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
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Hello again...
Mac 46 .............welcome! ...Your planned GN layout sounds terrific. I like your idea of building a layout that can be moved. In fact, my layout is designed for that. It's in sections that could be moved if needed. The GN 4-8-4's were magnificent.
CN Charlie...... Sorry to hear your "Jamie" is so sick and at the vet so mcuh. Hope things improve. BTW, do you still have your AF trains?
Paul ..thanks for the complement. What! Your brother in law thinks stocks are risky. Where did he get such a notion?
I mentioned recently our church friend Diane is having cancer surgery. It's scheduled for 11:00 am CST tomorrow. Thanks to those who care and pray.
Good night
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Evening Gang:
RT that's great news on the service that you will be getting and they are going to check out your defib also. The VA works in strange ways.
Wellcome Mac 46 to the Diner. It sounds like you have a plan and a good bit of reasearch. That will make things move more smoothly. Most of all Congratulations to you and your wife on the expected arrival. My prayers for a succesful and easy delievery. You will let us know when the little one is here?
Not much going on here today. I hauled hay but not to the haylot. I moved it to the edge of the fields and will haul it to the haylot later. My brother in law had a birthday today. He turned 70. Would you believe that he still works his ranch by himself and is actually adding to it? He bought another 275 acres at bargain basement price and is going to buy anothe place. His resoning is the money is safer in land then in the stock market. Wise man.
Robby my best wishes on finding a job. I'm sure that something will turn up.
Garry nice job on the Silver Bullet.
Well I guess I'll head to bed.
Good Night All
Evening, Diners - been one hectic day at work. Glad it's over! Chloe, a cup of hot cocoa, please. Supposed to be cooling off tonight when the front gets moved through our area.
Rob, I saw on the news last night that the Southeast (NC, SC, GA, etc.) were having runs on the gas stations, but it wasn't due to shortages (though the runs were possibly causing some local shortages). Sounded like people were just panicking and topping off their tanks 'just in case'. If you have the tank half full or so, I'd say wait it out and don't contribute to the problem like those other folks are. Couple or three weeks ago around here, we had rumors of gas shortage (when that hurricane was about to hit landfall in Galveston) and lots of people were lining up at the gas stations (think it was on a Friday). Well, couple of days later after the hurricane had moved inland, gas prices dropped some(!). I'd say unless you really need the gas now, wait it out may be a better choice. My ...
Robby, hope you get some job leads and can get back to your layout. I hear you on the train show when the money isn't there (or the dealers all are in the 'wrong' scale for your needs). This is a good time to read up in your back issues of MR or RMC, or to fine-tune your layout track planning. By the way, I'm with ya on your quote/signature. Give me the worn-out, rundown, rusty look!
Lee, I have a couple or three of the Suydam/California Models kits - I know I have the yard tower and also the Triangle Cafe. May have another one, but I'm not at home right now, so can't go look. Never did one of their metal ones, so we'll see how my soldering skills are...
Called up the other phone company today and have the install ordered. I'm getting local service with caller ID, call waiting, etc. and 1 hour of long distance included. I'll see how much I actually use before I upgrade. No sense paying for what I don't use. Next, to call up Charter and see about getting broadband at home again.
Jerry, that's a beautiful shot of that articulated! Tom will be drooling all over his keyboard at that one.
RT, best wishes on your procedures - that's excellent that they'll chauffeur you to the hospital after putting you up overnight. Good that they're showing the good sense to check out your defibrilator at the same time. Almost too smart for believing that's out government at work, isn't it?
Speaking of the government, I'm NOT happy with our dear Congress at their inability to get something figured out and passed the past few days. Here's a quotation for you, from Mark Twain:
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. - Mark Twain, a Biography
to the Diner, Mac46! Sounds like you have a good start on the benchwork there. You may be right about once your little one arrives, how there will be a lot of activities competing for your time (but some of them will be fun!). Got a trackplan sketch you can post? We're a nosy curious bunch in here (that, and some of us even know something about building layouts, though that might not be me...). Have a cup on me, and watch out for the dreaded TOP (Top Of Page), since if you get that, you'll end up with the virtual tab for that page's beverage and food orders. But then again, PC (aka Pastor PC) is as likely to hit TOP as you.
About time for me to head for home now. Hope everyone gets a good night's rest!
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
My first stop at the diner and I need a coffee, hot, black and strong. It barely hit 70 today under bright sunny skies. Yet I spent the day sequestered in the basement putting together tables for my 600 sq ft HO layout. I am making them so in the event I move, they will break apart easily. My wife is a bit miffed, mainly because in 20 days our daughter will arrive, that I spent so much time in the basement. So I am here now on the computer, aching to go into the basement, waiting for the wife to drift off to sleep before I can escape downstairs again. I am trying to get much of the grunt work done before our child arrives. Since once she gets here, I will get precious little done.
But, my layout will eventually be the Great Northern, followed by BN and then to BNSF. Time frame from the end of the steam era to today. Its ambitious in scope for a first time builder but I am aided by RailCad and of course, MR. I have been accumulating GN rolling stock and Empire Builder passenger units. I was lucky to get some F-7 A and B engines. I have some BN stuff and a complete AMTRAK train. What I am dying to get is a S-2 4-8-4 locomotive and it has been the devil to find. I did get a GN 2-8-2 Mikado. My layout will be in a large circular pattern starting at Havre, MT, over the Marias Pass south of Glacier National Park and into Whitefish/Kalispell. Then south to Missoula and east to Great Falls and up the old GN branch from Great Falls to Havre. So there will be four rail yards, mountain scenery and plains scenery. The route up from Great Falls to Havre will briefly skirt the Missouri River before angling more northward.
So, thanks for the coffee. The wife drifted off to sleep, the dogs are outside and the cats are evicted from the basement and the horses watered. Maybe I can start some of the wiring runs.............................
Quick reply and I'm gone again. (Doing the drawings for the contaner crane)
CN Charlie. I'd go for the special small wire cutter,i f you plan on doing any amount of that kind of decoder hardwire, in HO or N. Google Klien Tools, and see what you think. They have solid and stranded wire cutters. I'm very happy with mine. My difficulty inn that work is getting a decent small soldering iron tip that doesn't corrode away in no time flat. I use a wet sponge to wipe the tip after each application, but still the things just evaporate, it seems.
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.
Good Evening Diners!
Had an exciting day, the kind you can do without. After having our Westie, Jamie in to have an infected tooth out, we took him home, all fine but my wife called me at work saying he was bloating quickly so I rushed home and we took him at high speed to the vets. He's still there but doing ok. Turns out it can quickly become a fatal condition so looks like we were just in time.
This week-end I installed a drop-in sound decoder in my Athearn RS3. It was an easy install and it works great. I would like more adjustment on the sound levels but it does sound like an Alco with that weird warbling from the prime mover. It's an MRC but so far it is good, with motor control at least as good as the Digitrax that was in there.
Jeff, You asked about the Prodigy Express. I have one and like it a lot. It is very easy to use and I like the large display, rotary speed control and the ability to move about a bit is great. I just recieved the Micro-mark flier and they have them for $119. If 1.6 amps isn't enough, MRC will up-grade it to 2.5 for $25 return shipping included. I sent in mine and they up-graded it to 3.5 amps. I don't need that much power but MRC says the increased power reduces the incidence of small shorts. It took about 2 weeks. By the way Jeff, I am about to do my first hard wire decoder install into a Mehano 2-10-2, just like the one you have. I was wondering how you strip the insulation off those tiny wires on a N scale decoder. Perhaps I'll need a special wire stripper but if there is another way I'm sure you know what it is.
RT, good luck with your heart check, looks like they are taking great care of you.
The weather here is supposed to be great this week with sun and mid-60 temps. I am amazed that there are still a lot of green leaves on the trees and it will be October in a couple of days.
Well, have to go and retrieve Jamie from the vet so I'll sign off for now.
CN Charlie
Guess what!
I was BAD today!
I played hooky from work today! (It was my wife's idea.....thats my story and I'm sticking with it!)
Oh, and Rob......It sounds like the builder WAS there.....and he's posting in the diner!
Hi everybody....
You may be interested in my kitbashing thread. I made a baggage-lounge car.
RT .... best wishes with your heart cath, but I thought you were going to have it sonner. Also, my recent experience tells me the defibrilator can be a life saver. I'll be thinking of you, so keep us informed.
Rob ... I'm gald teh in law visit was a good one.
Happy Model Railroading
Tall glass of cool lemon water, please & thanks.
***Jerry, that's an excellent pic. It has now taken over my desktop.
***RT, good luck with the procedure(s). One of these days I may return to the Southeastern Wildlife Expo again in Charleston. Exhibited at that show for many years. If I do decide to show there again, perhaps we can meet up. How far are you from Charleston?
Had a nice visit with the Inlaws. Wife's mother is much better and easier to get along with. FIL is pretty with it mentally, but he seems very weak. Strokes sure take a mighty toll on a body.
Set another couple posts for the deck in concrete today, added one last bolt to a ledger, and nailed a bunch more metal hangers.
No sign of our builder.
Creeks are almost dried up here. Need to get back to finishing the fence repair on the middle pasture so i can move some horses around. May need to start pumping water to them in another week at this rate. Yikes!
Rob
LSWrr wrote: RT, nice looking locomotives
RT, nice looking locomotives
I'm partial to the NS one myself
Paul W. Beverung wrote: RT: Let us know how things go. You know how anxcious we get around here. My prayers go with you.
RT: Let us know how things go. You know how anxcious we get around here. My prayers go with you.
Well found out more today but first the great news! They will come to my house and drive me to Augusta, GA. They have gotten me a motel room at the Quality INN in Augusta. There is transportation aranged for me to be at the V.A. by 6:30 the next morning. Then when all is done in Augusta, GA. they will drive me back to Colunbia, S.C. to my house and drop me off.
I'm going down for a heart cath but while I'm there there going to try and check my difrilator out and if they deem it necasary there going to change out the one lead that is on recall by the company.
Ran my trains again tonight no wrecks, I still have to get it to a acuall layout not just a big loop on the floor.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Cox 47 wrote: Rob and all you UP fans this is for you feller I was talking to on phone sent it to me and I thought it was a great photo.... You all have a great afternoon....Jerry
Rob and all you UP fans this is for you feller I was talking to on phone sent it to me and I thought it was a great photo....
You all have a great afternoon....Jerry
Nice pic. I like it. (Sorry Tom)
Rob: Nice flat. Beware the gold leafing on the colliopy likes to flake off. Easy to repair, but annoying.
C&O Terry: Interesting bit on the decoders. I'll have to remember that.
-Morgan
Afternoon All...Its mostly cloudy 72 with some rain showers here....I'll have a prk Burger,and a root beer float please...Thank You....I had a nice visit on the phone this morning with a Buddy that use to live in Casey..He is a big Colorado Midland fan..He took the Midland into modern times with paint and newer engines...His layout was upstairs in a Garage behind his house..The Pennsy then Con Rail Main was about 100 feet behind the garage and we use to work on his layout and run trains and rail fan all at the same time!
John....I think Al Armatage designed all of those revell buildings..They are probaly better detailed than some of the new stuff..they had a 2 story farm house that got a lot of kitbash action and a great barn..Heligon was rereleasing them for awhile...
Rob...Neet circus car I hadn't seen one of those for years...They even released the wheels fpr those wagons so you could use them to scatch your own wagons..probaly couldn't find any now....
Lee...Those old Suydam kits were great I build a couple of the cardstock kits the Ice house and the Purina Feed store..Everbody even John allen had one of those on their layouts...anybody still have one?
Robby P....Good luck on Job hunt....
in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please & thanks.
jeffrey-wimberly wrote: snipI've been doing research on different DCC systems and have narrowed it down to two (in terms of price). The Digitrax Zephyr ($179.98 - Walther's) and the MRC Prodigy Express ($118.54 - Amazon). I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the Zephyr about locos just suddenly stopping and about uncontrolled runaways. I certainly wouldn't want a parked loco on a siding to suddenly start up and charge into the middle of a passing freight, though Gomez Addams would probably love it. This has me leaning more toward the MRC system. The 1.6 amp power doesn't bother me. I already have a 5 amp booster that should work well with the system plus I'll only be running 4 locos at a time - max.[b]Snip
snip
I've been doing research on different DCC systems and have narrowed it down to two (in terms of price). The Digitrax Zephyr ($179.98 - Walther's) and the MRC Prodigy Express ($118.54 - Amazon). I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the Zephyr about locos just suddenly stopping and about uncontrolled runaways. I certainly wouldn't want a parked loco on a siding to suddenly start up and charge into the middle of a passing freight, though Gomez Addams would probably love it. This has me leaning more toward the MRC system. The 1.6 amp power doesn't bother me. I already have a 5 amp booster that should work well with the system plus I'll only be running 4 locos at a time - max.[b]Snip
Jeff you can get the Zephyr from Bruce for $ 159 and shipping is free
http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=2450095&cat=23&page=1
I have never had a problem with locos suddenly stopping although i once had a loco slow down stop then start back up again
problem was i hadn't dispatched it from the Zephyr after aquiring it with a second throttle
the sudden start up problem comes from dual mode decoders DC/DCC
when recovering from a short the decoder thinks it's running DC and will take off at full tilt
This can be fixed by disabling the dual mode function and running DCC only
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Just get me a orange juice for now, thanks.
As for me today and this week. JOB HUNT. They are having a job fair Thursday, and I will see what they have to offer. I would like to go back to school (being just 28), I still have some time.
I am hoping to get a decent job, so I can redo the layot again. Just take my time, and do it right. Just do the works on it. I know there is a train show coming n a week or to here, but I just won't have the money to go. Plus.....last time there was ALOT of N scale. I need HO scale.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Good morning
Good morning.It's 68 and clear. The high should be in the mid 80's and it will be partly cloudy.Cable problems continue to plague me so I probably won't be on much today.
I've been doing research on different DCC systems and have narrowed it down to two (in terms of price). The Digitrax Zephyr ($179.98 - Walther's) and the MRC Prodigy Express ($118.54 - Amazon). I'm seeing a lot of complaints about the Zephyr about locos just suddenly stopping and about uncontrolled runaways. I certainly wouldn't want a parked loco on a siding to suddenly start up and charge into the middle of a passing freight, though Gomez Addams would probably love it. This has me leaning more toward the MRC system. The 1.6 amp power doesn't bother me. I already have a 5 amp booster that should work well with the system plus I'll only be running 4 locos at a time - max.Today's Weather for: Sundown, LA 71446-6114 9/29/2008 Wind Chill: 67°FHumidity: 74%Dew Point: 59°FSo Far TodayHigh: 68°FLow: 66°FRain: 0.00"Rain Rate: 0.00"/hGust: 6mph NNEToday High: 85 Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. North winds around 5 mph. Tonight Low: 60 Mostly clear. Lows near 60. North winds around 5 mph.
Good morning all,
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 70. East wind between 3 and 9 mph. Tonight: Showers likely after midnight. Increasing clouds, with a low around 57. East wind between 6 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Rob, the circus car looks real good. I use either the Life Like Couplers (small hole) or the McHenry couples (larger hole) they both seem to work well. On locomotives I spen the extra money to buy Kadee metal couplers.
Lee
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Hi Zoe and Laurel,
I'll take a Arnold Palmer please, Hey Kile, I did a little work on our layout yesterday, nothing today though, too tired from our trip,
I like that circus car Rob, that is real nice!!
Jerry, take care I'm real glad you ran your trains today!!
Well so far no gas shortages here in Oregon, I remember back in the early 70's we had the odd-even days, ( if your lic plate ## ended in a odd # that was your day to get gas,) and the same for the even, I hope we don't have to go back to that.
Take all and have a good night-
trainsrme1
Howdy ....
Kile........ I'm glad you accomplished work on the layout.
Rob ..... That's a neat circus car.
Gasoline shortages? Not here.
I completed my kitbashing project. I converted a Walthers Budd baggage/dormatory car into a CB&Q baggage lounge car. I have been testing it. So far, I am happy with it.
LSWrr wrote:Jeff, that caboose I sent you: That is a COX model believe it or not....
Jeff, that caboose I sent you: That is a COX model believe it or not....
Evening Gang: Mary Ann, John, and I went out and bought her a new bull for the heifers. It is an Angus and around 1400 lbs. I'm hoping that he's as good as the old one. We still have the old bull and will keep him for some time. The guy also had another bull but Mary Ann said not now. I really don't like to have one bull for 24 cows. The poor guy has to have a rest once in awhile.
The humidifier worked well. I woke up without the dry mouth and throat and no stuffed up sinices. I cranked it up tonight so am hoping for the same results.
Der when I was up in Duluth I saw that they were using tires from those very large mining trucks for bumpers along the dock walls. Just a thought. They looked neet.
Well I'm going to head for bed.
Evening,
Rob, I see some of our gas stations running out of fuel, the one on the corner from me is out of everything except REGULAR. Diesel seems unaffected for us, we have a refinery in Toledo and mass storage tanks in Cleveland, but it's all diesel production and #6 fuel Oil. OH- and those big magnets on a string work well too, but it's good to use one over the driveway every now and then.
Speaking of older models I just bid on 2 lots of Suydam structures. I've built these in the past but my ex-wife threw them out while the layout stuff was in storage. They were always good kits at a good price.
Kile, I'm looking forward to your pictures. I finally got the lumberyard building and the grain elevator ready for some detail work and legends. I painted 4 pieces of rolling stock and did some maintenance on my MOW rolling stock. I also sat a stared at the mess in the layout room and tried to think of ways to clean it up, LOL.
Here's the latest acquisition for wife's circus/carnival/train/layout:
Just need to buy more conversion couplers. Still have not come up with the right ones for a couple of the other cars. If gas ever becomes available around here again, we might make a trip out to that not-so-LHS.
Anyone else seeing gas lines and shortages where you live? It is CRAZY here in north Georgia. Only gas left is premium, with a premium price. And you are limited to 10 gallons per visit. Hope I can still drive the truck to get hay this week. Yikes!
Good night all.
Evening, Diners! Janie, just a cup to go, please.
Will write more and post tomorrow, but wanted to respond to your mention, DerJohn, about the Revell freight station. AHM, ConCor, or one of the companies in the later 'Revell lineage' (who got the dies for some of their kits) also put out an HO version of the Revell freight station, which had less of the 'kitbashed' appearance. I'm not at home to look at mine, but I think they had that little office extended longer, if I'm recalling it correctly. Hey, I have several Revell kits (or Revell lineage kits) still to be assembled - for their time, Revell was way ahead with the level of details that they cast in their walls. (Of course, they worked that 2-stall enginehouse to death, in the reincarnations of the Superior Bakery, and the Weekly Herald, but that's just my opinion. When I get to building those, I plan to kitbash a couple of those and add mods so they don't so closely resemble the enginehouse...)
Good evening, all you Diners!
Blessings and a good night's rest for all,
Did anyone get any projects done this weekend?
I got about half of my benchwork done. Im hoping to post pictures some time this week.
Kile