Hello everyone and Happy New Year!!!
Welcome to Jeffreys Diner for January, 2023!
This month we are going to try something new. Instead of choosing a particular place or theme, we are going to throw things wide open so you can post anything related to trains, real or modeled, that suits your fancy! This should be a very interesting month!
By the way, I have taken the liberty of moving the Diner a bit early because we will be entertaining friends this evening. Hope you don't mind.
So, what interesting items do you have to show us?
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thanks for setting us up for next year Dave.
Happy New Year to Bear and anyone else that has made it to 2023 already.
It has been hectic lately with the weather we have had over the Christmas period but will take it easy tonight watching hockey and drinking rum.
Happy New Year's to all in case I don't make it back later.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Hmmmm..... Almost THAT time I think! Wishing all a great New Year (when it gets to where you live)! I'll be heading over to my son's house soon to see 2023 arrive.
And one more for good measure....
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
New Year's Eve. A doubleheader in hockey with Canada playing Sweden in the World Juniors and then the Canucks vs the Flames. Could life get any better? I guess a little of the Captain finishes things off nicely.
hon30critterWe are going to throw things wide open so you can post anything related to trains.
OK... here is a picture I took around 1990:
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
I will try to share an image per day.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Last month I was very busy with the finishing off my irrigation project. This was something I started last year when they were predicting we would have a "100 year drought", then we had one of the wettest Summers on record.
It took three full weeks of back-breaking manual labor to complete the installation, but it is finally in, and it works.
-All Photographs by Kevin Parson
Digging trenches takes forever! I foolishly thought I could get the trenches dug in a day, it took weeks. Even digging a shallow trench is very hard work.
All the main piping for the 8 sprinkler zones is 1-1/2" schedule 40. There is over 600 feet of 1-1/2" pipe in my yard now. Pipe size only drops to 1" and 3/4" if there are three or fewer sprinkler heads on a branch.
I hit a lot more buried rocks than I was anticipating.
Some of the trenches contain as many as five pipes all bunched together as the runs go towards their zones.
Most of the sprinkler heads are fed with a 3/4" run coming off of the 1-1/2" mains.
All of the sprinkler heads are installed on some sort of a fully articulating swing arm. These make adjusting the height and angle of the sprinkler head a very easy operation. This was well worth the time and expense.
I found the remains of the fort/castle that the kids used to play on. Getting these old six by six timbers and concrete out of the ground was a real bear.
This rock was about twice the size of a bowling ball. No fun here.
Look at all the rocks and debris I pulled out of the ground.
SUCCESS! Even with the pressure dialed all the way down to 15 PSI all 20 spray heads in each zone will pop up and do their job.
I triple-overlapped everything. Each blade of grass in my yard is serviced by at least three different sprinkler heads. I get good saturation with only a 20 minute duration. With this system I should be able to keep the lawn green all Winter long and still be compliant with the city's watering restrictions.
My yard looks awful now. I hope the sod all fills in soon and it gets back to good.
SeeYou190Look at all the rocks and debris I pulled out of the ground.
I didn't know Florida had rock like that. I'm not sure why I thought Florida would be all sand.
York1 John
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Another year gone by... so quickly! Thanks for the great setup for 2023, Dave
A photo worth further study. A classic B&O P-3 Pacific on a special passenger extra to bring harvest help to Batavia, New York from Richwood, west Virginia in September of 1942.
B&O_5123_P-3 at Richwood, W. Va. by Edmund, on Flickr
The first thing that catches your eye, of course is that washing machine pulley coming out of the trailing wheel journal box. Most logically an arrangement for a speed indicating device (not a Loco-Valve-Pilot). Then the soot-covered light bulbjust under the cab floor. There's always been speculation about the use of "ground lights" especially on steam locos. This one seems to have lost its protective outer globe.
Happy New Year to all!
Cheers, Ed
York1I didn't know Florida had rock like that. I'm not sure why I thought Florida would be all sand.
Where I live in Florida is barely above sea level, and is naturally a swamp.
Everything has to be filled before you can build. All the rocks and debris are from that fill that was trucked in. My house is filled higher than almost all the other houses on the street. When I bought it, it was the highest.
Fill is very important because of the flooding possibilities. My house should stay high and dry.
Good morning from Antigo, Wisconsin.
Thanks for opening January's Free-For-All Diner Dave.
Was awake just before 5:00 this morning, but nobody else is after last night's New Year's festivities
Nice to get reception up here as they put in a new cell tower a few years back. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't.
My share is the McGiffert self-propelling log loader from the backyard of the Duluth Depot Museum.
Looks like something from Dr Seuss man.
Interesting and efficient machine as empty logging cars could pass underneath to be loaded.
Love the Cheese Train Bear. Too bad we won't be up here on a Friday. Every week in the early afternoon, the freshly made cheese curds come from the creamery to the Phlox service station.
They sell out quickly if you don't get there in time. They are so fresh they're still warm and squeak in your teeth when you chew them
Happy New Year gentlemen
SeeYou190 I got sixteen feet of soffit up in four hours, including two light fixtures.
I got sixteen feet of soffit up in four hours, including two light fixtures.
Happy New Year Diners. A large coffee please, Janie.
Panama Canal Railroad
Travelled on it in 2018
IMG_0874 by David Harrison, on Flickr
IMG_0876 by David Harrison, on Flickr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AXhD3V309w&ab_channel=StevenJBrown
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Use any excess earth for a raised bed(s).
Good morning to 2023! Happy New Year.
My wife just woke up and wanted to know why the Rose Parade wasn't on. Even the parade gets the weekend off.
Maybe by the end of this year I will have my layout's bridge finished.
It's 51 weeks to Christmas, 2023, and so I'm giving my fellow diners plenty of time. I would really like someone to get me either the speeder or the caboose in this photo for Christmas. I'd be happy with either one.
Have a great Sunday, everyone.
SeeYou190 York1 I didn't know Florida had rock like that. I'm not sure why I thought Florida would be all sand. Where I live in Florida is barely above sea level, and is naturally a swamp. Everything has to be filled before you can build. All the rocks and debris are from that fill that was trucked in. My house is filled higher than almost all the other houses on the street. When I bought it, it was the highest. Fill is very important because of the flooding possibilities. My house should stay high and dry. -Kevin
York1 I didn't know Florida had rock like that. I'm not sure why I thought Florida would be all sand.
My deceased brother-in-law's house in Cape Coral had all the non native grass and bushes and trees removed and replaced with native plants. Never had to water and it stayed green all year long.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Beamish Museum, County Durham, U.K.
My son works there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iK6zoYTsq4&ab_channel=MattDitchPhotography
A "Pike-Sized" passenger train passing one of my favorite stations, Point of Rocks, Maryland:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O038 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Quiet day here at the homestead.
Anarchy by Bear, on Flickr It does allow me though, to post this wonderful poster that I came across during an earlier search… Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board posters _ by Bear, on Flickr Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year. Cheers, the Bear.
Anarchy by Bear, on Flickr
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board posters _ by Bear, on Flickr
Hmmm, sounds like the Bear is a little cheesed off.
Happy New Year once again to all. Santa brought me a proper trail cam so I could see what wildlife visits during the night. We do get quite a variety passing through and often wake up to a half dozen deer sound asleep on our front lawn in the morning.
Santa also brought me a new drone as I wore my old one out, so I was out breaking it in as well today. It is a step or two up from my old one.
I then grabbed a mutt and did 10.36km in 2 hours and 20 minutes which is slow for me, however, instead of turning right and heading off into the forest, we turned left and headed off across the hay fields and there were lots of cows and horses to visit and pet along the way. It was such a nice day and so quiet it was a total recharge for the soul. Burned 1014 calories just on the walk so I can pig out tonight.
Someone gave me a bottle of Black Tower Pinot Noir for doing them a favour. Blah, yuck It was probably regifted many times and I was the only one dumb enough to open it.
Ed, I never knew there was such a thing as a ground/inspection light until I got my Hudsons. What does this button do? Oh cool!
Just about happy hour, I'll go see if any of our Christmas visitors have left me any of my good Scotch.
I took this photo way back when and someone wrote and asked if they could use it for a RR calendar that they produced every year. I wrote back and said go ahead, but never got the free calendar they promised me for letting them use it. Easy come easy go.
Time to visit the trainroom which just happens to be where the bar is. I think I'll just fire up a couple and sit back and watch for a while.
All the best to all.
Evening
New Year's resolution is embedding videos from the phone
Some PF from TF.
PS HAPPY NEW YEAR for 2 hours and 364 more days
Track fiddlerNew Year's resolution is embedding videos from the phone.
I knew you could do it, TF!
A couple more great B&O photos:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O410 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
An E6 in shiny paint:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O421 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
No one on the open platform today...
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O434 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
BATMANHmmm, sounds like the Bear is a little cheesed off.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee with cream please, Zoe.
38 minutes of Preserved Narrow Gauge Railways in the U.K.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w9FxFYCmVk&ab_channel=preservedrailway
Good morning, everyone.
Rain, then ice, then snow predicted. There's a lot of things needing to be done before that happens.
I'll check in later today to see how everyone is doing.
Y2K, which seems like yesterday, is already 23 years ago.
Good morning
gmpullman Track fiddler New Year's resolution is embedding videos from the phone.
Track fiddler New Year's resolution is embedding videos from the phone.
And Thanks for the vote of confidence Ed
gmpullman A "Pike-Sized" passenger train passing one of my favorite stations, Point of Rocks, Maryland: Thomas Underwood Coll B&O038 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
A handsome structure at that. My favorite railroad structure is the historically preserved, Owatonna Depot.
Well John the price of cabeese have gone up. https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/
A nice speeder will cost you $5-6,000 A caboose in not terrible condition, 5 times as much. Trucking it to your place will cost as much as the caboose, unless you are close.
We are having spring days after the Polar Death Storm of several days ago.
Hoping everyone has a happy and healthy New Year
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
hon30critterYou can post anything related to trains, real or modeled, that suits your fancy!
Track maintenance crew at work in 1988:
I have no idea where I took that picture.
dti406My deceased brother-in-law's house in Cape Coral had all the non native grass and bushes and trees removed and replaced with native plants. Never had to water and it stayed green all year long.
I am the opposite, nothing in my yard is native, and a lot are exotics.
I have trees from Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
All my shrubs are from far away lands as well.
A lot of my trees have died, but the ones that took root are beautiful. When my back yard is finally done, it should look like a real paradise, I hope.
I really wanted a couple of Australian Carrotwood Trees when I bought this house in 1999, but I found out they were categorized as invasive in 1995.
We've got nice weather, too. It's 55 degrees F with bright sunshine. The GF was on one of those organized trail runs yesterday, and she fell going over a stream with some rocks. Now her knees and back hurt. Her schedule is pretty empty this week, but as usual the dog won't get a walk for a few days. If the dog gets one good walk a week, it's lucky.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good evening Diners. Whisky and lemonade please, Zoe.
Industrial Railways
Manufacture of Steel - 1945.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ETFcXyuxP8&list=PLSmEk8-LnOGuqyLFA4b0_LMLU0Tp5Q4qW&ab_channel=CharlieDeanArchives
York1 I would really like someone to get me either the speeder or the caboose in this photo for Christmas.
I wish I would have known, John. I did the speeder thing in the early 2000s. It was fun but I moved on from there.
Edison_Speeder by Edmund, on Flickr
I sold it to a fellow that has really maintained it well and, last I heard was still using it on "speeder outings".
Mr. Edison was in charge of security:
Edison by Edmund, on Flickr
I'm sure most of you know that my choice for a caboose was to stick-build a replica. Far less expensive (I believe last tally was about $12k and that was total cost including utilities and the TV and refrigerator). I've had visitors question me as to how I got this thing moved into the woods. Sometimes it took a bit of convincing that it really isn't an authentic caboose.
IMG_9971 by Edmund, on Flickr
My nephew offered to donate a pair of actual freight trucks to stick underneath. At about five tons each I decided against that option.