Elliotts Trackside Diner II

[SilverSpike]

What's happening folks? How ya'll are this morning?

How was everyone's Valentines last night?

 We went to the local Mexican restaurant ate some fine food and drank some Margaritas and listened to some nice folk guitar music, then went home and gave the wife some cute cards, chocolates, and a little pair of Valentine socks, I think that did the trick!

Got a 4 day weekend starting today with my flex off Friday and with President's Day Monday! I think I see some model railroading in my future....

Sue thanks for the Valentines cookies, what a nice treat too! I love those cookies with the icing on top, yum!

In years past some states that were having severe draught problems had snow shipped in by truck and railcar from the northern states, who were more than happy to be rid of it.

Jeff we could use a daily consist of that snow right about now. The City of Raleigh instituted stage 2 water restrictions today which means no outdoor watering at all including power washing, car washing, and irrigation with city water.  BTW, nice night time shots of the city.

And now for todays' story based on my recollection of a true event. Since we mentioned Ruby Tuesdays' we know the man who started the franchise who is a vintage racer. The chain is based in Georgia, and he was at Road Atlanta, won his race and decided to take his crew to dinner, naturally at Ruby Tuesdays. He didn't want a fuss made so he didn't announce who he was though apparantly his picture was in the lobby area. When they arrived the place was not busy, but they waited just about forever for their order to be taken and then for the food to arrive which it eventually did - cold. The owner didn't make a fuss, but the next day he did go back fired the manager and installed a new one with orders to make sure all customers were treated according to company policy (promptly curteously, etc.) and to change staff until they were. In other words instead of firing everyone in sight, he went to the root of the problem (management) and let a proper manager sort out the rest.

On that note, I think lunch is in order (no pressure right Ryan?).   J.R.

J.R. that story about Ruby Tuesday's explains why I have such a thick skin, and why I moved out of the restaurant biz. You don't want to know how many times I have had to bite my tongue in the name of customer service...  Most people know "The Golden Rule of Customer Service": The customer is always right! Well, in reality the customer is not always right, but we have to treat them as if they are right.

Der John I enjoyed the ballasting clinic, and very well done I might add! That's one of the nice perks (sp.?) about being a part of the TS Diner.

John Boy the Carpet Bagger Steak is not a part of any railroad, in fact, this menu item was one we did at the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans and Chef Chris Canan perfected it in the mid 1980's. This menu item was rotated through our special menus quite often.

John Boy, Keith and Duke Yes, yes, yes, you can send us as much snow and water as you can make it happen, get ur done I say!

PC nice job on the BBQ Ribs, and thanks for covering the tab again!

Ed I know what you mean about forgetting how you did things in the past in the form of techniques or modeling procedures. I'll spend days or weeks figuring out how to get something done, then 6 months go by and I'll forget what I set out to do, I need to document more so this won't happen again. The recipe is on its way soon. And yes, Train Board Forum generally harbors a better behaved crowd.

Mark that game sounds like fun!

Phil I got the pics and here they are posted as you're requested. Lst time I was in San Fran was 1991, I like that NS pic too, never seen one like that.

Well, looks like breakfast buffet time a la Bill! Thanks!

I hope everyone enjoys the daily menus I post. If you are offended by them or wish for me to stop posting them please PM me, I just want to have some fun with them in the Diner. SO far I have only gotten positive responses so I will continue until otherwise. I have run out of railroad menus, found most of them so I'll start posting some menus from restaurants of lore and days gone from my restauranteur days....

Today's Lunch and Dinner Specials

~ Menu Items from days of restaurants past ~

~ The Columns Hotel Dinner Menu - circa 1984 ~

~ Starters ~

Wild Mushrooms a la Crème

Shrimp and Pesto Alfredo - Shrimp, Basil, Garlic, Cream and Fettuccini

~ Entrees ~

Sautéed Chicken *** au Champignons' with Herb Butter Wild Mushrooms and Angel Hair Pasta

Trout Pontchartrain - Sautéed Trout with Crab and Hollandaise Sauce

Cajun Seafood Combination - Herb Butter Blackened Redfish, Crawfish Etoufee and Crabmeat Imperial

Veal Oscar - Paneed Veal with Crawfish tails, Asparagus and Hollandaise Sauce

~ Desserts ~

Assorted Pastries from the cart

[JimRCGMO]

Morning, Zoe - oh, just a go cup of coffee for now. I'll be back once I get to the office.

