Running Bear's Coffee Shop LXI


Good morning all. 26 degrees with a light dusting of snow to start off the day.

Ken - Enjoy the trip to PA. Hope you'll let us know what went on up there. Living in Montana, the are little if any model railroad goings on up here. Just have to entertain myself I guess.

Joe - Glad you're enjoying the new wheels. I have been searching for months and months for a new vehicle and Ford may be the way I'll be going. I want a car for transportation and don't want all of the technology that car makers are expecting us to pay for even if we don't want it. A touch screen is probably my biggest gripe. Last year we went to another city for a bowling tournament and were riding with friends who had a new Ford Explorer with all of the bells and whistles. Everything from the radio to the climate control were controlled through the touch screen, just like the Ford Fusion I had for a rental car in Daytona. I really found that it was a really bad distraction if you have to use it while driving. My friends also don't really care for it BUT after doing some research I found out that you can order a new Fusion with conventional controls and no touch screen. That could be an option, but I am not really into the colors that they are offering. It seems that almost all of the new cars are offered in the same drab colors. Black, white, silver, a charcoal gray and perhaps a red or a blue. Up here a gold or champagne or gold color is the best as it can be dirty with our winter roads and still look good at 20 feet. The Fusion used to have that kind of color but it was discontinued. I like black to look at, like your truck, but up here with all of the gravel roads we have, they are a pain to keep clean. My '59 Impala, a '62 Studebaker Hawk and my first car, a '51 Hudson Hornet are black and are a nightmare to keep looking good. I am cured of having any vehicle with dark colors, at least up here.

Willie - I am working from home today. Before we let the dispatcher go, I may have come to the office one day a week for a couple of hours, but we are working on a way to keep my time here to a minimum. I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I know too much about the industry and know so many people that the only way I would get let go would be if the company closed the doors. The guy I work for is a good friend. I was his boss at another company years ago before he started his own company. He wants to keep me happy.

Eric - Ever figure out what happened to your images ?? If you work on those trees, let me know how they are to work with. I really like the way Davids came out. Aspens are a common tree up here I I have a perfect place for an Aspen grove.

Garry - This one is for you. One sweet looking locomotive.

Burlington E-5.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good morning: 52° and sunny at the Jersey Shore.

Chet: The primary reason for the touch screen, is the back-up camera, which I find is a very useful tool. Truck prices are atrocious. You can buy a nice Caddie, Benz or Audi for less :rolleyes:. I also like the Sync feature that allows me to use my phone hands free. I also avoided many of the fancy bells and whistles, after all, it is a truck, and not the family car. It does have some neat features for cargo hauling and towing that could prove useful over time. I do feel "guilty", in that for the first time since 1974, my garage is void of a Chevy.

L&S: I really think she finally realized that her Physical Therapy guy(s) were handing her a line of s***, became angry and got up and walked around to prove them wrong.
On a sidebar, I', really surprised at the amount of hard sell, and sharp practice in the healthcare industry, especially involving Medicare.

I have yard work today, and taxes to do. My NJ return and my MIL's taxes. Keep me occupied between NCAA BB games.
 
Joe - I will have to agree with the back up camera. It as a pain trying to back up in a truck, especially if you are trying to hook up to a trailer. In the Fusion, even though there is no touch scfreen, there is a back up camera. I will also have to agree with you when it comes to the price of a new truck. I still have my old '72 Chevy C-20 which I bought new, a heavy duty 3/4 ton four wheel drive. I also picked up a new half ton Chevy in 2012 and it is a nice little truck. Ride like a dream compared to the old '72, but again the price. I paid $3,600 for the '72. I don't want to think about the price for the new truck. It cost more than it cost to build my house in 1977. I had looked at the Ford, but I ended up getting a lot better deal on the Chevy even though it had some options which I really didn't need.
 
montanan said:
I had looked at the Ford, but I ended up getting a lot better deal on the Chevy even though it had some options which I really didn't need.
Click to expand...

