Good morning to all!
Had about 7" of the wet "mashed" potato snow yesterday, slowly melting away.
John, I've watched a lot of box cars while track side, and seen a zillioin photos, but I have never seen one with a door opener like that!
Mike.
My You Tube
Good morning
Hoping for a early Spring here like everyone is.
The highlight of the weekend was, Judy took me to PF Chang's for the sea bass, it was mighty scrumptious
NorthBrit Where to take the Diner for April? Would trains operating through scenery work for a month?
Where to take the Diner for April?
Would trains operating through scenery work for a month?
That sounds like an interesting idea David. Scenery certainly covers a wide variety of possibilities.
You have your bridge scenes, your tunnel scenes, your mountain scenes, your water scenes, your city scenes and many, many more. Sounds good to me.
PS. Why thank you kind sir. I'll join ya in a belated Happy Birthday toast, a bit later this afternoon
Enjoy your Sunday everyone.
TF
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
Good morning everyone. Chloe, let me try your oatmeal today, maybe with a few raisins mixed in. Thank you.
There is nothing on eBay model-train related that I am bidding on right now, and I have not won an auction in weeks. The least few items I bought were high-end craftsman kits. I would like to get Dunkelmeyer's Creamery from Micro-Scale Models, but there is one on Brass Trains Dot Com right now for just $150.00, and I just won't pull the trigger. I really can't even think of anything else I want to buy.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Well, I had a little 24 hour respite from both the internet and electricity. yesterday afternoon winds blasted through here peaking around 70 MPH in some areas. Our power went out around 2 PM. After a little reading by candlelight and doing a few crosswords the old fashioned way, paper and pencil, I fired up the trusty ol' generator around 6 pm. Quite a few trees down and that sort of thing.
Our neighbor has three horses and I asked Dee Ann to text her to see if she needed water for them. Neighbor was at work until 8pm and she replied YES she did need water (they're new to 'country' living and sometimes forget that their well pump needs watts and amps) so I gathered fifteen empty distilled water jugs we had around and filled them for her.
Happy horses, thankful neighbor. I told her it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a few 55 gallon barrels and keep some water on hand for such emergencies.
Back to catching up on news and such on the WWW.
One for the LION:
3291016 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Is Potato:
4195001 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Its a gas!
4368002 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good evening
Have been hearing about some of that wicked weather out East. Glad everyone's okay Ed. Did you manage to get by without any serious damages at your place?
Track fiddlerGlad everyone's okay Ed. Did you manage to get by without any serious damages at your place?
Thanks for asking, TF. We made out OK, just a few heavy branches and one pretty good-sized tree down across the shared part of our driveway. I got the tractor out to push it off the road and the other neighbor cut it up into fire-wood sized chunks for me this morning.
Other areas around Cleveland had some tree damage, power outages and such. Could have been worse!
Good evening all.
I just feel like being a deadbeat tonight so I will be. I can't even bring myself to watch the idiot box.
I have been chatting with an old girlfriend who is a doctor at the University of Chicago Hospital. We first fell in love at age 13. She moved away at the end of high school but we always kept in touch and over the years would get together when neither of us was seeing anyone else. Anyway, she just told me she has breast cancer. She is married with three kids and they are wonderful so she has lots of support. She was just saying it was about time to think about retiring and getting back to see the parts of the world she has not seen yet. We did some trips together. Even at 64, she is a knockout.
Ed, That's great you were able to care for the horses, we have had to do the same around here a few times when emergencies prevented people from getting home. I have been around horses my whole life so it is no problem. We have also had to bring the cows in a couple of times, they know the way so all we had to do was open and close the gates.
I really feel bad for all those affected by these bad storms. To hear many don't have insurance makes it all even worse.
As far as next month I was going to suggest roundhouses and turntables or mountain passes. Keeping the passes open and the maintenance of them. Since David's idea of scenery means we can also show the scenery of mountain passes that sounds good to me.
I am driving to Calgary next month. It is my favourite drive in the world, I never get tired of it. Mountain passes and the Canadian Pacific, what's not to like? I will stop at the Chateau Lake Louise on the way and spend the night and go for a short hike in the morning depending on the snowpack, I have dug out my bear spray as the Grizzlies will just be waking up and looking for a good meal.
I'll then stop in Banff, go to the hot springs for a couple of hours, and then drive to Calgary which is two hours away.
Booked into the Hyatt for two nights. Then it is SuperTrain and then on to Rocky Mountain House and then home. Can't wait. If I want to go to SuperTrain on the second day as well I will just stay another night at the Hyatt.
I am lovin the espresso machine the wife brought home, best coffee ever by a long shot.
I got Final Cut Pro with my last Mac. It is a video editing program and I have been watching Youtube videos on how to use it. It is pretty amazing software.
Time for a few more tunes on the guitar and early to bed.
Every girlfriend comes with a song. This is the one that comes with the old one in Chicago.
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."
Good Morning Diners. Chloe, a glazed doughnut and a coffee please.
Spent the day yesterday with my wife and youngest daughter at a Garden & Sculpture park, then a fun lunch. As we aren't going anywhere for spring break, it was kind of our substitute for the kiddo. The destination was her idea and it was fun.
Bidding on a new loco right now. Only put a half-hearted bid in as I'm kind of on the fence about it, but I'm ahead so we'll see.
Not much else news worthy. Hope everyone has a good day!
Mike
Wow, I didn't realize I had made TOP on Sunday!
I'll make up for it this morning!
Here's what I had for breakfast, I'll share to all!
With coffee and a cold glass of milk!
Happy Monday!
Good morning everyone. I woke up too late for breakfast. Chloe, just bring me a BLT on toasted white and a tall glass of milk.
I thawed out my last of the Jambalaya I made last month and had it for dinner last night. I was still delicious, and I enjoyed it very much.
Now I am sad that the best batch I ever made is all gone.
Good afternoon, everyone. I'll also have a BLT for lunch, Flo.
The snow is almost all melted and by Thursday we will be in the 60s.
I'm still struggling with the turnout switch control panel. I keep seeing things I don't like and change the plan. There will soon come a point I will say it's good enough and get it mounted to the fascia.
My calendar shows the next two weeks as extremely busy, starting with a meeting tonight. I didn't retire to have stretches of busyness like this!
The blackbirds are back and have invaded the feeders. They come in flocks and will clean out all the feeders without allowing the jays and Cardinals a chance. They will stay about two or three months and then move back to the fields. My wife is in a bad mood watching them.
Have a great Monday, everyone.
York1 John
Good afternoon
Judy's getting off work early, so I'm taking her out to lunch to get her back from PF Chang's this weekend
You know what they say, "If the shoe fits, Wear it!"..... Just don't stub your toe trying it on
Some more strange rolling stockBig electric company, Big parts
Oh, a generator stator.
Brent We started our Rocky Mountaineer trip in Calgary. We arrived during the Gay Pride Parade and that wasn't on our Sikh cab drivers' radar. We circled around and around before he let us out to walk to our hotel.
On a more serious note, I got the call I had been anticipating from my mother's nursing home. Her Alzheimer's mortal suffering came to an end after breakfast. While all life is precious, she had no quality of life for at least the last two years.
She was falling fairly frequently so at least she didn't have to spend her last days in pain with a broken hip.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
My condolences to you and your family, Henry.
Regards, Ed
Our condolences to you and your family, Henry.
David & Dawn
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Prayers to you and family Henry, My mother went the same way.
Sorry to hear that, Henry. Best wishes to you and your family.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I'm sorry to hear that, Henry. You have my sympathy. Very difficult last years.
Good evening from the edge of the Salish Sea where it was a beautiful warm sunny day today.
Henry, my condolences on the loss of your mother. May she now rest in peace away from that horrible, horrible disease.
I was heading out for a scoot with the dog and the wife said she wanted to come along. With her health issues that has not happened for a long time. I usually only take one dog but today we took four leaving two at home. We did over 5km in an hour and a half which is twice as long as it would normally take me, however, it was the best having her along. I turned on my Garmin and it did not even count it as exercise as my HR did not get over 76BPM.
I get to go overseas (Vancouver Island) to go get my daughter on April 6, the day of her last exam. She wants to get home ASAP and get going on her work for the Feds. Today she lined up the two surgeries she needs to have while she is home. Tonsils are the easy one while her abdominal anomaly is somewhat more invasive. Work has already told her whatever she needs as far as time off she's got. Apparently, this anomaly they discovered by chance is extremely rare.
Had a big fat 12oz melt-in-your-mouth top sirloin steak for dinner along with a mango Thai salad. We went to Costco this morning and really loaded up on meat. Good weather means big calorie burn as I tend to do a lot more. Costco was deserted. I love to people-watch at Costco and eavesdrop as they discuss nutrition while they put six bags of chips in the buggy.
April is shaping up to be an insanely busy month, I am tired just thinking about it.
Time for the idiot box.
The parlor version.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee and a blueberry muffin please, Chloe.
It has been a few challenging days for Dawn. Yesterday evening and today are 'good days'.
Although I have 'looked in the Diner' I still have a lot of posts to read and catch up on.
Railway Curiosities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0QqflJNILA&ab_channel=PhilipeBear
Working the Maenofferen Slate Quarry.
8mm Silent Film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8RZjB1gULk&ab_channel=NCBgricer
Imagine travelling by train in 1800s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROLo9_Y0xco&ab_channel=SantosoTrip%26Review
David
Good Morning Diners. Zoe, a coffee to go please.
Henry, I'm sorry to hear about your mom. Like you say, at least she wasn't in pain.
Brent, thanks for the video. I love that song.
David, glad to hear Dawn had a couple better days. Praying they continue.
All others, take care.
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, Chloe.
It's a long day today. Even with that, I still will get some layout time. I really need to order some track stuff soon or work on the layout will grind to a halt.
I got to talking to a convenience store clerk as she sat outside on a cigarette break. I was a 2½ pack a day smoker when I quit in 1980. I told the woman that it was easier to smoke back then -- I didn't have to go outside to smoke, and the cigarettes were 35¢ a pack. They are over $5.00 a pack now. I can't imagine how much money that would cost today.
I wanted to quit, but my wife made it easier. We were having our first baby, and she said smoking was no longer allowed. It's strange, but after 40 years, smelling some cigarette smoke still brings up the urge to have one. I never would do that, but the addiction was strong.
Stupid habit.
It sure would have been fun to ride in one of these:
Good morning everyone. CHloe, I just want a couple of bananas along with my coffee to get the day going.
York1 I was a 2½ pack a day smoker when I quit in 1980.
I was near three packs a day when I quit in 1996, on July 4th of that year.
York1 It's strange, but after 40 years, smelling some cigarette smoke still brings up the urge to have one.
I know. Sometimes I smell one, and still really want to light up.
I think the price is now my biggest deterrent. I am not spending the cost of a set of Kadee trucks on a pack of cigarettes.
Ah! Smoking.
In days gone when it was 'okay to smoke' I was a 20 cigarettes a day person. Then it began to creep up to 40+. Dawn was a 20 a day person. We both stopped just before our son was born, 46 years ago. For several years I wanted to 'light a cigarette'. Now I hate the smell.
We have traveled the world on money we have saved.
I was never a smoker, and always hated it. I avoided bars and some restaurants when I was younger because the smell could be overpowering.
My Dad smoked. He was the last of twelve children and my Mom was one of five. Almost all of my uncles smoked, and they all died early of cancer. I actually had an uncle who died piloting a fighter plane over France in WW One. Families stretch over decades when there are 12 kids and Grandpa James was a merchant seaman (on sailing ships) and away for months at a time. That makes me the son of the son of a sailor, just like the Jimmy Buffet song.
I have never smoked and have no desire to. One of my grandfathers smoked 2 packs a day, even after multiple heart attacks and having black lung from working in coal mines in his younger years. I've always hated the smell of cigarettes. My other grandfather smoked a pipe, and I LOVED the smell of that. I've often thought about finding some of the tobacco he smoked just to smell it in the pouch/can again. I'm sure the memories would come flooding back. He quit smoking after he had a heart attack.
What's even worse though, in my mind at least, is kissing a smoker. I had a girlfriend who I knew had smoked previously, but she assured me she didn't anymore. That worked until one fateful kiss apparently not long enough after she had smoked one. YUCK!
Henry,
Sorry for your loss.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Monorail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irv3KJR6B80&ab_channel=TomScott
Dual Mode Vehicle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn56bMZ9OE8&ab_channel=TomScott
British Railway Station where you can only travel by boat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcPrm5Tb-SA&ab_channel=TheTimTraveller
Enjoy
Sorry about your Mom Henry, our condolences.
John