YGW We only got about an inch of snow. It is cold though.
Waze: I am not a cell phone guy, 30 years of a pager following me into the bathroom, restaurants and bedroom was more than enough for being in close contact. I doubt I have sent 100 text message in my life, but Waze is ADDICTING. One is tempeted to look at the screen and even report accidents. It was marginally helpful when I was stuck on I-95 in NC, after a truck accident caused a hazardous waste situation. The NC DOT site wasn't helpful at all because it underestimated the road closure by hours.
Bought a AMB side door caboose on Fleabay. Cody has a video on building a laser kit caboose, but the Details West caboose 550 kit seems NLA. I have to scrounge up toilet vents and ladders and railings or wire to make railings. Some outfit named Taurus makes caboose ladders. They are on ebay for $25 with a price sticker on the package that says $2.50 sheeesh.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Afternoon all.
Flo - A slice of warm apple pie with a couple of scoops of ice cream, and a Coke please. Thanks.
Weather - Cool today, but no more snow today. The storm tomorrow will start as snow, then change to freezing mix, then goes to all rain tomorrow night. Bad news is the freezing mix, good news is the warm up it brings...
Tom - Speaking of train issues, CSX had a odd issue early this morning not terribly far from me. They struck a SUV... In the middle of the rail yard! No grade crossings anywhere in the vicinity, yet, somehow, someone got their vehicle there... According to reports, the driver had a ankle injury, and had "had a few too many" before the incident...
W**k - Getting busy. My boss hurt her back yesterday, so.... Saturday we were extremely busy, even had a couple people walk out with nothing. We totally crushed on sales on Saturday, but then couldn't sell a nickel for a penny yesterday! Good thing we were way ahead on Saturday!
Hope all are well, and all have a good day!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
The last 3 cars I've owned, Honda CRVs, all had a built in nav system. Now there's no way I would even consider buying a car without one. My wife probably wouldn't let me buy a car withour seat warmers. Technology seems to spoil us as well as absolutely convince us that we must have these gizmos.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks Steven,
One thing that frustrated me with the Garmin GPS is that when it wasn't cooperating my son could get the correct information from his iPhone in what seemed like just a few seconds.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter My son has a GPS 'application' on his iPhone (I hate acronyms and short forms too) which gives up to the minute traffic conditions and road construction sites, and it will steer you around problems before you even get to them. I'm not sure what the program is that he uses. Sorry.
My son has a GPS 'application' on his iPhone (I hate acronyms and short forms too) which gives up to the minute traffic conditions and road construction sites, and it will steer you around problems before you even get to them. I'm not sure what the program is that he uses. Sorry.
It could be Waze. I used to use that, and it was pretty good. While you're using it, it tracks how fast (or, rather, slow) your car is going to determine where there are traffic jams and slowdowns, and feeds that info to other users in real time. Users can also tap to report crashes, speed traps, road hazards, and the like. I heard somewhere that Waze user data is where Google gets the real-time traffic info for its app. The only reasons I stopped using it were because I didn't have a car charger, and constant use of location services eats phone battery; and highway construction turned a certain stretch of I-94 into a 24/7 traffic jam I didn't need an app to predict. I take surface streets to and from work now.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
hon30critterI'm not sure how familiar you are with GPS systems, but if you are going to spend money, I suggest looking for a service that has real time information on road conditions. We have an older Garmin dedicated GPS which my wife won at work. To state it clearly, we paid the right price for it, as in 'zero' dollars. It is pretty crude. It has to be hooked up to our computer to update it, and if you don't spell the street name absolutely correctly it can't find an address. My son has a GPS 'application' on his iPhone (I hate acronyms and short forms too) which gives up to the minute traffic conditions and road construction sites, and it will steer you around problems before you even get to them. I'm not sure what the program is that he uses. Sorry.
