Afternoon Diners,
I thought I would you some pictures of the constitution of our wall. I missed getting the 2 beginning pictures.
Rebuilding the wall.
Completely finished wall yesterday. Too bad it's not done yet. My mom got bad in what's going to happen.
The start of putting on stucco. We'll have somewhat matching paint out of the brick. This is what I mean on why my mom is angry. This wall is about 7-8 years old before the dogs. She likes the natural brick look.
Steven- A very interesting story.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
My little girl is now a homeowner. She (and I, as co-signer) closed today on her house in Maine. It's a duplex, and the rent from the apartment side of the house should pretty much cover her mortgage.
Yes, I did make a train layout remark when I saw the basement.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Evening Diners
Flo, Ed will have a Crown Royal on the rocks and I will have a please.
Lazy Day, spent 2 hours laying on the coach watching Blue Bloods. Took a nap while watching a WWII show about the Pacific then did some running.
K-10 Model Trains and the Mighty B&O F7a. Took the F7a to K-10 and they got the same 308 error, just later while reading the decoder. They could ID the decoder as a BLI F7 then got the 308 error code? Long story short, and said "lets try it on the main line, if we let the smoke out I will install a DH 166 decoder"! I will be dang, just as I thought! It ran fine! There is a little more to the story but bottom line I did not break it! QSI is just a pain in the caboose!
I would be singing it praise about how great she runs, but! While trying to install the rear coupler pocket screw, the screw fell into the engine and would not come out. Decided to let stay in the engine cradle for the night. Maybe the screw will fall out on its own!
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Hey Mr. B!
Congratulations to your "little girl"! I suspect she's not so little anymore. Sounds like she made a smart investment. I just hope she gets good tenants.
My son Cole and his wonderful girlfriend Kaitlin were able to buy a house last September. They had to spend a bit more than planned but ended up with a very nice house in a great neighbourhood. Ironically, it is less than 1 mile from where our family homesteaded in 1823. He has a street and a public school just down the road that are named after him, or at least his predecessors anyhow!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Evenin' folks!
Janie, just a cup of decaf for me right now.... Thank you Ma'am!
Spent most of the day finishing up all my Christmas Cards. I make my own each year. I was waiting to get the paper in stock to get everything printed for them. I also print off some photos of things that have been going on around here to put in the envelope with the card. So printing, cutting, collating, putting in envelops and getting a stamp on them occupied quite a bit of today. I hope that I will be able to get out and around tomorrow (some high winds and sn*w happening at the moment) and get them all mailed..... Did get out to the grocery store for a few items I needed earlier today as well. Also cleaned the filters on my aquariums that were long past due for a good cleaning.....
Stephen, I enjoyed your story very much!
Hope you all have a safe and warm place to be tonight..... Right now outside the door here in the Finger Lakes it is a toasty 15°F with a paltry 16 to 20mph wind blowing some little white things around. Can't complain as not too far North of here they are under a Blizzard Warning with Gale Force winds coming off Lake Ontario...... 5 to 8" of sn*w with 60mph gusts.....
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good Evening Diners,
Brunhilda, it's brutally cold out. I'll have a large egg nog with the extra additive for warmth, please.
Ride On: I'm sorry, I forgot when your recital is, but "break a leg" on performance. I do like the program with the Bach and Chopin for traditional, Glass for contemporary bordering on avant garde, and Debussy to tie it together. Sounds like a good program, too bad I can't attend. Let us know how it goes. Do you by any chance like Philip Glass?
Angelo: That's a nice wall. Like the gate. OK, the temptation to make a joke here is almost overwhelming; however I don't want to incur the wrath of Vinnie and the boys downtown (said in feigned Don Carlione voice).
Mr. B: Congrats to your daughter on her investment. Hope all goes well and that she always has wonderful tenants who pay their bills on time.
Well, looks like we're being visited by the "polar vortex" again, so I hope everyone is OK, safe, and warm. Hello to all.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
YGW
yougottawanta I would bet the cause of the fan going bad had more to do with metal fatigue than tires. Did you check to see if there was a recall on the fan blade ?
Actually it was a plastic fan, but regardless of that it obviously suffered from fatigue. The dealership had never heard of a fan failure before and they did check for recalls. There weren't any. The vibration caused by the unbalanced tires is the only variable that we could identify, so that is why I suspect the tires as being the culprit. That and my stupidity!
I do all my maintenance through the local Honda dealership. One of the reasons is that they always check for recalls every time a vehicle goes in for service. On more than one occassion I have been informed by them that they would need my car or van for a longer period because there was a 'non-urgent' recall on various parts and they wanted to replace the parts. The term 'non-urgent' is mine, not theirs, but basically the recalls involved things like a potentially cracked intake manifold on my 1998 Civic. The manifold wouldn't have created any real risk if it cracked, but needed to be replaced none the less because obviously the engine wouldn't run properly once the manifold failed. That was a repair worth about $1400 Cdn which they didn't have to tell me about unless the manifold actually cracked. It hadn't.
This 2014 Odyssey is my 5th Honda and I've been pretty happy with them all. Any service issues have been minor. The 2014 gets about 750 kms to the tank despite the fact that I tend to have a lead foot. It's not as quick as the 2004 which disappoints me but the mileage is better.
Chamomile tea, please.
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/train-conductor-saves-stowaway-cat-found-frozen-ice-181548956--abc-news-topstories.html
Cheers! Rob
Cederstrand Chamomile tea, please. https://www.yahoo.com/gma/train-conductor-saves-stowaway-cat-found-frozen-ice-181548956--abc-news-topstories.html Cheers! Rob
Good to know that the true owners got their cat back. I even teared up a little bit. (But then, of course, I love cats.)
Good to see others having good luck now, We where able to get a 2015 Nissan Versa today for less than i was fearing. It even still has the factroy warranty still on it. Planing on going up and getting the rest of the stuff out of our old car early next week.
Modeling on the cheap
Hey fourt!
Good catch, especially with the warranty still in place!
Now, please remember to check the oil regularly!!!! Actually, that's not fair. If you had lost a piston ring or two on the old car your oil consumption would have gone up exponentially so its not unreasonable that you might not have noticed the low oil.
Had the oil changed the day before. They did not see or notice anything wroung at that time.
The place i had it towed to said it looked as if a rod to one of the pistons went bad. That is what made the two holes in the engine. I have some pictures i need to upload of the damage. From what i have read on the web mazda has a probelm with there engines at around 100,000 miles, mine is/was at 148,000 and some miles.
Guess it could have been worse though, just the car died, me, wife, son was not hurt or anything.
http://www.mazda3club.com/mazda3-mazdaspeed3-99/anyone-else-mazda-3-blown-engine-56735/
Just a quick Hello before I turn in, folks.
Maybe a spot of Bailey's Irish Cream, Chloe. That should make my eyelids heavy, thank you.
Glad you found a decent vehicle, fout. You really don't hear too many connecting rods failing much, anymore. One of the electricians where I w**ked had a lump of aluminum he used as a paperweight. Once I spotted it and picked it up he told me it was a connecting rod out of one of the early GM LF9 350 diesels, the ones where they just threw different heads on a gasoline 350 and thought that was "good enough"*. Remember those days? This thing was not even recognizable as an engine part. The engine kept on running and it wasn't until he pulled into his driveway that he heard the knocking sound and the rougher, than the usual rough, idle that he knew what had happened. *Or so the rumors go.
That story about Tiger/Q-199 was heartwarming all right! The little guy seems to have done that on his own, but anybody that dumps an animal in this kind of weather deserves... well, you know! I've rescued several cats that turned up at GE during the coldest days of Winter. Terrible way to treat a living creature...
Tonight I just fired-up the layout and ran trains for about four hours. Nice...
I was in the mood for more modern power, and GrampysTrains was looking for some hi-power lashups over in the Show-Me thread.
Tomorrow, I might be back to running Hudsons, heavyweights and 40 foot hoppers. Ya' never know— that's what I love about this hobby!
Regards, Ed
Good Morning! 15 degrees F here in beautiful downtown Tipton IN!
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Hey fourt:
I guess I sounded a bit condescending. Sorry. Engines should not fail that soon PERIOD! I have heard the same thing about KIAs, but I'm a bit suprised to hear it about Mazdas. Your are right. The most important thing is that your family was not hurt. Thank goodness for that!
fourtHad the oil changed the day before. They did not see or notice anything wroung at that time.
Hmmmm
I changed the oil & filter on our VW Rabbit, the old filter gasket stuck to the engine, so I had 2 gaskets. We made it from NC to NH and back to 100 miles north of Richmond before it ran out of oil and made a tremendous clanking. The oil light never went on.
Did the shop put a gasket in the drain plug, did they remember to add the oil? Jiffy Lube is famous for their screw ups.
14 degrees today. I should go back to bed.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Good morning .
Rob ... Thanks for the link to the story of the nearly frozen cat saved by a CN conductor. I like that story.
Bill T. ... Good seeing you again. .... I hope you have a Merry Chrostmas this year.
CN Charlie .... I'm not sure when you had your surgery. I suspect you already had it, and pray you are recovering as well as can be expected.
Ed .... I like your photo although I prefer first generation diesels.
The cold is arriving just in time for our trip to Michigan. We plan to leave this weekend.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good morning from north Mississippi this morning,
we are visiting our "lake house" this weekend.
I just plan to do nothing.
warming trend today and Saturday then the bottom drops out again.
might have some freezing rain Saturday night.
Mornin' everyone!
Zoe, I'll have a pot of Marrakesh Express Organic, Fair Traded, Dark Roast Coffee this morning and a couple of the Buttercream filled dounghnuts over there on the counter, please.
Sun is trying tio shine here in the Finger Lakes Region. Got a couple inches of fluffy white stuff after the wind died down sometime overnight. Debating where I even need to shovel the driveway or not. Snowplow from the city just went down the street. Came by and didn't even manage to fill in the end of the driveway... I do have several things that should get done today, including filling up the gas tank on the Volt for the first time. Only reason I am doing that today is that I have to drive to the Museum tomorrow to do the Jolly Old Man again. I have enough gas to get me there and back with a charge of electric, but if something wqas to happen and I got stuck on the Thruway, it would be nice not to have to worry about having enough electric and gas to get me home..... I have put a little over 600 miles on the car so far and have over a quarter tank left. The ICE automatically fires up and heats the battery when the temp gets below 32°F. The PiP just became very sensitive to using much power at those temps and almost always fired up if I went over 25 mph... So really using the same idea to protect the battery from any damage.
MLC4, have fun at the Lake House!
up831. . .Ride On: I'm sorry, I forgot when your recital is, but "break a leg" on performance. I do like the program with the Bach and Chopin for traditional, Glass for contemporary bordering on avant garde, and Debussy to tie it together. Sounds like a good program, too bad I can't attend. Let us know how it goes. Do you by any chance like Philip Glass?. . .
Thanks for the well wishes. The recital is next Thursday and I am in that peaceful lull that sets in right before the panic. I had a practice recital on Tuesday for a couple of friends and it went okay. I gave it a B- but Mrs. ROR told me she would give it an A-. We are our own toughest critics.
Yes, you got me, I am a Glass-O-Phile. My father introduced me to Philip Glass and the whole minimalist genre back in the 80s and I have loved it ever since. I have been Philip Glass concerts and am planning on attended one of his premiers at Carnegie Hall in January (on his 80th birthday).
Richard
Went to Lube stop for the oil change, I would say yes there was oil in engine as it was all over the engine and the ground after it blew a hole in the block.
upper hole is the block, lower on is the oil pan
Good Afternoon,
Sunny and -4F here now, but headed down to -24 tonight plus there will also be a windchill. At least it is sunny.
Garry, thanks for the good wishes but the surgery isn't until Monday, so I have a few more days in which I can do things. Afterwards I can't even go down stairs until the end of January. I'll be in the hospital for 5 days and likely won't be posting until some time in January.
