***GMT, Nice work! I can see why you like that bus. There is just something about it. It's a keeper.
***Jim, Eufaula from Washington State. A tribute to my sister who still lives out there and loves trains like the rest of us. Who cares if this loco is going to live on a fictitious Deep South layout...I don't! I feel bad for my sister, as neither of her two boys ever showed an interest in model trains. They prefered video games. So, her HO collection remains packed away still. My wife & I hope when her kids are grown and gone, that she will move out here to Georgia. Her husband can come too, if she wants.
Good Night All.
Rob
Evening, Chloe - how about a cup of decaf in a Rio Grande mug,
and a hot fudge brownie sundae, please.
Thank you!
Rob, would that Eufaula be in Alabama or Oklahoma? Never heard of it till you mentioned it (and did a little checking). Good to hear you got things straightened out and were able to get your locomotive.
We started laying some more track tonight at the MRR club meeting. I got there a little early and pulled the brads/nails from last week's roadbed-laying. Our layout architect (Kevin) also got the spot for the turntable prepped (drilled the holes, notch for the reader, cut the hole and temporarily put the turntable in it). The club has the 130' Walthers turntable, and will be getting the roundhouse (and a 3-stall addition) to go with it. Our chief ballaster and another club member were saying they thought I should get to do the ballasting (hopefully, not the entire layout...!).
Jeff, sounds good if you don't have to do the training thing very often.
Lee, I tried looking on the Harbor Freight site, but couldn't find the connectors (or not in that price range or under 'connectors', anyway). Did you get them recently, or a while back?
Well, I'll get back to my sundae now.
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
Page two? Dude! Worked a bit on the Howlands' store tonight. Also still trying to stabilize the kitbash enough to pick it up off the layout to finish.
Jerry - Merchants row III is three stores joined together so there was lots to work with. J.R.
Some more progress pics.
Howland Department Store with details started and the sign in place
A fairly dirty firehouse - no details yet but the windows came out ok I think
first attempt at street lines and featuring the new bus I just had to have......
JimRCGMO wrote:Jeff, I think that loco will make a fine park decoration. Better than a pink flamingo herd... When's your next firerighting training - next year, or do you do every six months for some things?
Jeff, I think that loco will make a fine park decoration. Better than a pink flamingo herd... When's your next firerighting training - next year, or do you do every six months for some things?
There was a five alarm called in today. Some blooming idiot decided to torch a big pile of leaves then take off on a beer run. He came close to burning six homes. Talk about stupid!
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
in a Eufaula mug, please & thanks.
***Lee, "wide curves & large turnouts"...sounds like a lot more real estate than on my door layout.
UPDATE: I must say, the speed at which TopHobbyTrains responded to my e-mail requests was excellent. Third time was a charm, so I now have a Atlas Two-Truck Shay "on the way". That should about do it until I prop back up my train funds account with some more vintage sales.
I've been working on a little project for the FIL today. And tomorrow the wife is taking him golfing, or at least riding around in a golf cart to get some fresh air. Think I'll pass on that particular excursion.
Jim, those connectors were from Harbor Freight Tools, $4 for 50 connectors. Yes those connectors make wiring the layout A SNAP! I also picked up a digital multi-meter for $2.99 (it also has the test socket for resistors and about 10 other uses I'll never get to). My RS multi-meter was good, but working on track voltages it was hard to read the needle. Now with digital the trouble shooting is a breeze.
I really don't have "a lot" of real estate on the layout, I'm running almost all "modern steam" with large curves and large turnouts. #1 and #2 mains are running 38.5" and 41" curves. Minimum curve will be 36".
Spent most of the day today chasing down a spill at the steel plant, so I got to hang out at the locomotive shops for about 4 hours. The amount and variety of "scrap" laying around gave me some good ideas to make my round house area look "trashy".
I'll be back late to finish reading the days posts, I wore out my soldering tip and need to get a replacement before they close.
Lee
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
JimRCGMO wrote: Ryan, nice boxcar there - adds some color to the yard. I find myself trying to figure other RR lines' boxcars that would fit my time period and be something other than boxcar red (like New Haven, or a green NYC, etc.).
Glad you like it! It is on loan from 2G'z and will continue to travel after a week or two stay in the PD!
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Afternoon, Diners - Zoe, I'll have my usual RBF, please.
Thanks!
Cederstrand wrote:I need a name for my local freelance RR. So, how does Salacoa Valley Railroad sound to you folks? (we live in the Salacoa valley) I think that would sound better than Cederstrand Railroad. Also, how many miles of track would a steam era "shortline" own or use? Or is there a better term for this? Thanks for any info/suggestions.
I need a name for my local freelance RR. So, how does Salacoa Valley Railroad sound to you folks? (we live in the Salacoa valley) I think that would sound better than Cederstrand Railroad. Also, how many miles of track would a steam era "shortline" own or use? Or is there a better term for this? Thanks for any info/suggestions.
Rob, guess you could modify/confuse things further and call it the Cedar Valley RR (?). Yeah, I know, it'd be an inside joke that it's misspelled.
Cederstrand wrote:Wife is off today. Well deserved I might add.
Wife is off today. Well deserved I might add.
Amen! Pamper her a bit today, if at all possible. Hope you love that new Berkie when it gets in! Oh, on that safe distance from the edge of the layout? - Depends on how tall your (clear) fascia extends above the track. (in other words, you can't have it too far from the edge, or too tall...)
Thanks for the comments on the pics, everyone. I think I may try to get a new camera once my Economic Stimulus check arrives. I'm beginning to get tired of the cell phone camera's quality and am ready to get a decent camera again.
JR, I'll second the comments about your Merchants' Row kitbash. Excellent job! Don't think I would have tackled that myself, and it sure wouldn't have looked that good if I did!
Ryan, nice boxcar there - adds some color to the yard. I find myself trying to figure other RR lines' boxcars that would fit my time period and be something other than boxcar red (like New Haven, or a green NYC, etc.).
We're having gorgeous weather here in Cape G. today - sunny and high of 77 F predicted for this afternoon (uh, before the rain comes in after midnight tonight, that is).
After looking at my other Roberts Printing kit (and a few other structure kits, I've decided I will need to use 'imminent domain' and find some more MRR territory to add (like in a 2-bedroom apartment, plus using some of the living room, maybe). More land! More land! (spoken in a Tim-Allen-type grunt...)
Forgot to mention yesterday, but Sat., I bought some wood skewers for some AggroJones/Joe Fugate-style conifer trees. I like those Cedar Creek ones Joe mentions on his website, but not at those prices.. I'll work on my own, thanks.
I'd best get back to it - otherwise Dick's Soc. Security check might be late arriving. And Ed, where are ye, laddie? Check in, please!
Sound advice, Philip.
Has anyone ordered from TopHobbyTrains before and were you satisfied with them? Found something on their site I would like to have and they also accept paypal (where I keep my train funds ) -Rob
Cederstrand wrote: Dipped into my train funds and ordered an Undecorated (N) Berkshire today. That means my vintage Berk is definately heading to the-bay this Thursday. Since I'll still have the old loco when the new one arrives, it will be interesting to compare them.
Dipped into my train funds and ordered an Undecorated (N) Berkshire today. That means my vintage Berk is definately heading to the-bay this Thursday. Since I'll still have the old loco when the new one arrives, it will be interesting to compare them.
Now that ought to be interesting!
I need a name for my local freelance RR. So, how does Salacoa Valley Railroad sound to you folks? (we live in the Salacoa valley) I think that would sound better than Cederstrand Railroad.
Cederstrand Valley RR? Salacoa Valley RR, either way........
Also, how many miles of track would a steam era "shortline" own or use? Or is there a better term for this? Thanks for any info/suggestions.
They are the same as today, except for the steam of course. My own prototype that I loosly follow had 33 miles of track, but I've seen shortlines with only a few miles on up to a hundred or two. You really have quite a lot of leeway. If I was you, I'd find a prototype shortline close to your timeframe (maybe from somewhere within a couple hundred miles of you with some ops that you're interested in) that you can find a decent amount of info on that you can use as a loose model. Just something to use as a guideline, ya know?
in a UNDECORATED mug, please & thanks.
Have a good day all! Rob
grayfox1119 wrote: Hey PC, didn't you feel that quake a couple of hours ago?? A 4.5 just hit your area again, the 15th aftershock, and a pretty good size one. The website that shows Earthquakes around the planet just indictated the quake.
Hey PC, didn't you feel that quake a couple of hours ago?? A 4.5 just hit your area again, the 15th aftershock, and a pretty good size one. The website that shows Earthquakes around the planet just indictated the quake.
Heard about it......didn't feel it. Slept right through it I guess.
Good Morning all...Its sunny and low 50's here this AM....I'll have Toast and coffee please..Thank you..I guess we had another over 4.0 shake about 1:30 this morning but I slept thru this one....
Garry...I like your weathering on the 2 Reefers in your photo..Did you weather them from photos?...We will all be waiting on another car load of those great Ky hams?
Jr......Thanks for the photos...Great idea to put the turrant in the middle of the block...Did you do all that with just one merchants Row?
Jim....Looks like your building is coming along nicely.....
This is the Roco caboose finished up....Its a old Roco and I put it on a M/T frame I had in my goodie box...Tracks real well...
