Elliot´s Trackside Diner - October 2011

[blownout cylinder]

Ulrich:  Good to see you back here!! Where you belong!!

Ummmmm..anyone for a weird engine start?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_0poJpCD18&feature=related

[tcwright973]

Bama - Congrat's on the great news. Best wishes to all...

Ken - Best Wishes also you your wife on her surgery...

We were able to transfer my wife to a skilled nursing center late yesterday afternoon. Most places didn't have any beds available. I went out late in the morning and they gave me a quick tour. It was clean, smelled nice, and seemed to have plenty of staff. The rehab & physical therapy room was quite active with not a lot of people just sitting around, so I hope that holds up. She said dinner was good last night, so I hope that continues as well. She's pretty easy to get along with, so I think she will be okay there for the next couple of weeks. Although it wasn't a factor in my decision, it is the closest to home of any of them, only about a 15 minute drive, Free parking too, which is nice because parking at the hospital was anywhere from $8.00 to $13.00 a day.

Other than my tour in Viet Nam, we really haven't been apart much in the 48 years we have been married. She can drive me crazy at times, but I really do miss the old gal.

Hope everybody has a great day...

Tom

[galaxy]

Ken- It is always hard to make the choice to put a beloved pet to sleep. Been htere done that, will have to do it agian. What you have t o think is this:

How long are you going to prolong HER suffering, just to keep her around for your sake a little longer. SHe may be looking at you for reassurance, but the reassurance she is looking for is for you  to "make it all better" for her, and you cannot do that.

17Years is a long time for a dog, so consider her have had a long good life.

They say man is the only animal who, from early young life, knows he/she will die. THey say most animals don't know that. I tend to disagree. A gazelle in the wild being chased by a lion who is going to make it dinner will know death is near if it has seen other gazelles killed by lions.

BUT, I DO believe animals KNow when their time is near, if they neve knew it before.. ANd I would venture to say she knows that.

SO the question is do you want her to suffer and die at home a painful slow death, or do you want to give her a painless quick death??? When you answer that question, you will then know if you can take her to the vet for her last visit there before going to the great doghouse in the sky where a fresh chew-toy is waiting.

[Mr. Dispatcher]

That looks like I feel some mornings

                                                                                         Otto

[BroadwayLion]

{snick} [push] {squeak} (hm door needs oil)

The LION pokes his nose, his whiskers, his tail in to the doorway. You leave that door unlocked, and you never know what might come in.

I am the Broadway LION, owner of the largest subway layout in North Dakota.

 

Now that we have the bragging out of the way, I'll have some Diet Pepsi and an order of Wildebeest (rare).

 

Thanks

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Just a breakfast bran muffin and a cup of dark roast coffee, please.

Ulrich, so glad to have you back with us.  Sorry to hear you had to put up with hospital food for a few days!  Hope you are on the mend and get feeling better soon!

Ken..........  Not much I can say that hasn't already been said.  Though decision, I know.  been there, done that.  I'll be thinking of you folks a lot today.  Sounds like Tiff is in a lot of pain.......

Thanks for the comments on the Whistle Post.  Yes it is the real thing!  Lehigh Valley made from sheet steel from a locomotive tender wtare tank.  The W was "nibbled" with a heavy duty cutter.  It was on the LV branch line near Geneva many, many years ago.  I got the idea to plant veggies all over the place from a lady who is the chief copy editor for the local paper.  She writes a weekly garden column and THAT is what she and her husband have been doing now for several years.  I know them both from working with the High School Musicals over the years.  He has been the adviser/directer for many years now.

Oh!!!  Joe, I keep forgetting.  My heartiest congratulations on attaining Scouting's highest rank!  (extends left hand...)  I am still involved in Scouting even though my Eagle Scout son is turning 45 next week.  I always like to shake hands with an Eagle!

Later!

73

[blownout cylinder]

BroadwayLion!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Broadway Lion.

Congrats Bama. Not every day you get news about a new family member.

Lee: Did you get my PM?

Ken: That's hard news about Tiff. But what has to be done has to be done.

Ulrich: Nice to see you here again. Hope you recover quickly.

Good morning. It's 51° and sunny. The high is projected to be 67° and it will be partly cloudy so the weather guesser says.

Had breakfast with my father this morning then printed out some emails for him then we went to iboats.com to look at boat seats and seat pedestals. So far that's been my morning. No idea what I'll be doing later.

[Trainman Sam]

Grrr, I totally forgot that I was writing posts in Word then transferring them... just lost a complete post when I accidentally hit refresh... -DOH-! lol

Ken- I feel your pain, prayers for you and your wife.

Bama- Congrats!

[Welcome] to Mr. Dispatcher and Broadway Lion!

Robby- yeah, so nice to be working a regular job now, finally have time to be able to get back in here on a regular basis!  I'm looking forward to the extra income to help me build my NH&I Empire! lol   Speaking of Transit, did you get a RR job?  Sorry, sifting through several months of Diners is hard to do, plus I have had to cash in all my frequent flyer miles to get to all the places it's been recently!

James- THAT was an AWESOME storm front!  I agree that it looks strikingly like the aliens vessels from Independence Day!

Well, off to do my daily walking ( I have ballooned back to 250lbs, ouch) so I am attempting to lose 3 lbs per week until Christmas!  It's totally do-able if I keep at it, just have to stay motivated!  That and quit smoking, but one thing at a time! lol

Here's to the renewal of old and beginnings of new friendships!  I'm not the top but Next three pages are on me!!!

 

[cudaken]

 Afternoon folks.

 Flo, Lemonade please.

 Well Sue out patient procedure went fast. Little to fast, just started reading a article in MRR magazine and it was time to go.

  We tried to feed Tiff when we got home, wanted nothing to do with her dog food or ham. While we where out we picked up a pizza that had (note I said had) Pepperoni on it, that she wanted! Carried her out to the yard and she did her business but still hobbling around on 3 legs. 

 We are going to take her to the Vet Thursday and have her checked out one last time. If there is reasonable hope, we will she what can be done. Will pretty much leave it up to the Vet. I don't want to go in to have her put asleep. My wife and I would be a wreck and it would get Tiff upset. My wife and I are in agreement, if it is time, it will be done.

 See you all later.

              Ken

[JimRCGMO]

Afternoon, Janie, I'll have a hot cocoa - feels pretty cool out there when the wind's blowing. Brrr (and it's not even cold yet in Cape G.!). Thanks!

blownout cylinder

JimRC:  I do not like surprises like that..especially from doctors!!....

Amen, Barry, amen!...

Garry, sent another email off (yesterday, I think) to Rob. (not totally sure when, as last night/this morning threw my sleep routine off a bit). Was mostly just touching base with him.

Galaxy, yep, I remember about Ulrich's disappointment about his (most recent?) interview. On the doctor thing, my (irritation?peeve?) was that he wasn't communicating (or his nurse, maybe) what was going on and why. In my case, a key reason that I left my previous Dr. was that he didn't inform me about much at all (options for some tests/a scan, etc.), and I wound up with a bill that pushed me into bankruptcy (not my choice at all) because I had no clue on the costs of one scan (even after insurance paid its tiny part). I had explained that to my new doctor when we first met, as I want and expect to be informed, if they're going to say I gave "informed consent". I don't have the cash reserves that some others here might have (and that's my reality, and others realities may be different), so I need to know up front about any significant expenses before they get set up (and no, I'm not mad at you, okay? ) I'm not a big fan of modern managed healthcare (least of all for how some insurance companies handle it...). (okay, time to put away the soapbox, Janie...) That Petco thing sure makes you wonder about how slow on the uptake their execs are, though.

Todd, it's okay that you like the Rangers (I'm a Cardinal fan - since very early); we won't hold that against you any more than we do those who keep thinking the Cubs will win one "next year"... (Razz, razz..) Just remember that if the Rangers do win the Series, it might not be a good idea to (repeatedly) point that out to Brenda and Missy...

PA Tom - hey, you should have a little time before your wife gets home, right (and can see about getting a new one to replace any that you ironed just a weeeee bit too much...)?

Sam, sounds like being on the "Go Home Train" is suiting you right. Great to hear your CFO found something better AND closer. That website thing sound neat - I'll have to check it out.

Jeff, you're as busy as ever at the Sundown shops - way to go!

Ah, Ken, I see you chimed in on the Cubs, eh? You do have a fair amount of those "covered wagons" there, all right.

OzJim, that sounds like some storm! Better check your links on the first two photos; the one of the storm front came through (and when you have one with a "storm wall" like that, it's time to head for some kind of cover... at least for us around here! How big was your hail (that accumulated to 5 cm.)? Here, if we get 1 cm (1/2") sized, that can do some damage to car hoods and such.

[Edit]: Well, thought I was on the last page, and almost missed several other important posts - Bama, if I remember correctly, you have two gals (three, counting Amy), so this would be your first son, right? Congratulations!

to you, Broadway Lion - you're not recently escaped from that Ohio game reserve, are you?

And my main news for today is that I got in an order of mostly signs/decals for buildings. I'll check over those more closely when I get home.

Galaxy, keep the candles going please, for all of those in need of .

And, my pager just went off, so that's it for me tonight.

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape G.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Afternoon.

Raining to beat the band here..cannot see much of anything outside, windy as well, and cool...we are now at 47F here...nasty night for sure here..supposed to get upwards of 3" here..a little to the west of us..more(?)

We are having a wonderful day of cat snuggling here...and train time!!! heeheehee...

Chloe, I'll have a cheeseburger deluxe as well as a SRP and a RBF please..I'll be at the RC.

[BroadwayLion]

blownout cylinder

Good Afternoon.

Raining to beat the band here..cannot see much of anything outside, windy as well, and cool...we are now at 47F here...nasty night for sure here..supposed to get upwards of 3" here..a little to the west of us..more(?)

We are having a wonderful day of cat snuggling here...and train time!!! heeheehee...

Chloe, I'll have a cheeseburger deluxe as well as a SRP and a RBF please..I'll be at the RC.

Sunny, 53 degrees out here. Cats were running around the courtyard, and the LION was up in the train room installing some more third rail. What he really should have been installing was more electrical outlets. Him has the outlets, now it is time to think about were to put them and how to mount them. Curtains go all around the layout, they have pleats in them and there is no room above them. That's where the trains run.

 

The LION has never been to OHIO (we pronounce that IOWA out here) but I have here three friends of mine, Ramu, Veemila, and Lila. They had to be evacuated during the flooding in Bismarck, but they are back at home now as you can see, and as content as content can be.
roar

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Got home at 1700 from the arbitration. Management requested some time to  mount a rebuttal case, so it is not over yet. I think I really *** off management with my testimony but I only told the truth. I work tomorrow and the high is supposed to be 71 F.

Ken- Sorry to hear about Tiffany. I know it is a very hard decision. I went with my daughter in the last year when her dog was put to sleep because of CHF. I am not ashamed to admit I was crying with my daughter.

Lion- Welcome.

Joe- Congratulations on your Eagle rank. What did you do for your project?

Everyone take care. 

[james saunders]

Morning all, a lovely sunny Thursday here, and the Nation has royal fever as Her Majesty the Queen and His royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh are here for 10 days, they will be here in Brisbane next Monday! 

Tomorrow (Friday) also see's the arrival of the last four of our Super Hornet jets for the RAAF, this means the RAAF are going to launch 16 other Super Hornets and two Hawk Lead in Fighters to rendezvous of the coast meaning 22 jets are going to be doing a fly by of South East Queensland. I'm trying to think where I can be to watch this! The most Jets I've seen at one time was 8 when they retired the F111's last year.

 

Howmus :  Yeah it was a good storm, not a great deal of damage, but spectacular to watch.

NS Joe : Hope your predicted storm was not too bad.

Bama : Congrats on the news!

J.R : The lookout on the Mountain is a favourite spot of mine to go, great views of the city and a really nice view of events like Riverfire. Heres hoping you get approval to come down this way as we live in a very nice country (beating my own stick!!)

Cudaken : Yeah, the unofficial term for it by storm chasers is actually "mother ship" I guess there is good reason for that Very intimidating for someone who doesn't understand storms.

Todd: Thanks for that. There was no one injured, lucky for us the wind didn't pick up and it moved through so quick there wasn't much rain in it.

Sam : I agree, it was one of the best I've seen for a long time. I love storms

CapeJim : Yeah Normally we wouldn't be out gazing at it about to core punch the storm, but the umpire in the cricket game was very resistant to leaving the field!!  I guess they don't get very many thunderstorms like that in India...  Lucky for us there was not enough to create drifts of hail but it was nearly spot the grass at one stage on the oval, most of the hail was only 1/2" but the ones doing all the damage were 1" - 2".

 

Ulrich: Lovely pictures mate! Loving the tour of Germany, good luck with your interviews you get in the future. Maybe you could be a tour guide?

 

Broadway Lion! A Pleasure to have you in the diner, does the Lion plan on stopping in here often? I love the way you post, it's great to have some characters online.  

 

Better get back to w*rk.

 

TTFN

 

Ozjim

[cudaken]

 Evening Folks!

 Flo, I will take a beer and a hamburger to go. (its for Tiff)

 Did some running today after we got back. Went on the trash run and stopped by K-10 Model Trains. Had a great time talking with Ken the owner. Spent a good hour just talking about everything. Picked up a package of PK 33 inch wheels and a custom painted BB Rio Grand Covered Hopper. Only been eying it for say 4 years? He all so has a Blue Line Big Boy left that I told him I want. 

 When I got home Sue told me Tiff ate a whole Hamburger and she was up to see me when I came in. Just glad she is eating. Her Vet appointment is Thursday at 4:00 PM, hope there is some good news but not holding my breath.

 Lion I know a little about your subway layout. With your automatic mechanical DC system and I am guessing home made power supply. When a subway train starts, just it start slowly or with a jerk? Do you run more subway trains than one at a time? One of these days I want my computer to run my coming layout and control the routes they take. I am DCC so most lessons you have learned will not apply.

 Far as your kittens, well they are big. I all so like big. Tiffany and her sister Sonya and my self.

 Wolfhound hunt in packs.

 OH, welcome to the dinner!

 Ken

[galaxy]

One thing i can say is that the radio frequency burnout of the nerves in the right side lumbar HAS helped ease pain and I can get mroe done without major pain, Now to get teh left side done in 3 weeks so will be even and not hurt more on one side than the other. I STILL won't be able to do things like fix under the toilet, but at least I can do more than one chore a day. Its more TOLERABLE now, not GONE AWAY. I will never be 100% pain free, unfortunately.

Went grocery shopping theis early AM. Spent aobut $30 more than I wanted to. FOod costs going up up up! We are trying to rein in our grocery bill here. Theres only 2 of us and last month, although we ahd to repalce both a  refrigerator and the freezer on it, but another freezer too. Not that I have filled either, but trying to stock so we don't have to go grocery shopping next month except to buy a few things. LAst monthly billing cycle, replacing some of that food and eating cost the 2 of us $600.00. Thats a bit steep for our budget. WOrst part is the flood took some of that away{and the three monthly cycles before that of stocking up the freezers so I wouldn't have to buy so much for the end of the year}, then we had to get more.I think we will apply for food stamps. they are handing more out these days,but harder I guess to get, may nto get much, but if we qualify like with HEAP, we will take it.

Then went to help my brother refile paper work at his body shop. It flooded 50" of water inside. He hosed down a lot of paperwork to save it and i helped put it back. Wait til an accountant has to try to read of them. Next I will help wash/scrub/de-mud some tools and spray down with WD40 so they dont rust. To get the mud immediately out he just opened drawers and hosed out, but tools not thoroughly clean. Then I have to organize them as that is my way of things. He-not so much. The idea here is that I help him and he wil help build a moving "dog house" for the generator and replace the floor under the toilet at our house. anD help with a few things. we shall see what he helps with. He tends to have great memory when you help him, but a very short memory when he has to help you. I even offered him $50 to replace the floor {easy job he fixed it that way years ago, so only need to re-replace with a new piece of wood and retile with peel-n-stick}. Even at the offer of $50 {he is broke- lost a months worth of shop work with teh shop flooded out.} he isn't hurrying over here to quick. I figure I'd pay a handy man at least  that for an hour-hour and a half simple work..I just cant do it and neither can MOH so...we will see what he does. I hope to get his butt over here Sunday evening to fix toilet.

