Track fiddler I would imagine winter is your best enjoyable season down there
Yes, Winter is absolute paradise. Highs in the 60s or 70s, no humidity, and no rain.
It is the perfect time to do a lot of airbrushing!
-Kevn
Living the dream.
I am getting envious with these high temperatures you quote.
I shall have to cheer myself up. 'It's Burger Friday'. A simple cheese burger today, with wedges and slaw. I dislike mixing the meat with breadcrumbs and ketchup, but a job has to be done right.
All invited. Bring the beers!
Stay safe
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning, everybody. ... I'm actually awake.
Bear.... thanks for the good food. I did post a CB&Q locomotive along with an NP engine in Photo Fun. I told the crews to watch out for a bear that may be lurking.
Kevin .... Apparently, your computer is functioning again. That's good. .... Thanks for the FL OJ. Good stuff.
Everybody: .... Have a nice day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
York1 Does anyone know what happened to the thread, "Layout Changes"? I posted earlier. Now when I checked back, the thread is blank.
Does anyone know what happened to the thread, "Layout Changes"?
I posted earlier. Now when I checked back, the thread is blank.
John, I just checked that thread, and it looks fine to me.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley York1 Does anyone know what happened to the thread, "Layout Changes"? I posted earlier. Now when I checked back, the thread is blank. John, I just checked that thread, and it looks fine to me.
I still see it.
Good Morning,
TF and Brent, thanks for the kind words on Robbie. Our last male westie had the same surgery. We have spent a small fortune over the past 35 years on vet bills for 3 male westies. The female we had was certainly healthier and certainly tougher.
Nice counter top Brent. I sure agree that renos are a pain. 5 years ago we did our bathroom and just choosing the countertop involved many trips to stores. We(she) finally chose stuff called Vetrazzo. It is made out of cement with bits of car windshield glass. Beautiful stuff but then we found the distributor quit handling it due to the freight cost getting it here from S. Carolina. Luckily he had a half slab left of the style we wanted. Man that stuff was heavy.
Not as warm today as predicted yesterday, only about 40F which is still 10 above normal.
I was looking at my N scale layout and my give it a run today. Guess I kind of lost interest in it. I did think about selling it all off but wouldn't get much for it so in the furnace room it shall remain.
CN Charlie
Happy Friday, everyone.
I just finished drying Daisy the Dachshund. My wife gave her a bath. I've never seen a dog hate getting wet more than her.
I am looking at some new laptops. Since I don't have a cell phone, this laptop is my only connection.
The school system provided my cell phone until I retired, and I decided then that I didn't want to be connected to anyone all day long. I haven't regretted not having one, but if the laptop goes, I will miss being online until I can get another one.
I really like seeing these sites on a large computer screen as opposed to a small phone screen.
Have a great Friday.
York1 John
Afternoon folks!
A beautiful Fall day here in the Finger Lakes Region of NYS today. Temp outside at the moment is 71°F. Enjoyed my first run of the day a while ago and will be heading out to finish my 5k soon.
My family has decided that this Thanksgiving will be held at my house and it will be just my son's family, my sister, and I. So for the first time in about a decade, I will be doing the Turkey! I will also make a large batch of my Grandmother's recipie stuffing which they all love. Other dishes will be brought by the others to share mostly.
Did just get a good email from my contractor (a former student of mine) Who had to get the testing for the crap out there. His wife caught it from a friend of hers who is a nurse. So far the wife does have it but the contractor and the kids all tested negative. That is very good news for me as he was here at my house on Monday!!!! Wife was exposed last Saturday!
York1I really like seeing these sites on a large computer screen as opposed to a small phone screen.
Me too! Looking at photos on a cell phone really makes me shake my head. No real definition unless you only see a very tiny small part of the photo. Cells phones are useful but I still hate the things!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Cheese enchiladas with rice and beans, please.
Using a basic Digitrax DCS52, how many connections for current should I hook up around a 4x8 layout? Thanks for any help.
Healing thoughts for those in need. Have a nice evening all.
Rob
Cederstrand Using a basic Digitrax DCS52, how many connections for current should I hook up around a 4x8 layout? Thanks for any help. Rob
It's the same with any DCC system, at least one set of feeders for every two sections of track. If you have a string of turnouts, then even more feeders. Feeders are good, and more feeders are better.
Ray, we tried to buy a small turkey yesterday, but they were all sold out. All they had was big birds. It struck me that so many Thanksgivings this year will be only small gatherings, not the feasts of yore.
Evening
Dusk is earlier now (Hate daylight savings-time) Started getting noticeably darker at about 5:20. Christmas music was playing in the hallways at my condo. I don't have anything against Christmas or Christmas music but it took me by surprise because it's so nice outside
Got my truck winterized today enjoying the nice weather
Judy got picked up 10 minutes late this evening, I thought I'd get a 12-pack of tacos because I didn't feel like cooking tonight and with that, I didn't think she would either
This freak season blessing upon us with this nice weather is going to come to a screeching halt come Monday. Rain, possible thunderstorms and snow with 30 degrees coming up soon after that
I don't slap a gift horse in the mouth. I sincerely enjoyed the second wave of Indian Summer and we'll ride it out to the end
I would very much like to go out to my buddy Erv's tomorrow for a visit as I haven't seen him for weeks. His next door neighbor's have covid sweeping through the house
I know his neighbors and my prayers are with them but I will not be going out there tomorrow
I have a bridge to finish and it is easily removable. I think I will take it out on the patio tomorrow and do some modeling in the nice weather before it ends
Have a great night gentleman
TF
P.S. Garry you chimed in but you did not give us an update on how you're doing with that upper respiratory infection. I'm concerned as I know others are
How ya doing Kid?
Good evening,
MisterBeasleyRay, we tried to buy a small turkey yesterday, but they were all sold out. All they had was big birds. It struck me that so many Thanksgivings this year will be only small gatherings, not the feasts of yore.
There was a story in the Washington Post a few weeks back about how the turkey farmers missed their projection and grew too many birds.
I wonder why they don't split them into halves or quarters like they do chicken? We buy turkey at least once a month, sometimes more often. I smoke them and cut the meat up for sandwiches. Sometimes we find turkey for less than a dollar a pound. Why wait for Thanksgiving?
Today Dee Ann and I went to our local department on aging (fancy name for our county seniors center) and signed all the papers for our updated wills, power of attorney, update the house deed (survivorship) and all that good stuff. Excellent legal service at $25/visit. What a bargain! Glad to have all that paperwork finalized for the enevitable.
Still enjoying gorgeous weather here, too! Great stuff.
Great spot for train watching:
NZGR, Greymouth, New Zealand, 1967 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Here's another "critter" for Dave to model!
Pleasant Point/Timaru, New Zealand, 2006 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Stay safe and be happy, everybody —
Cheers, Ed
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a and Dirk and Robbie a dog treat.
Charlie I have had only 2 male dogs, and there health does seem worst than females. Sparkie rest his soul went blind around 12 years old from cradic's. I did not have the need $3000.00 for the surgary. When I did, his health was to bad to do the surgary. Dirk will not go blind, not another friend!
Garry Hope you get over what you have soon and get back into tip top shape!
T/F Credit score is not a real worry, 748 is still good. Called Discover Card today and had my wife added to the account. They all so bumped my credit limt up too $10,700.00. They must like me! I should be up too 751 Trans Union.
It was a Dirk day today.
You know you are getting old when you sit outside, drink coffee with your dog and count the leaves falling out of the trees! Yep, I did that and counted 800 + leaves falling. We walked a 1/3 of a mile, sat outside a little more. Later we took him to the park again. Boy we are treating this dog like he is our child. Part of it is beacuse I am trying to make it up for Sparkie. I did spend a lot of time with him, just not outside.
Later, Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof!
I hate Rust
Good to hear from you, Ken! Give Dirk a treat from me
Friday Night At The Movies (NSW Style):
Regards, Ed
Thanks Ed
Enjoyed! I love the old Black and Whites. I especially liked the one drifting. The steamer going downhill relaxing reminded me of me in the evening after I went up hill all day
And the Steamers pulling backwards and some of the black soot coming out because they hadn't been cleaned for a while
And the Engine That Could coming up the steep grade
Thanks Ed, Liked it!
Good Evening,
When we were in Zimbabwe in 2019, I hoped I might see some steam action especially a Garratt but steam was gone from the lines around Vic Falls.
Yawning and tired here
I never like when my sleep is interrupted and I wake up at 4 in the morning wide awake. That's the way it was this morning. I prefer to wake at 6
I'm hitting the rack Kids
I always enjoy talking to you guys
Nighty night
Good evening all, it was a beautiful day here on the West Coast warm and sunny.
Ken, Nothin like spending time with the dog doin nothin. Very late at night, I would walk out a few hundred feet from the house and lay down on my back and just watch the stars. Being rural, some nights the show was pretty good. My old dog would patrol the area and then always come lay down next to me and put his head on my chest. We would lay out there in the dead quiet taking it all in for quite a while some nights. I could never live in a place where the noise never stopped. Some nights it would be so quiet it was like I did not have ears at all.
Picked up my RDC at PWRS today. They are under Covid rules and so I tapped on the door of shipping/receiving and this older women answers the door. I say I am here to pick up my RDC and she says I have to phone ahead to arrange P/U do you know how much stuff I have in here? It will take me forever to find it and you need to phone ahead. I know the staff there and realized she must be new and totally overwhelmed with the new job. So I phoned the number on the door and said Hi, this is Brent ****** I am here to pick up my RDC. The girl in the office says hi Brent, we will be right out with it. Fifteen seconds later the same lady that told me she could would never be able to find it came to the door with it.
They have great staff there and I am sure the little old lady knows who I am now.
Ed, I liked the pic of the yard in NZ. It looks so dirty and grimy. I think the best days of my working life were when I came home too disgusting to be touched by even the dog. The dirt and grime is one thing I really liked about the steam age.
Have not seen Brakie on the forum lately, He was active on some other forums as well but I have not had a chance to hit those ones up in a while.
I am too tired to take my new RDC out of the box so I will park myself in front of the idiot box and try and stay awake.
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."
Rob, I believe you said you were using Unitrak. I have Unitrak that I laid in 2007 and for an oval on a 4×8 I have 2 Unitrak feeder sections. I use DCC and have not had any power drops or pickup issues. Unitrak rail joiners really work well. The only track I don't like are the 9 3/4 " remote turnouts. The frog on these has a large gap and I have had derailment issues with a couple of picky steamers. In fact I'm about to replace the offender with a different turnout.
CNCharlie,
I sent you a PM.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Gidday Dave, my thinking is that by the time that video was taken those Garretts were over 50 years old, and though they had had a major rebuild in the early 80s, they were , by 2011 getting rather “long in the tooth”
Hi Bear,
That would certainly explain the colour of the smoke!
Thanks for the great videos. Steam engines at speed absolutely amaze me with all those thousands of pounds of steel flailing about. It's a wonder they don't fly to pieces!
Sausage rolls are possibly my most favourite food! I'd have them over a steak any day!! (There's no accounting for taste, eh!?!)
Cheers!!
gmpullmanFriday Night At The Movies
Now there were some steamers working hard!!
Thanks Ed.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Dave it is common here that tomato sauce is the condiment of choice for sausage rolls, but for me the mark of a GOOD sausage roll is that it tastes great without any sauce!
I like mine with various mustards or sometimes with plum sauce, but I agree that they taste great just on their own. The problem for me here in Ontario is that almost nobody is making them fresh. Everything that is being offered is made from frozen product. We usually buy ours frozen from the local grocery store but they are actually made with chicken. They taste okay but they are not the real thing.
This discussion is severely motivating me to get the puff pastry and Italian sausages out of the freezer and make my own!!
On a somewhat related note, we have plans for this Christmas to attempt to make Beef Wellington. Beef Wellington is ultimately just a big excuse for a sausage roll. For those who aren't familiar, it is seared beef tenderloin wrapped in mushroom pate and prosciutto, then wrapped in puff pastry and then baked. Cooks Illustrated magazine (great cullinary magazine by the way!) recently ran an article on how to make it. They tried six different recipes and came up with a winner. Their recipes are usually pretty reliable so we are going to take the plunge!
Bon appitit everyone!!
Good morning all. A rather cold day today at around 33-34F. Staying indoors.
Due to Covid 19 early in the year we had a virtual railway exhibition.
Today and tomorrow is a second one, so I shall be watching throughout the day.
https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/virtual-exhibitions/wor-virtual-exhibition-part2
Then I must get working on my competition entry.
Take care everyone.
Good morning
Two more days of 70,s and Indian Summer starts coming to an end Monday
I'm kinda bummed Judy don't have the day off to spend one of these last nice days with me. She was suppose to but one of her co-workers called in for Saturday off. It's pretty sad when some one has to take a day off when hours are cut and they all are only getting two days of work a week
Judy's boss took that person off the schedule for all of next week since she don't want to work
Think I'll work on my bridge outside today
Have a good day all
Good morning.
Ken .... Thanks for your thoughts. I hope to get over this sickness soon.
Bear..... THanks for commening about my photo.
Everybody .... Have a good day.
Wishing everyone here a good day.
It's about 70 here in Lancaster PA and sunny which I love. It's my day off today, sortof, I worked from 4pm yesterday to 8:30am this morning. It went well. I got to sleep from 12am-6am as I just need to be on call in case one of the people in the program I work for has an emergency, but that almost never happens. I still prefer sleeping in my own bed, but with the holidays coming up, I'm working extra.
I splurged recently on an Oriental Limited PRR M1a 4-8-2. Factory painted, number 6782, with the postwar PRR front end modifications. I took it a hobby shop that deals in brass and they felt it ran well enough to not need a new motor and gearbox, but to just clean wheels, and other sources of electrical contact, and break it in. As I didn't have a DC power source, aside batteries, I bought an MRC Tech II power pack, and some Kato Unitrack to put together a short test track. I took apart the engine and found much to my happiness it has an idler gearbox, and a can motor. Components were attached using a brass arm to secure motor to the gear box, and it has U-Joints instead of rubber tubing to connect motor and gearbox. I cleaned out the old congealed grease from the gearbox put it back together, and cleaned the wheels on both the engine and tender. I added XL gear oil to both of the gears. I'd like to change the pickup arrangement so the locomotive gets both positive and negative current from the drive wheels, and have the tender trucks provide both negative and positive current. When I install DCC and sound, plus LED lights, all the wiring connections will be hardwired. Another plus is that the previous owner had packed the boiler full of lead weight, I think using bird shot. Can't wait to put it on a layout and see how it pulls! I'd like to repaint at some point but that'll wait until after I've gotten it running to my liking.
I set up a small work space in my basement on a folding plastic table and have tools and parts handy.
Alvie
Good evening all. I have been watching the Virtual Model Railway Exhibition and doing a little modeling for the competition. I am still waiting for some items for the backscene. Trouble is, it is coming by post. Our postal service is rubbish.
In the 1880s people received four deliveries per day.In the 1990s two deliveries was the norm. In the 2000s one delivery per day. Now it is one delivery per week.
Ah well! Caribbean chicken, sweetcorn, black beans and rice tonite.
Good Afternoon,
Dave, I sent you a reply to your PM.
Nothing new here. I think it is another 'coffee' afternoon.
Brit Dave, dinner sounds good at your place.