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Jeffreys Trackside Diner, APRIL 2017! ALL are welcome, ALL ABOARD! Locked

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Posted by mbinsewi on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 9:46 PM

Jimmy, I agree with Der.  I'm a licensed home inspector in Wisconsin.  Do some looking around, find a home inspector you trust, and NOT necessarily who your realtor recommends.  Lots of HI's "cozy up" to realtors that give them steady business,  and a realtor, in any state, hates to have a deal blown by an inspection report, so some will insist your use "their home inspector".   Find an independant, and unbiased HI.

Good to hear at your age, your able to do this. 

Mike.

EDIT:  Wow, top of page, belly up everyone, it's all on me!  Flo? , or who ever is  working the late shift,  I'll just have an ice cold Beer

Mike.

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Posted by howmus on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 9:50 PM

Evenin' Folks,

Janie, could I have a refill for my decaf please?  Oh, and a couple pieces of the chocolate bark I brought in left over from the Easter stash......

 Gee, Ken, I never have trouble starting my lawn mower for the first time every year.  I just unplug it from the charger it was on all winter, put in the safety plug for the electric connection, pull the lever, and she just starts to whirr and I mow the lawn.  Very easy, no gas, oil, fuel treatment and stuff....  Nope not around here!  The old girl is getting to be on her last legs, and I'm hoping to get through this summer with the two ancient old batteries I have for it.  They are lead acid and are 5 or 6 years old now, so I'm not getting as far on a charge anymore.  The new Electric ones are much improved anyway, so if I have to replace it, I won't be upset.

Came home after the restaurant thing on Easter to change clothes before heading out to my son's house for, ah...., Dinner again, and couldn't find Manét the cat anywhere.  I finally went into my bedroom and he was sound asleep in one of his cute poses:

He is just a "little" guy...

I told you folks I finally got to run a train....  One large Loco and my CMX Cleaning car.  I did manage to clean out the stuff inside the tunnels anyway:

Today I finished getting the cleaning done on the rest of the mainline.  The room I have been working in was particularly dirty and took a bit of help with the 0-5-0 switcher to get the train to run around the upper loop...

Keeping many of you in my thoughts and prayers for various reasons.  I'll end with a quote:

"By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation." - Edmond Burke

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by FRRYKid on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 10:46 PM

Given that the tab is open, whoever is handy could I get my normal late evening breaded mushrooms with blue cheese dressing. Thank you so much.

howmus

Came home after the restaurant thing on Easter to change clothes before heading out to my son's house for, ah...., Dinner again, and couldn't find Manét the cat anywhere.  I finally went into my bedroom and he was sound asleep in one of his cute poses:

He is just a "little" guy...

That is a good sized cat!

yougottawanta

FRRYKid - Do you start off with pipe tobacco armatures ?

Nope. The armatures in the pic are the trimmed down Christmas wreath branches. Just a lot a cutting with a simple pair of scissors.

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by hon30critter on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 11:23 PM

Jimmy_Braum
thi past week hasn't been e greatest for me, but ive been looking at houses to buy.

First, congratulations on making the decision to buy a house! Every penny you spend on owning it will be going in your pocket instead of your landlord's.

Buying a new house can indeed be very stressful! You have had some good advice already, but I'll add a bit to it:

If you don't feel comfortable with the real estate agent, fire them! When Dianne and I were looking for a house the last time we moved the first agent showed us some horrible properties trying to convince us that there wasn't much available in our price range. When we finally got to a house that was marginally acceptable he suddenly became very pushy. He told us that this was the best we could do for the money. I was very skeptical so I asked him to take us to the planning dept. It turned out that he had been trying to set us up. The marginally acceptable house was owned by his daughter, and there was to be a strip mall built behind it. He said the construction property behind the house would be a 'park'. He left off the 'ing' as in 'parking'. We fired him immediately, and miracle of miracles, the next agent was able to show us a bunch of decent properties well within our price range.

I would also suggest that you use your sense of smell. If you step into the basement and it smells overly humid and/or musty, then there is a problem with moisture. Sometimes that can be easy to deal with, but sometimes it can cost a fortune. If the basement leaks, walk away!

Finally, I would rely on your instincts. If your gut tells you that "this is not the right house", listen to it! One of my RR club buddies bought a house a few years ago that he knew had some problems. His wife and daughter loved the place so he caved. The house has been a severe money pit. He has poured thousands into it and there is still a long list of things to do. It will be a long time before he can sell the house and break even, let alone make a profit.

My 2 Cents

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 20, 2017 12:00 AM

yougottawanta
Ulrich - Hmmm ? You didnt name the engine after Petra ?

Well, the Rhaetian Railway named this loco Heidi and who am I to change it?

Here is a picture of the prototype:

See the name on the smoke box door?

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Posted by angelob6660 on Thursday, April 20, 2017 12:27 AM

Late night diners,

Ed- Sorry about cat.

Ulrich- Heidi is a good name for a steam locomotive.

This day has been terrible. I woke up at 3 in the morning to throwing up. It was basically last night dinner. Which my inners felt like a wall before I went to bed.

I drank a lot of water, and tried some bed rest, but it hard to stay off my feet. Even though my legs didn't have the energy either.

Even when I'm sick  "I get no respect" Rodney Dangerfield. I still did everything.

Good night and best wishes for all.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by jlehnert on Thursday, April 20, 2017 3:45 AM

Evening all, 

Flo, give me the largest and darkest coffee you have. It's been a long night. 

The EMS gods are fickle. Monday night we had one call the entire 13 hour shift. Tonight we're only 8 hours in, and already on call #5.  Not helping that I had a little excitement earlier. Transporting a lady with a kidney stone, and the ED gave her some morphine just before handing her over.  Halfway through the transport, I look over and her lips are so swollen she's doing a passable imitation of Mick Jagger. A little Epi and Benadryl takes care of that problem, but between the morphine and benadryl, she was out like a light. 

We're currently in what we call the yellow season. The cars are all yellow, the driveway is yellow, the house is yellow. Only thing not yellow is the red noses of all the allergy sufferers. We're supposed to have some rain over the next few days, so hopefully it will knock the pollen down a little. 

Henry - that MARC Budd car brings back memories. I spent the summer of 1990 working at Amtrak HQ in DC, and rode the MARC Camden line every day. Very pot luck on what would show up on any given day. One day it would be 3-4 Budds (including a dining car on several occasions), and a completely different consist the next day. They had an old F7 or F9 without the prime mover that they used for controls when in push mode. The entire 9 yards was horridly unreliable, but working for Amtrak, they were VERY forgiving of railroad related problems. 

Ed - condolences on Cicero. 

Ray - Yes, just a little covering that you picked up going through the tunnel. Add some greenery, and you can say that the engine is in camouflage for war games. 

On the railroad end, one of my roommate's clients is a drywall contractor. He's going to give me a quote for putting up drywall in the basement when he comes by next week. That will go a long way to getting going on a layout 

And off to the next patient. 

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Posted by Jimmy_Braum on Thursday, April 20, 2017 5:43 AM

Thanks for the advice all,I'll keep it all in mind as I search around.

 

, the low cost is one of the few perks of living in the rust belt-a lot of cheap homes. Like a lot under 25,000-30,000 and nice old "mansions" at that. yeah, I'm getting someone who literally built an addition to their house on their own to come with me to inspect it.  I'll probably look at two or three houses, just so I have my options. 

also, what makes more sense? renting, or investing in a house. I mean, if i can afford a downpayment for a house, why not?    

 

 

proud of myself for doing this, and for the hip roof I built from scratch for my station. Thankfully there "is an app" for figuring out the pitch, because I couldn't for the life of me find the correct angle. It was either too steep, or too shallow for the northeast snow.  

 

hope everyone has a good day 

(My Model Railroad, My Rules) 

These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway.  As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).  

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Posted by "JaBear" on Thursday, April 20, 2017 6:02 AM
Gidday Chloe, I’ll have a large pot of green tea, please, I’ll be down the back corner table writing the debrief for the Clubs annual Easter Train Show.
 
 
I had voted against the show in the first place because I doubted that the Club, due to an aging and shrinking membership, had enough man power to successfully run a show, but being in the minority, was prepared to give as much time as w**k would allow.
 
 
Unfortunately, due to some stupidity leading to nastiness, I ended up, by default, taking over the organisation of the Show, and despite some attempted sabotage, and with a lot of effort from the members who actually did step up to the plate, I can say we ended up having a successful show. I base this conclusion on the fact that not only have we covered costs but made enough to keep the club financially secure for another year, though more importantly the large amount of positive feedback from the attendees, and public have made the trials and tribulations, very worthwhile. Too many of the club members forget that item 2 of our constitution states that we are to promote the Hobby.
 
 
Right, time to catch up on my replies to other Diners.
 
YGW.  Hot English Mustard, I thought English food was known for being bland?”
 
I guess it depends what you compare it with, a Thai Green Curry, definitely!!
The basic trouble with English food when I was a youngster was that the vegetables were overcooked!! For example, cabbage was boiled for so long that it turned into a grey unappetising mush, then the water with all the “goodies” in it was tipped down the drain, and to add insult to injury, to jazz it up, white sauce made from milk butter and flour, and perhaps some parsley, was then added. I don’t want to sound like an ungrateful wretch, but it was hard to be thankful for our food, at times, when grace was being said! 
 
 
I can’t comment for other ffolkes in the Commonwealth, der5997,you’re more than welcome to put in your two bobs worth, but the big change to cooking was with the “discovery” of Chinese cuisine in the late 70s. IMO they taught us how to cook vegetables, not only properly but that they also tasted yum!
 
 
So on that basis, I’d be prepared to put up “traditional” British Roast Beef, with roast spuds, parsnip, pumpkin, kumera, Yorkshire Puddings, steamed green peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, with gravy made from the dripping, and Hot English mustard, against any other dish!!Dinner  
  
 “That cheesy toaste sound delicious”.
They are, you should make one sometime. Two slices of whole grain bread, ham, cheese, pineapple, and Hot English Mustard, place under grill, or on hot plate, brown both sides, remove when cheese starts melting, easy! And no, that insipid excuse of what you chaps call mustard is not an adequate substitute!!!
 
Do you all put pineapples on everything ?”
 
No, but it goes well with ham, and cheese. and I’d suggest that down here the use of pineapple on “savoury” dishes is a Hawaiian influence.
 
 
Despite some seemingly silly mistakes that barn of yours appears to be coming along nicely.
 
Herrinchoker. “Seeing the elephant” is an American term, the meaning of which I think I understand but can’t for sure say I’ve seen one. However, I’ve been involved a few too many times in trying to get the rigging shipshape after others friggin’, and I’ve also seen more than my fair share of Flying Pigs.
Yes, I think there’s a fair few of us who now regret being nine foot tall and bulletproof when we were younger. The sad thing is that I’d probably do it all again if I had the chance!!SighLaughLaugh Take care of yourself.
 
der5997. Tropical Cyclone Cook did bring us a lot of heavy steady rain, (it wasn’t looking good the day before set up day for the show) and did some damage down the East Coast but it moved a lot quicker and didn’t do the damage that was forecast.
However, it was a week earlier that the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Debbie, which had done so much damage and caused so much flooding in Queensland, then swung across the Tasman Sea and joined up with a deep depression coming up from the Southern Ocean that did the damage. The lake here rose quickly and some damage was done to the lakefront in town, but the stop bank, protecting the town of Edgecumbe (pop.1600) just over the hill and in another catchment area, breached and flooded the town, It was evacuated just in time and while not good for those folks, it was only property that was damaged. There was damage and flooding in other parts of the North Island as well.
 
Ed, this Bear and cats don’t necessarily see eye to eye, but Cicero certainly looked a character.
 
That’s a fine looking little locomotive Ulrich, hope you and Petra are both improving.
 
That’s a big step you’re taking Jimmy, Thumbs Up  I’m not sure how the housing market compares with here, but owning is far better than renting in my book. If you want to paint a wall orange with black polka dots then you can. I too would strongly suggest that you get an independent house inspector before purchase. Again, not knowing the mortgage system over there, unless there is a huge financial benefit not to do so, I also suggest paying that sucker off as quickly as possible.
 
I think I’ve caught up so,
 
Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them.

