Running Bear's June 2020 Coffee Shop


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Good morning. Still busy with outdoor chores. I have a mole that has been driving me crazy for a couple of years now. Was hoping that he would have dies over the winter but no such luck.

Got a phone call from the orthopedic place where I had my shoulder replaced asking me questions for my Wednesday appointment. They asked the normal Corvid-19 questions about having left the state and if I had any medical issues. No problem there, but there was one problem. They wanted me to "wear my mask" when I came and that they would be taking my temperature at the door. Guess I don't have an appointment next Wednesday because I told them that I never had a mask and have no intentions of getting or wearing a mask. Guess I'm just a grumpy old bastard.

Terry - That was a good one at the grocery store. I'll have to try that one. Sort of like having a new guy on the ship and sending him off to find sound powered phone batteries or a left handed monkey's fist.

Willie - You really make me jealous with all of the space you have available and all of the interesting buildings and scenes you've been making.

Alan - You sure have done an outstanding job on those brass cars.

Joe - It sounds like things aren't all opened up where you are. A major PITA. At least you got some glasses. Can't believe that you can't get some sort of refund from the NHL & MLB. Like the photos of the sharks.

Sherrel - Hope you figure out the water softner. You and Joe must be gluttons for punishment going to Wal Mart. Can't think of th last time I was in one. It's been years.

Garry
- Excellent layout photos ( as usual ).

Curt
- Happy to see that you are finally getting started on construction. Looking forward to the build.

Ray - Like the photos of the Central Montana Railroad 849. You are correct about the CMR having a lighter color blue. We have ridden of their dinner train which runs from just outside Lewistown up to Denton and back. The cars they use for the dinner train are ex B&M RDC's.We have taken the trip a few times. We go to bowling tournaments up in Lewistown and if there is room on the train, we go.
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The Butte Anaconda and Pacific tracks run right along I-90 from Rocker up to Garrison Junction where it connects to the MRL/BNSF. I have been to their shop in Anaconda and seen the roundhouse and turntable which they use. A few blocks from the bowling lanes in Anaconda.

Time for lunch.

Later
 
Afternoon All,

Unfortunately the only layout work today was painting the leg bracing boards and clearing stuff away from the first wall that will have modules. It has been drizzling and raining all day and projected through Tuesday coming off the tropical storm. The air is miserably damp while standing outside. Based on all that it will be a waiting game since the modules will need to be built in the driveway (the garage is full).

Sherrel- They all had their free money from the state.

Chet- Is that loco pulling RDC's?

Alan- Great looking passenger and tank cars. Sorry to hear about the last car.

Ken- Good news on the missing loco.

Willie- Nice buildings. It's a good thing you aren't on MTV for that song because you would probably be animated.

Guy- The tank car looks fine to me.

Joe- I bought them on Amazon from Peachtree Woodworking Supply Inc., but are manufactured by Fulton. They are rated to 600#. I could not find a part number. They are called Heavy Duty Adjustable Furniture Leg Levelers. They cost $15.99 for 4 so they're not cheap. I decided to go with them because of the leveling issues I had on the original layout not being level when I first started it.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Good afternoon ......... Thanks, everybody for comments and likes for my pictures.

Alan and Guy ..... Those tank cars look great.

Chet .... I bet I would like eating on that dinner train.

Curt .... Apparently, your new layout will have solid construction, and it can be moved if needed. Smart !

WIllie .... You did a good job of applying mortar to the brick building.

Everybody ..... Have a nice evening.
 
Garry - You would enjoy the meal. They do not have a kitchen in any of the RDC's and have the meal catered in from one of the best restaurants in Lewistown. Never had a bad meal yet.
 
Well, it doesn't look like I'll be getting to the club anytime soon, even though COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed to 20 in the main clubroom and 20 outside, including the other sheds and facilities. The schedule/roster is only showing 1 Friday evening in the month for DCC operation, which is no longer possible for me, or worth the journey. We used to have a Saturday and a Sunday daylight meeting. Don't know why they're not being catered for. Have to bring it up.
 
Good Morning, everyone.
I was up bright n early this morning, getting the wife off to work at the planer mill. She's still got 10 more years to go before the big R; I'll be lucky to get another 10...., I'd like to leave her a real nice train layout along with everything else, come the time.
The supposed 40mm of rain suggested by the forecasters yesterday turned out to be a bad bet. Lucky if we saw half of that. Today, the forecast is for 70mm of the wet. I doubt it, though, unless that sky gets a lot darker than it is right now. It is supposed to cool off over the course of the day, instead of warm up. Right now it's 49F.

I went outside at 5:30 this morning to take another trivial photo:
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I'm not sure if that's a kite up there or not. I'm just hoping the local children are smart enough to know not to fly kites around power lines. I believe we have a 12.8k distribution system. That thing blowing in the wind is caught on a hot lead. Photo was taken behind my home.

Think I'll chew on a toasted sausage, onion n cheese, along with a coffee, while I study up on all you're activities and goings on.

Today, I plan on listing a bunch of R/C engines and stuff on evil bay, along with some Wingnut Wings kits. I've noticed WNW kits are doing well, since they went out of business. I collected all that stuff for my retirement. Little did I know that a turn to trains was in my future.

Anyway, before it becomes unreadably long, I'm leaving. Mostly, I'm going to do what I want to do today. Have a good one!
 
Good morning....I was looking at an Athearn roundhouse engine and was wondering how they compared to the RTR engines as far as detail and quality. I have a SD40 RTR and was looking to pair them up.
I have 3 of the last SD40 RTR runs done by Athearn and 2 of the GP35's, now in the Roundhouse brand. I have a couple of the GP35's from when they first fitted the 9pin quick plug DCC board to them. Both the SD40 and early GP35's have the same detailing, the SD40's chassis are modified to take sound. The Roundhouse GP35's chassis are as the early ones with that similar DCC ready board, but are missing some of the details. Plow and rear footboard. Cab side sunshades. Wire grabs are installed. Comes in a fancier box with the modern plastic packing. Truck electrical pickup wires now off both sides, not using frame for one side.
 
Good Morning All. Another muggy morning with clear skies, no wind, 73° and 90% humidity. Per the forecast, we have a few more mornings like this and then Wednesday morning it may drop to 60°, still in the mid-90's during the day. They have removed all mention of triple digits though. I have already been in the pool this morning to watch the non-spectacular sunrise.
Blah! I attempted to print some signs from the computer yesterday. No go! Realized that I never set up the printer on the new fiber-optic wifi modem. I am not usually computer challenged, but I spent over an hour trying out all of the four letter words that I knew, both English and Spanish, before I finally managed to get the set-up correct. Biggest and most frustrating problem was using that tiny touch screen keypad on the printer with my fat fingers. I managed to get the "a" and "s" screwed up repeatedly before I finally thought to use the eraser end of a pencil to key in the info. Every error required shutting everything down and rebooting the printer since there was no backspace provided on that tiny keypad. That's the very reason that I don't text or post from the phone!

How about a breakfast burrito slathered in salsa this morning Flo. Make that two.

Thanks for yesterday's likes, comments and reactions; Tom, Karl, Sherrel, Guy, Justin, Jerome, Joe, Garry, Rick, Ken, Mikey, Chet, Curt, Phil.

Not a lot of photo action yesterday in the train shed. I spent most of my time making and installing the road from the layout edge to the window backdrop.
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Roadway is made from tarpaper, asphalt like the real thing. No striping yet on the back section while I continue to contemplate where to have the cross street meet up with it.

Sherrel - Here's something to ruin your day. Hint: wait until after breakfast.
People of Walmart
It's like something that Beady would post.
Joe - I have some static pictures of neon beer signs that I will use until I might get a real one. Don't know whether they make them that small as I haven't looked into it yet.
Mikey - I had a bunch of dry transfers that I attempted to use on that wall, Old Crow, Falstaff and Blatz were among them. But they basically disintegrated when I tried to use them. Maybe because they are over 25 years old. I finally printed a Schlitz one from the Internet, see above! Thanks, I'll be looking into printing and using the additional signs that you provided. Saves me some time looking for them.
Garry - Do you have a complete picture of the spire on that restaurant that you posted the other day? I think that I have found at least a piece of the original one that I had.
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It appears to have been gnawed a bit by a creature unknown. That part I will fix with some body putty.
Thanks in advance if you are able to assist. The restaurant in the first picture looks naked without the spire.
Tom - Unable to directly advise since I don't have any Athearn Roundhouse branded engines. I would think that they are pretty similar to the RTR line though.

Everybody have a great Sunday.
 
Morning all. Here's another full with diaphragm shot. Their original purpose was cosmetic only. The railroad wanted to make the train look like one continuous "tube". They did that, and since I believe they were mostly canvas they took paint differently than the car sides which will give me an excuse when the inking experiment fails to match perfectly. They made maintenance a pain where a pill can't reach, and started to go away around 1950. They are also the reason why I never use anything but #5's on these cars. The larger #5 knuckle gives me some slack when it comes to less than perfect track work, and as you can see (or cant see) they disappear anyway. I have several more sets of these to install, and some other minor tweaks.

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