Running Bear's April 2020 Coffee Shop

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's mostly cloudy and 49.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Once again cloudy this morning, but supposed to clear sometime this afternoon. High of 80*

Tired of the late afternoon before the skies clear. I did get the yard mowed last night after I got home, but spent the rest of the night with ice bags on my "good" knee. I'll be glad when I get the riding mower back.

Nothing new to report on the trains. I just can't seem to find the time I want to get down there as much as I'd like.

 

[Boris]

Good morning. Sunny and mild in Sequesterville.

It occurred to me that I have been too negative concerning this plague, so I will attempt to avoid interjecting Corona Factoids.

Have some business to take care of, first, then some work on the veggie garden. Afterward, if the knees and energy levels permit, I have some wiring to do, as the new DCC booster is on hand. I use MRC's Prodigy Advance² System. They're from Jersey, in Matawan, along the NJ Coast Line. Been using their stuff for years.

Don't think I've uploaded this one before. Southward freight powered by a P5 Modified, and a P5 Box Cab, with a dead GG1 head out behind the motors. Hint: Edgemoor set off is the first block. To the right, in the background is PRR Eddystone Yard, and the Belmont Steel company. Out of view behind the train is the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Note the use of 155lb Stick Rail on all four main tracks.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

JOE - It's difficult NOT to be negative when the 24 hour news cycle is mostly "gloom and doom". My Dad used to say all the time, "Look up, NOT down". That's a beautiful picture!

Good Morning - It is 50 degrees and we are hoping for at least 59 later on. It rained most all the day yesterday; the dogs had a heck of a time trying to find a pause in order to go out. Official count was 1.78 inches - brings our seasonal total a full 3 inches above normal. The forecast is for 'Showers, mostly cloudy' for the next three days.

FLO - hold the coffee - I will return in about an hour!

Patrick -- Sorry about theknee. hang tough!

 

[Patrick]

Sherrel: I have to wait until at least the end of June. Should be more torn up by then....But I do understand as anything they would do diagnosis wise would be low priority at this point. What's funny is I don't remember the other knee hurting this bad before it was replaced. Funny how 10 years changes perspective.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Mostly cloudy and 67°, with some low fog. We anticipate a high today of 87°, a bit higher than originally forecast, tomorrow we expect 91°, Thursday 63°. Don't pack the jeans away for the summer yet Willie!
Weather yesterday was perfect. I spent about an hour shredding accumulated tree prunings to use as compost and mulch. The pile is still rather large. All but one of the eight tree saplings that I dug up and transplanted last month are doing well. I just don't understand why that squirrel doesn't bury its acorns where I need them! The weedeater also got a good workout. Wildflowers are in bloom all along the easement road up to my neighbors' homes. I should remember to take another picture of the wheat field across the road just to irritate you northerners.
Garden is still coming along nicely. The tomato plants that I set out a week ago have doubled in size; should pick more spinach in a day or so, with lettuce by the weekend. I should also pick radishes (an quick easy crop) early next week. I do regret not planting green peas this year as the weather has been perfect, but with my wife on that low-carb Keto diet, I would be eating them alone.

Scrambled eggs, hash-browns, bacon and French toast for me over here this morning Flo.

Thanks again for all of the likes and comments regarding my progress pictures yesterday; Patrick, Chet, Guy, Sherrel, Jerome, Karl, Greg, Garry, Bob, Mikey, Paul, Joe, Phil, Curt, Tom, Ken.

Limited action in the train shed yesterday. I did get the driveway/parking area and some ground foam done around the site of the new structure, but the picture didn't happen. Or I just forgot to take one! I did take the first look at the next project, layout cleaning of the next section. Here's where I am to begin.

This is where I left off in January after the first section. This is my deepest reach in part of the layout. I can however reach everything without crushing trees in front. All structures are removable. Most of the section that I am about to start is only partially complete.
Next to that to the left is the beginning of a business district.

Excuse the temporary cable to the overhead (under top level) lighting.

I'll get into more detail as I start the cleaning process.

Guy - No the goose-neck lights are just static. Yes the Woodland Scenics products are quite pricey but Greg likes them so they must have some merit. And even though I have lights installed in many structures, I don't run trains with the overhead lights turned out, so they cannot be seen anyway!
Greg - Sorry to read about your BIL's condition. Thoughts and prayers for him and his family.
Karl - Thanks. Re-engineering Bar Mills kits is just a fact of life, sometimes of my own doing, sometimes because of their haste in marketing them. It's usually nothing that I can't handle.
You're coming along nicely on that boxcar.
Mikey - I have been considering stairs on the far side of the loading dock, but just haven't made up my mind. They will fit and I have some of the Walther's stairs that I could cut and fit. Right now access is by door only.
Joe -

Low numbers are good, but just be cautious. The plague just sneaks upon ya.

Exactly why we are being very cautious. Being where we live, there's not much social interaction unless we choose to leave to participate. We are only going to the grocery store and pharmacy, plus once a week I go to pick up some great Italian food at the local "Ristorante". They are only letting one customer into the place at a time to pay and pick up. If they are busy, you pay, go back out and they bring it to your car. Wife did go into the office Sunday to prepare tax returns that were dropped off, and the only other employee was over 25' away. Her office is taking some steps to mitigate customer contact as much as possible, so she might return more often. She is going in on Easter Sunday when the office is closed to do more drop-off returns.
That's horrible info regarding the EMS responders.

Ah yes! April 7 is National Beer Day. Have a couple if you indulge and drink responsibly.
Everybody have a great day. Got to remember to hit "Post Reply" when I am actually done instead of hours later!

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning Everyone! Just dropping in for a coffee on what is turning out to be a very lazy day. The 60kph winds mean we won't be going fishing today, even though it's supposed to hit +4C.
We did go fishing yesterday in fine weather, and found the parking areas barricaded and closed at the lake. So we had to park on the road and walk in. The facilities are closed, but the lake is not. I latched onto two release trout and the wife caught one, plus a very large sucker. She kept the sucker to give to her boss, as he likes to can them.

I will probably be working on my 2x Tichy flat car kits today. I didn't want to start painting until my KD148 couplers arrived in the mail, but, I think I'll get on with it. Here is some pictures of the kit, not showing the metal weight that is supplied:

Boris - Yes, it is warming up around here. Seems to be happening very late this year, but the earth is getting screwed up, after all!
Willie - Actually, I have not considered that a layout might be troublesome to keep clean. We have one up on you here, because we don't get a whole lot of dust in the snow. So cleaning a layout might be a summertime job only; or better yet, done in the dark, cold winter.
Karl - I like that Matchbox Mack immensely. Didn't even know they existed in 1:87. Now, I'll be touring the toy stores for a look every time I hit the city, plus keeping a eye online for them.

I'd just like to say, that I read every post that comes through here. I know some are having health issues with themselves or loved ones. Believe me, I feel for you even though I don't say much. I'm quite shitty with words, and do better at putting my foot in my mouth. Just want you to know, that when I look up at the sky, I'm asking for more than just a warm up in the weather. Hope the best for you all!

I'll leave you today with a photo of the young fella who came by this morning to peek in my very dirty front window, and see if there was a tidbit in my exposed flower bed:

It looks like he has had a rougher winter than I have had!

All have a great day!
Guy

 

[bnsf971]

For the media coverage of The Plague: If it bleeds, it leads. There's no viewership of "good news" stories, so no advertising dollars, and no ratings, which correlate to advertising rates. Since there's no money to be made from telling anybody anything good, you're not going to see any news outlets covering it.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Morning Everyone...once again a overcast day.

Worked yesterday on some ore cars that needed detailing even being weathered like painting the couplers, wheel sets and some parts of the undersides that show. The painting of the wheel-sets is the most time consuming of the detailing. Once I finished I recorded in my rolling stock spreadsheet that I checked the coupler operation of the cars. The Rail Brown paint I'm using to paint the wheel-sets is dry in under 15 minutes.

I'm painting the backsides of the wheel-sets as well and the axles. While these parts seldom show, when they do the painting makes a difference.

Here's a photo of the new wiring that gave me some trouble. Not shown are the main common wire feeds to the incandescent signal lamps or some of the Tortoise control wiring. I like using the lug spake connectors when using a terminal strip. They make for a better looking wiring job if that counts when under the layout. But, maybe someone in the future, in the far future will have the dismantle the layout and they will say "Boy nice wiring". Being retired no reason to hurry any modeling projects.


Photo could of been better, but its under the layout and I didn't use the flash.


The wiring and hardware for two signal animators on the CM&N. I use reclaimed telephone wire for the primary wiring.

Down to the train room after lunch, but first I have to do some financial stuff and bookkeeping.

More ore cars to detail today. I believe only 11 more cars to go and I'm done.

Going to run a train today while working on the ore cars. The radio station keep repeating its playlist day after day while by now I know what song is next on the list. It's a small station so they must be attending ot priorities other than the playlist.

