Good evening Diners. A coffee please, Janie. Give everyone in the Diner a drink of their choice and put it on my tab.
TF Having scaffolding on a bridge giving an idea of having something others do not have on their layout. That is, until they 'pinch the idea'.
I do like to make my layout 'a little different'. Adding little cameos that have nothing to do with the railway, yet become part of it (indirectly).
Had a good afternoon running trains.
Dawn has asked me to make burgers and fries, with the trimmings. So that is tonights dinner.
Glad there is improvement in health amongst Diners. Long may it continue. Let's have the Diner full!
Stay Safe.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning TF. Thanks for the comment.
How are you feeling? Any better yet?
Even though my layout's town was kind of OK, it is mainly the track arrangement that dissatisfied me. It will be good to take out everything and start over, with the track layout improved.
I know you're N Scale also, so you'll understand -- the single biggest improvement in the new layout will be the three thousand rerail track sections I will put in. I am so tired of trying to rerail my Kato passenger cars when something happens. I originally put in three rerail sections, thinking that would be plenty. NO!
Another improvement will be adding more sidings and staging tracks. Before I started, I really didn't see much need for that. Now I know better.
It will be fun to actually lay track again, build some bridges, etc., and I'm looking forward to it.
You've inspired me with your bridge-building skills. I'm going to attempt to build several myself.
Edit: Top of the Page!
It's time for lunch here. OK, everybody, get out your lunch boxes and join me for lunch out on the playground.
York1 John
I don't know John. Although I'm just a bystander looking at a layout photo, it appears to look really decent over all to me. You got a lot of things going on in that town of yours.
It also looks like there's plenty of room to make some changes if one chose to do so. Are you sure you can't iron things out with a few tweaks?
Glad to hear you're starting to feel better
TF
Good morning, diners. I'm on board for bacon, eggs, and coffee.
For the first time in a week, I felt good enough to take a walk on the trail. It wasn't too cold, and we will be above freezing later today, but the creek along the trail is frozen completely. It's interesting how many animal tracks are in the snow on top of the creek's ice.
I think I will try to get back to work on the layout teardown. I'm going very slowly, trying to be careful with my crossing signals and other electronic items on the layout. When I get those kinds of things apart, I will get to have a little more fun ripping into the hills and foam. I'm not sure how much track I will be able to save. I've kind of resolved myself to buy new track and turnouts.
The town's destruction will probably start today:
I've got a whole list of things that I won't do wrong on the next layout. Lessons learned! At my age, the next layout will be my last unless I inherited my grandmother's genes -- she lived to be 105.
Interesting posts, everyone! Have a good Saturday.
Another national park photo along a trail. This was just a short walk from a parking lot. These arches all turned out much larger than I thought:
Good morning
I never knew Marvin Lee Aday coached a girls softball team J.R. I was looking over memorabilia posts on the internet last night and sure enough one of the team members had posted a team photo.
Image courtesy of Jen Carlson, second from the left 1991.
I remember that Green Giant glider although I wasn't lucky enough to have one, my friend Jeff did. That thing did fly good Brent.
My mom bought us the Green Giant chair at a garage sale for our room. Makes you wonder why that tacky crap was so special back then.
A picture of one like it, I don't ever remember what happened to that thing
That is such a classic 70s looking picture of you and your friends on the Honda. I like old photos like that.
And the picture of the kids waiting to go outside made me laugh.
BATMAN
How could it not? Three out of four Smiles ain't bad
It's not many who can say they got yelled at by Meatloaf Kevin. Funny stuff
I really liked the viaduct bridge under repair you posted yesterday David And thanks for the get well wish
Starting to feel a little better here Make it a great day gentleman
Good morning diners. I'll take a large coffee with cream and sugar and a seat next to the woodstove. We have 7 degrees F here in MA.
RIP Meat Loaf
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
Good morning Diners. A full English with Hash Browns please, Janie.
Is this a scene in HO gauge. Of course not. It is a picture of the Alexandria to Ismailia express, Egypt.
Note the further you look to the horizon the 'fuzzier' te scene. Fine detail in modelling is not neccessary. Only when you look clser to the main scene does detail emerge. The different colours of grass. Some trees are not upright. They are at a slant. Nature is not 'perfect'. The buildings, fence, canal edge.
Picture taken from on board Queen Mary 2 Northbound April 2018
IMG_0205 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Compare the differences near the same place.
On board MSC Bellissima Southbound February 2019
IMG_3120 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Scenery can change dramatically within a short distance, yet we still know where we are.
Stay Safe Everyone.
gmpullmanSpeaking of geography, I didn't find a New Zealand poster yet but here's one from their neighbor:
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
hon30critter This picture suggests that there was some sort of white, possibly curtained enclosure hung off of the car body and going to the front of the tender.
Not sure if I’m up with the play but have you seen the information contained in this link? http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_rolling/one.htm
Hi Bear,
That link is great! I had not seen it. Thanks very much.
I would love to see a view of the back end of the plough. This picture suggests that there was some sort of white, possibly curtained enclosure hung off of the car body and going to the front of the tender.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
BATMANDave, I liked your drawing. Check the position of the ladder below the deck. It may be just me but the lower bit of the ladder seems to be over under the door more.
Hi Brent,
You are right. I have the position of the lower part of the ladder wrong. It makes much more sense if it is under the door. Thanks for noticing.
Rest In Peace Eddie.
You made many Friday Night Midnight Movies memorable.
My head used to swim from the perfume I smelt
My hands kind of fumbled with her white plastic belt
I'd taste her baby-pink lipstick and that's when I'd melt
She whispered in my ear tonight she really was mine
"Hot Patootie Bless My Soul" -Eddie, Rocky Horror Picture Show
-Kevin
Living the dream.
York1If I remember, Kevin was in one his videos. I'm not sure of that -- Kevin, is that right?
Yes, I am in the music video for "Dead Ringer For Love", the duet he did with Cher back when he was a one-hit-wonder and Cher was a has-been. The video disappeared for 25+ years until VEVO posted it on YouTube.
I am the tallest guy in the background just flopping my moppy hair around. I am only in a few shots. I have no scenes in the back half of the video with the dance sequence or close-ups. I disappear from the group after the three minute mark.
I wish I still had that T-Shirt.
Track fiddlerThey say both gentleman were the nicest guys you'ld ever want to meet. I met Louie once and would have to say its true.
I met Meat Loaf (twice), and one time, he was not nice at all.
I was installing a generator set on a property on Captiva Island. One of the sheet metal panels was slightly mis-drilled, and I was trying to align the rodent-proofing insert with the slightly-off hole. It was noisy.
Meat Loaf came out of his house to yell at me for making so much noise.
I was getting yelled at by Mr. Loaf for being too loud. I should have reminded him that he recorded a song called "Everything Louder Than Everything Else", but it did not come to mind. It was so weird being yelled at by one of my favorite singers.
Joey Ramone never yelled at me.
Good afternoon from the sunny West Coast where it is 10c.
Had a great go on the bike today, 42% of 40 minutes at high intensity (flat out).
I have been trying to match my Rapido FP7B to the "A" units with little success. Rapido said to send the "B" unit decoder in and they would match the programming to the "A" unit decoders. Wished they had done that out of the shop and I would have saved hours of frustration. I also talked to ESU and they do not seem to be on the same page as Rapido for the decoder in the "B" unit. But I have learned a lot in the process which is always a good thing.
Bear, that Old Time Trains page was great adding more pics for Daves' project.
Dave, I liked your drawing. Check the position of the ladder below the deck. It may be just me but the lower bit of the ladder seems to be over under the door more.
TF, I remember saving Green Giant corn labels and sending them off for a styrofoam glider. It was pretty big and we took a 100m of kite string and attached it to a hook we installed on the front and used our bikes to pull the glider aloft. It worked really well. We would ride until the glider was overhead, stop, then the glider kept going and the string would slide off the hook. It was a good thing we had our bikes because some days it would stay up forever and cover a lot of ground. The next summer we attached a Cox .049 gas engine to it and added a touch of weight to the rear for weight and balance and that also worked incredibly well. Had that free glider for years and gave it away to a neighbourhood kid at some point.
Took the dogs for 7.23 km (according to my Garmin) walk yesterday. The trails were a mucky mess from the snowmelt so we hit'em with the hose when we got home. We have hot and cold running water outside for dog bathing purposes so they like the warm water blast going DO ME!, DO ME!
gmpullmanAah, I see you took the high ground I almost hate to admit that I once dated a lady and recall watching a movie that began with a "flyover" of Washington D.C. I asked her "Have you ever been there?" "Where?" she replies. I said, there — motioning toward the screen — there in Washington D.C.? "How am I supposed to know where "there" is just by looking at a bunch of buildings". "Once dated" is the operative here...
Ya, I can not understand why they have to put the name of cities as a caption in a movie when showing an aerial shot. If you can't recognize London, or Washington or Moscow or Venice or Paris from a pic then it doesn't really matter.
Bear, wouldn't mind taking that Britten for a scoot, though at my age I have learned reaction times are down and would probably behave myself. I have had some pretty good goes on a variety of crotch rockets in my younger days though.
This pic of me and my new bike must be almost 50 years old, can't remember when I got it. I think it was a 1972 Honda 500 four. That is my cousin and his wife visiting from Winnipeg.
Man, I was a skinny kid. I am still skinny but have a lot more muscle. Once I graduated high school I put on 20lbs of muscle and that really made the girls start chasing me. At 19 I was 5' 11"a 147lbs, at 21 I was 167lbs, at 65 I am 170lbs and shrunk to 5'10" but still have a 30"/32" waistline. I never nap and can go all day. Arthritis is the only thing that gets me and pain only happens when I eat carbs/sugar, so it is my own dang fault.
Canucks are on tonight, and I have rum and three hours of train time before the game.
All the best to all, be smart, stay safe, we are almost there.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Thanks Bear. They were great melting the ice off the bridges.
TF - Marvin Aday also was the girls softball coach at Joel Barlow High School when my wife was umpiring games. Interesting person.
Bummer
Two great guys died today.
Marvin Lee Aday (Meatloaf)
https://youtu.be/k5hWWe-ts2s
And Louie Anderson.
They say both gentleman were the nicest guys you'ld ever want to meet. I met Louie once and would have to say its true.
https://youtu.be/2bRe1CeGe7g
GMTRacingThe New Haven here had a variety of plows and flangers and the last use of steam on the railroad was to run a pair of ice melters in the 50's. Haven't found the melters yet...
Good evening Diners. A large coffee and a blueberry muffin please, Zoe.
A busy day today. Now home after a day out.
A speedy recovery TF and John and others not feeling well.
Some snow has fallen at Ribblehead Viaduct and area.
See what you see and not what you thought you saw. A simple scene yet so much going on.
Note that the land is not all covered in the white stuff. The browns and greens of the gorse. The little stream third arch along.
The car about to go under the arch and the road winding along , middle of picture. To the right of the car the scaffolding on the arches as repair work is in progress.
The small trees battling the harsh weather. They have seen it all before.
_116971894_viaducttomberesford976 by David Harrison, on Flickr
A simple scene that if modelled, a viaduct or bridge is more than bricks and mortar. A scene brought to life.
gmpullman Goat Lick Trestle by Mike Danneman, on Flickr In all the years I've had goats I don't ever recall having the desire to lick one of them, no matter HOW cute they are! IMG_1369 by Edmund, on Flickr
Goat Lick Trestle by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
In all the years I've had goats I don't ever recall having the desire to lick one of them, no matter HOW cute they are!
IMG_1369 by Edmund, on Flickr
Given the choice of the Green Giant SD40-2 railing in the winter over Goat Lick Creek or the cute tan goat, I'd take the tan one But I learned that lesson when my friend Timmy dared me to lick the stop sign when we were quite young... One only licks the stop sign in the winter once
We had another Green Giant in Minnesota back then and he's still here.
https://youtu.be/D-8-_hghSMU
I think the commercials in the 60s and 70s they tried to appeal to kids to eat their vegetables. I think it worked as we always asked mom to buy Green Giant at the grocery store.
Judy took a picture of the huge 169 highway sign that's always been towering over the trees just outside of Le Sueur on our way to Mankato in the Mustang last fall.
P.S. I was saddened to hear Louie Anderson of Minnesota died today. We all knew Louie's niece when I was younger and I got to meet him in my early to mid twenties back in the day. Everyone loved Louie.
*Sips his tea as his coffee machine just broke*
Morning all, Been a long time since I sat in to see how things are going. Hopefully all are well.
gmpullman:
You know the hullet was one of my favorite models to assemble. It took me forever, but I loved every step of it. It now sits in my display case.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Ed, that wood splitter picture reminded me that the guy I bought firewood from got a new splitter. The guy is older now, and leaves all the tree cutting to his sons. He stays at the business and cuts firewood.
His new splitter will split a log into four sections at once. His sons keep bringing Ash logs home from cutting them. He chainsaws the logs into 18 inch long logs, and then feeds them to the splitter and ends up with four nicely split pieces of firewood. He can get through a lot of firewood in a day, but it is still hard, heavy work.
I love watching the videos of RR ROW machines that cut trees.
Good morning, diners. Nothing for me this morning -- still fighting whatever I've got.
I just heard that Meat Loaf died. I loved his music, although he came along after I was out of college. I first remember him in Rocky Horror.
If I remember, Kevin was in one his videos. I'm not sure of that -- Kevin, is that right?
Hope everyone has a good day.
BATMANEd, you're not supposed to tell them it is photoshopped. I posted the same pic on FB and they are still arguing about it. Never let reality or the facts get in the way of what you want to believe in.
There's a lot of that going around these days, Brent. For some of us it is good fun, others take it WAY too seriously, to the point that sometimes people get hurt in the process.
Railroad rotary plows aren't the only fodder for the tricksters:
Splitter-huh? by Edmund, on Flickr
All you need is a forest full of trees that grow with three perfectly aligned trunks!
There are sure a lot of identical pieces of split wood coming off that little gem!
Stay, boy!
Watching a coal empty by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Brrrr!
Coated with winter by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
— and a look at the Green Giants crossing Goat Lick Creek!
Cheers, Ed
Good Morning All,
7F here this morning with the chilly wind making it more like 0. I'll have a regular and a blueberry jelly donut please Zoe.
The New Haven here had a variety of plows and flangers and the last use of steam on the railroad was to run a pair of ice melters in the 50's.
Haven't found the melters yet but if it works here is a wooden flanger MOW car. Color would be red faded to pink. Ciao, J.R.
10697582_13b106460f5c024811286307b052898c_t by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr
hon30critterThanks for your interest,
SeeYou190How much of a nerd am I that I got it, even though I don't speak French?
I wonder if all the thousands that worked at Ford's Rouge plant thought they were making cosmetics?
Trackside (and lakeside) Hulett ore unloaders:
Hulett_JD by Edmund, on Flickr
No better way to travel:
IMG_0468 by Edmund, on Flickr
It doesn't take long to get used to having a private car at your disposal...
hon30critter gmpullman Aah, I see you took the high ground That's bad Ed, really bad!! Cheers!! Dave
gmpullman Aah, I see you took the high ground
That's bad Ed, really bad!!
<GROAN>
How much of a nerd am I that I got it, even though I don't speak French?
There was some joke referencing Episode III where Obi Wan liked to visit Terre Haute because it was the high ground, but I don't remember the joke now.
gmpullmanAah, I see you took the high ground
SeeYou190Just earlier this week I had to explain to one of the kids I work with that Terre Haute was in the United States!
Aah, I see you took the high ground
I almost hate to admit that I once dated a lady and recall watching a movie that began with a "flyover" of Washington D.C. I asked her "Have you ever been there?" "Where?" she replies. I said, there — motioning toward the screen — there in Washington D.C.?
"How am I supposed to know where "there" is just by looking at a bunch of buildings".
"Once dated" is the operative here...
PM RailfanEdit: Just noticed this is top of the page. If that sticks... is this enough?
Thanks Douglas, cold Lowie takes me back...
gmpullman Questioning the waitperson about Michigan still being part of the USA, she replied "one look at the label and you know it is foreign beer, just look at how the writing is!"
Just earlier this week I had to explain to one of the kids I work with that Terre Haute was in the United States!