Running Bear's LXXIII Coffee Shop


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Good morning. Sunny and 57 degrees now. Some rain is predicted, but nothing showing on the radar.

Joe - The depot has been restored and is now a museum. They did a really nice job on it. Another nice thing is that the club pays no rent or utilities to the museum. All they ask is that the club is open for public viewing.

Willie - More nice photos. Like the body shop. Keep the photos coming. I don't plan on getting many more freight cars. I did manage to sell enough cars and locomotives so the staging area is not crammed packed which makes operating the layout a lot easier.

Here are a few photos of the club layout. I wioll also post these in the club post.

Just to the left of the turntable are the car shops and diesel fueling area. . They did stuff a lot of details into the area.

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Here is a mill. The tracks behind it is where the tracks go through the 24" thick wall into the Gardiner area.

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The power sub station does have power lines going to towers across the rear of the layout. The tracks behind the power station are the inbound tracks again to Gardiner and the curves tracks are the outbound tracks that join up to the main line.

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Talledega today. Love that track. Have attended over a dozen races there.

Later
 
Good afternoon Shop dwellers! Mid-forties and breezy here in the Little Blue State, typical late February weather.

My hopper project came to a screeching halt. My rattle can of Dull Coat failed, so I'm SOL until Monday
Joe I feel your pain, I can't count the number of times I had to make unexpected [time-consuming] trips to get things that I was positive I saw under the layout before I cleaned up for the last op session!

Thanks everybody for the words of encouragement on the crossing flasher project. My butt muscles are really sore from all the time I spent sitting on that footstool and leaning forward on Saturday. Let's do the math....24 wires @ 10 minutes per wire = 240 minutes = 4 hours seated on that hard plastic surface...ouch! The end result should make this all worthwhile though.

I managed to get all the sensors wired, and confirmed [via little yellow LEDs on the circuit board] that each one is functional. But it was 11:30pm and decided I needed to quit for the day, so I could maintain some semblance of a normal sleep schedule. The only thing left to do now is connect the sensor circuit board to the flasher module. Sounds simple, right? But I know how Murphy can strike even at the eleventh hour in the most unexpected ways!o_O So in a way I'm almost afraid to go back out there. Slept late this morning, went to Mass, now I'm preparing lunch; I want to be well-rested and well-fed before I crouch back under that layout!
 
Just switched the TV over to the race ... I will occillate between the race and the western I was watching. Kids, grandma, and daughter are all napping - --
I just finished securring the Sat Receiver + DVD player in place - they proceeded to "fall down" everytime we hit a bone-jaring pavement joint. Found a piece of strapping tape while walking the dogs, daughter had some screws and drill bits to contribute .... Doesn't look the best, but I think it will hold until I can make it pretty looking at home.
Desperately need an oil/filter change and the generator as well. I think I have located a place down the road a few miles and sent them an email. They roll up the sidewalks around here on the weekend. We may stick around a few more days here while we determine our route back. Damn wedding that we are supposed to attend + the fact that Spousal Unit has SIX cousins, sisters, and mama to fix hair prior means that we need to be back no later than 22nd.
Well, cannot neglect family - and I need to visit many cousins in LA and TX , I think 11 in all means that I am going to miss anyone north of here. Feel like we need another three weeks ... I had wanted to see Terry, Garry, KenVA, friends of ours who moved to Williamsburg a couple years ago, and my daughter/kids in VA.
Meanwhile - neighbor and gkids to the beach!
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CHET - Those club photos show a very detailed layout! Seldom see that much detail on a club.

Willie - Glad to see your photos. Ha, with as many buildings as you have, You could post a different one each day for a year!
 
Talk about being late to the party. I didn't know we were back up and running again. I suppose I've been hiding under a rock all this time.
 
Talk about being late to the party. I didn't know we were back up and running again. I suppose I've been hiding under a rock all this time.
Likely story....Welcome to the new and improved Forum, Justin. How's the layout coming along?
Sherrel: There is never, repeat never, enough time to do all you want. Looks like you are having a great time with the grand children. BTW, the action down there is at the Walmart(s) on the weekends.
KenMD: I presume you finished, and it works. (I hope).
And to think, it all started from playing with a bucket and spade at the beach.
Toot: You're right about that!
Terry: That's a pretty awesome video. Never knew you could do all of that.
 
Talk about being late to the party. I didn't know we were back up and running again. I suppose I've been hiding under a rock all this time.

Justin: Glad to see you again. There were rumors floating around, but let's just leave those be. ;) Love the new avatar. I just put one on the back window of my car and one of my employees actually knew that it was Chessie and asked if I was into trains. Started talking about building my layout. Turns out he and his brother are both model railroaders. His brother just bought a new house and they are planning a layout of their own.
 
Good morning. 39*F and sunny with a slight breeze here in central MD.

Justin - glad to see you finally made it over!

Sherrell great pics of the family, bummer you can't visit any more of your Forum friends on this journey...

KenMD: I presume you finished, and it works. (I hope).

You guessed correctly Joe, I finished the wiring and I now have operating crossbucks! But the layout is still a construction zone and I didn't really have time to run trains to watch it. I did however, splice together the broken wire on that signal I damaged the previous weekend. Also replaced some cable clamps that spontaneously broke open and left a few of my signal cables dangling (see my separate thread about that).

I have to leave for work now - see you guys later!
 
Good morning. It's clear and 35.


After the departure from the club, I've noticed more than a few things I won't be able to plausibly use on my home layout. I sold off my BLI J1, and it's leaving for its new home today. Yes, I waste no time once I've made a decision... I'm also getting rid of my uber-modern stuff, at least as far as locomotives. The GEVOs are all going to find new homes, as well as the SD60-and-newer stuff. I'm keeping my I1sa, F units, Geeps, but my dash 8's and dash 9's will be leaving. All my passenger equipment will be going away, and I'll probably get a Rapido RDC for my local passenger service. I think dash 2's and dash 7's will be the newest power, and I'll probably also sell off the coal gons I have, as a 140 car coal train on a small layout would look ridiculous.
 
Remember, tomorrow morning we start a new coffee shop. I'll post a link here when I start it. I'll probably name it "Running Bear's Coffee Shop #1", unless somebody has a clever alternative.
 
Maybe instead of just the #1, and seeing we're changing to a monthly format, the month and year. A shame the Roman Calender only had 10 months to a year, or we could have continued with that dating.
 
Good morning. 46° and cloudy. I expect that with the change of calendar, it will suddenly warm up!

Speaking of Coal trains, I now have nine 50 ton hoppers completed and on the layout. I have room for maybe two more on the runaround, so my "unit" trains max out at 10 cars and a cabin...:rolleyes:

Terry: Coffee Shop # 1 is fine... We don't need to get too creative. OTOH Month and year, as Toot suggested, would make searching back forums easier.
 
Good morning everyone. 53 and mostly sunny, hitting 80 later today.

Willie - Great looking photos from your layout. Thanks for posting.
keN (MD) - I like how you brought order to the spaghetti factory under your layout - now what will you use to stir paint?
Chet - Looks like it was a good train show/swap meet. You picked up two nice pieces.
Sherrel - Nice travel photos. Do you pull a separate vehicle behind the motor home for local travel?
Terry - Wow - cool bridge construction video.

This was a wild weekend - first warm and sunny weekend we've had this year!!! That meant lots of outdoor catching-up. We're re-doing the landscaping in the front of the house, including taking out a brick edging/border and replacing with steel borders. Mowed the lawn 'cause it needed it and also because the kids and grandkids were coming over Sunday for our son's birthday, and I wanted to be able to do stuff outdoors. Also put up a new swing - hung it from a 24-foot high limb. Tilled the garden, continued re-doing the garden fence, and helped MOH put in the tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beans, etc. Garden is now officially IN!! We'll probably add a few plants yet, 'cause there's still room!!

Had a good time with kids and grandkids Sunday for lunch. Son brought his new .22 pistol and we shot in the back yard. I love being surrounded by woods - any stray bullets either scare trespassers or bring home lunch ;)

Ran trains for the grandkids. Put down some more roadway and some grass and bushes. Also put some finishing touches on the DPM kit. Still have to print off the signage in color. Think I mentioned before it's going to be a printing business in honor of my dad, who worked in the printing trade all his life.

Have a good day everyone.
 
Good Morning All. 55°, clear and sunny. Wind gusts of 1 mph according to the Weather Underground. That will change in about an hour. A little cooler today with the high only forecast to be 80°. Did a lot of mowing yesterday, looks to be an almost daily pattern for the next two months. Maybe get 1/2 to 3/4 of an acre each time. It's the downside of recent efforts to reclaim parts of the estate that had been let go in the last 10-15 years.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I worked some more on that small triangular area that I posted a picture of last week. Here is the homeless camp which is still in progress. The color didn't quite come out just right, those faces are much more pink in person. I intend to add some trash and newspaper, as well as a dog to the scene. It needs a tent as well, which will go to the right out of the current picture. When landscaping is added to the other side of the track, this will look more "hidden" or isolated. That blue structure is actually 14" away.
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Finally a use for some of those backpacks that come with many of those Preiser figure kits! And yes, that is some old-fashioned lichen as part of the landscape. This area is now ready for the fascia to be attached. Please note that the Elmer's bottle will not be a part of the final scene.
I also painted some other figures besides these, including two bicyclists that are intended for elsewhere. Pictures when complete.

Thanks for the comments on the most recent series of pictures; Garry, Joe, Chet, Sherrel, Johnny and anyone else that I may have missed.

Chet - They really went all out with the scenery and detail work on the Livingston layout. That's really refreshing to see on a club layout. I'll try to keep the pictures coming, after all it was you who kept encouraging me and Sherrel who finally prodded me into posting them, even if they are not perfect. OCD is my middle name! I'll take 100 and keep 5! I am using a different camera for the more recent photos which seems to compensate for any motion.
Ken in MD -
My butt muscles are really sore from all the time I spent sitting on that footstool and leaning forward on Saturday. Let's do the math....24 wires @ 10 minutes per wire = 240 minutes = 4 hours seated on that hard plastic surface...ouch! The end result should make this all worthwhile though.
I understand the pain. That's one of the principle reasons that I have three or four other projects going on at the same time, so I can take a break. A good example is when I am painting windows on a structure kit. I may only do a single wall each day.
Sherrel - I see that Charlie found a new friend.
Terry - Pretty neat video of the RC vehicles. That must be one heck of a layout. I watched with no sound because it was 4:00 am and I didn't want to wake the wife.
Justin - Welcome back, we had begun asking where you were. Now that you found us, Terry's going to move us!!!
Johnny - Sounds like a very full and fun weekend.

I like Toot's suggestion of adding the month/year to the Coffee Shop.
OK, a few more pictures. Here's City Hall and Don's Pizza from the town of Vernon (named after my late FIL) that I have been featuring.
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Excuse the mess in the street, I did some recent construction overhead, and have not yet gotten back to vacuum.

Everybody have a great day.

Willie
 
Good morning. 39 degrees and light rain to start off the day. Guess we had spring last Saturday.

Justin - Glad to see you back.

Bob - Now that the forum does not connect with TapTalk, I find that I can no longer respond on my phone. I have set it up so I can get emails frim postings, but can't connect with the forum on my Samsung S-8. ????????

Sherrel - Those kids look like they are just having the time of their lives. Nice photos. Hope you're enjoying the trip.

IB Ken - I thought that working under the layout would be a pain in the butt.
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I am looking forward to see the finished project. I sure would like to have operating crossing signals, but I have a total of 8 crossings and many of them have more than one tracks going into the crossing. $$$$$$$

Terry - I have come across a number of videos on remote cotrol projects like this. They are a lot of fun to watch. Thanks for the post. You mist be changing eras seeing that you are getting rid of newer equipment. I would really like to have one of those Rapido RDC's. Sweet units. I do have more passenger equipment than I need already.

Johnny - Yard work huh? I will have a lot, but the weather isn't quite cooperating yet. We did have one day of spring on Saturday with an 85 degree temp, but things are forecast to cool down for a while. I did get my winter tires changed and stored them under the front porch which is all closed in. Also put Stabil in the snow blower and stored it under the porch also. That's my extent of yard work so far.

Willie - Like the homeless camp. A really good use of a small space. Good photos. I will agree with all of the detail work on the club layout. One of the members wife is responsible for a lot of it. She was the one who built the Gardiner area and she is always working on scenery and detailing areas while we are running trains. I am trying to bribe her to come over to my place.

I did manage to get a little work done on the street lamps. What a pain in the butt working with the fine wires. I managed to get the other hub installed and more street lamps hooked up, but the LED lamps for interior lighting don't have long enough leads to light the building that I would like to light up.
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I will probably be splicing some wires, but again, working with such fine wires is not easy at all. Here's what I have done so far.

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Here's a rail picture for today.

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Later
 
THANKS but I missed the shingle shot post, that would be a good Idea if I had money. I'm also over it mostly so... but thanks though.

It's going to come down to the amount of sectional curves I have that will determine the FINAL, final, (this time) track pattern. WHEN I post pics my PROTO Brethren will have to grit their teeth, it's NOT going to be pretty. I've figured out what I can and more importantly CAN NOT do and MOST importantly WHAT I WANT TO SEE running down here. There will be lines crossing themselves and passing themselves on more than one "level". I think I've got close to 11 scale miles of HO track and I'm gonna try to use it ALL! Yea, spaghetti bowl comes to mind but that's ok, it's also gonna be a "race track", I love "racing" them at "creep" speeds and at "MAX WARP"! My road, my rules...LOL
 
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