Coffee Pot #4 APRIL 2013 TEN 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 Yanks.

[RockIsland52]

Chuck!  Chuck!  Wake up, Chuck!  Your Indians are losing to my Red Sox in the 8th!  OK, go back to sleep.

Jack.

[RockIsland52]

RedfireS197

KRM

submmbob

 Kev - the docksider moves again! However, only in one direction Have another idea I am going to try. Will send a PM later.

 

 Bob,

I am thinking of just sending you the shell and calling it a day. God knows you have so much time and effort in the POS it should be yours.  At this point I hate it. Lionel Modern SUCKS!!!!!

Kev,

         Now you sound like me regarding modern Lionel.  If they'd just bump up the QC, I think that would make a difference.  However, I remember even LTI production having QC issues.  I've had more pieces with issues right out of the box than pieces that worked perfectly. 

Just the thought of the reissues of the 164 Log Loader and 342 Culvert Loader anger me.  The 164 was way too much cheap plastic, and the 342 was over engineered to the point where the simplicity and reliability of the original was gone.  Rant over.

My money is on Bob.  He won't quit and he will get it sorted out.  And KEV's rant is really his way of encouraging Bob to "Git 'er done."

Jack.

[sir james I]

Howdy from York Pa. We spent the day at Strasburg, Listened to presentations by Bachmann, Weaver, Lionel and MTH, none of them made any exciting announments. We watched for the Tardis last night but I guess our beacon was off. No Banilla tonight we ate later than I'm use to...S.J.

[charliebrown]

Hudson#685

RJ: After years on the job I was able to leave most of the work crap at the door. It was tough but I developed the attitude that the work BS has no place in my family life and it worked out well. My wife even had to ask me what happened at work today. Unless a funny story came about I left it there.

John

Thanks for the reply John. I usually do the same but this one time Lets just say I blew it. Things are all better now. I think our longest argument ever was two days and we'll be 24 years married on the 22nd.

Thanks guys for the info on the curve question. I like rtraincollectors idea of the half straights. I may purchase a few just to test it out.

Rtraincollector - That email was to funny. Had me lol for real!

As for Lionel modern. I don't mind it but my MTH Killians irish red tanker blows all the other cars out of the water for quality and build.

Storms are a brewing. Good night all.

[RockIsland52]

Zero Export

ROCK, I am going down there Friday morning to straighten them out .....

LOL

I will post the results.......

Ryan

Ryan......bring a lot of $$$.  There are almost too many for you and SJ to bail out.

Jack

[RedfireS197]

KRM

submmbob

 Kev - the docksider moves again! However, only in one direction Have another idea I am going to try. Will send a PM later.

 

 Bob,

I am thinking of just sending you the shell and calling it a day. God knows you have so much time and effort in the POS it should be yours.  At this point I hate it. Lionel Modern SUCKS!!!!!

Rain here and thunder boomers.  

Kev,

         Now you sound like me regarding modern Lionel.  If they'd just bump up the QC, I think that would make a difference.  However, I remember even LTI production having QC issues.  I've had more pieces with issues right out of the box than pieces that worked perfectly. 

Just the thought of the reissues of the 164 Log Loader and 342 Culvert Loader anger me.  The 164 was way too much cheap plastic, and the 342 was over engineered to the point where the simplicity and reliability of the original was gone.  Rant over.

Bob,

          I'll reply to the PM asap.

[KRM]

submmbob

 Kev - the docksider moves again! However, only in one direction Have another idea I am going to try. Will send a PM later.

 

 Bob,

I am thinking of just sending you the shell and calling it a day. God knows you have so much time and effort in the POS it should be yours.  At this point I hate it. Lionel Modern SUCKS!!!!!

Rain here and thunder boomers.  

[Zero Export]

ROCK, I am going down there Friday morning to straighten them out .....

LOL

I will post the results.......

