The pot of coffee is always on [even after 2 years have passed]. Come on in. Sweet ice tea too.

[ChiefEagles]

Morning all.  Slept late.  Had some light rain.   Don Baker, SHHHH, never got a building permit for anything I've done since I moved here in '85.  I've done a lot.  Mostly can't be seen.  In Wake Co., anything 12 X 12 or less does not have to have a permit.  So you say you start out with 12 X 12 and your ruler is way off.    If the neighbors will not tell, go for it.

Hope we get more rain as the day goes on. ???  Haven't heard the forcast. ???  If it dries out, I'll mow everyone's grass and mine.   If not, RR Tracks.  Later

[cnw1995]

Buckeye, we're on the Tacquenom (sp) - up river from the rootbeer-colored falls - closest town is Newberry - home of nothing but one of Michigan's maximum security prison.

Had a nice chat with the Chief in between errands picking up the daughter's birthday gifts last night.

Don, as if our town fathers have nothing better to do, they cruise the streets on garbage pick-up day looking for construction debris - woe betide the fellow without a corresponding permit. They also go around turning off the water for sprinklers violating restriction timing. They require permits for the weirdest things - at least the fees are low and turn-around swift... I called them before putting in the anti-radon venting and they didn't want to hear about it...good luck.

[jefelectric]

Still no word from Island Trains - anybody know if the Transylvania dockside switcher shipped from Lionel yet?

Jim,  Some one posted the latest Lionel shipping sechedule over on the OGR forum not long ago, but I don't remember if that item was listed.  Will see if I can find it.

Good Morning,

Babysitting the two grandaughters today while their Mom goes to the doctor.  Made them breakfast.  Little Smokies and fried potatoes.

Don,  I hope none of your city  fathers read this forum.

Keep cool,

Jim, It wasn't on the posted list as shipped.   (Added 11:11 AM)

[trainmasterz]

Good morning younz from north of Pittsburgh.

I missed the Sunday morning photo edition so I'll try to paste a couple low quality pics that my brother took this past weekend for younz (thats Pittsburgheze for "yall").  Its hard to get "the big picture" the way its setup now (with no walk around area), this layout isnt the best one weve had (at my dads house) but dont worry once I get my basement cleared out that will change.  I am in the design stage of a 16' x 12' walk around.  Ill post the layout when I get it done (for approval sakes). 

This one shows the 3 "main" runs at the bottom.  The inside loop of the 3 has a siding so you can run either the passenger loco past the station or pull out the frieght loco for a spin around.  You can see the 2 loops on top of the picture 1 passenger and 1 frieght.  You can see the mid level there in the background (center of pic) that has 2 loops as well.  My brother has done most of the alterations additions and whatnot since Ive been gone.  (Note: he has upgraded the wire gague "what a smart boy")  Another thing I will note is that he dosent do as much in the way of trees as I did.  Hes more of a plaster guy whereas I preferr foamboard.

Coaling Tower.  Shouldn't there be open bay hoppers in that consist?

I personally dont like the plaster job there.  If hed a used foam board it would have looked much better.

His little viaduct he has going on there isnt so bad.  I'll point out i hand made from scratch the factory building on the left!

View from up top.

Two freights passing each other on the mid "dog bone" loops.  I used to have the ol switcher down in a "yard" area.

Ahh some trees at least he didnt throw them all away Althought some could use a little trimming.

I used the tops of the "golden rod" if anyone knows what that is.  I find it in the fall because its dried out and keeps the "follage" the and cut it to shape then spray paint it add sawdust while the paint is wet untill it is coated to needs and finish paint to suit. 

Just drill a little hole in the platform and stuff the "tree" in that way you dont have any huge base.

Not too bad eh?

I just cant wait to post some pics of MY basement layout.

[laz 57]

Nice Pics TRAINMASERZ, keep up the good work!

laz57

[MartyE]

Drew

Those are great pictures anat.  Thanks for sharing!

[trainmasterz]

Thanks Laz,

Thanks Marty from the burgh.  I checked out your site, nice photos of your layouts.

Im supposed to be gettin more to post soon.

