Elliotts Trackside Diner (est 1-1-07)

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. More wet stuff today with rainfall up to two inches an hour.

Today's Weather for:  
Leesville, LA  71446      7/16/2007 

Leesville airport
 
So Far Today
High:  73°F
Low:  72°F
Rain:  0.00"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  3mph NNE
Heat Index:  77°F
Humidity:  95%
Dew Point:  70°F

Today  High: 88    Cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning...then showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.  

Tonight  Low: 72    Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. South winds up to 10 mph in the evening becoming light and variable.

Rainfall expectations are for scattered thunderstorms with heavy rainfall up to 2 inches an hour in some areas.

[wetidlerjr]

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN

07-16-07

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello everyone....

i'm glad for more thoughtful comments from all of you. It was good to hear Bobk's comments on how he was comforted during his periods of deep grief. As fergie said, others will pick up the ball for Wes's good work, and I will be leading a class that he was conducting.

Speaking of Fergie,  sorry to learn of his bloody mishap, but glad it was not worse. Fergie, you mentioned your Dad having surgery, and i hope he's okay now too.

..and speaking of Bobk, ..... Bob, please share your feelings again if you feel the need. you're friends are here.

PHILiP!  enjoyed to photos and video clip.  However, that locomotive was too close to the edges for my comfort.

I saw Sue's timber bridge posted a day or two back and really liked it.

I took a "sanity break" in the model train room this evening, and completed my kitbashed observation car.  I'm very pleased with the results overall, but it does have a few screw-ups.

Good night.....

 

 

[Paul W. Beverung]

Evening Gang:

Fergie: First soldering irons and now hammers and chisels. Soon you won't be able to touch any tools. I'm glad that you didn't have to stay in the hospital. Take care of yourself.

PC: Great job. You make me really look bad. Your track was very smooth. Nice going.

Well I finished the south side of the creek crossing and got half way up the north side. There is alot more silt then I thought. The concrete on the crossing has been damaged and will have to be repaired before we cut and bale again. The crossing dates back to the late 1800s and the concrete to sometime around 1920. I guess it's held up pretty well considering.

Since I retired the days of the week don't mean much except when watching TV. Today seemed more like a week day. I just might make Tuesday and Wednesday weekend days.

Well I guess I'll head for bed.

Good Night All

[Cox 47]

PC.....Wow....Congrats can't wait for more...Fergie....Gotta take it easy when swing that hammer....Jeff...Good idea with green paint....Have a good one....Jerry

[gear-jammer]

Glad that you are ok, Fergie.

Sue

[Fergmiester]

IT LIVES!!!!!!!

Well Done Phil!

Nice and big and lloks like it will be well worth it in the end.

 

Well I had one of the days... Yep

Dad pulled through his surgery quite well (KNock, Knock, and touch on wood) as I got to see him twice today. Yes I saw him this morning for an hour and then this afternoon... After I took a a trip  to the E.R. myself Don't know how I did it but I was splitting a retaining wall brick and yes I had a full face shield on and a rock flew off the brick and nicked my forarm. It also nicked the vein. So I had a Geiser on my hands. Yes Fergmiester created another crime scene, blood splatter included Only spent 1 1/2 hours in the E/R  a record in my books!

 

Anyway I'll keep ya posted

 

Fergie 

[gear-jammer]

BTW, I could use a good electrical guy.  Think Larry would mind stopping by?  I'll throw some ribs on the grill!

I will let him know that you offered.  He has been so busy, that he isn't getting our layout stuff done.  I spend more time on the layout than he does.  I believe that is backwards from most relationships.

 If I had one more package of scale 2 x 6's, I could finish my corral and loading ramp tonight.  Oh well, there are other things that I should be working on.

Later,  Sue

[pcarrell]

Have you had any help with the track laying and wiring?  Your track looks smooth, and I am impressed if this is only a year.  That is a lot of track.

Just me, myself, and I.  Can't seem to get the family interested. 

I found that DCC sure is a lot simpler that DC.

No arguments here!  I just went for a bit of overkill so I'd not have to worry about it ever again.

I enjoyed the history behind your layout.  Great research.

Thanks, but it helps to have family that worked for the RR and lots of them that still live there.

BTW, I could use a good electrical guy.  Think Larry would mind stopping by?  I'll throw some ribs on the grill!

 

[gear-jammer]

Philip,

You kept your promise. 

 Have you had any help with the track laying and wiring?  Your track looks smooth, and I am impressed if this is only a year.  That is a lot of track. 

Larry is the electrical wis at our house.  He made me learn and do some but why should I when he has the skill.  We did do most of the track laying together.  I used to do stain glass so I can handle a soldering iron.  I found that DCC sure is a lot simpler that DC.

I enjoyed the history behind your layout.  Great research.

Sue

[pcarrell]

Sue, it really made the room seem bigger when I folded the plan in on itself.  It's a bit tighter because of it, but I gained a lot of trackage.  The thing that was killing me for so long was all of the wiring.  Electrical is my weak point, and in N scale, electrial is what can make or break a layout.  This layout has feeders every 3', so I should never have a dead (or even weak) spot.

BTW, I told you I'd get a video up showing trains running by the end of the weekend, didn't I?

All,

Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

I probably should have let you all in on the "Grand Master Plan".  It's been a long time since I posted it.  This plan was almost a year in the making and it's slowly beginning to take shape now.

The RR is in N scale and it's based in 1920-30's coastal and intercoastal Maine. It's a fictional road called the Autumns Ridge Railway & Navigation Company. It's based on the real life Belfast & Moosehead Lake RR (for more info see here: http://alstom.proboards78.com/index.cgi?board=gsd&action=display&thread=1175564169&page=1 ).

It's a double decked plan with staging under the bottom deck. The staging and the lower sceniced level share the same benchwork. The upper deck has it's own benchwork. Towns are staggered so one town is not on top of another. This makes it so that people can switch any town with tripping over somebody else.

Train control is a Digitrax Super Chief radio equipped setup with a DT400R and a UT4R for throttles. I'll probably get more as funds allow.

The door to the room is in the upper right. The upper left contains a 20 and 22 inch radius double track helix. The helix rises to a bit higher then the top level so that the run down to the port on the far end of the upper level is a downhill run. The lower level contains an interchange with a class 1 RR that serves as the connection to the outside world. The outside world is represented by the staging tracks that contain all of the class 1 trains. The only time an ARR&Nav Co. train is out of sight is when it's in the helix.

But enough of me talking. Here's the staging area. I may add some holding tracks to it.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Track%20Plans/My%20Plan/Blank3004-1R1Keeper-1.jpg

This part of the plan shows the lower sceniced level along with the interchange.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Track%20Plans/My%20Plan/Blank3004-2Keeper-1.jpg

This is the upper deck. It has the port scene with a car ferry and scales, and the largest town on the layout, the small seaport of Autumns Ridge.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Track%20Plans/My%20Plan/Blank3004-3Keeper.jpg

That's the tour of the future Autumns Ridge Railway & Navigation Company.  If you see any areas for improvement, I'd love to hear it as much of the layout is not done yet and changes can still be made.

[Hoople]

Afternoon!

Nothing much goin on here... enjoying a nice quiet summer.

PC: Nice looking layout. I wish I had my own layout room... Mine is shared with my little brother and older sister... Allthough all they need is the couch, TV, and Nintendo Wii to have fun in there. I take up most of the space with my drumkit and layout, and on occasions, rokenbok.

Cederstrand: Planning a new layout eh? Sounds like a fun job. I need to finish my first still to see what I'm good at. I know it's not cutting homasote to fit into the gaps in turnouts! My advice is have a two or more track station, that can hold at least a four car train. I made one in TRS2006, and spent 30 minutes switching cars from train 1 to train two. I changed the session a bit, having three trains come in, one train splitting into two, one train terminating and giving cars, and one running through the takes one car from a train. Took me 1 1/2 hours to do!

Well, I'll be seing you guys.

Mark

 

[gear-jammer]

Philip,

I am impressed. That room looks a lot bigger than I remember when you moved in.  I know N scale helps.  I sure love those long sweeping turns.   

Sue 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Pc: That's very good. Now all you have to do is build the other levels and cover up the blue foam desert. I have to get back to work on my own layout soon. I had some paint mixed to the same shade as green blended turf so I can save some money on turf on the back areas.

[Cederstrand]

[and because I am on the slow die]

LMBO...what was I thinking writing that...I MEANT to say, "on the slow side".  Better drink some more coffee...or is my problem drinking too much! Rob

[Cederstrand]

Wow, are you ever industrious! Can't wait to see what the end result is like. What a massive undertaking for one person, at least it seems so to me.

Yep, that's our new house. But now we will be adding a room on the opposite side (for wifes parents to live in) and below that room will be our train room. MUCH better (I think) than what was going to be the train room (as marked in that photo). New space will be somewhere around 20' x 16'or18', depending on what the foundation man suggests. It is getting kinda close to a ravine going that direction. I just finished building that porch not long ago and because I am on the slow die (and her folks will need to move in soon), we will hire out for the addition.  Soooo, perhaps by Christmas I can start the layout. Right now I need to work on the room design (windows?, etc...). I have been reading old posts for ideas. Rob 

[myred02]

Evening, everybody! Zoe, I'll have the ribeye platter and a side of steak fries. What to drink? Oh, I guess I'll have some coke in a CSX beer glass.

PC: Very nice layout! I also have the blue-foam desert thing going on. Recently, I got my track taken up so I can add a few more layers of foam. Then, I un-bolted my layout's three 6' x 8' sections so I can move them closer to the middle of the basement so a crew from Nashville can come at the end of the month and waterproof it. It should make for a very interesting experience to say the least! Nice video, by the way.

Man, this time away from the trains is getting to me!

-Brandon

[pcarrell]

Thanks!

It's pretty much all me by my lonesome. 

In the end there will be two more levels to this thing, plus a 22"r doubletrack helix to connect it all.  I figure I can have the middle deck done be Christmas or so if I keep plugging away at it.

BTW, if I remember right, you will be building in the near future.  Wasn't that your house you showed the other day, complete with plans for a future layout room?

[Cederstrand]

Congrats! It is times like this (watching your video clip) that I want to start building a layout. My word, how long will it take you to "complete" that much layout and are you building this alone or with others helping? -Rob

[pcarrell]

IT LIVES!!!!!!!

Finally, after 10 months of construction, the Autumns Ridge Railway & Navigation Co. is back in business!

It's not much, but one lone loco was seen passing through the staging yard and out to the interchange and back all under it's own power just this afternoon.  Little else happened today, but that was a monumentous occasion.  A local photographer caught this low quality video of the event.

Plans are now underway to test all track and to fine tune it before the next stage of construction begins; more track and electrical work!

[Cederstrand]

Been moving more "stuff" from the cabin into our new house and found some photos to share. Here is an old loco I photographed with a manual focus camera while driving by on a highway, so pardon the lack of quality. Taken sometime between 1982 & 1990 I think. So, what type of engine is it?

 

More to come as I get around to scanning them. Hope they are worth posting, or should this be a separate forum post?  

Rob

[Cox 47]

Afternoon All....Its sunny and warm here today maybe some rain working in latter....I'll have a Chicago polish sasage,onion rings and a Butterscotch shake heavy on the ice cream...Please ...Thank you....Not much going on here today my brother didn't make it his deep freezer went bad and he and his wife have a big clean up....says he is just glad it didn't go out while they were wintering in Florida...I have been checking IC group out guy is going to make a IC caboose kit makes me wish I was back in HO....Luc...You have a great looking family thanks for the photos....Jeff...You got any projects going right now? do you start back to workshop monday? building more desks?...JohnDER....any new progress on your layout? Fergie..What are you working on now?....Sallie is taking a nap we stayed up till after 1 last night watching TV but I am just not sleepy...Cards game with the Pillys is on Espn at 5 but the way they have been playing on this road trip I may watch the Simpsons and King of the Hill a couple of my favorite shows....You all have a restfull sunday afternoon....Jerry

[Cederstrand]

[Rob your paying]

***I just realized that. I don't see Flo or anyone else taking orders, so just help yourself. Perhaps she is on a smoking break out back or something? Rob

[gear-jammer]

Rob,

I grew up in Centralia.  If we lived 1/2 mile south, our address would probably be Rochester.

The steam train has a restored depot south of Chehalis now.  Occasionally, it used to run to Offut Lake, but mainly runs out toward PeEll now.  I think that it mainly runs Memorial Day Though Labor Day.

Try this web site:  www.steamtrainride.com

Elbe had some damage due to last winters heavy rains so it has reduced travel.

Try: www.mrsr.com

Have fun studying.

Sue

[ModelTrainLover]

Hey Guys

I'll have a Root Beer + Hawiian Pizza. Please and Thanks Zoe.

I really need to rebuilt my layout. I have yet to do so sence my reture to the USA.

BTW: were did Alex go? I know he has a summer job, but I don't think we works weekends. Alex if you are reading this. PLease post if your here you might as well do it just to make sure your still with us.

Rob your paying

[Cederstrand]

...in a Union Pacific or Santa Fe mug please.

***Sue, you would love our roads here, except there are way too many deer around to do so safely. Have you ever been through a "blink and miss it" town a little south of Olympia named Rochester? I lived there about 10 years ago. Also, does that train ride through Chehalis/Centralia still run? How about the one up around Elbe with the Climax loco? Nice scenic ride in the open car....unless it starts raining hard.LOL

***Luc, nice looking family. Affraid mine might break some computer screens.

Rob

[bogp40]

GARRY,

I am so sorry to hear about Wes. I really took to heart your posting of his ideas and philosophy. I was at a place where my grief was almost consuming me. I was comforted by all the help from all. He must have been quite a remarkable person, and he will be missed. All at your church must still be in a state of shock, now. I will pray for all those who have suffered this loss.

[gear-jammer]

Good morning.  Coffee please.

We finially figured out phone transfer of photos.  Here is a video to wake you up.  Don't laugh too hard.  Some of the megapixel quality was lost when I transfered it to photobucket.

[IMG]http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m232/gearjammers/th_3b83f1d5.jpg[IMG]

This is an experiment on the right photo name.

Sue

[Anonymous]

Hello.

I want to share some good news for a change. Yesterday we celebrated the XX anniversary of Gloria's 29^th birthday. We went to daughter Chrissy's house for a bit of a party.

This is Chrissy

And Kathy, our other daughter

and our son Steven

Of course our great grand daughter was there too, as you can see.

Here's they are

Gloria had a wonderful day with the family. It was so nice to see her smile and laugh, I wish this could happened every day.

Thank you all for your caring, it is greatly appreciated from the 2 of us.

Happy MRRing

[wetidlerjr]

Good morning ! from Indiana.

07-15-07