Running Bear's January 2020 Coffee Shop


santafewillie

Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. Happy New Year. Clear and 41° over here in Texas. Forecast high today is 60°, not bad for January 1. Well, I did manage 9:00 last night.
Last night's supper thawing.
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Later last night.
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Very delicious.

Flo, I know that you can't top the prime rib that I had last night, but some of Mel's Eggs Benedict will do.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the "flowers" yesterday; Jim, Johnny, Jerome, Bob, Garry, Sherrel, Tom, Phil, Curt.

Out in the train shed for the last day of 2019, I added some sunflowers to the side of the small house yesterday. These were slightly easier to make than the so called daisies.
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Also added that mulch around those flowers out front. I mostly ran trains though.

Dave - Not a bad beginning to that bridge scene.

Again, Happy New Year to all. May it be a safe and prosperous one.
 
Good Morning All. Looks like 50° and clear skies this morning. Upper 50's to mid 60's on tap for the next ten days.
Oh my Terry. Prayers and best wishes for recovery immediately.

Scrambled eggs and sausage over here this morning Flo.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the small house and the big hunk of prime rib; Bob, Bill, Jesse, Phil, Jerome, Rick, Chet, Sherrel, Justin, Tom, Jim, Ken, Karl.

Out in the train shed, the engineers had to work on New Year's Day. Finished up that switching run that I started the other day and did some more running, both main line running and switching. Almost finished painting the detail parts for the Majestic Hardware store, so I'll be revisiting that structure this weekend. Looked around the layout and picked out a few small scenes that were started but never finished, that I am going to work on next. They mainly just need figures, trees/vegetation and vehicles to complete them.
Here are the first two.
You may remember this one from last year, a small farmhouse with the family graveyard out behind the shed.
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And one from last spring, a trailer with the chicken yard out back.
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Jesse - Good luck moving forward on the business and house plans. Come by and visit; you don't have to be modeling for that. Dioramas are a good way to keep your modeling skills honed.
Ken - Really nice work on that scene.
Justin - That price even scares me!

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning Everybody. 44° and mostly clear this morning. Uneventful day yesterday on the weekly grocery trek. Nice day outside when we got home so I did some work preparing the garden for spring planting which starts in about four weeks.

Ham and eggs sunny side up with a toasted English Muffin for me this morning Francine. The new uniforms look good on you and Flo.

Thanks for the comments and likes yesterday regarding the two detailing projects; Justin, Jerome, Jim, Johnny, Sherrel, Karl, Dave, Ken, Chet, Bill, Phil, Tom, Chad, Bob, Garry.

Besides running trains yesterday out in the train shed I got a chance to work on those two homes that were on the project list. I did have to paint a couple of figures since I didn't have what I needed in the figure stash box.
Figures, dog and vehicles to the farmhouse. I'm going back today to add a small amount of vegetation.
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The trailer got figures, a vehicle, a dog and some vegetation, although that's not too highly visible in the picture.
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Take your eyes off Nobby Jo, Sherrel! :) Some yard debris and weeds are next for this scene.
Moving back to the Majestic Hardware Store, I made a styrene base for the building and accompanying details. Paint is drying overnight.

Bob - I've had an airbrush for years, it wasn't too hard to master. I haven't really tried it for weathering though, as I am pretty satisfied with dry-brushing and powders.
Texas Roadhouse - pretty rowdy place around here!
Jim - It's amazing that trip pins that are all adjusted at the correct height can work their way out of adjustment.
Justin - From the looks of your picture, you're scraping one wheel at a time to clean them. I use Chet's method which is a whole lot easier if done before things get too bad.
If I need to clean the wheels, I cut about a 4 inch square of paper towel and soak it with alcohol, set it on the tracks and run hold the train while passing the trucks over the paper towel. Just takes a few seconds. We do the same thing with locomotives at the club using the test track.
Regarding the track, you should really modify a car to use a Masonite block that you run regularly around the track. It will get some built up grime that Dust Monkeys won't.
Joe - Ditto on the exercise. I walk every day for nearly a mile except in the rain.
Sherrel - Sorry to read about the Dakota. Hopefully no one was hurt.
Terry - Continued prayers for your wife.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. 36° and clear. Nice days temperature-wise continuing here for at least the next ten days Highs in the upper 50's to upper 60's and lows remaining above freezing. Possible rain Thursday and Friday, but temperature of 68°. Spent yesterday morning and early afternoon pruning branches and cutting some of next years firewood supply. Headed for Dallas tonight for a life celebration honoring a longtime friend's late wife, which we attend every year near her birthday. She was my wife's college roommate fifty years ago, but sadly passed away about ten years ago. Tonight is a "double celebration" as it marks my 68th year on this earth.
Had a visitor yesterday, making use of my pond behind the train shed.
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Don't usually see them at this time of year and don't usually have only one at a time.

