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.

[MartyE]

What's with TBS ? Was clicking around and they have on the Cubs/Phillies game, don't they do the Braves games anymore ?

 

Nope.  They do a national game of the week now. 

[Brutus]

Wife changed plans again, so ended up just hanging out with son for a while this afternoon.  Thought I would go tidy up a little in the basement and then run my trains.  Got down in the basement and what is that dripping sound?  I haven't been downstairs in a month.  Well, short version: Kitchen faucet is leaking either at the supply line or the seal?  We've been thinking about replacing it anyway.  So, waiting for my wife to get back home, go out and get some food, and then run by Lowes or HD and pick up a new faucet, shutoffs, some 1/2 inch connectors, flexible supply lines, etc.  I also need one of those sink wrenches, I guess.  Oh joy!  My least favorite thing is plumbing. 

I did run trains though - no Pileups on either loop!  BFOC running good.  MTH 4-6-0 needed a nudge to start, I think it was on a dirty spot or something and not making good electrical contact with the track?  Ran great after that.  Can't wait for my tpc to show up. 

[cheapclassics]

Good afternoon all,

It is cold and rainy in SE Indiana with temps in the 40s.  We slept in this morning as we were up late last night listening to Lucas talk about the cast party.  I had bacon and biscuits late this morning on the dining car.  "Desperate Housewives" is on tonight.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[ChiefEagles]

Relapse!!!!!!!  Too much pollen.  Marty E, Glad to see you on the pot.    Wish I was going but as it is, too sick.  Then big meetings later and Rec Parade.  Doing better now.  Watching Monk [wife loves it] and then the Tudors at 9 PM EDT [one of my favorites].  Later.

[cnw1995]

Evening all. Still celebrating the bride's birthday celebratory weekend. Braved terrible weather in Chicago yesterday to spend some time at the Art Institute and then at a nice expensive dinner with friends. I was really affected by her musing this week on things she's learned over the years - she's listed them on her blog. It's given us quite a lot to talk about. What's some wisdom you've learned in life?

Glad to see Marty and Nick get vacations. Hope Chief and his bride recovers. Have to skip cookies and banilla tonight, fellas - afraid of that transformer - great that Brutus got to run some trains admist plumbing.

[sir james I]

Evening all

Doug = not to worry about the transformer, we use it all the time, just gets a glitch once in a while. like the tiddy whitey affair would have been ok except they were silk. I always wondered about that.

Brutus must be under the sink or mopping the gushing water out the door. Haven't heard from him tonite. I don't like plumming either,our house was built in the 70s and I can't turn a shutoff valve without it leaking for days. So I just shut the water off at the meter.

TTOS show had a good attendance today, but still a few empty tables. I got their fall 08/09 schedule so I guess its still a go. Well get ready for Monday,,,,,S.J.

[Anonymous]

  

  FIFE, yep there are some BIG SNAPPERs in this creek here.  Friend of mine catches them and makes turtle soup. 

laz57

"Waiter!  I'll have the Turtle Soup....and make it Snappy!"

Well, somebody had to say it!

Bruce Webster

[Anonymous]

Not to be controversial, but do you run your trains running clockwise or counterclockwise ?  Just wonderin' ??   Mine are clockwise, even though I'm left handed.

Inner loop CW, outer CCW.  My inner loop is the freight loop with easier access to the yard.  I usually have a passenger consist going on the outer while switching freights around.

Don,

I run 'em exactly like Roger.  Right down to having passengers on the outer and freight on the inner. 

I've read with interest your posts on operating sessions at your club.  The way you've approached it seems like fun and helps hone the members running skills.  I recall once having the operatunity to take part is such a session at the Toronto Model Railroad Club, a very large O gauge layout.  My unfamiliarity with overall operations got me assigned to the engine service yard, in charge of readying required motive power and receiving locos finished for the day.  I had a ball as the schedual kept me very busy juggling engines in and out of the roundhouse.   Even this relatively simple task got fouled up when I couldn't get engines to run.  One time I dropped the pony wheels off the end of the track into the turntable pit.   While I was scared shirtless over the prospect of destroying a beautiful brass Pacific the rest of the guys had a good laugh over my misfortune.  You really feel a sense of true connection with the rest of the group on those occasions.

Bruce Webster

[cooltech]

Glad to see Marty and Nick get vacations. Hope Chief and his bride recovers. Have to skip cookies and banilla tonight, fellas - afraid of that transformer - great that Brutus got to run some trains admist plumbing.

 Cookies!! Well Sat. I broiled 5 chicken breasts with a variety of spices and also cooked a pasta and a veggie. After the chicken finished I baked double choc. cookies with white fudge chunks And my wife decided to do some shopping on the way home from a 'Tastefully Simple' show she had, (its all about the food; yum), and was an hour or so latter than I expected.

Yea, I started eating with out her. She still loves me!!

cooltech

[cooltech]

I am in the dog house now!!!!  Mrs. Chief has it now.  Sore throat and headache. I'm getting better.

On School Boards and their policies!!!!!  IDOITS.  There seems to be no gray area.  All black or white [not race related].  In this case, the teacher and kids should have cheared the Dad on.  But how do I know, I am just "a two faced typical politician".

Changed meds and I am better but still can't type good.  Would dare not drive.  Have a great sleep and God bless.

Chief; Hope your feeling mucho better and good health to your wife.

The political jousting my church board has gone through over the yrs for a variety of building permit issues is just short of extortion. Oh politics

cooltech 

[ChiefEagles]

Watching a 07 version of David on some channel.  Pretty good.  Good night all.  God bless.

[Brutus]

Good night guys - no, things are drying out now, after the wood is dry, I'll get in there and make sure what's going on.  I'm pretty sure the faucet itself is leaking at the cartridge, bad o ring, and that water is going back down under the sink.  Wife wants a new faucet anyway, so I expect that we will just do that.  Wife was watching a bunch of Banzuke game shows she taped, so I watched an old vampire movie on the laptop with Pia Degermark - good cheezy 60's vampire fun, LOL.

Sorry, was full of Culvers, so just sat here like a slug tonight.  Will catch up with you guys tomorrow night.  God bless!

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

  33 and quite cool today only going to 50.

No trains last nite.  Watched MASTERs GOLF.  Then AX MEN. 

Well its a nice start to YORK WEEK.  Suppose to be 74 for friday at YORK.  Break out DA SHORTS.

B GOOD or B GONE,

laz57

[Wes Whitmore]

I picked up 3 tickets to take the family to this Saturday's Spring Game (OSU football already???).  Should be fun. 

Have a good day everyone.

Wes

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a cold and sunny 31 degrees. Going up to 52 today with sunshine. It looks like we may have a week without rain.

Today is a busy day. I have to run some errands and will be busy most of the day. No time for trains today. Yesterday, I got a good 2 hours of train running time in. Worked on some old engine that needed cleaning up. Looks good. Lots of work to do on it yet.

Indians finally won a ball game.

Buckeye and Chief......Get well soon.

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

Y'all have a great Monday.

Chuck

[kpolak]

No trains last nite.  Watched MASTERs GOLF.  Then AX MEN. 

I saw a couple episodes of Ax Men...Crazy stuff...  Interesting to see the rigging.

Hoping to take over the kitchen table today, and test the new GP-15...

1/8" plywood edgeboards up around the layout.  Final sanding on the control panel, I radiused one side of it...and stain today.  Brent:  Kudos on the plywood idea!  I love this stuff!

Kurt

[Anonymous]

1/8" plywood edgeboards up around the layout.  Final sanding on the control panel, I radiused one side of it...and stain today.  Brent:  Kudos on the plywood idea!  I love this stuff!

Kurt

Thanks Kurt! Just wish I could find some place local that sold it in NICE sheets. Every place I have checked their stock looks like it has been soaked in salt water for 3 months. Warped, bowed, cracked, stained, you name it!

Busy day here, have to wrap up my course for school, then have a Dr appt this afternoon, probably have to get blood drawn after that and then have to get to the radiology dpt to have my back scanned... hope I can get it all done tonight!

Hope to get some train work done tonight.

[anjdevil2]

Good Day after weekend-----

Chief: Get better & sorry 'bout Sheriff...and a little Chicken Soup couldn't hurt...

Seems like common sense is not so common.  Some rules you can bend, some you can't.  Just takes common sense, is all.

Left Friday night for Vero Beach, about 3 hours south of here.  Left at 8:30, stopped at 11 and napped at the rest area....made it a little further south and hit the wall, so to speak, and found a Motel 6, and yes, the light was on.  Made to my Aunt's house, spent the rest of the weekend there, left Sunday afternoon.  Was good to see them and my cousin & his family.  Go home and finished cooking roast beef dinner.  Ran trains for a while.  Brutus, I have a PowerMaster on the outer loop and TMCC on the inner.  CAB-1 runs both, it's pretty cool to do that!  Cleaned train room and kitty litter.  Son vacuumed the house & I cleaned kitchen.  Left his house in bed by 10. 

Daytona and Indy - 2 great races, watch Daytona, usually out and about for Indy. 

We think of our service men & women here daily.  I'm part of the Patriot Guard (though I have yet to ride on a mission, always during work hours it seems), and I get the mission update locally.  It's sad that they have to sacrifice themselves for our freedom and some of our "citizens" are too stupid to get it.  My Dad, 3 uncles, 2 great uncles and my 3 younger brothers all served (& 2 brothers still are).  Huge respect for the military....prayers to out military protectors!

Buckeye, suggest gold mettalic socks with formal shoes...you'll be the hit of the party..I'll loan you mine if ya want..!

OK< I'm done>,  see you all later!

Rich

 

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is another cloudy day in SE Indiana with temps maybe near 50.  Watched "Desperate Housewives" last night.  It was good and funny.  We slept most of the day on Sunday to catch up for Friday and Saturday nights with Lucas show.  Chief, hope you feel better soon.  I had bran muffins on the dining car from "Points East" this morning.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Sunny & 41 here in the Mid-Atlantic region...had to kick the heat back on.  I am planning good weather for YORK on Friday.  Laz, I have the perfect pair of shorts for the occasion.

anjdevil- was it a red light at Motel 6...?

[rtraincollector]

Morning all . It seems to just get worst here lol. I got a letter in the mail friday from the IRS it seems the tax preparer really hosed up my return ( normally do my own but in a rush this year) I called the  IRS this am to see how I can correct all this. The way I see it (redid last night on my own) I owe another $260 + about $1100.00 in pentlies for early withdraw of IRA's and 401k. If taxes were done right I would of had funds then but don't now so need to figure payment plan yes I know where my $1200.00 rebate is going. Well got done talking to them its all going to be fine. Just going to cost me more and now need to do an ammended return. This is what I get for not doing it myself.

So hows everyone else doing this great morning. I'm in a better mood than was past couple of day and just about over that cold/flu that some southern must of given me thru the internet. ( yankees have stronger imune system we bounce back quicker)

[anjdevil2]

Fifey: You can't place me there, and I'll plead the fifth

Believe or not, it'll be 66 today and a record of 38 tonight. Methinks I'll be leaving the windows OPEN tonight for great sleepin' weather....that is ifn I can ever wake up this AM!!!

[cnw1995]

Morning all. Cold here - barely 40 - but sunny. Hope it misses Mike C and points east.

Don, my bride read your post about operations and said no wonder he's so creative, he's left-handed. I have three parallel main lines that I run both directions. Usually though I have a preference on one so that Thomas can back into an interchange track through - what is that called - a trailing point switch? - and a preference for the opposite on another because its easier to back into Fortner Yard. My youngest likes to line 'em up to 'race' in the same direction though they wiggle into tunnels and around a town.

Plan on using the newly-recalibrated transformer tonight to hop over to Michigan with Korean take-out - Kurt's tonight or Sir James?

[laz 57]

No trains last nite.  Watched MASTERs GOLF.  Then AX MEN. 

I saw a couple episodes of Ax Men...Crazy stuff...  Interesting to see the rigging.

Hoping to take over the kitchen table today, and test the new GP-15...

1/8" plywood edgeboards up around the layout.  Final sanding on the control panel, I radiused one side of it...and stain today.  Brent:  Kudos on the plywood idea!  I love this stuff!

Kurt

KURT pretty cool show.  Now on Tuesday starts the CRAB MEN from Alaska,on Discovery Channel.

laz57

[sir james I]

GOOD MORNING

Sun is shining, not sure about the temp. don't care. sun is shining.

Chief=hope y'all are feeling better. have some warm sassafras tea.

Doug= my house or Kurts ok with me. Brutus was fine tuning the transformer but I'd wrap some foil around my shorts just in case. You don't want to show up "showing" like brutus did.

Home from my dental cleaning,He couldn't pry out any fillings so I'm set for six months. Thyroid Dr. 8am tomorrow.   Lets run some trains ,,,,S.J.

[RRCharlie]

Warming up nicely in Jax after a cool night. Got second LEGACY system installed in the dining room. Had some trouble with TR 4 on the first ZW, was not responding to command to ramp up voltage. Was that way for a couple of days. Don't know what I did but it started working yesterday afternoon so all 6 loops in the dining room are now operational. Have some "minor" rewiring to do and then in to the train room for some major cleaning and finish reconstruction. May be done by Christmas!! What year, I won't even fathom a guess.

Also moving stuff, junk, and furniture in the living room. Getting new windows installed Wednesday. There goes our rebate!!!

