Elliot´s Trackside Diner - February 2012

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Just a cup of decaf for me right now Cio-Cio San.

Got the taxes done and filedl, did my grocery shopping, and did more taking apart and storing of stuff in the train room.  I have now decided to get the floor painted/sealed before I rebuild anything.  Made some temporary tracks to get the two long unit trains out of the side being worked on to the the old part of the layout.  The coal train pulled by one of the 2-6-6-2s went through the new trackage without any problem.  The Fruit train of Reefers pulled by the other 2-6-6-2 came over into the rebuild yard in the old room, and promptly started to derail all over the place.  The loco can go through one of the new turnouts sometimes, but derails every time it backs through the turnout.....  I will find and fix whatever is causintit tomorrow, I hope.

 

Have a great night, and prayers for all in need!  BTW, what is that glow in the sky over to the orth of us???

73

[BamaCSX83]

Hey all!  I'm not MIA any longer!  Life got in the way from my online time for the past couple of months.  Things have relented and allowed me to get in here.  I did get a chance last month to glance into the window, but never got a "real" chance to catch up and actually say hey to y'all.  Just wanted to say that I'm currently working on going through the rule book for CSX so that I have a better idea how things work on the real rails through here.  I'm also still working on assembling a good roster of not only locomotives, but also rail cars. 

So we're in Japan for the month?  Wow, haven't been here before, should be awesome!

I'm probably not going to be back in here this evening as we just started the movie Courageous on the blu-ray player, so I'm going to settle in and hang out with the wife.

Night y'all!

[Cederstrand]

Decaf coffee, please.

***Terry, CONGRATS to your son. Well done! Really like the cows in hay field. Give them a week and let's see how much they've eaten it down.  Oh, build what exactly for my goats?

Well, time for the night critter rounds. If I don't make it back on here, y'all have a good one.

Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Went to the fire dept meeting tonight. They had more on scenarios (continuation of last time) to see how much the people remembered. A few new things were added and I was able to pass on some of my knowledge and experience. These sessions aren't really like a classroom thing. Getting information from a teacher who may or may not have 'hands on' experience is one thing but getting it from someone who's been there and knows first-hand what can happen in any given situation is something else again. Having a fire scenario presented in text book fashion is OK but it's been my experience that the fire didn't read that text book. Some small change can make the situation start going south in a hurry and you have to be able to recognize it and do something about it. A text book presents it in steps of A, B, C ,D but when you're out there and it goes A, B, and suddenly R jumps in there what do you do? The teacher is NOT there and mommy and daddy aren't there to comfort you. You have to know what to do and that's why learning from a seasoned veteran is important. They've been there. But enough about that.

Time for me to call it a night. I have a doctor appointment early so I need my rest.

[saronaterry]

Hi, All!

Mailbox wars are over and I won!

Another day of 40' ladder work as we finished framing up the chimney chase. My legs are a little upset with me.

 Finally uploaded some Christmas pics. This is my son and me.

He said the worst part of Basic so far was the chemical training where you get doused with tear gas and such The best was sighting in his M-4. The SF recruits get those, the other guys get M-16s. They fire three 3 round bursts. His first3 were a little high and left. He adjusted the sight himself and the second 3 were in the 300 meter silloette. The SSGT. adjusted the sight and the next 3 were solid bullseyes that I can cover with a PENNY! ( he brought the target! ) SSGT. stated" you will be an expert marksman when I'm through with you." LOL! I asked Steve if anybody did as good, he said there was a guy from Texas and one from Virginia that "covered their holes". Wow!

 

 On the MRR front, I added a fence and some ( temporary ) cattle to the hayfield to see how it looks. What do you think?

 

 Rob, I could build one for your goats if ya want!

 

Terry in NW Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello from Sunny Arizona cactus country.We're having a great visit.

The UP RR line (formerly SP Sunset Line) here is very busy with lots of modern power on the trains. Usually there are 2 or 3 units at the head end and 1 or 2 units pushing from the rear.... There was a local freight train with 2 older units (looked like GP40's from a distance).

Japan! ........ Is this like a Japanese steak house this month?

Talked a little with neighbors about the collapsed bridge. I did talk with the guy who actually was on the bridge, and it was scary to him. When I saw the photos, I could tell the ship had tried to go under the wrong span. I suppose the span crashing on the pilot house may have been a clue to the captain that he was off course. ..... New bridges for the two lakes are already designed. Construction barges were already working at both lakes a few months ago doing preliminary work. It is my understanding each bridge will take 3 years to build once they start the construction. ... We traveled on the bridges regularly to Murray, Mayfield, or Paducah. I always pull off the road onto the shoulder before driving on a bridge if I see a barge coming.

Cheers.

 

 

Edit .... Record snowfall in Japan is in the news.

 

 

 

 

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Been a busy day today with errands and MRR work.  I finished the front of the back hill and tomorrow I'm starting on the back side. The back side is sore from the bending over I did today.

Rob- I think those goats are Houdinis the way they are always getting loose. You would think they would stay put to keep from getting eaten.

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody have a great night.

[Cederstrand]

jeffrey-wimberly

I can't see the Japanese text, just blocks with four characters in each.

***Jeffrey, unless you read Japanese, you're really not missing much. I don't feel like translating all of it and just skip on to what I can read. Call me lazy!

One last coffee refill, please.

I'll have to take a pic of my one and only Japanese loco to share. It's an older model with rapido couplers. A copy of the first loco I bought (myself) as a kid after working odd jobs for neighbors until I had saved enough money. It was about a 30-40 minute bicycle ride to the Hobby Store from my house.

Goats were out again today. Little bastar*s!

 Rob

[Seamonster]

I hope we see some pictures of our travels through Japan.  Are we going to get to ride on the Bullet Train?  And the flowering trees in full bloom in the spring (I know it's not spring yet) look so beautiful in pictures but they must be breathtaking in person, not to mention the perfume from the blossoms.  Back in the 1970s the company I worked for then sent some engineers to Japan to test equipment that the company was buying.  They came back with some fantastic stories.  I think the funniest were their stories of their searches for restaurants that served food more to their Western palates.  They weren't very adventurous when it came to food.

Blownout:  People who dump animals out by the side of the road should be . . . . . . . . . um . . . . . . I can't say it here.  That's just downright cruel and despicable.  People like that should not be allowed to have pets.

I appreciate all the kind thoughts from all of you on the death of our cat.  The other day we got a pet sympathy card with a picture of a cat on it from our vet's office with little messages and signatures from all the doctors, assistants, and all the staff who work there.  That was so thoughtful of them.

 

[blownout cylinder]

グッドイブニング..

そう、誰もが今夜どうです？

So, to translate that back...Good Evening

So, how is everyone tonight?

Well? 

Good!!

I definitely am feeling good tonight!!

I actually got some train time to run my choo choos...

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Had an electrical issue with the layout. Turned on the Zephyr and pressed the button for track power. Indicator lit and got power to the track then there was a puff of smoke just under the edge of the layout and then no power to the track. Problem turned out to be a crimp-on connector that was missed when I went to all soldered wire joints. The connector had corroded inside and compromised the connection, resulting in the wire burning in two. This is a perfect illustration of why I got away from crimp-on and suitcase connectors. Even at their best they're undependable. I'm pretty sure that was the last one.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I can't see the Japanese text, just blocks with four characters in each.

[galaxy]

Sir Madog

Cha no yu = tea ceremony

必要資格? ? required qualifications?

Good to have Google Translate!

Well, did you chanoyu with the wife? DId she enjoy it too? with the weather over there your way, I'd think you would like that!

My neighbor growing up were japanese. He= American born Japanese, SHe= Japanese transplant. He= signed up promptly for WW II after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor Hawaii bringing USA intothe war to show his true aligiance to USA. SHe= put in a "concentration camp" in California during thge war...not like HItler's conentration camps...but just so as the Japanese here in the USA were "under control" and "not a threat" to the USA. They married later and had one son. He is aobut 5 years older than I. He still lives next foor to my father,, SHe= lives with son's wife in another county so wife doesn;t have to drive all the way ther ot take care of her., She= born in 1914!!! So watch your language anything not computer translatable I can ask them!! Or we could ask TomikawaTT As Chuck's wife is Japanese, I think.

Well according to my thermometer it is 59*F, according to the local news channel its 54*. {sorry Ulrich, but we are having heat waves over here while you guys get labasted with a barrage of bad nasty weather}.

Well went ot Drs to get new script and did the grocery shopping and ran errands. WHew I am exhausted! Hamburger Helper for dinner tonight...easy to cook soul-warming  food. Though with the heat wave we are having, seems inapropriate somehow. Should be maybe BLTs but I didn't think enough at the grocery store.

Waiting for the neighbors to come home for bread give-away day. They get teh about to expire and day old breads and goodies from the grocery bakery this day every week, then pass them out to the neighbors. I saw them in the AM a the grocery store, adn they promised to save something for me. But they had a Drs appointment they are going to so not home yet. SUre helps to stretch the budget this does!

Well, my back is killling me so back to "couch potato" mode unless they came home.

LAter.

Have a great evening!...{Japanese  chanoyu or not}

[Anonymous]

Cha no yu = tea ceremony

必要資格? ? required qualifications?

Good to have Google Translate!

[Cederstrand]

Coffee refill, please.

Here's a Japanese word (Brand) I know: "Onkyo", which IMO = JUNK. Ok, that's just my   worth after once buying an expensive, nothing but trouble, rotten receiver which they never fixed right. Wonder if the Yamaha I replace it with, and really like, came from Japan, China or Malasia? Guess it would say on the label.

Cold rain here today. At least it looks cold. Resting the ankle today inside. Feels cold inside, too. Must be me. Insentive to get that wood stove project further along.

Update: UPS just delivered the last box of verde-amazonia tiles. Cool!

Will be in the corner booth, next to the stove. Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Currently 72 here with heavy clouds. Got the bills paid. Got the groceries and filled up the tank on the van. $47 for fourteen gallons. That's a little over half a tank on that monster. Got to go see my primary doctor tomorrow morning. Follow-up on the lab work work that was done last time. That's a waste of a morning.

[howmus]

Uhhhhhhh???  Hmmmmmm???  Where are we?  Oh, Japan!  THAT explains the funny looking buildings and stuff.  Always wanted to visit Japan.

Lunch, lets see.  Ah fish?  Oh Zoe.... psst....  I think you forgot to cook it?  It is supposed to be THAT way?  OK, then how about some Kushiyaki and a cup of hot tea.....

I only know two words in Japanese BTW.  Ohayó which means Good Morning, and Sayónara which should never be confused with cyanide because THAT is goodbye in any language!

Currently 48°F outside this afternoon with wind gusts up to 40 mph.  They say we could have a power outage from it.  The ground is super saturated which is not a help.

About all I have done today is my taxes for 2011.  Should be getting a few $$$ back this year.  I may be able to save the money for the new nearing aids by March after all.

Now I'm going to disappear to the train rooms for a while!  Right after I go Grocery Shopping on second thought!

Later!

73

[galaxy]

Sir Madog

galaxy:

 

よい一日を

 

And a nice day to you, too!

かわいい

Yeah? well go and  chanoyu yourself and the wife too!! SO there!

Just what are your 必要資格?

LOL.

Glad to see you are feeling better Ulrich!!!

[wetidlerjr]

Sorry but no Japan for me. You will have send your comments to Indiana for me to see.

[Anonymous]

galaxy

 

よい一日を

And a nice day to you, too!

My computer speaks Japanese, y´know...

Some more winter steam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oj36xIeuJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=eyabecCmyFo

The JNR class C11 is one of my favorite locos. Kato has a quite nice N scale model, but it is an older release, not as detailed and well running as their newer releases. A revamped version is announced for later in this year, so I have started to put nickels and dimes aside - maybe I can buy one...

