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

[Flashwave]

CSX_road_slug

Terry - is there any chance you could maybe enlist the help of a local friend who's familiar with your layout, who can serve as your 'mouthpiece'?  I would think people would be inspired to see that it is possible to continue in the Hobby even after going thru tarumatic surgery like you did.

 

Better yet, do you know a vantriloquist? I can guarentee that would drum up interest in the layout.

What about a laptop? You could station yourself in a strategic place to answer questions. Or if you ave a wireless keyboard and the vocaliser on your desktop, you could walk and talk and sound like a drunk lady on a synthesizer.

No harm meant. I hope you get better.  

[C&O Fan]

gear-jammer

Snip 

Terry,  When is the layout tour that you have to clean up for?  Sounds like a lot of stress.

Snip 

Oh,  I guess that it is my turn., I BUY.

The tour started back in October and continues every weekend till Dec 7th

my layout is in the west side of Houston so i'm schedueled for Nov 15th & 16th

Here's a link

http://sanjac.leoslair.com/SanJac_pdf/2008%20Tour_Rev4.pdf

you can see some photos of some of the layouts here

http://sanjac.leoslair.com/tour.htm

 

 

[CSX_road_slug]

 Lee - condolences about losing Nekkia!    

LSWrr

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&encType=1&cid=6A534EE0D903EC84!112 This is where I was standing.

Looks like your CG work takes you to some interesting places!   More so than my Navy enlistment ever did...

derJohn - That crane is really starting to look exactly like one of the SeaGirt cranes in Baltimore Harbor, I see them whenever I drive past on I-95.  

Terry - is there any chance you could maybe enlist the help of a local friend who's familiar with your layout, who can serve as your 'mouthpiece'?  I would think people would be inspired to see that it is possible to continue in the Hobby even after going thru tarumatic surgery like you did.

. . .

Didn't accomplish much on Saturday, waited around all morning for a repairman to do some warranty work on our fridge. Said he'd be here anytime between 8am-12noon, didn't actually arrive until 12:10pm!  I couldv'e gotten quite a bit done during those 4 wasted hours. And he didn't even fix the thing, said he had to order a part and we'll have to wait 10 days for him to come back and install it. I loathe these modern throwaway appliances!

At least, I did manage to get to MB Klein's and pickup my two new throttles for guest operators. Also stopped at the Home Despot to get some 2.5" [outer] diameter PVC pipe, which I'll use to scratchbuild a set of Medusa-like silos for a cement distribution center. I want to leave the shrinkwrap on my walthers Valley Cement kit so I can re-sell it as NIB, since I discovered there's no way to fit the whole complex in my narrow slot of vacant real estate.

 

[gear-jammer]

I am going to slide into this back booth and see who shows up.  Coffee and a cinnamon roll, please.

Lee,  Sorry about Nekkia.  It is hard to watch a family member suffer.  When you have kids, it makes the decision very hard.  My dad was a veterinarian, and he taught us the value of when to put our ailing animals to sleep when their prognosis is not good.  My sympathy to your family.

Terry,  When is the layout tour that you have to clean up for?  Sounds like a lot of stress.

Jerry,  It is a good issue of MR, I enjoyed the river pictures.

Later, Sue

Oh,  I guess that it is my turn., I BUY.

[New Haven I-5]

  Good Morning! It is once again raining in So Cal. I will have Jeffery's biscuits and gravy.

 

 

                                                    See you all later.

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All...Its sunny and 57 here this morning...I'll have pork chop,couple of eggs over easy,biscuits,and just set the coffee pot down..Thank You...

Got the new Model Railroader and Trains in mail yesterday..Thumbed thru MR didn't see to much that interested me but I;ll set down and go thru it more this afternoon...Also went down to little Grocery store and saw they had  Great Model Railroads 2009 on shelf I had them put back a copy for me...

Sallie and I have had a great week-end...Got to see all the Grand kids but 3...Sure was good to see them seems like they are all growing like weeds....and all full of Trick or Treat candy!...

Der John....Great work on the crane....

You all have a great sunday....Jerry

[Packers#1]

Mornin' from Aiken, SC. BIG game for the Packers today, going into the Tennessee Titans home field, and the Titans are 7-0. We'll see after today, hehe.

Can you believe that TECH BEAT TEXAS?!?!?!

Also, race #8 in the chase today, at Texas Motor Speedway. I'm pulling for Jimmie Johnson to win it all, but if Carl Edwards wins the chase, then I won't be heartbroken.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 55 clear and sunny. The high will be in the lower 80's and it will be partly cloudy.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      11/2/2008

Wind Chill:  55°F
Humidity:  85%
Dew Point:  51°F

So Far Today
High:  56°F
Low:  49°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Today  High: 82    Mostly sunny. Patchy fog early in the morning. Highs in the lower 80s. East winds around 5 mph.

Tonight  Low: 48    Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s. Southeast winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming light after midnight.

RTR on the outside, Blue Box on the inside.

[C&O Fan]

Morning All

Der John the wheel sets look really good.  I've always wanted to try something like that for a turn table bridge

Lee sorry to hear of the loss of your dog always hard to make that choice and loose a loved pet

 

Been debating wether or not to cancel out of the upcoming layout tour

my layout is still coverd in plastic from Hurricane Ike and I'm waiting for an insurance adjuster to look

at the roof

But the biggest problem is since my operation I can no longer speak

I guess I could type up hand outs with a list of FAQs

and then just write people notes

Hummmmmm decisions ?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Packer: I don't know what the law is where you are but here it's like this: Tailgating is illegal. If somebody is tailgating me and I slow down to make a turn and they hit my car it's their fault, no if's ands or but's. It's called 'following too close with accident'  and HIS insurance MUST pay for the damage. If he doesn't have insurance he's in jail, my insurance pays, my rates DON'T go up and he's attached by my insurance company to pay back the amount of damages by law. They'll get it one way or another. They can hit his checking/savings account(s), education funds, IRA's, paycheck, whatever it takes to get the money back. I'd bet that your area has similar laws.

[LSWrr]

Der John, Those wheel sets look really good. 

Spent yesterday morning working on the lumberyard for the layout and thinking about uprooting my downtown and installing a brick street system from Walthers.

I have to endorse Rail-zip track preservative.  The layout hasn’t been run for over 30 days, Thursday I ran a locomotive all the way around the mainline without having to clean it first.

Nekkia, my 9 year old chocolate lab passed away Saturday afternoon.  She developed a lump on one of her back legs (cancer) and that spread.  Took her to the vets and found she was bleeding internally and the cancer was not localized to her one leg.  I feel the right thing was done in putting her to sleep, if treated she would never chase the little critters in the back yard ever again and she would have to be carried from place to place not to mention live a life filled with pain.  My kids are beside themselves with grief.  Nekkia had a built in clock, at 3 pm everyday she would run to the back door and sit there because she knew what time the kids school bus arrived.  If you wanted to sleep in forget it! She knew what time each person in the house was suppose to get up and she felt it was her duty to jump in bed and wake you up at the appropriate time (she never learned that Saturdays and Sundays we didn’t need to get up at 6am).

Ok time for another cup of coffee!

Lee

 

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: Another day shot. Speaking of shot I went to the gun show in Ft Worth. I picked up an Eotech holograph sight for my M-4. A friend of mine was selling his at  a very good discount. I also picked up a ARMS 40LP for an iron back up. Now I need ot get out and zero the rifle.

Der that crain looks good.

I started to sand blast the flat car that had been painted. The paint came off in large flakes. I was hopping that I could just paint it over but no luck.

It's time for me to set the clocks back and hit the sack.

Good Night All

[der5997]

Good evening Diners!  We’ve just put our clocks back here and are looking forward to that extra hour in bed, so long as I don’t  spend too much of it hanging with you guys

 

What I thought would be a pretty solid mrr afternoon turned out to be a “Let’s harvest the artichokes behind ma’s bedroom, so I can plant that hedge of small spruce we’ve talked about”…actually we really like the artichokes (tuber type) and there were not a few there. Fergie.  Thanks for the info on Transport Canada.  I like the second of the power boats; and JR, that will take a bit of modelling to do, so it will have to wait.  I’m sure Lee won’t mind!

JP: Great to hear about your new lady. Best wishes for you both.

 

I did get to test out my proposed method of making the trucks for the crane. The sample piece is oversized because I used N instead of Z wheels for the test, but it worked even better than I thought it might.  Here’s the photo-essay on how it goes.The components, showing the two sizes of drill bit used, one for the axel and a smaller one for the needle bearing on the wheels.  The wheels set in the back frame, with the spacer block glued in place.

 

Front frame glued to spacer, needle bearings showing through.

 

Rear of back frame with axels ready to be cut flush with rail nippers.

 

Same, with the axels trimmed.

 

The finished test piece.  The gap in the centre will have an electric motor, or a pair of them.  I’ve seen a photo of such at http://www.fotosearch.com/IGS332/is707-058/  and I’ll adapt mine to suit.

 

Well, time to say Goodnight All, and God Bless. Prayers for all in need of healing, comfort and peace.

 

 

 

[JPowell]

Hey gang!

Hope everyone is doing well. Prayers to those who are in need of them.

Sorry for my absence of late. I was notified about 2 and a half weeks ago that I have been appointed to appear on a promotion board tomorrow afternoon, so I have been busy studying for it.

And, then there is Julie. This in itself is a long story, but the short version is this... I have myself a new woman. (YEA!!!!!!!) And let me tell you, is she something special! After talking to ehr on and off for the better part oft eh last 3 years, I am finally going to meet this special lady as I am going to her place and be with her and her kids for Christmas. The worst thing about this is she lives in Iowa. Now I know what everyone is going to think about this and while I appreciate everyone concern here, this is something I want to do and she happens to be the lady I want to be with. The best part, she and her kids want to be with me too.

Now, here's the sad part ot this story.... All of the extra space in my basement, now has to go toward building a bedroom there for her oldest daughter. However, I still have the "mud" room for a smaller layout, vice the 'big' one I wanted in the basement. My comment is this... "Oh well, this is a small price to pay for love with someone you want to be with for the rest of your life!"

So, drinks are on me folks!

Enjoy!

 

[Packers#1]

Packer, I know how annoying it is when a day just don't go right. That guy in the van is nuts. Good luck for tommorow.

[Packer]

I'll just have an RBF.

Today just hasn't been my day. See below:

1. I have to stay at work late because one of the managers overslept, and set her alarm for 9 pm, not 9 am. As a result I olny get to run trains at the local MR club for 40 minutes
2. I got to my model railroad club, and a switch on my UT4R falls off. As I pick it up, all of the tabs that make it work fall off. So now I have to borrow one of the clubs really old and crappy controllers. However, the old controller can run 2 trains, mine can't. Hopefully it's still under waranty.
3. As I'm driving to a friends house, I start slowing down to run off the road. The bonehead who is tailgating behind me doesn't slow down. As a result, I didn't slow down enough to make the turn right, so I ended up with a nasty scrape on my drivers side front wheel and get a chunk of my tire torn off by the curb. When I turned off the guy almost took my rear bumper off. If I see that Blue Nissan van again and I'm driving my mom's Expidition, I'm going to enact some revenge. Unfortunately, I didn't get the guys plate number because he was going too fast. Hopefully I won't have to get a new tire or wheel. The Cobra R wheels and Nitto Tires are expensive. Hopefully I can fix the curbrash and the tire doesn't need to be replaced. If it does, I'm down 200 bucks.

4. I get to a friends house to use his decoder pro on my 2 U28Bs for speed matching. After 5 hours of messing with the program, I made no progress what so ever.
5. As I'm putting the above locomotives in their boxes, the snowplow falls off of one of them.

Hopefully tommorow will be better, and I'll sell off my unwanted (lots of garbage LL stuff, and that DRGW passenger set [selling because I really ain't a fan of running passenger trains])stuff at the open house tommorow. If I do I'll buy a BLI SD9 in BN.

[Robby P.]

I guess I will just have a slice of apple pie, and a glass of milk.  Kinda have a sweet tooth.

