Running Bear's November 2020 Coffee Shop

[McLeod]

Good Morning, everyone! And a Christmassy white morning it is, with the new snow coming down and 24°F. It's supposed to hover around that temperature for the entire day, and get colder in the days ahead. Looks like we are locked into the grips of winter until next April. I've already checked that the snow-blower is tuned up and the snow shovel is handy, so let it come!! - I'm hearing that ski's and snow-shoes are very hot items this year, due to the pandemic and so many home-bound. I'm hearing the stores are sold out of those items. I hope my ice-fishing lake isn't going to get over crowded; it was so peaceful out there.

The wife is still at home in her cast, so I've not done much modeling! She gets bored easily, so we mostly do things only she can enjoy, in an effort to break her boredom. I'll be very happy when she gets that cast off, and is able to go back to work. So will she.

Thank-you for the likes on my prototype photos! Perhaps I will only be able to post prototype photos until the wife gets back to work and gets out of my hair. I have a ton of them, all taken over the past year in the local area. - I'd would like to go to the city and take photos there. However, I believe the CN police vs an old man with a camera issue would be a far bigger problem there. I'm not sure that they are real cops; more like untrained cartoon cops. I believe they should direct their energy to the real criminals; those who are attempting to cause harm, like these fella's here:

The CN police didn't bother with those fella's, though, even though the whole world knew they were on the tracks.

Anyway, I suppose I had better quit ranting. I'm still somewhat angry over that ticket I got the other day, and that anger is spilling over.

Matter-of-fact, I better go do something! Have a good day, everyone!!

 

[moermusic]

here was our trick or treat week. trailer with 4 cords of split stacked wood arrived sun evening *treat*
the *trick* was only 2 of us 70+ yr olds unloaded it & restacked it in the shed only managed 3-4 hrs /day for 4 days before finished
muscle aches cured with some hot rum
the shed pic shows the process, not quite completed yet

 

[Boris]

Good morning y'all. 48° and sunny with some fog.

Thank you for all the Likes and complements for the photos. One of these days, I will get around to scanning some of my personal collection.

Speaking of photos, I took a couple of screen shots of Wanamaker Ave. in Essington, PA which forms the basis of the module I'm working on. Wow, things have changed since I was last at that location. I'm not sure how well this is going to work, but later today, I will play with the Corel photo altering software, and see what happens.

QUOTE="IronBeltKen, post: 492254, member: 167"]
Joe - better not complain too loudly, else they're going to beg the state for even MORE money to "fix" the problem. That's what happened recently in Maryland and I'm afraid to see how that is going to impact my state income tax rate...
[/QUOTE]

Ken: Terry's friend "Murphy" is going to increase their funding regardless, as soon as he can find the appropriate new revenue source. FWIW, Jersey exempts retirement benefits from taxation, unless taxable income exceeds 20k, and any attempt to change that will arouse the ire of numerous retirees that can't or won't leave the state.

I must say even though NYS has the worst when it comes to taxes, but the weather is very nice compared to other parts of the country.

Tom: Weather? Not for nothing, but the Lake effect snow on Tug Hill (I-81), was an experience I'll never forget. I also recall TDY in Buffalo, back when I was with Conrail...

NYS only ranks 5 spots ahead of us @ 12th from the bottom for weather.

Mike: Any place North of the Mason - Dixon Line, and many places South of it, share weather that some find undesirable. With our Coastal climate we frequently go several years without significant snow fall, and other years, look out. On this date 8 years ago, we had 12" of wet snow on the ground...Yet, when I came here the realtor told us "It never snows at the Shore" Ha!

fter this, the two locos vanished for a few months while restoration work and repainting took place, before they went on display at York for a period - I'll post some subsequent pictures of that - and both locomotives have now returned to their respective homes in America and Canada. Great to see all six survivors back together for the first time in over 50 years tho!

Rich: Those are great photos! I'm not really in to steam, but those locomotives are amazing, even today.

So tired of the news that is not news that I'm revolting!

Karl: You ain't seen nothing yet...they are just warming up for 2024. meanwhile, to keep you informed, Joe Namath, Mike Ditka, and joe Theismann have some important news to share concerning your medicare plan.... At least the comercias on cartoon Network show the cool toys our grandchildren are interested in.

Willie: Nice photos from the Museum. Surprised that there are insufficient "redneck" types. Not everyone models NJT and needs the suits, eh?

Guy; Cool Pictures.

Portrait of Penn Station, Newark, NJ in the early morning. 11/04/2020. Photographer Unknown.

Take a Ride on the Reading, Hagerstown, MD 6/6/1974. Warren Calloway Photograph.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning, everybody.

WIllie ..... Thanks for posting pictures of the museum.

Joe ...... I like the Reading paint scheme on the big Alcos very much.

Not much more to say now.

Everybody: .... Have a good day. .

 

[Espeefan]

Happy Saturday everyone. Looked at all of those tax discussions. I've lived in the south where property taxes are dirt cheap and sales tax was sky high, and up north here where property taxes are high and sales taxes more modest. Gas taxes , well it depends. The idiots in the state legislature here in WI decided it would be better to stick it to their constituents by raising fees on vehicle purchases and tags instead of raising the gas taxes and letting tourists chip in. That way they could say they didn't raise taxes. This reaffirmed something I've known for a long time. The government gets theirs baby. The only thing that changes is where and from who!

Cut and painted some corrugated roofing material for O'Neills this week. Now it has to be weathered!

 

[GarryCBQ]

Sherrel ...... Interesting about Frisco 2000. .... I recall Santa Fe's early E-units were rebuilt by EMD, and EMD designated them as E8m's.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning/afternoon fellow Coffee Shop dwellers. Wisconsin weather again is beautiful and will be in the 70’s later. Hit a fairly empty famers market this morning just as a network declared a winner. People went crazy happy, we couldn’t figure out why they were cheering for us getting out of the car.

Picked up some spicy meat sticks and jerky for the SIL and and the 9 year old granddaughter, no one else in the family will touch them.
Some hobby room activity for me today after I use the leaf blower in the yard. I posted for sale online last night 4 fermentation tanks and it’s building from my ethanol plant. A few folks asked me for more pictures, 2 asked for pictures of the Ethanol plant. Replied that it’s down and mostly sold. One replied well then how am I to figure where to put it! No response from the other.

Heading outside
TomO

 

[montanan]

Good afternoon. Busy yesterday helping some friends. Managed to win three out of four bowling last night. The laundry is done and just finished lunch. May run down to the3 train room for a while. We do have a Winter Weather Advisory out for tonight through Sunday night. Hoping that they will be wrong as usual. With last years forecasts I think they had around a 10% accuracy. A good friend of ours who is also on the bowling league is in the hospital due to Corvid-19. I guess there are spikes all over the country.

Greg - It sounds like your wife might be a bit upset at your railroad purchases. Wouldn't want get her upset.

GeeTee - Both LG and Samsung are Korean and the brands that the serviceman says are for the most part junk. We have Kenmore washers and dryers that have to be well over 30 years old that we bought from a friend who had to move out of state. They are still working just fine. In all the time we had them all I had to to to them is replace the heating element fro the dryer twice. We were thinking of replacing them but so long as they're working we will keep them. Kenmore and Whirlpool are made by the same company but I understand that LG is now making some Kenmore appliances. We rep[laced the dishwasher with a Maytag and last week I bought a Frigidaire gas range to replace the piece of crap we have now.

Taxes I don't want to think about. With all of the new people moving into the valley over the past 10 to 15 years, property taxes have gone through the roof. They keep voting for thinks that they had from wherever they came from. We stuck paying taxes for the high schools. They just built a second school for a big tax increase and then found out that they didn't have enough money to run it. I think as soon as the wife is ready to retire, we're moving to another part of the state. All of my model railroad stuff will be for sale. Joe is really taking in the shorts in New Jersey. I understand that there are a lot of people moving out of there like New York and Los Angeles.

Rich - Beautiful photos of the British steam.

Willie - Like those museum photos. How large is it? That feed store is impressive.

Garry - I would have to agree that the CB&Q E-8 would be an outstanding offering. Can remember the pulling the North Coast Limited from the Twin Cities into Chicago. They are beautiful.

Curt - Excellent looking track work. Looking forward to more updates.

Sherrel - That EA-7 is beautiful. Really like the looks of them The Northern Pacific never ran them, but I do have a Milwaukee Road E unit. No way unfortunately to work in into my layout. In the 30's most everything they had in Montana was electric with the exception of some switchers.

Hughie - You sure have a lot of HO equipment for modeling in N scale.

moermusic - You have a pretty good jag of firewood there. I used to enjoy getting firewood, years ago. The forest service started closing a lot of the logging roads in the national forest just south of us making it a bit more difficult to find firewood, adding a bit more in mileage to haul it home. We went to a pellet stove when pellets we $35 a ton but then they got expensive at around $125 a tome. We finally got natural gas to the house and use a natural gas stove. We just replaced the first one after around 15 years of use with a new one out of Canada that uses a double chimney to use outside air for combustion. An outstanding stove.

Joe - More excellent photos. Keep them coming.

I did finally get some time to head down to the train room to run some trains. I did clean the tracks a while back so I was abe to do some switching. A few of you mentioned that I had not posted any photos of the park scene before. Here is a photo showing where it's located next to the passenger station across from the Chevy dealer.

