Ye OLE Coffee SHOPEE XXVI


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Good morning folks.

It's sunny and in the low forties!:D It's about time we get some above average temps around here. Nothing better than melting snow in February.

I have the day off with not much on the agenda. I planted a few trees and filled in some areas with Silflor and ground foam bushes this morning. After my Nephew's second birthday party for lunch I have the rest of the day to myself.

After seeing the pictures of my concrete roads I decided that I need some serious weathering. The roads are styrene painted with Rustoleum, textured, tan paint. I thought using chalks would be enough but it seems that I could use a wash of either diluted black paint or India ink. The ink scares me because it's irreversible. I suppose if I dilute it enough I could just use really faint layers. I think I'll give it a shot when I get home this afternoon.

I suppose I better get ready for the 'party'.

Have a great day everyone.
 
Okay, this is a rant, so tune out now if you don't want to read/hear it...

A little while ago (less than an hour), I went over to our local model railroad club (of which I am a member). I took along my Spectrum class J with sound and DCC, as well as my brand-new Broadway Y6b, and a handful of old Rivarossi N&W passenger cars. I put the J on the track, along with the 6 cars, and immediately the cars began uncoupling and falling off the track. Several of us were watching the train trying vainly to make it around a single circuit of our club layout, and noticed the cars were bobbing up and down and weaving badly, because the tracks are badly misaligned. In one spot, the track was so bad the pilot truck of the J left the rails and derailed. Obviously, the humidity has caused the homasote subroadbed to warp something fierce. However, one of the "old heads" grabbed my Rivarossi passenger cars (they are known for being very light), and told me they wouldn't have problems if they complied with NMRA standards, and take them off the layout. Okay, fine. I then put the brand new Y6b on the layout, and tried to pull a string of cars out of the yard with it. Every time a metal wheel on any car crossed an insulated joint in the rails, the layout would short out, and everything would stop, then start up again. This is the same layout that I can't run my Centipede on, because it's so horribly wired. Well, the same guy told me there was no way the wheels could be causing a short, it must be that cheap (!) engine that has a short. So, I took off the cheap $500 locomotive, and tried pulling and pushing the same string of club-owned cars, and they did the same thing, with no locomotive on the layout. He informed me I must be doing something, as there was no way those cars could cause a short, with their plastic truck sideframes. I don't feel good (I'm still fighting this cold or whatever I got while up North, I wasn't in a good mood anyway, and this guy really cheesed me off. Rather than cause a scene, I picked up my trains and left. Maybe next week, that guy won't be there. In any case, I don't think I'll bring any of my "cheap" trains back there, I'm getting concerned the club's layout will damage them. I have a pair of Athearn RTR diesels that I'll start taking.
Thanks for allowing me to vent.

Update: I just found out the guy is the new HO superintendent, and thinks he's hot stuff because he used to own a train store, before it went out of business. I think I'll wait until someone else gets elected HO superintendent before I try to run any trains there again. I don't need to be insulted like that by an officer of the club. The place we're moving is only a couple of miles from a different club, I may try joining them, or just going "lone wolf", rather than having weekly blood pressure spikes.
 
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Kyle, it's a beautiful thing! My car almost got swallowed by a pot hole near the grocery store, but otherwise it's great. I'm glad some of this stuff is melting now otherwise a few towns are going to get washed away in the spring floods.
 
Update: I just found out the guy is the new HO superintendent, and thinks he's hot stuff because he used to own a train store, before it went out of business. I think I'll wait until someone else gets elected HO superintendent before I try to run any trains there again. I don't need to be insulted like that by an officer of the club. The place we're moving is only a couple of miles from a different club, I may try joining them, or just going "lone wolf", rather than having weekly blood pressure spikes.
I know some people like that. They think they're hot stuff because they did this or know about that when in reality they're no different from me. Try telling them that though. Most of these jerks think that just because I live outside a small town that I haven't been anywhere. Oh if only they knew about my globe-trotting past. I guarantee they haven't been to HALF the places I've been to outside the US, but I don't make a big deal of that. If I did I'd be just like them and I don't like most of them.
 
I know some people like that. They think they're hot stuff because they did this or know about that when in reality they're no different from me. Try telling them that though. Most of these jerks think that just because I live outside a small town that I haven't been anywhere. Oh if only they knew about my globe-trotting past. I guarantee they haven't been to HALF the places I've been to outside the US, but I don't make a big deal of that. If I did I'd be just like them and I don't like most of them.

Luckily, this is one I can "fix", by simply not returning there. While I pretty much like and get along with everybody else there, the fact he's now the Super of the HO world means he and I will butt heads. And from his response to what I said, I can see there will be a lot of "butting", and very little in the way of constructive responses from him.
 
Sounds like the way I got along with my last shop supervisor. He thinks because he had a minor heart attack some years ago he now knows all there is to know about disabilities. He doesn't know jack about degenerative bone conditions and nervous system disorders involving severe nerve damage. It was no surprise therefore that he couldn't understand (and didn't want to understand) why I was wracked with pain while doing easy tasks. I tried telling him it's not the weight involved but the constant movement. He decided that since he didn't need a break I didn't need one either even though I was having difficulty keeping my balance. Well he accused me of faking it so I walked out, handed my time card over to the head man and asked him to call me when they have something I can do that doesn't involve that supervisor. I haven't been back there since and could care less if I never set foot in the place again.
 
Well I broke out the alcohol and India ink. The roads look much better after the wash. The best part is the fact that the roads and sidewalks are a different color now. Of course, since I had leftover solution I gave my grain elevator in Wells and the big grain elevator in Mankato a coat. They were way too shiny and new! For the concrete stuff I spread it on with a brush, let it sit for a second and wiped it off. The painted elevator I just let it flow down the sides. I said once that one of my buildings looked much better after I made it look crappy. My wife said "the crappier the better!":D Good girl!

It's amazing how much modeling I can get done when I'm not reading about modeling. Of course, then I'll hit a road block and need to search for ideas.

I know it's only 45 degrees outside but I have the windows open in the train room. It's so nice to get some fresh air in here. That and if my Wife is actually pregnant then I don't want any fumes.

Bu bye!
 
Thanks Rex and Terry. As much as I hate to lose Dad, it was probably what was best for him. In just over 3 weeks, he went from entering the VA hospital for evaluation for rehab to passing away. The staff thinks he just kind of gave up when the rehab option changed from the VA rehab in T'town to rehab in a nursing home. I think he felt if we went there he would never get out again. The Parkinson's and other health problems had gotten bad enough that they were on the verge of forcing him into at least assisted living and an end to his overseas trips and traveling. He would have been miserable!

Thanks again to the group for listening.

Terry, are you interested in Ops? I have a friend in the Greensboro area that is getting ready to start ops sessions on his layout. He is in HO and I'm sure your engines would run on his layout without a problem.

Glenn
 
Terry, are you interested in Ops? I have a friend in the Greensboro area that is getting ready to start ops sessions on his layout. He is in HO and I'm sure your engines would run on his layout without a problem.

Glenn
That might be interesting.
 
Glen
I too, don't know how I missed that post. :(
Please accept my condolences to you and yours for the loss of your Father.
We'll keep you in our prayers :)
 
Evening All. Hey Glenn,how you doin? I'm sorry about your dad. Please accept my deepest condolences sir. Sorry to have been out of the loop for awhile, but have been a little busy with work. William.
 
02/14/2011

Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.
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:D
 
Good morning. It's 61° and sunny. The high will be 65° and mostly cloudy.

I spent a good part of the day yesterday GLEAMing all my track. I could have gotten away with doing only the new track but I decided to have it all the same so I redid the areas I did in 2006. I had to stop several times to let the fumes from the Blue Magic metal polish dissipate. I had the a/c set on vent so it would ventilate the room but there's only so much it can do. Now that all the rail heads are shining like a bunch of thin mirrors I have to get ready to do the ballasting of the new track. I have half a bottle of WS gray medium ballast on hand and hope to have withing the next couple of weeks. I'm not really concerned about color as I can mix them up if need be. I have some low areas to fill in with plaster first. At least that's something I have plenty of. I have half a box on the kitchen counter, two boxes under the layout and two boxes in the closet. I also have a gallon of wall joint compound I can use. The plaster serves two purposes in that it fills the holes and it anchors the track. The layout also needs a good vacuuming. I vacuumed the track and the area immediately around the track yesterday before starting the GLEAMing operation. To say that I was tired after all that work would be an understatement and I was glad it was done. Once all this trackwork stuff is done I can move on to doing the scenery.
 
Chris
Things I learned:
1. Never think a Job is forever and you will get the chance to retire from it!
2. No matter how great your job is never assume it's the best! There's
Better!
3. Never just rely on One JOB, Have at least one primary and one back up!

Changes I made:
1. KNOW and REMEMBER.. that After being laid off and divorce, Nothing is
written in stone as FOREVER!
2. Never stop Applying to all jobs of interest! Keep looking for better, you
never know whats around the bend.
3. Never rely on ONE income to be enough! A second Job my cut into your
R&R time a little but the second job will yield and added income to get
ahead,More freedom to do things when time is there, and makes it easier
to take on new jobs to help improve your income!

That is so true, i think you get set in a rut sometimes when everything is all hunky dory so you tend to let things slip by without noticing them.

Off to see my uncle tomorrow, the big C's about done him in now, if he see's the weekend i'll be amazed. In 5 years he's had his bladder out, prostrate out, half his large intestine out, his foot and ankle off, then his leg off to the thigh all lost to cancer. Now it' in his lungs, liver, bones, brain, back and stomach, he's been fighting like a trooper for the last 6 months and for a 79 year old thats amazing. I don't know anyone of any age who could take pain like he does and still smile, truly amazing.

Terry I joined a local club but the committee leader was a tool so i left, he wouldn't listen to reason for nothing, and they are still crying out for members funny enough ;) . You always get one who thinks he knows best.
 
Looks like I overdid it today. It's 72 in here, I'm tired and I'm shaking like a leaf. I may be going to bed early tonight. Alli did was put up some weather strip in the back doors of the van, disassemble a blower (nine inch squirrel cage), clean it, lube it and put it back together. Get the layout ready for ballast work to start and I finished the painting on the two Stewart U25B's. Maybe that last did it. Felt fine before making all those trips between inside and outside. Getting up and down the steps is somewhat difficult for me. Oil well (my mother's are shut down right now so the company can import more foreign oil to keep prices up) we'll see how I feel tomorrow. If I still feel bad in the morning I may just stay in bed.
 
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