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

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Sorry folks, no photo today. My internet is acting like the Polish air force today. It's down more than up.

[Cox 47]

B-----U-------M-----P !!......Good Morning all...Its sunny and 53 here this morning ....I'll have biscuits and gravey and plenty of coffee please..Thank You...You all have a good Sunday.....Jerry

[Robby P.]

Bring on the susage biscuits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, and some sweet tea.

Not much going on my way today.  Right now its sunny,  but calling for light snow tomorrow night and Tuesday.  I think its to early for that stuff, but maybe thats still the N.C. in me. 

I probably won't do much on the layout today.  Its Sunday, and that means football.  Gotta watch the Steelers take on the Giants.  Thats going to be a goodone.  Alot of hard hitting.

Well I guess I should make a list for Tuesday incase I does do something, and I can work on the layout.  I was thinking about putting a small farm in a corner of my layout.  I guess I could do that.  Never had a farm.  I guess I could look in some old mag's and get some ideas.

Well everybody have  a good one!!!

 

[LSWrr]

Good morning,

Jim, BTW there is a “recall” on the larger RIDGED shop vacs.  Before cleaning the base boards you should visit the company’s web site.  They want you to add a blow by valve to protect the engine (it’s a free part).

I went to LHS yesterday, I kinda know the people that own the place and I can tell tensions were a little high.  I guess everyone is feeling the economic pinch around here.

Hoople, loved the dune cat (I added it to my collection) I read the Dune trilogy and DUNE messiah when I was in JR High – High school.  When I was in Kuwait living in a tent city in the dessert the USO had the books and I read them again.  Sitting on a dune reading a book, and the locals are using the words from the book makes it that much more meaningful and you can appreciate the indirect story the author wrote.

I went to KMART; all they had in 1:87 scale was 4 KW modern semi-tractors and a Caterpillar bull dozer for $4/ea.  The same vehicles in the LHS were $12/ea.  How do they justify the mark up?  Oh, I did find pipette size glass eye droppers.  2 in a pack and one has a bent tip.

Not much Model Railroading this weekend, I did clean up the train room a little for the operating/working session on Thursday.

Ok, well I need to get my things together I’m going to the Median fairgrounds for the train show today to pick up some ballast.

Lee

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[Hoople]

 Evening all!

Still pretty chilly. Sue, it is sunny, but not for long. High today was 54*. Low is 38*.

How about some onion rings and a coke?

 

Yum.

Sue: I haven't been in because of homework and the like. Yes I am playing football, but our season just ended. I played 1st strength tight end on our team, and got 6 touchdowns this season. Good enough for me.

 Jim: Yeah, everytime I look at that pic I laugh. If you want more funny pictures, I've got plenty more. And even some videos, too.

Twhite: Looked through your photobucket album. Amazing work, your layout is easily my favorite. Gotta love the Rio Grande and Espee... Superb bridges and tunnels... I really liked the construction of the town album. It was neat to see how it formed.

Well I'll catch you guys later.

[twhite]

Evening all:

Jim: Got the e-mail.  Thanks so much for re-sending it. 

Sue: You asked in WPF if there were any other pictures of my yard at Deer Creek--there are several if you click onto the Photobucket link below my signature.  Thanks for saying it looked 'functional'--I kind of layed it out with a Wing and a Prayer, LOL!  But it kinda/sorta works for me. 

Well, had a VERY interesting day today.  Buddy of mine was taking his mother back to Reno, wanted to know if I wanted to come along.  Sure.  Didn't have anything else to do.  He has a 2005 Audi sedan, very smooth riding German car.  We went up I-80 which roughly parallels the old Donner Pass line of the SP, now UP.  Fall.  Everything up at the higher elevations was turning just BEAUTIFULLY, especially the Aspen and Poplar that line the South Yuba canyon.  Gorgeous drive.  Got to Reno, did a little gambling, I won $100 and quit.  BTW, didn't see a train all the way up.  If you know me very well, you know how much I grouse about UP throwing all of their freight up the Feather River Canyon and fairly well ignoring Donner Pass, which is about 80 miles faster over the Sierra.  UP says it's because they need to 'bottom out' the tunnels for double-stackers.  Hm. 

