Elliot´s Trackside Diner - February 2012

[saronaterry]

Already 40 and sunny here!

Jeff, are those products used for taking the shine off plastic rolling stock? Do you have a favorite? I've only heard of "dullcote". What are the price differences? Do they all work the same?

I'm a member at Dallas MW, Curt. Haven't tried the waybill generator yet, still have a bunch left from my Old Line Graphics ( now Micromark) Starter set I got years ago. They have some neat programs over there, especially the inventory one.

Welcome back, Garry!

Thanks again, Sue!

Rob, the next time the grandson visits, I'll find out how well it works. Last visit I just showed him the new system and got him used to it with one train at a time.Next, I'll start running one concurrently.Hope fully no cornfield meets!

DerJohn, got the PM. YES! PM me your e-mail address, I'll write you back.

Built another load for the unit coal train before church. Took about 15 minutes.

Started with this:

Added weight:

Cut a piece of a " for sale "sign 1/4" short in length:

 

Painted black, sprinkled on some reclaimedcinder ballast for "tooth":

 

 

Load up withdilute white glue:

 

Add coal:

There you have it!

 

Terry in NW Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gabeusmc]

AmanaMedic

GABE USMC: Thank you for your service also!

Whoa, don't say thanks just yet. I am almost seventeen, so I am not in the Marine corp yet. After graduation i will enroll in PLC, or platoon leaders course, where for two summers during my college carrer I will train to become an officer for six weeks each. After collage I will be commisioned as a 2nd Lt, I and I hope to make a career out of it. (or at least outrank my dad, he was a 1st LT in the 80's, also Marine)

  afternoon SIRS

[jeffrey-wimberly]

saronaterry

Jeff, are those products used for taking the shine off plastic rolling stock? Do you have a favorite? I've only heard of "dull-cote". What are the price differences? Do they all work the same?

I prefer the Valsrar Clear Flat but Matte Finish works in a pinch. If you're looking to completely kill gloss and do your weather coat base all in one step then by all means use Dull-Cote. The Clear Flat and Matte Finish both dull gloss shine and help lock your weathering in place without drowning it under a layer of haze. Both products cost about the same as Dull-cote but you get eleven or twelve ounces compared to Dull-Cotes three ounces.

[saronaterry]

Thanks, Jeff. Whats's the NMRA recommended weight for a 40' car?

Terry in NW Wisconsin

[Curt Webb]

Terry- A caution: I have used both and use Valspar now (much cheaper). I have found it's best to do it some place cool out of direct sunlight and high humidity. These can cause clouding. If I am doing a bunch I bring one out at a time to spray then immediately bring it inside and so forth. Just what I do. 

[BroadwayLion]

Curt Webb

Lion- Is that picture your modeling? If so you did a great job.

If wishes were fishes, you would still have to clean them.

No, that was a photograph taken on the NYCT several years ago. I just punched up the colors a bit with a rendering program that I have.

ROAR

[jeffrey-wimberly]

saronaterry

Thanks, Jeff. Whats's the NMRA recommended weight for a 40' car?

The NMRA practice is to start with 1 ounce and add a half ounce for each inch of car car length. So on a 40' car 1 + .5 X 6 = 4. On a 50' car 1 + .5 X 8 = 4.5. On a 60' car 1 + .5 X 8.25 =5.125

[AmanaMedic]

Gooooooooooooooooooooooood afternoon (makes the appropriate bows to the most honorable Diner ladies and most honorable Diner patrons). Plate of cheeseburgers and a bucket of Coke please 'n thank-you.....

GABE USMC: OK Pally, then how's about a hearty thank you for your decision to serve? You sound a bit like my favorite nephew who was going to join-up with the Army on a similar career path. A badly busted ankle in basic training canceled THAT out pretty quickly. I hope you have better luck!

TERRY: I like your operating plan. THAT is about how I figure I'll run the Cedar Crapids Industrial Branch (moving yesterday's Crunch Berries tomorrow) if'n it ever gets built. Between runs to switch-out Quaker Oats and Cargill on-the-river, plus transfers to and from the Chicago Central, run-throughs from the Iowa Northern, and a crosstown transfer from the CRANDIC...I'll have a week or more worth of operating sessions just to get through one "day." THAT coal load looks really good, by the way. One question though: is it still removable? I've got about 18 hoppers (CNW and CIC) assigned to the future Sixth St. Power Station, and they will eventually need loads. I can't stomach pulling a loaded "empty" from the power plant to go back to Wyoming.

TODD: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! My wife is gonna hear you braggin' up how you're doin' all THAT w**k to make your wife's house nicer! This is unacceptable! Before long, my wife will start thinkin' up things for me to do!!!! 

CURT: Have a safe shift Pal!

 

Stupid Bowl: For the past three years, I've been assigned to cover the North Liberty Community Superbowl Party at the recreation center. They did a community pot-luck, a church donated pizza, and the big game was projected up on the walls big-screen style. This year, they decided NOT to do it. A little cutie with NLTV (the city's in-house cable TV service) told me last night THAT the reason is: they didn't want to hit-up local businesses for the plethora of donations they typically get and then go back and bug 'em in a few months for MORE donations for the annual "Blues and BBQ" festival. 

With neither my primary team (STEELERS) nor my secondary teams (multiple shifting loyalties there) in the big game this year, I too couldn't care less and thus will not be watching it. I won't even watch it for the commercials. 

Have a good rest-of-the-day folks, and here's to a good and SAFE week...

Chris

 

[Cederstrand]

Some dark chocolate, please.

***Chris, neat photo. Looks kinda like a Union Pacific re-name!?!

***Roar, I also thought that was an outstanding pic regardless of whose layout it originated from.

Spent some time on the little Beast and managed to grapple up a few stumps for a very small road from the driveway up to a pasture gate. Had to leave two stumps behind, as they will require the power of a trackhoe to remove.

I should have been working on a section of fence to keep the little goat frackers from escaping, which they just did again.

I'll be resting in the corner booth awhile. Rob

[saronaterry]

Thanks for the quick answers, Jeff and Curt!

Chris, no they are not removable. I have 19 hoppers ( need more! ) that make up a 10 loaded and a 9 empty unit train, one each way. They both get new power when they reach Spooner Yard. It doesn't bother me that the car #'s aren't all different since they stay as one train or the other. Sooo, I need to build 8 more loaded hoppers( at least till I get more! ) You could make them removable, maybe by lining the car with wax paper as you build the load? A piece of metal glued to the styrene before you add coal and a magnet to pull it out? I'm still trying to figure out how to add weight to the mt hoppers without it looking stupid. They start at 2.5 oz.

 

Terry in NW Wisconsin

  

[AmanaMedic]

ROB: Thanks! Actually, the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City (CRANDIC) has always used the yellow and gray. Their latest paint jobs really look like UP, which they interchange with at Fairfax, by Beverly Yard near the ADM plant, and near Wilson Ave. In Cedar cRapids, if you see a yellow and gray MP-15, you'd best take a closer look to see it it's Uncle Pete's or the CRANDIC's. 

TERRY: Thanks for the input. I'm still skulling-out how many cars I "need" for this, figuring one set at the power plant, one enroute back to Wyoming, one enroute from Wyoming, and one being loaded...so far. And THAT's just the CNW hoppers. Then, I've got to w**k in the CRANDIC blocks of hoppers. I'm fudging reality as it is, the CRANDIC handled the plant exclusively (CRANDIC is a subsidiary of Alliant Energy, formerly Iowa Electric Light and Power Co.). I think the CRANDIC brought hoppers in every other week or so. I didn't keep real good notes back then, unfortunately. 

Here's a couple of the CRANDIC cars as they were being finished sometime last year:

I'm also trying to w**k-out how many grain hoppers "should" be assigned for Quaker Oats, how many CC and SOO hoppers for National Oats, how many bean hoppers for Cargill, how many corn hoppers for the other Cargill, how many Airslides in flour service for Quaker, etc., etc., etc., etc.

 

Such great dilemmas for deliberation!

Chris

 

[galaxy]

Well, the Stupid Bowl XLVI is underway. Most kids today have no idea what the "XLVI" means. They don't teach Roman numerals anymore than they do cursive writing.

Just like Jeffrey, MOH and I only watch for the commercials. Not really into football. SO far not depressed impressed with the commercials. The best may be yet to come.

I gotta get teh hot wingdings out and roast em up. MOH enjoys them. I used to, but fake teeth now limit my eating of them, just like corn on the nob.

The cheese and dip and salsa is already out.

We shall see who wins. MOH kinda secretly hopes Pats do as work boss likes Giants like no tomorrow so MOH can rub it in to the boss that "nah nah, they lost"!

The halftime show with Madonna promises "no wardrobe malfunctions". I think all jokes along those lines are old and stale now. We watched that show and didn't see the "nasty" and we were watching it! THe micronanosecond Janet's b**b was exposed and we didn't see anything of it.

Oh well.

Enjoy the fun

 EDIT: I got top so the wingdings, chips and salsa is on me!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

galaxy

 EDIT: I got top so the wingdings, chips and salsa is on me!

 

I'll have to pass. I had dinner at my parents place today. They insisted. Cabbage and bacon with home fries, onions and corn bread. You wouldn't want to be here right now. The cabbage is letting it's presence be known.

No weathering done today. Foots hurting too darn much. The new walking boot is jamming what's left of the bones together and it hurts bad.

[GMTRacing]

Good Evening All,

     Thanks for the nosh Galaxy. I unlike you and Jeff am watching all the game as the only pro sport I follow is football having been a Giants fan all my life. But to each his own

    Spent the last two days in the shop catching up w..k. Also put a few more hours in on the Micro Engineering viaducts. Millions of little bitty parts to glue up but it seems pretty ridgid once set up. I need a span in the middle longer than a regular girder so I'm looking at this as a solution

  I already have a Central Valley truss bridge kit built up from the old layout that I think I can bash to fit.   Catch y'all later,  J.R.

[Cederstrand]

Turkey dinner, please.

***J.R., I like that bridge...almost as much as the B.N. motive power moving across it. Nice!

***Jeffrey, is there an adjustment that will be made to it or are you going to be stuck with an ill-fitted boot? Hope the pain subsides for you soon.

Tuckered out here. Rob

[BroadwayLion]

LIVE from NYCT:

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

FEH...on the stuporbowl!! .........even the commercials are sucking huge this year....

Oh well...on that note...I got through the day well...so far....tomorrow is my finish on-call day and evening classes...

Floor Wars: London ON division part 2:  This was both of our idea here..it really needed to be done....although Audrey can find things to distract me as well...dang honey do or buy lists..

Chloe, I'll have a coffee....no!! not the frying pan!!!!

DOOOONNNGGGGOOOOOOOOONNNGGGOOONNGG....

Oh my!! look at the pretty stars!!!

tweeet twwweeet.....*thud*

[jeffrey-wimberly]

blownout cylinder

FEH...on the stuporbowl!! .........even the commercials are sucking huge this year....

Might not even be worth watching them then.

Oh nurse, there's a man here who just saw a super nova explode inside his head.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I had a car like this 45' PS-1 covered hopper back in the 70's that I got from a friend of mine. I believe it to be an AHM/Roco model from the early 60's. AHM dropped it before 1970 due to inflation in Europe raising the price of the unit. Con-Cor announced that it had bought the original tooling from Lilliput of Vienna Austria and brought it back to mint condition. Sitting in a warehouse for nearly 20 years had taken a toll on it. One major improvement was made. It was modified to take body mounted horn hooks or Kadee #5's. My model doesn't have this modification and it's stamped AHM Austria so it has to be one of the early models.

This one has had the Union Pacific name painted over and the L&A logo added.

See y'all tomorrow.

[howmus]

Konbanwa no hitobito!

Janie, just a decaf for me right now.  I'll be in the back by the stove warming up.

Cleaned and moved all kinds of stuff down cellar today.  While I am at the reconstruction I decided to get rid of the old kitchen cupboard junk I have been using as a makeshift workbench in the laundry/furnace/work space down there.  Amazing the junk THAT can collect in 20 or so years........  I will make a new workbench later this week from leftover lumber I have from other projects.  I also moved much of the stored stuff from the layout room to other places down there.  In order to do THAT, I had to clean out old tax files (from the 1990s), and a lot of other accumulated junk.  Right now I am just plain tired.....  My trash dumpster for household trash is filled to the brim.  Luckily it will be emptied on Tuesday and I can fill it again......

I will have another electric outlet put in on the left side of the doorway so I can put the small old TV, DVD player, and small sound system in the corner by the doorway.  This project seems to be growing and taking on a life of its own.......

I see the Stupid Bowl is now over and the big guys have bragging rights for the next year......  BTW, Tom Coughlin is a Waterloo, NY native and grew up just a few miles down the road from where I live...  He graduated in 1964 from Waterloo High School...  I graduated in 1964 from Canandaigua Academy (High School) in Canandaigua, NY one county over.  Huh?  Oh, I don't know?  Means nothing actually, just thought it was sort of interesting.......

Think I will turn in early tonight.  have a dentist appt. tomorrow for a 6 month check up and cleaning.

Prayers for all in need!

73

[galaxy]

Wasabi !!!

GOOD MORNING!!!!

Today is Monday, February 6th, 2012!!!

Enjoy your day, Giants Fans!!!

February -- month of Februa

Middle English Februarius
Latin Februarius "of Februa"
Latin Februa(s) "Februa" + -arius "ary (pertaining to)"
Latin Februarius mensis "month of Februa"
Latin dies februatus "day of purification"

Februarius had 28 days, until circa 450 BC when it had 23 or 24 days on some of every second year, until Julius when it had 29 days on every fourth year and 28 days otherwise.

Februa is the Roman festival of purification, held on February fifteenth. It is possibly of Sabine origin.

Intercalaris -- inter-calendar month

Latin Intercalaris "inter-calendar"
Latin Mercedonius (popular name) "?"

Intercalaris had 27 days until the month was abolished by Julius.

[wetidlerjr]

 

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.

 

 

 

 

[TMarsh]

jeffrey-wimberly

TMarsh:

 

I think after this next room and between the Master Bathroom floor, I will spend some time cleaning up Toddland ( of which I’m king) as it is getting nasty.

