Elliot's Trackside Diner JUNE 2010

[jeffrey-wimberly]

fireman216

 Jeff....Why the need for a salt water pool?...I am stumped there..Is it for an ocean effect?

A salt water pool (different type of salt than that found in sea water) is easier to maintain as it doesn't need all those expensive chemicals to keep the water clean, ph correct, acid levels to worry about, etc, etc.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Blazzin

  Jeff, I want you to know.. I lifted up the hood on the Aerostar to look at the alternator.  Well all kinds of hoses.. all kinds of stuff down there to remove.. just to get at the alternator. Not to mention a serpantine fan belt.  I've looked at certain links.. youtube.. and the sorts.. to find a step by step.. of how to remove an alternator from a Ford Aerostar.  Aside from all that.. I would need a 'torque wrench' to apply 40 ft lbs of pressure when putting it back on.  Yikes.  I will look at it one more time.. to see if I really want to mess with this.  I can just imagine me doing something wrong.. and the belt comes off.. and I'm stuck with a bigger bill. 

Never had an Aerostar myself. My sister had one at one time an dit was a terror to work on. It was easier to just take it in  to be fixed. Speaking of things that are hard to work on, the Dodge Omni. Now there's a case of a car built around an engine. Getting the alternator off that thing is pretty tough as it's way down in the engine well and  everything above it is in the way. There's no way to take it out from the bottom either.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have a breakfast bagel and lots of dark roast coffee in an R&GV Mug.  I'll be in the front booth watching the goings on outside.

[edit] Looks like I got the tab this morning.  Order up everyone!

Kieth, nice photos of the son and his puppy!  Hope the puppy keeps a sweet temperament. With Pit Bulls a lot has to do with breeding as well as the way they are raised.  Hope you got a good one!

Just got a call from the guy who sets up the docent schedule for the museum.  Needs help tomorrow, so I'll be out there for a few hours to work with a school group getting the tour.

Best get moving, have all kinds of things THAT should get done today.  Going to be another busy week around here!

Later!

73

[Blazzin]

    "Coffee please"

Todd, Ulrich.. or was it Chris and Ulrich.  Depression,  I've had a week of it.  I can only blame it on Bush or the weather.  I wake up at 2 am only to wander the hallways of the house.. looking for something.. perhaps something to eat and go back to bed.  We have had cloudy weather all week.. well we do get sunshine.. once every 3 days.. and usually in the afternoon.    One day.. hazy and cloudy, the next day.. cloudy and breezy and the next day.. cloudy breezy and then humid.  The next day cloudy and drizzles.. then rain.  Today,  cloudy.. no breeze.  Last year I looked up my bio-rhythm and said to Jeanne.. "If I read this right.. the next 4-5 years looks pretty lousy."

  Now on the brighter side of life~  That hound dawg of my son's..?  Well I do mean hound dawg.  This lil guy is growing fast.  I won't bore you all too much.. so just two pics.

My son is so shy.  I said.. "Ah come on~ Boy and his dog"... "its a classic pic"  "everyone has one!" .. lol.. so he poses for me. 

  But he did.. and I caught the love of the dog for him.

  Ok.. now for something new and totallly different.

  I've been spending time getting things done on the layout.  Things.. just things.. to check.. and see what the 'heck is going on here' type of stuff.

  So to really bore you.. I messed around with solar lights.  I thought I'd give them a try. 

  If you noticed the long wires of the Malibu set... well thats Ideal for Fiber Optics in a very big long layout.  I like the solar lighting.. because I feel its safer.  I do not want an electrical fire of any sort.  The bad thing.. is.. you can only use it for fiber optics.. well at least to me anyways.~

  Now in this set.. there is only 3  ...  1.5 volt batteries to run it. And to make a very long story short... I actually hooked this up to my 12 volt streetlight lamps.. and well.. only a soft glow of orange light.  Then Jeanne recommend.. lets hook up a 9 volt square battery.. and that worked fine.  So in short, I will hook up my street lights with a simple 9 volt battery.  But the housing.. and buidlings.. I still plan on going 'fiber optic'.  

