Running Bear's December 2020 Coffee Shop


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Good Morning All! Mostly outa time.....
The LIKES and comments....thank you, thank you!
Of quick note...Walt...maybe that was the same group that came down here many years ago to run the Modoc Northern Line. Many years ago The UP had a private company running the line, (they were out of Nevada, cant recall their name off hand,) anyway, they let a group of speeders run the line, there's well over a hundred miles of track. I don't think the Nevada Co. had the line for two years when UP took control again. Thus ending the speeders! :(
Coffee to go Flo? Thanks......


BE POSITIVE---STAY SAFE!
 
Next up, I ordered a replacement throttle (don't ask)... It shipped out quickly, sat at the local post office for a few days, then went to the Cherry Hill, NJ facility, where it was sent to Jersey City, less than 90 miles away. It took 8 days to get there. I could have walked there in less time. It's now been sitting in Jersey City for another 5 days so far, with no movement. I'm glad I can still use what I have....
My wife's medication finally arrived, after spending 3 weeks in Ohio.
 
Morning all,

Off yesterday to watch a couple of the grandkids while their mom took dad to get carpal tunnel surgery on the right hand. He had the left one done 6-8 weeks ago. This was scheduled before all my other time off in the past few weeks. So a 2-day short hour (8 instead of 9) work week, and a 4-day short hour work week next week and then no time off until the 18th of January. I know 2 weeks....lol

Wife said last night it looks like were getting some more money from the government and she asked what I wanted to spend my money on. I replied "Strippers and beer", and when I came to 20 minutes later she asked me again....🤣

The conversation was real, but she actually laughed and asked me again and I said either save it to fix\replace the truck or put it on the house. Other than a few items I'd like to get for the trains, I really don't know what I'd spend the money on. I know I'd blow it on stupid stuff.

When I left mom's apartment knowing dad wasn't coming back, I took my grandfather's tool box that dad got once my grandmother passed. I thought it was a nice heavy weight lockable box. Many of the tools were junk (which surprised me) but I did find some nice engineering quality measuring tools I might be able to use in the MRR hobby. Turns out the tool box is a Kennedy Kits model 520, which is still manufactured. Grandpa worked as a tool and die maker for a company that was bought and sold about 10 times during his 40 years at the same plant. His claim to fame was never having taken a sick day in his 40 years. Took them as vacation when he was sick, but he was barely ever sick. I pretty sure that's where I inherited that trait from, as I am rarely sick as well. Never had many of the childhood diseases (mumps, chicken pox, measles, etc.) but was exposed many times to them over the years.
 
Good morning y'all. 37° and cloudy.

Not for nothing, the Postal Service fiasco, can be traced to an attempt to cut expenses without regard to consequences...such as very poor service....Problem with this country is that it's "Capital Starved", no one want's to invest in anything used on a regular basis by the general public.
As a former boss once told me, the "Fish Stinks from the Head", so it's always a "Management" problem.

Newark Draw - December 1973.jpg

Newark Tower on the Erie - Lackawanna, DL&W side, as the DC MUs pass by. The photographer, was a Towerman on the EL, and a Manager for NJ Transit. That's "Newark Draw" in the background, crossing the Passaic River.

Race Street 12-28-1971 - Marty Bernard photo..jpg

Another view of Race Street, this one by Marty Bernard, from 12/28/1971. Nice blend of GG1s, Baldwin switchers, and an EMD re-engined Lima - Hamilton Road switcher. BTW, this is a color photo....
 
Good morning gang

37° and clearing after some overnight rain. supposed to get quite blustery later.

I got an undec Atlas RS3 off a FB marketplace ad, or so I thought. Blame it on not reviewing the pictures or bad eyesight or being trigger happy! What I really got was an RSD4/5 but in playing around I found out something. You can swap out the trucks with the correct RS3 trucks (I just so happened to have a pair) and it all fits perfectly! Sitting next to my stock RS3s, they are identical!

Sometimes we still get lucky!!
 
Good morning gang

37° and clearing after some overnight rain. supposed to get quite blustery later.

I got an undec Atlas RS3 off a FB marketplace ad, or so I thought. Blame it on not reviewing the pictures or bad eyesight or being trigger happy! What I really got was an RSD4/5 but in playing around I found out something. You can swap out the trucks with the correct RS3 trucks (I just so happened to have a pair) and it all fits perfectly! Sitting next to my stock RS3s, they are identical!

Sometimes we still get lucky!!
If you ever do that again, the RS11/RSD12 are the same thing. Atlas used everything but the trucks, even though the RSD model was 13" longer.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 42°. Should hit 71° again today. Too bad we didn't have this clear in the SW last night, to get a look at the planet conjugation going on. They'll still be kind of close again tonight.
Spent what seemed like all day on the road yesterday. Went to the LHS and spent $4 less than my planned budget. Mostly picked up supplies like ballast paint and DPM wall sections. Did some last minute grocery shopping since we're now hosting a small family Christmas Eve gathering. Store was rather full since I was later in the day, but people were generally all social distancing. There was a record (to me), five checkout lanes open, but only two of them had baggers. OK since I would rather bag my own stuff; less hands. Stopped and bought a last minute gift for my wife at Home Depot, although I am not wrapping it and it's not a surprise. Three 2" x 12" x 8' treated boards and hardware for replacing the front porch steps. Boy, those boards are heavy!

How about a chicken fried steak, gravy, hash browns and a tall OJ this morning Flo. Send a couple of doughnuts over to Troy to perk him up.

Thanks to all who commented or liked the post yesterday; Kleiner, Sherrel, Tom O, Phil, Karl, Garry, Luke, Guy, James, Justin, Chad, Hughie, Patrick, Tom, Curt, Joe, Walt, Ken, Jerry, Rick, Mikey.

Very limited time in the train shed yesterday, but if I count the time I spent in the LHS, then it evens up quite a bit.
First some pictures of the booty.
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You can see there in the center, I bought another structure kit.
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It's going to eventually end up in an as yet unbuilt town with the feed store that I recently built and some other structures that I have featured here.
I also got some Preiser and Scenic Accents figures and a few more pick up trucks from Oxford and Mini-Metals.
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And not forgetting the project at hand, I had a little time to add more table legs to the tables and benches to the first completed one.
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I need about two more hours to complete this, mostly glue-drying time.

Tom O - That really is one heck of a Cargill facility.
Sherrel -
Willie - Like the tables - hss to be tedious work?
Tedious work, yes; enjoyable, yes also.
Garry - Yes the Woodland Scenics figures are the same. One of those wonderful gifts from my grandson who has an uncanny ability to pick model railroading gifts with some real thought. Thanks for the comment on the garage.
Curt - Continued best wishes and prayers for your mother.
Ken - My chopper consists of a scale ruler and an Exacto #17 blade!

OK, Here's one that I can identify with. Today is National Short Person Day. I have always said that when a short man dances with a tall woman, he gets a bust in the mouth! Don't ask how I know this because I cannot remember her name from High School!
Everybody have a great day. Be safe and step back.
 
Morning!
The 2nd day of actual winter 2020, I suppose; and it's starting to act like it. Right now at 6:30am, it's warmer than it's going to be for the rest of the day. A cold front is moving in. The skies are cloudy. We are in a lockdown. - The whole situation is rather gloomy! In order to gain some happiness and peace-of-mind, I suspect I will spend this Christmas modeling. - We have enough supplies and I filled up the tank yesterday, so we are all set to try and enjoy Christmas without family. Just the wife and I; just like any other day.

Other than going out to get fuel and some wood glue yesterday, I spent my time at the hobby workbench. Cut down my 4'x4' to 34" wide and put 3/4" x 3" facia around the bottom. I also built new HO scale 6' sidewalk with a 6" curb out of balsa. Still have to paint the walk; maybe today. This is the only photo I took:
NewWalk_2020.jpg

There's enough walkway there to make one city half-block of 311', or 7 commercial store lots. Plus, I whipped up some scale 4' wide sections for the sides of buildings.

I know Willie has mentioned that most modelers make the sidewalk out of plastic, but, I have reasons for making them out of balsa. Mostly that I have a huge stockpile of balsa on hand, virtually no plastic sheet, and don't want to go out and spend money on more material; even if the cost is minimal.

I've read through the postings put in the shop; some wonderful photographs and stories, as well as some sadness. A lot of photos of fantastic layout work! - It would take up too much space to comment on everyone's posts, but, know that I either enjoy it all, or feel your pain.
And thank you for liking my work, if you do.

Seems like I have a-lot to say this morning; wanted to talk about the troubles I'm having on where to start on the layout and worrying about mistakes and future elements to be built into it. But, I'm feeling too gloomy. - Suppose I'll just start at the very beginning, and work my way through.

Have a great day. everyone!
 
Good morning all, 23 and cloudy in St. Paul.

Lots of posts over the weekend, I was up (north) at the land doing some winter camping. Got an inch of wet heavy snow there overnight, however temps hovered around 32. I cut down a bunch of trees and split firewood, getting ready for next winter. With only a small amount of snow on the ground it is easy to get the split wood moved across the smooth ice to where I can access it with my vehicle. Our well came in at budget, 62' deep in a Sandstone aquifer.

Here is a shot of where we are building our new place: (not in the water, however)

Winter.jpg


WELL it turns out I did not need the crown after all, dentist just filled the hole in the tooth Friday afternoon and said it is good to go. That is a first, they are usually doing more than I expect.

Chet - more nice photos.

Ken - the McDonalds turned out really nice!

Jerry - nice speeder find

Willie and Garry - the Kite scenes are superb!

Justin - I think I used old screen for my hills. Bunched it up or spread in strips and stapled to benchwork. Covered with sculpta-mold.

Here is today's railroad picture, this is a somewhat whimsical scene:


_MG_5557.jpg


Thats all for now,

Thanks for the likes and comments--

Dave
 
Good morning from Wisconsin where the sun is bright the skies are decently clear and high might be 37.

The trip back to the 50th state for Christmas and more is off. My second travel test to qualify for Hawaiian travel rules came back positive. Terry’s second did come back negative. She won’t go without me. Just the 2 of us for Christmas. I feel great, actually the best in years. I will speak to my doctor next Monday just to touch base. No new tests for me for 2 weeks.

As usual, lots of activity in the diner. Good and some sad stories but I know I feel better being here then bottling everything up.

Thanks for the comments and likes on my stuff yesterday.

My wife will head to the LHS for curbside trunk delivery for me today. Willie, that is quite the haul. Is it allowed to go to a hobby shop and come out $5 under budget?

Boris that is some library of pictures you have access to. I was not a fan of black/white pictures but when I look at your postings I just feel I am at trackside. That helps spark my day, thank you.

I love the real and modeled photographs posted here in the diner and throughout the forum. Dave, a wonderful shot of your back yard someday. It’s always good when the well comes on budget. I had a neighbor about 500’ from us drill his well through rock and like 300’ feet. Ours was 60’ through sand.

Be well, safe and happy
TomO
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Good Morning Everyone....unseasonable with temperatures in the low 40's. A white Christmas is slim to none around here.

Great pictures everyone and I always like the photos from Chet's layout and seeing all the work that he has done over the years.

TLOC: That's one impressive Cargill mill!!!

Ken:
Nice work on the McDonald's! I remember the side window at Mac's where you could watch them chop potatoes into French Fries. We also had school field trips to McDonald's where the teacher made do list of what we would buy at Mac with the dollar bill each one of us brought along. Maybe a shake, burger and fries?

Chet: Nice looking MILW switcher. And, a Happy 49th Anniversary.

James:
Nice photo of your back yard. Are those White Pines in the photo? No deer.

I think some of the problems with package and mail delivery in December is the number of temporary employees who are not completely trained or familiar with the systems. I know we had some problems with the temp employees we hired for Christmas and it was hard to get them to have no incentives to do a better job than just going thought the motions.

The last month or so I've been have problems standing and have some lower back pains. I think all the inactivity during the last nine of more months, plus a few extra pounds and working bent over at the workbench or computer doesn't help. Cathy brought me a four wheel walker that I been using around the house and I can actually walk much easier. It's just a matter of more exercise and I'll be much improved in a few weeks. Tough getting old.

I remember at past Christmas gatherings, the old man in the chair just sitting there minding his own business drinking his Manhattans. Now that's me!!!

That's about all for now................

Greg

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Yup Eastern White Pines and mix bag of pines actually. Red Pine, Pitch Pine as well. Some black walnut and oak red/white mixed in there too. Also have a locust tree in the middle toward the back.

I know my trees lol.
 
Afternoon, thanks for all the likes on the coal hill module. Hopefully it gave Justin or anyone else some ideas the help them out.

BigG- I will got lots to get caught up on in the weathering dept. Hope to put a good dent in that project now that I have a good stock of supplies. For Ken and Justin I do have some Chessie equipment on the list.
 
Dang, Greg, a field trip to McDonalds - how cool is that! Imagine what would happen nowadays if a teacher were to do something like that? Parents would be up in arms, and the poor teacher would probably get fired for "poisoning" the kids. Oh how the times have changed...

Ken: Besides the trip(s) to McDonalds, in eight grade our class trip was to an amusement park. This was to be the last trip for a class to an amusement park after the guys and gals discovered what use the dark tunnel rides were intended to used for and it was far more than amusement!
 
Our well came in at budget, 62' deep in a Sandstone aquifer.


Ken: Was your well a drilled, bored well or perhaps a sand point? Funny how you can find water so close to the surface of the land. At the cabin, our water comes from the Lake Superior aquifer. The first well was a 50 foot sand point and the second a 83 foot drilled well. Our first well ran out of water was "well" like my two neighbors wells ran dry all at the same time.

Greg
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 52°, warmer than it was when I went to bed! Expecting a norther to blow in around noon to clear the clouds off and cool things down a bit. Near freezing tonight, but into the mid-60's tomorrow...upper 60's Monday through Wednesday. Just in time to clean the ashes out of the heater.
I still haven't figured out what happened to the original post that I made yesterday morning, half of the post got lined-out! Like I posted later, it must have been Russian hackers.
Please note to anyone who might be interested, the historic and famed 6666 Ranch here in Texas is now for sale. The main part of the ranch has only 142,000 acres, but it is tied to two other properties totaling 350,000 acres for an asking price of only $341 million. Scoop it up now! Main ranch property is 12 miles x 20 miles along US 82, and comes complete with it's own convenience store. The main house (among several) is 13,000 sq. ft. Cattle and quarter horses can be had in a separate deal. You could convert one of the workers houses or the bunkhouse to an excellent train room.
See here for pictures and details.

Double helping of bacon and a pair of over easy eggs to start me up this morning Flo.

Thanks once again for the many comments and likes regarding the other peoples layouts; Justin, Patrick, Dave, Gary, Sherrel, Guy, Tom O, Chad, Luke, Karl, Garry, Phil, Ken, Rick, Tom, Hughie, James.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I put down some more ground cover and touched up the ballast in the corner. Installed the fence between the pizzeria's outdoor eating area and the railroad.
View attachment 122061
Not much to that.
Worked on a small detail item for a bit to put over in the pizzeria scene. I somehow mis-measured the sidewalk out front and this is what I had to look at.
View attachment 122062
What to do here? I decided to just add a planter here instead of filling in with another piece of sidewalk material. Out came a kit that I got last Christmas from one of my grandsons.
View attachment 122064
In it are many different plants and shrubs etc. So I picked one out that would be appropriate, although I can't recall at this time what kind of plants they are. Things here are pretty tiny. I started with cutting three stems off the sprue and gluing them to the individual flowers while they were still on the sprue.
View attachment 122066
Those flowers are about the size of a poppy seed.
Then I painted a piece of .080"x.080" styrene to resemble a planter filled with dirt and drilled some tiny holes in it. Then it was stick the plants in.
View attachment 122067
After trimming the planter to size and painting the exposed end, it went into place. This was the easiest part.
View attachment 122069
I am on hold for a bit while I construct some picnic tables for the plaza. There will also be a short wrought iron fence across the front, just need to measure and paint it.

Guy -

You are crazy! ;)
Dave - A little late, but good luck with the crown. I know the feeling, I have nine of them.
Luke - I think that a moderator has to change your bio. Send a PM to Sherrel or Terry to fix it.
Moermusic - Ooooh! The gravlax looks real good. Can I just call you MO? Or do you have a real name?
Gary -

In case Mo doesn't see your question, that orange stuff is gravlax, it's salmon cured with salt, sugar and dill and served on a cracker. I had a neighbor when I was a kid who always had it at Christmas time. She was from Sweden.
Garry - Happy Birthday to your daughter. It makes me feel young since my oldest is just 43! ;)
Curt - I thought that I fixed that post around 10:00 CST.
Dave (PV) - While I have no regrets on my present layout, since I made all of my mistakes on several old ones; I do sometimes wish that I had made the train shed bigger. But then the realization that the reason I only made it 20' x 32' is because I realized what my maintenance capabilities might be as I got a little older. Of course I could always give up one of my other hobbies.:(
Luke - Sorry to read about your mishap. I could have been worse, thankfully it wasn't. Sorta reminds me of work. I worked in the window industry for many years. One of the hardest things to teach rookies is to not try to catch or stop falling glass, just get out of the way and let if go! Saw some serious mishaps in my career. Get mended soon.
Phil - I didn't forget Ugly Sweater Day, I chose to ignore it. Some days are just not relevant any more. Take today as an example. Today is National Hard Candy Day. OK if you haven't paid for replacement teeth like many of us, otherwise who cares?
James - Best wishes on your second recovery.

Everybody have a great day. Have an awesome weekend. Stay safe

Willie: That's really unfortunate to realize that the Russian hackers have infiltrated the form here, that must drive the admin crazy !? I also had a recent past experience where my post was deleted too !

The planter box with a little flowers it's rather unique and a nice touch.
 
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