Coffee Pot #1 January 2013 SIX years [April 1 is Anniv.] 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

[railhead53]

Good morning all! 

I'm back from my trip to St. Louis.  It was quite a trip.  It was 10 hours there and back.  When I walked into the house last night I guess I looked a litttle worn out and was a little hunched over my wife commented "you looked just like your father". You know, it's stuff like that that tells me I'm not 30 anymore.  Or 40 or 50.  It was a good trip though.  The EM-1 was repaired and I came back with the ZW-L in tow.

After we tested my EM-1 on the store layout to make sure the aux. smoke unit was a-ok  Bob, the proprietor of The Electric Train Outlet in St. Louis spent quite a bit of time with me going over the features of the ZW-L and how to set the thing up.  I'm still going to take some time to read the operator's manual this morning and then see about getting this beast hooked up.  This is the first "new" transformer I've ever owned beside the one I got for Christmas back about 1958.

I've also got to get caught up on all of yesterdays posts.  Did I read above that somebody has a birthday tomorrow!  An eighteenth birthday!  Wow, that is big!.    Happy Birthday LV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bo   

 

Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

   

[jeffrey-wimberly]

KRM

 Chief, and Pat, sounds like you have the same problem as us. Coyotes

We got them out here too. Pesky critters!

*

railhead53

The EM-1 was repaired and I came back with the ZW-L in tow.

That's great! Your loco is in prime condition again AND you have up to date power. I'd call that a worthwhile trip.

[Buckeye Riveter]

Lehigh Valley 2089

Good morning. 

Eagle Scout Ceremony to go to today. Last day of which I'll be a legal member of the BSA since I'm turning 18 tomorrow. 

One problem, I can't find my Silver Eagle palm. But, apparently, I have earned two Gold Eagle Palms (the Silver Palm is higher than the Gold Eagle Palm). My dad was the Scout Master of our troop when I got my Gold Palm, but someone else took over before I earned my Silver Palm. Maybe just a mix up?

As far as layout, plan on adding some more decals to my locomotives and cars today. 

Congratulations on your achievements.  In 1967 I was awarded my Eagle Scout Badge.  About six months later the first Palm.  That lifesaving merit badge was really tough as I lived on a large lake with plenty of  experience on and around water.  If you couldn't swim you were forced to learn.   I still keep in touch with my patrol leader who is a retired Army Colonel.  Tommy, Bob, Dan, Chris, Kenny, Tim  and I still correspond with each other and talk about our days in Scouts.  Tommy, one of the first handicapped Eagle Scouts of course is special.  Confined to a wheel chair, he camped out with us, even with snow on the ground.  (Roy, you make sure you tell those Texas wimps  that up north we don't sleep in no stinking cabins in the winter.)  

[submmbob]

Hello all

Over cast and rainy in the Ol' Pueblo today. We are getting a bit of a break now. Was coming down like a cow peeing on a flat rock earlier.

No work on the bike or the car today:( And haven't had a chance to put any sealant in the windshield channel of the hardtop yet Did get a friend set up w/ a battery yesterday. Caused a thousand dollars damage to his car due to buying a 're-conditioned' battery and saving $75 or so. Ooops. Battery came out of the MG and was new but has been sitting for a bit. Hopefully it will take a charge. Jumped started a Toyota w/ the Corvair yesterday. There is justice in the world

Jack - looked into coming up w/ something for the bathroom vent fan, but don't want to waste the time & money on this guy. Would rather work on my trains and radios

Santa Fe 0-8-0 came in Thursday and boy is it nice. Need to pick up a breaker before I hook up the RW to it.

Lunch is here and I need to check the mail before heading off to a meeting.

[MichRR714]

Was a slow and icy ride north to my cabin last night. 

I had a guy in an SUV towing a 2 place covered snowmobile trailer pass me doing about 70 then I was only feeling confident about 45 in my Z71 Suburban.  I said something to the effect that I didn't think that idiot would make his destination.  A few miles up the road he was in the ditch, truck rolled and snowmobile trailer laying on top of his truck.  I sure wish people would learn that 4 wheel drive does not help on ice.

[ChiefEagles]

Afternoon.  Melted away.  No more Yankee mess on the ground and highways.

Congrats to Lehigh on the Eagle accomplishments and Happy Birthday tomorrow.  Eagle Scouts make great citizens and leaders [except one who we know here ].

Bob, Corvairs keep running forever.

Charlie, glad you made it safely.

Pat, I need to come up ans coyote hunt.  They are getting friendly in one neighborhood west of us.  Not sacared of humans and chaseing them with their dogs on a leash.  SPCA had classes on how to scare a coyote.  I know how to scare them too.  

