Running Bear's May 2024 Coffee Shop

[Bruette]

Never. Too big.

 

[Old 97]

Good morning All!!!!
Glad to see the regular crew when I came in.
Flo, I'm feeling something between 3 and 9 on the breakfast menu.
Please pick one for me.

 

[Bruette]

My wife gave me a fancy, framed version of this for my birthday many years ago.

It hangs next to our front door so it is what you see before you walk out the front door.

God Bless Us Everyone.

 

[chadbag]

View attachment 187641

I had a Lionel train as a kid. Had belonged to my uncles. I wish I still had it.

 

[migalyto]

Any insights to those who have done both scales?

I started this hobby as an avid N scaler and was for many years.

About 7 or so years ago, I decided to switch to HO scale. It was a tough decision to make, since I had a fully running layout and was well under way with scenery. I guess the final straw was drooling every month at the new Ho offerings, and never knowing when and if they would ever come to N scale. I don't regret the decision to sell everything and start over, but I do miss N scale at times. It has come along way since the early years.

I guess the bottom line is if your still happy with with what your building, and the stuff you have acquired then stay with what you have. As you pointed out in your previous post, there are pros/cons to each scale.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning Crew.

Todd, best wishes to Maria.

Vegas area weather. 73f degrees now at 5am but 97 this afternoon

Home in Wisconsin, 54f degrees and waiting for the rain to start. The high this afternoon will be low 70’s. I think I’m glad to be in Vegas today. I don’t seem to be missing the trains!

We are staying home tonight and grilling out on the brother’s patio. The golf tee time today is 9:40 and we will be done before it hits 90 degrees. The courses we have played here have been fairly empty so the play has been quick. It was the same in Arizona.

Sunrise here is at 5:32, so in another 25 minutes or so. But the sprinklers came on a few minutes ago and if they were on 5 minutes that’s a lot. Not sure why if you have a “zero” landscape any water is needed. The brother is awake but working in his office, so I can wait to ask.

My golf partner and his wife explored the Boulder City and Hoover Dam area yesterday morning. They thought everything was great. But last night we did a helicopter tour after dark and seeing the Strip lit up was so cool for all of us. Seeing the dam at night from close up in the air was spectacular.

I feel very relaxed here! Not something I’ve ever felt in Arizona and rarely have felt on Maui. It’s great to have a brother who has places all over!

Sprinklers are probably more to settle any dust, than any real watering benefit.

 

[Bruette]

question of the day: Will i be happy with my decision to totally go the other way on my N Scale Layout?

I would answer, but my crystal ball needs to be calibrated.

 

[Bruette]

I had a Lionel train as a kid. Had belonged to my uncles. I wish I still had it.

I wanted a Lionel train when I was a kid, but we lived in a small apartment.

Now I'm reliving my childhood

 

[troyphoto]

Thanks for the input on HO v N

I'm looking at my gaming figures. My little armies go down to 14mm (about 1:140ish) scale. I know how small that is. N scale in the US is smaller.

HO (1:87 scale) is between my two favorite sizes 1:100 and 1:56 So I know what I can do with figures and scenes.

I'm just concerned about curve radius. What's the practical limits on rolling stock from the 1960s for curves?

 

[migalyto]

I wanted a Lionel train when I was a kid, but we lived in a small apartment.

Now I'm reliving my childhood

Louis-Do you have any experience with the Menards O offerings?

I was in the Menards store this week and was looking at the freight cars. They look very reasonably priced.

I was thinking this might be the way to go with a Christmas themed layout. I have always wanted to do this.

 

[migalyto]

Anyone else catch this story about a barge hitting a bridge in Texas. Was this a heavily used rail line?

What is going on?

 

[John from Indiana]

"Why not Minoit?
Freezin's the reason!"
Malmstrom was better...if you didn't mind -52F New Years Day 1969!

