Good morning. I hope everybody has a good Friday the 13th. It's 41 here and decidedly wet. The high should be in the mid 50's with still more rain coming down. Yesterday I installed some old Athearn metal sprung trucks on a Bachmann tank car that will be coupled on behind a 250 ton crane that will be sitting on a spur. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. I had to drill out the hole in each truck so they would fit on the car. On to the next project, whatever it may be. The visit to the foot doc went well. He likes what he saw and told me to keep doing what I've been doing. Being today is Friday the 13th I'll just be taking it easy. We have good sleeping weather today. I may just take good advantage of it. The layout extension needs to be cleaned up as well as I've been working on a number of projects lately and have most of them wrapped up. Today's Weather for: Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/13/2009 Wind Chill: 39°F Humidity: 96% Dew Point: 40°F So Far Today High: 41°F Low: 41°F Rain: 0.15" Rain Rate: 0.08"/h Gust: 21mph ENE Through 7 AM...an area of light to moderate rainfall will continue to move northeast at 30 mph across southeast Texas...western and central Louisiana north of us-190. Expect rainfall between a tenth to a quarter inch per hour. Today High: 55 Rain and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 50s. North winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent. Tonight Low: 42 Rain and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 40s. North winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Good Morning from Tipton IN !
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Just saw something on BBCAmerica that almost floored me. A Redland railway station sign valued at 50 pounds sold at auction for 700 pounds! How wild is that.
Heartland Division CB&Q One word of caution is the ridership numbers that will be assumed to justify the project. It is hard to estimate because there is no real recent experience on those specfic routes.
One word of caution is the ridership numbers that will be assumed to justify the project. It is hard to estimate because there is no real recent experience on those specfic routes.
The Amtrak spokesman said their study was predicting 120,000 riders/year on the route. That seems a bit optimistic to me. Although, with 4 trains/day (2 each way), ya gotta kinda wonder. I suppose there would be some QC to IC commuter traffic, I've heard of people living in IC but working in the Quads. But overall...it just seems kinda high to this ignorant fool.
The Chamber of Commerce thinks having 5800 Illinois students in Iowa City, plus the UofI hospitals and Clinics, plus a VA hospital are "perfect reasons" for bringing Amtrak to town. I'm just a wee bit skeptical on the whole thing. Amtrak's guy pointed out six straight years of increased ridership nationwide, making Congress more willing to throw money their way.
We'll see... should be something there in the next three years or so.
I keep thinking if there was truly money in passenger service, then the railroads themselves would be still doing it. But, since UP and BNSF keep trying to get rid of Amtrak (as the Amtrak guy put it, and the IDOT guy backed it up), there must be more money in moving coal, stackers, and manifest freight.
I don't see a national airline yet... then again, maybe that's next?
I don't want to spark a "flame war" here in the diner, so I'm watching what I say and how I say it on this. Then again, the flame throwers don't seem to hang out much around here. Maybe we're all just a little too civil for them.
Chris
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!
Say, did I hear RBF? Thanks Chris.
Rob, Not sure about the volcano, but could be different. I do like the prison with alligators. Say, I just had a thought.......huh? Real funny Barry, and you be quiet too Philip. Anyway, what about two levels? Your wifes is low right? ( or am I mixed up?) Maybe you could build over it. No, then you couldn't get to the middle even with pop ups. Maybe if it wasn't very wide? Like a ring? nah, I don't know. Just trying to cme up with ideas on how you could get more layout space.
OOPS! gettin' late. Prayers for those in need.
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Good evening....
Thanks, Chris, for the informative post regarding plans for Amtrak service in Iowa. It is amusing how non-railroaders dream about the Star Trek stuff. I recall, the planning of San Francisco's BART system. Engineers studied all sorts of things, but the engineers determined that a flange wheel on steel rail made the most sense from an engineering standpoint.
I tend to think from a financial standpoint because I am sort of a numbers person. Everything must be economically justified. I question the wisdom of conducting expensive engineering studies to try to re-invent the wheel so to speak.
