Running Bear’s October 2020 Coffee Shop

[Boris]

Good evening y'all.

Ken: FWIW, when I had my pre-op Covid test, it took five days fro someone to convey the results to me...doesn't mean they weren't ready, but that once the test is completed, there is no urgency to notify the person eagerly awaiting the results. Concerning your GP40 thread, I need some time to read it. I like the result seen in your photos. Still debating on whether I want a Chessie B&O Cabin from Tangent, BTW.

Today the wife and I took advantage of the beautiful afternoon, to go over to the Reservoir for a walk. In a milestone, of sorts, I was able to walk 1.4 miles at a reasonable pace. That's the longest sustained walk since my knee replacement. Of course, oce home I retreated to the recliner and iced the knee, while I took a nap.

Broadside photo of Lima LRS12 remotored with an EMD 567 from a retired E7. This engine and sister finished their days shifting passenger cars at Race St, in Philadelphia.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good evening, everybody ...

Boris .... Those are interesting photos of Reading and PC .... The re-powered Baldwin is remarkable.

Tom O ..... you are doing great making trees like that.

Lee ..... I like seeing your intermodal pictures.

...

I completed the P2K NP Mather stock car, and it looks like the GN stock car I made several months ago. For each of them, I made my own grab irons out of wire because the plastic ones are too fragile for me to work with. They break.

 

[tootnkumin]

Here’s a few pics of some Piggybacks I took last month at Dupo

Spine cars eh, didn't think they still existed. were built to run in groups of 3 or 5 generally with the end ones only having couplers, middle cars sharing a truck between. Had a 5 car set years ago. They use them also in Queensland for containers but with a full flat deck.

 

[tootnkumin]

Good Morning All. Clear, almost full moon and 61° on the SFW estate. September went out with a very warm 91° yesterday, back to normal mid-70's to mid-80's for the next ten days, no rain in sight. Household tasks filled my morning yesterday, and I did some minor yard maintenance after lunch. During my daily walk yesterday morning, I met the wife of the newest neighbor down the road. She is the one who actually owns the land (100 acres ±), having inherited it in 1991. Pretty young lady in her late 50's who seemed to be a lot more friendly than her husband. It was only her third trip out there since inheriting it years ago. Her older sister (and husband) who lives about three miles away has been taking care of it all these years. She was checking on the progress of the new house (big one) that they are building back in the woods. First new home being built in our area in over 15 years.
Working on the weekly grocery list this morning in preparation for the grocery/beer trek to the "big city". Looks like added stops at the vitamin shop and wine store are on the list. Wife is continuing to make progress in her knee replacement recovery, she drove to the mailbox and back yesterday, 2.25 mile round trip for the first time in six weeks.

New Coffee Shop looks nice with that Octoberfest look to it, Flo. I see fresh pumpkin pies over in the pie case as well. Maybe I'll just have a slice of that along with a couple of over easy eggs and a handful of bacon this morning.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding yesterday's progress report; Lee, Guy, Karl, Garry, Patrick, Joe, Chad, Tom O, Phil, Jerome, Curt, Justin, Chet, Tom, Jerry.

Out in the train shed yesterday, progress continued. Mostly ground cover here and there. Note the unpainted switch machine here, I had to replace the original one because after two years, it quit working properly. I'll hand paint it even though it will be completely hidden by the plastics factory on the near side of the tracks.
View attachment 117902
Included here are two culvert pipes.
View attachment 117903
View attachment 117904
Added gravel to the storage area behind the auto body shop.
View attachment 117905
And over on the workbench, I started with the windows on the DPM structure after finishing all of the concrete trim.
View attachment 117906
That's ten down, maybe twenty more to go.
Ran a train through the recently ballasted trackage to ensure that all switches worked as planned and that I left no residues on the track.
View attachment 117907
I took another shot of this train as it rounded the peninsula at the other end of town.
View attachment 117908

Ken - Google Homemade Cricket Traps to alleviate your cricket issue.
Lee - Another neat picture post of your O gauge layout.
Garry - That sure is a great looking train station in Nashville. I don't believe that I had ever seen it or a picture of it before. But I do take IH440 when traveling through Nashville and the station is probably closer to IH40,
Sherrel - I was absolutely floored when I saw the average gasoline price in CA on Stuart Varney's show the other morning. Here it is still in the ~ $1.80 range. And last week I got a 60¢ per gallon discount using my Kroger gas points on a 14 gallon fill-up.
Chet -
"Get the old eyeballs ready for the windows."
Ready and waiting; see above.

Everybody have a great day.

This has got to be for you mate (and Sherrel if he's still reading)

 

[2Tracks]

Good morning all, welcome to FRIDAY!
Love the new place! The smell of new paint, bacon & Willies, er, uhh, what ever that is, makes a person feel right at home.
Flo, a cup of deer camp coffee please, and keep it come'n..........

