RideOnRoadMrs. ROR and I are about three years from retirement and starting to explore our options. Here is question for the group--where should we retire and why? A couple of requirements--affordable housing and not bitter cold in the winter (snow is okay, just no sub-zero temperatures).
The wife thought we were going to sell and move like a week after I retired. I started looking at real estate costs and taxes, figuring that getting out of Massachusetts would save a lot, but it really doesn't. Housing costs anywhere she would find acceptable are no less than here. Maine taxes are just as high, and New Hampshire get you in real estate taxes because they've got no sales or income taxes.
Net result - we have stayed right where we are. She began to think about leaving all her friends and activities, and the subject hasn't been mentioned since. Add to that the high cost of selling, buying and moving and it doesn't make sense until you're ready to really downsize.
I like where I am for bicycling. Most places aren't well set up for it. I don't want to have to put my bike in a car and drive for an hour just to get somewhere nice to ride.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Afternoon guys,
So I couldn't wait. Just in case the N Scale Architect New York Central East Tower kit might be out of stock.
I would need a switch tower to model the NYC and Conrail. Somewhere around the Hudson Division or New York.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Good afternoon gents, Flo, gimmee a sausage, egg, and cheese on a bagel with a jelly fill chaser, and a large cup of hi-octane, please and thank you.
I had a quick one hour operating session to run some locos that don't get a lot of action earlier today and what a mess that turned out to be. Stuttering, stalling out, humming noises, nothing made it around the loop. Even some of my better runners were having strange issues with stalling and humming sounds. I am thinking that my first generation prodigy might be getting ready to give up the ghost. Headed over tomorrow with some high tech electrical tools (meter) and see what gives. I haven't heard from dispatch in a few hours so I think they have the mains under control. Has anyone had any luck with old blue box locos being upgraded to dcc? These seem to be my biggest problem runners................
Rich
SS Express - I have 2, about to become 3, BB locos I upgraded to DCC, no issues. (Other than my own mistake on wiring in one, but I caught it before it even hit the rails... So no harm, no foul, just taught me to pay more attention!)
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.
MisterBeasley. . .it doesn't make sense until you're ready to really downsize. . .
Downsizing is big part of the equation. Also looking at places where the cost per square foot is less. As for moving expenses, we will probably leave most everything behind (except, of course, the piano) and get new stuff. Our stuff is getting old and not worth the expense of moving. If we have to replace it anyway, why not replace it somewhere else.
Richard
MisterBeasley Net result - we have stayed right where we are. She began to think about leaving all her friends and activities, and the subject hasn't been mentioned since. Add to that the high cost of selling, buying and moving and it doesn't make sense until you're ready to really downsize. I like where I am for bicycling. Most places aren't well set up for it. I don't want to have to put my bike in a car and drive for an hour just to get somewhere nice to ride.
ROR., You know, I'm really in the same tent as Mr. B. and CN. Charlie on this.
My wife and I when we built this house in 1981, we built it with a very low entrance door in case either of us ever had to use a wheelchair. We have two long 6 Ft. closets in the front hallway and the one on the left backs on to the main Bath and is deep enough that we can place a washer and dryer there if we ever stop wanting to go down stairs for laundry.
We thought about costs too, and ended up after our discovery process that for what is required for condo costs and moving expenses and redecorating to suit us, we could afford to hire someone to come in and look after our lawns and blow snow for a very long time.
We like this area of town, our Church is only about a mile away, we like our shopping choices in this area. We have two son's and a Grandson here, one other son about 9 hours south of us in Billings and another son that isn't so handy as he is 12 hours to the Northwest of us. But all in all we feel very central to all we desire to be around even though tonight's temperature is supposed to be -40 with the wind chill.
That we don't like but for the season that weather is short lived, maybe a couple of weeks or three at the most and just gives more time for the LM&E that very patiently waits for me to give the highball sign downstairs.
If the stairs start to bother me, I believe I will put in a chair lift on the stairs.
So lots of things for you to consider and to each their own. Good luck with your planning and decsions.
CN. Charlie, Hope you are healing well and quickly. Sorry to hear of your wife's experience today. Hope all is well there. I go in for Lazer Surgery on my left eye in the morning.They are drilling (burning) a number of holes in my iris to relieve some pressure. I'm not looking forward to it, don't like things messing with my eyes, but they say it goes quickly and very successfully. Heres hoping..
My new Dog starts his Chemo treatments on the 17th and goes once a week for six weeks.
I get a new stomach tube (Pet Tube) on Jan 19th. Then more eye surgery on my right eye(lower lid) on the 30th, but I think that will be just for a look and the surgery itself will be a couple of weeks later.
Nothing like starting out the new year with a bunch of medical appointments.
Heres to you all and I'll have a Dr. Pepper. Stay warm and happy
Johnboy out for now...............till then
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
I have a number of old BB Athearn engines. They are from the 1960s, and they did not translate well to the DCC era. Yes, they are "old friends" and they did not simply get tossed.
This ancient Geep was once a rubber-band drive. I gutted the motor and belts, and replaced those with a sound-only decoder. It now runs in a consist with a new GP-9m, as pictured. Just to be ornery, I looked up the history of the GP-9m and numbered the original GP9 so that it was the same locomotive that was re-built as the GP-9m.
ROR you already are in Mesa AZ. The only cold you see comes out of the freezer when you open the door!
TX has no income tax but outrageous real estate taxes like NH. Parts of FL are very crowded. I just talked to my friend who lives in Leesburg, FL (hates that town) but says every city is different in FL and the weather is great most of the time but you don't want to go outside in summer, huh? Calif has the best weather of anywhere but more taxes, gridlock and a poliical climate - not for everyone.
My mom is still partially with it and in assisted living. My kids don't call her much and I am all she has. We have her over for dinner once a week, which is a whole lot more that when she lived 70 minutes away. If I move, the grandkids still won't call her and that is keeping me here. My two sons live 15 and 60 min away. The granddaugter lives the closest and we see her every week.
I would really love Prescott AZ but it is 2 hours from the Phoenix airport which is 5 hours from the east cost. We would see much less of the kids. Albuequeque is a more hot+cold, a more liberal political view and more crime. Sante Fe is unaffordable and colder.
Then there is healthcare. Make sure you can find it I understand Obamacare has already imploded in AZ. In some sort of political/financial intrigue, the hospital just fired my internist. He spent his entire career at that hospital, was forced to sell his practice and work for the hospital because Medicare reimbursement for most physicians is much less than a plumber, car mechanic or painter could make. They gave him the bums rush to the door with 1 week notice. Now I am finding that physicians who aren't employed by the hospital are "concierge doctors" They want $1,600 up front just to qualify as their patient.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
RideOnRoad Mrs. ROR and I are about three years from retirement and starting to explore our options. Here is question for the group--where should we retire and why? A couple of requirements--affordable housing and not bitter cold in the winter (snow is okay, just no sub-zero temperatures).
Mrs. ROR and I are about three years from retirement and starting to explore our options. Here is question for the group--where should we retire and why? A couple of requirements--affordable housing and not bitter cold in the winter (snow is okay, just no sub-zero temperatures).
ROR. .. What? Move away from AZ ? Hmmm... Actually my wife and I will be in AZ for a visit arriving there middle of next week. .. we like it there. one of our daughters is there. Summer heat would be too much however .
YGW .. yes. Bald eagles are here especially in winter.
CN Charlie. .. that was a close call for your wife at the grocery store.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
RideOnRoadThe Craftsman brand is being sold to Stanley/Black & Decker. Sears had already allowed non-Sears-owned outlets to carry the brand, most notably, Ace Hardware.
I knew there was talk about Sears selling the Craftsman name but I didn't realize it had already been done. One of the things that will contribute to Sears Canada's demise is that if Sears Roebuck goes under, Sears Canada will likely lose the right to use many of the Sears brands, Craftsman being one of them.
Assuming that current circumstances with the Sears Canada pension plan don't change, if and when Sears Canada folds, I will lose about 1/3rd of my pension. Fortunately for me I am not dependant on my Sears pension. It is peanuts to start with.
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, I could really use a cup of decaf right now... Please and thank you Ma'am!
Bald Eagle??? You mean one of these?
I got that photo several years ago out at Boy Scout Camp during Tech Camp. We had a handler bring in several large raptors for the Nature section to see up close and personal. That bird, IIRC was 47 years old and had to kept in Captivity because it could not fly. Came originally from Alaska I think.
Been a very busy day! Been tying up lots of loose ends for MLK Day coming up Monday. We start the distribution of entries of the Art and Poetry Contest tomorrow afternoon. I am also processing several requests for the second half of MLK Scholarship at the moment. Even spent a few minutes in the train room adding more plaster to the plaster cloth I just put down yesterday.
I have not ever even considered moving out of my house here in Geneva in retirement. First off it is paid for!!! Not going to take on any house payments or rent again... I have relatives in Floreeduh... So I don't want to move there! Only one I can enjoy being around would be my Sister the Rev. (Who is battling stage 4 cancer). I guess I could move in with my son in Chicago, but I wouldn't want to do that to him! Besides my other son and my Grandaughters are right here in the area along with so many old friends. I still enjoy having 4 seasons here (Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Road Construction). Can't see any reason to move away at my age...
Quote for the day: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Evening Diners
Flo, Ed will have a Crown Royal, SS Rich will have a Boston Cream and I will have a please.
Garding The Store Front. Not one person besides the Mail Person came in.
Laptop Took in my moniter to work and the old laptop work fine. I checked to see what was in it and it is a Pentium III with 539 ram, 10 gig hard drive and XP Pro! It has never been on line, no Vires protecton and starts faster and runs better than the home computer. Home computer has way more stuff on it that will make sloooow.
Inch God Speed on the recovery! It was done by the VA right? Think you and I live in the same state, was it done in St Louis?
YGW Got the other photos and comments down loaded today. Had problems with the Wireless Router keeping my none WiFi coumputer from getting on line. Wife has a tablet thing and SIW installed the router while I was at work.
Ed If you don't need it, well yes. My wife loves going on line with the tablet but cannot use the touch screen keyboard well. More than likely no clue how to. Just pack it well with Bessemer, CB&Q and B&O packing!
Train Front Y6b, CB&Q's and B&O GP 30's are running great!
Have to be at work Thursday at 9:00 AM to let the Heating guy in on my only day off. So I am out of here.
Ken
I hate Rust
Ray:
The Bald Eagle close up is beautiful! Dianne and I were in British Columbia last August on vacation and of course there were Bald Eagles everywhere you looked. We were still thrilled!
My aunt Ruth used to volunteer at the Owl bird rescue facility in Vancouver. One of her jobs was to accompany the helicopter pilots when they went up the coast to pick up injured Eagles. It was a regular occurance. On one of the return trips Ruth was holding the Eagle wrapped in a blanket on her lap (small helicopter - there wasn't any other place to put it) when the Eagle managed to get a foot loose. The first thing the Eagle's foot came in contact with was Ruth's upper leg and it proceeded to grab on as hard as it could. The talons went right into her leg! The pilot explained to her that if she passed out or the Eagle got loose in the helicopter they were both dead. She bravely sat for more than an hour with the talons in her leg before they were able to make it back to the bird sanctuary. Typical Ruth brushed it off as though nothing had happened, and she went right back to work helping to retrieve injured raptors.
Good Evening Diners,
Brunhilda, I'll have an Earl Grey tea with cream and honey, please.
Ride On: to each his own, but you could do a lot worse than live in Mesa, especially if you already have a house there. I agree with what most everyone else has said. If you're set up and established, you will spend a lot of money trying to relocate to the point that you might never recoup.
But, if you're interested, some people have relocated to Arkansas because of the milder climate and cost of living is cheaper. The ones I know of moved near the man made lakes in the northwest part of the state.
CNCharlie: Victoria is a very nice town. I also really like Vancouver, BC, but there are parts of the Vancouver metro area that are real armpits. But by and large, the area is beautiful.
Train Front: been doing some casual research on the historical track arrangements in the area i want to model someday. Stumbled on to a couple of old city plans that showed the tracks as they once were. I'm thankful to google images. The one town had UP and CRI&P. The Rock Island trackage has been torn up to make room for a relocated state highway and most of the UP trackage has been replaced by a mall back in the late 70s or early 80s. What yard tracks UP has now are to the east of town. So, I've had to try to find historical references.
The other town's trackage I remember pretty well. However, this town had UP, MP, ATSF, and CRI&P. Well, SSW(SP) had acquired the Rock Island trackage from Tucumcari to KC, so CRI&P and MP all came under the UP umbrella. And, some of the flour mills I think have shut down, hence some torn up tracks.
Oh, how I wish I could have taken Many pictures from those days.
Hello to everyone, and I hope everyone is OK, safe, and warm.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Good Morning, Folks!
It´s been a terrible night! Petra has developed issues with her gall bladder, which kept her awake all night. I went to the pharmacy in the middle of the night to get something helping her, but that had no effect. Now she´s off to see the doc about it. I am really worried. Petra has never been seriously ill. I just hope it isn´t what it could be.
Taking of moving when retiring - I guess most people feel the urge to change the place of residence whenb entering this phase of their lives. My parents moved about as far away from the family as one could possible do in this country. They moved all the way to the southernmost tip when their only grandchild lived all the way up north. Needless to say the did not get to see him much - a 10 hours drive is just too much to do either for a family with a two-year old or for an elderly couple.
I wish we could move. We don´t like the place we have to live in, we don´t like the town we have to live in and we don´t like the country we have to live in. Our son is about 2 hrs. away from us, but we don´t see him much more than three times a year. Petra´s relations live about 4 hours away, but we haven´t seen them since 2013. Family does not really ties us to the place we live, so we could move to any place, if we had the funds to do that and the means to sustain our lives. Guess we are stuck here, but as this place is really pulling us down, it´s only a question of a few years until the final move.
'Mornin Folks...
How about a corned beef hash with a sunny-side up egg on top, Flo? Gee, it's 4AM. Maybe I'll go for coffee with a dollop of Kahlua in it
When you can't soar with the eagles...
This handsome fellow was pecking away at a nearby raccoon carcass, yum!
Fortunately I had my 300mm telephoto with me.
They are graceful birds. I love wathcing them glide on the air currents.
yougottawantaWhy are you tearing up ten feet of track ?
I have a single-track portion of my railroad that pretty much follows the perimeter of the basement. I call it the Bessemer and it serves the Hulett ore dock, blast furnace, coal mine and it has a six-track yard called Quigley Yard.
This one corner always bugged me.
The M-of-W cars are on a stub siding, the track leading to the curved turnout has a bit of tight radius there and to the left, out of view is the end of a passing siding.
I decided to extend the siding around the curve and use a "straight-rail" former crossover at the end of the siding, just before a drawbridge.
I intend to make it look like there WAS a double track bridge here at one time and when it was replaced by a single track, the crossover was modified to be an ordinary end-of-siding.
See how I took the points out and basically made it like regular track. Removing the frog was too much bother so I didn't even attempt it. I'm awaiting delivery of another #8 left turnout for the far side.
Ken, Give me a few days to take my bank passwords, credit card numbers and other goodies off the hard-drive, then I'll get the FIRST package of 2017 put together for you
Did you see my post from a couple of days ago asking about you checking the speakers in that E7?
Ulrich, You and Petra are in my thoughts, daily. I wish there were something I could do. I hope the situation somehow improves quickly and Petra recuperates fully. My first wife had gall bladder problems when she was only 23!
Well, I've taken up more than my share of space here so I'll turn the floor over to the Diner's next customer...
Prayers and Hopes for a better day to all!
Regards, Ed
Good morning.
Ulrich ... Sorry to hear about Petra. I have a sister in law who had gull bladder problems, and needed surgery to remove it. That was a few years ago, and she is doing fine now. ... Prayers for bothe you and Petra.
Ed .... You are making great progress.
These photos were from our house a couple of years ago. We normally just look at the eagles without taking any pictures.
Corned beef hash for me, too. Cook it a little crispy and then cook the eggs on top so that the yoke will ease down into the hash when I fork in. Wheat toast, dry, on the side.
I enjoy paying attention to the birds and have always appreciated those who study them and can do things like identify species by just hearing the bird call. There is quite a variety here along the Atlantic coast, especially at migration times. I always like seeing the Royal Terns. With their big orange beak it is like they are smoking a big orange cigar. My old copy of Birds of North America by Robbins/Bruun/Zim is well-worn but still gets regular use.
Big weekend for our little town. Today is the start of "Mid-Winter S.O.S." here in North Myrtle Beach, which is a weekend convention of sorts for those who dance the Carolina Shag. (Yes, we do know what shag means in Great Britain.) The shag is a form of swing dance done to "beach music" and old school R&B. This is just the short winter weekend, but 4 or 5 thousand dancers will be here. The big week-long events in April and September draw 10 to 12 thousand. Mrs. Beach Bill and I will be out dancing each evening - few things make Mrs. happier than taking her dancing.
ROR - I thought that most people retired TO Mesa. I do like my access to the beach, where I can walk for as far as I like without having to pause for any streets or traffic. I do not regret retiring when I did, even though I was making good money. When we all hear of folks having serious health issues arise, the thought of doing what we want before that happens has to be a factor.
My layout photos have revealed a deficiency, and my project is to go around with scenery materials and carefully blend in tree stumps and tree trunks so that they don't look as if they are sitting atop the ground. Pictures are such cruel critics of our modeling work.
Bill
Afternoon!
Petra spend all morning at the doc´s and immediately went to bed when she came home! I am glad she caught a couple of hours of sleep. Not that she´s feeling fine now, but there are signs of improvement. Tomorrow she will have to see the vampires for some blood samples and I guess I will take here to the hospital not later than coming Monday. Her gall bladder needs to get out and while I understand this is not as big an affair as it used to be, it makes me worry. I am the one in this family who has a subscription to hospital visits, not she!
The thought of some wise surgeon cutting her up does not really comfort me!
Not many feathered friends to be watched in my neck of the woods, as the number of species seems to have dropped sharply over recent years. Not a good sign!
Evening all
VERY BUSY day at w**k. Only a few minutes. Wanted to stop in and at least say hello and hope your day is ging well.
Ulrich have said a prayer for both you and Petra. My wife had that operation. These are pretty routine these days BUT it is never routine if you are the one getting it done !
Histroy qoute for the day:
Trial by jury in civil causes,... trial by jury in criminal causes, [and] the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus... all stand on the same footing; they are the common rights of Americans.
It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail.
Nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his cruel ministry we will not tamely submit - appealing to Heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free . . . .
Afternoon folks.
Chloe I could use a nice hot cup of hot chocolate, please.
Currently way too warm for the 12th. of January here in the Finger Lakes region.... It is 53°F outside with intermitant sprinkly, drippy, rain today. Now we do talk about the "January Thaw" in these parts, but that usually consists of several days in the mid to higf 30's. Tomorrow will be back to our usual 20's around these parts.
