Elliott's Trackside Diner XXIII: Moving on...

[Anonymous]

 Good Morning,

well, it´s lunchtime over here, so I have a steak sandwich and a mixed salad as side dish, bluecheese dressing and a Coke, Zoe, please n´ thanks.

My mother is doing better - I was able to talk over the phone to her. I am not worried as much anylonger, as I know she is in good hands.  Thanks for all your , friends!

I hope that the road conditions improve so I can drive to see my mother and my father. My father really needs my support.  He is not the strong man of my childhood anymore. There is help available for him in the little village my parents live in, but he needs to have "family" around. The roads are still icy and most communities have run out of salt ...

CUL

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

We're going to 1C today---notice that there is no '-' in front of the 1----YAY!! And it is a sunny day as well. Well until tonight when some dribble will show up. But after tomorrow we'll see some more sun!!

Got a few more of those bents done for the trestle so I'se be a happy camper---I'm actually seeing progress here----heeheehee

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and a 2 egg special please---sunny side up if you will-----I'll be over at the RC for now----

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

    A regular in a to go cup please. 15F out just now with the high all the way up to 38 and 40 tomorrow and over the weekend. Pass the SPF30 when you're done please Lee.

   Sending three of the team out to Ohio to pick up more Audi parts Monday then back to the grind with the first weekend out coming on fast Feb 567 at Palm Beach International Raceway. Only one of the four cars going is done with the other three underway. Should make the deadlines.

Vincent - so the lights were on and no-one was home? At least you found the cause of the short. Likely you'll have more surprises before you straighten it all out. Love new used cars

Jeff - good luck with the brakes. Ask me about bleeding the brakes on the 1935 Bentley sometime..

Ray's making a bridge to nowhere and now we have bent trestles too? you two should team up.

Ulrich - glad your mother's doing better. i know all about the dificulty getting your partents to act their age. Liked Rays comment also.

Time to get moving so we can keep up. Catch y'all later.  J.R.

[TMarsh]

Good Morning Flapjacks and sausage please and a large mug of Java thank you. I'll be here at the Rivet Counter until I decide what I want to do with my AMTRAK. You see the paint schemes for the cars (Phase 1), don't match with the loco (Phase 3), nor does the years of use for the paint on the cars and for the loco (F40PH). Nor does the loco fit my time frame. I know, I know. For me that should be no big deal. However it's one of those things that nag me. This whole trainset thing is taking a turn for the worse.

Well, all went well yesterday. Mom called and said she had a Doctors appointment. We went, he took her off over half the meds the hospital and the (what did Ulrich call his?) Stalag put her on. Then stopped in at the restaurant for a bit and was put to work. Got home late and tired. Well not really late, but for me......

Keith- I like the way the area is shaping up. I also like the way you've got some staging hidden in there by using the repair house.

Just a Music Teacher- Sorry the old Mac couldn't be fixed but it's probably for the best anyway. Besides like you said what's money, they just print more every day. Wow, did I just say that? I also am glad to see your workbench. I don't feel too awful bad now.

I've not had many problems with IE like I hear others do. Now the Keyboard typing wrong, THAT's another thing. I do however, type in word and cut and paste if I think it'll be long or is my main post of the day. Better safe than sorry.

Ulrich- Sorry to hear about your Mom, but glad to hear of the doing better part, you don't need the added concern. Prayers for her recovery.

For the record, I'll have each and every one of you know I have nothing, nothing at all to do with any type of launching device. Hmm. Why do I have whipped cream on my hands? And the toes of my boots, they're strangely worn, almost like I've been scratching at the ground. Odd.

Have a Great Day!!!

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  The high will be about 40 degrees.  IT ABOUT TIME!!!

 Went by the LHS and what I thought was a smaller cement company for my hoppers, was a cement plant for the cement trucks.  Well so much for that idea. 

 Not much planned today.  Maybe see what I can do on the layout.  

 I will stop in later, and hope everybody has a good morning.

[BamaCSX83]

Morning all, just an order of biscuits and gravy please Zoe.  Our high today is going to be in the upper 50s today, just about normal for this time of year with highs tomorrow in the low 60s but the chance of rain also comes back up into the picture for us. 

Not much planned for this morning, gotta go to w**k at 11:30 today so I'm going to spend the morning goofing off. 

Vincent sorry to hear about the dead battery/brake light switch issue, I can say that I've been there and done that before. 

JR so uhh, how exactly do you bleed the brakes on the '35 Bentley?

Robby sorry to hear about not getting a smaller rail-oriented concrete plant, but at least you've got somewhere for the fleet of concrete trucks to go!

Ulrich glad to hear that your mom is doing better, however not glad that the road conditions have prevented you from getting up there to see her and your dad, continued prayers from me and mine to you and yours sir. 

Jeff I didn't say it before, but that is one fine looking SAL boxcar!

Hmm, I think that just about covers it for me, I'm going to hang out in the window booth, as it appears I see a billowing smoke cloud coming this way and the ground is starting to tremble.  It appears we might have a steamer coming!

[Blazzin]

  "Coffee please Chloe"   

  Hey I just dropped in to say thanks to all of you....  and for the words of encouragement.  I must admit,  I thought this was going to go a lot faster.  I think it was Todd or Tom who said don't rush it.  Well,  I'm not rushing.  In fact, its been going rather slow.   Each area of laying track is a hurdle,  trying to put in everything I can, including a switch/jump onto another main if left alone.  And as I have said before... there is a good chance I'm doing this all wrong..lol. 

  Ok,  .. Thank you for the words of encourangement.  I really needed it.  I truly did.. Jeanne too. But for now, I'll be busy fixing a broken water pipe.  I hate this too,  because if I can't fix it... due to the leak in the slab, well thats a 2 thousand dollar fix it job.  The 'Pride Of Home Ownership'  .. ppl think .. if I can just buy that home at the end of my troubles .. does anyone every figure out how much work is needed ..once you buy a house?  I've done electrical, plumbing, flooring,  drywall, pouring of concrete.. it never ends.  These houses are built rather cheap too.  Brick houses do not stand up against earthquakes.. but loosely built 2x4's..on a slab of concrete does fine... until the pipes in the slab break.  Yikes.. bye for now.. and probably for the next day or two . . I'll need time to recover. 

  Todd,  yeah.. ~  Them C&NW colors are nice.  I must admit,  I went for the nicer colors of liners.. not the actual time period or station.  I just like certain types.  I also went for the 'Southern Pacific'  Green.... some other line I think called 'Stark'  Dark green with black stripes.. with gold pin stripes.... sorta like a Canadian line.  Of course the B&O liners.. some of the nicer ones.  But believe it or not,  I don't have an engine for 11 cars of C&NW.  The closest thing I have is a New Haven.. colors reversed.. Dark Green.. yellow stripes.  I'll get there.

  Jim and JR I agree .. the sheet of cork should do nice.. and the digging out of the cork to give more detail.. and less flat look.. is a great idea.  I only wish I was out buying cork instead of copper pipe. 

OK.. bye all Keith and Jeanne

[LSWrr]

Ulrich, Where do you get your salt from, is there a mine close by? If you think that’s bad I live smack dab between two major salt mines.  2008 All the local communities ran out of money to buy salt because of poor planning.  Even I-90 and I-80 were sometimes impassable. I see this year they fixed the problem and stocked up over the summer. 

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good morning .....

I suppose it is brunch today....

I just wrote in the thread under the layouts category. A model railroader named Tim has a thread about modeling the DT&I and GTW in the Downriver area south of Detroit. I wrote in the thread because I am familiar with the location. (One of my chores when working for CN/GTW in Detroit was to write sections of its application to the ICC to acquire DT&I and D&TSL.)

I'm pleased to say half of my FT ABBA is now on the layout and operating. I now have a FT AB set, and I like it.

Someone, please pass the alphabet soup.

 

[Cederstrand]

A large fruit & veggie smoothie, please. 

***Ulrich, glad to hear your mother's doing better. Hope the roads improve so you can make the trip out.

Picked up a couple Athearn (HO) billboards for the wife's layout. This way I won't have to build the kit she already bought, at least not for some time. And I can make whatever kind of signs she wants on them using photoshop.

Wife has the 24 hour bug. Her temp was up last night but seems better this afternoon. Sure hope I don't catch it...yuck!

Back to farm chores. Have a good day y'all.

Rob

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

It's 49 here and cloudy. The high should be 60 and there's talk of rain.

Took the car to the repair shop in town this morning to have the brake booster and master cylinder replaced. I left plenty of space between me and the vehicle ahead to compensate for the spongy brakes. One moron almost got T-boned when he decided he needed to turn left onto a side street. Problem was he in the right lane so he turned and cut straight across in front of me while I'm pushing the brake pedal into the floor board and blasting his eardrums with my police air horns. The only other point of excitement was when I turned in at the shop and hit the brake an dthere was nothing there. I had to pump it several times before they took hold. It was a relief to leave it there. It should be ready sometime today or tomorrow.

[howmus]

Afternoon everyone!

Didn't manage to get in to the diner this morning.  Had to go get my hair cut.  Actually I had them all cut while I was there.

Chloe is it too late to get breakfast?  OK I'll have the #2 special then.  Over easy on the eggs, bacon, homefries, and a double order of sourdough toast if you please to keep the cup of dark roast company....

GMTRacing

Ray's making a bridge to nowhere and now we have bent trestles too? you two should team up.

 

ROFL!  I now know what to name the bridge!  Love it!  In actual fact the bridge would go to what the Bear saw.  The other side of the mountain........  It just happens THAT the "other side of the mountain" is where the aisle is.

BTW, the "insult" over across the street was about Photos and Computer Graphics not music...  As the only full time "employee" of my little recording company, I not only get to do the set up for recordings, the recording of the raw data, mix, final mastering of the CD, but also the page layout and computer graphics for the inserts on the album as well.  In fact the page layout, graphics , and printing is one of my favorite parts of creating a CD.  In the early years of doing the work, I used to have problems exactly matching what the client wanted when printing.  Colors were often much different in the printed copy than what you see on the monitor.  My Apple Cinema Monitor is calibrated for "direct to Print".  What I see on the monitor is what it looks like (reasonably at least) when it is printed on the Color Laser printer.  The problem was the poster across the street was saying that when you upload a photo to the web it darkens it.  I can't duplicate what he is seeing.  I pulled up photos from my Photobucket account and the original on my computer and put them side by side and checked them out.  I also did the same with photos uploaded to the Forum directly across the street.  I can see no difference at all in the exposure, color, or anything else in the photos.  So, I suggested to the person that maybe what he was seeing was not under exposed photos, and suggested he recalibrate, or at least brighten his monitor.  He then asked why a Music Teacher was giving advise to a Professional Photographer!  How am I supposed to know what he does???  I was not trying to question his knowledge, but rather offer a suggestion I thought might be helpful given my own experience.  Anyway, I just let it lie as I have gotten other very terse and put downish responses from him before.

OK, I'll just go have a seat at the Rivet Counter and eat my late breakfast.

Later!

73

[Robby P.]

 Good afternoon.  Believe it or not we are above 32 degrees.  The last time that happened was Jan. 1st.  So its been kinda cold.

 Worked on the layout some today, and I added a scrap yard.  I will probably go by the LHS and get some things this weekend.  I don't know why but all of my layouts have to have a scrap yard .

 Here's some pictures of the layout.   You can see where I've been painting the legs black.  I think that really helped.  Also the middle table is where I have no idea on what to use.  I thought maybe a couple of turnouts (shipping, a small industrial plant, etc...), and the middle will be a small town.  

 Bama................I was bound and determined to get the kit.  Well I guess I will think of something else.  I guess I could buy it and add a small dock and use it for the boxcars.  Maybe for pallets of bagged cement, etc..

 

[LSWrr]

Garry, What years did the Detroit and Toledo Short Line operate?

 
Robby the layout looks good!

 

[Cederstrand]

Some mixed nuts in a bowl, please.

***Jeffrey, sounds like an exciting ride. How is your foot after all that pumping of the brakes?

***Robby, your layout is expanding nicely. Looks like a fun one to operate as well.

Rob

[Robby P.]

 Thanks!!! 

 I'm not even using the upper part anymore.  I've taken up most of the track for the lower part.  I could always replace it thou.  Thats what the "white" part is in some pictures.  Just the track missing.   Its still in DC, but its ready to go when I get the DCC going.   

 I still need to add a couple more lights.  One over the new table, and one in the corner of the layout. 

 The train runs real good, but I need to add some "feeders" to the other part.   I'm just waiting to see what is going to happen in the middle, and then I can add some more feeders to the track. 

 I think painting the legs black really helped out.   I would use a cloth or something to cover the legs, but our cat "Hannibal" likes to dive bomb curtains, chirstmas tree, etc...  So the cloth probably wouldn't be up long.  

 I will probably post these pictures in the WPF.  Seems like I haven't added any layout shots to it in awhile.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Cederstrand

***Jeffrey, sounds like an exciting ride. How is your foot after all that pumping of the brakes?

My LEFT foot is just fine. I haven't used my right foot for the brake for years.

[Trainman Sam]

Hello Again Folks!

Another day into the books…

I’m finally starting to feel confident about the territory, hope it isn’t a false sense of it… we’ll see!

Jim, the date of my wedding was August 8^th. Sorry, I should’ve put that in the first post.

I am waiting to hear when BLI plans on releasing the MP15 that I pre-ordered. Hope it’s soon, as I like the look and sound of their other offerings… Anyone have experience with BLI stuff? I’d like to hear what you have to say about it, whether it be good or bad.

Todd, the mud on your shoes match the mud outside by the “Launcher” (as you call it)… Hmmm what is that in your hand??? Could THAT be the auxiliary controller for the DCC decoder that seems to have been installed overnight???

Chloe, may I have a LARGE coffe in a NH&I/NJT mug please?  I'll also have a ham sandwich with the works, a side of pastrami, and a giant slice of the Keylime pie, please again?  Thanks!

Well, I have the house to myself for the weekend!!!  Susan is petsitting at a customers house, and I have a lot of studying to do, and mrr-ing too![wink]

Be in the storage room for a sec, got to get this substance off my hands... What's that you say?  I have a foil plate on the back of my head?  WHO DID IT???  WHO DID IT???

[Packers#1]

 Jim, I got the ground throws.

4 day weekend this weekend y'all. Going to relax and rest up after my rugby scrimmage tonight. 3 20 minute periods will be played instead of 2 40 minute halves. and it will be a coaching scrimmage, so the coaches will be on the field telling us what we're doing right and wrong.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Lee ... Wikipedia has a good write-up on the the D&TSL. At GTW it was simply called the "Shore Line".

It is remakarble taht the D&TSL was a railroad with a route of less than 50 miles but it had a hump yard. That yard is now a flat switching yard. It is adjacent to I-75 at the MI/OH border. Before GTW's acquistion, the Shore Line operated GP-7's in a "bumble bee" scheme looking like NKP locos. Those units would run through on the GTW to FLint or Port Huron. Prior to GP7's, Shore Line steam locos did that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_and_Toledo_Shore_Line_Railroad

[ns3010]

Evening all. Chloe, I'll take some of the P-stuff and a RBF, thanks. And it's for eating, not throwing!

Used the new gloves the other night, and they are so comfortable! Such an improvement over the old ones.
Might go to a teammates house for pond hockey after school tomorrow. Not sure yet if I can go, and if anyone else can.

Well, I was browsing around ebay, and I found this Atlas U34CH! And at a good price! Might bid for it if my mom says yes. Would be mostly for display, but who says I can't run it for fun every once in a while? Or, I could say that the URHS restored their's (even though, in reality, their's is 4172) for excursions. We'll see...

I'll be catching up and stuff over at the RC.

[twhite]

Afternoon all from PartlyCloudyCalifornia. 

We're between rainstorms here, and it's been foggy every morning for a week.  I mean FOGGY!  Like 2-inch visibility when I head off to school in the AM.  Usually lifts about noon but then just hovers over us, waiting until the sun goes down so it can plop on the roads again. 

But at least we've got a relatively WET winter out here, given what we've had for the past four years or so.  We're at 95% of our water table so far, and that hasn't happened in a LONG time. 

Well, I got my new brass Mallet loco from Caboose Hobbies today, and I was going to take a photo of it for you all, but when I opened the box and took one look at it, I just sat there and blinked.  It's a consignment loco, but whoever owned it previous, must have stood three inches from it and BLASTED it with a can of Gloss-Black Krylon house paint.  I mean, it's so thick that details have been absolutely ERASED.  I'm going to have to actually STRIP this baby with Jasco paint remover even to get down to the brass.   I forsee about three or four tries and about a week of scraping.  Sheesh!

Now I'm certainly not touting my own painting techniques, because I'm still kinda/sorta learning, but this job is just one for the books.  HOWEVER-----(he said, cheering) the little lady just runs like a Swiss Watch.  That's thanks to Bob and the brass crew at Caboose Hobbies who kept it an extra week to fix a drive-shaft glitch in the articulation.  Now, they didn't have to do this, you know--it was CONSIGNMENT.  But it's just another reason why I get all of my consignment brass from those neat guys in Denver--they really believe in good old-fashioned Customer Service. 

It's a Key model of the Rio Grande's first 'big' articulateds, a series of 2-8-8-2's built by Alco in 1912.  So it's definitely pre-USRA and rather unique looking.  In fact, it's cute as a button--even underneath all of the paint.  Tried it out on the layout, and it ran very sweet and quiet.  Evidently Rio Grande liked these little 3400's, some of them were rebuilt during WWII (which is the model I have) and outlasted some of the more modern Rio Grande steam. 

Anyway, as soon as I get her stripped and repainted, I'll post some photos.  She's a really unique looking little Mallet.  I'm thinking that she'll look really neat double-headed with my little ex-Denver and Salt Lake 2-6-6-0.  We'll see. 

That's about it from the MR front out here.  Have to get back to work transcribing some music for my favorite lady Sr. Margie.  She's celebrating her Jubilee in a couple of weeks (25 years as a Franciscan Sister), and she wants a particular song for her Celebration Mass.  Only thing, it's never been published.  It was written by a friend of hers, a Franciscan Brother, and all she has are the words and the chord symbols.  So I played secretary, the other night, jotting down the melody as she sang it, and now I've got to get the darned thing transcribed for our choir.   Thank God for music computer programs. 

Oh--Uff-Dah celebrated his 6th Birthday the day after New Years.  Spent it racing around the house bugging Spooky.  I celebrated it by sticking a candle in his favorite treat, a can of Chicken Of The Sea water-packed tuna.  He's still grinning.  Weird cat.

Best to all, prayers to those in need.

Tom

 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

Did a whole bunch of paperwork at home for work this afternoon. And then spent some time working on some elevators to get them off my worktable---need space for the trestle build---

Chloe--I'll have a coffee and a slice o' that Key Lime Pie please----ON A PLATE!! NOOOOOO-----KERSSSSPPLLIIISSHH!!!------oh-----dang

just get me a spatula and a bowl please-----sheeesh even the staff are doing this now----SAM!!

"Spring' stepped on the keyboard just as I was typing thisjun585yuttu598u4k.

I give up. I'm going to the corner booth to hide----I guess it is just a mixed up day---sheeeesh

mumble mumble---

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Got the car back late this afternoon. They did a good job on it. The brakes work better than they have in the past 8 years, including the previous time the master cylinder was replaced. That one was a rebuild. This latest one is new along with the booster. There's only about an inch of pedal travel before I can feel the brakes taking hold. I like that.

[Packer]

Hey ya'll, RBF for me

I put in a new thermostat in my car, hopefully it'll quick sucking gas up like a truck...

Bama, I've had worse. Try broken driveshaft and transmission tail cone at 85 mph...

JR, it's a chore, but in the end it'll be worth it. I had another suprise when I changed the thermostat. That autozone doesn't carry the gaskets for them, and someone put straight water in the radiator, so when I disconnected the radiator hoses, it was a rust-colored mess. I don't have the stuff to properly clean that out, so I put in a new antifreeze/distilled water mixture. I did learn how to make my own gaskets.

Jeff, sometimes the E-brake is the only one that'll work, granted you may lock up the rear. Then again, I'd like to learn how to parralel park using it, Changing the power brake booster is a pain, even for someone as young as me. Buying a ratcheting wrench really helps with them..

Sam, I've been waiting for those SW1500s for a while. I'd like to get a few in undecs (they list no BNs), rather than try to monkey with getting sound in the athearn ones. I have a BLI NW2 and C30-7. The detailing on them is pretty good and they run and pull pretty well.

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Flo just a Mexican Sundae with lots of whipped cream on it (there seems to be lots of it on the floor, hopefully you still have some unused.....???) and a cup of decafe for me tonight. I'll be in the back booth by the stove warming up.

Today was the first day above freezing this year I think.  Temps are plunging back down to around 15°F during the night.  For around here the temps haven't really been all THAT cold.  I can remember growing up we would always have a few weeks where it never got above 0°F.........  Managed to get some of the ice off the porch and knock icicles off the eaves.  Also went to 2 of our schools and picked up the Art and Poetry, took it the church where we were sorting, and helped get it to the judges.  Saturday we will have them all at the Church where the MLK Service will be held this year and they will pick the winners.  After the service, I get to take all the non-winning entries back to each of the 6 buildings (public and private).  The winners get sorted again and the first place winners go to the local newspaper where they wil have a full page spread of the kids work.  Too bad I never seem to have anything to do in retirement....

Jeffrey, glad you have the car back..... with the brakes w**king!!!  I have this vision of you flying down a hill waving your arm out the window with a helpless OMG look on your face and no brakes!  You may be able to keep the old girl on the road for a bit longer!

Tom, why do I keep hearing "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head....."  Just remember.... ah.... how does THAT old saying go?  "January showers bring the mudslides THAT come in May....."  Naw, THAT isn't it.

A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect." "Really," answered the neighbor . "What kind is it?" "Twelve thirty."

OK... You asked for it!  Now your going to get it!

The very first public photos of the "Bridge to Nowhere" spanning the main tracks of the SLOW from the logging road above...

Still a lot of w**k to be done, but it at least looks like some sort of a bridge.  It will have hand laid code 70 rail on bridge ties and a lot more bracing when complete.

Later!

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

howmus

Jeffrey, glad you have the car back..... with the brakes w**king!!!  I have this vision of you flying down a hill waving your arm out the window with a helpless OMG look on your face and no brakes!  You may be able to keep the old girl on the road for a bit longer!

 

Only had that happen once with a car but several times with large trucks.

 

Packer

Jeff, sometimes the E-brake is the only one that'll work, granted you may lock up the rear. Then again, I'd like to learn how to parralel park using it, Changing the power brake booster is a pain, even for someone as young as me. Buying a ratcheting wrench really helps with them..

The E-brake cable broke several years ago and I've never bothered replacing it. It's a royal pain to get to. Those ratcheting wrenches are a life saver. I bought a whole set last year, open and box end, to make working on the car easier. They can go places a ratchet socket couldn't dream of.

[JimRCGMO]

Good Evening, Chloe. Yep, almost made it in over lunchtime, but then things got busy again at w**k... I'll have the grilled salmon steak, steamed broccoli with a butter sauce, a garden salad and a glass of your best FInger Lakes white wine, please. (Ray? Suggestions on which one?) Thanks!

DerJohn - fine job on your tower there. Yep, I would vote for your ETDRCOP, but I'm not sure if I qualify to vote or not.

AmanaMedic

DER JOHN: THAT tower is amazing... Hey, what's with asking to sit at the RC?? I thought you already had a charter membership! As if your magnificent modeling wasn't enough, the tar trailer shoulda sealed THAT deal...

  (Ahem..Cough!) Amen on THAT!

Hey, I see Bill T.'s stopped by again (and, brought along another fine depot photo) Thanks, Bill!

Ray - after seeing your w**kbench photo, I am soooo much more at ease with how my w**kbench/DR table looks... Yessindeeedee! (And I second Chris' comments about THAT!). About your photographer 'friend', one thing that might be throwing him off, is that Macs and PC's have different color profiles (gamma, etc.) - the same photo on a Mac will appear (I forget now, either darker or lighter)

Now, Rob - I'm having a hard time believing your w**kbench could hold a candle to Ray's. Surely not!

Ulrich, you could tell you mother, but (having a lot of German ancestry myself..) do you think it will convince her any? Keeping her in thoughts and Drive extra careful when/if you head over to see your father (and mother).

Our weather was better today - we even got to 46 F (about 7 C) this afternoon! YAYYYYYYY!!!! Cloudy, but warmer, definitely an improvement. However, tomorrow night they are talking of 'drizzly' rain/whatever (about 32/31F..). C'mon, spring (no, not the four-legged kind)!

Chris, if your phone battery's going down on its charge that quickly, you'd better start putting back for another battery (or phone, whichever will be more affordable and w**k!). Glad you're getting to do the thing for Mr. Boss, and it sounds like a fairly 'fun'/enjoyable assignment, too.

Vincent - at least you figured out WHY your battery went dead on you. Sometimes I guess we take electrical stuff for granted and forget it will eventually wear down or whatever. I was finding myself wondering about the insulation on some wire I have (out of that stuff I had in my storage unit for about 20 years), thinking I may want to make sure my two buss wires aren't close to each other, just in case...

Todd, after your remark about money, I'm thinkin' - have you been hanging around your Senator or Representative? Maybe you caught something from them...

Jeff, I hope the master cylinder w**k gets done sooner than they think. That sounded a bit 'hairy' on the ride to the shop. Great to hear that they already got it done for you (and done well).

I got an email tonight showing a FIFTEEN FOOT Eastern diamondback rattler that was caught near Jacksonville, FL. Flip, I don't think I'll be moving there after I retire...

Robby, Lee beat me to it already, but I was appreciating your layout pics, too. Looking good there!

Tom - congratulations on the newest addition to the Yuba (and project for you...). Did Uff-Dah get a portion of catnip for his birthday, or was he rambunctuous enough without it?

I'll sit in a back booth for now. [Warning: Rant follows] I'm miffed with Kalmbach. [Edit:] I decided that I wouldn't risk catching the Diner on fire and having Kalmbach close the place down. Sufficient to say, I am NOT happy with some of their choices about Information Station articles and formats...  #$%*&^$#@!

 

Blessings for all you Diners...

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[ns3010]

Evening all. Zoe, I'll take a RBF, pleasenthanks.

Seems I'm not playing pond hockey tomorrow since I don't have a ride, and it seems no one else does either... Oh well. Now I"ll be home early...

Chris: It seems a little paint will be enough to cover up the cracks, so it'll be fine, and in service once the paint dries. Pollyscale BN Green is a PERFECT match for the car, so once I decal it, it'll look like the entire car was painted, when all I really did was a simple patch job...
And Walthers Customer Service is very easy to deal with. Absolutely no issues at all. They'll do whatever they can to solve your problems.

Ray: I'd love to go back and actually be able to see this stuff for more than 10 seconds...
Other than last winter, I remember going there one other time, way back. We went to see Thomas the Tank Engine! Wow, that was a LOOOOOONG time ago...
And the Bridge to Nowhere looks good!

Jim: The guy on the phone said he was holding one in his hand and actually inspecting it! Like I said to Chris, the customer service there is excellent.

Ulrich: Glad to hear she is doing better. Still in the prayers.

Also in the prayers are all the people in Haiti. They're doing a collection at lunch tomorrow.

Ima gettin tired, so I'll catchya later!

[AmanaMedic]

ns3010

It seems a little paint will be enough to cover up the cracks, so it'll be fine, and in service once the paint dries

AWESOME news JOE! Glad to hear it. I'd still run a little liquid plastic cement into the cracks...just to reinforce them. But then, I've been told I'm "cynical," and have a "narrow-eyed view" of things.

Good Evening... Ladies? I think just a hot ham 'n cheese...yep, just the way the now long-gone Burger Barn in Shenandoah, Iowa used to make 'em... Oh, and with a big 7-Up please 'n thank-you. I'll have a seat at the RC...I see Der John's has been installed....

JIM: On THAT cordless rap-rod... Loving Wife brought it with her, she's had the thing for...hmmm, maybe since the early to mid '90s. It isn't used in THAT mode very often, I had the thing out of the charger/base pretty much all day. Can't blame the phone as much as I can my ignorance on how long it holds a charge...and just flat-out lousy timing!!! My cell is out of minutes only because we dumped every dime into vehicle repairs. It "should" get reloaded this weekend. Then, Loving Wife will have her TracPhone, as shall I. We went THAT route since the phones would (original plan) be used ONLY for emergency situations...not as a regular means of communication.

What I need is a GOOD regular telephone in my upstairs office again. I had one...but it had some strange defect to it. I could dial anywhere EXCEPT Solon. It died a sudden, violent death after it was bashed to smithereens one fine day after repeated attempts to place a call to Solon (Iowa) and hearing "your call can not be completed as dialed." Hmmmm double-checked the numbers, pushed them ALL meticuoulsly and precisely... "your call can not be completed as dialed..." Do the exact same thing on the TracPhone...VIOLA! call goes through. Landline telephone met Mr. Bogen (tripod) and his cast iron multi-position head. Landline lost...big-time. I'm still finding the occassional odd piece of phone...

Also JIM, yeah...the lady I did the article on sounds like she was a real sweetheart, loved by all, and missed by many.

TODD: Uh, ya wanna run THAT whole Amtrak thing around the track again for me? I must've missed something...

KEITH: It was I who liked the CNW Streamliners... I'm not TODD, I don't even play him on TV... And hey, the mighty "Ball and Bar" (NorthWestern) had a dark green with yellow stripes scheme on some of the steamers. Not sure which ones though.

Welp....back to the saltmine, I still have a varsity boys basketball article to hammer out for THAT and Mr. Boss. Tomorrow is a pow-wow with them and me...to "review expectations."

Oh

Joy

 

Chris