Good evening all,
Quiet day at work. Not much time to walk at noon. Talked to Lucas tonight. He is feeling down about divorce again. Wish we were closer. May go see him this weekend. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Mornin' boys. Overcast & 37 along the front range of the Alleghanies. May have to visit my folks today up on the mountain (Mom is feeling poorly).
Did get Sam the Semaphore man installed and operational last night. Opted not for the stop/sequence feature. Just don't want that being applied to my Washington 4-4-0. It does look neat up on the hillside. The lights in my semaphores (AF and Marx) can be "touchy". They are snug enough in their housings, but I think it's the slamming down motion that makes them go "dark" at times.
Buckeye - That method is not for me. It looks like it takes multiple applications of paint to get that batting ready for scenery. I get better results with plaster cloth strips draped over a cardboard lattice-work.
Rainy and chilly good morning. Not as busy as yesterday and night.
Hope all OK.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Morning folks!
Another sunny start (49 this am) and will hit 74 late today! Nice!
Had clear crisp sky for the last supermoon of this year! News said the last time a supermoon coincided with the spring equinox was 1981. Next supermoon will be in Feb 2020.
Have a great day all!
Regards, Roy
Hello there,
Cooler with rain showers here today. Managed to catch a cold some how so being lazy today to try and beat it.
Yesterday I finished the driveway cleanup and started to get ready for construction.
Rob......thought you'd got lost. Postpone your trip a couple of weeks you could takein the York show too. Let me know when you're in Altoona. Maybe we can do coffee or a Pitza.
Buckeye........got to admit my mountain making is limited. Screen cloth with plaster of paris, but that looks like a PITA to me.
Best move on,
Prayers for those in need.
Banks, Proud member of the OTTS TCA 12-67310
Dennis - if the screw were someplace that was exposed and I wanted an exact replica (minus the plating) I would have turned it from some cold rolled steel bar and cut the head/shoulder and threads on the lathe, then to the milling machine to cut the slot. Since this one is hidden, I turned the one piece head/washer/shoulder body in alum and bored it (clearance) to take a standard #6-32 screw. So it performs the function.
Another approach would have been to turn the head/shoulder portion, bore and thread it for #6-32, secure the #6 screw into the head/shoulder with Loctite Red (semi-permanent), cut the #6 threads to length, and then take it to the milling machine and cut the slot in the head.
This avoids threading the #6 threads with a die or single pointing them - which is tenuous on small dia stock (Usually twist/break a part or two in the process).
When these small parts are mass produced the small treads are roll formed and and not 'cut', which avoids the stock twist/breakage when using a die. Single point treading small parts is tedious and easy to make an error on the cut depth.
Good Evening from clear 45°F Southern Ohio,
I’m glad the work week is over. It is forecasted to be sunny the next couple of days then start raining. Hopefully I’ll get to work on the layout some. The switch flags are to be in Saturday and I’ll get them on the manual switches. After some discussion in another thread about the early center pickup operating cars I’m going to replace a section of straight track with an operating third rail AF track (710). There is some re-arranging of accessories from my original plan but I’m liking it better. Chicks are three weeks old now and about the size of a pigeon.
Fife – I didn’t know you had a Washington. Got the 50 & 65 cars too? Sam is going to be operable as well as a Cow on the track, hence the insulated track pins.
Roy – sounds like tedious work
Jim – Good to see you posting again. We moved just shy of two years ago and the new house had an extra bedroom so I was able to have it for a train room.
Rich – Are you thinning the glue before brushing it on for the grass?
Good night and May God bless you and your families
Jim
Long two hours today as we struggled to get an update done on an application. Kept shooting ourselves in the foot, but we succeded. Good thing as we had a deadline of next week. Possibly pushed that one too close. Cold icky weather. Talked to Lucas again. He sounded more upbeat. I hope everyone has a good day.
Mornin' boys. Breezy, damp, and cool along the Patterson Creek cut-off. Will be at the office today. Had a nice visit with folks, then spoke with Fifepup last night. He's halfway through Marine Mechanics school, enjoys his job at Angler's Resort, and is dating a nice gal.
Did get my Marx "Springfield" (Girard) and "Romney" (Oak Park) stations wired up and working last night. The whistling station sounded pretty good, the diesel horn station works, but nothing sounding like a horn. Kinda a monotone "blaaaa". Perhaps I'll post a Morse Code chart next to the Marx double control panel, reasoning it's a signal sound.
Phish - Received the Washington a couple Christmas ago from my mom, hence I named it "Millie". Runs great, smokes sometimes, just wish they came with headlamps. Don't have (nor desire) the set cars. I prefer the "600" series cars, with tin colored journal boxes, to run behind the blue 4-4-0.
