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

[Anonymous]

Have you ever accidently hit the "Reset Form" key and wiped out a half hours worth of typing and rambling? I just did. So with that in mind, I'll just toast my coffee to everyone, go feed the three hungry huge critters staring at me, known elsewhere in the world as cats, wake the wife up, and have coffee with her.

Fergie- when you get back from your crusie, give us a heads-up on the Mid-state Marble Co. structure you just got (is it HO?). It looks remarkedly similar to a structure a few miles from my home that was a wholesale marble dealer right on the shortline that runs thru town (ex L&N). Some of the world's largest marble quarries are fairly close by and served by a branch stub of the same railroad. Only wish I could get up close and personal to the quarries, which I'm sure they and OSHA would frown on.

Phil & Noah - send rain this way. Weather in Atlanta wasn't wet enough yesterday, except in isolated pockets.

Jim - thanks for being so diplomatic in your post re: the 'silly posters'. You handled it just fine.

anybody? - have lots of left over humidity if anybody is running low on it this season. Boy does it slow one down when working outside around here. I mowed the lawns in the rain yesterday. Thank God my shop and modelrailroad area already have the dedicated hvac and security system in-nice and safe and sound. Will be working on electrical and framing down there today.

dharmon- appreciate your comments re: housing in So Cal, for my wife and I sold real estate in Orange County for awhile until ten years ago. The prices have soared into the stratosphere ! Ouch! California is an awesome and beautiful place, but definitely a state of mind. I do miss it a bunch; it's that I'd have to win the lottery - unlikely - to ever go back, for I will not give up my basement, with a house over the top of it for the wife, and my acre and a half of wooded hillside, and the really good folks in this part of the country.

The cats are doing their march across the keyboard, and I don't want them to also strike the Reset Form key, so it's time to wish everyone a great day.
BILL

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
It's about 8:15AM in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains, and it's going to be another beautiful, if very wet day. It absolutely poured yesterday. It was a real gulley washer. It was the kind of rain that provides a good test of gutters, drains and erosion control. Everything is working good so far. Actually the hard work of that kind is long since done around here. Now it's just a matter of maintaining everything, which is a constant process.

I think the term for humans believing we can change or control Mother Nature is hubris. And it speaks highly for our intelligence, diligence and the work and effort we're willing to put out that we do it as well as we do. Of Course every now and then, Mama Nature shows us who's still boss. I grew up on the east coast of Florida, and can remember watching some really cool houses falling into the ocean. That despite lots of sandbags and other things being used to try to prevent it. Phil, that wasn't the last time I filled sandbags, but I hope I don't ever have to do it again. It's not much fun.

Noah, Have you had a chance to start on your layout repair yet? Let us know how it's going, and tell us about your scratchbuilding project if it's not a secret at this point.

Fergie, have a good cruise and stay safe out there. Stay in touch as much as you can.

Jim, I too was one of the ones who was laying back and hoping that someone with more tact than I would handle that situation. You did it very well. Thank You.

Bill, Is the Duece kit the same one that Lindberg offered many, many years ago? As I recall that was a full fendered stock body and chassis with a small block Chevy engine. It was a very nice kit. It was easy to modify and built up beautifully. I did mine as a highboy with bobbed rear fenders, no front fenders, dropped front axle, etc.
I've tried real hard to stay focused on model railroading since I got into it. So far I've done pretty well. However there are some things that will always be tempting. Chief among them are Tamiya's 1/32 scale F-4's. When I was building model aircraft I probably built more 48th scale Phantoms than any other type of aircraft. Back then the only 1/32 scale F-4 available was the old Revell kit, and it was very inaccurate in some very important areas. The idea of building a 32nd scale Great Smoking Thunderhog will always be very tempting. It's not a pretty airplane in the sense that a Spitfire, P-51 or
F-86 is pretty, but boy is it impressive. I need to change the subject. It's becoming more of a temptation the more I think about it.

Well, that's enough rambling again. I need to get some weedwhacking done before the rains start again.

Have A great Day Everybody,
Tom

[egmurphy]

Morning all,

QUOTE: Bill asks: Have you ever accidently hit the "Reset Form" key and wiped out a half hours worth of typing and rambling?

Yup, that's why if I think it's going to be a long reply/post, I tend to write it in Word, then copy it over here, add smilies and forum code, then paste. Or if I start in the quick reply window and it winds up going longer than I intended, I sometimes copy what I've got into a word window and save it, thus having at least a partial copy if a finger goes astray on the keyboard.

I've also used Word in another way. As I read through the posts on a day where there have been a lot of posts or opportunities to reply, I keep a window open in Word and make short notes there of what I want to reply to (sometimes just copying/pasting from posts here). Then I use that Word document as a working draft to compose the reply, before pasting it back in the quick reply window later.

However, having said all that, it occurs to me that your question was probably rhetorical, and that you weren't looking for advice. [:)]

Well I'm still hot from the morning walk, got the a/c on and fan blowing on me, and a good cup of coffee beside the keyboard.

Later

Ed

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomwatkins

The idea of building a 32nd scale Great Smoking Thunderhog will always be very tempting. It's not a pretty airplane in the sense that a Spitfire, P-51 or
F-86 is pretty, but boy is it impressive. I need to change the subject. It's becoming more of a temptation the more I think about it.

Whaddya mean.........the F4 was a BEEEYOOOTIFUL plane....if you like bricks with wings......I used to live in Austin as a kid before Bergstrom AFB became the airport. I grew up watching RF4C's do their thing (converting dead dinosaurs into long brown trails and noise). Phnatom's rock. Proof positive that all you need is a pair of really big engines to propel anything.....saw a few of the JSDF Phantoms a few years ago take off in full burn ....... a lovely sight.

Phil - CA is just a place to live for me. The dislike of moving is keeping me here for another tour, more than love of CA. It's not really my cup of tea. We have a great neighborhood with makes it nice, but when I'm done here I want to be a little less close to my neighbors and have a little (little) more rain, a little more deer and a lot less craziness.

Dan

[Anonymous]

I should be in the shop, but I'd thought I'd stop back by for a last cup of coffee.

Ed- yes, that was a rhetorical statement, and my way of expressing a little exasperation !

Tom- can you keep the rain up north of me a bit, because my erosion control is not done. . . The model my wife got me is by Revell, and a reissue of a great old Monogram kit of a 1/8 scale 1932 Ford roadster that can be built with fenders or without, as a highboy. It has a choice of engines now - the originally included Pontiac V8, or now also a 1948 vintage flathead Ford/Merc V8 w/ speed equipment. They've added vintage hot rod style steel wheels and caps, as well as spun alum. "Moon" discs, additional interior bits, including a Mexican blanket for a seat cover, and all new vintage, period perfect decals. It is 30" long when finished. (FYI - Revell and Monogram are the same company now, having merged a few years ago.)

Dan - where in California are you? I used to live under the landing pattern for the El Toro Marine Air Station, and later under the take off pattern for the same base. Those Phantoms were so cool, and so loud. Not sure if you could spot the smoke trailing from behind them first, or hear them coming. Only thing noiser was a Harrier in a hover, and we had them, too. When the FA18s replaced the F4s it got quiet in comparison. You need to consider where Tom and I have relocated. This is a best kept secret - well not anymore. Speaking of deer, I had a magnificant buck in my back yard nibbling on the bushes the other day. Never could understand how someone could shoot Bambi. We've got all kinds of critters - not quite like Krump has - no bears - but lots of deer, possoms, raccoons, huge, very well fed rabbits, a once in awhile spotting of a coyote, and all kinds of birds - owls, robins, cardinals, blue birds, blue jays, wrens, humming birds, doves, hawks,geese, black birds, and wild turkeys. Throw in a snake once in awhile, toads, tree frogs, lizards, and even a baby snapping turtle I found the other day. Only thing missing is my teenaged son. Then my zoo would be complete !
BILL

[dharmon]

Bill - I'm stationed in San Diego but live up in the North County, so I have about a 70 mile round trip commute each day. So by the time I get home, I've had just about enough of humanity for the day. Not sure where I'm going to go yet when I "retire" is a few years to start my second career. Probably back home to Texas or someplace green(er). Don't get me wrong...CA has plenty to offer, but it's not where I want to spend the rest of my life. At least not SoCal. Up north is really nice though.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Phill, Ed, and Tom, no it's not a secret, I just haven't said what it is in a while. I'm building a model of the WSOR's (who else) former GTW transfer caboose. This is a picture I took in Madison of it:

When grayhound chalenger (now Student of the big blue sky) gets up the page for voting after the middle of August, be sure to vote for me in the contest. I'll post pictures here as soon as I get it finished, if I do in time........

Tom, I haven't started on the repairs yet. I'll definately get it working though, it's not as bad as I first though. I might just have to add a little peice of track that wasn't there before......

Bill I wish we could, but there's no way, mother natures just screwed up. We've only had light sprinkles the past week twice. Soon I'll be talking about how we need rain[*^_^*]....

Bored, that's about it. Bye now. scratchbuild, must go hobby shop(I hope, if mom say OK), bye again[why isn't there a baby smiley]

Noah

[egmurphy]

Oooohhh, nice choice. Are you going to do it with all the 'starving artist' stuff on the side, or the clean version? Okay, back to work (or to the LHS, whatever).

Let me show my ignorance here. What special purpose does a 'transfer caboose' serve? I recognize that they generally don't have cupolas, and often (always?) have large platforms, but where do they get used?

Regards

Ed

[philnrunt]

Tom- I have to agree with Dan- the F-4 was a great looking jet. McDonnell just knows how to make a twin engined monster look good-the 101 VooDoo is another serious looking ride. Not a P-51 tho. You just can't get any prettier than a Mustang. A few years back I was driving by Hulman Aprt in Terre Haute when 2 F-4's took off. I stopped and my friend with me was a bit impatient to get on down the road until he saw and HEARD them spool up and rock and roll. He began building F-4 models soon after.
Ed- you sure make it sound like these things can be controlled by humans. I keep waiting for a message to pop up that tells me to get my hands off of the keyboard and don't come back. I believe they think about how to kill us when we ar'nt around.And who is this HAL and Forbin that I keep getting undecipherable messages from?
Bill- I went ahead with that project we spoke about.
fergie- Check in when and where you can, or we'll be talkin bout cha!
noah- What a sharp little TC, nice choice should look great with that yellow paint job. Ed- transfer cab's are used on switch jobs, they replace a more costly and maintenance intensive regular caboose. They are usually made in the RR's shops, out of old flats and boxes that are "made to measure".
Conrail had quite a few in this area, when we had 2 operating glass factories in town they always used one on the local. Now with just one factory, the conductor does his paperwork in the engine.
Finishing up my iced joe, need another mug.
Talk to ya all again soon.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Ed, I'm doing the clean version. I think origionaly they were used in yards to transfer crews across really large yard, or from yard to yard. The WSOR uses ( or should) theirs to protect a shove on a 10 mile line, or at least that's it's intended purpose. I know the crew, as there the same that cames up here, and they say they rarely use it. The were telling me they might bring it up on the end of the train sometime, just for the heck of it, even though that's not it's use. The whole idea is to have the conductor in it with the engine on the oposite end of the train, pushing the train. The Conductor would use the radio to tell the engineer if all the cars are stopped at the crossing, and to make sure nothings in the way of the track. Right now the conductor just rides on the end of the boxcar or whatever, hangs on for dear life, and gives the radio signals.

Noah [whew]

[Anonymous]

I went railfanning on Saturday to a railfan weekend along the old PRR Bel-Del and this is what I saw (I'm posting this on both the Trains and MR boards), first we rode the New York Susquehanna & Western (NYS&W) RDC M1 a couple miles and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and sat there for a half an hour for NYS&W 2-8-2 #142 to head by with two boxcars, a ballast car and a caboose, we then rode back on the RDC and saw Norfolk Southern train 24V with primer (unpainted) C40-9W 9871 and C40-8 8308 (still in CR blue). NS train 19G came next with C40-9W 9698 and C39-8 8209, then NS train 213 came through with four GP60's (7112, 7143, 7100, and 7121) and another train with C40-8W 8429 (still in CR blue) and SD60 6699. We rode rehind the 142 and a motorcar we saw C40-9W 9833 and a C40-8W still in CR blue. We rode the M1 again for a photo run-by along the Delaware River (3 to be exact, two from the steamer and one from the M1) then headed home. Pics are coming in a day or two! [:)]

[tomwatkins]

Hey Everbody,
Hope everyone had a really good day. The rain pretty much held off today. We had a few showers but nothing like yesterday.