Here are a few photos of fishermen on the river and the Gateway trucking office in Gallatin Gateway.

Here's the pair of Northern Pacific switchers that I like to run in addition to my Alcos. They are extremely smooth running and work great for switching in tight spaces.

Here's a Woodland Scenics house that I used to fill a vacant space on the layout.

Later

 

[Sirfoldalot]

OK .. Heads Up Guys! We have rain after 5 months - a whole 1/4 inch!
I was so excited that I went out and stood in it!
I know that Willie, Garry, Hughie, Curt, Phil, Terry, and others are probably falling down laughing at this moment, but HEY ... it's really exciting!

Thanks for the comments on the EA-7. Several comments on the rear truck? No one seems able to pinpoint what was going on. Perhaps the truck was still in the shop?
Garry, I did learn that those first 6 were cosmetically made to resemble the E-8's in appearance during 1950 and the gear ratio was changed down to 85mph from 100 to match also.

Excellent photos, EVERYONE! GUY -- Be sure and take that photo with you to court - those people should have been arrested - not just given a ticket!

Going to go enjoy the rain some more - even though it's now just a mist!

 

[Texas Hobo]

OK .. Heads Up Guys! We have rain after 5 months - a whole 1/4 inch!
I was so excited that I went out and stood in it!
I know that Willie, Garry, Hughie, Curt, Phil, Terry, and others are probably falling down laughing at this moment, but HEY ... it's really exciting!

Thanks for the comments on the EA-7. Several comments on the rear truck? No one seems able to pinpoint what was going on. Perhaps the truck was still in the shop?
Garry, I did learn that those first 6 were cosmetically made to resemble the E-8's in appearance during 1950 and the gear ratio was changed down to 85mph from 100 to match also.

Excellent photos, EVERYONE! GUY -- Be sure and take that photo with you to court - those people should have been arrested - not just given a ticket!

Going to go enjoy the rain some more - even though it's now just a mist!

It's not to be afraid of the storm, but to learn to dance in the rain.

 

[GeeTee]

My comparison was in relation to what Joe posted about New Jersey. I am not attempting to make this into a one state is better than another argument, but for what it's worth, here are some facts.
I don't know where you live in Texas, but I have 15 acres and a 1500 sq ft home and my property taxes (including school taxes) are ~$775 per year. My train shed made it go up by $150 a couple of years ago. I do have a homestead exemption on the house and an agricultural exemption on 14 acres, I am sure that Mississippi may have both available as well. As a senior citizen here, school taxes are frozen unless you make improvements. As I pointed out there is no state income tax in Texas, but there is in Mississippi. Oil royalties go into the school fund as does the lottery proceeds. Gasoline tax in Texas is 20¢/gallon, Mississippi is 18¢/gallon.

Check this out: Ten worst states to retire in.

Mississippi has a 4-6 % property tax with around a 5% sales , Here its 8.125 % sales . Mississippi does not have ag exemptions , it does have homestead exemptions . So the taxes are about $3 - $4 per year per acre.

My taxes here in Hays, in a semi rural area with a 3 A school district , last year $6000 , on 2300 sq ft and 5 acres . Over the last 20 years my taxes have doubled , land prices are up 5X . There's no heavy industry in Hays to share the burden .

My taxes in Calhoun ( I had property there were less but Calhoun has only 3 A school district and several multi billion dollar chem plants to help pay the bill.

Oil royalties on PUF land , which comprises about 1-2 million acres in West Texas go into the PUF , Permanent University Fund , Which is shared by UT ( 2/3 share) and A&M (1/3 share) , none of that revenue goes to local school districts or is shared with other Universities that are not part of the UT system or A&M system. Texas Tech along with other independent state owned universities get nothing . Right now the accumulated assets are around 18 billion. https://www.utimco.org/funds-managed/endowment-funds/permanent-university-fund-puf/ Most of the money ends up invested stocks and bonds , Unless you or your children go to UT / A&M or its affiliates , you don't really get any benefit from it.

I am not suggesting that you retire in Mississippi . I am simply stating that the property taxes are considerably lower even without exemptions ( I have no exemptions ).



My income from property in Mississippi far exceeds anything I've gotten in Texas. In fact , the income paid 100% for my house in Texas . My father , complained that he almost worked and almost starved to death in AR-LA-TX , In Mississippi they handed him a check for $80,000 for the timber on 40 and he didn't have to lift a finger and he got to keep the land. I sold 4.5 acres of timber prior to Katrina , for 17K + and it paid for one of the pickups I'm driving (cash) . My thinning last year was $33K ( 20 year old ) .