  But thats it..other than finishing up the diorama and start on the 'laying of tracks' .. doh..! after I weather the tracks!

  Lee,  I wanted to thank you for a fine story.  I would have commented on it earlier but I wanted her to read it.  She said the same thing I did... 'What a handsome son you have'.. we both agreed on one word.. you son is 'special'.  You could just see it in the pic. 

  Jeff, I want you to know.. I lifted up the hood on the Aerostar to look at the alternator.  Well all kinds of hoses.. all kinds of stuff down there to remove.. just to get at the alternator. Not to mention a serpantine fan belt.  I've looked at certain links.. youtube.. and the sorts.. to find a step by step.. of how to remove an alternator from a Ford Aerostar.  Aside from all that.. I would need a 'torque wrench' to apply 40 ft lbs of pressure when putting it back on.  Yikes.  I will look at it one more time.. to see if I really want to mess with this.  I can just imagine me doing something wrong.. and the belt comes off.. and I'm stuck with a bigger bill. 

  Right now, I can only hope the sun comes out.

[galaxy]

fireman216

 Jeff....Why the need for a salt water pool?...I am stumped there..Is it for an ocean effect?

No, a salt water pool requires no chlorine to filter it and keep the nasties out. SUpposed to be cheaper, easier to maintain and more "environmentally friendly".

Packer

After that I hit the trainshow in pensacola and got a pretty decent haul.

    Southern thrall all door
    " 60' box
    " bulkhead flat
    " 85' flat with A-line end weights
    RI 86' autoparts box
    SF "
    GTW "
    IC airslide (special edition)
    CB&Q 57' reffer
    PFE "
    DRGW combo door box
    SP 40' modern box
    WP 50' high cube
        NP thrall gon
    96 33" metal wheelsets
    20 pack of Kadee #5s

All total for the cars plus the dash 8 was $100. The 60's box is a conc-cor and is missing a short ladder. (Anyone know wo makes a decent ladder in HO since I have a few cars that need them?)

Yep, sounds like a good haul.

HAve a great afternoon guys!

 

[fireman216]

 Jeff....Why the need for a salt water pool?...I am stumped there..Is it for an ocean effect?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Well today is the day my nephew is supposed to help me put the gas tank under my van. I've already told him there's a 12 pack of his favorite beer in it for him, so we'll see if he can earn his beer or prefers to go running off with his friends. In truth I didn't get him a 12 pack. I got him a 24 pack which should come as a surprise to him. However if he doesn't come through I can just take it to the spillway park this weekend and give it to the first bunch of guys I see. I'm sure they'll know what to do with it.

In local news, my niece and her husband were going to change out the sand in the swimming pool filter yesterday and discovered they are a bit short of the 500 pounds needed and have to wait until they can get more. They have these grand plans to turn a regular in-ground pool into a salt water pool. Little do they know that they'll have to change out every piece of metal pipe with plastic pipe. That's going to require a lot of digging not to mention a lot of pulling up bricks since most of it is under a brick terrace. They also have to run down a leak on the return line that's allowing water to escape into the ground at the rate of an inch every couple of hours. That's a LOT of water.

[TMarsh]

Goooood Morning! Coffee and a sweet roll please. Storm last night was juuuust south of us so nothing severe, just a thunderstorm with a view.

Usually Monday for me. Think I'll get a jump on the bookwork and go in before the banks open. I'll wait on them.

I see Philip stopped in. Always good to see he's in good spirits.

Suppose to rain today. I haven't checked the radar so when...., who knows. Could be a pop up day too. The grass is about 372ft tall so I would like to cut it between Church work and work work. Tomorrow is right out and it's anybody's guess for the rest of the week.

What's that Vinnie? Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize I said the "W" word three times. I apologize for my language. Here let me get the page.