Ryan

[rtraincollector]

Evening all not much going on here tonight ( I'm in hiding ( 4 more boxes came in today (And I was At work ( I knew 2 where coming but wasn't expecting the other 2 for a couple of days ( time for her to calm down some)

I still have one and I'm high bidder on like 3 others With the way I do who needs york

well heres an email sent to me thought you all might like

Below is an article  written by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated. He details his  experiences when given the opportunity to fly in a F-14 Tomcat. If  you've seen it before, go ahead and read it again.  You'll probably be laughing out loud again by the time you get to 'Milk Duds'.

Now this message is for  America's most famous athletes:



Someday you may be  invited to fly in the back-seat of one of your country's most  powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have. John Elway, John  Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity,  let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity... Move to Guam  .

Change your  name.

Fake your own  death!

Whatever you  do,

Do Not  Go!!!



The U.S. Navy  invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped. I was toast! I  should have known when they told me my pilot would be Chip (Biff)  King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station Oceana in  Virginia Beach .

Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named  Chip (Biff) King looks like, triple it. He's about six-foot, tan,  ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair, finger-crippling handshake -- the  kind of man who wrestles dyspeptic alligators in his leisure time.  If you see this man, run the other way, Fast.

Biff King was born  to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the voice of NASA  missions. ('T-minus 15 seconds and counting .' Remember?) Chip  would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad.  Jack would wake up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting  for him to say, 'We have liftoff'.

Biff was to fly me  in an F- 14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60 million weapon  with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin  Montgomerie. I was worried about getting airsick, so the night  before the flight I asked Biff if there was something I should eat  the next morning.

'Bananas,' he  said.

'For the potassium?' I  asked.

'No,' Biff said,  'because they taste about the same coming up as they do going  down.'

The next morning,  out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my name sewn over  the left ***.

(No call sign --  like Crash or Sticky or Leadfoot. But, still, very cool.) I  carried my helmet in the crook of my arm, as Biff had instructed.  If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole Kidman, this was  it.

A fighter pilot  named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened me into  my ejection seat, which, when employed, would 'egress' me out of  the plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked  unconscious.

Just as I was  thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over me, and  Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up. In minutes we were firing  nose up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over  another F-14..

Those 20 minutes  were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride lasted 80.. It  was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell. Only  without rails. We did barrel rolls, snap rolls, loops, yanks and  banks. We dived, rose and dived again, sometimes with a vertical  velocity of 10,000 feet per minute. We chased another F-14, and it  chased us.




We broke the speed  of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at 200 feet we did  90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5, which is to  say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing against me,  thereby approximating life as Colin  Montgomerie.
 
And I egressed the  bananas.

And I egressed the  pizza from the night before.

And the lunch  before that.

I egressed a box of  Milk Duds from the sixth grade.

I made Linda Blair  look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing stuff that never  thought would be egressed.

I went through not  one airsick bag, but two.

Biff said I passed  out. Twice. I was coated in sweat. At one point, as we were coming  in upside down in a banked curve on a mock bombing target and the  G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I was in and out of  consciousness, I realized I was the first person in history to  throw down.

I used to know  'cool'. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass, or Norman making  a five-iron bite. But now I really know 'cool'. Cool is guys like  Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and freon nerves. I wouldn't go  up there again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm glad Biff  does every day, and for less a year than a rookie reliever makes  in a home stand.

A week later, when  the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said he and the  fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd send it on a  patch for my flight suit.

What is it?? I  asked.

'Two  Bags.'



God Bless  America

[submmbob]

Hello all

Long couple of days between training the new folks and working on the tipping radiometer.

Engineer came up last night and after some tests found out that the regulated power supply over voltaged the gunn for the local oscillator and thus we need replacements for each.

Jack - send me the info as well

Kev - the docksider moves again! However, only in one direction Have another idea I am going to try. Will send a PM later.

JimT - I may be able to help you out w/ the milk car

Time to make the drive back to the Ol' Pueblo

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

Good afternoon.

Hand's sore from writing all of those note cards. Ow. Also collecting references for the scholarship. Thankfully, no homework, so I can get more work done on that scholar

[RockIsland52]

No word from the YORKIES so that means they don't have cellular service or Wi-Fi at the local hoosgow.

[RockIsland52]

JEFFREY....I choose open frame as the older motor.  HUDSON JOHN.......my hope is that Mack's lab tests come back  "clean and green" and that the bill is under $200.    JACK.

[cheapclassics]

Good afternoon all,

It is mild in SE Indiana today.  Work has been extremely "interesting" the last few days.   Went to a Mass last night for my mom, which was nice, and a nice supper at the new parish school.  Lots of rain the past 24 hours.  Have not had time to read other posts.  Will try to catch up on them this evening.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[RedfireS197]

Joe,

        Thanks.  The anticipation is killing me.

Got some MDK repro 3656 cattle and a 2046 boiler front in the mail today. 

Still trying to figure out what to do with that china junk milk car that came in the other day.  Saying it's one of the worst reissues is a severe understatement.  The postwar made in USA 3662 outperforms it every time.

There used to be a great parts and repair guy in the Pittsburgh area, and I wish he was still in business.  He used to have the complete postwar 3662 frame/mechanism on his list, and I could really use one right now.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I'm working on two Roco built FP7's today and decided I'd have some fun with a simple question. Both of them have their factory equipped motors. One has a can motor and the other has an open frame motor. Which loco do you think is older?

[Hudson#685]

Good Morning from the overcast Jersey Shore!

Mack woke up this morning his almost normal self. Waiting for the Vet's report on his tests.

Roy, I hope that the flight works out for you!

RJ: After years on the job I was able to leave most of the work crap at the door. It was tough but I developed the attitude that the work BS has no place in my family life and it worked out well. My wife even had to ask me what happened at work today. Unless a funny story came about I left it there.

Fife: Congrats that the Yachet is in the water. Your friend from te Bronx is right. the damage here is still unbelievable from Sandy. They have barges and cranes removing debris from Barnegat Bay including cars, appliances and parts of buildings.

JoeD: Prayers for your young friend.

SJ/Charlie: The ice cream will be there. We are leving tomorrow around 1. See you at Smokey Bones!

Have a Great Day!

John

[RockIsland52]

cnw1995

Jack, I would also appreciate a link to Victoria's info for the MoD walk to honor your grandson.

Hi Doug.......I PM'd the link to to you.  Pam and I are overwhelmed and humbled by the support you and the guys on the POT have shown.  God bless.

Jack.

[RockIsland52]

MichRR714

Well he told me he would wear his PJ's if we made a stop here.  I made good on the deal.

I am feeling a whole lot better about our Yorkies now that I saw this picture.  At least SJ will be there to bail the rest out of jail when the need arises.

Jack

[RockIsland52]

KRM

charliebrown

 

Here is a question for the more experienced layout people. Can I mix my 031 curves with other radius curves to cut back on the complete radius or should I look to just changing over to wider curves?

 

 RJ,

I see no reason why you could not mix and match radius  I do it and have no problems and I like the way it looks. you can also add straight sections into curves to lessen the tightness. For example.  In the picture below the middle track coming off of the switch it comes out of a R42 switch to straight then into a R72 then a R54 then a R42  and back into R72. 

KEV.......you have taken your time with this expansion and it shows.  You started out providing lots of space, added one (elevated) loop, and then played with more ideas by setting up temporary stuff and trying it out.  I like the dedicated inside loop here.  You can name it after one of the grandkids and let them have at it with no concerns that an engine will accidentally find the floor!!!  You will be a hero. 

Jack

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 73° with 92% humidity. We might have some rain today. It'll be cloudy with a high of 85°.


Today I hope to get the last two FP7's decaled and numbered so I can move on to other things. There's this little Lima CP 0-4-0t that I want to take apart and try to get running again. All it's going to do is sit on a display shelf but I'd like to say that it runs. Another steamer I have is somewhat more ambitious and may be a complete waste of time. It's a Tyco 2-8-0 Consolidation. It's tender drive and the motor is toast.

