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

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[LSWrr]

Evening,

Ryan Happy b-day!!!!

Ken, I’m in the Coast Guard.  At my last unit I inspected, tested, and enforced Federal Law on several waterfront facilities. 

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&encType=1&cid=6A534EE0D903EC84!112 This is where I was standing.Dale stopped in yesterday and we laid some more track. 3 spurs up to the car shop (rail rebuilders) and 4 spur on the East end of the layout.  I’m almost out of flex track (started with 2.5 cases of it).  Hopefully I can post some pictures this weekend.Lee

 

[Paul W. Beverung]

Hey Ed: There are still things going on that are funny. I keep loosing the right margin when I write a post. The line just keeps going off to the right and will eventually go back to the left margin.

By the way it seems that you are buying. I have a light snack, just a steak and baked patato with a salad and a glass of Merlot to help me get to sleep.

Thanks and Good Night.

[egmurphy]

Are they still fooling with the post editor in the new forum software?  Don't the full size images get automatically compressed like they used to?  I'll apologize for the wide shots.

Plus, the words are wrapping differently than they show in the preview.

Puzzled.

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: We went to Clark Gardens for there Halloween party. They did a bang up job. The kids came home with a bunch of candy and had a great time playing the games. I talked to my friend that is more into computers then I am. He agrees that I should go back to IE7. We're trying to figure out how to save my favorites. I sure don't want to try and rebuild them since some are ones I stumbled on when doing research.

Ryan Happy Birthday. So how did that chicken like the beer?

I got the necessary numbers to finish the car lettering. Now I just have to mount the trucks and they are ready to go. I haven't done all the lettering since it has to be done one letter at a time. I did a box car that way and it took about four days. When my friend gets a new knife for his machine I'll look into doing that on it. I think that I'll also look into priceing from a sign shop.

Duke in my 38 years in the live steam hobby I've never heard of a catastrophic boiler failure. I've seen flues give out but the only thing that happened is the locomotive wouldn't steam. I'm not saying the it couldn't happen but our boilers are so over built that it would almost have to be intentional. I know that I am not going to operate a boiler that I am not comfortable with.

Well I guess I'll head for bed.

Good Night All

[der5997]

Good evening Diners.  I’ll have a decaf JR Regular please, and just nudge that bowl of sugar free chocolate covered coconut goodies this way a bit!  Sorry for the huge gaps in the last post I did.  I forgot that he new Forum software won’t take copy and paste of whole pages from WORD without dropping the spacing formatting. So I’ll copy and paste each section of this separately and see how that goes.

KenL:

derJohn, I finally got around to perusing your layout pix on Photobucket. You've come quite a long way with that thing these past couple years, can't wait to see your intermodal crane once you've finished it.

…progress is slow however, and yes, I’m interested in seeing how the crane works out. I may get to start the trucks this weekend.  I think I’m going to test out some techniques first using regular N (OK, I know there are those who say that’s an oxymoron ) freight wheel sets to see how the drilling goes for eight identically spaced holes (4 in line for one side of the truck, and ditto for the other.)  Once I’ve worked out my method, and practiced on a couple of pairs, I should be good to go on the real thing with Z wheels!  I’ve found that to be a thing I’ve done on this layout more and more, doing mock-ups and test pieces “off layout” to test techniques.  Jerry was talking about doing an HO building even though he’s in N. I’ve got an HO resin pickup truck kit to assemble and paint before I get to doing my N scale resin vehicle kits.  I think I’ll give it to that lad in New Glasgow who’s asking for anything folks may have to spare in HO.  I’ve still got his address, if anyone’s interested.

Paul:

I did find 18 golf balls in the field. There is a banker that has a house on the hill across the road that hits parctice balls into the field. We've picked up 15 gallons of balls so far. No cows or calfs hae been hirt yet. I don't know what would happed if a cow or calf would happen to swollow one of them but I don't want to find out.

…I bet not, and neither would the banker want to meet your lawyer should you ever lose stock from that. Why doesn’t he just put up a net on his side of the road?

Tom: That was quite the day you had with the towing and rail-fanning and all. The CAA offers a policy that has extended mileage for towing, for an extra premium of course!  Considering where we live, it’s an attractive option. Just one tow covers many years of addition premium.  BTW, the photos of your excellent yard reminded me why you got the name “BridgeTom” in the old Coffee Shop!

ED: Thanks for the Newfoundland RR photos. Such a shame everything’s gone. What a waste of a tourism opportunity, like the scrapping of the Kettle Valley RR in BC. Duh!  The video was just great, and the music really zinged things along!  Good to see you, as you say at the 2 minute marker.

Mark: Thanks for the Kmart item.  I sent it to our daughter, she really cracked up over it! LOL.

Colby: those are impressive night shots of your layout. Thanks...and the BL2 brought back memories of my Alberta layout…

CapeJim:

(Of course, I'd need a camera again, too...)

…has been known to help  The museum’s super new 10x optical zoom, which I’m itching to “practice” with on the layout still won’t talk to my computer. (at least, I still haven’t put it as a major priority to try)

TiptonBill: nice to see you breeze by each day.  Any chance of an update on the layout, or other RR related news?

Lee:

but if I may suggest one thing: Tires on the seawall.  I’ve worked around those docks for almost 22 years if you want I have some pictures and I can offer suggestions for details if you wish.  If you were in the states I would have to write you a ticket for violations of MARPOL! No dumpsters yet, LOL.

…thanks, but the white plastic bumpers were on hand (lever sleeves for Radio Shack DPDT mini switches), and so involved no added expense. As to the dumpsters, they disappeared because we have no security fence yet either!

JR:

If you have room you could put a little dinghy in with Lee doing an inspection.

…that’s a great idea! What colour dingy would you like Lee? Don’t hold your breath to see this any time soon, but it’s logged and in the database!....Seeing all you’ve been through put so briefly in one paragraph to Sue…my hat’s off to you Sir! (and Rob too)

Jeff:

I'm working on a pedestrian bridge that spans 4 tracks.

…Can’t wait to see that.  Are you going to have to support it anywhere between the tracks, or can you clear span it?

 

Duke: That’s going to be a really nice roundhouse.  I like the delicacy of the windows and so on.  I see you painted your sky before anything else.  Where’s the challenge in that? Don’t you like leaning over the finished scenery with a paint can and brushes like us perennial retrofitters?

Terry: Thanks, that’s a good tip on the feeder wires.

Jerry:  Nice building, that Laser cut.  Haven’t tried one of those yet, but I’ve a wooden kit for a chip wagon (wood chips not as in Fish ‘n …that is to build some time.  I’m interested to see how it turns out.  I expect there will have to be quite a bit of finishing needed to make the wood look like metal.  Where are you putting your building?

Gary:  I guess Market Watch news items are removed pretty quick.  Didn’t see a trace of the CA High Speed.  Maybe if the subject matter wasn’t so fast itself….Luc:  Love your Woolworth menu prices!...and the items too. Whatever happened to Malted Milk…or Malt anything come to thatRyan: Happy Birthday on Saturday!

 

Sawyer: Hear you on the Halloween thing.  We don’t “celebrate” it in that sense either, for similar reasons. We do, as you’ve seen, acknowledge it’s there…in fact there has been something about this time of year, the change of season from the abundance of Summer to the dearth of Winter, that’s held the human imagination for at least 6000 years; if the ancient Sumerian records are anything to go by.   Got to wonder why of all the wars, it’s the one that ended at this time of year, November 11^th. 1918 that gets the attention. Just rambling a bit

Well, enough for tonight I guess.  I got that paper written and sent this afternoon. Pastor Phil will understand how some things just seem to write themselves!

And now I’ve caught up in detail from page 17, and can bookmark page 31 for my backdoor to the Diner.  Time to say Goodnight all, and God Bless. Prayers for all in need of healing, comfort and peace.

[egmurphy]

Good evening sports fans,

 Despite my best intentions, it’s been several days since my last drop by.  Let’s see if I can catch up.  Hope I haven’t missed answering anything specific.    In my defense, I’ll offer that we have been out working at the orange grove 4 of the last 5 days, including Wednesday, Thursday and today.  Whew, this ROFHoF is hard work.  What’s ROFHoH you ask?  Retired Old Fart Hobby Farming.  Paul B knows all about that I’d venture.  That’s when you aren’t really depending on the farm to support you, but you wish it wouldn’t cost so much, and wonder why it takes so much effort.On the good news front, I finally uploaded some photos of the orange grove to my Photobucket account, so at last I can show you some of what it looks like.  Since it’s beteeen 5 and 6 acres, I don’t have any overall shots.  But I’ll include a few tonight just for a sample.Here’s looking down one of the rows showing that we have a mix of varieties and ages of trees.  Some are mature and some are just recently planted

Here’s a shot of a couple of our mandarin orange trees that are just now getting ready to pick.Here’s a shot of some “Monica” oranges which won’t be ready to pick for a couple of months yet.Here’s what the Monica’s looked like a couple of years ago.And here we are bringing home the goodies.  At least as much as we can cram into the back of the Blazer.How bout that, huh?  Glad I have some orange pictures to show since I have no progress pictures of the layout!Happy Birthday Ryan!!! 

