BroadwayLion -25 degrees -46 windychilly
-25 degrees
-46 windychilly
I'll interpret that as chili.
There's nothing better than cinnamon rolls and a bowl of chili.
Edit: Top of the page.
On this icy cold morning, Lion has provided cinnamon rolls. I'll provide the chili.
York1 John
John & Lion -- Cinnamon rolls. Mouthwatering.
Tonite dinner is Homemade English Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas.
Tomorrow I shall be baking. Apple & Blackberry Pie has been requested. As has Egg & Bacon Pie (English style).
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBrit Tonite dinner is Homemade English Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas.
I went to the grocery store yesterday in person for the first time in three weeks or so. They had rib-eye steaks on a really good sale, so it will be steak and potatoes for dinner in my house tonight.
I can't wait.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Welcome to PITTSBURGH
One of the grittiest, working-class cities in North america.
Pittsburgh by Edmund, on Flickr
We have the Pittsburgh & West Virginia (AKA the Wabash) bridge in the foreground and some of the platforms of the P&LE depot. Beyond is the Smithfield Bridge, the Panhandle bridge and Liberty Bridge, and across the Monongahela River is the old B&O depot that was torn down and the tracks shortened to Grant Street.
It looks like someone drove the Chevy to the Levy, and the Desoto, Ford and a few Chryslers, too.
Mill_3_0002 by Edmund, on Flickr
Third Place: Charles McCreary by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
We can take a ride on some of the extensive streetcar system, too.
Pgh_PCC_1792 by Edmund, on Flickr
Here's B&O's No. 7, the Diplomat ready to head west, looking a little ragged in this late '60s view leaving the P&LE Depot.
BnO_Diplomat-Pittsburgh by Edmund, on Flickr
Have a look around this fascinating city of steel, coal and railroads! Lots to see.
Cheers, Ed
Afternoon Diners!
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk and Robbie a dog treat.
Beem enjoying the cold weather! No need for ice in the cooler, just sit the out the back door into 15 degrees and nice and cold.
Ready to pull the trigger on a home inprovemt loan! My toal CC debit is down too $780.00 and will be at a 770 credit score by next week. I hope to get all the needed keep the house from falling down work done for under $30,000.00.
Need a new Roof with new deckng, some Fascia and Soffit, Gutters and Floor beam's and footing! Hope to get a new garage door and some new windows.
Trains are running great and time to walk the Dog Master.
Later, Ken and the Dirk the Dog Master says "Walk me Daddy, Woof, Woof"!
I hate Rust
Pittsburgh, still:
PRR's big Conway Yard —
Take a look at the freight cars here for modeling details. I see a couple of my J&L Coal Tar tank cars way down the track. And is that a diesel switcher?
JnL_Pittsburgh by Edmund, on Flickr
JnL_20k-tank2 by Edmund, on Flickr
gmpullmanTake a look at the freight cars here for modeling details.
Hi Ed,
I love the look of the battered sides on the gondolas! I'll have to get my propane torch out and start melting some gons!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterI love the look of the battered sides on the gondolas! I'll have to get my propane torch out and start melting some gons!!
I was on the same track, Dave. I just gave the "treatment" to a Proto 2000 drop-end gon just the other day. Turned out OK for a first try.
Forget the propane! I used one of these: Hot Air Gun (or something similar) I bought it for heat shrink tubing but found other uses for it.
I'll have to get some photos of it.
Good Luck, Ed
Hello Railfans!
Top of the evening to ya! Had a pretty good day today. Not to cold and it stayed rainey. Still is as a matter of fact. No humbug today, sorry.
Ed) Pittsburgh, home of the Steel Curtain! And an all around American city of industry. Absolutely loved the pics. Ill be studying on "JNL" (one with the nice gondolas) for an hour or two. Way too much detail.
That is a switcher you see and i venture to say it looks like a GE 70 ton. Could be wrong, my eyes arent that good. Matter of fact i had to enlarge the pic just to find the tankers you mentioned. The windows and roof look to square to be an EMD.
Still though, the pic has everything. Check out the different ladings in the gons, the varied monikers on the cars, etc etc. Heck even the trackwork is fascinating. I wonder where the track goes heading into that cut to the right. Or is it just a tail end?
How about that Houston Starr company (sounds like a newspaper). All out by itself in the middle of a field like a one-boxcar-having sore thumb. Perfect model!
And why would someone stack all those ties on an obviously usable track on the right. Lotsa detail! Replacements?
Critter Dave) Glad to see ya back to a better shade of living. Im not sure i could blow torch my gondolas, but i do like the look of it. Never tried to alter my gons that way, is it hard to do? I dont weather my stuff but i do add detail. Just wondering if id wanna try something like that. I have in the neighborhood of about 70 or so, im thinking one or two wouldnt hurt.
Drilling holes for grab irons is one thing, but putting some serious ouch marks like that on a model.... i dunno. Do certain manufactures of gons work better than others? Say Athearn vs Proto? Or do they all melt the same?
British Dave) It sounds like your kitchen is gonna be the place to be tomarow. Especially around dessert time. Apple and B-Berry pies?? Mmmm mmmm! But your gonna have to splain what Egg and Bacon pie is, english style. T'aint never heard of this. It doesnt sound like its something you could put whip creme on. Or ice cream. But sounds yummy none the less.
Kevin) Steak and taters - the meal of kings! Just ask any lion. Except this one.....
Lion) Knowing you, tens bucks says that pale of water you put at the bottom of the 'jump' says "ACME" on it, as do the chutes!
In General) Not much going on, but the nights still young. I did get my new bearings in for the ailing printer. Just not looking forward to the teardown and rebuild, AGAIN. Like anything else though, maintain, maintain, maintain, procrastinate, etc. Or is that vice-versa?
Havent gotten back around to that other 'rivetting' project. I have about 300 left to draw. Still have a taste in my mouth from the last go round. Then i get to do the other side . Who said Model Railroading isnt fun!
Ill see yall round the hitchin post later. Have a good evening til then!
Green Lights!
Douglas
PM RailfanCritter Dave) Glad to see ya back to a better shade of living. Im not sure i could blow torch my gondolas, but i do like the look of it. Never tried to alter my gons that way, is it hard to do?
Hi Douglas,
I haven't a clue as to how hard it will be to do! I've never done it before either, but I'm not afraid to try. To that end, I just bought six or so cheap gons on eBay to experiment with.
One method that I have seen is to soften the side of the gon with the very careful application of heat from a propane torch and then use socket wrenches to deflect the plastic before it cools again. The use of a propane torch worries me a little bit because I suspect that things could get out of hand very quickly, but I will give that method a try.
A more controllable approach might be to immerse just the sides of an assembled gon in very hot water so that they will soften enough to be bent with either a gloved hand, or have pressure applied with various sizes of sockets and other metal tools that won't leave noticeable 'bite' marks like plier jaws would.
I'll experiment as soon as a couple of the less expensive gons arrive.
I want to make it absolutely clear Douglas that I don't intend for this to take over all of our efforts!
Dave) Yeah, you try it first! then let me know.
On a more serious note, would a curling iron and bakers wax paper work?
-Douglas
Fire1 by Bear, on Flickr
That's rich, Bear!
Ya know, there must exist somewhere a full collection of BearToons. Granted, some might leave some head-scratching for lack of context, but there'd be a sea of gold-star stand-alones.
I suspect that you carry a Gary Larson gene or two. (A few of you out there may need to look him up.)
John
Those gondolas look kind of like they were left in a hot car on a Florida Summer day.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Or atleast a certain few of you. In my last post i mistakenly used "lion" in place of "bear". Maybe you didnt notice cuz i certainly didnt.
So Lion is over there scratching his head thinking "what the..." and Bear is continuing on never knowing im jabbing him through the cage bars. The rest of you are prolly thinking, nothing new... ole PM has popped his safety valves a few too many times.
Truth is folks, im utterly terrible with names. Now we got animals to contend with... lions here, bears there, and all kinds of 'critters' everywhere. Cat folks start talking about fish dinners, dog folks talk about bird watching. Thank goodness we only got one 'bridge guy' and hes on vacation, missing out on this hilarious fubar of normality (for me).
Youd think after this long, id know who you all are! More to the point im making, im actually that bad with names. So for those involved please accept my apologies with the understanding it was meant in good fun. Im sure its to happen again.
Have a better evening than I!
Yellow over Red
Good morning all. Another 'freezing day'. In days gone it would be 'throw another bucket of coal on the fire'.
Dave. Glad you feel much better. Stay away from the blow torch.
Battered Gondolas. 'Hit'em with a hammer'.
Ed. Great picture of the yard. The different loads etc. Wonderful ideas for modelers.
Douglas. English bacon is cured differently to U S bacon. I do not know what is actually done, but they taste different. (English) Egg & Bacon Pie is simply chop the bacon up into small pieces and fry to almost crispy. Beat the eggs, a little salt and pepper. Mix in the bacon then pour into a dish that has pastry laid in it. Even the bacon bits around the pie. (You don't want someone having all the bacon ) Lay more pastry on top to make a pie. Brush the top of the pie with milk or egg yolk. Into the oven at 180 degrees for around half an hour. (Keeping an eye on it. ) Eat it hot or cold, as part of a main course or as a snack.
