cudaken For some reason I told him "if you poop in our yard I will give you another treat." I be danged, he did his poop in our yard.
That's exactly how I've been getting extra treats for years now, Ken!
Thanks for the Coney-dog, John! That'll be good for another treat
SouthShore_104-Michigan-City by Edmund, on Flickr
I hope everyone is getting along OK —
Cheers, Ed
Good morning everybody! Flo, can I get a coffee and an English muffin please?
Been absolutely swamped at work lately. At least the boss contacted me yesterday and said he wants to talk about getting me some help, even if temporary.
Sorry I've been remiss about posting fun facts about Michigan. I'll offer up a litte this morning about the mighty Mackinac Bridge. Construction began in May 1954 and the bridge opened for traffic in November 1957. At a total length of 26,372 ft and total suspended length of 8,614 ft, it is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Recent figures suggest that approximately 610,000 vehicles cross it every month.
On Labor Day, one side of the bridge is shut down to vehicle traffic, and opened up for foot traffic. It is the only time pedestrians are allowed on the bridge. Participation ranges from approximately 40,000 to 65,000 people. It's quite an event.
My mom and stepdad had the opportunity to climb one of the towers, walk out onto the uppermost crossover, and take a photo like this one (just not on labor day). Not many people get that opportunity. As neat as this bridge is in these pictures, my favorite is viewing it at night. There are ample locations on both sides of the bridge to view and photograph it to capture images like this.
More info can be found here: https://www.mackinacbridge.org/
Have a great day guys!
Mike
Gents,
After I thought about my last post, I wondered if I should have left it. Not being railroad related, I suspect I should remove it. I guess I haven't paid that close of attention if the diner location related posts were intended to only be related to area railroading. I can't think of one that wasn't, but that doesn't always mean they were meant to be excluded. My apologies if that was the intent. I will look to more appropriate info next time.
At least the darn thing is pretty cool!
Good morning, everyone.
Mike, you did nothing wrong. I believe that's the point of having this thread from the diner -- we can talk about and show pictures of things that may not be related to railroads. That bridge is a masterpiece. I wish I could do what your parents did.
For me, today is another day to pick up leaves. With all my large oak trees, I will be picking up leaves for months. It would be nice to have them lose all their leaves at once.
Charlie, my wife does the same thing. I'll be in my layout room with the TV on and the doors partially closed. She'll be in the living room with her TV on. She will make some random remark, and then will get upset and tell me I need hearing aids because I don't respond. I used to get upset -- now I just ignore it. One of the joys of getting old, I guess.
York1 John
Mike,
I never liked driving over that bridge when they closed the two outer lanes for maintenance, driving over that grating and being able to see down to the water from that high up gave me the willies.
But there are a few other bridges I did not care for like the San Mateo and Oakland Bay bridges over San Francisco Bay and the twin suspension bridges from Annapolis to Delaware.
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!
Perfect place to take care of my morning Duty. Looks like it will be a long flush I don't think I'll be in there long because I'm afraid of heights
I hate that when my wife talks to me when I'm in the other room too Charlie.
I like the trolley picture Ed and the bridge picture Mike.
I hope you get to sleep in today Kevin.
I ordered my ore cars on eBay last night. They will run getting the ore from the tipples in the mountains. There will be an upper horseshoe where they run bringing the ore to the transfer tipple to the lower ore loader.
This guy hand-paints the weathering and rust on these cars and has excellent reviews. I'm really excited to get them in the mail!
TF
howmus Track fiddler So I got the sliding screen door wide open and all the windows open on the house and it's only 55° outside and I'm in a T-shirt. I guess when you gotta, you gotta!!! 73
Track fiddler So I got the sliding screen door wide open and all the windows open on the house and it's only 55° outside and I'm in a T-shirt.
I guess when you gotta, you gotta!!!
73
I forgot to post this on my last post so now it will make sense
POST HOG!
Judy made her famous wild rice soup this morning and would like to share it with all of you for Brunch this morning.
It is so good Trust me when I say she knows how to make some awesome wild rice soup as she is half Native and has the Secret Family recipe
We were bummed out they canceled Powwow due to the pandemic this year. I'm sure it was for the best but I missed out having those frybread tacos, those things are really good too
I hope I didn't spoil your appetite with the previous post though
CNCharlieMy wife thinks I need hearing aids. Wish she would stop talking to me when I am not in the same room and then get angry when I don't reply .
OH MY YES!
My wife is constantly mumbling in another room facing the orther direction while I have my music on, and them complains because I do not hear her.
I feel your pain brother!
dti406But there are a few other bridges I did not care for like the San Mateo and Oakland Bay bridges over San Francisco Bay and the twin suspension bridges from Annapolis to Delaware.
The bridge over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Interstate 10 is not good for me. In the center section the surface makes your car try to wander, and it is very disturbing.
Track fiddlerJudy made her famous wild rice soup this morning and would like to share it with all of you for Brunch this morning.
Looks great. Can I get some in a Tupperware for dinner tonight?
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 Track fiddler Judy made her famous wild rice soup this morning and would like to share it with all of you for Brunch this morning. Looks great. Can I get some in a Tupperware for dinner tonight? -Kevin
Track fiddler Judy made her famous wild rice soup this morning and would like to share it with all of you for Brunch this morning.
For you, ...But of course!
Track fiddler Perfect place to take care of my morning Duty. Looks like it will be a long flush I don't think I'll be in there long because I'm afraid of heights TF
You would not be long on a porta-potty up on the North Slope (Alaska) either, all the porta-potties also have an incerator in them, so if you sit too long, you could get scorched!
dti406 Track fiddler Perfect place to take care of my morning Duty. Looks like it will be a long flush I don't think I'll be in there long because I'm afraid of heights TF You would not be long on a porta-potty up on the North Slope (Alaska) either, all the porta-potties also have an incerator in them, so if you sit too long, you could get scorched! Rick Jesionowski
Sounds kinda dangerous. I wouldn't want to be doing that! I guess I best be leaving my newspaper at home then Eh?
SeeYou190The bridge over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Interstate 10 is not good for me. In the center section the surface makes your car try to wander, and it is very disturbing.
That's the truth! That bridge is my nightmare. I was heading east one time and got stuck at the top of the bridge in a traffic jam. As we sat there, our car was rocking and rolling as trucks drove in the opposite direction lanes.
Not shaking a little -- shaking a lot. Our car felt like some people were pushing up and down on our front and rear bumpers.
All I could think of was some bridge bolts working loose after years of shaking.
Sven stops by Ollie's place and says Ollie, grab your pole, let's go fishing today.
Ollie says I would love to Sven but I can't. I need to clean the outhouse today and it's a dirty all day job, it's getting too full you know.
Sven says Ollie, you don't have to spend all day doing that, you can clean the outhouse in just 2 minutes.
Ollie says that sounds really good Sven, I would sure like to do that so I can go fishing with ya.
Sven goes to his truck and grabs a half a stick of Dynamite and says hold my beer and watch this Ollie.
Sven lights the fuse, throws it down the hole and they both go duck behind The woodshed peeking around the corner to watch.
Just then Lena comes running out of the house and goes into the outhouse. Sven and Ollie look at each other and say Oh No!!!
The Dynamite blows up. Lena and the Outhouse fly up in the air. The Poop goes flying sideways scattered all over the yard. The outhouse and Lena come back down.
Lena comes out the door and says WHEEEW!!! Good thing I didn't do that one in the house!
dti406 But there are a few other bridges I did not care for like the San Mateo and Oakland Bay bridges over San Francisco Bay and the twin suspension bridges from Annapolis to Delaware.
We usually cross the Annapolis to Delaware bridge in the daytime, so we get a nice view. On the way to Delaware, it means we're out of the bad traffic, but the other way means we're just getting to it.
I still have good hearing, but there are times I'd like to switch it off for some peace and quiet.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
dti406 I never liked driving over that bridge when they closed the two outer lanes for maintenance
I never liked driving over that bridge when they closed the two outer lanes for maintenance
Speaking of bridges, your statement here Rick reminded me of the collapse of the 35W bridge in Minneapolis over the Mississippi.
I don't know what Engineers were in charge of that project but they certainly overlooked some things they shouldn't have.
Number one it was already determined the steel in that bridge was half the thickness of what it should have been. Number two a lot of the gusset plates were so rusted through they should have been replaced before any maintenance was done on the upper deck. Number three they removed both outer lane decks greatly compromising its stability. It made no sense, even I would know better than doing something like that.
I remember traveling over it when this maintenance was going on and how the bridge would shake and wiggle when cement trucks and semis would stop as the traffic was always stop-and-go during the maintenance. It definitely gave me the willies.
I was in shock when it did collapse but I definitely did not wonder why. I had quit going over that bridge after feeling it wiggle and shake as I did not feel safe traveling over it.
Since that disaster they replaced all the bridges around here that were built like that.
Lawyers have a practice, Doctors also have a practice, perhaps bridge designers should be given the same moniker?
The Silver Bridge crossing the Ohio River is another famous bridge disaster:
If it was made by man ...
Good afternoon from the Eastern edge of the largest ocean on earth where it is a15c, warm, dry O/C day.
Speaking of crossing a bridge that rocks and rolls, for years I crossed the Lions Gate Bridge on my bike that I rode to work. Trucks are not allowed on the bridge and a city bus was the largest beast you would see crossing it. When a bus went by and you were on a bike it was a little unsettling as the railing was not as high for a cyclist as I would have liked and the bridge really shook as the bus passed.
When I was working on the airport we could be out on the ramp for hours with no access to a washroom as we would often be in a far off corner of the airport away from prying eyes. Driving around the perimeter to a washroom could be several kms and take a lot of time. When it was below freezing and there was a 30-knot wind blowing the guys could make some interesting artwork on the 12' chain link fence that surrounded the airport as things could freeze quickly sometimes. The problem was made worse by the endless coffee and food coming from Tim Hortons out to us. I remember once we had this cute girl join the team that stood no more than 5' she had to use the washroom for more than a pee and was in panic mode. I said follow me, I took her into the belly of the plane and up two floors to the toilet right behind the flight deck (it was a 747). You never saw a more relieved (in more ways than one) person in your life. It only had one toilet, she just didn't know where to look.
Puppies are gaining weight and thriving. People are being quite obnoxious about wanting to visit in this pandemic. The wife normally will not let anyone visit until they are two weeks old anyway incase they bring disease from their own mutts, but she has been really running a tight ship when it comes to people coming to the house.
Mike, I like the fact that when the diner visits different places we include things about the area that is not RR related. You can never learn too much about a place.
Ken, using reward training is what my wife does, our youngest is 22 months and does amazing things. With being housebound this one has had much more training than usual and would make a good movie dog.
I like the hood ornament on this one.
I am uninspired today as every time I go to do something someone wants me to do something else. I just remember how much I miss them all when the house is empty so all is good.
All the best to all
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good afternoon all.
Zoe - A nice Coke float please. Thanks.
Neat bridge and train pics all.
Congrats on the healthy pups Brent.
Weather - Defenitely cooler now. Wet this afternoon, but we need the rain. We are now in a drought watch here. Wind has ripped most of the leaves out in my area.
Trains - Just a few smaller modelling projects right now. Did catch the Reading Heritage unit on NS 22K this week.
Reading 1067 on 22K through North East Pa. by Richard Woodworth, on Flickr" alt="Reading 22K" />
Got quite the scare with this train though, as they had dragging equipment slam into the nearby grade crossing. Seems a railing on a well car was not quite in the right place.
Damaged Well Car by Richard Woodworth, on Flickr" alt="Well Car Damage" />
Yes, I did contact the RR Police department to report it.
The debris strike is at approxamately 1:10 in the following video. (Well, the video will follow this if I did it right.....)
While my video camera was rolling, I was further back from the train. (Had to leave the video camera closer to the car to keep the wind from knocking it over.) Even though I leave a wide buffer between myself and trains, this one got a bit wider berth after the debris strike!
Time to start dinner (Burgers & Fries from home.) so I will head out.
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the evening!
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.
Rick, thanks for reporting the problem. A lot of people just post the video and forget it.
I used to live across the street from what are now B&M commuter tracks. At the time, there were occasionally freights, too. One night, I watched as some yahoo crashed through the crossing gate, destroying it, and just kept going. I immediately called 911, as I figured the local police could be on the scene first.
Mr B know this, but others don't, the Chesapeake bridge is 2 separate bridges. An east bound 2 lane bridge and and a west bound 3 lane bridge, except sometimes they run one lane east bound on the west bound span.What could possibly go wrong?I know people who are afraid to cross the bridge and you can call the transportation police and they will drive you across the bridge.I also had a former colleague, who, when they were building the bridge, (It's 5 miles long) walked across the bridge, under construction, to get to the other side to ask for a job working on the bridge.
Thanks for the hear aid device. A friend tells me all the doctors he knows, goes to Costco for their hearing aids. I've heard some people pay a couple thousand dollars elsewhere. It's not for me, I'm Mumbles from Dick Tracy. People who mumble can understand other mumblers.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please, Dirk a dog treat and Robbie some Cheerios?
Charlie He nay be smarter than I think. 4th night in a row I told him I would him give him a treat if he did the poop in our yard, and he did. I know he undertstand a few words. Go Go means haul butt, knows Bedroom, Up, Car and Go Too The Park. Wife and I now spell the word park when we are talking about taking him there.
Smarest dog I have owned was Muff, my first American Eskimo. I swear she understod ever word I said! I use to take to work with me at my first body shop. She usally would lay under my desk like it was her dog house. Garage door where open and she would go out on her own to take care of things and then come back in and go to my offices.
One day I saw her go out and then I had to talk with a coustomer, never saw her come back in? Got worried, I was on 17th street downtown Indy and it was a busy street! Yelled Muff, your late (tell her she'd late she come running) and she came running out of the offices toward me.
Told her Never mind go back to the offices. I be danged, she turn right around and whent back too my offices?
Ed Maybe be you should try a different way of getting treats?
Later Ken and Dirk says Ed silly daddy Woof, Woof!
I hate Rust
Evenin' Folks!
CNCharlieKen, dogs can often understand a kot of words. If we ask Robbie if he would like some Cheerios he runs to the cupboard where we keep them. For a cookie he goes to spot where they are. He knows at least 300 words.
Yep! Not only dogs, but many other animals as well. One of my sons doggies (who has a serious overbite), if my SIL looks at him and tells him, "I love you". the dog gets very excited and tries to say he loves her. It comes out something like, "why wahve woo", but you can tell he is trying to say it back to her.... He obviously knows what it means. When I was a kid on the farm, I had a cow that was my primary showmanship animal (partner I would say), I could go out to the barn or a field where she was and call her name. She would immediately look around at me. If I told her to come here. She would trot right over and walk up to me. I would put my arm around her neck and she would respond by giving me a hug wrapping her neck around my chest! I could tell many other stories of being able to say things to the cattle and have them know what I was telling them. Cats also know but are much better at ignoring you!!! LOL
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
I'm usually not one to fall for sappy-type movies but I really enjoyed A Dog's Journey (2019)
Whoah! That put me at the top of the page! Pet treats for all the critters and "Open Bar" from now 'til the well runs dry!
Cheers
Regards, Ed
Good Gosh Yes.
All my dogs understood everything I said to them Ken. Nellie would do that turn your head sideways kind of thing dogs always do in a bit of confusion processing what I just said and then would straighten her head out and smile at me because she just got it.
Oh man the stories I could tell about my dogs!
But the most impressive thing I ever seen. Blue Heelers, and I guess there's Red Heelers too. A hybrid Australian sheep dog brush wolf breed of some kind.
These dogs are extremely intelligent. My buddy Eric had one and they are a one-man dog. They pick who they prefer and stick with them like loyal glue.
This roofer kitty corner from my house and his laborer were doing my neighbors roof. The roofer yelled down to his dog which was a Blue Heeler and said go to my toolbox and get my big hammer.
I'm sitting on my porch watching in amazement. This dog goes over to this Big Tool Box and flips it open with his paw, grabs a hammer, climbs up the ladder walks across the roof and drops the hammer.
The roofer says, No I need my 22 oz hammer.
The dog picks up the hammer, backs down the ladder, goes to the toolbox, drops the smaller hammer, crabs the bigger hammer and brings it up to him.
I kid you not Kids, It was the darndest thing I ever seen in my life, That was one intelligent dog!
And all you could see, all he wanted to do was please his master
gmpullman Lawyers have a practice, Doctors also have a practice, perhaps bridge designers should be given the same moniker?
Indeed!
I enjoyed that one Ed.
I sure wish I had my credentials to start my bridge practice
I don't have a piece of paper saying anyting and do not have a pencil protector in my shirt pocket but I think I could do a much better job than a lot of these Bridge Builders of the past
I have a saying I use in construction. When in doubt, apply Overkill. Overbuilt things do not fail as underbuilt things do
Poster Hogger!
It's about 15 minutes till rack time.
I just wanted to share I strolled out to the stoop to enjoy the crisp cool fall evening air.
A great horned owl was whoing. I've been here seven years and never heard a great horned owl whoing here.
It was a beautiful sound and I really enjoyed it. I have not heard a great horned owl since I lived up in the Kabetogama State Forest
Some things get a little more complicated. My brother and I talked the other night about how we treked back to the interior Lakes in Voyageurs National Park to camp out when we lived up there. Apparently they changed the name of Johnson Lake to Beast Lake since then and there is a reason for that.
Both my brother and I have stories but only sounds in the night that go along with this. Those sounds in the night we're very eerie but better described as bone-chilling, the thrill that went along with it was even better.
We are planning a trip to Portage back to Beast Lake next spring. The curiosity is getting the best of both of us
Remember when you learned there's no such things as monsters in the closet or under your bed but you still needed to believe in a monster somewhere else?
I still like to believe in a good Monster and still wish to find one
My Crape Myrtels dropped their leaves this week. These are one of the very few trees that lose their foliage in Autumn in South Florida.
They never bloomed this year. The flower pods are still on the branches unopened.
I trimmed my Royal Poinciana for a couple of hours today. It looks a lot better, but I need to spend some more time on it next week.
It was a trying day guys.
If anybody here has any kind of experience with sort of thing, anything you could say to me from experience that would help I would appreciate because I'm about ready to check myself into a Sanitarium.
Judy has been a mess since June. She just can't let go of her little sister and because she's such a mess, I'm really a mess these days.
Thanks for your support in advance
Kelly's birthday party at the graveyard today
It was good. Family and friends and socialization was nice for a change.
Look at my little CC with auntie Judy in the leaves! Isn't she beautiful? God I love her! She is such a happy little girl
At dusk we all went to Minnehaha Falls. Kelly's favorite place, she always loved to go there. We all threw the flowers over the bridge to watch them go down the waterfalls
Track fiddlerIf anybody here has any kind of experience with sort of thing, anything you could say to me from experience that would help I would appreciate because I'm about ready to check myself into a Sanitarium. Judy has been a mess since June. She just can't let go of her little sister and because she's such a mess, I'm really a mess these days.
Hi TF,
Dianne and I lost our eldest son suddenly in August of 2005. There are no magic words that will make the pain go away immediately, believe me. If it worked that way we wouldn't be human.
Time is the only cure, and it is only ever a partial cure. Dianne was inconsolable after Glenn's death. All I could do for her was to hold her while she cried and listen to her. It was more than a year before things settled down.
Judy needs your patience and full support. As you have already discovered, that's not easy to do, but I believe it is essential. You will find yourself taking a whole lot of deep breaths.
We did try counselling but that was a disaster. The 'counsellor' was absolutely useless. I think he was drinking vodka out of his coffee cup. He certainly looked like a rubby. I'm not saying that all counsellors are bad, and trying it might offer some relief, but if you are not comfortable with them from the start, then get out fast.
Time to call on your inner strength.
Sorry I can't offer a better solution.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!