Dick:  Any chance Fran will decide to come North each Summer?

Right now we’re planning on continuing to head back to Nfld each year, barring unforeseen circumstances, like the market tanking…….

Later,

Ed

 

 

[CSX_road_slug]

Good evening all, I'd like to make a sandwich from whatever is left of Ryan's beer-butt chicken, on seeded rye bread with plenty of mayo and lettuce.

My girls just returned from trick r' treating a few minutes ago.  Apparently the houses in the immediate neighborhood provided enough candy so they didn't need me to drive them to that farther-away subdivision after all.  Still, no mrr-related activities for me tonight [other than surfing the forum].

Garry - those slugs have always fascinated me, I don't think any other RR's have made slugs that can run on the main line like these do!  I look forward to viewing your photo.

Jerry - I like the way your city scene is coming together, especially the Piggly-Wiggley.  And I recognize Merchants Row II in the upper-left corner.

Lee - I visited your Ohio Railfanning album earlier, quite an interesting collection of photos! How did you manage to get close enough to those hot metal cars to photograph them?  Steel companies are usually extremely hypersensitive about cameras oon their property.  Anyhoo, great shots!

Ooops - my son just called and wants to be picked up from the halloween party he's at, so I need to interrupt this post. C-ya! 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Check out what I found today. RTR body, 100% BB chassis.

[Hoople]

 Evening all.

I think I'll have a steak... Steak and onion rings... Yum. Oh, and a coke. Thanks chloe.

 Happy Halloween!

Ryan: Happy Birthday!

Athearn put up production run pictures of the SP MT-4. Now I want one. Well, I've got till april... And then the BLI GS4 got shoved to June, so I should be okay.

http://www.athearn.com/Products/ProductGallery.aspx?ProdID=ATHG97001

 

Mark

[Packers#1]

Hey guys, and Happy October 31st. We don't celebrate halloween, for religous reasons (I don't think just telling ya'll why we don't, not going into details about those reasons is ok w/ the rules). I updated my homepage too, it's the Aiken-Augusta Terminal Rwy. page. History, roster, paint scheme, and frieght car numbering system. Hit the contact button, and then you can get the link to my site, from freewebs.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

CNCharlie

Say Jeff, I haven't noticed any work being done on parking spots at your park for Johnboy and I to park our RVs. It's getting cold here and I bet Johnboy is prepping for the trip south as Nov.1 is the usual departure date for snowbirds. Nice job on that coaling tower.

You'll have to park your RV's at the station near the park as there are no vehicles allowed in the park.

[CNCharlie]

Good Afternoon!

Not often I'm in at this hour but I'll take advantage and have some of that beer chicken Ryan cooked up please Chloe.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!! Too bad you have to cook your own dinner but I've been informed that I'll be on BBQ duty Sunday as we are having the Mums over. It is my BD on Monday so I guess in a way I'm cooking my own BD dinner too. Great to see you back in the diner as I've missed those menus.

More warm weather here today. It is sunny and about 50F with no wind so it was really pleasant raking leaves. Yesterday it was in the low '60s which is about 20 degrees above normal.

I'm home today as my wife had to go in for her annual endoescaphy(?) as she has aeosophgitis. It isn't a long procedure but you are sedated so she is a little sleepy. Happy to report that things are looking good and there has been improvement over a year ago.

Say Jeff, I haven't noticed any work being done on parking spots at your park for Johnboy and I to park our RVs. It's getting cold here and I bet Johnboy is prepping for the trip south as Nov.1 is the usual departure date for snowbirds. Nice job on that coaling tower.

Terry, you mentioned you are in zone 9 down there in Texas. Would you believe we are zone 4 and Johnboy is in zone 3! No wonder you were complaining about 39 degrees. That is our normal this time of year.

Excuse me but there is a plate of chicken waiting and a guy does have priorities.

CN Charlie

[bjdukert]

Paul  I’m not sure how tough Mich is with the boiler inspections but at Apex they try to get everyone in the club that has a steam loco there on the same day. It’s easier than having the inspector come out 5 or 6 times and they pay only once. I guess it is easier in N.C. but even the small boilers are getting more attention because they can cause a lot of damage too as you know.

Duke

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 A few weeks ago I sent Athearn a bum from a RTR SD40. Six volts would barely turn it. Today I found a box in the mail from Athearn with a new motor in it. I connected it to a 6 volt battery and it runs exactly as it's supposed to. Athearn has done good. Now I have a new motor for that GP50 I'm remotoring.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Hey Ryan!

 

[JimRCGMO]

 Hey, Ryan -

  H A P P Y   B I R T H D A Y !

 and how many candles should Zoe have on the cake, by the way? That chicken looks yummy, by the way...

Jerry, I like that li'l ol' neighborhood Piggly Wiggly - good job! And is that bigger building behind it their warehouse?

Colby, I had to look close on that first photo, since the light colored ballast looks a lot like what you have on your layout. I like that 'gravel road' look; it's not the everyday ballast color.

Zoe, when the chicken's ready, I'd like some of that with a RBF, please. I know, I just finished brunch, but Ryan has my mouth watering with the smell of that chicken. Thanks!

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

 

[JimRCGMO]

Morning, Zoe - I'd like a glass of Ed's OJ, cup of coffee and one of those breakfast omelettes, please. Thanks!

Paul, one thing leading me to believe it was more than our browsers was: I wasn't using Explorer, but Firefox, so that's why I was inclined to put the blame on a server problem. But I do recall you (and maybe also Bergie) saying that IE 8 didn't play well with the forum's software. Hopefully, as Sue said, they have things worked out better by now. Ah, the joys of a learning curve on new software...

Sue, your and Larry's plan on limiting the 'logging' work sounds like a good idea - in a lot of areas.

Bill. T. - nice jack-o-lantern there!

JR, have fun with your new acquisition for the layout. Sounds like a fun trip you'll be taking tomorrow. Will we see pics? (Hopefully...) 

Sounds like you've been busy taking care of that corner in your layout, Robby. (And pulling chopper pilots out of the river?) Hope to see any pics you get of the lumber/tree company. I might get several ideas for industries from checking WPF over the weekend, huh?

I'd better finish up my omelette and get back to w**k. Supposed to have my 9:00 client in about now. Hope it's a productive weekend for all - and remember to set those clocks back...

      

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau
 

[ModelTrainLover]

JimRCGMO

Hey, Colby, good pics - but I suspect that first one might be more in 1:1 scale, right?

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

Hey Jim. I tried to see if anyone would pick that one out. Glad you like them. and I got top honors. Hey Zoe I got the $$ my debt is now paid in full

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All..Its sunny and 54 here this morning...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Ryan...Hope you have a great day but you shouldn't have to cook on your birthday..

Happy Halloween...Looks like we will have at least 3 of the Grand daughters to Trick or Treat tonite...

I had a old Model railroad friend drop by last nite...He use to have a Train shop in Terre Haute and I would fill in sometimes on saturdays when He had shows..That was a "dream" job!...He still does train shows all over the country...He left me a old Airfix signal tower in HO..Don't know if anyone else remebers Airfix?....I kit bashed this kit into a false front country store years ago and I am going to try to see if I can remeber how I did it..Yep! I am going to be working in HO on this build!...

Here is the Rix kitbash Piggly Wiggly Grocery store..I have to weather it and detail it and finnish up detail on the whole block [street lites,folks ect].....

You all have a good one...Jerry

[Cederstrand]

in a Santa Fe mug, please & thanks.

***Ryan, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and may you have many many more. So, do you bake your own cake or let another Chef into your kitchen for that?

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN" Rob

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Ryan .... Happy Birthday.   We'll notify the marching band to celebrate!

Ken L .... I've seen your nickname is CSX Road Slug.  I have a photo I took of a CSX road slug mated with a GP 40 operating not far from here. If I find it in a few days, I'll scan and post for you to enjoy.

 

[C&O Fan]

Morning all

61 degrees here this morning now thats more like Houston weather !

Happy Birthday RYAN !

Hope everyone is well today !

Oh and  HAPPY HOLLOWEEN !

 

[CSX_road_slug]

SilverSpike

Here is my BD dinner....I'm cookin' for tonight!  BBQ Beer Butt Chicken

Ryan - ROTFLMAO!  (Happy Birthday BTW)

[SilverSpike]

Luc, you started the P-A-R-T-Y a day early, my BD is TODAY! Yup, and Happy Halloween too!

 

Here is my BD dinner....I'm cookin' for tonight!  BBQ Beer Butt Chicken

 

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good Morning....

The local newspaper yesterday was enough to make anyone cry. The headline was "A Community Mourns", and the front page and other pages told of a funeral for three murdered children. This was the crime I described a few days ago. The funeral was held in the high school gym so all the school kids could attend. The mother of the kids attended in a wheelchair. She was recovering from knife wounds in her neck and was not able to speak. A friend read a note she wrote. It was really somthing. So sad. Pictures showed kids, teachers, parents, and others hugging each other and crying. The little town of Cadiz, KY will be in need of prayers to recover from this one. The note from the mother says she beleives her kids are safe now in heaven and she will not allow herself to be overcome by hate for the murderer. A man confessed to the crime and of course is being prosecuted.

On the layout, I worked moore on my expansion yesterday.

Later today, Shelley and I are off to Lexington, KY (4 1/2 hours east of here) to attend a church sponsored meeting tomorrow. We continue to be active with a church sponsored recovery program to help people recover from various problems in their lives.

Happy Model Railroading everybody.

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 47 and clear. The high should be in the upper 70's today and it will be sunny becoming partly cloudy later.

Last night was maintenance night at the Sundown Fire Dept. Two overhead flourescent light fixtures were replaced, the oil in two of the trucks was changed along with the fuel filters. Several small halogen floodlights were assembled and tested before being added to the stations equipment. All the generators and what seemed like miles of electrical cords were checked and all the pumps were checked for leaks. All in all a busy evening.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      10/31/2008

Wind Chill:  46°F
Humidity:  88%
Dew Point:  43°F

So Far Today
High:  50°F
Low:  46°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Today  High: 78    Mostly sunny until late afternoon then becoming partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds around 5 mph.
    
Tonight  Low: 52    Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. Southeast winds around 5 mph.

[Robby P.]

Good morning, give me a susage biscuit and some sweet tea.  MMMMMMM

Well yesterday a helicopter crashed on the other side of the river near my house.  The pilot was using the small copter to trim trees, and he said he lost power to the engine.  He was only hurt on his back and neck.  He was very lucky. 

I am working on a small lumber/tree company on the corner of my layout.  Its not going to have a siding for cars, but more like a small family business.   Since today is payday, maybe I can go to the hobby store, and get a few items.   I will see how it turns out today for some WPF.

Ok everybody, have a goodone.

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

     A regular and a donut plese Zoe.  Another chilly but dry morning with more of the same predicted for the weekend. High should hit about 60F. Ran to one of the engine builders yesterday afternoon and made a stop athe the not so LHS to pick up my Turbo train. Got it in delivery NH colors and it looked nice on the test track making all the station announcements and the usual racket of bells and the unusual jet turbine sounds it made. I dimly remember seeing them run in the late 60's on the shoreline but never rode one as I was otherwise occupied at college and then my four year sea cruise courtesy of our uncle. It'll be a while before it rolls out at home so it may make an appearance in the lobby model case here at the shop. Might look good sitting along with the I-5 and coaches, no?

     tomorrow we'll do the Danbury Railway Museum excursion up the Housatonic to Kent along with 500 of our closest friends riding CDOT coaches behind a brace of FL-9's. Yes, these veteran 50's covered wagons are still in the commuter service pool and have been repainted in original livery. Should be fun.  Well, gotta run as duty calls. Y'all have a goodun.    J.R.

[LSWrr]

Good morning all.

JR, I’m sorry to hear about the layout damage, but your home insurance should cover the repairs. Speaking of insurance I need to upgrade my layout insurance this year.

Jerry, not yet, LOL.  I’ve been forcing myself to work on things in stages and the locomotive power is last on my list.  Hopefully when I make the leap to DCC I’ll rebuild the Mantua locomotives (switch from open frame motor to can motors) and re-balance the Rivarossi power.  The Rivarossi locomotives are way over powered for their weight so I need to add weight and better tires to them. (cheaper than buying MTH locomotives at $449 each)

Marklin Vs. LGB: Could be worse: Libby foods could have bought them out like they did with TYCO brown box and have a market flooded with   86ft box cars with General Mills logos painted all over them.

Ken, check out my Ohio Rail fanning album and feel free to ask questions.  I’m conveniently located near MP 171 on the Chicago Line, just NE of Collingwood Yard.

Lee