Heartland Division CB&QIt sounds like your upcoming trip will be a good one. I am see why you are excited.
I have put together the first ten days or so of the trip.
After this, I will high-tail it to Seattle for a weekend with my daughter.
On the way back I plan to spend time in Yosemite and Colorado. I will see what we can do. I would also like to spend one day in New Orleans if possible.
Lakefront hotels in the Upper Michigan Penninsula were only about $65.00 per night! A lousy interstate hotel in Lafayette, Indiana was $150.00.
The rental car is insanely expensive, $1,200.00 for the month. The last big road trip I made the car was only about $700.00 for a month. That is even the off-season in Florida. Ouch.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good evening .
Ed .... Thanks for checking on Ken. Regarding replacing his roof, he should compare with different roofing companies. That amount may be excessive. ... I certainly hope Ken finds his way back here soon.
Kevin ... It sounds like your upcoming trip will be a good one. I am see why you are excited.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
hon30critterHere is Cole hard at work:
Cole looks like a worker! The new steps look good.
hon30critterWe used 2 1/2" and 4" T25 #9 Torx screws and the bit only jumped once, and that was because it wasn't all the way into the screw head before Cole hit the power. The holes were not pre-drilled. I'm going to give all my long Robertson screws away and never use them again!
I agree, Torx drive tool with an impact driver is far superior to Robertson square drive. When the contractors used these on my new window framing I was sold on how well the system worked.
gmpullmanSo, he (KEN) says HI to all and, hopefully, he will check in sometime soon
Ed, thank you for this update. It is good to know our friend is OK.
A quick note before I start dinner —
I just got off the phone with Ken.
He's doing OK and has been juggling decisions about getting his roof fixed (almost $20K) or buying a much-needed car, his present one has a rotted out tranny cross-member, then the usual headaches at w**k.
So, all of this has left him not so much in the mood for socializing, plus he's having trouble getting Windows to run on his PC and learning how to use internet on his phone...
So, he says HI to all and, hopefully, he will check in sometime soon
EL, Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, 1970 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Right now I hear the filet mignon calling
Cheers, Ed
Howdy everybody.
Brent ... I read your post yesterday about your airport job. Interesting . It would be hard to retire from such a good job.
I recall when 747's were still somewhat new. They were sometimes used in US domestic flights . I had one flight on one on Northwest Airlines and it was only at about 20% of seats occupied.
BATMANJohn, lights on the shed require two solar lights with an app on the phone to turn them on and off.
My shed has power to it. When I built it, I buried a 240 line to it. I have a remote switch that I can wire in to switch the lights from the house. The problem is I didn't want to do it. But I will.
York1 John
When I was a kid the neighbour had a lighted switch stand that marked the end of his driveway. I always wanted to do that with my driveway but was not willing to pay the money the auction houses want for such things, one day I may get lucky in the price dept.
I got a GN brass Pacific at an auction for $30.00 bucks once, that was my best score. The auction was in Saskatchewan and they mailed it to me for $9.00.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANDave, do you live anywhere near St Thomas? I posted a link to RR auction that has some interesting stuff.
Hi Brent,
We are a little over 2 1/2 hours from St. Thomas. The auction looks interesting but I'm not really into railroading memorabilia. I do have a steam whistle but it came off of a steam tractor, not a locomotive. I also have a kerosene lantern that 'fell' off of a train near our farm in Barrie. The reason I put 'fell' in quotation marks is that I am pretty sure it was thrown deliberately. The wick is almost impossible to raise or lower. We used it at our cottage for years and I fondly remember the pain in my fingers from trying to adjust the thing.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave, the step is an improvement for sure for safety's sake alone. I can see your reflection in the glass supervising. Sure nice of Cole to do that for you. One thing my kid is not, is handy. A good athlete and super smart but I can't even imagine him doing something like Cole is doing.
Dave, do you live anywhere near St Thomas? I posted a link to RR auction that has some interesting stuff.
Kevin, when I traveled I just wanted to go at my own pace and find a hotel where ever I was at the end of the day. When I got together with my wife she needed to have everything booked in advance and that drove me nuts because I hate following a schedule. Now we move at our own pace because the wife just goes online and books the hotel wherever we are as we are heading down the highway. She admits we get a much better rate doing it last minute and is now fine with not booking in advance.
My daughters' cake recipe was open on the counter and I looked at the calories involved in my last night indulging. I burned 1500 calories instead of a 1000. It's roast lamb tonight and I will not be able to control myself. We are doing a huge lamb and are doing roast lamb dinner dropoffs to three sets of senior family members tonight. It's a favourite for them. Now my son has moved out I am back to being the delivery guy again. That's alright though, it gives me a chance to drive the new Highlander, the wife has been a Highlander hog.
gmpullmanWhere has Dave HOn3 Critter been?
Hi Ed,
Don't worry, I'm right here! I haven't been posting much since I haven't had a lot to say.
We are seeing lots of different birds in our backyard. Two days ago we had a Ruby Crowned Kinglet and a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. The Humming Birds are back. We have put out the grape jelly and half an orange for the Orioles which should be here any day. The rest of the usual crowd are hanging around.
We also put up a solitary bee house for Mason Bees and established a bare earth patch for Miner Bees. Most varieties of bees do not form hives. They live separate lives. They lay their eggs either in hollow reeds or in tunnels in the ground.
The rest of this is a lesson on solitary bee houses so skip it if you aren't interested.
The bee house is simply a square wooden box open on one end and stacked full of small cardboard tubes. The Mason Bees will lay an egg at the back of the tube, add a ball of pollen for the larva to feed on and then seal the larva in its own chamber with mud. Then they will lay another egg, add the pollen and seal the next larva in. They may lay up to eight eggs in one tube. The bees will hatch out in the spring.
Sounds simple but there are actually a few steps that should to be taken to protect the larva and maximize the reproduction rate. One step is to take the tubes out in the fall, open them up to remove the cocoons, and then wash the cocoons to get rid of any mites that are present. The mites will kill the larva. The larva are stored in a garden shed, or in your fridge (not in our house) until early spring. Then they are set out in the garden under a clay pot. As the bees emerge they will fly up out of the drainage hole.
You might ask why be (bee) bothered especially since solitary bees don't produce honey? Solitary bees are far more proficient at pollinating than Honey Bees.
If you are considering putting up a bee house, there is one important thing to note about the design. The tubes should be about 6" - 7" long. Most bee houses on the market are actually counterproductive because the tubes are too short. If the tubes are too short the bees do not lay female eggs, and obviously that is detrimental to the population. It also helps if the tubes are removable so they can be cleaned every year or two. Otherwise the tubes become contaminated and the larva won't survive.
If you want to attract Miner Bees that nest in the ground, just keep a couple of square feet of soil open in the garden and try not to let it dry out.
Having a water feature like a bird bath also helps.
There! That was more information on bees than you ever wanted! Aren't you sorry Ed asked where I had been!
hon30critterOur son Cole did a little construction project for us on Saturday. He changed the steps leading from our patio door down to the deck so that the first step is level with the floor inside. Previously the first step was below the threshold so when you went out the door you had to immediately step down about 7 1/2". When we put the new patio door in last year, the sill height increased by about 1" so stepping down to the first step became a bit of a stretch. Now with the floor inside and the step outside at the same level going out the door is very comfortable.
Here are the steps. You can see the original step (gray) under the top new step:
Here is Cole hard at work:
We used 2 1/2" and 4" T25 #9 Torx screws and the bit only jumped once, and that was because it wasn't all the way into the screw head before Cole hit the power. The holes were not pre-drilled. I'm going to give all my long Robertson screws away and never use them again!
Thanks Ed, How I love that D&H Livery & Crest. Paul
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".
WOW... I am planning my road trip for June, and prices for hotels have skyrocketed to prices that are higher than before the pandemic.
It looks like rooms are about $25.00 per night higher than when I made the trip out West in 2019.
Good morning from the cloudy West Coast.
I posted the link to a RR auction above and have my eye on a few things to decorate the trainroom bar area. Of course, the things I want so do others. Some lights I am keeping my eye on.
Plumbing is on the agenda today, need to change out a pipe running through the wall to the outside and put on a new tap. A result of the kitchen reno that I had not dealt with yet, but the wife needs to water the veggies.
John, lights on the shed require two solar lights with an app on the phone to turn them on and off. Speaking of apps the wife had to take a couple of the dogs somewhere yesterday and used an app on her phone to start the highlander and turn on the A/C to cool it down before she loaded them up. Our new appliances have wifi as well and when we are out on the back 40 the oven tells the wife when the prime rib is ready. It sure beats her running in to check on things every five minutes.
The kid dropped by for eggs benny yesterday and tuned up the computer he gave me. He gave me his super-powerful gaming computer as he is much too busy these days making money for sitting on his butt being unproductive, that's my job now. He reminds me of me at that age. He was hired on to be the educational coordinator rewriting all the outdated exams for the organization. He is now also communications director for the same organization as they fired the old one. He had given notice that he wanted half-time hours to pursue other things and they offered him 50% more money to stay full time. At 22 he is making big bucks and is house hunting which is something in the Vancouver area. He is well on his way, we did our job. His girlfriend is a super-brain and very athletic as well. She is 19 and taking second-year accounting and has just been given a promotion at a large multinational grocery store chain to the assistant store manager.
This computer is so fast it changes pages on the forum faster than my fingers can click. Kind of a waste but I'll take it.
Time for a quick half-hour on the bike to burn off some miss behaving on the dietary front yesterday. My daughters' cakes are to die for and so are her brownies.
I keep getting messages that I am way overdue for my annual lab work so I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and go in. I find it tough having to leave the house without a gallon of coffee onboard first.
All the best to all.
howmusIf you check out other photos at the page on Flickr, you will see my ugly mug a couple of times. I was working Trainman/Car Host that day.
I don't have any pictures of me running a locomotive, just pretending!
Hey Ed!
gmpullmanCareful with that throttle, Lehigh Lucy!
That old girl is one of my favorite ladies! Huh? Oh not the one at the throttle.... The loco herself! LV 211 is a beautiful old girl! BTW, If you check out other photos at the page on Flickr, you will see my ugly mug a couple of times. I was working Trainman/Car Host that day.
27
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
York1 Heartland Division CB&Q Yesterday after noon, I was at a dental appointment. He just completed putting in dental implants on one side of my moouth. I am very please with the result. It is very good for me to be able to eath out of both sides of my mouth again. It was a very long process. Edit: Garry, I had the same experience. I had no idea that it would take so long. From start to finish for me, it was nearly a year.
Heartland Division CB&Q Yesterday after noon, I was at a dental appointment. He just completed putting in dental implants on one side of my moouth. I am very please with the result. It is very good for me to be able to eath out of both sides of my mouth again. It was a very long process.
Edit: Garry, I had the same experience. I had no idea that it would take so long. From start to finish for me, it was nearly a year.
john Y1: .... Yes and a lot of money, too.
Good morning, diners. Just black coffee, Flo.
I just got back from the second day at the dentists. I should be done for at least six months. Even though I dislike dental appointments, I do have to say that advances in everything they do sure makes the procedures easier than they used to be.
The person I live with had me install new exterior lights on the front of our house. Running the wires was not easy. Now she ordered some lights from Home Depot and she wants them installed on the exterior of my backyard shed. (!???) This is not what I had wanted to do or had planned. Guess what? I will be installing lights on the exterior of my backyard shed.
Have a good Thursday!
Good Morning Everyone.
Chloe, I will take some cinnamon toast and a large black coffee to start the day.
It is looking to a good Thursday down here. We might get some rain thsi afternoon, but the probablility is low.
I am hoping rainy season holds off for three more weeks.
Heartland Division CB&QYesterday after noon, I was at a dental appointment. He just completed putting in dental implants on one side of my moouth. I am very please with the result. It is very good for me to be able to eath out of both sides of my mouth again. It was a very long process.
Good morning ......
Ed .... Thank you for the yummy donut. I like your pictures. I just watched the LV RR vidoe. Nice!
I've been running a coal train on my layout this week. CB&Q once hauled a lot of caol from the coal fields of southern Illinois,
Yesterday after noon, I was at a dental appointment. He just completed putting in dental implants on one side of my moouth. I am very please with the result. It is very good for me to be able to eath out of both sides of my mouth again. It was a very long process.
Everybody: ....... Have a good day.
Track fiddlerGood morning
Yes, it sure is! I'm ready to hit the lower berth. Had a good night of wiring up a signal and working on a scratchbuilt sand tower. I'll nap for a while and get up around 1 to greet the day.
Where has Dave HOn3 Critter been?
LV, Newark, New Jersey, United States by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Time for a donut for the rest of you folks
donuts by Edmund, on Flickr
I'll save a custard-filled for later.
Yes, this bridge CAN support three PAs!
DH, Ninevah, New York, 1973 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Rather nicely, I might add.
Good morning
TF
Good morning Diners. Toast and tea, Flo, please.
Just a quick visit to the Diner. Taking Dawn to hospital for regular checks.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
gregcgrowing up, my mom told stories of growing up in the "foot" of the Mahanoy Plane
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have been digging holes and planting my new babies in the front garden area.
We had stuffed chicked breasts and mixed vegetables for dinner, which was very good.
Sir Knightlight is steadily standing his assigned post. He sure is a reliable fellow.
Not much else going on, and I am tired.
See you all tomorrow.
Good evening
I got my truck back earlier this evening and got caught in the rain riding my bike on the way to get it.
Damien informed me there was something else wrong he had to repair as well. My oil pressure sensor was out and spewing oil. I told him when I got there the gauge was up and down and I thought I was adding oil too often. He said I was lucky because it would have only got worse. Good thing it got caught in time, you can lose an engine over that.
Well, I'm hitting the rack. Have a restful night my friends and I'll see you in the morning.
Take a look at the offerings of the Lehigh Valley Railroad:
Here's a nice overview:
https://www.american-rails.com/lv.html
That Cornell Red was a pretty neat shade. In later years the LV used variations of the color that had many modelers up-in-arms about the correct look for the painted locos.
LV, Sayre, Pennsylvania, 1973 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Careful with that throttle, Lehigh Lucy!
Touring LV 211 - September 2017 by Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, on Flickr
Lehigh? Glad you asked:
During the American Revolution the Liberty Bell was sequestered in a church in Northampton (1777), which, when the county was formed in 1812, became the county seat and was later renamed Allentown (1838). The county’s name is derived from Lechauwekink (later shortened to Lecha), the Delaware Indian name for the Lehigh River, meaning “where there are forks.” With the advent of the Lehigh Canal (1829), the city developed as a centre for anthracite coal, iron, cement, and silk.
A steam whistle blow at Cass:
Brian might know his whistles but he aint' so hot with a video production
As Douglas points out the whistles lack "presence" when run on air, but better than nuthin'.
Toot-toot!
Looking for a nice Alco 244 sound ftrom this "hammerhead" RS-3? Not here This guy was re-engined with an EMD 567:
We have the wood stove fired up again!!! 34° F here. Brrr.
ricktrains4824 Thanks for counting the 157 cars. Let's me know I'm not the only crazy one...
Thanks for counting the 157 cars. Let's me know I'm not the only crazy one...
It was my pleasure counting cars today. In Vegas I count cards
Relax Ricky, you ain't crazy
Four out of five psychiatrists surveyed recommended model railroading
P.S. I wonder how many more crazy forum members counted the cars after I did?