 

 

Yes, but to get to Toddland (if which you are king) you must get past the honey-do list of the impress (aka she who must be obeyed) of the territory in which Toddland sits.

Oh how true it is!

[blownout cylinder]

BroadwayLion

LIVE from NYCT:

I like how that punches the colours up.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Morning

We are going to be sunny and a high of 47F forecast for today...tomorrow will be 30% chance of little tiny snowfluffies and a high of 30F....

Floor Wars:London ON division part 2:  I got all the grout and stuff needed to install the tiles in the two bathrooms...now to see whether I will be permitted to actually get that done this week

My modelling time has taken a backseat to all the Floor Wars stuff but that is not the only thing clobbering time out of it...w**k has proceeded to do pretty much the same as we are now in report writing season....

Flo, I'll just have a coffee and an ice bag for mine head please..it is a little sore from last night....

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Coffee and some fruit please. Nothing wild and no bananers. Last time I had one of those I went stone blind. Thank you.

Widespread freezing fog before noon. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 42.

Oh the stupid posting screen is doing that obnoxiuos won't highlight crap again. Man that is sooooo annoying for such a little thing to me. Don't know why it bothers me so.

I’m getting a bit worried about Ray. Every time he comes in and lets out with this horrible sneezing fit. I hope there is no dust or mold situation in the basement, or cellar as he calls it, now that he’s “under construction”. Maybe the floor painting will help.

“Stupid Bowl” Not very exciting. While Jeff and Rob “could” care less, though I’m sure there is very little they care less about, I myself “couldn’t” care less. Well, at least off the top of my head anyway. Ah I see Chris feels the same. Commercials weren’t even funny. Well the Chevy commercial with the bugs in the grill gave me a bit of a chuckle. Oh and I always grin at the little piggy who goes “weee!” I’m assuming the team with the most points in the end still wins? Seemed like it to me. At least JR is happy. Like he said, to each their own. I do halfway enjoy Football, I just don't follow it. Same with Baseball. Those are the only two sports I even follow as little as I do.

Yes Ray, it all starts out small. Remember, this entire remodel job here started out just replacing the linoleum in the entrance way part with wood.

Dennis- Oh don’t you hate that? Most sit and freeze while one or two have to have the AC turned up or the heat turned down because they are warm wearing their sweaters and shorts? You gotta do it because they just make this big deal about being slightly uncomfortable. No happy mediums, no meet you half ways, just me, me, me,…

 Sorry. Got a bit carried away.

Jeff- I take it by you’re response to Terry, that Valspar or Krylon do not cover as well as Dullcote or did I just take it wrong? Also are there any spraying differences between the large cans and the Dullcote intended for models. Like the spray for Dullcote is thinner and you have to do something different with the general purpose sprays. Or is that just a misconception leading to a substantial raise in cost to the consumer. I’ve never heard that question asked or answered before, and since you’re the spray can Rembrandt… I figure you know.

Terry- Why the ¼ inch short on the styrene false bottom of the hoppers?

Floor Wars Williamsville: Phase….I lost track - Today, after I do the bookwork for the Church, It’s lay the tile in the “oh look I can put it there for now” room. Not a big room, small in fact, but once again due to lack of space anywhere else, I’m forced to do half the room, let the tile set, then grout, then move stuff, then do the other half. Takes forever.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[galaxy]

TMarsh

Widespread freezing fog before noon.

 

THAT, according to the weather man, is officially called "FROG". {FReezing fOG}.

FRAIN is, of course, FReezing rAIN.

If it is FRIST, it is a FReezing mIST.

Just thought you'd like to know.

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Chloe.  I will have my coffee in a NP mug, please.

I dispatched at a operating session yesterday.  I had fun as usual. 

Sue

[saronaterry]

Morning.

24 and fog becoming sunny and 38.

 Todd,trimming the styrene a tad short allows it to sit down a bit to make room for the coal load. The next loads I trimmed it about 1/8. That gives me about 1/8 space for coal.

Got the round houses planted yesterday:

Gotta go!

Terry in NW Wisconsin

 

[TMarsh]

Terry- Ah. I see what you mean. I misunderstood the 1/4" location. I thought you meant the length. Basically a 1/8" on each end of the gondola, not a 1/4" down. Makes sense now.

[Anonymous]

We are having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave ...

Well, not really, we had the coldest night recorded in the last 10 years, and temperatures are supposed to drop even further - brrrr!

The best of the day so far is, that my little loco was finally delivered. What a beauty. I´ll be setting up my photo studio in a moment and take a picture. That photo studio consists of the box the loco came in. A blank piece of paper, a length of track and two table lamps. I need to charge the batteries of my camera, though, before I can shot a couple of pictures. Will show the results a little later.

CUL, Folks, and have a good one!