Ulrich, know that Petra (and you) will be in my prayers for her recovery. My wife had her Gall Bladder removed when she was about 30. Yes, today the proceedure is much easier than it was back then. She had a scar from under one breast all the way to her other hip.......
Here in the Finger Lakes, particularly over in Montezuma Refuge (At the North end of Cayuga Lake) we have several varieties of Raptors.
This one was found sitting on a maple tree by my church. I drove home and grabbed my camera and got back while the bird was still stting in the tree. We thought at first it was a juvenile Bald Eagle, but a scienist at the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station who is a bit of an expert, ID'd it as a juvenile Osprey. Not quite as big as the Bald Eagle but just as powerful. I know of a guy working on the high voltage lines that go trough the refuge that was almost to the top of the tower where a nest was. The Osprey Mama took off from the nest, circled around and tore the living daylights out of the guy. They managed to get him down and to the hospital to be sewn back up. He sent several days in the hospital from it. Very powerful animals! I watched a small red tailed hawk take out as rabbit while driving on the NYS Thruway a couple years ago. The hawk hit it so hard the rabbit was killed instantly. Never moved! We find the hawks sitting on telephone poles watching the area for any movement often. Beautiful Birds!
Gotta get ready to go and pick up Art and Poetry from one of the schools in twon. Catch you all later!
Howdy, Y'all!
Mr. ROR, {AND Mrs. ROR}:
I have an inherited duplex in FL, but we {assuming we stay together, and "ME ALONE" if we don't}, But we {I} don't like Florida. My grandmother built it for my moher and other htan nostalgia and some rent receipts, it has little value to me personally. SO: we {I} have been loolking at Valdosta, GA. It's a nice area, mid sized city, near the FL border, in SOuth Georgia. Housing costs well lets say you can get a very nice house for what we paid for this one last last year: $68K. That's RIHGT, $68K will buy you a very nice 2 or 3 br house there, and the overall COL there is similar to ours here in Binghamton NY. Valdosta has A University and a Military base nearby, so has many amenities to feed those who study/work/recreate there. It is WELL WORTH looking into.
BY the time we are retiring though, everything will probably have changed as others will have discovered this haven, and we won't be able to go, lol. But we are planning on investing in a house now {soon} to lease out until ready to retire there once our {my} father{s} are gone, one is 82 and healthy, one is 89 and failing health.
The weather is southern GA, and is often bypassed by the hurricanes with just some heavy rain. It is south of Atlanta and SAvannah, where winter ICE STORMS may form, and so Valdosta doesn't get them!
It is about 15 miles N of FL border, halfway across GA, nad about a 2 hour drive W to the GA beaches, or of course SOuth to FL.
It DOES have a Home De-Pot,, Lowes, Wally WOrld, etc and a MALL of its own for shopping pleasures. SO you can get your train layout building supplies there! H0omes DON'T have basements, so a garage would be handy for you, many come wiht carports that could be enclosed.
SO, i have done a LOT OF computer searching, and google-earthing to check it out.
PM me if you wnat some links to Valdosta GA.
Have a greatr night everybody,
after a few cold days-bitter cold-we are havin' a heat wave as it is near 50!!! But sigh, if this was MARCH, I'd be hoping for spring, but alas, we still have february to get through. I am afraid more bittercold is coming on.
-G
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
ULRICH:
Unlessd they are BACKWARDS in Germany, they will do it laproscopically....mine consisted of 3 small incisions: one 1/2", one 1" and a third was jsut a slit in my belly button, to get mine out. Nothign to it, so you needn't worry about them cutting her wide open!
Bes tof luck to her, kiss her once for me!
Flo, Ed will have a Crown Royal, SS Rich a Boston Cream and I will have a .
Day Off At Work Front. Man I am beat, got use to not being at work till 11:00 AM. I was there on my day off at 8:45 AM and it felt like 6:00 AM to me! Heating Air guys did not show up to 9:20, figuers! Extra 20 minutes would have been welcomed to. Bottom line all 4 heating units work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will be the warmest the store had been in the 3.5 years I have worked there!
Did not get out of the store till 11:45 AM and ran till I think 4:00 PM.
Ulich and Petra Hope all goes well health wise.
Galaxy good to see you checking in. My wife would love to live in Fld, my self I like the change in seasons, ones that do not have me cutting grass that is!
YGW I went to upload your photos to the bucket and had problems like other folk have posted! First time I can remember it wanted to log in? Not sure if I remember my password and user name any longer?
Weather is all screwed up here in IL. Yesterday it hit 65? It is now 29 and weather guessers say freezing rain up to 3/4 inch thick. Wife is freaking out! We had a bad ice storm around 2007 and lost power for 2 days. My self, well not worried till I see it.
Coal Car Count. Seems I have 115 coal cars? That may even be more than the Y6b can drag!
Ed Looking forward to the 2017 box and the Note Book!
Later, caboose draging Ken
Started a train project! I've been building a long covered staging area for a long time. I'm going to cover the one visible vertical side with Bragdon foam rock faces, and that's what I started today. It's a project, as anyone who's ever done Bragdon foam castings knows, but it gives great results.
Hello gents!! Ken, thanks for the BC....just what the doctor ordered!!
A little follow up concerning my DCC issues from yesterday. I tested the track today and it all looked good. Couldn't find any problem areas so I went back to my troublesome S-2's and they still were stalling and stuttering around like they were drunk. I decided to do the unthinkable and rip one down and see what the deal is. I de-soldered the decoder, removed the trucks, removed the motor, looked at the gears, cleaned and re-lubed the driveshafts and truck gears, didn't really find anything telling that would lead me to a "got ya" moment. So, I re-assembled the atlas S-2 and placed her on the branchline and we were off to the races. I guess I will just do the same to the second S-2 over the weekend. Maybe that one will tell me something else. I like these atlas S-2's. They have been work horses on the HVBL. We're expecting a busy weekend with inbound deliveries so I hope to do a "little" railfanning in the basement. I see the CN is sending one of it's SD40's to our repair facility for some PM work. Cha-ching!!! I should be able sneek in there and grab a few pics. Enjoy the evening fellas.................
CNCharlieI just had a call from my wife. She was at the grocery store at the check-out when the roof started to collapse.
Wow! That was a close call!!
Several years ago the roof of the Sears Canada store in St. Johns, NFLD collapsed. They barely had time to get people out. A good friend of ours was the last person out the door and as he was going through the doorway the air pressure from the falling roof threw him about 20'. Fortunately neither he nor anyone else was hurt. There was a lot of snow on the roof but that wasn't the cause. What the investigators discovered is that the builder had cheated. There were fewer roof support beams than the plan had called for, and those that were there had not been welded into place properly. Apparently someone had the building inspectors in their back pocket. We hear about sub-standard construction in the less developed countries but it is somewhat chilling to have it happen here.
Ulrich:
Please pass on my best wishes to Petra. May she have a speedy recovery!
Good Afternoon!
I woke up this morning to find the world around us covered by 4" of snow. I had to take Petra to the doc´s for having blood samples taken, so I had to dig out the car, de-ice the window and warm it up before we actuayll set off. Took 25 minutes for the 2km!
As Petra still feels weak, I did the laundry today. After the firts bload was done, the washer died on me. It is of no use to have it fixed after 15 years of service, so I have to buy a new one. The money will have to come from the piggy bank labeled "The Great Escape" and means a major setback in my thrive to raise the funds for a move to a safe place in the world. I am not getting a upmarket washer, just a basic one, but still it´ll be about $350. Adding to that the co-pay for Petra´s upcoming hospital stay and the piggy bank is empty
Life sucks these days at this end!