Running Bear's January 2020 Coffee Shop


Good Morning Everyone. Clear and 62° here in North Central Texas. Another great day in store for this area, maybe a high of 90° with light breezes. Sadly, no rain in the forecast for the next ten days.
Seems like yesterday was a lost day, as I cannot remember doing anything noteworthy until I made it out to the train shed. OK, I did spend over an hour on the phone dealing with Humana Prescription Services regarding them sending my most recent prescription as a "Signature Required" package. The first representative didn't really understand why I was upset after years of hassle-free delivery. My mailbox is 1.25 miles from my house (very rural out here) and I had to make a 25 mile round trip to the post office to sign for it. Then I had to repeat everything to a second, more qualified representative who had to put me on hold while she talked to someone else, etc, etc, etc. She did finally resolve the issue and then I had to deal with changing my credit card information with them since I just got a new number. The card that AMEX mailed to me on September 16 never arrived and it had to be cancelled and a new one issued. So I am having to deal with that issue as well now.

Good morning Flo. I'll have Mel's special omelet of the day today, red chili and sausage with eggs and cheese. Sounds very good!

Thanks for the comments and likes yesterday (and already this morning) regarding the layout photos; Jerome, Patrick, Sherrel, Garry, Phil, Curt, James, Tom O, Lee, Guy, Tom, Rick, Jerry, Gary.

Meanwhile out in the train shed, I continued to work on stuff on the workbench. I got all of the fence posts glued to the Insta-Fence, attached the overhang to the DPM atructure a nd also dabbed it with some weathering powders. Neither one worthy of a picture yet. Over in the project area, I added small amounts of ground cover here and there before the next step of planting structures.
In lieu of progress photos, and judging from many of the recent comments, I took some shots of the small town on the peninsula that one encounters when entering the train shed. It seems that many of the newer Coffee Shop visitors were not here when I did that area about two years ago. I haven't actually named this town yet, as a suitable name has not leapt out a me yet. But here are a few anyway. To set the stage, I built a number of laser-cut wood structures over the years just for this location, first thing that you see at eye-level as you walk in.
Overall view.
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Close up of Jack's Back Yard, a Bar Mills kit loaded with details.
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On the other side of the road is Uncle Tony's meat and vegetable stand. It's another Bar Mills kit called Four Fingered Tony's.
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Here's a closer view during the build stage.
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Next to Tony's is LaBosky's Motorcycle Repair. It comes from JL Innovative Designs.
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View from the crossroads.
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Behind LaBosky's in the white structure is Amos Cutter's General Store. It is also a Bar Mills kit.
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That's all for now, Tour will continue tomorrow.

Dave and others who inquired - Here is a picture of the track on the N scale roadbed without ballast. That's a shadow on the far side, the roadbed is centered as seen on the close side.
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Jerry -
Willie, the pic, coming down "the alley" in Charlottesville, what a good place to play foamer, uhh, I mean rail fan from
Interestingly enough, there is a railfan viewing area in the midst of that block of buildings. I'll put it on my pictures to be taken list.
Sherrel - Sure hope that you don't have termites. And thanks for the information yesterday. It's always good to talk with you.
Guy - Welcome back from your "invisible elk hunt". Those are some fine looking vehicles.
Gary - It definitely looks like a plan. Keep us posted on the progress.
Greg -
I realized today that I have too much rolling stock
Boy, I can sure relate to that.
Karl - Really great picture this morning.

Sad that EVH finally settled his feud with Sammy Hagar the way he did.

Everybody have a wonderful day.
 
Good Morning All. Mostly clear and 61°, headed up to a high of 86° later today. Our average high for this day is 81°, so it's not too bad. Still no real chance of rain in the ten day forecast, despite Hurricane Delta coming across the Gulf. But you never really know about those storms.
Tight schedule this morning, headed for a 9:30 dermatologist appointment for a followup to a minor surgery about three months ago, then it's the grocery/beer trek to follow. Had trouble the last two weeks finding my wife's iced coffee brand, resulting in a different brand for a change. Yard work will resume after lunch, and I need to change the oil in the Accura SUV.

Light breakfast today Flo, how about just a bowl of Corn Flakes and milk.

Thanks for the reactions and likes yesterday regarding the town tour; Guy, Sherrel, Karl, Chad, Jerome, Tom O, Patrick, Gary, Curt, Chet, Rick, Ken, Justin, Jerry.

I made some more progress out in the train shed yesterday. On the DPM structure, Laube's Linen Mill, I applied some more light weathering powders and placed some of my own roof details on top. I had done the window glass, loading dock canopy and view block on Tuesday. Other than deciding what type of business it is going to be and adding signage, I am calling it complete. BUT I forgot to take a picture and don't have time to run (OK, walk), out there this morning. Over in the current project area, I fabricated a concrete pad out of some .060" styrene sign material to make a base for the diner. It's currently weighted down with several twelve packs of drinks to ensure good adhesion to the plywood deck. My sign material had a slight bow to it. Bows are easily corrected, warps not too easily fixed. I also got all 34" of Insta-Fence completed and ready for the paint shop
Let's continue the tour of that small town assembled from laser-cut wood structures.
Across the way from Amos Cutter's (it looks like a "G" on the sign, but it is just a fanciful "C"); is Bruckner's Woodworking, maker of stairs, banisters and similar products. It's manufactured by American Model Builders
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This was one of the earliest laser-cut models that I built, and it survived being partially crushed during the move from the old train room to the new train shed.
Next to it is another Bar Mills kit called Miracle Chair Company. Don't you love their slogan? They refer to it as one of their "beginner kits"; it really was easy.
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Then we come to a small locksmith shop.
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I don't remember who made this kit right now, but the kit contains two of these "outbuildings".
Next to that is a small town park, complete with a hot dog vendor, park bum and a panhandler.
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And the last business on the block next to the park is also a Bar Mills beginner kit known a Simpson's Feed.
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I named it Hale's Feed.
There's another establishment in town, but that shot is blurred, so I'll take another one later.
Meanwhile, Jerry mentioned railfanning Tuesday and I posted that I would get him a shot of a railfanning location in the city of Charlottesville. Here it is, a plaza between two restaurants.I haven't gotten the outdoor furniture yet for this plaza, so railfans just have to stand.
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Speaking of railfans, did you catch a glimpse of the two in the back corner of the park waiting for the impending freight to come through?
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Sorry that it's a bit fuzzy, it's in a hard location to get a close-up.

Guy - Nice job on the figures. I also like the young lady in blue, she's my favorite Atlas figure. I have not yet found sitting figures that fit into the space that 1:87 vehicles offer. I always have to trim off legs, file backsides and shave off the tops of heads to get them to fit. It galls me to do it when I have spent the time to paint them.
Greg - It is quite scary about all of the permanent business closings. In the case of the two small town eating establishments that I regularly go to, both owners own their buildings outright so rent isn't an issue. Otherwise they would face problems. In addition, many local residents are patronizing these establishments rather than heading to the nearest big city where reduced capacity is leading to longer waits, outside in the Texas heat! Many other small business in that city were already gone due to the Walmart effect, and there are vacancy signs everywhere. The bigger cities seem to have taken the brunt of this thing more than the small ones.
Ken - What an absolutely crappy medical ordeal. Here's hoping that you feel better today. For the record, and it's just me, I refused the flu vaccine my entire life and have never gotten the flu. Other vaccines, yes. I am not an anti-vaxer, just an anti-flu vaxer.
Sherrel - Whose layout did that steamer picture come from?

Looking around here a bit, I haven't noticed Bob (Burlington Bob), in over a month and a half. I miss him and several other regulars.
Today is National Pierogi Day, I have read Chet's praises (and others here on the forum), for this Polish staple. While I have had some, they just aren't on my list of "go to" foods. Maybe I just haven't had a good one.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 69°, should reach 84° again today before warming up over the weekend. 96° is in the forecast for Sunday! Still no rain in the forecast, although there seems to be some about 100 miles east of here around Shreveport LA, and the TX/LA border down to the Gulf Coast.
Another pleasant visit to the dermatologist yesterday, no return of the cancerous cells that he froze/scraped off my nose about three months ago. Weekly grocery/beer trek went off without a hitch, attire on the young female shoppers has switched from workout shorts to Lululemon pants. The store was not crowded and there wasn't any line at the checkout! Mask compliance was 100%.
Grandsons, daughter and SIL are coming up for a visit today. No school today, as this day is "Fair Day" for school kids at the Texas State Fair and schools are closed. But they cancelled the Fair this year and left the day-off in the school schedule.

Just bacon and an English Muffin for me today Flo. I'm looking at a full morning of outdoor activity this morning before it warms up.

Thank you for all of the reactions and comments about the town tour yesterday; Troy, Rick, Karl, Guy, Patrick, Garry, Sherrel, Jerome, Phil, Chad, Curt, Tom O, Jerry.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I completed (for now) the DPM structure. In keeping with the overall farmland theme of things on the layout, it is a fertilizer distributor for Coop Fertilizers.
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It is going into the town of Graham, across from the cannery. They receive bags of farm fertilizer by truck and distribute it to local farmers and ranchers. I still need to add "No Smoking" warning signs around the place, which I will do when I set up the decaling stuff.
I have set up the diner on its concrete pad, seems to fit just about right. I need to paint it completely because I cannot get a good match for the painting of the beveled entryways into the parking lot. Not seen in this shot.
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And the last structure in the unnamed town on the peninsula tour is Suds Bucket, a biker type of bar.
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I have some close up shots of some of the detail work in this town, but I am running out of time this morning.

