Running Bear's May 2023 Coffee Shop.

[TLOC]

Today there were some issues, although I do not know the specifics. As I traveled under, I noted traffic in the northbound direction moving slowly. Southbound looked OK. Normally on the Texas side, they keep two lanes open at all times. There is nothing permanently closed. They are working on some bridges in Gainesville and Sanger, but all of the work is off the highway. However there is frequently a "moving work detail" that is working at various places in Denton County, between Valley View and Denton itself. They pull over between 11:30 and 1:00 for lunch and everything is open.
That is all that I know at the present time.
IH35W on the north side of Ft Worth near the Texas Motor Speedway has major construction, but whenever I go through, I use the "Texpress" lane and pay the toll.

Thank you, we also use the Texpress lanes through Fort Worth. Sounds like we should be ok heading down. Every route I plugged in was still longer by 60+ minutes even with the red showing in the Denton area. We will grin and bear it. It seems when we cross the state line into Texas Terry is always driving as we switch off every 2 hours. That’s a good thing as I get impatient, she is so calm In stopped or slowed traffic.

I’ll wave as we go by Sanger…

 

[chadbag]

Not as long as the diameter of the tire is the same. Wheel diameter doesn't matter. A 35 inch diameter tire rolls at the same speed if the wheel is 12 inches or 20 inches.

But it does affect the MPG. Heavier tires (or tire/wheel combos more specifically) require more energy to rotate and that energy is not therefore available for forward motion (the miles part of mpg)

(Not saying you don't know that, personally -- just mentioning it and your post was a good segue to it).

 

[chadbag]

Back to spine, I did manage to piece together what this looks like when it’s done with some scrap pieces Here here we have a piece of homesote , with cork on top and then a section track all on top of splineView attachment 168987

So "spline" is the tall narrow bendy pieces of wood used to make your track supports. Thanks!

 

[Bruette]

The idea here is to lower the engine rpm at hiway speed.

I took this to mean Todd wants to change the rear gear ratio by using larger tires.

Would that also affect your speedometer as well?

Not as long as the diameter of the tire is the same. Wheel diameter doesn't matter. A 35 inch diameter tire rolls at the same speed if the wheel is 12 inches or 20 inches.

Karl is correct!

The simple answer, yes it will.

My answer was based on Todd's desire to run at lower RPM's by changing the overall tire size.

 

[Bruette]

Good morning, Everybody!

 

[Snowman]

My return trip will lead me to Bentonville to see the museums

View attachment 168984

one of the Walton kids built.

Then Independence, Mo. for MidwestmodelRR,

View attachment 168985

then head for Minneapolis

View attachment 168986

from there I head home

I would try for SpringCreek in Deshler, Nebraska but its way to far off of I35, like way far. That’s a trip when we are on I80

Have you been to this meet before, and have you met N-scale Free-moN modeler Mark Watson? He's RIGHT THERE, I think, so if you haven't, you should.

 

[Snowman]

So "spline" is the tall narrow bendy pieces of wood used to make your track supports. Thanks!

If it hasn't already been said, yes. It used to be that a very cheap source for those pieces were the thin sections sold for wall lathe for plastering, but that's long since gone by the wayside.

You might still find that thin stuff in the garden section (or in the fencing section) of your local building center.

It's like the give-away paint stirrers you'll find at (Home Depot) among others as far as thickness goes. However, the paint stir sticks are designed for stiffness, so they are cut cross-grained, while the pieces of lathe are just cut to be ridiculously cheap. Thus, it might go either way with buying lathe.

If you want to go spline-roadbed on a large scale, I'll suggest you buy the lathe wood in bulk, buy construction adhesive by the carton, and buy furniture clamps by...the carton too.

If you want to use spline roadbed, clamps, clamps and still more clamps are your friends. They also work with any and all benchwork too, provided you buy them large enough--I would go with 3" rather than 2"--so they are your friends there too.

 

[kbkchooch]

If it hasn't already been said, yes. It used to be that a very cheap source for those pieces were the thin sections sold for wall lathe for plastering, but that's long since gone by the wayside.

You might still find that thin stuff in the garden section (or in the fencing section) of your local building center.

It's like the give-away paint stirrers you'll find at (Home Depot) among others as far as thickness goes. However, the paint stir sticks are designed for stiffness, so they are cut cross-grained, while the pieces of lathe are just cut to be ridiculously cheap. Thus, it might go either way with buying lathe.

If you want to go spline-roadbed on a large scale, I'll suggest you buy the lathe wood in bulk, buy construction adhesive by the carton, and buy furniture clamps by...the carton too.

If you want to use spline roadbed, clamps, clamps and still more clamps are your friends. They also work with any and all benchwork too, provided you buy them large enough--I would go with 3" rather than 2"--so they are your friends there too.

My local lumberyard calls it clear lattice strip if name matters.When starting this project, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a bunch of 6and12 inch bar clamps with squeeze grips. Awesomsauce!

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Not much going on just yet. I do have a meeting with a vendor to get another piece of a system moved off an old server. My drop dead date is July 7th. After this I have 1 database to move along with a license server application and we can shut it down. Yeah!!!

Currently 58° and clear with a high of 80° expected.

BBL

 

[rgeiter]

Mounted the mailbox last night. Can’t wait to finally move in! C’mon Friday!!

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and traffic reporters

It's Troy again...

Got up late today. Don't know why. Just felt good to sleep in.

Last night I sat and watched the first half of Gettysburg (Directors Cut). That takes the movie to over 4 hours long. Interesting. But knowing the director falls into the "Lost Cause" camp, it's been interesting parsing out the little bits of that philosophy hiding in the dialog they've written.

Part 2 tonight.

Wife told me she wants her bike down off the hooks in the garage. Which means I need to get new innertubes and swap them out. She seems talented in finding pieces of wire and glass to embed in her tires and cause a slow leak. Yes, I try to get the tubes with Slime so she can hopefully get home before the flat is too bad to ride on.

Need to paint my bent board today. Pics later.

 

[JeffH]

Tire sizes...

Lots of people like to put large wheels on muscle cars. For example, my Wife's '67 Chevy C10 pickup truck has 20" wheels, and the overall diameter of the mounted tire is a lot greater than what the speedometer is expecting.

They make a small gear set that sits between the speedo cable and the transmission. This gear set was designed to increase the speedometer reading by 25%, which is right about where I needed it to be. Now, the speedometer is pretty accurate. Before, if the speedometer said 40 MPH, I was actually going 50 MPH.

Since the wheels were bigger, they would spin slower at the same speed... So I had to compensate by speeding up the rate at which the speedo cable spins.

Of course, these days, they make repop speedometers that use GPS, so no need for a speedometer cable.

Larger diameter wheels cover a longer distance with each rotation (which helps MPG), but at the same time, it takes more torque to turn a larger diameter wheel (which hurts MPG). Nobody wants to climb a hill on a bicycle in 10th gear. And you'd be silly to descend a hill in first gear.

 

[Hutch]

If it hasn't already been said, yes. It used to be that a very cheap source for those pieces were the thin sections sold for wall lathe for plastering, but that's long since gone by the wayside.

You might still find that thin stuff in the garden section (or in the fencing section) of your local building center.

It's like the give-away paint stirrers you'll find at (Home Depot) among others as far as thickness goes. However, the paint stir sticks are designed for stiffness, so they are cut cross-grained, while the pieces of lathe are just cut to be ridiculously cheap. Thus, it might go either way with buying lathe.

If you want to go spline-roadbed on a large scale, I'll suggest you buy the lathe wood in bulk, buy construction adhesive by the carton, and buy furniture clamps by...the carton too.

If you want to use spline roadbed, clamps, clamps and still more clamps are your friends. They also work with any and all benchwork too, provided you buy them large enough--I would go with 3" rather than 2"--so they are your friends there too.

Sounds like splines are ridiculously expensive and time consuming. You've pretty much talked me out of it. I'll continue with my foam risers and get er done.

 

[TLOC]

Hi there internet people. The final prep is underway for the drive south. The SUV is packed except for the final 4 pieces, 2 carry on pieces for the planes and of course Terry and me. But 1st is Terry’s eye appointment at 9. We should be home by 11 to leave before noon. The house sitters stayed last night and understand what they have to do in and around the yard. I’m satisfied and they know horses so Terry is very happy with these 2 that we have known for 3 years.

1st stop is Overland Park, Kansas about a 7 hour drive because we will hit rush hour traffic. We have made it in 6 but that was gliding through KC with no issues. Then Thursday an early 3 hour trip down to Wichita and Spirit Aero Systems as Terry has a brief (under 1 hour they said) meeting with them. After her meeting and a lunch that they are buying we head down roughly 3 hours to Edmond, Ok. I have an old college friend and eventually co-worker that insisted we stay overnight with him this time. He retired and moved to Edmond a couple months before Covid. He is one of my friends I truly miss. A confirmed bachelor we are being introduced to his financee. He has a 500+ acre ranch he inherited and has had to fix the place up. He raises horses and Terry and him have always had that in common, the love of horses. Friday or Saturday (not decided 100% yet) should be an easy ride to Austin of under 6 hours. So, I will check in but the IPadPro will not be in the front seat. The iPhone is just not easy to type on but I will be keeping up. Happy model railroading! Be good, be safe and

enjoy the day

 

[Smudge617]

Tire sizes...

Lots of people like to put large wheels on muscle cars. For example, my Wife's '67 Chevy C10 pickup truck has 20" wheels, and the overall diameter of the mounted tire is a lot greater than what the speedometer is expecting.

They make a small gear set that sits between the speedo cable and the transmission. This gear set was designed to increase the speedometer reading by 25%, which is right about where I needed it to be. Now, the speedometer is pretty accurate. Before, if the speedometer said 40 MPH, I was actually going 50 MPH.

Since the wheels were bigger, they would spin slower at the same speed... So I had to compensate by speeding up the rate at which the speedo cable spins.

Of course, these days, they make repop speedometers that use GPS, so no need for a speedometer cable.

Larger diameter wheels cover a longer distance with each rotation (which helps MPG), but at the same time, it takes more torque to turn a larger diameter wheel (which hurts MPG). Nobody wants to climb a hill on a bicycle in 10th gear. And you'd be silly to descend a hill in first gear.

It's never a good idea to put larger sized tyres on any vehicle, slightly wider ok, diameter wise no, simply because you risk damaging you suspension, steering system and your wheel arches, and the vehicle was not designed for them, a car handles differently, and will react differently in an emergency situation

If you really want bigger tyres, get all the upgrades done too, suspension, steering, gearbox ratio etc.

Or buy a bigger car.

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

56° under clear skies this morning, heading to a high of 81°

Sounds like splines are ridiculously expensive and time consuming. You've pretty much talked me out of it. I'll continue with my foam risers and get er done.

Time consuming yes, but building a T shaped layout that is roughly 25 x 16 is anyway. But when I 1st started this project, I looked at the cost of plywood and foam and it was a better option for me. Besides, ain't nothing cheap anymore!

 

[JeffH]

It's never a good idea to put larger sized tyres on any vehicle, slightly wider ok, diameter wise no, simply because you risk damaging you suspension, steering system and your wheel arches, and the vehicle was not designed for them, a car handles differently, and will react differently in an emergency situation

If you really want bigger tyres, get all the upgrades done too, suspension, steering, gearbox ratio etc.

Or buy a bigger car.

Shhh... Don't tell anyone that the frame is from a 1980s S-10. About the only thing original on this truck is the VIN plate, lol!

But it's a looker.

1967 VIN. The frame, steering, drive train and suspension are all from a 1980s S-10. The fenders are actuyally modeled after the 1968, which is teh first year they put the side markers on the fenders. Beginning in 1969, the side markers were lit. In '68, they were just reflectors.

The rally wheels are knock offs. 20" on the rear, 18s on front.

Fun math fact: For every additional inch in diameter, a wheel will travel an extra 3.14" with every revolution. BUT... only if fully inflated

 

[kbkchooch]

Shhh... Don't tell anyone that the frame is from a 1980s S-10. About the only thing original on this truck is the VIN plate, lol!

But it's a looker.
View attachment 168992

1967 VIN. The frame, steering, drive train and suspension are all from a 1980s S-10. The fenders are actuyally modeled after the 1968, which is teh first year they put the side markers on the fenders. Beginning in 1969, the side markers were lit. In '68, they were just reflectors.

The rally wheels are knock offs. 20" on the rear, 18s on front.

Fun math fact: For every additional inch in diameter, a wheel will travel an extra 3.14" with every revolution. BUT... only if fully inflated

Great looking truck Jeff!

Got a buddy putting a 55 Ford F1 on an S10 Chassis, must be the hot ticket!

 

[JeffH]

Yeah, I think the S-10 has a lot of aftermarket bolt-on stuff available, and also take the "dime a dozen" Chevy small block 350 with little fiddling to make things work.

Here's a pic of my buddy's 1948 Ford COE. It's a beast.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 64°. We had rain overnight but it wasn't enough to register in my rain gauge. Weather Underground guy around the corner shows 0.05". NWS says heavy rain around noon with the high today around 80°.

I'll be out in the garden in a few minutes ensuring that it's ready in case there is a deluge. Other plans for today include preserving Broccoli and preparing Baby Back Ribs for supper.

Out in the train shed yesterday, it was another low activity day. Trees are on hold for a while until I get some more planted. I've switched over to figures at the workbench. I'm reworking some Chinese ones, sorting through and in some cases touching up some of the ones I got from Chet, and painting some unpainted Preiser from the stash. I could easily add 100 to the layout right now even though there are over 1000 already on it. I just wish that I had a proportionate quantity of vehicles to add.
So I didn't take any pictures yesterday which means back to the archives. Not sure if I ever posted pictures of Walther's Water Street Freight Terminal before.

A view down Main Street in Gainesville.

Woody's Country Mart in Graham.

Karl - Your spline layout looks real good. I admire your skill in pulling it off. I have chosen to have no grades, so I just use 1/2" plywood for everything. Easier for me. I model flatland American prairies, so grades are not necessary.
Swal - Good luck with the ceiling. It should keep everything more dust-free.
Tom O - Last time I went to Oklahoma City, there was construction north of Thackerville on IH35. While I believe that it has been completed, be aware. Using IH35W through Ft Worth instead of IH35E through Dallas is a shorter and much faster route. Just don't be in either city during rush hour.
Have a safe trip and I will wave back.

Today is Denny’s Endless Breakfast Day, if that's your thing and there is one close by. I noted that sausage or bacon is an extra 99¢ per serving though. Otherwise it's just pancakes, scrambled eggs and hash browns, for $6.99.
It's also Bob Dylan's 82nd birthday.

Everyone have a wonderful day.