Elliot's Trackside Diner V, at the diamonds

[jeffrey-wimberly]

There was a bit of an accident in town this morning. A tractor trailer rig with a flatbed fully loaded with sawn lumber was pulling out onto the highway from the lumber mill when his load suddenly shifted sending 2/3rds of his load onto the highway blocking both southbound lanes. With the police, emergency vehicles and recovery equipment, there was only one lane out of four open and that was a northbound lane.

[Cox 47]

Afternoon All....Its sunny and 71 here...I'll have a Windy City dawg drag it thru the garden,onion rings and a root beer float..Please..Thank You and make sure you get that on Jeff's tab....I am bidding on a Life Like SD 9...I havn't had any experience with LL 3 axles in N scale anybody else tried them?...

Jeff..Whats your plans for the coaling tower? You track work looks good...

Jim..Thats one fine looking Grand Child..can see the Pride and love in your eyes...

You all have a good one...Jerry

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff..Whats your plans for the coaling tower? You track work looks good...

Here's what it looks like so far.

I will be adding rotted rafters sagging under the weight of a scratchbuilt rusted metal roof made of pieces of painted and rumpled pieces of corrugated aluminum foil. The hard part will be cutting by hand the small pieces of wood for the rafters. I have no scale lumber so they will have to be cut from craft sticks.

[SilverSpike]

 A cloudy, cool 54F here right now, I decided to get two of my 5 gallon gas cans filled as the price of gas has dipped to $3.31 a gallon.

RYAN: What's for lunch, this cool air and log splitting has ne hungry as a bear !!!

 

Dick, Due to an apparent gasoline shortage in North Carolina delivery we are still paying around $3.65 a gallon for regular.

 

I hope you found some lunch Dick, as I have been outta pocket in the MR Forum since last week. I've been spending more time over on the MRH forum now and still working on my articles.

 

I do have to report that we did get to meet up with Bob (Duke) on Saturday at the Apex Live Steam Meet and got to ride two loops around the property. We had sort of a timing issue due to arriving later in the day with attending the NC State vs. Boston College game earlier in the afternoon, but it was a nice visit again, our 3rd in fact. Hopefully we will get it together better next year with scheduling and such. 

 

Happy Belated Birthday Rob!

 

Nice grand kids pics there Jim!  

 

Thoughts and prayers for those in need, recovery and healing!

[Cederstrand]

 BLT on rye with everything on it and please burn the bacon. Thanks!

Picked up a cheap one on the-bay for the wife's circus/carnival layout. May be a bit on the large side, being a diecast (Matchbox?), but should look OK towards the front of her layout. When the time comes, I'll add some other colors to it to jazz it up for her.

Rained a wee bit more today so ALL the troughs and holding tanks are FULL. HURRAY!

Feeling dizzy tonight, so going to go rest awhile. (probably inner ear issue) Have a nice evening all.

Rob

[Packers#1]

Way to go Sawyer

We are really happy for you. 

Keep up the good work but keep your hands off the face mask.   The made me do it. !!!!!

Will look for the report from the play offs.

Johnboy out......... 

Thank you every1! Johnboy, we just gotta win wednseday, and then we're in the championship. If we lose, then we're playing for third (as my coach says, for the door prize, as in golf).

[TrainsRMe1]

Congrats Packers #1 go for the ring man!!!

   Today it's been raining and the temps have dipped, they say snow could fall in the mountain passes, but we'll see.  Anyway I'm not sure if this made national news or not,but in the west part of Portland we have what is called the West Hills, and there are alot older homes that were built there in the 40's and 50's, well for some unknown reason one of the houses slid down the hills destroying it in the process, there were no earthqukes, no heavy rain, the main road in the area is blocked causing a massive detour, check out KGW.com, you should see it!!!!

  Well gotta go, I see ya tomorrow

                                    Trainsrme1 

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: I took the portable track panels and my two narrow gauge gons out to Clark Gardens this afternoon. John and I got the stuff unloaded and the crew from the gardens elped us blot the track together. Tomorrow we'll load up the locomotives and take them out.

Rob good to hear that you got somem rain. Just in time, eh?

Lee I had some really good instermentation in that old Huey.

Well I guess I'll hit the sack. That was hard work for an ROF today.

Good Night All 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Howdy

I looks like Sawyer is becoming the hero of teh diner with that big football win.

Speaking of the old pigskin, don't for get the annual ham festival is this week end here in western KY.

Jim CG .........It was terrific of you to share those photos of Drew. The first picture was very touching. . 

Ryan & Duke .... I'm very glad you could meet at the meet! 

Jerry ... I like the LL HO SD9's, but don't know about N scale ones. Good luck.

Vincent ...That sounds liek another EBAY misadventure.

Paul ... That's quite a memory you have. I'm glad for you you got out OK.

TrainsRMe ...Perhaps the home owner was delinquent on his property taxes, and the city took action.

Rob .... I thik our rain pattern has been much like yours in recent weeks. We finally got a little yeasterday.

Jeff.... The coal tower definately has possibilities, and we are awaiting the outcome.

Everybody .... I'm please to say there was significant progress on the layout today. Gus and Dan helped build more benchwork, and now I may continue my layout expasnion.

Also, has anyone heard from Tom W. Last I recall he was having problems with meds that  were to treat an infection he got from his mishap. Hope we here soon he's doing better.

Happy Model Railroading!

 

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN ! 

No comment

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 63 and clear. The high should be around the mid 80's and it will be partly cloudy.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      10/10/2008

Wind Chill:  63°F
Humidity:  79%
Dew Point:  56°F

So Far Today
High:  65°F
Low:  63°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Today  High: 85    Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.    

Tonight  Low: 62    Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. Southeast winds around 5 mph.

[LSWrr]

Good morning!

Today: Sunny, with a high near 67. North wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. East wind around 9 mph.

Looks like a good weekend coming up.  I'm putting in an order today for a new truss bridge and maybe some couplers to finish up my coupler conversion project.

Thoughts and prayers to those on the sick and injured list.

Lee

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Diners! Zoe, I'll have the breakfast special, cup of TH, and a glass of milk and of Ed's OJ, please. Thanks.

Not much planned for today - weather supposed to get into the low 80's this afternoon (about 49 F now), so I opted for short sleeve shirt today. Feels almost like summer again.

Was thinking about the wiring for my layout last night/this morning. Anyone have tips on how to wire for DC, with plans for later converting to DCC?

I'll be in the window booth, if anyone else comes in.

 

Blessings and a sunny day for ya,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All...Its sunny and cool here this morning..56 right now but headed to the upper 70's...I'll have a sasage sandwitch,hash browns and coffee please..Thank You..Got a coal drag doing laps right now..Looks like I need to do some track cleaning...

Jeff...Looking forward to seeing more photos of coaling tower..

Rob..Match box looks like it is going to make a good circus wagon..

Sawyer...Good Luck in Wednesdays game..My son was a Defensive End in High School...Gotta love those Linemen!...

Garry..Any photos yet of your layout expansion? How big will it be?

Well Medi-van just picked Sallie upand I have some errands to do...You all have a good one...Jerry

[C&O Fan]

Morning all

63 degrees here this morning gonna be a beautiful fall day here

JIM when i wired my layout I installed a 14 gauge track buss with 22 gauge feeder wires about every 3 ft

then ran the buss wires to a DT/DP switch because i started out with DC powered by an MRC power pack

Then later added a Digitrax Zephyr

 

[Cederstrand]

 in a SOUTHERN mug, please & thank you.

***Terry, units look good.

Had to get up early today to go back over my wiring needs with our contractor. I'm ready to wire for "surround sound" this evening, once the house wires are in place, (so I can avoid them). Contractor is cutting the hole for the new master bedroom door as I type. I used so much caulk, tape, insulation, etc...he said my studio could have withstood a hurricane. Hey, I never anticipated turning my studio into a house, so made it to last. Anyway, need to hang out downstairs to keep an eye on things, if you get my meaning. Our contractor I trust completely, but some of his hired help....well....

Oh, septic truck nearly rolled down the hill outside my studio window. There is a huge towtruck out there pulling it to safety right now. Driver probably isn't enjoying it much, but I snapped a couple pics for fun.

Got a few more post holes dug for the deck. With all that rain, they sure were easier to dig, at least until I hit that hard layer (shale?).

Hope everyone is having a great day. Rob

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello ....

Jerry asked if there were any photos of my construction.

Here's a picture. The new benchwork is in the foreground. The layout will follow the wall from the left side of the picture and enter a reverse loop from the right side of the picture on the new benchwork. There are two levels on this part of the layout.

After taking the photos, I looked outside, and I saw two barge tow boats passing each other.

Last picture is my new NP F3B coupled betwen two NP F7A's. The B unit was an undecorated Stewart dummy model that I painted a couple of days ago.

Happy Model Railroading 

[Packer]

Those F7s look more like F9s to me, but they might be late phase F7s. (48 inch DB fan, can't see the carbody louvers)

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good eye Vincent!   These are MRC F7's. For whatever reason, MRC's F7's did not stay on the market long. They run smoothly and are quiet, and it is a mystery to me why they did not sell well.

[Packers#1]

Cool jerry. I love playing defensive end, I'm just glad coach hasn't made me play offensive line in a game or much at practice. But I can if I have to, he had me practice at left tackle for a little while. But now I'm at starting defensive end and on the scout team defense.

[Cederstrand]

refill, please & thanks.

***Garry, EXCELLENT bench work & room pic. Gets me salivating to start on one here.

Lots of banging away today. Ogt the center rail in around the porches (so FIL won't fall through the screen when he's here. They're working late to get the new door in, or at least finish cutting & framing for it. As long as it is temporarily sealed before they leave, that's all I ask.

Moved all the geldings in with their respective herds, so the farm is ALIVE with all sorts of squeels and thumps (from hooves kicking & connecting).

Rob

[JimRCGMO]

Evening, Chloe. I'll have a bowl of beef stew

and a glass of wine, please.

Thanks, Rob!

Our weather here was gorgeous (once) again today. I could get used to this!

Terry, thanks for the pic and the wiring info. I need to figure out what gauge of wire I have - some of it (I think) is LaBelle (and not labelled for AWG), the other is Radio Shack (which I'm pretty sure is labelled). Then there're the feeders that drop down from the Atlas rail joiners/terminals (the ones that come pre-soldered to the joiners). Not at all sure what gauge those are, but they'll be very short, so it's possible that may not be critical on gauge, compared to the busses or longer feeders. Do you know on the Atlas joiner terminals? Got a diagram (labelled ) of which wires come from/go to which connectors on the DPDT switches? (I think I already have one or two of those, but may need to check tonight after I get home)

Garry, thanks for the pics of your expansion area, and that F7B unit looks impressive. - Do you have any ideas for how you'll have that scenicked? Mountain tunnel? Cuts and tunnels? Canyon(s)? Oh, I checked the MRC site for locos, and all they show right now are some F7B's, which are just under $20, so I'm guessing they're unpowered at that price. Does Stewart only make kits for diesel locos? Seems I recall it that way, but I could be wrong...

For those tracking such stuff, our gas in Cape G. today dropped to $2.939 a gallon at our cash-only place (for super unleaded). It dropped about 3 cents a gallon just from when I went by it earlier in the morning to when I went past during lunchtime. I can live with that, especially since I'm planning on filling my car's tank in the morning before doing laundry.

Got my Woodland Scenics catalog in today. Looks like the reason I got a $1.95 refund is that the DPM catalog didn't ship with it. Guess I'll have to re-order it.

Rob, keep those workers 'on track' there with your housebuilding. Like you say, the problem isn't usually the contractor or foreman on the job, but one or two of the workers. They don't have their company rep on the line for how well (or not) the job was done. That, and good work habits aren't as common as they used to be. (Gee, do I sound like an old geezer there?) Maybe if you took your camera with you when you go on inspection around the house, certain persons will straighten up, out of fear that their boss will see your pics and fire their 's...

Rob, I wasn't for sure from your post - those are geldings, right? Or have they not figured that part out yet? (Squeals, thumps, hooves and all...)

Jeff, I forgot to mention earlier, but I'm looking forward to seeing your 'weathered' coaling tower. Y'know how I love those older and slightly dilapidated buildings... When you first started talking about the coaling tower, I thought you were going to turn it into a shed or something. This should be even more fun, I suspect!

Aw, c'mon Sawyer, I bet it's that you really have that 'hunter' instinct, and love going after those quarterbacks. (like a tiger after red meat...) Sounds like you have a great time with it, for sure!

Chloe, could I have another bowl of stew, please? Yes, please - one more glass of wine, too. I'll have Rob drive me home if needed...

 

Blessings and a good night's rest for all,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[Packers#1]

Aw, c'mon Sawyer, I bet it's that you really have that 'hunter' instinct, and love going after those quarterbacks. (like a tiger after red meat...) Sounds like you have a great time with it, for sure!

 

Jim, I just wish I could capture how fired up i get when I'm losing energy and take it to the first quarter when it would really help.

[eeyore9900]

Hi folks-just coffee in my Eeyore mug (if it's still back there-if it is, it's probably dusty)

I know I've been a stranger here in the past couple months. Trying to do this & that, & when I do get to the forum, I end up running out of time to stop in here. HENCEFORTH, I'm going to try (stress "try") to make it a point to at least stop in here on the weekend.

First off, Mom's still in the hospital but progressing. Dad & I were able to watch her in therapy last week, & she's doing well, getting up, getting into bed, & doing simple kitchen things. (they have all those things set up in the therapy area) But she's going to need a wheelchair, & as luck would have it, my uncle still had my aunt's (Mom's sister who passed in 2000) & the therapist checked it out & said it was up to date & virtually good to go. The only thing it needs is an armrest for her left arm, which is still very weak. She's very much "with it" & her talking is completely back to normal. (she was playing Bingo with other patients on her ward a few weeks ago-I came up & sat it, & she was spotting the #s on her card faster than I could!)

Other than that, things are about the same except $$$ has been tighter. So I haven't been able to do basement improvement & layout benchwork like I wanted to be doing by this point. So I've been working on my weathering & tagging my models, & working on track plans & operation ideas for the future layout.

Lee-As things have been going, I didn't think I'd make the train show at Berea, & I didn't. But the day before I thought I might after all, as Dawn wanted to hit Metro Park Zoo Saturday as the weather was good, & she considered it an early b/day present for herself. (hers is 10/31) I thought that in the off chance we could cut out early & maybe catch an hour or so of the show on our way home, but as it turned out we spent the entire day at the zoo, & found ourselves getting shooed out at 5 by park employees! Oh well, I'll get up there some year. (at least I got to observe (barely) & hear the NS & old CR units running short trains back & forth along the north edge of the park)

Well, that's about it for now folks-I haven't had the chance to go thru the previous posts, but I hope all are well & good, & I'll do my best not to be a stranger!

[JimRCGMO]

Hi, Mitch, good to see you in the Diner again. Good to hear your mother's progressing on her therapy (and wonderful that your uncle had the wheelchair for her!). Even if you didn't make the train show, it sounded like Dawn and you had a great time at the zoo. At least they didn't mistake you for the critters and try to lock you in for the night... Have a cup on me, and sit a spell, rest your feet.

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[Cederstrand]

Tall glass of cool lemon water, please & thanks.

***Mitch, try not to be a stranger. Very glad to hear your mother is progressing well. That is tough and takes time & good therapy. Continued healing thoughts heading her way. 

While checking fences today, out in the pasture there are literally hundreds of excellent N & HO scale trees, just growing on branches of various weeds (some branches, others are seed/flowering thingies). So anyway, think I will collect a bunch of them and hang them upside-down to dry, so they will be ready for doctoring up for use on the layout next year. Sure would save a lot of . Can always pick up a few of those fancy (expensive) finished model trees to place in the most important spots, if need be.

Was clearing out a couple dirt mounds where the deck is going and got the tractor stuck on the grade. It remains parked there tonight. Couldn't even use the loader to push it back up. Seems ever since it went to the J-Deere dealership, there has been something amiss with the power and/or transmision. GURRRR! Anyway, I'll dig out the snow/mudd clamp things tomorrow to get it off the hill. Wouldn't have had such a problem had I done this BEFORE it rained. Oh well.

Have a good night all. Rob

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang:

Rob nothing runs like a Deere. I've got IHC and Case International. Ya can't beat red.

We took the locomotives out to Clark Gardens today and the others brought there stuff. We got everything unloaded and set up by 5pm. Boy was that alot of work, I'm really bushed tonight and a bit sore in the shoulders. Fortunatly the crew at the gardens is really a good bunch of guys. Four of them lifted my steam loco off the trailer and onto the track. Of course they are all youngsters compared to me. Everything looks pretty good. We have equipment in three scales on desplay, 1.5 in, 2.5in, and 4in scale. We also have displays of projects in the works including a new 2-8-0. Of course I'll be running my locomotive on air up and down my portable track. It's 110 ft long and on a grade. Tomorrow we'll set up a TV and show videos of live steam from all over the country.

Mitch good to see you back and for your mom. We are all pulling for her. How's Dad holding up?

Well I guess I'll head for bed. I have to get up early in order to get out there on time.

Good Night All

[TrainsRMe1]

 Hi Chiole,

   I will have a bowl of that beef stew, that looks good, but I'll have a glass of milk,  we had company over tonight,for dinner it was nice, we sat and talked about the day's events, not much on the layout front today folks, sorry,  I hope to get some wriring work done tomorrow morning, before we go out on our Saturday walk around the neighborhood, Well not much else here gang, so I'm going to hit the sack, I will be in later this weekend sometime, I'm very sorry for not posting any more pic's yet, I will get to it as soon as I can.

      "Clear smooth minds mean smooth running layouts" 

                                               -Trainsrme1

                                                        

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN ! 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 61 and clear. It will become partly cloudy later as the high rises to the mid 80's.

Yesterday I installed a DZ125 decoder in my new Athearn BNSF SD40. The rear light is brighter so I set it to run long hood forward, partly because of the light but mostly because I like to see them run that way. The rear light is set to stay steady while the cab light becomes a double pulse strobe light while the loco is traveling short hood forward. I also put a DZ125 in my GP35/S6, no light options on that one.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      10/11/2008

Wind Chill:  61°F
Humidity:  90%
Dew Point:  58°F

So Far Today
High:  64°F
Low:  61°F
Rain:  0.01"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Today  High: 85    Mostly sunny early in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Patchy fog early in the morning. Highs in the mid 80s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight  Low: 65    Partly cloudy. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the mid 60s. East winds around 5 mph.