Good Morning All. It's clear and 42° here after the cold front finally came through. We missed the storms and devastation yesterday, as the weather geeks correctly predicted, the worst was east of the I-35 corridor. I am just 6 miles west of I-35. Came close though, major rain both north and southeast of my location. I got just 0.2" in the rain gauge. The rain in my county varied from none in Gainesville to over an inch nearby. Some tornadoes about 120 miles east of me, stretching to the LA border. Small tornadoes by Texas standards, but damaging for those affected. No fatalities reported. Here we experienced winds of up to 35 mph briefly, about 30 minutes. While it will only be 66° today, temperature will be in the 80's Sunday through Wednesday. Then some real chilly weather (below 60°) is in store. Time to get the jeans out!
I anticipate picking all of the green tomatoes Friday to finish ripening indoors.
Early today, we will make the postponed trip to Dallas to drop off my wife so she and my granddaughter can fly out to Cocoa Beach FL to join mom for a "girls weekend" out there. Plane leaves around 2:00 pm. I'm just dropping her off at granddaughter's home, and my other daughter is taking them to the airport while I head over to the LHS to browse.
Supposedly I get an extra hour of sleep tonight, but that normally takes about a week or more to actually affect me.
Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding yesterday's posts.
Lots of time out in the train shed yesterday. I'm feeling itchy about doing some more development. As I have posted before, I have 320' of main line on two levels, along with over 1000' of sidings and industry spurs. Only 2/3 of it has any semblance of scenery on it. All of the main lines and passing sidings are complete, but that remaining 1/3 is not painted or ballasted yet. I had a goal of starting some additional area by 2023, and that time is coming. I'm looking at the upper level for starters and I am eyeballing about a 25' stretch. I am going to put an Ethanol refinery in place, or at least the loading area with the rest being depicted by backdrops and low relief structures and tanks.
For starters, I have the main, siding, and two loading tracks for tank cars, one a siding and one a spur already in place. I have additional switches on the south end for grain hoppers and other types of freight cars, but all track from that switch is just temporary.
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Right now I just use the area for both car storage and occasional switching which allows me to test the trackwork.
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Both of the loading tracks are 12 cars long, and I stage 8 cars at a time. 4 loading, 4 waiting, and 4 spaces for maneuvering. The four loading racks are in the center so cars can be shuttled either way. There's also a storage track on the north end that can hold five other cars, either loaded or empty.
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Over the past few years, I have been building some of the tanker loading platforms that will be used. Three are already complete, I am starting the fourth now.
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Presently I have the four loading platforms and a tall tank which I may or may not use. I have a partial Walther's add-on piping kit that I got in an estate sale.
Before I go much further than the platform build, II need to remove everything and install the backdrop over those 2"x2"'s. The pieces are already cut, but right now I have a temporary storage shelf mounted in the way. It's visible in the first two pictures. I have a place for it on the opposite wall above the staging tracks there.
Lawyers - There's two in my family. My BIL has never been in a courtroom. He's trained as a corporate lawyer. He ran the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail system for 16 years before retiring and going into the light rail/commuter rail consulting business for himself. One of his key clients for the last 14 years is Herzog. He hasn't done anything for them in 5 years, but they still pay him a $60K retainer each year to not do any work for their competitors. He can still do consulting for his clients he had previous to signing the Herzog contract. My nephew is a HR consultant who also hasn't ever been in a courtroom. He mostly gives seminars to corporate employees regarding HR laws and consequences. He also helps corporations negotiate union contracts. He was recently named a partner in the law firm that he works for. Both are pleasant guys who don't fit the lawyer stereotype.
Troy -
I somewhat agree and I have seen in the past months that some of the worst offenders are being removed. There's a few more to go though, on both ends of the spectrum.
Yes it was one expensive mouse nest. I don't know if I am more pissed or more embarrassed by it. I checked the oil the day before and didn't notice the nest. If I buy the right model for a replacement, (mine is no longer sold), I can salvage some parts as spares. If I go with a zero turn, I can only save the battery.
Tom O - Belated Happy Birthday to your daughter. She probably doesn't want to be reminded though.
Yes sir, we even have mountains in Texas where the observatory is. Along with plains, hills, beaches, forests and deserts. A little of everything.
Chad -
You have not mowed in a Texas summer before. Don't worry though, I never leave the property. I also never disconnect the "deadman's switch".
Patrick - I discovered one day that we have heated seats on our Accura RDX. Never knew it until I accidentally turned one on. I thought that there was a fire under the car!
Jeff - I hear you about the pond. Mine is down 9', completely empty. Even two and a quarter inches of rain last week just soaked in with no runoff.
Everybody have a great and safe day.
I knew I would not keep sleeping 7-9 hours a night. Seems I'm back to my usual 4-6 hours.
