2008 [PART 2] and the Coffee Pot is still on and now 4 years old. Here we gather as friends with trains. Sweet ice tea too.

[cnw1995]

Morming all. Sunny and cool before early church. Teens didn't burn down the yard nor elicit compliants so birthday is judged a success. Going to go into Chicago later today to see the brother and his family - have to figure a way to fit 5 into the Yaris... Rats, I-Pass is in the van.

Read three MRs whilst waiting for the Tardis. Good news about the window fitting.

Mitch, contracting such a job is such a complicated deal - almost done though. I like Fifey's idea about the plastic hardhats.  Have a good day all!

[rtraincollector]

Morning all just got done watching thomas yes its a kid show but like it lol.

Chief hope your son comes out ok from the ticks that can be a real mess.

Going in tonight for 4 hrs ( 4-8) so thats a little extra next payday.

Time for dinning car talk later

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

  Got up at 6 AM this morning, nice and cool.  Took dog for walk then I ran a nice 7 miles, down to river.  Went past local gas station where all the old GIZ hang out and drink coffee and smoke in morning.  They always heckle me to go faster and get the lead out.  So today I slowed down yelled over to em if they had an extr cigarette, they and I got a big laugh out of that one.  Felt great to run in a nice cool morning like today.  Not much going on rest o day.  Probably watch GOLF and take a nap.

B good or B gone,

laz57

[ChiefEagles]

Morning.  Back from Sunday School [had to teah again as teacher did not show up].  Next Sunday is train meet in Raleigh.  BTW:  Raleightrainfan [Mike the lawyer] bought a big MTH Santa Fe diesel at Miss Edna's yesterday. 

Where is 88 [Brent]?  Did he leave Merryland? 

Off to lake in a few.  Got to go up and chat business [contract and etc] with sellers.

Hot and humind here.  Ogauge, glad to see you posting on the "Pot".  Later

PS: BTW, one of the guys in SS started telling me about the box of trains and cars he has stored.  His uncle had them [guy is my age].  Santa Fe F3's and cars.  Black steam engine [he does not know the numbers].  HUMMM

[Brutus]

Morning fellas - waiting on my turn in the shower before we run run run for the rest of the day.  Maybe time to start a load of laundry?    Nah, don't want to find myself in one of those Fifedog tightie whities in the tree situations!  Had a good talk with Sir James this AM!  Even found time to talk about trains!  Doug, I got the TARDIS there as soon as possible, had to wait for a wormhole anomoly to pass our stallar coordinates.  You really cleaned it up nicely for me though, thanks for the new coat of paint last week!

Still need to mow the back yard/hill, but it rained late last night - maybe tonight if it dries out.  I'm completely embarrassed by the height of this grass!

Mitch - good luck on those repairs, sounds weird to have to repair a brand new facility doesn't it?  I assure you, all the new construction I've worked or lived in has had the same kinds of problems.  The contractors bid low and then just slam stuff in to get done on time and budget

Gotta get some quality family time in today, so TTFN

[dougdagrump]

Afternoon All.

Gorgeous day here today, low to mid 80's with a little humidity but not bad.

Finished unpacking friday's stuff and gave the loco's a little servicing including an overhaul of my MTH FM's smoke unit. The wicking had gotten a bit charred where it contacts the heating element, so yanked it and tried some of the pink insulation. The 20-30 minute test run gave it a vast improvement, it will get a real test on tuesday. Got a whole bunch of stuff packed and ready to go on tuesday, just in case there are any last minute cancellations/no shows.

Need to do yard work tomorrow, yard waste re-cycling pickup on tuesday morning. So it is either grocery shopping this afternoon or early tomorrow morning.

Later Dudes & Dudettes !

p.s. Speaking of "Dudettes", the young ladies of the "Coffee Pot" haven't visited for awhile, hope all is well.  

[ogauge]

Thanks Chief!

Its funny, I have a few guys at work that talk about the Lionel trains they have, one having a 224E and a 2025 from his dads stable.  I keep inviting him to the "train store" ( my basement) to see if I can get him really hooked! 

[jefelectric]

Good evening,

Chief, Hope Frankie heals up real fast, I hate ticks.  I gave up squirel hunting a couple of years ago because of them.  It must be global warming , we never had ticks in PA to amount to anything until about 10 years ago.  Now they are everywhere.

Mitch, Ah, the countdown to the strart of school.  I must have gone through this about a hundred times while I was in the Electrical Contracting business.  Don't think I missed a Fall without one and most times it was several school finishing up at the last minute.  Don't miss that part of the business at all.

Fife, And I thought it was just me getting old and crabby, It is to the point that we have had so many of those experiences that we don't go out much anymore.  Only to those places frequented by other old people.

Today was another big day.  We had a surprise 40th Birthday Party for my son.  Had about a hundred people there.  I think he was surprised, or else he is a good actor, never can be sure.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. 

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

IIABSDISEI with temps in the 80s.  Watched a tape of the Edmonton race.  The princess got punted by her teammate.  Manning got a 10th place which moved him to 12th in the points.  I see where Jimmie Johnson won the Brickyard.  11 cautions, mostly for tire stops, and the longest green flag was 11 laps.  Played most of the day with the grandkids and I do not know if they will ever leave because the idiot son-in-law cannot finish one d--n job he ever starts.  Sorry for venting but there is not one project he has ever finished on the house they have.  I did have bacon and biscuits on the dining car this morning.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[dougdagrump]

Good evening,

Chief, Hope Frankie heals up real fast, I hate ticks.  I gave up squirel hunting a couple of years ago because of them.  It must be global warming , we never had ticks in PA to amount to anything until about 10 years ago.  Now they are everywhere.

Gee, and here I thought all of the "Blood Suckers" were residing in congress.

Just another crabby old man here!

[SPMan]

Sorry to hear about Frankie's bout with the ticks.  I never heard of that many at one time.  When I was a kid, you might see one on a dog or something but never that many.  Sounds like the whole environment thing is out of wack.  For the squirrel hunter that posted, you should come to our neighborhood.  We are getting over run with them.  They are every where.  They started in the park about 4 blocks away then traveled on the power lines to our area.  The guy next door was feeding them peanuts for a while.  They are so bold now, they don't even run when you get near them.   When I was young, we used to sit in the woods all day and never see one when you had a gun. Ray

[kpolak]

Evening!

Just back from a weekend with my relatives!  Great time!  Greek wedding in Hobart, IN!  Didn't have time to get to YORK trains in Highland, but had a great time visiting.  First time our little ones were brave enough to get out on the dance floor without us...Both the 3-yo and the 1-yo were shakin' it.  Oy vey.   They must get it from Sunday School.

Happy belated birthday to Butterfly!

Brutus:  Beacon is on!

Kurt

[ogauge]

Ticks are no fun!!!!

Well its after 9PM and I'm sitting here goffing on the computer while the little guy is watching "I love toy trains"  funny how I find myself watching too!

cleaned out part of the garage and mowed the yard, heck I feel like I'm 100 years old!!! 

[rtraincollector]

Beacon on

[sir james I]

GOOD EVENING ALL

Spent most of the morning talking on the phone with Brutus,always enjoyable.  We covered a lot of subjects, even trains. A warm 87 today but a good breeze to keep it moving. I read some more CTT today and watched last part of the LPGA. No train stuff here at the house but they are waiting for me. That was my day, get ready for Monday....S.J.

OK lites on and banilla is ready.

[ogauge]

Kurt, Just saw you were in Hobart, hope the wedding was great!

I used to live in Hammond and Used to know Skinny John (of York Trains) fairly well.  Did you know Joe Algozzine (sp) pops his head in that shop from time to time?  I was in there one day with my oldest and he was there although I did not recognize him (never met him before just read his articles in CTT) so he is trying to get me to buy something and asked if I had the latest CTT and I said sure I subcribe so he returns did you read my article, ( was the on on Lionel in 54 with the congressional etc)  so we talked breifly, nice guy.  Its funny how you meet people. 

[Brutus]

Tardis is in the air and got ya on the screen.  Can't wait to get that banilla to chase down a couple double cheese burgers from White Castles - sliders!   Went to a pottery place with the family and painted pottery, then we went to see Hellboy II (great!) and then to White Castles. 

[ChiefEagles]

Long day.  Went to the Lake and signed contract.  Met his family.  Nice folks.  He is wanting to have big cookout and have lots of neighbors over to meet us.  Took some pictures of yard, house and buildings.  Both boats were at the dock down below and lightning was beginning to pop around when I was shooting pictures so cut it short.  Had driven through big T'storm just before I got there.  We met inside and about 30 minutes later I went to take photos and another one was on the way.  Sure enough, as we left, ran through another one as we headed back.  Went by In-laws  and they were fixing big meal.  We ate at 8 PM [kind of late] and then ahd to drive back home.  Got gasoline for 20 cents cheaper than last week this time.  Just watched the movie The Kingdom on HBO.  It is a must watch.  Lots of action in Sadi Araba.  Its on HBO Demand and I am going to re-watch.

Off to bed.  Nothing scheduled for Town tomorrow [watch what happens].  Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.   God bless.

[kpolak]

Morning!

ogauge:  Never been to YORK Trains in Highland, IN.  I saw they carried JT's Megasteam fluid, and they were right down the street from where we were staying, so I wanted to pick some up.  I have family in the Hammond/Whiting area. 

We ended up stopping at the 'I Love Toy Trains' store in New Buffalo, MI, Exit 1, on the way home.  Thanks to my Sisiter and BiL...Bride would never have approved a mid-route stop.  Neat little store filled to the roof with Lionel and Thomas trains.  Some PW and MTH as well.  Nice little layout in the back room, with buttons for the kids to run the accessories.

Chief:  Great news about the closing, and Bar-be-que!  Hope Frankie is feeling better.

Grass mowing today, and some attempt to get kids back to 'normal' after wild weekend.  We haven't had rain, so our is just dry.  Leftover Gyro's and some sort of hot pepper tapenade for the Tardis tonight...made with jalapenos, serranos, pepperocini, carrots, and califlower.  It's really good, but it'll take your head off.  That should go well with the Old Style!

Kurt

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberyhill....

It is a cloudy 61 degrees. Going up to 85 today with a few clouds. Sun is trying to come out.

Today is busy. I have some errands to run and a few chores to do around the house. July is almost over. Summer is going fast. Getting some nice cucumbers from the garden. Tomatoes almost ready.

No time for trains today. Need to have some time to spend in train room.

Dining car is here and it's time for breakfast. Later.

Y'all have a great Monday.

Chuck

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

  Nice and cool here today at 61 at545AM.  Did a nice 3.5 miles this morning.  Felt great!  Today going to pull weeds and then put down mulch, getting 8 backhoe scoops.  Late but what da hey.

  Watch LPGA and the race yesterday.  Whats up with the 10 laps then a pit stop?  Kinda odd?  Did NASCAR make up a new rule?

  JOHN, tick count so far this year, ME 8, dog 6, WIFE 3.  Better then a few years ago when I pulled off 56 from me and another 60 from the dog.

  B good or b gone,

laz57

[fifedog]

laz57 - The BRICKYARD race was one of the worst you will ever see.  For me, it was like watching paint dry.  Everyone was being PC with GOODYEAR, but obviously they didn't get it right (not even close).  Tony was right after all...

[Anonymous]

Where is 88 [Brent]?  Did he leave Merryland? 

I'm still here. I've been busy since I left work on Friday. Had to go to Costco to pickup fixings for Saturday's get-to-gether, then out to a local farm market, dinner, and then stopped to pick up the wine and beer for Saturday. On the way home I stopped by 7-11 and bought ice and a slurpee, not knowing the slurpee contained an energy drink... I was up till 2am!

The Saturday I spent the morning mowing the yard, weed wacking, cleaning the wooden swing set and slide (this thing is nestelled in the woods and was covered with moss and mildew), then helped SusieQ prepare food, then when the guests arrived I had to prepare the shish-ka-bobs and get them on the grill. The ka-bobs turned out great, but the hot dogs were burned beyond recognition (don't ask). Ran the trains for the 7 rugrats and in the middle of it all the Legacy Remote lost contact with the base. I have found that I have some work to do on wiring. The source switch needs to move so it can not be bumped by a leg - just going to tuck it under the layout. The command center needs to be reworked so the cords and such aren't laying exposed on the floor. Also learned that plexiglass will be installed to protect any and all exposed track from wondering hands. The kiddies caused 8 derailments, which I suspect contributed to the 'Base Not Found' issue. The plexiglass panels will be constructed so they can be removed when older kids are around. Before any other kids show up I am going to build a 'roll-out' layout so they can play with Thomas and James. I also think 7 kids are a bit much for running the large layout - especially when parents don't know how to watch them. Also found that the train room get crowded very quickly... considering redoing the entire layout so there is more room... possibly back to the 'round-the-walls' concept???

