Running Bear's December 2021 Coffee Shop

[TLOC]

Hello Happy and Unhappy RR modelers !
I added a bit of scenery to my layout...

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Always liked a good dessert

no no I really meant desert

TomO

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning All. Extremely foggy again this morning and 60°. Had a brief but noisy thundershower pass by at 0430 this morning that left me 0.54" in the rain gauge. I don't remember it being in the forecast but it is what it is. It will be a steamy 75° later today, with the same tomorrow after the same thing yesterday. Cold front still expected Sunday night and mixed weather for a while after that.

I mowed the SW part of the yard for what I hope is the last time this month. I still need to do the NW corner of about 1/3 acre but not today now. This rain may require me to do some parts close to the house and train shed again in about two weeks.

As many of you know, I have a younger brother stricken with stage 4 throat cancer, who I have not been able to visit due to the medical issues here at home. The tumor is pressing on his larynx and he is no longer able to speak. But I did have a conversation with our sister who taxis him to medical appointments, and she reports that he is still hanging in and doing as well as can be expected. The home hospice people are quite pleased that he has stabilized since he chose to forgo all of the chemo and radiation therapy back in June. I am hoping that my wife rehabs enough to allow the extended car trip to see him before Christmas.

Speaking of her recovery from Mondays surgery, she was able to stand unassisted at the kitchen counter for a short period of time yesterday. She may graduate from the walker to the cane within a week or so. She is also breaking the narcotic pain killers in half already, so that's major progress.

A beautiful sunset last night.
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Thanks as always for the likes and comments regarding my posts; Christian, Jaz, Patrick, Rick, Louis, Jerry, Troy, Guy, Karl, Hughie, Sherrel, Curt, Tom, James, Joe, IB Ken, Tom O.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I continued with the building project.
I attached the DPM side walls to the Walther's storefront but forgot to snap a photo. Then I addressed the back wall. Since the side walls that I used are technically upper floor walls, I had to improvise on the back wall by making a window opening into a door opening.
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However the door was too tall so some more surgery was in order.
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Yes I know that my carving is not perfect, but this will be the back and I will be fixing this slightly with body putty before I paint.
As luck would have it, the wall was a perfect fit.
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I had roughly measured it to begin with and I felt that it would fit.

Jerry - Even though they are a little before my era, those tank cars look mighty fine.
Guy - While there are a few disadvantages to retiring before the spouse, retirement is still worth it. I am younger than my wife and technically she is still working at age 72 at the tax preparation place. But there are several tasks that she just doesn't think that I can do. Cleaning the bathrooms comes to mind. I did intentionally take over the kitchen full time after I retired. We always shared many other things that I have taken over as well.
Tom O - The folks in Austin are spoiled when it comes to temperatures. I still consider it shorts and tee shirt weather at 50°. When it comes to Exacto blades and others, I am really careful due in part to my taking and giving safety training for 43 years. I have also seen my share of serious industrial accidents from safety lapses in the window industry.
IB Ken - I am leaning towards the Moderna booster as that is what my original jabs were and I have been reading recent reports that it is the most effective, although not by too wide a margin.
Curt - Thanks for the update on Phil. Tell him to get well soon and start posting again!
Jesse - I believe that there is something fishy regarding the Lakewood Church incident. Like how did the money get there to begin with? I do not believe that the Osteen's had anything to do with it though. The money that was missing seven years ago was insured, so the church itself wasn't out of a penny. Do they return it now?
Todd - It is interesting that there was no press regarding the flu last year. Do you reckon it's because they were all classified as Covid cases by the self-serving CDC? 2019-2020 had around 43 million cases; 2020-2021 had 1600 cases per their statistics!

Fog is still present, I can barely see the train shed from the house!
Everybody have a great day, enjoy the weekend and stay safe and warm.

I see that Tom O has brought up the same issue that I have regarding last winter's flu statistics, since I typed.

Willie those sunset photos are great. I never tire of a good sunset either in person or in photos.

Austin, Texas and being spoiled. As the son has said more then a few times, if you are on the UT campus and don’t have an expensive or exotic cars you don’t have a chance with the women. Big old decked out pickups are the exception. He feels and because he also is an immigrant to Austin that most of the ones really complaining about the weather and wearing the heavy coats at 50f degrees are former Californians. While not all the complainers are from that Golden Bear state many are and they are becoming very vocal in the area politics. He said you started to notice subtle changes before Covid but much more so now. He has really mixed feelings about Austin right now but like he said, he’d die of boredom on Maui. The daughter feels the same about Maui, but I did last year too and I changed!

TomO

 

[PNKFLOYD]

The On30 layout at McWayne?

Alan- This is the Gardner Timber & Tie On30 layout we started benchwork in late 2018. We have made some progress since then.
The yellowish photos are from the 2019 McWane show and the other two photos are from this years display.
You will notice some more greenery and structures for this year, but there is room for additional structures next year as shown in the last two photos.
Hope you can come by for a visit next time you are in town.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

James - I do so like all those engines to photo posted yesterday. My layout will only have max 26"R curves, so I don't think I'll be able to run 6 axle locomotives.

TomO: You would be surprised at how well so many of the six axle diesels negotiate 18 and 22 inch radius. As an example, my Scale Trains on order are advertised to run on 18 radius and many of my Athearn Kato and Atlas six axle locomotives perform well on my layout. Some of the Athearn needed some adjustment of the middle axles to run properly.

Greg

 

[santafewillie]

Willie those sunset photos are great. I never tire of a good sunset either in person or in photos.

Austin, Texas and being spoiled. As the son has said more then a few times, if you are on the UT campus and don’t have an expensive or exotic cars you don’t have a chance with the women. Big old decked out pickups are the exception. He feels and because he also is an immigrant to Austin that most of the ones really complaining about the weather and wearing the heavy coats at 50f degrees are former Californians. While not all the complainers are from that Golden Bear state many are and they are becoming very vocal in the area politics. He said you started to notice subtle changes before Covid but much more so now. He has really mixed feelings about Austin right now but like he said, he’d die of boredom on Maui. The daughter feels the same about Maui, but I did last year too and I changed!

TomO

Ex-Californians have ruined Austin TX. They have spoiled the culture there, brought their politics in and have even attracted hordes of homeless folks in camps who used to be scattered about. Many would not be homeless if the property values had not been driven sky high by these techie imports. They get inflated money for their abodes out west and just think that they can do whatever they want with their cash. Cars are just a small part of it. What goes on there is not tolerated in most other medium and large cities in TX. There are some pockets that are exceptions in Dallas and Houston.

 

[ctclibby]

Ok, so now some breakfast Flo - something warm and stays with ya!

Still going at it - who knows what we will be left with!

 

[troyphoto]

View attachment 136310

You are right...but I change my track plan very often. So I can't do any kind of scenery.

Actually...

Take a lesson from the miniature wargaming hobby. You can add all sorts of scenery. It just need to be removable.

These photos are of our gaming tables at the local club. The base is a neoprene mat with printed ground cover. On top of that buildings, roads, hedges, hills... Consider the possibilities for your photographs if you build and add a few of these each session. Then take them off the table, back in the box, and under your bed/workbench/chair/ or wherever you store stuff.

 

[BigGRacing]

If we are talking Micro Engineering they are still in business but for sale.

Thank you for the facts TLOC, I wasn’t able to find much info on their website…..so wasn’t sure.

 

[BigGRacing]

these techie imports.

Is it just the techies, Santa Fe? I find it’s all kinds of people with higher incomes? Many are buying and selling for huge profits everywhere I am finding. And the world population is just getting bigger and bigger……people aren’t going out because of Covid, they are home making lots of babies instead…..my take anyway.

 

[santafewillie]

Is it just the techies, Santa Fe? I find it’s all kinds of people with higher incomes? Many are buying and selling for huge profits everywhere I am finding. And the world population is just getting bigger and bigger……people aren’t going out because of Covid, they are home making lots of babies instead…..my take anyway.

Way down here in Texas, native rich folks buy big ranches and don't tolerate the mostly liberal views of society that comes from folks who move in from the Left Coast. Austin is the exception here, not the rule. It's all of the Silicon Valley companies moving to Austin to escape regressive California taxes and excessive governmental regulation; as well as expensive housing and generally high cost of living for their employees. Several examples come to mind, Tesla, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, Dell and others. A home in Austin (which is the most expensive housing market in TX) averages about $500K, while a smaller sized place in the San Francisco area is $1.25M. In my part of the state, the median home price is $250K to $325K. Those folks that move there can not only pay for a home, but have plenty leftover for their high-priced cars. Thankfully, I am 250 miles away from that mess.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Did some chores and errands today. Afterwards I vacuumed the loose dirt off the layout and put the first coat of A&! over it. I then took everything off the approaches to the turntable except for the things that belonged there and did some looking to see where the extra trackage for loco consists would best fit. I have 2 possible locations, but I need to do some thinking on it.

IB Ken- Your modeling is better than most modelers out there.

James- Nice line up of motive power.

Jaz- Or to tell her husband that he's doing something wrong!

Willie- Sorry to hear about your brother. Great news about Arlene.

Guy- Pretty neat coal mine pictures.

Mikey- Great scenes.

Troy- Very nice wargame modeling.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[MilwRoader_Steve]

Greetings all,

What a day ... and night ... and morning.

Took the day and just lazed about the house. Believe it or not, I was thinking about running the train, but last thing I did on the layout was to make up a long train with all of my rolling stock. That was fun. But I was so tired and empty yesterday that the thought of breaking up that long train (14 cars?) was overwhelming. Wife was late because her surgery center is so incredibly busy.

Our daughter and her BF are now engaged! Last night his Greek Student association had a party at a local Greek restaurant. Did not start until 8:30 pm. Yep 2030! We went and had a great time! Good food, music and dancing. Big trubs for me, though, is that the places are so loud. Fiddled with my hearing aids but mostly everything people tried to say to me was mud. Still, had great fun. The owner was out and about and I talked with him quite a bit. He really likes Petros, my SIL-striker. The wedding will probably be in January with the reception at the same restaurant. I know for a fact that most of the wines and Tsipporo (Greek liquor) did not get charged to me. We were there until almost 0130 in the morning!! Crazy late for this kid.

But a good thing. I do firmly know that GOd has a way to Him. I have been ministering to a man in my congregation who fought both cancer and then the 'vid. I was able to go onto the ICU floor and see him through the window. Last night about 1:30, his wife called saying the hospital had called her and that her husband would not fight much longer. So my wife and I were able to meet her at the hospital for comfort and support. Quite the God-thing for had she called and I was at home in bed where I ought have been: 1) the call likely would not have come through my Do-not-Disturb" feature and 2) my wife woulf not have gone with me - - and she was so good for this poor distraught woman. We stayed with her until 4:30 and then took her home via Lyft and then we went home. Bedtime was about 0530.

She called about 11:00 that her husband had died. While he was fighting a cancer, it was indeed the Covid that killed him. Caused excessive scarring and fibrosis in the lungs so that even with a ventilator, he was not getting enough oxygen.

Very hard and sad, but was glad to minister to him and his family. He was 50 and had three children still in school.

Needless to say, I am even more tired today. Met the Dau and BF for brunch and did some shopping. Thinking take-out pizza for dinner and an early bed.

Blessings to all - - - Steve J

PS great news re your wife Willie! And Terry, it's easy for us to offer advice because we ain't living it. Peace to you in this trouble.

 

[troyphoto]

But a good thing. I do firmly know that GOd has a way to Him. I have been ministering to a man in my congregation who fought both cancer and then the 'vid. I was able to go onto the ICU floor and see him through the window. Last night about 1:30, his wife called saying the hospital had called her and that her husband would not fight much longer. So my wife and I were able to meet her at the hospital for comfort and support. Quite the God-thing for had she called and I was at home in bed where I ought have been: 1) the call likely would not have come through my Do-not-Disturb" feature and 2) my wife woulf not have gone with me - - and she was so good for this poor distraught woman. We stayed with her until 4:30 and then took her home via Lyft and then we went home. Bedtime was about 0530.

She called about 11:00 that her husband had died. While he was fighting a cancer, it was indeed the Covid that killed him. Caused excessive scarring and fibrosis in the lungs so that even with a ventilator, he was not getting enough oxygen.