Later.

[rtraincollector]

Chief when in FL There was a guy that had no problems with coyote's he had a lync's it would tear up a coyote real quick lol. Had special licensee to have it thou.

Not much going on here today Got in trouble the other day one of the vets I kid with all the time wife complained because I said happy birthday ole fart

Oh well the heck with it.

[wrmcclellan]

Afternoon all!

Hard week this past week and I got too tired to stare at a PC any more to check the 'Pot.

Lehigh - Big Congrats on the Eagle! Supposedly true story about President Gerard Ford who was an Eagle Scout. He took a lot of ribbing over it until one day he recited the Scout oath and asked which of those qualities would you not like to have in your president? I was a registered leader up until this year.

Buckeye - you Nawtherners would melt in 104 degree Tx heat summer scout camp, and then the mosquitos would finish you off!

My distributor informed me my ZW-L should show up this week - finally! BTB quick review looks pretty good. I especially like the circuit breakers!

Have a great one all!

[sir james I]

RT sign her up I think she would fit right in here.

Chief our snow is gone too...So there.

[hscsltb]

Lehigh congrats on becoming an Eagle.A great accomplishment! I only made it to Life myself.My son is working towards his Bear badge this year.

[hscsltb]

Cheif we had some coyotes up here in the suburbs but have not seen them in a while.My wife thinks one of the neighbors may have poisoned them.People around here were all paniced about them.I thought the howling was kind of cool.Did have a cat disappear though. 

[Buckeye Riveter]

wrmcclellan

Buckeye - you Nawtherners would melt in 104 degree Tx heat summer scout camp, and then the mosquitos would finish you off!

I'll bet on a Canadian mosquito backed up by millions of black flies every time in 95 degree heat. (It was 102 this last summer in Ohio and we still went to the beach.)

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Buckeye Riveter

I'll bet on a Canadian mosquito backed up by millions of black flies every time in 95 degree heat. (It was 102 this last summer in Ohio and we still went to the beach.)

After years of observing Yankees that transplanted themselves here I have to say that the vast majority of them just about wilt when they step out into the heat and high humidity here in the summer. I think the humidity is the big factor as I've seen it happen with folks from Arizona and New Mexico as well. And the mosquitoes? They just move you around and eat you where they dang well please. Yeah, we have them little irritating, biting black flies down here too. Little bitty things, but man! Do they bite! And we have those black love bugs. They don't bite or anything like that but they can ruin the paint on your car in a hurry.

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

hscsltb

Lehigh congrats on becoming an Eagle.A great accomplishment! I only made it to Life myself.My son is working towards his Bear badge this year.

Thank you! Hope your son gets the Arrow of Light. 

As far as adding decals, I'm taking a break for today. Added several decals, each turning out good. Smell of Micro Set didn't help either. 

[MichRR714]

My Dad has been talking about buying a tractor for 20 years.  His heart attack in August made him look at life a little differently. 

Today he finally bought that tractor.  A dream come true for him.

watch?v=HGfJpefgxXA

[anjdevil2]

Charlie - NICE tractor...the painted alternator is a nice touch!! Congas to your Dad!!  Grandpa had an old Ford tractor and sold it before he passed.  I loved that thing...I actually asked him to give it to me,,,

LV - Congas on the Eagle - my nephew just got his.  His project was documenting the Sgt. York trail in France with his Dad (the Colonel, USA).

Kev - IF there were lawyers involved, once he saw my W2, I'm sure he'd back away, slooowly.

JimmyT - Pretty cool!! I was in Tampa for some car festival and there was this guy with a '70 fury 4 door and it had the front seats, all 4 doors, no top or trunk...carpeted from front to back bumper.  Did a burnout until BOTH back tires blew...what a hoot!!!  It was spittin' alligators.....

BTW, Ryan...I was up at 0530 for work, roads were wet and luckily, no traffic.

Stopped by the Harley dealer and got the soft sell.....they REALLY want to look at my bike.....but, we'll see.

Stopped by the train store as well, dropped another $25 on the train set....and...SURPRISE>>>he had a demo on the layout.  I'm impressed.  the RTR Railsounds are pretty good, and the rolling stock is very nicely done. 

Hit 25F today, bright sunshine....supposed to get to 60 by Thursday....yeah, ok.....

Jeffery - After 18 long years in Florida, I can honestly say that the humidity is the killer.  Las Vegas was 118F and it was fine.  80F with 90% humidity...oy vey,,,I'll take snow anytime...

We have a menagerie here, 7 feral cats (we feed them and house them in a shelter under the picnic table, they are a little shy), a fox or 2, raccoon and opossum.  Haven't seen coyote or wolves yet, but there have been bear here.

I think I'm going to set up a little loop and run something...check back later!

[KRM]

Charlie, Your dad has one nice old tractor there. Good for him.

LV, and an Eagle on top. At 18 do you have to sign up with Uncle Sam these days?

 I pulled some wire today for additional lights above the layout addition. Have been feeling kind of run down so I took a nap from advice I get from Chuck's post.  Not much else today.

 I will hold off on a ZW-L till I see how well they hold up. I don't have much faith in new Lionel stuff since everything modern I have has had at least one problem each. The Dockside has put a bitter taste in my mouth and it is conventional. Besides below $800.01 is a bit steep for my blood.

Have a good night.

[sir james I]

LV congrats and Happy Birthday...

Laptop says 27 degrees. I'm heading out early tomorrow for the train show and setup for the modular layout. It will feel good to get out of here for a few hours. Temp wise we get a break from Mon to Thurs. then back to the 20s again. Banilla will be waiting for the thingy guys...S.J.

Charlie congrats to your dad it's great he was able to get  it. I hope he will be enjoying that tractor for years to come.

[wrconstruction]

evening guys, I played with trains ALL day today.  couldnt figure out why the wife wasn't bothering me, she even came into the basement (prob only the 4th time in 9 years) and saw my collection of motorized units and fell in love with them, and we had them all out running at once.  she was happy,   turns out she bought a 50" LED TV when I wasnt looking today.  its actually pretty nice, can do the internet on it too.  should see the photos you guys post in 12" x 24" format NICE!!   

Any way, I an REALLY disapointed in the lionel tubular switches  derailment city!1!!!!  dont know if I can tweek them or not......   seems money saved = time wasted  not happy at all

Any suggestions?   good thing this is just my trial layout.   It was fun though having 3 trains running at once too. 

I think the new layout will be all ross switches and GG track, except for the o27 area. 

Next issue I have is why does my MTH z-750 controler run lionel trains better than a ZW or a CW80?   what the heck?   really re thinking all the ZW's I have (6 total) 

Next  issue, why does my MTH S-2 turbine keep throwing traction tires?  

i LOVE the engine, but the traction tires are ticking me   

 the only good thing is that I am learning  ALOT on this layout 

gotta go do some research on these switches , theres gotta be a reason i got them sOOOOO  cheap NIB

Hope all is well with every one 

Ryan

[jeffrey-wimberly]

KRM

 I will hold off on a ZW-L till I see how well they hold up. I don't have much faith in new Lionel stuff since everything modern I have has had at least one problem each. The Dockside has put a bitter taste in my mouth and it is conventional. Besides below $800.01 is a bit steep for my blood.

I hear you on that. I ended up having to do the same with the newer Athearn locos (HO). Seemed like I was always getting new units that had bad motors, bad solder joints, loose wires, flaky light boards, etc. Seemed like the price went way up and the quality went down. Details look great but I don't give a flip about details and hair thin guard rails. I want them to run. The old blue box models went for under $30 but the new ones are $200+ and the ones I've gotten were crap, definitely not worth the money. After a while I just stopped buying them. Most of the ones I have now were rebuilt using blue box parts and parts from other manufacturers.

[ChiefEagles]

rtraincollector

Chief when in FL There was a guy that had no problems with coyote's he had a lync's it would tear up a coyote real quick lol. Had special licensee to have it thou.

 

I can tear up a coyote real quick too.  .22-250 or my .243.  SPCA would have a fit if I said that at their meetings.

Back from friend's visitation and then Chinese.  Looked for season 2 of Downton Abbey.  Best Buy and two Targets sold out.  Got only season 1 on Netflix.

Later.

[Brutus]

Well another day of aggravation and disappointment.  At least this isn't about work  These things usually last a few days and then blow over.  I'm counting the hours.  Went to Noodles for dinner with the family and to V-Stock (used games, movies, books, etc), but I didn't find anything I wanted.  Maybe I'll check the bay for a while.  Tardis will be ready soon, so warm up the beacons.  Bo - congrats on that ZW.  Roy, you too!  LV - congrats on your birthday and eagle, very cool!  Doug - feel better.

[RedfireS197]

Ryan,

          Are those the modern "022" switches, or the LTI disaster from around '95?  In either case, put them in the nearest garbage can and get some real postwar 022s.  Been there, done that.  Check the grooves for the traction tires on the turbine.  I've been getting 10+ years on original MTH tires on average before they stretch and get thrown.

