Coffee Shop XXXVIII-7/20/2013

[IronBeltKen]

GaRRy - I almost lost my now-17yr-old daughter to similar accident when she was two: She swallowed a quarter! Good thing her mother knew what to do - she picked Catherine up by the ankles and held her upside-down and shook her till the coin tumbled out of her mouth.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 78° with 78% humidity. How many times does that happen? The high will be 92° and feel like 99°.

Nothing special going on today. Guess I'll play some computer games later.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Morning!!

Sunny and warmer today...high of 80 feeling like 93.....back to deep summer days here...

So...I also discovered that whatever budget I thought I had for my recording studio is now in pieces because SWMBO has to get her workspace done first...yay...not...sigh

So...off to work on that space...growl

 

[IronBeltKen]

Barry, I've definitely been-there-done-that! Q: Did you consciously set-aside cash for your studio and tell her your plans - or did your checking account just happen to accumulate funds as the bills were paid off? My wife and I have our own special accounts for 'pet projects' that we never touch except by prior agreement, and then usually only for quasi-emergencies [such as paying off a balance for our kids' college tuition so they can register for next semester's classes]. This understanding has kept us out of lots of money arguments over the years.

 

[Trussrod]

Good afternoon. It started out fairly warm this morning but I didn't check the temp at WW till now. Wow, it's 103.9°F but will cool off a bit but not that much tonight 68°F, the Humidity is 19%


I've been having some odd problems with the electrical/power on my layout that has been a concern. First off my layout is set-up in blocks 'DC' as has been used for many years. I've run the main power buss around the outside of the layout which has no return loops to it. Needless to say I've wired everything the same and no problems running till things heated up due to the higher temps and rails expanded. Then they seem to form some kind of a short as the radio control hand automatically trips as I try to increase the voltage yet I can see where the short is? I couldn't determine how it could be causing a problem but started re-gaping the blocks on the main line and that seemed to solve that problem but I still couldn't see how but it seemed to work to allow operation of a Loco on the main line.

Then I started to have problems with the power supply to my Atlas Turntable, both from getting the motor to run to rotate the turntable, which it did before with no problem as well as getting power to the TT tracks which aslo woirked before??
I have the power from the buss lines going into an Atlas selector switch and one of the switches routes power to the twin controller and one side of that powers the TT moter and the other the TT tracks. Both worked fine before but now do?? Frustration. I do see though where I probably need to put in a polarity reversing switch for the table which I don't have but it doesn't connect with any other rails right now anway. So again I can't understand why these two things should quit on me.

The only thing I can think of relating to the TT motor is that I was showing a lady friend one evening quite some time ago how it worked as she was interested and may have left the power on but generally I always turn the transformer off so I know I didn't leave it on all night but maybe for a couple of hours but I don't think that should have burned the motor out. Also I use the center position of the Twin controller as an off position and I don't think there should have been a problem created that way? Any info you might think of I'd appreciate your input.


Garry & Ken, I had a very close call about two months ago and the lady that was with me didn't seem to know what to do and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to breath correctly again. I had taken several capsules of health food supplements and I guess I got distracted before I got a chance to take a drink of water and took deep breath and sucked the powder down my throat which closed-up almost completely and in the process I guess another geletin caps got sucked up into passage from my nostril so I was in a world of hurt but fortunately kept my calm and drank a bit of liquid and could finally get a minimal amount of air into my lungs and then started to progressively get better. Not a pleasant experience as neither were your situations either. Actually Zoe from up in BC was telling me he had to throw himself over the back of a chair to dislodge some pills when a similar thing happended to him and no one was around. Also my other friend John said he had a similar thing happen to him too not too long ago.

So these types of things can be somewhat common it seems. From now on when I take any capsules I always make sure to drink something within a short time thereafter.

Have a good evening all.

 

[tootnkumin]

You're gonna have to cut down on the ladies, sport. They're not doing you any good.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Not much went on today. Didn't get any computer time in on the IIe but I now have a TV in my room. It's the one from my fathers office. He never watches it anyway so he's not going to miss it. I've been getting a lot of use from my mothers old power chair. I clocked it's top speed at just under 6mph. I have it set at half speed and it's plenty fast for getting around the house. It's a lot faster and safer than using a walker. She only used it for a few weeks but really enjoyed it.

Well it's time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.
Check out the guy standing next to the Athearn prime mover.

 

[Trussrod]

You're gonna have to cut down on the ladies, sport. They're not doing you any good.

It sure seems that way sometimes.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Temperature in TIPTON IN

 

[Boris]

Good Morning:

Another leisurely morning in "paradise?" The weather is supposed to return to "appropriate temperatures for August" as the week progresses. That should help the power utilities recover revenue lost during the recent "cool wave". One TV weather forecaster lamented that the temperature has not been 90 for over a month......Now that should favorably reflect on my next electric bill.

Yesterday, I did get around to re-boxing much of my cache of locomotives and cars, and today, I may get around to placing them into containers. Once complete, it will be my turn to get the shop vac out. Then to the work bench.

Joe

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 81° with 72% humidity. The high will be 95° and will feel like 102°.

Been busy this morning ordering my fathers vitamins. His handwriting looks like chicken tracks on a barbed wired fence. My caregiver had a little problem. She left her cars lights on and ran the battery down. My father gave her a jump and got her on her way. No plans for today.

View in Ezra's side-view mirror after he dodged the crossing.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Ken .... Sounds like a close call for your daughter. When one of our sons was 4, he choked on some hard candy, and my wife knew used Heimlch to get it out.

David .... That was a close call for you for sure.

Jeff ..... At least it is not handwriting on the wall.

I'm slowly working on an extension to my layout this year. Who has some interesting model railroad projects in progress?

 

[IronBeltKen]

David - a self-applied Heimlich? Now that takes real talent!

GaRRy, here's a layout progress story for you: I'm just about ready to reactivate my mothballed garage layout. Over the past 8 months it has morphed from a CSX theme to a 1970-era B&O, the period right before Amtrak and the Chessie takeover. [Of course my passenger trains won't be anywhere near as elegant as yours, B&O's passenger service was on life support at that time!] The layout surface has been fully de-cluttered/vacuumed and awaits the the re-railing of all the new rolling stock. As of now I'm just trying to find a less-tedious method to get my track clean, the CMX CleanMachine I bought has way too much drag; even with 4 geeps I can barely push the thing!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

David - a self-applied Heimlich? Now that takes real talent!

Straight back of a chair works wonders.

 

[bnsf971]

David - a self-applied Heimlich? Now that takes real talent!

GaRRy, here's a layout progress story for you: I'm just about ready to reactivate my mothballed garage layout. Over the past 8 months it has morphed from a CSX theme to a 1970-era B&O, the period right before Amtrak and the Chessie takeover. [Of course my passenger trains won't be anywhere near as elegant as yours, B&O's passenger service was on life support at that time!] The layout surface has been fully de-cluttered/vacuumed and awaits the the re-railing of all the new rolling stock. As of now I'm just trying to find a less-tedious method to get my track clean, the CMX CleanMachine I bought has way too much drag; even with 4 geeps I can barely push the thing!

Ken, I have had good luck keeping the rails clean with an old Ribbonrail track cleaning car. The pads have adjustable tension, so if it starts dragging too much, you can fix it.
Have you had any issues with your GP9s? I have a pair of them that share a problem with the truck opposite the cab end. If there is any kind of dip at all in the track work, that truck will pivot the leading axle off the rails when running long hood first. Cab end first, it doesn't do it. And it only pivots to the right when it does it.

 

[GarryCBQ]

David - a self-applied Heimlich? Now that takes real talent!

GaRRy, here's a layout progress story for you: I'm just about ready to reactivate my mothballed garage layout. Over the past 8 months it has morphed from a CSX theme to a 1970-era B&O, the period right before Amtrak and the Chessie takeover. [Of course my passenger trains won't be anywhere near as elegant as yours, B&O's passenger service was on life support at that time!] The layout surface has been fully de-cluttered/vacuumed and awaits the the re-railing of all the new rolling stock. As of now I'm just trying to find a less-tedious method to get my track clean, the CMX CleanMachine I bought has way too much drag; even with 4 geeps I can barely push the thing!

Ken ... Thanks for asnwering about your layout. .... Regarding the CMX track cleaning car, I haul one plus a Centerline track cleaning care together with 2 P1000 F3's. .... Have you tried adjusting the CMX pad by tightening the screws at the bottom? It might work better with less pressure on the rails. Also, I recall watching a You-tube demonstration of CMX cars. It might still be posted. .... I rode the B&O Capital Limited round trip between Chicago and Washington in early 1960's. Interestingly, the dome car had spot lights to shine on scenery because it was an overnight train.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Not much happening. Played Starfleet1 earlier and got my head handed to me. Had Zatarain's red beans and rice and a couple of handfuls of flaming hot Cheetos for dinner. Still had to add hot sauce. The flavor of the Zatarain's foods just doesn't seem as good as it used to be before McCormick took over in 2003. No pain killers again today. A good sign. Since I got here the kitchen light switch has been out of my reach. I can turn it on and off with my cane but what do I do with the cane afterward? Today I stood on my one foot and using the oven door handle for support I was able to reach across the counter top and flip the switch. For an encore I changed the paper towel roll which can only be done from a standing position. Still the only way I can move myself around outdoors is with a walker. There's been some improvement there. Got a doctor appointment in town this Friday. That should be interesting.

 

[IronBeltKen]

Jeff - Glad to see your 'engineering' ways to improve your situation, I always knew you would!

.... I rode the B&O Capital Limited round trip between Chicago and Washington in early 1960's. ...

Ahh yes... those were the B&O 'swan song' days, when their passenger diesels were still blue, gray, black and gold. I never had a chance to see them up close and personal, I lived in a suburb of Detroit (C&O country) until 1968. By the time my family moved to MD, the C&O blue, yellow & aluminum coaches were everywhere and all the diesels were painted dark blue (like the F unit in my avatar)

I don't remember the CMX literature talking about those springs being adjusable, I'll read thru it again. It would be great if the solution were that simple!

 

[kbkchooch]

David - a self-applied Heimlich? Now that takes real talent!

GaRRy, here's a layout progress story for you: I'm just about ready to reactivate my mothballed garage layout. Over the past 8 months it has morphed from a CSX theme to a 1970-era B&O, the period right before Amtrak and the Chessie takeover. [Of course my passenger trains won't be anywhere near as elegant as yours, B&O's passenger service was on life support at that time!] The layout surface has been fully de-cluttered/vacuumed and awaits the the re-railing of all the new rolling stock. As of now I'm just trying to find a less-tedious method to get my track clean, the CMX CleanMachine I bought has way too much drag; even with 4 geeps I can barely push the thing!

All of this blabbering,,,,,,what I really want to know,,,when is the next op session?? My traveling throttle is getting dusty!!!

 

[kbkchooch]

Ken, I have had good luck keeping the rails clean with an old Ribbonrail track cleaning car. The pads have adjustable tension, so if it starts dragging too much, you can fix it.
Have you had any issues with your GP9s? I have a pair of them that share a problem with the truck opposite the cab end. If there is any kind of dip at all in the track work, that truck will pivot the leading axle off the rails when running long hood first. Cab end first, it doesn't do it. And it only pivots to the right when it does it.

Terry, sounds like you have a tight truck. May be a little excess flash on the clip that holds the truck on. Might be as easy as trimming the clip a bit. In case you are having a tough time visualising it,,,,remember, P2K trucks are clones of Athearn trucks, just buried under more stuff!