Dan, the F-4 is a case of beauty is as beauty does. I remember reading someone, very early on in it's career, writing that compared to other fighters, it looked like someone had closed the hanger door on it. The nose drooped, the wingtips were bent up. the rear of the fuselage canted down a little and the stabilators looked like they were about to fall off. Besides, it's so big. This is a fighter? That may not be a direct quote, but it's close. All of it was true of course, but all of it was for a purpose. The looks grew on everbody, and after a while it was obvious that they looked exactly the way fighters should look. They are very beautiful aircraft and truly awesome. In March, we went to Phoenix to visit our son. One day the ladies went shopping and Matt and I went exploring. One of the places we went was the Comemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa. They used to be the Confederate Air Force but they changed their name a few years back. "Sentimental Journey", their bare metal B-17G was there, out on the ramp being preped for the air show season. That's also a beautiful airplane. Inside the museum building they have an F-4N in VF-21 markings. It was the first Phantom I've seen in a lot of years. Beautiful airplane. Incidently, that is a really good museum. They have lots of really interesting aircraft.

Bill, I hope the rains held off on you today also. Thanks for the info on the Duece kit. It sounds really nice. We do have bears up here. Mostly they stay higher up in the mountains, but I've seen a few. They are black bears and not really big, but of course they are big enough and best appreciated from a distance.

Enough rambling again,
Hope everybody has a good evening,
Tom

[Anonymous]

today's number:

4

For the # of days until Galesburg RR Days.


Not much to say about anything until I get back from GRRD, unfortunately no digital camera so we can forget abot posting pics. So see you next time in run 8.

An edit post for all of my spelling mistakes. [:p]

[Anonymous]

Anybody model the Northeast Corridor?

[egmurphy]

Evening all,

Kind of a slow day here with nothing earthshattering to report. Relaxing with a tall iced coffee before heading off to bed.

By the way, I'm not ignoring the posts on the jets, I just have nothing to add. My inability to recognize differences in jet fighters is only slightly less than my inability to recognize the differences in diseasels. [;)] I do keep my copies of Marre's "Diesel Locomotives: The First 50 Years" and McDonnell's "Field Guide to Modern Diesel Locomotives" within reach because I need to refer to them frequently.

Wow, Dougal, sounds like a great railfan outing. Although as I said above, I'm amazed by your ability to identify the different diesels you saw. Everything you said after 2-8-2 was kind of Greek to me. [:D]

Well there was one interesting episode. I've been having problems with the a/c fan on the car cutting out, sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for 15 minutes. And you can appreciate that down here a functioning car a/c is second only in importance to a functioning horn. [(-D] Anyway, I was sure it was a short circuit or loose connection. But a couple of better mechanics had not been able to find it. So today I went to a real 'shade tree' mechanic near here. This guy has a lean-to for a shop. About 15 cars in various stages of disassembly sitting around the place. The kind of shop you'd model out in the countryside on your layout! Anyway, it takes him about 2 minutes to not only confirm my guess but also to actually find the problem spot. Took another 30-40 minutes to jury rig the repair, cutting out the offending connection and splicing the cable back together (finding a replacement part was probably not a high probability option). What's the last time you saw someone solder a connection with an iron, and not an electric iron? I mean the kind you heat up in a fire (he used a blowtorch to heat it). Did the whole job with one pair of needle nose pliers, a knife made from a piece of hacksaw blade, and a screwdriver (plus the soldering iron). The splice was really a work of art. Total bill, $9.50. And I'm sure he charged me more than he charges the locals, and probably added something in because I looked over his shoulder during the entire operation. Now if you have a nice new Beemer, or a low mileage Dodge ram extended cab pickemup truck, maybe you don't want to be trying this option. But we're waaayyy beyond worrying about the warranty on this guy. Anyway, got the a/c working for the trip north that's coming up in 4 days and a wake-up.

If you liked that one maybe I ought to relate my Mexican mechanic tale from when my alternator went out on us in the middle of nowhere. That was another good one. [swg]


Anyway, that's all for today, take it away nightshift..........................

Ed [zzz]

[Anonymous]

Well night shift is here. [:D] [;)] [:)]

I am having some Cream Of Tomato Soup and reading the forums.

I have not seen any jibberish posts lately. [:)] I knew they were kind of irratating to me but I didn't realize how many other people felt that way too. I am not holding an grudges but am glad to see that there have not been any additions to the previous ones.

Ron, how are things with the new one? Do you have any funny stories to report?

Speaking of reports . . . I sure hope we get lots of good pics from the coming trains trips of our train deprived, Mexico living retiree. <Next time I',m using his name. It is MUCH shorter. [:D] [;)] [:D] >

Not much to report here though. Work, work, work, and rain, humidity and stickyness. [:(]

Everyone take care. [:)]

[Anonymous]

This question and my reply from a trains.com forum.



QUOTE: Originally posted by trainmadman

does anyone think that steams should not be abolished



B I T E

Y O U R

TONGUE


Of course this doesn't show the smiley(s) I originally put in the reply. But it does show my high regards for steam engines and the history they contain and foster. I am sure most of you will agree. [:D]

[lupo]

MORNING ALL!
not much news from the western front, it is work work work overhere as well
I am getting bored with al those long working weeks[:(] TV said we have a weather warning for today, T storms on its way, so let's see what's up.[:P] probaply nothing!

hey Ed [:)] so I am not the only one using "Field Guide to Modern Diesel Locomotives" to translate all those numbers and letters into pictures, I too amazes me how some of you guys can see all those details ! or better, know engines by the sound of their horn!

[DINGDONG] doorbell : that's duty calling,
tace care and stay safe!

LUPO

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
It;'s another gray rainy morning in the North Georgia Mountains. Humidity is about 97% and the rains are coming. I'm ready for some sunshine but it's still going to be a great day.

Noah, the transfer cab is very cool. The Southern had a bunch of them. I think they built them in their Atlanta shops, but I'd have to look it up to be sure. Unfortunately they are a little too new to fit my time period. How about some "in progress" pictures in addition to ones of the finished product.

Ed, that's a good story about the AC. Good mechanics are wherever you find them, and skill isn't necessarily related to the size or condition of the shop. I'd love to hear about the alternator.

Got to go folks, the project for today is to start striping the wallpaper off in the kitchen. It's way down the list of my favorite things, but it needs to be done. So I better get started.

Hope everybody had a great day,
Tom

[Anonymous]

AAUUUGGGHH!!!!!
...ouch. hot coffee form seven eleven spilled on my old computer and my lap. Totaled the keyboard and it looks like the skin on my legs is peeling off. I'm lucky it didn't get on my (new for me) laptop.

[Anonymous]

HI all [:D]

If I remembered correctly today is J C Trains's birthday. I hope I have it right. I have noticed he wasn't posting lately. Now we know why. I hope everything is ok with him.

Please stop by this thread and wish him a Happy Birthday.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17744

Thanks, all. [:D]

[lupo]

Hi All!
[bday] JCtrain !!! do we get cake ???

the weather announced this mornig turned out to be a 9 Bft storm with lots of rain, had to go outside in the rain because the balcony started flooding, had to clear leaves out of the drains, balcony is getting dryer, I was soaked.

[Bergie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Noah Hofrichter



I sent Bergie a letter about deleting those nonsense posts, we'll se what he says.

Noah

If you guys visit some day and don't see any stars under your username, this episode would be a pretty good example of why (spending time deleting a bunch of nonsense doesn't build the case for keeping stars).

Most get it, some don't. For those that don't and try to rack up the post numbers, it's really annoying. Stars and constructive conversations have nothing in common. Most with stars get that. Just because you don't have stars doesn't mean your comments aren't valid. You're all on a level playing field in my mind.

Bergie

[Noah Hofrichter]

Tom, Right now there isn't much actually put together, but once I start assembling the model together, I'll post pics, along with the painting and decaling, as well as the finish product. I've got to go order some stuff from Walthers now, as my LHS couldn't get it in, because he didn't have enough for minimum order, and probably won't have it for a while, so I'm going to break down and pay shipping.

