Seen at Pennsylvania Station, New York:
USO_Penn-Station by Edmund, on Flickr
Loan your binoculars to the U.S. Navy! Drop them off at the U.S.O. booth near track 10 — I do seem to recall a story, maybe it was in the Smithsonian Magazine, of a person who finally got their binoculars returned, none the worse for wear, some fifty years after the War? I'll have to look that up. Over 20,000 pieces of optical gear had been loaned to the Navy during WWII.
Also, the distinctive Penn Station train destination boards at the upper right of the photo. No sign in this one at the moment but they are an iconic sight at the station.
Over at the other end of the line, at Chicago Union Station, a Corporal awaits his departure in good company:
Waiting-room_CUS by Edmund, on Flickr
He wears an ID badge with the acronym AAFTTS which I believe, is the Army Air Force Training Command center. I hope he made it home OK.
Cheers, Ed
hon30critterNorthBrit Ed. The Sno-mo Collision film is amazing. You would think the people standing would have got out of the way. Hi David, I have to politely disagree. The people on the platform should have been warned of the danger.
Hi David, I have to politely disagree. The people on the platform should have been warned of the danger.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
gmpullmanDonut?
Mike
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, Brunhilda.
Another busy day, and a meeting tonight. I really don't like the schedule I have been keeping lately. It's starting to feel like I didn't retire.
I wish I had some wartime train photos to share.
Hope everyone has a good day.
York1 John
gmpullmanGood Monday morning, everyone! Donut?
I'll take a donut! Thanks Ed.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
hon30critterI have to politely disagree. The people on the platform should have been warned of the danger. For the station staff to not do so was a complete dereliction of their duty to keep the passengers safe.
Water Level Route They might have been. Some folks just won't listen.
Even assuming there was a staff. Many of the intermediate Amtrak stations are only staffed by a stray cat or two.
I guess there should also be signs warning people not to climb over the fence to stand at the edge of a cliff to take a selfie (there are).
Many, not all, but many humans don't have the sense to protect themselves. I'm reminded of the lady in Denver standing on the track to take cell phone photos of the U.P. 8444. as it approached her at about 40 MPH. Sad but preventable.
Here's another one. There should have been a sign, or at least a horn warning?
https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm
Anyway, enough of that...
Good Monday morning, everyone!
Donut?
donuts by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Morning All. Janie, a cup of black coffee and a slice of coffee cake please.
hon30critterThe people on the platform should have been warned of the danger.
Finally got the trim around the new slider door painted yesterday. Good day to do it with the rain/snow mix coming down. Also got JMRI Decoder Pro running on an old computer this weekend. I've only played with a couple locomotives so far, but it seems to work well enough. Only thing is the built in throttle only seems half functional. I can control an engine's speed and direction, but none of the function controls work. Can't even click on the buttons for them in the decoder pro throttle. Not a deal breaker, but it would be handy to do everything from the computer when programming an engine instead of needing to use the throttle as well. I'll have to look at it some more.
Have a good day guys!
hon30critter Hi David, I have to politely disagree. The people on the platform should have been warned of the danger. For the station staff to not do so was a complete dereliction of their duty to keep the passengers safe. Dave
Hi David,
I have to politely disagree. The people on the platform should have been warned of the danger. For the station staff to not do so was a complete dereliction of their duty to keep the passengers safe.
Dave
I stand corrected, Dave.
Here the rules are a little different.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBritEd. The Sno-mo Collision film is amazing. You would think the people standing would have got out of the way.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Janie.
Ed. The Sno-mo Collision film is amazing. You would think the people standing would have got out of the way.
A Ministry of Information film from 1941.
Those missing from the Diner, a speedy recovery and return.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require
SeeYou190First, the group I work with is made up of people that 100% want to give the customers a good experience, that makes it a whole bunch of easy.
When I worked at Home Depot Canada a few years ago I experienced the same thing. There were very few idiots among the staff. They were all great people.
As far as the customers were concerned, there was the occassional jerk who required a great deal of patience to deal with, but the vast majority were great. I really enjoyed the opportunities where I could teach customers how to get exactly what they wanted. On a few occassions I actually politely declined to place their orders until I was certain that they were ordering the right thing. I saved a few customers some real frustration because I convinced them to go home and remeasure their windows/doors using my suggested methods. In every case, they came back with corrected measurements and the windows/doors fit properly.
I had one memorable jerk who refused to explain how he had measured his window openings. Using a raised voice, he demanded that I just order the windows. When the windows were delivered they were all 3/4" too small and he was furious! I tried to explain to him that he had forced me to order the windows based on the standard procedure of using the rough opening dimensions, and the program automatically deducted 3/8" on all sides to allow for installation clearances. He demanded that I be fired on the spot. Instead of doing that, my very supportive management told him that I was not at fault and he was. The windows were his. No refunds. No allowances. Made my day!
Cheers!!
York1Kevin, are you still enjoying your time at Home Depot? I'm afraid I would get tired of dealing with some people all day.
Absolutely!
First, the group I work with is made up of people that 100% want to give the customers a good experience, that makes it a whole bunch of easy.
Second, it is doing me a lot of unexpected good to be around young people. I work with some really sharp kids, and I like them all.
ricktrains4824So the white stuff flying is Ed's fault.... Got it.
Wood stove is toasty, got a drink in my hand and a cat on my lap and no where to be tomorrow.
Let it snow Let it snow Let it snow
Warm & Fuzzy, Ed
So the white stuff flying is Ed's fault.... Got it.
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.
On Monday I turned in a for sale ad for the big, three point snow blower that I mount on my tractor. Friday the ad ran in our local bugle and I got a call later that night. Fellow was in Buffalo! I asked how he saw my ad 300 miles away. HIS dad called him from here and told him about the snowblower. He had been looking for one all summer!
They came and picked it up today (I used my old Millwright skills to load it up into his big dualie pickup and off they went! They were thrilled to get such a good deal on a nice machine and I was glad to pocket a little train money
Kioti_Snow by Edmund, on Flickr
Of course that made the snow gods unhappy so now we have about a 3" coat of wet mucky stuff.
NYC_War_Mohawk by Edmund, on Flickr
I hope everyone is doing well or is at least on the mend...
Good Morning,
We got another 10 cm or about 5" of the white stuff again yesterday so about a foot in total. Doubt it will melt. Birds have been very busy fuelling up after the storm.
Garry, glad to hear you are headed in the right direction. Rest is good. As this is a virtual diner, Chloe will do a bedside delivery of coffee maybe with a shot of the stuff Dave has on offer.
Last night we had some smoked salmon with toast and cream cheese washed down with Prosecco. Sure was good but we won't be doing it again for a long time as the cost of smoked salmon has gone into the stratosphere.
I wonder if Ken will ever come back. I hope he and Dirk are ok.
Yesterday I re-progammed my SW9. It was too loud after the reset I did a while ago. I also packed up the rotary plow and will take it to sell on consignment at the LHS. It should sell fast as it is in CN livery. I guess I'm not much of a collector as I have sold off 11 locos and a fair bit of rolling stock over the past 10 years. That is just HO stuff. Most of the N guage is now gone.
Lunch time so I'll sign off,
CN Charlie
Good morning, everyone. Donut day, so just black coffee, please. I'll have a glass each of David's treat later.
For a Sunday, this will be a busy day. The layout seems to be on the back burner. I have a couple of layout things I want to work on before the entire family descends on the house in late December. One of these days, I've got to get started on those projects.
We're heading out the door. I will check in later and hope to hear how everyone is doing.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee before I go to our Remembrance Day Service please, Chloe.
Edit. Top of the Page.
Chloe. Give everyone a drink of their choice and put it on my tab.
Newspaper Train
Final Scenes of the Comedy "Blackadder Goes Forth' - set in WW1.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
Hi David, thanks for the additional info on S160 2253 and John I forgot to mention that one major acheivment of this design was that it fitted inside the very restricted British Loading Gauge, which is smaller than European and a lot smaller than the USA L/G. It was a truly versatile and very successful design. Paul
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".
Good evening diners. Flo, I'll take a banana split please. Extra cherries on top.
When I got up this morning, the weather said the rain was about to stop for the day. Great! I can get my outdoor Christmas lights up, so out I went. And got rained on for two and a half hours. Oh well. Got almost all of them up. Glad it's done. About an hour after I came in, a winter storm watch was issued for tonight and tomorrow.
Ricky, so sorry to hear about your dog. I've been there too. I feel your pain.
JR, happy new grandkid!
Garry, just keep getting better. Stop in and catch up reading posts as you are able, and drop us an update when you feel up to it. Thinking of you.
All others, thanks for all the interesting posts. Lots of neat info out there!
Have a good night guys!
Let's not linger in the Dining Car too long. There's GIs waiting to be served:
NYC_War_Diner by Edmund, on Flickr
Cold, windy and a bit of snow in the air around here today.
Time to get to the trains!
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
It was a cold walk this morning. The creek was covered with ice. I spotted the local blue heron standing on the ice. It flew when I got close. I'm not sure where it goes when the creek freezes solid. I also don't know if this is the same heron that I see each year.
Kevin, that's pretty neat story of your wife's father. What an amazing life some of that generation experienced.
J.R., congratulations on the birth of the grandchild. Now don't spoil her, OK? Eleven weeks early! She must be a very tiny baby. How long before they will let her come home?
David, that's a sad story of your mother. It's heartwarming that you have carried a photo of her with you your entire life. On another thread I read about your patience when you have your grandchildren work with your layout. You have exactly the right attitude of layouts and children.
Charlie, please keep that snow up there with you. We had some flurries yesterday again, but nothing like you guys get up there this early.
Paul, that Baldwin certainly had an interesting history. I'm glad it's preserved after all the action it saw.
Ricky, your mention of Agent Orange hit home. My oldest brother flew planes off the USS Kearsarge in Vietnam. He was trained for anti-submarine, but they flew over land, finding targets. He eventually died of lung cancer which had the earmarks of Agent Orange. Once diagnosed, he didn't live long. Also, I hope your dog is able to have comfortable last days.
Henry, that's a great photo of your uncle having fun with the horse head. Those guys certainly had experiences we can only imagine.
Kevin, are you still enjoying your time at Home Depot? I'm afraid I would get tired of dealing with some people all day.
Brent, you have your kids move out, and someone else moves in! I'm glad you enjoy it. I think I would probably get tired of having others in the house here. Even when relatives visit, I'm usually ready after three days for them to move on.
Garry, it's great to hear from you. I'm glad to hear that your doctor gave you good news. Slow recovery is better than the other alternative. We're thinking of you.
For everyone, including the diners I didn't mention, I hope you have a great Saturday.
Lazers. Further information on USATC 2253. It now appears to be in good hands.
https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/usatc-2253/
York1Dave, when the Sandhill Cranes come through here, there are usually several Whooping Cranes traveling with them.
Hi John,
The possibility of it being a Whooping Crane didn't occur to us but it didn't have the brownish forehead, and I think the possibility of a Whooping Crane being this far east is pretty remote. However, you never know what you might see!
Howdy ... it is good to see all of your interesting posts of recent days . Apparently, each of you had a good Veterans Day and I am glad.
I am generally pleased with what the cardiologist said in my Wednesday appointment. My recovery , however , will still be a very long time. I sleep much of the time. So it will be a while before I can participate here very much .
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
hon30critterThere was one single large white bird in amongst them. We are pretty sure it was a Whistling Swan but it was a long way off.
Dave, when the Sandhill Cranes come through here, there are usually several Whooping Cranes traveling with them. They also stand out in the crowd. I have never yet seen one, though. Seeing one is major goal of mine.
For all the bird watchers out there, Dianne and I drove to some fields about 45 minutes north of us to see Sandhill Cranes. We weren't sure how many we would see but we sure weren't disappointed! There were thousands of them! We needed our binoculars to get a good view. Stupidly, we forgot to take our spotting scope. There was one single large white bird in amongst them. We are pretty sure it was a Whistling Swan but it was a long way off.
I suspect they will be gone by Sunday because the weather is supposed to get snowy and nasty.
Good late afternoon from a soon-to-be very soggy West Coast.
Daughter is home for a few days as it is mid-term reading week. She has a good friend at University from Singapore that landed a four-month Co-op position over here with the Provincial Government in a computer engineering position and needs somewhere to live in a hurry starting right after Christmas. He told my daughter he could only pay us $2000.00 a month as he still has to pay his rent in Victoria while he is away the four months. We said $600.00 would be fine for full room and board. He is lucky, my wife really knows how to cook. We certainly have room for him and we have had a lot of kids pass through our house over the years that needed a break from a less than ideal home life. It will be nice to hear about life in Singapore.
I have been enjoying everyone's contributions, especially Ed's troop train posters, those are very cool.
Lazars, that 2253 loco is sure an eye-catcher, thanks for posting that one.
John, we use our credit cards for absolutely everything. The kid went to University in Ottawa and the air miles we got paid his airfare home four times a year. Before the kids grew up we would get enough air miles to take us all to Hawaii every year and pay for the car rental. Accommodation and meals we had to cover. Can't wait to get back to the South Pacific. I would like to visit Tahiti one more time.
Just got off the bike, I was helping the boss move all the furniture in our bedroom for a good cleaning and rearranging just for a change. Then we started in my sons' bedroom. He moved out last April and left a mountain of stuff for us to take to charity. He has a really cool R/C hovercraft that I love to play with, it performs well on land and water and is a lot of fun. He also has an R/C submarine that I like to play with in the pool. He also has one of those Airhog twin-engine R/C planes that I like to fly around the backyard chasing the dogs with. I am keeping them all. He has a couple of older drones that still work pretty well. In the summer I fly it several hundred feet to the neighbours when I hear them out on their deck. I get a wave and most importantly an invite to come over for a beer and crab legs. He goes crabbing just about every weekend through the summer.
I smell something wonderful being prepared in the kitchen, time for a quick shower now I have stopped leaking everywhere and then it is pigout time. I usually only eat once a day so I love when the dinner bell rings.
In 1939 Canadian Pacifics Ogden shops in Calgary quickly changed to war production.
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."
GMTRacingTurns out my daughter has given birth to a healty baby girl albeit 11 weeks early. Both are ok and we get to go visit today.
Congratulations J.R.!! Is this your first grandchild?
Thank you to everyone that commented on my pictures and the story that went with them.
I just realized it is Friday, and I never got an invitation from my wargaming group. I wonder what is going on there?
The World Is A Beautiful Place.