My wire order is set to arrive today and my order from All Electronics is shipping today. I need to make a list of some items like #11 blades and wheel-sets that I need to order.

The Mrs. came home from Costco with a new 40 inch television for only $150. We're having problems with some of the older flat screen's video pixstilating and going off the air. The old tuners don't respond fast enough to the cable signals.

That's about all for now...

 

[Burlington Bob]

Good morning America! I stuck my head in a couple of times yesterday and Flo was still giving me the "look". Well, you know the old saying "It's better to make a good run than a poor stand". Enough said!

The dogs are out on the deck sunning themselves and the robot vacuum cleaner is making its appointed rounds. We will go for a walk in a little bit. Been getting about a mile in on the short days........got three miles in on our best. We picked up our last major grocery purchase from Walmart yesterday. Still LOTS of people going in and taking their kids with them. We order and pay over the internet and don't go in. Just park in the designated parking area and let them know we're there, then they bring it out and put it in the trunk. No up close interaction with a person. We saw about ten people wearing masks. Seems most here are not to concerned. That's scary!

More thunderstorms called for later on, possibly severe tomorrow night. I used to like thunderstorms, but the present circumstances have taken all of the enjoyment out of them.

Willie-Is that a "rope" tornado in your second picture? Nice work.

Karl-Boxcar is looking good.

Guy-Like the flat car kit and the deer looks like it's had a rough winter for sure.

Terry-There is a lot of bad news for sure but I've managed to find a pretty fair amount of good as well. I do hace to look a little harder for it though.

Greg-Hoping for the best for your B-I-L. Nice looking wiring Job!

Got to run, the boss said it's time to go for our walk! Later!

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!
64° and sunny, supposed to get up to 70° today, then up to 78° tomorrow before the rains come! Time to get those airbrush projects out and rolling!
Speaking on which. The BIG compressor is all hooked up to power, and the regulator/filter-drier assembly is all plumbed so I'm ready to test it out. I also want to test out the Badger airbrush that was hidden in that big box of paints that I purchased at the auction last month. I looked it up, its a Badger 200 (single action) If it works well, great, if not, no big loss, I only paid 5 bucks for the box lot.

Willie, I believe I may take you up on National Beer Day (after the airbrushing),sounds like a good excuse to fire up the new toy in the back yard, a Swisher Sweet, and a cold one or 2.

Boris. Keep posting those Pennsy Pics! 1st wife's Grandparents lived near the south end of the Bush river bridge on the NEC, and even though it was all Amtrak and early Conrail, I still likes the racetrack feel of that 4 track main.

Greg, Nice wiring job!

BBob. Went to Home Depot the other day to pick up an order. Paint marks every 6 feet outside, one entrance, one exit, only 1 employee with a mask, maybe 3 customers with them, lots of folks without them. I work a mask and gloves to and from the truck. Problem is, now with Spring being here,, is that person sneezing with Covid 19, or allergies??

Beeb back latr!

 

[NYC_George]

Is the drug hydroxychoroquine safe? So today I called the pharmacy to refill one of my wife's drugs she been taking for years to help with her rheumatoid arthritis. Little did I know it's the drug they use to cure corona virus hydroxychoroquine and their out of stock every where. I called her doctor and she said, it may also be helping her from getting the virus. How safe is this drug? It has to be safe because my wife has a heart problem and she been taking it all along. Gov Cuomo says it's unsafe and should only be dispensed in hospitals. That's probably why there's none available in NY. It's being sent everywhere else?
George

 

[kjd]

Good morning all. Like Guy, I read most of the posts and I feel very blessed hearing some of your struggles and send a thought up His way for you all.

Here's another photo of the PNWR train from the other day. This one was taken a couple seconds after the other. The last locomotive is wearing its ATSF yellow and blue patched for Willamette and Pacific and then repatched for PNWR.

One more from 23 minutes later and 3.9 miles up the line. I call it "Wood on Wood".

This is Holcomb creek trestle over Dick Rd east of Helvetia, OR.

 

[kjd]

George, just saw your post about the chloroquine. My mother in law contracted the virus a few weeks ago and was admitted to hospital with "a 50/50 chance". She did a 10 day stint on the chloroquine and showed steady recovery. She didn't need a ventilator but it was close. She is now back home recovering. It does a number on your lungs and that takes time to heal. My FIL also had it but not severely and didn't need hospitalization. Sum up, with medical supervision, I guess safe (enough).

edit: I looked again and it was Remdesivir. Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine are also used but Remdesivir is still in the experimental stage, around 400 people worldwide have been treated with it. Still, the drugs go through extensive tests and trials and I would still say it's safe when taken properly with medical supervision.

 

[Espeefan]

Is the drug hydroxychoroquine safe? So today I called the pharmacy to refill one of my wife's drugs she been taking for years to help with her rheumatoid arthritis. Little did I know it's the drug they use to cure corona virus hydroxychoroquine and their out of stock every where. I called her doctor and she said, it may also be helping her from getting the virus. How safe is this drug? It has to be safe because my wife has a heart problem and she been taking it all along. Gov Cuomo says it's unsafe and should only be dispensed in hospitals. That's probably why there's none available in NY. It's being sent everywhere else?
George

Look here: The jury is still out. It seems to provide symptom relief in some (repeat some) cases, but is not a cure. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/491452-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-hydroxychloroquine

 

[Alcomotive]

Is the drug hydroxychoroquine safe? So today I called the pharmacy to refill one of my wife's drugs she been taking for years to help with her rheumatoid arthritis. Little did I know it's the drug they use to cure corona virus hydroxychoroquine and their out of stock every where. I called her doctor and she said, it may also be helping her from getting the virus. How safe is this drug? It has to be safe because my wife has a heart problem and she been taking it all along. Gov Cuomo says it's unsafe and should only be dispensed in hospitals. That's probably why there's none available in NY. It's being sent everywhere else?
George

George

As you know Gov. Cuomo just likes to hear himself talk. It's funny how all the sudden politicians and certain news media think they are all now professional pharmacist and doctors. Anyhow the drug has been around for a long long long time and has been used for many other things in small moderation and applications. The drug is safe BUT there are some cases depending on the person it doesn't work. Like any other kind of drug, obviously not everyone in the world reacts the same to any one drug. Just a thought. Cuomo thinks he has a shot to being on the docket for Prez. Around here in my neck of the woods no one likes him. He has other things he needs to attend to like maybe his cover up on "Nipple Gate" lol.


Enough on that I just hope our country or someone around the world discovers the silver bullet soon to knock out this virus.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out with a couple of chores. I thought I would start putting together the miners cabins but realized I hadn't painted the exterior walls...oof . I think I have finished up the track plan. I placed a order with my buddy forWalthers again (mainly Cornerstone buildings) that are all in stock and are on sale. Tomorrow, I plan on starting assembly on the 3 cabins. After these are done I have a larger miner cabin from BTS which I figure will be good practice for the BTS mine.

Guy- I've made 6 of the 40' version. They're easy to build and look very good. I put metal steps and hand grabs on instead of the plastic ones. Everybody needs to eat

Sherrel- Thanks for fixing the picture yesterday.

Dave- Neat picture. I'm trying cropping the picture today.

Joe- Nice picture. I really like the P5a box cabs and BLI has a neat model of it, but I can't justify the expense to myself for a non-electric track plan.

Greg- I'm sorry I missed your post about your BIL and I hope he improves. Great job on the wiring. By the time I was tearing down my layout the wiring looked like a rats nest with all the additions that were added or modified.

Willie- Nice layout scenes.

Paul- Nice 1:1 pictures.







The cropping worked.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[NYC_George]

As you know Gov. Cuomo just likes to hear himself talk.

I went to one of my wife's classmates luncheon's last summer. I asked one of her classmates would he ever consider moving back to NY. He said, not while that guy's Governor. I still have lots of friends from my railroad days I play golf with but I'm only here because of my wife. If she passes on before I do I'm gone.
George

 

[Alcomotive]

I went to one of my wife's classmates luncheon's last summer. I asked one of her classmates would he ever consider moving back to NY. He said, not while that guy's Governor. I still have lots of friends from my railroad days I play golf with but I'm only here because of my wife. If she passes on before I do I'm gone.
George

I am here because of my parents. Being the only son and well only one around to be there for them. I plan to go to Alabama when I am done here. I have about 7-10 years to go before I retire then I am going bring them with me. NY is so punitnitive and such darn nanny state I can't stand it. The state itself is beautiful up state here. Anything north of Albany is good.

 

[PNKFLOYD]

Mikey - I have been considering stairs on the far side of the loading dock, but just haven't made up my mind. They will fit and I have some of the Walther's stairs that I could cut and fit. Right now access is by door only.

A set of stairs would make sense for customers or delivery drivers to access the business thru the door nearest their truck.
In the meantime, post a sign: "Pardon our progress- construction zone." LOL.