Elliotts Trackside Diner (est 1-1-07)

[GMTRacing]

Interesting pics Inch.

Ryan - I still have the Dremel I got when I was 14. Third set of brushes but still going. Don't use it much anymore as I was given a new variable speed model (new to me anyway it's about 10 years old). The variable speed is the cats meow as it makes starting holes or slicing with the death wheel much easier. Also matches speed to a wider variety of devices like the drum sanders which are fragile with their little 1/8" shafts. The only thing I find dodgy is using 60 - 80 drills as I feel I have better control drilling by hand with a pin vice. Still use the dremel when I need to go through metal of any thickness but I seem to break a lot of drills that way. J.R.

[inch53]

Another coffee please Zoe,

Forgot to say my wife's packing and leaving me this afternoon. I'm almost happy

JEFF,  that price on parts also included, upper and lower rad hoses, thermastate, oil change and lube. Plus a couple other things he went ahaed and fixed. So, I think we came out ok.

Dick, I've Kc again this afternoon while mommy goes to school with big brother, so it'll be fun. She's 13 months now, and even with the house baby proofed, she a hand full, runs and climbs from one thing to another.

RYAN, guess well see Sunday. I'm still taking DA Bears [as long as Grossman shows up]. Lousy cold and snowy weather, home field.

I got these pics the other day of a couple mole hills. Shows what can happen when the grounds soaked and it drops below freezing I thought it was interresting anyway.

OH almost forgot, Mother's just going to Springfield for county fair stuff. She'll be back Sunday.

inch

[Cox 47]

Good Morning All....Its sunny and not as cold here today.....I'll have Biscuits and Gravey and coffee please ..Thank You.....Not much going on here been running train some and got out bid on somemore things ......Got a Email from Ebay saying they were suspending the guy I got the New orleans Saints Sweat shirt for my son from....Advised stopping payment on the check but that cost 25.00 and check was only 18.00 so i guess I'll calk it up to my first bad deal on Ebay...Jeff...Sounds to me like you got off real reasonable on your repairs....well the care giver is giving me a hair cut so I'd better go...You all have a good day....Jerry

[Paul W. Beverung]

Morning Gang: Another day in work land. Only 14 days total to go and 10 work days. I have to take Mary Ann to the doctor Monday for her annual check up, so that's one day shot. I may go in to work for the afternoon. Maybe.

I'm working on a technic to make corragated siding. I took a piece of silver metal tape that is used on A/C and heating ducts and used a dental pic to rub the corrgations in. I used the pics back side and it seemed to work pretty good. The test piece was only scale 3ft wide and about 2 inches long. When I got to the side it was hard to hold it in place while I did the last few lines. I think that doing a piece about 12 inches long at one time and then cut to the size of sheet needed should be faster. I have to get some tape that hasen't got creases in it to give that a try.

Not much else happining. The bar girl is ready for the detail painting. Eyes, lips, shading, and make-up. I'll make the day on that. I also want to get the gold boxes in the first scene at the Gold River reid fixed up. They need a bunch of the coins replaced since guests and others grab one or two now and then. Other then that I am not looking at a bunch of stuff that I can get done in the time left.

I'm going to cut out now and do some reading in the minutes of break that are left. See you all later. 

[SilverSpike]

Nice job Colby except maybe for the wretched poster in the middle. (Go Jets oh yeah they already bit the dust this year).

16 feet of track and two turnouts is not a bad evenings work. When you need to take out your soldered in turnouts, a dremel will cut nicely through the rail joiners and then you can unsolder the shrapnel. What are you doing for switch machines?

Just had to take a break from the Jetta repair which has a small water leak by the thermostat housing a leaky oil cooler and noisey cam followers. I think I prefer working on race cars.

Dick - thanks I need a break now and then in computer land.

      CUL,J.R. 

J.R.  Thanks! I am using a combination of Atlas, Atlas Super Switch, and Walthers Shinohara turnouts. All are code 83, and flex track is Atlas code 83 too!  Thanks for the tip on the dremel tool, I used to have an old wireless one with a rechargable battery, but the copper points kept rusting out and the battery just would not get the RPM's up enough. Now I am looking to buy a new one soon with some of the Christmas $$$ left over....

Any ideas on what model dremel tool is a good choice?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I decided that today I would convert my oldest locomotive to DCC. A 30 year old German made Bachmann GP40. The only thing I had to do to isolate the motor from the frame was to break off a metal tab and put down a strip of electrical tape. Now instead of grounding to the frame, the motor grounds to the decoder, as it should. It runs like a champ! Before it had no crawl capability and ran like a scalded ape, now it crawls with the best of them and runs at a believable speed.

[GMTRacing]

Nice job Colby except maybe for the wretched poster in the middle. (Go Jets oh yeah they already bit the dust this year).

16 feet of track and two turnouts is not a bad evenings work. When you need to take out your soldered in turnouts, a dremel will cut nicely through the rail joiners and then you can unsolder the shrapnel. What are you doing for switch machines?

Just had to take a break from the Jetta repair which has a small water leak by the thermostat housing a leaky oil cooler and noisey cam followers. I think I prefer working on race cars.

Dick - thanks I need a break now and then in computer land.

      CUL,J.R. 

 

[ModelTrainLover]

morning guys !!! what do u guys think of these???

NO DITO SIGNS!!! 

[SilverSpike]

Good morning!

Tall coffee for me Chloe!

Soldered two turnouts together for a cross-over section on the main line last night and tested the new 16' section of track that I had put down the night before last. So far so good!

RYAN: YOU PASSED!!!!! Great job...did you give this test to your son to see if you beat him? How about the wife?

Down to the Train room we go, see you guys later,

Dick, while history was not my favorite subject in school I have now grown to love of U.S. history, especially Civil War history. Oh, and since you been going down to the train room, what you been up to down there? Interesting too about daylight savings time this year.

Paul, those pesky crowns! I had to have one reattached last year, seems the adhesive gave way, but it has been good now for over 6 months......knock on wood!

RYAN, good joke. I was going to say some thing bout the Saints getting beat by DA Bears. But I thought I'd let that one pass.

Mike, yea, yea.... Only time will tell! Kickoff is Sunday 3:00 PM EST, while all the statistics point to da Bears winning, most people are picking dem Saints. I have to go with my heart of hearts on this one and emotion in my vote for dem Saints to win and make their first ever Super Bowl appearance. Historical I say, it's history in the making!

Cheers,

Ryan

[grayfox1119]

Good morning everyone, up real early for a retired grandfather today....we had our 1st snowfall of the entire season, a great big 1" of snow, but enough to make the roads very slippery. When the roads get very slippery, I go over the backside of the hill to pick up the grandkids and get them to their school bus stop in two time slots, 7 and 7:30. My two sons have driveways off the "mountain" that drop 160 feet from their garage, so it can be very "exciting" shall we say.....when you drive down a serpentine slippery driveway that has an average grade of 6%, 8% in areas.

Did any of you guys receive the new Athearn Genesis catalog yesterday in the mail? Some real nice locomotives!!!

MIKE: We will have our 11 month old grandson here today for about 7 hours.....you know what that means!!!!!!! Our house is not baby proof, so it will be a tiresome day for Grammy and I.

J.R. :  I think it is OK to enter the Diner.....don't feel too badly about knowing all the states but running out of time trying to move the mouse fast enough.....that is the price we pay for being over 50.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Inch: That must be a good size gasket. I had the intake manifold gasket on my car replaced a couple of years ago. The gasket was $25 and the labor was about $45. That was on a V6 with a water cooled intake manifold.

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

     30F and snowing this morning. No real accumulation yet, but we'll see. In any event the high today should be in the high 30's with partly sunny and the snow showers ending by afternoon so I dooubt the white stuff will stick around for any amount of time.

      Worked out trackage for the gravel and concrete company area (the former river bed). I need to cut in around the switches for Peco under switch machines but fortunately it's one of the areas with 2" foam so I need only to cut the hole and clearance a bit of the road bed to suit. We'll see how it progresses as I wasn't terribly ambitious last night.

