ELLIOT's Trackside Diner VI: The Full Meal Deal!

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Happened to be passing by, looked in the window, and saw that the decorations have been upgraded since a couple years ago when I stopped in a few times.  Besides that I needed a nice warm cup of Dark Roast Java and the food looks good.  They stopped serving anything but bitter over boiled coffee at the shop down the street lately.  Besides that the neighborhood has gone downhill big time in the last year, cops showed up 2 times in the last month alone....

I'll just have a seat over in the back and mind my own business....  Oh Hi Jeffrey!  Oh that's Philip over there....  I think I know a lot of the folks in here.
 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good to see you, Ray ... I'll buy your first java, but please visit more often! Perhaps, Christmas decoartions will include a train around the tree!

Jeff, I meant to say earlier, I liked the load in the gon.

Wow, that's great java!

[blownout cylinder]

I think I'll partake of that dark roast myself, please That derailment looks painful. What happened?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

blownout cylinder

That derailment looks painful. What happened?

A switcher just suddenly backed up at full speed for no reason whatsoever. Before I could cut power to that block the last 3 cars of the 14 car train had been slammed into the freight that was passing by on the mainline. The switcher was set up for DCC only so it couldn't have have gone to DC mode. Now you know as much as I do.

[Robby P.]

Good evening fuys and gals.  I guess I will start with a cup of cocoa. 

Cold night and calling for some more snow.  One website is calling for 1-2 inches.  Another website said 8 inches.  Who knows.   

Now Jeff,  thats never good when there is a derailment.  When I have my train just a-going and I hear that wheel hitting the track, boy my heart starts to really beat.  Try to get there before it hits the floor or something else.

The wife finally got hired on as a full-time preschool teacher.  Now maybe we can start getting our feet back on solid ground.  Also, since we have more money coming in, maybe I can really start knocking out some of this layout.  The problem there is time. 

I use to weather cars for eBay (for extra money) but I just don't have the time anymore.  I just won a intermountain boxcar (Railbox) to do for eBay, but I might end up keeping it.  Now since we don't have to be real tight on money.

Well I guess I will hit the sack, another 10 hour day tomorrow.  OH BOY!!!

Everybody stay warm, and have some good train dreams!!

[Packer]

Run away trains aren't fun. I had that problem a few times last night at the local mr club.Itwasn't the engines or the DCC system,but the DT100 I had to use since my UT4R is broken. The DT100 became unpluged and lost the memory a few times, so I had to get someone with a DT400Rto get a hold of it unitl I could get a hold of it.

I had my own wreck last night too. Someone put some kind of oil on the track which was sticky and made wheels dirty really fast (try cleaning wheels every 15 minutes). When I tried pulling a long train with 2 P2K SD45s the engines were spinning wheels (with 50 cars going downhill, I did 66 the last time I ran the train going uphill, really sticky track) When the engines finally got it moving, one of the trucks from the rear SD45 derailed and about 6 of the cars in the middle of the train fell off of the trestle and the shells seperated from the frames on them. luckily none of the cars broke. I wasn't the only person having trouble with the sticky track either.

[JimRCGMO]

Evening, Chloe - I'll have a hot fudge brownie sundae

       

and a cup of coffee, please.

       

Thanks!

Oh, Chloe, you might mention to Gav that you can get him 'something stronger than tea'... Guess nobody told him about your special 'stash.'

Gav, sounds like a good trip across the pond - did you pack your bag to leave plenty of room for the MRR'ing purchases, I hope? Or just take a spare empty bag?  

Morgan - kudos (or is that kudoes?) Especially when you weren't even tryin'... Just think how much earlier you might have got it if you'd tried! Congrats, definitely!

Hey, Garry - you missed that I changed my food order that day, after seeing what Ryan had cooked up for us. Kabobs are nice, but Ryan's cooking is NOT to be missed if at all possible.

Tom, apparently you have one very talented Maine Coon cat there in Remington. He's probably studying until he has it figured out about moving that chair. Or perhaps he's biding his time until he and Spooky can haul the whole Yellowstone down (after they've built up their muscles a bit). Got to watch those cats, for sure! Maybe a previous owner trained him to do that? Hey, hope you get the credit card biz straightened out soon (Maybe you could do like the auto execs and ask Congress for a cut of that money? Just kidding...)

Flashwave

Other cultures refer to that kind of chair as a "ramp" 

Also known as Main Coon catdom... right, Morgan?

to the Diner, Blowout Cylinder (and Spring the Wonder Cat)! Tom, better be careful, or the cats will be exchaning cabeese- and Yellowstone-stealing tips with each other...

Paul, hope that oil well gets going so your MRR money starts flowing in again... And I'd agree with Garry that I hope your Dr. gets things figured out so you can get back to a healthier weight.

Anyone else remember when people would talk about someone with a big appetite as having a "healthy" appetite? Times do change, don't they!

Lee, I'm guessing that on your friend who's not too cooperative, you aren't asking what size of board to 'adjust his attitude' with, correct? Guess if enough of you go over and check on him, you can see anything before it gets really bad, but he sure sounds a bit stubborn about going to the doctor - even for a guy!

Well, PC, I got 80 percent on the test, since I didn't have a commercial driver's license, I figured there was no way that the test meant I was driving that bus! Yeah, I'd have to agree with you that your wife pulled one on you. You might check out what the trade-offs are before you let her 'allow you' to get some new 'toy' in the future. But enjoy that hot tub, once you get it built and installed.

Garry, I wouldn't make a special trip just for the LHS in Cape - I had said earlier that I think they get their stuff from some wholesaler in the St. Louis area, 'cause they seem to have some of the oddball roads and stuff. That, and their art and dolls stuff is more their specialty than model trains - they usually have more Thomas trains stuff than HO or N scale, so that tells you something. The other LHS in Scott City (open until noon, I think, on Sat.'s) has a better selection, heavier on Athearn BB kits and some Athearn RTR, mostly in local RR lines (SP, Cotton Belt, IC and such). The Scott City LHS is inside a florist shop that his daughter runs there. The LHS does stock some Kadee couplers and parts, flextrack and cork roadbed most all of the time, though, and he'll order in for you whatever is in the Walthers or Horizon catalogs.

I forget for sure who said - I think Lee - but I have put together some of the Bowser 70 ton covered hoppers before (closed side ones, haven't done the open sided ones). They didn't really seem too hard for me. I expect the P2K kits to likely be the more challenging ones of what I have right now to put together.

Jeff - [ouch]! Better have the training crews do a refresher on safety, before your insurance rates for the MGRy go through the roof!

Robby, good to hear your finances are turning around. You weren't Mellow Mike, were you? Check your email. 

Since Garry's so kind as to treat for my dessert, I'd best get to it, huh? Then time for this guy to head for home.

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[sleeper33]

Jim

Had to buy a bigger bag lol

heres a pic of some of the purchases

 

[CNCharlie]

Good Evening Diners!

It's been a little while since I've been in but I see that lots has been happening.

Tom, Remi or Remington I should say, is one magnificent cat! I told Pippa (our Westie) that there is a cat as  big as her. Naturally she said that was impossible as nothing could be as big as her( well, head anyway). Seems he is a little on the sneaky side. Reminds me of an Afgan Hound I had many years ago. I had to hook a bungie cord around the fridge anytime I left him alone in the house as he could open any door with a handle and the fridge was his favourite. He'd grab the handle with his paw and then just help himself. He could open sliding patio doors too.

Well I made the plunge and now have 2 N scale locos as I wanted to see what N guage is like as I can't reasonably expand my HO layout and so I thought, well why not. I bought a Model Power Pacific and a True Line Trains RS18 , both in CN livery. I had the Pacific delivered to my friend in Minnesota so I don't actually have it yet but the RS 18 I got sent from Toronto. I'm amazed at the detail on it but will need some track so I can actually run it. I may need your help Jerry as I'll likely have a few questions. I believe the Pacific has those terrible Rapido couplers but I don't know what to replace them with and must admit I can't really imgine working with something that small--a little intimidating. I do have new respect for all N scale modelers.

