Running Bear's Coffee Shop LVIII

[tootnkumin]

Kind of like a "Fintstones" trains!!
How cool is that!!!

Yeah, they all get off and push on the upgrades, that's why there's so many.

 

[tootnkumin]

And when they get to their station, those hop of and another lot get on and take over.

 

[new guy]

I don't see how they allow it but maybe they figure on reincarnation to get em on the next train if they fall off and get themselves killed!

 

[Burlington Bob]

NG, that made me laugh!

 

[tootnkumin]

If you ask an Indian if he takes a train, he'll tell you "Yes, I do, but they're heavy."

 

[Trussrod]

Evening All,

Made the trip to south Orlando today with another trip to Wally World. I received an email from BLI today saying that the new sound board was shipped. Seeing that I only live about 90 minutes from them I should see it by Friday at the latest. The description of the board was strange "P3 PRR L1 decoder with Digitrax fix". It almost sounds like the only problems are with Digitrax systems-I wonder if that is correct?

David- Very nice picture and scene.


Here is a real L1 at the RRMP

I hope everyone has a good evening.

Hi Curt: Glad to hear about your decoder being replaced. The description does sound a bit odd.

Thanks for your comment on my my handcar & track shot.

Good morning troops! Another beautiful day in the State of Commiefornia where it was a scorcher of 91 degrees yesterday.
I was helping my neighbor build a patio cover and it was hot. We will be on this job for the next several days. I was not able to hold out any longer than about 3 hours. Sure don't have it left in me anymore. Climbing up a ladder and using scaffolding for painting got old in a hurry. On a good note .. I am feeling better and stronger with each passing day .. so happy to be off that chemo.

Chet Your photos and modeling just simply are marvelous! (except for that BL-2, they just don't make enough lipstick to cover up that pig .. lol)

Curt Your tunnel and bridge addition really worked out well as far as giving you a very nice photo opt. Those Pennsy locos really make a statement .. as the Pennsy always did.

David The trackside photo with the handcar is great. It's simple, but very eye catching and the "trackside" shot makes the details really stand out.

Sherrel: Thanks for your compliment, I was mainly trying to show the distressed wood ties along with the code 70 rail. I surprised no-one has asked about the large silver track snake that's got his fangs dug into the rail-web! LoL

Sherrel ... Thanks .... I still have not ordered the tractor for the trailer.

Daivd in CA.... I like the hand car and the old looking track .. Nice !

Hi Garry: I appreciate your reply, I've got a long ways to go to catch up with you though!

Good morning, 33°. I'm actually up before sunrise, this morning. Lot of pain from arthritis, right now, until the meds kick in.

David: First of all, I like your scene with the hand car. The broken weathered tie ends really make the scene. Of course, it helps when the track is hand laid.

Building a model railroad is all about compromise. I have attempted to use both published plans and planning software in the past without much success. At best they are approximations.

I find that using sectional track useful in planning out what I want, and seeing if the idea is viable. It also gives me the ability to run trains before I have track down. Once I migrate to flex, I will have to re-plot the curves. But that is really a minor technicality, especially as once I'm set on the plan, I will build and add scenery, one module at a time.

Say Joe: Your comment is appreciated, thanks, and yes, having used wood ties is what allowed me to distress the ties as I did. That's one of the drawbacks of working with the plastic tie strips, it's hard to to distress them like that which is done with a Stainless Steel brush and scrubbing back and forth.

The sectional track can be used to mark the outline with pencil so you can follow that when laying your flex track [FT]. Just realize that with FT you can change your beginning point or ending point of a transition where you desire as your not limited by the length of curvature of the sectional

View attachment 54406

Guess I'll get the coffee going this morning. Starting the day off with overcast skies and 50 degrees.

Here another photo of a project that is over 20 years old. Jeeze, most of my stuff is old, just like me.

Another way to look at it is, 'there's no-one getting any younger'!

Good Morning All. Clear and 42 degrees here this morning. It's warmer in Montana than it is here, what's up with that???
montanan - Another great picture of another great scene.
David - Nice work on that track and the rest of the scene.
new guy - I like your holder. It is more sophisticated than mine which is just a U-shaped piece of packing foam that doesn't allow for clamping. Depending on the thickness of the foam on the bottom, you will probably go down to 1" x 2" for the sides to allow more room for your hands. My sides are only 1.75".
View attachment 54407View attachment 54408View attachment 54409

Well today is another trek to the big city of Denton 25 miles away, to pick up a chimney rain cap that I ordered for our wood-burning stove (my only source of heat); get a haircut, visit the vitamin store and of course the beer store! Too bad the LHS there is now closed or I would have included it on the trip.
Willie

Say Willie: Thanks for your reply and comment, I've got a long way to go yet.

LOL! Sure looks like it's moving some people! That shot must have been taken in 'Gottalottapoor' or some such exotic location.

Ya couldn't get away with such common sense (yet dangerous) practices here! Talk about personal responsibility! THAT is the ultimate! 'Personally' holding on for your very LIFE!


No matter how happy I may be to be taking this next step, the addition of metal wheels alone will of course not be the total fix, some kind of lubricating element will be needed even after I get into metal trucks, which seems inevitable. 'Gun oil' (big shock) is my most available solution in the short term. I seem to have enough of THAT! Weight is also very important in my estimation. Those little 1/4? gram lead weights with the sticky backing look neat and easy to apply. Boxcars would be easy, just remove the shell and put em on the deck. Tankers though, it would be hard to hide em on, I was thinking just drill a hole or cut the lid off and glue it back on to put sand or caulk or glue or something in the tankers to bring em up to weight.

I think that's 'Gottalottapoor, India' !

Chet: Prototype rail height was deceiving. For instance PRR used 155 lb stick rail, on heavy traffic - high speed main lines, and in at least one case, an electrified branch with frequent coal trains. The Leigh Valley, used 136 lb Lackawanna, which was as tall as the heavier PRR Rail. Some 125 lb RE and 140 lb appeared identical. Same with the 100 lb and 118 lb rail used on some main lines in the South. So Code 70 is appropriate for more than just branch lines, and industrial districts.

I first tried code 70 back in the '80s. The Model Railroad Shop in Dunnellen, NJ was a convenient stop back then, and they handled the full Shinohara (Lambert) Code 70 line, as well as Micro Engineering weathered flex. Back then, Shinohara still made a #5 switch, in Code 70. Now they offer a #4, a #6, and larger switches, but no #5. ME rail is a PIA to curve, and there is an instructional video that shows an easier way to do it. I may actually try some Shinohara flex rail when the time comes. I still have several sections of benchwork to fabricate before I can visualize the complete layout.

When I was hand laying my turnouts I was building them in place. I guess you could call them a number 5. They weren't as tight as a number 4 but tighter than a number 6. Some are probable an eight or a 10 but that was quite a while ago. In more recent times I have used at least a number 6 on the main line, but in industrial areas, a number 4 actually worked a bit better saving space, but I haven't had any problems at all with derailments.

In this photo you can see how nice the code 70 looks. I think the guy on the right may have had lunch in the local saloon.

 

[tootnkumin]

Had a hot one today (Friday), 90deg, heading for 92.5 tomorrow. Hottest day for the month so far. But they do have snow at the Gold Coast.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's clear, and 46.

 

[new guy]

Had a hot one today (Friday), 90deg, heading for 92.5 tomorrow. Hottest day for the month so far. But they do have snow at the Gold Coast.

LOL! I keep forgetting you are down under! I saw you post 90 and did a classic double take! It won't be doing THAT around here anytime soon. I was like Gold Coast? Africa? THEN I remembered there was another! 90!!! I'd take a day or two of that.

 

[montanan]

Good morning, or should I just say morning. Well, I'm on the right side of the grass, so I guess it's good. 26 degrees with a winter weather advisory in the higher elevations, but we should be alright in the valley.

Just a quick pic to start off the morning.

 

[tootnkumin]

Yes we have a few places with "borrowed' names, and I think after today with the Hummidity that's been really humming, 1 more day will just about do it for me too. Not looking forward to February, when we usually get the 100 pluses.

 

[new guy]

Good morning, or should I just say morning. Well, I'm on the right side of the grass, so I guess it's good. 26 degrees with a winter weather advisory in the higher elevations, but we should be alright in the valley.

Just a quick pic to start off the morning.

LOL! Very cool! That s the kind of stuff I want on mine!

 

[tootnkumin]

Actually, I could always shove some of our air in a suitable container and post it to you, just stick it in the microwave for 30 secs and lift the lid.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Starting off the day at a balmy 48 degrees, with the high expected to be in the lower 70's like most of the last week and a half. I think we have three more days of this weather and then it drops about 6-8 degrees.
Burlington Bob - I've lived in and around Denton TX since 1969. I really like it as well. I assume you are referring to Babe's in Sanger where you get all the fried chicken and Southern fixin's you can eat. That is about half way between where I live and Denton itself and I love going there. I'm not an ice cream kind of guy so I have never been to Beth Marie's, but I saw a feature about it on one of the cooking network shows about three weeks ago.
Garry - I do have plenty of room and it gives me plenty to do now that retirement has set in. I'm pausing on the bench work and track laying/wiring for a few days/weeks and I am building structures that I have planned for that area. Hopefully I will get back to scenery on the lower level and get some more completed soon.
Chet - Watching your cab ride video reminds me of some old-timers like Earl Smallshaw who did not complete or detail the backs of their structures because "no one sees them anyway". I see that you detail them as I do as well. Hey, I might turn one around one day or purchase a mini-cam as you and others have done. I have seen other videos on YouTube where the backsides of buildings were just a white sheet of styrene!
new guy - I haven't seen a new post under Michigan Central Unlimited in over two weeks. What's up with that?

That's all for now.
Willie

 

[montanan]

Willie - I didn't use a mini cam. All I have is a regular camcorder that I put on a flat car. That.s all I have. I did have a problem with it because it seems that all of my flat cars seem to have sprung Kadee trucks on them and if the camers isn't perfectly balanced, it would roll off of the flat car and wipe out a herd of 1/87 cattle because my curves are super elevated and with the weight of the camera it can get interesting.



The camera will not fit into my hidden staging tracks because it is too tall for the tunnel portals.

 

[santafewillie]

Whoops! Didn't mean to make the wrong assumption on the camera. Rolling off and wiping out that cattle herd would indeed make an interesting video.
Willie

 

[Boris]

Good morning. 47° and sunny this morning. Going to the low 60s. The Gas company just has to hate this weather.

Spent yesterday in Pennsylvania. Wife had to exercise her POA to take over her mothers finances. What a PIA. It will take weeks to unwind. Going back there Friday.

 

[new guy]

Good Morning All. Starting off the day at a balmy 48 degrees, with the high expected to be in the lower 70's like most of the last week and a half. I think we have three more days of this weather and then it drops about 6-8 degrees.
Burlington Bob - I've lived in and around Denton TX since 1969. I really like it as well. I assume you are referring to Babe's in Sanger where you get all the fried chicken and Southern fixin's you can eat. That is about half way between where I live and Denton itself and I love going there. I'm not an ice cream kind of guy so I have never been to Beth Marie's, but I saw a feature about it on one of the cooking network shows about three weeks ago.
Garry - I do have plenty of room and it gives me plenty to do now that retirement has set in. I'm pausing on the bench work and track laying/wiring for a few days/weeks and I am building structures that I have planned for that area. Hopefully I will get back to scenery on the lower level and get some more completed soon.
Chet - Watching your cab ride video reminds me of some old-timers like Earl Smallshaw who did not complete or detail the backs of their structures because "no one sees them anyway". I see that you detail them as I do as well. Hey, I might turn one around one day or purchase a mini-cam as you and others have done. I have seen other videos on YouTube where the backsides of buildings were just a white sheet of styrene!
new guy - I haven't seen a new post under Michigan Central Unlimited in over two weeks. What's up with that?

That's all for now.
Willie

LOL! No action! Nothing new has been built and I'm just running trains round and round and working on other things around the house.

I have a lot of track down and it's fun to 'race' em at slow speed and putz around the basement with em in the background. I'm confident enough in the track I,ve got down to be able to 'let em go' basically. If they DO have a problem I'm not too far away, I don't quite leave the room with em going, yet! I am working on the next track set up and I'm going to need more track! LOL! It's taken on a life of it's own, I have created a monster. All I've got now is a bunch of lines to nowhere, a bloody YOOGE bunch of lines, but still to nowhere. I'm starting to see where the mountain(s) might go and I have staked out "Rock Ridge".

Like Scotty told somebody in one of the Star Trek episodes, "Let it take time, Laddie." LOL!

 

[GarryCBQ]

Joe .... Thanks for sharing the story about the PC lift bridge. PC, of course, did not need that accident. .... I know a guy who is a barge tow captain, and he move large barge tows in the Mississippi River.

NG .... Gottalottapoor ...... LOL

Chet .... I like the photos of the log loading and also of the hobos.

.........................................

Yesterday, I completed building this road grader from a Woodland Scenics kit that has been in my unbuilt kit cabinet for many years.

 

[new guy]

Actually, I could always shove some of our air in a suitable container and post it to you, just stick it in the microwave for 30 secs and lift the lid.

No thanks Mate! LOL! It gets like that around here in the summer and I hate air I gotta chew it to get it down to my lungs!