Running Bear's Coffee Shop LII


Good Morning, 60 headed for 70, sunny, pleasant day ahead.


I find it best to place it between the coils nearest to one end of the spring (2/3rds, 1/3rd) and then put the long end onto the fixed locating peg, compress the spring and that makes it easier to get the short end onto the knuckle's peg.

I do it the same way but ratheer than try to explain it all I fugured E could figure it out.
 
Looking at the electrical side and I may need another circuit box. I'm about maxed out on all three panels! Going to have to get "J.T" in here, he lost a thumb in Nam but he makes the cleanest/neatest/prettiest wiring jobs I've ever seen! He will hook me up with all the tie melting, fishplate frying power I will require! SAFELY! LOL
 
Hey NG, have you subscribed to any mags yet?
http://mrhmag.com
Model Railroad Hobbyist is an electronic free one. The one I'm reading today has a great introduction to DCC cabs, boosters, wiring, etc.
E

I get that one, the wife works at the Library so I get ALL the back issues of various mags, most of the adds are no longer valid but the articles are!

Good stuff!
 
Good Morning, 60 headed for 70, sunny, pleasant day ahead.




I do it the same way but ratheer than try to explain it all I fugured E could figure it out.

Oh, I got what you all were saying immediately!
Just wish someone would have told me that several months ago.

The bulk pack of #148 I got didn't come with any spare springs but I kept the few that didn't have springs in case I ever figured it out. (Figured there had to be a trick to it.) I've since had to get some envelope packs of #146 which all come with spares. I keep all spare parts of everything. So now I have plenty of springs, gear boxes and covers, old plastic wheels and old horn-hook couplers (that I'll never use).
E
 
Gonna 'raid' the only 'hobby shop' in town today, and 'buy him out!' (LOL) of coupler washers and rolling stock! His 'train department' is a joke so I will kill it and put it out of my misery. I don't want some kid to go in there all excited and get deflated like I was by his LACK of inventory! Maybee he will use the money to get some decent stuff! Support your 'local' and all that!

Couplers....what is the 'fave' out there? What is a good 'all purpose' type? Going to have to get them all on the same page eventually, who gots a fave they wanna push??? "Sell' me on the one that works best for you and why. I will seriously consider all recommendations.
 
And... another "necessary" item you may want to get to help burn up some of that money.
Get yourself one of those little mini-dorm refrigerators to keep plenty of beers handy. It beats going up and down the stairs to "freshen your drink". :cool:
I haven't gotten one yet.
Might be something to look for at a pawn shop or the local WalMart. I sure ain't gonna order one online. The shipping would be killer!
E.
 
, old plastic wheels and old horn-hook couplers (that I'll never use).
E


When I have some spare time I take my old horn hook couplers and organize them into lots of 20 or 30 and sell them on ebay. I take a few good photos and usually get $10 to $15 for an assortment of pairs, plus shipping (usually about 2.35 because these are lightweight). I do the same thing with plastic wheels, though I usually sell them as complete trucks.

I was surprised when I sold my first lot. I have raised over $100 selling otherwise "junk" on ebay.

I don't know what makes a horn hook desirable, but there are many subtle differences. I usually try to package several different "styles" or makes.
 
Gonna 'raid' the only 'hobby shop' in town today, and 'buy him out!' (LOL) of coupler washers and rolling stock! His 'train department' is a joke so I will kill it and put it out of my misery. I don't want some kid to go in there all excited and get deflated like I was by his LACK of inventory! Maybee he will use the money to get some decent stuff! Support your 'local' and all that!

Couplers....what is the 'fave' out there? What is a good 'all purpose' type? Going to have to get them all on the same page eventually, who gots a fave they wanna push??? "Sell' me on the one that works best for you and why. I will seriously consider all recommendations.

As I've been talking about them recently, Kaydee seems to be most everyone's favorite.
Most of my stock uses the #146 centerset medium shank. However, for my passenger and inter-modal cars I use the #148 centerset extened shank so as not to pinch the corners when they go through my tight 18" radii curves.
All that "old" stuff I got from little Bro had the old horn-hook types of varying makes so they didn't always play nice either.
I should think a good rule of thumb is to have ALL your stuff on the same style and manufacturer to be certain they'll play nice together.
E.
 
When I have some spare time I take my old horn hook couplers and organize them into lots of 20 or 30 and sell them on ebay. I take a few good photos and usually get $10 to $15 for an assortment of pairs, plus shipping (usually about 2.35 because these are lightweight). I do the same thing with plastic wheels, though I usually sell them as complete trucks.

I was surprised when I sold my first lot. I have raised over $100 selling otherwise "junk" on ebay.

I don't know what makes a horn hook desirable, but there are many subtle differences. I usually try to package several different "styles" or makes.

I think people buy that stuff because it IS cheap. I almost baulked just because of the price when I was pricing bulk packs of Kaydees to do a wholesale replacement on everything.


A lot of the old stuff I got had broken or missing couplers and/or wheels so I was going to have buy a bunch of bother anyway.

But, like NG, I had the money at the time and decided to go for it - steel wheels as well.
 
And... another "necessary" item you may want to get to help burn up some of that money.
Get yourself one of those little mini-dorm refrigerators to keep plenty of beers handy. It beats going up and down the stairs to "freshen your drink". :cool:
I haven't gotten one yet.
Might be something to look for at a pawn shop or the local WalMart. I sure ain't gonna order one online. The shipping would be killer!
E.

I can get one cheap over at the M.S.U. surplus! Bout 5 miles away. But I TRY to impose extreme food/beverage discipline in the basement at all times already! ('SARGE' yousta say, "Food attracts vermin." LOL) JAVA is the only thing allowed in the area and I'm gonna have to bust myself bad to keep it off the layout! Just can't get the 'drinkin legs' back and I suppose it's for the best, even those 2 shots last week was plenty! I had different 'goals' when I was drinkin ("I'm in HOT pursuit!!") and it just don't mesh with the present situation. Got a package yesterday! Throttles! YAY! (adding to the pile of unopened boxes!) Waiting for the table before I start opening things. "CHRISTMAS" every DAY! LOL
 
morning folks. 78 now but making way for the 90s, this afternoon. Haven't been around these parts in quiet a while - Any word on Jeffery?
 
I think people buy that stuff because it IS cheap. I almost baulked just because of the price when I was pricing bulk packs of Kaydees to do a wholesale replacement on everything.


A lot of the old stuff I got had broken or missing couplers and/or wheels so I was going to have buy a bunch of bother anyway.

But, like NG, I had the money at the time and decided to go for it - steel wheels as well.

I keep seeing the references to steel wheels, makes a lot of sense that metal rolls on metal much better than plastic will. So many designs and styles though. Have to hold a little back for that area till 'the decision' is made.
 
As I've been talking about them recently, Kaydee seems to be most everyone's favorite.
Most of my stock uses the #146 centerset medium shank. However, for my passenger and inter-modal cars I use the #148 centerset extened shank so as not to pinch the corners when they go through my tight 18" radii curves.
All that "old" stuff I got from little Bro had the old horn-hook types of varying makes so they didn't always play nice either.
I should think a good rule of thumb is to have ALL your stuff on the same style and manufacturer to be certain they'll play nice together.
E.

Yup, Kaydee pops up over and over, they have a bewildering array of products! At least I've narrowed it down to 1 manufacturer. The particular 'one' or 'ones' of theirs eludes me but no real rush, yet.

(#148 center extended and #146 center med, writing it down!) LOL
 
My pathetic model building skills WILL be 'in effect' again, I did get a decent price on particular designs of 'new' bulk rollers in 'kits' ! I suppose 're-trucking and wheeling' them will be easier if I do it as they are built. Some of the models were of stuff I just 'had to have'! LOL

Gotta get to work!
 
morning folks. 78 now but making way for the 90s, this afternoon. Haven't been around these parts in quiet a while - Any word on Jeffery?

Gary, I'm sorry to have to tell you that Jeffrey passed away last year from a stroke, while he was in rehab after getting his 2nd foot amputated.:(
 
A late good morning to everyone.

80 with 79% humidity here in southeast Baltimore.

Between all of my other regularly scheduled tasks I am diligently trying to do a thorough cleaning of my O gauge track. I have often lamented that Lionel's FasTrack is made of steel rather then nickel silver. After stepping on it and kneeling on it I am glad it is steel. This track is some really durable stuff! I am 6'7" and 295lbs with boney knees and I have not even left a mark. I do use twice folded 18"square cotton towels to cushion my knees. The little corrosion I had was quickly removed with Walther's abrasive block. The real challenge is to remove all the black residue. After wiping the track several times I am finally winning! One last segment to wipe and I think, I hope I am finally finished!

It looks to me like we need a picture in here!

csx8568.jpg


Have a great day everybody!
 
Yup, Kaydee pops up over and over, they have a bewildering array of products! At least I've narrowed it down to 1 manufacturer. The particular 'one' or 'ones' of theirs eludes me but no real rush, yet.

(#148 center extended and #146 center med, writing it down!) LOL

My Friend, I'll bet I asked about this stuff for the better part of a month before finally just making up my mind and took a chance. I ordered all my stuff from MB Klein. At one point I finally just asked someone to TELL me exactly what I would need and I'll buy it.
The nearest hobby shop (HobbyTown USA) is about 10 miles away so I couldn't get there to put my eyeballs on them.
Either I was lucky or my research and never-ending questioning paid off - or both. I got the stuff that works for me in both cases.

Oh, and do remember to go ahead and get a coupler height gauge!!!

As for the steels wheels: a couple of those older cars I got had them and they clearly ran smoother and sounded better than anything else in the stable. Yes, there are all dimensions of those as well so what I did was to take a few of the old ones and put my micrometer on them to see what they were. Then I simply got a bulk pack of that.

Of course being it had been so long since I was into this stuff I asked these guys about all that as well. Everyone agreed, they run smoother and sound better. As one guy put it "they do make a good klickity-klack sound much better than plastic.
Also a lot of those ancient cars' wheels had all manner of dents and dings in the flanges. Not good for staying on the rails - especially in turnouts and the cross-over.
E.
 
My Friend, I'll bet I asked about this stuff for the better part of a month before finally just making up my mind and took a chance. I ordered all my stuff from MB Klein. At one point I finally just asked someone to TELL me exactly what I would need and I'll buy it.
The nearest hobby shop (HobbyTown USA) is about 10 miles away so I couldn't get there to put my eyeballs on them.
Either I was lucky or my research and never-ending questioning paid off - or both. I got the stuff that works for me in both cases.

Oh, and do remember to go ahead and get a coupler height gauge!!!

As for the steels wheels: a couple of those older cars I got had them and they clearly ran smoother and sounded better than anything else in the stable. Yes, there are all dimensions of those as well so what I did was to take a few of the old ones and put my micrometer on them to see what they were. Then I simply got a bulk pack of that.

Of course being it had been so long since I was into this stuff I asked these guys about all that as well. Everyone agreed, they run smoother and sound better. As one guy put it "they do make a good klickity-klack sound much better than plastic.
Also a lot of those ancient cars' wheels had all manner of dents and dings in the flanges. Not good for staying on the rails - especially in turnouts and the cross-over.
E.


Height gage, check, check and CHECK! Oh, YES, the impending 'clickety-clack' draws me onward!

"Ley-UUUFT!"..."f-ACE!"..."FOoWAAARD! (...WAIT for iiit!...) MMAARCH!!!..."TO ZA LUMBERYARD!!!"
 
....MMAARCH!!!..."TO ZA LUMBERYARD!!!"

Dam. Wish I was going along!
Finally got my card re-loaded so I've ordered some more trees that Curt posted about on Page 5.
It also occurs to me that after pulling up all the tape from doing the ground cover the day, that the tape either pulled up some of ballast off the roadbed or I simply missed some spots.
Guess I'll amble up to the RiteAid for some more glue and ISO 91% - since the beer store is across the street, I might as well make the trip count before it gets blistering too hot.
E.
 



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