OK, so I only joined here recently and don't know my way around the yard yet, but I do have a serious question I would appreciate an answer to: Why was Zeke & Jenny banned from logging on and posting? Zeke is as into trains as most folks here and going through such a difficult time right now, this just doesn't seem right at all. Have I missed something? Hope I don't get banned for asking the question but what kind of folks would ban him now?
On a lighter note, is there any fresh brewed coffee available? If so, just poor it strait into the vein please, had insomnia last night and have much to do today. Thanks!
Rob
Finally got some rain last night, about ¼" but at least we got some, it has been 10 days since the last time it rained at home and that was only about 20 minutes of light rain too.
Been busy work-in on the railroad, I laid down over 140 feet of Atlas code 83 flex track and switches on the layout between Monday and Tuesday. This track completes my classification yard and yard lead tracks, the wye and roundtable leads, locomotive and engine servicing terminal, passenger station area, and double track main line areas.
Now I have about 18 feet of roadbed and track left to put down in an industrial area on the lower deck.
Jim, I like that http://www.papercreek.com/ stuff, I downloaded that free plan too! Thanks for the link.
Garry, If you are interested I started a tutorial on the inspection pits, seems like not many are interested in viewing that one as there are no replies. Oh well! Here is the MR link if interested: http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1161609/ShowPost.aspx
I also started my own web page for this tutorial, you can find it here: http://piedmontdivision.rymocs.com/ip.html
Bob K., I like that bridge pic on page 239. http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/239/990936/ShowPost.aspx#990936 Is that scratch built or a kit?
Inch, thanks for the garden report, I like those banana peppers! I've been harvesting three varieties of tomatoes for about a month now, cheery, grape, and better bush! Got to water them just about every day, no rain means the water bill is going up, up, up!
Sue, nice yard shot from Port of Tacoma!
Jeff, your cable company woes sounds just like the problem I had with Cox Cable in New Orleans. They tried to blame it on the squirrels eating away on the line, and they never fixed that problem I had with some channels being fuzzy.
Happy Belated Birthday!
Jerry, congratulations on the1,000th post.
Ed, thanks for the update on the vacation adventures!
Luc, so does the ground braking ceremony mean we have to move again? LOL
Thoughts and prayers to all in need for health and happiness!
Ryan
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
SilverSpike wrote: Bob K., I like that bridge pic on page 239. http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/239/990936/ShowPost.aspx#990936 Is that scratch built or a kit?
Ryan: The bridge is an HO Micro Engineering Steel Viaduct. The standard kits come in 150ft and 210 ft. They offer additional sections and extension kits as well as addional towers and height extensions. The 150ft kit is comprised of 5/ 30ft open girders and 2/ towers. The 210ft kit is 3/ 50ft girders and 2/ 30ft girders (30 ft sections are used over the towers). The kit is not very difficult just very labor intensive, especially building and squaring the towers. They do have excellent instructions and you need to follow them closely.
The bridge was made up of a 150ft kit w/ an extension to fit the spot on the layout. I needed to have a 50ft span at the middle where the river below will be. A twist to building this was that the track at the left starts straight and eases into a 54" superelevated turn.
The superelevation and radius can be seen in this pic- never mind that B&O stuff cluttering up the bridge pic
The instructions explain how to make a template for curved assembly. I had a section of pine spline that was cut out to use as the my template. A bench disc sander worked wonders to miter the girders to fit the centerline for the curve.
I found that cutting an outside tie arc worked great to curve the bridge flex track without getting any kinks. ME flex track is the most difficult to bend into a radius- wants to kink easily.
ME doesn't have a website if your interested in any info their tel # is (636)349-1112. Pleasant people to deal with and they can send you their parts and kit sheet. Of all the glues, I found that I like the Faller Xpert. It has longer working time and the needle applicator works great for precise control which is nec for assembling all those girders. Also I found that using Pliobond rubber cement worked for mounting the bridge track to the girder deck. Nice isolator and helped due to the styrene shims needed for the superelevation.
Even if you don't need the long bridges they have 30 and 50 ft single open and ballasted deck kits to get your feet wet to their construction techniques.
I enjoyed building the bridge and doing the installation. Since we use a lot of handlaid track the bridge rails were left longer as were the code 70 guard rail to help anchor thr bridge by spiking the rails at both abutment ties. This is a section of the RR that's waiting for me to scenic also. We need to find the proper mill building and then the spot can be designed and the mill canal/ sleusway can be built. A mill pond and small dam will be in the forground just behind the double track mainline. The hills up both side will be tree dense cover and rock outcropping/ cut granite ledge. The bridge for the lower double track will be a double stone arch w/ a ballasted deck. I really wanted to make it a curved stone arch but the work in the plaster castings would be too much. It's still not built yet, so it can always be an option.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Good Evening All,
The crew got off to Quebec ok this morning - were at the track and setting up by 4pm. Spent the day at the shop cleaning up and putting the cars for Pittsburgh together. Got good news from the doc as he says my kidneys are ok and I just need to keep after the high blood pressure.
Spent last evening working at the museum on the iNvisible gauge display. Boy that stuff is tough to deal with. What kinds of trucks and couplers work the best? A lot of the older stuff seems to derail fairly easily or at least get uncoupled easily. Spent a fair bit of time cleaning track and tracing a couple of bad connections in the rail.
Ryan: the inspection pits look interesting. If you'd like I can shoot some pictures of whats left of ours at the museum. Mostly just the concrete walls and floor now, but we've started to clear out the location of the drop table and cross path which enabled the workers to drop out a truck for service. Unfortunately the round house and back shop are gone and all we have are a pair of pits.
Hope the rest of you are doing ok. I'm working on some of the DPM buildings I've picked up for the city area of the layout. CUL,J.R.
Evening Gang:
Colby: Those were good pictures. Is that an old coaling tower in the second or third picture?
Mary Ann and I got the pad pretty close to ready for the storage container. We hauled and compacted the washout and it worked really well. The pad had also done some drying out the last couple of days. Now if the rain will hold off we can get the container delievered. I'll still have some tree triming to do.
Time for bed.
Good Night All
Evenin', Chloe - I'll have one of those hot fudge sundaes, please!
I'll whittle away on that with my spoon, while I check the posts.
Cederstrand wrote:OK, so I only joined here recently and don't know my way around the yard yet, but I do have a serious question I would appreciate an answer to: Why was Zeke & Jenny banned from logging on and posting? Zeke is as into trains as most folks here and going through such a difficult time right now, this just doesn't seem right at all. Have I missed something? Hope I don't get banned for asking the question but what kind of folks would ban him now?
Rob, I hadn't seen anywhere that Zeke was banned - RT just was posting what Jenny had written because for a lot of that time, Zeke was in the hospital and (mostly) not able to get to a computer and post for himself. My guess lately is that he's probably all tuckered out for a while now that he's home from all the poking, prodding and such. He may be catching a few ... I expect we'll hear back from him after he gets rested up and eats a little food in him.
On a lighter note, is there any fresh brewed coffee available? If so, just poor it strait into the vein please, had insomnia last night and have much to do today. Thanks! Rob
You want some blood in your caffeine system, do ya Rob? Oh, hey, that Morgan Valley layout design looks pretty useable - several sidings for industries, not too much 'spaghetti', good space toward the middle for towns or scenery (which can be fun to do and come up with some different stuff).
PC and Mike and Jerry - did you guys get any rain today? We didn't here in S.E. Missouri - but it was pretty nice now that the humidity is down. The breezes were good to have.
Colby, good to see you back again. Hope you have a lot of fun (and maybe find some bargains) at the NG Convention.
Ryan, glad you liked the link on Paper Creek. I'm trying to see if I can find some thicker/stiffer printer paper I can use to print out the free outhouse design on. Did you get the directions also?
JR, I can't argue with you about iNvisible scale (though some of our folks modeling in that scale might... )
Luc, hope the cardiologist didn't forget some tool the last time he saw you. Actually, keep us posted on what happens there, okay?
Feels better today (after seeing the attorney last night), though I was keeping him (and his wife's surgery today) in my thoughts/prayers. I have most of the few pieces of info that I have to get for him (in the next week) ready.
Had three people not come in for their appointments today (and I took a shower, too! But it mostly worked out, because one client I'd seen last week (and had requested he come in) did come in. So, I had the support staff schedule him into my later afternoon time in place of one client who'd rescheduled, and got his assessment in. (Now, I just have his and a dozen or so more to get to the transcriptionist (handwritten copy or tape) to type up.
'bout time for me to head for the sack and catch some of my own 's...
Blessings and a good night to all,
Jim in Cape Girardeau
gear-jammer wrote: Hoople,The Narrow Gauge Convention is in Maine. I was wondering if Dick was going.Sorry. It would be great if it was here.Sue
Hoople,
The Narrow Gauge Convention is in Maine. I was wondering if Dick was going.
Sorry. It would be great if it was here.
Sue
Darn... It would if it was here.
Good morning ! from Indiana.
07-12-07
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Today's Weather for: Sundown, LA 71446-6114 7/12/2007 Heat Index: 83°FHumidity: 93%Dew Point: 75°F So Far TodayHigh: 80°FLow: 77°FRain: 0.00"Rain Rate: 0.00"/hGust: 7mph NNE Today High: 95 Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. Light mainly south winds.
Tonight Low: 75 Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 70s. Light and variable winds.
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 Morning All,
Welcome to all the new faces here at the diner.
I'll have one of Bills coconut covered doonuts and a regular please Zoe.
The weather finally broke last night and this morning it's 64F and sunny with a high in the eighties. Better yet the weather for Pittsburgh this weekend is supposed to be the same after the thunderstorms clear out Friday. Weather is awkward there fairly often: sometimes brutally hot, sometimes pouring down rain with no warning but usually just 90's and humid. The race is usually good with 20 to 30 cars in our race group and with admission free we get around 40,000 people in Schenley Park to watch. They've brought in some ringers this year for our group with one of the better drivers bringing a much newer model Lotus to mine and another bringing a Cooper F-1 car with a motor 2 1/2 time larger plus the usual array of 1.5 liter sports racers so it should be a good weekend.
Bob - I really like those Micro - Engineering girder bridges. I also have a few of the Central Valley ones but the M-E seem just a bit better once built. Have you had any durability issues with the Faller glue you use? I still stick with my old reliable Testors for bridge work and Tenax 7r for detail bits on structures. I love the super el on the trestle as well. What thickness styrene did you end up using?
Well, got to go and pick up tools and get to w..k though it sounds like Paul is doing an awful lot of w..k also for an ORF. At least he had the foresight to build a dump trailer. CUL, J.R.
Good Morning, Diners! Zoe, a JR special and one of those chocolate donuts Bill T. brought in, please.
It's a balmy 63 F (17 C) currently, no breezes just yet, and supposed to reach 84 F by the afternoon (28 C). Just a nice, sunny day - probably would be good for ORFs to go fishing!
However, after I finish my breakfast here, I need to get ready to go do the W thing. But tomorrow is Friday, and the weekend!
Hopefully, we may hear back from Zeke and Jenny today. Wonder where Ed is at this point - still in Newfoundland, or on his way back home? Well, I'll see you all later!
Blessings on your day (and some nice weather),
Paul- I would gess it's a watering / coal tipple. A hybrid of sorts. And if you look closely at the ground shots you can see that there still is a switcher there. The round house is now a brewery
The Steam Whistle Brewery Co.
Mornin folks!
I'll have a fresh donut please Chloe and a cup a Joe please!
Bob K, I have copied your ME bridge info, thanks for the detailed description, I have been meaning to make an order for a few of those ME bridge kits. I may have some questions for you once I get started on them, not any time soon though, that is a mid-term project on my track crew construction plans. Thanks again for sharing your expertise with us!
J.R., sure, photos from the museum RH would be great! I am basing my inspection pits on the Robert Julien Roundhouse at the old Southern Railway Spencer Shops in Spencer, NC. Here are a few captured images from the prototype that I am trying to duplicate in HO.
Paul, sounds like you are making great speed on the storage shed project. Just remember to drink plenty of that H20.
Jim, The Paper Creek does look like a quick way to build up structures, I have not tired any of them yet, but the instructions seems fairly straight forward. Keep us posted should you build one!
Thoughts and prayers for all souls in need!
Ryan,
Fun photos. I like the crusty air lines.
Oh by the way everyone, my butterfly bushes are blooming.
I'll be back here in the corner booth if any one wants to share a cup of coffee.
Looks like I am buying.
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
Hey Sue,
I'll have the chicken quesadilla please!
Thanks for lunch today!
