Evening Gang: Not much since this afternoon. We went into Aledo and did some shopping. Mary Ann got a couple of ornaments for the great nieces first Christmas. We then went and had supper accross the tracks at a great Mexican resturant. After supper we left we were going to go and see the sights but there were so many people that it wasn't worth it. This area is just getting too crowded.
The weather is typical for Texas winter. It's warm enough to be out without a jacket and wet. I guess you guys up north of the border are getting real winter. I kind of miss the snow and such back home in Milwaukee. I can remember a couple of times that we had to stay over at grandmas on Thanksgiving because of snow. I got to sleep in two chairs shoved together. I was young and smaller then. One winter Dad had to dig a tunnel to get out of the front door. Fun, fun, fun.
Rob, 22" is the easer of the two curves and I usually go with the widest curves, but in this case I might go with the 18" radius. Try the train on the 18"r and see how it runs. If it does allright then go for it. I also might go with sectional track. When it's laid carefully it will give you a smooth curve with out the hassel of bending and alighing flex track. Of course solder the joints and use plenty of leads to the track. Use flex between the curves and bend slightly.
Well I guess I'll head for bed.
Good Night All
Cederstrand wrote:***Jim, I like that idea...adds some interest to a basic oval. I want to persuade Barbara to let the coffee table layout be for her farm & perhaps little zoo concept. Then save her circus stuff for a separate Christmas layout. Why? Well, seems like it could get pretty cramped trying to do everything in that one small coffee table area. Also, a farm scene would be a whole lot easier for me to make first. Final decision is ofcourse all hers to make. Although I will make it, SHE will get to place all her little animals & wee folk on it. I must be getting very tired tonight, which gives a more gentle curve, 18" radius or 22" radius track? Need to go lay down for a bit. -Rob
***Jim, I like that idea...adds some interest to a basic oval. I want to persuade Barbara to let the coffee table layout be for her farm & perhaps little zoo concept. Then save her circus stuff for a separate Christmas layout. Why? Well, seems like it could get pretty cramped trying to do everything in that one small coffee table area. Also, a farm scene would be a whole lot easier for me to make first. Final decision is ofcourse all hers to make. Although I will make it, SHE will get to place all her little animals & wee folk on it.
I must be getting very tired tonight, which gives a more gentle curve, 18" radius or 22" radius track? Need to go lay down for a bit. -Rob
Rob, when I was designing that one (above), I was thinking that you probably will only be able (staying on one level and not much/any vertical changes - other than possibly some cuts and the tunnels) to have a little amount of stuff in the visible part. So yeah, your wife may need to pick the farm or something else simple for the viewable part of the coffee table (unless she wants to get more elaborate on height variations and/or go to a rectangular glass cover instead of the circular 4' one).
Oh, the 22" would be more be a more gentle curve - I think I used around 19 or 20" radius on the curves in my design, since I thought having it non-parallel to the sides would look better. General rule of thumb is: larger radius = gentler curves. And have you been forgetting to eat your Wheaties today?
If your wife has any other suggestions or questions, just post 'em or email them to me through the forum, or directly (I think you do still have my email address, right?), and I'll see what else I can whip up for her and you.
Nighty-night for me - see everyone in the morning!
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
Evening all,
It just started snowing here.
Yesterday I decided I couldn't leave well enough alone and bought a second industry kit. I'm kit bashing the 2 together to build a dairy for the layout. I had to run back to the LHS to pick up more Pacemaker Red and a bottle of Soo Line red for the bricks. This building will be about 40' x 80' and 2 stories tall with an 80' loading dock and two 10' loading docks. Dorothy is working on printing out pictures to glue onto the windows and loading dock doorways so we don't have a "hollow" building.
Jim, The link to the Church was cool; most of my town will be brick and stone, so I was looking for a brick/stone church for the layout. Your wood sided church would look out of place, but it is a cool looking church.
Paul, I lived in TX for 3 years (Corpus Christi) and I missed the snow and the four seasons. We did have 4 seasons in South Texas; summer, still summer, fall, almost summer.
Well back to work, I hope you all have a good evening.
Lee
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
***Jim, I already have the 4' glass, so that is what she will have over her HO table. Depth can be whatever is needed to fit what she wants. As long as there are no circus rides (ferris wheel...ugh) it should easily fit a very small pond, some shade trees and gentle hills for her little horses and cows to roam around, along with a farm and small house.
For my (N) layout, I'm looking at some more Kato unitrack. So pardon my ignorance but which of these gives a more gentle turn (for larger wheelbase locos):
Curve R348mm (13-3/4") 45 degree OR Curve R348mm (13-3/4") 30 degree ???
Thanks and Good night all. Rob
Evening folks-just some coffee (black & strong for me)
Lee-just 50 miles south & we 1st got snow about 7 something this evening, just enough to lay a very light coating, & then it turned to freezing rain. Untreated surfaces are a bit treacherous, so I had to grudgingly explain to Logan that there would be no W-A-L-K tonight. (pretty sad when you have to spell out words around a dog ) So I let him out on his tie out & to make up for it, I made sure he got his C-O-O-K-I-E (Milk Bone) He's now content.
All-Had a minor household mishap this afternoon. I was down in the basement at the train workbench, & Dawn was at the sink doing some dishes. I heard water start dripping on the other side of the basement, & then Dawn go "YIKES!" Here the PVC gooseneck under the sink wasn't fully tightened at the connection by the previous owner here & decided to come apart as she drained the sink...into the cabinet below & drip into the basement. No problem though-we pulled out of the cabinet what got wet to dry, & tightened the connection. Previous owners of this house bought this house at a Sheriff's sale & planned on renting it, updated things (new furnace, ductwork, some electrical, & cosmetic) but then teaching jobs got them called to Saudi Arabia, so they decided to sell. Needless to say, since they didn't plan on living here, some of the updates were done a little half you know what. Oh well, could've been worse. It could've let go over the future layout, but doing some figuring, it would've just missed by a foot or so the lead to the future helix!
Blah-back to work tomorrow arvo (Australian for afternoon) & then work thru Thurs, & then off for the next 2 wks. (need to get my time in before the yearly deadline on the 22nd.)
Have a good night/day all!
Just stuck my head through the door here to wish you all a good night. No time for a night cap.
Didn't want to miss wishing Cape Jim a very Happy Birthday, What is it Jim #39 or #21?? , I can't remember.
Also good luck to Fergie out there on the "Briney" Hope it doesn't turn out as rough as it looks like it could. I don't envy you Pal, I don't think this Prairie Boy would live through it.
Thanks for the good wishes on our anniversary, I spent the whole day with the lady today so didn't get much accomplished on the LM&E.
Will check in tomorrow night after the football games NFL, now that ours is over.
Prayers and blessing to all and to all a good night.
Johnboy out.........
James:1 Verse:5
The Wobbly is headed for the shed.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
grayfox1119 wrote: FERGIE: Get that ship out of there !!! You have two more storms headed your way between now and Wednesday and another by Friday.Your ship will take a pounding !!!
FERGIE: Get that ship out of there !!! You have two more storms headed your way between now and Wednesday and another by Friday.Your ship will take a pounding !!!
No can do Old Man. We are over 300 nm miles from St John's so we can run... but! 55 knot winds are actually pretty good here. the odd couch will get relocaterd from time to time but nothing out of the ordinary. What I'm told is that it starts getting ugly when the wind hits 100kts. The winds are NW 35-40 at present and expected to peak this evening. Skies are clearing and the coffee is hot!
CNCharlie wrote: I was sitting at my desk today in my nice warm office thinking of Fergie bouncing across the briny and wondering what I had to complain about with the weather. About the only tilting I get is if I lean back in my chair. Not warm enough, just turn up the heat!
I was sitting at my desk today in my nice warm office thinking of Fergie bouncing across the briny and wondering what I had to complain about with the weather. About the only tilting I get is if I lean back in my chair. Not warm enough, just turn up the heat!
Ya I had a good laugh over this one as any timer I lean back I land up sprawling accross the deck! Not pretty! Not a wise move here!
Rob: Ya I here ya. Nothing like a good Roller Coaster Ride!
Paul and Jim: If it gets too bad out here we just heave too or or turn tail and run with it. So it isn't too bad and it's not January.
Lee: Want to switch! P-l-e-a-s-e- It's times like this I'd ratehr be somewhere else but it's all apart of the trade.
Anyway must run
Fergie
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Mornin, coffee and a farmers special please Janie.
Weather was strange here yesterday, we had a few snowflakes, then later a very cold light rain with some sleet mixed in and a 4 pm a temp of 34. We went into town for Leroy's 6th and KC's 2'nd birthday party, got home bout 8 and the temp was 42, this morning it's 52.
Been busy with kids n such, so I'm not got going to try n catch up much, but I didn't get in to wish JIM CG a happy birthday yet, was that your 39'th again.
