Not a good day to put the tongue on the pump handle -7 right now, not sure what the wind is doing. More snow tonight and colder weather coming in. BRRRR
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
Mornin' boys..
Rain and more rain today up to 58 I think. Miserable day, but you guys up North, I'm feeling it for ya....thank goodness my parents are in (of all places..)North Carolina in Oriental. It's a tad warmer there.
Made a quick round on the layout, then had to cook dinner. 2 cars I purchased off of e-Bay will be coming soon. I'd like to make 1 more TMCC purchase before I shut off the spiket for a while. Events coming that may preclude any purchases for the forseeable future. NOT that I'll be selling ANYTHING, 'cuz I won't. Need to sell those Hot Wheels though.
I have an appointment with a customer later, meaning I have to go out and get wet for customer satisfaction. That's ALWAYS a thrill!!
SJ, good that the restaurant is coming through for your son. That dental thing always gives me the creeps!
OK, see ya inna bit...NJ Devils in Vancouver tonight @ 10PM, but I'll be sleeping by then.
Have a great one!
(PS Dennis, you have (e)Mail!)
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
Good Morning from chilly (30°F) overcast Southern Ohio,
No snow on the ground but light flurries. I have a grim task this morning. I am going to bury our inside dog Emma as she died last night. We have been expecting her death and were watching for signs of discomfort to have her put down. She was the last of our pets. Bride took it hard, as it was her dog. I hate to tell the grandkids because they really loved her too. We can learn a lot from our dogs.
I am going to start stripping the 751 log loader. I am going to use a chemical stripper for the first time on train items. The 714 log unloader turned out well. I’ll post pics on Sunday. The JB Weld goober worked to make the hinge pin flare.
Ray – I hope the boy’s teeth do OK. If they want to settle for dentist cost, might also think long term if future problems arise from the incident.
Rich – Continued prayers
Dennis – P.U.S.H. I like that; it may turn up in a homily some time!
All take care and stay warm, cool or dry as preferred!
May God bless
Jim
GregM - There are more postings up for operator jobs. Check the USEC web site.
Good Morning,
Around 72 this morning but should cool off later in the day or evening. Nice to have a day off and not fix stuff around the house.
Horrible tradgedy hits Florida Turnpike on monday morning 1-12-09 in northern Palm Beach County Florida. Shoot out by police after gunman kills girlfriend and child, police kill gunman in volley of bullets. Gunman stopped car and open fired on police officers, police return fire killing gunman. Turnpike both sides closed for over six hours between Okeechobee Road and Palm Beach Gardens exits, shooting took place near mile 105.
I was 11 minutes late for work as I didn't know the turnpike was closed at that area.
Sorry to hear about the fire at the NJ transit building.
Maybe I can send a fan to Don Baker out in California, I have an extra fan or two just sitting around. Shipping might eat you up though.
Lee F.
Mornin' Fellas.Just stopping in to say hello. I received a really nice package yesterday in the mail... photos this Sunday.Started construction on the second timber bridge over the weekend. Hope to have it completed and both weathered by the weekend. Also need to figure out how to start construction on the curved timber trestle... this is going to be a challenging but fun project that I can't wait to get started. Been reading up on how they were designed and built and what goes into making one that is structurally sound. I didn't know that the taper of the legs dictates how tall the structure can be and the bracing is designed based on terrain and weather... I can't get the proper taper on mine, but it will be close so it shouldn't look too out of place. Most say the trestles should be a max of 4 inches appart, I'm aiming for 2.5 to 3.5 inches (I think the more trestles the longer and more interesting the bridge will look)...Also have to figure out how to make the hill behind the trestle... also thinking the trestle will have to be removable so I can work on the scenery... that should be interesting with how the Atlas track is designed and the sections connect...
Sturgeon-Phish GregM - There are more postings up for operator jobs. Check the USEC web site. Jim
Thanks Jim, I have been checking every few days. Unfortunately, the following from the job description rules me out.
Education and Experience:
Must meet the following:
Associate of Science Degree in Engineering/ the Physical Sciences or successful completion of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program or equivalent technical experience with a high school diploma or GED, and
I "rose up through the ranks" starting as a computer operator way back in 1972. I have many, many years of experience with everything from PC's to mainframe system programming, but lack the "credentials." that are mandatory these days. I will keep looking and applying whenever and wherever my background is relevant. I don't believe my prospects are very good especially since just about every day the news reports more job losses. Even Cessna is going to cut 1900 jobs. I am pretty certain that this company was not to long ago saying that business was great and they would not be cutting jobs. Need to get back to the hunt. Later.
GregM,
Many compies are cutting jobs, even where I work they must cut 275 jobs by June 1st of 2009, 26 jobs that I know of have been cut so that leaves about 249 more to go. It don't matter how many degrees or titles you have when a company's product is no longer selling due to the bad shape of the economy. Even low tech jobs are not safe, far as job security goes: here today, gone tomorrow! Even unemployment will run out sooner or later for some people, just hope that I don't need unemployment.
Morning all. Cold here. Muy frio I should say after spending the night helping the middle boy study for his Spanish final. Somehow dodged the Great Blizzard of 09 that the media were hyperventilating about last night. Maybe it's just still in Iowa. The fronts of Metra's F40s were impressively blasted with snow though at the station - and you could hear the ice fly off the stainless sides of the cars at 50 mph+ - sounded like a hail storm. Prayers for Jim and your bride on the passing of Emma. Don, I have an extra wall A/C you are free to have - come by and pick it up. Hope Ming is recovering. It inspired me to find and watch some Flash Gordon serials during lunch yesterday... long day with class tonight - always hope the van starts after 16 hours sitting in sub-zero temps. Glad Laz is running for us all.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Doug,Did you receive the lock-ons?
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a snowy 34 degrees. Suppose to get 1 to 3 inches and turn colder. I hope not.
Today is busy. Got the new computer working good. I appreciate all the e-mails from you Guys. Address book is almost full. Now to get the printer working. I hate printers.
Dining car was here and we had the usual for breakfast.
Extreme Trains is a repeat tonite. Coal trains.
Y'all have a great Tuesday
Chuck
Good Morning
Woke up this morning to more snow on the walks. But big suprise, Chief must have had a town hall meeting last night as the southern breeze gave us 34 degrees this morning. Won't last tonite is -3.
Walks are clear again now I guess twill be train time. Stay safe..S.J.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
Not yet, Brent. Maybe today?
Good Morning, (Chuck did you oversleep?)
Set a record yesterday, got up to 88, wife was home "taking down Christmas decorations" did seem very seasonal. Suppose to get the same today!! Can't believe this is the third day that those guys are still blowing dust out of the river chanel, (referance previous posts).
Jim - Sorry to hear about Emma.
Doug - I would come and get the A/C, but how could I explain getting caught in a blizzard retreiving an A/C?
Laz, if you were out here you would be able to burn off miles for ALL of us! You could probably go 50 miles!
Chief, Be careful, with all those free meals, you might have to consider investing in a Hummer while they are still available.
Ray, hope you get good information back from the restaurant. It reminded me of an incident I had in Phoenix, I was there for a month doing presentations. One day just before a presentation I bought a Tuna fish sandwich from Subway, the da--- tuna had some fishing line in it, which got wedged underneath a crown. And of course I pulled the crown off trying to get it out! I was ticked!
Budget situation here not getting any better, state teachers union and lobby are propossing an initiative to increse sales tax 1% with funds dedicated to education. That would put sales tax at 12.25% if they are all passed! Current education budget is over 50% of state budget currently. School "report cards" came out today 1 High School in LA has a 36% graduation percent, with less than 3% passing basic math proficiency! Whole situation out here is getting to be a scam. State colleges are giving preferance to out of state students due to increased tuition funds. And to think at one time we had one of the best systems in the country.
Need to get to work,(earn some money to pay taxes with).
Don
HI GYZ,
23 and cold here again to get some SNOHIO?
CHIEF, BIG THANK YOU for the coal.
BRUTUS, sounds like agreat idea. Maybe use a auger bit? I got some wheels turning.
DON BAKER, 50 miles, 50 miles. That means I can't sleep. Who needs that anyway.
Stay FROSTY,
laz57
Good morning all,
The forum is zipping right along this morning, must just get tired and slow down at night.
Weather here is cold and getting colder, to be down to 7 degrees by the end of the week. still not as cold as Jon's area, but more than enough for me.
