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

[grayfox1119]

Good afternoon everybody....the sun is out full once again with completely clear skies. The temp is stilloff the mark for this time of year, at 38 degree it feels cool in the shade, but in full sun...NICE !!!!

GA TOM : I see you are in a rough weather pattern from the looks of the weather channel radar......hope it clears soon for you. Yes, leaks in the basement can be a royal pain, and we live on the TOP of the hill too...go figure!!!! I have deep trenches, I'm talking 8 feet, allaround the backside of the house, which is facing the upward slope out back, to drain any water away. This has worked great.

TIM: We survived the snowstorm last week Ok Tim......have had great weather ever since, clear blue skies everyday.

Train Room Update: I thought I would be doing the layout planning so that I could visit HOME DEPOT GUYS, and get my supplies for the benchwork...BUT....the wife loved the blue on my walls so much, that she added another task to the infamous "Honey-Do " jar list. You see, one has to travel through the Utility/Laundry room to get to my new train room......and we all know what Utility and Laundry rooms look like in basements don't we guys!!! So, I had to paint the bare cement walls with nice concrete paint....gray, then, I had to paint the walls that nice MRR sky blue.....yup, sure did!!! I should fini***hat today. If I don't get going soon of the tables, it will be time to cleanup the yard from winter mess, plant flowers, roto-til the veggie garden and get that planted, cut grass, etc. etc. and of course sit by the pool and drink Fuzzy Navel made from Ed's OJ from Mexico!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the warm days of summer !!!!!!! Wait a minute ***, get back work downstairs.........
See you later guys....

[Anonymous]

Good day everyone. Zoe/Chloe, I'll have a cup of joe on TEFFY.

QUOTE: by SilverSpike: LilRob1974,
I like that Tim McGraw quote you got there! Funny how times they are a changing!

Too true.

QUOTE: by KenLarsen: Lil’Rob:

QUOTE: : Originally posted by LilRob1974:'sup all. Nothing for me right now.

QUOTE: : by KenLarsen:
LilRob, I see you are a Tim McGraw fan – do you by any chance like Montgomery-Gentry too?

Sure, I like all country.

Cool! The reason I specified M&G is because, with their song “My Town”, you could populate an entire diorama – follow the links in the lyrics at
http://trainweb.org/ironbelt/MyTown.html
and you’ll see what I mean!

Yep, it is one of my favorites.

QUOTE: by TEFFY: Lilrob:
You are right it's 28th. At my age I can blame it on halfhimers.

Would that be halfway coming, or halfway going.[:D][?][:o)][;)]

see y'all later

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: by SilverSpike: LilRob1974,
I like that Tim McGraw quote you got there! Funny how times they are a changing!

And a good Dylan quote, Ryan! [:)]

Jim in Cape Girardeau (just popping in for a green smoothie to go)

[Anonymous]

Evening all

Have been doing scenic work today - first in a while! Have hit a snag in that I've now used up the remnants of the bag of scatter - I know there's more about somewhere so will have to have a rummage. I've painted the other half of the backscene (the section that was half white, half MDF) in a fairly neutral sky blue - looks a lot better now. Not sure if a 2in brush is the right tool for the job but the paint ended up where it was wanted (and thanks to the fairly thick acrylic paint it didn't splatter). I don't plan to have anything specific painted on as with my limited artistic skills it would look a lot worse than the plain sky blue I currently have!

Jim, that Izuzu you mentioned might be worth a look - they seem to be pretty reliable. Only thing I'm not sure of is how long they last for if you plan to work it hard - a few years back there were a lot of Japanese pickups sold around here, farmers bought them as they were cheaper than a Land Rover, but they didn't last anything like as long - most of them are now back in Defender 90s!

John, Yup, we have a few like that. When we have parcels delivered by courier they frequently have to phone ahead to ask precisely where we are (it's on a main road but very well hidden), so I usually describe it as "just before the 30MPH speed limit ends"[:)]

Ryan, I agree, the hunting is half the fun. Still looking for one of Hornby's limited edition "wagon of the year" models - since 1992 they've offered a limited number of specially-painted wagons marked "Hornby" and with the year of issue. I have all of them to date except 1993 - they come up on ebay sometimes though I've not yet managed to get one.

Well, planning a trip to one of my LHS tomorrow - I don't often get to this one as it's a 2hr round trip, and when you drive around 400 miles a week you don't feel inclined to drive at weekends! Not sure what I'll be looking for, though a Fleischmann HO scale "Silberlinge" coach (to match the one in my sig and build a realistic formation) is high on my "wants" list, so if they have any at a sensible price I'll probably buy one. Having said that, does anyone else find if they go in knowing what they want they come away with something else? All the best "one time opportunities" seem to come up then, like the model you've been hunting for years, mint, boxed, and at a crazily low price!

Bye for now

[JimRCGMO]

Top o'the afternoon to ye (and all that Blarney...[;)]) Zoe, another green smoothie, please. What have you been putting in these? Almost has a little minty taste to it. Ah well,...

Matt:

QUOTE: Originally posted by Railroading_Brit

Evening all

...<snip>...
Jim, that Izuzu you mentioned might be worth a look - they seem to be pretty reliable. Only thing I'm not sure of is how long they last for if you plan to work it hard - a few years back there were a lot of Japanese pickups sold around here, farmers bought them as they were cheaper than a Land Rover, but they didn't last anything like as long - most of them are now back in Defender 90s!
...<snip>...
price I'll probably buy one. Having said that, does anyone else find if they go in knowing what they want they come away with something else? All the best "one time opportunities" seem to come up then, like the model you've been hunting for years, mint, boxed, and at a crazily low price!

Bye for now

Mattt, thanks for the tip on the Izuzu! And as for LHS trips, I'm a sucker for marked down structure kits (plastic especially) or for marked-down details for diesels or scenery ( stuff like figures, animals, phonebooths, etc.). I usually don't end up buying much extra in the way of big stuff, but the little things can accumulate, too.[:)]

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[steveblackledge]

Hello All
MATT, silly / strange place names is not limited to Wales, near Little Lever, Bolton is a place called Nobend and there is a village just off the M5 called Bellend near Birmingham or how about Ramsbottom on the east lancs.
As for painting the Blue sky backdrop i used a 6" wide paint pad and tried about 6 different colours till i was happy

BIG day on Tuesday, the royal train is passing through with 6233 "Duchess Of Sutherland" in charge, Prince Charles and Camila Parker Bowels are having a fan trip up the Settle to Carlisle

[Anonymous]

afternoon everyone.... happy St. Patricks day

Little un-known fact about St. Patrick.... He was ITALIAN.... LOL.... but he moved to Ireland late in his life and that is where he passed away.... and that is why St. Patrick's day is thought to be an Irish holiday.

[Anonymous]

oh yeah on the Labbatt's front.... it used to be much better until those Budwieser people took it over.... the flavor has changed some and it now tastes more like **** water than it used to.... of course I can't speak of the stuff still made in the Great White North.... but at least here in the states it isn't as good.

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TEFFY

Good Afternoon All:

I thought ya'll might like to see some pictures of the Florida M.E.S.S. I'm not going to tell you who it belongs to, but I will tell you that his favorite person is Debbie. and he lives in middle Fla. DO WE WANT TO HAVE A CONTEST FOR A FREE CUP OF COFFEE FOR THE FIRST PERSON TO GUESS THE RIGHT OWNER?


AND

AND


It's nice to see that I'm not the only one with a lot of STUFF.


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

That's not my MESS! That's just plain too tidy!! The Nerve penning that a MESS[:(!]

Copyright Infringement!!!!!

Anyway the puter is back. We had a techie look at it as it was so slow. He removed Zone Alarm as it was conflicting with Norton and advised us to get "Spy Sweeper" to rid our ourselves of adware and spyware. It found 70 items and 2400 traces, which have all but been eradicated. Hopefully the machine will be operating much better and with little interuption.

Took the kids to the "Maritime Museum of the Atlantic", which In haven't been to in a couple of years. I have to say "WOW" they made a lot of improvements. Guys if your ever in Halifax it's a "must see" place to go. The Ship models are second to none!

Si: I got your e-mail and if you can squeeze two to three hours in then the Museum is the place to go!