[trainmasterz]

O and Marty,

I espically liked the I.C. billboard and the KDKA car anat.

[csxt30]

Good morning from Gettysburg.  It is currently 67 with high temps expected to be about 84.

The heat waves must be effecting everyone,  Last week we had a thread on the forum where Bob Keller had to lock it up and I see now where a couple a people are screaming at each other because a newbie posted a question that looked like she was trying to sell some trains she inherited from her grandfather.  It started out with a polite reply that was basically "Hey, I didn't know that was allowed?" and few few posts later people are calling each other out....   Gee the girl didn't know the rules and you don't have to sign a contract to get on the forum.  I sent her a private message to try to explain, but some people got bent way out of shape.
Mitch

Yes, I saw that Mitch, and I agree ! Now I don't know if you all saw that, but our own Buckeye Riveteer posted a wonderful reply to that lady !! I never would have thought to put it like he did ! That was very nice for him to help her out with that onfo, I thought !! Good job Buckeye !! This reviewer gives him a 5 star !!

I will try to post more later, cause I know there are those that will like to see my Divco truck below !!

Thanks, John

[mitchelr]

I will try to post more later, cause I know there are those that will like to see my Divco truck below !!

Thanks, John

I can't wait to see more photos of  your  Divco.  What a cool little vehicle!


Mitch

[ChiefEagles]

  Just rained an inch in about 15 to 20 minutes.  That goes with the slow .2 we had this morning. 

I think I have found a groundhog hole under my fence.  Looks like a big borrow on my neighbor's side of my fence in a corner he has let grow up.  A tunnel on my side.  He's probably eating apples and peaches.  He probably moved in from the soybean field right behind my fence.  Think I will "sit up" on him under my big equipment shed and feed him some .17 HMR.

Great photos guys.

Later.

[mitchelr]

I think I have found a groundhog hole under my fence.  Looks like a big borrow on my neighbor's side of my fence in a corner he has let grow up.  A tunnel on my side.  He's probably eating apples and peaches.  He probably moved in from the soybean field right behind my fence.  Think I will "sit up" on him under my big equipment shed and feed him some .17 HMR.

Chief - seeing your post about the groundhog reminded of my grandfather.  He and the man I am named after used to love to hunt groundhogs.  In the late 1940's,  they would pull my father out of high school and have him drive while they rode thru the farm fields and country roads with  their rifles out the windows shooting groundhogs.  Try that around here nowadays and they'd lock you up and throw away the key.

Mitch

[dwiemer]

Evening guys,

     Don, If their is any chance of your AC unit leaking into the house, they have a special protection device that shuts the unit down if the water level gets high.  We have two units in our attic and had them installed for about $70.oo each. 

     Chief, no groundhogs here, but an armadillo just died of lead poisoning  We will keep the population down so they don't head your way.

     I am at the point to order track, so time to lay down some cash.  I hope to be doing benchwork in a few weeks. 

We were on vacation in Tennessee last week, on the way, we got cut off several times from some rather rude folks....and they all had Ohio tags!!  I am not kidding, it actually got to be funny.  Anyway, I am sure none of them were train folk as they were not very nice.  ALso, they closed one of the train stores in Seiverville, so now the only place has mostly MTH items at a little above catalog price.  No bargains and no purchases either.

OK, I'm tired and have rambled enough.  Hope y'all have a great night.

Dennis

[MartyE]

O and Marty,

I espically liked the I.C. billboard and the KDKA car anat.

I think I picked those up daun in the strip...or was it on Wesliberty Ave....maybe the SousSide.

[Anonymous]

Greetings from the "Confederacy" (VA)...

It's about a grillion degrees here with "humidity" (HAR!) at approx 2000%.  Working on
some old wiring on the fire engine (40 years old and messed with horribly!). Good practice
for when I get inside and want to wire up some more stuff on one of my train layouts. I
picked up some accessories that I am going to install on my Standard Gauge layout after
I clean and overhaul the mechanisms. A #80 semaphore, a #77 Crossing Gate and a
#69 Crossing Bell. All original and unmolested. Need good cleaning and replace some
internal wiring as the old insulation has begun to crumble off.

