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

[CFournier]

Luct, and others,
What is a CFO ??? I figured you are talking about your wives, right ?
BUT what does it mean??? ( I guess i'll look very dumb when you tell me...)
Chris

[Anonymous]

Evening y'all

Just dropping in to show how we carved the mountain on the snow village, yes, that really is chainsaw art.


Greg

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CFournier

Luct, and others,
What is a CFO ??? I figured you are talking about your wives, right ?
BUT what does it mean??? ( I guess i'll look very dumb when you tell me...)
Chris

Good Question[:)]
If I remember correctly
CFO means Cheif Financial Officer

[Anonymous]

Just when you thought it was safe...

Update on the GP60!

I replaced that springy strip thing with real wires. It seems to have better pickup now.

I also added an LED headlight to the front, which looks AMAZING [:D]

Now I need to find some detail parts though [B)]

[JimRCGMO]

Good Evening Clubbers! Appears that I (again) arrived just after the dinner rush here. Zoe, a hot cocoa with those mini-marshmallows (regular is fine).

This art major (my undergrad. major) thinks I would have to agree with Deb, Lorraine - it is fuchsia (had to go look up how to spell it - don't want the Forum Content Cops after me....[:)][;)]) But if Fergie wants to 'reply' with pink, that's his choice, right?[(-D] And Fergie, I was wondering if you might have used one of those old Catalina seaplane bombers for the 'delivery' (I think that's the one). Saw something like those in one firefighters movie a while back. [:)]

Flip, I hope that Deb (and the others we've prayed for) knows we appreciate her (and them) - and all the CFO's and kids who are very patient while the guys are holed away in our train rooms working on one thing or another. God bless 'em! [bow]

Nice pics, Luc! [tup][8D] Looks like a good job. [:)]

Lupo, that hat pic doesn't look like it was done with PhotoShop (or Paintshop).[tup][:-^] I’m sure Bob appreciates that almost as much as Fergie does. [swg]

Robert, can you fish from your porch? Better put out the sandbags early!

Noah, you could probably add shingles to that roof (if it’s gabled, like I think from your description). There’ve been some articles over the past year in MRR or RMC on shingling structure roofs. The article I’m thinking of started with one of those Atlas passenger stations, took the little gables off the roof and then shingled the roof (and added a larger ‘wood’ platform on top of and beyond the stock ‘concrete’ platform). Do you remember that one? You could use the same shingling method to make a different roof on yours. HTH.

Brian, first off - [bday] again! I agree with the others, you got a better deal with that powerpack and getting to pick your own cars. That way you have stuff you’re more likely to keep and use for a long time later. Great to hear that you have the truck running again.[tup]

Tim, what I do is after I’ve read for the day I make a bookmark for that page, and then when I come back I just click on the bookmark and I’m there. I do it that way, because sometimes the page has more stuff after my last post is made.

Scott, you might portion out some of your money for rolling stock (&/or and engine), some for track & switches, and some for structures and detailing. That should make it seem like it lasts longer, ‘cause you’ll be able to start using one of the areas, then switch (say for bad/good weather or drying time for the scenery) over to working on track or structures/detailing. That is, unless you’re really low in one area on your RR and need a lot of - say, track or rolling stock or engines, etc. Just my [2c].

Teffy, did you use L-girders to strengthen your house's roof and walls? If you use drywall screws, you can remove them later (if the house is still standing and not like Fergie's photo...).[swg]

Well, about my bedtime, so I'll rinse my cup out and be on my way, Zoe. I left some apple cobbler in the case that you can heat up for the late crew when they come in. If Tim and the others don't polish it off, save the rest for the day crew.

