Running Bear's March 2019 Coffee Shop


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Good Morning All. 56° and raining and a lot of high winds. At 4:30 it was 64° and then the thunderstorm moved in. We're under a severe thunderstorm warning right now, however it appears that the major action has moved east of me already, although one can never tell with these March storms. Watch out Johnny, looks like it will hit you around 10:00. So far the rain gauge has .75" in it for the first hour. This will all be over before noon and the temperature will top out at 75° with humidity!
After some good-natured kidding the past two days, my wife did our taxes yesterday during a lull in her H&R Block workload. WOW! We're getting the biggest refund ever, $1600, due to her over-withholding last spring. I always aimed for zero or a minimal refund because I don't want the government using my money interest-free all year. Most of the last thirty years, the refund was less than $25, and one year was 40¢. Our overall tax liability went down considerably last year, due to the new exemption amounts and overall brackets. In my case, it looks like Nancy P. was wrong.

Thanks for the comments and likes from yesterdays layout pictures, Joe, Tom, Dave, Garry, Chet, Curt and anyone else that I may have missed.

Another day in the train shed with minimal scenery results. I did add some details to the backyard, but it is taking some time to hang those clothes on the clothesline like Chet did in post #361 on Monday. As he posted, "It was a pain in the butt project", but I did get the first pair of pants up finally.
Moving on to a "waiting for further scenery" part of the layout, here is a small non-rail served grain and seed dealer. The base model is a cheapo freight house model called Williamsburg Freight House by AM Models. To the left is an outhouse , still common in rural Texas in the 70's and early 80's which covers part of my era.
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Here is a background low-relief structure made from DPM modular walls, that's also a feed, seed and fertilizer dealer with incoming rail shipments.
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Sorry about the angle here. Yes, that broken drainpipe by the left door is intentional. Note the water-stained brick below the break.
And I have trains too! Here is a triple-headed lash-up of GP40X's, an experimental diesel from EMD. ATSF had 10 of the 23 produced.
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Johnny - Did you see Mike's answer regarding the PM's, now called "Conversations"?
Mark - Always glad to see the pictures of the snow, someplace else!;) If I recall correctly, you have to first post movies on You Tube and then link them. I have never joined YT which is why none of my movies have ever been posted. There may be another way, but I am not aware of it.
Dave - That backside view is very good. Were you able to save those structures?
Chet - Now that looks like a train!;)

On a good note, the thunderstorm warning has been cancelled and there is now .9" in the gauge. The high wind advisory is still in effect.
Everybody have a great day.
 
Good morning all, +37 with some light drizzle. The birds were really singing this morning, I guess they are as happy as me about the mild temps.

Curt-- The Funaro kit really turned out nice! I assembled a gondola from that outfit and it was a challenge but really looked nice as well.

Mark-- The warmth didn't start till Monday. Now the snow is dropping, the temperature rose throughout the night.

Boris-- It took a couple of tries to get the sag even with the multiple wires. I used a drop of hobbie tac to get the wire in place then a drop of CA glue for the permanent fix

Willie-- more nice scenes, really nice job on the "mortar" with the background Fertilizer and Feed front

Chet-- really nice work on the video as usual

Here is my layout shot of the day. I worked on these cows over and over to reduce the shine, however was never fully satisfied with the look of them:

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Have a great day everyone!
 
Good morning ........ We returned from Nashville late last night. With Shelley's Mom, it is pretty much status quo. Physically, she is out of danger for now, but her mental capabilities are not good. ... I-24 is still blocked as crew continue to clear the mudslide of two weeks ago.

Mark .... Your snow reminds me of a winter I spent in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. .... Your NP F7's are impressive. .

Curt .... I like your PRR container car .

Willie .... The little grain shed and the CO-OP building look very nice. Your three SD45's look like they could easily pull any train you couple to them.

Dave LASM ... Your certainly brought the stock pen scene to life with figures and details. Excellent !

