Running Bear's July 2019 Coffee Shop


Status
Not open for further replies.
Good afternoon all, 71 and light rain. Was 74 this morning when I got up, seems to be a constant rumble of thunder but not much rain coming down.

Willie-- clever use of the brick pieces. Very imaginative!

Sherrel-- that sight seeing etc can really wear a person out!

Here is a better shot of the Walthers stock car I finished Saturday. My wife held up the backdrop so the light would be better:

IMG_1285.JPG

Also the caboose I finished. this one is a Roundhouse kit, not to be confused with the AMB laser kit I finished a month or so ago:

IMG_1282.JPG


Everyone have a pleasant Sunday, Dave
 
Hi Shop Dwellers, happy Sunday! 89*F and sunny in my central MD neighborhood, but not bad at all compared to this same time 1 week ago.

Now that the soreness in the plumbing has diminished, I'm starting to regain some of the lost "control" that Beady alluded to earlier. A significant recovery milestone.

A friend of mine who went thru this advised me to stock up on my favorite movies to pass the time, but I've found [IMHO] something much better:

TRAINS_BoundVolume1971.jpg


1971 is the year I got my drivers license and was able to drive myself to train-watching locations and hobby shops, an exciting time for me train-wise. That's why it's my chosen era. But as I read thru the editorials and articles in these vintage TRAINS magazines, I can totally understand why very few other people model it: This was the Darkest Hour for the U.S. railroad industry. Penn Central had just gone bankrupt, passenger train service was replaced by Amtrak, and the majority of railroads in the East were in a death spiral. I was blissfully clueless about all this at the tender age of 16.

It's fascinating to read all the hand-wringing and lamentations from that period, along with the insights of the economist John Kneiling - who seemed able to understand and explain [in layman's terms] the underlying causes and necessary solutions. Like the Prophet Jeremiah, he was metaphorically stoned by both railway workers and railfans alike because he told them things they didn't like to hear.

Willie - best of luck with Arlene's knee surgery, will keep you both in my prayers!

Sherrell hang in there, this too shall pass [lol]!
 
Ken: Happy to hear that your pain has subsided and you are regaining control.

I can totally understand why very few other people model it: This was the Darkest Hour for the U.S. railroad industry. Penn Central had just gone bankrupt, passenger train service was replaced by Amtrak, and the majority of railroads in the East were in a death spiral.

It wasn't the best time to begin a railroad career either. I actually settled on modeling the era, because I was present on the front line. There was also a lot of opportunity among the carnage. Actually, the 70s was a great time to model. The transition to larger freight cars and power, for instance, and the Amtrak Rainbow era. The GP38 and GP40, the development of the SD 40, the worlds most reliable locomotive. Lots of neat stuff.

It's fascinating to read all the hand-wringing and lamentations from that period, along with the insights of the economist John Kneiling - who seemed able to understand and explain [in layman's terms] the underlying causes and necessary solutions. Like the Prophet Jeremiah, he was metaphorically stoned by both railway workers and railfans alike because he told them things they didn't like to hear.


I always thought Kneiling was a Civil Engineer, but that's neither here nor there. He was a arrogant self serving blow hard who impressed Trains Editor David P. Morgan. He did tell a good story and touched on real problems, but was abrasive and short on practical solutions. Kneiling was the reason I stopped reading Trains Magazine. Ironically, when the solutions came along, eg. Deregulation, Crew Consist, Consolidation, etc. Kneiling dropped from sight.

Continue your recovery, Ken.

Boris
 
81F Monday morning in Kobe Japan. And humid.

Chad - those Hankyu cars look neat - how are the conditions riding - are they packed? How many cars average make up a train?

They were not too crowded Sunday morning though my wife thought there were a lot of riders for a relatively early Sunday morning. Hankyu trains are well kept and considered "upper class" amongst commuter railroads. The seating is opposing bench seats, with plush velour.

Some of the trip we had to stand, and some we got to sit as seats freed up. Relatively inexpensive as well for the distance we went. One was was like $2.50 for the limited express and a couple stops of the local totaling about 25-30 min. Don't know the actual distance. The Kobe subway was relatively more expensive at around $3.60 for 10 stops.

We mostly ride JR trains (Japan Rail -- the collective term for the large rail companies that resulted from the breakup and privatization of the Japanese National Railway in the 80s) as we have a JR Rail Pass, which allows free travel on almost all JR trains (certain bullet trains exempted on the line from Tokyo south). We rode Hankyu as it was the only one that stopped near where we were headed, and also as it was what my wife rode when she was younger and lived here.

I am reading with interest everyone's medical stories and putting in prayers for everyone's health (and recovery as necessary).
 
Sigh. I'm on a blood-thinner because of the stent that was placed in November. Because of the blood-thinner, I have to take a laxative. Well, the laxative decided to go into overdrive last night and this morning, leaving us with a larger-than-normal load of laundry. And it gets worse. Mrs Beady needs me to drive her to her infusion appointment and, while she's there, I have to double-time to another doctor's office to meet my mother's ambi-cab. And I don't think the laxative is done, yet. Pray for my car seat.
4559693_0.jpg
 
Last edited:
Morning all,

Coffee please this fine morning, Thanks Flo.

Listening to all you "old" people with your medical issues makes me glad I'm not yet that old, despite the fact my grandson calls me an "old man" . lol

Glad to hear that you all are either recovering or have recovered from all your issues.

Willie: Best wishes for your wife's knee. Having had 2 replacements on the same knee a year apart, Make sure she follows what the Dr's and other professionals tell her.

Did get some train time on the grandson's layout over the weekend.
20190728_200832[1].jpg
20190728_200858[1].jpg


I disconnected the one switch set to facilitate laying the cork roadbed. I didn't glue anything to the table as I did with mine as he may wish to change things up in the future and I set it up accordingly. Thank goodness for a ton of track nails. Making this layout according to the track plans answered some of my How-to type setup issues I had with my layout.
I have to get to Radio Shack (we still have one in the area) to get some 22 gauge wire. The Radio Shack I use sells all types of communications (HAM radio) supplies and even some other odds and ends that you usually can't find anymore.
 
Good morning everyone. Been away from the forum since last Thursday - family arrived from East Texas (the 51st state in the union) so we've been running with our tongues hangin' out ever since. They left yesterday morning and although things are calmer now, we sure miss them. It was my wife's brother and his wife, one of their married daughters, and my father-in-law (my wife's dad). Had the entire family over for Saturday dinner - 12 of us - and with perfect weather we had a great time playing games in the back yard.

Got a lot of train time in these past few days, though, and had a good time showing off the layout to the family - they haven't been here in two years so a lot had changed on the layout.

Here's a photo of the main street through Pine Valley, the main town on the layout. Gonna have to learn to take better photos - don't know why it's so fuzzy 'cause it looks fine on the iPad screen.
MainStreet_PineValley_July2019.jpg


More later. Have a good day everyone.
 
Sigh. I'm on a blood-thinner because of the stent that was placed in November. Because of the blood-thinner, I have to take a laxative. Well, the laxative decided to go into overdrive last night and this morning, leaving us with a larger-than-normal load of laundry. And it gets worse. Mrs Beady needs me to drive her to her infusion appointment and, while she's there, I have to double-time to another doctor's office to meet my mother's ambi-cab. And I don't think the laxative is done, yet. Pray for my car seat.View attachment 38255
1564405226721.png

For when a bucket is an inconvenient convenience.
 
Good morning,

A cool 65 and headed for 77 with mostly sun. We had a shower and some tornadoes nearby, however nothing within close radius.

Johnny-- sounds like you had a great weekend

Beady-- hope you can keep it together

Patrick-- like to see the railroad coming together!

SINCE I stayed home all weekend I made a lot of progress on the railroad. Got the tool shed done and also made a lot of headway on the water tank.

Looking at the photo I see I forgot to paint the hinge:

IMG_1289.JPG

Here is a photo of one of my NP box cars:

IMG_1284.JPG

I used to think the 50' were modern cars, but I came to understand they started making them in 1894 and were very popular in the 1920's, primarily for hauling bulky loads like autos and carriages.

more later, Dave
 
Good morning from the West! Long day yesterday - got home about 9:30PM (closed down the Park), tired, hungry, and sunburned!
A day of rest is planned and I need to pay many, many bills.
It only climbed to 94* yesterday with pretty intense sunshine. Today is an expected 95* again with "mostly sunny and breezy".

Beady -- I will refrain from saying to you that I hope everything comes out O.K.; It seems to have already done so!

Patrick -- RR looking good - that's a lot of layout you have going there! I had not realized that you had a knee replacement, or two! Was it an injury, or other? Hope it is fine now.

Johnny - Busy few days for you. My ipad started doing pic all fuzzy like that. I was never savvy enough with computers to figure out what happened, then read somewhere that an update caused the snafu - so I just stopped using the camera on it. I guess I should try and get someone to correct it if they can.

DAVE - I commentated on your "build thread". I like your work!

I think I will hang up for now - still not fully with the world!
 
I reckon it's time for a check in. Had a slight break from the heat last week. Today looks to be back to the mid 90s with humidity added on to it. Gonna be a miserable Monday for me. No trains over the weekend. I have quite a bit of work ahead of me on the layout. But! I did do one thing. I finally found a C&O GP7 at a steal of a price on eBay. This is a first for me as I never find em when I have money and they are everywhere when I don't. I didn't need to add to my fleet but I model the C&O and GP7s and GP9s were everywhere in my region. Can't accurately model the C&O without at least one old geep. Who am I kidding? I love the GP7s and GP9s. Especially in the original C&O colors. C&O had so many different paint schemes for these locomotives. At any rate I scored mine for $51 including shipping. This isn't mine pictured but it's the same unit number and scheme.
images (2).jpeg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.



Back
Top