Elliot´s Trackside Diner March 2011

[BRAKIE]

Good Morning All!

Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes on this rainy Tuesday..Never did make it trackside yesterday..I decided to paint the "ground" and back drop boards so Slate Creek is finally getting off the ground..NS seems busy so,I might go trackside if the rain stops if it doesn't I will go to Wal Mart and pick up some artist paints.

I shall have a cup and look over the forum.

Have a good'un!

[galaxy]

Morning all

Another quiet day. I like it that way.

have to run the dishwasher later and that's about it.

DO have to run to the pharmacy, bank and post office sometime, though.

Tomorrow is appt. with neurologist. MAybe he has answers or direction to go for my marathon migraines. Probably not.

MOH said we SHOULD take down the "under the xmas tree layout" that has been sitting there on the table top attracting the attention of at least one of the two cats for awhile and has no tree on it. I discovered that there were many separations of track pieces where he has apparently jumped up on it and "played". There is no place to store the board for now, unless I either find room on the front porch or in the shed, either one will be a hassle.

It is nice to be half way through March, with temps warming up and on certain warm breezy days to have a hint of a smell of *spring* in the air! BUT- "beware the ides of March!". A lot of snow has melted off here fortunately. I'm aways skeptical though when the middle-end of March comes though, as it seems that we always have one one winter *pow* of a snowstorm dumped on us, just to show that winter isn't quite over yet. ANd of course we can always have snow on or after Easter, though it usually doesn't accumulate much or stay long. Just enough to be annoying. In April we ususally ready the a/cs as the outside temps rise, so does the temp in this tin can we live in. When it gets to or over 70* I tend to sweat like a stuck pig, so A/C is my friend and I'm greatful we have it! One A/c just needs to have the winterization cover taken off and the plastic window insulator inside taken off so we can use it. The one in the BR needs to be reinstalled and tape-sealed back into the window for the season.

My, my the ground around here has heaved/thawed/ heaved again! Our driveway does have some blacktop on it, but it has sunk where the vehicles sit and heaved up in the middle. WE put down drainage stones last fall in the ruts to try to keep the vehicles from sitting in water ponding and then getting frozen in there. Not good on the tires to force it out of a frozen puddle. WE could use more stones to fill in the ruts, but we do this every year, and every year they just sink lower. Must be at least a foot of stones sunk into the ground in the ruts. The park was SUPPOSED to put in new blacktop driveways for everybody after they installed the city sewer/water lines and repaved the road in the park. They only did it to three trailers at teh beginning of the park. Down at the other end a group of 4 owners got together and hired a firm to do theior driveways at their own cost and the park had a hissy fit saying they had no right to do that!!! The neighbor across the way who only had a mud driveway finally got tired and had a truck load of large stone delivered and spread out in her drive. If we had the money, MOH would like to do the same, problem is we would also have to have teh remaining heaved blacktop taken out first or the driveway will really be uneven.

MIL seems to be doing fine. Dr. told FIL his broken ankle hasn't healed hte way it should and has ordered a new custom splint to keep from rubbbing him and giving him infections. Hospice seems to be doing well to help them out at home.

Prayers go out to those in need!

Glad Robby P. has found a job. Too bad he has to go through withdrawal over his MRRing. MAybe work keep him busy enough.

Garry...my back is doing the best it can I suppose. The cortisone shots are not really helping, though. I still can;t get through doing choresw ithout it aggrivating me, or stand for long periods {shopping} without it really giving me grief.

Well, I have talked enough.

So have a great day everyone!

Opps sorry about type change size but I can't seem to get it back to "normal".

TTYALLL8R

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 40° and mostly sunny. The high will be 68° and partly sunny.

Hopefully today will be slower than yesterday was and I can get down to business on the layout without any distractions. I want at least get the spurs ballasted today. Getting part of the main line done wouldn't hurt. The big variable of course is how long can I stay on my feet. If I can get a couple of hours that would be great but I'll take what I can get. There are five spurs to be done and quite a bit of mainline. Can I get it done in a day? Perhaps I'll find out.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

cudaken

 Jeffery You think your van is a pain to work on the starter. Try installing a stater is a 68 to 70 B Body Mopar (Road Runner, Charger) with a big block and headers!

Been there and done that. 1968 Dodge Coronet coupe with 426 Hemi, headers and straight pipes.

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.   Got some rain coming, but the rest of the week will be nice and sunny!!

 I start the new job tomorrow morning.  The hours are 7am - 3pm.  Sometimes till 5pm.   They are pretty busy so I will  probably have some over-time.   The company cleans filters for power plants.   Its a dirty job, but it looked pretty easy.    I'm glad I got something, got some bills due!!

 Ken........The modeling will be on the back burner for awhile.   Once I get back on my feet I will have to see about getting my own place.  Maybe then I can look back into it.   I do miss it thou.

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! WwwwwAFFle please! New York maple syrup and Coffee too thank you. No, not in the same cup.

A 40 percent chance of showers before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 47. Last day, then looks like in the 60’s for the rest of the week.

Don’t know what I’ll end up into today other than w**k.

Ken- Thanks for the heads up on the plaster on foam thing. I will try both ways on another piece before I commit.

Lee- No I can not believe it’s the middle of March. Day before yesterday it was the 1^st of February. Time just flies by anymore.

Robby- Glad to hear you found work.

Me? Well, worked on the Bed and Breakfast some last night. I think I was gonna call it “Brenda Lee’s Bed and Breakfast”. Not as great a name as I figured I’d pick, (you know me) but I guess I was thinking about her reaction when she finds out. She thought our names painted on the water tower in Gold Creek was neat. (at least she smiled sooo….I guess).

Bought a T & P 40’ express box for my passenger train offa the E-bay…, yesterdee was it? Maybe day before. (actually from some HS in Hannibal Mo. I’ve bought from them before. They are a good dealer and ship fast and reasonable. Very nice people too.) Why not my LHS? Ooh, I don’t know. I know what I always say. But my FLHS doesn’t really carry Ahearn (basement of house)and the other well, no reason. Right in my face I suppose. If I get another and they happen to have it I’ll get one from them. Don’t really see the need for two though. I got it mainly for the paint scheme and it will be one less car I will have to change from Amtrak to private carrier. I know, I know, it doesn’t fit my era, but you‘re forgetting….it works for me. Besides, how’s that old MRR saying go? “It ain’t over until the Xacto knife is put away, the paint is dried, and “Good Enough” has been called.” Lost a bid on a sign for cheap. Went for more than I was willing to pay. Well, not really. More like more than I wanted to pay for used assembled. (from that estate layout we hear about so much) I can still get new unassembled. Still have a bid in on a decal set for a switcher. I have a couple already and don’t really need it so I’m on the cheap. Not that I couldn’t use it somewhere down the road probably but for a right now, don‘t want to be a horder if someone else needs it.

Talked to Willie today, he said sorry he couldn’t be in town on Friday, my Birthday, but Saturday the 19^th was the best he could do. I said no problem and was glad he was thinking of me. I’ll be there with bells on. I hope he brings me some Lone Star and Pearl beer. I doubt it though. What he thinks to bring….I don’t do.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[Wisconsin Railfan]

Good Day Folks!

Cup of coffee please!

Have  a great day all!

Steven

[LSWrr]

Good Morning,

Can you believe we are halfway through March???   High of 45F today with 70% chance of evening showers.  Looks like rain 8 out of 10 days for us.  The NMRA Div 5 train show will be in Kirtland, OH this Saturday and Sunday from 1000 to 1500.  This show takes up 3 gyms and a handful of smaller workout rooms at the college.

 

Robby got a job, some good news in the diner is always welcome.

 

Japan has a huge mess to clean up, its just unbelievable at how much damage can occur in a short time.

 

I’m still waiting to hear if the Government is going to shut down or if they will pass a budget someday soon.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning..

We are actually going to be sunny and have a high of 48F today!! 

Up early in the morning to get some bloodwork done then see my doctor then go get some stuff done at the bank then some things at Home Despicable then get food in here then go ...whew..and, maybe do some MRR stuff later.

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

 

[wetidlerjr]

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

[Cederstrand]

Chocolate Brownie ala mode, please.

I FINISHED, wiring the wife's (HO) layout. Well, pretty much done with it. A few problems though:

1) One of the house lights (LED) is dead. I should be able to "carefully" drill out the hole from below and poke a new LED into it.

2 & 3) One (Model Power) Lamp Post light is out. Unfortunately, this may be permanent. Speaking of Lamp Posts, they are quite dim when hooked up to the same circuit at the LEDs and too bright when hooked up directly to 12volts. Soooo, what is the absolute cheapest transformer on the market, so I can vary the current to the Lamp Posts (separate from all the LEDs). Or, do these Lamp Posts work on AC power, too? If the latter, is there any advantage using AC over DC with them? Thanks for any info, suggestions!

3:00am...yikes, that was a push to finish all that fiddly wiring stuff. Rob

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening/Morning..

Ken: My favorite...'68 Volkswagon with the starter such that you have to take the ENTIRE motor out to get at the dang thing

[cudaken]

Evening Folks

 Well today pretty much blew, got some snow and we where caught off guard. Roads where passable but worse than they should have been for the 3 inches we got.

 Work was dead as well, I could have sat around naked today and only made 3 people sick to there stomach.

 Highlight of the day? They let me close the store early so I could buy a new Offices Chair!  One I bought at a flea market for $20.00 is pretty much junk, unless you like to rock from side to side.

 Jeffery You think your van is a pain to work on the starter. Try installing a stater is a 68 to 70 B Body Mopar (Road Runner, Charger) with a big block and headers!

 Todd My self, I no longer use plaster on foam, when I did use it it looked like icing on a cake. After watching a video on U Tube I found painting straight on the foam looked much better and quicker. When I did the section I posted a picture of, I wanted the lines to show. I think they are called stratus cracks. (spell check)  But it had been decades sines I had looked at a rock face up close. About a year ago I did get to see them up close and regret the way I did them. I could have hide them with either straight Elmer's Glue or caulk.

 Areas up front are seams less and no mud used. I just painted and use and brushed on white glue then the ground cover.

 I am all so hope to see some more pictures of your work.

 Robby P Glad you found work and hope it pays well. Hope things work out for you in the fashion you want. When will you be modeling again? I hope to afford some of your art work soon.

 JR I finally was able to pull up the article you tried to post. Sure seems unfair!  They got either upside down or behind because they over spent, not because they took a pay cut or lost there job! 

 Gary Dang, you either take notes or have one heck of a memory!  I as well hope things are going better for your Mom.

 To all my other friends I may have missed, hope for the best for you and your families as well.

               Ken

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Flo, I'll have a cup of decaf and a piece of one of those pies over there....  How many ya got anyway?  What?  3.14?  Makes sense!

Happy Pi day Ya'll! 

I got quite a bit of work done on the workbench cleaning project today.  Found the old wooden foundation at the bottom of it all.  Also found many little missing parts from a while back, say 2 or 3 years.  Got about half of the workbench cleaned.  Unfortunately, most of the stuff I removed is now sitting on the "plywood central" portion of the layout preventing any train movements in THAT part of the room....  Little by little I am sorting and finding a home for the stuff I will keep.

I went downtown to the old fashioned, old time, traditional hardware store in Geneva today to see if they might have the pegboard shelf supports I was looking for.  Ask the old guy who owns the store, he scratches his head and says, " don't think I got any in stock, but let me check."  He walks over to the end of the counter and stares way up towards the ceiling for a while (I can more or less see that he has a supply of pegboard thingies up there.)  Comes back and says nope, but I can have them here next Monday for you.....  I start to think out loud that I might be able to use regular shelf brackets when he interups me and says, how big ones you need?  I told him either 4" or 6" would do.  He says, "let me run upstairs to the storage room, I got an idea..."  Comes back down with an 8" pair.  Must be 40 or so years old and covered with dust.  He told me he bought them to use for something in the store, only used them once...  Says, "Give me a couple dollars and we'll call it even."  So I pulled out a picture of Abe, and he gave me 3 back of George....  I just love, old fashioned stores!   If you can't find it anywhere else, that is where I find it!  I do business there every chance I get.......

Well (the feelin'), hope you have a good evening, and don't eat too much π !

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Well, between getting excused for jury duty and helping my father get some paperwork done and getting his RV to the repair shop I had just enough layout time to select the color and grade of ballast I'll be starting with. It's for the spurs and is a medium gray blend with some fine brown and black mixed in. Felt good to drive home after 7 pm without the headlights. Of course it is only an 1/8 of a mile. I can remember when I could walk that without giving it a second thought. Without a vehicle of some kind that 1/8 of a mile might as well be ten miles.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

teen steam fan

Just finished a paper on the Great Gatsby. I didn't even read to book and passed all the tests, all I did was pay good attention in class. Hard book to read for me.

It would be hard for me to read as well. After about fifteen minutes my dyslexia would kick in and the sentences would all merge together.

[teen steam fan]

Evening folks. 

Just finished a paper on the Great Gatsby. I didn't even read to book and passed all the tests, all I did was pay good attention in class. Hard book to read for me. 

Ron- Prayers for your son and tell him I say thanks. 

Welp, I'll be in the corner booth for a while. 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

fireman216

Jeff....getting a "package" assembled for you....should have it out in the mail by weeks end!!!!

I'm looking for it.

[Robby P.]

 Hello everybody.   Been pretty busy with things and just haven't had time to stop in.

 Got a job and I start Wednesday.  Its with a EVONIK Company.  They work with power plants.   http://www.steagllc.com/steagllc/default.aspx

 I hope everybody is doing good.   I will stop back in later.

[Cederstrand]

Strong Italian roast coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please.

Of the different grounding blocks I got for wife's wiring, the two that look like miniature I-beams have very tight (hard to turn) screws. The other squared off blocks work much better.

Have farm stuff to do today before the thunder-boomers arrive. Have a good day y'all.   Rob

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Thanks for the comments about the situation I'm dealing with in AL.

I commented to some of those who have been in the diner lately. I'm glad there are so many diners, but I could not say "Hi" to each. I'll say hello to some fo the others now. Howdy to Brakie, Nik, Lee, Bill T, JR, Sawwyer, Alvie, and Ron.

I saw photos of Japanese passenger trains hit by the Quake/Tsunami. Terrible, just terrible.

 

[galaxy]

Not much today a day of rest.

Got the laundry all caught up yesterday and the dsihes are all caught up thusfar.

Have to pick up a script and do some banking later, but for now just a nothing day, as I can put those off til tomoroow or even Wed. when I see the neurologist for my migraine headaches after the one in Feb that lasted 15 days!

SO a boring day.

Have a nice big piece of London broil to roast slow cook inthe oven today for dinner tonight, with baked taters and asparagus. MMM.

TTYALLL8R

[Anonymous]

Good Afternoon,

quite a terrible day for me today - I´ll spare you the details.

Ron - my for your son´s safe return from his post in Afghanistan. Our boys and girls are having a tough time there right now. Other than the US troops, they are not well prepared and equipped for combat.

Again, my heartfelt sympathy with the people in Japan. I am still shocked by the news and the pictures we see from there.

You all have a good day!

