Elliott's Trackside Diner X - Are We There Yet?

[TMarsh]

Evenin' all. I could use a snack, how about a couple of Jeff Tacos. No wait not that big. About half size please. Dr Pepper also thank you. Today was a good day in spite of the weather. Went to visit Mom today and took her to dinner at the Lone Star (not an advertisement, just fact).  Came home and went to the basey-mento. Now that I've started it, tell me of any reasons I shouldn't use dirt as a ballast for a small siding. It looks like I want it too, so there's got to be a reason it was a bad idea.

Robby-Cool video. We only have the UP and the mighty Amtrak through here. About 6 miles south there is a line that sees short and I do mean short, sometimes 2 cars usually about 5 or 6 what I've ever seen, CN action.

Rob-Easiest way to weather track is to buy brass and let it set for about 10 or 15 years. No, seriously I'd think the easiest way would be those weathering paint pens from WS. Cheap? I don't know if they are in the lon run compared to the other methods they have said here.

Sue- Diorama looks great!

Sawyer- Shakespeare. Don't they make fishing reels?

Barry- My Golly Gosh!!!! With that many records and CD's, where in the world do you find room to sleep?!

Jeff- These new tractors are a real pain in the (insert favorite choice of body part) aren't they. An acquaintance of mine had a lawn tractor that when ever you put the dad blamed thing in reverse the mower deck shut off! Now wouldn't that be just about as annoying as not being able to scratch your butt. I myself have a IH Cub Cadet. Handed down from my Dad he bought new in spring 1977. It also has a hydro stat and zips backwards pretty quick and of course the deck stays running even after I get off. Ok so the switch in the seat to shut down the deck maaaay not be such a bad thing. Now watch, it will blow up this year after I've bragged on it.

Allow me to quote the only lines from Shakespeare I know.....ahem...."I'd like to be, or not to be, that is the question that I ask of thee. A boy who loves his Fathers knee".......um... I forget the rest. And "Neither a borrower nor a lender be, do not forget, stay out of debt. Think twice and take this good advice from me".....um ...yeah. (Thinking to myself, I wonder how accurate Gilligans Island is and will they notice)

Now I'm just kidding. I'm not one for that kind of stuff, but I do respect the writers and composers of classical works. They are beautiful. Just not my cup of noodles. I heard that old Willy had a great sense of humor Ray. Unfortunately as a high schooler, I was unable to see it. Maybe if we got to read the adult version.....?????? THAT I did not know.

Well I think I'll play with the dog for a bit. Prayers for those in need.

Wow those Tacos were hot! And I like spicy food!

[howmus]

Philip, nice work!  Those look great! 

[pcarrell]

Cederstrand

***Philip, good to hear you got some leather working done. How about a pic of that, or would it require an engraved train to qualify as "on topic".

Just to be safe, how about we do it this way.....

Front     (Warning: Pics are kinda large)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0566small.jpg

Back

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0565small.jpg

Besides reducing the spray off the tires in the rain, I think it makes it look like I lowered the bike.

Before

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/12-28-087.jpg

After

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0559small.jpg

And in about two weeks I'm having new wide white walls tires put on front & back.  Should look pretty good with those.....add a splash of color other then black!

Oh, and I almost forgot....Here's my new leather fringe lever covers with my custom beadwork.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0570.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0569.jpg

 

[howmus]

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Wasn't there a lot of MSS's that he had where he just improvised as well? Whole pages of scores were done with nothing on them because it was traditional at that time to improvise as well? Kind of interesting stufff-----

 

Oh yes! They often wrote a "Figured Bass line" which consisted of a bass line and the melody with a group of numbers over them which gave you the harmonic progression.  Keyboard parts were seldom written out as such but relied on the performer to interpret what the composer intended.

Part of what had happened the second time Bach was fired was that there were complaints from the little old ladies in church that wanted to know why he didn't just "play the hymns" instead of all that other stuff....  That other stuff, of course, became his preludes on hymn tunes that he is so well known for.  He was also in trouble because all those improvisations were in the pop styles of the day.  Yes, all composers have always written popular music (with a few modern exceptions).  Symphonies were actually very popular art forms that were originally based on popular dances from the Renaissance.  BTW, Bach ended up marrying that pretty blond (who was actually his 3rd cousin).  She bore him 13 children.  He shocked the proper society of his time by taking as his second wife (after the firsts death) Anne Marie Wilkin who was a professional singer.  In that time any woman who would work as a professional singer was not considered to be moral enough for anyone to marry.   Anna gave him 7 more children.  He fathered 20 children in all.  No wonder he was Baroque.