Well it's cold here tonight as it is going down to -15C with a high of -8 tomorrow. At least it's sunny.

Hope everyone is well and warm,

CN Charlie

 

[blownout cylinder]

Re; derailment. I'm reeeeaaaccchhing a tad here but either an intermittant power surge came along and goosed the DCC or a stray alpha emitter came along and said Hi!!!! Now am I stretching or what? As for us in sw ON we's be getting a semi-permenent cloudbank with snow every so often....

[Flashwave]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Morgan ....... Congrats on the NHS!

 

JimRCGMO

Morgan - kudos (or is that kudoes?) Especially when you weren't even tryin'... Just think how much earlier you might have got it if you'd tried! Congrats, definitely!

Thanks guys. (I know there's at least one more, I can't find it. Sorry I missed ya.) Jim: Actually, our chapter only takes Junmior Senior. They use the Freshman/Sophmore year to review ya. So I got in on the ground floor as it were.

Tom: Sorry about the credit card issue.

Best wishes and prayers to all, I'm off for bed..

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: I see that the page 64 went off the right margin again. Now page 65 is all right so I guess it was a fluke.

Lee I just read that the CG is doing Operation Big Toe. Are you going to be in on this? for everyone they are going to inspect tugs on the lakes to make sure that all have proper license and safety equipment. That should keep you busy for a bit.

No MRRing today. I did get in a few minutes in the shop cleaning up some more. I went down to the gas well to check on it and it was doing very well. Since the checks are two months behind Our next check will still be on the small side. How much I don't know but I told Mary Ann that it will be very small.

I got the root plow on the beg tractor and got to grubbing out the mesquite my brother-in-laws pasture. I got about half the pasture done and hope to finish it tomorrow.

Tom maybe you sould get Remington his own tender. Didn't you do that for Spooky with a caboose?

Well that's enough for tonight.

Good Night All

[Cederstrand]

Tall glass of cool lemon water, please & thanks.

***Jeffrey, at least you have a good work crew to right those derailed cars back onto the rails. How long will it take them? Will it interfere with other rail traffic in the area? Hope none of the wee little folk got hurt. Wonder if the RR Marshal checked that engineers breath?

***Gav, what type of loco is the closest blue/yellow in your pic?

***CN Charlie, welcome to the world of "need a magnifying glass" model trains. I still sometimes wish I had started out in HO, but as a youth I didn't anticipate declining eyesight. Will always be an N scaler at heart, it's just getting smaller and smaller all the time.

Time to hit the hay here. Night all. Rob

[sleeper33]

Rob

 Its an Atlas SD26

And very nicely detaild as well

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 50 and very foggy. the high will be in the mid 70's and it will be partly cloudy.

I spent the better part of yesterday rebuilding several old freight cars. The trickiest of these was an old gondola. I have no idea who made it. The only info on it is that it was made in Taiwan. It was quite obvious that this car originally had truck mounted couplers but somewhere along the way it had been updated with body mounted couplers. Nor were the coupler pocket covers secured with screws. These were glued on so I had to carefully pry them off. As they were glued at the pin only they came off fairly quickly. Notice I didn't say easily? The horn hooks quickly disappeared into file 13 and were replaced with Kadee 148's. Reinstalling the coupler pocket cover was the tricky part as I was using Super Glue for this. I simply put the cover in place and put just a tiny drop at the back of the cover and let it flow around the sides before wicking the excess away with a paper towel. A check 10 minutes later showed that no glue got to the couplers. While I was at it I replaced the old trucks (I had no metal wheels that would fit them) with new Bachmann trucks with RP25 metal wheels. The gondola is now part of my general freight and is at this moment rolling along in 18th spot of a 20 unit train.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      11/19/2008

Wind Chill:  50°F
Humidity:  100%
Dew Point:  50°F

So Far Today
High:  53°F
Low:  50°F
Rain:  115.24"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  3mph WSW

Important Message
   
Dense fog advisory in effect until 9 AM cst this morning.     
Now through 07:15 AM CST November 20, 2008
   
Areas of fog are forming tonight across southeast Texas and southern Louisiana limiting visibility in some locations to less than 1/4 mile. Visibility will vary through the morning hours finally improving after sunrise. Motorist and Marine interest should use caution while operating vehicles and Marine craft as visibility will drop to near zero in some locations. Remember that school children will be out from 7 AM onward unto the school bell.

