Good monday morning.
The headache Friday finally subsided after a good nap. Good naps usually work.
KEN the mole smoke bombs were poison smoke not just smoke. I don't know if they make them any more. They used to have a kit to pipe your lawn mower exhaust into a mole run and they woule die that way. Then there are traps like Kevin showed.
Sorry to hear about everyone's kitties , ducks and chickens.
Ray Glad you are still here and it was not a H.A.
I did not much over the weekend, I was able to get a 1931 Atwater Kent radio to speak. Someone had tried to repair it a long long time ago and it was a horrible wiring mess. But It speaks now!
That is all for now. I need to edit my radio repair video for the youtubes.
Good morning.
Ed, you've done a great job on the caboose. I'll bet everyone loves it.
Chip, I don't know how you survive without the air. We are only in the 90s, and our air is running all day. My wife thinks 73° is too hot.
Kevin, you're opposite of me. I retired, and now I get up earlier. I'm out of bed and walking the trail by 6:00 a.m. without an alarm clock.
Charlie, I clean our fireplace chimney every year, but it's getting harder as I get older. We have a fire every night through the winter. Since it's a fireplace, it doesn't heat much, but the atmosphere of watching TV with the fire going is great.
Years ago I bought a brush that fits the chimney and I got a set of fiberglass poles that screw together. The easy part is the cleaning. The hard part is getting on the roof and getting in position to use the brush. I don't like heights.
I've seen those chimney cleaning logs, but I've never used one. Let me know how it goes -- that may be my answer as I get too old to get up there.
Another day of layout work. It's rough being retired.
York1 John
Good morning ..... Coffee and a donut, please.
Ed ... Your caboose looks great.
CN Charlie .... 19" radius may be a bit tight for that locomotive.
Does anyone have more Mexican RR photos to share ?
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
SeeYou190I am out of bed before 11:00 for the first time in many weeks because the new vanity will be delivered between 9:00 and 2:00 today.
Well... almost noon, no vanity yet.
I could have slept in.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm getting my windshield replaced, and the repairman is scheduled to be here between 8 and 5. Really? They are not far away, and I wish they could give a shorter window.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyI wish they could give a shorter window.
Do you think a shorter window would fit???
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
howmusDo you think a shorter window would fit???
Loved it!
Afternoon all, it is another stunning day on the Coast with temps in the 30s today.
Heartland Division CB&QEd ... Your caboose looks great.
Telling someone their caboose looks great on a public forum is not really politically correct anymore.
Went and got a few yards of soil in the truck this morning and have it all unloaded waiting to be used. I then gave the truck its yearly bath with the pressure washer set@3000lbs and she is shiny again. I will put the top back on the truck as we will be moving my Daughter back to Victoria for University in two weeks. All her courses are now online but she already rented a place so she wants to go over anyway. I suspect she will be home most of the time regardless and especially when the puppies hit the ground. They cook for nine weeks.
An old friend of ours built a beautiful house on the ocean and burned logs that washed up on the beach in front of the house. The fireplace and chimney were huge and made out of river rock. Every year after Christmas when the tree was taken down he or me or someone would get up on the roof and lower a rope down the chimney and the Christmas tree would get tied to the end of the rope and we would then pull the tree up through the chimney leaving the chimney very clean.
A neighbours chimney caught fire once and man that thing was a blow torch. I grabbed my ladder, got up on the roof and the whole house was shaking from the fire. I emptied my extinguisher down the chimney and it was out when the fire dept arrived.
My Canuckle heads lost to St.Louis in OT last night but they play game four tonight so hopefully, they will get the win and go ahead 3 games to 1 in the best of seven.
I only sleep four or five hours a night now and was up at 0430hrs this morning. I never nap but do find myself getting tired in the early evening now which is frustrating because if I go to bed at say 2200hrs I would be awake by 2 or 3, GRRRRR.
Time to get busy.
All the best to all.
GO CANUCKS GO!
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMAN Heartland Division CB&Q Ed ... Your caboose looks great. Telling someone their caboose looks great on a public forum is not really politically correct anymore.
Heartland Division CB&Q Ed ... Your caboose looks great.
Not to worry. Everything comes out okay in the end.
The new vanity finalkly arrived at 6:30 PM. The driver said it was in the front of the truck and loaded so the pallet jack could not get beneath the pallet. He had to get everything else off thwe truck first, then have the pallet turned so he could move it with the jack.
All is well that ends well.
I just unboxed it. It arrived with no damage, and it is beautiful!
BATMAN I suspect she will be home most of the time regardless and especially when the puppies hit the ground. They cook for nine weeks.
Won't they be overdone? You can cook a Barbie in a lot less time.
Ya but, Barbies tend to get stuck in your teeth no matter how long you cook them and require a lot of flossing.
My Daughter is now 18, how time flys. She still lives in the puppy box when we got'em.
BATMANMy Daughter is now 18, how time flys. She still lives in the puppy box when we got'em.
When my youngest left home at 18, several years ago now... her first job was at a doggy-day-care working in the puppy room.
Can you imagine... she was able to pay her bills by playing with puppies all day long.
Now, even though she and her fiance have become wildly successful, she still misses those days when she REALLY loved her job.
Some pictures of the new vanity. This is such a step up from the old 1980s partical board nightmare we had in the bathroom before.
York1Chip, I don't know how you survive without the air. We are only in the 90s, and our air is running all day.
It's only for this summer--if we hadn't just done the roof.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Eveing Diners!
Flo, give the gang and I a and Dirk a dog treat.
Over all today was a good day!
1 Stop for gas and found a $20.00 bill laying on the floor. So someone had a bad day, just hope it was not there last cash for the month.
2 Had a odd but good sale today. Guy bought 4 queen sets and a king set for him self! Sale was for $3355.00 before tax. Spiff was modest at only $53.00 but my needs are modest so I was happy.
Ed I had reset the PRR Shark Nos B Unit to address #2000 like the A unit, so it is not to many slot 3's on the Digitrax system. I think it is more of a mechanical (spell check) binding problem at this point. But I am guessing.
Trains are running well so I am happy.
Later, Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof, Beep, Beep.
I hate Rust
John,
I have burned wood for over 70 years, tried all types of products to keep the chimney clean. I have used for many years a product made by Rutland, called chimney creosote clean, and am very satisfied with it. I use it every other day, and so far it has prevented a build up of creosote in the chimney.
It comes in a plastic tub, and has a small cup like scoop enclosed. The first time in the fall when I start the stove I throw in four scoops, and then one scoop every other day or so---
My brick chimney is lined with a slurry of volcanic pumace, mica, and refractory cement as a binder. Mid winter, when there is snow on the roof, I will induce a chimney fire, and burn the sucker out, much safer than climbing onto a second story roof.
If you burn wood you should have a box of table salt handy to the stove. Should you get a chimney fire you don't want---open the draft, front and back, scatter the salt over the fire in the fire box, and let it burn for 3-4 minutes. ( I have a 1pound box of Mortons handy-dump the entire box.) The burning salt creates a gas that will smother the fire in the chimney.
Another way is to throw a 10-12 ounce can of keroseine on the kindeling, and let it run with both drafts wide open for 5-10 minutes. This will burn out any build up from the day before. Make sure there are no live coals in the fire box before you do this--
The worst wood to burn is green alder--dried, it makes a quick, hot fire, we call it biscuit wood, as it will heat up a cook stove quickly to cook on/in.
Don't throw water down a chimney to put out a fire--you will put the fire out, but in the process you will end up replacing the chimney, the tile/bricks/blocks, will crack in the process.
herrinchoker
Good morning
Enjoying the nice weather streak up here. High of 76 yesterday and looking to be the same today.
Something new this year I guess I haven't learned yet. I thought maybe it was coincidental, I thought wrong! I was junking out on string cheese and Milky Way midnight minis last night. The extra arthritis flare-up in my hands, shoulders and legs feel like crap this morning. Getting old is a privilege but it has its sacrifices.
We're taking a load of stuff from storage to the auction house on Judy's day off tomorrow. What used to be prized possessions is now just a bunch of unused stuff taking up space and money. No matter what kind of loss we take on what it's worth will be better than to keep paying for it doing nothing.
We only burnt hardwoods in our fireplace at the resort where I grew up. I remember my dad burning some kind of anti creosote log once in a while. We never had a problem. I do the same things I was taught in the fireplace we have now. I have heard some of the A Frames in Alaska have 3-4 barrels up the flue and ceiling fans for extra heat efficiency. Flames shooting out the flue is a common sight up there in Sub-Zero weather, ...Crazy
The Caboose Shanty is looking really nice Ed. (Careful how I said that) It always feels good to restore something the elements take away.
Nice vanity Kevin. Brushing your teeth and shaving will be a brand new experience for a while
The Canucks will have my support again watching Game 5 tomorrow night Brent! Let's watch them beat the Blues and break the tie What a cutie with the pups. I always have the most smiles when my daughters visit. One's 27 and the other 29 now. But in my eyes I don't think they will ever grow up.
Have a great Taco Tuesday all
TF
Mornin" folks!
Janie, I could use another pot of Dark Roast Organic Coffee to wake up today.
Track fiddlerGetting old is a privilege but it has its sacrifices.
Amen to that, but for the moment better than the other option which is... Not getting older!
'tis a beautiful fall morning here in the Finger Lakes Region of NYS. Current temp is 63°F with a high around 78°F later. Nice and sunny but due to change and produce a few showers this afternoon. I just had breakfast so after my morning shower I plan to get out and run for a bit (properly hydrated this time...).
Have a trunk load of "collector's plates" (think $$$ scam back 40 years ago) that my mother wasted $$$ on back then to drop off to the Center of Concern this morning as well. They can sell them and use the $$ to help needy families (Lord knows there are lots of those today) locally. One less thing to get done. I need to finish up the next "Extra" edition of the NMRA Division newsletter today if possible. We want to publish by Thursday so I need to get the draft finished ASAP.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Good morning ....
Kevin .... The vanity looks good.
Ken .... Glad to hear you had a big sale.
Coffee and a donut to go. In a hurry.
Be back later.
Heartland Division CB&QKevin .... The vanity looks good.
Thanks Garry, it is going to be so nice to get this house done. Today I need to make room in the living room to get it inside so I can have the garage back for cutting wood and such.
This place is such a mess!
Less than four months until I hope to be working on the STRATTON AND GILLETTE #6. I better get it into gear!
SeeYou190Today I need to make room in the living room to get it inside so I can have the garage back for cutting wood and such.
Wow, a really quiet day in the diner.
My wife and I managed to get the living room cleaned up, and we moved the vanity in there on a set of dollies. It is HEAVY!
Hopefully it will be in the bathroom in one week, and we can have the living room back for movies, popcorn, and cuddling.
Hmmmm... since Mike had the top of the page and did not provide us with a beverage, the first round of virtual brews is on me today.
POST HOG!
This song has nothing to do with Mexico, except it has Mexican in the title.
Also, I have a real fondness for early 80s Pop-Punk/New Wave.
SeeYou190Hmmmm... since Mike had the top of the page and did not provide us with a beverage, the first round of virtual brews is on me today.
I tried a sip of your virtual brew, Kevin. Well, after a day of splitting and stacking firewood I believe I'll relax to a little suds at the caboose
Brew_Rail by Edmund, on Flickr
Imperium? Dunno, something Mrs. Pullman brought home from Aldi's.
Sure goes down smooth!
Cheers, Ed
LastspikemikeI've done the research. Getting older is better than any of the available alternatives. So far at any rate.
I'll second that.
It's now happy hour. I need it after cutting the grass and taking my wife to Walmart.
The Copper Canyon Railway in Mexico:
I'll look up some Mexico railway stuff when I get home tomorrow night.
In the mean time, for all you birders out there, we were watching a great blue heron hunting on the opposite shore of the river when it decided to come over to our side. In fact, it landed on the shore right in front of us about 40 ft away! It hung around for quite a while very close to us. Big thrill if you are a bird watcher! I tried to get some movies but my camera skills are the pits. I'll see if I can come up with some decent footage when I get home.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter for all you birders out there
<--Birder. I lead field trips for both Audubon and NPS. Well, I mean I will again eventually.
SpaceMouse hon30critter for all you birders out there <--Birder. I lead field trips for both Audubon and NPS. Well, I mean I will again eventually.
Do you mainly do that close to home, or do you travel to different areas of the U.S.?
hon30critter...we were watching a great blue heron hunting on the opposite shore of the river when it decided to come over to our side. In fact, it landed on the shore right in front of us about 40 ft away! ... I'll see if I can come up with some decent footage when I get home.
I'd love to see the footage of the heron. Just yesterday a friend and I saw our resident blue heron for the first time in months.
York1Do you mainly do that close to home, or do you travel to different areas of the U.S.?
Never go more than about an hour from my house. Montezuma's Well National Monument is about a mile and a half as the raven flies, and it is a great birding hotspot.
We're non-serious birders. We live directly on a creek which is actually a tidal marsh here. We watch birds every day. My favorites are the egrets. We also have a few great blue herons and lots of laughing gulls. In the winter we get mergansers, and I saw a cormorant last week.
The ducks have ducklings right now. It hurts me to see the numbers of ducklings slowly decrease, but this is the real world, and if every mama duck had half a dozen ducklings every year, we would be innundated with ducks.
And that's just the water birds....
I always got a kick out of the Mergansers Mister B.
They nest in colonies and the hens took turns taking the young out for a swim. It wasn't unusual to see one hen followed by 60-70 of the ducklings on Lake Kabetogama when I was young.
I would count them. One day 68. The next day 65. The day after 63. Until they got big enough to where the Northern or Musky underneath the surface decided they might choke on them if they tried.
I guess after a while it wasn't like swallowing a Barbie anymore