Running Bear's November 2020 Coffee Shop

[Boris]

Good morning y'all. 42° this morning.

I dropped off my ballot last week, so no stress for me today. I'm sure no matter who wins, there will be numerous unhappy people. I'm not going to be one of them. If the country as a whole reflects the attitudes of the folks who live around me, nothing will make them happy...

Rich: Having worked in the Risk Management area, and being involved in accident investigations for a good part of my railroad career, I well understand the need for railroads to control access to their property. I have avoided going near RR property since I retired, I do't belong there any more. OTOH, Guy was just taking photos, which in itself is not harmful. The Special Agent, could have just given him a warning. That's discretionary in most cases.

I can relate a story from Penn Central days. I spent months assigned to ride train BL6 (Potomac Yard to Phillipsburg, NJ, via the NEC and Bel-Del Branch). I would get on at Edgemoor, (Wilmington, DE), and ride to Morrisville, (Trenton, NJ). Middle Management couldn't understand that it was very difficult for a Under powered, tonnage train to maintain schedule, when it was routed over 10 MPH and 30 MPH restricted tracks, frequently conflicting with the Morning commuter rush. This particular morning, we got to Trenton at a reasonable time where I might make a connection with # 177, The Federal, and a quick ride back to Wilmington. I stayed on the power, and when the crew made their cut, and pulled up to set out their Morrisville Block, the head end of the train was at the signal bridge at the East End of Trenton Station. I alighted from the train, and crossed two tracks, and used the employee stairway to access the high platform. There I was accosted by two Penn Central Cops, who really wanted to arrest me and charge me with Trespass, (Even though I was a company official on duty and authorized to ride head ends and ...safely...navigate the ROW.). I Identified myself, presented company credentials and insisted I was within my rights, and basically told them to wake up their captain, if they doubted my authority. Ultimately, they gave up, and I made my train. I never discussed this again, but a couple nights later, they apologized to me, for their rude behavior.

James: Happy Birthday!

I made a little more progress on the layout rebuild.

Second storage / staging track roadbed is down, and subsequently painted. track goes in this morning.

Test train consist sitting out of the way, on the Main. Diesels were used to check clearance, using hand power, as wiring is not yet connected.

In a prior to 1982 photograph, Conrail work train powered by AERS12, on what appears to be New haven territory.

 

[Espeefan]

I spent some time last night building a loading dock overhang. It was all board by board construction, and gave me my first pothole. I wont go into detail other than to say things didn't turn out properly. It's fixed now, and I've gone back to the folks on that forum who have built this kit to try and find out what I did wrong. On a less expansive kit this overhang probably would be a piece of cardstock, or a single piece of wood. Not so with this one. It'll pay off in final appearance though. You build this thing on a full size template. It's an interesting process.

Oh, and rafters are a real PITA!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 46° on this election day morning here in North Central Texas. After two unsuccessful attempts at early voting, we're just going to do it at the normal time and place today. First attempt was at the wrong place because my wife misread the early voting locations, the second time the rain was too significant to wait outside. We vote in the local community center about seven miles away. The early voting took place at the county tax office where there were overflow crowds every day. It's not like the old days when we voted in Lester Marshall's garage. Lester's wife always had a pot of beans and rice cooking in the side room for the poll workers and we had to pass through there to get to the garage, where we always checked out Lester's new tools and equipment before voting and exiting a different door. Lester and his wife eventually moved into an assisted living center so that ended that. If the weather was pleasant like today, we just used the open garage doors.
Got a workout yesterday, hauling about six yards of composted wood chips to the garden in preparation for the spring garden. Every few years, the power company has a contractor trim branches away from the lines and I always get them to dump a couple of loads for my use. They are happy to do so, as they don't have to drive many miles to a landfill and pay a fee to dump them. The chips really work well in loosening my heavy clay soil and supply some minor nutrients as well.

A pair of sunny side up eggs and a big stack of sausage patties this morning Flo.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the museum pictures in yesterday's post; Guy, Sherrel, Karl, Phil, Tom O Chad, Patrick, Gary, James, Hughie, Curt, Tom, Rich, Justin, Jerry, Ken.

Actually started on a project in the train shed yesterday, I am building another laser-cut wood structure. But you have to wait until tomorrow for pictures. Meanwhile, let's move on to the O scale Lionel layout in the Mississippi Coast Museum.

I have that sane Lionel clock in my train shed.

An animated gas station.

Patrick - Tower is looking good. You're right about the flash always being on the "seen" side. That's just to keep the modeler on his toes!
Rich - 26' x 10' is a really nice-sized area to work with. Especially so since I seem to recall that you are an N scaler.
Guy - Sorry to read about the trespassing citation. Sure looks like you can beat it though.
Alan - That structure really looks good.
Hughie - I did not knock those cars off the tracks. My bet is on the cleaning lady bumping into the layout table. I would have righted them, but there are signs everywhere asking that you don't reach into the layout or touch anything!
Gary - The diner looks good with the metal covering.

Again, today is election day here in the states. Vote early and vote often if you live where it is customary.
Have a great day. See you later.

 

[McLeod]

Morning, everyone! What a beautiful day it will be! 38°F as I enjoy my coffee, and it will reach near 50° later in the day. I'll be putting up the Christmas lights early, while it's still warm. They won't be turned on though; not until after November 11th.

If it helps at all, over here you can and will be arrested and charged for trespassing on the railway. Not that I condone it, as I don't, but with the 3-prong security fencing we have up all over the line side, the railway becomes like Fort Knox. The Health & Safety culture that is extensive and way OTT over here, means that legally its the railways fault if you get killed or injured, as they somehow allowed you on to the track.

It's not like that here in this very rural area. The railway going through town is not fenced, and there is very limited signage. With a downtown area built on both sides of the tracks (bank one side, grocery the other), there are many who walk the tracks just to get from one side to the other. Crossing the tracks offers the shortest route, as there are only 3 street crossings over the entire length of the town. If people are on foot, they will usually cross the tracks, rather than walk the extra 1/2 to full block to use a legal street crossing. - I'm fairly certain that most folks who cross the tracks or use them as a pathway, know that they are trespassing. It just don't seem like a big deal here in hillbilly country.

I'm still angry about getting that ticket; I'll spend 10 grand to beat it, if I have to. I've already taken many photos of that area; The beaten in foot paths, the lack of fencing and signage, and the proximity and extent of retail stores on either side of that spot on the rails. That boisterous rail-nazi is going to get beaten in a court room. - All he had to say was 'Please stay off the tracks, and take photos from off to the side'. I would have respected that; but, he made me angry, instead.

As far as I can see, no one else goes down there to take photos. If it wasn't for guys like me, there just wouldn't be many photos of this type to add to the historical record. I mean photos like this:

One day in the future, that photo might mean something to someone!

Have a great day, everyone! I'm too cranky to continue, so I'm going to take some breather time. I'll see you another day, when I can talk about nicer things and really appreciate the fine posts you are all making.

 

[TLOC]

Happy Tuesday where ever you are. Our voting was done a month ago, received the ballot in late September and put it in the City Hall ballot box that they emptied at 9, noon, 3 and 6 On 10/3/2020.

I think the Railroad cop should have just done a warning. Good luck with the fight.

Today the lawns have few leaves on them, not so yesterday. I am not going to worry about it, if they are there when the white stuff covers them, so be it.

Not sure I ever shared these photos of the pulp loaders on break. Have a great day. TomO

 

[GEfan]

Great shots of the pulp loaders there @TLOC ... great scenery too!

As an aside, I have posted a message elsewhere on this forum .. if anyone can help identify this layout, I'd love to know if the website is still online and been updated, but cannot find it after a few weeks of looking... Can you identify this HO gauge layout?

Rich

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Good morning from wonderful California (sic)!
55 degrees going up to only 80 with partly cloudy and some wind later on.

