Elliot's Trackside Diner, November 2012

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Janie, just a nice hot cup of decaf please...

Curt, nice photos!

Tom, I did get a nice gift card to be used at Micro Mark from my son and family...  My #1 Granddaughter gave me a steam train calender (she picked it out herself), amongst some other stuff.

Jeff and Galaxy, this time of life is both trying and sad as you see the people in your families fail....  One of the saddest moments in my life was the day, after my Mother had landed in the Nursing Home after breaking her hip, she looked me in the eye and asked, "Am I going to die here?"  What do you say?  The real answer was yes... she was going to die there, and we all knew it.  But, I just said, "I don't know, mom."  When she passed, there was both that awful saddness and a sense of relief at the same time.  Do your best to enjoy both the difficult and the impossible as this chapter unfolds in your lives, and trust those things you believe!  My prayers go with you!

I have been busy printing stuff, going to the post office, putting away clean clothes, making phone calls, and talking on the phone with son #2 in Chicago.  For dinner tonight I had left over steak, baked potato, and squash from the feast last night.  My son was supposed to take me out to lunch today, but had to cancel out as he had been at an early morning meeting at work and didn't sleep last night.  He did find out the company is doing well so his job is secure for the moment!  That was probably part of the reason he didn't sleep well last night.  He called about 3:30 and asked if I could meet him at the Medical Group to help him while the granddaughters got their Flu Vaccinations.  Of course I went over to play with the girls while they were at the Docs...   The little one was fine and didn't even flinch when she got hers, the older one cried I guess... On the way out of the Medical Group we stopped in at the Drug Store near the exit.  It is owned by the girls Uncle Steve.  It is the last independent Drug Store in the area.  I just transferred all my Rx's over to his store.  The girls just walk right in and go into the back where Uncle Steve is working.  He stopped what he was doing to entertain them for a few minutes....  I miss the old fashioned stores these days!  The girls finally came back out with some candy and a couple little toys he has for little kids.

Catch you later!

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Curt Webb

I meant to ask, does anyone recognize what type of diesel is the white one I posted a picture of. I have been looking online but can't seem to find it.

Looks like an RS3M. A rebuilt Alco RS3. Alco frame, cab, trucks and short hood. Now has an EMD prime mover, usually an EMD 567 and in this case the hood appears to have come from an EMD SW loco, probably a 7 or 9.

[Curt Webb]

Thanks Jeff.

[Packer]

evening guys

My arm still hurts from yesterday (using a scissors jack on a F250). As it turned out I was right about the jack from Brooke's Explorer being a better choice for the job. She had a bottle jack the whole time...

I got my SW10 back together tonight. I was going to put a decoder in it, but the NCE D13SR i have for it has lost it's mind. This is the dame D13SR that was acting up on the SD7 a few months back...

Curt, The white one is no Alco product. It's an EMD NW5:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?locomotive=EMD%20NW5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_NW5

FWIW, I'd like to build a model of one or two of these. BN had 10 of the 13 ever made

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Packer

The white one is no Alco product. It's an EMD NW5:

Interesting. First time I've heard of it. Learn something new every day.

*

Looks like I'll have the a/c on tonight. Low of 55 and a 70% chance of rain. Maybe it'll wash some of the dust off my van.

Well, I'm still not feeling all that great. I'm calling it a night a bit early. I just can't keep me head up any longer. See y'all tomorrow.

[Curt Webb]

Packer- Thank you.

[howmus]

Evenin' again folks!

Nothing for me right now Janie.  I'm about to head off to bed for the night.

Been a long, but productive day.  Had several phone calls this evening from family to wish me a happy Birthday.  Janie, anyone who wants a piece of cake let them have it.... I have eaten way more than I should of it!

Curt and Jeff...  This is our RS3m at the museum.  Looks way different than the white loco in the photo.  I think Packer got it right.  Ours is nicknamed a "Hammerhead" due to the raised short hood.  Also known as a "Dewitt Jeep".

http://www.rgvrrm.org/about/railroad/lv211/index.htm

Debating trading in the Yaris for a plug in Prius...  Every car I have ever owned (as well as the trucks) have always been a bottom of the line cheap transportation that I usually bought new and ran into the ground before trading them in.  Most often well over a decade.  I might just once in my life like to own something a bit more substantial.  So I am seriously thinking of getting one more new car to run into the ground...    The truck may be used as a second trade in or just be junked.  Not sure yet, but I know it is going "bye, bye" soon.  Not safe to drive, and not worth repairing.

Prayers for all in need out there.

73

[Burlington Northern #24]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Vincent and BN 24 ..... I saw you guys talking about BN passenger trains. One of you had a link to a picture of an ex-Q E7 with a green nose and stainless steel sides. I recall seeing it when they were running west of Chicago. They may have been the best looking BN engines ever. However, BN passenger trains did not last long because Amtrak was created soon after the BN merger. I never saw a BN passenger train with all BN lettered equipment except for suburban trains in Chicago. .... Early Amtrak trains included equipment in colors of GN, NP, and CB&Q.

I know lots of post merger/pre amtrak equipment never got the "stick." I'm honestly the kind of model railroader who is  into unique and rare things. just 4 days away from payday then I'll have something really special to show you guys. I know my E's that lead the train were probably ex CB&Q and the rest of the cars were a mix of NP/GN. my full dome car though is a repainted santa fe car but it's prototype was an ex GN car. 

[galaxy]

Morning Coffee at the Diner...

GOOD MORNING!!!

Often, in anything that we want good luck for, we say "knock on wood", SO:

Meaning:

This phrase is used by people who rap their knuckles on a piece of wood hoping to stave off bad luck. In the UK, the phrase 'touch wood' is used - often jokingly by tapping one's head. The phrases are sometimes spoken when a person is already experiencing some good fortune and hope that it will continue - for example "I've been winning on every race - touch wood".

Origin:

The derivation may be the association that wood and trees have with good spirits in mythology, or with the Christian cross. It used to be considered good luck to tap trees to let the wood spirits within know you were there. Traditions of this sort still persist in Ireland.

The British version of the phrase - 'touch wood', predates the American 'knock on wood' and was itself preceded by a Latin version  - 'absit omen', meaning 'far be that omen from us'. This dates from at least the early 17th century, when it is quoted by John Heywood in his collections of proverbs. It isn't clear when 'touch wood' began to be used as a token of good fortune but it must have been by 1850, when the academic correspondence magazine Notes and Queries published this:

There probably is some old English expression for averting evil, but it does not come to mind; "I touch wood," "Bar omen," "Bar ill-luck," seem clumsy.

'Knock on wood'  is known from the early 20th century; for example, The Syracuse Herald, February 1905:

Neglecting to knock on wood may have been responsible for the weather's unseemly behaviour today.

We may "knock off" work early, whether for trains or life, SO:

Meaning:

To finish work for the day. Alternatively, to work quickly and complete a task - similar to polish off. A third alternative is a slang term meaning to steal

Origin:

The origin of the first meaning could possibly be from the habit of knocking a special beat to indicate a change of oarsmen in slave galleys. That's speculation but several of the earliest references to the term come from a nautical source; for example, William Clark Russell's novel An ocean tragedy, 1890:

"We were forced to knock off through sheer fatigue."

The second meaning - to work quickly and complete a task is known by the early 19th century; for example, Thomas Love Peacock's novel Melincourt, 1817:

"He had to dispose of a christening, a marriage, and a funeral; but he would knock them off as fast as he could."

The third, 'stealing' meaning originated about a century later. That's recorded in The Athenaeum, August 1919:

"A curious term used by a Tommy [British soldier] , in 'explaining' his deficiencies of kit, is 'Someone knocked it off' for 'Someone pinched (or made away with) it'."

 

 

The prayer candles will be lit as long as I {we} are home today!

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Tuesday, November 27, 2012

TIPTON

[Anonymous]

Good Morning!

Janie, coffee in my SKB mug and a breakfast bagel, please. SKB stands for "Schietweederooger Kleinbahn" or Schietwedder Island Light Railway - I have yet to design a logo for it.

Close to 7 pm, the door bell unexpectedly rang. Now, when someone is calling at your door at this late time in the day, there is usually nothing good to expect, but this time was different. It was a courier man, delivering the kit I had ordered 4 weeks ago in the UK! Must be getting close to Christmas when they have to deliver that late!

Now my big question is how to turn this:

into that:

It´ll be a busy holiday season for me, with lots of swearing, burnt fingers, and sheer desperation. If anything fails, I know that I will have my dear friend Lothar at my side, who is a soldering wizard.

Galaxy - quite a number of those words of wisdom are very familiar to me, as we have them in our language as well. Knock on wood is "Klopf auf Holz". I just wonder how they got into our language, or was it the other way around?

