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

[tmcc man]

Wow, didn't know there were so many Corvette lovers, or gear heads for that matter, on the forum. I love all cars, but don't like Fords that much. I love muscle cars in particular, but those Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, and other exotic and luxury cars are awesome. Do you guys watch Barrett Jackson? I love it, and the 65 427 Red with a Black interior went for $250,000. I love that car, especially in that color, but I also like the Naussa Blue.

[tmcc man]

Holy cow.....I just had a flashback for a '57 Chevy Bel-Air with the 283 cubic inch, 270 hp engine with 2 - 4 barrel carbs and a 4 speed with Positraction and a 4:11 rear end. This engine had a special cam from Duntov with solid lifters and big valve heads. 12.5 to 1 compression ratio.

Was faster than the 283hp Fuel Injected engine. Fastest time in the quarter, right out of the showroom was 104 mph in 14.10 seconds. And that was in 1957.

Love that car.

Wow, 50 years ago !! Well almost !!  In 1957 I was only 10 years old, but what a thrill it was seeing my cousins with their new 57 Chevies !! All my relatives had Chevies back then & Corvettes later on too ! Plus my one cousin just sold his 63 split window Vette. Blue original paint & all spidery webed.

 

Do you know how much a 1963 split window coupe is worth?? A lot.

Chuck, $195,000-$250,000?

[tmcc man]

Wow, great talk about cars here. My neighbor has a '67 GTO, 4 speed, light blue, with 30,000 miles on it. Another guy has a '68 GTO, Automatic (yeah, I'd prefer a 4 speed) , with 65,000 miles on it, and he also has a 442 Olds convertible. The guy at the very  front of my neighborhood has a '69 Chevelle Gray convertible. They all make pretty nice exhaust notes.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Colin....I would imagine that you are close in that price. That was the only year that they built the split window. I even knew a guy that cut the window out and put a 64 window in it. Boy, was he sorry.

Chuck

[tmcc man]

Colin....I would imagine that you are close in that price. That was the only year that they built the split window. I even knew a guy that cut the window out and put a 64 window in it. Boy, was he sorry.

Chuck

Thats crazy. My grandfather's friend had 2, a 63 split window, and a 65 convertible, both 427s. Great cars, both red.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Is today Roy McClellan's birthday???

[csxt30]

Is today Roy McClellan's birthday???

I don't know, Chuck, but just in case it is, Roy !!   

Now back to the cars, which I think are realated somehow to toy trains !! I remember all these cars driven all year round in the snow & all the salt on the roads too !! Wow, that wouldn't happen today !!

Thanks, John

 

[Deputy]

Back in 1963 a guy down the block bought a 409 SS Impala. It was wild. 400 horsepower (you could also get 425 that year with dual quads) and 1-4bbl carb.

The new cars...well...they're okay. But raise the hood and it looks pretty intimidating. Hoses and tubes and NO carburetor. I sure miss Holley and Carter AFB carbs. Ford is coming out with a new Shelby GT500. It looks pretty cool.

http://www.autosite.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/593

But ALL of the first batch are already sold to collectors. And at prices ABOVE the $30,000+ list price. I don't think we'll see many of those rolling around.

On a train note...just placed an order for this stuff:

MTH30-2316-1 NYC GP-9 $299.95
MTH30-1319-1 NYC 2-8-8-2 $599.95
MTH30-7726 NYC caboose $39.95
MTH30-7739 NYC caboose $39.95

Finally found a jade green bay window caboose from MTH.

Dep

[tmcc man]

I already saw a convertible Shelby GT500. It's okay. At least it was a six speed.

[Pennvalley]

Now back to the cars, which I think are realated somehow to toy trains !! I remember all these cars driven all year round in the snow & all the salt on the roads too !! Wow, that wouldn't happen today !!

Thanks, John

 

Well, they both have engines, drivers & wheels.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Dep...Those were the good old days. I used to have a couple of rebuilt Quadrajets on the shelf to swap out on my Chevy, when I needed a carb cleaning. Bought a Carter Thermoquad and had fun modifying it.

Sounds like a great train order. I used my train savings for this year.

Chuck

[Brutus]

Happy birthday Roy - just in case!

[jefelectric]

Good evening,

Boy the activity has sure picked up on the pot.  Didn't check in today and had three pages to read.

Dennis, Was that your church they were talking about on the today show?  Georgia Church that made a movie?

Deputy, Thanks for the layout compliment.  It is still a work in progress.

The pot sounds a little bit like a car forum today, so I will talk trains a little. 
Went on a tour of the Weaver Plant today.  Very interesting.  The most amazing fast to me was that one man paints everything that they make in the US, which is all of the freight cars and some of the diesel engine shells.  All the steamers, the power chasis of the diesels and special items like the RPOs & baggage cars are also imported.

Off to York tomorrow, taking an HO buddy to show him what real trains look like.

Till tomorrow evening,

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good evening,

Boy the activity has sure picked up on the pot.  Didn't check in today and had three pages to read.

Dennis, Was that your church they were talking about on the today show?  Georgia Church that made a movie?

Deputy, Thanks for the layout compliment.  It is still a work in progress.

The pot sounds a little bit like a car forum today, so I will talk trains a little. 
Went on a tour of the Weaver Plant today.  Very interesting.  The most amazing fast to me was that one man paints everything that they make in the US, which is all of the freight cars and some of the diesel engine shells.  All the steamers, the power chasis of the diesels and special items like the RPOs & baggage cars are also imported.

Off to York tomorrow, taking an HO buddy to show him what real trains look like.

Till tomorrow evening,

John.....You have a good time at York. I envy you. Maybe next year. Let us know what you see.

Chuck

[luther_stanton]

I had a nice trip down to Columbus today. The drive down was rainy and foggy. After the meeting the temperature was showing 84. I put the top down on the way back and it was a great day for it. Thanks to an email from Dennis I was able to find the Hobby Town and picked a few pine trees. Always nice to hit the hobby shops ins a new area.

I took all the back roads; partially to avoid the road rage infested interstates within GA, but mostly as I enjoy the drive. It literally is like a drive through history. Small towns the the railroads made possible. I will be making a similar drive on Saturday to catch Railroad Days in Manchester. The city workers were out cleaning up and trimming the park bushes. Looks like it will be a nice outing.

I got home and worked out. I wired up a new controller for one of my block signals. Nothing major, I needed a bridge rectifier, cap and relay. I could only find DC relays locally, hence the need to convert the AC. This is the first time I every wired up block signals in this manner on the layout and it worked first try. It was a nice feeling when I hooked everything up and the lights toggled when the train went in and out of the block. This also means I can start ballasting, as I wanted to make sure everything would work with the blocks and signals before I put down permanent ballast.

I hope all the York folks have a GREAT time at the show.

Take care.

[luther_stanton]

Corvettes, now there is an interesting topic. We have had two – both C4s. Our first was a 1991 which was the last of the L98 engines. A nice car – unfortunately an automatic. We had it about 4 years and traded it on a 1996 Collectors Edition convertible. Another automatic, but the LT-1 made it a very different car – less low end torque, but more consistent power across a wider RPM range.

Both were the most powerful and smoothest cars I have every had. I had way too many Camaros and even a 5.0 Mustang. The Mustang came close. I had some modifications on it to the point it was turning low 13s in the quarter miles. But for pure smooth power and refinement, the Vettes were king.

We traded the 96 in on a Rubicon Wrangler which my wife now drives. I still miss the Vettes from time to time – but the Wrangler is a fun vehicle in its own way.

Have a good evening.

[mitchelr]

Chuck has got me thinking about catenary again.

Doug - if you are thinking about catenary, you need to try to find a copy of the latest issue of the Lion Roars, the magazine for the Lionel Collectors Club of America. There's an article about a pretty huge layout in Boston that has fully functional catenary.

Check out http://www.lionelcollectors.org/   for membership information.


Mitch

[dwiemer]

Good evening,

Dennis, Was that your church they were talking about on the today show?  Georgia Church that made a movie?

John, Yes, that is our church.  The media director and his brother thought up the storyline and directed it.  It is amazing how it has taken off.  They have had very little advertising, it has been through interviews and word of mouth that it has gotten into more and more theaters.  Everyone who has seen it to my knowledge has really liked it.  Funny thing is, I have yet to see it and I work with the media team.

Anyway, it is called "Facing The Giants" and it is on several hundred screens and is opening in Albany, NY and Washington DC, this week.

Was hoping to get some benchwork done, but I am on call and have been doing an emergency case all night.  Just finished and am waiting for some lab results and then I am out of here.

Dennis

[tmcc man]

Good morning everyone,

I am going to grab a bite to eat, and then I will be off to school.

Hope everyone has a good day.

[Jumijo]

Good morning, everyone.

Worked late here last night and will do so again today. That's cool. More money for trains!

Chuck,
I knew that the answer was John Wayne. His was the first Corvette in CA. A white one. Blue Flame?

My one and only muscle car was a 1972 442 convertible. Always loved the mid 60's vettes tough. I did own a 1984 Z28, but it didn't hold a candle to the Olds.

We did run trains last night when I finally got home. The Santa Fe El Capitan on the outer loop and a Williams 2023 set pulling the Lionel 2400 passenger cars on the inner loop.

I bid on and lost out on a 6466W tender yesterday on eBay. Lost by a buck, but my limit was my limit. They'll be others.

Off to breakfast now. All have a great day.

Jim

[Jumijo]

Almost forgot - Roy!!!!!

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

    IT HERE!!!!!!!!   YORK AH!!!!   AND ROYs BDAY!!!!

What a way to spend all your birthday money ROY at the worlds biggest train meet.  Hope you get something good?

   50 and nice day on tap for YORK to get to 72.

Hope everyone has a great day and oh yeah,

HAPPY FRIDAY EVE.

GOLF tonite against BRO the tally so far for the year is ME 5  BRO 5  and 3 ties.

laz57

[Jumijo]

Hey, Chief,

Did you happen to catch this week's episode of Boston Legal?! It had a little something to do with maple syrup. And you Southerner's think it's for pancakes! HA HA!! 

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is rainy and cooler in SE Indiana with temps only being in the 50s today.  Somebody posted the entire MTH catalog listing on the OGR forum Wednesday.  The Tinplate listing was disappointing again as there is nothing I will be buying.  My only consolation is that they are reproducing the Ives 1770 engine, which was a rebadged Lionel 390.  Perhaps down the road they will make the companion Ives 177x series cars, which were rebadged Lionel 500 series items.  That way I can add some compatible cars to what I have with new road names and numbers.  I cleaned gutters and picked up sticks outside last night.  The weather was pleasant.  I watched "Lost".  It was better than the first two episodes. 

With all the talk of older cars, I can share one story.  My grandfather would let me borrow his 63 Electra 225 on occasion. It had a 425 with a two-barrel and two-speeed automatic.  It was not much in the curves, but it would motor down the road.  They used to call them "Deuce and a Quarter".  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a gloomy looking day today. 55 degrees, cloudy and going up to 66 with possible rain this afternoon. We need sunshine.

Today, I have a few chores to do and then, this afternoon, I plan on working on the layout. I will start putting the winter mountain back together again. that will take awhile.

jaabat.....Yes, that was a 235 c.i. in line 6 with dual downdraft carbs. All 300 made were white with cranberry interiors. All Powerglide. 1953.

Well, it sure is nice having e-mail back. The Roadrunner is back.

Off to the Dining Car. Breakfast. All Aboard.

Y'all have a great Thursday.

Chuck

 

[mitchelr]

Good morning from Gettysburg.  Getting excited about heading to York today.  We will head out a little later than we wanted because our sweet little dog needs to go to then vet.  The vets have walk in hours at 11:00 so we will get there early enough to get on the road by noon, I hope...  She has a problem with her eye.  She can't open it all the way and it appears her right eye is not focusing or pinting in the same direction as the left eye.  Hope it is nothing serious.

I need to get going will report in later tonight.  Hope I can restrain my impulsivity and not spend all my money TODAY!!!

Have a great day.

Mitch

[Dr. John]

Mitch, hope your dog is okay! Hope you and all the guys at York have an enjoyable time and find some trains you like.

Roy - Happy Birthday!

The talk about Corvettes is making me nostalgic! My '79 was a sweet ride. I kept it mostly stock as it was pretty well loaded with good factory stuff - L-82 350 small block, short-ratio 4 speed tranny, FE-7 suspension, aluminum wheels. It even had an 8-track! I added a low restriction air cleaner, quad exhaust pipes (no headers) and hot spark plugs. It was a very, very light blue - you'd think it was white until you parked it next to a white car, then you could make out the blue shade. Dark blue leather interior (which got HOT during the summer in lower Alabama!) Sure do miss that car, but marriage, seminary and other things made it impractical. Sold it to a guy in Pensacola, FL who already owned two Vettes. I felt like it was in good hands.

Wish I could find a die-cast '79 Vette for the layout.

[Deputy]

Morning everyone. Colder than a witch's....well...you know.

34 degrees outside and frost on the windows of my truck. Speaking of my truck (2004 Chevy Silverado), I traded in my 1998 Black Corvette for it. The '98 Vette needed some work and having two of them was just a bit too much. I kinda wish I kept it, though. The power of that engine was something to behold. Even though it was an automatic, it could fire up the tires with no problemo. Oh well...decisions had to be made. And with that as a trade I paid almost nothing for a brand new truck.

I noticed someone mention ballast. Here is what I am going to use on my "Christmas layout" and then on the permanent one. Made by LifeLike...

http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200450506

I like the idea that it covers a 4x8 plywood sheet and it can be layed down and picked up. I'm off to S,S, and S now (shower, shave, and Sonic breakfast)

Dep

[luther_stanton]

I like the idea that it covers a 4x8 plywood sheet and it can be layed down and picked up. I'm off to S,S, and S now (shower, shave, and Sonic breakfast)

Dep

Hmm, after that Sonic breakfast you most definitely may need the other "real 'S'" - The other 'S' being from my Army days....

[cnw1995]

Morning from a cloudy and cold northeastern Illinois where I've been tasked to build a huge cardboard castle that would cover the equivalent of two minivans for Halloween - see where model railroading gets you.

My dream car I got when I was 16 or 17 (in 1980ish) - I bid on at a church fundraiser (and then horribly and fantastically won) a 1973 Dodge Charger SE - dark green, with a half-vinyl roof. I remember a dentist had donated it as is. It was pretty dirty but what a wonderful car.

What did I bid: $300. Back then, it was all the money I had in the world. I did it as kind of a lark - after I won, I had to call my dad and ask / tell him about it. He came over, looked over the car, and wrote out a check for me. What a great thing!