Good morning, Joe. I will have a hot coffee. Sorry that I missed the round last night.
MrB, Yes, sawdust is great, but it amazing where you will find it and for how long. When we transitioned to the larger turntable, we found it everywhere. You will like the code 83.
Sue
Oh, looks like I am at the top of the page. I buy.
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
It’s been a rough week….Late nights, early mornings and too much running! Today I have NO demands, other than the normal household stuff.
So, as long as I have the time; I’ll start with the Big Breakfast, a Bloody Mary and a beer chaser. Thanks Sue!!
Just when you think all is right in the world…You get a new surprise. Seems I get new demands for my time way too regularly!! Oh well…
Today at 1100 I’m off to the Trainroom (I’ll be done with the morning chores by then) and hope to get some wiring done on the staging track. YES! I’ll keep you posted on the progress and send off a few pics too!
Terry: The rain, ice and snow may have ruined my weed harvest this fall. I did get some sumac though and plan to try it for a generic tree. That won’t be for a while yet, as I want to be sure everything is nice and dry! When I get there, I’ll give a blow by blow!
Ibeam: I sure do feel for you, having to cut apart your road!! Ouch!! Hope you can successfully downsize and make it even better in the process.
Mr. B: Sawdust!! I feel your pain and pleasure!
Gotta’ get back to chores, if I want to get out to the Trainroom…
Hello Beer Barn patrons ...
I feel I should stop by more often. I could use a lot of Strumpets these days.
JB ... I hear you about all the non-model-railroad stuff..... It's been hectic for me. ... I've been tied up assisting my sisters with our 90 year old Mom in Alabama. She has many problems now, and it is rather emotional for my generation to help her though the trials and tribulations of being elderly.
Good news. We have a new grand son in Michigan born on Oct 21. All is well with Mom and baby. My wife Shelley is there in MI while I shuttle back and forth between KY and AL.
Not much new on the layout because of such stuff. I took a sanity break in AL and visited the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
I'll wait until evening for the Strumpets. (It's good to know Mr. B. is still in the business.)
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I'm back, Joe. I will have a Strumpets, and wait to see who shows up.
Too much chore time. Mowed the lawn, cleaned Pearls kennel, filled the wood box, and made plans for the hand railing on the front porch.
Now to the train room. We will see if we can keep the NP passenger cars all upright.
We got the same crap up here in NW Wisconsin, JB!!
I harvested a BUNCH before the junk hit, and what's left outside actually looks ok so far. A couple of sunny days and I think it'll be ok to pick!
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Well, well, well. Who'd have ever thought that so many of us railroaders would turn into Aggies, eh? Growing plants, or just piggybacking on the weed harvest for our tree armatures. I've still got a few stems left from last year. The new sections will be mostly industrial, but there will be some transitions between the current edges to "tree up" before the terrain gets down to the tracks again.
(Yeah, I'll have a Strumpet Oktoberfest, Joe. Oh, yeah, the frosted mug just makes this beer.)
Back to the tunnels. Other than cleaning the track, I haven't touched the subways in a couple of years now, since finishing up the Penny Lane station. The other night I pulled my trusty Xuron out of the toolbox and snipped a section out of the line. I dropped in a turnout and fitted the rail joiners, and now I've got that branch plus the split for the two subway staging tracks installed. They're both on the "old" layout. I've got most of the pieces cut for the first section of benchwork, too, so hopefully I'll be ready to put down foam and some track over the weekend.
Sue, I've done most of the sawing by hand so far. I did pull out the circular saw for the plywood gussets for the legs, but I cut the frame pieces by hand. To be honest, it's only a bit slower than using a power saw, and it makes a lot less mess. Besides, there's something about making something with hand tools. It's just more, well, personal than ripping a piece of wood with a screaming, spinning blade.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good evening, Joe. I will have a Strumpet's.
You know, MrB, everytime you mention Penny Lane, I have fond memories of climbing at Squamish Chief, British Columbia. It is between Vancouver and Whistler. I know that I have told you before. Does your wife add imput since it is her namesake?
Miller Lite, joe.
Sheesh, where's everybody?
Planted some of the newly built trees.
Got a new camera, still working on the takin' of pics.
This is what a REAL honey-Do list is. Had to install these last week:
And this:
Good evening, all. I'll stick with milk, Joe. I'm playing goal tonight.
Terry, nice work on those trees! And the 1:1 modelling isn't too shabby, either.
I'm off on vacation to Florida tomorrow, but over the weekend I got the first section of the new benchwork built and installed. I've even got one short section of track connected up and laying on the foam, although it's not fastened down yet. It's one of the subway staging track, and I ran a subway train down there and parked it last night. Finally, trains in Phase 2.
Mr. B, I played goalie for 26 years. Had to quit when I blew out my right quad.I was 42. Sure miss it!! I always had( well, when I was legal!) 1 beer before a game , Settled me down.
saronaterry Mr. B, I played goalie for 26 years. Had to quit when I blew out my right quad.I was 42. Sure miss it!! I always had( well, when I was legal!) 1 beer before a game , Settled me down.
I could do things like that in my younger days, but now, at 62, I need all the competitive advantage I can get. The beers are for after the game. That's when I need to be settled down so I can get some sleep. Even then, Wednesday morning comes awfully early.
Hi, Joe. Make sure everybody has their favorite brew, and put it on my tab along with a Tuborg...
It's amazing how watching a DD13 diesel-hydraulic pull out the slack of a short freight eases the discomfort attached to certain medical procedures. I've gotten in a moderate amount of running (not all diesel-powered) but no building.
One of my someday, maybe projects has been a working TBM, visible through a window in the fascia. Well, yesterday, I had a tunnel boring machine visit my internal plumbing. I think hope I've finally recovered. The procedure was, itself, painless. Wish I could say the same for having had to discontinue the pain meds (for this degenerated hip) for the preceeding week. The good news is that the doctor didn't find any abnormalities.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get in a little construction during the next few days. Wish me luck.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - health issues willing)
tomikawaTTOne of my someday, maybe projects has been a working TBM, visible through a window in the fascia. Well, yesterday, I had a tunnel boring machine visit my internal plumbing.
In my line of work, a TBM is a tactical ballistic missile, interesting in itself, but nothing I'd expect to see on my model railroad. On the other hand, my Lionels when I was a kid were equipped with a launch tower, gantry crane and flatcar-delivered missiles. Fortunately, they were labelled "NASA" and were for peaceful purposes only. But as for that procedure, well, I've got one scheduled in about 5 weeks time. For many in this hobby, it's a periodic reminder that time marches on. And for the rest of you, well, your time will come.
Beautiful weather here in sunny Florida. No train things to speak of, other than reading MR, RMC and the Walthers catalog I brought with me on the plane. There is an air show in town tomorrow, though, so I'll get to see some vintage aircraft, both on the ground and in the air.
I had a "Eureka!" moment earlier today. I was planning to build a photo-transistor circuit to detect the subway trains in the new staging area, since it won't be visible without crawling under the layout. However, I also had the problem of figuring out whether the trains ran into staging forwards or backwards, so I wouldn't start them up in the wrong direction and have them spinning their wheels while compressing the soft foam planned for the end of the staging tunnel. Since only two trains will ever run down there, I realized that I could "code" each train with a set of magnets, and use magnetic reed switches to "decode" the trains at that point in the tunnel.
Hello ...
I suppose you don't want to use the wrong TBM ..... Anyhow, Chuck, I hope your problem is OK. Everthing comes out in the end.
Mr. B ... Your subway system sounds interesting. You are being creative from my understanding of what you said.
I won't have subways, but I will have street cars. My plans are to build my city this winter. The Bachmann Peter Witt street cars arrived today. Micro-Mark has a good sale on them now.
Sue, I recall driving between Vancouver and Whistler. Beautiful scenery for sure. I don't know what it would be like to climb a mountain there.
Terry ... I also like those trees!
Hi, Joe. Happy Thanksgiving.
Here are a couple of pumpkin pies that are surplus to requirements. My wife got THREE at the local casinos (and collected a couple of decent-sized slot payoffs as well.) Since there are only two of us at home, and both of us are watching our weights...
