Good Morning All. Clear and 41°, or maybe 40°...my thermometer has fluctuated back and forth all morning. Upper 60's again today and then mid-70's for four days.
Latest update on my wife. The last two blood tests on Monday and Wednesday indicated that her kidneys were no longer tolerating the antibiotic infusions, so the doctor stopped them and instead prescribed a different one taken orally. Staci, the home health care nurse, came by last night and removed the PICC tube. Just a week more on the antibiotics anyway, we hope. Of course I now have a ten day supply of the antibiotic infusions that cannot be used or returned. $209 copay is now wasted. The infusion company advised us to check with the nearest veterinarian and donate them to them if they wanted them. Apparently these antibiotics are widely used on animals as well. Don't know what I will do with the several dozen syringes of saline flushing solution. Meanwhile the TV has been non-stop Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel!
Thanks for the many likes and comments regarding the current rail car project;
Chad, Christian, Joe, Greg, OB Ken, Curt, Karl, Hughie, Jaz, Tom, Tom O, IB Ken.
I'll take Mel's "garbage omelet" this morning Flo. Extra bacon and a tall OJ to go with it.
Spent some time out in the train shed yesterday working on the P2K covered hopper. It was a less than ideal day, as I broke one part and lost another. Both are easily resolved thankfully. First I successfully added the brake lever into the "B" end of the car.
It had to be maneuvered in that slot next to the coupler pocket, with the lower end in the clevis of the brake gear, while the upper arm had to be inserted into the slope sill and the interconnecting chain in the middle needed to go into the air cylinder. Whew!
Then I attached the end cages, three parts each, on to the car. Not really hard, but they had to be held in place while the glue set.
Forgot to take a picture of the "B" end.
Next was the coupler and truck installation. No biggie here except note the couplers that came with the kit.
On the right are the horn-hook couplers which shows how old this kit actually is. On the left are knuckle couplers, but they are McHenry types with the plastic spring. Both sets were set aside and I used Kadee #148's.
Adding the hatches to the top was no big deal.
Then came the latches and clamps.
Then I broke the mounting peg on one of the clamps.
OK, so I now had to just super glue it in position.
Roofwalk was next. Another success.
You can see it in it's completed position in photo # 4. Then I added the two roof grab irons. While I was installing the second one, the first one disappeared! No clue whether it is lost on the workbench or the floor, I looked in both places without any luck. I actually know better than to do the second one before the glue sets on the first. Fortunately I have a couple of packs of Details Associates grabs that are an exact match, albeit with much longer mounts. I'll deal with this today and I'll replace both for symmetry. I have had to do this on previous cars when I broke some. So close to finishing!
Curt - I am not necessarily a better modeler, I just have a lot of patience for these detailed kits.
Hughie - Some Bar Mills kits that I have assembled had plastic windows from Tichy or Grandt Line, but I do like the looks of the laser-cut ones better.
Terry - That's tragic. Best wishes for your wife; she's been on my prayer list for years.
Garry - Good to see your post. Continued prayers and positive thoughts.
Jesse - Great to see you posting again. I was wondering how you fared after the Covid bout. Looks like you have a solid plan going forward with the new (to you) home and the homestead. Take it from me, train sheds are a real blessing.
Today is day 310 this year, that means only 49 days until Christmas.
Everybody have a great day and a wonderful weekend. Stay warm and safe.
). So I just keep one track on my layout.
