Elliot´s Trackside Diner - January 2013

[cudaken]

 Morning Dinners

 Flo, big to go pleases.

 I go into work at 9:00 AM so I have to be getting ready around 7:45 AM. Cannot remember if I get off at 5 or 6 PM.

 Knee on the right leg (infected foot) started hurting last night, on a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 1.5 so I can bare it. Calf on the other hand is just the tinniest bit tender so it is better.

 YGW, new job sucks! In fact it is what started the Ulcer on my right big toe. Far as the sizes of 1:1 steam engines, it is not till you our beside one you realizes there sizes!

  Later, Ken

 

 Me in the engineer seat, 10 feet in the air.

 

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!!!

Coffee and in a pile, put about 2 or three scrambled eggs, loose, some chopped fried potatoes, some sausage crumbles and cover the whole shmear with gravy please. Thanks.

Supposed to get to almost 40 today. And all I have, knock on wood (knocks on head), is sinus pressure. Feeling pretty lucky considering all the flu people out there.

Rob- Personally I’d scrap the HCD thing for framework like Garry showed. Piece of ¼” and you’re at the HCD point but any size you need.

Ken- Never thought of the tracking thing. Hey! I could use this later. Kind of like extortion on the dog. “you do this and I won’t tell Mommy about you tracking poop bacteria. Then it’ll be extreeeeeeemely limited access for Missy. Remember, the only reason you get to go to places you do, is because you get your butt wiped after you potty.”  Yes, our dog gets it’s bottom wiped after an….evacuation. Brenda doesn’t want leftovers all over the place nor the dragging on the carpet to scratch the crusty’s away. Dog doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, I think she appreciates it.  Hope you get the toe thing figured out. Get used to the VA clinic, cause if we get free health care, that’s what it’ll turn into.

Well, after my visit with Ziva this morning, all I have to do today is go to Menard’s and pick up four single hanging lights for the restaurant. Probably won’t put them up today, but I might. Who knows. Still have the W-2’s and the 4^th quarter taxes for the Church to do before the month gets away. Can't believe it's the 16th already. Month's half over! Would like to piddle some more in the train room too. Maybe I’ll pull a Ray, that is do a load of laundry this morning and then, since the trainroom is right next door…., then lunch with my girls, then Menard's. Brilliant.

Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!

[galaxy]

Morbing Coffee in dah diner!!

Gud Morbing again!!

Still hab by code. We couldn't ged do see the Docdor until Thursday....Too many peoble sick...

 

Once again, "Play it again, Sam", SO:

Origin:

Bogart's supposed line from Casablanca. This is well-known as one of the most widely misquoted lines from films. The actual line in the film is 'Play it, Sam'. Something approaching 'Play it again, Sam' is first said in the film by Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) in an exchange with the piano player 'Sam' (Dooley Wilson):

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.

Sam: I don't know what you mean,

Miss Ilsa. Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."

Sam: Oh, I can't remember it, Miss Ilsa.

I'm a little rusty on it.

Ilsa: I'll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum...

Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.

The line is usually associated with Humphrey Bogart and later in the film his character Rick Blaine has a similar exchange, although his line is simply 'Play it':

Rick: You know what I want to hear.

Sam: No, I don't.

Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me!

Sam: Well, I don't think I can remember...

Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!

 

{{"As Time Goes By" is a song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became most famous in 1942 when it was sung by the character Sam{Dooley WIlson} in the movie Casablanca. The song was voted No. 2 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film}}

 

The prayer candles will be lit for as long as I am home

It will be lit in memory of yougottawanna's OH's passing and others who share his pain, for Ken's toe ailments, and for those, who, like me, are sick now...

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

TIPTON

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Janie, could I get a cup of decaf please?  Thank you Ma'am.

Been a busy day around here...  After I got home from Canandaigua, I had about an hour before I was supposed to be at church to install the new radio mike units.  So, I plugged in the Prius for an hour.  gave me enough to get down to church and back home on EV only.  The guy who is the Financial clerk for the church and does sound most services and I got everything up and running, checked out and back together by around 6PM tonight.  I headed out the door to find our new Interim Pastor just getting out of her car outside the door.  She had come over to the church hoping to find someone there that could tell her how to get to the Urgent Care center.  She just arrived in town yesterday so doesn't know her way around.  I wasn't sure where the Urgent Care center was and doubted if they would still be open so advised her to go to the emergency room.  She has a full blown case of the flu that is going around and looked completely green around the edges.  She didn't want to go to the emergency room so I got her to come in  to the building and had her talk to Alan the guy who was working with me.  He called the Urgent Care center and they were closed...  So Emergency room it was.  Alan had her follow him in her car...  We talked later this evening and she had been put in triage in the emergency room.  She is definitely sick!

I did introduce myself and she said, "Oh your doing the Moment for Mission on Sunday".  I replied, yep..  Hope she is able to be there....

Ken, glad they now know what is causing the infection and hopefully it will now heal up for you!  Keeping you in my prayers.

Barry and some others...Don't cough in my direction please!  I'm just getting over having the flu myself, don't need a new strain!  

Best head out to bed I guess.  Prayers for all in need!

73

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

[yougottawanta]

Thanks for the feed back guys (Johnboy,Rob,Garry,Ken). Appreciate all of the condolences and especially the prayers. Needed them in a big way. Ken , its great to hear from you again last time I was here you were in the middle of job changes. How is that going now? Garry thats an idea that had not occured to me. The module system had but interchange the pieces had not. Hmmm. Will ponder that one for a while. I will stick with HO scale. Way to many engines and rolling stock to switch for now.

One good thing came out of this I decided to cross off an item on my bucket list. We went to Roanoke Va to the transportation muesuem. Holly cow those steam engines were HUGE ! I cannot believe how big those tenders were ! BIG difference between HO and 1 to 1 scale : ) !!! Gotta to see one of the "lost engines" of Roanoke that they have pulled out of the weeds - cool ! Well gotta get to bed (work day tomorrow) talk  to you all later.

Thanks all and its good to be back  

[fec153]

Ken- Stupidity is like the flu, It's everywhere. Banks, clinics, hospitals.

At least you know what your problem is. Best of luck.

Prayers and Blessings.

Flip

 

[rdgk1se3019]

cudaken

 

 Yep, seems Shaddy the Wolfhound is out to kill me!

Yeah......but at least she has a smile on her face :)

[blownout cylinder]

Good Evening

Welb, the code has sort of eased off a tad....ad dow I cad sbeeg a bit bedder...maybe...

Toog the day off ad sbed bost of it uder by quilds ad had rub toddies...whige did their thig...well...sort of...maybe ged bedder toborrow?

*hork coff coff nort HONK!!!*

Beh....

[Burlington Northern #24]

I hope you get better Ken, nice picture too!

got some good railfanning in today while on my walk, got a UP autorack train and a UP container train meet. 

[cudaken]

 Evening Dinners!

 Flo, I take a Big Boy Sub, tender of onion rings and a pleases.

 Went to the VA Foot Ulcer Clinic today and they knew why my Toe / Foot keeps getting infected.

 

 Yep, seems Shaddy the Wolfhound is out to kill me!

 Last time I was there, 5 weeks ago they did a culture on my foot. They found I have a strain of bacteria that comes from dog dander and fecal matter.

 Now, before you all think I have Huge Mounds Of Wolfhound Poop all over my house. Dogs, well while they are outside do not avoid walking in there own droppings. (well Shaddy does not seem to care) So when she comes in she is tracking the bacteria into the house. She spends most of her time in the bedroom, which is the only places I am in my bare feet! 

 I undress my infected toe in the bedroom, and walk to the bathroom to take my shower. Then I redress the toe in the bedroom so it makes cents (spell check) I have the bacteria! To combat that problem, I am get shower saddles to ware to and from.

 Flo, may I have the soap box pleases? Thank you Flo!

  Did anyone notices I said they ran the culture on my foot 5 weeks ago? So lets say it took 2 weeks to get the results! But the idiots never called! I went to the VA ER on the 4th, nothing was said about the test results! Then I was given a antibiotic that did not work!  (boy I am wanting to use a few 4 letter words here!) It was not till I went to Anderson Express Care that I got antibiotics that seem to be working? That only cost me $300.00, gee thanks VA.

 Sort of good news, the idiots at the VA do not think I have blood poisoning, they all so X Ray my foot to make sure the bone is not infected. If it is I am sure they will let me know right before they cut it off!

 See you all later, Ken

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

The diner almost on page two? I don't think so!

My father and I went to town earlier. First stop was the nursing home to visit my mother. She's a little better today which isn't saying much. She was alert and at least knew we were there. My younger sister and her other half are supposed to be coming down from Pennsylvania and her daughter will be coming from Colorado to pay her a visit. Time is short and they won't be getting many chances.

From there we went to Captain D's for lunch then to Wal-Mart then back home.

That so far has been the extent of my day.

[Burlington Northern #24]

an excuse to the hobby shop, I suppose so to get some red paint for my GP15-1 for the what ever that is some sort of hose that came with my 8-40CW.

[Cederstrand]

Italian Roast coffee in a  Undecorated  mug, please.

***Garry, thanks! Looks nice, simple, clean and of course your layout looks superb on them.

Mother Nature: Please stop raining! I need to start cutting up more firewood soon.

Any of you own or have run those Con-Cor AeroTrains in HO scale? Are they any good or are there issues with them?

Have a great day, all.

Rob

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have a bowl of "old Phart" high fiber Granola Cereal, and a pot of dark roast coffee to get started today....  Oh, would you take this box of tissue over to Barry and Galaxy please?  I think they are running out.

Another cloudy day here in the Finger Lakes.  Currently 31°F with a high around 34° later this afternoon.

Todd...  Shocking!  You think I shouldn't drive a car with a battery in the rain???  Hmmmm,  I thought most cars have a battery don't they?  Mine is just larger.   I checked the tires last night and found they were all around 20psi.  I filled them back up to the 35 and 33psi they should be at (actually I put a few extra lbs in, 38 and 36psi).  Helps it roll easier and should improve the MPG some.  I guess the tires didn't get filled when I picked up the car.  I had wondered and just got around to checking them after reading a message on the PIP forum a couple days ago.

Oh...  Garry, nice looking benchwork there!

I don't think there is going to be enough week to get everything done that needs to get done this week.

Best get moving!

73

[Burlington Northern #24]

a buyer is interested in my layout, in eatonville. I hope I can sell it, money that I can save for this summer when I start a new layout. 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good morning.......... Coffee and a donut, please...... 

JR .... Glad the trip went well. 

Todd ..... No way. Nobody ever kids anybody in the Diner. You must be kidding.

Rob ....... Below is a photo of one of my sections. The layout is not portable, but can be moved if needed.  

This photo shows a "standard" section. Most are 4' long and 21" wide. They are bolted end-to-end and also screw to the wall. Legs are fastened together in pairs. The top of each leg fits snuggly into a pocket built in the frame, and the legs are not screwed to the frame. The cross pieces in the frames have holes drilled to hold wires. Each leg has a leveling screw at the bottom end. 

This photo shows customized sections for special purposes. This group is connected with others  to accommodate a reverse loop. I also build custom sections for corners. In the background, you can see a completed section at the wall on the left. It has a lower level for tracks leading to a lower level storage yard. 

This picture shows track being laid. The curved plywood pieces are homemade templates for radius of curved track. I use push pins to hold track in place. 

This area under construction is where the loop comes together. The mainline comes from behind in this picture. To the right is where I built my union station. 

[Seamonster]

last mountain & eastern hogger

james saunders

Reading about Ken worrying about the bill makes me feel glad we have Numerous free Public Hospitals throughout every City and town, and even smaller ones have access to free services or are able to get to bigger towns. There may be a wait of a few months for alot of elective surgeries but EMERGENCIES are seen to straight away.

