Welcome to Jeffrey´s Trackside Diner in its August 2017 location, this month in Hamburg/Germany!
This is a place to gather, a place without an agenda or a topic. It's free to all, to read, to join in, or just to enjoy some virtual food. Our gracious hosts ask only that we avoid certain hot-button topics like politics and religion that sometimes raise tempers.
You'll get to know the friendly staff just by listening. It's a place to share your day, your concerns, your joys and sorrows. Welcome aboard!
Following a suggestion from a regular patron and seconded by others, the August Diner has been moved to Hamburg/Germany.
The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is Germany´s second largest city with a population of about 1.9 million people. The first settlement dates back to the 2nd century AD. The name Hamburg comes from the first permanent building on the site, a castle which the Emperor Charlemagne ordered constructed in AD 808. It rose on rocky terrain in a marsh between the River Alster and the River Elbe as a defence against Slavic incursion, and acquired the name Hammaburg, burg meaning castle or fort. The origin of the Hamma term remains uncertain, as does the exact location of the castle.
Hamburg surely is a fascinating city and there is lots worthwhile knowing, but it would take pages to write all of that down here. To cut things short, I´d like to refere anyone interested in Hamburg to the pages of Wikipedia!
From a model railroader´s and train buff´s point of view, Hamburg has lots to offer! First of all, there is Miniatur Wunderland to visit. Second, Hamburg sports a quite extensive subway system, which is partly above ground, quite similar to the EL in Chicago. Third, the Museum of Hamburg History has a large 1/32 scale layout, which is also a must to see!
There is a lot more to see or visit in and around of Hamburg. I will introduce you to these places as the month unfolds. Only this much today - have your cameras ready on the coming weekend! It´s the annual big steam up at Bruchhausen/Vilsen, home to the first narrow gauge museum railroad in Germany, established in 1966. There you will experience railroad operation in the true fashion of the 1950´s, spiced up with 6 steam locos under steam!
One of the most important piece of kit you will have to bring along is an umbrella. Summer has been terribly wet this year, and there are no signs of improvement!
For those forum members unfamiliar with the Diner - the place was named in honor of our dear departed dear friend, Jeffrey Wimberly. The RIP track is the place for us to pay our respect to our friends and forum members who are no longer with us.
"Gone to the Great Roundhouse , but not forgotten"!
Ed and Ulrich!
What a beautiful place to host the Diner for August. I trust that the beer and schnitzel will be in ample supply. Dianne and I were at the German/Canadian club in Oshawa, Ontario a few weeks ago. The schnitzel was almost bigger than the plate and perfectly done!
I don't use an umbrella Ulrich. I have a selection of fedora style hats with sufficiently wide brims to keep the rain off, and I have a good, well ventilated raincoat. The hats and the raincoat are from a company called Tilley Endurables in Ontario. Their stuff is fantastic. They give you a lifetime warranty on their hats, no questions asked, but the quality is so good that they rarely have to honour the warranty. You can even stuff their hats into a suitcase and they will return to their proper shape when you take them out. Their travel clothing is superb too.
https://www.tilley.com/ca_en/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=6TIL02%20-%20Brand%20%5BSearch%20-%20Canada%5D&utm_term=tilley%20endurables&utm_content=Tilley%20Endurables
I'm not associated with the company.
On the club front, we have made some good progress in the design for the new layout. I'll put more details in my thread on the subject.
Cheers everyone!! (Ulrich, how do you say that in German?)
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
BigDaddy: I have been using the black magic marker trick for quite awhile. It was mentioned in the forums at least back to 2013.
IIRC, Hamburg is where the first of what we now call hamburgers was served. (At least that's what I was always told.)
Hobby Front: Got the new drop end gondola Monday afternoon. Got the trucks changed out for the RBs and got the lettering stripped off. (Used the Micro Sol and the pencil eraser trick. Seems to work very well with Athearn cars.) Decals to be ordered in a couple of weeks.
