Running Bear's January 2026 Coffee Shop

[westtexjohn]

And speaking of the Orient Express, this just showed up. It's the train that ran in Japan in 1988. I think the pullman is in a museum over here.

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Man, that set looks NEAT !

John

 

[chadbag]

A question on N scale locomotives, how good are the Microace ones compared to Kato. The Kato JNR steam locos run beautifully, so I was curious.

I don’t have any steam by either company.

I do have a few Microace electric or diesel or hybrid EMU/DMU types. It’s a smaller company than KATO and I think the KATO are a bit better. But the Microace certainly work and they often do less popular lines or mainstream trains.

But I can’t comment on the steam locomotives. @Kusojiji mat have more info.

There is also an online forum dedicated to N scale Japanese trains at JNSForum.com.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Afternoon All. Mostly cloudy and now up to 40°, the high today was forecast to be 34°. Maybe some of the ice will thaw off the car before we have to go to a doctor appointment on Thursday.

That's nothing but ice on the car as well as the ground! You can see that it is still 3"-4" deep.

 

[westtexjohn]

Hello everyone..........

It is 3 pm here and my outside temp gauge says 60 degrees. It usually reads a little high during the day as the probe is in direct sunlight.
Ice and snow are melting. Car windshield is clean now. I may venture to town in about an hour to pickup a few items. Only thing is, I don't know what the store may be out of due to shipping/driving situation affecting store deliveries.

I called my local post office (18 miles away ) and they said they have not received ANY mail since Friday. I have had no mail since Thursday. I have several orders that have been stuck in FT. Worth Tx waiting to come this way and one item at Hutchens Tx (about 200 miles away) at a FedEx depot that has been there for four days. Maybe tomorrow. All three orders were placed around Jan 19. Not to bad I guess, considering the weather situation. We have some more cold coming Sat or Sunday but then sunshine and clear.

My cat went out a little while ago and has stayed out. Yesterday and the day before, she ventured onto the back porch, set there for about 5 minutes and then was ready to come back inside. I hope she burns up some of that energy she has stored up. The girl is spoiled rotten as she likes to wake me up around 7 am just for me to come in the kitchen and keep her company while she eats and then uses the cat box......thank goodness, she only does this in the mornings. In warm weather, she stays out all night until I let her in around 11 am, then she sleeps all day.

May try to do some train room later this evening.
All I've done since Saturday is cook a bit, nap and wash a few dishes. Seems the cold and snow/ice has just zapped my drive to do a whole lot. I have been blessed as the power and internet have been on throughout the cold weather.

Hope everyone is thawing out...........John

 

[JazzDad]

I found this while doing some de-cluttering. Anyone remember this line?

 

[Kusojiji]

still covered with 4"-5" of ice

Sounds like you need some studded flip flops.

 

[Kusojiji]

I have to be verified by ID.me

I couldn't get id.me to work as I don't have a stateside phone number. They just cannot get it past their thickness to understand that veterans have a tendency to live elsewhere. As such, I cannot get back into the va.gov website, at least since the last time I tried.

 

[Kusojiji]

in Japan by Camp Zama

That sounds like Atsugi, so he'd be Navy and the bird would be an SH-60, unless he's a JN and then all bets are off.

 

[bnsf971]

I couldn't get id.me to work as I don't have a stateside phone number. They just cannot get it past their thickness to understand that veterans have a tendency to live elsewhere. As such, I cannot get back into the va.gov website, at least since the last time I tried.

I have a .gov id that I can use, you should be able to use that, too. It's a verification, not an actual account.

 

[chadbag]

That sounds like Atsugi, so he'd be Navy and the bird would be an SH-60, unless he's a JN and then all bets are off.

No. He’s Army. Started his career as a linguist in intelligence. He spoke Japanese and learned one of the languages they use in Afghanistan and did a tour of two there and then went to flight school and became a warrant officer and started flying choppers.

When he was stationed in California his wife was having a baby and had a complication and was ferried to a large civilian hospital that was equipped for whatver the problem was. It was a Blackhawk from his unit that flew her there (he wasn’t the pilot). I guess it pays to have friends in a helicopter unit.

 

[NYC_George]

I couldn't get id.me to work as I don't have a stateside phone number. They just cannot get it past their thickness to understand that veterans have a tendency to live elsewhere. As such, I cannot get back into the va.gov website, at least since the last time I tried.

I was going to use my computer to get this done but I just installed the web cam and really didn't understand how to use it in this type of meeting. The ID.me person told me because I didn't know how to use my web cam I would have to use my phone instead. I had no idea what I was doing using my phone, but I got through it downloading Google Meet from their store. You can use your computer to get this done if you know what you're doing though. Good luck with that Kusojii. Swal

 

[Kusojiji]

I have a .gov id that I can use, you should be able to use that, too. It's a verification, not an actual account.