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, lots of dark roast coffee to start with......  My FGLK mug would be good.  Then I'll have a #2 special, over easy eggs, bacon, home fries, and a double order of the sour dough toast.

Most everything has turned white outside again.... Just a light dusting over night.  Should be gone by noon.  Currently 30°F here in the Finger Lakes with the high going all the way up to 35°F.  A good day to spend in the train rooms......

Other than going to Canandaigua to feed the cats and a quick trip to the grocery store, I have nothing else going on.  May be able to finish up the workbench cleaning.............

Speaking of cats....  My two are currently sound asleep in each others arms (paws) on the chair in the dining room.  The brothers are still best friends I guess.

Later!

73

[LSWrr]

Todd there is a lot of competition at these shows for your dollar.  This vendor sells RR tee shirts for $15 and you get a free mug, or just a mug for $5.  They have most of the roads that pass through the Great Lakes.  The Lake Land show coming up this Saturday will be an all out assault on train apparel.  One vendor has complete steel mill scenes and full advertising on short & long sleeve tees, hoodies, sweat shirts, polo shirts, cardboard prints from various industries and RR advertisements and logos.  Last year I bought my GF a tee with the blueprint of a PRR hopper on the shirt. Some of the clothing vendors have 12 tables of apparel. Dorothy still prefers Chessie prints, I guess nobody can compete with a kitten…

If your interested I can collect B-cards this weekend...

[DrgnTrappr]

Hi All, Flo just a coffee please, in a Santa Fe mug.

Have not been in for a while so just wanted to drop by and say HELLO. My son is home from Fort Wainwright Alaska on leave before he heads to Afghanistan, so I have been away from the train stuff. Yesterday we drove to Asheville and met the oldest Daughter there and her significant other and spent the day, was the first time in five years that we have had the whole family together.

The sixteen year old Daughter idolzes her brother and has been so full of nger since he joined the army, but she has been so happy this past week. I think they may have talked and she may be realizing that he feels he has a job to do by serving his country.

To all those in need I am sending good thoughts and prayers your way, I will try to catch up and will be back here soon.

Ron

[LSWrr]

Sue you can only watch trains go around in circles for so long, LOL.  I really enjoy picking up and setting out cars.  I'm using a simple switch list for my operations, what are you using?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 63° and cloudy. The high will be 71° and cloudy with a 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Nothing particular on the schedule today. If I feel up to it I may get some ballast put down. I have a mix that looks rather interesting in the bottle. I wonder if it will look as interesting on the track.

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Coffee and a Denver Omelet please. Oh and hash browns too thank you.

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. One more day and we should be out of the forties.

Thanks for the comments on the bridge guys. Remember, I’m always eager for things you see that I may not, or opinions I may not think of.

Lee- You sure do get a big bang for your money at these shows. Congrats. I see $50-$75 in coffee mugs around here. We have bargains, but not really that many. Maybe I'm just not digging enough.   

Speaking of shows, the local MRR club is holding their show on Apr 3 of this very year at the Fairgrounds. Hope to make that. Odd as it may seem being so close and all, (maybe 15 minute drive) the way things are happening around here, believe it or not it’ll be something we’ll have to play by ear. I am planning on it of course, just not counting on it.

Hope to get an early jump on things today. That way I may get some more time in the train room. Yesterday, though I did get some things done, I spent a lot of time thinking of how I’m gonna do this tunnel without ripping the top off. (no biggy, but just rather not) so I kept popping in here all day. Don’t think I’ll be drinking as much coffee and thinking today so I’ll leave room for someone else!

Gee, and I thought after yesterday all I’d have to talk about was the weather.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, All.  Chloe, I will have just coffee this morning, thankyou.

Garry,  Our prayers are with you and your mom.  My dad  went fast, but both my mom and step-mom lingered with their illnesses for years. 

 I have been doing more modeling than computing.  I got hooked on operations so we made some major construction changes to allow that.  I will try to stop by more.

Sue