Elliotts Trackside Diner II

[LSWrr]

Jim, your mine in the corner will that be coal or iron ore? 

All:  Whatever happened to PA Belt?  I was flipping through the old diner trying to catch up on everything I missed this past summer and I notice I failed in my New Year's Resolution to assemble all these structures I have stacked up.  Maybe this year I can get some stuff done, LOL. 

[JimRCGMO]

Hey Jim,

Is it possible to put a little less swing on those tracks to tighten them up?  Something like this?

I liked that at first when I looked at it, PC, but then I'm trying to figure how I'll fit the elevator between those closer-together tracks (not enough room unless I put it to the left of the tracks. If I put the elevator on the left-most track in my ('eastern') town, then I'll have more steps to do when switching (move the boxcars and covered hoppers off the elevator/oil dealer track onto the spare one nearer the factory, then pull the tankers in, switch them back to the oil dealer, then go back and get the boxcars/covered hoppers and move them back to the elevator. Could mess (tm - sorry, Fergie) up the elevator's work schedule during harvest season... Danged if you do, danged if you don't, huh? More fiddlin' with the design is in order, I see...

Thanks for the (re-)start, though, PC.

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Hoople]

Evening.

It's nice and cold... Hoping for snow.

RT: Too bad about PC's card... Don't worry, I stole his backup yesterday. I believe your LHS has the new Lionel Big Boy waiting for you. I also got myself some pretty daylight cars... california zephyr cars, the athearn FEF, the BLI MT-73, the PCM ALCO PAs in Daylight and CZ schemes... a DT400, and several sound decoders...

Jim: I have six balls of fur to enjoy, I think I can wait. Oh, and btw, I like the track plan, although the reach is a bit far.

Jeff: I believe they have those E8s on sale at walthers, I think B&O and SP A units for $43, undec. with sound A/B for like $100, that's from last month, I don't know if the prices are still that low.

Alright all, gotta go.

Mark

EDIT: Jim: I just looked at your plan again, and thought of an idea. Why not move the oil dealers switch north a bit, and have the oil dealer farther up by the area where there is plenty of room to add more up north? Or, you could move the grain dealer there, which would add some interesting operations if a backdrop was added so the grain dealer could be out on the plains. Just an idea.

[JimRCGMO]

Jim, your mine in the corner will that be coal or iron ore? 

All:  Whatever happened to PA Belt?  I was flipping through the old diner trying to catch up on everything I missed this past summer and I notice I failed in my New Year's Resolution to assemble all these structures I have stacked up.  Maybe this year I can get some stuff done, LOL. 

Lee, actually the mine will be vanadium/uranium ore (gonna be lotsa fun to paint and get the coloring of my loads right for that, though). This is set in the Four Corners region in the 1950's - I'm sort of placing the mines up near Lukachukai, into the mountains a bit. The ore gets transported on the CAW lines over to Farmington, NM, where the refinery/smelter is - the government is paying decent money for that uranium ore, and the vanadium is a valuable metal in its own right about then, too. That's my RR story, and I'm sticking to it!

Hey, Lee - if you didn't finish all your structures, I'd sure better not make any New Year's resolutions about putting together all of mine!

Now that you mention it, PA Belt hasn't been in for a while. Anybody talked with him? 

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: Just a quick one to let you know how the party went. I saw a lot of old friends and the old boss didn't show. Unfortunately there were quite a few no shows. The food was good but no entertainment like in years past. We usually had a casino. Oh well it's kind of expected since the new owners ran up a $2.5 billion debte. I'm glade I got out when I did.

Wellcome CNDave.

Well I guess I'll head for bed.

Good Night All

[GMTRacing]

Good Evening All,

  Greetings from Bakersfield. Flight out was good and the drive out of L.A. wasn't as excruciating as last time. still bumper to bumper stop and go for two hours is taxing. Tomorrow the plan is to drive to Yosemite via Hanford where I used to live then through Fresno to rt41.Temps are supposed to stay in the high 50's with no rain predicted so we should be able to get some hiking in.

Der - the layouts looking good. I ended up with the AMI instant road bed in gray and O scale as well as the usual black which has been handy for use as car roads.

Jeff - Glad to see you back up and around the diner.

Gotta go, long day tomorrow. CUL, J.R.

[LSWrr]

Jim,  you could buy some of that glow in the dark paint for the ore cars it tends to be clear until the lights go out, might shock the heck out of your fellow modelers.  I have my coal mine finished but i want to marry the coal mine and the power plant together with hidden tracks so I'm pulling emptys from the power plant and fulls from the coal mine.

