Elliot´s Trackside Diner March 2011

[Packer]

Hey guys

Been using my spring break to work on the car a bit. Since Wensday I've changed the steering rack, replaced the stock 19 lbs. injectors with 24 lbs. injectors, and am switching the upper intake to the pre-94' 5.0 one (the one used in the 94-95 5.0s was pretty restrictive). I didn't think I'd have enough time to switch both the upper and lower with one from an explorer. I'll wait till I do an engine swap later one for that one (so I can port it and get some ported GT40 heads)

My brother went off and is looking a one of my father's friends old cars. I hope he gets it because it'd help me out in the long run. It's kind of complicated how it'd all pan out. But for me I'd get my father's decked 306 (302 bored .30 over) short block with eagle pistons and crank. He makes 380 hp at the rear wheels with an edelbrock intake and heads and a custom cam (he wants to keep the heads, intake, and cam). I figure I might hit 330 with a ported explorer intake and GT40 heads. But I might snag a set of better heads or intake before then.

Gonna go to a car show in Pensacola tomorrow. Might snag something there, but I plan to make a stop to a hobby shop to pick up some micro sol, micro set, and touch-up paint. They are all needed for my 5 McKean centerbeam kits (dunno if I'll need them for the 2 Front range ACFs I have coming my way). I already figured out a way to add a bit more weight to them, and I can get the stuff needed for that at the local Ace Hardware.

Jeff, man those are some big jacks. Wonder how much it all weighs?

Ulrich, Stick with it.

Ken, Depends what part of florida. Near where I live it's still in the 300K+ range for a 1500 sq. ft. house.

[Cederstrand]

Coffee refill, please.

***Ray, outstanding work there!

***Jeffrey, those are serious jacks. It sucks that the one is busted up/torked like that.

Think I'll head down to the train room.

Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I got a chance to get a photo from the left rear of the underside of the RV. The broken jack can be plainly seen on the right. On the left you can see what it's supposed to look like. As I said before, these are quite large jacks.

[Cederstrand]

Italian roast coffee in a SUNNY SOUTHERN mug, please.

That station wagon photo reminds me of a car I grew up with. Will have to check with my older siblings on that.

***Jeffrey, take it easy there. Sounds like you've been pushing it again.

Wife took a look at her town progress and keeps coming up with more ideas. She will work on finalizing which businesses (signs) she wants on all her buildings tonight. She also likes the Great Pyrenees dog & Tinytoons (mini dwarf horse) I'm making out of regulard dog models by building up layers of white gesso.

I just let my oldest brother (Stan) know about the hobos around his Diner. I'll leave it up to him on how to handle this, but I would think they are bad for his business. Here's a pic:

It's a beautiful sunny day here, on the cool side buy nice.

Rob

[howmus]

Afternoon folks!

Flo, just a cup of hot cocoa please.

Curt, you grabbed the Url one instead of [ img].  Easy to fix.

We're currently having something called a "flurry" here in the Finger Lakes.  I drove downtown to see if I could grab a photo of something early this morning and they moved it.....  Darn!  I'll explain later (I hope).

Yesterday I did a bit more detailing in the Eginehouse.  A friend who has become a mentor on the project told me the metal objects a painted wrong and that it needs a patina look to it so.....  take a look.  I matched it to a color photo I manged to get of belt drive stuff.  Came out as good as I can do I think:

Hope you are all having a good day!

73

[Curt Webb]

I am not sure what happened to the first picture.

[Curt Webb]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well. Well below are the before and after shots

Before

http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/?action=view&current=DSCF1378.jpg

After

I looked but could not find the post that recommended using rail cutters to get nails out of RR ties. Thank you whoever posted that, it worked great. Definitely a new technique that I  will continue to use. The change I made works better and should prevent problems down the road.

Talk to you later.

 

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have the breakfast Bagel w/ cheese and a cup of your finest dark roast coffee to start the day....

Actually, the day started a few hours ago... Got a call from #2 son this morning.  He has an interview this morning along with the Senators for Illynoisy somewhere in Chicago this morning to address the "issues" terrifying people over the radiation that can be detected from Japan.......  (Gotta go put on my tin foil hat...)  Chicago gets 80% of their power from Nuclear Energy.  Then I opened my email to find a photo from a train nut friend of mine asking if I had seen "this"....  I'll share it later as soon as I get more info on it.

So, Jeffrey,  You would have been happier if the idiot that pulled in front of you had been driving a BIG car or an RV like you guys were in?  You might not be around to tell us about it you know....  This way at least you missed wiping both of you out, and if you did crash, the laws of physics would at least be on your side...  Glad you are still with us and the damage to the RV is not terribly bad!

Barry, you should have listed your morning temps in °C....  Would have sounded worse.   We are the high for the day of 28°F (-2°C).  See how THAT works!  Going down to 15°F (-9°C) tonight.  Glad I still have some wood in the pile.

Bets get doing something else....

Later!

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 61° and cloudy. The high will be 81° and mostly cloudy.

Still a bit sore from yesterday. I'm going to try filling in the hole on the layout sometime today. I have a gallon bucket of wall joint compound that's just begging to be opened again. But first I'll see how many pieces of junk can be packed into the hole to decrease the amount of compound I'll have to use. It's not like I don't have plenty. I have the gallon bucket here and another gallon bucket out in the van and a quart tub under the layout. It's just that the more there is the longer it takes to dry and the more it cracks. It also has a tendency to contract and therefore sink a bit proving that gravity still works. I know old man Murphy is just waiting to start laughing at me again so the fewer chances I give him the happier I'll be.

[Curt Webb]

Morning All,

Hi flo, can I just get a cup of coffee please.

Supposed to be up in high 80's again today. At this point I don't expect the high's here to be under 80 until sometime in October.

Blownout Cylinder - From the picture you posted I figure you are a Drag Racing fan. Me too. I usually go to the Gatornationals every year, but this year I chose to spend the money on my train board construction. It was a tough decision.

Jeff - I'm glad the damage wasn't  too bad on the RV. Unfortunately there are idiot drivers every where.

Ulrich - Stay with it. When dealing with the US government endurance is vital. There is a guy I work with from Canada that last year became a US citizen. It  was a very inspiring ceremony. It will be nice to  get someone else that is willing to work and not just work the system.

Well I am washing my uniforms and am getting ready to go up to the loft to fix the switch issue I have. Hopefully things will cooperate. 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

TMarsh

Jeff- With my luck dragging that jack would have destroyed the back of the Motor home. I take it you didn’t have to go far, or just lucky. Me, I’m just not lucky.

We only had four miles to go and the speed was kept below thirty so the only thing damaged was the jack. But you can sure see the marks on the asphalt where it was dragging.

[galaxy]

Morning.

I am having a slight "medication hangover" from the meds for yesterday's migraine. Hate that.

So I will have a lazy day and rest most likely.

Nothing new on the housing front as no new email with house listings in it came today. DOn't know if I'm supposed to get every day or only when MLS changes. Will ahve to call the agent later to find out.

WEll ALl I really have to do is unload/reload the dishwasher. MAybe I can get that accomplished.

TTYALLL8R

[JPowell]

Morning Gang!  Brunch time ehre in Central NY. How about a nice steak and some eggs, please Chloe? And I'll have homefries with that as well and a coffee.  Thanks!

So gang... what's new? Anything exciting? Nothing exciting or new with me. I'm still debating where to put a layout ehre in my house. One would think that woulda been a BIG priority when I had moved in, but as you can gather, I still have not figured it out yet.

Anyways, have a good day.

JP

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Just coffee please. Thanks. I see “Dyno Don” is here.

A 50 percent chance of snow before 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 39. Spring just won’t come. Doesn’t look like we’ll see 40+ until Monday or Tuesday.

I have just a couple things I need to do today before w**k at 5. One is get the start-up change for the fish fry this eve, the other is my usual grocery truck thing. 

I think today will be another day where I get some stuff done on or near the layout. Don’t know what yet, but hopefully something. Probably check on the old tunnel liner and do some internal scenicing.

Jeff- With my luck dragging that jack would have destroyed the back of the Motor home. I take it you didn’t have to go far, or just lucky. Me, I’m just not lucky.