I have login.gov that works, but not with the va. I spent at least two full days worth on the phone with id.me, login.gov, va to figure this out and everybody kept pointing their little pinkys at everybody else, so I gave up. The issue is that they want two factor identification and my account is tied to an email address that I no longer have. I keep telling the va to reset it, but they keep telling me to go to id.me or something. I forget all the details now. Letter mail didn't work as they did not care to respond.

 

[kbkchooch]

I found this while doing some de-cluttering. Anyone remember this line?

I remember Lindbergh kits, Much better instructions than any Walthers kit!

 

[Kusojiji]

how good are the Microace ones

I only have two microace electrics so far and no steamers, but from these two, the Katos are much better running on the average. The first one required a motor transplant from the git go and is still a bit noisy. The second one runs much better, but I did do a lot of checking for reviews that did not have muzak playing while they were running the train to try to hear how they ran.

Now Kato isn't perfect either as anyone with an NW2 probably knows. These are noisier than heck and I spent some time yesterday trying to get them to quiet down. My ABe 8/12 required a motor replacement to a slotless motor before it quieted down. That may be what the NW2 requires, but I don't want to deal with that gear drive system that I heard splits over time.

Microaces are also more expensive on average and don't seem to have the finesse that the Katos have, but they do offer some unique models. Am eyeballing this one and am waiting for a recent review of it. You can see how cheap the undercarriage looks, but the motion is so mesmerizing to me.

 

[DeaconKC]

Thanks!

 

[kbkchooch]

I only have two microace electrics so far and no steamers, but from these two, the Katos are much better running on the average. The first one required a motor transplant from the git go and is still a bit noisy. The second one runs much better, but I did do a lot of checking for reviews that did not have muzak playing while they were running the train to try to hear how they ran.

Now Kato isn't perfect either as anyone with an NW2 probably knows. These are noisier than heck and I spent some time yesterday trying to get them to quiet down. My ABe 8/12 required a motor replacement to a slotless motor before it quieted down. That may be what the NW2 requires, but I don't want to deal with that gear drive system that I heard splits over time.

Microaces are also more expensive on average and don't seem to have the finesse that the Katos have, but they do offer some unique models. Am eyeballing this one and am waiting for a recent review of it. You can see how cheap the undercarriage looks, but the motion is so mesmerizing to me.
View attachment 256057

I am assuming You are speaking of n gage here (Yes, I am aware of what happens when you assume) because I have a Kato NW2 (HO) which is super stealthy and will sneak up on you, Just like my GP35s and SD40s. Best damn drive system in the Biz. Don't let the looks fool ya, it is an Athearn shell.

This is what happens when you have a custom shell that Athearn only released a dummy loco of as a give away piece for railroad stockholders and employees. and you just happened to have an NW2 that had the misfortune of a terrible paint job. 1 + 1 = 1

 

[Kusojiji]

JNSForum.com

I used to write a lot over there before but they have a tendency to rewrite your post if they don't like it. So I told them to just write my post for me in the first place and haven't been back since. Me and that moderator went a few rounds.

Another site did the same after I used OMG! Seems someone gets their feelings hurt by that or something. They rewrote it and made it look like I was some kind of tinkerbell or something. So, exit stage left.

Here, Terry just deletes your shtuff if we start talking about polytics or (anything else?). He doesn't waste time adding flowers to your words to soften it up or whatever. Much better policy.

 

[Kusojiji]

I am assuming You are speaking of n gage here (Yes, I am aware of what happens when you assume) because I have a Kato NW2 (HO) which is super stealthy and will sneak up on you, Just like my GP35s and SD40s. Best damn drive system in the Biz. Don't let the looks fool ya, it is an Athearn shell.
View attachment 256060
This is what happens when you have a custom shell that Athearn only released a dummy loco of as a give away piece for railroad stockholders and employees. and you just happened to have an NW2 that had the misfortune of a terrible paint job. 1 + 1 = 1

Yup, n-scale. My HO NW2 is very stealthy as well. As a matter of fact, it was this guy that got me back into this hobby. I broke it out, laid down a small donut and really enjoyed how smoothly this thing ran. Then the donut started growing.

for railroad stockholders and employees - very cool!

 

[chadbag]

I used to write a lot over there before but they have a tendency to rewrite your post if they don't like it. So I told them to just write my post for me in the first place and haven't been back since. Me and that moderator went a few rounds.

Luckily I’ve not had much of an issue with that. Some of the moderators aren’t native English speakers and are very “Ordnung muss sein” people it seems.

 

[Kusojiji]

I see some blob dudes in the forecast...

I usually don't run the heater during the day, but am running it now. I think that sun symbol that they have showing may be if you are at 30K ft, not down here in real land.