Running Bear's August 2022 Coffee Shop

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chadbag said:
I need to ask my neighbor what happened to it but he was involved with research using nano-particles that were added to the process that greatly increased the efficiency such that you would add water to your car fuel tank and the system would extract hydrogen from it. Not sure if they were running a fuel cell or directly burnkng the hydrogen (I think it was the fuel cell). The efficiency of the process was a few times higher than without.

This was a year or two ago he was telling me about it and I don't know what happened. It was not deployment ready tech but exploratory tech development.
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So I just texted with him. It was fuel cells and is in active development. The company with which he developed his nano technology is working with 3rd parties on top secret work related to what I said above... We'll see what happens in the next 1-5 years or so in the market.
 
McLeod said:
Morning, folks!

The son is hitched after a 5cent wedding and the anniversary is done for another year. Both went on very nicely.
Thankyou to all those who commented and gave me high-five on these events.

I can smell another fence job coming up. I'll probably get the call today. Starting to think I should have been a fence contractor when I was in business, rather than a general contractor. It's not bad money, and less headaches.

Willie - I like the idea of printed background buildings, and will search for some suitable candidates myself. Thanks for the idea.

Dave - Not sure if I understand what 'running' means for a turtle. Are they fast? We don't have turtles here.

Jeff - The pier is beautiful, in my opinion. Well done, indeed!

Yesterday, I pre-ordered a pair of Rapido GP9RM's. It's my first time to pre-order something.
I know the GP9RM's are 1980+, but, I thought it would allow me to run trains in modern times if I could change-out the engines and vehicle's from my mid-sixties layout. GP9RM's were cut down and rebuilt from GP9's, after all.
These are the two I ordered in HO model form:
View attachment 150847
Photo contributed to RRP archive by Glen Mounk.

View attachment 150848Photo copyright - Richard Gorddard, RRP archive.

Those two engines will give me a huge timespan to play with, and I don't think I want to run six axles.

Well, the dog is bothering me for a walk. She knows we are late already.
Gotta go. Have a great day!
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This is the first time I have ever seen a Snapper run.

His four feet were elevated by a few inches, it almost looked like there was a big web between his back two legs. The bottom of his shell was literally 4" above the ground and he was moving quickly! His head was sticking out as well. As soon as he got wind of me, he went into his defensive position.
 
McLeod said:
Willie - I like the idea of printed background buildings, and will search for some suitable candidates myself. Thanks for the idea.
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You could start here.
Background Flats

A forum member who went by the name Tomkat posted hundreds of them here in 2012. You may have to play with the scale a bit.

He also posted a companion thread of signs here.
Signs for your layout

These originally were on Photobucket but were locked. Our site owner and administrator Bob, painstakingly recovered all of them and reposted them a few years ago.
 


santafewillie said:
Here's a rather recent incident near here.
Solar Panels Catch Fire on Roof of Plano Bank of America Building
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There are lots of fires with solar panels. My wife has been telling me about solar farms in Japan with fires.

I think the issues goes back to how they are installed. PV panels generate DC and a whole lot of them generate a lot of DC that is tied together into one connection (one wire) that goes to an inverter. (Obviously in a large solar farm there will be sections of panels, each section with its own inverter, but residential and small commercial probably have them all tied together and one inverter). That is a lot of current in one wire. So if it shorts out for some reason you get a fire.

A lot of newer installations (at least residential and probably smaller commercial) are using micro-inverters installed on each panel, so you get a very small amount of DC being fed into a small inverter on the panel and the panel actually has AC coming off it, which is supposedly safer. There are also some hybrid approaches that I don't remember or understand the details of. A guy in my neighborhood was explaining one of the hybrid methods as that is how his panels were being installed. Made it easier to put a battery system in (which like to be fed DC), without the huge DC wire coming down off the roof.
 
This is in Japan (similar stories can probably be told from around the world). But in Japan, they have a lot of Chinese companies coming in, clear cutting and level off mountain sides/tops and installing cheap PV without regard for the consequences. Abetted by feckless politicians.

globalvoices.org

Japan confronts the problem of ‘mega solar’

Some residents who live nearby say these "mega solar farms" destroy the environment and bring few benefits to surrounding communities.
globalvoices.org globalvoices.org


www.theguardian.com

Japan's renewable energy puzzle: solar push threatens environment

As the country rushes to cut carbon emissions by 26%, campaigners worry that forests and wildlife are being trampled
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com


The wife showed me pics from Twitter of all sorts of destroyed mountains and forests in Japan but I can't quickly find links.
 
chadbag said:
I am not anti solar or wind. Just that often in large scale installations there is an ecological cost. Maybe not in your 18000 acre one (but even then bird kill) but the rest of the world is not Texas and you need these things all over to supply the world with power.

I think more that solar is best on tops of existing buildings (commercial and residential) and used in that building, with overage spilled onto the grid. Reduce demands on the grid when able.

Nuclear is the future, if we have one, as the energy base. Augmented by these other technologies like solar, wind, etc. Hydrogen and other synthetic fuels can be manufactured with the energy from nuclear to supply the needs for mobile and similar energy requirements (what diesel and gasoline and the like are used for today). Stored electricity in large batteries (made with environmentally unfriendly mining and other methods) won't replace liquid fuels.
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There is collateral damage from everything we do, what must be weighed is the ecological cost, vs. the ecological benefit. Almost every natural resource at our disposal, requires some ecological disruption.

Environmental activists are mostly hysterical students, (and their teachers), who believe climate change will prematurely end their lives or at least eliminate their favorite recreational activity. If they somehow enter the real world, their zeal will be mitigated by the realities of life.
 


OK here we go!

Eric is selling another locomotive unit that he has retired......up over $600.00


www.ebay.com

Utah Belt HO Athearn Genisis SD70ACe #4358 Non-DCC | eBay

Utah Belt # 4358 is an Athearn Genisis SD70ACe. Additional details include: SP style nose light, metal grab irons and lift rings, brass air horn. Front headlights and ditch lights are directionally controlled, the rear lights are non-functional. This engine IS NOT DCC EQUIPPED. It is a smooth...
www.ebay.com
 
TLOC said:
Wow! I wonder how that investigation will turn out. Thanks Willie, I believed you guys but it made the media!
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The last "solar infrastructure" fire, off of Hwy 202 in SE Pennsylvania, was attributed to faulty installation. The panels turned to goo, but the shingles were mostly just scorched. Considering the many commercial and residential solar installations the occasional fire is a low percentage incident. NFPA records must substantiate this because there is no effort to lobby for more regulation.

Same with E-car fires. not significantly higher than conventional car fires, (which are on the increase). Most e-car fires are attributed to improperly installed charging stations in the house.
 
Afternoon All,

Started out with a mornng walk then did several chores. In the train room I put in a couple of small hills made of newspaper/tape and covered in plaster cloth. They'll dry overnight and tomorrow I'll give them a coat of "dirt" brown paint.

Chet- Great photos.

Jeff- Supurb modeling. I look forward to seeing your water feature.

Joe- You're a better modeler than me. I spent several days trying to get a Tichy tank car kit together. After a lot of sailor words and not getting the parts together correctly I threw the damn thing away. Life is too short.

Louis- I love all of John Wayne's calvary movies and most of his WWII movies especially In Harm's Way.

Troy- Nice start to your table.

Patrick- It's definitely different initially.

Willie- Those backgrounds should work well for you.

Dave- Great looking progress.

Guy- Those should be great additions on your layout.

layout148.jpg

layout149.jpg

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Boris said:
Most e-car fires are attributed to improperly installed charging stations in the house.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I have not done any research but most of the reports I've seen of EV fires were not related to when charging. They seemed to have to do with battery chemistry and contaminants in the batteries making the chemistry unstable. Probably a lot of different reasons for EV fires.
 
Good afternoon all!
70F in Libby.
89F in Louisville.

Birds. Ya birds hit things. You know birds can not see forward ... right? If you have your favorite bird sitting on your index finger and you both are pointing nose to beak, bird is looking 90 degrees (ish) to the left or right. Bird chooses which eye to use. Even if the bird sorta crosses the eyes to look more forward, there still is a pretty large area that can't be seen. Think of it like you are an engineer on a GP9 running long hood forward. You can see somewhat forward, but you cannot see the track directly in front of you; as long as it is straight. Pilots face almost the same problem, that is why they skew the plane to the right a small amount just before landing. Get over the center, straighten it out and touch down.
Watch a bird scratching for a meal. Think chicken here. They will scratch the ground, then backup a step and crank their head so the dominant eye is pointing down and look for potential bugs. If found they will take a peck. If they come up with a bug, good. If not, the process is repeated. The process repeats anyway depending on bug space in the gullet.
Had Patagonian Conures many moons ago and did some learning. If bird's beak was pointing to the left, it was looking directly at me with the left eye. Watch them watch the other bird in a mirror. Beak will point directly at mirror, then 90 degrees left, then right. They duck their head, then raise it as high as they can and also stand on tippy-toes also to figure what the other bird is doing. All probably standing on 1 foot while chanting some sort of bird gobbly-gook.
Anyway, during that learning process I seem to remember that Raptors could look forward when in flight by cranking their head one way or another. Tears would re-moisten they eye when necessary and the feather duster eye lashes would swipe away the bigger particles.
Most flight species get around using their internal guidance system going further than tree to tree or branch to ground. That is why buildings, bridges, wind mills and other stuff seems to get in the way, then you get that "Whack".
Probably more than you wanted to know ... Hmmm?

Later
 
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Thanks for the info on solar panel fires. I did a local County search and while none have been report for 2022 there were a few in 2021.

Like I wrote before we have had some small fires in the battery room over the years that never thankfully needed the fire department nor was there an insurance claim. In 3 of the 4 fires the warranty covered the battery damage.

I think over the next week or so I will be checking out the 3 sets off 144 sq feet of panels for the house to see what I find. The big solar sets for the stables is raised up and I would need a man lift.


in other news
9CBFA48B-B569-467E-8B0E-A5E930B89A84.jpeg
 
Alcomotive said:
OK here we go!

Eric is selling another locomotive unit that he has retired......up over $600.00


www.ebay.com

Utah Belt HO Athearn Genisis SD70ACe #4358 Non-DCC | eBay

Utah Belt # 4358 is an Athearn Genisis SD70ACe. Additional details include: SP style nose light, metal grab irons and lift rings, brass air horn. Front headlights and ditch lights are directionally controlled, the rear lights are non-functional. This engine IS NOT DCC EQUIPPED. It is a smooth...
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
What is so special about this that it's so overpriced.
 
Alcomotive said:
OK here we go!

Eric is selling another locomotive unit that he has retired......up over $600.00


www.ebay.com

Utah Belt HO Athearn Genisis SD70ACe #4358 Non-DCC | eBay

Utah Belt # 4358 is an Athearn Genisis SD70ACe. Additional details include: SP style nose light, metal grab irons and lift rings, brass air horn. Front headlights and ditch lights are directionally controlled, the rear lights are non-functional. This engine IS NOT DCC EQUIPPED. It is a smooth...
www.ebay.com
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Alco, in your opinion, why is this one so expensive for a non DCC locomotive? Is it because it’s a custom paint job or something ?
 
Alcomotive said:
OK here we go!

Eric is selling another locomotive unit that he has retired......up over $600.00


www.ebay.com

Utah Belt HO Athearn Genisis SD70ACe #4358 Non-DCC | eBay

Utah Belt # 4358 is an Athearn Genisis SD70ACe. Additional details include: SP style nose light, metal grab irons and lift rings, brass air horn. Front headlights and ditch lights are directionally controlled, the rear lights are non-functional. This engine IS NOT DCC EQUIPPED. It is a smooth...
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
Bit expensive for a non DCC locomotive isn't it?

Thinking about it, it's expensive for a DCC one too, is this perhaps Musuem Quality or a Rivet Counter?
 


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