Running Bear's June 2020 Coffee Shop


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I've been up since 0600, but it's almost lunch time and I'm just now getting around to checking in. Guess I'll have a Hamburger Deluxe, (no cheese), with fries and cole slaw, with unsweetened ice tea. Happy Friday y'all. it's very humid with a temperature of 78° at the "Swampside" weather station.

Getting brave going into Walmart?

Willie: Yeah,especially this one :rolleyes: Been avoiding it since early March. But they have the only Vision Center open in this part of Jersey.

Joe .... You mentioned this train reminded you of PRR Keystone passenger trains. Are those the ones where they used Keystone passenger cars made by Budd which had a low height? I recall some of those cars ended up on a dinner train railroad in Michigan.

Garry: No Garry, the Keystones are Amtrak Service between (New York), Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA. During my time, a P-42 diesel and three Amfleet coaches. The other "Keystone" you are referring to was the Budd Tubular Train, 7 coaches and power car, with pass through steam lines, that made a round trip between New York and Washington, bracketed by a round trip Philly and New York. They were conveyed to Michigan when or just before the Amtrak takeover. I did ride them on more than one occasion.

Noticed that only about 50% of the patrons were wearing a mask and that the shelves were starting to fill up again ... even the TP/paper towels isles were at least 1/3 to 1/2 full.

Sherrel: Not for nothing, everyone in Walmart, including the self appointed special beings, was wearing a mask Certain products were in short supply, possibly because they wait until Saturday to restock?

The old Blue Ridge church, a building that was still in use up to the early 2000's.

Guy: Nice photo of the church. That memorial was quite interesting. I like your comments about burial ground sanctity also.

I just cancelled my subscriptions to NHL TV and MLB TV, effective upon the next renewal. Since the regularNHL season was abruptly ended, with no credit offered for Covid Suspension. The service doesn't include playoffs, as NBC Universal has sole rights. Each year the blackout rules become more stringent and less is available. Baseball hasn't started yet, and we are almost at the half way point of the traditional season, and no credit offered. All of these subscription services are one way, theirs, and not worth the bother, for what you get.

Not for nothing, there is a reason why the Stock market is soaring, in the face of the Covid induced economic collapse...business has figured out how to conduct their operations more cheaply, and that ain't necessarily good for the rest of us.

Sharks at the Meadows date unknown.jpg

The date of this photo is unknown, but it's at the Meadows, (NJ), Engine Terminal. Not sure if this is the Baldwin Shark Deadline, or whether they are all there for periodic inspection. The Coast Line was the Shark's last stand, and they were retired in 1964.

ATSF # 190 on train # 26 02-03-1964 Roswell, NM.jpg


Halfway (give or take), between Willies Hacienda, and Sherrel's Condo we find ATSF # 26 at Roswell, NM in February 1964. Not sure if that is snow, or Alien Dust falling.
 
Afternoon All,

Today I attached the adjustable feet to the legs then went to Lowes for the framing wood of the first 2 modules to be built. I should be able to get started tomorrow.

Alan- I don't know about you but I'm usually happy and a little sad when a major project (MRR) is winding up.

Willie- "and chicks for free". It's amazing how different a plastic building looks after painting.

Garry- Great layout pictures.

Louis- The Chessie paint scheme reminds me of candy corn.

Joe- Great pictures.

The modules

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20200605_110222_copy_1612x1209.jpg

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
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The date of this photo is unknown, but it's at the Meadows, (NJ), Engine Terminal. Not sure if this is the Baldwin Shark Deadline, or whether they are all there for periodic inspection. The Coast Line was the Shark's last stand, and they were retired in 1964.

These look like DR6s 6 axle passenger locomotives , given that 5770 window is open , and the styling of the cars in the parking lot I d say these are still alive and in for service.
 
Hi Shop Dwellers! Thunderstorms to the South and to the North of my central MD neighborhood, but no action expected here until ~6pm - unless those, too, fizzle-out like the ones we were supposed to get earlier.

My ordered GP38 package briefly showed in USPS tracking as being back on the Eastern Shore again on Wednesday; then it disappeared back into the "In transit" Abyss. Then I got an email saying another GP38 in this roadname [different#] had just gotten listed on eBay; I checked, and it was being offered at a decent buy-it-now price. So with all the uncertainty surrounding my original order, I decided to go ahead and get it.

That was all I had to do to make the first one appear in my mailbox this afternoon.

But wait, the story's not over yet - this USPS delay may have had a silver lining to it.

When I opened the package and saw the actual model itself [and not a photo of its sister unit], I discovered it was a 100% prototypical Louisville & Indiana GP38-3 #2003! It was an exact replica of an ex-MILW GP-40 that got its turbocharger removed. I looked up its photo on rrpicturearchives.net and sure enough, there was the prototype with 3 radiator fans on the long hood.

So in the end, it's a good thing that I did order that second unit - since I know that this one (#2001) truly is a GP-38, dash-nuthin', with the signature two radiator fans positioned 12" apart. This one I can easily backdate to a B&O Phase-I GP38 by swapping-out the dynamic brake hatch and removing the A/C box from the cab roof.

As for the dash-3? Nolo problemo, I have enough leftover detail parts from Atlas and Cannon&Co to convert it back into a Phase-I GP40, another model I can always use plenty of in my B&O fleet. I just need to re-program the Loksound decoder for a GP40; Karl, expect a call from me in the near future!:oops:
 
Another day of the Tennessee Earnie Ford's song of loading 16 tons and deeper in debt!
Dadburn water softener seems to have quit working! We have been noticing it for a while and yesterday I pulled the "stuff" away from it and confirmed that it is not using any salt at all. Today's mission is to look for, actually, try to find the manual and see if I can decipher the innards and workings? A softener is almost a must-have around here as after a couple of weeks even the toilets start getting a "ring" in the bowl. To me, trying to read the almost 1/2 inch thick manual is akin to reading an IRS publication?

I went to Walmart yesterday for a quick few things - mainly dog food and treats - as they are 10=15 percent cheaper than anywhere else. Noticed that only about 50% of the patrons were wearing a mask and that the shelves were starting to fill up again ... even the TP/paper towels isles were at least 1/3 to 1/2 full.

Time for another coffee and accomplish something ... supposed to be only 75 for the next three days ... down from the 90's a couple of days back.
SHERREL. If the softener is a Fleck model I can help you. I have learned a lot about these things.... the injector screen plugging is usually the 1st on the list.
 
Today I attached the adjustable feet to the legs then went to Lowes for the framing wood of the first 2 modules to be built. I should be able to get started tomorrow.
You probably know this, but I had an instance when I got a job with an office fitout company soon after coming to Aus. They were installing about 5' high partitioning walls and cubicles in quite a large area with adjustable feet, of course to allow for discrepancies in floor levels. Had a young guy as foreman, and he instructed everyone to screw them in fully to start with. I pointed out to him that it was best to set them at halfway. I was ignored. So he was not happy when I was noticed eyeing along the top of about 50' of wall and identifying a hump in the middle. In other words instead of only having to adjust a few feet at that point to lower that hump, all the rest had to be screwed out to correct it, which also meant, including the ones of the attached cubicle dividers.

Suffice that I didn't stay with that job long. He was scared I might take his job, which I nowhere wanted, I was perfectly happy to be just one of the crew and pass on any experience to him, gratis. The final straw was that I built myself a handcart with shelves and hooks that I could put all my tool boxes and leads on, to get them in and out of the buildings and got guffawed at. The rest of them were lugging everything by hand. About a year later I noticed one of the hardware chains offering something similar made of plastic. An opportunity missed.
 
Hi Shop Dwellers! Thunderstorms to the South and to the North of my central MD neighborhood, but no action expected here until ~6pm - unless those, too, fizzle-out like the ones we were supposed to get earlier.

My ordered GP38 package briefly showed in USPS tracking as being back on the Eastern Shore again on Wednesday; then it disappeared back into the "In transit" Abyss. Then I got an email saying another GP38 in this roadname [different#] had just gotten listed on eBay; I checked, and it was being offered at a decent buy-it-now price. So with all the uncertainty surrounding my original order, I decided to go ahead and get it.

That was all I had to do to make the first one appear in my mailbox this afternoon.

But wait, the story's not over yet - this USPS delay may have had a silver lining to it.

When I opened the package and saw the actual model itself [and not a photo of its sister unit], I discovered it was a 100% prototypical Louisville & Indiana GP38-3 #2003! It was an exact replica of an ex-MILW GP-40 that got its turbocharger removed. I looked up its photo on rrpicturearchives.net and sure enough, there was the prototype with 3 radiator fans on the long hood.

So in the end, it's a good thing that I did order that second unit - since I know that this one (#2001) truly is a GP-38, dash-nuthin', with the signature two radiator fans positioned 12" apart. This one I can easily backdate to a B&O Phase-I GP38 by swapping-out the dynamic brake hatch and removing the A/C box from the cab roof.

As for the dash-3? Nolo problemo, I have enough leftover detail parts from Atlas and Cannon&Co to convert it back into a Phase-I GP40, another model I can always use plenty of in my B&O fleet. I just need to re-program the Loksound decoder for a GP40; Karl, expect a call from me in the near future!:oops:
 
Alan- I don't know about you but I'm usually happy and a little sad when a major project (MRR) is winding up.

Not me Curt! No sadness at all! I'm going to be glad to see this one finished. It's been quite a trip, setbacks and all, and I'll remember the effort, but no sadness what so ever. There's too many projects waiting in line after this one. I do think I'll be taking a break from passenger cars though. Time to recharge a bit and do something different. Can't get in a rut. That's how burnout happens!
 
Hi Shop Dwellers! Thunderstorms to the South and to the North of my central MD neighborhood, but no action expected here until ~6pm - unless those, too, fizzle-out like the ones we were supposed to get earlier.

My ordered GP38 package briefly showed in USPS tracking as being back on the Eastern Shore again on Wednesday; then it disappeared back into the "In transit" Abyss. Then I got an email saying another GP38 in this roadname [different#] had just gotten listed on eBay; I checked, and it was being offered at a decent buy-it-now price. So with all the uncertainty surrounding my original order, I decided to go ahead and get it.

That was all I had to do to make the first one appear in my mailbox this afternoon.

But wait, the story's not over yet - this USPS delay may have had a silver lining to it.

When I opened the package and saw the actual model itself [and not a photo of its sister unit], I discovered it was a 100% prototypical Louisville & Indiana GP38-3 #2003! It was an exact replica of an ex-MILW GP-40 that got its turbocharger removed. I looked up its photo on rrpicturearchives.net and sure enough, there was the prototype with 3 radiator fans on the long hood.

So in the end, it's a good thing that I did order that second unit - since I know that this one (#2001) truly is a GP-38, dash-nuthin', with the signature two radiator fans positioned 12" apart. This one I can easily backdate to a B&O Phase-I GP38 by swapping-out the dynamic brake hatch and removing the A/C box from the cab roof.

As for the dash-3? Nolo problemo, I have enough leftover detail parts from Atlas and Cannon&Co to convert it back into a Phase-I GP40, another model I can always use plenty of in my B&O fleet. I just need to re-program the Loksound decoder for a GP40; Karl, expect a call from me in the near future!:oops:
Ken, it's as I like to say "better to be lucky than good"

I'm glad to hear your good news! :)
 
Now, here's a puzzler


The Montana Rail Link Railfan Society

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Shared with Custom

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The faces of two Montana railroads seen together on a chance encounter at the Laurel yard. MRL 256 is at home while CMR 849 is waiting to catch a ride on the next train to Great Falls to be delivered to its new home on the Central Montana Railroad.
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I looked up CMR on rrpicturearchives.net. That says Indiana RR'd Co, whereas the pictures of only GP9's on that page, call it, as stated above, Central Montana RR'd. Most pics show a lighter shade of blue, but a couple do show the dark blue too. In one instance, both in a consist. The CMR does not display a Logo, just a large road number on the long hood., and seeing also there is no Lion's head W anywhere, or red dot, unlikely to have a connection to Washington Corp. Great Falls is, according to a map of MRL and surrounding trackage produced by BNSF, shows a line from Helena to Great Falls marked as BNSF which, as was noted from a previous posting, ran down to Butte MT. According also to that map, A BNSF line exists from MRL's, Garrison, west of Helena, to Butte. As I said the other day, slightly more abbreviated, pqler. Why the same black and blue livery? The result of a fight??
 
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Alan- That sort of thing will make you want to split fire and brimstone while reciting you four letter word vocabulary!
Unfortunately there are a lot of people selling who do not know or appreciate the accuracy required in the listing's title, or in the photo attached. Using the same picture for all they are listing is common, but only correct for the first one, which has already been sold.
 
Alan- That sort of thing will make you want to split fire and brimstone while reciting you four letter word vocabulary!

I tend to profanity. I'm genetically predisposed to profanity (my grandfather was a sailor too). I've had professional training in profanity. But, this was a mistake, as much mine as theirs. They had a complete set of photos of the car on their site, but I was looking for some specific details which I found, and the label. I was so delighted at finding what I needed (or so I thought) that I didn't take that critical second look. I've also done quite a bit of business with Brass Trains and they are generally accurate in their descriptions. I've never had issues with them. Honestly, I think we split the blame this time around. What really irritated me was not being able to finish the project this weekend. This one has been a long trip and I'm ready to put it to bed, or on the rails anyway. Oh well...so it goes. 🤷‍♂️
 
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