PM Railfan I never knew the F4U had any fabric on it. Much less the RNZAF had any
PM RailfanTell us the story of the young pilot - id love to hear it.
Infrequently, among the aviation enthusiast forums, the question is raised on who actually broke the sound barrier first and the RNZAF pilots Corsair dive is touted as a contender. I suppose it fills ffolkes days, but the reality is Chuck Yeager was the first to break the sound barrier officially in 1947, I read some years back that unofficially a poor unfortunate USAAF P 38 Lightening pilot may have been the first.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning all. Snow! Here in the UK everything grinds to a halt over a little snow. With idiots driving recklessly and finally spinning out of control, accidents and closed roads galore. (Some shouldn't be out anyway because of the restrictions.)
Coffee time.
Help yourself to freshly baked breads and cake. Muffins over in the corner.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Hello Railfans!
Top of the morning to ya! Have no clue why im getting up at this hour. Normally id be getting ready to pack it in.
A quick jaunt over to the window reveals a cold and rainy day. SHWEET! Lets hope it stays that way.
Got a pinch done last night in the 'train room'. Already used 4 or 5 packs of Kadees already. I managed to get 11 printed flatcars rollin. Woulda had two more but now im out of truck springs. Anyone else have such problems in their supply chain? Imma have to have a chat with the 'company bean counter' and 'foreman of parts'! (so if im not here tomarow you know i got fired)
Bear) Howdy! Thanks for the info. I knew other countrys used the F4U, i didnt know our friends in NZ got over 300 of them. Holy hole makers Batman (not our batman, the TV one)! Howd your pilots like them.... Preferred? Disasterous? Middle of the road?
Again, while everyone croons over the Mustang or Lightning... i think the Corsair could take either one (Prolly talking out my ear here). It certainly gets them in looks. I always like to hear what actual pilots think.
Kevin) Sorry to hear about the peel-off woes. If its any consolation, just know your prolly still a better painter than I. When i get around to (if ever) painting my rolling stock yall gonna here alot of sailing words and foot stomping.
TF) Enthusiasm? You mean i dont talk enough now? Im quite shocked a character limit hasnt been placed on me. And yes, i certainly noticed the Alleghenys. Who in their right mind couldnt?
Coming in at well over 100' long, well over a million pounds, well over 16' tall, and just passing the 7000hp mark, its pretty hard not to notice one. Even if there are only two left. Ive laid hands on Baltimores version. Ford museum is on the bucket list.
Its the Big-Boy of the east coast and one of the few locos that can compare with one. Not that Maryland Scenic made a bad choice but id have been just as happy if theyd pulled that Allegheny instead of the 2-6-6-2.
When they did that it was about 5 yrs before the Promontory Anniversary. Not long after that UP decided to get 4014 going. I was secretly hoping these two would meet for the 150th celebration. I was really crossing my fingers that was what was up. Alas, that didnt happen, but guys can you imagine that picture???
Much like the famous one we have of the two 4-4-0 meeting nose to nose can you see two giant behemoths meeting 150 years later? Now imagine a Big-Boy shaking couplers with an Allegheny! Now that, THAT, is the true definition of the Kodak phrase....." Priceless ". (in another 150 years it will be two Tesla anti-grav pads touching bumpers ).
Ive oft imagined a H8 slugging it out against 180+ loaded hoppers of WV finest diamonds over the many hills of the New River line. The strained groping of ties under the imense squish, rails screaming their tinged song in agony, boughs of leaves blasting skywards in punishment for hanging over the line, furious sounds of metal clanking mechanical movement, a thunderous cadence felt thru the ground for a mile or more, and enough smoke to choke out the sun. Naw, who would notice that????
Thats just the Allegheny - never mention Berkshires (Big Emma's for you Vgn fans). Ill give ya a new definition of commutative thatll blow your post-hog status away.
Henry) New to Va? Im sorry to hear that. Atleast your in the prettiest part of the state. Once you get to the east side of the Southern main (now NS), it goes down hill really quick!
Well folks, starting the day off with Corsairs and Alleghenys, plus what ever fun Ed conjurs up for us today, sounds like were off to a great start! See yall round the beanary!
A#1 North!
Douglas
PM RailfanWell folks, starting the day off with Corsairs and Alleghenys, plus what ever fun Ed conjure up for us today, sounds like were off to a great start! See yall round the beanary!
The first thing we have to conger up is how to sneak the Bear back into Canada. Can he hang on to the roof grab irons?
The video may answer some questions we had back when we were on the west coast.
We won't pass directly by this old ball-signal but we will be close:
Highball by Edmund, on Flickr
The origins of the old railroad term "Highball". Hey, make mine a double
Note the concrete whistle post wired-up to the wood line pole. Do something like that on your layout and see how many fingers you get wagging at you!
For those of you still following along — We will be riding The Ambassador today:
https://www.american-rails.com/307-332.html
NErail1856 by Edmund, on Flickr
Hey! Our train has white flags That means we're extra special...
B and M_Crawford Notch by Edmund, on Flickr
Crawford Notch, New Hampshire.
Enjoy some New England hospitality, folks.
Cheers, Ed
Ed) Excellent post. Amtrak is so under appreciated for what they do. Things sure have changed though. In the 80's, crossing the border meant just a 30 minute stop while customs checked the train. Then on your way.
Now, I wouldnt dare cross. Hand and thumbprint scanners? Good grief. Wonder how long itll be before thats required to just cross a state line!
Thats an absolute gorgeous shot of Crawford Notch. Look how decked out 572 is. Take an hour to hook up all the air and signal lines on that ole girl. Make an awesome model too, aye?
Oh, and as far as the Bear is concerned.... i suspect the roof grab irons are alot better than the belly truss rods. We could always give him another round of shots..... nah, too early in the AM for that.
I know, we could stuff him in the WC in the nose of 572! Question is... will he fit?
Clear Ahead!
Good morning.
Been quite stir crazy lately. Some times this plague we're living in gets to me. Drove me a little nuts last night. If I offended anyone, I do apologize. At least in the spring, summer and fall I could somewhat have an escape in the beautiful weather outside.
Got the Winter Blues. Short on a vacation is the understatement of the year.
Have a great day gentlemen
TF
Good morning, fellow diners. I'll have my usual breakfast -- bacon, eggs, and coffee.
I must go to bed a lot earlier than most of you. Each night before I go to bed, I check the diner. The next morning, I check it again. I'm surprised how many posts there are while I'm sleeping. Of course, Bear and David are hours different. I have always gone to sleep early, and gotten up early, and retirement hasn't changed that.
My daughters got my plane tickets changed to a different airline. When I got the tickets, the money was taken out of my account within minutes. Now getting a refund, it's been several days, and no refund has yet appeared. It's funny how that works.
In spite of what I had thought, I'm actually enjoying the Arduino lessons. I learned how to write the program to turn an LED off and on at different intervals. I know, I know, that's not real impressive. But at my age, and with absolutely no programming knowledge or background, it's earth-shaking for me.
York1 John
York1 Of course, Bear and David are hours different.
Of course, Bear and David are hours different.
Afternoon tea and cream cakes time, John. I'll leave you some in the Diner.
Take Care everyone.
Is this correct? I think we did not go into Vermont.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Kevin. Depending on the era of our trip route I found the following:
Until late 1954, the train operated over Canadian Pacific trackage to Wells River, Vermont, where it entered the Boston and Maine for the remainder of the way to Boston via Plymouth, New Hampshire and Concord, New Hampshire on the division that the B&M had acquired with the purchase of the Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1895.[1] After the Boston and Maine abandoned its trackage north of Plymouth, the train was rerouted via White River Junction, Vermont. The train continued to travel via Wells River, St. Johnsbury and Newport, Vermont, before completing the trip to Vermont.
The same trip to Montreal via NYC takes you up the western shore of Lake Champlain (IIRC) so close to the cuts that you could bark your knuckles on the stones. Best, J.R.
GMTRacingUntil late 1954, the train operated over Canadian Pacific trackage to Wells River, Vermont
Good enough for me, Vermont has been added.
Thanks J.R.
My first time in Vermont. After watching Newhart, I feel like I've already been there.
Good evening Diners.
A week of challenges to overcome. Finally coming to the end.
A few items arrived for the layout today. Hope to place them on it tomorrow.
Well hello there Railfans!
Fancy meeting you here. Top of the evening to ya, hope you are well. Fair to middlin on this side of the fence.
Seems like theres a few more crickets chirping around here than usual. I myself didnt have much to do this evening. Figured Id come round and hassle yall for a bit.
John) Ya know, i been curious about those arduino thingys since they came out. Amazing lil creatures and the price is oh so right. Very tempting to play with but the last thing i need around here is more puters.
Id be interested if you kept us up on what you got going on over there. Unless its a Tony Stark kinda thing. Then we'll just be moseying along and wait for the fireworks to begin.
David) Same with you. Ya said a few things showed up for the layout but jeepers.... like what? Um..... its wasnt an RDC was it? Whatcha hiding over there?
TF) You must be feeling bad if I posted more than you today.
Well folks ive a lil time to kill, and a bit of sarcasm on tap..... think ill go give a few select pointers on identifying electrical shorts to the newbies.
Huh!
I was just getting ready to post on the Why Still Nickel Silver thread of Kevin's I dug up from the archives. I had some interesting stuff but I seen it got locked up tight today. I was kind of bummed out because that was one of my favorite threads through the years and I had some interesting stuff through my research to post. I still don't know why it was locked EDIT, Scatch That! I went back and re-examined.
Not feeling bad about you posting more than me today Douglas. Post Hog is free game for anyone that wants to do it and lately I've just been leaning up against a post
Judy and I made Italian Zuppa Toscana soup today. Others call it sausage potato soup. I prefer a whole head of cabbage in the soup instead of the kale.
My Plaststruct panels came in the mail today along with the Twin Cities and Western Atlas locomotive. 2301 is the tougher one to find. Now I'm looking for the 2300 DC/DCC hybrid with sound for my Brother's birthday present coming up this summer. I have to get him back for that generous Challenger he gave me for my birthday you know.
Well, My Judy helped me out from going nuts from this currant isolation sickness that has been setting in lately. I think I'm doing okay now.
My passenger side tail light was jacked on my truck. Everything worked fine untill you applied the brakes the same time you used the right blinker. I got a new Factory assembly to be installed inside the globe. That didn't work. I think it was the female plug that was corroded. I went to the 101 junkyard today and went back in the lot and did a snip snip. A little reconnection of the wires and some shrink tubing.
Isn't it great when you have a problem and all the sudden everything works out and things work again
I'm doing experimental India ink treatments to my plastistruct scraps from my bridge to see how I want to finish it. I always do experiments before I turn things into stone.
Well that's it. The Zuppa Toscana soup is going to be a late night dinner with the fresh homemade biscuits to dip.
Have a great evening you guys
PM RailfanId be interested if you kept us up on what you got going on over there. Unless its a Tony Stark kinda thing.
I'm a little gun shy after my latest lesson with Arduinos.
I made four LEDs flash in a sequence that counted out the decimal numbers 1 - 15, but in binary.
To me, that was a major accomplishment that called for popping the top on an adult beverage can.
Then I made the mistake of showing my wife the lights. She looked at it and said, "That's nice, dear, what's it for?"
I guess I won't show her any more projects until I've learned to program it to diagnose covid or drive a 20-ton robotic semi truck. Maybe she'll be more impressed.
Post Hog!
My big news today is I'm typing on a new laptop.
I'm going to enjoy this for a while. It's 100 times faster than the old one. I know it will slow down after a while, so I need to enjoy it while it lasts. I think the solid state drive will help to keep it a little faster than I had before.
York1I'm a little gun shy after my latest lesson with Arduinos. I made four LEDs flash in a sequence that counted out the decimal numbers 1 - 15, but in binary. To me, that was a major accomplishment that called for popping the top on an adult beverage can. Then I made the mistake of showing my wife the lights. She looked at it and said, "That's nice, dear, what's it for?"
Hi John,
Congratulations on your progress with learning about Arduinos. Don't worry about your wife not being totally impressed. She hasn't been through the learning curve that you have so she can't possibly understand the significance of what you have done.
You have inspired me to have another go at Arduinos. I got really enthused about them several months ago, but my initial attempt was a dud and I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong. That kind of turned me off so I put it all aside. Don't hold your breath. I have other layout jobs that are a higher priority, but I will get back to it when I start building structures again.
Dave
Edit: Congrats on the new laptop too!
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
York1 Post Hog! My big news today is I'm typing on a new laptop. I'm going to enjoy this for a while. It's 100 times faster than the old one. I know it will slow down after a while, so I need to enjoy it while it lasts.
I'm going to enjoy this for a while. It's 100 times faster than the old one. I know it will slow down after a while, so I need to enjoy it while it lasts.
Yep! You do John!
Eventually it'll get plugged up with junk and temp files and everything else under the sun. Just like our railroad track after it hasn't been cleaned for a while
Us "Old Timers" don't understand this new modern technology. No matter how I try, my phone gets clogged up with junk to make it slower.
Then one of my daughters stops by and says give me that and types around with two thumbs for about a minute and 13 seconds and then hands it back to me and it works like a dream
I still try with what I have to deal with though. I guess I'm still growing up in the old school generation where us older guys just try to make things we understand work
Howdy ....
Because, the Diner passed through New Hampshire, I will share pictures of the Cog Railway. We rode it to the top of Mt. Washington. It is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River in the US. We were on a trip that included New Hampshire and Maine in 2019.
While in Maine, I rode on the 2' narrow gauge train.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
AntonioFP45,
I sent you a PM regarding confirming the shipping address for the RDC.
Cheers!!
She looked at it and said, "That's nice, dear, what's it for?"
1) Did you tell her its a ground fault detector and she just set it off?
2) Its a CV Remote Control Overide for when something military-like comes on the History channel.
3) Its an inside version of the -passenger seat "AIRBAG" On/Off- switch and you wanted to show her... to see if it works.
4) Its a device that indicates when a massive expenditure is within 10'.
5) Its a Railfan Red Alert system. A foamer is in distress somewhere and you need to leave right away, house chores be dog-gonned.
6) Its a mother in law detector. One of them is close at hand. (its 50/50 here, so why take a chance!)
7) Tell her its a rolling stock indicator and right now you need to buy 3 new locomotives to equal everything out or the dog is gonna have kittens.
8) Tell her you pulled the guts outta your fishing depth finder cuz you wanted to track them from land.
9) Its a 'fertilizer' indicator. (make sure she doesnt see you pointing it at her when you show it to her).
10) Last but not least... tell her its an indicator for the "sexiest, smartest, wittiest, most compationate female" in the world..... you just got yourself the rest of the evening in the train room!
Not bad John, that thing really works!
That looks like it was a really fun trip Garry
I love the Train Rides. Judy and I before things hit the fan, we're finding shorty hops not too far away from us and really enjoyed them. It was getting to be like a mobile hobby.
We will get back to that as I'm sure you will too
Good evening from California, it's been a long day and things are now settling in. Finishing up on things for school.
"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." -Lin Yutang
-
PM Railfan1) Did you tell her its a ground fault detector and she just set it off? 2) Its a CV Remote Control Overide for when something military-like comes on the History channel. 3) Its an inside version of the -passenger seat "AIRBAG" On/Off- switch and you wanted to show her... to see if it works....
Great stuff here!
It's past my bedtime. Goodnight diners. Not sure where we wake up in the morning.
Edit: Top of the page. Everyone can have a nightcap. Tell the lounge attendant to charge it to my roomette. I'm going to bed.
I dropped my old flashlight yesterday and broke it.
I went to go buy a new one, and it is almost impossible to find a flashlight that just turns on and off.
They flash, have red beacons, changeable flood/spot settings, high, low, and medium.
I had to buy a MagLight for $40.00 to have a flashlight that turns on when I press the button, then turns off when I press the button again.
They had some flashlights you had to push the button EIGHT TIMES to scroll through all the options and then turn back off again.
Stupid.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Interesting Kevin
I have some pretty good old school on and off flashlights and they're made out of steel, not plastic. But when they run out of batteries it doesn't seem to be too quick that I replace them, so they don't work either
I have a light function on my smart phone but that's another story. Sometimes I'd rather switch back to a flip phone and put some batteries back in my flashlights
But I guess that's another story too
I like that muddy Green River in the world is a beautiful place.
I had to take a double-take as that one log looked like a gator at first, until I zoomed in
SeeYou190They had some flashlights you had to push the button EIGHT TIMES to scroll through all the options and then turn back off again. Stupid.
Yup! Just because they can doesn't mean they should. Clearly the engineers are subserviant to the marketing gurus!
Good evening all, it was a beautiful sunny day today.
We have been invaded by Batwoman this week. Just down the road in the forest where we start our walks the TV show Batwoman is shooting this week. I am not sure what's going on but there are hundreds of extras on set. The circus is massive, it is without a doubt the biggest shoot by the numbers of everything we have seen here and there has been a lot of movies and TV shows there over the years. Usually, no fans are aware that they are filming here as we are rural, but not this time.
I took a truckload of foam and cardboard to the recycling centre today. All the new appliance boxes and other stuff had the truck packed. Got $4.95 for my empty booze bottles, I am feeling flush so drinks on me.
I had/ have a small Maglight that I wore in a holster for work to check airbrakes or would use crawling around in aircraft when I couldn't find the light switch. The toughest thing it is, having dropped it from some high places and it still works.
My wife finally got her Macbook air that was supposed to be here for Christmas, she loves it. I got the kid a PS5 and it still isn't here. They both got coupons/IOUs in a big box to unwrap on Christmas. I hate when that happens, especially when you think you order really early.
Does anyone know where the largest wooden trestle still being used is? I was chatting with someone today about that and we had no clue. I guess there are some decent sized ones still out there. Maybe in third world countries.
TF, getting restless from being housebound is affecting everyone. I just hop on the bike and burn it out of me. I feel much better afterwards and because I burn so many calories and I can eat and drink a lot without getting fat.
I enjoyed the train crossing the border video showing the customs agents. I worked a lot with customs agents and have a lot of interesting stories for sure. Cargo aeroplanes that came from far away places that had more than what was on the manifest on them were always interesting. I had Customs and the RCMP on speed dial for when I opened a cargo door and was met by some interesting sights.
Check out those ears!
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."
gmpullmanThe first thing we have to conger up is how to sneak the Bear back into Canada.