Hi Dave! I have an ancient old Magellan that has been sitting on a shelf in a storeroom for about 4+ years. It is at least 7 years old... Probably isn't workable anymore. Used to upgrade almost every time I used it. Probably the app your son has is the Google one. That is for iPhone and iPad I guess (probabkly others) and was recommended to me as being excellent by the dealer for the Volt. It is probably time that I got a smartypants phone thingy anyway. I'll be talking with my sone to see what I should get. I may be able to get something for free (yeah right) if I upgrade my cell thing service and take on a 2 year contract (that is only a couple dollars more than I am paying now)...
I may have to join the 21st. century whether I want to or not! LOL funny thing is back when I was teaching, I was way ahead of all the other teachers in the Middle School. I was the first person to hand in a print out for my grade (got in major trouble for doing that, I did) rather than hand writing everything. (two years later we all had to punch in our grades on the computer in the teacher's room. I was the first to use powerpoint for teaching classes. Got some for that too, until the principle saw just how much better the students were paying attention when she actually visited the classroom. Had to provide my own laptop and projector to do that. Now every room has a contraption that works off the teachers computer provided in every room...... Times change, they do!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
howmusI do like a GPS in the car.
Hi Ray:
I'm not sure how familiar you are with GPS systems, but if you are going to spend money, I suggest looking for a service that has real time information on road conditions. We have an older Garmin dedicated GPS which my wife won at work. To state it clearly, we paid the right price for it, as in 'zero' dollars. It is pretty crude. It has to be hooked up to our computer to update it, and if you don't spell the street name absolutely correctly it can't find an address. My son has a GPS 'application' on his iPhone (I hate acronyms and short forms too) which gives up to the minute traffic conditions and road construction sites, and it will steer you around problems before you even get to them. I'm not sure what the program is that he uses. Sorry.
Regards,
Good Evening!
It´s been a rather slow day for me. I am battling a bad case of migraine, which nearly paralyzes me.
The ice is gone, but certinly not for long. We are in a "warm" spell right now, with temperatures a little above 32F, but forecasted 25F by mid of this week. Add to that some rain and we are back to the ice rink!
moelarrycurly4was without power for 7 days
Chances for that are pretty low here, as our power lines are underground. / days without power would mean no hot water, no heat, but at least hot food, as we have a butane gas stove for such emergencies.
Mr. Bill - good to see you again, Sir. more often!
Hey all
Train front - exciting news. TODAY they started forming the walls. Hurray. Pouring the walls tomorrow, then seven days of curing and next Tuesday we start backfill and slab pour. Thursday or Friday after that start framing. This weekend I took count of material on hand. Finalized the material package and placed the order for delivery on the 19th. We are MAKING PROGRESS - finally !
Howmus - Wonder what would happen if they put proffesionals in both vehicles vs amatuers. I bet it would be much closer. "Brown or Grey" water is water dsicharged from washing machines, sinks, dishwashers not toilets ( yuck ) I bet the grey water could have little turbines in the pipes that could be used to turn a generator with out to much problem. The real concern would be the cost to produce whether it would be worth while ???
Ed - Good luck with the E7. Do you remember much from that day in the video when you were 6 ?
Mr. B - What birds do you have show up at the feeder ? My father puts out corn cobs for some deer. He calls them his "welfare deer"
Ken - Did you get many challenges from Chevys and "Zs" due to what you had posted on your car ? How do you access the area on your RR that is 43" away against the wall ? I sent some emails with photos this weekend.
CN Charlie - A Robin ??! Geez that bird missed the train south !
Herrinchoker - $25 ! Oh man I bet you wish you still had that car now.
Rich - Dont you have some space heaters you can put down there to warm things up ?
Ulrich - Hope you feel better.
Lion - How is the paw coming ? Hey I bet the patrons here can soup up that motorized chair ! We could sound equip it to sound like the Big Boy beating across the church parking lot !! Hey maybe even mount a cattle gaurd across the front. Head lamp on the topand heck maybe even a tender full of Wildebeast jerky
V8 - Ouch you know how to hurt a guy bragging about 71 degrees while we are barely above zero ! Hope you are enjoying that weather. I know I would be !