TSA stopped in at work, might be doing some rail fanning with them after the holidays to assess railroad security, LOL.  They asked for referances and I gave them my collection of rail fan pictures from the area.  Should be interesting, wander around taking pictures while on the clock.

[philnrunt]

  CNCharlie- Good to have you aboard! Welcome, come in often and enjoy the good company!  

LSWrr- Coastie, eh? Good man. I have a favor to ask- while you are going around with the TSA folk, if you have a cup of common sense and a tablespoon of humor, slip it to them.

     They are good folk, but they are new at this security thingie, and they still can't "read" people just yet.

     I was typing on another post, and on TV an astronomer was speaking on planets we have located with the Hubble, and suddenly he was riding behind a steam loco, saying iwhen we discover more planets one might even have "forests and a steam train" on them. Sounds good to me. Earlier, the local ran two light engines past the PD, had to step out to watch them roll by. I like it when they run by in the night, but I'm sure the folks living by the tracks wish they would lay off the horn a bit. Actually had a person complain about that once, they had just moved next to the tracks and didn't realize how loud the trains were. I sided with the train. Huh, go figure.

   Pretty quiet here, just like in the diner. Except, in the diner, it's always a warm summer night when I visit. Not too warm here in Dunkirk. Already miss those summer nights. Gettin' old, I guess.

    Better go do something, even if it's wrong.

   

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello everbody.

Good to see that CNCharlie joined the forum. The root beer floats are gone I see; so I'll be glad to buy a round of hot cider to welcome him from Winnipeg.

I've been in the layout room this evening. I laid a small amount of track in my section under construction. Next, I operated some trains.

Happy Model railroading.  

 

[LSWrr]

Phil,  I'll do what I can with TSA.  The TSA agent is a very attractive female about 24 years old.  She was in the office chatting with our waterside security department trying to figure out where this and that RR spur started and terminated in our port areas, so as any good outstanding single male I offered to help.

Lee 

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN ! 

[inch53]

Mornin, coffee and a short stack please Zoe.

29 here in the woods and headed for a high near 50 [maybe], chance of rain later today, Lows tonight upper 20's and a high tomorrow in the upper 30's

FERGIE,, yes I did some something the other day, but darned if I can remember what it was. Oh well, I guess it wasn't important

DICK,,, I'm getting more layout time lately, but it's not cold enough yet to keep me in on sunny days and I've still got plenty other chores inside that need doing. Pellets are running $3.50 to $4.35 here right now; it's the corn that ridicules $9 plus a hundred.

 CN CHARLIE,, welcome to the dinner, hope you enjoy your visits here n have a cup on me. I'm in HO too and it's at 32" so I can set down, since I have trouble standing for long, and that way the grandkids can see it without me holding them.

PHIL,,, never thought about it till this morning, but the next time your going to be in Effingham give us a holler. Maybe me n Mother could meet ya there and show you round.

LEE, you might best behave while your checking security.

JERRY,, here's link to the IC thread over in the Trains mag. Forum and I hope they get your phone fixed today.

 http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1/875147/ShowPost.aspx#875147

Best gets round, kids are here and I still need to do a few things. Hope ya'll has a gooden n stay safe

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

Today's Weather for:      
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      11/28/2007

Wind Chill:  39°F
Humidity:  93%
Dew Point:  37°F

So Far Today
High:  41°F
Low:  38°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  3mph SE

Today    High: 68    Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Light and variable winds.    

Tonight    Low: 45    Increasing clouds. Lows in the mid 40s. Light and variable winds becoming northwest around 10 mph after midnight.

[SilverSpike]

Morning folks! Hot coffee for me, thanks Chloe!

Dang, a week away from the Diner and 11 pages later....you all been talking it up huh!

Well, Ben and Monique are down in New Orleans visiting family so I am all alone and plan to dedicate every spare moment in the train room for the next 6 days so I hope to start making some major progress on the layout.

Welcome to the new Diners in the Diner!

Later folks,

Ryan

[rtraincollector]

Oh, BTW Dave V., the tender looks awesome!

Woo Hoo Jeff is back Time to have a party girls yes put it on PC's Credit Card he normally leaves it under the regester.

HEY!!!  Wait a minu..........oh what the heck!  Just do it girls!  Party's on me!

See I knew you wouldn't mind thats why you leave the credit card there.

By the way girls can you give me a $500.00 on pc 's card he's a great guy you know.

Thanks

Not that great! 

man nothin like fatting up the wallet ever once in a while. Glad no one else is in here to see this

I spy with my little eye, something, um.........SNEAKY!

Maybe I ought to order one of those new lionel big boys next time PC don't look at the statement just pays it. Heck there only $2100.00 he wouldn't notice with the dinners bills he gets

Girls, any unauthorized charges on the card come out of your tips!  (RT, you take those girls tips and may God have mercy on your soul! )

Don't worry girls anything prior to that statement ain't your responsibility

But heres the $500.00 don't want pc to get to upset over a little joke lol. I couldn't keep it anyway he's to nice a guy besides not my style I rather do with out but like to kid around

 

[Fergmiester]

Good Morning All from the Flemish Cap on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland!

Gales are still blowing and the seas are building, had to put a pillow under the outboard side of the bunk to keep me from being rolled out (wouldn't be the first and won't be the last). Winds are backing to the NW and demishing come tomorrow.

Fergie: What do you do in the Coast Guard?  I'm in the U.S. Coast Guard Way down south on Lake Erie.  I see it's almost Christmas; our tender just pulled the WX buoy off the US/Canada boarder yesterday.

High winds today out of the NW, blew all my leaves (and neighborhood trash cans) to a different zip code.

Has anybody used the brick/cobblestone street, self adhesive strips from Walther's?

Me well I do a bit of this and a bit of that  but honestly I am a Chief Officer (What you would refer to as XO) I also do get to go Skipper from time to time. Rank is not an important thing to me thouigh as it takes a team to make one of these puppies run and as long as everyone works together that's key.

Anyway guys thanks for the concern! but it's not too bad out here... yet!

Later All

Fergie

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Zoe - I'd like a cup of coffee

 

and an egg croissanwich, please!

 

I'll do what I can with TSA.  The TSA agent is a very attractive female about 24 years old.  She was in the office chatting with our waterside security department trying to figure out where this and that RR spur started and terminated in our port areas, so as any good outstanding single male I offered to help.

Side benefits of the job, huh, Lee? But remember you're on the clock, too. Glow-in-the-dark ore for my mine, huh? I'll have to think about that one.

Mark, thanks for the suggestion, but a few post earlier, PC and Paul and I had been looking at the (longish) reach into the 'northeast' corner with another version of my plan, where I had tracks up that way. That's why the tracks got moved further south (and also slightly east). But thanks for thinking about it for me.  

Still kind of cool this morning - about 36 F, so shouldn't have frost to scrape off, just dew. Wind chill is about 28 F though. Could be one of those cold, damp days today (but no forecast of any precip. either).

About time for me to head out for the 'w' thing today. Prayers for JR's driving on California roads (and take lots of pictures at Yosemite, please - I'd love to get to go there!), and for all the rest in need of comfort (or healing). 

 

Blessings on your 'hump day',

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[pcarrell]

Morning all!

This looks to be the warmest day of the next 5 days as highs will get into the lower 50's, but quite a bit of wind come along with the warmth.  Rain will start this evening and then change over to snow as we head into the night.  Yup, it's beginning to look like winter is here to stay for a while!

Well, well, lucky me!  I get to sit in a meeting most of the day to learn something that is irrelevent to my job.  I have tons of "real work" that needs done and I don't really have time to goof off learning something that I'll never need.  But, the boss wants me there and he's signing my paycheck, so, I'll sit in there and learn it.  Just seems kinda goofy to me.  He's always on us about being more productive, and this is going to hinder that greatly.  Oh well!

So what do you have planned for the day?

RT, I'll tell ya what.......I'll split the difference with ya on the $500 if I can come over and run that loco once in a while.  Whaddya say?

Jim, I didn't measure thos tracks out or anything.  I was just trying to tighten things up a little.  The reach to the back of the yard is kinda long but not undoable (ya like that word?).  Just trying to make it and the duckunder a bit shorter.  It may just have to be something you live with if you go with that plan.  It's not a deal killer I don't think.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello everybody....

Well, well, well.......... It's been about a week since Chef Ryan told us about the big Thanksgiving Dinner he was preparing. Our mouths were drooling as he explained the menu. ...and now ...days and days later he stumbles into the diner.   It must have been some feast!

Oh never mind. I'll have hazel nut coffee with my oatmeal please.

Nice picture, Jeff.

Happy Model rialroading.

[gear-jammer]

Good Morning, All.  Coffee, please.

I haven't even been at the computer for a while.  Did Larry check in last week?  I have a party on Friday and Saturday so I have been cleaning inside and out. ICK.

Jim,  Looks like your track plans will give lots of operating session options.  What are your layout demensions?

Sue

[Hoople]

Morning all.

Nice and cold here in Seattle; still no snow, best chance for it would be friday apparently.

Chloe, I'll have the hashbrowns, eggs, and toast. Scrambled. Milk.

Thanks chloe.

Now let's get down to business:

Jim: I saw their posts, What I was saying was move it north enough so it is actually at the area where there is 1' of reach to the back way up at the top, or close to it.

RT: Did you *ahem* pick it up yet? (See my post on the last page if you're thinking, wuuuh?)

 

Those little balls of fur are getting a bit crazy... Sometimes I walk into the room and see only 1 who is playing with string or something. The other five have been found in these places:

-Inside (yes, inside) the couch
-Under the treadmill
-In a small weird little-kid storage barrel (soft) full of stuffed animals
-Inside an overturned suitcase

They get into the weirdest places sometimes. At least I have entertainment until my Big Boy comes.

[grayfox1119]

Good morning everyone, a brisk 36F here this morning after a low of 30F, clear skies, so we will make plenty of solar hot water in the roof panels today. I am taking some photos of the completed swing gate on the layout this morning, and will post them and some of the Canadian Rockies train trip as well as long as I don't have to drive my friend to the hospital, he has been suffering with kidney stones most of his life, and now he has one that is 1" in diameter....talk about hurt!!!!!!!

CN CHARLIE :  Dave, welcome to the Diner, have a coffee and bagel on my tab. Good to see more guys arrive on the CN or CP trains arriving on track #1 outside the Diner from up north. Hey, you can give us advanced warning of cold fronts headed south and any snow storms as well...YEESSSSSS !!!!

MIKE: Looks like Pellet prices are still lower in your neck of the woods, good!!! The new JOTUL 500 wood stove is fantastic! If you ever need to replace or get another wood stove, man, I can highly recommend this baby. It heats the 27x27 family room ( with 11' ceiling at the peak) so much, that the wife is complaining that it is too hot. Can you believe that? A woman complaining that it is too hot when it is 18F outside with winds blowing at 25mph? All from this little stove? I have a floor fan now in the room to blow heat out of this big room to other parts of the ranch as well as the ceiling fan ON to winter direction (CCW). Another big cold wave is headed your way this weekend , so get ready Mike.

JEFF: How are you doing this morning ? Hope the foot is healing OK. I saw on Tony's Trains that he has P2K F8's at $135 with decoder, is this a good price?

FERGIE: Do you expect to back in port for Christmas, or are the scientist still checking the CO2 levels in sea plankton? The warmer the water the more CO2 is found in plankton.

DUKE: Great job with DVD!!! I think that Trains.com is making you an offer this week.

DER JOHN: Bring more wood in, you will need it this weekend.

Time to fo to MRR room and take some pics.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

JEFF: How are you doing this morning ? Hope the foot is healing OK. I saw on Tony's Trains that he has P2K F8's at $135 with decoder, is this a good price?

That is a good price, better than I've seen in this area.

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

Good Morning gang,

Look at those cute Waitresses,  Hellllooo Girls, I'l have scrambled on toast, large OJ and a decafe, Thanks.

Jeff:   Update on the weather in the center of the Great White North

         Today for Regina  -20C.   Snow,   Wind    W@19,   Humidity 78.    See what you are missing.

CN-Charlie,  Welcome aboard,  Check the above weather, you'll be getting that later today or tomorrow as you are just down the road from me. 363 miles.  And by the way the Roughriders WON..haha.

Fergie:   Hang onto that pillow guy, we don't want you to be whale bait. I was salmon fishing in Oregon back a few years ago. 30ft. swells off the coast near Astoria. 42ft boat, was never so darn sick in my life. Caught my first fish at 6:00am and spent the rest of the time from then until 1:00pm eating crackers and then running to the rail to chuck them.  I had the misfortune to draw onto that boat with six ex-navy guys who were just loving it. The other five boats were back in port by 9:00am as it was just too rough.  Never again.  There are parts of this Prairie Boy that are still blue.   -- and Charlie that is not Blue Bomber Blue either...

Have a good day to all the rest of you.  I don't think I'll be going out today. I have to make some tunnel liners besides some of the honey-do-list..

Will check back in this evening.  Keep your feet dry.

Johnboy out...............

James:1 Verse:5

Got to get those sand pipes unthawed the "Wobbly" needs some traction.

[JimRCGMO]

Hi, Diners! Zoe, just a mocha to go, please. Thanks!

Paul, you lucked out, if the ex-boss didn't show. Good food, huh? Sounds like a good evening overall to me. Like you said, it may have been budget constraints-related.

