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

[Anonymous]

I was driving home from school today and a train had just passed. There was this little white car with the back left smashed in and stuck in a thicket of trees. There was a couple people from other cars out there appearantly helping whoever was in the car. Best i can figure the car tried to get across the tracks, didnt quite make it, got hit by the train and spun into the trees. Scary stuff[B)]


Remember: Look Listen and Live

[fec153]

With that blue foam it looks like Iceland or Siberia. BRRRRRRRR.

[Anonymous]

Good Morning All:

I can't believe that I had to go to the second page of the discussions today to find the coffee shop. Were is everybody? The second cup of tea sure taste good. It's a good way to start the day. The temp got to 94 yesterday and it's supposed to get hotter today, I'm to old to work in this kinda heat, but the grass has to be mowed, the car washed, abd all of the other ouside chores done.

I've got to get out of here - I want to lay a switch before I go to work. I trial fitted it last night and put in the uncoupling magnet so it should be a twenty minute job this morning.

Ya'll have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY
Bob

[egmurphy]

Hello all,

Guess I'm back. Had a spell of major computer problems, that culminated in the machine locking up and being un-rebootable [|(], but looks like we're back up and stable now. Actually posted a couple of times in the last day or so but still wasn't sure that we had things licked.

The bad news is that the hard drive had to be reformatted. Good news is that they were able to save almost all (almost) the data files, including the photos. Had to reinstall all the software and OS, so now I'm still trying to figure out how I had preferences set in different programs, because they aren't all operating the same as before.

And it looks like the new DSL connection (still over the same phone line) is now working much better than before. It's not as fast as the cable connections that a lot of you have, but it's a lot faster than what I had before with the dial-up connection.

Anyway, I’ve been reading fast and trying to catch up on all that has gone on while I was offline. I see we have a lot of new faces here. [#welcome] Welcome to you all. Haven’t seen anything from Bill M so I assume he’s still recovering, hope things are going well with him. Haven’t seen anything from Philnrunt. And I see Ferg is back off to sea.

Noah, I was tickled to see that you are actually considering naming your new subdivision the ARK lines after all that joking we did about your flooded basement.

Teffy, I don’t remember the last time it snowed in Beaumont, but I do remember that it did in Jan of ’73. We had just moved into a new house in a subdivision north of town and a storm dumped about 2-3 inches. Stayed long enough to bring down the power lines. Thought we were okay because we had gas heat, but I forgot that the blower ran on electricity. We wound up burning some stuff in the fireplace (including an end table that had been destroyed in the move) to keep warm.

Ah yes, food discussions. [C=:-)] It’s been a while since we delved into Netherlands cuisine. And since BarBQueMeister, oops, Fergmeister, is out to sea I guess we won’t be getting any grilling tips for a while. But it’s almost lunch time, so I’ll have to run. I hear some tacos and cerveza calling me. See you guys later this afternoon (if the connection and computer stay stable).

Hasta Luego

Ed

[Noah Hofrichter]

Teffy, Thanks alot for the tip. I bought a few above track magnets a few months ago, and tried installing them, but I didn't care for the look of it and they didn't work great as the trip pins would catch the edge of it. So lately I've been using the Rix uncoupling tool. I like how it works, but would like to install a few uncoupling magnets. I'll have to look for those under the track ones, thanks alot for the advice.

Ed, That's why I decided to do it. It should be neat, and it's a heck of a lot better than the old name I had.

Not much new to report. Except I think I probably ran my last "revnue generating" operating session last night on the old layout. I'm still going to do like the real railroads, and before I take up my track I'm going to go around with one of my Road switchers and pick up the remaining cars at the industries before offically marking it "abondoned." and puclling up the old track. Like I said, the bassic track will stay the same, I'm just going to re-lay it with no spaces between joins and stuff, so hopefully I'll have less derailments. Today I've been figuring out how to re-enforce the joint between borads, as it's uneven right now. That should help the track problem I've got.

Noah

[Noah Hofrichter]

I have to make one more stop in today. After much wait, (my fault, I never ask to ahve them hosted) I finally have pictures of my Wisconsin and southern Transfer caboose, scratchbuilt by-me. Thanks to Nora From the trains forums for hosting the pics.


