Way back when, I used to tell the people I worked with that we should make our designs elegantly simple, not the reverse. Since I was the junior employee, basically an intern, my opinion was dismissed.
Running Bear's September 2020 Coffee Shop
- Thread starter bnsf971
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kbkchooch
"retired" conductor
There is a lot to be said for the K.I.S.S. method !
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Good evening Shop Dwellers, it's 68*F, calm and overcast in my central MD neighborhood.
Thanks for all the 'like's and/or comments on my Microsoft rant - Patrick, Jerry, TomO, Phil, Boris/Joe, Guy, Karl, Lee, Curt, and anybody whose comments I may have missed. Plus, a special shout-out to Patrick for taking the extra time to explain about Moore's Law to the uninitiated!
Lee - I lucked-out and managed to acquire 3 Athearn Mack R's and 3 Mack B's before First Gear sued Athearn and forced them to stop producing them (not sure why, since I've never seen any Mack trucks from First Gear
...). Regarding the computer, my ASUS computer still has plenty of life left in it, so I really don't want to spend money on a new one just because Microsoft and Best Buy say that I must!
See y'all later, I'm gonna try to finish up the last of my 5 "project" locos this evening after supper....cheers!
Thanks for all the 'like's and/or comments on my Microsoft rant - Patrick, Jerry, TomO, Phil, Boris/Joe, Guy, Karl, Lee, Curt, and anybody whose comments I may have missed. Plus, a special shout-out to Patrick for taking the extra time to explain about Moore's Law to the uninitiated!
Lee - I lucked-out and managed to acquire 3 Athearn Mack R's and 3 Mack B's before First Gear sued Athearn and forced them to stop producing them (not sure why, since I've never seen any Mack trucks from First Gear
...). Regarding the computer, my ASUS computer still has plenty of life left in it, so I really don't want to spend money on a new one just because Microsoft and Best Buy say that I must!See y'all later, I'm gonna try to finish up the last of my 5 "project" locos this evening after supper....cheers!
TrucTrain55
Well-Known Member
Ken. A First Gear Mack R and B look just like the Athearn sized down that’s why they had to stop. Hope you get that computer issue solve. Post those locos when you get them doneGood evening Shop Dwellers, it's 68*F, calm and overcast in my central MD neighborhood.
Thanks for all the 'like's and/or comments on my Microsoft rant - Patrick, Jerry, TomO, Phil, Boris/Joe, Guy, Karl, Lee, Curt, and anybody whose comments I may have missed. Plus, a special shout-out to Patrick for taking the extra time to explain about Moore's Law to the uninitiated!
Lee - I lucked-out and managed to acquire 3 Athearn Mack R's and 3 Mack B's before First Gear sued Athearn and forced them to stop producing them (not sure why, since I've never seen any Mack trucks from First Gear
See y'all later, I'm gonna try to finish up the last of my 5 "project" locos this evening after supper....cheers!
If you've always wanted to dabble on the "other side" of computers, many people turn to Linux when their Windoze machines are no longer up to the standards the Emperor of Redmond has decreed. If you've ever used an Apple computer, they use a Linux variant as their operating system.
chadbag
Well-Known Member
Technically this is not true. macOS is based on a mixed mach 2 and mach 3 kernel called Darwin with various BSD and other layers on top. Both adhere to Unix APIs and both use some of the same (or substantially similar/same) higher levels of tools and stuff but their guts are very different. If you do get to a command line on macOS (which is easy but never necessary) and you know Linux you will be at home due to the shared Unix heritages though there are differences even at that level.
Back to your regularly scheduled Shop train discussions...
Yeah but, litigation is an extracurricular U.S. pastime, isn't it? Sort'a like a board game for when you're bored.
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
Greetings all!
No donut today. Wife is fasting to have labs drawn for the annual doc visit. So I have to be good too. She told me there's a big lunch in my future, since the lab appointment is right before lunch, and near to some of our favourite restaurants.
Hope to hit the train layout tonight, and start gluing down my WS foam risers. But, to do that, I need to figure out my access routes in and out of what will be the logging camp.
Here's the overall of that end. Foam risers are kindof in place. The curve is set. I just need to figure out where my cuts will be for underpasses and bridges. I've got a planning quandary, and would appreciate the input. I'll give my current thoughts... then add the what-about at the end.
The metal yardstick is the proposed underpass for the spur line to the logging camp, which will be in the center of the loop. The foam risers are part of the looped mainline. The red line off to the right will be another spur line, and probable staging area for log cars from the camp. I'll cut away the pink foam there to the outside right so that outer spur is green level, not pink level.
A look into the void of the underpass:
I haven't cut away the foam of the risers (yet). Need to know there the carve-out for the incline into the logging camp will fall. The gap is just a visual reminder. I may use a 4% 2-foot riser just because it's a logging spur with a dedicate (yet to purchase) loco for pushing empties up the hill.
And from the other side:
This photo shows the quandary:
Do I branch off BEFORE the mainline incline (yardstick location)? Or do so FROM the incline to the right of this image? In this case, the spur would utilize the same tunnel under the mainline loop, but curve away on the backside.
Here's how that might look?
Thoughts?
No donut today. Wife is fasting to have labs drawn for the annual doc visit. So I have to be good too. She told me there's a big lunch in my future, since the lab appointment is right before lunch, and near to some of our favourite restaurants.
Hope to hit the train layout tonight, and start gluing down my WS foam risers. But, to do that, I need to figure out my access routes in and out of what will be the logging camp.
Here's the overall of that end. Foam risers are kindof in place. The curve is set. I just need to figure out where my cuts will be for underpasses and bridges. I've got a planning quandary, and would appreciate the input. I'll give my current thoughts... then add the what-about at the end.
The metal yardstick is the proposed underpass for the spur line to the logging camp, which will be in the center of the loop. The foam risers are part of the looped mainline. The red line off to the right will be another spur line, and probable staging area for log cars from the camp. I'll cut away the pink foam there to the outside right so that outer spur is green level, not pink level.
A look into the void of the underpass:
I haven't cut away the foam of the risers (yet). Need to know there the carve-out for the incline into the logging camp will fall. The gap is just a visual reminder. I may use a 4% 2-foot riser just because it's a logging spur with a dedicate (yet to purchase) loco for pushing empties up the hill.
And from the other side:
This photo shows the quandary:
Do I branch off BEFORE the mainline incline (yardstick location)? Or do so FROM the incline to the right of this image? In this case, the spur would utilize the same tunnel under the mainline loop, but curve away on the backside.
Here's how that might look?
Thoughts?
TrucTrain55
Well-Known Member
Good Morning all. Flo. Coffee and some Raisin toast with Troys Apple Butter again.
Troy. Glad you made it safely home and hope your wife does well on the lab work. My thoughts on your layout is very impressive keep the good work going
Willie. That’s the last of the tomatoes and the wasn’t as good as the first can’t believe I got that many with the squirrel trouble I was fighting all year. Your dinner look ms good as well as the other buildings on the layout
Curt. Thanks for the complement on the Boxcars and thanks for all the likes and complements everyone.
Here’s a couple more I Custom built and painted/decaled. The Hopper is a old Athearn Blue box kit with Microscale decals and the Tank Car was a Tyco with a set of old Champ decals. Enjoy your day and weekend everyone
Troy. Glad you made it safely home and hope your wife does well on the lab work. My thoughts on your layout is very impressive keep the good work going
Willie. That’s the last of the tomatoes and the wasn’t as good as the first can’t believe I got that many with the squirrel trouble I was fighting all year. Your dinner look ms good as well as the other buildings on the layout
Curt. Thanks for the complement on the Boxcars and thanks for all the likes and complements everyone.
Here’s a couple more I Custom built and painted/decaled. The Hopper is a old Athearn Blue box kit with Microscale decals and the Tank Car was a Tyco with a set of old Champ decals. Enjoy your day and weekend everyone
Patrick
Alien Attitude.
Morning all,
Supposed to be in the low 90's today and tomorrow and in the low 80's on Monday. We'll see.
Early birthday party this weekend for the eldest grand daughter. Family matters make it hard sometimes to plan things on actual days. So I have to get the yard ready as it's at our house.
chadbag: Sure fooled an ex-son-in-law when I found the stuff he was hiding on his Mac. Never give me command line access. LOL I do think Apple lost out when they could no longer get the PowerPC chips when IBM quit making them. I was working with those in mid-range computers prior to Apple building a computer with them. IMO they're nothing more than a PC with an expensive OS.
IBKen: After 35 years of dealing with computers, you see why I don't care to do DCC at this time. Too much like the computer stuff I do everyday and I want to get away from that in my hobbies.
TrucTrain55: I haven't seen a Skelgas car in years. The town I where I went to HS had a Skelly refinery on the south side, which was then Getty and later Texaco. That refinery is still in operation as HollyFrontier. There was also a Fina refinery on the north side of town as well. That's been long shutdown and the lot cleared, however it's a brownfield due to the years of oil on the site.
Supposed to be in the low 90's today and tomorrow and in the low 80's on Monday. We'll see.
Early birthday party this weekend for the eldest grand daughter. Family matters make it hard sometimes to plan things on actual days. So I have to get the yard ready as it's at our house.
chadbag: Sure fooled an ex-son-in-law when I found the stuff he was hiding on his Mac. Never give me command line access. LOL I do think Apple lost out when they could no longer get the PowerPC chips when IBM quit making them. I was working with those in mid-range computers prior to Apple building a computer with them. IMO they're nothing more than a PC with an expensive OS.
IBKen: After 35 years of dealing with computers, you see why I don't care to do DCC at this time. Too much like the computer stuff I do everyday and I want to get away from that in my hobbies.
TrucTrain55: I haven't seen a Skelgas car in years. The town I where I went to HS had a Skelly refinery on the south side, which was then Getty and later Texaco. That refinery is still in operation as HollyFrontier. There was also a Fina refinery on the north side of town as well. That's been long shutdown and the lot cleared, however it's a brownfield due to the years of oil on the site.
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santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. A cool 58° and partly cloudy this morning. Finally saw the sun yesterday afternoon for the first time since Monday. Today will be a repeat with a high around 83°. Warmer over the weekend and a major "blue norther" arrives Monday, with the high anticipated to be only 71°.
I am going to the lab(?) for a CT angiogram of the legs after lunch today. Nothing particularly wrong, but my doctor wants to check. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
Blueberry waffles and lots of bacon for me this morning Flo.
Thanks to one and all for the likes and comments regarding the progress on the trackwork; Jerome, Guy, Patrick, Chad, Garry, Lee, Karl, Hughie, GT, Tom O, Curt, Phil, Ken, Tom, Jerry.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I made some trackwork progress. Since I had actually been testing the trackwork in that portion of the layout for over two years, I know that it is as "bulletproof" as I can get it. Started with painting random ties different shades of brown to represent replacements and aging. Yesterday, I used four other shades. I don't always use the same shades repeatedly when I do this.
Then I ballasted three sections of industry spurs and one stretch of main line.
I use the Woodland Scenics ballast exclusively as I never have had a problem with it. I use Light Gray (White) on main lines. I use Gray on industry spurs, and I use a Gray Blend, on passing sidings, (two tracks on either side of the main in the pictures). This is in keeping with what I observed on ATSF lines in the 70's-80's. I'll hopefully get to the sidings and switches after the 2:00 scan appointment.
Garry - Like what you did to the old Tyco car. Hard to tell from the picture what it started as. I only have one Tyco freight car on the layout currently, body mounted Kadee #5's and new trucks like yours. But I have a half dozen more in one of my boxes of pre-60's equipment that I have stored. Most have also been converted. They always made good filler cars.
Patrick - I did some computer programming for manufacturing back in the late 80's - mid 90's for my company with the assistance of my buddy in the IT department. There weren't any commercially available programs that worked for our business at the time. After he got an assistant, they wrote many more programs for other departments, like order entry and some limited financial stuff. Eventually when the folks who had to use them complained too much about their usability, his boss asked me to review any new programs (and the old ones) for "human interface ease", for lack of a better term; prior to making them live. No complaints about the ones that I originally had a hand in. It saved invaluable time with the final users who mostly didn't have the time or ability to discuss the issues with the programmers. Finally in 2002 or 2003, there was a program that we bought for the window manufacturing industry that replaced what we were using. We were able however to customize many programs to mirror what we had done and also to enhance what it did that would work for us. Sometimes, programmers did not realize that the final users were not as computer savvy as they were. Especially in the last century.
Everybody have a great Friday.
I am going to the lab(?) for a CT angiogram of the legs after lunch today. Nothing particularly wrong, but my doctor wants to check. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
Blueberry waffles and lots of bacon for me this morning Flo.
Thanks to one and all for the likes and comments regarding the progress on the trackwork; Jerome, Guy, Patrick, Chad, Garry, Lee, Karl, Hughie, GT, Tom O, Curt, Phil, Ken, Tom, Jerry.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I made some trackwork progress. Since I had actually been testing the trackwork in that portion of the layout for over two years, I know that it is as "bulletproof" as I can get it. Started with painting random ties different shades of brown to represent replacements and aging. Yesterday, I used four other shades. I don't always use the same shades repeatedly when I do this.
Then I ballasted three sections of industry spurs and one stretch of main line.
I use the Woodland Scenics ballast exclusively as I never have had a problem with it. I use Light Gray (White) on main lines. I use Gray on industry spurs, and I use a Gray Blend, on passing sidings, (two tracks on either side of the main in the pictures). This is in keeping with what I observed on ATSF lines in the 70's-80's. I'll hopefully get to the sidings and switches after the 2:00 scan appointment.
Garry - Like what you did to the old Tyco car. Hard to tell from the picture what it started as. I only have one Tyco freight car on the layout currently, body mounted Kadee #5's and new trucks like yours. But I have a half dozen more in one of my boxes of pre-60's equipment that I have stored. Most have also been converted. They always made good filler cars.
Patrick - I did some computer programming for manufacturing back in the late 80's - mid 90's for my company with the assistance of my buddy in the IT department. There weren't any commercially available programs that worked for our business at the time. After he got an assistant, they wrote many more programs for other departments, like order entry and some limited financial stuff. Eventually when the folks who had to use them complained too much about their usability, his boss asked me to review any new programs (and the old ones) for "human interface ease", for lack of a better term; prior to making them live. No complaints about the ones that I originally had a hand in. It saved invaluable time with the final users who mostly didn't have the time or ability to discuss the issues with the programmers. Finally in 2002 or 2003, there was a program that we bought for the window manufacturing industry that replaced what we were using. We were able however to customize many programs to mirror what we had done and also to enhance what it did that would work for us. Sometimes, programmers did not realize that the final users were not as computer savvy as they were. Especially in the last century.
Everybody have a great Friday.
GarryCBQ
Well-Known Member
Hello everybody .
We are getting ready to go to the funeral for my friend, Dan. I miss him.
Thanks to all who commented and liked my photo of the TH&B boxcar I just put together.
Alan .... Your Santa Fe steam locomotives are very impressive.
Lee ..... The tank car and covered hopper look good.
Troy .... You asked for comments. It looks okay to me, but I have not used that type of layout construction.
Here is a picture of Prairie View station.
Everybody .... Have a good day.
We are getting ready to go to the funeral for my friend, Dan. I miss him.
Thanks to all who commented and liked my photo of the TH&B boxcar I just put together.
Alan .... Your Santa Fe steam locomotives are very impressive.
Lee ..... The tank car and covered hopper look good.
Troy .... You asked for comments. It looks okay to me, but I have not used that type of layout construction.
Here is a picture of Prairie View station.
Everybody .... Have a good day.
kbkchooch
"retired" conductor
Alan, your engines have me squirming in my seat and drooling a little. My co-workers were wondering if I was watching porn! LOL!! They look Maaahhhhvelous!
Well it kind of is Train Porn! Glad you like 'em! I had lots of fun doing them.
PRR Modeler
Well-Known Member
Afternoon All,
Started out with some chores then putting on the last of the foliage clusters and smaller bushes in back of the track and finished up gluing down cork roadbed up to the spot where the ME 210' steel viaduct bridge (on previous layout) will go. I'm waiting on a shipment of the break apart clump foliage to finish the back drop behind the engine servicing facility. Probably no modeling this weekend. I'm visiting Mom and Dad tomorrow (was sick last weekend) and Sunday is lawn camp with the grandkids.
The photos are in order from the back of the RH and runs about 20' of mainline. I haven't decided whether to "plant trees" on the slope of the 4th picture or to continue with the bushes. Trees will be much easier to do. Any recommendations?
Troy- I would think the first picture (straight in) would give you the most switching opportunities. Because of the size available you will probably need #4 T/O's.
Lee- Nice looking cars.
Alan- Great steamer shot. Really nice modeling.
Willie- Nice work on the ballast. I used WS ballast on my last layout but am toying with the idea of using real stone this time.
Garry- Nice layout shot. Once again condolences on the loss of your friend.
I hope everyone has a good night.
Started out with some chores then putting on the last of the foliage clusters and smaller bushes in back of the track and finished up gluing down cork roadbed up to the spot where the ME 210' steel viaduct bridge (on previous layout) will go. I'm waiting on a shipment of the break apart clump foliage to finish the back drop behind the engine servicing facility. Probably no modeling this weekend. I'm visiting Mom and Dad tomorrow (was sick last weekend) and Sunday is lawn camp with the grandkids.
The photos are in order from the back of the RH and runs about 20' of mainline. I haven't decided whether to "plant trees" on the slope of the 4th picture or to continue with the bushes. Trees will be much easier to do. Any recommendations?
Troy- I would think the first picture (straight in) would give you the most switching opportunities. Because of the size available you will probably need #4 T/O's.
Lee- Nice looking cars.
Alan- Great steamer shot. Really nice modeling.
Willie- Nice work on the ballast. I used WS ballast on my last layout but am toying with the idea of using real stone this time.
Garry- Nice layout shot. Once again condolences on the loss of your friend.
I hope everyone has a good night.
AWESOME PICS AND POSTS ALL!
I am clawing my way back among the living! I have no idea what attacked my innards - but part of it is still there! Whoo!
This is third day of the stool track meet - feeling chipper at the moment.
I got a call to get my tax info to the man by Friday! I know, YES it is last years- I was hoping they would just over look me.
I promise to do better NEXT YEAR (I think I actually said that LAST YEAR?
Have to run now - day started with my ASUS "crapped out" due to some (I guess) updates? Anyhoo, I had tore-enter signin and passwords for many accounts and somedidn't want to let me and had to do the "new password" two step which drives me bonkers -can't use a previous one - BS! Choose a sronger one - NO, I don't wanna! - you have too! ARGGG!
I be back! Off to see the wizard of accountants!
Just have to make one comment though! ALAN - I want to know where you live! LOL
I am clawing my way back among the living! I have no idea what attacked my innards - but part of it is still there! Whoo!
This is third day of the stool track meet - feeling chipper at the moment.
I got a call to get my tax info to the man by Friday! I know, YES it is last years- I was hoping they would just over look me.
I promise to do better NEXT YEAR (I think I actually said that LAST YEAR?
Have to run now - day started with my ASUS "crapped out" due to some (I guess) updates? Anyhoo, I had tore-enter signin and passwords for many accounts and somedidn't want to let me and had to do the "new password" two step which drives me bonkers -can't use a previous one - BS! Choose a sronger one - NO, I don't wanna! - you have too! ARGGG!
I be back! Off to see the wizard of accountants!
Just have to make one comment though! ALAN - I want to know where you live! LOL
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