JC train, Have a happy birthday. Can't wait, mine's comming up on Friday, and were going to the local tourist line for the day. They used to have steam, but because of rules made a couple of years ago, they've been trying to raise money to bring them up to code. They do still have a diesel engine that they use, but it's not the same as the steam.

Noah

[Fergmiester]

Thank You Bergie

Hopefully someone got you a cup of coffee when you popped in!

Evening gents crew change is done and we sail tomorrow for parts less travelled. We got the rain the rest of the continent sent us, Thanks

Looks like I'll be out of circulation for awhile but that's ok as I have 3 kits and a turntable packed away along with enough wood to start a trestle bridge. No one ever got back to me on the Blair Line Kits so I don't know how I should read that? Godd or Bad[%-)]

Happy Birthday JC!

[egmurphy]

Evening all,

Guess we can all complain about the weather. By comparison I guess ours hasn't been too bad (other than hot and humid). It was very overcast and humid this morning, some slight showers when we were walking the dogs, and lots of lightning strikes in mid-morning, but the heavens never really opened up. Cleared out this afternoon and it's nice out now.

Tom, I'll see if I can find time to write something on the other Mexican mechanic story. It was a good one and he really pulled my bacon out of the fire with his work.

JCtrains, if it is your birthday, then I hope you have a good one. Got to watch that hot coffee. Smarts just to read about that.

Ferg, can't help with the question about Blair Line kits as I have no experience with them. Hope all goes well on the cruise.

QUOTE: They used to have steam, but because of rules made a couple of years ago, they've been trying to raise money to bring them up to code. They do still have a diesel engine that they use, but it's not the same as the steam.

They're not alone with that problem. Last month I mentioned the Texas State Railroad up in Palestine & Rusk. They have several steam engines, but after inspections they only had one left operating last year. Had to use a diesel on the other run. Hey, it's better than not having a tourist railroad at all. Enjoy your outing.

I believe it's time to start thinking seriously about our packing list for the trip. Because it's just three more days and a wake-up until we're on the road. I've got the digital camera, charger base, tripod, et al on top of the list. There will be photos.

I'm going see if DW will whip me up a tall glass of iced coffee. Maybe if I've been real good I'll get some coffee cake on the side!! [:D]

Hasta mañana

Ed

[Anonymous]

Ed- I'm not complaining about the weather here! Not a cloud in the sky all day, with a small breeze, low to mid 80s. And please do post the other Mexican Mechanic story!

Noah-where's this tourist line at? Are they standard or narrow guage?

JCTrain, hope you've had a happy birthday (evening now in Central time)

[krump]

QUOTE: Originally posted by philnrunt


Looks like another slow night here, so I think I'll dig deep into the forum and see if I can bring an old and forgotten topic up for some fresh air.

i'm gonna do the same.... race you to the last page!!!

40 degrees here today - cooling down a bit now that it's late

hat's off to you Bergie for the good call[bow][bow]

[Anonymous]

Rut Row Raggy [;)]

Someone wasn't too pleased about having to delete posts. Hopefully we can prevent such happenings in the future so he won't have to delete posts. I would wager someone also got an email that probally no one would want to get. A lesson for us to try to help others not to learn the hard way.

Well, a lesson learned the hard way won't soon be forgotten. Sorry it all had to happen.

I saw trains today but too far away for numbers. I also went by the UP yard and saw several CNW cars. There was some work going on there too, some construction type work.

Well gonna go check out the other forums. [;)] [:)]

Have a great day.

[philnrunt]

Noah- My girlfriends B-day is also Fri, I took her to see Simon & Garfunkle in Indy tonight. They were probably before your time, but they sing some pretty fine tunes. It cost as much as 2-count 'em-2 new Kato, Genesis,Atlas or P2K engines, but it was worth it, especially if she remembers that come Sept!
For the last few days, the weather here has been very nice. Cool at night(just right for a campfire) and low humidity and upper 70's all day. I wonder what it's setting us up for.
krump- as soon as I said I was going back in posts, we had an outbreak of stupidity and I got busy, never did get a chance to get back in the archives. I'll try again tomorrow night, then the race will be ON!
Not working tonight (concert) so I'm getting to bed plenty early, 4AM! Hope it dos'nt throw a monkey wrench into my finely tuned schedule.