Running Bear's April 2022 Coffee Shop

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Good afternoon,

I could really use a large cup of hot coffee, Flo, it is Monday

The weekend went well, read up on the Coffee Shop half way through so this morning it was easier,

Willie - that garden of yours is impressive!! Reminds me of the one we had when I was growing up, we lived on a farm and with 5 kids of age to do major chores, Mom and Dad really put us to work. Mostly weeding.

I remember one year when we were busy a lot mid summer and I took the lawn mower down the sweet corn in between the rows to get rid of the appearance of weeds. Must have had a lot of rain that year, we still ended up feeding some of the corn to the pigs.

Guy - I am a big fan of the old pics as well, I am happy for the digital images now 'cause they are now easy to store and find.

Patrick - glad you got your ground cover - sculpta mold- to work. Not sure why hydrocal did not pan out for you, I am on my third bag (I buy 15# at a time) and love how it goes on as smooth as I want, turns to rocks, and can also go in a tin foil mold...

Here is a pic from the weekends progress, this scene came in looking substantially better than I was expecting:

IMG_2052.JPG


That is Hydrocal on the hillside to the left, also the sloping terrain between the feed mill and track.

the fake rocks/sandstone chunks made a good retaining wall, I wasn't sure how I was going to connect the road here,

I put some progress pics on the build thread


more later, Dave LASM
 
Smudge617 said:
Well that's a bummer, nope the two places who keep US HO stock don't have either the Kadee #451 or the McHenry couplings for my Rivarossi UP 84' coaches, so gone down the "move trucks" route the trucks alone are $25 a pair (and I'll need 4 pairs) plus postage and that's the cheapest I can find, the Chinese ones I've ordered two months ago have disappeared into the postal black hole too, but wouldn't fit anyway, so....... do I get the McHenry at $50 Inc. postage or the Kadess #451 at $48 Inc. postage, decisions, decisions???
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Yipes. Probably just as hard to find replacement for the broken horn hooks too. We have one fellow who has a Kadee on one side of the baggage to hook the loco to but the rest of the train has the stock horn hooks.

Did you try for a Kadee #508 at either of those places? I don't really like them. I think they are hard to install because they require cutting the truck, but if they are local at $5 vs $50 it might be worth it.
 
Afternoon All,

Spent several hours in the train room today and it was a good day. :D I started out doing testing by running all tracks around the TT 3 times on/off each then turned the bridge 180-degrees and did it again (6 on/off for each track total). The only issue was 2 derails because I didn't do a good job lining up the bridge. After that I cleaned up underneath the layout, mounted the control box to the fascia and did a general cleaning and straightening up. I did order a second control box since I have a 90-degree corner in the fascia that surrounds the pit.

Louis- You may be right. He is definitely "old school".

Karl- Good to see you back.

Gary- Welcome back also. Pictures of the liberty ship?

Troy- Not surprised at all. Typical government.

Willie- Nice looking restaurants. I like the first one best. Believe me I came within a gnat's breath of ripping it out and going with stub tracks. The problem is I have a lot of steam on the layout.

Guy- Great B&W photos.

Dave- Great progress.

Hughie- Nice layout shots.

Bottom of previous pit (1st generation)
layout22.jpg

Currently installed.
layout23.jpg

I hope everyone has a good night.
 


Iron Horseman said:
Yipes. Probably just as hard to find replacement for the broken horn hooks too. We have one fellow who has a Kadee on one side of the baggage to hook the loco to but the rest of the train has the stock horn hooks.

Did you try for a Kadee #508 at either of those places? I don't really like them. I think they are hard to install because they require cutting the truck, but if they are local at $5 vs $50 it might be worth it.
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I did find the Kadee #508, but decided against them, for the same reason you mentioned, also they didn't look anywhere near long enough to clear the beam, so I've gone for the #451, as I've already made screw holes in the underframe, easiest to install, now all I have to do is remove the lids and #5 couplings, and somehow get the boxes off, which as I used CA to fit them is going to be a PIA.
 


kbkchooch said:
Sounds more like "Lets make a deal" with Monte Hall to me!
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👍

3 doors does sound like "Let's Make a Deal", but "come on down" is definitely "Price is Right."

As a kid, before my dad "broke" the TV by taking a tube out, I was an avid game show watcher :) Price is Right, Gong Show, Joker's Wild, and Family Feud (original with Richard Dawson) were my favorite. Hollywood Squares was above my understanding at the time but is hilarious to watch outtakes on YouTube and the like now.
 
Bruette said:
Good morning Everybody!

Willie, your garden looks fantastic! I eat those store bought tomatoes all winter. In the summer I buy local grown tomatoes. There are a few regional stores that sell local produce. But the best produce I can buy usually comes from farm stands. There is nothing better than a truly vine ripened tomato!

It's sad to see the number of farms dwindling in Maryland. My favorite farm is no longer a farm, it is now a housing development. I travel all over my little state and everywhere I go I see farms being turned into housing developments.
During the revolutionary war Maryland was known as the "breadbasket of the revolution". Now Maryland no longer produces as much food as we consume.

Have a great day Everybody!
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Louis- I come from a family of tomato farmers in South Jersey(Bridgeton area). When my mom was growing up, Hunt’s had a canhouse in town. When I was a kid, the family trucked their harvest up to Campbell’s in Camden. Now, they take them to Williamstown, for the cannery that makes Don Pepino spaghetti & pizza sauce. But, you’re right about farms disappearing. There’s not as much garden in the Garden State as there used to be. My grandparents’ farm(my great-grandparents’ farm before then) was in the family since the mid 30’s but was sold to a developer after my grandpa passed away & my Grammy was no longer able to live on her own(when she was in her mid 80’s). The state stepped in under the Farmland Preservation Act & now it’s a county park that connects to the Bridgeton City Park system.
 
Well the 100% chance of thunderstorms got here two hours early. It's raining heavily. We're under both a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch for a while. The thunderstorm warning is in effect for another hour and the tornado watch until 3:00 am. Expecting 1" hail a bit south of here and the bulk of the heaviest activity is also south of here. For me, the red on the radar just turned yellow and the sound of rain on the house has abated just a little.
 
Good evening Shop Dwellers!

I don't have anything useful to say about gardening, tomato sauce recipes, or taxes; just checking in for the first time since Saturday.

Curt - glad you were able to successfully test all the electrical connections on your TT & roundhouse. I remember when I wired mine, how relieved I was when that challenging chore was done.

Gary - that Liberty Ship is really coming along nicely!

* * *
On the mrr front, I successfully completed the twofold task of packing away the rolling stock to clear all the tracks, then running the CMX over every linear inch [other than a few spurs embedded in static grass]. But I had to pull two of my Centerline cars out of service early-on, because the towel rollers kept getting stuck - dragging instead of rolling - causing the cars to derail on facing-point turnouts. I don't remember having this problem before[?] I might post a separate thread about it to see if anyone has a solution. I did everything the way I always did before [I think?] so it's a total mystery to me why that happens.

Regardless, I did get get the track as clean as a CMX and one Centerline car could get it. Next task is to go thru my entire loco roster and clean all the wheels; I should be able to do 8-10 engines each evening over the next week. Also need to do some airbrush-applied weathering on my most recently acquired Tangent 8000-gallon tank cars and hi-cube boxcars. Those tank cars just look too damn clean for something within 4 years of retirement...

Good Night - and have a Pleasant Tomorrow!
 


troyphoto said:
manually entering paper returns into the computer system.
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Not to mention that each change in the tax code, requires a new form...Speaking of which, I filed the NJ Income Tax return today, A paper return generated by a PDF form. (at least it's readable). If I was filing with the expectation of getting money back, I would use the on line return, but my return is just to re-establish property ownership in order to qualify for the Property Tax Credit and Homestead Rebate which will come off my 2nd quarter property tax bill in 2025.
The state form used to be three pages, it's now four plus the Capital Gains Page. I don't pay any taxes to the state, the amount of taxable income is swallowed by medical expenses. Jersey's tax system is archaic also, but no one will spend a nickel to make it more efficient. Same reason we have 529 separate local school systems, in 21 countys.

Hughie, Willie, Patrick and Guy: Nice pictures.

BigGRacing said:
working on my Liberty class ship
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Gary: Question #1 - Is there a Liberty Ship on exhibit in the Harbor at Halifax? Question #2, - If #1 is Yes, Is that the one you are modeling? Saw what was supposed to be the waterfront in Halifax on TV last Thursday, and there appeared to be a Liberty Ship tied up there. It was just a glimpse.

Curt: That's quite a difference, isn't it?

Dave: Ah yes, the Purina Feed Store. I have had mine on every layout since I moved here in 1986. The elevators need a new roof, and the weathering is natural. Your photo is outstanding.

Mike: Lot of Farms and Agri support business has disappeared from Cumberland Co. Used to pass through there on the road to Wildwood, back in the good old days.
IronBeltKen said:
I don't remember having this problem before[?] I might post a separate thread about it to see if anyone has a solution.
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Ken: The new one, I got last month does the same thing. Since I was new at it, I watched the video on U-tube, by centerline and looks like I did everything right. I had fewer issues with derailments, by pulling the car only. Changing the cloth didn't do anything either. Did take up a lot of dirt though.
 
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