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

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Well Louisiana finally went and did it and it's something I've been waiting a long time for. Text messaging, using cell phones, computers, PDA's, etc while operating a motor vehicle is now illegal. That's fine with me. I'm sick and tired of almost being run off the road by people who are distracted while playing with their Blackberry or whatever else instead of paying attention to the road.

[JimRCGMO]

Oh, goody! Jeff's got the TOP! Zoe, I'll have a RBF, the Swordfish Steak,and a bowl of the chowder, please. Thanks, Jeff!

PC, are you having a competition with Barry for cold temps? I think he has the lead on you so far, though.

Don (DigitalGriffin), how're you doing with those locos? Oh, that good, eh? Well, keep at 'em...

Barry - oh, lake effect snow - I've heard Ray and our Ohio folks talk about that.

Rob, on the turnouts thing, I have some Peco's (adding them in now for much of the same reasons that DerJohn mentioned), mostly Atlas and a few others (Shinohara?) that I got as a a present. I'll eventually be switching over to the Pecos from here on out (might replace the non-Peco's as funds are available). I should be checking at train shows like DerJohn did, though. 

And Der, sounds like you've been getting a lot done on your layout cleaning and adjusting. Way to go! Something I need to be doing (as I'm getting the wiring put in place). I'm just chuckling at that 'embarassing moment' photo you posted.

Eric - you have a good point there on the catfish, especially considering what great bottom-feeders many of them are...

Robby, love your new loco there, even if it's too late of a model for my layout. Might need a little weathering, eh? And our LHS owner/MRR club member would love it, since he's a retired SSW conductor. Congrats on more work hours. So will that go for MRR stuff?

I'll be settling back into the window booth now to have my late lumch.Everybody stay as warm as possible.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Packers#1]

 well, it has nothing to do with model railroading, but we might be getitng a boat. it's a 93 or 94 glasstron, but point is, it's got an inboard/outboard chevy 350 engine

my uncle called my dad and told him about it last night. It's his buddy's, and his buddy wants to sell it to pay to fix his 4 wheeler. He'll sell it for $1000, lol. Apparently, it's got a cracked seal or something,b ut apparently could go in the water right now. I don't know if we're going to get it, but I hope we do!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I've been working on the Shell Auto Center. Here's an update. Lots of work to do still.

[LSWrr]

Rob, that’s a nice addition to the circus you have there.  Switches: I get them at train shows or estate sales and I found the Shinohara are top notch.  The PECO, Shinohara, and Atlas all have a different degree for the turnout, ATLAS is rather sharp and will give you a quick clearance where the Shinohara will barely deviate from the straight line.  So in short they all fit well in different areas.  I think the most expensive turn out on my layout is a 3 way Shinohara that I paid $10 for.  Shinohara also make 36” diameter curved turnouts. 

 Unca Roggie, That is a real town Weyauwega, WI that my buddy in Green Bay and I would drive through to go hunting at his “The Family Farm”.  We still argue about the correct pronunciation. I’m glad you liked the pun on Wear the fox hat.



Suydam made the coolest kits at the right price (lost mine in the divorce).



Robby, sack crete works good too, those might be rat holes I had a few here in NEO. GP-35??? Looks just like a GP-38 Dash 2 or GP-40.



 

Lee

 

[Robby P.]

Well heres my new engine/switcher.  I will probably use it mainly for switching on the lower part of the layout.  Its a Athearn *RTR* GP35 Cotton Belt.  I will have to get rid of the shine, and those bad looking yellow handrails.  Heres a shot of it.  I didn't feel like starting up the laptop.  So this pick will be alittle yellow.  I will have to update the desk top comp.

I also started to weather the Conrail hopper.  Its going to be used for the cement plant.  Theres always something to do with this hobby.

The good thing is I was called to work tomorrow.  I can finally get out of the house!!!  Well at least for 10 hours.

[ewl01]

Actually my experience with Resin is limited.  The old Walthers....Magnesun? vehicles were Resin parts.  I washed them with soapy water, rinsed, air dried, etc and the paint still bubbled off.  I don't know what is correct but I used rubbing alcohol and finally got it to look better.  Maybe I didn't use the right paint.  These days I use acrylics, I usually use primer depending on the plastic color and the paint scheme.  Years back Athearn's black was a PIB when trying to spray gray and yellow.  Precision and Paragon are gray.  Maybe I'll use the inside of the body as a test platform.   I like to do my own paint, fantasy lines and what ifs..  I try to make the hobby fun for myself.... and the two cats of course.    After all it's their house.... I just live there.