Have a Great Day!!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Packer

Southern thrall all door
    " 60' box
    " bulkhead flat
    " 85' flat with A-line end weights
    RI 86' autoparts box
    SF "
    GTW "
    IC airslide (special edition)
    CB&Q 57' reffer
    PFE "
    DRGW combo door box
    SP 40' modern box
    WP 50' high cube
        NP thrall gon
    96 33" metal wheelsets
    20 pack of Kadee #5s

Nice haul!

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning people!

We got up to a mainly dull day with a few sunny breaks this morning--going 27C today.

I'm going to have some fun with a few boxcars today--have some weathering powders I picked up from LHS---anyone work with Tamiya weathering powders here?

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and a tea biscuit please---I'm over at the window booth seeing the sights--

[LSWrr]

Good morning all,

Ray, that is a problem with some insurance companies, however you may be able to get Social Security or State Medicare to pay for the hearing aids.

John Boy that is an interesting load!  I’ll wait until I have another “floor model”.

Robby, I saw the commercial for the Sky Rocket!  They have come a long way in coasters since I was in High School….  Now you need a fleet of cement hoppers.  Nice pictures BTW.

Lee

 

[galaxy]

Good morning guys!

Coffee and bagel and cream cheese please.

Today my other half has a half day from 1-5 of all hours. so we will spend time togeher this AM, then MAYBE I tackle the train room later while other half at work.

I did find and ran the dehumidifier yesterday though. and we are running A/c on "dry" mode to help dryout the mustyness. {or is that Mustiness?} Only problem is it keeps cycling on/off so as not to freeze it's own coils, so later today we will have to run it regular as it doesn't cool much on Dry mode. I have yet to check the hydrometers {?}  to see if humidity went down. I will when I'm done here.

I hope everyone has a great day!

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Flo I'll have a Hot Fudge Sundae and decaf and go sit in the back to relax for a bit.

Well, Granddaughter #1 is now officially 3 years old!  Never saw such a pile of presents!  Of course grandpa contributed his share.....  Most of the family on both sides who live nearby plus my son from Chicago all came so there was quite a crowd including 9 little girls under the age of 6.  No boys in the new generation at all!  The biggest grin from Olivia was after opening the Thomas the Train Puzzles I got her.  I would have photos for you, but I left my camera over at my son's house.  I'll get it tomorrow.

Figured out I forgot the camera just as I came through Geneva.  Would have turned around and gone back but there was a major accident on rts. 5 & 20 just where it comes into Geneva and traffic was going very slow through, and being detoured through the middle of Geneva.

I finished another turnout tonight.  This one may be the best so far.  Just needs to get the PC ties painted and it is ready to be put on the layout. Only two more to go for this area.

I also sat here and made phone calls to all of the graduates (HS and College) from the church for the Baccalaureate Breakfast the Deacons put on every year.  It is one of the not so fun parts of being Moderator of the board.  Only 3 families out of 17 had responded to the RSVP in the invitation by the deadline.  I am expected to contact the college graduates as well as the HS ones.  Some of these are almost impossible to track down.  "Oh, you mean your not going to drive over from Aspen Colorado for the breakfast?"  (Actually one of the kids is in Aspen Colorado as he is a violinist with the Aspen Orchestra (Just got his 2nd Masters Degree I think...)

Packers, nice haul!  Sounds like you are still having a bit of "fun" with the car......

Hope all of you are having a great evening.

73

[Packers#1]

Robby, the new one at Carowinds, the Intimidator, is BEAST! and they even have one of Dale Sr.'s cars in the park. Nice new cement plant. More details of carowinds tomorrow, I'm still bone-tired, just popped in

[pcarrell]

I'm just flippin' thru the pages of this thread, and you guys still do some MOST IMPRESSIVE work!  Great pics all!

[Packer]

Hey ya'll

I'll be in the back catching up on what I've missed. 

Been a hectic past few days for me. On saturday I made a detour on the way to pensacola, and hit the train museum in Milton. They also have a MR club, a hosbby shop, and a scanner hooked up to an intercom. They are right next to a CSX main, so it's a pretty cool spot. When I was there I picked up a walthers LMX B40-8 for $23 with a package of grab irons. They even let me test the unit on the club layout before I bought it. Runs nice and smooth and pulls like a brick. Just after walking out the door with the loco a CSX juice train rolls by and has a C40-8W and a C40-8. They have a bunch of detail parts and paint, so I may make more trecks up there next time I go to P-cola.

After that I hit the trainshow in pensacola and got a pretty decent haul.

    Southern thrall all door
    " 60' box
    " bulkhead flat
    " 85' flat with A-line end weights
    RI 86' autoparts box
    SF "
    GTW "
    IC airslide (special edition)
    CB&Q 57' reffer
    PFE "
    DRGW combo door box
    SP 40' modern box
    WP 50' high cube
        NP thrall gon
    96 33" metal wheelsets
    20 pack of Kadee #5s

All total for the cars plus the dash 8 was $100. The 60's box is a conc-cor and is missing a short ladder. (Anyone know wo makes a decent ladder in HO since I have a few cars that need them?)

My day didn't quite end when the show ended. Work called me in to work a 3 to 10pm, even though I worked a 6-2 today. Fun still didn't end there. When I got back home today the locks on the drivers door in my car weren't working properly. The power lock motor had popped loose of it's mounts, so the door wouldn't stay locked. Had to pull the door panel off and re-attach it. When I re-attached the door panel the chipboard (why chipboard?!?!) cracked in a few spots. more stuff to fix... So pretty hectic, and I'm pretty tired

[TMarsh]

Checked on my roads this morning. They lightened up some, that's good, but the streaky stripes are more prominent now and that's bad. Leveled out a couple of buildings with strips on the bottom so they sit well with the sidewalk.

Visited Mom, then the rains came, didn't mow and now the skies are getting dark thunder and a storms coming.

Welp there goes the warning on the TV. Shutting down. Maybe I'lll go to the basement. While I'm down there.........

[galaxy]

Robby P.

Galaxy.......My layout is a 12x15 (for now).  I already expanded it last year.  As far as finishing the basement, that won't happen.  The roof is only about 6'5 feet.  Between that and duct-work, it just won't happen.  Plus the wife let me have the whole thing, other than the unfinished bathroom in the basement.  

 Here's a couple more shots.  I painted some, and later this week will be the weathering/signs.

That is the size of my entire LR. Lucky you have a whole basement to work with.  If I was single like Jeffrey, I might could turn teh LR into a train room totally, but not gonna happen. Have to wait till I have a place to put it. I'd finish off that bathroom quickly....shorten the time you spend away from the layout when you gotta...you know...go.

EDIT: I got top honors again so Ice Cream Sundaes for everyone on this hot and muggy day!

[Robby P.]

Galaxy.......My layout is a 12x15 (for now).  I already expanded it last year.  As far as finishing the basement, that won't happen.  The roof is only about 6'5 feet.  Between that and duct-work, it just won't happen.  Plus the wife let me have the whole thing, other than the unfinished bathroom in the basement.  

 Here's a couple more shots.  I painted some, and later this week will be the weathering/signs.

[TMarsh]

howmus

(she is the one in the family with an infallible sense of direction BTW

Sounds like me. Um.....by the way....... oh, never mind I'll find it.

 

[TMarsh]

Morning. Overslept again. Bad night for the old back/neck/hip/knee probs. Hey at least the shoulder/wrist thing isn't acting up. Got that going for me.

Anywho, gotta mow today after the 1 ½ rain shower we received while I was napping yesterday. Then I guess off to Mom's and I need to visit her also. This week is busy busy busy.

Rob- Hmmmm. Interesting, so you think maybe if there was no Dentist, then the people of Gold Greek would take better care of their teeth? Possibly. Unfortunately, I can't get any of them to open their mouths. Which could pose a problem for any future dental practices locating there.

Robby- Yes. That's one thing I learned from the other layout. And actually paid attention too and did different on this one . I laid the entire downtown this time then colored it as a whole. I quit where the road surface changes or ends at a 40" drop. That alone looked better than before. Unfortunately the appearence isn't what I wanted, but somewhat livable. There is more streaking and variations in shades than I want. A lot more. But, I've been thinking and have a plan that may solve that.

(cups hands over mouth to create a deeper muffled tone) More on the plan in the next episode when we return to the on going saga of, "The ReBuilding of Gold Creek"

G- Ha ha!!! You must have been down during the great "bathroom in Robby's basement" event.

Tom PA- I'm sorry to hear of your neighbor, but knowing several people who suffered with cancer, my Father as one, it was probably a blessing. My prayers for the family.

Well, I guess we'll have to have those steaks I had for to use Ryan's Finger Lickin' Rub on today without him. Too bad, I was looking forward to it but there will be no time to eat dinner together for the rest of this week so the steak will have get eaten today. It's not Ryan's fault, I believe I ordered last Sunday and he mailed Monday morning? Or was it same day on Monday. Oh well either way he mailed it fast. It's the postal routing system. I only hope they are hanging it out the window saying "look folks! This stuff is great!" Hope they don't give out samples though, oughta be pretty much covering the southeast and central US. Not enough to go around I wouldn't think.

Have a Great Day!!!

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'llhave the #2 special, over easy on the eggs, bacon, homefries, and a double order of sourdough toast.  I'll go keep Barry company at the Rivet Counter.

Cederstrand

Ray, what brand of retaining wall did you use? My wife really likes the look of it and we all know what THAT means.

 

Rob, I think those all came from Woodland Scenics.  The ones on the right I have had sitting on the shelf for about 25 years.  Now that I think about it I believe all of those were put in place before my wife died and that was almost 23 years ago.  So it is just a guess........

Galaxy, yes I am fortunate to have a whole basement for myself.  Even has a house over it so I don't have to sleep down there.......

Getting ready to go over tp my son's house for the birthday party!  Have the presents wrapped, and the [potato salad sitting in the fridge. Just waiting for my sister to show up so she can follow me over there.  She has been there, but is afraid she would get lost........  (she is the one in the family with an infallible sense of direction BTW...... Or so she says.)

Right now it is 63°F outside and I am sitting here sweating!  Humidity is at 96% and a cloud is sitting on the ground (aka foggy).  One part of the forecast says increasing rain but ending by 1PM.  It also says no precipitation.....  Go figure?

Best be moving along.  I'll catch you all this evening.

73

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All..Its sunny and 78 here headed for the low 90's..We had storms yesterday evening..power was out for 2 hours..I was stuck in my lift chair..battery back up didn't work!..I'll have coffee and sweet roll please ..thank you..Not much railroading today my Brother is coming and my Son and his family..You all have a good one...Jerry

[tcwright973]

Although rain showers are predicted for around here, we should still have a good time today. This afternoon we will see "Miss Saigon" at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. The wife has been a season ticket holder for many years now and we have seen some great performances. As is our custom, following the show, we will have dinner at one of our favorite reataurants. The only downside is that any railfanning is out for today.

A neighbor passed away Friday morning. He had suffered with cancer for a couple of years and was in pretty bad shape at the end. We went to a few train shows together after he retired. Although I'm into "HO", I enjoy all the various gauges, including his "O" gauge layout. He wasn't big into scenery, but had a very interesting track plan which allowed him to run 3 trains at once. As he was the last person around here who was interested in trains, I'll miss our conversations and looking for those all elusive bargains and gems hidden underneath the tables.

Here's hoping everyone is having a great weekend.

Tom

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 76 and partly cloudy. The high is expected to be 95 and it will be mostly sunny.

Yesterday I told my nephew that if he has my gas tank installed and fully operational (no leaks) by no later than Monday evening there's a 12 pack of his favorite beer waiting for him in my fridge. If he does get it done he will be surprised to find that it's actually a case. If he doesn't get it done, well, I know a few people who can make use of a case of beer. I went over yesterday and mowed my parent's yard while it was still somewhat cool. Being that it was partly cloudy made it more bearable and I didn't get roasted. In transportation news, I'll be glad when I have the van back on the road. The injector system on the car is getting worse. It still starts up on the first crank but uses so much gas that it makes a thick black cloud then after a few seconds it leans out to something that's close to normal. To make things even more interesting the radiator fan no longer works so I have to keep moving. This means staying away from areas where traffic jams are likely t6o occur and use the side streets. This newest problem is on top of a bad injector system, a flaky tranny, a brake system with a history of failures, an electrical system that has a history of shorts and an engine that's starting to burn oil. I could get it all fixed but I can't see spending 3 to 4 thousand dollars on a car that's worth at the most maybe 400 dollars. Actually I'll be glad to be rid of it. I never could work on it without having to get some expensive tool or using a manual that looked like it was written by a group of rocket scientists. The van is of much older technology that I'm more used to and know how to work on and can do so without having to buy Tom Swift's tool set. So far I haven't had to use anything more complicated than an adjustable wrench.

[galaxy]

Morning all!

Bacon exra crispy {but not burned} and scrambled eggs with raisin toast, please.

Robby P>> I am envious of your space on your layout! Looks good and looks like you still have room to add more. SOmeday, I, too, I hope shall have such space! I take it you have no probs with the "CEO/CFO" of your household over your layout space? WHat if she wants to finnish off the basement to add more value to your house?

Ray- you have more space in that one section with the new turnout than I have for my whole layout! looks mighty good to me.

Glad to see Jeffrey finally made it on yesterday. Hope he has better luck getting online today! 

Well, I never did get to working on the train room yesterday. HAd other things and wasn't feeling well. TOday I MUST tackle loading /unloading the dishwasher and running some laundry. that alone will wear out my back, but perhaps I can get some on the train room done. SOmewhere in there is the dehumidifier that I have to find and put into service as the house is starting to smell musty. A/C does dry out the air somewhat, but after ahile moisture does accumulate in here. Especially afte lots of rain like we've had this week.

Hope everyone has a great double digit of fun day!

 

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Its a hot/muggy morning.

 I hope to get some more done on my plant today.  I don't like how the black area came out.  I will get that faded, and hopefully it will look better.  I still gotta add ladders, signs, etc....

 Todd......Thanks for the comments.  I quit laying down the road, and then painting it.  I was worried I was going to have all of roads a different color.  Now I just pour the road, and it will be painted later.

 Rob.......I need to work on the sign some more.  I kinda put it together real fast.  It still needs some work.  Plus it (the picture) helps the layout some .

[Cederstrand]

Columbian coffee in a   SOUTHERN  mug, please. 

***Ray, what brand of retaining wall did you use? My wife really likes the look of it and we all know what THAT means.

***Todd, what if you have no dentist office at all. Could that alone prevent tooth decay in the first place? Sure wish growing grass on a layout (not to mention other scenic stuff) was as simple as letting in some light. Now THAT would be outstanding.

Have a good day y'all.

Cheers! Rob

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning people--

We are socked in with fog this morning--22C with a humidity of 99%. Geeesh.Supposed to clear up and be 24C today--a little cooler than yesterdays 31C with a 90% humidity.

I'm going to be spending it in the trainroom and actually getting some work done on my layout---I have a section of mainline that needs to be redone so that there will be no more accidents on that stretch of road--

Chloe, I'll just have a coffee for now please---I'll decide what I'll have a little later----I'll be at the RC for now

[ns3010]

 Evening all.

May or may not be in tomorrow (or most of the week, at that) because I'll be busy studying for exams... Joy...

I'll be ordering some stuff from Walthers before the end of the month. I'm gonna get an Airslide hopper for the bakery, 3 gondolas for MOW service, and I'll start buying cork, so the track gang can get a start.

Also scheduled my 6 driving hours for the week after the upcoming one.

Not much going on here. I'll catch ya guys later!