Elliot's Trackside Diner FEBRUARY, 2013!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Good morning ...... I'll have some Kona coffee please with some macadamia nuts to snack on, please. 

Jeff .... Nice tractor. Good to see your Dad looking good. You may recall when I was trying to get your phone number I got his number instead. He was very pleasant and gladly gave me your number. (I've lost both numbers now)

Ray .... Sounds like a lot of snow. Galaxy, JR, and Dick will probably have some, too. (Speaking of Dick, I've not seen him in the Diner lately. Another MIA.). How well does your car handle snow and cold weather. A friend of mine was driving a Tesla electric car in winter weather and wishes he had not done so. It needed a tow truck. 

Jeremy ..... I'm sorry if work did not go well. Hope it imporves.

Here's a photo for some of you who like steam. 

[GMTRacing]

Good Afternoon All,

   Dennis that doesn't sound to good out there. Hope Dorner gets cornered without any more lives lost.

  Jeremy - the job will take some getting used to time wise. Ja Bears experience is typical - completerevision of your sleep/wake schedule. I also liked the later shifts for the same reason - not too much management under foot.

  We are waiting on another storm of thecentury. We can get anything from 4" of s**w to 4'. Wish I could be so non specific on my job estimates. Fudge factor of 11 is ok.

   Gotta run soon as I get my coffee.    Catch Ya Later J.R.

[cudaken]

 Afternoon Folks

 Flo, Diet Dew to go pleases.

 Yep, it that time again. W@@K, I hate the short days I am working. Drive 48 miles round trip for 5.5 hours! Just glad we are now closing at 8:00 PM and not 9:00 PM.

 Train Front, got the MRC F7's back on the rails. Little bit quieter, they sound like a good running BB engine so I can live with that.

 Well my calf is not hurting today so off to work I go.

  Ken

 

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

Good afternoon. Jazz band this morning.

Video that I'm making for video editing is looking real good. Just some minor stuff and it's done.

[Cederstrand]

Coffee refill, please.

Some terrific layout pics guys, and neat old historical photo, too.

Lots of errands run, a few left for tomorrow (including making a dentist appointment). Just lit the wood stove and it's time to rest until evening critter rounds. Cold, rainy, raw kind of day here. Can't wait for spring!

Cheers!  Rob

[Curt Webb]

Evening All,

Pretty much a lazy day today. Ran to Wally World this morning. Got home just as UPS was delivering the rock faces I had ordered. I painted those so they are ready to go. Now I am waiting on the coal conveyor. I need to build it and figure out how it is going to join up with the mountain and the mine building, then I will start the mountain build. I figure 2-3 more weeks until it is complete.

Saturday I am being forced by higher authority (you guys know what I mean) to go to Disney for several hours    . Later I have ops night at the club.

I did a mini ops session on my layout for about a hour. MOH made me up some switching list forms today that I slightly modified from a club member. I really need to use the CMX cleaning car on the track after all the construction, but I am going to wait until the current mountain is done.

Garry- Really nice picture.

Ken- Great historical photo.

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

[galaxy]

Well,

They keep changing the number of inches of snow we are to expect tomorrow into Saturday.

First it was 3-4", now they said on the local evening news first it was 6-8", then later edition was 8-10".

A National news indicators puts us in the 8-12++ " category!

BOY I hope not!

NOw, IFFEN' y'all don't hear from me, Or RAY, or OTHers in the NY-New England/ NE regions IT MAY be because we have no power!!!

Haven't seen ULRICH in today..what's up I wonder? Hope all is as well as can be.

This weekend, I will definitely be wishing we were back  in Hawaii, where at 3PM HST is is a balmy 81F/27C !!!

So, we shall seee what we shall see, when we shall see it.

Getting over the stomach bug and Now MOH has it.

 

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

CA Dennis .... That has been in the national news. I bet people are scared there.

Curt .... Thanks for the comment.

Galaxy ..... Did you once say your model railroad includes Chessie System? I'm trying to recall what you have said about your model trains. 

Ken ....... I've seen that old photo before. Is it in Nashville, TN? 

Here are photos I took in downtown Nashville a couple of years ago which could be near where the historic photo was taken. 

[galaxy]

Heartland Division CB&Q

Galaxy ..... Did you once say your model railroad includes Chessie System? I'm trying to recall what you have said about your model trains. 

Hi garry

I protolance model all incarnates of the B&O { C&O, CHESSIE, CSX}

I swap out the locos, RR cars and a few buildings and cars/trucks and voila! A different era to keep me form gettting bored.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Calling it a night early. I've been feeling slight 'off' all day and now I'm just plain tired. See y'all tomorrow.

[GMTRacing]

Good Evening All,

      I finally finished putting in the yard actuator rods. and securing the turnouts.  I figure if they are secured with white glue I can always soak the glue with water and remove them. FWIW the rods seem to work well, the turnouts go full travel with reletive ease and the gubbins for the levers should be in tomorrow or maybe  next week if we get buried in snow. sort of reminds me of the Elobonians in Dilbert.

  Speaking of Elbonians, hold a good thought for Jeremy who is going to have a tough time for a bit. Reminds me of the time I sat down on a rock in the Sierras and found about a gazillion rattle snakes in a pit behind the rock. Sort of like that.

   Well, my double RBF with extra ice cream is up so I'm off to my booth - right behind that sleepy guy Duke.    J.R. 

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

That time of night, time to get to bed. Night night. 

[chochowillie]

Well now, still waiting for a furniture delivery that was suppose to be at 3 this afternoon and it's now 7:45 and they still aren't here. I hate that 

I suspect that it's not gonna happen today. Just for the record for all you USA folks, the furniture is made in Wisconsin. Just doing my part to try a boost your economy  

Dennis

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Janie, I'll have a decaf and a hot fudge sundae please....  Well I didn't get much for dessert tonight which was my own fault.

Tonight was the Presidential Series forum at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.  I was one of the people invited to dinner before the forum, along with the rest of the MLK Committee and a number of ministers, Professors, and community leaders here in Geneva.  I was sitting at a table with a few other members of the MLK Committee when the speaker Rev Dr. McMickle, President of Colgate Rochester Divinity School comes over with his dinner and sits at our table, followed by Dr. Mark Gearan President of Hobart and William Smith College...  Nice Company to say the least!  We were each asked to introduce ourselves and what we do.  When it got me I told him my name and said, "Musical Genius, Retired".  The whole table, all who know and put up with me roared as did Dr. McMickle.  We got along well....  Not a stuffed shirt in the house.  His message was a powerful reminder of times past and still around... 

Galaxy, best just hunker down and enjoy the storm.  That is what I intend to do.  Then I will start up the pollution spouting huff and put and clean out the driveway (It's getting old and not exactly the cleanest for the air I like to breath).  Then I will clean off the panels on the roof so they can get generating, then I'm going to get back to playing with trains...

Garry, I really haven't driven that much in sn*w yet with it, but it should handle exactly like any other Prius.  Meaning mixed reviews depending who you talk to.  Mine has the all weather tires that come with it, but they do recommend snow tires for Northern Climates.   I can tell you the computer braking on ice works exactly like they say it should.  You can feel the computer finding whatever wheel can provide the best.  Weird feeling, but it has kept the car going straight and did stop it very well.  I have only had the experience twice so far, and I have to fight the habit of pumping the brakes (50 years of the old way to stop on ice takes time to unlearn...).  The last time it happened I was able to both stop the car and then get it around the corner out of the way of the next car which slid right into the intersection....  He wasn't driving nice and slow like I was expecting some ice.

Later!

73

[tcwright973]

I'm so glad we are dodging the bullet here in Pittsburgh as far as this storm goes. Especially as I had to take my snow blower in for repairs yesterday. They told me one to two weeks. With a sidewalk out front, a walk to the front door, a walk along the one side of the house, a walk in the rear of the house, and a driveway that's 110' feet long, I really don't want to shovel anymore. I hope you guys in the path get lucky and the forecaster's get it wrong.

We went railfanning this past Sunday as is our custom lately. And today the wife said we are going again this coming Sunday. Somewhere along the line, my input seems to have gotten lost. Oh well, I'm not going to complain.

After the restaurant that we had breakfast at a couple of times a week closed at the beginning of the year, we have tried just about all the other ones in our general area, and found each lacking in one regard or another. I don't think I'm going to find one I'm as comfortable with as the old one. If it's not one thing, it's another. The coffee's bad, the food is cold, the service leaves something to be desired, etc. I'm pretty sure I don't like change in my old age. We drove to the other side of town today and had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. My wife finally told me to quit complaining and just eat. She made me feel like a 5 year old, so I pouted the rest of the morning. That will teach her.

Suppose to have a Bessemer & Lake Erie ore jenny arrive tomorrow, so I'll be watching for the mailman. Oh, by the way Jeremy, you have received some good advice about working night shifts. I have always worked different shifts, including 48 straight. Midnight shift was always my favorite. But you must exercise self discipline. Make sure you sleep regular hours during your off time, and allow no one to interfere with that for any reason. Some people just don't seem to realize that your 11:00am or 1:00pm is like their 2:00 or 3:00am.

[CNCharlie]

Good Evening,

Not much new to report from Winterpeg except that we are expecting a high of 25F on Saturday. Break-out the suntan lotion!!  Nothing to report on the RR front either. I haven't done anything on the N scale for a couple of weeks and the HO has been sitting idle too. I've been too pre-occupied with a couple of health issues my wife has been having. She is having a bad GERD flare-up to the point where she ate a jar of baby food for supper tonight. Hopefully the meds can get it under contol. Then on the weekend her heart started missing beats and it got so bad that we went to the ER on Monday morning. We spent the day there while they did tests and we waited for results. Finally they were able to determine that it wasn't a serious problem and likely was brought on by one of her GERD meds. It seems to have stopped now.

Sure hope we hear from Ulrich soon. He is going through a tough time to which I know a few of us can relate, myself included. All I can offer is my sympathy but that doesn't seem enough.

Rob, as to your new loco hissing, well steam does that but maybe not as loud as you are experiencing. Is there a video on Youtube of a climax in operation? I have no idea what they sound like. You can adjust the CV for hiss and all the other sound levels. If nothing came with the loco there is a list on the BMan site of the values for their sound decoders.  I have a block for my engine yard so I can cut the power to all the locos rather than turn each one off. When I hit the power switch,  3 or 4 of them come to life and there is a lot of hissing and pumps pounding.

Hope it doesn't snow too much for those expecting that stuff.

CN Charile

[cudaken]

 Evening Dinners!

 Flo, Beer pleases.

 Gary, I have no idea where the photo was taken. In fact 95% chances I gaped it from this site.

 Work Front Today was very slow, I only made a extra $3.00? Did find out that Jason the Services Writer is quieting, I have mixed feelings about this.Yes, him and I have had are run-ins and he could lose his temper with no waring. But, as a whole I enjoyed working with him. Plus the replacement could even be a bigger A Hole than the Evil Larry I had to endure. 

 There is a remote chances I might get offered the slot, and I do mean remote! Pretty sure any chances I have of going anywhere in this company is dead!

 Ulrich Hope all is gong as well as it can with the difficult health issues your parents are facing.

 Well that is about all I have to say tonight.

 Ken

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello ...... CN Charlie. Sorry to learn about your wife's problems. I hope she will be okay. Prayers for her.

PA Tom .... Has your wife returned to normal now after the problems she had several months ago?

Jeff .... I hope you feel better in the morning.

JR ..... I like your photo posted in the early WPF. Very nice...... While you are that booth, give Duke a big nudge to awaken him!  ........ Duke!

Galaxy ...... I guess my memory wasn't too bad about your model railroad.

Ulrich ... Prayers for your situation.

John Boy ..... If you are peaking in, I now have a bus terminal. It's very small because I did noty save enough room. It's just a small building with parking for only 3 buses.

Ray .... I have friend with a Prius who likes it, but it sees very little winter weather.

Here is the small bus terminal I made this week. Also, I made the shed at track level. I added scenery to this area too. Another photo of this scene at another angle will be in WPF.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

Friday, February 8, 2013

TIPTON

[galaxy]

Morning Fresh Kona cofee in the diner...

ALOHA!!!

GOOD MORNING!!!

Today is Friday, February 8th, 2013!!!

 

The prayer candles are lit.

Make it a GREAT day!!!

May those in the wake of the storm keep SAFE and WARM!

[LSWrr]

Good Morning all,

 Wow, I’m already behind 263 posts.  I’ll be sitting in the back trying to get caught up!

 My internet accounts were not fixed as well as I had thought.  After sitting on the phone with AT&T for about 3 hours the other day we got everything sorted out and up and running.  Now I’m running 18Mbps down and 1.5Mbps up and I can actually get email.

[JeremyB]

WOW is it coming down at the moment. We must have close to 10 inches already. Im going to go grab a quick cup of coffee and start shoveling. I also have to go over to my parents and grandmothers to shovel theirs. Might be back later today

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

Good morning.

3.5 inches predicted for us today, so I'm not looking forward to the storm. But if it's dry and fluffy stuff, then that's a different story.

 

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!!!

Coffee and an order of those nummy num Eggs Benedict please, thank you.

Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 37.

Well it rained all yesterday. Just a drizzle to a mist and back, so I guess probably didn’t amount to much. Didn’t set out my rain gage either so don’t have any hard facts.

Charlie-Glad it turned out as it did for the wife. I remember several years ago when Brenda had GERD, or what they called GERD, we thought she was having a heart attack. Never so scared in my life.

Welp, was not disappointed yesterday. Today, I’m going to try for the Sonic footlong dog and tots deal since I’ve been informed I need to run into town for an errand that seems to not be able to wait until this weekend when we’ll go in anyway. Oh well, what use is it to complain when there’s food invoved. More laundry needs done too so, maybe while I wait for that…..

Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!

[Anonymous]

Good Afternoon!

I am back home. Right now, there is nothing more I can do for my parents than just wait and see how they develop. Both are being taken care of. It is obvious, that they won´t be able to ever return into their house, should they improve.

I am just glad I made it home. I am completely wiped out. The last few days made me age rapidly. Still no support from my dear brother. I won´t ask him any more, but I expect trouble from him when I have to clear the house and sell it.

While I was searching for some documents, I found an old picture I have taken on a rail fanning trip back in 1972. Those were the final years of steam in West Germany, with only one line left in the northern part of my country and one line left in southern Germany - too far away for me, as my newspaper money was not sufficient to buy the train ticket.

The picture shows a DB class 042 oil-fired Mikado pulling a string of empties from Emden to Munster. I remember it being a warm spring day around Easter. A year later, catenary was put up, ending steam traction. As you can see, inter-modal transport had not yet reached Germany in those days. The post of Emden had a large coal dock, and the line saw 4,000 ton coal trains, pulled by 2 DB class 043 Decapods, nicknamed "Jumbo". Those were the most powerful steamers in my days. They did not run on weekends, s i missed to see this train.

Fond memories!

Blessings!

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning!!

mmmm...around here we are going to see about 4-6" of wet snow...being close enough to lake erie's north shore wherein they seemed to have gotten mostly rain...and no freezing either...we got away with it again...but...the school board still closed up the schools....

Well, it was on Monday morning that I started having breathing issues..as in I simply could not breathe. Took until Wednesday at the hospital to get to the point that the fluid around my lungs got cleared away...and now I am t home....whew...but...the thing now of it is is that it is now  CHF...otherwise known as Congestive Heart Failure....ergo...low salt, low fat, low this low that......but I is still alive!!!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 55° with 100% humidity. Heavy clouds this morning becoming partly cloudy later. The high will be 68°.


I thought I was feeling better this morning but I'm making plenty of spelling errors. That usually means something's still amiss. Oh well, guess I'll just have to live with it. Layout cleaning today unless something or someone interferes. I started with the park. If that was any indication I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

Before:


After:

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone,

Zoe, I'll have the #2 special, over easy on the eggs, bacon, home fries, and a double order of your home baked sour dough toast to go alomng with a cup of dark roast coffee in a LV mug.  Please and Thank You Ma'am!

Brrrr...  I have already been out and around this morning.  Figured out late last night I don't have enough Pill Pockets to go the weekend for Blackie!  I also realized this morning that I am low on the Dark roast coffee I actually do have every morning here at home.  Since I had a free lb. coming from the natural Foods store downtown, I stopped down there and got the free lb. of Marrakesh Express that I like and some dark chocolate bares which I have become addicted to after stopping at the vets.

Storm is just starting here in the Finger Lakes, although the storm totals have been downgraded for the Finger Lakes area to a couple of inches today and 4 to 6" tonight. 

Ulrich, glad to see you back in here, and good to hear both of your parents are getting the care they need.  Tough time for you and yours, but you will know you have done the best you can for them.  Your brother will have to live with his decision.....  Keeping you in my prayers!

Jeffrey, what a difference!  Looks like your have a bit of dust down there....   Very nice scene, BTW.

Barry...  CHF?  Your way too young to be dealing with that!  Hope they can keep it under control for a long, long time!  Prayers for you as well!

I moved a little over half a face cord of wood from my driveway to the back porch yesterday.  Now would be a good time for me to move a few more wheelbarrows worth before the conditions worsen around here.

Stay warm and safe out there!

Later!

73

[JeremyB]

Hi Guys

Wow we have had alot of snow ( almost 9 inches since 1am ) with more still coming. Roads here are a complete mess. I was hoping to get over to my parent and grandmas but that will have to wait until tonight until the roads get cleared and the snow lets up. I have about a 7 foot pile at the end of the driveway. I can only imagine how much will be there when the plow comes.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

blownout cylinder

Congestive Heart Failure....ergo...low salt, low fat, low this low that.....but I is still alive!!!!

That's what killed my mothers brother. He was 52.