Running Bear's April 2023 Coffee Shop

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Good Morning grumpy and ungrumpy modelers, and that crazy Frenchman ;)

It's Troy again.

I'm into enough cups of coffee that I feel about ready to shower and head to the big box store. Been fiddling in RailModeller Pro this morning. Not a fan, but it's about the only rail-cad software for Mac. I'm definitely more of a Steve Brown "regular guy" type of designer. BUT, I need some basics in sight before building the benchwork.

Here's the latest... and the main "scenic loop" for the lower deck. All towns will have some sidings for limited switching. But those tracks are not figured yet. I want to place the two or three main visual points of my layout first. St. Mo Harbor, and the water features of Eerie Falls.

You see, this is a very FICTIONAL freelance layout connecting the towns in my books. We've got St. Maurice California (SoCal Coastal town) with a So. Ontario (Canada - because there is an "Ontario California")... And the Upper deck will take viewers to Misty Valley somewhere on the Welsh/English border.

Before you ask: Magic. It's a magical world where the G'nomes run the trains. ;) And cats are snarky, and may actually be mini-dragons with a hankering for Chili-Cheese Dogs...

Feedback on the layout is appreciated. There are a few hiccups where I'm trying to use flextrack to bridge gaps (like in the passing siding) and it keeps bending stuff. Ignore those bits. I'll keep it straight on the real layout.
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Good Morning All. Mostly clear and 54° on the way to a sunshiny day and 80°. Maybe less wind today after a rather gusty day yesterday. Other than tomorrow, high temperatures should remain in the 80's for quite a while. Probably until October! Next chance for rain if the NWS is to be believed is Thursday.

I spent part of the morning doing more mowing yesterday and can say that the entire yard (about 3 acres) is actually done. Now to attack those pesky low hanging branches on the Hackberry trees. I did check the pool water temperature yesterday, and it's a chilly 58° under that black cover. Too early to even consider removing it. But I do have plenty of chemicals left from last year plus some additional that I bought on sale about two weeks ago.

I'm not sure what's on tap today after Mass. We're due for a brunch with another couple from church over in the very German town of Muenster TX, a short distance from the church. After that I can do yard chores all day since it will be so nice.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I did add those remaining four parts to the P2K covered hopper kit, the roof walk supports and the roof walk grab irons.
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One odd thing about these kits, is that despite all of the intricate details, there are no brake hoses included. I may have posted that there are 84 parts total; I only broke one this time. I didn't lose any!!!
After that I "popped the top" and ran trains.

Guy -
McLeod said:
I'll bet my snow photos don't make folks very happy.
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Your snow photos make me real happy; happy that it's you and not me!
I filed your photo in the inspiration folder because of the driftwood piled up against the bridge piers.
Troy - I use 36" for the lower level and 52" for the upper level. That puts the upper level slightly below my eye level; I am 5'4". Grandkids can operate on the lower level. I use platforms and a step-stool to work on the upper level. I would not go lower, 30" is a real chore to get under especially if you store anything underneath. My maximum reach-in is 32" and that's just in a few places, mostly it's 24". Aisles are generally 32"-38", with one exception of a 24" squeeze-point. But I never operate with any other operators.
Joe - I get really antsy when I go too long without building something. I am trying to channel that energy into completing more landscape though.

Everybody have a great Sunday.
 
Sirfoldalot said:
Gentlepersons - I have reached the point where I am afraid to post anything.
People are critical of most everything these days ...
And I am mostly burned out on it all.
Vacation is called for.
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Sherrel

Times are changing for sure. Not sure why but the last month to 6 weeks does seem different here. I have reduced my over-all online time and basically I am now only posting here. I maybe reducing that too. Enjoy the vacation time, recharging the systems is a good thing

I see nothing you could possibly have offended anybody by in your posts. But yes, the skins are getting thinner around here

Willie said it best. Get off everywhere else and stick with us. I think it will be getting better here
 
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troyphoto said:
Well, howdy there internet peeps.

It's Troy again.

Today is the day to see if I have enough benchwork prebuilt to reuse, or is it going to be a full tear-down and rebuild. Jigsaw puzzle time, I guess. ;)

For those of you with multi-deck layouts, I'm hoping for an 18-inch track top to track top between the decks. My question is: Lower level at sitting height? That would put the upper deck about standing height.

I'm thinking 34 inch for lower level. And 52 for upper?

For the record, I'm 5'10" in shoes.
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Shoes in the train room, come on Troy relax a little. Slippers is what I wear…
 
Good Morning!

That darn cell phone emergency alert system woke me up at 5:30am.
There's a big forest fire heading towards Evansburg and Wildwood. Both towns are under evacuation alerts. Both towns are 1hr south of us.
With all the farms in that area, I don't believe it would be such a forest fire issue as it would be a grass fire issue.
Those towns are fairly remote from cities, and both only have volunteer fire brigades. I suspect Alberta Forestry would be involved with their planes and choppers.

Of more immediate danger to us here in Whitecourt, is the train derailment and fire that happened last evening in Blue Ridge. That hamlet is only 20mins away.
Train Derail (1).jpg

Train Derail (2).jpg

That train was carrying lumber made at the mill my wife works at. I haven't seen photos of the derailment, but, I'm imagining lumber and gravel spilled all over, with the lumber on fire.
The mill is only 3km away from that derailment, and the wife went to work today. I'll have to wait to hear what's going on. Might just be packing an overnight bag for us. - I don't see or smell any smoke in the sky; the wind is in our favour.

Sherrel - I despise the way people bitch and whine about everything these days. I liked it better when were taken out to the woodshed if we opened our mouth and cried about things. The new generation is weak, and there seems to be rampant mental illness. - I have never seen a post of yours that I have found offensive to anyone. Instead, I have always appreciated your sense of humour. I like what you write!

Willie - I've always liked your posts with all the inspirational photos. And I don't mind snow; if I can still walk in snow; then I know I'm not dead yet.

Tom Modern Day - Excellent modelling. Well done, indeed.

Jaz - I like the gas bottle idea. Lots of details are important to make a scene come alive.

It's past 7:00am. Time to walk the dog and get busy.
Have a great day everyone!
 
Good morning from So. Central Wisconsin. It is very wet, in the low 30’s, it’s windy and I am not going to the grandson’s soccer game in an hour. I did go last week when the game was played in a wintry mix and it was not enjoyable. His team has now played 4 games the last 2 weeks and yesterday. 4 loses but the g/son does have 4 goals but no assists. They are playing 10 and 11 year olds and his teammates and him are mainly 9. I am not quite sure how that happened but this Spring league he plays in a bit different but I stay out of it…

I missed yesterday’s wintry mix soccer game as I was running trains. I was invited back to the place I operated on 2 weeks ago. The BNSF Marias Pass a tremendous 800’ long mainline model railroad depicting action in areas of Montana. I have lots more pictures but will post a few here. I loved it and mentioned to Terry last night just maybe I should take up her offer of adding a train room to her stables. She said will you enjoy it? I am thinking about that…
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This is the opening scene walking into the layout room
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We are heading out this afternoon. Six the Musical is tonight’s Vegas show and I know nothing about it, other then “you are coming”.

I am ready for some warmth, golf and a good time. I have not played Blackjack in a casino since 2008 but I have permission to play if I am not alone (must be with my brother or Mark). I have a loss limit but I am not sure about playing. I don’t miss it.

enjoy the day
 


TLOC said:
Good morning from So. Central Wisconsin. It is very wet, in the low 30’s, it’s windy and I am not going to the grandson’s soccer game in an hour. I did go last week when the game was played in a wintry mix and it was not enjoyable. His team has now played 4 games the last 2 weeks and yesterday. 4 loses but the g/son does have 4 goals but no assists. They are playing 10 and 11 year olds and his teammates and him are mainly 9. I am not quite sure how that happened but this Spring league he plays in a bit different but I stay out of it…

I missed yesterday’s wintry mix soccer game as I was running trains. I was invited back to the place I operated on 2 weeks ago. The BNSF Marias Pass a tremendous 800’ long mainline model railroad depicting action in areas of Montana. I have lots more pictures but will post a few here. I loved it and mentioned to Terry last night just maybe I should take up her offer of adding a train room to her stables. She said will you enjoy it? I am thinking about that…
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This is the opening scene walking into the layout room
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We are heading out this afternoon. Six the Musical is tonight’s Vegas show and I know nothing about it, other then “you are coming”.

I am ready for some warmth, golf and a good time. I have not played Blackjack in a casino since 2008 but I have permission to play if I am not alone (must be with my brother or Mark). I have a loss limit but I am not sure about playing. I don’t miss it.

enjoy the day
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Some great pictures there Tom.
Swal
 


CambriaArea51 said:
You live in the most politically correct state there is, I can't imagine what you could've said to upset someone. Sorry to say but we don't live in a Hallmark world.
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I went back nearly 10 pages and didn't see any posts by Sherrel in those pages, so apparently he may not have been talking about one of his posts. Perhaps it was just a general observation? He is right about one thing - some people are thin skinned.
 
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