Elliott's Trackside Diner VII: Best View Of The Rails In Town!

[New Haven I-5]

STEELERS WIN!!! 

 

           edit: Looks like I got the tab...

[galaxy]

STEELERS WON!!!!!

I told everybody they would!

[gear-jammer]

I did my WS realistic water pour.  They have a new formula from my last batch.  It is runnier and seems to set up faster.  I will report later on how I like it.

Sue

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang: mary Ann is home and everything is right with the world. Well almost, but we won't go there. Bergie wouldn't like it.

Maybe now I can get back to trains, big or little. I've been looking at the Beer Line again. I used to live near the Milw Rd Chestnut street line, as the Beer Line was known offically. I'd be able to go down to Humbolt Ave and watch the FM H-10-44s move what seemed to be imposibly large trains of reefers. Since they didn't do over 10 or 15 miles an hour 1000hp did the job. Sometimes they would have a pair of the FMs. A very interesting operation for sure.

Well I'm going to hit the sack. It will be good to have Mary Ann back next to me. After 39 years I have gotten used to her.

Good Night All

[blownout cylinder]

  HEEHEEHEE---Yes!!! STEELERS GET IT!!!

Now We begin the celebrations by ordering another bowl of buffalo wings while I get ready for out of town trip tomorrow morning.

I may not get back until wednesday--so that will put me behind on the reading by ---o--9 pages---

[Cederstrand]

After watching The Game and the Cards setting records for penalties early on, I was surprised it ended up so close at the end. Still wondering if a few of the Cards had on the wrong colored jerseys or just enjoyed collecting penalties. 

I'll have a small Budweiser to pay tribute to my favorite ads (good old Clydesdales never let me down)...and an aspirin (for the headache watching that game gave me).

***Lee: [Now I need to figure out how to make the dairy cows movable, according to her the cows CANNOT remain in the same area of the pasture!] You know she is absollutely right. And how cool is it that you converted her to MRR'ing.

My wife took her mom down to see the Train Room and now she is all excited about it. Even wants to contribute...Uh Oh!

Rob

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I thought the Steelers would win. Didn't watch the game myself as I don't have any interest for it. I used to many years ago.

 

Cederstrand

My wife took her mom down to see the Train Room and now she is all excited about it. Even wants to contribute...Uh Oh!

Rob: I think you've created a monster!

 

[JimRCGMO]

Evening, Janie - it looks like you gals have been moving out a lot of PIE!! this weekend, eh? Oh, I think I'll have a hot fudge sundae today for myself,

 

and a cup of coffee in a Rio Grande mug, please 'n' thanks!

 

Sawyer - some guys (like the one you mentioned) apparently just have the genes to be a jerk. Good that you didn't have to punch his lights out, since he doesn't sound worth getting yourself into any trouble for.Despite what is said sometimes, there are definitely times/places where size does matter! Oh, did you mean that all the hoopla about this evening is about football? I thought everyone was excited about all the outrageous commercials.

MadSinger, congrats on your speech contest - if my math is working right, that puts you in the top 13-1/2 percent (or so) of those there - Good show!

Luke, looks like you had a fun tour - hope you got several ideas for your layout. Do you plan one of those chock'full roundhouses like the two you posted there?

Vincent - thanks for explaining that. Now, I just need to be able to save up for DCC... Oh, and Amen! to your #2 (not only the limited production, but also the requiring pre-ordered production.

Todd - A little like your complaint is, when I used to work in a RS computer department, we had one customer who swore that the home office waited for his order receipts to come across their desks, and THEN they would put the item on sale...

DerJohn, good to hear you vanquished the gremlin. That can be sooooo frustrating! On Kris's friend's husband, maybe he needs to be introduced to MRR'ing?

Tom, I'm glad to see you have given up that nonsense of trying to hide your weather from us. And as for Remington, he may be a gentle goofball, but at 20 lbs., I bet if he sideswipes you as he and Wietzl go racing through the rooms, he might knock you down anyway.

Terry, loved your CN  0-5-0 video! - or should that be 0-20-0?

Flip (fec) - I did remember a video from you (which I think I sent on to...Inch?...Teffy?...) a while back, but couldn't remember the Monon car (email me to jog my memory - that may help...).

Ray - you are like the human equivalent of Tom's Remington and Wietzl, I think... And for those wanting to sound like sentient beings this afternoon evening at your SuperBowl parties, the teams playing for the NHL championship rings will be the Arizona Cardinals and some team from the Snow Belt... uh, I mean the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If I were a true sports afficianado, I'd be rooting for the Cardinals - 1) because Kurt Warner is a pretty neat guy, 2) he used to play for St. Louis, and 3) the Cardinals used to be the St. Louis Cardinals football team (but they weren't particularly good back then, which was before Warner came along).. Okay, sports minute (or is that minute sports info??) is over - back to your snacks and tailgate parties!

Rob, I'd say you're about right on the generator-as-snow-preventer theory. I do the same thing with my umbrella if it might rain, take it along to prevent that.

Eric and Unca Rog - as for the RTR vs. BB question, I'll give you one: I couldn't find anyone offering a steel-body caboose (a la Santa Fe 1940's-1950's), so I ordered two undec. BB ones, and I'm figuring that so as to not have them look too shabby next to my Gold Line ATSF wood caboose, I will shave off the cast-on railings, drill holes and install (store-bought, if I can find them, or else hand-made) grab irons and railings. I may be biting off way too much there, but we'll see...

Good to hear what's happening with you and your family in all that ice, Garry. Stay warm and will be saying for more emergency people (FEMA or any others) to help you and your neighbors.

I heard on our TV that there are 240,000 people in Kentucky out of power, so I suspect they are overwhelmed. In SE Missouri (counties south of Cape G.), I understand that one utility company has about 35,000 service people (from as far away as Minnesota) working on restoring power, just in our area. So it's a monumental job - some folks I talked with on Sat. (who came up to our area to use the laundromats) said they haven't been given any time or schedule for how long it may take to restore power.  Rob, I'd pretty much agree that rural areas tend to get the short end of the stick generally, whether we're talking state or national agencies. But I'd better stop there, before we get going like one of the other forums out there in the wild...

RT, snagging those cars was a great haul! Like you said, eve if you need to repaint or otherwise modify them, that'll still be worthwhile.

Well, looks like the Steelers won it down at the wire. And for the important part, I'd say I liked the Budweiser 'Clydesdale' spot and the other one (with the lizards...) as a couple of my favorites.

Think I'll grab a spot at the table by the stove and finish up my sundae. Prayers for healing and for comfort - for Diners and family members, and for power to be restored soon for those where it's out.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[TMarsh]

Evenin' everbody. Nothing for me just stopped in on my way home. Been a busy non train day.

I'm happy Marry Ann is home. Sleep well.

Cows that move. Hm. Sounds like you also have created a monster. But you know, both you guys are lucky. Your monsters like MRR. A lot of people aren't that lucky. Mine supports but doesn't get involved. Too much. Of course I haven't bought any cows. Yet.

Well the Steelers won. Can't say I'm surprised but the Cards put on a good show. Almost walked out during the first half. Booor-riiiing. Half-time show was so so. But I'm not a big Springsteen fan so...Hey who through that?... I wouldn't be a good judge. The second half though, now then it became a football game. Thought the Cards won it there for a minute. I was for Steelers but really didn't care who won after I found out the Texans weren't in it. The best part was listening to my wife explain football to this other guys wife who knew nothing at all. "They have to get the ball from one end to another in so many tries. If they make it so far then they get those tries again until they make a touchdown or don't make it as far as they have too. Then the other team gets to try to go the other way. Usually on their last try they kick the ball way down the field so they other team has to run farther." I do love that woman. Maybe she can coach next year.

GARRY!!- Glad you're OK and safe and warm. I hope. Hang in there. Maybe Ray can whittle out a few extra poles They look good to me.

Well Good night. Prayers for all

Todd 

[unca roggie]

Movin' dem cows....instantly had me in recollection mode, seeing myself awestruck by a birthday present from the dad who showed up a few times a year: a Lionel cattle car with moving cow pen. 

Like those old time football games where the field jiggled in such a way that the little men would move on "feet" of plastic hairlike protuberances, the cows would scurry along the maze of the loading pen, up into the stock car, and BACK OUT again, if you didn't stop pushing the button on the controller.  What a groove...high special effects back in the mid 50's, lemme tell ya.

[Cederstrand]

please & thanks.

Electric Football Game, fun stuff. "Animated" Lionel cattle pen & car setup, simply awesome. I still enjoy seeing the early stuff in action, even if these days it's on RFDTV. Lionel sure built trains to take a LOT of abuse, as my brothers can attest to.

Good Night All.

Rob 

[Hoople]

 Barry: http://fraps.com/ is where you can get it. You can get the free version which has a small watermark, and you can only film 30 seconds at a time. Or, you could pay and get no watermarks and unlimited film clip length. I have the free version, works just fine.

 

[Trainman Sam]

Good Morning Everyone!!!

For all those in need of support, counsil, and just a friendly shoulder to cry on, know that I am here to help and pray with and for you!

Chloe, I'd love the last slice of that Apple Pie in the case???  Can you believe all the pie that has sold here since Philip was nice enough to share with me??  Is this normal?

Oh, you all don't have to worry about spillin' the beans about my Ebay purchases to my fiancee...  My forgetful butt forgot to close the box that the engines came in and she noticed it right away, "What's THAT?"  But, I think I got off the hook, I had bought an HO scale "Smart" car from Walthers on wednesday for her, it was in the box so I gave it to her... She loves those cars...

I'm still trying to convert her to MRRing!!!  She's starting to come around...  I'm about to start training with NJ Transit to be a Locomotive Engineer, and now I got her considering applying to be a Conductor!!!  Wish me luck on this venture!!!

Anyways, to answer the questions that have been posted: 

I have two engines:

Box 1 says:  A.H.M. 4-6-2 (now a 4-6-0) Heavy Pacific 5087-C SF

On the bottom of the engine "Rivarossi" is molded into the plastic

   It was stripped and lettered for the "Lehigh Valley" as "No 789" by my Poppop.  I believe it's a can motor, and it's right at the back of the engine, I guess to look like the back of the boiler?  You can see the contacts.  I attempted to upload to the forum but I'm apparently not that computer literate... grr

AND

Bachmann "The Mikado"  OLD#: 410658  NEW#: 41054512  Mikado 2-8-2 W/S - B&O   But this one has been converted from 2-8-2 to 2-8-0, still lettered for the B&O...  I believe this one is a "Pancake motor" with a lot of cast metal around it.  If I were to have this one converted to DCC I will probably take it to a professional, just because I don't want to screw up one of my Poppops engines and have that on MY conscience... "Know what I mean, Vern"

The 2-8-0 looks "close" to New Hope & Ivyland RR's No. 40 2-8-0, but I can see several differences already, but I'll make do with it if I can get it converted!!!

Also:  Does anyone know of someone who does good custom paint jobs on engines, both diesel and steam?  I'd like to get my quickly growing small fleet painted to match the NH&I RR.

Here's their website if you are interested:

www.newhoperailroad.com

Thanks,

Sam

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning from Tipton IN !

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning.

It's 51 and very wet! The high should be around the mid 50's and it will be partly cloudy.

Just after 2am this morning I was awakened by a racket that sounded like a hail of machine gun bullets on my tin roof. I looked outside to see what was going on and saw that we were having a hail storm. The hail was the size of small marshmallows, about as big as the end of your pinkie finger. This kept up for about 15 minutes. By the time the storm passed there was a layer of hail just over an inch thick on the ground. A little while ago I got another surprise. It seems some of my hints and tips have been appearing in Model Railway Express magazine for some time now. I pulled the site up and dug around a bit and sure enough there they are. It's nice that somebody is making use of them. As of 3:55 am this morning my new Nikon L18 camera was in Alexandria and was last seen heading for Leesville via UPS. I should have it in my hot hands sometime today.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA  71446-6114      2/2/2009

Wind Chill:  48°F
Humidity:  90%
Dew Point:  48°F

So Far Today
High:  57°F
Low:  51°F
Rain:  0.34"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  33mph N

  Today  High: 58    Mostly cloudy early in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Cooler. Highs in the upper 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

  Tonight  Low: 32    Mostly clear early in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Colder. Lows in the lower 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

[Robby P.]

Ahh...lets see......I will take a some pancakes, and some oj.  Not to hungry this morning.

What a game last night!!!!   My wife was getting pretty mad near the end of the game.  The Steelers just wasn't playing good.  Hey they have 6, and thats the best ever right now.

They are calling for about 1-2 inchs tonight.  So another bad morning rush I guess.

Jeff, so you had a white out?  Well a ice out. Its been a long time since I was in a hail storm.

Well today.  Clothes, take a car to the post office, and I got some WS water.  I will guve that a try.  I also bought some ballast to start to really hit the cement plant hard.  Of course I have to weather the track.

Ok everybody I will finsh up, and be back later.

[LSWrr]

Good morning all,
It was 41F yesterday and a bunch of snow melted.  High today is 29F so all the melted snow is now frozen.

Sue, I’m ready to do my first pour on Fox Creek, so I look forward to your report.

Rob, I found my downtown section is the biggest hit with the non-believers   Non-model railroaders. Dorothy AKA Dee Dee is big on the dairy sections of the layout hence the reason for a creamery, ice cream truck, and dairy cows.  Her sister Peggy owns a large bee plantation and leases hives to local farmers and orchards.  Last night I found the WS bee keepers set on sale for 50% off so now I need to invite the extended family over.

Todd, whatever I did it worked.  Dorothy and I picked out material for layout skirts she wants to make with my RR logo embroidered on the panels.

My daughter was big into the passenger trains.  At the time I worked 48hrs on and 48hrs off.  I would come home and the passenger trains would be at different stations every time I came home. Now I believe I'll have cows on the mainlines and on the road, I'll need a good barbwire fence to keep things in order!

Roggie, if you get the chance to watch “I LOVE TOY TRAINS” on the RDF-TV channel or buy the DVD’s they have ALL the Lionel trains and ALL the accessories operating in their shows.  They even had the Lionel Lift Bridge prototype that never went into production.  If you ever make it to Northern Ohio, there is a place called “Train-O-Rama” and they have every Lionel train and accessory operating on their layouts.

Sam, I just happen to have a guy that does custom paint jobs on locomotives.  If interested shoot me an email on what you have and what you want and I’ll forward it to him.  He just finished several FP&E locomotives. I’ll be converting a Rivarossi Dockside switcher this week to DCC.  Should be interesting since there is almost no space inside the locomotive.

Jeff, I put that 8MB SM chip in the mail, I’m glad it’s going to someone who can use it.

Lee

 

[inch53]

 

Mornin, an irish coffee please Zoe.

A partly cloudy Groundhog's Day here with a high of bout 35, and a chance of light snow tonight.

We went through a lot of hot chocolate for the house full of kids n grandkids here Sat n Sun, sledding on the hill. Some of them stayed n watched [then spent the night] the game and my BIL n his bunch came out also. So we've had a busy crowded weekend.

As far as the game, I didn't really care who won [my BEARS weren't in it], I just hoped for a good close game, which we got. The Cards have nothing to hang their heads, but the Congrads go to the Steelers. 

Glad GARRY's ok, I was starting to get worried after I couldn't get ahold of him n Shelly. From what I read in another forum, it may be another week or two before some get power back down that way.

FLIP,,,, near as I remember, I'd sent the tapes on to Chuck n Kathy.

I see some of you have been making some MRR progress. It's been slow going here, but the main road is coming right along. Maybe some pics next week, if I get that far.

Best be getting along, thoughts for all those in need n hope ya'll has a gooden

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Chloe.  Coffee, please, before I head to work.

Report on new formula of WS Realistic Water.  I is mostly set up already this morning.  Still a little tacky though.  On my streambed,  I usually do 3 batches to cover the whole thing.  I recommend cleaning out the cup between batches because it starts to clump.  With the original formula I didn't have that problem.

Lee,  Your patience should not be tested on the pours just remember to pour 1/8 inch at at time.

Sue

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Zoe - I'll have some hot oatmeal with some brown sugar (oh, just leave me the bowl here...), glass of milk, a glass of Ed's OJ and a cup of the Tim Horton, please. Thanks!

Paul, sorry I missed your post last night (as I was having some trouble getting my post through). Good to hear that Mary Ann's coming home. I'm sure you both will be feeling better just with having each other there. It can leave a gap when one's in the hospital (or gone on a trip, etc.).

Unca Rog - I think I saw that Lionel cattle pen (either in a store, or maybe we had that when I was really young). It was fascinating for me too. But then, I amuse easily at times...

Well, if the groundhog poked his nose out of the burrow in Cape G., we're gonna have another however many weeks of winter. Sunny day, supposed to warm into the mid-40's (F) today, but cool off tonight into the upper teens or low 20's (F). The weatherguesser this morning was saying we might even have some light flurries tonight as the cold front goes through, but no particular accumulation of the fluffy white stuff.

Inch, sounds like your place was packed yesterday! One of my co-workers had a bunch of family members temporarily staying at her place over the weekend, and was saying that this week (they got power, and went back home this morning) she will be cleaning up the extra pillows, bedsheets and assorted toys all over the place. Ah, having the family over.

I didn't especially get anything done on the layout over the weekend, though I got the new Walthers sale flyer on Friday and spent a little time going through that to see what I can justify getting (probably should work on that self-restraint, eh?). I'm guessing we will have MRR club tonight - haven't heard from any of the club members since last week (pre-storm).

I'll settle in the window booth and enjoy my breakfast. Prayers for heat that works, and power coming back on - for Garry, and others where theirs has been off. also for those in need of comfort and healing.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

LSWrr

Jeff, I put that 8MB SM chip in the mail, I’m glad it’s going to someone who can use it.

Thanks. I can't get enough SM cards.

[Bergie]

Hi guys,

New month brings a new edition of this thread. I'm locking this so one of you can start a February 2009 edition.

Thanks,
Erik