Me again,
I just want to say thank you for all the support you give in these bad times. If it weren´t for you, I´d probably turn insane (Petra thinks I am already). Taking care of elderly people is not an easy task and it takes the rest of my energy to overlook the selfishness which my Dad shows, but he is my Dad and I am happy that I still have both of my parents. Well, I shouldn´t be complaining, but it is just because I feel lousy myself. I have my own heart surgery coming up on the 26th - it is only yet another bypass, but I feel uneasy about it.
Curt - we are always glad to see pictures of layouts here. It tickles our imagination and is a help for all of us, so don´t be shy to post whatever you have. You know, not all of us have layouts like Ray´s or Garry´s ...
Janie, may I have some coffee, please. I´ll be in the back booth, keeping quiet for now.
TTFN
Afternoon guys.
WE set out to look at 3 houses today, ended up looking at only 2. The 3rd one sold in 7 days, becasue it was priced right. TO BAD we couldn't get a time with our agent that quick!
One we looked at was largely level, but on a hillsidehigh tothe right and low to the left. It would have been PERFECT for us...IF we could get it fromthe bank at our price! EXCEPT for one little thing...the foundation had two side-to-side wall through floor to wall cracks in it! They were fairly level cracks, BUT enough to possibly knock it out of whack. They had two dehumidifiers running connected to a sump pump. Another not-so go sign. It was STORMING RAIN like you wouldn't believe when we got there. And LAST, but not least, the added 2 car {if you can call it that} garage leaked water in from the high side, and the basement had h2o seepage at the floor/wall on the high side too! It was a modular taht had electrical wiring run along the center beams BEFORE it was set onteh metal posts..could cause a short in wiring. no wonder the bank was trying to unload it...cause it WAS NICE, but we take NO CHANCES on that foundation. AND ALL the windows save one had broken seals inthe double panes! SO it was a no-go for us, even if we could get it at a nice price than they wanted.
The 2nd house didn't show it in the pics, but ALSO was on a hill, but not bad, except a horrible to get into drive with a sheer drop off on one side, though. It wasn't too bad inside, sat all winter so msuty, though it was showing age for sure {50's}. But the basement wwas block {cinder blocks} and had STANDING WATER in it! The front porch roof leaked right into the porch and was a complete tear off. The back "patio" slab was heaved so that it washed water towards the house by about 6 inches! The old retaining wall was old RAILROAD TIES {see I can make it RR related!} that were crumbling with a wood fence on top that had seen better days. SO another no-go!
It's too bad abbout the first one, though cause it would have been PERFECT for us, but not taking ANY chances of structural issues! and Leakage!
The third house was another one that could have been "perfect" but sold in just 7 days, as the pricing was right and we didn't get tehre first! Dang it all I HATE when that happens!
There is one to look at on Sat on a slab. If it is all carpeted {or hardwood- which should really NOT be put down over concrete slabs} we won't be able to see if the slab has cracked or not. That can be as bad.
We got another listing today form our agent 2 days on market, bank owned foreclosure, but man! the taxes alone for a 2 br/ 1 bath 1100 sq foot out inthe country are over $5K!!! we may look at it...it DOES have a 500' deep lot, so I think they are taxing agricultural farm on the land...nearly 1 3/4 acres. But it sure as dang ain't no farm or even a farmette! HAving our agent check the tax situation, thats a bit more than we want to pay for a small house.
On another note...when I had my colonoscopy my blood sugar was high{which was starving}, and the starving blood work last week showed high, so now I have to see the Dr. about that and find out if I am transitioning into adult onset diabetes.Not so high yet that it is confirmed especially without further testing, but high 100's is not good.
ULRICH- Prayers are with you...extra prayer candle for you you have had so much sadness around you lately!!!
WEll, I see I have another email from agetn...gotta run!
TTYALL8R
-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.
Hey Galaxy
Rule of thumb on concrete block basement wall cracks is this - a diagonal crack implies some foundation settlement, a vertical crack needs to be looked at closer, and a horizontal crack near the mid-height of the wall means Get Out Of The Basement Now!
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
It's been close to 4 hours since I left the Post Office if anyone cares.
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.
TMarsh It's been close to 4 hours since I left the Post Office if anyone cares.
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
Hi Chaps,
Cudaken is on his way over here, turns out he needs to borrow my throttle again! Me thinks that his throttle does not like cigarette smoke!!
On the subject of layout photos, my eldest son just graduated from the local Catholic grade school. 2 weeks ago, I got to accompany him on his field trip to Chicago. We stopped by the Museum of Science and Industry and I took a few shots
HO Scale Layout at the Museum of Science and Industry following the route from Chicago to Seattle.
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
simon1966 Hi Chaps, Cudaken is on his way over here, turns out he needs to borrow my throttle again! Me thinks that his throttle does not like cigarette smoke!! On the subject of layout photos, my eldest son just graduated from the local Catholic grade school. 2 weeks ago, I got to accompany him on his field trip to Chicago. We stopped by the Museum of Science and Industry and I took a few shots HO Scale Layout at the Museum of Science and Industry following the route from Chicago to Seattle.
jeffrey-wimberly Now that's a LOT of track to clean!
Now that's a LOT of track to clean!
The trains are running continuously and most of the trains looked like they were dragging cleaning cars with them. It really is huge, 1400 ft of track, according to their web site.
Afternoon folks!
Just a RBF to tide me over to dinner Janie.
Simon nice pics. I have a son who lives in Chicago. I have to get out to see THAT place, I mean out to see my son........
One of THOSE dyas here in the Finger Lakes. Late this morning I went out to the shed and pulled out the lawn mower with the idea of tackling the swamp and hay field THAT used to be a lawn.... I set the mower up a couple notches and proceeded to try and cut it... The sun was shining at the moment I opened the shed door, but the minute I had done one strip the sun went into hiding and a big black cloud appeared and decided to send some precipitation where I was. Even after pulling the mower up a couple notches, the length I was trying to mow was at least 4" over the bottom of the deck and still wet from the rain last night. I continued to mow in the rain until the batteries were dead (which didn't take very long due to conditions) Put the mower away after plugging in the charger and ran to the house as it was now raining quite hard. As soon as I got in the house the rain stopped and the sun came out..... Let the mower charge about 4 hours (80% charge) and went out this afternoon to do a bit more. You will never guess what happened at THAT moment to the sun.... Oh! You did guess. Yep rained some more. Made a few more passes, put the mower back in the shed and quit for today. I got about 1/4 of the lawn done. Supposed to have thunderboomers tonight and tomorrow...... I think i will pull the mulching thing out and go back to catching the clippings in the bag... works better with heavy, wet grass we have this year.
Can never figure out.... I never, ever, put fertilizer on the lawn. I don't use herbacides, grub poison, or any other chemical on it. Why is my lawn the greenest and fastest growing in the whole d@mn neighborhood???
Got to get showered and ready to head out to Rochester tonight for the Museum Meeting.
Later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
simon1966 jeffrey-wimberly: Now that's a LOT of track to clean! The trains are running continuously and most of the trains looked like they were dragging cleaning cars with them. It really is huge, 1400 ft of track, according to their web site.
jeffrey-wimberly: Now that's a LOT of track to clean!
mononguy63 Hey Galaxy Rule of thumb on concrete block basement wall cracks is this - a diagonal crack implies some foundation settlement, a vertical crack needs to be looked at closer, and a horizontal crack near the mid-height of the wall means Get Out Of The Basement Now!
The house with the block foundation had the standing water in it. We didn't take time to look for cracks...standing water is a BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADD thing.
The house with the cracks that went from one window well, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall to the other window well on each end of it with a third crack starting in the middle down the wall and across HALF the floor and a leakage at one corner Was A POURED CONCRETE FOUNDATION, NOT block. SO, Yes, It meant get out of the basement NOW!
To bad, cuz it was really a nice house, a modular set on a poured concrete foundation, but they probably had had a structural engineer do a report on it and decided to let teh bank take it back cause it would need whole new foundation!!
galaxy The house with the cracks that went from one window well, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall to the other window well on each end of it with a third crack starting in the middle down the wall and across HALF the floor and a leakage at one corner Was A POURED CONCRETE FOUNDATION, NOT block. SO, Yes, It meant get out of the basement NOW!
jeffrey-wimberly galaxy: The house with the cracks that went from one window well, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall to the other window well on each end of it with a third crack starting in the middle down the wall and across HALF the floor and a leakage at one corner Was A POURED CONCRETE FOUNDATION, NOT block. SO, Yes, It meant get out of the basement NOW! Can you say 'MONEY PIT'? YIKES!!
galaxy: The house with the cracks that went from one window well, down the wall, across the floor and up the other wall to the other window well on each end of it with a third crack starting in the middle down the wall and across HALF the floor and a leakage at one corner Was A POURED CONCRETE FOUNDATION, NOT block. SO, Yes, It meant get out of the basement NOW!
Yep. The house was fine, though each and every one of the double pane windows, save one, had broken seals and moisture inside them. It was the foundation that was the problem.
That is obviously why the BANK is having a hard time unloading it too, and at the bargain price they have listed on it and why it hasn't sold yet.
galaxy Yep. The house was fine, though each and every one of the double pane windows, save one, had broken seals and moisture inside them. It was the foundation that was the problem. That is obviously why the BANK is having a hard time unloading it too, and at the bargain price they have listed on it and why it hasn't sold yet.
Evening Fellow Dinners!
Flo, F-7 club, tender of fries and tank car of pleases!
Simon, thanks for posting the pictures! Far as smoking around the throttle I have thought of that. That was why I was storing yours in the zip lock bag.
Train Front Looks like another trip to for the DT 400, this time it might be taking the DB 150 with it for company! While Simon DT 402 is working better, I cannot control the engine (#9) that is on the left side of the display? Nor can I change the engine address? On the right side of the throttle I cannot get the engine to back up.
Couple of things that might have accorded. When Simon and his sons where over, all 3 of us had throttles and none of us knew what the other one was trying to do. While I find it to be unlikely, maybe one of us pushed the wrong button and changed the settings of the DB 150.
More likely today before I got Simon DT 402 back, my DB 400 was doing some real strange stuff when I pushed any button, it wanted to break up or added consists, wanted to go to programing, to switch control and other things I never seen before. I know my DT 400 is messed up, it was squealing like Ned Beatty in Deliverance!
Simon or anyone else know how to clear and reset the DB 150? I will post later in the DCC system if no one here knows how.
K-10 Model Trains Picked up the last of the turnouts, got some Tannen (is that Germany for trees)? All so order 2 kinds of Talus (fantasy word for gravel I think) and ordered 4 switches to control turnouts. This package is going be bigger than the last one! Thanks Folks!
Did buy my self a few things as well. Bought a replacement DH 163 for Proto 2000 SD 7, I think I found what killed the other one last week. (I hope that is) All so bought my self a old Custom Painted Athearn Blue Box Covered Hopper.
Bachmann E-Z Command I have came close to giving it away a few times to people that wanted to get into DCC. Say what you want about it, but it has never gave me a lick of problems in the years I have owned it. Looks like I maybe back on the E-Z again till I get the high dollar one working again!
See you all Friday
Ken
I hate Rust
Evening All,
Made it home on time tonight so thats good. Tomarrow I go to Chiro, then run errands, go to the bank, go to PO, then come home clean house and cook dinner for MOH when she gets home from work.
Thank you everyone for your support. I really appreciate it.
Ulrich- Sorry your Mother had a relapse. I havesaid it before, steam loco's are like crack when you start running them but they will drive you crazy with their problems.
Jery- I really enjoyed your photo. Very nicely done.
Garry- You are right on the location. The picture was taken in 1968.
Galaxy- All I can say is YIKES about that house.
A PRR FP-7 waits for clearance in Sandusky yard
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
Here's another shot from my layout:
Good Evening,
Just got in the door as we have been out at the garden centres.
Ulrich, hope your Mom is doing better and you need to take care of yourself as well.
Jerry, the I&S is looking good but I couldn't see the oil derrick in the photo. Are you still working on it?
Galaxy, I agree with the others too on the foundation issue but watch out to for those window seals. We had to replace all the thermopane windows in our house for the same reason and it did cost quite a bit. I can appreciate your frustration though as you just want to move along on the housing front.
Curt, you sure are making a lot of progress on that layout. I look at what I've done on my door layout, i.e., nothing, and have come to the conclusion that I must be lazy or just bone idle. I have installed 6 decoders in the past few weeks so I guess that counts for something. Oh and my other excuse is that I don't have enough track yet. Yeah that 's the ticket, no track, no railroad. I can keep using that one for some time as the track has been ordered but I will have to wait until my next trip to Minnesota to pick it up.
Bit of a sad time for me. I have been exchanging e-mails for a while since I got back into the hobby with an old high school chum who has cancer now. He is truly a master model railroader and you can see his layout on his website at www.cmgraphics.ca. Anyway he isn't doing very well at all according to his wife. He's home but on a lot of morphine. I'm thinking of you Colin.
Very quiet at work right now and likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. In fact it has been very quiet for over a year now. It is very boring but they are paying me well so I can stand it.
I'm sure glad it is Friday tomorrow and we have a long weekend!! We are taking a friend out for dinner tomorrow night. She is 87 and all alone here in Canada. All her family are still back in Germany. She is an amazing lady who is a retired pharmacist but she went back to university and got a Masters in French when she was 75. She doesn't have TV or a computer but does read a lot.
Hope everyone is feeling ok tonight,
CN Charlie
Gday folks, Friday arvo here... looking forward to the weekend! hopefully get some layout work done saturday night and sunday...
take it easy, I will check back over the weekend
Ozjim
James, Brisbane Australia
Modelling AT&SF in the 90s
jeffrey-wimberly galaxy: Yep. The house was fine, though each and every one of the double pane windows, save one, had broken seals and moisture inside them. It was the foundation that was the problem. That is obviously why the BANK is having a hard time unloading it too, and at the bargain price they have listed on it and why it hasn't sold yet. I wouldn't take it if they gave it to me. The problem with the basement would require replacement of the foundation and that is a VERY expensive proposition. It's only a matter of time before the walls cave in or the basement becomes a lake or the house falls into the basement, which I have seen happen.
galaxy: Yep. The house was fine, though each and every one of the double pane windows, save one, had broken seals and moisture inside them. It was the foundation that was the problem. That is obviously why the BANK is having a hard time unloading it too, and at the bargain price they have listed on it and why it hasn't sold yet.
I used to do a lot of work where I went out to investigate & evaluate homes where the owners were having a variety of problems. My first item of business was to "go find the water." 95% of the time that led to the source of their problems. Especially if a home is built on a hill, proper waterproofing, foundation drainage, and backfill is vital, or else there will be problems down the road. It can almost always be fixed, but almost never easily or inexpensively.
No train time for me tonight. After band practice and helping kids study for their tests tomorrow, the house is just now quieting down and it's a half-hour before midnight! Yipes. See you all at breakfast.
Jim
Evening Again,
Jeff- I believe it is a Cornerstone but I don't really remember. From pictures I have seen of yours I believe it is the same as yours. Is that gondola stationary only?
CNCharlie- Thanks but don't beat yourself up. I have a job that is 3 days a week, 4 with OT so I have lots of time that I am home by myself to work on it. I have also worked a ton of OT since November and that paid for Xmas and the layout up to this point.
Have a good evening.
Good Morning Gang,
it´ll be a bright and sunny day here in northern Germany. We will be going to see my mother today, but, again, not by train, as the strike continues. Oh, well ...
Chloe, coffee and buttered toast with jam, please.
CNCharlie - my go out to your model railroading friend!
Jeff - that rust on your gondola really looks real - how do you make a plastic car body rust?
Curt - that´s going to be an awesome layout
Galaxy - obviously, these houses are just crap. You´d never know how much money you´d have to sink in them. Keeping my fingers crossed for your house search!
Ray - maybe you have the literal green thumb? Lawn is the most expensive plant in a garden. When we still had our house, I spent a fortune on fertilizer and other chemicals to control the weeds, but all I got was moss. Each year I had to spend endless hours scarifying the lawn, but still - just only moss. That´s the part of my gardening efforts I certainly don´t miss at all.
Simon - boy, what a layout. The skyline of Seattle is very well captured. I did recognize the Space Needle and Smith Tower. During my time as an exchange student on BAinbridge Island I was able to see the sun rise behind the skyline of Seattle - that was some sight. I have not been there since 1978 ...
I can´t wait to get home, but it´ll be a few more days. I miss Petra (and her cooking, of course), I also dearly need a rest.
Have a good day - TGIF!
Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Morning,
The 16 month old alternator had to be replaced in my truck yesterday. So I missed a day of work and paid $327 for a new battery and alternator. I did get a lot of yard work done, planting some new bushes, cutting grass, weed pulling. I found two frogs in my yard, I live a mile from the creek they inhabit.
Todd, I found it helpful to search for something else to find what you want. Lose your keys go look for duct tape, it never fails; you’ll find everything but the tape. Some of you understood that.
Jeff, the next time you want to purchase something from Walther’s let me know I have a BLHS (Basement Local Hobby Store) that always does me right on prices especially if I put an order in for close to the $150 minimum dealer order. I have to put an order in for the club layout the first week of June for ground cover and some buildings. I only pay $8 for the large shaker bottles of WS and $10 for WS ballast. He doesn’t provide quotes, but it’s always lower than the advertised price. If it helps you out you can add your order to the club order and just send a check when you can. Email me and we can work out the details.
Galaxy, water issues in a house is an expensive problem to fix, and the cost compounds it’s self with every day that goes by without a repair. You were wise to pass on those. Maybe you should invest in a humidity gage, looks like a stud finder but it measures humidity in concrete block walls. When I bought my house the basement block walls humidity level was less than 40%, the inspector I hired was astounded (had been raining for 2 weeks straight) and went to his truck to get a different meter. Recently I learned my 1949 house was built with real cinder blocks so the carbon content (like steel) is through the roof keeping the water content low.
Simon thanks for sharing those pictures!
Ken, are you trying to reset a decoder?
Curt, that engine house may have been a Revel kit, if not it was Heljan. Your progress is doing very well on the layout.
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Good Morning!! Waffles please. Syrup? No, I think I’ll have that strawberry topping stuff with whipped cream instead thank you. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. Looks like we’ll be in the 70’s and lower 80’s for the next few days.
Good Morning!! Waffles please. Syrup? No, I think I’ll have that strawberry topping stuff with whipped cream instead thank you.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. Looks like we’ll be in the 70’s and lower 80’s for the next few days.
Simon- Oh you sneak…… How’d you get into my basement to get pictures of my layout? I was gonna surprise everyone. Great photos though, thanks for posting. Yes Ken sure has trouble with that throttle.
Yep, I remember when my kids graduated grade school. Let’s see , that was…….I need a nap.
Curt- THERE you go! See? No pain. Just like I said. Looks real good too. Great idea having the wifes sewing stuff in the same room. I take it she is either reeeally organized and prepared, or she is more than just a casual sewer (ok, spell check took it, dictionary says it's correct, but it still doesn't look right "sewer" (chuckle) Gotta love U.S. English.). Problem I see if I shared the same room with my wife….that noise she makes would drive me nuts. Sounds like “whohn, whohn, whohn….Did you hear me?”
Charlie- Sorry to hear about your friend. I will add him to the list. Awesome looking layout he has too. Thanks for the link.
Lee- Oddly enough I understood that and have no excuse as to why I didn’t think of it myself. Now that you mentioned it, I does seem to work that way. Looking for the tape the other day, I did manage to find my little pocket knife I laid down and couldn’t find for a week.
Don’t know what I’ll get involved in again today so I guess I’ll just play it by ear. Probably work on the tractor or…
Excuse me, the dog has just informed me she needs me to go to the basement to retrieve her rubber bone because she is scared to go down there alone, Mommy has turned off the lights. And, of course, she needs this now. Not later or even in a minute. Also, while I’m up, she would like her water freshened. She'll want it when she wakes from her morning nap. Spoiled dog.
Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
Morning Folks!
Flo, coffee to go pleases.
Lee I was asking about resitting the DB 150 which is the Digitrax Command Station. From what I understand it has 3 modes. Command Station, Power Booster and Reversing Loop Controller. I am hopping a reset my solve some of the problems.
Taking the Daytona to work today, wish me luck with the starter.
Good Morning All....Its cloudy and warm here this moning..Weather guesser on TV says chance of rain every day for the next week....I'll have Biscuits and Gravey with cofffee please...Thank You...
Jeff nice weathering on the NKP gon...
This is the oil derrick I have been working on..don't have it on layout yet...
You all have a good one...Jerry
Good morning. It's 76° and cloudy. The high will be near 90° and there's a chance of thunderstorms.We have a 10% chance of rain this morning increasing to a 50% chance of thunderstorms for afternoon/early evening. A wind advisory is in effect until 7 pm. Sustained wind speeds of 25 to 35 mph are expected. Wind speeds over local lakes and waterways could be 5 mph higher. I'm looking forward to getting some layout work done later today. For now I have a low blood sugar issue to deal with. Tested at 62 this morning so I'm just waiting on a high starch breakfast to finish cooking. That should help get the level back up.
Curt: I've seen the Walthers engine house before but didn't realize it and the old Pola engine house that I have (I looked and it does have 'Pola' on the backside of one wall) are so much alike.The gondola was stationary when the shot was taken.
Ulrich: It isn't easy making plastic rust. AIM weather powder helps a lot and gives a very realistic appearance.
Lee: I'll get back to you on that.
Morning All,
Supposed to get to 93-95 F today. I havea bunch of errands to run today but got side tracked reading the forums this morning, which is not hard to do.
CNCharlie- I am very sorry about your friend. I ment to post that last night.
Todd- I think most people's pets are really spoiled but they are part of the family aren't they. Yes MOH is very organized and she feels about sewing the same that I feel about MRR. I will put it this way, when my daughter got married several years ago MOH took a month's vacation from work and sewed a embroidered wedding gown for my daughter. I believe she also sewed the maid of honor dress too but I am not sure about that. That gown looked incredible.
Ken- Have you tried calling Digitrax Tech support? I will see our club DCC guy tomorrow. We use Digitrax. If you send me what the issues are I can ask him and let you know what he recommends doing.
Jerrry- That is going to be a neat addition to your layout.
Well I better get going. Everybody have a good day.
Ken,
Right from the Digitrax Tech support Depot web site.
http://tsd.digitrax.com/index.php?a=1213
It has a real nice search function and you can find answers to almost any Digitrax question on it.