Welp, I guess I’ll get busy. Figure out if I want to bid on another SW9 that appeared on the Bay. Same loco, same wording on the box, same starting price. Can’t remember the name of the first seller though. Maybe another, maybe the buyer backed out, maybe his buyer was a…., oh what do you call it when you’re in cahoots with the sellers and you set out and run up the bid? Can’t think of it now. Anyway, I’m looking at it again. Who knows.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[LSWrr]

Good Morning,

Well nothing exciting to report except I have a new stereo waiting for me at the Base Exchange and a box of train stuff at the LHS to pick up.  LHS stuff is a bunch of little things; Plastistruct caged ladders, loading dock, flowering weeds, 48 star flag kits, and a few scenery odds and ends…

[blownout cylinder]

Morning...

Another bitter cold morning for us..about 7F out there going too a high of 26F....

I've got nothing planned today so I'll be in the trainroom getting some scenery down then seeing if i can get some decent shots here....

Flo, I'll have a coffee and a breakfast bagel please..I'll be at the window booth watching the sun rise

[Anonymous]

Lunchtime in Germany!

Zoe, I´ll have a traditional fish n´chips plate anda pint of stout to wash it down, please.

My order did not show up in today´s mail. I was really hoping for it, as I wanted to do some wo*k in my modules this weekend. Spend the morning trying to find my way to the jungle of I-forms of the US Immigration service. You need to have a degree in law to be able to do that

Feeling somewhat down

Have a good one!

Edit: I just received a notification that my order will be shipped in two weeks

[Wisconsin Railfan]

Good Morning Folks!

Cup of coffee please,

Looks like this cold weather is going to stick around for a bit.  Have a great weekend all!

Steven

[wetidlerjr]

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I went down to my parents place this morning and mowed the yard. Afterward my father and I went into town in the RV to get gas. He had to overshoot the entrance to the gas station on account of some idiot in a tiny little excuse of a car cutting him off. Driving something that small and cutting across the path of a thirty four foot RV isn't a smart thing to do. My father had to turn around in a small parking lot in front of an old vision clinic to get back to the station. While doing so he dragged the rear end for just a moment coming out of the parking lot. Unknown to us at the time that simple action had busted both retaining springs off a leveling jack under the rear. He made sure to give the idiot a good blare with the horn then gave him a good old-fashioned army NCO verbal beat down about what a moron he was and how close he came to having his car look like a bottle cap. Anyway, he got his gas without incident ($89 at $3.449 a gallon) and we left the station. Ten miles down the road we hit a little bump in the highway and heard something thump under the rear end. We didn't know what it was and it didn't repeat, at least not immediately. When we turned onto Vernon Lake Road it did it again, then again and again and again until it very quickly became evident we were dragging something. He pulled of the road at the front edge of someones yard and went to look underneath. We had no idea what it could be. I hoped the generator hadn't worked loose somehow. He quickly discovered it was the left rear leveling jack. Now these are hydraulic long ram jacks. They look like hydraulic bottle jacks on steroids and the bottle part alone is over a foot long. They won't fit under the average pickup and you might have an issue even putting one under a 4x4. In simple terms, they're big! He secured it the best he could and hoped it would stay up. It quickly became evident however that it wasn't going to stay up so he had no option but to drag it all the way home. We got home without incident (except for the sounds of the jack being dragged) and pulled the RV up onto the concrete runners that serve as it's parking space. We looked underneath and it was painfully evident that the jack was a lost cause. The ram was bent and the seals were busted out and oil was running down it. We've decided that both rear jacks will simply be removed. They've never been used anyway so there's little point in going through the trouble of replacing the busted one. We went back to town later in the car and found both of the springs that had been knocked off. The springs themselves are big. They came off the hood of a school bus.

After that we went to the new Mexican restaurant in town, Los Mayos. First time we've been there and found it to be a good place. The food is quite good. From there we went to the rest home to see my mother. She's doing better lately. My father took her out yesterday to eat at a Chinese place in town. He doesn't care for it but she likes it. He then took her to the jewelry store and bought her a Jackie Onassis bracelet that matches the rings she already has. A quick trip home to pick up some new clothes then he took her back to the rest home. When we went there today she was in the homes beauty shop having her hair done. We stayed and visited for a while then had to leave as my right knee was starting to hurt really bad. That's usually a warning sign that my ankle isn't far behind. The pain from the knee was bad enough I had to use a wheelchair to get out to the car. By the time I got back home it had settled down enough that I could make a quick trip to town to get $20 in gas for the van. That's just under a quarter of a tank for that monster. No layout work was done today.

