Coffee Pot #1 January 2012 5+ years and going strong and its for all to chat. Plenty of coffee and sweet ice tea for all. Come and join us and chat. GRITS for the Yankees.

[KRM]

Torrent is nothing more than a Chevy Equinox with PONTIAC on it.

Now another dead brand.

[Buckeye Riveter]

jonadel

Buckeye --  the Ohio trip is on the VERY short list, how's the weather the 3rd week of May look?

Normally it does not snow in May, but near the lake.  Remember there is no inexpensive place to stay in Indianapolis in May.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

KRM

Sorry Jeffery if you took offence. I was joking……… 

I drive a 2001 Dodge Dakota I order new from the factory, that in hindsight I would not do again. 161,000 on the clock and on its third heater core at $900 + a pop. Second AC condenser at $1,200 a pop. Dodge seems to think that is okay I don’t. 5 sets of front brakes with 4 sets of rotors, 3 sets of rear brakes and drums. 3 sets of ball joints, 13 mpg on a good day, AC leaking water all over the floor, front drive shafts, and I could go on. But like you it is what it is. I am stuck with it till I can afford something else. With the wife driving almost 90 miles a day to work she will have her 2008 Torrent wore out and need something before I can get anything. Glad I am retired and don't have to drive unless I want to.

Tks,

 

Not a problem.It gave me a chance to explain how things are here. Heater core? A/c condenser? Mine doesn't have any of that. It doesn't even have a climate control panel. There's a hole in the dash  where that should be. The one that was there caught fire due to the Chef boyardee wiring that was in it. I redid the wiring and got it straightened out. Maybe some day I'll be able to put in a heater core and a blower. Yeah, that's gone too. 13 MPG? You may be doing better than me. My old Century got a little more than that.Torrent? I had to look that one up. That's the one that came out after the Aztec. I used to see a lot of Aztecs on the roadsides down here. They didn't seem to do well in hot weather. Now I very occasionally see one. Still running that is. I see a bunch of them at the scrap yards. I hope the Torrent has a better track record.

I'm going to have to another keyboard for my computer. After 16 years mine is starting to die. Space bar isn't working right.

[KRM]

Sorry Jeffery if you took offence. I was joking……… 

I drive a 2001 Dodge Dakota I order new from the factory, that in hindsight I would not do again. 161,000 on the clock and on its third heater core at $900 + a pop. Second AC condenser at $1,200 a pop. Dodge seems to think that is okay I don’t. 5 sets of front brakes with 4 sets of rotors, 3 sets of rear brakes and drums. 3 sets of ball joints, 13 mpg on a good day, AC leaking water all over the floor, front drive shafts, and I could go on. But like you it is what it is. I am stuck with it till I can afford something else. With the wife driving almost 90 miles a day to work she will have her 2008 Torrent wore out and need something before I can get anything. Glad I am retired and don't have to drive unless I want to.

Tks,

 Kev.

Kev.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Temp here is 38, heading for the low of 36.Looks like tomorrow is going to be 62. Went to dinner at my parents place tonight. Tacos! It was my parents,my sister and her husband and myself. I had to cut up the onions. The julienne blade on the new chopper we got today diced up two large onions in less than half a minute. It took longer to set the thing up. Didn't have a chance to work on the junkyard scene. Too busy getting stuff done for myself and tending to other peoples stuff.

Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

KRM

Jeffery, about the van…have you ever heard the saying Get out of Dodge??? 

As opposed to what? I can't just go out and buy another car. I have to work with what I have. So I'm just twenty years older than it is. That doesn't sound like much until you consider I'm fifty-one. That makes it thirty-one. Why do I suddenly feel old? Point is,it runs. Engine is original and solid, tranny is a factory rebuild and it has a new drive axle. Brake system is all new, calipers, pads,rotors,drums, brake shoes,master cylinder, wheel cylinders. My nephew was rebuilding it for himself then got hung up on a boat. He needed $400 which I just happened to have. Not to mention it's built like a tank. Universals are new, suspension is newly rebuilt and the tires are new. The tires cost $600 by themselves. And I got the whole thing for $400? That doesn't buy much car here. A somewhat descent car starts at $1,000 and it MIGHT have good tires and CV joints and run somewhat fair while it's making a smoke screen any military commander would be proud of. Sometimes not. I'm not talking a car from a car lot. I couldn't hope to get one of those for anything under $2,000. Besides which, I like Dodges. I feel very comfortable in it as long as I'm properly dressed. No heat? No a/c? No radio? Only three seats? The seat behind the driver spins around when it feels like it as the lock on it doesn't work. So what? Keeps the neighbors from asking for a ride to town. I had to do some work on it when I got it to make it road worthy. Undo the jigsaw puzzle that was the wiring, fix the brake light switch, get a working steering column.

[dougdagrump]

Evenin' All.

Buckeye, One photo is worth a thousand words ! On another note, I got the new t/t's from Lionel. Imagine my surprise when I discover the t/t's for the "scale" Lionel Mike is the same tire that they use on their 2000 model FT's. They do fit but they are a real bear to put on, will have to see if that adversely impacts their longevity.

Any of you guys have one of the MTH Railking SD70Ace's ? Good/Bad/Indifferent ????? 

Dinner is done, gotta go clean up the kitchen.

Later all.

[Anonymous]

Jack,

              I am running five loops around the tree.  Three are for MTH and the remaining two are Gilbert Flyer laying on original roadbed.

 

I keep thinking about the GL, and I've gone from aggrevated to motivated.  I have to finish this and get it back on the road.  I've got some leads on the filler neck, and the tank is available new if needed.  The quarters can be patched.  With the $$ that I've got in ($1280 off the lot and $700+ into parts),  I have to save this one.  My 97 was down a similar road after a small engine bay fire while troubleshooting a problem, and it has never run stronger than it is right now.

I've also been changing the layout from O31 curves to O42.  I'll do the three most critical loops first, then do the rest later.

 

[wrmcclellan]

Evening all!

Spent a long weekend in Tennessee with good friends for the New Years. Had a great time and like all such jaunts, I need a week to rest up from my restful trip.

Obviously way behind so Happy New Year all and for those in need,

[KRM]

SJ, So much for loosing weight. Just finished up some stuffed pork chops and that = 0 reduction in lbs. 

DougM, Wife popped today for that Beep I have been bugging her about. Boy they are almost sold out on them I got the BNSF. They say it will work on the 027 loop I have hope they are right. 

fifedog I am working on a plan to cross the creek that will be okay with the ins co. 

Jeffery, about the van….have you ever heard the saying Get out of Dodge??? 

Pat, good to know you have found your way.

For all of you that had to return to work today, hope it went well.

Night all.

Kev.

 

 

[dwiemer]

Buckeye, I think that was the photo of the year!

Dennis

[jonadel]

Buckeye --  the Ohio trip is on the VERY short list, how's the weather the 3rd week of May look?

[Buckeye Riveter]

fifedog

Buckeye - I am looking forward to such times.

fifedog....After this last couple of weeks running trains, it was worth all the time and effort building the layout.  You should have seen his eyes when he pulled a switch lever and we had a derailment and the power shut off.   BTW, I'm going to be in Baltimore sometime in April. 

Thanks to all who commented on the photo.  I'm still waiting for Jon to ride his big bike to Rogers Corners and run the trains.

[sir james I]

Good Evening

21 now, it will slowly rise into the 30s tomorrow. The doc saw me this morning, an hour after my appointment time. Seems he had visitors while his patients sat there waiting. They should have to get a appointment just like we do. Anyway all my blood numbers and EKG were good, so I'm set for 90 days. Banilla will be waiting...S.J.

[jonadel]

Greetings from the Heartlands where it's been kinda windy but still brown with no snow drifts or forecasts for any white death, WONDERFUL.  The snow blade is on the ATV and ready but thankfully it remains dormant, rusting!  I'm positive there will be paybacks .........

Presidential wananbe's, politico's, analysts and TV crews from around the world are here right now ......... along with ROBO calls!!!  It will be good to see the traveling Circus of Clowns head east tomorrow morning but THANKS for leaving your millions here   Once every 4 years is sufficient.

I'm in the very active stage of planning road trips for next summer, I truly enjoy the preparations as much as I do the actual trips, does that make sense?  There are so many places I want to visit but I fear there is not enough time but that's OK, I have no regrets.

I spent the morning talking with several teachers, their staff started the new year with in service meetings, it was great fun and self full filling.  I appreciate greatly that my opinions are still valued.

Best to everyone!

[LawsonFarmsRR]

I AM BACK!!!

Couldn't get on the forum for a week until I deleted the Firefox cookies. Thanks for all the help you guys gave me by private email. Hope to catch up on the Pot tomorrow.

Pat

PS: Happy birthday Buckeye again.

 

[dwiemer]

Good evening guys.  It is a bit brisk out....down to the high 20's tonight.  Had one case this morning and got home in time to take care of some honey do's.  Joe, That is the book I just picked up on Bonhoeffer, glad you liked it.  I am just getting into it.  Jack, glad you got that camera.  One thing to be aware of, when using the on-camera built in flash, if you take a photo up close, there will be a shadow at the bottom of the photo.  You can either raise ISO so flash is not needed, or, use off-camera flash.  Another option is a diffuser.

Chief, better watch that ATV, I understand it has a propensity to back fire!

God Bless,
Dennis

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Got the errands in town done. I almost ran off without a package I was going to drop at the Post Office, but I remembered it before I got off the loop and came back for it. I got the rest of my groceries. One thing I couldn't find was sliced salad olives in a jar, so I had to settle for sliced black olives in small cans. Came back home and put it all up. I also picked up a can of starting fluid. I need the stuff to get my van started some days (especially when it's cold) only for the first start of the day. Only have to spray it on the filter for a second. In cold weather I have to give it a few seconds to evaporate before starting but in warm weather I can kick it right over. Sometimes it wants to be a little contrary and struggles a little and sometimes kicks over sounding like a Hemi. But most of the time it starts the way you'd expect a 318 to start. Occasionally it'll backfire through the exhaust and rattle the nearest neighbors windows. One time it did it one of them was in the process of picking up his cat! Nuff about that! OUCH!! I guess most of the dogs here think it's too old to bother with and don't even chase it when I drive out.

Well anyway my father wanted to go to Wal-Mart a bit later so we both went in his car. One thing he had to get was something that would dice up a whole onion without having to even once pick up a knife. I went in search of that as he would have gotten the cheapest chintziest thing he could find. Sometimes the man makes Scrooge look like a drunk sailor! But he got everything he was after.

Got hand cramping going again. last time it was my left hand, this time it's my right. Been having occasional problems with cramps in the ribs on my left side too. That smarts!

Be back later.

[dougdagrump]

Hey All.

Won't mention the weather here, don't want to many unplanned guests all at once. Although they do have heavy surf, coastal flooding and dense fog warnings for the coastal areas.

Any of you guys ever thought about putting a "Garden Layout" on your "O" gauge pike ? Check this out: http://www.teenytrains.com/Train-Parts-Nano-Kit-PS100.htm .

We have one of these on the clublayout running on the roof of the MTH Greyhound Bus Depot. It gets a lot of attention from visitors.

Waiting for a callback from Atlas, got an engine that is in need of some TLC.

Later All !

[KRM]

cnw1995

 Tempted by the RMT 50% off Beeps sale. Though as I recall, they weren't too happy with 027 curves.

Doug are you sure about this? 

 From RMT add

"Compatible with most LIONEL, K-line, MTH, Atlas, Williams/Bachmann and Weaver 3-rail electric trains, this baby-sized GEEP Diesel is 9.5 inches long and perfect for use on all O and O-27 3-Rail model train layouts."

Kev.

[Banks]

Hello all,

Back at work today.

A chilly 22 this AM. A heavy snow squall last evening made driving scary. There were many fender benders. It came while son & I were shelling corn. He has orders for 1200 lb. We shelled a ton so there will be some on hand.

Buckeye great picture

Laz, are you hunting this weekend? I'm watching the forecast.

Best get back to the SS fund

Prayers for those in need.

[Stourbridge Lion]

Happy New Year CTT Fans!

OK, maybe a few days late in that...

Santa was good to me and got a few RR items both historical and model related.  Was a quiet X-Mas and New Year for us spending nearly all of it with just Lisa and my brothers dog we are taking care of right now.  Didn't spend much time on the forums these past few days other then to just pop in and check if anything need moderated and then pop out again.  It should be unseasonably warm for the next few days which mean we will likely get some snow over the weekend.

 

[KRM]

Cold and sunny. Wife and cat are still sleeping. 

Wife and I ran trains till 12:30 last night. I got out my old Marx 1095 for a few laps and let her command the transformer. No Pile-Ups.

 Was going to go out to hunt squirrels but this sinus thing is making me think NOT.  Maybe tomorrow.

Jack, Sounds like you had a great party. I would need a shoehorn to get 19 people into our house. Invite me, I would have brought beer!

SJ, Have fun at the doctor’s.

DougM Is that true about the Beeps not liking 027? I wanted to get one too to use on the small inner loop and that is 027 so that would be a bummer.??

Later,

Kev

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

RockIsland52

Jeffrey........I had to take a couple of ibuprofen and a nap after reading about your excapades with your Mom's furniture.  There is nothing better than to have a slave son to work mercilessly moving furniture.  It sounds as if she didn't get the memo that as we sons age our heavy lifting responsibilities are supposed to be phased out.  Hope you can recover from this current flurry of her interior decorating. 

I let them know I'm not lifting that couch anymore. Well,they decided it was sitting too high (three inch concrete block with brick on top) so they wanted the bricks taken out. Nicht, nein, no way! So they called on my nephew to do it. If they expected him to drop whatever he was doing like I do they were daydreaming. Three and a half hours later he showed up and did only the absolute minimum of what was required. That is,lift it and kick the bricks out. Now it's lowered but it's low on that far end again, so a couple of wood wedges will have to be put down there.

[sir james I]

Good morning

It's cold, only 23 for today's High. Going into the 30s tomorrow. Of course I have to go out this AM, got a Doc appointment. Regular check-up time. Jack the game of football has been ruined with penalties for just about everything. They can't touch, how can they play. Tag football is coming I guess. The Lions have had a good season but I would not bet money on them in the playoffs. Their fans are just glad to finally see some wins.

And a goodbye to all...S.J.

[cnw1995]

Aloha - back in the office and it's a balmy 12 degrees - about 3 with the wind. Aaaaaaah Chicago! Sending it on Eastwards - especially to Jack. Lots of Bears angst in the papers. Good luck on the kitchen faucet. My last project as well. It was a doozy, complete with hacksaws, rusted everything and the usual leaks. Tempted by the RMT 50% off Beeps sale. Though as I recall, they weren't too happy with 027 curves.

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin" Y'all From Chilly Taxachusetts. 

Not a cloud in the sky, 26, with the temps expected to hold steady until tonight when we are expected to experience single digit temperatures and a below zero wind chill factor.  The snow for this Winter season has been negligible with none in the forecast......but that will change eventually.

It sounds like everyone survived the New Years weekend intact with the medical crud infiltrating the homes of some of you and the football crud depressing others.  We are awaiting our turn in the RI52 household with the former and for one quarter appeared doomed to suffer the latter with the New England Patriots.....fell 21 points behind right out of the box, turned off the spigot, and then scored 49 unanswered points against the Buffalo Bills.  The seeding, bye, and home field advantage won't mean much this year in the AFC with either the Ravens or the Steelers in my "home" team's path.   One thing I don't like about professional football is how banged up teams are at this point in the season with top flight starters out of action or hobbling.  My Bears are out of it  so I will be rooting for SJ's Lions in the NFC which appears to have the teams this year (GB and NO) to put an NFC on the top of the stack in this year's Super Bowl.  Is it me, or are defense and the running game dead in professional football?  That makes the game boring for me. 

We had 19 here at my place for New Years Eve with 10 no-shows due to the crud affecting 3 families' children who had planned to attend.  I don't know where they would have all fit here as the place seemed packed and humming from 7PM until 1AM......with trains running around the tree in the LR and a nice fire going in the FR.  The attendees ranged in age from 2 to 82.   We serve a huge assortment of finger foods like fruit, fresh veggies, cheeses, every sinful appetizer imaginable, and way too many desserts.  As is our custom, it is a BYOB affair where we supply all of the non-alcoholic beverages, a sparkling fruit-filled sangria, and the champagne.  NO ONE BROUGHT ANY ADULT BEVERAGES.  The next thing I know my entire beer inventory was liquidated in short order; the wine stock and the liquor cabinet were tapped as well.   But overall, this is a far more sedate and conservative crowd when it comes to imbibing than the exact same cast of characters that have attended in past years.  Children seem to beget a safe and sane behavior in folks who were formerly serial party animals and maniacs!!!! 

RaySP.........was glad your "issue passed."  We told Santa to put coal in your stocking but he seems to have messed up and put it elsewhere.  

Jeffrey........I had to take a couple of ibuprofen and a nap after reading about your excapades with your Mom's furniture.  There is nothing better than to have a slave son to work mercilessly moving furniture.  It sounds as if she didn't get the memo that as we sons age our heavy lifting responsibilities are supposed to be phased out.  Hope you can recover from this current flurry of her interior decorating. 

JoeyD........it sounds to me like with all of the leaf pickup duties you have that Sherwood Forest has been moved to Japan.    I got to wondering.......are the cable/satellite TV bills as bad in Japan as they are here in the States?  Are cellular phones more prevalent than land lines for use in the homes?

WES......where are you?

Buckeye.......did you ever rectify your "gas" issue in Eastern Snohio?

Chuck........I keep reading about your chores but your list never seems to include cleaning your track after your more recent adventure.  You need to rearrange your priorities.

DougM and Kev.........I hope your supply of thermal underwear is adequate.  Sounds like you are sending your frigid temps my way.  Direct them in a more Southeasterly direction please.  I am getting depressed listening to the whining about temps 30-40 degrees higher than mine.   Chief and Dennis......are you listening? 

JimmyT........thanks for the pics of this year's Christmas layout.  It appears you have 4 loops this time around and some new toys?  With the PGT dilemma, next time you may want to run the prospect up on a rack at your local service center for a more complete inspection of the underpinnings.  They don't call it the rust belt for nothing.    You may want to part out this one and recover some of your investment.  Others are out there looking for parts, and you have them!!!!   Prayers continue on your job hunt prospects.

Dennis........I have to say that the Nikon D3100 DSLR (with video) was a sound camera investment.   I spent a lot of time reading professional (comparison) reviews and researching my needs and concerns before I bought this one.  I got it a few days before Christmas and have yet to open the instruction manual.  The user friendliness with "on board" guides, easy to understand/recognize icons, sensible drop down menus, a 3 inch LCD and an (diopter) adjustable viewfinder, the provided 18MM-55MM VR Nikor lens (bought the 55MM-200MM optional VR lens too), and the 1080P HD video with sound capabilities make this a solid choice for anyone wanting to enter the world of a DSLR camera that will do a lot of things better than a point and shoot.  I purchased a 32GB class 10 SanDisk memory card which will (allegedly) hold 4,500 photos on the 'finest" highest resolution setting or 100 minutes of HD video set on on 1080P.  Just as important, the data read/write data transfer rate of the memory card eliminates any choppiness in the video.  Our Christmas pictures came out so well that even my wife had to comment "What a difference!"  The wife did her usual search for the best prices on the planet and Ritz Camera came out on top (free shipping too). 

Rich........Christmas with the Princess versus the job front.  Your glass is 3/4 full, and something will pop for you too now that the holidays are behind us.  Hang in there, buddy!

I have a new kitchen faucet to install.  I'll check back later when the floods have subsided.   I attended the Brutus School of Plumbing.

Jack

[ChiefEagles]

Morning all.  25 degrees and windy [wind chill 18].  Pushing the Yankee invasion back.  Be back into the mid 60's by Friday. 

Starting the year with the Mayor stuff.  County Commissioners this afternoon and Town Board tonight.

Dogs and cats fed.  Out and back in [they don't like this weather either].  Wifey sleeping in as not working today.

Later. 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 29° and clear here. The high is due to be 55° and it will be mostly sunny.

Below freezing outside but it's a nice 74° in the trailer where I am. I got started on the junkyard casting yesterday but haven't as much as touched a brush to it yet. I cut the hood off one of the cars and milled out the engine compartment to reveal a big empty hole. I'm looking at doing that with at least one more of the vehicles on the casting before I start painting it.

After it warms up a bit outside I'll go to town and drop a package at the Post Office then go do the remainder of the grocery shopping. I could do the shopping now but the van doesn't have a heater and the Post Office isn't open yet. Not to mention I haven't had breakfast yet. Gotta get that taken care of or what little that's left of the vans upholstery could start looking tasty on the way home.

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys, and who in the wide-wide-world-of-sports left the barn door open?!  Yowza!  Gonna have to drop the pond heater in this morning.  Good news, is the belt fit.  Bad news, spent 3hrs in the chill with a fatal last night.  Gotta stow-away the Christmas decor today. 

Buckeye - I am looking forward to such times.