Coffee Shop XXXVIII-7/20/2013

[Espeefan]

I've been watching too, but don't forget it's a holiday weekend! We've had great weather here, and between outside stuff, and my own projects I haven't been on much. I've noticed that most of the forums I belong to have been pretty quiet. I spent almost all day yesterday working on a brass PFM Sante Fe 4-8-4 I'm resurrecting. I took it in trade for painting two others for a fellow. All three came to me in a big "box-o-parts" 24 drivers, a box full of running gear, all of the lead and trailing trucks and tender trucks in peices, a bag of wheels. I had to "unscramble the eggs" before I could even start! He told me to keep the model with the can motor. I thought "great, one thing less to do" but it didn't work that way. The old motor was gone of course, but so was the motor bracket. He had started to re-gear the model, but the new gearbox was not going to fit and the old one was gone, so I've had to fabricate parts from scratch as well as regear with a gearbox that will fit in there. I also had to dig through my junk boxes and parts cabinets to replace missing things. Missing hardware is especially tough, as those tiny screws were often uncommon types.

Anyway not to jack your subject. Bottom line: watching but busy! Your stuff is a great example of doing things on a budget, and improvising. When lay people tell me they always thought this was a rich mans hobby, I usually point them to photos of your layout and projects as an example of having a lot of fun without spending a fortune.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Anyway not to jack your subject. Bottom line: watching but busy! Your stuff is a great example of doing things on a budget, and improvising. When lay people tell me they always thought this was a rich mans hobby, I usually point them to photos of your layout and projects as an example of having a lot of fun without spending a fortune.

It's good to know I'm setting an example for others. You don't have to break the bank to have a descent layout and equipment.

 

[kbkchooch]

I've been watching too, but don't forget it's a holiday weekend!

Ditto here! And a busy Holiday weekend at that! Saturday was a Labor Day/Birthday party give by my future DIL's family for son #2,
Yesterday was a Labor Day/ Birthday party for my cousin who turns the big 5-Oh today,
and today is the actual holiday AND the 6th wedding anniversary for SWMBO and myself.

Ken : Good to hear that you had a derailment. That way I won't feel bad if I do the same on the next run session there!

 

[Boris]

Good Morning - Happy Labor Day!

It appears that while I slept in, everyone else was up and posting their comments. Right now, it's 76°, and foggy, with a 60% chance of T-showers.

Jeffrey, I am following your passenger train restoration very closely. When you complete it, and put everything together on your layout, it will look great. The RPO/Bag looks real good, and the touch of real rust, makes it look like it has run many miles. When one looks up close at the prototype stainless steel cars, one sees that Stainless Steel really does stain. Also, many hand rails on these cars were just that painted or plated metal.

I was going to light up the grill for hot dogs later, assuming the weather holds. Otherwise, they also grill in the frying pan. Just don't get the charcoal flavor.

Enjoy the day!

Joe

 

[blownoutcylinder]

It's good to know I'm setting an example for others. You don't have to break the bank to have a descent layout and equipment.

Definitely true!!

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Think I'll get a large 3 gallon IV bag with rawcaffeine please.

Been kinda busy with w**k related w**k and outdoor stuff that had to get done...we ended up with a two week period of heat and stick...now we seem to be heading for a big cooling off period.....highs in the high 60's to low 70's...of course with a few days of extra HHH for comparison purposes only...

 

[Dr. John]

Happy Labor Day, y'all!

Breezy and overcast in central Alabama. Nice break from yesterday's heat - must have been the hottest day of the year with a heat index of 103.

Boston butt and cole slaw are done, potato salad and baked beans are on deck (thanks to my lovely wife). I serve an important role as official taste-tester.

Jeffrey, I'm enjoying the pics of the vintage HO, particularly the Varney F3 and those passenger cars. Glad to see you're keeping busy with the hobby during your recovery!

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Always read what others have to say and look at all the pictures posted.
I just don't have a lot to add that I feel is interesting to anyone else.
Carefully following Jeffrey's recovery and glad to see him hanging in there with his "restorations".
Been pretty hot and extremely humid in South CA. I am beginning to think I am back in Louisiana again!

 

[Cjcrescent]

This weekend was my SWMBO, and mine 40th wedding anniversary. Since we can't disappear until daughter has next weekend off. We were going to disappear this weekend, but we have to babysit, but we still have had some time for ourselves. We did disappear from all electronic communication, but we stayed home.

Next weekend will be different. We will disappear totally!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Happy anniversary Carey.

*

I did some polishing on the F3 today. It shined up pretty good. It won't be that way long though probably. I think Zamak tarnishes pretty quick.

And i added some vents to the roofs of some the streamliners. They may be right, they may be wrong. I don't care. They look good to me.

 

[Dr. John]

Carey - Happy anniversary!

Jeffrey - the F3 looks good polished up. As to the vents on the passenger cars, I imagine that varies from road to road and shop to shop.

