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Posted by ChiefEagles on Monday, November 26, 2007 10:11 AM

First duty, baby sit 19 year old Peek and 8 year old Lab mix.  In and out every 15 minutes [back at door in 2 minutes begging to come back in].  Then, clean house and cook meals while gathering leaves after cleaning gutters.  Run to pond [don't drive] and feed deer.  That should cover about 3 hours.  Then.......  Weekends???  What is a weekend?  Date? Never again!!!  Cell phone, outlawed.  TV, only programs I love such as elk hunting and fishing.   

Believe it or not.  We have "sheltered" young teenaged girls who had parent problems.  One stayed for months.

 God bless TCA 05-58541   Benefactor Member of the NRA,  Member of the American Legion,   Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville Laugh,   KC&D QualifiedCowboy       

              

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Posted by dbaker48 on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:58 AM

 

I see some BIG train sales and auctions coming REAL SOON, if some wives are NOT involved in certain decisions regarding the young ladies.      

Chief included:  Could you imagine telling your wife you have 3 teenage girls coming to stay for a while, that you are conducting a Boot Camp ????

Whistling [:-^]Laugh [(-D]

 

Don

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Posted by Sturgeon-Phish on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:51 AM

Morning all

Slept in a bit because I am transitioning from dayshift Sunday to nightshift this evening.  Cool and wet so not much going on with the garage addition, besides I am waiting on the correct trusses to be delivered.Banged Head [banghead]

Buckeye, I’ve been to the Train Museum you are talking about.  Went there when I was stationed in Oak Ridge couple of years ago.  Really nice people and layout.  Even has American Flyer stuff!  It is neat how they have interesting items hidden in the layout and you search for them.  Makes it real fun.

Rich- That is great news about the trains from your Dad.  They will be special in many ways and I am sure he would rather see them go to someone who would enjoy them than to have them sit in a box.

Don – using the strap secured and bringing the wires to the strap would work in my book, but I do not have any of the “new fangled” control systems.  As long as the metals were compatible, I would say you would be OK.  Roy’s idea would be a little more expensive but easier to put in and work on.  I used terminal strips myself.  Each accessory has its own strip connector under the table and spade connectors on the wire ends.  It makes working on the layout much easier.

Brent Good luck with the interview

To all with daughter / boyfriend issues, a lousy boyfriend becomes worse as a son in law.  They figure the girl accepts them as a slug, so why change. They seldom change to the better.My 2 cents [2c]  Trust me on this one.

 
May God bless

Jim

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Posted by cnw1995 on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:46 AM
Great ideas! Gotta go get that one-way Greyhound bus ticket to Roseville...or Dallas.

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

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:28 AM
Chief - I'm calling SOUTHWEST right now for schedules!!!
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Posted by ChiefEagles on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:25 AM
Morning all.  Send them all to me.  When I get through they will be loving home and Daddy.  BOOT CAMP!!! Whistling [:-^]  88, good luck on the interviews.  Cloudy, warm, foggy and rainy.  Bring on the rain.  I hear GA is getting much need rain.  Great.  Later

 God bless TCA 05-58541   Benefactor Member of the NRA,  Member of the American Legion,   Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville Laugh,   KC&D QualifiedCowboy       

              

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, November 26, 2007 9:10 AM
 wrmcclellan wrote:

 fifedog wrote:
cnw1995 - Tell-u-what-I'm-gonna-do...  You send me your oldest girl for a month until she get's over the boyfriend who dumped her, and I'll send you our oldest girl with the boyfriend we wished would dump her.

Fife and Doug, Let me in on that action. We can start a new reality show - "Swap Your Kids".

I love it; a 3-way swap.  Can we get away with it though...?

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Posted by wrmcclellan on Monday, November 26, 2007 8:44 AM

 fifedog wrote:
cnw1995 - Tell-u-what-I'm-gonna-do...  You send me your oldest girl for a month until she get's over the boyfriend who dumped her, and I'll send you our oldest girl with the boyfriend we wished would dump her.

Fife and Doug, Let me in on that action. We can start a new reality show - "Swap Your Kids".

Regards, Roy

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Posted by wrmcclellan on Monday, November 26, 2007 8:40 AM

Good morning all!

