Coffee To Go, please & thanks.
***Tom, Congrats on the plaque!
***C.N.Charlie, sorry to hear about your dog. It's tough seeing out old four legged friends near the end of their time with us.
***Der, that looks like some real nice track work and a fun layout to work on. As for oil, I understand why countries that do not produce their own will pay more. What irks me is we have resources but thanks to politicians, we are not allowed to pursue them. Meanwhile, China & India will be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, within spitting distance of our own shores. That is NUTS! OK, off my soapbox.
Hey, saw a train this morning at the end of our driveway. OK, it was a small "wagon train". That is still a type of train.
Wife brought home a bug which this time I caught. My own fault for getting so run down. Oh well, chores still need doing.
Have a great day all.
Rob
Morning all--it's a balmy 65 right now here in SunnyCal--supposed to hit between 75 and 80 for this afternoon and stay about the same for the next four days. Partly cloudy. The Sierra got about 8 inches of snow dumped up around Donner Pass, with flurries expected to continue for the next couple of days. The news had a lot of pictures of tourists in shorts and T-shirts up at the Pass looking TOTALLY confused, LOL! And no, I wasn't one of them. Gas is about $4.30 a gallon around those parts, and I've got better things to do with my 'hardly-earned' money, even with an Audi that gets around 40 miles to the gallon (of course I won't tell you how FAST I have to drive on the freeway to get THAT!) .
Garry--Yup, that's the little thingy from Micromark. But I'm going to see if I can find something similar locally, rather than wait a couple of weeks to order one. I've seen something similar at Home Depot, so I'll see what it's made of. If not, I'll just order it from Micromark and do the waiting game. However, I really get GOOD service from Micromark when I order from them, so if I can't find it locally, I'll just be patient about the rubber rocks. Right now I'm in the process of darkening the sections of the Pass that won't be covered by them, but I can only reach in so far with the paint and weathering. Dang, I can't BELIEVE I failed to plan ahead this badly!
In the meantime, I'm replacing the WS 'fall' trees with the more realistic Scenic Express 'Instant' trees, various shades of fall flock and that "Super-Gluey" Aqua-net hairspray. Bought another can of it at Safeway yesterday, the clerk (who I know pretty well) just stared at my thinning pate and said, "Tom, don't tell me you really USE this stuff--" "Yah,but not for what you THINK," I grinned at her. I think she's still blinking.
Well, off to Home Depot and Lowe's, see if I can find this little contraption.
Stay safe, everyone.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Good afternoon..........
I'll take quick break from holiday weekend stuff to how everone is doing. Looks like not many are here, however. The people with boats are not impacted significantly by fuel prices based on what I'm observing on the lake.
We bought some BBQ ribs from a guy in town who sells ribs and BBQ pork sandwiches, too. The ribs are as good or better than any I've ever had anywhere. MMMMMMMMM. Good stuff.
Hello, Tom. Good luck getting a ladder thingee from local or MicroMark. I can imagine you will have an interesting perspective of the layout on one of those things.
Have fun and stay healthy.....
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Afternoon Gang: We just got back from Lowe's and HD. Dick you had better think about dumping you HD stock. They are lagging way behind Lowe's in quality of stock and selection here. Lowe's is giving a 10% discount to service persons, active, retired and Vets. I showed my VA card. I'm going to get a new rollaway tool box tomorrow if Mary Ann will go for part of it.
Jerry I think you need to get your eyes checked> That box car looks real good to me. I liked the scratches where the door racked against the side being opened.
Inch that was a good one and so true.
I need to get going again. I stopped to put in my eye drops.
See you all later.
Hello everybody....
Here's a view of my branch line caboose that I've been working on. I plan to change the trucks to the old wood beam type commonly used on Burlington cabooses at some point. Also, Burlington replaced the truss rod underframes with steel underframes in the 1920's, and I should change my underframe accordingly. I'll run it like this for now.
Good Evening All,
Well it's been an interesting week. Between wakes, work, and water I've had just about enough. Yesterday at noon I got a call from my wife that the house was on fire. Two of the boys were home at the time and one head the smoke detector go off. When he investigated he found his brothers room on fire and his brother incoherent from skole inhalation. Fortunately my neighbor a retired fireman had hoofed it over when he saw the smoke and was able to get my youngest (18 this week) out of the house with just some minor burns and the smoke inhalation. He was in shoock and without our neighbors intervention, I doubt very much the other brother would have been successful on his own. At any rate the fire department showed up right away but the fire had gotten into the attic where we had tons of stuff boxed and stored and we lost the back room, the attic and a good portion of the roof. The important thing is all my family and all the firemen and our critters are ok and the house is repairable. Lots of smoke damage on the second floor and lots of water damage on the first floor and in the basement but somehow confined pretty much to one side of the house. The mitigation crew was in today and I've spent all my time since the fire cleaning and securing the house. The fire department was incredible swarming in and around the house but the thing that I thought was unbelievable was that they took the time to put tarps over the stuff getting wet in the basement and on the first floor so we have loads of stuff that was saved. I must admit that if I was fighting a fire I doubt I'd worry much about the furniture - but these guys did! The crew from the glass shop across the street was there to board up before the fire department was finished and I just can't thank all the folks who put themselves out for us enough. The fire marshall is still investigating the cause of the fire so no word there yet but I have to be patient. We'll probably see the insurance adjustor Tuesday and take it from there. Until then the kids are staying with friends and neighbors and theCFO and I are at a local motel. Oh yeah and the layout was part of the stuff covered with tarps and is nearly intact but honestly, that's pretty low on my priority list just now. I'll keep y'all posted. J.R.
JR:
Your neighbor and the fire department sound like Angels--and I'm so glad your son is okay. And I'm glad for you and yours that the fire was confined, even just to the back of the house and the roof. I'm sure you know how VALUABLE neighbors are in this day and age--so often we don't even think to have relationships with them, at least out here in SunnyCal--they're just the people next door. Thankfully, my neighborhood doesn't subscribe to that idiotic principle.
I remember some years ago when my neighbor's garage roof caught on fire and while his wife was phoning the fire dept, he and I were up on his roof with a garden hose--they arrived and said, "Okay, guys, you can get down, the Professionals are here." We were all covered in smoke and soot and we just stared at each other, and he yelled down, "This guy used to work for the FOREST SERVICE!" But I'll tell you, I was SO glad when they arrived.
My prayers are with you.
Evening Gang:
JR: I'm sorry to hear about the fire. Happy to hear that your son is OK and the house is repairable. Great job by your neighbor. Tell him I said thanks for being there for you. I'd hate to loose a good friend. The fire department really did a great job. I know that your layout is low priorty but they must have seen something there worth saving. Please keep us informed.
I got a little MRRing in for the hernis scale railroad. I went down to the depot and got the weed sprayer loaded with the round up stuff and put the battery on the charger. I figure that tomorrow I will make a round with it.
The eye is doing fine. I really have trouble reading with my glasses on. I do much better without them in all respects except reading. I may go back to using reading glasses. I'll have to have the other eye taken care of before I get another pair of glasses.
Well I guess I'll hit the hay.
Good Night All
JR: It's great to hear that your son is OK. That's the biggest thing that counts. I'm impressed with the work the fire dept did to save the contents of the home.
I've been doing some work on the park today. The glue is still wet.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Evening, Janie - I'll pass on that pizza Jeff left. Even cold from yesterday, I think it'd have a little too much 'heat' in it. I'll just have some ice cream and strawberries, please,
and a cup of coffee,
Thanks.
I see Jeff's still playing with fire - just in a new format this time... Careful there, Jeff, or you'll be calling your fellow firefighters to put out the smoldering walls if you belch.
twhite wrote:Now for the bad news--the reach from the edge of the table to the Buttes is too FAR, even with a step-ladder. Which means that I have to go over to Lowe's or Home Depot and get one of those 'sleeper-ladder' thingies that have the padded extension so that you can sort of lay on it to work in extended spaces. I think they run about $250 or so. Man, this is getting to be an EXPENSIVE mountain!! But actually, I can use it all over the layout, especially when it comes to continuing my backdrop in the future (yah, plan AHEAD, right?). So it will pay for itself in the long run.
Now for the bad news--the reach from the edge of the table to the Buttes is too FAR, even with a step-ladder. Which means that I have to go over to Lowe's or Home Depot and get one of those 'sleeper-ladder' thingies that have the padded extension so that you can sort of lay on it to work in extended spaces. I think they run about $250 or so. Man, this is getting to be an EXPENSIVE mountain!! But actually, I can use it all over the layout, especially when it comes to continuing my backdrop in the future (yah, plan AHEAD, right?). So it will pay for itself in the long run.
Tom, one other choice might be to check your local equipment rental places. They might be able to rent you one, and save the big cash outlay if you'll only need it once every six months or year, or... Worth checking it out. Congrats on the personalized plaque, by the way. Glad to hear you're getting a little relief from your area's heat, too.
Inch, that joke's a good one! I was wondering if you were swamped yet with the kids and grandkids stopping by. Didja get your garden all put in yet? I heard some of our people in this area are running behind on doing theirs (as are many farmers down this way).
Jerry, good that you and Sallie got out when you did - at the moment we're getting rain, some thunder, and I saw that Randolph County in Illinois had a tornado warning around suppertime. Nothing in my immediate neck of the woods now, but some lightning in the distance, and I'm okay with that.
Rob, those are rather strange contraptions. Must've been built by some engineers with a tad extra time on their hands, I'd guess. That elephant was something! Oh, sent you (finally!?) an email, which hopefully will clear up some of the questions you sent me.
The singles get-together yesterday afternoon/evening was very good, but way too much food. We had about 15 to 20 people there (of which maybe 5 or 6 were gals, so they didn't eat very much), and the guy doing the BBQ'ing was cooking cheeseburgers, Polish sausages, and Cajun sausages. I didn't try the Cajun sausages, but one guy said they were fairly hot - and got hotter after they went down. Of course, they didn't have Da Bomb, so I'm sure it would pale by comparison...). After most everyone had finished eating, we still had a plate and a half of cheeseburgers, probably 8 of the Cajun sausages, and six Polish sausages. Of course, we also had chips (cheddar & cheese), sodas, pasta salad, Oreos, apple pie, ice cream (fudge ripple kind), and a delightful caramel fudge brownie baked by one of the ladies. (She works as the head cook in one of our local elementary schools - those lucky kids!) We had plenty of games - crocket, volleyball, and Tim (the host) inside had both a pool table and a pingpong table (downstairs). Then after dinner and games, we watched a movie ("Second Chance", with Michael W. Smith) - well, the dozen or 15 people who were still there watched it. (Some left to go see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie that's out.) I was totally blimped out, and probably put on 8 pounds for the day, I think. Decided I needed to eat very light (like almost fasting) today to even it out a little. Might need to fast tomorrow, also.
Der, that's a neat painting of 'Bertha' - you must be a connisewer of fine art or such. So, are you and Kris planning a trip SOTB (the Northern one, that is)?
CN Charlie, sorry to hear things aren't sounding any better on your dog. Hope you get a chance soon to have the boat in the water and Jamie can have some fun. Your dinner sounds like it beat mine last night on quality (but I think I had you beat on sheer quantity).
I'm beginning to wonder about Ed - has anybody heard from him and Fran, or know when they were supposed to bet back home? (And no, that's not just cause I'm worried about the OJ supply)
'Nuther couple of weeks, and I'll be starting leading the financial section for our Sunday singles small group. Yep, they must have figured that I've already made about all the mistakes you can make, so that I'm now an expert on all those things to avoid doing. LOL
Prayers for those in need of healing and comfort. Janie, I think I'll have another cup of coffee over at the window booth, please. Thank you, ma'am.
Blessings and prayers,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
Weekend all.
Sorry to read of fire. But no injuries is a plus. Jeff was making dragons out of hot sause, always funny. t
Been to Cali State museum, I was expecting a tad more from the descriptions. And the track nearby was closed when we were there. But I love's me the Cab Forward. I wish they weren't so expensive in HO. And the displays upstairs had some awesome Brass HO engines and cars. And by awesome, I mean bizzare and wierd. Almost BL-2 territory type weird.
Park looks good jeff. but is the shelter a tad low?
Der John: I keep meaning to fire off an e-mail at ya, but I'm not on my regular computer, so I'll ask here.Have you had any more opportunity to worlk with the Railink decals? I know you've been busy, I ask because I'm on Summer Vacation, and as yet not employed. So I have time to whack and fudge. No rush.
Can ya'l believe it, I'm a Junior.
Nothing offical yet, but I wanna volunteer with the Fair Train this year. INdy's hosting the Superbowl 2012. ITM wants to do a Fairtrain style shuttle for it, but to Union Station. All they need is a bridge over 10th street, clearence from CSX, Amtrak/Greyhound for the station, and a fairly large budget. But the stadium and hotels are near Union Station, within a block. And there's room from Fishers, which would be cheaper than in town, but further away. Ironic, I've been asking the same question off and on for the last year. You didn't hear this from me.
Now, we need to get a rail shuttle from the Speedway. I say this cause I would've been home before the rush leaving, but I hit the barriers. Indy Metro Police have traffic flow from the track down to an art. If you[r not coming from the track, your screwed.
Benchwork, we're making progress. Slow, but it's coming. Got 2, maybe three platforms ready for legs, roughly 60% through for Plywood Central RR. (I gotta put that on a Shay) Gotta eat. Between woodwork and the Cola 600, we lost track of time.
-Morgan
Just catching up on the last few posts between bites of my strawberries & ice cream.
JR, so glad that that fireman neighbor of yours came by so quickly, and that no one was injured or seriously hurt. That was outstanding of the firefighters to cover stuff up with the tarps. You have great neighbors, it sounds like. Take care of things and you can drop by after you get the more important stuff (like insurance and such) taken care of. Ditto Garry's remarks. (Just noticed - we don't have the [#ditto] gif anymore - when did they do that?
Jerry, not to worry on your weathering; looks fine to me - if you were in HO scale, I'd be asking you to just send me those 'rejects'. Great job on the boxcar.
Garry, I like your job on that caboose, too! Looks a bit too clean, but I guess it's just out of the paint shop, right?
We've had some thunderstorms and across the river from us (Union County) has another 30-45 minutes of a tornado watch for their area. Most all the counties around here are under a severe thunderstorm watch tonight, but other than the one county, no other tornado watches.
Jeff, I like your progress on the park/playground. Especially like that concrete/rock wall!
As for people going places near here, a lot of people are sticking close to home. More locals at Lake Wappapello (by Poplar Bluff) than out-of-the-area, and the parks in Illinois are down on campers (they'd added to their fees and it was $30/day for a campsite).
Well, I'll be getting ready to head for home now. Everyone take care and don't overstuff on the BBQ and eats (like I did yesterday)!
Blessings and a good night,
***JR...YIKES. So glad your son is OK. Wonderful neighbor you have there. And what a thoughtful group of firefighters, too. Could have been so much worse.
My cold is in full swing and I gotta lay down. Night all. -Rob
Good evening gents, just a short note, it has been a sad weekend for me, my uncle passed away. He was in the Battle of the Bulge, and anti tank squad going up against the new Tiger tanks. He came out alive, but he had such terrible nightmares, that he entered a Vets hospital after the war and never came back home....58 years later he died on Memorial Day weekend.
J.R. Very sorry to hear of the fire at your home, but very happy to see that your family is safe.
I hope everyone has a safe and grateful Memorial Day...
That's looking pretty good Jeff.JR, someone up above was really watching over you guys today! Better be thinking Him!
Dick, I'm so sorry for your loss. Just think though.....those nightmares are gone forever now.Anyone catch the race today? It just ended here. They delay the airing of it around the Indianapolis area so people will go. Anyways, GREAT race!
JR, Sorry to hear about the fire. Glad that everyone is ok.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good morning all,
Heading out today to do some courtesy vessel exams at the launch ramps in Rocky River, OH today, yesterday I spent the day training some of the new guys in field work for environmental protection. I've racked up almost 65 hours of volunteer service this month to promote safe boating.
Summer has been slow to hit us this year. The highs of 58 and lows in the 40's are still here and it's almost June! The last time this happened was in 2002 and the winter of 2002 we had record snow fall amounts.
JR, that's horrible news about the house, but its good news that everyone made it out. The "salvage" operations were pretty high on our priority list when I was a volunteer firefighter. If we had everyone out of the house and a good handle on the fire we would spread tarps on the ground outside and all firemen not engaged in running the trucks or hoses were on salvage duty; pulling what they could from the house or covering items in the house with tarps. Again, I'm glad you and your family made it out of the house in fair shape (things could have been far worse).
Jeff, you really out did yourself on the park, even the grass looks real! I like the contrast between the worn grass and the green areas.
Lee
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
pcarrell wrote:That's looking pretty good Jeff.JR, someone up above was really watching over you guys today! Better be thinking Him!Anyone catch the race today? It just ended here. They delay the airing of it around the Indianapolis area so people will go. Anyways, GREAT race!
Some of the crashes from the rookies were disheartening; at least no one was injured. I loved Danica's powerwalk down pit road - let's get ready to rumble!
de N2MPU Jack
Proud NRA Life Member and supporter of the 2nd. Amendment
God, guns, and rock and roll!
Modeling the NYC/NYNH&H in HO and CPRail/D&H in N
jackn2mpu wrote: Some of the crashes from the rookies were disheartening; at least no one was injured. I loved Danica's powerwalk down pit road - let's get ready to rumble!
Thats why they call them rookies.
in a SOUTHERN mug, please & thanks!
***Dick, very sorry to hear of your Uncles passing and story. That's a tough one.
***Jeff, nice work on the playground. Also really like your weathering job on that railbox car.
Didn't watch the race, but must say that Danica is HOT!
My auctions on the-bay ended last night and didn't bring in much at all. Oh well.
Good morning
Happy MRRing
Luc,
We've been missing you, and I see you are starting over with a slightly revised forum name. That's good of you to remind us all what memorial day means.
Dick, sorry about the loss of your Uncle. I bet he had plenty of interesting stories.
Jim, I'm glad you liked the caboose, and yest it was just out of the paint shop. It's decals were installed only a couple of hours before i psoted the photo. I did touch up a few misses of paint on the grab irons later. You can see a litle bare metal on them in the photos.
Sunny last two days but raining today. Grandkids are still here with their Mom and Dad.
Happy Model railroading
Good Morning, and Thank you to Luc for the Memorial Day reminder! Zoe, since Luc brought the Tim Horton's in, I'll have mug of that, please, and a plate from the buffet. Thanks!
Rainy here today, 69 F (21 C), and supposed to reach 85 F (29 C) by the afternoon. Should be a ducky day, huh?
One of those days when I want to get out and get a cup of something to drink, and just watch the weather. Rather gloomy inside at the moment (lighting-wise). Might go by Barnes & Noble - need to renew my membership there, and may check on a couple of books I've been wanting to get a peak at.
Just got a call this morning from my co-leader Dana, and she said one of the other singles from the group is going to have a fish fry (and hush puppies and whatever else we bring) next Saturday. Guess I'd better be eating light this week, so I don't end up putting on more weight. That, and I'd better get in some more exercise, too.
Uh, no, PC and Jeff, no need to send any bottles of Da Bomb for that fish fry - thanks, anyway..
I'll be in the corner booth, finishing up my breakfast.
Blessings on your Memorial (Remembrance) Day,
Morning all--
About 65 degrees right now. Overcast and drippy out here in SunnyCal, this morning, supposed to clear up a little this afternoon in the Valley, but thunderstorms and snow predicted for the Sierra. At least the weather has given the firefighter's a good chance on that fire in Santa Cruz--they should have it under control by tomorrow. About 4,000 acres, destroyed a lot of homes between Watsonville and Gilroy.
Jim--I found out that the 'Top-Creeper' is something you'll find in an auto-parts store, not a standard hardware outlet. There was something similar at Home Depot, but the ladder extension would have kept getting in the way. Evidently the 'Top-Creeper' was originally designed to enable repair to large-cab truck motors. I'll start looking tomorrow. There's no way I'm going shopping today--except for groceries--hitting stores for sales on Memorial Day just seems to me to be counter to everything the day is supposed to stand for.
Jeff: I really like that park--great job on the various grass colors. So, what loco is going in on the display track?
Heading up to Nevada City to decorate Dad's grave this afternoon. Other than that, nothing much. Probably no barbecue with the family, since thunderstorms are predicted. Just spend a quiet day.
Hope everyone's well. Good thoughts for all.
JimRCGMO wrote: Good Morning, and Thank you to Luc for the Memorial Day reminder! Zoe, since Luc brought the Tim Horton's in, I'll have mug of that, please, and a plate from the buffet. Thanks!Rainy here today, 69 F (21 C), and supposed to reach 85 F (29 C) by the afternoon. Should be a ducky day, huh? One of those days when I want to get out and get a cup of something to drink, and just watch the weather. Rather gloomy inside at the moment (lighting-wise). Might go by Barnes & Noble - need to renew my membership there, and may check on a couple of books I've been wanting to get a peak at. Just got a call this morning from my co-leader Dana, and she said one of the other singles from the group is going to have a fish fry (and hush puppies and whatever else we bring) next Saturday. Guess I'd better be eating light this week, so I don't end up putting on more weight. That, and I'd better get in some more exercise, too.Uh, no, PC and Jeff, no need to send any bottles of Da Bomb for that fish fry - thanks, anyway.. I'll be in the corner booth, finishing up my breakfast.Blessings on your Memorial (Remembrance) Day, Jim in Cape Girardeau
Save yourself the cost of Charcoal. Just add to fish and it cooks itself. :D
jackn2mpu wrote: pcarrell wrote:That's looking pretty good Jeff.JR, someone up above was really watching over you guys today! Better be thinking Him!Anyone catch the race today? It just ended here. They delay the airing of it around the Indianapolis area so people will go. Anyways, GREAT race!Some of the crashes from the rookies were disheartening; at least no one was injured. I loved Danica's powerwalk down pit road - let's get ready to rumble!
getting KO'd in the pits would suck for anyone I feel bad for her. And I loved the reactions of others when they realized she wasn't heading down to her trailer. News crews ask the stupidest questions though. "What were you going to say to him?" She can't say that on TV.
Wow, I haven't been in for some time...
But anyways, if you've seen The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel, you'll like these pictures I took yesterday when I was taking a tour of the Polar Sea, my mom's friend's crab boat that was going up to Dutch Harbor to be a tender for the other boats. It's the exact same boat as the Northwestern, which is pretty cool. Speaking of the Northwestern... We saw her and the Wizard there in the harbor.
Hope you enjoyed!Mark
Also, the next post is the TOTP, so watch out fellas!