Butterfly bushes eh! I wonder, do they make good modeling material once they are dried up?
SilverSpike wrote: Hey Sue,I'll have the chicken quesadilla please!Thanks for lunch today! Butterfly bushes eh! I wonder, do they make good modeling material once they are dried up?
You must have missed the long discussion last fall.
Preserve when they start to dry out. Then hairspray and foam when you are ready. Not bad for an invasive plant.
Good afternoon...I hope this reply gets through, I have tried for two days to get out to the forum, but my doggone SMTP server keeps timing out...what a PITA!!!
SUE: Colby is the one going to the Narrow Gauge convention in Maine, in his home turf. I am headed for the Conway Scenic RR in New Hampshire tomorrow. Canadian built 0-6-0, #7470, is going to pull a passnger excursion train from North Conway station, up thought the 2 1/2% grade climb through Crawford Notch in the White Mountains to Fabyan RR Station. 5 1/2 hour round trip on Saturday, then we ride the Cog RR up 6233 Mt Washington on Sunday. The Video camera and the Nikon D70 are primed and ready.
Our Butterfly bushes are all out now also, we will have to try the Sue technique when the flowers die.
RYAN: Man, you are making tracks!! In this hot weather, the AC house is the place to be for sure.
FERGIE's DAD : Please add Fergie's dad to your prayers, he is back in the hospital.
Time to get back outside....garden work to do before tomorrow's trip north.
Coffee please & thank you! (anytime of the day or night is a good time for coffee in my book) Hope everyone is doing great today.
For those curious, here is an excerpt from e-mail I received from Zeke. I don't know him personally, just thru e-mails with him and Jenny, so there could be more to this story than what it seems!?! I will leave it at that. Rob ps: If I dissappear, it will be for posting this.
from Zeke: ["Thank you for your thoughts. For some reason I got banned, I don't know why nobody will tell me. And I cant log on to post.I am really lost. I have done nothing wrong, that I am aware of that would make this happen. But thank you . I have two trains tht are with members being repaired, I hope I get them back. I havent got any responses from them?"]
Dick,
Sounds like a great trip. I am sure that you will being sharing great photos.
I am still waiting on the White Cascade through the local library. Only 45 waiting.
I have a lot to do so it should hit this fall. Perfect timing.
Morning all. Almost noon here, so I'll have an onion ring basket.
Cederstrand: That's very odd... I wonder why he was banned.
Well it's another day of summer. It's finally cooler, it was really hot yesterday. About 85-90*F.
I can't stand it.
Ah. Thanks Chloe.
Well Sue stole the corner booth... I'll take the one on the other side of the car if PC has finally woken up from his nap over there...
Isn't this a large booth in the back. I think that we all can sit together.
Sue Unless you are afraid of spagetti sauce.
Attenchion all Harry Potter fans (if there are any) The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad will be hosting Muggle fest. This friday, July 20. It's the same place were the National Narrow Gauge Convention will be held.
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I will be there volinteering. Pics will be avaible the fallowing day..... 'Sue uses whole canister of napkin'.. hands her 3 more canisters of napkins"... Cloe is PC still working on repaying his debt? He is? Don't look like it to me. *Cloe walks over to PC with a frying pan fresh off the stove*
Nice knowing you PC.
Philip, You are always welcome to share some spagetti>
Dick: Please get on the horn to Bergie and find out about Zeke. We need to know and get him back on. I can't believe that he or Jenny did something naughty.
The container is in place, all most. I have to shift it a bit to straighten it out. It took 3 hours to get the thng up to the pad. We lost one elm tree and had to trim a bunch of others. The truck tractor pulling the trailer was a single rear so didn't have the best traction in the dirt. Anyway it's in place. Except for a broken hinge that we didn't see when we picked it out this morning it's in good shape. It even has an oak floor. The hinge can be welded so that's no big deal. Now all I have to do is install shelves.
The Plasticville signal bridges came in so my friend Ron brought them out. I'm going to use them for the tramway for the Sunday Lake mine. That will run to the stock pile and the dump for the tailings.
It's hot and muggy again today. There was some rain east of us but none here. Now that the container is in it can rain. There is rain predicted for the next 6 days.
Colby: That's what it looked like. Neat to have the roundhouse made into a brewery.
I'm going to head out and check in later.