Cheers, the Bear.Smile

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by BigDaddy on Thursday, April 20, 2017 8:41 AM

Ja Bear  English cooking, sounds like what Southerners do to their veggies

Jimmy  $20K for a house is beyond my comprehension.  I think I paid 32K in 1977 in NC.  Don't buy if you think it's going to be a $10K house in a bad neighborhood in a couple years.  Maybe things will turn around for the Rust Belt.  That's as political as Vinnie will allow

YGW I'm going to send you a pm

Ed Cute cat, sorry for your loss.  Shelters are full of cats that need homes.

 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by yougottawanta on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:04 AM

Morning all

W**K Front calling for LOTS of rain the next few days. Making preperations for inside w**k during the rain and trying to button up silt fence etc...before the rains hit.

Hobby barn - I have decided since they are calling for so much rain I will build the work bench on the back wall of the garage area in the event it rains the next four days as the weather man predicts. That way I can start moving some of the tools over to the work bench and get the saws, work station etc.. set up. Not the progress I need to make but progress towards the end goal.

JaBear - Glad to see you back in the diner ! Always enjoy your time with us. On the cabbage meal you described Ick! oh that does sound terrible ! How in the world does Hawaii menu affect you guys ? How are you connected to Hawaii ?

Jimmy - If you want free help on the house hunt feel free to ask me here in the diner or PM me. I can give you me email and or cell number if you have questions. I build houses for a living and have all kinds of knowledge and resources at my disposal. I can spot a problem house in about five minutes time inside or out ...

jlehnert - Drywall can be hung many different ways here are a few things to consider. When drywall is typically hung in residential home it is usually hung horizontally,glued and nailed with nails. This is the std. BUT there are better ways to install drywall. For instance if drywall is screwed there are fewer "nail pops" later to repair. Also when gluing the drywall the typical hanger squirts a bit of glue about 16" long on the "field" (middle ) studs. It is much better to glue the entire four foot width and even on the very ends which almost no hanger glues unless you make it known thats what is needed - Glue greatly reduces nail pops later. Last thing to consider is whether to hang drywall vertically or horizontally. I am a proponet of vertically hung drywall for the following reason - The edges of drywall have an thinner edge which receives the tape and mud and makes the joint less visible. the ends of teh drywall do not have this reduced thickness. If hung vertically then the drywall almost looks like it is completely flush or flat. If hung horzintally the ends of the drywall or "butt joints" will always be seen because the edges or not thin. When the mud and tape is applied over the butt ends and if a window or light shines across that seam you will forever see a shadow on the other side.

The sequence to drywall finish is as follows - Hang, scrap out ( you will need to provide a way to remove the drywall scraps or have the hanger include that in the price ) Tap, block coat, skim coat, sand -

Install trim at this stage -

Paint steps are Prep. trim ( caulk and putty )  prime ( before primimng the room it should be vacuumed to keep drywall dust and debris out of paint finishes )  Point walls up between coats ( this should be in your drywall hangers price ) sand point up, Second coat walls, semi gloss or trim paint.

Angel - Hope you feel better today

Ulrich - Whistling hmmm I think I would rename the locomative - If momma aint happy no one is happy Laugh

FRRYKid - really ? Christams wreaths ? You didnt cut up YOH wreaths did you ?

Howmus  - Do you run your mower out of gas at the end of the mowing season ?

Mike - I agree with your comments on home inspectors BUT I would add one more piece of info - Hire a home inspector who has actually worked in construction and not some 90 day wonder whose only knowledge is from a course of book.

Ken - Weeds !! Last Saturday we mowed and Monday afternoon the dang dandelions were grown and had full seed heads ready to blow all over the place ! How in the world do they grow that FAST ! they flowered and went to seed in TWO DAYS !SoapBox

ROR - Yea apperently this guy had some severe issues. He was arrested somewhere else that night and from what teh police told us he "resisted" and was "beligerent". I assume he is gonna have some knots in the morning he will not remember where they came from...he had also just been released from the psycho unit....

History qoute of the day :

"Grief drives men into habits of serious reflection, sharpens the understanding, and softens the heart" John Adams

"The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people's hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice" John Adams

"Where annual elections end, there slavery begins" John Adams

"The people have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge - I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers" John Adams

TTYL

YGW

 

 

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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:05 AM

Sir Madog
 

Well, the Rhaetian Railway named this loco Heidi  

If it is hiding in a tunnel, it is the hide-ee. Whistling

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:15 AM

Good Afternoon!

