Heartland Division CB&QKevin ... Apaprently, you like driving bsed on the miles on your vehucles. .... By the way, how did you name your model railroad? Family names or something else ?
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TOP OF THE PAGE! Early morning in Florida, everybody have a tall glass of 100% Valencia, not from concentrate, Orange Juice!
I put a lot of miles on my trucks, but I put a Tremendous number of miles on rental cars for work. Last year I racked up over 40,000 miles on cars I rented! It will be less this year as some of my functions have been handed off to the service support team.
The STRATTON AND GILLETTE name came from an idea I had that my fictional railroad's name should be city names. Think like ATCHISON TOPEKA & SANTA FE, or CHICAGO BURLINGTON & QUINCY.
So many fictional railroads are states and/or directions to give them a sense of existence in the real world. I decided I would not have a Florida, Michigan, California, North, South, Western, Pacific, or Atlantic in my name.
I went through the house and wrote down everything that sounded like a plausible city name. Included were a Briggs & Stratton engine and a Gillette razor.
I then went through the Rand McNally road atlas (this was decades before Google Maps), and crossed of any city larger than 10,000 people from the list. Of the cities I was left with, STRATTON & GILLETTE sounded best together.
I must have been getting lazy near the end, because I missed Gillette, Wyoming. Some people still ask if my railroad is in Wyoming, oops.
This was a good choice, because every layout I have built has had different scenery. The SGRR can be anywhere.
The one change I would make if starting over would be to drop the secong "R" and have the initials be S&GR instead. The local railroad is the SEMINOLE GULF, SGLR, and it is too close for me.
Too late now.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I don't have time to follow all this stuff here at the diner, but when I was 19 I restored and hot rodded a non running car from the ground up. It took nine months. And I got married during that time.
I drove the car for eight years........
Sheldon
Good Morning All,
Late to the dance as usual. I'll have a regular to go please Zoe. No food, no time. I finally downloaded Stevens pictures and I am afraid I agree with the wiser heads here that as a first project (maybe even for an experienced person) this car is over the top. I still wouldn't scrap it, but the structural damage is far greater than I could have imagined. The bottom and top corners of the roof are high stress areas and the corrosion is so bad that it's gone right through both the outer and more importantly the inner panels. Typical of a car that has spent a lot of time in Florida, it has rusted from the top down so the floors aren't as bad as normal but there is still way too much rust to deal with on any economical basis.
I'm not one to tell someone not to pursue a dream, but the particular car will be a nightmare to repair even for a fully equipped well experienced shop. Best bet is to find a better shell and keep this one as a donor if possible (i.e. with permission). I do restorations as part of my job and I've restored cars starting with less but the end result here will be worth a fraction of the expense in Stevens' case. It's a shame the prior owners took such lousy care and didn't even cover it.
Back to the shop and todays' tasks. J.R.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
My parents actually don't care about the car being parked, and that's what it's looking like it's going to be parked for a while, you guys missed the point though, I'm not spending 60k on it tomorrow, I was going to do a little here and there.
Ulrich, I'm sure your son could bike to work, and so could I but I happen to live in Ethel Lousiana, a place that has a post office, a first and second Baptist church, and a Methodist church, that's it, no businesses at all.
The nearest town that has enough businesses to find a job is Zachary, some 12 miles away via Hwy19, aka the speedway. So yes those tires were a necessity.
Anyways, since my stang isn't going to be running anytime soon, whatdya think of this.
https://www.carsforsale.com/vehicle/details/49737182
And yes I know how much that costs, it's still cheaper than a newer (used) V8 mustang, trust me I checked.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
NWP SWPyou guys missed the point though, I'm not spending 60k on it tomorrow, I was going to do a little here and there.
I don´t think we missed that point. Even if you spend a little here and there, it will sum up to a pretty penny and as you don´t have that amount stashed away somewhere, you need to earn it along the way. It will take some time and in that time, the rust may eat away what´s left of the car body.
Anyway, there is no doubt you need a ride of some sort, which I thought you had - your truck. A truck may not be the most popular vehicle to make an impression of the members of the opposite gender - a 1969 vintage Mustang convertible is much better suited for that purpose. Assuming that the car is structurally and mechanically sound, the upkeep of it will still eat a lot of money. Are you sure it is a sensible thing to do? For that money you can get a brand new car which is much easier on the gas bill and certainly a lot more friendly to your environment.