That plum wore me out. But I got two things done today. Before the radio frequency I would have been laid up after the shopping only!!

One thing i can say is that the radio frequency burnout of the nerves in the right side lumbar HAS helped ease pain and I can get mroe done without major pain, Now to get teh left side done in 3 weeks so will be even and not hurt more on one side than the other. I STILL won't be able to do things like fix under the toilet, but at least I can do more than one chore a day. Its more TOLERABLE now, not GONE AWAY. I will never be 100% pain free, unfortunately.

SSSHHHH!!!

GOOD NIGHT!!!

Sleep well!!!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good evening

Yesterday's 600 mile drive went fine. No problems.

Bama ... Congrats about your good news.

Broadway Lion .... Welcome!  Glad to see you!

Sam ... Sounds like things are good in VA. Glad to hear about it.

Ken ... That's a big lap dog.

Sue ... I suspect the NP museum needs a lot of funds to restore old equipment. That coach needs some of that. Glad you added it to the special train.

JR  ....The NH coach is a great addition to the spcial train.

Jim ... It's good of you and others here to be reaching out to Rob. Obviously, this is a terrible experience for him.

Ulrich .... Sorry your health is troubling you so much. Praying it will improve.

Rob .... Everybody cares about you here.

The special train of condolances going to Rob's farm has grown to be very impressive.

Happy Model Railroading.

 

 

 

[teen steam fan]

Hey gu---aaaaah. Flo, Zoe, please tell me I got welding flashed good today in school and am not seeing a lion in the diner. Ok then, do I have to worry about him attacking me? Good, thanks. 

Sorry, I heard on the news that some genius let loose a whole bunch of big game animals. Tigers, lions, the whole safari park. Natural instinct I guess. 

Ken- Best of luck. I had to help put a horse down, that is one job I never want to repeat doing, so I know what you mean. 

I emailed Rob, hope everything is going good for him. 

Apple pie and vanilla ice cream if you would be so kind

[CNCharlie]

Good Evening Diners!

It certainly has been a busy place this week.

Lion, welcome! You are just a little south of me as I live in Winnipeg. Oh and not sure what wildebeest tastes like but I have eaten sprinkbok and kudu  but well cooked, not rare like you have in mind. I have watched your brethern chow down on wildebeest and I must say you certainly can make short work of an entire wildebeest.

Ken, great news on the job front but not so good regarding Tiff. When our Pippa went into a decline at age 15 we thought she was a goner but the vet put her on a special high vitamin food. It is made by Hills and is called a/d Canine Feline antioxidant formula. It comes in little cans that you can only buy at a vets. Anyway it really helped Pip and she was with us for over another full year. I do feel for you as I've been through that several times myself. We were away on holiday last Feb when Pip passed and I have mixed feelings about not being there. Even though she just slipped awayy in her sleep I would have rather been there as tough as it would have been.

Tom, hope your wife recovers soon. I know what you mean about not knowing where things are supposed to be but I really wouldn't recommend any rearrangement on your part.

Jerry, good to see you in the old diner. Hope Sallie is feeling  better. Keep us posted on your new layout progress.

Speaking of layouts, I finally got the truss bridge kit done for my N scale plan but find that the elevation to clear the track underneath is a little tight so I'll have to put a little more height to the track. Not a big deal at this point but glad I checked. When I measured it originally I forgot about the portion of the bridge below the track deck--oops. Its a Central Valley 150' Pratt Truss Bridge kit which turned out quite well but did take quite a while to build as you had to let parts completely set before moving on to the next.

Well time to get back to weathering turnouts. The track was pre-weathered but not the turnouts. It is a solution that you brush on that chemically darkens the rail or so ME claims. I have a few 'curing' now.

See you soon,

CN Charlie

 

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

Good Evening Gang,

Just stopped in for a quick RBF before bed.  I have worked 51.5 hours in 6 days right after holidays. That sure doesn't sound like part time work for a retired Guy does it ??

Anyway, I ran across this today and thought you all might get a kick out of it.  I love my Scandinavian friends so please don't take any offense to it.   Just for a good laugh.

I will try and get back in over the next day or two.

Ulrich, Rob, Galaxy, Jeff and all others standing in need of a blessing,  you will be in our prayers.

Keep smiling, Ya all........

Johnboy out......................... to ZZZzzzland.

Here it comes   >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ole and Lars were on their very first train ride. They had brought along bananas for lunch. Just as they began to peel them, the train entered a long, dark tunnel.
"Have you eaten your banana yet?" Ole asked excitedly.
"No," replied Lars..
"Vell, don't touch it den," Ole exclaimed.  "I yust took vun bite and vent blind!"

[thortenney]

Ken, so sorry about your sweet dog. I really feel for you.

Good night everyone!        

                                                      Thayne,

[Anonymous]

Good Morning.

It is way too early for decent folks to be up, but I am hardly getting any sleep these  days.

I thought I´d  throw in a bonus tour today. A bus (yuck!) will be waiting for us at the hotel and take us to Rotthenburg ob der Tauber and later to Bamberg, where we will catch the train taking us towards Dresden.

This is what is waiting for us today:

Enjoy!

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Just my decaf to take the chill off before bed.  Thanks!

Ulrich, such beautiful buildings!  The last photo just takes my breath away....

Trip to the Dermatologist went well this afternoon.  She said my skin looks the best she has ever seen it since I started being treated by her.  And...  Indeed it does!  I already knew THAT!  i am staying on the same program I have been on.  Don't have to go back for 6 months.

Got a lot of the layout cleaned up today and was able to do a bit more plaster w*rk as well.  Started cleaning out some odds and ends around the house in preparation to some major cleaning over the next 2 days.  I need about 2 more weeks to get everything done I think, but it will do.  I will also be baking a couple of batches of cookies for the guests tomorrow while I clean.  (I'll bring some in to share....)

Ken, I'll be keeping you, your wife, and Tiff in my prayers tomorrow. 

Saturday looks to be a pleasant day in these parts.  Hope it helps the attendance for the Meet.  I would love to fill the place.

Have a great night everyone!

73

 

[BamaCSX83]

Evening all.  Just stopping in to catch up on things before bed.  Today was a, how do you say, less than agreeable day.  Long, tiring, and fellow co-worker attitudes were NOT appreciated.  Oh well, the day is over now and tomorrow is a bright new day!

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations on my son being born.  This will be the first boy as I have two daughters already, Heather (4 years old now), and Mikayla (will be 2 on Nov 4th).  So yeah, three kids for me, thank goodness I'll start to not be so badly outnumbered. 

Welp, I'm getting requested to come to bed, so goodnight all!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sir Madog

I thought I´d  throw in a bonus tour today. A bus (yucch!) will be waiting for us at the hotel and take us to Rotthenburg ob der Tauber and later to Bamberg, where we will catch the train taking us towards Dresden.

Rotthenburg and Bamberg are both beautiful cities. I went to see both of them 34 years ago. Wish I could find the photos I took!

Things got a little wild with the power here earlier today. We had high gusty winds coming through and it was causing the power to do strange and not so wonderful things. The first time it started flickering so fast I couldn't keep count. I had to reset the breaker on the computer to be able to restart it. That doesn't happen often. I first thought it had blown the power supply. I keep a spare around just in case.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Lee: Your PM didn't come through. All I saw was a blank message box.

[galaxy]

GOOD MORNING!!!

Today is Thursday, October 20th, 2011!!!

Where DOES the time go?

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

Another day of rain be falling on our'n heads here...supposed to continue with the rain until sometime tomorrow afternoon now..yay.

Get to get some groceries today then get stuff ready for w**k on the weekend again..plus all the usual things that show up...might get a bit of choo choo time later on today

Flo, I'll just have a coffee for now please..I'll be at the window booth waiting for the day to break here..

 

[LSWrr]

Good Morning All,

 

53.84”: Amount of rain that has fallen on Cleveland this year.

03.00”: Amount of rain expected to fall in the next 5 days.

27.62”: Amount of rain that has fallen in Seattle, WA this year

64.20”: Amount of rain that falls in Ft. Lauderdale, FL Annualy

49F will be the high today.

 

Jeff, I sent you an email this morning.  I think our conversation is old and might not be working properly.