Happy Saturday to all.
Goodnight! (9.05pm)
James, Brisbane Australia
Modelling AT&SF in the 90s
Good morning, Chloe. Let's have a black coffee in one of those large NP mugs with a cinnamon roll, please.
Well, all my broken toys are home again. My dirt bike seems to run better than ever, and my sewing machine seems to be working. I will try the test later today to see if the embroidery part is working.
It should make it well into the 80's this weekend. I need to organize my gear for a climbing trip next weekend. I should be sun and fun.
I am sure that we will get some operations on the layout this weekend.
Later, Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good morning, not much going on today but it will be nice and sunny out
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Mornin' everyone!
Zoe, I'll have a Blueberry Muffin and a pot of dark roast coffee to start the day. My R&GV RR Mug would be great.....
Lee, nice and sunny here as well today. Currently 67°F outside here in the Finger lakes, with a high in the upper 70s they say.
Need to get outside and finish mowing the lawn first thing before it gets too hot...
Later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Morning All,
Slept in late today. Drinking a cup of coffee reading the board postings. It's supposed to be in the high 80's and rainy all week. I believe we are in our rain season now and lets not forget Hurricane season starts in 2 weeks. The only thing planned for today will be to take Mom and MOH out to dinner for Mother's Day since I w**k tomorrow.
Everyone take care.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
jeffrey-wimberly Had a bad wind storm come about 11:30 this morning. Knocked out power and cable service. Power was back on at 11:34. Cable was out until 8:10 this evening. No excuse for that! <<<WARNING!!!! RANT FOLLOWS!!!!>>>There are lots of people out here who have their phone service through Suddenlink, the cable provider in this area. That means for about eight hours these people had no phone service unless they had cell phones to fall back on. And what about those with alert systems to get help if they fall or need assistance? What are they supposed to do? Every time I start thinking about this I want to hit something. It just ticks me off that they wouldn't have some kind of fall-back system in place. <<<END OF RANT!!!!>>>
Had a bad wind storm come about 11:30 this morning. Knocked out power and cable service. Power was back on at 11:34. Cable was out until 8:10 this evening. No excuse for that! <<<WARNING!!!! RANT FOLLOWS!!!!>>>There are lots of people out here who have their phone service through Suddenlink, the cable provider in this area. That means for about eight hours these people had no phone service unless they had cell phones to fall back on. And what about those with alert systems to get help if they fall or need assistance? What are they supposed to do? Every time I start thinking about this I want to hit something. It just ticks me off that they wouldn't have some kind of fall-back system in place. <<<END OF RANT!!!!>>>
Jeffrey, That IS the BIGGEST reason we refuse to give up a land line! We ALWAYS have service..even durning the flood with a regular {corded}phone, we always had phone service when others were without due to power failure. Those who had: cordless phones only; cell phones only{when the batter ran down}; computer phones only; OR ANY COMBINATION of those...were without phones! We on the other hand, had a secure land line on a corded phone to rely on.
We have cell phones, and won't rely on them AS THE CELL SERVICES WERE TERMINATED due to overload the DAY OF the flood!
I get medicaid and because I do, I get "life line service" which gives me a reduced rate to have the phone for emergencies... WE rarely make long distance calls so those charges rarely appear on our land line. Check into your ohone services' discount rate since you have medicaid. You amy be happier your did. May cost a bit more that $19.95 a year, but you will "always" be connected!
Now, My responding rant is over!
Went adn did some shopping at Wally world. ANd to the bank. Still depositing 10% rounded up to nearest dollar fo MOH's meager paycheck's Net take home. Today was to deposit a whole $18 into the savings. At least its something for the future! I got to see at teh end of this month if I can get 2 "savings payments" one for April and one for MAy of my income into savings. Taht way there will be savings on both incomes to build up for the future.
May take savings bonds not paying much in interest to and cash them in for a CD to get more interest rate. Monday we check out a credit union.
WEll, laundry day today. Posta be 70s and warm and sunny!
later
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Good Morning!!! Coffee and a sweet roll please. The caramel ones with the pecans. Thanks.
Thanks for the condolences. They are appreciated and Brenda says thank you.
