Evening
The site's working now??? Lovely
Happy belated Dave!
Who Loves You Baby!!!
TF
up831 It's hard to get up and down from my knees,
Well, if you paid attention and always did what the boss asked you wouldn't have to beg forgiveness so often.
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilda, coffee with cream, please.
Dave: belated congratulations or condolences on your 70th. No, you won't feel any different than yesterday, it's just now,...you're 70! Dum, dum, dum (dramatic music interlude)
The only thing I've noticed is I start to ache a little more and I've noticeably slowed down some. It's hard to get up an down from my knees, but that's kinda about it.
Last year my wife and I spent a day in Oconomowoc (O-KAN'-o-mo-wak), WI and we spent the day going from place to place and sat on benches at each stop. We had never done that before, but we were happy with it. Go figure.
I really like all the yard pictures you guys are posting.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Good morning, diners. I'll have bacon, eggs, and coffee, Brunhilda.
I'm happy to see that Steven Otte has posted several comments this morning on the purchase of the company and some things related to it. The Kalmbach magazines and the people who write them seem more personal to me than any other publications I know. I think that's why I'm so interested and want to hear about what is happening.
Water Level RouteHas anyone heard from David across the pond?
I hope it's just a case that David got tired of trying to log in during the forum outage.
The farmers in our area are working night and day to get the planting finished. We are supposed to have rain again, and that slows them down. I love driving the county roads at night and seeing the machinery all lit up out in the fields.
Many of the farmers had issues last week. The planters used GPS and some related systems to plant the fields, and the signals were disrupted last week.
Brent, happy to hear the wedding and celebrations went so well.
Have a great day, everyone.
The Grand Island, NE, Union Pacific yards were on both sides of the Burlington tracks that crossed there. BNSF has since built an elevated crossing here. If you're ever traveling I-80 though Nebraska, stop at Grand Island. This is a great spot to catch both UP and BNSF trains at the same spot. If you're lucky, you can catch the BNSF locomotives over the UP locos.
UP eastbound approaching BN diamond at Grand Island, NE by Tom Taylor, on Flickr
York1 John
Good Morning,
Cloudy here and expecting showers to start at noon and last rest of the day.
My wife has cancelled her physio this morning as she is much better and is too afraid of contracting covid unless absolutely necessary. Rest is the order of the day. I plan on getting the potting bench out of the garage but a lot of stuff needs to be moved first.
My sister didn't go to the bank yesterday as the son she thought had taken the money came by and now she acts as if nothing happened. She hasn't even looked at her bank statements so I suspect she isn't telling me the whole story. I wouldn't be surprised if she has taken the funds to help out her eldest deadbeat son. Anyway I won't get involved further.
Just saw 2 Orioles outside my window. They are heading for the grape jelly. We have a lot of Pine Siskins that can empty a bird feeder in a day, actually 4 feeders. For a small bird they sure eat a lot.
CN Charlie
'Morning Diners. Zoe, large black coffee to go, please.
I guess we’ll have to share a birthday cake
We're in the middle of a big maintenance turnaround at work. It's been an absolute whirlwind for a week and a half. Today marks the midpoint, and I have to say, time is flying by through this. So busy.
Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Has anyone heard from David across the pond?
Mike
Thanks for all the birthday greetings everyone. You put a smile on my face.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave, Happy Birthday you youngin'. Hope you celebrate big time. Also hope my Bruins celebrate tonight or else they're off to make tee times.
Regards, Chris
Happy Birthday Dave from the West Coast.
Wow! it has been a heck of a month. We had my son's wedding which was a huge success. The wedding was at 1600hrs and it was 0100hrs when the last guest left. We got home and were up by 0530hrs preparing a post-wedding brunch for 28. My wife prepared food for 173 people over six different functions over 16 days. She was in heaven with her custom kitchen being put to maximum use.
We had one day to clean up the house and we were off to Vancouver Island for a week of dog shows where the wife cleaned up. Coming home on the ferry they had to cut the engines as we were surrounded by multiple pods of Orca, boy did they put on a show for twenty minutes. We were late getting to the mainland because of the whale of a show we had, but no one minded as every passenger was smiling ear to ear.
Took this while sitting in my truck waiting to unload.
We stayed with some friends in their guest house for the week, this was our view as the front of the house opened up and I could sit and watch hockey on a huge TV and look at this view at the same time. Three of the days we had Orca right off the dock.
The lawn is up to my knees and there is over an acre of it, so that will take care of day 1 tomorrow.
Charlie, sorry to hear of both your sister's and better half's misfortunes, hope things take a turn for the better.
Canucks are on tonight in three hours, I think a Rum and Pepsi on the patio is in order to calm my nerves. No ocean view just big trees.
Winnipeg-Symington-Train-Yard-1966
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."
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good Afternoon,
Happy Birthday Dave! Only 70, still a youngster.
A rainy day here which is what we need. Glad I raked the front lawn yesterday with the thatch rake. A great garden tool. Mine is 45 years old . Haven't seen another like it for years.
My wife hurt her back yesterday and is in a lot of pain. Has an appointment with a physio tomorrow morning so hopefully will get sorted. She has had problems for years. In 2015 a physio saved a trip to Africa less than a week before departure. We paid to upgrade to Buss Class on the flights as 17 hours cramped in Economy was a trip breaker with her back.
No update on my sister's bank issue. She didn't go to the bank yesterday and I am getting suspicious there is more to the story. She is to go today but if not then there are non bank problems.
Ran the J4e yesterday. Sure is a nice little loco.
Tea time I think. Join me in a cuppa.
Happy Birthday Dave!!
Good morning, everyone. Just coffee today, Chloe. I have a busy day and not much time.
Dave, Happy 70th Birthday! You're just a youngster. It sounds like you are really making some headway in your garage to make room for the layout. Good news.
I'm out the door in a minute. I hope everyone has a great day.
Hobson Yard in Lincoln, NE. The state capitol is on the right side of the photo:
BNSF 1697, 662 by Dylan Widger, on Flickr
Hi Bear,
Thanks for the pictures of the Windsor and Detroit ferry yards.
My great uncle Day Warnica lived in Windsor. He had an interesting career. One of his first 'jobs' was running booze across the Detroit River during Prohibition. He ended up as a Colonel in command of a tank regiment in WWII.
Well, I guess i should be celebrating today. It is my 70th birthday. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't feel '70', whatever that is supposed to feel like.
Good Morning Diners. Chloe, coffee to go please.
Bear, I made your self saucing pudding recipe Sunday night. It was good. I used a 2 quart dish and it was just big enough. Fresh out of the oven, we thought it was okay, but got much better after we allowed it to cool off so the sauce would thicken up. Last night we took what was left, dished it into small bowls, reheated it, and put some vanilla ice cream on top. It shined in that use!
Off to the rat race. Have a good day everyone!
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
Charlie, I hope your sister finds out this morning it's all a computer error that is easily cleaned up.
My daughter had her identity stolen 20 years ago, and it still shows up every-so-often. Several years ago she filed her taxes and the IRS reported she had already filed and gotten a large refund. Someone got a nice refund.
Not a lot going on out here today. It rained last night, so most work will wait until tomorrow and the ground dries out a little.
It's a good day to work on the layout. A new building should begin to take shape (I hope).
Minnesota:
BNSF Hump Yard by Paul VanDerWerf, on Flickr
Good Morning Diners. Happy (?) Monday.
richhotrainThis is really troubling and something that we should all be concerned about.
Well, break time is over. Back to the chaos at work.
Cheers guys!
Thanks for the reply, Charlie. This is really troubling and something that we should all be concerned about. Once more information comes out, anything that you can share with us would be helpful.
Rich
Alton Junction
Forest fire smoke here so not pleasant outside. Supposed to clear off later today but sure is early for it. Lake Winnipeg is at a record low level for this time of year. Sure hope it rains soon.
Rich, don't have any facts yet. My sister is just in shock and my BIL is useless. I think it might be a case of stolen identity but the thief knew about the bank account and would need ID and the account number. My sister thought one of her sons was responsible but if so the CU has worse security than the library where my wife used to work. Hopefully more will be known tomorrow. She needs to involve the police too.
No plans for today other than visit the MIL. I won't be doing anything outside as long as the smoke is around.
Charlie, that is awful news about your sister. Any idea how it happened?
Thanks for the warning about having the pudding overflow.
Did you make the Beef Wellington and the cake? They look perfect. Beef Wellington is one of my favourite meals! I tried to make it once but it didn't turn out anything like what's in your photo.
Thanks for your permission to attack the burger with a knife and fork. My jaw was beginning to hurt just looking at it!
Good morning, diners. Just coffee this morning.
It looks like we will get wet going to church today. Everyone is in a good mood on the plains when it rains.
JaBearI note that the rubber band appears to be unravelling!!!
I noticed it too. The diner's door was locked much of yesterday.
I drove into the city yesterday (about 55 miles) to the hobby store. I stocked up on some styrene parts I need for some buildings. It was a nice drive in spite of some construction.
The construction will not be finished before I'm in the ground, but eventually the highway will be three lanes each way all the way from our town to the city.
It will be great -- I wish back in the 1960s it had been originally built that wide. I guess back then no one could see the number of semi trucks that would be going coast to coast on our highway. It's unbelievable how much stuff heads to the east from California on our highway.
I can't find the numbers right now but a while back, the state police published the numbers of speeders they had stopped going over 100 mph on the highway. Many of those were carrying drugs from the west to the east. Unbelievable.
It's a busy week ahead. I hope I can fit some layout time into the schedule.
I hope everyone has a healthy great day.
The east hump at Bailey Yard in North Platte:
Respite at sunset by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
The retarders at the east hump:
Hump yard retarders by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Track maintenance on one of the hump tracks while the other track stays in service:
Track work on the hump by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
North Platte is one of the best places in the U.S. to watch trains at work. The Golden Spike tower gives you a great elevated view of the yards. I have a good friend who is a diesel mechanic for UP in North Platte.
Ed, thanks for the map of old Mott Haven yard.
Not much left there now, just the "Y" and it's a single track.
In my time in freight, we used to come out of Oak Point via the Port Morris connection (the switch would be located at the extreme lower right, just before the crossovers on the Harlem Line), then go over all the crossovers and "turn right" and go along the Y to the Hudson line north (originally, it was "west").
In the earlier time, MO tower was still open, later it closed and the dispatchers were all downtown. It was (for me) an easier move when the old NYC signals were still there, as you would get "slow clears" so you'd know at least the next signal was good (with a big train behind in some very tight spaces). Later on, when Metro-North went to the "proceed cab" signals, all you'd get is a "restricted cab", so you were running on faith that the dispatcher had the next one cleared up and wanted to "get you through". Sometimes they'd let you know that you only had it so far (he might say, "I've got one to get by on the Hudson"), so you could lay back a bit.
Going north was pretty much all empties, but coming south with all loads, again, could make you nervous until you saw you had the railroad all the way. 80-120 loads, and the odds of getting stopped in 6-10 car lengths, well, they weren't assured...
Almost all the streets in our community are named after birds. We have an Indigo Bunting Court, a Tanager Way and we live on Flicker Court.
I don’t know about the health of the forum, either. I've been getting timeout messages when accessing threads, and the hated 504 error popped up earlier. Duct tape and baling wire seems to be holding it together.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Nice to see the forum back but for how long?
We had a Scarlet Taniger in our back yard a couple of years ago. My wife just happened to have her camera at the ready and got a few great photos. Indigo Buntings have been here too, the best was a vivid blue one last year that stayed for about 10 minutes. The hordes of White Throated Sparrows are gone and hopefully the warblers are next. Had one male oriole last week. He must have been here last year as he knew exactly where to find the grape jelly.
No train news except CP has announced #2816 will make a stop here at the end of June. I saw it in 2007 down in Thief River Falls. Got some great video pacing it. Was the only car following for about 25 miles.
My sister is in shock. She has lost a 6 figure sum from her bank account. Told her to be at the bank Monday morning as soon as it opens. There has been a fraud and hopefully the money can be recovered. It was most of the proceeds from the sale of their house. I tried to give her some guidance based on my experience as a credit manager. Sued more than a few people back in the day.
Very warm day here, about 75F but back to a more normal 60 tomorrow.
Hi Chris and John,
Great birding!
I wish I was still able to visit Point Pelee on Lake Erie in the spring. We have seen several Scarlett Tanagers there but never any in our own yard. We have had a few Indigo Buntings over the years but they were often still in their winter brown with just a few bits of blue showing.
Good morning, diners. Chloe, I'll have bacon, eggs, and coffee, please.
It's good to see everyone so far. It would be nice to hear from Lion soon.
Bear, thanks for the dessert recipe. The term 'self-saucing' was a new one to me. I'm not sure I could take a bite of that burger. I think I'd need a knife to cut some pieces first.
I'll say my goodbyes to all the diners, just in the off-chance the forum goes away for good.
For the bird watchers, my wife has been very happy the past the week. She had five pairs of orioles at the feeders, and two male rose-breasted grossbeaks. That's in addition to dozens of cardinals, blue jays, squirrels, etc.
Last night we saw the northern lights. It's fairly rare that we see them here. Pretty neat.
The layout has not seen much activity lately. I'm in the process of my most difficult scratchbuilding project, but I'm not putting too much time into it. Too many other retirement duties. I'm waiting on some Tichy windows I've ordered, and I may drive the fifty miles to the hobby shop today to see if I can find some specific styrene I need.
On another forum, the main topic of discussion was this forum! We're famous.
Have a great weekend.
40BCP1401Toronto by Michael A Da Costa, on Flickr
Good morning dinners, good to see everyone again. Glad they unlocked the doors (again).
Flo, I'll please have 2 eggs over eas, well done corned beef hash, home fries and sourdoughs toast.
Dave, I had the pleasure to see my very first Scarlet Tanager yesterday morning in our Magnolia tree. Super bright red! Stunning.