Good evening all. Had members of the family visiting throughout the day. Lovely to see them even though they could not come into the house. We can get fined if they entered. Roll on the end of Covid.
A 'Picky Supper' tonite. Pizza, Chinese Spring Rolls, Samosas and other bits and pieces.
Stay Safe everyone.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
GMTRacingGot it John - my misconception. I just assumed you were having the same issues we are here. The up side is we now E-mail invoices and more and more of our clients are choosing to pay on line.
Yeah, we're a little different out here. It would be impossible for UPS or FedEx to deliver to each house -- with some houses five, ten, or even 20 miles from a paved road or other houses, they would spend all day driving to make just a couple of deliveries.
One good thing for us that may not be good for most people:
Our little town has a sales tax. For years, when people shopped online, there was no tax. Our local businesses, who support the school, charities, and other local entities, always complained that this was unfair. They were not only paying property taxes, but felt they were at a business disadvantage to non-taxed online retailers.
With the new laws requiring sales tax on online purchases, our little town has gotten in quite a bit of money that had gone elsewhere over the years.
I know it's a pain for online retailers, and I have never, ever, been in favor of paying more taxes, but in this case, I guess I agree with our local businesses...
York1 John
Got it John - my misconception. I just assumed you were having the same issues we are here. The up side is we now E-mail invoices and more and more of our clients are choosing to pay on line. With so much online shopping now my guess is a lot of facilities are just overwhelmed.
GMTRacingKevin I liked your article in Model Railroader (the postal service finally got finished browsing through mine and delivered it). I was interested to see how they had edited the photo compared to your original concept. Unfortunately my lift out has a curve in it. Does your brain trust think a super conductive magnet would generate enough force to bend the beam and make the curve?
I am sure a curve could be made.
My original concept was much longer. Probably a full page, and I also started building a prop to represent the machine.
After reading it a few times, I saw it was way too long for a humorous article, so I cut most of the jokes out of the copy and greatly reduced the background information before I sent it in.
The MR staff only made a couple minor changes to the copy, so I guess I cut the right amount out before submission.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
GMTRacingI agree, especially after the management change last year, USPS delivery schedules have gone all wonky. I end up getting everything i need for the shop shipped DHL if it from overseas and Fed Ex or UPS here in the states. J.R.
Our problem out here is not with the post office, it's with UPS. UPS doesn't deliver to our small town -- they get it to Kansas City or Omaha, and then they have the post office deliver it to us.
If UPS would just get the package to Post Office, I'd get it much quicker. Right now it's been sitting in a UPS building for several days, waiting to go to the Post Office.
Once it gets into the Post Office system in Kansas City, I will have it the next day.
Nice pic John. I agree, especially after the management change last year, USPS delivery schedules have gone all wonky. I end up getting everything i need for the shop shipped DHL if it from overseas and Fed Ex or UPS here in the states. J.R.
Good morning. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please. Since we're in a dining car, do I need to write that down?
After change after change, I finally got my plane reservations nailed down for next week. I can't believe how difficult it was to navigate the airlines' changes of flights and times over a four-week period. I think part of it is where I live. We have planes flying over us, not taking off from here!
I'm feeling better this morning. Yesterday I got the post-second-vaccination ill feelings. It was almost like a dark cloud over me last night. I guess it's worth it to now feel protected from this stupid virus.
Another day with nothing to do. I'm waiting on a cord for my Arduino nano. UPS got it from New Jersey to Kansas City in 12 hours, but it has now been in Kansas City's UPS building for four days. It aggravates me because it will now go to the Post Office and the USPS will deliver it to our town. If only I could get UPS to take my little package, walk it out the door and drop it in a mailbox, I would get it Monday.
I don't remember where this was, but I'm pretty sure I took this picture out the window of the Southern Crescent in Mississippi.
Good Morning All,
23F (-3C) overcast with light flurries this morning. We are due for high winds later. I'll have a regular and a short stack of blueberry pancakes Flo. I hid some blueberry jam in the back last month on our trip through Maine so I'll have that instead of the usual maple syrup please.
More truck/trailer work today. I need to replace the rear cap door on the F350 dually crew cab as it is being put back in service in a little over a week. Then install a gen set in the Featherlite tag trailer that will be hooked to it. We normally use the 24' matching grey paint tag with the crew cab but it needs more attention than I want to give just now. I am thinking it will be a good time to get rid of it as it has been abused and wasn't much good to begin with.
I like the bathroom renovations. I need to consider all the hand rails as well as both the CFO and I are getting to the point where they would be useful (and no cracks about us being unbalanced please).
Kevin I liked your article in Model Railroader (the postal service finally got finished browsing through mine and delivered it). I was interested to see how they had edited the photo compared to your original concept. Unfortunately my lift out has a curve in it. Does your brain trust think a super conductive magnet would generate enough force to bend the beam and make the curve?
070 by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr" alt="Lockeport lighthouse" />
Time to get after it - the truck was plugged in overnight so it should fire right up. Toodles, J.R.
Good morning
Managed to sleep a little later this morning. The cardinal woke me up with the sunrise. He sure sounded happy. A little later over coffee I heard his answer. He must have lured in his female already. And then it got quiet. I'm sure looking forward to Spring and All the birds singing again. It puts a smile on your face
We've had a nice streak of near 50° for almost a week here. Good flannel weather when I take a project break and get out there. Low 60's Sunday. Nice!
I like the painting. Good to hear Ken's doing fine. I noticed he's been a bit scarce lately along with the Lion and SaronaTerry hasn't dropped by for his occasional visit for quite a while. How ya been Terry? What's new?
Don't even know what I'm going to do yet today. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
The world is a beautiful place
Have a great day gentleman
TF
NorthBritI know we clean the track and wheels of our locomotives, but the poor carriages and trucks tend to be neglected. I have been cleaning them and making them 'look smart' again.
I'll do that on a random sampling basis. I'm amazed that certain cars seem to be exceptionally prone to building up lots of black gunk while others seem to stay spotless. I recently began picking up cars of my Capitol Limited train, fourteen cars. All Walthers cars and these pretty much run together so they all traverse the same track and in the same configuration.
On nearly every car the left front wheel and right rear wheel were caked with crud while the other six wheels were perfectly clean!
One of the quandaries in life.
I hope everyone is well these days. Had a nice chat with Ken last night He's doing fine.
I have a large framed print of this Norman Rockwell painting in my quarters.
NYC_Diner_Rockwell by Edmund, on Flickr
December 7, 1946
The New York Central had provided a dining car from the 20th Century Limited but Mr. Rockwell decided it was too modern-looking and asked if they could find an older one. This is the result, a car from the Lakeshore Limited. His 10 year-old son, Peter, posed for the painting.
Regards, Ed
Good morning all. A grand looking day with the sun shining.
I know we clean the track and wheels of our locomotives, but the poor carriages and trucks tend to be neglected. I have been cleaning mine and making them 'look smart' again. Just a few more to do.
Coffee time. Muffins on the table.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
SeeYou190 My wife and I were playing the board game Twilight Imperium tonight. After four hours, and a tight game I got up to get a drink, and I bumped the table. Everything moved, and we could not continue the game. -Kevin
My wife and I were playing the board game Twilight Imperium tonight. After four hours, and a tight game I got up to get a drink, and I bumped the table. Everything moved, and we could not continue the game.
Now where have I heard that before when one is losing?
Oh well. We'll do something different tomorrow night.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
If you're bored with your Saturday Morning cartoons —
There's this:
Waiting for the warming trend. Mid-forties next week!
gmpullman In the Video, who made those Burlington commuter bi-level cars at 4:25?
In the Video, who made those Burlington commuter bi-level cars at 4:25?
SeeYou190Until Today, now they are pushing me to adopt a teenager...
Teen by Edmund, on Flickr
Thanks for the "Pop" Kevin.
I dug to the bottom and found a Diet Coke
The weathering on those Road-Railer cars (trailers) was perfect!
Cheers, Ed
Post Hog! Post Hog!
Hey! I just stopped back to show you my good findings.
The next time you have a hankering for some good ice cream, grab yourself a tub of this
Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Weren't we all just talking about stealing cookie dough out of the kitchen while your wife's making cookies and she gets mad? Now you won't have to do that anymore
It is kind of dangerous though. I just purchased my fourth tub in not too long of a time span. I just can't quit eating it once I start. Hopefully you guys have a little better moderation threshold than I do
I think I'm turning into some kind of ice cream - cookie dough Junkie. I need to mellow out with this stuff or I'm going to get gout again
It has been a while since the bottom pop-up ads on this site were funny. Lately they have been all about model building and hobbies.
Until Today, now they are pushing me to adopt a teenager...
Um...
NO!
How in the world did that ad get targetted to me?
I've always liked the piano man John. I somehow was never fortunate enough to get to one of his concerts but I do have all his music in my rows of CDs.
Looks like a great start on the bathroom Ed Good call! I think you'd be surprised how many contractors get ahead of themselves and forget to put the backer boards in. Not me! There's a way to do things after it's forgotten but it certainly makes things more difficult. The finished picture of your bathroom looks great as well Kevin. I remember your "blood, sweat and tears" removing that other tile from the cement slab last year. What a job!
Loved the Open Run Night video. Sure was a wide variety of locomotives on that layout. My favorite was the two Green Machines with the Sky Blue in between. I think I remember seeing a string of Burlington Hiawatha Passenger cars too
It's a great Friday night! I hope everyone's having one as well
Kevin, nice work on the bathroom.
TF, I saw Billy Joel in concert at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in 1984 or thereabouts. Of course, everyone waited for The Piano Man, so that was one of the last songs he played.
Its seven O-clock on a Friday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's a couple of guys on transformers
Operating the layout again
Sing me a song your a railroad man
Sing me a song tonight
Cause were all in the mood for our Train Club
And the clickety clack gets us feeling alright
La de de de la la la
La de de de La
Sing us a song You're a railroad man
Sing us a song tonight
Cuz we're all done for the day at the Roundhouse.
The Locomotives bolts are all tight.
gmpullmanI added those 2 x 8s as a place to anchor the assist grab bars, plus a vertical 2 x 6 on the upright at the left.
Great addition to the bathroom.
I added four grab bars to my bathroom, all anchored into new reenforced 2 by 6's. All the grab bars (and believe it or not, the towel bars) will hold my weight.
I feel much safer in there, and my wife and I will never be any younger.
I also opted for no mosaics or accent tiles. Basic is good enough, and I do not like anything "busy". The back porch (lanai) is the only place where anything is added for accent.
There are only three grab bars in this picture. A fourth one was added vertically on the right wall.
I am having an ice cold Diet Pepsi. Feel free top grab one for yourself.
gmpullmanFriday night and the regular crowd shuffles in —
And I'll have a tonic and gin....
My idea for leg gussets won't work. The leg and the joist are in the same plane, meaning a only gusset of 0" thickness would work. That exists in geometry but not in carpentry.
3 days of sun, Wednesday and Thursday were 57 today was cold. Next Thursday is forecast to be 68! We still have some snow next to the house.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
gmpullmanThe tile is pretty basic ceramic.
When we were planning our bathroom reno a few years ago we were having a hard time deciding on which tile to use. Dianne's brother suggested that we look into faux marble instead. What we ended up with is a walk in shower that looks like marble and is super easy to keep clean. There are only four wall panels plus the floor basin. There are no grout lines. The joints between the panels are caulked and so far the caulking has stayed perfectly clean with minimal effort. If it does get dirty it can easily be replaced. The cost was about double that of a tile job but worth every penny AFAIC.
My only caution would be that, unless you have experience with similar installations, you should hire someone who knows how to fit the panels and the base properly. The workmanship on ours was amazing. My brother had a similar system installed and the amateurs who did the job totally botched it.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Friday night and the regular crowd shuffles in —
Track fiddlerIt would be interesting to see the ceramic tile you chose Ed. As you said, Menards sure has a lot to choose from.
Well, it is just a plain ol' tub surround, TF. I stripped out the molded plastic one that survived raising two kids (drywall was perfectly fine underneath so there wasn't any water problems).
I put up Hardie Cement board, sealed that with the Red Guard, built the "niche" rather than pay $80 for a "prefab" job.
The tile is pretty basic ceramic. I wanted to stay with a simple color as the porcelain on cast iron tub is still in good shape (beige) and the existing wall tile I put in around the rest of the bathroom is still good (almond) so when I went to find the color for the surround we chose "bisque" which is what I guess they call the latest trend in tan-colors.
Yeah, you can go crazy with all the mosaics and accent pieces. Sometimes that can get a little, shall we say, busy?
Here's what I had after I stripped the drywall off:
IMG_1412 by Edmund, on Flickr
I added those 2 x 8s as a place to anchor the assist grab bars, plus a vertical 2 x 6 on the upright at the left. Nothing fancy. I did fully insulate the walls of the surround. Mainly to act as a sound deadener.
I was big into N scale back in the late '90s — 2000s. A friend of mine asked me to install Microtrains couplers in his Kato F-3s A-B-B-A set. It took me hours to do each one! . I gave all my N scale stuff to my older son. as far as I know it is still sitting in boxes on his damp basement floor
Here's a video of an open run night at the North American Prototype Modelers layout. If THIS doesn't inspire you to keep working on your layout, nothing will
Hello Railfans!
Top of the day to yas!
Critter Dave) Yeah i guess 5 days is about right so as to hit the rest too. Your doin a great job but your fans want more!
Time relavance) As it seems above, 5 days have just flown by me like the 20th running 3hrs late. I ordered some parts just 2 days ago (evening of the 3rd). I wake up today and I have a msg about one part.... "Delivered". 1000 miles in 1.5 days? Yeah, i dont believe it either. So much so i didnt even go down to the PO (a mile away) to see if its true. So im wondering, did the sun flare and we hit a time warp or something - or am i just getting old?
"Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, ...into the future."
Have a great evening folks - im off to cause some dis-array somewhere.
Double Red over Green!
Douglas
NorthBrit N Gauge. Everything is too small and fiddly for me never mind changing couplings and losing springs!
N Gauge. Everything is too small and fiddly for me never mind changing couplings and losing springs!
I'll take the Spanish omelette with Melba toast for $.85 cents off the B&O Royal Blue menu please
The plan for today is to get my new hinges on the cabinet doors and get them installed. I never did find the right hinges I wanted at Menards or Home Depot. I ended up finding them at Rockler which is a fine woodworkers store up here. They had the exact hinges I was looking for but I had to dip into my pocket a bit.
After that I'm heading back to Menards to get the materials for the floor bases and four temporary shelves. I don't want to build all the slide-outs for it until it's nice outside.
It would be interesting to see the ceramic tile you chose Ed. As you said, Menards sure has a lot to choose from. Choosing the tile you prefer is like being a kid in a candy store with only one choice permitted. I'm hoping you'll share your progress with your tub surround I'm always interested in seeing a good project in progress
Good morning, diners.
I've got a sore arm, but that's about it after getting the second shot yesterday. My wife actually feels sick.
Herrinchoker, I wonder what the dog smelled that she thought would taste like food?
Here's a blurry picture of the dining car on Amtrak's City of New Orleans in 1989. Compare that with all the pictures we've seen of the dining cars in the 1950s. Makes me kind of wish for the good ol' days.
PM Railfan"What diner manufacturer should we do next?" Well brown grits n green gravy, are we done with Pullman already? I was hoping you were just getting wound up!
Hi Douglas,
Nothing says that we have to move on just yet, but I was thinking that five days in any one location would be enough. If anyone wants to contribute more Pullman stuff, feel free!