Good morning. It's 44 and cloudy. The high is forecast to be 57 and it will be partly cloudy. According to the weather guesser the chance of rain is zip. He said that yesterday and it rained off and on all day.Went out yesterday and paid those bills that have to be paid in person. Thankfully there's only a few of them. Most of the others I paid online. I spent part of the day at my parent's place getting their new fax machine set up for them and setting up a new printer/scanner on the computer. For that I got treated to dinner at Ryan's in DeRidder. I have to go to town today for my once a week visit to the foot doc. Hopefully I can part company with this wound vac. I'll go from there to Wal-Mart to get the grocery shopping done.
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
Good Morning
We got a dull day with a bunch of little tiny snowflurries this morning--currently we are at -8C with a windchill of -13C.
Got some things to do around the house and, hopefully, get some time to attempt to sit down and try some rejigging of some yard trackage------maybe-----
Chloe, I'll have a coffee and some toast with jam please. I'll be over at the RC for now----
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Mornin, can I get an irish coffee ta -go please Zoe, been a spell I know.
Didn't have much trouble finding the place, just followed the wadded up papers with layout plans and pieces of catapults along the track.
JERRY n TODD,,,,, the Cross County mall [Mattoon] show/meet is going to be Feb, 20-21. I plan on going, hopefully the weathers good n nothing else comes up again this year.
Well can't stay, got kids to wake up n feed before the bus gets here. Thoughts for all those in need n hope y'all has a gooden
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
Sam I took a different approach, when I was married my wife and I went shopping for houses as I neared the end of my Coast Guard career. I told the realtor I needed a two car garage and a full basement with a center descending stairs. The access to the basement will be one direction without curves or bends. I told my wife (ex-wife now) that I didn’t care about anything other than those two stipulations. I did have to remind my wife at the time that those two spaces in the house were mine from time to time.One day my current Girlfriend asked why I got divorced. Jokingly I told her the reason I was divorced was because my ex-wife came to me and said:” the trains go or I go”. I really thought she knew I was joking, or I hope she knew I was joking but every two to three months she buys me a random something or other for the layout or train related item to show her support of my hobby. I was going to reaffirm that I was kidding, but who am I to interfere with other’s beliefs?
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Got a call from a buddy asking if I would come look at his brakes. Just some crud in the drums, but that kept me from getting any layout w**k done before I had to go to w**k.
But tomorrow!!!
Great job on the Roundhouse so far Chris.
Speaking of roundhouses, Lee, did you do ok on yours?
Prayers for those in need.
EDIT: Say, there is a GREAT How to link by hminky on weathering styrene to look like wood in the first response to the "Paint plastic look like wood" thread. ( or something like that). Added that baby to my favorites. I have a need for that in my tourist trap town.
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.
Yep, I are.
Just a RBF for me, still recovering from the feast we had for dinner tonight. Grilled salmon marinated in brown sugar, soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, vegetable oil, lemon pepper, and water with rice, mashed red new potatoes, and dinner rolls. Well, still waiting on the camera battery to charge, so I'll get the pictures up tomorrow.
I'm going to be hanging out in and around for a little while, so I'll be in and out for a bit.
Hellooooo!!
anyone home?!?!?!?!?
Good Evening
I spent my day in the basement redoing my Williston Terminal Yard area. I ended up tearing out about 80% of it and now am going to spend the rest of the week basically rejigging the service area for my RDC's as well as a couple of holding/storage tracks for graincars.
AHH me. I should have thought about the location of the dang yard to begin with because now with all the construction destruction done I'm now seeing why it was not working out too well----remember Johnson's Axiom pt4a? Well, pt4b says that width of table WILL NOT equal width of workspace useable. So back to the drawing table with me I go.
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As for the extruded foam issue, I'm supporting that stuff. Regular styrofoam leaves one H^*% of a mess and does not do well over a long time either--it does not age well at all. Besides, one can really model more effectively using carvers and such with the pink/blue stuff..
My HO diorama will be built up on just the pink stuff instead of wood base because I need portability for that thing----considering all else.
Welp---Chloe, I'll have a coupla big juicy quadruplex greaseburger with mozzarella and portobello mushrooms and a platter of poutine as well as a giant RBF please----I'm going to the corner booth and check out the new MR for a bit
Good evening to all, I see we had meatloaf for supper tonight, a new recipe that Ryan invented.
More work done on layout today, riser are almost all in place for mountain line, and the lift out bridge is all done. I ran out of 2" risers, and 3/4" risers, so I am awaiting a resupply from WS.
I see the guys had a lengthy discussion regarding foam board ( blue or pink ). I use that extensively on this layout, much easier to work with and make scenery whether it is ponds, streams, mountains, waterfalls, gullies etc. Also very handy to bury wiring.
Later guys,
hey ya'll, RBF for me
Guess what? I'm back in the dating game after a 2-year haitus. Wonder if having a job now helped that lol.
The car seems to be running better. I've gone 50 miles on about 1/8 of a tank. only way to be sure that is accurate is to fill it up
Lee, I'd be grabbing a fire extenguisher if the layout caught fire
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.
Afternoon all, I was all happy that I'd found the camera cord and I was finally going to be adding the pictures up of some of the railcars that I have and would be willing to let go to a new home, so I plug the cord into the computer and get a big, fat NOTHING! Camera is dead, so off to the charger I'm about to be going to get a little juice in it. Oh well, there went that idea. So far the day of nothing has been good, I even managed a nap about 30 minutes ago. Now all I'm doing is staring out the living room window into the woods...even saw a deer just a few minutes ago (grumbles about deer season ending yesterday). Welp tonight should be a good dinner, grilled salmon marinated in brown sugar, vegetable oil, soy sauce, salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, and a little water, with rice, dinner rolls, and salad. Dinner should be at/around 6:30-6:45....I am looking forward to it.
"Surely you can't be serious. I am serious and don't call me Shirley"
Packers#1Readin the different websites etc. getting my facts I realized that stuff is REALLY far out there, lol.
Ahhh, Young Grasshopper...you haven't been well and truly tortured/tormented until you've tried to read the Bagavad Gita, or something like THAT... I don't remember which mode of "eastern thought" it's from...but "REALLY far out there" only begins to track a location on it...
Bill Murray's quote from "Caddyshack" about meeting the Dali Lama makes more sense... "Gungalun gunga gun gunga....gungala gungala." (something like THAT...)
LEE: Thank you Sir....
"At least I got THAT goin' for me..."
Chris
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!
Nice roundhouse pictures.
And now for something completly different:
For those interested, this is a video of a maneuver designed to carry a> locomotive, it is placed in the truck by any one ramp.> > > > http://www.youtube.com/user/SuperDash9
AmanaMedicThe eastern thought professor's office was just down the hall from the sculpture room. He's walking by one afternoon, I figure I'll display my brilliance, my complete grasp of the concepts we'd been covering during the semester. I proudly grabbed a block of wood and said "Hey look, I've got the uncarved block of Zen!" He says..."That's Dao (or is it Tao?)." I'm mortified. I'm seeing my grade for the semester vaporizing in front of me. He then starts laughing and walks on down the hallway. I'm still in full "oh-s....... oh-s.........." mode...and he's laughing more and more, harder and harder. I passed...which for a gen-ed class was the sole goal. But man...he always chuckled a bit when he'd see me in the sculpture room after THAT little show...
He says..."That's Dao (or is it Tao?)." I'm mortified. I'm seeing my grade for the semester vaporizing in front of me. He then starts laughing and walks on down the hallway. I'm still in full "oh-s....... oh-s.........." mode...and he's laughing more and more, harder and harder. I passed...which for a gen-ed class was the sole goal. But man...he always chuckled a bit when he'd see me in the sculpture room after THAT little show...
lol, that's a good story right there. Readin the different websites etc. getting my facts I realized that stuff is REALLY far out there, lol.
well, good day at school today. do have a good deal of homework that's due over the course of this week though. I'll get as much as I can done today and continue working on it through the week.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
WHEW! I finally caught up to you guys... I am can't believe we are moving this many pages a day!!! I see a switcher on our horizon if this keeps up...
I had an interesting day today... got a lot of practical experience... between some equipment failures, and operating some equipment for the first time... The Multi-level cabcar.
Glad to hear that some people have as loving a wife as I do! I got free reign of the "basement" for my model empire! So the man cave is underway!
Well, got a TON of stuff I have to get done tonight, so I'll stop by again later.
Sam
May He bless you, guide you, and keep you safe on your journey through life!
I Model the New Hope & Ivyland RR (Bucks County, PA)
What's our vector Victor?
LSWrrDap sells plaster in the same size containers as powder drywall mud at HD or Lowe's and it's a fraction of the cost by volume as the cardboard half gallon milk containers of plaster of paris.
DAP Bondex Patching Plaster, good stuff:
Lee- Yes, I found that out. For some things I found that drywall mud in the little tubs is handy such as filling cracks and it has served well for some roads. Depending on what I'm doing I spent more time cleaning the container to mix another batch of plaster and went to premix drywall mud. But For larger things I would use the plaster. And yes I do mean the cheap stuff.
GMTRacingThe extruded foam board is useful structurally and I used it under the layout in 2" thick form with just a piece of 1/4" luan (the cheap stuff) glued beneath it. It was strong enough to support the layout on 16" center brackets. I'd use stronger plywood under a yard however as the much greater weight might cause a sag.
Thanks J.R. That answers my next question!!
Drywall mud takes forever to dry if you apply it with any thickness and sometimes it shrinks and cracks as it dries. Dap sells plaster in the same size containers as powder drywall mud at HD or Lowe's and it's a fraction of the cost by volume as the cardboard half gallon milk containers of plaster of paris.
OK. That seals it. Blue or pink stuff is what I'll use. Like Jeff, I use(d) the expanded, (I guess the fancy name for what we call "bead board", or so I assumed), and have had no problems. Initially I was going to use the blue (or pink) stuff on the rebuild, then the thrifty side of me thought, why not stick with the cheap stuff. It is messy and doesn't cut clean, but a little drywall mud which I would use anyway and, good as can be. WELL, I never thought about the chemical reaction part. Guess I'll go back to the original plan. OK talked me into it. Or out of it. Whatever.
Thanks for all the input. Next orders are on me. (virtual speaking of course)
EDIT: Finished reading Ray's post after "use the extruded"(paraphrase),after I posted. I see what he means now about using the term beaded. Explains Jeff's confusion. Jeff, I was referring to the bead board. Triiiiied to sound professional for once and look what happens.
Roger, Roger.
Afternoon everyone!
Didn't get in for breakfast today as I was making the rounds to the schools taking more Art and Poetry back, then doing banking for the MLK Committee and to the Credit Union to cash a check. I have a MLK Meeting tonight, Deacons on Wednesday Night, and a session with Troop 1 to see my layout on Thursday Night..... Got permission to modify one of the requirements for the Handicapped Scouts on one requirement from the District Executive. He thought what I have planned will w*rk well and meet the spirit of the requirement for them.
Zoe I'll have a bowl of hot chicken soup and a toasted cheese sandwich to go along with some Hot Chocolate. I'll go sit at the rivet Counter.
Todd I would highly advise you that the extruded foam is far better than the beaded foam for modeling. Less mess, stronger, and is fire resistant (It won't burn by itself and is self extinguishing), although smoke from either is toxic. Styrofoam is actually a registered trademark of Dow Chemical so it's use for identifying different types of foam products can be confusing. Actually Styrofoam is the extruded stuff but only that which is made by Dow Chemical Company. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrofoam Better to refer to it as Beaded or Extruded. Go with extruded foam board.
Nice w*rk on the Crummy, Jeffrey!
OK, back to w*rk! have to get some reports done this afternoon.....
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
TODD: ULRICH beat me to it... don't know what's different about the blue stuff and the pink stuff other than maker and color... (Dow vs. Corning?) but 'ats what I'll be using...when I finally get THAT far!
Also:
Sir MadogStyrofoam has been in use to make mountains for quite some time, but it is a hazard. In case of a fire, the fumes of melting Styrofoam are toxic, whereas the fumes of Styrodur are supposed to be non-toxic.
Unfortunately, so is your couch, recliner, curtains, carpet, the plastic doggy dish, Tupperware...
If it burns...it's toxic. We're supposed to wear the air masks even after the fire is out, when we're doing overhaul (pulling the burned stuff apart, soaking it down, looking for hot spots) because it is still off-gassing toxins.
About the only way a layout would NOT be a fire hazard, is if it had sprinklers overhead. Think about it: all the lumber, foam, plastic, resin, insulation on all the wiring...it's a tremendous "fire load."
THAT's a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling inducing thought 'eh???
Good afternoon...getting a way late start today, good thing I didn't have to be anywhere. I'm a bit behind now in contacting leads for the rest of the week however, so will grab a to-go bucket of coffee on my way back out the door.
Weather guessers keep hollaring sn** for later today, into tomorrow...I think they said "drizzle" for Wednesday...great. THAT'll be the THIRD attempt at the January school board meeting.
Here's hoping everybody has a good, SAFE rest of the day...
Your resident pessimist,
"Never let common sense get in the way of a good disaster"
Afternoon all, I've been absent as of late and have taken the morning to catch up. Things have been pretty busy around the house as we're getting ready to start tackling home projects again. Although today has been my "day of nothing" so I've not been working in the house at all today, been being lazy and catching up on the "other" things (computer time, naps, etc) that I've been missing. I did catch an interesting consist running through town back on Wednesday, it seems that the BNSF and a couple of NS -9s were making their way south to Dothan and on Thursday were making their way back up, guess CSX needed a little foreign road power for that train. Sorry that I did not get a picture as on wednesday it was dark and no camera and thursday just didn't have the camera. I mayy go into town sometime this afternoon and do some railfanning, something I haven't done in a while, although I may save that for tomorrow as I'm off again (two days off in a row....I'm not going to know what to do with myself).
As for lunch I'll do a couple of cheese dogs, order of fries and a RBF, its currently sunny/cloudy mixed with more clouds and a shot of rain moving in later tonight. Highs for the week will be in the mid to lower 50s with lows in the lower 30s to high 20s.....overall a blah week.
Todd Good luck with the demo/reconstruction!
Todd,
Ditto what Ulrich said. The styrofoam is dificult to work with. The extruded foam board is useful structurally and I used it under the layout in 2" thick form with just a piece of 1/4" luan (the cheap stuff) glued beneath it. It was strong enough to support the layout on 16" center brackets. I'd use stronger plywood under a yard however as the much greater weight might cause a sag. Especially if you end up like Bridge Tom with a slew of articulateds. Hope that helps. J.R.
Todd - there is a distinct difference between those 2 materials. The white, "pearly" stuff is not very strong and can hardly be shaped with any other tool than a heat saw, just like WS offers. It is a complete mess to work with - you will find those sticky little bits all over your house. It is cheap or even for free, when you use recycled packaging materials. The blue or pink stuff is much stronger, can easily be shaped with ordinary tools, like a knife, saw, file etc and is a lot less messy to work with.
Styrofoam has been in use to make mountains for quite some time, but it is a hazard. In case of a fire, the fumes of melting Styrofoam are toxic, whereas the fumes of Styrodur are supposed to be non-toxic.
I don´t work with the white stuff anymore - Petra would kill me!
blownout cylinder LSWrrJoe, “THOSE ARE REAL” ok, there you go, the pictures are still models but I hope that helps a little. I know I had a real sense of inadequacy myself. Todd, I’m right there with you, I can see myself abandoning the entire hobby if that guy was modeling N-visible or H O, LOL! I'm with those statements!! Sheeesh!! Those 'models' are something else!
LSWrrJoe, “THOSE ARE REAL” ok, there you go, the pictures are still models but I hope that helps a little. I know I had a real sense of inadequacy myself. Todd, I’m right there with you, I can see myself abandoning the entire hobby if that guy was modeling N-visible or H O, LOL!
I'm with those statements!! Sheeesh!! Those 'models' are something else!
Good Morning, guys. I was just walking by and saw some of you ooohing and aaaahing over the "models" in that slide show. Somebody probably has already pointed this out, but the grinning guy in the photo with the module and cars didn't make any of the cars---unless he lives in China. Those are all (or at least the vast majority I could see) sold by an oufit called Danbury Mint, and made in China, or "crafted in China" as the sticker on the bottom of several that I own says. They have dozens of similar vehicles and all seem to be of the same high quality and sell for less than $100 if I recall correctly.
I get a mailing from them every couple of months and almost all of the 'models' in the slides are in the brochure, right down to the same color choice. Now he may have made the buildings in the modules, and the photos are top notch, but I'd be willing to make a healthy wager he did not make the cars. If he did, he copied Danbury examples right down to the 1/24 scale (I think that's right) and the colors--some of which seem a little unusual to me even though they are period correct.
Gotta keep going, cause if I sit much longer at this computer I'll never get any work done on the layout.
Best to all and enjoy the eats.
Mike
TMarshGot a question. I'll ask it here because you guys will give me an answer, even if it's I don't know, rather than turning it into a "one or the other" bash fest. What is the difference in using expanded foam, which I'm using now, versus the extruded foam which everyone talks about and swears by. I know the difference in the two foams, just wondering why not many use the expanded. I've had no problems with it what so ever.
Good Morning. Just coffee please and thank you. Gotta get a move on if I wanna get back to tearing down the layout. Don't worry, I'll still be king. I'm looking forward to starting over. I can do some things differently that I've learned.
Looks like I'm not alone in the start up phase.
Got a question. I'll ask it here because you guys will give me an answer, even if it's I don't know, rather than turning it into a "one or the other" bash fest. What is the difference in using expanded foam, which I'm using now, versus the extruded foam which everyone talks about and swears by. I know the difference in the two foams, just wondering why not many use the expanded. I've had no problems with it what so ever.
Welp, best get a movin. I want/hope to get some demolition time in today.
Have a Great Day!!!