That little loco is giving me so much joy and happiness! It now runs like a charm - so quietly, that the clickety-clack of my badly laid track is all too apparent Whistling

I made some video shots which still require post-production to be done. I am a little too tired for this today, but will have a go at it tomorrow, when I am back from my doctor´s appointment.

 YGW - Renaming her is out of the question - I´d have to scrape the name of the smokebox door and I am afarid this would ruin the excellent paint job! The Rhatian Railway did not name their locos in the steam days. In 1952, G 3/4 # 11 starred in the motion picture "Heidi" and was subsequently inofficially dubbed "Heidi". In 2014, the name became official through her new owner, the RhB historical society "Club 1889", following a complete revision.

Sorry, chaps - Heidi will remain Heid Smile, Wink & Grin

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

He looked upon his creation with great content, but found something missing. So he created the mountains, the valleys, the lakes and the rivers and called it Switzerland. He then built bridges and tunnels and laid track, for his pleasure, thus turning all of Switzerland into a scale 1/1 model railroad!

His work remains unsurpassed! Just one humble example:

 

No room to build a layout?

Look at this!

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Posted by FRRYKid on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:59 AM

yougottawanta

FRRYKid - really ? Christams wreaths ? You didnt cut up YOH wreaths did you ?

Don't have an other half. They were purchased specifically for the purpose of turning them into trees! (Some of them were purchased on an after Christmas sake. Others were purchased regular price as I decided not to wait for the after-Christmas sale.) I looked at wreaths many years ago and saw trees from them.

Sir Madog

No room to build a layout?

Look at this!

That is someone who is a dedicated railroader!

"The only stupid question is the unasked question."
Brain waves can power an electric train. RealFact #832 from Snapple.
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Posted by howmus on Thursday, April 20, 2017 10:28 AM

yougottawanta
Howmus - Do you run your mower out of gas at the end of the mowing season ?

Ah...... YGW, you weren't paying attention!  I leave it and the spare battery plugged in all winter to keep the charge up to snuff.  I don't ever have to add fossilized Dinosaur Dung to any part of it.  No gas, no oil changes, and no changing out the air filter.  It doesn't have one. It looks like this.

It runs off the stuff made up on the roof.

Mornin' Folks!

Zoe, I could use a couple of the sour cream glazed donuts to dunk in my Marrakesh Express Organic, Fair Traded, Dark Roast Coffee this morning,  Please and thank you Ma'am....

Another gloomy dark day outside here in the Finger Lakes Region this morning.  Would like to get outside and prepare the old bed where the strawberries were planted.  The strawberries that the birds and squirells love and I only get a couple of.....  That will be planted with some native milkweed this year.  Never know when one of the remaining Monarch Butterflys might stary by and need some food.

I will spend most of today working on the wording for a plaque the MLK committee will be presenting to the President of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his wife for all the wonderful community service they have done here in town.  He is leaving to take the presdiency of his old Alma Mater, Harvard.  They will be missed here in town!

I have a pile of NMRA items to do as well.

Best get moving.  Quote for the day:

"When I Despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won.  There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.  Think of it -- always."  - Mahatma Gandhi

 

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, April 20, 2017 10:44 AM

Good morning!

And good news for those who live near me.  The semi-annual sale at the big hobby shop in Tyngsboro, MA, is on April 29th.  I'll buy some more trees, which I usually do, and scratchbuilding supplies.  Having lost my old LHS to his greedy landlord, this is the next closest one.

I was also planning to go to Northeast Scale Lumber, but it seems the retail hobby shop is no longer in operation, although the lumber-making and online departments are.

And it should be warm enough for another bike ride today!

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by yougottawanta on Thursday, April 20, 2017 11:54 AM

Howmus - You are correct I misread the statement. I thought you had a riding mower and you kept the battery for the mower on charge. I didnt know B&D Made electric mowers. B&D in the construction industry used to make great tools. Now they are not very good. They seemed top have gotten out of the trademen style products

FRRYKid  - That is a unique view and amzing that you could see layout trees in that. I do not think I would have seen that Bow

Ulrich - Okay I looked and looked ! Where is the coal hopper ? Whistling surely it runs on N&W anthracite ?

TTYL

YGW

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Posted by howmus on Thursday, April 20, 2017 12:54 PM

yougottawanta
I didnt know B&D Made electric mowers. B&D in the construction industry used to make great tools. Now they are not very good. They seemed top have gotten out of the trademen style products

I agree with you on the quality of the current products.  Back when I was a kid they were right at the top of the trade.  This is my second B & D mower, and I have been pleased with them both.  First one was an early 24v one.  The motor stopped working after only one year and the place I bought it from gave me a new one at no charge.  That one lasted about 4 years and I decided to move up to the 36v one I have now (about 6 years ago).  It has been great except for the self propelled assembly which I have had to repair a few times.  It is now only working on one side....  Still does get the mower from one side of the lot to the other, but somewhat of a pain.  I have two batteries so I can usually get half the lawn (about 1/4 acre total) done and then take a break so both the batteries and I can recharge, so to speak.  Batteries are lead acid and are really at the end of their usable life (Had to recharge before finishing the first half of the lawn this time) so I need to decide what I will replace it with.

At this moment I am very interested in getting a 56v EGO LM 2102SP.  Pricey, but a big step up in what is a rapidly improving technology.  https://egopowerplus.com/products/21-inch-self-propelled-lawn-mower

The last gas powered tool I had, my rototiller, was given to my son a couple years back.  He has used it a couple of times, but mostly it just sits and rusts at his place.  I have a small B & D rottotiller for my raised bed gardens, a small B & D chainsaw for trimming, and a B & D string trimmer.  All of them are electric and use the same (Li-ion) batteries.

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 20, 2017 1:17 PM

Well, with nothing else to do, I finished the post-production job already today and uploaded the video to Youtube.

Here it is:

Enjoy "Heidi" roaming the tracks of Engiadina!

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Posted by angelob6660 on Thursday, April 20, 2017 1:23 PM

Afternoon Diners,

yougottawanta

Angel - Hope you feel better today

I feel a little better today. Apparently my stomach is a still upset but it might just be hunger.

I don't think I would make a toilet railroad.

Modeling the G.N.O. Railway, The Diamond Route.

Amtrak America, 1971-Present.

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Posted by cats think well of me on Thursday, April 20, 2017 2:50 PM

Hello Fellow Diners,

A large cup of Fair Trade coffee with coconut creamer please. 

Ed/GMpullman, sorry for the loss of your cat Cicero, he looks like he had been a great companion and friend for you and your family. 

Today is my day off, so it's a good day to catch up on various projects. I am going to visit a friend's place soon and replace the ball-cock in their toilet with one of those replacement kits they sell at home improvement stores. I put two into the toilets at my mom's house and they've worked well. 

On the MR front, I've been on a resin kit building streak lately. I've built, painted, and lettered three F&C Reading boxcars. They are ready to go. I also built a PRR F33 well hole flatcar. I'll track test it on my club layout tonight before doing the painting and lettering. For anyone wanting to try resin kits, I recommend the F&C PRR F33 flatcar model. 

BLI will send me a new decoder for my model of T1 2102, so *fingers crossed* that is all I'll need to get my model of 2102 running again. It currently looks great in my display case with numerous Preiser figures and a painted and assembled Tichy water column. 

I just got my first two Kadee 2-bay AAR 50-ton hoppers, and wow, these are superb. One painted Pittsburgh and Shawmutt, and the other in the Reading roman lettering scheme. All I've done is replace the wheels with Intermountain Code-88 wheels and the couplers with the Glatzl dummy couplers offered by Sergent Engineering. They're stand-ins until I can get more of their regular couplers.

Alvie

Moderator
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Posted by Steven Otte on Thursday, April 20, 2017 4:21 PM

angelob6660

I don't think I would make a toilet railroad.

Where better to run your HOPPER cars?!

--
Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editor
sotte@kalmbach.com

  • Member since
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  • From: Maryville IL
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Posted by cudaken on Thursday, April 20, 2017 5:17 PM

 Evening Diners

 Flo, Ed, Tom and I will have a Beer please.

 Ray While I was wondering if the Gas Lawn Mower would start I did look at new electric mowers. This Corn Gas is killing a lot of things beside Corn! When you add 10% Corn to normal gas, you have a 10% drop in power which means you use more Corn Gas and the only one that benafits are Farmers, Fule Line Manufacturers, Gas Tank Manufacturers, and repair shops!

 Jimmy What is your Zip Code? For the heck of it I like to see what a $20,000 to $35,000 house looks like? Other things to look at is what the insurance and proptery tax is. My House payment is $739.41. $99.10 is princpal, $253.82 in intrest the rest of the $386.39 is inusurance and proptery tax. Ask for Insrances qoutes for full replacment cost on the $25,000 house. Bet rebuilding the $25,000 house is not $25,000.

 Ulrich While Heidi is not my cup of tea, it is a very good looking engine!

 Train Front All most had another old friend on the Main Line. Old Athearn Blue Box F7b Santa Fe. Stole the decoder something like 4 years ago. Got her runing with a DC chip (wired for DCC) and was pulling like .80 amps free running. That no good! Lubed her up and it helped, dropped to .63 amps. So I lubed again and had to much oil this time, Armature started somking and motor would die, restart, die and Amp readings went to 2.35! Pretty sure I killed it, but cleaned the armature with CRC and sandpaper. Took a few days and free wheeling it dropped down to .38 amps free wheeling and stalled at .86 amps so it should be good!

 Installed a used DH 123 I had, when to speed match it and would not move. Funny decoder pro can read a dead decoder, but I am sure the Santa Fe F7b is good! Yes

 Later Ken

 

 

 

 

 

I hate Rust

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Posted by Jimmy_Braum on Thursday, April 20, 2017 7:04 PM

Ken, the zip code is 15063.

 

(My Model Railroad, My Rules) 

These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway.  As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).  

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    January 2007
  • From: Kentucky
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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Thursday, April 20, 2017 7:45 PM

Steven Otte

 

 
angelob6660

I don't think I would make a toilet railroad.

 

 

Where better to run your HOPPER cars?!

 

 

Rim shot

 

 

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

  • Member since
    November 2006
  • From: NW Pa Snow-belt.
  • 2,216 posts
Posted by ricktrains4824 on Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:38 PM

Good evening all.

Chloe - A nice RBF please. Thanks.

Weather - Lead off topic tonight due to the fact a Tornado touched down nearby, no damage at my place though. US RTE 6 is closed all directions right nearby due to a power pole that came down across the road. (I never lost power though.) Numerous trees and power poles came down further east of me, and reports to emergency services and 911 dispatch did have a tornado on the ground for a little while. Skywarn (storm chasers in my area) also reported a funnel cloud a couple miles from my house tonight, and that is the one that might have touched down a little ways further east. (They also were reporting a "ground level" tornado with tree damage from this same storm once it was to my south east.) Lots of hail and flooding as well.

YGW - LG service is subbed out to A&E Factory Services in our area, but they must pass a qualification course put on by LG to do the work. If they don't pass,  I do find it odd that Kitchenaid is not as good in your area, as they are made by Whirlpool Corp., who also makes Maytag, and their service is usually pretty good. LG makes their own, as well as high end Kenmore Elite products. (Cheap Kenmore is also Whirlpool Corp.)

Ed - Sorry about your losing Cicero. That is never a good thing. You might chuckle about what my kitty did just the other night, to tease the dog. He jumped onto the couch next to me, and snuggled up as close as he could. He then started rubbing his face on my arm, and then, after looking to see if the dog was indeed watching, began licking my hand. I said out loud, you are really trying to make the doggy jealous, aren't you?, and then asked him if he could possibly ham it up anymore at all, and he just looked at me and went back to licking my hand. When the dog left the room, he stopped and jumped down from the couch immediately. Yes, he was indeed just trying to get the dog jealous!

Ulrich - Heidi looks good!

Ken - We are actually informing our customers to not run any ethanol in any of their lawn mowers, tractors, weed whackers, chain saws, etc... as the ethanol (even as low as 10%) is killing the small engines. (It is warping carberators and destroying engine seals.) And no manufacturer warranty (at least that we have) is covering ethanol damage. So, ethanol free for all my small gas engines!

W**k - Good month so far sales wise. We are ahead of this time last year, so that is good.

Trains - Ordered some Kapton tape (finally took the plunge!) to finish the SD40-2 project, and will also use some on the next couple engine projects. (Might redo a BB GP60 I had already completed a DCC install in as well, as the Kapton tape will work better than the current electrical tape that is in it now.) 

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.

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • From: Georgetown, Maine
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Posted by herrinchoker on Thursday, April 20, 2017 11:07 PM

Ken,

Update--track is clean, have started running a 4-6-0 that always made you wonder that when you sent it off if it would make it back--it has started running more smoothly, and even comes back to the starting point. I do believe the ATF is responsible for that, thank you again. Were you closer I would share some of my latest product with you. burns with a clear blue flame, and leaves no residue, and will ABSOLUTELY clean sinuses. Used some frozen strawberrys in the process.

Jimmy-B--

Pleased for you, when I was 23 I was married, had a daughter, and had a house with just over 1 mile of shorefront property here on the West side of the Island. I was also working two full time jobs, police officer, and commercial fishing. Also did carpentry when I wasn't busy.  If you can swing it, when you sign papers on your house pay one months payment up front, that will save you several thousand dollars in interest payment over the life of the loan. If you can make double payments each month, you will pay off your note in six years. I learned from a loan offficer at the local credit union. Also if you have a note,(car payment etc.) pay on the note each week, rather than once a month, you will save quite a bit on interest.

JaBear

If you are interested, I still have a few of the photographs that were Dad's, that he acquired during the war when he was in charge of the B-17 program at McDonald aircraft at St. Louis Missouri. B-19 Super Bomber, PB2Y-3, A-36, (dive bomber version of the P-51), A-model of the P-51, before the Rolls engine, P-40, P-39 Coberas---PM a address and I will get copies off to you.

Thursday I get the injection that everyone hides behind a lead apron--except me--time to see what is going on/or not, with my  heart. The worst of the whole deal is no coffee on Wed. I do believe I will have a mug of coffee with me when I go into the lab, and just as soon as the proceedure is over will be sucking the bottom out of the container.  Went to pick up some script today, jumped from $45.00 to $347.58, no explanation--told the pharmacist to hold that thought, will talk with the doctor, and the insurance company tomorrow. If I have to I will bring my cutting torch up onto the deck, and tap into the oxygen tank.

Crocus are coming into full bloom, daffodils are just over 1/2 open, and judging from the buds, we should have a good year for blossoms. We have two Cardinals in the most vibrant breeding plumage that I think I have ever seen. both are stunning. Goldfinch have almost acquired all of their yellow feathers, wild turkeys are coming up to the base of the deck feeding on the seed spilled by the other birds. One more week, roast turkey---.

Ulrich,

Enjoy the vidoes, glad Petra is improving.

Ken,

Thanks again for the tips.

Lion,

Good to see your posts--

Prayers for those in need--

herrinchoker

  • Member since
    November 2015
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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, April 21, 2017 12:32 AM

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't been in the Diner, I've been busy with schoolwork!!

Tomorrow thru Sunday, our module club will be running trains at Imaginology in Costa Mesa Fairgrounds. The layout will be in the OC Promenade 37 X 44 Ft!!!

 

Here are two of my Athearn Genesis SD75M's I plan on running at the show, the numbers are #207 & #232.

 

Sitting on a test track, Markers dim

  " width="403" height="302" />

 

Lead Locomotive, Headlights on

  " width="403" height="302" />

 

View of the lead unit's nose,

  " width="403" height="302" />

 

Now all I need are some Athearn ACF Centerflow Grey Hoppers or some Athearn Maxi III Well cars lettered for TTX.

 

 

 

 

 

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    November 2015
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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, April 21, 2017 12:45 AM

Are these SD75M's cool or what?

In the second and last photo, with all lights on, the locomotives look like they're waiting for the signal ahead to change from red over yellow to red over green in order to proceed. Big Smile

Try to picture 20 Double Stacked Maxi III Well Cars or 20 ACF Hoppers behind the units! Smile, Wink & Grin

Everybody remembers the Red and Silver!  And not a Pumpkin in sight!!!

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    November 2015
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Posted by ATSFGuy on Friday, April 21, 2017 12:55 AM

Photos taken at Wednesday's DCC Camp in the Club President's Office in Tustin, CA.

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