Derailment: We had one in the area over the weekend: Grain truck vs. train. Picture of aftermath here. This was east of town. Driver in hospital in Billings in serious condition (as of last report.) Eighteen empty coal cars derailed in process. The railroad is back functioning as of this evening.
Good Morning!
You people are bad people You have tricked me into opening this month´s Diner again!
Well, Hamburg is not a bad choice for a stay! The city is so much different from what most people think Germany is like. First of all, you won´t see anyone wearing Lederhosen or wearing funny hats, like they do in Bavaria. Second, the highest "mountain" rises only a mere 200ft. above sea level and third, the ships you see are large and when I say large, I mean laaarge! Just for the record, Hamburg has more bridges than Venice!
hon30critterI trust that the beer and schnitzel will be in ample supply.
Dave, that shouldn´t be an issue, although Schnitzel is not the kind of food typical to Hamburg. That´s also a kind of southern German thing! Hamburg has a selection of the finest fish restaurants of Germany, really posh places. If you don´t like that, how about some Labskaus or the grandfather of all hamburgers, a Rundstück Warm?
You all will be arriving by plane in Hamburg. Take a look outside, shortly before the plane is landing! All you will see is trees and a huge lake! Hamburg is hardly visible from above, as it is really a "green" city. Unlike Frankfort, Hamburg has not many high rise buildings, in fact, only one, and it´s been a proper eyesore since it was erected in the 1960´s.
The best way to get introduced to the city of Hamburg is to take a ride with the subway ring line, which circles Hamburg´s downtown district!
Enjoy!
Sir MadogYou people are bad people You have tricked me into opening this month´s Diner again!
Well, guilty as charged, Your Honor.
In all honesty, the idea simply popped into my head and I really had no intention of "burdening" you with the chore, Ulrich. We are all certainly glad you have taken up the torch and welcomed us to your beautiful city—which you have every right to be proud of!
I'll exercise my 25% German ancestry and take a seat in the corner and enjoy my Franzbrötchen and kaffee with maybe a dribble of schnapps on the side, please Brunhilda.
Everyone have a wonderful day in this new month at our new diner.
Perhaps a trip to Miniatur Wunderland this afternoon?
Prayers to all,
Regards, Ed
gmpullmanenjoy my Franzbrötchen and kaffee
Ed, well for crying out loud! That 25% of yours must have come from Hamburg, as Franzbrötchen is hardly known outside!
For those who wish to know what that stuff is...
It has a sweet taste of hazel nut and cinnamon to it.
Well, today is not a sunny, but still a dry day, so I´d suggest to keep the visit to Miniatur Wunderland for a rainy day and take a stroll through Hamburg instead!
Speaking of Germany, I have several connections to that wonderful country. My wife and I are both from military families. My father was posted to Werl when I was young and my youngest brother was born in a hospital in Iserlohn. My wife lived in Germany twice, both times in Lahr. My youngest daughter has a university degree in both theatre and German. Several years ago she went on a student summer course in Frankfurt and met a young fellow from Offenbach. He came to Canada and lived in our home for a year. We played soccer together in my city. My daughter made several trips to Germany including taking in the massive outdoor New Years celebration in Berlin. DJ
Great choice of Diner locations! As long as we're here, I'm going to take a quick day-trip down to meet my wife's relatives in Hanover, and see the Herrenhausergarten while I'm there.
And I won't make the mistake of asking for a hamburger, even if Hamburg is where the name came from. I can get those at home. Hamburg, rather, is known for its fish dishes. And though my tastes in German food run more toward kartoffelsalat und wurst, I can't turn down fish when it's fried and smothered in bacon. Today's Diner special is Finkenwerder Scholle. Dig in!
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Good morning ...
I'll have coffee and Franzbrötchen.
Have a nice day.
This month we will have the Solar Eclipse on the 21st. I hope it is not a cloudy day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Steven OtteToday's Diner special is Finkenwerder Scholle.
Exquisite recommendation, Steven, but, without attempting to sneer at Vinnie´s cooking qualities, may I suggest we all go to
Övelgönner Fährhaus
tonight, one of the best places for fish dishes in Hamburg!
The place is located at the banks of the Elbe river, right next to the Övelgönner Museumshafen wiuth its great collection of historic ships, including the steam ice breaker "Stettin".
Those wishing to get some exercise after dinner, I can only recommend to volunteer as a fireman in that ship!
The Herrenhäuser Gärten Steve mentioned are worth a visit! These baroque gardens date back to the late 17th century end were once part of Schloss Herrenhausen, once the residency of the Kings of Hannover and thus the Kings of England (George I until George III). The Schloss fell victim to Allied bombing in 1943. Plans to resurrect were immediately made, but it took until 2009 for them to materialize. The new Schloss is not a close copy of the original structure, but a plausible replica. It is used as a convention center.
Guten Morgen!
Still drinking my morning coffee. It's a beautiful summer day here in New England.
Thank you, Amtrak, for being a bit late Sunday night. The girlfriend and I were in New York City, and we rode the Staten Island Ferry after visiting the 9/11 memorial. We pushed our schedule a bit hard, as we had to go back uptown to retrieve our luggage. She was freaking out because the Lyft driver got us stuck in traffic and we were not going to make the departure time for her train. For some reason, I figured the train would be late, and it was. She boarded her train and I got on mine, the end of a beautiful vacation together.
The Northeast Regional was more crowded coming north on Sunday nigth than it was going south on Wednesday afternoon. I still had a couple of seats to myself, though. The train is a comfortable way to travel, much nicer than an airplane. For Boston to New York, it's probably faster downtown to downtown. The Acela costs as much as flying, but the Northeast Regional is considerably cheaper. Seniors (60+) get 10% off.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Sir Madog Steven Otte Today's Diner special is Finkenwerder Scholle. Exquisite recommendation, Steven, but, without attempting to sneer at Vinnie´s cooking qualities, may I suggest we all go to Övelgönner Fährhaus
Steven Otte Today's Diner special is Finkenwerder Scholle.
Exquisite recommendation, Steven, but, without attempting to sneer at Vinnie´s cooking qualities, may I suggest we all go to Övelgönner Fährhaus
As Vinnie would say, forget about it. The only thing he knows how to cook is a knuckle sandwich. Chef Ryan handles kitchen duties.
Steven OtteChef Ryan handles kitchen duties.
Haven´t seen him about the place for quite a long time, now!
Good afternoon.
Came for my lunch break today.
Brunhilda - A nice plate of Finkenwerder Scholle with Fritten and a Fanta. Bitte und Danke.
(Seeing as Fanta originated in Germany, I will do it instead of my normal Coke.)
(Also - Google Translate used for the correct German words, other than Danke... Somehow I knew that one already...)
Weather - Hot and humid in my area today.
W*^k - I'm guarding the store today... and doing very well at that! 0 customers so far....
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the day!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Hamburg holds a special place in my heart. Between my junior and senior years of high school, I participated in a student exchange program where I lived with a family in Hamburg and attended the school there. While I had taken German in high school, I was still completely lost in class. We happened to be there when the school had planned a field trip to Berlin (West Berlin, at the time) and the train ride across East Germany was a memorable experience. The starkest memory for me was when we came to the border with West Berlin and the border guards had a dog run under the length of the train. It has always been a goal of mine to get back to Hamburg one day.
Richard
hi everyone! Praying and hoping that I'm gonna be able to go to the National Train Show this weekend...
Good evening folks. Well since we are in Hamburg I will have to samople the local fish speacialties as I've yet to meet a fish or fish dish I did not like.Will need to get a stein or two of the local brew as well.
Ulrich- Thanks for the wonderfull vids,they really do justice to what is obviously a beautifull city. With my electric rail love,the circle subway/L vid was very well enjoyed by me.
Our summer heer has been very wet as well ( not the usual high blast furnace heat and humidity of our normal July weather ) so I can't complain other than the extra grass cutting this has caused.