[teen steam fan]

Hey guys. 

Urlich - If you decide to come to the States and need a sponsor, I'd be honored. 

Got a big powerlifting competition tomorrow, So I thought 'd pop in before I head off to sleep. 

I'll let you guys know what happens tomorrow. 

[galaxy]

cudaken

 Galaxy Ever think about moving to Florida? It is a buyers market down there from what I have been told. Friend of my wife bought a 1100 square foot condo 3 miles from the beach for $47,000.00. There job market is terrible so housing is cheap. If I did not need to work, I move.

 

Actually Ken, I have an inheritance coming of a duplex in FL {to be split with my brother}. My Mother's Mother {my g-ma} built it for my mother. It is wortha bout 30k now and is rented to section 8 housing tenants, but the rent comes directly from the state to my father. It is in a bad neighborhood outside Tampa area and neither my bro nor I really want it. We might keep it as an investment as my father does. Out of state landlords in FL must have a certified Real Estate agent to handle the details, so all my father gets is a monthly check when it is rented. He cashes and pays the taxes on teh income. Easy as pie. I tried once living in FL in one of my G-ma's other rental properties when she was still alive  from April to the end of June. I couldn't stand the heat in May and June, let alone July and August! Even with a window A/c!! The job market back them was about dry as a bone too! We could live in one half the duplex for free, but no thanks the area changed GREATLY from the time my g-ma bought it in 1969.

Naw, we'll stay around here for awhile.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

[cudaken]

 Evening again folks. Belch

 Flo, I am fine and do not need another Belch

 Train Front Just installed the new wiring in the PCM Y6b tender and it did the trick. Engine is dragging 45 cars at 1% power up a grade. New wiring is about 2 inches longer than the original so there should not be a problem with the wires being pulled to tight again and pulling a wire out of the cannon plug.

 Sure is good to hear her again pulling a slow drag again!

 See you all Friday after work.

               Cuda Ken 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

galaxy

Jeffrey W. how is your mother doing?

Last couple of days she's been doing better. Yesterday my father took her out to eat at one of the local Chinese places. He doesn't care for it but she likes it. Then he took her to the jewelry store where he bought her a Jackie Onassis bracelet to go with the rings she already has then took her out to the house so she could pick up more clothes then it was back to the rest home. We went to see her today and she was having her hair done at the beauty shop at the rest home. We stayed there about an hour but we soon realized it was time to go. My right knee was hurting bad and that usually means the ankle isn't far behind. So we got out of there while I could still walk.

[cudaken]

 Evening Folks

 Flo, just a beer please.

 Got the running around done, took 4 hours. Went to 6 Banks today looking for half dollars, was only able to get one half dollar? Heck they are still making them, but where do you find them?

 Train Front Got the tether wiring for my Y6 b today from BLI, but did not feel like installing yet.

 Galaxy Ever think about moving to Florida? It is a buyers market down there from what I have been told. Friend of my wife bought a 1100 square foot condo 3 miles from the beach for $47,000.00. There job market is terrible so housing is cheap. If I did not need to work, I move.

 See you all later.

           Ken 

[Cederstrand]

Chicken enchiladas with rice & beans, please.

Y'all have a good day.

Cheers!  Rob 

[Attaboy]

Evening everyone.  It's been a little bit since I stopped in the diner so thought I would pop in and say hello.

Not much happening around here.  Still watching what I spend due to the divorce.  The 90 day waiting period will be up two weeks from today.  Yay!  Now if I could just get her to move out of the house.  She first said she would be out by the end of March, ain't gonna happen.  Then she said by the end of April.  The other day she said she would be moving on May 2nd.  The specific date gives me some hope but I'm not holding my breath.  I really don't care so much about her moving date as long as she signs the final papers in two weeks.  Once they are signed and we get the final divorce decree from the judge she WILL be out of here.  Either voluntarily or by eviction since she will no longer be my wife.  I have a phone number for one of the men she had an affair with, been thinking about calling him to see how he got rid of her afterward.  Even Ulrich would be able to see that explosion.  :)

Later all.

[galaxy]

Afternoon all,

WEll, we think we have found a good buyer's agent for us. SHe has some bad news, though. What we are in the market for is a small ranch {its what we want and can afford}. SHe said: 1} with the economy the way it is, people who normally would trade up are holding on to what they got instead; 2} around this time of year- Marcha nd April, the listings usually spike as people put their houses up for sale this tiem of year and this year they have NOT been getting the influx of new listings like normal; 3} our market is fairly stable {we knew that been watching RE for awhile in anticipation}, so it really is neither a buyers nor a sellers market; 4} She thinks some foreclosures will be coming up soon {not sure we want that hassle, though we can afford to wait for a bank to approve a sale which in a foreclosure or short sale can take awhile.}

She put us on the docket for property searches meeting our criteria/area, and the computer spit out aobut 8 properties for our consideration. 3 were nixed right away because of location, and 2 for size, and 2 were really out of our price league, unless the owners are really willing to negotiate. One has been on the market for awhile, as I have been perusing the online listings for about 2 years and have seen it for while now. They may be willing to negotiate to our price point, but its a  bit farther out than we think we would like, though we may set a time next week to go look at it. It is above our range, but our highest offer would not be a total insult I don't think, especially if they want to unload the property as it hasn't moved in many months. Another has been on the market for awhile and reduced in price, but we don''t like the location, its small and has the original 30's kitchen. We don't mid-century house with some original in-working-condition fittings, but a 30's kitchen? not quite!

WEll, we dont expect to find anything right away. What was perfect for us appeared about a month and a half ago and went to contract within a week. Unfortunately, it looks a "go" for that deal, but SHOULD it fall through, we are first on the list! Unfortunately, when it appeared on the market, I did not have the news we have now for our house buying experience. Bummer. A day late, and $59,900 short!

We are in no hurry, so we have time to select a house at our leisure to be sure we get "the right one" as it will be our first and last home. {unless things change drastically somehow}. But we are excited!!!

Got a migraine creeping in. Sure it's the weather as a snow storm passed through and dump 7" on us yesterday adn cold front settled in. New med to PREVENT migraines doesn't seem to be working, but I'm only on step two of upping the dose to the starting dose to neurologist wants me on.

Well, thats all for now.

Prayers for those who need them!!!

Jeffrey W. how is your mother doing?

TTYALLL8R

[TMarsh]

Back hurts a bit but there is a gooooood reason. I crawled up and around to do some work on the forgotten tunnel innards. Got a nasty cramp too but now, after the hot and cold glue dries, all I have to do for all to be better is lay down some dirt and rubbly crud and ballast (THAT oughta be fun) as far as I can see into the tunnel or reach. Whichever comes first. I think it will be see.

I also did quite a bit of straightening up and cleaning in my little world. To the unacustomed eye it looks like there is stuff shoved everywhere. To me though, it's a whole heck of a lot better. When the facia gets up and the covering for under the layout gets hung sometime hopefully in my lifetime, it will look just fine. At least I can walk around without stepping over stuff all the time.

Welp, according to Missy it's Oinkie time so gotta go. Might take a wee bit of a nap before w**k. all this talk of sleeplessness is making me tired. Grateful, but tired.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, a bowl of hot oatmeal with brown sugar and a pot of dark roast coffee in a FGLK Mug please and thank you.

We ended up getting 5.2" of the white stuff yesterday and last night. Currently 29°F with a high today of 30°.  The sun is shining brightly put there though, so the white stuff will be turning into liquid stuff.  i may run the snow blower just to say I ran it again......

Ulrich, hope THAT package gets to your house soon!  At least you would have something to occupy time with.

On the train front, yesterday I ordered a bunch of small items from 3 different places.  These are not things the LHS carries and he has been very poor about ordering anything in these days...  Too bad as he has lost my $$ as lot of items I need for the 1925 era layout are not items he has in stock. 

The Batavia Spring Train Show is this Sunday, so I have to get materials printed and packed for the NMRA "Modelers Corner".  Not sure what I am going to w*rk on yet.  I may take the Engine House/Workshop and redo the main doors on it.  I could get both of them made and ready to be painted by the end of the day.......

Hope you all have a great day!

73