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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
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.
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 John
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.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
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.
I clicked on the tiny picture and got a great one of a huge yard. Impressive!!!
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?
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
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:
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
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,
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.
Our downspout was doing this for 36 hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlGUvR6vlcs&ab_channel=BATTRAIN1
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.
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.
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
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:
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.
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 Diners. A frosty morning, so a bowl of porridge please, Janie.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/nz-railways-ww1/railwaymen-in-nzef
John, that is the best in-service photo of a Soviet DShK 12.7mm that I have seen.
The countertop still is not installed in my closet, one more delay and I think I will be at my wits end about this.
A WWII Russian army train:
Happy Monday!
Binoculars_War-Effort by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good morning, diners. It's almost lunchtime, so I'll have a hamburger with fries.
After retirement, this time of year it's become a habit to have the financial advisor review the insurance coverage. Today we looked at the Part D policy. My wife takes some expensive medicines, so I let this guy pick us the best policy.
My wife is going nuts with buying more Christmas stuff. Each year after Christmas, she puts away the decorations so they can easily be used the next year, and without fail, the next year she buys more new stuff. It's become impossible to navigate the storage room's Christmas section.
I like to have real Christmas trees, but she doesn't. Today I took last year's fake tree to the local community food pantry, and she ordered a new tree online. I'm sure this will be the right tree for every future Christmas, at least until next November.
It's good to have TF back in the diner. Things don't seem normal with him.
Have a good day, everyone.
CNCharlieKevin, are ýou still interested in a CN T2a? I seem to recall you mentioning it once. It is a brute of an engine that rarely comes available.
I love that locomotive, and might try to capture some of the look on my IHC 2-10-2. However, I will never buy a brass model of one. My hidden curve radius will be way to small for a brass 2-10-2. The IHC model will go around an 18" radius curve. Thank you for keeping me in mind though, I appreciate that.
CNCharlieIt is amazing how relatively small landscaping projects can add up.
Yes, oh yes. I just bought a $400.00 portable concrete mixer to make these jobs easier. My backyard will soon be amazing.
Good Morning,
Up early today as wife had an appointment with our Doc at 7:20. He starts at 7 but only works to 10, 3 days a week so seeing him can be a challenge someetimes. However he owns the clinic that includes a walk-in clinic so a doc is always there if needed. We stay with him as he has great connections with specialists and is a very good doc.
Another day with no plans. I put together a freight train with the SW9 now that it is running properly. The Mike will haul it. It is a BLI version with a Paragon2 decoder that runs great. I did have to replace the chuff sensor a few years ago. I did it myself as sending it back from Canada is a big hassle and expensive. BLI sent me the sensor and instrucions how to do it.
Kevin, are ýou still interested in a CN T2a? I seem to recall you mentioning it once. It is a brute of an engine that rarely comes available. There is a Samhongsa model on ebay right now. Nice wall by the way and yes it is amazing how relatively small landscaping projects can add up. I know from experience.
Time for more coffee. I've become addicted to Kicking Horse 454 blend. It does pack a punch.
CN Charlie
hon30critterNice wall Kevin!
Track fiddlerThe cosmetic corner cutting the yard level around the tree looks very nice Kevin I always liked the jiggedy jagged look and colors of the copper rust. I see you put the sealer enhancer product on before taking the last picture. Sweet! ... Makes those colors really pop! What kind of tree is it anyway, just curious?
Thanks Dave and TF.
The stone is all natural, in the last picture it was wet from the sprinkler watering in the sod!
The trees are a pair of Dwarf Date Palms. These were mature when I bought the house in 1999, and I am guessing they are 32 years old like the house.
They sat on top of a weird hump in the front yard. This was from the septic tank field. City sewer was installed in 1997, but the weird hump was still there. I debated regrading the hump, but I did not want to lose these two trees. The wall was my solution.
For a small wall, the cost sure added up. I should stop keeping track of these things.
Rebar: $50.00
Sand: $20.00
Drain Plumbing: $25.00
Drainfield Rock: $22.00
Concrete: $30.00
Block: $14.00
Mortar: $8.00
Slate Ledger Stone: $60.00
Cap Stones: $45.00
PL500 Adhesive: $48.00
Topsoil: $20.00
Sod: $100.00
It sure adds up!
Mornin' diners. Janie, got another jug of coffee back there, since David took the first one?
Glad it's a short week here. This friday is supposed to be my friday off (every other friday off schedule). Because the company considers the friday after thanksgiving a holiday, I'm able to roll my Friday back to the first non-holiday. That means my friday off falls on wednesday this week. Two day work week! Woop woop!
Good morning Diners. A large coffee please, Janie. In fact leave the jug.
Dave. Yes you are correct. Don't overdo the carrots (or any vegetables).
TF Glad you are back.
The following - When it asks you to subscribe click on the black color.
https://armyhistory.org/railroaders-in-olive-drab-the-military-railway-service-in-wwii/
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
We had Cole and Kaitlin here on Sunday to celebrate Cole's 32nd birthday. We did a stuffed pork loin with glazed carrots, garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. The reason I mention the dinner is that the carrots were exceptionally good. Carrots aren't usually one of the highlights of the meal. They're usually there to fill a hole on the plate. These were great!
I followed a YouTube video by Chef John. The recipe called for 2 lbs of carrots sliced into 3/8" thick rounds, 1/2 stick of butter, salt, 1/3 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of bourbon! Saute the carrots in the butter and salt for 5 - 6 minutes (try to get the carrots all flat in the pan - they won't be cooked through but that's intentional), add in the bourbon and the brown sugar and let the glaze reduce until it stays on the carrots. By the time the glaze has thickened the carrots will be cooked but still firm. Best served immediately so the carrots don't get overdone.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/232363/chef-johns-bourbon-glazed-carrots/
Cheers!!
Good morning.
Hello rail friends, long time no see. Been a bit enthralled on the layout lately I guess.
The cosmetic corner cutting the yard level around the tree looks very nice Kevin I always liked the jiggedy jagged look and colors of the copper rust. I see you put the sealer enhancer product on before taking the last picture. Sweet! ... Makes those colors really pop! What kind of tree is it anyway, just curious?
Couldn't sleep. Slept solid as a rock for a while, then that's all she wrote.
Been modeling full time for a couple of weeks and enjoying it. Hadn't done much to speak of all summer and fall as usual when there's things to do outside. So it's kinda nice to get back where I left off.
I had a bridge discrepancy that was driving me nuts as I had to dismantle and re-build the last three tiers twice to get it right. Then I had a placement issue of it not fitting quite perfectly like the last bridge I did. I knew the solution of give and take were probably simple but I just couldn't find it.
Perhaps that's why I couldn't sleep easy. I get a little restless when my bridges don't fit I think I'll take another go at it at almost 2:00 in the morning and then try hitting the rack again.
I have a short story. My buddy Erv has a friend who sold his house to downsize. He has a huge layout in the basement and it almost broke his heart to make the decision of leaving his home. The buyer loves trains and found his layout as a selling point. He told Jason he would love if he comes over for visits to run trains. Especially Jason being the creator of everything can show him the up-and-up how everything works
I've been meaning to get over there and check things out. Hopefully that works out one day.
TF