Running Bear's November 2020 Coffee Shop


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Afternoon All,

Today I did laundry then put on a black wash (craft paint) on the ESF tracks and then after lunch cleaned the track tops and T/O's. The great news is that while laying in bed this morning I had an idea on how to do a reverse loop on the peninsula since the planned wye won't work. The drawing is what I came up with. The area is 9'4" long and 39" wide making a tight (roughly 18") radius necessary but workable at slow speeds. The geometries on the drawing are obviously not right but as a concept it shows that it will work. Sorry for the crappy photo and drawing.

Joe- Thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your potential family heath issues. That cost for the drug is beyond ridiculous. I looked for a generic but my search said there are none.:(

Rich-Interesting track idea. I've thought of trying that but was afraid it wouldn't work out and be a big pain in the rear, but I guess I am wrong again.;)

Karl- I hope you feel better soon and it's not Covid. Cute looking pooch.

Ken- Great looking signage.

Walt- Glad you're doing better.

Warren- Welcome.

Troy- It looks like things are starting to get better for you on the layout.

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I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Joe- Thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your potential family heath issues. That cost for the drug is beyond ridiculous. I looked for a generic but my search said there are none.:(

Curt. Thanks. Final cost $ 1193, for 30 pills. Retail cost is $4773.70, for 30 pills...There are a few others that work in a similar manner, but only one other that comes in pill form, the rest are injectable. Most are priced similarly...First thing is to project out the costs for next year, and find out if there are any plans that are more favorable. The alternative is for going back to less effective infusion medications, which cost a fortune, but are fully covered by Medicare and supplement. Price of non generic drugs is insane... In our case, the cost drops drastically once we have spent $6550.00. Problem becomes one of keeping all the balls in the air until we get to that point.

Warren: Welcome to the Coffee Shop. Tim's it ain't, it's more like Mel's Diner...;)

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Karl: This one's for you. Taken from R Tower across ED Class yard at Rutherford June 1973. Photographer unknown.

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Raleigh, NC Photo by Warren Calloway
 
Good afternoon from Maui. Such a beautiful paradise that my brother now lives here. Since July he has sold his place in Vegas, his place in Arizona as he says other then Italy he wants to stay here. For me and Terry, it’s kind of boring but the weather is top notch.

Medicines, wow those are some prices Boris. I don’t want to know my medicine costs right now. I know the lymes disease put me into the donut hole in August. Hope you wife gets better quick.

Lots to catch up here in the Diner for me.

Soldering, I have an iron from Weller about 40w. I have a Hakka soldering station and I love it for work at the bench. For trackwork, I now use a wireless iron as pictured for about 50 USD. I had been experimenting with a heat gun to solder rail to pc ties and will play again when we get back. Be safe, wear the mask. TomO

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Joe, I just signed up for Amazon Pharmacy. My prescriptions were phenomenally reasonable. Lisinopril was $3.80 for a month's supply, and my migraine meds were $4.47. For those that don't remember, the migraine meds were a couple hundred dollars at other places. I'm going to see what some of the meds my wife needs will cost.
Supposedly, CVS and WAG stocks were both down significantly today.
 
Ken: Great art work...one of these days, will get brave and try printing on my Testors decal sheets. Spraying the interior grey primer is a great idea, Many uses for that stuff. Saves my flat black for other projects..
Joe - The kind words are much appreciated! Do yourself a favor and switch to MicroMark decal sheets for the white-background decal paper. I used the Testors' ones for the longest time and always had a rough time trying to separate the wet decal from the backing paper, sometimes I wound up tearing it (which explains the origin of my habit of printing multiple copies so I'd get more than one attempt!). Never had this problem with the Micromark decals, which slide right off with minimal effort.

Also, the Testor's white decal paper doesn't seem to hold black or other dark colors of inkjet ink very well - it always formed tiny cracks as soon as I sprayed-on the bonder, which compromised the depth of the color. Here's an example of Boxcar Red on Testor's White decal paper that I did for an autorack ~4 years ago:

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...now compare that one with this Dairy Queen logo of roughly the same size, Red on Micromark White decal paper, that I just did this past weekend:
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Both decals were printed using an Epson WF-2750 all-in-one inkjet printer - I've always considered Epson inks to be the most "decal-friendly" of the different brands.

I'm not affiliated with Micromark in any way, just wanted to spare you the heartburn that I had with the Testors white!
 
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Hi Shop Dwellers, it's 40*F with a 20mph NW wind, and light rain sprinkles here in my hometown; not a pleasant evening for an after-dinner walk!

Thanks for all the "likes" and/or kind comments - GT, Joe, James, Patrick, Jerry, Willie, Guy, Chad, Sherrell, Troy, Phil, Karl, and Curt.

I was gonna insert my reply to Joe in this post, but it morphed into a long essay so I decided to keep it separate!

Warren, welcome to the Shop - judging from your avatar photo, this should be just your kind of place!;)

There's a lot of excellent photos being shared and interesting conversations going on, but now I've run out of time to comment on them individually - sorry about that...
 
Joe - The kind words are much appreciated! Do yourself a favor and switch to MicroMark decal sheets for the white-background decal paper. I used the Testors' ones for the longest time and always had a rough time trying to separate the wet decal from the backing paper, sometimes I wound up tearing it (which explains the origin of my habit of printing multiple copies so I'd get more than one attempt!). Never had this problem with the Micromark decals, which slide right off with minimal effort.

Also, the Testor's white decal paper doesn't seem to hold black or other dark colors of inkjet ink very well - it always formed tiny cracks as soon as I sprayed-on the bonder, which compromised the depth of the color. Here's an example of Boxcar Red on Testor's White decal paper that I did for an autorack ~4 years ago:

View attachment 120867

...now compare that one with this Dairy Queen logo of roughly the same size, Red on Micromark White decal paper, that I just did this past weekend:
View attachment 120873

Both decals were printed using an Epson WF-2750 all-in-one inkjet printer - I've always considered Epson inks to be the most "decal-friendly" of the different brands.

I'm not affiliated with Micromark in any way, just wanted to spare you the heartburn that I had with the Testors white!

Ken, FWIW I've never had those issues, and all I have ever used was Testors paper, both white and clear. I also have an Epson Printer, an XP 434. Weird.
 
Ken, FWIW I've never had those issues, and all I have ever used was Testors paper, both white and clear. I also have an Epson Printer, an XP 434. Weird.
Karl, the Testors clear decals usually came out ok for me - that's why I originally used those on my McDonalds billboard sign. It was only the white-backed ones that gave me trouble. I dunno...maybe your XP 434 uses a higher quality of ink? Guess this is just another "YMMV" example.:oops:
 
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Morning all,

Clear and 48° currently with it supposed to be clear and windy (Gusts to 50mph) with a high of 70° today. High fire danger as humidity is about 10% and no rain expected until the weekend.

Started working seriously on my new host servers only to find the manufacturer didn't build them correctly. They included the 7 8Tb drives I specified when I ordered and even put them in the disk holders, but didn't wire the disk backplane for 3 of the drives, so at this point, I can't work on the machines until I can get the wiring for the backplane as losing 24Tb of space is a major deal. Yes I contacted them, but have yet to hear from them. Made the wife happy that it appears I won't be working over the Thanksgiving holiday.
 
Good Morning all! 40 right now, high temp today not supposed to be much more than that. Rain & some snow to continue from yesterday, more rain than snow. Some good heavy rain yesterday, along with strong winds, (gusts expected up to 80mph,) stronger than the storm a few days ago, luckily those gusts passed me by.
Sherrel... you mentioned sending some rain your way, thing is, that's were the satellite pic shows these storms coming from, albeit, over the ocean 🌧🌧 That's as close as I can get for ya......:D
Willie...thanks much for the extra pics of the Green Door, I'd like to have that on my layout! ;)
Alan... nice tank car fleet, (I like fleets.) My start in tank cars was after I had bought a tank car labeled for GN fuel oil (since I'm modeling GN,) and wanted more of those cars. It took me quite awhile (just getting started back into MRR'ing) but I figured out that this first car was a Tichy kit with Champ decals. Well, the Tichy kits easy to get, the Champ decals not so much, but I have collected 3 more decal packs for cars. Always on the lookout for more......
Walt...sorry to hear you had the covid crap, but very interesting on hearing about your symptoms.
Boris...the price of drugs, that is just insane! I hope it works out for you! Love your pics, coffee shop would not be the same with out them! 👍
Warren...welcome to the Coffee Shop..👍

Here is another piece of paper work I found in an, as of yet, unassembled Ambroid kit. Interesting, (at least I think it is,) on Ambroids glue facts......
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Did you notice that there is no mention of model railroad kits, just airplanes?

PROTECT YOURSELF---BE SAFE
 
Morning from the Southwest corner! Cooling off today - only supposed to be 75 degrees.
(wish I could remember to load that little degree sign)

Got the saws all where they belong, did a quick grocery run for some puppy food and drinks for the Spousal Unit. Rod and I cut 24 3/8" x 8' strips for a trellis he is building - still need to cut 12 more but we both ran out of energy - maybe get the remainder done this afternoon. I still have the desk to repair at the SIL's house - I did manage to gather the tools which I will need.