Welp, Thought the fun was gonna start first thing yesterday morning when the phone rang. T’was good brother reporting that Super Evil Sister was already over at Mom’s going through stuff and loading her truck. This of course set Brenda off because they all decided they would wait until after they came back from the funeral home that day. Then go through stuff. My Mom had no bills so all hrtuff we just gave away to family, friends and the place in Spfld where they give stuff to needy families. Not buy like Goodwill. Anyhow, they weren’t gonna divide stuff up, just take afew things and sell the rest to pay the bills off. Guess they figured she was gonna get an early jump on anything “valuable”. Brenda was kinda good about it and said “I’m not gonna go through this (expletive). She can just deal with it” But, he also called evil twin and she didn’t blow it off as well. That prompted another call from her and she of course got Brenda to the fence so….we’ll see if she climbs over and steps in. Ever watch WWE wrestling? Think the Royal Rumble. So far so good as they are more occupied with the funeral now. It will be Tuesday.
That reminds me. I need more popcorn.
Ken- Congrats on getting the last laugh on “ I am the Larry”
Modeling accuracy? All the folks who will see my layout know less than I about trains and trust me that ain’t much. So,if you say it’s a whatever phase whatever, I nod my head. All I ask is when I get back down to Toddland (of which I’m king) don’t point out my flaws. It'll take too much time.
CRUD! Tomorrow’s Mothers Day. Knew I was forgetting something.
Brenda is extremely tolerant of my actions. Extremely….Oddly…..Unusually….. horrifyingly tolerant. I’m torn between taking the ball and running with it, or being smart and not. She just smiles (I think she’s smiling, most contact is over the phone) and says “that’s alright” or “don’t worry about it”. I didn’t know she knew how to say that.
I guess I have to mow again so off to mow I go.
Ya’ll have a good 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.
Sorry, impatience has led to a double post.
Good morning. It's 67° and wet. The high will be 78° and mostly cloudy. There's a 40% chance of falling wet stuff.Still too wet to do anything outside here, especially after the long heavy shower we got a couple of hours ago. I had to wait for the thunderstorms to clear out before getting on the computer. Computer and phone cable service is back up but cable TV is still out. How weird is that? Nothing planned for today except to stay dry.
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
Italian roast coffee in a WINDY & SOUTHERN mug, please.
***Jeffrey, with all that business at the gas station, just wondering if there is a way to cash in all those little folks gas money into full scale human money!?! (It looks good)
Have a great day all.
Healing thoughts to those in need.
Cheers! Rob
Mornin' (for a few more minutes anyway), a big plate of bacon and eggs (scramblilated please) sounds good along with a bucket of coffee.
"uuummmmmm Chris... were those GP9 units done during the changeover? That got my attention right away... I'd loved to have seen the production numbers of those things."
Wellllllllllllllll BARRY, lemmesee, according to da book, The Cheap and Nothing Wasted ordered 32 Geep 9s in a batch THAT commenced to being built in March of '57. The order was completed in Feb. of '59. Then they went and picked up another batch built from Jan. '59 through March '59 (16 more). They had one built on a direct trade-in of an F-7, built in July of '59 with the 36" fans as well. One more thing to throw off the diesely thing spotters, the '59 units had "a modified frame sill" THAT was "common to production GP20s."
By the time I got around to looking at the durn things, Oelwein had had their fun with them, chopping noses and what-not. Add-in the original CNW geep-7's, the geeps they got from the MStL and CMO, the large fleet of ex-Rock Island geeps, and other assorted geep acquisitions; and a "diesel spotter" could get a quick case of terminal brain cramp. The ex-Rock units were a mixed-bag too, some having been rebuilt by Precision National, some by the Rock at Silvis, Il. Frame sills sometimes were, sometimes weren't trimmed. Different fuel tanks, sticking horns in different places, multiple types of spark arrestors, different beacons, different radio antennaes, some with all-weather windows, some not; some two-pane, others with three...plow or no plow. Two stacks, four stacks. Winterization hatch, no winterization hatch. Then, there's the paint jobs: old yellow, Zito yellow, traditional yellow. Different depths on the dark green, the "split scheme." Adding even more fun to a CNW modeler's life, the herald on the cab changes too: "Employee Owned" or "System." About the most consistent thing about CNW diesels between '87 and '93 (my era) is, they are ALL green and yellow!
I think the only thing more maddening, would be trying to build a fleet of IC/ICG/CCP/IC Paduchah-built geeps! Oh, wait, I "need" to do THAT too for the Chicago Central part of the future layout...
Yup yup. Just a very peaceful, tranquil, no-stress, highly relaxing way to spend spare time...
Chris
Hey, here's an idea for lunch!
***EDIT*** Man, I must have given myself a terminal brain cramp! I forgot all about the ex-BN SD-45s still in green and black, the ex-Conrail SD-45s in Conrail blue and Penn Central black, and the handful of ex-MoPac SD-40s in Jenks blue. Then, there was the "Paducah Built" SD-40 in a cool blue/gray scheme. Geesh!
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!
Afternoon guys
I got that SW15 with the soundtraxx decoder to run really smooth and slow. I saw something online about adjusting some CVs to make them crawl and be smooth. I also got the beacon lit, thanks to athearn wiring it up to a function output on their board. Kudos to them, and for sending me a replacement motor for my BB F7 along with some other parts. I'll probably order a sound decoder for my SW10 and some other stuff next week to get them off my project bench.
Chris, Why did the CNW buy the older BN SD45s,if they never really liked their own SD45s? At least that what the local CNW nut says. Say, did you ever get one of those CNW GP15s athearn did not to long ago?
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Chris: I know the terminal brain cramp..been working with that for the last few years now! I've been working on a roster sheet for my so-called fleet...with histories attached...oy..the mess...
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/
"Chris, Why did the CNW buy the older BN SD45s,if they never really liked their own SD45s? At least that what the local CNW nut says. Say, did you ever get one of those CNW GP15s athearn did not to long ago?"
The CNW 45's didn't have dynamic brakes, the BN and Conrail units did. Plus, with the joint coal line opening up in Wyoming, CNW needed more high horsepower units quick. The BN and Conrail locos were available and cheaper than ordering a bunch of new stuff although they did grab 35 SD-50s the MoPac cancelled out on, and 55 SD-60s the SOO decided they really didn't want after all even though they'd placed the order with EMD. The 45s sucked down fuel like crazy, and I guess the 20-cylinder crankshafts had some troubles too. They didn't last too long on the mainline, a bunch of them, some in very fresh paint were in the dead line at Boone in the spring of '91. The arrival in '89 of the C40-8's pretty much doomed them. Very few made it to the Borg take-over.
Nope, didn't buy any of Uncle Irv's GP-15s...very nice looking units, they even have the extra louvers the CNW added above the engine room doors (Walthers doesn't have THAT). But, way too rich for this poor newspaper writer/photographer! With a little w**k, the Walthers GP-15 can be turned into a decent looking unit. Even with adding parts, paint and decals, it still comes out less than the Athearn. The worst part is drilling the ends for the grab irons. Walthers has a post for the screws THAT hold the frame to the shell in the ends, and they ran it the full height. So, you go to drill the shell, and then the bit hits THAT. IF you don't break the bit, it's a good time. If you do, bad words quickly are uttered. Then, comes the fun of installing the grabs. One side has to be clipped pretty short to w**k. The odds of hitting the shell hole AND the post hole? Slim to none.
Say VINCENT, didn't the BN have some ex-Frisco GP-15s? You too could have this "fun!" IF I remember right, they had a "Gyralight" on the nose. Cutting THAT in could be just about as much "fun" as cutting in the notch for a CNW bell!
Good times! Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood times.
Chris, I acutally got an athearn Genesis Gp15 for my birthday last year.It's a really nice unit, all the lights work and it has a bunch of the extra details. I just wish it wasn't so light and the bottom covers on the truck didn't scrape over rerailers and switches. I think some sanding to that area would help a lot.
FWIW, There is someone on ebay selling genesis CNW shells for 40 bucks:http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHICAGO-NORTHWESTERN-GP15-1-4406-COMPLETE-SHELL-ASSY-GENESIS-HO-SCALE-F7-A-/251058991653?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3a74483225Might be able to shoe-horn it onto some other drive, but that's more in Jeff's court
Jeff, Check PMs
"Chris, I acutally got an athearn Genesis Gp15 for my birthday last year."
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
I'll leave the heavy surgery to JEFF...he's the apparent master of major locomotive modifications! Sundown Shops is THE "Silvis," THE "Paducah" the "Oelwein" of HO locomotive shops.
Chopping a geep nose is pretty serious surgery for me. Mostly, I just add parts, make minor modifications (Athearn blue box GP40-2 back-dated to a GP-40 for instance), paint, decal and weather to taste.
Boy, those Chinese sure are good model builders 'eh?
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Well,
DONT FORGET-- ALL YOU WITH MOTHERS involved: Tomorrow is Mothers Day!!!
we went to MIL's for Mother's day, because MOH is working tomorrow.
MIL may not remember we were there, but we brightened up her afternoon.
She at just a wee bit o' lunch. She doens't eat much lately, but neither does the FIL or my father. FIL claims he only eats when he feels hungry. My father eats twice a day jsut cuz he's supposed to. None of them eat much when they do eat.
