Running Bear's April 2021 Coffee Shop

[TLOC]

Good morning from still wet and raining (it’s really a drizzle) So. Central Wisconsin. The weather app is still saying this event runs through Sunday. Not much accumulation but should add up to 2” when done. Even though it basically came down all day yesterday it was only 1/2”. Better that the 2” of rain in an hour or less.

Sorry I hadn’t been commenting on the posting of pictures, Willie, Troy, Boris, Tom, Guy and others. I have been out of sorts and the concentration and focusing has been off. I know you folks know I love pictures, keep posting.

Terry is in the air heading home from the islands. She has definitely fallen hard for Maui. She will be here a few days and then both of us will fly back, I haven’t been there since November.

Have a great day
TomO

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 65°, but with a relative humidity of 86%. Almost foggy, but just a bit muggy right now. The wind just started so it should clear up a bit soon. I was able to get in a good two hours of water sprinkling time on the garden yesterday, my rain bucket showed a tad over 1" which will do wonders for all of the plants there. Grocery trek went well yesterday, no stock-outs at either Kroger or Target. As a matter of fact, the paper towels and TP section at both stores were overflowing. Mask compliance still seems to be at 98%+.

Just a BLT for me this morning Flo. I am still stuffed from the carnitas that I fixed for supper last night.

Thanks once again for the likes and comments on yesterday's segment of the layout tour; Tom O, Guy, Garry, Justin, Patrick, Sherrel, Phil, Jaz, Hughie, Karl, Troy, Rick, Ken, Gary.

I spent a little more time in the train shed yesterday than I have been spending recently. However none of it is really photo-worthy right now. I am continuing to add weeds to the grade crossing scene. I also started constructing the crossing on the passing siding that includes the switch to an industry siding. I have been cutting, trimming and gluing the painted ties that I am using in place. I am leaving a slightly wider flangeway than I have used in the past, since the wider gap isn't so noticeable on my eye-level upper level section.
As I waited for glue to dry on both of the above, I started my cleaning project. I visually inspected the first 14' of main line and about 30' of auxiliary trackage for train debris. All that I found was a Kadee coupler spring! I can't find them when I drop them at the workbench, but I can find them on the layout; go figure! Most likely I have already found the offending car and replaced it. Looking for it would be an exercise in futility. I'm still looking for that car that lost its brake air reservoir about 18 months ago! I also ran my "tidy-Track" cleaning pad over the main line. Didn't really need it but it's part of the process.
Moving around the layout a bit, we left off at the corner looking over a foreground scene at the propane distributor in the back. Here is a more eye-level view.

Some day I will get around to painting the fascia.
The tall structure is a rooming house. It is a Bar Mills laser-cut wood structure called Wicked Wanda's. I didn't want to use it as a house of ill repute.

The storage shed next to it is a Pikestuff kit of a storage shed that is included in a couple of their larger kits.
A couple of tenants are enjoying a nice evening on the porch.

Meanwhile their dogs are staying out of trouble in the yard.

Guy - That's the way it is around here, I plant stuff to eat, wife plants to decorate. No flowers allowed in the veggie garden though.
That's really a nice scene of the train coming through the trees that you posted yesterday, We just don't have a lot of that kind of natural scenery like that here.
Patrick - Yes it is hard to figure out that less ingredients cost more. Look at unsalted food, sugar-free food (excepting soft drinks), etc.
Garry - I knew that you lived next to that lake, but I didn't realize that you get to watch barge traffic!
I am keeping my eye on the ceilings here. No evidence yet of leakage. I know that it may be futile, but I am also waiting on the cost of building materials to come back down.
Troy - I like to do all of the cooking myself. Even though I cooked a couple of days a week while working, when I retired, I basically kicked my wife out of the kitchen. She has always considered cooking as a chore, while I considered it as a work of art to be enjoyed for a brief time. Eventually she became stale with the recipes that she used, same old, same old over and over. I don't bake since I am not a big dessert eater to begin with.
Jaz - While I paint most of my figures myself, those two were part of a set from Woodland Scenics Auto Mechanics set # A1914.
I am a firm believer in using figures to liven up a scene, although there are still a few left that I need to add to.
So Jaz, over here in the states, we're hearing a lot of negative stuff about the AstraZenica Covid vaccine being used in Europe. If I recall correctly, you had that one. Can you add anything either positive or negative about your experience? Just curious.

Everyone have a great Friday. Stay safe and test negative.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning.

Workers are here again today working on the roof and gutter project . They should be done at the end of the day .

Below is my Stewart F3 (Phase 4) ABBA consist. I installed the grab irons on all units. Some day , I might add details.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Been busy trying to get stuff done before being off a week. I had a conversation with the boss this morning. He's working from home as he broke his leg right at the knee, so he'll be physically out a for a while. He told me that he's got the same issue where we need to start using more of our vacation time. I have to be below 160 hours by May 7th, currently at 190, so the 40 off next week should cover me, but I get 3 more weeks during the next year, so more time off...yeah (I don't know what to do with it). I also have 40 holiday pay hours banked along with another 30 comp time hours and 2 converted sick days as wellness days (like vacation, use them or lose them by the end of the year). The wife and I don't really travel, although I'd like more road trips. She doesn't like riding as much as she used to, so we stay home.

I will be going to the Kansas City area next week to visit mom. Not looking forward to seeing her in a home, but not my choice as I have no place for her either. I last saw her in December right before dad passed.

I'll check-in during the time off as I can.

 

[McLeod]

Morning!
Running late again, as I was getting my stored 3-tier scaffolding ready for a neighbor to transport. He's borrowing the scaffold to repair his home.
At 33°F, we are into a bit of a cold front. It's nice and sunny out, though, so I hope it warms up.

This is why the wife don't want me in charge of cooking:

That used to be some soup she was making last night.
She told me she was going to bed, and that I was to turn the soup off in 15 minutes. Of course, I forgot.
Then, in the middle of the night, she woke up to the smell of something burning. Smelled like burning compost. - She figured it out right away, and went running into the kitchen.
Needless to say, she's wasn't too happy that I destroyed her lunch for work today.
Sometime today I have to try and salvage my favorite pot; it's been in the family for 50+ years.

That's all I have for today; so just a fly-by. Have a great day, and keep the wonderful photos coming!

 

[Jaz avalley]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 65°, but with a relative humidity of 86%. Almost foggy, but just a bit muggy right now. The wind just started so it should clear up a bit soon. I was able to get in a good two hours of water sprinkling time on the garden yesterday, my rain bucket showed a tad over 1" which will do wonders for all of the plants there. Grocery trek went well yesterday, no stock-outs at either Kroger or Target. As a matter of fact, the paper towels and TP section at both stores were overflowing. Mask compliance still seems to be at 98%+.

Just a BLT for me this morning Flo. I am still stuffed from the carnitas that I fixed for supper last night.

Thanks once again for the likes and comments on yesterday's segment of the layout tour; Tom O, Guy, Garry, Justin, Patrick, Sherrel, Phil, Jaz, Hughie, Karl, Troy, Rick, Ken, Gary.

I spent a little more time in the train shed yesterday than I have been spending recently. However none of it is really photo-worthy right now. I am continuing to add weeds to the grade crossing scene. I also started constructing the crossing on the passing siding that includes the switch to an industry siding. I have been cutting, trimming and gluing the painted ties that I am using in place. I am leaving a slightly wider flangeway than I have used in the past, since the wider gap isn't so noticeable on my eye-level upper level section.
As I waited for glue to dry on both of the above, I started my cleaning project. I visually inspected the first 14' of main line and about 30' of auxiliary trackage for train debris. All that I found was a Kadee coupler spring! I can't find them when I drop them at the workbench, but I can find them on the layout; go figure! Most likely I have already found the offending car and replaced it. Looking for it would be an exercise in futility. I'm still looking for that car that lost its brake air reservoir about 18 months ago! I also ran my "tidy-Track" cleaning pad over the main line. Didn't really need it but it's part of the process.
Moving around the layout a bit, we left off at the corner looking over a foreground scene at the propane distributor in the back. Here is a more eye-level view.
View attachment 126803
Some day I will get around to painting the fascia.
The tall structure is a rooming house. It is a Bar Mills laser-cut wood structure called Wicked Wanda's. I didn't want to use it as a house of ill repute.
View attachment 126804
The storage shed next to it is a Pikestuff kit of a storage shed that is included in a couple of their larger kits.
A couple of tenants are enjoying a nice evening on the porch.
View attachment 126805
Meanwhile their dogs are staying out of trouble in the yard.
View attachment 126806

Guy - That's the way it is around here, I plant stuff to eat, wife plants to decorate. No flowers allowed in the veggie garden though.
That's really a nice scene of the train coming through the trees that you posted yesterday, We just don't have a lot of that kind of natural scenery like that here.
Patrick - Yes it is hard to figure out that less ingredients cost more. Look at unsalted food, sugar-free food (excepting soft drinks), etc.
Garry - I knew that you lived next to that lake, but I didn't realize that you get to watch barge traffic!
I am keeping my eye on the ceilings here. No evidence yet of leakage. I know that it may be futile, but I am also waiting on the cost of building materials to come back down.
Troy - I like to do all of the cooking myself. Even though I cooked a couple of days a week while working, when I retired, I basically kicked my wife out of the kitchen. She has always considered cooking as a chore, while I considered it as a work of art to be enjoyed for a brief time. Eventually she became stale with the recipes that she used, same old, same old over and over. I don't bake since I am not a big dessert eater to begin with.
Jaz - While I paint most of my figures myself, those two were part of a set from Woodland Scenics Auto Mechanics set # A1914.
I am a firm believer in using figures to liven up a scene, although there are still a few left that I need to add to.
So Jaz, over here in the states, we're hearing a lot of negative stuff about the AstraZenica Covid vaccine being used in Europe. If I recall correctly, you had that one. Can you add anything either positive or negative about your experience? Just curious.

Everyone have a great Friday. Stay safe and test negative.

De to Brexit the eu in general grande and their president macron specifically are trashing us,there has been a number of issues where they have tried to make life difficult, initial the eu had the choice to order but all 28 countries had to agree, so they took their time in the meantime the uk doing Brexit order from several including the Astra Zeneca made by a British Swedish company but the items put together in Belgium, the EU stopped an order to Australia, and also threatened Astra Zeneca to give them vaccine first even though the UK ordered well before them, and worse when Astra Zeneca pointed out That a very important element of the vaccine was made in the UK then delivered to the Belgium plant, so if they screwed the UK over with a vaccine that had benefited from the UK order putting up the money initially and then insisted the EU got theirs first if the UK stopped Belgium getting the important element, they could then set up a UK manufacturer to replace the Belgium plant....DOH. So the EU had to back down but then Macron retaliated by dissing - bad mouthing the Astra Zeneca, so far Europe have said do not give to to the over 60s the under 60s to under, they have scared/bullied other countries in the EU and EU roll out is so politically shot that the Germans are now sneaking off trying to but a Russian vaccine called Sputnik (I kid thee not) The UK also pushed for the Australians to get their doses and even set up a hush hush op until it was sent to them, then telling the UK public it in no way impacted UK vaccine rollout, whilst trying to make our PM look good for having gotten Australia what it was meant to get anyway, then there is the blood clot argument which has been rolled out this is apparently a less than 2 in a million instances and not all the people dies,just got blood clots BUT covid q9 has been linked with blood clots, and you think that a 30 million rollout will not have some patients have blood clots naturally occur, and while on the subject today now the EU is moaning that the new Johnson and Johnson vaccine (your American one I believe) is ‘linked’ to blood clots. Even if the blood clots were not likely naturally occurring the ratio of 2 per million against the Covid if you did not get a vaccine, at least one German doctor publically declared by not vaccinating they were causing far more deaths, the EU is still trying to justify their poor rollout, but who has a bad third wave...oh Europe, and although touch wood I expect we will go higher, who has dropped down their cases of deaths and hospitalisations, because even if you argue that the Astra Zeneca is not good against all the variants (‘which apparently neither are the others) it has been shown to drastically reduce the hospitalisations so people are not getting as ill. Now Boris is not perfect, by any means, he is a politician, but when he was Mayor of London he showed he wanted to be loved and rembembered as one of the good guys he appears to be ducking and diving as our prime minister still trying to be the good guy, and he appears to be trying to win hearts and minds in this Covid mine field.
my self my husband and my brother it, only a sore arm, I felt ‘off’ for 24 hours, Pfizer gets better press but more people percentage wise get side effects if minor, this vaccine will likely not be a one off, just like the flu I expect it to run and run forever more, so that being said getting a vaccine any vaccine sooner than later is considerably better than none,
Conclusion, do I think the Astra Zeneca is perfect, nope, am I ok I had it, yes, I just got a sore arm, I feel safer, if they decide I get that for my second dose I am fine with that, if they decide on another vaccine I am fine with that, will these drugs all be getting tweaked? Yes damn right they will, there has been over 10,000 mutations since Covid-19 ‘hit’ us most are not worthy of merit...let us all hope we do not get one little bugger that replicates faster AND has a higher death rate, because if that day comes preppers will be down in their bat caves with the guns out, and I for one won’t blame them.
.....after rant Governemnts in general want a drug that improves the situation, a perfect drug is not likely, so one that improves the position is a god send, I personally am fine with Astra Zeneca, I also live out in the country, my husband works on the internet with on screen meetings, we get deliveries when possible, and when out I wear a mask, I wore a mask when people thought it was stupid for this Covid, but wearing masks has seriously drop pneumonia and it’s deaths, and Trump when speaking to scientists at the beginning apparently discovered how deadly Pneumonia was and his comment, once we get this Covid under control I want you to sort out this pneumonia that kills so many Americans. Now THAT I can respect.....eeek far too long a reply sorry....but you did ask my opinion