Some of the threads have gotten interesting, especially those regarding the mundanes' rather interesting observations. (There are railroad tracks at railroad stations? Surprise!)
Woops! The Boss wants some help in spreading the table - two places and fourteen square feet of platters, tureens and serving dishes. If I wnat to eat it, I'd better give her a hand. See ya later.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Hope you had a great day!
Hi, Joe. I'll have a Strumpet IPA. I've been non-alcoholic for a week or so, except the components of cough syrup. Quite a nasty cold, and I haven't felt like working on trains despite sitting home sick all day with nothing much to do.
But, I'm feeling a bit better now. I got back to working on the extension. I've started installing and testing the magnet/reed switch detection stuff for the subways, and it looks like it will work. So far, I've got one of the three sections of benchwork built, and I'm about to cut wood for the next part. I also hit up the local electronics place for wire, terminal blocks and such, so I've got that stuff ready to go, too.
There was a train show today. Since the weather hasn't cooperated for skiing yet, I drove there instead. It was nice to see some bargains for a change. I was about to leave when I walked by one dealer and found the IHC Mikado I'd been thinking of buying. When Walthers put these on sale a few months back, I "thought about buying" too long, and they sold out before I placed my order. IHC may have gone to the Big Roundhouse in the Sky, so I thought I'd missed the boat. To my delight, the price was a good deal less than the Walthers sale price, so I walked out of a train show with a locomotive for the first time. I've got a leftover motor decoder from a sound upgrade, so I'll probably pick up a Sound Bug and have a new sound-equipped steamer in time for Santa!
Heartland Division CB&Q I won't have subways, but I will have street cars. My plans are to build my city this winter. The Bachmann Peter Witt street cars arrived today. Micro-Mark has a good sale on them now.
The Peter Witt cars are a great choice! I picked one up last year. Very nice models, and they run well, too. There's a small speaker well in the nose. I bought a small round speaker and a sound system for mine.
Hi all not much happening at the Barn these days, had to do a search to find it.
Anyway, I am back to the layout and getting something accomplished, I made the layout bigger and in doing so got rid of all the tight radi curves, the tightest I have is about 24'' looks pretty good in N scale, I have almost finished the yard and am making more mountains and installing a permanent program track. I am so glad to be back into modeling after almost a year.
What have you all been up to the past year, I hope you are still modeling. I will try to get back here later and buy a round for whoever shows up. For now, Have a very Merry Christmas. Mike
Hi, Mike! Welcome back. Let me buy you, and anyone else, a Strumpet.
Are we going to get some pictures soon? I love to see progress. I'm putting an extension on my layout now, about 19 feet by 2 1/2 feet, with a balloon on one end to turn around in. I caught a nasty cold at Thanksgiving, so I haven't been doing much, as it turned quite chilly and I don't want to spend a lot of time out in the cold garage building benchwork. (The layout is upstairs in the comfy family room, though, so I can still run trains.)
Part of the extension is staging for the subways, more like storage tracks, actually. With two 4-car trains and two trolleys, it's hard to move around down in the tunnels, so now I can stash the two trains and run trolleys only for my steam-era time, or do a full schedule of sorts by sending some of them to staging. Since the tracks are not visible from the surface, I worked out an indicator system with magnets and reed switches to tell which tracks are occupied and which direction the trains are heading.
Happy holidays to all.
A round for the house, Joe. The benchwork for Phase II is done!
They say Jesus was a carpenter, which may explain why His name comes up so often when I'm doing benchwork. I feel I do it "competently," which means it doesn't collapse, but it's by far my least favorite part of the hobby.
So, here it is. The photo is a bit short of the full 19 feet by 2 1/2, but it shows the balloon at the far end where the trains will turn around. I built it in 3 sections, so I've already got the track in for the subway staging tracks. But, you know me well enough to know that I'm going to make the subway staging into a full station. It's going to be close to the car float terminal above ground, so, Chuck, you'll understand when the signs say South Ferry. I've wired the tracks with magnetic reed switches, so I can tell when the tracks are occupied, and even which way the trains are headed. I'm seriously thinking of figuring out some digital logic circuitry to recognize which train is where.
Hope the jolly fat guy in the red suit was good to you all. Happy New Year, too!
'Evening, everbody. A round for the house and an Anchor Steam for me, Joe.
Nice job on that benchwork, Mister Beasley. I assume you're going to continue with the same stacked foam construction as the original section.
So it's South Ferry, eh? Is it built to prototype, as an absolute minimum radius reverse loop? Since the prototype had moving platform sections to close the gaps between fixed platform and car doors, I can understand a reluctance to model the actual station.
Not much railroad activity (outside of the usual operating sessions, that is) but there have been a few developments on the physical condition front. The good news is that my hip problem was grossly exaggerated to me by an orthopedist who wanted an excuse to perform a joint transplant. A second opinion identified bursitis - treatable with pharmaceuticals and physical therapy. The less-good news is that a removed polyp showed some pre-cancerous cells - so I'll have to have another look-see in May to assure that the problem has been dealt with. PT consists mainly of stretching - and has already done wonders for my flexibility and endurance. I'm amazed at the difference!
Well, two days from now the moving line of midnight will sweep across Tokyo and the temple gongs will ring out the traditional 108 strokes to announce the arrival of the 22nd year of the current era. Sixteen hours later the Las Vegas skyline will erupt with a display of Grucci's best. The new year properly welcomed, I hope that it will be happy and prosperous for everyone, and especially so for the regulars here at the Barn.
I remember the tight turns at South Ferry, and, now that you mention it, the retractable platforms as well. My station will be in name only, though, as it's nothing but a pair of straight tracks with dead end sidings. I arranged soft foam rubber at the ends, because the system will be totally hidden and I suspect the trains will run into the stops more often than not when I pull them into the station.
Glad to see that you're taking care of yourself. I had a routine "colon spelunking" expedition done a few weeks back - nothing interesting to report, which is the best of all possible outcomes. At my age, I feel like I squeek like a rusty hinge every time I move, but I had a great couple of days of hard skiing last week, and my hockey game has picked up a lot the last few weeks since I've cut down on the beers and switched to salads for lunch.
Cold here. Nine degrees F, with a wind chill down to five below. I'm glad I got that benchwork done, because even the garage is a pretty cold place to try to work right now. The train room is cozy and warm. Track bus wiring is proceeding, and I should have the control bus done in the next couple of days. Then it's on to foam and track. There are still some unknowns with the track plan and particularly scenery. I need a liftoff section in the middle of that balloon loop for access, so I'll have to figure out what to put there.
Howdy all, Is it to early to start celebrating the new year?
I have been working some on the layout and thought I would share a few pics with you to bring in the new year:
I have been trying to remember how to download pics but can't for the life of me, Some one please refresh my memory and I will try again. Thanks and have a happy and SAFE New Year. Mike
Happy Holidays!!!
It's NEVER too early!! So, here's a health to the company!
Mike, just paste the code from "photobucket" or what ever! The forum can't do an attachment from "our" files, so just copy and paste from a provider.
Later.....
I finally got this to post. This a pic taken from the South end of the trainroom looking North. Notice the unfinished table in the foreground, I haven't even started it yet. The rest is still very much under construction.
Its come a long way Mike looking good.I am in the process of starting over,new/old house.Thinking i may go with a garage layout because my cellar is real small.Happy New Year everybody and best wishes for the future.Oh yah I got this round I will have a extra medium bottle of Bud..........
Mike and Mr. B....
You guys are doing great!!
We now have too much snow for me to continue the firewood harvest. So, it's now Trainroom season.
Happy New Year to all....I'll buy! After all it is after 0900!!
Good morning and a Happy New Year to all! I'll stick with coffee this morning, Joe, at least until I get that Tsunami wired up.
I thought about buying one of those IHC Mikados when Walthers had them on sale a few months back, but I hemmed and hawed about it, and when I went back to order they had run out. It looks like they won't be making any more, either. Then, I was walking around a train show a bit later, and one vendor had a few, so I got my engine. I always feel guilty buying something away from my LHS, but the Tsunami from the shop cost more than the engine! So, I guess we're all happy.
Nice work on the layout, Mike. It looks like you've got a great space up there, and all for trains. I think my wife would have a cow if I painted the ceiling in the family room sky blue with clouds.