Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,
You're traveling correspondent is reporting in from Little Catalina, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Great weather for July up here. The high today was around 14ºC (or about 57ºf). No a/c needed.
Long time readers (who remember my report from last summer's trip) will know that there is no railroad to see up here, it was all dismantled back in the late 1980's. But we did at least get to see an old diesel that was recently moved to Clarenville (a town near here and an old division point) to be cosmetically restored and put on display.
What we did get to see today were icebergs, around 8 or so. Pretty decent sized ones too. So Fran is pretty happy, as icebergs were high on her list of things to see this year. Hopefully we'll see more while we're here. Also a moose, and some puffins.
I went to the local library and managed to check out (using my brother's vard) a couple of books on the Newfoundland Railway, so I'll have something to read over the next few days.
Anyways, just wanted to check in and report.
Later
Ed
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
We're here! We were all trying to sneak around to vai for the best chance to make off with Fergie's ice cream without getting caught! Shhhhhhhhhhhh!
Time for a distraction!
That ought to do it!
Apple Pie?
Did someone say pie?
Hummmmm......
I knew it! Well folks....looks like lunch is on me today!
How about some good ole New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp for a lunch special today?
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Good morning to all, another clear day but on the cool side at 68F and with DP = to 51F, it is gorgeous outside. No wonder Ed left olde Mexico and all that heat and humidity to come north for the summer.
J.R. I have found some info on the Atlas ALCO RS-1 switcher, Soundtraxx makes a decoder with sound, it is model DSD-AT100LC for HO gauge, it sells for $55.95. The small speaker is a tds063 for $9.95, and the enclosure for the speaker is a tds0.63 for $4.95. There was a reported small problem with the rear LED light flashing at times, but this can be fixed by placing a small RC network in parallel with the rear LED ( 0.1Uf cap with a 1K resistor in parallel. The cap absorbs the pulses to stop the flashing, and the charge can be bled off through the 1K resistor.
FERGIE: APPLE CREAM PIE ????? WE HAVE APPLE CREAM PIE IN THIS DINER????? I never knew that !!!! DUKE, MIKE, JEFF,PAUL, SUE, have you heard of that???? Is this another secret of PC and RYAN?? Tsk, tsk. How can I save you any Fergie, I didn't even know we had any!!!!!!!!!! Boy, some people.
OK, I'm off to HD to get some supplies, see you guys at lunch.
Good morning, Zoe. I'll have some of Luc's TH coffee, please, and one of Bill T.'s chocolate donuts. Gee, but you're in way early today, Bill T. - are you working a swing shift, with some nights running pretty late and today in super early? Glad you're still able to stop by and bring the donuts in.
GMTRacing wrote:Philosophical question: If I keep the trackage I have now there's not a lot of room for streets or more buildings in my industrial area but operations should be good. Is it better to keep the tracks and sidings closer to prototypical or the scenery? Don't have room for both done properly and I'm just not as good an illusionist as the folks who grace the pages of our favorite magazines. Is there room for a Roman Hruska of model railroaders?(you remember him - he wanted a mediocre seat reserved on the supreme court). Oh well back to the streets of Norwalk. CUL,J.R.
Philosophical question: If I keep the trackage I have now there's not a lot of room for streets or more buildings in my industrial area but operations should be good. Is it better to keep the tracks and sidings closer to prototypical or the scenery? Don't have room for both done properly and I'm just not as good an illusionist as the folks who grace the pages of our favorite magazines. Is there room for a Roman Hruska of model railroaders?(you remember him - he wanted a mediocre seat reserved on the supreme court).
Oh well back to the streets of Norwalk. CUL,J.R.
JR, (as PC and others have pretty much mentioned) do you prefer operations over scenery, or vice versa (if it came to a 'have-to' choice)? Remember, if the viewer is seeing things from the trackside, you will see a fair amount of backs of buildings (loading docks, etc.) and you can suggest the streets at a few places where there are gaps between industries' buildings. That'd be if you're modeling cities rather than smaller towns. Smaller towns I would expect would allow you more room to see the street areas, but also would have not as many industries to switch. Trade-offs, trade-offs... Since I picked a more rural setting (Four Corners area of UT, CO, NM, and AZ), I have to figure what industries I could have in the smaller towns that would generate a reasonable amount of traffic. But then again, I'm modeling (freelancing) a smaller line and not a Class I (mine sort of bridges D&RGW and ATSF, in theory). My
Good on-call last night - only that one call out, and no calls through the night (though I woke up around two-something and it took a bit to get back to sleep). Now just one more day until the Fourth, and I can probably get back to finishing some more freight cars!
Hope the doctors' appointments go great for both you and Mary Ann, Paul!
Oh, if someone sees Fergie, let him know it's frozen custard, not ice cream...
See everyone later - enjoy the day (rain or not).
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
Ahhh, you're getting what I've been getting the last couple of days, eh?
Good morning.Weather for this morning scattered showers and thunderstorms will affect portions of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana...and the coastal waters out to 60 nm. Showers will be found across interior southeast Texas and central Louisiana...with more widespread showers and thunderstorms along coastal areas and in the gulf. The heaviest activity will be found along a line from High Island to Orange to Cameron and southward into the gulf...where occasional lightning...gusty winds to 25 mph...and rainfall amounts up to 0.50" are possible. Elsewhere...expect a lightning strike or two with rainfall amounts of 0.10" or less. All of this activity is moving off to the north at 15 mph.
Today's Weather for: Sundown, LA 71446-6114 7/3/2007
Sundown Fire Dept., Station 23 Heat Index: 79°FHumidity: 95%Dew Point: 73°F So Far TodayHigh: 75°FLow: 74°FRain: 0.02"Rain Rate: 0.00"/hGust: 6mph NNE Today High: 88 Cloudy with numerous showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Tonight Low: 72 Cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
Whats this? Jeff's sleeping in? NO WAY!
WAKE UP JEFF!
Lookin' not too bad out there for us.
Today: mix of sun and clouds & warmer - high: 85
Tonight: partly cloudy and mild - low: 65
Independence Day: warm & humid, scattered storms - high: 88
Not pretty!
Oh, and JR, you're looking pretty good to me. If you really must concider the philosophical side of this though, ask yourself, who's the star of the show, the trains or the buildings? The star gets center stage, the supporting actors don't.
bogp40 wrote: Philip: You do need to get off that see food diet, you know. You may not be able to fit between the levels of the benchwork, or at least hold off until the helix is done.
Philip: You do need to get off that see food diet, you know. You may not be able to fit between the levels of the benchwork, or at least hold off until the helix is done.
Now that would be a problem!
Good morning
Happy MRRing
Ice Cream! When did we start serving Ice Cream?!?
In that case I'll have two scoops of Puppy Paw Prints in a waffle Cone please!!
Not much on the go as we are on our way in and should make land fall tonight and get tied up for crew change tomorrow.
0-6-0 Eh? Got two of those as well might have to invest in more when I expand the docking facilities.
Anyway I have a Paper trail to blaze today so keep the Ice Cream cold and plentiful.
And Dick! Don't eat all the Apple Cream Pie Ice Cream! Save me some Please and thanks
Later All
Fergie
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
Good (early) morning ! from Indiana.
07-03-07
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Boy am I late tonight. we just got back from picking up our son and DIL at the airport. They have been in Alaska on Kodiak island for the last two weeks. While we were eating a very late supper they told us that we are going to be grandparents again. There first our third. Nice surprise.
I'm going to bed. We both have doctors appointments tomorrow so it may be a good idea to get some sleep.
Good Night All
Another fantastic afternoon in New England, If it gets any cooler I'll be having hot chocolate!
A nice easy day on the job. Since my last 3 doors aren't delivered yet, I just poked around finishing up some punch list for the moldings. The antique entry door that was stripped and prehung had come in the other day, but the nitwits in the shop didn't know how to rabbit the jamb sides to the teak threshold. The jambs and threshold were both ruined- I wouldn't accept it and it went back. This door will cost the customer close to $2500.00 w/ the entry set. It needs to be right, I don't care how many times it needs to go back. I don't normally use this shop, I'm still working for a fellow contractor, I don't care if his guys get P* off at me, it needs to be right or not at all.
The Caravan is finally back together. That AC evaporator was rather a project. I had more problems w/ the aftermarket remote start/ entry system than putting all the factory wiring and dash components back together. Still installing the new speakers before the dash cover goes on, thought I had some Dynomat and speaker cloth to finish the enclosures. After all this work that AC better spit out ice cubes.
Michael: Glad to see you stop by the diner. I do hope you're feeling better. I keep getting some of those days popping up now and then. Well at least it's just a bad day occasionally, not the bad days and worse days like the first month or so. The real heartache seems to be gone. I know you can relate to this.
So happy to see you modeling again, I just don't seem to be interested yet. It will come.
Dick: I could listen to Bob B. for hours on end. He does know his trains. Sounds like you need to take it easy, good excuse to play with trains.
Inch: You didn't mention that your camp is a "rail fan camp", Nice spot. Reminds me of a feller we bumped into last year railfanning after the B&O Mini-con. We were running the Magnolia Cutoff, just between 2 tunnels we noticed a camper. Just as a CSX freight emerges from the portal this guy jumps out and starts waving at the engineer. We found that he has been coming to this spot for 15 years. Liked the area so much even started buying land and camps along the Potomic even down towards Harper's Ferry.
JR: Now I understand what you're talking about on the 2nd level. Who makes that double track Warren truss in the pic
For that industry dilema, there's no rearranging to gain any real estate. Would mirrors or using cut facard buildings directly on the backdrop help? How many industries are there and could you loose one if not affecting ops too much?
der: I was surprised when emailing Ed, I found that he hasn't really done much work on the layout. Just been too busy. The Caravan is a good choice. I do like mine. Actually I kept my old '98 even after buying the new one for April last year. The 3.8 is far better than the 3.3. My mileage on the '06 w/ 3.8 was 18-26mpg. The '98 at best is 19-20.and has the smaller 3.3. The reason I kept the older one is it is in mint shape and just hit 80K. Grand Caravan Sport w/ all options this one for some reason handles much better than the '07 grand top model.
When April started to fail, I talked to the dealer, they bought the '06 back no problem. Didn't need the hassles of 2 cars and a truck when only 1 person would be driving. Someone got a great vehicle. We only put 9K on it in one year. Do miss some of the fancy gagets, remote this that and power everything else. I've been swearing by Mopars for over 30 years. I swear at Ford all the time. Fords don't do well w/ corrosion. The body may stay intact but undercarriage, suspension components, brake lines and all kinds of other important stuff just rusts like crazy on them. Your problem w/ the Wind-bag-star may have been a bad ground or corrosion.
Jeff: So when you're not building things like layouts or desks you do some of that mud plumbing. I got some pipes under a dry house for you if you like.
It's getting late, already beat, 5AM comes rather quick.
goodnight to all,
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Hello...
Jim Cape G. thanks for the frozen custard. I hope others enjoyed it, too!
Jeff ....TV can be the greatest time waster.
JR. you're a better "illusionist" than you say based on those great photos. I make buildings, roads, and details smaller as they get closer to backdrop to force perspective.
More later.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Just me again.
Dick - I like dealing with Tony's hope they find something good for the RS (then I can order one also and get in on the fun). I've been putting off any more equipment work until I get the layout further along. If it works as normal, I'll get the thing close just about when we move out.
Philosophical question: If I keep the trackage i have now there's not a lot of room for streets or more buildings in my industrial area but operations should be good. Is it better to keep the tracks and sidings closer to prototypical or the scenery? Don't have room for both done properly and I'm just not as good an illusionist as the folks who grace the pages of our favorite magazines. Is there room for a Roman Hruska of model railroaders?(you remember him - he wanted a mediocre seat reserved on the supreme court).
Good evening gents.....managed to get all the grass cut, that needed it, before one dark cloud cooled me off with frozen rain drops...man they were cold, didn't last long though. It is 60F now at 8:45pm, which means it will hit near low 50's again tonight. Great for sleeping, but tough on the tomato plants.
J.R.: There may be enough room to mount the speaker under the top of the hood. I may have to do some baffling if the sound in muffled too much. The decoder itself will replace the light board that is installed presently. The model that I have "is" the Classic Series in the black and white box. I know that NCE makes a decoder for Atlas RS-1's, but not with sound I don't believe, so I am researching with Tony's to see what he has available.
PC: I guess that is why the guys in the Diner have nicknamed you "The Fox" you are soooo fast and sneaking things out of the ice cream cooler before Fergie even knows there're missing!!! You are good, my knees are too slow to catch up with you.
JEFF: I know what you mean Jeff, we have Cable, and 999 channels. I don't purchase HBO or any of the pay movie channels, then of course we have some Spanish channels that are useless to watch, and a bunch of other channels that I could give two hoots about. We watch about 12 channels total. I wanted the RFD channel, but they don't offer it by my Cable Company here even though I have been requesting it for 4 years. I'm considering installing an antenna, which will get me all the local channels that we watch, which are all network HD channels, and maybe a satellite dish, which DOES carry the RFD channel ( and all those train shows ). Then I will cut back the Cable carrier to just Tier 1.
TIFN
JimRCGMO wrote: Gee, PC - where's everybody been since you came by in the middle of the afternoon?
Gee, PC - where's everybody been since you came by in the middle of the afternoon?
Apparently they're trying to keep up with me!
Good Evening All,
Just getting ready to leave the shop for home after another long day.
BobK- We had a crew at Mid Ohio over the weekend but I stayed behind to try to catch up on some of the shop backlog. It's good to work with people you can just send and not worry.
Jim - the backdrop is one of the large pefab pictures on the bottom and one of the Backdrop Warehouse 18" x 144" jobs on top. The only thing I can render in paint is runs so I just bit the bullet and bought prefab. Used carpet tape to hang the backdrops and the fascia as well.
Tonight the plan is to do some stuff for the museum and try to run some of the road for real between the two factories. Still need to finalize placement of the sidings for the two buildings.
Dick - please let us know how the decoder and sound install goes. My Atlas RS is a classic so it's a bit more labor than yours probably is. How about the fuel tank for the speaker location? Not much room otherwise what with all the cast weights.
All for now - out of here to enjoy the last bits of a great weather day then off to the basement. CUL, J.R.
Evening, Zoe - Chloe on her way in yet? I'll have a burger and cheesy fries, and one of those custard concretes, please - chocolate chip. Better make the concrete to go. Thanks!
pcarrell wrote:Wanna keep up with me? Gonna have to be quicker then that!
Wanna keep up with me? Gonna have to be quicker then that!
Gee, PC - where's everybody been since you came by in the middle of the afternoon? Better bump the Diner up to page one again...
Nice afternoon, and I lucked out tonight so far. Got a page from the crisis line, and I have to go assess someone at a local facility, but they told me to take my time, so I can finish my dinner here first.
Hopefully, no calls after this, and I'll get to read my new issue of MR tonight. Everyone stay dry and safe. Jeff, I hope you're on some high ground (and David P. too).
Blessings and prayers,
grayfox1119 wrote: PC: You must have sneaked in the back door while I was ordering breakfast, you fox!!
PC: You must have sneaked in the back door while I was ordering breakfast, you fox!!
Hoople wrote: GAH!Somehow I got the trojanb virus. Two copies, to be exact. Hope that tells you where I've been.
Dave Loman
My site: The Rusty Spike
"It's a penny for your thoughts, but you have to put your 2 cents in.... hey, someone's making a penny!"
Hi Zoe, a Dr. Pepper and a grilled cheese sandwich, please. Thanks!
Heartland Division CB&Q wrote:Canada Day, eh. Maybe Jim or Ryan can supply some frozen custard as they discussed a few weeks back. Unless Der, Luc, or Fergie have a good Canadian brand of ice cream or frozen custard for us to try.
Canada Day, eh. Maybe Jim or Ryan can supply some frozen custard as they discussed a few weeks back. Unless Der, Luc, or Fergie have a good Canadian brand of ice cream or frozen custard for us to try.
Hey, Garry, I'll oblige - do you want those in cones, or concretes?
[edit]: Looks like not only desserts are on me, huh? Zoe, better start my tab - I'll settle up tonight.
Nice day in our part of Missouri, humidity is down, and it's only supposed to reach the mid-80's today. Some high clouds (cirrus, I'd say they look like), but nothing resembling rain today. Though they are talking about possible rain for Wednesday night.
Inch, nice pics - added bonus to getting to camp out! We see some of those UP locos in our area, too, but not always that many in a hitch.
Well, my lunch is about over, so I'd better get my concrete to go. See everyone later.
Good afternoon everyone.......partly sunny skies today and very cool, only 65F and very dry. The 80 and humidity don't return until Wednesday and Thursday. I am still without normal voice today, with the temps in the 90's and humid one day, then in the 60's the next day and 40's at night, it's a wonder I don't have pnemonia. What I need is a good shot of Ginger Brandy.
MIKE: I should have looked at the far corner table, I would have seen you there with your kettle of beans. Our garden is a week or two behind yours. I have zuchinni squash and summer squash ready today, the first ones. Cukes are two weeks away yet, and the tomatoes are still small and green, the nights have been too cool yet, only two nights so far have bee humid and in the 70's. In fact, tonight it may well dip to the upper 40's, that is not normal for July in central NE.
JOHN: Are you buying a new van, or are you fixing up the old one??
FERGIE: You must be putting into port later this week?
TRAIN QUESTION: Have any of you guys installed a decoder with motor control and sound in an RS-1 switcher?
Today High: 92 Mostly cloudy with numerous showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall. Highs in the lower 90s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation 60 percent. Tonight Low: 72 Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. Light and variable winds. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
Sounds like a good book, der. Shelley reads stuff like that here.
Yes, Inch, the grand children look more and more like Grandma each day.
Cheers.
Michael:
(by Paul) Right now I think I'll head for bed. We do alot of that here to. At least those of us who are ORFs. He He
Garry:
Tomorrow is the holiday because the 1st is Sunday as I understand it. You should therefore have two days of fireworks and BBQ's.
Der ....what's the book about?
Dick:
Spider bites are a whole different matter
No John or Fergie? And they are Atlantic time, they should have been in here 3 hours ago, sleeping late I guess.
Got a van to clean..TTFN
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.