Colby - even $1,700 for repairs is too much on an older vehicle especially where we live as there is usually rust involved. That stuff can sneak up on you though and needs a good mechanic to spot what's really in store for trouble before it happens. The problem is most folks now wait until trouble happens before doing anything beyond an oil change and before they know it a transmission job followed by other drive train trouble has them with so much invested in repairs they can't afford to cut the car loose and take the loss.  

Hope you all have a good day - I'm still standing in the lobby until Dick tells the girls it's ok for me to enter. Seems a bit harsh that I got all the answers right on his stupid geography test but got banned just because I couldn't drag the stupid mouse around fast enough (it's hard enough just catching those little critters).  CUL, time to pick up tools, J.R.

[inch53]

Mornin, just some coffee for now Zoe,

Suppose to be a sunny day, high in the 30's, NW wind at 15, gust to 30 possable. A good day to inside and play, think I will too.

RYAN, good joke. I was going to say some thing bout the Saints getting beat by DA Bears. But I thought I'd let that one pass.

FARGO, your right bout the dome teams having trouble with open fields and cold. Saints are already in Chi town trying to get ready for it. So we'll see how well it works, NOT

COLBY, I had some problems with bully's in school, because I had different ideas than the crowd.  I finally had to stand up for myself and they left me alone after that. The best I can tell you is just be yourself, not what others want you to be. All the teasing and such can make you a better and stronger person in the end.

JEFF, you got by cheap on parts n labor for the car repair. We had had to phave a new intake gasket on Mother's bus this week. I think the parts alone are going to be round $100. We don't worry bout labor charges to much, since the boys like the free bay sitting here.

PAUL, there be a couple of trees like yours along the Wabash. I think they need to be put back in use more.

  Best get on ta chores, if I want some play time this morning. Hope ya'll has a good day

inch 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning and top 'o' the day to all of ye.

Today's Weather for:  
Sundown, LA  71446      1/19/2007 

Sundown Fire Dept., Station 23
 
Wind Chill:  34°F
Humidity:  86%
Dew Point:  37°F
 
So Far Today
High:  43°F
Low:  41°F
Rain:  0.03"
Rain Rate:  0.00"/h
Gust:  11mph NNE
 
High: 52 °F
Low: 39 °F

Now through 06:45 AM CST January 19, 2007

 High: 52 
 
Through 7 AM...areas of rain and fog can be found across southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana, including the adjacent coastal waters. You can expect a steady light-to-moderate rainfall, with intensity ranging from 1/10 inch per hour to 1/4 inch per hour.  

Today  High: 52    Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light rain or drizzle. Highs in the lower 50s. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
  
Tonight  Low: 38    Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain. Lows in the upper 30s. Northeast winds around 10 mph.

Today I'd like an omelet with all the fixings.

[LSWrr]

Good morning all,

A friend introduced me to one of his friends that builds model ships and has a train layout.  Well come to find out this guy started his train layout in 1950 and he owned a plastic model factory.  The layout was modeled after 2 rivers so Iron Ore was the prime comodity.  It was an enjoyable evening.  Granted this gentalman is retired and sold his factory, but the various ship owners still go to him to have models of their ship built.  He only builds in HO or N scale.

...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 4 PM EST SATURDAY...

SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TODAY ARE LIKELY TO BE FROM 2 TO 3 INCHES. WITH

HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6

TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE NORTHEAST OHIO INLAND SNOW BELT

AREAS AND NORTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

Fog/Mist 36°F (2°C)

Humidity: 87 % Wind Speed: SW 17 MPH Barometer: 29.95" Dewpoint: 32°F (0°C) Wind Chill: 26°F (-3°C) Visibility: 6.00 mi.

[wetidlerjr]

Good morning ! from Indiana.

01-19-07

[grayfox1119]

Last call for coffee on the East coast....midnight !! It is now snowing, has been for last 4 hours only an inch so far, no big deal at all, although we had 3 cars in an accident on the main route (9) in town on a hill....driving too fast, too close for slippery road conditions...new drivers.

  Had my BP checkup today, 142/80, both arms, so boarderline OK at this time. The new upper limit for borderline hypertension is 135 for Systolic for non Diabetics. CH was OK.

JEFF: I would say that you certainly got your money's worth out of that car.

HOOPLE: Something is wrong son, $17,000 for an 8 year old DG Caravan??? Are you sure you didn't slip an extra 0 in there? You could buy another car for $17,000.

[Hoople]

Wanna talk about car repairs?

Don't get me started. My mom used to have a Dodge Grand Caravan.

We spent $17,000 in repairs, it was 8 years old, and it hadn't even traveled 80,000 miles.

[Paul W. Beverung]

Hi Gang: Well Ididn't go to work again to day. Mary Anns appointment was moved to 5 Feb but I ended up having to go to the dentist. I had a crown come off last night. It looked like it took a part of the tooth but was reattached all right.

Der: I think it was you who asked when was the latest that the Soo locks operated. Actually there were a couple of years in the 70s that they operated along year. They kept shipping through the winter to see if it could be done and how expensive it would be. As it turned out it was possible and economical but the demand became less so the experiment was stopped. At that time they didn't have the 1000 footers that they have now, so all the boats could the smaller Mac Arther lock.

Well it's late and tomorrow I have to go to work. Just 14 more.

Inch: Sad news indeed about the missing railfan. My prayers to his family and for the police. I hope they get the responsible party. We've got a tree down by the Brazos River that has been used to handle those types.

Good Night All

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Grayfox: The parts only cost about $120 total. The labor is high because a Century with a Riviera suspension system is not what you would call a lightly built vehicle. Everything under it is heavy duty. Did I mention that the worn out parts had almost 270,000 miles on them? They lasted a pretty long time. The car is about 13 years old, by modern standards, an antique.

[Anonymous]

We go all the way to 1-15-07 with no snow and now it looks like its going to snow almost every day till Tues of next week. But thats ok gives me more of a reason to spend time in the basement. Of course any season is basement season to me,i'm a 365 day a year railroad guy.

  Jeff seems like you really got by not to bad. You hear some horror stories when it comes to car and truck repairs. Thats why I have always been a leaser, take one a 3 year lease, 36000 miles which I can live with thats the biggest thing with leasing (can you live within those miles if not then you can rack up some big bucks fast at $.10 or .20 amile it adds up fast) I like the idea that I always have a warrenty to back me up if I have problems. Then at the end of the 3 yrs. you pick out a new one and drive away.

 Colby, I know just where your coming from kids can really be rotten to each other. I grew up in the early 60's so trains were still cool almost all my freinds had a train set and a racing track also. I let a few guys at work know about my layout and pretty soon they had told most of the other people at work, and there are a few that will give you a wise *** comment now and then, i just let it roll off my back.

  Man i am stuffed i just ate a whole Subway foot long Tuna sub with a shot of sweet onion sauce, and now its time for bed.(burp!!) should have left off the green peppers.

   Inch: You see all these here boys talking about NO and the colts playing, guess they forgot the big NO team still have to make a very cold stop in Shy Town.

[SOU Fan]

Good morning, All.  I will just have coffee today.  We were fed way too much food at my seminar yesterday.

Sue

Did you try to eat it all or what?

-Smoke

 

[grayfox1119]

 OHHH Oh, I got a bowl of "soup" dumped on my head by Cloe for Supper. She said it was Chicken Soup......I couldn't find any chicken at all in the soup, so I asked her why she just didn't just call it "shadow" soup, because it looked like the chicken walked through the soup with stilts. That apparently was the wrong thing to say today.....did one of you guys make her angry??

JEFF: Eeeeeeeeeeoooouuuucccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhh!!! $495 for Labor alone!!! The parts must have easily doubled that......

SUE: 4" of snow to shovel ???? Don't even bother, drive over it with your 4x4! LOL Cheer up, Spring is only 2 months away.....AND, many people have forgotten this, DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME begins 3 weeks earlier this year, March 11th, and ends 1 week later in the Fall, November 4th. This gives us one more full month od DST. I don't know why they just didn't add one more month between September and October and call it Septober...LOL

[GMTRacing]

Jeff, That's not a bad price. The bushings can be a real bear especially up here in the northeast where they are usually rusted solid along with the pivot bolts.

Sue, With a handle like gearjammer can we infer that you or your husband drive a large truck? we're just now getting some snow that might actually stick if it stays cold enough.

Dick, I can pass the test just fine but I can't drag the stuff around in the time allotted. Can I at least stand outside the door for my morning coffee?

MTL, Brady doesn't need a mansion. With all those rings he's free to stay where he wants, no? He'll probably have a bungalow down the street from Phil Simms and Jeff Hofstedtlers mansions.

    Stuck around late to work on the gearcase from the SW-8 traction motor that we have to straighten. There's no facility at the museum yard and since we have a whole race car shop I just infiltrate what I need to fix. The gearcase grease that was used was unbelievable, even sending it out to our suppliers machine shop for cleaning didn't work too well though it did flood their furnace with molten grease. At least now I can see where all the damage was done during a derailment and cut/heat/weld/straighten as needed. I'm just waiting for the solvent from final cleaning to dry off so I can mark it out. Hope you all have a good evening,  J.R.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Grayfox: My wallet is definately smoking! $495 labor charges. That doesn't include parts. It's a pretty good price though for what was done.

1. Inner and outer control arm bushings replaced.
2. Both strut mount plates replaced.
3. Right CV axle replaced.
4. Both outer tie rod ends replaced.
5. Left lower ball joint replaced.
6. Rear shocks replaced.

Definately a lot less than a new car.

[gear-jammer]

Ok, I guess you are right.  Maybe I will be ready for this by dinner time.  I just got back from shoveling the driveway.    Not all of it.  I was hoping that I could help it melt so that Larry can get the truck up the hill.  My next step is to take the 4 x 4 up and down the hill to break through to the rock.

Later,  Sue

[grayfox1119]

Good afternoon everyone.....temps finally rose to 31.5F a few minutes ago, so it will probably break the freezing mark by 2pm. Snow coming tonight after midnight, about 4" in this area where it is hilly.

Lisa might still be without power in New Hampshire, the southern part of her state got hit hard with ice damage and loss of power. Some people still don't have power yet.

JEFF: Glad to hear your back is OK.....how did the car repair work out? Is your wallet smoking?

RYAN: YOU PASSED!!!!! Great job...did you give this test to your son to see if you beat him? How about the wife?

DER JOHN: After the storm passes by us tomorrow morning, it will really intensify in the Gulf of Maine as it heads Northeast towards NS, so get ready.

Down to the Train room we go, see you guys later,

[ModelTrainLover]

Just got this one in the email a few minutes ago...... host off the presses....

 

Peyton Manning's House In The Sky

Peyton Manning, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven,
God was showing him around.

They came to a modest little house with a faded Colts flag in the
window.

"This house is yours for eternity, Peyton," said God. "This is very
special; not everyone gets a house up here."

Peyton felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up
the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner.  It was a
3-story mansion with a black and gold sidewalk, a 50 foot tall flagpole
with an enormous Saints logo flag, and in every window, a New Orleans
Saints towel.

Peyton looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but
I have a question.  I was an all-pro QB, I hold many NFL records, and I
even went to the Hall of Fame."

God said "So, what's your point, Peyton?"

"Well, why does Drew Brees get a better house than I do?"

God chuckled, and said "Peyton, that's not Drew's house.  It's Mine."

but what about tom bary's house?? 3 super bowls?? 

[pcarrell]

We were fed way too much food at my seminar yesterday.

Sue

Well, I guess this is your chance to make it all right with the world. You're on top, so you've got the lunch bill!

I'll have the Italian Shrimp please Chloe. Thank You. Miss Sue will be accepting the bill this afternoon, but here's a tip for you.

[gear-jammer]

Good morning, All.  I will just have coffee today.  We were fed way too much food at my seminar yesterday.

Sue