Rest Of Today  High: 75    Mostly sunny early in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Areas of fog early in the morning. Highs in the mid 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight  Low: 40    Partly cloudy. Lows around 40. North winds 10 to 20 mph.

[LSWrr]

Good morning, LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT

Today: Snow showers. High near 36. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 18 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tonight: Snow showers and areas of blowing snow. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 26. Blustery, with a northwest wind around 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Jim, I think his kids have the right idea, harsh but it might make the point clear; they are going to his house this weekend with pre-arranged funeral package for him to look over and a will questioner.

BIG TOW, Nope I’m distancing myself as far as possible from all the big toes here in the office.  I’m focused on ATON.
Paul, I just heard up in Proctor they are getting ready to scrap out all the old ORE Jennies and side dump ORE wagons in favor of the new generation of Jennies coming out of the shops.  I wonder how many tons of ore will be moved by rail this year to keep the steel plants running this winter.  The slow down in the AUTO industry has really affected us down here in Ohio. 

Lee

 

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

     20F this morning  with overcast skies so it feels colder yet. We'll be lucky if the high today breaks freezing. Of course that means I need to go out to the yard and work on trailer wiring but hopefully not the stuff in the axels so i can avoid laying on the ground.

Jerry - Happy Birthday ! And many more. Keep the good pics coming - you'll be way past me before I get started on the layout again. 

Jeff - 30 day suspension for the gremlin in the controller that reversed that switcher. Haven't had that happen yet, but have heard it can happen with intermittent contact. Was the switcher running back and forth over a turn out?

Vincent - I think clean shiny rail is the best way to go. Jeffs' gleam method seems quite good where the rail is burnished then polished. We had one of our Tuesday nighters come in with his Lionel track cleaner and he had the entire layout stopped dead in two minutes. Took the rest of the evening to clean the tracks of the goo he used so we could operate again. We're thinking when we get the new O trackage finished, we'll polish the whole thing with autosol or mothers chrome polish which should work on the steel plated rail without going through the plating. For now we just go over it with acetone on a rag.

Gavin - how did you get through customs with all those locomotives? Must have been a hoot "splaining" it all to the airport security folks. I now ship my loot home from the road trips on our truck when possible. Can't bring tools or parts anymore either.

Latest from insurance is they'll cover some of the layout loss so at least I can replace the damaged material. Well,  time to get out in the shop and get on with it.      Catch y'all later,   J.R.

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Diners! Zoe, how about a glass of Ed's finest OJ, some waffles with Maine syrup,glass of milk, and a cup of coffee please? Thanks. 

Gav, is that a GG-1 in the back row on your photo of the new locos? Looks like you had quite the haul on your trip. Did any of the folks in customs eyeball your loot, or ask questions (like "What shop did you get these from?")?

And a Happy for Jerry!

   

Hope you get treated for dinner today, and maybe some MRR presents, too. Will any of your grandkids be stopping by?

JR, is that guy with the 'cleaning' car allowed in club meetings still? That probably put a damper on things for the night. Good to hear that your insurance will cover some of your layout damage.

Jeff and Terry, you guys down south had better enjoy your 70 degree weather today, cause the weatherguessers today are saying there'll be about a 30-40 degree drop tomorrow, when the cold weather we're having today gets there. We're supposed to drop to 20 F tonight. 

CN Charlie,  really, you don't have to send along your 'lovely' weather to those of us SOTB. Sounds downright cool up there your way today. I forgot - how does your Westie like cold weather?

Well, best get to my breakfast, since w**k awaits. Hope everyone sees some sunshine today, at least.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

GMTRacing

Jeff - 30 day suspension for the gremlin in the controller that reversed that switcher. Haven't had that happen yet, but have heard it can happen with intermittent contact. Was the switcher running back and forth over a turn out?

No. It was just sitting still and wasn't even selected on the controller. Also it's not just one switcher. It's a team of two switchers lashed up together and sharing the same address. They both took off!

JimRCGMO

Jeff and Terry, you guys down south had better enjoy your 70 degree weather today, cause the weatherguessers today are saying there'll be about a 30-40 degree drop tomorrow, when the cold weather we're having today gets there. We're supposed to drop to 20 F tonight. 

I hear ya. Tonights low here is supposed to be 39 with a wind chill of 30.

 

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All...Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!! Thanks Jim for the Cake...Its my 61st....Family is having a Carry in for Me Saturday at the VFW in Casey..I hope to get to see 4 of my Kids and most of the Grand Kids its gonna be a good time!! I have already got the new Indy Jones DVD....You all have a good one...Jerry

[howmus]

 Mornin' everyone!

I'll have a #2 Special, over easy on the eggs, bacon, homefries, and some sourdough toast.  Throw in a tall glass of that OJ as well.  Oh and that good dark roast Java since Jeffrey is buying.

Jeffrey that is scary to have a lashup just take off on it's own. Probably those Z scale decoders don't like being in HO and are taking over the layout......

 It's a nice balmy 28°F this morning here in the Finger Lakes with a high of 33° later this afternoon.  I best be gulping down breakfast and getting to work.  I have a few folks coming over on Saturday to talk about ideas for NMRA Division meets, and to run trains.  Two of them are guys that have earned MMR so I don't want too many gremlins hiding on the layout that day.........

See you later! 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

howmus

Jeffrey that is scary to have a lashup just take off on it's own. Probably those Z scale decoders don't like being in HO and are taking over the layout......

That's the same type decoder I have in about 75% of my locos and none of them have exhibited this type of behavior. It may be something in one of the switchers. Though why it would effect both of them I dont know.

I've been planting some new trees as well. Pictured here are a spruce and a conifer. I got 6 of each. They're from Bachmann's Scene Scape series. I'll be getting more the next time I go to Hobby Lobby again.

[gear-jammer]

 

  Happy Birthday, Jerry.  Sounds like getting things done is your present to yourself.  

Tom,  Z-6?    Wow.  Sorry about the CC.

Sue

[howmus]

jeffrey-wimberly

That's the same type decoder I have in about 75% of my locos and none of them have exhibited this type of behavior. It may be something in one of the switchers. Though why it would effect both of them I dont know.

 

I know you know that I meant that just in fun....  You might want to check and see if somehow you got a short in there.  I had a decoder fry a couple weeks back, and it went full speed forward and wouldn't react to the throttle.  Luckily I was right there and grabbed the loco before it did any damage.  Just a thought.

Here is one for you.  I sent off some CDs to a customer who called me last night from the Big Apple to tell me that I had put one track on twice and left out the track right after it.  I checked my playlist and the song in question is on there.  Checked the archive copy of the CD and the song is on there as well.  Played the CD on two different players and it plays fine.  So........... Her copies are probably alright as well and the problem is a quirk with her player I suspect.  ???????????????? 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

howmus

Here is one for you.  I sent off some CDs to a customer who called me last night from the Big Apple to tell me that I had put one track on twice and left out the track right after it.  I checked my playlist and the song in question is on there.  Checked the archive copy of the CD and the song is on there as well.  Played the CD on two different players and it plays fine.  So........... Her copies are probably alright as well and the problem is a quirk with her player I suspect.  ???????????????? 

Tell her to play the disk on another player. If it does it there too then it's the disk. If not then it's her player.

[howmus]

jeffrey-wimberly

Tell her to play the disk on another player. If it does it there too then it's the disk. If not then it's her player.

 

Exactly right!  I am waiting to hear back from her.  I am pretty much convinced that it is the player as she said it is doing it on all the disks I sent (6).

I have been busy cleaning house this morning.  UGH!  Have 3 days work to do in the next 2 days....  So here I sit at the computer. 

(edit)  Oh, Jerry, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

[LSWrr]

Jerry,

Happy Birthday

Lee

[pcarrell]

Jerry,

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Jerry........

  May your Birthday be Bright ......................

  Full of joy and Delight.............

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday .............

(such talent)