Elliot´s Trackside Diner DECEMBER 2010

[BamaCSX83]

Good evening/early morning all.  Just stopping in for a warm glass of milk before bed.  Today was a long day, got the thermostat replaced in the Venture van that I spoke of, then after that I went to my "real" job.  When I got home this evening I had to put Heather (my 3-year old, and oldest) bed together (her Christmas present), and I also wanted to stop by here before crashing for the night. 

Just checked the weather for my area for the next few days and I keep seeing the work sn*w mentioned.  A white Christmas might be fun, especially since there hasn't been one here since 1946 (long before I was thought of), so I'm praying for a little snow to cover the ground on Christmas day. 

Gotta close again today at w*rk, but I don't have to be there until 1:30 so at least I'll get to sleep in this morning.

Ken, my deepest and sincerest apologies on the loss of the job, but as everyone has already said, keep the faith and the man upstairs will take care of you.  Who knows, perhaps once things are settled with the courts all 8 of you will be rehired, or you will find something better.  I'll be praying for either/both for ya.

Welp y'all, I'm off to bed, I can hear the wife gently snoring and its starting to make me think I should definitely do the same...

Later taters!

[wetidlerjr]

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

[galaxy]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOd MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOrning!

TIME TO WAKE UP!

Up early to go help a friend do some stuff. Hope my back holds out for awhile I'll be standing. Not to taxing, As i can periodically sit a spell and help to. Then we have horse'derves with said friends, exchange gifts, have dinner, then Black FOorest cake with Kirschwassa and vodka soaked cherries, and then come home exhausted without our naps.

Yep, a full day.

You all will just have to miss me!

Have a great day everyone!

TTYLATER

[Wisconsin Railfan]

Good Morning Folks!

Cup Of Coffee Please

Have  a Great Day All!

Steven

[LSWrr]

Good Morning,

I hope to drop in the diner tomorrow and Saturday but if I don’t Merry Christmas to all….

 

Garry & Todd, they have her on a couple of inhalers and some other drugs, she decided to see a different doctor for a second opinion.

 

Flip, I’ve been trying not to buy more rolling stock this year.  Maybe I’ll have better luck in 2011.

 

Ken, sorry to hear about the job.

 

Went to the club Christmas Party last night, very quiet we only have 5 members these days.  The club layout is in the basement of the historical society that will be closed now until mid February.  So we might have the guys over to my layout a couple of nights to run trains.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning..

Ken: Man, that sux huge. I'm thinking the same as some others here though. There are other doors that do open. When I took my PSW I had the same issues...I ended up with a good paying profession here...even with the heart issues.

JohnDer: Tascam, Zoom, Roland all have portable recorders that have that tripod option on them...look for the ones that have also an external mic connection as well---that does come in handy...

Good Morning.. 

We got another 6" dumped on us last night..now we are back to plowing out the driveway ...again...with the Powerwagon ..and what is more fun is that there is expected another 4-6" of the dang stuff...AGAIN later this evening..

Oh well, later on this afternoon Audrey and I will be headed out to the Diner down the road from us so we can sit with our neighbours and watch other people go nuts with their shopping 

...as for the pie fight. I was  not there....

Flo, I'll have a coffee and a toast with jam please...and I'll be at the RC for a bit....

[Anonymous]

Good Afternoon,

Janie, just coffee for me, please.

It´s done - I finished the  business plan paper, so it can be turned in before year end. No more chores before Christmas!

Yesterday, when I went to the train station to fetch Christian, the heater and fan of my car refused to work. It´s not going to be a big repair, but as it can´t be done before next week, this means we won´t be able to go to my parent´s place on Sunday To say I am p... off by that is only a slight understatement!

Ken - I am sorry to hear about your loss of the new job. Hopefully, 2011 will turn out to be a better year on the job front for the two of us!

It is snowing again, a day to be spent on the sofa, enjoying some of the goodies Petra has made for Christian (if I get any of it).

CUL

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Just got about half a inch of fresh snow last night.   Nothing to write to home about thou.  Mainly snow showers all week. 

 I will try to get some more shopping done this morning.  Not to much, but just a few small things.  Lets see what else.......Go by the bakery and get some pizza shells.   Maybe run by the library and get some MRR magazines. 

 Vincent.........Glad you got the car, and you like the look of it.  PUT IT TO GOOD USE !!!

 Ken..........That's bad about the job, and its like they forget that people have lives.   Keep your head up (which I know its hard to do, believe me), and I'm sure something will come along .

[cudaken]

 Morning folks.

 Flo, some corn flakes and a glass of milk please.

 I do keep telling my self there is something better around the corner as far as work, but don't know if I still believe it any longer. 

 One of the things the things I regret is I missed a interview for a job because I was in training and had a few calls that I never got back to. Well, we know about hind sight don't we.

 There where a few things I was not crazy about with Ashely. But I love the fact it was only a 40 hour work week, 6 miles from my house, and you had 5 days off with pay after 6 months and 10 days after a year.

 OH well, time to start looking again and I really did want to get out of sales anyway.

                Ken

[TMarsh]

Good Morning! Coffee please. Thanks.

Last day it sounds. Then tonight after midnight….sn*w. Thankfully, nothing like some of you have.

Trainroom today? Not a bad idea. We shall see what this crazy life brings my way this glorious day. Hopefully it is in the cards.

Y’all have a Great Day now ya hear?!!!

[ns3010]

Morning all. *Ducks from XXXL stack of pancakes flying past my face*
Great, I see that SOMEONE *cough, Barry, cough* has taken the catapult out again...

FINALLY ON BREAK!!!!! It's about time...

Last night, I made a gingerbread house, and I was thinking of bringing it in to share, but 1) I can't trust you guys to keep your paws off it until Christmas, and 2) I can't trust any of you to not throw it, either.
So I'll deliver it late tomorrow night...

Well, I've got a semi-long day ahead of me. My mom asked me to make the last of the cookies, I have to finish cleaning up my room and downstairs (aka the train room) and vacuum. Then I have the rest of the day to myself (until the powers that be come home and give me part two of the list of things to do...).

I'll be back later to do some catching up and whatnot.

[LSWrr]

Ken if you go to www.usajobs.gov and find something you may be eligble for I’ll help you apply for it.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 39° and mostly sunny. The high should be 56° with increasing cloudiness. The high for Christmas Eve is expected to be 65°.

Today I'm toying with an idea about tearing down an old caboose and combining parts of it with a 50' flatcar to make some kind of work caboose. I had been thinking about trying to get some work done on the layout today (and I still might) but right now my ankle hurts too much to be on my feet for more than a few minutes. I do hope that nothing else comes up today but that may be asking too much.

[teen steam fan]

Hey guys. Merry Christmas to all

Here's something I found that's quite interesting 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVmjrs8r7sY

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, bowl of "Hot Cream of Wheat", brown sugar, and a cup of Dark Roast Coffee w/ several refills.....  Tell Barry to put the catapult away!  Must be his arm is able to work again.....

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas......"  Yep we got some partly cloudy going on here in the Finger lakes at the moment.  Currently 25°F out there with a 15 mph wind (gusts to 20 mph).  No significant accumulation expected.

Ken, I feel very bad for you!!!  What a bummer....  As others have said, something better will come your way.  just hang in there!  You are in my prayers.......

Best get more wood on the fire so I can get a few needed things done here and stay warm at the same time....

Later!

73

[Paul W. Beverung]

Afternoon Gang:

I want to wish all of you a  Merry Christmas. Right now I'm getting ready to head back to the U.P. and get to attacking the brush so I can work on my fence. This has been going on for the last month off and on. I expect it will continue for another month or two. It's like a jungle down there. I feel like I'm building the Burma railroad.

You all take care.  

[krump]

Good Afternoon everyone,

the snow has been keeping us busy for days now (repeat performances over the past month), and now I see that there is a brigade of snowmen surrounding the house.  me thinks the kids are having fun.  Merry Christmas to all.

mocha to go please

[cudaken]

 Afternoon folks.

 Flo, please.

 Ben rattling around the house today with a total feeling of being lost. In other words bored silly! Don't feel like working on the current layout because I want to tear it down. Don't want to tear it down do to the fact I don't know if I can keep the house to finish it.

 Lee Thanks for the link! Looks like a lot of the jobs listed you need to go or be in a Reserve or all ready be a government employee. I guess being a Vet helps. I saw a few job's I feel qualified to do, but would need to change around my Resume. Would you have time to chat on a land line after Christmas or before?

 Talk at you all later.

         Bored Ken

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Just sizing up the body for my work caboose project.

[Packer]

Hey guys.

Got some more work done on the car today. Managed to get the transmission and clutch out. That area seems to be one part of the car no one else except the person at the factory was touched. The clutch was really wore out, missing pieces of the metal disc, rivets almost in contact with the flywheel, fingers bent, etc. I was pretty impressed the factory clutch lasted for 17 years, and over 212,000 miles. Once I get the flywheel off and one I had resurfaced in, I'm putting in a Spec stage one.

Ken, sorry to hear about your job. Hope you get another one fast.

Rob, dunno how much I'd actually be using it. I don't have a layout at the moment (no space)

John, Might re-visit the issue when I get one of the SW15s that are gonna be coming out. They have the beacon over the cab (not on the lip foward of the cab) so it'd be a bunch easier to light.

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Flo, just a cup of decaf for me.  Need to go sit by the stove in the back and relax for a while.

Got a photo of the boys just being their lovey selves yesterday....  40 lbs of kitties sleeping on my chair by my computer.  A moment earlier they were sleeping with their little faces touching, heads butted together.  Manet turned his head and looked up at me when the flash clicked open on the camera.  He then settled back down, but didn't put his head back where it was.  The chair is almost two foot deep BTW!

Been busy today getting a whole lot of little things done.  Had to go get my allergy injections, so while i was out I drove down to Earle Estates Meadery about half way down Seneca Lake to pick up some last minute gift items.  Ended up getting 6 bottles of various mead wines.  Got to sample one while I was there......  Oh, oh, oh GOOOOOOOOODDDDD!

When I left the house, I walked down the driveway and ended up skating on Black Ice all the way down the driveway and into the road....  Lucky no one was coming and the street had been sanded.....  So I took to the lawn and went back in the house and salted all the open area in the driveway before I left.  Took a while to scrape about an 1/8" of ice off the car windows as well.  Got a bit of freezing rain last night!

Spent much of the afternoon creating the years supply of fire starters for the wood stove.  Just ran out this morning  after using the last of last years.  These are made from the paper egg cartons, and old candle wax my sister gives me.  She loves candles and has them going any time she has company at the house.  The left overs she saves for me.  I pour the molten candle wax into the egg cartons, and after they cool cut them up on the band saw down cellar.

Last summer I got a pail full of various sized rock dust and small stone from the Seneca Quarry located just South of Seneca Falls.  A few days ago I found on line a set of sieves made for Science Students.  Showed up yesterday.  It sorts the stone into 5 different sizes from over 1/4" down to a very fine powder.  I got to work this evening with them:

I posed the question I asked in here a couple days ago to the MMR who is my mentor for the NMRA AP.  Should I use rock tailings/stone dust/crusher run as ballast or regular ballast, in the engine house/workshop at the quarry or should I use a wood floor over the ties?  Here is his answer......

"am assuming the part of the quarry management.
 
Planks over ties for a walkway for the workers.  No way -  too expensive.  Let them learn to walk on the ballast. If they get hurt, tough.
 
I will not pay good money for stone ballast when I can use my tailings.  My workers can spread it and it also solves a minor disposal problem.  If the workers do not like it, they can find employment elsewhere.
 
Profit, profit, profit.
 
Bah humbug."

Guess what I will do there.....?   I will end up using a mix of the 3 smallest sizes of stone I sorted tonight....  Basically Crusher Run.

Hope you all have a great evening!

73

 

[Harris Creek Central]

Just one comment on any natural material.  I don't know what your findings would be in your area, BUT...I have checked buckets of regular sand from our local beaches, and they are full of metal particals.. Even worse was a bucket of sand from the ocean near Naniamo, BC..  It had even larger particals of mineral.

To test the material take any strong magnet...rattle it around through the sand, dirt or whatever. You may be surprised how much material will adhere to the magnet.

Now, if you use any of this for ballasting, make very very sure it is all glued down tight....If you run any engine over this material the magnets in the motor will attract any of the loose mineral deposits and you can gum up a motor very fast.

Merry CHRISTMAS

Harvey in Kelowna, BC.

[howmus]

Thanks Harvey!  Already done.  This is quarried limestone from a deposit found here throughout the Finger Lakes Region. While there are several types of limestone in the deposit (Dolamite, Oriskany Quartzite, and lots of fossils, etc.) there is nothing that would attract a magnet.  I took a couple very strong magnets and ran them through some of the fine material.  Nothing stayed on the magnets.  It was one of my first tests for the stuff!

There is very little ferrous metal ore in this area either so I think I should be fine using the limestone from the quarry.  Now with sand like you had......  The sand is most likely from a variety of sources and would likely have ferrous metal ores, etc. in it.  THAT can really mess up things.....!!!

73

[BamaCSX83]

Good evening all.  Just stopping in for a nightcap.  No, not that kind, just a warm glass of milk before I head off to sleep.  Things went well today at w*rk, got much accomplished, goofed off equally much.  Been a little slow but it has been allowing us to catch up on things like price changes and planograms.  Although we did have one small glitch, our label printer went ape today!  Just kept reprinting the same POG over, and over, and over again....finally called our tech support (which is a call center in India) and let them know what was happening, they basically told us to leave the printer on, but leave the cover open so it wouldn't run and that they would run the issue up to the next level of tech support (completely wasted time...but its procedure), and yeah, they didn't call at all tongiht, maybe they will tomrorow. 

Welp, nothing else happening, might get back to painting locomotives tomrorow night after going to my BIL's house for gift giving and fellowship. 

Guess I'll check everything else out before I head off, goodnight to all and pleasant dreams.

Later taters!

[bjdukert]

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Best to all on sick call and those recovering

Duke

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

 

 

[TMarsh]

(yaaaawn) Mornin Bill

Merry Christmas to you too Duke.

Sinus pressure. Waiting for the Aspirin and sudafed to kick in.

 

[LSWrr]

Ken, the trick is to build a basic resume then go into the job like you were going to apply for it and print the questions and the job description.  Your answers to the questions need to be supported in your resume. Some of the jobs require you to provide essay type answers.  These answers should be less than 3000 words and I recommend typing it in MS-Word then cut and paste, grammar and spelling count.  A federal Job resume is nothing like what you have been taught.  The more details the better.  The reader wants to know everything relevant to the job description and they will not call for clarification. You can’t go back and edit it after you submit it. The system allows you to upload documents.  You should have your relevant documents scanned as a PDF and ready to go.  You also need to focus on “KEY WORDS”.  If the job requires you to operate a Binford 3000 you should use the word Binford 3000 as often as you can without sounding like an idiot.  The first cut is often done by a computer counting key words.  Let me know what you want to do we can set up an evening after work next week and I’ll help you out. There is a preference for Honorably discharged military members, purple heart recipients’, and disabled American Veterans  with a disability rating 30% or higher.

[LSWrr]

Good morning,

Friend of mine gave me a $25 gift certificate for the LHS, so after work yesterday I stopped in and bought two AAR Standard 50 TON flat cars, Proto 2000, with loads. My LHS has good deals, but you have to find them.  My LHS has a ton of Branchline Blue Print series kits on sale, 20% off. Not sure what he is going to do with them, they have been on sale for over a year now.

Less than 24 hours till Christmas!

[inch53]

Mornin,,, an irish coffee please Zoe..

Well it’s that time of year again, when Santa’s getting the reindeer all gassed up for their busy night, and he’s about ready

We took some grand kids to get the tree, and Yazee wanted to help with the decorations.

 

The cat enjoyed the tree also.

Some will get just what they wanted and some will not.

 

Hope ya’ll has a gooden