Ahh.......I guess I didn't see it.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
Good Morning All,
A regular and a jelly doughnut please. Good to see Ed and Bill stopped by over the weekend. Sn*w has stopped and the winds died down plus it's all the way up to 19F and a high of 30 predicted. If we were NOB we'd be breaking out the swimsuits.
Back to the shop today - I'll check in later. CUL, J.R.
Good morning. Huevos Rancheros and a slice of Ray's Prime Rib please if you don't mind. Any cut will do, I'm not picky when it comes to Prime Rib. I have a preference, but I'm not picky. Oh and coffee, coffee, coffee. Thank You. 1 degree. It's too cold out there to think.
Got the TV yesterday. 40 inch RCA LCD. Went to almost every place in town that sells TV's. Ended up going back and buying the TV we liked at the first place we stopped. I told her, IIIIIIII told her.
Jim- between things I am recruited to do and the things I need to do that I actually do do (he he), I also can find more things to piddle with that keep me from doing what I want to do.
Ray- Let me get this straight. (Ahem). You can spend a large amount of time, during a family gathering, running trains. All you have to do is set Emily on your knee and you are "playing with the Granddaughter". Oh you lucky, lucky, lucky man.
Lee- 21 dollars an hour? Or freeze outside chasing down an electrical draw? I'm with you bud!!
Jeff- Glad you didn't get hurt bad. What caused the fall?
Debating on doing the bookwork for the Church today, or staying in and doing it tomorrow.
Have a Great Day!!!
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Good moring diners! ......... Oatmeal & OJ here ........... see ya later ........ cheers
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good Afternoon,
Zoe, it is just some coffee for me today - had a late lunch/early dinner right now.
I am home from the hospital, just in time before the sn*w is hitting us here.
Chris, Todd - for your diagnostic capabilites - talked to my docs about this extreme fatigue thing and they agreed that this is most likely the cause. The open question is now how to get the necessary R&R to charge the batteries??? My speech is still somewhat garbled, but as Petra says, I am not mixing English and German any longer.
Ray - I like the pictures of your granddaughters, especially the one with you on the pic! Told my son during his visit over Christmas to take his time in turning me into a grandpa - who wants to be in bed with a grandmother?
Jeff - I hope you just slipped and fell - not a black out or something worse?
Lee - I have just been through that TV issue with Petra. Went to 4 different stores, just to buy the one from our local store. The guy did not only bring this to our flat, he programmed it, fixed the antenna, and paid us 50 Euro for the old set. Last but not least, he was 5 % cheaper than the other stores.
Concerning my MRR plans, I will have to talk Petra into accepting that we have to dispose of a sofa and two book cases, which still "squat" in the room. I plan on selling them - a chance to collect the first contribution to my Public Transportation Renewal and Improvement Fund. Maybe I should apply for EU funding as well...
To those who are just starting the day - have a good one
So, I haven't been around a lot lately. Been pretty sickly!
Yesterday I finally felt good enough to get out. Good thing too! The Great Train Show was in town, so I went to check that out. Not as big as years past.......about half the size of a couple of years ago and just a little smaller than last year, but still good. I scored some scenery items, a BAR reefer, 6 undecorated coal cars (needed those big time!), and 2 Deep Rock tank cars. Not a bad haul!
I was thinking about my layout and the direction I want to go with it while I was working on it last night. Yeah, you read that right......I was working on it last night. More on that in a minute.
See, I've been focused on the late 1920's and early 1930's for a long time. I've aquired a lot of things that are specific to that era, and to change era's, as I've recently been considering, would mean that all of my old billboard reefers would have to go, and some of my older styled loco's probably would too. Moving to the 1950's 9which is what I've been thinking of) would mean that I have more scenery details to pick from, not to mention loco's and rolling stock, but I'm having a hard time with the idea of having "D" word loco's on the layout.
Oh well..........
Anyways, I pieced together the new staging yard last night. I'll probably start transplanting it tonight.
Hi - it´s me again!
Did some fiddling and tweaking with my track plan idea - I enlarged the yard facilities considerably, but simplified the main lineon the right side down to single track .
Whaddya think?
PC,
Why not model 1938 - 1947? You could have mostly steam with a limited few first generation "d" units. When I started this layout I wanted to keep the steam, but had trouble finding vehicles and details within my budget so I opted for the 1950's. 1950's stuff was pretty reasonable, but within the last 6 months there seems to be an explosion of WWII era stuff on the market. Here in the Midwest steam didn't completly dissapear until 1960. I watched several documentries and rail videos and when you hit mid-summer of 1959 it's amazing how fast all the steam dissapeared from the videos.
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Ulrich, what about running behind the desk and stuff with a floded dogbone style layout?
Mornin' everyone!
Finally got myself out of bed and moving. Zoe what's with the tank car outside next to the diner. What? Ed has been in and brought a new supply of OJ to the diner? Fantastic, now why is there a refer parked on the next track blocking the view of the switching? Ooooooooo, guess I'll have the ham and eggs special with a tall glass of OJ to go along with my cup of dark roast in a R&GV Mug then. I'll be at the Rivet Counter for a bit.
TMarshRay- Let me get this straight. (Ahem). You can spend a large amount of time, during a family gathering, running trains. All you have to do is set Emily on your knee and you are "playing with the Granddaughter". Oh you lucky, lucky, lucky man.
Todd, "Life is good!" Course I was up to midnight washing dishes last night......... Having the family over is always fun though. I am very blessed to have them live near by so I can see them often.
Lee, there are times when it just makes sense to have someone else do those kind of things for you....
The thermometer says it is 16°F outside and a high of 19°F is predicted today. Currently getting some little white thingies floating by as well........... "We're havin' a heat wave, Tropical Heat Wave....."
I have about 3 days worth of stuff to get done today. Financial report for the Martin Luther King Committee (after I make a bank run), have to send out an email to the local schools about out Art and Poetry Contest, put together the agenda for Deacons and get it emailed out to all the members, and several other less pressing items. Good thing I am retired and don't have to w**k!
Best get moving.......
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
LSWrrUlrich, what about running behind the desk and stuff with a floded dogbone style layout?
Lee - I cannot get behind that closet - I need to keep it to store my clothing. In our old house, we had one of those walk-in wardrobes/dressing rooms, all there is left now are two closets, one for Petra the larger one ) and the smaller one for me. I thought of moving it behind the door on the lower right side, but I´d like to keep those 19´ !
Hi Ulrick!
Only comment I would make is about the lift out section by the door. Since the door opens inward, if something were to happen to you while in the room, how would anyone get to you to help you? I would make sure there is a way for the door to be opened even when the whole layout is set up.
Be blessed!
howmus Hi Ulrick!Only comment I would make is about the lift out section by the door. Since the door opens inward, if something were to happen to you while in the room, how would anyone get to you to help you? I would make sure there is a way for the door to be opened even when the whole layout is set up.Be blessed!73
Ray - I thought of this as well. The part in front of the door will be a lift-out section, with the door fully swung open, when the layout is in operation. Actually, my drawing is not correct in this part - the door can be opened completely and is then fairly flat against the wall. I need to extend the removable section a little more to give room there.
Good morning all, its been a few days since I've been able to get in here. We've been working on getting more and more of the house set up, namely getting the bed in here since Amy had an unfortunate incident involving a hair dryer and our air matress that we had set up in the master bedroom until we got the master bathroom completed. Oh well....
Miss Flo, if you don't mind I'd love a plate of biscuits and gravy with a tall glass of milk. Thank you ma'am. Well, there's been a delay in my SD40-2 from MB Klein. I've emailed them and was thankful to recieve a very courteous and timely reply. They're backed up from it being the time of year it is. Which I do understand completely, but they do expect it to ship this week. So hopefully, I'll see it by week's end.
Ulrich I like the track plan, but I have to agree with Ray on this one, what happens if someone needs to get to you and the door is closed nevermind, you just answered that. Otherwise, I love it, it looks great!
Well, I'd best get moving, its almost 11 and I've gotta run over to my BIL's house and steal my ramps back (gotta change oil in the pastor's wife's car). Other than that, I'm not going to do anything today. Tomorrow y'all might not see me on here will later in the evening, probably going to make use of my mostly-wooded 22.5 acres of land and do a little hunting. My wee little 'ole .30-06 hasn't gotten to get used at all this year and its calling my name from the gun safe. May the Lord bless all of y'all and yours from me and mine!
Hey ya'll A big order of biscuits and gravy for me.
Yesterday when I went to the track and made a few runs. I got my RTs down to .1101 by the 5th pass. The best run that I made was 12.2, but I let someone who was more experienced try and he got an 11.39. still have to work on launching and speed shifting into 3rd, since I missed it a lot. I stopped when I started to smell the clutch, so that might be why I can't hit 3rd right; it took the other guy a few passes to get 3rd and he said it was tricky.
The guy I'm trading hoods (my cowl, for his ram air and no longer mystery scoop) with was also there. In the process a friend who is restoring an older Cougar and turning it saw the scoop and ran the part number on it. Turns out the scoop is off of a Cougar Eliminator. The guy went insane over it; even offering to re-build the tranny (in the proccess hoping mine went bad) and traction-loc in my car for it. To entertain myself I looked to see how much an original (like mine) was worth and it usually is around $450. I made off like a bandit on that trade, and luckily it wasn't found out until the trade was made. My father actually bought that scoop when he was in high school for a whooping $20 bucks, but he didn't know what it was off of. 40 years later, we find out...
Sawyer, I got home just as the Packers / Cardinals game was winding to a close; 33-7 in favor of the Packers!!! Guess who Green Bay plays in the first round of the play-offs? The Cardinals.
JR, I was contemplating that one too. It's just finding one in good shape seems to be the hard part.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Good Morning Crew,
Chloe, fire up the toaster and I'll have cimmamon raisen toast and a HC to chase.
After getting to sleep in today, I ddn't really plan on posting here this morning, but I just received an e-mail from a friend that made me chuckle
and wanted you all to have a good laugh as well. Here goes.........................
150 years ago, President Lincoln found it necessary to hire a private
investigator - Alan Pinkerton for protection. That was the beginning of the Secret Service. Since that time, the federal government has produced a large number of multi-letter agencies such as: FBI, CIA, INS, IRS, DEA, BATF, etc., etc. Now we have the "Federal Air Transportation Airport Security Service". Can't you see them now, these 'highly trained' men and women in their black outfits with jackets saying across their backs: F. A. T. A. S. S. The ***'s are of course supervised by a special section of the Home Land Security Section known as: Airport Security Service Home Office Logistics Enhancement Section or the A.S.S.H.O.L.E.S. Now, don't you feel safer already.
We are laughing with you folks not at you. Keep up the good work at those airports and Customs offices.
Many places to get to today so I had better get started.
As Gerry would say, you all have a good one..
Will check back later. Prayers and blessing to those in need.
Johnboy out.......................for now
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Sir MadogJeff - I hope you just slipped and fell - not a black out or something worse?
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Ulrich, is the closet a self standing furniture unit or is it built in? If it's free standing you could pull it out a foot or so, run the track behind it and the furniture. This would give you better use of the room when not running trains. Also can you replace the door with a (I'm going to hit a nerve here and I know it, sorry in advance) Dutch door, one that the bottom and top open independantly of each other?
Also if you raise the benchwork high enough you could use closet shelf brackets that hold a clothes rod. Thus increasing the closet space by hanging clothes under the layout with appropriate shelving built in for sweaters/shoes the Misses may grant an extension to your public transportation costs (just don't mention the layout on top). A curtain type front would protect the hangng items.
Lee
Mornin' Chloe. I'll have a side of smoked bacon, a dozen eggs over easy, a bag of fried potatoes, and a loaf of rye toast with a stick of butter. A pot of coffee in an SP pot if you please. So much for my New Year's Resolutions! (I actually had a little bowl of grape nuts, sigh)
Still waiting on my homabed, track, and switch orders. Hopefully, I'll see them towards the end of the week. It's sad to see that little bit of track just end so abruptly.
My cat, Hobbes has a renewed interest in the "train room" since little things are now moving around up there. He is fascinated. Can't be good news...
Fruit & veggie smoothie. Then some grilled chicken, please & thanks.
***Lee, they do make heaters. A few problems though: 1) The barn no longer has power. 2) There are to many fences and a concrete driveway between the barn and our newer/converted home 3) As fast as the old Sandy fouls her water, and the fact she has such poor vision, I think she could get in trouble with anything new. Interesting she knows how many steps to take when entering her stalls before she can swing her hips to turn around. I'm going to miss that old mare when the time comes.