Well being off here for two days has allowed me much progress on the layout except for one of the bridges. "Mikey" was over and decided to "remove" one of the arches. I'll give details on a post as "What to do with problem children who are too big to put over your knee?"

I finally got a new Mountain bike so I was able to get out and ride this morning, though I have to be careful as there is still patches of ice around.

I've installed LED's and a decoder in the RDC and I have to admit it looks some sweet ripping around the track!

Phil: I hope all is well with Deb.



Turbo: I hope all is well in your neck of the woods as when family problems arise it's never just one thing. It's like someone has opened the flood gates.

Anyway, and as always

Later Gents
Fergie

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

[
I've installed LED's and a decoder in the RDC and I have to admit it looks some sweet ripping around the track!

.,..<snip>...

Anyway, and as always

Later Gents
Fergie

Careful, Fergie, they're getting their hooks in you, those devious diesels. Before long, you'll have the PP relegated to railfan trips on Sundays! NO, NOT THAT![:0][}:)][swg]

Guess you could have Ken bring his priest over to exorcise the diesel demons...[;)]

Good to have you back, Fergie.

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[fec153]

Harley in the parking lot- Chloe is on duty. Set 'em up love. All on my tab.
The wicked witch-oops, I mean Debbie is home. The Dr. and the x-ray tech. concur the problem is heavy swelling. Still having problems with her right hand but as the swelling goes down will be o.k.. Therapist was in yesterday late p.m. checked her and again around noon-time and saw tiny improvement.
NOW-
TEFFY- Doggone it. After showing those pictures, How can I claim to be a Modeler?
The follow ing is catchup stuff from 4 pages ago.
Fergie-Gee, you don't have to shout. Sorry if I made waves in the lake. O.K.-Testor Orange. Whatever you say. [;)].

Cape Jim & Paul- Thanks for agreeing re- the PINK ore car. BTW- our weather is sour also. Rain cool and wind. today the 17th and yesterday.

Cat Tom- The 2cent tax is because of all the AH'S in government.

Greyfox- Do I want to know what the other was filled with? The yellow unreadable.

Ga.Tom- You a mystery writer? Most of your posts start- "Its a gray ,rainy or stormy.Etc.

Lupo- Thankyou- Very tasty. Goes very nicely with coffee.

Matt- Better than PINK.

Phil- I do! Thats what gets me about R-T-R. I do not have the hands/talent to drill and install handrails and other teeny parts. Darn it, if it belongs- put it on.

J.P.- Hang tight. There is a reason for it. "78 was my time in purgatory. In 80, met Deb, married in 81 and in May will be 24 years. We have become a team, both pulling together and when one is down, pull a little harder. Life is hills and valleys.
Waiting for your post on the job. Best wishes.

Dr.Jim-[#welcome]! Pull up a ,whoops, almost said stool, chair and join in.

TurboJim- Sorry about your family woes. Prayers are and will be sent.
Still have more reading to do. So many pages, so little time. Best to all,and big thanks to all for your concern and prayers.
Flip

[Noah Hofrichter]

Well folks, I appreciate all the well wishes, I think they worked. I feel much, much better today. Took an Asprin before bed, and I felt almost back to normal when I woke up this morning, and I feel back to normal now.

But, I suppose I should get going. I have homework (not much(thankfully), but still) and I have maps and such to print for when we go rail fanning in San Francisco this next week so we don’t get lost.

I’ll see ya!

Noah

[JimRCGMO]

Afternoon, Coffee Clubbers! Few minutes until I get off work (well, go on-call; good Lord willing, maybe I won't get called out this "gray and rainy night" (sorry GA Tom, after Flip's comment, had to do that![}:)])

Anyway, I was thinking of a help for those who are gone due to family/personal health difficulties - load up the printer with scrap paper (use the backs of old printouts you don't need anymore), and just print a page or two of posts. Then take those with you to the doctor's/hospital/etc. and while you are waiting you might be able to make notes for answering some of the posts. Of course, in more serious situations that probably won't work, but if it's just a trip to the ER for a soldering iron burn [;)], while you're waiting to be seen you might be able to reduce how much reading you'll have when you get back on here. That's my [2c], anyway. Trying to lighten our (reading) loads...[:)]

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau (where the sun is shining as it heads for the horizon,
we hit the 60's today, and are supposed to hit the 60's tomorrow also). (Yay - a sunny day off!)

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by fec153

Fergie-Gee, you don't have to shout. Sorry if I made waves in the lake. O.K.-Testor Orange. Whatever you say. [;)].

Flip

I DON'T SHOUT! I Bellow! This according to my wife and Mother in Law. I tell them it comes from giving "Suggestions" to the crew three decks down. Supposedly I'm loudest the first week home. Comes from being heard over Diesels.

Jim: No fear of Budd replacing 601 as she rules the rails in these parts!

Fergie

[bjdukert]

Evening all and Chole I would like a Pepsi please

JimCG-Good luck on the hunt for wheels and it looks like you have some prospects.

***

QUOTE: the basement is dry thank God....I know where to look the next time.

I hope it stays that way because the new walls and other things won’t get ruined and it is not any fun going through that. [:(]

Philnrunt

QUOTE: life plays it's little tricks and drives you to having patience or an early grave. In other words- Lets WALK down there and do all of those cows.

Amazing isn’t it and the OLD BULL says to the YOUNG BULL[^][:)]

Ryan

QUOTE: I saw somewhere someone had built one of those dollys you lay on like them mechanics do for workin under cars. That might help too, but solder dripping from wires might get a little messy, still thinking that one over! Any ideas?

I know what you are talking about. It is a creeper that mechs use and it was in one of the MRR not too long ago and wouldn’t you know it,I looked and couldn’t find it. Someone here in the shop will most likely be able to tell you where and when. I don’t care to lay on my back so what I have done is taken a ¾ piece of plywood,put casters and some carpet on it and that is what I will use to work under the benchwork. The mech seat will be used to get from one side to the other,hope the ideas help in your decision.

If all goes well tommorrow night, I plan to keep Dicks stock and up front parking space at his second (or is it his first) home[:D][;)][:-^] in tack while I try to find one of those wraps that go around the poles in the basement. It will be easier than painting it and I am a little tired of painting right now

Last and certainly not least. Tim-Best wishes and I hope all goes well with the family and Flip,it is good to hear that maybe it is only swelling and everything is OK[angel][angel]

That’s it for now
Talk to you later

Duke

[Anonymous]

Good evening all and a happy St Paddy's day.

And what would be St Paddy's day without a good Irish Story....

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut.

The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"

"Just water," says the priest.

The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"

The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"

Enjoy!!!

Happy MRRing

[grayfox1119]

Good evening gents......I see everyone has been busy........

Der John: Did you get your computer problem resolved? How about the power supply ?

Steve: Those are great pics of Steam engines, do they run just on excursions?

Fergie: My guess would be..................................?????...........Flip ???

Honey Do projects are done for now, so tomorrow we starton layout design...YESSSSSS!!!

Have agreat evening guys, and I hope all our Irish MRR's had a great St. Patrick's Day.

[Attaboy]

Alone again...naturally. OK so I can't carry a tune in a bucket. Hope everyone had a good St. Pat's day. Just a tall glass of cold chocolate milk tonigh, Chloe.

Flip, good news! Who says prayer doesn't work?

Uh, Oh, sounds like Fergie is going to be the UP of model railroading. [:(][:-^]

Made a little progress on the train room tonight, then made the mistake of picking up a book. Once I start reading it's hard to put them down. It wasn't even a railroad book. [:O]

Gee, it's amazing how fast you can finish a drink with no one to talk too. See you later.

[selector]

Happy Saint Paddy's Day.

A quick check-in, just about closing time and long after most have gone home it seems.

Had septic tank pumped (I'm overlooking the Strait of Georgia on a bluff, seaside. Since it is rural, no water or sewer). First time in ? years, but fella said it is in A-1shape. Whew!

Garlic and Glad bulbs in, steps got stripped and sanded, but rain over the last couple of days, so no painting yet.

Glad to hear that Deb's op went well. Another whew?

Brian, everyone knows St. Patrick was a Scot, c'mon!! Still, I can understand why the Italians celebrate his Day, too. [(-D]

Chloe's giving me the look, and the clock, too. Gotta go.

[trolleyboy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by brclem

oh yeah on the Labbatt's front.... it used to be much better until those Budwieser people took it over.... the flavor has changed some and it now tastes more like **** water than it used to.... of course I can't speak of the stuff still made in the Great White North.... but at least here in the states it isn't as good.

Hey Brian the Blue up here is still good. I think they are feeding you the old labbatt's 50 nasty stuff it was warm pis water[xx(] capeJim Not to worry I generally don't offend easily anyway[:)]I actually thought you knew what it was but you were making a joke[;)]so i came back with an attempt at sarcasim or in theis casesarchasm seems to be in effect.[swg][;)] Tim Glad to hear everyones on the mend annd as far as the weather here we've had +3's and blue sky all week.[8D][8D]The snow for now is on the retreat and I'm beginning to see the brown grass isn't early spring wonderfull. Der John I got your e-mail many thanks it was enjoyed and will continue to be[^] Hopefully no more smoking oceans for you this year.A question for you. How close are you to CFB Greenwood it looks like my sister and her hubby are going to be posted there in two years once Mike's done in Colorado Springs.If your fairly close maybe I'll swing by and bug you for tea as that would be the next reason for me to darken your little piece of paradise. Think that catches me up for now. Rob

[Paul W. Beverung]

Flip; Happy to hear that Debs problem is from the swelling. She will be felling better soon.

Attaboy; I know how that is I couldn’t read until the 3rd grade, than I discovered books on railroads and military and machines of all kinds. Now I read everything. My wife can’t understand it.

Tim; I’m glade to hear that things are going well on the health front. I hope that your grandmothers operation goes well.

I just noticed that it’s after 11 and I’ve got to get up tomorrow early than normal on a day off. We’re going to sprig that field in the morning. So Good Night Everyone.

Paul

The Duluth, Superior, & Southeastern

“ The Superior Route “

[TurboOne]

Good evening coffee clubbers.

Trevor is doing great. Thanks for all the well wishes, he loves it.
Grandma's knee is totally busted. They operated today, wheel chair only for 3-6 months, no weight on it at all. So much for here going back to Colorado for the summer. She will be here.
Sisterinlaw had cyst removed, all went well.

Flip, glad Deb is doing great, stay PRAYERED UP. Always works.

Noah, glad you are better.

Paul, is it tractor time?

Rob, how is the world of trolleys? Let me know if you need more canned sunshine. I may need some this weekend, rain predicted again.

Take care all,

Tim

[philnrunt]

Hey, y'all, hows it doin?
Teffy- I will be more than happy to space things out a bit more. After all, I never read my posts, you guys do, so whatever I can do to make it easier. I'll gladly do. But if you can figure out when I'm changing ideas, you're already way ahead of me!
And as for Amyjo and I ending up in the poorhouse,I gave up that dream years ago! With gas at 2.24$ a gal, coffee at 5.88$ a canister, and a plastic canister at that, and all of the medicines the dr has me on, the poorhouse would be a step up.We're hoping for the Sad and Sorry house. The basement. So we can have a layout!
Sugar was 158 tonight, it's been going down since changing dr's. I know that most people don't think 158 is a good #, but it shows me that going back to my old doc was just the ticket. With spring (hopefully) coming, more activity means better #'s ahead. At least we have a good selection of SF foods here at the Coffee Shop, what with all of us diabetics.
And to be honest, I didn't think diesels had that many details either, but it took a total of 6 hours to get one, I said one, of the SD's ready. EJ&E 665 is road ready, will work on USS#1 next week.
Where do you get Optivisors at? I have a Micromark catalog at home, but havn't looked thru it for visors. I know they sell them.The chiefs are Euro-Tools, and they have 4 lenses, cost 75$. I was hoping for a bit less, but I know they will come in very handy over the coming years.
And let me know if this is a better format for reading. Looking back at my posts, they do seem rather fortress like, big giant blocks of words. Just have a siege mentality, I guess.

JimRCG- A good story (history) only adds to the enjoyment. And we need to encourage Mitchell towards graphics. When he is rich and famous, you and the others he's helped can say you have a "Mitchplanned" paint scheme! Might be as good as a Picasso dinner napkin.

Flip- Good to hear the news on Deb. Keep her drugged up and tell her she did lots of embarrasing things. We'll back you one hundred percent.
As for detailing the SD's, it was a job I really didn't look forward to, but it was lots'o'fun! Putting on the grab irons was scary, but they went well. The best part was doing it here at work, 'cause absolutely no parts were lost. At home, with less light and carpeting, I know for a fact I'd be short a bunch of pieces. And just doing it has got me wanting to get going on the layout again.

bjdukert- AMEN to that. Sometimes it's good to be the old bull! We're too old and stringy for anyone but Uncle Sam to want a piece of!

Attaboy- Probably a good thing you're just going with chocolate milk, looks like you're slurring those words.(....tonigh...) . Zoe, put it on my tab, and attaboy, I'll let you sip it and read your book in peace, I'll just sit here and watch the trains go by.
Take care everybody.

[GDRMCo]

Hey guys. I'm feeling good tonight so put the drinks on me for the next couple of weeks. Brent told me that he wont be on for a week. He's only got a week on week off sorta thing for computer time.
Well I'll be off now guys so cya l8er
Mitchell

[Grubby]

Hi all, Large glass of Coke with plenty of ice thanks....I have been reading everyday, but haven't had the energy to post anything.....

Big trip to JJ's this week, Jack (the six year old) and I bought another handful of turnouts and as we were about to leave I saw a C&O GP7 (proto2000) on sale....insufficient funds meant we had to put it on layby, but in the next week or so, its coming home.... hope the thing is an OK train, cause really I have no idea [:P] Perhaps someone can tell me whether it is a good thing or not.. [:D]

I managed to find some extruded foam in two sizes 30mm and 50mm and a sheet of each came home with me as well.... we just cut some up to make some track risers, we'll see if the latex glue stuff sticks this stuff down... it was all I had and needed to achieve something tonight [swg] here's hoping....

If all is well we will start laying some track this weekend... I really want to run some trains over the Easter break.

Anyways... off into the wild blue yonder.........

[Anonymous]

Good morning clubbers. (Chloe: a large coffee, OJ, and 2 eggs over easy, please…)

Today is payday for me, so I get to take possession of those SD38-2’s that I reserved back in November. 3 EJ&E’s, plus another that will be painted/lettered for CSX. From what I’ve been reading in Northern Phil’s post, just putting on the details will be a long term project. The layout has to take priority if I ever want to get any tracks to run my trains on, so I guess they’ll be sitting in their boxes for awhile [sigh]…
Did my weekly time at the Shenandoah Division last night (meets every Thursday), and a visitor was there whose layout is at exactly the same level of [non-]development as mine – benchwork languishing under piled-up junk[:D]! It’s always refreshing to discover that I’m not the only modeler in this world who is “layout challenged”. He’s not actively working on his, though.

Ryan: We only took a 1-day drive into N.O. when that photo was snapped, we were visiting with my wife’s sister & family who lived in a suburb of Pascagoula, MS at the time. Most of the time was spent at a riverfront mall, can’t remember if the Cafe DuMonde was one of the places we ate at (come to think of it, I don’t remember much of anything from that trip, and I wasn’t even drinking[:I]).

CapeJim: I think you might have mistaken me for Cat-Tom, he’s the one who hosted the 2 Priests at his layout. It’s too late for me – I got possessed by the diesel demons long ago and been going downhill ever since…

Gotta run, I'm late again....!

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
Just got time for a quick stop for some good coffee and then off to get the day going. It's going to be a busy one. You will all be glad to know that the sun is out this morning in the mountains. It's going to be a beautiful day. It might even warm up enough to open the house up for a while and air it out, which would be nice.

I'm going to head over to Copper Hill a little later this morning. The Blue ridge Scenic RR starts running today from Blue Ridge Ga. up to Macaysville/ Copper Hill. There's a layover in Copper Hill for an hour and a half, and we're going to open up the club room and run trains while it's there. Should be fun.

I spent a fair amount of time last evening redoing the air pipes on the engineer's side of the light mountain. The first set just didn't fit properly. I'd mismeasured in a couple of places and that threw everthing off. After trying for a while to make them fit at least OK, I gave that up as a bad idea and started over. Sometimes measuring twice isn't enough.

Cat Tom, the locos sound very nice. I agree, 4-8-2's are among my favorite steamers. They're very beautiful machines. Mr. Bill Purdy, who ran the Southern's and later Norfolk Southern's steam excursion program often said he wished one one the Southern's light mountains had been saved from the scrapper's torch. It would have made a superb "flagship" for the program. I also agree about the Myer's. It's wonderful stuff.

Ryan, you're right. There is usually one last blast of winter in late March or frequently in early April. It's not over yet. But it sure is pretty here today!

GrayFox, I think the honey-do list proves that perpetual motion is possible. It just goes on forever. Honestly, I add as many things to it as Louise does, and it's all stuff that needs to be done, so I can't complain too much.

Flip, I'm glad that Deb's home and it's just swelling. That's really good news.

Attaboy, prayer surely does work. Sometimes it's the only thing that does. What are you reading?

Tim, how is your Grandma's knee? Were they able to repair the damage?

I'd best go for now. There are a few things to get done this morning before I head to Copper Hill.
Have a great day, everybody,
Ga. Tom

[Anonymous]

Fergie,
I know what you mean about BELLOWING suggestions from three stories up! The loud hailer on the boat has been broke for over a year. I have the same problem. It takes me about three days of seeing everyone winch around me and reach for the ear protectors to realize that I gotta tone it down alittle. Captains never shout! They just talk with...... authority!!!!

[grayfox1119]

Good morning guys, I see all the working class is off to their jobs in industry etc. that is good for the rest of us retired guys......you are providing our monthly pay check, get back to work!![:D][:D][(-D][;)]

Another clear blue sky today, this may be a record as we have had clear days since the last big storm a week ago...ya gotta love it.

Ga Tom: Yes, that infamous Honey-Do jar...I totally agree with you, I add as many jobs as Lorraine does, the only difference is, her jobs are things like painting interior walls, changing worn-out curtain rods, etc., while mine are more outside jobs as well as maintenance items, like misbehaving Furnaces, Plumbing, Electrical, Home Theater setups, etc. as well as gardening outside and auto repair ( gee, did I forget anything?)
It is supposed to hit 50 here today Tom, yesterday it hit 45, so I "did" open the windows. This house once had electric heat, so it is well insulated, that being the case, the air quality in the house is not good in winter. We actually close the bedroom door at night and open the window a bit, even if it is 10F......we need fresh air, maybe that is why Lorraine and I have not had the Flu since 1962, knock on wood and Ed's OJ!!!

Train Room update: Today I need to frame the doorway and install a door. With a couple of grandkids that are at the stage of touching everything, I need to keep some control...hey Fergie, maybe this will work to keep inquiring minds from taking your new bridge apart.[}:)][:D][;)]

See you all later today,

[der5997]

Good morning all: Not much to report on the mrr front as we still have beds on the train room floor. Computer program problems persist. I've got to figure out how to disble a possible firewall before "their" techies will talk to me again[V]

Brent:

QUOTE: Had septic tank pumped (I'm overlooking the Strait of Georgia on a bluff, seaside. Since it is rural, no water or sewer). First time in ? years, but fella said it is in A-1shape. Whew!

Every 3 years is the received wisdom around here. Septobac, or similar bacterial agents help keep things fluid in the mean time.[tup]

TrolleyRob:

QUOTE: Hopefully no more smoking oceans for you this year.

We profoundly hope so too!

QUOTE: A question for you. How close are you to CFB Greenwood it looks like my sister and her hubby are going to be posted there in two years once Mike's done in Colorado Springs.If your fairly close maybe I'll swing by and bug you for tea as that would be the next reason for me to darken your little piece of paradise.

By all means, but think Brantford-Windsor without the benefit of the 401. Just let us know a bit ahead of time. You would be passing both Fergie and Luc on that route.

Now for today's words.
9. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

I'm gone
TTFN