I managed to reset the bedroom clock - and believe it or not - the pups did not disturb me until 5:53AM!
I swear they can tell time? The spousal Unit returned about noontime yesterday and immediately spent the remainder of the afternoon with eyeglass appointment, dr. appointment, and a couple other stops.
She is continuing to shed pounds, but at a slower pace - all is good; she has an appointment with the knee surgeon on December 3rd.

Love all the pictures guys - Wonderful modeling by everyone!

 

[dennis461]

Good morning.
Finishing up my weight addition to 2-8-8-2 Rivarossi.
Melted some lead into a semi-tubular form.
Lots of room in the boiler.
6.5 ozs!

 

[santafewillie]

Well, that was painless. We did in-person voting this morning. Left the house at 0930, drove 7.5 miles to the community center and we're home by 1000. Our small rural precinct had six voting machines shared with another precinct, six election workers and there were only two voters in front of me in line, one of which was my wife. All new voting machines this year and they were a breeze to operate. Meanwhile I had heard a lot of comments before about the lines at the early voting location, the only one in the whole county. I also talked with a teacher from the K-12 school directly across the road and she told me that the school was allowing the teachers and others to take turns walking over in the morning, to avoid the traditional rush at lunch that they usually have. The students will be allowed to go after lunch in small groups. Very friendly setup.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Morning Everyone...sunny and cool here in this part of Wisconsin.

Boris, I was rail-fanning on a public roadway next to the right of way and was waiting for a train and also watched a crew working on a siding. The ROW was clearly marked by signage. I was certain I was on the public roadway. One of the crew member came over to my truck and asked me what I was doing and I told him rail-fanning and that I was a model railroader. He said we'll see about that and "I deleted his choice of words" and he walked back to a truck where he talked on a two-way radio. I presumed that he was talking to someone to get the RR police to check me out.

I decided to leave and down the road maybe a mile a marked RR van with two guys with badges passed me going in the opposite direction. No doubt they were looking for me. It didn't take long since I think the RR cops must of been down the road in Du Plainville. I wanted to go back and see what would happen, but I figured the story would change and the crew worker would have had me standing in the middle of the tracks to enhance his story.

Going to court would of been worth the hassle. This was a popular rail fanning site.

On another day I was parked were I could see the passing trains very close up while still on public property. Across the road was a large RR crew working on a signal box. After maybe an hour one of the RR workers came over and asked me very nice what I was doing parked there. I explained I was a model railroader and want to catch a few trains before they entered the Butler yard. He smiled and said all traffic was stopped on the mainline until repairs were complete in about three hours. I thanked him and left.

I guess it all depends on how a cop uses his authority.

I was in the North Fond du Lac yard of the former Wisconsin Central and I asked at the office if I could take some photos. The person I talked to said yes I could, but he directed me to a spot where I wouldn't get in the way of the train switching. No hassles or problems even being in the yard.

TLOC: Great photo of the loaders. Using real wood for the logs really adds to the realism. I need to change my pulp wood piles to stacked like yours and cut some branches fo the logs. I would also like to replace the plastic logs on my pulp wood cars. Do you know what variety of plant you used for yothe logs?



McLeod: Good luck with your court battle. Lots of photos may help with your case in your case. Nice photo of loco #4604.

Sirfoldalot: Good news on your wife weight loss progress.

GEFan: Those photos of that railroad look familiar but I can't remember the details. Maybe send a letter to Kalmbach's offices and ask some one at Modeler Railroad magazine if they remember the layout.

That's all for now..................

Greg

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

 

[montanan]

A quick good morning. 34 degrees with an expected high in the mid 60's again. My cousin got a call late yesterday afternoon that their kitchen is completed. The counter tops arrives around lunch time and they'll be good to go. They took off early this morning to head home. They had planned a kitchen remodel next year but with the help from the insurance settlement they were able to complete it this year.

Finally got the mowing deck off of the tractor and the plow blade installed over the weekend and put the tire chains on and covered it where it will spend the winter. Have to pick up a couple oh bungee cords this afternoon after lunch in town. Some of the old rubber ones are cracked and worthless.