Kev,

       I refuse to buy any modern era Lionel.  I've had nothing but problems with most of it.  The horrible reissues of the 164 log loader and 342 culvert loader were two of the worst.  Mainline crossing gates? Don't get me started on those...

Rich,

         As far as Plymouths go, I've always wanted a red '58 Belvedere.

[hscsltb]

 

         As far as Plymouths go, I've always wanted a red '58 Belvedere.

Christine ?

[RedfireS197]

hscsltb

 

         As far as Plymouths go, I've always wanted a red '58 Belvedere.

Christine ?

Yep. 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

hscsltb

As far as Plymouths go, I've always wanted a red '58 Belvedere.

Christine ?

Christine was a Fury. I used to have one that looked just like it. It rode like a tank.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

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

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

IIABSDISEI with temps near 30 today.  Friday went way, way better than expected.  What I thought would take all day left us with enough time to visit wife's sister on the way home.  Roads were really sloppy from the dusting of snow we got early in the day, but clear on the way home.  Saturday was nice.  No luck at the train show, but scored some track at Train Express.  Stopped at the Museum of Art in Indy and saw Edward Hopper's "New York, New Haven, and Hartford" painting, which I had only seen in books.  No "Nighthawks", but still nice to see.  Visited with oldest daughter and grandkids for a bit as well.  So far a good weekend.  Lehigh Valley, congrats on the Eagle Scout and Happy Birthday!   Enjoying the March CTT as well.  Nice article on the 69 ringiing bell accessory, and liked the scenery work on the display layout. TBIL but someone else will have to drive.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

KRM

LV, and an Eagle on top. At 18 do you have to sign up with Uncle Sam these days?

Thank you, and if you are talking about selective service, yes. Also looking to register to vote. 

Decided to celebrate my birthday today instead of tomorrow. Going up to my grandmother's tomorrow, so it allows more time up there. 

Got five N scale cars. They are as follows:

A Bachmann Pennsylvania Merchandise Service 40ft boxcar w/ sliding door, plan on fading the white lettering. 

An Atlas Lehigh Valley 40ft PS-1 Boxcar, plan on dry-brushing it. 

A Fox Valley Models Wagontop Postwar B&O Boxcar, will airbrush it with a dirt colored paint. 

A Micro-Trains Western Pacific 50ft Standard Single Door Boxcar w/ moving doors, rust patches will be added to it. 

Another Micro-Trains Boxcar, but 40ft in length and decorated in the B&O Sentinel Paint Scheme, also with moving doors. Paint left alone (too pretty). 

Man that's a lot of N scale cars at one time (not complaining, mind you). 

Finally, got two Lionel Postwar cars in very good to near excellent condition. 

A No. 6362 Lionel truck car. Very clean and looks great. 

And a 6650 Lionel Missile Launching Car. Has original missile, though one of the fins are broken off (can tell it has seen some heavy use). In operable shape and still looks cool. 

Anyway, good night everyone. 

[Hudson#685]

Good Evening:

I have been down with the crud today, but that was after going with my son this morning to pick up a dethatcher and aerator in Cape May. We had a little snow last night and the temps are down into the teens now.

SPMan, Ray, Prayers for Bea and your friend and his wife.

Kev: I know where you are coming from about what we missed when our kids were growing up. I tried to make Sunday our day.

Rich, Kev: Everyone in my family drives a stick. The kids learned on the tractor and it did not take them long to learn on their cars. My wife prefers a stick and she drives her 1999 Escort before she will drive the Explorer.

Blown Out: Congrats on the late Xmas bonus.

SJ, Charlie: Enjoy the show.

LV: Congrats on the Eagle and Happy Birthday!

Bo: Congrats on the new transformer.

Ryan: The owner at a local Hobby Shop is teering me towards MTH DCS and transformer. I am not sure how i am going on the new layout. He also is recommending Atlas O track, but I have mostly PW Lonel with magnatractraction. This track is Nickle Silver. Decisions, decisions. AF53 and myself have been known to smoke up the house also.

Charlie: Congrats to Dad on the tractor, a real beauty. May he enjoy it for many years. I had to laugh about the SUV with the snowmobiles. I see it all of the time. M y favorite was the time  was during a snow storm where you could not see 50 feet ahead, the roads were slick, I was driving a bucket truck in a line of traffic going about 35 and 2 people on a Honda Gullwing pulling a trailer was passing everyone.  About 10 minutes later everything stopped because the bike ran off the road into a guard rail. By the time I crept up there they were already in an ambulance.

Have a Great Evening

John