Good Morning Diners. Chloe, an english muffin and black coffee please.
Today is the first day of spring break for the schools around here and we are under a winter storm watch. Predicting 7" of snow as of this morning. Bummer for those of us not going anywhere. My youngest has been complaining constantly as we know a lot of people heading Kevin's direction.
Brent, your mountains look good! The little section of layout I'm working on right now has an exposed rock face (cast plaster) that I struggled with. After many attempts I finally hit good enough for me. The scene will have a little river through it when I'm done. My first ever attempt at a water feature. I don't have high expectations at this point. We shall see.
Happy Friday everyone!
Mike
BigDaddyBrent What expresso machine did you buy? I've been thinking of one for years.
Henry, the boss did a lot of research and made me look over her top three choices and we settled on this one. She keeps bringing me cups of expresso, we have created a monster. Not only won't I sleep tonight I never got around to my Scotch.
Attuvian1 BATMAN Hey, Brent, how about keeping the cardboard boxes up? They give it all a bit of . . . piquant character! (Nice job, by the way) Attuvian John
BATMAN
Thanks John.
It is quite time-consuming painting all those nooks and crannies on that foam, I was ready for a break by the time I was done. That's when the expresso started being delivered and I was saved. I never, ever, ever have to get up and pee in the night, that may change tonight.
Canucks won 7-2 I have an untouched glass of scotch around here somewhere, I will use it to celebrate.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
This look at the East Broad Top is really worthwhile:
I was at the EBT in 1960 with my dad shortly after it reopened as a tourist line. I was only four and just remember bits and pieces.
EJT_EBT_20 by Edmund, on Flickr
I'm glad to see that the EBT not only remains in operation but is making plans for expansion!
Cheers, Ed
Brent What expresso machine did you buy? I've been thinking of one for years. I think steel roofs are cool they are building a house down the street that has an arched roof above the front door with a steel roof. I am unlikely to live long enough to make a steel roof nor solar panels worthwhile.
Virginia auto inspection is $20. They had a referendum to eliminate the inspection a couple years ago and it lost!
At lunch I had the laptop on the table and was only half sitting on the chair. Bella the beagle jumped on the chair and had her forepaws on the table. Donna has found her standing on the table with all fours.
It was 82 today.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
CNCharlieBrent, I like the photo of your dog at the wheel of the tractor.
Thanks, Charlie, he is my main Bud and sticks to me like glue throughout the day.
Doing the work of Gods today and was creating mountains. I put old Blue-Eyes on the stereo and started slopping on the paint. After the grey comes 28 different colours dry brushed on followed by 5 different washes and then foliage.
Hopefully, it will match this when done.
The wife got her root canal done, then went to home depot for me, and then went and bought her expresso machine. She is currently bringing me her first efforts and I must say they are quite good. I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.
Dinner and then Canucks. Another perfect day.
All the best to all.
Good Afternoon,
Brent, I like the photo of your dog at the wheel of the tractor. I have one of our first Westie at the wheel of our sailboat. I was holding him as Westie legs are rather short. Hard to believe the photo was taken 30 years ago. I won't be buying another loco even though Central Hobbies has a nice S2a mikado. Painted too with the Vandy tender. Who is that little red fellow on my shoulder?
Soon time for tea.
CN Charlie
Afternoon Folks!
Had to take my chariot over to a car dealer to get my NYS Vehicle Inspection done today. They are a used "Sports" car dealer but work on most everything. The guy at the desk called to me and said, "All done, no problems, Mr. Howard". I gave him my credit card and he said it would be $21. I corrected him and said, "ah no, it is only $10 dollars". He looked at me and said, uh-uh NYS Inspection is $21. I shook my head and said not for my Tesla. You didn't do an emissions test. He turned very red and said, "Oh God! You are right it is only $10".
There was a new guy also at the desk who looked at me and said, "Mr. Howard, were you a teacher?" I told him yep, Middle School General Music. The guy went nuts! Told me his name and I told him I thought he looked familiar. He got very excited to see me! I guess maybe I did make a good impression way back when with the students! We had a great chat!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good morning from the very soggy Pacific Rim. It will clear later today and will be sunny and warm for days to come.....So they say.
Just had a huge feed of eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and onion and will head back into the train room shortly. Yesterday the local farmer that owns three fishing boats had the sign out for us locals that he had just come in with a catch. The wife stopped and got a 20lb Sockeye for $20.00. Nothin like a fresh salmon caught that day. Two days ago we got three dozen eggs from another farmer that had way more than she could use. All the planting is starting and the free produce will be flowing in pretty soon. They will get two crops a year for most things.
Charlie, glad they accepted your claim for the rodent damage. Go out and buy yourself a new loco to celebrate.
Went to the Dentist yesterday for the jackhammer special. Everything is okie dokie. I ended up chatting with the Dentist and Hygienist for a good 20 minutes afterward. Both are in their early 30s and very easy on the eyes.
Wife is getting a root canal today, poor girl. On the way home, she is going to buy herself one of these for all her suffering. Seems like a lot of work for a cup of coffee.
My son bought me one of these for when I am at the computer, it is great, I wish I had one years ago. You just have to remember not to rest the cup on your leg right after lifting it off or the room gets filled with the smell of burning skin.
I think money spent on a good roof is money well spent. I had a steel roof put on a long time ago and it was very expensive, especially considering my roof was 6000 sqft. We have had some very large branches come down on it and they just bounced right off. If I had gone with asphalt or something else I would be looking to replace it again soon, but this steel one looks as good as the day I had it put on. We had a Typhoon 60 years ago and if we ever get another with this weird weather the roof is good for 200mph.
I have been putting together a slide show of the MIL for her celebration of life that we are having here at the house. We will play it on the big-screen TVs that are around the house. So far I have over 200 good pics of her and it has been a trip down memory lane looking at them. We now think there will be over 100 attending, hope it is a nice day so they can be outside.
John, where are you going in Europe?
I was informed by the lawn cutter guy we need more gas so maybe I will have to leave the premises today. Bossie boots.
I had better get in the train room before the dogs suck me into a walk.
York1 I'll have to eat later if I get back.
IF I get back? What kind of reputation does this doctor have?
I'll be going for my six-month 'annual' physical tomorrow. Just a short visit and blood test. He's in the room a total of six to eight minutes and I get billed for an 'extended' office visit.
Rolling Stock:
ACF Ser 1 3565 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
acf 7026 (1) by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
The long and the short of it!
Regards, Ed
Good Morning,
Another sunny, cool day here. It will hit 25F but should be at least 35. Needless to say, very little of the snow has melted.
Got a call from the auto insurance adjuster yesterday and my full claim of $2000 less the $200 deductible has been approved for that rodent damage. Also the check engine light that came on last week wasn't on yesterday. If it stays off I may cancel my appointment next week . The car is running great.
When spring finally comes I have a lot of outdoor projects starting with the yard clean up.
Another day with little planned. I need to pick up a bottle of red wine for a pasta dish my wife wants to make.
Have a nice day,
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
Good morning everyone. Chloe, it is just coffee for me today.
I am signing the roofing contract today. $40,000.00 seems like such a ton of money. That is more than half of what I spent on the house when I purchased it in 1999. This better be worth it.
maxmanSince no one else is curious...
Please don't encourage this. Thanks.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
BATMANI have fond memories of Christchurch, sightseeing by day and wrestling with a gorgeous girl from Switzerland at night that I met in NZ.
Since no one else is curious, I was wondering who came out on top during that competition?
Good morning, everyone. I have a doctor's appt. about 50 miles away, so I don't have time for breakfast. I'll have to eat later if I get back.
I hope Dawn feels better today, David. I don't quite understand why someone would go to so much trouble making a video about flying trains. I watched the one video, and then I noticed there were several other videos with much the same content. Strange!
The other morning I had trouble getting into the forum, but that has cleared up. I feel kind of lost when I can't get breakfast in the diner. Yes, I clearly have an exciting and fun-filled life.
Have a great day, diners.
York1 John
Good Morning Diners. Keep getting the forbidden 403 message this morning so I'm not going to waste my time typing if it won't take. Hope everyone is well.
Good morning Diners. A large coffee please, Zoe.
British Class 37 locomotives (nicknamed 'Tractors' because of ther sound) hard at work in Southern France on a construction project for TGV-line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRji0d6kLqg&ab_channel=LinesideVideoProductions
British Class 58s on loan and repainted into French livery working on the construction of TGV Paris to Strasbourg line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCNmazRv3H4&ab_channel=NickJoyce
Class 58 58001 at Crown Point Yard.
IMG_5515 by David Harrison, on Flickr
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
BATMAN Trouble on the trunk line?
Trouble on the trunk line?
It's fortunate that the elephant didn't meet an on-coming train?
I think it's fortunate that an on-coming train didn't meet the elephant.
Mind you do not spill your coffee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aoImLW3qGg&ab_channel=JeepTip
Good evening Diners. A quick visit as Dawn is not 100%, so playing Nurse.
Different rail traffic. Spot the rail crane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6hC98-6ttU&ab_channel=DiggleJunction
These are the folks that keep the "A" Train moving:
Classy paint for an RS-2 —
Thomas Underwood Alton and Southern (1) by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
BroadwayLionThese could be regional Internet outages.
I supposeit could've been Lion.
I have no idea where MR's servers are. I didn't loose internet, just couldn't get into the forums. Everything else worked.
I'm not the only one, so, who knows.
Maybe they are working on fixing all the issues! like spell check, and searching the archives!
That is aamazing Kevin!
My brother works part time at HD, I remember he did talk about them handing out money during covid.
We have no hurricanes, so, maybe something just for southern locations.
Mike.
My You Tube
SeeYou190 York1 Even though, like you said, this was mainly due to hurricane building, it's still so nice the company appreciates the fact that you guys had to work hard and did it well. There are some companies out there which wouldn't do that. After the Hurricane Home Depot brought in a tanker full of gasoline so we could all keep our cars and generators filled. They also supplied catered/prepared food for us all day every day for six weeks after the storm. All of us that showed up after the storm received a daily bonus for being there. Additional help was offered for those truly in need. We had armed security to keep the crowds behaving. They really did an A+ job. -Kevin
York1 Even though, like you said, this was mainly due to hurricane building, it's still so nice the company appreciates the fact that you guys had to work hard and did it well. There are some companies out there which wouldn't do that.
After the Hurricane Home Depot brought in a tanker full of gasoline so we could all keep our cars and generators filled. They also supplied catered/prepared food for us all day every day for six weeks after the storm. All of us that showed up after the storm received a daily bonus for being there. Additional help was offered for those truly in need.
We had armed security to keep the crowds behaving.
They really did an A+ job.
York1Even though, like you said, this was mainly due to hurricane building, it's still so nice the company appreciates the fact that you guys had to work hard and did it well. There are some companies out there which wouldn't do that.
I don't remember if I mentioned this before.
Good morning. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
Water Level RouteHad several people approach me about filling out a March Madness bracket this year.
I also am in a family bracket challenge with the daughters' families. Unfortunately, I was out of the running the first day when Purdue blew it.
SeeYou190We received a good sized bonus at work yesterday for exceeding all goas for the past four months.
Even though, like you said, this was mainly due to hurricane building, it's still so nice the company appreciates the fact that you guys had to work hard and did it well. There are some companies out there which wouldn't do that.
Today I'm working on making a small control panel for two turnouts I wired last week. I don't need anything fancy -- I just want something that will indicate the switch to the siding or the mainline. I got all the wiring and lights done. I just need to make a panel to mount on the fascia. I love this work.
We got all the plane flights, house rentals, and museum tickets lined up for Europe this summer. I've been trying to walk more to get ready to keep up with the rest of the family. I'm really looking forward to it. The grandkids are glad I'm going. My daughters have rented houses that all fourteen of us will fit in. There will be lots of riding trains!
My wife is not going -- she says she will enjoy the pictures just fine without experiencing it all, so she is staying home and babysit a daughter's new puppy.
Have a great hump day, everyone.
Good morning everyone. Chloe, I would like a banana and two slices of whole wheat toast today.
Glad to see we made it to the next page.
mbinsewi I couldn't get in the forums earlier this morning either. Mike.
I couldn't get in the forums earlier this morning either.
These could be regional Internet outages.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Good Morning Diners. Flo, coffee to go please.
Finally got back to some scenery work on the layout this weekend. Nothing fancy, but progress none the less. Work keeping me busy, but at least I got a decent bonus for it (for this place anyway).
Had several people approach me about filling out a March Madness bracket this year. I explained to most all of them that the only march madness I'm interested in is NFL free agency. The one I did fill out, I did it because my sister put together a family bracket challenge. Looks like I'm untouchable in it. Nobody will be able to wrestle last place from my clutches!
This is an interesting video about unusual trains. Many of us will have seen most of the trains before, but the narration (despite the heavy accent) adds a bit more detail to the subjects, at least for me:
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good evening from the West Coast where it was 16c today.
It was soggy and dreary this morning at 0800hrs so I went into the train room and got a lot done today. I came out at 1500hrs and it was sunny and warm.
I have been chatting with the kid and the top brass love him at his new job to the point where they are giving him a huge bonus for the first quarter.
The wife is cooking a roast lamb feast and I have a splash of Scotch and the Canucks are on in half an hour. Life is good.
Jim, your fun night sounds like a lot of fun. My sisters' church has those and they get about 200 people in every week. She has been pestering me to go play for a long time, I am not really interested in doing that anymore. I also got messaged by a guy the runs a well-known restaurant that saw me on a guitar player's FB site doing some Lightfoot stuff. With arthritis in my hands, it is really hit-and-miss as to whether I can play on any given day. I have a solid three hours of Gord down along with some others but not knowing if the hands will work means it is a no.
My daughters' tonsils ruptured again and the blood was flowing but to a much lesser degree than the other night. I sent her some GIFs and pics of Kermit as a vampire and told her she would be howling at the Moon tonight as all she could say was she was sick of the taste of blood. Having a wife and daughter in the medical end of things lets us joke about a lot of things. The two of them like to watch the TV show Bones together and rip it to pieces on the technical end of things. My daughter is a long way along in the anthropological forensics end of her education and my wife and her have some pretty interesting conversations.
I joined this forum 17 years ago when my daughter was four. Through the years I have shown photos of her painting and making things for the layout. Time flies, she is now heading toward more than one doctorate and has a pretty high-security job with the Feds, go figure, where does the time go?
Time for hockey!
OUCH!