We had another 6" of snow yesterday, but then the temp went to the low 40's It almost completely melted off my deck. It's cold 35 and windy today.
In my day, I had my share of beer but 14 in a day is not a number I ever achieved. If I did I probably wouldn't remember.
I thought the pregame and halftime shows were terrible, the game decided midway through the 2nd quarter and only the Will Farrell and Budweiser lemon commercials fun.
I did not stay up for Queen Latifa.
Daytona 500 in next Sunday. That's what I am looking forward to.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
SeeYou190The pre-game stuff was terrible yesterday. Normally they have bio stories about a lot of the players, background stuff about the host city, and lots of pre-game entertainment.
I know what you mean. I told my wife yesterday I was really tired of all the junk. Let's just watch a football game.
Each year, Omaha and Union Pacific have a large event for train lovers. Free admission to several railroad museums, tours of the various buildings, and transportation between all of the different railroad sites. I especially like walking through the passenger cars, caboose, and locomotives.
https://omaharailroaddays.com/
York1 John
The Tracy Morgan Rocket Mortgage ad was my favorite.
The Equalizer show was 100% predictable the entire way through, but it introduced the characters and premise pretty well. A lot of the episode reminded me of the first Lethal Weapon movie right down to the "Special Forces" tattoos. I will give it a second watch.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
CapnCrunchEd - All of the modeling in your video is beautiful and perfectly weathered. However, I don't understand the purpose of the third rail setup?
Three rail dates back to some of the early AC Hornby and Lionel electrical systems:
Hope that helps, Ed
Good Afternoon,
Where is T F? Maybe he is frozen standing on his deck, mug of coffee in hand.
Well, track problem is fixed. The K5a(CN Hudson) no longer derails but it does rock a little at about a scale 30mph going around the curve. That is as fast as I dare try on my little layout. I'm just happy it goes around at all as there isn't any flex in a brass loco. Next is the CP Hudson that was derailing at the same spot. The little Pacific has no problems even on 19" radius.
Sure are going through bird seed, about 25 lbs. a week. Will have to go out tomorrow for more
CN Charlie
Doh . Thanks Ed. I'm so used to HO I didn't make the connection.
Tim
Late to the model railroad party but playing catch-up.....
I think Marklin is/was three rail as well. The reason is the early Lionel and Marklin used the center rail for power and the side rails for ground and there were no issues then with reversing loops. I seem to remember some of the early Lionel having either a reversing switch or polarity switch stuck out the top. On the museum O - gage reverse was accomplished by stopping then restarting IIRC. We had a mad man electricial engineer who redid everything so it all needed mods to work on the displays but held up better under the massive hours of run time at a museum.
The outdoor G gage shown the other day reminded me of the Christmas display they do overhead at the New York Botanical Gardens. Also with most of the structures made from branches and twigs. They have recognizable models of all the major New York City bridges and lots of elevated spans all made by some genius in Tennessee. I got invited to help do construction of the display for a couple of years with the Danbury Museum getting the benefit of the cast off track and spans along with lifed equipment. That led to getting lost in the dark in the middle of the city at rush hour with a pickup and 20 ft trailer full of track and structure but that is a story for another time. J.R.
The Broadway Limited:
Just the good parts
Fireman to Engineer, "Green on top" (2:40) on the PRR? Position light signals?
I'd sure like to have that steam locomotive cab mock-up in my collection. Fun to play engineer
Regards, Ed
CNCharlie Good Afternoon, Where is T F? Maybe he is frozen standing on his deck, mug of coffee in hand.
Good evening
What a warmed welcome back home. How did you know Charlie? Thank you
Cold is cold, hot is hot, wet is wet and dry is dry! That about sums up the weather, doesn't it? When the needle gauge points to the extreme right or left of either of these two case scenarios, it really doesn't matter anymore, At that point it is what it is
I could have drove three or four hundred miles further north to visit my Canadian friends up there and the cold really wouldn't have made too much more of a difference anymore, .....Burrr!
My better half and I just got back from our little four-day-getaway. We didn't get up to Mike's suggestion of Northern Wisconsin but we talked to those delightful people and have a slot reserved for the spring when the weather has a little more flavor to it
We stayed in a little cabin in the Forest lake, Ham Lake area only about a short hour north from where we live. A cabin is a cabin in the Tundra or the Klondike so to speak Didn't want to take the old running equipment too far away in case of a problem.
We just got home early this afternoon and now we have cabin fever, ...again. We didn't have it at the cabin Go figure
We had a fireplace and Dan, the Resort owner had a rack of split-wood on either side. It wasn't until the end of the second day we had to start grabbing logs outside which Dan had stocked up for us too. The coal ambers were so thick in the morning all we had to do is throw a couple more logs on. I love the smell of burning Hardwoods. Needless to say we did not go for any nature walks up there
Cards, board games and Yahtzee. Lots of food and fun we brung along and the Refrigelator was full of ice cold beer, was the closest we got to the outside cold while we were there.