Here's a side veiw.........


and here's a top/end view.

The pictures don't do the real model justice, btu i hope they give you an idea of what it's like. The decals really are much crisper, but my camera isn't that good. If you want I cna post the page and a half write up of how I built it, but I figure nobody really wants to read that.......

Noah

[egmurphy]

Noah - good going! Congrats on a nice job. I'm glad I didn't miss the pics during my absence, after all the anticipation. What's the status of the scratch building contest?

Have you tried railimages.com for picture hosting? It's free (they appreciate contributions from those who can afford it but it's not a requirement).

You probably don't need to write up a page and a half, but you could consider doing a quick outline of the major steps.

Regards

Ed

[Noah Hofrichter]

Ed, From what I understand the contest got scratched- because I think I was the only one to actually submit and entry. It's to bad really, it was a neat contest. I should send an e-mail to James and see what's happening. And no, I haven't looked at them, but I should, thanks alot for the tip.

Noah

[Anonymous]

You did a fine job Noah! What materials/parts did you use?

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: I think I was the only one to actually submit an entry.

Sounds like a default win to me. [^]

Whatever, you 'won' in that you set yourself a goal, went about executing the project, did a good job, and finished on time. Not to mention the experience of the scratch building project itself.

I should be so disciplined.............................[*^_^*]

Regards

Ed

[fec153]

Nice job Noah. Wish I had had a hobby when I was your age. Keep at it and your
models will be in M.R..
Phil

[der5997]

QUOTE: Originally posted by fec153

With that blue foam it looks like Iceland or Siberia. BRRRRRRRR.

Nope, just Canada [:O][:P][(-D] Mind you, when I get the scenery materials down from the attic where they have been stored since we moved here in 1998, it will become Greenland![;)]

[Anonymous]

Hello everybody! It's been awhile since I have been here, and I'm pleased to report that I'm doing better than I was. It was a bit scary to see ones leg flare up like a bloated Sicilian balogna - correct shade of bright red and all. It was more like Southern fried baloney - temp wise. They thought it was a blood clot, and eventually ruled it out, although it is some kind of circulatory problem with my veins, as well as two cysts that are probably "fallout" from an earlier knee surgery, and numeroius injuries to that knee over the years. Some exotic - read expensive, and not recognized by my insurance company - medication is keeping the swelling more or less in check, as long as I don't push it too much physically. I have to limit how long I walk ,or stand on my leg-esp. on hard surfaces like concrete. . .

Understandably, progress has slowed in my remodeling and the completion of my woodworking shop and model railroad room. See my 8/20 post re: what I'm doing in the basement on the topic thread 'The Ultimate Basement - if you're interested in some of the things I've taken into consideration in doing my basement over. Selling off a lot of G scale and some of my HO - more a matter of upgrading my roster as well as eliminating the museum look with all the inappropriate rolling stock and engines from all over the US that were purchased because I liked the paint scheme. Had UP, Santa Fe, Rock Island, Pacific Electric, CB&Q, MoPac, PRR, NH, Espee, Wabash, Coos Bay, Seaboard Air Line, NYC, etc. just in engines! Funny thing is, now that I have the space for the first decent layout in a long time, I can't decide on a prototype ! May still do L&N's Hook & Eye Line (Old Atalnta Division), but no longer sure about that. . .It's almost too "easy ", for it's less than two miles from my house. . .

My daughter and their new baby girl are doing just fine. I have had to postpone my trip to San Jose to visit her family because of my screwed up leg, but am planning to go in a few months. Hopefully I'll be able to get reacquainted with the South Pacific Coast RR - a long gone Espee branch that ran from Oakland thru San Jose & Los Gatos and over and thru the Santa Cruz Mtns to Santa Cruz on the Pacific Coast. That is a tempting prototype. And then there's the Adirondack Division of the NYC that ran from Utica, NY, in the Mohawk Valley, northward thru the Adirondack lake and ski resort country, incl Lake Placid, and onto the St. Lawrence Valley and Montreal, Quebec. I grew up in that beautiful area, and plan a trip there next Spring. Feeling nostalgic lately - too much time to sit around and think lately, I guess, and turning a year older last week didn't help!