Blessings on everyone's Day (especially our birthday boy, Brian!),

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[philnrunt]

Railroading Brit- I'm guessing your Matt, probably should look at your profile, but don't have the time- it's good to see another 4-wheeler here, I spend 2-3 weeks a year off road in Virginia or Colorado (when I get the cash for the long vacation!) I've never owned anything but 4WDs, starting with an International Scout II back in '73, then CJ-5's, 7's Bronco IIs, and now a Grand Cherokee ('96) Bronco II(90) and my pride & joy a '77 Toy Landcruiser FJ-40 (lockers, winch and a new body waiting to be attached).
OK, those are my bonafides, now I have some questions- Do you have any areas to go off road in the UK? I remember reading an article back in the 70's about a 4WD club there, looked like pretty good wheeling. I think they were at an old slate mine and a military tank testing area.
What do most wheelers drive there? LRovers are very rarely used for their intended purpose here, for that matter, neither are Jeeps, or anything else. Most folks are asphalt commandos, and it always seems like the more extreme the looks, the less likely it will EVER go off road.
Do you have access to off road suppliers? How common are winches, lift kits, and oversized tires.
Feel free to e-mail me off forum, I'll be glad to hear anything you have to say about off roading in Britain.
Now for a bit of MRR , checked out my new Atlas tank cars, they are exquisite. Hmmmm, that last word and me liking that pink engine, oh well.... If you have $20 bucks for a piece of rolling stock- and that isn't too much these days, and don't want to get ripped by Walthers old blue box quality kits, I recommend the Atlas RTR's highly.
I also recommend First Hobby, they seem to be a quality outfit.
Flip- My thoughts are with Deb, hope all turns out for the best. Seems like a bunch of the better halfs are under the weather these days. My Amy is getting over a viral infection that knocked her out of service for about a week. Lisa Fergmeister , and others I can't remember, hope they all get better so they can enjoy the coming spring . But i bet that pink steamer has helped! We need to have Ed send up some of the better drugs you can get SOB w/o a script along with the OJ.

[Trainnut484]

QUOTE: Originally posted by luct

Good evening all.

I experimented some more with the toy camera. Here are a couple of shots showing the funeral home and the Gloetonw Inn.





Again this is not the best camera in the word, but this gives you an idea.

Fergie - Sorry for poking fun but I just could not resist. I talked to Hardy today, he mentioned the MicMac Mall issue concerning scout week. He did say he was going to visit management to try to get this worked out.

I think I pulled a Flip and got top of the new page. OK, the brews are on me. [:)][:)][:)]

I hope you all had a great day.

Happy MRRing

Luc

Luc,

The funeral home looks great. I especially like the awning above the front door and walkway. Did the awning come with it or is it scratchbuilt?

[grayfox1119]

Good evening Chris, I guess everyones east of the Mississippi has gone to bed, and I "should" be in bed, but I wanted one more cold drink after a tough night bowling, although we did take 8.
To answer your question, CFO "does" mean Chief Financial Officer. And in probably 80% of the cases, it is indeed the little woman of the household. I happen to be one of the lucky ones where "I" am the CFO also. Lorraine hates finances, hates budgets, hates Quicken. All our 45 years of married life I have tried to teach her, or pu***his off to her, but no dice. Now, I see this is not such a bad thing, because I can sneak MRR items into the budget.[}:)][}:)][}:)][:D][;)][;)].
I can't keep my eyes open any longer, good night all, see you in the morning,

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TEFFY

Fergie:

Is that Lupo with the hat on?

Bob

Morning Guys! I confess, [:I] Yep that is me with the hat,

[:O][swg] How did you recognise me ? I had my sunglasses on, [8D][8D][8D] because I'd rather be incognito than seen wearing a pink hat !

[trolleyboy]

Good late evening all just poped by for a quick bedtime hot choc[dinner]and some apple cobbler my favorite hehehehe.[oops]got the keyboard wet. Flip we'll add Deb to the church prayer chain send her our best please.Fergie Warplane Heritage wants the Lanc back they said that you can borrow their Mitchel and the Canso though if you would like.[:O] Oh well I have the place to myself so good night all the beds calling again.[zzz][zzz][zzz] Rob

[Anonymous]

Hey Everybody!!
Sorry for not being in the coffee shop lately, but my wife has been ill with cronic asthma, she's doing a little better now, we had a scare on friday, and I had to call 911, she has been under a lot of stress that can bring on the asthma to a higher level, but all is okie-dokie now, as I write this E-mail she is in the other room playing "Star Wars playstation" with our son, whatta trooper,
Anyway, does anybody know who would sell (N)SCALE SW-9 switchers?? all the one's I have seen were HO scale.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

Luc: I talked to Bob this evening, couldn't talk long though, something or other about reinforcing the outer walls and taping up the windows, I don't know?!? Anyway he wanted me to call you regarding mortar and brick detailing. Anyway give me a call tomorrow during the afternoon if you want as I'm back to work Wednesday. I tried calling but I couldn't find your number.

Regards
Fergie

Fergie, sent you an e-mail. I don't have your number, should I look in the PINK section of the phone book?

Must go, time for work

Happy MRRing

Luc

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trolleyboy

Good late evening all just poped by for a quick bedtime hot choc[dinner]and some apple cobbler my favorite hehehehe.[oops]got the keyboard wet. Flip we'll add Deb to the church prayer chain send her our best please.Fergie Warplane Heritage wants the Lanc back they said that you can borrow their Mitchel and the Canso though if you would like.[:O] Oh well I have the place to myself so good night all the beds calling again.[zzz][zzz][zzz] Rob

Yeh I know! Oh what I wouldn't do for a modified C-130 or even something a tad bigger. Bob wouldn't have to worry about watering roses anymore[:D]

Luc I'll call later if my packing goes according to plan and I make it back from Maritime Hobby[:-^]

Maybe I'll just change flight plans and drop my package from 10K instead... Mmmm...
Yep that will work![:X]

Fergie

[Anonymous]

Good Morning All:

I have great news: The signal that DCC uses is a square sine wave, so I got to thinking - house voltage is a curved sine wave. Just a little differance but not much. I got this brilliant idea about Fergies loco not running to well. I hooked up all of the drivers and took the receptical off the extension cord and connected the wires directly to the track. When I plugged the cord into the wall, FERGIE you should have seen that thing run - at least 4 feet. The whistle was blowing, the bell was ringing, the wheels were spinning, the chuff was unbelievable. It ran so fast that I thought it smoked my track but upon closer examination it was the loco that was smoking. It may need a new decoder. I was very impressed with the performance of the loco, and the sound was awesome, it was so loud that Stephanie even came upstairs to see what happened. When I tried to get it to run again it just sat their, I think it was tired. I've boxed up what is left and am sending it to you. All of the parts are in the box, some assembly may be required.

Is anyone else interested in trackage rights on the Almost Nothing?

Luct:
How about a last name to go with Luc?

Lupo:
I think that the hat is pretty, it would go very well with my yellow polished silk blouse err shirt and black tights ah pants.

My elecrtical expertise is available for anyone wanting to know how to fix a problem.

Before my house gets the new paint job, i'm going to work

Ya'll have a blessed day and remember PINK IS BEAUTIFUL

Bob


I hope you had a many laughs reading this as I had writing it. May it make your day go easier.

[JPowell]

Morning all -
I'm off for 3 days, and too busy the 1st day back to work, that by the time I get around to here, I have over 15 pages to read so I can 'ketchup' on things here in the coffee house! 15Pages! geesh! Well, I'm on 268 now, so only 2 more to go....
JP

[grayfox1119]

Good morning guys!! Up to 25F (-4C) this morning, and a bright blue cloudless sky again today. This has been the nicest stretch of weather we have had all winter! [:D] And tomorrow should be the same.

Ahhhh, the coffee is hot and fresh, thanks to Fergie who actually got here before Zoe to put the 1st pot on the stove.

Fergie, John, Luc, ....been watching the radar, that Low over Bermuda is actually going to retrograde back towards the coast and may join with another Low coming off the Carolina coast tomorrow. That looks like trouble for both of us, we may get freezing rain or/and wet snow, keep and eye on this one.

Got to run guys, have a funeral to attend, have a good morning all,

[Anonymous]

Good Morning All:

I want to thank Fergie for not get rilled at me for poking fun at his new locomotive. I have really enjoyed thinking about what to say about this fabulous piece. I don't know what program my nephew used to change the color but he said it took him about 1 1/2 hours to do it. I'm going to leave the picture up for about another three weeks if you want to show any of your friends. It's been amazing how much e-mail the "pink panther" has generated.

