Yes,
You guys do fine work as usual. Maybe one day I can post some pictures of my mis-adventures too.
I had thought about installing a turn table on my layout as well; but, I don't know. Mister Beasley has almost turned me into a chicken. Indexing the thing looks like the toughest challenge.
I was thinking of butchering up an old record player (it is made up almost entirely of plastic)- installing a stepper motor, cutting notches for an IR detector for indexing- then coming up with the micro-controller to get it all working- Mission Impossible? Maybe. May not look very prototypical, but so what. Not much of anything else looks too prototypical on my layout either.
I knew that I should have gone with "Thomas The Tank" train set. Then I would have more time and money to drink beer. Ha, ha.
Hey, welcome back, Chuck! Long time no see. I'll have a Knickerbocker in your honor.
I think the Page 5 location was a tribute to the continued activity on the forum, not any lack of enthusiasm here. Sure, we've all been out in our yards feeding the mosquitos, but we've all had time to drop in occasionally. My in-laws are here now, and I was really happy to show the layout to my wife's Dad. He's a great guy, 90 years old now, and he really appreciates the layout so far. One of his old engines, a Rivarossi dockside, is sitting on a stub of the turntable. I even had it running with a decoder a few months back, but the valve gear jammed up and the decoder couldn't take the stall current of the old motor. The good news is, it was a TCS.
Grandchildren getting married? Aaargh! My own daughter is not even out of high school, and my wife is freaking out every time there are boys over. (Yeah, we started our family late. I'm 60 now. But, it runs in the family. When my own Dad was born, his Dad was 59. That's how I ended up with a grandfather born 4 years before the Civil War.)
I got my new rock wall molds today from Dave Frary's web site, www.mrscenery.com. I've used the other one I got from him so much that I wanted a different rock wall style for the turntable. I made a couple of test castings today, so tomorrow I'll see how they come out. These molds are particularly well-suited to bending around a gentle curve, so I can curve the wall nicely around the pit. I figure I'll need 3 good curved castings to do the job.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Holy Moley, Squeeks! I leave town for a week and a bit, and come back to find the Beer Barn back on Page FIVE! Sure hope there have been enough mundanes coming by to keep the till full.
Speaking of full, make mine Ballentine. And set up any of the regulars who come in before I leave.
Well, got my grand-daughter married off, so now she's Stephanie Mitchell - and planning to make all four of her grandparents great-grandparents ASAP. (Children are your hope for the future, grandchildren are your proof there will be a future, great-grandchildren ARE the future. I feel very blessed.)
A prototype note. The "speed bump on steroids" that carried I-40 over the former Rock Island right-of-way just east of Amarillo has been flattened as part of a repaving project currently underway. There is still plenty of evidence of that line's existence, clear over to Tucumcari, but that bit is now gone forever. Will the oversize culvert that carried the Rock under I-40 just east of Tucumcari be the next to go? Only the New Mexico DOT knows.
Another prototype note. A while back I posted a note about the old Santa Fe covered hopper on stilts just off I-40 in northern New Mexico. It's still there, but now boasts fresh boxcar red paint (instead of weathered black) and BAR 7 RANCH in big white block lettering flanked by a couple of longhorn face views. It would still be an easy model for anyone with a leftover Blue Box covered hopper kit that doesn't fit their modern-era layout.
Speaking of layouts, NICE WORK, both JB and Mister Beasley. Makes me anxious to get out of the netherworld and build something that will be part of the permanently visible Tomikawa Valley.
Didn't take along any kits, and had no internet access (my relatives Back There still communicate by smoke signal!) but the trip wasn't a total model railroading loss. Stopped at The One Track Mind for a pleasant couple of minutes, and managed to complete the design of the panel face and electricals for the catenary sub's freight staging zone panel. As soon as I leave this keyboard I'll be attacking a sheet of plastic with a drill, with the object of creating mounting holes for the various rotary, toggle and push switches and indicator lights. Progress, it's wonderful.
So, time to make some progress. Tell everyone else I said, 'Hi!"
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Good afternoon! A COLD one...If you please Joe.
Happy birthday Trainmaster...Hope that you have MANY more! And get humping on the layout!!
Mr. Beasley, you hit the nail, right on with regards to the Atlas TT PIT BASHING projects! Both yours and mine have been a "labor of love, to model", not easy and not fast. In my case, at least, if I would have stuck to it (and thought a few more things through) it wouldn't have taken so long or been as difficult. Mine isn't as difficult as your, with the false bottom...BUT....YES, I'm still "adjusting" mine too!!
On the other hand....Now that I've done one, the next one will be a lot easier to do, if I follow through with my thoughts and do it again for another, larger, one on the lower level. A few things for sure though, in regard to a project like this: I've tested my skills, learned a few things and there isn't another just like it anywhere!
Toni has been out of town a bit again, so my schedule gets more hectic! With a way busy (running here and there and work too) schedule, the garden work calling my name and the insulation project in the library and solarium.....The Trainroom has been playing second fiddle.
After getting home form running Rae to the Reif (they have now gotten full speed into Tech week for the Spring Show) and two early morning meetings, I got to drive home in the rain!! So out to the Trainroom was I....
I finely finished up the Way Station and I also got started on some of the service facility.
The oil tank is a bash of an old, trashed tank car, old trestle bents and some stripwood. The pump house and tool shed are from a Life-Like Trackside Shanties kit, the water tower is an old Revell and I'm working on an oil column and water column.
Again, Happy Birthday, Trainmaster!
I guess I'll drink to that. A Harpoon IPA for me, Joe, and see who else is thirsty, OK?
My inlaws are coming for a visit next week. No inlaw jokes at my house - they're great people. I've actually got some of my father-in-laws old trains, so I really wanted to get the turntable working before he got here. This is the "pit-bash" where I took an Atlas deck turntable and added a bridge. Just because I'm a real glutton for punishment, I decided to do it with a false floor that didn't turn with the deck, and my design ended up needing real, working bogies on the ends to keep the bridge level. This isn't a project for anyone in a hurry, or for someone who throws things when they don't work right. (I used to do that, but I've mellowed in my old age.)
Anyway, much to my surprise, I was able to get the turntable installed and working. The critical problem is aligning it. The original turntable was easy - just lay the tracks into the slots provided, and everything works fine. Now, every little imperfection in the bridge mounting comes back to haunt me. I may still have to pull the bridge track off again to shift it sideways a bit, but I've been able to run engines on to the bridge, rotate to different roundhouse slots, and then put the engines in. (Note: this works better if there isn't already an engine in that stall. Puzzled me for a minute.) I even put the 0-6-0 into the roundhouse!
There are a couple of photos over on photo-fun if anyone's interested.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Refill the beer glasses, Joe, and don't forget to bring another Dr Pepper with ice. (I always like it better with ice in the glass. Getting it right down to 32 really adds a spark.) (Too many root beer floats will leave you not feeling very good.)
The pit-bash continues. I've got to shim up the whole thing, but I think it's just about the thickness of one sheet of my generic styrene. I glued the bridge rail down today, with styrene cement instead of the temporary tacky glue. I put in a couple of pieces of styrene to block the view of the wiring over the hub. Also, I took Gypsolite and spread it over the pit floor, except where I'll be ballasting the rails. Hopefully, the Gypsolite will stick to the styrene base and not chip off.
I ordered a couple of different rock wall molds from Dave Frary at www.mrscenery.com. I've use Dave's "cut stone wall" so much that I'm tired of it, and I want a different look for the wall of the turntable pit.
I'm beginning to realize that the Atlas pit-bash isn't for everyone. It's an awful lot of work, and takes a tremendous amount of modelling time. For me, though, that's part of the whole adventure, and I'm sure I'll love it once it's up and running. I finally figured out my final geometric alignment puzzle - one of the roundhouse tracks didn't line up properly, but the others did. When Atlas made the roundhouse apron for the tracks, they left a lot of slop in the positioning. I've got 2 tracks off to the right, and one off to the left, so they really shouldn't ever have lined up correctly with the turntable.
hi all. guess what? its my birthday today. #14
i want a root beer float today
David Parks I am the terror that flaps in the night!
Morning all, Joe, I'll have some fried eggs, sunny side up, with some bacon and toast. thanks
Not been doing much this week, just slaving at the old grindstone. I did make a experment using styrene to make a double garace and an old time red hay barn, the kind with the roof that has 2 pitches on it and a small door into the hay loft above the big doors on the ends. I need to put some white trim on the red barn then weather it, I think it will be OK.
Been rainy here for the past few weeks so not much wheat has been cut, but when it gets dry enough, man look out!!! I have to mow my lawn about every 4 or 5 days or it will get out of hand. and with the rain the way it has been, you might not be able to mow for the next few days. I can't remember the last time everything has been so green here in SW Okla. All the lakes and ponds are full and running over. Last year it was just the opposite, everything was dry and burning up by the middle of April.
Guess I'll go and eat my breakfast then I am going to rebuild a couple of windows in the basement that are rottong out. Later, Mike
Good evening all....I'll take a Very tall, very cold, cold one please Joe. Oh...And a round for the house too!
Yes, it's been a while...Poor Squeaky is going broke on the long weekends!!
GUB, good to see you back!
Only got a few minutes before turning into a pumpkin! It's been a hard few days of late. Too much to do, not enough time to do it and too many demands! Let's see...What to address first?
Mr. Beasley, yes we can cry on each other's shoulder when ever we need. As Rae is more and more independent...We hear a lot of "By-By Now" and she's off (at least we know where she is off to and with who...Mostly!) And with all of the activities she has (plays, violin, dance, swimming, chorus) she is also popular with most all in all of those groups. So she has a busy calendar! Just last night, after the orchestra concert, Raeanne got a few hugs from some boys! Toni asked me later "Did you see that Rae was getting hugs? Who are those boys?" Well, I knew some of them and I just said that she deserved the hugs from friends...It was a great concert! But...On the other hand, I have to find some of that Revlon, "Color ME Ugly" stuff! Rae is WAY too cute!
If all goes well (I have an appointment at the clinic in the early morning) I hope to spend time in the Trainroom early tomorrow afternoon. I have made some progress on the Wayside Station for Sawbill (haven't even looked at it today, but perhaps the paint and glue is now dry) and think it will be finished at some point tomorrow.
That's it for now...Later.
Wow, how's that for timing? Thanks, GUB, a beer or three is just what I needed. And Joe, put some nachos on my tab. I have a feeling folks will be staggering back from the holiday and will need something for the ride home.
I finally took the giant step and installed the pit rail on my Atlas turntable pit-bash project. This has been a long, slow undertaking, often interrupted. It's one of those where I wasn't always sure of the next step, so I'd put it aside and think for a while, working instead on some other bit of the railroad. Once I got the bogies on and the rail path marked, though, the work went smoothly, and today I ran an engine on to the bridge, rotated it around 180 degrees, and ran it off again, all under panel and throttle control.
There are still some alignment issues to be dealt with, as the bridge doesn't line up with all the same tracks that it did back when it was a deck and sat on top of the layout. But, it's down in the pit now, and it's really running.
The whole false-floor thing worked out pretty well. The bridge is mounted on a platform of styrene, and the round support goes through the false floor. I built up a "wall" around the original perimeter, and glued the floor to that. Then I glued the pit-rail to the floor, using the bogies as a guide to keep the rail along the right path.
Evening All;
I will have a Scotch before Lawn Bowling.
Mr. B, nice job on the van.
Haven't been here in a while. With work picking up and getting the office finally done I sort of negleted everything else as well as the Beer Barn. Now that the office is done I have started on my next diorama. The first thing to do is build some structures. I am sort of scratch building/kit bashing a mill. At this point it will be a water powered furniture factory. I am using Walther's Modulars. Anyone here using them? There pretty good. The learning curve is not too bad. Still working out all the details.
Opps. Gotta go and have some dinner before bowling. Will check back later. The next three rounds are on me, since I haven't been here ia a while.
GUB
gear-jammer wrote: How did your decals turn out?Sue
How did your decals turn out?
Sue
Well, I'm never one to shy away from verbiage, but, I'd rather post the picture than the proverbial thousand words. This is the truck. I made the decals with MS Word and printed them, then installed them on an Athearn (I think) panel truck:
Here, owner Leo's 4 sons (L to R, Brabantio, Cassio, Iago and Othello) clown around a bit in front of the truck. When asked about Othello, Leo's wife, Desdemona Lisa, just smiles.
I hope everyone's having a great holiday weekend. I'm slowly gluing the pit-rail in place on my turntable, rotating the bridge a bit and making sure each place I glue down is properly aligned. But, the rain has stopped and it's looking nice outside, too. Maybe just a couple of more spots of gluing, and then I'll take the cover off the grill and think about some burgers.
Morning all. Joe, I'll take a black coffee and some sausage gravey over some of your fresh made bisquits. Thanks.
How is everyone on this holiday weekend? I don't have much of a weekend planned as I have to work on Monday, as we are in the middle of wheat harvest if it will quit raining long enough to get the combines to get in the field.
I may go to Lawton and see what is new at Hobby Lobby this weekend. and maybe do some more in the new trainroom. I got 11 new viehicles this week. (See my thread I posted this morning) Nice to get some 1970's on the layout and especially the PU trucks. Wally World here is starting to handle the diesel trucks again so I am trying to get some of them while they have them.
I guess I'll go for now and eat my breakfast. BTW Chack out my thread count, How many stars would I get? Take care see you all later. Mike
One more Busch Light-& bedtime. (get my coffee ready in the diner in the morning)
To those that are "in the know", my fiance' & I found the perfect house for us. Location, size (for the $) BRAND NEW, perfectly designed, & a UTILITY FREE 12 COURSE BASEMENT!!!!! (all upstairs) Couldn't ask for anything more. Well, we've been going thru the pre-approval process which is nerve wracking enough, but to throw another wrench into the works, someone else got 1 step ahead of us & put an offer in on it! GAHHH!!!!!
All maybe not lost-I contacted my realtor, & she told me that the offer that was made has a kinda decent chance of not being accepted. My pre-approval rating is pretty close to the asking also, so, WAITING ON BOTH, & been on a bit of a knife edge here. (A lot of good folks visit here, so keep your fingers crossed & knock on wood for a fellow model railroader!)
So in the meantime, this weekend I'm gonna do some chores, try to chase down a vacuum leak on my truck, take my fiance' out to see her favorite band at our "hangout", try to get some railfanning in at Sterling Ohio on Sunday (dodging Tstorms according to the forecast) & maybe get some more "weathering/tagging" work done on my current projects, & get a few more started. (Feel like a 1-armed paper hanger here as the saying goes.)
(Finishes Busch Light) gnite folks-not driving-walking home of course.
MisterBeasley wrote: OK, I started Photo Fun last week, so it's somebody else's turn now. Me, I believe I'll have another beer, Joe. Cheers, all, and have a great holiday weekend if our paths don't cross again before Tuesday!
OK, I started Photo Fun last week, so it's somebody else's turn now. Me, I believe I'll have another beer, Joe. Cheers, all, and have a great holiday weekend if our paths don't cross again before Tuesday!
MrB, I started twice but got interupted both times. I think everyone is hanging out at What is your best layout pic? this week. It was recommended by MRR mag newsletter.
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Evening, everybody. Long time no see - at least, it seems that way!
Thanks for the brew, Mister B. I can understand your feelings. At a slightly longer range, my twin granddaughters turned 18 last month, graduated from High School today - and next month the older (by one hour) will be getting married! Seems like just yesterday that I first made their acquaintance at the ripe old age of one day. Time flies, whether or not you're having fun.
Last time in, I mentioned that I was expecting visitors. Happily, Murphy took a day off when I ran the rather minimal operation I had set up. All were suitably impressed.
For the occasion, I had temporarily erected the end curves of the Nonomura extension (previously cookie cut) all approximately level on a miscellaneous collection of temporary supports - mostly hunks of close-to-scrap 2 x 4 wood. Now I've gotten some of the real risers erected. Most of them have steps - the mainline connector is dropping at 2%, the down mainline (which will only need to handle downhill trains) rises from the spring switch (where it meets the connector) at 2.5% and the up mainline is also on a 2% grade, but higher than (and inside of) the curve on the connector (so, even though the grade is the same, the vertical separation is greater at the bottom than at the top - until the connector summits out as it approaches the spring switch.) Surveying the exact heights and separations is only half the fun. The other half involves getting creative with tin snips and bending pliers, since my risers are made of the same steel stud material as the rest of my benchwork. OTOH, it's still lots easier than fabricating the same thing in wood.
I'll be off to the wedding for the next couple of weeks, so construction and operation will be suspended. Hope the withdrawal symptoms won't be too bad!
Hasta la Vista, folks. Have a nice holiday weekend, and take a second to remember why it is a holiday. "The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants," Thomas Jefferson.
Chuck (USAF retired, modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Glad to hear everyone's in good spirits. It's Friday, so let me buy the first round of the evening. Harpoon IPA for me, Joe. I think we'll need some onion rings, too.
JB, I need a shoulder to cry on. Nothing serious, nothing bad, but just one of those transitions that we go through. Annie, my little backstroker, went out tonight on her first real date, with a boy, in a car, and no adults in sight. Stephen's a good kid. I actually coached him in soccer, back when the girls and boys were in the same group, pre-Kindergarten. He comes from a soccer family, and even then he knew more about the game than I did. This year, though, is the one where they all turn 16 or 16 1/2, and can get their permits and then their licenses. I just told them to be careful, wear their seatbelts, and have fun. Beyond that, we've got to trust that we raised them well, I guess.
I did a bit of decalling last night. I finally put the decals on the truck for Leo Da Vinci and Sons, Painters, and I applied the A&P Supermarket signs to the City Classics market I picked up a few weeks ago from Walthers, via my LHS. I printed up another set of inkjet decals, all advertising signs this time. I found an old Campbells Soup ad, and the classic Coppertone one with the dog exposing a little girl's tan line. I let them dry for a couple of days before I put the coating film on them, particularly now that it's getting hot and humid.
The pit-bash got some time, too. I made up the bogies. I took a set of trucks, and flipped the plastic wheels around so the flanges pointed out. Then I pushed the wheels to the center, so I've got a single wheel on each axle, with outer flanges, and twice as wide as a standard wheel. Hopefully, this will get around any inaccuracies in laying the pit rail. I built a frame out of some discarded aluminum channel and some sheet styrene. I've already cut a chunk out of the original pit rail, because I saw it was too big, and I've probably got to shorten it a bit more. The next task is to measure and mark the final rail position.
Hi guys, I'm back,
Just stopped in to let you know I've been doing alright. I'll have to stop in later when I can sit a spell and enjoy some cold ones and chat.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Hey gang:
I'll have a tap please...I don't have to go to work for about three hours yet, so I don't think one will hurt. But, Joe, can you make that a REAL TALL one please!?!
Squeaky, you mention that my beard was looking good...Not all mottled. Well...Remember the part about "this was taken five years ago and I'm grayer now"? So now at 55 my beard is almost ALL gray with just a few dark streaks, anymore!
BTW, I like your story about the wife, the butcher knife and the pink mountain. That's pretty cool, that she wanted to go after the foam and be part of the creativeness!
Just for comparison: I had a wife (a number of years ago now) that I was never real sure if it was going to be the pink foam or me! Thank God she's married to someone else these days!
Got the library and solarium projects done...Ready for the spray insulation guys, so tomorrow when it's raining (80% chance in the forecast) I'm going to be playing in the Trainroom!
Gotta' run, make something good for the girl to eat when she gets home from school, before heading into town to teach that LAST CLASS of the SEASON!
May I'll have just one more TALL ONE before I have to go.
Hey Joe- please bring me pitures of cold, cold water and plenty of ice in a large tumbler. Need to recoup from a long day of binging. Don't do pain relievers, so will suffer with throbbing head.
David Are you and your family getting settled in? I used to be a military brat, so I remember what it was like being yanked out of school in the middle of the year, and shipped off half way 'round the country, if not 'round the world. The hardest part about it was leaving friends behind, knowing I would never see them again.
Mister Beasley We need to look both ways at railroad crossings too. There are still some busy crossings in this country that have nothing more than the crossbucks, and even the crossings with signals are not 100% reliable. This is why school busses and fuel trucks come to a stop and look before crossing.
JB That picture of you sure is friendly looking enough. You have a nice full beard. Wish I could grow one like that- not all mottled gray and scraggly like mine. Thanks for posting your good looks.
Now a little bit about the pink foam. My wife told me that she wanted to go in the train room with a butcher knife (actually it was a paring /steak knife) and form the mountain. I told her to go ahead- she said that I would be so proud of her. I stayed out of the way- I was really in hiding, afraid to look. After a bit of commotion, scraping, and banging around for awhile, she asked me to come in there and look at what she had done. Yippie! What a mess!!!! Pink stuff everywhere! But, she did a fine job on creating the bumps and lumps needed to make it look sort-of-real. I then covered that up with plaster cloth- so who knows, maybe it might come out alright once it is finished.
I'll get off the horn now as someone else might want to shout in here.
One tall cold one for me Joe...And a round for the house too!
And welcome back Train Master...A root beer for the young man, please Joe.
Just another "part time" day for me today, only 12 hours today. But...I now have only about six to eight hours of work left in the solarium, then I'm ready for the spray foam guys.
In short, what I've been doing is taking out all the trim, paneling and fiberglass insulation, getting back to "bare bones" to spray in a urethane foam insulation. This will make this space 10000000% better in the long run...But what a pain to tear it all apart. Not to mention dealing with fiberglass! I really hate the stuff.
Regarding pictures: I don't have anything as cool as Tim (Squeaky), a picture with Sitting Bull none the less, or even as cool as Mike working on his layout...But I did find one, where I'm not "all wet" that taken about five years ago while I was working in the CCRY Paintshop. I'm a bit "grayer in the beard" now, but this will have to do!
Another round please, Joe. Maybe somthing to munch would be good too. It's on me, this go round!
David, welcome back! Let me refill your Dr Pepper. I'll have a Shipyard Export, since that's what I seem to be drinking this weekend. (The Summer Ale is too hoppy for my taste, but some folks like it that way.) How've you been?
We went to my nephew's graduation from the University of New Hampshire on Saturday. 45 degrees and overcast, but fortunately the rain stopped before the ceremony and didn't start again until it was done. I really liked the speech by one of the Deans. He talked about how we still tell our kids to look both ways when they cross the street. "Dad," they protest, "I'm 22 years old now. I don't need to be told that."
He explained that sometimes it's hard for us to look those young adults in the eye and say, "I love you" the way we did when they were in diapers, but the feelings are still there. So, instead, we tell them to look both ways when they cross the street.
The speech was great. Short, and to the point. No grand, sweeping statements about World Peace or To Serve Man. Just that simple statement of love and warning.
There were a couple of other speakers on the program (Dubya's dad and Hillary's hubby) but I don't remember much of what they had to say.
And so, to all of you, "Stop, Look and Listen" before you cross the tracks, OK?
That is pretty brave, Mike.
Oh, by the way, I will have a coffee, too.
It is a good day to be inside.
Good morning! Too early for the beer, so guess I will just stay with coffee- black, please?
bobp40 Nobody knows more about the loss of a loved one than him/her self. We can only try to imagine the pain you are suffering. All we can do is console you, though I am sure that it doesn't help much. I am sad to hear about your wife's passing.
Mike That picture you are trying to show us of your layout would look a lot better if there wasn't somebody standing in front of it. Can you get another shot, and ask that person to please move?
Just KIDDING. Nice shot of you, and what is being shown of your layout. Thanks for sharing.
I am starting to feel like Herman Munster. I post nothing in here for weeks (going to happen again) and then when I show up, most everyone leaves. Ha.
Done playing around here for now. Guess I will go back down into the dungeon to pester Grandpa.
Morning all and welcome gobp40 to the barn. Joe I need a plate of toast and fried eggs with some black coffee.
Sorry to here about the loss of your wife, gobp40, But there is always someone at the barn to talk to you when you need it.
As far as a pic of yourself hanging on the wall at the Beer Barn I kinda like the idea so I will start. Here is one of me at the layout.
Please, don't laugh out loud.
Not going to do much today exceptt mow my grass and maybe hang out here for a while. You all have a good day ahd I'll See you later. Mike