No new model, or museum things today just a normal workday for me .
rob
Guten Abend alle zusammen!
Ich werde einem Hamburger und ein glas Beir, bitte.
Huh? Oh we are in Hamburg..... Hamburgers are not on the menu. I see. OK, I'll have a fish fry with all the trimmings to go along with the Beir then.
Been a busy day here in the Finger Lakes. This morning I was just getting ready to hit the shower when the doorbell rang and it was my son standing out there. Had him come in and chat for an hour or so. He had just gotten a haircut which was exactly what I had planned myself before he showed and threw the schedule off. He was hoping I could pick up the Granddaughters at the Waterloo Youth Community Center on Thursday as he has to work as does his wife and the live-in grandma has something else planned that may keep her from picking up the girls. I was supposed to be at my hearing aid tuning at about the same time, but I told him I would see if I could get it changed. Turns out the train rides that were to be given to a day care group out at the museum tomorrow got cancelled so I was able to reschedule the hearing aids appt. for tomorrow afternoon and will be able to get the girls home on Thursday.
I still have some major house cleaning to get done before my other son shows up from Chicago on Sunday. Looks like tomorrow morning and early afternoon is now free so I know how I will be occupied then. Finished the write-up of the curved girder bridge for being evaluated for a merit award late this month, so I have that done. Went to the Credit Union for some pictures of dead presidents now that my retirement $$$ has been deposited. Spent one picture of George for a couple ears of corn for supper, got a request done for one of the MLK Scholarship recipients who is on her way to college. (Their info is sent to me, and then I formally request the funds be sent out at the 501c3 account we have at a local banking institution to the kid. All complicated but very well documented and all legally done for accounting purposes.)
Prayers for all in need!
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, Jan, Brent, Inch and I will have a please.
I was in a good mood till around 6:30 PM till the Böse Hexe der Arbeit Nancy Owner Wife called me to give me pep talk! She was boried and could not catch any Flys so she could pull there wings off, so she called me! While cannot say I hate her, she stands for very thing I am aginst when it comes to sales.
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Hello Railfans!
Just wanted to share a couple of pictures. (Sorry, no goats )
Just a caboose. Something we dont see alot of these days.
Goodnyt!
Douglas
Good Morning, Diners
PM RailfanJust wanted to share a couple of pictures. (Sorry, no goats )
So let's have some goats!
L&S-551_fix_web by Edmund, on Flickr
Laverne & Shirley! The ballast sniffers.
L&S_fix_web-549 by Edmund, on Flickr
Remember when Godzilla ate Tokyo? Well—?
Oh, sure, they're being GOOD now in front of the camera, but DON"T turn your back, even for a second!
I have a little catching up to do leftover from the July Diner so I thought I'd better get that out of the way.
I really got a kick out of your photo of West Shore #17, Bear! I would guess the goat climbed up into the coupla and right out the window like the brakeman did back in the day.
Is the fellow by the steps holding the box that Douglas' brass caboose came in?
WS17_goat by Edmund, on Flickr
So you want to see some baaaad goats? Check this naughty fellow out.
My goats are only slightly better behaved than this errant Capra.
Heartland Division CB&Q If you don't want your photos to diplay all of the extra Flickr stuff, there is a way to post without it explined in the very long thread about alternatives to Photobucket.
Garry, I appreciate the tip and I have done that in the past but, as I read the EULA or terms of use at Flickr it specifically says that if you lint to another site you are supposed to leave that information at the bottom?
From Flickr:
Link back to Flickr when you post your Flickr content elsewhere.Flickr makes it possible to post content hosted on Flickr to other web sites. Pages on other web sites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr. This provides a way to get more information about the content and the photographer.
Maybe I'm wrong but at the risk of getting another bunch of photos locked up, I'm playing it safe. I added the underscore to the above paragraph. Maybe someone here can clarify?
PM Railfan Ed - first of all - JINX! for posting brass right after i mentioned I just bought some.
