Running Bear's November 2020 Coffee Shop


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Evenin' Shop Dwellers, it's 50*F, cloudy and calm in my corner of central MD.

Thank you everybody for the "likes" and comments on my Thanksgiving Day post. My daughter and SIL finally got back from the hospital with their new young'n at ~9:15pm, so MHO and I and two of our other visiting kids went over to admire him. Daughter and SIL had been quarantineening to prevent SIL from catching the C-bug, which in turn would have barred him from being allowed in the hospital for the birth, so this was our first time visiting them in-person in ~6 weeks. Brought them leftovers from the Thxgvg meal, and stayed for ~1 hour. Baby was quiet most of the time except when papa had to change his diaper, then hoo-boy did he EVER scream! 😄

bnsf971 said:
I found it's kind of tough to operate electric trains without, you know, electricity...
Click to expand...
Maybe so...but what about tracklaying by candlelight? 😵

* * *
Back to our regular programming... I took a day of vacation time on Wednesday so I could make further progress on the Dairy Queen. First I filled-in the mortar lines on the brickwork; after that, I put the finishing touches on the scratchbuilt marquee. Here is what the pieces all looked like by lunchtime:
DairyQueenPieces.jpg


Adding the marquee to the front of the roof made it necessary for me to do some re-engineering of the banner sign mounting, to raise it ~1/4 inch higher for clearance. Luckily I happened to have exactly the right size of K&S brass tubing to fit in the existing holes on the roof:
DairyQueenBannerSignAdaptation.jpg


...problem solved! I applied all the window decals today, but didn't have time to get any in-progress photos. Maybe tomorrow[?]
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 52° here in North Central Texas. Hope that everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving Day yesterday. Last warm day here is today with temperature reaching the mid-60's. Rain possible tomorrow evening and again Wednesday, temperatures never getting out of the 50's. Freeze still expected Sunday and Monday nights. Spent a while yesterday ensuring that the pool was freeze-ready. No water in the plastic skimmer or any of the return hoses.

Morning Francine. So Flo is taking today off, I hope that she enjoys herself. I'll take it easy today, just one egg over easy and a handful of bacon with an OJ to wash it all down with.

Still not feeling too inspired in the train shed regarding modeling right now. It will pass. Still went out and ran trains for a while. Plenty of ready trains were waiting in the staging yard while my crews enjoyed some time at home.
View attachment 121206
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Eventually some got out on the rails.
Here's some GP60's rounding the main in Maultown.
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And a pair of SD45's passing some critters outside of Charlottesville.
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Meanwhile Bob and Carol watched the smoker with the turkey safely inside.
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Some folks still had to work, a load of corn is arriving at Lewiston Grain Coop. Local farmers are trying to clear their fields in advance of the first frost.
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Troy - Yes that "Ignore" button can be very useful.
Alan - Really nice.
Terry -

Wouldn't work here. I haven't even seen a policeman here in almost ten years. Cities in lockdown states are having to make up that lost tax revenue somehow!
Tom O -

Boy! I know who you might be referring to.

Is today still Black Friday??? I never went shopping on Black Friday.
Everybody have a great day and enjoy the holiday weekend if applicable. Stay safe and good health to all.
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Willie

In the first picture of your post here....
What is the red and white locomotive on the far right? On the first track on the right?

🤔
 
Alcomotive said:
Willie

In the first picture of your post here....
What is the red and white locomotive on the far right? On the first track on the right?
Click to expand...
That is an orange & cream Frisco GP40. I have an interchange track and that is my sole non-ATSF loco. Ten of the staging tracks lead to the Santa Fe main, two of them (on the right) lead to the SLSF interchange. It is also sometimes used as a Santa Fe branch line instead of an interchange track when the mood hits me.
You can see the Frisco caboose on the far left track in the second picture.
 
Morning all. Flo, glad to see you back. A bowl of oatmeal. Toss some blueberries on it. cuppa joe. And tell Mel - NO TURKEY in the oatmeal. He doesn't need to be that creative with the leftovers.

Wife is off on a 2 hour drive this morning to visit the daughter and help with painting the kitchen cabinets in her condo. I'm at home without a car for the day. Need to get some words in on the book, then it's train time as long as the power company doesn't kill things.

We teamed up with the Sis-in-Law (they're our bubble couple) and did the drive through festival of lights on the grounds of the Fort Wayne zoo. I only took my cell phone for a camera, and some of what I got was motioned blurred. Pesky shooting from a moving vehicle with slow shutter speeds. Here's one that caught my attention:

Screen Shot 2020-11-28 at 6.35.42 AM.png


And one for Sherrel:

Screen Shot 2020-11-28 at 6.51.23 AM.png
 
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Good Mourning All! I hope Turkey Day treated you well! Just dropped in to say hello.
A lull in the weather here in southern Oregon, 20's in the mourning, making it to low 40's day time.
TROY, nice picture of xmas lites.
Not doing anything in the train room yet, but wanted to keep with it, so started an Ulrich kit, 52' comp gondola--undec
My first Ulrich kit. But what I have first, is a proto 2000 FB2 Demonstrator unpowered locomotive. I thought it was going to take me quite awhile before I came up with a B unit.
IMG_20201127_092311573.jpg

The A-B lash up.....
IMG_20201127_110121741 (1).jpg

And the EMD--Alco Demonstrators side by side. Interesting choice of paint job that Alco used.
IMG_20201127_110002817 (1).jpg

IMG_20201127_110018238_BURST001 (1).jpg

The B unit is brand new, body screws still sealed in bag, wheels still have factory coating on them, and heavy, this thing is 8 1/2 ozs heavy.
NMRA says should be 4 1/2 ozs. The weight is still in the frame (no motors), so I'll drill that out. I want to keep it unpowered.
And now for a prototype.... The BNSF 25th Anniversary Locomotive.
IMG_20201125_124436526_HDR.jpg


EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT DAY---😷
 
Good morning y'all. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. 45° and cloudy as I write this. Not sure what is forecast, last night the TV forecaster said it would be sunny and in the mid 50s.

Ken: Congratulations Pop Pop! Also the DQ is coming along just fine.

I have a lot to catch up with since Wednesday. We had a quiet Thanksgiving. The wife out did herself, it was a fine meal, shame everyone missed it.

Philadelphia Local leaving Manayunk 10-1969.jpg

Budd MU departing Manayunk (PA) October 1969. This is a remanent of the Norristown Local which was truncated in 1960. The low volume line rarely required more than one car, and was frequently used to train engineers to run MU trains.
Phila Local prepa4es to depart manayunk 10 - 1969.jpg

MU during layover at Manayunk (PA).
MP54E (MU) train at Norristown, PA 8-12-1958.jpg

MP54E MUs at Norristown (PA), during layover. Photo was taken from the Reading Station. The Reading Main Line and the PRR Schuylkill Branch paralleled each other from Manayunk to Pottsville in the Anthracite Region of PA.
 
Morning! Just a coffee and toast this morning, before I go out to clean the walks following the nights snow session. - There's a 30% chance of more snow today in cooler 25°F temperatures. Oh well! It is what it is.

Jerry - Thank you for sharing that wonderful group of photos. I like the colors on the demonstrator units.
Troy - Very cool looking Christmas light displays, but, they need some snow to give them some umph!
Ken - The Dairy Queen is coming along very nicely, indeed! Well done, so far!
Curt - I enjoyed seeing the Mill Creek coal photos. Very fine modeling there.
Willie - What kit is the Lewiston grain elevator in you're photos? I'm waiting on the post for a Campbell's elevator kit that I got for cheap, and I believe it will be very similar to that one. I only hope I can do as good a job as you've managed.
Boris - A fine group of photo's this morning! Wonderful scenes!

Yesterday, I re-wired my pair of WS Just Plug LED lights together so they would only use a single port on the light hub. No sense in taking up two ports for one building. Besides, I needed the plug jack from the 2nd LED to use in the power supply port. I found an old Model Power X-fmer that is broken, but still pushing 18vac to use as my power supply:
Progress_11-27-2020 (1).jpg


The system lights up the hardware interior nicely. It is a very good thing that the Hub offers a dimming control, as those two cool-white LED's inside the store are very bright.
So far, I'm happy with what I've done with the store:
Progress_11-27-2020 (2).jpg

That last photo shows the interior lights on, but, there is an exterior desk lamp lighting up the outside of the building.

Late last night, I finished graveling the exterior roof. Today I'm going to do the necessary touch-ups, like painting that bottom edge on the base. Then the kit is completed. This building will squish in between a future cafe' on the right, and a grocery on the left.

Wow! It's been fairly lonely in here these last days. Must be that time of year.
Have a good one!
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 42° outside right now. Weather forecast hasn't changed, still expecting rain this afternoon or evening and colder temperatures for the foreseeable future in the ten day outlook. Today I will give the house a final cleanup before I go to pick up my wife and return the two granddogs tomorrow. She will get to my daughter's house late this afternoon, actually just after dusk, but it doesn't make sense to drive in the rain tonight.
I hit a milestone in my ongoing struggle to lose weight. I lost 30 pounds in four months about eight months ago, but it has taken me that eight months to lose another 10. Of course I wasn't trying as hard lately. For me, it all boils down to consumption. I exercise moderately including walking a mile or so every day, but exercise never made a difference.
Sad news on the home front. My up the easement road neighbor stopped by yesterday in a very down mood. He has been my neighbor for forty years, raising goats and sheep there and growing hay on my hayfield. First time that I have seen him since he went to the VA hospital for an exploratory colon procedure two weeks ago. Seems that his prostrate cancer has spread uncontrollably to his colon and the prognosis is not good for him. He goes back Wednesday to discuss "options". He has already chosen to not undergo chemo, as it didn't do any good with the prostrate, and just made him very sick. At 80 years old, he had already transferred assets over to his 50 year old son, knowing that he wouldn't last forever. Two years ago, he had shoulder replacement surgery, and earlier this year he had a knee replaced and was just beginning to get back to "workable" condition. Very sad and he showed it. I wished him well, but realized that our visits were probably coming to an end soon.

I am a bit stuffed after the brats (or is it brauts?) that I had for supper last night Flo, so just bring me a bear claw and OJ.

Thanks to all who liked or commented on the layout scenes yesterday; Karl, Guy, Phil, Walt, Rick, Sherrel, Alan, Chad, Tom O, Hughie, Ken, Curt, Tom, James, Garry, Jerry.

Why is it that I am spendiing less time in the train shed while my wife is gone than when she is at home??? Again yesterday, I only ran trains and no modeling. Here's that same trio of GP60's going through the town of Vernon pulling a container train. They are actually taking the siding while maintenance is being done on the main.
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Back in Maulltown, a pair of SD40-2's are pulling a mixed freight through the same curve as posted yesterday, except in the opposite direction.
12-12-18 010.JPG

That's it for today; I feel like I am shorting you guys with only two pictures today!

Troy - An interesting bit of trivia about power supply lines is that overhead lines will last 80 years before replacement is considered. Underground lines have only a 40 year life expectancy.
I like the photos of the Christmas lights.
Guy - Excellent job on the Ace sign. An even more excellent job on the store itself with the lighting. One thing that I do when printing signs or interiors, is to print on 65# paper. It's about the thickness of a business card.
Curt - Excellent progress.
Ken - You're also making excellent progress on the Dairy Queen. Can't wait until I can see the finished project. I really wish to enhance mine, and I am looking for ideas.
Back to you Guy. The Lewiston Grain Elevator is a Walther's kit, Farmers Cooperative Rural Grain Elevator. I didn't make any modifications to it except to use an alternate name.

Kinda wondering about a couple of members that I haven't seen lately. Mikey (PNKFLOYD) has been lurking, nearly every day, but hasn't posted since July! And that trucker from Missouri, Lee (TrucTrain55) hasn't visited us since November 16! I do hope that all is well with them.

Well I went back to bed after posting earlier and really overslept! The sun is now out and it's 52°. Surprised that the doggies didn't raise a ruckus.
Everybody have a great weekend. Stay safe.
 
Boris said:
Good morning y'all. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. 45° and cloudy as I write this. Not sure what is forecast, last night the TV forecaster said it would be sunny and in the mid 50s.

Ken: Congratulations Pop Pop! Also the DQ is coming along just fine.

I have a lot to catch up with since Wednesday. We had a quiet Thanksgiving. The wife out did herself, it was a fine meal, shame everyone missed it.

View attachment 121246
Budd MU departing Manayunk (PA) October 1969. This is a remanent of the Norristown Local which was truncated in 1960. The low volume line rarely required more than one car, and was frequently used to train engineers to run MU trains.
View attachment 121247
MU during layover at Manayunk (PA).
View attachment 121248
MP54E MUs at Norristown (PA), during layover. Photo was taken from the Reading Station. The Reading Main Line and the PRR Schuylkill Branch paralleled each other from Manayunk to Pottsville in the Anthracite Region of PA.
Click to expand...

Nice seeing these old MU's.
I was an electrician 1987-1991, on SEPTA Regional Rail after Conrail gave up these cars.
 
Willie - Thank you for the recommendation of 65# paper for sign making. I'll pick up some sheets next time I'm in the stationary store. And thanks for the heads-up on the Walthers elevator. - Bye-the-way, I thought you were up kind of early this morning, posting at 3:55am my time. Good thing you went back to sleep.
 
Guess I will come out from lurking today - just don't have anything exciting going on.
Hi, FLO, hope you enjoyed your day off yesterday? I'll just have coffee - I was up earlier and cooked myself something at home.

We started off at 40 degrees this morning and the projection is for 73 later on. Very clear and calm as mid day approaches, but the county has an alert out for the Northern part for Santa Ana winds and the power company is saying that they may shut down sections due to the high winds.

Time sure seems to be flying by: days, weeks, and months seem to pass and with me really not getting anything done. Now I am beginning to wonder whether I should be keeping all the power tools that are filling up the garage? I have just lost a lot of my ambition!

OK, I see the neighbor is passing by the window -- he has a project going on and I know that my phone will "ding" at any moment - so guess I will put my socks/shoes on and see what he needs help with. Have a super day all!

A photo of me from 5 years back down the road a couple miles away- 7'5 inch gauge.

P5250033.JPG
 
Afternoon All,

Made a quick trip to Wally World this morning. After getting home I put in the cork roadbed in the mine area for the track. Son and I pulled the Christmas things out of the attic this afternoon.

Thank you for the likes on the mine.

Terry- That brings back memories. When I went to Sub School in 1975 (5 weeks long about how the different systems generically work) on every hallway wall were row upon row of photos through the periscope of sinking ships (mainly Japanese).

Ken- Great job on the sign and mortar lines.

Troy- Neat looking light displays.

Jerry- Nice looking motive power real and model.

Joe- Great photos.

Guy-Thank you. The mine took about 3 weeks to build. The Ace hardware looks excellent lighted.

Willie- Thank you. I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. Great layout photos.

In the photo from left to right:
1. High line main.
2. Reverse Loop/Access to coal trestle.
3. Shifter track.
4.&5. Tipple tracks.
6. Approach to 3 storage tracks.
7. Reverse loop.
8. Main line.

20201128_132000.jpg

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
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