[Cederstrand]

Strong coffee in a JR-MAGLEV    mug, please.

Have a good day all.

 Rob

[cudaken]

 Late Morning Fellow Dinners!

 Flo, Coffee please.

 Ken

[Drew4950]

Hello Everyone,

      43 degree and partly cloudy. strange weather we have been having here. 10 days ago the temp was in the teens and we receive about 6 inches of the white stuff. since then it has warmed up. yesterday the temp was in the 50s. Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day. If he sees his shadow we get 6 more weeks of winter? Heck we have not had winter yet to have 6 more weeks of it.

    The building distruction across the road from my office is progressing well. Yesterday I watched them load dump trucks in just 9 scoops.

     Glad to know the cat is okay. I hope there is a "special" place for people that do things like that to animals!

hope everyone stays well

[galaxy]

Sir Madog

Galaxy - what language?

It just means :

Barī ga shisa shita yō ni, kongetsu no dainā wa Nihon ni idō sa remashita. Wareware wa, yama no naka de fuyu no jōki ni shinkansen kara kono utsukushī kuni de ressha no norimono no kazu o, tanoshimu koto to shite imasu, which translates into: As Barry suggested, the Diner has been .... (see my first post)

You just be careful what language you use here in the DIner, Mister!!!

WE run a Clean establishment, Mister!!!

よい一日を

yoi ichinichi wo

So there!

[Stourbridge Lion]

Happy February Modelers!

It's 27F here and they are talking about some serious white stuff coming our way in the next day or two.  Already had to pull over two SPAMMER posts today so this RR Forum Cop would like his coffee a bit stronger today with maybe a hint of Jack in it please.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 64° and cloudy with some sun. The high will be 75° and there's a 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Need to go out and pay some bills today. Then need to get the first half of the grocery shopping done. Other than that, not much happening today.

[Anonymous]

Galaxy - what language?

It just means :

Barī ga shisa shita yō ni, kongetsu no dainā wa Nihon ni idō sa remashita. Wareware wa, yama no naka de fuyu no jōki ni shinkansen kara kono utsukushī kuni de ressha no norimono no kazu o, tanoshimu koto to shite imasu, which translates into: As Barry suggested, the Diner has been .... (see my first post)

Now if you translate that back and forth a couple of times, using Google translate, you might end up ordering a .

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Coffee and ….uh…..what happened? Somebody let a chicken with ink on it’s feet loose on the menu? Can’t read a thing. Biscuits and gravy please. Thanks.

Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.

Bob- Sorry about Dusty.

Galaxy- I’m sure they probably told you or you already know, when you cut back the food your body tends to go into storage mode. It turns most what it gets into fat to store for the next unknown meal. Try eating less, but more often to trick your body into thinking there is always more food and soon. It should burn more fat because it doesn’t think it needs to store it. Just don’t eat a lot and eat non fattening foods of course. Fruits, salads, lean meat but not much. Just balance it well and hopefully in spite of you inability to exercise, you can lose some weight.

Joe- How sad. They are in my prayers.

Jim- Have no idea how to get rid of it. The filmy stuff that is. What about Windex? That seems top work on a lot of stuff. Don’t know how it will react with the material though. Maybe try on a small section.

Barry- Too bad someone with a rifle didn't see that person pitch the cat out of the window.

Welp, stopped in yesterday but didn’t have time to post before I got “called away”. needless to say I didn’t get much done on the floor. Hopefully today I will make great strides. Of course as long as we wear shoes, there will always be one waiting to fall. We’ll see what today brings.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning...in other words....おはよう

Currently partly cloudy out and 44F ...got to 55F yesterday in the sun..we actually had people out at the local diner sitting outside at the patio...

Going to do up some layout stuff today as we contemplate Floor Wars, London ON division part 2

Someone tossed a cat out of a car last night...and we took it to a vet emerg to get it checked over....going to survive..very healthy aside from getting tossed and having scuff marks from it landing on the lawn here...

[LSWrr]

Hot and sour soup?