Running Bear's Coffee Shop LXII


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Having a tough time getting started.
That'll teach me to start my 2do list on Friday - even though I got 3 of them done last night.
A little overwhelming at the out set.
I no more than got upstairs and started to get a plan going and immediately added 3 more things to the list and had to come back downstairs... for something, but what?
Then I noticed a message through Facebook from an old friend whom I haven't spoken to in years. He was my best man at my first wedding and I at his wedding. I was also there for his raising as a Master mason.
Betcha he calls right I head back upstairs - or right after I get upstairs and get started.
That always happens. Same as when someone calls right when you sit down for supper.
Heading back upstairs and still don't remember why I came down here... sigh... I'm too young for "old timers" just yet.
Maybe I need to hit the whiskey bottle first and then "kick the tire and light the fire". (best pull chocks first!!)
E.
 
Good morning. Happy Saturday. The weather is a raw 50°, overcast and raining. yes, I slept in this morning also.

Concerning open cab doors, it was common to block them open in the summer, so that air would circulate through the cab.

Back in 1972, I was working as the fireman on the Washington section of Amtrak's Broadway Limited, which ran the NEC to Perryville, MD, then along the Susquehanna, to Harrisburg, PA. It was a very warm Saturday, so we opened up the door at the front of the E8 A unit. As we pulled into Baltimore, we observed a camera mounted on a tripod, within the gauge of our track ahead of our stopping point. As we stopped, we observed the photographer running toward us, screaming. He was mad, :mad: because he wanted a photo of the front of the locomotive, which was still in PRR Tuscan Red paint with the Keystone PRR logo decal on the front door. :confused::rolleyes:. Opps! - this fellow, never got his picture, because the Penn Central Cops wanted to talk to him about the placement of his camera, impeding our movement.:rolleyes:
 
Now I'm getting some stuff done and decided to take a break and post some pics.
Here is van Running Bear sent Terry and Terry sent to me.
I had my camera on full zoom (24x I think) from about 18" out.
The caption under the demon says "Lastride".
Kind of sets me to think they should have used it's full-scale likeness in the "Silence of the Lambs" movie.
As promised:
P4020013.jpg
 
This is mostly for Terry's (in NC) benefit but you all will enjoy it.
This is my before and after fixing the railings on the AC4400CW I got from him the other.
Apparently this unit didn't travel so well. Nor did I realize the forward rails got messed up as well.
I managed to get it fixed pretty dam fast I might say. I put it back on the tracks to stage a pic I'll show later but when I did the starboard side ditch wasn't on. My first thought was "oh $h..t, now what". I have zero experience wiring or debugging ditch lights and my hat is off to those who are able to install them on engines that don't come with them.
I managed to get it working again however - wheeewww (sp?)
Before:
P4020006.jpg
Aft:
P4020007.jpg
 

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Since my uploading images crap is still messed...
here is the after-fix pics:
P4020009.jpg
And aft:
P4020010.jpg
 
I still don't recall why I came downstairs earlier.
Maybe to get my camera.
Back to the train cave!!!
E
 
Note to self: don't lay your S&W 1911 on the tracks.
I didn't realize I had the power to the tracks on. Ooopsy daisy!!
E.
 
BigE said:
Ok. They didn't mention that. I don't do enough soldering to need one.

How about one of those air purifiers?
I know that would help with the smoke at least.
Those range from $40 to several hundred.
E
Click to expand...

Why not an old range hood or a spray booth built up from foam core board with a bathroom fan from home Depot or Lowes and a length of flexible dryer vent hose? Point the hose out the window & spray away! Cheaply assembled too. Or you could make this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=entOv7IP5So
 
Eric, yes, they turn off the wifi at night. They said people will stream movies and other large downloads and bandwidth-intensive things at night, when there is less demand, and the speed is better. The problem with people doing that, is the campground is on a bandwidth limit, and the excess throws them over their monthly limit. It amounts to a lot of $$$ in overage fees.
 
I really need to quit going and finding these train shops. I just walked out of scale model supplies in St.Paul. man what a selection. They have a wide inventory of new stuff and older. Picked up an intermountain 2 bay bnsf hopper. 32.95. Not sure if that's a good price but I always like to support the small guys.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk
 
Oh and I also won an auction on eBay for a UP dash 9 for 49 bucks. Fully equipped with dcc. I think I'm set for a while now.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk
 
It's noon and 40 here.

I'm recovering from a mild case of Shingles; thank god I got the shot a few years ago, or it would have been worse. It started off feeling like a pulled muscle, then after 2 or 3 days groups of itchy bumps appeared on the back of my right arm and upper-right back. A day or so later they became open sores.

Sorry if the details upset anyone, but this is one of those things that is easier to handle the sooner it's caught. If you find yourself with the above symptoms and you've had the measles, get to a doctor ASAP. It's not fatal, just miserable. I was put on oxycodone for the pain (a nice buzz, but I can't drive), and the same anti-virus drug they use for herpes.

[/Paul Revere]

Getting back to trains, we're helping my mother move, and this photo of my grandfather turned up. The only context I can give it is that he was a lieutenant and railroad engineer in the AEF, 1917-18, and served in/near the Argonne. OK, let's see if the photo loads:

ebcd45afd71ae04677d45511adcfae57.jpg


Oh crap!
 
bnsf971 said:
Eric, yes, they turn off the wifi at night. They said people will stream movies and other large downloads and bandwidth-intensive things at night, when there is less demand, and the speed is better. The problem with people doing that, is the campground is on a bandwidth limit, and the excess throws them over their monthly limit. It amounts to a lot of $$$ in overage fees.
Click to expand...

Yeah, figured it was something like that. Where are you?
 
Ok. I need a break. One of things on my list was to clean toilets (I have 3). One of which is in a full bath with garden tub hosting my beer frig. That bathroom is attached to the train room so I could be locked in (from the outside) and I would be fine if weren't for getting hungry.

Anyway, I'm starting my engine inventory.
I've made a template Word document to fill in the blanks.
These are the items to fill in.

Road name & number.
Engine make & model.
Model maker.
Axle/wheel configuration.
Date purchased.
Price.
Supplier (I should pre-fill that with it bnsf971/Terry in NC) :-D
DCC or DC?
Decoder make.
Sound?
Sound card make.
Color scheme
Detailing notes. (this would be to add notes like if I have added stuff like grab irons, railings, MRU clusters, etc)
Other notes.

Anything else I might should add that would be useful?
E.
 
"oh crap!" as beady says - which I think comes from Pop on "Everybody Loves Raymond".

This is why I wanted a rainy weekend, the sun is blazingly bright and reflects off my neighbor's townhouse across the street and blinds me.
If I had black-out shades, I would have them pulled right now!!

Back to it.
E
 
Eric - I would add manufacturers model number. Have you looked at freeware? I found "Easy Model Railroad Inventory" to be easy and free.
http://easy-model-railroad-inventory.soft112.com/
It has everything you have plus a lot more including being able to add pictures. It has a section for engines and freight cars. It has some ready-made reports and being as it is a database, you can customize reports in either database or spreadsheet form. It also includes a switching program with input for industries, commodities etc. Did I mention that it is free. I'm sure that there are others out there.
Willie
 
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Good call on the mfgr model #. I forgot that one.

I have looked at their stuff Willie.
In fact I tried to download the thing but all their links to download and eat up with advertising crap.
I therefore do not trust the download links.
If you can point me to one directly that you trust, I'll try it.

I've started to write my own software for this sort of thing before - several times.
30+ years as a software engineer I think I should be able to handle a simple inventory thing.
I just need to know what data to include.
Since I only have 18 studs in my stable, I'll just stick with paper for now.
Less than half those are DCC anyhow.
E.
 
I just received a notice I have a missed call and voicemail. The area code leads me to think it was Sherrel. I can't retrieve the voicemail, service is too bad. Wifi here is bad, and cell service is worse. Maybe one bar on the phone. If it's important, an email or PM will probably get through better than a call.
 
bnsf971 said:
I just received a notice I have a missed call and voicemail. The area code leads me to think it was Sherrel. I can't retrieve the voicemail, service is too bad. Wifi here is bad, and cell service is worse. Maybe one bar on the phone. If it's important, an email or PM will probably get through better than a call.
Click to expand...

Sherrel is 951 ac.
 
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