Although it was 83* in the house, MIL was cold. She always is. Poor circulation and high BP pills to blame.
Got an infected tooth I have to see the dentist about. Whoo Pee!
The cavble company is expecting us to pay some rediculously outrageous bill. It is suposed to go down by a third, NOT DOUBLE. We have t o go talk to those folks Monday. Talking to them Is Mild! I can't say what we really would like to do! Perhaps we be calmed down by then...maybe not!!!
Well, Tomato basil sauce over Penne noodles, garlic twist knot rolls.... for
Went to my parents place for dinner. Cornbread, cabbage, ranch style beans and green onions. Before I left there I stopped by my fathers bathroom and got some Tums tablets. My mothers cabbage is quite spicy, even for me and that's saying something. It could strip the tarnish off silver!
Evening guys
Been working on some of my trains. I organized them so I have some room on my bench. The parts from athearn arrived today. I got 2 airhoses instead of 1 airhose and a set of MU hoses. I put the superpower F7 back together, then replaced some of the MU hoses on my old F45 because the factory ones broke.
Well I was looking through railpictures.net's photos and found another F3. Although it's labeled as an F7, it looks like a late phase F3. Even has DBs. Number for this one is 737. Although it's odd all the windows are gone, and it looks like blank panels instead of plated windows.
And just my luck, a guy on the bay has an F7 ph Ia and F3B ph IV shell. Which I bought and they will become 668 and 737.
Evening All,
Back from Mother's Day Supper. Mom wanted Mexican so we went to a nice one very close to home. It's usually always rated the best or next to best in Orlando every year.
I did break down and start putting down ground cover earlier today. I have the hard to reach part complete. After I got home I moved my roster of steam locos into the completed section (2 are my Dad's).
I go back to w**k tomorrow so I probably will be gone until Tuesday when I go in late.
Everybody have a great night. Have a Happy Mother's Day and prayers for those in need.
Evening folks!
Hey Bill! you want to turn the music down a bit so some of us can talk?
Sheesh, I guess Bill is no longer in Mourning......
Janie, just a cup of decaf please.
I spent most of the day printing out the Program for the Dinner and finishing up some more odds and ends to be printed soon as well. The MLK committee got a new Logo last fall, so everything has to be updated that uses the logo. Looks like we will get the highest turnout for the dinner we have ever had! I still have to check on all the IT stuff to make sure we have access to the projectors, sound system, and a podium mike. The system over at the colleges is way beyond anything I ever used when I was in business and completely Digital. One wrong push of button and the screens roll up the mike goes dead, and I get very embarrassed...... (don't ask!) I did get the Award Certificates all printed out today as well. they turned out nice!
I had to pick up a few things at the grocery store this afternoon and when I was going to look for the Mother's Day Card for my DIL who should be standing checking out cards but the Father of the Lady who is our featured speaker at the Dinner next Wednesday. We taught together at the Middle School for several years when I first started teaching here in town. I also taught all of his children Music. I remarked that I remember when Jennifer was just a tiny baby back when I used to walk over to his house to car pool to School. He grinned and said, Oh man, I remember that! Then said, "They sure grow up fast don't they....."
I have spent 2 hours in the last two days trying to find my scale ruler so I can begin w*rk on the Octagon Blacksmith's Shop. It has just disappeared. I know just as soon as I go buy another it will magically appear right on the desk I have looked for it on several times...... Finally said the heck with it (well actually that wasn't exactly how I phrased it) and started on another turnout.
Packer.... With or without windows? DBs?????? Must be some new fangled thingies.....
Time for me to call it a night. I'm going to try mowing my parents yard tomorrow weather permitting. If it's allowed to grow much longer I'll be mowing my parents hayfield. See y'all tomorrow.
Evening Guys
Probably going to call it a night in a few. Have to be up at 5 something to go to work.
Curt, love the roundhouse.
Ray, yup it's one of those "diseally things". The engine I was talking about is the second one in this group: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=315904&nseq=6I personally like the pilot of the lead unit.
Chips with medium salsa, please.
***Curt, excellent progress there.
***Vincent, nice looking unit. Anything BN is good in my book.
***Chris, those full scale locos have some serious weathering done to them. Cool!
Spent the day at a Pow Wow. Even saw a trian, of sorts. A pic I took just for my friends here in the Diner. Enjoy!
And with that, I bid you all a Good Night.
Rob
Evenin', Flo - I'll have a CAW mug of coffee and a hot fudge brownie sundae please. Thanks!
Todd, sorry to hear about Brenda's mother passing, but it was better that she didn't linger for days like the doctors said it could have taken. Give her my condolences as well as the rest of the Diners, please.
Ken, good news for you, on a couple of fronts (though I wouldn't let Bank of Stupid know about that settlement ...). Down in flames, eh? Here's to many Larry-free days at w**k!
Jeff, have you been taking care of yourself and not overdoing? (Nah, I didn't really expect so...) Hope you avoid any new mishaps, at least (and that your stomach recovers from your Mom's cabbage...) Hey, nice interior photo there - is that your (former) Shell station?
Chris, good to see you in a bit more often (not THAT I am one to talk lately...). Oh, your remark to Vincent sounded to me like one of those lottery commercials on the TV (Hmm, come to think of it, there is that resemblance between the lottery and tryin' to figure out a woman...) Hey, quitchur talkin' about all those C&NW variations - you're giving me a brain cramp!
Garry, that repair w**k on your house might cut into the MRR funds, if you're not careful. Nice shots of your locos (and your layout - maybe I will see about another trip down your way before long,,,
Ray, sent you a PM about your PDF problem that might help you get those proofreading copies out quicker... I also have a greater appreciation for your modelbuilding skills today... Started putting together one of the Tichy 40' flatcars (broke down and ordered a six-pack - of flatcars) - and gee, those pieces are tiny! Kinda thin, too - makes some Cannon cab shells look thick by comparison!
Curt, I still need to go back and find your posts about the turntable progress, Awesome job on the turntable (and the roundhouse) (since I have that Walthers 90' kit myself. Have read online that it can be a bear of a job to assemble and install)
Oh, Todd, I took care of that Mother's Day card for you. Oh, wait - I think that was a Mother's Day card for my daughter (the one who neglects to tell me when they are celebrating things like the grandsons' birthdays and such...). Hey, I'm with you about 'good enough' MRR'ing - kinda like plausible deniability, or somethin' like that.
Galaxy, take care of your dental stuff as soon as you can - no fun there! And best wishes with doin' battle with the cable folks.
I've probably only missed a dozen or two of other important things going on around here. W**k has been.. interesting. The week I was on-call in the evenings wasn't that busy, just started early (and couple of times, had a second person almost immediately after the first one to deal with). Not sure how much I like the new schedule, even if we do (once a month) get a 'week' (actually, six days) off in a row. Ah, well..
Have in the past week (or a bit less) been digging up family history/genealogy/whatever. Got on one site that offered a free 2-week trial (me being a sucker for a lot of freebies...), so I've been trying to track down and print out all that I can (kinda like one of those buffets we all love....). Have tracked down a bunch on my Dad's side, and on my Mom's mother's side, but my Mom's Dad (grandfather) is not turning up much at all - can't even track down his parents (?). My brother emailed me back that Mom had said that his background was a mystery to her - maybe he was in some early version of a witness protection program? Hmmm....
Well, I'd best get moving. Hope everyone treats their Mom (or already has) to lunch tomorrow. I will take the Mother's Day card by my daughter & SIL's place tomorrow (though they may not be there, as usual).
Prayers for those needing comfort, healing and rest, and you Diners whose mothers are still around, enjoy them.
[Edit]: Rob - nice 'train' shot! (though you bumped me to the TOP. Okay, Flo, here's my card for the midnight/morning buffet - Eat up, folks!
Blessings,
Jim in Cape G.
JimRCGMO Jeff, have you been taking care of yourself and not overdoing? (Nah, I didn't really expect so...) Hope you avoid any new mishaps, at least (and that your stomach recovers from your Mom's cabbage...) Hey, nice interior photo there - is that your (former) Shell station?
Evening Folks
Flo, Thank You Dear for the
Work Front I was busier than a one leg man in a Caboose kicking contest today. I got in at 11:00 PM and Dave left at 12:00 PM. So it was just me and the new guy in training Jeff. Jeff will be a services writer and to be honest I think he is close to being ready. I did get backed up at the counter and he tried to help. Problem is none of the cars where being worked on do to him being up front.
I took him aside and told him take care of the back and I will handle the front and things did start going better. Only thing that he did that was disappointing was at 6:00 PM he want to go home. I was now back up cashing out customers. Some of the tickets where not right from his end and could not be closed. He did hang around a little longer so I could figure out his mistakes and he was gone!
I was still backed up but I made it. My self, I would never left one person by them self, but that is me. Got out at a fair time at 7:55. At 5:00 PM I was guessing 8:30 if I was lucky. But I did cheat, I did not mop.
Time to check and see if I won the Lottery.
Ken
I hate Rust