Great pics, & vids to start the new coffee shop.

the plastic ones are too fragile for me to work with

Garry, I totally agree. I have several of these cars, I really like the detail on them, I think I've had more breakage on the roof walk grabs than on the sides. Making one's own is a good idea, I recently picked up a grab iron jig, I'll give making them a try.

I haven't really looked on this site about the subject of vandalism, tagging, graffiti, or what ever one want's to call it, also not sure how many "modern" model railroaders there are, has to be some, anyway this pic is for you.....

Even if I did model modern, I myself would have no graffiti on any of my rolling stock. I just don't care for it, no matter how prototypical it is!
Those boys certainly did put forth some effort to get'r painted!

Everybody be safe, have a great weekend!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Perfectly clear with a full moon still shining brightly and 51°. The moonrise last night was particularly spectacular here on the prairie. The sound of nearby coyotes lent a special ambiance to the evening.
No problems yesterday on the grocery/beer trek. All went well; I spent less than expected and found only one product outage. My wife wanted a package of caramels that were on sale, and that (no surprise) they were out of. She planned to use them in holiday baking. The trip to the wine store also went well, I found all six items on my wife's list without asking for help. There are at least 10,000 bottles of Cabernet to choose from. The $120 was not bad as all of the bottles were on sale. I got off light, the lady checking out ahead of me spent $1100!

How about a stack of blueberry pancakes with a quart of maple syrup, and a side of bacon for me this morning Francine. I see that Flo is working the curbside pickup this morning.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the layout progress; Lee, Karl, Sherrel, Jerome, Troy, Patrick, Chad, Phil, Curt, Joe, Ken, Garry, Gary, Ray, Jerry.

Out in the train shed yesterday, progress was good but not too photogenic. I painted more windows on the DPM structure, two walls are complete. I added more ground cover and tidied up some ballast in the current project area. Tested all switches in the newly ballasted track; all are functioning properly including the replacement switch machine. I used a machine in that location because it's behind a structure, thus using a ground throw would not be practical.
Reset the Superior Auto Body shop and added some barely visible scratchbuilt tool cases inside.

Ooops! I need to add a license plate to that van.

Hoping to reset the plastics factory on the other end today, and then work on some Insta-Fence to go around the D's Diner parking lot. And of course, more window painting.

Troy -

Ugh. Lots of fiddly little parts.

If you modeled in HO, then they wouldn't be so little!
Sherrel - Great news about Kate's progress.

Glad to hear that Arlean is improving. This one seems to be a little more cantankerous than prior - is that assumption correct?

Arlene also lost 60 pounds, but it took her 16 months. It's like sleeping with a new woman. While this recovery is just a bit more cantankerous than the last, at five weeks she has equaled her progress from eight weeks on the other knee replacement. So this recovery is much more rapid. She is only using the ice water circulator for maybe three hours a day, and no more nighttime hookups. Hasn't used the cane in almost a week. Doctor says that every knee on every person is different, even on the same person. On one hand, I wish that she had had it done ten years ago, but when using company insurance, I would have had to pay a hefty deductible. Two knee replacements now using Medicare and supplemental insurance resulted in NO out of pocket costs. Still have the monthly premiums though.
Tom O - Nice work on the dumpsters and trees. Even using pre-made armatures, I still hate tree making. Using that frying pan might make it somewhat easier for me.
Ken - Regarding Covid-10. Around here, mask compliance is nearly 100% in stores and other public places. I have not been to a private gathering in over seven months, but friends who have been, have told me that mask compliance is rather sketchy. I am pretty religious about wearing mine. It appears that someone in a position of power should have listened to his own advisors. Wearing it in a pocket doesn't do the trick! Good luck with your test results.

Well, that's it for this morning. Everybody have a great Friday and an awesome weekend. Stay safe and wear your mask when among others.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Not much happening on this cool crisp Friday morning. Currently 40* this morning with a high today expected of 70. It will be a nice day to get the mowing done.

We'll be babysitting the grand dog this next week. He's a little crazy, but extremely loveable. He's a people dog that is extremely good with kids. When we got him from the shelter (he was going to be my dog except the grand daughter wanted him) he was called Snuggles. A 55 pound shepherd mix named Snuggles. What else can I say...lol

Have a good weekend. I'm hoping for some train time.

 

[troyphoto]

Morning all.

Still up to my ears in editing. Didn't get near as far as I expected yesterday, due to Mother in law stopping by for lunch. Since Wife and I both work from home, and we're two miles from where MIL gets her car serviced, we're the logical stopping place to avoid the waiting area.

Think I'll grab a donut on the way to get cat food for the fuzzy editor. He's been slacking, and not keeping me on track, though. Don't know why I feed him? Oh, yeah... I can sneak a donut on the way to get a bag of cat food.

WILLIE: think of the fiddly bits this way... they might be bigger in HO scale, but I get way more of them to cuss at in N-scale. Helps stimulate the blood vessels and burn calories.

 

[Boris]

Good morning y'all. 54° and cloudy...

Garry, Jerry and Willie: Nice photos.

Current Affairs, today's lesson is practice good judgment, not impulse.

Yesterday, I met a personal goal. This morning, I ache all over.... This too shall pass.

Today's agenda, is Pet Smart for cat stuff, Shoprite for groceries. Have to go early, as tonight marks the beginning of the Jewish Feast of Sukkot, which will mean increased crowding at ShopRite. That community is reportedly having a spike in Virus.

 

[TrucTrain55]

Good Morning all. 42 degrees in the Ozark Foothills. Flo. Hot Bowel of Cream of Wheat and Raisin Toast.

Ken. Thanks for the complement on the pics. Your right is hard to run those in 1/87 scale I’ve tried it I just don’t like it much I’m like you I like the earlier stuff

Joe. Nice pic again

Curt Garry Thanks for the complement glad you like them and Garry. Nice pic of the cattle lot.

Toot. The run those spine cars a lot through St.Louis I see them all the time

Patrick. Good luck with the dog next week


Wille. Nice pics of your buildings your putting them out at a good pace

Thanks for the complements and likes yesterday no train time of bench work another busy week for me but that’s a good thing. Here’s some more Intermodal pics I’ve took.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning this bright but cold So. Central Wisconsin morning. The weather channel on the IPadPro shows it being 37f degrees. We did have our 1st frost last night, it may get to 50 today.

Thanks for the trees and dumpster comments. I now have some weathering pencils and was trying them out last night on another dumpster, not ready for pictures.

keN are these the restaurant type dumpster you talked about?

these come from Walthers. Pack of 3 in HO for $6.00

I maybe planting the trees today, maybe pictures tomorrow.

We received the new coverage sheets for our supplemental health coverage and Terry is yellow hi-lifting the many changes. Our fitness center finally is Silver Sneakers qualified.

When your advisors tell you this is what we recommend and you don’t listen, well that’s one on you. It is like what happens when we don’t listen to the spousal unit. Thankfully our refusals to listen to spousal advice doesn’t effect a nation.

Wear your masks, wash your hands often, social distance, you know all the stuff you have been doing since March
TomO

 

[truckdad]

Good Morning all. 42 degrees in the Ozark Foothills. Flo. Hot Bowel of Cream of Wheat and Raisin Toast.

Ken. Thanks for the complement on the pics. Your right is hard to run those in 1/87 scale I’ve tried it I just don’t like it much I’m like you I like the earlier stuff

Joe. Nice pic again

Curt Garry Thanks for the complement glad you like them and Garry. Nice pic of the cattle lot.

Toot. The run those spine cars a lot through St.Louis I see them all the time

Patrick. Good luck with the dog next week


Wille. Nice pics of your buildings your putting them out at a good pace

Thanks for the complements and likes yesterday no train time of bench work another busy week for me but that’s a good thing. Here’s some more Intermodal pics I’ve took.



View attachment 117935View attachment 117936View attachment 117937View attachment 117939

LEE How do you like that Mack? When you get a chance, can you measure the width of the cab? Window to window?

 

[TrucTrain55]

LEE How do you like that Mack? When you get a chance, can you measure the width of the cab? Window to window?

Dave that was my old truck and I loved it but I like the up front axle better. I drive this one now and it has the same cab I’ll get you some measurements when I can

 

[gseritt]

Well, after over 500 transactions on ebay it finally got me. Against my better judgment, I messed up and purchased one of those older "new in the box" bachmann 611 j class locomotives. I knew going in to it that it would probably need a bit of love to get it going but .... have any of you ever seen anything like this "new in the box" ? That is what appears to be dried mud. The headlight doesn't even come on.

it looks like it died in hurricane Katrina. Well, I guess that's life (or death for this particular unit)

 

[GeeTee]

Well, after over 500 transactions on ebay it finally got me. Against my better judgment, I messed up and purchased one of those older "new in the box" bachmann 611 j class locomotives. I knew going in to it that it would probably need a bit of love to get it going but .... have any of you ever seen anything it looks like it died in hurricane Katrina. Well, I guess that's life (or death for this particular unit)

I think your right , it looks flood damaged , unfortunately its got one of those pancake motors in it , I have Bachmann Reading 2-8-0 s with a pancake in it . it ran ok 20 years ago , but after sitting for 20 years it was hopeless. Its a shame because the boiler detail is pretty good .

 

[Espeefan]

Well, after over 500 transactions on ebay it finally got me. Against my better judgment, I messed up and purchased one of those older "new in the box" bachmann 611 j class locomotives. I knew going in to it that it would probably need a bit of love to get it going but .... have any of you ever seen anything like this "new in the box" ? That is what appears to be dried mud. The headlight doesn't even come on.View attachment 117942View attachment 117943 it looks like it died in hurricane Katrina. Well, I guess that's life (or death for this particular unit)

Get your money back. Looks like it has the old Pancake motor too. Even if it were perfect it wouldn't pull squat. If the seller won't make t right, open a case with e-Bay. That's BS!

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Hello Model Railroaders out there in Forum Land. It's cloudy and cool here in this part of Wisconsin.

I'm finally back from my quarantine at the cabin since my wife tested positive for the Corona Virus 19 and Cathy is in the non-contagious stage of the virus, so it's safe for me to be around her again. Sure is boring living in a cabin in the woods alone. I may of lost 10 pounds living on my cooking! Cathy is improving and has most of her strength back, but no taste or smell as most people experience who have contracted the virus. Cathy sister who lost her husband to the virus, also had the virus. She is redoing her Phoenix home to keep busy. (She actually has four homes in different locations.)

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and kind comments in the Forum for Cathy and myself.

Looks like back to train room tomorrow since I'm since on quarantine until next Friday where I need to keep to myself and avoid people. At the cabin, I mentally worked a switching method and moves for my small yard in the middle of the far dog-bone of the layout. Tomorrow, I try out my ideas out using a switch engine with a modified coupler that will not allow coupling, but I can use the engine as a pusher to get rolling stock into position. (Thanks to Montanan for this idea gained from the use of helper engines on his club's layout.)

Been reading the Threads since I left for the cabin and found some really interesting topics. Garry, like you I avoid graffiti, but have one or two cars with the graffiti. I do admire the artistic talents that some of these vandals exhibit. Interesting waste of spray paint. Our village promoted the painting of murals on the sides on some of the "downtown" buildings. I don't approve of the paintings or the idea that this beautifies the downtown district.

Mural on the side of a historic building in the Village. Terrible!!!!!

I have a couple of wood kits that I may build at the kitchen table to keep busy. It's been awhile and I do enjoy working with the wood structures.

"The moonrise last night was particularly spectacular here on the prairie." -Willie was quoted as writing.

Willie: At the cabin on a couple of nights the moon lite coming in the cabin's skylights actually woke me up. The Northern Lights were on display, but I didn't venture out to watch them. I'm surprised that the wolves and coyotes were quiet.

Garry: Great scenes from your layout. I have the Walther's stock pens like yours, but no where to install it on my layout....maybe on the planned expansion?

That's all for now......

Greg

######################



A beat-up Rock Island locomotive patched for the CM&N. The strobe on the cab is a 1.5 volt lamp in a hollowed out beacon from Details Associates.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out with some inside chores then started "planting" bushes on the back drop finally finishing the last 5' on the left side. I can finally take a break from the bushes at least for a couple of days. Tomorrow I need to spray fencing (vinyl) and parts of the driveway and sidewalk with a diluted chlorine wash. Fun times.

Greg- Nice layout shot.

Ken- When I did 4 TOFC cars I used BB's that I glued on the bottom for weight.

Joe- Nice photo.

Garry- Nice looking stock cars.

Jerry- I don't much like graffiti either.

Patrick- The dog is probably good for your granddaughters protection if ever needed.

Willie- Nice details.

Lee- Nice 1:1 shots.



I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[santafewillie]

Really great to see you back Greg. So glad that you made it through this episode unscathed.

 

[GeeTee]

I can't come inside yet to sniff the paint fumes, because I might be contaminated - I'm still waiting to learn the results from the Covid test specimen that I left at CVS yesterday. The instruction papers said it takes 2 to 3 days for the results to get back; but when I went to the MyChart website where they will post them, it said 2 to 5 days! I hope the results come back sooner than that, because I have a doctors appointment scheduled for Tuesday morning which I've had to postpone once already from two weeks earlier. I decided to get this test because of the crowds of millennials without masks who attended my daughter's baby shower last Saturday.

When things picked up around here they were giving free testing , but the results took 5 days. The virus would incubate in about 3 or 4. I couldn't see the point in standing in line for an hour with a bunch of potientially infected people , so some one could shove a telephone pole with a mattress wrapped around the end up my nose , to tell me 5 days later what I already knew.

I figured if I stood in line for an hour at the testing site , I wouldn't need a test. I'd need a hospital room .