The Coffee Shop (a place to chat) Est. 2004

[Anonymous]

Evening all

Saw the rugby this afternoon - Wales 24, France 18 - we're currently top of the table for a change! Next match is against Scotland, not sure how that will go but it should be a good game.

Flip, Concorde? One of the best-looking aircraft ever to my mind. Did a presentation on it for A-Level French exam, was horrified by the crash, then deeply saddened by the withdrawal - hopefully one of the museums that has one will keep it airworthy - I've read a few accounts by early test crews that it was capable of some pretty spectacular aerobatics, including one who managed to outmanouvre an F-4 Phantom working as a chase aircraft!

The talk about trams/trolleys has got me interested now - have rediscovered the Corgi Blackpool "balloon" I bought a few years ago and been trying to find suppliers for the motorising kit. The one thing puzzling me is whether to wire it for 2 rail or live overhead pickup - considering a small slide switch underneath to allow this to be selected. I also hear that DCC and live overhead don't mix well? Advice on the Mackay Models website is that this can destroy decoders, but the tram track I've found is only for live overhead wire - rails aren't isolated. If I get round to building somewhere for them to run (apart from testing on a loop of Hornby set-track that I use for breaking-in new models) I think I'll probably build it using live overhead, and just do without DCC on that layout. Problem at the moment is that I can only find switches and crossovers with the correct grooved rail, no straight rail lengths, so this'll have to wait - well, can motorise a few trams in readiness. Problem is the number of very nice Corgi models out there and the price of motor kits...

Current projects include rebuilding an N-scale Fleischmann electric loco - little 6-wheel boxcab rod-coupled thing fitted with a working rack drive (can handle a 30 degree climb). Problems were the pickups wore through (due to running for too long at too high a speed, won't do that again!) and the worm gear shredded. Replacements for both are on order and should arrive in a couple of weeks - it was superb for switching due to very low gearing!

[bjdukert]

Mikeygaw

QUOTE: Deep Space Nine's Trial and Tribble-ations is the exact episode

It’s a good thing someone is out there to keep me straight. [*^_^*]

Flip

QUOTE: Duke- last flight of the concorde on the way. With escort

Sounds good[^][tup]

Tom-You aren’t the only one with an extinct animal,Michigan and the wolverine,but they say there was a couple sighted this last year.

Matt

QUOTE: I've read a few accounts by early test crews that it was capable of some pretty spectacular aerobatics, including one who managed to outmanouvre an F-4 Phantom working as a chase aircraft!

That would really be something to see[yeah][:D][angel]

That’s all for now.Got my 05 planning mag so I think I will look at it.

Talk to you later

Duke

[fec153]

Matt- If you are interested in seeing the pictures, E me thru the forum and send your E address.
Flip

Also anyone else interested in seeing them.

[steveblackledge]

Thanks to Tom (TWHITE) for the thread about tree making by AGROJONES thanks to you for a very good idea that i will try when making my forest.[:D][bow][:D]
there are some pics here on my new site showing the barren landscape to be planted up with trees
http://www.freewebs.com/yarrow-valley-sub/

[tomwatkins]

Good Evening Everybody,
It's been a really good couple of days in the mountains. The weather has been absolutely beautiful, clear skies and very warm. Not at all like February usually is.

We had a great time yesterday. Bill M. and I met Phil and Amy in Kennesaw about 10 in the morning. Hung out at the train store for a while, watched trains going by and had coffee and tea at a place right next door. It was a lot of fun, and it's good to put faces with the words. Talked about trains, model railroads, ships ( Phil had his USS Enterprise, CV-6) hat on, and all kinds of other stuff. It was a pleasure to meet them and a really fun day.

Welcome to all the new faces in the coffee shop,TrentB, Grubby and Daniel1967, plus any others that I've missed. Trent, the decaf is pretty tasty too, if you're trying to stay away from the caffine.

Ed, it sounds like the orange grove is the real deal too. Maybe you don't need a big tractor, but it take a lot of effort to keep it up. And the fresh OJ is wonderful. 36 days until the first game, huh, we're not eager are we?

TWhite, from everything I've ever seen or heard about Joe Fugate, he's truly a class act. He's a superb model railroader, and his articles in MR, especially those dealing with mushroom layouts, are some of the best I've read.

I missed the outbreak of WWIII the other night and I'm glad i did. Stuff like that, and the attitudes responsible for it, aren't needed.

Ryan, you're right, taxes, refunds, and model railroading go together very well. Of course, it's not good to spend the refund until you get it, and you can't get until the returns are done and filed, so that's the major project for this coming week. Since all work and no play isn't good, there will also be some model railroading done this week, too.

Grayfox, welcome back. I'm glad ya'll had a good trip.

Noah, I don't think the cinnamon rolls lasted very long. Fresh, hot, delicious cinnamon rolls have a really short life expectancy, especially in a place like this.

Paul, I'm glad you got the truck back. The '05 F-250 sounds good. They're big capable trucks and it sounds like that's what you need.

ftwNSengineer, your point about stopping a coal train is well taken. Saluda isn't too far from here and the NS operations there were very impressive. Actually, they were awesome.

I'd better go for now. it's about time to get supper ready.
Have a great evening, everybody,
Tom

[der5997]

Good evening Coffee Shop patrons. A large black coffee please Chloe, and a blueberry yogurt with Wheatabix, peanuts and ground walnuts. Thanks.

I cut out the access hatch for the electronics and turnout behind the east portal of the lower tunnel. I couldn’t build it as I was going on, like the other access hatches, because the rock face on the mountain had too many surfaces intersecting, they all had to be glued in place first, then the hatch cut out. I was able to leave a layer of foam unglued at the top and bottom, except for the very ends. So, all I had to do was cut through the wall to get a wedge shape. That’s the geometry I’ve been following for all the hatches, based on the solution for the shape of the doorway module thought up by my nieces’ husband in the UK, a nuclear physicist of some sort.[tup] Sure works well. Here’s the hole the hatch leaves.
Duke:

QUOTE: John-That answers the question that Chief O’brien put to Worf when they went back in time on one of the TNG shows.

If it’s the Tribbles episode, and I think it is, that was totally brilliant 2[tup], way up.[:D] Oh! I see that Mikeygaw has nailed it. DS9, of course. I was quite prepared to think in terms of Chief O’Brien and Worf on the Enterprise of STNG. The way the footage from “The Trouble with Tribbles” was mixed with the new DS9 footage was very well done. Thanks Mickey, and [#welcome]

QUOTE: but I am getting closer

You are doing great. The big quote box wasn’t cut and paste error, but a misplaced [ /quote] somewhere. My guess would be one missing just after the welcome sign. Try editing one in and see if it fixes things.[^]
ftwNSengineer:

QUOTE: Funny thing about coal trains,when there stopped they dont want to go!
And once you get them going they dont want to stop!

Which kinda makes you Sir Isaac Newton of Indiana [(-D] Aren’t those some kind of Laws of Motion[?][:D]
Brian:

QUOTE: I am going to build a shelf above our entertainment center and our piano for the layout.... now this will be fairly high and not everyone will be able to see everything.

Sounds like a plan. If you think of it, some good looking facia, maybe ripped from paneling sheets, and finished with that plastic edging will earn domestic approval points, especially as the layout is going to be more “for your eyes only”[swg]
Tom:

QUOTE: Actually, as a musician, considering the quality of our state song, that's not a terrible loss.

I forget who it was now, (Victor Borge? Flanders and Swan? Garrison Keillor? ) but someone has said that a basic requirement for a National Anthem is that it should be un-singable![(-D] Sounds like that carries over to State Songs, too. Are you serious, California poppies are illegal in CA?[:O]

QUOTE: Hope my mood improves by this afternoon, I've got to play Vespers at my Parish--hey, maybe I can chalk the whole thing up to the fact that it's Lent, do you suppose?

Building anything for a layout with white Styrofoam sounds like a penance! This retired pastor declares you absolved [(-D]
Matt:

QUOTE: Concorde? One of the best-looking aircraft ever to my mind.

Really good math often turns out elegant ( don’t let warthogdriver know I said that)[:D] I remember waiting for a flight at Heathrow, and watching the traffic depart. Mostly 747s, one takes off and almost immediately is turned port. The next is turned starboard, and so it goes inseriatum until the Concorde Brazil flight. It just goes up and straight, and out of sight, and no-one tells it to turn even a tiny bit! Interesting about it’s maneuverability, thanks for that.

QUOTE: I also hear that DCC and live overhead don't mix well?

Read the same thing the other day. I think it’s the unreliability of the contact
(remember all those sparks in the prototype?[:O])
Well, I see *** has come in for some light relief form figuring out where to put the next snowfall[:D] Chloe, please attend to the gentleman and put it on my tab.
Got to go. See you later folks.

[der5997]

Left my hat, so I popped back in[(-D] Hey Grubby, good to see you in too. I got TOTP, so your order is on me[:D]

[Grubby]

mmm, the atmosphere is kinda infectious..... in a good sort of way. Just Coke thanks... my rules for drinking liquids is Coke, Beer and things that mix with Coke so it makes life simpler....

Built the bench work last night... 3 x 8'x4' benches in a u-shape... should give me plenty of work to do.... pay day tomorrow and off to buy the ply.... should be drawing tracks by Wednesday night.... looks like a long road before any trains performing laps on the mainline though........ catch ya on the flipside of Sunday....I love being from the future..

[Anonymous]

Steveblackledge: That BN layout is fantastic. I especially love the scene with the rusted Alco in the water. [tup]

[Anonymous]

Well everyone I took some measurements today for the newest proposed layout idea and I have a begining of an Idea formed.... it's on my railimages site and here is the idea on here.



please give me some more ideas.... it's not completely done at this point but I am still working on it.... the turn table will probably be moved and it will have many more spurs off of it and possibly a round house to go with it.

[Attaboy]

Hi, all. I've been checking things out here from time to time for a couple months and decided to stop in for a bit. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I'll have a hot chocolate, Chloe.

The important information everyone seems to ask:
My layout is still in the planning stages. I just bought this house about a year and a half ago and it has an oversized two car garage in the back yard. Just need to get some heat and ac in it.
I'm planning a freelanced narrow gauge line loosely based on the East Broad Top. It will be in HO/HOn3. I do have a name for it, The Dagascagonda, Lycippus, & Euclid Railroad and Coal Company. DLE for short.
Until I get things ready out back I'm working on a small layout in the basement just for the experience. That one won't have a name, it's just for the practice and to experiment with new things. It could end up with anything on it.
I'm a life member of the NMRA.

OK, I admit it, I've been an arm chair modeler for about 40 years. Now that all the little things like college, military service, marriage, kids, divorce, and child support are out of the way, I have the tiime and money to actually start a railroad.

One kind of cool thing, I live just a few miles from the Rockville Bridge and Enola yards. I have to drive past them every day to and from work. And I still get a thrill seeing a train on the bridge. [:D]

This is my second attempt to post this, let's see if I can get it to work this time.

[Anonymous]

[#welcome] Attaboy

nice to have another new face around. Seems as if you have been lurking in here for a while.

Keep us updated on your projects. Also make sure that you take lots of photos of your work so we can see how things are coming along for you.

[Attaboy]

Hey, it worked. Except I left out a word. It should be - two car garage train room[oops]

[bjdukert]

Hi all,and Chloe could I please have a Pepsi.

Flip

QUOTE: Duke- last flight of the concorde on the way. With escort

Do you need my email address to send the picture??

Steve

QUOTE: there are some pics here on my new site showing the barren landscape to be planted up with trees

From what I saw,there wasn’t much barren landscape,but what is there really looks GREAT[^][bow][tup]

John-You sure do need an access to get into that spot,and right out front,not bad. [:)]I just happen to remember that episode,because one of my questions ever since Star Trek the Motion Picture came out with the change was what happened[?]

Grubby

QUOTE: mmm, the atmosphere is kinda infectious

It sure is,isn’t it.Look out,a man with saw,drill,screws,and lumber,way to go. [:D][:)]

Brian-I think the new layout will give you more deversity,not that the others aren’t good as well.Oh and don’t tell my wife I used such a big word in the middle of the last sentence.


Out of here for now

Talk to you later

Duke

[bjdukert]

[#welcome]Attaboy-Chloe put his hot chocolate on my bill.
You will be able to get answers here for sure,there are a lot of knowledgeable(sp) people in the shop.

Duke

[fec153]

Duke- sent it hours ago. Check your "E" s.
Flip

[egmurphy]

Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,

Weather was real nice today down here in Paradise, at least from my point of view. [:D] Drizzle left off in the early morning hours, but it remained overcast and comfortable all day. Won’t need the a/c tonight! [^] The farmers got a slow soak overnight, still too dry in general, but better than nothing.

We were back out in the orange grove today. With all the traffic here in the Coffee Shop, including our new crop of patrons, keeping you guys supplied with fruit and O.J. is getting to be a serious occupation. Oh well, at least it keeps me from getting bored in retirement. [;)]

Slacked off on modeling yesterday and today. But I’ll get back at it tomorrow. Hopefully this week I’ll put down the first traces of ground cover.

I also think I’m going to get one of those MRC Sound Station gadgets. [{(-_-)}] Yeah, I know it’s not as good as DCC and sound in BLI locos. But for my tiny little N scale layout it will be better than nothing. It gets tiring blowing that little wooden train whistle I have here! [(-D]


***, sounds like your trip up north was a success. Plenty of snow, and a LHS to boot!

QUOTE: COWABUNGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do I detect a Howdy Doody fan lurking out there in the bushes? [:0]



[#welcome] Gnnpry – welcome to another new patron here in the shop. Should we assume by your location that you live in Iowa and have a weekend retreat in Wisconsin? Btw, Mike, fill us in a bit more on scale, layout, etc. Oh, and coffee preference too!



[#welcome] Welcome also to Daniel1967. Guess that gives us another state represented here in The Coffee Shop. I don’t recall another Keystone Stater, but of course my memory isn’t as good as it used to be. Newly started benchwork? Congrats.

QUOTE: … a voice from the depths of the solo modeling world……. cause as long as ya got this, ya ain't no lone wolf....

That’s right, welcome to the virtual model railroad club.



[#welcome] And now we have Attaboy. Who turns out to be another Pennsylvania resident!

QUOTE: I've been an arm chair modeler for about 40 years. Now that all the little things like college, military service, marriage, kids, divorce, and child support are out of the way, I have the time and money to actually start a railroad.

I sound like an old record, but “Where have I heard that before?” You’re in very good company with long time armchair modelers finally getting started. Yeah, DLE sounds good, not sure I can get my tongue around the full name.



Bo, I can’t remember if you’ve been in before or not, so I don’t know whether to say welcome or welcome back?? [%-)]

QUOTE: der: Welcome to my world. 24 kbps on dial up.

Hey, you want to live somewhere with a gorgeous view like you have, you have to pay some price. Seriously, I had an ugly dialup connection for the first several months down here. Not only slow, but continually dropping the connection. It was horrible. And forget about trying to upload pictures to Rail Images. My connection now is DSL over the same bad phone line, but it’s a different world.



Duke, you’re doing real good with the new posting method. Just a little more practice. But it’s saved me a number of times when I messed up but had the original post saved in Word.

QUOTE: Ed-Saw your reply on where to put wires,and also was able to put a face with the name,it does help.

There’s a better picture of me (if I do say so) in my profile. [:I]

QUOTE: Grubby: These are likely to be stupid questions I start with though, so be prepared to dazzle me with your knowledge of US geography.

That’s okay, stupid questions are easier to answer. Ask away about geography, that’s one of my favorite subjects! Benchwork progress on your layout too? Way to go. And you can always lay temporary track on your plywood to run trains while you cogitate over what the final layout wants to be.

QUOTE: …my rules for drinking liquids is Coke, Beer and things that mix with Coke so it makes life simpler....

We’ll get along fine as soon as orange season is over and I go back to my afternoon Cuba Libre’s instead of rum in orange juice. [tup]



Hey ftw, saw your new signature symbol. You need to know we’re not really Politically Correct here in the Coffee Shop. Oh… what’s that? You say it’s not a statement, it’s a railroad logo? Ooops, sorry, my bad. [swg]

QUOTE: (western)Tom: Went to Home Depot last night to get some 2" extruded foam insulation for an extension I've got planned … and got informed that the stuff has been banned out here in Sunny California--hello? I guess it's dangerous to the Condors or something.

Yeah, ran into that on a thread in the Layout Building forum a week ago. Surprised me too.

QUOTE: So anyway, I'm trying to work with this new Insulfoam and I've got beads flying all OVER the place!

Like I say, your Shop-Vac, don’t shape foam without it!

QUOTE: (eastern)Tom: Bill M. and I met Phil and Amy in Kennesaw about 10 in the morning. Hung out at the train store for a while, watched trains going by and had coffee and tea at a place right next door. It was a lot of fun, and it's good to put faces with the words. Talked about trains, model railroads, ships ( Phil had his USS Enterprise, CV-6) hat on, and all kinds of other stuff. It was a pleasure to meet them and a really fun day.

Glad everything worked out and that you guys could meet up. I’m certainly looking forward to my trip NOB next month, and the planned meeting at Teffy’s.

QUOTE: Ed, it sounds like the orange grove is the real deal too. Maybe you don't need a big tractor, but it take a lot of effort to keep it up.

I’ve toyed with the idea, but the logistics are tough, considering how far we live from the grove and the lack of adequate or secure storage there. We’ll see how things go later on.



Der, the layout’s coming right along. I see the talus pile is still in the same place though. One other question, is that the tunnel that has the light box, or am I confused as usual?



Brian, if you can negotiate it, this space will work out a lot better for you than the coffee table. I looked at the plan (clicking on it blows it up pretty big). I’ve got three possible suggestions for you. Obviously they reflect my preferences, so don’t be shy about ignoring them. First, I’d consider putting one or two gentle curves in that long double track straightaway. I think running the two tracks dead straight and parallel to the edge may not be the most interesting treatment. Second, I’d consider trying to get the access to the engine terminal and turntable to come off the ladder closer to the main. By having it come off the inside ladder track virtually means that you won’t be able to use that track for car storage or classification, as you’ll need to maintain the track clear for engine access. Third, (and here I’m assuming the yard side of the layout is against the wall) even though you’re tall, you’ve got the major rerailing / uncoupling center arranged so that you have to reach in to access it. I’d consider rearranging the layout to put the yard at the front.

Anyway, those were three things that came to mind. Keep us posted of design progress.


Okay, busy day here in the shop. Probably my fault for not trying to catch up this morning. Anyway, hope you all have a good evening and I’ll see you (in a manner of speaking) tomorrow.

Hasta mañana,

Ed

[GDRMCo]

hey guys. you've probably been wondering where I have been for the last few days.
#1 adsl modem carked it
#2 school

[Paul W. Beverung]

Ftwfn;
Funny thing about coal trains,when there stopped they dont want to go!
And once you get them going they dont want to stop!

Ftw; Yup. We have to find you a shorter name. From your statement about the coal trains can we assume that you have had experience with them?

Duke; The system that I’m using now seems to be working OK. Hum. Chrome guard for the tractor’s exhaust stack. That sounds flashy.

Welcome to all the new comers. Feel free to chime in at any time and on any subject. Ask questions and we’ll try to find the answer. Once in awhile we even have a correct answer. In the coffee shop all questions are good ones.

Brian; I agree with Ed on moving the yard to the front of the layout and putting a curve or two in that long straight. The plan looks good.


Has anyone seen Teffy? Do we have to send out the hounds again?

Well I’ll say good night to everyone. Again welcome to all the new comers. Glade to have you aboard.

Paul

The Duluth, Superior, & Southeastern

“ The Superior Route “

[grayfox1119]

Good evening gents, Jim and I are up a little late tonight, keeping Zoe company, Cloe worked the day shift, so she has hit the sack.

Ed: You are one sharp dude, you figured it out right away, no one else caught it.

QUOTE: Cowabunga!!!

. Old Native American word from Chief Thunderthud, remember him Ed? Then there was Princess SummerFallWinterSpring too. By the way, nice pic of you on the thread wiring your layout with door at 90 degrees...VERY NICE !!!!

Der John: your layout is really starting to take shape, I can't wait to see how the mountains look when finished with landscaping.

Well, the computer upgrade went as scheduled on Lorraine's computer, I sure do love Xp OS. It recognized the hub right away as well as the new USB cable for the printer, went off and found the drivers and .dll files it liked and ran correct right out of the gate. I never got a chance to work on the train room, went to Mass at 4pm service, then the wife reminded me that we had tickets to the Stars on Ice at the Worcester Centrum at 7, so that was the end of the day and any hopes of working on the room, but ALAS, Sunday is a free day...........quick....hide the "honey do" jar !!!!

A big welcome to the coffee shop to Steve from PA ....[#welcome][#welcome] have tall OJ on me Steve !!!![:D][:D]

See you guys later, going to check the forums and then hit the sack....