Nothing new to report on. How about some of you kind folks post some new new layout pics?
Rob
Afternoon All...Its sunny and 21 here...I'm ready for spring!...My granddaughter tootie is here and she helped me get the Railroad set back up..Someone slamed the front door yesterday and knocked about a dozen cars off shelf..broke some steps and couplers but when most of your rolling stock is rebuild stuff anyway it doesn't hurt so bad..just gonna have to rebuild it again..You all have a good one...Jerry
LSWrr Also if you raise the benchwork high enough you could use closet shelf brackets that hold a clothes rod. Thus increasing the closet space by hanging clothes under the layout with appropriate shelving built in for sweaters/shoes the Misses may grant an extension to your public transportation costs (just don't mention the layout on top). A curtain type front would protect the hangng items. Lee
Excellent idea, Lee , I will look into this. Cost maybe a limiting factor, though...
Good Afternoon, Zoe - I'll have the grilled ham & cheese sandwich, and a bowl of potato soup with some shredded cheese and a few chopped onions and real (Kentucky) bacon bits tossed in, too. Oh yes, and a RBF, please. Thank you, ma'am!
ns3010This just shows how cold it is... Have a nice, warm night!
This just shows how cold it is...
Have a nice, warm night!
, Joe, that'll frost your pumpkins (if you still had any outside) - nice shot, too! And great to hear your heat got back on quickly. I mean, not every home is built with heating-only-by-stove in mind.
We're not quite that cold (or maybe just not enough moisture in the air around here for something like that) - only 16 F this morning when I got out of bed (around 7 a.m.). Supposed to reach 23 F / -5 C this afternoon and we're already at 21 F. Of course, supposed to drop off to 10 F / -12 C tonight, I think that's a degree 'warmer' than last night's low...
Duke, you'll have to bug them at the next live steam meet to get a Berkshire to go along with that 2-10-4. Even if you have to go build/buy it yourself, eh?
Got my Feb. issue of MR at the post office today, and have been checking it out at our library and using their WiFi hookup. Like the looks (if not the price) of the Paragon2 SW7, and the Athearn 2600 covered hopper. Wish I knew the build dates on Athearn's cars - I gave them that as a suggestion for \'s (paid) reviewers (from those of us not modeling multi-decade era RR's on our layout). I still have more looking to go. Don't think I'll build a moving car-ride for my layout, though.
Hey, Dick, let us know when you catch that layout designer, okay? And I'll be looking forward to seeing the bridge - I've heard good things about how the Micro Engineering bridges look (once they are finished, that is...).[Sounds like you have a doozy of a storm there. If it keeps backing up, Ray may even have to watch out.
Aw, Ray, a scrumptuous meal like that, AND getting to play with your cute granddaughters? I think I am jealous! Okay, so I'd rather get some time with grandson Drew, but y'know...
Chris, tough luck on missing THAT railfanning opportunity (would've been awesome, I'm sure). Did you stop and consider whether you might go in the dark of night with several flash units for the one closer to home?
Jeffrey, take care of yourself - you don't need any new reason to go to the doctor/ER!
Best wishes for Joe and Sawyer and our other 'student' Diners who are back at the books again today. Time to hit it again, and remind yourself that it's only about five months until summer vacation time.
Hey! I see Ed's been by with the orange report - and it looks like you have some nice additions for the layout, too, Ed. I'm sure you've been busy with tending to "Junior" and his college. How's he been doing? Has he developed his railfanning skills in his 'college' place? (Oh, goody, another train of reefers with orange juice and fresh oranges from Ed's grove!)
JR - if you get a chance, also check out Iain Rice's 'Shelf Layouts' book Ulrich mentioned. I have it and it's good, too. Good to hear things are shaping up around the house for you.
Rob, good to hear you got some time in for the layout. How cold has it been in your area, by the way?
Lee, you've been busy lately on your layout (and probably will for several days more, from the sound of it). I'll have to keep that in mind if I get the chance to build a bigger layout (allow plenty of time for ballasting...) I'd agree with Todd's comments on real economy of your time vs. the funds to fix your truck. (Amen!)
Todd - good that you got a great TV (Note: it's not very wise to repeatedly remind CFO's that "Honey, I told you that the one at XYZ store was the best we were gonna find" - Ya can get yer head handed to ya that way...) So, how long did it take you to get the new TV all set up and hooked up? You DO have it already up and running, right?
Ulrich, good to hear that your doctors even agreed with our resident Diner diagnosticians, Chris and Todd, and now they just need to give you some helpful suggestions for that R&R you mentioned. I think it's a good sign if Petra is reporting you're mostly speaking one language at a time. It sounds like you have an excellent electronics dealer there close by you. Around here, I think they'd deliver and hook up, but the programming you'd get left to do yourself. I like the changes on your track plan. The single mainline parts will make your running more interesting to operate, too.
Bama, I'm guessing you meant your 30-06 hadn't been used in 2009, right? 'Cause otherwise, you do have a bit of time still left to make use of it. Good luck on your hunting!
Vincent, that's some good horse-trading! (So to speak, I mean, you know...)
Johnboy, you naughty fella...
TwoTruckShay - a few pages back, some of the Diners mentioned some activities that spooked their felines away from the train room (blowing the horn when said cat is not expecting it, or on DCC layout turning it on when Hobbes might be standing on the track...). (Of course, NONE of those would be sanctioned by the ASPCA, nor by your local Humane Society, but they just might do the trick for you!)
Ulrich, on Lee's idea for more RR space, you could figure on building the clothes cabinet underneath 'sort of' first (and to see how w**kable the space was for the layout). I'll email you a scan of one page from a layout, which might be helpful for you. May be this evening (your tomorrow a.m.) or so, though. I need to get some more photos of what I've been doing on the MRR, so Rob can feel better about his.
(Rob, I'm probably no further along with mine than you are with yours. )
Time for me to finish up lunch and head out now. I'll be back later today, hopefully.
Blessings and prayers,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
LSWrrGood morning all, Sawyer, I can help you out on the homemade ground throws. Friend of mine used push pull rods under the layout with LED indicator lights to show the switch position. It’s easy and affordable. If you skip the lights each ground throw will cost you 25 cents.
thanks for the tip Lee! I'm not sure how I could build that though; does it involve drilling tot he bottom of the layout?
Vincent, yeah man. It's Packers cardinals again at the same field, Dallas and Philly at the same field, and New York-Cincinnati in Cincinnati. Something tells me Arizona didn't show much in that game, but then Green bay probably didn't either. I think we'll have something in the playoffs this year.
lol Jim, school went pretty good today. Can't wait for 6:30 tomorrow though; rugby practices start again!
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Middle of page 2?????
My computer is down again. It was working fine earlier then I shut it down and went to town to mail some packages. When I came back I tried starting it up but nothing. Couldn't even get an LED to light. Tried another plug socket, no joy. Switched the power and reset leads to see if it was a bad switch. Nothing doing. Switched out the memory chips and the drives to see if there was something jamming bios. Nothing. Nearest I can figure is the power supply conked out. I'll find out when I replace it, whenever that is. The new hard disk and the drive enclosure ate up my Xmas money. Looks like it may be next month before I get the replacement.
Good evening Diners: Took our daughter and the grandchildren home a day early (Friday) so as to avoid the storm on Saturday. Good thing we did, it was vicious. Very high tide because of the phase of the moon coupled with a wind easily as bad as Hurricane Juan was here (which is to say, not as bad as Juan was in Halifax). We had rain instead of snow, but even so lost power for over 12 hours Saturday night into early Sunday. We had taken the precaution of having "Sunday Lunch" on Saturday before the storm hit. The barrier beach in front of our house has moved some what towards us. We've not seen such a storm surge and wave action before. The duck board path we built for our canoe started life looking like this: and by Sunday morning looked like this
Spent some of the time "Gleaming" the layout. All done except the tracks in the tunnels - and since they don't seem to get crudded so quickly as the open air sections, I don't plan on taking the time to do them yet awhile. Jeff, the lighter touch on the polish certainly eliminated any carry over of polish onto the sides of the track, thanks. I've some spare bits of the blue stuff I used for polish application and buffing. If you'd like a piece to test for yourself, send me an email. Ran some trains while doing the Gleaming to move tings around without using the 0-5-0 switcher. That was fun.
Todd:
(from Garry's layout thread) Wow Garry, always love to see pictures of your layout. You could, however, clutter up the work area a bit to make me feel somewhat better . Just kidding. Looks fantastic .
Ulrich:
Maybe I should apply for EU funding as well...
A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE... This is a supposedly true letter sent in response to UK policy on gov't payments to pig farmers. I thought it was nicely put.Only in England NIGEL JOHNSON-HILL, PARK FARM, MILLAND, LIPHOOK GU30 7JT Rt Hon David Miliband MPSecretary of State.Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),Nobel House17 Smith SquareLondon SW1P 3JR16 July 2009Dear Secretary of State, My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs.. I would now like to join the not rearing pigs business.In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as dictated by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy. I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not rearing these? As I see it, the hardest part of this program will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I haven't reared. Are there any Government or Local Authority courses on this? My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was £1,422 in 1968. That is - until this year, when he received a cheque for not rearing any. If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not rearing 100? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be eligible to receive tradeable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful and polluting methane gases? Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000 tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I don't rear? I am also considering the not milking cows business, so please send any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current DEFRA advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)? In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits. I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general election. Yours faithfully, Nigel Johnson-Hill
This is a supposedly true letter sent in response to UK policy on gov't payments to pig farmers. I thought it was nicely put.Only in England
NIGEL JOHNSON-HILL, PARK FARM, MILLAND, LIPHOOK GU30 7JT
Rt Hon David Miliband MPSecretary of State.Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),Nobel House17 Smith SquareLondon SW1P 3JR16 July 2009Dear Secretary of State, My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs.. I would now like to join the not rearing pigs business.In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as dictated by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy. I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not rearing these? As I see it, the hardest part of this program will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I haven't reared. Are there any Government or Local Authority courses on this? My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was £1,422 in 1968. That is - until this year, when he received a cheque for not rearing any. If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not rearing 100? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be eligible to receive tradeable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful and polluting methane gases? Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000 tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I don't rear? I am also considering the not milking cows business, so please send any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current DEFRA advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)? In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits. I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general election. Yours faithfully, Nigel Johnson-Hill
John - do I detect a Fleischmann Class 50 steamer with a string of German passenger coaches on the right side of your Campbell River layout picture?
PC: Glad you are feeling some better - enough to actually do layout work! Wow!
but I'm having a hard time with the idea of having "D" word loco's on the layout.
ED: Good to see you dropping in again. Be warned however, there is currently an epidemic of layout building fever!
Jerry: I see you were very diplomatic with that "someone" slammed the front door! I agree 'though, there is a world of difference between a busted brand new item and the same damage to a second or third hand re-built.
If Flashwave is anywhere around...
This is turning into a novel...I'll sign off and go and watch Big Bang Theory. Goodnight all, and God Bless. Prayers continuing for all in need of Healing, Comfort, Prosperity and Peace.
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.
Good Evening All,
Long but productive day in the shop. Got home to do a bit more rearranging now in the basement. Every day in every way it's getting better and better!
Der - Glad you made it through the storm ok. Haven't heard from mom in Lockeport yet but she and my sister were prepared when I spoke to her on the first. She also is right on the water but about 25 ft above it and behind the harbour breakwater and a beach. I could have applied for subsidies here as well but they've already given all the $$$ to bankers and wall street types for not doing their jobs.
Ulrich - If you need to beat fatigue so you can recover does that mean you can ditch reeducation class for a bit?
Jim - I have the shelf layout book plus the usual Armstrong 101 layouts and several others as well as 3rd Planit. Doesn't make it any easier when I actually have to plan something.
PC - Glad you're feeling better. With the track and routing you already have, and an interest in steam and coal plus the fifties for an era, I have only two words for you - Norfolk & Western. Think about it all steam and lots of coal drags plus some really trick passenger equipment pulled by the second prettiest streamliner ever (next to the New Havens I-5).
BAMA - hair dryer and air mattresses are not a good mix. We camped out on mattresses on the first floor for nearly a year when we did the first big renovation on the house. We also have a few air mattress masacree stories but I'll spare you, Some day you'll be able to look back on all this and laugh - really.
Time to get some I'll catch you all tomorrow. Cheers, J.R.
Evening all. No thanks, Chloe, nothing for me.
I was kinda busy, and everyone kept stealing my computer, so I never got a chance to check in, but I promise to tomorrow. I have practice at 4, so I'll definately be home by 6, so I should easily be able to slide in.
Later
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Good Evening, RBF please 'n thankya,
Welp...it was an expensive day, but not as bad as initially feared/fretted about. I got TORI (my truck, well...Rerun's truck ) back from the vehicular hospital, and she looks like new, drives a heckuvalot better, and isn't as apt to self-destruct as she was. It is amazing what new shocks, new "shackle brackets," and getting all the back-end bits back to where they're SUPPOSED to be will do for an older unit. After scraping up every availible dime, we came out with some bucks left-over! I still have some stuff to do on the front end...but the wrench-turners say THAT can wait a few months...which is good, it'll take at least THAT long to save up for the next round of w**k. But hey, for 203,000 miles and counting....not too shabby!
Yes, I named my pickup. I got her brand new in '97. She's torreador red...so "Tori" seemed only appropriate! I love my little truck. Hey DER JOHN, yeah..."Trusty Rusty" counts...maybe someday my Tori may need a name change to something like THAT! Especially with all the salt and salt solution they dump on the roads around here.
LEE: Eventually, I'll be needing THAT push-pull turnout throw you were going to tell Mr. SAWYER about. If it's what I think it is...it's perzactly what I was cogitating doing rather than using the clunky in any scale ground throws.
ULRICH: Pal, if I knew more than one language, I'm sure I'd switch-off mid-sentance from time to time too...especially during periods of stress, lack of sleep, etc. Heck, sometime I should learn German just so I could! Just think of the fun I could have with THAT if, while discussing a story idea or whatever with her, I slipped into a burst of German! Probably make her head spin... Seriously though, glad the real doctor agreed with us arm-chair physicians...now we gotta figure out a way to get you some rest, relaxation, and mental rehabilitation (stress reduction). I'm not sure how you're going to do the removable sections, but I'm sure liking those yards . As for the door...what if you pulled the hinge pins and just removed it when it's "the RR room," and stuck it back in place when it's the guest room??? I agree, I'd hate to have you on the wrong side of it IF something were to happen. I'd hate to hear the local feurwher (sp??) had to bust-in, and bust-up the RR to get to you.
JIM: I toyed with the idea of sitting in the sub-zero cold by the River Valley Co-Op (former Land 'O Lakes feed mill), where there is some light, and popping the strobe (flash) for a shot. But, I figured a) all I'd get would be all the reflective striping, and b) the crew probably wouldn't appreciate me momentarily ruining their night vision. Now there was a guy, O. Winston Link or something like THAT, who set up huge banks of flash units for some legendary night shots. My little pop-up just wouldn't compete with THAT. On the other hand, those heritage units should be headed back west in the next day or so. Of course, they'll probably do so in the early morning, with the sun directly behind them.... The UP 1995 used to be a frequent visitor to these parts, running on MPRCB (Manifest, Proviso to Council Bluffs). The SP 1996 has been through along with the UP 1988 (MKT), the UP 1982 (MoPac), and whatever the D&RGW unit is. I just have never gotten them on film...I mean, in pixels.
Speaking of pixels, time to see what I got from an Iowa City School Board meeting this evening. THAT told me it was to be a "...public forum to get input on what criteria the board should use in hiring a new superintendent." What it was, was a special meeting where the board tried to figure out HOW to go about searching for a new superintendent. The only "public" there was: me (North Liberty Leader), a pair from The Daily Iowan (U of I newspaper), and some pencil-neck geek from the "Depressed Citizen" (Iowa City Press Citizen). Some "public forum," NOT! They pretty much spent 2-1/2 hours going around in circles brain-storming, contradicting each other, correcting each other, then finally agreeing they don't really know what the h**l they're doing! 2-1/2 hours of jaw-flappin' to be converted into roughly 700 words of concise insightful content.
And people wonder why I just wanna be a photog....
Have a goodun'
Chris
EDIT: Ok you Nighthawks in the Diner...late night eats are on me and Rerun....uh, courtesey of the expense account with THAT...
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!