I know I am a bit of a killjoy here, but in my age it´s my job to be that !
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Here's the question for NWP SWP Steven. Why do you want to restore the Mustang?
If it's the journey you enjoy -- you're doing it because you like working on and restoring cars, and don't mind spending the money and time puttering away on something that will probably never run again -- go for it. More power to ya.
If the point for you is the destination -- someday having a cool vintage car you can drive around and show off -- starting with this rust heap is a fool's errand.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Good Morning!
I see LION has thrown down the gauntlet
Amtrak No. 5 and helper. Kodachrome meets red-white & blue.
CZ_Kodachrome by Edmund, on Flickr
Enjoy your day, everyone, Cheers, Ed
gmpullman Good Morning! I see LION has thrown down the gauntlet Enjoy your day, everyone, Cheers, Ed
Mike
BroadwayLionBroadwayLion wrote the following post 2 hours ago: ROAR
Right on Lion. We did the ramp at General Mitchell International Air Port for Amtrak.
Amtrak and CP rail had a guy on the job all the time, to "alert" us when a train was coming.
Mike.
My You Tube
Missouri, yesterday from VR.
Not much melting today. It's what goose hunters would call a blue bird day, bright sunny, buy cold. The duck hunters have been banging away all day since dawn. Went down to the river and saw a couple flocks of buffleheads but no canvasbacks or mallards.
The fox was prowling around the backyard yesterday and something out front spooked him. Foxes have a fifth gear.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Evenin'.....
BigDaddyThe fox was prowling around the backyard yesterday and something out front spooked him. Foxes have a fifth gear.
Yep and a sixth sense! I know, I married a Fox! Her first name was Diane.... LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe13YHhU_9E
Got my 4 miles in over at the Fieldhouse this morning and have been trying to get the dining room table cleared off so I can start doing taxes.... Have a lot of things to get sorted out before I start with the actual forms though.
I will stay away from the junker discussion except to say most people seem to learn best by experience........... LOL
18
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good evening ..
JR ... It is very good to see you in the Diner again. Thanks for your insights regarding Steve NWP SWP and his proposed project .
Sheldon ... Thanks for your thoughts too. Feel free to visit the Diner more often. Your comments elsewhere in the MR Forum tend to be insightful and worthwhile.
Kevin ... You had a good way to name your freelance model Railroad . It is a very good name even if Bear made a joke about it. LOL ... I think you are right for saying once again we are talking about Steven and one of his dream projects .
NWP SWP .. Of course we would like to encourage you with whatever you are doing . However, Kevin has a point . You have a lot of ideas, but it seems like you drop most of them. ... An exception was the KCS coal gondola you made . You did a good job with it. You had said you would build several of them, and I think you should do that. You will have a nice coal train to be proud of.
Words of wisdom: No idea has any value if it is never implemented. So do stuff instead of just talk about what you might do.
Everybody: Happy Model Railroading .
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Gary,
Good to hear from you. I drop by from time to time but didn't have much to say as I hadn't done anything with the layout for a couple of years. I do see the photos you post and I'm impressed with the progress you've made and the state of your layout.
Some of my favourite words of wisdom are: After all is said and done more is usually said than done. Usually comes to mind when I look up in the shop and find all
of us over a project and offering opinions as to what to do next. Well time to toddle off and get some sleep. J.R.
I didn't mean to do it. Somehow there was a duplicate posting. Well, I'll use this reply to buy everyone a round of their favorite. I think mine's going to be a steamy mug of hot cocoa.
Cheers, Ed
LION got me thinking of a photo in my collection of another type of gauntlet. His has points, mine has frogs.
Erie_Warren_Gauntlet by Edmund, on Flickr
It is the early 1950s in Warren, Ohio, looking east. This is the branch to Cleveland off the Erie main line near Youngstown. The Warren depot is just below the camera. Look at the 1950 Studebaker Champion there and the Dodge Powerwagon right behind it. Some nice iron over at Jerry's Used Cars, too. Today this is mostly vacant lots. Of course the Erie rails are long gone.
In fact it was 42 years ago today that the last run of the Cleveland-Youngstown commuter train was made.
For a view of the depot and a look in the westward direction click here:
https://www.west2k.com/ohpix/warrenerie.jpg
Jerry's Used Cars, on the left, is still in business (in the color photo, that is).
Regards, Ed
Heartland Division CB&QKevin ... You had a good way to name your freelance model Railroad . It is a very good name
Thank you. It has proven to be a very good choice.
In 35 years the STRATTON & GILLETTE has changed scales once, eras twice, and physical location four or five times, but never changed its name!
Here at SGRR we don't have any principles, but we believe in brandname continuity!
GMTRacing I hadn't done anything with the layout for a couple of years.
I have not had a layout at all in two years. This fact has driven me so bat-crazy that I am building an eight foot long pretend layout in the garage.
I hate not having a layout.
Eveing Diners!
Flo, give the gang, JR and I a please.
JR Real Good To See You Again! Hope you stick around for sometime, I missed you posting!
Steven Yep the Rustang needs help! I have down loaded the photo's and will study them a little longer Tuesday. Far as rust, that is beginers rust far as Mopars are concrend! The roof will need to be done by a shop. 60% of your car body strenght is in the roof. It will need speical bracing in the door area when the roof shin is removed.
First thing I would check is the Torgue Boxes and the frame rails. If they are solid you stand a chances. Tap on them sort of hard with a pick hammer and see if they are solid. If they are start looking for a shop that will work on the roof and reinstall the glass.
On a newer car replacing the roof skin would be a around 10 man hours book time. That would be for hail damage. With your car needing the extra bracing a guess would be 15 hours for someone that has the needed bracing for a Mustang. That would be around $1500.00 in labor plus parts and glass install. A guess with parts around $3000.00.
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Good morning.
Last night, about 9:30 pm, CST, until about 10, I couldn't get anywhere in here, so I watched the program I had on in the back round, Independent Lense, on PBS.
It was about the coastal areas of Louisiana and the fight with nutria rats. Who knew? There are so many that Louisiana has a bounty of $5 a tail. It was showing people with their jon boats heaped full of the rodents.
They can weigh as much as 20 lbs, and they look like a muscrat.
No thanks.
Regular coffee and a blueberry scone please Zoe. Usual morning in the shop - search for parts, template for roll hoop, paperwork.... I keep reminding myself I started all this to work on race cars, not paperwork but someones got to do it.
Layout progress: Sorting the yard and engine shop. I finally found out I need an autoreverse for the turntable (DCC) as the kit was old enough that the newer controls won't adapt. The bridge is unplugged for now and on to the track. The yard is not as big a problem as I thought it would be except for the fact that no cleaning was done for a couple of years so I'm starting over there. once I get the top of the rails clean I will go over it all with some stainless steel washers to polish and that should do it. I can with a 2 step stool reach everything so I'm glad for that. I had come up with my own remote lever turnout controls using piano wire in plastic tube under the styrofoam base and so far, so good. Only had one get white glue in the tube from ballasting and I have that pretty well freed off now. I used Peco Insulfrog turnouts so that has made for some snags as the power routing can short parts of the yard if not set correctly. Still working on that and I suppose I'll need some sort of diagram to see what's what when running. At least the main lines are all working though I still have the swing bridge access to the layout as a duck under.
The plan now is to put layout photos on the company website in a seperate gallery so we can post pics eventually. That's why I put the hillclimb photo in the Diner the other day. It's from the same host. The photo above is two of our LMP1 cars on track a couple of years ago in an SVRA event. Well, toodles for now I need to get back to the shop and get going. C.U.L. J.R.
Ed the car with the black roof, directly behind Jerry's sign post looks a lot like my dad's Buick Special '56
Mornin' folks!
J. R., good to see you again in the diner! My favorite u-tube video of a Hill Climb is one of a Concept One over in Europe.... Four wheel independent drive (each wheel computer controlled) and 1200 HP..... WOW! They weren't even starting to push it as it was a production car already sold.
Life is becoming very intresting here at my place. I told you a couple days ago about meeting a lady I met on line for an impromptu lunch date Sunday afternoon. She has told me she enjoyed our time together as much as I did. She is leaving (she hopes) for Florida this coming Saturday and has about a weeks worth of stuff to do before she leaves. We plan to stay in communication by phone and email while she is gone.
Now the "Interesting" development. This morning I get a "smile" (meaning a lady wants to talk with me) from a lady who lives fairly close to me (less than 30 miles away) who decibes herself as: "Outgoing, fun, kind, loyal, honest, sensual, cute, brilliant, talented, sensual". Now I was OK until the word "cute". I checked out the photos she put up at the site, and I wouldn't call her "cute". I would say, for a lady her age, she is drop dead gorgeous!!! She evidentally is not overdoing the brilliant description either as she has been a MENSA member for 28 years.... Oh man! What to do? Our political ideas are also very much the same. Hmmmmm.....
OK, I'll get off this subject.... The Roto Router guy is down cellar replacing the exposed sewer piping. It will be good to have that done, and I hope I will not have to do anything more to get it all corrected.
35, 73
That's quite a collection of thoughts Ray. Hill climbs, pretty ladies and rotorooters. Guess I shouldn't complain.
Good Evening!
It has been a rather dull day - all grey and wet! January is definitively not my time of the year!
Ed - what a great picture! And look at all those vintage cars! Those people must have been filthy rich to afford such classic vehicles!
howmusOur political ideas are also very much the same. Hmmmmm.....
Ray - Petra and I used to have quite different opinions and there were many times we fought over them. The best part, however, were the peace negotiations following each dispute ....
Tinplate ToddlerEd - what a great picture! And look at all those vintage cars! Those people must have been filthy rich to afford such classic vehicles!
Thank you, Ulrich. I, too, find detailed city scenes from the past to be fascinating.
I'll bet car collector Jay Leno would have his wallet at the ready with all that vintage iron around. That area was peppered with steel mills, those cars didn't have far to go to be thrown into the maw of the BOF.
I get a charge out of your old pictures as well Ed. I like comparing old and new.
Well, it's not 5 anywhere close yet, so I'll just sit here, sip on a cup of coffee, and listen to some more lunch time stories, before I get back to it.
Tinplate ToddlerRay - Petra and I used to have quite different opinions and there were many times we fought over them. The best part, however, were the peace negotiations following each dispute ....
Yes!!! Making up can be FUN!!!! Almost always the best part of an argument......
Good Afternoon,
It has become a chilly day here with a strong NW wind producing a -25C windchill. Temps are supposed to stay down for the rest of the week with highs of about -5F.
J.R. great to see you back in the Diner! Are you still racing that 23B? I was wondering if you ever had a chance to drive a C Type Jag? One of my favourite cars especially the sound of that engine ( I have only heard one courtesy of Youtube). You sure do have an interesting occupation.
On the RR front I got out my 0-8-0 for a run as it has been sitting on a siding for at least a year. A very nice LL loco that I picked up early in my RR 'career'. Originally I put one of those Soundtrack custom decoders for that engine in it but I replaced it with an ESU locksound that has better sound and far better motor control.
Right now I'm listening to Beethoven's 7th Symphony which to me is one of the greatest pieces of music I have ever heard. I heard part of it on the car radio yesterday so I decided to listen to the whole thing today. I am playing it annoyingly loud as my wife is out.
Ray, good luck with your romantic endeavours.
Well time to go out and recharge the bird feeders especially the suet logs. We have quite a few Pine Siskins and House Finches plus the usual Chickadees, Nuthatches and Woodpeckers.
CN Charlie
CNCharlieRight now I'm listening to Beethoven's 7th Symphony
I agree with you CN. I also really like the 6th, the pastoral symphony.
Hey everybody.... how's it going?
I haven't been in the Diner since last Thursday night when I got off the ice on Prior Lake.
Yep, I somehow managed to get a little scarce and cut my vacation short by 4 days. My buddy Blaine called me in a pickle. He's one of my friends with a truck and some tools like me. I don't know how he talked me into cutting my month off short but somehow he did.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I hung 12 foot sheets of Rock with him and then taped and mudded it. I don't really like to hang rock anymore. I usually say no thanks! ... let the subs do it. I remember when I was young I'd hang 12 foot sheets by myself. (Not No More)
Monday I was so tired all I did was eat and sleep all day and today I went back to wxxk.
Man, I skimmed through the Diner this morning and there's three and a half pages since I left off on Thursday. Looks like I have some catching up to do.
Well I got to go pick up my Judy at the hotel at 5. We're going to step out for a bite to eat. I'll catch up with you guys.
l just wanted to stop in and say hi, Hope everyone is doing well
Track Fiddler