Running Bear's Coffee Shop LIX

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WJLI26- Thanks, it looks really cool when they come down from the "hill country" and whip around the curve! One line was good, two was better, could not stop at three so I jammed in a fourth! I've seen old pictures of 6 line mains and more but even I don't have the kind of room to do it in HO! I'm going to be stuck, happily, in the race track mode for some time.

kbkchooch- That is a happy smiling dog! He has done well in finding a new home!

I saw light dusting of snow on the garage roof this morning, I suppose it hadda happen! Winter is here!
 
Good Morning Gang. 29° and clear today. First freeze of the season came two days before the average date of 11-22. Back to normal tomorrow with highs in the upper 60's to mid 70's for the next ten days; lows in the upper 40's. Spent a good part of the day in the garden yesterday preparing it for spring. Cut most remaining debris and spread out some compost and leaf/grass mulch. Should work some of it in this week before the rain forecast for Tuesday. Picked the last of the frost susceptible veggies, over twenty pounds of mostly bell peppers, that will be diced and frozen in a day or two.
Out in the train shed, I put some finishing touches on the most recent structure build, an Atlas kit "Middlesex Manufacturing Co.", trials on weathering have not worked out the way that I want, so I will experiment some more. In the meantime, I did take a couple of pictures of the Walther's "Prairie Star Elevator that I completed about a week ago.
11-20-16 003.001.jpg11-20-16 001.001.JPG
This was an easy build, went together well and no trimming or other adjustment was necessary. The grain-loading spout is scratch-built from stuff in my parts box plus a piece of 18 ga. electrical wire, since the kit itself didn't have one. I installed lights in this structure, but haven't run a lighting buss anywhere on the layout. Probably 30 other structures have them as well. My Preiser people will just live in the dark for a while longer.

Ray - Looks like a happy engineer.
Garry - Great news from you.
Curt - I feel that way sometimes. For me it's always best to just leave the workbench and run a train or two, or just get a beer or two and sit outside in the yard.
Eric - Good to hear from you. Unfortunately you will not feel better until about 10 days after the chemo is completed. But the bright side is that you can still feel bad. Better than the alternative. Don't know if it is an option for you, but my friend who went through the same thing a few years back used medical "mary jane" using a vaporizer, even though it is not legal in Texas. It certainly helped him.
Justin - Landscaping looks good. I know that I am repeating what I said yesterday, but that yard office really fits the scene.
Bruce - Good idea on moving the yard to the center where you can access it from both sides. Looks real sweet. Are you going to be ready by Thanksgiving, or is Christmas a better option?
Gotta get moving now. Everyone have a great day.

Willie
 


Thanks Santafe! Hammering hard to make it runnable by Thanksgiving! I have a reputation now and it had BETTER be up and running something when the family comes around!

Power distribution was a factor in moving the yard. Even flow to all parts of the layout is important and I'm taking no chances this time going with two power hook ups, one for the mains and one for the yard. I was lucky last time with the one hook up but I'm adding a lot more track on this set up.
 
Good morning.

Everybody .... Thanks for the kind remarks about my surgery. As I said, it was minor this time. It was my 7th heart surgery and I will be okay.

Justin ... You are making good progress on the layout. As others here, I solder my rail joints except, of course, insulated joints. Solder also helps prevent kinks at joints of flex track on curves.

Willie .... Your grain elevator looks good.

Curt ... Your signal project is very interesting.

Joe ... I like the photos of PRR electrics and N&W road switchers.

Ray ... I like the photos of the little GE loco.

New Guy ... You have laid a lot of track.

Eric ... Sorry to hear you are weak. I encourage you to continue defeating the enemy. We care.
 
Mornin' folks!

David, yes, it is a great photo of me.... It was taken by a professional who was doing a photo shoot out at the museum several years ago. He rode back down the line in the Erie Caboose I was working in, and asked if I would pose for a couple shots with me in the doorway of the 80 tonner. As a thank you he emailed a couple of the photos with no restriction on use. BTW, I have lost about 30 lbs since that photo was taken......

santafewillie said:
Ray - Looks like a happy engineer.
Willie
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Yep! Except I'm not an engineer..... LOL I am certified as a Brakeman and usually work as a Trainman/Car Host. In order for the photographer to take that shot, the engineer had to set up the loco with basically 3 point protection and leave the loco. He had to put the brakes in emergency, move the forward - reverse lever to neutral and remove the lever to take with him, and shut down all electric to the motors.... I have taken the Brake and Train Handling Class but will not certify as a conductor or engineer due to my hearing loss. Really need to be able to understand all radio commands in those jobs. I am radio certified by rules and do use the radio as Car Host.

Have a great day!
 
Morning Shop People! 58 heading to 69 (my favorite number) for a high today. Sky is mostly sunny, but they say 100% chance of rain tonight and early morning - NOT going to hold my breath, but even a sprinkle is welcome.

Willie How many peppers equate to 20 lbs? Amazing! Yessirree! Jim Walthers an't got nothing on you! You are cranking out structures rather quick;y. I like the elevator there. Color Would keep this old "duster pilot" from running into it for sure.

Terry That's quite a list on the Pennsy!

Karl - Always like to see a happy doggy! That's a keeper .. looks like a real lover too!

Eric - I feel for you and the Chemo treatments. I did not have the doses that you have had, but it kept me feeling sh###y for as much as a year after it was over.

Garry Wonderful news on your part!
 
Sirfoldalot said:
Willie How many peppers equate to 20 lbs? Amazing! Yessirree! Jim Walthers an't got nothing on you! You are cranking out structures rather quick;y. I like the elevator there. Color Would keep this old "duster pilot" from running into it for sure.
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Twenty pounds of strictly bell peppers is about 65 of them for me, but I had a mixture of Bells, Poblanos, Anaheims, and Jalapenos; in a large paper grocery sack.

Willie
 
A cold day in good ol West by God Virginia today. Not doing any track work as of yet. Been doing up buildings. Couldn't figure out how I messed up my measurements for my depot. Well I purchased one that is in plastic form and it's too big. Got the measurements for my actual C&O depot kit and it's half the size of the one I have and gives me a 1/4" from the edge of my road. I had forgotten that I measured for that depot and not the one I have now. Big oops on my part but can be remedied in time. Wood kits intimidate me a lot. I worry I'll mess something up and it'll warp or something of the sort. I've been doing some reading on wood kits to help get a better feel for how they are constructed. I'm sure in time I'll build up the motivation to put it together. Right now I have enough on my plate to do. Hopefully I can get my merchants row done up and in place. It'll definitely make my day for sure. Then on to my camp houses. I'm losing a weekend to work on my layout due to going to the in laws next weekend. So I'm going to attempt to cram as much structure building in as I can. No rush as I don't want to make a mistake.

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Out in the train shed, I put some finishing touches on the most recent structure build, an Atlas kit "Middlesex Manufacturing Co.", trials on weathering have not worked out the way that I want, so I will experiment some more. In the meantime, I did take a couple of pictures of the Walther's "Prairie Star Elevator that I completed about a week ago.
Click to expand...

Willie: I have at least one photo of the Prototype Building represented by the Middlesex Manufacturing Co building kit. It's part of the old Helm Tobacco Company mill in Helmetta, NJ (in Middlesex County, no less). The building is adjacent to the Conrail Amboy Secondary, (CSSA). The photo (which is on my old computer HD), shows SA31 passing the Helm Complex.

For what it's worth, Helmetta is named for Gen. Helm's daughter Etta, and is a classic "Company Town". Also notable is that a prototype for each of Atlas kit and built up houses and garages can be found in Helmetta.

I will upload the photo, later today.
 


This is completely non-railroad, but a lot of us seem to be about the same age and share similar interests, so consider it a Public Service Announcement.

It's impossible for some of us to think of Thanksgiving without thinking of a certain sentence, so it seems appropriate to mention at this time that the boxed set of WKRP has had 90% of the original music restored.

In a related PSA, the Australian boxed set of Tour of Duty has the entire original musical soundtrack, and non-regional DVD PLAYERS are only $35.

Amazon is our friend.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
Beady -- couldn't fine the "like" button, so have to respond this way - lol.

In another time: Wonder what hit the cab roof above the fireman's window?

4-6-0-634-at-Kansas-City-Missouri-on-April-23-1939-Arthur-B.-Johnson-BLW.jpg
 
Seriously, that's a canvas awning that extends out over the window for some shade. Looks like maybe the front roller came loose.
 
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Afternoon All,

Well I have good news and bad news in the signal project. I have 3 signals mounted on the layout and working like they should. The forth one would not work. Keep in mind that it worked before gluing the back on. I tried several different things without success, so I'm done with it for now. Tomorrow I need to put ground cover around the 3 signals.

Eric- I hope you are feeling better.

Justin- Very nice modeling.

NG- Your track plan is really coming together. What are the track radii in the loop around?

Karl- Nice looking pooch.

Joe- Nice N&W picture.

Willie- Nice looking grain tower.

20161120_143701_zpsjgoqsqhe.jpg


I hope everyone has a good night.
 
It's ok Willie, I don't get too low over a loss (my poor wife does) or too high over a win for that matter. I just enjoy the games, but its always better if my team wins.

You have to give it to the Cowboys. Their ball control offense wore down the Ravens defense. The Ravens offense was once again unable to achieve any consistency. Combine those 2 factors and you can easily neutralize an aggressive defense by it's own fatigue. The fatigue led to a lack of a pass rush opening up the Ravens to the deep fly pattern.

I was surprised to see the Cowboys come out trying to throw, that played right into the Ravens hands. Kudos to their offensive staff for finding a way to move the chains and win the time of possession and in doing so win the game.

If the Ravens can put together some ball control on offense and not over tax our defense we can still go far in the playoffs. But we have to win time of possession.

Lets see what the Redskins can do with the Packers, I'll have to catch that in the morning on the DVR.
 


santafewillie said:
Sorry Louis, 27-17. To others, Cowboys over the Ravens.

Willie
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Just not their year. Worse than that the Caps lost to Columbus 3-2. :mad: Not a good weekend for the NHL teams I follow. On the Bright side, Villanova closed out it's football season putting a hurting on Delaware, 41-10, and their national Champion Basketball team is off to a 3-0 start. Good thing the game wasn't on locally, just the Giants. Redskins play tonight on NBC.

Willie: here is the photo, taken 02-26-2009 by A. Blaszczyk.

SA-31 at Helmetta February 26 2009 (1) (002).jpg

The mill expanded over the years, the oldest date to the 1870s. The Atlas model is the one behind the locomotive, I think. They made snuff here. The complex has since been converted to Condos.

Curt: The signal looks good. Hope powering the fourth, doesn't involve too much extra work.
 
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