I was fortunate some years ago to locate some spools of fabric covered wire, so I will
use this on my rebuilds as it approximates the original wire. I use black neoprene covered
wire to duplicate the old black rubber covered stuff.

Having fun going to parades and shows with the "Big Red Machine". Wish I could post a
pic, but I don't have a website to host pics. Maybe if I send a shot to Chief Eagles he might
post it for me.

Later all, gonna get a cold soda.

[Brutus]

Marty - love the avatar!  Chesbchry - sounds like quite a job!

Chief, my mom's house was invaded by a ground hog a couple years ago.  She kept seeing something move out of the corner of her eye.  Walked into a bedroom the next day and it was there on the bed like, "Yeah - what do YOU want?"  She slammed the door and left it until my dad got home.  A trained killer, he proceeded to throw out his back trying to catch it in a towel - but managed to release it back outside.

Squirrels, on the other hand, have a funny way of dropping dead from his trees and ending up down in the garbage cans.

[jefelectric]

Funny you guys should mention ground hogs, one died of heart failure in my back yard this afternoon.  Second one this year, there must be a lot of that going around.  There must have been a bumper crop of critters this year.  Have a family of rabbits living under my gazebo.  They didn't bother the veggie garden but sure like to eat the flowers, go figure.

Not much time for trains.  Put a new latch on one of the storm/screen doors.  Having hot water heater trouble and one of the water faucets out in the garden in giving problems.  Plumber thinks we might have to dig it up.  That won't be fun due to it's location.

Enjoy the evening.

[dbaker48]

I think I may have our train room back on track.  Had another a/c guy out today, and think we will move the a/c 20 feet away down the patio.  Scheduled to start next Tuesday.  It is definetely a 2nd choice option,but seems it to will be less expensive, but not as practical.  Fortunately it is relatively new and not very noisey, will only be about 16 feet from neighbors bedroom, but the city wants it there. 

Yern for the time when you made your decisions, and YOU were accountable for them.  This society here is to committee oriented.

John(jeffelectric), good thing your stockyard isn't here!  As appeared on the news here, it seems the dairys in San Dimas, which is about 30 miles east of LA, the cows are dropping like flies from the heat.  They are losing about 15 to 20 a day. 

Mike C - let Lucas know lots of prayers and thoughts, looking forward to your post with healthy and good prognosis news.

[MartyE]

  Having hot water heater trouble and one of the water faucets out in the garden in giving problems.  Plumber thinks we might have to dig it up.  That won't be fun due to it's location.

Enjoy the evening.

 
Why would one need to heat...    HOT WATER? 

[1688torpedo]

Hello All!   JimF- Give Jim Berilla a call at the Trading Post Train Shop in Cleveland at:  1-216-661-7300 & see if he has any of the Halloween Dockside Switchers in stock. He ships out of state & his prices are below MSRP. Looks like a bumper crop of Groundhogs on this Forum. Might be a CTT version of Groundhog Day without Bill Murray in it ?  Don- If you move to Ohio we can make you a member OTTS & you can buy a home that's large enough to build a layout in it with no worries like you've got on the left coast of the country.  Jim C- Thanks for keeping us up to date on Luke. Hope he feels & gets better soon & his cancer goes into remission. Take Care all.

[jefelectric]

Why would one need to heat...    HOT WATER?   

I don't know Marty.  Just one of those terms we use that don't make a lot of sence.  Cold water heater would sound more logical but I never heard anyone use that term.

Don, The heat and humidity has actually moderated here a little, looks like you guys are still getting it pretty bad.  Seems like it is hotter than normal everywhere.  Just read an article that London is experiencing extreme heat and drought.  The have even given up watering the lawn of the palace.  Glad you are making some headway on the train room, it has been a long battle.

[MartyE]

Sorry John couldn't resist.  We call it the same thing here on the West side of the state.  Go figure. 

[Buckeye Riveter]

..............We were on vacation in Tennessee last week, on the way, we got cut off several times from some rather rude folks....and they all had Ohio tags!!  I am not kidding, it actually got to be funny.  .......................

It looks like our new Buckeye Driver's Education program is paying big dividends.  In another five years, we will have run everyone out of the south and can claim it as our own.   

[dougdagrump]

Finally saw, on HBO, the Tom Cruise version of "War of the Worlds" in summation, . To me the best part of the whole thing was the flaming train scene, the original is still far and away the best of the two.  

[ChiefEagles]

..............We were on vacation in Tennessee last week, on the way, we got cut off several times from some rather rude folks....and they all had Ohio tags!!  I am not kidding, it actually got to be funny.  .......................

It looks like our new Buckeye Driver's Education program is paying big dividends.  In another five years, we will have run everyone out of the south and can claim it as our own.   

Why is it the Yanks are always wanting what the South has and to move down here.  Must be something wrong with the Nawth.   We practice on groundhogs and armadillos just waiting.   Of course a better likeness would be a skunk [we don't have them in Roseyville].

Later.

[MartyE]

Finally saw, on HBO, the Tom Cruise version of "War of the Worlds" in summation, . To me the best part of the whole thing was the flaming train scene, the original is still far and away the best of the two.  

Saw that too!  Pretty dang funny.

[mitchelr]

Good morning from Gettysburg. Currently it is 66 with highs to be in the upper 80's.

Last night I primed and painted the pre-war 655 box car I have been working on.  I know the paint is a match, but it sure seemed pretty bright. I baked it in the paint oven for a couple of hours.  I will let it rest and cure for a few days before I try to re-assemble it.    I hope I can get it finished and post some before and after photos  for Sunday Photo fun.

Doug Murphy - be aware - the Mrs. and her friend are running loose in your area.  Her friend is moving to the Chicago area to take a job at a Community College, so they are making a road trip to check out the house she is buying.  Her friend has been looking for a supervisory job in our area in the Adult Education field for a few months. As luck would have it,  just days after she accepts this job and buys a house in Chicago, our school district opens the same job that pays about 10K more.  Then yesterday as they are leaving,  she gets a call back for a job that she applied for in March out in Spokane,  Washington.  Never been to Chicago, but I have a feeling we are going to be visiting the area.

Well, take care.

Mitch

[Anonymous]

Good Morning GIZ  from the Union of the Republic Northern Division! 6:50, 72 and Sunny here with an expected high of 87 today.  Loving all of the thunderstorms and rain for the garden!  Like all of you Jonny Rebs we have our own Ground Hog Problems up here.  My Father in Law has one burrowing right up against the foundation of his house.  He keeps wanting to borrow our one dog to come rid his yard of all rodents.  Alli, (1/4 Rotweiller, 1/4 Greyhound, 1/2 Retriever....   but looks like a floppy eared Dobie)  Will get anything in the yard.  We havn't found a rabbit, squirrel or groundhog that can escape her!  But in any event, Our garden is growing by leaps and bounds, the tomatoes are starting to bulge (Plants are 6' tall) and the pepper plants have over 100 starting to grow.  Looks like it will be a bumper crop this year!  Getting ready for the Reading PA GATS looking forward to running my container train!

I'll check in later

Shalom Y'all

Mike
By the Way CHief.........
I'll truck some Black and White Ground Hogs to you down there.  They will add a nice fragrance!

[trainmasterz]

Good morning from Big Butler Pa, where the visibility is: "If you can see it, you just hit it!" (thats if your driving of course).

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill........

It's gonna be another beautiful day today. 70 now, going up to 89 today and remaining sunny. Suppose to rain tomorrow.

Today we are grocery shopping. Nothing exciting about that. Prices are not fun. Gasoline prices are affecting everything. 

I have not done too much with trains lately. I will work on the layout if we get rain for 5 days straight, as they are predicting. I'm going to try some stain on the retaining wall and see how it looks. I have to build another one, on the other mountain. That one will be snow covered. I have some nice metal people on skis, that look good on a ski slope. I'll post some pictures when it's done.

Well, off to the Dining Car for breakfast. Talk more later.

Y'all have a great day.

Chuck