Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Elliot´s Trackside Diner DECEMBER 2010 Locked

60780 views
883 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 10,198 posts
Posted by howmus on Monday, December 27, 2010 2:19 PM

Afternoon folks!

Flo a cup of hot cocoa would do nicely right now....  It is now at the high for the day, 21°F with the wind chill, 8°F...  Wind is currently gusting to 27mph and we have a flurry happening......

I, of course, had to drive downtown to the drug store as I found I was almost out of a couple items....  Managed to get in line right behind a lady who was busy chewing out the pharmacist because she didn't understand something...  The lady (pharmacist) again and again calmly tried to explain what the lady had to do to get something filled, pointing to the paper (not a prescription).  THAT only made the lady yell louder....  After about 15 minutes the pharmacist just shook her head and walked away...  This, of course, really ticked of the lady who was now yelling at everyone including me....  I just smiled and looked the other way....  Ah, Peace on Earth (to those of good will...).

Did 2 loads of wash so far today which means I got some time in the train room. WinkBig Smile  Started putting on some railbars on the new tracks at the quarry.  I find if you put the railbars across the gaps at the frogs (Fast Tracks Turnouts) they effectively hide the gaps.....  Once they are in place, I will paint the track, and then ballast.

Stay warm out there!

73

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

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
    October 2001
  • From: OH
  • 17,574 posts
Posted by BRAKIE on Monday, December 27, 2010 10:46 AM

Good Morning All!

Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes other then there's a change in the wind mates..No modeling yesterday I rested up and goofed off..No big plans for today.

I shall have a cup or three.


Have a good'un! Thumbs Up

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 10,198 posts
Posted by howmus on Monday, December 27, 2010 10:19 AM

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have the same as J. R. only make it a dark roast in a R&GV RR mug. 

Currently 18°F under very gray skies with some little white flakes falling here in the Finger Lakes.  Winds at 17mph with gusts around 25mph.  Good day to sit by the stove and do some odds and ends in the train room.

I highly suggest we move the diner back up North next month so the Southern Folks can warm up a little.......Whistling 

Wood stove has been fired up this morning and I probably should move a couple more wheelbarrows full of wood to the back porch just to stay even with what I have been burning over Christmas. 

Oh, Merry Christmas once again..... only 8 days left!

Later!

73

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

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: New Milford, Ct
  • 3,232 posts
Posted by GMTRacing on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:38 AM

Good Morning All,

      A regular and some pancakes with butter and maple syrup please. Side of bacon? Sure why not ? We are in a lull after the first real storm of the season. We ended up with about a foot and a half according to the local weather guessers but the 40-50 mph winds have piled drifts up all over and the temp has remained in the low 20's since yesterday morning. Our two dogs have very mixed reactions to it all. The mutt - Rupert (a Heinz 57 breed) is shaggy and loves the snow. Runs around with his nose down in it playing snowplow. Ratty - a toy fox terrier (think miniature chihuahua with bigger ears) gets about 4 feet from the door turns around and makes a beeline back inside. Big fun.

     We texted everyone this morning that the shop was closed so we get an extra day off. Time to get busy in the basement - more wiring and moving about to do. Perhaps with some effort I can get it as neat as Toddland. CUL, J.R.

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Nova Scotia, Northumberland Shore
  • 2,479 posts
Posted by der5997 on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:30 AM

Zoe dear, scoot this over to Bama, he'll have finished the one you brought him earlier!  Laugh

Good morning folks, heavy wet snow for a couple of hours (coating-the-windows type) earlier last night, then rain, rain, rain - with the wind, of course. It blew in my MIL's bathroom fan vent (faces due east - right where the wind came from), and soaked the floor, and did the same thing under our back door, which isn't in the wind at all!  Quiet now, and from the look of the satellite cloud picture, it may well be over. We even saw some watery sun about an hour ago.

Rob: Please check that PM we have going, and get back to me.

I think I may try fitting snow ploughs to a GP7 today.

TTFN.

"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Kentucky
  • 10,660 posts
Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:23 AM

Howdy...

Good to read many of you had a nice Christmas.

We visited in Cincinnati. Now we are in Detroit. Shelley has a bad cold. Grandson in Detroit will have minor surgery on the 30th. Son in Cincy and daughter in AZ each have a birthday on the 31st.

Sad to learn about Dean Freitag's passing. His book was helpful when I modeled my steel mill.

Who is planning January location for thr Diner? Hope it's a warm spot. How about the Gulf Coast?

 

 

 

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

Moderator
  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: London ON
  • 10,392 posts
Posted by blownout cylinder on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:18 AM

HAH!!! We STILL have about 4 FEET of the dang stuff that fell from a couple of weeks ago....If anyone wants to see snowfall they should come here and travel with me up highway #4 to Lucan where they got beaked with a 7 FOOT snowfall---in 2 days...so there...haaaarrrruuuuuuummph...

BTW---just to point how snowsqualls can be so fickle...Toronto never saw even a flake from that...yet you go down the Golden Horseshoe to Buffalo---you got to see ALL KINDS of it....

Writing from the GWN...in the heaping snow...I am...LaughMischief

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...

http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/

  • Member since
    July 2003
  • 2,124 posts
Posted by fec153 on Monday, December 27, 2010 9:00 AM

Hi group!  Yeah, it must be winter.  Cold and snow.  GALAXY- you can always go to Mexico and help ED with his orange grove.   He can also use an extra pair of eyes with his N trains.

Flip

 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: upstate NY
  • 9,236 posts
Posted by galaxy on Monday, December 27, 2010 8:45 AM

Flashwave

 the North East Rail Modeler:

Uhh, too cold, too cold!

Flo, I'll take anything and everything that's hot.  I ain't tellin no lies: we had SNOW fall IN FLORIDA

 it happened in Jacksonville (about 30 minutes away from me) and it put a good dusting down. It all melted as soon as it hit the ground/ buildings/ cars/ people, but it was real snow.

 

 

PFFT! I'm prety sure when the guys in Maine, New Jersey, and the rest of the NEC shovel their internets out, they;ll agee with me on this. If it don't stick, it don't count.

PFFT on that!  if it don't stick that's half of it, if it don't ACCUMULATE IT doesn't count!!!

NERM A guy on another forum was compaining about getting 4-6 inches in his N CAROLINA HOME!

Global warming means not only warming, but also severe changes in the weather patterns, too.

You will be in for colder winters for a long while I'm afraid NERM. WHen I sued to visit my G-ma in FLorida near Tampa in the late 80s at teh end of Jan/FEb, the temps were always a nice pleasant 70-75*. bUt not now. Oh, WEll. I don;t know where I can retire to and have warmth.

-G .

Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.

 HO and N Scale.

After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Monday, December 27, 2010 8:13 AM

Packer

Jeff, Would the old (but new to you) tripod be a case of "they don't make them like they used to"?

Definitely. The tripod I've been using is an Ambico 54" (maybe a V-0555) tripod and is somewhat flimsy. It weighs slightly more than two pounds. It's stable enough indoors but has a tendency to vibrate in even a 10 mph wind and a 15-20 mph will flip it right over. If there's a wind I have to anchor the legs with rocks, bricks or whatever else may be handy to keep it from turning over. There are two things I like about it. It has a built-in level and it has a detachable plate. I have no idea where it was made. The new tripod (old actually) is a Velbon VE-3 (Made in USA). It's heavy construction makes it stable even in a 25-30 mph wind. I borrowed it quite a few times in the past and never had to anchor it. It's own weight holds it in place quite nicely though it is a pain for me to carry for more than a short distance without a sling. It takes longer to set up than the Ambico and it doesn't have a level or a detachable plate. On the other hand I don't have to worry about losing the plate.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

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


  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Euclid, Ohio
  • 2,822 posts
Posted by LSWrr on Monday, December 27, 2010 7:49 AM

Good Morning,

Looks like it will warm up later this week and we will get some rain to wash the salt off the roads.  I see several people in the south received snow this past weekend, I hope it didn’t cause too much panic…

 

Rob I use Krystal Klear adhesive by Micro Scale. Clear fingernail polish works well also.

