FRRYKidHow do you like using the Bragdon Molds and their resin? It was suggested that I get a few for a spot on my layout but as of yet I haven't as the cost was seeming to be a bit pricey to me, but any opinion would be welcomed.
It's quite a process. I suppose it would get easier if I did this a lot, but I don't. However, the results are excellent, far better than I get with Hydrocal rock castings. The foam really picks up the details better, and it takes paint very well. This is from my last castings a number of years ago.
The materials are more costly than plaster. For the 8 castings I did, the foam components probably came to about $30. You can get larger bottles and save some money. The shelf life in the bottle is a couple of years, but I had to discard the leftover casting resin because it eventually solidified in the jar.
I chose this method for "signature" scenes at the front of my layout.
BigDaddyMr B are those foam castings flexible or stiff?
The finished casting are stiff and very lightweight. However, you can used a hair dryer to warm them up and they become more flexible again, stiffening up as they cool.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Morning diners,
Ulrich- I'm glad your wife has recovered. Still praying for her.
Ed- I love that campaign. Old campaigns can be very funny.
I'm still surprised we're talking about speed limits. I only drove four times overall. Three times when I was 17, and once in December. But I drove around the speed limit. I know nothing exciting.
I went to the store yesterday to get All in the Family season 1. Although my mom suggested to also get 1952 Superman tv show. If I didn't like it I'll won't buy anyone for $10. I'll try to watch it sometime this week.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Steven OtteAnother way I look at it is, if there's someone in front of me, he's the one the cop is going to get.
Ah, yes! The way to avoid a ticket is to let somebody else get one first! In my youth I had occassion to travel on Hwy. 401 between Oshawa and Trenton many times each summer (I was an Officer at the Air cadet Camp at CFB Trenton for several summers while I was in University). I loved it when another driver would pass me in my MGB to show me how fast he could go. I gave them about half a mile and then sped up to whatever speed they were doing. Several times I got to pass them while they were on the shoulder speaking to the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police).
I have to admit that I was pretty lucky some times. One day when I was on my way home to Oshawa from Trent University in Peterborough I was blasting along Hwy 115 when I looked up to my right to see the smiling face of the OPP Air Patrol Officer staring directly at me from the cockpit of his plane! I guess there were no cruisers available to pull me over because all he did was wave his finger at me. Yes, he was pretty low over the highway! In fact, he was far lower than they usually flew. Scared the poop out of me!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Mornin' everyone....
hon30critterDear Brother Elias. Are we speaking of the process of natural selection here? If so, unfortunately those who have selected themselves for the process sometimes take some of us more intelligent folk with them too. Sad.
Exactly right! I have only had 3 accidents in 54 years of driving (hope to keep it that way!) and all three were where some idiot hit my car. One of them I wasn't even in the car at the time. It was parked at the post office in Waverly, NY when I was teaching there. I was in the PO buying stamps, my wife and kids were in the car. Some idiot who should have had his driver's lisence pulled about 4 accidents before that backed his big truck out of the driveway of a auto repair place where he had just picked it up from the repair from his last stupid accident, backed right across the street into the door of my brand new VW Bug.... My insurance company tried to blame me for the accident...... I simply changed companies after explaining to a local agent exactly what happened. He had the accident removed from my record. (He knew the idiot who hit me and knew me as a local teacher....)
Another beautiful day in the Finger Lakes if you can call 39°F under dark thick cloudy skies beautiful...... I have to leave in a few minutes for a dermatologist appt. in Canandaigua. My car emailed me a diagnostic report yesterday.... Nothing wrong with it! Better not be anything wrong with it at 2 months of age..... says I drove 424 miles in the last month. 416 of them was on electric. Right now I am getting 158 miles per gallon on the gas in the tank (of course that doesn't include the electrons that come from my roof.
Hope everyone who has been ill is recovering well (Glad to hear Petra is home) and everyone else stays in good health!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
BroadwayLionThata behavior is self-limiting.
Dear Brother Elias. Are we speaking of the process of natural selection here? If so, unfortunately those who have selected themselves for the process sometimes take some of us more intelligent folk with them too. Sad.
How is your leg doing? Good I hope!
All the best!
hon30critterOf course, there will always be the idiots who choose to behave otherwise,
Thata behavior is self-limiting.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Steven OtteThing is, that would be true no matter what the speed limits were. When the national limit was 55 mph, everyone on the highways drove at 65. When they raised it, everyone drove 10 mph over THAT limit. People will always speed by a certain percentage. The traffic engineers who decide on speed limits know that, and the cops do, too.
Well, there have been studies that suggest that if you eliminate the speed limits altogether then most people will drive at a speed that is reasonably safe for the road conditions. Sorry, I can't quote them, and I'm not sure if they included the German Autobahns. Of course, there will always be the idiots who choose to behave otherwise, but the truth is that most of us are smarter than the highway rules would suggest.
Ulrich:
You can beat me on the number of speeding tickets we have had all that you want!
I am very glad to hear that Petra is improving, but having to delay the surgery is obviously a PITA. I'm sure she is receiving the best of care at your hands.
When I was down with my back problems in 2008-2009 my wife Dianne was a saint! I married a truly good person (even if she does complain about the cleaning service not getting into our bedroom when I choose to sleep in!)
Like I said, hang in there! Brighter days ahead!
Good Morning!
Petra is back home with me! Still very weak, but definitively on the road to recovery. The antibiotics have kicked in and the fever as well as the infection are on the retreat. The surgery, though, will have to wait some time.
I am very much relieved and happy to have her with me again!
hon30critterI've only had three speeding tickets in 46 years
I beat you there with 4 in 43 years - all of them for being a tad above the tolerance, no serioous speeding. Not that I have have always stuck to the speed limit, I guess I was just lucky not being caught more often
Just a quick HI before I turn in.
I started a thread about the end of the Ringling Brothers circus train but I guess I put it in the wrong Forum, Prototype Information. A nearly similar thread is in this Forum and it has almost 1300 views. I thought the General Discussion forum, as stated in the description—
Advice, tips, questions and general information on the hobby of model railroading.
is for discussion of modeling (with the exception of the Diner, of course)?
I wonder why the moderator hasn't combined the threads?
OK, I'll get my nose back between the rails...
yougottawantaGM - What is that caboose ? Does it have headlights ? I havent seen one with a fender !
YGW, Those cars were some of the last built by International Car Co. of Kenton, Ohio in 1972 for the Central Vermont. Yes, they had "track lights" which could be used as headlights for a back-up move. I think by "fenders" you are talking about the shields on the end railings? Those keep a lot of the mud and rusty rain water off the end platform and windows that gets slung up from the adjoining car. Also keeps ballast and junk from hitting crew members who may be on the platform as well.
cudakenOK, I was right about the F7's derailing problem, it was the cab for the crew. Pull the cab out of the engine, threw on the shell and the F7a tracked great again!
Ken, I'm thinking the improperly seated cab interior interfered with the gear tower coming up from the trucks? Not so much the steps. I could be wrong...
From a 1925 Pullman Safety campaign...
Take care, everybody.
Ed
FRRYKidTo further clarify, the 65 is intended for big rigs (semis).
In Ontario we have a speed limit of 105 kph for big rigs on the major highways. What drives me nuts is when one truck is trying to overtake another truck on a four lane (two in each direction) highway. The governers prevent the overtaking truck from doing more than 105 kph. If the truck being overtaken is doing 104 kph the passing process takes forever. We have taken to scheduling our longer trips on Hwy 401 in Southern Ontario to the weekends when the truck traffic is greatly reduced.
Oh, by the way, if you are on Hwy. 401 in Southern Ontario i.e. west of Kitchener, don't even think about doing 130 kph. You will barely get away with 115 kph. That sounds like I am bitching but in reality the stretch of Hwy. 401 between Windsor and Kitchener is notorious for drivers falling asleep at high speeds and killing themselves. Apparently when there are long delays at the Windsor border crossing people underestimate their stamina when then think how far they can drive before they need a rest. It doesn't help that there are no flat shoulders on the median either. If you put your left wheel in the gravel you are likely to end up in the median ditch. That is if you don't cross over the median entirely and end up in the oncoming traffic in the west bound lanes.