Well you all have a good one...Jerry
Howdy pardners!
The TGX boxcar from 2Guyz and Sum Trains arrived in the Piedmont Division classification yard arrival tracks this weekend, here is photo of its arrival
J.R. the streets and Merchants Row kit bashing looks great!
Dick I look forward to seeing the bio mass pic!
Paul got a late freeze too? We can get them here until the third week of April, learned that the hard way last year, and lost a whole bunch a Marigold in early April '07. Sounds like knee and back breaking work with that switch! Reminds me of putting down tile flooring...
Terry thanks for the tip on the paint sticks, road striping looks great!
Rob glad to hear the poison ivy is getting better! And thanks for the eggs, nothing compares to farm fresh!
Lee the drop leaf duck under is really shaping up there! And three tracks crossing it too, wow! I see your using the suitcase connectors too; makes for quick like wiring don't it!
Garry got some nice additions to the WPF thread I see, I see!
Liljoe it was nice to hear the Pope speak in America, we have only had 3 Popes to visit us in our short history. I like what he said about forgiveness, a weight was lifted from my chest after listening to that segment.
Jim those gluing jigs work great huh! Even with the fuzzy photo, I can make it out still.
Mike, Garry, Lee, Jerry get off the floor, that was a quake not your woves kicking you out of bed ..LOL
Here is the web site thjat you can check to monitor earthquakes, everything your ever wanted to know and then some.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/us2008rcar.php#summary
Cederstrand wrote: ***Berkshire***Do you know if something under $100.- is a reasonable price?
***Berkshire***Do you know if something under $100.- is a reasonable price?
Trainworld is selling new for $99.99, so yeah, if you can get it for that price, go for it!
Jeff, Too bad it's to be retired, but here is your prototype.
J.R.
Good Morning All,
Moderate temps and no rain just now - the official stick your nose out the door forecast. Back at the shop and trying to catch up some more this week - we have one rig to Atlanta in a week, and one to Lime Rock the end of that same week. Busy, busy.
I'll have a regular to go and a donut in a sack please. Gotta get going - I'll try to drop in later and catch up on news. CUL, J.R.
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Great pics, folks. Keep 'em coming. Inspirational for those of us still staring at blue foam.
***Jim, birds get territorial once they set on the eggs to incubate and hatch them out. Until then, they tend to show up at the nest only to lay an egg and then leave again. Will be most interesting once one of the female birds decides to set and another comes in to lay. In the meantime, I marked all the older eggs with an "X" and am collecting the fresh eggs for cooking.
Evening Gang:I finished up the swithc at West Fork. My knees and back were just about worn out. All it needs now is ballasting and I'd still like to replace two more ties. I ran the loco around the loop at Rio Vista and no derailments, however I did derail the lead truck of the tenderjust west of West Fork and then the lead truck of the loco on the way back. I haven't had trouble there before. Oh Bother!
Garry just go on punning away.
Tomorrow I guess I'll work on some of my cars that need couplers and maybe I'll try and paint one of the new flats so I can replace the flat that is very sway back.
I thought I would have heard from Ed by now. He's planning on being here for the meet this weekend. Hey Ed give me a call.
I'm going to hit the showers.
Good Night All
Good evening, Flo - I'll have a cheeseburger,
some of those cheesey fries,
and a root beer float. Great day for a float!
Spent yesterday helping a friend get moved (well, a bunch of us - I didn't do it all by myself ). We did decide that we weren't going to try moving her spinet piano... There were a minimum of two or more steps down any way out of her house, and a rather rickety (about to be replaced, the new landlady told her) outside stairway to the 'new' second floor apartment. Yeah, I'm out of shape (but I wasn't the only one). We had one van, three or four cars, and one guy got his work's truck with a lift bed on the back (that helped!). Finished up in about 3 hours altogether. Nobody appeared to be having sore muscles this morning when I saw the other singles at church. Oh, I also got some walking in this afternoon (about 30 minutes on our local trail, using a walking music tape I have). My lower back is a little sore, so maybe I should've waited until tomorrow on that.
I also got some more done on my kitbash of the Roberts building. Here's a couple of (fuzzy cell phone camera) shots. First, the side/back view most people will barely be able to see:
and here's more the trackside view:
Yeah, and both pics are of it in the magnetic gluing jig. I hope that my next pics I can show it out of the jig, since I now have all the walls (and the floor on the track part through the building) glued together. Next step will be some painting, so I'm hoping for a few more nice afternoons...
Lee, were you teaching Alex the finer points of the Diesel Spotter's Guide while he was there? Sounds like he has definite potential as a MRR'er. Keep that up, and we'll let Scott advise him on how to apply for a job working with the 1:1 diesels! Great start getting Alex on the way! Oh, and I wouldn't ask too many questions on the drop leaf - just be thankful it's a'working.
Liked your pics of the dropleaf (and of your layout - nice spread there, Lee. Oh, I see that Jeff answered your question about the quake. My guess is, I'd have been awakened quicker if it were closer to me (like New Madrid). Did you get your connectors at that plumbing place, or where?
pcarrell wrote:I'm in an accerated program, so no breaks for me. No summer break, no spring break, nothing. The only time we get a break is if a major holiday falls on class night or we also get 2 weeks for Christmas.
I'm in an accerated program, so no breaks for me. No summer break, no spring break, nothing. The only time we get a break is if a major holiday falls on class night or we also get 2 weeks for Christmas.
Well, pooh! But I guess you'll be happy once you get it all finished up, right?
Rob, I guess I must have been dreaming about the emails to you - I was thinking I sent PM's or emails to you, but when I went back to look, my last email I sent was about a month ago, so that wasn't it. Checked if I'd sent it from here instead of through the forum, but no luck there. Must've been dozing, I guess... I'm surprised that all the birds would lay their eggs in the same place, though. I'd think they'd be more territorial or defensive about the other birds coming around. But then again, I grew up in the suburbs...
Terry, that roundhouse looks good - was that scratchbuilt, or what kit did you use as a starting point?
Garry, I'm not sure they'd close us down for less wear and tear on the servers. D'ya think? Now Vinnie, I'm not so sure about his take on things... Oh, and about that Chocolate "Quake"? Grrrooooooan! Nice pics in the WPF topic!
Paul, your derailments sure sounds like the pits. But at least you will have security nailed!
I'll get to my dinner now.
Good Evening All,
Looks like a slow day in the diner today - probably all the construction going on downtown. Spent the day doing chores and sneaking down to the basement to work on the layout. Mostly doing structures and a little track polishing here and there. At any rate per Jerrys' request here are some shots of the Merchants kitbash in context. The idea was to use my hotel and Post Office not necessarily as those entities, and to fill the space in between compressing right up to the tracks in the rear. The green building will be Howlands Department Store, the ones in the middle are yet to be designated, and the one to the left will probably end up a barber shop since the Miller animated barber shop pole is calling my name (just need to sneak it past the CFO). At any rate the overhead shot shows the space to be filled. I widened the right side and added a piece of sign backerboard to stabilize the walls. the left side is a piece of textured polystyrene sign material to represent a stucco wall. I moved the turret to the middle of the front walls so I could butt th3e buildings together, and cut the back walls apart to move the windows and door from the original side wall to the rear to lengthen that wall to suit. There are a couple of bits of styrene sheet to brace the splices, and some square and round scrap to brace the corners. So without further ado here we go.
Here's a shot at street level with Elliots' Diner (the original) in the foreground.
And there you go. It bears mentioning that the pictures would not be available were it not for the tutoring of Ed in Mexico who has great patience with the electronically inept. J.R.
***Philip, I am a diehard DC guy. From what you say, might just have to try one. Do you know if something under $100.- is a reasonable price? Already ran my vintage Berk to make sure it still runs. Will put it up on the-bay later this week. Might also put up a nice running 0-8-0 (remotored with a 5-pole), to help bolster the train funds. Besides, it's not one of my roadnames. Then there are still some diesels left in that box on the shelf that I could dip into for futher funding. All in the name of "upgrading".
So, how's everyone doing this evening?
Cederstrand wrote: Another question: Who has a (N) Life-Like Berkshire and just how good is the detailing? Thanks!
Another question: Who has a (N) Life-Like Berkshire and just how good is the detailing? Thanks!
They're real nice loco's (I don't have one, but I've run them before), but they're an absolute nightmare to put a decoder in! Definately not for the faint of heart! Check it out: http://www.trainweb.org/nrmrc/dccconv/ll284.html Good puller though, and nice looking. If I was DC I wouldn't think twice, but with DCC you might be better off either buying one already converted or paying someone to do the conversion if you aren't comfortable tearing down to the frame and then milling it.
***Garry, having a facia is probably a wise idea. I can see bumping my table one day and the unthinkable happening. It would also allow me to bring the tracks closer to the table edge and therefore utilize my limited space better.
Off to do evening critter rounds. Rob
Not much work on the layout this weekend, been to busy watching the Pope. Little hard to understand at times, you can tell he's German. Whats with the brown shoes? Everythings white, rope, hair, eyebrows, but brown shoes. Thats like some old guy in the summer with the sandals and black socks. I want to try to model myself one of those Pope moblies for the layout, now thats class.
Well back to the Pope, I hopeing they show the address again to buy some of that Pope on a rope soap, I used my last one.