I drove both the Ford and Chevy while working for Halliburton. Smooth roads as well as bumpy oilfield dirt roads. At the end of the day, Chevy always delivered the smoothest and most comfortable ride.
 
Chet ... Thanks for the E5 photo. It is at the IL Ry Museum.

Most of the E5's spent their final months of service hauling freight (and burning out traction motors ) in Colorado. The photo below was just prior to being withdrawn from service to be trade in for SD40's... EMD had a strict policy in which all trade-ins were scrapped. However, a wealthy railfan with connections in GM persuaded EMD to allow one E5 to be saved.

ge.%20Built%20circa%201940-1941.%20Bui_zpsv9osigix.jpg
 
Good Morning ... it's 53 with a high forecast of 82 today .. NOT a whisper of a cloud in the sky.
My solar array produced 37 KW of power yesterday - a lot for this time of year.

Enjoying the posts about the trucks. I think that I will wind up spending a couple thousand replacing the overhead liner and a paint job (since I was unlucky enough to get one of the years that the clear coat is peeling off). It's a 98 Dodge Dakota .. only has 105K on it. I don't need another house payment thank you very much.

Busy cleaning out the garage today!
Good railroading everyone.
 
Sherrel, that truck is just getting broke in. My '72 Chevy has 325,000 miles on it. Replaced the motor a few years ago with a 350 four bolt main. Got a Goodwrench crate motor for less than the cost of s rebuild with a 50,000 mile warrantee. Nice knowing the right people. I restored a 69 GTO for the guy are the GM shop and he made me a deal I couldn't resist. The valve seals were going after 275,000 miles also I would have had to work on the valve seats because of the unleaded fuel. That can be a pain. Had to do that on a number of my old classic cars.
 
Just for S&G, I speced out a truck with the same options my old one had (long story, we had to get rid of it), and it was $39,745.00
 
The price of pickups are getting out of hand, but they are the money makers for the car companies. SUV's and pickups is where they clean up. I have seen pickups dressed up with more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at and more than I would need on a car. A lot of them aren't even used as a truck. I have seen used trucks on car lots and the bed looks like new. Must be a guy thing.
 
Chet--I kick myself frequently for trading in my 98 half ton chevy pickup. I kept the salt off the body and the v-6 was super economical. It was a full sized 4 x 4 with plenty of room, but my 2009 seemed twice as big, the way they designed the hood and cab.

I am not sure if they made better tires back then, but I drove that 97 for 9 years before my first flat. With the 2009, I had one flat the first year and 3 the second. I know that has nothing to do with the truck itself, but it makes me wonder.

Hindsight is always 20-20.
 
Chet ... Quick calculation.... Your truck has gone 7400 miles per average year. ... That is not much considering you live in a sparcely populated location where people typically drive a long distance just for groceries and basic shopping.

Actually, I'm averaging less miles per year with the 2002 Avalanche. ....... By the way, I did replace the mirror. It was an easy do-it-yourself job. This truck is a very reliable vehicle.
 
Garry - It really isn't a high annual mileage, but I do have multiple vehicles to drive. I use a truck when I need a truck, otherwise we'll use a car and get better gas mileage. I used to use it for hauling firewood, not a lot of miles, but a lot of beating around up in the mountains. I also use it to trailer my barn finds back home. My "daily driver" is a 2005 Buick LeSabre. It only has 52,000 miles on it. That car has a lot of highway miles on it. It's a great highway cruiser. Comfortable and with the 3800 V6 it very easily exceeds 30 mpg on the highway. With all season radials I average 30 mpg in every day driving but lose 2 to 3 mpg with winter tires on it. I think I may have too many vehicles.
 
montanan said:
Garry - It really isn't a high annual mileage, but I do have multiple vehicles to drive. I use a truck when I need a truck, otherwise we'll use a car and get better gas mileage. I used to use it for hauling firewood, not a lot of miles, but a lot of beating around up in the mountains. I also use it to trailer my barn finds back home. My "daily driver" is a 2005 Buick LeSabre. It only has 52,000 miles on it. That car has a lot of highway miles on it. It's a great highway cruiser. Comfortable and with the 3800 V6 it very easily exceeds 30 mpg on the highway. With all season radials I average 30 mpg in every day driving but lose 2 to 3 mpg with winter tires on it. I think I may have too many vehicles.
Click to expand...


The insurance companies with their excessive premiums discourage me from having too many vehicles. The Avalanche rides nicely on the highway, but the 8.2 liter V8 is not economical. .... Oh well.
 
Insurance can get out of hand. The old '72 has liability only as does the Buick, but I do keep comprehensive on it in case I do any bumper hunting, but no collision. I keep collectors insurance on my classics. That doesn't cost as much as you may thing except for the '59 Impala. I have that insured at $150,000. For collector car insurance, you pay by the number of miles you choose. Most are under 5,000 miles a year except for the Impala. We have put as much as 15,000 in a year on it.
 
montanan said:
Garry - It really isn't a high annual mileage, but I do have multiple vehicles to drive. I use a truck when I need a truck, otherwise we'll use a car and get better gas mileage. I used to use it for hauling firewood, not a lot of miles, but a lot of beating around up in the mountains. I also use it to trailer my barn finds back home. My "daily driver" is a 2005 Buick LeSabre. It only has 52,000 miles on it. That car has a lot of highway miles on it. It's a great highway cruiser. Comfortable and with the 3800 V6 it very easily exceeds 30 mpg on the highway. With all season radials I average 30 mpg in every day driving but lose 2 to 3 mpg with winter tires on it. I think I may have too many vehicles.
Click to expand...

Like you I mostly use my truck only when I need a truck and drive my wife's Explorer for everything else. My Ford F250 (gas) only gets 13mpg in town and around 16.5 on the highway if empty. Only 10mpg if I'm pulling our travel trailer :eek:. I've had the truck for two years and it only has 3700 miles on it.
 
You guys just really _ issing me off with your gas mileage. 98 Dakota is a V6 .. I think the 2006 Pacifica is a V6 too (I forget), but neither of them seem to average more than 18 mpg no matter what speed or city/highway driving.

Had a neighbor with a 98 Dakota V8 who actually beat me 2-3 mpg. (scratching my head)

CHET Unless your name is Seinfeld, or Leno .. Gv Brown would cripple you on the license/ registration, and the insurance co's would administer the kill shot.

GARRY, Glad the mirror worked out for you.
 
License and registration isn't a problem. The tags are permanent, once registered, no charge. Antique car. The insurance really isn't too bad living where we do in a rural area. I pay less for all three of out regular daily drivers, 2012 Chevy Silverado, 2005 Buick LeSabre and a 2006 Ford Taurus that my wife drives than a friend in Florida pays for one 2013 Audi A-4. All of my classic cars that are operational and on the road are on the same policY and costs me around $2,700 a year.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I loved my '07 F150 4x4 but it loved gas more than it loved me..............so I got rid of it! It had the 5.4 liter engine and got about the same MPG as Rex's truck. The worst I got with it was going through the mountains on our trip to North Carolina when it got 5 to 6 MPG pulling our 26 ft. camper. Sold the camper and traded the F150 on a Nissan Frontier that gets 24 MPG with the 4 liter V6. It was the first foreign vehicle I've owned and love it, even if it killed me to buy it. Our Ford Escape gets 29 MPG combined city and highway and will get about 33 highway only. We love our Escape!

We'll see how this post turns out because some of it disappeared while typing.
 
Hi guys I made it to Philly and, wonder of wonders, my wirelerss adapter seems to be working again...which means I have internet, YESSSS!!!:cool: The wifi seems a bit shaky though, so I probably shouldn't enter too long of a post.

Weighing in on the truck conversation: I have a 2003 Silverado 1500 that I bought mainly for utility purposes, but when my daughter in nursing school said she needs a vehicle to drive to and from her "clinicals" --- well now the truck is my primary ride! But I commandeered MOH's Fusion to drive up here. Much better on gas, and a lot easier to park on these residential streets [for the layout tours].
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top