Running Bear's Coffee Shop June 2018


Willie - Nice-looking cupola. Where's the barn going on your layout?
I have many unfinished areas, but this barn will be between the trackwork and layout edge just past where I have a major ethanol facility planned. Ethanol facility is between the track and backdrop, most of it is going to be low-relief structures made from Pikestuff corrugated walls against the backdrop. Since the barn is going to be very close to the layout edge on the upper deck at eye level, I plan to add an office and some interior detailing along with lights to it. It has always been intended to be a milking barn for a dairy, just been in a holding pattern for a while. I build a lot of structures far in advance of when I actually use them; I don't foresee getting to this portion of the layout until the late fall of 2019! The barn and a few Holsteins will occupy bare plywood for a while. My project list is nearly as long as my main line!:rolleyes:
 
Good Morning All. 79° and clear here in North Central Texas this fine morning. The elusive rain man is still AWOL. Forecast for the next ten days is identical, 77° - 99°, sunny, southerly wind and low humidity; no rain. It did reach 100° yesterday and may hit that mark again today. Guess that the pool will see a lot of me; it's staying around 83° - 85°. I had quite a busy day running errands yesterday, driving 100 miles, making seven stops and spending lots of $$$; all in four hours. I included the grocery/beer stop while I was out, and stopped at both Lowe's and Home Depot to pick up remodeling stuff that my wife ordered online. Still not done yet. We need a mirror, shower door, light fixture, something called "Bead Board" and sink fixtures. And just to add some excitement, my wife leaves tomorrow for eight days to go to the Gulf Coast with the grandkids and their respective parents.
Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of time in the train shed yesterday. In my town project, I painted the last asphalt parking lot and finished the ground cover between that and the ROW. While waiting for paint and glue to dry, I assembled the cupola for the unfinished barn that I dug out of my projects-on-hold box. It is a laser-cut product from the now defunct Northeastern Scale Models (not to be confused with Northeastern Scale Lumber). The box was packed away about ten years ago when I made the decision to abandon my old inhospitable train room (a lean-to on the back of my barn), and commenced to building a proper train shed that I now use. As with many laser-cut items, the cupola had many small parts including some that I had to cut from stripwood, 31 to be exact.
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The roof for the cupola is a sheet of stick-on copper foil that needs to be cut and folded. There is no roof for the barn itself except for the basswood sheets. I plan to use some Campbell shingles that I have had for over 25 years.
More to come.

Curt - Those lights look really good. Unusual location for a structure though.
Jesse - Don't you know the old work adage "Don't get your honey where you get your money"!

Everybody have an awesome day.
Yes sir, I have. Live by it. But I disregard it in the case since I'm married to the honeybee in question. Lol

Great looking barn.
 
Good Morning: Forecast to be a high 84 today - high was 87 yesterday, of
course, no clouds except for the early morning coastal fog spilling over the hill west of us.


Willie, Terry, Joe, and others: I think that I better copy TOOT's signature - it appears that my mind is going along with everything else.
I cannot believe that I was that screwed up in my thinking.

Willie -- Where's the bead board going? If its on the walls ...I hope you extended the electrical boxes out far enough to allow for the board? Of coursed you can add extensions, or do without, but it's easier if the boxes allow for the bead board.

Yesterday was another, more or less, another wasted day. I do feel better this morning. Don't know what I had, but it sure wiped me out for a few days. Last evening was the first meal that did not talk back to me from 2 AM Sunday morning. Better get back to the "grind" - LOL.

Having a running battle with the HOA over my RV. Seems That they take exception with it being parked on the street even for a day! Some busybodyjackass keeps reporting me even though I have already moved it back to MIL's house by the time I get the "violation notice".

I've had neighbors like that. I usually engage in passive aggressive guerilla warfare with them until they give up. Well, I used to. But now that I'm a "grown up", I don't. :) or do I? :cool:
 
Willie - I can relate. My "want" list is easily 6x as long as the transcontinental railroad and my budget looks like the national debt.
 
Afternoon All,

Did some chores then did some touchup on the freight house and mounted it on the layout but of course there was one last issue. Where I drilled through the deck (under the building) it was directly on top of 2 1x3's joined together on their edges so I had nothing long enough to drill through it all. Based on this it required a trip to Lowes. I got a bit that will reach to the moon.;) I won't have that problem again. I still need to add details which I already have from before.

My SIL had a trip to the ER for dehydration and a UTI. She is back at rehab now. My brother says she has fallen out of bed 3 times since being there. I don't know why they don't use soft restraints. My brother says she is always confused and can't stand by herself. My brother hasn't said so yet but I have the feeling she is deteriorating again.

Sherrel- Yep, I noticed:D. Aren't HOA's wonderful:mad:.

Terry- We're all showing our age with that video!

Willie- Thank you. Very nice job on the cupola. The barn looks good also.

Joe- Thank you.

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I hope everyone has a good night.
 
CURT -- Really like the wherehouse! The shingles look great. I am glad to see that the engineers figured out where it was designed to go - it looked outtaplace, and didn't fit where you first placed it.:p Fact is -- All the layout I see (scenery wise) looks very good.
Now, I might have believed that you got a drill bit to reach China, but really? All the way to the moon?;)
Sad to hear about the SIL's continuing problems. Hope/pray that things improve for everyone's sake.
 
T/S have quit. East coast got heavy down pours -again. Still muggy.
The older I get, the more I can't believe how old I am. I say that because yesterday was my 82 nd birthday. Never thought I'd be around this long.
I am constantly awed by the scenes posted here. Wonderful ! Thanks to all who share their workmanship and to those who are starting and show how they are progressing.
Time and patience and do overs are part of the fun[?].
Wish y'all a goodnight.
Phil
 
Here's one that definitely falls into the non railroad modelling category and I'll give fair warning to it's content. NOT for the creepy crawly non-fans. In the old vB4 forum I showed a picture of a New Zealand Weta (I now have learned that is short for Wetapunga). An Aljezeera produced nature program has done a video investigation of the efforts of the Auckland Zoo to save this claimed 190 million year old insect from extinction. You will see some "big'uns", can weigh up to almost 2.5 ounces, worthy of the best horror movie. Enjoy (if you dare)
https://www.aljazeera.com/programme...d-prehistoric-giant-weta-180606095039273.html
 
T/S have quit. East coast got heavy down pours -again. Still muggy.
The older I get, the more I can't believe how old I am. I say that because yesterday was my 82 nd birthday. Never thought I'd be around this long.
I am constantly awed by the scenes posted here. Wonderful ! Thanks to all who share their workmanship and to those who are starting and show how they are progressing.
Time and patience and do overs are part of the fun[?].
Wish y'all a goodnight.
Phil

Happy belated birthday. I hope it was a good one. Congratulations on exceeding your expectations. I hope to actually be able to share photos of track going down soon. Found out that I still have a chance at the train show this weekend. Perhaps Sunday will be better. Hopefully I'll find that guy that doesn't want to load up as much as e unloaded and can stock up cheap.
 
Good Morning All. 80° and clear under the full moon. Got into the pool around 4:00 am to start my day. Didn't quite hit triple digits yesterday, getting only to 99°. Forecast is for cooler temperatures tonight, only 75°. Granddog arrived yesterday for a two week visit while her family heads to the Texas Gulf Coast with my wife and my other daughter's family. I'll be at home alone and I can play my music louder. Remodeling contractor isn't due back until mid week. Installed a new fitting on my icemaker yesterday, successfully avoiding a $125 service call. Then I lost the retaining ring for my lawn tractor wheel somewhere in the yard. It just doesn't balance well on three wheels and the cut is quite uneven. Limped it back using a visegrip in place of the ring, new one should arrive from Amazon today.
Out in the train shed, I did a little bit of work on the barn, but I mostly ran trains. This is why I take so long with projects!
Thanks for all of the comments regarding the barn/cupola; Johnny, Joe, Curt and anyone else that I may have missed. It is a neat kit and it offers me the opportunity to do two things that I have never done before, the first of which is applying that copper roofing material. Second is using the Campbell shingles. They were commonplace when I first started RR modeling in the 80's, but I never had used them. I have used Bar Mllls shingles, but they are a bit different.
Phil -
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Johnny - Triple digit heat isn't really that deadly or unusual around here as the humidity is quite low. We normally average about 30 days a year, except we were spoiled for the last two years, we only reached 100° one time.
Sherrel - Glad to read that you are feeling better. Got extended screws for the one and only low level outlet. I have no issues with my HOA here. Of course I am the only member and officer. Your "busybodyjackass " is most likely a jealous neighbor.
Curt - Great work and great pictures of the freight house.
Ray - For some reason the video embedded in that article didn't work for me. Hmmmh! Maybe if I turn my monitor upside down?

Everybody have a great day.
 
I have many unfinished areas, but this barn will be between the trackwork and layout edge just past where I have a major ethanol facility planned. Ethanol facility is between the track and backdrop, most of it is going to be low-relief structures made from Pikestuff corrugated walls against the backdrop. Since the barn is going to be very close to the layout edge on the upper deck at eye level, I plan to add an office and some interior detailing along with lights to it. It has always been intended to be a milking barn for a dairy, just been in a holding pattern for a while. I build a lot of structures far in advance of when I actually use them; I don't foresee getting to this portion of the layout until the late fall of 2019! The barn and a few Holsteins will occupy bare plywood for a while. My project list is nearly as long as my main line!:rolleyes:

Willie - those Holsteins will have splinters in their mouths before long :D
 
Good morning everyone. 77 already here, heading for 96. We hit 100 yesterday afternoon - first triple-digit day this year. I'll bet more will be coming.

Since most of my work in the bathroom remodel is done for now, I got some time in the train room last night - actually the modelling room behind the train room. Got the last of the window treatments (shades, blinds) on the MR-IV windows, a little paint touch-up, and getting ready to put front window graphics on, then cement the walls in place. Poured some more "water" in the lake and figured out that the thing must be on a very slight slant 'cause the water runs south into the stream. Now I have a stream that's too deep - don't know how I'll fix that, maybe just live with it - but I'll have to dam up the end of the lake with SculptaMold and then pour some more water to deepen the lake. Live and learn.

Have a good day everyone.
 
Good morning. 56 degrees with rain. We're only supposed to get into the mid 60's today after a few days in the 80's. A lot cooler than other parts of the country where heat warning are on. The rain is welcome as I would have had to start dragging out hoses to keep the grass green.

Was MIA for a couple of days. Spent Wednesday at the dentist in Butte. Had a bit od dental work done. Had to get a permanent upper bridge done. Quite a lot of work . Don't think I ever had my mouth open that long and not saying much. Took yesterday off as the jaw was a bit sore. The temp bridge made a lot of difference. The permanent one should be at the dentist in about 10 days. Sure glad that's over.

Curt - That warehouse sure looks good. Going to be quite the addition to your layout. Excellent work.

Joe - Nice photo of the port area. Even a portion of it would make a really nice feature for a layout. Adds a lot of interest. Thanks for the photos. Looking good.

Willie - Sure like that barn. I had looked at that same building years ago but really didn't have the room on the layout for it. Seem like we may have the same idea and like the tracks to be in the scenery instead at the front edge of the layout. I do have a couple of places where the tracks are at the front, but I do prefer to have the trains fun through the scenery.

Johnny
- At the present, there are no wildfires in out area thankfully. Montana is a pretty big state. If you drive in on the interstate from North Dakota, it is over 700 miles to the Idaho line on interstate 90. In the past few years we have had a lot of smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Justin
- Lost the handrails. Are you coming down with Oldtimers Disease???? Some derailment on the CSX. Lots of scrap metal.

Phil - 548.gif

Here's a rail picture for today.

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Later
 
JOE"S correct! It's a nice beach day!
The computer weather site is so screwed up that I can't believe what they say?
First they say that today's high of 78 will be "much warmer" than yesterday's high of 83?
Second they say that today will be 58 seconds longer than yesterday? I thought that we turned the corner and it's time for the days to get shorter now? ( And that depresses me - I like the longer daylight hours)

PHIL -- Happy Birthday and congrats for exceeding how long you have been here. Sure hope you have many more! I, too, have already been here longer than I expected and really don't want to leave anytime soon!

Today I have to work on a SWMBO project and have to try and clean out some of the garage so as to have a place to work! Then I have to try and compose myself enough to answer the two letters that I have received from the HOA without raising my blood pressure too high. If I had the money that I once had - I would kiss this place goodby and get out where the "buffalo roam" - but with the Spousal Unit's kids, sisters, brother, mom, and gkids all around here - I am stuck! Plus -- I am not sure that my overall health would survive the moving again. I am pretty content most of the time and the climate here is pretty hard to beat! Sorry everyone -- Enough rambling!
 
I can understand why you might have problems with HOA's. I have a few friends who have told horror stories about them and have seen numerous news stories about problems with them.

Like you, I wouldn't mind getting out of here also. The area is really nice, but in recent years we have had so many outsiders move into the area. When we built out place, we were in the middle of a hay field. In the last ten years every available piece of property has been bought and home put on them. The closest town to us is Bozeman and I avoid it like the plague. Have to go there for Friday night bowling league, but other than that, I'll let the wife pick up what I need on here weekly shopping trip. When we go to town on Friday nights for bowling I just can't believe all of the vehicles leaving town. Where did all of there people come from????

I can see why they would want to move to an area like this to get away from where they come from, but then they want everything they had from where they came from. Housing prices have gone through the roof in recent years. The average worker in the area can't afford a home in the area. When we built in 1977, for the land (7 acres) well, septic system, basement and the house ready to move in cost us $43,000. Now it is valued at over $535,000 and that does not include the finished basement which the tax collectors don't know about.

I know where we would like to go, but our kids and grand kids are here and we have no debt, so I guess I can hibernate on my little piece of the big sky and ignore all of the a**holes that have moved in and ruined the area.
 
Well the heat returned to torment me again. Supposed to be 92 here today. I'm thankful it's Friday. Normally I wouldn't complain too much about the heat. However the garage I work in is a sheet metal oven. Only have a fan at my disposal. As for the CSX derailment. Still no trains down the mainline as of yet. I'd say it did a number on the tracks. Figure investigation is still on going as well. The yard outside the old ordnance center is full. More so than usual. Finally made it down to the layout. Ran some trains for a bit. I brought out my C&O Uboat for the session. Worked the yard some and built up a mine run. I really need to make some progress on it. I haven't worked on the layout since laying my track work. Of course I need to track down my handrails too. Haven't really looked for them yet.
 

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Hiya gang! I'm baaaaack! :eek:
Yeah, I've been on kind of a hiatus, but I'm easing back into things. Heading to the beach this weekend with the new GF for a week of sun & fun, then once I get back I am going to be spending more time playing with Choo choos.
I did take her a few weeks ago to visit my friend Howard Zane's layout , she was blown away! Then she asked me if I could do something like that in the basement. I think she's a keeper! :D

So put me in coach, I'm ready to play!
 



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