A bright and sunny day here in beautiful N Texas with high predicted at 57. Gonna slowly warm the next few days and then maybe some rain for the weekend.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Regards, Roy

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 26, 2007 8:28 AM
 fifedog wrote:

88 - I've been tempted to buy that BROMO in the past, but it's just too Baltimore to put in Cumberland.  Figured that you have been busy.  How far away until "ground-breaking" downstairs...?  If you get this new job, will another move be in store...?  Were you ever able to retrieve your layout plans from your crashed computer?

Have to get the Christmas layout built (should start that next week) then the ground breaking takes place mid-Dec.  Of course all of that may be put on hold if my next Masters Degree course is as insane as the one I dropped a few weeks ago (work load).

No the new job will not require another move! Thank Goodness! New job is just off the Northern Expressway with a little venture called Johns Hopkins... Whistling [:-^]

I had an image of the layout, got that, and have since redone the RR-Track layout... made a couple of enhancements... could be interesting...

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Posted by sir james I on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:51 AM

GOOD MORNING

34 and cloudy as usual, wet snow expected tonite but 40 tomorrow. I'm going out into the world this morning to do some errands and then who knows. The tv news said this was a big day for sales from the net. now I know those of you at work would not use company time for personal matters  so get back to work. Regards to All,,,,,,,,Sir  James

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

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:34 AM
cnw1995 - Tell-u-what-I'm-gonna-do...  You send me your oldest girl for a month until she get's over the boyfriend who dumped her, and I'll send you our oldest girl with the boyfriend we wished would dump her.
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Posted by rtraincollector on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:30 AM

Fifedog thats a bummer man I use to stop there on my way from VA. to PA I know the owner worked in Baltimore and was a IT type guy and basicly his father was running it most of the time . I think I heard something about his father got ill and couldn't be there anymore (might have passed away not sure) I did catch the train show there about 2 or 3 years ago. Would love to see it again but even if I would go up to pa I would be traveling 81 now not 83.

Morning coffee guru's not much going on here, getting ready for work.

Life's hard, even harder if your stupid  John Wayne

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Posted by cnw1995 on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:27 AM
'Morning from a grey and cold Crystal Lake where I hope to work on the layout today - there's lots of wisdom about raising kids on this forum - I sure appreciate Don's perspective.  Good luck on that second interview, Brent!

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

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Posted by fifedog on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:18 AM

Mornin' boys.  Drizzle and 46 here in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Back on third shift, so I can get some things done around here.

Buckeye - rocker bearings = little triangle shaped pieces of wood.  I "cheated" on the girder sections though.  Because the layout was being moved up and down a flight of steps twice yearly, I screwed the deck plates directly into the pylons for stability.

rt - That hobby shop in GlenRock is now closed.  But the good news was the trains were up and running (O,S,G,HO) at the Community Center.

anjdevil - Good things sometimes happen to good guys.Smile [:)]

88 - I've been tempted to buy that BROMO in the past, but it's just too Baltimore to put in Cumberland.  Figured that you have been busy.  How far away until "ground-breaking" downstairs...?  If you get this new job, will another move be in store...?  Were you ever able to retrieve your layout plans from your crashed computer?

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Posted by cheapclassics on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:17 AM

Good morning all,

It is cold, wet, and rainy in SE Indiana with temps in the high 30s.  At least there is no SNOW....yet.  Been a busy and yet not very productive past few days.  Did get all the leaves up and into the garden space.  There are a few left on the trees, but they will not be worth fooling with if and when they fall.  Spent last night working on an Erector set crane for the layout and quite frankly it looks like h---.  I would like some activity on the layout and I may hook up a crossing gate instead.  My wife and I did go see "Beowoulf" Saturday night.  It was fairly good.  I had a good load of bacon and bisuits on the dining car this morning so at least that is ok.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 26, 2007 7:04 AM

Morning fellas...

Today could be the beginning of a dwindling on the forum for me.  I have an interview this afternoon (second with same company) and it all goes well I should be resigning my post by the end of the week! Thumbs Up [tup]

This weekend was a bear (no offense Laz).  I spent most of last week's evenings working on the masterbath and FINALLY got the shower and tub backsplash tiled AND grouted, 1 vanity installed, found that I had more plumbing to do to raise the supply and drain for the other vanity, hung the baseboards, painted most of the trim, replaced the hings and knobs on bathroom and toilet room doors, and installed the toilet.  When I went to install that granite top for the second vanity I found the granite cracked in half... so Susan and I went to Home Despot and they are delivering a new one within the next week or so.  Burned up 4 Blue Carbide drill bits installing the toilet flange (this tile is harder than granite)... so have to find a diamond tipped bit to install the shower door.

Tonight after the interview I have to wipe down the shower and tub backsplash then seal the tile.

We're on the home stretch now!

-----
My parents were in for the weekend and we had a wonderful time.  Went to the Festival of Trees at the Fairgrounds on Saturday... waste of $10.00 per person admission... then went to Valley View Farms where all of us bought some more Ornaments for our Christmas trees... and I found this:



http://www.d56online.com/cat/index.cfm?fuseaction=prod&mnu=cat&cat=vlt&subcat=lnd&pid=296850&kf=117

 

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Posted by Blueberryhill RR on Monday, November 26, 2007 6:45 AM

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a cold and rainy 48 degrees. Only going up to 54, today, with rain all day.

Today, I have a few chores to do and then I will relax in the train room, for a few hours. Good day for it. Niece and her son may drop by, later this afternoon. He likes to watch trains run.

All the Christmas lights are on the outside trees. Glad I got it done, before the rain. I'll post some pictures, later in the week.

Dining car is here and it's time for breakfast. Then, off to " points west "

Y'all have a great Monday,

Chuck

Chuck # 3 I found my thrill on Blueberryhill !!
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Posted by wrmcclellan on Sunday, November 25, 2007 11:24 PM

Don,

The straps will work just fine. I used neutral/ground bus bars from Home Depot. These go into your electrical panel and are used to tie all the house grounds and neutrals to earth ground at the panel. These bars come with 5 - 12+ holes, each hole with a screw clamp. I haven't bought any in a while, but they used to cost about $3 to $5 each.

Here is one of the ones I used:

http://w3.squared.com/fulldetail.cfm?partnumber=PK7GTA

Square D PN# PK7GTA - 7 screw clamps -I used the 2 clear holes for mounting screws to a panel on the underside of the layout. I would use 2 of these placed parallel to each other for terminating the 12 awg and then connecting the common and hot feeders to the track.

Regards, Roy

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Posted by CSXect on Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:38 PM

Black Eye [B)]Dead [xx(]Censored [censored]

2 pc's done one left to goThumbs Up [tup]Banged Head [banghead]

Will get some pics posted of my naturestone floor.

Read Buckeyes letter and looked at fifes pics will read tonight, that makes 3 people I know of that made it in the CTT magazine. way to goBow [bow]Approve [^]

 

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Posted by ChiefEagles on Sunday, November 25, 2007 10:19 PM
Thanks Don.  Buckeye, did you like my summer home?  BILTMORE ESTATES. Whistling [:-^]  Real pretty for Christmas.  All my servants have to work overtime to get it ready.

 God bless TCA 05-58541   Benefactor Member of the NRA,  Member of the American Legion,   Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville Laugh,   KC&D QualifiedCowboy       

              

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Posted by dbaker48 on Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:26 PM

Evening all - Lots of news going on  today.

Jon - One more appreciative person for what your group does!!!!!

Chief - Helping youngsters like you did, I'm sure you got as much if not more pleasure from that then he did.  Another of the many many instances of where "Model Railroaders" help the less fortunate.  Makes you wonder what the BIG layout in sky must be like with so many model railroaders there.

Roy - Do you ever think back, now when I was her age, and the things I did, how does that compare?  I know many times I have thought that and was quite thankful I wasn't raising me.  I guess that's why we are all so concerned and careful regarding our kids, is that we KNOW what can happen.  If only we could download some of that information.

 

On the home front got the outside decorations all up, AND they WORK !  Today had to work till 2 pm, but got home and not worth a darn the rest of the day.  Just relaxed!

Evening all,

Best wishes to all 

QUESTION FOR ALL MY LEARNED FORMITE FRIENDS -- 

In wiring up my layout to accomodate both TMCC and DCS, I've been thinking about the power drops and using the "star" technique.  I'm using a 12 awg wire from the transformer to a "star point".  Now the question..  Is a terminal block necessary?   Does anyone see a downside with using a heavy metal strapping, (Bracket) which has 2 or three holes in it.  Securing the bracket to the bottom of the layout with a wood screw.  Then having 2 countersink screws coming from the top side of the bracket as a terminal block.  Then connecting the "drop wires" to one of the two screw (standoffs) with ring terminals and toothed lock washers.  (Probably 6 pwr drops) Of course would have different straps for power and ground.

Other applications doing the same thing, accessory buss, lighting buss etc..

what do you think? 

 

Don

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Posted by Buckeye Riveter on Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:14 PM
 rtraincollector wrote:

Buckeye you had to pass right by me. I live about 5 miles max to us40 & us 81 intersect.

RT - I was west and then south of you.  We traveled south on I-75, then east on I-40 to US 441.  We then went up and over the mountains to Cherokee.  The next day, in the fog, we drove the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville and ate Thanksgiving Dinner. 

BTW, I didn't know the Pilgrims had macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving.  Big Smile [:D]  Not only do those people in the South eat grits, but they think mac and cheese is a delicacy and they serve it on Thanksgiving Day.  Shock [:O]

Thinking back on what I learned about the South on this trip, I must assume that the Chief is preparing a train for us to ride to his swearing in ceremony in Roseyville.  That's how the Vanderbilts did things.  They put all their friends on a private train and brought them all down to NC for food and relaxation. 

Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum. Smile, Wink & Grin

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

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Posted by sir james I on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:51 PM
yep banilla too. also soda/pop help yourself. I guess it just depends where we live.

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

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Posted by cnw1995 on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:44 PM
G'evening from a cold and uh dark Crystal Lake where I enjoyed all the worst moments of the Bears win - missing all the good stuff whilst cleaning up after supper and putting the youngest to bed. Where did this day go? At least I have tomorrow 'off' or rather a checking-email-but-not-going-in vacation day. Helped a buddy with his layout - we last touched it a year ago -- put up about half of an elevated track with homemade risers. I'm small enough to clamber atop the layout whilst we measured for the remaining pieces he has to make. It was fun! Hope to work on my layout tomorrow. G'night all. Back to the Pats game.

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

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Posted by Brutus on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:43 PM

No banilla?  My wife picked up some Ben & Jerry's icecream actually, so come over here if you are tired of P-can pie?!  LOL

Colin, thanks for asking - I would hate to have tried to compliment you and instead have you walking around thinking I was being mean to you.  You're a good guy and I'm glad we're friends.

RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.

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Posted by tmcc man on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:42 PM

Thanks for clearing that up, Brutus.

ANJDevil congrats on the large gift.

Colin from prr.railfan.net
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Posted by wrmcclellan on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:42 PM

Didn't make it to a movie. The fun this afternoon started with a call from the local police dept where an officer had pulled my daughter over for running a stop sign. He was very nice and had a talk with her and had her call us with her cellphone. No ticket this time. Not really her fault. I am familiar with the intersection (4-way stop) and the sign is hard to see. We had a chat when she got home and she is on restricted driving for the next 3 days.

Started a major cleanup in the train room this afternoon. A lot of stuff can accumulate under an 8 x 12 layout over the course of several years. Found a new DeWalt circular saw under there that I won at a school auction when my daughter was in 5th grade. I had sort of forgotten about it (oops - I have an older saw and I do not use it that much).

So now I have to figure out what to do with all the stuff I dragged from under the layout. Some will go back. Some belongs to friends that run trains here (I need to talk them into taking it home - but some of it is neat stuff to run!).

Anyway - it is a lot cleaner under there!

Welcome back Buckeye! You need to read back a few pages to see what I posted on the real cause of your disappearance the last few days.

Regards, Roy

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Posted by sir james I on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:38 PM

Hello to All,

Well the clouds I mentioned earlier brought us snow showers but at 38 deg. it is now rain. I have no idea how today passed without me noticing where it went. Brutus there is one slice of p-can/p-kahn ice cream left, help yourself but if I'm sleeping tippy toe. Added my two cents to a couple of threads today that had some interest to me. I wonder if two cents is enough today maybe it should be a quarter now.Well just wanted to grab a decaf. be back before bedtime. Sir James

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

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Posted by cheapclassics on Sunday, November 25, 2007 7:26 PM

Good evening all,

Just checking in.  Too busy the past few days to post much.  Will update tomorrow.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Mike C. from Indiana

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