Running Bear's July 2018 Coffee Shop


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Good Morning All. 75° and clear, should hit 101° again today. That's 39.5° C for the rest of the world. Thankfully, the pool has been staying in the 81°-86° range despite the warm afternoons. Finished baling the hay in the hayfield and got a disappointing 2.25 bales/acre overall, although some areas had much thicker growth. The rocky west end brought the average down. The bright side is that there is virtually no weeds A little rain this summer would have helped. Many other fields in this area are just as sparse. Still picking tomatoes in the garden. Made six quarts of spaghetti sauce yesterday using garden-grown tomatoes, onions, bell peppers (three jars), garlic, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme and basil. Added grocery store mushrooms to two jars. Finally finished repairing the icemaker, actually took Sunday off. Not only was the incoming water line leaking, but the outgoing hoses to both the icemaker and the water dispenser were separated from the valve. Water dispenser hasn't worked in several years and only leaked when it was tried, water went into the retention pan underneath and we never knew that it was a leak.
Out in the train shed, I continued adding rows of shingles to the barn. Lost count but it's nearing completion, maybe by Thursday. To break the monotony, I ballasted some additional track south (layout) of the project town so I can finish the ground cover around the grade crossing. While cleaning and vacuuming a portion of the layout, I found a grabiron (mineral brown, good luck finding it's car) and a Kadee coupler spring (surprised that I saw that one); mostly removed dehydrated insects and cobweb debris. Ran a few trains on the other level just to keep the track clean.

Chet - When's the next meat delivery? I can make it in 2 1/2 days to pick some up.:D Regarding the ship, I am pretty sure that it contains cars as well.
Jesse - Good luck with the plan. Don't worry, we all started small at one time, especially when younger with families to raise.
Ken (D&J) -
I'm at the Chic-Fil-A over on Margarita. I'll be over to your house at about 7:45.
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Dang, Sherrel didn't fix you breakfast after you rode all that way to see him? Cajon Pass sure makes up for the lack of activity at Horseshoe Curve, doesn't it? Nice pictures.
Bruce - Good to see your post. Have a great time fishing. Good luck with the scooter and I am looking forward to your next incarnation. Need to see the disco ball in action.
Terry - Don't have time yet for that video yet, but it looks to be an interesting one from what I previewed.
Johnny - Sounds like a plan to me. Good luck with the bathroom remodel. we're on hold right now, but at least all decisions (except the light fixture) have been made and the materials are here. So far, we've only returned and exchanged two items due to "I changed my mind".

Here's a picture of all of my grandkids on the Gulf beach. Still no bikini-clad girls, but my son-in-law says that I am not missing anything.
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Nice picture but too bad "big cousin" wasn't jumping also.

Everybody have a great day and Happy 4th if I don't catch you tomorrow.
 
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Good morning. No heat here YET. Woke up to 45 degree temps with and expected high in the mid 60's. After tomorrow the heat will arrive.

Ken D&J - Enjoy the train watching. Seems t be a bit better than Horseshoe Curve. Keep the photos coming. Hope you have a good visit with Sherrel. I think you would really enjoy train watching on the Bozeman Pass. There is always some action going on there.

Terry - Quite an interesting video. Thanks for the post.

Justin - Like the photos. Thanks for posting them.

Willie - We usually get a case of bacon and a case of sausage about every six weeks. Jeeze, that stuff is good. Had BACON this morning.
Don't let the shingles beat you up. They are time consuming, but look really nice when the job is finished. That hay crop is pretty disappointing. Do you manage to get a second cutting? The grand kids also seem to be enjoying themselves. Like the T shirts.

Toot - I did some quick searching on fleabay yesterday for some period correct heavy equipment and not much has shown up. I do have a Woodland Scenics road grader I could mount on a flat car. I also have a Classic Metal Works GM bus I can put on a flat car. The towns I mode are way too small to have bus service.

Here's a rai picture for today.

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Later
 
Good morning: I shoved KEN D&J out the door about 1/2 hour ago. He's Headed for Clarkdale ,AZ today - man he is "the man on the move". We had a great day (thanks to TERRY for telling me where to go on the pass). We lost count somewhere around thirty trains. Ken was telling me what each locomotive was, I can't tell one from the other, Just not in my wheel house. If it's newer than a GP-35/SD-45 - I am lost.
Will try and stick up a few pic later on. Ken helped me move photos from the phone to the computer. After a short time in the pass - I filled up the phone and it wouldn't even take a still photo. Coffee cup is empty - later gang!
 
Terry - I think I am worse off than you when it comes to modern locomotives. GP-7's and SD-9's are about my limit. Can't tell most modern units apart, but they are TRAINS.
 
Hit the road at about 5:45 this morning and left Sherrel standing in his driveway still in his pajamas.
Great day at the pass yesterday which made up for all the quiet days at Horse Shoe Curve.
Thanks for the comfortable accomodations to train watch as well as at your house Sherrel. You and your wife are an excellent hosts.
I should be destinated at my next stop in Clarkdale, AZ by early afternoon today.
 
Good morning ....

Terry .... Interesting history of Saluda grade on the Southern Ry.

Ken D&J .... Nice photos of Cajon Pass. .... I recall after the China trade agreement of 1999, there were major investments to increase capacity of rail lines to the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach. ... The ports themselves added to their capacities, and rail lines in LA were upgraded. Many grade crossings were eliminated. BNSF began its project to double track the former Santa Fe line all of the way to Chicago From Los Angeles(Much already was double track) . ... I noticed you are able to travel long distances each day .

Toot.... That looks like some nice machinery and a flat car.

Justin ..... Nice photos.

Chet .... That is a rusty rail photo today.

Willie.... Your grand children look happy.

Curt .... Looks like a kit for a depot.

Johnny .... I hope you get the water in place as you want it.

On the layout, I worked on more scenery yesterday.
 
Good Morning Everyone....sunny and warm in Wisconsin.

Worked on the Mrs. walk behind mower, added some oil, cleaned the plug and the underside of the deck. The blade nut was way too tight to loosen with the tools on hand.

Chet: Woodland Scenics may have some period construction equipment kits.

Your extensive library of rail photos keep amazing me.

Ken: Great trip. I can't even make 100 miles to the Mid-Continent rail museum in Norther Freedom, Wisconsin. I will for sure this year and as well to the Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Terry: I have a hard time identify locomotives as well.

Toot: Flat car loads really promote realism. I've seen some "odd" loads on flat cars. In fact, I have an old Athearn motor painted flat black with weathering on one flat car. It grabs attention.

Willie: Several years ago we had some dry weather and the hay crops were terrible. A friend of ours has Percheron horses and had to have hay shipped in at a high cost.

That's all for now.

Greg

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It's retirement day. cheer.gif waveof7.gif

I had planned on pulling the plug in May, but stuck around to get the other dispatcher all tuned in.

With the new electronic logs now mandatory in the trucking industry, a lot of drivers have really gotten fed up and are retiring themselves. We have lost a number of them and I more or less have just been wasting my time and the owners money. Also with so many new jobs available, it is almost impossible to get any new drivers. Why would someone have to constantly live on the road when they can work locally and be home at night.

I will now have the time to do the things that I have wanted to do for quite a while.
 
Congratulations on the retirement, CHET!
Now stop calling me TERRY! You got others doing it as well? LOL....:D

I now have an excuse for going back ...
Because my phone filled up - I only have 3-4 pic to share. :mad:
 
montanan said:
It's retirement day. View attachment 28910 View attachment 28911

I had planned on pulling the plug in May, but stuck around to get the other dispatcher all tuned in.

With the new electronic logs now mandatory in the trucking industry, a lot of drivers have really gotten fed up and are retiring themselves. We have lost a number of them and I more or less have just been wasting my time and the owners money. Also with so many new jobs available, it is almost impossible to get any new drivers. Why would someone have to constantly live on the road when they can work locally and be home at night.

I will now have the time to do the things that I have wanted to do for quite a while.
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Congratulations Chet! It's about time, or the second or third time as I recall.
 
Thanks for the replys. I have tried to retire a couple of time before, but I think the third time will be a charm.
 
Afternoon All,

It's another steamy day here. I worked a couple of hours doing the prep work on the kit today and have more prep work tomorrow. Saturday is both grandkids birthday party. They are 2 years and 2 days apart in age. Tony becomes a teenager on Friday:eek: I found out today that Mom, Dad, and I will be heading to Warrenton, VA next week on Thursday. Linda will be getting released that Friday. She will be bed ridden in a hospital bed. We will probably be there around 2 weeks.

VA Ken- Great photo.

Toot- Neat dozer.

Justin- Great photos.

Terry- Interesting video. I had heard of the location but did not know where it was.

Willie- Nice picture of the kids. The shingles I put on the freight house took 6-7 hours and that was just in straight rows.

Chet- Congratulations on your retirement. I'm coming up on 4 years in August.

Sherrel- I'm glad you guys had a good time. Wow, 30 trains is great. I basically am like you, my knowledge of diesels is limited to first and second generation.

Garry- It's designed for a small town so it makes sense to combine uses for the station. It's small so it works for me as it's mainly for show since I rarely run a passenger train.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
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