Running Bear's October 2023 Coffee Shop

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


Status
Not open for further replies.
Tom- Nice looking truck. For some reason I thought you were retired.
Thanks, still working nine years left.
Now that’s sharp. I like those heavy duty small hole Alcoa wheels on the front. I got to get my polish rag out again. I worked yesterday in the rain hauling rock out of one of are local Quarries and really got the truck messy but made some good money for a rainy day.
Thanks. There's nothing clean about going into the quarry.
TOM - That is a beautiful looking truck - WOW
Thank you.
 


Well howdy there internet peeps, and those who weren't giving sub secrets away

It's Troy again.

Finished the book yesterday. But still have the secret online bonus chapter to write.

However, I'm heading up to Lansing Michigan in about an hour. Got a gaming tournament to attend, friends to see, dice to roll, and games to lose. That wooden spoon is going to be MINE!

Wife has had a rough week at work. She thought she had today as a rough draft deadline (she did that on Tues)... Nope... send it out for final review by Friday!

She got at up 2am thinking about it, and started working... Poor girl. Been there and done that with the books a few times.

MIL has a new insulin pump, arm sensors that talk to the pump, and a fancy app on her iPhone. Good news is the two daughters in medical fields (SIL nurse and my wife the lab tech) also have the app. They get the same alerts as Mother-in-law. And yesterday was an alert fest. Wife finally ran over to help her mom when BS dropped under 50. They'd already called, and knew she was trying to bring it up. Wife was able to stop the routine drops the pump was giving her.

They've got an appointment, when the next upgrade hits in a week or so, with the diabetes tech to get all the bells and whistles set up... like turning off the maintenance drops the pump sends out - WHEN a low BS alarm is active.

OK... time to pack up the car, brush the toofers and head to Lansing. I've got games to lose, and friends to seepi
I love my CGM, Continuous Glucose Monitor that I fought Medicare and our supplemental insurance company on for more than a year. Every diabetic should be wearing one. IMO it make you aware diabetes is there. I was getting at one point the warning from the Endocrinologist she would put me on an Insulin pump if I couldn’t handle the care! If the MIL is on the pump she should never have lows. That low in the 50’s is scary

Hope the games were fun
 
75°, cloudy and very muggy. Wind from the Southeast. feels like it's fixin to rain.

This morning's trip to the BJ's warehouse was uneventful. My wallet was $225 lighter, but otherwise we got everything on our list, plus a few things we forgot to place on the list, like low sodium chicken broth. :rolleyes:

Did a few chores in the yard, fed da boids, and swept the garage. I also moved the spray paint booth closer to the doors.

Dick Butkus passed at 80, RIP.

Devils @ Islanders to close out the pre-season tonight. Tomorrow's AL / NL playoff games are on cable...Suppose they are all on Sirius Radio, ESPN Radio or the FAN in NYC.
I caddied in a foursome that Butkus was in while he was still playing. Super nice to all of the caddies. Years later, 1980’s I golfed in a foursome with him. Still a super nice guy to everyone but he could barely walk with 2 bad knees and hips. He and Gale Sayers I remember the Bears drafting. Just a mean player on the field and boy could he play football and not much at golf!
 
Good evening...late late evening. At work:
IMG_20231006_130221310~2.jpg
After work another railroad nut showed up at the house; dinner, wine, beer and on the railroad we went...model railroad that is:
IMG_20231006_221640346.jpg

European fellows might recognize this machine. This is German BR52 War Locomotive (Kriegs Lokomotive) hence my nick on this website. Build in thousands during WW II for the Eastern Front, as a result of locomotive power shortage do to harsh Russian winter. More than a thousand allocated to Polish State Railroad as a result of war reparations. My personal favorite and most seen type in last years of steam operations in my country. This one is made by Liliput and I've started a conversion from German appearance to my most familiar Polish look. After some alcoholic beverages we also figured out some electrical issue I was having with double scissors crossing on my layout-amazing😆.
IMG_20231006_221839685.jpg
IMG_20231006_221932886.jpg
IMG_20231006_224447122.jpg

All of these taken at speed. The little "ears" by the smoke box are smoke deflectors, found on many European steam designs.
 
Last edited:
Good morning. It's 75 and cloudy. High is scheduled for 89.
Later, I'll be tweaking my SXT dash 8 and dash 9 to operate as a pair, and minimize the uneven momentum between the two. One has a Loksound 5, the other has a Loksound Direct. While they are similar enough to work together, most of what my layout has is switching, where the differing momentum curves show up. When I'm done with that, I think I'll replace the factory couplers with MTs.
I'm also in the market for a modern caboose to use as a shoving platform with them, though all the ones I've seen available seem to have more in common with a 1:1 caboose than a model, price-wise.
 


Good morning from a chilled WIsconsin. My little part of the So. Central section is a beautiful windy morning clear morning. Oh yeah, it’s 39f degrees
IMG_1596.png

Fall has arrived with a little bit of Mother Nature’s, “you thought Summer was hot this year, Try this”.

We did get to the game last night. Good times with just under 3000 others! They walloped #21 ranked Boston College, 12-2.
IMG_4809.jpeg

They raised the 2023 National Championship banner, #7 since 2006 and we have seen 4 of those seasons. The best team UW Women‘s team we have seen was the Covid cancelled 2020 team. The girls were literally boarding the plane to the final 4 when the NCAA cancelled the tourney.

The granddaughter arrives around 9. We have here till her brother’s soccer game starts at 11:30. Her mom will be tailing gating on campus for Homecoming and dad is one of the soccer coaches. If it reaches 50 I will head to the g/s game.

If not, I will be at me bench. This is a few of the items being worked on there…
IMG_4801.jpeg
IMG_4800.jpeg
IMG_1584.jpeg
IMG_4803.jpeg
IMG_4805.jpeg


I am bracing myself to walk to the pool for my laps this morning. The water yesterday was 75 and it took a couple laps to feel comfortable. I did turn the heat on after my swim yesterday. It should be 82, hopefully!

enjoy the day
 
Morning all,

A balmy 36° today with a high later of 65°, 58° was yesterday's high. Supposed to be 81° tomorrow.

Starting the updates to the computers. Only have 8 to get done instead of the 12 I used to have to do. In the next 18 months, I'll lose 2 more.

They delivered the new flooring yesterday. I wasn't expecting it until Monday when the installer showed up, but it's ready for the when they get here. Got most of the trim pulled yesterday and because some of it is actually moving lower, I had to repaint along where the molding is to make sure it is the same color. Don't want to retape and paint over the new floor, when I can avoid that and not worry about the old floor. It all came off pretty easily. I have appliances and toilets to remove yet, but they are easy and unlike the remodel shows, I'm dismantling the old toilets. Seems pretty stupid to fight with 100+ pounds when you can break them down into easier parts. Especially when they aren't going to be reused.

Oh well, Back to the updates.

BBL
 
Good Morning all. 42° here in the Ozark Foothills. Not much going on this morning the wife left early this morning to sell her homemade Chicken n Dumplings at our fall festival. Last year she sold 600 bowels there. Going to cut the grass and disc my little field to plant some Winter Wheat next week hope to squeeze in some layout time. Enjoy your weekend talk later.
 
I'm right there with you. It was a breezy 41 degrees this morning on the dog walk.

Doesn't look like we will get over 60 next week.
Terry is having issues with her bluetooth connected hearing aids and the TV. I ended up listening but not watching the news program she watches. Weather lady says the high for the next 10 days should be 57. She doesn’t see any frost though overnights will drop into the 30’s

Time to store the outdoor furniture
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and a cool 54° out there this morning, not as cool as predicted but give it another hour or so. Today is not expected to get above 70° as there is a supposed to be a cool breeze from the north all day. Return to a more normal 80's-90's tomorrow.

Mundane chores all day yesterday, laundry, minor housekeeping and vacuumed the inside of both cars. Not as limber as I once was! The dew didn't dry off until mid-afternoon which limited some outdoor stuff. I detest getting my tennis shoes wet. No dew this morning, so I'll be able to do some spot mowing and weedeating, both chores that I really haven't had to do since early July.
I also need to start the task of putting the winter cover on the pool. I'll start today with removal of the ladder and vacuum, and installing the water blocks so I can disconnect and drain the exposed plumbing. But I will wait until tomorrow or Monday for the wind to die down before the actual cover goes on. Too much hassle fighting that wind otherwise.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I did resume ground cover and graveled areas.
IMG_0535.JPG

IMG_0536.JPG

I also cleaned up the vehicles that I already had in this scene. I'll be doing some minor detailing next, like painting the mirrors and door handles silver, painting some lights and adding license plates.
IMG_0534.JPG

Problem with one though, even though it has never been exposed to direct sunlight, the clear styrene has discolored too extensively to use.
IMG_0532.JPG

I can use a white glue to spread over the windows to produce a clear glass appearance, but there is a major gap that may be an issue.
IMG_0533.JPG

Although the plan is to have it facing away from the viewer, so it may not be an issue.
As a side project, I want to rehab this semi truck that I recovered from my son's room after he moved out 20 years ago.
IMG_0526.JPG

A question to any truck driver or other knowledgeable person, is how high do those exhaust pipes typically extend above those mufflers? I have seen quite a few variations over the years. I actually have a few others in the same shape that I got before they hit the dumpster.

Todd - I am not allowed to paint inside the house!!!. OK by me.
Curt - Usually after the sleep test, a CPAP mask is next.
Sherrel - Nine days for the 2022 return, good luck. I had no tax to pay in 2022. Social Security and interest payments didn't meet the minimum, and they don't count savings account withdrawals as income. First time since 1971 that I didn't pay at least something. 2023 will be different as we have to take some RMD's from IRA's this year. Starting in 2025, the combined RMD's will be greater than my income from any year in my working career.
General comments regarding some of yesterday's posts:
Bears are quite uncommon here in Texas, there have been a few spotted around the Big Bend National Park, but otherwise none.
Car colors: I generally wasn't picky about the color of cars for many years. I just bought reliable Honda Civics with manual transmissions. That was always the hard part, the manual transmission. I wasn't always willing to wait for a special order color from the factory, and I took any color if it was on the dealers lot or at a nearby dealership. Never had a black one as that isn't a good idea in Texas. Never was offered a white one. '88, '96, '04, & '09 were all good for at least 180K miles; after which the new car cost was easier than maintenance time. Some of them went to the kids, the '09 is still here and used as storage shed!o_O I had a recent offer on it, but he only offered $100 for scrap. It still runs, but I no longer need a commuter car.

Another musical birthday today, John Mellencamp is 72. TV talk show host and absurd (to me) lady Joy Behar is 81.

Everyone here have a wonderful Saturday.
 
Good morning. 67° with Fog! 70% chance of rain or showers later on, after the cold front passes. BTW: Post Tropical Depression Phillipe has disappeared from the Tropical Storm Map. (No matter how much the TV weather bots still hype it).

Looks like a great day to work on the layout.
 


Status
Not open for further replies.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top