Elliot´s Trackside Diner - October 2011

[JimRCGMO]

Gutenabend, Fräulein Flo! (Okay, I've run about out of my Deutsch vocabulary, at least words related to the evening) Flo, I'll have the Octoberfest roast beef special with a side salad, a Santa Fe mug of coffee, and some of that apple struedel after I finish my dinner, please. Thanks!

Gee, I'd have caught up sooner, but I missed the flight out of Newark (don't ask my friend Linda in Memphis about the Newark airport, though...). Finally found another flight headed this way, and glad you left directions and a copy of the itinerary at the airport. Just when I get some time to stop by the Diner, it's in the shop for refitting and we're all on tour. Sorry for the point I missed yesterday and earlier today on the tour, Ulrich. Oh, and our tour locomotive looks like she can really move when needed.

I see Thortenney (Thayne) has dropped by, - any other new folks along in the other cars? Oh, and Thayne, I'm trying to think of the name of your company, but just can't seem to come ups with it... Hey, sounds like you have some good MRR'ing resources close to your area (I wish I did ). Who put yours on?

Bama, it didn't sound like a good day there for you, Amy, OR her father! You likely showed more restraint than some would have, with that guy and his "I fell asleep" excuse for being THAT late.

Barry, your survey of your college folks was surprising, to have 5 of 7 MRR'ers - and maybe more so that there were that many lady MRR'ers in the bunch. About that 'Murphy bed' layout, when I was in junior high (or a bit before), my Dad built my brother and me a w**kbench on that line, with the two legs hinged so they'd lie (mostly) flat against the underside, with (as best I recall) a chain on one (probably need two for a layout) side and a (strong) hinge connecting the one end to the 'box'. It wouldn't be as hard to do if you had the long side of the layout along the hinged side, I expect.

Although I have watched a bit of Dr. Who, I have much more played a Daleks game on the Mac (maybe 20-25 years ago, when the Mac was still fairly new). Got 'toasted' a few times in that game...

DerJohn, the church and orchard are looking good! So is it true? I heard that the minister there has told the congregation that they will be using apple cider for communion soon.... (The Rev. must've w**ked out an agreement with the orchard owner, I guess...) Sorry I missed that episode of BBT (last Thursday, I'm guessing - had a call out that kept me out 'till almost 10 p.m.). By the way, does the Rev. Good have any relatives who spell it differently (like... J.B. Goode)?

Rob, I was wondering (since I hadn't seen that many episodes at all of Dr. Who) - aren't call boxes (maybe except on the show) red ones? Or is there something else like it that is?

Cool photo of the 'cat box', Barry.

Todd, from your description, I'd bet you just loved the "Chuckie" movies too, eh? Speaking of older shows, yesterday I saw "The Incredible Shrinking Man" on a local TV station. Suprised I didn't get scared of spiders after that one... Of course when it came to scary movies, I just didn't go see the really creepy or slasher ones (easier way to head off any nightmares...)

Jeff, I'll bet your 'critic' (using the word loosely) probably hasn't seen that many Model Power locos up close enough to tell that your Geep has a totally non-MP chassis under that shell. As they say, "Don't feed the trolls..." And if THAT guy's gonna get all bent out of shape over calling a Front Range chassis a Front Range chassis, wait till he sees some of the Sundown Shop's more creative engineering... (Heh, heh, heh...)

PA Tom - great shot of the NS power there!

Galaxy, good to hear that your water levels there are going down (even if you're getting rain). And I must be in your camp on identifying diesels (past the late 1950's, for sure). Don't think I could even tell an AC4400 from a Delco!

And dang, Garry - they got a new month's issue of MR? Congrats on another photo in there - we're getting several of our Diners who are having photos published. (Hmm, I'll have to check my P.O. box, probably got the new issue waiting for me there, if I just go look, eh?) By the way, your downtown is coming along VERY nicely!

Hey, Chris - thanks for a bit more info on Front Range and McKean, as I had only marginally more info about them than young Mr. Parks did. Heard of 'em, might've seen one at a train show (and got scared off by the price, if I recall), but haven't fiddled with trying to assemble one. Heck, I am taking my good sweet time with the E&B Valley covered hopper kits I have now. Oh, you mentioned LBF - I'd thought they were some import, and I have 2 or 3 gondolas by them. May have to take a closer look at their boxes and see...

And Mr. Trainmaster, don't fret too much about the B+; just figure any adjustments to your studying for that class that you need (or if it's the usual sag in the first grade that I would have the first time I had a new teacher/instructor, you'll likely pull it up further along this semester. ).

And speaking of those E&B covered hoppers, I have decided that if *I* ever get into the MRR kit-manufacturing sideline, I will make sure my instructions have the photos NEXT to the directions, not somewhere else on the page (or worse yet, on the back of the page). And BIGGER pictures, or else go with line drawings that make it easier to tell what's what. I have had to read the directions, look at the photo they refer to, go back to the directions again, try to figure where the part they're talking about is, go back to the photo again... But I will take my time and get these together correctly (or reasonably close). They have very good detail - if the directions were better, they would be great to build, too. Okay, Flo, you can put away that mini-soapbox, I'll stop now.

Great weather today in Cape G. - but started out pretty cool (almost had frost on the car's windshield this a.m.). Had the baseboard heat on last night, and I'm not sure whether we even got above the mid-60's (F) this afternoon. Have changed over and put my short-sleeved shirts in the back part of the closet for the season (unless it changes again before March or April).

Tomorrow, I may (besides seeing if my Nov. MR is waiting at my P.O. box) see about painting some pine tree trunks that I've started. From John Olson's Jerome & Southwestern RR book, I decided to make some pine trees from 1/2" balsa wood, carved/whittled to sorta round (and then sanded to make it a bit more round), then add texture to the trunk with a (Zona) saw blade. I also bought some caspia last week at H-L and need to spray them with paint and/or matte medium (to make them hold together better), punch holes in the trunk to glue the caspia 'branches' into, spray them with a greyed-brownish color and then sprinkle 'foliage' (W-S conifer green) on them while wet, and see how they end up looking. I'm trying to take photos as I go on this one. I want to see how my end results look compared to some of the commercially made ones. And no, I'm not looking to give Grand Central Gems, W-S or any other scenicking companies a run for their money (just seeing if I can stretch my ).

So, I might have a mini-tutorial later if I like how it turns out. Then we'll ignore any acorn-counters that don't like my style...

And later in this week, I hope to have at least one of the covered hoppers ready for viewing in here. If I'm extremely fortunate, I might have photos of both of them (but don't hold me to that).

Prayers for lowering water levels as needed, as well as for a good night's rest, comfort and healing.

[Edit]: Okay, looks like I have the late night (as well as Ulrich's breakfast/OzJim's lunch) beverage tab. Flo, keep track and I'll settle up in the morning...

Blessings,

Jim in Cape G.

[blownout cylinder]

Garry and Curt: Nice work there!!!

Good Evening.

Had a few things that needed done here...now I is bushededed....

Chloe, I'll just have a coffee please...I'll be in the corner booth for now....

 

[howmus]

Evenin' again!

I could use a refill on the decaf coffee Ma'am!  Danke!  Just can't seem to get warmed up tonight (maybe it's because the temp in here is 68°F at the moment.

Tomorrow one of the two air conditioners come out of the window and put away for the rest of the year.  I will leave the other one set up for a couple more weeks just in case....

thortenney

I also would like to tell you Ray I am a big fan of yours. I have followed your posts for a long time, I think that you are a very interesting. I wish I had a friend like you here in the Beehive state.

                                                        Thanks, Thayne

Thank you Thayne!  If you are anything like the folks I know THAT w*rk for the Brown Truck Company here in this area, I would be most pleased to be friends...  One guy lives just a few houses down the street and is very much of a gentleman and always has a good word for people.  The same is true of the folks down at our warehouse in town.

Garry, congrats on yet another of your great photos of your superb modeling published in MR!

Think i will call it a day soon.  Didn't get as much as i should have and train crew always wears me out.  You spent most all day on your feet, do a lot of walking on rough stone and have to be alert for the safety of other people at all times.  I am amazed at the stupid things people do out there at times.  Had one lady, after being told twice to please turn around and get off the caboose backwards (like a ladder), and please hold onto the railings, looked at me, smiled, and walked down forward without holding onto a railing.....  She tripped of course!  Luckily she was able to grab a railing and didn't fall.  Somehow I would have been to blame if she ended up in the hospital with some broken bones..........

Hope you all have a great night!

73

[Cederstrand]

Chamomile tea, please.

***Jim, British Police boxes were usually blue, except in Glasgow, where they were red until the late 1960's. Telephone boxes are red.

Have a good night all.

Rob

[wetidlerjr]

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

 

 

[galaxy]

GOOD MORNING!!!

Today is Monday, October 3, 2011!!!

Boy, even October seems to be going by fast!!! Soon ghosts and gobblins and batman and robin will show up at your door begging of on candy in exchange for not doing damage to you property,,,Dern little extortionists!!!

[Anonymous]

Good Morning Folks,

time to get going on our tour throughout Germany!

Our train will take us to Dortmund on the eastern edge of the Ruhr Valley industrial area. It is the most densely populated area of Germany and clustered with heavy industry.

We will leave our train in Dortmund and board a tram to tour the world´s largest network of light railways.

More than 10 million people are linked with this system. In Bochum, we will visit the light railway museum and explore the history of light railways, from the early beginnings in the 1880´s till today.

This tour will pass the towns of Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Essen, Mühlheim and finally hit Duisburg, where we will board our train again, taking us to Cologne (Köln).

It will be dark by the time we have reached Cologne, so this picture is more appropriate:

Dinner will be served in this place:

Tomorrow, we will be taking a tour of the town, take an elevator back into the Roman times, visit the cathedral. Construction began in 1248, and it took more than 600 years to complete the building! We will also visit the Cologne Main Station, where we can watch trains arriving and departing every 2 minutes!

I hope you´ll enjoy the day!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Wake me up when we get to Neuschwanstein. I was last there 34 years ago. The name literally translates to New Swan Stone. Beautiful castle. It was less than a hundred years old (end of construction) when I was there. Construction started in September 1869 and ceased in 1892 though it was still unfinished. It was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive King Ludwig of Bavaria and as an homage to Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the construction of the palace out of his personal fortune and extensive borrowing, not with public funds. It was opened to the public for paid tours immediately after Ludwig's death in 1886. Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle and other similar structures.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning...

It is all cold and rainy out here...supposed to get to all of 55F later on today..under the rainy skies...again.

Got an early doctors appointment this morning as well as some runnin' 'roun' doin' stuff..then on to classes in the evening...not much mrr stuff today....

Flo, I'll just have a coffee please..I'll be at the window booth...

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Chloe.  I think Brats with my biscuits & gravy sound very filling.  Oh, yeah, coffee, please.

Dispatching went well yesterday.  We have a great bunch of guys that we operate with.

Garry & Curt,  You guys are photo posting madmen.  Thanks for always sharing your progress.

Thayne,  Everyone here is so helpful with photo posting.  They are very forgiving with mistakes, too.

Jim, I can't believe that you had coffee instead of your usual RBF.

I need to get packing for my ladies rock climbing trip this weekend.

Later,  Sue

[Curt Webb]

Morning All,

Like Barry I have a doctors appointment this morning. I have a couple of spots on my face that need removed and a cyst on my neck that also needs to go.

Later I need to vacuum the house and I want to paint the interior wood supports for the roundhouse.

Everybody have a good day. 

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Coffee and some more of that strudel please. Thanks

Patchy frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 75.

Did you notice Jeffrey never sits at the RC? That’s ok. Jeff really is one of those guys who makes me feel comfortable with my modeling. Not my skills, those I need to work on if I ever get time, more like my outlook I guess you’d say. If I like it then that’s all that counts. Like I said, he was the main one who got me brave enough to join the forums.

Galaxy- You and me hoss. I can not tell one loco from another. Well, that’s not exactly true, but you get my drift. Shoot I’ve got the two pictures Jeff posted showing his additions and still don’t see what is different. Guess I’ll have to look up swing hangers.

Ray- You ornery man you. You let Thayne sit for 15 minutes on that crack about posting pictures!

Jeff- I know all about the difficult to catch the humor thing. I have a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor. You need to see me and actually hear me, and, in some cases know me, to catch that I’m kidding. Not easy at all to convey with the written word. That and this little quirk I have of saying something that just “pops” into my head without thinking first, has gotten me into a bit of trouble over the years.

You’d think at least my wife would know better by now.

Curt- Telling if someone is joking or serious in here is not that difficult. In the diner, if it sounds like someone is sniping at you or insulting, they are joking. You just misunderstood the way they meant it. Outside the diner, good luck telling.

Cape Jim- No, not really a fan of the Chuckie movies. I’m more of a “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” kinda guy. Now That’s a goodun!

Thayne- If you have any trouble, post what shows up. (if anything) Someone can usually look at what happened and tell you how to fix it.

Not knocking other carriers, but I must say I have had the best luck with UPS. Everything always shows up on time and in good shape. I just feel sorry for them in those brown shorts. Speaking of that, does anyone else find it difficult to find a Police officer intimidating when he’s wearing little shorts. I know our State Troopers wear shorts of the length from the eighties. Now that’s tuff to look at this big burley Trooper wearing micro shorts and dark socks.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

TMarsh

 

Jeff- I know all about the difficult to catch the humor thing. I have a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor. You need to see me and actually hear me, and, in some cases know me, to catch that I’m kidding. Not easy at all to convey with the written word. That and this little quirk I have of saying something that just “pops” into my head without thinking first, has gotten me into a bit of trouble over the years.

 

I'm worse than that. There's very little, if any sarcasm and the tone is serious. My niece absolutely loves it as she's the sarcastic one and can't resist taking the occasional practical joker potshot.

 

 

Good morning. It's 46° (8°C) and sunny. The high will be 81° (27°C) and partly cloudy.

Only thing on the schedule today is to get then second half of the grocery shopping done. Later I'll see if I can get some of the layout cleaned up.

[cudaken]

Guten morgen Kollegen abendessen!

 Flo, HABE ICH Rührei, Speck und englische Muffins bitte.

 Well, I think I asked for scrambled eggs, bacon and a English Muffin, guess we will see what Flo brings out on the plate?

 Have some running to do and get the oil changed on the Town Car, we are about 60 to 90 miles pass do.

 Running the SD-50 with out a shell to see in the motors quiet's down any. Makes more racket at slower speed. Sound sounds like it is coming from the commuter (what the brushes ride on) and the brushes. Later I think I will polish the commuter with 1500 to 2000 grit sandpaper.

 Jeffery On your BB motors, do you cut off any of the brush springs? I have read that cutting them down makes the motors work better?

 Must remember to pick up a new Meter at Harbor Fright! After I make sure the motor is not pulling to many amp's I will install a decoder.

Sehen sie Leute später!

                                            Ken

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

cudaken

 Jeffery On your BB motors, do you cut off any of the brush springs? I have read that cutting them down makes the motors work better?

I don't cut any of them down.

[thortenney]

Happy Monday everyone!   I have the day off of w*%k for a doctor appointment. So it was nice to sleep in a little more than usual. Thanks for the warm welcome to the diner! The pictures of Germany look great!! Last night I was going to try to post a picture of my garage/mancave. I have been working on the garage for a while and I am pretty proud of it.  Even with all of Rays help I decided I better wait until my wife is here to help me. My wife went to California last night to Meet a brother his wife and some other family she has never met before. She was adopted when she was a new baby but over the years she has tracked down some of her family. The brother she met last night is in the Navy and has been out on the sea keeping us all safe and free so she has only been able to email,facebook,etc until last night. I have not talked to her today I hope things went well for her?  Todd I am with you on the shorts thing.... I live in them while I am at home but you wont see me wearing any of those goofy brown ones at w*%k! (don't even own a pair) Any way I better get going I have a lot of stuff to do today, I will see you all later!

                                                                                             Thayne.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Since I got up late, I'll have the Zweites Frühstück this morning and a cup of dark hot chocolate.

Not raining outside for the moment.  Even had a little slice of sunshine a few minutes ago... A chilly Fall day here in the Finger Lakes.  Currently 54°F with a high later of 58°F......  Yep, time to put away the air conditioner for the year.

Todd....  Now, now a good joke takes time to pull off!  Can't rush things you know.

Ulrich, such a wunderbar tour you have put together for us! 

If I am to get all the list of things I need to do done today, I best get moving.

Later!

73

[galaxy]

OK, Ok, OK!!!

I think it is time to remind everyone to watch their language in here!!! I never saw such a bunch if ill gotten foreign words spewed forth my others! {THAT would be MY sense of humor.}

My sense of humor is Like Bob Newhart...for those who know him. I tend to dead-pan something that is "serious" yet totally funny and off the mark but right on the money!!! Remember "hi I'm larry and this is my brother Daryl, and this is my other brother Daryl. The other Daryl don't talk much. He doesn't like to step on Daryl's toes."

I AM afraid my sense of humor doesn't always come through on the net,. so I often will put in a LOL after my dead-pan serious joke jsut so people get it.

Even in real life, people often are left standing when I make a joke...sometimes I have to explain.THEN they get it and laugh hysterically!

AS I told one of our newest user-mods "we will make your life a living hell. make you tear your hair out, give you sleepless nights and ulcers, make it *sweet as candy* and as enjoyable as *sunshine on your face on a cold winter's day*" OR something to that effect!!! Even Ulrich picked up my sense of humor and said he was glad to see I still had it.

Well, I went shopping to wally world and found some real nice clothes that will actually fit me...very few places bvut he Big and TalL {and EXPENSIVE} Stores carry my size...3XL on top and 2XL on bottom. Wally world does, but they can go fast! Even found some marked down to $3.00-$9.00. Was pleased as punch to have some winter stuff that actually will fit me! Even go new PJs, and some what I call 'around the house comfy clothes" that are PJ type bottoms and long sleeve shirts- regular material or light weight flannel. Iguess I will have to visit the Big and Tall store to get some new dress pants as I tried on a pair fo 46's and they were about 5" form closing the button gap! I am about at Diabetic stage and it's been dificult to loose weight. The less I eat, the more I gain. The mroe I eat teh more i gain,,,,adn with excersize abilities about nil, I don;t get that much of that eihter. *sigh*. I've become another ;Fat old man". I rate my re-patronage of a restaurant by how much room there is for me in the booth!

Well, I need to go take a nap am about falling asleep here on the keybrad...uscle relaxer and heavy duty pain killer will do that to you.

Later guys

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Doing some more work on the Front Range chassis. Well a complete rebuild really. The Front Range shafts were too short and had a nasty habit of sliding apart on turnouts. The new shafts have much more slip travel and won't come apart. This did however require some restructuring. The motor has been changed out. The replacement is a Mashima with smaller flywheels from a Proto FA. The mounts didn't want to play so the motor is held in with super glue. Quite securely too I might add. The trucks are from the same Proto FA the motor and flywheels came from. The drive shafts are a mix of pieces from Athearn. The hollow shafts connected to the flywheels came from an SD9 and the worms and spline shafts came from a PA2. So let's see, what does that do to the pedigree? Front Range frame, Proto motor, Proto flywheels, Proto trucks, Athearn worms and shafts, Walthers body. Ah ha. I have a regular mutt here. It's definitely worth the nomenclature of GP9S, the 'S' of course denoting the Sundown shops.



I also made a m9odification on the Model Power GP9 chassis. The shaft couplings had a habit of snatching the wires coming from the trucks. I fixed that little problem by gluing in two pieces of stiff wire that arc over the shafts and hold the wires up out of reach of the shaft couplings.

[cudaken]

Guter Nachmittag Kollegen Abendessen!

 Flo, Ich möchte ein Schinken Sandwich mit Käse und ein Bier bitte.

 Just picked up a new meter and tested the SD-50. With the motor in the chassis and me holding it on the track the motor pulled .60 amps. Engine stalled at .80 amps so she is good to go! Motor is quieter so I am going to install a decoder and the shell and start speed matching.

 Next engine up will either the PA, SD40-2 or my Rio Grand SD-50. Time to break out decoder pro.

. Bis später. Ken

 

[Owendubya]

G one way that I found that helps some is to track your salt intake and keep it balanced with your calories IE Mg sodium, 1500 calories. its not what you put on thats the problem but what comes in it already. i can tell you that it helps. this past weekend I spent in the hospital, getting my gallbladder removed. THAT was a shock, i had no warning before the first attack. then a week later i saw the doctor and 2 days later i was in surgery. feeling better now. in a couple of weeks i should be able to get back to railroading.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

Had the doctors appointment...new meds, yay...and new issue to deal with...seems that a certain tumour needs taken out...again    

My way of telling jokes is just by being me...I'm weird enough as it is....

Actually, my sense of humour is pretty dry..a lot of people find me hard to read that way...sort of along the lines of my dad..who..could turn an ordinary conversation into a weird wonderland of ideas...

Anyhow..I went after that wonderful piece of news to the LHS and found a couple of modular building kits that I can cobble into a storage warehouse or something for Eric's layout...

Chloe, I'll just have a coffee and a bagel with creamcheese please..I'll be at the RC for a bit...

[cudaken]

 Hallo, wo ist jeder? Muss auf einer Sightseeing tour wit Ulrich?