Hey, a happy Friday and TGIF!!
Phish - I didn't dilute the initial application to the foam board I kinda put a thin layer of glue on the board with a foam brush and sprinkled the gravel and then the turf on the board. Once both the turf and gravel are on, I'll get the diluted stuff in a spray bottle and spray a light covering on it. I have recovered as much I could and there are NO bare spots, so, I'm satisfied with the technique I was taught in Florida.
So this weekends project will include getting a darker green turf and finish up the Spooky Town section and will be stopping at Michaels and Hobby Lobby for lychen and turf. I'm putting my flat screen on a shelf so it'll be up a bit more and some frames for some road runner pictures and a glass for a frame I broke.
Once Spooky Town is done, I can move on to the Christmas Village. I'll be spending the week at my house, I have to babysit some repitles for a friend, so that's why I'll be home. As a bonus, I can actually do some layout work before bed.
I'm still gathering more items that either out of scale or not needed. Once I have them out of the attic, they'll go on either Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and I have a bunch of stuff......lol
Have to go back to work, I have a Honda that's giving me issues....go figure...
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
Morning, 37, full sun and heading to 50 today on The North Bluff.
I went with Mark to Menards yesterday and we bought everything to replace the rotten cedar 10'x16' deck on the house with new treated wood. Called the kids for some help on the tear down and re-build??? We will see how that works out?? Waiting on weather to do it but all the material is here and stacked in the shed to dry out some. It should go good, just a take down and replace just as it is. The original frame work is fine, just the cedar is bad. My thought is to prep as much of the wood as I can before so it will be pull and replace.
Menards had the 11% off so I scored another $60.00 of Menards money for other projects.
On the way home we stopped and walked the Ritchie auction site for next weeks equipment auction but did not see anything I have to have.
Best get!
Have a great Friday!
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Afternoon all!
Sunny here and to hit mid-70's today. Rain on tap for tomorrow. Yard sort of needs it. All weeds - put some weed suppressor out last week - some effect...
No dogs in the March madness this year.
Did some cosmetic repair on a BNSF trackmoble yesterday. One of the wheel decorative hubs was lost so turned a new one on the mini-lathe, painted it yellow, and superglued it on.
Kev - if the treated wood is still damp and you plan to use a water based stain/protectorant on it, you might do it while the wood is still damp - it will absorb better as it dries. I have had good luck with Flood (recently) or Sherwin-Williams (altho I seem to recall you had some bad exp with SW).
Kev,I'd keep that wood damp until it's fastened down. It will twist like a pretzels. Learned that the hard way. The only thing I got from complaining was " You should have kept it wet "
Thanks guys, Like always things are not what they seemed.
Pulled all the rails and pickets off this morning and saved most of the SS deck screws from them. The deck plate I will not be able to save any because they are full of stain and some had been sanded down when I did one re-stain.
Then I found out the sub-frame face plats are rotted to, F#$king b+&%ards did not use treated ? So I had to pull that off to figure out if the stringers are treated, if not it will be a complete re-build, WTH???
I think the stringers are treated looking at them but the face plates were not. So maybe I will be better off than I thought? All I have left is about half of the deck boards to pull and it will all be open for inspection. Just got to do what I got to do at this point.
Seems some say don't stain for a year and others say stain right away??? Wonder who is right?
This stuff was frozen and still had ice on it, (why I stacked it in the shed) it will take months for the trearment liquid to dry out of it from what I am told. Heck if I know???
My friend Mark is heading to Huston tomorrow to visit with his daughter so I will finish the tear down and we will discuss what to do next when he gets back next week. Just taking it slow and I should have it down to the frame tomorrow.
Tomorrow!
Kev - if you are going to use an oil based stain then you have to let it dry out.
The water based stains will only soak in (after) drying by scuffing the surfaces.
wrmcclellan Kev - if you are going to use an oil based stain then you have to let it dry out. The water based stains will only soak in (after) drying by scuffing the surfaces.
Thanks Roy! I don't think you can even get oil base anymore, can you?
Good Evening from beautiful 41°F Southern Ohio,
It has been a good day. Did Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy Chaplet with the Elementary School kids, and Mass with the High School kids. I went to Lowes for some pegboard and got a great deal on a Kobalt 200 pc Mechanics set in a blow mold case regularly $240 for $58. Lowes is going away from Kobalt to Craftsman and selling off the Kobalt stuff CHEAP.
About the pegboard, in the train room I have a 5’ workbench that is kind of tucked in the corner behind the door. There is a 2’ space between the hinge side of the trim of the door and the wall and I mounted the pegboard there for tools. The final arrangement is pending but it is nice to have the tools close at hand and out of the way at the same time.
I added the Cow on the track to the AF line and it works good stopping the train when “on” the track and when “off” the track the train going right on by. Saturday I think I’ll hook up the Sam the Semaphore Man. I also got the switch flags replaced on the manual switches.
Fife – The Franklin and Washington are not the strongest smokers. I saw a rebuild kit for them somewhere. As far as the headlight goes, I took some white / silver reflective tape and stuck it on the headlight. It’s not as neat as a real light but it is better than just being painted on.
Rich – Thanks! I’m quite a while from adding scenery but I’ll keep your method in mind.
Good night and may God bless you and your families
Relatively quiet day at work. Foyt did their usual road course performance....bad. Wife and I put a puzzle together tonight. That was nice. I hope everyone has a good day.
Sun and 40s today. Oatmeal for breakfast.
S.J.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
just finished breakfast.
Slept most of yesterday and didn't feel to bad so I went to fry fish last evening. My nephew who has been helping did most of the frying so I wasn't in the heat as much. Had planned on leaving early but stayed to the end. We expected a light crowd due to the weather but put 838 through the line. It didn't end till 730. I'm guessing the TV coverage last weekend had something to do with it. One of the floor workers told of a couple that came from Dubois, 2 hours away, because of the TV. They said they'll be back.
Nephew put the new fuel lines on the Tahoe this morning. When we had it on the lift last week the brake lines on the rear axle looked pretty rough. I ordered a set of stainless lines to replace them. Going to do that before heading to York.
Still not feeling the best and Mrs seems to be catching it too. Not sure what the rest of the day will bring, probably not much.
Best move on.
Afternoon folks!
Overcast, intermittent rain, mid-60's today.
Made bacon, waffles, and scrambled eggs (w/cheese) for the family this morning. Made a nice start to the day.
Had an old friend drop in today. He had been out of touch most of the last year. Found out he went and stayed in Michigan/Detroit area as his 80+yr old parents encountered a spate of medical problems. They are better and he was able to return. Keepin his fingers crossed they stay stable. It was good to catch up.
Other than that have not done much other than read the papers and watch TCM.
Looking forward to York!
Back from Edgecombe. Worked with chainsaw bent over too long for an old guy.
Rest and TV.
Returned last night from Lexington, KY in time to see my beloved Purdue Boilermakers put the hammer down hard on last year's NCAA champion Villanova.
The new train room is taking shape. There are 10 outlets installed around the perimeter of the room. The lighting is LED.
Have a good day.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
WOW, temp jumping up fast. 50 degrees and sunny. Beautiful day.
Resting up from yesterday's work.
Have a good one.
Light rain and 52 today so a day of rest.
Yesterday's progress,
Think I will replace the north and south stringers because they are soft the face plate was trashed. Then I will pressure wash and stain the frame before putting down the new deck wood. Maybe pre paint all of the wood first.
Good morning folks!
Did not get the amount of rain predicted yesterday. Just some gentle showers. Fine with me as I put out a bunch of grass seed in a shady area between the house and a tree. Storms would have washed away. By next rain new grass should take hold. Sunny this am. Cool, nice!
Interesting item - our niece's MIL is stuck on that crippled Norwegian/Viking cruise ship off the coast of Norway, awaiting helicopter evacuation.
Also spent the later part of yesterday causally sorting/tossing/cleaning up my office/shop areas.
Kev - glad the deck project is going well!
Good morning all, slow news day here. Going to my Dixieland Jazz club today. Dinner out last night with friend for Mexican food. I missed the last TTOS meet but no great loss for me.
That cruise ship in distress in Norway is scary. Hope they got everybody off OK. Those ships always look top heavy to me.
Ray
SPMan
Face it, the hardest part about moving, is those we leave behind. For us, it's been the grandboys. They just left, and we are now cleaning up. But not everything. Ms. Kelly will leave the face and finger prints on the big picture window (at least for a week of two). FifeMax can barely move from all the "floor scraps". Oldest boy made a video of the train room, so I posted it under SPF.
Not the best weekend. Did my practice run. Water was turned off where I was and I ran out of my own. Came home, ate 3 small pieces of pizza and promptly lost it all. Did a 3:29:26, which was under 16 minute (barely), but slept all night and most of Sunday. Really was not pushing it either ( I thought ). Kind of discouraging. Listened to Indy car race. Colton Herta led a string of 4 American drivers across the finish line for his first win at 18. TK salvaged a 12th due to a yellow flag that pushed Mattheus backed to 17th. I hope everyone has a good day.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month