Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Morning,
all my hoping was futile - no track, no power pack - no MRRing this weekend
I also caught a bug, which keeps m in bed most of the time. Not a good day!
Zoe, chamomile tea, please!
Have a good weekend!
Insomniac's Special, please.
***Barry, looks like that thing lost it's wings.
***Ray, sure like that scene and neat loco.
Have a good day y'all.
Rob
Good Morning!! Breakfast pile please. Scrambled, sausage and of course Dark Roast coffee and salsa thank you. Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. We’re getting the thunderstorm you asked for Rob. We don’t need to be cooled off, but it is a welcome thunderstorm for me. Gentle rain some thunder a little lightening …..calming, not mean or nothing. Haven’t had one of these make you sleepy thunderstorms in a long time. Lately they’ve been the head to the cellar with the Family Bible type storms. Curt- The easing of the curves looks a lot better. Ken- Take your voltmeter to the battery. Check to make sure you are charged. Hit the starter and check the cranking voltage. It should not drop below 9 volts. If it does, it’s likely the battery. Or both. But before checking that, use the amp meter again and check the amps before, which you have, then check it while you’re cranking, or trying to. Shouldn’t drop more than 50-60 amps. If it does it’s the starter. Probably. Maybe. If it doesn’t drop that much then it’s more than likely the battery. Or both. You should really test the battery with a load tester independent of the starter or your car to be real sure. You reall can't diagnose anything electrical unless you know the battery is good and the juice is flowing. 12 volts jumps no gap. If it passes all those tests, you’re looking for either a connection, yes the batteries too, you’re ground, both the one off the battery and that the starter bolts are tight, could be the relay, switch, shoot still could be in the solenoid of the starter. Jump to that and see if it cranks. Second thought, try that after the first two but only when the thing won’t crank. If when you jump the starter it still doesn’t crank, it is your starter, PROVIDING you know you have power to the starter.....,and the battery's good. (see?) If it does crank, just start going through till you find where there is no power when there should be. No biggy. Takes longer to explain it than to do it. Oh and if you get that far, don't forget the neutral safety switch, or the clutch pedal switch or whatever else they may have that keeps the little beasterd from starting when it's "unsafe". Well toda….what? Today is one of those days that there is not much going on but enough that, again, it takes longer to say it. A few things scattered that should allow some train time off and on until we will depart from our station to a friends station where we will attend their Annual Daytona 500 Party. Speaking of which, it’s after 6 now (yikes! going on 7!) so that means the Casey’s is open and that means donuts are available for purchase and immediate consumption. Now ya done gone and flung a cravin' on me. Glad you mentioned it Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
Good Morning!! Breakfast pile please. Scrambled, sausage and of course Dark Roast coffee and salsa thank you.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
We’re getting the thunderstorm you asked for Rob. We don’t need to be cooled off, but it is a welcome thunderstorm for me. Gentle rain some thunder a little lightening …..calming, not mean or nothing. Haven’t had one of these make you sleepy thunderstorms in a long time. Lately they’ve been the head to the cellar with the Family Bible type storms.
Curt- The easing of the curves looks a lot better.
Ken- Take your voltmeter to the battery. Check to make sure you are charged. Hit the starter and check the cranking voltage. It should not drop below 9 volts. If it does, it’s likely the battery. Or both. But before checking that, use the amp meter again and check the amps before, which you have, then check it while you’re cranking, or trying to. Shouldn’t drop more than 50-60 amps. If it does it’s the starter. Probably. Maybe. If it doesn’t drop that much then it’s more than likely the battery. Or both. You should really test the battery with a load tester independent of the starter or your car to be real sure. You reall can't diagnose anything electrical unless you know the battery is good and the juice is flowing. 12 volts jumps no gap. If it passes all those tests, you’re looking for either a connection, yes the batteries too, you’re ground, both the one off the battery and that the starter bolts are tight, could be the relay, switch, shoot still could be in the solenoid of the starter. Jump to that and see if it cranks. Second thought, try that after the first two but only when the thing won’t crank. If when you jump the starter it still doesn’t crank, it is your starter, PROVIDING you know you have power to the starter.....,and the battery's good. (see?) If it does crank, just start going through till you find where there is no power when there should be. No biggy. Takes longer to explain it than to do it. Oh and if you get that far, don't forget the neutral safety switch, or the clutch pedal switch or whatever else they may have that keeps the little beasterd from starting when it's "unsafe".
Well toda….what? Today is one of those days that there is not much going on but enough that, again, it takes longer to say it. A few things scattered that should allow some train time off and on until we will depart from our station to a friends station where we will attend their Annual Daytona 500 Party.
Speaking of which, it’s after 6 now (yikes! going on 7!) so that means the Casey’s is open and that means donuts are available for purchase and immediate consumption. Now ya done gone and flung a cravin' on me. Glad you mentioned it
Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
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.
Hi All,
Flo a cup of coffee to go please.
Getting ready to walk out the door to go to w**k. It is a short day today, only 10 hours. Just wanted to say Good Morning to everyone.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
Morning, steak eggs and hashbrowns with coffee, thanks
Ken- Stupid question I know but what are the odds that you have bad solenoids?
If you can read this... thank a teacher. If you are reading this in english... thank a veteran
When in doubt. grab a hammer.
If it moves and isn't supposed to, get a hammer
If it doesn't move and is supposed to, get a hammer
If it's broken, get a hammer
If it can't be fixed with a hammer... DUCK TAPE!
Saaaaaay, steamers. Question for ya's
How do you feel about IHC "Premier Series"? IIRC, they, IHC, were like the new AHM or something years ago. Bought them, morphed into them something like that. Somehow I'm under the impression to sorta stay away from their locos. I've seen some at the MRR shows and was not real impressed with some but others looked kinda nice, but the price, the variations in appearance and the lower prices, along with the idea I got somewhere, kept me from ever buying one. Irrregardless. The reason is, on thee-bay there is a little steamer from IHC "Premier Series". Now I'm a cheap ol dog so I wouldn't be bidding much if I do at all, but I don't want to spend hobby bucks on something known trashy either. So I was wondering is the Premier Series the equiivelent of Life-Like's Proto series? Or Bachmann' s Spectrum? Well, actually I hold Bachmann's standard locos in the Okee dokee catagory anyway, but you get my drift. Life-Like, well maybe their ok but I just don't personally care for the way they look. Like they're on stilts or something. Anway, just wondering your opinion on them as that will influence my decision on whether to bid and how little. I mean much..... Remember it's me we're talking about here. I don't care if it isn't a Rolls Royce of a model or if there are better ones out there and the brand name, or should I say lack of, really means nothing. As long as it's not just a display model waiting to happen, I don't really care what the brand name is or whether some will look down their nose at me for having one.
Good morning.
I arrived OK in Alabama, but was significantly delayed by 3 major accidents and a construction project. I think passenger trains should be brought back to the USA. Where is the "Old Reliable" L&N?
Thanks for comments on my creative scene. I like being whimsical at times. The truck trailer says: "Fiasco Transport; Surprising Results". The blue tow truck says "Heel Towing".
Jeff ... Your bix car picture should be a good inspiration for the weathering modelers. Also, people should pay attention the the scene. Look at the weeds and the track for layout ideas.
Have a good one as Jerry would say.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good Morning...
Made a good morning run to Tim Horton's to get me coffee and had another one of those dang incidents with my ankle turning...
So, here I sit with the leg up and an ice bag on the ankle....
Anyhow...I's be getting a few hours of work on the layout today..everything..so far....seems pretty quiet...
Flo, I'll just have a breakfast bagel and a coffee 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/
Not feeling good this morning. My nephew and his friends kept me up most of the night with their loud music. That finally ceased around 5:00 or 5:30 and I got a little sleep then woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. So this morning I did some more repair work on the vans windshield wipers. I replaced the other wiper arm bushings before they can get a chance to fail. The wiper motor will have to be replaced but it works for now. I also repaired the marker lights at the end of the driveway. They've been backed over a number of times and needed some work. The only good part of that is the people who backed over them had to get some help to get the vehicles out of the ditches to either side. Well, time to see if I can wear myself out to the point that I can get some sleep. I feel kinda like a bag of Portland cement that got wet, dried into a big block then shattered by a pile driver.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
TMarsh- The very first steam loco I bought when I got back into the hobby last year was a NIB IHC Priemere 2-10-2. It is not very prototypical for the PRR but I did not realize that at the time. Overall for a generic 2-10-2 it is nice looking.
The loco runs great and a good puller on a flat grade. The one I have can hardly pull itself up a 3% grade at my club. To try to pull anything up an incline forget about it. It was the only steamer I had for a long time so I had TSU-1000/sound put into it. I have several prototypical steamers now so I am thinking seriously about removing the sound from it and do something similar to what Jeff did using the loco as a monument by the passenger station or sit it on a sding by the engine house. I have not decided yet.
Hope this helps.
Gooooooooooooooooooooooood afternoon. Hmmmm. Casey's donuts.....best in the midwest.
Well (with the body at the bottom getting somewhat discomposed), we've got the crate for the wife's cat, Rerun's leash, flashlights and the Family Bible at the ready for a line of storms expected here tomorrow afternoon/evening. The "good news" looks like the worst will start north and move across Wisconsin. The "bad news" is our fun will now start later...after the temperature gets into the 80s and the humidity increases (more fuel). But TODD will likely miss it all....seems it'll all slide well safely north of him. I'll be checking the contents of "the disaster box" later today to see how it's looking for supplies, 'spose it's THAT time of year anyway. Since it's my 2-week tour of duty on "storm watch crew," I'll be at the station (or out in a fire truck watching) if/when anything bad hits. I've already briefed the Wife on what needs to happen if/when the big yellow siren sounds and she gets a call from me saying "get there (basement) now!" Might have to conduct another job briefing/safety briefing on THAT... Eternal optimist she is...those storms never hit us. Stone cold pessimist/realist I am...I figure our number is gonna come up someday, so we'd best be ready for anything.
Tomorrow is also the FD pancake breakfast, which this year coincides with Tiffin Fire/First Responder's breakfast. Soooooooooooooooo (not a needle pulling thread, I got the needle stuck in my thumb somehow), I'll be helping out for a couple of hours, leaving my FD to travel to Tiffin, shoot pics at their breakfast for THAT Editor, then back to close-down the breakfast at my station. I'm sure some of the pin-heads on my dept. will be "thrilled" with THAT....too bad. They just might see how fast a fire dept. pager can come off of a belt and slide across a table.
JEFF: After being kept up all night by a nephew, I'd be finding ways to make his hung-over morning/afternoon MISERABLE.
Geeepers, I'm grumpy today.
I've already forgotten who had the yard tracks with the sharp curve, tore it up, re-laid it....looks much better now!
Best wishes to those in need, have a good one everybody,
Chris
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!
AmanaMedic JEFF: After being kept up all night by a nephew, I'd be finding ways to make his hung-over morning/afternoon MISERABLE.
"I did some work on the airhorn this morning. Things like cleaning the contacts. That requires the horn to operate at least several times."
BRAVO!!!
You mischevious devil you, I figured you had a little "token of appreciation" lined up for him!
Got to see the nurse practitioner yesterday to get antibiotics for my bronchial infection. Antibiotics often come with the runs...so now everything is running right through me like a freight train!
{see I made it RR related! } LOL I know-I know...muy estupido.
WEll no news on house hunting front. very low inventory around here and buyers market. I see the prices being slashed on listings that have been listed online for quite awile. They are mostly 2 story and capes, and we insist on a ranch, thank you very much. Due to buyers market, people are not trading up vacating what could be our forever home. WE are in no real hurry I guess...but...
What we really want is really a bit out our price range...we are hoping to find something that maybe we can get reduced INTO our price range. Or it's not really what we want...for example a ranch on a slab- no basement for MRRing space! We CAN'T have THAT!! Even with a garage we could use for MRRing if we wanted to finish off, BUT we want a garage for the minivans TOO!! We want everything! and we want it NOW!
who... must be the antibiotics wearing on me making me a silly boy today.
I must go run the dishwasher
Have a great day all
TTYALLL8R
-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.
