Coffee Pot #12 December 2011 5+ years and going strong and its for all to chat. Plenty of coffee and ice tea for all. Come and join us and chat.

[Buckeye Riveter]

SJ.....Michigan has the greatest and most beautiful golf courses.  In fact, Michigan with its lakes, snow, dunes, woods, streams, fields and mountains is one of my favorite outdoor activity states.  We used to camp near Paradise, MI in the UP.  Traverse City is now considered one of the best places to retire if you don't mind a little snow. LOL.

Looking forward to the Big Raid into North Carolina in January. 

 

[RockIsland52]

Just spent two hours running trains with the granddaughters and no pile ups!!!    The Postwar Rock Island 2031 AA is pulling 8 cars at a nice slow pace using just 10 volts. 

The USN NW2 switcher needs about 13-14 volts to do the same, and the motor heats up pretty good doing so.  Guess I will have to recheck the lubrication and cut back on the load somewhat.  The latter is a 1994-1995 build #18927 and looks new, unmarked, no telltale track marks on the wheels.  It is striking, pretty nice (yellow, black lettering) with the matching yellow USN crane car.  I will try to fill out the set over the next few months, but the cars seem scarce on Ebay; there are two unopened sets for sale (set #6-11745).  They also have a matching non-powered calf unit (6-18938) that is an add on.

Back to watching Turner and Hootch with the granddaughters......one of my wife's all time favorite movies.  No cooking as the leftovers are still plentiful !!!!!

Jack

[Northwoods Flyer]

RockIsland52

I didn't score the PE set I thought Santa or the elves were going to collaborate on and bring me.  My daughter got me the Lionel 2011 Holiday box car and the son got me a USN crane car thet goes with the NW2 Navy switcher engine he got me last year.  Score it all for me because my family is finally buying me something with flanged wheels for Christmas. 

In order to keep the propaganda machine rolling, when the family came home yesterday I could be seen lying on the floor by the tree runiing my new acquisitions from last year and this year    Hmmmmmmm, a USN NW2 switcher pulling the USN 2011 crane car along with the holiday car and some postwar box cars.......I call it the BE, the beer express.  Ya gotta have a crane to unload all of that beer.  

Jack.

Jack,

I have been following the saga of your desire for the Polar Express and your subtle hints to your family all through the pre Christmas season.  I've been checking the Pot periodically during the last few days to see if your wish came true.  While I'm disappointed (probably not as much as you are.) that you didn't get a PE, I am delighted that your family is catching on.  I'm rooting for you to get that Polar Express for your birthday.  Your American Flyer water tank will enjoy keeping that Berk supplied with water.

Keep up the floor action with your grandchildren.  I will be glad to vouch to your family that the possession of a Polar Express train set will be good for your mental health

Enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby

Northwoods Flyer

[RockIsland52]

ChiefEagles

sir james I:

Got CTT and PS2 golf so I can just settle in..S.J.

 

You can't play golf up there.  With all that snow, what do you do?  Paint the ball black and put a radio beacon on it.

Chief......we play with flourescent orange golf balls, and lots of them.....

Jack.

[sir james I]

ChiefEagles

 

sir james I:

 

Got CTT and PS2 golf so I can just settle in..S.J.

 

 

You can't play golf up there.  With all that snow, what do you do?  Paint the ball black and put a radio beacon on it.

We just cover the greens with grits, the snow won't touch the stuff.

[cnw1995]

Aloha. What day is today? That's a good sign of some time off. It looks like a happy Christmas was enjoyed by all. I'm glad for that - and praying for those of us that need healing of all sorts. Spent yesterday returning and exchanging things with my son - we managed to hit 7 stores in half an hour. Then my uncle and his family came over for dinner and I got to show off the trains! Today is a day for catching up - prepping some scholarship essays with my son. The Doctor Who Christmas episode was wonderful too!

[Banks]

Hello all,

Finally made it back. My we're a talkative bunch.

8n hows Mom?

RT sorry to hear of you loss.

Fife,    for your friend

Demay have you tried running your inverter from a battery? That should work.

Had a good Christmas. Both of my folks have the CRUD but seem to be on the mend. The family had a great turkey meal at their place. It was prepared by my wonderful Mrs. No train related presents but Dad's 254E has made many laps.

Been off work since the 21st. Here for today to do some things that couldn't be delayed. Now off till the 3rd.

Best get busy or I'll be here again tomorrow.

 

Prayers for those in need

[ChiefEagles]

sir james I

Got CTT and PS2 golf so I can just settle in..S.J.

You can't play golf up there.  With all that snow, what do you do?  Paint the ball black and put a radio beacon on it.

[sir james I]

Good Morning

41 degrees, the rain is turning to wet snow as I write this. I think we are going to have a stay in day. At least there's no plans coming from the other room YET. Got CTT and PS2 golf so I can just settle in. Nice chat with some of the guys last night..S.J.

[ChiefEagles]

Morning all.  Raining some and chilly.  Suppose to be gone by middle of afternoon.  Hunt tomorrow.  Hauling all those bags of garbage to dump site [town one is over flowing] and bagging up boxes and paper as recycle cart is full too.  Then go fill deer feeders [can drive up to them] even in the rain.

Brutus

Hurt my back the other day - actually about a week ago.  Seems to be doing better tonight, so hoping I have turned a corner on that. 

Have to decide tomorrow if I want to try a different job at work (lateral to a new position) or stick to my current job, which I do like.  I'm waiting for a reply from personnel one what it would take to transfer back if I really didn't like the new job.  I suspect their answer will be "huh?". 

Prayers for your back and the job transfer.

Have a good one. 

PS: Dummy me.  I just realized that I would watch a video of Jon E's layout as a subscriber of CTT.  What a great video.  Sharyl [his wife] did a great job of building the over the hill blow hard horn blower's layout.  If you haven't seen it, please do.

http://ctt.trains.com/en/Operating/Layout%20Visits/2011/10/Engelhardt%20layout%20video%20December.aspx

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 36 and sunny. The high will be 58 and it will be partly cloudy.

For how long it rained yesterday we only got a little less than an inch. The lake however is up higher and only lacks a foot of making it's normal level. My yard is all right as I'm on a hill and the land slopes away on three sides. My parents yard on the other is a soggy mess as the land slopes in only one direction. Toward the lake. Many years ago (1972) my father and I put in a drainage system in the front yard. It directs all the water collected in a ten inch pipe that goes to the lake. I was only twelve then and the house was 2400 square feet. The lot next door belonged to one of the neighbors and they kept cattle on it. When the lot came up for sale my parents bought it before a for sake sign could even be put up. That was in the mid eighties. In the early nineties we put in a drainage system for the upper half of that lot. Part of it would collect the rain coming from the roof of the new half of the house (still had to be built) and from the front walk, steps and patio. That would drain through a covered concrete trench (18" wide by 12" deep) that goes all the way down to the lake. There's a terrace wall that separates the front walkway from the rest of the front yard. We put in a concrete drain along the length of that wall to catch the water coming down the yard. This drain is covered by several large galvanized steel grates that are strong enough to to take the weight of my big van without bowing. This drains into a large PVC pipe (9") which opens into a central drain from the garage area. All that pours in an even larger 12" PVC pipe (I honestly didn't know they were made THAT big until my father brought it home in three long sections on his sixteen foot trailer. That pipe goes from the central drain to the ditch alongside the property. Only after all that was done was the new half of the house built. It was completed before 1998. Even with all that drainage there are still times (few and far between) when the rain  will flood the front walk and come in under the front doors (two pairs of French doors). Well my parents even thought that one out beforehand. The doors open onto the great room and the floor has a very gentle slope from both sides into the middle, neatly channeling the water to the back door where it drains out onto a small open porch. The amount of water that comes in is very small but is still enough to soak any rug put down in that area. This incursion only happens during the heaviest downpours, the last being when hurricane Rita came through in 2005. It take a lot of water to overwhelm the drains but it does happen on occasion.

