Running Bear's Coffee Shop June 2018


A little cool this morning in King George, VA. Went out for my 3 mile walk. No biting flys this morning.
My brother will be driving down from Detroit, arriving early this Saturday morning. He will be the first family member to visit my new home since I moved here in 2011.
Getting the guest room ready and I'm finding an awful lot of dust. Gotta do more cleaning than anticipated.
 
Good morning. 50 degrees to start the day off with a high in the mid 70's expected.

Got the parts for the mowing deck yesterday. Thought my wallet would be a lot thinner. Not too bad, the new mandrel and three new blades were just $80 and change. I did get the new mandrel installed and got the pulley started, but will need my son to come over hand give me a hane. It's hard to try to balance the 200 plus pound mowing deck on end and wrench on both sides of it.

Greg - You are getting close to having you kitchen done. Out here we can do any work we want without a permit. I am well aware of the different codes for electric and plumbing and usually well exceed the code. Sometimes getting the permits can be harder than doing the work.

Sherrel - I can positively admit that I am vehicle poor. Way too many crs out in the shop and I can only drive one at a time.

Have not been able to spend any time working of or running trains. Too much work to catch up on after being gone for a while.

Here's a rail photo for today.

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Oops!

Later
 
Good Morning - It's only going to be 81 today .. temps are on a roller coaster .. that's good .. it will get hot soon enough.

On a "tiff"with the Spousal Unit at the moment! To quote Rodney Dangerfield, "I don't get no respect around here". Ahh - this too shall pass. I used to ask my father why he would argue with my mom when he knew he was not going to win? He said, "I just do it to let her know that I am still around."

Gave up searching for a variable power switch, $24.95 + shipping, or a used Dremel on evilbay and went to Harbor Freight. Purchased a Chicago Electric rotary tool for $23.95 and used my 25% coupon on that + a few other things from their "99 cent" boxes. The rotary tool has the same look and feel as the 300 model Dremel has, but probably not as well made.

Did I mention that I replaced the errant sprinkler valve. Glad that was done without 2-3 trips to the bigbox store. Big enough headache without the added drama.

CHET-interesting photo... I'm trying to figure out how those cars toppled opposite to the curve?
It must have been the pushing/weight from the rear?
 
I was wondering the same thing. Thinking that the cars by the tunnel derailed first causing the lead cars to derail. I have seen something like that on my layout. My curves are super elevated and if there are too many cars on a long train on the upgrade, the lead cars have a tendendy to roll over and mow down a herd of 1/87 cattle.
 
Looks like the cars nearest the tunnel derailed first, into that curve, then the empty spine cars derailed into that curve.
 
bnsf971 said:
Looks like the cars nearest the tunnel derailed first, into that curve, then the empty spine cars derailed into that curve.
Click to expand...

Terry .... Perhaps, Chet can give us the details..... My guess is the engineer notched up the throttle too soon coming out of the S-curve, and the lightweight empty spine car was pulled off the rails. Momentum of the train pushed the next few cars off of the rails. ... Just a guess.

Chet ... maybe you started a guessing game with that photo ..... Also, it looks like we can study the detail of the bottom of an SD40.
 
The tunnel in that pic appears to be on an upgrade, so depending on the length of the train, there could have been a lot of weight still coming up the hill. A good illustration of why S bends are to be avoided. I think, because the box cars etc have toppled off to the inside of the curve, they were the first to stringline, the crew hasn't been able (or noticed) to react quickly enough to prevent the loco and spine cars doing the same in the opposite direction.
We have a similar situation on the club layout at a peninsular end, with a grade leading up to the return curve. The one who put in the trackwork thought it an opportunity for some super superelevation. Very tricky with a long train.
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning Gang. 76° and partly cloudy. Well that cool spell was nice while it lasted! Reluctantly, I spent about two hours mowing yesterday since I won't see those temperatures again until September.
Out in the train shed, I resumed work on the power lines, stretching and supergluing along the way. I'm about 75% complete right now, then I'll go for the feeders to the businesses/townhouses.

Greg - The interesting thing about armadillo road-kill, is that when frightened, they jump straight up into the air. They're capable of 2-3 feet but normally hit the bottom of the vehicle which dooms them. They are really strange creatures, their favorite meal is fire ants. They can swim/float across water by filling their intestines with air, or they can fill their lungs and walk across the bottom. Never saw them get hit with a motorcycle; probably not a great experience. Unfortunately I didn't see my two latest friends yesterday, I am prepared with my gloves and bucket ready.
Curt - I've done my share of vinyl tile and wood flooring, over 800 sq. ft. in the last few years, but this time it's real ceramic tile/grout etc., which I don't feel comfortable with. I don't need leaks under the shower!

I am beginning to miss Louis, Karl and David. I am also looking forward to seeing what Bruce has planned for his latest version of the Michigan Central.
Everybody have a great day.
Click to expand...
 
Afternoon All,

Been raining off and on all day. I spray painted the roof a flat black. In the picture it looks grayish but it's a flat black. I'm now at the point that I have to wait for the lights to come in before making anymore progress on the build.

My brother's wife is not doing well. She is having brain surgery to remove a tumor tomorrow, and has just been diagnosed with a neurological disorder that decreases cognition and has a 30-50% fatality rate. I'm asking for your positive thoughts and prayers.

Willie- I've never tiled a shower and would have your concerns also.

Chet- Interesting rail/derail photo. It looks like they were lucky the engine didn't slide down the hill.

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I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Hi Willie, Thanks for thinking of me. Things are smoothing out a bit, my Eclipse GS-T is at the Mitsubishi shop and bring looked at to determine if an engine swap is needed? So it's a step in right direction. But liable to cost me between $4 to $5,000? Oh well, it's only money as my local friend Joe says. But paying for a rental car isn't cheap either. I've already racked-up about about $1,500 doing that.

I'm anxious to get back posting again as well as working on my RR again too. Glad to see you progressing on your layout as well.

Take care,
David
 
GarryCBQ said:
Good morning, everybody .

I was in Nashville yesterday.... Last night however, I did find time to continue working on the Empire Builder cars. Almost done with them .

Willie ..... I agree with you regarding Karl and David .... I hope they get back to posting regularly soon. .... your power lines project might be a little tedious. .... Since armadillos eat ants, they should be good to have on your property I would think.

Toot ... It's good to hear about your progress with your project.

Greg .... Your options for your last engine are different. I guess you should first decide what operations you will be doing. ... Good your cabinets are progressing.
Click to expand...


Hi Garry,. Thanks for your concern and thoughts too!

David
 
1948 Kansas City speedster! A kitbashed former Pacific.
Arthur B Johnson, Photo
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PRR Modeler said:
Afternoon All,

Been raining off and on all day. I spray painted the roof a flat black. In the picture it looks grayish but it's a flat black. I'm now at the point that I have to wait for the lights to come in before making anymore progress on the build.

My brother's wife is not doing well. She is having brain surgery to remove a tumor tomorrow, and has just been diagnosed with a neurological disorder that decreases cognition and has a 30-50% fatality rate. I'm asking for your positive thoughts and prayers.

Willie- I've never tiled a shower and would have your concerns also.

Chet- Interesting rail/derail photo. It looks like they were lucky the engine didn't slide down the hill.

View attachment 28377

I hope everyone has a good night.
Click to expand...


A prayer was said for your brother's wife.
 
Good Morning All. 76° and mostly cloudy. no wind and the humidity is 83%, rather muggy. Pool felt good earlier this morning. Busy day planned for today, heading to Addison to visit Discount Model Railroads and meet up with Johnny, who's passing through on his way back home from a conference. Then lunch with a friend from where I used to work, then the grocery/beer stop on the way home and finally another stop at Home Depot (my new favorite store) to get a few things.
I did catch another young armadillo yesterday, one more to go that I know of. Still no sign of "mama-dillo". Wife spotted it in the yard but by the time I got there, it had crawled under the mower deck. So I lowered the deck to the ground so it could only exit through the discharge chute where I placed the trap. Easier than chasing it around.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I mostly ran trains. I did stretch and superglue a few more lines on the power poles that I am working on, a slow process but I feel that it will be worth it in the end. I spent a lot of time disassembling an Athearn GP40X to see why it was emitting an ugly growl. No components were rubbing on the body, nothing inside was loose, gears and drive train looked good. I cleaned and re-lubed everything as well as adding a drop of oil to critical engine bearings. All in vain. Still growled even without the body on it after I finished it. I have two others that are identical that give me no problems. Back to the workbench.

Garry - The armadillos have already eliminated the fire ants.
Curt - Prayers for your brothers wife.
David - Thanks for stopping in. Good luck with the vehicle.

Gotta go now, busy day ahead. Everybody have a wonderful day.
 
Good morning. It's 62 and partly cloudy.



Willie, I've had the occasional issue with Athearn motors doing that, and it usually turned out to be something in the motor not being 100% true. Either a flywheel with a hole not entirely straight, or a shaft with a slight bow. If you have the time to try it, take a motor out of one of your quiet ones, and put it in the noisy one, and see if the noise follows the motor assembly.
 
Good morning everybody ...

Curt .... Praying for your sister in law ... Keep us informed .... Your roof looks good.

Willie and Johnny .... Enjoy your get-together.

David ... Thanks for your reply. Best wishes to you.

Sherrel .... Frisco 1062 is an impressive locomotive. Thanks for posting the photo.

Everybody ..... Happy Model Railroading !
 
When I started this Kato 80MAC, I didn't envisage a full teardown, but seeing I want to weather it like some of the pics in rrpicturearchives where they are a general allover dull flat black with only light rusting (mainly on the edges of the walkway near the battery boxes and on the plow) it really has been a necessity. An education too. Instead of using insulated wires to connect the motor to the lighting board, it has narrow copper strips with the ends formed so they just plug up into it from beneath. Seeing I'm deleting that board for a decoder, when about to remove it, I noticed the strip coming up from below the motor was perilously close to the metal frame, bare metal to bare metal, a hairs breadth apart. Would have been nice to have had gone the 8 pin route, had them touch and burnt out the decoder. Another failing, not a lick, sniff or hint of grease in any of the drive train. Maybe that's why the other one I have is noisy. At least that one's had all the bits fitted. One of the odd things is that, unlike any other brand I have taken apart, where there is detail cast into the frame beneath the walkway, this has removable plastic pieces press fitted to the side.
 
Good morning. 50 degrees with scattered showers and thunder storms all around the valley. Should get up into the mid 70's again.

Willie - I have some experience with tuning the older Athearn motors and drive lines. Had one with similar problems but after removing the gear towers and putting Athearn bushings (available from Athearn) on the worm gear and lubricating the gear train, the motor quieted down. The amperage draw also went from almost three quarters of an amp to just about a tenth of an amp. This really did improve the locomotive, but probably due to the characteristics of the motor, it would still surge and pick up a lot of speed going down grade and really lug down on upgrades. That is why I finally decided to remotor all of my old Athearn locomotives with can motors. After the motor transplants, they ran almost as good as my Atlas Alco units with the Kato drives.

Curt - Nice work in the roof. Looks fantastic. You sure do some really nice work.

David - Nice to see you back in here.

Sherrel - Sweet photo of the Frisco Pacific.

Here's a rail picture for today. No thinking needed. Don't want anyone to hurt them self. Grin.gif

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Later
 
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