Elliot´s Trackside Diner July 2011

[TMarsh]

LSWrr

  I asked a trash removal guy to go look at my girlfriend’s back yard 

Better be careful there, if she finds out you could be swabbing more than a basement floor. (which I'm glad isn't flooded by the way.)

Good Morning!! Coffee please and a couple bagels and some of that fruity spready stuff thank you.

Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Heat index values as high as 116. I believe this is apex day for the temps this week. The Zenith if you will. Suppose to get 98 again tomorrow, but the heat index is suppose to be lower by….2 degrees. Wow. Might just turn off the AC and open the windows.

Ken- Sorry bout the AC comment. Didn’t mean to rub it in. I’m just pleased that I’ve never had to do anything to the system as long as I’ve owned it. They usually don’t make it that long without at least leaking some out over time. Then again a buddy of mine has a ‘95 Dodge and he hasn’t touched his either and he says it still works fine. Maybe they’re using better hoses and seals. I hope your AC isn’t too expensive to fix.

Don’t know what I’ll do today. I know what I need to do, but somehow burning brush at Mom’s just doesn’t seem, how should we say….desirable. Ya, desirable. Blew out another spot light bulb in one of the canlights in the front room and none to replace. That will require a trip to town for one of them there CFL’s plus we do need a few odds and ends from the Walmart too. Sooner or later I will have them all replaced with those things (CFL‘s). I tell you what, I like ’em. We put them in the basement lights and we are on the longest streak yet without replacing a bulb due to jarring of the floor. Kudos if for just that and they have already paid for themselves in replacement cost alone. Well, actually not until August 3^rd but close enough right?

Welp, like I said, don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll find something to regret, er, I mean do. Say, you don’t suppose I will find myself in the basement with my train set do you?

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[galaxy]

I'm late cuz I slept late. Woke up with a charley horse cramp int he Right leg this time. I guess time to increase the muscle relaxer.

SO {grumble}

GOOD MORNING!!!

[Cederstrand]

Tall glass of cool water, please.

***Galaxy, if you already know you are not dehyrdated and your potasium level is OK, then you might try some sublingual Vit B12 for those leg cramps. Also double check to make sure something you're taking isn't exasperating the problem. Just some friendly suggestions.

Have a good day all.

Rob

[LSWrr]

Curt, I paid $99 for my BLI PRR T1 3 years ago from Trainworld.  I cried when I saw they were over $500, I should have bought 4 of them when I had the chance!  Now with the pre-orders you don’t get the overstock sales anymore and it really hurts us budget MRRers.

 

Todd, well I think she is worried about the cost of removing all the roofing material I ripped off the roof.  A contractor quoted her $1200 to do the whole job and she thought that was an outrageous price.  So far I think I have $600 in materials and looks like disposal will cost $400.  The roof is 99 years old, I think it was about time to spend the money to do the job the right way.

[galaxy]

jeffrey-wimberly

yougottawanta:

1. Fire extuingshers are now required in kitchens

 

And please don't put the extinguisher in a cabinet next to or over the stove. Don't mount it on a wall near the stove. You don't want to be reaching through flames for it. Have it in a cabinet or mounting bracket BEHIND YOU (opposite side of the room is preferable) so you turn around and get it and be away from the fire.If you can't put the fire out within a minute GET OUT and call 911 if you haven't already. Call even if you put the fire out. There may be something you missed. The fire fighters will find it if it's there. That's what they do. That's what they're trained for. It's far better to have them knock a little hole in your wall than have a hidden smoldering fire burn your house down a day or two later. You can put trust in my advice. I've been a fire dept Safety Officer for over 12 years and I taught home fire safety to people for over 7 years.

We have a fir extinguisher int eh kitchen next to the refer opposite the stove. We also have one near the furnace and one int he bedroom. We DO, afte all, live in a trailer taht can fry in a matter of minutes. I am no questioning if we should replace them. I have been here 11 years, and MOH for 15, so they are OLD. Anybody {Jeffrey{ know how long they last? they have never been serviced, and probably would cost more to service than to buy new ones?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

galaxy

 

jeffrey-wimberly:

 

 

yougottawanta:

1. Fire extuingshers are now required in kitchens

 

And please don't put the extinguisher in a cabinet next to or over the stove. Don't mount it on a wall near the stove. You don't want to be reaching through flames for it. Have it in a cabinet or mounting bracket BEHIND YOU (opposite side of the room is preferable) so you turn around and get it and be away from the fire.If you can't put the fire out within a minute GET OUT and call 911 if you haven't already. Call even if you put the fire out. There may be something you missed. The fire fighters will find it if it's there. That's what they do. That's what they're trained for. It's far better to have them knock a little hole in your wall than have a hidden smoldering fire burn your house down a day or two later. You can put trust in my advice. I've been a fire dept Safety Officer for over 12 years and I taught home fire safety to people for over 7 years.

 

 

 

We have a fir extinguisher int eh kitchen next to the refer opposite the stove. We also have one near the furnace and one int he bedroom. We DO, afte all, live in a trailer taht can fry in a matter of minutes. I am no questioning if we should replace them. I have been here 11 years, and MOH for 15, so they are OLD. Anybody {Jeffrey{ know how long they last? they have never been serviced, and probably would cost more to service than to buy new ones?

They should be checked once a year. If yours are as old as you say they are there's a 90% probability they won't work. Replace them.

And on trailer burn time, average time is 5 minutes. The fastest I've seen one burn is 2 1/2 minutes. The slowest was a brand new one that was built with sheet rock walls. It burned over half an hour and was rebuilt afterward. That was a well built trailer!

[B&O1952]

Good Morning all!

It looks to be another hot one here. I used the heat as an excuse to spend the day on the layout with great success. I finally finished the NYC Lines Hudson project by installing a sound decoder that I found in my electronics box and cleaning all of the loco and tender pickups. Then I cleaned up any small messes left behind from previous projects that I was too lazy to take care of at the time. It was nice to see the 4 mainline trains were still functioning ok with little mishap. I always worry about the steamers making the rounds when I haven't run anything for awhile. Everything ran well.

Garry, I found quite a few good shots of the Aeolus by googling it. I think I may try to get a scene of it passing a 5600. I like the looks of those guys!

Well fellas have a good day!

-Stan

[TMarsh]

Lee- Oh! THAT backyard. Sorry.

Well, funny how things happen. I just responded in a unintentionally long post to the latest thread on the now deleted FB thread. Agreeing with why it should have been deleted as opposed to just locked based on Kalmbach being a publisher and the lambasting of FB, and that we are really just unpaid contributors to Kalmbach, and how they are responsible for a lot of what we say etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, BLAH. When I clicked post, (I usually use a word processor for posts but many times for potentially short ones of course I don't and this was supposed to be short ) My router lost connection, or whatever it's called, and I lost my post. I unplugged and waited and plugged in, got back on the forums only to find the thread locked and a final posting by Steve Otte as to why. Only to find out his reasoning wasn't even close to what I said. Some things truly do happen for a reason. (chuckle)

I really am leaving now.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Stan ... Wow! .. That would be an impressive painting. I did ride behind 5632 when Burlington used it for steam excursion trains. I just googled Aeolus, and I saw one photo with a Twin Cities Zephyr consist when the TCZ used a set of 6 articulated cars (later expanded to 7). One of those sets is preserved as the Nebraska Zephyr in the IL RR Museum. ... I can imagine a picture with Aeolus hauling the TCZ train set and with 5632 hauling a conventional heavyweight train.

Of course, Tom in CA would prefer a Yellowstone locomotive painting. Right, Tom?

Today we pick up Shelley's car after three weeks of it being in the shop. My retired GM friend says electronics in cars are much more complicated than was in the original luner landing module. Electronics in today's cars can cost as much as $10,000 per new car. That explains much of the high price of cars. Much of it pertains to self-correcting emmissions controls. This is to meet government requirements made by politicians who foolishly imagine that man has something to do with global warming. I would prefer buying model trains to replacing over $1,000 worth of electronics in a car.  

On the layout, I am continuing with work on my city which will include a streetcar line. I'm glad I already have two streetcars. These are the Bachmann Peter Whitt streetcars, and they are very nice models. I renumbered one, and I adjusted the DCC on both yesterday. .... Also, I just opened by Walthers Union Station kit which is designed to resemble a downsized CB&Q Omaha station. Just right for me. ... Now if only Bachmann had the Omaha streetcar paint scheme....

[Anonymous]

Good Afternoon,

Flo, a big mug of dark roast and a slice of that apple pie, topped with vanilla ice cream, a splash of chocolate sauce, and chopped almonds, please.

What a slow day today! I am up to nothing. Would like to w*rk on my new module, but Petra does not like the mess and the dust if I use the saber saw. I also have to wait for the bridge, which should arrive tomorrow. Oh, well...

These lazy days will be over starting August 15th. At that date, my security officers training will start - it´s a 10 week training, mainly on legal issues. I am still having second thoughts about a job in this industry, but, unless something pops up in the next 3 weeks, this will be the road I will have to take. Instead of kvetching about having nothing to do I should be enjoying my time ...

Ken - here is a picture of "Tera gorinsosu-ni". The prototype is situated at Kibune, a little town along the line I model

I even found a scale model of Kurama Station building,made by Sankei paper kits,  but at $ 60 out of reach for the time being

Lee - how do 61 F feel - that´s the max temp we have today. Is this summer?

Rob - temptress, now my dictionary does not know this word

Todd - I think your reply to the FB thread was a "a hit on the nail´s head" (German proverb) - too bad that was deleted as well.

Well, that´s all for the moment!

Have a good one!

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have a bowl of "old Phart" cereal and a cup of dark roast coffee in a R&GV RR Mug.  I'll be sitting next to the air conditioner....

They predict we will break some records here in the Finger Lakes today and tomorrow.  Currently 82°F with a high later of 93°F. Old record was 91° in 1991.  Tomorrow it may get up to 98°F........  here in the Finger Lakes.  So far my 2 air conditioners are holding the inside temp to 74° as they are supposed to....  Sure hope we don't lose power!

I am going to get out and do a bit of painting this morning on the door of the shed.  Paint should dry as fast as I can spread it out I think.   I sure am not going to stay out there very long.

Best get moving!

Later!

73

[cudaken]

 Morning folks!

 Flo, bowel of Frosted Flakes and a Diet Dew.

 Waiting for Sue to get home so I can head off to work, well she is back! Got to run.

          Ken

[ns3010]

Morning guys.

Just stopping in quickly before w**k. I go in at 12 and I'm done at 4.

Curt, I'm glad to hear that you like the Zephyr. Most people would seem to be in agreement with you, and I'm hoping that I will be as well.

Ken, I know that the knob on the Zephyr works the same way as the E-Z Command, but I'm OK with that. At this point, I will likely be the only person operating the layout (the layout is far too small for operating sessions and could only handle two trains running at once, at most, because of limited track space). If it becomes necessary, I'll splurge for a wireless throttle and receiver so that one person can run on the main while another switches.
The main reason that I bought the Zephyr is so that I can have consisting, because I will almost always have two locomotives running on most trains (not for pulling force, but for effect). Also, the programming will be nice. Additionally, when I move out into my own home and build a much larger layout (I know, I'm getting ahead of myself... I should probably finish high school and go to college first...), the Zephyr can easily be expanded to operate a whole empire, while the E-Z Command cannot.

Tim, don't worry, we're all hoping they come soon!

Todd, the CFL's are the swirly ones, right? I had one in my room and went a long time without replacing it, until I accidentaly knocked over the lamp...

Well, it's almost time for me to head off. Catch you guys later!

-Joe

[Cox 47]

Morning All.....Its sunny and 90 here headed to 98....Gonna have to be another day in under A/C for me..I'll have a RBF please...Thank You..Working on getting 10 hopper cars I picked up from N Scale yard sale on the track...

You All have a good one..Jerry

[yougottawanta]

Flo

can I have something cold and big ! No not a big drink,something big I can jump in like a half barrel of cold water and some ice. No Construction trailer hear, no trailer , NO AC, Its hot as here. Ahhhhh that fells so much better .Thanks Flo.

LSWRR - 105 ! Hey buddy soon as I get out of the barrel and Flo refills it you can have it.

Curt - What is wrong with you? You feeling bad ?Heat stroke ?  Its so supposed to be layout then chores , not vice versa.

Galaxy- I agree with Jeff on the fire ext. Its time to buy some new ones.

Jeff - thanks again, I saw on one of the other threads someone else is had the same problem.

Ulrich - Did not know you had accepted the security job? What made you decide to take it ?

Stan- sorry I was having trouble with my computer when you were working on the N&W. Would you mind reposting it ?

Well all is over and I have to get back to w**k.

Talk to you later.

[cdog565]

Good Afternoon Everyone!

 Flo, il have a dr.pepper.

Well i have only been here once but i figured i would stop in again.

Jeff- Your absolutly right about checking the fire extinguishers. We went to use one a while ago and it was sitting around for about 5 years and it did not work. Luckily the fire was very small an went out with some water.

[Anonymous]

yougottawanta

Ulrich - Did not know you had accepted the security job? What made you decide to take it ?

Not a job yet - I am only in for the training. I´ll have to wait and see what I can make out of that

[LSWrr]

Ulrich, 61F to 71F is average temp for Rainer, MN in the summer.  I called up there on Monday and I guess last weekend it was 89F and people had heat related injuries all over the place you betcha!

Hopefully you can translate the last line there corectly...

[Cederstrand]

Strong coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please.

***Jerry, post some pics when you're done.

Storms are all around us, while the farm remains dry. Ready for a downpour, if Mother Nature is willing to oblige.

Hope y'all are having a good day!

Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good afternoon. It's cloudy and hot. That's enough about that.

I mowed my parents yard this morning. It was almost to dry for it. The clippings were dried almost to dust after only thirty minutes but if I had waited for the next rain the grass would have been too high to cut without the blades binding up and burning the belts off. Afterward I went to town and got a few boxes of diabetic friendly 'sweet' snacks, a couple of jars of dip ('Ranch' and 'Zesty Bean and Cheese') and a big paper bag of Mission Tortilla Strips and a can of Hormel corned beef. Wal-Mart had no ride-on carts charged so I had to walk around the store as best I could. Probably scared somebody's kid out of ten years growth. Stopped at Circle K to top off the tank on my tank and got a Dr Pepper for myself. Only needed 5.57 gallons of regular unleaded. Not bad. Felt like I was in an oven on the way in and back but didn't end up as a puddle on the seat, just close to a well done steak in the microwave. Note: Open rear side windows next time so the air can circulate front to back.

[blownout cylinder]

Bill: You have excellent taste sir!!

We went to Pt Stanley today to see a few things...

Barn with signs

High level bridge..west side of St. Thomas ON

From other direction...

One of the critters at the Port Stanley Terminal Rail yard...

We had  a rather fruitful trip down there..I'll be posting a few more later...

 

[howmus]

Afternoon Floks!

Janie, just a RBF for the moment.....

Well (dried up and empty), it be a hot one in the Finger Lakes having set a new record for the day of 93°F a couple hours ago.  Old high was 91°.  Heat index earlier was 105°......  Luckily the humidity right now is 40% so it is bearable for short periods of time outside.  You Southern guys, I don't know how you can stand this kind of heat on a daily basis over the summer months.  We are under an "Excessive Heat Warning" until tomorrow evening.  I bet they will be picnicing for their meals out at Boy Scout Camp.......

I got the first coat of paint o the 2nd. door of the shed this morning and the second coat on the trim THAT is cut so far.  I will paint the second coat on the door tonight after it cools down into the 80's...... 

Watched the Granddaughters for an hour this afternoon.  The oldest was showing me her new "Leap Frog" game thing she got for her birthday.  The little one was eating snacks....  Had to put a stop to THAT!  Older sister agreed with grandpa she had enough!  They have no air conditioning at their house so both of the granddaughters were running around in their next to nothings. 

There was a horrible accident just South of here yesterday.  A guy driving with no license and under the influence (they are still waiting for the blood tests to know whether they are looking at alcohol or other drugs...) A 42 year old man passed a large Farm Tractor Spray Rig right on a curve where there is an intersection and went head on at high speed into a van filled with 13 Mennonite Farmers who were touring the area studying new farm practices.  The impact caused the van to end up under the huge tractor rig crushing the van.  5 people dead and several still hospitalized.  The guy who caused the accident also has a long history of criminal acts as well.  I have driven past the spot where the accident happened many times, and even though it is at an intersection on a curve, visibility is good and it is a no-passing zone.

Hope you are all having a great day!

73

[blownout cylinder]

Ray:  That is just terrible!! My prayers and condolences to the families who suffered from this...

[jeffrey-wimberly]

howmus

There was a horrible accident just South of here yesterday.  A guy driving with no license and under the influence (they are still waiting for the blood tests to know whether they are looking at alcohol or other drugs...) A 42 year old man passed a large Farm Tractor Spray Rig right on a curve where there is an intersection and went head on at high speed into a van filled with 13 Mennonite Farmers who were touring the area studying new farm practices.  The impact caused the van to end up under the huge tractor rig crushing the van.  5 people dead and several still hospitalized.  The guy who caused the accident also has a long history of criminal acts as well.  I have driven past the spot where the accident happened many times, and even though it is at an intersection on a curve, visibility is good and it is a no-passing zone.

No license? DUI? Five dead? Hang him, lock up the corpse, throw away the key. Better yet, just hang him!

[cudaken]

 Hot afternoon folks.

 It is 98 degrees and it feels like 104 degrees! Boy I baked on the way home from work! Flo, Bathtub of Ices water and a pitcher of Don't worry folks, I have a bathing suite!

 Work Front Seems I will not need that Tire Iron Mel has backed off some. When Shaun shopped him Mel did stress he sales New Mattress and that some company's sale Mattress that they have no idea where they come from. He all so said "make you ask what is in the mattress they will not know what is in them". Well I do know what is in them, so I will be able to over come that.

 Store is on a up swing finally. While yesterday was not a great day, the store has $2,000.00 so far today at 5:55 PM. While Shaun was at Mattress Giant I got a deal that I split with Shaun. Then I had a customer come back in and bought right before I left.

 When I showed up today Barry our owner was in my store. He did not say a word about my BNSF baseball cap. One of my customer was there telling Berry how great I was when I helped her and she was going to send all her friends to my store. Never hurts to have the owner here good things about you from a customer!

 Guitar Wars Yep, Shaun and I did find some time to play. Shaun was impressed and said "you are showing marked improvement"! Then I dragged the amp outside and gave a outdoor concert! Got a couple of from people driving by!

 Ulrich I sure like the looks of Tera gorinsosu-ni . If there is room for another Temple how about the Temple of Caring and Friends? I sure could not have pulled it off alone with out the Mail Box Buddies.

 Joe I sure understand why you picked the Zephyr, many people love it and being able to expand is a big plus over the E-Z. For my self, it did not do what I wanted to do on my layout. I had all so used the DT 400 throttle at K-10 Model Trains I loved it. Only down sided to the Zephyr was the cost of adding a DT 400 and the need UP 5's. It would cost more to add the DT 400 to the Zephyr than to buy the SEB.

 You should still read up on the on the PR 3 and Decoder Pro. It makes changing CV's so darn easy! Only time I use the SEB for changing CV's is when I am speed matching. 

 Well the heat wiped me out! I have other things to talk about, like possibly get a new store. But I will save that for Thursday.

          See you all later.

                                                 Ken 

 

 

[L&NTim11060]

Well trainfans it,s official..... Walters pushed delivery date to 26 Oct.

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Just sitting here tonight reading posts. Put in the tunnel framework today and some more ground cover. I also prepped the two road inclines for crossing tracks. Going to the LHS tomorrow for scenery supplies.Hopefully tomorrow I will have the tunnel plastered and possibly my roads put in, but I will see. Also I planted my first tree today...A Milestone.

Next Friday MOH and I will be out of town in a timeshare in Naples FL for a week. 

YGW- You're right, what was I thinking.

Ken- I bet your boss would of loved a PRR hat. Just kidding, I don't want to start a war.

L&N Tim- You want to bet it will actually be after the new year? I had something on preorder for a year before I canceled it and it still has not been released 3 months later. That is a BLI item.

I'm saying prayers for all the victims and their families of the accident.

Everybody have a good night.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Went to the fire dept meeting this evening. It was HOT! Not the subject matter. Just the heat. The side of the station the AC unit is on was recently remodeled so the new truck we have coming will fit. The AC still hasn't been reconnected! It was insanely hot in there even with the bay doors open and the trucks pulled out. I found a shady spot that had the added bonus of a breeze blowing through and plunked my chair down there and sat down. This only called attention to the spot and it wasn't long before the assistant chief and one of the fire fighters staked out claims also. The chief and another fire fighter had the freezer door open and were enjoying the cool air while some of the other guys opened the offic and turned the portable AC in there around so it blew on them. It can only cool a small area so they were welcome to it. The rest of us got by with cold water, Gatorade, soft drinks, etc. As soon as the meeting part of the meeting was over and the bull session began I signed out and headed for home so I could relax in my air conditioned slice of paradise.

[Anonymous]

Good Morning!

4 am! I woke up with a toothache! The first time in over 40 years! Need to see the dentist ...

Ken - I will sneak in another temple module - called "Tera no tomodachi-to", that´s "temple of caring friends". In Kanji this reads

友達との寺

Actually, Kurama is a sacred region near Kyoto. It is the Japanese Lourdes and lots of people go there to pray for health & wealth. The line I model was built only for the purpose of moving people to the shrines and temples of Kurama and has little to none freight traffic.

Off again - trying to catch an hour of more sleep!

[teen steam fan]

Hey guys. 

Sorry about the pong of my shirt. I'll hang it outside and hope it doesn't burn. 

My dad went through 3 t-shirts again today, just from sweat. I lucked out and didn't sweat that bad. (Hard to justify really. My dad's on blood thinners so I should be sweating harder than him.) 

Spent part of the morning picking blueberries. Took an hour and got 17 pounds before my mom said to head to the van and hit the road. 

Put gas in my Jeep, got ice cream for a blueberry pie my mom made and took a Cummins Dodge back to a dealer. Now to sit back and relax.