Running Bear's October 2021 Coffee Shop

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! 57 degrees here and a slight chance of rain for the day. Probably going to be a little foggy for my drive to work this morning. The good news is that I have a short day today, so I'll get off 3 hours earlier than usual. It'll be nice to get out of that place early since corporate apparently doesn't believe in a good climate control for the building. It's always ridiculously hot in there.

Today is new furniture day! After nine months of waiting, the new couch and love seat are supposed to be delivered today. The old stuff has lasted us around 20 years, so hoping the new stuff will do just as well.

I heard about the shooting situation on Amtrak yesterday. My heart goes out to the DEA agent's family and co-workers and I hope for a speedy recovery for the injured officers. I feel so fortunate that I was never in a situation like that in the 26 years I served. Had some scary moments over the years, but they were happily few and far between and none resulted in triggers being pulled. I'm still a part-time deputy sheriff, but haven't worked in that capacity in a year and a half or so since my full-time job keeps me so busy.

Terry, my condolences to your son over all he's been through. Hoping things start to look up for him.
James, hoping for some relief for your pain.
Boris, condolences to your DIL

Hope you all have a great day!

Ken

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

55° and clear this morning with a high around 80°. Got to shuffle grandkids around this evening as it's parents late evening for the month.

It was nice to have a weekend where I wasn't working on one of the kid's houses. Still have things I want to get done, but haven't been able to. With the warmer period we're currently in, I may still be mowing in mid-November, but I have seen snow in the area as early as Halloween.

Man, the break room is still under construction as they pulled the old stuff out and installed the cabinets, but are waiting for the countertop which is on back order. They wanted to get it done quick, but failure to wait on the countertop has put us out of the room until they finish. Now in the 3rd week and at least 2 more before the counter top gets in. I'm not walking to kitchen in the community room to get as cup that may or may not exist. We have to walk the long way through as the senior center uses the space for exercise classes in the morning. Nothing like being yelled at by someone who thinks the room belongs to the senior center. It doesn't. They've just been allowed to use it. Funny how stuff gets. There are 4 parks in town with horse shoe pitches. Never anyone using them, but the seniors wanted one at the senior center, so they put one in. Completed 8 weeks ago, and to date never been used. I seriously doubt it ever will be. Stuff us old folks complain about...

It must be a generational thing as the faceplace and other outages yesterday had no impact on me or my day. I've thought for years that social media isn't media or social. I chose not to participate. Although I am here....

Terry: Prayers for your son and the rest of your family.

Willie: Nice backstory on your layout...


Anyone use the Smalltown USA building kits? They look decent enough.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning fellow modelers from dreary Wisconsin. Today Terry gets a CAT scan and I am the chauffeur. Middle of the day timing, too late for breakfast and too early for dinner. I’ll let her decide what she wants to do and where we eat.

Again, so sorry to hear of all the death and sickness members and their families are experiencing.

There will be no train room activity for the next few days. Too much in life going on.

Enjoy your day
TomO

 

[DakotaLove39]

Elders, I need your help understanding something.

This is a bit of a rant and I'm not taking shots at anyone here or elsewhere. So my club wants to start up switching on our layout, rather than use it just for display purposes/loop running. We have a starter freight car pool made of donations from a couple estates, two past members and one outsider. I took the day off work yesterday and spent it at club working on the cars and on the layout.

WHY do I so commonly find mismatched trucks on old guy freight cars? 50T trucks on 100T cars. McAndrews trucks on modern coal hoppers. Etc. And don't get me started on sprung trucks. I absolutely HATE sprung trucks. Those go in the garbage and I keep the wheels.

I don't understand it. I wouldn't even care but for the fact that that one change alters the car's performance.

Rant off. On the plus side, I did a bunch of painting on the layout yesterday. I got sick of looking at bare wood and
minor damage.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 56° in the neighborhood. Looking for 85° for the high again today and tomorrow, then back into the lower 90's Thursday.
Well, my wife had a provisional release from the hospital yesterday that didn't happen. I wasn't fully expecting it. She's still OK from the doctor's point of view, but a combination of folks who just couldn't get it together contributed to another night; the case worker, the physical therapist, the home health representative, the insurance company, and my wife as well. I'll just wait on the call again today. She thinks that it will happen around 2:00 today.

No problem with Facebook here yesterday. Oh wait! I don't do social media except model RR forums!

Just a toasted English Muffin and a few sausage patties this morning Flo.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding the scenes that I posted yesterday; Tom O, Steve J, Ken in IL, Sherrel, Patrick, Garry, Hughie, Gary, Jaz, James, Curt, Tom.

Out in the train shed yesterday, the detail painting continued. This batch got dull coated'

These are ready for dull coat now.

Here's part of the batch that I am currently working on.

A close up of the unfinished rubbish piles.

I completed the touch up on the aged concrete loading docks, stairs and ramp. I also did the pre-paint filing/sanding of the flash on the walls. I have one concave wall joint that will require a bit more sanding if possible, or filling in with spackle or silicon. I'll eventually be covering the joint with a downspout, so it doesn't have to be extremely neat, just reliable.
I am still contemplating the wall coloring. As you can see from the photo, Randy at Downtown Deco used a two-tone paint scheme.

I kinda like that look, the kicker for me is being able to match the red paint properly where the white paint has peeled off the walls.
Any thoughts???

Terry -

I wonder what all those people are going to do with their free time from not being able to go there.

Sad but true fact about much of the younger generation.
James - Get well soon. JazzDad last posted in the Coffee Shop about a month ago. He's not an everyday visitor. I think that I have seen a few other posts on different threads since then, but not in the last 2 weeks or so.
Troy - Napping is always a good thing.
Greg - No need to be disappointed in your layout. You have packed it with some really nice scenes.
Patrick - Thanks, I have a few backstories regarding the layout. Breaks the boredom while waiting for paint or glue to dry.

Everybody have a great day. Stay safe.

 

[TLOC]

Elders, I need your help understanding something.

This is a bit of a rant and I'm not taking shots at anyone here or elsewhere. So my club wants to start up switching on our layout, rather than use it just for display purposes/loop running. We have a starter freight car pool made of donations from a couple estates, two past members and one outsider. I took the day off work yesterday and spent it at club working on the cars and on the layout.

WHY do I so commonly find mismatched trucks on old guy freight cars? 50T trucks on 100T cars. McAndrews trucks on modern coal hoppers. Etc. And don't get me started on sprung trucks. I absolutely HATE sprung trucks. Those go in the garbage and I keep the wheels.

I don't understand it. I wouldn't even care but for the fact that that one change alters the car's performance.

Rant off. On the plus side, I did a bunch of painting on the layout yesterday. I got sick of looking at bare wood and
minor damage.

Ah Steve that was a very mild rant. Most train modelers don’t have a clue about the trucks or the dimension of the wheels the cars ride on. Be tactful but sounds like the club needs some education. Bring it up at the next meeting that those trucks need corrections. It does sound like you are enjoying this club more then the previous 2.

I am a Facebook user for buying and selling model trains and belong to many model train groups. Even so, the outage of the book of faces per Troy didn’t mess up my world. Thought you guys might enjoy the following meme
TomO

 

[santafewillie]

Anyone use the Smalltown USA building kits? They look decent enough.

I use them a lot. The trick with them is to vary paint schemes and detailing, since many of them use interchangeable side walls, and most use the same back wall. The front walls are quite varied. One way I differentiate is to make the same structure with one having the recessed entry door, and another making it flush. Of course I rarely use the same one twice in any town, but I have an advantage of having many towns. Note that you have to provide the sidewalks which I make out of Evergreen Styrene.
Here are a few examples.
Three in a row, the two on the right have my own names and signs.

Here's one with a wider footprint.

Jessica's Salon has a different side wall to allow for siting on a corner.

Hal's Hobbies has the same configuration with a different front wall. It's the same wall as Bonnie B's Boutique above.

Same thing with the side wall on the other side.

I can't currently locate any shots where I made the entryway flush instead of recessed. I'll keep my eyes open.
As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities and they do have many of the wider structures as well.

 

[DakotaLove39]

Ah Steve that was a very mild rant. Most train modelers don’t have a clue about the trucks or the dimension of the wheels the cars ride on. Be tactful but sounds like the club needs some education. Bring it up at the next meeting that those trucks need corrections. It does sound like you are enjoying this club more then the previous 2.

Tom,
This club in particular is the one where I started my journey with clubs. I'm still a member after three years, and it's the one I am now giving my involvement and energy to. You're correct that I'm better off without the very distant club.

