Elliot's Trackside Diner, November 2012

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Diners.  You have been posting lots of photos.

Garry, Great shots as usual.

Jim,  Looks like you are staying busy.  Every time I pick vegetation to dry for trees, I think of you and der.

Today is my wreath party so I should get moving.

Later,  Sue

[Burlington Northern #24]

LSWrr

Good Morning all,

 

Todd I would wager that if you opened the back of the washer or dryer you’ll see all the important parts stamped Benton Harbor, Michigan AKA Whirlpool Corporation.  Maytag, LG, GE, Kenmore, Kitchen Aid, Whirlpool.  I was stationed across the street from their research and development center for 2 years and we test drove most of their appliances.  If a USCG Unit can’t destroy it then it’s good to go!

 

Heading out to the Route 30 Express train show tomorrow, everything was going well until Dorothy decided to tag along.  This train show is operating sessions at several different houses, almost like trick or treat for MRR enthusiasts.  I don’t mind bringing Dorothy along but she is a girl and she sometimes distracts the train operators.  Dorothy has launched a thousand trains and wrecked tenfold due to distracted operators….

 

It didn’t take long for the “new” congress to attack the retired military.  Right now I’m on Tricare Prime, I live more than 40 miles from a military base sick call so I go to contract doctors and pay a set deductable (varies depending on the service received).  I pay a monthly premium for this.  Congress and our President have decided that the 40 mile limit should be rescinded and that since I receive a retirement check I should pay 20% of any and all medical costs plus my monthly premium.  I do have the option of driving 125 miles to the nearest Military medical facility for anything minor.  This was not the retirement benefit plan I signed up for in 1987.  If this plan was in place this past year my entire retirement check would have been spent paying hospital deductibles.

thank you for your service, someone should remind them then that you haven't signed any new contract and that you should continue receiving all of the same benefits. that's the problem with us we take care of others before we take care of our own. I'll stop there before I start a rant.   

[BRAKIE]

Good Morning All!

Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes other then its suppose to be in the 40s again today..I didn't get anything done yesterday other then reading the latest issues of Trains and MR..
The lastest issue of Railfan hasn't shown up yet at my local book and magazine pusher.

I shall have a cup and look over the forum.

Have a good'un!

[Seamonster]

JohnReid

Bonjour y'all ! I am happy to report that my wife is OK after her second knee replacement surgery and will be home in a couple of days.

I'll have a big piece of apple pie Flo and a large coffee with cream,to hell with the diet today.Thanks guys for your kind support .Cheers! John.

Glad to hear your wife is on the road to recovery.  Make sure she does her exercises faithfully.  They are key to her recovery.  My wife has had both knees, both hips and a shoulder replaced and although she hated the exercises, which were difficult at times, she did them faithfully.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good morning .....

A lot of activity here today, and that is good!

Galaxy .... Sure, your posts are interesting. Maybe you can also tell about words and phrases having a railroad origin. I think a "station wagon" is an example. Also, a set of women's luggage often included a "train case". .... On the other hand, I doubt "spike the football" has a railroad origin, but who knows?

John Reid .... Glad your better half is doing well. Keep us informed.

Todd ..... There you go again. This time you mentioned doing something to a tiger.

Jeff  .... Nice photos!

Karl .... I like the building.

Jim CG .... Looks like you are doing very well putting together a building.

CDN Dennis; JimCG; Sue ..... Thanks for commenting on my photos.

Ulrich ..... Glad to hear you are going to a train show. Hope it is a good one! Sounds like you are feeling better now, and I'm happy for you.

Ken ... Each time I see old photos of people traveling by train, I notice how people used to dress up for traveling. Not so anymore.

Lee ..... Uh, oh. Dorothy causes train wrecks. Watch out.

Sad to hear in the news about a train hitting people in a parade in Texas. I have to wonder why the local people had a parade route crossing tracks. I doubt they communicated with Union Pacific when they did that. Also, I wonder why nobody such as a police officer was not at the crossing to watch out for trains. Finally, why did the truck driver ignore crossing flashers?

I posted another picture of 700D, the F9Am, in WPF.

Cheers.

[galaxy]

LSWrr

Congress and our President have decided that the 40 mile limit should be rescinded and that since I receive a retirement check I should pay 20% of any and all medical costs plus my monthly premium.  I do have the option of driving 125 miles to the nearest Military medical facility for anything minor.  This was not the retirement benefit plan I signed up for in 1987.  If this plan was in place this past year my entire retirement check would have been spent paying hospital deductibles.

Hi LEE, We have to tread carefully here, as this could be misconstrued as a political statement....but:

 

I am "retired" on disability from Social Security now, and MOH is a part time grocery store clerk. We pay 20% of our  income in premiums alone for health insurance.

 

What does that get us? Well, for me it means that most all my expenses are paid or stamped "paid in full" by the providers. I have to pay some co-pays for scripts, though. i have many expenses, Doctors and specialists I see for a variety of medical reasons.

 

For MOH, though, it means that until $1300.00 is paid out for the year for any Approved medical expenses, we have to pay 100% of the costs. Then, they will only pay 80% of the remaining approved medical expenses thereafter. The remaining 20% is our responsibility. It is a "catestrophic policy". So, if MOH needs, say, a $10,000.00 operation {the cost for having my gall bladder removed in 1998 money}, we will have to pay $1300 + $2000 for a total of $3,300.00..

 

BTW:::To ANYBODY who has medical bills that are looming overhead that are or will be hard to pay::: Especially for HOSPITAL SERVICES....ask to see the PATIENT FINANCIAL ADVOCATE.... actually DEMAND to see the PATIENT FINANCIAL ADVOCATE ASAP.  Every hospital has one. The PFA will act on your behalf as a  liason to the hospital to negotiate a payment you can handle or a payment plan you can handle to clear up a balance to have it stamped "paid in full". The PFA will work with the hospital financial department, but on your behalf.. They must.

Ask if any other medical services providers have a PFA if you have bills piling up.Also,  DOn't be "fooled" into believing that a "Medical Bankruptcy" for bills you cannot possibly handle, will not damage your credit rating..it is just as bad as bankruptcy for any reason.

 

The prayer candles have been lit for those in need!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Sad to hear in the news about a train hitting people in a parade in Texas. I have to wonder why the local people had a parade route crossing tracks. I doubt they communicated with Union Pacific when they did that. Also, I wonder why nobody such as a police officer was not at the crossing to watch out for trains. Finally, why did the truck driver ignore crossing flashers?

Depending on the size of the town it sometimes can't be avoided. Take Leesville for instance. Small as cities go. There's only one road in town that's long enough to accommodate the long parades they have here and not block highway traffic. There's a railroad crossing right at the midpoint of the parade route and there's no way to avoid it. This is a single track mainline with 25+ trains a day easily. All reasonable safety measures are taken and the railroad (KCS in this case) is notified well in advance. Parades have been taking place on this route for as long as I can remember and there's never been a railroad related mishap.

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, just a refil on the dark roast coffee please!

Been getting all the paperwork done that I can this morning for several things on the agenda.

Catch up to you later!

73

[Anonymous]

Good Evening!

Back from the Train Show in Bremen! Aside from the fact that my back and feet are killing me, it was an enjoyable day. Lothar and I enjoyed the train ride and the short walk to the show. We were greeted by a 1/5 scale model of a Tiger Panzer roaming down the aisles. The number of layouts on display was fairly small, not more than 15, out of which were 4 really nice ones. Much to my shame I have to admit, the the best layouts were built by British, Dutch and Belgian model railroaders. The German layouts were kind of cruse in comparison. There was also the usual bunch of dealers, selling junk at crazy prices. I did mange to get a few items, two lamps for my buildings and a a putty-like material to simulate stucco. See how that will work.

I had not much of a chance to take pictures, but here are a few:

That´s all from me today. I am bone-tired and will try to get a rest on the sofa, watching the idiot box.

Have a good one!

P.S. John - got to her that your wife is on her way to recovery!

[JeremyB]

Hi Guys,

Just getting ready for work, cant wait for this week to be over,lol

Not much planned for the weekend, might be another lay around Saturday and play video games or a PC game. Just not that into working on the layout at all. I do have a urge to start building a 1/35 panther tank I have been wanting to put together so maybe that might be in the cards??. Take care guys

[jeffrey-wimberly]

My day is pretty lousy. Got word that my mother slipped into a coma last night. She went to sleep and didn't wake up. She was transported to the ER this morning. So I'm not in a real good mood right now.

On the layout front, I got the loose freight cars put away. I have the SP F7 ready to go back together as soon as I install an LED in it. The AS16 is ready ti go on the shelf.

[Anonymous]

I´ll second that, Jeff. I enjoyed the Train Show very much, but all the joy is gone now. My father called me a few moments ago. My sister´s condition has unexpectedly gone down rapidly, as she is refusing any treatment. I am afraid she won´t be around much longer.

I am just very, very sad. Although I did not have much of contact with my sister in recent years (she is mentally disturbed and does not recognize me most of the times), I am very close to her in my heart.

Just sad, utterly sad.

[galaxy]

Jeffrey,

Ulrich.

Specials prayers have been said for your mother/sister.

The special prayers are for both a return to health, and/or for a peaceful passing should it come to that.

{Special prayers have already been said for other forum members expressing health and care issues today or yesterday.}

Remember, Prayer can be powerful and can work miracles, but cannot always provide us the outcome WE hope for, but rather what is best for us as the patient, or for the patient of concern.

[chochowillie]

Thought it's about time that I posted a track plan of what I'm in the process of building. I'm making adjustments along the way just because I do things that way  

Any way, this is the "general idea".

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

     Sorry to hear your news Jeff and Ulrich. We'll add your mom and sister to our prayers

   Dennis - nice concept. What is the grid size on the plan and how big will your isles be ?.

     Arrived in Oz yesterday morning and walked around downtown Sydney through the gardens and preserved buildings. Getting used to looking the "wrong way first when crossing the streets. Rode the monorail that goes around part of the city center and got some food then crashed. We're 8 hours off home time but the CFO and I are adapting quickly to the shift. The hard part was the 14 hour leg in the tin can from LA to Sydney as the CFO is susceptible to claustrophobia and the seats are way too close together. Still the trip isn't possible any other way so we're not whinging, just observing.  We take the hire car south today along the coast then north to the Blue Mountains.  Catch y'all later.    J.R.

[chochowillie]

GMTRacing

Dennis - nice concept. What is the grid size on the plan and how big will your isles be ?.

[

The plan fits into a 17 X 14 foot room J.R. The plan was slightly wider than I had room for hence the modifications on the go so to speak. Since I'm sort of a lone eagle model rail operator except when my SILaw is around, and I'm pretty tall and skinny the isle width an it's narrowest part is 24 inches. It's a short distance at 24 inches so not too much of an issue. You may have noticed that the plan is a mirror image of the original.

The one major change is in the area of the peninsula where the track plans shows the two tracks doing an under and over. Mine eliminated that configuration by simply following the peninsula around the perimeter.

I have also added a reverse track from the lower staging level out towards the mine and back to the upper level over the staging. Can't have a continuous run layout without a reverse section in my opinion.

Anyway, have fun down under. Fourteen hours on a plane...... not for me. Darned Legs are too long.   

[howmus]

Afternoon folks!

Chloe, a cup of hot chocolate would sure be good right about now...

Jeffrey, I am keeping your Mother in my prayers.  My thoughts and prayers also for you and your Father during all this.

Ulrich, my prayers for your sister and you and your family.

I hate to continue with more bad news, but I just got an email from a friend who was the Camp Director for the Presbytery Music Camp for many years.  I was the Music Director for it for 21 years.  A young man who was a camper at Music Camp 3 of the last 4 years I was there died in his sleep last Monday night.  He was 21 years old.  He was already known around the Rochester, NY area for his wonderful voice and his ability as a percussionist.  He was active in several fine musical organizations across many genres and highly involved with his church.  Don't know exactly what the circumstances were, but he was a great kid at camp as was his sister who was also one of our campers.  I am shocked to say the least...

Went down to City Hall to get the paperwork to apply for another Building Permit to fix the supports for the roof over the back porch.  Told the lady at the desk why I needed it and the fact that the last 3 handiman guys I called about lost interest as soon as mentioned "building permit".  Also said it should be 3 hour job...  She looked at me for a moment, then got me the paperwork.  Then said, "Hold on a minute".  She called upstairs to the Code office and had the head guy in charge come down.  He was the same person I worked with with the Planning Board application for the Solar install.  She said, "It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion" and grinned at me.  Told the head guy about the project, he thought for a minute and told me not to worry about it.  It is in a gray area, and he didn't find need to go for the building permit.  YES!

Got a bit of ballasting done while waiting for some clothes to dry.

Later!

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Made spaghetti for supper tonight and have had a cup of coffee afterwords. Got pretty much nothing done today waiting on the repair guy. I will probably be putting on details on my F7 this weekend.

Jeff- I am sorry to hear about your Mom. I continue to say prayers for her and your family.

Ulrich- I am also sorry to hear about your sister. I am saying prayers for her and your family.

Ray- Sorry to hear about the young man. I will also say prayers for his family.

Garry- Very nice modeling scene. The F units look great.

Hope everyone has a good night and prayers for those in need.

[kbkchooch]

Good evenin Y'all!

Cloe, let me have a nice, ice cold  sweetie. Gottta have a brewski on a Friday night! Just 1 though dear, I gotta go to w**k tomorrow.

Finally located someone who can get me the parts for my airbrush!  Maybe even by Turkeyday!  Also got the starter/generator back for the Cub Crapette tonight. Overhauled with new brushes and bearings for 68 bucks. I'll get that installed Sunday. However Saturday night is already spoken for. My youngest is the leading man in his High School play. I forgot the name of the show, but for anyone who has ever seen the movie CLUE , thats basically the play....Danny plays the Butler,,,this oughta be a riot!

Barry, silly time happens here too with Tinkerbell,,,,usually 30-40 minutes before the alarm clock sounds..must be a younger cat thing, cuz Midnight has been known to slap her for it, then go back to sleep.

Galaxy , I salute your efforts as keeper of the flame and concur, don't burn the house down!! 

Todd, I heard that! But don't worry, I'm not going to browbeat you or the Mrs about smoking, after all, I am diabetic also and a (sometimes) reformed chocohaulic!! I'm just sharing my experiences.

John, Here's to your lady making continued improvements

Ulrich, Sorry to hear about your sister. Prayer is the order of the day here. 

Jeffrey , a special prayer for your Mom. Though our discussions on various forums I almost feel like I know her. 

Ok y'all, my glass in empty, gotta hit the trail 

Cya soon!

[cudaken]

 Evening Folks

 Flo, for any that need's one.

 Jeffery and Ulrich my friends. Sorry to hear that bad news. You are both my friends and best wishes and prayers.

 Work Front Well it is official I have been transferred to the St Louis South Kingshighway store. I have mixed feels about this move.

  Main con's right now is it is 24 miles one way and mostly interstate driving. My wife cannot not drive on a interstate so if I break down, I am up the creek. Plus old store was only 21 miles round trip, so up goes my gas cost. But, I will get more hours and maybe a fair paycheck. In the mean time, I still looking for a better or should I say any job to get the heck out of this company!

 Time to hit the hay, I open and have to get up around 5:45 AM, yuck.

 See you all Saturday Night.

            Ken

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Looks like it's going to be in the mid 30's tonight. I've set the heater on low. It's been a long day for me. I've had a lot on my mind, not all of it good. My mother has been transferred to St Francis Cabrini hospital in hospital. Last I heard she was still comatose.

I got the AS16 and the F7 put back together. I also got part of the layout cleaned up a bit. There's still a lot more to be done before I can run a train on it but I can see the track. Part of the work on the F7 was to install a LED headlight. It was recessed quite a bit so I glued a short length of acrylic rod into the headlight socket then filed it down until it was almost flush. The LED is a bright one and is a bit whiter than what I wanted but when you have as little as I do you have to make do with what you've got. At least it's not blue-white.

Time for me to call it a night, but not a good night. See y'all tomorrow.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

mmmmm...kinda cool out here...34F and going down again...but we is having lotsa sun!!!

I had a fun day today...at the hospital...dear old chemo....I want this portacath taken from me!!!!!! No I'm not giving up....just venting....

Jeff:  

Ulrich:   for both your sisters family and yours

Ray:    for your friend's family...

[last mountain & eastern hogger]

galaxy

Jeffrey,

Ulrich.

Specials prayers have been said for your mother/sister.

The special prayers are for both a return to health, and/or for a peaceful passing should it come to that.

{Special prayers have already been said for other forum members expressing health and care issues today or yesterday.}

Remember, Prayer can be powerful and can work miracles, but cannot always provide us the outcome WE hope for, but rather what is best for us as the patient, or for the patient of concern.

Galaxy, I want to thank you for all you do. Especially Your prayers and candles for all our compatriots here who lately have found themselves or their family members in need some way.

I as well have them in my prayers and think of them often.  I think we each do what we can in our own way.

I do find your little stories each morning quite interesting and try not to miss them. Always look forward to Tipton Bill's postings too as they are always great old pictures that pull back memories of past sightings and sounds. thanks to you Bill as well, nice way to start the day.

My wife and I are nursing colds right now, so are not "feeling up to snuff"  There is one for you to work on Galaxy.  " UP TO SNUFF"

Prayers and blessings to all in need. 

Off to bed........ and sleep I hope.

Johnboy out..........................for now

[galaxy]

Morning coffee and donuts in the diner...

GOOD MORNING!!!

We often hear of a "wolf in sheeps clothing", SO:

Meaning: Someone who hides malicious intent under the guise of kindliness

Origin:

The cautionary advice that one cannot necessarily trust someone who appears kind and friendly has been with us for many centuries. Both Aesop's Fables and the Bible contain explicit references to wolves in sheep's clothing. On the face of it, Aesop must have originated the phrase, as his tales are much older than any biblical text. The question is, when did the phrase first become part of the English language?

The version of Aesop's Fables that is best known to us today is George Fyler Townsend's 1867 translation, in which he gives the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing fable this way:

Once upon a time a Wolf resolved to disguise his appearance in order to secure food more easily. Encased in the skin of a sheep, he pastured with the flock deceiving the shepherd by his costume. In the evening he was shut up by the shepherd in the fold; the gate was closed, and the entrance made thoroughly secure. But the shepherd, returning to the fold during the night to obtain meat for the next day, mistakenly caught up the Wolf instead of a sheep, and killed him instantly.

The KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible, 1611, gives this warning in Matthew 7:15:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The earliest English version of that biblical text is in John Wyclif's translation in 1382:

Be ye war of fals prophetis, that comen to you in clothing is of scheep, but withynneforth thei ben as wolues of raueyn.

The Aesop's Fable version may be an earlier example in English. Aesop (620–560 BC) is credited with creating the fables that bear his name and, whether he was the author or not, they are certainly pre-Christian. They were much translated before the first English version, which was Caxton's translation into Middle English, 1484. Caxton doesn't use the phrase or even reproduce the fable in the form we now know. His version has a dog, rather than a wolf, masquerading as a sheep.

It appears that the oldest explicit reference to the tale of a wolf dressed in a sheep skin, in print in English, is in Wycliffe's Bible. Where the writers of the Bible got the story from is anyone's guess. The cautionary tale wouldn't have been new to them - some form of the tales that we now know as Aesop's Fables would have been in circulation in the Middle East at the time the Bible was recorded.

The prayer candles have been lit for those in need.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Saturday, November 17, 2012

TIPTON

[galaxy]

last mountain & eastern hogger

galaxy

Jeffrey,

Ulrich.

Specials prayers have been said for your mother/sister.

The special prayers are for both a return to health, and/or for a peaceful passing should it come to that.

{Special prayers have already been said for other forum members expressing health and care issues today or yesterday.}

Remember, Prayer can be powerful and can work miracles, but cannot always provide us the outcome WE hope for, but rather what is best for us as the patient, or for the patient of concern.

Galaxy, I want to thank you for all you do. Especially Your prayers and candles for all our compatriots here who lately have found themselves or their family members in need some way.

I as well have them in my prayers and think of them often.  I think we each do what we can in our own way.

I do find your little stories each morning quite interesting and try not to miss them. Always look forward to Tipton Bill's postings too as they are always great old pictures that pull back memories of past sightings and sounds. thanks to you Bill as well, nice way to start the day.

My wife and I are nursing colds right now, so are not "feeling up to snuff"  There is one for you to work on Galaxy.  " UP TO SNUFF"

Prayers and blessings to all in need. 

Off to bed........ and sleep I hope.

Johnboy out..........................for now

Ah, Shuckaroonies...T'weren't nuttin'.

I don't mind at all, but it is nice to know it is genuinely appreciated..

You don't have to be any kind of religious to know the power of prayer. Good energy focused in one direction can have an impact, and we all have energy in our systems. It's similar to the stuff that makes a 98 lbs weakling pick up a 5000 lbs car to get it off a person it fell on, and everybody can believe in that without any kind of "faith".

 

As for the amusing tid bits in the morning, I may drop them altogether....but I am glad you and 2 others here enjoy them. I have a few good sources for them, and i like the ones that come from middle English and Old English particularly. It is interesting to note that someone in the 1500s or 1600s might have said the same thing I say today!

I try to steer clear of ones that are Bible driven. or of religious nature-out of respect for our "no religion policy", though some people might have never thought something so common came from the Bible.

Some are amusing, others truth bearing, and some are just tidbits.

There aren't a lot of RR ones that aren't "self explanatory" in RR terms, at least not that I have found.But I keep looking.

The Prayer candles are lit for those in need.

y'all have a great day!!!

 

 

["JaBear"]

Evening All, While I know that our moderators have far more important issues to deal with at the present, when I came on to the site tonight I found I was logged on as someone else, just as well I wasn't at the top of the page as he would have paid. 

Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them.

Cheers, the Bear.

[Anonymous]

JaBear,

the issue is known to the Kalmbach IT staff and they are working on it. It has not happened to me, yet. The new forum software seems to have some major flaws...

Folks - I won´t be a regular visitor here in the next days. There are just to many things on my mind. My sister´s condition is more than worrying and it is heart breaking to see how my parents deal with this. I have to spend endless hours on the phone to comfort them.

CU as soon as my head is free for that.

Blessings to all in need!

[fec153]

Holy-Moly, ten pages behind. I'll never catch up.  Mr.G, I have the greatest respect for you and all our fellow diners. Your tidbits of information are very interesting and you can include me as looking forward to them.

Someone, many pages back, drank Dr. Pepper to ease  the heat of the hot sauce-peppers. The best thing to cool the mouth is to drink MILK.

Looking forward to have a sit-down talk with CURT. We have met for a few minutes but today going to meet and talk over coffee and whatever they have wherever we go. Maybe Perkins.

Thanks to all for posting your pixs. Truly inspiring . Wish I  was talented enough to do what you folks do.

Prayers and Blessings for all.

Flip

 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

Sunny today as well...high near 52F today...right now temperature is sitting at ...28F

Got some groceries to buy and other stuff to do/buy/see....HD list thingees tend to grow exponentially around here it seems

Flo, I'll have a coffee to go please....cya bye!!!!