I'll have a couple of those sausage, egg, potato and cheese breakfast burritos this morning Flo.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the home improvements that I posted yesterday; Justin, Jerome, Bob, Phil, Sherrel, Chad, Tom, Bill, Mikey, Curt. More to come at the trailer house.

Out in the train shed, I spent some time laying out details for the Majestic Hardware & Feed store. I first made a styrene base so I could attach them to instead of just placing them all on the layout. Here are some of them on the left side under the sheds.
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Here's a shot of the other side of the building showing the now attached steps and loading dock. Also visible is the front porch and steps for the entrance.
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Not all of the detail parts came with this kit, some came from the detail parts stash. I'm still painting many others.

Mikey - Continued prayers for your MIL. Ha ha, no red light needed as that's Bubba's steady flame. Just a typical country girl.
Chet - Continued best wishes on the leg recovery. Bowling and trains, I know that you're missing two of your passions.
Terry - Ugggh! Have the doctors figures out how or why she got the virus? Continued prayers for her speedy recovery.

Everybody have a great day. If you want to attend my birthday bash tonight, PM me for time and directions.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 39° on this beautiful Sunday morning. Thanks to all for the Birthday wishes. Funny that I don't really feel any older!;)
I continued yesterday morning with trimming pruned branches for next years firewood, a good start with about a week and a half supply of firewood already in the stack.

Yeah Sherrel, both Flo and Francine made it to the party last night, I expect them to be late today. I'll make it easy for Mel, two eggs over easy and a handful of bacon.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the hardware store; Jerome, Rick, Nob, Alan, Justin, Mikey, Sherrel, Dave, Greg, Bill, Ken, Tom, Phil, Garry, Chet, Jim, Curt.

Having withdrawal today, as I didn't get into the train shed yesterday. So I reached back into the archives to get this picture of a Bar Mills kit called "Sweaty Betty's" .
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It currently resides in an unfinished section of the layout, although the structures and industries most likely will not vary much from where they are now.

Alan - Haven't had a chance to comment yet, but that baggage car looks really good.
Terry - Continued positive thoughts and prayers for Marie and you. Hopefully they are doing some passive physical therapy on the knee so it will be useful when she recovers.
Greg -
did those Scale Trains Santa Fe units arrive that I sent you for your Birthday
Nope. Haven't seen them yet, but there's no such thing as rapid delivery out here in the boonies.
I was given a Walther's track cleaning car last year for Christmas. While my track stays relatively clean anyway, I occasionally push it around the mainlines and passing sidings as a preventive measure. I have found that the weighted cleaning pad works just a bit better than my masonite equipped car.
Chet - Actually that pond doesn't breed mosquitoes. It's large enough to support plenty of turtles and frogs; and passing migratory birds that pretty much eliminates them. Not so for the poorly maintained ditches along the roadside. At least the county fixed the worst spot in front of my house last summer when I had the water leak that filled it up. I keep a couple of roll-around chairs in the train shed fro when I want to run when sitting. Only good if I am switching on the lower level though.

Today is National Whipped Cream Day. I'm sure that we all had some fun times with that when we were younger, and maybe still today!;)
Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 38°, headed for a high again today in the 60's. Gotta love this current weather for January. Next ten days are looking good except for Saturday when they are predicting snow! Much of the day yesterday was spent socializing with another couple after church when we went to lunch at our favorite German resteraunt in Muenster TX. After returning home for a nap, I pruned a few more trees and went for my walk.

I'll take that "everything in the kitchen" omelet this morning Flo.

Thanks for all of the likes and comments regarding the cafe; Jerome, Sherrel, Bob, Jim, Greg, Alan, Curt, Phil, Tom.

Spent a glorious two hours just running trains in the train shed yesterday. Just didn't feel like doing any modeling. Managed to switch out some industries on the lower level that hadn't been switched in a while, Champion Packing, Whitewater Brewing and Magic Pan Bakery. Those were just some of many. I also changed the locations of about a dozen vehicles to provide a newer look on the layout. Back to modeling today, mainly adding more details and starting some scenery on that base for Majestic Hardware.
So back to the archives with a shot of some tankers passing through the town of Vernon.
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Dave - I was never impressed with the Great Train Show. I stopped going about 15 years ago.
Greg - Pretty ambitious resolutions. My train resolutions are simple, run more trains and do more scenery. I think that both Flo and Francine got their start at Betty's Diner.
Alan - Yes, the Sweaty Betty's kit comes with both color awnings.
Terry - Well that's at least some good news. Continued prayers.

Everyone have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. 36° with perfectly clear skies. Headed out this morning for a visit to the dermatologist. Follow up to the skin removal of a few months ago and for a scalp treatment. Another picture perfect day in store for us today, mid-60's, sunny and wind-free. Another one tomorrow. Thursday and Friday it warms up into the lower 70's but brings a chance of rain.

Scrambled eggs and bacon today Flo. A couple of Mel's homemade biscuits on the side.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the tankers yesterday; Bob, Chet, Garry, Sherrel, Joe, Chad, Greg, Phil, Johnny, Jerome, Karl, Tom, Rick, Patrick, Justin, Bill, Jim, Curt.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I got a chance to start the scenery on the Majestic Hardware store base. Added some ground foam and ballast for parking lot gravel. I only got part of the way through before scraping some off with my knuckle so I repaired it and set it aside to dry before proceeding. In the meantime, I worked on my side project of dull coating containers. The number stands at 62 so far, that's almost half of them. Weathering is next. I also started on my quarterly layout cleaning project where I dust and vacuum all of the track and structures etc. At the beginning of each quarter I do 1/8th of the layout for a two year cycle. Yesterday was spent with the Optivisors scanning all of the trackage for displaced parts that have fallen off freight cars. Only found a single Kadee coupler spring, no grabirons, brake wheels, air cylinders or other underbody equipment. Next will be vacuuming all trackage, after that removing structures one by one for dusting, reattachment of loose parts discovered while dusting, possible touch up paint or adding additional details.
From the archives, My largest industry. The ADM grain elevator in the town of Gainesville. Picture is from 2012 before I added the upper level to the layout.
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Here''s a close up of Mark and John discussing their weekend plans.
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Bob - Warmer than average winter here as well. Had a couple of days back in October where it got into the teens, but for the most part it has stayed at or above freezing. Only had to dig out the socks for those two days so far.
Joe -
Like the Corn Syrup cars
Nice ID'ing. They're a bit new for my era (two years actually), but I am the only one who knows until now. They are identical to ones from the 80's except for the ADM logo. Modeler's license!
Greg - The snow was removed from the forecast overnight. With the current (and forecast) weather, it wouldn't have lasted more than an hour or so anyway.
Curt - Only one of 26, pretty good. Hope that the rest go as well.

Everyone have a great day and an awesome week.
 
Good Morning All. 36° and clear again this morning. Had a pleasant visit with the dermatologist yesterday, he used a lot of big unintelligible words but the bottom line is that the spots that he removed last summer were all cleared up and no further problems existed. After coming home, I worked in the garden for a couple of hours getting part of it ready for early spring planting in about three weeks. I applied a pre-planting top dressing of compost, wood ashes, leaves and grass clippings; all to be dug in later. Loosens up my heavy clay soil while fertilizing later during the season. After model railroading, organic gardening is one of my favorite pastimes.

Let me have a tall stack of pancakes with a large side of bacon this morning Flo.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the grain elevator; Jerome, Sherrel, Justin, Patrick, Chet, Bob, Ken, Curt, Chad, Karl, Tom.
That's the largest of my seven grain elevators on the layout. An eighth one is planned for an unscenicked area on the upper level.

I eventually made it out to the train shed yesterday afternoon. I completed the first phase of landscaping on the base of the Majestic Hardware structure. Tall weeds will be added after the details are in place. Couldn't add them yesterday as the "wet glue" hadn't dried yet.
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Note too that I did an initial weathering on the building.

Johnny - I'm never finished with structures on the layout. I'll look at some months later and see that I can make improvements or otherwise enhance them. Signs, light fixtures and figures are my primary additions.
Chet Compared to many real grain elevators around here, that one on the layout is actually very small. -
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Terry - From the tone of your post, it seems that the hospital wasn't really ready to release your wife yet. Most likely it is the best course of action though. Hopefully you or someone else can provide some PT to the new knee before that becomes an issue. Between Medicare and Blue Cross, we paid nothing at the physical therapy center for my wife's seven weeks of visits. That is if Marie is able.

OK, let's rock & roll. Today is Elvis Presley's birthday. He would have turned 85 today. Unfortunately he has left the building!
Looking forward to another wonderful day here today. Everybody have a great day wherever you are.
 
Good Morning All. 59°, windy and cloudy.The expected rain hasn't made it here yet, it's still nearly 300 miles south of here. However there's flash flood warnings for the counties south and east of here starting around noon tomorrow. Snow is still in the forecast for Saturday, but it will melt upon hitting the wet ground. Back into the 60's Sunday, as well as today and tomorrow. It's some crazy and abnormal weather around here for January. Grocery/beer trek this morning. Appointment with an eye doctor is also on the trip list. I may have to finally get glasses. I also have a bit of cloudiness in the corner of my right eye that makes some detail work a bit difficult.

Ham, hash browns and sunny-side up eggs sounds good for me this morning Francine.

Thanks for the likes and comments on the various posts yesterday; Patrick, Johnny, Jerome, Mikey, Justin, Ricky, Phil, Chad, Garry, Sherrel, Chet, Ken, Jim, Bob, Curt, Tom, Joe, Hughie, Kyle.

Disaster greeted me yesterday in the train shed. Or more like disappointment. The base for the Majestic Hardware had curled up like an ancient scroll and the parking area cracked in several places when I flattened it out. I wasn't expecting this since I used styrene as a base. My best guess is that the water in the glue/water mixture evaporated more quickly than the glue dried causing the extreme curling. I had to spend over an hour reworking it and it is now drying under weights. Hope it works.
Someone mentioned yesterday about businesses above other businesses. Here is one from my layout with a detective agency and palm reader above the pizza joint.
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Patrick - My layout is completely flat by design. Two reasons, I model "flatlands America" representing North Texas to Kansas; and it was going to be easier to build. I have three "cutouts" to represent waterways so I can use some of my old bridges. Since I am most interested in switching, there is no chance of runaway cars at any industries.
I've been going to bed around 8:30 for over 40 years now; don't feel alone. I don't watch TV so I am not missing anything.
Johnny - Happy Birthday.
Mikey - No particular specific location for Majestic. It is weathered similar to structures in this area of North Central Texas. The pictures look like I slightly overdid the roof, but it doesn't look as bold in person.
Bob - Was that a typo regarding loading grain in boxcars?:rolleyes: I actually have a single grain boxcar (no roofwalk) that I occasionally use at my smallest grain elevator.
Sherrel -
-- do you have a powered tiller for turning over your garden?
I do, but I rarely use it. It chops up the earthworms - bad; it chops up Johnson Grass roots that then propagate into many more invasive plants - bad; and it is difficult to use unless my heavy clay soil moisture is exactly right. While time consuming, it is good easy exercise to just dig it all with a pitchfork. I did over 450 sq ft in about four hours spread over three days this week Soil in the actual garden is quite loose after almost 40 years of incorporating lots of organic materials into it.
Chet - It seems that warm to you and warm to me are worlds apart!

Today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. I think that that should be everyday. So hug a law enforcement officer today (watch out Beady) and show your appreciation. OK, maybe ask them first or just shake their hand.
Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 66°; yes 66° confirmed by Weather Underground just down the road. Incredible for January 10. The predicted heavy thunderstorms with flash floods have not materialized, 36 hours late already. Might still happen but looking at the radar, it seems unlikely. But one can never tell with Mother Nature. Visit with the optometrist went OK yesterday. I do have some cataracts in the right eye that need to be addressed and she is recommending a pair of bifocals. Oh well. At 68 I guess that was inevitable. Maybe it will make me a better modeler.

Bacon, scrambled eggs and toast for me this morning Flo. Double the bacon as usual.

Thanks to all for the likes and comments regarding the various pictures of the "other side of the tracks", the law office and upstairs businesses; Bob, Chet, Dave, Sherrel, Jim, Jerome, Chad, Justin, Phil, Rick, Bill, Tom, Mikey, Curt, Patrick, Garry, Johnny, Greg, Joe, Ken.

Out in the train shed yesterday, it appears that I was able to salvage that base for the Majestic. Added the first round of details, more over on the workbench since the paint isn't dry yet.
Progress.
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More to come including fixing the roof where the adhesive didn't do it's job.

Bob - For box car grain loading, here's a short film made in 1981.
Grain Elevator
Dave -
Willie, The detail in this scene is remarkable. The strewn trash, the weeds growing in the cracks, missing bricks, and if the 2 cops were beating the "alleged" criminal with their nightsticks I would think it real!!
Some credit must go to Randy of Downtown Deco for the hydrocal structure kit. I do like to insert small "mini-scenes" into the layout. The police and suspect is one of my favorites.
Patrick - Get well soon.

Today is National Save the Eagles Day. I think that Seattle settled that one. Oh! Maybe different Eagles!:cool:
Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. 30° and overcast with a little bit of snow. A large area of snow is moving in from the west according to the radar. It's expected to be quite heavy making visibility difficult. It won't stick since all of the ground is extremely wet from the rain yesterday. Besides that the high today will be in the mid-40's and then the wind switches again from the south after sunset and we're back in the 60's tomorrow through Wednesday. Flash flood warnings exist all around; but most of the flow off my property has stopped. Waiting for daylight to see what the lake across the road looks like if the snow doesn't obscure the view too much.

Need a hearty breakfast this morning Flo, sausage patties and a loaded omelet with a couple of thick buttered English Muffins for me.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the progress on the Majestic Hardware structure; Phil, Sherrel, Justin, Garry, Patrick, Chet, Chad, Alan, Jerome, Bob, Tom, Ken, Hughie, Jim, Joe.

Couldn't do any real modeling out in the train shed yesterday, despite being sorta trapped out there during the heavy thunderstorms. We kept getting power interruptions which while none were very significant, they could have been. I did run trains and even added some weeds to localized parts of the layout.
So it's back to the archives for this one. One of two Walther's Merchant's Row I structures that I have.
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Chet - Hot springs sounds like a really good adventure. Could be quite therapeutic as well.
Sherrel - Good to talk with you yesterday. Have a safe trip to Laughlin.
Greg - I wouldn't be using Goo-Gone to soak airbrush parts in, it leaves quite a sticky residue. Lacquer thinner as Alan suggested would be the best choice. Beer and brat tastes good at any temperature, just not sure I would endure Lambeau Field in January after a snowstorm to enjoy it though. Actually I am positive that I wouldn't enjoy it.
Curt - While it is a real shame that you have to dismantle the layout, you're making excellent progress.:(

Well I guess that I was wrong about the snow sticking. Here's Fluffy eating breakfast; he doesn't seem to mind.
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Everyone have a great day and a wonderful weekend.
 
The buildings look great. What do you use for roads?
Bob - I use tarpaper or sometimes called roofing felt, cut into strips and glued to the plywood base with Elmer's White Glue. If I recall, it is either the 15# or maybe the 30# variety; it's been a while since I bought it for construction purposes. While jet-black when applied, it quickly fades to that asphalt color under the lights. Once faded, it stays the same. Well duh! It is asphalt impregnated to begin with!:cool: In that area I used a white paint pen to do the striping.
 
Good Morning All. 30° and clear. The snowstorm yesterday lasted for about three hours and dumped over an inch of snow on the ground. By 2:00, it was all gone. Total rainfall (and melted snow) eventually left just over 4" in the rain gauge. Fortunately the longest power failure (of many) lasted only 5-6 minutes, don't ask how that happened, as it usually either just goes off for a few seconds or it's off for several hours. Never got above 47° yesterday, but it will return to the upper 50's today with 70° predicted for later this week. So much rain fell in such a short period of time, that the lake across the road more than doubled in size from its usual 26 acres to well over 70 acres (guesstimate). Not bad as I have seen it in the 500-600 acre range before. After all, it is a Corps of Engineers flood control lake and that's what it's designed for.

Cinnamon toast and scrambled eggs this morning Francine. Double order of bacon on the side.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the MR I city block; Phil, Bob, Tom, Sherrel, Alan, Justin, Greg, Jerome, Hughie, Garry, Ken.

Ventured out to the train shed yesterday afternoon and "Oh Snap!" I forgot that when the power even flickers off for a second, the heater goes off and does not come back on unless manually reset. It was 51° out there. Couldn't do anything due to having to wear my sweatshirt. For me, long sleeves and modeling just don't mix. Ran trains for a while, then went back to the house and updated my freight car database with all of the maintenance that I did in 2019. Didn't realize that I was that far behind. 42 individual entries. Also updated the database with the six cars that I added to the roster along with their inspection results.
Well it's back to the archives again today since I didn't do anything in the train shed yesterday. Some of you may remember this mini-scene done in 2018, across the track from the "seedy part of town".
Before.
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After.
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Bob - Not to worry, Fluffy was happy that there was a bowl of food in front of him. After eating and prior to the heavy snow, he made his way out to the barn to sleep until supper time when he returned.
Jim -
Sounds like a helluva storm you had yesterday and the threat of tornados, but I
guess you're kind of use to it
Right about that, especially the tornados. They are a hazard 12 months of the year. Had two close calls in the 39 years that we have lived here.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. 38° and partly cloudy. Warming up for a few days, next freeze on Saturday. Quite the storm system that swept across the country this weekend. After reading about all of you other guys who lost power for extended periods of time, I am glad that mine only went off for a very short spell.
Doctors appointment this morning kinda screws up half a day for me. These things are getting more frequent unfortunately.

Eggs sunny side up, bacon and whole wheat toast this morning Flo. Maybe one of those fresh cream filled donuts to finish things off.

Thanks for all of the likes and comments on the hobo scene that I posted yesterday; Tom, Justin, Sherrel, Greg, Bob, Phil, Jerome, Bill, Chet, Hughie, Ken, Curt, Karl, Garry, Johnny.

Only had a short period of time in the train shed yesterday due to church and household chores. So all I did was paint additional detail parts and some Preiser figures. I did fire up a couple of trains to run from staging to staging to break the pattern a bit. So back to the ever dwindling archives.
Here's one of my favorite simple structures. A Downtown Deco hydrocal kit of Ace Auto Parts.
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While it is in it's final location on the layout (maybe), it is in an unfinished area with no scenery.

Sherrel - Yes it is the camera angle. I'll have to pay more attention when I am shooting pictures.
That's why God gave us little toes - so we can locate furniture in the dark!
And don't forget Legos.
Terry -
I seem to remember a dead traffic signal supposed to be treated as a four-way stop. When did that change?
Cellphones.
Chet - Good to read that your leg is improving.
Phil - Happy Anniversary on the cancer removal.
Curt - Sad picture.
Jim - Great work on the two structures. I especially like Nick's and I am looking forward to seeing how you finish the other one.
Karl - Those grain mill pictures are both fantastic. The one that you posted on Tuesday is outstanding.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning Everyone. 58° and dense fog. The partly cloudy yesterday morning turned into fog after daylight and hasn't gone away yet. But the temperature is nice for this time of day/month. Visit to the doctor yesterday went OK, I'm going to live for the foreseeable future, upright! Today I am going to visit the location of my former employer and haul home some firewood; 3" x 4" x 42" sticks of aged oak. These have been a staple of heating here for 39 years. Nothing like free firewood.

How about something different for breakfast this morning Flo, sausage links, French Toast and oatmeal today.

Thanks for the likes yesterday regarding the Ace Auto Parts structure; Jerome, Phil, Sherrel, Chet, Bob, Patrick, Hughie, Justin, Tom, Johnny.

Another short day in the train shed due to the doctor visit. It's slow going on the Majestic Hardware details right now, so I added figures to another structure. Remember this one from last summer? Atlas Steel Works.
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I touched up some Woodland Scenics figures for the empty loading platform.
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Here are a few workers taking a lunch break.
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Johnny - Considering your layout, I vote for the grassy field for the baseball players. Here's what I did with the Wiener Wagon.
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Beady - I like your suggestion regarding kids playing where they shouldn't be. I'll have to use that somewhere.
Karl - I like the Downtown Deco kits. I only have five but I am looking for a couple more.
Curt -
Willie- Nice looking garage. Did you apply the stucco.
That's pretty much the way the kit came. I scratched it up a bit Painted it, applied the signs and aged them.
Bob -
Here's a story that may belong in the Ripley's Believe It or Not category. You read it and let me know what you think.
????????

Here's a story that will interest most everyone.
Northlandz

Gotta go now. Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. 65° and foggy, once again. Late start this morning as I wanted to see Stuart Varney first. Kinda crazy this morning that our low temperature is already greater than Sherrel's anticipated high for today. We are also 12° above what is normally our average high for January 15, Cooler with rain tomorrow and Friday. Our granddog came for a short stay through next week yesterday while my daughter and SIL and our grandsons go for a visit to Orlando and Disney world for the upcoming MLK holiday. The boy's school is closed Tuesday. Sure as taxes and death, she tracked mud into the house at the first opportunity.

Hey Francine. What's this Denver omelet that Patrick is talking about? Go ahead and get me one with a double handful of bacon.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the Steel Works scene yesterday; Bob, Johnny, Chet, Karl, Patrick, Chad, Phil, Garry, Justin, Hughie, Jerome, Jim, Curt.

So out in the train shed yesterday, I just did odds and ends. While Majestic Hardware isn't done yet, it is on hold while I determine it's final footprint on the layout. I touched up and completed many Preiser figures (and some of those Chinese figures) while I had the stuff out for the Steel Works crew.
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The four figures on the right are actually some other Woodland Scenics or Walther's figures that I just touched up. All were dull coated.
I also started the scenery around the Steel Works structure, but not enough to photograph yet.
Speaking of figures, here's some for all of you "girl watchers" out there. All are hand painted by me.
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Beady - When I was a kid, they were building a major freeway around Dallas (IH-635) nearby. We would go over to the area and climb all over the huge earth moving equipment. Once, we found one with the keys left in it and I started it up. Not knowing what to do next and being a bit apprehensive anyway, I just left it running all night.
Bob - Happy Birthday you young whippersnapper. That's some wild story about James and Jack. The Downtown Deco kits are four Hydrocal walls that are a bit rough. They all need to have the edges filed to fit squarely and they come with a sheet of styrene for the roof.The neat thing is painting them.
Not to worry about the tanker, as it is an empty sitting on a storage track for the ethanol processing facility.
Jim - You're putting that retirement time to good use. The layout scenes are really coming along.
Sherrel -
If you painted the figures you did a super job!
On those particular figures, I only did a very small amount of touch-up to the original Woodland Scenics set.
Ray - I noticed the Rust-oleum markings about four or five months ago. Very true about the fresh stock at the LHS.
Johnny - One thing about posting later this morning is I got to see your pictures a lot earlier. Very nice scene with the sandlot baseball game. That should garner some really nice comments from visitors.
Garry - Good news on the medical front. I'm about to deal with cataracts as well.

Today is the actual birthday of Martin Luther King. Ever notice that liberals refer to him as Dr. MLK, while conservatives refer to him as Rev. MLK
Everybody have a great day.
 



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