As for educating my fellow members, that would probably fall on deaf ears. Those who want to know already do. Just up to me to make sure the club cars roll reliably.

I should say, I'm working on a video for my YT channel which will feature all three HO scale clubs around the Twin Cities, as well as two personal home layouts. I'm in the middle of stitching all the video together, then I'll have to do voice narration.

 

[Boris]

Joe... I can imagine you are tempted to get that kit. I think I read it needs Athearn parts to power it. I guess parts from a PA1 are what they are talking about.

I believe I have one of those somewhere in a container...have to look. Also have a P2K version, pretty much an Athearn clone on the inside. Still thinking about it...

 

[Boris]

Anyone use the Smalltown USA building kits? They look decent enough.

Willie uses 'em, and you see his results.

 

[TLOC]

Willie, I have had a few hospital stays where my doctors say I was free to leave. But was stopped by the Hospitalist. That was the Doctor who made the final decision if I could leave or not. Wasteful and terribly inefficient.

Steve, love your videos and FB postings

Willie again,

I did a similar white on red brick building trying to get the white to fade and peel. What I did and I can’t locate the finished picture was to hand brush on the white and with a slightly damp paper towel blot it off. I know I did the apply and blot a few times and the customer liked it.

I have a buddy who used to take a foam brush, dip it in the white and blot it on and it worked for him, never for me though. I have a heavy touch

TomO

 

[Boris]

Elders, I need your help understanding something.

This is a bit of a rant and I'm not taking shots at anyone here or elsewhere. So my club wants to start up switching on our layout, rather than use it just for display purposes/loop running. We have a starter freight car pool made of donations from a couple estates, two past members and one outsider. I took the day off work yesterday and spent it at club working on the cars and on the layout.

WHY do I so commonly find mismatched trucks on old guy freight cars? 50T trucks on 100T cars. McAndrews trucks on modern coal hoppers. Etc. And don't get me started on sprung trucks. I absolutely HATE sprung trucks. Those go in the garbage and I keep the wheels.

I don't understand it. I wouldn't even care but for the fact that that one change alters the car's performance.

Rant off. On the plus side, I did a bunch of painting on the layout yesterday. I got sick of looking at bare wood and
minor damage.

Steve: Much of what you are finding comes from a different generation of model railroader, less concerned about accuracy, and more about performance. When I first started in the hobby, Athearn kits were mostly $1.00 or $2.00, full retail. They came with x2f couplers ,(infamous NMRA coupler), and to be assembled by purchaser sprung trucks. [What a PIA that was, almost drove me out of the hobby]. My first model railroad, was a 4'x6' "platform, mounted on casters, that fit under the bed I shared with my brother. Prime concern was something that could 1. Take 15", 18" and 22" radius curves, and #4 switches. 2. stay coupled to the train. 3. Stay on the track. 4. Look Ok. Prototype adherance didn't even register.

Some of what we are used to today, wasn't even on the horizon of imagination.

Not for nothing, I still have several Athearn and Roundhouse cars dating back to 1964, pretty much as built, on my current layout, sprung trucks and all.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Good Morning all! A beautiful day in the neighborhood. Mid 70's and low humidity. So mowing is on today's agenda. With all the rain the grass has gotten out of hand. Thank goodness for riding mowers.
As others have stated, this is my only social media. Therefore, yesterdays outages meant nothing to me.

No train time yesterday, and little if any today.

STAY SAFE
LATER

 

[Boris]

Good afternoon...63°, with fog and drizzle. It is not expected to warm beyond 68° today...11° cooler than yesterday, which was a close and sticky day.

I have had a few hospital stays where my doctors say I was free to leave. But was stopped by the Hospitalist. That was the Doctor who made the final decision if I could leave or not.

Tom: I encountered that, when I had my knee done. The House physician was talking a 3 day stay, until I told her that the surgeon had already come by and had signed the discharge, and that I was waiting for the person to wheel me down to the front door...They work for the Hospital, and have an interest in prolonging stays, for financial reasons. These "Non Profits", are anything but!

Not much new since my last post. Actually, a slow day here. I plan to spend some time at the work bench this afternoon. Have a great day, y'all.

 

[montanan]

I am alive and well. I have been doing too many things with not enough hours in the day. Lost count on how many trips I've made to the new area that I am look to move to. It's about a 6 hour trip up there but I do have a friends cabin to stay in. My son and I am looking for a few acres with a home for him, his wife and son to live in and have either a second residence, such as a cabin or room to put a small modular home on. I also need room to put up a pole barn to store my classic cars and have a shop for us to work in. Haven't found exactly what we are looking for yet, but have come close. Ran across a few good ones but they were a bit pricey.

Met with a friend here who is a realtor to get her to get the house on the market. Have it for sale by owner now and have some interest as there are no covenants. Going to head back up there probably this afternoon to look at a few more properties. There are a a lot of IN TOWN places for sale, but that is not what we want. We want to be out of town and have a but of privacy. That's what I had here when we first built but everything has been closing in and I can't stand to see what has happened here to the valley.

Say a lot of good photos from the beginning of the month. Always enjoy Willie's layout photos and Joe's prototype photos.

I am going to have to dismantle my layout as the guy who was going to buy it kept dropping his offering price because he would have to come all of the way out here from the Milwaukee area. If anyone has any interest in anything, let me know before I get it taken apart and boxed up. I will sell off what I have ion ebay once I get settled in my new location. If anyone is interested in anything I have, it is all for sale.

Hate to cut it short, but I have to get moving. Tried to post an old YouTube video of the layout but it wouldn't post. Check my Youtube channel for videos of the layout.

Later

 

[PNKFLOYD]

The trick with them is to vary paint schemes and detailing,

Willie- Excellent clinic showing how imagination is the best modeling tool a person can use.

 

[chessie_system3]

Fellers! Hope everyone is doing well. I don't remember the last time I stopped by. Been busy with life. Of course when one is busy going day to day the days seem to just pass by like nothing. Haven't been doing too much railroading lately. I have been hording up layout planning and construction books. Trying to figure out if there is a fix for my layout warping. I doubt there is however I did find a book by someone living the garage life like me. His fix for that was nails and glue. To which he says it hasn't warped. So maybe I need to stop using screws so much. I don't even know if that's a fix. This warped layout issue is a buzz kill for wanting to run trains. It's a battle I feel like I can't win.

 

[Patrick]

Willie: I kind of thought you had used them. They seem to be an ok structure and like the IHC kits, they use a lot of interchangeable parts. Thanks for the confirmation. I may have more news later. (fingers crossed)

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out straightening out some stuff in the garage then ran a bunch of errands with Dad. The wall guy came out and he finished his job and Dad finished paying off the contractor. Now we're waiting on the plumbing parts to be done-done. Tomorrow I need to run out to Dad's house to do a couple of things. Looking at the schedule for next week I see that I'm busy also so I don't know if I'll get to the layout or not.

Willie- I'm like that with social media. Nice detail work and buildings.

Steve- Who's an elder? .

Greg- Very nice hillside.

Terry- I have no words. That is horrible. I feel so bad for you're son.

Joe- I'm really sorry about the drama with your MIL. By the way don't you know Covid is the excuse for everything? Nice pictures.

Louis- I closed my FB account in January when Mom got sick and I don't miss it at all.

TomO- Nice photo and awesome meme.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Afternoon Everyone....over-cast and somewhat mild for early October in Wisconsin.

Well even best laid plans and you know the rest.....the Medical appointments ate into my day and I again never made t to the basement and the trains. So I spend the balance of the day on the computer. Cathy is planning a trip to see her sister in early November so I'll have five days of modeling or track drawing. I need to to master a CAD track planning software and this maybe a great time to concentrate on a software program. Maybe Atlas' free software?

I have a Bar Mills structure that even I don't have any spot for it on the layout I may build it while Cathy is done. The kit been in storage for years and it should be finished in a couple of days.

Looking for a box car from Eric Brooman's Utah Belt Railroad. The Gateway Division sold out years ago with their Brooman box car copies and so my only hope is a private party to find one. A Brooman locomotive sold on E-Bay for a huge sum....far to much $$$ for a used loco!

Found this video and music after an interview of the Dobbie Brothers I saw on television....

Sorry to all those who lost family members and friends.

That's about all for now.....

Greg

##################

An old leaning tower that still maintains a watch over train operations. An old kit that I maybe purchased in the 70's. The windows are now glazed and an LED installed for illumination.-Greg

A old photo from the archives....WC box cars on a siding on the CM&N Railroad. The cars are from Fox Volley and have different numbers. The roadway is sand from Sedona, Arizona.-Greg