Well, off I am - there is Petra´s HD list waiting for me!

Have a splendid day!

[wetidlerjr]

Ulrich,

I am always interested in the history of sayings and words as I have German heritage from both my mother (Amstutz from Switzerland) and from my father's family (Tidler maybe Fidler?) which were from Germany. Many German sayings came to me from my mothers side which was originally Mennonite so I bet  "Knock on wood." could well be from your land at least in recent history. My maternal grandfather spoke fluent German but I never heard him speak it as he didn't want his children to know anything but English so he would even answer German speakers in English.

Here in Indiana there are many Mennonites and Amish so their form of German is still spoken here. What is different is that the Amish consider anyone that is not of their religion to be "English" which would include you if you came to visit them in Indiana. 

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!!!

Coffee please. No thank you that’ll be all. I’ll eat later.

Well, I was tired last night and went to bed at 2030-ish. And, as I was afraid, roughly 6 hours later…., I’m up. What? Oh I don’t mean I’m just up right now, I’ve been up since about 2:30. I’ve been strolling around the train yard. I hate to do it, but I think after I leave here I’m gonna stumble on over to WPF. Makes me all itchy to get back in the trainroom.

Jeffrey- Old one huh? Hm, I should remember cause I remember you getting the Shell Station. Oh well, remember it or not old or new, it’s still a good picture.

Losing your memory isn’t all that bad you know. Pretty soon all those TV reruns will be new again!

No I’m not losing my memory anymore than a normal person. Which, actually for me, anytime I can compare in anyway to a normal person is a GREAT thing.

Seems strange hearing Ray talk about banks. Wonder how long before he has his first “issue”. Not that I want anything to happen or that I think anything will. It’s just that that one in a million thing will usually happen to the one person who doesn’t like banks and is basically forced to use one. Just like in a room full of people, with aaaaall the cat lovers to choose from, a cat will seek out and find the ONE person who isn’t too fond of cats…….and rub aaaaaallllllll over m… I mean, them.

Johnboy- Hope your wife gets better quick.

WHOA!!!! Who’s that???!!! Bill???? That you?  I knew a neighbor years ago back in the sixties very early 70’s,  when I was probably oh, 6 or 8. Anyway, his Parents were from Germany and of course spoke German, but in their house, even when they were alone, they never spoke German. I guess never. Only English. The boy didn’t speak a lick of German until he took the language in college. Father said we are in America now and we speak English. And one thing was for sure, Father ruled the roost with an iron hand.

Didn’t get hardly nothing done in the house yesterday (imagine that). Got to the Church and things just didn’t go smooth at all (imagine that). Then got a couple can you help calls (imagine that) and then….well you know the rest. Didn’t get anything done that needed done. Well, around here that is. (imagine that)

Still all quiet on the decorations front.(ssssshhh)

Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!

[Anonymous]

Bill - the origin of your last name could possibly Zeidler, which an English tongue would have to pronounce "Tsiedler". Chances are pretty high, that those folks on duty on Ellis Islands took the liberty of rearranging that name slightly. Zeidler is a common name in southern Germany, mainly in the Stuttgart area.

The Mennonites and Amish come from an area in the westernmost part of Germany, close to the Dutch border. Quite a lot of them emigrated to the colonies as early as 1683, after being persecuted for their religious fanaticism.

Ray - the Toyota Prius is a nice car, though a bit too modernist for my taste. I am not particular fond of that sloping roof, leaving hardly any headroom on the backseats. Do they sell the Auris in the US? Over here, it is also available as a plug-in hybrid. The Auris has more room to offer, is also a little cheaper.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

Weatherguessers have us being dull and cold today as well...we might, though, see  few incidents of that weird yellow orb showing up....

I have a dang meeting to get to this morning then it i off to the mall to get some walking/snooping done...

Ulrich:   I'm hoping that the kit I ordered recently come in as well...although not quite in that form. I'd like to see how that one turns out!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sir Madog

- the origin of your last name could possibly Zeidler, which an English tongue would have to pronounce "Tsiedler". Chances are pretty high, that those folks on duty on Ellis Islands took the liberty of rearranging that name slightly. Zeidler is a common name in southern Germany, mainly in the Stuttgart area.

