Coffee Shop XXXV-12/3/2012

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Good Morning!

The current temperature is 36° F in Howell, NJ and it is overcast and dreary with drizzle. For the past 30 hours the temperature has ranged from 36°F and 39°F.

I'm working on an Atlas interlocking tower kit that I bought at least 15 years ago, taking the time to paint components and insert some interior details including perhaps a "Towerman".

I suppose that having time to do things instead of just working/commuting and having a layout to place completed projects on makes a difference.

Have a great day!

Joe
 
Good morning. It's 33° with 100% humidity. Mostly cloudy with a small chance of rain. The high will be 45°.
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Other than a possibility of light rain this morning it looks like the rain is coming to an end. About time. I think I'll just get some rest today. There are no plans for working on the layout at this time. Electrical power isn't stable this morning. It keeps fluctuating. So much so it causes my modem to drop out for a second.

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By Unfettered;
I have plans for a 10x15 outbuilding for the trains!!!!!

Of course after reading about the crawl space layouts, I might even build my layout in the attic as the house has a large one with easy access.
Don't forget heating and cooling issues in the attic or a shed. Sounds like a good idea though.

I resemble that remark!:o When my wife and I were house-hunting and she fell in love with the one we're in now, she agreed to let me have the entire attached two-car garage (24'x24' floor space). I thought I was in hog heaven - until the colder weather set in, and I discovered that the existing heating/AC plant only had just enough BTU's for the house, excluding the garage. And we didn't have much disposable cash at this point, so I wound up waiting 4 years before I could afford to add insulation and a 12500-BTU heat pump to keep the space comfy at either end of the temperature spectrum.

Take it from someone who's been there - be sure you factor climate control into your building budget!:eek:
 
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Take it from someone who's been there - be sure you factor climate control into your building budget!:eek:
For sure. What seems great during the cooler months could be a nightmare in the summer. The attic at my fathers place is comfortable enough in the winter. In the summer you can melt rocks together up there! My older sister stored some old records up there one year. When they were brought down they were all warped and useless and quite a few were stuck together. I had some rolling stock from my childhood stored up there for several years. It was all packed in cardboard boxes. The old metal Varney cars were OK for the most part but the Tyco, AHM, Mantua, etc plastic stuff was toast! Some of it was salvageable but not much. The track was a lost cause.
 
For sure. What seems great during the cooler months could be a nightmare in the summer. The attic at my fathers place is comfortable enough in the winter. In the summer you can melt rocks together up there! My older sister stored some old records up there one year. When they were brought down they were all warped and useless and quite a few were stuck together. I had some rolling stock from my childhood stored up there for several years. It was all packed in cardboard boxes. The old metal Varney cars were OK for the most part but the Tyco, AHM, Mantua, etc plastic stuff was toast! Some of it was salvageable but not much. The track was a lost cause.
lol i built a 1/72 or 1/48th scale B-36 in 2002 & because it was so huge i put it up in the rafters that summer well come 2012 when i sold the house i left it up there, i can imagine what it looks like :eek:
 
As long as you've got a semi-finished attic room with window fans or better yet AC......you're golden.



Mike
 
lol i built a 1/72 or 1/48th scale B-36 in 2002 & because it was so huge i put it up in the rafters that summer well come 2012 when i sold the house i left it up there, i can imagine what it looks like :eek:
Melted cheese and butter?




Well I was having some trouble with the electricity here today. The lights kept going from bright to dim then bright again. I checked the voltage at a couple of the outlets. It was fluctuating between 92 and 115 with an occasional dip to the high 60's. Just out of curiosity I turned the heater off and the reading went up to 109. I then turned the heater back on and it dipped to 92 again. Then I turned it on high. There was a pop from under the layout and the reading went to 115 and the heater was running on high with no problem. Aha! Only a couple of things could account for that. The first one I checked turned out to be the culprit. There's a heavy duty heater/ac extension cord between the heater and it's 20amp wall socket, and yes I know for a fact it's 20amp. I installed it myself when I rewired the trailer in 94 with wire more than equal to the need. Where the cord plugged in the wall socket was OK. When I picked up the end the heater was plugged into it sizzled a little, the light dimmed and brightened so yes, I had found the problem. That cord had only been there for twelve years (I put it there in 2000) so it had every right to be acting up. No sense trying to save it. I got a new one (exact same type) from the closet and put it in place. Now everything works as it should. Good thing I went way above code on the wiring when I rewired this place. Well that's enough about that. I wouldn't want to bore anyone. And I did run a train today. I'd knocked some wires around while I was under the layout and I ran a train all the way around to make sure there weren't any problems. I even checked the track voltage at several points. Eleven volts, just what it should be. Go much higher than that and the Z Scale decoders don't like it. Above fifteen volts in anything bigger than a yard switcher they start running hot so I don't go there. I run them in geeps, SD's, F units, etc.

Well time to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

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There HAS to be a story attached to THAT pic, Bill.
Yeah! What gives? Out with it already!




Good morning. It's 27° with 100% humidity. It'll be sunny with a high of 55°.
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No plans for today. Just take it as it comes. Watching some American Gladiators this morning. Still got plenty of other shows to watch later.

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Good Morning!

It's 39° and overcast this morning. It's snowing to our South, and I hope it stays there. Gotta go to Costco for some things we forgot last time, and Barnes and Noble, where I can check out the Model Railroad Magazines.

My tower's coming along, but I need to figure out how to simulate the mechanism and model board. Nothing too fancy, but it's going in the foreground so I don't want it to appear empty.

Have a nice day!

Joe
 
Blankity blank weather guessers!
They are saying snow accumilation in central Alabama.
Now, I have to go put snow plows on my HO engines to run the railroad today.

Hummm.....! I hope I don't have to put snow chains on the vehicles. :D

I guess I better get busy!
 
brrrr the cold front is coming from the west its gonna go down to 50* tonight & only a high of 70* tommorrow :eek::eek:
 
brrrr the cold front is coming from the west its gonna go down to 50* tonight & only a high of 70* tommorrow :eek::eek:

Rub it in, Rub it in:( Its snowing at a heavy rate, and they say 1-3" here. However, all this is due to a cold core upper low, and it won't last long. According to radar, the snow has already ended about 50 miles west. At the rate the ULL, (upper level low) is moving, I believe the sun will be out in a couple of hours and this will be just a memory. Tomorrow the forecast is sunny with the highs in the 50's.
 
Rub it in, Rub it in:( Its snowing at a heavy rate, and they say 1-3" here. However, all this is due to a cold core upper low, and it won't last long. According to radar, the snow has already ended about 50 miles west. At the rate the ULL, (upper level low) is moving, I believe the sun will be out in a couple of hours and this will be just a memory. Tomorrow the forecast is sunny with the highs in the 50's.
no way alabama is all about warm hot sweaty , you guys dont get snow !!!!!:eek:
 


holy crap , the cold front just blew in from the west i figured it wouldnt be that bad i wanted to go out on a friends boat & grill some steaks ahh looks like thats off :(
 




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