Conventioanl rail should be the only option. The real concern is making sure that passenger trains have dedicated tracks in order to avoid delays due to freight trains on the same tracks.
The Pioner Zephyr was the first diesel streamliner, and it ran at 112.5 mph in 1934 when they had nothing but bolted rail (not welded). That is plenty fast enough for the distances you are talking about.
I am somewhat familiar with Nashville's recent experiance. They began operating the Music City Star between Nashville and Lebanon for commuter rail service. They are not even close to projected traffic volumes on the train. It is noteworthy that whike the governmnet was paying to upgrade the rail line for this service, the government was also spending many times that money to upgrade parallel I-40 with 8 lanes and 70 mph speed limits. That says a lot.
It would be great to see the USA going back to railways as the primary mode of transportation. Highway transport has wasted way to much fuel, and we are paying stiff consequences.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
CederstrandHey, do your busses there run on BioDiesel?
Hiya Rob: You know, I'm not sure... I'll betcha some of the school districts and municipalities probably do, we've got a bunch of biodiesel plants in the state (not as many as the ethanol plants though). I know the Iowa Soybean Growers' Association is really pushing the stuff, but at the same time I've heard conflicting tales about it. Some say it's just fine, others say it clogs up stuff.
The school board (Clear Creek Amana) mentioned it briefly, but also noted they could use the ruby tinted diesel (off road use) and get it tax exempt "as a governmental entity." I wonder what the farmers thought when they read that, since the off-road diesel is for their equipment (and construction use too).
Yay! The Amtrak story is DONE and FILED!!!!!
I'm so happy, I think I'll buy a round of those RBF's for anybody still in here tonight.
***Chris, that did sound like an interesting meeting. Hey, do your busses there run on BioDiesel? Around here they do and although I would say they smell more like very ransid cooking oil, still beats the black choking fumes I grew up with.
***Jim, too much of a "purist" for my nutty ideas, heh! Perhaps my favorite part of that mega-huge Northlandz layout is Grandma's Pit, if you're familiar with that? I'm still trying to figure out how to work in a Tornado backdrop painting with downed trees in the foreground. I wish there was someplace I could expand the layout to, but there is not. Windows at one end, a door at the other and the wife is taking the entire middle ground. At least keeping it smaller, there is a chance I might see it finished enough to start running trains in my lifetime.
Rob
JimRCGMOChris, sounds like your local meetings are way more fun and entertaining than ours around here
JIM: This was probably the most interesting meeting I've gone to...then again, having an interest in railroads...and railroads being the subject... yeah, that helps! The school board meetings I attend usually suck...to put it mildly. The last one was kinda funny though, as board members worked hard to calm the fears of the board vice-president. They're looking at buying their bus fuel (diesel) in bulk and putting up a storage tank. Madam VP was worried about having this "huge bomb" by the school "ready to blow it to smithereens." It took some convincing, but Madam VP was finally convinced of the relatively harmless nature of diesel fuel, and the attendant safety precautions.
She must be skitzo... (sp.). One minute, she makes a fairly intelligent, even brilliant point. The next, she's as scatter-brained as a room full of kittens high on cat nip!!!!
This Amtrak story is taking forever, so many quotes, I'm having to listen to the tape. A transcriptionist I am NOT...so it is going very, very, very slowly. I hope the final story of the week, about the kids learning how to handle money...goes quicker.
Anybody seen that IV drip coffee Phillip had in here a few days ago??? I think I'm a-gonna need it tonight.
Evening, Chloe, a cup of hot cocoa, please 'n' thanks.
Bill T. - nice bridge shots today.
Lee, at $110,000 a year, I could adapt my MRR budget accordingly...
Todd and DerJohn, I'd say a lot of us have been in 'that' (Not-quite-as-expected-)land (I don't mean Toddsylvania, either!).
DerJohn, I thouroughly appreciated your 'financial explanation' in your email - too true!
Todd, you got that right! No working with Kadee couplers and putting springs in 'em, either!
Paul, hope you and Mary Ann had good results from your doctor visit(s) today.
Jeff. good to hear your foot doctor visit went well today.
Chris, sounds like your local meetings are way more fun and entertaining than ours around here...
Rob, nice layout ideas - not sure about that volcano and the prison with the alligators business, though... Good to see your progress, and now you see why we were suggesting to commandeer as much of the train room as you could. Can you run a track through the wall into the screen porch area, maybe?(heh, heh, heh...)
About time for me to head home and hibernate until morning, I think. Prayers for those in need of healing (physical and otherwise), comfort, and an OOPS-free Friday.
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau (feeling better now...)
Large glass of cool lemon water, please & thanks.
***Robby, are those Dollar Trees cars smaller or larger than 1/87 and by how much? If made of metal(?), a hammer could indeed take them far in re-creating a major highway wreck.
Now that I am going to have a shelf layout, it has become apparent that there isn't exactly an overabundance of room, even at a 2' depth. 1 factory plus 1 farm and the entire wall is about full.
Contemplating creating a volcano at one end of the layout (where the turn-arounds will be). Would be quite interesting to model one. Plus, I could stick the Prison ontop Dome inside it and add a couple little smoke generators as well. Granted, I would not be able to surround the Prison with alligators as originally planned, but this would be one thing I could do with the far end of the layout. Anyone think this idea is nuts?
Speaking of football, I just looked up the STEELERS schd. for 2009. EASSSSSSSYYYYYYYY. I thought if you won the super bowl, you got a hard schedule. I guess not.
Ok time for bed.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Hey, you guys heard about the new football league that's starting up?
http://www.ufl-football.com/
apparently, it'll be like the NFL minor leagues or soemthing.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
I guess I will have midnight watch for the OOPS.
Todd, the Dollar Trees cars aren't 1/87. I was going to get a pack and make them 1/87. Nothing a hammer can't do. Thought I would give you a heads up.
Heartland Division CB&QChris ... I'll be interested in knowing the lasted about Amtrak in Iowa. .. I recall the days before Amtrak. There were man ygrat trains back then.
Good evening,
A double bacon cheeseburger here for a quick bite.
Gary, they're pretty serious. It's been discussed for a few years now, and at least two studies done by Amtrak. They (always "they") think the time is right, and the time is now. What they want to do, is run Chicago to the Quad Cities (Moline) first, then expand West to Iowa City. Hopefully, they would then work on reaching Des Moines, and eventually Omaha.
A big shot in the arm for it came yesterday in Obama's massive spending bill. In it, among the billions of earmarks (seems I recall him saying something about no more earmarks once upon a campaign trail...) is $475,000 to Illinois DOT for track improvements to get Amtrak to the Quads. It sounds like it's for a proposed IAIS/BNSF connection at Wyanet, IL. I'm guessing that's shorter than IAIS all the way (CSX trackage rights from Utica, IL on East).
As the meeting was being held in Iowa City, the Berkely of the midwest, I expected at least one nut-burger to show. I was not disappointed! Some guy who appeared to be wearing hemp...and looking like he'd gotten intimate with a live electrical socket...spoke up in the Q and A part. He asked something mostly incomprehensible, then launched into a mini-speech on mag-lev technology. The presenters just smiled and blinked at him. I think he also thinks we'll all someday have little Star Trek shuttles powered by twin ion engines... No. Wait, THAT's the TIE fighter from Star Wars... Always wanted one of those...
So...with IAIS very enthused, and WANTING Amtrak on it's rails, IF they can get stimulus money...there may once again be passenger rail service from IC to Chi-town. The plan, would be for 2 East and 2 West daily. Amtrak is also looking at a Dubuque to Chicago run.
The ex-RI depot still stands just South of downtown Iowa City, and is in use by a private enterprise. All the speakers would say about it was "the city is in negotiations with a party about a property" for a station. Read into it what you will...they ain't sayin' nothing at this point.
While grabbing pics of the depot, I also found two of the new GEVOs IAIS has. Couldn't get a decent shot though without some heavy duty tresspassing. Being responsible and staying on public property kinda bites sometimes...
Well, the burger is here, time to chow down and get back to typing. Not sure if I've got the weekly meeting ("face time" as she calls it) with THAT editor or not. Boss and Mr. Boss were both in Des Moines today for Boys State Basketball. Our team won (beating the No. 1 team in the state), so play tomorrow night for the championship. Not sure if they're gonna stay in Des Moines, or what. Either way, I'd better get my crap in a row for 'em.
Evenin' everbody. Extra large House special pizza please, thin crust and extra onions please. Oh and a Dr pepper, thank you.
Ray- I know you just kiddin'. Me too, I know you know how to spell diesel. Nice video by the way. And this guy, was he in MRR a few months ago? I seem to remember someone was accused and later confirmed, to have designed the basement for the railroad and built the house to go with. Or was this guy moving. Ah. I'll have to go back and look.
Put down some ground cover off and on today. Still a bit chilly outside for my liking, but it's better than a blizzard.
Luckily I haven't experienced a OOPSy. I've discovered that if you don't come in you don't get the......wait, that isn't......hmmm.
Robby- Dollar Tree has cars? Well I'll add that to my list of scrounging grounds.
Jerry- 2-inch foam? For a chair that price? My office chair has 2-inch seat and my boney butt (can I say that?)sinks in it. You're right they need a better cushion than that. Especially for a chair designed to be essentially lived in.
I know they know what they're doing, but there is a short stretch of track bed in Sherman that I wouldn't want to travel 100mph over in a train. The ground has eroded right up to the trackbed.
Paul- If I could I would gladly run my sump pump pipe to your ground. Cycles every 20 seconds.
Rob- I'd love to be able to help you out. But I've got a space for a yard that I haven't built yet. It's going to be a kind of drop point for the BNSF and Santa Fe for the shortline/local that I've got here. (I love this freelancing stuff). Anyway I'm trying to figure how I'm going to get this thing to work myself. At least yours seems to be more of a fore thought than my afterthought. Oh and ditto on the runarounds. That's another DOH! On my part.Like I said, I wish I had been on these forums PRIOR to laying the track.
Jim- You are probably in the train mode right now, but I'll suggest after the day you've had today, don't do anything that involves really small parts.
I see where G has put us back to page one. We were about 2/3 down page 1 when I started this. Sloooow typer I am.
Well, pizza's here. Oh it smells great. Anybody want some there's plenty. Refill on the Dr Pepper please.
Got a halfway descent aerial shot today out by the park.
Page two?
BUMP
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Good Evening people--I see that OOPPS!! showed up Again for another oops day--sheeesh can't the dang thing just leave???
Ray: That is why I'm always going for those RS2's and 3's---they have character--unlike some things---
Well, I'm typing very slowly as it appears that my typing is going faster than the thing likes here---Chloe I'll have a RBF in a bucket--I'll sit with sawyer and see what space he can wrestle together---
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
TMarsh I'm sorry Ray, I forgot. It's one of these things called a diesel, that's D-I-E-S-E-L. It's kinda like an oil burner but granted not as cool. Looks like a motorized box car. I don't think they will ever refer to it as "the romantic era of diesel" though. You may run into one soon.(Not literally I hope)
You mean like this old girl? Lehigh Valley RS3 #211 Video
I have had a love affair with her for a couple years now. Heavy smoker but a fun old thing. In fact that is me riding in the Fireman's seat in a couple clips. The Alco prime mover was replaced years ago with an EMD 567. She finally got new batteries (to the tune of close to $5000) last fall. She can now start herself and lumber up and down the 2 mile track we have at the museum. I just like to kid about diseasals...... Here she is again:
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Just to let y'all know I'm not dead, I'll pop in to say WAZ UP PEOPLE??????????
I'll take a water and slip into the back booth, trying to figure out my next move in getting space for my layout in my next room.
howmusAmtrack being by a what? F40? Must be one of them new fangled thingies, I guess.
I'm sorry Ray, I forgot. It's one of these things called a diesel, that's D-I-E-S-E-L. It's kinda like an oil burner but granted not as cool. Looks like a motorized box car. I don't think they will ever refer to it as "the romantic era of diesel" though. You may run into one soon.(Not literally I hope)
Well I got OPPS again. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I think I see it trying to sneak in again.
Worked on the layout some, started a new junk/scrap yard. Thinking about going to the Dollar Tree, and getting a pack of cars for the junk yard. Hit them, rust them, and beat them up. Hey, its only a $1.
Rob, looking good so far. Make sure you like what you have now. Don't be like some of use, and redo a layout each year or so .
Jeff, that's good what the doc said. My wife still doesn't know what doctor to go to. As Archie Bunker said. " Doctors are highway robbers. That's why they were a mask."
Well I better go, before the OPPS comes again. Might have to get a group up and hunt it down!!!!!!!!
I have the top. So....................eat away. Well at least keep it some what cheap.
Just got back from the Doctor's Office..... Nothing wrong with my ear...... She says it's the best she gas seen it in years. OK..... So why does it itch and hurt. Seems that I have a major outbreak of psoriasis going on in that ear to go along with the new spots on my face. So I'm back to the eardrops I have used to control the psoriasis in the ear canal for several years. The other ear that wasn't bothering me had to be cleaned out. Go figure!
I found out that one of the receptionists at the office is into model trains (or her husband/family is...). Mentioned the upcoming meet and she wanted to know if it was open to the public? I am going to stop back with a flyer about the meet for her.
No takers on the layout description I posted????
Looks like several of you have been having Friday the 13th. a day early.... Sure hope that this isn't an evil omen of sorts for any of us!
I'll go sit in the front window booth and watch the work going on in the yard.
Afternoon Zoe, can I hide in the back booth the rest of the day? Okay, I'll have RBF for now, then.
If you'll pardon an expression - aaaauuuuuggggghhhhh!!! W**k is a madhouse today. Went looking to make sure we had the previous records for a client and could get a doctor's appointment for them, and one co-worker tells me she doesn't have it in their office and that the other worker in that office (on the phone) doesn't know where they are. Okay, I go down to medical records - no sign of client's stuff there. I go back upstairs and inform THAT woman that the records are NOT downstairs, (the other woman is off the phone now) and the other worker has the records on her desk (the one telling me didn't even want to look there when I asked earlier)... Sheeesh!!! Are they ever lucky that violence is not my thing....
Bringing this back on-topic to save wasting any more bandwidth, today is one reason I WILL be doing MRR'ing stuff tonight and this weekend (so I don't rip a certain co-worker's head off and hand it to her. (Okay, calm down now, Jim...)
Think I'll try coming back up front after I hide in the back for a while... Sorry for the rant and raving, but this was the best place I could think of to go do it.
Jim in Cape Girardeau
The visit to the foot doctor went quite well. He's very pleased with the progress I'm making.
I just dropped by with an original comment: ..OOPS.
Chris ... I'll be interested in knowing the lasted about Amtrak in Iowa. .. I recall the days before Amtrak. There were man ygrat trains back then.
Rob ...Looks like you are busy drawing your layout. I would be sure to include run-around tracks as appropriate.
Here are a few pics of the project. I have 4 0r 5 right hand switches I would like to recycle for the little yard if possible. It is mainly how to set up the yard & transfer trains to the mainlines that I need help designing. The simpler the better, too.
Thanks for any help. Rob
Well, I just got in the front door. I've been being Oops'd all day long.
Large coffee in a "Motel Hello" mug, please & thanks.
OK, here is the plan (or lack of one) that I need help with, please.
I will post a few pics in a moment to help visualize this stuff.
Hope everyone is doing well. Rob