That makes perfect sense to me. One of the names in my family tree is Reneau. At one point it was Reneauld. There are branches on the tree with Reneau, Reneauld, Reneault, Reno, Renau and a few I don't remember right at the moment. My mother traced her family tree back before the middle ages. There's also the Tipton's, Williams, Henson's and a slew of others. And that's just a small part of the tree. The European side was a snap compared to the Native American side. Wow! I thought she was gonna go nuts on that! She traced the Cherokee connection back to early colonial times. It amazes me that any records were kept. My father's family tree is a wild ride too. The UK, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark and a few others.

[blownout cylinder]

We have on my mothers side Hellferich, Helferisch, Hefferisch, and a few other besides...my fathers surname is simpler....

[Anonymous]

Barry - the name Helferich is native to the region south of Frankfurt. I bet you folks did not come through Ellis Island ....

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 50° with 100% humidity. It's supposed to be mostly cloudy with a high of 58°. There's a small chance of rain in the morning.


I'm feeling much better this morning. Still have some minor balance issues. I suspect this cold I have is responsible for that. We had rain last night so it's already very muggy this morning. Start doing anything outside and it's not long before you're soaked.

I have no idea what this day has in store for me. Plans for my future that I don't know about worry me. My father is supposed to be having a couple of Hospice people come today. We'll see what comes of that. He'll also be placing an ad in the local paper for a live-in nurse to care for my mother on a 24/7 basis. Something has to be done as she can't take care of herself any longer.

I may be able to get some work done on the layout today. I just don't know.

[LSWrr]

Good Morning all,

 Thanks for the well wishes.  The one good thing about this is it’s not my first rodeo; I was married for 15 years the first time.  This time Dorothy and I have been dating for 7 years so now that we have been together this transition should be relatively smooth like 80 grit sand paper not 60 grit, LOL.

 We haven’t set a date, but we do need to work out some details.  I think we should sell our houses and buy one together. I’ll be 46 next month and I don’t need the burden of a 1912 home in Slavic Village. It’s a good house but sooner or later old houses turn into a money pit if the owner is not living in the house to make daily repairs.

 She is Russian Orthodox Catholic and I’m what I refer to as a German Lutheran kind of guy.  I know a few ship captains that will take us out past the 3 mile limit and perform the ceremony in their pilot house.  This might be kind of cool…

 I think if we set up a date 12 months out we should be able to settle any of the details.  Of course I’ll need to acquire his and her throttles for the DCC layout, LOL.

 Curt, you might be surprised at the various diesel switchers PRR had in their stable.  It’s just as diversified as their steam locomotives.

 We had some heavy snow flurry activity the past few days but nothing stuck for more than 6 hours.

 The pulmonary function test went ok last night.  I acquired sand in my lungs from Kuwait back in 2003 causing a minor blockage in my lungs and it’s still there almost 10 years later.  It doesn’t look like my body has been able to eject it so I guess I’m stuck with it.  Not a major health issue but I am more prone to bronchitis than people with clear lungs.

[galaxy]

Well, My MIL came form Germany with her husband, my American FIL. Ulrich knows where she came from.

Her maiden name was long, difficult and didn't look like it was pronounced the way it was spelled, so she was greatful for a 5 letter American name, Simple and of Welsh decent.

WE {MOH nad I} are having a meeting with the Hospice coordinator..the one who said she'd turn us all in for elder abuse if things didn't change...about my FIL's actions yesterday! MOH called for the meeting.

We meeti at noon. I have to go now...MOH is on a "button down the house" rampage!

See yas

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, Diners.  I will have a coffee to go,please,
Chloe.

Ulrich,  Your project looks fun.  I can't wait to see it finished.

I finished the assembly of my car shop.  Painting will be the next stage, and then the roof of course.

Off to the pool,  Sue

[Anonymous]

gear-jammer

Good morning, Diners.  I will have a coffee to go,please,
Chloe.

Ulrich,  Your project looks fun.  I can't wait to see it finished.

I finished the assembly of my car shop.  Painting will be the next stage, and then the roof of course.

Off to the pool,  Sue

Me too, Sue!

Basically, it is just a cut, bend & solder affair, but .... I´ll take my time to finish it. I don´t like the gear box assembly, I might go for one of these coreless gear motors,

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have a bowl of hot oatmeal with brown sugar to start the day.  Oh, yes, dark roast coffee in a R&GV RR mug as well.

Todd...  No, no, I will not be the person dealing with the BANK for the MLK.  I agreed to have my name listed as being on the advisory board for the account, but it will our president of the committee that gets to do any and all stuff if anything goes awry.  All my banking will be done at the credit union!  Period! 

Lee, my congratulations to you and the lady!  Wedding at sea...  Sounds romantic.

Ulrich, over here we still have it called the Corolla Hatchback...  Not a hybrid vehicle either.  There are quite a few hybrids being made for use in the US, but only a very few EV or Plug-in Hybrids.  The roominess of the back seat in not an issue for me at all with the Prius as the back seat may never get used.  In the Yaris the back seats have spent their whole time down so I can haul around stuff in the back...  The seats have held human occupants on 3 occasions over the last 4 and 1/2 years.  I also did some figuring and found that close to half the mileage on the Yaris was right here in town so the all electric mileage even though not nearly what I would like, will still provide close to half my power over it's lifetime.  I have several friends who own the Prius (regular models) and each loves them and would buy another.

I see family heritage is the discussion of the day...  I am English, German, Irish, Scotch, with a bit of Bourbon as well...  I almost had some native heritage but my mother's favorite Grandmother who was half Seneca, was only her step grandmother.  My family name Howard was spelled in the English form up here in this country until about 4 generations ago.  The English is Hayward.  An Hayward being the knight that patrolled the outer fields around a castle to protect them from raiders (by robbing them I think).  Howard is the original Scottish spelling and pronunciation.  My Mother's maiden name was Cooley and my great grandfather was from Das Vaterland and probably came through Ellis Island.  It was family tradition in my Father's family to always give the mother's maiden name as the middle name of the firstborn son in the family.  My Grandfathers name was Arthur Blodgett Howard.  His Mother was Mary Blodgett Howard.  That tradition ended after his generation. 

Best get to doing some items needing attention today.  MLK Meeting tonight.

Later!

73

[Anonymous]

Lee - congratulation on your new "find"!

Talking about family history, I am not sure whether I have told you folks this already. With the help of a guy from down-under, we were able to trace back the origin of our family all the way back into the 12th century. In the wake of the Knights of the German Order, moving eastward into Slavic country and bringing Christianity into this dark area, settlers claimed land in the easternmost part of Germany, which is now in Poland, close to the Russian border. One of those settlers squatted on land close to a peasant´s village called Jebrammen. Peasants spoke Polish in those days, so they appropriately named him the Master of Jebammen, or in Polish, Jebramki or Jebramski. Over the centuries, that name evolved into what is our last name now. In 1945, the move eastward was forcibly reversed, the surviving few of a once large family are now back in the west of Germany.

The family herald is this one:

If times had been slightly different, my name would be Ulrich von Jebrammen...

[jeffrey-wimberly]

[Anonymous]

Folks, the following is not meant as a rant, just to shake your head and maybe chuckle:

Understanding Europe and the Eurozone

10 men – a Greek, an Italian, a French, a Portuguese, a Spanish, a Cypriot, a Finnish, an Austrian a Dutch and a German – meet regularly for Dinner. Last week´s bill amounted to € 500, why not, it was a good meal.

When it came to paying time, each paid according to their country´s contribution to the EU funds:

• 4 guests (the Greek, the Portuguese, the Spanish and the Italian) did not pay a Cent at all.

• The man from Cyprus paid 1€.

• The French paid 5€.

• The Austrian paid 50€.

• The bloke from Finland chipped in 80€.

• The Dutch cashed out 100€.

• And the last one, the German, picked up the rest of 264€.

They continued to meet for Dinner during the week, and everyone seemed to be happy with this arrangement.

Trouble arose, when the landlord decided to offer a 10 % rebate for the frequent guests, reducing the bill to 450€.

The group decided to stay with the arrangement, as they had grown accustomed to it. The first 4 would continue to eat for free, but how about the remaining 6 guests? How could those 50€ be distributed fair and square?A quick calculation revealed, that 50€ divided by 6 makes out 8,33€, but if that amount were to be deducted from the payment, guest number 5 and 6 would get paid to have a free dinner. That solution did not find an agreement, due to the veto of the first 4 guests.

The landlord suggested to split those 50€ relative to the contribution previously made and begann to calculate:

• The man from Cyprus joined the first 4 and did not have to pay at all (100% saving).

• The French had only 3€ to pay (40% saving).

• The Austrian paid 45€ instead of 50€ (10 % saving).

• The chap from Finland paid 72€, thus also saving 10%

• The Dutch paid 90€ instead of 100€ a saving of 10%

• The German paid 239€ instead of 264€, saving 11%.

The 6 paying guest all saved money, and the first 4 still enjoyed their free dinner.

After having left the premises, some of them had second thoughts about this new arrangement. Something was wrong!

The French claimed „ I only got 2 € out of those 50€, but he got 25€“, he exclaimed, pointing at the German.

That´s right, the Cypriot added, „I only saved 1€, but he´s saving more than twenty times that amount“.

„How true“, the Austrian joined in, „I only got 5€, and those rich Germans again get it all“.

Wait a moment“, the Greek, the Portuguese, the Spanish and the Italian unanimously shouted, „We did not get a cent out of it“, this means exploiting the poorest again“.

All of a sudden, the group turned against the German, beating him up severely.

The next day, the German was missing from the dinner party. The remaining 9 enjoyed their sumptuous meal without him. But when the time to pay  came, they noticed something extraordinary. All together, they did not have enough money on them to even pay only half of the bill!

They probably still sit there, waiting for a miracle!

[cudaken]

 Afternoon Dinners!

 Flo, I take a and I will buy one round.

 I started a pretty good post this morning and hit the wrong button again! I messed up yesterday and clicked on the wrong button on Fire Fox and now the browser look odd? This morning I was trying to open the home page on a new Fire Fox Browser and some how wiped out the post I was working on! 

  Photo Bucket all so tried to change me to There New And Improved BS site! Luckily I was able to get back to the old site some how! 

 Lee I was trying to say congrats this morning when I hit the wrong button!  Getting married at sea? Will the captain mind you leaving with the Anchor? Bong (from skillet) , Flo that Hurt!

 Foot Front Went to the foot Ulcer Clinic today. Last week they had my foot my X Ray and ran blood test to see if the bone was infected? Today I got the results, there is no sign of Bone Infection! After they craved off the callus again  (wish it would stop coming back so quickly) they measured the wound. Last week it was 4 cm deep, this week it was 3 cm so the treatment is working. Wound is a little longer and wider, I was told it was because something called Slouff Tissue (have no idea how to spell that) is dying off because of the antibiotic packing I am using. From what little I understand the Slouff Tissue is in-between Callus and Real Tissue ad is of no value. 

 Got the Honey Do list done today and a few of my own. So today was a pretty good day for me.

 See you all later, Ken

 

[james saunders]

ZIVA.

That is all.

[chochowillie]

ZIVA indeed.  Afternoon diners, a cup of hot coffee please Flo and keep it coming if you don't mind. Thank you my dear lady.

Been a while since I last posted since I've been busier than I care to be doing all the things I don't want to do but MOH seems to insist on these things.  Go figure?

Lets see, the darned sun room I've been talking about is finished. As in totally. Finally got that Monkey off my back! 

I have been having some networking issues with my Windows 7 network. Spent a ton of time trying to fix it but finally gave up in total frustration  I ran and maintained a far more complicated system my self for years but the Windows 7 which is supposed to be so much easier is a pain as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, in total frustration, I called up a small computer company locally owned and operated. The owner came over the day after I called, spent an hour tweaking this that and the other thing, got everything shared the way I wanted and charged me a whole $40.00 for his work. Now I happen to know that that kind of work generally runs between $75 and $100 per hour around my neck of the woods so there was no way I was going to pay him only $40 bucks. I said to him, Lad, you aren't charging enough... and paid him $65. Nice kid by the way. 

Went to a Model RR show on the weekend and bought half a dozen Walthers building kits at reasonable prices but no rolling stock. I've been holding off on buying rolling stock till the show but since I found no rolling stock I needed/wanted, I went to E-bay and bought a beautiful A-B set of EMD F units both with sound. I can hardly wait till they get here which will take a while since they have to clear customs etc. So much for "free trade". That only works if you are a big company. 

Had a couple of nice days yesterday and today (- 15 to -10 C) so I have been doing the annual wrestle with the xmas lights. Still have about an hour or so left till I can do the LIGHT UP. 

Tomorrow, MOH and I have to go babysit our Grandson. It's a 2hr drive each way so we'll spend pretty much the same time on the road as we will babysitting. The things Grandparents won't do...

As for working on the RR, not so much.... well, not at all. Sigh

Blessings for all in need and there are a bunch right now unfortunately!

Later all...