There! I've done all my ranting for the evening and I don't think I have managed to upset the moderators (for a change)! I feel great. Thanks for listening!!
yougottawantahon30 critter - Do you all drive 60 on the snow and ice ?
I'm assuming that by '60' you mean miles per hour. The answer depends:
On glare ice - no. When we have severe ice storms the police recommend that we all stay home. Those that do have to venture out drive pretty slow.
If we have deep snow, same thing - those who are on the roads drive pretty slow.
However, most of the time our roads are well plowed and sanded, and it is perfectly feasible to drive close to 60 mph (but not much faster mind you) under those conditions.
Of course there are always those people who assume that the laws of physics don't apply to them. I'm sure that every jurisdiction in the world suffers from their arrogance. Tonight we are experiencing freezing rain and unfortunately I had to go to the pharmacy to get some bandages for a bleeding toe (don't ask!). I was doing about 30 kph in a 50 zone and of course there was some idiot right up my butt trying to force me to go faster. My ABS light was flashing every time I touched the brake pedal, which I did frequently while trying to get him (her) to back off.
Me personally, I have never ended up in the ditch nor have I had an accident in 46 years of driving in Canadian winter weather. I've only had three speeding tickets in 46 years, and two of those turned out to be the result of a cracked speedometer drive gear in my '76 Chevy Caprice that was slipping on its shaft.
Regards,
yougottawanta FRRYKid - That sound like a wreck waiting to happen cars doing 80 and trucks at 65 !
FRRYKid - That sound like a wreck waiting to happen cars doing 80 and trucks at 65 !
To further clarify, the 65 is intended for big rigs (semis).
Good evening all.
Zoe - A hot chocolate please. Thanks.
Oh, and please make sure YGW gets a slice of apple pie tomorrow... Thanks.
Ulrich - Hoping that Petra makes a speedy, and complete, recovery!
Weather - It is January, right? Had a thunderstorm today, and tied the alltime high temperatutre for the day, @58F! Tonight, it is very foggy, and I mean very foggy! The "so thick you could cut it with a knife" style foggy. Cooler tomorrow, with our current temp also our forecasted high, but still not normal cold. We are still actually above freezing, sitting at 40F right now... Our (so far) low temp (38, this morning) is higher than our normal high temp (30).... Whoa! Normal low temp is 19, and our forcastrd low tonight is 33, with a range of 27-40 tomorrow and tomorrow night. (40 daytime, 27 tomorrow night....) More flooding issues because of the thunderstorm today, though not as bad as last week.
W**k - Huh? What's that? I'm not supposed to nap while at w**k? Well, had nothing else to do today... Unloaded our truck first thing this morning, then did..... Nothing. We sold one item, first thing this morning, so our sales for the day were way lower than normal, at a whopping 105.xx.... Normal is 1200.xx or so... Did have one really grumpy customer, who didn't buy anything, and was "this close" to being told to leave. She threw a hissy fit over my conversing with the customer in front of her, instead of stopping what I was doing to take care of her immediately, and stated "you are about to lose a sale over this." Trouble is, the other customer was there first, and was asking questions about a item. (So I was doing my job, even though the other customer was not buying tonight.) I did inform the grouch "I'm sorry, but this customer was here first. You can wait patiently for your turn. If that's a problem, then you are free to shop elsewhere, your choice. Otherwise, I will be with you as soon as I am finished with them."
We did not have what she wanted anyways.... So no lost sale for making her wait anyways.....
Some people....
Speed limit discussion - Tom, I find the same as you, most PSP (Pennsylvania State Police) in my area go above the limit, (sometimes a lot), if only to see if you will keep up with them, so they have a reason to pull you over.... Had one a couple of weeks ago riding my rear bumper on a two lane road, (no lights or siren, so no reason to move over to let him by), for about 5 miles, then pull alongside me and pass, in a no passing zone, on a hill no less! If I could have pulled him over and done a citizens arrest for crackerjack driving, I would have! As far as whom they pull over on the highway, lead car, middle car, or tail car, it seems that there is no standard, it seems that whichever one the pick tosday gets the ticket. Most don't bother you unless you are 10+ over speed limit on the highways though. (Or driving aggressively.) City and local roads on the other hand.... 3-5MPH above, no more...
Hope all are well, and all have a good night!
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.
Great Evening Diners!
Flo, Ed gets all he wants of Crown Royal, SS Rich will have a Boston Cream, I will have a and I will pick up the Dinner Bar Tap!
Reason it is a Great Evening? The Might B&O F7's are dragging Coal!!!!!!!!
Work Front Kind of a lack luster day but not bad with $1519.00 in sales. I sold another $5,000.00 in close outs (running total) and summeted it today. Should be a extra $100.00 in next week check.
Ulrich Great to hear Petra is getting better!
YGW Far as living throught the slow days, I mainly read. In the last 3 years I have read 139 books. Two books where 1000 pages, so that slowed me down a lot. Lee Childs books take about 2 days. Easy reading. By the way YGW I have finally got logged back into photobucket. I will try to post some updates on the Train Barn in a few days.
Mighty & Strange B&O F7's. OK, I was right about the F7a's derailing problem, it was the cab for the crew. Pull the cab out of the engine, threw on the shell and the F7a tracked great again! While there was still no sound, I was happy just to see it drag Coal Cars.
Strange Part? I added the B unit, it had all so lost it sound. But I wanted a tad more pulling power so I added the B to the A unit. Ran both engines for 30 minutes or so. Guess what happned? Yeb, the sound started working in the B unit for some reason?
Could still be bad speakers. Voice coil could be burnt and just by chance the wires are touching now and the sound is working?
Ed I will check the PM's. Linda is not sending Sue any packages so we should be good.
Later Ken
I hate Rust
Ulrich, we are all hoping that Petra has a speedy recovery. Compared to the EU we have cheap gas but considerate would hardly ever be a description of US drivers.
Mr B are those foam castings flexible or stiff?
My DCC installation skills are graded F. The board is shorting out in my Atlas RS3 and I can't figure out why. The engine isn't supposed to be grounded to the frame, nor could I detect any continuity between the engine and the wheels but it trips the circuit breaker on a straight piece of track. Factory installed DCC engines run fine on the same track.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Good Evening,
Certainly has been slow in the Diner lately.
Ulrich, sorry to hear about your wife but glad to hear she is improving. Abdominal infections can be scary. My wife had one some years ago but after some very heavy duty anti-biotics she recovered just fine.
I continue to improve but find that I have ocasional discomfort that appears to be the muscle near the incision. I think I'll phone the docs office tomorrow. It is now 2 weeks since I was last outside and I'm getting cabin fever.
We are getting a heat wave starting tomorrow. It will go up to 32F!!!! Wow, sure wish I could get outside, perhaps pull up a lawnchair and just bask in the sun.
I might start a kit tomorrow or at least look at it. It is a Red Caboose reefer kit. I like their kits and buy them at the local train show when I can. For $4 how can you go wrong. Sure will be glad when I can go downstairs and run trains but that won't be for another month or so.
I agree with Dave, Ontario speed limits are crazy. I used to drive a lot in rural southern Ontario on business and never could understand an 80k limit. Here it is 100k but I usually go around 110. That is on a 2 lane road as I rarely drive on divided highways. When passing I do like to 'boot' it which means getting up to 140k. While it isn't a real rocket off the line my car really accelerates fast at highway speeds. It will drop down a gear with just a small push on the gas and it is gone. Great sound too. It has an inline 6.
Well think I'll go back to TV.
Have a good night,
CN Charlie
Evenin' folks!
Janie, just a refill for the decaf, please.
Been crazy busy with all the MLK stuff yesterday. Been doing banking, emailing schools to check on the correct spelling of Art and Poetry winners names (don't want to publish something with a kid's name spelled wrong....) today. Doing a couple loads of wash as well.
