Yeah, Penny and I both love the Winter Olympics. That feel of frozen stuff beneath our feet is in our blood. She did competitive figure skating, and even dated a guy who was on those world-class podiums from time to time. I played hockey in college, and still do to this day. Both of us still ski the expert slopes (although not at the speeds seen this week) and we've dabbled in speed skating as well, just to try it out. Cross-country, too, but I've never tried it with a rifle.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley Set 'em up, Joe. Strumpets all around. I've finally made some progress.
Set 'em up, Joe. Strumpets all around. I've finally made some progress.
Thank you, sir! Watching the England - Canada curling match is dry work.
I've had a problem curve on my layout since the beginning. It's a simple 18-inch, 180-degree swing. It was OK when I first put it down, but I had occasional derailments, which I traced to a kink in the the track where two pieces of flex came together. I tried to repair it, but in the end I ripped the whole thing out and did it right. Fast forward. The ends of this curve got replaced by turnouts, keeping the original path, but adding the routes on and off the old section to Phase II of the Moose Bay Railroad. I had hoped for a simple drop-in replacement, but it wasn't to be. After a bit of twisting and prodding, I got it together, but I couldn't even keep 4-axle geeps on the tracks reliably. So, I ripped it up one weekend. Having no flex track, and my LHS closed on Sunday, I used a scrap of flex track and some sectional Atlas pieces. Again, it was a bad move. I got the freights to work OK, but that sectional track had more kinks than the British Invasion of the 1960's. It really got me. So, I finally did it right, bought more flex track, ripped the whole mess up including the roadbed, and ran trains over it the first time I put it down. Now I can get started on the addition.
I've had a problem curve on my layout since the beginning. It's a simple 18-inch, 180-degree swing. It was OK when I first put it down, but I had occasional derailments, which I traced to a kink in the the track where two pieces of flex came together. I tried to repair it, but in the end I ripped the whole thing out and did it right.
Fast forward. The ends of this curve got replaced by turnouts, keeping the original path, but adding the routes on and off the old section to Phase II of the Moose Bay Railroad. I had hoped for a simple drop-in replacement, but it wasn't to be. After a bit of twisting and prodding, I got it together, but I couldn't even keep 4-axle geeps on the tracks reliably. So, I ripped it up one weekend. Having no flex track, and my LHS closed on Sunday, I used a scrap of flex track and some sectional Atlas pieces. Again, it was a bad move. I got the freights to work OK, but that sectional track had more kinks than the British Invasion of the 1960's. It really got me. So, I finally did it right, bought more flex track, ripped the whole mess up including the roadbed, and ran trains over it the first time I put it down. Now I can get started on the addition.
And now you know why my designated derailment checker is parked in Down staging, ready to be dispached to the new end of track as soon as I clear the weights off the newly-caulked trackwork (or my spiking pliers away from the freshly-spiked specialwork.)
Speaking of which, I actually got a little bit accomplished in new construction while the garage was warm for a couple of hours this week. Not construction to support new roadbed, but rather to support the permanent Nonomura control panel that has been the object of my procrastination for altogether too long. Now I can set about connecting the wires - twenty-eight to start, more to come. There are ninety studs on the terminal block, most of them wired to something inside the panel. Some of them are meant to connect to the adjacent zone panels, yet to be built. Thirty or so will connect to the CTC panel, which is still years in the future.
Well, bobsled is on NBC, and curling still going on CNBC, so I'm going to split my attention between them, not between curling and this. Incidentally, how about the lady who competed four heats on skis with four broken ribs and a punctured lung - and won bronze! Now, who said women aren't tough?)
See ya,
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Actually “Fiddle-Bow Eke and the Dew Valley Acorns” played on Sat. night! I was on trumpet and doing some of the vocals too.
We can do it all man….Even the old BS&T stuff. Love those bass section rhythms!
I have been in the Trainroom some, but not enough to accomplish much! I hope that will change soon and that I will have some progress to report.
The plan is to work on some lower level benchwork and extend the trackage…We’ll see how that al goes.
What kind of music will you have on Friday and Saturday Night-Country or Western??Or both Country and Westerh??
Hi, everyone! Good to see you back, Sue. Join me for coffee?
Sue, it's good to know that your absence has been train-related. You are excused, but next time, a note from your Mom, OK? And yes, I'm very much looking forward to pictures.
Glad to hear you're feeling better, Chuck. I'm battling with blood pressure meds myself, which seem to make me overly tired. The stuff is so annoying that I've changed my diet and cut down on beer to get my weight down, so I can hopefully get off this stuff. Having "good numbers" but feeling poorly is not my idea of successful medicine.
I am making slow progress. It's ski season, so some weekends are spent sliding down an icy mountain with boards on my feet. But, I do have all the benchwork up, and the track and control bus wires are installed. I've been really stuck on the the track modifications needed to connect the old layout to the new section. I tried snipping out a bit of the original track and dropping in a turnout, but I ended up with kinked track and derailments. Finally, I ripped out several feet of track, roadbed and all, and I'm in the process of re-laying the whole thing. Naturally, it's in an awkward spot that's hard to get to.
The subway staging / station tracks are in and working, and I've got my occupancy/direction detectors installed, although I haven't wired in the lights yet. I've got to make up a pink foam form for curving the hydrocal wall castings that will form the closed wall of the station. The other will be open for access and visibility.
I did get out to Springfield this past weekend, to the Big E for the Amherst train show. It's bigger than ever, and if the crowds were any indication, it shows that interest in model trains runs very high.
Howdy, Joe. Asahi for me, and freshen up anyone who's running low.
Hi, Sue. Long time, no see. Sounds like lots of progress on your and Larry's layout.
Mike, that looks like an opportunity to build a really great model railroad!
Mister Beasley, how's progress on the new section? Model railroading construction pretty well follows Cheops' Law - every project takes longer and costs more...
Incidentally, the new, improved(?) 1:1 scale South Ferry station is being built with two stub-end tracks. I guess the New York Transit Authority finally got sick of the extra mechanicals and cost of maintaining the reverse loop platform.
Good news on all fronts here in the Dessicated Desert. Physically, I feel better than I have in years and even my doctors are happy. On the railroad, a little bother that had been nagging at me finally resolved itself. Adding two terminals to the Nonomura Zone Panel allows me to reduce the wire count between it and the CTC panel by 3 wires, with a corresponding decrease in terminals required. Made the change this afternoon, and now I'm ready to tackle installing the panel and hooking up the permanent wiring for the NN zone, climate willing. (Forecast is for a high of 60 for the next week. I can live, and work, with that.)
Well, gotta run. It's good seeing some life back in the Barn again. See ya,
It's morning, so coffee will do, Joe.
Sorry that I have been away so long. We have had lots of layout time. In March, we are hosting our local MR group, and I will be doing a demo of the Bragdon foam. Something like that always makes you push harder.
Larry finished the trestle, and we have been working on the backdrop behind the turntable. I will post some photos when its done.
Mike, Great space. It will sure take a while to fill that.
Terry, Your road looks like that car could get some air on that next rise.
Later, Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
It's good to see "Ber barn" open for business !!!!!!!!!
I wish each of you a healthy, happy, and prosperous new decade !!!!!!!!!!!
(Now, where's the Strumpets?)
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
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.
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!!
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..........
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.
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.....
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
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.
'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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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, 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!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Hope you had a great day!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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)
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.
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.
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel