Right now I'm taking a break from my current project, making handrails for the plastic Burlington Varney F3A. I ran out of wire yesterday finishing up the railings on one of the metal F3's. The wire I'm using now is what I could scrounge up, mostly salvaged from bread ties. The hardest part is straightening all the kinks and bends. It's thin stuff but I'll take whatever I can get. If you don't have what you need and can't get it then use what you can get. One tie I found is from one of those big freezer bags and is about eight inches long. So I have about a foot of thin wire. I'll use that as far as it'll go.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Heartland Division CB&QJeff .... I recall my railfanning when I was young, and an ABBB lash-up was common on the Santa Fe.
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Good morning. It's 74° with 70% humidity. The high will be 92° but will feel like 98°.I may clean up the shell of the newest of the F3's but other than that I have no plans for today. But there's always the chance that something will come up.
Good morning. Careful Chloe. Make sure it is an NO mug and not a GN mug for Sue.
Jeff .... I recall my railfanning when I was young, and an ABBB lash-up was common on the Santa Fe.
Todd ... How's this for an idea of a flat car load? UP redefined "piggyback" .Must have been a defective decoder.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good Morning
We are having dull dull dull with a chance of afternoon showers here...high of 66 expected.
Yesterday was my getting things ready for the redo of the attic for Audrey. That meant finding even MORE junk ending up you-know-where, that's right...MY space. These extra 'things' came out of two...mmmmm....storage rooms we forgot existed up there. So, even more junk to haul off to the recyclers....
Today will be finishing off the prep and getting some supplies to start laying in a new floor up there....
Jeff: I concur with Todd's suggestion, I too would love to see that ABBB unit crossing the bridge....
Karl: That look to be quite the haul there!
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Good morning, Chloe. I will have a large coffee in a NP mug, please.
Jeffrey, You have been busy with all those projects. Thanks for sharing.
We will get a bike ride today. The painters are done, so on to getting new gutters before winter sets in.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Good Morning!!!
Coffee and the Sunday Breakfast Buffet.
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Jeff- The ABBB Super Duper Heavyweights across the trestle should be filmed for um..., research purposes.
Now Tom showed a good idea for a load I never woulda thought of. And a use for an old railcar as well.
I never could, othern the color, tell much of a difference tastewise between fresh eggs and those you get from the store. Just me I suppose.
Karl- I'm a thinkin I can guess what you had your eye on mainly in each lot. Good haul though. Probably get your money back on the Evilbay for the hopper and the Marklin if you wanted. Maybe a bit more. Who knows. Then again, you may just want to keep it all and add to the pile like me.
Welp, got some errands today, groceries being one, some laundry, then wo*k tonight.
I wonder where she’ll want to eat today.
Ya’ll have a good day, ya hear!!!!
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Good evening gang!
Good gawd, I'm pooped. SWMBO decided that today would be a great day to try out her new carpet machine (bought a a yard sale, new, unused for 10 bucks). On the 1st floor, it only meant the dining room, everywhere else is hardwood. Not too bad, even though I had to build a Rube Goldberg contraption to hook up to the kitchen sink. Basement was a literal pain in the butt, back, neck what have you. 95% light Berber Carpet. Tons of furniture to move, boxes of train stuff, guitars, weight bench, cat toys, UGH! But I guess it needed it, cuz we got several loads of murky brown water out of the recovery tank. Glad that over!
Then we grabbed a bit of dinner and headed off to the local auction house for their "end of summer" event. Crazy prices on stuff. What I thought would be cheap, was expensive and vice - versa! After 2 hours I finally bid on 3 items, and won all 3.
Lot 1, a Marx battery operated set, less loco, and an MRC C420, undec, new on box
Lot 2 Railking Domino hopper, unused, in box, and an Operation Lifesaver brass drink coaster.
Lot 3 C&O RS 3 in a RPP box, looks like MDC body
After getting them home, found handrails for the C420 in the box, sealed in plastic, and found the RS3 has a Sagami can. and what appears to be Athearn Trucks with NS wheels.....Bonus!! Got all 3 for less than the Hopper sold for new (still had the price tag on the box) The RS needs end handrails, but I have them here. Might do the C420 in D&H to match another unit I have.
Jeffrey. Mouse hunt in on!!! LOL!
Speaking of rodents,, the trap score a kill last weekend (shish kebab!) and I haven't seen a mole since.
Time to relax now,,,,,got another auction to go to tomorrow!
Karl
NCE über alles!
Evening all,
For some of you who are looking for different loads for your flat cars, here's a photo I took today while railfanning. There were a string of about 7 or 8 of these Herzog hoppers being shipped in this fashion.
