Bruette
Well-Known Member
That would be meBut what about the sickos that like both steam and diesel..
Running Bear's September 2022 Coffee Shop
- Thread starter bnsf971
- Start date
- Status
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
And meThat would be me
And we are not sickos,
We are discerning people who appreciate the aesthetic beauty and diverse power of the locomotive.
Last edited:
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
Well, howdy there internet peeps, and those not at conferences
It's Troy again...
Not much to report. Lots of author conferencing going on. I'm either eating too much, or too little to make up for it.
The downside is nothing opens early for coffee inside the resort. It's about a mile down to Dunkin, or half-mile to IHOP. I made the the trek down to the grocery twice this week to get breakfast staples, sodas, and water bottles. Came back drenched in sweat thanks to the Florida humidity. So walking for coffee with plantar fascitis is doable, but not something I want on a daily basis.
But, I have a microwave, bottled water, and coffee cup. Starbucks instant is my go to this week for first cuppa.
Thankfully, I'm sleeping in later than I normally do. It's 6:20 as I type. Once I finish the post, I'll have time to shower, then head down for brewed coffee from the cafe.
Brain is overloading with both business of and craft of selling wording to the massess. And we still have two more days of this.
Oh, and in a major win, a couple of author professional groups banded together and got Amazon to revise a refund policy on ebooks. Seems a person of the TiKToky persuasion went viral teaching people to treat the amazon store as a giant ebook lending library. Purchase a book for $X.00 read it, then submit as a return. Amazon refunds full fee.
But, Zon charges the author an "electronic" delivery fee as well as a 30% commission. We lose both the commission, the sale, and the delivery fee. We were paying these shysters a few pennies to read our books. Some of the romance authors who were targeted by the tiktokers and those who follow them were losing up to hundreds per week in those little fees. Not the lost income. They were owing Amazon money at the end of the month. Not good.
BUT Amazon listened. By Jan 1 they say they will roll out a revised system where if you read more than 10% of an ebook, then return it, you'll have to be reviewed by a human - not the current carefree bots. Once or twice is ok... read through a twenty-book series and returning each one is going to be a problem.
OK, coffee is drank, shower needs to be showered. Here is a pic of me enjoying my first drink on site: Mermaid Water at the mermaid bar.
It's Troy again...
Not much to report. Lots of author conferencing going on. I'm either eating too much, or too little to make up for it.
The downside is nothing opens early for coffee inside the resort. It's about a mile down to Dunkin, or half-mile to IHOP. I made the the trek down to the grocery twice this week to get breakfast staples, sodas, and water bottles. Came back drenched in sweat thanks to the Florida humidity. So walking for coffee with plantar fascitis is doable, but not something I want on a daily basis.
But, I have a microwave, bottled water, and coffee cup. Starbucks instant is my go to this week for first cuppa.
Thankfully, I'm sleeping in later than I normally do. It's 6:20 as I type. Once I finish the post, I'll have time to shower, then head down for brewed coffee from the cafe.
Brain is overloading with both business of and craft of selling wording to the massess. And we still have two more days of this.
Oh, and in a major win, a couple of author professional groups banded together and got Amazon to revise a refund policy on ebooks. Seems a person of the TiKToky persuasion went viral teaching people to treat the amazon store as a giant ebook lending library. Purchase a book for $X.00 read it, then submit as a return. Amazon refunds full fee.
But, Zon charges the author an "electronic" delivery fee as well as a 30% commission. We lose both the commission, the sale, and the delivery fee. We were paying these shysters a few pennies to read our books. Some of the romance authors who were targeted by the tiktokers and those who follow them were losing up to hundreds per week in those little fees. Not the lost income. They were owing Amazon money at the end of the month. Not good.
BUT Amazon listened. By Jan 1 they say they will roll out a revised system where if you read more than 10% of an ebook, then return it, you'll have to be reviewed by a human - not the current carefree bots. Once or twice is ok... read through a twenty-book series and returning each one is going to be a problem.
OK, coffee is drank, shower needs to be showered. Here is a pic of me enjoying my first drink on site: Mermaid Water at the mermaid bar.
BigGRacing
Aka. Gary Russell
Beautiful truck and set up for sure! Savage Garden was great listening years ago on one of my long deployments.
Jaz avalley
Station cat
I think horses for courses, people make their own choices and the reality is even if everyone wanted to buy an EV now they are not enough, and the petrol diesel companies have been hit in the face with the greenhouse kit and they need a transition forward,so whatever you buy you are in fact paying for a brighter future - I hope. plus some of those late starters are probably hoping others will stumble on the way and they may be late to the game but will take advantage of the changes,if the petrol diesel guys even tried changing everything overnight it would be impossible.And me
And we are not sickos,
We are discerning people who appreciate the aesthetic beauty and diverse power of the locomotive.
Jaz avalley
Station cat
As for sustainability I have been afk because I have been planning pricing researching 4 woodburner stoves.
1. Costing.
2. Moving furniture to fit said stoves and the heat distance allowances
3. Researching which kit we want to buy and the choices were vast.
4. Deciding which rooms, reopening a closed chimney,was one chimney too low,
5. width in m x length in m x height in m = ? Div ? By 14 for the basic kwp, round up to next full number, add 1 for each big window or French pair of doors, add 1 for the room, go up for low insulation go down for high insulation,.
laws and figures all depend when your room was built,and the insulation and the proximity of another burner,how you plan to move excess.
Then which stoves are reliable, she we go a nice foreign mercedes or go for a reliable Ford, home country built, support your country (we did on three) how big an oven,or go hobs, or kettle on top, decor, do the tiling oneself? Let them do the difficult bits, hand over the half the price deposit…how much? Faints, bite your nails hoping they do not go bust before they fit them…..and go see the items, but internet, shop, cheapest quote never responds to your questions - dropped him not comfortable with someone who had so much business that he thinks he can ignore your queries, make sure it’s an authorised dealer so you get the full warranty….plus other items I have not even mentioned, and everyone says their product is the best, top 10s totally prejudiced, it’s like mining for gold in the dark,in a cave hung from a wet stalagmite or is it mite I get them confused, with your head light batteries running out, and feeling dizzy
from the stress…..
Yesternary I paid four deposits……gulps…..now rearranging furniture safe guarding nicknaks, stopping gung-ho hubby from breaking anything - actually he’s a doll but I can’t bear
lol to watch him pull rugs with furniture with ornaments….no no leave the room, fingers in ears…..oh yelps what was that ding noise…….
1. Costing.
2. Moving furniture to fit said stoves and the heat distance allowances
3. Researching which kit we want to buy and the choices were vast.
4. Deciding which rooms, reopening a closed chimney,was one chimney too low,
5. width in m x length in m x height in m = ? Div ? By 14 for the basic kwp, round up to next full number, add 1 for each big window or French pair of doors, add 1 for the room, go up for low insulation go down for high insulation,.
laws and figures all depend when your room was built,and the insulation and the proximity of another burner,how you plan to move excess.
Then which stoves are reliable, she we go a nice foreign mercedes or go for a reliable Ford, home country built, support your country (we did on three) how big an oven,or go hobs, or kettle on top, decor, do the tiling oneself? Let them do the difficult bits, hand over the half the price deposit…how much? Faints, bite your nails hoping they do not go bust before they fit them…..and go see the items, but internet, shop, cheapest quote never responds to your questions - dropped him not comfortable with someone who had so much business that he thinks he can ignore your queries, make sure it’s an authorised dealer so you get the full warranty….plus other items I have not even mentioned, and everyone says their product is the best, top 10s totally prejudiced, it’s like mining for gold in the dark,in a cave hung from a wet stalagmite or is it mite I get them confused, with your head light batteries running out, and feeling dizzy
from the stress…..Yesternary I paid four deposits……gulps…..now rearranging furniture safe guarding nicknaks, stopping gung-ho hubby from breaking anything - actually he’s a doll but I can’t bear
lol to watch him pull rugs with furniture with ornaments….no no leave the room, fingers in ears…..oh yelps what was that ding noise…….
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Gary - I read that Hurricane Fiona is headed your way. Batten down and I hope there is no serious damage.
D&J RailRoad
Professor of HO
Wood stoves fight themselves for efficiency. Most of them draw air from inside the house to feed the fire then right up the chimney. If you can draw the air from outside, you would see a major decrease in the amount of wood you would need to heat the house.
I had a wood stove in my previous house. It drew air from the house for the fire. I cut a hole in the back of the stove then linked it to a vent hole in the back of my fireplace. The amount of heat that stove provided was amazing. I installed a return air duct in the ceiling of that room and linked it to the house furnace system and from there was able to move that woodstove heat throughout the entire house. The electric bill dropped significantly as the heat pump was seldom used.
I had a wood stove in my previous house. It drew air from the house for the fire. I cut a hole in the back of the stove then linked it to a vent hole in the back of my fireplace. The amount of heat that stove provided was amazing. I installed a return air duct in the ceiling of that room and linked it to the house furnace system and from there was able to move that woodstove heat throughout the entire house. The electric bill dropped significantly as the heat pump was seldom used.
Patrick
Alien Attitude.
Morning all,
At the office. I can sit here as well as sitting at home. I am doing better this morning.
Currently 58° and cloudy in Doo-Dah this morning. Supposed to get to 80° later. At least it's a half day...
Gotta try to mow later, so the front will get the rider as I didn't mow last week due to not being able to move. Wife still home with her copy of Covid. She talked with the youngest daughter last night, who's upset I went to work...Still coughing and hacking some. I do have a real office with a door and walls, so not really spreading as much as one would think. Besides I got it from someone here anyway...We don't go anywhere.
Gary: Stay safe.
At the office. I can sit here as well as sitting at home. I am doing better this morning.
Currently 58° and cloudy in Doo-Dah this morning. Supposed to get to 80° later. At least it's a half day...
Gotta try to mow later, so the front will get the rider as I didn't mow last week due to not being able to move. Wife still home with her copy of Covid. She talked with the youngest daughter last night, who's upset I went to work...Still coughing and hacking some. I do have a real office with a door and walls, so not really spreading as much as one would think. Besides I got it from someone here anyway...We don't go anywhere.
Gary: Stay safe.
logandsawman
Well-Known Member
Good morning all from East Central MN
Patrick - good to hear you are doing better!
James - I love the new tractor, didn't notice that was a purchase you made!
Dave PV - Yours is fine but does it come in green and yellow?
Jazz - Ken - I have burned wood all my life, or at least 55 years of it 'cept a few years we lived in an apartment, and the secret to a good fire is DRY WOOD. Nice, solid, dry wood will put out tons of heat. Well, it is good to have a fairly tight stove as well. A really good stove will be air tight when the door is shut and the air that fuels the stove will come down the chimney. Ken does have a good point in that if you need more air, it is best to get it from outside the house. We get all our wood from our own land so pretty efficient, I believe, also it is hauled in a wheelbarrow which provides excellent strength and aerobic workout.
THANKS to all who watched my video, yes Boris that is an old Varney. I have two, however haven't worked over the other one yet.
Had this beautiful view greet me when I arrived to work this morning:
Here is a train photo, too, my SW-1 at the Feed Mill
back later, Dave LASM
Patrick - good to hear you are doing better!
James - I love the new tractor, didn't notice that was a purchase you made!
Dave PV - Yours is fine but does it come in green and yellow?