As for the catfish question... it depends on where it came from.  We have some yucky ponds in Jersey and the fish have an intersting flavor.  mmmm is that benzene?  What it eats makes a big difference in the taste.

Eric

 

[der5997]

Good afternoon Diners:  A windy one here on the Eastern Shore, and from the South West which is the worst possible case for us and our still un-repaired  south facing roof.  It’s flapping again, as I type. The shingles we need are in short supply, and anyway with the wind and ice, no sane roofer would be up there today.  Gets colder into the weekend (Yes PC, I can see from here…bring it on!) but calmer, then more snow Sunday. I was going to post this before lunch, but my monitor suddenly went weird, and I had to close down in a hurry.  Everything is AOK  now, so I hope it was random and not a sign of ill health. The thing is only about 3 years old. The total layout track de-crudding and clean up is finished, including a go over with clipper oil to see if Jerry’s suggestion works at keeping the air-borne salt from re-crudding the rails. There were a number of “when-I-get-around-to-it-but-what’s-the-point-if-the-trains-won’t-run” maintenance items ticked off the list as they turned up en route, so to speak.1)       Replacing two turnouts that had been giving trouble or were of inappropriate radius etc.2)       Polishing up all turnout closure rail contacts where necessary3)       Re-install underside cross bracing on the double track bridge4)       Re-fix said bridge to its central pier!5)       Remove miss-aligned track nail making track on bridge not bed down correctly (tricky one that, working through the bridge superstructure without wrecking it)6)       Re-bedding the odd track nail that had worked proud…how does that happen when nothings been running?7)       Repair wiring to a cab plug-in port (casualty of too many removals of the facia to get at track in lower tunnel for cleaning, turnout maintenance, etc. Inserted extra length of wire in the process, and remembered to get shrink insulation on the wire before soldering!)There’s still a turnout I’m not happy about in the mid-level hidden passing track.  I think a joiner is not in correctly (It’s an Atlas, Lee, as it happens; but it’s not a manufacture issue, just sloppy gandy-dancering! Most of my turnouts are Peco as I like the usually positive spring action on the throw).  Fortunately there isn’t ballast at that point. It’s been a pleasure running all the locos around. Now I have to retro-fit the old Rapido couplers onto my VIA coaches.  I’d upgraded to Micro-Trains (Kadees for N), but the shanks are too short. Consequently the coaches won’t run through my return loops, which are fairly large radius for N, without binding.  Stairs for the Container Crane are the next construction project, and railings too…but I’m not confident of being able to etch my own in quantity. I may end up making the railings from styrene strip, which I have on hand anyway.I also want to make the legs of my doorway module a bit more stable. I re-placed the casters with sliders a while ago, but the screw tread rods that allows for fine levelling of the track joints at each end of the module need a bit more support.  I know how do that, it’s just another “Round Toit” task. Right now I’ve got a CD of layout photos to compile for that Arts Society presentation next week. Robby:

Well we have the cats (3 of them), they are inside cats thou.  Our 2 dogs (boxer, and a cocker), only smell the holes.  What I need are a few M-80s

…What you need Sir, are ferrets. And then, if you’ve the time, as fans of Monty Python will remember you can make Ferret Crumble.[^J]

Heres a old shot I found.  I thought I would post it again.  Just think of the paper work!!!

…and one good turn deserves another…less paperwork perhaps, but some red faces for sure!  Encouraging to know there’s a prototype for all our efforts! Jeff: I’m sure you’re right about the height of the Shell Auto Center making the bay doors seem lower than they are. It was my thought when I read the discussion. It’s going to be a great addition, and as you say, “time for a change”.Dick:

I have one island that measures 36" X 38" that still needs to be covered with 5/8" plywood. I may have several smaller pieces that I can use, but I need to see what is in the scrap pile.

…You’ll have enough room under that section for the joins and cross bracings need to make a sturdy patch without fouling other benchwork? No rivers planned, that sort of thing?Rob:

It is my wife who is into circus/carnival/zoo type stuff in HO scale. Her concept is to combin that with a generic 40's town (give or take a decade), along with an ICE train (which makes no sense at all).

…Been there, done that, like a Hornby OO BR Intercity train on my BCR mountain layout when we lived in Campbell River, B.C. I also had a OO GWR tank engine “just because” it was like the ones that took us to school and back.  That layout also had a NLER station with a GWR footbridge. Those building, unca roggie, were cardstock too.  I quite like card kits, as the printing looks fine to me, especially in N, where, I’m told, anything that you can’t see from 3 feet away from the layout front isn’t worth replicating.  Mind you I don’t stick to that when it comes to some of the detail I like to put into scratch built things on a “I know it’s there” basis.unca roggie:

(and I guess I'm also the culprit for causing a day's worth of postings on this thread to stretch out to 4 and 5 pages.) 

…What bugs me about this new Forum software is that I like to write in WORD, as I’m doing now, but when I paste into the Reply field few if any of the spaces I put in between paragraphs survive the pasting. Also, my photos which I upload to Photobucket as about 840 x 650 pixels and then put here using their IMG formula often, but not always, blow the margins.  They never did that on the old format. Eric:

Paint question if I may.  Does ABS need any special prep for paint say, like Resin parts do with their mold release goo?  I'm hoping standard plastic techniques work okay.   Some of my units have ABS parts or are suppose to be all ABS.  I wrote a general post yesterday but didn't receive any replies.

…Not qualified to answer technically, but if the paint you use is easy to remove if an error is made, why not prep a small piece as for Resin, and another as for plastic, and see if there is a difference? I would imagine that brush painting those pieces would be OK, and avoid having to clean up the air-brush after the test. BTW, what’s your prep technique for Resin?TTFN     

 

[unca roggie]

Catfish tastes like CHICKEN  (what else?) 

I'm still wiping tears out of my eyes from Ryan's name change thing, back there. 

The "space age" aspect to the Suydam passenger depot, is all about the "mid century modern" look to things, that was prevelant in the 50's, and is all the rage once again, in Palm Springs. 

If you try to buy a house or condo that's been upgraded to look like TODAY's style, you have to go to the surrounding cities in the desert valley.  People are paying big bucks for the castoff crap our mothers sent to the Goodwill, in the 60's, and furnishing their places with uncomfortable (but "MO DAIRN") pieces, from the Ozzie and Harriet era. 

Here's a shot of the Palm Springs SoPac dropoff depot, from back then:

[Cederstrand]

in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please & thank you.

***Lee, what is your reason for using different makes of switches? Do you also have track runs of your layout in different brands? Just curious.

Rob

[DigitalGriffin]

blownout cylinder

OK--Now I will have the Catfish Platter---with dk roast coffee please

 

I never had catfish.  Crawlfish yes.  Catfish, no.  What does it taste like?

[howmus]

blownout cylinder

Jim; The other phrase/jargon term is lake effect snow----a snowstorm is a very general thing whereas our snowsqualls effect the leaside of any lake--depends on the direction the wind is blowing from---they're also difficult to predict where they will hit because most of the time they come as very narrow bands of snow----you're driving in sunshine 1 minute---can't see a dang thing the next---I knew some people who lived in Buffalo NY---loved the amounts they'd get 2' snowfalls etc---

 

If any of you don't know what the term "Lake Effect Snow" means, you can see it on the weather map here of Buffalo, NY.  Should be continuing all day today.  Dry air traveling over the lakes (Erie and Ontario) pick up moisture and then dump it downwind.  And yeh, driving through a band can be a major white knuckle event!!!

Weather.com, Buffalo, NY

[blownout cylinder]

OK--Now I will have the Catfish Platter---with dk roast coffee please

Jim; The other phrase/jargon term is lake effect snow----a snowstorm is a very general thing whereas our snowsqualls effect the leaside of any lake--depends on the direction the wind is blowing from---they're also difficult to predict where they will hit because most of the time they come as very narrow bands of snow----you're driving in sunshine 1 minute---can't see a dang thing the next---I knew some people who lived in Buffalo NY---loved the amounts they'd get 2' snowfalls etc---

 

[pcarrell]

Hoople

My teacher got his cast off so he could play his guitar again, (It's an old '60s one with the lipstick pickup, can't remember the name, but I know Jimmy Page used one for Stairway to Heaven.)

That would be a double neck Gibson SG.  Jimmy usually played a Gibson Les Paul, but he used a Gibson SG (like Angus Young from AC/DC plays) for Stairway To Heaven.

[DigitalGriffin]

Morning All!

Brought my locos with me.  Seems they need to spend a little time in my roundhouse.  One broken drive circuit, 1 with a bad engine/tender wire harness connector, and one very tiny one 0-6-0T with a sound DCC install. 

So if you hear me swearing quietly today, you'll know why. 

-D

 

 

[pcarrell]

Mornin' all!

Man, cold morning this morning.  Air temp was a balmy -2 when I left the house this morning.  It's warming up though........it's 3 above now!

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Zoe - a glass of Ed's OJ

 

and a cup of coffee in a AT&SF mug, please, 'n' thank you.

 

Unca Rog - not to worry about your having good weather there. It's good to know that somewhere in this world, someone's having decent weather... And I wouldn't fret much about possibly offending someone on the oil tanks comment - that's your opinion on that, and the manufacturer (or their designers) are free to disagree. And trust us, you new folks are NOT the major reason our posts get a bit long...

Robby, some M-80's and a good sturdy plug to put on top of them, so the full 'benefit' goes downward... That, or a good ol' garden hose and lots of water? - that wreck must've created a ton of its own paperwork, accounting for all the loads that were damaged/wrecked. Wonder who gets to do that paperwork - the engineer, the investigator(s), others, or all of the above?

JR, good to hear your people are making some headway on the house (that is for the house, right?).

Mark, all those pages must be from the new Diners, dontcha think? , right! Sounded like a fun day in band class, all right.

Barry - explain to us 'Southerners' please - what's the difference between a snowsquall and a plain ol' snowstorm? Or is that how your weatherguessers up there put some variety in their "More snow today" forecasts? Maybe Spring wanted you off the computer so he could IM Spooky and Remington...

Jeff, I like your Atlas tower there - looks appropriately 'aged', and I'm sure Robby would approve, also.

Aw, Ryan, you're killing my (virtual) waistline! That NE Chowder looks good, as do the Swordfish Steak and the Beef Brisket. I will be back for lunch today! Cute names joke, too.

Jason, how long will you be on the night shift before you swing back to days? I'm sure it's 'great fun' to adjust (from what I've heard from people who work swing shifts around here).

Lee, sounds like you have a busy day on the old layout in store.

Eric, I'll let someone else more knowledgeable answer your qiestion - I just spray the paint on (don't usually prep at all...)

Ray, we were supposed to get (at most) a slight dusting of snow overnight, but all the car had on it this morning was some light frost (mostly on the back window). We're actually having sunshine today (with a high in the mid-40's (F)). As for using MESS(tm), Fergie will forgive you using that - you just have to send him a royalty fee...

I'll join you there at the window booth, Ray (if I can get Duke to scoot over a bit)

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Flo I'll have a stack of French Toast with a side of bacon this morning and a mug of Dark Roast coffee in a FGLK Mug.  Oh and don't forget the NYS Maple Syrup.

Jeffrey that looks good, but I'll have that for lunch.  (Catfish for breakfast???)

Hoople your Music teacher reminds me of a guy (Still teaching) who does that type of thing but with jazz with his students.  He will pick up his trumpet (he plays professionally with "The Legendary Dukes") and jam all period.  He used to stick his head into my room and say, "Got your guitar?  Come on over!". 

Rob sounds like you have a regular zoo down there.  I have always wanted to have a small farm and raise rare breeds.  Cornell University (just down the road in Ithaca) has a program where they have farms doing that.  Still a bit of "farm boy" left in me I guess.

Robby I bet that wreck woke somebody up!  Quite a mess (no offense to Fergie intended....)!

We had a couple of inches of white stuff last night and may get a little more.  Just the lake effect thing cranking up.  Geneva is far enough away from the big lakes that we don't get a lot.  Now Oswego, NY got another foot last night and will get dumped on again today........

Oh!  I see Flo coming with a plate of French Toast and Bacon.  I'll be up in the window booth watching the trains.  Later! 

 

[ewl01]

Well, you won't have to worry about moths.....  Late start today.  Who's serving today?  I'll have French Toast w/ sausage and some home fries on the side, decaf please.

Paint question if I may.  Does ABS need any special prep for paint say, like Resin parts do with their mold release goo?  I'm hoping standard plastic techniques work okay.   Some of my units have ABS parts or are suppose to be all ABS.  I wrote a general post yesterday but didn't receive any replies.

Thanks a bunch, Eric

[Robby P.]

Another cold day, and snowy.  So I will take a hot cocoa for now. Gotta warm up.

They are calling for snow showers all day, just a coating maybe.  The news people did say something is coming later Fri- Sat.  Right now they are saying 3-6 inchs, but you know that will change.

As far as the holes in the flower bed.  I will try some moth balls, and just shove them down the holes.  I will see what that does. 

I think my engine, hopper, and roadbed might come today.  I will get a shot of it, if they come.  It says the package left Pittsburghs post office.  So I am sure I will get it today.

Heres a old shot I found.  I thought I would post it again.  Just think of the paper work!!!

[blownout cylinder]

AAAHH---So that is the reason----eh?---Well it sure looks good!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

blownout cylinder

Jeff---You got this catfish platter for breakfast?---talk about chowhound----

Hey, what can I say ... I'm a redneck.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning!!! Right now we are sitting at -6C -- Snowsquall warning in effect--could receive up to 6" of the stuff by this evening when it should end. High today will be -5C and low tonight will be -11.

Roggie; I have a couple of kits in plastic bags that I picked up at a yard sale that were the same--cardboard bits and stuff. Yours has a very "Space-age" flavour to it, that's for sure----mine's are more box buildings----

Jeff---You got this catfish platter for breakfast?---talk about chowhound----

Oh well--I'll have a western omelette with a coffee please----

[LSWrr]

I replaced the shorting #6 PECO turn out last night with an ATLAS and all is well on track 2 again. I found that the moving parts of the turnout were worn out and just decided to short even though it was double gapped to the adjoining track #3.  I cut in a #6 Shinohara turnout to service the Steel mill yard (staging yard only) in the SW corner of the layout. I also soldered about 14 track clips around the Fox Creek switch tower. I still have a bug at Fox Creek Tower; I think it's a flange clearance issue on a frog. Not too bad since Fox Creek Tower has about 8 turnouts in a 4 foot section. Ran a couple of trains, but I need to find a few mobile decoders now and start working on overhauling some of the locomotive power. I plan on working on the #1 mainline tonight; I need to install two #6 and one #8 Shinohara turnouts and look for trouble spots.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I want the catfish platter.

[SilverSpike]

Good morning!

Coffee and a Cinnamon Swirl Roll please Chloe! Oh, and some of Ed's OJ too!

Here are some fun wordplay's that I found:If Bo Derek married Don Ho, she’d be Bo Ho.If Oprah Winfrey married Depak Chopra, she’d be Oprah Chopra.If Olivia Newton-John married Wayne Newton, then divorced him to marry Elton John, She’d be Olivia Newton-John Newton John.If Sondra Locke married Eliot Ness, then divorced him to marry Herman Munster, She’d be Sondra Lock Ness Munster.

If Tuesday Weld married Hal March III, she’d be Tuesday March 3.

Now today's lunch specials.....

 

 

[jguess733]

Good morning from Naval Base Kitsap Bangor. I'll have a black coffee, and some creamed chipped beef on texas toast. It's been a nice boring night here at work. 3 1/2 hours to go until my crew is releaved. We've played I don't know how many games of spades. We've had 25 knot winds tonight, the highest gust I saw was 45. I haven't gotten up to go look at the doppler, seeing as how it's winter in Western Washington it's a good bet there's gonna be more rain. It's been pouring pretty good the last two days.

I should be working on my college work, but it's kind of hard to get motivated at 0300. I think I'll Google Southern Pacific, and see what I can find. Have a good'un.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 50 and partly cloudy. High today will be in the low 70's and it will be partly cloudy.

Just started work yesterday on a new scene with a Shell Auto Center from Model Power. I'm setting the building and details out in different patterns to see which one I really like the best but I have a very limited amount of space to work with. I'll hit on something sooner or later. There's nothing much on the schedule today. I'll probably go and clean out my mother's car sometime today but that remains to be seen.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      1/8/2009

Wind Chill:  48°F
Humidity:  68%
Dew Point:  40°F

So Far Today
High:  50°F
Low:  49°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  6mph WSW

Today  High: 72    Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight  Low: 50    Mostly clear until late night then becoming partly cloudy. Lows around 50. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[unca roggie]

Thanks to those who mentioned about my little F&A passenger depot photo...that indeed WAS an old Suydam kit that when purchased, (had to wrestle it out of the hands of a TRICERATOPS, to give you an idea of how far back it was) cost something like $3.50.....which was actually pretty rich for me, and the box includes nothing much more than some heavy cardboard pieces you must find a way to smash together and have them STAY that way, somehow. 

I had no business including it on the items I plunked onto the diorama I did last summer (featured in the thread in here called Unca Roggie Snorts Hydrocal)--as I had done nothing in the way of weathering to it, nor even scraped off the burrs on the edges. 

Or maybe I just never noticed them before now, when I see the thing blown up so big. 

Speaking of which: sorry that I hit "10 pt" for the font size when I do a posting...to read the stuff in the default print, I have to smoosh my nose onto my monitor screen.  I suppose it makes it "sound" like I'm yelling....again, sorry (and I guess I'm also the culprit for causing a day's worth of postings on this thread to stretch out to 4 and 5 pages.) 

My bad. 

G'nite to y'all.