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

[Anonymous]

morning/afternoon/evening everyone.

it's 74 out here at the moment with wind gusts near 40 mph.

I'm doing my best to send the heat north east for all of you that are freezing you rumps off... but mother nature isn't listening to me... I swear she hates the LA area.

[grayfox1119]

Good afternoon gents, we awoke this morning here in central Mass to 1F, that is correct, ONE DEGREE (F)!!!! Not even Rosie the cat wanted out this morning when I opened the door to pick up the paper. The good news is......it is now

7 degrees F

!!. And tonight it is going below zero !!!! But we are a hearty bunch up here in the far woods of the Northeast. And we have a nor'easter possibly coming on Sunday.

The rough wiring is done in the train room, now I am starting the insulation..

Tim, how about sending some of that 80 degrees eastward, afterall, you sent us all the rain a week ago..

Fergie, your not 59??? Someone lied to me buddy...sorry about that, I figured if you stayed in a hut, you must have had old bones like some of us, so the figure was correct, tsk, tsk. What radii will you need for a decapod?

Coffee shop is empty, too quiet, heading back to work, see you all tonight..

***

[Anonymous]

Good Morning All:

Remember me. It got down to 29F last night and I had to go get the paper this morning - talk about fast. Faster then the Broadway Limited by the Pennsy RR. I don't like this much cold without the Snoah. Robert and I are suffering.

Well the computer is back from the shop and the wallet is $140. 00 plus tax lighter.

I'm at work so let me go.

Bob

[Anonymous]

Hello All [8D]

I have a correction in the movie title, it is WindTalkers I hope you all read my mind on that one. [8D]

One of the things I bought early this morning was Tropicanna Orange Juice, NOT from concentrate and WITH pulp. Yes, it is more expensive but I thought it might actually be more help.

The sun is out, and it is sooooooooo nice to see it. We are still in the icebox though. Today's high is going to be 40. I sure would like to see about 60 but maybe in a few more days that will happen.


[#welcome] to all the new folks. Way too many to shout out by name now, but welcome one and all. [:)]


Well everyone have a good day. [:o)] [^]

[TurboOne]

Morning guys, it got down to low 40s last night, but today should be 85 or so again. Yes CA winters are tough.

Almost finished my 9 year olds house for the layout. We had a blast spending time together.

WHAT A GREAT HOBBY !

Mitchell hang in there, good things come to those who wait.

Jim, I am sending warm CA sun to you, can you feel it yet ? Also I tried kicking the old guy jumping on you off, but he ducked. [:)]

Take care guys, have a great day.

Tim

[GDRMCo]

Hi all.
Jim: The package has not arrived yet and I'm starting to get real pissed off with the postal service. I was riding down to Casuarina Square today and as I was riding up a small hill on the way I saw the post van drive past. I thought to myself "self you'd better get home to see if theyhad dropped off what you had sent.
Oh well gtg later.
Mitchell

[Anonymous]

Hello All [:)]

Well the sore throat has progressed into a head cold and chest cold. I went to work Monday night but probally will not work Tuesday night. I came home and walked the dog then went to the store. I stocked up on chicken soup, crackers, bought some potatoe salad and cole slaw. On the way to the check out stand I past by some DVDs on sale for $9.99. I stopped and took a look, I eyed several but settled on CodeTalkers. I love history and WWII is something everybody should study. So I bought it.

John and Teffy [:)]

I made some hot tea before I went to the store. I meant to get some honey but my one track mind was intent on chicken soup so the honey is still on the store shelf. [B)] [:(!] I had to put some sugar in it instead.

Ed [:)]

The logic about the cattle and horses is simple. We lived on a small farm and the horses would compete with the cattle for grazing. Therefore, no horses, cattle only. [;)]

OH yeah, I also bought some generic Night Quill, and cough syrup, and something else. I plan to get some sleep tonight one way or the other. Know what I mean, Vern? [:D]

Well it is 230 am and the icebox door is definately open. Would someone up north please close the door. [;)] Our current temp is 22 F but with the wind chill is 13. A good reason to stay indoors tomorrow as much as possible. Dutchess will still want to go out every 15 minutes though. [:(!]

Now, would someone please pull this guy off my chest and have him stop jumping up and down on it. [}:)] [:(!] Everytime I cough my head feels like a baloon expanding to the limits then retracting. [:(!] [8] [:(!] Move over Noah, you have company. [:0] [B)] [8] [}:)]

I think I am headed for bed now.

Good Night, Morning.

[trolleyboy]

Good morning all just came upstairs from doin some layout work thaought I'd catch up on the latenite news before I started counting streetcars[zzz][zzz][zzz][zzz] i managed to assemble the CFO's purchases and had a couple of hours of train time decided to add a little more raised town too the one end of layout(note to self finish ALL benchwork before you star track)[V] I made another pot of weathering grade coffee so watch out for that one [}:)][:O][C=:-)]talk to you all tomorrow. ROB If this starts a new page I'll swing buy with some high protein egg smoothies in the morning[C=:-)][:O][:D] the edit starts here: You are all safe this did not start a new page so you won't need to worry about me gastrointestinally challenging you first thing in the morning unless you drink the coffee that is[}:)][:-^][:-^] Rob

[TurboOne]

Good evening all, just got down working on a cardboard and wood house with my 9 year old.

THIS IS AN AWESOME HOBBY ! [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]

We glued, cut, pasted, and had a great father=daughter time. [:D]

Finished all but the roof, will fini***hat after main walls dry.

Tomorrow, another building with the 5 year old. Cool ! [8D]

Hope everyone is doing well, have a great day on Tuesday.

Tim[:D]

[philnrunt]

Emeraldisle and krump- you stay away way too long, and indeed we do miss your words of both wit, and of course, wisdom. Emerald, I'll definitely check out the mini metals site. And every time I visit, i always try to make a fresh pot before I head back on duty, mostly because I love that 5 hour old joe in Ed's stained pot. If the coffee won't walk to your cup by itself, it's not real hot joe.
der- you painted a picture with your words, not a very pretty one, but a picture nonetheless. Getting soaked from sweating, feet freezing etc. I used to love winter so much, and now it just beats me. As one of my other hobbies is 4-wheeling, I refuse to shovel driveway snow, the drifts in the drive are my 4WD playground. But even after I bust the drifts to the garage, I still end up shoveling the walk. Nothing better than a visit from Johnny Snowflake and 500 trillion billion of his closest friends.The white death just lurks in wait.
Ed- You don't realize how it comforts me to know you are with me in spirit. You may NEVER realize how much it comforts me. In fact, I don't think there are enough words in the english language to express just how comforted I am! As I break off half of my mustache, hoping that it isn't my nose but I really can't tell because everything except my large derrier' is numb....no, no, it's numb too... I take supreme comfort in knowing that you are with me in spirit. And pay no attention to the quiet sound of sobbing.
As for railfanning with Jim, he seems to have done a fair share of it, I need to look over his pictures, I'll just bet there is an NW ALCo C-628 high hood somewhere in there. Hidden treasures!
Gonna be 4 below tonight, and if I had my way I'd be about 400 miles below the border sipping Cuba Libres with Ed!

[Paul W. Beverung]

Tim; The part is on the way. It should be here Thursday. Not soon enough says Mary Ann. She had to use it today to put out a couple of bales of hay. Said that the exhaust fumes were intense.

Sponge Bob has a new nose. The paint didn't match exactly so I had to spend another couple of hours getting that situation cleared up. A little feathering with the air brush and done. The remasking took longer than the painting. Now to fini***he pond scum and put a new eye in the aligator.

I did a little more on the mrr tonight. Not much but did get the junction nailed down. Now i found out I'm going to need to get a couple of more turnouts. Always something else.

***; Many happy returns.

It must be some thing in the air in here. Maybe we need to install one of those air cleaners. Take out the germs.

Paul

the Duluth, Superior, & Southeastern

" The Superior Route "

[trolleyboy]

I hope the guy with the pointy stick dosen't talk you into all three or you may end up living in the tent in the woods[:-^][:-^] Rob

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by egmurphy

Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,

QUOTE: Fergie:
… looks like I'll be getting the BLI Union Pacific 4-8-2 in grey…

Not a bad birthday gift, congrats. It’ll be worth the wait.

QUOTE: … Well the die is set and I've ordered the C&O T-1 2-10-4…

Whichever, they both sound good.


Hasta mañana,

Ed

OK you caught me! I'm allowed only one[:(] And unless I wake up tomorrow morning and change my mind, again, I'll be getting the 2-10-4, though the little guy on my right shoulder is saying "this is a mistake" but the guy on the left (with the sharp fork) is saying "go for it". We'll wait and see who's the smarter. Though that Athearn Challenger looks sweet but some say the sound is not as good as BLI.

I'll sleep on it

Fergie

[Anonymous]

Ed-
I'm finding that since I stopped playing high school football (which kept me both lighter and in better shape) I need to actually PLAN on getting in shape for skiing come fall. Most of the year it's fine for me to run and just do enough lifting to keep in decent enough shape but these days when fall rolls around I really need to put an honest effort into getting ready for the slopes. This coming fall, with me moving near the Tahoe area, I'm REALLY going have to put in some quality gym work come September! But it pays off - I'm pretty sure if I weren't in at least semi-decent shape, the spectacular crash I had yesterday would have left me feeling a lot worse, and laughing a lot less about it!! [B)]

[egmurphy]

Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,

Another lazy day down here south of the border. It actually got cool, like maybe down in the 50’s, this morning. But by afternoon it was back up in the high 60’s. [8D] Just to give you an idea, I actually didn’t wear shorts and sandals today!! [:D] Okay, so it’s not real cold. I at least wanted you guys up in the snow and ice to know that it’s not all sun and sand down here. Well, I mean it is most of the time, but not all the time. [(-D]

I don’t know what I did today, it sure wasn’t much, but the day is about over. I did go into town and shoot some pool with my F-I-L. [8] There was at least one nap taken, maybe two.

I’m continually amazed at how many of you guys are suffering from colds and stuff. I really do feel sorry for you. I know there’s no magic potion, but the FCVN will continue to ship fresh OJ in tank cars and fresh fruit in reefers until this flu season is over. Or until we get stopped by the Dept of Ag inspectors, whichever occurs first.

I’ve lost track of how many of you have colds. Plus we still have a few of the more serious problems to deal with, including all you guys with sugar diabetes and especially some of the spouses (Luc and Fec) and parents (Robert and Mitchell). Hope no one feels slighted if I missed mentioning someone.

Yeah, I remember that plastic insert that you’d stick in an orange to suck out the juice. First time I saw one was back in ’56. We had driven to Florida with the neighbors across the street for a vacation. It was probably the first time I had actually seen oranges on trees too.


Tom, hope things went well at the club. I sure wish I had a group anywhere near here that I could get together with.

QUOTE: Fergie:
… looks like I'll be getting the BLI Union Pacific 4-8-2 in grey…

Not a bad birthday gift, congrats. It’ll be worth the wait.

QUOTE: … Well the die is set and I've ordered the C&O T-1 2-10-4…

Whichever, they both sound good.


Nice to see you drop back in, EmeraldIsle.

QUOTE: Has everyone seen the new trucks from Mini Metals, FANTASTIC!!!!!!!.

Based on that recommendation, I did look them up on website. You’re right, they do look good. Something else to add to the list.

QUOTE: der:
I don all the necessary kit to blow snow and keep a little dry. Does the SB start? Does it even fire?

Ooohh, yup, probably ran the blood pressure up a few notches with that exhibition. I was a bit startled when you wrote SB, but then I realized you meant 'snow blower', and not what I would have said! [:I]

QUOTE: With Kris at part of the driveway near the house, and me working my way to the garage and back, we have hand cleared 3/4 of it.

Ah, the joys of teamwork. You’re lucky. She could have said “It’s your snow blower that messed up, you do it!”

QUOTE: Brian:
It's nice and warm here in Cali today but it's windy…

There you go, guy. Let ‘em know it’s not just sea, sand, and California girls out there too! [8D]
A bit windy in California, EmeraldIsle complaining that it doesn’t feel like mid-summer in Florida, and you heard me say it didn’t make it over 70 here today. I want all of you guys up north to know that we’re with you in spirit. Together we’ll make it through this winter……. Yo, Brian, want a wedge of lime with that Corona? [swg]

QUOTE: Karl:
… First day was clear as can be, could see the peaks of Glacier Park and the entire Flathead Valley. The second day (yesterday) was snowing so there was always fresh stuff to ski through. Lots of great skiing…

Sounds great. I really miss skiing. It used to be my favorite sport. But it’s been at least 10 years since the last time I had a chance to ski, and almost 20 since I’ve done a lot of it. It would take a major exercise program to get me back in shape to do it again. Think I’ll just stick to my golf.

QUOTE: Brian:
does anyone here acually work for any railroads? I have a friend who is a conductor for Amtrak and I am looking in to possibly getting a job working for them as well hopefully as an assistant conductor (the guys who collect the tickets... formally known as TA's, ticket agent). Any words of advise would be welcome.

I don’t think anyone in the Coffee Shop works for a railroad, but there are a lot of active railroaders over on the TrainsMagazine forum. You can get there through the Forum Index near the top of the page. I see questions like yours posted over there all the time. Try posting over there, and also looking back through a few pages of posts.


Who was that masked man from beautiful downtown Salmon Arm, B.C. who dropped in and out so quick? Was that really Krump?


(Northern)Phil – glad to hear things are going well. It’s always nice to get along with your prospective in-laws. Have you gotten him into railfanning yet, or are you going to wait until spring?


Okay guys, that’ll about do it for today. As I leave I’m firing up a fresh pot (the stained one) of good coffee from the highlands of Veracruz. Enjoy. And keep sucking down that OJ. Keep warm, tuck in the sheets, batten down the hatches, fire up the wood stove, turn on the electric blanket…………..

Hasta mañana,

Ed

[trolleyboy]

Good evening folks just got back from a trip to Ikea wifr the CFO[:0]looks like i'll be building some non railroad things for the next couple of days[:(][:(][}:)]At least my finger has stopped hurting[B)]unfortunatly i tried to glue it to a building I was working on this afternoon[:(!][:(!][:(!]I thought it would have been safer than more filing[V] John Zoe decided to lock up the hooch cause of all of the youngins like fergie[swg][swg][;)][;)][;)] she said we wouldn't want to loose our liquor licence; Oh and Mitchell she cleaned out the deep frier so blast away[:p][:p][:D] Noah we have booths and a fireplace[?] ***[bday][bday] have a good one a little early I'd send down the birthday trolley but the overheads not gone that far south yet[:0][:0][:(] catch you all later BBFN Rob[:D]

[der5997]

Phil:

QUOTE: Fergie- Very nicely put. Nautical and not naughty..

Yes it was, but it also put me in mind of a Mitch Miller song you may remember, something about "one of the roving kind".. We can't expect a mere youth like Fergie to recall that kind of thing [(-D]

Good to see you drop by again krump. The weather channel shows a good deal of snow for the mountains in BC this winter. How's that playing in Salmon Arm?

Noah:

QUOTE: Well, I'm sick. I've got a plugged up nose and had a sore throat yesterday.

Take care of that, and get well soon. Listen to {Dr. Phil} [:D]

BTW, we've been sort of aware of the 5000th. post thing coming up in a while. But did you notice we blew past the 50,000 visits mark a little while ago? [8D]

Paul: I've found an easier way to flip between pages for answering posts here. Does your browser have a drop down menu for the "Back" and "Forward" buttons? If so, you can select the page you want to go back to through that, and then come forward to the page that you've got the message window open on. Your reply isn't lost when you flip back and forth. This way you don't have to open a fresh page with the browser for each page you want to refer to. They are added naturally as you read through from one to the next. [tup]

Brian: The address for your engine paint pics didn't come up on my page. What was it?

***:

QUOTE: Der : John, I did consider the effects on photos, but I feel that with a digital camera and my software on the computer, I hopefully can make adjustments. With electrical rates rising all the time, I have to go with florescents.

That's what I did, now of course LEDs are way cheaper to run. I wonder how long we'll have to wait until they become available for household lighting.
On that subject, here's a neat site
http://www.eng.ucalgary.ca/NepalLightProject/LUTW.htm

Time for bed here on snowy Sober Island. Goodnight and God Bless.

[Fergmiester]

Well the die is set and I've ordered the C&O T-1 2-10-4. As far as I can tell there will be only one curve, which may cause me grief and if so, Bob's ears will sure be burning and track will be ripping and flying! That will be the 4th time that curve will have been alligned [:(]

Maybe, just maybe.... If BLI makes a UP 4-12-2, I'll just have to get one!

Fergie

[GDRMCo]

Hi all. Mate its bloody hot today. Just finished collecting all our palm leaves so we could do a bit of mulching and when I got inside I felt like I had just been swimming. The weather's beut just a tad hot so could I have that deep fried banana smoothie now? Anyway got some MRR news. I have emailed BLI about the MR RSD15 I drew and so far I have not gotten an email back from them. In more recent news Athearn will do custom locomotives but only in 100 unit orders. The GDRMCo experienced a downfall in productivity today seeing as though there are no tracks to run the trains on.
Jim: Mum says the package will be here this arvo.
Turbo: Mums got this gall bladder problem and she might have to have an operation.
Luct: The Pixelator has decided that deep fried food is only for heroes, so would you like a free drawing of your choice?
GTG everyone so I'll be back tonight or is that in the morning for you or ............who cares I'll be back later.
Mitchell

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by krump

where's Krump?

- his computer must still be down.
miss being here

We miss you lots, so come back soon Bud!

Hey GreyFox: You must of failed math. Am I right? I'm one of the youngsters on this here Thread, Just ask Bob![:D]

As for sleeping out side...

ARE YOU NUTS!!!!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!!!!

If truth be told I'd have rather been outside but Sorry to disapoint but -13c is out of my league, maybe -5c. If I'm going to do that I'll need better gear.

Fergie

[TurboOne]

Evening all, hope everyone is doing well. Those that are sick, get better, lots of water and vitamin C.

Got home early tonight, gonna clean up then go out and work on something trians.

Tim

[krump]

where's Krump?

- his computer must still be down.
miss being here

[fec153]

***- B 4 I forget,[bday] in advance. I think [?] I can remember when I was 66.

Noah- Ixnay on the chocolate. Hot tea with honey will help soothe the throat.

Flip {Dr. Phil}

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: Originally posted by luct

Good morning all.

To assist in temp C to temp F conversion, here is a little table had done for CFO.

Temp C Temp F
40 = 104
35 = 95

... <snip>...

-25 = -13
-30 = -22
-35 = -31
-40 = -40

Happy MRRing

Actually, I have a small program on my Mac that'll convert most any American to metric measurements... Use it when I run RailModeller (some railsets only are in metric on it).

My [2c],

Jim in Cape Girardeau (currently a balmy 25 degrees F)

[JimRCGMO]

QUOTE: Originally posted by GDRMCo

Hey what about deep fried soup.

ROTFL! A good 'Mitchell' one...[;)]

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Noah Hofrichter]

Well, I'm sick. I've got a plugged up nose and had a sore throat yesterday. better give me some hot chocolate and a bowl of chicken soup, and i'll go sit at the booth by the fire. I need to get my homework done before I get too sleepy and can't think. No modeling today........

Noah

[Anonymous]

Evening all. It sure is good to be back at the shop.

Luct: My dad is doing good. He still has trouble controlling his diabetes (blood sugar). And, yes the VB, and it's parent company Gulf & Midwest, provided the funding for my new computer.

brclem: I like the loco's paint scheme.

Oh, and [#welcome] back Lupo.

'til later

Robert

[grayfox1119]

Good afternoon gents, another 2inches of snow here in central Mass., came just in time for the Patriots to do their thing to the Colts once again...so much for the high flying Colt Offense. Playing football OUTSIDE like the old days is a completely different game than indoors!!!
It was mighty cold here today, but it is due to get even colder by Wednesday, and two more Alberta clippers are due to hit us also this week, each one dragging in more cold air. It is 15 degrees here right now at 4:30pm EST. Looks like a

two dog night

tonight.

Didn't get a chance to work on the train room until 2 today, had a Cholesterol test at 10 and an eye exam at 11, so that shot the morning. But this afternoon I managed to complete the rough wiring and have the two 20amp circuits run all the way back to the main panel. Tomorrow I will cut in the lighting wiring in the ceiling,and install the R19 3 1/2" insulation on the three outer walls. Then, it will be time for the plasterboard, and thincoat plaster. Hopefully I can have all this done by this weekend without any interruptions.

The headcold is still with me, no sore throat, and no fever, so I don't need the fixes that you guys have offered at this time, just a stuffy sinus and chest cough.

Hey, someone un-named told me that Fergie is celebrating his

20th anniversary of turning 39??!!!!

. Can this be correct??? And, did you say that he camped in a HUT??? I remember camping out with the boys in a tent in sleeping bags in the dead of winter, with wolves howling.....what is this "hut" stuff???

Der : John, I did consider the effects on photos, but I feel that with a digital camera and my software on the computer, I hopefully can make adjustments. With electrical rates rising all the time, I have to go with florescents.

Rob I think the coffee in the caf. is finally having an effect on my cold, I am convinced that no bacterium or virus can stand up for long against this stuff.....YEEESSS !!

Tom : Great idea on daylight corrected florescent lamps Tom, I have not heard of them, but I have not looked for them either. I am headed over to local Home Depot this week, so I will check out their large display for these for sure, thanks for the tip !!!

Luc Per your conversion chart, it is -10C here in central Massachusetts right now, so I guess it will bottom out tonight near -15C

Flip I thought about using track lighting, but I need to have a suspended ceiling so that I can get at wiring and other maintenance items in the ceiling that services the floor above. Track lighting is a bit of a issue to imstall in /on suspended ceilings.

Bob Yep, at 65 ( 66 in 9 days ) that classifies me as an old fart, BUT....one must remember, like a good bottle of wine, you get better with age!![;)][;)]

Tim Have you decided on what size you will make your layout with your 4x8 plywood sheets?

Ed Don't cut the OJ Ed....keep it straight up...we can handle it!

I hear the wife calling for dinner, so it's time to clear out of the coffee shop, the brew is still hot, and the jelly doughnuts are the only ones left in the box.

See you all later guys,

***

[Anonymous]

does anyone here acually work for any railroads?

I have a friend who is a conductor for Amtrak and I am looking in to possibly getting a job working for them as well hopefully asan assistant conductor (the guys who collect the tickets... formally known as TA's, ticket agent)

any words of advise would be welcome.




Brian






some of my ideas for engien paint

[Anonymous]

Hi all - arrived back in Spokane in the wee hours of the morning on the only-slightly-delayed westbound Empire Builder after 2 good days of skiing. Yes, Ed it was at Big Mountain - the mountain and the town of Whitefish combine to make my favorite spot in the world. I'm definitely going to have to find a way to retire there!

First day was clear as can be, could see the peaks of Glacier Park and the entire Flathead Valley. The second day (yesterday) was snowing so there was always fresh stuff to ski through. Lots of great skiing (with one epic crash worthy of the "Wide World of Sports" - a few tender spots this morning but nothing serious, just funny stories for the lodge) and relaxing train ride on both ends. Oh, if you ever find yourself in Whitefish waiting on a train, might I recommend the Great Northern Bar and Grill for good food and drink.

Today I'm semi-stranded in Spokane - was supposed to drive the rest of the way to Puget Sound (when we made the reservations on the train, there were no tickets available for Everett, my normal stop). But the interstate that goes across Washington is a big icy mess and the mountain pass is supposedly a hockey rink. So, with plenty of vacation days on the books and nothing pressing to get back to at work, I called the boss and let him know it will be another day. I'm at my parets' house, so as far as "strandings" go it's not bad at all!