Henry - Get any snow down your way ? We didnt get any. Just flurries and LOTS of cold air !
Ricky W - Your Dave story reminds me of an ancient story of a women who pestered a judge so much that after her constant nagging he responded to her Women what is you want I will grant it as long as you leave me alone after that !
Garry - isnt that insane $1200 for a HWH ! With some of the new codes coming on $1200 HWH will be considered cheap !
Rob - Just joking about the coffe. I like that show too : )
ATSF - Oh I thought that was your grade not part of the class title.
History qoute :
Considering the natural lust for power so inherent in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail to oppress the people.
Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens.
When you get in debt you become a slave.
Extra strong coffee in a SOUTHERN PACIFIC mug, please.
Making progress organizing the Train Room. Even vacuumed a little bit of floor. Still a long ways to go yet.
My old horse Cheyenne is now having a problem with (what had been) her good front hoof. A bit worrisome. Trying to reach my farrier.
Cheers! Rob
Lunch time!
BBQ please.
I have been away for just a bit, cathcing up on posts.
Rick: sorry to hear of uncle passing.
Garry: I hate water heaters.
Ulrich: Be careful in the ice. we got a bad ice storm here in 2009, was without power for 7 days. Luckily I ( being a former scout) was prepared. I have enought Kerosene for heaters and all my Coleman camping gear ( laterns, stoves etc. picked up the slack. ( wife no longer complained about the 20 lanterns I have. ) we still had water and hot water ( gas water heater) I put all the fridge food out on the porch so it did not spoil.
I was down all weekend with a small bug of sorts, i just layed and watched old movies ( since nothing on TV is worth watching)
That is about it from here.
Ahhhhhhhh..... Afternoon folks!
Hi Bill!
Steven OtteATSFGuy, you have music from the '50s through the '90s programmed on channels 5 through 9, but in reverse order?! Laugh I would never be able to keep that straight!
Are you Siruis? I have that thing on my Volt (Came with the PiP too). Will never use it and certainly will ignore the 5oo letters they will send me after the "trial membership" is done. Each one will get cheaper and cheaper for some reason. I have close to 10,000 songs and other music on CDs here at home and in my iTunes collection on the computer. I simply save them as crap mp3 files on a USB stick and play exactly what I want to listen to without paying for Siruis stuff.... I haven't explored all the 5,328(?) different channels they seem to have but why would pay for stuff I already have (and paid for! I was a professional DJ back when....).
The only thing I really don't like about the Volt is that they don't have a built in GPS System. The only choices are having some lady (that I can't understand being deaf) guide me with "turn by turn" instructions from somewhere in cyberspace, or buy a Smarty Pants phone and load something they call an APP (I prefer what they used to have called "applications") from Google which would give me a usable GPS.... May have to spend the $$$ and go that route as I do like a GPS in the car. My old flip phone cell thingie I have used about a dozen times in the decade or so that I have owned it.... Being deaf sometimes has advantages. I prefer to be connected with others in person than up in some cloud thingie. Just an old Phart I guess.....
Let's see so far today, I went over to the Fieldhouse to pay my membership for my walking pass totally forgetting that they don't take Credit Cards... She did let me do some walking and I will pay next time I go over. Got in about 2/3rds of a mile today. That was 4 laps. will be getting back up to doing 2 miles 3 times a week ASAP. Also processed a scholarship for one of last year's MLK Scholarship winners. That is the "Fun" part of being the treasurer!
Got a bit of stuff done on the layout yesterday. Finished building the stone abutment for where the last major bridge will go and glued it in place:
Painted the "land" at the top of the gorge where Milo Mills is:
A town should start appearing soon...
Have a great day and safe day out there!
Hey guys,
I laid out some trains yesterday to see if the room was to big or large. I thought of a small warehouse and transfer building with a piggyback track. No room for the ramps to discharge trailers off or on. The track will hold two 89' flatcars. (I could remove one trailer for the ramp but not enough to turn into/out of position.) It has a decent coverage for vehicles and trailers.
The footprint measured by 12x12 inch. Is it too large for a door size layout? Part of me agrees that it is.
I wished I could've taken some pictures I didn't.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
wetidlerjr Good morning!
Good morning!
Bill .... Nice to see you !
Dave ..... Decision makers actually get paid big amounts to make dumb decisions.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
ATSFGuy I've had Siruis XM on my phone since June 2016, Here are my channels I currently have under favorites; 5. 90's on 9 6. 80's on 8 7. 70's on 7 8. 60's on 6 9. 50's on 5
I've had Siruis XM on my phone since June 2016, Here are my channels I currently have under favorites;
5. 90's on 9
6. 80's on 8
7. 70's on 7
8. 60's on 6
9. 50's on 5
ATSFGuy, you have music from the '50s through the '90s programmed on channels 5 through 9, but in reverse order?! I would never be able to keep that straight!
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Heartland Division CB&QDave:.... Your senior moment caused you to make a spectacle of yourself.
Yup!
It's OK actually. I was due for a new pair of glasses anyhow.
What really ticks me off is the prices that the glasses suppliers charge. They are outrageous, and the suppliers have a monopoly on the market. A few years ago a Toronto optometrist was sued by the Ontario optometrist society for selling eye glasses too cheap. He lost!!! No further comment! Steven wouldn't like what I would have to say!
herrinchokerGarry, It was not my Grandmother,--- it was my Mother. herrinchoker
Oops ..... ... and we just had a conversation about senior moments in the Diner. .... Sorry ...
Evenin' Folks!
I know some of you really like "HOT" cars.... So do I! But the one I want is completely silent has a limited top speed of 290mph, and has only 1088hp (IIRC) Oh hey here she is going up against a Tesla first and then a Ferrari... Oh, BTW the Concept one is the second most powerful Electric Car made today...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7KKxoAvvk
Enjoy!
Ray
Hey, Ken!
Misery loves company, I guess.
I have a Walthers Proto QSI E7 that has been sitting on a shelf for over a year. I just put it on the test track and, wouldn't you know, it was dead silent. Lights all good, motor good but no sound.
I tried to do all the reset stuff, CVs, magnets, JMRI reset and nothing worked.
So I opened it up and started poking around, suspecting the speaker(s) and, sure enough, one of the speakers was open. Since they're wired in series that equates to...
NO SOUND!
Fortunately, I had a nearly identical 32mm, 8Ω, 1W speaker in my parts box.
I just finished up and everything is good! I thought I'd pass that on since it may be related to your problem. This will be the fourth time a bad speaker has been the cause of decoder sound problems for me.
Maybe the QC is poor on these things? Seems odd that so many have failed form different manufacturers.
I used a 1.5 v. battery with little wires to touch to the speaker pad (unplugged from the decoder) to check. When I didn't hear a click, I checked again with an ohm meter and sure enough, no resistance.
Good Luck, Ed
Evening all. Cold here today and tonight, then it gets warmer through the week 10 degrees now, going to be only 4 tonight.
Watched some football over the weekend, but whatever happened to competitive games? Are there really so few playoff-level teams in the NFL. Sadly, I think so.
I worked on trains with the games on in the background. Mostly, I played with the coupler mounts for my Rivarossi passenger cars, so the couplers would stop drooping, disconnecting and getting stuck in the tracks when they sagged. I've got the whole train working, finally. One car's interior lights won't go on, but I've got some ideas on that.
The wife has gone to Florida. She's visiting her Mom and will be back next week. In the meantime, I'll take over her big worktable downstairs and hopefully do a bunch of Bragdon foam castings. It's kind of time-consuming, but the results are worth it. The peace and quiet of this week will let me get this done.
I'm looking out for my feathered friends, too. I saw a very cold looking cardinal yesterday out in the yard, so I was happy to see her at the feeder this morning. After a slow start, I'm getting quite a variety of birds now. I've got to buy more seed tomorrow.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Evening Diners
Flo, Ed will have a Crown Royal, SS Rich will have a Boston Cream and I will have a Keg of with a straw. Yep, one of those days.
