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Jeffery’s Track-side Diner for September

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  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Thursday, September 22, 2022 7:14 AM

Commute of LION is a single elevator ride.

1 stop to church and cafeteria, 2 stops to office.

 

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 Water Level Route on Thursday, September 22, 2022 6:11 AM

Good Morning All.  Zoe, I'll have a black coffee in a large Rock Island mug please.  Oh, and a side of wheat toast.

Kevin, I'll see your 3 mile commute and raise you.  My commute is 3 miles...round trip.  My wife usually walks to work.  Depends on the weather and if she has to carry a bunch of stuff.  That's about a half a mile round trip.  We are very fortunate in that regard.  On the other hand, I know you burn FAR less gasoline than we do.  Let me get my kids out on their own, and then we'll see! Pirate

We started watching a show on Netflix called snowflake mountain.  Supposedly not scripted.  They take a bunch of entitled, spoiled rotten young adults out into the woods in some effort to make them realize life takes effort.  We're two episodes in and at this point I think the hosts are taking it too easy on them, although two of the ten have already quit at this point.  Not sure if this will end up being a big waste of time or not.  I won't recommend it yet.

Mike

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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Thursday, September 22, 2022 6:01 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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Posted by Track fiddler on Thursday, September 22, 2022 5:51 AM

York1

TF, enjoy your picnic!  Sounds like fun.

 

Thanks for saying John, it was fun.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  The store we saw the shish kabobs at were sold out, but the Fried Chicken we found was very good.

Is was a bit too windy to grill so it was the better plan.

 

 

TF

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Posted by Track fiddler on Thursday, September 22, 2022 5:42 AM

Good morning

I watched a rather interesting program on PBS this morning on Minnesota blizzards.  1880 was a bad year for them.

They showed pictures of Steamers below a snow channel.  They must of had Dave's Snow Plough back thenLaugh...Wink

Meteorologist Paul Douglas was one of the commentators on the program.  Your never too old to learn something.  The term Blizzard started as a barrage of punches in boxing and later was adopted by Old Man Winter throwing punches.

 

 

TF

  • Member since
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  • From: A Comfy Cave, New Zealand
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Posted by "JaBear" on Thursday, September 22, 2022 4:21 AM

York1
Bear, thanks for a view of all those old railroad ads.  Wouldn't it be nice to see modern ads for railroads that looked as attractive.

No worries, John. Finding RR posters/ads for Kansas has been interesting(??).
 
My impression is that even before the phrase “flyover country” came into use, the likes of Kansas was a place you had to pass through to get where you were going, it was not a destination as such. Therefore, after the farming land was sold, there was not much incentive to actually advertise, apart from which “streamliner service” you were going to use to pass through. As for modern ads…
 
Still, I’ve found out about railroads I hadn’t heard of.
 
With the dearth of Kansas related railroad posters, I’ve gone tonight to Shorpy for inspiration. I wonder how many photos Jack Delano actually took? (Don't forget to click on full size).
 
 
Thoughts and best Wishes to All that need them. Kia Kaha.
Cheers, the Bear.Smile

"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 Wednesday, September 21, 2022 7:20 PM

On our picnic crunching on the acorns underneath the oak trees amongst the picnic table.  The maples appeared to be trying to be taller.

https://youtu.be/JnC88xBPkkc

After all that with the chicken and such, it was a very nice but windy picnicLaugh

 

TF

  • Member since
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  • From: Flyover Country
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Posted by York1 on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 4:20 PM

Good afternoon, everyone.  Just coffee this afternoon, Flo.

It was 100° yesterday here, today it's 61°.  Nice and cool outside.

Brent, it's nice to have a car with enough power to pull a trailer like yours.  Getting onto the interstate, the Expedition will speed up to 75 mph without any hesitation.  Of course, the trade-off for pulling something is that one doesn't worry about mileage.

Bear, thanks for a view of all those old railroad ads.  Wouldn't it be nice to see modern ads for railroads that looked as attractive.

Kevin, I had to laugh when you mentioned that you had a three mile commute.  When we lived in New Orleans, my wife had a three mile commute to her school, but it could take 45 minutes or longer, depending on the time of day.  No thanks!  I'm so glad I left that and we can walk to any place in town in 15 minutes!

Ed, that's a neat trencher you've got there.  I could have used that when I ran a conduit line to my shed.  I dug that by hand, and had sore arms, sore back, and sore feet when I was finished.

Mike, it's good to hear you are getting some time with the railroad.  Sometimes life is so busy the railroad sits for days without any action.

TF, enjoy your picnic!  Sounds like fun.

Lion, your fuel setup sounds like what are on farms here.  Gasoline tank, diesel tank, propane tank.

Jim, neat pictures of Salina, Kansas.  For those who've never been there, Salina sits at a major crossing -- Interstate 70 goes coast to coast, while Interstate 135 Highway 81 goes from Canada to Mexico.  Salina sits right at the junction of these major coast to coast highways.

Ray, interesting about your Tesla.  My daughter uses hers mostly for commuting.  They have a regular car for their trips.  She loves the Tesla, especially since her employer has free charging ports at work.

I was just complaining to my wife about the upcoming weeks.  It seems like I am scheduled for something virtually every day.  My retirement is getting a workout the next month.  Sometimes I think I need a job so I can get away from all the busy retirement stuff.  Maybe Kevin has the right idea.

MLC, your description of your time at the southern command sitting on the porch listening to the birds -- that sounds like an ideal place.

For all the diner patrons not mentioned, I hope you are doing well.

These grain elevators are in the town of Grand Island, about 50 miles west of me.  The interesting thing is that these elevators are on the spot of the original site of Conagra, the Fortune 500 food conglomerate.  Even though the company is now headquartered in Chicago, it got its start right at those elevators.

 

Have a great rest of the day, everyone.  It's raining here!  Beautiful!

York1 John       

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  • From: 4610 Metre's North of the Fortyninth on the left coast of Canada
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Posted by BATMAN on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 4:11 PM

BroadwayLion
So why him not have a car of his own?

He only needs a car and driver on rare occasions. He was on his laptops and phone in the car the whole day between meetings. He cannot do that and drive at the same time. 

He just bought a Ford Mustang for his personal use. But when he is working and has to leave the office he needs to be able to keep working while moving.

He loves it.

Brent

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

  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 3:43 PM

BATMAN
, got a call from the kid at 0500hrs his car and driver did not show up, he had a huge day of work so I was it. Meetings and such had us going all day for twelve hours. I certainly now understand why he needs a car and driver at times, it was eye-opening watching his day. He is 24 makes six figures and earns it.

So why him not have a car of his own? Well, I don't have a car, but I can drive to Dickinson. For a trip to Bismarck I require a driver.

The old grey mare aint what she used to be...

 

Top of the page to you. No we will not eat the horse, but we got some really nice widebeeset if you are game.

Of course if you were game you might end up on the table.

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

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 3:37 PM

York1

My Ford Expedition gets 15 mpg on a good day.  My wife bought it and loves it.  I have to admit I love driving it.

 

 

Have no idea what our cars can do. We have nine fleet cars on the key board to be signed out as required. There are about five cars in the "run-around" fleet (don't go any farther than what you are willing tio walk back from.)

Br. Louie takes care of the fleet and puts gas in the fleet cars every morning. Gas is in a 500 gallon tank behind the garage. The pump has a meter, but that is ignored.

We have diesel in another tank behind the power house, its main reason for being is to run the 100 KW generator inside.  We also fuel our diesel tractors and trucks there. It is dyed fuel, ergo tax exempt since we are not going to run the generator on the highway. nor the farm equipment for that matter.

 

ROAR

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

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: North Dakota
  • 9,592 posts
Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 3:28 PM

Water Level Route
Been working on decaling some old Athearn passenger cars I acquired as undecorated models. I painted them all silver years ago, bought decals a few years back, but never got around to applying them.

 

LION has some Atheran coaches. Him wanted them in LIRR gewy and orange.

Him printed the sides with the heralds numbers etc and stuck them to the sides of the cars. I used modeling clay to fashion the headlamp house on top of the cars.

They are sdupposed to represent MU equipment, even though they are static.

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 Track fiddler on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 2:57 PM

Afternoon

Just heard from my Judy and she's getting off work early today.  She wants to go over to Bush Lake and have a picnic so we're going to pick up some shish kabobs and potato salad.  Perfect weather for grilling this evening.

 

 

TF

 

 

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  • From: 4610 Metre's North of the Fortyninth on the left coast of Canada
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Posted by BATMAN on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 10:53 AM

Good morning from the sunny West Coast.

I have been chatting with friends and family on the East Coast, they are getting ready for Fiona to slam them, currently a CAT 4. Sailboats are out of the water which is good.

Alaska just got hit with a CAT 3 last week, very weird weather patterns are developing up here in the Pacific North West. The last Typhoon we had was about 60 years ago. We had a really bad blow in 2008, we had 7 trees come down on the property that were in the 150' plus range. The 5' diametre trunks and branches in excess of a foot thick made for months of running the chainsaws. I was wishing we had those little twigs they call trees like they do in the tropics.Laugh Bucking up trees that big is hard work, getting through the five feet and then hooking up the truck to pull the round over and then splitting it with wedges and sledgehammers, I thought I would never finish.

Had a grueling day yesterday, got a call from the kid at 0500hrs his car and driver did not show up, he had a huge day of work so I was it. Meetings and such had us going all day for twelve hours. I certainly now understand why he needs a car and driver at times, it was eye-opening watching his day. He is 24 makes six figures and earns it. Watching him operate and eavesdropping in on his conversations in the adult world with huge responsibilities sure had me thinking about how it just seemed like yesterday we would be getting up early on a Saturday, shoveling in a big breakfast, and getting to the hockey rink for a good part of the day. He is also on the board of an organization associated with Hockey Canada. It is a volunteer position and as hectic as his day was yesterday we still attended a meeting for it as our last stop.

Wife wants to go for a long walk with the fleabags, but I want to get on the bike first so best get to it.

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."

  • Member since
    March 2017
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Posted by Track fiddler on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 6:49 AM

Good morning

I can't believe the weather up here from one day to the next.  Yesterday it was 93° and sticky which felt awfully hot for September.  Today is forecasted for 67°.  Perfect!  My kind of weatherYes 

A good day to change the oil.  Menards has the best deal on Valvoline 100% synthetic. 

My Rams been getting noticeably better mileage using that stuff.  I've been running a blend in the Stang but I'm switching to the 100% synthetic.

 

Judy wants to go to Mankato for October Fest this weekend and Henderson has its last Roll-In car show on Tuesday. 

Plenty of things left to do before the season winds down here.

 

Have a great day gentlemenWink

 

 

TF

  • Member since
    February 2015
  • From: Ludington, MI
  • 1,860 posts
Posted by Water Level Route on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 6:41 AM

Good Morning Diners.  Chloe, an english muffin with strawberry jam please.

Not much news today.  Been working on decaling some old Athearn passenger cars I acquired as undecorated models.  I painted them all silver years ago, bought decals a few years back, but never got around to applying them.  This particular train doesn't get run often (none of my passenger trains currently do), but it will be nice to have it look better lettered up when it does run.  And I'll finally put the glass in the windows to hopefully help hide the lack of interiors on them.  Fun stuff!

Mike

  • Member since
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  • From: North Dakota
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Posted by BroadwayLion on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 6:30 AM

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

Here there be cats.                                LIONS with CAMERAS

  • Member since
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  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
  • 16,367 posts
Posted by gmpullman on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 3:24 AM

I get a kick out of seeing all the "vintage" steam operations these days and the crew is decked out in Hi-Vis dayglo. Not!

How about a military crew in camo so no one can see them then donning glow-in-the-dark vests so everyone can see them?

 Hi-vis Camo by Edmund, on Flickr

Sure, makes sense. Rules is rules.


 

Don't ya hate it when...

 NKP 765 by Todd Dillon, on Flickr

   — you set up for a shot, got the sun just right, and wait for the train, then the vapor trail shadows the whole train.

Thanks Kevin. That's Home Depot PVC conduit in there. Should outlast me Whistling

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by "JaBear" on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 2:21 AM

UPKansas by Bear, on Flickr

Wilson1 by Bear, on Flickr

Smile

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

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    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 1:30 AM

Wow, that is quite an impressive bit of work there Ed.

My texture guy should be out here on Thursday to skip-trowel my living room ceiling, then I can sprint to the end.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
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  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
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Posted by gmpullman on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 11:47 PM

Speaking of grain...  Smile

 Bolt out of (and over) the blue by Mike Danneman, on Flickr


I finally got acknowledgement from the asphalt paving outfit that I hired back in May to pave our driveway that they should be able to start at the end of this week.

Then I recalled that years ago ('84) I had only run a length of UF Romex out to the yard light in front. Thought conduit would be a better idea since this is going to be paved over! Start digging —

 Kioti_trench by Edmund, on Flickr

I made this plough device I call a "ripper-shank". It sure has been handy for trenching work:

 Kioti_ripper by Edmund, on Flickr

Now that the Queen is laid to rest I can hoist the flag again.

Wilson was there to tamp down the last bits of soil. You've heard of a sheepsfoot roller? I've got a cat-paw tamper:

 Wilson_soil by Edmund, on Flickr

Bring on the macadam...

 

 

Cheers, Ed

  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
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Posted by SeeYou190 on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 10:59 PM

My little Colorado goes four months on a tank of gasoline.

I love my three mile commute.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
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Posted by BATMAN on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 10:04 PM

York1
My Ford Expedition gets 15 mpg on a good day.

My 7.3ltr F-350 just turned 22. Ford has the Hybrid pick-ups and the Hybrid Expedition is on the way. We will likely get one along with a new trailer. The wife really wants another trailer for the dog shows. 

This old girl gets driven about 5000km a year and is in great shape. She is pretty stinky though, even though she is just broken in with 240000km on her. Time to do our part for the planet and get at least a Hybrid. I would think it will do almost as good as the Hylander when not pulling a trailer.

It has served us well.

 

 

 

Brent

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

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
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Posted by York1 on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 9:04 PM

My Ford Expedition gets 15 mpg on a good day.  My wife bought it and loves it.  I have to admit I love driving it.

York1 John       

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Posted by Track fiddler on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 9:04 PM

My Summer muscle machine is a lot of fun but I need to start thinking about getting a new everyday vehicle.

 

My Ram is getting rather old like me.

 

 

 

TF

  • Member since
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  • From: 4610 Metre's North of the Fortyninth on the left coast of Canada
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Posted by BATMAN on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 8:20 PM

Our Hybrid Toyota Hylander is amazing. 4.6 ltr per 100km is 61.41 mpg. Not bad for a 9-passenger SUV.

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 howmus on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 8:08 PM

Track fiddler
BroadwayLion

A Gnu Car? I wood not buy any vehicle that does not come wiff dynamic brakes!

 

You made me Chuckle awfully hard Brother EliasLaughLaughLaugh

 

My 69 Mach 1 has 4 drum brakes. 

She doesn't like to stop very fast, even though we keep making her fasterPirate...Laugh

TF

My car has dynamic brakes, or pretty much the same thing.  Take your foot off the accelerator pedal and the electric motor brakes it.  (After all that's what Dynamic brakes basically are! except that in a battery powered car the electricity is used to charge the battery rather than changed to heat and wasted.)

When people ride with me the first time, many notice that I never touch the brake pedal and say, "How'd you do that?"  "How'd I do what?"  I was asked how my Tesla would do climbing mountains?  My answer was "Just fine".  They would say, but you would use a lot of battery to be able to do that, would you have enough battery left to drive back down?  Uh... Yeah!

There is a wonderful County Park nearby called Gannett Hill Park. You can see down the valley for 35 miles on a clear day!  Plan to take the lady I am dating there when the leaves start to change..... ;)  To get there the final 3 miles is a very steep climb up the side of the hill.  Went there last August for a family reunion (late wife's family).  I had 130 miles of range left when I started the climb.  At the top I had 121 miles left.  Yep it is steep!  Was one you did in first gear back when I was driving the VW Bugs! (36hp)  Checked the miles left when I exited the park.  When I hit the bottom of the "hill" I had 128 miles of range in the batteries! Hmmmmmm...... Never applied the regular brakes!  Yep! I like electric!

73

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 Track fiddler on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 7:51 PM

When the thing wants to go and she doesn't want to stop.

You've got to get a handle on that from day onePirate...Laugh

 

I feel sorry for the guys that have the 429 Cobra Jet! Indifferent

I might be brave enough to step up to the Ford 390.  But for now the 351 seems to be fine!

 

Are you Kidding me?  I would take the biggest engine I could ever have! Pirate...Stick out tongue

 

 

 

TF

  • Member since
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Posted by Track fiddler on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 3:47 PM

BroadwayLion

A Gnu Car? I wood not buy any vehicle that does not come wiff dynamic brakes!

 

You made me Chuckle awfully hard Brother EliasLaughLaughLaugh

My 69 Mach 1 has 4 drum brakes. 

She doesn't like to stop very fast, even though we keep making her fasterPirate...Laugh

It's especially disturbing when I'm romping her hard and I need to Stop QuicklyIndifferent

 

As you can imagine, ... I don't follow too closely!

 

 

TF

  • Member since
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Posted by Track fiddler on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 1:21 PM

BATMAN

 

 
Track fiddler
Another dishonest person I stumbled upon I guess.  I hate it when that happens! ...  

 

I always told my kids that being a little bit honest is like being a little bit pregnant. You are either an honest person or you are not.

Couldn't think of a better way to say that than you didYes

I only highlighted the quote I'm replying to but what else I read.

 

You're one of the lucky ones Brent.  Or maybe luck has nothing to do with it but how you lived your life.

You were blessed with the Perfect Mate and have been happily married to her for many years and it always shows that you are happy in your wordsYes

 

Did Done Good!

 

 

TF

 

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