Heartland Division CB&QI suppse you were more comfortable in the airplane seat on your Florida trip without all of the extra weight, too. Smile
That would be a big understatement....
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
John .... I too, have visited the AZ Railroad Museum ... Below is one of my photos.
This Santa Fe dome car was used on the Super Chief running between Chicago and Los Angeles.
Ray ..... You look great in your recent picture with your granddaughter. She looks like a child for you to be proud of. ..... I suppse you were more comfortable in the airplane seat on your Florida trip without all of the extra weight, too.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Richard,
I see that your posts are from Mesa. Last year we visited friends who live in Gilbert, and he took me to the Arizona Train Museum. Even though most of the cars were closed, we spent several hours there walking and reading all the cars' histories. Great place.
We also spent hours at the Confederate (Commemorative) Air Force Museum. Another great place.
Both of these are close together and really made our trip!
York1 John
Water Level RouteI forgot about that one! That's a classic and just the kind of tough advice some need!
Yep! I needed that advise several times in my life. When I took that advise and acted on it.... I stopped it! LOL
When I finally decided I didn't want to leave this world or become incapacitated quite yet I looked a bit like this photo from 20 years ago:
That was 137 lbs ago... Last Friday evening at the Smith for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert with my granddaughter I looked like this:
That is the result of me looking at what I didn't like that I was doing to myself and just saying "Stop It"!
BTW, she is a Harry Potter fan...... She is starting to like more feminine clothing but still wears a tie from time to time.....
13
Good morning, everybody .... Coffee and a donut please.
Burlington and Great Northern F-units are hauling this train near Chicago. It is becasue CB&Q and GN pooled locomotives in the early 1960's. GN F-units came to Chicago from St Paul, MN on the CB&Q, and CB&Q E-units went to Montana on the GN.
Here is a CB&Q F3 ABA
In the 1960's, CB&Q mixed first generation and second generation locomitives. Here is an F3 and a GP40.
RideOnRoadAll this talk of immediate cessation of smoking reminds me of this sketch with Bob Newhart.
Mike
All this talk of immediate cessation of smoking reminds me of this sketch with Bob Newhart.
Richard
Good Morning All,
37F but the sun is trying to break through. Lots of wind still so the CFO has grounded herself until the weather passes through hopefully in a day or two. She is getting fustrated because she is trying to get her IFR (instrument) rating. She is limited to daylight hours and visual flight rules until then.
Ken- sad but true, stopping is the only way to quit. Both my wife and i used to smoke and she was over a pack a day and for both of us it was tough. I had started occasionally in college but sitting at a radio 12 hours a day 7 days a week while we were at sea really did me. I did finally switch to a pipe but still it was really hard to just stop. And then you have all these really cool pipes and stuff. Out it all went one day and that was that.
Still doing trackwork though it is good again since I found the shorted switch. I still have to depower the frogs on some of the turnouts because the wheels can bridge the gap at the frog and because there are drops for the tracks, everything is live all the time and bzzt - all stop. It wasn't a problem in DC because i didn't have all the drops and busses which seem essential in DCC. Ah well, I will finish the turnouts, switch levers and turntable, then back to doing ballast and scenery.
This is what the levers will look like though they need the pivot shimming before I make them permanent.
service yard 012 by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr" alt="switch handle" />
All for now, w**k beckons. Cheers, J.R.
howmus Ken! I hate to be the one to break this to you, my friend. But..... there is only one possible way to quit smoking, just like there is only on possible way to quit over eating (my problem), or any other addiction, and that is: To Quit!!!! Yes it is excruciatingly difficult to do, but the only way to do it is TO DO IT!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
BATMANIt is a very spiritual experience being in such close proximity to the abundance of wildlife nature has to offer out here.
If we were to move to the west coast that would be our primary reason. We were on a grizzly bear/whale watching trip in BC a couple of years ago and Mother Nature gave us the best showing that our guide had seen in years. We had Orcas swim right underneath our boat. That was after they did a little up close sky hopping to have a look at us. The day before we were within 80' of a mother grizzly who chased a salmon downstream in our direction. Fortunately the salmon turned and went the other way so she followed.
Lifetime memories!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter Brent, Thanks for sharing Luna's story despite its tragic ending. Dave
Brent,
Thanks for sharing Luna's story despite its tragic ending.
Your welcome Dave. It is a very spiritual experience being in such close proximity to the abundance of wildlife nature has to offer out here.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Evenin' Folks.....
Janie, a cup of decaf would be great right now.... Even better bring over the pot for when I need more and just leave it on the counter for me!
cudaken Smoking Front I broke down and bought a E Cigarette today. This one is a Alato Vuse , with a coupon a employee gave me the battery unit only cost me $2.00 and 4 smoke pods where $33.90. 3 of the ladys that work at the smoke shop use it so I am giving it a try. So far I am a little over and underwhelmed by it! When I first tried it and was hacking my brains out! Now that I a little use to it seems a little lacking in fulfillent.
Ken! I hate to be the one to break this to you, my friend. But..... there is only one possible way to quit smoking, just like there is only on possible way to quit over eating (my problem), or any other addiction, and that is: To Quit!!!! Yes it is excruciatingly difficult to do, but the only way to do it is TO DO IT!
I was a cigar smoker for close to 15 years. Smoked about 7 or 8 every day. Lunch time at school (didn't make me very popular with most of the other teachers, even those who smoked cigarettes) in the car as soon as I left school and then lit up again when I got home.... My wife hated me having the habit (picked it up from her father, BTW), but I had one lit every chance I could.
My 3 year old son one day came over to me while I was puffing away (and yes I inhailed most of the time) and asked, "Daddy? Why do you tell kids at school not to smoke but you do?" I mumbled something about cigars are different and don't hurt you (I felt very bad because I knew that was lying to my son). The following day, I went to light up as I walked out the door to go to school. Looked at it, put out the match, walked around to the garbage can and threw out a perfectly good pack of cigars I was planning to smoke that day. Got home and found all the other ones I had stached and did the same with them. Since that day I have smoked 3 cigars (in the last over 40 years). One was in memory of a gent that was a "god" figure at Boy Scout Camp who had passed away, and the other two were at my FIL's funeral service. All the guys went outside and finished the last box of cigars he had. I had no inclination to start the habit again, I might add.
It was the same with changing my life style, losing weight, and exercising. Was not easy to do until I just made up my mind that I WOULD do it, no matter what. Very glad I did, BTW! In another week, I will have walked all the way from my house here in Geneva, to my friends house in Key West. That is 1,600 miles (since last April). I have now lost 137lbs. I feel better than I have in over 30 years! Wish I had done it 20 years ago. I wasted a lot of my life just hoping it would happen. Only you can stop your addiction. Do you have the guts to do it???? That is the question, my friend!
So! I repeat, the only known way to stop a bad habit is......... TO STOP IT! Period! (Yes YOU can!!!)
12
My tomato plant starting skills are poor, but a friend gave me a green zebra. A GZ is green and yellow, not real big but very sweet and tastes like a tomato rather than a moist vegetable like many tomatos these days.
As I progress, I am less a fan of the instructions for my water tower kit. My water tank core dowel was only half the height of the laser cut siding for my water tank kit. Forutunately I have a friend with a lathe and tomato plants. We made a trade for some venison backstraps.
There is no way the supplied "brass thread" fits the Tichy turnbuckles. If I drill out the holes, I think I will likely destroy the turnbuckles and I'm still not sure the tread would fit.
I will probably use my phospho bronze wire. For those of you building water tanks, the cables are quite close to together at the bottom of the tank, and then are farther apart as you go higher -logarithmically if you are so inclined.
Their suggested color scheme is also nothing like you have ever seen. Patina brass colored roof (usually black) and a red tank (usually dark brown with a variety of light dark brown or gray or white streaks)
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and leave a stein outside for Ulrich.
It is a shame about Notre Dame Cathdral. Hope it can be saved!
Wife Health Front. Took her to get her eyes checked to see if her Glaucoma has progressed. It has. Next she needs to see a specialist for Glaucoma. She is unserstanable up set. We did find out there was a surgical procedure that can be done to combat the disease so I am optimistic. Being x Airborn you learn not to worry that much.
Smoking Front I broke down and bought a E Cigarette today. This one is a Alato Vuse , with a coupon a employee gave me the battery unit only cost me $2.00 and 4 smoke pods where $33.90. 3 of the ladys that work at the smoke shop use it so I am giving it a try. So far I am a little over and underwhelmed by it! When I first tried it and was hacking my brains out! Now that I a little use to it seems a little lacking in fulfillent.
Trains are running great and giving the Might CB&Q a little needed break. Beating on the B&O F7 ABA liked rented mules!
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
What a loss to the world. Even though I am a heathen, there is not much more stunning than these massive cathedrals.
gmpullman Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47941794 What a travesty! Regards, Ed
Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47941794
What a travesty!
Regards, Ed
Just saw that on CNN. The damage must be devastating.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
Good morning from the sunny edge of the Salish Sea.
We have a massive migration of Snow Geese that pass by up the coast. They park themselves in the fields which are white as far as the eyes can see. While I am not into bird watching specifically I am in awe of the variety I see throughout the year. Whether hiking the backcountry or heading out sailing or fishing, for me it's all about being part of nature, not a feeling I get in a city.
The Orca is my most favourite of all the creatures that roam the Earth. This was reinforced when they would come up to the boat for a nose rub when we were out fishing. I never met Luna as there was always more than one Orca in our encounters and Luna lived alone. I just love living on the Coast. The Grizzly is my second favourite and can be seen on the shore often when we would go a little further North to fish.
Give me the backcountry or coastal inlets over Disneyland any day.
Supertrain was this past weekend in Calgary, it is Canada's largest trainshow. Once again I didn't get there, someday It'll happen. Someone took some pics.
Should have mine by early June.
Time to hop on the bike, I felt lousy and missed a day and don't want to miss two.
All the best to all.
Good morning from the cold Great Plains. I walked two miles this morning on the trail system, but I was bundled up. Lots of birds singing with spring on the way. Very few trees have budded out yet, but you can tell it's getting close.
Finally finished a control panel yesterday that I have been working on for a long time. I'm sure in a few days I will find I am not happy with it, and begin work on changing it.
Those of you interesting in birds will sometime have to schedule a spring trip to Nebraska. For about two or three weeks each year, 500,000 Sandhill Cranes gather on a thirty mile stretch of the river on their way north. It's about half-way on their migration to Canada, and they stay for a while eating and resting. It's amazing to see thousands of these four-foot-tall birds in a group. There are also several Whooping Cranes that travel with the Sandhill Cranes, but I have never seen a Whooping Crane yet.
Have a great Monday, everyone! It's great to be retired and enjoy Mondays just the same as Saturdays.
Despite the weather forecasters 100 mph winds, there are no damge reports on the news consistent with that. They did have me stay up half the night to check for tornado warnings.
Our local grocery stopped making their excellent bear claws. Instead they make a raisen bun that has at least a 1/2 cup of raisens in this donut sized pastry. Way too many.
2 days till I leave for Chicago Is the dinner anywhere near Union Station :)
Joe Staten Island West
I'll have a coffee to go please Zoe. Where is Vinnie with those bear claws? We had the remnants of the storm that all you to the south of us had full force blow through early this morning. Lots of rain and howling wind and thunder boomers. No damage here to speak of and though i came in on the interstate I didn't see any signs of trees down.
Lots to do this week, finish the Lotus 18, finish the last bits on the other cars and clean/restock/tidy up the trailer. Need to make a new battery carrier slide out for the lift gate on one of the trailers. After 35 years it finally rotted out.
Catch y"all later, J.R.
gmpullmanI wonder how many young people are going to be interested in bird watching?
I think that lots of young people will become interested in things like bird watching. My son has shown some interest, at least to our benefit. His work brings him close to several holding ponds in York Region, Ontario. Whenever something interesting shows up there are always crowds of birders. He takes the time to stop and ask them what they are looking at, and he passes the sightings on to us. Last spring we were treated to a goose that was native to Norway (please don't ask me the name) sitting in a settling pond in Shomberg.
Does he carry binoculars in his car? No, at least not yet, but we are working on him!
That's neat to hear that turkeys have returned to your area, Dave. We see them pretty often around our neck of the woods. They make some pretty neat sounds, too.
The other day I looked out at our feeder and we had a brightly colored cardinal, goldfinch and bluebird all hanging out together. Such vivid colors. We have bluebird boxes around our property, too, and at last count seven out of nine of them are occupied The bluebirds stay here year-round.
I put the orange slices and grape jelly out for the Baltimore Orioles which should be showing up soon, then the hummingbirds.
I wonder how many young people are going to be interested in bird watching? They probably have no interest since they can Google photos on their Twitterboxes. I'm sure they have app for virtual birdwatching.
April 15th and we still have a fire in the wood stove. 33° [0] here, NE Ohio, as I type!
End-of-run by Edmund, on Flickr
Happy Monday, everybody! I hope Vinnie brings some Bear Claws and pecan coffee cake
Cheers, Ed
Okay, for all you birding nuts out there - we had a wild turkey in the back yard yesterday! Wild turkeys are very common in Ontario these days but to see one this far into town is unusual. It managed to find its way out to the street after I opened the gate and it promptly disappeared.
Wild turkeys were reintroduced several decades ago after having been hunted to extinction locally and they are doing well, almost too well! There are reports that they are affecting the salamander populations because they stir up the leaf cover on the forest floor so much. The salamander populations are not doing well to begin with. Never the less, it is nice to see the turkeys out in the fields.
We also have redpoles back in large numbers, and they seem to be sticking around. We haven't had them here regularly for years. The wee beasties eat four or five large cups of nyger seed every day!$$$
The male osprey is back on its platform just up the road. He must be surviving on slim pickings because the lakes are still mostly frozen over. His other half will be here soon.
We have seen lots of swans and snow geese in the last couple of weeks. We found a couple of new areas (for us anyhow) where they are sitting on flooded ground, still mostly frozen. I don't know how they can do that for weeks on end! We humans are wusses!!!
Dianne and I are off to Point Pelee on May 15th for four days. We hope the weather is favourable. Wind direction makes all the difference in terms of how many birds we will see.
Cheers!! Happy birding!!
well I am back from the Southern command.
Well the Juke Joint festival was kind of a rain out. It turned cold and prob had about 5 inches of torrential rain and wind on Saturday. The good thing was it thined out the crowds at the nite time venues. I had to wear my "professional" rain coat the whole time or I would have been soaked.
They need to do some modifications to the festival or it is going to die off because of the weather.
You car guys ought to figure out how to watch tonight's Simpsons.
Homer got the wrong car from the valet, a 56 Elderado. Bart didn't know what a window knob was. I didn't know there was a name for the Brodie knob nor do I remember where I saw one.
I admire Tiger for coming back from back pain and winning the Masters, his first major tournament in 10 year, which is another feat. I'm an old fashioned guy and I have other issues with him. After coverage starting early because of the weather, CBS is replaying the Masters.
That weather has triggered tornado warnings from Savannah to Erie. Maryland might get a tornado once a year. In that last 1/2 hour the local TV claimed to see a tornado on radar with 105 mph winds. If that really happened, there will be damage.
The interesting thing was he was pulling up all these screens, we never see around here, wind speed, rotation, storm height 22,000'
Working on a Carolina Models water tower that I picked up at Timonium. Roof top not steam engine. The laser siding for the tank is supposed to be glued to a dowel. The dowel is 1/2 the height of the siding. Seems like a recipe for warpage to me. The couldn't add another 20 cents worth of dowel?
The kit includes thread, they call brass thread, but I'm not sure I appreciate the brass. They also suggest painting it or using Black It, but it's already black. The diameter looks a lot bigger than the teensy tiny hole in the ends of the plastic turnbuckles.
Tad in the dumpes tonight, no real reason just am. Maybe because I just made the house payment.
Ken I had thought about using Vapping. I looked at the one called JUUL, well I think that is it name. Starter kit was like $35.00 but the kicker was there refills where $16.95 for the equivalent of 4 packs of cigarettes! Reason this sounds high to me is I live with in 14 miles of the state of Missouri where 14 packs of what I smoke is around $42.00. Need to set down and do the math.
Darn cool today. Rained a lot and high was only 38 degrees and just a yuck day.
Train Front Trains are running great.