I guess Australia is pretty lucky!

James,   We have the so called free Health care here in Canada as well.

Please don't let anyone fool you, and please don't talk about it as being free..

The truth of the matter is we pay dearly for it through taxation, and I bet you do as well.

Nothing is free and if it is it isn't worth a darn.

Johnboy out....................Take an aspirin and call me in the morning.

And the long waits for elective surgery like James said.  And the people clogging up the hospital ERs with minor complaints because they either don't have a family doctor or won't go to a clinic.  Another problem we have in our city is ambulances being tied up at hospitals waiting for the ER staff to take over their patients.  Some are stuck there for hours, unable to get back on the road to take more calls.  I once counted 7 ambulances parked at our second largest hospital.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 31° with 100% humidity and (you guessed it) rain. Thee]re's freezing rain this morning and showers this afternoon. The high will be 32°.


Rain, rain, rain. PLEASE! GO AWAY!! Woke up this morning to the sound of freezing rain hatting my roof. And more rain throughout the day! Will it never end? Give me a break!

I guess more more movie watching for today and I don't know what else.

[blownout cylinder]

Goog Bordig..

Who gabe me this code?

*sniffle snuffle...aaccchhhhinkiiiiii!!..snort honk*

Welb, we are geddig somb sud ad gloud with the occasiodal bid of sdowflurries aroud...

*sniff coff coff coff hack snorffle HONK!!*

I'b goig bag to the corder bood with by blanky ad a rub toddy...ad sulk...

That's our Ray...a lady's' man..

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!!!

Did I make it in time for the free RBF’S??!!    Yesssssss!!!!

Coffee and some oatmeal with brown sugar and some milk please. Thanks.

I was wondering, do you think it’s wise for Ray to drive his electric car in the rain? And what about puddles.

Garry- I believe you about the dogs, I’s only kidding.

Garrett- Sounds to me like the radius of the track and the cork aren’t the same. Generally speaking, I think if you want good even radius the easiest, I’d say sectional as long as you are careful to keep the track ends square to each other. Barring any manufacturing flaws of course. Now if you want to match any slight errors in the road bed radius or need an actual radius of some measure that is unavailable as most of us generally end up needing at some point to make something mate up, then flex is the way to go. Not knocking sectional because for everybody who complains about some issue with it, two will step up and say they have no issues. But downside is, with flextrack you have to be careful you don’t loose the radius along the curve.  Personally, I use flex track for it’s lack of joiners and it’s…., well, flexability to compensate for those little off here and there’s. So I guess I’s saying, in your case as I understand it, I’d get flex track so you can match your roadbed and still match the rest of the track.

   

HEY KARL!!!! While you GOT THAT APART, WHY DON”T YOU…….

(runs out door yelling over shoulder0)

Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!

[GMTRacing]

Good Evening All,

Well actually it's  4am at home. Been raining on and off continually since we got here but when the clouds clear the views are gorgeous. I can see why they picked the area for the Hobbit it's beautiful.

   My two cents worth says 2" foam on HCDs should be good. pins and cabinet latches should work to keep things aligned and stable. Jon Grant used a similar system on his layout that he disassembles and takes to shows all over England. Check cabinet supply houses (most have on line catalogs). For track I would use flex track of some sort. Better looking trackage with the ability for proper transitions and curves of varying radaii all make a compelling case. Now if you're a wizard like Jeff, darn near anything will look brilliant but for us duffers and bodgers, flex is a real good thing.  If you use the folding legs Rob, you can always cut and shut extensions for the legs.

   Ken - glad you're going to see the docs. Hope it's not been left too late.

   Time to get some shuteye - the circus starts tomorrow.    CUL, J.R.

[galaxy]

*cough* *hack* *Choke* *sneeze* *ach-oo* *cough* *wheeze* *snifle*

Morbing Coffee in duh diner....

GUD MORBING!!!

No, by cowd hasn't gotten bedder We see the Docdor Thursbday...earliest we cud get, unless we get worse...

We try to eat "square meals" {every day}, SO:

Meaning:

A substantial, nourishing meal

Origin:

It is frequently repeated, by tour guides and the like, that the expression 'a square meal' originated from the Royal Navy practice of serving meals on square wooden plates. Such plates did exist  so that is a plausible story, but there's no other evidence to support it. In fact, the lateness of the first printed record (see below) pretty well rules this out as a credible theory. The Royal Navy's records and many thousands of ship's logs are still available and, if the phrase came from that source, it would surely have been recorded before the mid-19th century.

This 'square plate' theory is one of the best-known examples of folk-etymology. The phrase exists, the square plates exist, and two and two make five. To be more precise, what we have here is a back-formation. Someone hears the phrase 'square meal' and then invents a plausible story to fit it.

The word square has many meanings, including 'proper, honest, straightforward', and that's the meaning in 'square meal'. This isn't a rectilinear meal on right-angled crockery, but a good and satisfying meal.

The phrase is of US origin. All the early citations are from America, including this,  the earliest print reference I have found - an advertisement for the Hope and Neptune restaurant, in the California newspaper The Mountain Democrat, November 1856:

"We can promise all who patronize us that they can always get a hearty welcome and 'square meal' at the 'Hope and Neptune. Oyster, chicken and game suppers prepared at short notice."

William Brohaugh, in the usually reliable 'English Through the Ages', dates the saying as having entered the language in 1840, although no supporting evidence is provided. There certainly was a spate of coinages of 'food words' in the USA around that date. The terms below all originated in the 1830s and 40s:

Chili con carne Clambake Cottage cheese Cupcake Jerky Tea cake Tenderloin Tutti-frutti Seafood

The use of 'square' to mean honest and straightforward goes back to at least the 16th century; for example, in 1591, in Robert Greene's Defence of Conny Catching:

"For feare of trouble I was fain to try my good hap at square play."

Soon after that, Shakespeare used it in Anthony and Cleopatra, 1606:

"She's a most triumphant Lady, if report be square to her."

Other phrases use the word with that same meaning, for example, 'fair and square', 'square play', square deal' etc. but these haven't had spurious derivations invented for them. Coincidentally, another phrase - the opposite of 'fair and square' - also has a false derivation relating to plates in the Royal Navy. The story goes like this. The square wooden plates that sailors received their food on had raised edges called 'fiddles'. If they took too much they were 'on the fiddle'. Perhaps 'story' is being too kind; invention might be more accurate.

 

The prayer candles will be lti for those in need

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

TIPTON

[nscaler711]

Hey all Ive got a random question for everyone...
Is easier to tear up all of my sectional track and replace it with flextrack or simply move the cork road bed around?

Lately ive noticed my sectional curved track isnt perfectly centered on the cork road bed and its been bothering me. when i try moving the track around it just kinks up in other spots and makes that area look like garbage. same is true when i move the underlying cork roadbed ive had trim the ends on some side then get left with areas where i have to fill in a gap...
for some added info i have nailed the cork road bed down and glued with elmers white glue the track to it... all track is code 83 Atlas.

-Garrett 

[cudaken]

 Evening Dinners!

 Flo, Beer Pleases.

 YGW Sorry to here you wife lost her fight with cancer. I hope you and the young one's find away to find some joy in your life again.

 OK, OK, OK I see the Foot Ulcer Clinic Tuesday at 11:30 AM. I am all so getting refitted for new diabetic shoes on the 25th. I am all so looking in to other Foot Ulcer treatment that is not through Uncle Sam!

 Boy, I am beat, I closed tonight and feel it!

 Jeffery, thank you for sharing the photos! I am pretty sure they are not something you show regularly and are very personal. By the way, will the VA hospital near you help with you being a Vet?

 See you all Tuesday.

  Ken

 

[howmus]

Evenin folks!

Janie, just a decaf please.  I'll be in the back by the stove keeping warm.

Really not a bad day here for January.  Temps were in mostly in the high 30's.  currently 30°F outside with a low in the upper 20's.  Do wish the sun had shown a bit more.  It would break through the clouds for a few seconds and it would get dark again.  Water is still pouring into the basement from the melted snow, but seems to be slowing a bit.  I use a siphon to move the water from an area behind the back steps directly to the sump so the spillage doesn't run all over the floor down there before finding a route to the sump.  Whoever pieced the thing together wasn't the brightest light bulb out there I guess.

kbkchooch

Ray, stop messin with the young mothers!

Hey, she came over and gave me the hug....  Not that I minded at all!

Been doing some reading at a forum devoted to the PIP (Plug In Prius) and been finding some great information about the characteristics of the car and how to best drive it to get the most out of it...  Now if I could just find where they hid the clutch!

Looking for a bit of advice here folks.  I have built the structure that will have the water tank on it from styrene shapes (Angle iron, I Beams, etc.).  I want to add some of the Micro Mark "rivets" that are basically decals.  Should I I paint the Styrene with a clear gloss before I add the decals, or can I get the decals to stick directly to the styrene.  After the decals are added the entire structure will get painted a brown or gray and then weathered with a bit of rust.

Prayers for all in need!

73

[Burlington Northern #24]

CNCharlie

Good Evening,

Well it has been another chilly day here in the GWN.  It think the high was -20C.  Have I mentioned it is a dry cold?

Rob, I've thought about your plan and think that a HCD might not quite fit the bill especially for HO. I thought of those folding metal legs for my HCD N scale layout and found they weren't steady enough not to mention being far too low. How would you attach them together so that they are secure?  I don't think a 4x4 end would allow for enough radius to use articulated locos. The most you could do would be 22" for the outer loop and 18" for the inner. According to B Man the EM1  has a minimum of 22". Can't imagine how it would look. I find that my Light Mountain doesn't look that good on 22" and ridiculous on 19" ( I use Kato track). My Northern manages the 22 with the blank flange driver set but while it will do the 19, it slows down a lot and bascially just grinds around at a slow speed. I would love to be able to have at least 24" and would encourage you to see if you can go to a 5' table assuming you are looking to do a dog bone type of plan.

As far as track goes, if the BMan stuff works, then why not especially if you have some of it now. Kato works well but the  turnouts are very expensive. If I were to do another HO layout I'd go with flex. I did that with my N scale so HO should be a doddle.

Well, you did ask.

BN 24, why not try Kleins'. I bought my code 55 ME track from them.

Well I"m tired tonight so plan on doing a flop in front of the tube.

CN Charlie

 

that's where I was looking, can't decide between Peco switches or Micro engineering switches.

[Cederstrand]

Sloppy joes, please and some peppermint tea afterwards.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Much appreciated!

***C.N.Charlie, yes it will be a dogbone layout and in a U shape. Guess I'll be going with large 6'x6' ends, as I want double mains capable of running articulateds in basic meandering loops around the outside of the entire layout, for when I want to sit back and watch trains run. Of course I will also want some operations to do on this layout inside of those mains with smaller locos.

***Garry, yes I would like to see pics of your benchwork if you can dig some up without any trouble.

On the HCDs, I plan on glueing down the thick pink foam to them, which will add 2"(?) and some strength. The folding legs are 29" high, so add another 4" to that with the HCD + foam. Guess that would still put the track 7" lower than the NMRA standard, huh! I was just thinking it would make it much easier to contruct with those ready to go folding legs. I could construct a simple box frame under each door which woiuld add yet more strength and offer an easy place to bolt longer wood legs on. Just want to keep construction simple and easy these days. 

As for locks, have a bunch of small locks, have no idea what they are called. I would still probably add a small metal plate on the outer edges where the tables meet. Of course any explanations on connecting sections "the normal way" (whatever that is) will be welcomed, too.

Cheers!  Rob