Running Bear’s October 2020 Coffee Shop


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Good Afternoon Everyone here on the Forum. Sat outside in the sun for a 15 minutes in hopes my need to buy some thing related to model railroading would pass. I had watched a few video of Ken Patterson's "What's New" and I liked a guy who did a mountain side in less than an hour. But granted, he had everything at his finger tips and prepared so it didn't take too long to finish. But, it was fun to watch and I did get a couple of ideas.

I came into the house and sat back down at the computer and the need to purchases was still there.....! The guy doing the video used a ballast spreader and it worked so well that I need to buy one from Amazon. I use a metal tablespoon to do ballasting after I applied white glue to the sides of the cork sub-road bed to hold the loose ballast in place. The ballast spreader eliminated the need for the white glue. I have two or three long stretches of track and the Interchange that need ballast and I've been putting off this task. I don't mind ballasting, but lately my back starts to hurt after standing for a while and this spreader will speed up the process of ballasting.

I mixed my own blend of Woodland Scenics fine ballast colors using black, red and gray. I used mostly gray in the mix, but since forgot the ratio of the colors I used. I did mix enough to finish this section of the completed layout and the expansion will have its own color blend.

I realized today that I have too much rolling stock and the expansion of the layout is a must for this fall. This this does stop me from buying more pieces. Nor buying engines. I remember being at Jim Hediger's house and he had a couple of large display cases mounted on a open wall in his layout room.

A perfect fall day here in Wisconsin. I love being at the cabin and opening the sliding doors at each end of the cabin to allow the fresh air to filter through. I hope this weekend is the same as today. Lots of field mice this year and I set four traps in the cabin on my last trip there and have I bait bricks to set this weekend. The mice love living under the counters and under the cabinet under the bathroom sink. Cathy doesn't mind the rodents, but I had old gf's that at the mention of a mouse would panic.

Curt:
Speaking of doing the laundry....when I was single and lived in apartment, the washers and dryers were in the basement in a small room. There were two washers and dryers for 12 units so it was important to stay with your wash or else someone would come in and expect to use the machines if unattended. My neighbor a woman a little older by maybe five years than me suggested that we take turns watching the laundry and it was too much later that we started to have a few beers during the process and watched the washer go around while we talked. Tuesdays were our laundry days.

I missed apartment life and my wife and I lived in that apartment for two years before building (a almost finished house) and moved in the fall during October. It will be 43 years that we have lived in this house.

Time to move on since I am out of subjects to tell readers about.

Greg

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Here's one that's not too dirty.

A damsel, seductive and handsome
Got wedged in a sleeping room transom
When she offered much gold
For release, she was told
That the view was worth more than the ransom

Stolen from Oliver Hereford.
Not too dirty? Not dirty at all! Observe:

There was a young man from Madras
His balls they were fashioned of brass
When jangled together they played "Stormy Weather"
And lightning shot out of his ass 😈
 
Swine flu, 12,500 deaths
COVID, 208,000 deaths

They count the Corvid differently. Even if a person dies in a car wreck, but is positive for Corvid-19, they count it as a Corvid death. Many of the people that have passed away had underlying conditions. This id from the CDC from a while back. The media has a habit of only reporting what they choose.
thumbnail_FB_IMG_1598791730935.jpg thumbnail_FB_IMG_1594421028016.jpg

Hope this isn't political.
 
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In a probably futile attempt to get everybody’s minds out of the gutter, here is a solution I came up with to combat the problem of cars rolling off their storage shelves, and splatting on the floor.
It may not be elegant, but it is effective. A thin beaad of hot glue along the edge of the shelf:
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They count the Corvid differently. Even if a person dies in a car wreck, but is positive for Corvid-19, they count it as a Corvid death. Many of the people that have passed away had underlying conditions. This id from the CDC from a while back. The media has a habit of only reporting what they choose.
View attachment 118067 View attachment 118068

Hope this isn't political.
Um, nope. This has been debunked to death.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/cdc-did-not-admit-only-6-of-recorded-deaths-from-covid-19/
 
In a probably futile attempt to get everybody’s minds out of the gutter,

I will have you know that my mind is not in the gutter! At least not at this moment! 🤫

Give me a few minutes, I could slip!!

Nice trick there Terry, But why is it called Hot glue, when it has obviously cooled by now! Kinda like people say they have a hot water heater, but hot water doesn't need heating!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled trains!!

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Western Maryland Rwy 4-8-4 "Potomac" with a coal drag.
 
I will have you know that my mind is not in the gutter! At least not at this moment! 🤫

Give me a few minutes, I could slip!!

Nice trick there Terry, But why is it called Hot glue, when it has obviously cooled by now! Kinda like people say they have a hot water heater, but hot water doesn't need heating!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled trains!!

View attachment 118070
Western Maryland Rwy 4-8-4 "Potomac" with a coal drag.
Great photo!
 
Morning all. Just coffee please!

I believe I've found the excuse I need to go sneak an Amish donut today. It's about time I pick up some tempered hardboard/masonite to use as backdrop. And the bakery is on the way to Lowes.

Of course, I need 8 ft long pieces, and none of the stores sells 2'x8' sections of it. Can't get a 4ft wide into the car. But a flexible board like masonite will fit.

So, I'll have Lowes will rip it for me. Just find the big saw and push the help needed button.

Decided to upgrade the MacBook to Catalina yesterday. While I was waiting for that to percolate, I took a hard look at the risers on my layout. Decided that where I have the turnout for lower mainline to join upper mainline was in a terrible spot. Ascending and descending grades without enough flat trajectory for everything to mesh. Fortunately, I had enough flat way back in the upper main line to shave a good 8 inches of that out, start the downgrade earlier, and get that 8 inches of flat where I needed it.

the pink section in the foreground is all flat now.

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Morning all,

Supposed to be sunny and 92* today in Doo-Dah. I'm taking Friday off in anticipation of a long week next week. I moving the final database off of a old server to a new one (they're all virtual, so nothing big and shiny). Going to take a couple of days as it is our electronic repository of all things related to the city. I have 3 copies and 4 full backups to play with. The vendor isn't as worried about it as I am, but it is my job to worry as it's on me to make sure it works when completed. He's done many and I've done none, and I am setting it up so it isn't my problem to move it ever again. I'll be retired by the time it need to happen again.
 
Morning fellow rail spikers!
A welcome break with the temp only reaching 92* yesterday and a nice 88* for today's high.
A 20% chance of rain is in the forecast, however that is for the LA area 100 miles to the NW from me and i think it is for tomorrow or later anyway.

KARL - Eye candy superb photo of the steamer this morning.
Terry - That is the first photo of your layout that I have seen - I think?

Time for more coffee!
 
Good Morning! It's a free day today, so I've decided to remain in my pj's for now, kinda like that Playboy guy. - Flo, I hope you don't mind blue-n-white pin stripes, but I need a large coffee as soon as possible, please.
It's still dark outside, and only 37F. The winds are supposed to act up today, so there go's the rest of the leaves off the trees.

I'll be doing something hobby-wise today; I'm in the mood. Funny, how as I got older, I'm more in the mood for a small paint brush and glue, instead of the soft comfort of a women's presence. Lucky for me, my loved one has discovered her own time consuming, tiny flower arrangement hobby, and she will be busy working away at that. She makes stuff for her friends. - All I'll have to do is spray-bomb her 'obliques', as she calls them.

Yesterday evening, I felt like doing something, so I painted up a few figures for future use. The enamel is still wet in this photo:
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I'm particularly partial to the babe in yellow. - The red fellow on the left is a Sylvan offering; a very poor figure, that is more like a blob. All the rest are Atlas, and arn't too bad for being 1/87, or so. - Not sure where I'll use them, but I'm going to see if the sitters can fit into vehicles. Might stuff the blue guy into a GP9 cab.

It's just turning daylight! Maybe I had better get dressed; someone might come to the door. See ya later!
 
Good morning .

Coffee and donuts, please.

Karl .... Your photo of the WM 4-8-4 is beautiful.

Guy ...... Your said you were "partial to the babe in yellow". . If so, I suggest you not allow Sherrel to see her. 😁

Everybody ...... Have a nice Wednesday.
 
Good Morning Everyone. Clear and 62° here in North Central Texas. Another great day in store for this area, maybe a high of 90° with light breezes. Sadly, no rain in the forecast for the next ten days.
Seems like yesterday was a lost day, as I cannot remember doing anything noteworthy until I made it out to the train shed. OK, I did spend over an hour on the phone dealing with Humana Prescription Services regarding them sending my most recent prescription as a "Signature Required" package. The first representative didn't really understand why I was upset after years of hassle-free delivery. My mailbox is 1.25 miles from my house (very rural out here) and I had to make a 25 mile round trip to the post office to sign for it. Then I had to repeat everything to a second, more qualified representative who had to put me on hold while she talked to someone else, etc, etc, etc. She did finally resolve the issue and then I had to deal with changing my credit card information with them since I just got a new number. The card that AMEX mailed to me on September 16 never arrived and it had to be cancelled and a new one issued. So I am having to deal with that issue as well now.

Good morning Flo. I'll have Mel's special omelet of the day today, red chili and sausage with eggs and cheese. Sounds very good!

Thanks for the comments and likes yesterday (and already this morning) regarding the layout photos; Jerome, Patrick, Sherrel, Garry, Phil, Curt, James, Tom O, Lee, Guy, Tom, Rick, Jerry, Gary.

Meanwhile out in the train shed, I continued to work on stuff on the workbench. I got all of the fence posts glued to the Insta-Fence, attached the overhang to the DPM atructure a nd also dabbed it with some weathering powders. Neither one worthy of a picture yet. Over in the project area, I added small amounts of ground cover here and there before the next step of planting structures.
In lieu of progress photos, and judging from many of the recent comments, I took some shots of the small town on the peninsula that one encounters when entering the train shed. It seems that many of the newer Coffee Shop visitors were not here when I did that area about two years ago. I haven't actually named this town yet, as a suitable name has not leapt out a me yet. But here are a few anyway. To set the stage, I built a number of laser-cut wood structures over the years just for this location, first thing that you see at eye-level as you walk in.
Overall view.
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Close up of Jack's Back Yard, a Bar Mills kit loaded with details.
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On the other side of the road is Uncle Tony's meat and vegetable stand. It's another Bar Mills kit called Four Fingered Tony's.
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Here's a closer view during the build stage.
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Next to Tony's is LaBosky's Motorcycle Repair. It comes from JL Innovative Designs.
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View from the crossroads.
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Behind LaBosky's in the white structure is Amos Cutter's General Store. It is also a Bar Mills kit.
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That's all for now, Tour will continue tomorrow.

Dave and others who inquired - Here is a picture of the track on the N scale roadbed without ballast. That's a shadow on the far side, the roadbed is centered as seen on the close side.
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Jerry -
Willie, the pic, coming down "the alley" in Charlottesville, what a good place to play foamer, uhh, I mean rail fan from
Interestingly enough, there is a railfan viewing area in the midst of that block of buildings. I'll put it on my pictures to be taken list.
Sherrel - Sure hope that you don't have termites. And thanks for the information yesterday. It's always good to talk with you.
Guy - Welcome back from your "invisible elk hunt". Those are some fine looking vehicles.
Gary - It definitely looks like a plan. Keep us posted on the progress.
Greg -
I realized today that I have too much rolling stock
Boy, I can sure relate to that.
Karl - Really great picture this morning.

Sad that EVH finally settled his feud with Sammy Hagar the way he did.

Everybody have a wonderful day.
 
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