Running Bear's July 2022 Coffee Shop

[MikeInHubCity]

Good morning all, We have 66 headed for 72

Flo - lets go with just the coffee today. Thanks!

Guy - the slide out was cut out of the waferboard after the whole thing was constructed, so should work perfectly
(keeping fingers crossed)

Willie - there are about 20 kinds of trees growing here. Great for the birds!

Ken - our family heritage is traced back 13 generations to Jacob Epke Banta. Came over in 1643 I believe.

Troy - If I was fuzzbut, I would want a more personal name to be called around the house.

I sort out the dry sand for use on the layout with kitchen strainers. Usually use a small teaspoon or pinch between thumb and forefinger to apply

View attachment 148467

The black plastic canisters also contain different sizes and colors of "sand" that I collected while working in the construction materials lab. There, we had different size screens for how many openings per inch, "200" being the finest material. if it is "on the 100" that would be material that is coarser than the 100 screen. "passing 200" is the finest and works good for tire ruts or footpaths.

I did a lot of work on the slide out, still not done (is it ever) but this is where it is at

View attachment 148472

Today is a day off for me, going to take the wife to Duluth for a MRI, then get my permanent crowns on those three teeth they drilled on a few weeks ago. Easy day for me


Take it easy today

Dave LASM

Dave- Duluth? I thought you were north of The Cities(like Hinkley area). Sorry if I misremembered. My paternal side emigrated from England in the 1640’s. My maternal German side emigrated into 1870’s, but the lineage has been traced back to Feuerbach(greater Stuttgart) in the late 16th Century.

Regarding jobs today.

Honestly.. anyone with a good work ethic should be able to find a good paying job. Not many people want to work. Most of them have never experienced a recession. And a recession is looming. People who forge a good work ethic today will be the ones who succeed tomorrow... especially when all the entitlement-minded people realize the free stuff isn't going to be free anymore.

Good luck, @bnsf971 ! It's never easy making a change, but if you never make a change, you'll always have you already have, and not much more.

Jeff- I’ve been out of work for about a month yet. I’ve had several phone interviews, but none of them panned out(they selected another candidate or didn’t find me as a good fit for their opening). Looks like I may have to buy a computer, so that I can find a WFM job. When I was WAH with my previous employer during the pandemic, they provided the necessary hardware. I am limited to jobs in Marshfield or remote(WFH) ones. Many of the remote jobs I’m finding want people in certain states.

Good morning to all the fishing folks to MRI users. What a bunch we are! Thankfully other then a fever ranging from 98.7 to 101.6 yesterday was uneventful. A rain event not seen by the WeatherChannel dropped more the 1.5” of rain between 3PM and 6PM. I followed it on radar so how could they not say rain was coming?

The son yesterday returned from flying the 2 new buddies up to Door County and back to see his sister and her family while they are on vacation. While there he took his niece and nephew for a flight up along the USA side of Lake Superior. He says they all had a great time. He offered to fly me around today and I suggested the Chicago area but he thought that might be too congested for him to get a flight plan approved. He’s been on his laptop for about an hour. The backup plan is chasing a few trains along the Mississippi River from south of St. Paul to north of St. Louis. He asked me last night for 2 places I want to see that Terry has no interest in. Niagara Falls and Mount Rushmore plus a trestle in Indiana we could fly over on the way to the Falls that I have to find the info on. He grinned, said maybe Tuesday!

I am on the north deck watching the grass dry and waiting for the Weedman to fertilize or apply the weed detergent. The grass has now gone 17 days without a cutting. That’s a bit off the normal Friday and Monday cuttings. Yesterday’s rain has definitely greened it up.

Dave, best to you on the MRI. I am petrified of those things and with the many I have had I know they are fine. Thankfully they have drugs to help me in those.

Guy, happy wife, happy life. Enjoy the fishing and scenery

Steve, yes some days just don’t work out. I took a Google Earth tour of that Rum River golf course you played the other day. Looked great and the $31 for a cart and play is a deal! The only course I have played in Minnesota was at Hazeltine in Chastka during the early 80’s. I have the scorecard in my chest full of scorecards that I started collecting around age 10.

JeffH, those buildings look like they are in good shape. Are your plans to use the items or sell them off?

James, good suggestion on the use of an employment agency to find a job for anyone looking. A marvelous resource for both the employer and job seeker.

Ken, our experiences using Employment agencies seem to be different. I have used them for both hiring professional level and service type jobs. I also have been headhunted by them. I would never in Wisconsin suggest anyone use our state government job service’s division to find a job. Ours are pathetic, glad your experience is better

Enjoy the day

Tom- I had a doctor appointment in Weston today(concussion specialist). Referring me for vision & cognitive therapy. When we went into one of the fabric stores in Rib Mountain, the sky opened up. On our way home, we got caught in a storm system from north of Edgar, all the way home. Im only registered with JCW, because it’s required for unemployment. They gave me 1 lead. The other ones, I’ve found through either Indeed, LinkedIn or ZipRecruiter.

Looks like a good day to bash the trash and government services.

The township contracts with a vendor for a daily (M-F) pick-up of recycles that for me works out to alternate Wednesdays. Mostly works well, but the vendor also has an agreement with the adjoining township, (which is also in the adjoining county). The vendor, figured out that he could save pennies by combining the Wednesday pickup in the zone in Jackson, with the same crew that does ours. Some times it works ok, and they get to us around 1420, but other days its as late as 2000, or the next day, or not.
If they have not come by Thursday Night, it all goes in Friday's trash. I suspect a lot of these recycles go to either a land fill or incinerator anyway.

I retain my own trash contractor, with unlimited trash twice weekly. Never a problem with them.

Terry: With the hand writing on the wall, it's time to be proactive with finding new arrangements. You know your limitations, so work within those boundaries. It wouldn't hurt to check in with a headhunting firm. You have skills and there is a demand for qualified techs. Worth a shot.

The NHL "Free Agency Frenzy" starts day after tomorrow. Lot of money going to be passed around, paying declining players for their services...

Trainworld package arrived...50' TTX car and UTLX 20,000 gal tank to add to the 70's pool.

View attachment 148497
HIGHWAY 9 aka "Thunder Road" From the Border to the Shore.
View attachment 148498
Philadelphia along South Broad St, 1964. Engine 1 (Ford -Hahn); Ladder 5 (Maxim 100' Tiller); Bn. 4, (Chief), Burgundy Studebaker Lark. From the days of High Boots, Long Coats and Tin Helmets. Riding the sideboard of those Maxims could be a thrill...or not.

View attachment 148499
Southbound PC Metroliner passing Bowie, MD in 1970 - 110 MPH - Dale Rockwell Photo

Joe- are you in Howell or Freehold?
Willie- no slurpees in this area. We live in KwikTrip territory. It’s been a good 30 years since I’ve had one. The 7-11 I worked at in my early 20’s is now an Italian restaurant(Casa D’Amico), that has always done a killer business in takeout. They make a mean white pie with broccoli, as well as delicious pollo principessa. My sister lives only a few blocks from the 7-11 that sells the most Slurpees in all of the Southland world. Ecorse Rd & Harding St in Taylor, MI.

 

[OBTC 1909]

Yes that’s it about 80’high and decently longView attachment 148505

Got to see it a few years ago after going on a tour of the Indiana Railroad locomotive maintenance facility. Was lucky enough to see it with a long train going over it just after we got there.

 

[Boris]

Joe- are you in Howell or Freehold?

Mike: Howell.

 

[Boris]

Curt: Looks great with lights. Cant wait for the finished product.

My son, found this on FB today, it's probably the only photo of a train I might have actually been running. Bernard Matusczski took this photo in March, 1996, in Linden NJ while the train was shoving Eastward toward Elmora, (Elizabeth, NJ) Interlocking. Train WJLI26, engine #2010, (B-23-7), 1 car and Cabin CR 22137. The time frame is within the time that LI26 was my regular run. Atlas made a model of the exact cabin and paint scheme, back in the 1990s. All I need is the B-23-7. The assignment was pretty much 12 hours / day M-F, running Linden, to Waverly to Perth Amboy and Back to Linden, M-W-F. and Linden to Deans, NJ and return Tu and TH. Lot of running around, and dodging passenger trains.

Overhead Bridge in the background, is the B&O Bridge which carried the Staten Island Railroad from Cranford Jct. to Howland Hook, SI, NY.

Been bothered most of today by cataracts in the Right eye. Knew they were there, I guess they are ripening. . Yhat's another Doctor.

 

[bnsf971]

Curt: Looks great with lights. Cant wait for the finished product.

My son, found this on FB today, it's probably the only photo of a train I might have actually been running. Bernard Matusczski took this photo in March, 1996, in Linden NJ while the train was shoving Eastward toward Elmora, (Elizabeth, NJ) Interlocking. Train WJLI26, engine #2010, (B-23-7), 1 car and Cabin CR 22137. The time frame is within the time that LI26 was my regular run. Atlas made a model of the exact cabin and paint scheme, back in the 1990s. All I need is the B-23-7. The assignment was pretty much 12 hours / day M-F, running Linden, to Waverly to Perth Amboy and Back to Linden, M-W-F. and Linden to Deans, NJ and return Tu and TH. Lot of running around, and dodging passenger trains.
View attachment 148507
Overhead Bridge in the background, is the B&O Bridge which carried the Staten Island Railroad from Cranford Jct. to Howland Hook, SI, NY.

Been bothered most of today by cataracts in the Right eye. Knew they were there, I guess they are ripening. . Yhat's another Doctor.

Atlas HO Scale GE B23-7 Phase 1 Low Nose (Standard DC) Conrail/CR #1948 | eBay

The first B23-7s were produced for Conrail in September, 1977, and the first B30-7s were produced for Frisco three months later. B23-7 production continued through 1984, with a total of 535 units built.

www.ebay.com

 

[chadbag]

but the lineage has been traced back to Feuerbach(greater Stuttgart) in the late 16th Century.

I actually lived in Feuerbach for a month -- Dec 1986. Feuerbach is now a part of municipal Stuttgart but was, in the old days, its own separate village. It is separated from downtown by a chain of low hills. Where I lived was a block or two away from a very large Robert Bosch plant of some sort. We lived half way between the Feuerback and Zufenhausen S-Bahn (commuter light rail) stations. Zuffenhausen is where the Porsche HQ is and (at least at the time) their museum.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

77° and partly cloudy, going for a high of 88°.
Headed for work shortly.

I was given a new policy to review as we are going to begin forcing password changes, so I had to set the policies in the system so it's ready when we start. Lots of changes coming...

Got to finish getting ready for work. BBL

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

1st day back to work yesterday was pretty much uneventful, walked the dogs around the block after dinner then had 2 cold adult beverages then bed. New pup is settling in nicely, and she starts her classes tonight.
Gotta head out now,
BBL

 

[troyphoto]

I worded some words already this morning.

----------
Time for a walk, Then off to get my crocs.

 

[Smudge617]

Not RR related, but saw these and thought of you guys, I know it's not a US truck, but it's pretty close I think.

 

[bnsf971]

 

[Jaz avalley]

That happened to me not so long ago. Now we have a $3500.00 couch I can't eat or sleep on. It's against the rules.
Suppose I'm lucky that I'm allowed to sit on it. And the passing of gas must be done in a covert nature.

1998 we paid 2000 pounds for a three piece 1 chair 1 2 seater 1 3 seater Italian leather suite black, the chair is as good as new the 2 seater as good as, the 3 seater was often sat on by both myself and husbands. And he would literally walk upto then collapse on it, the seats bow a little the leather is wotn through in 2 places, the arm rests have lost their fullness, I have a throw over the seats to cover the worn leather and 2 large cushions to boost the worn armrests the reindeer is purely cosmetic. I am in no hurry to replace it, serviceable.
It has been polished once or twice in its life, I do not give it much love.
The furniture in the other lounge/sitting room is used much more now a days plus one odd electric chair is giving up the ghost,finding a chair replacement with decent longevity will be the challenge. and no no picture cos that room is always a mess lol.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning lover of crocs and laughable jokes.

63f degrees on the south deck in So. Central Wisconsin and fairly breezy at 7mph. Heading to the mid 80’s later but it seems a bit chilly out here and I think I may head back into the house.

Because of the weather and a doctor we decided our flight time will be tomorrow and along side the Mississippi River from around LaCrosse, Wi. south to at least Davenport, Iowa to maybe the Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. Lots of trains along the Mississippi River and some great older but intact railroad towns. I have a doctors appointment this morning that messed up plans to fly this morning. The price of SAF is $8.02 per gallon at the airport in Middleton, Wi. where he flies into about 9 miles from the house. He says we will use lots of ️. Being the nice dad I am, I offered to fill it up. The son was at the airport for about 3 hours cleaning the plane inside and out.

Yesterday was fine, running a fever between 99.2 to 101.4 but feeling pretty good otherwise. There is a slight light headedness but not a dizzy feeling when I stand up but it goes away quickly. I spoke to the Endocrinologist’s nurse who looked at me this weekend she called baking saying he said to come in and get looked at. So I will. The information details showed up on my medical page of MyChart with details of the Urgent Care visit. They have on there I have the variant V5 of the Omicron virus. The good news is my blood pressure is excellent the good and bad cholesterols are in the normal range and my A1C is at 6.0. I am still too heavy at 202 but was 228 in January.

I did see the paint bench yesterday. Some more weathering of 5 pieces of rolling stock and rusting of some details for the grain complex.

Enjoy the day

 

[Guilford Railman]

Morning all. So far, no balloons lost at my place

View attachment 148466

I remember losing a balloon given to me by a doctor after I had surgery at 4 years old. Lost it the second I got out of the car when I got home. Up and away it went, very sad day for me. When the coffee spills I feel the same too haha.

 

[Smudge617]

Finally getting round to some job's I've been trying to do for month's now.

The layout, or half of it at least, this morning at 11.30am. I was not looking forward to this, cork bed glued to base and ballast glued on top.

13.30 today.

Still need to clean up a bit, and sort out that piece of track, now where do I put those structures I have ?

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and a downright chilly 73° this morning. Despite the doom and gloom forecast by the local weather geeks, it only got to 99° here yesterday. We had a light north wind all day. It's still out of the north, albeit at 2 mph right now. Today's forecast is still for triple digits.

On tap this morning is the biannual trip to the dermatologist for the skin cancer check. I have been clear for the last four years, only one minor scrape before then. Looks like I will make the postponed stop for pool chlorine while I am in town. I will also pick up a Victor Rat Trap while at Home Depot. I have spotted a large one running around the back yard several times since Friday. Despite all of the supposedly "better rat traps" on the market, the good old Victor one wins hands down in my experience. I accidentally left my old one out in the rain which ended it's usefulness.
Yesterday was another spaghetti sauce canning day. Made this batch with some home grown bell pepper chunks along with onions from the garden. Six successful quarts have been added to the pantry. It's hard to believe that my tomato plants are still bearing fruit, and plenty of it. Moving the garden has been good for the yield, or maybe it's just a good year.

Thanks for the reactions and comments yesterday regarding the winery; Steve J, Dave B, Chad, Hughie, Karl, Tom O, Smudge, James, Curt, Patrick, Tom, OB Ken, Rick, Jaz.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I resumed track vacuuming and cleaning on this quarter's designated area. Still no stray parts which is good. I'll now move on to removing vehicles and structures to the workbench for cleaning and possible upgrades. Then I can leave the archive for fresh pictures. Meanwhile, here is Federal Cold Storage in Charlottesville getting a change in cars this week.
CF7 # 2572 headed in to pick up the empty.

Joe waiting for the load.

Whoops! The replacement reefer picture just didn't turn out.

Steve J - Some days it is best to just walk away. New perspective when you return.
Jeff - Really quite a great purchase. Someone had no idea of it's true worth or just wanted it out of the way. Save it all as you don't know when you'll have the opportunity to expand.
Terry - Smart move to decline buying the house, although it has held up for you.
Troy - Thankfully no trash/recyclables problem here. I recycle all food waste through the compost pile, aluminum goes to the scrap dealer, paper is burned to conserve landfill space and I have to pay a private hauler for the rest. The cost for the 2 yard dumpster is offset a bit since I allow two neighbors to use it for a fee. Batteries, motors and large steel items also go to the scrap dealer.
Get well soon.
Mike - I think that the closest 7-11 to me is almost 30 miles away, but it doesn't matter as I don't indulge. As a kid, there were two nearby and all of us kids knew that there was a shift change at 4:00 and we went from one to another on our bicycles and got four of the Slurpees in under an hour. Not all 7-11's in Dallas had them, but the two closest to me did. It didn't last long for me as I went away to college soon after, but I took my bicycle with me.
Joe - That's neat that that may be your train in that picture.
Patrick - I dislike password changes. Too damn confusing. I have had the same password here for over 11 years, I like that.

Everybody have a great day. Stay cool.

 

[JeffH]

@santafewillie , I probably will save a lot of this stuff, but I already told my wife I'd be cash neutral or better when it's all said & done. So I need to sell a few hundred dollars of something, lol. But in reality, my wife is pretty fond of my model railroad. She thinks it's cool, so the longer I go dragging my feet, the less she will pester me about spending money. Lots of people complain about their wives spending their money... My wife is such a tight-arse, you couldn't pull a needle out of her butt.

Edit to add: A cold front moved through Ohio last night.. supposed to be about 10 degrees cooler for the next week or so. I'll take it, even though it'll bring more rain.

 

[JeffH]

I spent some time last night going through the last couple of drawers from the auction, and came across some paperwork for an old F-7 locomotive. It was brown colored thin cardboard, tri-folded. It says" Made exclusively by Lima for AHM," and looked like it could have been from the 60's, maybe even older?

Now... I've never been enamored by the E or F series of locomotives. They just don't do much for me. But when I was going through all the stuff, I did find a few older DC only locos, and sure enough one of them looked like it could be an F-7. So I got really excited, hoping I found another gem in the shadows. I went to Spookshow.net to see what his review of this diamond in the rough... Surely a good clean and lube would make this a great runner again.

Here is an excerpt from Spookshow.net after he explains the 2 different versions of this particular model locomotive:

"Regardless of which version you're talking about, what we have here is another stunning flop from Lima - and featuring that wonder of wonders, the Lima "pancake" motor. Crummy looks, light weight and a motor that barely works leads to one heck of a bad locomotive. Tack on single truck pickup (the forward truck), single truck traction tire drive (the rear truck), a shell that barely mounts to the chassis, truck-mounted Rapido couplers and non-directional lighting and we might just have a bad locomotive for the ages here. It almost brings tears to my eyes, thinking of the poor kids who got one of these lemons as part of an AHM trainset.
Dummy versions of this locomotive were also produced, which seems pretty redundant to me. As far as I'm concerned, they're all dummies..."

I read the last three sentences, and almost spit my coffee on my keyboard... That has to be one of the most brutally honest reviews I have ever read. So.. Now I own at least one lemon... but I have the original paperwork.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning, all!

We did indeed travel to Jasper yesterday, and spent a very long day doing things we like. Turned out about 50/50 what I like to do in comparison to the tourist stuff the wife likes to do.

I got to play all alone along the side of the Jasper CN yard, so I could take photos. Took lots, and I'll be sharing some over the next few days.
Here's the Jasper CN yard looking east:

Here's the yard looking west:

Does anyone know what this railcar is?:

I thought it might be an autorack at first. Now, I'm not so sure. Someone here with more experience knows the truth of the matter.

I'll start posting locomotive photos next day. I've secured good photos of four different types, and all of them working. Plus, I've got better photos of the static display steam locomotive.

It's going to be 85F+ today, and the wife wants to go fishing. Way too hot for me, but, as has been said, a happy wife is a happy life. So, I'll put on the sombrero and take her to Emerald Lake.
The original plan was to go to Silkstone, but, our age has shown the error of our thoughts. We'd need to walk into Silkstone for 4kms, and neither of us wants to do that after the Jasper trip.

Have a great day, everyone!

 

[D&J RailRoad]

...
Does anyone know what this railcar is?:

I thought it might be an autorack at first. Now, I'm not so sure. Someone here with more experience knows the truth of the matter.

Looks like ya caught a rare one. That TTUX was about 200 in total number. Designed for hauling larger trucks on the bottom level only. They were wider than normal, so they had to be shorter than the standard TT car for clearance.