Running Bear’s April 2026 Coffee Shop

[KriegslokBR52]

Hello gentlemen. It's been a while since i got down to the coffee shop. But i was not sitting still. Got charged with trespassing on Norfolk Southern property, specifically Enola Yard near Harrisburg, Pa. The power tripping NS security guy (i refuse to call these guys police officers) decided to have me getting a ticket several days after our encounter. So my court date is on April 30. Guys like this will not chase the graffiti artists out of the yard because they're afraid that they're going to get their ass beat, so they have to ruin a working mans work day. It wasn't like that several years ago. You were just told to leave the property. Anyway this is the "trophy" i was going for, and no i was not crossing the rails to get it since it was standing on the nearest track to the road:

Conrail markings clearly visible by the number.
On the lighter side, the roundhouse at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg is taking shape:

While there, i took another shot at the "Old Rivets"-the first GG1 next to "Swedish Meatball" AEM7 and it's predecessor DD1:

Both electrics unfortunately keep looking worse and worse as the years pass.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 64° with humidity at 100%. Thunderstorms have been added to this afternoon's forecast. Upper 80's today like yesterday. Warm for the next few days, and then cooler weather appears on Wednesday until at least the following Monday.

Mostly household tasks yesterday, with laundry and supper prep being the more time-consuming. I made ham salad and spent considerable time finely dicing ham, onions, celery, red & green bell peppers, and fresh parsley and dill from the back porch garden. Added to that, were sweet relish, mayonnaise and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Delicious! Only did about 20 minutes of mowing before heading for the train shed.

Today starts with the dishwasher and some minor home maintenance and evolves into who knows what? I need to start to eyeball the pool. The cover ripped in the wind over the winter and I know that there will be excessive debris to remove this Spring.

Dreadfully little time out in the train shed yesterday, but enough to repaint that driveway that I smeared with my sweaty forearm Thursday. The rest of the time out there was spent running trains. I only ran from staging yard to staging at the other end, with no switching yesterday. I moved maybe 5-6 trains total. Uninterrupted, it takes about 7 minutes to run that distance. Shuffled some containers on the two double-stack trains for some variety. For my era, I had too many J.B. Hunt boxes on one train.

Terry - We had a policy in our plant that supervisors could not discuss worker's comp with employees; only the HR department could do that. Supervisors had too many misconceptions and couldn't keep up with the constant changes. Ignorant might be a better description.
Alan - Yes, the no bathroom break was wonderful. It is rare though; I normally cannot get back to sleep after the second one regardless of the timing.
Karl - Seems like you had a very busy productive day yesterday. Is that why I haven't seen a post from you yet this morning?
Mac - Sorry to read about your ticket, but I always wondered why it hasn't happened sooner. I think that you get some great shots all of the time.

Everyone have a super Saturday. Enjoy your weekend.

 

[Marlin39]

Hello gentlemen. It's been a while since i got down to the coffee shop. But i was not sitting still. Got charged with trespassing on Norfolk Southern property, specifically Enola Yard near Harrisburg, Pa. The power tripping NS security guy (i refuse to call these guys police officers) decided to have me getting a ticket several days after our encounter. So my court date is on April 30. Guys like this will not chase the graffiti artists out of the yard because they're afraid that they're going to get their ass beat, so they have to ruin a working mans work day. It wasn't like that several years ago. You were just told to leave the property. Anyway this is the "trophy" i was going for, and no i was not crossing the rails to get it since it was standing on the nearest track to the road:View attachment 264143View attachment 264144View attachment 264145
Conrail markings clearly visible by the number.
On the lighter side, the roundhouse at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg is taking shape:View attachment 264147View attachment 264150View attachment 264151View attachment 264152View attachment 264148
While there, i took another shot at the "Old Rivets"-the first GG1 next to "Swedish Meatball" AEM7 and it's predecessor DD1:View attachment 264146View attachment 264149
Both electrics unfortunately keep looking worse and worse as the years pass.

 

[migalyto]

. Got charged with trespassing on Norfolk Southern property, specifically Enola Yard near Harrisburg, Pa.

Have you been formally trespassed from there previously?

I thought by law they had to give you the opportunity to leave, then if you refuse they can charge you.

I would fight that tooth and nail!

 

[migalyto]

St. Louis lost last night after stranding several runners during the innings. They couldn't get anything to work last night. Pitching was good from both sides, but I thought Pallante would do better, but no errors during the game. That is the first game I've seen on TV in years. We don't usually get to see St. Louis play locally.

The NLC is going to be a tight race this year. Its amazing a month into the season all teams in that division are above .500.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

View attachment 264163

Yep, that's about right.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Have you been formally trespassed from there previously?

I thought by law they had to give you the opportunity to leave, then if you refuse they can charge you.

I would fight that tooth and nail!

That's exactly what it was, i didn't refuse to leave and when he said he's going to walk me to the car, i cooperated. I have never been confronted over there nor any trespassing charges. I did however cross past the "No trespassing" sign to get to the gondola.

 

[Espeefan]

Good Morning All! 53 here, and sunny. Expected high is 64, so a nice spring day, good for yard work. Lucky for me I don't have to do any! I have time for trains today, but also the weekend stuff, so we'll see how much train time gets bled away to other areas.

 

[bnsf971]

That's exactly what it was, i didn't refuse to leave and when he said he's going to walk me to the car, i cooperated.

Possibly a supervisor got involved after he turned in his report.

 

[chadbag]

Culvers

You found the seats?

 

[Espeefan]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with pots, instant or otherwise

It's Troy again.

The great instant pot adventure was a bit of success, and a bit of bust yesterday.

You might recall that that I was going to make cowboy beans in the brand new instant pot mini, and do stovetop for the red tomato rice for a mexican themed night.

Well... Troy forgot to run the test cook on the instant pot.

So, I'm cooking away, getting the cowboy parts of the Charro bean mix ready (Rotel tomatoes, onion, garlic):

View attachment 264133

Just about time to add that to the instant pot with the soaking beans, and I remember about doing the test cook. Three cups of water, fire it up... So I did!
View attachment 264134

Problems began.... I noticed it venting a LOT of steam.... and after 10 minutes it was still on preheat... hmmmm

Hit google, and realize I'd forgotten something:

View attachment 264135

That red warning tag under the steam vent was supposed to be removed. So I yanked it out... kindof...

Seems you need to pull up the steam vent cap. It's a big hunk of metal that sits over the steam vent. And the tag had a ring around the steam vent pipe the black cap was covering. Yanking it removed the tab, but not the ring of paper under it.

After 10 minutes in the steam bath, it was a soggy mess, and got under the steam release lever. And it was too hot to get in and clean it out. Then Run another test that takes about 20 minutes with the preheat...

So beans on the stovetop! For 90 minutes instead of the 45 it should have taken.

We only ate 90 minutes after we had planned.

Wife did pronounce the dish suitable to make again. And we have left-overs for about four meals (two each person).

Wife also said we're going out to purchase the artificial flowers she needs for family graves. Her grandparents have the pop-up vases next to the markers. Her father get's a "saddle" in Red, White, and Blue over the headstone. Mother-in-law isn't up to driving to see all the grave sites, but she sees her parents after the flowers are placed. The girls take photos of Dad's site to show her.

So, I'm in charge of driving and carrying, and ordering the pizza for lunch.

Cowboy Beans. Tasty, but in ten minutes I'd be sky writing!

 

[kbkchooch]

Karl - Seems like you had a very busy productive day yesterday. Is that why I haven't seen a post from you yet this morning?

Not at all Willie, I did attempt to drop on around 7 a.m. this morning, but the doors were locked. My phone and my PC could not get in, so I just gave up and started my day. Then I got busy til now.

So good mor,,,,, oops good afternoon now gang! Been soldering wires and running laundry loads this morning. Outside it is 60° and overcast with a cold breeze, rain expected at 3 and going until tomorrow, so street rod Saturday night wont happen this week. Maybe next Saturday.

Back to the layout!

 

[kbkchooch]

Cowboy Beans. Tasty, but in ten minutes I'd be sky writing!

 

[Espeefan]

That's just about right!

 

[Snowman]

So here's a subject, re: estates and wills. Just looking for general feedback based on personal experiences, not legal advice.

According to terms of the will I'm supposed to come into half-ownership of two properties, and we've had, for tax cost-basis purposes, valuations on both. Any higher gains than those will be taxable for capital gains. Not sure if we could write off a lower price as a "capital losses," but that's not the question.

The question generally is: In order to actually fix that cost-basis in place, is it necessary to transfer title to the two beneficiaries BEFORE reselling and taking the proceeds? Or can the process of title-transfer be bypassed by the estate's personal representative by simply accepting an offer, distributing the proceeds to the beneficiaries, and still having the proceeds non-taxable capital gains up the cost-basis/valuation point? Anyone been through this experience and done it the WRONG way only find the proceeds taxable from the very first dollar as capital gains?

 

[troyphoto]

Cowboy Beans. Tasty, but in ten minutes I'd be sky writing!

You gotta count the beans before you cook them....

1... 2.... 3... 4... all the way up to 39.

Throw the next one away, cause it's the Farty one.

Then count some more... 1... 2.... 3... 4... all the way up to 39.

Throw the next one away, cause it's the Farty one.

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those making butt music

It's Troy again.
Flower run was successful. Wife and I got the pizza from Beer Barrel.

It's one of the four food groups

Afterwards, came home, added a couple of supports to some shelves that were bowing. Got a walk in, then put up the canopy above the patio.

In the image, we're facing north. Big building is to the east. To the west is our little garage. The sun hid behind a cloud for the pic, but the fence is in direct sun all the way from the left to the yellow hummingbird sign at the right. Along the fence is the wife's zucchini growing area. It gets sun all day, as does about half of the round table.

Willie, she's tried putting the planters next to the garage wall, but that is a sun sponge, and radiates a LOT of heat.

There is noise in the HOA about setting up a community garden plot ... but too many people remember having to plow it under and reseed it about a decade ago after best intentions turned to a field of weeds.

 

[Snowman]

You gotta count the beans before you cook them....

1... 2.... 3... 4... all the way up to 39.

Throw the next one away, cause it's the Farty one.

Then count some more... 1... 2.... 3... 4... all the way up to 39.

Throw the next one away, cause it's the Farty one.

Oh, I dunno Troy. At a certain point I hear a full 30% of the beans have cut in:

[watch it until the very last line for the punch-line...that pertains to your point]

 

[RhB Michael]

I gave in. I'm on a short break after cutting 3/4 of the yard. I used to be able to go to the end, but age and heart disease will slow you down some. I still have a fast recovery after exercise, but it sure gets to beating while I'm using it. Then I get a little winded and have to stop after awhile.

OK, break over. Sea ya later.

 

[Snowman]

I gave in. I'm on a short break after cutting 3/4 of the yard. I used to be able to go to the end, but age and heart disease will slow you down some. I still have a fast recovery after exercise, but it sure gets to beating while I'm using it. Then I get a little winded and have to stop after awhile.

OK, break over. Sea ya later.

Bear with me here: I wrote a short (sim-racing related) story about this at least thirty years ago now: In those days--the sim was "Grand Prix Legends"--I used to drive the Lotus 49. British Racing Green with Gold stripes and logos.

"So I was ready to go out for some laps this day...feeling good. Ready for it. Got into the machine and went right out (this was back before the era of wings, so there weren't any yet)."

"Even the first out-lap was pretty good. Ran close to all the barriers--guardrails and the fences--but never breathed even a single layer, let alone a full coat of paint on one of them. Yet still cutting it close. The second lap was even better. A second or so under the first-lap time! And...on this day...I just kept ramping it up. Faster and faster each and every lap, each one quicker than the previous lap. One of those good days when you are 'in the groove.'"

"And finally, after about twenty laps I knew I had extracted every bit I could out of the machine. So I pulled it on in."

"Took a look at the lap-times, and, sure enough I had run faster on every single lap than on the previous one. Not a single mistake. I was chuffed."

"So I got out of...no...off of...the dark green with gold livery...

........................................................Sears Craftsman 42" (not quite 49) lawn tractor.... Job finished."

I had gone faster EVERY lap because I mowed around the outside of the lawn, circling inward each time so on progressively shorter laps, outside to inside...all the way down to the center, and that very last "circuit."

When you are really IN the groove, the last laps seem so easy.