Good morning, everybody ! ..... Coffee and a pecan roll, please.
Ken .... Glad you fixed the B&O hopper. Evidently, your car shop workers have more work to do.
Ulrich ... Sorry to hear about your severe storm. Thanks for the videos.
Everybody .... Have a fantastic Friday !
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Very rainy day in Eastern Iowa on our way home from the summer in Saskatchewan. Still don't have a clue how evilness grips some people. Prays for the Las Vegas victims and their families.
Should be home tomorrow night. Hopefully I can get back to finishing the old Uhlrich car I was working on before leaving for Canada. Need to order more grab irons to finish the car sides and ends.
Uhlrich, I enjoyed your comments on accounting. Strangley my grand-daughter wants to be a tax accountant, a job up there with root canals.
Jim
Good afternoon from the cool damp, trying hard to rain West Coast.
The wife is at a dog show this weekend. I took the trailer out yesterday and set it up for her, she booked too late and didn't get a power hook up so she will have to deal with the generator. I'll have to pick her up Monday to come home. No Thanksgiving turkey this weekend.
When I got home I got a call to ship a canister to Finland as she is getting frozen sperm sent in from a stud dog there. Took it to Fedex this morning, that was a pretty penny to ship as it was 15" x 25" and weighed in at about 20LBS. We have a Fedex account so it was drop and run.
I will be going abroad tomorrow to the train show in Lynden Washington. But on the way, I will drop #1 daughter off at school as she is writing her U.S. S.A.T.s just in case she gets a good offer to a U.S. University. The U.S. headhunters were at her school all week interviewing the kids. She wants to go to Medical school at this point in time, thinking cardiology. So far it is the University of Edinborough that has her attention. My son was really pestered by some schools after his interviews to the point of being really annoying he said. My daughter just slightly edges him out on grades, so now she will face the same bombardment, I'm sure.
I sure miss not going to the arena as Hockey has started. Being involved with all those kids is just the best. The enthusiasm they have just fills you with pure joy. We also get a fair number new kids come in from countries that have not had any experience with hockey. The way these kids jump right in and take on the challenge of learning to play is something to behold. I have always been so proud of the way our guys show them the ropes. Helps to get through the hate and other bad stuff in the world to see that.
Well, belly on up boys, it is all on me tonight. I figure by being generous, the train gods will let me find a deal or two at the train show tomorrow. Now I just need to text the wife and find out where she hides the U.S. money. Always something.
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."
Afternoon Diners
Flo, the guys and I will have a cold on Brents tap! Thank you Brent.
I am feeling badly and have been for the last few days. Have a pain in the right Kidney Area and I was sure I had a Kidney Infection. Went to the local Urgent Care and they tested my urine and there is no signs of a infection? Feels like Rocky Balboa been punching me in the kidneys!
PA said she felt some Tension where I said the pain is and asked if I been lifting anything heavy? If she asked me that last week the answer would have been yes, but not this week. Couple of the little red pills and I feel fine again.
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Evening diners
I'll have the Canadian walleye as I tend to favor that one.
It was good to get back to work today as I've been out for 5 days with back problems. A pulled rib out of socket. (Hurts !)
It's been a couple of years since I've had this problem. I hope it will be many more years or never, I have this problem again.
Too much heavy work in one week I guess.
No longer a spring chicken here.
Take care y'all.
Track fiddler
PS
Randy. Did you ever get your plumbing problems resolved? If not I would like to help if I can.
Good Morning!
Still no rail services in and around Hamburg! Deutsche Bahn is not yet able to predict when the lines will be open again! This has certainly been the worst storm for decades!
Today, we will be leaving the lake Geneva region and follow the Rhone river eastward to the town of Brig, where we change trains for Domodossola in Italy. The trip will take us through the Simplon tuznnel, which had been the longest train tunnel in the world for many a decade, but now lost this title to the new Gotthard base tunnel. In Domodossola, we will then board a train of the Centovalli Railway, a narrow gauge line connecting Italy with the town of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The line passes through 100 valley (hence the name) and is oneof the most spectacular train rides in Europe!
Enjoy a cab ride from Domodossola to Locarno with me!
Hey ! ... Where is everybody, today ? !
Ulrich .... That certainly must have been a bad storm.
Randy .... Sorry to hear about your back problems.
Hope to see some Diners here this evening.... Great food on the menu.
It has been quiet, hasn't it? I hope the food is better than what we had tonight. Okay, most of our dinner was good, but the corn on the cob we had left a lot to be desired. I suppose it's the end of the fresh corn season for the local farmers. Will just have to wait until next year.
Got in 4 hours of railfanning in this morning. A good day with 10 trains, and some interesting things to see, at least for me.
1 MOW train, 1 coke train, 4 intermodals, 3 mixed freight, & 1 coal train.
The 1st train we saw was the MOW. It was a shove with an old Conrail caboose & a half dozen or so gondolas. One of the gondolas had a track vehicle for unloading ties riding on top. We didn't get to see it in operation though, it just passed by. They have new ties laid out along the rails for a couple of miles.
Next train was an empty coke train with 1 engine, which was the Monongahela Heritage Unit. It's always nice to catch one of them.
Another of the trains had 2 units, both of them shiny, like right out of the paint shop. Both were AC44C6M's conversions. Norfolk Southern & GE are converting old units from DC to AC, along with new cabs, controls & electronics. But these too had what I would call the radial wave logo, similar to what Conrail had on the cabs of theirs SD80MACs.
I've said it before, but I'm very lucky to be able to railfan a busy line & catch so many interesting things. The radio chatter is always interesting as well as we pick up not only Norfolk Southern, but CSX across the river & Rook Yard of the Wheeling & Lake Erie.
Have a good time & stay safe...
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Evening Diners,
If I remember right. That NS and CSX didn't like the AC symbol because it didn't match or understand of their current locomotives.
Ulrich- Is your house free of damage?
Garry- I thought that passenger locomotive was fake. But I seen more golden locomotives before too.
Layout Construction 4 will not start this weekend. I didn't get a measuring cup for my clay which it turned out I needed water.
This week did go by fast since I'm playing the beta SW Battlefront II.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Watch out for the cold that is going around. Wednesday I awoke with a scratchy throat By bedtime it was full blown bronchitis. I was coughing every 2nd or third breath. Finally got to sleep around 4:30 or 5 am. Oddly I didn't have the malaise that usually accompanies any kind of cold or flu.
Went to bed Thursday with a low grade temp 100.5 and slept really well. The Robitussin DM really made a difference for a change. I still have a nasty and junky sounding cough.
My wife and I had previous plans to go to Charlottesville this weekend to check it out a a retirement spot. We went anyway. The University was having a bicentennial celebration and there was a football game with Duke. Traffic was terrible.
Housing and land was overpriced, as far as I was concerned. Unless the neighborhoods in new construction had tiny plots of land, you could only pick the builders biggest models. Each model varied in price depending on the neighborhood and it also varied in which features were standard. Virtually impossible to understand without a spread sheet.
One resale we looked at was $530 K with an active CSX line about 150 feet from the house. That's a bit too close for me. All the houses y wife liked where more than 3000 sq ft and some of those had finished basement as well so they were north of 4000 sq ft. Not exactly downsizing.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Eveing Diners
Flo, Inch, Gary, Ed, Brent, Ulrich, Jan and Dean, Galaxy and I will have a please.
I was stressed out before the store opned! Trying to figuer out what Jerry The sold can be nerve racking! Sold things I know we where out of stock off and he said it was taken? Handing out the wrong iteams and the list goes on and on! I was ready for a by 10:00 AM after dealing with his mistakes!
Gary Thought I had a few other cars cleared from the RIP track. One of my Walthers Tank Cars keeps coming uncoupled in diffrent spots around the layout? Did clear a Santa Fe caboose and ready to test a sweet B&O Caboose that Ed sent me! Very high detail! The Torlet evens flushes!
It´s Sunday, which means I´ll have my big Sunday breakfast of bacon & eggs, buttered toast and jams, OJ and lots of coffee, please.
We take a day off today to discover the charming city of Locarno with its perfect mixture of Italian charme and Swiss cleanliness - but see for yourself!
As this is a sunny day, why not spend the afternoon with a boat cruise on Lago Maggiore about the steamer "Piemonte"?
Enjoy!
angelob6660Ulrich- Is your house free of damage?
Fortunately, yes - no damage to the place i live in and only minor damage to the surrounding buildings. Train services are still suspended and maintenance crews are really busy getting the catenary up again.
Have a great day!
Hello, Folks
I'll bet I can find a delicious Swiss Fondue in the Diner today. That sounds great! A few fresh vegetables and some warm, crusty bread and a little of Ken's Pinot Anheuser to wash it all down will be just fine!
Thanks for the pleasant video tour, Ulrich. Beautiful indeed.
Glad you're keeping your caboose happy, Ken! When your caboose is happy, everybody's happy...
Today I ventured to the far western suburbs and attended the Berea, Ohio, train show. It has been a nearly twenty-year tradition for me and the friends that I meet with. The crowd seemed a bit sparse— more so than in past years. I have a feeling these things may be running their course?
I did come away with an Erie brass coach and diner that were pretty unique to the Erie. These represent modernized heavyweights and the railroad club I used to belong to had five of the actual coaches on their roster.
I plan to paint them in the Erie dark green with the light gray-green window band.
https://www.nps.gov/stea/planyourvisit/images/Erie-3-on-turntable_960w.JPG
As if I really need another modeling project well, nasty weather will be here soon enough. Today was a sunny 82°F (28C)! Amazing for this time of year here.
I'm glad to hear the damage was kept to a minimum in your neighborhood, Ulrich. The weather irregularities have been quite chaotic for most, this year.
I hope everyone is well, safe and content. Prayers to all who may be in need...
Regards, Ed
Good morning ..... It rained all night. It will rain all day. 70F now. It makes up for lack of rain for past two weeks.
Ed .... I like seeing the old Erie advertisement. I have many fond memories of train travel. Not on the Erie, however, but many other RR's in the 1950's. Sad, we can't travel like that anymore.
Ulrich .... While checking the weather report this morning, I saw a summary of weather events over the past week. They did a short story of the storm you had in Germany. Looked very bad.
Good (cool) morning from the Left side of America, not way down in Chile, but way up just North of the Forty-ninth where we are getting a bit of an Arctic push coming in, so the mercury is drifting down.
The lineups for crossing the border into the U.S. were long yesterday and I had decided not to go to the train show in Lynden Washington. However, I kept the screen up on the computer to monitor the lineups and saw a break in the action around noon and hopped in the car and headed for a small border crossing station to the East and got over in a very few minutes. Coming back there was no wait.
Didn't get anything at the show, although there were two Sunset 2-10-2s that were for sale for $300.00 each that I would have grabbed if they had somewhere to test them. The show seemed to have fewer people this year, but that may have been because I was there later in the day this year.
Haven't heard from Ray in a few days. Probably running from all the ladies sans beard, or maybe I should say running after them.
The wife has been running the furnace in the trailer out at the dog show a lot this weekend as it is cold out there. I'll have to fill the propane bottles when she gets back. My neighbour asked me one day why I was filling the bottles in the fall, he said he does his at the start of camping season in the Spring. I told him that if there was an earthquake and the house becomes uninhabitable, we will just carry on in the trailer. He now fills his at the end of camping season.
One year we had the power go out during a storm on Thanksgiving with a big crowd coming. We moved the turkey to the barbecue which is natural gas and plugged into the wall and the wife cooked everything else in the trailer. It was a great Thanksgiving. Had the generator for lights and stuff. Our gas fireplaces keep the house toasty warm. Didn't miss a beat.
The wife left three dogs home and our old one is really limping as I think he hurt his shoulder, not sure how. I'll take one of the other two down to the park which is 100s of acres of forest and other alien looking landscapes. There is a movie being filmed there as there often is, I'll see if I can introduce the mut to an alien.
The kid says his residence in Ottawa is deserted for Thanksgiving weekend. His building is nine floors and he and one other guy from Iran are the only two on the floor. They have become good friends since they met at the start of the year. They have been hanging out together most of the weekend. The kid comes home for nine days in two weeks for midterm break.
Best get on with the day, all the best to all.
Good morning,
Garry I drove through that rain coming back from Nashville last night. It got so bad in placed on 24 we had to slow down to 45 mph to keep from dribing off the road.
Last night we saw Blues man Taj Mahal and Keb' MO at the Ryman in Nashville. Great concert!
Afternoon Diners,
Fall started a few weeks ago with cold mornings with hot afternoons and evenings. I immediately thought of my layout when I decide to restart probably next week. The problem occurred to me when I supply the sculptamold, that it might break or crack when I leave it outside to cure. I know there's a situation to this problem, but I can't remember what it is.
Ed- Enjoy your new painting project of the Erie Railroad
Evenin' Folks!
Janie I could use a cup of decaf for the moment, please...
BATMANHaven't heard from Ray in a few days. Probably running from all the ladies sans beard, or maybe I should say running after them.Laugh
I'm here! Haven't had much to say and have been busier than a cat covering poop on a marble floor.... Batman Not running away nor chasing anyone yet....... Have had a few more ah, shall we say interesting conversations about my present looks though with several ladies who are Not Available (very married)! Several people have had trouble figuring out who I am and how they know me.... 20 years is a long time I guess. One lady who was working at the Fall Foliage trips yesterday and whose husband is a friend of mine at the museum. Was talking with me and finally said, I know I should know who you are, but I can't come up with it! Her husband started to laugh and pointed to my Name Tag on my Black Suit (formal conductor's outfit for the car hosts). She looked and said, I saw that, but you just don't look like him... Then she all of a sudden figured it out, took a step back and said, "Oh my God!" "You know without the beard and dressed up nice, you are really handsome!" I did enjoy that, I tell you..... There was a lady from my church who rode on our first trip,. who had no idea who I was and why I said hi to her... She didn't figure out who I was untill she got off the train at the end of the trip, when I said, see you in church tomorrow...
I have been furiously trying to get my powerpoint presentation done for the Retired Teacher Meeting and lunch coming up in a week and a half! I'm getting panicky about figuring out what and how to do this. Also have to get everything ready for our table at the Batavia Train Show in November. I wouldn't worry about it yet except I will be in Rhode Island at the NER NMRA Convention that weekend. My secretary will be taking over the table and will need to have everything packed and to him this week.... I have also been asked to write a letter to the editor for the local paper praising a candidate for County Board of Supervisors. He was one of my Eagle Scouts and a very fine and intelligent person whom I do support strongly for the position. He needs that written by the end of this week as well. And.... I am still spending a couple hours of prime time most every day taking care of my sister's cats while she is causing international incidents over in the "Very Far".......
Also need to get my train room ready to have a couple of models evaluated for AP Certificates and cleaned up for the "Open House" during the Division Meet in November.
Busy, busy, busy.....
Have a great one out there!
"A diplomat is a man who who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." - Robert Frost
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Well, I've just had a fine week with the GF. We went to Cape Cod. She has a friend who lets her use his vacation home, so we both drove there (so we could each bring our bicycles) and met for a relaxing vacation. The house is only a quarter mile or so from the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a lovely and popular re-purposing of the original rail line that went out to the tip of the Cape at Provincetown. There is also a brew-pub nearby, with half a dozen really nice beers and ales all available on tap.
I also carried my lobster pot, burner stand and propane tank with me. Tuesday night, for my lady's birthday, I made her a lobster dinner complete with steamers and chowder. She enjoyed it so much that she asked for a repeat performance on Saturday, which I of course obliged. We both love lobster.
On Thursday, we planned a trip on the Cape Cod Scenic Railway. We could not get them on the phone or online that morning, so we drove to Hyannis and tried to book in person. Unfortunately, that day was sold out, so we bought our tickets for Friday instead, and then sought out another brew-pub for the afternoon.
Friday was our train ride, and as it turned out we'd timed it perfectly. We were a bit of an overflow from the expected crowd, so they added another dining car to the consist. They told us at the station that we were the lucky ones. We were on their special car, with a total of only 8 diners. It was a former Illinois Central Car, a century old this year, that had served time on the City of New Orleans. It was beautifully restored. Normally, they charge extra for this car on the dinner train, but we got it for the lunch train at their normal fare. The ride was an hour each way. We each had a piece of fresh salmon that was delicious, and a local beer, plus a bowl of chowder and dessert. The whole trip was a complete delight. We agreed that next time we wil take the dinner train.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Flo, Ray, Ed, Bent, Gary, Inch, Galaxy, Ulrich, Jan and I will have a please.
Highlight of work was getting into it with Paul the GM. Every have a boss that ask you a question, then talks over you when you try to answer? If you have, then it might have been Paul! This all stem's from Jerry The . I was aswering his question and he started talking over me again! I was not in the mood! Told him "I'am not done talking yet" and he let me finshed and I told the rest of my side.
Well the control burn is done all so called BBQ. I need a new grill again!
I was very saddened by Tom Petty's death a few days ago.
It's hard to grow older and lose our admirations, our Heroes we grew up with.
One by one they go away a little bit every year as we all get older.
Johnny Cash was a hard one to part with.
I wasn't expecting Tom Petty to go this soon.
Hats off to you Tom. Your music, very mellow, calm and Collective. The best.
Rest in peace
You will be remembered.
The night was pretty bad. I had a terrible pain in my right shoulder, which wouldn´t let me catch the sleep I need. Well, as they say, once you are over 40 ...
We need to get an early start today! At the train station, we will board a train taking us to Bellinzona, where we change trains. The train then will takes us to Airolo and through the old Gotthard tunnel. We will leave this train the moment it has passed through the tunnel at Göschenen, where we will board the Matterhorn Gotthardbahn (MGB) narrow gauge train taking us up the Schöllenen Gorge to Andermatt.
Andermatt is a small town along the former stage coach route over the old Gotthard Pass. During the summer season, the coach trip is available as a tourist attraction.
We won´t stay long in Andermatt, but continue our journey onboard an MGB train to Brig.
The video shows the trip the other way around!
Arrival in Brig will be in the afternoon, so we will spend the rest of the day touring the city and taking a close look at the Stockalper Palace, before we will enjoy a Raclette dinner at one of the lovely restaurants.
Good morning ....
Brent ... Upon reading though your post, it occurred to me you may have had a three dog night....
MLC ... sounds like you enjoyed the concert ...
Ray .... Uh oh.... You evidently are a hearthrob to women without the beard ! LOL
Mr. B .... Sounds like a nice vacation on Cape Cod.
Ulrich .... Thanks for the videos... I hope to view them later today.
Angel ... You might be able to fill the cracks with drywall mud.
Cheers.
Afternoon folks......
Chloe, could i get another refill for my dark roast coffee, please?
Heartland Division CB&QRay .... Uh oh.... You evidently are a hearthrob to women without the beard ! LOL
And that is good Garry, I wouldn't date a bearded woman anyway!
"......., Bearded girls don't get proposed to every day..." ("Lord have mercy on my So-o-o-ooooo-lo) From the opera Hansel and Gretel, and Ted and Alice by PDQ Bach.
Still busy trying to get the presentation done for the Retired Teachers Meeting...
Catch you later!
howmus Heartland Division CB&Q Ray .... Uh oh.... You evidently are a hearthrob to women without the beard ! LOL {Ray's reply} "......., Bearded girls don't get proposed to every day..." ("Lord have mercy on my So-o-o-ooooo-lo) From the opera Hansel and Gretel, and Ted and Alice by DQ Bach.
Heartland Division CB&Q
Ray .... Uh oh.... You evidently are a hearthrob to women without the beard ! LOL {Ray's reply}
"......., Bearded girls don't get proposed to every day..." ("Lord have mercy on my So-o-o-ooooo-lo) From the opera Hansel and Gretel, and Ted and Alice by DQ Bach.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
last mountain & eastern hogger howmus Heartland Division CB&Q Ray .... Uh oh.... You evidently are a hearthrob to women without the beard ! LOL {Ray's reply} "......., Bearded girls don't get proposed to every day..." ("Lord have mercy on my So-o-o-ooooo-lo) From the opera Hansel and Gretel, and Ted and Alice by DQ Bach. You Guys are hillarious..... Too bad Vaudville is passe. You two would be a terrific act. Johnboy out..............
LOL ...
Ray ... since you already shaved off one beard, why not shave off another ?
Good Evening, Folks
Heartland Division CB&QEd .... I like seeing the old Erie advertisement. I have many fond memories of train travel.
Thanks, Garry! I enjoy sharing old photos and railroad-themed documents with the gang!
I bring with me good news from our fellow Diner member, YGW!
Below is from an email I received from him earlier today:
YGW's HOBBY BARN PROGRESS!
I have had a very busy summer. We have built and settled 20 + million dollar homes, many with Elevators built in. Also now that the weather has cooled down I an making a LOT of progress on the hobby barn.
In the attached you can see that I have Installed the skylights ( two on the front and two on the rear ). Installing the skylights was scary ! Imagine standing on a steep slope with loose gravel under ones feet and a long fall to the bottom ! When we cut the holes the saw dust acted like loose gravel it was almost impossible to keep ones feet under oneself. The shingles are Installed in the rear and the front is partially installed ( shingling is back breaking work !!!!) .
Evenin'!
Janie, just a cup of decaf please....
Garry, I sent you a PM. If you don't get the joke (bet you know) just let me know for the "explanation...." I didn't figure it was proper to put up here in the diner. Probably things have gone far enough, if you know what I mean... LOL
Hoping to get most of the slide show done this evening for the Retired Teacher's presentation. Then I will have to rehearse it a few dozen times and time the show. Then make changes... Go back and rehearse again, time that, and make more changes.... Etc, etc, etc.....
If it ever stops raining every night around here, I need to get the lawn mowed again!
OK! Back to W*RK!
Eveing Folks
Flo, The gang and I will have a
Ed Thank you for posting about YGW, still miss him here at the dinner.
Work Front Mavin the owner had his open heart surger today. Been told things went well but at 85 sure he is not out of the woods yet.
Ken
Heartland Division CB&Q Angel ... You might be able to fill the cracks with drywall mud.
Thanks for the advise. I totally forgot about that.
Mr.B- That sounded like a very great vacation week.