More later.

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

   I see Bills been in to set up the buffet again. Yum! Some coffee and the fresh fruit and I'm good to go. Busy day again today - last of the preloading of spares containers, then more tires to mount and balance. Not much done last night either. Got home late, had dinner and turned in early. how's that for a romantic Valentines day?

   With any luck, the weather will hold another day and we'll get loaded up. Wish us luck... and it's time to get on with it.    CUL,   J.R.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN ! 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hey. Look what I see. Key Lime Pie!!!! A perfect late night snack. It'll have to chase those cookies through my pipes. So thanks for cookies sue and thanks for pie, ryan!

I'm wondering if Larry is encountering much bad weather this time of year Sue. I bet keeping safe is a challens on some days.

Well, PC .... best to Mrs. PC on the elevator. By chance, do you have suggestions on how Uncle Sam can solve those SS funding issues we hear about?

JimCG ..... waiting for payday, eh. I wasn't gonna charge anything. Honest.

Der John ............ really good of you to do the ballast tutorial. I might add that I will protect switch points with a little masking tape to keep ballast and glue away from them

Paul good to learn the Lara news!

Philnunt, Rob, and Hoople. Hello late night diners. (well actually Hoople is on PST).

I worked on more scenery today. I'm taking pictures of how I make my rock strata from broken plaster. that way I can do a tutorial on that for those who are interested.

Happy Model Railroading.

[philnrunt]

   Evening all, still on the guest puter, we got the old one back, it had been totally checked for viruses, none found, but after they plugged it in-nothing. It must be a Noworkia.

   Sorry., Anyway, now to the good talk.

    Silverspike- Thanks again, and when I get done here I'm gonna forward you the pic of the NS test unit, if you want to post it here and get comments on it, feel free! It was taken through the windshield of a police car with a phone camera, by our former chief. I wish I had known it was around here, I would have tried to find out just what it tested.

    JimRC and Ed- i agree about the impersonality of the net, people feel like they can say anything they want to anyone. Too bad. But still, I feel out of the loop when all of you daytime-ers tlak about something, and I have no idea what was said, or who was slammed. I like a good scrap just as much as the next guy, but all in  all, probably better to stay in my Chinese mode-Lo-Key. I did get in on one last night that was all over "if modelers all over the world like US prototypes better". It got nasty. I added that the rail system of Iceland was the most modeled, need to check back and see if that got anyone upset.

    Der5997- The snowplow's you have in your last post are great! Looks like a perfect example of how the government works! And of course, pcarrells climbing chair woes is a textbook case of just how our government looks out for us. And those decals will look very nice on your locos. Flashwave did you a good job with them.  As for Portland, I have always guessed it was because it is one of the easternmost towns in the Indiana Territory, and when the territory opened up, maybe they felt it was akin to a port they could strike out from. Or they were just drunk out of their minds, and gave it the stupidest name they could. One or the other.

     Didn't do much today, Amyjo and I celebrated V-Day, visited with nieces and parents in law, and just took it easy. She's back to work tonight, after 3 days in a row off, so we couldn't make a late night- I'm talking 1900-(7PM)- of it. You know our motto- "To bed by six, and we answer those emergency calls quicks".

  Hey, i didn't say it was a GOOD motto, now did I?

   Waiting for the PC SD9 to get here, UPS says it'll be here tomorrow, hope so. Might just have to pick up some ez track and run it.

   Well, gotta go, we'll talk to you on Sun.

       

[Hoople]

Evening!

Today I acquired Kuju's rail simulator. I payed for two day shipping by amazon, but they got it to me in one.

So far these things have happened:

I have derailed on a switch thrown against me.

I have plowed head on into a pair of SD40-2s.

I have overshot a station.

I have slammed through a buffer at 30 MPH.

I have tested the maximum speed you can hit a buffer at and stop. (Which is 10 MPH. Anything more and you go through, anything less and the engine literally jumps up several feet and lands back on the rails!)

It's a fun game, but it could use more content. Only an ES44 and SD40-2 for the US, and a handful of british and german engines.

Mark

[Cederstrand]

Just noticed I was top of the page. Guess I'll be doing dishes until quiting time. I'll make my own coffee this time. Take care all. Rob

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: Lara did alright last night if you consider that John got about one hour of sleep. Serves him right for keeping us up when he was a baby.

I went out to Clark Gardens and got a pick-up load of Pampas grass.

Jeff: The night shots are looking good. Since there are so many I wounder if you forgot to pay the light bill?

Jr: The city is shapping up nicely.  

Well I guess I'll turn in. Digging that grass was more work then I wanted.

Good Night All

 

[LSWrr]

Howdy,

We are enjoying "March" weather here a mix of warm to cold to warm. Snow, rain, thunder snow.

Dorothy had to work late tonight, so for Valentine's Day (tomorrow) her and I will be attending a charity dinner-ball room dance to benefit disabled American veterans.

Sue, maybe you can give us some pointers on painting people and horses.  I have a large scale borax mule team and I need to take some time finishing it one day.

Der, nice how-to corner on the ballast, If I may add my 2 cents; I add a small mix of coal and iron ore to my ballast to give it the "dirty" look.

Ed, yea we have microcenter 2 towns over and they have some interesting sales.  The Nikon L3 was $79.99 and the Nikon L11 (8x digital 2x optical zoom) was $149, but the L5 had a better optical zoom (5x) but was capable of only a 2gb chip (7,450 pictures) and the L11 was unlimited in the size of SD chip it would hold.  I figure after 7,000 pictures I'll just have to suffer with swapping out chips, LOL. I do like the idea of it using standard or rechargeable AA batteries. I guess the big deal is taking movies with the cameras, the L5 takes mpeg movies and the L11 takes mpeg or quick time movies. "Microcenter dot com"

Lee

[egmurphy]

Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,

Another beautiful day down here in Paradise.    Overcast most of the day, which helped keep the temps no higher than the 70's.  Looks like it will be sunny and up in the 80's tomorrow.  Borderline a/c time.

Worthy of note is the fact that I actually did something (not much) on the layout this afternoon.    I'm back to painting the ties in one corner of the layout.  It's been so long since I did any of that that I had forgotten which color I used last time.  So some experimenting was done to pick a color that looks okay to me.  I'm also going to try to paint some rail.  Unfortunately, this is after installation, including basic scenery, so spray painting is out.  I found out that my worst fears were true.  This will be a real p.i.t.a.

CG Jim:  Last night I started putting together one of my Bowser ATSF 70 ton covered hoppers. I think it will be...um... 'a learning experience', yeah, that's it!

That's how I felt while assembling my first Inter Mountain tank car in N scale.  And that's part of the reason that I have one completed and 5 still sitting in their boxes. 

Northern Phil:  Sounds like I missed another brouhaha earlier, I never get to see any of these wars of words, they are always over and locked by the time I get around to logging on. Oh well, seems like there are always more folk out there ready to go at it.

You don't need to find the ones that erupt in flames.  It's almost enough to just select a thread at random and find snarly responses.  Got to have something to do with the impersonal nature of the internet.  People don't seem to be that nasty in person, at least not that many.

Ryan:  I don't know about you guys but the General Discussion section here seems to be on a deep slide to the gutter lately, I might have to start spending more time elsewhere.

Well, you already know a good place.  TrainBoard may be overmoderated in some people's opinion, but we don't have any of that.

Hey, if you want my Chicken Fajita Soup recipe just say so!

Consider it said.....    Ahhh, Key Lime Pie!  Yup, I'll take a slice.

Lee - congrats on the new camera.  That ought to work well.  You got it for $119???

PC - shaking my head at that ruling of SS.  But congrats on getting a positive response on the chairlift. 

DerJohn - I'm just guessing that the pond is probably man made, a dammed up stream more than likely.  Where that was shot is mostly cattle grazing.  The shot was a bit fuzzy because I shot it out the window of the car while it was moving.

Johnboy:  I'm thinking I should put some glue on those shoulders before I put the ballast down.

In the limited amount of ballasting that I have done I used that approach.  I brushed on full strength white glue on the shoulder, then lightly sprinkled ballast (using a folded car like John).  The glue held that first coating of ballast and kept it from sliding, and any that piled on top tended to stay where it landed.  I did come back and add more to get the shape I wanted, but that first coating was the trick, at least for me.  Of course, I'm not looking for a nicely formed shoulder like John has.  Mine is supposed to be more of a run down branch line in need of maintenance.

That's about it from down here.  Catch up with you tomorrow.

Hasta mañana,

Ed

[Cox 47]

B......U.....M.....P.....Jerry

[gear-jammer]

Chloe,  I will have some of Philip's BBQ ribs, which by the way look very meaty.  A tall lemonade should go with them nicely.

Jim,  Larry is still on the road, so by sharing the cookies, I don't eat them all myself.

Jerry, Thanks.  When I work more, I find less time to spend on the computer.  When my computer crashed last month, Larry bought a flight simulater program, so I don't see my computer much on the weekends.

der, Nice tutorial.

I have been at an impass.  I need to paint horses and cowboys and I just can't get motivated.  Maybe this weekend.

Later,  Sue

[bjdukert]

Afternoon all

 home Lara!!!!

JR Really like the street level pics

Jeff I will second Johnboy and Kevin's bid on sending some of that white stuff.

That's about it

Best to all on sick call and those recovering

Talk to you later

Duke

[pcarrell]

Hey folks! 

Dinner's on me!

Bring your appetites!  I'm cooking up some boneless BBQ ribs!

[pcarrell]

***Philip, that is just one little example of Govt waste/INSANITY. And some folks think turning over health care to Govt is a good idea.

[der5997]

Johnboy

I'm thinking I should put some glue on those shoulders before I put the ballast down,

...I did that for sections where ther wsa a very steep (way more than prototypical) drop off beside the track.  I found that it did guarantee a covering of ballast on the slope, but it wasn't more th an a granule or two thick.  The rest of the ballast just went into the ditch.  The aforementioned vacuum took care of the recovery.

 

Your mountain work sounds encouraging.  Looking forward to pics, especially of the snow shed.

[Cederstrand]

in a SOUTHERN mug, please & thank you!

***Lee, even those quick locos will not stand a chance against your new camera. Sounds like a winner.

***Philip, that is just one little example of Govt waste/INSANITY. And some folks think turning over health care to Govt is a good idea.

***Der, great ballast tutorial. Thanks for sharing that.

Off to install the new cv-boot and get the Ranger back. Will speed up those critter rounds. Have a great day all. Rob

 

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

Good Afternoon Crew,

Chloe, when time permits, I'll have the potatoe skins and the grilled club wrap. 7-up to rinse.

Ryan;   What railroad menu did the "Carpetbagger's steak come from ??  Must have been the Penn-Central , I would guess.......

I have just spent any free time I have had the last couple of days, blowing and shoveling snow. and lots of it. It doesn't look like the pictures that Red Horse sent, but pretty close. We had another clipper go through here yesterday, but it came in on an east wind, so we were on the back side of it. I sure am tired of all the wind this year, it can just stop anytime.  The Farmer's Almanac says that there is lots more snow to come in the last two weeks of Feb. and all of March.  So much for what the ground-hog said.

Ryan & Jeff,     You know if you are serious,  Kevin and I could send a few cars of snow your way. How would you like it, in Hoppers, Gondolas or reefers ??

JR.   That is a great block of building you have there and I especially like the bigger building in the background. It looks like an old Sears building here in Regina.

Terry;   How about a picture of your house trailer that you built out of sign material,  I know, I shouldn't be requesting pictures when I haven't posted any yet either. But it is planned as soon as I get on the learning curve for it.

Philip;   I'm sure the lift will be of great assistance for your wife, so go for it......... I have a hard time figuring where some of the beaurocrats come up with some of the ideas that they do.  In so many cases there just doesn't seem to be any common sense to it.  There are quite a few who are real examples of the "Peter Principle"  or just make work programs. To me many of them are just a real pain in the A--...........

Der;   I sure  appreciate the ballsting pointers. I do OK between the tracks, but have difficulty getting the shoulders to look good enough for me. I'm thinking I should put some glue on those shoulders before I put the ballast down, I have read all the suggestions out of the books and on-line but can't seem to  get a nice profile there and keep it until you can fix it in place.  I really like those "RailLink" logos.  Consider using them on the loco as they look great there.

Paul;   That is wonderful news about little Lara. From a rough start she has done wonderfully well.  Congats again to you and your family, and I'm sure you will enjoy her sweet spirit.

Well, I am now to the corner with my hard-shelling of the mountain range. 4 1/2 tunnels are in place and now on this corner I will put in a snow shed then only a couple of feet left to do horizontally and will have to finish landscaping from the tracks up before I build the canyon that will go to about a foot from the floor.  If I built that first I would not be able to reach the rest of it very well. But it has progressed very well and I intend to get some pictures up before to long.

Back at work now for the week-end, but Monday is a Stat Holiday so that helps shorten it a tad.

Prayers and blessings to all in need. Stay well, stay warm.

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

The "Wobbly" loves the tunnels.

 

[der5997]

Happy Diners! 

I thought rainy nights were meant to be a Georgia exclusive! ...we had a downpour all night, which is better han the possible alternative. Temperature was up to 8ºC, but had fallen to 5ºC by daybreak, and will continue down to about 2ºC by late afternoon.

Jerry:

but I sure hate to see that CN wet noodle run'in on the Illinois Central..It just ain't right...

...Resistance is futile...Bwhaaa....

I have a LL FP 40 and its a pretty good runner too..

...mine gets hung up on some (not all, ) turnouts; that's why I've sent to NWSL for their replacement thinner wheels.

CN Charlie:

Here a federal election is called and 6 weeks later it is all over.

..but then in Canada's case, comparison-wise, we would be voting for Monarch...I hope it never comes to that![:^)]

ED: You showed some of your local country on the 10^th. ....would that pond be natural, do you think, or man-made?  I'm asking because it looks a lot like the little ponds in Alberta that were formed when the ice retreated 10,000 years ago.  "They" think that a plug of ice formed in what became a sink hole, and then melted, to form the almost perfectly circular pond.  There a geological name for them that I've forgotten.

Rob:

Insomnia is no fun at all. Rob

...read somewhere recently that warm feet help a lot in falling asleep more quickly.

Flashwave:

Per chance I should post an article?

...I'd find that helpful.

By the way, in what order should Track>>>Scenery>>Building>>>Road go in?

...IMHO I think the track is first, but only after the plan has made allowances for the scenery elements like roads and buildings, rivers, etc.  Once the track is in and wired, you can run trains, de-bug the track (which I'm still doing, it seems!). The caveat is that putting in the scenery means covering the track so as not to dirty it up as the terra forming takes place.

Philrunt:

And as for Portland, believe it or not, there is one in east central Indiana. The closest body of water is Lake Michigan, or Erie, about 100 miles at best guess. Why it was named that I have no idea,

...here's a guess, there's a Portland on the south coast of England.  Is it possible that settlers with connection to there could have been responsible for the naming of your 3, and many others world-wide?

JR:

Der - I found oddly enough that on the museum N layout the track problems increased when I cleaned the rails. The trains went well, but the elimination of crud on the sides of the rails and wheels seemed to allow the trucks to find and climb every imperfection in the track. After a week of use it was back to normal though I haven't tried the gleem method yet.

... "Interesting Captain", as Spock will someday say!  That certainly seems to be what I'm seeing.  Mind you, I'm using the most finiky car I have (the Centerline track cleaner) to find these faults.  (Ryan, I'm using the track cleaner car to wipe the rails with its handywipe roller.)  So every little glitch is showing up.

CapeJim:

DerJohn, nice 'decals' there, and they'll look even better when you get the real deal on that FM.

...as I was saying to Flashwave, that loco will likely end up with a different (more modern) shell, and decaled for my Port Authority (Port Grace, I've changed my mind about Port Mercy, and Grace is our granddaughter's middle name!)

Now to answer Colby's question about ballasting.  Here's what I've found works for me. (best ballast for me is the natural rock,(Arizona Rock and Minerals, for instance) rather than ground rubber etc.

Here's my kit...I find the final smoothing out best with a very soft brush, like this make up brushI pour ballast between the rails from a folded card, spooned into there from a small container (green laundry detergent bottle top in kit). You can see the ballast heaped in a ridge between the rails.  Next I use a fairly stiff ¼ inch or so (I'm in N Scale) paint brush to push the ballast over the edge of the rails, as in that photo. Then I use the brush to go along outside the rail to form the shoulder, like this. ...it may be necessary to add more ballast from the folded card to achieve a complete shoulder; the next three photos show this.

[pcarrell]

PC...Chair lift will be a big help for your wife..Nothing the SS does surprises me..

PC now that is an interesting thing to know about the SS. Now what if you really need the maid service, are they going to throw in the chair?

Crazy, isn't it?

 

BTW, did someone mention pie?

[LSWrr]

Well the milk trucks are the life-like brand, just to be parked along the creamery.  For the city area I'm looking at the WS Ice Cream truck and the WS milk truck.  Haven't figured out the houses yet, $20/house is a little steep for the budget so I'm thinking about paper models as a 3d back drop for the downtown area.  GF messed up my old digital camera and it was going to cost $59 to fix the 8 year old camera or $119 to replace it with the L5.  Gotta love tax returns!

 

I added a section in my albums for vessel pictures, as you can see my powers at posting pictures in the forum are horrible so I think I'll stick to the webshots.

 

Maybe I'll go trespassing this weekend with the new camera and see if TSA catches me.

Lee

[Cox 47]

Good morning All...Its mostly sunny here today temps in the 30's posta hit 40 but don't know if it will make it...well Sallie and I are celebrating our 40th wedding anniverary today..We are planning a quiet day....We talks this moring about all that has happened in the last 40 years...6 kids,14 Grandkids....both my parents are gone and Sallies Dad,Both Grand mothers...Lots of great times and our share of valleys too....Thanks John and Kris for the beautiful card...

I have NYC box ready for trucks and couplers...Couplers need to be put together and had the shakes to bad yesterday to get them together maybe latter today..

I'll have Ryan's carpetbagger Steak and big slice of that Key Lime pie...

Lee...You new camera sounds great..Can't wait to see some photos...

PC...Chair lift will be a big help for your wife..Nothing the SS does surprises me..

Sue...Glad to see you back in the Dinner

Jeff....Nice night shot..Looks like your getting lights in lots of your buildings...

Terry....I use those signs from WallyWorld for everthing...The house trailor I just finnished was made from one...In scale 1 sign lasts a long time..And you can't beat the price much better than your LHS....

DerJohn....Nice engine and again thanks for the card....

You all have a good one...Jerry

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Diners! Zoe, a cup of coffee in a ATSF mug, please,

and I'll have a bowl of that brocolli cheddar soup, too - love that - and a chicken club wrap (yum!). Thanks! 

Goodness - Luc, you were in awfully early this morning. You having problems sleeping, or were you just up super late? Take care of yourself there (and Gloria), okay? 

Philnrunt, trust me - you haven't missed much if you've missed a flame war. Seen one, you've seen 'em all...

Lee, were those Scenemaster, or Walthers milk trucks? If they were either of those (or the Woodland Scenics ones), that was a good price. The families in the LSWRR area will be ready for their breakfast now.

Garry, got your PM, and answered you. That day won't work for me, but we may be able to meet at another time (around one of my paydays, likely).

Paul, how'd Lara sleep the night - up very many times? Ah, the joys of parenthood... and the joys of getting past that period when they are grown...

DerJohn, nice 'decals' there, and they'll look even better when you get the real deal on that FM.

JR, if all else fails, Walthers makes that set of signs to go with their modular buildings (but can be applied to other businesses as well...). And JV Innovative and others have general signs for various businesses, too.

Ryan, my RR's not big enough (or modern enough) for unit trains, so five or six covered hoppers at a time will be the longest in one of my trains. 

Sue, you sweetie, bringing up cookies! Hope you're giving Larry some munchies too, or he'll get jealous (virtually...) Thanks!

No big V-day plans for me. I sent one (somewhat funny) card to one gal at church, and (not very romantic but friendly) e-cards to a couple of lady friends. 

Well, it's warming up here in Cape Girardeau - about 30 F now, and supposed to be warming up to 40 or so this afternoon. Yay! They're saying that most homes in town should have power back by this evening. 

Best get me back to the paper stack here. I'll be back later in the day. Everyone take care!

 

Blessings and a great Valentine's Day,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[GMTRacing]

Cool night shots Jeff. Thanks for the cookies Sue.

And now for todays' story based on my recollection of a true event. Since we mentioned Ruby Tuesdays' we know the man who started the franchise who is a vintage racer. The chain is based in Georgia, and he was at Road Atlanta, won his race and decided to take his crew to dinner, naturally at Ruby Tuesdays. He didn't want a fuss made so he didn't announce who he was though apparantly his picture was in the lobby area. When they arrived the place was not busy, but they waited just about forever for their order to be taken and then for the food to arrive which it eventually did - cold. The owner didn't make a fuss, but the next day he did go back fired the manager and installed a new one with orders to make sure all customers were treated according to company policy (promptly curteously, etc.) and to change staff until they were. In other words instead of firing everyone in sight, he went to the root of the problem (management) and let a proper manager sort out the rest.

On that note, I think lunch is in order (no pressure right Ryan?).   J.R.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff I have to say that is one thing I don't miss about Louisiana, and that is the amount of rainfall that it receives. However, I must say that we are in desperate need of some of that moisture up here in NC.

In years past some states that were having severe draught problems had snow shipped in by truck and railcar from the northern states, who were more than happy to be rid of it.

---

Good morning.

It's 34 degrees here and partly cloudy. Expecting a high of 66 today.

Today's Weather for:     
Sundown, LA  71446      2/14/2008-6114

Wind Chill:  31°F
Humidity:  77%
Dew Point:  31°F

So Far Today
High:  38°F
Low:  35°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  9mph SSE

Today    High: 65    Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.   
 
Tonight    Low: 52    Increasing clouds. Warmer. Lows in the lower 50s. South winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light and variable.

I stripped the old RS-3 and repainted it. It's awaiting it decals and a little weathering.


Here's a couple of shots to give you an idea what my layout looks like at night.



 

[gear-jammer]

Good morning.  I brought Valentine's Day cookies for everyone.

Sue

  

[SilverSpike]

Morning folks!

He had a surprise light dusting of snow last night, clear skies and cool temps today.

Happy Valentines Day!

Are you doing anything special with your spouse or significant other today? We are going out to dinner after work tonight.

I don't know about you guys but the General Discussion section here seems to be on a deep slide to the gutter lately, I might have to start spending more time else ware. I still like coming to the TS Diner though, you guys are special!

Nice to see Luct drop in for the quick post yesterday!

Jeff I have to say that is one thing I don't miss about Louisiana, and that is the amount of rainfall that it receives. However, I must say that we are in desperate need of some of that moisture up here in NC.

Rob sounds like you and the wife made out nicely at Ruby Tuesday's, and that is a sign of great service when the restaurant staff can recover the ball after a fumble and still make a touchdown. I liked that cockpit photo you, you noticed the engineers diet selections too eh! I like that cup holder!

Paul that is great news on baby Lara and sounds like she is making great progress.

Ed yes, I am still taking the cough syrup at night to aid in being able to sleep and not cough all night and on another round of antibiotics too! Hey, if you want my Chicken Fajita Soup recipe just say so! Basically its grilled chicken, onions, and bell peppers mixed into a cream soup base and seasoned with a little chili powder and cumin, fresh chopped cilantro for garnish. And then topped with some fresh fried flour tortilla strips and a large dollop of sour cream and then some fresh diced tomatoes on top. Ole!

J.R. Yes, that KCS pic was a find; it was from PhilnRunt's Photo Bucket gallery. I was posting some of his photos in the Diner for him. And that downtown city block scene is shaping up nicely too!

Jim thanks for taking the pics of yesterdays specials, and a glass of red wine does go well with the beef bourguignon! Those covered hoppers are nice pieces of rolling stock, and makes for a nice unit consist too!

Der John sounds like you have perfected the Gleam process, a shiny rail is a sight to behold, especially with moon light to boot!

Anytime Philnrunt, you just send em on over and I'll post em up for ya! And ditto what you said about the MR forum, the TS Diner is a shining star and respite from the worries and tribulations in the General Discussion sections.

Lee looking forward to seeing those new milk trucks soon with your new camera.

I see Bill has graciously set up the breakfast buffet this morning, so I'll have the buffet Chloe!

PC now that is an interesting thing to know about the SS. Now what if you really need the maid service, are they going to throw in the chair?

 

Lunch and Dinner Specials

~ Starters ~

Broccoli and Cheddar Cream Soup

Twice Baked Potato Skins

Caesar Salad

~ Sandwiches ~

Fried Shrimp on a Bun Sandwich with Fries

Grilled Chicken Club Wrap

~ Entrees ~

Broiled Soft Shell Crabs with Garlic Butter Sauce

          Served with green beans almandine and lyonnaise potatoes

Carpetbagger Steak

8 oz Filet grilled to order and stuffed with fried oysters with a demi glace sauce and served with a stuffed tomato and potatoes au gratin

Blue Plate Special ~ Fried Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

Served with mashed potatoes and gravy and choice of vegetable

~ Dessert ~

Key Lime Pie

[pcarrell]

Morning all!

Not much going on here....just getting ready for work.

Check this out.  My wife wants one of those chair lift things that go up the stairs, and she qualifies for social security to pay for it.  Thats all well and good, because she does have trouble with stairs even when she isn't in her wheelchair or on crutches.  But get this......Uncle Sam will pay for the lift (and they aren't cheap!), but only if we have a maid service that we pick and Uncle Sam pays for to come in two times a week to clean the house.  Now mind you, we run a pretty tight ship.  The house is clean.  My kids and I work hard at that, and the wife does what she can as well.  I appreciate the offer and all, but we don't need the maid.  We told the folks at SS that and they told us that if we wanted the lift they had to pay for a maid service.  So if you ever wondered where your hard earned tax dollars are going to, just know that two days a week those dollars are going towards paying a maid to sit on her butt and do virtually nothing for several hours.

Oh well, off to work!

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

     Bitter cold with the wind this morning. The ice storm was greatly over rated though with all the rain we had a lot of flooding in lower areas around the state.

     That buffet looks great Bill and some fresh TH coffee will do me a treat. I'll be over in the corner going over my load lists for next weeks trip.

     Thanks for the kind words on the layout. I was in the ig room reading Concrete Lackeys thread on logos and will try some of the advice Flashwave and others gave as the buildings could really use signage. Being computer challanged I haven't really tried to get to grips with paint or other programs though the CFO and #1 son are very good at the graphics we use on the race cars. Guess it's time to learn.

    Good to hear that baby Laras' home. Keep us posted on progress please.

   Der - I found oddly enough that on the museum N layout the track problems increased when I cleaned the rails. The trains went well, but the elimination of crud on the sides of the rails and wheels seemed to allow the trucks to find and climb every imperfection in the track. After a week of use it was back to normal though I haven't tried the gleem method yet.

   Time to pick up tools and get back to it. I'll drop in towards noon to see what's up for lunch. C.U.L.  J.R.