My problem with the land in Mississippi is not paying the tax on it , Its to keep from paying the Federal Tax on the INCOME from it. Some of it has 40 year growth and is mature (14 acres) , I am probably going to have to either buy more land or buy another house in Texas to reinvest. And 7 years after that I have to do a full harvest on the 40 .

 

[santafewillie]

Hey GT. Again I am not suggesting where one lives is better than where another lives. I see that Hays County has one of the highest property tax rates in the country, Cooke County where I reside is a little lower but not much. We are ranked at 494th in the country, while Hays is ranked at 118th in the entire country. There's 3143 counties in USA. I see that Calhoun County MS is ranked at 2370. I guess that's the price that we pay for living in a state with no state income tax. As far as sales tax goes, that depends on a lot of factors in Texas. The Texas state sales and use tax rate is 6.25 percent, but local taxing jurisdictions (cities, counties, special-purpose districts and transit authorities) also may impose sales and use tax up to 2 percent for a total maximum combined rate of 8.25 percent. So you're getting a break at 8.125%. Here I pay the full 8.25%.

Oil royalties on PUF land , which comprises about 1-2 million acres in West Texas go into the PUF , Permanent University Fund , Which is shared by UT ( 2/3 share) and A&M (1/3 share) , none of that revenue goes to local school districts or is shared with other Universities that are not part of the UT system or A&M system.

I am fully aware of that, I did not intend to infer otherwise. By the way, the UT system supports 14 institutions while the A&M system supports 11 institutions, so they money is spread out.
At five acres in Texas, you do not qualify for an ag exemption. That's too bad considering how much you have to dole out.
I see that you are lucky to have income off the property in Mississippi, albeit having to pay income tax on it to both state and federal governments. I am assuming that you have to pay to both.

Mississippi has a 4-6 % property tax with around a 5% sales

The figures that I have show that your estimate of property tax to be too high, but they may not be comparing apples to apples. Their sales tax is 7% according to Google. Mississippi is definitely about 66% lower using the numbers that I have looked at for property tax. By the way, I like the state of Mississippi, but not enough to move there. Too much invested here and all of my grand kids are within 70 miles.

So on a slightly different subject. Is that timber used for dimensional lumber or pulpwood?
This has been an educational conversation.

 

[CambriaArea51]

Tom - Temperature extremes are what they are. I know that some folks like you and Guy like the colder weather, but I personally dislike bundling up. Right now on November 7, I am still in shorts and tee shirts when I go outside. And, I never have to shovel hot air! The pool takes care of those triple-digit days. We do have to live with the fear of tornadoes where I am at, but I would rather that than blizzards, although we have been snowed in a few times.

Willie- Believe me I don't like the cold, I blame it on my ancestors they got off the boat traveled west till they got to the lake and stopped. They could've turned left and headed a bit south.

 

[MikeInHubCity]

Willie- Believe me I don't like the cold, I blame it on my ancestors they got off the boat traveled west till they got to the lake and stopped. They could've turned left and headed a bit south.

Having lived almost 43 years with the heat & humidity, I’ve grown to more easily tolerate UMW winters(even when it drops to 30° below, and so). The way I see it, you can always throw on another layer yet if you are cold. Only so much ya can take off.

 

[tootnkumin]

Fact of the Day! ... (has nothing to do with trains or models)

Arthur Guinness, founder of Guinness Brewery, had 21 children with just one wife.
(no wonder he foundered a brewery!)

Maybe both of them thought beer was an oral contraceptive. Until someone fortunately enlightened them.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Maybe both of them thought beer was an oral contraceptive. Until someone fortunately enlightened them.

I remember a contestant on the Groucho Marx show who had like 12 kids.
Groucho said, "You must really like kids?"
The constant replied, "No, I just love my wife".
Groucho looked at the audience, wiggled his eyebrows, and said, "I love my cigar too, but I take it out every now and then!"

 

[Sirfoldalot]

If anyone feels that the above is too riskay -- let me know and I will remove it?

 

[tootnkumin]

I remember a contestant on the Groucho Marx show who had like 12 kids.
Groucho said, "You must really like kids?"
The constant replied, "No, I just love my wife".
Groucho looked at the audience, wiggled his eyebrows, and said, "I love my cigar too, but I take it out every now and then!"

When I was kid, the family next door eventually had 12, then the doctors decided the mother needed something done, so they operated to stop her having any more..

 

[MikeInHubCity]

When I was kid, the family next door eventually had 12, then the doctors decided the mother needed something done, so they operated to stop her having any more..

Mom was the 3rd of 13(well, really 14. One of her brothers was a stillborn). The running joke in the family was “cheap labor”. Multi-generational farming family.

 

[tootnkumin]

Mom was the 3rd of 13(well, really 14. One of her brothers was a stillborn). The running joke in the family was “cheap labor”. Multi-generational farming family.

Many a family like that at one time, Mike.