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Elliot´s Trackside Diner XXIV - on a new track Locked

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 28, 2010 7:50 AM

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY  Mark! Happy B-Day

This one is just for you!

 

Good Afternoon,

I am back from my little assignment - $ 200 for two hours work ain´t bad! The mailman also brought a Kalmbach book, which was on back order for quite some time, so this seems to turn out to be a good day!

Flo, I´ll have a double greaseburger & fries, and a glass of OJ to was it down. After all, I should eat healthy things, shouldn´t I? Mischief

Tomorrow is a day off the GULAG. Petra and I will spend the DIY cheque on those bathroom things we still need - no, it is not going to be a magazine rack! We need to get a little cabinet for all the gear women need to look as pretty as we want them to be. I hope to find one for those 50 bucks I can spend on it.

The "warm" spell we are enjoying at the moment won´t last very long, there is a lot of cold air heading our way - from Russia, with love, from Vladimir (Ras)Putin! Will there be an end to this?

Nothing planned for the rest of the day - maybe a little reading, maybe a little dreaming of layouts!

Have a good one!

 

 

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:09 AM

 Happy Birthday Mark.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
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Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
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Running Bear Enterprises
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Posted by GMTRacing on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:14 AM

Good Morning All,

    A regular and a donut would be fantastic just now Zoe. Surprise snowfall this morning caught us all off guard. Nice large Currier and Ives flakes and the roads were soon glare ice under the fluffy stuff. This is not the weather a two wheel drive Excursion excells in and the drive to the shop was somewhat interesting - I'll leave you to fill in the blanks - just use the work inertia a lot.

Happy Birthday Mark - hope the meal is memorable.

Dick - one word - Springfield! You can actually go to the train show and buy somethingConfused I distinctly remember you wandering about two years ago muttering ooch - Its all too dear! SmileSince your favorite SLHS has a large set of tables you can even be at home.

Todd and Chris - two word for you - go vertical. I had the last layout in a 10 x 12 room with bumps in two corners (staircase and furnace) but ended up with one level up to 3' deep with a raised set of tracks 4" above and an incline to a second level (average depth 6" except in the corners and yard ) a foot above the first. I did construct and wire the upper level first then the incline, then the lower level so head banging and back aches were kept to a minimum.

   Well - time to cut this short and get after it - the rest of the lads are coming in with additional stories of lurid slides and adventures so I'd best get to it.   CUL, J.R. (or should i say - FFPX)

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Posted by TMarsh on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:19 AM

JR- I have thought, and still do, of a second level. That'll be way down the line. Unless I'm appeased.

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. Laugh

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Posted by Robby P. on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:34 AM

 Good morning.  Its snowing, but only calling for a inch or so.

 Not much planned as usual.   I did add a light, and a worked on the layout some.  One thing that makes me mad............................How does a train run perfect one day, and the next day it wan'ts to derail, and act like a "lemon"!!!

 Chris....Give me a day or so to clean them up a bit.  I will see what they look like after that.  They are in good shape.

 Mark...Happy B-Day

 Jeff......How's the Railbox doing???

 "Rust, whats not to love?"      

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:47 AM

Robby P.
............................How does a train run perfect one day, and the next day it wan'ts to derail, and act like a "lemon"!!!

The same goes here. I have one H16-44 that works beautifully for weeks at a time and then one day----Grumpy. My favorite---a turnout that will work great---then all of a sudden---becomes cantakerous as all get out the next day. Whistling---makes me want to rip it outMischief

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...

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:59 AM

Why was this on the second page? 

Gotta do the BUMP thing here-----Smile

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/

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:29 AM

Robby P.
 Jeff......How's the Railbox doing???

Just fine so far. I haven't had a chance to run it in a train yet. I have to wipe the track down first. Been a long while since any trains have been run.

 

Went to see my primary care doctor this morning for the follow-up of the iv port being removed. No sign of infection and everything looks good.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:31 AM

Hello everybody ...

Happy Birthday to Mark !!!  Happy B-Day Mark, if you can find out how to get younger, let us know!Confused

Been busy lately. On the model railroad, I'm painting and lettering a Stewert F3 B-unit as long as I had all the stuff out for the FT project. My Burlington F-unit fleet will be 20 units when I'm done with this model.

Winter storm is moving in to this area. Nothing could be as bad as last years ice storm A year ago on this date, we were in one of nine days in a row stranded at home with no power, land phone, cell phone, and water.

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

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Posted by last mountain & eastern hogger on Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:42 AM

Whistling

Say Mark,  I just checked and my plane  (train) won't be able to get there until 7:45pm.

So if I miss you folks you can drink my margurita, that will be OK.  But do save me a piece of

(uncatapulted) Birthday Cake.

Congratulations Old Timer........................... Oh heck, I'm six years older than you are.

birthday cake

 

Best Wishes go out as well to ROB"S WIFE on her Birthday Bash.    Rob, give her a big hug from all of us, 

and prayers of health blessings to you Buddy.

 

Johnboy out....................................................

 

 

from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North.. 

We have met the enemy,  and he is us............ (Pogo)

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 28, 2010 12:03 PM

last mountain & eastern hogger

Best Wishes go out as well to ROB"S WIFE on her Birthday Bash.    Rob, give her a big hug from all of us, 

and prayers of health blessings to you Buddy

 

 

Shame on me! BlushBlushBlush

Rob, please extend my best wishes for health & happiness to your wife!

 

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Posted by fireman216 on Thursday, January 28, 2010 1:30 PM

 Holy Moly...It's a freezer outside today...nothing like good old upstate N.Y to keep the furnace at full throttle...Massive cold front blew through this morning...looked like something out of a movie. Black skies...then a wall of snow,wind and thunder...that's right...THUNDER... Wind chills below zero tonight...so I will have a big bowl of chili please...extra hot sauce in a glass for a chaser. The perfect night for some layout time...I will get some pictures up sometime soon as I Ray has set the bar high..lol. Stay warm everybody!!!...Tim

A true friend will not bail you out of jail...he will be sitting next to you saying "that was friggin awesome dude!" Tim...Modeling the NYC...is there any other?

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Posted by Trainman Sam on Thursday, January 28, 2010 1:35 PM

Tom (tcwright)- I hadn’t thought of it that way… That will help me to deal with them in the future… but it shouldn’t be happening while operating a passenger train into NY Penn Station… Just TOO much going on to be distracted with questions… It is a known unwritten practice to stop whatever conversation is going on when entering Penn Station. (The only conversation that is “allowed” on the headend of an NJ Transit train is that which pertains to the safe operation of that train, like what speed restrictions are ahead, etc.) Anyway, 2nd rant over…

Todd- Thank goodness about Missy… and I agree the number of switches in NY Penn Station is ASTONISHING… If I remember correctly, there are over 1,000 switches (the double slip switches count as more than one) in the entire station plant… I wouldn’t want to be one of the MoW guys… they are out there in all weather, all times of the day, and are constantly having trains pass within 10 feet of them while they are working! I would have to have several changes of clothes for EACH shift to deal with that! Lol

Mark- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, I know how that b-day math works… I am celebrating my 3rd anniversary of my 29th birthday this year!!! So I will stay a twenty-something until I reach the 29th anniversary of my 29th birthday!!! My wife doesn’t get that I don’t like my favorite number (3) in front of anything when it comes to my age…

EDIT: Sorry I gave the wrong impression, and took away from those with b-days... Mine is not until April...

Rob- Happy Birthday Wishes to your significant other!!! Let the “Boss” know that we are thinking of her!!!

Well, I have the day off, so I used some time to get caught up on "chores"... have to complete the photo selections for our wedding photo album, and get said selections sent to the photographer.  I am also using the time to try to put together a "template" of my available space, so that I can draw my layout plans in the alloted space.  I want to get the "template" to a copy place and have multiple blanks made up... we shall see what the CFO says...

TTFN!

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)

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Thursday, January 28, 2010 2:16 PM

Sam; Happy B-DaySAM!!---1,000 switches!?!Shock Good thing I'm not going through that everyday!!Whistling

Trainman Sam
Rob- Happy Birthday Wishes to your significant other!!! Let the “Boss” know that we are thinking of her!!!

Same from us'uns!!Happy B-Day

mmmm----I'm having a turn out that is doing the intermittant switching thing.Banged HeadConfused I can hear the motor kicking in but it either switches with a resounding THUD after a delay of, say, several seconds, or it just sits there doing nothing. So far I've been lucky and only had a switcher derail but ---- and this is on a turnout that hasn't had issues in a year!(?) And the really annoying thing is it is a completely RANDOM thing when it'll do this, as it has done this maybe twice before---without me finding out why---Confused So, basically, I've been underneath the benchwork for the past couple of hours trying to track some kind of a clue as to just what is going on there----maybe I'll just rip the ding thing out ---and leave a straight section inMischief

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...

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Posted by howmus on Thursday, January 28, 2010 2:28 PM

Afternoon....

Cup of hot chocolate if you please Zoe.  I'm just poping in for a second.

My son, the pack rat, and the rest of the family, including Gramps, are still loading stuff from the old house.  Art should be closing on the new house as we speak.  Miraculously Art and his wife are still speaking although she is getting a bit grumpy today.  I can see it in her eyes......  She is now saying, He gets prt of the garage and the work room in the basement.  That's it!"  We still have to get all the MIL's furniture into the truck and move it to the house.  THAT and a couple of pick-up loads of junk from the old basement....  My little car is loaded to the hilt right now with "odds and ends".

Mark, Happy B-Day from me as well.  Hope you have a great day!  It seems you have now caught up to me in age, so I hearby p[roclaim you and Old Phart!

OK, back to w*rk!

Later

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Trainman Sam on Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:14 PM

blownout cylinder
Sam; Happy B-DaySAM!!---

Sorry, please see edit in previous post...Ashamed I should have said  " I WILL be celebrating this year, not I AM" darnnit I done started a mess again... Oops  And it didn't involve PIES either... see what happens when you try to go the "good" route... you get burned anyhow... DRAT!Sign - Oops Banged HeadBanged Head

AND LOOK!  My apology has gone and got me Top Honors...

SOOOOOOO!!!  Eats are on me, NOT LITERALLY please!?!

  Whew, averted that cat- astrophy, what did you think I was going to say!Big Smile

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)

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:18 PM

Trainman Sam

blownout cylinder
Sam; Happy B-DaySAM!!---

Sorry, please see edit above... I should have said  " I WILL be celebrating this year... not I AM... darnnit I done started a mess again... Oops  And it didn't involve PIES either... see what happens when you try to go the "good" route... you get burned anyhow... DRAT!

Just accept this as an advance Happy Birthday!! then. If I forget the dang thing at least this is here!! lol!BlushWhistlingSmile,Wink, & Grin

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...

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Posted by nik .n on Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:55 PM

 Milk, Chloe.

 

Hi all!

The reason I have not been on here recently is because I have been promoted to a moderator on another forum, and that takes up a lot of time. Nothing much has changed here, except I now have TV, and the water tank had to be replaced. I had also repainted a locomotive, and I attended my first MRR club meeting.

 Nice to see everyone in good health and spirits!

See yall later!

Nik

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Posted by Packers#1 on Thursday, January 28, 2010 4:15 PM

blownout cylinder

Robby P.
............................How does a train run perfect one day, and the next day it wan'ts to derail, and act like a "lemon"!!!

The same goes here. I have one H16-44 that works beautifully for weeks at a time and then one day----Grumpy. My favorite---a turnout that will work great---then all of a sudden---becomes cantakerous as all get out the next day. Whistling---makes me want to rip it outMischief

 

That's happened to me. actually wound up taking the switch out and soldering in a new one. problem solved, haha.  

Rugby practice tonight as well. Tuesday's was good, hopefully today's will be too. first game of the season is tomorrow though, can't wait!

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Thursday, January 28, 2010 5:35 PM

Packers#1

blownout cylinder

Robby P.
............................How does a train run perfect one day, and the next day it wan'ts to derail, and act like a "lemon"!!!

The same goes here. I have one H16-44 that works beautifully for weeks at a time and then one day----Grumpy. My favorite---a turnout that will work great---then all of a sudden---becomes cantakerous as all get out the next day. Whistling---makes me want to rip it outMischief

 

That's happened to me. actually wound up taking the switch out and soldering in a new one. problem solved, haha.  

Rugby practice tonight as well. Tuesday's was good, hopefully today's will be too. first game of the season is tomorrow though, can't wait!

I did the deed. It is now an EX-switch!!Mischief

What happened was that there seemed to have been an intermittent short somewhere in that vicinity. I just put in another switch and redid the wiring near there with a few more of my DIN rail connectors--now we be doing a lot betterWhistling

Now, I'll try to get some actual modelling done----Smile,Wink, & Grin

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/

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Posted by twhite on Thursday, January 28, 2010 7:06 PM

Evening all from (GASP!  Shock)  SUNNYCal! 

Yes, it HAPPENED!  TODAY!  OH, FRABJOUS JOY, CALLOO, CALLAY, the SUN came out!  Bow 

And according to the Weatherpersons, it will be out TOMORROW, too!   Friday, my day off.  Which means---this will be no more:

She will be stripped.  STRIPPED, I TELL YOU!!!!  Tongue  Down to the bare brass of her last little rivets and lovingly and carefully restored to her former Rio Grande Glory. 

Of course, it'll take about a week or so--but I can hardly wait.   The poor little dear has been waiting on the kitchen table so PATIENTLY for the past two weeks (lovingly watched over by Uff-Dah and Spooky, I might say).   She just deserves all the TLC I can muster, LOL!   Temp's supposed to be about 63 here tomorrow, which means I can open the garage and go to work on her. 

I can hardly wait. Tongue

Mark:  A belated Happy B-Day to you, my friend.  59 and holding, huh?  Egads, you're a mere CHILD!!   Hope the dinner was a good one.  But tell me, do you really LIKE Cilantro?  Yuk!  Tastes like a visit to the Dentist's Office to me. Dead   Who discovered that stuff, anyway?   Frankly, I don't ever remember the stuff in Mexican food until about ten years ago.  Is it a "New California" thing?  And if so, where the bloody @%$ did WE come up with it?  Confused

Jim:  If you've ever seen the Sacramento River, you'd know that I could NEVER surf in it, LOL!   It's BROWN!   Starts out nice and clear below Mt. Shasta, but by the time it gets about 200 miles to down here it's picked up a lot of--actually, I don't KNOW what it's picked up a lot of  Shock, but I wouldn't stick my big toe in it, LOL! 

Oh, yah--as far as herding High School choirboys and cats--cats are easier.  Wink  But they don't sing as well.  Spooky, God love her, is tone-deaf, and Uff-Dah just 'squeaks' once a month.  One saving grace:  They don't sing along with my CD's, LOL! 

Sawyer:  Good luck with the game.  KILL!   But come out relatively unscathed, okay?  We need you on the Forum, buddy. Smile  And think nice things about Boston College--they got TRAMPLED by Notre Dame this year in football.  I don't know whether or not you caught the game, but it was something else.  I think the term is "Massacre".   Unfortunately, I didn't know quite WHO to root for--I've got former students at both.  Confused  One of the problems of being a teacher at a Catholic high school, a lot of them go off to rival Catholic Colleges and end up trying to beat each other to Pulps on the playing field.  Tongue

Well, that's about it from (gasp!) SUNNYCal.  Can't wait to get out into the garage with #3400 tomorrow and see what she REALLY looks like under all of that Goop. 

Best to all, prayers to those in need.

Tom Big Smile

 

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Posted by Packers#1 on Thursday, January 28, 2010 8:59 PM

twhite

Sawyer:  Good luck with the game.  KILL!   But come out relatively unscathed, okay?  We need you on the Forum, buddy. Smile  And think nice things about Boston College--they got TRAMPLED by Notre Dame this year in football.  I don't know whether or not you caught the game, but it was something else.  I think the term is "Massacre".   Unfortunately, I didn't know quite WHO to root for--I've got former students at both.  Confused  One of the problems of being a teacher at a Catholic high school, a lot of them go off to rival Catholic Colleges and end up trying to beat each other to Pulps on the playing field.  Tongue

 

True. Well, I ain't much of a BC fan because I'm a Clemson Tigers fan. Didn't see the game; this year I actually got into college football though, rooting for the Tigers and CJ SPILLER!!!!!!! Only thing you'd probably have to worry about rooting for is some of your former rugby playing students who go to BC seeing me on the pitch playing for the Tigers, if I ever get there, haha! That's a lot of work though to get there, and when push comes to shove I don't know if I'll want to put the work in to get there.

Looking forward to seeing that loco into some good Rio Grande paint as well tom!

Rugby practice went pretty good tonight. keep learning. What sucks is I know I can play so much better, but I'm just learning the game right now, so those mistakes will eventually be corrected and always learned from, haha! Looking forward to playing in our game tomorrow Big Smile We're playing a team that only had two wins last year (against one team that had 1 win and one team that went o-fer), so if we've got the stamina to hang in there the whole game, I think we'll have something for them.

Barry, I had already done my wiring and didn't want to mess with the rail joiners and possibly unsolder the feeders, so I cut the old switch out, trimmed the new on to fit, and dropped it in and soldered the rails together using track nails to hold the rails in alignment until the solder connected.

I've got a project due February 23rd that I want to do research on this weekend, but I might get around to getting my lazy butt to the workbench and make a few more trees for the layout.

Sawyer Berry

Clemson University c/o 2018

Building a protolanced industrial park layout

 

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Posted by ns3010 on Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:08 PM

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

Phew, I finally made it in here for once...

Got some unexpected snow this morning. Took us an hour to get into school. There was a tractor-trailer, jacknifed, and partly through/on top of the median, as well as two cars off the road in the woods (a quarter mile east of the truck, although totally unrelated). Got to school just after 8, as prayers were starting.

I think I'm gonna do some catching up for a bit...

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Posted by JimRCGMO on Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:13 PM

Evening, Chloe! (Shutting the door quickly to keep any more of that white stuff from blowing in behind him....) I'll have a CAW mug of hot cocoa, and a cinnamon roll (would you please nuke it in the microwave if it's from this morning, I don't mind). Thanks! Our weather folks are saying that between midnight tonight and Friday night, we might get 5 to 8 inches of THAT.... 'stuff'! Of course, they've been wrong before, like I think somewhere around 1979 when the whole area got about a foot of the lovely winter 'blanket'. Angry Currently we have a temp of 26 F (-3 C) and wind chill of 15 F (-9 C).

AmanaMedic
I thought the EPA had laws against the dumping of TOXIC WASTE into rivers and streams...Whistling THAT and I rather suspect the poly-tick-ians would be...hard to keep down. I see them bobbing back to the surface like so many fish heads in a toilet bowl.Mischief

  Actually, Chris, some other kind of water-bobbers came to mind, but we're trying to keep the Diner family-friendly, right? Oops And how come the EPA doesn't cite all those catfish for 'tinkling' in the Mississippi River?Confused Hey, it sounds like Rerun was doing like Keith's "supervisor", making sure everything got done right. From your description of the discussion with Rerun, I'd say he sounds like a typical teenager...Wink

Ray - how about you and Barry coordinate the 'attitude adjustment hour' for Chris (and all the rest of us 'maladjusted' Diners who have realized the consequences of Johnson's Axiom)? We could arrange with Vinnie for some suitable refreshments during that time of the day... Oh, I see Chris brought his own!

[#bday], Markpierce! Hope dinner was delicious, all right! (And that you got some MRR-related presents)

BARRY!! Shock Ohmigosh - you sss-ss-ss-said the 'S' word out loud! Now ya gone and done it! And would you and Johnboy please close the door up there!? Smile,Wink, & Grin It does seem strange that this storm is coming out of Oklahoma and we're getting that fluffy white stuff. Go figure... On your stubborn turnout, I am the LEAST qualified to ask (as IF I knew anything about such stuff), but have you checked the wiring connections to the turnout motor? I was thinking (hush, Todd!) that might be a flaky contact somewhere in the wiring to the turnout. Ah, I see now that you have put plan B into effect. So long as it fixed it! Thumbs Up

Rob, please wish your wife [#bday] from us!Bow And did you come up with a suitable present in time?

Jeff, keep healing up there, and you'll get to be back at it with the layout. Big Smile

Ulrich, any MRR'ing plans for a part of that $200 in w**k pay? How about, you could use $50 out of it for MRRing stuff, another $50 for Petra to get ingredients for her to prepare some favorite dishes, and put back the other $100 in savings for the 'pond-jump'? Hey, just an idea, anyway!

JR - would the phrase 'loss of friction' apply as well? Sounds... interesting, all right! We'll see what the idiots drivers are doing in the morning when it's time for me to head out for w**k. I **will** be taking the 'fewer hills' route to the office. My usual route goes up a fairly steep hill and then down about the same slope on the other side, so I avoid that when it might be slick. Hey, I had you pictured as driving some sporty two-seater to your w**kplace.Oops

Hmm, JR's suggestion to Todd and Chris got me thinking of Ray's layout, and how he has the multiple (three?) levels in at least some parts of it. I was toying around with my 'spare room-sized' layout and trying to figure how to do two levels (maybe at least some staging underneath, like Pelle Søeberg's layout.

Tim, good to see you in the Diner, and I told the girls that you can have my share on the hot sauce. Thumbs Up Makes me break out into a sweat if I even try a drop of it.

Garry, your area might get some s**w out of this round, from what the weather guys and gals have been saying today. Of course, it depends on how far north or south that the storm tracks.

Sam, that's a heap o'turnouts there!Wow!! Aren't you glad that you don't have to keep track of them and throw the turnouts yourself? Or is it more stressful to have to hope the guy/gal who does throw the switches is sober and on top of their game?

Tom, on the Sacramento River, I'm not sure whether to laugh my 'posterior' off about that, or cry... Y'know, on that 'tar-and-no-feathered' brass loco, are you sure that under all that paint, it isn't an N scale one? Smile,Wink, & Grin Best of luck with getting her cleaned up and lookin' great again. Yeah!!

Kinda busy at w**k today - actually, most of the week, I've been a day or two behind on finishing up all of one day's paperw**k. Which means I'm about up to Wednesday's now...

Got out one of the Accurail D&RGW gondolas tonight (again). They actually have a surprising amount of detail, with added on stirrup steps, brake lines underneath, and such. Will need to make sure I get some loads for these shorter ones (42'), since most of my ones previously have been 50'/52'6"/etc. But I'm sure Chooch or somebody has some, and I can make some loads myself for them, I figure.

Good to see that most of our Diners have been improving in the health area lately. Now, if we can keep on track with that for a while... Prayers will continue for ongoing healing and comfort (and leashes that stay shut). I'll be at the rivet counter for a little more before I head for home. Don't want that gallon of milk in my car's trunk to freeze up, though. Wink

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Shalimar. Florida
  • 2,622 posts
Posted by Packer on Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:20 PM

Evening ya'll

The weather is getting freaky around here. 30s in the morning, then upper 60s during the day? It's getting warmer, so I guess it's time to use the treadmill again Sign - Oops

I've got one MRR question for you guys, Does anybody know when the Rio Grande was using the slogan "the action road"? I'm bartering with someone and noted he had an orange DRGW one. I can't tell the date from the picture, but it's an enclosed walthers one, might be a tri-level.

Tom, did you say singing cats?

JR, haven't messed with the TPS, but I think I may have found the prob. When I installed the EGR delete stuff I may have forgotten to take something off. After looking at a vaccum routing map (previos owner was a backyard mechanic, some stuff was just so wrong I could do a rant) and putting everything in it's right place, I noticed something. Turns out a small black cylinder with a vaccum outlet line on both sides that goes to the EGR may have been the culprit. I pulled it off, and it appears to be less alco-ish.

Garry, did any of the Q F-units make it to the merger? Seems most of the ones I can find were GN or NP.

Mark, Happy B-Day

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.

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 10,198 posts
Posted by howmus on Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:23 PM

Evenin'.......  Yawn....

Zoe a cup of decafe and a seat by the stove in the back.   It is COLD outside here in the Finger Lakes.  I should have brought a couple extra layers of clothing to out on today, but instead I went hypothermic every time I had to be outside loading the truck for more than 5 minutes.  I'm talking teeth chatering, numb toes and fingers and once I thought my nose had gotten frostbitten.  The cold front came through early afternoon and we have been hanging in the low teens since mid afternoon. Wind chill well below 0°F (hanging around -5°F right at the moment, and the wind has died down considerably). We didn't even start on the MILs house till after 5PM.  I got home about an hour ago and had to get the trash and recycling out for pickup tomorrow.  Had several bags in the back of my truck to add to it.

Before the last couple of days I had forgotten that Manual Labor doesn't refer to the President of Spain. Whistling  We have been at this 24 hours in the last 2 days.....  My son and his wife are still at the old house cleaning and gettinfg rid of odds and ends.  It was either pull a late night or a very early morning.  If they are not done by 10 tomorrow morning, they have to pay $100 a day.....

Hope you all get to stay warm and have a great night!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Cherry Valley, Ma
  • 3,674 posts
Posted by grayfox1119 on Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:30 PM

GMTRacing
Dick - one word - Springfield! You can actually go to the train show and buy somethingConfused I distinctly remember you wandering about two years ago muttering ooch - Its all too dear! SmileSince your favorite SLHS has a large set of tables you can even be at home.

 

J.R. : I was hoping to make it to the show, now it looks doubtful, maybe Sunday. Usually there are some nice deals as the vendors would rather sell it than pack it up again.

TODD: It is hard to figure some people out. Two time zones in NY, now that is a new one, maybe RAY can add something to this, he lives in upper west NY, maybe he is in that "extra" time zone..LOL

Speaking of BD's, I just turned 71 on the 26th, and all the cake was eaten by.....WHO?????? If it wasn't for DER JOHN sending me one from Sheet Harbour in NS, I wouldn't have any !!! Of course by the time snail mail delivered it from the frozen weather up here in the great north woods, I had to chisel the pieces.

MRR:  Had to make a run to HD to get more supplies, 2x4's, foam board, etc.  I lost my special parking spot because Duke and Ed are not buying enough to keep the profits up, I had to walk a mile in a white out. Ever try to carry a piece of 2' X 8" foamboard in 40 mph gusts in a whiteout? Lots of fun !!

Speaking of white outs, we just had one here when the cold front came through, 47 mph gusts, lightening strikes, snowing so hard that you literally could not see 10 feet. It only lasted for about 15 minutes, but it deposited 3" of snow in that time. The temperature WAS 34F, then it dropped like a rock to 14F.This is just like a TS squall line in Summer, only in Winter you get heavy snow.

Time to hit the sack, hope everyone is feeling Ok or on the mend,

KA1VEI  "73"

 

Dick If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got!! Learn from the mistakes of others, trust me........you can't live long enough to make all the mistakes yourself, I tried !! Picture album at :http://www.railimages.com/gallery/dickjubinville Picture album at:http://community.webshots.com/user/dickj19 local weather www.weatherlink.com/user/grayfox1119
  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Williamsville, ILL
  • 3,698 posts
Posted by TMarsh on Thursday, January 28, 2010 11:45 PM

(yawn) Tired. I would have a snack but I see it's "ON" Sam. I'll pass.

Jeff- Glad the doc's appointment went well. You need several more like that .

Sam- WOW! 1000 switches. It'd take you all day to get back on track should they either throw the wrong one or forget to.

Seeing as how my railroad is in the middle of a reconstruction, I'd LOVE to have some track problems and derailments about now. I never thought a few years ago I'd be missing running some trains! You guys are really causing some problems for me.WhistlingLaugh

Ray- And others moving their or others things. George Carlin had it right. Did you notice your things are referred to as "stuff" and other peoples things are referred to as s**t?Whistling

Hearing Mark refer to being 29 still, my Mother, born in 1929, claims she is "29 and holding" for the last 51 years. You've got a ways to go.

Nik- Congratulations. I think. Moderator is an important and unfortunately thankless job. Sooooo while I‘m thinking of it, I'll just throw in a thanks to the ones here for doing a great job keeping the place clean and tidy.Bow

Tom- My fingers are crossed that the weather guessers are correct about your weather tomorrow. I know you're going nuts over your new "child". Looking forward to some progress shots.

Boy I sure hope Inch is busy and not ill.

Dick- Oh this guys got a ton of ‘em. You know, the kind that knows everything and I do mean everything. Including that a big truck driving from Little Rock AR to Atlanta Georgia, puts him driving right past Springfield, Illinoyz. Long story on THAT one. Oh yeah and I have tried to carry a piece of ¼ inch plywood in high wind gusts. So I feel I have a right to chuckle thinking about you carrying the foam.Smile,Wink, & Grin

Oh I see someone didn't finish their tomato juice, I'll just down it so you girls can wash the dishes. AAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!! HOT SAUCE !!!!!! Who in the world would put hot sauce in a glass! Oh somebody get me a glass of milk and a couple of tortillas. Oh I think I feel sick.Sad

Prayers for those in need.

 

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. Laugh

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Marion, Iowa
  • 1,263 posts
Posted by AmanaMedic on Friday, January 29, 2010 1:52 AM

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood extremely early morning,

My goodness...lots of jawin' in here over the past 24 hours. Good to see JEFF is on the mend, SAWYER is still alive and kicking (and whatever else you do in rugby...), nice to see somebody else getting "winter" for once (don't worry, we're due here again starting Monday). For whatever its worth, Wednesday morning was just as some of you have been describing...not any fun at all on the roads, and I ended up having to drive much faster than I would've liked to bail-out THAT on a very much last-minute assignment THAT popped up. I don't think a 2WD Ranger is much better than a 2WD Explorer...but Tori and I made it through just fine...only about three "pucker factor" moments...Whistling Very happy to see THAT nice little locomotive finally getting a shot at having the caked-on paint removed. I wonder if it wasn't spray-bombed with regular Krylon or something...

ROBBY P: No hurry on the BUGS and thanks very much in advance for looking and cleaning. I'm sure we'll find something to take off your hands.

JIM: I was originally thinking of another type of "floater," but yes....this IS a "family friendly" Diner and I'll do my best to keep it THAT way...hence the fish-heads instead. True story, by the way...

SAM:  Sounds like you've more than got your handsful rolling into a mess like THAT (1,000 switches). How do you not lose track of which track is which when looking to make sure you're lined-up right?? I mean, I'm guessing you have not only a ga-billion signals to look at and acknowledge, but you've probably also got to visually make sure things are lined-up right too 'eh? A tip of the reporter's fedora to ya Sir! Thumbs Up

I'm in for a busy Friday, thanks in part to the weekly "facetime" with THAT, the possibility of covering basketball for Mr. Boss, and on-going w**k on an article from the last-minute assignment THAT had me risking life, limb, and pickup truck for THAT. Saturday, I'm covering winter waterball fights in Coralville. Yep...Iowa firefighters are so tough, WE do waterball fights in the dead of winter!!! Welp, THIS firefighter will be on the sidelines (more or less) looking for Solon and North Liberty guys for my newspapers. With an expected temperature of 15 degrees, I'll be in a nice warm bunker (turnout) coat and nomex hood anyways.

Since Iowa did NOT get fed funding for new Amtrak service from Chicago to Iowa City, and Dubuque to Iowa City (this is actually a good thing... I truly believe estimates of ridership are overblown), I may have an article to write about THAT next week. We did get 1 million bucks for "a feasibility study" for the Chicago, Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines, and Omaha ideer. Iowa Interstate (IAIS) is all for AMTRAK...and why not? They get a lot of expensive track upgrades covered by the feds. UP has stated for years they absolutely do NOT want AMTRAK on their line. BNSF has it across southern Iowa, and is getting a ton of bucks to put in new "remote controlled crossover switches" in four spots where they're double-tracked. Didn't hear anything about the single-track from Osceola on west...

On THAT happy note... it's bedtime.

Oh yeah, hey TODD, thanks for un-knowingly explaining where my FIL got the "my stuff is 'stuff,' her stuff is 'crap'" line. I just kinda knew he didn't coin THAT phrase himself...

Have a good, SAFE day everybody...

ChrisEight Ball

The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Euclid, Ohio
  • 2,822 posts
Posted by LSWrr on Friday, January 29, 2010 5:59 AM
Good morning all,


Someone bid on the old roundhouse, Wahoo!  It still has some time left but I doubt the price will go higher.  I haven’t really done anything to the layout in the past couple of weeks; maybe things will change this weekend.  This afternoon I pick up the new roundhouse and machine shop from LHS.  What I really need to do is clean house and finish moving the new furniture around the old.  It’s a tropical heat wave outside; 19F and that’s it for the predicted high. Yesterday we had white outs off and on all day but no real accumulation. 32 years ago this week the blizzard of ’78 hit us.  It’s hard to imagine it was that long ago!

 

BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret)
 L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes

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