Good morning!
Elevator, Goldsmith Indiana (LE&W/NKP)
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Morning Diners. Janie, hot apple cider and a couple plain doughnuts please.
Jim, the officiating was awful on that last drive. My take watching the Chiefs this year is they are paying the price for seemingly experimenting the last couple years with how much success they can have with how little receiving talent they provide Mahomes. Their top five receivers consist of a veteran who has never been a number one receiver (and is a questionable number two), a rookie who is still learning what it takes to play in the NFL, a third year guy who seems to be injured as much as he is healthy so he doesn't have the game experience of a typical third year pro, and two players who could generally be viewed as draft failures given their play vs how high they were drafted. That's pretty sad.
Somewhere in Japan
Mike
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please.
Another busy day ahead.
Chiefs! Film of that last drive should be used for training referees. One play could be used as the definitive pass interference call that was not called. Of course, the Chiefs should have never been in the position where that play mattered. They had so many chances before that that were wasted.
I have to gas up the Ford and get ready. I'll check back into the diner later. Have a great Tuesday.
No beach, just snow:
York1 John
Yesterday I overheard our granddaughter talking to Dawn."Mama what is the best Christmas present you ever got?""It was just before Christmas and Papa came into my life," Dawn replied.Now that might sound sweet, but Dawn did not mention she had just been made redundant and out of a job. She was going home when she saw me on Inverness High Street. I was about to find a hotel for the night; heading home the following day.I took note of the Station Hotel I must book a room later, as we began talking and walked. As we turned on to Castle Road it began to snow heavily. Dawn wanted to get home, change her clothes and 'take me out' and see Inverness.On arriving home, Dawn's parents were there. Dawn introduced me to them, then disappeared upstairs to change her clothes.Here we now have a scenario of 'Meeting Dawn's Parents' and I hardly know Dawn. Meanwhile snow is falling.Dawn reappeared, 'a drink on a stick' if I say so. She opened the door for us to leave. A blizzard was blowing. We got no further. Her parents got to know me better (or was it worse?) Their settee was comfortable that night.As they say, "The rest is history.'
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
NorthBritDawn reappeared, 'a drink on a stick' if I say so. She opened the door for us to leave. A blizzard was blowing. We got no further. Her parents got to know me better (or was it worse?) Their settee was comfortable that night. As they say, "The rest is history.'
What a great story, David! I guess Dawn knew from the start you were the one.
York1 NorthBrit Dawn reappeared, 'a drink on a stick' if I say so. She opened the door for us to leave. A blizzard was blowing. We got no further. Her parents got to know me better (or was it worse?) Their settee was comfortable that night. As they say, "The rest is history.' What a great story, David! I guess Dawn knew from the start you were the one.
NorthBrit Dawn reappeared, 'a drink on a stick' if I say so. She opened the door for us to leave. A blizzard was blowing. We got no further. Her parents got to know me better (or was it worse?) Their settee was comfortable that night. As they say, "The rest is history.'
Thanks John. I reckon I knew she 'was the one' also. That all happened just before Christmas. I did not see her again until late January. In March (so after three months of actually first meeting Dawn, the following -----
Oh! I do like to stay at the North British Hotel at Waverley Station in Edinburgh. A hotel that believes itself to be not only the best in Edinburgh, but all of Scotland. The standard of service never seemed to diminish. Easy check in. Porter service. Comfortable bed. Excellent Scottish breakfast. What more could one wish for? Maybe another night perhaps? Not today though a journey to partake. An important journey indeed.Now standing on the platform in my warm overcoat, a small suitcase by my side. A newfangled one with wheels to pull along. No more lifting and carrying, struggling; the wheels doing the work. The train arrives. Not a train with a name. The days of 'The Elizabethan', The North Briton', 'The Highlander' long gone. It appears the Management have no pride in railways. Today's not the day to argue the rights and wrongs of railways, the importance of the journey is at the forefront of my mind as I board the train.I sit in First Class, a single seat, a table in front. There is another seat opposite. Nobody is occupying it at present. I see a ticket saying it is reserved from Perth. I settle down and watch the suburbs of Edinburgh pass by. A stop at Dalmeny and I see one or two passengers who board the train. Within a minute of departing we were crossing the River Forth. The bridge still as splendid as the day it was built. A ship was sailing up the river, but we were in the Kingdom of Fife and heading north.A stop at Ladybank. I do love that name. I wonder how it was chosen? One day I shall enquire. It is here at Ladybank we take the single line to Perth. The line is rather unkempt. Long grass along the trackside. Branches from the nearby trees smack the side of the carriages. One day perhaps the trees will be cut back, but for now leaves would brush the carriage sides and every so often a branch would 'thwack' the sides. Some gave a fear that they would break a window.Arriving at Perth a gentleman in business attire sat opposite me. From his briefcase he took out a book on management and began to read.A lady in a British Railways uniform arrived with a tea trolley. Funny how it is a tea trolley, but only has coffee? A coffee and sandwich purchased I looked out the window. Snow had fallen. Not a lot, but was there more further north? I smiled to myself. I always had my overcoat for the journey. Pitlochry, Newtonmore, Aviemore all passed. The downward ride to go; Inverness.Out of the railway station I saw Dawn and her parents. Pushing her way forward passed the oncoming passengers, Dawn gave me a loving hug and a kiss oblivious to the remaining passing either side of us. With my arm around her we made our way to her waiting parents. Embraces made we talked as we walked to their car. A month since our last meet, I missed them all."We'll walk home," Dawn said as her father took my suitcase. Her mother was going to mention the weather, but I guess she knew Dawn and I wanted to be together. We said our goodbyes and headed onto High Street.The paths were partially clear of snow. No need to clear it all, after all more was forecast. Holding hands we looked in the window of 'The Tartan Shop'. Mrs Douglas is a part owner of the store. She is in the same Clan as me. At the bridge we turned left along Castle Road. Inverness Castle on the hill to our left, the River Ness on our right. Walking along Castle Road we looked at the river. Sunlight shining on the snow and sandy riverbed gave an impression of hundreds of glittering diamonds floating downstream.Along Ness Bank with not a care in the world we slowly walked and talked. Instead of turning left, Dawn led me along Ladies Walk. Usually a gravel path, snow covered the way. A small wooden bridge. A waterfall to our left within touching distance.Dawn reached out her hand, touched the waterfall and with the icy cold water touched my forehead. With a startle I looked at her and we laughed.Oh! What the heck! Not what I planned, but the time seemed right. "Will you marry me," I said.She never let go of me as we walked to her parents house.
We married in October the same year.
Hobbs Elevator, Hobbs Indiana (LE&W/NKP)
Good Morning Diners. Janie, a large coffee and a couple doughnuts. Going into an all day long training session today. Going to need the caffeine and sugar.
Had a really nice day yesterday. I got a long awaited promotion at work. I was starting to believe it wouldn't happen given the amount of time it took. We went out to dinner to celebrate.
Tonight my oldest will be home from college for the holidays. Knowing this will make today drag, but will certainly make for a nice ending to the day.
NorthBritShe never let go of me as we walked to her parents house. We married in October the same year.
Mike. Thank you.
Congratulations on your promotion.
Mike, congratulations on the job advancement, and on having your daughter home for a while.
David, what a great story. The story of how I met my wife is not nearly so romantic!
Bill, that's a pretty neat-looking elevator. That would make a good scratchbuild project for the layout.
Out here on the plains, it's another busy day for me. Tomorrow and Friday also. Right now, there is not much scheduled for next week, so I hope to have a calmer week.
I miss a lot of the people who used to post here. I hope everyone is doing well.
More snow in another UP calendar picture. I wish railroads would still put out fun artwork and calendars like this.
Hi Everyone,
seems quiet in the diner. Hello-o-o-o! Any body home?
David: that is a neat story. Almost has a movie script air to it. I can just see Bogart and Bergman saying, "We'll always have lady..." Sorry, I forgot the actual word. Your story is heartwarming. My story isn't nearly so romantic either. I met my wife while I was working (playing in a band) in a club in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. If anyone had told me I'd meet my wife in a club, I'd have told them they were nuts, but that's exactly what happened and we've been married going on 46 yrs.
Bill: those are really nice grain elevators. The second one is just begging to be modeled.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
NorthBrit "Will you marry me," I said. She never let go of me as we walked to her parents house. We married in October the same year.
Hi David,
Your story touched my heart.
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."
Good morning all.
Trying to post, but getting Forbidden 403. I hope it is not going haywire again.
Edit.
Grandson visiting after school.
Children and HouseworkThink of the mess as fairy dust – one day it will disappearAnd all of the magic will go with it …..................
Good morning Diners. A coffee please, Zoe.
Romantic Stories.
Thanks guys for your kind comments. Each and everyone has their own story. I bet yours are really good.
Remember your good lady had a reason to be where you were when you met. Meeting you was a much bigger reason. That is romantic.
Good Morning Diners. Chloe, waffles with strawberries please.
Anniversary today. Married 21 years, together for 30! We met on a blind date in high school and hit it off. Doesn't feel like that long, but good things are like that.
I too am missing some of the diners who haven't been in in a while. It's a real bummer. I hope they reconsider.
Water Level Route Anniversary today. Married 21 years, together for 30! We met on a blind date in high school and hit it off. Doesn't feel like that long, but good things are like that.
See Mike. How romantic.
Was she coaxed into going on the date? Did she have other plans instead? What should she wear? No; not 'something will do'. She still wanted to feel and look good in herself.
Might as well make the best of it. Nothing really comes from blind dates.
Something said. Something done. The spark!!! Neither saw it, but knew.
Congratulations, to you both.
My wife and I meeting is not the kind of story that would be movie material. We met at an adult volleyball league at my church. I didn't know at the time, but a teacher who had substituted at my school knew my future wife, and convinced her to come to the volleyball game and meet me. The substitute didn't tell me.
We played volleyball, and as usual, the whole group went out after the games to have pizza and beer. There was very loud karaoke going on. My future wife sat next to me and invited me to come to her apartment the next evening for dinner. She had already decided to marry me, based on knowing me about an hour.
Our first actual 'date' was the next night when she drove me to several car dealerships -- I was looking for a pickup truck to buy.
A movie of our 'romantic meeting' would last about two minutes. The strange thing about it was that I had been out of college for four years, had not met someone to consider dating, and had just decided that if I hadn't met someone within the next school year, I was going to join the navy.
We got married six months later. That was 45 years ago. It seems like just six months ago.
Work on my layout's bridge approaches continues. I finally got the bridge attached and tracks run across. One side is connected to the layout. The other side is more difficult since it will be a longer approach. I could never be a bridge engineer in real life.
Bear, we are having the same weather prediction issues. We get snow predicted -- no snow. We get no snow predicted -- it snows. I got on the roof to clean my gutters because a large amount of rain turning to snow was predicted. It turned into a nice sunny day with temps in the 40s(F). I told my wife I'm not watching the weather on TV anymore.
Have a great day, everyone.
Another UP calendar picture:
York1 My wife and I meeting is not the kind of story that would be movie material. We met at an adult volleyball league at my church. I didn't know at the time, but a teacher who had substituted at my school knew my future wife, and convinced her to come to the volleyball game and meet me. The substitute didn't tell me. We played volleyball, and as usual, the whole group went out after the games to have pizza and beer. There was very loud karaoke going on. My future wife sat next to me and invited me to come to her apartment the next evening for dinner. She had already decided to marry me, based on knowing me about an hour.
A gorgeous, romantic story, John.
Something said. Something done. Spark! Who cares who saw it, who didn't. She wasn't letting you go. Love it.
When I first saw Dawn her first words were, "Can I help you?"
Did I look 'lost'? Dawn says I did and she found me.
I looked at her and thought, 'Yes! She has to be mine.'
As we talked it appeared seamless as if we knew each other.
I bet others have 'as good if not better stories to tell'.
Good Morning,
Mike, congrats on your promotion and anniversary.
Interesting stories on how some of you met your wives. Mine was the daughter of a fellow who joined the Gimli sailing club the same year as I did. She largely ignored me the first summer but the next year the ice broke especially when she discovered I knew what a harpsicord was and sounded like. One was used in the theme of the TV series, Danger Man. I decided to make a play for her even if I lost her Dad as a friend.
Another mild day here, might hit 45F! Not so great tomorrow but hey that is tomorrow. I'm here today. The older I get the less I like to think about tomorrow.
Went for a nice long walk yesterday and may do the same today.
CN Charlie
Bear, nice shot of a CN Northern. 6167 is on display in Guelph, Ont. It last ran in 1964. CN sure liked Notherns with 200 on roster.
I met my first wife through a 1918 USRA steam locomotive.
Being on the crew of the 4070 I was, of course, friends with all the other members of the gang. One fellow, Russell, would invite me to his place for dinner with his wife on a few occasions. We were just kids then. He was maybe 20, I was 18. Well his wife had a kid sister and it wasn't long before we got 'hooked up' and were married in October of '77! Fun times. Some fifty years later I still see Russel and his wife.
In other news, I heard from Cuda Ken the other night. He is still living in southern Illinois and is in a house that his daughter set him up with. His other house became too much for him to keep up with and he had to leave it behind, along with his layout. Susan has had some problems in dealing with several small strokes but they are still hanging in there.
Another forum member I've had communications with, Tim, AKA Metrolink Fan, has passed away at age 51. His mother phoned me yesterday with that news. She thanked me for the various packages of train stuff I'd sent him over the years.
No snow but it sure was cold that day...
6218_Chatham by Edmund, on Flickr
PRR_xmas by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Fifty one!!! Far too young.
Condolences to his family and friends.
Craig the Bear.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
It's good to hear Cuda Ken is doing OK. I miss his posts and his stories of the mattress (furniture?) store he worked for.
Also, Metrolink Fan's death is sad news. I know he was posting just several weeks ago.
Yesterday we hit 47.5F here which was a record breaking temp. Went for a long walk in the old golf course nearby. The property is owned by the Uni now and they plan on developing it with a lot of housing. Not happy about losing the green space. Wish the golf course had stayed.
Today it is 34F and we are expecting a storm later today with wind and snow.
Ed, thanks for the update on Cuda Ken. I too miss his posts but I guess moving and losing his model RR was a blow. He did post about a year ago that he was switching houses with his daughter so I guess that happened.
We are slowly getting ready for Christmas. My wife really has a hard time dealing with it. She feels a lot of loss at this time of year and has a lot of fear about the future. I only have one sister left who I rarely see. I can't stand her grown sons whom she idolizes.
My LHS is sending me a cheque for the stuff on consignment that sold. That is the last of the N scale gone and a HO RS3. I haven't got much else to sell as I have thinned out my fleet a lot. I would sell my brass CP Hudson but not at the local shop as I wouldn't get a good price. It is a rare example of that loco.
Well time for another coffee.
Good evening Diners. A double Pusser's Rum please, Brunhilda.
Annual Visit from friends far and wide tomorrow. Afternoon tea and presents to exchange.
Baby Sister is unable to attend. I shall miss her. She is not my real sister; just known her since she was a toddler. Always in our house and became 'part of the family'. She calls me Her Big Brother and she says she is Baby Sister. Baby Sister she is. So much so, she was a bridesmaid at our wedding.
Afternoon diners. Flo, a chocolate malt please.
Was supposed to have the day off work today, but I had to go in for a while this morning and keep on eye on some folks for a little while. Totally destroyed my plan of sleeping in. I haven't slept well all week for various reasons and I'm really feeling it today. Might have to go take a short nap.
Question for my forum friends. Anyone have a way to chemically darken the brass/phosphor bronze (whatever it is) rod that Accurail puts in their boxcar/reefer kits as the brake staff? I've tried painting them, but the paint gets peeled off as I slide the staff through the little bracket. Working on a couple kits right now with them. Worse comes to worse, and I'll install them as is, but there has to be a better way.
Happy Friday guys!
I've used Brass Black by Birchwood Casey I have a bunch of the bottles of it But I see there is one called Brass Ager on amazon I know the brass black works I even tried it on ns track but kind of hard to do on track