[laz 57]

FIFE,

  Was a BAD RACE.  I usually don't watch the races but with 39 laps to go I had it on and saw thia 10 lap DEBAUCKLE.  Seems if you had a fast pit crew you were in first place.  Just not right.  GOODYEAR has good tires? Yea right.  Where the MICHELINE MAN when you need him?

laz57

[fifedog]

88 - GREAT GOOGILY-MOOGILY!!! NOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo

[cnw1995]

Morning all. Sunny and warm with a cloudless blue sky here in Chicago. There's a movie filming a block away - lots of cabling and big trucks. Wonder what it is?

My brother surprised me when we visited his family yesterday in the city - with a Plasticville cathedral. I'm looking forward to messing around with it.

Almost forgot to mention, whilst waiting in line to buy train tickets this morning, I noticed the ticket windows in the North Western station have some very cool UP branding. Dark blue curtains with the a yellow stripe and a large UP shield with wings. Almost makes looking at a bank of closed windows whilst waiting in a too-long line worth it. But then again, it still amuses me to write a check out to the UP for my ticket instead of some commuter agency. 

[ChiefEagles]

Morning all.  Glad 88 is doing OK.  Did not want anything happen to my "Buddies" in Merryland.   WOW, rebuild!!!!!  Hey, the larger storage building [at the lake] is 20 some feet long and over 10 feet wide.  Needs insulating in the ceiling.  Would make a nice layout room.  Already wired and floored.  Well, breakfast done and TV watching done.  Guess I will get ready to do what I want to do today.  Bet that gets changed.  Hot and humid.  Have a good one.

[sir james I]

GOOD MORNING

I got up early but did not write, wanted to see if the day was going to bring something new. I guess not. So here I am, weather is nice going into hi 80s and no rain lately. The grass is still green but won't last long without rain. I don't water it, not a the price of water, the shrubs and garden get some though. Still reading CTT, so far the best issue in quite awhile. I was beginning to think they should change the name to Modern Toy Trains. Have a good Monday all...S.J.

[John Bakeer]

1700 GMT in a sunny very warm Stockport 27C/83 of yours, 3 days of this, thorms for the morrow, that could be our summer?

We have a TV channel that puts out 2 episodes of Thomas and Friends every morning, I copy them and play back when I want to retreat into Teddies corner and suck my thumb, highly therapeutic!

Price of petrol/gas has come down a few pence. I have a pensioners bus pass which gives me free train/tram travel within our PTE area and free bus travel England wide [subject to a few minor restrictions], so the prospect of giving up the car is not too bad. I don't know about your public transport system, but we are put off by the arseholes that seem to be everywhere these days.

My new dear lady has proposed and I have Accepted [leap year DYK], where we will live is under discussion. She has a 3 bed house with a decent sized cellar/basement [A renaissance for Lionel?], trouble is my Arthriticals could be a problem, a chair lift will work upstairs but the lower access is very tight,

[John Bakeer]

1700 GMT in a sunny very warm Stockport 27C/83 of yours, 3 days of this, thorms for the morrow, that could be our summer?

We have a TV channel that puts out 2 episodes of Thomas and Friends every morning, I copy them and play back when I want to retreat into Teddies corner and suck my thumb, highly therapeutic!

Price of petrol/gas has come down a few pence. I have a pensioners bus pass which gives me free train/tram travel within our PTE area and free bus travel England wide [subject to a few minor restrictions], so the prospect of giving up the car is not too bad. I don't know about your public transport system, but we are put off by the arseholes that seem to be everywhere these days.

My new dear lady has proposed and I have Accepted [leap year DYK], where we will live is under discussion. She has a 3 bed house with a decent sized cellar/basement [A renaissance for Lionel?], trouble is my Arthriticals could be a problem, a chair lift will work upstairs but the lower access is very tight,

Blast IE7!!! It's omitted half the last post and I've run out of time. One of my buddies has just sent me a text requiring my attendance at the Robinsons sampling rooms.