Great to see you guys again and hope everyone is well My friend Dave, You are still in our thoughts. I am faithful in believing after a few chats with the Man Upstairs that you will be feeling better soon I'm sure the professionals hands will be guided and you will be feeling much better soon I very much wish that for you!
I was already bored when I got home and took the Bridge Project off the layout. It's keeping my mind off the fact that I wish I was still up at the cabin because we had a really good time up there.
Have a great evening gentlemen
TF
Track fiddlerMy better half and I just got back from our little four-day-getaway.
Welcome back to the diner, TF. You were missed.
Thanks John
You are well-liked here, especially by me
Post Hog!
Hey! Track Fiddler's in the house! Where the heck did all you guys go?
I ain't here for long tonight cause I'm tired
I'm probably hitting the rack early tonight guys but I will talk to you tomorrow
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk and Robbie a dog treat.
Alvie Thank you for your comment. I will have paid off $6200.00 plus from my credit card debit in 12 months. I should have all off the Cards paid off by April of this year. Hope to pay the extra $400.00 too $500.00 range on the house after that. I need about a $50,000.00 loan to bring the house up to snuff. I owe $64,350.00 (thanks to Bank Of Stupid all so knowen as Bank Of America) before they sold my loan. House on the high side (witch its not) is worth $181,000.00 and low $135,000.00. With the need repairs I would say $100,000.00 but it still in the ball park.
Ed Boy that J1-a looked real! While I still don't like 3 rail even when I was 6 years old, that was a great looking layout!
Work was slow, with only 2 customers. But it worked out well for me and made $75.00 extra to help to pay for my pay rasie? This company is just not right!
Trains are running great and the weather sucks so later Ken and Dirk say's Woof, Woof Daddy, me loves the PRR I1sa Woof!
I hate Rust
Hello Railfans!
Top of the day to you! Hope all are well. Fair to middlin over here.
Been catching up on the posts from the past few days. Seen some interesting stuff.
That 3-rail layout sure looked good! As did the "Welcome to O- Ma- Haa" sign. I dont think ive ever seen that before.
Cletus: "Hey Zeke..."
Zeke: "Whatchu be wanton Cletus?'
Cletus: "You know theys'a makin train trackses witt 3 rales?"
Zeke: "How com'um ta be'uh doin that?"
Cletus: "Soze trains onna singal track can be'uh passin one 'nother, i wreckon."
Have a good night everyone!
Clear Ahead!
Douglas
Nebraska has been great. Ed, thank you for bringing the diner into this state before our travels ended.
Thank you to all the contributed Nebraska information.
My wife and I just played a game of Agricola (board game) with our daughter and son in law in Seattle over zoom. It was a lot of fun, but took extra time.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Good morning all. A bitterly cold day with more snow forecast.
A quiet day here, so before I disappear to the train room I shall make some coffee.
Later, I shall make some Apple Turnovers for Afternoon Tea.
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
Good Morning All,
A near tropical 19F (-7C) this morning with a light snow wafting down. I'll have a regular plus two eggs over medium on rye toast and a side of bacon please Zoe.
Still waiting to hear about the lift gate on the rig that went down last week. We dragged another one out of mothballs and got it and my KW 9000 DOT's so we're good to go though not as planned. We should hear from the hydraulic repair guys today to see if the contingency plan needs to get going.
Not much else to report on this end. Hope TF had a good holiday. The CFO and I could use one but with everything going on I think it's not going to happen before next winter. I'm glad you have a plan Ken. Hopefully the house thing will work out.
At the museum we had a deal with Ross track and they supplied both track and turnouts in three rail. It was really nice stuff with the center rail in black so it didn't show as much. Stainless steel rail was a real dickens to solder drops to though.
Letting sleeping dogs lie.
dogs by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr" alt="sleeping dogs" />
Paperwork to catch up on this morning hence I'm in early. Ciao, J.R.
Good morning. No walk this morning -- it was -17°F when I went to bed last night. It got cloudy sometime in the night and we warmed up to -12° this morning. The good news it is absolutely calm, so there is no wind chill.
I am headed to a funeral for a friend today. The highways have all been cleaned, so it shouldn't be an issue. I hope the priest keeps the cemetery service and burial short -- it's going to be cold standing out on the prairie.
I'm continuing to work on the Arduino programming. It is slow learning this stuff.
JR, did I count five dogs sleeping? I bet that's a lot of commotion when they start playing.
Ken, that's great work on your part paying down your debt. It seems to go slowly, but I can imagine the relief you will feel when you send that last payment to the credit card.
Kevin, to me that map looks a lot better with the white hole in the middle of the map finally filled in.
Ed, I've lost track. Where is the diner headed next?
David, my wife loves apple turnovers. If it's OK, we'll stop by on our way home from the funeral.
Douglas, I wondered if the diner had left you behind in Reno for several days. Did you come out with any money?
TF, it sounds like you had a great time at the cabin. That sounds like exactly what I love to do. When I was younger, one of my dreams was to own a cabin in the woods and get away each weekend. Never happened.
Henry, I must be like you. When Kevin said he had 14 beers in one day, I thought that even though I love beer, if I had that much I wouldn't remember where I was. I guess that some of those Mardi Gras days, I may have come close to having that much. At Mardi Gras, drinking a lot is always an issue unless you can find a bathroom nearby.
Tim, you're not alone. I had the same issue looking at Ed's picture and the third rail. It took me a minute to realize it wasn't some kind of track with a cog system or something.
I hope everyone has a good day. I'll check back when we get back from the snow-covered cemetery.
When I was a kid in the 1950s, I rode this train from Nebraska to the west coast:
John. I'll make a special batch of Apple Turnovers for you.
Tonite it is Turmeric Cod with Curried Lentils. A side of Pickled Carrot.
A Mixed Fruit Salad with Strawberry Yoghurt and Whipped Cream.
Before that it is time some trains were run.
Stay Safe
York1Ed, I've lost track. Where is the diner headed next?
Saddle-up folks.
We're headed east on the WABASH out of Omaha - Council Bluffs, on a train only known as #214. Our destination is beautiful St. Louis, Missouri. (Be warned, Ken!)
I hear they're building a big arch there. Looks like a place where a giant leash could be attached to the Earth and bounced around like a game of tether-ball?
Gateway_June-1965 by Edmund, on Flickr
Wabash by Edmund, on Flickr
Wabash City of St. Louis by NAPM Model Railroad Club, on Flickr
Here's one for the modelers! Not enough room on the layout for that new depot kit ya' got? Just perch it over the tracks:
Negative 44367 Wabash RR St Louis Mo Delmar Blvd Depot 001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Wabash at Delmar Blvd., St. Louis.
MP, St. Louis, Missouri, 1959 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
"Oh, LOOK, Mike! It's the Bluebird! Oh, Mike, it's a beautiful train..."
We'll arrive in Saint Looie at 8:00 tonight.
I hope everyone is getting along OK.
Cheers, Ed
gmpullman Looks like a place where a giant leash could be attached to the Earth and bounced around like a game of tether-ball?
Or maybe where the Xingozian Empire will attach the tow chain to drag us back to their galaxy.
It is in the low 80s outside, and my air conditioner has been running quite a bit in the last 24 hours. This is the first time it has been really running since I finished all the ceilings.
As part of that project, I replaced all of the air conditioning registers with new. The old ones were over 30 years old.
The old ones all rattled when the A/C was running, but the new ones are tight and don't make any noise at all.
This is interesting, because now I can hear the air rushing through the system. It sounds just like running water. Every time the air conditioner kicks on I think I hear a faucet in another room. This is surprisingly irritating.
Also, the air handler unit makes a low rumbling sound that I was never able to hear before. This sounds a lot like a hot-rod idling outside. Another irritating noise I was not aware of before.
This is going to take some getting used to. At least the house is a nice comfortable 74 degrees indoors. It is just too darned hot outside this time of year.
SeeYou190Also, the air handler unit makes a low rumbling sound that I was never able to hear before.
Maybe a buildup of construction dust throwing the squirrel cage off balance? I've come across this before. A little humidity, fine gypsum dust that gets past the filter and it will cling to the fan and make noise.
Just a thought?
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanMaybe a buildup of construction dust throwing the squirrel cage off balance? I've come across this before. A little humidity, fine gypsum dust that gets past the filter and it will cling to the fan and make noise. Just a thought?
That sounds very plausible.
I should get the whole system a good cleaning once the remodel is complete. I am sure it will need it.
If it still annoys you after all the cleaning, loosen the register screws back up. At least it will sound normal then.
GMTRacing If it still annoys you after all the cleaning, loosen the register screws back up. At least it will sound normal then.
Your solution is better than mine. I was going to suggest to turn the TV real loud.
I replaced my motherboard and processor and I am up and running! Windows didn't even question the new hardware.
I got an Alumni newsletter that blew me away. Usually the only things of interest are Obituaries, have to make sure my name is not there, and Class Notes which are a couple people I didn't know well, announcing they have retired but their kid or grandkid decided to be doctors.
This time there was a 2 page feature on a surgeon I worked with for 25 years. He is Cuban American and I knew his family lost big time when Castro came to power. I did not know he landed at the Bay of Pigs and was sent to prison for 2 years, until the US paid the ransom.
I never asked and he never said. I scanned the article and sent it to our retired physcian group and almost no one else knew either.
He was a nice guy, a good surgeon and not full of himself, like many surgeons are. We are proud of Juan.
Juan and myself and my wife's obstetrician were all alumni of the same college and med school. Juan was 7 years ahead of myself and Ed. Ed and I got to break the cycle where I called him up with good news, rather than us exchanging tales of who died or is dying. A refreshing change of pace.
SeeYou190 gmpullman Looks like a place where a giant leash could be attached to the Earth and bounced around like a game of tether-ball? Or maybe where the Xingozian Empire will attach the tow chain to drag us back to their galaxy. It is in the low 80s outside, and my air conditioner has been running quite a bit in the last 24 hours. This is the first time it has been really running since I finished all the ceilings. As part of that project, I replaced all of the air conditioning registers with new. The old ones were over 30 years old. The old ones all rattled when the A/C was running, but the new ones are tight and don't make any noise at all. This is interesting, because now I can hear the air rushing through the system. It sounds just like running water. Every time the air conditioner kicks on I think I hear a faucet in another room. This is surprisingly irritating. Also, the air handler unit makes a low rumbling sound that I was never able to hear before. This sounds a lot like a hot-rod idling outside. Another irritating noise I was not aware of before. This is going to take some getting used to. At least the house is a nice comfortable 74 degrees indoors. It is just too darned hot outside this time of year. -Kevin
Yeah but you don't have Frosty the Snowman down there Kevin Me and the Canadians do up here
And with that I'm definitely on top. Let me buy all you very fine people a beer!
And a shot of Ice Hole while we're fishing on the frozen lakes up here eh!
Huh!
Those aren't perch in there and they definitely are not bullheads, I guess they are Minnesota Walleyes!
Ding ding ding ding ding
Today was a productive day. I finished all the detail and trim work on the back bedroom. The final coat of spackle and caulk are on everything. I think tomorrow I can prime the trim and then get to the final painting.
When I do the next room, I will put up all the trim before I paint. I feel like I am doing everything over again.
I am very tired for some reason. I might hit the rack before 5:00 AM tonight.
Top of the day to ya! A bit groggy here (how could anyone really tell). Must be one of those days fixin to happen. Odd though from an outside point of view, its a tad warm for these parts.... in the higher 40f's and clear. A halfmast humbug will suffice.
Ed) Absolutely loved the post on the Wuh-Bash! And you know my penchant for E's and F's. Nicely done.
John York) I had to detrain and entertain company a few days. So ofcourse i lost money! We had a good weekend, and im back in time to catch us at Oh-Ma-Haa.
Hobby front) Git yerself sitch-icated comfy like, Im about to pull a TF. And i have a good head of steam!
Now we all know theres no cure for Railfans Disease (thank goodness!). But it think i have the cure for 'rivet counters'. Not that i would want such a thang. I found the cure accidentally last night.
Now, I myself, am one such kinda person.... while i actually dont count rivets i really do like my models to look like the real thang did. I mean afterall, whats the purpose, right?
So im working on yet ANOTHER project. This ones a doozy! It has everything. Rivets, windows, trim, etc etc. Which translates to ultimate minute parts, 'printing to air', and printing in a plane (vertical) which isnt normal (for what i do) for a one piece shell.
Drawing 15 windows, not really a problem. Rolling the curve of a Pullman Clerestory roof in 3 directions at the same time, now your getting warm. But to have to put 1500 rivets on the side of a passenger car...... my dog just had kittens.
I never really realized how many there were. To wit, its only a 55' car not and 80'! Each rivet has to be placed manually. Sure i can copy and paste, but only so many. And in a drawing program, the program doesnt always see your pasting event like a text program would plain text. So your stuck the hard way.
So, if anyones wants to be cured of the rivet counting, let him draw! From now on, im just gonna look down and shake my head when its mentioned. The irony (if any) of this is... i was thinking it was gonna be hard on the printer to print such a tiny thing. HAH! Lil did i know.
I actually stopped working after about 500 or so. I wonder if im cured? I really hope not, theres another side to do after this one.
Have a great night folks!
A#1 North!
Hi folks!
Thanks to all of you who have expressed your support during my medical issues!!! You have no idea how much your support means to me! I would love to be able to respond to each of you individually but that just isn't going to happen. Sorry.
Please bear with me because my mind is still a bit muddled from the pain killers, so if I repeat myself you can blame it on the big drug companies.
I have decided that the pain in my shoulder from the torn tendons is far more tolerable than the crazy halucinations and the total inability to think straight that the medications have caused. I haven't taken any pain killers since Sunday and I am feeling much better. I am still having a bit of trouble thinking straight but my balance has improved enormously. I still have shoulder pain but if I don't move my shoulder too much then I can avoid it.
Take care everyone!
Cheers!!
Dave
FYI, I'm not even going to try working on the layout until all of this is over and I have my sanity intact. Your patience is appreciated.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!