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Coffee Pot #5 MAY 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. Locked

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, May 16, 2013 4:07 PM

KRM
 WOW the PA state inspectors must take their jobs seriously.  Here in Illinois they have safety lanes for 1 ton and up trucks and it is a joke what can go in there and come out with a sticker on it. May as well just give them the money by mail. No inspection on cars at all just Smog if you live by large population hubs. Blindfold Out by us it is not uncommon to see a smoke bomb running down the road. Laugh Kind of like Brent said about MD.

Vehicle inspection down here is just horn, headlights, taillights, brake lights, backup lights, tire tread, wipers and windshield. They don't bother much with the exhaust. Mine has a home-made cherry bomb and you can hear it a long ways off. We have some serious smokers here too. We call them hay burners and rolling brush fires. I used to have a '69 Impala that burned as much oil  as it did gas. It could put up a real descent smoke screen that would be right at home on a battle field.Laugh I never thought a 327 could smoke that much!

KRM
Got a shock today.

Most memorable shock I ever got was when I was plugging a 380v dryer (commercial dryer in Germany). The plug broke and my hand hit those exposed contacts. I got lucky. I woke up where I'd hit the wall on the other side of the room!

*

I was busy today cutting out 'KEEP OFF!' labels. Most of the labels are 7/16" long and 3/32" high. I cut out 200+ of them. My order of three packs of Athearn geep horns came in so I now have eighteen horns to put on the locos I have that have no horns or the horns are broken. That should keep me busy for a little while. I went down to my fathers place and we chowed down on pinto beans, green beans, corn bread and jalapeno peppers.

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Posted by RedfireS197 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 4:04 PM

Yes, inspections are one of the downfalls of living in PA.  Specifically, emissions inspection.Thumbs Down  When you've got one car with 201K and a questionable catalytic converter, and a muscle car that just begs to have the catalysts removed, life in PA can seem a bit cruel.Wink

Ryan,

            Can you get someone else to do the inspection?  Some don't follow the book too closely from what I've seen...Smile, Wink & Grin

Jim

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Posted by cnw1995 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 3:14 PM

Aloha. Beauty of a summer day here - took a long lunch at the local Hobby Lobby, just browsing to see what might help out the layout. Got some odds and ends. Off to walk over to the school now to get the youngest and then cut the grass later. Glad you're OK RJ

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

KRM
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Posted by KRM on Thursday, May 16, 2013 2:22 PM

Zero Export

Charlie Brown, sorry about the jeep

I wrecked my truck a month or so ago    i did all the cosmetics my self   cost around 1K

WENT FOR pa STATE INSPECTION YESTERDAY TO FIND OUT IT NEEDS ANOTHER 1k  of suspention work

when does it stop?

Ryan

Sorry about that Ryan, It is not like everyone can just come up with that kind of cash for the fix. Does it really need that much stuff? Hmm

 WOW the PA state inspectors must take their jobs seriously.  Here in Illinois they have safety lanes for 1 ton and up trucks and it is a joke what can go in there and come out with a sticker on it. May as well just give them the money by mail. No inspection on cars at all just Smog if you live by large population hubs. Blindfold Out by us it is not uncommon to see a smoke bomb running down the road. Laugh Kind of like Brent said about MD.

Got a shock today. Put the rebuilt dockside on the track and it ran for about 8 min then quit. Bang Head Again, so I pulled the shell off and looked around and found that the e-unit was putting out power in both f&r but the motor was not doing anything. Wiggled the plug and it ran for about 2 min and died again so I pulled the wire clips out tightened them up and put  it back in and it seems to be working.  I hope.  Tongue Tied I think I will run it some more before I put the shell back on. Tongue Tied

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Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL. Whistling

 

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:56 PM

lion88roar

jeffrey-wimberly

RJ: Glad you're OK after the encounter with the deer. I've hit several of those over the years. Not fun. Just hope you never hit something like a horse or a cow. I got lucky on the horse. I was driving my fathers '72 F250 truck. It had a big crash bumper on it. It hardly got a scratch. The cow encounter was with a Brahma bull. I was driving an '83 Ford Escort and hit the dang thing at 50mph. The car was still drivable but it was obvious it had lost a big argument! I had most of the damage repaired and drove it for two or three more years.



Ummm... not sure I should ask, but both of these incidents need some additional background information... Wink

Vernon parish used to be 'open range' so live stock were free to go where they pleased pretty much, so it wasn't unusual to encounter horses, cows, pigs, etc on the roads and even on major highways.