Okay, Ryan, since you will have all the MRR'ing time, we will expect to see more photos to go with that work, right?  

gear-jammer wrote:

I haven't even been at the computer for a while.  Did Larry check in last week?  I have a party on Friday and Saturday so I have been cleaning inside and out. ICK.

Parties both days, Sue? Oh, joy! I hope Larry's good on helping with cleanup afterwards...[:-^]

Jim,  Looks like your track plans will give lots of operating session options.  What are your layout demensions?

The plan is about 11 X10, but this is just preliminary for now, as I don't have a spare room (yet). The part to the left ('west') on the plan is mostly my current layout (8' X 2 to 2.5'), so this plan is trying to expand that once I get more space to put the layout in.

Jim, I didn't measure thos tracks out or anything.  I was just trying to tighten things up a little.  The reach to the back of the yard is kinda long but not undoable (ya like that word?).  Just trying to make it and the duckunder a bit shorter.  It may just have to be something you live with if you go with that plan.  It's not a deal killer I don't think.

PC, I was figuring I could reach to the turntable side area from either the bottom right (where the door would open) or the upper middle (above the sidings). Besides, when I have a 36" reach (35" inseams), I don't have as much difficulty with the reach, even at about 50 or 52 inches elevation. When I get more time today, I'll play with the design some more - Adding a spare track in there, plus moving the factory to the leftmost track and the elevator to the middle/right one might help. That, or move the elevator to the upper siding and the oil dealer to one of the lower tracks...

Well, need to get myself back to (as PC's boss might say) 'productive w**k'.  

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All....Its sunny and a little warmer with a south wind here this morning.....I'll have ham and eggs sunny side up,toast and coffee please..thank you...Battling with the cable company again this morning my phone was bad last night when Mike called me and out all the way now....With Sallies health problem we need to have the phone working all the time...

I sure am missing the railroad but Sallie wants to get the christmas tree up this weekend so looks like it will be after New years before we uncovered....I got another Ebay "junk" box deal I'm trying to get...6 cars for .99 cents...I figure if I only get 1 or 2 running its still a good deal and I have more parts for other rebuilds...I get a kick out of being able to put some of these old dogs back in service....

CNCHARLIE.........Welcome to the dinner...make your self to home.....and come back often....

Jeff.....Nice job lighting the Atlas tower....Looks like you could walk up the steps go in set down and shoot the bull with the operator and have a cup of coffee with him....Those old towers were a great place to watch trains if the operator was friendly and most of them were..I spent a lot of hours at Haley Tower on Pennsy in Tere Haute years ago..

Ryan...Welcome back...How did that Thanksgiving feast turn out?

Fergie......Hope your seeing calmer sea this morning....

You all have a good one...Jerry

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff:   Update on the weather in the center of the Great White North

         Today for Regina  -20C.   Snow,   Wind    W@19,   Humidity 78.    See what you are missing.

No thanks. I had plenty of -50f and lower temps when I was in Alaska. I like Louisiana much better.

Ok, I've got the tab for the page. 

[SilverSpike]

Okay...okay....seeing as how I done stirred up a bunch of hungry folks with the Thanksgiving feast menu.....

All the turkey is gone! Sad to report, but we done ate it all up, can you say "Turkey Sandwich!" Stuffing and casseroles too...all gone! And about 10 lbs. added to the waist line later.....

I'll have to post a few photos soon when I get them uploaded. Everyone said it was dern good so I'll take their word for it too! Duke can back me up on my cookin' techniques!

Okay, Ryan, since you will have all the MRR'ing time, we will expect to see more photos to go with that work, right?  

 

Yepper! Sometimes when I am in the train room working I have to remind myself to stop and take a few photos along the way, then sometimes I wonder if I am working on the layout so I can take some photos, or is it the other way around. I'm confused!

Fergie - Sounds like you need more than sea legs with those waves and gales. Good luck with that!

Philip - Maybe the boss has plans for you to take on more duties with all that training coming your way....hummm...

Sue - A party on Friday and Saturday? Wow, that will be one heck of a long party!

Jerry - Speaking of Christmas trees, have to wait until Monique and Ben get back, so weekend after next we will be cutting down one for the house.

Perfect timing Jeffery! Thanks for lunch today!

Leftover turkey sandwiches....

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Cedarstrand, Paul, RT.

Thanks for the cards. They're very nice. 

[Cederstrand]

in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please & thank you!

***Jeffrey, you are sincerely welcome.

Wife's best friend from childhood on was life flighted from the local hospital to the big one last night (where they both sometimes work). She is pretty upset about it. He is only 50 years old and his heart, lungs, kidneys etc are giving out on him.

Made a hay run today with another planned in a couple days or so.

Have a great day all. Rob