Thanks for the comment on the photos of the park on the layout. I thought I had posted them before. It's right across the street from the Chevy dealership.

Joe - Like the layout photos. Good to see you're making some progress. Like the RS-3 photo also.

Willie - Happy you made it home safely. Enjoying the museum photos.

Karl - That chassis for the B&O locomotive looks like a relic. I have a Kato motor that would fit right in there.

keN- Sure do like that herd of B&O cabooses you have there.

Alan - You out did yourself on the weathering on that building. Nice job.

gary s - I used a similar paint for the diner. Not quite as shiny in this photo. The biggest pain was getting the interior lit. Not lit in this photo to show all of the interior details.

James -

Dennis - That chunk of lead should help improve the pulling power of that locomotive. I have a brass Northern Pacific Yellowstone (2-8-8-4) that has a heck of a lot of weight in it. Ran it up at the club in Great Falls years ago at the state fair and we has 118 cars behind it and it wasn't breaking a sweat. Can't run it at my club in Livingston due to a tight radius an a couple of spots because the rear engine is fixed like the prototype.

Gotta get out of here and get a few things done before going to town for lunch.

Later.

 

[Espeefan]

So I got an answer on my build. Another builder from the SWSM form answered and told me that in the event of a discrepancy, always go by the template. Interesting. Well...it's a 113 page instruction manual and nobody is perfect. It was also a pretty easy fix, as all I had to do was remove one of ten boards and do a little sanding to get the thing exact. In a similar situation, I'll lay out the boards on the template and verify the stated quantity gives you the correct size. I was worried I'd used the wrong wood. This kit comes with ALOT of strip wood, many different sizes and it isn't color coded. The lengths of the various sizes are sometimes different, but it can get confusing. Enough so that I bought a little digital caliper that measures in fractions or decimals of an inch, or metric. That thing has been a life saver!

Oh and Thanks to all who liked or commented!

 

[kbkchooch]

Chet what year is that Chevy in the back ground? 68-69 ??

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Today I finished up the scenery in the back of the layout below the upper main line. I also shallowed out a S curve behind the RH and I tested it with the 2-8-8-2 which was happier at a higher speed (25 to 40 smph). I'll finish that surrounding scenery tomorrow after chauffeuring the wife around all morning. After that I'm finally ready to finish up the lower main line.

Ken- Yes, we actually had to replace some sub-flooring because of water damage. Nice photo.

Rich- Although I use Atlas Code 83 flex track I do use PECO Insulfrog #5's for my T/O's. I have 3 ME #6's that were given to me from a friend. I have a friend that makes layouts for locals and he uses PECO flex track and he says you have to be careful when you bend it. Using something like a Ribbon Rail tool is very helpful.

Joe- I think you hit the nail on the head about people never being happy. Great progress but you're not running a Pennsy consist? .

Alan- That looks very nice.

Willie- Great story and museum photos.

Guy- Nice photo.

TomO- Excellent modeling and scenes.

Greg- Beautiful modeling.

Chet- Always top notch modeling.













I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[kbkchooch]

Wife sent me this, says she feels like I'm home already!

 

[montanan]

Chet what year is that Chevy in the back ground? 68-69 ??

1972, Bought it new and got rid of newer trucks and kept this one.

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning Everyone...sunny and cool here in this part of Wisconsin.

Boris, I was rail-fanning on a public roadway next to the right of way and was waiting for a train and also watched a crew working on a siding. The ROW was clearly marked by signage. I was certain I was on the public roadway. One of the crew member came over to my truck and asked me what I was doing and I told him rail-fanning and that I was a model railroader. He said we'll see about that and "I deleted his choice of words" and he walked back to a truck where he talked on a two-way radio. I presumed that he was talking to someone to get the RR police to check me out.

I decided to leave and down the road maybe a mile a marked RR van with two guys with badges passed me going in the opposite direction. No doubt they were looking for me. It didn't take long since I think the RR cops must of been down the road in Du Plainville. I wanted to go back and see what would happen, but I figured the story would change and the crew worker would have had me standing in the middle of the tracks to enhance his story.

Going to court would of been worth the hassle. This was a popular rail fanning site.

On another day I was parked were I could see the passing trains very close up while still on public property. Across the road was a large RR crew working on a signal box. After maybe an hour one of the RR workers came over and asked me very nice what I was doing parked there. I explained I was a model railroader and want to catch a few trains before they entered the Butler yard. He smiled and said all traffic was stopped on the mainline until repairs were complete in about three hours. I thanked him and left.

I guess it all depends on how a cop uses his authority.

I was in the North Fond du Lac yard of the former Wisconsin Central and I asked at the office if I could take some photos. The person I talked to said yes I could, but he directed me to a spot where I wouldn't get in the way of the train switching. No hassles or problems even being in the yard.

TLOC: Great photo of the loaders. Using real wood for the logs really adds to the realism. I need to change my pulp wood piles to stacked like yours and cut some branches fo the logs. I would also like to replace the plastic logs on my pulp wood cars. Do you know what variety of plant you used for yothe logs?

View attachment 120314

McLeod: Good luck with your court battle. Lots of photos may help with your case in your case. Nice photo of loco #4604.

Sirfoldalot: Good news on your wife weight loss progress.

GEFan: Those photos of that railroad look familiar but I can't remember the details. Maybe send a letter to Kalmbach's offices and ask some one at Modeler Railroad magazine if they remember the layout.

That's all for now..................

Greg

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

Greg, thanks. The pulp wood pile is solid with pulp sticks. Some pine and oak branches from the yard and then a few pieces of birch branches from the local soccer complex. I cut to HO scale 100” sticks and put in the oven at 200-240f degrees. Then dipped each log into Elmers Glue-All and applied one by one. I know there are thousands I did for the 2 piles in the photos and then enough to slide into 6 pulp cars and extras.

TomO

 

[CambriaArea51]

Evening, Been awhile since I posted a sunset but it's been awhile since there's been one.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Howdy ....

The sickness which began over two weeks ago is still bothering me. Several days ago, it evolved into an upper respiratory infection, and breathing has been difficult ever since. I went to the doctor today. He added a second antibiotic. I should be able to rest at home until the infection goes away. It did talk about the hospital today, but decided i can stay home.

I looked at your posts today. Keep up the good stuff . Have a nice evening.

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good evening Shop Dwellers! 43*F, calm, clear and dark in my central MD hometown.

For starters, thank you all for the "likes" and /or comments - Tom-C, Sherrell, Tom-O, Willie, Karl, Guy, Jerry, Patrick, Rich, Troy, Gary (in 'Bama), James, Hughie, Garry (with two R's), Chet, Curt.

Joe - I never seen a model of a GP7 in the Reading yellow scheme, who was the mfgr...P2K? Athearn Genesis? Atlas? Inquiring minds want to know!

Tom-O, I've always really loved seeing heavy machinery in a trackside industry! When I was still modeling CSX, I had a slag dump scene with a huge Komatsu loader from a Kibri kit; I had to stop using it when I went back to modeling B&O because it was too modern and, besides, Komatsu's weren't [yet] very common here in the States. Here it is on my previous layout, the "smoke" was white polyfiber [used for stuffing pillows, etc.]:

Curt - thanks for confirming my guess (that it was floor damage that necessitated dismantling/rebuilding your layout)!

* * *
The voting place for my neighborhood is usually a small Presbyterian church ~3 blocks from my house. So, I was somewhat annoyed to discover that it was not being used as such this year - ostensibly because of Covid. I had to drive to a crowded community center 5 miles away in a town I normally never drive to, and wait in a long line, to do my Civic Duty. After ~45 minutes I cast my vote and got the sticker. I'm hoping this will be the last time the Maryland BoE feels compelled to muck around with the polling locations.

[LATE EDIT] Gosh Garry - sorry to hear that the bug is still keeping you down, glad you were able to avoid the hospital - very last place any of us want to be in these times!