Running Bear's September 2025 Coffee Shop

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Good afternoon all, a beautiful day here, 83 and sunny right now, supposed to be nice the next few days. Great day at Church, now home for the day. Gonna hit the layout in a bit, trying to figure out a new switching area, what industries will fit into the space. Working the next two days and Friday, Saturday is a question mark. Everyone have a good day.
 


Saturday Train Swap Meet AAR...

My 2 tables were on the end in the middle of the room. Having done several other swap meets this was a great spot. The swap meet was in a HS gymnasium and the tables were cheap.....both tables together cost less than a Tangent freight car....and they had tablecloths.

I knew some of the other vendors and they said it wasn't going to be that good because the weather was so nice....78 and blue skies.

Early entry was at 9am, with general entry at 9:30am. Crowds were big until about 11:30am and it was a ghost town by 12:30pm. I sold a lot in that time frame for several reasons. I had one table just with weathered structures and the other had cars, a few engines, and books.

I sold almost all the structures because they were priced right for their size. I priced them at what I would want to pay and very few people tried negotiating. I stuck firm and when they came back what they wanted was sold. I had 2 Lance Mindheim books for $10 each. Someone wanted them both for $10 and I said no. When he finally came back around one had sold and he paid $10 for the other one.

There was a table with beautiful O scale structures, but I don't think he sold even one. This is a buyers market and $500-$800 structures are not going to sell where people want a fair deal and money is tight.

I was selling basically NIB 40' freight cars (transition era) for $15 each or 3 for $30. None of them were Western railroads, but I managed to sell about 1/3 of what I had out.

I sold one engine that was unobtaniaum. A Rapido GMD-1 lettered for the Oregon Pacific. I sold it for what I paid for it within the first half hour.

The show went until 2:30, but I was packed up and gone by 1pm. My goal was to get rid of "stuff." I don't like to have stuff in storage. Either I will be using it or it goes. I'm definitely not a hoarder. I was really surprised how much I sold.

The crowd demographics....
60% were over 60, with a majority looking well over 70.
20% were 40-60. These guys bought the majority of my structures.
20% were 20-40.
Very few kids of any age. The few there were walking with dad and had a little car or truck that dad bought them, to keep them occupied while he looked.

What was selling......
Lots of N scale. Probably 30% of the show. I had 2 tables across from me and 6 tables directly behind me. Older guys trying to thin their herd....younger guys buying N because of space issues.

HO scale was mixed. Some were filling their bags with old Athearn, Roundhouse, Walthers, etc that were used with and without boxes.(price)
There was a lot of people looking for deals on used Genesis, Scale Trains, etc. Lots of newer DCC were sold as their one big purchase. Again, Western railroads were in demand, but very specific engine type and era.
The same guys with their brass engines, priced the same way for the last several years, took all of them home again.
One thing I have noticed, from doing several swap meets and speaking with others, is that a majority of people really don't want to build any more. I had a lot of repeat customers buying structures and a lot of people were buying several. I guess it's a time and skill issue. I enjoy building structures, but only keep a few that I really like.

O & G scale
Lots of vintage Lionel. There were collectors (and some were vendors) spending $$$ to add to their collection. I saw people walking around with vintage non-train stuff like flood lights, semaphores, tunnels, bridges, etc.

There's another show I may get 1 table at the end of February. It's a lot closer and I did real well there last year.
 
And in other news The Serial Pooper is back.

Wife came back from visiting her mother and said there were about 6 turds on the walk, the next building north of ours (not blaming those residents, but it's always on this side of the complex except for a rare few times).
IMG_6091-X2.jpg


And yes, I grabbed a bag and went out to clean it up. Obviously, the perp isn't going to if it was there for over 3 hours since my wife noticed it on the way to go visit her mother.

I sent a report the HOA pres and asked if we can bill th perp after we catch them in addition to whatever the city does, and redirect to whoever cleans it up. I've had it enough that I don't want the shit on our walk, and the maintenance staff isn't going to get to it. They're in leaf/gutter clean up and closing down the pools.

Not to mention the Maint Staff golf carts seem to know just exactly where the piles are because they usually get flattened. The drivers don't see them on the dark path, and then it's ground into the pavement for everyone not looking to walk on.

I even told the HOA pres that my wife said I'm officially a "Grumpy Old Man" at only 61. 🤣 (she's right as usual.)
 
Good evening all. A beautiful September Sunday and the guys in Boonton, New Jersey had an event called "Museum for a Day". The society is dedicated to restoration and preservation of railroad equipment which ran in New Jersey. It's amazing how many crowds came in for the event and the town of Boonton had one of the main streets closed for private vendors. New Jersey Transit even organized a special train on the Boonton line so people would not have to drive to Boonton and overcrowd the city. I took advantage of that and drove to a town od Denville where i parked my car and took "The Boonton Scoot" to the event. The NJ Transit management went further in enhancing the event by assigning the "Heritage diesels for the shuttle trains. So first up is my initial wait for my NJT train in Denville and the Lackawanna junction pictures:
IMG_20250928_092736459.jpg

Looking west toward Dover with Boonton line coming in from the right and the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western mainline curving in from the left. Next one of the classic GP40-PH in New Jersey Department of Transportation scheme in Boonton right after i got off the train:
IMG_20250928_095729208.jpg
IMG_20250928_095700055.jpg

At the museum grounds, U34C also in NJ DoT scheme
IMG_20250928_101830228.jpg

Recently painted in Conrail paint another GP40-PH
IMG_20250928_102107530_HDR.jpg
IMG_20250928_102155592.jpg
IMG_20250928_102341609.jpg

One of the two GG1s un their possession:
IMG_20250928_102506029_HDR.jpg

And the newest acquisition, ALP44M:
IMG_20250928_102547674_HDR.jpg
 


troyphoto said:
And in other news The Serial Pooper is back.

Wife came back from visiting her mother and said there were about 6 turds on the walk, the next building north of ours (not blaming those residents, but it's always on this side of the complex except for a rare few times).
View attachment 241159

And yes, I grabbed a bag and went out to clean it up. Obviously, the perp isn't going to if it was there for over 3 hours since my wife noticed it on the way to go visit her mother.

I sent a report the HOA pres and asked if we can bill th perp after we catch them in addition to whatever the city does, and redirect to whoever cleans it up. I've had it enough that I don't want the shit on our walk, and the maintenance staff isn't going to get to it. They're in leaf/gutter clean up and closing down the pools.

Not to mention the Maint Staff golf carts seem to know just exactly where the piles are because they usually get flattened. The drivers don't see them on the dark path, and then it's ground into the pavement for everyone not looking to walk on.

I even told the HOA pres that my wife said I'm officially a "Grumpy Old Man" at only 61. 🤣 (she's right as usual.)
Click to expand...
More than likely it's a very senior dog that just poops as it walks. We had one that did it. It's probably someone with buds in or headphones on that is oblivious to what's going on.

It could be worse. You could have real crime....property crime, graffiti, assaults, etc.😐
 
Here's what I could find for my North Coast Limited in HO scale. The F-7 locomotive is an Atlas I believe. Fantastic smooth running lock. The B unit is a dummy that I custom painted. With the exception of the baggage car and observation car, all are Walthers, including a dining car. These are up for sale.
46838b90-3a90-4656-b9e0-0483f27f12e0-1_all_9871.jpg
 
Good afternoon to all.

It has been several days since my last post and I apologize I have not responded to others posts since then. It appears to be at least a days worth of reading. I'll get todays post in and probably go back later to catch up on all the news.

I made the Plano Train Show in Plano Texas yesterday and had a great time. There were a lot of vendors there and plenty of folks. There are two train shows in Plano (held at the same place) and usually this show is the lesser of the two shows so I was very pleased to see this show looked to be on the grow and had more vendors than before.
I purchased 3 Intermountain, A.T. & S.F. stock cars and a new, in the box, I. H. C., 2-6-0 Mogul loco. There were lots of good deals and most vendors were ready to accept "offers" for multiple item purchases. There was a time when I would have never considered buying any I.H.C. brand of locomotive, but I got a deal on one on e-bay a while back and I said what the heck. Turns out, the 2-6-0 has pretty decent details, runs like a fine tuned, well oiled sewing machine and has great pulling power. Price at the train show was $49.00.

