herrinchokerTook her to the vet this week, and had the puppy maker removed
Eveing Diners.
Flo, give the gang and I a Ed a Crown Royal and Dirk a dog treat.
Pretty much did nothing today. Rained pretty hard around 6:15 AM and the roof started leaking in the kitchen pretty bad. Luckly it was short lived and so was the leak. I sure hope life gets mack to normal pretty darn quick. My credit score is good but with the stuff going on I am afraid to take out a or appliy home inprovment loan. I wonder if loan guide lines have been tighten up?
PPR GG1 and I1sa are running great! Thank's Ed, great engines! While steam is great, I like the GG1 a little better!
Later, Ken and Dirk say's Woof, Woof.
I hate Rust
Good evening Ken
I wish I was your next door neighbor in the greater Chicago area or suburb of, so I could fix your roof for ya.
Judy and I are still hanging on to Easter with leftovers. The nice thing about a big cook is it tastes even better later
Movies, big food and recliner naps today and one more late Dinner so we sleep like rocks
Our nighty night will start in the recliners tonight.
I Hope you all had a very Happy Easter
P.S. maxman, I don't know where you found that cartoon but that was funny stuff.
TF
BroadwayLion What else can monks do?
What else can monks do?
I don't know? I think you've been doing enough
All I can say is I really can appreciate your life
Our man of the cloth here
Lion..... Here's looking at you Kid
That roof isn't going to fix itself, Ken....
"Say, Burt, your roof is leakin'."
"A'yuh"
"Why don't you fix it, Burt?"
"It's rainin' out."
"Well, why don't you fix it when it ain't rainin'?"
"Don't leak when it ain't rainin'."
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley "Well, why don't you fix it when it ain't rainin'?" "Don't leak when it ain't rainin'."
Good enough for me that was funny
Track fiddlerI thought Florida did not have basements as I have learned in previous posts. Where is this cement coming from? Superior thinsets like Pro Flex Platinum are almost impossible to remove. Quality tile guys use it and if you have it, good luck with that.
The house is built on a solid cement slab foundation. Typical for South Florida.
I put all the tile in, and yes, I used the best thin set I could get. It held up perfectly for twenty years. I never had a tile come loose.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
hon30critter Track fiddler A float of gypcrete over the whole floor would be the best bet. Sounds like a lot less work, dust, noise and cleanup. Dave
Track fiddler A float of gypcrete over the whole floor would be the best bet.
Sounds like a lot less work, dust, noise and cleanup.
Dave
But it has to match the tile in the next room. A thin coat to level the floor is not acceptable.
And now you have to remove the results of your best efforts
I'm with you Kevin, I hope you have a good power chisel
I guess I am Post Hoggin' this morning.
I had meatloaf sandwiches for dinner. Just enough meatloaf left for one more meal.
The company is coming to install three windows on Tuesday. Not sure how I feel about this having workers in my home during the virus concern. I have been hermit-living for weeks and do not want to give up my safe record. The company says they do temperature scans on all employees every day, and they wear tyvek suits and full PPE.
It hit 95 degrees today and broke the previous record by three degrees! The overnight low is forcast to be 78 degrees, which is four degrees higher than the previous highest overnight low.
They are predicting 97 degrees on Tuesday. This is madness.
Less than 1/2" of rain all year, watering restrictions are in effect, and wells in rural areas are going dry.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds of tomatoes are being allowed to rot on the vines in South Florida. The primary purchasers of these crops are Burger King, Wendy's, and McDonald's. They are experiencing low sales, so the tomatoes go to waste.
This will be the last big hit to our economy in Florida. After Easter the State pretty much shuts down anyway. The Yankees and Canadians go home, Spring Break is over, and harvesting season is done.
Kevin
Can you fax me, text me or email me one of those meatloaf sandwiches
That sounds really good right now and I could use one
Thanks
Post Hog
Good Lord she looks so comfortable but I need to scrape her up off the couch and get her into bed
P.S. And I didn't have one of those meatloaf sandwiches either!
There are currently 3 N scale STRATTON AND GILLETTE freight cars far sale from an eBay seller in Conecticut.
These are from the "Dream House" era 1989-1991.
He is asking $30.00 each for them.
If you want to see early examples of SGRR freight cars, check them out. Not too bad for 30 years ago. I had literally hundreds of these that I custom painted back then.
I don't know what the deal is with the seller
I would never sell one of your freight cars Kevin
I treasure them too much
Track fiddler don't know what the deal is with the seller I would never sell one of your freight cars Kevin I treasure them too much
I am pretty confident that the seller is not the person I originally gave the freight cars to.
It would be about 30 years ago I gave these away. I think I had about 250 of these cars decorated when I built the Dream House layout. I know Randy still has about 100 of them. I gave so many of them away, and a lot of them to elderly people. There is no telling how many hands they passed through from then to now.
I always get a kick when they come up for sale on eBay. Most sellers don't know how to list them, and this guy is no different. His listing has errors in it, but that is OK.
You're a good man Kevin. I'm a good judge of character and I got that a long time ago about you. I know right where my cars are that you gave me. And that's right where they will stay
Good Morning!
Here in Germany, we celebrate two days of Easter, so it is still a holiday here. The weather is not as nice as it was in the past few days, but still there are a few rays of sunshine. It´s much colder than yesterday, though. Nonetheless, we had our little friends paying the usual morning visit. Three years ago, I was able to catch them on film.
Driving a stream lorry is a job not for the faint of heart!
No power steering, no power windows - in fact, no windows at all, no power brakes, no air conditioning, just lots of smoke, coal dust, dirt, noise and fun!
Stay safe!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
SeeYou190I always get a kick when they come up for sale on eBay. Most sellers don't know how to list them, and this guy is no different. His listing has errors in it, but that is OK.
I stumbled across this Euclid & Lake Erie gondola. I don't know who the railroad belonged to but this is from my old neighborhood.
A steam shovel looks pretty challenging to get the hang of as well:
I used to run a friction-clutch clam shell bucket to fill the tender of a steam locomotive. It helped to be part octopus to run one of those things!
Happy Easter Monday for folks in England, Wales, N. Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Cheers, Ed
gmpullmanHappy Easter Monday for folks in England, Wales, N. Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Thanks, Ed.
A short video taken a couple of years ago.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning. Cold, but sunny.
Our high temperature today will be 40° lower than Kevin's low temperature.
I checked out the SGRR boxcars on eBay. That's amazing there are so many cars out there. I still think that was a neat idea to spread the cars around. You never know when you might see one.
Same old same old today. Sit around the house with nothing much to do. The same as we were doing before the virus.
We had a good Easter. The kids and grandkids all got on Zoom. On a phone, you can only see a few at a time, but on my big computer screen, we see all the boxes arranged like the Brady Bunch. We see and hear everyone at once.
After we signed off, the grandkids were all going to have their own session. I never thought I would be this old. Grandma and I just watch and listen to everyone having such a good time with each other.
Happy Easter Monday. Enjoy your day off!
York1 John
gmpullmanI stumbled across this Euclid & Lake Erie gondola.
That is a great looking gondola.
gmpullmanI used to run a friction-clutch clam shell bucket to fill the tender of a steam locomotive. It helped to be part octopus to run one of those things!
Watching a skilled operator run a non-synchronized friction-clutch dragline is amazing. I remember one night I was watching an operator on a Lima 2400B when the machine started making a grinding noise. The guy started flipping air valves and pulling controls I had not seen him touch before. The machine settled down and he got right back to work. I swear he grew two extra arms when he was going through all those control movements.
York1I checked out the SGRR boxcars on eBay. That's amazing there are so many cars out there. I still think that was a neat idea to spread the cars around.
I am amazed when people actually buy them. I just give them away for the asking. Sometime I give them to people that don't even ask. They should have no market value.
Good Evening:
I'd love to find some decent photos of that old clamshell bucket. It was a real piece of work. The boom had been lenghtened by about six feet and the job looked like it was done by a high-school shop class (in their first week).
It got a little breezy here today
Aspen-down2 by Edmund, on Flickr
The chickens wasted no time in finding all the uncovered worms!
I hope everyone is getting along fine —
Track fiddlerBrittany brightend my day with a better cat Ulrich Like I said my Brittany is silly but I love her so much! Do you see the time she must have spent to make that?
Very tolerant cat!!
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
SeeYou190they wear tyvek suits and full PPE.
Hi Kevin,
At the temperatures that you are experiencing I don't envy anyone having to wear full PPE! I can barely stand to have a face mask on.
Whenever we have contractors at the house I always fill a big cooler with Gatorade and water bottles and lots of ice. It is always appreciated.
Tinplate ToddlerDriving a stream lorry is a job not for the faint of heart!
Hi Ulrich,
That is a very interesting video!!! I marvel at all the exposed machinery spinning right in front of the driver, and I'm also amazed at watching how the controls are used. Sometimes the adjustments are very subtle and other times the levers are apparently moved through their full range.
I have always loved the opportunity to drive different vehicles. Driving a steam lorrie would be incredible!!! The first time I got behind the wheel of a ten ton truck I was thrilled! At the time all I had driven were normal sized cars.
Eveing Diners
Track fiddlerI wish I was your next door neighbor
So do I, that way you would not be a Post Hog!
This morning by hand was called by Mother Nature. We have been having high winds of late and I found the trap that had been install on my roof where the worse leak was had been ripped off. Called a roofing company (handy man that installed the tarp will not go back up because the roof is to soft) and they are coming out Thursday to give me a bid and install a new trap till the roof is replaced.
My big fear is my floors! Have a contractor coming out Saturday to bid on floor jacking and floor joist replacement. The floor where my gas stove, refrigerator and door to garage / train room is sagging a good (should say Bad) 1.5 to 2 inches! Yes this house is a mess!
Depending on what the floor jacking contractior says will determine what I do next.
If I can get the needed repairs done for a round $26,000.00 I will try to get a home improvemeny loan. If it is in the $40,000 range I am out of here.
Where is everybody? It's quieter in here than a non-essential business in New York City. We need a good lunch special to get people in the Diner door and talking again. I know! It's Taco Tuesday!
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Good morning, everyone.
I just had breakfast, Steven, so I'll save the Tacos for later today. Thanks!
It was cold walking this morning. It's 17° right now, but will warm up into the 40s by afternoon.
Last night, my wife called me to come outside. We could hear our barred owl very close, but then it flew across the street and started making lots of weird noises. This is the first time in several years I have seen it, although we hear it often.
I have lots of pictures of our trips to British Columbia, but I can't find them. They are in our basement somewhere. But with the amount of junk we have stored, it may take years to find them.
Our gas is now $1.59 a gallon, the lowest I have seen it in years. This would be a great time to drive our Expedition, which gets about ½ mile per gallon, on a trip, but we haven't got any place to go.
Have a good day, everyone.
Steven OtteWhere is everybody? It's quieter in here than a non-essential business in New York City.
Huh??? I'm here.... I've been up since 4:45 this morning so I could be at TOPS Market in Waterloo by 6am to do my weekly grocery shopping. Got there right on time and there were only about 10 other people in the store, all of us properly distanced and wearing masks.... Was back home about 7:00am and went and got my morning shower and fresh clothes on.
Hey Ken! Why do you have a trap on your roof and why would somebody go up there and rip it off???? What were you trying to catch anyway?
Sun is shining today for a while here in the Finger Lakes but the thermo meter says it is only 36°F out there. I will soon put on my Winter Coat and head out to get a mile or two of walking in around the neighborhood before lunch. Then I will do that again a couple times this afternoon. Yesterday was the first day since I have been under lockdown that I haven't managed to get 5 miles of walking in. Just wish I could lose the 10lbs. of wieght I put on since Thanksgiving!!! Grrrrrrr. I think the stress of the whole situation has me nibbling way too much once again. I will get that under control soon.
Be Blessed and Stay Safe out there!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good Morning All,
I've been by the diner a couple of times but haven't stopped in. Busy doing other stuff I'm afraid. Got the last truck and trailer back from Fla this morning via Indy so we can get after fixing some stuff up on it.
Steven - the tacos look great. Sign me up for a dozen. On Okinawa there was a place in Kadena called Charlies Tacos. They had great tacos and we used to see how many we could eat at one sitting (obviously only on pay day when we could afford it). I had the record at one point for 40 some odd tacos and the zoomies at the air base took offense and brought some huge dude in from Guam to break the record. They must have starved him for a week because he ate nearly 60. I didn't need the record that badly.
So Ray, did you ever wonder about your solar panels? They seem for the most part to put out around 30 volts DC. The Tesla uses DC batteries and I would guess DC motor(s)? So to do the panels, they use an inverter and then probably another on the Tesla to charge it. From my experience, inverter either A to DC or DC to AC are pretty inefficient. We need to come up with a way to bypass the inverters and charge directly from DC solar panels to the cars. If i didn't know only enough not to stick my finger in the outlets, I'd try to come up with a way to do that.
Back to sorting spare parts and tidying up. Ciao, J.R.