Running Bear's February 2019 Coffee Shop

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Boris

Beach Bum
It's sad to think of what could have been, but Conrail and Amtrak managed to make it work.

Louis: It did work, Conrail essentially used the PC's pre-merger plan, that PC never implemented, because Bevan (PRR / PC Treasurer), wouldn't release the Capital funds. Bevan, was on his own program, and diverted much capital to diversification and non rail assets.

(The creation fo Conrail, unintentionally also fulfilled Bevan's plan, as American Premier Underwriters, a Property & Casualty Insurer that is a Subsidy of APU Holdings).

Penn Central handicapped itself, because of Chairman Stewart Saunders desperation Political deals including offering Union Employees a lifetime guarantee, not only of a job, but of income. This resulted in massive recalls of long term furloughed employees who's jobs had been abolished years before. Saunders agreed to include the New Haven railroad, to gain support of New England politicians.

On the other hand, Penn Central had more freight business than their physical infrastructure could handle, and on top of that, to gain favor with politicians they agreed to restrict freight operations in commuter territory so as not to cause delay s during commuter peak hours. Pearlman, the NYC President, and PC Operating Czar, was stifled from making operating improvements by Bevan's tight fisted handling of Capital.

Essentially, even in the contemporary regulatory environment, where the Railroad was a "Common Carrier" and required regulatory authority to implement change, the company could have done better, if better people, focused on running the railroad, were in charge.

Boris
 

Boris

Beach Bum
Good morning, y'all. We have weather, a coating of ice! Since it's now 31° and sunny, it won't last for long.

I have a feeling Chet and I are going to be swapping USPS war stories soon...

Terry: USPS is getting worse, two days for Priority to go from Brooklyn, NY to Central Jersey. Distance 47 miles, I could have walked there in two days, including the Ferry Boat Ride.

Dave B: Good stuff.

Louis: Take it easy...

Boris
 

montanan

Whiskey Merchant
Good morning. 10 above to start off the day. The snow has stopped for the time being, but the forecast is for us to go into the deep freeze with some areas expected to be in the minus 30's. I am not the only one who is running out of room to put snow. I rarely watch the local news at night, but I did last night and the state is in a mess. The govenor declared a state of emergency as there are some communities that are having problems getting food, medicine and fuel delivered. Saw some video of Anaconda, MT with at lease 4 feet of snow they are trying to dig out from. South of us US 20 at Targhee Pass has been closed for days. There are a number of semis stranded near Henry's Lake, ID, just south of West Yellowstone. Locals are providing food for the drivers and have managed to get some fuel to them. Monida Pass on I-15 at the Montana Idaho border has been closed for days. Locally, the city of Bozeman are having a hard time keep their snow routes open. They won't be able to start working on side streets until next week. My son who lives in town sure is happy that both of his vehicles have 4 wheel drive.

Louis - Nice photos of the geeps. Beady - Like that steam special.

Jim - Outstanding photos.

Terry - For the USPS, I think fragile means the the package is only to be thrown underhand.

Mark - Excellent photos of your old layout. It must have been painful to have to dismantle it.

I did manage to re-plow my driveway, but will have to get the snow blower out and see how much I can widen the drive. Some of the snow banks are four feet tall and extend 10 to 12 feet back from the drive.

Here's my rail picture for today.

Train-Track-Cool-Backgrounds-Wallpapers.jpg


Later
 
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Beady

Well-Known Member
Beady - I see that you didn't lay the track soon enough and now the layout table is full of stuff.:p
Willie, I had to, to sort everything out after all the jumbling following the basement leaks. And I do mean jumbling: I found several items the wife has bern missing from her Christmas collection. Also, in the past few days I've discovered lots of things I didn't know I had. Like, I swear the steam locomotives have been breeding, and I've got enough buildings to assemble a respectable city. I've also discovered a lot of kits of various sorts that I'm almost certainly never going to build. I may have to rent a table at a couple of mrr shows to dispose of the excess (I could go the ebay route, but that seems like a lot of work).
 

Bruette

Well-Known Member
You could feed Hannibal Lecter for a week or more.;)o_O

Reckon it is connected with trying to do four hour Amazon runs in two hours? Remember that you're not eligible for worker's comp.

Now that my appetite is back it would probably 2 weeks or more!

My Ankle is already doing better. I was angry with it, I want to work later today, so I had 2 words to say to it. F#%@ You! Then I did dishes, washed clothes, organized my pantry and cleaned the bathroom. To test it I carried a few things up the steps. It's much better now. I'm good to go!

I know I have to rest for my internal problems, but sitting on my ass is what I think is causing this stiffness. I'm still trying to find that balance we talked about.

Workmen's comp? God forbid! There's a sure fire path to poverty. I went that route before. My F-350 stake body (company truck) blew a hydraulic line on the lift gate. I wanted to fix it myself, but no, boss said "you are a salesmen, let the service department do it". After it came out of the shop I did not see the fluid on the bed and slipped in it falling off the back of the truck. I tore ligaments and cartilage in my good knee! Then the company said the insurance would not let me work until the doctors said I was ok, workmen's comp they said would pay me. They screwed me, I only got 2/3 my guaranteed pay, not my actual bonus. I thought I was smart having a written contract and guaranteed bonus, but I exceeded my guaranteed after the first month. I had to have surgery, got viral pneumonia from that, went to the hospital couching up blood, fell unconscious for 3 days and got to have my last rites administered for the first time. I did get a settlement, for 75% permanent damage to my knee, but I would have made more than double, maybe triple working for my actual bonus!
 

Sirfoldalot

Days Gone Bye!
Staff member
Well, This is a Model Rail Road site, so I guess I better enclose a photo from a friend -- he likes to make me feel both good and bad at the same time. Good is the dreaming of when I had a layout - bad is the fact that I do not have a layout!

1551364927070.png
 

GarryCBQ

Well-Known Member
Good morning ....

Terry .... That's a lot of money for only one furnace.

Dave LASM .... The downtown photos are excellent .

Jim .... The ARR photo in Anchorage looks familiar to me. I have been there.

Louis ..... The CSX freight train photo and the Chessie photo are very nice.

Sherrel .... The Frisco steam loco photo looks great. Sad you don't have a layout. Maybe, you could build one even if a small one.

Curt, Sherrel, Willie, and anyone I missed. .... Thanks for commenting on my latest farm house photo.

Willie ..... You asked if those were kites. .... Yes, they are.

36627425371_fa885a82f9_b.jpg
 
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Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Good Morning Everyone....sunny and seasonal with more cold on its way here later.

The "Boss" wants me to change a lamp in an exterior wall mounted light fixture by our side door. The fixture has two thumb turn screws that hold the base into the main fixture. It's a balancing act to hold the fixture while screwing in the second screw from under the fixture while leaning off the steps. Last fall I dropped one, never to be found. Now add in cold weather and bare hands. She insists she can do it but I already know the results if she makes the attempt. to change the lamp. So after lunch I'll tackle the what should be a simple job and hopefully get it done to keep the peace. Maybe I should hide down under the layout and maybe she wouldn't find me down there.

This afternoon I'm going to focus my attention to installing the second Tomar crossing signal that is already wired that just needs a mounting hole in the layout and then fish and connect the wires. The single signal looks ok, but after awhile you something is missing by having only one signal.

I need a break from the scenery work.

Chet: I can't believe how bad those passes and roads must be with that amount of snowfall. Do the local natives keep extra supplies of food in case of an emergency like this happening? I know in the area of our cabin, electric generators, fuel, food and liquor is on the local's survival list of supplies.

Everyone: Great photos from everyone.

Terry: At the cabin we have a 100 gallon LP tank that holds enough fuel for a normal fall and spring. It is a different story if we come up in the winter and then watched the gauge go down. Several years ago there was a shortage of LP and people were heating with small space heaters and fireplaces until they got they LP shipments.

Maybe a trip to Walthers tomorrow for some Woodland Scenic "Burnt Clusters" at $18.99 a bag. But, I need cheap contact cement as well. I use contact cement to secure the ground foam in place. The contact cement has a firm grip and a relatively long working time. It works great on slopes and inclines. At a $1.00 a tube a lot cheaper than Walther's glue and just as strong for this job. I'll usually purchase it at the Dollar Store, five to ten tubes at a time, but with the scenery work coming to an end I'll require less contact glue in the future.

That's all for now...

Greg

########################


C&NW Caboose.JPG

A "Clean" caboose.
 

Bruette

Well-Known Member
Time for me to get ready for work. My right ankle is fine, but now my left knee is talking to me. I never should have mentioned it. I find the best way to deal with chronic pain is to ignore it, the more you think about it the more it bothers you.

Have a great day Everybody!
 

logandsawman

Well-Known Member
Willie, I had to, to sort everything out after all the jumbling following the basement leaks. And I do mean jumbling: I found several items the wife has bern missing from her Christmas collection. Also, in the past few days I've discovered lots of things I didn't know I had. Like, I swear the steam locomotives have been breeding, and I've got enough buildings to assemble a respectable city. I've also discovered a lot of kits of various sorts that I'm almost certainly never going to build. I may have to rent a table at a couple of mrr shows to dispose of the excess (I could go the ebay route, but that seems like a lot of work).

I have been through a couple cycles of downsizing. The mrr shows is a good place in that you don't have to worry about packaging and shipping, however you may have a lot of competition and find yourself nearly giving away stuff. I disposed of lots of my excess gear at a train show. When young people were involved, I found myself much more generous. That is one advantage in that you can dicker on prices.

Ebay may bring good prices, and in some cases you will be surprised at what something brings. Shipping can be a hastle, however once you get organized it can go smoothly..
 

kbkchooch

"retired" conductor
The "Boss" wants me to change a lamp in an exterior wall mounted light fixture by our side door. The fixture has two thumb turn screws that hold the base into the main fixture. It's a balancing act to hold the fixture while screwing in the second screw from under the fixture while leaning off the steps. Last fall I dropped one, never to be found. Now add in cold weather and bare hands. She insists she can do it but I already know the results if she makes the attempt. to change the lamp. So after lunch I'll tackle the what should be a simple job and hopefully get it done to keep the peace. Maybe I should hide down under the layout and maybe she wouldn't find me down there.
.

Greg, I feel your pain, yes you can hide for a little while, but not for long. Might as well man up and get it over with. Might I suggest some latex glove? They do seem to increase the grip factor, especially when your hands are cold.
 

Greg@mnrr

Section Hand
Karl:

She found me and the lamp has been changed and no I didn't drop the thumb screw.

Now down to the layout and install that crossing signal.

Let there be light...in more ways than one.

Greg
 

PRR Modeler

Well-Known Member
Afternoon All,

Did some chores today. I'm at a standstill on the project. I need some electrical connectors for lighting (will get tomorrow) and WS Asphalt paint (will get Saturday). Son (Is a chef) is cooking supper for us tonight. When he cooks it's always great but he sure makes a mess in the kitchen. It looks like our eldest skunk (10 yom)) is getting ready to pass to the other side. It never gets any easier.

CCoffran- Neat video.

Beady- That's a lot of track and accessories.

Beady/Louis- Nice Chessie locos.

Max- Interesting photos.

Dave- Nice scenes. The lighting brings the scene to life.

Chet- Sounds like MT is a mess right now. What a lonely feeling track photo.

Sherrel- Nice consist.

Greg- It's a clean machine.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 

kbkchooch

"retired" conductor
Karl:

She found me and the lamp has been changed and no I didn't drop the thumb screw.

Now down to the layout and install that crossing signal.

Let there be light...in more ways than one.

Greg

Congrats Greg! After all, happy wife, happy life, more time for trains! ;)
 

montanan

Whiskey Merchant
Good afternoon. Some big bright thing appeared in the sky this afternoon. It's been a while.

Garry - Another great photo.

CCoffran - Interesting video. Thanks for the posting.

Sherrel - Like the Frisco steamer.

Louis - Hope the injury heals quickly.

Greg - Anyone who has lived here for a while has enough sense to be prepared. I figure that we can go for about three weeks if necessary before I would start getting worried, I keep enough gasoline on hand to keep the generator going as well as for the power equipment. Some of the towns are pretty well removed from larger towns out here. The newbies have about enough sense as a rock. There's a mall and a grocery store in town.

Here's a photo of one of the snow banks. It's hard to pick out, but the bank behind the tractor extends over 12 feet going behind the pickup.

thumbnail_20190228_112353.jpg


I swapped my Northern Pacific RS-1 with Terry for this BLI Milwaukee Road SD-9. It is also a wimp when it comes to the grades, 9 cars max. Terry says that there is room to put some self adhesive weight to the top of the shell. Thought that three axle trucks would help. I am not a big fan of sound, but Terry said that he had changed the sound decoder. I am impressed. I really like the sound of the Walthers F-7's, and this is another winner.

thumbnail_20190228_134119.jpg thumbnail_20190228_134153.jpg

Here's a short video of the sound.


A few of the guys at the club were happy when I brought my little Bachmann Milwaukee Road S-4 to run because nobody in the club had any Milwaukee Road power. This might bring a couple of smiles.

Catch you later.
 
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