Registered my LEGACY sets with Lionel this morning. Quite painless. Little survey asking questions about layout and plans for future purchases.

Last week of new material in my STATS classes at the Junior College tonight and tomorrow. Review next week. Exam the following week and then start all over in May on Tuesday nights and June on Monday nights.

Hope all who are ailing get over their aches and pains real soon. I wouldn't have as many if I quit working in the yard but am trying to stay in somewhat of a race with the weeds.

Mel Hazen; Jax, FL

[ChiefEagles]

Afternoon all.  Wife stayed home to drive me to the Dr.  Got 1:30 apt.  Then she got on my computer and stay all morning.   If I had realsized that, I would have gotten on laptop.  Was suppose to be cloudy and spitting rain.  Sunny and fair.  Cloudy in the distance.  OH WELL!  Mainly snoozing ans watching TV.  Did stay awake through NM Elk hunting.  Thinned out phone directories.  I think we have gotten 500 this year.  Now we have 4 [including the two yellow pages] This software is acting up.  Typed the whole post and suddenly it switches font sizes for the whole thing.  Have ag reat day all.  BTW: keep telling wife she is going to have to see DR. too [we both have the same lady DR.] and she says no.  Affraid she will hve to pay $20 and geta shot.

[dbaker48]

Definetly had a short week-end !  Did get some train time on Saturday, got some of my switch details resolved, still futzying with the 3-way switch.  Needs some VERY fine tuning and it will be ok.  Having fun getting all the led's to respond correctly.  I complicated the issue, by having a turn-out connecting to a set of Y's back to back.  (One turn out goes to each leg of the Wye.)  So of course if the turn out is activated, then I want that particular mating leg of the Wye switched in the same direction.  So doing that I have the operation done, but don't have the lights working correctly.  (Has to do where how the led gets its ground.)  Then the second question I'm trying to figure is what color the LED should be at the switch motor.  Thinking about making all four of them constant yellow.  That way it shows a path, not a switch condition.

Then Sunday, ALL day on Taxes.  But got it done!  Little frustrated about the "incentive" program.  Chris filed his taxes in Feb., told he doesn't get it because he is our dependant, and also he didn't pay enough in.  Then I don't get it either because he had to be 17 or younger on 12/31, as Doug would say.....  RATS !!!

Chris had a lesson in life this weekend, he lost his wallet on Saturday night, and now having to go through all the issues with securing everything, and replacing stuff.  He just bought a new wallet which didn't help.  Oh Well life goes on.

Also, found out that the building adjacent to our train club has a group of Young Marines.  Well they are having a graduation on the 29th, and expect to have 300-400 parents and kids there that day.  So I think it would be a perfect day for a Open House.

Well better get to work,  Hope everyone has a GREAT DAY.

(Only suppose to get to 84 here today, was 96 yesterday, Anahiem Hills (15 miles) had 102)  Warm weather is coming !! 

 

 

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Afternonn all

I am off today sort of, I start nightshift in about 6 hours.  Mailed taxes bleh!  But took a walk on the way home and sopped in an Antique store in the neighborhood.  He had three marx trains in the window so I stopped in.  Nice but not straying from AF. 

He also had a Lionel set.  It was made up of a 2037 & 6026T, 6017, 6014, 6012, & 6015.  He had the boxes and set box and they were OK.  Typically he said I don't know trains as to the value.  Not that I would buy them, but out of curiosity what would be the value?  They looked very nice.  I don't know Lionel but they appear to be a low end set.  Any info about them would be nice.  If any of you would be interested I would help out

While I'm asking, around July 4 my bride and I are going to be at a convention in L.A.  Any reccomendations of train related things to see?

Check in later

Jim

[dougdagrump]

Mornin'/Afternoon All !

Don, I see that you guys are having an open house next weekend. I'll have to give it some thought, with the way our gas prices have been going that could be part of the decision process. For those that use premium it's already at $4+/gal.

What a difference a day makes, 99* yesterday but only supposed to be low 80's today.

Seems as if there has been somewhat of a reduction in number of items for sale on E-Bay. Now, with this being York week, will we also see a reduction in some of the crazy pricing that has gone on since the first of the year. Doubtful !

Jim, We were posting at same time. There are a few things to see out here, Don would have the better info(re: more up to date) for the L.A. area but it will be pretty much dependent on how much free time is available. Keep us posted.

Please, don't mention that dirty word "Taxes", we just mailed ours in over the weekend. They were finished up early March but since I had to pay I sit on it til almost the last minute.