Many of my uncles and cousins served in the armed forces. My Dad was in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. Fortunately, I only had one relative I know of who paid the ultimate price. He was my oldest uncle, and he was shot down in a fighter plane in World War 1 over France. Before that, all my relatives were from "the old country," in my case Scotland and Sweden.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good morning. I'll have some coffee, Chloe.
Jim, the same for me about Memorial Day. My parents visited about four cemeteries where we had relatives buried. There were veterans in the family in each cemetery. We as kids always loved the gun salutes.
Something I remembered with a friend that gave us a good laugh. My mother would bring food for the picnics as we went cemetery to cemetery. Her food -- cold hot dogs right out of the package, and pork and beans out of the can. Some people would think we kids were being tortured, but we loved holding the hotdogs like candy and using a spoon to eat beans out of the can -- that was adventure eating.
We're heading out the door. I hope everyone has a great day. For all those with health issues, I hope you get some relief.
At the west end of the Union Pacific yard at Grand Island, Nebraska:
Under & Over by Chris Paciocco, on Flickr
York1 John
hon30critterWhere do you want to take the Diner for June?
Hi Everyone,
I really can't move the diner this next month. I wasn't that good of a host this month. But for reasons of my own, May I request someone else move the diner for June?
Getting into the Memorial Day weekend. When I was young, Memorial Day was always May 30th. They do things a little differently nowadays. My parents always went to the family plots on that day. Of course, I had to go along, but it wasn't a bad thing. I got to spend time with my cousins and at one of the cemeterries they had an American Legion honor guard who gave the gun salute. After which, we went to the local park for a family picnic. I wouldn't say it was a great time, but it was good and that's just what we did back then.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Around here they call that thick crust pizza Sicilian.
Good luck, Dave! I hope the doctors pinpoint what the issue is and you can take care of it. Your garage cleaning and layout work can wait! Please keep us informed.
Where do you want to take the Diner for June?
I'm stuck in the hospital after having suffered somewhat severe abdominal pains on Friday morning. There are still some tests to do but it is pretty obvious that is the beginning stages of cirrhosis. It's my own fault.
The good news is that the damage will stop if I stop drinking, which I will. I have done it before for several months so hopefully this time I won't relapse.
If I'm still going to be here on the 31st I will recruit somebody else to move the Diner. I can't do it from my phone.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
CNCharlieMy Dad always referred to England as the "old country".
My Grandparents would say the same thing. They would be going back to the old country or say, "back in the old country", and my Dad would always say, "which one"?
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good Afternoon,
Another soggy day here and cool, as in 45F.
Mr. B, thin crust pizza is what most places here do. The last pizza we had a couple of days ago had a crust about 1/4" thick. When I lived in southern Ontario about 50 years ago the crust was quite thick and I never liked it. Guess it is a regional thing.
Ray, how are your plans going for your trek across the pond? My Dad always referred to England as the "old country". Anything new with the SLOW?
Time to think about lunch.
CN Charlie
Good morning from the Pacific Rim where there are currently 112 fires burning in a soggy Province.
On my Thursday scoot, I stepped in a hole in the ground and did a number on my Achilles tendon. After rolling around on the ground in agony for a while I got up and carried on thinking it would be okay. Yesterday I headed out and did not get far before it reminded me it was still injured, so I am on light duty for a few days.
Of course, the injury meant I got to go to the train room to recover, and ended up spending eight hours in there. The wife came home from the dog show and asked if I wanted homemade pizza for dinner and I passed as I had only burned 1500 calories on the day. I made myself a rack of ribs and a spinach/avocado/tomato/parm salad and had a glass of cab around 2000hrs and just snuck in under my burn for the day.
My daughter needed a break from school work today so at 0630hrs she hit the road with my wife to the dog show. So it is just me and the dogs that didn't make the cut home for the day.
Field B.C. Note the piping in the TT pit to help thaw the 50' of snow they get every winter.
All the best to all.
richhotrainGotta have reefers, and lots of them.
I'd love to see this in color!
Reefer_Madness by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Water Level Route Placed my first pre-order with Scale Trains yesterday. Some reefer cars that I could certainly use more of. Hopefully they are worth it.
Placed my first pre-order with Scale Trains yesterday. Some reefer cars that I could certainly use more of. Hopefully they are worth it.
Rich
Alton Junction
Good Morning everyone. Chloe, I'll take two coffees. One for each hand. Fell asleep right away last night, only to have somebody text my wife about 30 minutes later. Then I was wide awake for hours. Had to wake up early to do some running around with some friends, so I'm definitely looking for an opportunity to nap today.
Just threw some ribs on the smoker and cooking up some chicken wings later. Giving my nephew a nice little family cookout as he didn't want a big graduation party. He couldn't resist my cooking though! Should be nice.
1942. Somewhere in Tennessee.
Mike
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Yeah, Larry's Truck & Electric is known far and wide. Lordstown is only about 20 miles from me. LTE has at least three sites like this, he outgrew the original one in Warren, Oh. a while back.
The above is a more recent look. Most of the Conrail stuff is probably already cut up. This site is a former WWII armory.
Regards, Ed
As I look at the pics Ed posted of the engine "bone yard", I can't help but remember how many of those engines were brand new or not very old when I was just starting out as a fireman going on 50 years ago.
I don't believe the Amtrak 410 had even been built yet. Is that a B23-7 in Conrail paint? Probably ran that one, too.
TophiasEnjoy your Memorial Day weekend and please never forget.
Joseph Ambrose, WWI by Edmund, on Flickr
Bone Yard:
LTEX 105 by Todd Dillon, on Flickr
Amtrak 410 by Todd Dillon, on Flickr
Good evening diners. Flo, I'll please have a Gunpowder Gin and Tonic with a lemon.
As we kick off Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S. I just want to express my deepest thanks to our brothers, fathers, grandfathers, uncles and all who made the extreme sacrifice for us all. Parades and picnics are surely enjoyable but we must always remember what we are celebrating. Millions have given their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms and all that is good about our country. The next time this forum goes dark for a few days (and you know I've expressed my displeasure) let's not forget what's really important in our lives. It's a great country, with all its fault and discourse, and we owe so much to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I hope only better days ahead for us all. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and please never forget.
Regards, Chris
We keep looking for a pizza place. We've been here 5 years and we're still looking. Most of the pizza, like most of the sub rolls, is doughy and bready, and we like a thinner, better-cooked more NY style pizza. The GF has made her own on the Big Gren Egg, which are delicious, but that's a huge production that takes two days to get everything ready. Besides, I shouldn't eat pizza because of the carbs, but I'm not interested in those cauliflower crusts you need a Dremel to cut. I still say I'd rather have 5 more years of steak and beer than ten more years of brown rice and vitamin water.
Howdy everyone. Flo, a chocolate malt please. Had a doctor appointment this morning. Was really nervous about my blood pressure as I haven't really been able to exercise much between our schedules this spring and my knee bothering me. Then with this last week at work being so stressful I figured I was done for. I was so happy when the nurse said 125/71. Whew!
Charlie, we have a pizza place like that here too. The previous owner recently passed and everyone was nervous the new owner would change it all up. He kept the food the same. That's a great thing!
A very wet day here. Rained all night and expecting heavy rain this afternoon. I have the sump pump hooked up in case the pond overflows.
My lower back is quite sore. I agravated an old injury the other day. Carrying 19 flats of plants down and up stairs because we might get frost hasn't helped. How there could be frost when it is raining I don't know but I don't question orders.
Had a great takeout pizza last night. It is a local place we have gone to for about 10 years. It is expensive but worth it. A 15" is now $38 but it isn't run of the mill stuff.
No plans for today, just rest my back.
Good morning from the very damp West Coast. There are only 111 fires in the Province today, somehow it feels like the calm before the storm, all this rain is welcome though.
Thanks for the Bacon & eggs John. I eat a lot of eggs and steak or bacon, no toast though as I avoid the carbs.
I live at the top of the hill so my walks usually include going down and then up, twice, and depending on the route I choose will amount to well over 150m back up the second time sometimes requiring hands and feet. I envy the dog(s) with their all-wheel drive. It is a good workout that I miss when I go for more than a few days without it. MY VO2 max rate is in the 40s. You can tell by my heart rate when I am going up the hill.
I think the prairies are beautiful and love driving across them. I usually take secondary roads just so I can see what life is really like as I make my way along.
Maybe next month's diner theme can be grain elevators and other farm ops, Photos will not be in short supply for that subject.
I am with Bear when it comes to looking at the mountains. Speaking of secondary roads, our return trip from Alberta last year through that impenetrable wall called the Rockies was stunning. As we left civilization the sign said, no fuel or service for 326km, no cell service for 143km, I bet we only saw five other cars that whole stretch. It was heaven.
The wife figured it had been an hour at least since we saw another car when this guy passed by, we both waved at each other as if acknowledging the wonderous solitude we found ourselves in.
Time to get the gortex jacket on and hit the trail.
Port Mann on the Fraser River, I believe that is Thorton Yard in the background. What is the guy in the wagon doing, cleaning up a spill????
Good morning, diners.
I apologize for yesterday's post. Now that I can log back in, I see that I was Top of the Page, and I didn't treat anyone to eat with me. My excuse is that once I posted, I couldn't get back into the diner to see that I was at the top. I assumed the diner was full of patrons, so the over-worked waitresses locked the doors.
Anyway, I will pay for breakfast this morning, as long as you want Bacon, Eggs, and Coffee.
We had quite a storm last night. At 2:00 a.m. my wife woke me up. We had about 50 mph winds. Even though we were in a tornado watch, we didn't hear any reports of one near us.
I have another day of nothing scheduled, so I hope to get quite a bit accomplished on the layout. The building I am putting in is slow-going. A lot of things I want to do are taking a lot of time. This building will be my hardest and most complicated scratch-build I have attempted. It's enjoyable work.
As the diner gets more and more difficult to enter, it seems we can just wait hopefully until the forum gets onto a more modern system. Hopefully.
Have a great Friday, everyone.
Forth Worth, Texas:
Davidson yard - Fort Worth TX by David Hawkins KB5WK, on Flickr
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
Mike, I know the feeling about the rain. This morning at 6:00 a.m. the weather said rain likely by 9:00 a.m. I rushed out and mowed the entire lawn. By the time I came in, the forecast called for some clouds but no rain.
Bear, everyone says that we live in flat country, but on this morning's walk, my walking app on the phone said I had a change in elevation of nine feet. I nearly wore myself out going up that hill.
I found some paint called rust that is pretty close to the brick color I want for the layout street. I going to add a touch of black and it should be about perfect.
My wife is feeling a little low this morning. All three daughters and families are getting together in Texas for the long weekend, and we won't be there. We were just there last month, and this is a good time for all the kids and grandkids to get together without two old people hanging around cramping the fun.
I'm off to the pharmacy to get my wife's medicine, and then it's time to get to work on the layout. Have a great day.
A neat photo of the double track hump yard at Bailey Yards in North Platte:
Rails by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Good Morning Diners. Flo, coffee please. Large coffee.
Rough day at work yesterday. After three hours, I was ready to take the rest of the day off, but there was too much stuff going on where people needed my help, so I stayed. I know it was bad when at the end of the day I needed to go talk to some of the folks in one department, and when I walked in my one buddy in there looked at me and said "Mike, go home before you stab someone." After some more joking around to lighten the mood, he told me when he saw me that morning he knew it was a bad day and was surprised I was still at work. I've never left work early for such reasons, but apparently the look on my face was bad enough for him to think that. It all centers around our new plant manager. He's a peach. At least everybody knows it. We're all in the same boat, it was just my turn with him yesterday. Theoretically he will move on to another plant in a few years, but it's going to be a long few years for us. Sucks.
Tuesday night I kept watching the weather as I needed to get some insect killer down on the lawn and it is supposed to be watered in after application. They were calling for rain at midnight (85% chance!) all day long, but at 8:00 they upped it to 90%. Great! I busted out the spreader and got after it. Finished up, cleaned up, and looked at the forecast at 9:00. 30% chance of rain overnight. Sure enough, no rain. Too windy yesterday to try to run a sprinkler and going to be gone tonight. I sure hope I didn't just waste a bunch of money.
Here's to hoping for a better day today. Hope things are going well for everyone!
up831John: brown with orange doesn't sound right. The only street brick I've ever seen was a deep dark red, almost a browner version of Tuscan red, so may I suggest that you try mixing brown with dark red or perhaps a maroon with a little brown and see how that works.
Thanks, Jim. I'll try it tonight. I looked at some brick streets today in my town, and you're right -- they are very dark red. It's just a small section of city street, so I should be able to mix something that looks right.
I don't often see modelers depict 'greasy' track. Here's an extreme example:
Southern Pacific - San Antonio, TX by d.w.davidson, on Flickr
That track on the right looks like it would self-deflagrate!
More 'dirty' yard trackage:
John: brown with orange doesn't sound right. The only street brick I've ever seen was a deep dark red, almost a browner version of Tuscan red, so may I suggest that you try mixing brown with dark red or perhaps a maroon with a little brown and see how that works.
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee please, Brunhilda.
This is one of those Spring days we dream of. It rained yesterday, so everything is bright green. Today it's clear, high temperature of 70°, calm winds, ... I doubt there will be a better day this year.
Bear, that photo site is great! Now the issue is if I can justify the hours I will sit looking through all the pictures. Very interesting! Thanks.
I take it that Spring Creek Model Trains is not just down the road, York1John.
Spring Creek railroad store is exactly 60 miles from my house. It's a nice drive. The hobby store is in the town of Deshler, population 700. There are no cities anywhere near -- my town has 7,000 people and we are the closest town of that size. Of course, out here in flyover country, a town of 7,000 is considered a 'big' city.
The neat thing about Spring Creek is that they get people from all over the U.S. (and other countries) coming to the store. It's a testament to the people who run the store. They have a very large supply of HO and N materials, and if they don't have something you want, they will work to get it for you.
If you're ever traveling across the U.S. on Interstate 80, the store is about 55 miles off the highway. It's worth the time and effort.
Not much going on today. On the layout, I'm working on a building that will sit on an old brick street. I'm having trouble finding the right shade of paint to make the street look good. I thought I found one online, but it is discontinued. I've tried mixing shades of brown and orange without much luck. I'll try some more today.
Have a great day, everyone.
Minneapolis:
Untitled by MN transfer, on Flickr