Well, enough about that. Today I'll be applying some decals to a few locos that need them.

[rtraincollector]

Morning all not a lot going on here waiting for her Majesty to get up so I can take her shopping I would rather go in the morning but she likes afternoons and sleeps accordantly so guess who loses out normally oh well she can't drive so I guess its just as well. been doing this way for about 28 years now.

Went to fridge to get eggs to make ham,peepers,onions and eggs scrambled eggs this am 1 left lol 4 biscuits in oven already oh well it came out well as I put cheese on the biscuits and added the peppers, onions, and ham mix to the one egg and it kinda held it together but came out rather well actually so that was break-fast I probably won't eat again until 2 or so so it more like a brunch.

Its raining here today so not really in a hurry to get out on the roads anyway. will talk to you all later have a good week all

[Demay]

Konbanwa,

I just finished moving a ton of stuff from our old laptop (4 years old) to our new laptop (1+ month old).  The old one is about to die but fortunately I always backed it up to an external HD so the transfer was easy.  I will ask some our IT folks at my unit if the old one can be saved and if it is worth saving.  I wouldn't mind keeping it for the kids to use.  The new laptop was initially for the wife but now that she has the new iPad she doesn't have much interest in it.  This works out well since I will need it a lot for schoolwork. 

I was able to knock out my "to do" list today.  My wife chuckled as I crossed items off of it, but that's how I get things done. I already created a new one for tomorrow.  We are planning an IKEA trip for Friday as we need to buy some more shelves (train displays) and find some new storage options for the kids' toys.

dougdagrump - Thanks for the message; I will give it a try.

Dennis - He may get it next year.  He has his eyes on some other neat Lego items which were in a Lego catalog.  We made it known to him he was only going down this road once we saw he could keep them organized and stowed properly.  The IKEA trip should help us come up with viable plans.

Sayonara,

Joe

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin Ya'll From Overcast But Balmy Taxachusetts,

Got in some running time with the trains yesterday after some massive cleanup activities from the Christmas weekend. 

I didn't score the PE set I thought Santa or the elves were going to collaborate on and bring me.  My daughter got me the Lionel 2011 Holiday box car and the son got me a USN crane car thet goes with the NW2 Navy switcher engine he got me last year.  Score it all for me because my family is finally buying me something with flanged wheels for Christmas. 

In order to keep the propaganda machine rolling, when the family came home yesterday I could be seen lying on the floor by the tree runiing my new acquisitions from last year and this year    Hmmmmmmm, a USN NW2 switcher pulling the USN 2011 crane car along with the holiday car and some postwar box cars.......I call it the BE, the beer express.  Ya gotta have a crane to unload all of that beer.  

Fife......I was sorry to read about the loss of your friend.  The younger guys on the forum may think it strange that here on the Pot there are so many of us losing family and friends or are having our own health problems.  I too used to think very little about such things when I was younger and thought I was invincible, not so now as Father time has been catching up to me.  Pam and I have 5 family members aged 80 and up with 2 at 90+, and I figure there are no more tomorrows.  We must live each day to the fullest and make sure we don't take our family and friends for granted, nor ourselves.  God bless your friend, Fife.  He is at peace in a far better place.

Later, gang.  I have to go kidnap the granddaughters and bring them back here to my place.  We'll be teaming up, running the toy train propaganda machine today.  My new recruits are quite persuasive little tykes and may tip the scales toward a Polar Express set or (better) a postwar Berk with some PE passenger cars in time for my birthday which comes up in about 3 weeks.  As Rocky Balboa said, "Just one more round!"   

Jack.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a rainy 40 degrees.  Going up to 48 today with more rain.  Yuk.

Today is a busy day. I have a bunch of chores to do and a project to work on.  Not much new. Kids can't come down for another week. Car problems. I sometimes wonder if we should move closer to them.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast. Then, it will depart for all Points West.

Y'all have a great Tuesday.

Chuck

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Lots o'rain on the way and 40 here in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Might run into some SNOHIO at the top of Backbone Mountain later on.

Oldest boy came over with his little family last night for steaks on the grill.  5 year old got the Lionel gold aquarium car (he likes sharks), and the 1 year old scored a Lionel BNSF hi-cube boxcar (the silver one).  Ran trains (finally) with no pile-ups, but did have an occasional wheel hop or uncoupling.  My Railking RS-3 ran great.

[Brutus]

Fife - sorry for your loss.

Prayers for all who are in need and for our loved ones. 

Hurt my back the other day - actually about a week ago.  Seems to be doing better tonight, so hoping I have turned a corner on that. 

Have to decide tomorrow if I want to try a different job at work (lateral to a new position) or stick to my current job, which I do like.  I'm waiting for a reply from personnel one what it would take to transfer back if I really didn't like the new job.  I suspect their answer will be "huh?". 

Let's hit it Mike - I'm ready to go

[ChiefEagles]

Good night all.  Grandkids gone.  Youngest must be a queen.  She handles them well [almost 4, 2 and 5 months] and her sorry hubby [who came along and acted like nothing ever happened.  he doesn't want her to accociate with her family].  You would have been proud.  I was nice to SIL [to a point].

Rain tomorrow so will not hunt.  Run errands and clean house.

Stourbridge Lion

ChiefEagles:

 

Stourbridge Lion:

 

Good Morning CTT Fans!

Hope all had a good holiday with friends and family.  It's currently 27F here and overcast but the forecast looks to be heading for a small heat wave that should melt most the snow that fell the over day.

 

 

SNOW??????  What is that? 

 

 

Something like a COLD Hurricane

Got me on that one.

Sleep tight.

PS: Dennis, hope all get well real soon.

[dougdagrump]

dwiemer

  He is very good about not leaving pieces on the floor...though it wasn't always so.  For several years, we would walk in the dark and find those small pieces. Ouch!

Dennis

Dennis, Look on the bright side, they weren't Jacks. 

The only problem with my weight gain is every morning I have to step on the scale and that info goes straight to my cardiologist and primary care physician.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

rtraincollector

 

wrmcclellan:

 

 

dougdagrump:

...since there was a bit of weight gain overnite.  Will check back later.

 

Is this contagious? Same thing happened to me  

 

 

Must be it happened here too

It happened here too! I went from 240 to 246!

[dwiemer]

Good evening everyone.  Still on the recovery, may take a few days for it though.  Joe, our nine year old is amazing with Legos and has been asking for the Death Star for two years now.  He is also running a fever and still has it about 60% done.  He is very good about not leaving pieces on the floor...though it wasn't always so.  For several years, we would walk in the dark and find those small pieces. Ouch!

I will return to work in the morning.  Got a full schedule.  Then I will be off call and can finally medicate!  My wife and daughter managed to get out and do some shopping, those gift cards didn't have a chance!

Chief, hope you are able to get some meat in the freezer.  If we are feeling better, plan to get Ricky into the woods a time or two before the season is out.

Better hit the sheets.  God bless,

Dennis

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

IIABSDISEI with temps in the 40s.  Wife and I recovering from yesterday so took it easy.  We did go out to the YMCA to do some laps on outdoor loop.  I did 3 for about a 2.25 mile walk.  Finished up the February CTT.  Very good issue.   Spent part of the day looking at the asbstract from my parent's house.  Was going to donate to local historical society, but now am not too sure.  There are a lot of last names in there that are very familiar to the history of the town and some maps that showed the size of the town over the years.  They no longer do these for homes and I am not sure why.  Maybe because it was a lot of work....   Going to see large train exhibit tomorrow in Indy and maybe some other stuff as well.  Fifedog, sorry to hear of your loss and RT, the same sentiments.  One nice Christmas surprise was a "dopey-grin" e-mail from my Norwegian soccer friend.  Not much else planned for the rest of the week.  May build with my new LEGO set and work on some of the puzzles we got before Christmas.  Does anybody have the Empire Builder board game?  I read the rules.  It seems fairly simple, but it also seems as if it would take forever to play.  I had cereal and streusel coffee cake on the dining car for breakfast before sending it on "Points East".  I spent part of the evening running the Santa Fe passenger set on the back porch.  With the ceramic heater going, it is almost 70 back there.  I am glad the keys to the Tardis were found.  TBIL and I can drive.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[rtraincollector]

wrmcclellan

dougdagrump:

