Running Bear's September 2022 Coffee Shop

[ctclibby]

Morning all,

Into the office a bit later as the wife was off today and tomorrow, trying to burn a few of the days she earned before they close down. So I experimented with getting up at 5:00a instead of 3:30a. My actual hours are 6:30a to 4p M-Th and 6:30a to 10:30a on Fridays. I was in about 6:10 instead of my usual 5:50. Would have been nice If I hadn't had to get up to pee at 3:25 this morning. Still got everything I usually do done and to work on time. I think the schedule will work and I feel a little bit more rested this morning.

Currently 70° and clear going for a high of 95° once again. They were talking on the weather that we may have some more triple digit temps early next week...FUN!

Sounds like the RR strike has been averted. We'll see. Funny they keep talking about gas prices dropping, Wichita area took a $0.29 cent hike this week ($3.30 to $3.59). What's up with that?

BBL

Gas, what a PITA. Seen $2.89 in Mississippi ( Olive Branch ), probably Tier 3 stuff and you don't want to play.

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and rejoicing railfans...

It's Troy again.

Got through my day of napping on Tues, and wife rewarded me with a trip to the Mexican joint for a bowl of queso dip. the burrito was meh, but the wife had a margarita. I think that's the real reason we went there. Wednesday is cheap margarita day.

Got a few words worded today. Got the SS Ralph giant corgi inflatable sea scout blimp heading out on a recon. Since this is a murder mystery, any clue what they'll discover?

I did get a little work done on the gaming minis: First snipped the skeletons off their bases

While at HobLob yesterday, I picked up a bottle of Realistic Resin Water. Was $11 for 8 fl oz. LHS has the Woodland Scenics for $27 per 16 fl oz. figured the gaming models were a good trial run to see if it's any better.

Here's the before pour:

The undead hordes are emerging from?

their pool of enchanted summoning magic, ready to do battle against the orcs and dwarves...

Here's the first pour:

Added a bit too much ink to the resin. I'll do a second pour of clear later this evening. Need to build one more pond base. I've got enough minis left that need to be trimmed off their bases to fill it up.

OK, back to writing while I wait on the resin to dry.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all,

A little rain this morning, lots of lightening off to the north as I drove in, saw a fox in the usual area, must have a nest there. Played with trains a little yesterday, identified some more problems with some of my freight cars, funny how the glue can give way over time. A lot of my stuff was in a shipping container for two winters so the temp changes could have had something to do with it.

Tom- our rug was on backorder for 4 months, I secretly hoped it would never come in. Through my therapy sessions I realized that my wife experiences love from 1) getting attention (me listening to whatever comes out of her mouth and mostly agreeing) and 2)spending money (something her mom did for her throughout her formative years). Both are moving targets.

DJ - I am trying to get through the SS reality into my wifes head. She wants me to collect now and work forever. I told her that is what would happen if we collect now. That did not even sink in a little, or maybe she wants the house to herself?

Terry - Broken finger, mine hurts just thinking about it. Hope it heals fast!

Patrick - they wanted to get gas prices up to ours. Cheapest here is 3.59, most stations at 3.79.

Troy - thanks for the resin water tip, I may go for that,

Guy - thanks for the compliment on the photo! Wonder from a previous post of yours which Bachman steamer you have? You mentioned it was a bit noisy.

Chad - good to hear the gravel slinger worked and you got good service. Nice when something works out!

I switched out a bunch of the rolling stock on my layout last night, here is one of the pics:

more later, Dave LASM

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!

The plan today, is to rip out a length of track off the layout, and make more changes. I'm looking to put in two more railcar holding tracks, this time making sure they are blocked before and not after. This will be the 3rd time for that area of track. - Suppose if I keep trying, I'll get it right sooner or later.
I'm thinking that if I have numerous tracks to move lots of railcars on, the whole business of having a smaller switching layout might be less boring.

This morning, I introduce you to Telegraph Cove, a picturesque village located on the northeast side of Vancouver Island.
Photo by Mike Kaehler:

This is the type of scene I hope to include on my layout, when I go around the corner to the bridge crossing location. In that place, I hope to begin a mountain/waterscape scene, that will be far more interesting and complicated than the flat railyard I'm working on now. I'm liking the idea of buildings on stilts over water.
I suppose my layout thinking is prairie leading directly into mountain scenes, and I want some water scenes along the way. My interest is more in the modelling, than watching a train go around a circle. So, in the end, I'll have roughly 20'+ of prairie/industry and 14' of mountain area. - Don't forget that I built a boat last winter:

DaveB - The Bachmann steamer is called a Prairie 2-6-2, item no.51505.

It runs ok. It's just the roughest/loudest sounding engine I own.

Anyway, time to get on with things. Have a great day everyone!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 60°. Cooler day in store today, high of just 89°. I don't know why since the wind is out of the south and no cloud cover is expected! Warmer nights starting tomorrow.

Meant to mention that I saw gas at $2.99/gal at a couple of places Tuesday night. I'll have a more local update after going on the weekly grocery trek today.
Yesterday was a bit of a bust, as I went back and remowed part of the yard from less than a week ago. Grass is growing just a bit too quickly. I also cut up the last three major branches that I pruned from trees last January, Bur Oak which makes good firewood. There is about 9 days worth of heating wood there to be added to the woodpile whenever.

Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding the Air Park post yesterday; Snowman, Gary, Guy, Patrick, Tom O, Karl, Hughie, Hughie, Joe, Curt, Tom, Rick, OB Ken, Sherrel.

Not much went on out in the train shed yesterday. I unpacked all of the booty from the train store.

Unseen in this photo are a few bottles of paint and 25 pair of Kadee #148 couplers.
One item is these passengers from Walther's.

I will be using them as drivers in vehicles. I'm tired of painting Preiser figures and then cutting the legs off. This is the first time that I had seen this offering.
Another interesting find is these food trailers, also from Walther's.

There's plenty more to display, but I need to go now and coordinate our grocery lists.

Guy - Postman wanted an extra $15? Seems odd to me.
Noted model railroad author Tony Koester always advised the formula 2x+1 for railcar storage. "x" is what you think you need.
Joe -

Worst part beyond the footage, are the inane comments of the clueless Commentators, employed by said media.

One of the advantages of wearing programmable hearing aids. My normal setting filters out TV noises.
My whole working career was at a company that withheld taxes and SS the entire time. Made it easy to coordinate SS benefits. My retirement was delayed by a few years due to the "Great Recession" and the over 6 figure loss in the 401K. Made most back in 2011.
Ken (D&J) - Back to your cousin and SS; the SSA started sending me Notice of Benefits as early as age 50, so I could plan and adjust retirement savings. Some people, obviously like her, either ignore the information or don't understand it. It's not like she didn't know what the future was going to bring.
Terry - Rail strike or not (apparently not), we tend to keep a month supply of canned, frozen and non-perishable stuff all of the time. Everything except beer which I keep a six week supply.
Hoping that the finger heals quickly.

Everybody have a great day.

 

[chadbag]

Noted model railroad author Tony Koester always advised the formula 2x+1 for railcar storage. "x" is what you think you need.

Sounds similar to what the gun-nuts say. "2 is 1, 1 is none"

I concur, whether it be model RR, or firearms, or RC planes, or especially bass guitars.

 

[ctclibby]

Sounds similar to what the gun-nuts say. "2 is 1, 1 is none"

I concur, whether it be model RR, or firearms, or RC planes, or especially bass guitars.

Just because I have a gun I am nuts? Boy I must be really nuts as I have many guns!
Never heard the quote above. Gun people most always say "Better to have one and not need it, then to need one and not have it". In today's world, that might be considered a good theory.

 

[JeffH]

Sounds similar to what the gun-nuts say. "2 is 1, 1 is none"

I concur, whether it be model RR, or firearms, or RC planes, or especially bass guitars.

OK, so who is your favorite bass player? I have a few I really like. Christina Weymouth and Chris Squire come to mind right away. I appreciate Flea's skills, but not a huge fan of the Ret Hot Chili Peppers.