I haven't been doing anything with trains at all for several weeks. Just can't get motivated.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas,
CN Charlie
fourt Went to Lube stop for the oil change,
Went to Lube stop for the oil change,
Fourt: I have learned to always double-check. One of those fast-lube places backed my car out of the bay once and hadn't put on any oil filter - then they got mad at me for telling the other people in the waiting room "better watch 'em close, folks". And once with a Toyota dealer, I took the car for an oil change just before a major trip. When I got home, I noticed a drop of oil on the garage floor and found that the oil filter had only been put on about two turns. It certainly would have worked loose and fallen off on the next-day's six hour drive and the results would have been disasterous. Even with a shop that I trust, I always check that actual oil level and take a look "under" after a service. Sort of that "trust but verify" policy that the President mentions from time to time.
Finished the Christmas cards and had finished the wrapping last Saturday during the Army/Navy game. Actually went in and ran trains for an hour yesterday afternoon. I am always somewhat surprised when things actually work. The railbus ran fine. The log train ran fine. Had trouble hauling the empty coal hoppers up the hill, with the train breaking apart a couple times (my engines back up to the coal mine town and the front coupler on the PFM Ma & Pa 2-8-0 seems to set a little low). "Loads" coming back to town looked good, though.
That Polar Vortex meant 28 degrees here this morning, but it is supposed to be back past 60 tomorrow. QUIET on the beach, with hardly anyone else out there walking today.
Bill
I finished walking the dogs. Right after I saw the new Star Wars movie Rogue One. My expectations were a little high, but it was still a good movie.
I'm reworking the track plan so I could continue the line. I tested some track with 12 and 13 inch curve track to see if I have two trains to wait/processing. I know I can't do it. Cars can easily touch with other cars that are longer than 60 feet.
Chloe, any of that Beef Stew that Stephen brought in still left? Oh good bring a large bowl of that and a hard roll for supper. Could use a pot of decaf as well. yes. my R&GV RR Mug would do nicely.... Thanks!
Been an interesting day today, it has..... This morning I finished getting all the MLK checks that have come in added up and out in an envelope to be transported to The Bank in Canandaigua to send to the branch where they keep the FLACE Accounts... Cleaned out the driveway enough so I could get the Volt out, removed enough sn*w from the panels on the roof to get them up and running, then had a quick lunch. Right after lunch I headed out to Canandaigua hoping to both get the deposit to the bank and then stop in at the shoe store there (I bought shoes there as a kid) and buy a new pair of sneakers and some new boots. The old iones are way beyond their useable life so I figured it would be time. With Diabetes, I like to have someone who actually knows what they are doing fit me for the shoes, BTW.
I get about half way to Canadaigua in the Volt when I get a message telling me one of the tires on the car has low air pressure and to get it corrected "NOW!". Said it was 31lbs. Figured I could get everything done and drive back home to get more air. so I went to bank. Pulled out from the bank and the pressure said 30lbs. Hmmm... Figured I probably did have a tire leak so I went to the SUNOCO Staion on main st. to get e bit of air and figured I would stop at the dealers on the way home. Finally found the air pump. No way in ...... was I going to pay $1 for two minutes of air to blow it up, so I pulled around and headed back up Main St. to another "brand X" station. They wanted $1.50, but at least would give me 3 minutes of air... Grrrrrrrr! I swung back around and went to a branch office of the Tire Dealer that is also found in Geneva. I have been going to that dealer since before it was owned by the new guy (who I also know personally from a protest we were both part of several years ago). I parked the Volt, walked in and was second in line at the desk. Gentleman asked what they could do for me. Told him I am the proud owner of an almost brand new Chevy Volt that appears to have one tire low on air. Asked if they could be of help..... He assured me I was in the right place, then looked at me and said, "VOLT?" Is that the electric car (with very wide eyes)? I said almost, but I should mostly be using elecrons for driving around. He asked if there was a key in the car and I gave him the fob saying they don't have keys....
Had a seat in the very crowded waiting room, about 10 minutes later my Volt was gone. About 50 minutes later I see the car parked outside the door waiting to be picked up. The kid (20's maybe) who worked on it walks in and I approached the counter. Kid tells me he couldn't find a thing wrong with the tire (he stared at me like, "I don't believe this old guy has such a cool car"). No punctures, sidewall leaks... Nothing. The guy at the desk looks over the work order, shrugs his shoulders and says, nothing wrong, no charge. They did check and inflate all the tires as all of them were down to about 31psi. I think you can all understand why I do business here in town with that tire store! Check at the Volt Chat group and it seems that losing some air pressure appears to be a common thing with the Low rolling resistance tires used on them. BTW, when I turned on the computer after I got home I had an email from the car telling about the problem!
Calling for Sn*w tonight (but no weather thingie out there says how much) and turning to rain about 1PM tomorrow. Wonderfull! Santa gets to greet kids in the rain at the North Pole at the R&GV RR Museum. Can't wait....
I'll contribute a quote for you. Not as old as some others, but still something to think about I guess....
“Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have a great evening! My prayers for all in need....
{ Poking head through doorway... }
KEN! You in here??
Did you get my PM with the USPS tracking number? Are you going to be home tomorrow when the mail arrives?
I know, lots of questions... I'm nosey!
I'll stop-by later—
Ed
Flo, Ed will have Crown Royal on the rocks and I will have a please.
Work Front I was surprised how busy the day started out! Not that I was slamed with only 5 customers. But they all came in from 11:30 AM to 2:45 PM. After that, no one.
Wonder if the Ice Storm had anything to do with it? I was a little when I looked out the door around 4:00 PM. Soild sheet of ice on my car and the main drag looked like a parking lot all most. Car moving around 2 mph bumper to bumper. Seems our DOT was caught with there pants down Big Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really was not a much of a ice storm but it was the first winter weather driving we have had. By the time I got off, roads where clear of ice and only hit ice one time at a stop sign and it was not much.
Train Front Got a PK 1000 Monon F3 speed matched to my C&O RS2 and B&O GP 7 tonight. Monon and B&O / C&O roamed the same area so there is a good chance's this lash up could have happned.
Ed Yes, I have been watching the tracking! The box is with in 30 miles of me! But, I do have to work, so I will have to wait till I get home to see what Santa sent me. Wonder if it is some Coal Loads?
cudaken Ed Yes, I have been watching the tracking!
I was too. That made me worried since it seems the box was never scanned before it left Ohio! I even checked with Mrs. Pullman to be sure she dropped it off at the Post Office and not the shoe repair shop!
cudakenWonder if it is some Coal Loads?
Only bad boys get coal for Christmas
I hope everybody is doing well and has a safe and happy weekend...
All of you mentioning the Polar Vortex prompts me to mention this little weather tidbit: As I type this, it is 8 below heading for a low of 24 below. High on Saturday of 10 below with a low of 18 below. Not expected to get back above zero until Sunday with a high of 18 (above).
Hobby Front: Finally got the newest members of my engine fleet (the two U25Cs) on the test track this morning. After a little bit of coaxing, one of the engines took off very well. The other one appears to need some help. (Considering they are somewhere around the same age I am, that's not a big surprise.) I will need to disassemble it to get into the trucks to check lubrication and such and maybe check the wiring while I'm at it. Some of the detail parts (plows and coupler screws) are expected Monday according to the tracking and the others parts (the couplers themselves) show as in pre-shipment. It's not like I don't have other projects I can work on while I'm waiting for those parts.
I think I have the needed decals figured out. Turns out I didn't need the caboose set that I ordered. (I think I will use it later to make a BN bay window caboose. That's about the only type of BN caboose I don't have. I've got enough engines that a few more cabooses wouldn't hurt anything.) All the decals that I need for the renumbering appear to be on the BN engine sheet. I will need to use the NP engine sheet to fix the striping on both as they are a little faint in a few areas and the vertical stripe on the back of the engine is completely missing.
The 45 is also in progess. I got one side glued on Monday but decided to let it dry solid before I would get other side changed as the cab was a bit flimsy without the support. I will also need to use part of the NP decal set to fix a curve that has come loose in the process of storage.
Good morning all. Proud parent moment for today. Saturday mornings my 5 y/o and I have base (ment) days while mom gets a little extra sleep.
"Hey buddy, what do you want to watch on TV this AM?"
"Nothing dad. I want to play trains in the train room..."
And for those that don't know, when you run trains with a 5 y/o, EVERY loco has sound. lol