[cnw1995]

Aloha. Grey and cold again.Spring must be here if Fife's pleasure craft is ready to splash! Great photo of SJ enjoying Horseshoe Curve! He must've taken the TARDIS with him. RJ, I've mixed and matched curves over the years - even cut up track to make my own. Right now, I'm using a custom sharper curve into an engine house. My engine has such a short-wheelbase that it works. 

Jack, I would also appreciate a link to Victoria's info for the MoD walk to honor your grandson. 

[rtraincollector]

KRM

charliebrown

 

Here is a question for the more experienced layout people. Can I mix my 031 curves with other radius curves to cut back on the complete radius or should I look to just changing over to wider curves?

 

 RJ,

I see no reason why you could not mix and match radius  I do it and have no problems and I like the way it looks. you can also add straight sections into curves to lessen the tightness. For example.  In the picture below the middle track coming off of the switch it comes out of a R42 switch to straight then into a R72 then a R54 then a R42  and back into R72. 

Another option is to put a 1/2 straight between each piece

[KRM]

charliebrown

 

Here is a question for the more experienced layout people. Can I mix my 031 curves with other radius curves to cut back on the complete radius or should I look to just changing over to wider curves?

 

 RJ,

I see no reason why you could not mix and match radius  I do it and have no problems and I like the way it looks. you can also add straight sections into curves to lessen the tightness. For example.  In the picture below the middle track coming off of the switch it comes out of a R42 switch to straight then into a R72 then a R54 then a R42  and back into R72. 

[RockIsland52]

wrmcclellan

]

RockIsland52

HudsonJohn and KEV......I also PM'd you the link to Victoria's page for the March For Babies as requested.  I am stunned and humbled by the POT response, guys.  Thank you so much!!!

Jack

Jack. Send me a note also. I do not have Paypal if that is required. Could send you a check.

Hi Roy.........I sent you an email with the link and donation options, whichever is easiest for you.  JoeyD.....PM'd you the link as you requested.  I don't have your email address.  

Victoria will be ecstatic!     

Jack

[charliebrown]

Going to be in the lower 50's here today. Tonight starts a couple days of rain. Friday we are supposed to have 40mph winds. I could do without that!

Here is a question for the more experienced layout people. Can I mix my 031 curves with other radius curves to cut back on the complete radius or should I look to just changing over to wider curves?

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

from the thumb of Mi

[KRM]

Cloudy and mild on the North Bluff. Rain this afternoon and then the next two days. So they say. 

My friend is coming by this morning to pick up one of the chainsaws I worked on and drop off a gen set that needs some work.

 After that I am going to Menard's to get some supplies for the train layout addition. My neighbor Brian is going to help me lay the grass mat this afternoon.

8N, how are you doing on your duel motor 200 series B unit???  

I need to have some Cheerios and get going.

 Have a good day.

[Demay]

Konbanwa,

It’s been a busy past couple of days.  The boy from our church was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon.  He still had a high fever but the doctors felt he would improve just as easily from home.  Unfortunately, he had to go back to the hospital today.  I don’t have all the details at this time but I hope it’s a precaution and nothing serious. 

Jack – I try to teach my kids many things and one of those things happens to be compassion.  I’m sometimes not so good at it myself so the trip to the hospital was just as good of a lesson for me.  Please send me your granddaughter’s walk information. 

Jim – I hope you receive a positive call on the job.

I hope all the Yorkies have a great time.

Sayonara,

Joe

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill RR....

It is a cloudy 55 degrees. Got a big thunderstorm last night.. Hail and wind. Going up to 72 today with a little rain.

Today is a busy day. Wife is grocery shopping. I have a few phone calls to make and the usual chores. Put groceries away and have lunch. Then, a nice nap.

You Guys have a good time at York.

Indians need some new pitchers.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Wednesday.

Chuck

[laz 57]

Hi GUYZ,

  Rained in middle of the nite woke up.  Got run done and weights.  Gotta do walk to river and grocery shopping today.  Do some paper work this afternoon.

1 more day til YORK!!!

Stay frosty my friends,

laz57