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Elliotts Trackside Diner II Locked

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  • From: Fairmount (Syracuse) NY
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Posted by JPowell on Monday, February 18, 2008 3:06 PM

Iput a link to the thread here in the Diner for those rightly afraid of the outside forum. Not sure about this Grand Central Freeze

As for decal paper, I don't honestly know. See, I kinda, err, lost it. I said I made them, said nothing about I printed them out.

Was there anything different in it than what you posted on the outside?

//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

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Posted by Cederstrand on Monday, February 18, 2008 1:19 PM

in a SOUTHERN mug,  and Poached Norwegian Salmon with Sauce Americaine. Thanks!

***Hoople, can you do a head-on with two sets of several SD90MACs (or similar locos) at full speed, meeting inside an industrial complex? Pirate [oX)]

We had enough rain to double the level of our big pond (now only down about 5' or 6' from full) and Goose island IS and island once more. Thumbs Up [tup] Now we only need warmer temps to get the grass in the pastures to start growing again.

The trains I have out on display are looking a bit dusty so it's probably time to clean them (and the desk they reside on).

Have a great day all. Cowboy [C):-)] Rob

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Posted by JimRCGMO on Monday, February 18, 2008 12:21 PM

Hi again, Zoe - I'll have that salmon now, please, and a Dr. Pepper. Thanks, Flashwave

Jeff, I meant the station (with the early morning pic) that you most recently posted. I thought that was a kitbashed RR station/office; my bad, if that was the gas station. Oops [oops]

Hi, JP! I just meant that I added a bookmark to the topic Flashwave had posted in here. Once I went by and looked at it, yeah, it would've been quicker just to print out. Got ahead of myself there. Hope you have some TRAIN funds left over after the car stuff. Yeah!! [yeah]

Sunny day today here, and already up to 43 F (which I think is higher than predicted).  Not quite at Ed's paradise levels yet, though.Cool [8D]

Flashwave, I went back and looked, and it was Johnboy who posted about the Grand Central 'freeze' prank. You should go check it out - kinda funny.Laugh [(-D]

I'll be working on my salmon over at the window booth for a while. Dinner [dinner]

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

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Posted by LSWrr on Monday, February 18, 2008 12:15 PM

After reading comments on using sand paper and polish I wanted to share some Boatswain Mate tricks with you:

Never-Dull "magic wading polish" is probably the best product out there to non-abrasive polish.  Try it, you'll love it, but the tick of the trade is to dump the cotton wad out and put it back in the can upside down.  You tear off a piece of the cotton and start rubbing.  Similar to basso but not as messy.

Instead of sandpaper or emery cloths try a scratch pad. 3M makes scrubbing pads in several colors according to roughness. Red is the harshest, if you want to prep something for painting or to remove old lacquer use the red.  Green is the middle coarseness and is good for removing heavy oxidation from non-ferrous metals.  White is pretty soft and will remove light corrosion or oxidation from metal objects.  Want to turn an aluminum towing bit, handrail, or other object into chrome? Wash the object then wet scrub with the red pad dipping it in soapy water often until the oxidation is completely removed only use this step if the object has pitting.  The red pad will sand the pits out and give you a rough smoothness.  Next step is to the green pad, same evolution as the red pad.  Next use the white pad and attach it to a pneumatic (never use electric around water) vibrating sander, rinse the object with water, apply a lemon dish detergent to the white pad and start sanding.  Stop as needed to rinse the object with water, this and the soap lubricate the white pad and removes the oxidation.  Then we start using flitz or never-dull.  Flitz is good because once the object shines like chrome all you have to do is rinse and towel dry and will maintain a mirror like shine.  My buddy did this to his stainless tail pipe on his truck and everyone thinks it's chrome.

BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret)
 L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes

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Posted by Hoople on Monday, February 18, 2008 12:03 PM
 SilverSpike wrote:

Mark I like your new plow video! Maybe the crash test dummies will show where you need to add some air bags! Laugh [(-D]

Maybe they might. I don't know if we could pry them from the trains, though.

Anyways, I uploaded a third last night. http://youtube.com/watch?v=VFqytKSSa28

The HST plows into a stopped freight at 70 MPH.

Mark.
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Posted by Flashwave on Monday, February 18, 2008 12:03 PM
 JPowell wrote:

Ryan -

  Stop teasing me with the food!

Speaking of which, Chloe, can I have the Crawfish Bisque and the Shrimp Veracruz, with a side of fries, please? Thanks!

DerJohn -

  Your ‘rehab' project would have been a nice scene for a MoW crew and a local Dept of Public Works crew to be at. Either way, nice pics of the repair process...

Jeff and GMT -

  Nice pics of your layouts as well.

Flashwave -

  Read you post for making ‘homemade' decals. Thanks! But what's this link I'm hearing of from JimCG? Or is this how Jim intends to use the post for reference? I myself just printed it out.

Well all, my tax refunds came on Friday, and of course I've spent them already. Tune-up, Inspection, and tire rotation and balancing for the truck will be done this week and new glasses and contacts for me that I purchased on Saturday. Any left over, will go toward TRAIN stuff.

Ok, time to go and eat.

Take care!

 

Iput a link to the thread here in the Diner for those rightly afraid of the outside forum. Not sure about this Grand Central Freeze

As for decal paper, I don't honestly know. See, I kinda, err, lost it. I said I made them, said nothing about I printed them out.

-Morgan

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Monday, February 18, 2008 11:32 AM
 JimRCGMO wrote:

Jeff, I like that station - what building did you use for that? Can you email me a link or info on the Gleam method? I haven't done much of anything on my track since last summer/fall, so once I get it wired up, I figure I'll need to do some track-cleaning. Thanks!

That gas station is a Heljan kit which unfortunately is no longer available. I bought it back in the late 80's for about $10. You may be able to find one on Ebay. Also, I'm emailing you some information on the Gleam process.

 

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by JPowell on Monday, February 18, 2008 10:56 AM

Ryan -

  Stop teasing me with the food!

Speaking of which, Chloe, can I have the Crawfish Bisque and the Shrimp Veracruz, with a side of fries, please? Thanks!

DerJohn -

  Your ‘rehab' project would have been a nice scene for a MoW crew and a local Dept of Public Works crew to be at. Either way, nice pics of the repair process...

Jeff and GMT -

  Nice pics of your layouts as well.

Flashwave -

  Read you post for making ‘homemade' decals. Thanks! But what's this link I'm hearing of from JimCG? Or is this how Jim intends to use the post for reference? I myself just printed it out.

Well all, my tax refunds came on Friday, and of course I've spent them already. Tune-up, Inspection, and tire rotation and balancing for the truck will be done this week and new glasses and contacts for me that I purchased on Saturday. Any left over, will go toward TRAIN stuff.

Ok, time to go and eat.

Take care!

 

//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

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Posted by JimRCGMO on Monday, February 18, 2008 10:22 AM

Morning, Diners! Zoe, I'll have a coffee and some of Bill T.'s breakfast buffet, please. Thanks!

Got an abrupt start this morning for w**k Shock [:O] - didn't get the alarm reset from the weekend, so woke up an hour later, and I hadn't got to sleep until a bit before midnight. Been doing too much of the latter lately...Zzz [zzz]...No, just another cup, Zoe. Anyway, got myself out the door, through the BK drive-thru to pick up a little nourishment on the way, and got to work early. (How'd I do that? Confused [%-)])

Looks like they're talking a chance of snow for us by Friday (and maybe some icy stuff on Thursday. Hopefully this run will be lighter than our last one. Shock [:O] The predictions are for only 30 percent chance of the ice and 40 percent the next day's chance for snow, so we might luck out. Now, your mileage may vary (in Indiana and Ohio), as they say. Wink [;)]

Jeff, I like that station - what building did you use for that? Can you email me a link or info on the Gleam method? I haven't done much of anything on my track since last summer/fall, so once I get it wired up, I figure I'll need to do some track-cleaning. Thanks!

Flashwave, thanks for the link on the decals. I've bookmarked it, since I'll be starting on some before much longer.