Anyway, I want to thank those who expressed their concern for my well-being; it was most thoughtful of you. Lots of new voices in the coffee shop. Where's Phil (philnrunt) been? And what's this talk about not talking about food? What's wrong with food? I'm finally getting my appetite back, and now there's a pending ban on food talk !
BILL

[egmurphy]

Welcome back, Bill. Good to hear from you again. Glad to see that you at least seem to have the situation under some measure of control. That was a bit scary (even for us, can't imagine how it was for you) as fast as it semed to flare up.

Nope, no ban on food talk, just a lack of inspriration lately, it seems. Coffee seems to have dropped off the menu here, although Teffy seems to be thriving on tea.

Phil hasn't posted in about 3 weeks. I noticed his absence when I got back too.

Later.....got to go for my morning constitutional............and then a good cup of hot coffee.

Regards

Ed

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bill mathewson

.... Selling off a lot of G scale and some of my HO - more a matter of upgrading my roster as well as eliminating the museum look with all the inappropriate rolling stock and engines from all over the US that were purchased because I liked the paint scheme. Had UP, Santa Fe, Rock Island, Pacific Electric, CB&Q, MoPac, PRR, NH, Espee, Wabash, Coos Bay, Seaboard Air Line, NYC, etc. just in engines!....
BILL

Good Morning All:

Bill:
I think I'm new since you left. I saw one or two of your post(s) when I first got in. I've been around the modelling scene since 1954 when my dad bought me a Mantua shifter, he thought I was going to wear out the threads in the boiler - taking it apart and putting it back together. My fourth layout is upstairs in an extra bedroom 13' X 15', it's an around the wall with a duckunder, commonally called a drop bridge when not running. From your quote - it's nice to see that I'm not the only one that buys an engine because I think it's pretty.

Where do you live in NW GA. I used to live in Albany many years ago. My dad was the maintainace super for the Albany and Northern and the GA. Northern branch branch railroads. That's not a typo, they were SMALL and SHORT railroads. Do you and Tom Watkins get together since you are in the same general area?


Ed:
Tea is what keeps the civilized world running[swg]. But I'll have you know that every morning I get up and make coffee for Stephanie (wife - boss). It makes the day a lot easier for me. No black eyes or anything else.

This second cup of tea really hits the spot. I usually do the first while I'm watching the birds getting breakfast. We've had a Humming Bird feeder up for three months and we finally had a visitor the other day. It seems like we've had a lot of sparrows here of late.

Well I've got to get ready and go to work

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY
Bob

[egmurphy]

Funny coincidence, we put up a hummingbird feeder about two months ago, as we have quite a few visiting all the flowers that DW and M-I-L have around the house. Took them quite a while to finally discover the feeder (it's up on the second floor terrace) but once they found it they've been coming pretty regularly.

I grew up in the northeast and my folks were big tea drinkers, so I grew up drinking tea instead of coffee (hot, not iced). Didn't start with coffee until college.

Did you catch what I posted about snow in Beaumont yesterday?

Regards

Ed

[Anonymous]

Hi Ed -
Was reading your posts re: Colorado railfanning, and it sounds as if you had a tremendous time. My son and I did most of the Colorado 'narrow gauge circle' about a decade ago, and it was a wonderful trip. We strted out at the Colorado Railway Museum, did Boulder, Colorado Springs, Georgetown, and then headed for the high country. The ride over the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray thru to Silverton and to Durango was one scary white knuckler - esp traveling south, as the worst drop offs are on the right side heading south for a good stretch of the way. Saw an 18 wheel North American Van Lines long moving truck heading north, and we had to back up almost a quarter mile for him to negotiate around a certain section where part of the roadway had fallen away into the canyon. . .Either he wasn't a very experienced driver, or his dispatcher had it in for him, and routed him over that road! And we were in an overloaded Ford Explorer with Firestones, and a just broken rear swaybar mount, and couldn't see out the back window.

When one looks at a map of this area - esp the Ouray - Red Mountain and Silverton area, you wonder why they just didn't go right on thru to Ouray from Silverton - not that they didn't try to several times. There was a proposed electrified and very steep gradient route that almost got underway, and it was probably the Silver Panic that ultimately turned the gas off on the back burner on that connection. And if you look at where Telluride is on the RGS route in relation to Silverton on the D&RGW, the same question comes up. Why? That is until you drive over what was once the old roadbed of both the RGS and the D&RGW, as well as the old toll roads that supplemented the railroads where they couldn't get thru. It is awesome and rugged country.

Teffy -
I live in Cherokee County just down the road from Tom. I need to get up to his place and see his layout one of these days. The RR he's modeling - Southern's Murphy Branch, interchanged with the L&N "Hook & Eye Line" in Murphy, NC. Sounds like he's going to have a nice railroad when it's completed.

Funny you mention that your first engine was a Mantua 'Shifter' - so was mine, and I purchased another one for nostalgia at a train show a few years ago, for my original is long gone. It never ran very well because the nylon gear would have to be perfectly aligned, or it would tear itself up very quickly, and especially after I took the engine apart one too many times. I got mine in the early '50s and I instantly converted from my American Flyer S tinplate, and my Marx O27 tinplate, when I realized that HO was far more realistic. I had never heard of a real railroad named "American Flyer Lines" anyway, and that always bothered me.

I drink coffee in the AM and often into the afternoon, switching to (hot) tea late in the evening. No wonder I exist - usually - on very little sleep. . .When I lived in Raleigh until recently, locals would look wierd at you if you drank coffee much after breakfast, and instantly branded you as a Yankee, and they don't like Yankees very much in Raleigh. The only place you could get a decent cup of coffee after noontime in Raleigh was either one of the couple of Waffle Houses, or in the single Dennys location they had. Now there's at least Starbucks and Cariboo Coffee for those coffee drinking Northerners that are cautiously coming out of hiding up there.

Got to now go and get a little something accompolished downstairs.
BILL

[Anonymous]

Noah -
I forgot to comment on your transfer caboose. Pretty darn impressive for your first ever scratchbuilding project. It looks good. Congrats on seeing the project thru to completion.
BILL

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by egmurphy



Teffy, I don’t remember the last time it snowed in Beaumont, but I do remember that it did in Jan of ’73. We had just moved into a new house in a subdivision north of town and a storm dumped about 2-3 inches. Stayed long enough to bring down the power lines. Thought we were okay because we had gas heat, but I forgot that the blower ran on electricity. We wound up burning some stuff in the fireplace (including an end table that had been destroyed in the move) to keep warm.

Good Morning Ed:
I missed this when I was reading all of the post. How did you get to Beaumont and what got you to Mexico? I graduated from French High back in 1959 and graduated from Lamar University in 1965 with a degree in electrical engeneering. I compressed a four year program into a six year project. Seems like the girls got in the way of the education, but the one that I finally cought was well worth the chase. Where on the north end did you live? I lived on Cole road just north of Parkdale mall. I'd almost bet that you lived in minglewood. Talking about the snow - we don't know how to drive in it but give us water and we can handle that. I don't have any sypathy (SP) for people with high water or 6" in an hour because that's what can happen here, but give us 2" of snow and the whole area becomes a disaster zone.

NOAH:
I am vey impressed with what I see that you have done. How old are you? Scratchbuilding is a very rewarding experience. I don't think that in the last 20 or so years I've ever built a kit that looked like the picture. Their is always something to add, change, or flip-flop the floot plan. An easy craftsman car kit to build is a Silver Streak and then you can move up to a Central Valley. I don't mean the new CV that're made of plastic, I'm talking about a 1950's model wooden kit. It will probably take about 20 hours to get it put together but you'll be some proud when it's done. They are allways listed on eBay. Don't worry about all of the brake piping as no one picks up the car to look at it, but the truss rods will stand out. This kit will give you a chance to see what set the standard in 1950 and 1960. Even though they are truss rod cars you can use them on any date layout. Mine are being pulled by big steam, 2-8-8-2, 4-8-4, 2-8-4, and 2-8-2's. I also run a lot of 2-8-0's for the branch line. You may find out that you don't want to go back to the BB's. The beauty of this hobby is that you can do what you like to do and still enjoy it. I have a sign in the train room that reads "If you don't like the manner in which these trains are operated, please notice the mistletoe attached to the owners shirt tail". I'm a firm beliver in "It's MY railroad and I'll operate it the way I want to.

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY
Bob

[n2mopac]

Welcome back, Bill. I was away about the same time period that you were due to my own new little engineer and Summer busyness. I just returned a few days ago myself. But then, I have always gone in spurts on these forums from this sites very beginnings. Anyway, welcome back.
Ron

[egmurphy]

Bill,

Yeah, we really enjoyed the trip and the chance to ride behind narrow guage steam. I wrote up the Cumbres & Toltec trip but was in the middle of writing up the Durango & Silverton portion when the dreaded computer problems popped up. Need to get back on that.

Saw your post on your basement. Very impressive. I know you'd posted some of that stuff here back in the early days of the coffe shop, but sounds like it will be the dream space.

Teffy,

I was transferred to Beaumont back in very early '73 to work on a project out at the Mobil refinery. We lived in a new development of small houses out off highway 69, just past the LNVA irrigation canal. It was new back then, but I've driven past since and it went way downhill. I was back in town in '91-'92 for another project out at Mobil. This time we lived closer in on the west side, in between Major Drive and Dowlen, off Gladys.

Worked several projects down here in Mexico, where I met my current wife. We moved down here when I retired last year. Talk about a long drive to your LHS! [:D]

Regards

Ed

[Noah Hofrichter]

Johnathon, I used styrene for the bulk, and a few metal rods here and there. There were only a few detail parts used. The Bolster, trucks, couplers and thier boxes, and...well I think that's it, ever thing else was scratch built.

Ed, James, the starter of the contest, and I are giving it one last hulabaloo, sending e-mails to people who said there were building something.

Phil, I hope to someday have something in MR. It's a long shot, but you never know.

Bill, Welcome back!! We had been missing you here, well at least I know I had. Now all we need it Phil to come back and we'll have us a grand old time.

Teffy, I'm thirteen, just turned about two month ago. And that's one of the reasons I scratchbuilt the car, is because there's nothing like it out there. If you have the November 1996 issue of MR, I built it using those plans, but modifying it slightly to fit the specifc car I'm doing. I was going to draw plans from photo's I took, but then I found these plans of the exact prototype I'm doing, and used them. I'm glad I did, as my origional measurements were slightly off.

Well, I have official aboned the trackage an the now "old layout." The track has been ripped out, and the ballast cleaned up. Now I've got to move the boards together better, as that was part of my problem in the first place. It should be really much better when I get doen with it compared to how it was.

Noah

[Noah Hofrichter]

Oh by the way Johnathon, both yours and Jay's sites on BBfree are knocked out. I e-mailed Jay and he said it was routine mantinece by BBFree, btu do you know when there going to be back on line? It's been a week now.

Noah

[Anonymous]

Noah- Not sure, they've been down since monday.

Hi guys. Just go back from railfanning. I didn't see anything though! God! Everytime I go there without a camera I see a train. And everytime I go there with a camera I don't see anything! What gives!?

[Hawks05]

well i'm back from Milwaukee. we didn't get to railfan at all. we did find Butler yard so that was really cool to see. we couldn't find a spot to park and take pictures because there were a lot of buildings and trees. saw 2 locomotives down there. that kind of sucked but there wasn't much we could do. it was about 4:30 so it was the middle of rush hour and we couldn't take our time driving around. the other spot i wanted to go to was Duplainville but today we had breakfast then started off for home. no stopping except to eat. maybe next year though. we're planning out last family vacation for 2 games then.

the Brewers game was less than stellar as well. they lost 9-6. it was tied 5-5 after 3 i think. pretty high scoring game. the prices are outregous though for stuff. i bought 2 sundaes, $5 a piece.

oh well, i'm glad to be back and able to sleep in my own bed and not get woken up at some un godly hour of the morning, 8:40 is to early.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Welcome to the big leagues Jim. Sorry the Brewers blew it. Are you going to be around tonight? Big Girl and I could run out there and catch the train if you wanted to meet up. Just let us know. I'll keep checking here until 7:00 PM.

[fec153]

TEFFY- I applaud your attitude. Goes double for me.
Phil

[der5997]

TEFFY: You wrote in part
"Ed:
Tea is what keeps the civilized world running. But I'll have you know that every morning I get up and make coffee for Stephanie (wife - boss). It makes the day a lot easier for me. No black eyes or anything else."

Couldn't agree more. When you visit we will have Tetley's available, and Chinese Green if you prefer. Might even find some of that smokey Russian Caravan we picked up in B.C.
And yes, we can do coffee for Stephanie. If she takes hers with cream, the standard coffee cream in Nova Scotia is 18%, not the wussy 10% that the rest of NA uses in their coffee. That's called "Blend" here, and is used on cereal instead of milk. Gotta love this Province!
[swg]

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
Sorry I haven't been around much this past week, but things just got real busy. I had time to stick my nose in and smell the coffee a time or two, but didn't have time or energy to stop by and enjoy a cup with all of you.

We got Shawna off to college on Wednesday. She's starting her junior year at Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga. It's a small private women's college with a really good theater program.We've really been pleased with all the faculty and staff that we've met and talked to so far. I think she will have a really good year. Life goes on, and it's about changes. Ron just had a new baby ( Big time congratulations!) and we just took our baby off to college.

I think food is always a good topic, especially barbecue. Another thing we're blessed with here in the mountains are some excellent BBQ places, as well as what we turn out on the grill on the back porch. However on the way back from Gainesville Wednesday afternoon, Louise and I stopped at a place just south of Cleveland Ga, that we'd never tried before. It was absolutely the worst BBQ I've ever had. It was full of fat, gristle and who knows what else. The only part of the cow they didn't use was the moo. Oh well, we survived, and it will give us something else to remember and laugh about for a long time.

Noah, The transfer cab really looks good. It turned out great. Too bad nobody else followed through on the contest, but you did. Ed's right, you set a goal, completed it, and it turned out super. Regardless of what anybody else did, that makes you a winner. I hope you enjoy making the changes to your layout. In one sense having to go back and redo things can seem like a pain and a waste of time, but it's really not. I think it's actually time very well spent. The railroad will operate better, be more fun and more satisfying when your done. And you will have learned more about what works and what suits you. I'm just finishing several years of going back through and redoing large parts of mine to increase curve radiai, and frog numbers and to make it a more accurate representation of what was actually there. I'm a lot happier with what I've got now than I ever would have been if I'd left it the way it was. Good Luck with the changes.

Ed, hummingbirds are so cool. They are very beautiful and great to watch. In addition to the feeders for the larger birds, we have a hummingbird feeder on the back porch. We really enjoy it.

Teffy, I also applaude and subscribe to your comment about it being well worth the chase. It took me a half a century to find Louise. It was worth every minute of it.

Welcome Back Bill. It's good to see you back in the coffee shop. I hope you got the email I sent yesterday. Give me a call.

Well everybody, I'd better wind this up and get the day going. The major project on the schedule is the redo of Shawna's room. Everything is moved out except the drawer cases and the bed. That's next and then the carpet comes out. Then the painting begins. It's going to really look good when it's done. But first it's time for another cup of really good coffee.

Have A great Day Everybody,
Tom

[egmurphy]

QUOTE: We got Shawna off to college on Wednesday. .........The major project on the schedule is the redo of Shawna's room. Everything is moved out except the drawer cases and the bed. That's next and then the carpet comes out. Then the painting begins. It's going to really look good when it's done.

Geeez Tom, you didn't waste any time in appropriating her room after shipping her off to college. I didn't realize you needed more space for your layout. [swg]

QUOTE: ..the standard coffee cream in Nova Scotia is 18%, not the wussy 10% that the rest of NA uses in their coffee.

Back NOB where we could get it we used Half and Half. I have no idea of the % or how that compares to what you have. Down here, due to choice limitations, we've gone to using condensed milk. You gotta make do with what's available. [^] Actually, even finding real tea is difficult where we are. There's a lot of those 'artificial' teas that are made from herbs, flowers and what-have-you. I suspect there is a selection of real teas available in larger metropolitan areas down here, but we're kind of out in the lesser provinces.

Anyway, it's good hot coffee to start off the day. I suppose it could be a bit late in the morning to be saying 'start off' but this isn't the first cup.

Hasta luego,

Ed