RC planes... Back around 1980, I had a Falcon 56 that I flew a few times before I crashed it. A buddy was really into RC planes, but my parents wouldn't agree to getting me a replacement after I crashed the first plane I built. Maybe I should have started with a smaller, simpler plane. The Falco 56 was a pretty large and relatively costly plane back then. And I used "micro bubbles" (or some product like that) to do the wings, rather than the inexpensive, and more lightweight shrink-wrap skins.

 

[Boris]

Good morning. Rutgers U's weather station on the Manasquan River is reporting 66° currently, and a low this morning of 58° It's sunny and expected to remain sunny with a high of 75°.

Tonight marks the first night of NFL Thursday night Football on Prime...(exclusively). Everyone is getting into the streaming act.

Another typical railroad contract negotiation ends in the usual manner. A government imposed settlement. Over time, the pendulum has swung back and forth as to which side is most ridiculous, but the drama is mostly the same. If I read things correctly, the whole process begins with new "Section Six" Notices in about 18 months. The current settlement dates back about 30 months, more or less.
The bright side is that the freight, so crucial to the economy keeps moving.

Tomorrow, the Baltimore Orioles begin a weekend series in Toronto. which is crucial to their prospects for a wild card spot...hopefully they will exceed expectations. Meanwhile, the Mets are having trouble winning games and are holding on to First by a half game...

Hockey expectations are running high in all 32 Fan Bases. Some are looking to continued success, others have hopes for new found success, while still others are looking forward to Tanking for Bedard...hoping to win the draft lottery with an exceptionally highly reputed phenom prospect this year. The Prospect Challenge in Buffalo is this weekend. Yay! it's almost Hockey Season.

Willie: I hear ya. NBC 4 has a reporter, who has been on CH4 for 30+ years now, and she has always been top shelf. Now she is coming off as a barely literate moron, that talks down to her audience.I suppose she is reflecting Station or Network Policy. Why Watch. NBC News has all the programing from 4:30 AM, through 3PM, when Kelle Clarkson (another dim bulb), comes on, the back to News from 4 to 8, then 3 hours of reality, then News and News Talk until 2:00 AM... At least Channel 11 still features the Honeymooners at Midnight, like they have for 50 years. Time to stop watching.

 

[logandsawman]

Good Morning All. Clear and 60°. Cooler day in store today, high of just 89°. I don't know why since the wind is out of the south and no cloud cover is expected! Warmer nights starting tomorrow.

Meant to mention that I saw gas at $2.99/gal at a couple of places Tuesday night. I'll have a more local update after going on the weekly grocery trek today.
Yesterday was a bit of a bust, as I went back and remowed part of the yard from less than a week ago. Grass is growing just a bit too quickly. I also cut up the last three major branches that I pruned from trees last January, Bur Oak which makes good firewood. There is about 9 days worth of heating wood there to be added to the woodpile whenever.

Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding the Air Park post yesterday; Snowman, Gary, Guy, Patrick, Tom O, Karl, Hughie, Hughie, Joe, Curt, Tom, Rick, OB Ken, Sherrel.

Not much went on out in the train shed yesterday. I unpacked all of the booty from the train store.View attachment 151831
Unseen in this photo are a few bottles of paint and 25 pair of Kadee #148 couplers.
One item is these passengers from Walther's.
View attachment 151833
I will be using them as drivers in vehicles. I'm tired of painting Preiser figures and then cutting the legs off. This is the first time that I had seen this offering.
Another interesting find is these food trailers, also from Walther's.
View attachment 151834
There's plenty more to display, but I need to go now and coordinate our grocery lists.

Guy - Postman wanted an extra $15? Seems odd to me.
Noted model railroad author Tony Koester always advised the formula 2x+1 for railcar storage. "x" is what you think you need.
Joe -

One of the advantages of wearing programmable hearing aids. My normal setting filters out TV noises.
My whole working career was at a company that withheld taxes and SS the entire time. Made it easy to coordinate SS benefits. My retirement was delayed by a few years due to the "Great Recession" and the over 6 figure loss in the 401K. Made most back in 2011.
Ken (D&J) - Back to your cousin and SS; the SSA started sending me Notice of Benefits as early as age 50, so I could plan and adjust retirement savings. Some people, obviously like her, either ignore the information or don't understand it. It's not like she didn't know what the future was going to bring.
Terry - Rail strike or not (apparently not), we tend to keep a month supply of canned, frozen and non-perishable stuff all of the time. Everything except beer which I keep a six week supply.
Hoping that the finger heals quickly.

Everybody have a great day.

Willie - great find on the drivers, something I really need cause have lots of ghost vehicles on the layout.

Also, the Bur oak firewood. We have that here, too; in many cases the branches are like small trees. Does make excellent firewood, in my climate takes a long time to dry, however. The best is those dead, persistent branches on the bottom of the tree, usually ready to burn right away.

Ken DJ - how is it going on those cemetery stumps?

 

[chadbag]

Just because I have a gun I am nuts? Boy I must be really nuts as I have many guns!
Never heard the quote above. Gun people most always say "Better to have one and not need it, then to need one and not have it". In today's world, that might be considered a good theory.

I is one too! (gun nut)

The saying "2 is 1, 1 is none" is quite common -- at least in the guys who take carrying and ownership "seriously", meaning it is not a "toy" but a tool for them. I've heard it at my club in NH, when I lived there, and on several online forums and I think even in an article. The saying is that having one is like having none as Murphy will strike and you will have a malfunction or other issue when you really need it.

 

[TLOC]

Good later morning for me. Tough night for sleeping from what I just read to catch up. Hit the sack as normal somewhere between 11:15 and midnight. Last night though I was still tossing and turning at 1:33AM. Awake but not out of bed at 4 and again tossing and turning as I tossed I checked the clock at 5:22. Heard Terry close the bedroom door she said at 7:40 after she came back from her horses. I have a feeling the 20 minute nap between 2 and 3 this afternoon May need an alarm or I might sleep an hour or so. Life is fun but so much better then the alternative!

Terry changing out sheets and pillow cases this morning just asked if I was alright? I asked why, yeah! Seems I had a bloody nose last night and 2 pillow cases were covered.

Its only 64f degrees now at 9:45 as I type this. Heading the WeatherChannel app claims to 84.

Terry, my sister and daughter had an exasperating time looking at rugs to cover the rug in the main living area yesterday, but by golly they prevailed in time to get to the granddaughter’s Special Needs softball game. Good time had by us but no dinner afterwards as the g/d I guess has been difficult to live with per mom, so no treat by going out. Terry and I hit Mooya for a great burger while my sister was dropped off by the daughter at home. The rug will be delivered tomorrow between 8 and 9AM. When I asked over hamburgers last night how much, Terry said something like, more then I wanted to spend but much less then I could have. Fine with me, and anyway, what else could I have said. Turns out they purchased at the last visit of the day. A Persian rug shop on Monroe Street in Madison that we drive by at least 2 times a week. Who’d have thought…

Weathering only in the train room yesterday with no layout work at all. Today should be lots of layout work and some weathering. I am finding weathering rustbuckets a bit of a challenge but I am very much enjoying the process. Pictures really do show the flaws or missed spots much better then just the eye. I don’t experiment on client rolling stock, I do that on my own. I have 1 and 3/4 cars done for James that are rust buckets, I now have 3 of my own. Seems there is a huge difference between the medium and heavy weathering compared to a rust bucket.

breakfast is calling, enjoy the day

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning All. Clear and 60°. Cooler day in store today, high of just 89°. I don't know why since the wind is out of the south and no cloud cover is expected! Warmer nights starting tomorrow.

Meant to mention that I saw gas at $2.99/gal at a couple of places Tuesday night. I'll have a more local update after going on the weekly grocery trek today.
Yesterday was a bit of a bust, as I went back and remowed part of the yard from less than a week ago. Grass is growing just a bit too quickly. I also cut up the last three major branches that I pruned from trees last January, Bur Oak which makes good firewood. There is about 9 days worth of heating wood there to be added to the woodpile whenever.

Thanks for the reactions and comments regarding the Air Park post yesterday; Snowman, Gary, Guy, Patrick, Tom O, Karl, Hughie, Hughie, Joe, Curt, Tom, Rick, OB Ken, Sherrel.

Not much went on out in the train shed yesterday. I unpacked all of the booty from the train store.View attachment 151831
Unseen in this photo are a few bottles of paint and 25 pair of Kadee #148 couplers.
One item is these passengers from Walther's.
View attachment 151833
I will be using them as drivers in vehicles. I'm tired of painting Preiser figures and then cutting the legs off. This is the first time that I had seen this offering.
Another interesting find is these food trailers, also from Walther's.
View attachment 151834
There's plenty more to display, but I need to go now and coordinate our grocery lists.

Guy - Postman wanted an extra $15? Seems odd to me.
Noted model railroad author Tony Koester always advised the formula 2x+1 for railcar storage. "x" is what you think you need.
Joe -

One of the advantages of wearing programmable hearing aids. My normal setting filters out TV noises.
My whole working career was at a company that withheld taxes and SS the entire time. Made it easy to coordinate SS benefits. My retirement was delayed by a few years due to the "Great Recession" and the over 6 figure loss in the 401K. Made most back in 2011.
Ken (D&J) - Back to your cousin and SS; the SSA started sending me Notice of Benefits as early as age 50, so I could plan and adjust retirement savings. Some people, obviously like her, either ignore the information or don't understand it. It's not like she didn't know what the future was going to bring.
Terry - Rail strike or not (apparently not), we tend to keep a month supply of canned, frozen and non-perishable stuff all of the time. Everything except beer which I keep a six week supply.
Hoping that the finger heals quickly.

Everybody have a great day.

Willie, great shopping! Would you please post the part number for the figures?

thanks

 

[chadbag]

OK, so who is your favorite bass player? I have a few I really like. Christina Weymouth and Chris Squire come to mind right away. I appreciate Flea's skills, but not a huge fan of the Ret Hot Chili Peppers.

RC planes... Back around 1980, I had a Falcon 56 that I flew a few times before I crashed it. A buddy was really into RC planes, but my parents wouldn't agree to getting me a replacement after I crashed the first plane I built. Maybe I should have started with a smaller, simpler plane. The Falco 56 was a pretty large and relatively costly plane back then. And I used "micro bubbles" (or some product like that) to do the wings, rather than the inexpensive, and more lightweight shrink-wrap skins.

Chris Squire is my favorite, as I am a super Yes fan. I met him at a meet and greet in 2014, not long before he passed away. It was awesome.

Tina Weymouth is very good as well. Very tasteful player and very underrated. There are all sorts of genres and excellent players in each. John Paul Jones and John Entwistle, Dusty Hill for classic rock, blues inspired rock, and Texas rock. John Patitucci on the Jazz side. Victor Wooten and Stanley Clark as well. Tony Levin also is an awesome player (King Crimson, Chuck Mangione Trio [before he went commercial], ABWH gtour, and a ton of other things).

Pino Palladino is just an amazing all around player. If you like slap funk then Marcus Miller for "modern" playing. Larry Graham is the Godfather of slap.

Up and coming players -- Check out Charles Berthoud on YouTube. Amazing player. And of course, the best of them all, Davie504 /s

RC planes: I was interested for like forever, but finally got around to building a simple 20 sized "Stik" plane (all wood) while back at college after a guy in our apartment complex showed me what he was doing and let me borrow his catalogs. It kind of got out of hand after that -- i Learned to fly power and did that for a while including in Germany when I moved there. When I returned from Germany I went to this place here in Utah called "Point of the Mountain", which is (or was -- still used but not as nice as the area has shrunk due to development) one of the Meccas for slope soaring (glider flying in the updrafts on the side of slopes). So I basically only did slope soaring for a long while. Last 20 years I've only gone out to the slopes a few times after moving back to Utah and flew power (glow gas) only once or twice. I did sell all my glow stuff and buy a ton of electric gear 10 years ago but have only built a couple "Slow Sticks" electrics and flown with my kids. I also bought a ton of cheap Chinese drone parts and kits to build my own and have flown one or two a small amount. All of this has been on hold due to lack of space, and to a lesser extent, time, at the time -- I was doing the drone building when I started a new job and that got dropped.

I'd like to get back to the slope soaring, some neighborhood backyard/park flying electrics, and get back to my drone designs.

 

[truckdad]

OK, so who is your favorite bass player? I have a few I really like. Christina Weymouth and Chris Squire come to mind right away. I appreciate Flea's skills, but not a huge fan of the Ret Hot Chili Peppers.

Wait..... there are other bass players?? Other than Fred LaBour??

 

[Alcomotive]

Chris Squire is my favorite, as I am a super Yes fan. I met him at a meet and greet in 2014, not long before he passed away. It was awesome.

Tina Weymouth is very good as well. Very tasteful player and very underrated. There are all sorts of genres and excellent players in each. John Paul Jones and John Entwistle, Dusty Hill for classic rock, blues inspired rock, and Texas rock. John Patitucci on the Jazz side. Victor Wooten and Stanley Clark as well. Tony Levin also is an awesome player (King Crimson, Chuck Mangione Trio [before he went commercial], ABWH gtour, and a ton of other things).

Pino Palladino is just an amazing all around player. If you like slap funk then Marcus Miller for "modern" playing. Larry Graham is the Godfather of slap.

Up and coming players -- Check out Charles Berthoud on YouTube. Amazing player. And of course, the best of them all, Davie504 /s

RC planes: I was interested for like forever, but finally got around to building a simple 20 sized "Stik" plane (all wood) while back at college after a guy in our apartment complex showed me what he was doing and let me borrow his catalogs. It kind of got out of hand after that -- i Learned to fly power and did that for a while including in Germany when I moved there. When I returned from Germany I went to this place here in Utah called "Point of the Mountain", which is (or was -- still used but not as nice as the area has shrunk due to development) one of the Meccas for slope soaring (glider flying in the updrafts on the side of slopes). So I basically only did slope soaring for a long while. Last 20 years I've only gone out to the slopes a few times after moving back to Utah and flew power (glow gas) only once or twice. I did sell all my glow stuff and buy a ton of electric gear 10 years ago but have only built a couple "Slow Sticks" electrics and flown with my kids. I also bought a ton of cheap Chinese drone parts and kits to build my own and have flown one or two a small amount. All of this has been on hold due to lack of space, and to a lesser extent, time, at the time -- I was doing the drone building when I started a new job and that got dropped.

I'd like to get back to the slope soaring, some neighborhood backyard/park flying electrics, and get back to my drone designs.

For whatever reason I have always enjoyed YES and their album Big Generator......it's my favorite

 

[bnsf971]

 

[JeffH]

Yes has its share of talented musicians for sure! It's funny... I love Yes, but don't really care for anything from King Crimson.

I could listen to Heart of the Sunrise over and over again. I love the softer parts, with Bill Bruford on drums... so delicate and precise, yet technically insane. He's one drummer I could never air drum to... He's just so proficient.

 

[chadbag]

Yes has its share of talented musicians for sure! It's funny... I love Yes, but don't really care for anything from King Crimson.

I could listen to Heart of the Sunrise over and over again. I love the softer parts, with Bill Bruford on drums... so delicate and precise, yet technically insane. He's one drummer I could never air drum to... He's just so proficient.

Of course, it is interesting you mention Bruford, as he also spent 25 years with King Crimson...

My all around favorite Yes album is "The Yes Album" and Bruford was in the lineup then. I've always admired his playing and have some of his later work as well.

I'll admit I am not that familiar with King Crimson (the way I am, for example, with Yes). Tony Levin is an amazing player and not just King Crimson. My favorite is the Chuck Mangione Quartet album "Alive!" from 1972, where he plays bass. This Album was never released on CD or streaming. I've had a copy since the late 70s or very early 80s as a teenager (since at the time I played trumpet) and it is also available on YouTube. Well worth the listen.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

That stump in the cemetery is gone. One of the other guys finished to job while my back was achin.

Truck is gone too. Checked CarMax, mediocre offer. Went back to Ford and they honored their offer of last week. Check is in the bank. One less thing to wake up to each day. Now just have to report the sale to the DMV then sell back the remaining extended warranty plan then go buy some train stuff.
Mainline Hobbies in Summit, PA is hosting a layout tour this weekend. Nice wx forecast so should be a nice day to ride a few hundred miles.
Havin a cigar at the lounge right now.