I thought work was going to be slow? I had more customer at one point than I could handle! At one point I lost count of how many customers came into the store! Guess the biggest reason it seem so busy was 1 couple stayed in the store 3 hours!!!!!!!!!! In the mean time people came in looking for $100.00 twin mattress and cheap futon's. All wise happens when you have some one looking at a hight ticket iteam. Finally got the $3,000.00 deal and it took some work!!!!!!!!!!! They put there coats on twices because they want to shop around!
Ed Yes the PK2000 E unit board is the same as the one in the POS E-8 I have and thank you! Only reason I may tried to save the E-8 is because I still have a PK 2000 E-6 b unit. By it self, even working it could not pull worth a darn!
SS Rich Good looking Belly Button! It still amazes me that today a 12.50 car is slower than many stock current cars that get 25 MPG. My best time was 11.88 at 121 MPH but 60 foot time sucked. Never did cut up the wheel well to get bigger slicks in. Biggest slicks I could run where 10". Had to bring the engine up aginst the converter let her roll about 4 foot and easy into the throttle. Well not to easy.
This photo was from the mid 80's when I was really hard core.
Note she says Z-Eater behinde the door. Yep I was gunning for belly buttons cars. At one point my air scoop inserts said "Rat Poison". On the quarter windows there are Chevy Door Stickers with X's through them!
Trains are running great! So I am happy.
Ken
I hate Rust
Ed, I enjoyed that film a lot. Just can't beat a CN Northern, but then again I might be slightly biased. We have a pileated that visits our feeder from time to time. Even though we are in the city we are close to a major river with a lot of woods on the shore plus we are close to to the university that has a lot of wooded land too. Right now we mostly get chickadees, red and white breasted nuthatches, downy and hairy woodpeckers plus the odd bluejay. Had a robin in the yard yesterday so he was lost to say the least. Hope he makes it. We hear and see ravens but they don't come to the yard.
Well nearly time for the latest Sherlock Holmes on PBS.
CN Charlie
After not being out railfanning since the beginning of December, this weekend was a great one to resume my favorite activity. 14 trains on Saturday & 15 trains today. Foreign power consisted of 4 Union Pacifics, 1 BNSF & 1 Ferromex. Norfolk Southern heritage units seen were the Erie & the Central of Georgia. The "Honoring our Veterans" unit was also spotted. We also spotted 2 SD90MACs in transit which are being converted to SD70ACUs. The 2 we spotted have new cabs in primer, & I suspect they were at Conway Yard for new electronics. Don't have any idea if all the other work has been completed.
It was interesting listening to the scanner this weekend too. CSX tracks are on the other side of the Ohio River, & they had problems. Saturday they had a couple of broken rails. The one train went into an emergency stop & ended up sitting on a rail with a 3 to 5 inch gap. Today a train broke apart between a mother & a slug, with a coupling being wedged under a truck of a trailing locomotive. Felt sorry for the dispatcher in Baltimore, but he seemed to have a handle on everything. So an active & interesting weekend. Dinner tonight was a London Broil, whole kernel corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, chocolate pudding & a bottle og Reisling from a Finger Lakes winery. Now I'm ready to face the coming week with it's long list of chores. Stay safe & have a great day...
It was interesting listening to the scanner this weekend too. CSX tracks are on the other side of the Ohio River, & they had problems. Saturday they had a couple of broken rails. The one train went into an emergency stop & ended up sitting on a rail with a 3 to 5 inch gap. Today a train broke apart between a mother & a slug, with a coupling being wedged under a truck of a trailing locomotive. Felt sorry for the dispatcher in Baltimore, but he seemed to have a handle on everything. So an active & interesting weekend.
Dinner tonight was a London Broil, whole kernel corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, chocolate pudding & a bottle og Reisling from a Finger Lakes winery. Now I'm ready to face the coming week with it's long list of chores.
Stay safe & have a great day...
Good Evening Diners!
Flo, I'd like a good ol' cheeseburger and some of your famous, crispy fries. Thank you.
herrinchokerInteresting to see how society has come full circle in more than one respect. What many think is new---isn't.
I've been preaching that for years, Herrinchoker! The more history I study the more I become aware that the cycle remains unbrokken, both in technology and human behavior.
These cold January days have me retreating to the layout/RR workshop pretty frequently and I like it! The hustle-bustle of the Holiday is behind us so it's time to hunker-down and "hibernate".
CN Charlie, I've been enjoying birding for ten or twelve years now. Very enjoyable pastime. Around here we have many woodpeckers, including the big, noisy Pileateds and finches, orioles, blue birds, lots of cardinals and many others.
Do you feed the hummingbirds in the summer? They are fun to watch, too.
CNCharlie If you like steam in Ontario, especially CN, they are a must read.
Somebody say Steam in Ontario? Heres a film my dad shot on a CN fan trip. I'm in there at the ripe-old age of six!
Ken, did you look at the second QSI decoder I sent you for the E7/E8? I just wondered if IT matches the one that is giving you fits?
Well, that's all the time I have for now. I see my nice, juicy burger is up!
I hope everyone is doing well and offer my prayers for those in need...
Regards, Ed
Flo, I'll have a hot cup of joe and a jelly fill for starters. I tried to get some landscaping done on the HVBL this morning. It was just too dang cold down there. My scrap train derailed and that was the end of that session. Dispatch called and the town folk are out of heating oil. Gonna send out the tank train in the morning to get the heaters working again. I'm ready for spring already..........jeez
Rich
cudaken Rich Have any phots you care to show? When my 68 Road Runner was stock the only 396 I would look out for was the 396 375 HP motor. I listen for the soild tappet cam ticking. Now 427's and 454's, was not till I up grade the Road Runner that I would mess with them.
Rich Have any phots you care to show? When my 68 Road Runner was stock the only 396 I would look out for was the 396 375 HP motor. I listen for the soild tappet cam ticking. Now 427's and 454's, was not till I up grade the Road Runner that I would mess with them.
Ken, this is from summer of 2015, going for that early 70's look........
Motor shot......Yeah, it has the solid lifter cam, the 11.5 to 1 compression and the big square port heads. Best time she ever did was back in 2004. She went 12.50's @ 117.9 on a drag radial.
Cold at the beach, too. Currently 34 at 4 pm and will drop to about 20 tonight. Something warming is thus suggested: I'll have some Wild Turkey American Honey with just a couple ice cubes, please.
Lion - I guess I could send you a picture of a puddle with some ice around the edges, but it wouldn't be as impressive. Are the wildebeests making fun of you?
Garry - Late last summer I had that joy of stepping out into the garage and finding water running out of the water heater. I thought "Oh, that's $800". The newer ones have better and better insulation though, so there was an upside. After Hurricane Matthew knocked out our power on a Saturday, we still had warm water for showers on Sunday afternoon.
herrinchoker - My Dad used to enjoy telling the story when as a young man he would drive Grandma's 1903 curved-dash Oldsmobile to the service station in Freeport, Illinois and ask the attendant to check the oil. Puzzled looks would result, and then he would reveal that the motor was under the seat. I was told that it went to a musuem around Detroit, but I don't think the location was written down for us. I have a 1903 Olds on my layout in HO in honor of that. My first car was a 1953 Plymouth Cambridge 2-door in battleship grey which was known in my high school as "The Hemi", but had a flathead 6, 3-speed on the column.
CN Charley - Although not listed as a side effect from our surgery, I have had several instances of passing out and have found that I need to be really conscious of hydration. Keep drinking extra water.
Bill
Nice truck, bro!
Heading for the hay in a few moments, I am not feeling well. Nothing physical, though, just a bad case of winter blues and a helping of despair.