 

[Patrick]

Glad you got a shot Jaz, even with all the politics of the EU.

I think feeling off is just part of your body starting to build immunity. I had the Moderna shots and felt off more with the 2nd dose, but would do it again.

Any Covid vaccine is better than getting Covid. I personally knew 3 folks who passed from Covid and a couple of others struggling with the after effects months later.

Oh Yeah, Sorry to hear of the death of Prince Phillip.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Morning - or mid day to most! 51 degrees going up to 81 later under mostly sunny skies.
WOW many posts to comment on, but will have to wait (yeah, I know, you are probably saying "Thank God"!)

TomO - Had to laugh at your NOT having been to Maui since November? I was thinking about GUY (from the frozen North while reading that.

Nothing RR today - I found the problem with the RV and it is NOT nice!
Rats/Mice chewed through a cable of - must be 30/40 wires running along the frame. The cable is a full inch in diameter and I did not count them - thankfully color coded so should be able to splice back together. My BIL is helping a big bunch - we managed to re-connect over a dozen before we ran out of connectors. Largest problem is gaining access as never enough clearance making it hard to work.
I am off to the parts store as soon as I have some eggs scrambled with sourdough toast, sausage, potatoes.
Thanks, FLO!

 

[Texas Hobo]

Good Morning all! Overcast, blah day. Muggy and uncomfortable.
Breakfast burrito with extra Picanti sauce and black coffee.
I did manage to start the stone wall along the river. The idea is to have a river walk behind some buildings.
Like Patrick said, any vaccine is better than getting Covid. It is a shame politicians have to make a political event out of it.
McLeod - I have heard of people so bad a cooking they could burn water, first time I've seen it though.

Love all the photos

STAY SAFE
LATER

 

[2Tracks]

Good morning Model Railroaders...going to be mid 60's at this spot in the western part of the nation.
French toast please Flo....extra thick bread, real maple syrup, a plate o bacon and a tall orange juice...thanks....
Some really nice pictures above.....last couple of pages...

Karl.... nice detail with the pole between the barn & tracks.......

My Mom wielded a very mean Weeping Willow switch

My mom kept hers on top of the refrigerator. And if you tried to ward off the switch by bending at the knees and blocking it with your forearm? Well, let's just say you didn't do that!

TomO....yep yep, you hit that one on the head, back in the day, that's me changing the channel......

Willie...always enjoy seeing your layout.....so I just now noticed your back drop, looks like mainly just a sky blue backdrop? The one pic above looks like some green hills on the right? Were you going to keep it that way? Just curios, as I'll have the sky blue background but unsure about murals, pictures and the like. And certainly not a painted land scape, not by me, I could no more do that then fly.......
I have seen other layouts that were for the most part finished, with nothing but a sky blue back ground. I thought they looked good. Certainly not to take anything away from the gorgeously painted backgrounds.
I just haven't come across any of the pre fab backdrops that suit me...

(Phase 4) ABBA consist.

Very Nice! I always thought that was very classy painting their power white. A bugger to keep clean, but looked awesome when they were....

HAVE A GREAT FRIDAY!

 

[2Tracks]

Totally unrelated to anything train like............

I was doing some wood working last night out in the shop, turned around to take a slurp and this is what I found.....
Really? You have to take a bath here?

I just let the little bugger drown!
Wasn't so crunchy that way.

 

[Boris]

Yo! How's everyone doing? We have returned to some semblance of normalcy, after a bit over three weeks of gathering information, coping and forwarding, plus yard work and whole house cleaning, including windows. Put out two full cans of garbage this morning for the first time since the kids were in high school. Now that I explained my absence, we also had a week long visit from oldest son and family. Everyone, but the kids, has had two doses of the Covid Vaccine. That made for a very great visit, and a wonderful Easter.

So we hooked up my Lok Programmer to a PC and a section of 14" KATO track. It works. Set up several Bowser and several Rapido locos, plus an Atlas with long IDs (Road Numbers) then tried them out. Everythings fine. Incompatible with BLI locos, and didn't try any other decoders. Next, I have to master JMRI and the MRC Prodigy Advanced² interface. My PRR passenger train, is powered by a Baldwin RS-12 Road switcher, while the two yard crews are powered by Baldwin S-12m units.

I have given up on trying to catch up...I'll be back later

 

[Jaz avalley]

Glad you got a shot Jaz, even with all the politics of the EU.

I think feeling off is just part of your body starting to build immunity. I had the Moderna shots and felt off more with the 2nd dose, but would do it again.

Any Covid vaccine is better than getting Covid. I personally knew 3 folks who passed from Covid and a couple of others struggling with the after effects months later.

Oh Yeah, Sorry to hear of the death of Prince Phillip.

Yeah I liked him he had a sense of humour that you either loved or hated I found him highly amusing, I lived near Windsor Castle for many years,even went round the public area,you could go see him driving his coach at local competitions, and of course his daughter made the olympics definitely because she was good,I like the royals,i Saw the royal coach on a couple of occasions, sad to see him go despite his good innings, think it will hurt her bad though

 

[Mountain Man]

Colorado today: Nice.

 

[montanan]

Checking in quickly. Finally got the computer back working. Had the power supply crap out and ordered a new one but it was not the correct one when it came in. Had to return it and wait for another to come in. Didn't really miss it much. Tried to get on the forum on the phone but couldn't log in because I haven't a clue what my password is.
Have to pack up momentarily. After bowling league tonight we are headed to a bowling tournament in Ronan, MT tomorrow. Will probably get as far as Missoula by midnight after league in town and spend the night there and then head up in the morning. It isn't so much of a tournament as it is an iron man's competition. Have to bowl 20 games in the one day.
Here's one photo I did take the other day when running some trains.

Have to go pack a bag, later.

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good afternoon Shop Dwellers, it's 55*F and raining here in central MD - even heard a thunderclap ~10 minutes ago.

Nothing new to report as I just got off the clock half an hour ago, except I got my 2nd dose of Covid vaccine at ~10am today. Not enough time has passed for the aches to hit yet; people generally report a 12-hour delay on the reactions with the Pfizer version that I got. I sure hope the Ibuprofen will keep it under control tomorrow - I've got lots of yard work to do, including the season's first mow of my 2-acre lawn!

Sherrell - best of luck with reconnecting those wires on the RV! Hopefully that fix will at least enable you to get it away from there under its own power.

Joe - I never thought other brands of decoders could be programmed with the Lokprogrammer, I thought it was specifically "geared" for only ESU products? Will have to look into that myself once all of my Spring cleaning chores have been taken care of.

Karl - congrats on winning the WMRHS photo contest! Wasn't that photo also in the 2005 edition of GMR?

 

[Boris]

Joe - I never thought other brands of decoders could be programmed with the Lokprogrammer, I thought it was specifically "geared" for only ESU products? Will have to look into that myself once all of my Spring cleaning chores have been taken care of.

Ken: I had a shelf full of engines needing basic programing. Some will have to go back for CV changes. We were curious as to what it would do with a BLI so we tried it. ESU is becoming the common decoder for RTR with DCC and Sound, so the tool is useful. have an idea that my son will bring some of his fleet when he returns in the summer. Found it quite intuitive. Even allows you to move engine, a cool feature. Worth the cost. You will really have some fun with it, when you get to it.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Howdy:

The roof and gutter project has been completed and we are mostly happy with it. The contractor has dual citizenship with US and Mexico. All of his workers are Mexican immigrants. They worked very hard and knew what they were doing. .... This evening, the contractor treated Shelley and I to homemade, authentic Mexican food prepared by his wife. It was delicious. .... Next week will be quieter without the pounding and the loud Mexican music on the boom box.

Guess who won with this pic??

Karl ..... Congratulations on your winning photo.

Very Nice! I always thought that was very classy painting their power white. A bugger to keep clean, but looked awesome when they were....

Jerry .... Thanks for commenting. I recall seeing dirty CB&Q F-units especially in the winter when wash racks were frozen.

Here's one photo I did take the other day when running some trains.

Chet ..... Great photo ! I never tire of seeing your layout pictures.

Guy ..... I bet the soup was good before that happened. You reminded me of some of my cooking catastrophes. I don't think I will tell about them.

Willie ..... I hope your roof is okay for now. I like the rooming house.

 

[Jaz avalley]

I am rather jealous of your breakfasts, I do not do breakfast much and usually brunch, I am not sure I could do. maple syrup with a fry up either although I love the good stuff on pancakes...calories a killer, I adore sausages the Europeans mock our low protein sausages,and I will admit if sausages only a good Hungarian sausage would top my list,but in a butty or a french loaf with brown sauce and cooked onions nothing beats a good British banger (so called cos the skins blow open often when cooking, especially if not a plastic casing) I am loving the BBQ pictures, all good ideas, I bought one of those ones that is like a tin can in a plate to put on a chicken and have yet to test it, I have a big paella tray too perfect for those rice dishes,and I am not a great coffee drinker and usually only indulge when cream and alcohol but when I worked in London decades ago I was often tempted by the flavoured whipped cream babies,although I think I mentioned a good milkshake does it for me,come June when our strawberry patch performs it’s usual glut I will pop up a picture, I use real milk and cream ice cream and our own honey,with perhaps a smidgeon of ginger or mint,anyway i love the ideas. I need to find some models for a bbq, and sone people relaxing out in their gardens/yards.

once upon a time we had the Bobby on the beat, a local copper who walked around the community,nowadays they are safer in cars in pairs,he might have been seen on a bike, a bicycle but a quick response now would be a motorbike, those quiet slower days are long gone I am sad to say,at a football match you might have been able to stroke the nose of a horse mounted copper,but nowadays they do not like you coming up to the horses,terrorists, and tarts have spoilt it for the honest person,my brother loved football but had to stop going and taking his son to Man U games as the crowds got rougher,I have braved only a couple of games with my husband but have been to Wembley and seen our team in the finals of their division twice,once winning once losing,but my husband marshalled me and the others keepingus well away from trouble,his company had a box and on not top branded teams you could offer a gift to charity and get a seat,it is sad to say London holds no appeal to me these days,once we went to clubs, to theatres and yes I know we are older buit is not the same as when we were younger, nowadays I have a coat with multiple pocket no handbag and check the car has none near before I approach and we all take phones with gps, if I stop too long alone my husband phones to check I am ok, once people rang after journeys to say they got home safe, oh for those calmer does with the local plod walking the beat

 

[BigGRacing]

Good morning,
Flo made banana chocolate chip muffins first thing this morning to enjoy with my coffee. Sun is shining this morning so I will be outside sanding maple again today for my bed project. Yesterday was a perfect day for a drive and some Digby clams and chips, the train spin is the first stop at the Middleton railway museum to see that historic steamer that they shipped in and are restoring. I think this is a good pic of it.