...since there was a bit of weight gain overnite.  Will check back later.

Is this contagious? Same thing happened to me  

Must be it happened here too

[SPMan]

oops!  The new monitor we got for the computer was not compatible with our old one.  It worked but  the image was compressed too much from top to bottom.  Luckily, the store took it back.  Not worth upgrading the old computer just for a new monitor.  Better to get a new computer when we're ready.

Pretty quiet day here otherwise.  Hope everyone is enjoying the day after Christmas.

Later,

Ray

[wrmcclellan]

dougdagrump

...since there was a bit of weight gain overnite.  Will check back later.

Is this contagious? Same thing happened to me  

[dougdagrump]

Afternoon/Evenin' All.

Beautiful day today, started quite cool (lo 40's) but warmed nicely with lots of sun.

Ready for a bit of a "misty eyed song" ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hR6O7VxKaQ&feature=player_embedded 

Fife, Real tough losing a long time friend & workmate, this time of year might make it even harder.

We were "out-n-about" for awhile this morning but went nowhere near any of the shopping centers, bad enuff just going to Michael's. Now that I think of it we should have stopped by Lowes to check on some of their ceramic buildings. Kinda/Sorta interested in the Lowes, Krispy Kreme and the Nutcracker bandshell.

Gonna be "grazing" on leftovers from yesterday for dinner tonite, I'll really have to be on good behavior diet wise since there was a bit of weight gain overnite.

Will check back later.

[KRM]

KRM

Hi Guys,

Got the mother-in-law, brother-in-law coming over today as well as the daughter, future son-in -law and the two grandkids. We saw most of them on Christmas eve but future son-in -law Dan’s son Dan Jr. (7 years old) was not there so we decided to do ours gift exchange here today. It will be fun because Jr. loves toy soldiers and I got him an old Lionel Commando Assault  

 

 

 Well I had a great day. All went well.

 I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

 Have a great night all!!!.

 

Jr.

Alexandria with big brother.

[Demay]

Ohayō (O-hi-o for Chuck),

It's 0800 Tuesday morning and the kids and I just woke up; that is sleeping in for us.  The sun is shining brightly and it is clear.  It's currently 32 F and today's high is 52 F.  I made a "to do" list for myself and I want to complete it by lunch.  After lunch, the kids and I can go outside and enjoy the nice weather.  We may walk down to the baseball field and have some batting practice.  I just had cereal for breakfast and I am enjoying some coffee now.

Dennis - I hope you are feeling better.  We considered the Lego Deathstar for our 8 y/o son too, but the fear of my wife stepping on endless pieces of Legos deterred us from buying it.

Fife - I'm sorry for your loss. 

Sayonara,

Joe

[sir james I]

Good Evening

41 now.

Daughter and SIL came by this afternoon with leftovers for us. SIL and I tried to find a plumbing leak from the tub in main bathroom, Were not sure but think we found and fixed it. Biggest problem was it did not leak every time it was used. I'm pretty full from yesterdays leftovers but banilla will be waiting..S.J.

[Stourbridge Lion]

ChiefEagles

 

Stourbridge Lion:

 

Good Morning CTT Fans!

Hope all had a good holiday with friends and family.  It's currently 27F here and overcast but the forecast looks to be heading for a small heat wave that should melt most the snow that fell the over day.

 

 

SNOW??????  What is that? 

 

Something like a COLD Hurricane