God Bless everyone,

[twhite]

Hey, latest on our Politicaly Correct California Foam--I can glue the Woodland Scenics roadbed directly to the plastic covering, so I don't have to strip off the pretty sea-blue plastic covering. Other than that, I've got the Shop-Vac working overtime. If those of you who haven't checked Steve Blackledge's website yet--you should. Man, does that guy know how to do rockwork! And he's got a really COOL photo of an old Alco diesel sunk in the mud. Other than that, it's late, too late for coffee, so I'm drinking apple juice. Gave up Tuborg for Lent. Dang, Lent came early this year--didn't we just have Christmas?
Hey, Bo, you said you live in Western Sacramento--were you anywhere near those Natomas tornadoes last week? It took Channel 3 about six hours to admit that they weren't "funnel clouds". Like we're not supposed to have tornadoes in California? Oh, well--
Gotta go feed Spooky the Maine Coon cat before she has a fit. Saturday nights is her turn on my lap while we watch 'Law & Order SVU'. I've got this thing for Mariska Hargitay, she's got a thing for Chris Meloni, but I have to feed her first. Dang, I've got an 18-pound furry Groupie on my hands!
Later,
Tom

[trolleyboy]

Good evening everyone.First off giant [#welcome]s to all the new faces,we may have to hire another set of identicle twins to keep us all served[}:)][:D]. John it's not suprising that the Concorde was able to outmanouver the F4 you have to remember that when PM Diefenbaker [:(!][:(!][:(!]cancelled the avro Arrow alot of it's designers got jobs elseware Nasa ,Rockwell, British aerospace alot of the concordes wing and controll designs are(were) just enlarged versions of the CF105 and shared the design team.For those who do not know what I'm raving about the Avro arrowcf105 was an all weather high altitude intercepter designd and built here in Canada The original production modles easily did Mach1.2 in 1955 The mark 2's which were just starting to be built hit Mach2.3 in 1959 the fastest fighter jet in the world at the time ,alas the program was given the old political axe and they never reached RCAF service and all 10 produced aircraft were cut up.30,000 jobs lost and an industry detroyed[:(][:(].Oh well. I;'m going to head out into the forum to poke around try to stop back later. Rob

[trolleyboy]

Hey all it's just me poping back in again. Thanks ed for the tip on the nwsl site.I'm likely going to grab a batch of fleas[:0][:D]Not something you hear most people say.I managed to put together and finish off my last building today so as it's touch ups dry I can decide where it will get planted on the ol layout.Well I'm off the ol sack is calling[|)] Nite all. Rob [zzz][zzz][zzz]

[red p]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Paul W. Beverung

Ftwfn;
Funny thing about coal trains,when there stopped they dont want to go!
And once you get them going they dont want to stop!

Ftw; Yup. We have to find you a shorter name. From your statement about the coal trains can we assume that you have had experience with them?

Yes, Ive had a lot of experience with them a lot of coke trains too.
Thats what the dash 9s are good for anyway.Seems the GEs are built more for tonage as they are slow loading.Although they seem to do better with an EMD in the lead telling it what to do.

[Anonymous]

Everyone needs something to believe in...I believe I'll have a Harp lager. Yes, it's 8 AM, but I work nights, so it's evening to me. I've also been up 59 of the last
73 hours (4 and 5 hours of sleep, plus another 5 hours in 3 naps) so I need it to counteract all the caffeine I've been sucking down to stay awake.

I've been absent because I returned to school (ITT Tech - major in Info Security). The quarter's almost over and it's been crunch (finals) time, hence the lack of
sleep. Now it's a sweet two weeks off until the next quarter .

BTW, anybody know why the boxes are coming out twice as wide as my screen, even though I'm at 800 X 600? It's a pain to do the horizontal scroll
every line, so I've been hitting the <enter> key just to keep things lined up in my browser (Firefox).

Hints for you PC users: Free software for viruses: Avast. Downloaded, and got 3 virus file updates the first week (automatically). Killed 3 viruses immediately
and it alerts me when I hit one on a web page (you'd be surprised where they lurk - don't ask, I don't remember). Also, if you run Linux, there's a package called
SpamAssassin (free I think) that uses statistical scoring to detect spam. In a whitepaper on sans.org the author states that it hit 97% accuracy in 3 weeks after
installing it on the corporate servers (it takes time to develop the statistical scoring database). Setup scripts are included in the whitepapers on sans. Found this
web browser, Firefox, that seems more stable on my system than Netscape. I'm also told Opera will mimic numerous web browsers to servers, even Internet
Exploder. Haven't tried Opera, though.

Just be aware if you're not already, viruses can be propagated through chat rooms, IRC, e-mail, web pages, almost anything. If you're running wide open, get
some free virusware at the very least. You can try Avast, and there are others. Google "freeware anti-virus" and your operating system and see what you find. It
also doesn't hurt to have 2 or more anti-viral packages. What one misses another may catch.
<YAWN>
G'nite (day?)

[Noah Hofrichter]

Well folks, I'm stopping in fast between engine lube jobs, I've got quite a few more to go. I really shouldn't stick around too long, so give me a hot chocolate in a to go cup. Maybe I'll try to stop back later, We'll see.

Noah

[Attaboy]

Good Morning, all. Or evening or afternoon, whereever you are. Just checking in before going out for the afternoon. Thanks for the warm welcome. Grubby is right this is infectious. I started checking just once in a while and lately it's become almost everyday. I feel like I know some of the regulars personally.

ED

QUOTE: DLE sounds good, not sure I can get my tongue around the full name.

The name is from three actual towns in PA. I just thought it sounded like a good name for a narrow gauge line. The DLE is a tribute to my late father.

As for Brian's request for pictures, I just ordered a digital camera so they will come eventually. Right now the basement room is getting a basic makeover to accomodate a railroad. Doing the joint compound sanding now. After a coat of paint and a suspended ceiling it should be about ready for some benchwork. Hopefully in a week or two.

Time to go, see you later.

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
It's another gray, chilly morning in the mountains. It's going to be a really good day today even if it is an inside day. The coffee is wonderful and we're having kind of a lazy morning. I'm going to get started plugging the tax info in to the program in a little bit. It will be nice to get some progress made on that today. I'll probably get some foam carved later on, after I've had enough fun with numbers.

I didn't mention it last time, but while we were at the train store on Friday, I picked up one of the new Woodland Scenics car sets. I got the '40 Ford coupe and the '51 Chevy 2 door hardtop. There are beautiful. The shapes appear to be very accurate and the finish is extremely well done. Shiny, but not high gloss. The '40, with a little modification, is going to be my transporter car. It's going to be sitting in front of the gas pumps at the gas station at Topton. The Branchline station is almost perfect for that. It should make an interesting little scene. It will also be interesting to see who recognizes the '40 for what it is.

Attaboy, welcome to the coffee shop and welcome back to the hobby. We have a lot of fun in here and exchange a lot of good information. It's a nice friendly atmosphere. Enjoy.

Der, the access hatch looks good. Re state songs, that sure sounds like something Garrision Keillor would have said.

Matt and Der, your comments about the Concorde's manuverability were interesting. I'd never thought about the aircraft from that standpoint. I also enjoyed Trolleyboy's comments about the CF-105 and the demise of the program. It was a beautiful, superb aircraft.

Hi Mitchell, sorry about the problems with the modem. Pop in as time and school permit. We're always glad to see you.

Paul, coal trains are a classic example of the imutability of the laws of physics. The Southern and NS had several places on Saluda where train speed was measured. If speed exceeded 8 mph, the train was automatically switched onto one of several safety tracks to be stopped before it ran away.

I'd best go for now, this is fun, but it's not getting the numbers done.
Have a great day, everybody,
Tom

[Noah Hofrichter]

Oh boy, I did it again, I one the most not coveted TOTP award. Put the drinks on my tab, and give me another one......[sigh]

Noah

[Anonymous]

Just dropping in to say hi in between surfing eBay and researching spares (now hunting down some parts for an LGB steamer that had a close encounter with a concrete floor a few years back and has been in bits ever since - looks like I need a new mainframe and a few other bits but it's repairable. There's an eBay lot finishing tomorrow that has a lot of bits I could use, so fingers crossed!

I found something interesting during my eBay rummaging - a Model Power FA2 A+B set. I have a strange suspicion that these were in fact some of their best locos? Wondering if anyone else has had experience of them, I know MP had a lot of stuff made by Mehano (which wasn't great) but they also had some Roco models. Starting bid was £3 with 6 days left, so just wondering if I should take a closer look?

Tom, I've read the book written by Brian Trubshaw (one of the Concorde test pilots), what really comes through is how capable the plane was. Due to the wing design it won't stall, it just sinks faster as the nose rises. It's also pretty much immune to jetwash from other aircraft. It has no flaps or slats either, no need due to the delta wing. Interesting thing about the changes between the prototype versions (of which I've seen two in museums) and the production version - apparently the technique for taking off in the prototype was to stop at the start of the runway, put the brakes on, open the throttles wide and bring the afterburners up, then take the brakes off when you had full thrust. The production version has more powerful engines, so when they tried this on a wet runway it started sliding along with all wheels locked! Eventually they resorted to "brakes on, full throttle, brakes off and punch burners simultaneously".

Bye for now.