Guy - Some DPM kits (now owned by Woodland Scenics) got new names, just as Walther's has done with the old Magnuson line of structures that they bought out years ago.
Garry -
Was there a wind storm at the chair factory causing chars to fall over?
That's my story! Actually there were only four chairs with the kit, and all of them looked like miscast white metal parts with one or two rear legs shorter than the front ones. I called Bar Mills and pointed this out, and Len told me that it was intentional, hence the slogan for the company. He sent me four more, and two of them were the same!
A new shot.
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Tom O -
My wife and I came to an agreement over dinner last night. I was going to the train room from 7-10 Central time and she was not going to talk to me at all except to say good night.
Ah! Yes. The advantage of having a train shed !;) So glad that I have room for it.

It's Columbus Day weekend here in Texas.
Enjoy yourselves and stay safe.
 
Good Morning All. Foggy and 61°, humidity at 100%. Forecast high for today is 87°, tomorrow it's 97°. Still no chance for rain in the next ten days, trees are losing their leaves without turning colors because of the current drought.
Great visit yesterday from my grandsons and family. The two of them, ages 11 & 13, helped Grandpa haul and stack firewood. Then we hit the front yard with the soccer ball for a bit. They normally have to go to the nearby school to kick it around, but with an open area approximately 70' x 200' unencumbered by trees, they can kick away here like a real soccer field.

This morning calls for a BLT sandwich with a tall glass of OJ to go with it Flo. Double down on the bacon.

Thanks fellows for all of the reactions and comments regarding yesterday's pictures; Jerome, Sherrel, Chad, Phil, Greg, Curt, Garry, Tom O, Guy, Ken, Jerry, Lee, Rick.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I spent some time reading perusing the November MR. After a couple of previous interesting issues, especially those with the freight cars of the 70's articles; almost nothing caught my interest this month. Then I turned to my project area and did some minor stuff. I am lining out the fence post locations to be drilled next.
I promised a few close up shots of some of the details around the recent series of pictures that I posted, here are some.
First, a better shot of the railfans in the park.
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Family checking out the produce at Tony's Market.
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Tony's wife chatting with a customer.
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Tony himself on the dock at the abattoir.
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And finally Tony's brother restocking.
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Model structure RANT
: I tend to be a bit anal about the accuracy of the models offered by model manufacturers. A case in point is the D's Diner structure from Woodland Scenics. First of all I really like the structure and it fits into the character of my layout. But observe the following.
Against the back wall (an insert), there is a door to get into the kitchen/back room.
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Now note the actual space allowed.
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A tad over 2 scale feet. Now look at the back of the structure.
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A pair of restroom doors. Doesn't all fit in reality! Things like this and illogically placed chimneys (and too short for most codes), inappropriately placed doors and windows, and out of scale doors just really bother me. Chimneys on modern gas stations really are outrageous.
End of RANT.

Guy - What is the purpose of the broom by that switchstand?
Greg - I am sure that you are glad to be retired right now. I did not know that Mayfair was your mall until you posted it. Sad that once again, peaceful protests have turned into violent and looting rampages.
Garry -
You certainly have a large variety of buildings and structures on your layout.
I really like building and detailing structures. I have a lot of space to fill. Building structures is my second most favorite part of this hobby after switching industries.
Ken - I have to argue with my PC physician every so often about excessive tests and medications. When pressed, he does explain that there are undiscussed options. I think that the tests are sometimes just a way to refer business to their cohorts. Mine does not believe that his patients can also make lifestyle changes in lieu of additional medications. Case in point, I lost 40 pounds, switched to sugar-free soft drinks and reduced bread consumption to reduce my A1C level, which also reduced my need to take so many doses of BP medicine. A1C is now at 6.0, higher than I want, but much lower than the 10.5 of a year ago.

Today around here it's Texas-OU Day, a football game held annually during the currently cancelled State Fair. The reduced attendance at the game led to a much smaller traffic jam on IH35 nearby, but there was still one yesterday afternoon. In a normal year, much of that traffic coming in from Oklahoma is non-ticket holders who are just coming to party. Not sure of the percentage this year, but partying is out. Cannot get into the Cotton Bowl parking lot without a game ticket for everyone in the vehicle, no tailgating will be allowed and many bars are also operating at reduced capacity. Arrests for the last 30 years have been relatively minor (about 50/year), compared to the 60's when 450+ was common. See this article.
The traffic jam will be repeated tomorrow morning in reverse as the fans go back home. It's something that we get to look forward to every year and just stay home or avoid the Interstate completely.

Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 64° on this dark Sunday morning. Forecast is for upper 90's this afternoon before a cool front tomorrow morning comes through, bringing Monday nights low to 48°. Still no rain in the ten day forecast. At least I am not having to mow much right now. Spent part of the day yesterday clearing some brush alongside the road out front. Surprisingly I don't feel it this morning. Finally got the oil and filter changed in the car, 187 miles past due! Doesn't seem to have hurt it's performance. I don't mind doing it to this Acura RDX, it can all be done without jacking the car up. Everything is within easy reach from the front. Just have to have a large enough piece of cardboard to lay on over the gravel driveway.

Hey there Flo. I'll take ham, poached eggs and grits this morning, along with my usual OJ.

Thanks to everyone for the reactions and comments regarding yesterdays post; Lee, Guy, Garry, Sherrel, Jerome, Tom O, Curt, Phil, Gary, Chet, Ken, Chad, Tom, James.

While I made some more progress on the D's Diner site yesterday, I forgot to take any pictures. I painted the perimeter of the site a light earth color and later added ground foam for the grass. I tried something a bit different this time, I applied the foam directly to the wet paint on one border. It didn't really work out too well for me. While the foam stuck, there was no depth to it, and some of the paint had obviously dried before I got it covered. It all worked out in the end, as I just overlaid it with more foam and "wet glue" like I have always done.
Over on the workbench, I did a little bit more painting of the bicycles that finish out the detailing of the diner, not complete yet. I also opened up my next DPM kit and trimmed and filed parts. Schultz's Garage.
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This will actually be my third iteration of this kit. One is a stand alone garage specializing in hot rods, and the other was part of a DPM Gold Series kit called Harlee & Sons. This one is intended for a whole different location and no one will notice that it is a duplicate.
Otherwise I ran trains for a while as I hadn't done that in a couple of days.

Stay tuned as I decided to finally venture into the world of Photo Albums here on the forum. It will not diminish the photos that I post here, but will be a repository for all my photos. Be ready for some questions, Sherrel and Terry.

Louis - Thanks for the update. Glad to know that your wife no longer has to work as a convenience store manager there in Baltimore. Probably not the safest job. A1C of 10.4!!! That is quite a bit above normal, but if you're making progress in lowering it, that is good.
Jerry - Rather desolate countryside in those pictures of the old homestead.
Sherrel - That is really a nice picture of Frisco 943.
Garry -
Willie .... Does your rant qualify as nit picking in the Anti Nit Pickers League forum page ?
YES! It even comes close to "rivet counting".:eek:
Chet - One reason for repeating some scenes here is that I am continually adding details to scenes that I have already posted. A mailbox here, a dog there or several new figures. I periodically move vehicles around, particularly trucks to vary my own view as well as others; grandsons being the primary targets. Everything is constantly evolving. I have gotten a few ideas from your pictures from home and the club; as well as from other members here.
Troy - Those clouds look fine to me.

Everybody have a great day. Stay safe and social distanced.
 
A late Good Morning Everyone. Mostly cloudy and 68° here in North Central Texas. The norther hit around 0400 this morning but hasn't had much effect yet, other than to drop the temperature from 80° at midnight. Yesterday was quite warm at 95°, today will be only 78° later. Still no rain in sight. Our winter this year should be warmer and drier than average as the La Niña system over the Pacific Ocean comes into play.
Extra chore yesterday, when wife opened the front door, which we don't often use, and the deadbolt and latch would not line up after closing. Ground is so dry that some piers underneath the house have shifted. So out comes the 20 ton bottle jack and under the house Willie goes. Entryway is recessed a bit, thus the need to go underneath. Up it eventually went and an additional 3/16" steel shim later, all is good. Lower back is talking to me this morning as it is a little awkward operating that jack while laying down and twisted into position. It's not the first time and it won't be the last time that I do this, but the most recent adjustment lasted over three years.

How about a couple of breakfast tacos this morning Francine. Sausage, egg, potato and cheese will do. Salsa and OJ to go with them

Thanks everyone for the reactions and comments regarding my next build; Joe, Sherrel, Tom O, Garry, Chad, Karl, Jerome, Guy, Curt, Tom, Ken, Patrick.

Out in the train shed, I installed most of the Insta-Fence around D's Diner.
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I still have a small gap in the corner that I need to measure and fill in. The base of the diner is still slightly bowed and I will glue it down after I thread the wires from the interior light through the base and the plywood deck. I have held off in order to remove it while I work on the surrounding scenery.
Over on the workbench, I assembled the four walls on Shultz's Garage. It is a simple kit to assemble as most DPM kits are. I am currently looking through my selection of paints to see which one will work best and differentiate it from the other two.
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Meanwhile I also did a small bit of painting on two of the four bicycles that go with the diner.
Then it was time to run trains before taking my wife out to Red Lobster in celebration of ten days without the cane!

If you get a chance, check out Jim 68cuda's thread on the Walther's Motor Hotel. In post #12, he uses some vinyl decals for RR crossing signs painted on the streets. I have been looking for something like that for years, just never googled the right word combination. Turns out that the maker of them is sort of in my own backyard, in a suburb of Houston. I ordered some from them yesterday and in less than 90 minutes I had a USPS tracking number, yes on Sunday. I'll report back after I get them and try them out.

Dave - I thought that you had retired? Sorry that I couldn't make it out for the ribs this weekend, they did look appetizing.
I have built one of the two Middlesex Mfg. kits that I have so far. I intend to kitbash the second and enlarge the original one, but that project is still on the horizon. As far as making the structure itself, it was time consuming but not too complicated. The large walls needed some patience to properly glue together, and I glued two and waited overnight before adding the third to it. Then waited another day for the fourth and fifth small walls on one end. There's also a lot of windows although they are on separate sprues and easier to paint. Cutting and gluing the separate pieces of acetate took some time. I'll either locate or take another picture later today.
Tom O - It sure is a drag that you cannot go on your annual vacation this year. It does sound like a whirlwind event. You most likely made the right decision though.
Guy - Why did you decide to go with the Just Plug lighting system? I know that Greg and Chet like theirs, but they haven't convinced me yet, except maybe the streetlamps.

My wife tells me that her Dallas Cowboys won a game yesterday. They now lead their division.
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I don't follow sports any more, but it looks like a pretty pathetic division if you ask me! Wonder how they get .300 for the Eagles?

Everybody have a great Columbus Day. Stay safe and keep your distance.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 54° this morning, not as chilly as predicted. We're about to enter a period of unsettled weather here, but with no rain. 85° today, 90° tomorrow, 75° Thursday and 69° Friday. After that it is still up and down.
On my morning walk yesterday, I noted that the "new guy on the block", down the road a bit, has decorated his gate, gatehouse, and part of the woods near the entry to his property with skulls, skeletons, pumpkins and other assorted Halloween decorations. It's a nice touch that won't be seen by anyone driving by at over 15 mph or entering his property. This is the same guy who uses the weedeater along 1000' of barbed wire fence along the road!

Sunny side up eggs with a stack of sausage patties and some hot buttered toast for me today, Flo.

Thanks once again for all of the reactions and positive comments regarding my various projects; Karl, Tom O, Dave Jerome, Guy, Phil, Patrick, Sherrel, Chet, Tom, James.

Didn't do much in the train shed yesterday. I painted and made the roof for the DPM structure but this picture isn't too good.
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Then I went over to the project area and played with the location of the C&T Refrigeration structure. This looks like where I want it.
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There are a couple of little-used ground throws behind it that I want to be sure I can easily reach from around the right side. They are only used when switching the grain elevator that's over to the left a bit, or to switch the gravel loader over to the right, both well out of this picture.
I also cleaned some track over in the staging area at the extreme end of the line on the lower level. Not much to that, as it wasn't really dirty. Just proactive cleaning with my Woodland Scenics Tidi-Track wand.

Dave - As promised, here are a few pictures of Middlesex Mfg as it exists right now. A couple of thoughts first. I do like the kit and that's why I bought a second one. It actually represents a real structure in NJ that I think is still there today, but has been converted into upscale apartments. I don't remember the name of the original building built in the 1800's as a tobacco warehouse, but Joe knows it and might see this and tell you. I deviated just a little bit and painted the windows gray instead of the green that are actually in the original building. I have also left off the eight chimneys for now. I may add them eventually. Trackside view.
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Note that the bay doors are just a scale 22' apart, two 40' boxcars could line up with the outside doors, but if you use 50' cars, only one will fit.
Other side view.
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As is common in many Atlas structures, the whole structure is NOT 1:87. The entry door on this side and in the next photo are just a scale 6'1" tall. Standard in the real world is 6'8".
Main entryway view.
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I have not yet added any of my own details or enhancements at this time, because I intend to kitbash the other kit and combine the two to make a scale 200' long structure. I will need to clear off much more of my workbench to do this!:(

Guy -
Was that all done by hand? It's difficult for me to believe they had forklifts back then.
As I recall (I learned this years ago), forklifts were developed late in WWI, about 1917, due to the manpower shortage in industries. Towmoter, Clark and Yale were three of the early companies. I have used lifts made by all three back in my early working days.
Tom O - I am with you on the driving, I like seeing the countryside and I am in no hurry usually. I am not doing much right now, back to back knee surgeries for my wife and now this pandemic thing. I am still winding down after 43 years of 100 miles a day commuting.

Besides being the birthday of the US Navy today, it is also National No Bra Day in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Day. I'll leave it to Sherrel to post pictures.
Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 55°, going up to 91° later today. Tomorrow's high of 72° will be at midnight tonight, then another Norther hits for two days.
Took my wife to her orthopedic surgeon yesterday for her final visit. He told her that she was 100% well and that he did not want to see her again. This surgery recovery is about three weeks ahead of her first one. She really put a lot of effort into this one and she did not need any help from the rehab center.
Here's a few pictures of the Halloween decorations down the road from me. Most people out here do not decorate pastureland!
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The one above may be in poor taste since a nearby young nearby neighbor woman committed suicide behind that antiquated goat house in 2014. The current owners may not be aware of that though.
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And of course, the "gatehouse" that they built. It's actually just a very fancy well house for a water pump.
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The round object in the bottom of the window is a security camera. I did get a call later asking what I was doing when it was pretty obvious to begin with, and I pointed out that all pictures were taken from the public road out front!

What's the special today Flo? Sausage, country gravy and grits. OK, give me a double helping.

Thanks once again for the reactions and comments regarding yesterday's post; Karl, Guy, Tom O, Sherrel, Chad, Jerome, Patrick, David, Curt, Dave, Phil, Tom, Joe.

The doctor trip yesterday cut into my train shed time, so I didn't get a whole lot accomplished. I only worked on Shultz's Garage. I installed all of the acetate on the eight windows and two doors and installed them. The two overhead doors got painted and installed with temporary adhesive. Later I can remove them and alter them if I want open or half-open doors.
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I also assembled and glues the roof, although not on the structure yet. As is, it is just pieces of a white styrene sheet. I have several sheets of surplus self-adhesive tarpaper roofing that I painted black and started affixing.
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I'll complete that today. Overall, I am not adding mortar wash as I want to give the appearance of a freshly painted structure with this one. Neither did I paint the windows because the color worked well with my brick color. The brick by the way, is Model Master Afrika Mustard from a rattle-can.

Sherrel -
Willie - that building is a monster! I'm not sure that I have seen one that large on a model RR before and I see that you are going to join two of them together? I might be tempted to modify that entrance door a little? It just seems too small for that large a structure?
Since the building is a replica of a real one, that door is what it is. A wider door has been thought of, I most likely have a few in the parts stash somewhere but I am not ready to tackle that project yet. Maybe in 2023!
Will have to see what direction that goes and I hope pretty quickly as she is hobbling more each week.
Is it just one knee or both? Hobbling persists for a few months after the surgery while the absolutely necessary rehab is taking place. And, they don't recommend doing both knees at the same time either.
Tom O - College was a real eye-opener for me as well. Prior to that, I went to twelve years of private Catholic schools where every young lady wore a uniform, and the nuns were all ugly! Then I went to college with the late Phyllis George (Miss America 1971), although I never had a class with her.
DCC slot cars. That should be real interesting. Sadly, I never had the money to indulge during the heyday of the 60's.
Joe - Thanks for the Helm Co information. I knew that you had given it before but I didn't remember their name.
Wow! 2000 GPM. That would empty my pool in 7 minutes. The local VFD's trucks only carry 350 gallons to begin with, and the supplemental county water truck carries 5000 gallons. Firetrucks from two different VFD's can get to my house in 7-8 minutes, the tank truck takes 22 minutes. Fortunately I have never personally needed them, but I have reported numerous localized grass fires and one arson related abandoned structure fire over the last forty years.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning World. Clear and 66° in my yard. Waiting for the wham-bam cold front to hit a little later this morning. Started at 77° at midnight and that will be the high for today, although it may return to the mid-70's before dropping to 45° tonight and tomorrow. Weather predictor has inserted an isolated chance of thundershowers into next Tuesday's forecast, so no real rain in sight.
Spent part of yesterday morning retrieving my last load of free firewood from where I used to work. Shutdown of that division is next week and they're running out of the material that comes on those wooden skids. My friend the plant manager there, was expecting to be employed for another 6-9 months overseeing the dismantling and cleanup of the place, but was abruptly told Tuesday that they were hiring an outside contractor to do that job instead. OK with him, he's leaving the company regardless and already has multiple job offers from past competitors. Only about 5% of the employees there are willing to transfer to other jobs offered by the company at the "mothership" eleven miles away. There continues to be a bad taste of the new management team over there. Other than the fifty or so employees that remained at this old location, only about a dozen of more than 600 hourly employees eligible to move when they did move in 2016, remained on the payroll after 12 months at their new location.
Meanwhile at home today, I am getting the list ready for the weekly grocery/beer trek this morning. Later it's time to prepare the inside wood storage box next to the heater for winter time use; and to remove the A/C from the bedroom window. The others stay in place year-round, but we like to be able to open that window along with the other in that room during the fall and spring.

I am ready for something "lunch-like" this morning Flo. How about chicken-fried steak, Southern cream gravy and hash-browns.

Thanks to all who liked or commented yesterday on the Halloween or progress photo post; Jerome, Joe, Guy, Karl, Tom O, Patrick, Phil, James, Curt, Ken, Tom.

I ventured out to the train shed yesterday and completed the tar paper roof on Shultz's Garage.
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I also tentatively decided where to put it, over on the large upper level peninsula across from the Atlas Steel Works laser-cut structure.
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Over in the project area, I added some ground cover around the C&B Refrigeration structure.
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Wet glue was still very wet in these pictures. Today I hope to get the front parking area and the back "storage" lot completed. This business will get a chain link fence, once I clear the workbench a bit and get out the materials to make it with. Trees might come first though.

Joe - I always felt that the 7-8 minute response from the two different VFD's was a real good response time. I am also on their list of available "clean" water sources (my pool) in case they need a refill before the tanker truck shows up. So far they haven't had to take advantage of that. I used to get two free tickets to their annual fish fry fund raiser for volunteering my water, but I donated as well. This year it was drive thru at the local school.
Guy - Those new neighbors aren't really bad neighbors, but they're haughty city slickers that are not used to being neighborly. Being over a quarter mile away, (0.4 km to metric folks), they really aren't going to have a lot of interaction with me or the other six families who live in our isolated 100 acre enclave, unless they choose to.
Around here, those two-bay covered hoppers are used for cement or sand mostly. Both are rather heavy, hence the smaller hopper.
Greg - Eagerly awaiting the gift pictures. You're right about the lines at the private schools. Been in many of them over the years. Interesting for many of my classmates and me that once in the ninth grade, we no longer had to do lines, but for a little while we automatically lined up!
My oldest daughter's graduating class had only 13 as well in our rural public school here. Catholic school was just too far away to practically use it.
Ken - Those sure are nice looking cabooses (or cabeese).

OK, how about a little informal contest? Sometime today, someone will give me "Reaction Point" # 10,000. Who will it be? No prize other than the recognition. I feel that it is an honor to be recognized so often by you guys.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good Morning All. Clear skies and 47° here in North Central Texas. Wind finally died down about sunset last night after a whole day of northerly cool breeze, at mostly 20 mph or higher. I thought that I might have to start a fire in the wood-burning heater this morning, but the inside temperature is still 72°. While it has been necessary before, it is extremely rare for me to have to heat the house in October. Maybe a third to half of the days in November. My most brutal month is normally February, but it warms up very rapidly here in March. The slight possibility of rain next week has been removed from the forecast, so nothing in the ten day outlook.
Made the weekly grocery/beer trek yesterday. Wife was brave enough to go along, although she went to the car wash and the drugstore while I went to the grocery store. Had to remember to wind down perishable purchases since her knee has recovered enough that we will be making our annual vacation trip to Gulf Shores AL starting the 24th. We booked our condo yesterday (not much demand this year), same one that we usually book, but on a different floor. We'll meet up with my wife's sister and hubby, along with some other people that we know. Her sister is renting a four bedroom beach house and one other couple cancelled leaving a vacant bedroom, but it only has two single beds and would have cost us more than our condo with the king-sized bed. Besides our condo has an elevator, something that the house doesn't have, good for wife's knee!
I bit the bullet earlier this week and ordered myself a new desktop computer. It's an HP Pavilion (590-p0050) Desktop Computer recommended by my geek SIL. My current HP desktop is eleven years old and I still run Win7. It gets confused every so often and temporarily locks up. It may arrive today.

How about a pair of sunny-side up eggs for me this morning Flo. A handful of bacon and a toasted whole wheat English Muffin would go well with them.

Thanks for all of the reactions and comments yesterday; Guy, Jerome, Joe, Sherrel, Karl, Troy, Phil, Patrick, Chad, Rick, Hughie, Tom, Ken, Curt, Tom O, James. Schultz's Garage was a quick, fun and easy build to occupy some bench time.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I mostly just did odd tasks and it eventually evolved into running a few trains. Continuing my quarterly cleanup project, I cleaned the last three staging tracks and the passing siding on the other side of the aisle. That overall task has been completed as there are no structures or accessories to clean on that part of the layout. I also completed the ground cover and parking area around the C&B Refrigeration structure but still need to add a few trees which I still have to make.
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At the present time, I am undecided where to go next. I have many choices. I am strongly contemplating going back to the downtown Charlottesville area and adding more structures. The trees here will be a sideline activity because I still need some for Charlottesville. Once I get everything out, I will make a few. I also need to bring out the weed-making supplies. Besides here, I have a long list of areas that I have temporarily bypassed. That's pretty much all for this morning. I'll see what the rest of the day brings.

Patrick - I kinda feel the same way about taking shots after a traumatic experience with a needle that broke in my arm back in 1958 while getting a polio shot in Brooklyn. That's how we were immunized back then! Doctor used a pair of pliers to remove it. Took 47 years before I got another shot. They really don't bother me any more.
Karl - Belated Happy Anniversary and hope the trip goes well.
Sherrel -
I also stopped at the tax man's office to sign the forms, file the taxes, and pay the man for his great work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had a larger refund than expected which will be applied to next years 2020 return. Nothing like cutting it close with 24 hours to spare!
Being late doesn't carry any consequences if you have a refund coming.
David -
I'm sure that's what played a total on your back so take care.
Thanks for the thought. I was just sore from working in an awkward position, nothing that a little time wouldn't take care of. I was back to normal well before noon the next day, without medication.:)
Troy -
I couldn't get the foghorn to stop sounding.
Ah yes! one of the advantages of me having to have hearing aids. That and I can hear others now when I want to wear them.
Jeans! Haven't seen mine since February. Reminds me that I need to get them out and dusted off.

If I remember from my working career, today is National Boss's Day. My employees generally took me to lunch.
Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 51° at this location, going up to 77° later today. Another beautiful day for outdoor chores.
Went to go vote absentee yesterday, but my wife had misread the website and they weren't open. We'll try again on Monday. My new desktop computer arrived yesterday, but I don't have the time to set it up yet. Interesting that the keyboard that came with it is the exact same one that I got with my old HP computer from 2009! One less thing to learn!:) You may ask why a desktop instead of a laptop or a notebook? Well, I like sitting at my desk with a place for my drink and note pad; I have never been adept at touchscreen or touchpad devices (phones included); and most of all I like my 23" monitor. I also don't have to deal with batteries or chargers.

How about a big ol' breakfast burrito for me this morning Francine. Spicy salsa on the side.

Thanks once again for the likes and comments yesterday regarding the layout progress; Karl, Tom O, Sherrel, Rick, Jerome, Phil, Curt, James, Tom, Guy.

Another gift from my wallet yesterday was some vinyl traffic pavement markings that I described earlier this week. Fellow member Jim (Jim69cuda) provided information regarding these over in his Walther's Motor Hotel thread (which looks really good), and I couldn't resist trying some out.
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I am most interested in the two lower sheets, the upper two contain numerous pieces of white or yellow highway stripes.
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Here is my first application to a asphalt covered street (made from tarpaper) in Charlottesville that I recently featured here.
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Kinda makes my hand-painted stripes made with a paint pen look rather anemic!:( More experimentation coming up.
Speaking of Charlottesville, I am going to return to that scene for a bit. As you may remember, I left off here because I ran out of suitable structures.
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So I found one elsewhere that just didn't quite fit where I had wanted to place it, and I bought the following structure kit from Walther's on my recent trip to the LHS.
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I temporarily assembled it (tab and slot construction) and here's the preliminary look.
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And in position with the other structures on the block.
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So onward with actual assembly, and adding sidewalks and otherwise completing the other two structures.
Stay tuned.

Troy -
Sounds like most model railroaders I know. We all get confused (cornfused if you're in Indiana), and have lots of temporary lockups in our operating systems.
Mine actually only locks up when Media Player and Foxfire are competing for resources. The fact that I have 60,000 mp3 files most likely doesn't help.
Greg - Belated Happy Birthday.
Joe -
Willie: Welcome to the magical world of Windows 10.
That is my only apprehension. I don't handle significant changes very well. I am hoping that enough time has elapsed to have worked out all of the bugs. That's why I didn't take advantage of their free upgrade offer a few years ago. But my SIL says that I can make Win10 run like Win7. We'll see!
$302.37 is high, but I looked at the discount Rx site GoodRx and your cost may not be too bad.

Everyone have a great day and weekend.
 
Good Morning All. Mostly cloudy and 71°. Looking for a high near 90° later today. A little after sunset, another norther is supposed to arrive and tomorrow's high is only going to be 70°, then back to the mid-80's until Friday.
Spent more time than I originally planned, updating and copying files to an external hard drive yesterday, in preparation for the new machine. So far, 203 Gb have been copied and less than 10 GB remain. Then comes the big event when I plug it in for the first time. But first, I have to catch up on some outdoor chores that I ignored yesterday.

Scrambled eggs and bacon this morning Flo. I'm keeping it simple today.

Thanks to everyone who commented or reacted to yesterday's photos; Patrick, Troy, Jerome, Garry, Joe, Alan, Phil, Sherrel, Tom, Tom O, Chad, Chet, Guy, Curt, Rick, James.

I didn't spend all day in front of the computer, the train shed got a little time as well. I made quick work on the Walther's Pizza kit, which isn't going to be a pizza establishment after I add signs and interior.
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The fact that I liked the factory colors really sped up the process.
This kit had extra parts, in fact I think that the whole kit is used for another structure with just the picture on front and the instructions being different. All walls are used with both versions except the front wall.
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Nice extra as I can now use this as a backdrop structure elsewhere.
Here are a few shots of the other two structures that I plan on using to finish up that side of the block.
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Both are Smalltown USA structures which I will describe later.

Tom - Nice job on the coupler conversion on those hoppers.
Terry - This computer definitely has Win10 on it. Thanks for that link, I went there to check it out and like what I saw.
Guy - I know that you favor the cold weather more than I, but 19°F in October is just too unreasonable.
Nice progress on the Walther's structure. It is my intent to tone down the crossing markings. As to the lack of pictures on Friday, sometimes that's just the way things turn out. I had others but deemed them less than desirable.
Joe - Those are all of the reasons that we chose to just get a prescription drug supplement instead of getting Part D. Although I don't know if that hole exists in our plan. Humana is rather good with information, after you sign up. Tier fives are still a bitch though.
Sherrel - Thanks for the recommendation on the software that Terry posted about. I happen to like most museums except art museums.
Ray -
Who always drew the short straw for official taster?
We always went to the same place, a Southern Fried Chicken/home cooking place called Babe's. You may recall Burlington Bob refer to it many times. It was his favorite when he lived in this area of Texas.

Have a great day guys.
 



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