Running Bear's December 2021 Coffee Shop


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truckdad said:
Good Day Lady & Gentlemen
The climate has changed again up here in the "other" California. The record for December snow up on Donner Pass is going to hit 200" smashing the 1970 record of 173" if my memory is right, and we are at 153% of average. Last summer climate change was causing "spontaneous combustion" on every corner and we were warned that we will be drinking from a muddy hoofprint next summer. All the highways have been closed over the Sierras for a couple days while they try to find somewhere to blow the snow to. The last storm dropped lots of heavy wet snow that broke branches & toppeled trees onto highways and power lines and yesterday 30K customers just in my Nevada County were out of power, mostly above 2000'. No problems here at 1400' except my trainroom is too cold to do anything in it but drink hot chocolate with a shot of schnapps. Might get a dusting here tonight.Just saw U.S. 50 just opened but the speed is sloooow. I-80 still closed. Train stuff, here's a pic of the poorly planned sugar mill and some rolling stock that belongs in the "bin"
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Rolling stock never deserves to go in the bin,on the sides of many tracks is damaged and abandoned,from broken bogies to blown up engines, it is just an opportunity in disguise to have a little railroad graveyard,not over grown like mine but there is plenty of reference,a liitle light rust might be in order and any model parts that you dislike can be broken off and sanded,hell you can try bashing get a hot knife - wooden handle! And dent the sides of the wagons not for the faint hearted on good kit but perfect for trialing on kit you thing is not worthy.

bad new about the weather,we have had sone hot temperatures for us but your extremes leave me thankful for our far less diverse weather.
 
I think what's shaking out now about the COVID. If ya already had it, prolly won't catch it again unless of course you have immunity issues. If you've taken the shots ya need to be careful of who you're near, "always" wear a proper filtration mask and get tested often and that's even if ya already had the virus.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
I think what's shaking out now about the COVID. If ya already had it, prolly won't catch it again unless of course you have immunity issues. If you've taken the shots ya need to be careful of who you're near, "always" wear a proper filtration mask and get tested often and that's even if ya already had the virus.
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It would be nice if we could differentiate between delta bad, and omnicron highly contagious but “potentially” less health issues and if correct inoculate with the omicron against the delta, but just cos they think the omnicron might help vaccine against the nasty delta does not mean it is a great idea,I am staying cautious,but if thge omnicron has lifted flu and cold items this may be m a y be useful,I don’t see the mutations being stopped though,but if omnicron can protect against other versions and lower overall so we can live with it like we live with the flu,the flu of course changes each year,I saw that trump when original looked at Covid was told a 100,000 us cotizens die of flu each year and he said once we get Covid under control I want you to take on flu,because it is mostly an old people disease the insurance companies don’t care no one lobbies the gov so in general they don’t care,life is far too much influenced by profit and not what is good for us as a race or individuals I just watched the don’t look up and it would not surprise me this could happen,certain characters were amusing, I like when……oh no spoilers…..but yes there was several amusing takes on human nature.
 
Hello Happy Fellow Modelers !
I drew a new track plan for my layout. I drew up a new plan for my layout. I hope there will be no problem with the switches. All your comments and advices will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

200A.jpg
 
Patrick said:
Morning all,

Chilly 25° this morning with a high in the 40's. Then the next 2 days we get to warm up to near 60°, before the next front drops us to a high of 20° on Saturday with snow and\or a wintery mix. Low Sunday morning in the single digits, and then the temps bounce back up to upper 40's-Low 50's at the start of next week. The older I get the less I like winter...

Not much else this morning. I have a day off on Friday for New Year's and then I have to work 2 full weeks before the next Holiday...
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Lucky you.
Our next holiday will be next Christmas. Unfortunately next year Christmas falls on Sunday, so no holidays next year. I think Christmas 2023 will be our next holiday. About two months after I retire…
 
СHRISTIAN said:
Hello Happy Fellow Modelers !
I drew a new track plan for my layout. I drew up a new plan for my layout. I hope there will be no problem with the switches. All your comments and advices will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

View attachment 137756
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ahhhh... back to the desert

Don't forget to add rocks and cactuses... cacti... or whaterver
 
Up at Sparrow's fart, (04.30 ish) but it's good training for next week when I return to work. Did some light work on my layout, fixed the gravel round the TT, covered over the exposed timber at the top of the curve behind the TT, sorted the lights around the TT as well, not, have to have another try tomorrow, coz I can't lift the board till the glue is set, that's 24 hrs away. Took a few pics this morning, put some of my coaches in the tunnel so you see the effect of my not very typical UK tunnel, and why I like it, but it's rubbish, but you get the idea I hope.

night tunnel.jpg
 
Good Morning!

Christian - That's the exact track plan my grandfather built for me, on a 4x8 sheet of plywood, when I was a kid. So it is a proven track plan. Just nail on a few 2x4 cuttings to act as buildings, and you will experience my childhood railroading exposure.

It's warmed up to -23F around here. That's a temporary reprieve, though. The future-cast graph looks like it's headed down to my feet for next week.

If the wife would go back to work, I might be able to get some layout hobby time in. As she's on holiday, though, I feel it's practical to do stuff that she wants to do. At least, she don't want to go ice-fishing in this weather. - But, the hobby will have to wait for a-bit.

I started to get ready to revisit scratch-building a 3rd class depot. All the Tichy window and door frames that I'm using were cleaned up:
3rdClass_10-28-2021 (1).JPG

I'll have to adjust the size of the building to fit the doors.

I'll be using 1/16" balsa to construct the building. The exterior will be stucco, applied in the same manner as that 2-car garage I built last year.
3rdClass_10-28-2021 (2).JPG

I have a photo of the depot that was in Whitecourt in 1960, and it was definitely stucco.
Hope I can work on this project off and on in-between spousal duties.

Here's a repost photo of the depot I'm trying to build in HO:
Depot_WtCrt 1.jpg


Thank you for the likes and comments on my simple coffee-break postings! Hope you all have a great and safe New-Years! Stay sober and stay out of trouble!
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 55° with a few sprinkles, probably turning to light rain in a few minutes. It's 0540 as I type this line. Heading up to 75° for three more days here before the dreaded 20° Saturday night. A couple of cooler days , a couple of warmer days, and a couple more cooler days after that. Maybe winter is finally finding its way here.
I resumed splitting wood yesterday, getting a good workout while the weather here is still so warm. Looks like another doctor appointment this morning for my wife, a follow-up with the infectious disease guy. She had postponed it last week. Meanwhile the PT paid her a visit yesterday, good readings on the knee extension and flexing. Slightly ahead of expectations for four weeks. She actually went for an unassisted walk (without me but with the cane), about 25 yards out and back in the driveway yesterday afternoon. She also fixed part of supper last night, but I expect a tough time this morning after all of the activity.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding my building progress; James, Christian, Jaz, Sherrel, Gary, Mikey, Hughie, Karl, IB Ken, Smudge, OB Ken, Curt, Louis, Joe, Guy, Rick, Dave, Tom O, George.

Hello Flo. How about a Western Omelet today with a tall OJ.

Out in the train shed yesterday, productivity came to a screeching halt, at least temporarily. I accidentally broke a wall joint and it took a while to fix. That sent me away from the workbench and I just ran trains for the rest of my session out there. I don't continue modeling when I get frustrated as I am likely to either break something else or make a mistake.

I don't really have time to search the archives for a photo or two right now, since I didn't take any yesterday and te power went off this morning.
I had typed my below comments prior to the blackout.

Sherrel - I am totally with you on the short daylight hours. I get depressed from late November to mid-January. I cannot imagine living much farther north where the winter days are even shorter. Even wonderful weather can't make up for the lack of sunshine like right now.
Mikey - Thanks. I debated whether I should use that green or a darker one on the windows. Decided to lighten the area up a bit.
Dave - I don't know much about sugar mills, but yours looks OK. Compression is a drag on all model railroad layouts. I don't consider any rolling stock as belonging in the bin. When I need to get out of a modeling rut, I will rehab an old Tyco or Lifelike car.
James - I am surprised as well that no one has ever made a C36-7. While most of the production went overseas to China, there were still quite a few going to domestic railroads. I saw many on the MP line through nearby Denton TX that I used to be able to railfan on in the '80's. Like Ken and Joe posted though, a C30-7 is almost identical.
Hughie - I like the new location for Swanson's. If I haven't mentioned it before, I also really like all Bar Mills kits. I have personally spoken to Art, Jim and Bruce over the years and they are all first class guys.
Tom O - The one good thing about the Dallas to Austin flight is that if it is cancelled, a car trip might be just as quick as a re-schedule. But there is the rental fee to contend with.
Day trading is something that I would like to try at some point. My wife does taxes for some day traders and says that it seems quite profitable, for them. I am just not too sure that I have the patience to set up an account or the time to monitor things along the way. I have seen some stocks that I thought would do well absolutely skyrocket day to day.
Troy - Obviously things can be different in different areas, but we have had no issues with a HH Nurse in our boonies. The closest city, if you can call 5000 people a city, is 12 miles away, Denton TX, about 130K population is 30 miles away. The PT's though, both jumped at the chance to quit driving out here, although one of them is back to visiting.

Now, an hour and a half later, the sprinkles have turned into a light rain, but it is warm, the temperature rose by 5° and is now 60°.

Oooops! The power went off. Quite unusual since there is no wind and no severe weather. Maybe an alien landing! An hour later I see the power company driving around looking for the correct breaker to fix, and obviously they found it. Off from 0650-0820.

Gotta go now, with the power back on I can take a warm shower before heading out the door for that 9:45 appointment.
Everybody have a great day. Stay safe.
 
Good Morning y'all!

8F here and slightly overcast. New snow amounted to almost nothing.

Yesterday the pellet stove in the living/dining area decided to fubar. After playing for awhile, I found that the auger motor was spinning, but the auger was not. Shear pin. Nobody in this small town had anything like it. Bout 1/2" long @ 0.090"; you can loose it in your pocket showing people what ya need. 12Ga copper almost fit, although probably too soft. So - finish nail time. Took me a couple hours but have flame and heat.

And then - you knew there would be one, right? Power went off just before bed, bumped on/off a couple of times. Went out to the Train Cave to reset the stoves out there. Bottom one came back, Top one did not. Power to the outlet, stove no workie. Should not be to awful cold out there now so ima gonna finish my coffee and get to it. This could be a real pain! Sure, UPS's are in route to help with the power bumps; supposed to be here Sat or Mon.
 
СHRISTIAN said:
Hello Happy Fellow Modelers !
I drew a new track plan for my layout. I drew up a new plan for my layout. I hope there will be no problem with the switches. All your comments and advices will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

View attachment 137756
Click to expand...
Christian this actually is a good track, you have a crossover and interesting turns AND a nice piece of parallel track perfect for a little station, where the right hand side goes out further you also have potential for a little tunnel. if I was looking for a small layout like this, this actually in my opinion has a lot going for it.
 
ctclibby said:
Good Morning y'all!

8F here and slightly overcast. New snow amounted to almost nothing.

Yesterday the pellet stove in the living/dining area decided to fubar. After playing for awhile, I found that the auger motor was spinning, but the auger was not. Shear pin. Nobody in this small town had anything like it. Bout 1/2" long @ 0.090"; you can loose it in your pocket showing people what ya need. 12Ga copper almost fit, although probably too soft. So - finish nail time. Took me a couple hours but have flame and heat.

And then - you knew there would be one, right? Power went off just before bed, bumped on/off a couple of times. Went out to the Train Cave to reset the stoves out there. Bottom one came back, Top one did not. Power to the outlet, stove no workie. Should not be to awful cold out there now so ima gonna finish my coffee and get to it. This could be a real pain! Sure, UPS's are in route to help with the power bumps; supposed to be here Sat or Mon.
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Power outages are a pain, losing your back up at the same time is grossly unfair.
I do not live in a really cold area so I won’t try to tr]each you to suck eggs.

But I did sea a little battery powered in sole foot warm with a ankle bracelet…year yeah I am sure you know what it looks like lol, but I am thinking for cold feet it might be worth investigating if anyone is interested I’ll try to find it again and link it, only issue is I think it is a n obscure Chinese design. Ho hum
 
Uff Da! Ten below 0 F this morning! Wife still down with flu - - a true butt-kicker. She still wants to have the kids over New Year's Day, but we compromised on the menu. We will do store-bought fried chicken instead of her annual homemade Chicken-fried steak. Still have Black-eye peas and collard greens. [You can take the Texian out of Texas . . . ] I'll give her one more day, and then if need be, cancel Thursday or Friday. That way the kids can make other plans, if they so choose.

A little train work done. Working on a major redo of my track plan inside the main loops. Combination of continuous & out-and-back & switching puzzle. I should never get bored! I'll post a work-in-progress

211229_inprogress.jpg


It may be 'over the top.' Other than that, I glued down some WS sheet roadbed and will start building the coaling tower and run the hopper line behind. Ran trains long enough to get the two diesel uncoupled from their trains and bac to the roundhouse.
 
Jaz avalley said:
Christian this actually is a good track, you have a crossover and interesting turns AND a nice piece of parallel track perfect for a little station, where the right hand side goes out further you also have potential for a little tunnel. if I was looking for a small layout like this, this actually in my opinion has a lot going for it.
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Unfortunately, the two turnouts look more like a roller coaster than anything else...o_O:oops::rolleyes:

ROLLER COASTER.JPG
 
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