Very hard and sad, but was glad to minister to him and his family. He was 50 and had three children still in school.

Steve,

Even though I'm not religious, I do admire those who feel called to the cloth. You're a good man for taking that burden. Your light helps people in dark times as well as good. Please keep doing what you're doing.

 

[Boris]

Last year while trying to get to Hawaii you had to test negative before they let you in. I tested 8 times and had 8 positives with no actual feelings of Covid. My doctor took me off 2 of my meds and hey a week later I passed the Covid test. So the numbers report me as 8 positives not from 1 individual but just 8 as an adult senior male.

I often wonder about the validity of the numbers thrown at us. Your example - 8 individual positives = 8 individuals infected, is a by product of Analytics Gone Wild. Testing results make for great headlines, but just how accurate are they? When we panicked and shut the country down, How many cancer patients regressed because the regional chemo centers shut down, and appointments at Sloan (for example), became scarce. Statistically, I guess, those who lost their battle with Cancer due to this, died as a result of Covid also, but their deaths could be attributed to their Cancer, and/or Bureaucratic pronouncement.

In New Jersey), most residents of Long Term Care facilities residents, have DNRs (Do not resuscitate orders), meaning if a person has a heart attack, stroke, Pulmonary failure issues, they would be allowed to expire without any intervention. This, more than anything, provides the answer for the very high level of deaths of residents due to Covid.

Assisted Living facilities, which house a similar demographic, had something like 90% fewer infections, or deaths due to infection, than the LTC facilities.

I really cannot come to any conclusion, but these statistics can boggle your mind. The information on LTC facilities is public record released by NJ Department of Health, by County, subdivided to town and facility, so it is surprising that the DNR factor was never brought up in the news.

 

[Jaz avalley]

A FEW MORE LAYOUT PHOTOS
As many of you realize, it is difficult to portray a winter theme without snow. A south Alabama village often has temps in the 70's F.
Also, town budgets were very tight during the 1930s, so I can rationalize a scant Holiday display for Hope's Landing.
Our scenery man also knows how to re-rail a steam engine.
View attachment 136117

It is true not everywhere gets snow,so it is not obligatory,I like the trees
i will extend my Xmas preview to offer an idea of two
First if someone wants to add snow they do not need to do the whole area just a small bite size,find a good photographic point and keep in minimal
i had,check with wives daughters ext had some tiny multi coloured beds,and I used the type of glue you can rub off and added x as lights to a shop
also cheap plastercine can be utilised, I made xmas food for the butchers, some beef side,some legs,some large turkey,the school kids and a Xmas tree little snow in place,plastercibe meat pushed against the butchers is held in place by more plastercine

 

[BigGRacing]

Greetings all,

What a day ... and night ... and morning.

Took the day and just lazed about the house. Believe it or not, I was thinking about running the train, but last thing I did on the layout was to make up a long train with all of my rolling stock. That was fun. But I was so tired and empty yesterday that the thought of breaking up that long train (14 cars?) was overwhelming. Wife was late because her surgery center is so incredibly busy.

Our daughter and her BF are now engaged! Last night his Greek Student association had a party at a local Greek restaurant. Did not start until 8:30 pm. Yep 2030! We went and had a great time! Good food, music and dancing. Big trubs for me, though, is that the places are so loud. Fiddled with my hearing aids but mostly everything people tried to say to me was mud. Still, had great fun. The owner was out and about and I talked with him quite a bit. He really likes Petros, my SIL-striker. The wedding will probably be in January with the reception at the same restaurant. I know for a fact that most of the wines and Tsipporo (Greek liquor) did not get charged to me. We were there until almost 0130 in the morning!! Crazy late for this kid.

But a good thing. I do firmly know that GOd has a way to Him. I have been ministering to a man in my congregation who fought both cancer and then the 'vid. I was able to go onto the ICU floor and see him through the window. Last night about 1:30, his wife called saying the hospital had called her and that her husband would not fight much longer. So my wife and I were able to meet her at the hospital for comfort and support. Quite the God-thing for had she called and I was at home in bed where I ought have been: 1) the call likely would not have come through my Do-not-Disturb" feature and 2) my wife woulf not have gone with me - - and she was so good for this poor distraught woman. We stayed with her until 4:30 and then took her home via Lyft and then we went home. Bedtime was about 0530.

She called about 11:00 that her husband had died. While he was fighting a cancer, it was indeed the Covid that killed him. Caused excessive scarring and fibrosis in the lungs so that even with a ventilator, he was not getting enough oxygen.

Very hard and sad, but was glad to minister to him and his family. He was 50 and had three children still in school.

Needless to say, I am even more tired today. Met the Dau and BF for brunch and did some shopping. Thinking take-out pizza for dinner and an early bed.

Blessings to all - - - Steve J

PS great news re your wife Willie! And Terry, it's easy for us to offer advice because we ain't living it. Peace to you in this trouble.

Blessings to you as well Steve !

 

[MikeInHubCity]

It's very cold in Celsius too (-7°)

7 below is even colder in Fahrenheit. Fortunately, not QUITE that cold here. Yet.

 

[MikeInHubCity]

Good morning again as I am back from the walk. It is brisk at 30f degrees as I wander3d the paths in the woods. Generally in December we can’t do a exercise walk through the woods as there normally is some snow cover on the paths and trails. Not this year so far. The shower after the walk was ok too. Normally I love showers but since my no sleeping for 36 hours this week, nothing feels right or good. 6 3/4 hours of sleep last night and 7 the night before but none for the prior 36. I need a good sleep or a great nap but like I said nothing feels comfortable right now, even my chair in the cave.

Last night’s hockey game ended the Wisconsin’s Womens Hockey team undefeated so far season. Lost 3-2 but this is the first game in 7 years of seeing them play in person that they looked bad through pretty much the whole game. Today it was reported that the last 2 weeks 1/2 the team had flu like but not Covid symptom. They didn’t play last weekend but yesterday’s game was had to watch. 3pm this afternoon we have another chance to see the 2 time should be 3 time defending NCAA National Champs play. I believe the outcome will be much better today.

Have not been to the train room yet today. I was hoping to finish up the reorganization project I started. The train room is a mess for me. I had too many things trying to be done before I headed West in October. But in this picture you can see what I am writing about.

View attachment 136306

None of this stuff except the stools belong here and those 3 stools are normally spread around the room. I must have spent 2 hours last night before bed looking at Commercially available backdrops. I believe I narrowed it down to about 10. When I was designing the layout the plan was order the backdrops 1st. I was at the time unsure of the paper mill and ethanol (since sold) placement. The final 4 backdrops I was interested in, those companies are out of business and we’re so prior to the pandemic.

I see Walt of Rusty Stump fame at 79 has decided to close up shop. Walt used to be a regular at Railroad Line Forums and he had superb products and better service. He sold of much of the business 4 years ago but kept doing some things. I wish him well.

Terry is on the treadmill, boy I dislike that thing. The swimming pool is being repaired and when I asked couldn’t you have waited until after we leave again in January the daughter correctly said, dad we now own this place not you and mom. Sometimes she needs a smack but of course that’s not allowed even if she is 40 now. But I did ask her how much she paid for my old house, she smiled and said probably as much as Bri did for the apartments in Austin. Then I smiled! Ah, children!

I know I posted the 1st one following but I still am chuckling about it

TomO
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Tom…. February needs to be a larger piece of the pie. Maybe shrink May & September.

 

[MikeInHubCity]

Ex-Californians have ruined Austin TX. They have spoiled the culture there, brought their politics in and have even attracted hordes of homeless folks in camps who used to be scattered about. Many would not be homeless if the property values had not been driven sky high by these techie imports. They get inflated money for their abodes out west and just think that they can do whatever they want with their cash. Cars are just a small part of it. What goes on there is not tolerated in most other medium and large cities in TX. There are some pockets that are exceptions in Dallas and Houston.

I never could understand the concept behind people relocating to a different state & then voting in support of policies comparable to those of the state they fled.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Southern Pacific PA1-PB1-PA1 with corporate heavy weight passenger car test run.
Finally got this thing put together with an ESU decoder and sugar cube speaker.
It's a Walthers lead, Proto 2000 B unit and Athearn rear facing A unit.