Evening All,
Sitting here after getting back from the club. Had a good time tonight. Next week is going to be busy for me at work and other commitments that I have. It's supposed to get down to the 30's in the morning with a high in the 50's, but don't worry by Wednesday it will be 80 F again.
Ray- Don't let the guys give you a hard time. I like a neat space also, probably a touch of OCD, OK more than a touch.
Tom- I'm glad your wife is doing so well.
Terry- I agree nice haul.
Flip- Don't sell yourself short. If you put down track and turnouts and run trains you are a Model Railroader. I have learned and completed everything in the last 13 months. I also had a fraud against me 2 weeks ago and my bank caught it before I did. Luckily the bank covered it.
Jeff- I'm glad you got the van working again.
Hope everyone has a good night.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
TERRY- Did you once live in the KEYS ? Then move to Texas?
Everyone with a Gov. S.S. Card, Mastercard, check your account. We just got hit with a fraudulent charge. Be very cautious.
Very belated Welcome to those who don't know me. Been here since the beginning but not been posting because of my job and personal problems. I am in constant touch with a bunch of the members. Love to see all the pictures you folks post. Wish I had the talent of Jeff, Terry, Der, Curt. and so many others. I look at my B.B. RR [BareBones] -No nothing but track and nine turnouts that all work and wonder how I can myself a modeler.LOL
Anyway, Prayers and blessings to all. Warm regards to those that know me.
Flip
Evenin' folks!
"It's a lovely day today....." Ah Janie, I could sure use a cup of decaf right now... I'll be in the back booth by the stove.
Just checked the weather channel web page. Looks like the Finger Lakes may get between 4" and 7" of blowing drifting "partly cloudy " tomorrow. Of course my son and his wife are having a party for his MIL's Birthday tomorrow evening. If I go, I will probably stay on the main road through Waterloo and then back track the few hundred yards out of town where my son lives. Hey. I may get to start up THAT machine sitting on my porch THAT burns fossil fuels and pollutes the neighborhood with noxious fumes for a while. FUN!
Back to my trains....
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Rob: Sorry I can't help you. I'm not all that great a mechanic though. Just a talented shade-tree.
Jim: You're right about putting off fixing the problem. It's not due to the weather however. I have no burning desire to pull that steering column out and rebuild it. I didn't fix the problem. I merely took away it's mechanism for causing trouble. Sort of like taking a hammer away from a wanton child so he can't smash his toys.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
JimRC: It has shrunk a lot since..mind it is now all ice out there..the kids in the neighbourhood were skating in the neighbours back yard...he ended up with most of the lake....as far as the water in the basement..it just got to a tiny little stream that went straight for the pump access...heeheehee
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Afternoon, Chloe - I'll have a RBF and a bowl of potato soup please. Thanks! (Sorry, my Japanese reading or speech is rusty-to-non-existent...)
Yep, Jeff, I agree with your postponing your van repairs, with the weather lately - feels like Johnboy and Barry left the door open on the south side of their houses! [brrrr!!!] We actually (air temp) made it to 31 F today - but then it's gonna drop to 19 F tonight (and wind chills into single digits - double BRRR!!). We've been having 'breezes' in the 25-30mph range today, so it definitely reminds us that winter has returned. At least it'll kill off some smart alec mosquitos that might've poked their noses out when it was warm in the last week or two. Oh, we only got a light dusting of the white stuff last night - we'll see what we get in the next day or so...
Guess I must be one of those MIA's I saw mentioned lately. Sorry for being out so long (didn't start out to be away that many days..). There've been a few things going on, MRR'ing/w**k/and otherwise.
On the MRR front, I decided that my background building (Acme Manufacturing Co.) wasn't long enough, so I used Walthers modular parts to build an 'office annex' for part of the excess space.Have it fairly well along, still need to weather the brickw**k, paint the doors and windows and put them in place, and put the roof on (two pieces, so that will take some fancy coverup...). I had at first built a wider 'office' for the space, but it was too deep to fit in there, so I built another one (skinnier). I will likely find another place for the first one. Also, I have three ATSF boxcars (1 plug and 2 regular doors) coming from a 'bay seller.
Warning: (rant]
On the w**k front, things have been a'changin'... Got a write-up at w**k for supposedly not seeing my fair share of clients at walk-in (not true, but I have voiced my 'concerns' because some of the people up front seem to be routing the clients by default to me first. Anyway, I was rather shocked. My (immediate) supervisor said he suspects the write-up (from non-clinician, via someone a couple of levels up the food chain) is somebody's way of getting back at him (through his team members). Well, yesterday afternoon, I got a phone call (I was off due to being on-call the night before) from my immediate supervisor to let me know firsthand that he gave them two weeks' notice that he is leaving. Oh yeah, oart of my write-up is that I am supposed to give them a plan for how I will be changing my behaviors in the next 60 days (with implied threat if I don't change). Time to re-examine my options... In an all-staff meeting/training on Thursday, they were talking about 'hostile work environments', and I was thinking of a slightly different application of that concept... So some things may be changing, indeed. Had me doing some number-crunching with my S.Sec. benefits... Sure glad I have my friends here and elsewhere away from w**k. (Sorry for 'expressing myself'...) "This too shall pass..." [rant off]
Good to see all the layout photos and all that you've been posting (Terry, Curtis, Ulrich,-cute li'l steamer there...)! Oh, and Broadway, liked your forum topic on barns - my ex-inlaws had a barn, but it was for pigs... - and when the wind was from the barn toward their house, you could tell it, too!
Garry, have 'em change out the battery so your ticker-tocker keeps a'going! How are they coming along with the bridge repair on your lake? Haven't seen as much about that on our news since they moved the boat away from the bridge piers to continue the cleanup.
Ray, awesome haul on those RR/Scout patches! I only have a few (OA and a couple others)
Ken, glad to hear that you will get some relief from B of S's stupidity. They ought to have to eat the cost of their shenanigans of messing around with those who have/had home loans through them. Hope things with your job are evening out/improving some.
Barry, has your lake shrunk any since you posted about the sump pump? Hopefully so!
Tom (Wright), good to hear you and your wife are nearing the close of that chapter. I'm sure she is definitely ready to get on with her life!
Todd, have the Floor Wars shifted over to now being the (Major) Appliance Wars?
Rob, get rested up - and don't wear yourself out there. Remember that the coyotes might just be circling around back behind you while you're chasin' em down!
Terry, thanks for your layout (and street) photos - and it looks like you had an excellent trip to the train show! Good to see there are still plenty of Blue Boxes out there.
This afternoon, I went by JCP to get another pair of pants. Almost regretted it when I left the store through the mall court entry (sheesh! such a bunch of people!). Went by B&N, but didn't find any books I couldn't live without. Also, went online and ordered an enclosure and a replacement hard drive (clearance sale, but new) for the dead one in my iMac. After I get my tax return printed out (getting a refund - YAY!), I will see about opening up the iMac to swap out the dead drive for the one I ordered.
Well (frozen over and with some white dusting on the edges), about time for me to head for home. Seems funny for Barry's backyard to have water earlier when we're getting the white stuff, but I see he's catching up now...
for good heaters for those in the colder areas, for continued healing, and a good night's rest for all you Diners.
Blessings,
Jim in Cape G.
Good Evening
We ended up with 8" of the dang stuff out here..and our high turned out to be lower than this mornings temperature..all of 6F with a windchill of -10F...
GMT: I was using a special HEPA mask here..I just coughed because I took the dang thing off when I was typing the post out upstairs.....dust travels I guess
Speaking of dust...we ended up vacuuming the house 3 times today to get rid off the stuff..never again will I use grout in this form again..
Floor Wars, London ON division, pt 3...next up...the entrance....
Terry: Nice haul!!
Tom: good to hear the wife is on the mend
Ray: Wonderful set of badges there!!
Chloe, I'll have a coffee for now please..I'll be at te corner booth closest to the pot bellied stove...
Better go with decaf, please.
***Jeffrey, congrats on tackling that job. Only wish you lived closer so I could hire you to fix my truck and make it reliable.
Had to do a few more farm chores than I felt like this evening. All done now, so it's R&R for the rest of the evening. The low will be 20F here tonight and no wood stove yet...shame on me!
Rob
Nice haul Terry.
At last it is done! And that cold wind didn't help either. I got the wires run through the firewall, up under the dash to the space where the radio used to be and hooked them up to the switch in the siren/airhorn unit. I made sure all the connections were to my liking then wrapped them up with thick electrical tape. One of my neighbors turned up about that time and asked if the connections were twisted or held with crimp connectors. I could've slapped him! Crimp connectors? Crimp connectors! Heck no! They were bathed in acid-free paste flux, twisted together and soldered! The place I brought the wires through the firewall is a rubber drain plug. I punched two holes in it with a screwdriver then passed the wires through. Once I was finished moving the wires I closed the holes up with JB Weld. Now that everything was connected it was time for a test. I had the siren switch set to off. I turned the key and nothing. As I expected. I turned the switch on and turned the key and the relay worked as it should. I started the engine then shifted the tranny to reverse. The relay clacked and the starter gear smacked into the flywheel. I put it back in park. I had expected that. I would've been surprised if it didn't do it. So, this time I turned the siren switch off then shifted the tranny to reverse. No banging, no grinding, everything was normal. So from now on it's turn siren switch on, start engine, turn siren switch off. That's that problem out of the way.
Coffee refill, please.
***Terry, nice haul there, especially the B.N.
Off to do critter rounds early and find something to drop in the coyote access hole I found.
Ooooooh free food! Thanks Terry. But I'll just have some mac and cheese with some unsweetened ice tea and a side of corn bread. Thanks still on the clock you know (actually not - as boss I have the privilige of being a "celery man" - there's a Nissanism for you).
Aw, sheesh!! Top. Eat up everyone.
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Back from the train show! Pretty good this year, a few more layouts and vendors. Rice Lake's a small town, so can't really beef about the size. My buddy the decoder installer was there with the Barron Co. club. Dropped off 3 geeps he had wired in a consist, 2 Bachman Spectrums and a LL P2K. The LL was NOT playing nicely with the Bach's. He said he'd worried a little that might happen when he did them, but would take a look for me and straighten out the miscreant LL. Nice guy!
Here's the haul:
Tom, glad the wife's moving along in the recovery.
Jeff, thanks! You too, JR!
Ya gotta give that some time, Rob! Whenever I've tried to " hurry-up" a hockey injury, it invariably took longer! Just sayin'.
Ray, my Dad was a Scoutmaster. That's why I live where I do, he took my 3 older brothers (scouts) to Tomahawk Scout camp on Long Lake up here. He fell in love with the area , bought some lake shore (1965) and ended up retiring here. I can see Tomahawk through the trees as I type. Sent my own Son there ,too!
I've had a couple re-dos, also, Curt. The spur at Sarona was only 24", don't need a feeder, right? Wrong. Should have added it right away. It died at the worst time, too! Had to move a bunch of structures to get at it, stand on a ladder, etc etc. Lesson learned, I guess.
That's all for now!
BBL
Van starter relay wiring update. I have the wiring under the hood done. Now I just have to run the wires into the passenger compartment then up through the dash to where the old police siren and air horn is. I already have the cover off the unit and just have to hook up the wires to the siren switch then put the cover back on.
Ray - batter to turn purple inside than blue ouside shovelling J.R.
Mornin'..... Er..... Oops! Afternoon folks!
Zoe, I'll have a turkey club sandwich for lunch and a cup of dark roast coffee I guess.
We are having some little white thingies falling outside right at the moment. Partly cloudy is what they tend to call it around these parts. Looking at about an inch today and another tonight. Then they say we could get 3" to 5" tomorrow..... I'm not holding my breath. Besides every time I do THAT I turn purple. Currently 20°F out there and dropping down to 16°F tonight. Have about 2 face cords of wood left for the Winter, so I should have plenty to see me through to even warmer weather.
Didn't get in here this morning as I decided to go down to the layout rooms and turn on the heat which resulted in my moving the rest of the storage cabinets and the small sofa to the other part of the basement. just need to finish vacuuming and it will be ready for the painters next week. I know i made the right decision to get the floor painted as the amount of concrete dust I am vacuuming up is mind boggling.
Ulrich, nice little switcher! Love it.
I am always amazed at how many model railroaders are also involved in Scouting......
Back to w*rk...
GMTRacing Ulrich - that little tank engine has the smallestdrive wheels I've seen since a diesel!. Should be able to pull a train up the side of a cliff, no?
Ulrich - that little tank engine has the smallestdrive wheels I've seen since a diesel!. Should be able to pull a train up the side of a cliff, no?
J.R. - she is a cute little brute - and a hefty puller, too. She was built in 1939 by Krupp, has a top speed of 50 kph and a tractive force of 7.4 metric tons - that´s quite a bit for such a small loco. This design was intended to replace the older Mallet locos of the 1890´s, but the outbreak of WW II stopped all further orders of this successful little staemer.
BRRR! Morning Modelers....
It's 9F and Snowing right now
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Good Morning!! Coffee and a blackberry jelly filled donut thanks. Cold out with a skift of sn*w. Didn’t look at the weather for today….don’t want to know. Welp, as we all figured today is stove day. She wants to leave now so I have to cut this short or die. (just kidding) Haven’t read much what went on so pardon if I seem uneducated as to what went on yesterday. Ray- I figured you to have real close to my sense of humor. Many who do not know me take what I say wrong and those that do usually end up saying “you just have to know him” Bob- Actually I’m a retired mechanic. Granted most was on diesels, but I have w**ked on a fair share of “regular” vehicles. Jeff’s van, if I recall correctly and if I didn’t I’m sure Jeff would have corrected me< the starter relay is on the fire wall and all he will be doing is unplugging the trigger wire and replacing it with his switch. Normally I wouldn’t suggest doing what he is doing, but Jeff is an old hand at “making it work” and despite the fact he lives in Louisiana (zzziiiiiing! ) he still won’t do something if he deems it unsafe. He’s just that way. He probably is one of those guys who always gives the gear shift lever a little check see every time he starts a vehicle just to be sure. I have been away from the car game for a while and truthfully would have no idea how to bypass anything on a new vehicle, but his is old enough that it can be done fairly simple. Welp, she’s pacing around and mumbling. Gotta go. Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
Good Morning!! Coffee and a blackberry jelly filled donut thanks.
Cold out with a skift of sn*w. Didn’t look at the weather for today….don’t want to know.
Welp, as we all figured today is stove day. She wants to leave now so I have to cut this short or die. (just kidding) Haven’t read much what went on so pardon if I seem uneducated as to what went on yesterday.
Ray- I figured you to have real close to my sense of humor. Many who do not know me take what I say wrong and those that do usually end up saying “you just have to know him”
Bob- Actually I’m a retired mechanic. Granted most was on diesels, but I have w**ked on a fair share of “regular” vehicles. Jeff’s van, if I recall correctly and if I didn’t I’m sure Jeff would have corrected me< the starter relay is on the fire wall and all he will be doing is unplugging the trigger wire and replacing it with his switch. Normally I wouldn’t suggest doing what he is doing, but Jeff is an old hand at “making it work” and despite the fact he lives in Louisiana (zzziiiiiing! ) he still won’t do something if he deems it unsafe. He’s just that way. He probably is one of those guys who always gives the gear shift lever a little check see every time he starts a vehicle just to be sure. I have been away from the car game for a while and truthfully would have no idea how to bypass anything on a new vehicle, but his is old enough that it can be done fairly simple.
Welp, she’s pacing around and mumbling. Gotta go.
Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Extra strong coffee in a GUSTY & SOUTHERN mug, please.
***Ray, those are very cool patches. As an old, top Eagle Scout from a troop of over 100, I have never seen anything like those. Congrats!
***Tom, that is good news about your wife's progress.
This morning it felt like I had been in a car wreck after yesterdays coyote chase (more like fast hobble). Lead legs, achy back, tired lungs, semi blood-shot eyes. Nothing a good cup of coffee can't fix. OK, today is one of those mandatory rest days. I'll be in the corner booth.
Jeff - when the time comes, you should be able to release the wire in question by getting a small thin screwdriver or your trusty X-acto blade up between the back of the connector and the housing to release the little tab holding the spade connector into the plastic clip. Not always as easy as described but with perserverance it usually works ok. I had one van come in with a jumper via suitcase connector which of course corroded, fractured and parted stopping everything. Your idea is better.
Terry - thanks for the tips. I've tried a bunch of different ideas before but never the gray with wash. Nice.
Barry - if you are using just a regular dust mask, they don't stop the fine dust from tile and concrete w..k very well. Next time through the hardware store, check some of the other fancier types and see if they aren't better suited for what you're doing. Application info should be printed on the package. I used the basic el cheapos until whilst doing demo on the house I noticed I had as much dust around my nose as I did on the mask (and no cheap shots about nose size please). J.R.
Good morning everybody,
We had about an inch and a half of that white stuff overnight here in Pittsburgh, and it's still coming down pretty good. I think they are only calling for about 3 to 4 inches overall. It was enough to get the snowblower out this morning. Did my driveway, and with me being 72 and the driveway being 110' long, I don't hand shovel it anymore. Also did my sidewalk and the ones for the houses on either side of me and those across the street as well.
Well, my wife and I are nearing the end of the saga of her broken leg and ankle. She has finished up physical therapy and had surgery on Thursday to remove the screws in the femur. I though they were going to give her a local anesthetic and a small incision to remove the screws. You know, snip-snip and out the door. Boy, was I wrong. We were there from 8:00 in the morning until after 1:00 in the afternoon. She was in surgery for about an hour and fifteen minutes. She's taken a couple of pain pills but is moving around okay. We see the surgeon again next Friday to remove the stitches, and that should be it. It's been kind of a long haul since October.
I will probably be outside again this afternoon for more clean-up of that white stuff, and I have a couple of loads of wash to get done. But then I'm also going to take a couple of hours for myself today. I have a 2 bay hopper from Bowser to assemble, and have a couple of box cars I need to take photos of for my inventory list on the computer. The hopper is for the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh. Another addition to my Western Pennsylvania railroad collection. It's been on the market for sometime, and I don't know how I missed it.
Stay safe and warm...Tom
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Morning All,
I think it's supposed to get cold tonight but I haven't checked yet. Only thing planned for today is going to the club later. Sunday I w**k the late shift and on top of my regular shifts Friday I am w**king 16 hours for a guy that is working for me when we are on the cruise.
I did some deep thinking (dangerous) last night along with staring at the layout and I need to fix 3 different areas that I am just not happy with. Two are the entrance and exit to the Meat Packing siding. Both ends have really sharp radius turns and when I built it I thought it would be OK just to use my smallest locos and 40' cars. Unfortunately the more I try to use the siding the more it irritates me. The last area is the coaling tower complex. I have a lot of issues with derails and power together again with sharp turns. I figure that this is the only layout that I will have so I need to fix it so I'm happy with it. On a positive side note there is no scenery rip up it is all pretty much straight track work.
Ray- Those are neat Scout Patches. I have been involved in scouting my entire life until recently.
Barry- Hope your backyard is no longer a lake and you have no more leakage into the basement.
Lion- Very nice modeling.
Ken- Congrats on the house note. I hope it works out for you.
Sue- I know what you mean about time. If I think a job is going to take 2 hours I double it and usually end up pretty close to how long it takes.
Everyone take care.
Good Afternoon,
after a little sunshine in the morning, it turned out to be a gray and nasty day. We are getting ready for a bad snow storm. i bet everything will be covered by a white&wet blanket Sunday morning.
With nothing else to (after working down the weekend´s HD list) I went through some old photo files and found a couple of pictures I´d like to share with you:
The pictures were taken in 2007, on the occasion of our last vacation. Petra and I spend a few days in the Harz Mountains, not only to ride the steam trains there. It´s been the last time we had the chance to get a change in view. I dearly miss being able to go places. There is still so much to see around us.
Jeff - good luck with that repair job. I hope you get the van going soon!
Well, nothing else to report from my side, so CUL, Folks & have a good one!
Nice use of styrene for roads and crossings Terry.
Good morning. It's 34° and sunny with a 10 mph north wind right off the lake giving a wind chill close to the teens. In other words, it's cold! The high is due to be 49°Yesterday I went out between rain showers and took a photo of my vans starter relay. I had tried locating an easy photo online but it seems like there's fifteen types that fit the Dodge B250 Sportsman and they vary between types that fit on the firewall, on the starter, on the fender. Round ones, square ones, rectangular ones, fat ones, skinny ones. My repair manual also shows quite a selection but the contacts all fit within a general plan. Between the photo and the book I was able to deduce the the ignition wire that trips the relay connects to the bottom left contact on the relay. See photo below:I went out this morning and hooked up my meter to the contact indicated then bumped the starter and watched the needle jump to 12 volts. Definitely the one I want. The job now will be getting that wire out of the one piece harness that connects to the relay and replace it with a spade connector and wire that will connect to a rocker switch. Another wire will run from the rocker switch to the existing spade connector on the ignition wire. Once the connections are made and wrapped turning off the switch will cut off any power going to the relay and will put an end to the random starter hits.But you know what? I'm gonna wait for it to warm up a bit cause with that north wind it's too dang cold for my taste.
Mornin'. 2f and clear.
JR, I used for sale signs. gave it a coat of gray paint I had laying around then a wash of flat black. It's still too shiny for me, I'll shoot it with dulcoat. The tar lines are just a fine point black sharpie.:
Not the same road, but you get the idea.
I used the big signs for the roadways and the small yellow ones for between the tracks. Smaller ones are thinner styrene.
Hope that helps!
Train show today in Rice Lake. Yay!!
Good Morinng..
Coff Coff...
Lots of dust floating around our abode this morning...I have to finish the other bathroom today as we got told that there will be relatives showing up next week..
Currently blowing snow and snow be falling on our'n heads this morning...and bitter cccold as well...only 10F with a windchill of -3F...yay.
Flo, I'll have a coffee for now please..I'll be at the RC for a bit here...
Good Morning All,
33F and snowing so no point in trying to wire up the brakes on the trailer this morning. No prob - plenty else needs doing.
Terry - how did you do the roads in the recent pictures. I like the coloring and the tar patched cracks?
I'll have the breakfast special and hang for a bit. Yes please regular coffee with that. J.R.
Ah top of the page as well - it's been a while - do I need to update my CC info ladies?
Good morning, Chloe. Looks like it has been quiet in here this morning. No one but Bill. I can have a leisurely large mug of black coffee today. Let's see who shows up.
Bob, The car shop is fashioned from one in an old Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette. Projects always take longer than you expect. I will try to get photos when I get further along.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.
TIPTON IN
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...