Good Morning All,
I'll have a regular and an English muffin please Zoe. Vacation was nice, but it's good to be back home. Returned a bit early so the CFO could go back to the docs' as she can't shake the flu-like crud she's had for the last two weeks. Curtailed the hiking a bit but we still had a good time visiting Sequoia, King Canyon and Yosemite plus the Ca. rail museum and a drive down highway 1 from Santa Cruz to L.A. (no Jeff - the other L.A. not lower Alabama). all the tourist railroads were closed for the season, so no reports on the Sugar Pine, etc. We did find the remnants of the Yosemite Valley at El Portal but the historic site is in pretty dire straits and needs lots of work. Shame all the track was ripped out in the 40's.
Sounds like the rest of you have had a fairly wild ride in my absence between weather and illness. Luckily we cancelled plans to ride Amtrak from Sacramento to Seattle while we were there as that line has been shut due to the flooding. All we got was a dusting of snow our last evening in Yosemite and the temps stayed above freezing 98% of the time. Had we taken the train ride as planned we would have been stuck in the middle of it in Oregon and Washington.
I'll try to check in later when the rest of you are about and catch up on posts over the weekend. CUL, J.R.
AC-12 at California Stae Railroad Museum
Morning all!
Well, we got our couple of inches of snow last night. Some folks still haven't remembered how to drive in the stuff, but it was better then the other day. Those first snows are a killer. Either people are going so slow that you could crawl to work faster, or they forget that they can't stop nearly as fast as they can go. Whatever the case, today was pretty eneventful as for as accidents on the roads go. Thats good news! Tonight they're calling for sleet and freezing rain, so all bets are off for tomorrow morning! At least its a Saturday, so most folks won't have to venture out til later. I'll be out in it though. Gotta take someone to the airport bright and early. They have a 6am flight and the airport is an hour away, so I'll be up long before the sun tomorrow.
Got a great pic of my son playing bastetball with his team last night. He looks like a real pro! The team coach has asked if I'd take some pics of all of the team for a website they're designing. I told him I'd be happy to.
Oh, hey! The wifes final bandages came off yesterday! Looks like the scar isn't going to be too bad. There's still a little swelling, but she's looking more like her old self all the time! The crutches and wheelchair will still be around for a while though. Once this leg heals she's right back on the operating table to get the other one done.
So thats a peek into my little world. Whats going on in yours?
Hey Rob, hows Barbara doing? Did ya go to the doc in the box? She didn't sound so hot the other day. Been praying for her.
JimRCGMO wrote: When it'd snow up there, we'd go find an empty shopping center parking lot and practice driving our 'donuts' in the lot for fun.
When it'd snow up there, we'd go find an empty shopping center parking lot and practice driving our 'donuts' in the lot for fun.
Mmmmmmmm, donuts! Oh wait! Different kind! Yeah, those are good too! Haven't done one of those in a while. You suppose folks might think I was crazy if I was out doing donuts in a full sized custom van?
pcarrell wrote: Mmmmmmmm, donuts! Oh wait! Different kind! Yeah, those are good too! Haven't done one of those in a while. You suppose folks might think I was crazy if I was out doing donuts in a full sized custom van?
Not anymore than they thought when I was doing them in a military duce and a half back a few years ago lol. (hmmm lets see I've been out 15 so that had to be 20 years ago sorry more than a few lol.)
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Hello everyone.
JR ... glad you got to CA RR Museum. I've got a bunch of photos I took out there also including a similar one of the SP Cab Forward. I have nice photos of the ATSF F7 A/B set preserved there, and it's outside in the sun. The SP E9 was inside as were many others. I saw the WP F7 which I believe they passed on to another museum. Some impressions I recall include of course the big SP AC12. Also I was amazed at the full-sized diarama of with an old steam locomotive postitioned as it emerges from a tunnel. That's one of the really great displays. Another neat memory was the tour inside a 1920's Pullman car. They had hydraulics to simulate the car being in motion. Again, amazing. That's only a few memories. CA RR Museum is a "must-see" for all rail fans.
John-boy and others regarding military loads. When the Army is deploying they ship equipment by the train load from Army posts. I saw a train with equipment headed out of Fort Campbell just prior to Iraq war. It may have had 60 or 70 loaded flat cars. It was hauled from the fort to Hopkinsville for interchange with CSX by two red, low-nosed GP9's looking much like Walthers GP9-M's. Two CSX SD40's were next to the train ready to haul it to the port. I believe Jacksonvllie was the port.
One of the guys at our MRR group last night was general manager of Cadiz RR before it was abandoned. He told some stories of when Cadiz RR hauled trainloads of DOD cars between Hopkinsville and Princeton (IC interchange). It required all three of Cadiz RR's locomotives (Alco S-1's) to pull the train. It took three engineers too becuase the S-1's had no MU connections. BTW, Stan wrote an article on the Cadiz RR that has been accepted by Trains magazine, and you can read about the Cadiz RR in Trains in 2008. I have two HO Cadiz RR box cars.
Cheers everybody.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
rtraincollector wrote: pcarrell wrote: Mmmmmmmm, donuts! Oh wait! Different kind! Yeah, those are good too! Haven't done one of those in a while. You suppose folks might think I was crazy if I was out doing donuts in a full sized custom van?Not anymore than they thought when I was doing them in a military duce and a half back a few years ago lol. (hmmm lets see I've been out 15 so that had to be 20 years ago sorry more than a few lol.)
Now THAT would be a sight!
I think that I will have some toast and coffee. Looks like Our Amtrack trip is on. It could be a little late though.
Kevin and Mark, Don't worry about my crazy directions. They opened one lane each direction to truck traffic last night, and plan to have it open for everyone later today. It could be a little slow due to the backups. I am sure that the Looky Lou's and the gravel patches will hold the speed down.
I will check in on Sunday.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good Morning, Diners - and you also, Zoe! I'll have some flapjacks, cup of coffee and some of Ed's OJ, please.
Thanks!
No ice to slip 'n' slide on this morning, thank Heaven... Warming up a little today (into the 40's F range), then rain tonight and maybe much of the weekend. On Saturday, I'm supposed (along with some other guys) help move a church friend's empty boxes out of her duplex to her storage unit, and then move some of her furniture from there to the duplex. It'd be so much better if the rain would hold off for the daylight hours...We'll see.
PC and RT, I'd bet that RT's deuce and a half had a better center of gravity compared to a van. You may want to be careful about doing donuts with the van, PC.
Garry, sounds like your club had some good operations last night. Did you have a pretty good turnout in spite of the weather?
JR, I think I'm jealous - you got to Yosemite, huh? I'll be awaiting any and all pics of that. Nice shot of the Cab Forward in the train museum.
Between JR's CFO, Rob's wife and all the others with that crud, we have a bunch of the ladies down sick. Better get 'em to the docs and help them get feeling better. This is not a favorite time of year to be down sick, not at all!
Mitch, good luck on your boxcar remake - and hope it doesn't take until next December. Is that coffee table layout you mentioned the circular one? If so, I think I have that MR issue. Your link to the 'Motherboard' article was funny, if painfully true to form...
Went ahead and ordered the 2008 MR Planning issue. I've found the MRP issues more useful for me than the Great Railroads issues. The latter seem way bigger than I even expect to have room for (or would want). The MRP layouts at least include some smaller (for me, read that as more manageable) layout plans and sizes.
Payday today:
...so some shopping is in order. About out of groceries, razors, and several other things. Need to go by the business supply section and get some magazine binders so I can have all of my MR's and RMC's orgnized where I can find them easily. I also need to finish up my Christmas shopping, and get a few Christmas cards for relatives. Might sneak in a trip to the LHS sometime Saturday, too. And there's this tree that I still don't have up yet...
Better get going - have finished up my only session of the day and I want to get some more paperwork done before our Christmas party/dinner starts at 2 p.m. Oh yeah, need to run by the store and pick up a side dish for that, too.
Blessings on your Friday,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
please & thank you!
***Mitch, You are 100% correct! Being extremely dehydrated the Doc lectured her about that very thing. So far she has drunk more water in the past 12 hours than I usually see her have in 2 weeks. I think the thought of having another IV is even more effective than the Doc's scolding. For someone who starts lots of IVs each shift, my wife sure is a wimp when it comes to getting stuck with needles herself. Oh, and I hope You are feeling more like your usual self soon, Mitch.
***Philip, that is good news about your wife. Sorry she will have to have the other surgery, but sounds like it is worth having. Sending healing thoughts her way!
Finished critter rounds. Need to head out shortly to pick up wife's perscription for antibiotics. Catch y'all later. Rob
Afternoon folks-making a rare midday stop for lunch-just a bowl of chicken noodle soup & Pepsi please.
Again we got a couple inches of snow overnight. I'm just glad I didn't have to do deliveries in this mess for a change. Got our porches & sidewalks cleared & salted, & Dawn's car swept off. Let the dawgs out to play in it for a bit too.
Jim-I hope the car goes quicker also-but if you saw the proto you'd understand You're right-that article is painfully true. I just hope Jeff isn't going through the same. (I had forgotten the language is a bit "rough" in places-apologies) Yeah, that should be the layout-the one with the really detailed & lit city scenes-after all these years I still consider it the best for what it was-I have the issue also but needs dug out from deep within my parents' attic-something I'll hopefully get at in the next few weeks.
K folks-the soup was great, & I noticed the birds are having lunch out at the feeder too-gonna hit the train workbench-have a great rest of the day everyone!
Afternoon Gang: Just a quick note here.
Philnrunt: Was that an AR type weapon? I've got what they now call an AP-4 with a red dot sight. I'll vote for the Lake Michigan scene myself. Maybe add a storm off on one side moving in.
I guess it's time for me to head out and get the chores done.
See you all later.
Haven't put the senic pics anywhere yet. Here's another from Sacramento. J.R.
Hey there Chloe, Potatoe soup and a ham on rye today, thanks. OJ on the side.
WOW, WOW, WOW. That is a dream machine. (913) J.R. you are one lucky dog.
I am hoping that will be our next vacation. Really have a great desire to do up Sacramento museum and Portola as well.
Cold as HE double hockey sticks here this morning. When I woke the wind chill was -32C and there was not much wind thank goodness.
I can't take credit for that Flat Load I sent in. I found it on the web on another site. But thought that the "trucks" not the load were the interesting part. I think it was only CapeJim and Jeff that caught that. Come on guys and gals sharpen up. ha ha ha.. But thanks for all the interest in it anyway. Passenger car trucks on a flat. Who would have thunk it??
Finishing up some Christmas decorating, lunch then down to the "ROOM" I don't know why that always has to come last. Have any of you figured that out yet??
Hope all your needs are being met, health and weather on the upswing.
Enjoy the skiing Fergie, you sure deserve a break --- from work ---not a leg.
Everyone, stay warm and keep the socks dry.
Johnboy out.............
James:1 Verse:5
I hope the "Wobbly" will wobble today.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Hey all -
Hope everyone is doing good this day! I'm only in for a quick second as I need to go get some stuff to decorate the apartment with this weekend. G/F and I are going out tomorrow to but the tree and then decorate that on Sunday.
JimCG - Yes, I did check off the items I'd like from both catalogs. One of them happened to be the current Walther's Sale catalog. Nice things in there I can use.
In about another month or so, I can officially start 'house-hunting' as the lawyer should be calling me any day now to sign off on the divorce papers.
Well all, time to get going.
Take care!
JP
//signed// John Powell President / CEO CNY Transportation Corp (fictional)
http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s303/nuts4sports34/
Hunter - When we met in January of 2000, you were just a 6 week old pup who walked his way into this heart of mine as the only runt in the litter who would come over to me. And today, I sit here and tell you I am sorry we had to put you down. It was the best thing for you and also the right thing to do. May you now rest in peace and comfort. Love, Dad. 8 June 2010
I love you and miss you Mom. Say hi to everyone up there for me. Rest in peace and comfort. Love, John. 29 March 2017
I mentioned that I got a great shot of my boy last night at basketball, so here it is (click to enlarge).......
Those are his sports braces. They don't do a lot, but it means he can play!
Howdy folks!
Just a quick drop in for a hot cocoa!
Philip - Nice basketball shot and congratulations!
I just updated my Roundhouse Renovations page if anyone is interested:
MR Forum post of renovation - http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1161609/ShowPost.aspx
My web site page - http://piedmontdivision.rymocs.com/rh_01.html
Please tell me what window pane selection you like the best!
Check back later to pick up from my previous post!
Cheers,
Ryan
Oh my! Looks like I got TOP duties and just in time for the Friday night feast! Chloe.....you know what to do!
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Ryan,
64 paynes look the best. I have downloaded several roundhouse pictures from various historical sites and your 64 is the most historicly correct from this region.
Lee
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Evening Gang: I'll vote for the 64 pane window.
I got the hay out for the cows. It dosen't take long to put out 4 bales with the new tractor. The hardest part is climibing in and out of the cab. It's 3 steps up. Anyway we also got the grass mowed along our road and went to pick up our truck at the Ford dealer. It needed looking at as it was trying to give the engine power while I was trying to stop. That dosen't work too well. We also had the 60,000 mile check up done since we will be driving it to Albaququie this Christmas. One thing that I really don't need is a paire of tennis shoes. I have moccisins that I made maybe they will do?
Well Daisy the dog is in bed and Mary Ann just walked in so I'll say Good Night All.
(1/2 decaf, 1/2 reg) please & thank you.
***Ryan, my vote goes to the middle one with all the paynes. (a close second choice is the first one) The ones on the old RR building in Auburn WA (long gone now) had similar ones if memory serves me. If I can dig out the photos I'll scan them to share.
Long day today...exhausted. Tomorrow the temp rockets up to 70 or so. Sounds like a perfect day to finish up some outside projects. Need to rest now. Take care all. Rob
Ryan, the middle one is the way to go!
BTW, I was just cruising Google Images and I searched on "straight tracks" and there at the bottom of page one is a very familiar website!
You might recognize the pic it shows........
Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,
Well, the coffee (from the mountains of Veracruz, of course) is good and strong and hot. Fran's pie for tonight, banana cream, is smooth and delicious. If I don't loose either the lights or the ISP connection it should be a fine evening.
Missed checking in for a day or so due to continuing computer problems. Sort of resolved right now, at least I'm back on line, even if things still aren't as I had joped. So if I miss responding to anything someone has asked, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
We did get out to the orange grove on Wednesday afternoon. I'll guarantee that the mandarin oranges are about at their peak right now. Full and juicy and very sweet. Normally these are eating oranges and people don't usually ‘waste' them by juicing them. But since we have a glut, the Coffee Shop is getting pure mandarin orange juice in those shipments headed north. Enjoy. And yes, for those of you who asked, you can ship empty cars down here and we'll fill them up and point ‘em north (more or less). By the way, the FCVN turns these cars over to someone else a few miles up the tracks here. We aren't responsible if some less than totally up-and-up people commandeer cars for their own personal use and they don't reach their assigned destination......
Fergie: ...I think I may try to divert Ed's "Weather Shipment" this way!
In real life there are no buyers around our way for oranges this season, so I expect that at least 2/3 of the mandarin crop will just get wasted. I think we can probably consume about 1/3 of it within the family and neighbors. We'll see when the next variety ripens if there's a market or not. It's not the money, but it really pains me to see us just trash good fruit.
Paul - take care of yourself. Good luck with the stress test.
Rob - Hope the wife recovers from the pneumonia.
JR - nice shots from the museum. Glad the vacation trip went well.
I'm going to post this while the posting is still good.
Hasta mañana
Ed
Rob,
I'll swap you some of your 70F weather for some of my 27F weather. Fair swap if I ever heard of one.
Mandrin oranges, my favorite! Ed feel free to drop some off at my house, I'll leave the light on for you.
Hi gang,
Just stepped in to say goodnight. We went down the street from the diner tonight and had a big feed of Chinese Food, for supper. Well maybe just a shorrt OJ. Chloe, We have to help keep our Mexican Buddy Ed in business.
Ryan , that is super nice work you are doing there and my vote goes for the 64 pane windows as well, much more accurate for those old buildings.
Didn't get near as much done on the RR. as I had hoped for today. But I did get the railings on a GP-40-2 that I have slowly been working at. Now they need some paint. A little more work on the tunnel liner and that is going to work out OK.
Well I think I'll hit the hay as I have been called in work earlier than normal tomorrow. Maybe I'll geta chance to check in from work. We'll see how that goes.
They are forcasting -30s again for tonight & tomorrow, so if we had an orange crop we could use them for baseballs.
By the way, BLUEHILLS CPR, just where abouts are you located in the Province. I would guess in the Moose Jaw area or south of there. Am I right ???
Sleep well all.
Prayers and blessings to all in need.
Johnboy out........
The "Wobbly" is over the pit.
Evening folks-
Hmm-Ed's coffee & Fran's pie sound good-set me up!
Sounds like comp problems are catching as the viruses & colds around here these days. First Jeff, then Ed, & then I caught my share earlier this evening. I was away from the keyboard for awhile at the workbench, & when I sat back down here, my screen had froze up, & the mouse in a way. I rebooted, & the error screen showed up saying "keyboard not detected" & the mouse refusing to work. After unplugging & plugging the keyboard & rebooting several times, still the same. So I got out the original keyboard to the comp (retired it because it's big & clumsy, about the size of an aircraft carrier deck) plugged it in, rebooted & things were fine again. I guess the cheapo lightweight keyboard I picked up in the summer just couldn't hack it. Oh well.
Got to doing some laundry, & a little trainwork, but was starting to lose my groove so called it a night & took Logan for a walk, then came back here before hitting the sack.
Ryan-although the majority have spoken, I'll go with the "64er" too.
Rob-hope your wife is feeling a little better-like I said-make sure she gets her fluids. I was at my parents' earlier & mentioned this, & she replied, "Oh yes!-without a doubt get the fluids!" I know you said she's a nurse & nurses make the worst patients, but a MOM said to get her fluids-& you always have to listen to a MOM! (sometimes they make the best doctors )
Talked to my friend in Alice Springs Australia last night online before bed also-she was under the weather also (it's everywhere) fighting a summer cold. She mentioned that it was over 110 degrees there earlier this week, but had cooled down some (probably 90 or so ) keeping in mind, this is the equivalent of early June down there, & Alice Springs is in the desert.
Dawn's working the graveyard shift tonite, so it's just me & the dawgs-better call it a nite!
Your Attention Please!
I was going to let Jeff make his own announcement, but it appears that he'll be unable to do so.
Our own Jeffrey Wimberly has had terminal problems with his computers and internet connection. I spoke with him yesterday and he said that he doesn't see the picture changing anytime soon. He believes at this point that he will be off of the internet indefinately. He said he still may log in from friends computers from time to time, but for the most part he will not be here much anymore.
It's is truely a sad thing. I'll miss his daily weather report as well as all of the other valued input he has given to this site and many others over the years.
Hope to see you on the net soon Buddy!
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good morning all,
It's a chilly 35F this morning.
That's bad news about Jeffery; I wish him luck in getting things fixed. If he needs parts or something please pass on to him I have a few spare computer parts floating around he is more than welcome to if it will help expedite him getting back online.
Last night I finished installing the roof, windows, and doors on the kit-bashed dairy I'm building. Dorothy hand painted the stacks with a calligraphy pen.
Ryan, I assume you'll be lighting the inside of your round house, will you be adding any welding lights? I still have to install the control panel for my roundhouse I built last year; I'm planning on buying a rotary switch from Radio Shack to control power to the individual tracks.
Morning, Janie - just a glass of OJ and a to-go cup of coffee, please. Thanks!
Sorry to hear about Jeff's computer problems. As others have said, PC or anyone else who get news - keep us posted so if we can, we'll help.
PC, good shot of your son - he looks like he's concentrating hard on his shot.
Rob, as the others have said, better keep your CFO's fluids intake going there. Just remind her how much she doesn't want another trip and IV... Sounds like that is motivating her to drink more liquids so far.
Ryan, great progress on the roundhouse and turntable! I must be contrary non-prototypical, as I liked the 16-pane window better. But what the heck...
Johnboy, what would you consider a 'warm spell' up there around this time of year? Definitely want to make sure the heater's always in good shape and the fuel tank filled.
Paul, the mocassins might work - I think the main thing is being able to walk fast in whatever the shoes are. Of course, your doctor might think otherwise - could you call his office and ask about the mocassins?
'bout time for me to make the laundry run, so I'll be heading out. for those ailing, recuperating, or even thinking they're about to come down with something.
Blessings,