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Posted by lion88roar on Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:38 PM

jeffrey-wimberly

RJ: Glad you're OK after the encounter with the deer. I've hit several of those over the years. Not fun. Just hope you never hit something like a horse or a cow. I got lucky on the horse. I was driving my fathers '72 F250 truck. It had a big crash bumper on it. It hardly got a scratch. The cow encounter was with a Brahma bull. I was driving an '83 Ford Escort and hit the dang thing at 50mph. The car was still drivable but it was obvious it had lost a big argument! I had most of the damage repaired and drove it for two or three more years.



Ummm... not sure I should ask, but both of these incidents need some additional background information... Wink

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Posted by lion88roar on Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:34 PM

Zero Export

Charlie Brown, sorry about the jeep

I wrecked my truck a month or so ago    i did all the cosmetics my self   cost around 1K

WENT FOR pa STATE INSPECTION YESTERDAY TO FIND OUT IT NEEDS ANOTHER 1k  of suspention work

when does it stop?

Ryan



When you take it out back and use it for target practice? Big Smile

Hey - you could move to MD and then when your hood pops off you can reattach it with duct tape or bungy straps! Your truck would probably be considered a 'low-rider' around here!

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Posted by Zero Export on Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:10 PM

Charlie Brown, sorry about the jeep

I wrecked my truck a month or so ago    i did all the cosmetics my self   cost around 1K

WENT FOR pa STATE INSPECTION YESTERDAY TO FIND OUT IT NEEDS ANOTHER 1k  of suspention work

when does it stop?

Ryan

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, May 16, 2013 11:04 AM

RJ: Glad you're OK after the encounter with the deer. I've hit several of those over the years. Not fun. Just hope you never hit something like a horse or a cow. I got lucky on the horse. I was driving my fathers '72 F250 truck. It had a big crash bumper on it. It hardly got a scratch. The cow encounter was with a Brahma bull. I was driving an '83 Ford Escort and hit the dang thing at 50mph. The car was still drivable but it was obvious it had lost a big argument! I had most of the damage repaired and drove it for two or three more years.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by sir james I on Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:17 AM

We have a sunny 75 right now.

The "plumber" said see you next year so I'm good to "go". I'm not really sure how I will enjoy the rest of today but whatever it is will be nice. Hooked up with Charlie and Brutus last night, always good company along with others that join us from time to time...S.J.

"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks 

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Posted by RedfireS197 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:01 AM

RJ,

       Glad you're ok. I know how the vehicular damage makes one feel though.

Brent,

           Surprise

Prairetype,

                       Is that Vinylbed under your track?

John,

           I am paranoid about driving it now.

Jim

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Posted by lion88roar on Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:17 AM

RJ - Holy Cow! Glad you are OK. I've clipped two with no damage, and hit one that caused only fascial damage to the car. Sounds like yours was a bit more serious. I don't think I would be in the mood to work on my layout if I hit a deer!

BTW - the one I hit was in TheQ's Toyota Solara, we weren't married yet and she still married me! Thumbs Up Now when she says 'Yes Dear' it is 'Yes Deer'. Laugh

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Posted by Hudson#685 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:06 AM

Good Morning! 70, going to 80, cloudy and getting ready to rain.

Nothing much going on. Took Mom for a follow up with the surgeon yesterday and everything is going good.

Rich: Good news that you are feeling better. We get the Forrest Fire Class yearly and the evaluation on our equipment from the State Forrest Fire Service yearly.

Redfire, Jim: Glad the Mustang came out great.

Brutus, Jim: Great news on Char.

SJ: Good Luck today.

RJ: Good Grief Charlie Brown. Glad that you are not hurt.

Have a Great Day.

John

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Posted by lion88roar on Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:02 AM

RockIsland52

DougM, JimmyT, and all.......we need to come to some consensus on the guest cottages 8N and Fife are going to build for us.  Banks too.   Whistling



I think this would meet our 'needs' http://13615triadelphiamill.com/tour.php

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Posted by Prairietype on Thursday, May 16, 2013 8:29 AM

I dredged up most of these images from  two months back when I was working on a custom painted'renovation of a M&St.L 229 ALCO bought as junk on ebay.  The front apron was missing, and I wanted to do something different.  In the pictures below, which were taken in March, you see the progress up to a point where the paint match is getting there but isn't quite ritght.  A further effort with a drop of this and that color finally produced a mix that is very close. Only in bright sunlight, and from certain angles does there might be a little difference in hue but that is only visible in bright sunlight and from certain angles.  It might be my imagination.

But the final paint result is in the last picture on this page.  It has been a while since I've had a chance to post, and there have been some other paint mixing efforts, such as an in progress 3464 NYC operating box car that was a real rust bucket basket case.  I may post pictures of it when it is done.

[Almost there, maybe....

The ALCO project continues to rumble along.

Two things:

1. Forget what I said the other day about my paint mix with Testors Red and Orange.  It is close (very close) but I think comes no closer than a good paint mix for the starter.

2. This is really my first foray into paint mixing.

So starting with the basic paint mix,  I began adding aanother pinch here and there of yellow, orange, and green, combining these and testing, and then adding more red, and orange, and yellow drops in varying proportions and test spraying.

The paint match is reaaly close now, but not quite.  In extremely bright low angle sunlight I can see the difference and you will too.  So I think the mixture needs a few drops of a burnt orange to achieve an exact match.

I need to say (also) that that the intent here is not to produce a perfect show-case lcomotive; this shell when acquired was already beat up with nicks and scratches, a missing pilot apron, and other issues.  I have customized this cab unit with a closed pilot and an extensive touch-up just for fun to see how far this project can go.  I just want to make a sad piece better.

The chassis frame was rough and I have re-blued it, the motor is a rebuild, and I plan to put a 3-position reverse unit in it because the 2-position refuses to function. I have a giant weight from a UP non-magnetraction junk ALCO cab that can be installed on this cab.  I want to get a windshield and headlight for the engine as well,  and make it a reliable runner.

So here are some pictures of its progress. Photo 4 is one in which the paint variation is most apparent.  In most light it can't be discerned.  But I can be an obsessive type and I'll probably keep playing with the mixture until I get it right.]

[Notice the front apron is a different hue in direct sunlight shining straight on, however, at the edge the color is much more closely matched. In direct sunlight the red is more pink. So I added some rust and tangerine orange and brown, just drops and achieved the final result in the side-by-sides below.] 

   

[

So, above is before, and below is after.

KRM
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Posted by KRM on Thursday, May 16, 2013 7:45 AM

Sunny and warm on the North Bluff, 
Prayers for those tornado victims in northern Texas. Angel Sad
SJ, good luck today with the DR. thingy. Wink
Jake, enjoy the Senior trip.
Jim, Good news for Char. Yes
RJ, I sent you some pictures. Bummer on the deer thing, that sucks. The good thing is your alright.
Nothing else here.

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Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL. Whistling

 

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Posted by Blueberryhill RR on Thursday, May 16, 2013 7:03 AM

Good Morning from Blueberryhill RR....

It is a cloudy 64 degrees.  Going up to 80 today with rain.

Today is a busy day. Wife is grocery shopping. I have some chores to do. Put groceries away and have lunch. Then, a nice nap.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Thursday.

Chuck 

Chuck # 3 I found my thrill on Blueberryhill !!
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Posted by RockIsland52 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:55 AM

Good mornin', ya'll, from crystal clear Taxachusetts,

Brutus......that was some great news on Char. Thumbs Up 

MikeC.....Jon and I have had some exchanges about "the most influential people in a child's or person's life."  They often are teachers and coaches, though we seldom receive acknowledgement of our influence until many moons down the road.  Kudos to you!!!  Thumbs Up

SJ......good luck with the "plumber." Whistling

DougM, JimmyT, and all.......we need to come to some consensus on the guest cottages 8N and Fife are going to build for us.  Banks too.   Whistling

RJ.....hope you did not get nailed for hunting without a license and that your weapon (the Jeep) was registered.  Whistling    

Gotta run.

Jack

IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:51 AM

Good morning. It's 66° with 100% humidity. It'll be cloudy with a small chance of rain. The high will be 82°.


Running the GP7's, GP35 and slug this morning. Not doing anything kind of operations, just letting them run. I may be busy later cutting out some of the 'KEEP OFF!' labels I printed yesterday. Yesterday was very busy. I hope that doesn't hold true for today.

The word for today is anagalisgi. It translates to 'electric'.



Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
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Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
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Running Bear Enterprises
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beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by fifedog on Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:34 AM

sirjames - Good luck with that anal urology thingie today.

Charlie - Nice benchwork.  I agree with 88, put some angle bracing in there.  Also, if it were me, I'd be disposing of that loveseat and building a nice fat peninsular extension over that real estate.  As far as sound deadening, all depends on what kind of track you're using.

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Posted by fifedog on Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:26 AM

Mornin' boys.  Mornin' English.  Cloudy and "when I'm 64" in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Things are going smoothly in Fifedom.

Although I'm sure Banks has a nice spread, 8ntruck is the new land baron.  And yes, you are all invited to Fox Hollow when we get all settled in.

Charlie - Tough break with Bambi.  Perhaps Fire can hook you up with his b&f doodles.

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Posted by Lehigh Valley 2089 on Thursday, May 16, 2013 6:12 AM

Good morning.

Will be going on Senior Day Trip to Vestal today. Feeling sorta tired, so I may just sleep on the bus.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.

-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.

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Posted by charliebrown on Thursday, May 16, 2013 5:54 AM

Coming to the pot for my morning cup and boy do I need it.

Had to be in to work at 3am today and of course I clobber a deer. Front of the Jeep is toast. My lunch box took a good flight. Left shoulder and neck are bugging me but it could have been worse.

No work on the layout last night. I helped wifey plant 20 some plants instead.

After a visit to insurance agent and body shop i may be home early enough to work on trains.

All for now. Enjoying our weather - it has been in the 70's

 Question

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Posted by 8ntruck on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 11:35 PM

Sunny and about 80 today.  Thunder boomers forecast for the next couple of days.

Sumbob - Live steam.  I had not really thought about that.  The grade on the property increases to the left of where I took the 2nd picture.  A live steam cog railway would seem appropriate.........

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Posted by Brutus on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 10:47 PM

Today seemed really long to me.  Long meetings and lots of people really upset at work.  One thing, we'll be getting plenty of overtime - that's completely unrelated to the problems I was talking about before, lol!  I did get to go out to lunch to that deli we tried last week and it was great.  You know the food will be good when the cook is all tatted up and has piercings Laugh  Spent an hour trying to get our microcell to work with my wife's phone - AT&T tech support was very helpful, but no luck yet.  We think it's a software thing on her phone.  She's finally over that darn bronchitis, so that's cool.  Nice chat with Charlie and SJ tonight.  Tardis is ready - TTFN!

RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:13 PM

No layout work today. I was so busy sending and answering PM's, monitoring posts and sorting through old posts there was little time for much else. I did however have a little time to print up some 'KEEP OFF!' paper labels. I still have to cut them out. I just let the GP40's and the FP7's run while I worked today. Maybe tomorrow I'll have some time to run the GP7's, GP35 and slug.

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



Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by cheapclassics on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:07 PM

Good evening all,

IIABSDISEI with temps in the 80s.  Sorry to have been away a couple of days.  Been busy.  Can't post at work and Monday evening was spent trimming trees, Tuesday was mowing grass, and Wednesday was spent scrimmaging with "my" soccer kids.  For the new ones here, "my" soccer kids refer to the local high school teams.  My daughters were on the team the first year both programs started and I have been following both teams since.  Over the years, I have helped any and all coaches with scrimmaging the kids and have given the kids various tokens of encouragement when I can.   They, in turn, have been there for me as well such as the time when the whole girls team came to the funeral home for my mom's visitation and the boys team dedicated a win to the memory of my dad.  I have received far more from them than I have ever given and have been blessed to have shared time on and off the field with them.  Watched Arrow as well.  Very good conclusion to the season.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

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Posted by Lehigh Valley 2089 on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:01 PM

Well, I'll be getting to bed now. Senior Day trip to Vestal, New York tomorrow.

Night everyone.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Route of the Black Diamond Express, John Wilkes and Maple Leaf.

-Jake, modeling the Barclay, Towanda & Susquehanna.

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 7:51 PM

Good Evening

As Jeff posted, any issues can be sent to Jeff or myself...we'll straighten it out.....Smile

Today we had a bit of an operating session with no incidents accident nor Broake and Howe employees deployed near our vicinity...thankee very much...Whistling Going to try a bigger op session on Saturday...heeheehee

Have a good evening peeps!!

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...

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Posted by sir james I on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:51 PM

It's 80 degrees now.

We had a couple cold days , Ahh but this is so much better. I got the garden soil turned over so time to get some veggies planted. Annual urologist check-up in the morning. Already had the PSA done so we shall see tomorrow. Banilla will be ready for the thingy...S.J.

"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks 

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