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Good morning,
Mitch, my baby (154 pound black lab) knows how to spell and tell time.
Fergie, ya I've been a Bosun for almost 21 years, I know how it is. I just got lucky with the office job the last 4 years. We shall see what I get for the next 4 years. How is the ice up there? NOAA predicts we will be iced in mid January. 20 years ago I would have to get up at 4am to fire up the MLB to bust out the slip between 23NOV and 15 DEC.
All this talk about curves has me re-thinking some of my plans and drawings for a 42" curve on my west bound mainline.
All our snow turned to rain over night.
Good morning from the frigid Northeast. After Saturdays cold wind, today seem like a heat wave. Good thing too, my Dodge van is sitting in pieces all over my driveway. The wind chill was so bad yesterday- couldn't even last 10 minutes out there. The new engine is sitting waiting to be dropped in. Torches are on there way over today, those rusted lumps resembling the exhaust bolts got to go. So today is the only shot of doing this, tonight that storm moves in with snow and freezing rain. Would loved to use a shop, but this PITA project would tie up friend's shop for too long. Used to be an easy job on the older trucks, not so on this one....
Jeff: I always liked the BB, for years they were the backbone of all my kitbash and detail projects. Rework the pilots, body mount the couplers, all those detail part and Smokey Valley rails sure made some real great looking locos. Just don't seem to have the time anymore and get spoiled w/ those RTR offerings.
Dick: Would have liked to do the show sometime this weekend, but wrestling with my engine job is keeping me busy, need to get it back in service.
eeyore: Don't you just love some of that let's patch it up and "looks good from my house", work. I hope that the house doesn't have things like this buried all over the place. Never liked any of that cheap plastic- should ck into a good brass tailpiece if at the strainer or a PVC union trap if the trap itself. Too many times the cheap threads on poly can strip out or pop apart from any whack from under the sink. As a contractor, specializing in kitchens these days, all I seem to be doing lately is undoing and putting to right all the screw ups and hack work of years past repairs. Even some of the fairly new building doesn't mean it's right or done with quality. No pride in the work anymore, get it done and run with the check....
Fergie: I really shouldn't be complaining about the cold- It's only cold in the driveway- the warmth of my porch and kitchen is only steps away. A little bit tougher to do when a job on the water has to be done.
If you really need to use 18" for a radius, I would seriously recommend using a piece of flex for an easement into such a tight turn. Really makes a difference allowing some of that marginable stock to negociate the turn. Of coarse your overall distance will widen from 36" to more like 38-40" pending the easment.
Well need to get back outside, that 5.2 V8 isn't going to jump out the front of the van by itself.
Later..
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
CapeJim:
Maybe I need to find some partially worn down batteries to use in mine...
Fergie: Glad your skies are clearing. Ours cleared last night by about 9 or 10 p.m. The barometer rose this morning a noticeable amount between 8 and 10 a.m., but he winds are just as nasty as they were yesterday. Do you guys get cocoa, or is that only in the movies?
It took just about al evening, but I at last found a photo I needed of a dock on the Fundy shore at low tide. I needed it because I want that effect for my container dock, but couldn't remember how the tide mark looks and how the weeds go. The test peice I did from memory the night before last just didn't look right.
Probably little time for the layout today. Early lunch and off to a concert and dinner in New Glasgow.
TTFN.
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.
der5997 wrote:
I can really appreiciate that cartoon, get so used to nail guns these day, when you start pounding nails everyone wonders what's that noise.
Afternoon Gang: It is so warm here that we turned on the A/C last night. What can I say it's Texas. We're cleaning out the old hay barn so we can get the new machines in out of the weather. John and a young friend of ours are doing aoo the work so it's easy on Mary Ann and myself.
Mitch: I can relate to your sink problem. The only parts of the house that we've had problems with are the ones that I contracted out. The vent pipe running in the attic came apart and the rain water running in the pipe opening cause the sheet rock in the bathroom ceilling to rot. I got up there and found that the joint had never been glued together. Rush and Run.
The boys went out to get lunch and they should be back so I'd better get going.
Top of the page. PC where are you when I need you. Well belly up and get'er done.
Paul, I'm right here waiting for you to pay the bill!
What up all!Man, it's been rainy and dreary around here today. Perfect day for napping in front of the fire!
Oh, and Rob, a 30 degree curve is gentler than a 45 degree curve.
Morning!
It's still cloudy, but it heated up a bit so it rained. Got rid of most of the snow pretty quick. I just hope it hovers at 32* tonight, because we're supposed to get record flooding...
C'ya all later.
Mark
Good Evening All
With all this talk of weather I think we should have a weekly contest of "Who's had the worst weather of the week!"
I win Iwin!
Some how I don't think I'm the winner here, maybe whiner, but no winner. Anyway here we be on the Tail of the Banks as it blows 50 kts with 30' seas and building should die down to a mere 40 knots over night. Good thing is we're hove too and making about 2 knots. The Old Girl makes for a nice gentle ride with the odd occassional snap to keep you on your toes.
Lee: A bos'n eh! I'd be lost without mine one of those jobs that is indispensable but without the credit. How many years you have punched in total? I'm on my 27th.
Der John: If you paying as much attention to the dock as everything else it will look awsome. I guess NFLD got about 2' of snow today. We had squalls go through all afternoon.
Bob: Loved the picture of the layout the other day have anymore?
Needless to say I'm not getting any modelling done .
Later All
"Sailing, sailing over, the bounding main." Or should that be MOUNTING main?
Fergie , keep your Mae West on. I guess the EPA would frown on the idea of pouring oil on sea to calm the waves down. Your a better man than me, swabby.
Flip [ex grunt]
Afternoon, Janie, and how about a nice slice of butterscotch pie and a coffee, since Paul is so graciously buying! (PC told me it was safe to come in now... )
Oh, what the heck, and a ham 'n' cheese sandwich, too, please, Janie!
Thanks again, Paul!
Johnboy wrote:Didn't want to miss wishing Cape Jim a very Happy Birthday, What is it Jim #39 or #21?? , I can't remember.
Hmm, let's see, Johnboy... 39, add the 21, carry another 1 equals... Yep, you got it - Thanks! And thank you to all of you for the birthday wishes, e-cards, etc.
pcarrell wrote:Oh, and Rob, a 30 degree curve is gentler than a 45 degree curve.
Well, Rob, if you have straight (or wider) curves on either side of that, it will help, but the main difference (I would think) would be that the longer the degrees, the longer that the loco and cars are going through the curve, right? Least ways, from what I remember of math and geometry...
I set that up (13.750" X 30 degrees, and 13.750" X 45 degrees) in my layout design program like this:
The top curve is the 30 degree range at 13.750" radius, the one below that is 45 degree range at 13.750" radius, and the bottom is the 30 degree range curve overlaid on top of the 45 degree curve (centerlines about on top of each other). Hope that helps clarify things, Rob. As others said, you could use easement curves into the 13.750" curves. But then again, the DeWitt engine probably has a much shorter turn radius than even an 0-6-0T, from pics of the two locos that I've seen...
We've had rain much of the day, from misting as I was heading into church, to pouring down some as I left church about mid-morning or so, and it appears to be almost stopped for now. It's a balmy 63 F currently - bad as Paul's weather! Good day for staying inside and working on the MRR stuff. (Well, except for Fergie, who's rocking and rolling out there off the Banks... - may you get back to shore without any mishaps!)
Lee, if you have the room for it, 42" sounds like a very nice curve (you're in HO, right?). If I had more room, I would probably be using comfy curves like that.
I'll be muchin' on my sandwich and my pie at the corner booth for a bit.
Jim in (slightly soggy) Cape Girardeau
Been working on KCS 666 this weekend. Here's a photo of how far I've gotten.
Well just got in out of the cold.
Just made it too, as soon as the new engine was set in place and bolted up the snow started. Don't think we'll get much, but sure screws up my plans to have the van back together.
Gee, might just have to play with the trains.
I think it's about time for a nice cold one, or two, or ??
Here's another one I'm working on.
Cox 47 wrote:Jeff looks like a couple of neat additions to your motive power roster...Is the switcher a Blue Box too?
Evening Gang: Did I say it was warm here? About 3pm it changed. Now it's cold and getting colder. No A/C tonight maybe the space heater though. Right now I'm thinking I may just go to bed and pull the covers up tight. I've got a Witney 4 point blanket on the bed and I may add another. I'd get the buffalo robe out but Mary Ann would run me out of the house, then I'd really need it.
I guess that you guys in the northeast are going to get it. There is a storm heading from the lakes in your direction. I wouldn't mind some snow here. By the way has anyone heard from Noah, our snow shoveling guru?
I think that I'll skip on out and read the lastest Trains and Model Railroader. I keep hearing them complain about the airlines shutting down because of weather. Doesn't anyone get it. Railroad passenger trains don't shut down for weather.
Oh Well