Running Bear's Coffee Shop LVII

[chessie_system3]

Ok guys as promised. A pic of my loadout. Well minus the tipple but the tracks none the less. Lemme know what y'all think.

I haven't finished yet. Still have some work and some other things I want to add in.

Sent from my LGLS675 using Tapatalk

 

[tootnkumin]

Dun'no what's going on with ebay tonight, won't let me place a watch on items, create a collection OK. Maybe the same problem I had with the NCE Yahoo group as well.

 

[montanan]

Good morning. 41 degrees with rain this morning. Looking at the radar in the area, I see a lot of blue (snow) around us. Took the winter tires out of the shop and will get them put on some time this week.
Never turned on the computer yesterday. After breakfast I watched the Nascar race and then got ready for a number of people to show up for a BBQ. Never got any work done on the trains over the weekend, but did get all of the cars that won't see the highway in the winter months winterized and covered up in the shop. Going to have to think about selling some as the shop is really crowded.

Eric - Sorry to hear that you are in the hospital. Hope things go well for you.

Gary P - Excellent work on the grain elevator.

Not a big baseball fan any more, but it was nice to see the Cubs take the first game. It has been a while for them.

Garry - Nice photo of the commuter train.

Joe - Like the centipede photos. Sure is a lot of grunt there.

Toot - Really liked the video of the turbines. Niicely done and great modeling.

Terry - Nice video. That was an impressive looking locomotive but from what I have read, not so impressive in real life.

blackz28 - I was wondering what had happened to you as I've seen no posts from you in ages. Hope you'll post some layout construction photos. Nice to see you back.

Willie - sounds like an interesting trip. Hope to see some photos.

Guess I should post some lind of photo so here it is. This is the old Milwaukee Road right of way in sixteen mile canyon. This was an awsome part of the trip when it was running. Land owners have blocked off tunnels along the route as you can see to keep people from trespassing on their property and not respecting gates and the property.

This is the Belt Creek Tunnel.

Catch you later.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning ......

Yesterday, I mentioned the CB&Q commuter trains included generator cars which were converted from a heavyweight coaches. The generator was at one end of the car. Some of them had a baggage compartment for mail and express. This was mostly bundles of newspapers printed in Chicago and dropped off at suburban stations. The seats were for smokers. I did not ride in those cars because the smoke was so thick. I never did like smoking and my smoking friends failed to talk me into it. Over the years, I rode on the Burlington suburban trains 100's of times.

 

[tootnkumin]

Dun'no what's going on with ebay tonight, won't let me place a watch on items, create a collection OK. Maybe the same problem I had with the NCE Yahoo group as well.

More ways than one to skin a cat, went to our AU ebay, opened the collection I'd created, clicked on the ones I wanted to put on a watch, clicked watch. Hey presto, they're now watched. You guys got some lines down somewhere?

The marvels of modren tekerolergy.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning Folks. It's 72 degrees and partly cloudy here in Gulf Shores AL this morning. Surfs up a bit. Catching up on some of the posts from the last few days this morning.

Gary P- Nice build on the grain elevator. I built the same kit a while back and posted a photo or two last summer. When I get home, I'll see if I have more.
Blackz - Welcome back to the forum.
Justin - Watch out! As Louis posted, keep up your tetanus. Loadout area is coming along nicely.
Eric - Take care. Hope that they can fix the issue and you can get on with the chemo.
Curt - Square "O" ring sounds like an oxymoron to me! At least MOH stayed out of the way instead of telling how it should be done.
Sherrel - Even though I no longer religiously follow the Dallas Cowboys, I'm still pissed about the "Ice Bowl". The only team that I would rather see them beat more than the Pack is the Eagles.
Chet - Haven't seen any "babes" that I had an opportunity to photograph yet, but I know that I will be taking many pictures in the three museums.

Everybody have a great day.

Willie

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Morning Everyone ... A few clouds around the area - not really expecting any moisture although North of us up around Cajon they are having spotty rain showers (you guys would call them sprinkles). High today will be about 73, but back into the low 90's midweek.

Garry -- Glad you poster the "generator" car. I wondered what you meant? Did they supply both lights and heat? What powered the generator? Curious is me!

Chessie: Your pics leave me puzzled. Is this before/after shots, or just after? Seems almost like looking at three different scenes.

Nice photo, Chet, What type of span across the chasm is that?

LOUIS -- I told my wife the previous game that the Cubs better save some of those runs they scored for the next game -- I was correct. We're gonna get Jobu to help them! (loved that movie)

"E" -- Good to see your alert!

Somehow, I managed to watch the latest 'Star Wars' movie this weekend. I guess third time is the charm. I kept falling asleep twice before. Like me ... Harrison Ford has gotten older and he died in the movie ... I am NOT ready to follow in his footsteps!

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WILLIE -- Sounds as if you have a nice trip mapped out. My father was a died-in-the-wool Cowboys fan for years and years.
One of my biggest lifes regrets is that I did not take him to one of their games when he was able and I had the energy and drive to do such things.

P.S. Be sure and grab a container of that white sand down there to use on your layout!

The car ferry operation at Mobile on Blakely Island

 

[chessie_system3]

Ok so I managed to create some confusion with my pics earlier. So to correct this I'm going to post a before and after.
Before:

After:

This is unfinished as I'll work on it as time permits. Basically I pulled up all the black and I've went back through with my ballast top that with some coal and some ground cover. I've got some more work on this to make this turn out ok. Once this is in place I'm going to try to finish up the scene. I would like to dull the ballast and coal down some. Anyone have any ideas on how to do this? I have a rattle can of dull coat. Would that work? I'm on a tight budget right now so I'm having to work with what I have available.

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[montanan]

Sherrel - This is a trestle also in Sixteen Mile Canyon which is typical for the Milwaukee Road, the same kind as in the first photo. A number of years back a couple of is followed the old right of way as best we could from Ringling, MT to Lonbard, MT where it crosses the Missouri River.

This is the Eagles Nest Tunnel.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Dustin .... Your ballasted track looks great.

Chet ... The scenery is beautiful.

Sherrel ... Each generator had a diesel engine for power. It was for lighting and air conditioning of the Budd bi-levels. Steam heat was from the locomotives. The CB&Q pooled its E-units between commuter trains and long distance trains. Most Burlington long distance trains terminated in Chicago where the commuter trains operated, and there were plenty of E-units to go round. The suburban trains were normally hauled with E8's and E9's which had more power than the E7's and E5's. However, E7's were used occasionally on the commuter trains. Rarely, an E5 was used for the commuter trains. .... Weekend commuter train service would have only one or two Budd bi-levels on each train, and the locomotive did have enough electricity available for just one or two cars. The generator car was not needed then. .....

After Amtrak was created and the Burlington Northern merger, things changed for the commuter service. Former CB&Q E9's and E8's were rebuilt to be used exclusively for suburban service. The cars were modified as well as the locomotives. Generators were installed in the locomotives to provide electrical power for the cars. Of course, the rebuilt E-units were painted green and lettered for BN.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Yeah, Looks better, Justin. Sorry - can't answer your question - if no one else chime in - try it on a small spot.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

CHET - nice photo of a big hole in the face of that rock and I like the bridge. Any fish in that stream? Could I fish there or is it private?

Garry - Thanks -- I enjoyed reading your explanation until you got to the "puke green" part!

 

[montanan]

I'm sure that there are fish in that creek. It is a feeder into the Missouri River. It's a fisherman's delight up here. Cross over the pass to Livingston, MT and fisherman come from all over the country to fish the Yellowstone River.

 

[bnsf971]

Good afternoon. It's sunny and 85.
I thought I'd mention this here, so everybody can read the terms of purchase on Ebay carefully, before completing the purchase. It seems that some sellers will add you to a spam list when you buy from them, as a "bonus" to the sale.
Currently have blocked 12 new spam mail addresses since early this morning. It's kind of tough to filter, since this spam is directly addressed to me by name, since we now have a business relationship.

In other news, I haven't gotten a single phone call from "tech support" since I answered the phone in the manner I described earlier. Silence is golden...

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Sitting here listening to the 60's channel on TV. Cleaned house earlier. MOH just took off for her part time job, so it is just me and son for supper. He is planning on grilling a pork tenderloin.

I have been researching dwarf type signals (PRR of course) for several days because I want to make dwarfs for my sidings. The pre made ones (curved style) are hard to find and when you do they run $15-20 each. I figure that I need 16 so it now turns into a self build project (read long term).

Eric- I hope you are feeling better. Unfortunately fevers and infections are not unusual for patients like you. You just have to stay on top of it like you did.

Karl- Posting about Jobu brought a smile to my face, "Major League" was a great movie. One of the few things I like Charlie Sheen in.

Sherrel- Our local university (UCF) really blew it Saturday. They dominated the first half (Temple) but never showed up for the second half. They lost when Temple scored with 1 sec left. Temple moved 70 yards in less than 30 seconds.

BlackZ- Welcome back.

Louis- Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely check it out.

Justin- I feel bad because I should of recommended to you before ballasting to give everything a black wash. I then used cinders/coal mine run coal for ballast (not as heavy as the mains) then I had some actual bits of coal. I ground it up (not to a powder) then sprinkled it over the area. That really helps "dull" the area. I have tried the Dullcote before and as far as I'm concerned I just wasted my time.

Chet- Great shots.

Garry- That car looks about in the same shape as Pennsy equipment did towards the end.

Joe- During my research I found drawings of what looks like a rectangular ground signal that hat 8 lights in 2 vertical rows of 4. I can't find any info on them or photos of them. Do you know anything about them? In the drawing they appear to be about 1/3 the height of a standard PL signal. They would be much easier to build than the curved ones.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[tootnkumin]

Good afternoon. It's sunny and 85.
I thought I'd mention this here, so everybody can read the terms of purchase on Ebay carefully, before completing the purchase. It seems that some sellers will add you to a spam list when you buy from them, as a "bonus" to the sale.
Currently have blocked 12 new spam mail addresses since early this morning. It's kind of tough to filter, since this spam is directly addressed to me by name, since we now have a business relationship.

In other news, I haven't gotten a single phone call from "tech support" since I answered the phone in the manner I described earlier. Silence is golden...

To add to the annoyance of identifying email sources since the 'upgrade' to Hotmail's pages. With Win10 the ability to hover the mouse pointer over the sender's name to reveal the full address seems to have been removed, still is available with Win7. I have one at the moment which says it is from a buy and sell service I once used (important information of course) with no way to check without opening it.

 

[montanan]

Good afternoon. The rain has let up finally. Got the winter tires put on the car this afternoon. If I were smart, I would get another set of rims and this way I could change them out at home instead of stopping by the tire shop.

Curt - That would be an expensive project buying the signals. Got any ideas for building them yourself yet.

Here are some more photos of the Milwaukee Road trestles.

This photo is an eastbound at Alberton, MT.



The old Milwaukee Road right of way and the present day MRL/BNSF pretty well parallel each other for quite a while in this area. This route also parallels Interstate 90 and whenever I drive along that section of the highway I am always looking around for the tracks.



This trestle crosses the Clark Fork river at St Regis, MT. If you look at the right of the photo you'll see the Northern Pacific tracks crossing under the trestle. The trestle is still standing today.



This trestle is somewhere between Haugen, MT and Avery, ID. I used to love this part of the trip when riding with my uncle. The scenery is absolutely outstanding. Although the tracks are long gone, the old right of way is now a bicycle trail called the Hiawatha Trail and in use today.



Catch you later.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Chet .... Your photo cause me to wish I road the MILW through Montana. I road MILW from Chicago to Wisconsin only.

Curt ..... I recall seeing the Pennsy in Chicago Union Station and much of the equipment was dirty.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

To add to the annoyance of identifying email sources since the 'upgrade' to Hotmail's pages. With Win10 the ability to hover the mouse pointer over the sender's name to reveal the full address seems to have been removed, still is available with Win7. I have one at the moment which says it is from a buy and sell service I once used (important information of course) with no way to check without opening it.

TOOT, Maybe you should switch over your email to Google GMAIL.