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Jeffery’s Track-side Diner for September

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Posted by Track fiddler on Saturday, September 10, 2022 4:24 PM

The ash trays in the Minneapolis Government Center are pure sterling silver and your not allowed to smoke inside anymore so why do they have them?

They are completely removable to empty and kept shined like a whistle besides the occasional spit of gum or wrapper because no one's using them anymore.

But only a criminal thinks like that you catalytic converter conversationalistsHuh?

 

I've gotten stuck with the job of stacking nice dishes before but didn't happen to have a heavy duty pillow case at the time and don't care too much for strolling down the halls anywayMischief...Laugh

 

 

TF

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Posted by Attuvian1 on Saturday, September 10, 2022 3:48 PM

mbinsewi
BroadwayLion
That is why they are stealing catalytic converters!

Correct!

The average converter contains between 3 to 4 grams of rodium, with converters on bigger SUV's,  they contain as much as 8 grams.

Rodium price per gram today is $491.91.  Go ahead, do the math.

Mike.

 
However - I suspect that the perps don't just disassemble the coverters and simply scrape off the goodies (and aren't there other ones to be captured?).  So we get to the sleaze ball metal processors that turn them for what must be a sizeable cut.  No reputable business would do that.
 
A month or so ago a semi-local ne'er-do-well was arrested in his posh digs in suburban Lake Oswego.  Huge stacks of converters (3000+) were seized in the process.  He'd headed up the theft of over 44,000 of them in less than two years - to the tune of $22 million.  Fasten your seat belts, folks.  My money says that it ain't going to get better.  Hmm
 
 
John
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Saturday, September 10, 2022 3:22 PM

mbinsewi
Rodium price per gram today is $491.91. Go ahead, do the math.

 

LION has sixth-five 1000 gram bars in the lowest dungeon in the castle of him.

You gotta get past the dragons and the manticores first.

 

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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Posted by BroadwayLion on Saturday, September 10, 2022 3:15 PM

howmus
Oooppps! Serves me right. Top of the page! Lunch is on me today! WinkBig Smile

 

Bless this bunch as we crunch our lunch.

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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Posted by mbinsewi on Saturday, September 10, 2022 1:32 PM

BroadwayLion
That is why they are stealing catalytic converters!

Correct!

The average converter contains between 3 to 4 grams of rodium, with converters on bigger SUV's,  they contain as much as 8 grams.

Rodium price per gram today is $491.91.  Go ahead, do the math.

Mike.

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Posted by Track fiddler on Saturday, September 10, 2022 12:32 PM

Thanks KevinPirate

I read that and it warmed my heartSmile

 

Remember when I told you guys I would come back and show you the winning scoreboard?

Well here it is, and we are all so proud of him and his Team.

That Is My Grandson!

I will travel wherever I need to see him succeed just like he has!

Can you see the Brotherhood here at the start of the game during the National Anthem?

What really intrigued me at the game was even when the opposing team member got hurt, my Grandson's team kneeled down on one knee until he came off the field.

Talk about some Brotherhood on a TeamYes

 

I am so proud of my GrandsonBow

 

 

John

 

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, September 10, 2022 11:55 AM

Track fiddler
I wish you a great Monday-Saturday to start your work week today.

TF: I answered your question over on Weekend Photo Fun.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by Track fiddler on Saturday, September 10, 2022 11:26 AM

Good morning

SeeYou190

Good morning everyone. 

I ate cereal for dinner last night, I just did not feel like cooking. 

Saturday is the Monday of my work week. It is a good day to start the week with. The store is a little slow, and the customers are mostly homeowners. The atmosphere is usually pretty nice.

-Kevin

 

We do that sometimes Kevin, have breakfast for dinner. 

If I'm lucky it's scrabbled eggs and sausage but if it is cereal, and I'm lucky enough, I have a banana to slice up to replace some ever so needed potassium.

Home Depot and Menards have been my morning stop for well over 30 years as I am quite familiar with them.

I wish you a great Monday-Saturday to start your work week todayWink

 

https://youtu.be/TTizsZVuqE8

 

Guys like me have always appreciated Guys like You taking care of everything when we stop inYes

 

 

TF

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, September 10, 2022 9:45 AM

Good morning everyone. I don't feel like eating breakfast just yet, so I guess I will just have a cup of black coffee to start the day.

I ate cereal for dinner last night, I just did not feel like cooking. 

Saturday is the Monday of my work week. It is a good day to start the week with. The store is a little slow, and the customers are mostly homeowners. The atmosphere is usually pretty nice.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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    December 2004
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Posted by howmus on Saturday, September 10, 2022 9:36 AM

York1
Liberal, Kansas

Now there is an Oxymoron if I ever heard one....  LOL  (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

73

Oooppps!  Serves me right.  Top of the page!  Lunch is on me today! WinkBig Smile

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by York1 on Saturday, September 10, 2022 7:55 AM

Good morning, diners.  Just black coffee this morning.  We're getting ready for a short trip to see grandchildren.

Rain!  We had rain!  Now the grass will grow again.Grumpy

I have been having trouble with one of my Kato locomotives stalling or running roughly.  I think I have solved the issue, but I will work on it more when we get home.

Kansas is a state much like Nebraska.  The people are a little defensive about the state because many people living on the coasts either ignore the plains states, make fun of the farming people, or just look at the states as a long boring problem when crossing them.

If you travel through Kansas, you will find a different kind of beauty in the rolling wheat fields, and you will be amazed at the friendly people.

The neighbor's tree is starting to change color.  For some reason, that tree is always the first to begin the autumn change.

I hope everyone has a healthy, happy day.

 

The old Rock Island station in Liberal, Kansas, which is almost at the Oklahoma border:

York1 John       

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Posted by "JaBear" on Saturday, September 10, 2022 6:17 AM

KCS by Bear, on Flickr

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by Track fiddler on Friday, September 9, 2022 11:14 PM

And unless you're still wondering?

I've already Hit The Rack! Sleep

Before any more damage can be doneLaugh  But I still love you KidsYes

 

 

TF

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  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 9, 2022 8:49 PM

howmus
aaaawwwwww!  How sweet!

Yes, but now the previous precious pet will not come out of her hiding spot.

-Photograph by Kevin Parson

She has the cutest pets.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by gmpullman on Friday, September 9, 2022 8:19 PM

BATMAN
It is in the works.

It would be nice but I'm not sure it will happen:

Police and palace officials had planned to move the coffin by rail but changed their mind before the pandemic for fear of overcrowding near live railways. There were also concerns that the slow-moving train could become a target or that it would be disrupted by wellwishers dropping Union Jacks from bridges on to overhead power cables.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bee5f3f6-192e-11eb-8493-5b46eb56a071?shareToken=1fc6c6305bed1812614b9d0ec189a468

We can hope. Still, I well remember some of the tragic outcomes during the last ride of Bobby Kennedy during the June, 1968, trip from New York to Washington on the newly-minted Penn Central.

https://www.history.com/news/robert-f-kennedy-death-funeral-train

 

Regards, Ed

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Posted by howmus on Friday, September 9, 2022 6:25 PM

SeeYou190
Baby daughter's new baby puppy that I met for the first time yesterday.

aaaawwwwww!  How sweet!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 9, 2022 5:28 PM

Baby daughter's new baby puppy that I met for the first time yesterday.

-Photograph by Kevin Parson

This thing just would not hold still for pictures, but she is very cute.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by BATMAN on Friday, September 9, 2022 5:13 PM

Attuvian1
  It would be nice if Her Majesty were to be returned to London by train, perhaps lead by the Royal Scotsman or another iconic steamer.  

It is in the works.

royal train

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 9, 2022 5:06 PM

hon30critter
I agree, that really stinks! I hope fixing it doesn't drive you nuts, or bankrupt you!

Thank you.

This whole thing has driven me nuts. If I could just do it all myself, I could have been done 16 months ago.

Some things need to be done by contractors, that took forever. I had to hire some skilled workiers to do things where I just don't want to "learn the hard way" on my own house. Inspections and permitting were continuous delays. The City Of Cape Coral is currently six weeks behind on permitting. I think I just need one more permit before this is over.

At least I found out that the A/C will never work right as-is before I put the ceiling back together. It can be fixed. It will be nice when it works correctly.

I just put up the steel stringers for the new register. Now I get to run another 4" tube through the "attic" space.

Tin Can II
At the time, everything was made with fiberboard duct material that came in 4' x 10' sheets; I built supply ducts, plenums and returns.

My system is a series of duct board boxes connected by flextible insulated tubing.

Making these duct board boxes is something I hired out. The tools are expensive, and the guys that are good at do a better job than I ever could.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by BATMAN on Friday, September 9, 2022 4:55 PM

 The Royal Touch (CN Photo CNX36781)


It was a nice Fall day in October of 1951, when what should have been a normal run on the Edson Subdivision for Locomotive Engineer W.H. Dixon and Fireman T.M. Arnott turned into an experience they would never forget. That's the day Dixon surrendered the hogger's seat of CNR 4-8-2 6057 to none other than Her Highness Princess Elizabeth, then on her very first tour of Canada. Princess Elizabeth appears to be lifting the train out of Peers, Alberta, headed for Edmonton. Prince Phillip watches while his wife puts the automatic brake into running position and will soon notch out the throttle a little more. Little did anyone in the cab of 6057 know that four months later, the Princess would be Queen.( Rian Manson )

March 2013 Issue, Branchline. Photo courtesy of CN Images of Canada Collection at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

May be an image of 1 person and standing

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by Tin Can II on Friday, September 9, 2022 4:38 PM

I worked my way through college running ducts & copper lines and setting air handlers and outside units.  At the time, everything was made with fiberboard duct material that came in 4' x 10' sheets; I built supply ducts, plenums and returns.  Flexible ducts existed, but at the time, was too expensive to use in most installations.  

I was offered a full time job when I graduated, but I didn't take it as I wanted to get a "real" job based on my college degree.  As it turned out, I ended up framing houses in my home town for a while before landing a job in a bank.  Looking back, I wish I would have stayed in the HVAC business.  Although the guy I worked for went out of business when GE got out of the AC business; he lost his franchise/supplier and couldn't or didn't want another one.

 

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Posted by hon30critter on Friday, September 9, 2022 4:26 PM

SeeYou190
This really stinks and adds weeks to the already massively delayed project.

Hi Kevin,

I agree, that really stinks! I hope fixing it doesn't drive you nuts, or bankrupt you!Smile, Wink & GrinLaugh

Good luck!

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by Attuvian1 on Friday, September 9, 2022 3:48 PM

BroadwayLion

 
It would be nice if Her Majesty were to be returned to London by train, perhaps lead by the Royal Scotsman or another iconic steamer.
 
John
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  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 9, 2022 10:52 AM

York1
Here in our area it's all done through the basement which makes it easy to handle. I would imagine south Florida is like New Orleans with no basements. 

Correct, no basements anywhere.

To make it worse, the middle 25 feet of my house has vaulted ceilings that give about 12" clearance at the widest spot between the roof and ceiling 2 by 4s.

Fortunately I still had a four by six foot piece if drywall down in the living room which made this possible.

Not easy, but possible.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by York1 on Friday, September 9, 2022 10:43 AM

Kevin, that sounds like a mess. Here in our area it's all done through the basement which makes it easy to handle. I would imagine south Florida is like New Orleans with no basements. 

York1 John       

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, September 9, 2022 10:15 AM

Good morning everybody.

It is beautiful down here today, but as always, it is probably going to rain this afternoon. We got a lot of rain yesterday.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Today I am going to install the first of five new A/C register outlets. This one is in the living room with a 4 inch feeder duct.

When the HVAC company was out here, they discovered massive problems with my HVAC installation that has just compunded through the years, starting with poor construction, and followed by two improper installations.

None of this was a surprise to me. The system installed about eight years ago has never worked correctly for me.

I have a 3 ton AC unit, but all the air in the house is choked down to a 14" opening at one spot which is not enough for a system this big.

Basically, to resolve these problems, and allow this system to breathe properly, I need to install another set of outlets in parallel to the existing system. There is not enough room in my "attic" going over the vaulted ceiling to install a big enough single system of plumbing.

This is going to be a ton of work. The guys got the new big duct tube in place running from one end of the house to the other. Installing the new register outlets is going to be a problem for me.

Three of the rooms getting outlets are complete already. I need to get above the ceiling and add these boxes and notruin my previous work. This really stinks and adds weeks to the already massively delayed project.

I need to chill this house, I have no other real option.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
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Posted by York1 on Friday, September 9, 2022 10:02 AM

Good morning, everyone.  Bacon, eggs, and coffee, Flo.

Ed, I'm feeling the same pain when I buy the sunflower seeds.  We buy the seeds in the shell, and the price has gone from $17.00 for 40 pounds 8 months ago to $30 this past week.   We had 9 cardinals at the same time at the feeders yesterday, eating a nice expensive meal.

Overland Park, Kansas, has a nicely restored Union Pacific station.

Have a great day, everyone.

York1 John       

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Posted by gmpullman on Friday, September 9, 2022 6:37 AM

I noticed a few weeks ago that there were dozens of American Goldfinch birds at the feeders again and many more flittering around the yard. Then I realized that the blooming sunflowers must have brought them around:

 Sunflower-b_2022 by Edmund, on Flickr

That white pole there is a piece of 1" PVC pipe ten feet long. These plants are at least three feet taller than that.

 Sunflower_2022 by Edmund, on Flickr

Dee Ann planted some kind of crimson trumpet vine amongst them so the hummingbirds have been playing tag in and around the tall flowers, too. I understand Ukraine is one of the leading exporters of sunflower seeds and the prices at the bird feed store sure seem to reflect the shortages. Maybe we can save some of these seeds before the birds eat them all and plant more, much more, for next year.


My favorite grain is served in a double old fashioned glass, thank you.

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by Water Level Route on Friday, September 9, 2022 5:59 AM

Good Morning Diners.  Brunhilda, I'll take a couple poached eggs on white toast please.  Thanks.

Well I managed to watch the first half of the game last night, which turns out it was the better half to see, unless you are a die-hard Bills fan.  Woke up early this morning not feeling the greatest.  Stomach.  Must have been something I ate.  Hopefully clears up soon.

Busy weekend ahead between my wife's birthday and two soccer games for my daughter.  Probably not any train or football time this weekend.  Bummer!

Mike

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Posted by BroadwayLion on Friday, September 9, 2022 4:27 AM

The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

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