Don, There is a big vote today in the adjacent school district. The school board wants to spend 110 million on upgrading the schools, this is a predominately rural area (between my house and the Susquehanna on your way to York) with very little industry and commercial development. I don't think it will pass as the yuppies are outnumbered by senior citizens and farmers. It will be closely watched by other districts. In PA we have rather small school districts. Lancaster County alone has 10, I think.
Spent the morning trouble shooting my MTH, PRR A-5 switcher. For you non PRR people that is an 0-4-0. When I tried to run it over Christmas, I sat it on the track and turned on the power. It immediately blew a fuse. Since the granddaughters were here and want to RUN TRAINS, I just put another engine on and set it aside. On examination I discovered the rear pickup roller on the tender was stuck in the up position and was shorting to the bronze strip that picks up the outside rail current. I popped it loose and when placed on the track it ran fine for about 2 laps. It came to a sudden halt when the 10A fuse popped again. After I checked it out I discovered the same problem, but on closer examination discovered the roller wasn't mechanically stuck, rather it had welded itself to the bronze strip. I'm now waiting for the coating of epoxy with which I covered the bronze strip to dry. Hope this works. It looks like the roller just clears the bronze strip when it is sitting on the track. When it goes over anything that sticks up just a mite such as a switch or uncoupling ramp, it hits. Will report back with the results.
Guess I have made a record long post this morning.
Keep warm, all except Don and Doug W.
Mornin' All.
Won't mention the weather this morning, don't want to add salt to anybdy's wounds. Save it for their driveays.
John, What about the position of the p/u roller ? We have have found that some are not properly centered, roller axle not perpindicular to direction of travel, which caused some shorting issues as well as the roller jamming on some turnouts.
Don, If it gets to warm how about finding a couple of island girls with some large palm fronds to fan you.
Brent, Sounds like some mighty ambitious building projects ahead.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
Jim, sorry to hear of Emma. You are right, some important lessons we can learn from our dogs...unconditional love would be amoung the first.
GregM, submit to the places anyway, just make sure you have a well formatted cover letter explaining your experience. Many companies are going for know how over degrees.
DJ, one of the magazines recently had a story about a fold away layout...like a Murphy Bed. You may try something similar that would fold down from the wall and take up only a little room when in the up position.
Well, finished my case, but while we were on bypass, some other hospitals called with emergency cases to do, so it looks like I will be here for awhile. My head is hurting, I will see what meds I can take to get rid of the headache.
Rich, continued prayers, just let us know when we have "PUSHed enough!" Also, got your message...we agree. Also, have you checked out the NJ Metro Fire Photographer's web site? Lots of shots of the action back home. If needed, I can see about getting you some web information if you can't find it. Also, every year, they have a banquet where they show all the best photos from the year and have some firefighter fellowship. If it happens to be around when you are up there, perhaps you can join them. I still have lots of contacts.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Afternoon guys
Thanks for the condolences for Emma, I will share them with my bride.
Just got back from church were I tore out some old shelves in the boiler room. Amazing what collects in 30 years.If anyone wants some 2x4's and plywood have at it.
As far as the 751 Log loader refurb goes the chemical paint stripper does a nice job, after lunch I will do some more prep and maybe get to prime it. Bride is at work so the fumes will be gone by the time she gets home.
Lunch fare leftover soup and cornbread and milk
Submitted cover letter and resume to five companies today.
I could get into so much trouble with this.
Afternoon all!
I'm finally able to post...Only had 'contact' boxes show up when I opened a thread. I was worried you GIZ didn't like me any more.... I realized it sounded more like an April Fool's joke aimed at Chief, and shrugged it off as a software glitch.
Jim: Sorry to hear about Emma. Prayers for you and your Bride.
Greg: Still praying for a job for you. Hang in there.
Quiet day here. Getting colder. Kid's don't want to go outside to play. So it begins.
Kurt
SO COULD I
Kurt, glad you made it. Did the log out/log in do the job?
Hello,You may have noticed a significant slowness in our forum lately, and may have received a “time out” message. It’s in part because of large threads like this one.To help alleviate the problem, I’m going to lock this edition down. The first person to read this may start a new edition. (I am not picking on your group nor singling you out. This is being asked of all big threads similar to this one. Thanks for understanding.)Thanks,Erik
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