Today have to drive the Spousal Unit to Riverside (50 miles) for her 5 year colonoscopy. That will totally waste the whole morning! The older I get the more I feel that my time is just flat disappears with nothing much to show for it!

Warren - As Karl and others have said- Welcome to the nut farm!
I better run - have to be on the road in half as hour!

OH - Here is a factory pic of the first diesel on the Frisco. The VO-1000 was painted grey, the body blue, white strip, and red lettering - the year was November 1941.
The following shot was October 1979.
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Good Morning All. Clear and 49° here in tranquil North Central Texas. Mild weather until Sunday when another cool front arrives with a possibility of rain. Looks like I may have to dig out the jeans next Monday, rather late in the season for that. But only for a couple of days, back in the mid 70's for Thanksgiving. Getting things ready to send my wife off for another week's vacation on Friday. I'll drop her off at one daughter's house and she'll go with them and my other daughter and their families to Padre Island for a week. I've had enough beach weather; sitting on the shore looking at and listening to waves just doesn't have any allure to me. I'll be able to play my music louder in the house for a week! :) And of course, when dropping her off, I'll be just a couple of miles from Discount Model Railroads, I'll have to pay them a visit on the way home. Getting that shopping list ready right now.

Good morning there Francine. How about a tall stack of blueberry pancakes smothered in maple syrup and a good handful of bacon. Tall OJ to wash it down with this morning.

Thanks as usual for the likes and positive comments regarding yesterday's pictures; Sherrel, Karl, Walt, James, Rick, Chad, Troy, Patrick, Phil, Guy, Ken, Jerry.

Sherrel
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ROD and I spent several hours getting the two saws swapped around. Wound up having to drill new holes for swapping the stands. I wanted to keep my stand and crawling around on the floor in order to replace the nuts, washers, and bolts gave me some extra hurt for today
At least you had a "go fur" to assist. I hate it when I have to get back up to get something else, repeatedly!:mad: Despite the best planning, I never have all of the unexpected tools when I get down.
Walt - As rough as your ordeal seemed to be, it's great that you were able to survive with a positive attitude.
I still ponder the effectiveness of masks. I still religiously wear one when interacting with the general population as an extra layer of precaution. I don't get any social interaction unless I choose to.
Joe - Thanks for noticing the Salvation Army Thrift Store next to the pool hall/lounge.
I haven't seen a Warren Calloway photo that I didn't like.
Patrick - You're welcome. There are a lot of neat gems on that hoseeker site. There are gaps for sure, but they welcome any additional stuff that modelers can offer.
Good luck with the servers.
Jerry - Just post if you wish any more additional pictures of any structure that I post. I'd be glad to oblige.
Neat literature from Ambroid. Goes hand in hand with your "Back In The Day" thread. After the discussion that I have had with Patrick regarding the hoseeker.net website, I wonder whether he might be interested in posting both on the site.
Troy -
Isn't almost everything in the English speaking world North of Texas' border?
Well, except for Toot, but he talks upside down.
Very true! ;) South Africa might be south as well. Gotta blame it on those damn Brits!
Tom O - Enjoy your stay out there. From what I read, he had to sell a couple of homes in order to afford the cost of living in Maui.

While none of my meds from Humana/Walgreens are expensive, there is still the monthly fee that I have to pay for the plan. However it is reasonable and more flexible than Part D. I just hate the thought of having to take so many pills in order to exist! I also often wonder how many are really necessary and how many are really just comfort drugs to me. Acid reflux is a good example. However when I talk with cohorts, I seem to be taking far fewer than many of them are.

Out of time right now, I'll be back with photos and train shed update in about an hour.
Everybody have a great day. Be safe.
 
I have owned various Weller soldering stations over the years both at work and home , all died with a couple of years , currently I use a Hako 986 90% of the time . The 986 is around 10 years old now . For serious smt work I use a Metcal .
 
Good 3:45am from the islands. 5 hours difference from Wisconsin but I still am getting up at Wisconsin time.

Willie—he sold the houses because he loves it so much here but it is expensive for food and housing, IMO. He was very successful back in Marshfield Wisconsin where Mikeinhubcity lives and I worked for the brother for too many years. I really did well but working for a younger brother was tough at times. He and I disagreed about having the more then 1 house at a time but he earned it. He loves to golf and Arizona was too hot this summer for him and because of Covid he couldn’t go elsewhere to play.

Warren—-welcome to the diner

The pictures are great please continue them.

Back to the bed as I will try again to sleep. No trains, no models but paradise is wonderful.

Be safe wear the mask
TomO
 
Good morning fellas,
Beautiful day here in Montana. What a bunch of great reading this morning.

Willie - I am so envious of you having a real hobby shop to go in. I haven't set foot in one for 10 years. I really dislike ordering everything.
Thanks for posting that Hoseeker link, I foresee a lot of my time being spent there.

Jerry - good old Ambroid cement. I loved their kits and I'm pretty sure I have a fossilized tube somewhere hidden.
I was thinking of the old cement's the other day when I was assembling boiler chunks with Tamiya liquid Green Cap, saying a silent prayer being thankful I wasn't using "Goo" cement.

I dug out a box of Diesel locomotives that will never see a track in my house. Are the Proto 2000 series of any quality? Fancy boxes anyway.

Have a productive day!
 
As promised, I have returned. Over the past few days, I have posted about the ongoing MOW supply yard project that I am working on. Here are a couple of early progress shots of the south end.
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I have a jib crane on my shopping list to add just to the left of the pile of ties.
A few odd pieces of rail and some junk ties here.
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I have some track bumpers that I can add. I just do not know whether these were prefabricated and installed, or whether they are commonly built on the spot. Perhaps someone is able to enlighten me before I add them to the scene.
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I also posted that I had added a couple more details to the loading dock at Wayne Feeds.
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As of right now, everything is just temporarily placed as I intend to weather the dock as soon as I get the weathering powders out again.
While on the subject of feed stores, lets tour some more of them as I have a lot of them on the layout, not as many as I have bars though.
Old Mill Feed & Seed is part of a Walther's kit called Farmer's Coop. The other half is a grain elevator.
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Another Walther's kit called Sunrise Feed Mill makes my Lone Star Feed & Fertilizer business.
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This DPM kit called C. Smith Packing House is the basis for Olsen Feeds. While this was once rail-served by the spur out back, in modern times it is only truck served. The spur still terminates at a lumber yard to the left though.
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Next we have a "beginners" Bar Mills kit known as Simpson Feed. On my layout it is Hales Feeds.
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After bars, I think that feed stores or eateries are my most popular businesses.
To be continued.
 
Nearly Noon, here in East Central Jersey, and I'm just getting around to my post. It's only 37° right now up from a low of 30° this morning. The coolest it's been here so far this Fall.

Willie: Love the Feed Store Tour. Concerning bumping blocks, most installations I observed were from kits from one of the suppliers that serve the industry. Home built ends of sidings were a couple loads of dirt or some cross ties.

Tom O: Thanks for the kind words...unfortunately, RA is sort of a lifetime sentence, and the medicine is sometimes as bad as the disease itself.

Thanks for the likes and comments on the photos.

Sifting through the various Part D plans available in my Zip Code, (30 different plans), was an interesting experience. Sifting through the fine print of my existing plan was even more enlightening. For instance, most of the most widely advertised drugs for RA, are Tier 5 drugs requiring prior approval and "Step Therapy", meaning start out with the cheapest and go from there, before we let you have the ones that actually might work. XELJANZ, the most advertised, and prescribed is only $210.16 / month cheaper than Rinvoq. Methotrexate, the most commonly prescribed drug costs $20 for 36 pills (3 months supply), pre-donut hole price. Unfortunately, after 7 years, it's a minimal dose, as it destroys the liver, as well as making one's hair thin out. The infusion treatments are similar to cancer treatments, and create similar side effects, so on one level paying $1200 / month is palatable. The authorization is only good for 6 mos at a time, so the insurance carrier ...at their whim...can pull the plug every 6 months. BTW, the most popular Part D plans, "Walmart - Humana" and "AARP - United Healthcare", do not cover any of the Tier 5 drugs used to treat RA.

Looking ahead to 2021, My current plan may be the best option once we enter the catastrophic phase. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Enough whining, I will spend some time in the trainroom, attempting to build from scratch, the Essington station/ block station from plans from a 1960s era Model Railroader. I recall seeing the structure, which survived into the Conrail era. It was demolished once Conrail went private, and had to start paying taxes again.

PRR Gas car + P70 on Freehold Br. at Freehold 25 June 1956.jpg

Freehold, NJ June 25, 2020, 4667 and P70 coach crossing Mechanic St, enroute from Trenton to Sea Girt, Long Branch and Red Bank, via the Freehold Branch.
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P5a(s) enter Trenton Branch at Morrisville, PA on 11-21-1964. Photo by Max Miller.
 
Good Afternoon all. Some really great weather here on the Gulf Coast.
Getting ready to leave for a curbside grocery pick up, so I won't stay.
Warren - Welcome
Willie -I meant to ask earlier, the Bamboo Hut, were you in Galveston in the mid 60's. The Bamboo Hut was located right on the beach and was mobbed on weekends.
 
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