Leaving all kidding aside; I have realy enjoyed playing with this unit. Yesterday I read the instructions and found out how to turn the sound on and it was great. It has a wet whistle but that was common for these locomotives, my Soundtraxx 4-6-6-4 sounds the same way. It uses all 12 function keys for various sounds. I didn't get out my speedometer but I'd say it runs about 85-90 mph and tracks very good. I was impressed with the detail on this loco and think that it is a good buy (no I'm not being paid by Athearn to say this). I think this unit has raised the bar for BLI.

As Red Skelton used to say "Good night all, and may God bless"

Bob

[JPowell]

Ok. All 15 pages read, and here's a recap...

Welcome to all the 'newbie's'
My thoughts and prayers to those who have s/o's under the weather
It's COLD here and we're still w/out heat in the office!
Sun IS shinning brightly! Should hit about 30-35 today. Not bad for Groundhog's Day!
Stay safe!
JP

[egmurphy]

Good Morning Coffee Clubbers

Wow, this’ll teach me again not to stay away more than one day. The way you all are going we could reach the 10,000 post level next month!

Before I forget it, [bday] Happy Birthday to Dave9999, in case he happens to stop in today.

QUOTE: (northern)Phil:
… Thur morn on way home from work I hit a deer…

Ouch! [:0] That can really do a job on a car, as can be seen from your repair estimate. I’ve never hit a deer (knock on wood) but I did hit a wild burro down in Venezuela. He rolled up over the hood, smashed out the window, and rolled over the top of the car. Took three weeks to get the car repaired, the burro got up and sauntered off! [:D]

QUOTE: SilverSpike:
I suspected some sort of petroleum industry! What brought you to Mexico and where in Mexico are you?

The same thing that brought me to your area brought me down here, building refineries. From ’92 through 2000 I worked on three refinery or petrochemical projects in Mexico, with one and a half years in the middle spent on one project in Venezuela. Met my wife down here and we decided to retire down here as she’s very close to her family and I don’t have much left in the way of roots after moving around all my career. We live in Tuxpan, Veracruz. That’s on the Gulf Coast, about a 10 hour drive south of the border crossing at Brownsville, TX.

QUOTE: Sounds like you have a whole grove of citrus, I would love to see images of the crop.

I posted some a few weeks ago, but I think they’re still on railimages, so let’s see if I can call them up. First one is my M-I-L picking some fruit.


Here’s the Blazer loaded with oranges to bring home.


This is a decent shot showing how good the crop was this year.



Again, to repeat something I posted earlier about the grove, we have about 500 trees, but there are probably easily about 250 of those that are too young/small to produce anything. There’s space for about 800. We may add some more over the next few years. The market for oranges down here is very bad, so there’s really no good reason to pour money into it to improve the yield. We maintain it more as a hobby than anything else. Wholesale price for juice oranges down here runs around $0.02/lb, or $40/ton. Mandarin orange prices were down around $15/ton. You can buy a whole crate of oranges by the side of the road in this area for $0.90.


Luc, you’re doing fine with that ‘toy’ camera. Good lighting on your most recent shots. The biggest problem with those cameras is lack of resolution (too few pixels). So the bigger you make the photo the fuzzier it gets. As you shrink the photo size it will get sharper.

QUOTE: Scott:
… So, I'll have about $445 to spend on trains, but what am I to buy? Any suggestions?

I could send you my wish list if you’d like…….. oh, you were asking for suggestions on something for yourself? Sorry. [;)]


Der, that’s the first shot you’ve posted of the layout in a while (that I remember). How’s the foam carving coming on the hills? Isn’t it time to post an update? [?]

QUOTE: Paul B.:
… I'll say the 24th of May if it's not already taken. I don't know why it just came to me.

You’ve got it! Okay, just to bring everyone up to date, here are the choices in the 10,000 post lottery to date:

Ed 21-May
Paul B 24-May
(CG)Jim 30-May
trainwreck 5-Jun
grayfox 9-Jun
trolleyboy 1-Jul

Lot’s of good dates still waiting to be taken, especially those out in August and September!. Remember, this time around it’s not who gets the 10,000th post, it’s a bet on what day the post will be made.


Nice job carving the foam, Greg. Somehow I never thought of a chainsaw as part of my required tool list for model railroading! Maybe it’s because I’m in Nearly Invisible, and one slip of that chainsaw could take out an entire mountain range.

QUOTE: (northern)Phil:
… We need to have Ed send up some of the better drugs you can get SOB w/o a script along with the OJ.

The FCVN may have to decline that particular piece of freight, the border guards usually allow people to bring across enough for personal use, but you can’t ship commercial quantities. Otoh, there’s a good reason to make a tourist visit down here and cover some of the cost of your trip with the drug savings. Coming across the Mexican border to buy prescription drugs is common for people living on the US side of the border, in a similar way as those in the north cross over into Canada.

QUOTE: TrainsRme:
… Anyway, does anybody know who would sell (N)SCALE SW-9 switchers??

I could be wrong, but I don’t recall seeing a SW9 in N. Now Life-Like makes an SW8, if that would do. A bit less power and only one stack, but about the same time frame and usage. Here’s a link to the Brooklyn Locomotive Works website that shows them:

http://www.buynscale.com/Life-Like%20Locomotivs.htm

QUOTE: Teffy:
… When I plugged the cord into the wall, you should have seen that thing run - at least 4 feet. The whistle was blowing, the bell was ringing, the wheels were spinning, the chuff was unbelievable. It ran so fast that I thought it smoked my track but upon closer examination it was the loco that was smoking. It may need a new decoder. I was very impressed with the performance of the loco, and the sound was awesome…

Geeez, Bob, please put a warning on your posts before you do that. I’m still wiping the coffee off the monitor and keyboard. Not to mention what went up my nose! [(-D]


Whew, caught up again. Okay, off to the supermarket with Fran. Back later.

Hasta luego,

Ed

[der5997]

Good morning all: A large Columbian with cream please Zoe, and a corner of one of those apple fritters, they sounded so good!
Bright and sunny today, and after yesterday's mild temps, it got surprisingly cold overnight.
***:

QUOTE: Good folks up there in Nova Scotia.

Yes my son, and so we have found them to be![(-D]
Our weatherguessers say that the storm of whichyou speak will pull in warm air while passing us out to sea. Result should be rain showers Thursday/Friday. We shall see, and thanks for the heads up.
Just heard that our local bank is closed without warning for a week for correction of environmental issues (mould in basement) Happily there is a Credit Union in the Harbour as well, and we have an account there.
Bit of a facer for those with urgent business. Means they have to travel to Dartmouth (maybe Porter's Lake, but it's the same difference really) for their nearest Scotiabank branch.
Got to get on with the day.
TTFN

[dave9999]

Good Morning everyone,
Just stopped in to let ya'll know that I turned 36 today. I'm sneaking up on the big 40. Man, where does
the time go? Other than the fact that I have been running a fever the last couple of days, I've never felt
better in my life. And I remember when I thought thirty was old.[%-)]

I have a lot to be thankful for. A good job, family, my health and, of course, my trains.[:D] Well, since it's my
birthday and I'm a little under the weather, I think I'll take the day off. I need to work on the layout anyway!
Dave

[der5997]

Ed: Not much to report in the way of foam construction. What has gone on for scenery has been the lower yard, then I hit a patch of negative initiative that even the snowblower didn't relieve!. Got to snap out of it!
Bob: Just as well you explained, because our spy satellite has revealed what Fergie really had in mind for that Lancaster[}:)]

[Fergmiester]

Bob: BAaaad News Bud! The plane is enroute and gone past it's final recall point. Sorry. BTW you could call your place "Bob's Pink Pleasure Palace". But then again Stephanie would probably keep you locked up in the train room for your own good.

Fergie

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TEFFY

Good Morning All:
..<snip>...
My elecrtical expertise is available for anyone wanting to know how to fix a problem.

..<snip>...

Teffy, do you give soldering lessons? If so, I think we know someone in NS who might want to sign up for some.[(-D]

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TEFFY

Good Morning All:

I want to thank Fergie for not get rilled at me for poking fun at his new locomotive. I have really enjoyed thinking about what to say about this fabulous piece. I don't know what program my nephew used to change the color but he said it took him about 1 1/2 hours to do it. I'm going to leave the picture up for about another three weeks if you want to show any of your friends. It's been amazing how much e-mail the "pink panther" has generated.

Leaving all kidding aside; I have realy enjoyed playing with this unit. Yesterday I read the instructions and found out how to turn the sound on and it was great. It has a wet whistle but that was common for these locomotives, my Soundtraxx 4-6-6-4 sounds the same way. It uses all 12 function keys for various sounds. I didn't get out my speedometer but I'd say it runs about 85-90 mph and tracks very good. I was impressed with the detail on this loco and think that it is a good buy (no I'm not being paid by Athearn to say this). I think this unit has raised the bar for BLI.

As Red Skelton used to say "Good night all, and may God bless"

Bob

Teffy, (perhaps before the Lancaster arrives - don't know if the kind of paint Fergie uses might short out your computer) you might also post what the Challenger really looks like so the rest of us can drool a while.[:)]

And we hope Fergie will be back on speaking terms with you really soon now...[}:)][;)]

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Anonymous]

Morning!
Uhm...hm...Nothing happening! Haha, At least now I have trains running on a real table. Fixed both of my computers too.
Its unusually warm here in Portalnd OR, about 55 f yesterday...wich is to bad because I really like the colder climates.

I already had some coffee mixed with hot chocolate, gah it was free to...now I know why...
[xx(]

[Anonymous]

Tim, that green and cream trolley is from Blackpool - there used to be a massive system there, now it's just a few miles along the seafront. They still run a few old trolleys as well as their regular services, along with "refugees" from other long-gone systems. Try googling "Blackpool Trams" for more on it - Corgi make a diecast model of one in 4mm scale though it's unpowered, there are motorising kits out there but they're hard to find for some reason.

philnrunt, yep, I'm Matt. Off-roading over here is getting trickier - the "green" lobby and the walkers seem to be very noisy and more and more trails are getting closed - at this rate the only places left will be "pay and play" sites where you can take your truck to a disused quarry or similar and spend the day tackling obstacles. Accessories are easy to get hold of though - my Disco's still fairly stock due to lack of funds, though I have plans to add heavy-duty bumpers, steering guards, etc and ideally a snorkel. Land Rover products are pretty much the vehicle of choice - all the farmers round here use Defender 90s so spares availability is good, and there's a few online suppliers around specialising in Landy parts. You don't see many seriously-modded vehicles around though, except on organised tours which occasionally come through this area.

Weather's still grey and chilly here, though I did see the sun briefly around midday! Have been figuring how to add a resistor to Fleischmann lighting kits for DCC - have found a 220Ohm resistor wired between one pickup and the bulb gives a very nice "warm glow" effect without melting the coach roof or blowing the bulb. Have also been tidying up some eBay purchases - another coach (building a German RegionalBahn train in HO - these seem to have a real mix of types and paint schemes in them), it was listed as spares as part of a lot of two - the other one is definitely spares but this one's responded well to a quick wash down and now looks pretty good. Considering the prices of new Fleischmann stock I think buying used is a very sensible option! I also have to get round to fixing the lights in my Walthers Dash 8-40B - they get a little too warm for comfort so will probably get the same treatment as the coach to solve that.

[TurboOne]

Morning all,

[bday] Gator Dave, hopefully you have a blast of a day, especially working on trains. [:)][:)]

Rob, did you get your trolley pics ? [:0]

Nice oranges Ed, hanging low eh ???[}:)]

Ryan how are things down south ??

Gotta run, but as my governor says "I'll be back"

Tim

[Anonymous]

Hi all, just dropped in for a quick one, CFO has a dental appointment this afternoon.

Bob - I just intercepted this radio transmission " Pink leader this is Lancastpink... Come in Pink leader. Over

This is is Pink leader, Lancstpink the mission is a go. Double the payload, I say again double the payload. Over

This is Lancastpink, rodger, doubling the payload. Out"

I think you've had it Bob......

Fergie I should be back about 4 ish.

Must run

Happy MRRing

Luc

[SilverSpike]

Good Morning! I'll take a quick cup a Joe today, gotta catch up! It has been raining non-stop since yesterday evening, and traffic into work was horrible this morning. Took over an hour to get in, usually a 20 minute drive. Anyway.....

Ed,

Great photos of the citrus, thanks! Makes me want to drink a whole gallon of fresh squeezed!

- Ryan