Trains.com

Flat Wheel Cafe - Winter '09 Locked

14204 views
371 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Winston-Salem, NC
  • 247 posts
Posted by piouslion1 on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:37 PM

Mookie

Boy - the forum now just about rips the mouse right out of your hand!  What a difference!

Ah yes Miss Mookie, and your presence makes matters all the better

Regards from Roy & Lynda

PL

  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: US
  • 13,488 posts
Posted by Mookie on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:39 PM

piouslion1

Mookie

Boy - the forum now just about rips the mouse right out of your hand!  What a difference!

Ah yes Miss Mookie, and your presence makes matters all the better

Regards from Roy & Lynda

PL

Blush

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 7:55 PM

piouslion1

Mr. Tom

Maybe he just did'nt get to eat as well as we did to day. Perhaps a glass of buttermilk to go with the corn bread would help the guy's disposition at least a little bit.

PL

Perhaps he could also use some "good ol' turnip greens" along with the cornbread and buttermilk (real buttermilk would make it even better). I hope he is not too young to appreciate real food.

Do any of you know the song that has the refrain, "cornbread, buttermilk, and good ol' turnip greens"? That's all that I can remember of it; I am sure that I heard it from WBT in Charlotte fifty-sixty years ago.

After I sent my post this morning, and started to go back to the thread proper, I received that same error message again. I had to log out of the internet altogether and get back on before I could be certain that my wisdom? had been added to the mix.

Johnny

Johnny

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Cedar Rapids, IA
  • 4,213 posts
Posted by blhanel on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 8:07 PM

I suspect that the forum loading is improving as the offending humongous threads drop off the first page.

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Louisville, KY
  • 9,002 posts
Posted by cherokee woman on Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:04 AM

Good Cold Thursday morning.  We were at 10 degrees when I woke up an hour ago; now it's 9 degrees, with a wind chill of at least -2.  

Coffee, juices, hot chocolate, hot cider, and hot water for tea are all ready to go.  On the warmer bar this morning:  turkey bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, grits, cream of wheat, oatmeal, toast, biscuits & gravy, bagels, bear claws, hash browns.  

Everyone have a good day, stay as warm as possible, and take care.  

Remember to dress in layers before going outside.  One of the local reporters, took a t-shirt, poured a little bit of water on it, and laid it on the cold parking lot.  It was totally frozen in 10 minutes.  

Angel cherokee woman "O'Toole's law: Murphy was an optimist."
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Aurora, IL
  • 4,515 posts
Posted by eolafan on Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:22 AM

Good morning CW, I WISH we had temps of +10F here where I am visiting on business in Eden Prarie, MN where it is a very dangerous -20F with wind chills of -35F....BRRRRRRRRRRR.

Everybody please be very careful if you must go out of doors, you can get into really big trouble in this weather with little warning.

Eolafan (a.k.a. Jim)
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Defiance Ohio
  • 13,324 posts
Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:02 AM

good morning

BRRRRRRR.Matt is on delay for 2 hrs so far.Cw thanks for breakfast.last night saw a ns highhood and 2 other units on a steel train waiting in our siding.going to bundle up if we go outside.(only if needed).tonight is going to be colder yet.

stay safe

joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Cedar Rapids, IA
  • 4,213 posts
Posted by blhanel on Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:11 AM

Good morning, and welcome to today's edition of "How Low Can You Go?"

I hereby report that my local TV station's temperature readout on this computer at work is officially reporting the temperature as -24 degrees.  Before I left home this morning, I checked my digital weather station and my atomic clock- the former indicated -22, and the latter was in "tilt" mode; the readout indicated 0FL (aweful?).Laugh

Our high is only supposed to make it to -5 degrees today- I hope my minivan starts when I leave work (it spent the night in our relatively comfy garage).  The walk from the parking lot to our building entrance was BRUTAL.

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Northern New York
  • 25,024 posts
Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:20 AM

How low can we go?   Yesterday's low was -22F at my house and at our official reporting station (the airport).  High yesterday was in the low single digits.

Low overnight was in the mid-teens below zero, and the high today isn't supposed to be far above zero.

And more of the same tonight, and for the rest of the week.

My truck also spends its nights in the garage, which is often 20-30 degrees warmer than outside even though it's not insulated.  Had to put in a new battery not long ago, so starting isn't an issue these days, even after spending the day in the parking lot at work.

One thing one has to watch for in this cold weather is remembering not to take a nice, deep breath when you step outside.  One breath won't freeze anything, but it sure frosts your nose hairs.....

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Louisville, KY
  • 9,002 posts
Posted by cherokee woman on Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:25 AM

 At 8:24, we're at 7 degrees above zero, with a wind chill of -11. 

Angel cherokee woman "O'Toole's law: Murphy was an optimist."
  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Denver / La Junta
  • 10,820 posts
Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:09 AM

At 10 pm we in Denver were at 30 above while North Platte was 12 below. The Alberta Clipper is due to arrive today and dump us in the basement with the rest of midwest.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:42 AM

mudchicken

At 10 pm we in Denver were at 30 above while North Platte was 12 below. The Alberta Clipper is due to arrive today and dump us in the basement with the rest of midwest.

I'm glad I am not on the Front Range. I wish I could send the warmer weather we have east, but you do not want the gunk that is going to accumulate in our air in the next few days. It's not good to breathe. When you live in a bowl, high pressure can keep the exhaust from people and everything else from dispersing, and it makes life difficult for nayone with a breathing problem. We have the Wasatch to the east and north, the Oquirrhs to the west, and more mountains (I do not remember their names) to the south.

Johnny

Johnny

  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: US
  • 13,488 posts
Posted by Mookie on Thursday, January 15, 2009 8:47 AM

Well, looks like the state of economy in Nebraska is going to get a whole lot better.  Everyone north of us is going to be moving down here for our weather!  Big Smile

We are having winter in January - yes it is 6 below right now, but - the sun is shining, there is a tiny bit of snow on the ground - mostly from a shoveling several weeks ago, and they are predicting 48 by next Tuesday!  (Ought to hold the inauguration here!) 

Recession isn't as bad here as rest of nation.  Bring your bikes - gas tax is out of sight.

Will go and sweep the welcome mat! 

La Moo

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Muncie, Indiana...Orig. from Pennsylvania
  • 13,456 posts
Posted by Modelcar on Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:46 AM

Status in Muncie this morning......It was 0.3 F at my first check this morning and then dropped at sunrise to -3.7 degrees.....Our projected high for today is "0".  Wind chill is a factor too....up to 25 mph winds possible sometime today.  But  a bright spot....!  The sun is shining brightly and the heat coming thru the windows from it is very warm....That helps.

Looks like we'll be in Artic conditions thru Sunday.  And not above freezing until about Wednesday.

New battery in my little truck in 2007 too Larry so that should keep the starter doing it's job.  Have a full tank of fuel too....helps to try to prevent  water forming in the tank.  Our garage seals well too and has an insulated garage door plus all walls and ceiling are insulated just like the house....Actually, my garage entrance visible in Avatar.

But this is critical winter stuff and eveyone must be careful.  I don't try to challenge it as I did as a young fellow some years ago....

Quentin

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Rockton, IL
  • 4,821 posts
Posted by jeaton on Thursday, January 15, 2009 10:28 AM

Reported -12 as of now, temperature suposed to go up to nothing as a high.  That is the "official" on-line number, but the reading on the house is about -18.  I'll go with the warmer number.  The pups usually run around the area of the back yard for at least a few minutes, but this morning they were out-take care of business-in.  Then they look at me like "When do we get indoor plumbing?"

Snow banks at the bottom of the drive are now in the 5 foot range.  Getting to the point where a preiscope is needed to check for traffic on the street.  Good thing there is no more snow in the forecast, as it is getting to the point of needing a dump truck and front end loader to make more room.

At any rate, I am glad that I don't have to leave the house.  Even with an inside job, a trip from a parking spot to the door cannot be fun.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Cedar Rapids, IA
  • 4,213 posts
Posted by blhanel on Thursday, January 15, 2009 12:26 PM

We've got a nice bright sunny day here as well, but the mercury sure isn't responding to it.  Temp readout on PC currently shows -17 degrees.  At one point around 9 AM this morning it read -28.

At least there's no wind to speak of...

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Louisville, KY
  • 9,002 posts
Posted by cherokee woman on Thursday, January 15, 2009 12:26 PM

I'm not sure what our current official temp is, but on our indoor/outdoor thermometer, it's reading is 12.4 outside.

I'm glad I made a humongous pot of beef stew and about the same size pot of vegetable beef soup yesterday.  There's still plenty enough of both for our lunch and supper tonight, here in the Cafe.  And I just took a couple of large cast iron skillets of cornbread out of the oven.  

Jay, guess I'd better bundle up and take our dog, Winter, out so she can do her business again. Sure do wish we had a doggie door for her!

 

Angel cherokee woman "O'Toole's law: Murphy was an optimist."
  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: US
  • 13,488 posts
Posted by Mookie on Thursday, January 15, 2009 12:41 PM

They trained cats to use litter; they even trained them to use the human litter and flush when done.  Did anyone ever talk to the dogs and discuss using litter inside instead of having to go out?  I am sure that if you approached them in the right way, they would see the logic of not going outside during rain, snow, sleet, etc.  Especially tiny dogs and short hairs.  Unlike Mudchicken's dogs that given a shovel, have enough energy to scoop as they......  yup.....

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Northern New York
  • 25,024 posts
Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 15, 2009 12:45 PM

Still below zero here.

I can identify with the high snowbanks thing.  Fortunately I know the town highway people and can get them to wing it down, even if I do have some serious digging to do to re-clear the end of the driveway.

One of my neighbors now has a small farm tractor with a snowblower on it.  He likes to play with it, so I have no problems at all these days.  He's even gotten the driveway for me once or twice when I wasn't there to do it myself.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: Rockton, IL
  • 4,821 posts
Posted by jeaton on Thursday, January 15, 2009 1:47 PM

Larry, nice to have a neighbor like that. 

 My daughter was born in January 1978, the winter of 6 feet of snow accumulation in the Chicago suburb where we lived.  My driveway into the garage in the lower level of the house sloped down about 4 feet below grade and the snow was piled up another 4 feet above grade.  One night the wind came up and and filled it all in.  Thought I would never get out, but during the night someone with a pick-up and snow plow cleared it out.  Never heard from the good Samaritan.

The sun is shining, but not too strong.  Still -8 and I don't think it is going to get up to the forecasted nothing.

Mookie, my pups are a pair of minature Doxies, Sassy and Molly. We got them after Fritz died from complications of diabetes last spring. Sassy is 4 years old and obviously has experience with snow and cold, so she reacts to yukky weather the same way I do.  Molly is 7 months and loves to go jumping around in the deep snow.  However with at least a foot on the ground, I have run the snowblower over the patio and some of the back yard.  Since they are both only about 6 inches tall, we didn't want them to get lost.

"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics

  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: Lombard (west of Chicago), Illinois
  • 13,681 posts
Posted by CShaveRR on Thursday, January 15, 2009 4:30 PM

Mookie
Unlike Mudchicken's dogs that given a shovel, have enough energy to scoop as they......  yup.....

They also tamp, line, and surface when they're done.

Woke up to an official temperature of -6 this morning (the 4:00 a.m. reading at O'Hare); it degenerated to -10 by 7:00 (Jim, you're not missing much; they gave the Aurora temperature as -24).  My thermometer at work read warmer than O'Hare for the most part, and I watched it struggle to reach -0.2 shortly after noon.  However, by the time I left work it was back down to -3.1.  The Bug at home is now showing -9.4; it never went above -1 today..

We had a couple of switch malfunctions at work (one solved with a broom; another was more involved), but still managed to lower the count in the receiving yard.

Tonight we're expecting to dive down to the mid-teens below zero, but should break through into positive territory about noon tomorrow.  Just in time for more snow on Saturday.  Both the Proviso Yard and the Shaver (front) yard are running out of places to put it all!

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: Defiance Ohio
  • 13,324 posts
Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, January 15, 2009 4:52 PM

afternoon

Well  Carl we have the snowpile at the end of our street that keeps getting bigger and bigger.Matt is already delayed 2 hrs for tommorow.CSX is looking for room for cars in the yard.(probably more Maw cars have arrived).Cw thanks for supper.Yes going to bundle up for work tonight for sure.

stay safe

joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: Rock Springs Wy.
  • 1,967 posts
Posted by miniwyo on Thursday, January 15, 2009 5:22 PM

Howdy all!

Wow, it sounds like the tables have turned! The last 2 or 3 Januarys we were having lows down near -40, and highs near -10. Then add in the winds we get here! That kind of weather is a normal January Today It was almost 40 degrees and sunny. I actually drove through town with the window open and washed the truck! (with the window closed that is....)

RJ

"Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go." The Explorers - Rudyard Kipling

http://sweetwater-photography.com/

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • From: Cedar Rapids, IA
  • 4,213 posts
Posted by blhanel on Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:13 PM

Recap of the day from here- we struggled to reach a high of -9 degrees, after setting an official all-time record low temperature of -29 degrees this morning.  Tomorrow morning could break that record.  My weather station here at home indicates a current temp of -13.9 already.  The heat wave is just around the corner, though- supposed to get up to +8 tomorrow afternoon.  Woo-hoo!

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Denver / La Junta
  • 10,820 posts
Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:22 PM

CShaveRR

Mookie
Unlike Mudchicken's dogs that given a shovel, have enough energy to scoop as they......  yup.....

They also tamp, line, and surface when they're done.

Oh man am I missing something! Must be something with The Scottish Terrier Union, Local One. I can't even get 'em to go in the same general direction, much less in a straight line.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: US
  • 13,488 posts
Posted by Mookie on Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:26 PM

mudchicken

CShaveRR

Mookie
Unlike Mudchicken's dogs that given a shovel, have enough energy to scoop as they......  yup.....

They also tamp, line, and surface when they're done.

Oh man am I missing something! Must be something with The Scottish Terrier Union, Local One. I can't even get 'em to go in the same general direction, much less in a straight line.

You got the independent ones.  They made them and then broke the mold.

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

  • Member since
    January 2006
  • From: Sacramento, California
  • 420 posts
Posted by SactoGuy188 on Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:03 PM

Good evening everyone. Thanks for the big pot of beef stew! Dinner

By the way, here's the temperature in my area:

 

(I better run before all the people suffering from the cold snap pelt me with big snowballs Whistling )

  • Member since
    December 2001
  • From: Northern New York
  • 25,024 posts
Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:17 PM

SactoGuy188
(I better run before all the people suffering from the cold snap pelt me with big snowballs Whistling )

Too cold - the snow won't pack.

Computer recorded about 5 above at 3 pm, but the sun was out and that tends to skew the sensor upwards, even though it is in a shelter.  I'm betting on an even zero.

Right now I've got -14.6F, and it's still early.  Gonna be a cold one tonight.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Winston-Salem, NC
  • 247 posts
Posted by piouslion1 on Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:23 PM

 

Hey Sac: 

Thank you for sharing your good fortune with us folks out here in the places of Winter.Sigh

The warmpth from Miss Paulas' soups and stews Yeah!!are almost as famous as the great and wonderful Wow!!taste of her cornbreadBow (that is the yellow kind that comes in both plane and sweetened varieties).

Come to see us when you can,

PL

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Muncie, Indiana...Orig. from Pennsylvania
  • 13,456 posts
Posted by Modelcar on Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:26 PM

Right now for us:  -7.1.......Wow, that's at 10:26 pm.

Quentin

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy