Elliot's Trackside Diner XXV- Milepost 25

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AztecEagle

That's almost as good as the poster for a missing Boa Constrictor with a Missing Cat poster underneath!!!

We had a few signs up down the street awhile back about someone missing a 'possum'----why would anyone keep a possum?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Evening

Got all kindsa schtuff done--now I get to have a delayed Valentine Day with Audrey tomorrow--heeheehee

Chloe, I's be hungry--I'll have 6 quadruplex burgers with ALL the fixin's, a platter of poutine and a large Chocolate shake please I'll be at the corner booth checking out the mags---

 

[LSWrr]

Good site for train photos..

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/index.htm

 

[TMarsh]

Howdy, cannelloni please. And a cup of coffee thanks. Just got back from Olive Garden Valentines Day dinner with my Valentine. Pretty good. Had better, but I can't complain.

Jerry- Happy Anniversary!!!

Garry- Ummmm....Nah. Never mind. They'll figure it out.

Whew! Jeff wasn't kidding when he said it was wet in Lou-zaner. That hopper dang near aged up right before my eyes.

blownout cylinder

----why would anyone keep a possum?

Well, you could teach them to..., no, no you can't. You could play...., no, I wouldn't do that. Ah, you can....., no, I definately wouldn't do THAT. Hm. I suppose you could just look at it. Nah, I don't think I'd wanna do that either.

Oh well enough silliness. Got some benchwork to cypher out.

 

[AztecEagle]

They look cute but Possums and Raccoons are mean little Bs!!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Well, now that we are 25 miles from town ..... you never know what critters are out here.

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

Hi Gang,

Just spent a great day with my wife, Valentines Day doncha know????????

Give all of your wives and girl friends a hug for me.   Well maybe not, but do give them one for yourself.

But I do want to wish Jerry and Sallie a very HAPPY Anniversary.    By the way Jerry, how many years has it been for you two??

It was a beautiful day here, clear as a bell, no wind and about -15 C. A little colder than it normally is at this time but it was very pleasant to be out and about today.

I haven't been posting much lately, but I have been trying to keep up with all of you talkative folks

Glad to see some of our buddies that have been on sick call are now feeling somewhat better and gaining ground.  

Ulrich also glad that you have gotten your time served in the Gulag.  I know you weren't too happy there. Things are going to start to look up for you.  You have been giving some great advice to some of the questions being asked. Always great to learn from some of your intelligence and experience.  Give Petra a wee peck on the cheek from across the pond today.

Off to have supper with the better half now, so stay healthy and be good,  I'll be watching.

Johnboy out.................................. for now.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Did I just see a coon duck into the kitchen?

[GMTRacing]

If there's a raccoon on the premises better watch the silverware as well as the goodies. Had one swiping wrenches as fast as I put them down once. When I tracked him to his den it was full of shiny stuff including my missing tools and some from the neighbors. Funny now, not so funny then.

Spent the day hoovering out the spaces between the foundation and the support beams for the house so I can spray the insulating foam in. Also went over some spots with water plug to seal the below grade part of the foundation which is cemented over stones. All the framing is done now so I'm finally ready to apply the insulation. Charming and romantic day, no?

Did catch the end of the Daytona 500. Pretty exciting stuff and I must say the green/white/checker thing seems to work pretty well. Good to see a respectable finish for Jr as well. Now that he is sporting a beard do you think model railroading is in his future?

Happy Anniversary Jerry. Hope you and Sallie had a good day.

Jeff - that's a nice job on the hopper.

Thanks for the link to Dons'. Never seen a pic of the Danbury/Bethel street trolley.

Latest thinking has me back in the basement with the wood shop moved to the back shed. I guess that will be ok as the noise and mess will not be in the house. The layout space will be reduced and a bit awkward but I'll see what can be done.

Been a long day, think I'll just have a slice of pie ala mode and a coffee and kick back a bit.  J.R.

[blownout cylinder]

**** from the back room kitchen comes a scream---***** 

AAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!

"Get that little thfhu out of here!!!!"

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 It's a wet one tonight. I got that hopper done barely in time earlier today. Shortly after the wind came up and that would have made any weathering attempt difficult. For now we have heavy clouds and a 60% chance of rain. The low is looking like 30 and the wind is currently NNW at 12 mph. Tomorrow is looking like no rain so I should be able to get a coat of Clear Flat on the hopper.

[JimRCGMO]

Good Evening, Janie - I'll have a small ribeye (done medium), salad, asparagus, and a glass of Finger Lake wine, and if there's a helping of that Apple Strudel left, I'll have THAT for dessert, with a Santa Fe mug of decaf, please. Thanks! There weren't much of any crumbs, but there were some fat birds sitting on the fences along the way, and I thought it might be related to the move.

Looks like you have most of the clearing away and cleaning up done, Zoe, Chloe. About ready to call it an evening and turn it back over to Janie and Flo? I'm sure you all have been a bit busy today.

Ah, I see Jeff got some - what is that, Jeff - frost? some glare, or what, on his car? Hey, I have an old broom you can use for that, if you want...after you use that borrowed snow blower.. Of course, I'm sure out Eastern Diners might want to swap you what they got. Boy, for your spotters in your area, I would hope that the 'forward' spotters could be allowed a LOT of distance ahead of the cell! Thanks for posting that second photo - now, I can see that it's a SW1500.

Nik.n, keep us up to date on your progress on the sirens, whichever way you go on making them.

Jerry, good to hear from you - best wishes on the craftman kit - and I understand taking your time with putting those together is mandatory! What kind of structure or detail piece is it (yougot me curious there)?

Sam, that is kinda harsh with those rules, whether they have a basis for them or not. [OUCH!] Like your layout sketch/idea/plan. That would even be good as a point-to-point, but like you, I'd like the capability for continuous running, so if the connecting ('lower') part or the loop is do-able, I'd say go for it! Hey, just saw that you don't have to share the basement with the home theater - WOOO HOOO!!

Hey, Robby - HECKUVA 'Massive Fail" there, all right. VERY fortunate for the crew that they were away from it when the pile-on started. And what's your possible new job, by the way?

Barry - hey, I love GP9u's (especially the low-nose kinds)!

Garry, are you sure that 'snow-plow' doesn't do double duty at clearing out flooded ditches, with those 'snorkel' exhausts?

Ulrich, I'll bet that Petra () will be pleased with however many (or few) flowers you got her - so long as you got her SOME flowers... On your pic of that siren outside your window (okay, maybe it's a few meters further away), my first thought was "Is that a flying saucer?" But on second look, I thought it was a saucer on top of the 'foot' of a rifle. (And no, I haven't been watching the Sci-Fi channel, everybody!)

Oh, I forgot to mention - thanks to those Diners who posted the F-unit photos. Even though I sorta think of them as being for passenger runs (not sure why I do), I just love the look of them!

Flip, I was only catching up on about 4-6 pages, which I think isn't bad for my being out all of Friday evening and yesterday. Have added Deb's surgery to my list. Good to hear you can be at home to take care of her following the surgery.

Keith, you and Jeanne need something for more excitement in your life, just to keep you from getting bored, don'tcha think? By the way, did the bird overfly either of your cups on the way to the bathroom? Just wondering about a 'strafing run'..

Hey, Chris, I'm glad to hear your health/sinuses are improving. Keep it up! And to Rerun! How'd his BBo'B dinner go - was he well-pleased?

Ray - yep, I've had to help out some absolute newbie computer users (PC and Mac both) at times. Such fun! (Oh yeah...)

Ulrich - and Sam - Iain Rice had another shelf-style layout (Gulfport), which he showed how you could expand into a 15' X 20' (basement sized) space ("The Gulfport, Yarde & Industry") with continuous runs possible. It is in the MR "Workshop Tips: Track Planning Ideas" which came with the MRP 2010 issue, as well as with the special issue "How To Build Realistic Layouts". Gulfport isn't in the trackplan database, I already checked. Sam, you could check for either the MRP 2010 or the HTB Realistic Layouts issue (LHS, or some larger supermarkets?). The insert (for mine, anyway) came inside the plastic baggy with the (MRP) special issue.

Barry, the only possum I ever had on our property, I would've had the conservation agent haul out of town (except the possum decided to head back to its place somewhere in the woods (local wooded area, in-town). But a possum for a pet? As Al would say, "I don't think so, Tim..."

I think any critter cutting through the kitchen had best watch out for Vinnie and the twins. They catch sight of one, we may have a new item on the menu that day or the next! Those cast iron skillets, y'know...

At risk of messing with my evening, it's been a great day so far today. I'm hoping the slush/snow/rain/sleet/whatever tonight will keep a lid on things and nobody will want to get out.  Got a good night's sleep last night, though the day (before 9 p.m.) was kinda busy.

I'll be heading out after my dinner and see you all tomorrow (when I'm off w**k).

Prayers for those ailing, with pending doctoring (including Flip's Deb) and in need of comfort.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Zoe just a decafe...  well maybe one of those apple strudels to go along with it if you please.  I'll be in the back keeping warm by the stove.

Got the certificate delivered this afternoon.  This was the first time I have seen the guys layout.  He has done some very nice scratch building in On30.  Built a lot of his own cars and kit bashed a bunch of very interesting locos.  His layout is out in an unheated garage away from his house.  Amazingly everything was running......  Proves it can be done!

Spent a bit of time fiddling with the backwoods engine house this afternoon and tonight.  I will have to order a whole bunch of parts including windows and doors for part of it.  I am going to build a machine shop along one side of the building and will have to find a source for some items in HO.  Most of what i see for lathes, drill presses, and other items like that seem to be for the larger scales.  May try to scratch build a few items as well.  I am going to make the roofs removable to be able to see the interior detail.

Anybody see my pet raccoon?  

Later!

73

[TMarsh]

Good evening. Tall glass of milk please and a couple of chocolate chip, 2 molasses, 2 oatmeal raisin, 2 sugar, and 2 snicker doodle cookies please. Oh and a couple of triple threat brownies thank you.

Possums cute? Didja ever look in ones mouth? Looks like a furry alligator.

Well had a pretty good day. Still have to iron out some "issues", as Barry calls them, with the layout but all is going actually better than I thought it would. After I cut the 48" radius and it didn't seem to work at all, and after scratching my head for about 20 minutes I realized I had a brain fart and it was a 48" diameter. That's why I'm setting track as I go. Better to change as I go than to go back after and rearrange more. Had to put up more than I planned for the first stage to make sure things will line up, but that's ok. Uses up some material and it also clears out the floor space to walk. Brenda stopped in and took the first progress picture. Like to made me jump out of my skin when the flash went off. (mental note. Don't do anything you don't want her to know about cause you never know when she's standing right there) She said she knew I wanted to take progress pictures so she did. I said I wanted to get things a bit sturdier and clean the room up a bit first. She laughed. She's right sturdier yes, cleaned up, well......

 

So there's the first photo. The peninsula is not attached to the wall so it leans a bit but I didn't want to keep unscrewing the thing if I had to add supports in places that require me to remove from the wall. Like I said, still needs some shoring up but I'm trying to place things where needed and add as I go.Trying to leave as much of the back half open as possible because that's where the tracks are in the tunnel. The center is a hill, mountain if you're from the flat parts of the country, with an elevated track going around that and another track circling that at the lowest level. Tough part is getting the 5" rise in in the space given. I think I can get her done though without needing a helper. THAT track will not carry freight, only passenger and of course the tourist train.

More milk please.

Speaking of different locomotives, I like so many from different times, older and current, even I can't justify them all. Unless I change eras from time to time. Hmmm.

Say, did you just see a coon come out of the kitchen, grab a piece of pie and go back in the kitchen? (blinks and shakes head) Man I must be staring at the track plan too hard. Think I'll poke around the yard a while then get some sleep. Maybe it's too many cookies.

Prayers for those in need.

[Trainman Sam]

Glad you fellas left a trail...  Why of all places would the Diner be placed 25 miles away from downtown?  Couldn't they find a siding a little closer that this?  Sheesh! 

TMarsh

Say, did you just see a coon come out of the kitchen, grab a piece of pie and go back in the kitchen? (blinks and shakes head) Man I must be staring at the track plan too hard. Think I'll poke around the yard a while then get some sleep. Maybe it's too many cookies.

 

That was no coon, that was my cat Bandit, I trained him to get me pie!!! Lol, I WISH!!!

I'm looking forward to having tomorrow off, I can relax and work on my trackplan some more!

Ulrich- Thanks for making the trackplan for me!  I'm attempting to remember how to use the 3rd Plannit software and create the trackplan in 3D!

Well, I am off to bed!  Gotta catch up on some sleep too!

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Its cold, and the snow is a few hours away.  Calling for 2-4 by evening, and 1-2 tomorrow.  Snow showers all week .

 I'm not staying long, with a raccoon running around!!  I had the wife print off some signs yesterday for my cement plant (finally), and my pallet company.  She same up with the names:  for the cement plant "Zeus Cement..Strong like the Gods" (Zeus is the name of one of our dogs).  The pallet company "Robs Pallets..You ship we supply".  Well I guess she did good with the names.  I hope to get down in the basement later.  Got some buildings I wanna work on.

 Chris.......Got the email.  THANKS!!  That will help me out.

 J.R. ......Do you think his layout would be turning left the whole time???  Plus it was a good race.  I was really pulling for jr.

 Todd.......That's a good looking start.  You cuts looking straighter than mine would be .

  Jim......The job would be at "World Kitchen Inc".  I have to take a couple of tests in the morning, and then several other "levels" before I would even get the job.  I guessing that's due to the union contract.  Its a rotating shift.  Which I'm not fond of, but I might get to like it....(and a break from the wife ).   I will have to wait and see what happens.  Plus I'm a bit worried about the test.  Its been 12 years since High School. 

 I think I better go.  I hear the trashcans moving around outside.

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

   Another week to get stuff done in the shop. Snow predicted tomorrow and we still have to pick the repainted trailer up in N.J. so we can get it ready. Busy busy.

Sam - As previously noted, the zoning changed where we were tied up and with the various catapaults and chick riots, we were asked to move along. Plus someone managed to set the catenary on fire - you wouldn't know anything about that now would you? Anyway this new siding is just off the 4 track main and is a bit more secluded though it seems to have a few more varmints about. Also if he stops by Ryan is the resident 3rd Planit expert and did a several part tutuorial on the E-magazine.

Ray - there are a bunch of HO machine tools out there from rustic to 50's era (haven't seen a CNC three axis mill yet) A good start would be Valley Model Trains for the detail bits Pat used to be with Dyson Racing, left and opened a hobby shop that does all mail order now. sources would be Rusty Stumps, Alexander Scale and Preiser. Hope that helps.

   Well, gotta take my coffee and run - lots to do today. CUL, J.R.

Ah well, TOP again so the eats are on me. The corn fritters looked delish.....

 

[blownout cylinder]

GMTRacing

Sam - As previously noted, the zoning changed where we were tied up and with the various catapaults and chick riots, we were asked to move along

Sam: I guess with all the WMPD that were manufactured and resultant pie wars and scenes of mass pie destruction thereabouts the zoning change had to come. Besides, Vinnie was militating for this huge move just so there ar no more catapault maneuvers

Good Morning

Another dull day for our viewing pleasure with little tiny snow dribbles for us---we are supposed to go all the way up to -1C for a high with the low at -8C. Damp raw winds will be here for today as well

Today Audrey got breakfast in bed. We are doing the Valentine thing today as I was doing the work thing yesterday. As well WE are having a semi-pseudo kinda statutory holiday called Family Day. My MR time will be very small today Actually small in terms of scale----

I knew one fellow that had a racoon for a pet. It was a little rough around the edges but it got to the point that he was trained to fetch slippers and the newspaper----and they would be in one piece--

Chloe, I'll just have a breakfast bagel and a coffee please. I'll be at the RC

[fireman216]

 Ray...Here is your reminder...our club show and division meet is this Sunday!!..It's not a real big show..(like Syracuse) but we usually have about 20-30 tables of vendors...plus the clubs two layouts...and the division meet. www.syracusemodelrr.org has all the info. Let me know if you can swing out this way. I will be limited at what I do as I just had surgery on my shoulder for a rotator cuff repair and I am still in a sling. Tim

[TMarsh]

Good Morning. Happy President’s Day to all in the States. To the others, happy…., er, Monday! Take the day off.

Got about an inch of sn*w last night. Bookwork at the church today, I figure I’ll put a trashcans worth of stuff in the dumpster when I’m there. Then, take a trashcan of trash to the elevator on my way to work at 5. In the meantime I should clean the place up a bit again.

Robby- Straight cuts are achieved with a chop saw, carpenters call them miter saws, mechanics…, chop saws. And a little table saw. Cuts that can be made with those, yes. The ones that have to be made with the regular power saw..., not so straight. And the ones made with the jig saw, which is the new one and operates fine, well I guess it’ll get all covered up.

Ya know. Not a bad spot after all. We gotta cut Joe some slack. He was kinda limited as to where they’d put us you know. I mean the last diner had a few, shall we say, memories that we could do without. You remember a few “events” that the yardmaster frowns on. Not our fault, but “guilt by association my Momma always said.” Probably didn't have much to choose from. Anyway it is a nice little drive out here. Clears the head and the scenery is beautiful, plus the four track main is great, maybe not so much for the switching enthusiast, but you have to admit at this particular spot there is a variety of trains and locos as well as road names. All in all a pret…… AAAAAAAH!!! SQUIRREL! I’m outa here!

Have a Great Day!!!

[LSWrr]

Good Morning All,

Still snowing off and on, with below freezing temps outside.  No truck parts yet but keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good morning ...

Tim .. Sorry to hear about your shoulder surgery. Hope it heels well.

Barry .... Wow! Only One bagel! ...I'll mark this date in history.

Chloe ... What did you say? ... Oh, I get it. Barry had a six pound bagel and a carton of cream cheese on it. ... That's Barry-sized alright!

Jim CG .... I still get this mixed up. Evenings, it's Janie and Flo. Mornings, it's Zoe and Chloe. Right? Where did these names come from?

Todd ... your bench work looks good.

Robby ... I like the names on the signs for yopur cement plant and your pallet company. Years back, I was feeling creative with my whimsical 1900 era layout. For instance, one local business had a sign: "Hank's Mortuary. You stab 'em. We slab 'em."

I was in town, and a bunch of ladies stopped me and asked about Jeff and where they could find the diner. Jeff will be glad to know I did not tell them. Later, I was starting to make up a blonde joke about the diner obviously was on the track. Oh, never mind.

I suppose, out here 25 miles from town, the staff here could add to the menu. The could have a low budget road kill menu to help folks in this economy. Can you imagine a "Possom Burger - Barry Sized"? You could really sink your teeth in one of those. Of course, if you have a light appetite, there would be some options. Perhaps, an individual size (normal, not Barry) squirrel road kill pizza would hit the spot.

Happy Model Railroading

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 31 and sunny. The high will be around 50 with an occasional cloud or two.

Today I'll be applying a coat of Clear Flat to the new hopper. One thing I've learned about this stuff is if the coat isn't thick enough it won't knock down the gloss like it should and if it's too thick it fogs up and is almost impossible to fix. It's not like Dull-Cote where you just spray over it. I also have a structure that needs a roof, so I'll likely be making one for it. I found a use for one of the Gramps tankers. Strip the trucks and couplers off it and it's an instant bulk fuel tank for the maintenance building/car barn.

[blownout cylinder]

Heartland Division CB&Q

I suppose, out here 25 miles from town, the staff here could add to the menu. The could have a low budget road kill menu to help folks in this economy. Can you imagine a "Possom Burger - Barry Sized"? You could really sink your teeth in one of those. Of course, if you have a light appetite, there would be some options. Perhaps, an individual size (normal, not Barry) squirrel road kill pizza would hit the spot.

Out near Strathroy ON there is a restaurant that has a sign -- "Road Kill Cafe". Apparently there have been a few tire screeches as people slam their brakes on---thinking that there really is a road kill cafe---

[Trainman Sam]

Good morning!

Ulrich- I can't open the trackplan in winrail, what version are you using?

Glad to see everyone made it to the new place!

[Anonymous]

 Sam - I am using WinRail 8.0.

So far, I never had a problem with opening my files with the free download version of RTS. 

[LSWrr]

Gary, you can drop that cat off at my neighbors, LOL!

 

Di you guys notice the how to add pitted rust on page 45 of the Walther's flyer?  Has anyone tried it yet?

[blownout cylinder]

What's that Chloe? There's a DEER in the back room?

OK. We'll see----- I guess it's going to be a little wild in here---

[jeffrey-wimberly]

LSWrr

Di you guys notice the how to add pitted rust on page 45 of the Walther's flyer?  Has anyone tried it yet?

I must have missed that one. How about sending it my way so I can read it too.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon to go along with the pot of dark roast coffee in a FGLK Mug.  Oh, and leave the NYS Maple syrup!  I'll be sitting at the Rivet Counter for a bit.  I hear we are having Venison for lunch and dinner.  Yum!

Anybody find my pet raccoon? 

fireman216

Ray...Here is your reminder...our club show and division meet is this Sunday!!..

 

Thanks, Tim.  Looks like I may be able to be there.  Depends on the weather and some family obligations.

Have to get an order in for some modeling supplies to build the Backwoods Engine house. I have to do some more measuring to see how much room there will be for the machine shop attached to the building.  As with most of my scratch builds, since I am freelancing, Ideas tend to grow and change as I am making the model.....

J.R. thanks for the info.  I will look into the sources you listed.

Barry, looks like we have exchanged one form of "Wildlife" for another....   At least at the new location there is a nice pond for swimming and fishing and a good source of ice for the tea.....

Guess I'll go turn the heat on in the layout room in expectation of doing some w*rk down there today.

Later!

73

[blownout cylinder]

howmus

Anybody find my pet raccoon? 

I think the little one went into hiding under the corner booth--