Altogether we caught 7 trains, which I guess is about average. Something else that I saw that was a little different were about 6 or 7 Top Gon hoppers loaded with coal scattered throughout a mixed freight. I usually only see loads of coal on unit trains. So I thought that was interesting and different too.
I have some things I would like do get done around here tomorrow, but the wife suggested we go railfanning again, so I'm not too sure exactly what I'll get accomplished. Ray mentioned the fresh eggs, and that's so true. It also applies to fresh vegatables and fruits. What a difference between the super market produce and what we can get at the farmer's market. Going to hate to see their season ending around here. Enjoy the weekend and stay safe...
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Evenin' folks!
Janie, just a decaf to warm me up before bedtime.
I poured the two last walls for the blacksmith shop today. Last one is still in the mold. I'll remove it tomorrow after I get home from the museum. I also laid out two pages of photos for the Reunion Booklet. That took most of the day. Have 5 more pages to do... Took a break and drove over to the Mennonite farm stand near Phelps, NY to pick up some veggies. I had hoped to get a dozen eggs too, but they were once again sold out. I think people have found out just how much better tasting eggs from free range hens are!
Tomorrow starts the Fall Foliage Trains out at the R&GV RR Museum. We will be running Diesel Trains every Sunday between now and the first Sunday in November to finish out the season. I'll be working train crew as a car host most of the times.
About time for me to get my evening blood work done and head to bed. Early morning tomorrow.
Prayers for all in need!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.
Got the rear handrails on the polished Varney F3 today. No more handrails til I get more wire, this was .020" I believe. Might try getting something thinner next time. Maybe .018" or .015".
BroadwayLionUse PEANUT BUTTER! He is NOT going to steal that before the trap goes WHAP!
jeffrey-wimberlySo I went to the kitchen, opened the lower cabinet door just to the left of the oven and what do I see? The tripped trap is laying on it's side and there's a mouse sitting there pretty as you please, completely unscathed happily munching on the bait.
What do you use for bait?
Use PEANUT BUTTER! He is NOT going to steal that before the trap goes WHAP!
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Here's your laugh for the day. Maybe a few of them. Last night I was here at the computer when I heard one of the two mousetraps in the kitchen go ka-snap. So I went to the kitchen, opened the lower cabinet door just to the left of the oven and what do I see? The tripped trap is laying on it's side and there's a mouse sitting there pretty as you please, completely unscathed happily munching on the bait. Then the little cuss looked up and grinned at me! Shades of Mouse Hunt! Right then I wished I'd had a hammer with me. That's the SECOND time that trap has sprung and there's been no mouse in it. I bet that little varmint has learned how to trip it without getting caught. I put new bait in the trap, reset it and put it back where it was. If this happens a third time I'm putting a glue trap in there. I might even put a little piece of cheese in the middle of it. The last meal for the condemned. Today it came out in the open where the cat could see it and led her on a merry chase along the base board of the great room wall to several seven foot sections of 1.5" PVC pipe standing in a corner. The mouse did a tight high speed turn between the pipes and the wall and went back in the opposite direction right between the cats legs. The cat was already going pretty fast and tried to do a fast turn on an Italian marble tile floor and totally loses control. She slides into the corner, hits the pipes and complete wipe-out! The pipes came crashing down and the cat looked like a huge bottle brush. The mouse was under a massive colonial trestle table grooming itself. I wonder how smart that little thing is.
I got the headlight and portholes drilled out. Portholes are OK. The headlight is another matter. I used a larger bit in an effort to drill out most of the blank area but the thickness of the top of the nose prevented that, therefore the hole is slightly lower than I wanted. Oh well. I can work with that. I still have to clear the holes of burrs. Later I'll see about making handrails for the rear ladders of the other F3.
TMarshJeff- Locos are looking good! Just don’t drop the heavy weight, it’ll probably go through the floor!
Just coffee please. Thanks anyway, but Brenda made Cinnamon rolls. Don’t get excited, they came from a tube like pop biscuits. They’re still tasty though.
Sunny, with a high near 76.
Paul- What happens in a case like that (wrong price). Do you have to eat the mistake, or does the company? I would imagine you would hear about it either way. More if the company takes the hit.
Jeff- Locos are looking good! Just don’t drop the heavy weight, it’ll probably go through the floor!
Ray- Sounds like they were looking for someone to me. I had a similar experience back in the 80’s, only they actually pulled me over three times before I got out of Springfield. My car matched the description of the one they were looking for. Luckily I didn't.
My Friday the 13th went like this…..I didn’t even realize it was. Good for me.
Eat up!
howmusTodd, ah, thanks, I think!
Yes, a compliment it was.
Mornin' Model Railroaders!
Zoe, I just want to start with coffee. Dark roast and hot!
Cold in the house right now. It is a pleasant and nice dark cloudy day with the thermometer hovering around 46°F. So much for the sunny day predicted by the weather prognosticators yesterday. But, if you don't like the weather here, just wait a minute and it will change, so there may be some ray of hope that Sol will shine through before long. Just turned on the heat in the house, I did.
Be back later!
Good morning. It's 70° with 70% humidity. The high will be 92° and will feel like 97°.Well today I guess I'll drill out the headlight and portholes on the F3 then see what comes up from there. No other plans for today, yet.
Hello. Wow, what happened. Just got back to building an engine house.
after not seeing my friend for 4-6 years & not drinking alcohol for at least 4 years, well, I did.
Next time, if they want to catch up, if they must ,they can drink without me.
these fellows saved my life more than a few times. My mate said not to tell the ladies I was a model railroader. I proved him, WRONG.
its good to be able to have a go at a few models in peace.
Howdy...... Well did you have a good Friday the 13th? .... Here was how our Friday the 13th went.
Friday the 13th was our third day of taking care of grandkids in Cincinnati while Son and DIL took a mini-vacation about 2 hours away from their home. ..... Here is what we did for Friday the 13th. We lost one of their dogs. We lost granddaughter's cell phone. We lost DIL's car. We locked ourselves out of their house and could not get back inside. .... Son was already suffering from an infection while on their mini-vacation. When they heard we were locked out, they decided to return home. He was not feeling well anyhow, and they cut their trip short by a couple of days. ..... We drove home (Over 300 miles) ,and fortunately we had no more Friday the 13th experiences during our drive home. We just now arrived back home. . ..... We had no idea we possessed so many "talents". ....
Glad to see it is after midnight! .... It is now Saturday the 14th.
I did a little Ebay shopping for the layout while in Cincinnati.
Janie, just a refill for my decaf please.
JeremyB I haven't had Mcdonalds for going on 15 years now.
You haven't missed anything!
Weird evening tonight. There is no moon and a thick heavy cloud cover with patches of fog out there. Not my favorite kind of night to be out driving in. Of course I have been out driving in the dark foggy night here. went to my sisters house to go out to dinner at her favorite restaurant, a local Mexican place with incredible food according to those people who are supposed to know about those things... Personally I don't care for Mexican food, so I had my usual Burro Raphael with pork and no salsa (hate salsa). My sister is friends with the owner so she disappears into the kitchen for a half hour or so before we get seated and then again before we leave. We come out to find it is sprinkling a cold misty rain. She insists I go into her house because she wants to show me she found a website with movies of the collection of international items collected by a friend who used to organize all the trips to the very far she took before both he and his wife died of cancer a couple years ago.
I finally get on my way home in the dark foggy night out there. I decide this would not be a good night to break any speed records on the way home so I am just cruising along about 50 to 55 mph in the PiP. A little over half way home a car comes up behind me and follows me for a quarter mile or so. All of a sudden there are flashing red lights in my rear view mirror. I glance at the speedometer and I was doing 54 mph... Knew I wasn't being pulled over for speeding or anything else I knew of but took to the side of the road. County Sheriff's car just goes around me and after a few hundred feet turns off his police lights.... I drive most of the rest of the way to Geneva. Get a couple miles outside Geneva close to where it is a 40 mph speed limit. Couple curves and bad intersections there so I have slowed down to around 48mph. Couple of cars decide I am blocking there way and decide to tailgate me. I look up and either the same Police car or one that looked just like it is sitting at the stop sign on one of the side roads. Two cars backed off my rear end very quickly. Cop pulls out behind them. I figured the lead one would get pulled over. Nope! Car comes up right behind just before the 40 mph zone and the lights come on again. I put my turn signal on and take to the side of the road. Police car just passes me and keeps on going. Shuts his lights back off... Weird!!! Got thinking they may be looking for someone as it appeared there was another police car just inside the city limits as well. There may have been two behind me out on the road.
It is still inky black outside.
Hope you all have a safe night! Prayers for all in need...
Been busy today working on a Varney F3A. Got an Athearn drive in it, did some surgery on the shell, put in a cut down Athearn superweight, fixed some handrails. Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to drilling out the headlight and the portholes. I tore it down so I could weigh it on an antique postal scale my father has. It's old but it's accurate. Shell, roof insert, drive, weight. After adding up all the readings I came up with 29.12 ounces. That's 1.82 pounds. That officially makes it the heaviest Varney rebuild in my fleet. It'll be a little lighter after I drill out the portholes and headlight but not by much. It's gonna take a stout decoder to stand up to the power required to get it moving not to mention the weight it'll be pulling. It shouldn't be too bad though. There'll be four of these monsters on the head end. An A and three B's.My father made cheese burgers for dinner tonight. They were enormous! The patties were 1/4 pound AFTER cooking. I could just barely get two down. If Mickey D's served burgers like that they'd go broke.Thunder storms came through earlier tonight. Lots of lightning and thunder but no rain. Weather guesser says it's almost a 50% chance for tonight. I'm thinking we won't see a drop!That's it for tonight. See y'all tomorrow.
Evening guys,
wow its cool out tonight, might see frost.
I'm still debating on calling the furnace guys back as it still isn't kicking on first try. They say that's normal for it to not start all the time on the first try. I don't want to worry about what is pretty much a brand new furnace. I will try it again on Sunday ( wont need it all for at least the next week as temps are on the rise ) but I want to know if its still acting weird so I can call him back on Monday morning.
Even if they come back out and see it and can tell me its fine and that my house wont blow up I will be happy.
Other then that bit of fun times today I didn't get any railroad work done. We just grabbed a burger from a fast food joint tonight as I didn't feel like making anything. Its the first fast food I have had in about 5 years. I haven't had Mcdonalds for going on 15 years now. Tonight we got it from a Joint called Harveys.
Heartland Division CB&Q Karl ..... With all of those sound decoders, your layout will be impressive.
Karl ..... With all of those sound decoders, your layout will be impressive.
The 6 sound units I have apart right now aren't mine, they are for other folks. But, they pay and SWMBO doesn't care what I do with the money!
Hi Guys,
Chilly here today. I had the company that installed my furnace come over today as they recommend every two years having it cleaned and next month would be two years. Well they came and did the job I guess the flame rod was caked pretty good in carbon so they cleaned it and had the furnace running. After they left I turned it off. Well its a cold day here so I went to turn it back on and it didn't light the first time? the gas came on but didn't ignite? so I left it for a few seconds and the gas came back on ignited fine. I called him and they told me that's normal that sometimes it wont catch on the first try and that it sometimes could take 3 times to ignite.
I trust them as they are great and my whole family has been using them for close to 30 years. The furnace has a 10 year parts and warranty so if they have to come back it wont cost me anything. its just weird as it has never taken 2 time for it to ignite. But I guess they know what there talking about.
Two days ago it was 100f and today it struggled to get into the mid 30's
For the past three and a half hours I've been working on the new F3 and almost none of it was on the outside. The extent of the work on the outside was making and installing a handrail to replace the one that was missing from the fireman's rear side door.The rest of the centered around adding weight to this beast. It's going to be the lead on an ABBB consist and I want it to be heavier than any of the B's. With them all being metal Varney B units that's a tall order. I'll be providing links to photos as I go along so I won't be cluttering up the post with photos.First off I cut down an Athearn superweight to the desired size and shape so it will fit inside the Varney F3 shell.Cut down superweight on F7 blue box chassis.The inside of the Varney shell had to be altered to make room for the weight.Parts of the shell were cut away.Next the shell was mated with the weighted chassis. This was harder than it looks. Lots of small cuts had to be made. And there's still plenty of room for a decoder in there!Gordon Varney probably never thought of this!The roof insert had to be altered so it would fit over the weight.Altered roof insertThe end result is what I call the F3 Super. A rough weigh in, weighing the pieces individually puts it at twenty-eight ounces or 1.75 pounds. Definitely a heavyweight.Varney F3 Super
Morning or Afternoon (depending what time zone you are in) All,
Currently it is 60 with an expected high of 89 under mostly sunny skies.
Another w**k day for me. Should not be too bad though as yesterday was a bit slow. Eyes are doing well, but I must remember to use the reading glasses for smaller print. Case in point, I had a phone call from a customer who wanted to know if we had a certain rifle in a particular caliber, and the price. I told him we did, gave him the price, which was on sale, and he asked to hold it for him. As I was putting it in the hold area I noticed it was the wrong caliber. The caliber he wanted was not on sale, and I had to sell it to him for about $80 less. I made the sale and had a happy customer. Oh well, such is retail, I guess. Lesson learned, wear the reading glasses.
Prayers to all in need.
Paul
Living in Fernley Nevada, about 30 miles east of Reno, also lived in Oregon and California, but born In Brooklyn NY and raised on Long Island NY
Mornin' everyone!
Zoe, I'll have the #2 special this morning. Over easy on the eggs, bacon, home fries, and a double order of the home made sour dough toast to go along with my Seneca Lake Roast coffee in a R&GV RR mug please (and Thank you).
Dark and chilly outside here in the Finger Lakes Region this morning. Currently 55°F out there with a high of 56°F later when it starts to rain. Good day to spend in the train room! I'll be turning on the heat down there....
Todd, ah, thanks, I think!
Later!