GALAXY: Welcome to the "joys" of house hunting. The Wife and I got our "forever home" just over six years ago. At the time, I was renting a crappy shack from an old gentleman farmer. His oldest son (quite possibly an illegitimate) took over and was an instant A...............................hole. So, seeing the writing on the crumbling walls, we decided to take the plunge and find a place THAT would be ours all ours...well (body at the bottom in case you've forgotten), ours and the bank's!). Sew, we did a bunch of looking. I was hitting the MLS (I think) sites daily, printing off likely houses and we'd look them over. The first house we "seriously" thought about turned into a disgusting afternoon. The house was mostly OK, but "distressed." The selling agent seized upon us being "first time homebuyers" and wanted to get us into his office THAT very day to start signing papers!!! I told him, in no uncertain, and probably a few profane ones to boot, THAT no way were we buying the first house we looked at, within an hour of looking at it!!! Somebody hooked us up with a realtor...but he kept sending us houses well out of our limited price range, etc., etc., etc. Sounds like your situation. We finally gave him the heave when his assistant LISTENED to us and took us on as clients. SHE found us some more promising properties...but ultimately, we found our house ourselves. The realtor just helped facilitate the deal, muscled the selling agent into some things (like turning on the utilities so we could inspect the place), did negotiating for us, etc.
Oh joy. Oh rapture. Cedar County's "finest" were chasing somebody out on the gravels north of town...sounds like the "suspect" went and wrecked himself. Our local ambulance just went out on it. Guess I get to wait and see if Fire will be invited to the party or not.
I was working inside the van this morning when being tired and not having eaten anything this morning caught up with me. I was sitting on the drivers seat leaning over toward the passenger side to put on one of the panels of the lower part of the dash after I had serviced some of the wiring and I just suddenly passed out. No warning. One second I was awake and the next I was out! I woke up a while later to find myself caught between the seats (about a two foot gap). It was very uncomfortable to say the least. The lower part of my legs were up on the drivers seat and the right side of my face was pressed down against the passengers seat. The rest of me was kinda balled up in that gap. It didn't help any that the seats are offset. That is, the passenger seat is set about a foot farther back. Every time I tried to extricate myself I just settled in farther and tighter. My right arm was trapped under me. I tried moving it to maybe push myself up but that was a no go and there was nothing I could push or pull on to improve my situation. To make matters worse there was an orbital sander laying on it's side on the floor and it felt like it was pressing a grand canyon size hole in the right side of my back. So there I was, caught like a rat in a trap when I suddenly remembered the cell phone I got for use in the event I should be stranded on the roadside. I keep it charged just in case. Usually it's in a storage pocket between the sun visor and the roof but for some reason I had taken it out of there and set it on the engine cover. I could just get my left hand up there to snag it with my fingertips. Once it was in hand I pressed the power button and it worked. I had three bars. So all I had to do was figure out who I wanted to call. No point in calling my nephew. He had already left to escape the racket I had been making while testing the air horn (payment for keeping me up all night). My father was at work so that was out. So I called my sister and hoped she and her husband were at home. They were. I told her what had happened and that I needed help to get out of there and that it had to be done quickly. I could no longer feel my legs. At that point I had been there for close to an hour and a half. So my sister and her husband show up and they assess the situation and both are getting a good chuckle out of it. We're all trained in rescue and I guess seeing a rescue specialist needing rescue seemed like a funny thing. So he takes up a position at the drivers door (both doors have been open all along) and she takes a position at the passenger door. He grabs my left hand and pulls me toward him while my sister pushes from the opposite side. As soon as the steering wheel was within reach I grabbed it and pulled myself up. Oh man did I hurt but it felt great. I stayed there until I could feel my legs again then carefully got out and put weight on them. A little shaky at first but that passed quickly. I ate some peanut butter and crackers and am now working on getting something more substantial cooked. I think that'll be it for the days activities.
Jeff: That was not good at all!! Hopefully you'll feel a little better shortly...
Good Afternoon..
Not much happening from this end today..it is all sunny and mild out..a warmish 58F here right now.
Galaxy: Our forever home took us almost a year to find, and even then it was an interesting experience..we did it with a newcomer to the realty trade ourselves..we were her first clients...
Chris: I know the realist part, my wife just looks at me and grins..nothing happens much up here so she may be on to something......although I am always prepared....
Got a few things done today in addition to laying draping some plaster paper towels on the hillside, actually cliff at this point, between the levels around the tourist trap town.
Heading in to town for the weekend supper out, probably the Chinese Boo-fay. I've decided to beg off the Daytona Party, just kinda feel like staying home. Thhough I'll miss out on the Spinach Artichoke dip the wife was gonna make.....
Curt, Complete prototypical accuracy of a model, though desirable, is not of the utmost importance to me, though I do want it to be appealing to my sight. That may or may not agree with someone elses though. This particular one did look pretty good in the pictures, but I'm sure it was either lacking or probably wrong for the road it was for, but seeing as how I was gonna change it to a ficticious road...no matter. The second part of your experience, about how it will eventually end up on a shelf, is juuuust what I was curious about. I do believe I will let someone else have that little jewel. Thank you.
I'm willing to take chances, but the price must be right for taking chances.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Deep breath...... what a day!
Flo, I'll have the Pulled Pork Sandwich a trip to the salad bar, and a glass of the Hammondsport Gold Seal Winery, Mountain Lake Niagara wine. What? you don't have that??? OK, then a glass of Pleasant Valley Vineyards, Finger Lakes Pink Catawba. No? OK, just a cup of decaf then!!!
The Meet exceeded our wildest hopes. The Curtis Museum Theater has 74 seats. We get between 20 and 30 people generally to our meets. We had to bring extra chairs....... People loved the idea of doing a clinic on the history of the RR (Bath and Hammondsport) and then a clinic on how someone modeled the RR. Several people had never been to the Glenn H. Curtiss Aviation Museum (which is a lot more today than airplanes...) and just raved about the location. I was presented my Civil Certificate and the Division presented our AP Chair, Mr. Harold Russell, Jr. MMR a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for both his devotion to our division and his tireless help to model railroaders everywhere. I think he was touched. I tied for first place photo with this one:
And the Lake Shores Limited took second place in the model contest... Oh, and now I can show what I've been up to. I didn't want to give away what I was doing just in case someone here at the site is one of our members. First off the name Lake Shores Limited is the name of the Division Newsletter. Here is the first car. Can any of you tell me the significance of the car #?
Jeffrey, glad you are still with us. That is scary being caught and not being able to get up..... I could just hear you yelling, "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up....!" (Ducks wrench throw at himself...) Sorry, I just couldn't resist!
Barry, I love that photo of the steamers.... YES!
Got to go unload the car....
Later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Ray,
Way to go...
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Congratulations Ray!!!!
Another one....
well, CHris and Blownout-
House hunting in person has not yet happened. I have been keeping an eye on the published computer'd MLS for aobut 2.5 yrs now. SO I've seen what is offered in what price ranges around here.
AS I said, what we really want is out of our price range. We are looking for a 50's or 60's ranch with full DRY basement-preferably concrete over cinder blocks with maybe a garage-preferably a 2 car. Throw in a half finished basement or family room and a fireplace somewhere and in a 3 BR with 2 full baths, we'd be happy campers!
Now what we can afford is more likely a 2 Br 1 Ba ranch with no garage and no fireplace or finished family room anywhere. We could maybe over some time finish off the basement ourselves for both the layouts {one for each as MOH wants an N scale layout} AND our family room area. MOH wants a "sitting room" LR that is always neat and clean in which to "entertain" guests. Yeah right, ANy of our guests are close friends who would get invited into the "private family room" where "we can be a bit messy and cluttered" {as we are} ANYWAY! so I see no dif.
WE want a ranch as both our mothers have been wheelchair users and we know we are going to get old and may nto climb stairs so well. THe "sitting room LR" would then become our "messy room" ad oh well on who see it when we get older.
WE also have lived in a trailer for many many years and are used to one level living, but would like a basement space to build layouts in! WIht my health and bad back and breathing problems, it is likely I will done with stairs sometime sooner than later.
< Rant removed>
TYYALLL8R
I don't know about you guys but I'm heading for the bed in short order. I never really got my strength back today and almost felt like it might be safer to crawl. Right now I'm so wiped out that the spell checker is saving me a lot of embarrassment. OK, I'm out of here before I fall over. See y'all tomorrow.
Evening All,
Just got home not too long ago. I was held over due to call volume today at w***k. Tomorrow I have to do some yard work in the morning then I hope to start laying track in the afternoon.
Ray- Great job modeling.
Jeff- Hope you feel better in the morning.
Well I'm pretty bushed from the heat today so I am on my way to bed.
Everyone have a great night.
Evening Folks
Flo, just a beer, I am beat.
Do Not Hump! I wont go into all the details tonight but I was forced to do some Rail Fanning today. First of all, I have to cross 2 rail road tracks to get to our warehouse for the 8:00 AM meeting. Seems some idiot tried to beat a freight train and got creamed. Car remains where gone, but they where checking out the freights cars before they moved it. Of course it was blocking the crossing I need to get to the meeting.
After the meeting, the train in the accident was gone, but here comes a coal train as I was trying to get across the crossing and open the store! It was being pulled by 2 UP 6000's and had a pusher that I think was a Dash 9. While I did not count the cars, I would guess there was 100 or so, it was long. As the lead engines it started going slow and I could read all the lettering on the coal cars.
Lot of the cars on the front and rear said Do Not Hump. Well we all here know what a Hump Yard is, so I understood. But, I had time to reflect on what the none rail road person would think if they saw Do Not Hump!
Team Steam I was so think it is the solenoid, in fact there is a teck tip about leaking exhaust manifold gaskets cooking them. A new one is $20.00, but you have to drop the whole starter to install it so the labor time is the same as replacing the starter. With the Cat dumping exhaust right under it, I could have cooked it. If I only replace it, and the starter it self is bad. Well you get the idea.
Todd Thank you for your well thought out answer. To bad I am so tired I need to re read it. The battery test was done on a Bear Machine and and after the second test pull (starter was not engaged) it was down to 215 amps. Battery is a 550 amp battery. Cars voltmeter is showing 18 volts so it is charging. Tried to start it tonight when I got home (sat for a day) and it just went click. Well throw the charger on it Sunday and see if it cranks over.
Well I bushed, see you all Sunday!
Ken
I hate Rust
Evening, Janie - I'll just have a Santa Fe mug of decaf and one of those hot fudge sundaes, please. Thanks!
Well (think it's getting close to China at the bottom of THAT thing about now...), the hail moved through our area about 6:30 a.m.; had me wondering if the apartment windows would hold up. Then I was wondering "Gee, what might the car look like after this is over?" Got up about then, watched to see what the weatherguessers could tell me about the storm (mostly that it was moving through about 45 mph, and the radar didn't show much behind one cluster of storm/hail going through my area about then, and another moving through the county south and a bit west of us - both heading mostly east instead of the usual-for-us southwesterly-to northeasterly slant). Got up, remembered I had NOT made it to get some groceries last night , so had my morning vitamin and fish oil capsules with a glass of cranberry juice, since I was out of milk or OJ then.
Later in the morning, went to "Lazy L Safari Park", where my grandson Drew's 3rd birthday party was to be held. He had a good time, mostly enjoyed the animals (sorry, no lions, tigers, or bears (oh, my!) - just a zebra, a very tall giraffe, couple of llamas, couple of emus, two red kangaroos (smaller than the ones in the movies, but bigger than wallabies), some Jacob's spotted sheep (w/varying number of horns on some, from 1 to 4, depending on which male), a cavy, some peacocks and pea hens, Fallow deer, and (off in the pasture area on a hill) two or three white - dingy white, maybe - buffalo. Plus a blue and yellow macaw (with warning not to get too close to him), two camels, a (rather louder than any other varmits) dromedary camel, and some African antelope whose name I forgot. Drew liked all the animals (though he didn't want to feed the giraffe either of the two carrots his mother bought for him to use), except for one small white dog that was wandering around the place looking for attention (likely the family pet of the folks who operate the park and the "alternative livestock" part (they have about 200 head of red deer in another part of their property)). Drew said he wished the dog would go 'away'. He also enjoyed all the gifts he got at the party - and when reminded, said "Thank you" to the giver (without taking his eyes off that gift or the next one to unwrap). Got a lot of dinosaur and train stuff. I think Drew has more engines than freight cars at the moment (most all from Thomas the Train series), maybe more locos than my layout does! Oh, I got Drew a dinosaur book (one with those thick pages and googly eyes in the dinosaurs), and a book on trains. I'll get him some wood track or other train accessories for Christmas, I think. His mom's w**king on a list of all the engines and cars that he has (and will email me THAT to help with my shopping for it)
Jeff, my apologies, but reading your account of your mishap gave me a chuckle, too (but I would've come by to help you get out, as well). Glad you could get some help - and I hope you get plenty of rest tonight (NO nephew's shennanigans!) THAT getting stuck like that is one of those things that - in looking back - is funny, but sure didn't make us happy at the time. Maybe post yourself a big sign to eat something before you start your errands outside of your trailer? (Chuckled also about your getting back at your nephew with the "airhorn test")
Ray, wonderful photo (of your roundhouse, right?)! Definitely looks like the real thing! As for that car, I would guess the car number was when your divison was first organized - am I right?
Galaxy, I think your CFO there was raised like my Mom was - if I recall correctly, we never took the cellophane covers on the lampshades in the "living" room (at the front of our ranch style house), while the family room (to the back side of the house) was where about everybody we knew would come (THAT or the patio out back that we built). But at least you're headed in the right direction to find something to 'move up' to. On the list...
Ulrich, get rested up so that once your MRR stuff finally does arrive (by pack mule?), you'll have plenty of energy to open the box(es) and check them out, play a bit with them, etc. Feeling puny does NOT help one's enjoyment of train stuff!
Barry, I like LOVE that photo of the three steamers(!). Keep 'em comin'!
Garry - safe trip, and thanks for setting up that scene by the train trestle. (Chuckle...snicker...) Hope you can make things really a PIT-Butt for whoever's been MESS(tm)'ing with your mother (and her finances as a result).
Since Todd raised a question about the IHC loco he was eyeing on 'deBay', I'll ask one for myself: I have a (Mehano, I think) Mogul (2-6-0) that I received a little while back, and haven't really had a chance to fully try out yet. I also have an Athearn Genesis Mikado I bought which (once I get a decoder put in it and all of it re-assembled, painted, etc.) will be my major steamer hauling goods (freight, or the CAW's CEO's favorite, a heavyweight train with his executive car). I'm wondering on my Mogul about how its running likely is (plus how to fit a decoder in the tender) and whether I would be as well off to go find another 'medium-small' steamer (Prairie or Consolidation) that would pull okay/better. Any suggestions?
Robby, congratulations on ALL the fronts - it sounds like great progress has begun (at last, eh?). Keep it comin'!
CudaKen, you didn't give a guy named Murphy a ride in your car when you were going to, and coming from, your meeting today, did you? Around this part of Missouri, they'll build highway viaducts to go over the train tracks, just because of somebody like the driver they were scraping off the rails in your area.
As for me, on the MRR front, I didn't get some Bowser 2-bay covered hoppers (Rio Grande and ATSF) I was hoping to snag off 'the Bay' (outbid beyond what I wanted to pay), but I have found another ATSF one that I will be getting. Also have been putting more of my MRR (trains, supplies, etc.) into an inventory database. Unfortunately, the program doesn't have the strongest options for printing out what I have. I might go back to AppleWorks and try it there - it has more options for printouts in its database module.
On the w**k front, I might be getting closer to my licensure (at last...). We'll just say that the state put pressure on our agency, and I got told to get my paperw**k ready to send in, and it went in to the board on Friday (at least, by then it - with a check and all my papers except for a transcript which I'd asked my university to send the board - was turned over to our outpatient supervisor). Now, say some prayers for the board to not be too picky about anything not being *exactly* as they (in their infinite wisdom?) think it should have been written down, and just go ahead and grant me the licensure.
I will try to get some pics from Drew's party posted tomorrow afternoon (and maybe some MRR ones, too). Meantime, prayers will continue for all those in need of them (which would be about all of us).
Blessings and prayers,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
Evenin' again!
Flo just a decaf before I head out to bed. Been a long day since the alarm went off at 6:15 this morning....
JimRCGMO Ray, wonderful photo (of your roundhouse, right?)! Definitely looks like the real thing! As for that car, I would guess the car number was when your divison was first organized - am I right? Jim in Cape Girardeau
Thanks Jim! You are almost right, the # is a year, but not the divisions. Has something to do with our sponsor at the forum, believe it or not.... Al Kalmbach was part of it.