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

[csxt30]

Good Afternoon Everyone !!  Glad The Chief is back & everyone had a great time !!  Now that is a real man's breakfeast Don had there !!

my breakfast......

Just home from work today, now to try to rustle up some pictures for Sunday Photo Fun !!  Well, that could be hard !!

Hope everyone is having a nice day & the OTTS boys all had a nice picnic !! Hope I don't miss next years !!

Thanks, John

[tmcc man]

Good afternoon guys,

Chief, Nice to hear you had a good trip and a good flight.  Maybe your complaints hit the right ears.

Colin,  Well if your Dad is a Notre Dame fan, I guess he is happy, I could not believe how Michigan State fell apart in the 2nd half.

Jim,  Your comment about offering 10 cents a dandelion reminded me that when my two older children were small, I used to pay them 1 cent a dandelion.  My daughter still brings that up as an example  of the tough father that I was.  As she was always the one looking for money she really did do it for that and dug out a ton of them.

Son & grandson went to the Dover race today.  Got an offer of tickets and a seat on a vender's bus, hard to turn that down.  I imagine they got fed as well.

Got to run the wife is getting impatient as we are going to visit her Dad in an assisted living facility.

Maybe check back in later.

He was pretty happy last nite.

Just finished the 35 Biology essay questions, now to take some pics of the detail painting I did on my Atlas gondola. This is my first Atlas car, and I am pretty happy with it. Pics to come later. 

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

It has been sunny and cooler today with temps in the 60s in SE Indiana.  It was an interesting day as I helped my friend shoot a simulation of a documentary that could have been set in the the 1930s.  He does a lot of work transcribing old film to DVD and this was an experiment in film editing for him.  My family got together to help my dad with some yard work that my mom used to do as well.  It was a long day, but "Desparate Housewives" is on tonight and I am taking tomorrow off as well.  I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow, and I am glad the Chief had a good trip out west and back home.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[jefelectric]

my breakfast......

Don, If that is the kind of breakfast's you eat, you better figure on 3 foot aisles for your new layout.     

Jim Fortner, I like your Tofu recipe.

Back from our visit with the FIL.  He is a great guy and we always got along fine.  Last year or so his memory has really started to go.  Conversation is a challange as he doesn't remember much that happened in the last 30 years, except for maybe the last couple of years.  Seams to be a blank section of about 25-30 years.

Oldest grandson stopped in a while ago and we ran trains for about an hour.  He doesn't usually show a lot of interest but really got into it this evening.  He ran the MTH 1890 4-4-0 & passenger cars in the iner loop, the MTH SD-9 on the middle loop pulling a hopper train and the MTH S-2 on the outer loop pulling 18" passenger cars, while I ran the 3 unit K-line Lackawanna F-3s pulling 18" K-line cars.  Had things hopping for a while and no collisions.

Colin, Nice that your Dad is happy.  I wasn't really rooting for either team, just like to see a good competitive game.

 

[Brutus]

Worked on the basement for about 4 hours and let my son help, holding a spot light, handing me some tools and stuff - he really liked it too.  He owed me about 9 bucks, so I told him he worked off about 2 dollars worth. Then my wife got home from her spree with our daughter and told me the Michaels out by my folks house still had the Lemax pirate island set.  We still had a coupon left, so loaded up and ran over there.  I took a clue from somebody on the board and asked the girl to please ring it up as regular price.  She grinned and said sure thing.  Then I handed her my 40 percent off coupon and she winked and rang it up for me, so I got it for 40 percent off instead of 25 percent!  Then we called my parents and met them for dinner at Pizzeria Uno, or Uno Bar and Grill as it's known around here.  The last time I had their deep dish pizza was bout 20 years ago in Chicago, actually across the street at Pizzeria Due.  HMMMMM - Yummy!  Then my dad insisted on paying!

[tmcc man]

Just finished watching Cold Case, a very sad episode. Night everyone.

[Jumijo]

Good morning, everyone.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Don,
I just got your email this morning. Sorry I could not help you contact the Chief. But it all worked out and I hear that you two had a great time.

I think our layout scenery is finally finished! I put some time into it this weekend and for the most part, it's done. I still need to paint one more 2' x 8' backdrop, but that should only take a few hours.

Attended a kid's birthday party in an old mill building on the banks of the Merrimack river yesterday. I'd love to see all those old mills refurbished and put to good use as housing or commercial properties.

Lot of great posts on the forum over the weekend. Glad to see that!

All have a great day.

Jim

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a beautiful day today. Blue skies, sunny and going up to 70 degrees. No rain in the forecast.

It was a quiet weekend. We enjoyed it. Today I have a few errands to run and pack the car for our trip up North tomorrow. We are going about 150 miles , north, to my sister's in Seville. That's about 50 miles south of Cleveland. Paula is dropping me off there, to have lunch with my two sisters ,and then she driving over to Brunswick to have lunch with her sister. I have not seen my sisters since I was in the hospital. I think I look a little better, than 6 months ago. It will be a nice day for both of us.

Ran trains for awhile yesterday. I have to get busy with the layout. It's hard to stay inside, when the weather is cool and sunny. Not many of those days left.

I'm off to the Dining Car for breakfast. Later.

Y'all have a great day.

Chuck

[jefelectric]

Good morning,

Not much has happened since my post last evening.  The stuff I am selling on ebay is going pretty well, some going to cheap & some going for more than I would have thought.  Just cleaning out some stuff I will never use.  Some really old and some pretty new.

Going to the fitness center and then out to look at a job with my son.  Something he has not had a lot of experience with & asked me to take a look at with him.  First 'work' in quite a while.

Also have to drop off 3 boxes at the Post Office.

Till later,

[Dr. John]

Good morning, all!

Kind of cool this AM after a rainy weekend. Sun is out and should be a pleasant day. Busy Monday with the church - staff meeting, articles to write, visting hospitals and then outreach tonight followed by a class I teach. All good stuff but makes for a long day. I'll catch most of the Monday Night Football game tonight - Saints v. Falcons in the first home game for New Orleans since Katrina. We lived in New Orleans for a while back in the early 80's and I've always had a soft spot (in my heart or head) for the Saints. It was always fun watching Archie Manning (that's Peyton's and Eli's Dad to you younger guys) get chased all over the field, yet find a way to make a play. Should be a fun game tonight.

John, glad you've had some luck selling stuff on Ebay last night. I managed to sell a couple of items too, even getting my hoped-for price. Still need to sell a few more items - one way to recoup some hobby money. I'm basically selling some duplicate items or "what was I thinking?" stuff.

Wow! Some of you are really into BIG breakfasts! If this keep up, we'll have to change the name of this thread from the "Coffee Pot" to the "All You Can Eat Buffet!"

[Jumijo]

Dr. John,
I'm very much into big breakfasts. It's by far my favorite meal of the day. But I don't eat a big breakfast very often. As a matter of fact, most work days, I have 2 cups of tea and a piece of apple pie. Yup. Apple pie. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Works for me. On the weekends, I eat the healthy stuff - donuts, bacon, fried eggs and like that. No gree-its.

You and Doug should be getting your locomotives from your victorious eBay auctions this week. I hope you both contribute a nice detailed report of your new treasures once you have a chance.

Jim

[1688torpedo]

 Hello All!   At least we know Don eats a healthy Grits-free Breakfast every day. Don- Check your new Trainroom for one of the Chief's famous Grit's Time Bombs or else you'll have a white powdery mess to clean up later. Sounds like the Chief had a good time on his journey out west & had a trouble free flight as well.  Take Care all.

[cnw1995]

Morning from a sunny and cool Chicago.
Never got a chance to get online yesterday and see what I missed. It was a  beautiful day but I didn' t get out to work on the roof until latein the afternoon. Just as I ripped everything up, the bride needed me to come in to help out so hopefully, my tarp fix will hold for a few days before I get up there again.

Got the 520 just as Jim predicted on Saturday afternoon! I was worried for a moment when it just sat there with full power to the rails.Then I remembered to flip the switch on its roof and it took off like a rocket. Now to add the pantograph I got from Olsens. Will try to post a photo.

Looks like I can't afford Roger's visit nor one from the Chief - not with those breakfasts!
Chuck, what John Wayne picture were you watching on Saturday? I love the Duke.
Speaking of Notre Dame, I'm going to drive out with the family to visit this Saturday - send the two older kids into the game with my tickets and we'll just wander the campus. Hope it doesn't rain like Saturday night's game.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Doug....I was watching a movie of mine..." Big Jake ". I like that one. Also have " True Grit ", which has nothing to do with " GRITS ". I have a bunch of his movies. Old black and whites are neat.

Chuck

[Jumijo]

Ah, John Wayne.

"I was gonna hit ya, but I guess I won't. The hell I won't"!



Pilgrim.

[jonadel]

Good Morning from The Heartlands,

What a beautiful time of year, cool nights and warm afternoons. While walking this morning and chasing the deer from our property I'm reminded of how fortunate we all are. Spent the weekend in northern IA with our nearly 5 month old Grand Daugheter, what a treat. I tried several times to log onto the forum from our son's computer but the wonderful forum software wouldn't allow it, I tried everything. I was able to read the forum but not reply. Oh well, what else is new.

I've spent quite a bit of time (last week) in the train room lately, trying to visualize how I want to build the next and final layout. I've begun to prioritize my wants & needs to see what might work. For me the design part of building is the hardest part--it's hard to get the creative juices flowing. Ideally, I would love for someone to come in and see what we have and offer a couple of plans. I don't use any software design plans and am not interested, been there/done that with too many software plans over the years in other areas. I do have stacks of books with plans that I look at often and they are certainly a good start. It will happen.

Have a grand day :)
Jon

[ChiefEagles]

Morning.  Getting wife off to airport for trip to KC.  She is not an efficient packer like me.  I had to zip roller bag.  Ready to go.  BTW: the reason John Wayne had TRUE GRIT was because he ate GRITS.   I'll argue with you Yanks later.  Have a good day. 

[dougdagrump]

The Roseyville Rascal surveys the layout, the only real problem was he kept trying to lay on the floor to watch the trains.

[Jumijo]

Back from my lunchtime walk. I had to cut it a little short today due to an ever-blackening sky. Today was supposed to be sunny and gorgeous. So was Saturday. Lots of liquid sunshine then. Still, it beats snow.

Usually on my walks, I think about what to do next on the layout, and how I'm going to do it. But now, that's all done. So I started thinking about what else it is that I covet in the toy train relm. I was quickly overwhelmed with too many items to list! I wish I was born rich instead of handsome. 

Now that the layout is finished, I can clean out that room. All sorts of scenery making items like paint, furnace material, ground foam, and other assorted junk can get packed up and tossed in the attic. Then we can decorate that room in style, with lots of railroad stuff.

My 9th wedding anniversary is coming up on Wednesday. I might take a vacation day and spend it with my wife (and the wondertwins). Again it's supposed to be a nice weather day . . .

Jim

[jonadel]

John Wayne was born in Winterset, IA---about 20 miles from here. Grits are not allowed in IA.

Jon

[dougdagrump]

How about that !

Chief didn't bring us any rain as he has been known to do, but imagine my surprise when I'm reading the news and discover that somehow he took something back with him. This morning I read where S.C. had a couple of small quakes over the weekend.

[Dr. John]

Dr. John,
I'm very much into big breakfasts. It's by far my favorite meal of the day. But I don't eat a big breakfast very often. As a matter of fact, most work days, I have 2 cups of tea and a piece of apple pie. Yup. Apple pie. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Works for me. On the weekends, I eat the healthy stuff - donuts, bacon, fried eggs and like that. No gree-its.

You and Doug should be getting your locomotives from your victorious eBay auctions this week. I hope you both contribute a nice detailed report of your new treasures once you have a chance.

Jim

As a matter of fact, the blue and brass Marx 1666 arrived today. It is as pretty up close as in the photos. Also won a custom red and black Marx 994 from the same guy. Should have it in about a week. I'll try to post a pic of it later.

I like big breakfasts, but usually don't have time during the week. We usually have a family breakfast on Saturdays, especially if  older kids are home from college.

[Dr. John]

. . . and here it is - the 994.

[csxt30]

A really nice 994, Dr. John !!  You guys are getting me to like that stuff again, the more I see them , the more I like them !!

Looks like Chuck is going on  a trip tomorrow !! Have a safe one, & you'll get to do it again in a couple weeks for the train show not too far from there ! Practice makes perfect !! Plus gas is lower now !!

 Hope everyone has a nice evening !!

Thanks, John 

[jefelectric]

For me the design part of building is the hardest part--it's hard to get the creative juices flowing. Ideally, I would love for someone to come in and see what we have and offer a couple of plans. I don't use any software design plans and am not interested, been there/done that with too many software plans over the years in other areas. I do have stacks of books with plans that I look at often and they are certainly a good start. It will happen. Have a grand day :) Jon

Jon,  From what I hear, if you offer enough in the way of inducement (FOOD) maybe you can get the chief to help you out.  He has a lot of experience in planning layouts.

Dr. John, That 994 is one nice engine.  And yes I am old enough to remember Archie playing.  Never say him play live but a few times on TV.

 

 

[1688torpedo]

Hello All!   Dr.John- I was over at Stewart's Hobbies in Willoughby today & they have a 2026 Engine & Tender from 1948-49 in excellent condition & has been looked over by their Lionel guy as well. The price is $149.95 if you're interested. Chief - You should have your own private Jet for all of these places you go to. You can name it "Eagles Express Air- We fly anywhere,everywhere, Just beware if you dare" Take Care all.

[ChiefEagles]

The Roseyville Rascal surveys the layout, the only real problem was he kept trying to lay on the floor to watch the trains.

At least I do not have headons!!!!!

As for rain, CA has never seen rain unless it pours so much that parts of it side off into the ocean.  Flew over Texass and they got a bunch. 

Got everyone's grass and mine mowed [after getting Pam to the plane and my reports done on computer and emailed].  Fed the fish and chatted with Jim A. by cell phone. 

Now to fix dinner.  Later.

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all.

It is sunny and in the 60s today in SE Indiana.  It was a good day today as Lucas finished his last chemo session and the boys' team won 5-2.  I took the day off and went to the clinic with my wife and Lucas and then rested this afternoon.  The DSL is really nice.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

 

[ChiefEagles]

Hello All!   Dr.John- I was over at Stewart's Hobbies in Willoughby today & they have a 2026 Engine & Tender from 1948-49 in excellent condition & has been looked over by their Lionel guy as well. The price is $149.95 if you're interested. Chief - You should have your own private Jet for all of these places you go to. You can name it "Eagles Express Air- We fly anywhere,everywhere, Just beware if you dare" Take Care all.

Sweet ice tea and GRITS served on every flight!!!    OH BTW, the tea in San Diego at teh Mexican restaurant was sweet ice tea.

[Brutus]

Sounds like you had a good trip, Chief!  Hope Chuck has a good trip and a nice visit - sounds like it's better circumstances this time anyway!  Congrats Dr. John on your purchases and the rest on their sales.  So many posts and I can't remember half what I just read.

A friend at work went in for a stress test and ended up with a triple bypass last week.  At least he's doing well.  His blood sugar was high as well, so they are waiting until after he is recuperated to do some testing for diabetes - hopefully this isn't a double whammy for him.