 Evening, where is everybody? Must be on a sight seeing tour with Ulrich I guess?

 Flo, hätte ich ein kaltes Bier bitte?

 Well looks like the SP SD-50 might get a new motor. While it runs fine with the shell on it is so darn loud. Speed matched it to 2 Dash 9's and run well with them, but don't think I will be able to stand the noise.

Nun gut, auf wiedersehen für jetzt, ich kann tropfen für später. Ken

[JimRCGMO]

Afternoon, Zoe - I'll have a RBF please. Thank you!

Rob, thanks for clearing that up about the boxes (red vs. blue). I noticed on one of the photos of the blue ones, that it said something about it being for the use of the public (as well as the police?). Was that accurate, anyone know?

Ray, after hearing your story about that gal, for some reason I thought of the old saying about "pride goes before a fall..." Wonder why that happened?... Hope you got your rest last night, as sometimes those of us who never have w**ked on a RR (museum or otherwise) forget how trying on a person's body it can be.

Galaxy, did you ever hear PP&M's introduction to "A'Soalin' (think it was Paul who did the intro on their record)? You and he apparently are on the same page about the "Trick or Treat" as it seems to be in some parts of the country now (but I'll stop with that, since I see the soapbox sliding this way)....

Ulrich, those (trams/trolleys?) in the Bochum light railway museum look a lot like the PCC streetcars that (when I was a wee little lad...) still ran in the St. Louis area in the 1950's (or so). Thanks for posting the photos.

Hey, Sue, it was late when I got into the Diner, and I usually have the RBF's in the day (especially in the afternoons). Plus, I like RBF's when it's warm (or hot) outside (and it's starting to cool off around here). Is this climbing trip the coming weekend the one that got postponed when it was too hot? And how about some still photos of your and Larry's layout progress (or some 'old' shots of the logging branch)?

My doctor's office called me this morning to set up a follow-up on my labs that the Dr. had done after my previous appointment with him. Must not be anything really, really drastic, since they were okay with it not being until next week. (I'm on-call next weekend, so Tuesday I'll be off from the office). We'll see whatever he and the lab found then.

Todd, how about "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago"? Oh, wait, I think that was just a song one of my college buddies used to sing - never got made into a movie... As for Brenda catching on, I think she did, but she stays with ya anyway.

Jeff, I'm gonna keep in mind your trick about keeping the wires 'out of the way' (for future use).

Garry, my new MR issue was at my P.O. box, and I've already seen your photo - and bragged on you to somebody...! I can even recall about where you took the photo, too (even if the Memphis Belle didn't show in the MR photo...). Great job - the person I showed the photo to, thought it was a 1:1 RR photo until I told her otherwise.

This morning, I spent some time on the budget (not sure if I needed to use asterisks for that word or not...), cleaning up some of the data I've downloaded from the bank. Such fun! Yesterday after church, I'd vaccuumed the carpet in the apartment, and today on the TV I saw one of those air cleaner/ionizer thingees. Dunno about the ionizer part, but I debated about getting an air cleaner to cut down some on the dust. My apartment seems to attract dust (or maybe it's the old-and-cracking concrete in our building's parking lot).

Also today, I took a couple of CD's back to the library on my way to my mailbox. It's really nice out - temp reached 77 F (25 C) this afternoon in Cape G. Had to get out one of my short sleeve shirts that I'd put in the back of the closet over the weekend. Bit of 'Indian summer' for us; I was beginning to wonder if we'd have the usual warmer spell in October as we usually do. Even with a light frost Sunday morning, eh?

DerJohn, I think Woodland Scenic's been peeking in the window at your layout photos. I saw in the MR issue that they are coming out with a community church building (in HO scale, with the sign for out front - couldn't read from their photo if the sign had Rev. Good's name on it...).

Think I'll kick back for a while with another RBF please, Zoe. And read my new MR issue. Hmm, MR wants us to modernize our RR's? (Not on my layout, thankyouverymuch!Always the 1950's on the CAW. )

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape G.

 

[galaxy]

JimRCGMO

Galaxy, did you ever hear PP&M's introduction to "A'Soalin' (think it was Paul who did the intro on their record)? You and he apparently are on the same page about the "Trick or Treat" as it seems to be in some parts of the country now (but I'll stop with that, since I see the soapbox sliding this way)....

No, I don't think I know to which you refer...

Well, I never really was into Halloween. I was done by age 10 with the "trick or treat" thing, except to take my younger brother around so my father was home with my mother {who was losing her faculties to Multiple Sclerosis} to pass out the candy. I usually still had trick-or-treat candy at Christmas! Never really did like milk chocolate...

MOH USED to be big on it, but now coudl care less like me...aminly because MOH noted that the SAME KIDS were repeatedly coming around, sometimes in the same costumes!! Or changing costumes!! AND that the kids who were "too old" were the biggest repeat offeders. That kinda ruined it for MOH.

Anyway, i look at it this way, the little imps come TRESSPASSING on my property to EXTORT candy from me based on the premise that that will "guarantee" they will not commit the further crime of PROPERTY DAMAGE and VANDALISM To My property...and STILL Some {usually Teenage IMPS} will STILL perpetrate harry-carry upon my house EVEN WHEN I DO give into their demands and pay A RANSOM!!!!!

Now if it was an adult who trespassed and extorted something from me as a payment to prevent personal property damage...then He/She would most likely be in the MAFIA, and I would be the victim and He/SHe would spend some years in jail!!!!

But because it is "for the children", aw com'on!!!!

I do have to say though that at least around here the newscasters warn not to go to houses you don't know, not to go to houses that don't have lights on, and to have the candy inspected by the police at the firestations....We leave all lights off and have a slider door on our porch we keep LOCKED so they get the picture...and fortunately we have not been vandalized because people HAVE been warned that the "pranks" really ARE CRIMES.

[GMTRacing]

Guten Abend meinen Herrs und Herrin,

    Wie gehts es ihnen? Also got to Newark too late to catch the flight but hopped a C5a out of Stewart and here I am after a crate ride. (Flew from Okinawa to Beale AFB on crates stacked in a KC-135 but for free was good.)

   Weekend went well and CFO had a seniors softball tournament in Delaware where her team won gold (playing down in the 50's bracket even.

   Galaxy - sorry to hear you're getting more rain and flooding again. Maybe you should move by Paul - he could use it.

   Jeff - so I suppose you could say you got your latest project one piece at a time? Did you sorta go to the factory and pick it up?.

   Garry - the latest MR was waiting when I got home last night. Nice pic and gorgeous bridge.

   Welcome Thayne. Buster Brown is my favorite company! Couldn't build race cars without ya.

   Loved the 427 pics. The Ford Thunderbolt was the big block 427 stuffed into a Fairlane chassis and was made for drag racing as was the 428 in the Mustang. PIA to change plugs on though without undoing the motor mounts and jacking up the motor. No big block Mustangs in SCCA as the A sedan displacement limit was 5 Liters (302c.i.).

   Finishing up paperw..k and off to the house. Catch up some chores and noodle some on the next steps on the layout. Actually have no race to go to this weekend.  Catch y'all later.   J.R.

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Well I went to the doctor today and I got some good news and some that may not be good. He is willing to keep me off Statins and see if I can get the Cholesterol lowered, He burned off 2 spots on my face (pre-cancerous) and I have a appointment in about 10 days to remove the cysts, the possibly bad news is he is concerned about my liver enzymes and I have a liver ultrasound the first week in November. Beyond that depends on what is found. Obviously in my job Hepatitis is a real concern. Fingers crossed.

I painted the wood framing and doors for the round house. MOH dragged me to Wally World where I found little pre mixed paint sample bottles for $3 each so I picked up a bottle for window frames, concrete floor and roof.

Thayne- I have only been to Utah 2 times, one time as a kid and once with my kids. We saw the usual SLC and the Great Salt Lake. We also went to Dinosaur National Monument  and then went further north to dig fish fossils. It was a really good vacation.

Jeff- You never fail to amaze me with your ability to fix something from so many different parts. Great Job.

Barry- I am sorry to hear about the return of your tumor.

This is a 15 second video of my FP-7

Have a good night all.

[Cederstrand]

Coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please.

More great pics being posted I see.

Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

GMTRacing

   Jeff - so I suppose you could say you got your latest project one piece at a time? Did you sorta go to the factory and pick it up?.

Yeah, you could say I went right to the factory and picked it up. Cheaper that way. You can always tell when my trains are running on the main. Just look for the redneck locos out in the lead.

[galaxy]

GOOD NIGHT!!!

SLEEP WELL!!!

SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!!!