Running Bear's March 2024 Coffee Shop


Status
Not open for further replies.
Good morning crew of the good train MRR Forums.

I’m not a conspiracy believer but I am a believer in cover ups. That said, I think this is an accident. I think once the bridge debris is cleared I believe you’ll be seeing tugs escorting the ships in and out of the harbor and also when the bridge is back. I understand why the US government will be fronting the bill as they can get things done and hold the insurance companies liable for payment. They did the same for the I35 bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis years ago. They did a great job then and with a playbook already written it will go relatively smooth for government insurance work.

Rotten day at the weathering bench on Saturday. The mind seemed to be everywhere but where it should have been. Took an evening swim but the mind would not stop racing. The movie Terry wanted to watch was on Disney. It was Taylor Swift’s Era Tour her version or something like that. The woman can sing and entertain. I like her music good enough but around 10 Terry was zonked out and at 1 she woke me to go to bed. We both missed most of the concert! Another day, since it’s no extra charge on Disney.

Brunch is at 1:30pm at the same place as the last 2 Easter’s! Easter is our treat and will cost about 2 diesel sound locomotives plus tip. If they put a service charge on the bill, there will be no additional tipping. Last year the grandson discovered the joys of Prime Rib and he has been talking about it for about 2 weeks. The prime rib cutter will be busy…

The son in law’s dad will join us and this will be his 1st Easter without his wife who passed in May of 2023. He’s had a rough time but seems to be getting better. The other news is his mom and stepdad will not be joining this year. Terry, the daughter or I will not miss them

I would like to get to the bench sometime this morning at least for a couple hours. Just in case the wandering mind continues I have a couple structures that need to be primed

The granddaughter came over yesterday for a few hours. Lunch was the chicken strips/tenders from Culver’s brought home to eat. Our local Culver’s have removed the tipping screen on the payment machine as there was lots of clamoring about it. They have signs up saying tipping is unnecessary! 5 Guys and a few others are very obvious about the use of the tipping screen. When you add a tip at our 5 Guys the cashier rings a bell and the entire staff yells out thank you. When you don’t, that silence is deafening. Sad…

Enjoy the day
 
Forum header is new, replacing the previous SP AC series cab forward.
I'm off this morning to get new tires on the truck. One of the rear tires is losing air, and the two front tires have 2015 date codes. This may be a headache, as the truck has 265 size tires, the placard on the door calls for 255 series tires, and the Walmart tire selector insisted it has 245 series tires. I'm also getting the oil changed, as the last oil change was in 2021. Mileage is just barely needing the LOF, but age-wise, it should have been taken care of a couple of years ago. I took the truck to a car wash last night, and it looks like that was the first time in a decade... There are lots of scuffs and scratches that were hidden by the grime.
 
Good Morning!

Not much time for coffee. I need to go to 2x G-kids homes, because one just can't deny a child the right to enjoy the egg hunt.

I thought I got that bunny back in '69', when the biggest game I hunted was rabbits and grouse.

My little Woodshop will be put into a holding pattern for a-bit. But, I did manage to get most of the rafters in yesterday:
Woodshop_03-30-2023 (1).JPG


Well, gotta go! Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!
 
S
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All on this Easter Saturday. It's mostly cloudy and 61°, expecting 79° later today. It only managed 76° yesterday...cooler temps expected on Tuesday after a rainy Monday.

As expected, I did do some mowing yesterday, especially the areas where I trimmed low-hanging branches that prevented me from getting to last week. I'll be proactive and get a little more today since I won't be home tomorrow and the forecast is for rain on Monday. I'll also be preparing an Italian Pasta Salad for my family's Easter gathering at my sister's home on the outskirts of Dallas tomorrow. 41 people have RSVP'd, however I don't believe most of the third generation will be eating the Pasta Salad.

I was out in the train shed for a short while yesterday; ran some trains and started weathering a freight car. This is a 35 year old Athearn Blue Box covered hopper.
I originally applied the graffiti decals Wednesday and sprayed dull coat on it Thursday.
View attachment 185138
View attachment 185139View attachment 185140View attachment 185141
These are Blair Line decals which come on a laser-cut sheet which makes trimming unnecessary.
View attachment 185142
I only add graffiti on one side of a freight car, since most of my layout is viewable only from the aisle and no one sees the opposite sides. I have made exceptions though.
Yesterday I started the weathering. None of my weathering is as intense as what Tom, Chris or Tom O do over on the weathering thread, but what I do works for me. I do light weathering and rarely go beyond dry-brushing and weathering powders. Here I've used dirt and two shades of rust.
View attachment 185143
I do weather both sides though.
View attachment 185144
This car represents one used to haul fertilizer on my layout. You can see some dry-brushing of yellow on the right top of the first photo, and white just above the "N" in the second. It is more visible in person. That's the general colors of fertilizer. This car is not quite done yet, it needs a little more tweaking.

Patrick - Ironically, the problem knee for my wife was the first one that was done in the hospital setting, it got infected and had to have two surgeries to fix. The first to remove the old one and clean it out; and the second to put in a second new one. Her other knee was done in an out-patient clinic and she has had no problems at all with it.
Swal - I actually really miss not going to real concerts since I stopped. I might have ventured out to see this Heart/Cheap Trick concert despite the hearing issue, if ticket prices were a little more reasonable. I like both bands. Only Ann and Nancy Wilson are still original members of Heart, but 3 of the 4 original members of Cheap Trick are still together. I don't know who their drummer is now.
Bob - Thanks again for the effort that you put into righting the forum again.

Everybody have a great day.
Click to expand...
So Willie this is your first decal try? There haven't been many posts by you doing decals. They look good. More in the future?
Swal
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All. Happy Easter once again. Cloudy and 66° here, not quite as warm today as yesterday, only 77°. Still have rain in tomorrow's forecast, then cooler temperatures from Tuesday until Friday.
Looking at the long range forecast right now is disappointing. On Monday 4-8, during the solar eclipse, they are predicting scattered thunderstorms. That's a drag because my location is in the 99.7% totality range for 2.5 minutes. Sadly, this could be the one instance of the NWS being correct...their odds are rather low in the last few years. We'll see!

The big family Easter egg hunt and luncheon is being held at my sister's place this year. My contribution is Italian Pasta Salad, which I made most of yesterday. I need to add the cherry tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese cubes this morning to complete it. It's already delicious with tri-color Rotini pasta; red, orange and green diced Bell Peppers; Red Onion, large cubes of diced Pepperoni, gobs of fresh chopped Parsley, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, Italian dressing and sliced black olives. I have resisted all temptation to have more than just one tablespoon of it so far, but I will have another today after adding the tomatoes and cheese.

As I posted yesterday, I spent time on the tractor mowing the south parts of the yard. I also surveyed the trees in that area and found a couple that did not survive the double whammy of drought and bagworms last year. Those will need to be taken down this spring. One is a tree that I planted over 40 years ago, most of the rest are volunteer saplings ranging from 10' to 20' tall. The one that I planted has been on a downhill slide for the past few years anyway, losing one to two large limbs a year.

Out in the train shed yesterday, all that I did was run trains. I am in a modeling funk right now, but it normally only lasts for 2-3 days before I get over it. I'm trying to kickstart it by ordering two new engines from Scaletrains yesterday. They happen to have a couple of Rivet Counter ATSF SD40-2's left in their clearance bin, so I should get them in a couple of days. I resisted getting a few coil steel flatcars along with them since I really have no more room for freight cars. I have already selected the two 30-year old Blue Box locomotives to remove from the layout. The old ones still run OK, but I have never upgraded the detailing or installed directional light bulbs. They have been hardwired and have NWSL wheelsets though.
Maybe a few pictures of people doing stuff on my layout.
View attachment 185205
View attachment 185207
View attachment 185206
View attachment 185208

Terry - Sorry to read about the "lost" data. But thanks for the heads-up on the Win11 thing which I will remember (I hope) once I am forced to go there. It reminds me though that I haven't saved my updated photo and music files to the external drive since October and I need to do so. I bet there is a way to do it automatically, but I haven't really looked into it.
Mike - Have fun in Destin. I didn't even realize that you were going until you posted yesterday.
Chris - I get those One Drive messages as well, and I have never used it!
Sherrel - Those overnight trips to pee wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to rely on gravity to empty these days!
Curt - I am not a real fan of graffiti as I consider it vandalism and not art. But it is a part of railroading in the era that I model, so I try to recreate it a little bit on some of my models. It is interesting to have observed the evolution of it as I have observed here in my part of Texas. In the 60's and 70's it was just the occasional peace signs, "Kilroy was here" or "SRS '68" that I would see. Then cars from the West Coast on the UP and SP lines started having the more complex designs on them in the 80's. I still didn't see much on lines like MKT, KCS or MP; but it started appearing on some ATSF cars that visited out there. Now it's everywhere, but still most prevalent on UP cars; so much so that they now order their boxcars with the reporting marks up high so they don't get defaced.

Everyone have a great day.
View attachment 185204
Click to expand...
When I look at yer pics, Willie (post #1,780) , the Aussie band "Men at Work" comes to mind.
 
Morning folks

29F, foggy, and a new dusting (weathering?) of white. Actually pretty scenic. My wife and I had an early Easter dinner at the neighbor's last evening. It was a good get-together with 3 other neighbor couples.

Not sure how today's agenda will play out. Anymore, I'm not sure how any day's agenda will play out.
 
So...early morning, and I sometimes do...while sipping tea...watch "Batman." The '66 series, with Adam West--the spoof/sendup comedy series version. Julie Newmar (Rowrr!) and Lee Meriwether before her (also Rowrr!)...and we have the villain "Louie the Lilac." Well respected comedian Milton Berle as the villian.

Stay with me here....

So at one point in this episode Commissioner Gorden's daughter Barbara is on the Bat-phone with Batman.

"Hello, Batman? I hope I'm not bothering you..."

"Not at all Miss Gordon. Robin and I were just putting a Flower (sticker) on the Batmobile."
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot 2024-03-31 at 07-36-49 Flower Power 60's 70s Retro Vintage Hippie Gardening Purple ...jpg
    Screenshot 2024-03-31 at 07-36-49 Flower Power 60's 70s Retro Vintage Hippie Gardening Purple ...jpg
    68.4 KB · Views: 13
Last edited:
And I'm thinkin'..."Et tu, Batman? Et tu?"

Well no, of course not! The Dynamic Duo are on the right side...and on the right side of justice too...<cough>....

Louie the Lilac gets his comuppance.

And thus: All is set right with the world again. Works for me. :D
 
Last edited:
Old 97 said:
Love the Jeep!!!
Can we see more of the puppy?
Click to expand...
The "puppy" is Dax. He came to live with us in 2019 at an age of 11 months. He didn't have much of a puppyhood. As near as we can decipher from the photos that were posted when we got him, he spent those 11 months in maybe a 1/4 acre pen with a plywood doghouse under a shed roof and his only friends were the coyotes on the other side of the fence. Apparently his human interaction was limited to filling his dog dish but that appears to have been an intermittent task also. He weighed 29 lbs and you could feel every bone in his body. He currently weighs about 50 lbs. He had never been in a house or car and had never visited a vet. He was also covered with matted hair and you could tell they just had taken a sheep shears to get some of the larger ones off to make him a little more presentable. Another case of some people should not have dogs or children.

He threw up four times in the back of the Forester on the way home, which included a stop at our vet. He still has a bit of a "detached child" syndrome and doesn't often come around looking for pets be that is slowly going away. Among his idiosyncrasies is his two toned morning greeting howl that can not help but make you smile. I know one isn't supposed to have favorites when it comes to "children" but that he most definitely is.
53069935968_6a1c7f08ac_b.jpg


51334014655_d472bbf29b_b.jpg
 
With the grandchildren more interested in diesels. I have been left with a few 0.4.0 steam locomotives. Therefore they have been used on my 1914/1919 theme layout.

Been in the train room. Converting a Hornby 0.4.0 'Connie' locomotive into a representation of a 1870s locomotive.

From ---

IMG_3038[1].JPG


Cut away the cab. A new cab floor for the crew. Figures in place.

IMG_3043[1].JPG



When dry I shall apply a tarpaulin sheet.

One I did earlier--

IMG_3039[1].JPG



Just making the locomotive fleet look a little different and having fun as well.
 
Grizzled said:
The "puppy" is Dax. He came to live with us in 2019 at an age of 11 months. He didn't have much of a puppyhood. As near as we can decipher from the photos that were posted when we got him, he spent those 11 months in maybe a 1/4 acre pen with a plywood doghouse under a shed roof and his only friends were the coyotes on the other side of the fence. Apparently his human interaction was limited to filling his dog dish but that appears to have been an intermittent task also. He weighed 29 lbs and you could feel every bone in his body. He currently weighs about 50 lbs. He had never been in a house or car and had never visited a vet. He was also covered with matted hair and you could tell they just had taken a sheep shears to get some of the larger ones off to make him a little more presentable. Another case of some people should not have dogs or children.

He threw up four times in the back of the Forester on the way home, which included a stop at our vet. He still has a bit of a "detached child" syndrome and doesn't often come around looking for pets be that is slowly going away. Among his idiosyncrasies is his two toned morning greeting howl that can not help but make you smile. I know one isn't supposed to have favorites when it comes to "children" but that he most definitely is.
53069935968_6a1c7f08ac_b.jpg


51334014655_d472bbf29b_b.jpg
Click to expand...
God Bless you, Dax looks like a happy puppy and a beautiful one at that!
 
Good morning and Happy Easter to all! A cloudy start to the day, a slight chance of rain, the smell of charcoal in the air and cars already arriving at the neighbors for an egg hunt.

I don't believe in conspiracy theories either. I do however question the sudden jag into the bridge support. Consider this, the Dali has a 4,000 HP bow thruster. Is it possible someone hit the thruster in the wrong direction? Could the thruster have pushed the ship to miss the support or maybe a glancing blow rather than the direct hit?

I'm having mixed results here on the forum. I can be reading and liking with no issue then all of a sudden, I get 15 to 20 second lag between the click and the result. It then goes back to normal only to hit a lag again.

Trains, mostly just running and railfanning.

STAY SAFE (Hippity Hoppity)
LATER
 
Status
Not open for further replies.



Back
Top