Running Bear's August 2022 Coffee Shop

[chadbag]

I'd love to have one, but at an asking price of £483, plus 20% import tax, ($590) bit too rich for me.

Wow. that’s even more than importing the n-scale Fleischmann and Trix/Minitrix stuff from Europe over here. And I thought that was expensive. (Most of my Euro stuff was close outs or used or the like). Makes on appreciate the relatively inexpensive Japanese stuff

 

[Smudge617]

Wow. that’s even more than importing the n-scale Fleischmann and Trix/Minitrix stuff from Europe over here. And I thought that was expensive. (Most of my Euro stuff was close outs or used or the like). Makes on appreciate the relatively inexpensive Japanese stuff

The seller is in Japan

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

68° and cool outside going for a high 98° later. Humidity is down, so temp will feel cooler. So for the first time in a while, I might be able to mow when I get off of work later.

Oldest granddaughter started school yesterday, and her older brother starts today. K-6 and 9th grades were yesterday, 7,8 and upper classes at the High school start today.

Not much going on yet. Headed to the office in a bit.

BBL

 

[bnsf971]

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps, and those with mega basements, or soon-to-be basements,

It's Troy again.

Like Willie, I got my morning vampire numbers back. Creatinine was in the upper end at 1.27.
Total Cholesterol was 174, but the imbalance between good and bad was off. I suspect my new doc is going to adress this next week at my physical.

In other news, I ordered yet another new warband for one of my miniature games. There are currently four historical periods for the game of SAGA. The Age of Crusades is fast becoming my favorite period. I'm 3D printing in Resin a bunch of Moorish/Saracen/Mutatawwi'a figures from some really nice 3D sculpts.

But, for the Teutonic orders, I just wasn't finding much in the way of 3D sculpts for knights and warriors that weren't bent to the "fantasy" side. So, I emailed my plastic-crack dealer and got a couple of boxes on the way.

As for the Plantar Fasciitis, it's no longer screaming like a [censored for political reference]. Supportive footwear (Birkenstock hippy sandals), Voltaren Gel (Arthritis cream, aka localized anti-inflammatory) and massage are most effective. I'm mostly pain free with the above. I'll be upping my stretching routine today.

The KT tape seems to help, but when the tendon starts yelling at me, it's in the way of applying the Voltaren gel. I'll start using the tape again, once I'm past using the gel and sandals.

I've tried using my newest shoes for a couple shopping trips, and my plantar was screaming. So, hippie sandals for the time being.

Oh, and wife wanted the GOOD PIZZA last night (by good, she means gooooooey cheesey). We've got a mom and pop place down the road that does a good Chicago style, but we find their normal hand-tossed is more than loaded with cheese. Pizza was so good, I rushed to eat it and forgot to get a pic. But here's our plat of Garlic Knots.

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! 57 degrees headed for 78 with a heat index of 84. Should be a beautiful day, as was yesterday. I tried to check in here yesterday but couldn't get the site to load.

Didn't get anything accomplished at work yesterday. We had a faculty and staff workshop day that lasted till noon and then team building games and stuff outside most of the afternoon. It was a fun day but I really gotta get caught up today. Classes start next Thursday and I still have several things I need to get done before then.

My wife and I spent the evening mowing. We had so much rain a few days ago that it was just now dry enough to mow. The grass was really tall and now the yard looks like a freshly cut hay field. I was too tired by then to do any raking so it is what it is.

Hope you all have a great day!

 

[bnsf971]

 

[D&J RailRoad]

dang, that's a lot of pennies.
Told the daughter I would help her move some dirt this morning to fill in a garden area where she built retainer walls with Windsor stones.
Should be an exertiating day.

 

[troyphoto]

Welp... so much for that FEP!

The hazards of 3D printing:

For those who don't follow 3D printing, that cloudy bit is where liquid resin leaked out of the vat (black metal box to the right) and onto the screen protector sheet over the LCD screen.

Resin printers use a big mono-colored screen that projects UV light up into the vat (which has an FEP, or clear plastic sheet) as a bottom. A metal Build Plate Moves up and down. Burn in a layer of photo-sensitive resin, which sticks to the build plate. Printer moves the plate up a layer, another exposure. Up a layer, another exposure. The print file is sliced into half-millimeter or smaller layers to enable this process.

What happened here was I trusted that the fellow who created the 3D files of the Saracen warriors, added a good latticework of supports to all of the overhanging bits that would be printed in mid-air. Think of an archer's arm and bow extended out and away from the body.

One of those bits that should have been supported, failed to stay stuck. It drifted loose in the vat, like a stray O'Henry candy bar in a swimming pool at a golf resort. Only, I didn't have Bill Murray monitoring my little pool/vat of resin. So, it stuck to the FEP sheet and started adhering there more and more with each layer. Eventually, the heat of curing resin make a pinhole in the plastic.

AND I got a resin leak.

Fortunately, I have a $20 screen protector over the $85 LCD screen. New FEP (actually an entire new vat with FEP) is on the way. I'll order more FEP sheets eventually, and replace the sheet on the old vat. That way I can have a fresh one ready to go.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning, light rain going on, and it will soak in since grass has turned to dry straw lately

Ken - looks like fun, great layout!!!!!

Troy - the food looks great. We had eggplant from our mini garden last night, no pics but fried in ghee, cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of hot red pepper powder, it was excellent.

Curt - looking forward to the freight house, your layout is very nice!

Willie - that is really something about your numbers, I could never get mine perfect but refused to take medicine if it is only off by a little. Drives doctor crazy, but everytime he put me on something it would screw something else up. So I went off everything and nothing went haywire. Maybe some people are naturally abnormal?

I pulled out one of my old locomotives, I painted it a few years ago but it has never been run on a track. Bought it on ebay. It is much nicer than I remembered:

This actually ran nice!! The motor is in the tender, should paint the little connector black

This item was new in the box, everything present, however no where is there a date

Be nice to put a bulb in that big headlight, I have a bunch but not sure how much work I will be doing on this one. It will look good hauling my 36' old timer box cars, most of which are still in a tote.

will be back later

Dave LASM

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from waiting area of the diagnostic medical center. Terry is getting a last minute change of schedule biopsy after she said yes we can be there as we were leaving Springfield, Il at about 3 yesterday! Someone else had cancelled and her‘s was originally scheduled for Monday. We will chase trains and locomotive servicing areas in Galesburg, Il. on another day. 6 hours later after a low blood glucose event for me, a decent meal to rest and recover from the low event and we made it home. She drove about 4 hours of the actual 4.5 travel time.

I did get my latest package from HomeShopsLLC and can be found at HomeShops.net

2 more and maybe the last covered hoppers the layout should need this year.

The cars are from Tangent painted into the private name schemes and super well done.

I now have 4,

enjoy the day

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!

The wife has gone back to work, fishing adventures are over, and enough blueberries are picked until next weeks picking session.
Lucky me, I get to work on modelling and the layout for the next 3 days.

Guy - I really like that little footbridge just out in the middle of nowhere! Didn't look like there was even a path to it from camera side.

You are right, Willie. There is not much of a trail leading to the foot bridge that crosses the Lovett River. In fact, if one don't know the way, getting lost is easier than finding the bridge. This is fairly rough country in the densely forested foothills.
It wasn't always like that in the early 20th century, though, after man started mining out the area.
Here's an early photo of that exact area showing the work of industrialization. The forest's are cleared and mining is in full operation. The Lovett River can be seen in the photo.

The company houses in the background are the village of Lovett. The General Store in Lovett was still open as late as 1969, until the road was relocated some miles west to allow for expanded mining operations. Moving that road turned Lovett into a ghost-town.

Here's my modern day photo, of around that same location. The foot bridge crossing the Lovett is in the background.

I believe the forest has been mowed down and replanted a couple of times since that early photo was taken.

Curt - Thank you for posting the layout work photos. I really like the looks of the freight-house, and hope you'll share the build in photos.

Chad - The house your building looks huge to me, like you could have a 1:1 layout in the basement. Nice work so far.

Hughie - Nice steamer/layout photo. Are the yard lights WS 'Just-plug' units?

Troy - That 3D printing stuff seems more complicated than I want my brain to work. I'll leave 3D in the hands of those who like the technical stuff.

Dave - That's a very nice looking brass steam engine. I like the scene in the layout photo.

TomO - Nice looking hoppers. Well done!

Well, I'm going to get doing something. Have a wonderful day!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 74°; staying on the cool side with only 96° yesterday and the same today. Grass is turning greener after Tuesday afternoon's rain. It probably won't actually grow much except the weedy areas near the septic tank.

Yesterday's grocery trek went as planned; prices seemed stable on the stuff that I bought. Gas at most stations was $3.29/gal for regular. We went to Hobby Lobby on the way home and I got a few supplies while my wife bought a picture frame.

Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding yesterday's lonely picture; Guy, Sherrel, Troy, Dave B, Mikey, Karl, Hughie, James, Joe, Patrick, Smudge, Curt, Louis, Steve, Gary, Chet, Tom O, Rick, OB Ken.

I mostly ran trains out in the train shed yesterday since it had been at least a week. Ran two local switching runs and at least six through trains to disrupt the local switching. Meanwhile I added more ground foam, both fine and coarse around the parking lot of the Building Supply structure.

There was a discussion earlier in the week regarding the lack of culverts on layouts. I don't have many, but here's a couple.

Sherrel - Thanks for the update on Phil. Good that he is still doing OK, but sad that he has lost interest.
Curt - That scene that you referred to, was one of the earliest scenes that I did on the layout. It was done back in October 2012, although that particular picture is more recent.
Troy - Mostly good numbers there, that 112 for LDL while higher than optimal, still isn't too bad.

Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Good Morning to all those with gym sized basements and those with leaky 3D-vats!
Here's the weather scoop starting at a pleasant 71 degrees - for the remainder of the day: Friday: Mostly sunny and hot. Afternoon breezes, high of about 98°F.

I have been so busy the past few days that I do not know where to start. For the first time in quite a while, I wish I could climb back in the cockpit, close the door and launch off for unknown places just following the sun!
After dropping off Charlie at the groomer yesterday, picking him up about two hours later, rushing back home to meet the Tech from the Geek squad, then heading to the
BIL's to help him repair a broken hinge on a fridge, then to the store to grab a few things for the wifey, then gas the vehicle after a Valvoline oil change - I am a tad tired. I think things will settle down for today. The Spousal Unit is off to Newport to "sit" the #1 daughters two bulldogs for the weekend while they are headed to Tahoe for a few days - I will stay here with our pups - the bulldogs are not small but friendly to people, but not other dogs!
OK - the man from Geek has everything (I hope) set up where the Spousal Unit, MAC air can print to two printers, the H/P can print to three printers, and my MAC pro can print to two plus an additional one - which is not wifi -with a cord. I'll get to see if they all work this morning.
Bummer on the "ranch" sale ... I thought they were overpricing it to begin with - now they are talking a 200K reduction - and I'm saying a 400K reduction if they really want to sell it. If they come down 400K - it will be getting close to my buying point provided that interest rates do not go to the moon?

Better do something productive - BBL

 

[chadbag]

The seller is in Japan

Ok. It's an import there though. Japanese native brands are relatively inexpensive. I just paid for a whole train set yesterday, N-scale, special livery release of the Rapi:t, and with Fedex shipping (and the shipping part was for this and some other stuff he was holding) the total (with the great exchange rate) was $188.45. With a really bad exchange rate it would have been about $230 for the item plus Fedex shipping (and again the shipping is for more than this item).

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

70° and sunny, darn near glorious outside!

Wednesday night I started to break down the shelving and test track at the one end of the layout area. There is a computer there that handles the NCE system, as well as Decoder Pro and LokProgrammer. As I was unplugging everything and trying to remove items I must have bumped the shelf a little to hard and it tilted and a flat screen monitor fell to its demise. The screen itself may be ok, but the control panel on its edge popped open spilling its guts everywhere. actually the whole case split open. I got everything moved, but then lost all desire to continue. It really isnt a huge loss, as I have an identical monitor in storage. Thursday night I didn't make it downstairs, maybe tonight after I fix the trailer lights?

BBL

 

[JeffH]

Sold the Kato SD80MAC yesterday, so I have officially acquired about $1,200 worth of model train goodness from an auction for a net cost of less than $0.00 (Paid $311, have sold stuff for $320)

I started to put together a programming track using some of the Unitrack and the MRC Prodigy Advance Squared (which is what I was really after in the auction).

I'm glad to be able to read CV values with the MRC system. I just cracked that nut late last night, so the next step is to start tweaking sounds.

I'm fighting off the urge to get a USB interface so I can start playing around with JMRI... Please... either talk me out of using JMRI, or talk me into it.

I could use some real-life experience and wisdom to help me decide which side off the fence I should fall..

 

[Alcomotive]

I have to ask, is this a fantasy paint scheme????

View attachment 149966

No this was actually done on a prototype. Later it was repainted for A&M.

https://www.progressrail.com/en/Company/News/PressReleases/EMD3NewDemonstratorLocomotivesArkansasandMissouri.html

 

[CGW121]

This is really amazing. Crabs are the bottom feeders or garbage disposals of this Earth, and we catch them and eat them.

We eat Catfish too.

 

[Smudge617]

Ok. It's an import there though. Japanese native brands are relatively inexpensive. I just paid for a whole train set yesterday, N-scale, special livery release of the Rapi:t, and with Fedex shipping (and the shipping part was for this and some other stuff he was holding) the total (with the great exchange rate) was $188.45. With a really bad exchange rate it would have been about $230 for the item plus Fedex shipping (and again the shipping is for more than this item).

I know, it's ridiculous the prices some sellers want, works out item plus postage is $624.97 (or £516 inc p&p) or £619 including import tax or $750.10, for the same price I can get a Broadway N.Y.C. S1B 4-8-4 Niagara with Paragon 3 Rolling Thunder sound and smoke. And for $500 more a Scale Trains Museum Quality U.P. GTEL 8500 Big Blow #1