Good Morning Gents! Zoe, a plate of french toast, side of sausage, and an english muffin please. Oh, and a coffee.
Fiddled a bit more with DecoderPro last night. Still can't get the function buttons to work on the built in throttle. Using the keyboard for them does work, so there's that. Not a huge deal as I don't plan on running trains via the computer. Just nice for testing.
Noticed a change in people's decorating habits from last year. Last year loads of people put up outdoor Christmas lights early. First time in eons to have that much participation in that. This year, not so much, but I'm noticing a lot more Christmas trees in windows before Thanksgiving than even last year's Covid fueled decorating surge. A bit disappointing as I love to look at Christmas lights, even if its simply a string of lights around a bush.
My contribution today, the Dictator mortar from the American Civil War. Apparently only used during the seige of Petersburg, but I can't verify that.
From stonesentinels.com - "The 17,000 pound mortar was originally fired from a railcar on the line from City Point. The first flatcar that it was fired from was destroyed by the recoil. Its reinforced successor would be thrust down the tracks with each firing, while the mortar itself would surge back on the car. The mortar was finally placed in a permanent installation protected from Confederate counterbattery fire."
Edit: Top of the page! Join me fellas!
Mike
Good morning everybody.
I found out yesterday that the capstone I have used on all my decorative landscape wall has been discontinued at Lowes. Today I am up early and will be on a mission to buy as many as I can find.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning, diners. Mike, thanks for the French Toast and sausage!
Kevin, good luck with those stones. I learned my lesson with things like that when I put some porcelain tiles in my basement. I bought what I thought I needed. Months later, when I finally laid the tiles, I was short and there were none of that color to be found. Thankfully, I had enough to do the room, and I was able to buy some that were close which went into the closet. When the closet doors are closed, you can't see anything.
Mike, I have never been able to get Decoder Pro to work correctly on my layout. I read just about every set of help directions, watched videos, etc., and it never worked the way it should. For me, it's likely the computer operator.
David, that's interesting reading of the NZ rail workers during the wars. Lots of bravery and hardship.
Kevin, that house picture you posted had that neat turret. I can't imagine cutting all the angles of the octagonal turret fitting onto the sloping roofs.
Ed, I've read other articles about that binoculars poster. What's amazing is that many got their binoculars back after the war.
Everyone else, I hope everyone has a good Tuesday. We're gearing up to leave town for the holiday -- have to eat turkey with grandchildren.
London during wartime:
York1 John
Is the food really getting that bad in here that nobody shows up in ten hours? Mr. Otte used to bring us the leftovers from the Kalmbach meetings. Haven't seen that in a while, either
John, I recall reading about a tragic situation where many people seeking shelter in one of the Tube stations, Balham IIRC, were drowned when a bomb broke some of the water lines and flooded the station.
NYC_War_Cover by Edmund, on Flickr
NYC_War_Tower-X by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
A discussion of wartime railroads should include the Kwai River bridge and the Siam - Burma railroad. Twelve thousand Allied POW soldiers as well as an estimated 80,000 civilians lost their lives building the railroad under the Japanese command.
The 250 mile railroad was built under the worst conditions and brutal treatment.
There were two bridges built -- the first was a wooden structure, with a steel bridge built as the steel became available.
This is known as Bridge 277, the original steel bridge. It was damaged by wartime bombing, but repaired by POWs.
Good evening everyone.
John: I found over 180 stones today, and a Lowes just South of town has a whole pallet. I am going to figure out how many more I need and head down that was tomorrow. It took three hurried trips in the little Colorado, but I am getting it done.
I didn't take notes on where I took the picture of that beautiful house. It is an older picture, so I do not think it could have been out West.
Everyone take care.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
Good evening all from the land of a stary night.
Expecting a big dump of rain tomorrow night a 100mm. Just what we need.
Kevin I also liked that old house, looks haunted. The wall looks great.
The wife was starting to get a headcount for Christmas dinner over the last few days and we are at 22. After missing last year everyone is super excited. Someone asked if I had all my lights up yet and I said I was cutting back so don't expect the usual see it from space display. Then late yesterday a 6' Golden Retriever, an 8' snowman, and a 16' long train showed up at the door along with some more Christmas lights.
Apparently, there is a shortage of Christmas trees this year as we are still cut off from all points East. We always go cut our own down so I am not too worried. Last year I cut a 26 footer down and then nine feet off the top of that came in the house. One thing about cutting our own, it really is fresh and after a month still has all it needles.
Last years.
Bear, those Piper Cherokees 181s I use to tear around the sky in had the Lycoming in them. Ah, the good old days.
Got on the bike today after missing a couple of weeks due to the weather and such, didn't miss a beat and sure feel good tonight for doing it. I'll do it again in the morning as I am up a couple of pounds.
Canadian Pacific had over thirty washouts, 20 of which involved major infrastructure. Canadian National got off a little easier if one dares to say that and should be running trains through tomorrow on a limited basis. I heard there were now over a hundred ships waiting to get in. The effects in Chicago are just starting to be felt according to one of the business shows I was listening to.
I love the getter done attitude the RRs have. We had that where I worked for 36 years. Loved every moment of it.
A little housekeeping to do in the world of finances and then off to bed.
All the best to all.
Our downspout was doing this for 36 hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlGUvR6vlcs&ab_channel=BATTRAIN1
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
York1A discussion of wartime railroads should include the Kwai River bridge and the Siam - Burma railroad. Twelve thousand Allied POW soldiers as well as an estimated 80,000 civilians lost their lives building the railroad under the Japanese command.
Hi John,
I remember a movie called "The Bridge on the River Kwai". It pictured the building of a large wooden bridge by POWs and the horrible conditions that the prisoners endured. The bridge was eventually blown up by commandos, destroying a troop train in the process.
I know that the constuction of the bridge by POWs took place, but was the destruction of the bridge a piece of real history or was it theatrical licence?
Thanks,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Willys jeeps and other equipment ready to roll on the NSW railway in Australia:
British troops on their way to the Western Front in WWI
Wartime lunch:
These little flat cars have a lot of weight on them. Handle with care!
Construction of a crossing in WWI:
This is how a lot of soldiers came home:
Another heavy load:
Transporting heavy artillary during WWI:
Good morning Diners. A bowl of porridge and a mug of tea please, Brunhilda. If anyone mentions Global Warming once more, come here. It is icy cold.
Dave. Excellent pictures.
Ed. It was Balham Tube Station.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2015/10/14/75th-anniversary-of-the-balham-tube-disaster/
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,
23F this morning but still cloudy in the valleys on the way to work. Hope all of you here in the states have a good Thanksgiving. My youngest and his partner got in from Long Beach last evening so we may all be together for the first time in a while depending on whether or not my daughter can make it. She had her baby girl two weeks ago but11 weeks early. Amina is still in NICU so likely we won't see mom since she doesn't want to be even an hour away though they are both doing well at this point.
Started at least drawing the proposed train room so we'll see how it goes. Big thing is deciding how to situate the large yard area as it needs access from both sides. I plan on doing either hinged or sliding back panels again but finding 20 feet in one plane is tricky. I really don't want to start all over again.
All for now. Ciao, J.R.
Hmm. My pictures don't seem to be posting properly again. Wonder what I've done this time?
I clicked on the tiny picture and got a great one of a huge yard. Impressive!!!
Thanks David. I just need to remember how to get the pic to post here again. My layout ended up a yard with a bit of track added so the yard section is going to be difficult to refit to a room. 6'x12' worked at the last location because I had access on three sides so I could reach all of it by using hinged panels for the backdrop along with the isle.
J.R.
Good morning everyone.
Chloe, please keep the coffee cup full for just a little while longer.
I am going to go outside and re-measure my planned landscape walls and finish my abtaining if capstones this morning. Then off to work.
We are spending Thanksgiving with my Great-Neice in her family's new house on the river. It is great being married into such a large and loving family.
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee. Again.
I'll check in quickly, we are visiting family and doing everything involved with that. The Expedition runs through gas like it's nothing. It was OK when gas was $2.00, but with $3.20 a gallon, and a 28 gallon tank, I kind of gulp filling it up. But my wife loves the car, so I will put up with 14 mpg.
hon30critterI remember a movie called "The Bridge on the River Kwai". It pictured the building of a large wooden bridge by POWs and the horrible conditions that the prisoners endured. The bridge was eventually blown up by commandos, destroying a troop train in the process. I know that the constuction of the bridge by POWs took place, but was the destruction of the bridge a piece of real history or was it theatrical licence?
Dave, I know the movie, but I read that it is mostly fictional. I'm not an expert on the real story; I did read that the POWs repaired the bomb damage. Most of the railroad's route has been removed, but there is a part that crosses the bridge that still runs a train. I would imagine it's mostly for tourists, but I don't know that. Thanks for the great photos.
Kevin, that good news about finding the stone. It sounds like you will have a lot of projects coming up. Of course, you can work straight through the winter. Up here, things are slowing down. Enjoy the relatives!
Brent, it's pretty amazing the railroads can repair so much so quickly. It's strange that a U.S. state with damage to a highway or highway bridge will take months to repair, but a railroad will be running trains in just days or weeks. I guess RRs don't have to wait for all the politics to work out.
David, will it stay cold through your entire winter? I don't know much about your climate. I always pictured UK winters as wet and cold, but not icy.
JR, I could also see your pictures. Nice. Do you have an idea of how the new layout will compare to your old one?
Ed, I continue to love your old war posters and ads. We sure don't see many ads today with that much detail.
With traveling and holiday, I will try to check in to the diner every so often. For the U.S. people, (and for that matter, everyone else) I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving.
York1 David, will it stay cold through your entire winter? I don't know much about your climate. I always pictured UK winters as wet and cold, but not icy.
John. Our weather tends to be wet and cold. The icy mornings catch the drivers as they hurry to work. Will they ever learn?
Then we will get two days of warm weather and (without being Political) we are told it is Global Warming.
Two days later there is silence from the G.W. brigade as we are out clearing the snow.
John,
I was ceded the basement but I am keeping half for the rec room (with gifted pool table) and the other half has the boiler and fuel tank to contend with. I should end up with the same or more room than I had but a little more awkward space. Before I do anything I need to insulate the foundation and base of the house then do some more measuring. J.R.
Good morning from the soon-to-be very wet West Coast. They have upped the amount of rain to expect so things good get interesting again for those down the hill on the flats. 10s of thousands of animals were drowned last week and the smell is apparently quite something.
The warmer the air, the more moisture it holds and the heavier the rain is when we get it. It is the same with snow, warmer air holds more moisture and when it does snow we get a whole lot more of it.
York1Brent, it's pretty amazing the railroads can repair so much so quickly. It's strange that a U.S. state with damage to a highway or highway bridge will take months to repair, but a railroad will be running trains in just days or weeks. I guess RRs don't have to wait for all the politics to work out.
John, I agree. They should let the RRs repair the HWYs. On one of our HWYs we lost a 43km stretch, just gone. They will be spending billions and billions to rebuild all these HWYs and are going to have to do a major rethink of where and how they will be built if this weather is to become the norm.
I was just looking at this photo and all the exposed pilings. I'll have to remember to put those into my 2' foam just to be prototypical.
CP has done some amazing engineering through the Selkirk and Rockies. I am really interested in what the replacement structures are going to look like when done. Looking at some of their other work you tend to think they went way overkill on what they built. With climate change, they were obviously thinking ahead.
I was on one of the Canadian Pacific sites and they had mentioned how many thousands of dump truck loads of Earth, gravel, and rip rap they have already brought in. CP has even been repairing the HWYs so they can access the rail lines. Thousands of cement trucks will be next.
Off to get my haircut, I get it cut twice a year whether I need it or not. Use to drive my mother-in-law insane. When we would all go camping together she use to go nuts because I had ten identical shirts and though I put a clean one on every day she thought it was terrible I wore an identical shirt as the day before. They were free shirts that came in a case of beer, they were crap shirts but great for camping.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Baah, I'll just have lamb instead.
Howdy guys. Flo, a chocolate malt please.
Just doing prep work for the feast tomorrow. We host and I do most of the cooking, so as much as I can get done ahead of time, I will.
Wishing everyone well!
Water Level RouteJust doing prep work for the feast tomorrow. We host and I do most of the cooking, so as much as I can get done ahead of time, I will.
Mike, if you ever get tired of preparing and cooking, when you get older you can do what I do -- go visit the kids and let them do it all.
This is not my Thanksgiving.
I invited an old friend to join us. She called my wife with her list of "preferences" ham instead of turkey, rice instead of potatoes and and she was going to make a pumpkin persimmon cake.
I was going to smoke a turkey and we bought some honey baked ham. My wife and SIL decided they would relieve me of the trouble of smoking a turkey, so I could spend more time with my friend and my SIL would make the turkey.
My friend backed out, the 4th time she was suppose to visit us. She claims she has Covid for the second time, with an intervening vaccine.
My SIL is hosting a brunch, so we can't possibly have dinner until the evening. We are having a store bought pumpkin pie. While I am not a fan of pumpkin pie, a store bought pumpkin pie is like a Tyco caboose, compared to a Rapido caboose.
My wife did buy some sauerkraut, a Baltimore tradition, as we had a big German population. I prefer my sauerkraut on corn beef, but it is tradition and better than the stinking marshmellows my mother put on sweet potatoes.
Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
What a long day. The store is prepped for Black Friday, and now I have the next two days off!
Good morning rail friends!
Just wanted to stop in and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving
Judy and I are up early prepping food for our feast. This year we're making chocolate covered strawberries that look like little Turkeys for one of the desserts, ...This is a new one on me, I don't know where she comes up with these things I'll have to post a picture for your approval when they're done I guess.
Make sure that recliner of yours is in working order. You know you're going to need it after that high intake of tryptophan after chowing down like big dogs
Make it a great Turkey Day everyone
TF
Desserts on me! Help yourself Kids
Wafer Pudding Pie
And Chocolate-covered Turkeys
Good morning Diners. Porridge and a large tea please, Flo. The frost has gone, but the temperature is staying low.
Henry. We have a 'friend' who often says she is visiting, yet doesn't. Annoying!!
Railways in India in WW2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-east_Indian_railways_during_World_War_II
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Good morning diners. I'm sitting here alone; I'm the first one up.
I got my two mile walk in this morning in preparation for eating way too much today.
BigDaddyI prefer my sauerkraut on corn beef, but it is tradition and better than the stinking marshmellows my mother put on sweet potatoes.
I agree! I really think the marshmallows are one of the reasons that I have never liked sweet potatoes. Now, even without them, I still pass on sweet potatoes. While I'm at it, I'll go so far as to say that no food besides dessert should be sweet. My wife's the opposite. She would prefer every food be covered with sugar.
My Saints are playing the Bills tonight, so I have a full day to look forward to.
I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving. In my old age, I've grown more and more thankful for my family -- my parents who raised me, and my wife and children who are so much more than I deserve.
I am looking forward to a great Thanksgiving get-together, and a lot of good fun. The weather is perfect. High 70s and no humidity or chance of rain. I am going to see some people I have not seen face to face in more than a year and a half. I am actually kind of excited.
Best wished to all.
Good evening Diners. I'll have a couple of those desserts TF has left please, Zoe.
York1 In my old age, I've grown more and more thankful for my family -- my parents who raised me, and my wife and children who are so much more than I deserve.
In my old age, I've grown more and more thankful for my family -- my parents who raised me, and my wife and children who are so much more than I deserve.
Don't knock yourself, John. I bet you 100% your family are proud of you.
Tonight - Gammon & Pineapple. Roasted Vegetables and Potato Wedges. Fruit Surprise to follow.
Have a good Thanksgiving.