Good morning. It's good to see everyone this morning.
Richard ... Condolences to your family regarding loss of your brother in law.
Dave .... Congratulations to your family regarding your son's good news. I was glad to read about asserting controls on consumption of alcohol at the wedding reception. It should also prevent drunk driving following the reception, and I strongly dislike drunk drivers.
Track Fiddler ... You are welcome.
Ulrich ... Prayers for your friend. One of my model train friends was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago. He had radiation treatments and niow he is cancer free.
CN Charlie ... I hope your prostate cancer is cured by now.
I'm still deeply concerned about my train firend, Dan, who had extensive surgery for cancer in his esophogus had upper stomach this past summer. Now he has being treated with chemo .
Anyhow.... Have a great Sunday.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good Afternoon!
Well, if today is Sun-Day, where is the sun hiding? It´s been raining ever since I woke up this morning and there is no end to it in sight. Not really uplifting.
I tried to do some work on my layout, but had to give up on it. My right shoulder and my left hand started yelling at me, so that put an end to all activities. I wonder how much time I have left until I have to give up on model railroading. I am afraid that day will be coming soon, as I just cannot handle the small bits and pieces, le alone put a car onto the track! I cannot figure being without a "train set" - it´ll break my heart!
Our son called today and we talked about his plans for the upcoming holiday season. From what I gathered, he will not be with us this year, so it´ll be just Petra and I. When I was a little younger, I always thought I could be with my son and his family for Christmas, having a father and son talk over a nice glass of brandy at the fire place or reading fairy tales to my grandchildren. Now I don´t even have a chance to see my son. I am not happy about this, no sir, not happy at all!
More British steam!
Richard, my condolences to you and your wife for your brother-in-law's passing.
Thank you to everyone for your kind words of sympathy. I appreciate it.
My mom's dad was a detective sergeant with the PRR, first around Wilkes-Barre and then on the Elmira Branch. Several years after the family moved to then then-prosperous city of Elmira, Mom married Dad, who wasn't really a railfan, but who did have a Lionel Torpedo that they used to run. I came along, followed by my brother. Our parents got the Lionel out for the holidays, though they didn't always hook up the electricity; somehow, Mom thought we'd burn the house down by running trains the way we were supposed to, so we had to push them by hand. I don't know how much damage was done to the rolling stock and engine over the years, but hopefully it wasn't much. Then I discovered MR in sixth grade, and got an Athearn PRR F7 (in Tuscan red ,no less!) along with some cars; my brother got an Amtrak F7 and cars, too. I remember getting upset because the trains didn't run and the tracks wouldn't stay together, until Dad took them all back to the store (Farmer's Train Shop, long since gone). The wife of one of Charlie's employees told Dad two important things that her husband hadn't: One, you connect the power to the D.C. terminals, not the A.C.; and two, Atlas sectional track will hold curves and stay together a lot better than fiber tie flextrack. And so, just by being a dad, my Old Man was a hero.
Here we are, about 40 years later (give or take). My parents and grandparents are gone, along with the PRR (and its successor, PC), the Elmira Branch, and so many other things we once considered permanent. At least it's been a warm fall on the Southern Tier, even if the foliage has been somewhat muted; bright colors might seem out of place, given how the year has gone. I loathe the thought of cold and snow and darkness, not to mention bare trees and howling wind, that go along with winter, but at least winter also brings happy memories of long ago.
Uncle Bob,
I was interested in your post concerning your memories. I will be 77 on Halloween, and the older I get, the more I think about my past, including family, friends, & growing up where & when I did. I have outlived all my friends & most of my family, but my memories are still with me, & for that I'm very greatful. I was extremely fortunate with my family, as everyone treated me as their own.
I was at my nephew's today for a brunch & my cousin & I were sharing some memories, some sad, but most were fun. Like you, my Dad was great & I sometimes wonder how he managed to always make sure my sister & I never really wanted for anything. Knowing what I do now, I'm pretty sure he & Mom did without a lot of things they would have liked to have had or done.
Funny though, I can still remember a lot of things from the early 40s, but don't know why I went into another room or down the cellar.
Tom
Pittsburgh, PA
Eveing Diners
Flo, Ed, Gary, Inch, Brent, Ulrich, Brent, Jan and I will have a Royal Crown on the Rocks please. Give Ray what ever he likes on my tap as well.
Work sucked rail spikes so that is covred.
Ulrich Sorry to hear about you not seeing your son these coming hoildays. I am lucky that Sharon lives with in 5 miles of us.
Trains are running well, think I will mess with Blue Line RSD 15 some.
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Good evening all.
Zoe - A RBF for me, please. Thanks.
ROR - Condolences about the death in the family.
Tom - I will be passing by the grade crossing from our discussion before twice next Sunday. Once in the morning, and then again around 430-5pm. Unfortunately, I will probably be getting more airplane shots by the airport than I will be getting train shots, if last few times for my meeting has any bearing on things. Curious though, how has traffic been lately? I will have my (non-train crazy, therefore totally not normal....) family with me, so wont have much time for railfan activity, but.... If it was busy, might talk them into a few minutes....
Weather - Warm today, but a cool front tomorrow will be changing that.
W*^k - Busy couple days Friday and Saturday, with me selling well over $5k those two days, and hitting a $50 spiff on Friday. (Commission is extra) But still way to short-staffed. Put in over 53 hours last week, and will be running the store myself for the whole day next Saturday...
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.
Evening Diners,
Ulrich- Hopefully your son will visit you after the holidays. And your friend's prostate cancer.
ROR- Sorry for brother in law. Was it that sudden?
Dave/ Track Fiddler- Congrats to your son!
Yesterday I went to Family Dollar to see if I can find measuring cup and I did for a buck. So today I mixed the sculptoramold and water. I missed calculated the 2-1 ratio and got to much water. After it will dry I'll put a second layer tomorrow.
After my financial situations I been watching a lot of Thomas stories for comfort healing. In the spirit of my depression I purchased a brake van. I picked the wrong month of no money. Some guy in China is selling some Gordon and James's Composition coaches.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Heartland Division CB&Q We tried a pumkin milk shake at Culver's last year, and it was not good at all.
We tried a pumkin milk shake at Culver's last year, and it was not good at all.
When it comes to pumpkin milkshakes, the key is: Don't overdo the pumpkin! I've made one many years ago. (Similar to making a peanut butter milkshake.)
Hobby Front:
GP20s: Got the red paint and am in the process of matching the pink on the engine. Haven't managed to get it right quite yet. The next idea to try a base coat of GN orange and then put the pink on top of that. (The pink on the engine has a bit of an orange cast to it.) I'm hoping that this idea solves the problem.
I'm also planning to bring the rest of the 20s home to install the fill-in panels, paint them and get the plows installed. The two passenger 20s get one kind and the other seven freight units get the same kind as the pink engine. I'm also planning to get Kadee couplers put on the 20s as well. I checked the couplers on the pink one and found that the knockoffs that I had were too high to match up with the height gauge. Ended up using a 149 (long overset) on the front to allow clearance for the plow and a 142 (med overset) on the rear. I will double check the couplers on the rest of 20s. However, given that all of them were kitbashed the same way, it would seem to reason that they would use the same couplers.
Drop-End Gon: One load is finished. (The one that only would require a single idler car.) The second one is in process. (The logs are at least 12" long. Going for two idlers with this load.) The dowels for the load and the stakes are cut and stained/painted as appropriate. I still need to weather the lettering on the car with the rust paint.
Gate: I found that I have a couple pieces of tube that I can use. I have some 1/16" rod that the gate will turn on and some 1/8" that the gate will be built from. I thin I will built the gate on the layout in order to get sizes right.
Good Morning,
Wow, a quiet morning here. Time for a coffee and toast with marmalade please Chloe.
A cool morning here, expecting a high of about 40F today.
We just got back from getting our flu shots.
Garry, everything is fine on the prostate front. I had a PSA test in August and it came back at zero. The urologist was happy so I am. Thanks for asking.
Ulrich, I too am enjoying the Brit videos. It is amazing the number of operating steam locos they have. I was at one time thinking of doing a British outline layout in N scale but not sure where I would put it. Some CP steam has a very British feel about the look but I guess that shouldn't be a surprise as the head of motive power was from England originally.
We are watching the Poldark series on PBS and really enjoy it. Anyone else watching it?
Erands to do today and then I have to get the tank ready for the goldfish. Time to move it indoors. I won't pump the pond for a while longer as the birds really like to use it. With the water flowing it can go for another few weeks before it really might freeze solid.
Have a great day,
CN Charlie
Ricky W - As to traffic on the Fort Wayne Line, I think it has been up a little lately. To be honest, I have no idea what it's like at the times you willbe around. We usually railfan from 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday morning, and sometimes on Sunday. The last couple of weeks we have been seeing 13 to 15 trains. But in the past there have been rare occasions where we only caught 4 or 5. This past Saturday, we had a whole hour with nothing showing up, but we also had 2 meets.
Unfortunately, I don't know anyone from the airport anymore. I retired from the Airport fire department years ago. Back then, I could have taken you out to some areas where you would get some terrific shots.
Hoping you have a good time & get lucky.
hey all, afternoon.
Work situation is more insane than ever. 5 employees in teh same department quit at once, so I ended up picking up extra days with more hours. Paychecks will be nice, but the exhaustion is setting in. Also was looking for a second job, the one I asked about isn't hiring any longer, so back to the internet job search I go. Didnt help my anxiety at all though.
Gotta play the waiting game now. The headlight dimmer/multifunction switch on my car is cracking, so I gotta wait for NAPA to get it delivered so I can play mechanic on the next dry day. 40 dollars for the part or 135 dollars to get a mechanic to fix it, what makes more sense?
Train front...finished up the SD40-2 I was working on. Now just to save for the Loksound decoder for it. I have like 3 units now that need decoders, but I can't pass up a highly detailed unit for 88 bucks from scaletrains.com. So now I'm up to 15 Wheeling locos. I might get one or two more and then I'lll stop for awhile- need one more to do an example of the green ex FURX units, and maybe a Tunnel Motor. I already have three high hood GP35s, 2 low nosed GP40 s, and the rest being SD40-2s and SD40-3 so I just a Tunnel motor to have a good representation of their fleet in HO scale.
I can't wait for the weather to change- this is murder on my asthma.
Train show in Castle Shannon PA on Sunday (Anyone planning to go?). Then hopefully get the final calculations needed to get my roundhouse lighting project done (maybe in time for Open house). Also, the Mid Mon Valley Model Railroad CLub actually got asked to open early this year, for Monongahela's "Shopping with Santa" Aka, "Light Up Night". So we have to make sure our club is ready a week earlier than usual. Then again, we have to be ready for that Sunday, since we host a division meeting, where I'll be giving a program on the Wheeling and Lake Erie.
(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).
Good Evening!
I had a really bad night, so I went to see my doctor this morning. I had to wait for a couple of hours, which really taxed my patience. I should have taken some old MR mags with me, but I doubt that I could have held them for my than a few minutes. My ability to use my hands seem to be declining rapidly, which dies not add to my well-being. The prospect of not being able to continue with my layout is really beking my heart, but I guess I just have to accept the fact. I will start to put things into their boxes and put the layout up for sale. I know i can make a pretty penny from selling the locos and rolling stock. That will at least make the loss a bearable one. If I had the space and the funds, I´d go for a simple O gauge toy train set, just to stay in business, but I fail on both accounts.
Interested in some more British steam?
Well, here is a video, showing "Mallard", the world´s fastet steam engine on a commemorative run on the Settle to Carlisle line. In her days of active duty, "Mallard" was certainly not to be seen on this line, as it belonged to the competing LMS Rlwy., whose "Coronation Scot" was a close match to "Mallard".
Enjoy!
To those in need. I have been out of Internet range for the last week and if I start listing people by name, I will certainly miss someone.
Ulrich sounds like you need physical therapy for your shoulder. They stiffen up pretty quick if you don't move them and getting your range of motion back hurts. I don't get to see my sons enough either. One lives quite close but with second marriages, his kids have 4 sets of grandparents, all demanding equal time.