[blownout cylinder]

howmus

Same is true of those old fashioned composers of music who lived way back when....  They were actually a very interesting lot (you would never know it by the way many teachers teach about them).  Did you know that J. S. Bach was fired twice in his career?  The first time was for getting in a sword fight with his bassoon player during a rehearsal.  He got fired because he started the fight by saying to him, "Du bist ien zipfelfagottist!"  Well if that doesn't tick one off, I don't know what would.  (He said he was a bassoon player that sounded like a nanny goat!  And he used the familiar form of you which was an insult to an adult back then.).  The second time he was called in front of the elders of the Church and was asked for what purpose he invited a pretty blond into the choirloft after practice.........  Hmmmmmm?  OK I'll go away........

Wasn't there a lot of MSS's that he had where he just improvised as well? Whole pages of scores were done with nothing on them because it was traditional at that time to improvise as well? Kind of interesting stufff---------I'll go crawl back into the box---

[howmus]

Cloe I'll have abig slice of that Pecan Pie you have there with a big cup of decafe in a FGLK Mug. 

Packers#1

Romeo and Juliet don't look too bad. I will just be glad when the summer finally gets here; school is starting to get to me.

I guess I'll have to be the odd man out here and let you know that I love Shakespeare! Of course I hated it when I was in High School.  I took a least 5 courses throughout my college years (undergraduate and masters degree) that either were all Shakespeare or Elizabethan Writers including old William.  I will let you in on a secret......  They clean up the writings of Shakespeare for High School......  Or they don't let you in on certain, uh,  meanings of what he wrote.  For instance, basically everything the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet says is filthy!  She is an old Bawd.  I better not say more............  Shakespeare can be difficult at first, it's the language problem.  English is a living language that is constantly changing... not always for the better, but it is what it is.  Once you get past that difficulty you will find that many of those old writers had some wonderful senses of humor and great insights for life that are as true today as they were 400+ years ago.  Have fun and enjoy it!

Same is true of those old fashioned composers of music who lived way back when....  They were actually a very interesting lot (you would never know it by the way many teachers teach about them).  Did you know that J. S. Bach was fired twice in his career?  The first time was for getting in a sword fight with his bassoon player during a rehearsal.  He got fired because he started the fight by saying to him, "Du bist ien zipfelfagottist!"  Well if that doesn't tick one off, I don't know what would.  (He said he was a bassoon player that sounded like a nanny goat!  And he used the familiar form of you which was an insult to an adult back then.).  The second time he was called in front of the elders of the Church and was asked for what purpose he invited a pretty blond into the choirloft after practice.........  Hmmmmmm?  OK I'll go away........

I have been getting some very good emails today from the people who opened their layouts for the afternoon tour.  Very positive feedback.  That makes me feel good for the future of the Division and future events.

I'm gonna have a seat in the back near the stove.  It is going to be a cold night in these parts. 

[AmanaMedic]

Packers#1

Romeo and Juliet don't look too bad. I will just be glad when the summer finally gets here; school is starting to get to me.

Good evening everyone, Chloe, or Janie...whoever's workin' the counter tonight... a bacon double cheeseburger with large plate of fries (that's right...in beef fat, the way God intended!) and a large Coke. Thankya Dear...

Sawyer, I suffered through Romeo and Juliet my freshman year. We watched a Franco Zefareli (sp.!!) movie of it. Don't remember anything other than "Juliet" was...uh, well....she was...shall we say incredibly blessed around her thoracic region.

I think through high school and college, I suffered through at least two, maybe three of Mr. Shakespere's efforts. I kinda liked whatever one it was where a guy is holding the skull of someone else, and chatting with it. Boy, that oughta show just how much I learned 'eh??

We had a cold, windy, WET day here in Clarence...might stop the grass fires for a few hours (until the strong East wind dries off all the ground cover, then we'll have fires we can't get to without burying the trucks). Perfect for sorting out the stack of magazine articles I've acrued. When I buy MR or RMC, I read it through a few times, then pull out the articles I want, and pitch the rest. The kept articles go into various three-ring binders, by subject: locomotives, rolling stock, structures, track plans, ROW details, etc. Sure beats the massive stack of magazines I would otherwise have.

I know this has been in other posts, but I too am amazed at how THIN Model Railroader is now.  Alas, they "hooked me" for the Beer Line project, now they're hooking me again with this foundry project. Just glancing at the online bill of materials, I'm guessing it's a major investment. Oh well, I'm only now building stuff I've had articles for since the early 1980s. No hurry, right???

The burger is 'ere, so forth to the rear goeth I... OK, my Shakespere SUCKS....

Chris

[Packers#1]

galaxy

Packers#1

 Well, had to memorize ...William Shakespeare today. I highly suggest smashing your head into a brick wall instead, lol, like this guy:

If only Shakespeare was written in English HA HA....

The only Shakespeare I remember is this speech he gave to worthless players playing his plays:

"Speak the speech I pray thee as I spake it to you tripingly on the tongue,

and do not mouth the words as many of your players do,

for I would have as lived that the town crier spake my lines..."

And I ain't sure thats all exactly correct either. I HATED Shakespeare and would bang my head like that guy.

Better you than I Sawyer... but it will soon be over.

LOL have fun with it! Or it will get you in the end!

 

Romeo and Juliet don't look too bad. I will just be glad when the summer finally gets here; school is starting to get to me.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I was busy this morning moving pine straw to my father's burn pile. Finished that around noon. Afterwards I had lunch with the parents. One of my favorites. Tacos! Then went and mowed my sisters yard then mowed my niece's yard then helped them put in a gate between the two yards. Tomorrow I'll be mowing my parents yard. I'm gonna find out how much of that 5 acres their new 19 horse Yardman will cut on one tank of gas. It has a 42" cutting width. With the old Peerless tractor (15 years is old for a tractor) I can cut their 5 acres, my sisters 2.5 acres and my niece's 1/2 acre and still have gas left over. Big difference is it has a 60" cutting width. My father jumped on the Yardman because it was on sale for $900 new. I like the cruise control on it but I hate the reverse mechanism. It's a small pedal you have to push straight down with the ball of your foot and it just creeps backward. The old tractor goes just as fast in reverse as it does in forward. Pretty handy for getting away from a stirred up hornets nest.

[galaxy]

Packers#1

 Well, had to memorize ...William Shakespeare today. I highly suggest smashing your head into a brick wall instead, lol, like this guy:

If only Shakespeare was written in English HA HA....

The only Shakespeare I remember is this speech he gave to worthless players playing his plays:

"Speak the speech I pray thee as I spake it to you tripingly on the tongue,

and do not mouth the words as many of your players do,

for I would have as lived that the town crier spake my lines..."

And I ain't sure thats all exactly correct either. I HATED Shakespeare and would bang my head like that guy.

Better you than I Sawyer... but it will soon be over.

LOL have fun with it! Or it will get you in the end!

[ns3010]

Evening all. Janie, I'll take a bacon cheeseburger and a RBF, thanks.

Well, I've been gone a week, and there's 20 new pages. I'm not even sure if it's worth trying to catch up...

JimRCGMO

NS Joe - so, is a Red Flag Day called that because it's all running, or for all the 'non-football' stuff? It sounds like you could've used another day before going back, with all that running.

The running IS the only 'football' stuff. If we walk on the field, the coach will kill us. No wonder why they call lacrosse "The Fastest Game On Two Feet."

We won our first scrimmage yesterday, 8-0. Varsity lost 9-1.

I've been so busy with lax, that the longest I touched my layout was for 5 minutes (it was the first time in two weeks!). My new F40 came the beginning of the week, so I threw it on the track and ran it for five minutes. It is so quiet, and it makes me realize just how old my old one really is. There's another one on eBay from the same seller for  $4.25, so I may have to grab it, so I'll have 2 (3 if you count the retired parts one.)

Well, I got to go; I'll try to be back soon. Have a good'un.

[ewl01]

Evening everyone.  Dinner hmmm I think I'll try the Veal.

Sunny and 53, a bit breezy.  Not really that comfortable.  Worked on buildings today, Ceasar helped out by searching through a box of parts.  I also did some thinking..... No brainstorms, just thinking about how I can't call mom anymore.  Wondering about the holidays, what we're going to do with my sister and the house....stuff like that.  Things that life doesn't prepare you for....

Jerry, Nice downtown shot, sure have a lot of pumps there.

Sue, Nice mini-diorama, I see you two are real pros at modeling.

Sawyer, I have a hard time remembering my phone number.  My long term memory isn't too swift.  Makes me wonder why I'm a history major.

Rob, I've seen paint pens for that.  I used to use 'rail brown' spraypaint and wiped the railtops before ballasting.  Floquil sells it. Depending on the section I then add any weathering.

Time to feed the four-footeds.

Eric

[Packers#1]

blownout cylinder

Packers#1

Well, had to memorize "The seven ages of Man" by William Shakespeare today. I highly suggest smashing your head into a brick wall instead, lol, like this guy:

 

I'd just as soon declare teacher was a sadist and then go on a ---Funny thing though, I generally ended up with marks in the 90's in that class---

Packers#1

Did manage to find a pair of PUMA (!!!!!!!!) cleats for $40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Now, THAT is a deal!!!!!!!!!

 

Well, I've got straight 96 averages in that class on my report card, lol.

And yeah, I'm siked about that deal. I'm trying out for JV soccer next year if I have time, and these cleats are awesome. Ain't palyed in them yet, but they look and feel great.

I've got the top, so have at it y'all.

[blownout cylinder]

Packers#1

Well, had to memorize "The seven ages of Man" by William Shakespeare today. I highly suggest smashing your head into a brick wall instead, lol, like this guy:

 

I'd just as soon declare teacher was a sadist and then go on a ---Funny thing though, I generally ended up with marks in the 90's in that class---

Packers#1

Did manage to find a pair of PUMA (!!!!!!!!) cleats for $40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Now, THAT is a deal!!!!!!!!!

Robby; I always thought through trains would get busted up into smaller consists then sent out to switch----but then---aghh--who knows---

Jeff; Just to the west of us the Windsor to Chatham section of the CN mainline line goes through an area of prairie grass that has been control burned in the not too distant past--in fact i believe they still do this. I'm really not surprised about the dang thing jumping firebreaks what with oddball winds and such--

We've got the place back to order--well kinda---what with the problem of now having to reorganize 5645 records, not to mention the 2000+ CD's flapping around in the house, I've now got a much better idea of the extent my musical 'cultural' tastes/history goes---or went--or---oh forget it--So, back to the reorganizing------

Chloe--can I get a barrel of caffeine sent down this way? I'm kinda stuck here---

[Packers#1]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Sawyer ... I used to hate memorizing stuff, but I always did my best. Too bad my best was not very good.

 

well, I said it once w/o screwing up, so I'll jsut read it over during school tomorrow.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good afternoon diners!

It was sunny and 70 F today, and I was outside this afternoon.

Krump...... What a pleasant surprise. Glad to see you back in the diner.

Sawyer ... I used to hate memorizing stuff, but I always did my best. Too bad my best was not very good.

Ray ... I enjoy your photos of the depot scene.

Rob.... I paint the track alternating flat black with flat red oxide. If both layers are wet, they blend together and look rusty. I don't cover ties with masking tape. After track is installed, I ballast by blending two or more colors. I clean off ballast sticking to wrong surfaces. That usually chips some paint off the rails, and then I need to touch up paint on rails with a brush. After thant, Then I brush earth colors using a very thin mix of acrylic paint and a broad brush over all surfaces.

Jerry .... That's a neat downtown scene with gas station and all.  

Happy Model Railroading

[Packers#1]

 Well, had to memorize "The seven ages of Man" by William Shakespeare today. I highly suggest smashing your head into a brick wall instead, lol, like this guy:

Then had to go shopping AFTER doing that. I think the joker that namd malls malls should ahve named them "hell" instead.

Did manage to find a pair of PUMA (!!!!!!!!) cleats for $40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[galaxy]

Hi guys!

 I tried to post earlier but it wouldn't let me. I was expecting an OOPS! again, but didnt get one, just didn't get the post window to open right.

WE actually have flurries here. Ugh. Of course I always say that until the last day of March passes Ma Nature usually sends us at least one more major storm.

Not much to say, back is feeling better,and the muscle relaxer doesn't hit me as hard now. I am still not responsible for anything I say, do, think or post whilest under the influence. LOL.

Robby P. I hope all those locos weren't running that would be a waste of fuel. You are lucky to have so many brands passing by near you. We only have a few NS and a stray CP or two go through  here.

Well, the prayer candle is up for those who need thoughts and prayers.

TTYL

[krump]

[quote user="Flashwave"]

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Flashwave

nik .n

Krump! Do I know you?  

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Krump! Do I know you?  

[/quote]

I'm not sure.  Where are you from Flashwave?

I can't figure out how to "post" without simply hitting reply or quote.  Have a great day all.

[Robby P.]

Sue, very nice.  Have you thought of painting the bottom black?  I am guessing that its wood, and it might look real nice black.  I guess its to late to stain it.  

[waltersrails]

Nice pic and i have to say that i use earth and black grim mixed in an airbursh to weather the rails.

[gear-jammer]

Good afternoon.  I dropped by to post Larry's diorama that shows my branchline station.

Sue

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I mask off the ties with cheap masking tape (<50 cents a roll) and spray the rails with red oxide primer followed by a treatment with an alcohol/black acrylic spray.

[Cederstrand]

Coffee refill, please.

***Robby, interesting mix of locos on that video clip.

Enjoy seeing the layout pics folks...keep 'em coming!

Question: What is the easiest (cheapest) way to weather rails? Don't some of you use a particular kind of ink pen?

Rob

[Robby P.]

 JP, not to sure.  I will have to watch the video again.  I like when the train companys do mix in alot of different engines.  I have a video on youtube with 8 engines.....(3) BNSF,  (1)  Wheeling&Erie,  (4) CSX.  Now that was a SIGHT!!!

[JPowell]

Good afternoon gang!

back Krump! Good to see you again!

Robby - Interesting video w/ the what... 7 engines. Was that a SW1000 or 1500 towards the end of those engines?

Well all, as for trying for outdoor photos in natural light, it may not happen today... it's cold and snowing on and off here. I'll go for some inside shots later after I get back from running errands.

Ok... time to go get the errands done...

Take care!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 

TMarsh

Jeff- Apparently these people you speak of lead sheltered lives. Burning of grass is very common around here. Just got done burning off some waterways, and the State of Ill-e-noise is in the process of burning off their precious Prairie Grass they plant on the sides of the highway. Now I don't do it at my house, of course I don't have that type of grass. Besides, the neighbors may complain. Hmmmm

Just did more burning this morning. We lit off a pile of pine straw 5 feet tall, 8 feet wide and 20 feet long. Should burn for hours.

Seeing as Todd has TOP honors I'll have the king size platter of tacos for lunch. Bring on plenty of Pace picante sauce, the hotter the better. This redneck Indian likes it HOT!

[TMarsh]

Mornin' all. Just coffee please the Perfect Wife and I will be dining in Springfield thank you very much.

Krump-Welcome back to the diner. Thanks for the coffee. Just so you know, today I have other plans, but when Philip and I get on the same page, sometimes it can be a pretty good hit to the old virtual credit card of the TOP‘er. I'm a new guy here since around the holidays of 2008. Quite a few new people here but some of the "old timers" keep us in line.

Jeff- Apparently these people you speak of lead sheltered lives. Burning of grass is very common around here. Just got done burning off some waterways, and the State of Ill-e-noise is in the process of burning off their precious Prairie Grass they plant on the sides of the highway. Now I don't do it at my house, of course I don't have that type of grass. Besides, the neighbors may complain. Hmmmm

Starting to rain here now. So looks like a bit of time in Toddavania (of which I'm king) off and on today with any luck. Ya'll have a great day.

EDIT: Well I guess it's my turn. Oh look fresh pies for Sunday dinner!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

pcarrell

Jeff, I'm suprised that you, the fireman, haven't caught any grief for having a fire get away from you.  I guess people are smart enough to know that those things can be really tricky, even for the experienced!

Things like that can happen to the best of us, even a professionally trained fire fighter. Hey, even cops getted mugged now and then.

[Robby P.]

Barry............ When I was at that guys house (where the video was taken), he said it was a switching train.  I asked the same thing.  He said it makes stops throughout CSX.  BUT, it still makes you wonder 7 engines to switch?