I haven't even started to rack leaves.  I know at the old house in NC had a huge oak tree, and it took forever to rake.  I hope all of these fall soon, and I will let the lawn mower get them.

Lets see.......the wife and I went to a mall above Pittsburgh today (Pittsburgh Mills) and there was a few small hobby stores in there.  One of them was a everything hobby store (puzzles, magic, games, misc. train items).  Next was a even smaller store owned by a older couple.  I found a few things there.  I found a GP35 dummy SP, and a GP38-2  SP dummy engine.  One was $9, and the other was $10.  I am thinking about keeping the GP38-2 for myself, and sell the other one. 

They are old Athearn "Blue Box", and they had other dummy enignes (BN, another SP, and a few others).  I should have bought some more, but its to late now.  I guess I will start putting the one together.  Maybe even give it a weathered job.

 

[bjdukert]

Afternoon all

Got in a little bit ago from blowing and shredding leaves for the second time this fall and I think I will have one more time as the oaks and the neighbor’s trees haven’t dropped all of theirs yet.

John  Very nice job on the crane and yes I have painted the sky on the backdrop but I am not happy with the clouds so it will be a repaint. When I do that it will mean taking some of the ceiling panels down next to it so I don’t get blue streaks on them. Leaning over scenery would be a challenge but, as it has been said before,I try to learn from other’s mistakes but that doesn’t always work.

Paul  I agree with you about the boilers and I have never heard of one going catastrophic either. I was told about a person that couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t getting any pressure while he was building his fire until someone told him he didn’t have any water in the boiler,DUH!!! That is a true story.

Ed  I have been having some of the same problems with the forum. One page will have the pics very big and the next page you can click on them to enlarge them and the posts don’t go off the page.

That’s about it

Best to all on sick call and those recovering

Talk to you later

Duke

Looks like top honors and it would happen on the weekend.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

last mountain & eastern hogger

Jeff:   Quit working on that old run down coaling tower and get those camping spaces into that park. CN Charlie, Blue Hills and I have been waiting to long to come down for a spell.

I'll say it again. No vehicles allowed in the park. Park your RV at the station next door.

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

 

A belated Happy Birthday to Ryan, Sorry I missed your day.   Boy it must be great to be 29................

But I heard that the party was still going strong, so thought I would stop by.

 

You've gotta drive the train.

 

All Aboard Everybody... Lets take a birthday run.

 

 Beautiful day here in the west today. about 50 f and little to no wind.   I will take another swipe at the leaves today, that will probable be the last until spring. But it sure has been better here than around the Great lakes and east.  Always something to be thankful for.

Hope everyone is in good health and enjoying the week-end.

Jeff:   Quit working on that old run down coaling tower and get those camping spaces into that park. CN Charlie, Blue Hills and I have been waiting to long to come down for a spell.

Rob.  Our sympathies to you and your family over the loss of a dear family friend.  Check your E-mail, I sent you one.

That intermodal crane is a real eye catcher.  I have never seen a better one.  VERY IMPRESSED   JOHN.

Well  I'm really glad that Ed has resurfaced and getting that OJ flowing again.  Nothing like it in the morning.

Fergie, are you home for the season or when do you get wet again?

Gotta get to work,   So this party looks like it is going to continue for awhile, I will check back in later.   Some of us has to work.

Smiles and Chuckles...........To all you "Party Animals"

Johnboy out....................

[New Haven I-5]

 Happy Be-lated birthday Ryan.  It has just started raining as I type!

[gear-jammer]

 

 Happy Birthday, Ryan.  

Sorry that I missed your Halloween birthday.  Yesterday I was helping with route setting for the bouldering competition today.

I hit the not so LHS to purchase some modular parts to add to  my backgkround buildings.

der,  Nice crane photos.  Thanks for sharing.

Sue

[New Haven I-5]

 Good moring from sunny southern Califonia, let me rephrase that, rainy California. The wind was howling at 5:00am. Well, I can work on my Nickel Plate 587 project. All I need is a NKP 22RA tender ( the one the berks used) and some lettering. I have already rimmed the wheels and the steps a nice eggshell white and put a nice NCE 9 pin plug. The Athearn mike doesn't look to shabby.

 

 

   Just thought I would pop in as I haven't been here in a while,

                                                  Luke ( New Haven I-5)

[Fergmiester]

der5997

G

Lee:

Der John, Well I did all my inspections by car, sorry no dingy, LOL

…OK, but no car, it’s got to be by Coast Guard cutter!  Fergie, what kind of a vessel would I model for that?  Any suggestions of where to look for

 

 

Well you have options...

This is our Eco-fat burner

  Paddles and river are optional!

Honestly  all inspections, both safety and port state control come under the responsibility of Transport Canada and as far as i can tell they use... cars. If they have to get out to vessels at anchor then they will either use Pilot Boats, Coast Guard SAR cutters or Coast Guard Hurricane Zodiacs

 

 

Fergie

 

[der5997]

Good Morning folks:  Paul, that steak, baked potato and a glass of Merlot sounds wonderful for lunch too!  It’s getting on to that time here, and just reading about it has made me all hungry.

 

Ed: I get those enlarged views as the page loads, then it sorts itself out, most of the time, to the smaller view with the bar above to click on to get the separate tab enlargement. Does your browser only give you the large view?  I’m running Explorer7.

Lee:

Der John, Well I did all my inspections by car, sorry no dingy, LOL

…OK, but no car, it’s got to be by Coast Guard cutter!  Fergie, what kind of a vessel would I model for that?  Any suggestions of where to look for pics?

 

Jeff:

He took the shell off and instantly got my attention. The chassis is 100% Athearn Blue Box! I just had to have it and determined that I wasn't leaving there without it.

…Isn’t it great when you come across a hidden treasure?  Well, I finally got the museum’s new camera to talk to my computer by ignoring it’s software package entirely and just loading everything through the Kodak Easy Share pack that’s on my PC anyway.  Worked like a charm, and the download from the camera is lightning fast, way faster than my Kodak C330 does it.Here’s some close ups of the crane, taken on the Fuji FinePix S1000 set to super Macro. Goes as close as 2cm if I want to.  I’ve put the boom’s buildings on to show how they look with the new vents, and came in close on the spreader.        Now to do some tests on truck construction.  TTFN. 

 

 

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All...Its sunny and 50 here this morning...I'll have Ham and Eggs,Biscuits, and coffee please...Thank You....Not much going on here on Pearl street...I got the kit bash of the Airfix signal tower,,Its kinda nice to be working in HO again...Finnished up IC cabose repaint job and got it back on the tracks,,,You all have a good Saturday....Jerry

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 49 and very foggy this morning. The high will be in the upper 70's and it will be partly cloudy.

I do believe that the catalytic converter on my car is stopped up. I'm can't afford to get it replaced right at this time so I'll just have to drill some holes in it and have the car sound like a tank for a month. Won't be the first time. Yesterday while in Alexandria a friend showed me what I took to be an Athearn RTR loco. It's a GP38-2 done up in the SF Kodachrome scheme. I've pretty much lost interest for the RTR series. He took the shell off and instantly got my attention. The chassis is 100% Athearn Blue Box! I just had to have it and determined that I wasn't leaving there without it. $25 later I left with it in my possession. It's even got the infamous BB jet400 sparky motor.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      11/1/2008

Wind Chill:  49°F
Humidity:  99%
Dew Point:  49°F

So Far Today
High:  51°F
Low:  46°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Important Message
    
Dense fog advisory in effect until 9 AM cdt this morning.    

Today  High: 78    Partly cloudy. Areas of dense fog with visibility one quarter mile or less at times. Highs in the upper 70s. Light winds late becoming southeast around 5 mph.

Tonight  Low: 48    Partly cloudy until late night then becoming mostly clear. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the upper 40s. East winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming light after midnight.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I'll have biscuits and gravy this morning.

[LSWrr]

Good morning,

ED, that’s a lot of oranges you have there.

Der John, Well I did all my inspections by car, sorry no dingy, LOL

I’m working on decals for 7 Ventilated refrigerator cars today and I’ve been invited to an operating session with the NMRA Div 5 group.

OK time for a shower and some coffee.

Lee