Running Bear's August 2020 Coffee Shop


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Good morning, y'all. Where is everyone? 59° and clear, going up near 80°. I'll have a Taylor Ham, egg and home fries on a Portuguese Roll, with two black coffees to go this morning. Salt, Pepper and ketchup on the sandwich.

Durant Yard (Newark) Wire Train.jpg

Keeping this morning's Newark theme, we have the Hunter Street Wire Train, working near Union (Rahway).
 
Morning all,

Got a little train time yesterday with my building project. I spent 5 hours with it and don't feel like I accomplished much.
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Roof isn't yet attached, but sitting on it for now. I spent 2 hours just reworking the window and door openings so I could place them when the time comes. I thought I had taken more pictures, but I only found 2 in the camera. I'll post this and another in my build section.

bnsf971 said:
Speaking of which, do you know what you call a cow with no legs?
Ground beef.
Click to expand...

What do you call a dog with no legs???


Doesn't matter what you call it, it won't come anyway.
 
Good Morning All. It's a cooler start today, at 70° and mostly clear. Interesting evening weather-wise yesterday as a cool front hit with a vengeance. It hit at 5:45 with 50 mph wind gusts and the temperature dropped by 23° in less than 30 minutes. Went from 100° to 77° but the associated thunderstorm was all bark and no bite. There was just .17" in the gauge when it was all done. Lawn furniture was all upended and wife's pool float was on the way to the next county before I snared it. Some twigs in the yard and a lot of leaves in the pool for me to clear up today.

Eggs over easy and a handful of bacon this morning Flo. No toast, but a large OJ will do.

Thanks for the many reactions and comments regarding yesterday's progress post; Jerome, Karl, Tom, Alan, Tom O, Garry, Phil, Guy, Sherrel, Louis, Hughie, Curt, James, Patrick. And thanks to Bob, Chad & Joe and others for the likes regarding the Lego post.

I got nearly nothing accomplished yesterday out in the train shed. I did do some train running mostly. However for Guy (as promised) and any other interested folks, here is a brief tutorial/pictorial of how I apply ground cover so that it doesn't move when vacuuming.
This is the target area just to the right of the concrete pad.
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Here are the tools of the trade.
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The spray bottle on the left is a mixture of 60% water and 40% of 91% isopropyl alcohol. If you can only get 70% alcohol, then mix them 50:50.
The glue bottle appropriately marked H²O is 60% water, and 40% Elmer's White Glue with a few drops of Dawn Liquid Dishwasher Detergent mixed in. A little variance in percentages doesn't really matter.
This photo is hard to see, but I first wet the area with a light misting of the alcohol spray.
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Then I sprinkle on the ground foam.
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Then I apply a liberal coat of the glue mixture
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This can be done with an eyedropper from another container if you don't have a spare glue bottle handy. At some point years ago, I used 60% of a bottle of glue and then topped it off with the water and just opened a new bottle for gluing purposes.
If you can spot any area that needs touch up, it can be done now.
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I use Woodland Scenics Green Blend for all of my initial covering and then highlight places with yellow, dark green or brown as needed.
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Two hours later this is what I have.
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The rough places along the edge I will scrape with a single-edge razor blade today after it dried overnight. This was partly caused because this particular area is in direct line with the air conditioner which scattered some of the foam. I didn't want to turn it off!
It is also a little bit thin in places, but in this case that is intentional since this isn't a manicured lawn. That can be eliminated by repeating where needed.
If you have any further questions, just post away.

Tom -
CambriaArea51 said:
Nothing much to report,other than Scale trains is making an announcement on the 27th
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I wonder if it's going to be four axle power that they have shied away from so far?
Tom O - Get well soon.
Guy - Plenty of those old original rectangular bricks are still in those Lego displays, most of the structures include them.
Bob - Great to see you return. That's a lot of good news. I do hope that Riley recovers soon. I still miss our barn cat, Fluffy, who died a few months ago.
Joe -
Boris said:
Some folks think that convicts are all victims of their environment, and any suggestion of punishment is cruel and unjust. I'm just not sure what utopian planet these folks came from.
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Ever notice that there were fewer convicts when they didn't have WiFi, big screen TV's and all those other amenities; and they had to work on the chain gang for exercise!

Everybody have a great day and a wonderful week. Keep safe and stay apart.
 
Good Morning, Everyone!
Thank you for the tutorial, Willie. Seems easy enough!

Supposed to be hot, hot, hot, today, in a clear blue sky with no wind. And I have to take the G-kids through the corn maze in Stony Plain; Yippie! At least the truck has air-conditioning for the 2hr ride. Then we will make one of two visits per year to the city, and pick up supplies we can't normally get in the small town; like modeling stuff.

Basically, I'm on the fly today, but, thank you for all the likes on my simple posts!

Here's a photo of the drying kilns in a sawmill. I don't seem to see a lot of kilns on sawmill layouts. This is what they look like:
Kilns_Aug.2020.jpg

Have a great day, and I'll see ya'll tomorrow!
 
Happy Mid Morning Monday from the West. Going to be 99 they say today and back into the 100's starting tomorrow. The Spousal Unit is now feeling much better. She worked in her "prized" flower bed almost three hours yesterday and the Green Yard Container is once again full! While she was doing that, I did some repair work on 4 of the 6 jobs that were on hold - you know - the ones that take a yard cart full of tools to accomplish a 10 minute job? Gate repair, moving a drainage upright (don't know why we have them .. hardly zero rain), replacing the doggie door flaps, and other small items.
SWMBO has declared that I spray for ants and spiders, or she is going to call one of those expensive spray guys. I'll give her that one and hop to it today as I have NOT sprayed at all this year and, with the extreme heat, the ants come searching for water.

There used to be a small RR creosote plant between the H/W and RR track near Benton, LA. I so much wish I had taken some photos of it in my youth. It is no longer there - having been declared a hazmat cleanup site years ago.
I always loved the smell of creosote almost as much as jet fuel!

What is a Taylor Ham? Don't think I have ever had?
 
Good morning America, how are ya? It's 75 here on the Cumberland Plateau with a high of 86 predicted. Thanks for all the likes and well wishes for Riley. He did pretty well yesterday but started a fever again this morning of 103.2 the last time we checked. Really worried about my buddy.

Just when you think things are looking up, I went to drive my '06 Frontier and it wouldn't go into reverse! A couple of years ago one of the cooler lines broke and got antifreeze in the transmission and tranny fluid in the radiator. Cost about $1100 to fix then, don't know if it's worth messing with. Probably will, I don't think I could live without a pickup.

One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how bad you think things are, someone else has it worse. Sometimes though, that is small consolation.

Got to go and keep an eye on my little buddy. Everyone stay safe!
 
Good morning .

Joe .... Thanks for commenting on my photo. Your photos are all very interesting.

Curt .... Thanks for asking about the rock strata in my photo. I made it with broken plaster pieces stacked on each other. I use construction adhesive to hold it together. I fill gaps with wet plaster. I carve as needed. Then I color it with several washes of acrylic paint. I wait for each layer of paint to dry before applying the next one.

Patrick .... Your interlocking tower project is going well.

B Bob .... It's good to see you. It i good your move to TN is going well. I hope your dog will be okay.

Sherrel .... Interesting photos of the big Frisco steam loco in the shops. That's a big boiler.

Willie .... That's a good serious of photos of you "planting grass".

Everybody ......... Have a good day.
 
Sirfoldalot said:
What is a Taylor Ham? Don't think I have ever had?
Click to expand...
At the risk of offending Jerseyites, it is essentially Spam made by the Taylor Company. It is not legally able to be called Ham, but the term has stuck for years. It is basically a pork roll.
Taylor Ham
It is a bit saltier than bacon or ham. I first became aware of it when my second daughter started dating her now husband from New Jersey about twenty years ago. In his family it was a traditional holiday breakfast item, although he occasionally grilled some for sandwiches for lunch. Then my oldest daughter married a man from Pittsburgh who also referred to it as Taylor Ham and loved it. Both would have it sent down from home (frozen in dry ice) for many years. Then about seven or eight years ago, I discovered that it was available in my local Kroger deli department, where I occasionally buy hunks of it. They now get theirs from Kroger as well.
 
Came across this a moment ago!

A VOLCANO DISRUPTS TEMECULA TRAIN SERVICE
by Duane Preimsberger
Few newcomers to the Temecula Valley know that at one time a train ran through here or that the eruption of the Volcano Krakatau near Java resulted in the destruction of our railroad in 1884!
In 1880, Fred Perris, an engineer, for whom the town of Perris is named was given the task of creating a train route from (Colton) San Bernardino to (National City) San Diego. The route was difficult, requiring the building of 241 wooden bridges and traversing a series of bogs and swamps. Hundreds of workers toiled on the project and many were Chinese who’d help to build the Transcontinental Railroad.
The most difficult task was placing the track in the 14 mile long Temecula Canyon between Fallbrook and Temecula. In some areas the gorges were over 100 feet deep and rock slides and falling boulders took their human toll. When the rail link was complete it ran through the Canyon a mere 10 feet above the Santa Margarita River.
The California Southern Railroad Line was completed in April of 1882. It would operate daily on the track, hauling cargo and passengers between the two cities and it would make intermediate stops along the way. Passengers paid $9.00 for a round-trip or $6.00 for one way. Travel was speedy for the time considering that most journeying was by wagon, stagecoach, horseback or afoot. Here’s the timetable for the northbound train.
DEPART
National City 6:30AM
San Diego 6:50 AM
San Luis Rey 9:25 AM
Fallbrook 10:40 AM
Temecula 11:35 AM
Riverside 2:00 PM
Colton 2:15 PM
On August 27, 1883 a deadly and destructive volcanic event occurring thousands of miles away would disrupt train travel in the Temecula Canyon several months later. Krakatau erupted with a force so powerful that it blew apart the island upon which it stood. 36,000 people lost their lives and thousands more were injured. The tremendous blast caused huge tidal waves and set off a hurricane like storm of super-heated gases, scorching the earth in its path. The sounds of the explosion were so loud they could be heard 3000 miles away. The eruption shot an enormous cloud of dust and debris miles into the sky and the resulting clouds began to circle the earth, disrupting normal weather patterns.
During February of 1884 it rained over 40 inches in the Temecula Valley, almost the equivalent of three years of rainfall in a single 29 day month. On February 15th a northbound train entered the Temecula Canyon and almost immediately found that the rain had supersaturated the ground causing the engine to sink into the mud. The train stopped, reversed and the same thing happened at the caboose end. The crew and passengers were trapped by the spectacularly wet weather. The engineer managed to get all of the passengers to safety except Wells Fargo Security Agent W.H. Atwater; he stayed behind to guard the train.
After a couple days without food, the gophers and ground squirrels climbing on the train wheels and cow catcher began to look mighty tasty so Atwater conked a few on the head, skinned, cleaned and cooked them in the engine firebox. Soon after, the rising waters made it obvious that he too would have to leave. He built a raft from wood he found on board and some tree limbs and his intention was to put his homemade craft into the river, jump aboard and paddle across the raging water to a farm house on the other side.
Atwater was about to embark on his journey when it dawned on him that he’d be soaking wet when he reached the other shore so he got a leather satchel from the train, took off his clothes and packed them neatly in the satchel, then he leaped onto his raft. Unfortunately, Atwater was not a good judge of the rivers ferocity or velocity and he immediately lost control of his craft and began a Class V white-water ride downstream.
He was hanging on for dear life, going over six foot high water falls, crashing into boulders and tumbling and turning in the raging waters. Fortunately for him the Good Lord was kind on that day and a sharp eyed sheepherder happened to look into the Canyon and he spied the white, wet, cold, naked fanny of W.H. Atwater hurtling down the Canyon on a makeshift raft. The sheepherder hurried ahead to the edge of the river and tossed Atwater a rope and then pulled him to safety. Unfortunately there isn’t any record of the ensuing conversation between the two men; I believe it would have been quite interesting and entertaining, nor is there mention of what happened to Atwater’s clothing.
In the spring of 1885, the California Southern Railroad hired a San Diego area house mover to rescue its stuck train and take it to safe track. Fred Perris began rebuilding his railroad line in the same exact spot, claiming that the occurrence was unlikely to be repeated. Unfortunately, he was wrong and another wet season washed out the track six years later. The trains ran; one from San Diego to Fallbrook and another from San Bernardino to Temecula. Wagons carried goods between Fallbrook and Temecula bridging the gap in train service. When the coastal train route was completed, the California Southern Line was abandoned.
Today, eighteen wheelers travel up and down the I-15 carrying needed supplies and cargo and the memory of train travel in our Valley has dimmed to a remote memory some 120+ years old. A few of us still pass on the story and smile as we visualize that lonely shepherd squinting through a torrential downpour at W.H. Atwater’s naked rear-end and wondering to himself, “What in tarnation is that doing there?”.
Meanwhile today in the faraway sea west of Java, scientists and geologists are studying a recent phenomenon. A small smoking and very active volcano is rising from the waters near where Krakatau exploded. It is almost 1000 feet high and a mile wide. Those who are studying it have named it, Anak Krakatau or Son of Krakatau. Perhaps in years yet to come another volcanic event will impact the lives of the residents of the Temecula Valley.
SOURCE: Temecula Valley Historical Society Newsletter - January 2016. Volume 16 – Issue 1 (www.temeculahistory.org)
 
Afternoon All,

Today started with chores then I glued what walls I could on the roundhouse until the welding lights are installed. After that I started the WS Incline that will reach a height of 4 inches for the upper level. I also glued the smoke jacks and stacks on the appropriate roof pieces.

This is when my day went to Kaka. I decided to retest the TT/RH tracks. Can you guess what happened?:mad::mad::mad: You guessed it, it didn't work again. All associated tracks metered at 12VAC so power is fine. Whenever the loco leading truck touches the RH tracks (from bridge) or the leading truck touches the bridge (from RH) the loco dies and I hear a faint clicking from the loco. My buddy Jon had a second suggestion of wiring a PSX-AR into the RH/TT buss. I will give that a try tomorrow. If that doesn't fix the issue I'm thinking seriously about removing the TT/RH since I can't seem to get it to work.

Sherrel- Interesting photos. To verify the Frisco modified a 2-10-2 into a Mountain (4-8-2)? Great historical story. I can just imagine seeing a naked man being swept downstream.

Toot- Yeah, no.

Joe- Great Pennsy photo.

Patrick- Real nice job on the tower scratch build.

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I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Willie- If they do a 4 axle, I would lean towards a GP 40. Very popular and the have the square cab for the GP 40-3 that CSX has from the SD40-3 they did. BUT, with a few tooling changes the dash 9 can turn into an AC4400 which I'm hoping for.
Karl- Just don't get how some companies can crank out product and others can't.
 
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