And I forgot to look up, but thanks to whoever (Flashwave?] posted the link on the Grand Central "freeze-out" video - that was choice! Thumbs Up [tup]

Don't think I mentioned last night, but I also yesterday put KD's on a D&RGW 'Cookie Box' car and on my NP SW900/1200 (yep, Sue, I still haven't re-painted it Smile [:)]). I need to get a camera soon - I feel soooo behind everyone else, because I haven't posted any pics in way too long of a time.Blush [:I] Want to correct that!

Better get myself back to w**k for now. Ryan, I'll be back later for that salmon. Dinner [dinner] Yum!

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

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Posted by Cox 47 on Monday, February 18, 2008 9:22 AM
Good Morning All....Its cloudy and much colder here this morning...I'll have a sasage sandwitch,one of bill's dougnuts and coffee please...Thank you....I had a good week-end went to the train show in Mattoon saturday...It was my first in 2 years and it seemed smaller than in years past but they had some nice layouts and i got to see some old railroad friends...I picked up a LL GP 38 with M/T's already on it,acouple of atlas 3 bay hoopers with no trucks,aatlas 50 foot flat,pike stuff yard office,and some pins for putting trucks on with...Didn't see inch but he said he was going..It was ghood just to get out as I hadn't been out of martinsville since mid-November...You all have a good day...Jerry
ILLinois and Southern...Serving the Coal belt of southern Illinois with a Smile...
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Posted by pcarrell on Monday, February 18, 2008 8:38 AM

I'm not liking the looks of this!

Oh well, it beats the tornados down south!

Philip
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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Monday, February 18, 2008 8:30 AM
 saronaterry wrote:

JEFF: I,  for one , CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH for the gleem method!! It works!! I used Blue Magic as the polishing agent and wasted ALOT of old cork, but it was worth it!Also used an 11/2 "steel washer as the burnisher. Works GREAT!You are absolutely correct, a quick wipe occasionally with a scrap of bath towel and THAT IS IT. No Brite Boy , even after ballasting, just cork and towel. I AM a believer.

So far, the only people I've heard say that this method doesn't work are those who have never tried it or those who did it improperly. When done properly, the results speak for themselves.

 LSWrr wrote:

Jeff, you need to get a B&B crew out there to clean those gutters out.  It's a very nice attention to detail on your part.

That gutter is pretty green, isn't it? I used to be a detail modeler and that structure was on one of the well detailed layouts. I can't do detail modeling anymore though I am making this current layout as close to one of my detailed ones as possible.

 SilverSpike wrote:

Jeff keeps them night light photos a coming!  Thumbs Up [tup]

Your wish is my command. Here's one I clicked off this morning.

 

 

 

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by SilverSpike on Monday, February 18, 2008 7:28 AM

Good morning!

I'll have a large glass of Ed's OJ please!

Raining here still from last night and this morning, 2" and boy do we need it again! I hope it rains for a week or two.

Jerry that mirror effect looks great, and I didn't notice that flash in the photo at all! Thumbs Up [tup]

Welcome back to the Diner Nick! Sign - Welcome [#welcome]

 egmurphy wrote:

I see the "profanity filter" took exception to something on the menu?!  Confused [%-)]

Ed you noticed that too, it's supposed to be the "white meat" portion of the chicken.

Duke thanks for the heads up on the Weathering thread, going to check it again. It's nice to see so many TS Diner regulars participating, congratulations to you all for the superior work.

JR nice to see the city scenes taking great shape! Thumbs Up [tup]

Mark I like your new plow video! Maybe the crash test dummies will show where you need to add some air bags! Laugh [(-D]

Johnboy that Grand Central Station "freeze" prank was classic! Big Smile [:D]

Jeff keeps them night light photos a coming!  Thumbs Up [tup]

Garry with Rock Cornish Hens and PC with the pizza keeping us all fed over the weekend, thanks guys! And Ed with the shrimp and stone crab claws, you all are eating like Kings of the Castle! Dinner [dinner]

Flash thanks for the decal tutorial link! Word is a great tool for making decals. Did you use decal paper from Micro Mark?

Dinner [dinner] Chef [C=:-)] Dinner [dinner]

President's Day Lunch and Dinner Specials

(Columns Hotel Specials circa July, 1986)

~ Starters ~

Italian Pasta Plate

Prosciutto, Ricotta and Parmesan Cheeses layered into a

Spinach Pasta Wrap and served with Italian Marinara Sauce

Shrimp Veracruz

Fresh Gulf Shrimp sautéed in the classic Mexican Sauce

Oysters Trois Facons

Oysters baked on the half shell a sampling of each Bienville, Rockefeller, and Duxelles of Mushroom

Crawfish Bisque Soup

Crawfish tails and crawfish stuffing quenelles in a creamy broth with brandy finish

~ Entrees ~

Roast Ducking with Plum Sauce

Poached Norwegian Salmon with Sauce Americaine

Veal Forestiere

Sautéed veal with cream and cognac sauce with Morel Mushrooms

Rabbit and Mushrooms in Red Wine

Sautéed boneless rabbit with fresh herbs, wild mushrooms and red wine sauce

Rainbow Trout Bretonne

Sautéed with mushrooms, crawfish and brown butter sauce

 

Thoughts and prayers to all in need, healing, and recovery. Angel [angel]

Now, I'm off the train room for little while and then to run some errands...

Ryan Boudreaux
The Piedmont Division
Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger era
Cajun Chef Ryan

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Posted by egmurphy on Monday, February 18, 2008 6:40 AM
 LSWrr wrote:

  I assume gleam is similar to flitz (I've used flitz a lot at work).

Flitz is a polish.  "Gleam" is a method (which does use a polish at one point.)

Regards

Ed

The Rail Images Page of Ed Murphy "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." - James Michener
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Posted by GMTRacing on Monday, February 18, 2008 6:35 AM

Good Morning All,

    Low fifties, raining and windy this morning. Still lots to do to finish loading for the trip including mounting and balancing tires as there is no service this weekend.  Not too much else to report on the layout front - painted in some tie ends and cleaned the rail where the ballast and ground cover went in, touching up a couple of spots.

Flashwave - thanks for the link - I'll see what i can do with it.

Sue - at least the weather was good enough to ride in.

Hope the rest of you have a good day. I'll try to check in later.   J.R.

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Posted by pcarrell on Monday, February 18, 2008 6:02 AM

 GMTRacing wrote:
PC - Lennox Ave is two blocks over from where my dad grew up. My grandmother later moved to Colorado Ave (across State Street) where she lived for over 40 years.   J.R. 

Small world, huh?

Philip
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02-18-2008
Posted by wetidlerjr on Monday, February 18, 2008 4:46 AM
 

Good Morning from Tipton IN ! Big Smile [:D]

Clown [:o)]

Bill Tidler Jr.

Near a cornfield in Indiana...

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Posted by Flashwave on Sunday, February 17, 2008 11:56 PM

Good...Morning??? Time for bed!

Here's my tutorial, or part of it, on decals. GMT, if you'd like to have a read and go for it, or I can see what more you'd like. Der, just about done with yours, those cab numbers giving a bit of a fit due to color.

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1360573/ShowPost.aspx

Nice pics peeps. No work on the layout, but dad and I are cleaning up to be ready by spring. here's hoping. Looks like the levels are gonna be about 33" and about 50. A little low, but we can't go higher buy cieling slant... Found these wonderful stacking cubes at Target. come with sides for 6 cube shapes in almost any setup you can imagine, and easy to assemble with these funny shaped caps for corners. Deep enough to hold almost any HO in box.

This GLEAM thing intrests me, And might be easy  if we do it BEOFRE the track is installed and impossible to reach...

 

-Morgan

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Posted by JimRCGMO on Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:31 PM

Evening, Janie - just a cup of hot cocoa for now.

 

Thanks!

DerJohn, I guess I could run a parallel track (on the east side) that would run off the rightmost of the three mine sidings. Then I could pull the mine cars into the righthand track, let the switcher escape on the 'passing' siding, then come around to pick up the mine cars and pull forward to put the string into the middle track (and then pull out the full cars from track 1 (leftmost), move them to track 3 (easternmost/rightmost) or the passing siding. Then I could shift the empties from track 2 to 1, go back and run the engine around the loaded cars to put the switcher downhill from the cars as it heads back down the mountain. I'll make a modified layout design and post it tomorrow. Oh, you're right about the switching layout part. One thing I've noticed is that I need some track on either/both ends of it unless I'm just switching one or two cars at a time.

Garry, shame on you, taunting us with rock cornish hens and not bring us any. Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg] Hope it was yummy!

Ed, I got the ATSF covered hopper done this afternoon - it seemed like getting the (tiny) screws in to hold the covers on the coupler boxes took the longest time of any of it. Shock [:O] I've started on another cov. hopper (this one's a D&RGW), and I have another one of each - different road numbers. Yeah, i'd seen that article in MR on the industries too, but those ones all looked a lot alike (maybe because they had track in the removable section - Iain didn't on his, just swapped the industry next to the track out).

We just had a fair amount of wind in Cape G.. today - some gusts up around 45-50 mph, warmed up some (in the 50's). Didn't notice any rain after I got up; it had come through last night. Supposed to drop down to 32 F (0 C) tonight, and not warm up much tomorrow (38 F), but still windy. We still have some thousands of people without power in our area (most at this point are in more rural areas, except for a handful in-town).

Well, I'd best finish up my cocoa and head out. About my Zzz [zzz]time... Prayers continuing for those in need of healing, comfort, help and peace. Angel [angel]Angel [angel]

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

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Posted by LSWrr on Sunday, February 17, 2008 9:48 PM

Just had a bad storm pass through; thunder, lightning, hail about ½ a golf ball size, and a bunch of rain.  Been raining all day and some strong winds, lost the vent cover for my chimney, have a leak in the garage and the computer room, and we lost power for a little bit. Other than that we are in good shape. Everybody east of me duck!

Worked most of the day on Fox Creek (downtown section of the MRR).  I have everything laid out with the exception of 2 more DPM buildings that need some assembly.  I cut sidewalks today and have one coat of paint on them. I also laid 13' of cork road bed.

I have several brass turnouts for the layout and I may have to try the gleam on those to keep them from becoming a pain in the neck.  I assume gleam is similar to flitz (I've used flitz a lot at work).

Has anyone tried the Aztec cleaning car?  All the local MRR clubs are using them during the shows.

Jeff, you need to get a B&B crew out there to clean those gutters out.  It's a very nice attention to detail on your part.

Lee

BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret)
 L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes

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Posted by gear-jammer on Sunday, February 17, 2008 8:29 PM

Terry,

There was a chilly wind out of the north, so we went north.   It made the ride nicer on the way home.  We have a 750 Katana.  It is a fun ride.  The original goal is to get a second bike, but that takes money, so for now we are riding together.  It may be a month before we get out again.

Sue

Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.

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Posted by egmurphy on Sunday, February 17, 2008 8:09 PM

Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,

Another beautiful day down here in Paradise, Cool [8D]  although I spent most of it inside in the air conditioning.  Up around 90º by mid-afternoon.  The a/c is working hard just to keep the upstairs comfortable.

Lunch was great today.  Nothing fancy, but some good boiled shrimp and a plate of stone crab claws.  Dinner [dinner]  Yum.  Our local fish vendor brought them by around noon.

I did continue with the tie painting today.  Didn't finish, but at least I continued to work on it. 

derJohn - nice repair job.  I'm thinking I may have to retrofit some small jumpers on a couple of my switches too.

CG Jim:  Rice also talks in that book about 'modular' (swappable) industries, where you can have more than one industry that fits in a certain space(s) on your layout. So you could swap out a team track for a small junkyard, for...
That same concept appears in an article in the February issue of Model Railroader Magazine, on page 52.

RT:  Any body heard from Inch lately.
No, but he has been reading posts at TrainBoard as recently as today, just not posting.  TB shows recent activity by all members.  So he's okay, probably just not feeling chatty.

That's about it from down here.

Hasta mañana,

Ed

The Rail Images Page of Ed Murphy "If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home." - James Michener
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Posted by saronaterry on Sunday, February 17, 2008 7:53 PM

Hi everybody! Janie,just a cold Ole Smothie,thanks!

JEFF: I,  for one , CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH for the gleem method!! It works!! I used Blue Magic as the polishing agent and wasted ALOT of old cork, but it was worth it!Also used an 11/2 "steel washer as the burnisher. Works GREAT!You are absolutely correct, a quick wipe occasionally with a scrap of bath towel and THAT IS IT. No Brite Boy , even after ballasting, just cork and towel. I AM a believer.

SUE: It actually got up to 30f here today and the Mrs. pulled the covers off the Bikes, wanted to start'm up!! Daytona today, Spring can't be far off!!

Built four more car card boxes today ,found the cars that go with the cards and actually ran a local with the car cards, It was fun!!It's been a while since I did that!

Guys, if you haven't yet ,give the Gleam thing a try. I see the thread is back on the forum.

Prayers and Hope to those that need'm!!

Terry

 

Terry in NW Wisconsin

Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel

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Posted by Paul W. Beverung on Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:52 PM

Evening Gang:

Gary the bright boys are an abrasive that I'm trying to stop using. I've also had to use 600 grit sandpaper. I usually use a bit of light oil with the sandpaper to ease the abrasiveness and leave a smother surface. I have tried the gleam method and do like it. When the layout is at it's final height I'll gleam all the track. For the metal application I use quaters. I have them on hand and when they are worn too much I spend them,( on MRR stuff of course). It's nice to have the government provide some MRRing supplies.

I finally go tto the basement today. I finalised the track plan for the Clark Gardens layout and layout the back drop and access for the work area in the middle. Next I'll ink the plan and start on the second phase above the first. I started looking for detail stuff, the fun part.

Tomorrow John and a friend are coming over early and we are going to haul dirt to the area that I'm trying to level out some. Micheal is bring his dump trailer so we'll have two of them going with myself doing the loading. It should go pretty fast. John thinks that we'll finish tomorrow but I doubt it. There's alot of dirt to move.

I'm going to head out. Mary Ann is getting supper so I'd better not be late. There are too many critters that would like to get her cooking.

 

Paul The Duluth, Superior, & Southeastern " The Superior Route " WETSU
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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Sunday, February 17, 2008 5:42 PM

Good evening everyone....

Gleam, eh, Der John...... hmmmmmmm.  you ever hear of a Brite Boy? Confused [%-)]


Progress continues on my layout.  The scenery in the section I'm working on is starting to look how I want it.

My wonderful, caring 'better half" has a great din-din in the oven. She has the best recipe for rock cornish hens, and yep, that's what's cookin' .... mmm...mmm...mmm..

Happy Model Railroading!

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Sunday, February 17, 2008 5:41 PM

Der, the initial sanding in the GLEAM process is to scour the railheads. That's followed up by the second sanding with the extra fine sand paper to smooth it out. Then the burnishing with the stainless steel closes up any remianing gouges in the tops of the rails. You can feel the roughness of the railheads when the stainless steel passes over them the first couple of times. After that they feel smooth and the more you burnish it, the smoother the track feels. Even I could feel the difference, and that's saying something. After that point no abrasive material has any business being on the track. I GLEAMed my track back in 06 and nothing abrasive has touched it since. Just a peice of cork and a clean dry cloth. The treatment with the polish leaves a conductive film that retards corrosion, thereby greatly extending the periods between cleanings. Even then, the cleaning is a quick affair involving a quick wipe-down with a dry cloth. You can't beat that with a stick.

BTW, glad you like the photos. Here's three more.

I'm not worried about the light showing under the structure on the left. It's on the backside of the structure and can't be seen from the front of the layout.

 

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Nova Scotia, Northumberland Shore
  • 2,479 posts
Posted by der5997 on Sunday, February 17, 2008 2:34 PM

Jeff:

You shouldn't use ANY abbrasive type cleaning elements on your track. This creates gouges that dirt and grease can hide in and further breaks down the amount of electrical contact that your locos will have. The most abbrasive thing I use on my track is a piece of sheet cork and a soft clean cloth.
...Hey Jeff, you are one of the chaps that put me on to the GLEAM method of track cleaning in the first place!

Here's what you said in that thread

  I used the Gleam process last June (6/18/06) and haven't had any problem keeping my track clean. Sometimes dusting it a little if the layout hasn't been used in some time but other than that I haven't had to clean it again. On 6/18/07 it will be a year since I Gleamed my track. This is no fluke. As a control I didn't Gleam a small inner loop. I have to clean this inner loop at least once a week to keep it operational, I Gleamed the main lines and they stay operational no matter how much or how little I run the trains and I've been known to run them for hours on end. If I have any problem, it's usually dust from the air conditioner, which blows right across the tracks. A simple light wipe with a dry cloth takes care of this in just a matter of seconds. This process really works.

I agree with what you say about the gouges, but the GLEAM method overcomes that in two ways, as I see it, and that's why I like it. One, the "rough" sandpaper is 600 grit, which in itsself is pretty fine, followed by a (in my case) 1500 grit to smooth out the gouges of the 600. Then, and this is the key step, I think, the railhead is burnished with a metal harder than the rail, Stainless Steel. As I understand the method, this pushes the nickel silver into any remianing troughs (or gouges) smoothing the whole surface to a uniform shine.  That is followed by the final steps of paste polish (Mothers Mag and Aluminum in my case), buffing, and wiping with paper or cloth.

If nickel silver contains copper, that explains the colour on the sandpapers and the final look of thetrack Lee was noticing.

Thanks for all those photos, BTW.

"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Olympia, WA
  • 2,313 posts
Posted by gear-jammer on Sunday, February 17, 2008 2:24 PM

Coffee, please, Chloe.

Rob,  Sorry to hear that you didn't get more than a weeks feed.  I think we might have enough to last the winter.  The farmer that we buy from said to check in a month or so.  We can have more if we need it.

The sun is coming out so we might go for a motorcycle ride.

Later, Sue

Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Western transplant to the Deep South
  • 4,256 posts
Posted by Cederstrand on Sunday, February 17, 2008 1:11 PM

in a SOUTHERN mug, please & thank you!

Finished chores and watching the storm front move in. Only a wind advisory with this one.

Have a good day all. Cowboy [C):-)] Rob

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:16 AM
 der5997 wrote:

 

Lee:

Der, is that a brass turnout?
...Here's the thing; and I've been wanting to ask Jeff about this but keep forgetting.  It's nickel silver, but when you sandpaper ns track, the rubbing on the sandpaper looks brass coloured, and the track, when polished has that look too. At any rate that's what I'm finding with N Scale track and switches.  I'm presuming the same is true for HO track, as I can't see them making track of different metals in the smaller scales. (HO code 83 is after all  just about the same size as N Scale code 80, and N code 40 is, I think Z scale )...so Jeff, are you finding the same when you GLEAM your track?

The brassy color you're getting on your sandpaper is material that has been scoured from your rails, wearing them down. You shouldn't use ANY abbrasive type cleaning elements on your track. This creates gouges that dirt and grease can hide in and further breaks down the amount of electrical contact that your locos will have. The most abbrasive thing I use on my track is a piece of sheet cork and a soft clean cloth. There's no brass in nickel-silver, but there is quite a bit of copper. (Quoted from Wikipedia) Many alloys fall within the general term of "nickel silver". All contain copper and nickel, while some formulations may additionally include zinc, antimony, tin, lead or cadmium. A representative industrial formulation, Alloy No. 752, is 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc. In metallurgical science, such alloys would be more properly termed nickel brass. The white alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel used in coins, such as the United States nickel, is better known as copper-nickel, cupro-nickel or cupronickel.

Some nickel silver alloys, especially those containing high proportions of zinc, are stainless (corrosion-resistant). Nickel silver alloys are commonly named by listing their percentages of copper and nickel, thus "nickel silver 55-18" would contain 55% copper, 18% nickel, and 27% other elements, most probably entirely zinc. A two-element alloy may be named for its nickel content alone, thus NS-12 is 88% copper and 12% nickel. Here's the link to the Wikipedia page if you want to know more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver

 

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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