So, anyway, on the way back from Reno--lurch, lurch, ka-WHACK!  Car went berserk in the Truckee River Canyon, my buddy just kind of blinked and said, "Why do I think the transmission just went out?"  Here we were, midway between Reno and Truckee.  Well, seems that Audi has a double transmission that you can change from Automatic to Manual, so he tried that.  It was okay at 45mph, but by the time we hit Truckee, we knew that we had a very wounded German car on our hands.  Pulled into Truckee, called Triple A to see if anyone up in that area worked on Audi's.  Nope.  However, there was a Triple A towing company in town.  Found out that towing the car back here to Carmichael would cost $800.  My buddy and I just kind of looked at each other.  Then he called his Farmers Insurance, found out that if we paid the $800 up front, they would reimburse him.  Which was very cool, since he had no credit cards with him and I had to call my company to find out my balance.  Ah, fun! 

Towing company pulls up, this young Rumanian driver gets out, looks at the car and says that he has another car to pull out of Prosser Lake, it will take him about thirty minutes.  Can we wait, and he'll tow the Audi back to Carmichael.  So we take this strange drive out to Prosser Lake to get this other guy's car out of the drink.  Pass the other guy on the highway, seems he got his own car out of the drink. 

So we load the Audi up, head over Donner Pass to home, to the tune of $800 dollars, which the Rumanian towing guy cuts to $600  because while heading over Donner Pass, he gets a call from his boss telling him to pick up a car in Roseville that someone in Truckee needs hauled back home so it doesn't have to be full price. 

BUT, since we were stuck in Truckee for about two hours, what did I see?  SIX--yes, count' em, SIX UP freights roll through town both east and west.  In two hours!  I'm standing by the old station (where the public parking lot is) and mention it to another guy watching trains as intently as I am.  He grins and says, "Oh, UP throws them all through here in the afternoon.  Three or four in the morning, plus the Zephyr if UP lets it run on time, and then it's just a big parade from mid-afternoon to after dark." 

I was amazed.  "I didn't think UP was throwing much of ANYTHING over Donner Pass,"  I blinked. 

"Yah, everthing that isn't a double-stack," he shrugged.  Then he laughed.  "Hell, if UP wasn't such Pansies about running over the Hill, they could probably fit the double-stackers in here, as well."

Kind of made me feel good, LOL!  And coming down the Hill in the tow-truck, in late afternoon, I saw about four more UP's in either direction between Soda Springs and Emigrant Gap.  All I can say is that UP had better hurry up and replace that 10 mile section of removed double track between Emigrant Gap and Cisco Grove, or they're going to have one WOWSER of a traffic jam! 

And that young Rumanian fellow was just a hoot and a half.  We had a GREAT conversation while my buddy sat in the back seat and mumbled about the disasterous day.  I told him it could have happened between Truckee and Colfax, and there's NOTHING there for about 60-odd miles except forest. 

All in all, quite a day.  But I sure saw a lot of trains.  Of course, I left my camera at home, natch!

Best to all, prayers to those in need.

Tom

 

 

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: The gas well is back on line. That means that I may have some MRR funds to look forward to.

Not much MRRing today. About the only thing I did was to disasemble another pair of truks for painting. I need to woek out the springs for the rider cars. The show cars ( those are the ones no one is going to ride on) need softer springs then the rider cars. The problem is getting springs that will give when the car is empty but support a person when someone is riding. A real challange for sure.

I mowed the well sight weeds today. Right now I need to hit the showers. The dust and pollen was not too bad but was still there and I can feel it on me.

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.

Well I'm going to head for the showers.

Good Night All

[Cary]

Well Thanks for all the welcome backs. I was not sure if anyone was going to remember me or not.

 Well I dont know if you guys remember that I moved to California after my son was born so he can be raised around his family. I got a job as a conductor/engineer with the BNSF. I was working with them for almost 2 years. I was cutoff and had no work so I had no choice but to look for another job. So now I am getting ready to go to the U.S. Boarder Patrol Academy.

 I am still upset about the rail road job but things happen. I am glad in the fact that I am not there because while I was working I took the fun out of the hobby. I did alot of Remote Control Operator so it was like having a life size train set with an unlimited amount of cars in the yard.

 I worked in L.A. at hobart yard, San Bernardino yard, Barstow yard was fun, My favorite was working the road from L.A. to Barsow. Going up the Cajon Pass was great and never gets old.

My son is growing like a weed. He's now just about 2 1/2. The wife is doing good. No more surgery, and spending weeks at a time in the hospital. I remember talking with some of you guys from hospital rooms. Well those times are over. Everything is going good for me.

 I am happy to see some the fellas. I kinda missed you guys. I dont know why. lol

I'll head out for now check back in soon.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

JimRCGMO

Jeff, great work on the roof of your coaling tower! How'd you get the shape deformed? Blowtorch, a second or two in the blender? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

All is revealed in a thread I just posted 'Disused coaling station - photo intense'.

[JimRCGMO]

Evenin', Flo - I'll have a hot fudge brownie ala mode, please
              

and a cup of coffee. Thanks!

Tom, good to hear about how well folks there have been treating you due to Lowell. for them. You're lucky that the loco didn't derail (if it was a bug your Yellowstone squashed)... Sent you the 'portrait'.

Ken, great job on the Snyder cranes - that'll be useful, since I have a couple of those to assemble, and now I know what they're supposed to look like when I get them done. (Doesn't guarantee that mine will look like that, but y'know...) On my laundromat, I find that when I take the laptop, I have to watch closer, or the wash cycle's done before I notice it. Usually for the dryers, I'm sitting close enough that I can hear the sound difference when one of the dryers stops. Kind of handy.

DerJohn, you are an excellent researcher, from all the stuff you've turned up to build your crane! Maybe I can get you to track down info when I need it for my 1950's RR details...

Duke, looks like you are doing a great job on the coaling tower. Main problem I ran into when planning my layout (and future expansions) is that I don't have room for three tracks side-by-side, so I will be going for my 'big' coaling facility with the Bors Coaling Tower that Model Power makes (with a lot of weathering, detailing, etc.). That, and my smaller facility will be the Durango Press one with the coal bucket lift. Really basic stuff, that one!

Attaboy, back to you, also! Sounds like great fun, trying to figure how to violate a few of those physics laws we were taught in school (like it being impossible for more than one object to occupy the same space at the same time...). At least with all the installations and reworking around the house, you won't need to do that for a long while (hope not, anyway).

Inch, loved your story! It's actually written by someone else, though I'm not sure even Snopes.com knows who:  http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/howtaxes.asp Pretty accurate, though!

Jeff, great work on the roof of your coaling tower! How'd you get the shape deformed? Blowtorch, a second or two in the blender? Inquiring minds want to know. You reminded me that I want to vacuum my apartment's (hot water?/electric and hot water?) baseboard heating units. Turned my heat on Thursday evening, and got that 'fun' smell you were mentioning.

Lee, if it's any consolation for you and our Great Lakes neighbors, I think Monday night we're supposed to hit a low of 29 (F). First frost of the season, should be. Of course, by then you folks may be getting lake effect sn*w.

Mark, I think you need to have the holes in those socks darned pretty quick (after you extract the cat)! Funny pic. 

Kile, those should be some good eating for a bit, huh? Do you get to 'de-feather' and clean them, or do you get any help?

Today I got some more of the spade terminals for wiring the layout, but couldn't find a barrier terminal strip with wide enough spacing (well, at the R-Shack in the mall). I'll need to check the other 'Shack' in our adjacent town (Jackson), which is more like a 'hobbyist' RS. That, or swing by a local electrical supply place. I think my soldering iron is on the way out. Very old one, maybe a Weller, but I have another newer iron/pencil I may try before betting another one. Both are about 25 watt, and I was looking at a bigger wattage model at our Lowe's today. While there, I picked up a 6 gallon shop vac they have (for $40), some smaller attachments (should be good for cleaning dust off the layout - has some really small attachment openings), and some spade terminals. Where's a good place to get those 'suitcase' connectors, anybody? Need to do some more figuring on how to manage the details of wiring connections (to the feeder wires, for DC initially, and also for the power pack to the buss wires). Probably will be doing some sketching of how to attach a bracket for the power pack to the benchwork, too.

Well, need to get home for the evening and vaccuum the baseboards with my new shop vac. Got this strange urge for power tools.... (Grunt, grunt, More Power!...) Hope everyone continues to have a great and productive weekend.

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

 

[CSX_road_slug]

Evenin' all,

It's been raining buckets here today in Md. As a result of that, my 10yr-old daughter's soccer game got canceled,  so I found myself with a little bit of extra time to devote to train-related activities.  Part of it was spent putting some more details in my engine terminal. But I also found $45 in my PayPal account that I totally forgot about.  So I put it to good use: went to MB Klein's and got a Walthers' Merchants Row #1 kit and a White Tower Hamburger stand.  I needed those two items to complete my Business District scene.

But more importantly, I discovered that one of the guys at Kleins lives close to my neighborhood - now I'll have another potential operator for my layout!  So I guess this means, time to clean up the trainroom [again!] and get things as close to 'ready' as possible.  I've never hosted an op session in my entire life, so this should be interesting...

CapeJim, that sounds like a world-class laundromat - surfin' the Net while waiting for your clothes to get cleaned.  Sorry to hear your previous on-call night turned out the way it did.

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.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

C&O 2-6-6-6

Now I got doubles.  What am I doing wrong

It looks like you're still trying to use the HTML line. You need to use the very bottom line and no other. here's an example:

[ IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/proudIndian/P1010142-1.jpg[ /IMG]

I put a space into each of the IMG statements so you can see how the line should look. If I take the spaces out I get this:

 

[der5997]

Dunno, not had that happen before. Tell us what exactly (step by step) are you doing, and we'll see if any Diners can figure it out. Are you seeing two full photos for each one you posted?  I'm getting the dreaded red X for the first one then two of each of the follow two photos.

 If those are Canada Geese they must be awful tame to let you do that. When I was in High School in England there was a long walk from the campus to the river where we had the rowing club. It was across a flood plain called Port Meadow.  One day I was returning to school and heard a whoof whoof  whoof sound behind me, getting louder. A pair of swans flying at about 5 feet passed by me about 10 feet away to my right.  They looked HUGE! That was awesome!

[C&O 2-6-6-6]

Now I got doubles.  What am I doing wrong

[C&O 2-6-6-6]

Thanks for that.  Ill give it another try with the IMG link.  I also use photobucket

Here is what I did this morning.  Its not MR related but were in the trackside dinner.

" mce_src="">

" mce_src="">

[der5997]

Kile:  Where's your photo stored? The code you need to post pics on the forum is [ IMG ] then the address of the file for the photo, then [ /IMG ]  Note that there is NO SPACE between the [ and the I, the G and the ] ; the [ and the / ,and the G and the final ]  I had to put those in there to post this, otherwise the program would think what I wrote between the two sets of [ ]s was an address and would have hurt itself trying to find it!

I store my photos on Photobucket (www.photobucket.com)  It's free, and generates all the codes for you. In fact, when you click on an [IMG ] address in Photobucket, it even automatically copies it for you, so all you have to do is hit Paste (I use Control+V for that) and it's in your post!

 

Does this help?

[gear-jammer]

Hi, Mark.  I wondered what you were up to.  Everyone else should be heading  in for lunch by now.  Is the sun shining up your way.  We should reach 60 this afternoon.  Larry and I are heading to town for a motorcycle part, groceries, and a adapter for the badger 350 sprayer.  Our LHS survived the flood, but is a smaller scale.  Are you playing football?

Sue

[Hoople]

 Good morning all.

How about some pancakes?

It's still pretty cold over here in Seattle. I'm enjoying the weekend now, had loads of homework this week and many nights staying up until 11PM-12AM to finish it all on time...

In model railroading land, cleaned off the layout a bit, well half of it at least. I got some trains going, and supposedly I'll be going to the LHS today for a long-awaited raid. Hoping I'll find some good stuff when I go. 

Looks like the cakes are here.

Mark

BREAKFAST & LUNCH (and maybe dinner) ARE ON ME!

[C&O 2-6-6-6]

jeffrey-wimberly

 Sorry, no picture. Try using the IMG line, it's never failed me.

What is the IMG line?  I click on the "Tree"

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Sorry, no picture. Try using the IMG line, it's never failed me.

