"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have had an overall great day. Work was easy, nothing went wrong. Saturday Night Live was the best episode in a long, long time, and, just to top it all off, I am feeling great.
I hope all are well.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Garry, thanks for the update. Glad you made it back to the train room.
Christmas trees: We're putting up three this year. My wife want a "Martha Stewart" tree and I like a traditional one. Consequently, one going up in the living room will be the traditional family tree, one going up in the front office window will be her Martha tree, and one smaller one goes upstairs that my oldest will decorate into another Martha tree. I only have a couple ornaments that are older than I am. I miss some of the ones I remember from my childhood, but my Mom got rid of them years ago. It's unfortunate.
Have a good Saturday everyone!
Mike
Good Morning,
Success! My SW9 is gliding across the rails. Like every PK2 loco I've owned it is a smooth runner. The best is still the 0-6-0.
Supposed to just take it easy for a day or two after the procedure yesterday so will enjoy the weather. We sat on the patio yesterday sipping a caramel machiato and feeding squerrils. A few of them are getting really fat. These are grey ones and they are far more tame than red ones.
Dave, your pudding sounds good. I love the stuff but not my wife who won't eat it or serve it so I haven't had any for many years. Mum used to make a good one. She was an amazing pastry cook. My sister watched her and tried many times to replecate her pastry but never could and she admits it.
Soon time for lunch.
CN Charlie
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
Christmas decorations! A topic that just came up in our town. We are supposed to have some 60° and 70° weather for several days, so some people are busy putting up their outdoor Christmas lights. They won't turn them on until December, but it's very nice not to put up the outdoor stuff when it's 0°F and blowing snow.
Of course, we could be like some of the "those" people and just leave the lights up all year. They'll never know how much they get talked about as people drive by their houses. I guess it doesn't really matter, but it does look strange when a house has those hanging icicle lights swinging in a June breeze.
A large city in our state now has a company that will install outdoor LED lights that have hundreds of colors, all smart controlled. The lights are small enough so that they are left up all year and can't be seen. Without doing any work, a homeowner can light their house for Halloween, Mardi Gras, Christmas, etc.
I'd consider that except for one thing -- the initial installation cost is huge. For people who have professional lighting put up each year by a company, I guess this would be cheaper in the long run.
I'm on the lookout for more firewood today. I'm going to make some calls to see if I can round some up. Since I quit cutting and splitting my own wood, it's become a little harder to keep a full wood shed. Another good project for me since it will be mild weather for several days.
Have a good day, everyone.
York1 John
Boy and I am early. I hope Chloe gets here quickly with a large cup of coffee for me.
NorthBritChristmas Ornaments. We have our own collection we have bought over the years.
This year my favorite new ornament is the engraved brass one that I bought at Age Of Steam Roundhouse in Ohio. I also have one from Yellowstone National Park that will be new this year.
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Janie.
Garry. Glad you made it to the train room. Take it easy going back upstairs.
Dave. A bit too early for us to celebrate Christmas. We do have the 'experts' telling us that there will be food shortages at the festive time. Therefore causing panic buying and large price increases.
Christmas Ornaments. We have our own collection we have bought over the years. When Dawn's parents and Aunt died we have theirs as well. Some of them were 'handed down' from their parents. Those are handled with extreme care.
Just been talking to Dawn and she says one of the ornaments is Victorian (1880s?) in age and made of glass.
Bridge Building and Tracklaying. (Is TF watching?)
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
hon30critterWe have a significant number of antique ornaments, some of which are close to 90 years old. They are faded and spotty but we cherish them nonetheless.
That sounds beautiful.
I do not have any ornaments that old. We have a huge collection of ornaments going back through 33 years of marriage. Each year we buy at least five new ornaments. We really have a "heritage tree" when we set it up.
Merry Christmas (well, almost!)
We have started cooking for Christmas! We are hosting our family Christmas celebration on November 27th which is only three weeks away, so its really not too soon to start.
So far I have done all the work but Dianne will certainly do her share as the party gets closer. I started by making a traditional plum pudding (first time). I haven't had a home made plum pudding since I was a kid. The recipe calls for all manner of dried and candied fruit as well as a generous shot of brandy. It also requires beef suet which is very difficult to find these days. The pudding is put into a muslin cloth and then boiled for three hours or more depending on the size. It is best left to age still wrapped in the cloth which is soaked in brandy once a week or so. Dianne and I were able to try a bit of the pudding that got caught in the folds of the cloth. It was quite tasty even before the aging. Some people make their plum puddings a year in advance!
I also made a large quantity of turkey and chicken stock. The chicken stock wasn't planned. We had purchased a 'mature' chicken. It should have been roasted low and slow for several hours to tenderize it but we didn't realize that. Instead we decided to cut it into its various parts and grill the breasts and other bits separately. I never knew chicken could be so tough! It was like shoe leather! To make a long story short, we threw it all into a big iron pot, added some fresh herbs, filled the pot with water and then let it simmer in the oven for a couple of hours. The resulting stock was incredible!
We are going to put the Christmas tree up before the party so we will be able to enjoy it a bit longer this year. We have a significant number of antique ornaments, some of which are close to 90 years old. They are faded and spotty but we cherish them nonetheless.
Here I am talking Christmas and most of you haven't even had Thanksgiving yet!
I hope you have a 'Merry' Thanksgiving!!
Cheers,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Just a quick check-in.
Charlie, happy birthday!
Garry, glad you were able to get to your layout. Keep us informed. Prayers.
I'll try to check back tomorrow. Busy day.
Howdy ... It's good to see each of you.
Charlie ... late happy birthday.
To update on my situation . Recovery from hospital stay is a long slow process. I continue to be on oxygen . Good news is I went downstairs to be in train room briefly . Going back upstairs was challenging.
best wishes to each of you.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good Afternoon,
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Today I had a cystoscopy. It did only take 5 minutes but was unpleasant. Worst part was freezing the thing. Anyway my bladder is clear so no worries.
I have my PK2 SW 900 on the bench. It is an early Walthers version with QSI sound. It was stopping randomly and wheel cleaning didn't fix it so I have the frames off the trucks. I will clean the bronze bars that fit over the axle ends but wonder if the hole is worn. If so will call walthers but will be surprised if they have parts as I bought it in Feb/07. Might have to see what I can get on ebay.
Really warm here, about 20 degrees F above normal and is supposed to stay for a few days.
Time for a tea and bikky.
Good evening Diners.I have had such a busyday today, Chloe. A strong, black coffee please and leave the jug. I'll have a donut that Mike as left as well. Thanks, Mike.
Belated Birthday Wishes, Charlie.
Kevin. I have never watched any British Baking Shows. I prefer my own baking.
Evacuated by Ambulance Train in The Great War. Sorry about the sound. It is a very old film.
Troop Train was a 1943 short propaganda film produced by the Office of War Information. While the film's assumed purpose would be to educate the American public about the role of railroad transportation of military divisions, Troop Train takes a more stylistic approach, with absolutely no narration and little dialogue. The director uses images to tell the story. Footage of rows of war material, troops marching and locomotives are cleverly edited to create a montage propaganda film, something of a rarity in the United States. The film is also notable for its depiction of service men's life on the long trips across the country to unknown ports, and to unknown fronts in the war.
Good morning from a sunny West Coast.
After two good long productive enjoyable days in the Batcave trainroom building models and playing the guitar I need to emerge to run some errands. Need to take the wife to a specialist and will take a couple of the mutts to the sea for a swim after.
gmpullmanHas anyone posted the new Rapido tryout of the D-10 sample model?
Ed, I have been following the D10 news and videos and have had two on order. I met this kid that is running a good-sized MRR mailorder business out of his Mom's garage and gave me a real deal and did not want a deposit. I found the video interesting, especially liked hearing about the issues of the early samples. Hopefully, they will not have any issues after we get them as the Hudsons did. My Hudsons have logged a lot of time since the repairs with no issues. I almost always have a train running while I work on the layout and they can run for hours sometimes. Sound off, stereo on.
I was going to post the Rapido D10 video but when I have posted Rapido videos in the past they seem to get removed. I guess they count it as advertising.
A belated Charlie. I turn 65 in January can still motor along like a 20-year-old except for when the arthritis sneaks up on me. It is a lot of work to beat back health issues.
I was born 12 years after WWII ended so as a child the talk of that horrendous event was still going on by the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. My Uncle left the farm in Manitoba in 1939 when war was declared and never saw home again until October 1945. He went in on D-day. Over the years he gave me a few snippets of some of the horrors he faced, especially when I spent the summer helping him build his house on Kootenay Lake. He would just zone out to another place sometimes, I can't imagine where he would go to. As he got older I would help him polish his medals up for the November 11th ceremonies and take him to whatever events he wished to attend, he was my hero.
My cousin bailed out of his Lancaster bomber twice and spoke of what happened after he hit the ground on those two occasions. I had some Aunts that also shipped overseas with the Navy for the duration, again away from home for years. At least they came home.
The wife was vacuuming and unplugged the hose from the wall and the vacuum is still running out in the garage. I guess it is a relay, so I know what I will be doing today.
Better get on it as a broken vacuum in a house full of Golden Retrievers is a code red situation.
Two weeks after War is declared in 1914. Troops in Vancouver prepare to board the train in Vancouver bound for Quebec for basic training.
Why does humanity do such things to themselves?
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Water Level RouteTop of the page again?! Have some of the donuts with me guys.
Thanks Mike, those look delicious.
I have been watching a lot of the British Baking Show on Netflix. Some of the food they make is amazing, but I am appreciating baked treats more now.
moelarrycurly4I have the Bacon Goat sandwich
Oh, Curly! Not the goat!
IMG_1369 by Edmund, on Flickr
Save it for the slow cooker
Cheers, Ed
I have the Bacon Goat sandwich
Good Morning All. Flo, I'll take a large sea salt caramel latte with a chocolate glazed donut. Make it two.
Got to messing around with a Genesis F7 last night. I noticed the rear coupler was drooping and found it was loose. Then I was reminded why. If I tighten the screw all the way on the cover, the coupler won't move. Just too tight. Obviously leaving it loose enough to move is loose enough to work free. Looked up the Kadee conversion on their website and it said a #38. I had the parts to piece a #38 together, but when I put it on, the rear truck hits the couple box and won't sit flat. Ended up having to scab together a box out of a combination of Athearn and Kadee pieces and file the shank down on a #5 coupler to about half thickness to get it to work. Poor design.
Happy I've gotten myself down to the layout and got some things accomplished this week. Nothing worth sharing in WPF, but progress none the less.
Happy Friday!
Edit: Top of the page again?! Have some of the donuts with me guys.
As Fiddler would say... time to hit the rack.
Somehow I wound up with a double post Must have Clacked when I should have Clicked.
Has anyone posted the new Rapido tryout of the D-10 sample model?
I hope everyone is getting along well —
CNCharlieGetting old is a pain. Yesterday I officially hit 74. How did that happen?
Happy Birthday, Charlie!
I'm nine years behind you but "catching up" fast
I'll have to dust off my fleet of troop sleepers and run them for a while, perhaps for Remembrance or Vetran's Day?
Troop-Sleeper3 by Edmund, on Flickr
PRR_1942-merge-sm by Edmund, on Flickr
Another nice day here, about 45F which is above normal.
I finally picked up my display case from the LHS. It is just for one loco but is nicely done with a wood base. I waited about a year for it come come as it was out of stock for a long time at Walthers. I put the CP Hudson in it and it really looks nice. I also bought a CP baggage car. It is an Athearn model that was on consignment. I got it for $20 which I think was a good deal.
Nothing much new here. I have to go in for a scope on my bladder tomorrow. It is a follow up from last spring. The CT scan showed nothing but the urologist wants to check. Supposedly is a 5 minute procedure. I've heard that one before. Getting old is a pain. Yesterday I officially hit 74. How did that happen?
Trains certainly were a big factor during WW2. Dad travelled for training at various bases in Canada all by train even though he was in the air force.
Interesting about the high speed limits in western U.S. Here the limit is mostly 110 kph or about 70. You can get away with 5 or even perhaps 10 clicks( 6mph) over but if you were doing 80 MPH you certainly would wind up with a large fine.
Well not much else new.
1971_Z28I am getting a late start because I am 70 years old, but I did start most things in life much later than a normal adult
Don't let it slow you down. I started my layout at age 66.
It's funny how for a long time, I thought anyone aged 70 was very old. Now that I've reached that, it doesn't seem old at all.
Anyway, we're all glad you're in the diner.
Good morning everyone. I am having a hard time waking up this morning. I worked on my closet all night and it is 90% done now. The countertops will be delivered and installed two weeks from today, then I can finally finish both closets all of the way.
The (closet part) project is getting close to done.
Camaro Guy Z28: I am glad you came by and said hi. Our dinner a couple weeks ago was fantastic. I shared how great it was, but left out all the good parts. Is your kid back to normal yet? I thought he was going to instantly drop dead there for a moment. I could not have held it together when I was fourteen.
I have been enjoying the war-train conversation this month. I am not going to join in. I know I get over-animated when discussing these things, so it is best if I just watch from the sidelines.
Keep the posts coming, I am really enjoying the videos Dave has shared.
My wife is coming back from Ohio today. I need to get to the airport to pick her up.
Not sure how this is supposed to work but thanks to everyone that welcomed me when I stopped in and said hello to the group.
I am getting a late start because I am 70 years old, but I did start most things in life much later than a normal adult becvause basically I stayed 18 years old until I was in my fifties and ony then did I settle down.
My train setup is only temporary and I know that, so it is not built to last forever because the plan is to sell this place and move with my boy when he goes to college so this is why it is not built like all you guys do yours.
It is just foam boards on top of cheap bookcases with a bunch of plastic buildings and green stuff on the ground that looks like grass and the roads are just paint so there is nothing to share pictures of.
I think that answers what you guys asked about.
NorthBritResearching through Military records etc. I realised why nothing was said.
Amen to that my friend!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good evening Diners. A coffee and leave the jug please, Chloe.
York1 I wish I had asked my father about his train travels during WWII. He was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington when the war started. Over the next several years before going to Europe, he moved to quite a few different U.S. forts in various states. My mother followed, but I know they didn't travel together, and I know they didn't have a car. I can imagine the packed trains carrying all the troops to various sites. What a time in history. Neither one talked much about it, but I wish I had been more curious before they died.
I can imagine the packed trains carrying all the troops to various sites. What a time in history.
Neither one talked much about it, but I wish I had been more curious before they died.
The thing, John, we realised in our minds war wasn't something to talk about.
I remember asking my Grandmother why was my Uncle Jimmy acting like he was?
Her reply was "He was in Burma."
Somehow I realised he had gone through a terrible time; and he had. Nothing more needed to be said; and wasn't.
The same was with the remainder of my family. Nothing was said, nor needed to be, except they were in X, Y or Z Regiment.
Researching through Military records etc. I realised why nothing was said.
Some films with a difference. Enjoy.
Amiens 1918.
Good morning, everyone. It's a beautiful fall day outside.
It's also leaf day for me. The front lawn is completely covered with yellow and orange maple leaves. I will get those all picked up, and then wait on the oak leaves to start falling. By mid-December I hope they have all come down, although I know some will hold on for several more months. I guess oak trees don't want to give in to winter.
I wish I had asked my father about his train travels during WWII. He was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington when the war started. Over the next several years before going to Europe, he moved to quite a few different U.S. forts in various states. My mother followed, but I know they didn't travel together, and I know they didn't have a car.
The North Platte Canteen served 3,000 soldiers each day during WWII:
Good morning
Not much happening. It's been quite quiet here.
Here's one for my Brit friend David since I managed to scarf that other video away from him
War holds mainly negativity but it was a positive note the children were evacuated by train
I may become a bit scarce for a few days. I need to go get a new phone as the one I melted on my exhaust manifold doesn't work all the time. I've been suprised it has worked as well as it has.
It's been my experience when I get a new phone the site does not recognize the new format and I have to jump through some hoops to log back in. And I also remember it was not phone user-friendly.
Have a good day.
TF
Good morning all. A busy day ahead, so a large coffee to keep me going, please, Janie.
Recreating a Great War Ambulance Train.
Note - the mention of originally building them in 1911 in preparation for war. Three years before war broke out.
Back later.