New December Coffee Pot. 10 years old. For those to visit and chat. Open to all. Besides coffee; soft drinks, water, oatmeal and GRITS.

[M. Mitchell Marmel]

Great story, Chief!  Hope your sore throat clears up soon.   Pity that it's no longer done to fly a fox tail from one's car antenna...  ;-)

Mitch

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill.......

Good Morning,  Joe..........

It is a rainy 36 degrees.  Going up to 44 today with rain all day.

Today is an easy day.  I plan on spending a few hours in the train room and enjoying myself. Then, lunch and a nice nap.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Sunday.

Chuck

[Demay]

Konnichiwa and Ohayo Chuck,

We had Sunday school and church this morning and I’m going to spend the rest of the day on the couch.  I’ll probably do some reading and also watch the UFC fights I recorded.  I’ll need to get to bed early tonight as I go back to work tomorrow after having the past week off.

Sayonara,

Joe

[ChiefEagles]

Home again.  Rain on the way.  Was so warm today, had to were only shirt sleeves till 4:30.  That was from a low of 25 with super frost.  Why I now have sore throat.

Plenty of does and one button.  Poor stupid BIG fox ran straight at my stand.  Will not describe what a .30-06 did to him.

Super tired.  Walked to every feeder, camera and stand with rifle on shoulder, backpack on back and a partial bag of corn on other shoulder.  That was miles.

Good night all.

PS: had this email waiting.

INTERESTING---THE GREY GHOST!    

You never know how your life will affect another.  Read his story all the way to the end - an interesting tidbit......

Colonel John S. Mosby, the Grey Ghost         The Grey Ghost   John S. Mosby was a successful attorney, and with the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the 1st Virginia Cavalry. He quickly moved up through the ranks, and eventually raised his own partisan unit. At first a battalion, his prowess and charisma allowed him to recruit it up to a regiment. The regiment became known as the famed "Mosby Raiders".   John Mosby was a key innovator in the tactics of Guerilla warfare. By 1863 his exploits were becoming legendary in the South, and viewed as a less than honorable way to fight by the North. Regardless of perspective he devised a new way of fighting by which a small agile force could harass and defeat a much larger force. In lightning fast raids, his raiders would move in and cut telegraph lines, ambush couriers or small parties, start fires, harass rail transport, and then disappear into the night. His quickness and stealth led to his now famous nickname, "The Grey Ghost".   Mosby’s exploits included a daring raid far inside Union lines at the Fairfax County courthouse in 1863, where his raiders captured some key Union officers, including General Stoughton, whom Mosby found in bed, waking him with a slap to his rear. Upon being so roused, the general exclaimed, "Do you know who I am?" Mosby quickly replied, "Do you know Mosby, general?" "Yes! Have you got the rascal?" "No but he has got you!"   The disruption of supply lines and the constant disappearance of couriers frustrated Union commanders to such a degree that General Phil Sheridan ordered the execution of all captured raiders. George A. Custer did execute several of Mosby’s men in 1864 in Front Royal, Virginia.   Often large forces were sent against him, but he always evaded and frequently defeated them. During the battle of Chancellorsville he attacked a Union cavalry unit, capturing several hundred prisoners. Near Chantilly, he defeated a large body of Union cavalry, leading General Lee to exclaim: "Hurrah for Mosby! I wish I had a hundred like him."   Near Dranesville, with 65 men, he defeated 200 of the enemy and captured 83 prisoners. One of his most daring adventures was a reconnaissance in the Federal lines, by order of General Lee, after the battle of Chancellorsville, in which he and one companion captured six men, and with two of them, rode undetected past a column of Federal cavalry.   He was also a vital element in the Confederate secret service, moving spies into and out of Washington; he frequently rode himself in disguise into the capital. Once while in Washington, Mosby sent of a lock of his hair to Abraham Lincoln as a gift. It is reported that Lincoln’s keen sense of humor fully appreciated the gesture. Mosby and his notorious raiders refused to surrender at the end of the war. While the group disbanded, they never surrendered.   Mosby spent his later years in San Francisco with friends and family. One particular family lived nearby with a young boy. The boy would often come over and eagerly listen to the stories of the old Grey Ghost. Mosby would entertain the young boy with tales of his gallant exploits and daring raids. The two became fast friends and would play war games outside. Mosby taught the young boy the secrets of Guerilla warfare. He taught him to fight like a raider, to fight like a guerilla.   The young boy was George S. Patton.

  

[8ntruck]

The weather warmed up for a day or two. The warmer weather is melting the ice out of the trees and off of the wires. This should help the crews working to get the power back. Had Christmas dinner with my wife's family today - our traditional spaghetti dinner with about 18 people. On a somber note, my wife's grand dad was not there this year. He passed away about a week before Christmas. We started our holiday travel early to attend his funeral last week. On our way to Kentucky by way of north west Indiana to visit our kids. About all for now.

