Elliot's Trackside Diner July 2010

[CNCharlie]

Good Evening Diners,

Ryan, great to hear from you! We don't care if you haven't been doing much on the RR, we just like to know what our Diner buddies are doing. Who said busy-body?

Ulrich, it must be a great relief now that the temp has cooled off. Long ago, early '70's, I lived in Barry's town and remember 2 weeks of over 90 and same for the humidity. My apartment wasn't air conditioned nor was my car and it sure got tiring after a while. Mind you few people had air back then and fewer had it in their cars. I used to say I had 60 mile an hour air conditioning. The faster you go, the cooler you got, well at least it was more windy.

Lee, if you were in International Falls, you were close to the town where I went to high school, only 60 miles further west. My parents house was on the Rainy River and so we looked out on Minnesota on the opposite bank. Those CN loco shots in Duluth would have been on the DW&P line. There is an interchange yard across the river from International Falls in Fort Frances.

Not much RR activity on my part. I opened the packages for the Woodland Scenic trees and sprayed Dull Coat on the trunks but that is about it for the week. Can't get into it this week, but I have been very tired with this cold bug I have.

We took Pippa in to get her kidney function checked as she is on some drugs that could cause problems but luckily everything is fine. She is doing quite well right now and who knows, she might make her 16th birthday at the end of Oct. Oh, for those not familiar Pippa is a dog, opps, sorry Pippa, a Princess, so 16 years is a long time.

Not much planned for this week-end. A friend is taking us out for dinner tomorrow night. She comes from Freiburg, perhaps Ulrich knows it?  She is a retired pharmacist who has led an interesting life especially her stories about growing up in Germany before and during the war. Her father was anti-Nazi so it is amazing he wasn't imprisoned. He was fired from his job as a Professor for his views and had to hide out in the woods on more than one occasion when the Gestapo came calling.

Well it is getting close to East Enders time, so I'll sign off for now.

CN Charlie

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 WHOA!! The diner done slid down to page 2! Can't be having that.

Well my GP7's didn't come in today. UPS got balled up on the address. They'll try again Monday.

[Flashwave]

*Sigh* Snort, snark snarl grmble groan...

Moma nd Boyfriend are going to the Nascar Truck race (tis Brickyard season here in lovly boiling Indiana) with the motorcycle gang. Which, means no room for yours truly, so I get left behind. I I really wish I could say that this was the first time that such a thing has happened, but it's a frequent occurance. And HE has the nerve to claim I'm not a contributing member of the "family" while HE obsconds with Mumsky and leaves e to rattle around an empty house and fight off depression. So tonight, I get ot help "steal" a washer out of Dad's house. I'd rather it get used than dumpstered, since most home sales are gonna just buy the house and pitch the contents... I LOATHE life some times. Oh, wait that's supposed to say love isn;'t it. I wish I had trains...

Sorry, I'll put the soapbox away before someone trips on it again. Didn;t realize I was standing on it.

[Cederstrand]

Strong Italian Roast coffee in a  SULTRY SOUTHERN  mug, please. 

***Todd, so why did your friends build a house so close to the tracks, or did they just buy one that close? That is certainly close enough to experience all the sensations of a train rolling by. I once rented an apt that was around 30' from tracks back in WA. Loved it.

***Allegheny2-6-6-6, how about the next size up live-trap from the one you're using with vaseline all around the important trigger parts, just barely set so it will spring at the lightest of touch?

***Ryan, nice to see you. Don't be such a stranger.

***Lee, nice assortment of pics on those pages. Interesting bridge there. Handsome moose. But my favorite might just be those trains, even if they are diesels and not steamers.

***J.R., thanks for the recommendation. Today I'll peruse pics of (HO) Bar Mills sidewalks (and others) to determine if they will work well for the wife's town. Time to measure and figure out how much will be required.

Lawnmower trouble: After leaving charger on battery during rain storm (OOPS), I went out today and started up the lawnmower. (haven't checked the charger out yet) Anyway, still only runs with half choke on and near or at full throttle. If I try pushing in choke, engine becomes excessively "rythmic" and begins to backfire? I'm at a loss. Replaced the fuel filter and air filter is still clean. Added a water removing treatment to gas tank last week, incase this issue was a condensation thing. Any suggestions?

Have a good day all.

Rob

 

 

 

 

[Wisconsin Railfan]

Good Day All!

 

Been awhile since I stopped by, so I though I would so HI!  Temp here is 95 with a heat index of 101

 

Steven

[tcwright973]

Right now it's 86 here in Pittsburgh, but with the humidy they are reporting a heat index of 95 or 96. The actual temperature is suppose to get into the low 90's later. All I know is I went out to do a little work in the back yard after lunch, but beat a hasty retreat back into the house after about a half hour. It's just plain nasty out there.

I think a quick shower and a nap will fit nicely into this afternoon's schedule. Stay cool everybody.

Tom

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Lee ...great photos of Duluth. This one belongs on a calendar: DSCN0831 ... Perhaps you can sell it. ... I used to go to Duluth for work. 

 

[LSWrr]

http://community.webshots.com/album/578231144jurLuQ?vhost=community

 

Some pictures from Duluth Canal, Spilt rock Lighthouse, and rainer, MN

[Packers#1]

 Ryan, glad you're back!

Well, I'm headed to greenville today, then the mountains tomorrow, so I won't be back until thursday or so. see you folks then!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hey, Ryan .... good to see you! .... What spice to you suggest for gopher stew?

[howmus]

 Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, one of those egg on a muffin things with Canadian Bacon would hit the spot this morning.  I also need a cup of dark roast coffee in a R&GV Mug please.

Currently 70°F here in the Finger Lakes, but the high will be a hot humid 82°F this afternoon.  As Barry would say, "Dull, dull, dull....."  Rain most of the day is predicted with a flood watch for the area.  We got almost an inch overnight and so far this morning. 

Speaking of Barry..........  So you're getting a defribbbllerator thingy, huh?  Well I sure hope it does its job well and you will be around for a long time.  Hey, next year the NMRA Div. around Woodstock will be putting on a convention again.  Probably the same weekend as the Train Show.  Maybe our paths will cross again....

Just got a call from the camera shop.  My new lens is in.  Now I just have to figure out how I am going to pay for it........

Alleghany, good luck with the woodchuck.  You are having problems like you can have with any squirrel.  According to my son the Fish And Wildlife expert  (he gots a Dee-gree init) they are the largest member of the ground squirrel family......  You get him!  Sooner or later!

Well, best get moving.  Lots of things to do before the ceremony tonight.

Later!

73

[edit] Ryan...  You most certainly have been missed!  Just the other day I used some of your "Finger Licking Rub" and was wondering where you have been!  Don't be a stranger!

[SilverSpike]

Good morning folks!

My absence here has most likely gone unnoticed, save for a few noble folks who continue to email. But since I really have had nothing to contribute in the way of MR or layout progress in the past 8 months I never have much to add.

Alas, today a fellow on my Stumble Upon friends list sent me this page on "The Future of Train Transportation", and this is what is known as a concept idea for possible future production of passenger train travel. Quite interesting indeed, I hope you think so also!

http://itechfuture.com/train-transportation-future/

On the cooking front, here is my latest:

Black and Bleu Chicken (Noir et bleu de poulet)

 

Have a great weekend!

Thoughts are prayers for all in need, recovery, and bed rest! 

 

 

 

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All..Its sunny and hot here..posta hit mid 90's..I'll have coffee and a sweet roll..I been sorting thru magazines and trying to find some railroad books that I can't find....I did find my bound first year of Model Railroader that they put out a few years ago and a 1953 Railroad Directory...still looking for a couple of IC books an one on Wabash...well better get back to it...you all have a good one...Jerry

[Allegheny2-6-6-6]

 Well it's going to be a hot one here today in the north east so what else is new so I got a bunch of my chores done early. Sprayed weedkiller with the tractor and by hand all along the lane and around the barns at the farm this morning. Power washed some equipment and dropped the dogs off at the vet for some shots and check ups. Will need to leave in a while to go get the pesky pack of canines. Zoe I'll take an extra large regular to go and a porkroll egg & chess  on a roll (that's a Jersey thing)

Well Mr. Gopher is a smart little sucker he picked the trap clean again and I think he's either reaching in over the treadle or it may just need to have the tension rest on it. It's one of those "have a heart traps" and the only thing lately I've been catching is the neighbors cat. I don't want to use old style steel traps of Connor bear traps  as I don't want to hurt or trap any animal other then Mr. Gopher. To set the record straight I used to hunt a lot but don't have the time for it any more, don't fault those who do actually kind of envy them being out in nature and all. Our yard and property is some what of a nature sanctuary if you want to call it that for most animals. With the exception of the one neighbors mastiff who was roaming the neighborhood one day and was trying to chase down a baby fawn in our backyard. He's lucky he only caught the business end of a shovel instead of a bullet. We have tons of bird feeds and bunnies so the Turkey buzzards seem to think it's a buffet or at least they used to until I started shootin em in the head with the 22.

So it's going to take some creative thinking to take care of my Gopher friend who is really starting to get a little too brazen. The kid next door has a little Yorkie pup who is cute as all heck and he was in the back yard yesterday yapping up a storm and there was Mr. Gopher who out weighed him by probably 20 lbs at least on the other side of the fence staring him down. Well it's time for Mr. Gopher to leave one way or the other Ok all try and have a good day and stay cool their talking more heat here this weekend in the triple digits again so make sure you stop back in and have a couple of tall glasses of sweet tea and enjoy the A/C.

Oh yeah Vincent if that Bondo hasn't harden up by now it's not going to, you may want to scrape it all off and grind it clean and put on some fresh stuff. Unfortunately I've seen it more times then I would have cared to where you get bad batches of the stuff and even on very humid days it has a hard time curing, don't really use plastic much strictly a lead man myself.

[TMarsh]

Good Morning. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 106. All in all, not too bad. A bit on the nippy side, but with a light jacket I should be fine.

Not going to be able to fix truck for friend. Just don't have time with Mom's remodel on the house. Goal is to have it done by Sept 1. There is a lot of work and so far this week something or someone has kept me from being able to get out there. That means one week, the first week, is gone and nothing done. Flip That House!!! Episode 1.

Still no layout work other than the look in the door and check that it's still there.

UP kinda upset the friends who have this truck They live, and I kid you not maybe 15 to 20 feet from the tracks. Not the back of the yard mind you the HOUSE! They have no back yard other than maybe 15 feet before you hit the tracks roadbed. Anyway, they (the contractor for clearing the tracks) went through there with that tree whacking bar and shattered the limbs and sent them flying through screens, tore up siding, a mess. UP had a guy out there and said no problem they would pay to fix it up. Sorry. When asked why they used that in town, he said the trees were hitting the train. It's our property. He said nothing of the burn barrel that HAS to be on their property. All in all a nice guy but probably wonder why in the H*** someone would build that nice of a house right ON the railroad tracks. Train lover or not you have to say they are a bit close for even the truest of fans. Of course they grew up two houses down and they may be 30 feet off the tracks there.

A whole bunch of spikes all along that section are working their way out of the ties. I mean a bunch almost every tie  as far as you could see from the crossing south has one, sometimes two per rail, about half the spike or more sticking up. I said to the guy, "gee it looks like you need to get John Henry out here and re drive those spikes." To which he responded " Hm, there are a lot coming up aren't there. Oh well as long as all of them aren't like that." 

Thank goodnes for those 5 still in there. 

Have a Great Day!!!

[LSWrr]

Good morning all,


I just returned from Minnesota iron and paper country; Duluth, Proctor, Virginia, Rainer, and International Falls.   This weekend I hope to have pictures posted on my web site by the end of the weekend.  I also will tackle the challenge on getting caught up on all the posts. ~Lee

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 74 and partly cloudy. The high will be 96 and it will be partly cloudy.

This morning I have to go into town as my father will be taking his car in to have the AC fixed. Someone has to bring him back home. We'll stop off in town and have breakfast before coming back out here. I got word via email yesterday that my GP7's will arrive via UPS sometime today. The sooner the better. I took time yesterday to install new couplers on some freight cars I obtained in trade a while back. They'll get some weathering then I'll decide whether or not they'll be in service or on display or back in their boxes.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning--

Welp, got some echocardiograms that need done today plus an appointment with a cardiologist about getting a defibrillator put in me---this will be followed by going into w**k and finding out about how things went during my absence. I may actually find some time to get a bit of w**k done on the layout today--hope hope

So, Zoe, I'll take my coffee in a to go cup and a breakfast bagel please--yes, also to go-----have a good one people!!

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Its going to be a hot one.  High near 93 degrees, and the heat index of 95-100 degrees.

 Had some good fun yesterday.  Rode about every ride, but did ride the wooden coasters three times each.  Not much planned today, other than work.

 Hope everybody has a good day.

[wetidlerjr]

[Anonymous]

 Mark,

leave out the beautiful mountain, change the color of the earth to a brownish gray, and you have pretty much captured it. Average temperature for July has been roughly 9 C above the long term average, and rainfall shows a minus of 90 %. We are happy that temps are back to normal now, the heat wave has found its end!

[markpierce]

Sir Madog

Still not enough rain, so Germany pretty much looks like Utah.

You mean like this, the real Utah during a wet (thus, green) Spring?

 

 

Mark

 

 

[Packer]

Hey guys

My father pointed me towards a classified ad where someone had a 1995 mustang (black, tan interior, with a 5-speed) that needed some suspension work (like I'd keep the stock suspension) and minor front end work (replace header panel and a headlight; I have a headlight from my brother's 98 when he hit the house; so I'd just need the header panel). The guy is intrested in a trade, and I'm trying to schedule us to meet for test drives. Personally I'd rather deal with doing mechanical work than body work.

In speaking of which, I'm still waiting on the bondo to dry, and it's been there since Tuesday night. It's at the point where it's kind of dry, but can be dented with a fingernail. Probably will have to hold out for tomorrow or saturday. All else fails bring the silide hammer back out.

Chris, I think some of the instructors I had came straight from Berkley. My county is doing a bunch of similar stuff. They are building a new courthouse on the county fairgrounds. If it's anything like the new DMV, it's gonna look like a palace. The new court house is also smaller than the old one and is not in the same building as the police station. Meanwhile there is a "rebeautification" project with putting up all sorts of decorative signs.

 Like the county you're talking about the local roadways are falling apart, pot holes all over the place (did I mention my rear view came off when I hit one a few weeks ago?). On the main artery through downtown a both bridges have pot holes so large that they take up multiple lanes, have some road surface breaking at the joints, and are so deep in spots one can see the layers of steel, concrete, asphalt, and clay (dunno why that's there) that were used in the bridge, and a few spots look like you can see the water below (a 50' drop I might add). Another bridge (a toll bridge at that) is in such bad shape the speed limit is 20, when it was 50 a few years ago. Apparently the cables that keep the sections together are very badly rusted and deteriorated.

BTW, I head you on those tiny screws. the Atlas EV caboose has some really tiny ones.

Allhegheny, Sorry to hear about your friend. Since your trap is one of those cage types, maybe you could wrap some finer screen around the trap so the fruit won't come out when he rocks (sounds like he may be rocking it around to get the fruit out) it.

Never have dealt with groundhogs, but I can safely say keeping squirrels out of a hanging bird feeder is a pain. I've tried all sorts of things but nothing works. I'm thinking of a way to taze (probably fry/electrocute with the power *lawn mower or car battery* source I have in mind) them when they try to get on the feeder.

[Cederstrand]

The Insomniac's Special, please.

***Jim, a vanadium-uranium mine, excellent choice. Glow in the dark cars wouldn't be difficult to make for running a night train. Hey, you could do a black light effect, too. Would enjoy seeing some pics as you progress with it. The New River Mine on my layout is pretty far fetched, as it will be attached to the base of a vulcano for mineral collecting.

Wife & I did some further research for her layout tonight. We watched "Countdown To Liquor Day".

Have a good night y'all.

Rob

[Anonymous]

 Good Morning Everyone,

finally, it has cooled down - seems as if the worst is over now. Still not enough rain, so Germany pretty much looks like Utah.

Zoe, make that a bucket of coffee, for me, and a breakfast bagel to munch on, thank you!

I tend to forget, how much wildlife you folks over the Big Pond "enjoy". Not much around in our neck of the woods. Maybe that´s why most of the gophers, varmints, pests are now protected animals, much to chagrin of our farmers. And whenever the state wants to build a new road, a rare, nearly extinct animal shows up, stopping the venue and taking the "greens" onto the streets in protest marches. Hunting and fishing requires a license, for which you not only have to pass a test, but you also have to rent the area where you want to hunt. It is very much restricted and extremely costly. Hunting used to be a privilege of the noble, now it is a privilege of the rich. My FIL was a hunter and he spent the better part of his income on his hobby. His family didn´t have to starve, but there was little money left for little "extras".

I´d rather stay with model railroading

Another day - let´s see, what´s in the bag for us today!

[AmanaMedic]

 Good evening, sedation please....

JIM: Fire hose on the trucks, or rolled up for storage is flat. Once you "charge the line" or fill it with water, it rounds. Exceptions: "booster" hose, which is 1" diameter rubber hose found on a reel on the truck; and "hard suction" which is the black lengths of hose found on the side or top of apparatus, used to connect the hydrant with the pump. Booster line and hard suctions are always round. Hope THAT helps ya!

RAY: What one would find upon lifting the tail of a bull is exactly my assessment of said Supervisor! But...him and THAT are tight, so 'tis I who falls upon the sword. Actually, I should've known better. This ***-clown had a 4th of July statement about the Founding Fathers THAT was way skewed and not correct. THAT alone should've made me leery of what he was saying, and I SHOULD have double-checked everything he said about the guy. So...yup, ultimately even though I was quoting the guy it is still my fault.

On the up-side, this is "our" first correction in months. The Cedar Rapids Gazette (daily) had at least TEN corrections on Tuesday.

However, I live by a simple theory: "one oh-shizzle wipes out one hundred atta-boy's." 

Bedtime, since it will be an early morning and long day. I've got facetime with THAT and then I have to go direct from Solon up to Ft. Dodge...about a 3+ hour journey. There, I get to stand in the heat/humidity for the 2 hours or so the game should take, then drive home. 

A good and safe night to everybody, and a better tomorrow for us all.

Chris

[TMarsh]

(yawn)

I don't hunt other than at the grocery store, too lazy, nor do I advocate killing any animal or bug just to be killing it. Just want to make that clear. Those that do i have no problem with especially if they kill to eat it. However, there are instances when some things just have to be. I kow they may have been here first, but a tractor axle is pretty darned expensive and it hurts your nose when you're pitched out of your seat into the windshield after discovering a hole in the ground from a coyote. Nope, don't shoot those either, unlessthey are bothering something. If you saw the damage a bunch of deer can do to a cornfield, you'd probably not believe it. It's man against beast here and we must prevail or be food for animals! If a ground hog is seen it's left alone. Sometimes. If there is a problem, well you know what happens. Armadillos are just as destructive, but at least they're fun.

Prayers for those in need.

[GMTRacing]

TC - Yes I'm here for the Vintage Grand Prix. I'm here to run tech inspection plus run my Lotus18.  I've done most of them and driven in at least half of them. If you ever do want to attend, admission is free and we'd be pleased to show you around. J.R.

[teen steam fan]

I don't have problems with gophers, naturally I'm part Scottish, so, think Caddyshack. My problem is ground squirrels. Once I think one saw me coming at him on my uncle's mower, took off running to his hole, gave me the bird and ducked down.

Sir Madog

Took a snooze around mid-day and had this crazy dream of a piece of land with my name on it. Somewhere in the mountains, right beside a lake, a little log cabin on it. A breeze of cool, fresh air filled my lungs - why did I have to wake up?

I'm in the same boat as you Urlich. I love living out in the country and your dream sounds like paradise to me. beautiful

[tcwright973]

GMTRacing,

I take it your here in the "Burgh" for the Pittsburgh Vintage Gran Prix at Schenley Park. I've never been to one of them, I'll have to try and make it some time. Saturday is a train show in Monroeville, and Sunday is another play at the Civic Light Opera. So those will tie up my time. By the way, "Good Luck" 

Tom