BEER BARN

[GUB]

Morning Everyone;

Is it just me or is there something different with the forum this morning? It appears the tool bar has been expanded.

Well at any rate the weekend is here! Yeh! After another hectic week I need a little R & R. We went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra in Toronto this past Wednesday evening. If you get a chance check out this link http://www.trans-siberian.com/ They put on an unbeleivable concert. Thursday night it was Curling. Now I need to spend sometime  to relax.

It is cold here today but without the snow. Not sure what the forecast is for today. The wind has died down and it has stopped raining.

Well I should get going. Need to get some errands done and then hopefully a nap.

Have a good day everyone. I'll check back later.

GUB

[mikesmowers]

     Morning all, Joe I need a cup of coffee and some bacon and eggs, thanks.   

    Well I woke up in Okla City this morning ready for the train show. It looks like it is going to be a nice day, much like yesterday, lots of sunshine.   All the roads between here and home were clear and could drive 75mph with no problem.   I will try to get on here this evening and let you know about the show.    Have a good day and play safe.      Mike 

[colvinbackshop]

Good evening everybody...Anybody need a bump? A tall cold beer for me Joe. Thanks! 

Now it's snowing here...Just drove home from work and the Reif an hour ago with clear sailing! Raeanne looked outside on a trip past the kitchen windows and said "hey it's snowing like crazy...let's go for a walk". If all goes well, we'll get a good dump. Anyway we took a walk and just got back in. It's a beautiful, soft, large snow and there is no wind, so it's really pretty!

Mike, I'll try to get a picture of the "eagle tree" with an eagle init...But I don't have a good telephoto with the digital (just a bit of zoom) so I'll do my best.

Tomorrow it's the start of the Fall / Winter swim lessons and rehearsal  for the Nutcracker...So my day is booked. Maybe I can get into the Trainroom in the evening to hopefully finish up the carpentry on the turntable. If so, I'll have a picture or two. 

 

[mopacforever]

  Morning all,  Joe better bring me a big cup of coffee and some ham & eggs will do nicely. Thanks.

   Got downright cold here last night, the snow has stopped and the clouds are gone, beautiful sunshine on about 6'' of white snow. Only thing is it is 5 deg at 8 AM, supposed to get to mid 40's today, maybe the roads will be clear so I can make the trip to OKC trainshow this evening.

   mopac,  welcome aboard, sit down and I'll buy you a round and Joe, better put 2 logs on the fire this morning.         Mike 

Thanks very much to you, Colvin, and Mr. Beasley for the very warm welcome.  I sure miss the distant sound of those diesel locomotives running at night.  I remember a hootowl that used to live in the woods near our house and the sound of the "whipperwils" that used to sing at night.  That was a symphony that used to lullaby me to sleep as kid.  Can't wait until I can retire and get back there for that again.

Mr. Beasley, there are a few hobby stores around, but I have not made it to see them yet.  Filipinos are not in to trains as much as airplanes and RC cars.  Thank goodness for the Internet!  I do most of my own detailing anyway, and plan to hire a couple of guys to make display cases to store my collection.  My wife just told me that I can set up a 4X8 in the extra room, so I am tickled pink.  I am hoping for an MRC Prodigy Advance DCC set up for Christmas, but we'll see.  I am braking into DCC/Sound for the first time and this looked like a decent set up to start with. 

I have a Swiss buddy that has the biggest collection of trains I have ever seen from one guy.  He has been collecting since 1956 (when he was a kid), and still has every one of his locomotives and they all run like new!  The Swiss keep everything running and in perfect tune.  He has a collection of Mostly Hag & Marklin.  He also has a huge number of rolling stock too.  His entire attic is full of tracks.  The whole thing is set up using DC only.  You should see the underside of the benchwork! 

Here is a pic of my latest work.  I will install DCC/Sound in this first:

 

 

 

[mikesmowers]

   Good afternoon,  Joe, I'll neen a large DP for the road.  I am off to see my FIRST train show. I am so excited Like when I saw my first snow.  Wish me luck. I'll try to check back in later if I can get on a computer when I get to my brothers.    

            See you at the show,  I'll have pics and a full report on Sunday.                     Mike 

[mikesmowers]

  Colvin,   Send me a pic of that if you would, I am a sucker for places like that. I would love to see an eagle like what you described.    BTW  The temps here at the present are 23.5 deg. with lots of sunshine, the snow is dripping off the back of my PU truck which is sitting in the sun,  a good sign.   Thanks  Mike

[colvinbackshop]

Of course there's room for you to slide in....Welcome to the Beer Barn mopac!

As Mr. Beasley has already stated...It's a great place and you can "virtually" get anything you want... and it's NOT even Alice's Resturant.

Mike, your temp. is the same as our's this morning, but I'm pretty sure the forecasters said we were in for a high of only 20. It is, however, real pretty here this morning with the dusting of snow on the ground and a fine frost in the trees. Also had an Eagle in the old White Pine in the yard this morning....That's looked upon as "Good Medicine", so we must be in for a good day!

In reading what I just wrote, I'm thinking I need to clairify "yard". We have a sixty with the house somewhat centered in the front twenty. It's all wooded and we have 100's of acres of wooded and mostly undeveloped land all around us. Outside the front windows, across a small kettle are two White Pines somewhere in the 200+ year old range. The bigger and taller (now standing dead for two years) of the two has been a popular perch for Eagles ever since we have been here....It's WAY cool.

Well, I'd better get busy...Once again "Much to do and so little time"

[MisterBeasley]

Welcome back to the States, at least virtually, Mopac.  You'll find that Joe here has every beer under the sun beneath that counter.  Watch this - Joe, could I have a Knickerbocker?  Thanks.

See.  Not only is this a local beer from the New York City area, it hasn't been brewed since the mid-1960s, which happens to be the era of my Moose Bay Railroad layout.  Yet, here it is in my hand, cold and fresh.  Amazing, huh?

How is it to do MR in places like the Philippines?  Is there anything even close to a hobby shop, and are there more than a handful of model railroaders to talk to?  There's at least one other forum member from Jakarta.

[mikesmowers]

  Morning all,  Joe better bring me a big cup of coffee and some ham & eggs will do nicely. Thanks.

   Got downright cold here last night, the snow has stopped and the clouds are gone, beautiful sunshine on about 6'' of white snow. Only thing is it is 5 deg at 8 AM, supposed to get to mid 40's today, maybe the roads will be clear so I can make the trip to OKC trainshow this evening.

   mopac,  welcome aboard, sit down and I'll buy you a round and Joe, better put 2 logs on the fire this morning.         Mike 

[mopacforever]

Gents,

I hope ya'll don't mind me slidin in here for a cold one (buddy I'll have a PBR or a San Miguel, whichever one is colder and closer.

I am stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines and we just a had a big ole Typoon blow through.  The temps are warm, the pollution has blown out of the city (at least for today), and I finally have enough room for a 4X8 layout.

I am just gettin settled in and missed deer season in Arkansas this year...bummer.  The pics of the snow make me home sick.  The talk about the cold one after work reminds me of when I came back on leave to visit the folks, my dad would take me down to his favorite waterin hole to say howdy to all his friends and he would buy me a cold one.  Good group of fellas.  Most either worked at the UP repair fac in NLR, or are truck drivers, yessir...good group of fellas. 

 

[MisterBeasley]

Ah, Friday at last.  Just coffee - goin' out for dinner tonight.

Last night I started installing my first sound decoder.  I'm putting it in a P1K Alco RS.  I bought an 0-6-0 steamer with sound a while back, and now I'm hooked, but this is the first one I've put in myself.  It's actually designed for a P2K plug-in, so I had to resurrect a plug from the parts box and figure out how to wire it.  The first time around, I got the plug on backwards.  (There's no way to tell, and the directions don't specify this.)  I took a look at the way it was wired, and realized that the original designers did a clever thing.  They arranged the plug so that the critical wires - track power and motor power, were on the two diagonals rather than next to each other.  So, if you get it wrong and put the plug on backwards, you won't destroy anything.  Yeah, the engine will run backwards, and the polarity will be wrong to light the LEDs, but no damage is done to either the engine or the decoder.  Good thinking by those guys and gals, I guess.

The First of December was not covered with snow this year, despite the James Taylor song.  The Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston saw temperatures in the upper 60's this fine morning.  Light snow is in the forecast for Sunday evening.  "Light Snow" means "get out the snow shovel and make sure your snowblower is gassed up, because you could get a foot of the stuff."  Around here, we often talk about "shoveling 6 inches of partly cloudy" because weather forecasting is a black art that few have mastered.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Leesville, LA  71446      12/1/2006

Wind Chill:  25°F
Humidity:  78%
Dew Point:  25°F
 
So Far Today
High:  33°F
Low:  31°F
Rain:  N/A"
Rain Rate:  N/A"/h
Gust:  25mph NW
 
High: 50 °F
Low: 29 °F

Today  High: 52    Mostly sunny. Cooler. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds around 15 mph diminishing to around 10 mph this afternoon.  

Tonight  Low: 28    Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s. Light and variable winds.

[colvinbackshop]

Set um up Joe...Whatever anybody needs! Me, I'm thinking a hot toddy would set well.

We haven't got the snow Mike is getting (wish we were as I love to Nordic Ski and we have just a dusting), but the colder temps. have made their way here with a predicted low is just above the zero make for tonight. I just threw another log on the fire!

I did have a good walk today...and an opportunity to shoot and a miss-fire too. Bad powder, clogged nipple...something! Oh well, pulled the ball, got the powder out and I'll check it out and reload tomorrow. It's supposed to be even nicer tomorrow then today with a high of 20...so, I'm thinking I'll go for a hike again! Venison in the freezer sounds pretty good...And it's the meat of choice around this household.

I did take time for playing in the Trainroon for an hour or so this afternoon and got a start on the skirting below the turntable bridge. Got all the details worked out, everything measured up and cut and even a little of the installation done (being a carpenter with HO scale 2x8's requires a bright light and my glasses these days), but it was slow going. So far I like the look of it. I'll send out a picture or two when I get the skirt in place.

One more "hot one" Joe and set up the place one more time too!

[tomikawaTT]

"Evening, all.  Joe, a Sam Adams for me and the poison of choice for everybody.

Temp dipped below freezing this morning and the locals are all acting as if the Ice Age has come.  Me?  I don't consider it cold until you can't drive a tack into the ground with a sixteen pound sledge!

I'm a REALLY happy camper!  After over a year of futile inquiry, I finally found a reasonably accessible source of Owens-Corning rigid foam - specifically, fan-fold underlayment (1/4 inch thick,) which is my preferred substitute for cork roadbed.  Of course, it's two state borders away - but in the desert southwest, that's no big deal.  Beats all heck out of no supply at all.

For all of you folks in the snow belt, you have my sincere sympathy.  Now you know why I moved to Southern Nevada.

Chuck (Native New Yorker, former South Dakota resident)

[mikesmowers]

   Joe set everyone up with a cold one  (better check IDs) Still snowing like the dickens here has all afternoon there must be around 6'' out there the temps did reach 25 deg. today. I had to shovel the snow awayso I could get to the train room.  I guess another good night for a few beers and some RR fun.  Check back later

 

   (edit) 

 

    Right outside the train room door.

 

 

Here I am standing in the drift from the previous pic looking twards the house.

  As much as I hate to admit it the snow is pretty. My dad just came out and said he and mom had some snow ice cream. He said it was good but it was cold.    Thought I would share the weather with you all down south  ( JEFFREY?)   

   joe bring me another cold beer and put some more wood on the fire.     Mike

[jeffrey-wimberly]

No snow here, and I hope it stays that way. But it has gotten decidely cooler today.

Leesville, LA 71446 11/30/2006

Wind Chill: 36°F

Humidity: 86%

Dew Point: 39°F


So Far Today
High: 80°F
Low: 43°F
Rain: N/A"
Rain Rate: N/A"/h
Gust: 28mph W

High: 68 °F
Low: 32 °F

Lake wind advisory in effect from 3 PM to 6 PM cst this afternoon.

Now through 01:15 PM CST November 30, 2006

A line of scattered showers across southeast Texas from west of Toledo bend dam to High Island at noon will move to the east- southeast 20 mph through 1 PM. The showers should reach the Sabine River and the Port Arthur area by 1 PM. Over south-central Louisiana...scattered showers will continue over eastern Iberia...lower Saint Martin and Saint Mary parishes affecting the Morgan City and stephensville areas. Over the coastal waters...scattered to numerous showers will occur from the lower Atchafalaya River to Marsh Island out 60 nautical miles. Isolated to widely scattered showers will occur elsewhere over the region.

Rest Of Today

Low: 45 High: 72 Mostly cloudy and becoming breezy. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms late in the morning...then widespread showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 70s with temperatures falling into the 40s by late afternoon. South winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the northwest 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Tonight Low: 32 Mostly cloudy and breezy with scattered showers in the evening... Then partly cloudy after midnight. Much colder. Lows in the lower 30s. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

[colvinbackshop]

Good morning...Even though late morning. Got all the morning chores done, so it must be time to visit the "Barn"! A cup of Joe, please Joe.

Mike, you folks got a lot more snow than we did! It is however a beautiful morning here in the north. The sun is bright, the temp. is crisp (about 8 above) and we have a fresh dusting of fine dry snow.

With the weather so nice and the chores done, I'm going to take a long walk in the woods today. It's the Black Powder Deer Season right now and so I'm thinking about loading up the Hawken and going for a stroll.

More later.

[mikesmowers]

  Morning all, Joe a cup of black coffee and put a couple eggs on the grill for me, thanks.
   This is what I woke up to this morning:





   Not as bad as Min. It's only 22 deg. here now with a 30 mph North wind, and still snowing. Not expected to get much better as the day goes on, Hi of 28 deg. and a low tonight of 15 deg.It is supposed to be back in the mid 40's for the next few days so it shouldn't interfeer with the OKC train show.   
   Joe, set up a round of whatever everyone wants and put it on my tab.   Will check back in later.      Mike

[MisterBeasley]

Good day, and a happy day-before-Friday to you all.  Coffee for me, and could you rustle up a couple of eggs and maybe some sausage?  OK, bacon then, thanks.  It was 56 degrees on the drive in to work, and it's going up to the mid 60's here in ... Massachusetts?  Don't worry, we're about to get a dose of Minnesota in for the weekend.  Ski areas up here are really hurtin' this season.  Sunday River has about 5 trails open, out of 130 or so.  Too warm to make snow, and we're supposed to get some rain tomorrow.  (Might be snow at higher elevations.)  After that, it looks like they can turn the snow guns on and run them continuously for a week.  That's good news for nearby Nashoba Valley Ski Area, where my daughter's high school ski team practices and races.  The team has been doing dry-land training only so far, and they can't wait to get back on the course.

Train show in Marlboro, Mass., this weekend.  I'll probably head over one day, mostly to check out the layouts.  This is a pretty good one.  I'm also heading to my LHS today to get a sound decoder for my Alco RS.  I got hooked on sound when I bought my first steamer.  This will be my first sound installation, so wish me luck.

[colvinbackshop]

Joe...Maybe a Hot Brandy as a nightcap, please!

Just put another log on the fire (it was starting to feel a bit cool) and I checked the thermometer. Well, no wonder...The temp. has dropped off to 3 above 0 and the wind is STILL blowing hard!

Make that two hot brandies and another log for the fire too....

[colvinbackshop]

Yup...Way cold here too. Actually the temp. isn't all tha bad only being in the low teens, but the wind is really blowing making for a nasty wind-chill that we aren't used to yet!!!

None the less....I'll have a cold one before retiring to the hay! And I may as well buy one for the house too! Thanks Joe, and keep the change!

Mike, just out of curiosity....Are the shoes from Diamond Tool of Duluth, MN. A lot of horseshoe sets all across the nation came from Diamond (now out of business). They seem to last many a lifetime...Mine are also 50 some years old, or older.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 "Off topic completly....Have any of you ever pitched horseshoes?"

YES! Every summer we have it set up in the yard and pitch for the fun of it. We re not in any kind of a league, or anything of that sort, and don't have genuine pits built, but we do have fun with the family and neighbors....Why do you ask?

When I was a kid, I pitched many a horseshoe.

[mikesmowers]

 Hay you all IT'S COLD HERE IN OKLA!  

Joe, bring me a cold beer and I'll stand by the Pot Bellied stove a consume it. Any one want to join me?    Mike

[mikesmowers]

Why do I ask?  Because last week as I was cleaning out the big barn, I found the set of horseshoes of my dad's, they were a bit rusty but after I sandblasted and painted them ( four shoes and two stakes) they look like new.  I thought it might be fun to learn to play, my dad gave me the highlights of the game and said I could have the set of hosreshoes.They must be around 50 years old but are not worn out      Mike

[colvinbackshop]

 "Off topic completly....Have any of you ever pitched horseshoes?"

YES! Every summer we have it set up in the yard and pitch for the fun of it. We re not in any kind of a league, or anything of that sort, and don't have genuine pits built, but we do have fun with the family and neighbors....Why do you ask?

[mikesmowers]

  Good afternoon all Joe I'll have a cup of hot coffee, Man it is getting cold here!  This morning at 8 AM the temp was 65 deg. At 8:15 as I was reading the forums I thought I heard a car outside I went to look and it was the wind I was hearing!  Tha temps dropped about 30 or more deg in less than an hour, with about 35mph winds. Supposed to have snow and freezing rain in here later. Joe, better put on another pot of that stuff you call coffee. 
    I did get a signal installed this morning, probley not what you are expecting, but it is is a place that will tell me when the track polarity are the same on a reverse loop, hopeful it will stop the train from stopping there due to forgetting to change the polarity of the reverse loop. 
     Off topic completly....Have any of you ever pitched horseshoes?

[colvinbackshop]

Good afternoon...Set up the bar Joe, I'll take one of those last Octoberfest longnecks that you've got.

Jeffrey, my thoughts regarding doctors...They're doing their best, so just do as they say, pray a bit, hope for the best and it will turn out OK...We hope!

Thanks for the kudos guys, on the turntable bash, and yes I will keep you all posted as I progress. So far all I have additionally done to what you have seen and heard about is to do some detailing on the planking, but I hope to get out to the Trainroom again this afternoon. So far it's been working on the library and household chores!!

As for the articles that prompted the bash, just in case you are interested in reading them for yourself:

"Model Railroader" February 2002 "Build an Inexpensive Turntable" by Bob Foltz.

"Railroad Model Craftsman" April 2006 "Scratchbuild a Quarry Turntable by Trevor Marshell.

Well..Better get busy. Latter

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Just touch-ups today on the layout.  I'm using 1/8 inch square balsa sticks to make railroad-timber retaining walls.  These make nice "borders" for the tank farms at the oil company, and I've got a couple of spots where I can use them to hide the boundry on a lift-off section. 

 MrB, I used basswood but it is a similar idea.

Jeffrey, How is your BP doing?  Do they have your meds regulated yet?

Sue

They're working on it. They really have no idea why my BP is acting so squirrelly. I went in on a follow-up visit yesterday,but they couldn't find my records anywhere.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

GOOD MORNING JEFF, THAT IS A VERY NICE STINE I'M LOOKING AT, WHAT IS IT, ED

I don't know what that is. That's just a pic I found out on the net.

[gear-jammer]

Just touch-ups today on the layout.  I'm using 1/8 inch square balsa sticks to make railroad-timber retaining walls.  These make nice "borders" for the tank farms at the oil company, and I've got a couple of spots where I can use them to hide the boundry on a lift-off section. 

 MrB, I used basswood but it is a similar idea.

Jeffrey, How is your BP doing?  Do they have your meds regulated yet?

Sue