The AARP is the American Association of Retired People. I will not join...Gary
Hi gang,
Please educate one of your Canadian brethern. What is the AARP?
Thanks,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
GP35 / Galaxy ... I’m delighted to see you here. ... If you like Aarp , I won’t say anymore about it. ... We get good discounts without it. .... best wishes with the job . ... I agree about Ulrich and pray for him and Petra. Hopefully he will somehow find his was back to the Diner eventually . Stay happy.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Hey All!
Good Morning, Good Night, good afternoon, sometin lie dat!
I'm back!
I sarted a new part time job...night auditor at a hotel. so i work 11pm-7am {or 2300-0700 for you military folks.}
Its only 2 days {nights} a week, but it is messing up my schedule, though I slept most of today, because I could! nothng to do daytime today.
Garry: ony those who look at ARP as a poliical group, think of it that way. WE belong, have for many years now, and thnk of it as discount giving, health care plan alternative, thing. Its worth the $16/yr to us to get the discount and for me to have stable supplemental health insirance to my medicare. there is N OTHING political about gettig a discount, its just a discount. if giving/getting discounts is political, the AAA is political too. So is coupon clipping.
And we eat often at Denny's {when we eat out...rare, but often enough to save us the membership fee}, just down the road from us, and use our AARP discount on top of the discunted senior menu or the $2,$4,$6,$8 menu. Its not to many places 2 can eat for $10 or under.
We have eaten at cracker barrel, it was good, but prefer not to because we don't like their discrimination policies. I'll leave that there.
I, too wish Ulrich would come back, he is sorely missed. I wrote him {not through here} so maybe I'll hear back. He has such back luck, if it weren't for bad luck, hed have no luck at all, gloom despair and agony on him.
At work now. It's really boring, but its a slow pace this old body can take. So, I'm not complaining. on;y thing is geting tired by shifts end, and my back bothering me, I have to pump out breakfast too. So, no relaxing at shift end. I start breakfast tomorrow morning, but will have a relief show up at 6 am, so that is good. At least I hope she shows up......
well, thats about all for now.
my life is boring compared to some of you!
thoughts and prayers for all who need them.
QUOTE OF HTE DAY:
"You don't need a reason to help people". {anon}
GeePee35, formerly known as galaxy
Hey Russ,
Those freight tunnels are cool!
Evening Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and leave a stein outside for Ulrich.
Lion Was that you reading the book about Pearl Harbor?
Just don't feel like posting so later.
Ken
I hate Rust
Beware and be warned, all visitors to Chicago this weekend, there is a huge Star Wars convention in town.
Just heard about it on my local news. (Milwaukee, WI.)
Mike.
My You Tube
I had another great day in Georgia.
.
I made it to Blue Ox Trains in Roswell, another train store I have never visited before. I found a few really good treasures and a whole bunch of undecorated Blue Box Athearn freight cars for $6.00 each. This is a great place to go treasure hunting. Lots of old items in like new condition at reasonable prices. A very fun place.
Then I drove to Buford, Georgia for a quick stop in the Trainmaster on Main Street. I have been to Trainmaster dozens of times. It is one of my favorite hobby shops. Their selection of used items was pretty slim today, and treasure hunting in there was sparse. I bought all the NWSL itmes they had on the shelf... but it was not much.
Then I tried a steakhouse in Buford called Bare Bones... EXCELLENT! I had a USDA Prime New York Strip Steak cooked rare over a wood fired grille, and it was perfect. The sides were all very good too, especially the macaroni and cheese with bacon.
Things have been going great this week. I think this might be one of my best weeks ever.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Sparky Railet is that coal mine exhibit exibit. I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED the entire time we were "underground", after the ride on the "elevator".
There is a real mine tour in Lakawana PA. I should do it as my grandfather was a coal miner. I did the tour of the silver mine in Park City UT. At the time they were keeping it "ready" in case the price of silver rose. The miners that gave the tour really liked being miners. What I remember most was the elevator cable was braided steel and they said the miners braided it. It was a flat braid, maybe a foot wide.
Today was the first day in a week and half my neck felt halfway decent. I slept the wrong way and woke up with pain that was probably a disk, as it was worse when I coughed. The odd thing was it was right sided pain, I previously have had multiple issues with left sided pain, but never right. Usually I can abort it with a short and small dose of steroids. No such luck this time. I could blame my moderation on steroid psychosis, but I will only say that one night I did not sleep at all and was not tired!. But hungry? If I had a condition where I needed daily steroids, I would way 1000 pounds.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Good evening everyone-
The Museum of Science and Industry. I sure do have a couple of strong memories there. First, of course, the layout. I was there as a very young kid, must have been somewhere around 4-7 years old, that would have been 70-73. It was the first time I ever saw a layout anywhere near that large. I had seen silver and red Santa Fe war bonnets in my big brother's train set, but never blue and yellow like they had there. I was awestruck.
But the thing I'll probably never forget is that coal mine exhibit exibit. I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED the entire time we were "underground", after the ride on the "elevator". Then the relief when we just walked out into the museum! Whew! Yeah, musta been closer to 4 than 7...
maxmanFrom this view it appears not much damage to the observation.
I started a thread at Classic Trains on the subject. One of the replies includes a link to the ICC investigation (registration required) and another reply included a copy of much of the text from that report listing the damage to equipment.
http://cs.trains.com/ctr/f/3/t/275475.aspx
The equipment of both trains stopped upright and in line with the respective tracks on which the trains were moving. The equipment train was moved southward a distance of about 6 feet by the force of the impact. The north truck of the north car of this train was derailed. This car was badly damaged. The other cars of the train were somewhat damaged, and the Diesel-electric units were slightly damaged. The first Diesel-electric unit of No. 58 stopped with the right side of the front end against the north end of the north car of the opposing movement. The front truck of this unit was displaced and moved northward a distance of about 3 feet by the force of the impact, and the body structure of the unit buckled over the front truck location. The rear wheels of the front truck of the first Diesel-electric unit and the front wheels of the front truck and all wheels of the rear truck of the second Diesel-electric unit were derailed. The front truck of the first car, the rear trucks of the second and fifth cars, both trucks of the sixth car, and the front truck of the seventh car were derailed. The rear end of the second car was off center. The first Diesel-electric unit was considerably damaged, and the second unit was slightly damaged. The first four cars were slightly damaged. The fifth to the eighth cars, inclusive, and the rear two cars were somewhat damaged.
Pennsy's train No. 58 is the Liberty Limited, Chicago to Washington D.C.
Regards, Ed
gmpullman Not every train gets out of Chicago without a few bumps in the road! PRR_5805_CUS by Edmund, on Flickr
Not every train gets out of Chicago without a few bumps in the road!
PRR_5805_CUS by Edmund, on Flickr
Interesting. From this view it appears not much damage to the observation. The diesel seems to have had a crumple zone that took the brunt.
Good afternon, everybody .
Steve O ..... Your said you were taking a day for your birthday last week.... I hope it was enjoyable.
ebay .... Sellers pay high fees to eaby and paypal. To cover them, thye charge more for shipping and handling or for the item price. ... If you have to pay sakes taxes on top of that, your item, of course, will cost even more..... Everybody wants our money. Watch out!
Meanhwile, back in Chicago, IL .... Here are some Santa Fe F-units at Dearborn Station. Gotta love the "war bonnet" colors.
I wondered why the site was taking so long today. Glad to hear it's not my connection.
I hate taxes.
However, I have never felt it fair that if I buy something from Spring Creek Model Railroads in Nebraska, they have to tack 5.5% tax onto the price. But if I order online the same item from some other state, I didn't pay tax on it.
Of course, everyone was supposed to voluntarily report their purchases and voluntarily pay the tax when they filed their Nebraska income tax. Guess how many people actually did that!
York1 John
Experiences of past tinkering have not gone well, and some features never do work again.
You'll see.
No worries. Just keep in mind, IT stands for interminable tinkering J.R.
I just called CS, and the young lady told me they have been doing a "system up-date" and that IT is still working on it.
Going by past experiences, that is NOT good news. Here we go again!
mbinsewiThis site is running different today, loading is slow, it "looks" different in my screen than before, and I had to refresh a couple of times to get this whole page to load. I fear they are changing things again. Sometimes, I now get a message at the top of the screen that says: "cs.trains.com says: Type Error Cannot read property 'length' of null" ???
I've noticed that for the past few days, too, Mike. My usual method of using the *url* brackets on site links is no longer working the way it used to. When I insert a photo or link all the text following that is in blue!
I can go back and reformat the text and "clear formatting" but it is still acting wonky. The IT gurus are fiddling again
Cheers, Ed
There is plenty of info out there on Ebay's tax policy, along with individual states info.
I'm in WI. amd if I buy from a seller in WI., I pay sales tax, and if the seller falls within a certain dollar amount, he has to turn the tax in. More paper work than I care to get involved in.
This site is running different today, loading is slow, it "looks" different in my screen than before, and I had to refresh a couple of times to get this whole page to load. I fear they are changing things again.
Sometimes, I now get a message at the top of the screen that says: "cs.trains.com says: Type Error Cannot read property 'length' of null" ???
mbinsewiOOOPS I guess you fixed your link while I typed. I was going to make it live. Didn't the tunnels flood a couple of different times? IIRC, one of those times was during a bridge construction project? The MR site is sure running weird today. Slow.
Hey, Mike...Yeah, I fixed the link after I posted it. I forgot to use the link icon. The forum is running slow today on my end, too. I think that a number of years ago there was a water main break in downtown Chicago that caused flooding and especially in the abandoned freight tunnels. Perhaps one of our Chicago resident members can add to this. Before the tunnel operations changed to overhead power, the trains ran on power supplied by a contact rail in a slot between the tracks. Really not such a good idea if there was a water problem. That, combined with safety concerns, was reason enough to install a trolley system.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
OldEngineman Got a surprise this evening when I won an auction on ebay for a Walthers GP35. Ebay is now charging sales tax! Doesn't apply to every state yet, but does apply to mine (CT). The seller for this particular item was in PA. Somethin' I don't quite get, however. When you buy something on ebay, you are "buying" from the seller -- NOT from ebay. ebay is [what I would guess is called] a "broker", a "man-in-the-middle". I realize there was a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that established that "a nexus" wasn't needed for some states to require sellers in other states to collect sales tax. But again, ebay isn't "the seller" here, merely a facilitator in the sale. Wondering how they can get away with that? I would reckon they'll get challenged on that at some point.
Got a surprise this evening when I won an auction on ebay for a Walthers GP35.
Ebay is now charging sales tax! Doesn't apply to every state yet, but does apply to mine (CT). The seller for this particular item was in PA.
Somethin' I don't quite get, however. When you buy something on ebay, you are "buying" from the seller -- NOT from ebay. ebay is [what I would guess is called] a "broker", a "man-in-the-middle".
I realize there was a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that established that "a nexus" wasn't needed for some states to require sellers in other states to collect sales tax. But again, ebay isn't "the seller" here, merely a facilitator in the sale.
Wondering how they can get away with that? I would reckon they'll get challenged on that at some point.
In this case it is not E-Bay that is collecting the tax, they are just a conduit of funds between you the the seller. Obviously the seller is large enough to have caught the State's eyes, as the new court decision which the states are following has a dollar limit or number of sales limit to deterine if the seller has to charge tax. Since some of the sellers are actually arms of a large internet store they have to collect the tax due to exceeding the limits.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Good Morning
It's hard to believe I was working outside in a t-shirt a couple days ago, in the beautiful mid 60s. It did not surprise me when Minnesota threw one more winter storm at us. One more Blaster is usually pretty typical for April.
I'm sure glad the timing was right for this thing though. Right now the airport is shut down but should be all in the clear for Sunday.
We fly out of this crap headed for Laughlin, Nevada. Lion.... The plane leaves at 4:20 a.m. if you're still coming. I'll leave the porch light on for ya. Still looking forward to Prime Rib Night
TF
SeeYou190For the entree I had the balckened catfish filets over cheesy grits with a creamy crawfish suace... SO GOOD!
Snow and rain, this time with high winds again. I'm not really complaining -- since I can't get to outside projects, I'll have to spend time on the layout.
Kevin, I lived in New Orleans for 20 years, met my wife there, and raised my family there. The thing I miss most is what you show in your picture -- the food! Little hole-in-the-wall restaurants sometimes had the best food for the cheapest prices.
Great pictures of Chicago railroads.
OOPS! I guess you fixed your link while I typed. I was going to make it live.
Didn't the tunnels flood a couple of different times?
IIRC, one of those times was during a bridge construction project?
The MR site is sure running weird today. Slow.
Good Morning, Crew! Just a coffee for me right now. We've seen what operated above ground in Chicago, now let's take a look at what operated below ground by the Illinois Tunnel Co. many years ago. At one time, Chicago had what was called "freight tunnels" with two-foot narrow gauge electric motors and cars that moved freight to different department stores and office buildings forty feet under the streets. Here's a link to a page from my vintage railroad postcard blog showing the tunnels, cars, and motors with links to additional information.
http://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/2010/11/underground-chicago.html
Good Morning All,
30F and partly cloudy this morning. Not bad. I'll have a regular and a blueberry bagel please Zoe.
Welcome back Ray. Glad you had a good time in Fla. Nothing like Key Lime Pie in the Keys.... You were lucky at Atlanta on the way back. Usually I have to move from one terminal to another which takes much longer than a hop, skip and jump. I do have all the airline stuff on my phone but they (especially Delta) are not real good about posting gates for connecting flights.
OE, I hear you but we really need the extra money as we are insolvent here. If you had gone out of state personally, they are supposed to report to the state when you buy something. A sales tax is just that, a conveyance tax for the privilige of spending your very own hard earned dollars. Long ago I got a great deal on a car out of state and then had to pay Connecticut sales tax even though I had gone out of state to pick said car up. Something about death and taxes. Hope I didn't get us in trouble again with Steve O just now, but........
Took a night off from the layout as I w**ked late. We have three weekends coming up with two race meetings the same weekend and the first a week before. Sometimes this is like a real job. Probably need to stay late again tonight as things tend to pile up when you're not looking.
That said, time to pick up tools and get at it. Cheers, J.R.
hon30critter Jimmy_Braum I was asked, here Is a small panorama of the layout room, and the eventual expansion Hi Jimmy, The panoramic shots make it hard to judge the actual space available. Could you post some regular shots, maybe with the last picture a bit brighter? A detailed floor plan would help too. Good luck with the job search. Have you considered adding your renovation skills to your resume as part of your general information? Not everyone can do those things. Dave
Jimmy_Braum I was asked, here Is a small panorama of the layout room, and the eventual expansion
Hi Jimmy,
The panoramic shots make it hard to judge the actual space available. Could you post some regular shots, maybe with the last picture a bit brighter? A detailed floor plan would help too.
Good luck with the job search. Have you considered adding your renovation skills to your resume as part of your general information? Not everyone can do those things.
ill draw up a blue print of the basement later on today. I'll need t figure out how to remove a brick from a load bearing wall as well. In order to access the second room, I'll need to tunnel through the wall. space is 25 or 26 ft by 30 with another 10-12 ft for layout. I can also finally set up a work bench and paint booth with a vent!
(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).
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Jimmy_BraumI was asked, here Is a small panorama of the layout room, and the eventual expansion
OldEnginemanEbay is now charging sales tax!
That has applied in Ohio for quite some time now IF I buy from another seller in Ohio. The thing that gets me is that the tax was already paid by the original purchaser when the item was first sold — how many years ago?
There's even state sales tax on the postage!
Even at train shows (flea markets) many sellers collect sales tax. Auto parts, if there is a "core charge" like when you return your old starter, battery or alternator, you guessed it — another sales tax on the refund of the core charge. I was amazed when I discovered this one.
There were petitions circulating from eBay a while back but it looks like they didn't have much luck at avoiding the inevitable.