Running Bear's LXXIII Coffee Shop

[montanan]

Good afternoon. Ginger is back from the groomers and looks so much better. She is a snow dog believe it or not. She loves the snow, but with all the changes in weather and her trying to make doggie snow angles, she was starting to look a bit ragged.

Those auto carrier kits are old and hard to find. Joe, I can remember putting one together when I was a kid also. Greg,talk about yellowed directions. Kit may be from the 50's. Modeling the transition era, it was a good find especially that I do have a car dealership. I didn't bother putting the tractor together as it was too new. The Athearn version worked out just fine. I only count rivets on my own layout, not on other peoples. Here it is delivering some new Chevys.

I also ended up buying one extra set og three of the Woodland Scenics street lamps. May have to pick up another expansion hub. I did plug in the trailer house by the blacksmith shop to see how it looks. Not bad.

Bob - Cool video about the Brunswick machines. I think I may have seen some of the oldies around stil in operation in some of the very small houses that we do tournaments at. We bounce around the state for the tournaments and some towns are so small I am suprised that they even have any lanes. It is a lot of fun meeting people from the smaller towns. They appreciate people coming for the tourneys.

Time to figure out what to make for supper. I love to cook. but it's difficult to do for just one person. May just throw something on the grill.

Later

 

[migalyto]

It was windy and raw all day here in Northern Illinois. The temps hovered around the mid 30s, windy, and rain off and on all day. I went to HD and picked up some lumber, and backdrop material. I see why people recommend buying a 3/4 sheet of good plywood, and ripping your own strips. The dimensional lumber was terrible. I picked through about 100 pieces, and found 22 that were ok.....just acceptable. Its not near enough, but I will keep checking for them to re-stock at the couple around here and go back and get the rest.

Chet.....Nice photos, always enjoy your layout photos!

 

[gngsquared]

Good afternoon. Ginger is back from the groomers and looks so much better.

Chet: Absolutely love your layout! However, I would really like to see a photo of Ginger. Doxies are the best!

 

[montanan]

Here you go Sam. We used to have three of them, but had to put "Freeway" to sleep last year at the age of 12. He was a dirty old man and just loved Ginger. He was also known as the Gopher Sheriff by the grand kids. One summer he got 60 of the little buggers. Here he is have a tug of gopher with Hank. Freeway , on the left, dragged it out of some junipers and Hank decided he wanted it. Didn't happen.

I mentioned that Ginger loves the snow. Here she is in action.

Occasionally she does get into snow a bit too deep for her short legs.


Here's the three of them in my wifes lap. I think Gingers favorite position is belly up. Besides being the princess, she is also the comfort queen.

Freeway just couldn't get enough of Ginger.

Hope you like the photos

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Long day at the show today. I captured some footage of my intermodal snaking through some reversing curves. I'll post it tomorrow evening when I get home and can upload it to YouTube.

 

[gngsquared]

Chet: Thank you very much for the photos. This was Willie. We got him from a rescue organization when he was a puppy. He was skin and bones, had several serious bite marks, and had lost most of his fur. Poor thing had a tough beginning but as you can see he filled out nicely.

Best damn dog I have ever had! Had to put him down a couple of years ago. He was blind, deaf, and had a massive stroke. The last thing he smelled was me holding him close, and crying like a two year old.

This is the replacement. His name is Tucker, aka 'the worst dog in the world'. Another rescue. Most of the same problems that Willie had when we got him. He is a Chaweenie and has all of the bad traits of both breeds.

The more people I know the more I love my dogs.

 

[Boris]

Good evening. Today was mild...86° worth of mild. By 8PM, the temperature had dropped to 53°. That's how fickle the Spring is in Jersey.
Chet: Wow! Nice photos of your layout...don't recall seeing them before. Also I enjoy the photos of your Doxies. Great Dogs. I used the Woodland Scenics light system to light the second floor of my PRR Freight Station. I'll plan on expanding the lighting to the whole layout.

KenVA: Looking forward to the video, how was the attendance?

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good evening. 69*F, clear and calm in central MD.

Sherrell - sorry to hear about the issues with your truck, hope your mechanic can figure it out without bankrupting you! That hybrid Frisco unit reminds me of some of the locos that the Rock Island had on their roster.

Chet - that Revell auto transport truck really adds a whole new dimension to your dealership scene, glad you were able to find that rare gem!

Boris - I see you've changed your 'handle'! I've thought of changing mine since I quit modeling CSX over 5 years ago, but if I did, most people on here wouldn't recognize me. The Popeye image will have to suffice for now.


I was composing a separate thread on my [mis]adventures of building the 5 Con-Cor 60ft auto parts boxcar kits, then it occurred to me, who the h** would possibly be interested in reading about a bunch of kits dating back to the 1980's? So after 2 hours of typing up the txt file, I scrapped that idea. It makes more sense just to post a few highlight photos here, so that's what I'll do.

First photo is of an Atlas car that I converted from a sliding-door boxcar by cannibalizing one of the Con-Cor kits and substituting the plug doors from it.

Second photo shows a car that was factory-painted in MoPac, but I had some leftover PollyScale Jade Green and NYC Microscale decals on hand, so I made it a NYC car.

Third photo shows all the finished cars coupled together.

 

[bnsf971]

Ken, those look pretty good.
Have you thought about "Steel Mill Ken" as a user name?

It's cloudy and 65, looking for severe thunderstorms and flash floods later.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Sunday morning here in Timonium, MD. Kinda cool this morning. We will have rain later today just as I'm loading up the club trailer to go home. At least I can drive inside the building to load stuff. I'm still feeling full from the 5 guys burger last night. Hungry though. Found an IHop that opens at 7am. The show will let vendors in at 8:30 so I have a while.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. 35° with clear skies. Obviously it didn't quite make it to freezing and tonight is forecast to be slightly warmer. I spent an hour yesterday covering up pepper, squash and tomato plants; it doesn't normally get this cold this late in April. I'm leaving everything covered for one more night just to be sure. Still contending with 20 mph winds from the NW which makes it seem much colder. At least they have abated some from the 30+ mph yesterday.
Trainwise, yesterday I ran every train that I had from staging to the other end of the layout and back again, just to observe how they were all running. Only found one car with a failing McHenry coupler on it which was promptly replaced (both ends even though only one failed). There's others still out there that will be replaced when (not if) they fail.

Ken (D&J) - What an untimely story regarding the missing club member and his modules. I'm guessing that the reconfiguration went together OK. I'm looking forward to your video when it is ready.
Sherrel - Wow! 10% sales tax. I thought that we had it bad in Texas because ours is 8.25% to make up for the fact that we have no state income tax. But 10% along with your state income tax...you must be paying your bureaucrats too much! Or supporting too many non-residents. By the way, that sure is an ugly looking loco despite that wonderful Frisco paint scheme.
Chet - I can understand why you skipped the tournament, 20 games! The auto carrier fit your scene well. I really like how the trailer scene worked out, especially with the lights. Your people look right at home. I have many structures wired up with lights, although I haven't hooked the power up yet. I have run some of the lighting busses though.
Ken in MD - Nice work on the boxcars. Should fit in well with your operations.

Everybody have a great Sunday.

Willie

 

[IronBeltKen]

Ken, those look pretty good.

Thanks for the kind words Terry!

Have you thought about "Steel Mill Ken" as a user name?

Actually, my fantasy roadname [Iron Belt] is part of my email address.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning .....

Chet and Sam .... This place is going to the dogs .... LOL .... Seriously, it is good to see dogs and other pets too.

Ken Iron Belt ...... I like your boxcars!

Chet .... Your trailer house looks cozy. I like the auto deal scene with the auto trailer truck delivering cars. I have one of those Athearn Ford truck tractors too.

Have a nice day, everybody....

 

[Boris]

Boris - I see you've changed your 'handle'! I've thought of changing mine since I quit modeling CSX over 5 years ago, but if I did, most people on here wouldn't recognize me. The Popeye image will have to suffice for now.

Ken: I actually like the Popeye image. I was going to suggest "Road Slug", but the B&O never to my recollection ever used slugs, before CSX, except maybe for hump power. If you do decide to change, the process is painless, just notify Bob.
Now, the Auto Parts cars turned out very well, Nice work!

 

[Boris]

Good morning, Y'all. 40°, windy and wet. Supposed to remain wet through Tuesday. Big contrast from yesterday's 86°.

According to the USPS, my two x32 50' PRR Auto parts box cars will be here tomorrow. One is a single door, (tires), the other a double door, spring assemblies. Meanwhile, I am assembling a group of Athearn 34' Hoppers, I obtained from the B&ORRHS, at least 20 years ago. (Better late than never). I also have coal loads for them coming (I hope).

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Morning Everyone....cold, windy, sleet, snow and more freezing rain. April 15th ???

Anyway, down to the layout soon. Starting constructing a Cornerstone building, but have to decide which one to work on since I found two kits I forgot I had and almost purchased an identical one. The Atlas Lumber Yard is on the back burner for now. Will run a train the entire time I'm down in the layout room. I've already forgot that I had a train was running and when upstairs for lunch and came back down a couple of hours later and the train was was fine.

Starting to run low on detail supplies, but did purchased some from Bar Mills, but they require painting. Have two Blair Line billboards to construct for the Waupaca Industrial area. Need to borrow some red nail polish from the Wife to "paint" the signs. I found that nail polish works great for a variety of projects and also have used Liquid Paper white.

I also found a Train Miniatures Patrick Cudahy painted wood reefer that is too old for my period, but will weather and use as a storage shed in a yard. It's a colorful car in orange and the company's logo. Back in the early eighties, I purchased a lot of the Train Miniatures rolling stock. Can't find my favorite box car, "Peas from Wisconsin" which is a Wisconsin Canning Association box car.

Chet: Great photographs of your layout and the Doxies.

Everyone: Strange and wild weather that we all seem to be experiencing. Hard to believe that my relatives left for Arizona from Wisconsin
30's and rain and snow and had 80+ degree temperatures at home, just a three hour or so flight. The side benefit is that the bad weather is extending the basement modeling season.

A friend from our small, informal club is coming over soon to help with the sections of the layout I can't reach very well. Need to get these buildings and wiring ready so the whole process is smooth. He will access the hard to rach area thought my "Quarry Access Hole" that's 24"x24" and he has to stand on a step stood and have a long arm reach. This is the first time I had any help working on the layout from anyone except the lady who cut and hemmed my layout skirting.

That's all for now.

Enjoy the warm weather for those who have it!!!

Greg

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[montanan]

Good morning. A nice sunny day and we are hoping to touch 60 after a start at 32 degrees.

Greg - I hope you appreciate the fact that we tried to wear down th ewinter weather before shipping it your way.

Ken in MD - Nice looking cars. Modeling the transition era, they are huge. The longest thng I run are 50 footers with the exception of passenger cars.

Willie - Heard from the wife this morning. Sore doesn't cover the way she feels. I got rid of my McHenry couplers with the exception of the little GE 45 ton switcher. Don't think it has enough guts to have any coupler problems. I do want to replace then though to the smaller Kadees, but I haven't bothered looking for a replacement because the shank is extremely short.

Ken D&J - Hope the showgoes well. Looking forward to your video. Really enjoy them.

===Sam=== All of our dogs have come from rescues. Theres a woman up in Athol, ID who works only with doxies and that's where we got Hank and Ginger. I think rescue dogs are in some way very appreciative of getting a loving home.

I have been going through all of the items I have for the Woodland Just Plug lighting system. and it looks like I will have to order another Hub set with dimmers. I may have gone overboard and got too many street lamps.

I have the thre light on the "wooden" poles I guess I can use in the engine servicing area, but I ended up with 15 of the arched cast iron lights. I'm sure I can use them because the town of Logan is fairly large. Greg, it's your fault. You got me going on these.

The race at Bristol is coming on soon. No wotk in the train room today.

Later

 

[bob]

I was composing a separate thread on my [mis]adventures of building the 5 Con-Cor 60ft auto parts boxcar kits, then it occurred to me, who the h** would possibly be interested in reading about a bunch of kits dating back to the 1980's? So after 2 hours of typing up the txt file, I scrapped that idea.

You should post it for a couple of reasons. First of all, those cars can still be found at train shows and on e-bay etc. Secondly, while the specifics of modifying that particular car may not apply, the general techniques still would! So maybe I'm not modifying the doors on that car, but maybe I've got another car that I want to do something similar on. Your narrative and techniques would still be useful, even if it's not a step by step recipe for my exact car.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Its still snowing and some say another 2-5 inches by Monday mid-day.

Taking a break and just finished assembling the Cornerstone Textile Mill. The four front pieces and sides are glued and ready to be washed. Then a light primer which will likely be the color of the window stills.

Chet: Those street lights and poles look great and should fit your time period perfectly. Sorry, I steered you to the Woodland lighting (you'll get completely hooked on them). BTW, the wooden poles work well for alley and side streets too.

You should be able to insert the leads from two or three street lamps into one linker plug. Maybe one more to be added tomorrow when I add another pole by the Pine River Yard.

Sherrel: 10% sales tax....!!!! Good reason to buy on line.

Everyone: Its been 6 years since we lost our Katie, a cross between a Border Collie and a Chow. She loved the truck and riding up to the cabin and Katie was great company for me when I was alone. We too are registering at some dog rescue kennels for a dog that's a year or two old.

Back to work (hobby time).

Greg

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good afternoon Shop Dwellers! Today is as wet, blustery and dreary in Maryland as yesterday was summer-like.

Willie, Garry, Boris, Chet - thank you all for the kind words on the Auto Part Boxcars!

Garry, you're close - I would flip the words around and call myself Iron Belt Ken if I do go that route.

Boris - I have a few Blue Box hopper cars that look alot like yours, Pro Custom was selling a six-pack of them in the early 90's right at the time when I was amassing a fleet of MDC 3-bays to build a convincing-looking coal drag for my first layout.

Bob - ok you've convinced me! I saved the text file of the thread I was preparing on the 60-footers, I'll try and get it posted before MOH calls me to supper.

* * *

Went up to Timonium this morning with my friend, the retired Amtrak exec. The place seemed deserted, the left (south) side of the Cow Palace - where the dealers set up their tables - had several wide-open empty spaces. Probably a combination of the seasonal downturn in mrr activity and the crappy weather keeping would-be attendees at home. I saw a number of models at good prices that might have been nice to have, but nothing I really need - so I couldn't really justify spending scarce cash on them. I did however stop at the NJ International table and buy the last one of the single-lane over-the-road canteleiver (sp?) crossing flashers he had. Now I have a matching unit for the one I already had, and I can complete (i.e. wire-up) that grade crossing.