Jazz - Ken - I have burned wood all my life, or at least 55 years of it 'cept a few years we lived in an apartment, and the secret to a good fire is DRY WOOD. Nice, solid, dry wood will put out tons of heat. Well, it is good to have a fairly tight stove as well. A really good stove will be air tight when the door is shut and the air that fuels the stove will come down the chimney. Ken does have a good point in that if you need more air, it is best to get it from outside the house. We get all our wood from our own land so pretty efficient, I believe, also it is hauled in a wheelbarrow which provides excellent strength and aerobic workout.
THANKS to all who watched my video, yes Boris that is an old Varney. I have two, however haven't worked over the other one yet.
Had this beautiful view greet me when I arrived to work this morning:
Here is a train photo, too, my SW-1 at the Feed Mill
back later, Dave LASM
McLeod
Forest Lurker
Good Morning!
The wife wants me to turn on the furnace at night. I'm resisting.
Yesterday morning was 37F, and this morning it's 49F. So, it's still too warm for the furnace, and it seems to be warming up. It's just as easy to slip on a sweater as it is to burn natural gas. - Come October, though, I'll have a choice of either turning on the furnace or losing the wife.
Pretty sure I'll pick the wife
.
Curt - Thank you, for the high compliment.
Willie - Have a safe and wonderful holiday, where-ever the road takes you.
Gary - I've also heard that Fiona is headed your way. Better batten down the hatches; I've heard 200mm of rain and gale force winds.
I've completed the 30" curve road crossing, for now. It's very secure with glue and nails, and trains run over it just fine.
At the risk of being repetitive and boring, here are a couple of photos:
As soon as I figure out how I'm going to build the road ramps up to the crossing, I'll cut the cork away. Might try insulating foam to build the ramps. I'll be playing with ramps today.
Now, I know where the road is going, though.
Well, that's all I can think of for today. I'll just sit around for one more coffee, and then I'll get to it.
Have a great day!
The wife wants me to turn on the furnace at night. I'm resisting.
Yesterday morning was 37F, and this morning it's 49F. So, it's still too warm for the furnace, and it seems to be warming up. It's just as easy to slip on a sweater as it is to burn natural gas. - Come October, though, I'll have a choice of either turning on the furnace or losing the wife.
Pretty sure I'll pick the wife
.Curt - Thank you, for the high compliment.
Willie - Have a safe and wonderful holiday, where-ever the road takes you.
Gary - I've also heard that Fiona is headed your way. Better batten down the hatches; I've heard 200mm of rain and gale force winds.
I've completed the 30" curve road crossing, for now. It's very secure with glue and nails, and trains run over it just fine.
At the risk of being repetitive and boring, here are a couple of photos:
As soon as I figure out how I'm going to build the road ramps up to the crossing, I'll cut the cork away. Might try insulating foam to build the ramps. I'll be playing with ramps today.
Now, I know where the road is going, though.
Well, that's all I can think of for today. I'll just sit around for one more coffee, and then I'll get to it.
Have a great day!
Smudge617
Well-Known Member
I need to try your method, but it'll be hit and miss as I've used flexitrack so don't have a conventional curve. A paper template would be a starting point tho'Good Morning!
The wife wants me to turn on the furnace at night. I'm resisting.
Yesterday morning was 37F, and this morning it's 49F. So, it's still too warm for the furnace, and it seems to be warming up. It's just as easy to slip on a sweater as it is to burn natural gas. - Come October, though, I'll have a choice of either turning on the furnace or losing the wife.
Pretty sure I'll pick the wife
Curt - Thank you, for the high compliment.
Willie - Have a safe and wonderful holiday, where-ever the road takes you.
Gary - I've also heard that Fiona is headed your way. Better batten down the hatches; I've heard 200mm of rain and gale force winds.
I've completed the 30" curve road crossing, for now. It's very secure with glue and nails, and trains run over it just fine.
At the risk of being repetitive and boring, here are a couple of photos:
View attachment 152149
View attachment 152150
As soon as I figure out how I'm going to build the road ramps up to the crossing, I'll cut the cork away. Might try insulating foam to build the ramps. I'll be playing with ramps today.
Now, I know where the road is going, though.
Well, that's all I can think of for today. I'll just sit around for one more coffee, and then I'll get to it.
Have a great day!
Jaz avalley
Station cat
We did not have to be vented and I wasn’t planning to, but your point raises some interesting facts, plus the stoves we chose CAN be vented and I can add it in, so thank you very much for the advice I’ll check it out, luckily the big boy is next to a cupboard next to an outside wall and a vent is dead easy, I just need a mouse guard! venting the others will be more problematic, but I think you make a point worth investigating.
So thank you for the advice
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. Sun is peeking over the horizon (6:54 here), clear and a cooler 65°. Wasn't expecting such a cool morning after 98° for a high yesterday. Still expecting that for the next three days before more fall-like weather Monday.
The pool supply stores have disappointed me. Despite ordering a new cover over three weeks ago back in August, they are now saying mid-October for delivery. Not good. I will make repairs to the old one and put it on, then just put the new one over it when it finally arrives. There is a rip about the size of a dessert plate, and a smaller hole in the old one that I know of. Duct tape here we come. Otherwise the trek to town went well. I got a haircut, we got a few groceries, and went through the car wash for the full wash, vacuum and polish job. After arriving home, a bird crapped on the hood. I loaded up on windshield washer juice and equalized all of the tire air pressure. I'll gas up tomorrow morning in Denton on our way. I should make Alexandria LA before gassing up again. Lunch in Lafayette LA, then east to Gulfport MS for the overnight and model RR museum. Of course three or four additional restroom stops along the way. We have our favorites along the route, especially for the fried pies near Tyler TX. Wife is still looking up eateries in Lafayette; we have two favorites there, but are always looking at new places. Most of them there are Cajun places.
Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the happenings on the layout; Guy, Tom O, Patrick, George, Hughie, Louis, Chad, Troy, James, Joe, Dave B, Curt, Mikey, Tom.
Yesterday out in the train shed, was my second to last chance to run trains before the out of town trip, so I did. But in addition, I perused the extensive list of small projects to just fix stuff. One was to replace a broken rear-view mirror on an ice truck.
I have a whole drawer full of various styles to use, so this was easy after I cut off and drilled out the glued in stem.
It got dusted off as well.
Then I turned to a structure that I made recently from DPM wall sections that is rail served, but I never named.
What better industry than a roofing materials distributor.
A full shot.
Guy -
Tom O - Regarding the car wash - Somewhat futile in our case. When we leave Saturday morning, there will be a dew on the car, and the first 250' of the journey is a somewhat dusty road! Then there was the bird yesterday! But I cleaned that off when I topped off the washer juice.
The easement for the wind farm was verbally agreed to, but the original landowner passed away before the legal documents were signed. His heirs were greedy and held up the process in hopes of more money. They lost because the wind farm just moved the "energy exit" over and bypassed the greedy folks, but the re-negotiations caused the delay.
Louis -
Dave B -
Curt - I didn't realize that the dwarf signal was a full-sized one. Pretty neat!
Ken (D&J) - My experience with wood burning stoves is somewhat different. Granted, in my area it doesn't get bitterly cold for extended periods of time (except 2021), but I have been heating with wood for 41 years with air from inside the house. With my controlled draft, less heat goes out the chimney, and the exposed 5' of stovepipe inside also radiates a lot of heat. Most of the time, natural air flow distributes the heat down the hall Through a wall vent to the bedrooms which are cooler anyway by choice. If necessary, I have a small "room to room" fan mounted in the wall above the heater that can blow hot air down that same hallway. I keep the stove itself at 300° to completely burn the wood and avoid creosote buildup in the chimney, but it can actually put out an amazing amount of heat if needed. One full load of wood will last 14+ hours if needed, but we rarely completely load it. The heat will last another 6 or so hours and the embers will last over 24 hours so re-kindling is generally pretty easy. I could readily add an outside air intake, but it hasn't been necessary.
Another factor that I consider advantageous is that my wife can not only add wood safely, but she can also cold-start a fire if I am not around. Our kids learned how to operate it as well, but never learned how to start a fire. Since I retired though, I do bring in most of the wood for her. It was a regular chore for the kids when they were growing up. One reason that all three now live in the city with fully automated homes!
Every one have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend. I'll be taking my wife's laptop with me on vacation, but I don't know how often I will be able to post. Several model railroad museums are on the itinerary, so I might figure out how to post pictures; and since we're going to a beach town, I might get some eye candy shots.
The pool supply stores have disappointed me. Despite ordering a new cover over three weeks ago back in August, they are now saying mid-October for delivery. Not good. I will make repairs to the old one and put it on, then just put the new one over it when it finally arrives. There is a rip about the size of a dessert plate, and a smaller hole in the old one that I know of. Duct tape here we come. Otherwise the trek to town went well. I got a haircut, we got a few groceries, and went through the car wash for the full wash, vacuum and polish job. After arriving home, a bird crapped on the hood. I loaded up on windshield washer juice and equalized all of the tire air pressure. I'll gas up tomorrow morning in Denton on our way. I should make Alexandria LA before gassing up again. Lunch in Lafayette LA, then east to Gulfport MS for the overnight and model RR museum. Of course three or four additional restroom stops along the way. We have our favorites along the route, especially for the fried pies near Tyler TX. Wife is still looking up eateries in Lafayette; we have two favorites there, but are always looking at new places. Most of them there are Cajun places.
Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the happenings on the layout; Guy, Tom O, Patrick, George, Hughie, Louis, Chad, Troy, James, Joe, Dave B, Curt, Mikey, Tom.
Yesterday out in the train shed, was my second to last chance to run trains before the out of town trip, so I did. But in addition, I perused the extensive list of small projects to just fix stuff. One was to replace a broken rear-view mirror on an ice truck.
I have a whole drawer full of various styles to use, so this was easy after I cut off and drilled out the glued in stem.
It got dusted off as well.
Then I turned to a structure that I made recently from DPM wall sections that is rail served, but I never named.
What better industry than a roofing materials distributor.
A full shot.
Guy -
37° is a bit chilly for shorts, even for me. 45° is all right. I haven't unpacked my jeans yet this season, maybe two more months.
Tom O - Regarding the car wash - Somewhat futile in our case. When we leave Saturday morning, there will be a dew on the car, and the first 250' of the journey is a somewhat dusty road! Then there was the bird yesterday!
But I cleaned that off when I topped off the washer juice.The easement for the wind farm was verbally agreed to, but the original landowner passed away before the legal documents were signed. His heirs were greedy and held up the process in hopes of more money. They lost because the wind farm just moved the "energy exit" over and bypassed the greedy folks, but the re-negotiations caused the delay.
Louis -
Then most likely he was using it to power a compressor of generator. If used as a refrigerant, it is similar to Freon and is in a closed system.
Dave B -
Yea! But there are some other fine folks from Arkansas like Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Doulas McArthur and a whole slew of Walton's
Curt - I didn't realize that the dwarf signal was a full-sized one. Pretty neat!
Ken (D&J) - My experience with wood burning stoves is somewhat different. Granted, in my area it doesn't get bitterly cold for extended periods of time (except 2021), but I have been heating with wood for 41 years with air from inside the house. With my controlled draft, less heat goes out the chimney, and the exposed 5' of stovepipe inside also radiates a lot of heat. Most of the time, natural air flow distributes the heat down the hall Through a wall vent to the bedrooms which are cooler anyway by choice. If necessary, I have a small "room to room" fan mounted in the wall above the heater that can blow hot air down that same hallway. I keep the stove itself at 300° to completely burn the wood and avoid creosote buildup in the chimney, but it can actually put out an amazing amount of heat if needed. One full load of wood will last 14+ hours if needed, but we rarely completely load it. The heat will last another 6 or so hours and the embers will last over 24 hours so re-kindling is generally pretty easy. I could readily add an outside air intake, but it hasn't been necessary.
Another factor that I consider advantageous is that my wife can not only add wood safely, but she can also cold-start a fire if I am not around. Our kids learned how to operate it as well, but never learned how to start a fire. Since I retired though, I do bring in most of the wood for her. It was a regular chore for the kids when they were growing up. One reason that all three now live in the city with fully automated homes!
Every one have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend. I'll be taking my wife's laptop with me on vacation, but I don't know how often I will be able to post. Several model railroad museums are on the itinerary, so I might figure out how to post pictures; and since we're going to a beach town, I might get some eye candy shots.
chadbag
Well-Known Member
The wife wants me to turn on the furnace at night. I'm resisting.
Yesterday morning was 37F, and this morning it's 49F. So, it's still too warm for the furnace, and it seems to be warming up. It's just as easy to slip on a sweater as it is to burn natural gas. - Come October, though, I'll have a choice of either turning on the furnace or losing the wife.
Pretty sure I'll pick the wife
Yeah, I have a rule that we don't turn the furnace on until Nov 1. Now, I am not in the Great White North, so it is not getting as cold nor as early in the year as for Guy. But we just bundle up if we get a cold spell and use the thermal heat from the windows facing south to heat the house up during the day.
I'll relent if we get a particularly brutal cold spell early that drives the house temps down into the 50s at night... During the winter I set the night temperature to 60F and the day to 68F. Used to be 66F but I relented a little last year.
New house is supposed to solve all these issues.
logandsawman
Well-Known Member
Willie - those mirrors can be a real bugger (falling off). I had a small package with them, but now that I am modelling an older era, I am not worried about themGood Morning All. Sun is peeking over the horizon (6:54 here), clear and a cooler 65°. Wasn't expecting such a cool morning after 98° for a high yesterday. Still expecting that for the next three days before more fall-like weather Monday.
The pool supply stores have disappointed me. Despite ordering a new cover over three weeks ago back in August, they are now saying mid-October for delivery. Not good. I will make repairs to the old one and put it on, then just put the new one over it when it finally arrives. There is a rip about the size of a dessert plate, and a smaller hole in the old one that I know of. Duct tape here we come. Otherwise the trek to town went well. I got a haircut, we got a few groceries, and went through the car wash for the full wash, vacuum and polish job. After arriving home, a bird crapped on the hood. I loaded up on windshield washer juice and equalized all of the tire air pressure. I'll gas up tomorrow morning in Denton on our way. I should make Alexandria LA before gassing up again. Lunch in Lafayette LA, then east to Gulfport MS for the overnight and model RR museum. Of course three or four additional restroom stops along the way. We have our favorites along the route, especially for the fried pies near Tyler TX. Wife is still looking up eateries in Lafayette; we have two favorites there, but are always looking at new places. Most of them there are Cajun places.
Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the happenings on the layout; Guy, Tom O, Patrick, George, Hughie, Louis, Chad, Troy, James, Joe, Dave B, Curt, Mikey, Tom.
Yesterday out in the train shed, was my second to last chance to run trains before the out of town trip, so I did. But in addition, I perused the extensive list of small projects to just fix stuff. One was to replace a broken rear-view mirror on an ice truck.
View attachment 152151
I have a whole drawer full of various styles to use, so this was easy after I cut off and drilled out the glued in stem.
View attachment 152152
It got dusted off as well.
Then I turned to a structure that I made recently from DPM wall sections that is rail served, but I never named.
View attachment 152153
What better industry than a roofing materials distributor.
View attachment 152154
A full shot.
View attachment 152155View attachment 152156
Guy -
37° is a bit chilly for shorts, even for me. 45° is all right. I haven't unpacked my jeans yet this season, maybe two more months.
Tom O - Regarding the car wash - Somewhat futile in our case. When we leave Saturday morning, there will be a dew on the car, and the first 250' of the journey is a somewhat dusty road! Then there was the bird yesterday!
The easement for the wind farm was verbally agreed to, but the original landowner passed away before the legal documents were signed. His heirs were greedy and held up the process in hopes of more money. They lost because the wind farm just moved the "energy exit" over and bypassed the greedy folks, but the re-negotiations caused the delay.
Louis -
Then most likely he was using it to power a compressor of generator. If used as a refrigerant, it is similar to Freon and is in a closed system.
Dave B -
Yea! But there are some other fine folks from Arkansas like Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Doulas McArthur and a whole slew of Walton's
Curt - I didn't realize that the dwarf signal was a full-sized one. Pretty neat!
Ken (D&J) - My experience with wood burning stoves is somewhat different. Granted, in my area it doesn't get bitterly cold for extended periods of time (except 2021), but I have been heating with wood for 41 years with air from inside the house. With my controlled draft, less heat goes out the chimney, and the exposed 5' of stovepipe inside also radiates a lot of heat. Most of the time, natural air flow distributes the heat down the hall Through a wall vent to the bedrooms which are cooler anyway by choice. If necessary, I have a small "room to room" fan mounted in the wall above the heater that can blow hot air down that same hallway. I keep the stove itself at 300° to completely burn the wood and avoid creosote buildup in the chimney, but it can actually put out an amazing amount of heat if needed. One full load of wood will last 14+ hours if needed, but we rarely completely load it. The heat will last another 6 or so hours and the embers will last over 24 hours so re-kindling is generally pretty easy. I could readily add an outside air intake, but it hasn't been necessary.
Another factor that I consider advantageous is that my wife can not only add wood safely, but she can also cold-start a fire if I am not around. Our kids learned how to operate it as well, but never learned how to start a fire. Since I retired though, I do bring in most of the wood for her. It was a regular chore for the kids when they were growing up. One reason that all three now live in the city with fully automated homes!
Every one have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend. I'll be taking my wife's laptop with me on vacation, but I don't know how often I will be able to post. Several model railroad museums are on the itinerary, so I might figure out how to post pictures; and since we're going to a beach town, I might get some eye candy shots.
WE visited the famous museum in Bentonville, the one that the Waltons built and manage. It is beautiful, interesting, and free to the public. It was well worth the stop. We did leave some money there since had a Latte and Danish at the coffee shop, also stayed at a hotel there and ate at a wonderful BBQ restaurant.
Alcomotive
Grandson of an ALCO Builder
Interesting topic on "heat". Me being a single and no significant other at the moment....I keep my house through the winter months at minimum of 55 degrees. This is a comfortable temperature for me and is efficient on my energy oil bill. Although when temperatures outside get to the teens or single digits here in the Adirondacks I do burn wood. My wood burner insert puts out 45,000 BTUs and it does well heating the house up it is located downstairs in my family room but I turned it into a theater room
(105 inch TV). I have a blower system on it that runs through and around the insert and back out. I will run that when I am home otherwise the house as a whole is set at 55 degrees that is maintained by the oil fed furnace/base board heat. I sleep better when its cold. I am a polar bear and I hate the heat. I thought when I got older I would get used to heat but nope! When I run the wood burner I can regulate it pretty well and bring temperatures up to 74 but man that is too much for me to be comfortable. lol I will do it when I have company over. My home is a raised ranch style house 2600 sqft. Some people think of it as a split level I guess but really it isn't as there are no coffers etc. I do have vaulted ceilings on the top floor that's 24 feet at the peak. Downstairs it's 8 foot ceilings all throughout.- Status