 

Morgan, that’s good news that your still there, I never thought Amazon would do that much in sales, amazing.

 

Berry and Morgan, thanks, I can only imagine now that Dean has passed his books and rolling stock lines still on the LHS shelves will jump in price.

 

Tonight I’m heading to Akron for a visit with friends, then Thursday I’m heading to Ashland.

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

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 27, 2010 7:38 AM

... which we are having right now!

Good Afternoon Folks,

yes, we have a real blizzard outside! We were lucky to get all our shopping done. We have stacked up on food, just in case things get worse than they already are.

Nothing much going on today - a dull day.

have a safe day!

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Shelby, NC
  • 2,545 posts
Posted by Robby P. on Monday, December 27, 2010 7:28 AM

 Good morning. 

 Looks like my area dodged another snow bullet.   Sooner or later we will get a major snow storm.   

 Not much planned today.  Go by the post office, and maybe grocery shop.  I might even go by a LHS.  I do have some Christmas money to spend!!

 I will pop back in later!!!

 

 "Rust, whats not to love?"      

Moderator
  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: London ON
  • 10,392 posts
Posted by blownout cylinder on Monday, December 27, 2010 6:51 AM

Lee: My condolences to Dean's family as well. 

Good Morning...

we are seeing a partly sunny sunrise here, going all the way to 27F today and up to 30F tomorrow in the dull dull dull...

Found out yesterday that a friend of mine broke his hip in a fall down some stairs...suspect  that he had a black out ...he also has heart issues as well...so I be going to see how he is doing today.

Need to find some more glues for the pink foam stuff again...I thought i had enough...Bang Head

Flo, I'll have a coffee and a cheese croisant please...I'll be at the RC for a bit...

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...

http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/

  • Member since
    December 2006
  • From: Reynoldsburg. Ohio
  • 316 posts
Posted by Wisconsin Railfan on Monday, December 27, 2010 6:19 AM

Good Morning Folks!

Cup of coffee please.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Stay warn to the folks that are showed in.

Steven

The train came by and I got on, that’s when it all began
  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: IN/USA
  • 2,495 posts
12/27/2010
Posted by wetidlerjr on Monday, December 27, 2010 5:10 AM

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

   Oops

Dinner

 

Bill Tidler Jr.

Near a cornfield in Indiana...

  • Member since
    June 2007
  • From: Indiana
  • 3,549 posts
Posted by Flashwave on Monday, December 27, 2010 3:21 AM

the North East Rail Modeler

Uhh, too cold, too cold!

Flo, I'll take anything and everything that's hot.  I ain't tellin no lies: we had SNOW fall IN FLORIDA

 it happened in Jacksonville (about 30 minutes away from me) and it put a good dusting down. It all melted as soon as it hit the ground/ buildings/ cars/ people, but it was real snow.

Morning all you nightowls.

PFFT! I'm prety sure when the guys in Maine, New Jersey, and the rest of the NEC shovel their internets out, they;ll agee with me on this. If it don't stick, it don't count.

Lee: my condolencesfor Dean's family.

S'pose you wonder where I;ve been. Here's a hint. Going into Peak season, there were 900 people in Amazon's Plainfield warehouse. There's now >200, and by the grace of god and a transfer from outbound to inbound, I'M STILL ONE OF THEM!

 

-Morgan

  • Member since
    January 2005
  • From: New Milford, Ct
  • 3,232 posts
Posted by GMTRacing on Monday, December 27, 2010 12:27 AM

Good Evening All,

   A coffee, regular and a blueberry bagel to go with it as well please. Didn't get any snow on Christmas, but today's made up for it. About a foot or so and lots of high winds to go with it. Car has drifts 4' around it along with snowbanks up against the house. Found a couple of air leaks I didn't know about and got them plugged. Just now the wind is howling outside but so far the power has stayed on.

   Christmas went well with all the family here in the morning and the afternoon with the oldest son and DIL at their place with her family as well. We had a fabulous dinner and a good visit but the CFO and I pooped out early and headed home just in time to see the apprentice moron convention on the roads. I mean really is it ok to exit from the fast lane across three other lanes in front of everyone? Wouldn't have been easier to pay attention? Oh I guess I shouldn't get started as no-one got hit but ......

    Ken - nice guitar! One of our leads had a Gibson ES something and it had the most wonderful tone. I always appreciated the flying wedge models but you seemed to have to start over with the electrics (cheap rheostats and pickups). As the basement progresses we may have room to set up the drum set again as well as the practice amps we have left over after getting rid of the rest of it when I quit playing out.

   Speaking of said basement, I didn't get to Lowes for lumber and dry wall before the snows started so I spent the time sorting and running wire instead. Also got the hobby bench leveled much better on the less than level floor. Also got more of the shed cleared so we can fit more of the debris thats accumulated out of the basement and garage (yes Todd - you are a mere amature at making aircraft parts - you know - pilot here, pilot there).

   Vincent - about that coach making beer commercials - not soon enough ! And maybe the QB too.

   Hope the rest of you are doing ok - Ulrichs' White Christmas is rare, but snow in Jacksonville is almost unheard of. Hang in there and lets just wait for the global warming part of the extreme weather patterns to occur. Did get the snow blower running and checked over before all the festivities started this morning.    CUL, J.R.

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: North Jersey
  • 1,781 posts
Posted by ns3010 on Sunday, December 26, 2010 11:13 PM

Evening (Morning) guys.

On my trip to the LHS, I grabbed three turnouts and three bumpers. I now have a small section of the main laid, the switch leading to all the industries, and the industry spurs themselves. I need a bumper for the gravel plant, but they only had three in stock, or I would have gotten another.
I am out of roadbed and almost out of flextrack, so I will need that before I am able to do anything else on the layout. I am thinking that I might be getting some more money on New Years (family that we see then rather than on Christmas), so I might be able to complete the main loop relatively soon.

For Christmas, the only train related things I got were a drive and decals for my PL42AC. I should have it mostly done by the end of break. I say mostly because there are a few design flaws (such as a large metal block that is right where the fuel tank casting is supposed to go...) that I will have to try to overcome. If I can't do anything about them, oh well. I'll just have to say "good enough."

Well, it's getting late. I'll see ya in the morning.

My Model Railroad: Tri State Rail
My Photos on Flickr: Flickr
My Videos on Youtube: Youtube
My Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 10,198 posts
Posted by howmus on Sunday, December 26, 2010 10:22 PM

Evenin' Folks!

Flo, just a cup of decaf for me.  I'll be in the back relaxing by the stove.

Ended up not going to my son's after all today.  Seems they got invited over to a friends house for dinner.  So i used part of the afternoon to disappear into the basement to the train rooms.  Got a few odds and ends done down their, including ballasting the engine House/workshop tracks with what would be left overs from the crusher.  Tailings and rock dust.  Not dry yet, so I have no idea how it will look.......

I also downloaded and dealt with the pile of photos I took both at my sister's house, and at my son's house yesterday.  Here are a few:

My son and his Aunt (the artist... house is much like a museum) by the tree....

My sisters fireplace and Santa Collection:

Cold Coffee.....  Bah Humbug!

Have a great, warm, and safe night!

73

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

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Troy, AL
  • 724 posts
Posted by BamaCSX83 on Sunday, December 26, 2010 9:59 PM

Evening all.  Stopping in to say hello and warm myself.  Had to w*rk today, and I have to say that it was a COMPLETE waste of time!  Oh well, I got paid for standing around all day.  I did not get anything MRR-related for Christmas as 90% of our budget was related to making sure that our girls and the rest of our family was taken care of.  Although I have a few side jobs coming up that might net me a slight MRR budget to spend on some new goodies. 

Flo, I'll have the largest mug of hot chocolate that you can provide for me, its flipping cold outside!  It flurried all day today, but nothing stuck, was still nice to see it floating (and blowing quite vigorously at times) down from the heavens.  Nothing else to report from Troy.  Peace and warmth to you all. 

Thinking that tomorrow after taking care of a customer's Deville (brakes, sway bar links front and rear, and the electrical half of the ignition switch) I might come home, and go BACK to painting.  Kinda not always easy to get my tasks finished when life gets in the way. 

Later taters!

  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Shalimar. Florida
  • 2,622 posts
Posted by Packer on Sunday, December 26, 2010 8:17 PM

Hey guys. Flo, can I get an RBF. Hope ya'll had a good christmas.

Didn't get any trains for christmas (then again most of the trains I want are still in pre-order status). Some clothes and a hurst billet shifter.

Got car back to running on Christmas Day, after getting the pieces of the old pilot bearing out of the bell housing. Got it all done with the car being outside, raining, and in the low 30s. Cold is one thing, but cold and wet is another. Put in the new BBK H-pipe with no cats, the spec clutch and the hurst shifter. It's definetly louder and has some "pop." Although starting is kind of a pain since this clutch has very little slip. I'm gonna pick up a firewall adjuster and use the aluminum clutch quadrant to hopefully make it easier to get rolling. But getting through the gears is a blast now and it's a lot quicker. Didn't get around to getting the suspension stuff in.

Today I had to get up for work at 4am (new for me) and had to rough it out till 2. After that drive to oriellies for a wix filter, during which my radiator cap wound up going bad, just before getting into the parking lot. Ran into 2 old friends at oriellies. Walked down to walmart and got some anti-freeze, water, and oil. I also checked to see if there were any of those 1:87 vehicles, but no luck. Also ran into 2 more old friends at walmart. Got all the anti freeze/water issues squared away and changed oil. Busy day. and yeah, tired (although running into 4 old friends is a new one to me).

Managed to get in watching the Packers dominate the Giants. 6 turnovers for the giants, wonder when their head coach is gonna be on a bud lite commercial?Laugh

NERM, Bet you won't be saying that when summer comes back around.Stick out tongue

Jeff, Would the old (but new to you) tripod be a case of "they don't make them like they used to"?

Vincent

Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....

2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Nova Scotia, Northumberland Shore
  • 2,479 posts
Posted by der5997 on Sunday, December 26, 2010 6:57 PM

Rob:

Question: Anyone know what type of glue will hold mosquito netting (from old tent) to finishing nails? The plastic modelling glue & super glue gel didn't work. Ready to work on fencing in the wife's drive in theater, once this problem is solved.
...Answer I've found Liquisilk  to do a pretty good job - there is of course a catch. In this case catches. First the stuff is very stringy (think airplane glue / Balsa cement), so threads get everywhere you don't want them. Second, it takes a while to dry. This isn't a bad thing all the time, as "adjusting time" can come in handy - but is a pain if everything is in place and you think it's set, and it gets moved and...Bang Head (Or so I've been toldWhistling) The stuff won't dissolve plastics or foam, which is in its favour.

Don't know if I'll be back in today - and if I'm not for a day or so it'll be due to weather related power outs.

TTFN.

"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Sunday, December 26, 2010 6:43 PM

Well my sister and I went out to eat this evening. On the way we stopped at Stage so I could turn my new coat in. The zipper on it had failed as in come apart completely. I didn't want to get another one from that maker so I looked around and found a better one. Just my size too. 2XL. It's a Dri-Duck and is very comfortable and very warm. It was on sale and was still on a special Christmas sale plus an additional 20% off. So I got a $180 coat for $70 (could have gotten it much cheaper online but I'm not the one paying for it) - the exchange value of the other one. And the zipper is MUCH better quality, all metal, not that plastic trash. I like plastic on my trains but not my coats.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

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


  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Western transplant to the Deep South
  • 4,256 posts
Posted by Cederstrand on Sunday, December 26, 2010 6:20 PM

Question: Anyone know what type of glue will hold mosquito netting (from old tent) to finishing nails? The plastic modelling glue & super glue gel didn't work. Ready to work on fencing in the wife's drive in theater, once this problem is solved.

***Robby, enjoy that snow, you may not see it again for a long long time. Our Christmas snow was the first here since 1881. As long as the sun melts it all away this week, I don't mind it at all. Wife couldn't make it home with the dicey roads, but should make it home tomorrow.

Cowboy Rob

  • Member since
    January 2010
  • From: North East Florida
  • 327 posts
Posted by the North East Rail Modeler on Sunday, December 26, 2010 3:44 PM

Uhh, too cold, too cold!

Flo, I'll take anything and everything that's hot.  I ain't tellin no lies: we had SNOW fall IN FLORIDA

 it happened in Jacksonville (about 30 minutes away from me) and it put a good dusting down. It all melted as soon as it hit the ground/ buildings/ cars/ people, but it was real snow.

From this point on, for the rest of my life, I will no longer complain about the hot, muggy, humid Florida Summer.

I'll be sittin by the wood stove if anyone needs me.

  • Member since
    June 2006
  • From: Maryville IL
  • 9,577 posts
Posted by cudaken on Sunday, December 26, 2010 3:44 PM

 Afternoon folks.

 Flo, I will take the special, Christmas Left Overs and a Beer

 Lee, Thanks for the link and thinking of me! I have been very happy with the quality of Gibson and don't for see changing brands. While I like Less Paul's I really miss my ES 335, it is a Electric Hollow Body and larger  than the Less. It fits me better than the Less does when I am sitting down. Looks something like BB Kings. Played a little today and a few songs came back to me.

 Todd On the shorts, girl friend liked them.Did you happen to notice what the Tee Shirt said? Big Smile

 Pretty much bored silly today.

 Hope to have something to talk about latter, Ken

I hate Rust

  • Member since
    October 2006
  • From: Euclid, Ohio
  • 2,822 posts
Posted by LSWrr on Sunday, December 26, 2010 3:38 PM

Larry, if your interested in a road trip: Calling hours will be in Ashland at Heyl Funeral Home on Thursday (Dec. 30th.) from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.   Funeral services will be at 11:00 Friday (Dec. 31st.) at the funeral home with calling one hour prior. I can send you the address for the funeral home.

Here is Dean's eulogy from one of his friends:

Flags are flying at half staff today over model railroads throughout Ohio and beyond, mourning the passing of model railroad legend Dean Freytag.

 

Freytag, 86, passed away Christmas night at the assisted living facility in Ashland, OH, where he had resided for the past 11 months. He leaves a sister Carol, a brother-in-law Jim, and a niece and nephew. He was preceded in death by wife Ann Elizabeth (Davies) in 1999.

 

Dean had four loves in his life. In no particular order, they were Ann, railroading, steel mills, and Ashland University. It is to the latter he left most of his estate, being honored with the grandstands in their new football stadium being named in his and Ann's honor. He was a lifetime member of the National Model Railroad Association, a Master Model Railroader, and the contest director for that organization for a number of years. Interestingly, he never attended Ashland University, never worked on a railroad, refused to ride on the trains calling them rough-riding and dusty, and never ever worked in a steel mill.

 

But he probably knew more about the steel-making processes than many who did work in the industry. He was a prolific modeler of all things about railroading, but especially steel mills. Indeed, it was steel that dominated the 13' x 38' main room of his HO model railroad.  His models of the various components of the steel mills that dominated the landscape in what he called the "Ruhr Valley of the United States" -- that section of the country between Cleveland and Pittsburgh -- are the prototypes for the the Walthers series of steel-making structures used by modelers throughout the world.

 

Freytag was an author of at least two books used extensively in modeling,  "The Cyclopedia of Industrial Modeling" and "The History, Making & Modeling of Steel", and his "how-to" articles appeared in the modeling press frequently over the past 50 years. He was published in Model Railroader, the leading model railroading magazine, more than 50 times. His manuscripts were "banged out" -- literally -- in all caps on a manual typewriter, as were his letters, notes and even post cards.

 

Dean was a proponent of working with styrene -- he was featured in an instructional video about styrene -- and Plastruct shapes, and virtually everything he built was from scratch and/or kit bashed. He seldom, if ever, felt the structural "iron work" of bridge and industry models were "heavy" enough and nearly always "beefed them up" with his beloved Plastruct components. His modeling transcended craftsmanship into art. His discerning eye saw a steel mill ladle in the discarded cap from a  whiskey bottle, the conveyor belt rollers in the used throw-away razor blade guards, and literally dozens of other such applications. Not always the most patient of teachers, he nevertheless was a mentor to dozens -- maybe even hundreds -- of modelers, and to listen to and learn from Dean was to learn from a master.

 

Not to think he was one or two dimensional, Dean was a avid reader of war novels -- particularly World War II in which he served -- and deeply interested in Civil War history, having visited the battlefields on numerous occasions. He wore out two exercycles, putting thousands of miles on each of them as he watched the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He always had cats that were given railroad names, i.e., "Smokey", "Cinders",and Chessie".

 

He spent a lot of time on the telephone with modeling friends all over the country discussing a myriad of topics, but usually related to railroading. It was Dean Freytag who put train watching into perspective when he once said to someone questioning the time spent, "I'm with friends who share interests, we're sitting outside in lovely weather and when there aren't trains going by we discuss the world, the economy, football, and all sorts of things."

 

The lights are dimmed on Dean Freytag's South Ridge Lines, and fires are out at his Davies Steel complex. Model railroading has lost an icon, and I have lost a friend.

 

 

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

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Western transplant to the Deep South
  • 4,256 posts
Posted by Cederstrand on Sunday, December 26, 2010 3:21 PM

"HAPPY BOXING DAY"

An extra strong coffee in a SNOWY SOUTHERN mug, please. Sun melted some of it today, but it is snowing once again as I type. Haven't had a white Christmas since 1881. Pretty!

My goal was to finish the wife's layout by years end. That didn't happen...not even close. Oh well.

Have a good one, y'all.

Cheers! Cowboy Rob

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Williamsville, ILL
  • 3,698 posts
Posted by TMarsh on Sunday, December 26, 2010 3:02 PM

Never did make it to the land of "Vintage" items. (Ebay) Oh  well, probably didn't miss the thing I can't live without anyway.

I decided that the best way to get rid of some clutter is to......use it. So, by the grace of the season I have constructed another section of benchworkBig Smile. Yup. Not lyin. Use up some of the wood is the best way to get it out of the way. I sure hope it's OK to use wood of a different shade than what I have used. Mom had some old 1X4's and they are a bit darker than what you can buy now Stick out tongue.

I hope to construct another section as well later. Now it's time for some leftovers THAT Ray spoke so highly about. (ours. Not his. It'd be a long trip and I'd need a snack.) Then, if all goes well, back to the trainroom. Big Smile   Big Smile  Big Smile

Maybe a picture of the progress later.

Speaking of pictures. Jeff- Looks like we both recieved an old tripod as a gift. (at least I'm calling it a gift considering how long it's been since I've even seen it out of the box, let alone used it) Mine is a Vivitar I bought, gee, Confused 25-30 years ago. It is not heavy like you describe yours, but despite the fact it's been in the trunk of a car for almost half it's life, it still serves it's purpose well. Yes

EDIT: LEFTOVERS ARE ON ME!!!! Belly up to the buffet folks!!!

Todd  

Central Illinoyz

In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.

I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk. Laugh

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!