Last Wednesday night, I spent about 4 hours in the train room. I re-aligned some track, got it glued down with holes drilled for feeders and two switch locations. I also put together two switch machine assemblies for the two turnouts that were moved. I was feeling good and felt like I had a productive 4 hours. I'm hoping to get out later this afternoon and install the two turnout servo assemblies and get the panel controls installed on the fascia.

Some yard mowing and work with the "weed eater" later this week. I'm hoping for a cool day to do this.

Have a great evening..............John
 
montanan said:
Here's what I could find for my North Coast Limited in HO scale. The F-7 locomotive is an Atlas I believe. Fantastic smooth running lock. The B unit is a dummy that I custom painted. With the exception of the baggage car and observation car, all are Walthers, including a dining car. These are up for sale. View attachment 241194
Click to expand...
Nice looking set.................
 
Marlin39 said:
More than likely it's a very senior dog that just poops as it walks. We had one that did it. It's probably someone with buds in or headphones on that is oblivious to what's going on.

It could be worse. You could have real crime....property crime, graffiti, assaults, etc.😐
Click to expand...
I agree it is is low crime, but still gross, especially if you step in it,
But your comment does put it in perspective
That said it shows that people care less, and if everyone lowers their standards accordingly
The real crime follows,
So to some extent holding the line is a good thing
But yeah I get the comment
On the other hand I hate head buds and earphones, and my only consolation is those people inevitably get tintinitis,which is mean, but also karma
 
westtexjohn said:
Good afternoon to all.

It has been several days since my last post and I apologize I have not responded to others posts since then. It appears to be at least a days worth of reading. I'll get todays post in and probably go back later to catch up on all the news.

I made the Plano Train Show in Plano Texas yesterday and had a great time. There were a lot of vendors there and plenty of folks. There are two train shows in Plano (held at the same place) and usually this show is the lesser of the two shows so I was very pleased to see this show looked to be on the grow and had more vendors than before.
I purchased 3 Intermountain, A.T. & S.F. stock cars and a new, in the box, I. H. C., 2-6-0 Mogul loco. There were lots of good deals and most vendors were ready to accept "offers" for multiple item purchases. There was a time when I would have never considered buying any I.H.C. brand of locomotive, but I got a deal on one on e-bay a while back and I said what the heck. Turns out, the 2-6-0 has pretty decent details, runs like a fine tuned, well oiled sewing machine and has great pulling power. Price at the train show was $49.00.

Last Wednesday night, I spent about 4 hours in the train room. I re-aligned some track, got it glued down with holes drilled for feeders and two switch locations. I also put together two switch machine assemblies for the two turnouts that were moved. I was feeling good and felt like I had a productive 4 hours. I'm hoping to get out later this afternoon and install the two turnout servo assemblies and get the panel controls installed on the fascia.

Some yard mowing and work with the "weed eater" later this week. I'm hoping for a cool day to do this.

Have a great evening..............John
Click to expand...
Visiting here is meant to be fun,not a chore if you have time and the will to catch up great, otherwise float past the pictures and settle in…..

I went Mia for several years…I am not catching up on all that, just one month I read and then could not reply…sniggers….
A couple more days and you could have b,Ames the new month….grins
 
I made pasta last night, the thick ridged macaroni (for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it right now). I usually use chicken, fry it up with salt and pepper, add diced onion, add the marinara, simmer for half an hour, take the chicken out and add water, throw in the macaroni thing in, boil for however long it takes. The starch remains in the sauce, so it thickens up nicely. throw the chicken back in, add some shredded mozz. Put it in my lasagna pan and add a layer of mozz on top. Bake 450 for 20 min with a foil tent to prevent burning, but not touching the mozz.

Didn't have any chicken, so I used sirloin steak. Man, that was good! Of course had to sample the steak as I was frying it!
 


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