Running Bear's Coffee Shop LIX

[kbkchooch]

Good evening gents

Can I get a slice of cheesecake Flo, and a cold Diet Dew?

Louis, I'm with you, I will watch a game if its entertaining, but who wins and loses doesn't matter. Nascar is another matter. I've been known to scream at the TV, bite my nails, and generally get too worked up about who wins or loses at times. But that season is now over for the year, until next February in Daytona. Next year already promises to be hard for me to deal with, as my favorite driver will be switching from Chevys to Fords next year. About as hard to swallow for me to swallow like if Baltimore drafted Rothlesburger next year. Oh well, there's always the trains!

Curt, those signals look great!

Joe, cool pic!

Sandman time,,,l8ter gang!

 

[IronBeltKen]

Curt - nice job on the signal! Too bad about the fourth one malfunctioning, reminds me of when I install decoders - the toughest part for me is getting the shell back on without pinching or breaking any wires! I'm sure you'll get a few more signals done in the future after you've taken some time off to just operate your trains...

Joe - that's a great shot of Middlesex Mfg., they even got an Atlas Geep in it! Is the prototype Atlas Passenger Station still there, or has it been razed?

Sherrell - enjoyed the phone chat yesterday.

Bruce - looks like you've got a good start on modeling the PRR Horseshoe Curve!

Sorry I can't greet everybody by name, but it's bedtime in my timezone...

Here's what I wound up doing today - casting loads for my slag pots:

I still need to paint the tops to resemble hot slag. Only finished 10 of the 12 that I need because I ran out of epoxy.

G'nite all!

 

[kbkchooch]

4:22 a.m. ,,, house is too quiet, no power, only the sound of the wind and the soft beeping of the battery back up on the puters,,,,,,, happy Monday.

Ken, the loads look awesome.

 

[IronBeltKen]

4:22 a.m. ,,, house is too quiet, no power, only the sound of the wind and the soft beeping of the battery back up on the puters,,,,,,, happy Monday.

Ken, the loads look awesome.

Thanks Karl! Hope they get your power restored soon...

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's clear and 32.
Looks like a short work week, only three Mondays...

 

[tootnkumin]

4:22 a.m. ,,, house is too quiet, no power, only the sound of the wind and the soft beeping of the battery back up on the puters,,,,,,, happy Monday.

Ken, the loads look awesome.

Sort'a reminds you of the sound near the end of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XlHdVdsjOA

 

[new guy]

Thanks CSX- It was a tricky section to do, I wanted it's mirror on the other end but must wait until I can get more 15" sectional, I won't use flex on anything tighter than 24" radius curves.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning Fellow Coffee Shop Dwellers. 43° and clear this morning. The warm-up begins. Getting ready for the great Thanksgiving feast Thursday. It's my sister's turn to host in the rotation, we're going to have a smaller attendance this year because of in-law commitments from some of the second generation. Only 30 instead of the 46 last year! My contribution this year is beer! We're Irish-Catholics and that will be an undertaking!!!
Thanks to all for the comments on the grain elevator.
Out in the train shed, I spent time giving some sections of track a minor cleaning, and generally straightening the place up. Expecting some visitors over today if they can find me, and they will inevitably want to see some action, seven-year old boy. Started painting the window sills on the Atlas kit...there's a bunch of them, see Joe's picture.
Joe - Great picture of the Helm Tobacco Co, (Middlesex Mfg.). After reading your short history and seeing the picture, I googled it and found some interesting stuff. Yes, the building behind the loco is roughly what Atlas modeled. I cannot duplicate the building exactly as I have already painted all of the windows gray instead of the red that they came in, but I can use the picture as a reference point for weathering.
Bruce -

I have a reputation now

More ways than one...HaHaHa...I am picturing a crazy kook on a scooter!!!
Sherrel - Your comment on "duster pilots" reminded me of the ones that frequent my neighborhood every so often. Truly amazing and great pilots they are.
Justin - Wood kits can be intimidating until you get the first one "under your belt". I have grown to love them, even though they take some patience and care in assembly. Start with a simple one, brace against the grain and prime both sides (I use cheap Walmart or not so cheap Krylon primer) to eliminate any possibility of warpage.
Curt - Three out of four is better than any MLB player! Good luck on finding the gremlin and fixing it.
Ken - Just need to get them to glow in the dark.

Almost light enough to walk and the weather conditions aren't bad, no wind, still have to put on a sweatshirt and possibly a hat.
Everybody have a great day.

Willie

 

[new guy]

Good Morning Fellow Coffee Shop Dwellers. 43° and clear this morning. The warm-up begins. Getting ready for the great Thanksgiving feast Thursday. It's my sister's turn to host in the rotation, we're going to have a smaller attendance this year because of in-law commitments from some of the second generation. Only 30 instead of the 46 last year! My contribution this year is beer! We're Irish-Catholics and that will be an undertaking!!!
Thanks to all for the comments on the grain elevator.
Out in the train shed, I spent time giving some sections of track a minor cleaning, and generally straightening the place up. Expecting some visitors over today if they can find me, and they will inevitably want to see some action, seven-year old boy. Started painting the window sills on the Atlas kit...there's a bunch of them, see Joe's picture.
Joe - Great picture of the Helm Tobacco Co, (Middlesex Mfg.). After reading your short history and seeing the picture, I googled it and found some interesting stuff. Yes, the building behind the loco is roughly what Atlas modeled. I cannot duplicate the building exactly as I have already painted all of the windows gray instead of the red that they came in, but I can use the picture as a reference point for weathering.
Bruce -
More ways than one...HaHaHa...I am picturing a crazy kook on a scooter!!!
Sherrel - Your comment on "duster pilots" reminded me of the ones that frequent my neighborhood every so often. Truly amazing and great pilots they are.
Justin - Wood kits can be intimidating until you get the first one "under your belt". I have grown to love them, even though they take some patience and care in assembly. Start with a simple one, brace against the grain and prime both sides (I use cheap Walmart or not so cheap Krylon primer) to eliminate any possibility of warpage.
Curt - Three out of four is better than any MLB player! Good luck on finding the gremlin and fixing it.
Ken - Just need to get them to glow in the dark.

Almost light enough to walk and the weather conditions aren't bad, no wind, still have to put on a sweatshirt and possibly a hat.
Everybody have a great day.

Willie

LOL! I look like Dumb and Dummer in cammo, long hair flying and SOLAR SHIELDS from Grandma over my glasses, GRINNING like a lunatic going about 25 miles an hour! No more scooting this year though, WAY too cold! I'm crazy, but not stoopid.

 

[Raincoat2]

Mornin', everyone. Hey, Karl - - cheesecake for breakfast? Sounds like a plan. My wife and I went to IHOP Saturday and I had the strawberry/banana French toast - m-m-m-m! Just some coffee for me right now, though. I don't get on the forum on weekends, so it takes me a while to catch up on Monday morning!

38 this morning, heading for 60 this afternoon. Two good freezes over the weekend, and we're done for a while - just Jack Frost letting us know he's in town. Highs in the 50s all week, lows in the 30s - Thanksgiving day looking fantastic.

Garry - great news on your surgery.
Bruce - that 4-track curve looks great.
Willie - another nice build.
Eric - keep up the good fight - we're all with you!
Curt - that signal looks really nice - a little scenery and you'll have a great addition to your layout. Hope the rest of them go well.

Weekend saw me finish taking down that popcorn ceiling in the family room (now the train room), painting the ceiling, and cleaning up. DONE!! Then started some benchwork. Using lots of ideas I got from all of you out there. Should be stronger and nicer. Intend to post a photo later this week.

Our thanksgiving won't bring us too many family, certainly not like Willie - We'll have about 6 on Thanksgiving, and 9 at Christmas.

Got to run. I always check in throughout the day.
Have a great day, everyone.
Johnny

 

[Boris]

Good morning, all. 37°, cloudy and windy.

Ken: Nice job with the slag loads. They look great. About the only thing in Helmetta that wasn't by Atlas , was the passenger station, which was a standard PRR shelter and cinder platform.

Willie: Happy to be of assistance.

Louis: At least the Redskins won convincingly over Sherrel's Packers.

Terry: You're right it's a condensed week. #1 son & family are driving down on Thanksgiving Morning. Lot to do in preparation, little time to do it.

Have a great day.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning ... ... I certainly do appreciate all of the kind words regarding my surgery. I should be back to normal life for another 5 years........ When I was diagnosed with heart failure, I was told I might live just five more years. That was 15 years ago, and I'm ready to add the next five years.

Ken..... I agree with Karl, Joe, and others.

Below is a photo in which you can see my slag cars at the blast furnace. I made my hot slag loads from magenta/orange poster board. I prayed lightly with mineral red from a rattle can. It had blobs of paint randomly scattered. I cut it into correct diameter circles and set it into the slag cars.

 

[new guy]

Thanks Raincoat, I saw a painting of a stack of lines like that from late 1800's or early 1900's England, I think, it sparked my feeble imagination! My "original" design had only two lines through there but when I saw four would maybe fit, I hadda go for it!

"Freehanding" them did not work out too good, find a center point and draw those lines out, don't count on the sectional pieces to guide you exactly along your radius, it won't!
24 1/2", 22", 18", 15"!

Chalk lines made a big difference this time, a gage was all I used last time and it looked a little "wavy gravy" when I got done.
Gage. Crappy, but serviceable.

Chalk lines, STRAIGHT! (er) The yard goes down today and maybe, just maybe a fifth line in the middle depending on how much track I have left! Getting down to the bottom of the barrel!

 

[rhoward]

Mornin'..........

Today has been cancelled due to weather conditions!

73

 

[montanan]

Good morning to all. Starting off at 37 degrees this morning.

It was a bit of a long weekend for us. Friday night bowling league and then we were off early Saturday morning for a bowling tournament in Butte. Instead of having to bowl on Sunday, we did a late shift which ended around 11 PM. Didn't feel like driving back so we got a hotel room before we left for Buttle. Left after breakfast Sunday so we could be home for the final NASCAR race. Jimmy is now a 7 time champ. I was hoping for Carl Edwards to win, but that didn't happen.

Garry - Glad that you are doing well. Nice photo. It's nice to have the room to have an industry like that. Quite an interesting feature.

Joe - You're a good man posting those Also photos.

Ray - Sure looks like he's having a blast.

Bruce - You're making some good progress. Moving along nicely.

Willie - Like the grain elevator. Wish I had the room for one that large as grain is a major commodity on my layout.

Karl - Looks like you have a loyal friend there.

Curt - The signal really is a nice addition. Like the looks of it. Well worth the effort.

Ken - Like the slag loads. You and Garry should get together.

Poling Pockets - I can remember seeing poling being done when I was riding with my relatives on the Milwaukee Road. They always wanted me to hide somewhere in case the pole broke and pieces went flying.

Push pole.

I had a couple of people ask how the yard at Logan would work for an incoming train so here are a few photos of how it operates.

Here is an inbound local freight train entering the yard.

Entering the yard it enters the run around track.

In the last photo it uncouples from the train and backs out of the siding.

Once the locomotive has run around the train, it gets behind the caboose, pulls the train out of the track with the run around and pushes it into the yard.

Once the train is dropped in the yard, the caboose is moved to the caboose track.

With the caboose dropped off, the locomotive backs into the engine servicing tracks.

It is a bit more complicated than just backing a train into the yard, but being that I enjoy switching, it adds moves and interest for me.

Catchya later.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Morning all! My day is starting at 51 with an expected high of only 61 under overcast skis. Just as I suspected, we had a "passover" rain shower sometime during the night - meaning that most of the rain passed overhead somewhere else. I just took the trash out to place in the dumpster and noticed that underneath the vehicles in the driveway - the concrete was dry while everything else looked wet. Par for the course; now I have to clean the windscreens from the streaking - such is life in So Cal.

Lots of coments to make this morning, but have to hurry off for an early doctors appointment. I did have some good news from last weeks visit - the aneurysm in my brain has been there quite a long time, is very small, and had calcified. I was told that the chances of it causing trouble was 0.05% a year (whatever that means?)

FOR SALE: One share of Green Bay Packer stock ... cheap ... grab it while it still has some value!

Later Guys!

 

[chessie_system3]

Good morning fellers. Decided to take on building the camp houses. I have one coming to completion. It's a motivator to say the least.

She isn't finished yet but it is turning out nicely. I'm getting really pleased with my build. Also the true overlooked unit on my roster. I should really make her a staple on my layout. Had to replace a broken coupler on her yesterday. Now I can do shove with it and not have any issues.

Not many will brag on a Bachmann model. I actually love this unit. I may buy the 4812 shell from Bachmann as a dummy unit and do a sister unit pair.

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

 

[Raincoat2]

Garry - I agree with Chet - that's an interesting industry for your layout. No room on ours for something like that, so we'll stay with some "typical" old-school stuff like logging-to-lumber, coal distributor, grain elevator, etc. But definitely a nice feature - look quite realistic. Nice job.
New Guy - I figured that inside curve was tight - hope everything rolls right on it. Can't wait to see how it all comes together. It's looking good.
Chet - Thanks for the photos and explanation. It also helps us see your structures and scenery, too. I've seen your videos, including your ride-throughs, and it's a very nice, dramatic, and complete layout. Keep enjoying your switching.
Hasta luego.
Johnny

 

[Genetk44]

Good morning

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Put down ground cover around the 3 lights today and ran my H10-44 for about 30 minutes. I realized I haven't ran anything since I started the light project. I found some dirty spots on the track, cleaned them, then life was good.

We will have a total of 12 at the house for Thanksgiving.

Has anyone seen the Continental car Christmas commercial? It starts off with a girl watching a model Pennsy K4s then she dreams of being in a full size K4s as an engineer. I thought that was pretty darn neat.

Karl- A good friend of mine is that way when he watches the Gators play. He is a diehard fan. Look in Websters, his picture is there under that term!

Ken- Great job with the slag loads. I wish I had done my coal loads that way so they could be removed.

Garry- Truly outstanding modeling.

NG- Looking good.

Chet- Great set of pictures and tutorial.

Sherrel- Great news about the aneurism.

Justin- Very nice work. I have had Bachmann diesels and steamers and have been happy with them. Bachmann's quality control has been increasing but then so have their prices.

Gene- Too cold for me.

The electrical wizards came through for me before so hopefully you can do it again! I want to wire a simple on/off switch into the light circuit. They are way too bright and draw my eye there all the time. I figure to keep them off until I am actually using that particular siding. Below is how they are wired.

I hope everyone has a good night.