It is after 12:00 noon here, so time to break out some suds! I think a "Three Philosophers" from Omme Gang will suit the day just fine.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
It is raining outside, so early beer it will be.
hon30critter I will caution you that the narrator sounds a bit mundane, but I believe that his observations and comparisons with AmTrak are legitimate.
My middle daughter did a train vacation about ten years ago. She rode VIA Westbound from roughly New York to Seattle, then she rode Amtrak from Seattle to Tampa.
She said the trains were roughly similar as far as service and equipment was concerned, but the VIA train was faster and spent less time on sidings.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
hbgatsfMy question about the dinner in the other thread was not in jest. I had never clicked on this topic.
Then I'm glad you found us. I am unable to send messages through the forum software.
While we get off topic, we don't do politics in the diner, at least not when Vinnie, AKA Steve Otte is around.
Lion That orange cat looks like the Chessie cat.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hello diners. I'm late for breakfast, so I'll have some of Kevin's brew for lunch.
I just got back from a visit to the railroad store. It's about an hour away, but I love going there. If they don't have it, they'll get it for you. I only needed some track joiners, but I spent quite a while shopping. Spring Creek Model Railroad:
It's cold, dark, and frosty outside -- perfect weather to use as an excuse to work inside on the railroad.
Have a great day, everyone.
James Andrews's grave -- one of the Union soldiers who took part in the Civil War Great Locomotive Chase:
York1 John
Good evening Diners. Janie, I'll have a glass of the brew, Kevin left please.
I have been busy baking. Spiced apple and pear sausage rolls. Sorry guys. Family found out and arrived. No sausage rolls left.
In February 1977 I was in Jerusalem, Israel. They did not have an underground train system then. Now they do. Yitzhak Navon Railway Station; the deepest station in the world.
A film nearly all escalators from the station to ground level.
(It is something different. )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygHhvB48mBk&ab_channel=VirtualJERUSALEM
Beef Rogan Josh Curry. I'll leave some in the Diner.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
hon30critterYou can post anything related to trains, real or modeled, that suits your fancy! This should be a very interesting month!
There are some great safety stripes on the end of this caboose.
This caboose is on display at the North Carolina Museum of Transportation.
York1I just got back from a visit to the railroad store. It's about an hour away, but I love going there. If they don't have it, they'll get it for you. I only needed some track joiners, but I spent quite a while shopping. Spring Creek Model Railroad:
Anyway, next time I'm motoring through Nebraska I'm going to have a good long wander down those aisles.
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
Israel.
Jerusalem Light Rail Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHqKO4ZySfw&ab_channel=JordanaGee
Building the extension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8NPNvpA6Gk&ab_channel=Steconfer
Israeli Trains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF0Lqz8ow8I&ab_channel=YnonGabbai
crossthedogAnyway, next time I'm motoring through Nebraska I'm going to have a good long wander down those aisles.
Plan on spending a lot of time. It is worth the trip.
This place, much closer to Seattle, is also worth a long visit.
PF&S Trains in Pasco, Washington.
SeeYou190This place, much closer to Seattle, is also worth a long visit. PF&S Trains in Pasco, Washington.
NorthBritJerusalem Light Rail Journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHqKO4ZySfw&ab_channel=JordanaGee
David, we just got back from a trip over there. The video shows a clean part of Jerusalem we didn't see.
This is the only train I got a picture of in Israel. This photo was taken from the highway in Tel Aviv.
In three weeks in the Mid-East, this was the only train we saw.
Good Evening,
Happy Friday the 13th. So far has been ok here. Our mild weather continues but it is quite cloudy.
Just bought a Proto 2k S3 on Ebay. It is in CNR 1950's paint. I have been looking for one for several years. Price was right too. I really don't need another loco but the cheque I just recieved for selling N scale stuff will more than cover the cost. It won't arrive for a couple of weeks as it is coming from Georgia.
Also bought a new laptop. The old one still works fine but the memory is nearly full and it is 12 years old running windows 7. It has a 17" screen and so my wife wanted the same size again. I wanted the same brand but Fujitsu no longer sells computers here. They were really well made but poorly marketed.
I'm back in basement quarantine as I had to get my annual physical this week.
Time for a glass of wine.
CN Charlie
crossthedogI hadn't heard of them, but that's definitely within striking distance.
PF&S is like a train show in a hobby shop.
The place is housed in some Alaska Railroad boxcars. There is not much signage to let you know you are in the right place.
Don't set your expectations too high about the cleanliness.
It is also the home of Precision Scale and Tomar Industries.
Here is an excellent place to see both real trains and G scale models. It is located close to Hamilton, Ontario. If you are a railfanner, model railroader, nature lover and a gardener, this place has it all:
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
The Christmas connection is that the Pohutukawa tree, often known as the New Zealand Christmas Tree was, because of its southern location, still in flower.
Hi Bear,
I zoomed in on the Pohutukawa tree and it is indeed spectacular! The blooms are amazingly dense.
We are staring at bare branches and will be for another four months. Fortunately our coniferous trees maintain their colour so they are a nice break from the monotony of winter.
We just dodged another major winter storm. The bad weather seems to be either north of us or south of us but Bradford rarely gets nailed with deep snow. Suits me just fine!
York1 David, we just got back from a trip over there. The video shows a clean part of Jerusalem we didn't see.
Hi John. When I was in Jerusalem I saw both the Israeli and Arab areas. Interesting to say the least at the differences.
Bethlehem is a lot different now compared to my visit. Even the birthplace of Jesus is a different place.
Loved been in Haifa. Amazing place. I hope it still is.
It's almost time for lunch on the plains, and I just finished breakfast. Late start today!
NorthBritWhen I was in Jerusalem I saw both the Israeli and Arab areas. Interesting to say the least at the differences. Bethlehem is a lot different now compared to my visit. Even the birthplace of Jesus is a different place.
David, we spent most of our Jerusalem time in the old city -- walking the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish quarters. It was an amazing several days there.
I did not know before the trip that Bethlehem is not in Israel, it's in the State of Palestine. I didn't even know the State of Palestine existed. It was formally declared in 1988.
To go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem meant crossing a border. It was not a problem -- just checking passports, etc. They appreciate the tourists.
Other border crossings in the Mid East were much more involved. In one fifty-foot stretch, we had to show our passports five times, and had to stand for facial recognition cameras.
I've posted before the best part of the entire trip was Petra in Jordan. Here, after a mile walk through this slot canyon, we got our first sight of the treasury. The Petra ruins are much more involved than I knew. It was a very large city in BC times.
One of my daughters and I are on the right facing away from the camera. Pictures don't do justice to this impressive scene:
So much for vacation photos! Too bad I didn't see more trains.
Have a great Saturday, everyone.
Today I have a picture of the only SW-1 I have seen in the wild.
This one was photographed in Arkansas in 2021.
I do not know if it was still operational or not, but it looks like it is still being maintained.
Good Afternoon,
No train sightings here but I did see a red fox trotting down our street yesterday afternoon when I was coming back from getting my blood work done. It had a grey squirrel in its mouth. When I got home my wife showed me photos of it in our backyard. It had jumped over a 5' fence. It left by walking along the top of the fence. It was eating bird seed. Later in the day 3 deer were on our driveway. We do see these 3 often but mostly at night. Amazing as we live in a city of 750,000 but we are very close to a major river that has wooded banks and also to the University that has large acerage complete with a farm along the river.
I wonder where TF is hiding out?
CNCharlie I wonder where TF is hiding out? CN Charlie
Last I saw, he was under a bridge - with a green machine going over it.
For TF (wherever he is).
Bridges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-U4V44kWPU&ab_channel=morthren
Good afternoon from the sunny edge of the Pacific ocean. I feel sorry for California getting deluged with rain, that was us last year, the repairs are still ongoing.
The house is filling up with dog people to get a first look at the puppies. One lady has flown in from the Czech Republic and another from California. Apparently, the one from California is a news anchor from one of the U.S. news networks. Not watching much U.S. news I don't know who she is. I will be hiding in the trainroom after a long walk with my Bud.
I finally got my new Rapido Manor Sleepers(6) and Baggage Dorm(1) car on the track along with the two dome cars I obtained quite a while back. The dome cars ran great when I got them and I thought Rapido had left the issues of the Super Continental line long behind them. To say I was disappointed in the new cars is an understatement. They would not stay on the track at all. I left them until the next day and started the surgery on them. I got them running great now and they look great. It took me years to get all my Super Continental cars running to perfection and I had visions of the same thing happening again but experience is a wonderful teacher. I had them all ship-shape in an afternoon. One of the cars had the piping hanging loose and a broken coupler, a Monday morning special. Quality control seems to be getting worse at Rapido. IMO.
Going out to dinner tonight with the wifes brother and half-brother plus wives. Her full brother is a really successful engineer and we get along great. Her half-brother is a Government worker (which I was) who just whines and complains about how unfair life is. His problem is he is just really lazy. He did not get the work ethic of his half-siblings, that's for sure. They are driving out here from the big city as the greek restaurant here is the best and that's where they wanted to go. Suits me just fine as it is only 20 minutes on a country road.
TF must be having a good time wherever he went, he has forgotten all about us.
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."
Growing up with the railroads around Cleveland, the New York Central quickly became my favorite but later I learned of the B&O, Pennsylvania, Erie, Nickel Plate and a few others.
Many of the NYC passenger trains passing through were still something to see. By the time I was "of age" the Century had already been combined with the Commodore Vanderbilt and carried, harumph, coaches.
Still it was a thing of beauty:
rn2-66cr by George Hamlin, on Flickr
I was ten years old when the above photo was taken and two-weeks later would see the Beatles perform at Cleveland Municipal stadium (right along the NYC main).
rn2-67crs by George Hamlin, on Flickr
NYC Collinwood Engine Terminal Cleveland OH 1952 by Geoffrey Hubbs, on Flickr
I'm glad I was at least able to glimpse a tiny, remaining sliver of "The Great Steel Fleet" in action.
Cheers, Ed
Good morning Railfans.
Haven't been hiding or gone anywhere...Still here
Well, the smart phone (Dumb Phone) permanently locked itself into desktop mode while doing live video sizing experiments
Couldn't find anywhere to unlock this in normal settings. With it stuck in that unfamiliar mode for over a week, it made things too confusing, if not impossible to navigate on the internet. I've only used desktop mode for Imgur posting pictures before videos in Youtube.
Come to find out, it was a simple fix. There's a site settings menu online that one never knew about. It was just a matter of simply turning the desktop function off once it was found.
The artificial intelligence argued with me and asked, ("Are you sure you want to turn off desktop mode?")
Some Pellet Drags with Cabeese
TF
Good afternoon Diner. A chicken wrap with fries please, Janie.
Good to hear from you TF.
Coals from Newcastle.
1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruOot6vUadE&ab_channel=ThisIsLondon
2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRx_OyUr9bM&t=301s&ab_channel=ThisIsLondon
3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2AL3_VBosE&ab_channel=ThisIsLondon
Good morning, diners. It's donut day! I'll have just black coffee.
The end is in sight! I got the track onto the layout bridge, and today I will get it fastened down and aligned. By tomorrow, I will be able to run a test locomotive to see if anyone is killed or injured if bridge was mis-engineered.
TF! We missed you -- glad to see you're OK.
Have a good Sunday, everyone.
Collin crossing in Houston:
Today I have a picture of a Sugar Cane Train in Clewiston, Florida in 1998.
The sky was smoky because Sugar Cane fields need to be burned prior to harvesting. The smoke is dense in Cane Country this time of year.
SeeYou190Today I have a picture of a Sugar Cane Train in Clewiston, Florida in 1998.
Sweet!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
York1By tomorrow, I will be able to run a test locomotive to see if anyone is killed or injured if bridge was mis-engineered.
Congratualtions on the progress... good luck, and keep us posted.
I actually found my Hawaii train pictures, from 2006. Here's a prototype for an Atlas wooden deck turntable:
An older engine, on display but not connected to anything. I'm in the cab.
Our Iron Horse for the day. This was a tourist atrraction only, but we got pulled around the property on a beautiful day in Hawaii. What's not to like?
Our engineer and a view into the cab.
Finally for now, a view down the tracks going over a trestle.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.