I have been trying to find some interesting videos of freight trains in Michigan. This one is a good start:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good morning everyone. Flo, can I get an order of french toast with a side of sausage and a grape juice please?
No live action, but the presenter offers some good information on the Copper Range Railroad in Michigan.
Kevin, I hope you liked the Oberon. It's one of Bell's most popular. My favorite is their porter, but I prefer dark beers in general. Hoping to get a chance to offer up some more this weekend from Beer City USA, otherwise known as Grand Rapids.
Happy Friday everyone!
Mike
Good morning
Just finished spending a couple days with Judy on her two days off. The Weathers a bit unseasonable up here so we stayed in and made soups, did a puzzle and watched some movies. We had a record snow storm of 5 inches on Tuesday and a thunderstorm with a snow-sleet mix on Thursday. Still sloppy out today too.
The weather guy on Channel 5 said it's a bit unseasonable like a mixture of fall and winter. He went on to say Vinter if you will and made me laugh. A few sentences later he used the word Uftda! That meteorologists is definitely a finlander, do you think?
Judy had some pretty good picks but I think mine were better most of the time. A few of her movies got a little too chicky flicky for me. To solve that problem I just slid over to the layout and started cutting and putting together some more foam
I like the red accent door Dave. I had a burgundy oval window front door once.
So it's getting cold down in Florida Kevin? 81 sounds just terrible! Perfect time of year for you indeed. I wish I was smart enough to be a seasonal resident of Florida. Sometimes I think about how the birds are smarter than us humans up here. They are smart enough to fly south for the winter as we are not
Judy's work is slowing way down and mine has for a while as it always does later fall-early winter. That don't confront me anymore like it used to.
We are both really needing a vacation and trying to think of creative ways to do it safely. We are thinking of looking into renting an RV to do another tour of the South. I definitely know renting one of these things will be more than a rental car plus the extra expense of fuel but maybe not much more than all the hotel rooms at $150 a night that we won't need. Looks to be more like a wash.
Well since Judy's back at work today, I'm going to go back to cutting and putting together more foam.
Have a great day gentleman
TF
These pictures are excellent! Thank you Water Level Route for posting them. I'm a fan of Bells Brewery as well and pick up there beers here and there.
Good morning everyone,
Flo, a coffee, hazelnut creamer, and a doughnut please.
I elected to cancel my gym membership as I'm just not going since they opened back up, and though I'd like to go, I'm just feeling a bit leery due to current events, plus I work in healthcare and cannot risk getting people there ill. I'll just have to get more disciplined to do exercises at home. When things with Covid clear up, I'll go back as I did like having a place to swim, lift weights, and more.
Now that the weather is getting a bit cooler and I'll be spending less time outside, I'm bringing the trains out of storage and getting to work on them. It'll be sometime before I can rejoin a local train club, but I'll content myself with getting some trains worked on and having my collection ready to run in the future. Namely, I'll be checking for broken or missing detail parts, touching up paint, and making sure things run. I checked out a new, to me, hobby store, White Rose Hobbies in York PA a few days ago, and enjoyed that they had a lot of great stuff in stock for pretty good prices. I'll keep going back as I far prefer shopping in a store.
Alvie
Alvie's a Post Hog Two consecutive posts in a row earned you the title. I enjoyed Mike's pictures as well, and the others.
I could definitely use a workout program. My lifetime of construction I considered my gym. Now that I'm semi-retired I find my muscles more sore when I do nothing then when I used to use them more.
It's not like you can go ride your bike in the winter as I enjoy in the summer. Maybe I should think about getting a snowmobile Riding those things radically uses a lot of muscles. And they're fun, it's been a lot of years since I've had one.
Lunch time! I'm hungry already. I think all this cutting and fitting of foam this morning has worked me up an appetite here. I got some rare roast beef the other day and some swiss cheese. I'm thinking of sauteing up some green peppers, onions, mushrooms and building me a Philly cheese steak with a little awe juice on the side to dip it in
Good Morning,
TF, that weather guy could also be of Norwegian background as our friends in Thief River Falls say Ufta.
Dave, we couldn't just fill in above a door. Our house isn't big but it was a custom,architect design. The original owner was a prof who had it designed by a fellow who later did some major stuff here such as the art gallery. The house style is mid-century modern and all of the doors line up in height with windows so any variation would stick out like a sore humb. We had a new storm door made in'92 that cost $800. Everything in this house is like that. When we re-did the bathroom a few years ago we had to get a custom vanity built as none of the ready made ones would fit.
Ran the Pacfic yesterday. The headlight stopped working. Must be a connection issue as it has a led that the brass guy installed. He will fix it but it is an hour round trip to his house. I will leave it for now.
I'm typing this sitting on a sofa in the basement watching a squirrel eating at a bird feeder. There is a row of windows 2 1/2 × 21' facing south so it is very bright down here especially in winter. The yard is dug below grade for the windows. That is where the pond and waterfall are located. The waterfall and pond were constructed with rocks. Some of the rocks are really boulders that weigh several tons. That is what happens when your landscaper is from Switzerland.
Sorry for rattling on so long.
CN Charlie
That's a good point Charlie! I'm not too good in my geography but I do believe Norway is right next door to Finland. I used to have a friend that lived in Thief River Falls many of years ago. I don't remember if he was Finish or Norwegian. He used to say "Yeah sure you betcha!"
I had a bad headlight in my U36B Bicentennial. The transmission was also slipping and I managed to take apart my Grandfather's old model of the same and use the parts in there to repair it N scale, believe me it was extremely tedious. I was kind of proud when I finished that one up.
As far as the squirrel in the bird feeder, my friend Erv has a lot of problems with that at his house. He got himself of soft pellet air pistol that shoots the little rubber BB's. He doesn't want to hurt the little critters you know, just scare them off. It's pretty effective and kind of funny too. It doesn't take them too long to come back for another round though
He had to cut some metal and put it around the holes in the birdhouses. The squirrels were chewing the holes bigger and moving into those too
Afternoon folks!
cats think well of meI elected to cancel my gym membership as I'm just not going since they opened back up, and though I'd like to go, I'm just feeling a bit leery due to current events, plus I work in healthcare and cannot risk getting people there ill. I'll just have to get more disciplined to do exercises at home. When things with Covid clear up, I'll go back as I did like having a place to swim, lift weights, and more.
TF said: "I could definitely use a workout program. My lifetime of construction I considered my gym. Now that I'm semi-retired I find my muscles more sore when I do nothing then when I used to use them more."
I very much miss running over at the college fieldhouse here in Geneva. They have not yet opened to the public again but have told us we will get a year free membership when they do. Over at the fieldhouse three days a week I ran just under a 10k (30 laps of the track). I am now running a 5k outside usually about 5 days a week. Weather has not been co-operative this last week so I have only done that a couple days. Have it half done this morning and will get out and finish it this afternoon as the temp is in the mid 70's and no rain!
Been too busy doing other things (properly masked and socially distanced) to spend any time on the layout. My NMRA Division has been publishing close to 3 times the # of newsletters since the lockdown started, which is nice unless you happen to be the editor! I spend about 5 hours a week now Zooming with various organizations (Church, Scouts, NMRA, and family) which takes, ah, well, 5 hours or so. Making tme to get together with a wonderful lady I like a lot as well. I have been cleaning out 35 years of accumuated "STUFF" (I can't use the word in here I want to....) and still have a lot to go.
Have to bake some butterscotch Toll House Cookies today for a couple of family things coming up this weekend and next week. Have some!
Ah.... No! Since I only get 1 now, you can't have the one reserved for me...... (grin)
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
I envy you that you can run Ray! I used to love to run and ran a lot. Since my surgical knee went quite south, I don't dare anymore but still love to ride my bike.
Good thing you only allotted yourself one cookie. I don't very often have that kind of stuff in the house because I seem to lose my moderation with that sort of thing. If one was to eat that whole plate of cookies like I probably would They'd have to be doing a heck of a lot of running after that
Thanks for the cookie
Track fiddlerI'm not too good in my geography but I do believe Norway is right next door to Finland.
Sweden is mostly in between Finland and Norway, but they do share a border way up North near the Barents Sea.
Many people are unaware, but Norway actually hooks all the way around Finland to the North and also borders Russia on the Murmansk Oblast.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Evening all. It's Friday. Friday is burger night. Every Friday is burger night. Tonight I shall make a pulled chicken burger with wedges and slaw.
Take care everyone.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Thanks for the geography lesson Kevin My stepdad the marine sergeant was Swedish. He was my dad more than the real one was
He was a good man. A tough guy and pretty Stern but I learned a lot of Life values from him.
Judy switched from turkey burger to chicken burger not too long ago David. I got to say I like that stuff much better. It isn't often we eat real hamburger anymore. Here and there over the Kingsford though. There is no substitute for that one.
I've always loved my pulled pork. I sure would be curious to try that pulled chicken burger of yours. Sounds Like you may have that one down over there
Good afternoon folks —
A Gorgeous day here in NE Ohio. In the mid-70s if you can believe that!
Most of the leaves have left their branches and await the mower/vacuum once the ground dries out a bit.
By-the-pond by Edmund, on Flickr
I'm blowing out the water lines in the caboose and was struck at how nice things look so I grabbed the camera
Gathering more firewood, just in case. Rain and cold is on the way for the weekend so it is back to the basement for me. What ever will I do? I just got a new package containing dozens of Vallejo paints. As my Pollyscale gets used up or dries up I'm looking for an alternative.
I hope everyone is getting along OK. Thanks for the cookies, Ray! I'll take TWO little ones and leave the big one for you
Cheers, Ed
I'm a little burnt out for the day working with foam from this morning.
I went to switch gears after lunch to make some styrene bents for my long girder plate bridge. At one time I had such a big supply of styrene I didn't think I'd ever run out. I'm out of 282 H Beam and 90583 U channel.
This means I need to throw on a mask and go dig through the Plastruct & Evergreen racks at the hobby store
Wish me well
P.S. I like the view of the Caboose across the lake Ed
Track fiddlerJudy switched from turkey burger to chicken burger not too long ago David. I got to say I like that stuff much better. It isn't often we eat real hamburger anymore. Here and there over the Kingsford though. There is no substitute for that one. I've always loved my pulled pork. I sure would be curious to try that pulled chicken burger of yours. Sounds Like you may have that one down over there
Track fiddlerhim.
Hi TF. Before I met my lovely wife I enjoyed cooking my meals. Off course when we married she did the cooking, and a very good one. When she became disabled five and half years ago 'I got the kitchen back'. I love cooking all kinds of dishes - Asian, Indian, Morroccan, Italian, whatever. As mentioned previously, Friday is always burger night be it chicken, beef, pork etc. The favorite of mine is halloumi cheese burger with the trimmings.
Good afternoon from the damp West Coast. It is back to sunshine tomorrow with much cooler temps.
Ed, your property is stunning. The wife and I have looked at a lot of properties that have ponds or small lakes but the houses just were not big enough. I would be on that pond playing hockey with the kids every day and would have floodlights so we could play all night. Any fish in there?
The leaves here are still on the trees which is very unusual. The almanac says we are in for a colder than usual winter which doesn't mean much out here on the coast as some years it doesn't even hit freezing.
Three of our friends that had to start working from home because of covid had a little competition they started the beginning of April as to who could get the fittest by New Years. The transformation has been incredible. Two of them were O-Beast (as I like to call them) and are now down to a healthy weight range and very fit. If it wasn't for the pain old age brings, we are all like we were when we were young.
My daughter made 5 dozen chocolate chip oatmeal cookies last night, 84 calories each so I allowed myself 4. I was down 3lbs on my Sunday morning weigh-in so I also had a monster bowl of popcorn soaked in butter as well. Oh ya, a rum and Pepsi as well. That put me 1300 calories over on the day, good for a 1/3lb gain.
David, hamburger night was every Saturday for me growing up and roast beef every Sunday with the Grandparents up for dinner. Before covid, we would have the in-laws and my sister and her husband down every Sunday for dinner for the last 25 years.
Ordered the new HDMI cable yesterday at 1600hrs and the mail babe brought it at 1015hrs this morning. There is no reason to leave the house, it would have cost $10.00 just to drive the car to Home Depot and back.
It is install the toilet and then fish the new HDMI cable through the wall today and hopefully a little train time.
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."
Track fiddlerThanks for the geography lesson Kevin
I have been a subscriber to National Geographic my entire life, and I have bound volumes of all of their atlases.
Geography fasdcinates me. Maps fascinate me.
My wife still laughs at how excited I get when Geography is one of the subjects on Jeopardy.
I will try not to nerd-out too much on the subject of geography.
gmpullmanI just got a new package containing dozens of Vallejo paints. As my Pollyscale gets used up or dries up I'm looking for an alternative.
I hope you will be happy with the Vallejo paints. They have been my favorite for a few years now.
BATMAN I would be on that pond playing hockey with the kids every day and would have floodlights so we could play all night. Any fish in there?
Thanks, Brent and TF
Yep, there's some blue gill and large mouth bass. Enough for a fish fry once a month or so.
Largemouth by Edmund, on Flickr
Just don't trust the cat to guard them for you
Cicero-fishwatch by Edmund, on Flickr
That windmill has an air pump on it that keeps the pond from freezing completely so the water stays healthy and oxygenated for the fish. You'll have to have your hockey game around the edges, penalty box in the middle!
I was in that Stratford, Ontario shop when I was about eight years old During a CN fantrip.
Thanks for the heads up on the Vallejo, Kevin. I'm looking forward to getting started with it. I have hundreds of HO figures to paint this winter.
Do you find the "Model Air" airbrush-ready paints to be worthwhile or is it just as good to thin the regular stuff? I can see the convenience of using the pre-thinned stuff for quick color changes.
Storms are moving in — time to batten down the hatches!
Track fiddler We are both really needing a vacation and trying to think of creative ways to do it safely. We are thinking of looking into renting an RV to do another tour of the South. I definitely know renting one of these things will be more than a rental car plus the extra expense of fuel but maybe not much more than all the hotel rooms at $150 a night that we won't need. Looks to be more like a wash. TF
The GF has gotten it into her head that she wants to do that. The trouble is, she wants to bring her giant, fidgety dog. Honestly, a trip with that dog would be an ordeal, not a vacation.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I was sorry to hear about your wife's disability 5 years ago David
I too love to cook as you do and almost look at it as like a sport. When you nail it and make something really good, eating it is like scoring a goal!
The mild West Coast climate you live up in Canada Brent, seems to remind me the equivalent of Seattle's from your descriptions. I have a high school friend Addison that lives in Washington and says that it rains four days out of five is true a lot of the time. But he also states that it's so green and lush there. On a sunny day it is just a drop dead gorgeous place to live.
Mister B. That was funny. I take it the GF's dog isn't very well behaved. I can't imagine being cooped up in an RV with jump, jump claw, claw bark, bark slobber, slobber lick, lick and everything else that goes with that for a week and a half. Unless that could happen with the dog left at home
Just Kidding
Ed. Your own lake with fish in it in your backyard I am missing three back teeth now and would gladly give up a 4th to have something like that you lucky dog!
You're curious cat staring in the bucket really cracked me up! Must have already ate the Tender Vittles or the Friskies Buffet
Nice pic Ya handsome devil
Penalty Box in the middle
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk and Robbie a dog treat.
I think Friday was our last summer like day. Hit 83 degrees and no rain. Sat outside with Sue and Dirk for over a hour. Today is nasty and 45 degrees.
Got my mail in vote done today. Now if panhandlers will just stopping calling begging for money.
Later, Ken and Dirk say's me votes to Daddy, Milk Bones in every dog dish! Woof, Woof.
I hate Rust
Went to SC for my annual deer hunt. Didn't have the luck of several who got 8 and 9 point deer. I shot the only deer I saw, a small doe. For this time of the year, it was very warm, highs in the upper 80's a couple days.They have wild hogs and a couple of those were taken. Boy do they stink.The further south one travels from PA the less people wear masks. At my age, you have to stop at rest stops fairly often. VA has those jet driers that scare small children and blow everything everywhere. NC has big fans blowing. In SC only half the people are wearing masks.I was assured the hunting lodge was checking temperatures of new arrivals, practicing social distancing. That evidently didn't last long. The only change, by the time I got there, was instead of putting meals in big bowls on a table so everyone could serve themselves, the cook put it on a plate for you.
It was the only normalcy I've seen since February and I did not mind at all. Building a home and moving has made it impossible just to sit at home and order groceries and never be exposed to other people.
I know people who still do that, don't open their mail for 3 days and haven't been for a walk outside because they see people without masks.
Our colors do not look anything near as far along as the previously posted pictures. Another week or two.
In deer hunting, ideally, you want the wind in your face so the deer can't smell you. The guy who runs the lodge, starts his day at 4:30 and gets to bed at midnight or 1 o'clock. He puts hunters in their stands by 6:15, and goes back to bed.
It gets light enough to shoot at 7:15.
He got a call that woke him up at 7:30. A hunter complained the wind was all wrong, blowing toward the deer and he just missed 3 shots on 2 deer. He told the hunter the problem was not the wind, but the jerk on the trigger.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
A hunting we will go.... A hunting we will go
Henry, it never occurred to me you would be going to a hunting lodge. While I do not hunt myself, I have friends that do and the stories I hear about getting the kill back to the truck and then in the truck does not sound like much fun to me. Then they hang the things in the garage for a while before they butcher them. After that, they have to pressure wash the garage out. I am guessing the lodge butchers the catch for you?
We had a huge buck in the front yard today, the biggest I have ever seen around here.
Before wife and kids, I would have laughed at anyone that said I was going to be an RV guy. We did rent a trailer a couple of times as we had the truck however it is expensive and a lot of work loading before and unloading after and cleaning the thing. We bought our own and we used it a lot. We had the best times as a family and usually went with others. Going where there is no cell service/internet was the best as the phones went away until we hit civilization.
TF, you have a truck so consider renting a trailer then you can dump it at the camp site and go exploring.
Puppies are growing like crazy.
Got the toilet installed, but that is it as I kept getting sidetracked by request from others. All that is left is some expensive stone counter for the vanity. It comes with the sinks installed so once I hook those up I am done. One bathroom left to do.
Think I'll watch the idiot box as that is all I have the energy for after a really busy day.
BigDaddy, Sounds like a nice trip down south even if not as productive as hoped. A small doe I imagine is nothing to sneeze at. I haven't gone hunting in many years but had heard that a doe is still a prize. I'd heard similar stories that people are not as dilligent about wearing masks down in the southern states. I'm in PA as well and most places are pretty adament about it.
I like that line that it's not the wind's fault, but the person behind the trigger.
Funny stuff Brent.
I did hunt a lot back in the day and my bird dog was only for birds.
I ate bear, I ate moose and I still eat deer but the only thing I ever hunted was birds. My friends wanted a lot more and always asked me to go.
I never liked shooting things, especially bigger creatures
I ate them though and it's no different than eating good Texas Steer from the grocery store.
I'm glad you got your toidee installed.
I remember many times with my old friend Leo working on the septic tanks at the resorts. He asked me, John did you bring your straw
Nighty night
I'm hitting the rack Kids
gmpullmanThanks for the heads up on the Vallejo, Kevin. I'm looking forward to getting started with it. I have hundreds of HO figures to paint this winter. Do you find the "Model Air" airbrush-ready paints to be worthwhile or is it just as good to thin the regular stuff? I can see the convenience of using the pre-thinned stuff for quick color changes.
I have never used the Air line of Vallejo paints. I use Scalecoat II almost exclusively in the airbrush.
Vallejo are for brush painting. The Model Color line is my favorite, but Panzer Aces and Game Color also have lots of great colors.
BigDaddyI know people who still do that, don't open their mail for 3 days and haven't been for a walk outside because they see people without masks.
That is pretty much us. We open our mail twice a week. We are currenty on day 5 of a 15 day quarantine after our trip to Orlando. I do not want to lose my wife. She is in all the high-risk groups.
cats think well of me I'd heard similar stories that people are not as dilligent about wearing masks down in the southern states.
I can verify that here in Southwest Florida, all the major retailers have signs stating that all customers must wear masks, and less than half the customers wear them. Nobody is enforcing anything.
There is a very popular bumper sticker down here that says "Only Sheep Wear Masks, Be A Real American"
I guess I am a sheep.
Track fiddlerI did hunt a lot back in the day and my bird dog was only for birds.
I got talked into going on one hunting trip. We did not shoot anything, and I had a terrible time. Never again. I know where I can buy food, I do not need to make it into extra work.
Good day all. The wearing of masks here is strictly enforced. It is the idiots not social distancing and some having parties with other households which is forbidden
The nearest we are getting to go on a holiday is looking a old holiday photographs. (Sad I know)
A little while back we traveled on the Panama Canal Railway.
Good Morning All,
A regular and a blueberry bagel with cream cheese please Chloe.
Still alive and well though I haven't had much to say of late. Been busy in the shop as all our events got shoved to the end of the regular season. I decided to skip two of the last three (Daytona and COTA in Austin) and will just do Sebring at the beginning of December.
In travelling, I noticed a lot of variations in masks. Wisconsin in particular was lax. As a shop we constitute a bubble and the team is pretty careful these days.
Baa. We wear masks except for our "flyin" from Fla who has decided they are a risk factor. If they were I think my daughter and her coworkers at the hospital who wear them all day would be in trouble. We stay away from him as much as possible.
Not much on the train front as we are doing job lists on the house so we can sell and move to the sticks. I am making a tower/office for the yard where the tracks enter the yard area. Might post pics in WPF if I get inspired. Ciao, J.R.