Running Bear's October 2021 Coffee Shop

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Spent several hours at Dad's today. The movers showed up and hauled the organ away. I walked through the house and except for about 25% of the garage the house is finally empty. Tomorrow I'm going to a local MRR friend's house in Orlando and Sunday we will finish the garage. Three months later it's finally coming to a end. I find it hard to believe. I have been going to the house pretty much everyday for about 9 months this year, first for Mom then cleaning out the house.

No excuses now for procrastinating on the layout. Speaking of which I fixed the 2 pieces of styrene for the road and today I'm supposed to receive the FOS REA building I ordered last month. I bought it for a discount and Doug threw in a freebie small kit.

Joe- Nice builders photo.

Patrick- Good news.

Karl- Nice photo.

Sherrel- Keep plugging away at it. It's not like you'll die if you crash it!

Ken- Welcome back.

Willie- That is great signage.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[TLOC]

I like your list.....and have shopped from all of them except Hiawathahobbies.com.

I would encourage you to look at Yankeedabbler and The Western Depot. Yankeedabbler is very competitive and The Western Depot is not the best pricing BUT has quite an inventory for hard to find items and pleasant to talk to on the phone......yes live person.

Most of my rolling stock are 2nd hand or used like 80%. Sometimes I buy them new. Most of my locomotives are new like 75% the other 25% used.

James,

YD I have purchased some items but only when they had sale items at Trainfest in Milwaukee. They are on my list of the places I normally check pricing on but never had any luck online pricing with them. I will check out The Western Depot.

The past 2 years most of my rolling stock has been purchased online via the Facebook Buy/Sell groups. Thank you

TomO

 

[PNKFLOYD]

I spent some time yesterday at the club room planting 2 dozen painted people's feet in glue. I found an outhouse that was not secure and made a dirt pathway to it from the barrel factory.
The GT&T On30 layout is built in 4 main sections and 3 pop out center sections to be able to move it tilted on the side through doorways.
Gravity does terrible things to items not secured to the layout.
I forgot to take any pictures, so next time there will be a few changes in the views.

Today was mostly wasted. My wife and I got flu shots, went by Tractor Supply for a couple bags of cat food and ran a couple other errands.
But, I did manage to catch a short nap, so it was not all bad.

 

[Boris]

So out of the archive, let's revisit Dolly's Confectionery, a Bar Mills kit that I did about two years ago.

Willie: That's a great picture, great art work on the building, but really out of place on a Texas layout. The building screams South Jersey Shore, meaning Atlantic City, Ocean City or Cape May.

Joe - I can't answer that question with certainty. It looks permanent enough with a fence and train stop erected behind it. However, there is a huge Via Rail presence in that yard, and weathering on the loco makes it appear it has been used recently. I'm not sure if that F40 is old enough to retire.

Guy: The reason I asked was that the Budd cars appear to be from VIA's (former CP), pool and active, although I could be wrong. Last time I saw that type of cars was 45 years ago, at Windsor Station, in Montreal, while I was catching the Turbo to NYC. They were still in CP paint then. The F40s, should be phased out. In the US, the P40s and P42s that replaced the F40 are being phased out. VIA is known for getting value out of their equipment.

Ken, (MD): Welcome back to the Coffee shop.

Ken, (IL): Happy Birthday!

IMO it pays to compare.

Tom O': Agreed. I don't do it enough. The only one on your list that I have tried is Walthers. When they run an item on sale, and I have a repeat customer 10% discount, they become very competitive. I usually stick to the Tri-State area. I have bought from Yankeedabbler at Train shows, and hear great reviews, but I have trouble navigating their web site. Their retail store,is in South Jersey, maybe an hours drive from here.

Curt: Hopefully now, you will get your life back, at least to some extent.

Today was a mixed bag. I started by taking a couple of cars outside for Dullcoteing. I dropped a Kadee PS2 covered hopper on the concrete patio. Fortunately, there was only minor damage that is mostly repaired already...could have been a disaster. For some reason, i never have incidents when painting Blue Box cars...

Then I accompanied the wife to her Rheumatologist. Concerning the booster, he reiterated the latest CDC guidelines, which allow for mixing any booster, but advised her to stop taking her Rinvoq seven days prior to receiving the injection, so that there will be no clash between the medications. She can resume her RA med the day following the Covid shot...That's new guidance, which may affect others who take biologics that regulate an overactive immune system.

Then we went shopping for clothing, pillows and a blanket for my mother in law. it appears that we will move her furniture into the assisted living facility on Wednesday, and she will be discharged from the LTC facility to the Assisted living facility on Thursday. Hopefully, this time she will behave her self and not worry about the care others are receiving. She has this tendency to act as if she is the Duchess, and everyone else is her minion... this is the eighth facility she has resided in over the last six years. At 89, one would think she has the maturity to act in a responsible manner, but...She has blown through a fortune, and is now broke, and we are subsidizing her until her medicaid application is approved. Yet she still thinks she is driving the bus. Hopefully, she will accept that this is it, and hopefully, the state will rule by the end of the year...

In any event, by the time we got back, both of us were exhausted.we had an early dinner, and then I had a badly needed nap. We still have a lot to do between now and then. Hopefully, the legs will hold up. right now, they are not happy.

Westbound Coaster (to Bay Head), at Sea Girt, NJ, in July 1955. Photo courtesy Rob Rubino. Sea Girt is a small quiet resort between Spring Lake and Manasquan. It is where the PRR Freehold Branch connected with the New York and Long Branch. The line is new Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, and Sea Girt no longer is a stop. The K4 and P70s remain only in photos and memories.

 

[TLOC]

No railroading today as we visited with Terry’s siblings in Eastern Wisconsin and had a late lunch with them. We will be in Pasadena for 5 days starting tomorrow. I will look in but my IPadPro will be hidden for the next 2 weeks and I am terrible typing on the IPhone.
8am flight so

Happy modeling and be safe
TomO

 

[Alcomotive]

Still going on...over 1500.00 bucks!

Utah Belt 30 car HO LBF Johnstown Coalporter Unit Train | eBay

Due to a downturn in nationwide coal consumption, the Utah Belt is retiring a 30 car HO LBF Johnstown Coalporter Unit Train. All 30 cars are sequentially numbered 524000 to 524029. They all have metal wheels, knuckle couplers, and a non-commercial coal load. Each is lightly weathered. I do not...

www.ebay.com

 

[Jaz avalley]

No railroading today as we visited with Terry’s siblings in Eastern Wisconsin and had a late lunch with them. We will be in Pasadena for 5 days starting tomorrow. I will look in but my IPadPro will be hidden for the next 2 weeks and I am terrible typing on the IPhone.
8am flight so

Happy modeling and be safe
TomOView attachment 134252

Well that makes me totally jealous, yesterday I pulled on a pair of leggings put in the right leg without thinking then could not bend the bad knee to get it in,had to take off leggings put on left leg over cast then get good leg in, am only half way through this cast and I can honestly say one broken bone in my life is one broken bone too many….still the other half came up gold helping out,and my son is cooking meals which is a nice chanel

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good evening Shop Dwellers!

I see some significant stuff has transpired here since I went dormant a few months ago: Curt and Louis are posting here regularly again, there's a new "Ken" in the shop [*welcome*], and Chet has begun demolishing the Logan Valley . I also saw that Garry is in some sort of serious medical trouble [couldn't find exactly what from reading thru the previous 6 pages?] I didn't have time to read all the posts, sorry if I missed any other significant events.

As Karl mentioned, the MER 2021 op session that I've been prepping for over the past six months was a success: all the guest operators had a great time. I spent most of today just decompressing from that. I also actually did some operating for fun, rather than testing or troubleshooting Just got back from my daughter's house, she was having a celebration supper for my son who recently graduated from P.A. school and just got hired for his first job as a P.A. Now all of my kids are gainfully employed in jobs that require licensing and/or certification, hooray!

This is one of the 'promo' photos I used in the MER 2021 overview about my layout, I didn't want to share it until after the op session was over and done. It's the busiest main line stretch on the layout, an area known as South Brooklyn (not the one in NYC, but a suburb of Cleveland):

Good night - and have a pleasant tomorrow!

 

[2Tracks]

KEN (IL)...Happy Birthday! As one of your birthday treats, you should probably buy some Model Railroad stuff!

TomO...that puts a little perspective on putting on undees..... They're over rated anyway.....

 

[OBTC 1909]

here's a new "Ken" in the shop [*welcome*],

Thanks! Now there's an Iron Belt Ken and an Oil Belt Ken. Always good to have an extra belt around, just in case. An extra Ken or two is also a good idea.

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! 43 degrees heading up to 61 and rainy for my birthday today. Gotta work all day, so I've got that going for me

Had a great time having dinner with my family last night. We went out to my favorite Mexican restaurant. Lots of fun! Enjoyed hanging out with my wife, daughter, son in-law and all 3 grandkids along with my oldest granddaughter's boyfriend.

Hate to say it, but I don't think the job interview went all that well yesterday. Honestly, the kinds of questions they come up with for interviews these days are just...stupid. The things they were asking me about really had nothing to do with anything I was prepared for, so I probably didn't do that well. It's ok though. I still have a job, so I'm not out anything if I don't get an offer for this new one. Not sure when I'll hear back on it.

Hope you all have a great day!
Ken

 

[bnsf971]

Thanks! Now there's an Iron Belt Ken and an Oil Belt Ken. Always good to have an extra belt around, just in case. An extra Ken or two is also a good idea.

I prefer suspenders instead of two belts...

 

[bnsf971]

Good evening Shop Dwellers!

. I also saw that Garry is in some sort of serious medical trouble [couldn't find exactly what from reading thru the previous 6 pages?]

Garry's heart failure is giving him problems. We haven't heard from him since his initial post about it, I hope he's doing okay.

 

[Boris]

Good morning. Right now, it's cloudy and in the low 50s. Looks like it will rain any minute.

I have a full plate today, so I'm not sure there will be time for the model railroad.

Ken (MD): That's a great photo. I'm happy the MER went so well. I should involve myself more in activity at the Division level.

Jaz: Your dilemma dressing reminds me of the contortions I used to dress after my knee surgery.

Thanks for all the likes.

Train #54 in 1959, before it was combined with #32. Union County Court House in the background...the Hi-rise Union County Jail, immediately adjacent to the railroad has not been built yet... Amazing what kind of weird stuff a person remembers, eh?

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear skies outside and 65°, expecting upper 80's today.

Thanks for all of the comments and likes regarding the Confectionery photos yesterday; Patrick, Tom O, Mikey, Chad, Karl, Guy, James, Sherrel, Rick, Joe, Jaz, Jerry.

A tall stack of blueberry pancakes and a few sausage links for me this morning Flo. OJ will be fine.

Loads of visible progress yesterday in the train shed. i applied signs, both paper and a large water-slide decal to Ramone's.

I also started on the roof details beginning with a small access shack.

And air conditioners for a few windows.

Then I tackled the dilemma with the fire escapes.
The window sill prevents the upper one from nestling next to the wall properly.

The lower one not only has the window sill interfering, but the stone arches over the dock door are also a problem.

Regardless of the location anywhere on the building, the same issue is present. All of the sections with windows are the same design. I haven't yet figured out how I might resolve this. Two approaches are apparent, trim the escapes or gouge out the building...or a combination. It appears logical that I gouge out the arches rather than compromise the supports. The sills could go either way. I have to ponder this some more.
Meanwhile all of the crates and junk piles have been given a shot of dull coat.

Oil Belt Ken - Happy Birthday.
Karl - Thanks for the OJ yesterday. I for one, am looking forward to when you start the layout over again. Your pictures from the old one really showed some fine detail work.
Guy - Thanks for the beaver pictures. They're a critter that I don't see here in my part of Texas, mainly due to the lack of preferred habitat. They are more populous in NE and East Texas.

Willie - I don't believe that beer is any healthier as a substitute for coffee!

It certainly isn't a substitute for coffee, and it's debatable if it could ever be considered so. Beer in moderation is used to enhance a healthy diet and lifestyle.
That's an unusual dormer design on the tourist info center, one peaked, two arched.
Joe -

Willie: That's a great picture, great art work on the building, but really out of place on a Texas layout.

It's not really out of place, although the breadth of the wall painting might be a bit much.
Good luck with the MIL, she must be a handful.

Everybody have a great day. Stay Safe.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Sherrel- Keep plugging away at it. It's not like you'll die if you crash it!

CURT - YOU made me choke on a mouthful of coffee with that one!

(Just remember that there are more airplanes in the ocean than submarines in the sky!)

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WOW - All youse guys are blowing my mind with the proto and modeling photos!
I second the comments made by all as well.

I'm off to "Wally World" for a few supplies. Checked the supplies on hand of TP (96 rolls) and PT (23 rolls) should be good and the Spousal Unit has orders for a few extras of canned goods - soups, sauce, and a flyby of the meat counter (can't afford to stop there anymore), maybe Spam and Vienna's might be the order for awhile?

I've mostly solved the undie problem via leaning on the bed, or next to a door frame!

Sorry, Francine, This morning I'm going to have to grab a couple of breakfast burritos from Burger King on the fly, but I'll be back for lunch.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Morning Everyone....sunny and cool fall day here in Wisconsin. Summer's gone and winter will soon be here on us in force. I remember the sub-zero days of winter as a reminder to get our furnace tune-up for the long winter ahead. Funny one day we need the A/C on and the next day the furnace to keep the chill off.

Need to turn off the water at the cabin since we do not run the heat when we're gone in the Fall and early Spring. The pump house, a 4' X 6' X 7' structure has a space heater for heat, but rarely do we run it. It has to get real cold for an extended time before anything freezes and usually it's the pressure switch for the well pump that chills off first.

When to Walthers yesterday and returned with several sets of Kadee #530 wheel-sets and two A-Line cardboard storage boxes. The cardboard boxes at over $50.00 for a pair is a bit expensive for pieces of cardboard that the purchaser must fold following some instructions they provided. I have already eight A-Line boxes that I've purchase along the line, so folding these boxes were not much of a chore. The boxes do their jobs for storage, but not much fun to fold for the first time.

Walthers wasn't as busy as I expected and they reduced the Showroom hours to just Thursday's and Friday's and no longer open on Saturday's. When I was there it was slow and only myself and another fellow. Then a guy comes in with a N scale locomotive and a sound decoder and wants to know how to install the critter. Could be an expensive project that awaits him.

I purchased several locomotive used from a friend who I'm sure also purchased them used used and I stored them in some of A-Line boxes and they were so over lubed that oil dripped on to the protective foam padding that the locomotive sat on. Talk about a old Harley (I like Harley and would ride my friends 1985 Low Rider whenever I could) leakage oil, these locomotives would beat any Harley out in any contest.

This afternoon is train time for me. I'll listen to the Wisconsin Badger's game and work on the layout. Run a track cleaning car and then do a break-in run of my new Rapido SW 1200 switcher. Several hours of running in both directions should do the trick. I have some seasoned locomotives that have many hours of run time and they run much better than a just out of the box locomotive.

First...I have to remove several trains of cars off the layout to clean the track, so the A-Line boxes will fill up fast.

Drinking a little diet Dr. Pepper left from yesterday afternoon. A little ice and a chilled glass and who cares if it's flat soda. Did you know that Dr. Pepper has been around longer a short time more than Pepsi or even Coke?

About Coke off the internet....

Coca Cola's are highly acidic and can act like gastric acid, thereby relieving you of severe abdominal pain, break down the blockages and get food moving through the digestive system again. This is just among the health benefits of Coca-Cola for stomach upset.

I purchased a Digitrax PR 4 to read and program DCC locomotive CV's and it sits next to my PC stand and not used since I purchased the device. I should purchase a use PC with Windows and keep the PR 4 and the PC down by the trains where it could be used. It's a hassle to carry the locomotives up from the train room to the PC to use the device.

I have a couple of six axle diesels that need some wheel adjustments that I need to tend to in the next week or so.

Keep the layout photos coming on the Forum.

Get well soon Garry!!!

That's all folks...

Greg

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


Here's my PR 4 mounted on a 1x4 with test track attached. Plug into a PC and the power supply and away you go to read and write CV's.


One of my locomotives that requires some minor wheel adjustments to help it go around curve much easier. Thet locomotive is a copy of one of the MR&T locomotives on the Model Railroader layout at Kalmbach Publishing offices. I arranged a tour of the office several years ago and Senior Editor Jim Hediger gave us a over two tour of the project model railroad that Model Rairoader has constrcted. The MR&T was the best layout along with seeing John Allen's locomotive #34, a 4-10-0 that is on display at the offices.


Some of the under layout wiring on the CM&N Railroad layout. I'm in the process of labeling and diagramming the wiring. Some of my A-Line storage boxes in the background set on plastic totes to keep the concrete floor moisture away from the cardboard boxes.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Still going on...over 1500.00 bucks!

Wow!!! I sure would like one of Eric's locomotives.

Greg

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Loads of visible progress yesterday in the train shed. i applied signs, both paper and a large water-slide decal to Ramone's.

Willie: I think that Ramone's is one of my favorite buildings soon to be on your layout. That two-tone red over white is outstanding and I love the signage.

What is (or are) your secrets to apply water slide and paper signs to a hydrocal building like Ramone's? They look great!!!

Greg