I had a laser procedure on my eye today to remove a clouded membrane behind the implanted lens after cataract surgery. In 6 months the vision in that eye went from 20/20 to 20/150. Over the course of this morning it has returned to 20/20 and I could not be happier.
Nothing on the train front, but I did run across a podcast Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.
I am listening to Caesar's Celtic Holocaust. It is interesting in so many ways. In comparing ancient armies to North American Indian tribes, he mentioned that 600,000 native americans died from disease, introduced by Europeans, but before most of them actually encountered Europeans.
More numbers, 30,000 Belgae charged down a hill to attack the Romans. It's World War 1 numbers of deaths, taking place in a couple hours of hand to hand combat. Caesar once sold 52,000 slaves in a single transaction. Who buys 50,000 slaves? How do you move them, feed them and where do they go to the bathroom?
He built a trestle bridge across the Rhine in 10 days, crossed it for a military action, then recrossed it and destroyed the bridge. What is referred to as tribes or barbarians, sometimes had elected officials rather than kings and some were considered more civilized than others. Everyone was brutally cruel, Isis had nothing on them.
He did not describe how Romans managed to provision their army, but apparently they did and the barbarians did not, which in itself, led to Roman victories.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddyWhat is referred to as tribes or barbarians, sometimes had elected officials rather than kings and some were considered more civilized than others.
Those "barbarians" referred to in Roman literature are what was later to be known as the "Germans", who were organized in various tribes, led by elected chiefs instead of kings. It was Arminius, who finally united the German tribes in a battle against the Romans, kicking them in their backsides and throwing them out, once and for all. The Romans decided not to conquer the barbarians and built a wall to keep them out. History is always repeating itself!
All: Thanks for the kind words. Mrs. ROR is still in Louisiana and should be home on Wednesday. I am looking forward to having her close by again.
cudakenRichard Sorry to hear about Miss RTR brother passing. What was her brother weight?
Well north of 350 lbs. May have been close to 400 lbs.
angelob6660ROR- Sorry for brother in law. Was it that sudden?
Is was somewhat sudden. About a month ago, he was having some problems with jaundice and was tentatively diagnosed (in a smaller town) with lymphoma pending additional tests. As I mentioned, his size caused some complications in the diagnosis, and he was sent to the LSU medical center a week ago Sunday. The oncologist there looked at the existing test results, said it was lymphoma, it was much more advanced and agressive than initially diagnosed, and to have the family gather. Five days later he was gone.
Richard
Sir Madog It was Arminius, who finally united the German tribes in a battle against the Romans, kicking them in their backsides and throwing them out, once and for all. The Romans decided not to conquer the barbarians and built a wall to keep them out.
It was Arminius, who finally united the German tribes in a battle against the Romans, kicking them in their backsides and throwing them out, once and for all. The Romans decided not to conquer the barbarians and built a wall to keep them out.
And today, we call that wall, "The Alps."
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Good wet afternoon. It has been raining here all day. Yesterday was a beautiful clear fall day. Planted four bearded iris, a half dozen daffodils and a dozen tulips. Getting ready for spring but still need about a month of warm weather to get some outdoor painting done.Tonight is another practice for the communiity Messiah. This year is our communities 90th performance. I decided to sign in it this year as I don't know how many more years I might be able to participate. The last time I sang in a Messiah performance was in the late 1970s.
Henry, I believe the Romans considered everyone that were outside the empire as barbarians. History currently seems to look at the Romans as more barbarian then many of their advisaries.
CN Charlie, I am also a Poldark fan. After watching part of the first season both myself and my wife plowed through all eleven Poldark nozzles. We are enjoyiing season two. Have you seen any of the old Poldark productions?
Steve Offe, pumpkin spice seems to be writers and cartonist favorite topic right now. Crankshaft featured pumpkin spice in today's strip. Can't say I am a fan of much of anything pumpkin other than pumpkin soup which does not contain the spice and taste like squash soup.
Hope everyone else stays dry today.
Tried to use photobucket to attach a picture of the Mallard but ran into a request to update the account. Did photobucket become a monthly pay site over the summer? Is there any free photo sharing websites that will work with the Model Railroader comments pages?
Jim
Give Ken some of the "RESERVE"----not too much though.
Wasn't it Arminius that defeated the Roman Legion (20th. I think), by organizing the tribes of Germania. He had been taken as a child, raised and trained by the Romans, and then defected back to his tribe in Germania to fight the Romans?
The replacement Legion that went back to Germania was shocked by the remains that they found, and contributed to the withdrawal of Rome from the region. This is from memory, and it, at best, is shakey.
The Roman lines were spread out, thus were unable to offer a massed frontal atack, or defense, and Arminius was able to use the topography of the land to great advantage, killing just about the entire Legion.
herrinchoker
Well, I got this done today, due to it being too rainy outside to do car work.
First time wiring LEDs in parallel, so I'm pretty proud of myself. It's running off three AA batteries for the present time. I will eventually connect it to a wall wart, but for open house at least, I can keep pulling the batteries out at the end of the day.
Condolences to those who are in need of them, and hoping all are well otherwise.
Flo - Some warm apple pie, with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream, and a Coke please. Thanks
Tom - I'd be probably close to 9am near the tracks, but the meeting starts at 930. When we break for lunch, I can get "take off" shots pretty well, if I take my larger lens. (And if the weather is fair.) But it is driving to/from the meeting that will allow the best plane photos. Once the meeting ends, I will try to get a train or two, but no guarantees to that. (A lot will depend on families reaction to it.)
And it must have been neat being with the fire crew, but nerve racking at times I would imagine!
Thanks for the info!
Jim - Yep. Unfortunately now, To host on "other sites", like here, using photobucket you now must pay close to $500.00.
I now use Flickr, but others have used imgur as well.
I know there are a few I am missing for options as well.
Hello to all, and Hope all are well, and enjoy the night!
Good evening ...
Jim ... There was a very long thread pertaining to Photobucket a couple of months ago. I changed to Flickr, and it took a while to get my photos moved. Once I got the photos into Flikr, I had to learn how to post into the forum.
Richard ... It sounds like your brother-in-law's weight was a serious problem. Sorry to her about it.
FRRY ... I hope your GP20 project goes well. I have sometime thought about incoluding CB&Q GP20's on my layout, but have not done so.
Evening Diners
Flo, Give Jan some Rocket Fuel, Ed, Gary, Brent, Inch, Ulrich and I will have a cold Richard and Henry, if you like a beer belly up tp the counter. Give Rick a RBF as well.
Rick Boy I wished I lived by you, I would take a job offer faster than a blink of your eye!
Henry Thanks for the information about his weight. Reason I asked is because I am still over weight but still slowly lossing some pounds. I am down to 260 and I am 6'3". At one point I was 360, hard to believe.
Jan You are correct but for some reason I was thinking it was 3 Legion's. But then again it was called the lost Legion so maybe it was only one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM_jX22Iaas
Here is a link to the story.
Good Morning!
It´s going to bre another just wet & windy day, but that´s the way it is up here.
cudakenJan You are correct but for some reason I was thinking it was 3 Legion's. But then again it was called the lost Legion so maybe it was only one?
Ken - you are quite right, it was three legions under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus, which met theit fate by the German hordes in "Battle of the Teutoburg Forest" 2,008 years ago. The battle site is about a two hours drive away from where I live, but I have not been there once. There is a museum with loads of artifacts, a replika of Roman barracks and lots of other interesting things to see and learn.
It took the Romans nearly 2,000 years to finally conquer all of Germany, but this time they used the much more powerful weapons we know as "pizza", "spaghetti" and "lasagna".
Have a good one, y´all!
Heartland Division CB&Q FRRY ... I hope your GP20 project goes well. I have sometime thought about incoluding CB&Q GP20's on my layout, but have not done so.
Finally came up with a color that is very close to the engine's existing color. It isn't quite right, but it is close enough for my liking. Ii is done and will be going home tomorrow. The rest of the 20s will come back into town. The other seven plows (2 passenger and 5 freight) are partially painted green and sitting on a piece of foam drying. (I will finish painting them a little later.) I got the drop-end weathered. I discovered that I will need to stop at the lumber yard and get one more dowel to finish the second load.
Oddball File: My Mom informed me about a week or so ago that a local "antiques" shop would be open today. (The original owner and his wife have both passed on. I believe his daughter has it opoened occasionally to try to get rid of the stuff that is there.) I went in just to see if there was anything railroad. Most of the stuff was larger scales. The items that were HO scale were mostly junk as they were broken or had pieces missing. Of the few things that were useful, I found a few packs of Athearn SW7 handrails (very old with fold over stanchions pieces); a three power packs (an Athearn, a Bachmann Specturm, and a toy train); and the body, weight and floor for an Athearn bay window. Of all that I decided to just get the caboose. (I couldn't justify anything else.) Not that I need any more cars, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. When I got it home I found that I also have an underframe that fit the floor perfectly. So now it's just a matter of getting the ladders, brakewheels, trucks, and screws to rehab it. (Somewhere I know I have the proper type of smokestacks.)
Ricky W - It was interesting at times. Back then it was the Allegheny County Fire Dept., these days they are under the Airport Authority. Besides Greater Pitt structures & aircraft, we also provided fire protection to both military bases, the Air Force Reserve & PA Air National Guard. So keeping up with military aircraft as well as civilian could be a challange. We also provided EMS.
You have a good chance of spotting something around 9:00am. Not many places to pull over for photos on that stretch of the Ohio River Blvd. though. Good luck & enjoy yourself.
Good morning ... Coffee and an apple turnover, please.
Tom ... Glad you are here. Some mornings lately have been very quiet. Sounds like a very big fire department.
FRRY ... At least you found a caboose you could purchase at the antique store. There are antique shops here too. Rarely, they have HO trains, and it is mostly cheap stuff at excessive prices.
Ulrich ... Your comment about Italians conquoring Germany with Italian food is funny. I recall having pizza in Germany. We also had Mexican food there. However, there still is plenty of good tasty German food there and in the US too. Yum.... Feel free to bring some to the Diner.
Have a nice day everybody.
Heartland Division CB&QUlrich ... Your comment about Italians conquoring Germany with Italian food is funny. I recall having pizza in Germany. We also had Mexican food there. Hiwever, there still is plenty of good tasy German food there and in the US too. Yum.... Feel free to bring some to the Diner.
Garry - German cooking habits have changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Most folks today go for "covenience food", i.e. semi-finished dishes which can be prepared in no time at all. No more lovely roasts, home-made mashed potatoes, Bratwurst, cabbage rolls etc.
I am blessed with a wife who still does that old style cooking.
According to my wife, who according to her Ancestry.com DNA test is about as German as they come, you can make any food German by adding bacon and onions. So today's lunch special is Flammkuchen, a.k.a. "German pizza." With bacon, onions, and sour cream, because of course there's sour cream. Guten appetit!
Save
Garry - Not as big as you would think. When I started back in the late 60s, sometimes there would be only 4 or 5 of us on duty. 1 man to a truck in those days, so you learned very quickly to be smart & efficient about things. Later on, through labor arbitration & FAA requirements, minimum manning was instituted which also included having 1 LT. on duty at all times. I think they are even better off these days, but I've been out of the loop for sometime.
Steve - I agree about the bacon & onions. My grandfather came from Germany & did a lot of the cooking when I was growing up. He also liked flat noodles with bacon, onions & green peppers. Lots of potatoes too. Anything left over from dinner was combined into scratch lunches. I always liked those kitbashed lunches better than the dinners. Oh my, here's another flood of memories from the 40s.
Steven - don´t let the French know that you are calling "Flammkuchen" a German dish. Flammkuchen originates in the Department d´Alsace, which has a history of being French, then German again, and back to being French. Currently, it´s French - since 1918.
German food is quite regional and there are lots of things you will not find in my neck of the woods (and vice versa). Ask a Bavarian about "Snuten und Poten" or "Labskaus" and he will be lost!
Anyone care for more British steam?