Speaking of NP freight F-units, I will show my ABA set. The units are low budget models. The A units are MRC F7 models purchased at a clearance sale for hardly any money. The B-unit was an unpainted Steward F3B which is non-powered. I painted it and applied the only decals in my scrap box that were close enough. The slogan has white letters instead of yellow letters because the decals are supposed to be for a caboose. .... Saved money. ... The engines together can pull 30 car trains which is a bit longer than I usually operate. ..... The GN GP7's are Atlas models.

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Good Morning Everyone....overcast and sort of rainy with rain overnight and milder temperatures.

When to the cabin yesterday and the roads that are snow covered all winter are starting to melt and and are choppy and are great to ride over. The driveway into the cabin was plowed three weeks ago and we had approximately 12 inches of new snow in the driveway since the plowing. The problem is an narrow opening for the drive from the private road that runs along the property and once you commit to drive into the property, there's no turning back. You don't know if you will be able to back out once in the drive. Backing out is a slow process and no where to turn around and I don't have the drive way plowed to the main road where I could just drive straight through the woods and out.

I'll post some snow photos later... the locals say we had over 70 inches of snow since it started snowing in early February and no snow to speak of our early winter months.

Down to the layout and then I'll decide what projects to work on. I figured out how to get a slight droop in the EZ Line ulitity pole wires. Most lines do droop a bit unless over a railroad or highway right of way.

Sort of a lazy day.

First order is to locate CV values for Digitrax, NCE and Atlas decoders. I need this information on hand when I change CV's in my locomotives' decoders.

Willie: Did you get my private PM?

Chet: Another great video. I need to start making a few...do you have to upload the videos to U-Tube before posting them on the Forum? I glad the F9 AB units are working hard on the Logan Valley.

Curt: Thanks fo the comments on my water scene. The water is actually EnviroTex.

Dave: Great photographs.

I ordered a Rapido SOO Line SW1200 that due out at the end of the year and this run promises to sell out like the previous production. I may order a Milwaukee Road or two locomotives before the June deadline is here. I really like my Rapido Budd RDC.

See you all later.

Greg

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Good morning. We started off at 17 degrees with overcast skies, but it is now snowing with a temp of 31 degrees. We have a winter weather advisory out, but looking at the radar, the mountains seem to be holding a lot of the weather back. Doesn't look good for the mid west.

Curt - Interesting freight car. Haven't seen them before you posted them. What are they.

Mark - Nice photo of the F units. Needless to say, I am a bit partial to them. Nice repaint job.

Dave - Like the cattle pens. I believe that they are the same ones that I spliced tow of them together sitting in the last of my plywood prairie. I was going to finish the ground cover and ballasting here buy with my bum arm, I couldn't reach it to complete the job.

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Willie - Again, nice photos. You're making some headway on the town. A lot of interesting details.

Garry - Nice photo.

Greg - After I down load videos to the computer, you have to download them to YouTube from the computer. It can't be ared to get a YouTube channel, after all, I figured it out.

Here's another short video of the SD-9 coming through town. This is the max that the SD-9 can pull on the grades. I let it run around with a dust monkey while working on other layout projects.


Think I'll head down to the train room and do something. Not very nice outside.

Later
 
It is a BRIGHT Sunshiny day here and things are looking better. Found a shop that will do my truck Cat Converter installed for $325 + tax. That takes care of one problem! Found an ABS part in Newberg, NY, on EvilBay for about 1/3 the $250 going price around here. Says it is the correct one - guess we will see when it arrives? I may escape from all this at about 1/2 what I thought it was going to be.

Willie/Mark -- This is the cab forward I was referring too! It's an SP 0-6-0 homebuilt.

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When to the cabin yesterday and the roads that are snow covered all winter are starting to melt and and are choppy and are great to ride over. The driveway into the cabin was plowed three weeks ago and we had approximately 12 inches of new snow in the driveway since the plowing. The problem is an narrow opening for the drive from the private road that runs along the property and once you commit to drive into the property, there's no turning back. You don't know if you will be able to back out once in the drive. Backing out is a slow process and no where to turn around and I don't have the drive way plowed to the main road where I could just drive straight through the woods and out.




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Hi Greg, I think you told me before but refresh my memory, what town is the cabin located near?
 
Good afternoon everyone. Late today 'cause of meetings. 59 and raining - and WINDY!!

Willy - You Texans need to put up a wall not at the southern border but along the Oklahoma border!! That wind is coming at us fierce today - supposed to have gusts to 50 mph+ today and tomorrow. At least the weekend is looking nice.

Nothing much to report from the train room - ran one train for 10 minutes last night. No progress on scenicking - I'm waiting for the train show a week from this Saturday to look for some freight cars, a caboose or two, a few used structures, and a bunch of scenery items.

Have a good day everyone.
 
Dave - Like the cattle pens. I believe that they are the same ones that I spliced tow of them together sitting in the last of my plywood prairie. I was going to finish the ground cover and ballasting here buy with my bum arm, I couldn't reach it to complete the job.

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Yes, they do look like the same pens. In your photo your scene really blends into the backdrop, especially the way the road lines up!
 
Hi Greg, I think you told me before but refresh my memory, what town is the cabin located near?

Dave: The town nearest by the cabin is Saxeville, Wisconsin, but we're between Wautoma and Waupaca, Wisconsin. Saxeville has an interesting history dating to the pre-civil war era. Google Saxeville, Wisconsin and read about Capt. Saxeville.

Greg
 
Afternoon All.

Haven't accomplished much today, did a small grocery run. Today is my wife's 61st birthday. She always wants banana pudding and I offered to make it, but she says I never make it right, so she made it today.:rolleyes:

Chet- Nice video and I really like the weathering. The Pennsy started using FM flat cars starting in 1928 using containers for less than car loads (LCL). By 1951 800 such cars were in use. The Pennsy TOFC started in 1954. The Pennsy started also started to use X29 box cars labeled as Merchandise Service as a LCL service also (shipping multiple customers loads in a single box car). In 1954 the PRR started dedicated LCL trains (I believe there were 6 or 7 dedicated LCL trains) and by 1958 there none left in service. If I'm in error I'm sure Joe will jump in.

Joe- Thank you for your kind words about me and others. I totally agree about the others.

Mark- Nice looking F7's

Willie- Nice looking buildings and nice touch with the drain pipe.

Dave- Thank you. Nice looking stock pen. Several years ago I tried installing the Rapido Easy Peasy telephone/power (I can't remember which) lines and it wasn't so easy peasy. I ended up getting rid of it.

Garry- Thank you. Nice looking F7's and Geeps.

Sherrel- That is a strange looking beast.
 
GREG -- Where are you in relation to the "Green Bay & Western RR"?
I really liked their 60's era Maroon, Black, and Grey paint back then plus they were an all alco roster!
 
After a very long hiatus, (really?), I'm glad to see the Ol' Coffee shop still Goin'. Health not as good as it was, (COPD), still runnin' trains, doin' a few shows, helping a good friend, with a ginormous n-scale layout in his basement, and just tryin' to keep the Mrs. happy.
 
GREG -- Where are you in relation to the "Green Bay & Western RR"?
I really liked their 60's era Maroon, Black, and Grey paint back then plus they were an all alco roster!

Sherrel: If I'm not mistaken, the Green Bay & Western branch line ran into Waupaca which is approximately 17 miles north - northwest of my cabin on the other side of Waupaca. There were some mergers and trackage rights were involved.
 
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After a very long hiatus, (really?), I'm glad to see the Ol' Coffee shop still Goin'. Health not as good as it was, (COPD), still runnin' trains, doin' a few shows, helping a good friend, with a ginormous n-scale layout in his basement, and just tryin' to keep the Mrs. happy.
Dana - I guess that I didn't know you since even though I have been a member here since 2011, I didn't stop by the Coffee Shop until late 2015 after I retired and had a little more time. Welcome back, we're still friendly and there's probably a few names that you are familiar with. Sorry to read of the issues with COPD. Running trains, doing shows, and helping a friend are all easy compared to keeping the Mrs. happy!;) Keep on the rails.
 
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