Running Bear's January 2019 Coffee Shop


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The small town in Tasmania (Geeveston), where my Son And DIL live, has been evacuated because of the threat from a major fire, 40+C (104F) temps and high winds, driving embers onto it today (Friday). They are safe.
This is what the atmosphere has been like for days
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Reminds me of last summer's wildfires out west. Here's a couple of shots from our drive to Seattle in August:
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For those of you who, like me, may be creatively challenged, go to ebay and search for seller ansky98. He makes custom N and HO buildings and vehicles. I found him while searching for airport infrastructure, and he has everything except runways. There are also several real-world restaurants and department stores, and such.

Btw, To whomever was working on that crossing, thanks for posting the pics. I never thought of using cardboard as an underlayment. That'll make installing the forest much easier.
 
As for bidding on that 1/8 scale British locomotive and tender; my wife is very understanding and encourages me to buy trains, but I would not dare to bring that monster home! "A man has to know his limits" Not to mention I would be in debt for life, that thing cost more than my house!
 
King Toot I'm glad to see your family is safe, I hope their property and possessions are as well.

I just checked the Tasmanian Fire Service map and it indicates that fire near Geeveston is still "going".
 
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In 1854, the Pennsylvania Railroad completed a marvel in rail construction - the Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pa. Accomplished via a 12-mile track through the Allegheny Mountains, this landmark was the first linking of the East Coast and the Midwest.
Pictured is train 35A as it climbs the mountain up track three around Horseshoe Curve. This shot, taken earlier this month, allows the viewer to see both the front and rear of the train.

Norfolk Southern Corp
 
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Sunset encounter. A cold January sunset reflects off the door of a farmer's pick-up as he waits for the passage of an eastbound passenger train at rural crossing in Eastern Michigan.
 
Karl, I did not know that Thomas the Tank Engine came with Kadees!

Bruette, certainly you must have a Oh-Four-Oh Docksider "Little Joe" locomotive, don't you? I have one of the originals, the Varney "Little Joe" only mine has a plastic body and not the white metal body of the original! This locomotive, along with my 1959 Schwinn Traveler Bicycle is the oldest items I have from my being a kid. The Varney "Little Joe" was a Christmas present from around 1959, also. I am holding on to it hoping that one day I will have nothing better to do than convert it to DCC. It still runs and for it's size is the most capable puller of all my steam locomotives. It has a large amount of weight, for it's size.
 
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Willie,Jim,and Curt thanks for $20 each I couldn't pass it up.

Good morning....Cold today and even colder next week.Is it me or is January dragging on.
 
Louis, it looks like other than vehicles, relatively fresh repaving, the street now being one-way, and some trees, Erdman hasn't chamged much.
 
Karl, I did not know that Thomas the Tank Engine came with Kadees!

Bruette, certainly you must have a Oh-Four-Oh Docksider "Little Joe" locomotive, don't you?

Mark before 2012 I had four locomotives, all diesels. Two came from sets, one Tyco, one Athearn. The others were a Life-Like Chessie and a Tyco Santa Fe. I mostly used them for Christmas. When I was 11-12 I tried, with little success to set up a layout on plywood.
 
Louis, it looks like other than vehicles, relatively fresh repaving, the street now being one-way, and some trees, Erdman hasn't chamged much.
Yes, the trees have grown and the nearest house has had a front porch added. Those old leaf spring suspensions and narrow tires certainly appear to have given the surface a beating.
 
Louis, it looks like other than vehicles, relatively fresh repaving, the street now being one-way, and some trees, Erdman hasn't changed much.
It hasn't changed much, physically, only the residents have changed. The pictures only show one side of the avenue, there has always been a median dividing the directions of traffic. It was the one of the main routes to Memorial stadium from the east.

I lived two blocks to the north and one block west on Clifton Park Terrace from 1979-1984. My "office", the White Tower was in the next block. Almost any day I could be found in my "office" from after 2am (bars close at 2am in Baltimore) to just before sunrise. After that it was time to make some money!

My very few close friends knew I could also, almost always be found at home when the Muppet show was on. I always made it home to watch and I never left home before it was over. Other than those places at those times, only God knew where I could be. The good old days before cell phones,

I know some people thought my devotion to the Muppets was strange, but seldom if ever did anybody ask me about it.

The two old Muppet characters sitting in the balcony were my favorites!
 
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Good Morning All. 30° and clear as can be. Current 10-day forecast shows pleasant weather for January, 30°-58° every day except Tuesday and Friday where the highs will be a little lower.
Several comments were made regarding the steelworkers on the building under construction that I posted the other day. Here's a close-up. While they don't show up very well in this picture, you can see representations of chalk marks on some of the beams.

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Otherwise, out in the train shed, I glued down the first street on that blank but painted plywood area (not pictured yet).
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After painting but still wet. Forgot to fix that seam before opening the paint, I'll get to that today. Blank areas are for the two streets.
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More pictures tomorrow.
Spent some time testing my most recent trackwork, originally installed as a small staging yard. I decided during the build to make it a classification yard instead; with an arrival/departure track, two double-ended classification tracks and two stub-ended tracks, along with a suitable yard lead on both ends. I spent considerable time backing a 16 car double-stack train onto all tracks, and through all switches, from both directions without any derailments or other issues. Hurray! I haven't completed the yard lead on one end yet, but due to the track configuration, the main line can be temporarily used. If 79' double stack cars can make it, anything can. I'll be testing other trains over the next few days.

Garry -
Willie .... Your staging yard is packed. .... Maybe you need to expand some more.
Don't tempt me!;) I could have made the train shed larger, but I pretty much decided that what I built is all that I will be able to maintain. There are two empty tracks in that picture however!
That's a drag about the heater, at least you had the foresight to have two. Continued prayers for your MIL.
Louis -
Model train is set to sell for record-breaking £200,000 at auction (over $263000)
For that price, I hope the cleaning lady is included!
Mark - Nothing wrong with Plasticville. I have several of their structures, including the switch tower that Garry posted.
Curt - Really nice job on the farm supply structure.
Sherrel -
Willie -- I know from looking at your photos that I missed so much -just was not there long enough?
Next time - You better be prepared for me "camping out" in your yard for several days! That should scare the hell out of you - LOL.
You won't scare me, heck, I sometimes look into the mirror!:eek: I do have 30 amp service, both 115 and 230 volt as well as sewer disposal. You'll just have to supply the connections.
Tom - Wow! That's a great price for Exact Rails cars.

Regarding the tube tester. I remember as a kid, removing tubes from our television set and going down to test them just for the heck of it. Our set was in a big wooden cabinet with an open back. In our house at the time, the TV was not allowed to be turned on before 5:00 pm except for Sunday football games, so I had plenty of time to return home and replace them during summer vacation. I once fell off my bicycle and broke one, and put it back in with the fragments scattered around the inside of the set. Never got caught and Dad bought a new one the next day.

Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
 
It’s 23 and sunny here.
Looking at the forecast for ext Tuesday, they’re expecting rain, then snow, 1-3”, and a temp drop to 17.That should be so much fun to drive to work in. Not.
 
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A fleet of ten former Seaboard Air Line 2-6-6-4 locomotives built by Baldwin in 1935 and 1937, a rare wheel arrangement in North America, appeared on the B&O in mid-1947, and ran mostly on fast freights between Brunswick and Cumberland until 1953. Here class KB-1a 7705 sits on a roundhouse turntable in apparently fresh B&O paint, presumably in 1947. Photo from Leonard Rice/Lee Rogers collection.
Baltimore Chapter, National Railway Historical Society
 
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