One of the high points of the celebration is getting to see many of my all time favorite students. Several sang in the MLK Choir and 3 of them were solists on songs! One of them is a gent we never thought would amount to much... He was a bit of a problem child in Middle School. Very low self esteem, but he not only graduated from HS, he won an MLK Scholarship, and now has his Master's Degree + and has been an executive with a major communications Company in the New York city area for a good many years. He was in my choruses back in Middle School and had an excellent voice. I walked by him yesterday, he turned around, and gave me a bear hug! Got several of those from many folks there during the day....... Guess I must have done something right... That guy drives all the way from NYC to be here for the MLK activities twice a year.
Very successful day and had huge attendance.
On the Speed Limit discussion.... Seems like every time auto manufacturers make better safety thingie stuff built into cars, we find a way to totally negate any benefit of it! LOL First off, I guess we just should waste as much fuel as possible by driving very fast: https://www.wired.com/2011/04/what-will-an-85-mph-speed-limit-do-to-your-mileage/ Second, have you really considered how much farther it takes to stop a vehicle as you drive faster? http://www.driveandstayalive.com/stopping-distances/ Now remember today nobody seems to able to drive wigthout holding a smatie pants phone in one hand, and I think the best thing is to just stay the heck off the roads...... Several times, driving the NYS Thruway every year, I see those people who fly by me at 90+ mph off into the ditch a few miles up the road and a freshly killed deer laying along the side of the road. (Darn Deer why do they let them on the highway....!) I do enjoy the ones who are sitting on the side of the road with their drivers side window down chatting with a NYS Trooper. Every once in a while Karma happens!
Oh, YGW, Bill has been a member here for many years. he just doesn't talk a lot. Good listener though....
Ulrich, keeping Petra (and you) in my prayers!
Have a good one!
Good Afternoon Diners,
Flo, I'll have an extra large coffee with lots of cream, please.
Ulrich: I hope Petra recovers and becomes well quickly.
Big Daddy mentioned about a Sherlock Homes movie. I'm not necessarily enthralled with the newer one, but I highly recommend the old Basil Rathbone -Nigel Bruce versions. They're just plain fun.
When driving on a long trip, 75-80 seems to make sense with amount of time on the road with rate of fuel consumption, etc.
Hello to everyone, and I hope everyone is OK, safe, and warm.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Hey all
Train front - Getting closer. The back fill inspection passed today. Tomorrow we back fill and start the slabs.
Speaking of speeds. Yesterday on the way home I saw the craziest accident. There was a truck parked on the shoulder. To his left was a concrete barrier about 14 feet tall. Between him and the barrier was a car ! The car was sideways, wheels against the barrier, the top of the cart against the truck and all smashed in. From the looks of things I don think the car driver made it.
Ulrich - Hang in there. I know how scary that is. Reach out if you need a friend.
Steve - Not alway ! Once I was following a guy up the highway. We came up on a slower car. He broke right, I went left. The slower car was a an unmarked police car ! I asked the officer how in the world did he know my speed since I was second and he was moving. They have radar in the rear windows now that can detect the speed while he is moving !It was just my day.
Bill - Why dont you say more than good morning ? How about telling us about your day or your RR...
GM - What is that caboose ? Does it have headlights ? I havent seen one with a fender !
hon30 critter - Do you all drive 60 on the snow and ice ?
Johnboy - What does shiny side up mean ? What are they refering to ?
Henry - Why was Sherlock home wierd ?
Ken - Okay. I sent some wall picts. How do you keep from going crazy on long slow days ?
Angel - From past episodes and smashing fingures and toes you are probably going to loose that nail - Ouch that sounds like it hurt ! Can you find a NYC GP40 on ebay ?
V8 - Its like that around here if you go down highway 95. People think that is the MPH and not the number for the road !
SS Express - When you rebuild the S-2 what all do you rebuild ? Do you replace gears ? Electric motors ? Wheels ...?
Flo - Did Ricky W eat all of the apple pie ? Yes !!! Hmmmm any cherry pie ? Yea ! Just give me the whole thing any vanilla ice cream ?
Garry - Have a safe trip.
History qoute of the day:
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.
Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.
Try and fail,but don't fail to try.
Afternoon Diners,
Hey thanks for the lunch buffet Steven, I'm hungry.
Ulrich- I'm sorry about your wife Petra. I wish for a speedy recovery.
MisterBeasley I took the second batch of rock face castings made with Bragdon Foam resin out of the molds last night. I did 2 batches using each of the 4 high-detail molds I've got. The largest one is 12x9 inches. The big ones are Bragdon molds, and the small ones come from Gold Medal models. These are very, very light, but pretty strong. The next step is building some support for the wall and then cutting and fitting the castings.
I took the second batch of rock face castings made with Bragdon Foam resin out of the molds last night.
I did 2 batches using each of the 4 high-detail molds I've got. The largest one is 12x9 inches. The big ones are Bragdon molds, and the small ones come from Gold Medal models. These are very, very light, but pretty strong. The next step is building some support for the wall and then cutting and fitting the castings.
How do you like using the Bragdon Molds and their resin? It was suggested that I get a few for a spot on my layout but as of yet I haven't as the cost was seeming to be a bit pricey to me, but any opinion would be welcomed.
BroadwayLion In North Dakota the patrol runs well below the speed limit. You are SUPPOSED to pass them, that way they get to see different drivers while they are on patrol. ROAR BTW: $500 fine for hitting the back of a snow plow. ROAR
In North Dakota the patrol runs well below the speed limit. You are SUPPOSED to pass them, that way they get to see different drivers while they are on patrol.
BTW: $500 fine for hitting the back of a snow plow.
That's different. Here in Pennsylvania I have never ever seen a State Trooper driving at or below the speed limit. It seems as though it is usually 10 or 15 mph over the limit.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
I am just home from visiting Petra in the hospital. She is still weak, but on the road to improvement.
Never talk to a German about speed limits. While there are strict limits inside and outside of cities, there is not a general speed limit on our motorways or "Autobahns". That´s the theory, but in reality, over 75% of the Autobahn mileage has a speed limit posted, which is at 130kph or even lower. Traffic conditions even slow you down further. In some remote regions, you have the chance to floor the accelerator and go as fast as you dare to. In my younger days this would mean up to 250kph and even above, when I still had my Porsche 911. Now I am fine doing not more than 120 to 130kph, which is a comfortable speed, given the flea size of the car I drive.
Politicians (especially those with a "green" attitude) have attempted to establish a general speed limit for years, but without a result. The price of gas is the best decelerator - people drive a lot more considerate these days, as the development of the number of fatal accidents prove.
Ach, top of the page. All right, lunch buffet is on me.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
hon30critter The stupidity of such an arrangement is incredible. The cops won't bother with you on the major highways until you get above 125 kph or so, and everyone drives at 100 kph in the 80 kph zones, so what's the point of the ridiculously low speed limits? Of course, when there is a cop on the road everyone slows down to the limit, which creates a traffic jamb, which then causes the idiots to try to force their way through the traffic, which leads to accidents, which is more evidence of how stupid the speed limits are.
The stupidity of such an arrangement is incredible. The cops won't bother with you on the major highways until you get above 125 kph or so, and everyone drives at 100 kph in the 80 kph zones, so what's the point of the ridiculously low speed limits? Of course, when there is a cop on the road everyone slows down to the limit, which creates a traffic jamb, which then causes the idiots to try to force their way through the traffic, which leads to accidents, which is more evidence of how stupid the speed limits are.
Thing is, that would be true no matter what the speed limits were. When the national limit was 55 mph, everyone on the highways drove at 65. When they raised it, everyone drove 10 mph over THAT limit. People will always speed by a certain percentage. The traffic engineers who decide on speed limits know that, and the cops do, too. The way I figure it, you're safe if you drive no more than 10% over the limit. That's about 60 mph in a 55 zone, 77 in a 70 zone, 38 in a 35, and so on. Another way I look at it is, if there's someone in front of me, he's the one the cop is going to get.
Good morning!
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Sir MadogPlease keep Petra in your prayers.
Thoughts and Best Wishes to both of you.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."