Running Bear's October 2021 Coffee Shop

[moermusic]

Good Morning! Good morning from a place where it's 6:18am and 28F outside with a thick skiff of frost on everything that's not indoors.

MIA for awhile, not because anything is wrong. More like I was just not doing anything railroad related. Not modeling, not playing with a layout, and not taking rail photos. All those things are exactly what the forum is all about, so I feel I've got no business popping in if I'm not practicing what I preach.
I suppose I've entered into a wee bit of a depression, probably brought on by all the bullshit one has to wade through these days. For my own well-being, I retreated into the forest for awhile, and allowed all healing 'Nature' to do her work in making me come back to life.

Then, yesterday, I happened to be walking past the CN yard here in town. Low and behold, there was an oddly colored engine parked there. So out comes the camera from the safety of my vest pocket.
The thing about the local yard is, there are power poles everywhere. Engines are not parked with an artsy photograph in mind, so pictures are always going to have a pole or two in them.
CN 3934 was parked in an unusually horrific spot. She was crowded in by other engines and a fence line that wouldn't allow me to get good photos on the right side of the sun. Plus, there is always the poles strung with ugly wiring.
Here's a couple of shots of the engine parked:
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I cannot reconcile that paint-job in my mind, but, I have not researched it either.

I observed to the east, that a line of railcars was left on the mainline tracks. So, I figured they were going to move that train sooner or later, and decided to hang around the area.
It didn't take long, about 1/2hr. Then they started to move; and I was taking photos all along.
Here's a couple of shots of the engines moving down to pick up the railcars, and then returning with the train:
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In that 4th photo, the engines are bringing that long line of open hoppers to the local staging area, where they will drop off the cars. The engines will then pick up whatever loaded train is sitting in the staging yard, and begin the journey east to Edmonton.

This is first time I've seen that type of open hopper come into town. There were two types, both of which I took photos of as they moved past me.
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I'm not sure what the plan is for those hoppers, but, they are definitely larger than what is usually brought in to carry gravel.

Well, there's my post for awhile. Can't say I will be coming in again any time soon. Think I'll grab the rifle and head out for a hunt. But, I'll be back, as soon as another interesting train comes by, or the snows come and I get to modeling again. That's going to happen sooner than later.

Everyone have a great day! And I really mean that.

according to grandpa google & cn roster, 3934 used to be CREX 1402. Obviously didnt get cn paint.

 

[CHRISTIAN]

Christian - Never have I been a fan of wine, just never have found the right taste for me.

OKAY. No problem. Personally, I hate beer.

 

[CHRISTIAN]

Christian, great pictures again, thanks.

 

[moermusic]

Morning all,

I think my double migraine 6 months back was from my 2nd Moderna shot. I know I had a bad migraine the day after the first. Still Covid is worse...

Currently 51° and dark in my part of Doo-Dah. Supposed to be sunny later and a high of 70°. Supposed to get to about 40° for the low Saturday morning. It was 96° last Saturday for the high. I've got the furnace folks coming next Friday to do its annual heat side tune up. Furnace is only 7 years old, but still need to keep it in order. I had a whole house filter system put in when we had the system installed and they keep wanting to sell me their filters (I use a 25"X20"X5") which I can get cheaper elsewhere. I also have the replacement humidifier pads as well for the same reason. I have yet to turn on the furnace portion as the A/C is still on, but not really running.

BBL...

we too have the 20x25x5 filters. pricy in canuck $ switched to heat mode last week. Just have to make sure all 3 thermostats are all in same mode , as we have a 3 zone system: basement, main, 2nd floor.

 

[CHRISTIAN]

Christian: After TWO bottles of Vino - I hate to tell you what my track might have looked!
I hope you had a couple "stick loaves" to go with the wine? I used to hit the local bakery before getting on the crew bus with a garbage sack full of "sticks" to bring back for the family here!
I miss those days!

Do not worry about that. SWMBO would never have let me drink all that Vino. These bottles on the photo are just a joke..

 

[Boris]

Good morning. Happy Friday! Sunny today, now that the fog has lifted, and going to the low 80s...Perfect. Probably the warmest day this October.
Watched Ottawa win over Toronto, last night, then switched over to watch Pittsburgh blow a lead and lose to Florida...Hockey is back. Didn't get to see the game, but How 'bout dem Bums pulling one out over the G'ints. The classic rivalry! Now the Bums have to beat Atlanta, then the winner of the ALCS. Have to get my Dodgers sweater out. Go Bums!

Willie, Look at it this way, at least you have a chair...I like the way Ramone's is coming along nicely. I was surprised to learn you use Walthers Goo for buildings. I use it to attach weights to freight cars. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Guy: Nice photos...BTW, we all go through those phases, at one time or another.

Christian: Looks like you're ready for some serious track work.

Louis: Good point about the little people. They can't as yet get vaccinated but carry a whole portfolio of germs with them.

Speaking of which, David Leonhardt's "The Morning" summary column in the NY Times examines the mis information and confusion caused by "well intentioned" bureaucrats employed by the NIH, CDC and FDA, as well as when "science" takes second place to policy and procedure. An interesting read, worthy of a look, regardless how you feel.

I spent several hours yesterday, working on the benchwork connecting the new modules to the rest of the layout. Right now I'm dealing with a 3/16" deviation, so I'm going to try another elevation...stay tuned...video at eleven.

Bennett Levin's E-8s and PVs plus another party's PV along the ROW back in 2005. Since the engines are not equipped with PTC, they cannot run on PTC territory. I used to enjoy running the Es lite or with cars, on ferry moves from Fair Hill to Race Street.

 

[CHRISTIAN]

Christian: Looks like you're ready for some serious track work.

You're absolutely right.

 

[MilwRoader_Steve]

SteveJ, does this group still contain the possible SIL or was he ejected a while ago? Have fun, rest later

Yes, they have gone through two rough patches, but still together and going strong! He is a doctoral student at U of Minn, and these are mostly fellow students or other transplants. Some are US born, but there will be a lot of Greek spoken here tonight. And strangely, my Biblical Greek doesn't help too much!!

Wife is planning on 20 16 inch pizzas - - - - those boys can eat!

 

[TLOC]

OKAY. No problem. Personally, I hate beer.

I have the same issue with beer as I do with wine. I just can’t find the right taste for me. A New Glarus Spotted Cow is fine but I will drink 1/2 of it at most and Terry will finish it. I am not much of a drinker but you can’t always get a diet Dr Pepper

TomO

 

[GarryCBQ]

Howdy .....

Guy ..... I 'm glad you are back with us. CN 3934 has better looking paint scheme than the regular CN locomotive paint scheme.

Moermusic ..... Nice find of CREX 1402.

Tom O .... It looks like the pulpwood car will have a nice weathering job.

Joe .... Nice old photo of PRR 4800 . A real classic .... I also like the picture of the E8's with train. I don't know who is Bennett Levin, but I'm guessing he plays trains in a very big way !

Ken ... Best wishes with scheduling the interview.

....

Regarding Covid, the vaccines, masks, CDC, NIH, etc. On and on. ....... Enough said! ..... I'm tired of hearing all of it. ... I do what my doctor advises. It is my business. It is not your business. I don't want to hear if you are vaccinated or not, etc. because that is your business. I don't want to hear people judging others about their status with the vaccine. ..... Okay ?

 

[troyphoto]

I have the same issue with beer as I do with wine. I just can’t find the right taste for me. A New Glarus Spotted Cow is fine but I will drink 1/2 of it at most and Terry will finish it. I am not much of a drinker but you can’t always get a diet Dr Pepper

TomO

If one has a diet Dr. Pepper, does one need any other beverage?

 

[Boris]

I don't know who is Bennett Levin, but I'm guessing he plays trains in a very big way !

Garry: Bennett Levin, is an Engineer, who operates Juniata Terminal, which is based in the old Fair Hill Freight Station, in Philadelphia. His company is a contract repair shop for railroad equipment, including restorations for museums. Juniata owns two ex PRR E8s that were power for the Conrail Office Car train, and three private cars. PRR #120, the Pennsylvania, (Which was used in RFK's Funeral Train). The Warrior Ridge, which was a SP Tavern Lounge built for the Sunset Limited, and a 10-6 Sleeper Juniata Rapids, which I believe was also a SP Sunset car. He is also a principal, along with Wick Moorman, ex CEO of the NS, and Amtrak, of the group financing the restoration of PRR 1361, the PRR K4 in the Altoona Museum. He was also the head of Philadelphia's Department of License and Inspection. His son Eric is CMO of Conrail (Shared Assets). I have found him and his wife to be charming people.

 

[TLOC]

If one has a diet Dr. Pepper, does one need any other beverage?

Troy

Not for me, if Dr Diet Pepper was all that was left in the world I would be happy

TomO

 

[Jaz avalley]

OKAY. No problem. Personally, I hate beer.

I do not do beer either the yeasty smell makes my tummy heave,I drink the odd wine but love the sugary cocktail shelf, amaretto -marzipan, Pernod - anise, Cointreau - orange, drambuie - herby, etc etc and I lie a nice brandy but rarely pay out higher than a 3star but like a nice remy martin, not into vodkas or gins and I like a good Singapore sling orange bitters splash of pineapple juice or a slice topped with decent lemonade cherry brandy Cointreau benedictine gin slices of fruit and a comfy chair
i drink Sancerre when the price is right, and drink Hungarian raisin wine Tokaji preferably the sweet ones with a nice dessert ad preferably five years old, I have a couple last century bottles left from a holiday when we loaded up for special occasions, should really see one off.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Troy

Not for me, if Dr Diet Pepper was all that was left in the world I would be happy

TomO

And diet Dr Pepper works to

 

[LesterL]

I have not had alcohol of any kind since April 4, 1980 no have I smoked since that date. I don't the time to post why right now but will at a later date

 

[OBTC 1909]

Ken - Are you able to consider taking time off for an interview?

I probably could, but turns out I don't have to. I contacted them and they said they would be setting up more days and times to interview in the next couple days. I should be able to find a suitable time

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all!

Good news on the situation with my job interview. You can see that in my post just above this one. Thanks to all you liked and or commented yesterday.

Currently 45 degrees on the way up to 63. Supposed to have beautiful weather the next few days with temps in the low to mid 60's. My kind of weather. I've always loved Spring and Fall, but really don't like Winter at all.

There are people at work wanting me to apply for the supervisor position over my department now that my awesome supervisor is moving to a different department. The pay raise part of it is tempting, but I'm not sure it's worth the added work and stress. Giving it some thought, but probably won't apply.

I have tomorrow off and lots to do. I need a long vacation where I have absolutely nothing I need to do just so I can get some rest. I'm really wanting some time to go through all my HO stuff and see what I can make of it. Just need more time and space.

Time for breakfast and then off to work. Hope you all have a great day!
Ken

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and a somewhat chilly 48° in the neighborhood. At least the wind has died back to just 5 mph from the NW. Should be dry enough today to get a head start on mowing somewhere!
Continued thanks to all for the well wishes for my wife's surgery recovery. As Tom O pointed out, it was a surgery to prepare for another surgery, which could be anytime from mid-November til Christmas!

How about a pair of large sausage, egg and cheese breakfast burritos this morning Flo. Spicy salsa and OJ to wash it all down with. No hash-browns on mine today.

Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding the update photos from yesterday; Patrick, Christian, Troy, Steve J, Guy, James, Tom O, Sherrel, Joe, Chad, Garry, Hughie, Rick, Gary S, Jaz, Ken.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I mostly tied up loose ends on the Ramone's build. I started cutting and installing the glass into the window frames, a slow process for me. I painted and added the freight doors to the structure, a quick and easy task. I painted the tops of the walls and the top interior of the walls with Polly Scale Aged Concrete. And I patched and repainted the seams where the walls were joined.

Since I didn't have time for all of the windows yesterday, I'll pick that up today. Still painting crates, almost completed that. The fire escapes are in the paint booth drying, but it's still a bit too early to add them yet. There will be a lot of handling when installing the windows and adding the signs, and they (fire escapes) are a bit too fragile. I will also begin to look at the roof, none of the roof details have even come out of their packages yet.

Joe - I don't normally use Walther's Goo for structures, but I have used it for larger Hydrocal kits before. I normally use Elmer's white glue on Hydrocal, but in this case I was using styrene support pieces and Goo works better for dissimilar materials. Super glue doesn't work well because it is absorbed by the porous Hydrocal and requires 3-4 applications before it works, even the thick stuff. I had read David Leonhardt's column yesterday, just prior to seeing your post. He does make sense.

Everybody have a great Saturday and an awesome weekend. Stay safe.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!
Just dropping in to say thankyou to those who made a mention regarding yesterday's post.
I'll be heading out the door soon, to go meet up with my hunting partner. When we get into the forest, we will separate. He don't know that I'm just out there for peace and enjoyment, and I intend to let any game I might meet up with go free. He also dosen't know that my main weapon will be the camera, and the rifle is just added weight. - But, because he's not a woodsman, not even close, I go with him so he don't get himself lost.

It's a warm one today: 32F with a touch of rain. A good day to be in the forest.

The thing I'm hating worst about this whole covid adventure, is the way people are reacting. It's created a noticeable division in the way people are reacting, kinda like the north and the south; and I really can't tell what is bullshit and what is truth anymore.
What I do know, is that I'm sick and tired of people leaving their potentially dangerous crap laying around on the trails. I have to pack a pair of latex gloves and a zip-lock in order to pick this stuff up of the trails:

This, I suppose, is the new normal in what garbage people leave behind in the forest.

On a happier note, here's a couple of photos of the local CN yard taken the day before yesterday.

I need to retake that top area photo when I get a chance. My camera gives me some issue's, and I couldn't get the auto focus to work so well. A string of six photos from that higher vantage point, and they are all slightly blurry. I believe the cool affects the auto focus, and there is no manual focus; unfortunately.

Anyway, I got to run. Again, thanks for the comments and likes on my posts. And thanks to moremusic for researching that CREX engine for me.

Have a good one!