York1“Autopilot and full self-driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.”
Yep!!! And the car will let you know in no uncertain terms when you need to "take over"! Lights flash, loud warnings, and beeps, etc! It does auto correct for most everything, but the dirver is still supposed to sit in the "driver's seat" and pay attention to what is happening at all times. That accident that has made all the news recently makes me wonder what the people were smoking in the back seat.....??? LOL There is no cure for stupidity!
As far as the batteries and fire? Most people drive around next to 30 or more gallons of pure explosive in their vehicles (gasoline). When I was a Boy Scout Camp Director part of my Camp School Training was to realize that one cup of gasoline has enough explosive power to lift a one ton weight one mile straight up in the air. Nobody seems to have a problem with that though. (Never use gasoline to start a fire. Never!)
just my
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Kevin you have dinosaurs running around in Florida
https://nypost.com/2021/04/18/florida-woman-thinks-she-saw-baby-dinosaur-in-her-backyard/
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Good morning all.
Flo - A couple of those yummy looking freshly made glazed doughnuts, and a glass of milk please. (Nope. Still don't like coffee. I ask for that, you know my asthma is acting up.) Thanks.
John (York) & Others - Until I can get a stellar photo to prove otherwise, an light color (light morph is the term I think?) Northern Goshawk is what I am going with. The red eye description nails that part, and the size being larger than a Red-tail hawk fits. (My last photo attempt, while still slightly out of focus, shows definitively that he has red eyes.)
Between him, the Bald Eagle family, and the black bear, the capturing (exciting) wildlife on camera but has been striking out lately. (I see one of them, go into the next room to grab my camera, come back and they've moved either out of range, or in the case of the Eagles and/or Hawk they're no longer in sight due to the fact they were in flight already...)
Trains - Assembled a old Walthers covered hopper yesterday, finishing an old Funnel-Flow tank car today. Both will get a dull coat to seal (and give tooth) before a treatment of PanPastels, washes, and colored pencils, before another dull coat to seal, for weathering effects. (Bit the bullet on AK Weathering Pencils, the control on them is a neat characteristic that got me curious. I had used other colored pencils on some effects before, but the softer lead seems to work a bit better for certain effects.)
But the dull coat will have to wait until the winter weather decides to leave again. (I have a pair of Hopper cars ready for a final color coat too...)
Ed - You bought a new JD, and we just got the mower deck reattached on ours. Now, my area's weather forecast is calling for 6-12" of snow... Just pulled the plow blade off the ATV too.... So I think I'm kinda partially to blame for the weather. (Kinda like summer, you want rain? Wash the car. Works every time.)
Remodel is looking like a finish date of mid-late June, then I can get to building the new, improved (bigger too!) layout. Settled on a 12X12 L shaped layout, with a staging connection off the right side. I'm going for loop style that will support both continuous and point-to-point style operation, with a Frac-Sand trans-loading facility, cold storage warehouse, and a small interchange yard on the main section. Staging yard will support further ops, but will not be permanent due to access issues. (Unless I can figure out a way around it. If I can't, semi-permanent removable feature.)
Current ops plan is switching style, with the option of a through freight on the loop. (Hidden back behind a tree lined small hill, with a passing siding to allow for "elsewhere deliveries" by the local, and optional "through freight" meeting location.
Allotted space should allow for a decently sized 28" minimum radii, with "visible" higher where possible. (Not enough for a full sized 2-10-2, but I run diesels mostly.) Full-length passenger, auto racks, etc... will be tight, but on a 12X12 L, those cars won't dominate the layout plan anyways. (Even a "Pike-sized" passenger train would take up a humongous chuck of main line.)
Hope all are well, including our missing group, and everyone enjoy the day!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Steam to Mallaig
Wintertime
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 sunny day here in the land of the former North British Railway.
I hope those missing - Ken, Lion, Rob and others are okay and check-in soon.
Our first film is of the Deerstalker Caledonian Sleeper Train.
Our next film is 'The Royal Scotsman' By special permission the Diner is at the front of the train.
SeeYou190Dave is 100% correct, it is for a gas line.
Hi Kevin,
I am really surprised that the gas line is only a few inches under the surface. To me, that is just inviting disaster. Our gas lines are at least four feet below the surface, but that is because the ground freezes almost down to that level in the winter. If the gas lines were any closer to the surface the frost would eventually heave them out of the ground when the ground is thawing in the spring. Frost heaving up here is an anual nasty occurance. Many of our secondary roads get really bumpy and lots of people suffer driveway problems.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
SeeYou190 It is alligator mating season, so for a few weeks they are wandering out-and-about much more than usual.
Also known as Spring Break II
A timeless pose:
BN, Belton, Montana, 1970 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good Morning,
Seems strange to be saying that but it is 12:01 here.
I too was just wondering about Ken, Rob and Lion. Thanks to Ed we know Ken is home recuperating from a hospital stay. Hope he reports in soon. I just hope Rob's treatments are going ok. Maybe Lion has computer problems or perhaps thry ran out if wildebeest meat at the abbey. Anyway we do worry.
Off to the vet again for a follow up on Robbie's eye. The meds seem to have worked.
My wife is supposed to go for her first cocid shot on Sunday. She is terrified of getting covid at the vaccination place with the large number of people there. I hope she can conquer her anxiety to go. If not I will try to get her to go to our doc's office as she can get the Astrazenica shot there.
Time for sleep.
CN Charlie
Heartland Division CB&QKevin .... Looking at your picture, I wonder if Publix had Gatorade on sale
That picture is from the local NBC station. It is alligator mating season, so for a few weeks they are wandering out-and-about much more than usual.
Heartland Division CB&QI'm concerned we have not seen Ken, Lion, or Rob in the Diner lately. Has anybody heard from any of them.
Motley (Michael) has also been missing for a few months.
I am concerned for our missing friends.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good evening, everybody ...
John York 1 ..... This morning's cinnamon roll looked very good.
Kevin .... Looking at your picture, I wonder if Publix had Gatorade on sale .
Ed .... I have seen that photo by Jim Pearson of the CSX train crossing over the flooded Ohio River. It is between Evansville, IN and Henderson, KY. The picture was taken with a drone, The train is on approach spans just before getting on the big bridge over the Ohio River. Jim Pearson is a photographer living in western Kentucky.
MIA's .... I'm concerned we have not seen Ken, Lion, or Rob in the Diner lately. Has anybody heard from any of them.
..
Not much model railroading to report. I have been getting the boat and dock ready for boating season. If all goes well, I will have the boat in the water tomorrow afternoon.
Everybody: ..... Have a good night !
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good evening diners.
I got an early start this morning, and filled in the trench from yesterday.
Then it began raining.
I made detialed lists of many of the supplies I will need for projects in progress. My wife and I took off to find them. We had to go to four stores to come up with ten 1 1/2" 90 degree PVC schedule 40 elbows. Other parts were out of stock here and there, but we got everything I need,
This was the first time we spent anytime out shopping since we got the first shot. It seemed like A LOT MORE people were wearing masks. In a couple of stores, 100% of people were masked. I found that amazing.
Good thing we did not go to Publix today:
I now have everything I need to make some real progress outside... looking forward to sharing some pictures of completed projects soon.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Tesla consistently warns drivers that the cars are not autonomous. Tesla's agreement with its buyers state, “Autopilot and full self-driving capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment.”
York1 John
That's the one. According to Houston.com the driver backed out of the driveway, jumped in the backseat and they made it a couple hundred yards before burning for 4 hours and 35,000 gallons of water courtesy of the fire department.
There will be a time when there is a mixture of electronic self driving cars and the rest of us, who may be on our cell phones, stoned, drunk or just misjudge and there will be wrecks and fires which will bring traffic to a standstill for hours.
I don't understand battery technology, but I remember from chemistry; water and lithium mix poorly.
BigDaddy if you think it's a good idea to go for a ride by jumping in the back seat of your TSLA and trusting Elon, it's a free country.
You must have been refering to this?
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56799749
When I first heard of these autonomous cars (maybe the 1953 Popular Mechanics?) I thought "who in their right mind..."
Still, the deep thinkers are still pushing forward with it. Go figure.
Pre-Tesla by Edmund, on Flickr
The big difference seems to be the occupants are engaged in a hearty round of Bridge instead of having their faces planted in an iPad thingy.
My wife visited her sister back in Maryland last week. Her BIL stayed in his room because he had "hay fever" He is anti-vaxer and has since been admitted to the hospital with out of control diabetes and Covid.
She has antibodies from the vaccine so we are not particularly worried. Her doctor said she didn't need to quarantine so I guess he doesn't believe vaccinated people are carriers.
Her sister lost here sense of smell for 9 months, it came back, left and came back again.
As far as the BIL, if you think it's a good idea to go for a ride by jumping in the back seat of your TSLA and trusting Elon, it's a free country. It all seems the same to me.
Thinking back to when I picked up the "riser kit" from the gas company, they showed me how to clean and dress the end of the tubing and "stab" it into the fitting of the riser pipe. This was my first encounter with what today are the "Sharkbite" fittings that have become so ubiquitous.
I recall talking to several other folks who have made gas line repairs where the "poly" tubing could be pushed into rusting and leaking black pipe to make a new service line into a home without much digging.
Water lines use a "curb key" to shut off underground valves. I'm not sure what the gas utilities use. When they were done tying my gas line, at the street, to the main there was no visible shutoff key anywhere that I found.
Good luck, Ed
gmpullmanMy mistake:
Polypropylene, polyethelyne, it is all plastic to me. I would never have guessed that plastic tubing with such thin walls was acceptable for buried natural gas lines.
I am learning so much, because all of this is brand new to me.
Should I just leave the line buried like it was, only 7 inches shorter? Should I plug it with something? Is it even safe not attached to anything?
At bare minimum I think I should find the shut-off valve, if there is one. There must be one somewhere.
So many questions.
SeeYou190Is that what the tubing I found is? Polypropylene?
My mistake: Polyethylene
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HOME-FLEX-Underground-3-4in-IPS-New-Install-Kit-1-3-4inx100ft-Pipe-2-3-4in-Couplers-2-3-4in-Meter-Risers-Gas-Line-Detection-18-429440-007/309182788
gmpullmanYes! That spring I was digging a trench (24" minimum here) and placing the 5/8 polypropylene tubing.
Is that what the tubing I found is? Polypropylene?
It has to have been there since 1989.
I cannot possibly explain what a shock this is to find a gas line in my yard. I would have been less surprised by a box of Spanish Dubloons! Residences just don't have gas service down here.
I wonder what is at the other end of that tube.
York1Isn't it supposed to be spring? Flowers, grass, rainbows?
It is Summer down here. So Hot!
It's all my fault for buying that new John Deere
44024_forecast by Edmund, on Flickr
Looks like I'll be spending more time in the train room
When I bought my first house in '78 it had oil heat. One of the first things I did was call the East Ohio Gas Company to ask if there was a gas line on the street.
Yes! That spring I was digging a trench (24" minimum here) and placing the 5/8 polypropylene tubing. The gas co. provided the riser pipe and meter bracket. Yes, I ran a #10 copper wire just above the plastic pipe for locating purposes. They have detectable warning tape these days.
All I needed was one working appliance to have the meter hung and service started. Back then I don't think the whole job ran me more than $300, including a used gas dryer for my "one working appliance".
I bought a gas conversion burner that bolted in place of the old oil burner in the Crane hot water boiler. I was sure glad to get that greasy old fuel-oil tank out of the basement.
Jim Pearson by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Post Hog!
Isn't it supposed to be spring? Flowers, grass, rainbows? I don't like our forecast for the next several hours:
moelarrycurly4 reclimed water is treated water from sewage plants . it can then be used for no-potable reasons, irrigation etc.
reclimed water is treated water from sewage plants . it can then be used for no-potable reasons, irrigation etc.
That's interesting. I've never lived in a place that had that. So the area has two separate water systems.
Out here, we sit on the Ogallala Aquifer, with about as much fresh water under our feet that we can possibly use. Our climate is fairly dry, but nearly all farmland is irrigated using this water. It's also clean water, so we don't need a water treatment plant.
The only problem we have is that there is a missile site west of our town that used cleaning chemicals in the silo. Some of that chemical got into the underground water. The government is watching the movement of that chemical. Sometime in the future, it's possible we will need to treat the water if that plume reaches our wells.
hon30critterHi Kevin, Are you on natural gas? If so, that wire is likely to be a locator line for the gas pipe.
Well, what do I know?
Dave is 100% correct, it is for a gas line.
I called the city today, and I live in one of the 1/10 of 1% of houses in Cape Coral that have natural gas service available. Of those 1 out of 1,000 houses, less than 5% of those houses have gas meters. My house was permitted for a gas meter when it was built in 1989, and the house was plumbed for natural gas, but a regulator was never installed on the house. My stove and dryer are both wired for electricity. I wonder if I will find another gas line when I pull down the drywall behind the dryer?
I cut the gas line when I dug the trench. It is circled in green in this picture.
I found the rest of the line in the dirt I dug up. It is only about 7 inches long, and it just ends. No plug or anything. It is just filled with dirt.
I never thought a gas line would look like this. It looks like a soaker garden hose. Also, it is only about 3 inches under the surface. I would think a gas line should be more substantial and buried deeper.
Now I know what that pipe was in my kitchen that was not attached to anything. My wife said it was a gas line, and I told her she was crazy. Now I owe her an appology.
Also, we really wanted a gas stove, but the cost, and ugliness, of adding a tank changed our minds. I wonder how much work would be involved to hook up the gas supply?
Also, where is the meter and/or shut off valve? It is obviously turned off right now. Is this in my yard somewhere buried under 32 years of grass lawn growth?
Where is the gas main? I contacted the "Call Before You Dig" people years ago when I was doing yard work, and they said there were no utilites in my yard except for the water mains that run directy to the main pipes underneath the road.
Oh boy...
York1I'm unfamiliar with reclaimed water systems. We don't have those here. What are they and how do they work?
moelarrycurly4Reclaimed water is treated water from sewage plants. It can then be used for non-potable reasons, irrigation etc.
Reclaimed water is the greatest thing ever! For $17.00 per month we can water our lawns all that we need to.
The City Of Cape Coral, back in the 1990s and 2000s, installed an entire new water/reclaimed water/sewage system in the entire city.
The reclaimed water system fills up during the day, then we can water at night. The pressure in the system is regulated based on water available. In drought times there is regulations on when watering can be done, but we have been flush with water for the last few years.
Reclaimed water comes from the sewage treatment plant, storm water run-off, and fresh water discharges from Lake Okeechobee.
The city is currently building another reservoir to make the reclaimed water system even better.
SeeYou190I am using 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe for the water flow lines. The city regulates how much water flows through the reclaimed system by lowering pressure as the reservoir gets lower, so the larger pipe will help the system work during low pressure times.
I'm unfamiliar with reclaimed water systems. We don't have those here. What are they and how do they work?
Edit: Top of the page! Lots of coffee and cinnamon rolls for everyone.
Track fiddlerMaybe chase it a little bit on both sides of the cut to see if it's continuous.
I don't think I cut the wire. The copper on the end does not look fresh, and I did not see another side of the wire.
Track fiddlerOur ground jumpers are clamped to the copper main coming in the house right above the cement slab up here. I'm not familiar with the methods in Florida though.
My ground wires are the same. They are clamped to a 3/4" grounding rod that is supposed to be at least ten feet long underground.
I doubt it is a ground wire for the house.
I also found another set of wires nearby, a yellow and black set, that I know went to the outdoor well pump. This lone white wire is about 18" from those and a larger gauge.
Good morning
Sandman sure has been getting me up early. 4:00 yesterday and 4:30 today.
Enjoyed our excursion on Loch Lomond over coffee this morning David. Nice music to wake up with. I like the sound of the name SS Walter Scott, it sounds Strong. I kept a look out for Nessie on our voyage even though I think she's in the other lake. Those Scotland Lakes sure are deep.
That could be some kind of grounding wire or possibly a relay of some kind Kevin. Low voltage relay wires don't need to be thick, unless they're buried underground they do. Or it could just be a wire scrap an electrician dropped that got buried when the front yard got graded. Maybe chase it a little bit on both sides of the cut to see if it's continuous. I would definitely wear a good pair of rubber gloves if you decide to repair it with a heat shrink splice for sure though.
Our ground jumpers are clamped to the copper main coming in the house right above the cement slab up here. I'm not familiar with the methods in Florida though.
Up here it's called Gopher State One Call before you dig. It's a free service and all the utility companies come out and mark all the utility lines.
One time I was working with my friend Mike doing some landscaping and he dug up a fiber optic phone main with the bobcat. It was a high-paying job but he went way backwards on that one.
Well, Judy's back to work so not a lot going on here. I think I'll put the popcorn on the ceiling repairs today and then continue with some more foam, maybe a bridge or something.
Have a great day gentleman
TF
As we are in and around Glasgow a film of Paddle Steamers etc. Some ships shown here (highlighted) I have traveled on.
