Running Bear's April 2020 Coffee Shop


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Sirfoldalot said:
Dang- The termites are swarming! Happy Birthday, BOB!

LOUIS - We could have had a grand ole time. I have wondered many times how my life might have turned out had I stuck with the baseball? I had the eye of a couple scouts from Milwaukee and the Dodgers! Still dream of it on occasion.

For the next portion of the shut-in - I want to request a change of scenery ... is it possible to make this request? Something by the seashore would be preferred.
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Sherrel, I know just how you feel. I use to often wonder, what if? Now I'm thankful for where I am. Think of this; if we change one thing we might not have ended up where we are. Personally speaking, I consider myself to be the happiest man alive. It was a long hard road, but it brought me to a great place.

Wild ponies on Assateague island. (my favorite place to visit)
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Good Morning All. Clear and 55° right now. A return to the 80's today with upper 90's Sunday and Monday. Too early for these temperatures!:(
I managed to mow the north side yesterday after the sustained brisk winds dried everything out rapidly yesterday. Wind was between 25 mph and 30 mph all day long.
Looks like a trip today for groceries/beer. Last venture out together was ten days ago. Wife drives down to the mailbox and back daily, a 2.25 mile round trip! I went alone to the gas station for gas for the mower some time, I don't remember which day!:rolleyes:
Wow! 84 posts here in the Coffee Shop yesterday. Hard to keep up any more. I'll take some scrambled eggs and a pile of sausage patties this morning Francine.

Thanks for the likes (and loves) as well as the comments regarding yesterday's post; Karl, Louis, Sherrel, Bob, Guy, Patrick, Joe, Chad, Chet, Jerome, Curt, Tom, Garry, Ken, James, Paul.

Doesn't seem like I got a lot accomplished out in the train shed yesterday. I did manage to get some ground cover spread out.
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Looks like I need to ballast that switch next. Once that is done, it will make another three feet of layout completely scenicked from fascia to backdrop.
Ran trains most of the time. As I ran one by on the upper level, I passed the tire repair store that looked like it needed a bit more business. Dang quarantine!
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Louis - As long as unemployment insurance is as generous as it is right now, very few folks are going to take those jobs that your wife has open. Let's see; $11/hour times 40 hrs/week = $440. Feds are kicking in $600/week on top of state unemployment insurance. Duh! Tax-free no less! A definite roadblock to economic recovery!
Sherrel -
Sirfoldalot said:
I miss commenting on too many posts: I seriously think my mind is starting to go!
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I'm losing them myself also.
Chet - I got over the grasshopper invasion already; it happened a few years ago. We need a "gully washer" rain every year in May to drown out the young 'uns. If not, they will take over. Happy Birthday to your wife.
David - Good to see you posting again.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Bruette said:
Sherrel, I know just how you feel. I use to often wonder, what if? Now I'm thankful for where I am. Think of this; if we change one thing we might not have ended up where we are. Personally speaking, I consider myself to be the happiest man alive. It was a long hard road, but it brought me to a great place.
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Very well said, LOUIS ... I agree! OTOH there were a few pitfalls I would like to have avoided!
 
Morning All! Today: Sunny and warm. Afternoon breezes , high near 82°F .
Our fearless leader out here appears to be NOT so fearless. He is closing all the parks and beaches again tomorrow - bet they will be packed today ... The sheep are outta the pen; will they be corralled again?
He said that social guidelines were not being followed - D'OH!
I have had enough, and so has everyone else!
 
Morning all,

By myself today as my computer tech called in with a stomach ache and the boss is on quarantine for the remainder of these 2 weeks. His daughter has several of the CV symptoms, but was negative on the test. Since he's in a higher risk group he's working from home.

Wife has a meeting tomorrow at her workplace. Sounds like many of the parents are unemployed, so they're not sure how many kids will be returning to the daycare. I will say it's been a little rough these past 5 weeks with her home all day. I found I have to keep my stuff picked up or I can't find it. Her idea of where it belongs and my idea are 2 different places, fortunately it isn't the trash.... :)

Grandson came over yesterday and started to work his trains. There were a couple of spots where they just stopped. Track needed cleaning, so a paper towel did an OK job, but I need to find an N scale track cleaner for him (and a better one for HO for myself as well).

santafewillie said:
Punish the masses for the sins of a few!o_O
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That's the way it's always been....
 
Good Morning Everyone.....maybe 3 inches of rain since it started and soon clearing skies, I hope.

Going back to the train room soon or after lunch. A little touch up on that GP38-2 and then a coat of DullCote.

The train room needs a bit of straightening up and everything put back in its place. I can't find a jar of paint that I know I have at least two jars. Time to get out the upright vacuum and clean to carpet tiles.

End of April....where does time go. I've been in this house with only a ride to the cabin and MD appointments since March 15th or so. Saturday I want to drive to the cabin for something different.

I do have two kits from Kalmbach of their MR&T rolling stock that I could put together as something different. I spend the mornig fixing the cable television in the den. No reception and the box wasn't responding. So I unplugged the box for several minutes and pushed buttons and on it came. Only two hours of effort.

Until later....

Greg

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Good morning America, how are ya? It's 52 and cloudy with a high of 62 and cloudy later today. Haven't done anything train wise since I worked on the waycars last week. I need more of my modeling stuff here to make it more convenient............I have to stake out a space on the dining table to do any work. It's a big antique oak table that has been refinished and she worries that I'll do something to ruin it. Like I've ever given here a reason to be concerned :rolleyes:

We got our groceries from Walmart Tuesday morning and are waiting for the non-perishable stuff to finish their time in quarantine. We bring our stuff home and we have a system to disinfect our goods before bringing them into the house. A lot like we deconned items when I worked in the nuclear power plants.

We have some paper towels and a bowl of bleach water. I get frozen/refrigerated items from the bags and will hold the item by the handle or corner of the bag, then my wife will wipe it down with a towel and bleach water. After she cleans it, I set it down and she wipes down the area I was touching. It is now considered "clean" and goes into a clean tote. We do this until we have all of the cold items done. I then wash my hands thoroughly, then I bring the tote in and we put stuff in the fridge or freezer.

Then it's back to the car and we put the stuff in the tote and bring it in the house. If there's something we will need in less than 72 hours, we will do a decon on it and put it away. Anything left that isn't needed in less than 72 hours goes into the laundry room where it sets for the its quarantine time. We then have products that are safe to handle with the least amount of effort or exposure.

The plastic bags the items were in are taken from the car to the storage shed and go through the same wait time, though we have so many bags that the newest ones may wait for a couple of months before they get used.

This is the system we have worked out. I would be interested in others' routine for decontaminating grocery items.
 
chadbag said:
There is a reason for that. The DB BR101 is the parent for the Bombardier ALP-46 used by NJ Transit. Adtranz in Germany developed the DB Class 101 (BR101 -- BR means Baureihe which is approximately "Class") which went into service in 1997 pulling IC (InterCity) fast long distance trains. Adtranz became a part of Bombardier
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Having run the ALP46, I find those were the quietest and roomiest locomotives I ever encountered. They normally run 8 to 10 car trains at speeds up to 100 on the NEC, less on the branches. They were used on 125mph trains until Amtrak transferred the Clockers over to NJT. I did take the photo while the ALP was in Amtrak service at Race St, in Philly. Since I retired I have lost touch with further locomotive development.
 
I thought it was May 1st, I'm lost with this Pandemic, I don't even know what day it is!

I was waiting in the rain outside the new place, no wonder it's not open yet!

Only other thing on this block is a crumby old bar. It turned out to be a friendly place :) good music, but no coffee.

 
Tomorrow Utah is going from RED to ORANGE. (They set up Arbitrary colors for conditions, with RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN from most severe to new normal, whatever that is). Each county can modify the exact change over as their local requirements suggest.

I dont know all the differences but one change is under Orange, that restaurants are allowed sit-down service as long as tables (and or chairs at a bar) etc are 6+ feet apart, as I understand it.

Also, they either require or heavily suggest store/restaurant personnel wear masks and that stores/restaurants highly encourage or enforce customer mask wearing.

They are calling Orange to be governed by "moderate risk protocols."

From a news article: "Red means high risk, orange is moderate risk, yellow is low risk and green means "new normal.""

This discusses it: https://www.ksl.com/article/4674656...-when-utah-switches-to-moderate-risk-on-may-1


As a note, it has been pretty low key in Utah anyway. Besides all the 6+' distancing, and people working from home when possible, schools closed through the end of the school year end of May or beginning of June (depending on District or charter school), and restaurants not being sit-down/in-person but take out or delivery only, and things like barbers/hair salon, nail salon, massage, and direct contact businesses closed, most stores and businesses have remained open. (Public playgrounds are closed :( and will remain so in Orange). They try and enforce distancing, and you see a lot more masks; especially on the employees. Still see lots of cars out and about, and you can go at any time to any store. The wife and I went to look at countertop material for the new house, for example. New homes are springing up with normal work on them, road work is ongoing, etc. There has been no essential vs non-essential. More limited to contact-required businesses.
 
Just to clarify some of what I posted earlier.

My wife will be "clean" and cannot touch anything that we have brought home. The only time she can touch something is after she has wiped it down. While I'm holding something to be wiped down by my wife, she only touches it with the paper towel soaked in bleach water with only one hand. AFTER she wipes it, I set it down and she can handle it with her other hand while she cleans the area I was touching. I CANNOT touch the item now, because I'm contaminated and it's clean. She places it in the tote. After the items are in the tote, I have to wash my hands for at least 20 seconds, then I'm considered clean and will not recontaminate anything. Then I'm free to help put them away.

I don't want anyone to skip a step and recontaminate something if you try this method. If you have any questions or suggestions, I'll answer them! Be safe!
 
Boris said:
Having run the ALP46, I find those were the quietest and roomiest locomotives I ever encountered. They normally run 8 to 10 car trains at speeds up to 100 on the NEC, less on the branches. They were used on 125mph trains until Amtrak transferred the Clockers over to NJT. I did take the photo while the ALP was in Amtrak service at Race St, in Philly. Since I retired I have lost touch with further locomotive development.
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Yeah in Germany you see probably 4/5 - 10 car trains running up to 220kmh (137). So somewhat similar.

The biggest thing holding back European locomotives from the US market (especially in passenger service -- not really going to compete in non-electrified freight) are the US safety standards which require big heavy adjustments to be made to the locomotive. As the European safety standards have progressed, you are seeing efforts to accept locomotives in the US based on European ones.

Besides the Bombardier ALP-4x stuff based on their European locomotives, there is also Siemens.

Siemens has several in the US/Canada based on their European.

* Siemens Charger based on the Vectron. Several different variants used by (now or planned) Amtrak and affiliated, MARC, VIA Rail Canada, Virgin Trains, and more

* ACS-64, used by Amtrak on the NEC, is based on the Siemens EuroSprinter (ES 64) and Vectron locomotives in Europe. The EuroSPrinter ES 64U type passenger locomotives, AKA "Taurus" (DB 182, ÖBB 1016/1116/1216, etc) are one of my other favorite Euro locomotives, and the ACS-64 has a familial resemblance.


en.wikipedia.org

Siemens Charger - Wikipedia

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Siemens ACS-64 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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EuroSprinter - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org

Vectron (locomotive) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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