Hello everybody.
JimCG . I meant to type "100 miles" instead of "200 miles". I kant tipe gud. Anyhow the closest model train store is over 100 miles from my home.
Duke .... Just had my second stop at Great Lakes Hobbies. I should have let you know I was headed there.
I visited some model train friends this afternoon. One of them will have a table at Sunday's train show.
Scott (and others) are demonstrating that railroaders like to "Couple up" ..... Nice picture, Scott, of the two happy love birds.
We'll be headed for Cincinnati late Sunday.
Happy Model Railroading!
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
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
Good afternoon. I will have a root beer float. Thanks.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Afternoon all
Jerry Sorry to hear about Sallie but I hope things get better soon
JR
Ask Duke who they turn to at the race track when no-one else can find what they need.
Paul Sounds like you won't have any trouble staying busy if you get to work on the loco.
Garry If the temp drops below 38-39deg then I won't ride but if it is up there chances are I will. Now that isn't saying any of the others will,so I could still show up at the show and Great Lakes is only about 4mi from my house.
Philnrunt Long time no see and I think what Garry was referring to, is the winters here can get pretty nasty like in Dick,John,and Fergie's neck of the woods and it is also one of the highest cost of living states to be in.
Ed Aaaahhhh the Answer Man!! Isn't he Great and what would we do around here without him!!!
That's about it
Best to all on sick call and those recovering
Talk to you later
Duke
"Don't take a wooden nickel,because it isn't worth a dime" by my Dad
"There are only 3 things you need out of life:A gentle grade,the wind in your face,and cinders in your hair.....But keep an eye on the water glass!" Jack Evans
I'll have one of these coffees, also. Thanks!
***Dave, watching a storm like while in dire drought conditions is no fun at all. At times like this it is too bad we can't control the weather (at least a little bit), eh? Wish I could see your layout in person, Dave. It is very impressive and is along the lines of what I think would be an ideal size layout for me. When taking it to shows is it well protected from little kids exploring hands (perhaps some adult fingers as well)??
***Jeffrey, what's in that fine looking tanker today? Hope the track crew has been keeping up with maintenance so there will be no more spills of goo to clean up.
***Ed, thanks for the links. I like that #101 caboose....almost looks like UP already, which is probably what my version will become. Although, I could make it Southern and pile on some Woodland Scenics hillbilly types. Started searching online when I got up in the middle of the night and found a number of good reference photos.
***[Scott, good to hear from you (and Sarah). " border="0" width="41" height="46" /> JR's suggestion about making sure there's a middle left on your double-ended candle.] Another on that from Rob!
Fed the critters, now it's time to get to work out on the painting porch. Catch y'all later. Rob
Afternoon, Zoe, I'll have a root beer float
and a ham 'n' cheese sandwich, please.
Thanks!
Hope that DerJohn, Luc, and any of the rest of our Nova Scotians have done like Fergie and laid in the supplies for their storm parties. You guys do have those - like the hurricane parties down South in the States - right? Dick may have the supplies list pretty well described from the looks of it.
I was looking at Dave's Train Blog earlier today, which was pretty interesting. He's starting from Malcom Furlow's 'San Juan Central' (some of you may recall that episode in whimsy...), flipped it to a mirror reverse plan, and is making his in HO - with somewhat wider curves (if you can call 18" radius 'wider'...). He's also going to change one town into a seaport town. Should be interesting as he progresses with it. It'll be set in the 1920's (toward the 1929 end of it) with steam locos and shorter cars (d'oh...).
I'll be at the window booth working on my float - want to watch the afternoon local switching the sidings.
Blessings,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
ModelTrainLover wrote:afternoon. Tomorrow. If anyone is interested, there is a train show at the Auburn Middle School. It's from 10 am to 3pm.
afternoon.
Tomorrow. If anyone is interested, there is a train show at the Auburn Middle School. It's from 10 am to 3pm.
Good afternoon to all, 48F today under clear skies, 46% Rh and a DP of 28F ( clear, cool, ideal moist air )
It looks like our MRR friends in Nova Scotia are going to take a direct hit from Noel, right up the Bay of Fundy, the highest tides in the world ( 100 foot rise at high tide ). Checking out Dave's post of the expected track, there will be copious amounts of rain, and high winds. By the time this storm hits those northern latitudes, it will be exotropical, one nasty Nor'easter. There will be a "dumbell" effect as it travels north, so that wobbling will make a big difference on how far inland the rains and winds will go. Cape Cod will get hammered with 4"+ of rain and winds gusting to 75mph. We only expect 1" of rain and 30 mph winds here in central MA.
Today we are cleaning up the three dropped Maple trees, bringing the branches to the Spring burn pile, and stacking the wood for next year, and picking up the last of the fallen leaves..can MRR action be far behind? I hope not!!!
DER JOHN: Your rain barrels will be full by Sunday, add a few more for next Summer's shortage. Any RR cars damaged in that "landslide"? LOL
FERGIE: Ahhhhh, I can see you are well prepared for the big storm, beer, wine, bread, beer, wine, peanuts, beer, wine, chips......and Lisa monitoring the storm at her weather station. All set !!! Go order the Heavy Northern CN
DAVE: Der John didn't believe us two days ago when we said Noel would hit NS, your map says it all!!! Tsk, tsk, when are they going to learn to listen to the right weather forecasters ...LOL
Dave Vollmer wrote: Morning! I need the biggest coffee you have...Hope all is well with everyone!This evening I'm going to set up my layout over at the State Fairgrounds for the 23rd Annual Neuse River Valley Model Railroad Club Train Show.In the meantime, we're getting WIND today from the hurricane, but no rain... Our drought is still bad, unfortunately. We need that hurricane in the worst way!!!
Morning! I need the biggest coffee you have...
Hope all is well with everyone!
This evening I'm going to set up my layout over at the State Fairgrounds for the 23rd Annual Neuse River Valley Model Railroad Club Train Show.
In the meantime, we're getting WIND today from the hurricane, but no rain... Our drought is still bad, unfortunately. We need that hurricane in the worst way!!!
LOOK AT THIS!!!!!
Back here on page 2!
For shame!
Cederstrand wrote: Question: Do you guys think a 50' steel flat car (with those stakes/rods sticking up all along the sides) would be a reasonable base to make a transfer caboose out of? Also, does it matter where on it I mount the little housing part? (going to use that tiny caboose structure-see pic below) In other words, should I mount it at one end, in the middle...is there any standard for such cars?
Question: Do you guys think a 50' steel flat car (with those stakes/rods sticking up all along the sides) would be a reasonable base to make a transfer caboose out of? Also, does it matter where on it I mount the little housing part? (going to use that tiny caboose structure-see pic below) In other words, should I mount it at one end, in the middle...is there any standard for such cars?
We're talking freelance here, not modeling any specific prototype? Then yes, that flatcar will make a fine base. Just take off the stakes and install handrails. I think you'd be better off mounting the house in the center. That's the way I've seen most photos of transfer cabooses. I suppose it could go nearer to one end but you'd still need to leave room for an open platform between the house and the end of the car at that end. Here are a couple of references.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caboose
A transfer caboose looks more like a flat car with a shed bolted to the middle of it than it does a standard caboose. It is used in transfer service between rail yards or short switching runs, and as such lacks sleeping, cooking or restroom facilities. The ends of a transfer caboose are left open, with safety railings surrounding the area between the crew compartment and the end of the car.
From Transfer Caboose #101
http://www.greenbayroute.com/101caboose.htm
A transfer caboose was designed for short-haul trips; they usually featured a short car body and spacious end platforms to give the rear-end crew plenty of room to observe the train during transit.
From Southern Pacific Transfer cabooses:
http://espee.railfan.net/cabooses_transfer.html
#925 - 930 were built at Taylor Yard in 1964 from #541000 series flatcars.
Regards
Ed
Good morning.Today's Weather for: Sundown, LA 71446-6114 11/2/2007 Wind Chill: 56°FHumidity: 79%Dew Point: 49°F So Far TodayHigh: 61°FLow: 56°FRain: 0.00"Rain Rate: 0.00"/hGust: 7mph ENE Today High: 78 Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Light and variable winds.
Tonight Low: 52 Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. Light and variable winds.
Morning all!
Game day today for my son! He's stoked!
Chilly 'round here! It's a whole 29 degrees outside right now at the house. It's a bit warmer here in the city though.
Hope that the big storm drops some rain on you folks down south that are needing it! Who knew a hurricane could be a Godsend, huh?
So what's up with you?
Good Morning, Zoe - how about a stack of flapjacks with some Maine syrup on them,
a cup of coffee (Dave V., would this be a big enough pot for you? ),
and glass of Ed's OJ, please.
Indiana Phil, sounds like AmyJo is still a keeper - has she drawn up some plans for your switching layout yet? It does appear you two are getting around and seeing a lot of places.
Scott, good to hear from you (and Sarah). JR's suggestion about making sure there's a middle left on your double-ended candle. Sounds like the RR work also is agreeing with you.
JR, I like the way your scratchbuilt house is coming along. For me, I'd like a wider front porch, but tastes differ, so it make look fine up closer. Will you be tacking a roof over the front porch?
DerJohn, remember to batten down the hatches when Noel gets close to your neighbourhood. Too bad about the 'rockslide' - I'll have to remember that when I get to scenicing my layout.
Garry, happy LHS'ing on your trip. 200 miles to the closest one? Boy, that's not good! I've had some 50 or 60 miles away, but... I'm sure you might be overruled by other family members, but I'd almost be checking on moving somewhere closer to a LHS (well, maybe not that drastic of a move...).
Better get me going this morning. But hey, it's F r i d a y ! ! ! That means weekend and some more free time for MRR'ing stuff is in order.
Blessings and prayers,
Morning Folks!
to breakfast!
I see some of you just can't let the party stop! LOL... Actually, thanks again for all the BD wishes!
Dave - Looking forward to the show again this year. We intend to being there sometime tomorrow.
Now I'm off to the train room, I have a roundhouse floor that needs building....
Catch you all later on....
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
Good morning ! from Indiana.
11-02-07
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Morning All,
I'll have a regular and an order of waffles please Zoe. I'll be happier when we get to standard time and my regular hours make more sense. Lots going on today between the shop and the museum. We have Macton Corp coming in to look at our museum turntable to see what we need plus the drive is slipping though I haven't looked at that yet. Also need to get after the maintinence on the vehicle fleet to prep them for winter. I've got my KW done and ready to sleep, but still have the F350 and Excursion to do here at w..k plus the payloader, plow truck and dumptrucks at the museum. Oh yeah, and they want the crane fixing too. At least we don't have to move shop in the middle of this. We're finalizing a deal with our current landlord to stay at least another year where we are while we look for other premises.
Scott - good to see you stop in. Remember when you're burning the candle at both ends you still have all that bit in the middle. Just make sure you take care of yourself.
Phil - good to hear from you also. How about an MOW wire car? Locally the New Haven had a wire train they used to maintain the catenary with wire, a tool car and a platform car all recycled from old rolling stock.
Rob - thanks for the comments. I started to trim the roof edges this morning and will rework the entry porches to look more normal which will also help the awkward looking front of the house. I copied it as best I could from snapshots, but I think it does look a bit goofy.
Well gotta go - lots to do and I did want to be at the railyard when the inspection team arrives. CUL, J.R.
Hey y'all, long time no talk.
One thing's for sure...When you work on the railroad, you don't have much free time. And when you have a girlfriend, you spend your free time with her. Put two and two together...Work, Sarah, Work, Sarah, Work, Sarah... And sleeping is in there somewhere.
Livin' two dreams at once...I've got the job I've always wanted, and the girlfriend I've always wanted to have. I can't ask for anything more...
I'm gonna start trying to get by here when I can. I'll talk to y'all later.
Scott - Dispatcher, Norfolk Southern
Just a tall cool glass of H2O, please.
***JR, look forward to seeing the finished structure. Looks pretty good so far.
Felt real good to be back at the easel tonight. First time in tooo long. I hope my publisher doesn't think I've died.
Well, going to go veg in front of the TV for a while. Rob
Har har! I was just going to get into my old E mail address' and see if I could find Paul's- and as soon as I posted, I see he put one up while I was pecking mine out!
Paul- Not only thought of Fergie, but you too! We went to the Boatnerd World Headquarters in Port Huron, and it's a pretty neat place. Snackbar, GPS map to follow where the laker's are, nice seating, etc etc. We caught a downbound while we were there, and we plan to head back soon. We really like Port Huron, good chow, good sights and not that far away. Let's see, model trains, lake boats and Star Trek- maybe those people were right when they called me geek. Ahh well, whachagonnadoo?
Anyway, we headed up to Michigan a month or so ago, went to a bunch of wineries- Amyjo's favorites- then toured 6- count 'em- six ships!, and had a really good time. I noticed when I posted this that the post following yours mentioned the poster was glad to be out of Michigan. We feel the same about getting out of Indiana. Guess it's a case of familiarity breeding contempt, huh?
Glad to see you still check in with the Forum. I just sent a mail to Mexico Ed just before I came in here, sounds like he avoided the rains. He mentioned a few mails back that he didn't get on here as much as he used to, just not enough time I guess.
OK, take care Paul, and we'll try to check in every now and then.
OK, Signal 9 on identifying the mystery gondola- hmmmmm, that fit into the season quite well, now didn't it- it turns out to be (drumadrumadruma)- a steel coil gon with parts missing! Taa Dah! Sure is amazing what you can find out if you have both glasses AND the lights on!
I took a closer look at it today, (my first real chance) and I determined, with my razor sharp investigative skills, that it was just what I said it was in that paragraph up there. Now, I need to decide if I can use it for some kind of MOW car, or something else. Spose I could use it for a coil car, but what fun is that?
Jim, Fergie and Silverspike- Glad to be back, and good to see you all are still around and plugging along. I thought about Fergie a few months back, we were in Port Huron, Mi, and took a tour of the USCGC/Bouy Tender BRAMBLE. She is in absolutely INCREDIBLE shape, and I told Amyjo that if we had Fergie here we could get her underway, point her bow towards the open seas and promptly ram the dock across the river. Amyjo seemed less than thrilled with the idea. Women! BTW, I mentioned Fergie's name around, hoping to get that seaman's discount, but they all ACTED like they had never heard of him! Always joking, those seafarers.
As for not being around, we have been building a room addition, re-modeling my old trailer, replacing worn out vehicles, and going to what seems like a special event about every other day. Tonight we went to a viewing, my cousin's husband keeled over Sunday, his bad ticker finally caught up with him. With eleven in Amyjo's family, and twelve in my momma's family, there is either a birthday party- one last Sat and one this Sat- or a funeral, to always keep that "to do " list from getting completed.Or any attention at all. I told Amyjo one of the reasons I married her waas to replenish my funeral days at work, 3 days for each bro or sis in law, oh yeah. They all say I have a vulture-like gaze when I see them.
One good thing, when we get the room addition done, we plan to make our old bedroom a hobby room, and plans are for a small switching layout. Amyjo came up with this idea, so is there any doubt as to why I love her.
Oh, if you can get a copy of Great Model RR's '08, it's well worth it. There are some really fantastic looking layouts in there this year.
Gonna make a point of checking in with the forum, at least here in the diner, more often.
Take care all!
Hello everybody,
Duke, yes, I went to P&D Hobbies and to Great Lakes Hobbies. Did not get much, but it's good to be in a hobby shop. Now I'm over 200 miles from one. Other than that, however, i'm glad to be away from MI. It's just nicer in western KY overall. I'll look out for you at the show Sunday, but if you're not there I'll understand. Weather forecast for Sunday looks cool but not raining.
Jerry ... sorry to learn of Sallie's continued health problems, and I certainly hope she can come home soon.
JR ... I like the scratch built house and thanks for showing it to us while under construction.
Happy model railorading
Evening Gang: I went to a little transportation museum south of here today. It's been several years since I've been there. I went to see, photograph , and measure a 18 inch gauge compressed air mine locomotive. I've been thinking of doing it in 7 1/2 inch gauge, 5 inch scale. I may have volentiered for a project down there. The little locomotive is really in bad condition. It's sitting on some old cross ties that have rotted out and let it sink into the dirt. I'm going to try and get someone to donate a section of rail and I've got plenty of lumber for ties. I'll get it out of the dirt and then clean it up and give it a coat of paint. I'm also going to see if they would let it go to a better home, mine.Who knows?
Ryan: I'm sorry that I missed wishing you happy birthday. I've been tired when I get around to posting. Soooo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
Indy Phil good to see you in the diner. Where have you been?
Well it's time for bed.
Good Night All
GMTRacing wrote:That's ok, just break out the emergency spare and I'll have it ala mode if you please.
Ummmmm, how do I tell you this?
Good rainy evening folks.
Ryan, sorry to have missed your celebration,
I was telling Dick by email earlier that I’ve made a little slow progress on the rock project. Here’s what I told him.
Working on my talus slopes and have the cribbing wall in place, with small rock behind it ready for staining. Took one step forward and two back yesterday by making the cribbing at the workbench, using white glue, and then staining it with India Ink wash. So far, so good. The "two back" came when I picked it up later to see how it was doing, forgetting that the white glue would have softened in the wash! It fell apart. I took it apart almost down to three major components and 10 small pieces. I had to wait until late this afternoon for it to be really dry, and to re-construct it. Well, if the truth be told, I didn't have much choice in waiting, because we had to be in town for a 9:00 am appointment for Kris today, and didn't get back here until mid-afternoon. By the time I got to the train room, it was after 4:00 p.m. Getting closer to being able to stain the remaining rock faces, and the talus slopes generated from them.
I’ll be glad when that face of castings is done, and I can move on. Less than 2 months now for the New Year’s Resolution to get finished. (cover up the blue foam desert.), so I’d better hustle a bit. If I succeed, it’ll be the first time I’ve actually kept a NYR over the length of a whole year!
Between Dick and Fergie’s Lisa I’m now getting more serious about Saturday and the landfall along our shore of (hopefully very “post”) TS Noel.
Jeff: We were swamped by 3 more than you. The surplus candy goes to the grandkids next week, I guess.
Jerry, I hope, with you, that Sallie won’t have to have that op on her knee. She’s been through too much already, and I bet is missing home and you a heap.
Nice structure, BTW, like that brickwork!
Phil: good to see you in again. Not an expert on much of anything RR, but looking forward to seeing your photos of that gon.
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.
Good Evening Coffee Clubbers,
Well the past couple of days have truly been spectacular down here in Paradise. Cool mornings (18ºC/65ºF) warming up to around 28ºC/82ºF in the afternoons, and much drier than normal, with just a slight breeze. If it were like this more of the time we'd have more people moving here.
We went out to the orange grove the day before yesterday and I can assure you that the mandarin oranges are coming along great. We picked enough to fill the back of the Blazer. They continue to get a bit plumper and will continue to ripen and sweeten as we progress through the harvest. For the mandarins, that will be through the end of December. Then we'll get started on the Reinas. Enjoy.
I've been out of the Coffee Shop for a couple of days, so missed Ryan's birthday. Belated greeting there buddy!
Not much progress on the layout. I did clean the mainline and ran a train around a bit, so I guess that counts for something.
Nor have I found the time to edit the photos from the weekend's railfanning trip. I will get on that tomorrow.
That's about it from down here in Paradise. I'd better post it before something else comes up and diverts my attention (which is easily diverted).
Hasta mañana,
Good Evening All,
A saspirella soda and some of that blueberry pie you hid from PC please. Whats that? PC found the hidden pie? That's ok, just break out the emergency spare and I'll have it ala mode if you please.
Jerry - glad you got to visit with Sallie and hope she gets home sooner than you expect.
I think this is a poor result, but here's a progress pic on the scratch built house while I let it dry before the next steps which include finishing the front porch and fixing the roof. I used Testors Clear Parts Cement for the windows which was much easier than cutting and glueing individual pieces of clear plastic. This N stuff is really difficult for me to cope with. I may just start over and see what happens.
Time to start on the roof for the MPC farm house CUL, J.R.