Mike,
Yes, pizza sounds great. We had my brother, his wife, and his daughter ( in her 3rd year of Vet School) up for pizza yesterday. I could have pizza everyday. Oh, yeah, and the beer. Hope the recliner helps your back.
I am waiting for the heat to come on in the train room before I go back and start working again.
Merry Christmas.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Evening all. Joe I'll have a cold one and fix us a couple of your pizzas, if anyone elece wants some.
I just got home this afternoon from Okie City, Went up there Sat. morning for Christmas. Yesterday my nephew took me to BNSF Flynn yard in OKC. That was pretty intertaining to say the least. I made a post with some pics if any of you want to take a look.
We got all our Christmas over last night so I am safe at home with a couple new John Wayne and Clint Eastwood DVDs. I am tired and my back is hurting, so I am going to eat my pizza and crall in my recliner and kick back,,,, if no one objects.
Take care and enjoy the pizza. Mike
Bump.
You guys must be busy. Ryan or MrB, do you have any photos of your CMX track cleaning car. I need to get serious about it because when I put my next piece of hard shell in, it will be harder to reach the track to clean by hand.
Merry Christmas, All.
Howdy, Joe. Kinda quiet in here. Guess all the regulars are busy with their Christmas things.
Nothing much going on in 1964 Central Japan these days. Just running a few trains to keep the rails polished, and marking time to see what the New Year brings. With the short days, all this old bear really wants to do is hibernate!
Seasons Greetings, everyone. Hope to see you all back here in the Barn real soon.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - temperature permitting)
Thanks, guys. I am always looking for a shortcut.
Yes, I did get a CMX a while back. The subway tracks were giving me a lot of trouble, and there are places in the tunnels where maintenance is next to impossible. I'd always planned to get on for just that reason, and things finally caught up to me.
The best news is that these things really work well. My stalling problems disappeared, and haven't come back after 2 months now.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
gear-jammer wrote:Is that the same track cleaning car that MrB has?
Is that the same track cleaning car that MrB has?
If MrB has the CMX from Tony's Train Exchange then it is the same one! Going to see how long I can go now without having to clean the track again, from what I hear most people can go through a whole season without having to clean track with the CMX.
I think all my Christmas shopping is done, but if I venture out to the mall again, I might find something else to put under the tree.
Cheers,
Ryan
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Almost Friday. I'll have some coffee. Oh, why not. The Big Breakfast special sounds like something I can splurge on today. Thanks. And more coffee, too, Joe.
With ski season upon us and holiday preparations in progress, too, I've tried to minimize the big projects on the layout. So, I've got a number of small ones going. The Swift plant by the stockyard still needs some details cleaned up (window trim, fencing) and I've got a GP-9 apart to add a sound decoder. Soundtraxx hasn't sent any to my LHS for a while, though, so I'm thinking of trying the Sound Bug from Digitrax.
Now that I'm getting the hang of these Jordan vehicles, I've started another one of those Railway Express trucks. This one, though, will be owned by the Strumpet Brewing Company, so I've painted up the sides differently, and I've got to sit down and put together the artwork for the decals. At the same time, I painted over a generic Blue-Box ice-bunker reefer kit, and that will also get the Strumpet decals.
I went to an open house and show at the South Shore Model Railroad Club in Massachusetts a few weeks ago, and saw a package of beer kegs, barrels and bottles from Preiser. I told myself that if I didn't buy it, I would kick myself later. So, now I'm almost ready to open that box for stuff to put in the back of the beer truck.
Well, I've been away from work too long, and my real cup of coffee is cold, so I'll be on my way. Looks like it will be another snowy drive home, so I may not even make it to my LHS today. If you don't hear from me, send out the St. Bernard, OK, Joe? The one with the cask of Courvoisier? Thanks.
SilverSpike wrote: Thanks for the ground goop recipe Sue....now how do you drink that stuff again! Hick....up! Oh, that was the beer recipe I meant.....hick! Okay, time for another hot toddy! errr.....nap!Actually....got my new CMX track cleaning car in the mail last week and set it up for a cleaning session on the track Saturday. In bout 30-40 minutes I had all the track on the lower deck of the layout cleaned. Will post some images when I get around to actually taking some...
Thanks for the ground goop recipe Sue....now how do you drink that stuff again!
Hick....up!
Oh, that was the beer recipe I meant.....hick!
Okay, time for another hot toddy! errr.....nap!
Actually....got my new CMX track cleaning car in the mail last week and set it up for a cleaning session on the track Saturday. In bout 30-40 minutes I had all the track on the lower deck of the layout cleaned. Will post some images when I get around to actually taking some...
Ryan, I hope it was the beer. I know when we were kids we ate glue, but I think that the ground goop might stick some things together that we don't want stuck together. Is that the same track cleaning car that MrB has?
Chuck, Sounds like you have the best excuse to work inside. I am glad that someone else has trouble with house cleaning.
I need to wrap some packages.
Good afternoon all....
Joe, I'll have a cold tap and the lunch special please.
Seems there are now a number of us playing with the CMX Clean Machine! I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with its ability to "lay down" the solvent.
I haven't done a lot more than the initial run that I already mentioned in a previous post. But I have made a few passes with a combination of methods today.
I had a John Allen style slider car that my brother had made MANY years ago, but I have found it to be "missing"! I was going to make another, but found a great substitute solution for a minimal amount of dollars! It's a "Trains Canada" Track Cleaner #1-3053. This unit has a spring loaded "masonite" slider that just snaps onto the underside of an Athearn 40 footer. I did do a little adjusting of the spring tension, also adding a bit of additional weight (and the whole coupler height thing with the Athearn car it self. Man...That's been a major pain for me lately) but it works real well.
With the Trains Canada slider in front of the CMX and my Center Line roller (running dry) taking up the rear, I seem to have a great combination going here. The P2K SD 9 has plenty of power to pull everything (up through the helix and the 2, 3 & 4 % grades) but won't push it up a 2%.
Hi guys,
I's it dark in here, or do my eyes just need to adjust to the light?
Well the move is half done. I showed you the picture of my train room. I just have to get the stuff from that room into working shape.
One snag I've run into--I've got my office now hooked to the net via my home net and I'm writing you all from there--but I haven't been able to get the two networks merged. Right now the the key issue is that my mailing list is on my Novell server and my Internet access is on my home router.
I was hoping one of you guys might know how to join my two routers. I'd appreciate a PM.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
gear-jammer wrote: I got some more ground goop done today. Also planted some cattle.Sometimes it is a lot of work to get the scene right.Sue
I got some more ground goop done today. Also planted some cattle.
Sometimes it is a lot of work to get the scene right.
When you plant cattle, do the calves show up as fruit, or as tubers?
Sorry, Sue, but I couldn't resist that straight line!
Well, I survived the trip to bring my wife home - 9+ hours in each direction, with a sandwich lunch in between! I'm getting too old for that kind of thing! (The first thing she did was criticize my housekeeping while she was gone. Nice to have things back to normal...)
It has gotten downright chilly here in the Dessicated Desert, so construction has slowed to a crawl. This gives me a chance to get some additional rolling stock out of storage and set up for operation. Still have to assemble a permanent control panel to replace the jury rig I'm now using to control my hidden yards.
Mike, I can sympathize with your back problems. My son has been fighting back and neck pains for years. There doesn't seem to be any cure, just temporary relief. Where's Lexi Carlsen when we need her? (Lexi is one of my Science Fiction characters, a 36th century orthopedic surgeon. Armed with 15 centuries of medical progress we haven't made yet, she can make short work of any bone, joint or spinal disc injury - which my other characters tend to suffer on a regular basis.)
OTOH, Merchant's Row is looking very good!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
mikesmowers wrote: MrB I read your comment on my other thread on putting down structures, Tha Merchant's Row comes with a side walk that I am planning to use. How is a good way to attach styrene to a wood table?
I'd use white glue. Another option would be rubber cement, or Aileen's Tacky Glue. The latter two will keep it there forever, but will still give it up if you ever have to move it.
My Annie's Antiques and Baldy's Barbershop kits also came with sidewalks, but I wanted a uniform look for the whole downtown area, so I cut them off and put them in my spare junk box. I think you've got the Merchants Row isolated, so keeping the sidewalk they provided is probably the right way to go.
Thanks MrB, Sue, and colvin, I guess sometimes I need a shoulder to cry on.
Sue, I will try to get some before and after pics of the clear cut, it does look better without so many trees.
MrB I read your comment on my other thread on putting down structures, Tha Merchant's Row comes with a side walk that I am planning to use. How is a good way to attach styrene to a wood table?
I will see you all later. Mike
mikesmowers wrote: Sometimes it seems like it is not worth all the trouble. I am not a real religious man but I do believe that when God is thru with you will die, and you will be alive as long as He has a reason for you to be here.
Well, what I've heard is that when one door closes, another one opens. While you've developed an affinity for heavy machinery, there are still a lot of smaller gadgets that need maintenance, too. Your modelling shows that you're very good with fine work. A person's body can only take so much strain over the years, and maybe you've just overrun your quota on that particular item.
I've been fortunate to keep my back and legs healthy, but then again, I've always worked in engineering offices and labs, and confined the brutality that I subject my body to to the ski slopes and the hockey rink. Still, as healthy as I am at 60, I'm not about to go out and swim regularly or dance the Nutcracker. The lifeguards and theater patrons would complain too much.
Sue, you know it's bad when you're on Route 128 north of Boston, a 55-mph road where the real speed is more like 70, and the driver in front of you in one of the middle lanes gets out to clean the ice off his wipers, right in the middle of the road, and no one gets the least upset. In fact, a lot of people think, "Hey, that's a good idea," and they get out and clean their windshields, too. Then everyone gets back in the car and sits some more. At times like that, I'm thankful for classic rock radio stations.
We didn't go up skiing this weekend. Wife Penny is still getting over a cold, and daughter Annie came down with a 24-hour stomach thing. So, we'll get the tree decorated today, and then hunker down for the next storm tomorrow.
Good morning. I thought that I would stop by for some coffee and some good conversation.
mikesmowers wrote: One question for Sue, What are you refering to when you say ''clear cut''? Is it the tree removal I have been doing or something elece? Let me know and I will answer you, my thick skull sometimes can't see the forest for all the trees. Yes, I was referring to your tree removal. You made it sound like a lot of trees were coming out. I am following your lead, and I decided not to make our areas too dense so I can put things of interest for people to view. MrB. 3 hours to go 15 miles? Figures to average 5 MPH, lots of time to think about your model. Maybe you should consider taking a kit or something with you if you can figure a way to work on it in your car. Just a thought.
One question for Sue, What are you refering to when you say ''clear cut''? Is it the tree removal I have been doing or something elece? Let me know and I will answer you, my thick skull sometimes can't see the forest for all the trees.
Yes, I was referring to your tree removal. You made it sound like a lot of trees were coming out. I am following your lead, and I decided not to make our areas too dense so I can put things of interest for people to view.
MrB. 3 hours to go 15 miles? Figures to average 5 MPH, lots of time to think about your model. Maybe you should consider taking a kit or something with you if you can figure a way to work on it in your car. Just a thought.
MrB's commute sounds like Seattle-Olympia on a Friday with no snow. If it snows, you can go faster because lots of people stay home. One snow flake and Western Washington panics.
I need to glue down a rock and get started on some ground goop.
Later, Sue
Thanks colvin.... I guess I needed some reassurance. My pain is always there, sometimes it is to where I can do a little, NOT cut firewood, and some time it is so bad all I want to do is lay on my back and wish I had some stronger pills. I was fine and strong as an ox and then I was going to move the forks on a forklift and it was like you stabbed me in the back with a hot knife.
Tha Doc has already said I will never be a heavy mechanic again and will probley be limited to around 40# or so. Sometimes it seems like it is not worth all the trouble. I am not a real religious man but I do believe that when God is thru with you will die, and you will be alive as long as He has a reason for you to be here.
And BTW, Thanks for the breakfast. I am going to go downstairs to the workshop (where there is some heat) and attempt the interiors on the Merchants Row III. I have already lit the fire in the trainroom so I can work on the layout some in a little while. Still trying to figure out how to install it on the layout. Later. Mike
PS Anyone have any trouble with the trains running very good when they are cold?
Well...I see I'm on top!
Breakfast for everyone, on me Joe. And you all have a great day!
Mike, hang in there with the back! They can be VERY troublesome. Have you had ongoing back problems....Or was this a quick "blow-out"?
I ask, as I had some minor problems over the years, but then BOOM! I had two major insolents (being stupid and trying to lift / move way too much weight) pretty much one after another that landed me in the hospital, in traction for almost two weeks!
The diagnoses after many an x-ray and a CT scan, was that both L4 & L5 had permanent damage. I really wanted my Doc. to do surgery, but he said "not yet"!
It took about two years of PT, way less "hard work", giving up some of my loves (running, tennis, riding horse....) a lot of swimming and exercises but I did improve to a point that I have (what I now call) discomfort. This "pain" is mostly everyday, but it is now basically a nagging ach. BTW, that hospitalization was better then 25 years ago now.
With that said, I'm lucky that I didn't have the surgery, as I am better off then some I know that have had surgery. OTOH, this can go both ways. Just recently a gal I work with at the Middle School had her entire lower back fused. After a year (surgery and rehab), she is back on the job as a custodian and doing great. Life's a Crap Shoot...Isn't it?
So anyway, I still have the backache and the damage, but I also can still cut firewood, dance in the Nutcracker, ski and swim.....I just do it all with some extra caution and so far, so good! And speaking of permanent damage, after a recent mini setback with a fall and a new scan of my back, the Doc. said we didn't have to worry about the disk at L5 any longer.....It's not there anymore! I still may end up with a surgery some day, which is what Doc. meant when saying "not yet"...But I still don't need it YET!
So, hang in there, stay active (doing what you can) and maybe you will still be able to keep pluggin' away! Maybe, just not as a heavy equipment mechanic!
Sorry...I'm rambling, feeling your pain. Gotta' head out to the Trainroom and play a bit today!!
Morning all, Joe, I'll have some buttered toast and coffee. Thanks.
As for my back, I haven't mentioned it in a while, figured you all were tired of hearing about my problems. Here is the lowdown...The Doc told me last week he is going to try an injection of some kind, it has about a 60% success rate and will have to travel to Okla City to have it done. If it works I will probley have to have one every few monthe. If it doesn't work I have the option of living with it the rest of my life or having back surgury. If I decide to have the surgury, it will mean a total fusion of the lower part of my back. He is writing a report as to my condition deaming me a certain % disable and I will have to take it to the Social Security Office and will more than likely be on disability the rest of my life. I do not favor that idea very much, I like to get out and do some work now and then.
One thing about it is that if I do end up with a nice settlement it may make me a nice start on a new/larger layout. Personally I would rather work and earn the money and do the layout as I go. I am afraid if I had a lot of money to spend on the layout and lots of time, I would build a nice layout and that would be the end of it, I would get board with it rather quickly.
Enough about my problems, at least I am not in a wheel chair!
Sue, let me know about the ''clear cut'' so I can reply. Have a good weekend. Mike
Good morning:
I'll have a tall cold tap, Joe, and I'll buy a round for the house too!
It got to be winter here, even if the calendar doesn't say so yet, with temps. below 0 of late!! I haven't had the commute problems that Mr. B has had, but perhaps we don't have the amount of traffic either! I will admit it to be a little on the unseasonably cool side, but still not too bad. It warmed up a bit by mid-day with a temp. of about 8 above this afternoon.
Work in the Trainroom progresses with some more wiring, scenicing, some tweaking of rolling stock and cleaning some track.
I got one of those cleaning cars that were on sale last month...And, yes it really does work very nicely! I only used 70% alcohol this go-round, and do plan on using acetone when I get serious about some serious cleaning. I just wanted to give it a try and only used "it" behind an SD-9 (the absolute largest loco I can run on most of the upper level), and it did take up a lot of dirt. Tomorrow I may put it in tandem with a dry roller and maybe a "slider" too. I'll give a report
Mike, good to hear that you can at least do some modeling! The last time I was truly laid up with my back was a number of years ago now and about all I could do was "walk crookedly" with a cane! For about 10 weeks! I was, however able to sit for short periods, move and then sit again. Over that period of time I assembled 1-1/2 steam loco kits, a few structures and a substantial number of rolling stock. YES! Thank God for this hobby! I may have gone off the deep edge with out it!
Well...I finished that beer and I had better head for bed.
Can a gal sneak in on that, Dave? I missed Mike's movie night. I will bring Larry by when he gets home.
The next two weeks should be heavy on modeling. I have to complete a section of scenery before Larry can do his inclined curved sratch built trestle with the turnout. He is planning on handlaying the track.
Mike, I hope that you are feeling better this evening. How are you doing with that clear cut?
The Yuengling's on me tonight, fellers!
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
Hi, Mike. Good to see you up and modelling, even if you're not at work yet. I'll have a beer or 3, and I deserve it. I've got a 15-mile commute, and it took me 3 hours to get home tonight in the snow. And I left work before 3 in the afternoon. I'd planned to take tomorrow off anyway, and now I know that was the right move. Gonna be a mess up here in New England.
Mike, from the photos I've seen of your scratch-built structures, you're being hard on yourself. Places like Joe's Scoot-a-Boot are great additions to your layout.
I did finish up my Jordan model of the Railway Express truck, and I even put it on the layout and took a picture. But, when I popped the photo up on the computer, I saw that I needed to touch up some of the paint job, particularly on the tires, so I've still got some work to do on it before it's ready for prime time. I started comparing the Jordan cars I've built with the RTR Athearns. The Athearns are a few dollars more, but the Jordans are an awful lot of work. The Athearns also need to be weathered unless you're modelling an auto dealership, and part of the job of assembling a Jordan is the painting.
We'll be skiing again this weekend. I just did about 15 minutes of train-running, but that's been about my quota for the last couple of weeks.
Evening all Joe, I'll have a glass of ice water and some of that fresh popcorn I smell. Thanks.
Had to go back a few pages to find this. Not doing much this evening. My back is hurting pretty bad so I put a pizza in the oven and will take a couple of the good pills and turn some John Wayne movies tonight. Anyone care to join me for a night at the movies?
I am almost thru with my Merchants Row III, still have to do the interiors of the shops on the first level. I placed it on the layout the other night and it looks like it is going to cost me big bucks. It makes my scratch built ones look like crap! It will be replacing a scratch built City Hall/Fire Station, but the Merchants Row has no Fire Station. I had a really good time building it so I broke down and ordered a Cornerstone Series Fire Station and while I was at it, I ordered the Merchant's Row I.
I think the first one came out pretty good even though it is my first, surely I will get better the more I do. I will try to get a pic up later, it is to cold in the trainroom to worry about it now.
I have also been re-painting some of my rolling stock, got to do something while I am out of work.I am really glad I found this hobby, I think I would get really boared if I didn't have it to work on.
I think my pizza is ready, I will talk with you all later. Mike
Chuck,
Wouldn't we make a fortune if we could channel the water to places that it was needed. Glad your wife's friend dodged the bullet. Score on finding the old Baldwin.
Top o' the evening to ye. Joe, a Guinness, and see what the others want.
I've been over at the Death Watch for Model Railroading thread and, surprisingly, there seems to be some sign of intelligent life over there. I invited the smartest to drop in here - too soon to know if they took me up on it.
Sue, if there was some way to suck up all your excess water and dump it in Lake Mead I'd do it in a heartbeat. I moved to the Dessicated Desert to get away from the occasional flood on the Cumberland (our house was high enough to stay dry, but our roads weren't,) but lately, the Colorado has been a leetle scant of the amount allocated to the various water users back in the '20s.
Speaking of death watches, it seems that the one I thought my wife was on proved not to be. Just over a week from right now I'll be driving up to pick her up, so she'll be home for Christmas. Can't express how glad I am that her friend dodged THAT bullet...
Looked in a box I thought was empty, and found a whole layer of overlooked rolling stock! Among the pieces was a Tenshodo Baldwin 0-6-0T that I bought almost exactly 50 years ago. Dismounted the superstructure from the frame (both solid white metal castings,) blew out the dust, oiled around and reassembled it. The old vertical motor sounds like a sewing machine, but the loco runs like a Rolex. Now all I have to find is my DD14 catenary motor...
Been cool here, but not frigid. Nice to see snow on Mount Charleston again. The ski and snowboard park is open, just in case Mister Beasley is tempted to visit Sin City and wants to do something beside enrich the casinos.
Love that 'two-tone' pickup, Mike. Now all it needs is a Nevada plate...
Well, I guess I'll toddle off to bed. See ya later...
The Amtrack trip is on. I will try to check in On Sunday.
Mike, You will have to do the modeling for MrB this weekend. I might not get a few minutes until Monday since Larry's sister and her husband are coming over to help with cleanup.
Have a great weekend.