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

Nice visit with wife's sister and then with Lucas.  He even took us out to eat at Fazzoli's, which was a nice surprise so he is at least some money ahead.  My older daughter may have gotten some good news financially, but we will have to see if it all pans out.  Weather was good today.  Traffic was heavy on I-70.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[RockIsland52]

The grandkiddies are watching Hotel Transylvania and that has followed The Princess Diaries.  Summary:  the television is NOT going to figure into my plans tonight.  BUT down the hall and around the corner in the living room the trains are sleeping.  I feel compelled to awaken them and give them some exercise.  :-)   Jack.

[SPMan]

Good morning all,

Had a big breakfast of bacon and eggs with frozen waffles and coffee.  Getting ready to visit an open house layout in Pasadena today with friends.  Larry is driving.  I called an old friend last night whom I haven't seen since before Christmas.  Wondered where he was?  Turns out he had been in the hospital for about a week and is home now.  He is still very weak he says and staying in bed.  Did not press him for details but I know he has a lot of serious issues with health going on.  He is one of the most knowledgable people about toy train collecting I know and has a huge collection.   We talked about how things have changed so much in collecting.  I for one have been out of the "collecting business" for some time now.  That is, I just buy scale looking trains that I like to run.  I had a small post war collection at one time and some prewar O gauge as well.  I sold most of that stuff when I got into modern trains.  Nowadays, you just buy trains, run the heck out of them, and sell them if you want when you get tired of them for about a third of what you paid.  Modern trains don't appreciate but I get my moneys worth in running them.

Nothing new about the Big Boy lately.  Last I heard, they were going to move it out of the fairground on January 26th.

later,

Ray

 

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning,  again........

I have my computer back again. I can get emails as usual.

Sunny and 43 today.

Cheerios for breakfast.

Later...........

[anjdevil2]

Quick stop in - working today.  Have a first alarmer neaby and my ladder is at the scene and engine is on standby at the Nottingham Station (17).

Busy yesterday, non stop until 610 PM - watta day...

Christmas was good, got a Ambush Shack from the parents (roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote by Lionel).

Neat little deal.  Goes with my Acme Gondola with roadrunner and coyote on it.

Cooked all day Christmas day and even my BIL liked the turkey. 

Off to work

 

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill...... Good Morning, Joe, nice car. There is no tool bar to select print or color. Easy day today. Not much new. Y'all have a great Saturday, Chuck

[Blueberryhill RR]

Something is not working. No selection

[Demay]

Konbanwa and Ohayo Chuck,

Last night the wife and I ate at a local Japanese restaurant that makes American diner style food as well as pizzas and pastas.  I had some hamburger steak topped with a fried egg and bacon.  The wife had a pizza with spicy Italian salami.  It was a good meal.  I have not done much today except rake enough leaves to fill two large bags.  I’ll rake the remaining leaves next week sometime.  It was cold but sunny today so I grilled some pork chops and asparagus for dinner.  I also roasted some sweet potato fries in the oven.  Today’s mail contained the two boxes of 20” straights and two packages of insulating pins from RMT.  Hopefully tomorrow or next week I’ll be able to swap out some of the FasTrack that is on the UTB RR. 

Here is a photo of my new Lionel car:

Sayonara,

Joe

[SPMan]

RockIsland52

RAY SP.......so where am I going to sleep when I get there, and do you have water wings for my Dobermans

Jack, I have extra room in an old 87 Buick parked behind the house with a cover on it for privacy.  The dogs can bunk with the four Collies next door.  Bring your own water wings.

Good evening all, we had a good lunch and train running fest this afternoon with all my train buddies.  We tried out one guys C&O Baldwin AS 616 proto 2 MTH recently aquired at a train meet;.  He does not have DCS so this is the first time he has been able to see all the features work on the engine.  DCS is great when it works.  He was duly impressed.  We are going to an open house tomorrow to visit the layout of one of the TTOS members in Pasadena who has invited anyone from the club.  He has a space 8 ft. X 32 Ft.  Nice long run.  I know this guy likes weathered engines, I'm talking black and grimy and lots of smoke while running four or more units at once.  I better bring my gas mask.

Watched a little of Trains and Locomotives on FAMNet channel tonight.  All about a 4-8-4 running on the Ohio Central.  I think it was a restored Grand Trunk engine.  Nice looking engine but they blew your ears off with too much whistle.  Thank goodness for mute control.

later,

Ray

[AF53]

RockIsland52

You and AF RAY had better hitch your wagon to a different team for the upcoming MLB seaon.

Absolutely NO WAY!

Been a fan since the sixties and I've been through worst times! (so have you)

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

Good day today, weather wise and otherwise.  Sun was out and that makes things nice.  Went to Indy to see the Lilly House at the Museum of Art and to the Indiana Historical Museum, primarily to see the Christmas displays.  Very nice.  Snuck a side trip to Train Express to drop off a transformer for repair and pickup some light bulbs.  Went to Oldenburg to see a retired former teacher of the girls, but she was unavailable.   Set up a small O-27 layout on two card tables to have a third train running in the house.  Found some more track and will enhance it some.  Going to see Lucas on Saturday.   Weather should be good then as well.   Chief, any soccer game is better than almost any movie, unless it is a movie about soccer.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[RockIsland52]

Banks.......with your road trips you better have stock in an oil company.  Was glad you dodged most of the Winter weather's wrath.  My granddaughter was tested last week, first test since September.  The platelet count has continued to improve, and at a faster pace, but is nowhere near where it needs to be.  The Docs told us the plan in place---no meds, no transfusions, wait it out, let the immune system fix itself---should continue.  They want to retest her numbers in March.  They had hoped for more rapid improvement but are satisfied that thingsare moving in the right direction.  She remains at risk for internal bleeding, so we have to keep her activities in check in that regard, remain vigilant, and remain patient

[Banks]

Hello all,

Finally made it back.

A verrry nice Christmas was had here.

Mrs' bad wing made my duties much greater. She is doing well but can do little with her right arm.

Between Christmas helping Mrs and work I feel like a one armed paper hanger, Even though I'm on vacation til the 3rd I've been in the office three times this week. Haven't even considered musket hunting.

Fife.....in April at York I thought your retardment was in about a year??????? Be on the lookout for the Gomez syndrome

RI Jack. all Banks family gatherings switched to disposable several years ago. It's sooo much easier. By the way....how is you grandaughters numbers coming?

Mrs & I went to see Madeas Christmas last night........The projector broke with about 20 minutes to go and the gave us all a free pass. I'd rather see the end than start all over. That;'s how my December has been.

Best get to bed.....son is coming at sunup to haul the shi* out of the barn. (I'll beleive that when he gets here)

No time for trains

Prayers for those in need

[sir james I]

Jack yes he did. Sent him out with some packages to take home told him to start and turn on the heat. Well he did. Had to get a ride to the house for another key. We were not very far or I would not have traveled with only one key.

S.J.

[dougdagrump]

Good Afternoon All.

Wow ! What a crazy couple of days. First was Christmas Day with all the friends and family here for gift exchange and glutony dinner. It went great especially since we have added a 3 and 6 year old plus their dad  to our extended family. It's always great to have little ones in the house this time of year. 

Yesterday was our "Kid's Club Fun Run" at the museum, they run the layout for the whole day with new operators every hour. They were running 6 trains on the four mains, w/ DCS & TMCC. Unfortunately it didn't go as well as the last event, don't know if it was the Christmas cookies or Santa overload but they seemed to have a bit of a short attention span. Several big crashes and some electronic gremlins had some of the adults about to pull their hair out. It was still fun but exhausting. I didn't wake up til 8 this morning, after fixing coffee for the BetterHalf and another hen who came for a visit, I promptly fell asleep on the couch and slept from about 9:30 til almost 1 pm.

Jack, We have been doing these holiday feasts several times a year for decades and my initial mandate, since I do all the cooking, was all eating utensils are required to be disposable. It is tuff enuff just to clean-up the kitchen, cooking starts a day or two prior, and all the pots/pans/roasters/platters/bowls/etc is still a chore. If they were to decide otherwise I guess either the tradition would end or I would order pizza for delivery.

Got my L&N Heavy Pacific today. It is sweet ! Doesn't even look as if it has ever seen the tracks, no marks on wheels or p/u rollers and the price was a steal. Now the hunt begins for some L&N passenger cars, if I haven't found them by the Spring York I may request some Yorkie help.

Time to get moving, things gotta get done.

Later All.

p.s. Since it is a bit chilly back east :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQfpD3Mocs0&feature=share

[RockIsland52]

JOEY D........I think that the Yankees have too many players eligible for Social Security to be competitive in 2014.  You and AF RAY had better hitch your wagon to a different team for the upcoming MLB seaon.  MIKE C, an avid baseball fan, agrees with me.  FIFE......I can think of nothing more terrifying ythan a grandchild that has an affinity for staging train wrecks.  Chief.....with you marksmanship, I hope you are in shape to carry a gross of bullets so you have an outside chance of bagging more thann a tree or two.  RAY SP.......so where am I going to sleep when I get there, and do you have water wings for my Dobermans?  SIR JAMES.....have your grandchildren locked your car keys in your car again with the engine running?  BRUTUS.....hope Char has restored some semblancee of order in the household affter leaving you in charge.   :-)   Jack.

[rtraincollector]

ChiefEagles

Morning.  Sunny and warming.  Off to the hunting camp for a couple of days.  Back tomorrow night.

Wow, conflict.  My Cowgirls VS my Eagles.

Have a good one.

And this is what happened to chief about 3 hrs after getting there

 

[SPMan]

RockIsland52

So I am packing my bags and my dogs and coming to live with you.  :-)

Jack, sorry about your cold weather.  We have relatives in New Hampshire too.  I'm sure they are getting aired out now.

This is not unusal to have warm weather like this in the winter here once in a while when the desert winds blow our way called Santa Ana Winds.  They used to say we get a whole new bunch of people moving out here after every Rose Bowl game when they see the weather.

Ray

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Sunny & 30 here in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Gearing up to head to Wild, Wonderful, WV.

Grandson was here all yesterday.  He brought with him a plastic battery operated train set, that we set up on the living room carpet.  He apparently likes staging "crashes" with his equipment.  Is there a reform school for this type of activity...?  Last thing Pops needs is a pint sized Gomez Addams running loose in the layout room.

[ChiefEagles]

Morning.  Sunny and warming.  Off to the hunting camp for a couple of days.  Back tomorrow night.

Mike, any movie is better than a soccer game.

Glad everyone had a good Christmas. 

Chuck, since Buckeye had off a few days for Christmas, he needs to work Sat. and Sun. to make up.

Wow, conflict.  My Cowgirls VS my Eagles.

Have a good one.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill............

Good Morning,  Joe.......

It is a dark and cloudy 30 degrees. No snow today. Going up to 42 today with a little sunshine.

Today is an easy day. I have a few chores to do and some phone calls to make. Then, I can relax. Not much else new.

Dining car has Cheerios for breakfast.

Buckeye & LAZ....... TGIF

Y'all have a great Friday.

Chuck

[Demay]

Konnichiwa and Ohayo Chuck,

It’s a rainy, dreary day today and the high is in the mid-40s.  Neither the kids nor I will do much outdoors today.  I have watched most of both bowl games and they were good games to watch.  The wife and older two kids have dentist appointments today and after that our schedules are open.  I think I’ll take the wife out for dinner tonight.

SP Ray – Your son was at the Poinsettia Bowl and it was a good one to watch.

Sayonara,

Joe

[RockIsland52]

Ray.....it is 55 degrees colder here.  I wear three layers indoors but add a sweatshirt and a winter coat with a hood when I go out with the dogs. The long term forecast for New Years Eve states we may be in the single digits!!!!

Due to icestorms and the resulting damage to power lines, hundreds of thousands living in NH, Maine, Vermont, and upstate New York are still without power; and the outage reaches up into Canada.  

So I am packing my bags and my dogs and coming to live with you.  :-)

Jack

[SPMan]

 

Hmmm, new tablet eh?  I thought  that was something you used to buy for 5 cents in the old days to write letters on or take notes.  Also something that you find in an aspirin bottle.  I am being dragged kicking and screaming into the electronic age.  Still computer illiterate and  barely no how to use the cell phone.

Good evening all,

Had a nice Christmas with family for dinner and opening presents.  We had ham and scalloped potatoes with pies for desert.  I hauled the train things I got out to the garage this afternoon.  I got two new passenger cars heavyweights by Lionel and a new WBB U.P.GP30 diesel.  The passenger cars are the earlier ones with silhouettes in the windows and the bulbs are standard which are too bright for DCS with High voltage so will have to change to high voltage bulbs.  The GP30 runs great with horn, whistle and engine sounds.  Sound is plenty loud enough for me.  Some people say it is too quiet.

Holiday lunch tomorrow with my train buddies at 1:00PM then over here to run trains.  Feels like springtime here now with high of 80 today.

Getting ready to warm up left overs for dinner tonight.  Our live in younger son is out of town today.  He went to San Diego to see a college consolation bowl game. Forgot who was playing.  He will drive up the coast tomorrow and be back home around noon.

V8, enjoy your trip to Oregon.  I forgot to mention that I also got a book I have been wanting about Donner Pass over the Sierras and the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad crossing of the mountains.  Good book by John Signor, a conductor on the SP.  Maybe retired by now.  I have two of his other books.  One on Tehachapi and one on Beaumont Hill where I worked.

later,

Ray

 

 

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

Quiet day.  Straightened the house up.  Worked on the Classics 384 E.   Runs some better.  Still not the best in the world.  Off to Indy tomorrow to visit some sites.  Maybe stop in at Train Express if there is time.  Went to see Walking with Dinosaurs.  Perhaps not the best movie made.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana