Elliot's Trackside Diner JUNE 2011

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

No more rain here, I'm just glad it rained today. Unfortunately it  missed some of the brush fires and probably no rain until next week, if then. Tomorrow I need to clean house and do my laundry before I can work on the layout. Later tomorrow I have a business meeting at the train club. Last week a friend there gave me a tin plate of the GG-1's lined up at the Army/Navy Game. I  have seen several pictures of this so it is pretty neat to have.

I have actually been to Halifax for about 15 minutes. A submarine I was on in 1980 had a medevac there in the harbor. I do remember the nightmare trip there on the surface (round hull) because of the shallow water approaches through a gale. We did it but I don't think there were 10 people on the boat that were not vomiting. Waiting for Lee to give me a hard time about this.

North East- What part of FL are you from? I live on the west side of  Orlando.

Ken- Sorry you are down. Hopefully things will look up soon.

Ulrich- Thank Petra for the cake. It was yummy.

The guy that is my partner today had his wife make a Blackberry Cobbler for us. Now that was awesome. Racheal is a great cook.

Everyone take care.

[cudaken]

 Evening fellow dinners!

 Flo, a for my self and all the Mail Box Helpers as well. Thank you John Boy, he joined the club as well.

 Down in the dumps today and there is no good reason. I have plenty of projects I could be working on and just don't feel like touching anything. Maybe I should check into medications for depression, I get this way a lot the last few years. I still have a lot of things going for me, still in the house (but that is a constant worry with Bank Of Stupid being in charge) health is still OK, have a job (but I still never know what I am going to make month to month) cars all run and have some back up funds for harder times.

  I use to enjoy working on the engines! I think part of the reason I don't anymore is because I went to DCC. OK, everything looks right and add the decoder and Puff $23.00 up in smoke.

  Packer With the new conversion feature we have now, you cannot post pictures in them. So post the pictures here and we can talk in the conversion section.

 Fighting with the wife. One of the possible benefits of working with Shaun is he is a good guitar player. I have seen some videos of him in a band and he plays pretty well. Today I told the wife I would like to take the Less Paul to work so I can learn something from Shaun and maybe rekindle my love of playing. Well all heck broke lose, seems Sue does not trust me with the Guitar? Give me a break, my guitars where in such good when I had to sell them the shop I sold them to could hardly believe they had never been restored. But she does not trust me, guess I a buy a Guitar Thursday.

                               Ken           

[jeffrey-wimberly]

howmus

When I ordered it it was listed as "in Stock" and should ship within two working days and arrive in 5 to 7 days....  I ordered it on May 24th.  It still lists the order as "processing".........???

Some places can take 10 days or more to get an item out the door.

Speaking of shipping things, I got an email notice from Wal-Mart that my Star Trek Enterprise series collection is on it's way. I did specify 2-3 days shipping.

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Flo, I'll have the Turkey Club Sandwich special, and a Dr. Pepper for supper tonight.  I'll go sit and relax for a few minutes in the back.

Got quite a bit done outside today.  Hot but windy here today, so I didn't really mind the mid 80° temp.  Mowed half of the lawn....  (Yep, again....) Swept up and disposed of all the sawdust and little wood scraps filling most of the side driveway, sprayed roundup on some weeds, and rototilled the garden.  garden can be classified as Mud City right at the moment.  Will have to go over it several times to mix in the yard clipping and break up the soil this year.  Hopefully it will dry up in the next few days if the big round yellow thing hangs around.

Still waiting for the Key for the mower to appear.  The Black and Decker website is one of the worst company sites I have ever seen.  If you want to send them a message about an order, you have to pick the brand of the equipment in question.  It lists DeWalt and a dozen or so other brands to pick from....  Remember this is the Black and Decker Website!  Guess which brand is not listed at the Black and Decker website...  Three guesses!  The first two don't count.....  When I ordered it it was listed as "in Stock" and should ship within two working days and arrive in 5 to 7 days....  I ordered it on May 24th.  It still lists the order as "processing".........???  They haven't billed my Credit Card yet....  Wonder if they are located in Joplin???  I will call the (not so) Local Service Center if nothing changes tomorrow.

I have a Scout District Committee and Roundtable to go to tonight.  Might be a good change from gardening.  I hope.

Catch you all leter!

73

[teen steam fan]

Afternoon guys. 

NS huh, climate's a bit better. Now where'd I leave those hi-rail wheels off my Jeep at? Seeing as I won't need the hull anymore. 

Dropped off an application at a dealership for a Porter position today. With any luck I'll land the job and be able to take a week off to go to Michigan wheeling with my quad in the dunes. 

Urlich- You back. I remember when my dad had his stent put in he was still awake and he told me the last thing he wanted to here was 'Opps' At least you were probably knocked out Then again you Germans are a good 10 to 15 years ahead of us Americans in medical technology.

[AmanaMedic]

"Wherever you go, there you are...."

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood afternoon everybody, and a late welcome to the new guys.

ULRICH: Glad you're on the mend and THAT they booted you out! By the time I got in here, looked like just crumbs left of the cake...

CUDAKEN: Man, there's just something about having a lousy day and getting it capped-off by having a bird "deposit" on ya....

OK, I'll admit it...I laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Then Rerun came in to see what was so funny. I told him...and he laughed.

Ya can't tell me dogs can't laugh!

CURT: Getting dumped on by a bird is good luck???? Never heard THAT one before. Sounds like maybe somebody down there needs to wear SCBA more often...must be gettin' into some "good" smoke... Haven't seen anybody get "birded" on a run, but had a guy get...a brown substance...on his pants from a puker-pooper call

 

Summer has arrived in Iowa. 80s and HUMID. Great for the corn crop, lousy for me! Which reminds me, who was it saying they had to cover for people vacationing in Iowa??? People come to Iowa for vacation???? The heck you say!

Had an eye-opening experience today. For THAT Editor, I went to the new tattoo shop in North Liberty. "Stingray" forgot I was coming however, so will have to re-schedule. But, in the half hour I spent waiting for Mr. Ray, or Mr. Stingray, or Stingray... I was talking with the inked and pierced dude behind the counter. Nice guy, but I wouldn't stand too close by him when lightning is about! He was so proud of his latest tat, he suddenly dropped trou so I could see his latest addition on his upper thigh. I thought it was gonna be "Weinergate" (no apologies to Rep. Anthony Weiner). Like Dr. Seuss said: "oh the places you'll go...oh the things you'll see..... He mentioned a ring he had attached to a particular "pair" in the nether regions...I politely declined a viewing of THAT...

Tomorrow, it's State High School Soccer Tournament action. Last night was a baseball double-header.

With THAT, I oughta see about getting the write-up from last night's game finished up. Still need the captions, THAT will be easy enough. I should also finish the package from Clear Creek Amana High School's graduation: captions and small "blurb." I know I won't feel like it tomorrow night when I get back home.

Here's another shot of the CCP yard I "should" be able to modify to fit.

Have a good day folks!

Chris

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good afternoon. It's 97° and mostly cloudy. There's a 1-% chance of rain after midnight.

Went to town this morning to pay the bills that can't be paid online then went to Circle-K for gas then to Wal-Mart to buy the groceries. Filled the tank at Circle-K (9.821 gallons at $3.659 a gallon) but the gauge only read 1/2 a tank (3/4's of a tank). I already suspected a stuck gauge so I pounded the dash once right above the gauges and the gas gauge went up to 3/4's (full tank). The weird readings are due to a 18 gallon sending unit being in a 24 gallon tank. When the gauge reads empty there's still a 1/4 tank left. After I finished loading the groceries I went to go around the back of the van to the drivers side and found a woman standing behind it just yakking away on a phone. I told her she needed to move as I was going to back out and headed for the drivers door. I fired it up and checked the mirrors and didn't see anything right behind me. I started backing up and heard this loud 'HEY!!'. I stopped took a look in the left mirror again and there was the SAME woman still with the phone on her ear walking up to my door telling me I should have TOLD HER that I was going to back out. I had done just that and you would think she would have gotten message from the roar of the pipes. Dual exhaust from a V8 with a 15" cherry bomb is very loud at close quarters yet she said she didn't hear it. She was probably too busy telling the other party to speak up because there was too much noise. I didn't bother telling her what I wanted to do with her phone.

[steamfreightboy]

Heartland Division CB&Q

SFB ... I have a steel mill as part of my layout.

You have pics?

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good afternoon. 

Galaxy ... Thanks for handling the diner move to Nova Scotia. Looks like we had yet another damage free move.

Ulrich ... Thanks for the cake. It is terrific. Complements to Petra. Glad you are home and pray for continued recovery.

Bama .... Good to see you again. I have spent lots of time in your state this year so far.

WELCOME !!!!!!! To "SFB", "dygnrr", and to Dave L. .... Great to see you here!

SFB ... I have a steel mill as part of my layout.

Barry .... is that a photo of a replica of the "Best Friend of Charleston" ?

Speaking of Nova Scotia, below are pictures I took in NS from a Park series dome-observation car on VIA's "Ocean" train in 2001. It was quite a trip. Shelley and I flew to Halifax, NS a few days before the 9-11 attacks, and we were stranded there for several days due to the attacks. The "Ocean" trip was about 6 days later, and it went to Montreal. Next, we rode another VIA train to Toronto. Then, we rode Amtrak's "International" (Now discontinued) to Flint, MI. We rented a car, and we drove it to Nashville, TN airport where we picked up our car to drive home.

We'll not forget that trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[the North East Rail Modeler]

Man, this is a buisy place.  Only 4:42 in the afternoon on June 1st, and there is already 4 pages.

I can't say there's too much going on with me (although it seems like I can't be as active here as I use to)   Main thing is that final exams for my school are next week. Good news though, is that all of the final exam days are early dismissal days, and next Wednesday is the last day of school.

Weather right now, in Sunny Florida: mid 90's, with no chance for rain in sight 

I'm not complaining about the heat, but we need rain SOON   The fire danger for my area has been in the red (i.e. lit cigarette thrown from moving car = big forrest fire really fast) and burn bans are in effect for all of the counties around me.   Someone mentioned the idea of "Infernoland" last month, right before the Dinner moved. Well, if everyone in my area ain't careful, Infernoland would be an accurate statement

 

Let's see now, Today is Wednesday... That means that I  only have 1 week left of school (technically, with the 1/2 days for exams, it's more like 3.5 days)  

[lone geep]

Could I have a lemonade in a CPR glass please. The heat has been killing me the past few days. Though it beats the rain. Galaxy, I don't think CP is in Nova Scotia anymore. About the forums being slow, last time I checked, life isn't all about model railroading.

[Cederstrand]

***Attaboy & SFB: I was born in New Jersey. Only spent the first 2 weeks of life there before moving out west where I became a happy desert rat. And on the U.P. royalties, if they pulled that cra* here, I would switch to  BNSF  and use all my U.P. locos to model train crashes on my layout. Rob

 

[steamfreightboy]

Oh, and a steak on Galaxy 

[steamfreightboy]

Attaboy

I'm heading for the shore after work on Friday.  Wildwood, NJ to be exact.  With everything going on around here I decided a weekend away will be nice.

Attaboy: Have fun at wildwood. I went there once, and it was great. One of the few reasons I would ever go to New Jersey.

sfb

[Attaboy]

Careful, Rob, you might have to pay them royalties for using their name.

[Cederstrand]

Geepers, the Diner moves to a new location and just like that, I'm pages behind. Now that I'm here, a strong coffee in a UNION PACIFIC  mug, please. Say, with all the free publicity I give U.P. by drinking out of a mug with their namesake on an almost daily basis here in the Diner, don't you think they should buy me an N scale U.P. locomotive...or at least send me a free U.P. mug?

Have a great day y'all. Rob

[Attaboy]

Afternoon everyone.  Flo, I'll have some of Ulrich's cake and a RBF to wash it down.

Been pretty quiet around here the past week or so for a change.  Guess the ex finally realized since the divorce is final I can kick her out anytime with just 15 days notice.  She has been real nice to me lately.

to the new folks.  For sfb, the diner was at Rockhill Furnace and the East Broad Top earlier this year.  You just missed it.

I'm heading for the shore after work on Friday.  Wildwood, NJ to be exact.  With everything going on around here I decided a weekend away will be nice.

See you all later.

whew! Thanks for saving me from TOPS, galaxy

[galaxy]

Packer

Galaxy, Dude, where's my (diner) car? I don't recall seeing the location disclosed.

 

 

Yep, ya missed it... scroll back about 3 or 4  posts you will see:

galaxy

Hi all...its about exactly nearly about noon here, so I will tell you where we are:

With all the heat attacking the eastern half and southern western half of the USA I took a hint..and moved us ....to Nova Scotia. It's a bit cooler there for now anyways. We are still "out of the country" but on our own continent once again. This is for all those Canadian National and Canadian Pacific and other Canadian RR's fans!!!

Migraine taking hold, bad news for me...

We had some rain roll through here but not much...we have SOOOOOO appreciated teh sun around here haven't seen much of it these past 2 months with rain nearly every single solitary day!!!

well I go now for a nap I think...rest my head...

EDIT: I got "top honors" so it is my turn to buy dinner for all you fine folks! Lemme warm up the CC before I take a nap...

[steamfreightboy]

Curt: Sorry, I don't know how to upload photos. Just imagine the best layout you have ever seen...

 Man, feels like infernoland moved up to the Northeast, with the weather today!!! It is supposed to cool off eventually...which means next fall for all I know!!!! I was really hoping to dullcote that hopper!!!!

Speaking of which, could I get an iced tea?

Thanks, sfb

[Packer]

Hey guys

Just switched out the trunk weatherstriping in my car. Boy it is hot out today. I have to pressure wash at work today too.

I managed to get one of my McKean/Frontrange centerbeams together. Lots of fiddly and rougly cast bits, but a fun kit. One comment and nitpick is it is VERY LIGHT, like 20' flatcar light. Need to add some weight and a load (Balso from AC moore)

Ulrich, Good to see you're out of the medical gulag. lol

Curt, Share the rain with the other end of Florida. lol

Ken, I'm one of those that would kill to get 500 a week. I'm making roughly 2-3/5 that. Kind of crappy with the bird, but that's why I don't like them. They keep targeting my car, but I guess that better than being target by cops, vandals, etc. I'll PM you the pics that were on the auctions. It's just the GP30s I'm trying to get rid of.

Galaxy, Dude, where's my (diner) car? I don't recall seeing the location disclosed.

 

[dngnrr]

Normally, because f time constraints, I just go on by the diner.  Don't take the time to read any of the posts or post myself.  Today, however, with extra time, I thought I would stop and have a look around.  I have read all 42 posts so far and can honestly say "you guys are something else".  You talk to each other like you known each other for life and I can see that you are from all different parts of the country/world and that makes it even more interesting.

I come to the forum quite often and look for answers to questions I have.  I do use the look-up feature and if I find what I need, I don't post a question.  I have gotten some great advice from the forum though and really appreciate seeing photos of what some are doing.

That coffee smells pretty good, think I could get a cup.  Down here at the end of th RC. 

I had a garage layout for a number of years and then in 2005 we moved.  I have been rebuilding since.  This was to be my retirement project, but retirement never happened.  Still w**king.  Just part time now, but still w**king.  Maybe another year.

Graduated in '61 and this last weekend had our 50 year class reunion.  Was great to see most of the old gang.

Coffee was good but got to go now.  Covering for vacationers in Florida and Iowa this week and next so am keeping busy.

Will stop back again sometime.

 

[Curt Webb]

Ulrich- Welcome home, I look forward to your modeling photos, what better way to recuperate than to do MRR'ing?

Simeon- I think your assessment is on the mark. I use this forum for basic construction type info and of course the companionship at the Diner (wherever it is today), but I use a PRR Modeling site for specific info on the best RR there ever was....OK, OK some of you may feel differently

We just had a heavy rain cell go through here. It is supposed to rain during the late afternoon. I'm glad we are finally getting rain in infernoland 

[galaxy]

Hi al...its about exactly nearly about noon here, so I will tell you where we are:

With all the heat attacking the eastern half and southern western half of the USA I took a hint..and moved us ....to Nova Scotia. It's a bit cooler there for now anyways. We are still "out of the country" but on our own continent once again. This is for all those Canadian National and Canadian Pacific and other Canadian RR's fans!!!

Got rain coming in and getting a Migraine. Took my migraine neds and will soon be in bed and hopefully it will go away. I have a feeling it is attached to the storm of rain moving in.

Tomorrow I go for another followup MRI for my back, and for injections once again....I will be "crippled" with pain for about a week then...but they do seem to help. They just don't eliminate 100% of the pain like the Dr. would like. SO would I.

SIMON- Yes, this time of year the forum slows down. The people are out in force doing "other outdoorsy things" and don't take the tiem to post. Also I think the number of posts are down because there are fewer new people repeating old thread topics, and perhaps more of them are doing the reasearch by "searching our community" instead fo just posting away frustrationg the older members of the forum {those who have been here a long time}. Me? Oh, I've been here lets see now 6 YRS I think...

WEll I go lay down MOH is taking a nap before wo*k and my migraine stuff will make me sleepy...

TTYALLL8R

 

[simon1966]

Not wanting to belabour the issue here are a couple more ramblings... I'll have a cup of good strong coffee while I'm at it!

If you were to arrive at www.trains.com knowing that there was a forum that you wanted to check out, then in all likelihood you would find it.   If you arrived on the web site with no prior knowledge then I think it is unlikely that you would find it, or even have your interest piqued to look at it.

By its very nature this forum is a much more general forum.  Focus tends to be on more entry level subjects and questions, and to that end it does a decent job.   What I have found is that as I came back into the hobby my interest became more specialized, and so I drifted away to more focused forums on the web that better met my interest level.   I suspect a lot of folks drift through here and then find their real home on more specialized sites?

Yes the forum software changed and since we don't handle change very well as a species, then off went quite a few members.  But also, things like the Joe Fugate eZine and associated forums took off and I suspect siphoned off a good number of folks.  It seems to me that with the departure of Joe from these pages that a number of the so-called-experts drifted away as well.

Again, these are just personal observations not rooted in factual data, but based on how the forum seems to have changed.

Anyway, the cup is empty and I need to turn my attention to work...

See ya later....

[jeffrey-wimberly]

claymore1977

  I've been around a bit also and have also noticed the decline in activity.  I think that you may be partically correct in that a link to the forums is rather important to have on the main page :)

For me, however, the new forum software (community Server) was a mistake.  I run/admin many other forums and the feel/ease of navigation to CS just isn't there.  Speed is down also. Seems slower since the switch.

There has been a definite decline in activity in the last year. I usually attribute this to things like Facebook and Twitter but there's also the fact that the link for the forum is a bit tricky to find. I have my own small forum to look after so I know how important easy accessibility is. For someone coming here for the first time it takes a bit of hunting to find the link to this forum. That's not good.

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

 

RE: MR Editorial Staff.

You notice they mentioned them in the Editorial this month. Rest assured though they are quiet, they are here listening and watching. Keeping tabs on what’s going on now in the hobby. A very good thing if you ask me.

 

But every now and then "Smiling Andy" pops in to clarify a situation or a fact.  And we welcome him....

Johnboy out....................................

[Anonymous]

I am home!

Made the escape from the medical GULAg in time for tomorrow´s holiday!

Petra made a nice cake to welcome me home, so I´ll have a slice and share the rest with you chowhounds!

Yummy!

[der5997]

Good morning Diners:  I'll have the Garlic sausage, tomatoes, mashed and peas, with black tea please.

On the subject of dinosaur infested layouts, do you recall this from Coffee Shop days? LOL

...and for all you car enthusiasts, here's something for your retirement dreams...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrpq5A-KAoA

sfb:

der5997: Thanks for the flashing welcome. That was cool

...you are entirely, er If you need any more for welcomes of your own, there's seven more at http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y51/der5997/Gifs/Welcome/  If it turns out you need a key for that, try... sfbsesame 

Is there delivery for lunch?

Virtually anything you want, in any delivery form is available - just keep it legal!

Simon:

Are we talking natural seasonal ebb and flow here, or do you think Kalmbach is allowing this to fade and die?

...just seasonal probably - the result of actually having a day without rain, that sort of thing! I don't think OBH (Our Benign Host) has it in his best interest to let the Forae die - In fact the MR, for instance is going more and more on-line (to the point of letting the print version die IMHO) The visibility of the links to Forum may be a matter of web design not keeping up with the policy direction. Maybe Bergie could shed some light?

I see Dave has some knowledge of how this goes - OBH's changes of things like servers etc. are not always for the better

by Ray Ulrich!  Hey guys!  Ulrich is making an escape!!!  YES!  Congrats on being kicked out of the high rent district.  Prayers for your continued recovery!

TTFN

 

 

[BRAKIE]

Good Morning All!

Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes on this sunny Wednesday other then I am liking the way the new Slate Creek is shaping up.May not be as much switching action when compared to N Scale but,will keep me busy enough..My main focus will be on something I haven't done since the late 70s..Attention to details such as modern concrete buildings,trash hoppers,weeds,fences etc..I also want to focus on weathering my cars and structures.I may equipped my cars with #58s or 158s and shelf couplers on my tank cars...Hey! I might become a real modeler yet!  

I shall have a cup and look over the forum.

Have a good'un!

[cudaken]

 Morning Folks

 Flo, scrambled eggs, side of bacon and toast and a diet dew.

 Ulrich Glad you are on your way home. Ulrich told me having a bird dumping on me was good luck. Well, we will see. I think in China if a cricket gets in your house it means good luck as well.

 Simon The site is way slower than when I joined 6 years ago. Have no real idea why, I found this site, it was and still is easy to use. Most of the people back then where helpful. We had some trollish people but they have been pretty much banishes from the site. 

 My self, I read the main section some, but not like I did. Part of the reason there are fewer new people to help, and I pretty much have the learning curve down and have few problems theses day's that You Can't Fix!

 See you all later.

                 Ken