Running Bear's March 2021 Coffee Shop


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It is nice to see companies look out for employees and not just their profits.
i think if you look at the people to size ratio our locos are puny compared to yours

Our light rail transit isn't that big. Here's the Expo Line from Los Angeles

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Our light rail transit isn't that big. Here's the Expo Line from Los Angeles

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I think you are comparing apples to oranges. I think jaz was showing "commuter rail" which is a heavier passenger rail system bringing people in from further outlying areas into the city.

Here in SLC (Salt Lake City) we have both "light rail" which is similar to what is shown for LA and we also have "commuter rail", which runs on full size normal tracks (generally separate from the UP tracks for freight, but running parallel, but in some places they share trackage rights). While US style, it is more like what jaz showed (and what I see in places like Japan etc).

UTA light rail: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe.../2560px-Green_line_Trax_at_Gallivan_Plaza.jpg

(for more see http://transitinutah.blogspot.com/2011/02/uta-trax-s70-cars.html )

UTA FrontRunner commuter rail: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...g/2560px-Frontrunner_north_temple_station.jpg
 
Good evening. Today was absolutely beautiful, full sun and temperatures in the mid 50s. Unfortunately things will cool down the balance of the week.

Last Thursday, I received an e-mail from the town, advising that they were having a Covid-19 Vaccination (Moderna), on Saturday 2/27, and that there were 200 vaccines available. I followed the link, and logged on to the registration portal and signed myself in. Then I signed my wife in. Friday, the wife received a confirmation phone call, and we were both given a 10:30 AM appointment. Saturday, we drove over to Town Hall, (about 1.5 mile), and waited our turn. counting the 15" time frame after the injection, the process took about 2 hours. We have appointments for the second shot on 3/27.

Willie and Group: Heard from Curt, he is OK, but his Mother is not doing well. Since he is the primary care giver, his time is very limited.

I have been preoccupied with other matters lately, which explains my lack of participation here. Have not spent much time in on the mrr either.

I'll check back when I can.

RS-11s working at E-port 1977.jpg

CR RS-11s working "Hump" job at E-Port Yard, in 1977. E-Port, in Elizabeth, NJ is the former CNJ yard within the North Jersey Terminal. Ultimately functions were removed to Port Newark and Oak Island, and the yard was closed. The RS-11s were ultimately converted into Slugs or scrapped.
CSXT Moonlight Dome #2 Jacksonville FL 02-28-2021.jpg

CSX "Moonlight Dome" as part of the CSX OCS at Jacksonville, FL. Car was built by Budd, for the C&O Chessie, then acquired by the B&O and used on the Capitol Limited and / or Shenandoah, leased to the CN then the ACL for the Florida Special, then acquired by the SCL for use between Miami and Richmond. It was acquired by a private party, and modified, and finally returned home to CSX for extensive modifications and upgrade.
 
Hi Shop Dwellers, we have 47*F and calm under clear skies at my piece of ground in central MD.

Just getting back after a 3-day hiatus, barely even had time to glance at all the pages since Willie opened up the place on Monday.

I'm seeing lots of fantastic photos posted here; only had time to "like" them, not enough time to enter any comments.

. . .
Me, I'm still on 3 waiting lists for the 1st shot. At 60, I've survived a stroke, am diabetic, and 5 years older than her and work 10-12 hour days with the public. Sometimes I think life aint fair, but I'd rather have her get the shot than me.
Karl, I'll see your 3 waiting lists and raise you 5 that I am on: Baltimore County, Johns Hopkins Hospital (since I had my cancer surgery there), my employer (they get doses since they're part of the Defense Industrial Base), my primary care doctor's [corporate] practice, and St. Agnes Hospital (as a former patient). They keep sending me "update" emails which don't tell me anything different from their original message: "You are in the eligible group (1-C), but currently, demand greatly exceeds supply; we'll let you know as soon as we have doses available!" Yeah...uh-huh... 😒

. . .
Chessie-system3: Sounds like you and I have the same problems with DCC decoders. Try re-programming the loco's address and see if that corrects the problem.
. . .
Greg, Justin's layout is DC ;)

* * *


Ok, IIRC - on Saturday morning I posted that I was hoping to get started on experimenting with different mixes and/or densities of "fading" paint on 3 junk shells. Well...when I got out there that afternoon, I discovered that the only Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) paint that I had was a bit of residue at the bottom of the jar, no extra bottles in my "stash" inventory - so that project had to be put on hold until I could find a LHS that actually had some of that color in stock [everybody has it on backorder]. Luckily a Hobbytown ~an hour's drive away had two 10ml jars, so I bought those online for store pickup. [Apologies if I already told you this, I honestly can't remember if I did or not...]

In the meantime, I figured I'd go ahead and install the decoder & speaker since I had a few hours of free time and couldn't do any weathering. I assumed I would have plenty of time to get it done since I've already done a few dozen aftermarket decoder installs...big mistake! I spent all of Monday evening after work, and all of Tuesday afternoon & evening, soldering in all the wires and verifying polarities. Finally got the motor and light wiring done yesterday at ~8:30pm. I set it on the test track, dialed in loco #3, gave it some throttle and...nothing. No movement, no light. I put it on the programming track, and the throttle displayed the dreaded "CANNOT READ THE CV" message. Spent the next hour on the phone with the local DCC guru, who walked me thru all the different things to try on DecoderPro. Finally he concluded that for some reason, there was no data in the decoder, period...and my command station couldn't write to it. So I figured I was going to have to un-solder all the wires and send it back to ESU and wait a month or two for them to fix it.

Then the thought came into my mind: What if the processor module wasn't fully pressed onto the wiring board? [Loksound decoders have a larger board for whatever brand of loco you're installing into, and a tiny "generic" board with the actual "brain" circuitry, to allow mass-programming by the manufacturers.] I had waited until all the wires were soldered-on before attaching it, and when I did, it looked like it was fully seated but I wasn't 100% sure; couldn't press on it any harder, since that would risk damaging the wiring board. So I unfastened the decoder from the chassis and squeezed the top and bottom halves between my fingers, and felt a distinct snap. THAT was the problem all along...lesson learned!

I clocked-off early this afternoon so I could install the speaker. That was an ordeal in itself, since there is very little clearance for soldering the wires to the speaker leads, and I have tremors that get worse the tighter I try to hold the soldering iron. Finally got that part done and tested the sound successfully. At last - my first sound-equipped cab unit! :cool:

StewartF7ChassisWithDecoderInstalled.jpg


The shell fits right over everything quite easily, unlike the hood units that often barely have enough space inside for all the wires. Now I can re-focus on my weathering...
 
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I think you are comparing apples to oranges. I think jaz was showing "commuter rail" which is a heavier passenger rail system bringing people in from further outlying areas into the city.

Here in SLC (Salt Lake City) we have both "light rail" which is similar to what is shown for LA and we also have "commuter rail", which runs on full size normal tracks (generally separate from the UP tracks for freight, but running parallel, but in some places they share trackage rights). While US style, it is more like what jaz showed (and what I see in places like Japan etc).

UTA light rail: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe.../2560px-Green_line_Trax_at_Gallivan_Plaza.jpg

(for more see http://transitinutah.blogspot.com/2011/02/uta-trax-s70-cars.html )

UTA FrontRunner commuter rail: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...g/2560px-Frontrunner_north_temple_station.jpg
The ones I showed are commuter rail going from town to town for passengers

sorry EDITED the Freightliner and wagons are freight similar sizes to our passenger stock... the others are passengers from town to town
this is an intercity
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this one is taken in london
infrastructure is a bit dated,but then France owns sone of our railway, and after Brexit they are whinging we should subsidise them because of COVID, the Eurostar which travels from France under the British Channel into France and onto the rest of Europe is apparently taking losses at the moment, but then UK companies are taking a hit with the lockdowns as well.

But the earlier comment that we do not travel far is true.So there is no need to move such large amounts as yours do, if I ever modelled anything other than British stock and you can get it here I would go US rather than European.Some really nice kit.
 
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Good Morning All. Clear and 45°, expecting 75° later today. Weather pattern has settled down here to early springlike conditions for the next ten days. The SFW household is settling back into some semblance of routine living. My wife and I are headed out this morning on the weekly grocery/beer trek. Dollar General and the wine store are also on the list. Yesterday at work, she received a $100 tip from a long time tax customer, so we had an enjoyable meal at a Houlihan's restaurant.
Fired up the tractor yesterday for actual mowing as opposed to just starting and running for a few minutes. This is probably the latest ever "first run" and it was mainly to tidy up part of the front. I am usually mowing the winter rye weekly by now. Moved more wood from the driveway to the wood stack. less than Tuesday but still making progress. I also spent time yesterday doing the quarterly septic tank maintenance, which went surprisingly well. I also sorted out the pieces of copper pipe that were removed when repairs were made, removed any brass fittings and sorted it all in piles to take to the recycler. That will be like passing through airport security, especially since I will also be taking in some aluminum window components at the same time. Photo ID, affidavit stating that you didn't steal it, photos of the vehicle, photos of the license plate, photos of you standing next to the vehicle with license plate and the copper/aluminum in view...and so on. No such scrutiny for aluminum cans, scrap steel or those brass fittings!

A whole pile of scrambled eggs and a handful of bacon over here Francine. I see Flo is cooking this morning for an absent Mel! Oh! He's getting his first vaccination is he? Good for him.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding my lonely flat car; Justin, Rick, Karl, Hughie, Tom O, Patrick, Jaz, James, Phil, Tom, Gary, Joe, Ken, Sherrel, Guy.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I continued with my flat car upgrading.
First, here is a better picture of that 40" BN flat from yesterday.
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Then I attacked another Athearn Blue Box with a pipe load from Jaeger Models. (there I got the spelling right today!).
This one is a 50' model. I forgot to take a before picture:(. This represents a car that has had it's reporting marks redone recently. I did full weathering on this one.
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After viewing this picture, it looks like I need to tighten up that left end band.

Karl - Thanks for the offer; I need my driveway graded. That's worth two racks of ribs, but you have to bring the tractor and blade.
Jaz -
It is nice to see companies look out for employees and not just their profits.
It's also nice to see the municipality moved the cars over to the left to allow more of a safety margin for pedestrians. ;):cool:
Joe - That's great news to you regarding the vaccine. You're finally doing better than some others here on the forum.
Thanks as well for the update on Curt. My best wishes and prayers are still going out for his family. Many of us have been there.
Ken - OOOPSIE! On a bigger scale, I have spent hours on a troublesome electric circuit before checking to see if the breaker was on!

Everybody have a great day.
 
Greetings all.

Had donuts on the way in. Just coffee.

Weather in NE Indiana is sunny and warming. High 40s to 50s for a while.

Governor and Health peeps have dropped the age to 50+ for vaccines as of yesterday. Wife and I were registered prior to that. Hers first dose is on Tues. Mine on thurs. Probably going to reward each other with a donut for being brave and getting the shot. ;) That's our excuse, though the wife may want ice cream instead of a donut.

DeChipmunking went well yesterday. No sign of a next, but enough link and fuzz built up that the flap was stuck closed. Our guess is that the munks were using it as a sauna and eventually got the flap stuck. I'll try to remember to get the chimney sweeps out every fall to clean it out on the roof end.

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Wife wants to work on bath remodel next, but I may press for increasing the insulation in the attic. The gents yesterday reminded me that the insulation up there is 50+ years old and well settled. Summers are WARM in the upper floor.
 
High of 73 today , more background painting on tap for today .

I just can't help thinking about poor Mr. Tater Head in back alley somewhere, laying on a table with dirty rag stuffed in his mouth and some doctor with 15 medical malpractice suits against him leaning over with a rusty scalpel and saying "now this may tickle a little".
 
Howdy Ya'll ... Starting off at 44 degrees and only getting up to 66 today- Boo!
Nice thing happened yesterday afternoon - We had a 3-4 hour rain shower that deposited 1/2 an inch of moisture which the ground gobbled up as fast as it could. At one moment there was actually some water running along the curb that was not from the yard sprinkler runoff!
Sun's up!
 
Good Morning all! Sun is out, and a beautiful day on tap.
Covid-19, shot 1 yesterday. I was totally surprised at how fast it went. Our time was from 11 AM to 3 PM, but expecting a crowd we got there early, 9:30. By 10:15 we were driving out. Second shot at the end of the month. No ill effects as yet.
Did get a little switching in. I need to order some material for scenery.

STAY SAFE

LATER
 
Good morning from the thawing but still snow covered Tundra of Wisconsin. It hit 56f degrees yesterday and the prediction was mid 40’s. Today the high per the weather app will be 38.

For all those with the health issues either personally or family, it always sucks while it happens. Best wishes.

Covid shot, still 4/1 after being moved 4 times now from the original 2/16/2021

Heading to the trainroom after lunch. I have to start back working on this scene, too much going on lately and nothing getting finished

TomO

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James, it's a NCE DA-SR decoder and I'm using a Digitrax 402 throttle with a DB150.

Thanks for any help you can provide me.

Greg


Greg do you have JMRI?

NCE DA-SR decoder being a 5 function decoder should no be an issue with programing the lights that way. I am checking with Tony Trains Xchange he has a lot info for this decoder....I will get back to you.
 
Greg do you have JMRI?

NCE DA-SR decoder being a 5 function decoder should no be an issue with programing the lights that way. I am checking with Tony Trains Xchange he has a lot info for this decoder....I will get back to you.


Greg,

Go to this link....then at the bottom of the page there is a PDF link click that and go to page 4 & 5.


Pages 4 & 5 explain the functions/CVs for the lighting. I think the best option would be to use the "Switcher " option.

DASRv35-d- solder pads.pdf
 
Greg,
If James's fix doesn't work, the other idea I had was to take one of my DASR equipped locos , put it on Decoder Pro and set it up for non directional constant lighting. Then I can read back the new values in CVs 120 and 121. Then you should be able to program your loco to these new CV values, and I can reset mine.
Just let me know if you cant succeed on your own.
 
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