Good Morning All. Clear and 45°. Didn't get as chilly as the forecast called for, it was for 38°. Currently wind gusts out of the north at 2 mph, but they will switch out of the south around 0900. Gradual warming trend on the way.
Sunny side up eggs and a big pile of sausage patties this morning Flo.
Thanks Guys for the likes and comments regarding Monday's post;
Joe, Patrick, Sherrel, Guy, Phil, James, Garry, Chad, Curt, Ken, Karl, Rick, Jerry.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I installed a sun block. I have a 6' wide pair of windows on the south side, in front of the workbench. The upper level is above it. The upper level has a main, passing siding and one end of a classification yard directly in front of that window. Despite a 7' overhang, for about seven or eight weeks a year, I get direct sunlight for a couple of hours just after dawn and just before dusk at this time of year. I have always been concerned about the effects of the sun on rolling stock in front of the window, even though they do have Low-E glass in them. Low-E does not block the sun's rays, just the heat. So yesterday, I added a 5" high backdrop to the layout.
The downside is that it blocks my view of the yard, pool and driveway if I am standing. Well, I am supposed to sit at the workbench so maybe I'll adjust!
I see that I omitted a few bars from the bar-hopping tour, so here are the last ones.
First is Derry's Pub, a very recent build of a Walther's kit that is sold as a Pizzeria.
It's in a newer block of structures that haven't yet gotten figures added.
And last but not least, Marvin's Hi-Ball, a pool hall/saloon in Maulsville.
Marvin's traces its origin to a DPM kit known as Goodfellows Hall.
I also continued to add ground cover and details to the maintenance yard in Budville. I should have a few pictures soon.
Jerry - You asked about uncoupling in HO. Mostly I use a
magnetic tool from RIX, but I leave the trip pins on. They really don't bother me. Occasionally I use a BBQ skewer on shelf couplers as they don't respond to the Rix tool. BBQ skewers would work if you remove the trip pins. You're absolutely correct about only needing to uncouple one coupler.
Alan - Yup! Tankers. Mine are all on the layout. I like tankers from your era more then mine from a later era but I like all tankers and I have 128. I'll have to remember to get a few pictures.
Patrick - For a GP9 parts sheet, go to
hoseeker.net. There are eight different Athearn GP9 exploded diagrams there, depending on your model. The parts of BB locos didn't really change much except the motor. That site is good for thousands of other product instruction sheets as well. Look around.
Joe -
Willie: I thoroughly enjoyed your Saloon tour. Reminds me of my days of bar hopping.
I'm glad that we can both remember those days. Sometimes insane!
Guy - Regarding the lack of graffiti on tank cars. Here in Texas, most all tankers are loaded and unloaded in fenced-in secure areas, where access by graffiti taggers is severely limited. The railroads around me, BNSF, KCS, and UP also keep them moving rather than leaving them idle.
Sherrel - Boy, can I tell some stories about growing up in the Bible Belt, especially since my Dad was a high ranking executive with a liquor distributor. While there are large portions of the city of Dallas (as well as a lot of other areas of Texas) that are still "dry", bars, beer stores and liquor stores abound elsewhere. Texas just recently allowed
some alcohol to be sold beginning at 10:00 am on Sundays. Otherwise it's 12:00 noon and liquor by the bottle still cannot be sold on Sundays. Professional football games start at 1200 in the Central Time Zone, so sports bars had a tough time until they realized that the law read that you couldn't sell before 12. But that didn't mean that you couldn't run a tab and settle up after 12! Now they're legally allowed to sell at 10 on Sunday.
Karl - Hope that the test comes back negative. Get well soon otherwise.
Ken - Nice signs.
Walt - Sorry to read of your ordeal. Get well soon and good luck getting back to normal.
Gotta go now. Everybody have a wonderful day. Stay safe and isolated if you can.