

   Hopefully the usual suspects will make their way upstate to the new location. If we go south for the winter, how about tieing up at the historic Savannah roundhouse ? We could start a tour of the historical/museum sites as well and I surely wouldn't mind having the diner tied up at the Sebring, Fla. siding in March for the race weekends there.

    This weekends gov't w..k involves waiting for the new clutch for the mighty and majestic RAM50 to show up (old one was stuck to the flywheel TT and wouldn't release even with the pressure plate off). Got the brakes fixed and the choke freed off, now it's just a reassembly job.

   Speaking of the age of steam power, etc - the other interesting job we have just now is a 1923 Amilcar (French don't you know) voiturette. 903cc 4cyl flathead, supercharged. Small enough to deem like you could pop it in the boot (or the back of Jeffs' van) and bring it for a spare. Time to pick up tools and get on with it.    CUL, J.R.

Good Morning friends!

The rain passed through here HEAVY last night, causing flash flood warnings to be inacted on both the CSX and NS portions of the VRE's travellings.  By special instruction in the NS rule books, our equipment has to operate at "Restricted Speed" for the entire portion THAT is affected by the Flash Flood Warning.  Restricted Speed here is 15mph...  We are on the NS from MP 9.1 to MP 35.7!  Yep, this means our trains ran over an hour late EACH last night.  I got called in last night just in time for a large downpour...  They had me yard the passenger equipment in order to get the regular engineer off duty faster.  Which the plan backfired due to the storm knocking down some powerlines effectively blocking the connection from NS to CSX, so service on the Manassas Line has been suspended today.  I was supposed to cover for an Engineer on vacation today, so I am sitting home waiting to see if they have any switching needed for tonight!

I am interested in hearing as to how they got the Diner between those two cars without moving them???

Jeff- Hope you are doing alright my friend?  We are praying for your health to improve!

I'll be hanging out for a while today, just have to pack for my trip to Cape May this weekend.  My God-daughter's mother is getting married on Sunday, on the beach!  Weather guessers are calling for temps in the 70's, rather cool for being on the beach? Hopefully the rain has passed through for good before the festivities begin!

Please pray for the local high school in Bristow, VA.  I found out from my realtor THAT two students took their own lives this past week.  They have provided grief counseling for those students who want it.  I am saddened whenever I hear of a lost life, regardless of circumstances, but this is just THAT much worse.  IMHO, NOTHING is worth taking your own life.  Seek help or counseling to remedy whatever may be bothering you.  Sorry Chloe,  I'll put the away... Kinda wish we'd left it back at the last location... Oops.

Well, I'll be in the corner booth reading some books I picked up from a used book store.  All are about model railroading! 

Almost forgot!  I was handed my Class I Locomotive Engineers Certificate last night!  I am officially an Engineer!

Chloe, if I could please have my hash browns, two eggs scrambled, and a side of fried pastrami at the RC?  Thanks, yes I changed my mind about sitting in the corner booth when I saw Vinnie sleeping there!

Sam- Congratulations!!!! I knew you would do it!!!

Spoiled dog. Missy just came in from outside potties a few minutes ago and is whining and half waving her front paw at me. Shake hands you think? So did I. Nope. Feet are wet. Gotta get her towel and dry her feet.

Spoiled dog. 

GMTRacing

    This weekends gov't w..k involves waiting for the new clutch for the mighty and majestic RAM50 to show up (old one was stuck to the flywheel TT and wouldn't release even with the pressure plate off). Got the brakes fixed and the choke freed off, now it's just a reassembly job.

Sam,

That's great news. I hope all your expectations are fulfilled and you have a great career. It's been sometime coming, but doesn't it taste sweet now that it's here?

Tom

Good Morning.....

Weather in Western KY continues to be perfect. Sorry to hear about all the rain elsewhere.

Jeff ... Sorry you were not well. Take care.

I hope Ulrich is OK. Where are Duke, Ryan, PC, and several others?

Inch .... That Southern steamer looks great. If the diner heads south for one of the months as suggested, it would be a good one to use..

Dick ... Glad you could visit the diner and that is very good about your sciatic nerve injury being much better. Also, good you can get back to working on the model railroad!

Sam ... Congrats! Railroading is a great profession! Later in life you will be glad Railroad Retiremnt pays a lot more than Social Security. Also, RRR was not raided by Congress as is the case with SS.

JR ... The backdrops are Faller paper backdrops. I like the clouds on them better than others. The disadvantage is the paper is thin. Instructions said to apply with wallpaper paste, but that proved to be a bad idea. I put up my first part of the backdrop with wallpaper paste. Next morning, I returned to the layout, and the paper had horrible wrinkles all over. .... It is better to install the paper backdrop with plenty of 3m 77 spray adhesive. ....  Last year, I had another major problem. While we were out of town for a week, a house water heater began leaking. The moisture made horrible wrinkles again. I have spent countless hours repairing the wrinkles.  .... Also, I add to the backdrop with pictures of buildings glued on or I paint roads, etc. onto the backdrops.  ... When installing, I pay attention to teh horizon, and usually raise the backdrop higher than track level.

 EDIT ... Received email from Duke. He's in NC and might see Ryan there.

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have the #2 special this morning, eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, and a double order of sourdough toast with lots of dark roast coffee in a R&GV RR Mug.  I'll go sit at the Rivet Counter for a bit.

J. R. you nailed it!  THAT is our Eastman Kodak RS-1 #9.  Had an older gentleman visiting the Museum last Summer for the first time who got off the caboose, looked around, took a look at her and completely choked up.  I thought he was going to cry......  He was one of the crew THAT maintained the old girl at Eastman Kodak way back when.  He walked over to her, put his hand on her, turned to me and said, "I never thought I'd see her again!"  Does the heart good!  It was like he was greeting an old friend.  He had no idea she was at the museum.  Sitting behind her on the same siding when THAT shot was taken was our US Army #1843 Fairbanks Morse H12-44.  She spent most of her life switching cars at the Army Depot in Romulus, NY on the East side of Seneca Lake.

Jeffrey, nice weathering job on the old tender.

Oh!  Sam knew you would get it!  Congrats on the Engineers Certificate!!!

Sam, the families and friends of those students will be in prayers!

Well, I see my breakfast has arrived so I will catch you all later.

73

Robby P.

  *Note*  I think we (diners) will be fine up north for a few months, but with the snow we had last year........we might wanna try Jeff's neck of the woods soon !!!

Aw, Robby, where's your sense of adventure? I know you are a "born-again northerner" and prefer the southern climes you left. Besides I only moved the diner to Upstate NY for the month of October. We will see some frost, most likely, but not snow! That won't happen til Novemember after/about TG day.

In February, the dead middle of winter,while it freezes here and in Pitt,  maybe we be closer to Jeff's territory!

HAve a great afternoon guys!

How yall doing... Cup of Coffee, black will do it.... thank ya

Just passing thru.... down in Montgomery, Alabama ... Sunshine and a high of 83 today...

The folks at the Gulf Breeze & Holley are laying new track today.... a new works project to push the line across the Alabama state line into Mississippi and down to Gulf Breeze is now underway. I'm headed south to keep watch over the road crews. Hope yall have a good day. When your down in Alabama look us up. The GB&H has the cheapest fairs from Birmingham to the beach... and some of the best grits you'll ever eat.... no offense to present company.... find food here I'm told.  Yall have a nice day.

Skipper

Skipper!! I've been down that way a few times in the past--does the GB&H have a website? Oh wait a minute---i should google it, heeheehee

I've been getting stuff ready for w**k this morning--I called in and am all set now.

Sam: Congrats on nailing that position!

Welb---you all have a pleasant afternoon--I'll be in and out all weekend

Afternoon All,

    Welcome Skipper! I've also been down Gulf Breeze way whilst in my "blue era" Met a lot of nice folks there and around Mobile back then (the70's).

   Sam - way to go ! Now if they'll clear the tracks you can get some runs in. From what I've been told, life on the "extra" board can test ya, but we'll be here if you need to vent.

  Jeff - Good to see you back - get well soon.      CUL, J.R.

Good afternoon everyone.

GPS? I don't need no GPS. Just give me a good road map, and I can find anything

Flo, I'll have a cheeseburger with no pickles, with fries and a milkshake.

I'm just about done with the plans I have for that steam boioler, and I hope to get started tomorrow.

If I remember to, I'll post photos. As for the boioler itself, it's having sort of an identity crisis. I'm trying to decide between a horizontal boioler or a vertical boioler. I'm also trying to determine if I should place it in the burned-out plant, scratch-build a boioler house, or if I should just make it a flatcar load, too.

Oh, well, I still got the weekend to figure it out (at least, with how to house the unit...)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Afternoon folks!

Zoe, how about a RBF?  I'll go sit in the front booth and watch the w*rk being done on LV #211.

Speaking of GPS....  This was just emailed to me by a friend...  Thought you might enjoy.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with beer than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring  my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front.  

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32.  Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet fifty bucks everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time

73