Elliott's Trackside Diner XXI - Further down the line...

[Blazzin]

  Jeff,, thank you for the help.. I appreciate it.  I feel alot better now.  And all I can say is, well then,   I'll raise the buildings.  I like it that way..I hate the flat look.. so if raising the buildings.. and matching the surrounding terrain, well then it gives me some room to add some contour to the ground and take away the flat look.. I'm all the happier.  LOL.. I guess that all makes sense.  Maybe tomorrow ..since tomorrow is "Show and Tell" day.. (Thursdays) .. I dig out my other Alco's. And we'll see if you and Sawyer are correct.

Thanks again

Keith

[JimRCGMO]

Good Afternoon, Zoe - I'll have a ham and cheese sandwich, bowl of potato soup, and a RBF, please 'n' thank you!

howmus

Lets see be there by 11AM for the start of the meet.  If you're a little late that's OK as mine will be the second clinic.  Lets see, how far away from Rochester, NY is Cape Girardeau??? 

A few too hundred too many miles, I'm afraid, Ray! (Besides, how would I get laundry done on Saturday?)

Jeff, that's kind of odd about that version of The Titanic (unless Cameron had seen that version before they did theirs). Good to 'hear' that your doctor is having the blood drawn early before you see him (saves you one trip or a lot of sitting and waiting, anyway). Hey, looks like some construction is underway on a new Shell station there - nice job!

CN Charlie - No, no, NO! Do NOT total up how much you're spending on any part of your MRR'ing (not if you want to continue to enjoy it as much). I was looking at my figures (bunch of Preiser and W-S ones, mostly) on Monday, and thought about totalling up what all of those had run me, but I told myself "No, couldn't do it accurately anyway, since a number of those I bought on sale, or the W-S ones I bought with one of those 40 percent off coupons at H-L, etc....." Whew! Glad I talked myself out of that one! Besides (reading from the WGH playbook here...), "How can you put a price on all that fun you've been having?", right? The important thing there, CN Charlie, is to make sure the CFO NEVER gets to see those totals on the MRR'ing (not unless you also can track & total up what she spends on sewing, crafts, etc....). Ah, I see that Todd has chimed in on this topic as well.

Hey, as for daylight hours here in SE Missouri, I can tell from inside my apartment that the sun is already peeking by a bit before 7 a.m., but it sets about 5 p.m. (and it's dark by that time). That's my Daylight report - I just checked my weather widget, and it said the official sunrise today was 6:55 a.m. and sunset will be at 4:40 p.m. tonight. So I was pretty close. And it's 43 F (6 C) and rainy. Oh yeah, that was the high temp. for the day, I believe.

I got good at knowing about what time sunset was, when I had the photo studio - in the summer, we could do a split (indoor-outdoor) senior portrait session starting at up to 6:30 at night (starting outside first on those ones, and then going inside for the studio part).

Rob, good to hear you'll be seeing your doctor soon. We need all our injured/hurt/sickly Diners to get things taken care of - after all, that cold and nasty weather will be here soon, so we want to be in our best shape for getting to the MRR'ing!

Ulrich, I'd rather hear our weatherguessers say that we're gonna have a "cold" or "colder than usual" winter, than to hear them say "There'll be some nasty weather tonight" I think last time we had 'nasty' weather around here was some point last winter when a bunch of towns/cities around these parts got hit with a 'nasty' ice storm and lost power for thousands and tens of thousands of people (though mercifully, Cape dodged most of that). I'll take cold and sn*wy anyday over 'nasty' and icy, any day! Good to hear that you are continuing to make progress on unpacking and getting the details lined up/set up for your flat. I know one way the new place would seem more like home - just take a weekend 'vacation' somewhere else (being gone a week makes it more evident, but is more costly), and then come home to your own bed again. That usually helps one with appreciating 'home'... Hope you get someone to help you with the kitchen and the antenna jobs. I'm just using the 'rabbit ears' antenna at home, and I think I get about 8-10 broadcast channels, depending on the time of year and sunspot activity level. If you're in a city (and if your cities are like ours here), the bigger cities have more channels over the air (and of course, cable or satellite have way more than anyone can watch and retain their sanity).

TMarsh

After watching Cody's office he recommends doing the between rails, then let dry and the the outside rails. I tried that and is now my preferred method. So I guess I take breaks too. Wow, at 6" that's a lot of breaks. I think I'll like it.

Todd, a fella would think that you really like breaks, from that - and how long would those breaks be?

Robby, that was good of your LHS owner to extend the sale for you until payday. But I'm sure you are no stranger in that LHS, yes? And I will NOT even ask about how much earlier you are going in... Nice building complex there, but those buildings are WAY too clean, aren't they?

All right, all right, Keith - rub it in, why doncha?! Sheesh, these Southern Californians, talking about spring when we haven't even hit our mid-winter stride in parts middlin' north (and that ain't even talking about our 'Frozen Chosen' in the NOTB provinces! (to borrow a Kodak phrase I hear used about those living in Rochester, NY) On your freight depot, I'm inclined to think that second (raised?) photo looks more like what you might want. When I saw the first one, I was thinking, "Needs to put a foundation under that building..." I'm not your loco expert at all, but I'd say that's an Alco RS-something-or-other. Jeff, our other diesel spotters here, help the man out! Ah, I see he and Vincent have filled you in already. Thanks, guys!

Galaxy - let me interpret some of what you said, for Ulrich (and others in here who may not be as familiar with "MRRese"): You meant to say that you are looking forward to "buying a MRR area with a house to cover it," right? From what one co-w**ker told me about her PT, I understand that the abbreviation is short for "Personal Torturer", correct?

Packers#1

Early release day today at school today.

Sawyer - , so you have a 'catch & release' program at your school? Ours here is only in certain streams, lakes and rivers - cool!

Another half hour until I start on-call for the evening. If the weather keeps up like this, I may not have much to do - except perhaps to fiddle with something MRR-related, read the new MR, play around with the layout design program, etc. (Or even sleep...). Hey, I could enjoy any of those!

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[Packers#1]

JimRCGMO

Packers#1

Early release day today at school today.

Sawyer - , so you have a 'catch & release' program at your school? Ours here is only in certain streams, lakes and rivers - cool!

 

Actually, it's something new the state or district, idk which, is doing. on the first Wednesday of every month, all students get out 2 hours early and the teacher shave some training.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

JimRCGMO

Jeff, that's kind of odd about that version of The Titanic (unless Cameron had seen that version before they did theirs). Good to 'hear' that your doctor is having the blood drawn early before you see him (saves you one trip or a lot of sitting and waiting, anyway). Hey, looks like some construction is underway on a new Shell station there - nice job!

A blood sample was taken after my last visit, before I was started on the new antibiotic. It will be compared to the one taken tomorrow to see what's happening. The Shell station is nothing new. It's been there for over a year.

 

** WARNING! LONG, BORING NON-MR CONTENT ** About the Titanic film, people have stated their conviction that James Cameron must have been very familiar with the 1943 propaganda film when writing and filming his own Titanic. One inconsistency in the film (one of many) was that the ships top speed was 26 and a half knots. Her actual top speed was 23 knots and that was with the boilers strapped. Several aspects of the story are in both films but not any other Titanic version. The salt of the earth German "hero" orders his girlfriend into a lifeboat. She complies and watches him disappear behind the railing as the boat is lowered. A handsome male lead coaches the girl whom he loves that she shouldn't marry a man she feels no love for - just because her parents ordered her to do so. A scene of a character being informed by another character of the ship's demise while both are standing on the grand staircase is used in both films, as well as in 'A Night to Remember'. The language of the film I watched is all German but has english subtitles. It was written by Herbert Selpin and Walter Zerlett-Olfenius and starred Sybille Schmitz and Hans Nielsen. It was directed by Werner Klingler and Herbert Selpin. Selpin directed most of it, Klingler finished it. The first showing was to be in early 1943 but the theater was bombed the night before. It had a lackluster opening in Paris around Christmas of 1943. In the end, Goebbels banned it altogether. By that point the German people were less than enthusiastic about seeing a film about mass death and panic. It was rediscovered in1949 and was quickly banned in most western countries. It resurfaced in 1992 and a censored low quality copy was released on video tape. The censoring removed the strongest propaganda scenes. In 1995 it was completely restored and for the first time since 1943 the uncensored version was released. Guess who has a copy of it. Me. What does this all have to with trains? Not much, except there are a few quick snips of trains in the beginning and the person typing this is a model railroad nut.

** END OF LONG, BORING NON-MR CONTENT **

I hope everybody survived and didn't gnaw any body parts off in an attempt to flee.

[Cederstrand]

Veggie plate with a tall glass of lemon water, please. 

***Lee, check your pm.

Rob

 

[galaxy]

JimRCGMO

Galaxy - let me interpret some of what you said, for Ulrich (and others in here who may not be as familiar with "MRRese"): You meant to say that you are looking forward to "buying a MRR area with a house to cover it," right? From what one co-w**ker told me about her PT, I understand that the abbreviation is short for "Personal Torturer", correct?

Well, yes I would HOPE for a MRR area and a house to cover it, but if the house comes basementless with land, a MRR area can be BUILT {when money comes our way}. I am fortunate in that my other half is also into trains, so any area good enough for two layouts will be just grand as long as it is dry and climate controled and damp-proof.

PT {physical Therapy}, in my case doesn't stand for "personal Torturer", but rather stands for "HURTS SO GOOD" , and that is a good thing. The PT worked on my back and that was just swell today. a good long thorough deep penetrating massage. I didn't consider it torture at all. Onlyest thing is it didn't last long enough!!! tomorrow is the hands again. The hand issue is to help ease the scar tissue from the surgeries now so my hands are flexible again.

I will have a piece of CAKE please. I've had a bit of enough of pies lately, though I do adore my pumpkin pies! Other half not so much on the pumpkin so we get dutchapple and bluesberry pies, too.

well off for the evening now so see ya all later.

 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

I got back from all kindsa runnin' 'roun' doin' stuff for work and etc. My MRR'ing time has been cut to the quick again--

Galaxy---1) So you are eventually doing the move? And if you do hopefully there is going to be MRR space to be had? This space we have does have a basement but--but--but--it also gets used as office and ---here we go again---storage--ohno ohno

               2) When I had wrecked my elbow bike riding a couple of years ago the PT I had did mostly hydrotherapy using a whirlpool type of affair--exercise of the elbow involved bending it against the flow of the water current--worked quite well.

I got home a few minutes ago and I see that there is a book to read again---so

Chloe, I'll have a RBF with an Apple pie as well please---I'm gonna sit at the RC with Ray and read all the columns here---

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello ...

Keith .... if you google "Alco RS1" , you get the following...

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=alco+rs+1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=LzgXS9KlIom1tgeV2sXkBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBkQsAQwAw

Looks like your loco.

Spent the afternoon with my friend Gus working on DCC. I'm finding out, the older locos can take time to convert.

 

 

[Cederstrand]

I forgot, what type of paint sticks to NuComp model material? Trailer is ready for paint, so thought it would be a good idea to ask first. Thanks!

Rob

[Anonymous]

 YAAAAAWN!

Good Morning,

Zoe, may I have my coffee IV, please? Can´t open my eyes, yet. As it was Full Moon last night, I had to wo*k the night shift -

My mind is still playing tricks on me. I wake up in the middle of the night each night and do not know, where I am. It will take a lot more time for me to accept this place as my new home. Petra is already pretty much settled and does not miss the house at all, which really surprises me. She enjoys exploring the features of the appliances in her new kitchen, just like we do  when we get a new loco

Only a few things are on today´s "Honey Dew" list, a little unpacking and putting up the curtains in the kitchen. Should have done that yesterday, but did not fell like it. It will be a sofa day for the good part of it - time for some armchair model railroading...

Jeffrey and Ray - that Titanic film was shown recently on TV over here. The TV mags rated it "waste of time". Maybe I have seen too many "Germans = Heroes, Brits = Crooks" films from that time, but I found it worse than any of those B pictures  made in the late 1940´s and 1950´s. The film became harsh reality, when the ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine off the coast of Danzig in 1945 and over 6000 people, mainly women and children were killed.

Robby P. - what a wonderful picture! That background is excellent. Wasn´t your wife who painted it? It adds so much depth to the scene - great!

Rob - I only use acrylic paints to paint any plastics. They stick well, when you clean the part properly before painting.

CUL !

Has anybody heard of Chris lately - Have not read anything from him for some time now. 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

Kinda wet out here this morning. The weather here is gonna feature wind, showers, bits of sleet, and maybe the odd snowflurries---The high was at 5am and the temperature then was 6C--now it is 4C and dropping--

Ulrich: I think he had a bunch of writing to do? I'm really not sure--

Rob: I agree with Ulrich on the paint---I also found that some time with smooth styrene that a little sanding gave the paint a better grip--

Welp---I have a coupla things from the HD list to do then it'll be some MRR'ing time for me---heeheehee

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and a toasted bagel with egg/sausage please---I'll be at the RC for a bit-----and I see we have another pie catapault here-----why?

[Blazzin]

  Garry,  thanks for that link... and yup there it is.. I'll probably being in and out of that just looking at the pics.  Now Garry .. what I am about to say.. will give you mixed feelings.  I have some DCC.. but deep down inside I really don't care for them.. and am planning on maybe taking some out... and converting back to DC.. I know I know.. its just me,  what can I say?  I was planning on running 3 mains.. one being DCC and the other DC.  But the feeling of actually running a train.. (i.e. not DCC) is more fun to me.  Being a 1 percent grade,  I don't think I'll have too many problems.  So if and when I'm ready.. I'll take a pic.. and you can tell me how to remove it.. then .. you can have all the DCC coders you want.  I have about 5 DCC give or take.  Another 'We shall see'

  Jeff buddy.. you should be a writer.  God I loved that piece on the movie Titanic.  Anytime you want to do a review.. you can count on me reading it.  And you know I like war movies.. and old movies.. now I want to go out and see if I can get a copy.  LOL

  And now~ since today is 'Show and Tell Day'  here is my .. well I thought it was Bachmann.. but it turns out its a Con Cor?  The box says.. 4-8-4 Northern.. then lower it says Sante Fe.   

  Now this is called a 'Wartime' Steam.. painted all black?  Wow, and even better when I bought this thing, I believe it said somewhere.. it turns on radius.. as small as 11.5 inches.  Yeah ~ sure~   It probably does turn on a 11.5  radius.. but derails on the first turnout.. lol.  Now Jeff.. or anyone else.. I've got another problem.. two of them.. one the headlight.. / cowling.. popped off.. it came that way.. and the tender also pops off.  Well I can't see that well but.. is there suppose to be some 'clip on' for the Tender?  Its 5 am here.. lol, no sunlight and hard  to see .. and I definately need bright lights.  So my question is..  How to secure these two parts..  the tender pops off.. and the headlight.. I don't want to permanately glue either.. is there a solution?  Thanks !

Keith

[Anonymous]

Good Afternoon,

Zoe, a coffee, black and hot, in my LKAB mug, please. I take a seat at the RC and chat with:

Keith - the loco looks like a Southern Pacific GS-4 to me, painted in war time livery, i.e. all black instead of that colorful "Daylight" scheme. I am not sure whether AT & SF ever owned any of those, somehow I have my doubts about the correctness of the lettering.  Still a good looking loco, though.

I am still not sure whether building a layout in a cold, unheated and therefore a little damp attic is a good idea. The place has no insulation at all and, in fact, no electricity other than a single light bulb. Maybe I should change the scale and go into N scale - reviving my ARR Port of Whittier plan posted earlier. I built my last N scale layout over 30 years ago, when it was still plagued with frequently stalling engines, oversized rails and those toylike Rapido couplers.

Some of you guys are modeling in N scale - could that be a viable option for me?

Jeffrey and Ray - I talked to Petra about your dietary issues. She agrees that you should stay away from any of those commercially propagated diets. A good diet is one that is based on your individual needs and your likes/dislikes. What you should avoid is "red meat", i.e. pork and beef. Chicken, turkey and fish are "good" meats. Try to avoid potatoes, as they are high in starch and carbohydrates. Eat frequently, 5 to 6 times a day, small portions only and avoid alcoholic beverages. A glass of wine now and then is much better than a glass of beer. The biggest issue on any diet is that you should take it serious, but not dogmatic. Don´t get a bad feeling about eating things that you should not eat, try to compensate the next day.  These are general remarks only, without knowing you in person it is quite difficult to come up with the right dietary recommendations.

My I ask a question to you two guys? The pictures you posted here have shown such a high degree of MRR craftsmanship. Would it be asking too much, if you prepare a little article of your layouts for us chowhounds here in the Diner, if not for Model Railroader?

Tomorrow, a TV guy will come and install the new antenna, so we will have those 30 + channels available. Our viewing habits actually include only 4 - 5 channels - those, that do not have those hated breaks for useless commercials. My friend will also join me in completing the kitchen.

Have a good one!

[galaxy]

GOOD MORNING MRR'ERS!

PT today for the hands. PT yesterday for the back brought a remarkable improvement in how it feels { I pulled muscles there}

Gonna go out for breakfast maybe and get my other halfs paycheck to deposit so we can pay off the van repairs. Maybe a little shopping. Depends on my back and how it puts up with such things.

No MRRing today either. gotta find a way into the room with the layout and then find the layout, lol.

Maybe we stop at lowes to get a 4 x 4 sheet of plywood upon which to develop a Xmas layout for under the table top tree. DOn't know if I'm up for that. Without kids, xmas is getting kind of a family {parents} get together type day and not a present day.

Later guys have a great day! 

[Packer]

Morning ya'll. B&G for me.

The weather is as the news said it would be (imagine that!) It's warm, and it ain't raining.

Keith, looks like that's a GS4. Southern Pacific was the only road to have them AFAIK

[Blazzin]

  Hey thanks you guys.. I didn't think a Santa Fe would be running this.. but since I have my own Santa Fe line.. ATTSF.. I really don't mind.  The people who look at my layout.. will not even notice it.

 Now.. on a different note...  Does the forum.. or the Diner have a separate thread ..for the Holiday wishes.  I know.. I have come to like/love all you guys.. the help.. the friendship and just being able to talk to others about trains.  I know I'd like to post a pic of Jeanne and I.. wishing all of your peeps out there the Best of Holidays and a Happy New Year.. so I guess my question is..  if there isn't a Holiday thread.. for posting pics.. and Wishing Happy Holidays can the Diner start one?  A separate thread.. wishing all .. inviting all to share their photos and Holiday Greetings.  I'm sure there are lurkers in the Diner.. that would just love to come in and share.. and join us all.  Sorry.. its just me~ and my corny ideas.  

 Oh hey here's a pic of me and my surfboard.. its 9 feet long.. and when you catch a wave with this baby.. exhilaration would be the word.  

 One of my sons.. age 10 then, well we both had the day off.. so we went to have breakfast together and then dropped into a Surfboard shop along main street.  (Huntington Beach surf city USA).   We looked at a few surfboards.. and I told him.. "I used to surf.. when I was a very young teen".  But being married.. college.. family.. work.. all that took up so much of my free time... in the early years.  So, I say to him "You want that board?"  The salesman had just walked up.. and said.. "I'll sell that used board for $25 bucks:"!  His eyes lit up.  So it was a father and son gig .. for many years.. and I must admit.. he's more of a very good friend.. and a son.  I know.. my wife, Jeanne has always loved to hear my son and I always laughing and joking.. just good friends.  I would have never guessed surfing together at a young age.. would do so much bonding. Now he's busy with work .. college.. and g/f.  LOL.. Cats in the Cradle

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Its VERY windy today.  Kinda cool, but windy.

 Thanks for the comments on my shot.  I will probably work on that some more today.  Not much planned other than that.

 Jim.......Might "dust" them up a slight more, and maybe do something with the roof.  I would like to try to get it to look like a "rock and tar" roof.

 Ulrich......Thanks for the comments.  The background was painted by me.  I try to get my wife to paint/do stuff on the layout, but she won't.  She says I'm to picky.

 Well I might take a quick nap.  

 Have a good morning.

[blownout cylinder]

Sir Madog

Some of you guys are modeling in N scale - could that be a viable option for me?

I'd say so myself. I may not see as well as some and my hands not as steady as some others but I like N scale more now than when I helped my dad with his back in the '80's. The locomotives that I found over the past year have NONE of the issues you mentioned--mind, my locs are mostly ATLAS and Bachmann so there is an advantage there. I've been mucking about with Atlas flex track in the code55 and I even have some code 40 rail down and these have done pretty good by me. The only thing is that I will run across those ding Rapido PITAs on occassion so all I do now is take the things out and put in Kadees or such--oh---and body mount---

That N scale will definitely help that layout design I'll say---

[Blazzin]

  I'd have to agree with you also, N scale seems to be the size for a smaller area.. but still getting the most Bang for your Buck.  Its half the size of H.O.! Consider what you can do with N scale.. real 17 inch radius turns.. that are closer to being proto-typical. Of course.. this is only my opinion.. and I'm fairly new to the hobby.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

It's a beautiful day here in the Finger Lakes!  Well, the rain has stopped temporarily.......

Chloe how 'bout a nice bowl of hot oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar to go along with my cup of dark roast in a FGLK mug.  Please and Thank You!  I'll go sit at the rivet counter for a bit.

Ulrich I haven't seen the Titanic movie that Jeffrey was talking about.   Heck I haven't even seen the "new" version that came out about 15 years ago.....  I have the sound track (awesome!) but that's it.  I haven't watched an entire movie in years.  The last ones I watched that I actually liked were the Grumpy Old Men movies......  That should tell you something about me.  I would agree that "n" scale would be a good choice for you if........  you have good eyesight, very steady hands, and you don't expect to do a lot of scratch building.  If you are going to do scratch building, you best have very steady hands and excellent eyesight!  I made a brief foray into "n" scale way, way back (30 years ago) and found at that time t wasn't for me.  I have seen some incredible, breathtaking work done by some n scale modelers out there!  I have a friend who who is an MMR who has hand laid track including dual gauge track and turnouts on his masterpiece of a layout!!!!  Go with what will do what is best for your space and your abilities.

You asked about writing an article for here about methods of construction.....  Be careful what you ask for.............  you might get it!   At the risk of getting things thrown at me for taking too much room, here is the text for the Scenery Certificate on the subject.  This is Requirement #3:

The HO scale Seneca Lake Ontario and Western Model Railroad is set somewhere in the Finger Lakes region of New York State in August.  The era is the mid 1920’s.  This is a rural shortline freelanced loosely from the NYO&W.  Much of the bench work was constructed about 25 years ago.

Terrain:

Bench work is traditional L-girder with 1” x 4” cross members placed above it.  Much of this portion of the SLOW is created with 3/8” plywood used as the base.  There are also sections that have used the “cookie cutter” method of raising track above the base as well as some “spline lattice” track base.  Each is used where it is most advantageous.

Since the SLOW was started 25 years ago, there are still scenic elements on the layout using the old plaster soaked paper towels over crumpled up newspaper type of hard shell.  The area behind the freight station in the photo: 23FreightDock.jpg was done using the old hard shell technique.  When I took up the hobby again about 5 years ago, I started using closed cell foam board for creating basic shapes of terrain.  I use plaster cloth over the foam, as I like the texture and the ease of staining/painting it gives me. 

For the “falls” near the end of the Yard Lead, I used ceiling tile broken, stacked, and painted.

Background:

The backdrop/background for the layout in mostly done using 1/8” masonite painted blue.  Clouds were done with stencils using 3 different colors of “rattle can” paints.  Flat white, a light gray, and a darker primer gray used at different times in the process gave me a look that I wanted.  Since the layout is predominantly modeling the rural Finger Lakes Region of New York State, the skyline is mostly forest.  Several mixes of green (from two green colors I purchased) were stippled onto the backdrop with various sized paintbrushes, and then hit with a light spray of flat white.  In most places this was repeated at least 3 times giving the appearance of distance to the backdrop.

In one place the concrete wall behind the layout had to be used.  This is a poured concrete wall that has been painted with waterproofing paint over the years.  The backdrop behind Cooley’s Blue Ice is sheetrock.  It is on the room wall.  All surfaces received similar treatment.

Lighting:

Main layout lighting consists of 5000°K CFLs placed every 2’ behind a white hardboard (Masonite) valence that goes around the entire layout.  The aisle side of the valence is painted black, as is the fascia.  There is also black skirting below the fascia.  The full spectrum bulbs with a high CRI give a full daylight look to the layout as well as very true colors.  Night lighting is done with a blue rope light that is behind the valence that operates on a dimmer giving the option of how much “moonlight” is wanted on any given night.  Most of the buildings also have lights in them as well.  Partitions were used to block off rooms inside many of the buildings where lights were not wanted.  I used mostly 12v grain of wheat or grain of rice bulbs run at anywhere from 4 or 9 volts to give the look of kerosene or gas lights and early electric lights depending on where they were placed.

Lighting is intended to give the layout a “shadowbox” effect.  The aisles are very dark so that the focus is on the layout itself.

Most of the photos used for the certificate are in my Photobucket account listed at the bottom of the page (use the one with II at the end).  Enjoy!

73

[Cox 47]

Good morning All...Its cloudy and 32 here...I'll have coffee and a sweet roll please...Not much going on here..I been cleaning out drawers and boxes..Tossed a bunch of stuff that I had been saving for projects thinking I might need some day..Labeled bunch of boxes and drawers so I know whats it them...Picked up 2 M/T coupler conversions for old Atlas RS 3's I was given on N Scale Yard Sale..You all have a good one...Jerry

[SilverSpike]

Howdy!  Not much to report.

Hope all is well with all the Diner folks, new, old, regulars, irregulars , like myself.

I'll have some Turkey Soup for lunch today Chloe!  

[edited for content by selector] 

 

[Blazzin]

   That was one crazy Russian.  I have never seen something like that.. and I've seen a lot of different ways.  LOL  But if you've never seen a dog surf.. well then you're in for a big surprise.  Don't feel sorry for the dogs.. if they didn't like it.. they would head on in towards shore.  But.. some types of dogs are really good surfers.. and will fall off.. only to chase the surfboard and hop back on.  Some really do stear the board too.  Anyways..have fun.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOv7mPV4rS4&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDwgSyaqG5Y  I don't know why dogs do this.. perhaps their love of their master?  High spirited?  The dogs  look at one another.. and say.. "Hey..there's another dog surfing" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRAoPs_3x2E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV-USD45Vyo&NR=1 

[Anonymous]

howmus

Most of the photos used for the certificate are in my Photobucket account listed at the bottom of the page (use the one with II at the end).  Enjoy!

73

... I just did, Ray! I am awed! 

Btw, I have not been able to follow a full length movie for quite some time now. Either I get bored quickly and grab a mag or a book, or I fall asleep. Petra keeps on telling me that we already had seen this or that movie, but I cannot remember at all. Most of the films produced nowadays do not interest me at all. Films like "M.A.S.H." or old John Wayne Westens - that´s a  for me

[AmanaMedic]

Good afternoon,

I see ULRICH was looking for me, "present and accounted for, SIR!"

Had a crazy idea yesterday... I decided to do something to make Loving Wife happy. So, I dug out the Christmas stuff (banging my head in the closet under the stairs in the process). I then decided to deploy the tree and "green stuff." Since finances will be extremely tight this year, there won't be a pile of presents. I figured we needed "something" under the tree, had a stroke of genius (maybe it was just a stroke from whacking my head...not sure), dashed upstairs to my office and the shelves containing my Lionel stuff.

I ended up whipping up a small oval of 027 track, and placed upon it my first train: the Lionel set I got as a wee lad back in 1971. It's not running yet, I don't have wire to run from transformer to track, and need to dig through the old Lionel track pieces for some connector pins and I would assume, some insulator pins, lest I fire it up and have a big oval short-circuit.

So, Loving Wife comes home, sees this...jumps up and down in joyful glee. Hugs the stuffing out of me...very, very happy wife. "We got a TRAIN!" she says many times while jumping up and down like a kid. Turns out, she always wanted a train under the tree when she, her brothers, and wicked sister were kids...never happened. We've been married six years, she never told me this...otherwise I'da done did it a long time ago!!!

Women.

She then hung all the decoration stuff upon said seasonal shrub, even managed to somehow get the rest of the tree lights to light. I suspect the tiny wires are broken due to years of folding/unfolding, and she "bumped" a wire back into contact.

Am trying to write some stuff for THAT, to turn in tonight, and have to go up to Anamosa to cover a high school wrestling meet this evening. THAT S-stuff is said to be falling out of the sky around the area today... I can do without it.

Have a good'en,

Chris

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sir Madog

Jeffrey and Ray - that Titanic film was shown recently on TV over here. The TV mags rated it "waste of time". Maybe I have seen too many "Germans = Heroes, Brits = Crooks" films from that time, but I found it worse than any of those B pictures  made in the late 1940´s and 1950´s. The film became harsh reality, when the ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine off the coast of Danzig in 1945 and over 6000 people, mainly women and children were killed.

Ironically, the cruise ship the film was shot aboard, the JJ Cap Arcona, was itself sunk in the last weeks of World War 2 with a far heavier loss of life than the Titanic. Which version of the movie did you watch? The original is somewhat bearable but the censored version is God awful.

 

Good afternoon. It's 49 and partly cloudy. The high will be near the mid 50's. A low tonight in the mid 30's and a possibility of snow tomorrow.

The ligaments in my ankle are healing slowly. It doesn't hurt quite as much since the bone was relocated. The Home Health nurse came around this morning and changed my dressings and drew blood. The surgery wound on my foot is healing nicely. I hooked up this mornings round of antibiotics and went to town to get the grocery shopping done then came back home. The groceries are put away and I'm just relaxing now. That's quite enough for one day.

[SilverSpike]

SilverSpike

[edited for content by selector] 

 

 

Oops....looks like I stirred up some trouble in here again!!!!

That seems to happen to me more often than not when I step into the MR Diner anymore....

[Robby P.]

 Just a quick stop. 

 Here's a couple of pictures I will use in the WPF.  I added a fence, and finished up the road.  The blue foam will be covered later.  I was going to add some weeds in that area.  Maybe this weekend.

 

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

SilverSpike

SilverSpike

[edited for content by selector] 

 

 

Oops....looks like I stirred up some trouble in here again!!!!

That seems to happen to me more often than not when I step into the MR Diner anymore....

That must have been a real bell ringer!

[Trainman Sam]

Good afternoon all...

Thank you all for your kind words and confidence in me... helps to know people are pulling for you!!!

where has this year gone???  Seems like march was just a couple weeks ago...

Chloe, can I please have a Pastrami on Rye, with a Large Coffee in an NJT mug?  Thanks!

 Lee, Thanks for the update!  I'm looking forward to when I can start my "Rebuild" sessions!

 

I'll be quietly studying in the corner...