This is sad news!
All over Great Britain, the steam operated tourist lines have been forced to close their operation following the lock-down. For some of them, the loss of revenue will mean closing the operation for good, especially those with a semi-professional operation requiring hired staff. Among those threatened is the Ffestiniog Rlwy. and the Welsh Highland Rlwy., the Talyllyn Railway, the Vale of Rheidol Rlwy. in Wales, the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Rlwy in southern England and the famous "Jacobite" steam train from Fort Williams to Mallaig in Scotland. In Austria, the Achenseebahn, a steam operated rack railway already had to file for bankruptcy. Unfortunatly, there is a good chance that more lines from all over Europe will have to be added to this list.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Afternoon Diners!
Flo, give the gang and I a Ed a crown royal and Dirk a half a dog treat.
Nice but a verry winded day. Had some wind up to 30 MPH and normal speed was 19 MPH.
Got a lot done today for me. Fixed part of our kitchen cabinet that was hang down in front of the sink. Cleaned the lower cabinets and they where nasty. Lighting is not great in the kitchen.
Got some more grass planted in the front yard. I am using Scott Bare Patch Kit seeds.
Took Dirk to the small park that is with in 3/4 of a mile. I just don't get it? I have to walk him a quarter mile to get him to do a #2 here in the Neighborhood yet I take him too a park? Things get done with in 300 feet?
Bathroom Faucet help! It is dripping again? Some of you folks said you had to replaces something a long with the gasket and spring? Think the word Ball was used? What is it and make it wording for the handy man impaired please. Is it the white thing that stick's up in the handle? It has a cold and hot warter seprated handle. I have no idea who made it and I am guessing it was installed in 1969 when the house was bulit.
Time to set out side with Dirk and Sue. So later, Ken and Dirk say's Woof, Woof!
I hate Rust
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good aftenoon all.
Zoe - A RBF please. Thanks.
Lets put a quarter in the old jukebox.
Hopefully that works. A little tribute to the now fallen star. He was 61.
Weather - Windy, but a high of 68F today. Not bad for March.
Trains - Finished another hopper kit this week, now painting a few parts for the next group.
W*^k - Still "essential", for now at least. We shall see what happens during the discussion tomorrow.
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the night!
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.
78 by Bear, on Flickr
What... A 2" wrench will get rid of a bear?
I am on the job!
Good heavens, after six weeks of being retired I am starting to look like a bear!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Ed your Amtrak girl reminds me of Judy Carne from Laugh In.
Insomnia last night, I ended watching youtube videos about WW2. I thought the one about the air force in Burma might have a glimpse of my uncle. Instead it showed troops riding in jeeps and then elephants.
Ended with a 20 minute video on the production of 3" anti aircraft shells. Quite a bit of machining in the process and a real assembly line that carried each one to the next stage.
I had been thinking about GM building ventilators. Politicos talk like it is as easy as filling sand bags with sand. You need machines to make the outside box, you need machines or people to do the plumbing and the circuit boards and install the gauges. The parts need to be in the right spot at the right time on the assembly line. All of it done by people who never saw a ventilator.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
York1 I am having trouble breathing, but it is not the virus. It's the time of year. My allergy has hit full force, and I am miserable. No medicine works -- I've tried them all. I will try to get into the clinic tomorrow for an allergy shot. It is not perfect, but it gives some relief.
I am having trouble breathing, but it is not the virus. It's the time of year. My allergy has hit full force, and I am miserable. No medicine works -- I've tried them all.
I will try to get into the clinic tomorrow for an allergy shot. It is not perfect, but it gives some relief.
York1 John
gmpullmanIn June 1974 meals were still cooked on board. What a concept!
I remember! I went by train from Seattle to Los Angeles in May 1974 and the dining car was a grewat experience. Still a nice selection of food, real china and silver cutlery! Never had a better burger (except those Petra makes)!
On a side note - young women still looked pretty in those days, before political correctness and feminism turned them into - well, you know what!
Good Morning —
Things look good from the head-end of the westbound Empire Builder this morning:
Amtrak_SDP40f 563 by Edmund, on Flickr
EMD hasn't quite mastered the fine points of ergonomics, I see. The engineer has to lug around a 7/8 offset box wrench in his grip!
Meanwhile, the diner is filling up quickly for breakfast. In June 1974 meals were still cooked on board. What a concept!
Amtrak_Diner by Edmund, on Flickr
And strolling back to the Pullmans we encounter our Passenger service Representative aboard the Empire Builder.
Amtrak_PSR by Edmund, on Flickr
Yes, she's on Social Security today
SeeYou190Wow, it just occurred to me that this will be the first year since 2012 that I have not driven 50,000+ miles for work! I do not think I have driven 100 miles since 17/FEB/2020.
Back in June 2019 I picked up a brand-new Chevrolet truck. I haven't hit 2000 miles yet. In my "working days" I would generally do about 20K a year.
Have a great Sunday, everyone. I hope you are all well —
Cheers, Ed
Good Morning!
Just dropping by to say hello. Petra and I are fine. We finally were able to buy two packs of toilet paper, so life is good again. I cancelled one of my online orders as there is no sign of a shipment coming. The money will be returned thanks to Ebay´s Buyer Protection. We should be good until the smoke clears and people (and governments) go back to reason.
There are no 4-way stops in Europe that I am aware of. Either we have signs posting who´s got the right of way and who has to yield, or we have a simple "right before left rule". Works nicely and people pretty much obey.
That´s about all what I drove since the beginning of this year. Cars and driving all of a sudden become less important, unless it´s your hobby.
Something to divert our minds onto in these trying times!
Stay safe!
maxmanThey must have never taken drivers ed. Whoever gets there first, goes first. After that driver on right goes. Thought everyone knew that.
At four way stops, I have seen, more often than not, it is courtesy that messes everything up.
It's OK, you go. No, you can go first. No no, it's OK, you can go.
That sort of thing.
I don't mind when it happens. It sure beats the heck out of aggressive drivers not letting me merge into a crowded roundabout.
Wow, it just occurred to me that this will be the first year since 2012 that I have not driven 50,000+ miles for work! I do not think I have driven 100 miles since 17/FEB/2020.
Just passing through. Placed the power station temporarily - good enough for now as usual. I can now do a little more around the edges but it needs to remain removable so I can access the tunnel behind it. All for now. Sleep beckons.011 by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickrpowerstation placement 3 by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr
This is where I'm at. Konbonwa, J.R.
mbinsewiStand-offs at 4 way stops are worse. Nobody knows when it's their turn to go.
They must have never taken drivers ed. Whoever gets there first, goes first. After that driver on right goes. Thought everyone knew that.
Heartland Division CB&QDave... Actually, it was Mr. B who said he saw egrets yesterday morning.
Ooops, sorry Mr. B.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Howdy ...
Dave... Actually, it was Mr. B who said he saw egrets yesterday morning.
Occasionally , we see egrets here but not often. Blue herons are more common. We also see bald eagles, ospreys, wild turkeys, and hawks. Migrating white pelicans are here in the fall and in the spring for brief periods. We also have turkey vultures. Regarding the conversation about roundabouts, etc.: Some highways were designed by uncivil engineers.
Have a good night, everybody. Stay healthy.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
My order from MB Klein showed up today. Two huge boxes!
I have it in isolation for three days, then I will bring it into the house and open it up.
That is a relief.
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk half a dog treat.
Is Model Railroading relaxing? Well not tonight! Yes they are running fine now after 45 minutes of messing around with the passanger cars!
Spring is here Dang it Grass is growing and a couple of people have all ready ran there mowers across there yards. I may beable to get my for 2 more weeks and that will be it. I Hate cutting grass.
Later Ken and Dirk say's Woof, Woof.
GMTRacingSo if you see the egrets twice in one day would they then be regrets
I'm groaning too!
Garry,
Egrets!! Nice sighting! We went out to look for swans again today but we only saw two. We had a turkey vulture hovering about 30' above the van for several minutes. I was starting to think that we should check our pulses!
We have one intersection where people exiting a controlled access highway in opposite directions, and both turning left, drive on the left side of the road. It freaks me out every time I see it. Never drove in the UK just because I know I'd screw up, like that ambassadors wife that killed someone.
My friend with MS has not left the house in 16 days, nor has she opened any mail. She says she is prepared to wait indefinitely.
There are just under 1000 infected people in my Maryland out of 6 million. That is 1 in 6,000. If there are 10x as many infected people, that is one in 600. I'm not riding mass transit or going to the food store when it's packed with senior pretendors so I'm not particularly worried.
They just put one of those double diamond crossovers at our interstate. made a huge difference in traffic flow.
It's probably more common in other areas, but in our state, a new interchange was put in that was confusing the first time I used it.
If you are approaching the interstate from the bottom of the picture and want to get onto the interstate going left, your lanes cross over to the left side. It's a little disconcerting the first time when you are driving on the left side of the road, with oncoming traffic on your right.
There are lights at the two crossovers.
GMTRacing Roundabouts . . . More likely problem is people on their phones or texting. J.R.
Roundabouts . . .
More likely problem is people on their phones or texting.
J.R.
I ran into acouple/three roundabouts on my last trip south. GPS unit always said roundabout ahead, take the exit I needed. Four way stop, when in doubt wave the other guys to go in front of you. 2o second delays is better that a crumpled fender.
Roundabouts (or traffic circles as they used to call them here) are efficient though you do need to know what you're doing. I don't buy the GPS excuse because both here and overseas the GPS will tell you turn (left or right depending on the country) into the roundabout and then take the 1st, 2nd,3rd, etc road out of it. More likely problem is people on their phones or texting. When we were having lunch one day in Oz at an outdoor cafe we saw a trash hauler simply straightline the roundabout which he would have had a problem navigating anyway. When my nav system tells me turn here, I do check to see if there is a road there first. J.R.
I'm used to roundabouts, and actually like them. What IS scary are those that don't know how to navigate them, or don't want to, just complain about them. They've been a part of WI main roads now for a while.
Stand-offs at 4 way stops are worse. Nobody knows when it's their turn to go.
Rainy here in SE WI today.
I did get my office cleaned up. Of couse I had music on one computer and a live rail cam on the other. I need to start up my lap top once in a while to make sure it's updated.
And the last 2 days were pretty decent, so I did make a huge leap forward in yard work, which does not usually happen.
Mike.
My You Tube
I used to ride my bike through a rotary (traffic circle, roundabout, whatever) in Concord, MA. I frequently stopped there because the had a bench and a water fountain, and it was a gathering spot for cyclists anyway.
Over the last few years I noticed a disturbing trend. Instead of proceeding counter clockwise around the circle as the law and the signs said, people were turning the wrong way. I am sure their GPS told them to do this. Fortunately, it's a small, lightly traveled loop with a low speed limit, so I have not seen and collisions, but I dread the thought of driverless vehicles trying to navigate these unusual traffic features.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Big Brother of LION...
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
BigDaddyCabin air filter. Looks like something I can change.
I never knew. I just watched how to do it for the wife's 2017 Escape.