 

[IronBeltKen]

Happy Anniversary Carey! You're 13 years ahead of where my SWMBO and I are at.

Jeff, I was going to suggest that you decal that polished F3 as a Burlington passenger unit - unit I read that bit about zamak and tarnishing, oh well. Still looks great though!

 

[RexHea]

Happy Anniversary, CJ!

Dr. John: There was one good thing about Alabama's offensive play; Texas A&M certainly didn't learn anything from it

Jeffrey: I'm always curious to see what you come up with next and how you make something out of nothing.

 

[RexHea]

That little piece of information is what I've been wanting to hear. Auto-sensing speed control......awesome!

Mike, you can actually see this action by watching the couplers pushing and pulling on each other until it settles down. Now, the locos should still be fairly close in their performance for it to work properly. Otherwise they will push/pull back and forth with an exaggerated motion. (Won't hurt anything, but doesn't look as smooth.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Afternoon...

It were a dull day here..got to 70..and sat there all afternoon...

Having a wonderful BBQ with pulled pork sammiches and salads....good day to be outdoors!!

Congrats on the 40th anniversary Carey!! We'll be having our 37th next!!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey: I'm always curious to see what you come up with next and how you make something out of nothing.

That comes from my father. When I was a kid he always told me to stop wishing for what I can't have and to do the best I can with what I've got. Tomorrow two Athearn F7 drives will arrive here. The Varney F3 body will go on one of them and it will become a powered heavy weight unit. That will give me four such heavy weight F3's, one A unit and three B units. There's another Varney F3 (powered with plastic body and WORKING Varney drive) coming later in the week. I'll put that body on an Athearn superpower chassis then put it in my display rack and let people try to figure out what it is. I have an F3 Varney B unit plastic body that can go on the Varney drive and it'll go into the display rack as well.

 

[Trussrod]

Happy Labor Day to All !,

I had a fair amount written to post prior and the next thing I know it's gone and No Auto Save to recall it. Arh!

Wunderground Weather says it's only 89.0°F and Humidity of 38%, dropping to a low of 64°F tonight with a chance of Thunder showers.


I see where severl on her have their Anniversaries today and or Birthdays, such Carey, Karl and I think Rex mentioned on the Prior page to that extent too! So too all of you, Congrats and have a wonderful day.


I had to move a few boxes to open a metal storage cabinet but luckly I found my Ohm meter so I can now check out where the problem lies in not getting power to the Atlas Turn-table [TT] track when I was able to move a Loco on it before so I'm thinking it possibly in the Atlas Twin controller unit I'm using. Oddly enough the TT motor decided to start to work again so that's one less thing but I can't understand why I should loose power to the TT track when everything is connected with new stranded wire that is more than large enough and all connections are either soldiered or the screws are tightened down good. Well I can trace it down easier now.


Jeffrey, I too take an interest in what your up to as you do seem to do quite a little with your stuff.

I wanted to mention that the rust looking stuff on the RPR car by the door could well be old Ambroid Cement which was an Orange/Rust color and dried looking like that too.



Here's a shot of my unfinished TT which will look a fair amount better when done with an actual wood deck overlay, suspension cables and a new early style wood Round-table motor tenders house to replace the plastic one that came with the TT. My buddy John did a really great job on his.

As a bit of added trivia, the Old Revell Engine House in the background, I purchased around 1955 with news paper route money and Mon helped out a bit too, for I think about $13.75? and it's still as I painted it, I believe. I also was unhappy with the unfinished walls so I cut bat on board siding and lined the whole thing. That's not too visible. I need to apply more grey mortar between the bricks and repaint the doors a different color.

 

[RexHea]

Not my anniversary yet. Next month for me and the Boss Lady and my B day in a couple of weeks.

 

[RexHea]

Dang Karl, your anniversary just slipped right on by me:

Happy Anniversary!​

 

[kbkchooch]

Dang Karl, your anniversary just slipped right on by me:

Happy Anniversary!​

Why thank you Rex! 6 years ago today me and SWMBO were wed. I should have done it 30 years ago, but the important part is we got it done!!

Carey, congrats on your anniversary! You old cradlerobber you!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Earlier today, owing to the fact that it's a dummy unit, the F3 didn't have a hole in front for a headlight. Nor did it have a vent on the top rear of the cab. Now it has both. The vent is one of the extras from the streamliner cars superglued to the top of the cab. The headlight was a little trickier. Ever drilled a hole through Zamac? Well if you ever did you'd remember doing it. I used a 1/8" bit in my Dremel to do the job. First off the bit wanted to wander all over he place. So I had to hold the loco shell vertical then the cord end of the Dremel under my chin and very slowly and carefully bring the spinning bit down until it just touched the headlight blank on the front of the loco and let it make a small pilot hole in the very center, then I slowly put the pressure to it. Geez, that shell is thick! I pushed the bit through about 3/8th's of an inch before it broke through the other side. I cleared any debris from the hole then put some clear glue in it to act as a lens.