PS Maid of the Loch was the last large paddle steamer built in the UK but has not sailed in over three decades.Constructed on the Clyde in 1953 at the A&J Inglis yard at Pointhouse she was dismantled and re-built at Balloch on Loch Lomond. From her home port of Balloch, the steamer sailed the length of Loch Lomond for the next 29 years. A decline in passenger numbers and various other cost pressures saw her laid up in 1981. Restoration efforts soon began and in 1992 she was bought by the local council before a charitable trust was formed to oversee the project. In September 2018 the Heritage Lottery Fund turned down the Maid for vital funding which would have seen her sailing again in 2019. The fight continues to return the Maid to service.
SS Sir Walter Scott is a small steamship that has provided pleasure cruises and a ferry service on Loch Katrine in the scenic Trossachs of Scotland for more than a century, and is the only surviving screw steamer in regular passenger service in Scotland. It is named after the writer Walter Scott. Denny's assembled Sir Walter Scott at their yard in 1899 and completed its reassembly and launch on the loch in 1900.
The PS Comet replica was built by local shipyard apprentices in 1961/2 to mark the 150th anniversary of the launch of the original PS Comet on 24th July 1812. On 2nd September 1962, she sailed under steam from Port Glasgow to Helensburgh (home of Henry Bell, owner of the original PS Comet) with a dozen local dignitaries on board.
SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra. She was launched on 16 March 1960, sponsored by Dame Pattie Menzies, GBE, wife of the then Prime Minister of Australia.
PS Caledonia was built by William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton for the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. She was launched on Thursday 1 February 1934 and completed later that year. In 1939 she was converted to a minesweeper and renamed HMS Goatfell. Her wartime service continued after 1941 as an anti aircraft ship. In 1969 she was retired from service and sold for scrap. Saved by subsequent sale to Bass-Charrington, she served as a floating pub and restaurant named Old Caledonia on the Victoria Embankment of the River Thames. Badly damaged by fire in 1980, she was beyond economic repair and was scrapped in July 1980 at Milton Creek on The Swale near Sittingbourne, Kent. Caledonia’s engines were saved and are preserved at the Hollycombe Steam collection near Liphook, Hampshire.
MV Cowal was a hoist-loading vehicle ferry introduced by Caledonian Steam Packet Company in 1954. She spent the whole of her 24 years with Caledonian MacBrayne on the Upper Clyde crossings. MV Cowal was the second of a trio of vehicle vessels ordered in 1951 to modernise the Clyde fleet. Three "general purpose" vessels were planned for the Clyde routes of their names,MV Arran,MV Bute and MV Cowal. Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Cowal was launched at Troon on 20 January 1954. Cowal was the last vessel to receive the new CalMac livery, retaining the vivid CSP yellow funnel until 1974.After 24 years' service, she was laid up in East India Harbour, Greenock from early June 1977.
Clyde Hover Ferries operated a hovercraft ferry service connecting Rothesay with locations such as Wemyss Bay,Gourock,Dunoon,Millport,Tarbert and Largs. The Largs service was terminated when the local council decided they had the right to impose a charge for the hovercraft's use of the shore. A service to Helensburgh never materialised, as a suitable landing area was not available.The service was only to last from 1965 to 1966.
RMS Queen Elizabeth was constructed in the mid-1930s by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, the build was known as Hull 552. Launched on 27 September 1938, she was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth, then Queen Consort to King George VI, who became the Queen Mother in 1952. She has the distinction of being the largest-ever riveted ship by gross tonnage. She first entered service in February 1940 as a troopship in World War II, and it was not until October 1946 that she served in her intended role as an ocean liner.Finally the Elizabeth was sold to Hong Kong businessman Tung Chao Yung, who intended to convert her into a floating university cruise ship now called the Seawise University. In 1972, while undergoing refurbishment in Hong Kong harbour, fire broke out aboard under unexplained circumstances and the ship was capsized by the water used to fight the fire. In 1973, the wreck was deemed an obstruction to shipping in the area, and so was partially scrapped where she lay.
SeeYou190Nope, there is no natural gas in any residential area of Cape Coral.
I still think that the wire must be there for a purpose. Perhaps it is intended to trace some other service line. In any case I wouldn't remove it.
Good morning all. A sunny day here in the U.K..
I am exhausted looking at the pictures Kevin has posted.
We are back on former North British Railway metals.
The Charm (to me) of Helensburgh Central.
Colas Rail Freight Class 37s No. 37025 and 37254 arrive and departs Helensburgh Central while working 1Q80 1556 Mossend to Mossend PLPR Test Train
Memories of Helensburgh
Trains at Helensburgh Upper Station. The West Highland Line to Fort William.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require