Running Bear's January 2025 Coffee Shop

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Afternoon all,

I'm in late today so I have the hours available tomorrow for a video conference I am required to attend. A meeting this afternoon made it so I couldn't leave early. Video conference will be attended from home as it's online already.

Temp finally right at freezing (32°) and we're under a winter weather advisory for up to2" of snow this afternoon and into the overnight hours.

Troy: I did my layout on graph paper as well as I just couldn't get SCARM to work the way I though it should. My layout is all flat, but will have some depth from low hills placed between the trackage. I have 1.5" foam as my base, so I was able to have a dry creek crossing with a wooden bridge the rails run over. It's not that I'm computer illiterate, it's just that working with the machines all day, I do the trains to relax, not come home and continue the same thing as a hobby.
 
Good afternoon, everybody, I'm a bit late too. Had to clear the driveway and sidewalks because we had about 4 inches of snow last night. Right now, it's about 21F here in Rawlins, WY, and partly cloudy. I started a new project yesterday in a somewhat neglected corner of the layout. I was struggling to come up with something for the area, so I decided to model a bank of coke ovens like the ones in this photo of Cardiff, CO. I will post pictures when I'm done, of coarse.
Cardiff coke ovens.png
 


Colorado Midland Modeler said:
Good afternoon, everybody, I'm a bit late too. Had to clear the driveway and sidewalks because we had about 4 inches of snow last night. Right now, it's about 21F here in Rawlins, WY, and partly cloudy. I started a new project yesterday in a somewhat neglected corner of the layout. I was struggling to come up with something for the area, so I decided to model a bank of coke ovens like the ones in this photo of Cardiff, CO. I will post pictures when I'm done, of coarse.View attachment 208783
Click to expand...
Looks like a cool scene to model!
 


Good Evening All. It's still snowing and still at 33°. The snow should stop in another hour or two, it hasn't been snowing all that hard, I measured 3.25" just before dark. Won't get much colder overnight, and will rise to the upper 30's tomorrow. Friday night will be a frigid 17°, and then we return to a normal winter range of 30° nights to upper 50's in the afternoon. I'm ready; I just don't do well with layers of clothing on.

I watched some TV footage of the Jimmy Carter service this morning. Especially interesting was the interaction between and among the Presidents, Vice Presidents and their spouses. Some of them didn't even acknowledge the presence of some of the others. The four in the front row not only didn't speak to any of the others, but didn't even speak to each other based on the footage that I saw. Trump and Obama seemed to be the only ones enjoying each other's company. Strange bedfellows!

My owl left shortly after I snapped the picture this morning, quite an odd sight in the daytime. Maybe it spotted one of the field rats out by the now decrepit barn.

Good Night All...it's past my bedtime.
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps, even the upside down ones.

It's Troy again.

Been awake since about 2:30a. Gonna need a nap later today. Snow moving in late afternoon, so wife and I are staying in tonight. Kinda interesting having Texas weather here in Indiana. ;)

in other news, my back is aching, and I've got a sensation of having my sock stuck between my big toe and the one next to it. That's how I felt as the bout of Sciatica was starting to loosen up. So I'm hitting the teeter table several times a day. And, since its friggin cold outside (18 F-degrees, highs in the mid 20s) I haven't been in the mood to walk outside.

And that machine I hate that goes nowhere is now a necessary evil. Sciatica means teeter table, and walking. I put the iPad on the rack, got the headphones, and watched a couple of Ron's Trains vids for a 26 minute stroll to nowhere. But, I was warm when I didn't go anywhere in that 26 minutes. I'll try to do two 20 min walks to nowhere today to nip the sciatica right in the bud! NIP IT!

Nip it.jpg


In MRR news, I'm comfortable with the track plan I posted yesterday, and started putting the 2" risers and incline for the "back line" in. Started with that to gauge the reach-in factor. Only on stretch point that Chad pointed out yesterday. I can do it, but I want the wide curve, so it's a reach.

This morning, when I wasn't sleeping, I watched a video from one of the gamer channels I follow. The theme of the vid was "sometimes you gotta find the niche in the hobby that pleases you." Even though it was gaming, it made a lot of sense. I've been slowly moving toward the realization that I enjoy the painting and modelling side of miniature gaming, more than I enjoy the playing.

So I'm starting to sell off the old game armies I don't play anymore. If anyone is looking for WW2 figures in 28mm scale, let me know. I've got several armies. :p And some orcs and dwarves and whatknot in 28mm scale as well. I'll stick to my Orcs on Dinos game, since that's got a decent following locally.

And, as I look at the layout-in-potentia, I'm realizing I'm going very, very freelance. Combining the two hobbies might just be the niche in both that I like.

I started looking for brewery models this morning, and the 3D printer files were a lot more interesting that the model railroad kits. So that got me thinking.

I can enjoy the modelling side, and not get bored with mundane, real world that I tend to avoid in gaming. There is no reason my railroad can't be freelanced into the magical worlds I write in my books. Off course the local distillery in one town will have the dwarves running it. That's what 3D printers are for. Now, 1:160 scale dwarves are going to be pretty small if I stay with N Scale, but the orcs a few towns over, who purchase the Dwarven ale are a bit bigger. I'll see where my imagination takes me.

Also, I decide to grab some of the 3D files from Thingiverse (independent creators share their stuff there) for N Scale, so I can whip up some cheap prints and start to position structures to get a feel for what fits, and if I like the scale.

Starting with this bridge.

Screenshot 2025-01-10 at 5.13.58 AM.png


That's it for now. More later as the situation warrants
 
Good morning everyone!

Happy Friday!

Currently 25F with a moderate snow falling. Supposed to get 2-3 inches of accumulation. might have to get the snow blower out.

Have another volleyball game tonight. This one is at least a home game, so not travel and the wife and I can go up later.

Nothing much noteworthy else going on.

Have a safe day everyone!
 


Good morning all, especially to those getting up before I go to bed.

Owls

Living in the country we see a few.

One late Summer's night, (after midnight) I was driving home with Dawn beside me. The night was a 'Hunter's Moon' shining our way home.. The road had many turns, so we travelled at a sensible speed. Thirty miles maximum passing Bluebell Woods then to Simonburn Corner. Any faster than ten miles an hour is dangerous.

A little faster now down to Park End. A gentle turn to the right and there it was in the middle of the road. Coming to a halt we watched the owl. Like I say we have seen a few; that night it was so close. Then it had had enough and flew away.

Orcs (and things)

Oldest grandson likes Superheroes
Middle grandson likes building weird looking creatures. They look amazing, but are beyond me.
Youngest grandson is a Legomaniac. Give him a box of Lego that is him entertained.
Older granddaughter is the Artist. She attends Art School after normal school.
Younger granddaughter s a 1-1 train fan.

Coffee Time
 
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