For July, Brent has suggested that we stick close to home. Who's home you may ask? Why everyone's home, either current or past. If you have lived in seven places around the world then hopefully you can show us railroading (or other) information from as many of those locations as possible. This should be an interesting month with lots of variety!
As always, we wish to honour those forum members who have gone before us. Kevin has kindly brought the RIP list up to date:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
THANKS for the seamless move of the Diner, Dave!
Happy Canada Day (or Dominion Day, if you please) to the folks up there
CN_Toronto by Edmund, on Flickr
Looking forward to another month of Fun and Adventure —
Cheers, Ed
I'm going to take the liberty of starting the Diner off in my own backyard, more or less. Toronto is blessed with the Toronto Railroad Heritage Association and one of their gems is the John Street Roundhouse and Museum. Here are a few pics:
The bridge being rebuilt:
The TRHA museum occupies three stalls, but no space is wasted in the roundhouse. The Steam Whistle Brewery is right inside:
Some folks touring the inside of the roundhouse:
Here is a tour of the museum and park:
For those of you who were looking for information about 'Johnboy', Ulrich just sent me this:
Dave,I just read that Johnboy is MIA for quite some time. His nome de plume was last mountain & eastern hogger and his last post was on Feb. 25th, 2020. If I remember correctly, he suffered from cancer of the esophagus and the surgery didn´t go to well, leaving him having to live off liquidified food. As he disappeared at the time of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading rapidly, I am afraid we may have lost him. Unfortunately I do not know his clear name.Ulrich
Good Morning All and Happy Canada Day to our northern neighbours.
Hope Ulrich is mistaken about Johnboy but given the circumstances lately, i also fear the worst. Thanks for passing the message on though Dave.
Still haven't caught up posts and still dividing time between the old house, new house and shop. We have three weekends in a row coming up starting next week and we have probably three cars going down to the wire. Load out starts next Monday.
Have the last of the train tables cut up to move. I had to pull a total of four turnouts in the yard section so I could cut the six by eight table into two pieces as it neither fit out the basement door as is nor would it go into the new basement. The CFO for some reason didn't want to give up a room on the main floor for it so it is now cut and ready to go. The river canyon didn't make out so well either but is mostly intact. The mirror at the back bit the dust as I had used construction adhesive to attach it to the wall. So it goes.
All for now, I hope the rest of you are doing well. Ciao, J.R.
hon30critterToronto is blessed with the Toronto Railroad Heritage Association and one of their gems is the John Street Roundhouse and Museum.
Thanks for starting the July diner and for the photos of the museum. It looks like a neat place.
Another day with not much going on. Fireworks outside, nice and cool inside.
Virtually everyone here has central AC. We live in a part of North America where in February we had -35°F (-37°C) and in June we had 105°F (40.5°C) with high humidity. We very seldom see any house with window AC. It's kind of expected that everyone has central air and heat.
Growing up, my parents didn't like running the AC too much, so during the summers I would sleep in our unfinished basement. It was dark and cool.
I don't have too many train photos of my area, so I will need to get out and take some soon to post here.
Have a good day, everyone.
York1 John
Good morning diners.
Yardwork is on my agenda for the day, followed by a trip to the grocery store and some Chinese food for dinner.
I hope all are well.
Dave... thank you for setting up the new diner. How do we decide who's turn it is?
York1Growing up, my parents didn't like running the AC too much
My parents only ran the A/C at night. Both my sisters still only run the unit when the sun is down.
Not me, my 3 ton unit keeps my 1,300 Square Foot House at 72 degrees year-round.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning and happy Canada Day.
Dave ... Thanks for moving the Diner . The Toronto museum looks very nice. I used to go to Toronto when we lived in Michigan. I rode the train before VIA Rail. CN's Tempo train from Windsor to Toronto was very nice. I recall seeing the CN Tower under construction as we arrived in Toronto.
As was discussed, the July Diner will have convesations about places where we currently live or previously live. I don't have much time today, but in the dyas ahead. I can talk about railroads in places I lived (TX, TN, MO, IL, CO, MI, and KY). I was in Illinois from age 5 to 18, and that is the era I model. Much of what I post will pertain to that. I save it for another day.
In the convesation about MIA's I am remembering "Grampy's Trains" AKA DJ. He posted great pictures in Weekend Photo Fun of his very nice PRR layout. Suddenly, he quit posting at least 4 years ago now. Nobody was able to find out what happened to him.
Happy Model Railroading.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Is that roundhouse in Toronto the same one that was at the foot of the tall tower? I remember visiting some years ago and just sitting in the tower and watching the trains for a long time. It was still part of the functioning railroad back then.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good Afternoon Guys,
Flo, a grilled ham & cheese sandwich please.
Nothing much to talk about from my end of the woods. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm upright and taking nourishment.
Happy Canada Day to our northern neighbors!
Cheers,
Mike
Good morning Diners.
Dave - Thanks for the smooth moving of the diner.
This month, all share the area(s) they call home.
My home is in the snowbelt of rural NW Pennsylvania. (We average around 120" of snow each year.) Weather can be hot and humid in summer (High 102F just on Tuesday with "feels like" of 108F) to very cold and snowy in winter, with frequent "Lake Effect" snow storms.
In my area, It was (formerly) NKP, NYC, PRR, Erie, the GE Locomotive plant, and a oil hauler turned tourist line, now the OC&T.
Now, they are NS, CSX, Buffalo & Pittsburgh (G&W Family), Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, WABTEC, and Oil City & Titusville lines.
We also have a pair of RailTrails (Both ex PRR, built by Western New York & Pennsylvania Railway) and a museum in North East Pa, the Lakeshore Railway Museum, which is located alongside the CSX & NS tracks and hosts a VirtualRailfan RailCam. (They have several GE built locomotives, as well as railcars, both freight and passanger, on their display grounds, with the gift shop and indoor displays inside a former NYC {Lake Shore & Michigan Southern} depot.)
There is also a display locomotive in Corry Pa, inside their historical museum, open by appointment only, of a Climax steam locomotive, as well as a second Climax display unit in the works. (Climax Locomotives were built in Corry Pa.)
I will share some information on them all as we go through the month.
First, the WNY&P. This line is still "Alco Heaven", but not quite as much as it used to be, with the arrival of rebuilt GE AC46C6M units they have purchased, that have (mostly) taken over the role they used big 6 axle Alco & MLW power for. But the local's still use almost exclusively 4 axle Alco & MLW power, including 3 operating Alco C430 units! (Very rare units when built, even more so now.)
Their 6 axles did put on a good show when they used them to move a whole train (127 cars) of stored coal hoppers recently.
WNYP 637 & 638 Smoke Show by Richard W, on Flickr
(Both of these are former Cartier MLW M636 units.)
Their train crews are always friendly, putting on smoke shows, giving horn salutes, and waving at railfans at almost every occasion they see one. (How every railroad crew should behave!)
This video is also from Corry Pa, with train ME-1 (Meadville Pa - Hornell NY Turn, operating as a Local from Meadville to Falconer [Jamestown NY] to swap trains with the Hornell Crew, and doing all required work out and back.) led by C430 432 {Originally built as NYC 2054 in 1967, formerly M&E 16} and C424MH 426 {Ex BeltRailwayChicago Heavy weight 603 built 1966} leading a typical local back towards Meadville.
(Apologies for the hand-held video, but I was w*rking that day as a autoparts delivery driver, so only had my cell phone with me... Had to video, as I have HO models of both locomotives.)
Here is another one of their 4 axle units, a C424M, originally built by Alco as Reading 5206 in 1963.
WNYP 421 by Richard W, on Flickr
Interesting note - This photograph was actually taken on a 65F day! Earlier that month, we had a massive snowstorm that had dumped nearly 6' of snow, the later warm up was impressive, and so quick that we hit 65F, but still had several inches of snow!
This railroad operates on the former Erie Railrad through my area. They have connections to the OC&T, NS, and B&P.
Some history on the line - They began operations in 2002, with the name Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad. First train ran from Hornell NY to Corry PA. (Downtown Corry is where the 421 photo is taken, video was just west of downtown Corry.)
They later leased from NS a line running from Machias NY to Driftwood PA, which needed the 6 axle units due to the grade on that line around Keating Summit. Interestingly enough, that line was, originally, built by the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railway, before being purchased by PRR, then going to NS after CR was split.
So, in a major twist, the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad is now operating on former Western New York & Pensylvania Railway trackage.
Both Bowser and Atlas have made HO Scale models of some of their locomotives in the past, with Bowser most recently doing a MLW M630 of theirs, 631. (I believe Atlas did a N scale one of 631 as well.) Rapido has also announced a HO model of their RS18u as a upcoming model.
I will have other information, and photos and videos, to share throughout the month.
Hope all are well, and all 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.
I just ordered tires for the Impala.
I decided to go with the exact tires that were originally installed on it. Firestone Firehawk GT radials. It always rode very well with almost no road noise.
$900.00 and an eight day delivery time. The original set lasted 51,000 miles, so I guess that is reasonable.
This is the first time I have had to replace tires on one of my wife's cars in over 20 years. We normally replaced the car long before it needed tires.
Good Morning Everyone,
Chloe, a large black coffee in a New York Central mug please (Cedarwoodron, you out there?)
hon30critterhopefully you can show us railroading (or other) information
Water Level Route Presenting the world famous Scottville Clown Band performing a couple of their signature songs.
That is pretty neat. They all look like they are having a great time.
Thank goodness you didn't drop some I.C.P. in the Diner!
Good afternoon Diners. A large coffee please, Janie.
An enjoyable few hours playing Seniors' Cricket.
An 'old timer' tram at Beamish Museum, County Durham. Picture taken before Covid outbreak. The Conductor (man in brown coat) is my son.
Tynemouth Priory - at the entrance to the River Tyne.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
SeeYou190I decided to go with the exact tires that were originally installed on it.
Both my GMC Canyons, a 2003 and a 2009 kept their factory tread until well after 75,000 mi. — even then, I only replaced them because, well, they were getting old. Tread wear was negligible. The "exact" replacement tires lasted just over 25-30,000 mi.. Factory equipment seems to always be superior to any replacement part. "Genuine" or otherwise.
This Nickel Plate Hudson is on an excursion stopped at the East Cleveland station, only about a mile from my boyhood home.
Nickel Plate Hudson 175 by Edmund, on Flickr
I didn't make the trip. I was only two at the time, dad was laid off so probably couldn't afford the fare anyway. Sure would like to find one of these NKP "compact" Hudsons in HO!
gmpullmanBoth my GMC Canyons, a 2003 and a 2009 kept their factory tread until well after 75,000 mi. — even then, I only replaced them because, well, they were getting old.
I have replaced the tires on my 2008 Colorado three times, every 50,000 miles.
Once they get that old, they tend to slide in rain even though they still have usable tread. We get so much rain down here that I do not take chances with wet traction.
The tires are P225-75-R15, which is available with very long-wear tread styles.
The Impala takes P235-50-R18, which are mostly performance "rated" tires, and much more expensive.
Good Morning All,
Just a regular to go please Zoe. Kevin, $900.00 isn't bad for a set of 18's. The higher performance tires never seem to last that long but they sure do work well.
Hopefully we will have the last of the basement and garage cleared out tomorrow and we can keep on cleaning up the rest.
Last train table by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr" alt="" />
All for now, catcvh you all later. Ciao, J.R.
Good morning ..... Have some scrumptios goodies from Kirchhoff's bakery in Paducah. We were there yesterday. .... Cinnamon roll, sticky bun with pecasn and raisins, bear claw, and appricot almond yummy thingee. .. Each one is huge.
Not shown is a loaf of cranbeerry walnut bread we also puchased.
..
I see some great photos and videos have been psoted.
Ricky .... I like pictures and the video of Alcos on the WNY&P .
Ed ..... The NKP locomotive is beautiful.
David ... I like the old tram.
Mike ..... The Clown band was entertaining as you said.
JR .... Glad you could save some of the old layout for your new home.
...
As I said, I grew up in Illinois. My family lived very near the CB&Q's "race track" between Chicago and Aurora. It had thrre tracks , and it was the busiest railraod main line in the Chicago area.
In Weekend Photo Fun, I showed a train on my layout I am currently running with CB&Q and GN F-units in the same consist. I showed one picture of the prototype for example.
Here is another example:
Heartland Division CB&QHave some scrumptios goodies from Kirchhoff's bakery in Paducah. We were there yesterday. .... Cinnamon roll, sticky bin with pecasn and raisins, bear claw, and appricot almond yummy thingee. .. Each one is huge.
Garry, that "Appricot Almond Yummy Thingee" looks amazing.
Thanks!
Good morning on this sunny and warm Friday. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
JR, that's kind of a sad sight to see the railroad cut apart. Hopefully you can get everything moved to the new house. You will have a lot of enjoyable times getting the layout put together again.
Garry, thanks for the photo of Great Northern F units. I always love to see those photos of what I believe all passenger trains should look like.
Not much else today. I am going to try to get some photos of some railroads in our area to share. The big train news here is that UP's Big Boy 4014 will be here August 6. Can't wait.
For those of you still w**king, TGIF. For those of you retired like me, TGIF is everyday.
Kevin ... you are welcome ...... I just corrected. .... Sticky bin should be sticky bun.
John York 1 .... You are welcome. However, the F-units are freight train locomtives in this picture.
Garry How to make someone hungry. The sticky bun and other goodies look fab.
The cruise ship Azura (P&O Cruises part of Carnival Cruises) has been at the Port of Tyne since January.
On 29th June she departed for Belfast and to be dry-docked prior to cruising again.
Stay Safe Everyone.
SeeYou190Dave... thank you for setting up the new diner. How do we decide who's turn it is?
Hi Kevin,
I guess it is whomever volunteers first.
hon30critterI guess it is whoever volunteers first
OK... I will post from Florida on Monday, July 12th.
MisterBeasleyIs that roundhouse in Toronto the same one that was at the foot of the tall tower?
Yes, the CN Tower and the roundhouse are side by side. The Skydome is also right next to the roundhouse and the Ripleys Aquarium is just across the street. Union Station is just a few minutes walk away, and the Toronto Convention Center is very close too. It is a great area to visit.
Heartland Division CB&QGood morning ..... Have some scrumptios goodies from Kirchhoff's bakery in Paducah.
Garry,
Whatever did I do to you that you would be so mean to me as to post the picture of those goodies?!? I am fasting for a medical test this afternoon and I am hungry! I never get hungry through the day and I rarely eat lunch. Of course, now that I have been told that I can't eat, I'm starving!
Cheers!!
Good morning from the smokey West Coast where it is a nice 23c and through the smoke, there is blue sky.
Well, the Province has exploded in fire with help from the extreme heat, Bear will have to send the usual 300 firefighters from New Zealand to help out. It is being said that a spark from a CN freight sparked a fire at the town of Lytton in B.C. Within 15 minutes the town was engulfed in flame as the fire moved at 72kmh. CN just settled a 16 million dollar lawsuit from the last fire a train started at Lytton. This one will be a whole lot more.
Both the CN and CP mainline run through Lytton and I heard they are both shut down due to damage.
One guy drove home to rescue his pets, grabbed his two dogs and threw them in the truck, ran back into the house for the cat, and when he came back out the truck was engulfed in flames, very sad.
When I was in my teens I would help my Uncle run helicopter fuel and groceries into the fire camps in Eastern B.C. My retired Uncle made a fortune in fire season, it was hard, hot work but extremely satisfying.
Road my bike this morning and was noticeably slower due to the smoke I am sure. It's Montreal and Tampa tonight, have to pay for the rum that goes with that.
I was watering Rhodos out front and I had a Hummingbird fly into the spray and as I move it back and forth it followed to just stay in the spray. Then another one joined it and within a couple of minutes, there were seven Hummingbirds in the spray. They all landed in the Rhodo and stayed there under the gentle spray for quite a while until I stopped.
The water I put out for all the wildlife in the area is being enjoyed during the night. We have rabbits, squirrels, deer, owls, eagles, and a bunch of other birds showing up. We have had bears before, but it has been a while since I have seen one. They come from the South or East as that is the direction of the wilderness areas, maybe border patrol is catching them.
Here is one crossing legally.
As far as posting photos of where we are from, we might run out of days if we take turns. May I suggest we each just post the odd pic(s) as the spirit moves us through the month?
Now that I have recovered from the bike ride a walk through the cool forest with the dogs sounds good and then I'll hop on the Deer.
We drove West to the beach early, early yesterday, and let the dogs swim and then we walk a 3km trail to let them dry. My wife thought she lost her brand new Apple cell phone on the trail, sooooooo we walked the 3km loop again. It was on the kitchen table when we got home.
Two trains at Cisco, just downstream from Lytton.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
hon30critter Heartland Division CB&Q Good morning ..... Have some scrumptios goodies from Kirchhoff's bakery in Paducah. Garry, Whatever did I do to you that you would be so mean to me as to post the picture of those goodies?!? I am fasting for a medical test this afternoon and I am hungry! I never get hungry through the day and I rarely eat lunch. Of course, now that I have been told that I can't eat, I'm starving! Cheers!! Dave
Heartland Division CB&Q Good morning ..... Have some scrumptios goodies from Kirchhoff's bakery in Paducah.
Dave ...... Sorry. .... I bet others will gladly take your share.
Brent ..... I really like the bridges at Cisco. Thanks for posting the photo of it.
I had a hunting buddy who was a volunteer firefighter. When he got together with another firefighter they loved to tell stories about being surrounded in flames.
Not me. My father was on ships in WW2 and told me fire was his biggest fear. Chapel Hill had a burn unit and I am absolutely terrified by fire. I had an engineer who hit a tank truck. Just before I intubated him, he told me that was an engineers biggest nightmare. He lived but had dozens of surgeries and I took care of him several times.
There was a boy whose father started the fireplace with gasoline and another whose father punished him by sitting him on the wood stove. Everything else I have erased from my hard drive.
We barely had 1/4" of rain. More rain went north and west and DC had a tornado. More temps in the 90's forecast for next week.
Maybe hurricane Elsa will reach us Wednesday.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley