Running Bear's February 2023 Coffee Shop

[BigGRacing]

For those that can search facebook, they moved the steamer on the track today. A few minute video if you want to watch

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 30° this late morning. Low 50's later today and tomorrow and a return to the 70's Sunday for a few days. I am also done shoveling the snow here!
Late posting this morning because I didn't have a good night, waking up around 0200. Went back to bed around 0600 and slept until 0800.

Yesterday's grocery trek went well, pricing seems to have stabilized on all but a few produce items. I had a lower than average $$$ total since I didn't purchase any meat, the plan is to eat out of the freezer for the upcoming week. I have pork butts, pork loins, chuck roasts, many zip-locks of chicken parts purchased on sale, steaks, another prime rib, salmon and other assorted mostly sale items. Oh! And I still have a leftover free turkey from the Christmas season. Usually this clearing out would have happened sooner for bread-making, but since I am watching carb intake more closely I didn't make as much. Need to have room for garden veggies. Speaking of garden veggies, I did purchase my onion plants yesterday and plan to set them in the ground this weekend. It's going to be later than a typical year, but the Farmer's Almanac warned me and as a result I missed the ice storm. Gasoline also seems to have stabilized at $2.99/gallon.

Serious business on the road to town. The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) announced five years ago that they were going to widen six miles of a Farm to Market (FM) road that we use to get to the Interstate; from a two lane to a four lane with turn lanes. They purchased right of way and moved fences back starting in late 2019. I have been watching the utility companies relocate their water, electrical, telecommunication and natural gas lines for the past 2 1/2 years. This past week, they started removing trees and the road contractor started moving equipment and barriers to some leased acreage along the way. There are two alternate routes that I can take so it won't be a major inconvenience; one uses similar FM roads but passes through two school zones; and another actually shorter route is on ill-maintained back roads. I'll need to remember to take the alternate route on the way home for the next few years. Leaving home won't be an issue because there is the turn where the project starts/ends to remind me.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I didn't do a whole lot of modeling because I had the desire to run trains and then run some more. Gotta keep those crew members in tip-top shape. No derailments, no hazardous materials spilled.
I did welcome some vehicles from Logan Valley to the layout.

First though I had to add license plates.

The blue Chevy truck is from Oklahoma where they only have one plate. I have others waiting, but I will be adding drivers/passengers to some of them. I also plan to add a driver to the red pickup.
I continued to look at the short piping/walkway situation and I believe that I have a solution that I will be trying today.

Swal - Regarding the cabooses, I quit seeing them completely on ATSF trains about '87 or '88. On some unit trains, they were absent a few years earlier.
Tom O - I posted yesterday about your trees seemed expensive, but I didn't intend to infer that you were gouging anyone. Your buyers know in advance what you sell for. I later looked up some similar sized ones that are pre-made from Woodland Scenics and they were about the same price as yours. Yours still look a whole lot better.
I could have done a little more on the fermentation tanks, but I decided that much would be hidden by the monitoring structure or facing the backdrop so I only really concentrated on the visible parts. While the ladder structure was a bit tedious to make, I think it turned out great and it will also detract a little from the sloppiness of the tanks. I intend to use some safety yellow paint on it within a few days, once I resolve the "short" walkways and piping posted yesterday.
Mikey - Your technique for printing the signs is quite intriguing. I'll have to remember it. It would definitely save on the time needed to sand the paper thinner.
Joe - Isn't that Precision Scheduling a concept that that late Harrison guy introduced on another railroad??? I thought that I first read about it in Trains magazine 7-8 years ago. I am not sure whether there are more or less derailments, but the media will bring up every one for the next year, no matter how minor. It will be the next "balloon" scare.
Chad - Good example of the marginal pricing concept. If only certain politicians understood that economic fact of life.
There's no doubt that the car salesmen get an incentive from the finance company. See my comment to Gary below.
Chet - I hate electric ranges and ovens. I am fortunate to be able to use propane for every cooking function except the grill. I prefer charcoal and wood.
The only reason that I don't use plastic signs more is because I find them to be too thick.
Tom - Many of my appliances are too old to have codes!
Gary - I never had that happen to me when purchasing a vehicle. I have seen a few sad faces when I pulled out the checkbook and told them to remove the financing option. One guy once balked so I got up and walked out the door. His manager ran to me as I was backing the car out and offered an extra $250 off to come back in.

Everyone have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend. Good for you if it is long.

 

[chadbag]

Chad - Good example of the marginal pricing concept. If only certain politicians understood that economic fact of life.
There's no doubt that the car salesmen get an incentive from the finance company. See my comment to Gary below.

Amen. Economics facts of life and most politicians are not compatible... And they also make assumptions (when it helps them) that money always has the same value. Like $10 profit today is better than $5 last year. It may or may not be better. But they make the comparisons anyway.

Gary - I never had that happen to me when purchasing a vehicle. I have seen a few sad faces when I pulled out the checkbook and told them to remove the financing option. One guy once balked so I got up and walked out the door. His manager ran to me as I was backing the car out and offered an extra $250 off to come back in.

Yeah. I always walk if I don't like what I am seeing and my offers and expectations are reasonable. Sometimes I've had to adjust my expectations but walking often brings them back to you with a better deal. My aunt wanted a Camry oh so long ago. But the salesmen wouldn't make the deal she wanted and was reasonable (and she could afford). She walked and found another dealer that had a Corolla on a good deal and decided that would work for her. She bought it. The next day the original Camry dealer called her back to say her offer would be acceptable. Too late for him.

 

[Boris]

May I ask what your heartrate is

Sherrel: Sure. Prior to the surgery it was in the 50s. Since, i.t was all over the place, but has settled into the 60s /70s range. According to the PA, the "normal range" is 60 - 100. People who exercise, or run etc usually have Heart rates lower than 60. The worry is consistently being over 100, which can lead to fibrillation, or A-fib or other similar out of rhythm occurrence. BTW, coffee normally temporarily increases heart rate.

 

[Boris]

Isn't that Precision Scheduling a concept that that late Harrison guy introduced on another railroad???

Yes it is....made HH the darling of the activist investors and Private Capital. CP, CN, IC were the first, then CSX, UP and NS...Believe Buffet does the same with BNSF, but doesn't call it that.
UP and NS have jumped in with both feet, while CSX seems to have backed off a bit.

 

[Smudge617]

I have also printed signs on paper, taped a piece of thin gift wrap tissue over the printed area and run the paper back through the printer to print on the tissue paper. WAIT 24 HOURS TO SPRAY INK JET PRINT WITH CLEAR COAT OR IT WILL SMEAR!
Cut out the sign and apply a very thin coat of tacky glue to secure to the model or sign board.
If you have access to a color copier, you can reduce or enlarge printed signs you find.
Logos on business cards are great to copy.

I've a Inkjet printer, and also some clear waterslide decal paper, so I'll print some out on normal paper and play around with the size till I have the correct size, as I don't have access to a colour copier, I think that's the only way I can go really.

 

[Boris]

the media will bring up every one for the next year, no matter how minor. It will be the next "balloon" scare.

Think the continuing "stink" may have something to do with the Ohio Governor's politics. The Times has run the same article, 3 or 4 days in a row.

Another controversy, Apparently the US EPA pronounced it safe, while others say otherwise. Your guess is as good as mine.

One thing that bothers me is the release of material into the atmosphere, to reduce pressure. A BLEVE situation, normally associated with Propane Tank Cars. Apparently, there wasn't sufficient water to apply master streams to cool down the Vinyl Chloride Cars. Again, I don't know for sure, but something doesn't sound right to me.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out today with a walk at 67F and it's currently 84F. Completed a couple of chores then headed to the train room. I spent a good half hour fiddling with the 2 coupler boxes. They looked wrong (different from the picture) not to mention the lid on the box has to be glued down. After getting frustrated I decided to put the floor on the rest of the car and then put the coupler box on and guess what?... It fit perfectly. After lunch I started on the braking components and got about 50% completed although I'm taking some liberty with it. I'll take a photo when it's complete.

Tonight, is Dad's 90th birthday and we're taking him to a Mexican restaurant (his choice)

Jaz- Great looking tree making.

Chet- Great collection of cars and layout photos.

Jeff- Great videos and I love your scenery. Does your river represent the Ohio?

Christian- I agree with everyone about your sleepy looking dog.

William- Nice looking vehicles.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[JeffH]

Jeff- Great videos and I love your scenery. Does your river represent the Ohio?

Yes, but I know it's way too narrow. Making it more to scale wasn't really an option, though.

My family has deep roots in the panhandle of West Virginia. My Mother's family is from Central/Western PA, and they settled into Weirton, WV. My Grandfather was a banker there, working primarily with the folks who ran Weirton Steel. My Father's family pretty much immigrated from Wales directly into the tin plating industries along the same stretch of river.

We live just East of Columbus, Ohio. The short line railroad that serves the stretch between Columbus, Ohio and the WV panhandle is the Ohio Central System (now part of Genesee & Wyoming), and locomotives that go by our little town still have the Ohio Central Paint. So I have been on a mission to find N scale locomotives in Ohio Central... but I have only been able to find 1... an Atlas Gold Series Alco C420.

I have had 2 other locos custom painted, and may do more.

 

[Jaz avalley]

I do my own repairs also. I look on youtube and see how they come apart. They will also show how to factory reset and or how to get the codes to tell you what is wrong. I repaired my 1992 Kenmore dryer that way with a $50 kit.

My other half does repairs he is very mechanically minded but he has his beet noir, toasters, let him near one he’ll pull it apparat then say it’s not worth the effort putting it back together go buy a new one.

he has several times taken a faulty washing machine or dishwasher outside given it a power wash put it back and the thing has worked he says lime settles and the power hose often solves the problem with no other messing needed.

he can tell a tv going a good 6 months before I can see anything, he has crazy hearing,if soneone pushes a fridge too close to the wall he can hear and complain about it 50ft plus off lol.

if he has the patience he has repaired hoovers.

a ride on lawnmower has a habit of losing its cutting deck - driving over heavy bush does not help, and the gears needing to be just so, are his department. The big tractor is crazy because there are two sets of controls and you can use either but need to check both are in neutral before it will do a thing.

Good morning those with working fridges, and those with Samsung ice makers

It's Troy again.

First: Fridges. We brought our Frigidaire side by side back to Indiana from California. Gave it to the daughter to upgrade her condo. I love that fridge. Second we've owned of the line.

Our condo came with a Samsung French Door, that has the ice maker in the fridge, and dumps out the upper door. Chest freezer is in a drawer underneath the fridge part.

DO NOT get a fridge with an ice maker hiding in the fridge part (and not in the freezer part). Check out any appliance repair vid on french door fridges. †hey universally pan the Samsung french door line. The units are not sealed well enough, and the ice makers frost up fast.

We were having to defrost it manually every two months MONTH. The ice maker... not the fridge/freezer. that was an all-day thing. Even with the hair-dyer method of blasting the ice wrapped around the auger and the cooling coils.

We finally purchased a countertop ice maker, and keep a tub in our freezer drawer. Way easier to do that than have to defrost the ice maker.

In other news, wording the words, but got a bunch of projects off the painting table. Need to clear coat them today. But I feel like I got stuff accomplished.

View attachment 162395

View attachment 162396

View attachment 162397

There were two more units of these dwarf gunners. Oh and these stout lads with big hammers for knocking some sense into those pesky orcs.

View attachment 162398

we have a cold drink maker but you need to cleanse removable bit and the fridge door part or you get black mould, , you need to check it even when not using

 

[montanan]

Good afternoon. Going to make it quick today. House cleaning day and laundry day. The maid didn't show up. Wish there was a maid. I do normal cleaning but every few weeks I will go through the place and give a deep clean.

JeffH - Like the videos. I am guessing that it is an N scale layout. About the only give away is the rail height. Your layout ar a club layout?

Jaz - The trees are excellent. I have made some that way but being in Montana, we have a lot of sage brush and the natural plant looks just like tree bark. You can see this in this photo and the photos I posted yesterday.

Tom - I used to do my own appliance repair but the modern appliances are made to last just so long. Willie had mentioned that there was someone that refused to work on LG and Samsung appliances. The guy who serviced my LG appliances that crapped out is the ONLY one in the area that will touch them. Parts are a huge problem and some appliances that are just a few years old require parts that are no longer available. I had a Kenmore washer and dryer that I hated to leave when I moved. They were around 40 years old and they still worked just fine. We had toyed with the idea of replacing them but with the experience with the new appliances we decided to keep them. Back the Kenmore were make by Whirlpool and parts are still available. In all the years we had them I had to replace a knob on the washing machine and 2 dryer elements, which only took a few minutes to replace.

Shortwrench - My LG appliances were a nightmare. We renovated the kitchen and replaced the appkiances and like a dummy, I dain't do any research. Had a nice refrigerator with a bottom freezer drawer. The ice make quit withing a week Warranty repaired that. After 1 months the dishwasher started having problems and after 3 service calls I had to pay for and LG throwing parts at it hoping that they would work, it went to the dump. Found a Maytag that was made in the USA. Then the gas range was having problems with the ignitor for the oven quitting and the second time burning a hole in the burner. When the ignitor for the cook top went out, it too went to the dump. Found a Frigidaire that was made in the USA. I am fortunate that the appliances in my new place had all GE appliances that were also made in the USA. It was a brand new build and I had to get a washer and dryer, again, GE, made in the USA. Appliances are a very sore point for me.

Jim68cuda - Like the photos. That old Atlas car carrier are extremely hard to find. I had one put away and couldn't find it and went on the internet trying to locate one. 50 bucks or more. I did end up looking harder and found mine. Had to use an Atlas tractor I beloeve because i modeled 1957 and the quad headlights on the cab came in 1958.

Laundry has to go in the dryer. More photos from the archives.

LATER

 

[Jaz avalley]

Love cars
Mine just have this terrible problem getting dirty…
a couple of American vintage actually one has had sone love and care,even wood boards are good
professionals went far a self wash
i do tend to colour the ones I think I can fool people with

 

[PNKFLOYD]

I've a Inkjet printer, and also some clear waterslide decal paper,

Smudge - Be sure to let the ink dry completely and seal it. The ink melts in water.

 

[CambriaArea51]

Train show tomorrow.

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning All. Clear and 30° this late morning. Low 50's later today and tomorrow and a return to the 70's Sunday for a few days. I am also done shoveling the snow here!
Late posting this morning because I didn't have a good night, waking up around 0200. Went back to bed around 0600 and slept until 0800.

Yesterday's grocery trek went well, pricing seems to have stabilized on all but a few produce items. I had a lower than average $$$ total since I didn't purchase any meat, the plan is to eat out of the freezer for the upcoming week. I have pork butts, pork loins, chuck roasts, many zip-locks of chicken parts purchased on sale, steaks, another prime rib, salmon and other assorted mostly sale items. Oh! And I still have a leftover free turkey from the Christmas season. Usually this clearing out would have happened sooner for bread-making, but since I am watching carb intake more closely I didn't make as much. Need to have room for garden veggies. Speaking of garden veggies, I did purchase my onion plants yesterday and plan to set them in the ground this weekend. It's going to be later than a typical year, but the Farmer's Almanac warned me and as a result I missed the ice storm. Gasoline also seems to have stabilized at $2.99/gallon.

Serious business on the road to town. The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) announced five years ago that they were going to widen six miles of a Farm to Market (FM) road that we use to get to the Interstate; from a two lane to a four lane with turn lanes. They purchased right of way and moved fences back starting in late 2019. I have been watching the utility companies relocate their water, electrical, telecommunication and natural gas lines for the past 2 1/2 years. This past week, they started removing trees and the road contractor started moving equipment and barriers to some leased acreage along the way. There are two alternate routes that I can take so it won't be a major inconvenience; one uses similar FM roads but passes through two school zones; and another actually shorter route is on ill-maintained back roads. I'll need to remember to take the alternate route on the way home for the next few years. Leaving home won't be an issue because there is the turn where the project starts/ends to remind me.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I didn't do a whole lot of modeling because I had the desire to run trains and then run some more. Gotta keep those crew members in tip-top shape. No derailments, no hazardous materials spilled.
I did welcome some vehicles from Logan Valley to the layout.
View attachment 162407
First though I had to add license plates.View attachment 162408View attachment 162409
The blue Chevy truck is from Oklahoma where they only have one plate. I have others waiting, but I will be adding drivers/passengers to some of them. I also plan to add a driver to the red pickup.
I continued to look at the short piping/walkway situation and I believe that I have a solution that I will be trying today.

Swal - Regarding the cabooses, I quit seeing them completely on ATSF trains about '87 or '88. On some unit trains, they were absent a few years earlier.
Tom O - I posted yesterday about your trees seemed expensive, but I didn't intend to infer that you were gouging anyone. Your buyers know in advance what you sell for. I later looked up some similar sized ones that are pre-made from Woodland Scenics and they were about the same price as yours. Yours still look a whole lot better.
I could have done a little more on the fermentation tanks, but I decided that much would be hidden by the monitoring structure or facing the backdrop so I only really concentrated on the visible parts. While the ladder structure was a bit tedious to make, I think it turned out great and it will also detract a little from the sloppiness of the tanks. I intend to use some safety yellow paint on it within a few days, once I resolve the "short" walkways and piping posted yesterday.
Mikey - Your technique for printing the signs is quite intriguing. I'll have to remember it. It would definitely save on the time needed to sand the paper thinner.
Joe - Isn't that Precision Scheduling a concept that that late Harrison guy introduced on another railroad??? I thought that I first read about it in Trains magazine 7-8 years ago. I am not sure whether there are more or less derailments, but the media will bring up every one for the next year, no matter how minor. It will be the next "balloon" scare.
Chad - Good example of the marginal pricing concept. If only certain politicians understood that economic fact of life.
There's no doubt that the car salesmen get an incentive from the finance company. See my comment to Gary below.
Chet - I hate electric ranges and ovens. I am fortunate to be able to use propane for every cooking function except the grill. I prefer charcoal and wood.
The only reason that I don't use plastic signs more is because I find them to be too thick.
Tom - Many of my appliances are too old to have codes!
Gary - I never had that happen to me when purchasing a vehicle. I have seen a few sad faces when I pulled out the checkbook and told them to remove the financing option. One guy once balked so I got up and walked out the door. His manager ran to me as I was backing the car out and offered an extra $250 off to come back in.

Everyone have a wonderful day and an awesome weekend. Good for you if it is long.

Willie, the gouging word is from me, nothing you wrote made me think that. I now make my own trees because in 2014 after I retired I couldn’t find decent looking trees that were taller than the rail cars. The custom trees I had found online did make me use the word gouging back them. Sorry, I wouldn‘t pay my own prices I charge and I think my trees look great. I sure as heck won’t pay $10-15 per tree from others. I mainly purchased the WS trees and JTT trees and then tried a couple other manufacturers trees. They IMO then and still now just were not worth the prices.

I saw a Luke Towan video on the way he made his trees and thought I could do that. His step by step processes he showed in his YT content back then was exceptional. Back in 2015 after making a few hundred and knowing the time it took to make, I realized I really was saving a ton. Plus they were big enough to be higher than the locomotives and freight cars. I had about $.35 of material in each 5” tree. Those exact materials today (ok, on 2/15 when I did the price analyst) cost out at $1.41 for each tree. Some of my weathering clients tell me my pricing is too low. I have from the beginning though taken a more generous TO ME approach to pricing the labor for trees. I never intended to sell any let alone how many I have sold over the years. I wonder if I am still under pricing the labor end of the tree. In 6 years of selling trees because I never learned to say no only 1 person balked at paying the price.

I enjoy the tree making

 

[TLOC]

Train show tomorrow.

Same here. The MadCity show in Madison, Wi. is a good one. I have my list, though small, I can browse. I have been communicating with a few of my weathering clients who will be at the show. I really wished they had let me know they were coming, we could have gotten together. We have hockey on campus in the afternoon both days and the g/s plays early Sunday. I can still hit the Train Show both days.

 

[Boris]

Good evening. Clear, Blustery and 32°. We started the day at 61° with 0.82" of rain. Because I'm a sugarplum, we didn't walk in the rain. The only place we went to was the Vets with the Kitty. Not much happening in the train room either. Tomorrow is another day, eh?

Chicago 59th Street Engine pit, 3/5/1974. D.S. Hutchinson collection, photographer unknown. Note the ground effects.

 

[Bruette]

Good morning, Everybody!

Life has been busy, thank God.

I hope all is well, have a great day!

 

[Chrιstιaη]

Christian- I agree with everyone about your sleepy looking dog.

 

[Chrιstιaη]