Why not Minot? was a city endorsement program to get businesses to move to Minot. That didn't work at all when I was there '62 to 65. Only business was winter wheat and rye. Minot AFB was considered an "isolated base' and they weren't kidding. The town was about 15 miles from base and if you were married and not an NCO or higher, you had to live in town. Most homeowners there rented out their basements and when things got cold, you were at the mercy of the homeowner or house renter to turn on the heat. The town hated the AFB; but loved their money. They gouged us in rent.

Minot: the Magic City was also a town motto...because the town seemed to spring up overnight.
I worked on the Minot Daily Newspaper (always wanted to own a small print shop) while I was there. Airmen had to have a 2nd job just to pay the rent.

The winter weather was terrible...The cold + the wind chill factor became very dangerous...especially for the trim crew at 01:00 at the end of the runway in 30 mph winds...the best thing about that was when we were done @ 02:30 they would open a SAC chow hall and the 6 of us would eat like kings. If I wanted to go home to SoCal in the winter, always had to check with the weather at Billings. Road closures were the norm back then.

 

[John from Indiana]

I don't mind trading the dollars, but I'm not sure if I want more railroad, or more "realism" in the scenery. Any insights to those who have done both scales? Here's a shot of the benchwork I'm working with:

View attachment 187625
On the lower level, the rightmost depth is 42". Across from it is 28" from backdrop to edge. The full peninsula (both sides) total 60"

Thoughts? It'll be a week or two before I get back to the layout. I have to get the back healed up enough to do the bending and twisting

Troy: I might be a little late on comments for your layout; but you've opened up a new option for my layout 14x24 HO. Are you planning on installing a helix to go from one level to the other? I am fighting an on going battle with DCC. I built my layout around Dave Frary's Pennsy Middle Division in HO Scale. I overdid the turnaround mountain and it was huge (too huge) and it was the first thing you saw when you entered my layout and it really served no purpose. So I ripped it out and somewhere along the line I messed up the wiring and trains cannot run from the left and side to the right.

So I enjoy building structures, more the running trains...BUT I am a big Klutz. I know I would be banging my head on the left hand second level everytime I reached for something of the first level. You might consider the Topside creeper that you can see in the background of my picture. They really come in handy for work on places you can't reach...BIGGEST drawback: they are awkward and do not fold up easily to get out of the way. Haven't reached that point yet, I've had it for about 15 years now and swear by it

 

[Bruette]

Louis-Do you have any experience with the Menards O offerings?

I was in the Menards store this week and was looking at the freight cars. They look very reasonably priced.

I was thinking this might be the way to go with a Christmas themed layout. I have always wanted to do this.

I bought a few items from Menards. I've been happy with what I bought. I don't have any locomotives from Menards.

I probably would have bought more from Menards had it not been for my self-imposed ban on train purchases.

Lionel trains and Christmas go hand in hand!

If you are looking for a Christmas set Amazon has a crazy good deal on this complete RTR Lionel LionChief set, with remote! And it has Bluetooth to use the Lionel app on your device. It's $202.78 and an additional 30% off coupon. Final price is under $142+tax. The retail price on this set is $399.99 Click on the photo to see the Amazon listing.

 

[troyphoto]

Troy: I might be a little late on comments for your layout; but you've opened up a new option for my layout 14x24 HO. Are you planning on installing a helix to go from one level to the other? I am fighting an on going battle with DCC. I built my layout around Dave Frary's Pennsy Middle Division in HO Scale. I overdid the turnaround mountain and it was huge (too huge) and it was the first thing you saw when you entered my layout and it really served no purpose. So I ripped it out and somewhere along the line I messed up the wiring and trains cannot run from the left and side to the right.

So I enjoy building structures, more the running trains...BUT I am a big Klutz. I know I would be banging my head on the left hand second level everytime I reached for something of the first level. You might consider the Topside creeper that you can see in the background of my picture. They really come in handy for work on places you can't reach...BIGGEST drawback: they are awkward and do not fold up easily to get out of the way. Haven't reached that point yet, I've had it for about 15 years now and swear by it

Yes to the helix. That area where the stack of green foam squares to the right is designated Helix add on.

I built the upper deck specifically so I can stand on the two-step-stool and reach the back of the upper deck.

 

[ctclibby]

Well, howdy there internet peeps,


I don't mind trading the dollars, but I'm not sure if I want more railroad, or more "realism" in the scenery. Any insights to those who have done both scales? Here's a shot of the benchwork I'm working with:

Thank you all for the well wishes. Doc is supposed to call in a 1/2 hour or so. Will find out what hoop jumping is needed. She is breathing better than early this am so that is a good thing.

Anyway - I did N scale previous to 1971 ( Military ) and found it fun because of the train lengths AND the fact you could make the scenery tower over any train. Layout was 2' x 12' at the time, two levels and a little switching. When I got out of the Military in '73 I found that my ideas switched cuz N did not have a lot of the road names I grew up with, HO did. Now days, there is no way I could do N as it is too tiny. Already need a headset with HO for some of the engine/car maintenance and structure building stuff. I can deal with that I guess, just need to keep dem fat fingers moving. Oh, and I do like the aspect when running something. More or less like a drone just above and away. 3 ft rule I guess. And I did start with HO, N was just a short excursion.

Later

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out the day with a walk at 73F and surprisingly lower humidity after yesterday's rain. Around here it seems to increase it. I did some outside chores this morning. I'm not sure what's on the agenda for the afternoon.

Husky- Welcome.

Troy- I always try to be as realistic as possible. I'm not sure of the radius of the left-hand side but the right-hand side will not work for HO unless you put in some method of turning the train around or a point-to-point style of operation. As others have mentioned 18" should be considered a minimum radius especially since you are talking about 1960's equipment. You can try things like super elevating track on curves to make them more palatable to your equipment but that only goes so far. An option is widening the right end (4' will be roughly 18"). I'm not sure what space you can use but a track could be joined from the right-hand side to the left-hand side away from the existing benchwork (requires additional benchwork and probably a walk-through section). I'm not trying to preach to you or convert you, just saying how I see it.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom and wish her all the best.

John- That is a very cool job. Where are you at?

Mac- Great Horseshoe Curve photos.

Smudge- Interesting videos. That is a huge amount of steam.

AemJaY1- Pictures?

Todd- I hope Maria feels better very soon. I went through something similar years ago and my Primary Care Doc got me out of the hospital saying their diagnosis was wrong. Of course, I had very good medical insurance at the time...I wonder?

Bill- Very cool photo.

David- Have fun with grandson.

Willie- Nice looking truck.

Mike- That was on the Natl. news last night.

Louis- Unfortunately with our critters (very motion triggered and inquisitive) the train would be attacked and knocked off the rails.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[John from Indiana]

John- That is a very cool job. Where are you at?

We live in the upper NW corner of Indiana, less than 10 miles from the Michigan border @ 70 miles W. of Chicago. Originally from SoCal (50 years), moved to the Portland, Oregon area (10 years), job was shutdown and equipment was transfered to Indiana. I was the only person out of 100 that was tranfered out here and that was 20 years ago. Could never go back to a large city again. Rural America has changed my life.

BTW, the photo I inserted no longer exists. I ripped that mountain out and replaced it with this: The Fos dock warehouse is ripped out also. This is why nothing runs on my layout, I rip out more than I fix...but I'm having fun doing it and have not got bored yet

 

[Bruette]

Louis- Unfortunately with our critters (very motion triggered and inquisitive) the train would be attacked and knocked off the rails.

That would be fun to watch, once, maybe twice.

I've been meaning to ask you, what do skunks eat in the wild? I saw one in Delaware that was eating out of a trash bag in the middle of the street. I stopped and moved the bag off the road while the little fellow ran off and watched me from the woods. It was early, 4am or so. I could see the eyes reflecting in the streetlight watching me. It stayed there until I drove off.

 

[Bruette]

When I cut the grass, I discovered dozens of wild strawberries. We had some last year, but this year is a bumper crop! The birds are feasting now. I'm glad I cut the grass at the highest setting on the mower. I don't think I disturbed many.