Running Bear's Coffee Shop LXVII


tootnkumin said:
This post should answer your question about frog numbers. Oddly, the name "frog" to call that angle has been incorrect in a couple of posts, this one, earlier, saying it was the angle between the appearance of a Frog's legs???? The word is actually shortened from frogmouth, the angle between a frog's upper and lower lips when open. We have a native Owl here called a Frogmouth Owl for that very reason of it's beak's appearance.

[FONT=&amp]"The number of the frog corresponds to the length of run needed for the rails to diverge a distance of one unit. So a Number 5 frog would result from a switch where the rails were 1 inch apart after a run of 5 inches. The unit of measure is not important as long as the measurements are consistent.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Wye turnouts have a number that is half that of a normal left or right turn out because both tracks are diverging concurrently. So a "No. 3 Wye" is the equivalent of a No. 6 standard turnout.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Typical model train layouts use switches with frogs between a No. 4 and No. 10. Frogs of this size(#4) would be reserved for yards and tight industrial track applications".

On your question about the possibility of repeat occurences of Shingles, yes you can get them. Usually when your system is under stress from some other ailment or situation. [/FONT]
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Thanks, Toot.

This signature is intended to irritate people.
 
Good evening .

Louis .... Sadly, Baltimore is not the only major US city with crime problems. ... Also, you are right about credit is not free money. ...I Like the old Popeye cartoons.... Pass the spinach, please.

Curt .... We used to have a pool when we lived near Ann Arbor, MI. It was lots of work taking care of it. I got my exercise cleaning it instead of swimming in it.

....

Now, I am back to running trains on the mainline under the new bridges as well as starting to operate over the bridges.

35658962674_4546451ad2_k.jpg
 
Bruette said:
Joe & Willie and maybe others, I thought you might be interested in this; its a story about the Mayor of Baltimore's new plan to reduce violence. I don't see how it will reduce violence, but I like some of it for other reasons. These people just don't understand the problem.

http://wypr.org/post/mayor-pugh-released-long-awaited-violence-reduction-plan
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I had a railroader friend, who used to be a DC cop. When ever he disagreed with something I had proposed, he would respond with one word, "Interesting". I believe the Mayor is well intentioned, but is either naive or unwilling to confront the reality of a drug dependent underclass population prone to violence.

Education and even jobs do not prevent people from drug addiction. Worked with this well liked conductor, a good and efficient worker, living in what is considered an affluent suburb, who was found dead, in his truck, with his head smashed in, somewhere in the Bronx, the victim of a drug deal gone bad. No one knew he had a problem. This was before random drug testing was instituted. Point is he was very functional, but his drug use, cost him his life. To this day, it's probably one of the many unsolved and forgotten homicides in NYC.
For what it's worth, neither does decent housing. It's cool to do drugs, and until we figure out how to make it not cool, it will continue to consume lives.

Big part of Baltimore's problem, (or for that matter, any other place), is that for a large segment of the population, there is no future. There is no prospect to climb out of the poverty rut, no escape from the culture of failure. Free tuition to the local college is great, and attaining a degree is wonderful, but if that degree doesn't get you a worthwhile job, what good is the education? Housing, yes, that's important, but if all low income housing is clustered together, we haven't advanced from the "projects", and "vertical slums" of the 1950s, and we all know what happened with that concept.

People living in urban neighborhoods, isolated from other sections, by culture or race, or religion, do not interact well outside of their environment. They attract attention, by being anti social. People from isolated environments, should they find employment, find they don't know how to relate to people of a different race, culture, or religion. They frequently leave the job and retreat to the more comfortable atmosphere of familiar surroundings. These are the issues,that the political leaders should be working on.

Mayor's plan, is "Interesting", but I'm not sure it will work any better than the last mayor's plan.
 
GARRY- WOW !!! Picture perfect.

CURT- Would the modelers name be " TED " ??? Layout in six car garage ?

Prayers for all. Goodnight,
Phil
 
Good morning- 78* and cloudy-Storms later-Humidity already climbing. Another "SAUNA DAY " .

Enjoy the weekend,

Phil
 
Good morning. It's mostly cloudy and 73. It thunderstormed around 3am, and the dog irrigated the floor when that happened...
 
Good morning, everybody ...

Phil ... Thanks for your "Wow" remark.

Joe .... Your reply to Louis regarding Baltimore is very well written and well thought out with much wisdom. Glad you posted. . ... It is sad to think people believe they have no future. It should not be like that.

Everybody .... Have a nice Saturday.
 
I was gratified to learn that the Bloods and Crips in Baltimore have been shooting MS-13 members ON SIGHT and MS-13 can get NO traction there. God Bless America!
 
Good morning fellow railroaders........
Spent the last week in northern cal., down by the feather river, not much of an internet hook up in that part of the country, steep canyons, big trees. Anyway, glad to be home, back to model railroading.
One last report on the Modoc July Complex fire, it reached a total of just over 83,000 acres, 95% contained and man power has been reduced to around 1200 people. That was a long hard fight! High eighties here for the Basin today..........
All, be safe.......
 
Bloods and the crips don't show their colors here in Baltimore either, neither one has significant numbers. MS 13 can't hide as easily due to the tattoos on their faces.
 
Good Morning Everyone. 78° and partly cloudy. That's the overnight low! When I got up at 4am, it was still 81°. Forecast is for thundershowers late this afternoon and overnight. I think that the granddog that I have been taking care of for the last week or so, chased off the armadillo, finally. Not nearly as many holes in the yard as usual. The one good thing about armadillos is that their favorite meal is "fire-ants". They have pretty much cleared the neighborhood of them. Late posting today as I got into the pool after walking a mile this morning.
Did some ballasting yesterday on the track that I painted earlier in the week, about 1/2 done so far. The only reason for stopping was it was time for a cold one and a dip in the pool. I am going to move down the line for another 15' when I finish where I am at right now. I might just re-arrange my structure layout in this town now that the ballast is in. These are a few of the ones that I moved out of the way for the current work, they are lined up on another part of the layout.
08-11-17 015.JPG

Johnny - OK, I know that you won't see this until Monday, but you asked:
what does it mean when your wife says she's a "trainroom widow"?
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My wife uses that term to describe herself, it's just another way of saying that she is a kind, loving, tolerant and devoted wife, and supports my hobby to the fullest. Regarding the ballast, someone, I cannot remember who, posted that most modelers feel that actual scale ballast looks too small on our layouts. I agree. I use the Woodland Scenics medium size which is scales out to around 5"-7"; a tad larger than prototype. But it looks better to me. I use the fine size for gravel roads, driveways and rural parking lots. I have only used a small amount of Arizona brand and it seems to scale out the same. If you need another power source, DC power supplies are very inexpensive. A good used MRC Tech 4 runs around $30, while new ones at MBK run around $60.
Phil - I am sure that the doc report pleased you. You mention $50/week, I still remember my first 3-digit check in '74...we went out to eat!
Garry - Very nice picture of the ATSF E units, but I am partial to that RR. Thanks for the comment on the sky. I do keep it simple! That's another neat picture of your bridge scene, keep them coming so I can continue to be inspired.
Gene - Your rant was right on the money. Especially your ending statement: "Make it as easy,quick and painless as possible for me to give you my money."
Sherrel - I have always been surprised at how fast armadillos can run when needed. This one regularly out-ran my granddog. Not real sure what she would do if she caught it anyway! I agree with you about people being more "hardy" years ago.
Dave - Thanks on both.
Greg - I can relate to the neighbor. Most of my neighbors have no idea what's going on in the train shed. I did however, have to let the county tax assessor look inside to prove that there was no plumbing and therefore couldn't be taxed as a residence. Lowered the evaluation by $6,000.
Louis - As Joe said, "interesting plan". Who is going to pay for it? My opinion and it applies to every city, not just Baltimore is that families need to come back together and take responsibility for how they live and the values that they teach their children. It's not the government or the school's responsibility.
Sorry to hear about the keyboard.
Jerry - Hey! Good to hear from you. Wondered where you had disappeared off to.

Everybody have a great day and weekend.

Willie
 
Good morning everybody!

Lots of good post to reply to, but the work on my desk has to take priority.
 
Willie, that's interesting about the Armidillos eating fire ants. maybe we should import some here. We got fire ants a few years ago and despite best efforts, the battles being lost. Just so long as they don't turn out to be like Cane Toads.
 
Willie .... Your row of houses looks great with the blasted track in front and the sky in the back ! :)
 
Saturday morning here in King George. Rain for the day. Inside sports only.
I've been tearing my house apart looking for a headset that came with my new Harley a year ago. I thought it was only for CB radio operations and since I had no intent of ever doing CB, I set it aside. I recently learned that the headset could also be used to listen to the radio system as well as take phone calls through my cell phone while riding. I don't recall what I did with the headset. I'm pretty sure I didn't remove it from the small white box it came in. I've gone through the garage several times now. Checked all the kitchen cabinets as well as the pantry where I keep spare motorcycle parts. Checked through the basement and the storage area. This is really bugging me. A new one costs about $86 but I have an unused 20% off ticket at that Harley store. I just might have to use it.
In the mean time, getting the tools back in order to resume work on the bridge. It's amazing how those things can find their way all around the house over time. I think today might be some good nap time weather too. Just have to find the golfing channel on TV and relax in the easy chair.
 
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