I'll leave a plate in the Diner for you to try.
Coffee Time.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
Good Morning All,
A regular to go please Flo. I am still scrambling around trying to get rental trucks hooked up and trailers loaded and the first three rigs leave tomorrow morning. Sheesh.
Ed - Thanks - I love Pittsburgh. For over a decade I competed in the PVGP held on the access roads at Schenley Park. I got to do some sight seeing while there and my favourite hotel was the Holiday overlooking the main line on the south side of the river. Most of the rail stuff is gone now bridges converted to walkways and tracks torn out and redevelopment stuff put in but the plants remained even though inactive. I suppose given the mess the smoke made it is best they remain silent but it seems a great waste.
Time to start doing useful w..k. Ciao, J.R.
Good morning. I just got in from clearing more white stuff from the driveway.
We had been planning on being gone this week to visit grandchildren, but I hate driving in snow. We decided to hunker down here until it's at least 85°.
This is my first time in Pittsburgh. I've known people from there who say the city is much more beautiful that most people think.
Douglas, after reading your post, I scrolled back to see Lion's bucket. I'm also terrible with names, and it's getting worse. I'll move into the home when I can't remember my own.
I'm in the market for a Union Pacific caboose in n scale. You can tell how old someone is when they admit to being disappointed at a RR crossing when the end of the train comes by, and it feels odd that the train just ends.
My little town has five RR crossings in about 1½ miles. We are now in a quiet zone with BNSF. It's safe to say I'm the only one in town who didn't mind the train horns -- I actually liked them. No more horns.
The last run of the Southern Crescent in 1978. I think this was somewhere in Mississippi, but I don't remember for sure.
Have a good healthy Saturday, everyone.
Good Morning,
A very frosty -36C right now. Supposedly it will start easing off Monday. I have to go out today to pick up some veg.
Wife has me back under quaranteen as I made the mistake of getting her a dozen yellow roses for Valentines Day. Apparently they and I are contaminated so we are in the basement. Sure wish she would do something about her extreme anxiety.
Speaking of Pittsburg, isn't that where Tom was from? He used to post a lot about railfanning with his wife. He was a retired firefighter I believe. Haven't heard fron him in over a year. What about Bridge Tom, Tom White, the articulated loco guy from Sacremento.? I'm still checking the paper for Johnboy but nothing so far which is good news.
NorthBrit Dave, speaking of bacon, in the U.S. they sometimes refer to Canadian bacon. I'm not sure what that means as the only bacon I can buy is from Canada. The best tasting bacon I've ever eaten was in Kenya. It was local stuff, very lean and not too salty. We were staying at Loldia House on Lake Nivasha. A truly beautiful place with great food. That was 10 years ago this month. We also went to Rawanda and did the Mountain Gorilla trek which was an amazing experience.
More coffee is in ordwr.
CN Charlie
Afternoon folks!
Went out the RGV RR Museum this morning to pick up a couple 4 packs of Hammerhead 211 Beer. Yep they had a Micro Brewery in the area concoct some brews named after the LV Hammerhead 211 Loco and a few other museum pieces out there. Haven't tried any yet but may break open one for supper tonight and see how good it is. This was done as a fund raiser for the Museum.
My son in England sent me a photo of a little guy that has become almost a pet at their house out in the countryside. Lets see if any one you can figure out exactly what it is. (North Brit, you keep quiet as I'm sure you know about these little cute guys.)
My son says it is visiting almost every day and is just a cute as can be. It is full grown by the way but only stands about half a meter high and about 15Kg in weight. First one to get it right I will buy a virtual 4 pack of 211 Beer for you...
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Lion says it's an appitizer.
British and Canadian bacon comes from the loin and is relatively fat free. American bacon comes from the belly and side and is as much fat as it is meat. Some brands are worse than others.
We microwave our US bacon feeling that it's crisper and not quite bathed in fat like traditional fried bacon.
It has been drizzling sleet and freezing rain all day. Walking the dog is hazardous. I was going to work on benchwork, instead I took a nap.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
GMTRacing Lion says it's an appitizer.
We see a lot of the 'little ones' here.
Henry, thanks for the explanation. Most of the bacon here is from the belly. What you call Canadian I believe we call Back Bacon.
howmus Afternoon folks! Went out the RGV RR Museum this morning to pick up a couple 4 packs of Hammerhead 211 Beer. Yep they had a Micro Brewery in the area concoct some brews named after the LV Hammerhead 211 Loco and a few other museum pieces out there. Haven't tried any yet but may break open one for supper tonight and see how good it is. This was done as a fund raiser for the Museum. My son in England sent me a photo of a little guy that has become almost a pet at their house out in the countryside. Lets see if any one you can figure out exactly what it is. (North Brit, you keep quiet as I'm sure you know about these little cute guys.) My son says it is visiting almost every day and is just a cute as can be. It is full grown by the way but only stands about half a meter high and about 15Kg in weight. First one to get it right I will buy a virtual 4 pack of 211 Beer for you... 73
How about a Reeve's Muntjac. Introduced there and in other European countries from East Asia.
If it's a winnah, I'll pass on the Hammerhead 211 and take a six-pack of Vernor's.
BTW, best answer possible was J.R.'s "appetizer".
PM RailfanOn a more serious note, would a curling iron and bakers wax paper work?
The bakers' paper (parchment paper?) might work quite well. Folded several layers thick it would allow you to grab the car sides and 'adjust' them without having anything stick. I think the trick will be in not making each of the deformities look the same.
I pulled out all of my 7 gons last night to see what I have to work with. With one exception they are too nice to experiment with so I will wait until the Tyco stuff arrives.
Good afternoon from a snowy West Coast.
I have not contributed much lately but have been keeping up with the goings-on in the diner.
I have been busy ripping up the floor in the Front hall, powder room, laundry room and office in prep for more tile. I took a break from that and wired my two kids bedrooms for ethernet as they needed a solid connection for University exams and lab participation and my son participates in a lot of broadcast media radio and podcast and dropouts are not good in that biz. I ran the cable from the router down into the crawlspace into the cold air return up to the second floor and put jacks in the walls of their bedrooms. The internet speed is incredibly high and glitch-free now.
The kitchen is done and I can't say enough about the restoration company/ tile guys and designer and installer. The craftsmanship is excellent. Every single contractor showed up exactly when they said they would and went above and beyond in my book. It was an all-round good experience except for the inconvenience.
Charlie, sorry to hear of your wife's mental health issues. If you haven't already, look into hypnotherapy with a mental health professional, it has worked wonders with several people we know that suffer from anxiety issues. Also really educating themselves on whatever is giving them the anxiety also helps as they get a clearer understanding of the subject. Learning to fly a plane is the best way to get over the fear of flying, you learn how things work and realize aircraft do not just fall out of the sky.
Ken, congrats on getting the debt paid down. A friend of mine did the same thing and felt like he got a big raise in pay when all those interest payments finally stopped.
Puppies are still growing and are enjoying the snow today.
Show dog in the making.
For some reason this photo reminded me of Bear.
Dave, glad to see you are improving somewhat. I have had many broken bones and other injuries that came with my "sporting" lifestyle. They are really coming home to roost in my old age.
I once broke my foot in two places, got a cast up to my knee and went right back to work hobbling around the ramp on the airport on crutches. Passengers on some of the planes were quite disturbed that the Government was making me work in that condition and the complaints went all the way back to Ottawa. I had to keep a low profile for a while as the Government did not want to be seen as tyrants.
Ed, even though I have not commented, I have been enjoying every pic, video and story along the way, thank you for your efforts.
The wife put the hummingbird feeder out because of the weather. The birds showed up and there was no feeder out. It is funny how they remembered it was supposed to be there. I asked Alexa how long hummingbirds lived and she said up to 5 years, so I guess they were the same ones. The wife only puts it up in sub-freezing temps as they do not do well in that cold. I found one in the snow a couple of years ago near its end, I brought it inside and the good Doctor saved yet another member of the wild kingdom. That's when we got a new hummingbird feeder.
I just downloaded instructions from Rapido on how to speed match my "F Units", so That is my job today.
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."
Howdy everybody.
I am still posting with a cell phone while visiting in Florida Panhandle.
We are deciding when to return home to western Kentucky with consideration for weather conditions and possibly visiting relatives in Alabama on the way.
David North Brit , the English egg and bacon pie sounds good.
Everybody, have a good evening.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
BATMANDave, glad to see you are improving somewhat. I have had many broken bones and other injuries that came with my "sporting" lifestyle. They are really coming home to roost in my old age.
Thanks Brent. Your support (and everyone elses) is much appreciated. I'm getting along fine these days on just Tylenol. I'm not looking forward to the Achillies tendon surgery.
The kitchen is beautiful! It looks very open and airy. Nice lighting.