Ed - first of all - JINX! for posting brass right after i mentioned I just bought some.
Congratulations on your first brass gem, Douglas
JINX? Wasn't me Actually it was "South Penn" when he was writing his thread about Having A Bad Day I had just put my freshly painted B6 into the oven to bake on the Scalecoat I paint. The PRR 0-6-0 came out great BUT the big Pennsy "Coast-To-Coast" tender I tucked in there with it um... suffered a little warpage!
I had completely forgot that I made the coal-space cover out of styrene
IMG_3218b_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Not much damage, mind you — and I'll simply make a new cover (my first try actually WAS brass sheet but I found the textured styrene looked a little nicer) certainly one of those DUH moments! I even paused and looked over everything BEFORE I tucked everything into the oven...
Well, I've chatted up my alotted space. I see Chloe made it here and she is bringing my tall Franziskaner with a nice head on it!
Sir MadogEd, well for crying out loud! That 25% of yours must have come from Hamburg, as Franzbrötchen is hardly known outside!
Actually, Ulrich, it was a co-w**ker at a film processing laboratory I was employed in back in the mid-1970s, Rudy Hildebrandt, that would bring them in on occasion. I had no idea that they were local to Hamburg!
To all in need! Here's to another wonderful day, everyone!
I am afraid your tour guide in Hamburg has to take a day off. I have developed an earache, which didn´t let me find any sleep last night and now I simply feel
So why don´t you guys just go on a harbor cruise - the weather seems just right for it!
Ed - the term yard goat gets a different meaning when looking at your pictures!
Back to bed...
Good morning .
Ed ... Thanks for the info about Flickr ... Who reads fine print? ... LOL ... Goats? Your are not like Rocky, the Great Northern mascot. ... I will try to send a PM with a question. ...
Ulrich .... Thanks for the harbor cruise video.
...
On my layout I continue to work on the scenery project. Also, I could not resist temptation, and I ordered two Athearn Genesis CB&Q GP7's with sound. These are prototypically correct models and are DCC sound.
Also, we decided to get a pontoon boat to use on our lake. We did have a speed boat, but we sold it a few years ago.
Good morning from the really, really smokey West Coast.
This morning there was a defined line as the smoke rolled in, one side blue, the other a browny grey colour, however, it is all yuck now. The sun is a very filtered dark orange and the smoke is keeping it quite cool down here at ground level. Everything is orange in colour to look at. I am in decent shape and I can feel my breathing affected so I won't be doing anything strenuous today. I think the hospitals will be full of people that have compromised breathing over the coming days.
I have a question on photo's and the internet. In the past, I have posted pic's of my daughter painting HO people for me. Recently I was looking at photo's of my daughter winning some awards associated with her school. I clicked on an icon that said "more photo's of ...... ........." and the pic's of her on this forum came up. I had never posted her name at any time on this forum yet there she was along with the school pic's on Google images. How does that happen? The only thing I can think of is some sort of photo recognition done by Google.
Looks like the "other" kid is done on the movie after three weeks of long days. They want him back in September but with him being in Ottawa that ain't going to happen. His last night was the best by far he said. Lots of guns and explosions.
Ulrich, I am enjoying the tour of Germany as it is reminding me of my younger years which was a very active exciting period in my life.
Well, I can't stop sneezing with all this smoke from the fires and neither can the dogs, so best go find some low activity thing to do like fire up the layout.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
You think you´ve seen everything?
Then watch this!
This home-brewed loco has aptly been named "The Outhouse on Rails"! Originally built as a battery powered loco, it has been converted into a diesel-electric by installing an old Volvo Penta marine diesel motor.
Thomas. A Yorke, a renowned US large scale modeler, makes a resin kit of this unusual engine, using the Bachmann On30 trolley drive to power it.
Good afternoon Diners,
Brunhilde, I'll have an extra large coffee with lots of cream, please.
Well, gute Nachmittags, Leute! I must say that I'm enjoying this excursion in Hamburg. I would like to visit there one day.
The only place in Germany that I've ever been is Frankfurt. That was in 1969. More beautiful girls per square foot than any place I've ever been, or at least at the time it seemed like it. Probably enhanced in my mind over the years, kinda like a good fish story. And yes, I did order a "hamburger" when I was there. I found out 3years later what I did. id love to go back and see the rest of the country. Actually, wished I could have lived there for a while. Maybe could've become fluent "auf Deutsch."
Ulrich: Very saddened to hear about the three attacks recently. All so unnecessary. Seriously, how much longer are theGerman people going to put up with this? I can't imagine very long. What is the mood of the country now? Are people looking for an alternative choice to Chancellor Merkle? (Vinnie, this is just a casual question. I'm not interested in steering to politics).
I really liked the HO layout on the bifold door in the September issue of MR. That might be doable.
Hello to everyone, and I hope everyone is OK and safe.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Jim,
you will find Frankfurt very much different today from what you remember, Frankfurt is the banking capital of Germany and has lost the old "Gemütlichkeit" to sober banking business. To add to the misery, all the nice Fräuleins have moved away and in most quarters you will think you are somewhere in the middle east, but not in the heart of Germany.
I won´t comment on Merkel, Vinnie will not like what I would have to say!
Heading to the hay soon. I hope I´ll get some sleep this night. I am going to see my doc about my ear, my heart rate and my shoulder tomorrow morning.
Have a good night!
Evening Diners,
This was the first time I missed a post of a new day. I was going to talk about German railroad history then I thought Steven may not like it if I started talking about WWII Nazi Germany. So I'll be safe not too.
I'll have some fish and chips if Hamburg serves them, if not I'll have their cinnamon roll.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Afternoon Diners
Flo, Ulrich, Inch, Ed, Brent, The Buick Guy and I will have a Please. If Jan finds is way in, I am buying.
So so day. Had a very low blood sugar when I got up at 53! We keep a bottle of none diet soda for that very reason. Took a small sip and checked 45 minutes later and I was up to 95. Had a pices of toast with my eggs to be safe.
Later I felt a little better and did get some needed and nasty rearyard work done. Had stuff growing in the none used inground pool. Got that cleaned out and it was not fun. But I have done nastier things like cleaning out a greas pit when I was in Basic Traing in the Army.
BBQ Cutting down on the fats when I BBQ. Good buy Barts, Pork Ribs and no more hard cheese's! Tonight it is Chicken Kaboob's, Veggie Kaboob's and of course ny wife wants Hambuger's. Just what she need's with heart problems!
BBQ is done, so Later!
Ken
Hey Flo, give me a good helping of today's special, and one of those fantastic German . Yes, I'm on vacation, so I can partake of some beverages I normally avoid.
Been crazy busy. Things were pretty dead... Err, slow (dead being a bad word to use in the medical field) the beginning of summer. Then around the middle of June, all he** broke loose and we were moving patients continuously for 13-15 hours straight. Go home for 8 hours, then return to w*rk and repeat. Had a brief respite with a business trip two weeks ago, but of course when you're away, the housework piles up. We don't even want to begin to talk about the condition of the lawn.
But.... As I mentioned to Flo, I'm on vacation now. Said lawn is going to be even more overgrown, but at least I'll be in better mental/emotional/physical condition when I get home. I'm currently in southern New Hampshire, and will head up to the White Mountains tomorrow. The new tent will get a good test, as it looks like showers/thunderstorms every afternoon. Would prefer for the rain to stay away, but if it doesn't, at least I enjoy sleeping in a tent when it's raining. Hope to hit the Conway Scenic Railway, or Mt. Washington Cog Railway, but will have to see if the weather cooperates.
Finally got caught up with all the goings on in the diner. 16 pages! Either I haven't been in for awhile, or some of the patrons are shall we say "very" talkative......Nah, must be me, as we all know that modelers are a bunch of quite, taciturn types.
DC Jim (or should that be NH Jim?)