[C&O 2-6-6-6]

This is what I did this morning, not MR related but its the Trackside Dinner.  (im also trying to figure out this new formate to post pictures)

Kile

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All.....Its partly cloudy and 43 here this morning...I'll have some of those waffles that sue ordered with Maple syrup,sausage and coffee please..Thank you.....I got walls finished on Laser cut building yesterday..I glued match sticks in corners to give me more surface to glue to...I'll try to get a photo when done...Rob ask me if I had done anymore on circus train I have another flat car ready to paint ..Hows things coming on yours? Have you picked up anymore wagons?....Jeff coaling tower is looking Bad!! LOL..You have the old tin roof nailed nice modeling!! Casey won their last football game making them 9 and 0 and ranked #1 in state all season...They start playoff's next week...Well you all have a good one...Jerry

[jeffrey-wimberly]

gear-jammer

Jeff,  Which coaling tower are you working on?  You have done well to keep us up on your progress.  The rusted tin is a nice touch.

I only have one. The rusted tin is painted aluminum foil cut to 4 x 10 scale foot size and applied with tweezers.

[gear-jammer]

Good Morning, Gang.  I am sliding into the back booth.  We will see if anyone shows up for coffee.  I am buying waffles for everyone.

Looks  like you in the northeast are getting hammered.  We are due for another uneventful weather day.  I am waiting for daylight so I can do some outdoor chores.

Duke,  Thanks for the prodding with the coaling tower.  I agree, running  the lines will probably cross my eyes.  Small hands will be helpful  for sure.

Jeff,  Which coaling tower are you working on?  You have done well to keep us up on your progress.  The rusted tin is a nice touch.

Dick,  I need more light to read than I used  to,  so I don't get locked into books very often.  The Astilbe does make good trees.  My friend who saves the Sedum for me  has a weed which is very similar that she spray paints for Christmas weath decoration.  I put ground foam on some of her leftovers, and they made good filler trees.

Later,  Sue

[LSWrr]

Good morning,

...GALE FORCE WINDS ARE LIKELY SUNDAY AND MONDAY ON LAKE ERIE...

Today: Southwest wind between 13 and 19 kts. A chance of showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet. Tonight: Southwest wind between 17 and 20 kts, with gusts as high as 31 kts. A slight chance of showers. Waves 4 to 7 feet. Sunday: Southwest wind between 20 and 26 kts, with gusts as high as 36 kts. A chance of showers. Waves 4 to 7 feet. Sunday Night: West wind between 17 and 26 kts, with gusts as high as 37 kts. A chance of rain and snow showers. Waves 8 to 12 feet.

Thanks Jeff, I’ll give it a try later this week.

Der, I sent you an email to confirm your address, also I lost your phone number, sorry can you send it again?

OK, this weekend I need to focus on some good housekeeping in the train room since we are having a small work-operating session on Thursday.

Lee

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Robby P: The roof panels were made by molding aluminum foil to the contours of the original roof of the structure. The foil sheets were then painted in rust colors and allowed to dry. They were then cut into 4 x 10 scale sheets.

 

 Good morning.

It's 44 and clear. The high will be in the upper 70's and it will be clear and sunny.

I finished the main part of the roof of my abandoned coaling station yesterday. Now I'll start in on the plans for the top roof of the structure. Most of my work of the past week was poured into that one project. Now it's almost done.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      10/25/2008

Wind Chill:  46°F
Humidity:  85%
Dew Point:  42°F

So Far Today
High:  48°F
Low:  44°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  0mph NNE

Today  High: 78    Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

Tonight  Low: 48    Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s. Light winds.

[inch53]

 

Mornin, an irish coffee with a wheel under it please Janie.

Just thought I'd drop by and leave something to think about.

Our Tax System Explained: Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got' 'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

[Robby P.]

Good morning everybody.  Nice and rainy here today in southwestern pa. 

I guess I need to finish up my boxcar this morning.  I still have to weather up the trucks, wheels, few small details.  I will get some shots in the WPF later today.

Jeffery I love the roof on you old coal tower.  I was thinking. that something like that might look good in my small junk yard.  I will have to find your old post on how you made them. 

Have a good day everybody.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !