Running Bear's October 2018 Coffee Shop


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Good morning. 34 degrees with an expected high only in the mid 40's. Light snow showers possible for the next few days.

Thanks for the comments on the box cab photos. They were something to see at work. Left my nose print on the front window of a few of them when I was a kid.

Joe - The battery in my Buick is under the back seat, not in the engine compartment. There is so much under the hood of many new cars that there is no room for them under the hood. I do have one of those stupid mini spares and a jack though.

Karl - nice photos. Looks like a bunch of happy pooches. As far as converting the F-7 to DCC, I know it has been done, but have no idea of how much work it would take. The F-9 pulls so well I don't think that will happen.

Here's a rail picture for today.

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Later
 
Afternoon fellers. Still hot as all get out here in West Virginia. Got no where with anything over the weekend. Attempted working on my truck only to come up empty handed and right back where I started. As for my turnouts.....I'd think I would remember to clean the contacts after painting my ties. Definitely a derp moment for me. Found that I still have a connection issue with them. I think my throws are a little off. My issue get solved if I push the throw bar in a little more. It's something I can try to remedy on my own with some adjustments. Don't mean I hate my turnouts any less....they have bugged me since construction on my previous layout. I have just been dealing with them.
 
bnsf971 said:
...
Ken, I wish I had known you were looking for SD9s, I sold three of them (Southern), two withTsunami sound for $250 for all.
Click to expand...

Dang Terry, wish I'd a' known too! Probably woulda saved myself both money and time. I keep forgetting that you're "thinning the herd..."
 
If anybody else is interested, so we don't lose out again...
Athearn SD40, Norfolk and Western, factory soundtraxx sound.
BLI SW1500, GN, factory sound.
BLI F7 A/B, PRR, factory Blueline sound added dcc.
Genesis F3/7 A/B pair, NYC lightning stripe, factory tsunami.
Rivarossi U25C pair, ACL, factory Loksound.
$100 per unit, except for the bli f unit pair, price is for the pair.
 
Afternoon All,

Did some chores earlier then spent a couple hours on the build. I read the instructions several times, separated and sanded the edges of the wall parts and painted the wood trim. I had some questions for the manufacturer (small business) so I sent him a email.

Toot- Nice 1:1 picture.

Karl- Nice looking dogs.

Willie- Have a great trip. I hope the hurricane doesn't interfere with it.

Sherrel- Your friend sounded interesting. Thanks for the update on CA Dave. I don't worry about the teasing, it's intended to be fun and it takes a lot to upset me. I have a pretty thick skin after being in the Navy and EMS.

Johnny- Nice looking building. I think most of us owe our wives for their patience.

Chet- Nice rail shot.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
Good Afternoon Everyone....home early from the cabin...too much rain and cold.

Worked on the utility pole project this afternoon and I keep learning new tricks and things to avoid when stringing poles. I'll do a thread soon about this project.

Did have one mishap, dropped a drop or two of AC on my flat black fascia and now I'll have to touch up of the spots. I have the original paint and I tried a spot behind a panel to check the color match. Will let it dry overnight and if I have too, I'll repaint the entire panel. I finished modeling today while I was a head of the game.

Been away from the Forum for a few days and its hard to see the printing on my phone's small screen.

Came home from the cabin where we had heat on this morning and when we arrived home its was 80 degrees outside, but 65 degrees inside. The Mrs. opened the house and let the humidity in and it warmed up to 78 degrees while I was down in the basement and she was gone shopping. Well the A/C is on, good bye heat and humidity so we can sleep tonight.

That's all for now.

Greg

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Here's two photographs that I took in a hurray...needed to get the AC off my fingers and the Mrs. nail cutters!!! I think the lines look better in person, but maybe better photographs are in order? Seven lines are enought...no telephone service as of yet.

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Willie - Sounds like you have your trip to Gulf Shores all mapped out. done this a few times, eh? Safe travels later this week when you leave. Have a great time. Be sure to take lots of photos of those railroad museums and post 'em. Reminds me, we have one here in Springfield that I've never been to. Got to get over there and check it out.
 
Just been looking at replacement motors for the Ath SD45 DCC ready. Can't find any here, but on US ebay there's a single A-line one (which is another brand, forget the name) at US$59.84, which is cheaper than the actual makers. Shipping via priority is US$35.34 and import charges of US$14.15. Total US$109.33. Convert to AU$154+, which will include our 10% GST being now collected by ebay, so it looks like that 10% is being charged across all of the charges, then there is also the 3% money laundering fee on top of that, which brings it all up to about AU$160. No longer looks a bargain eh!. I wonder if I can suggest they just toss it out a window and let it slide down and take my chances.
 
Good evening ...

Greg .... Your scene is outstanding, and the poles with wires look great.

Willie ... How long will you be in Gulf Shores ?

Chet .... The rail picture of the day looks peaceful.

Johnny .... Your latest DPM building looks great.
 
bnsf971 said:
Ray, do you have an Athearn with a bum motor?
Click to expand...
No, it's just got the open one in it (I've actually got two SD45's). I thought while I was upgrading them (the other will need a decoder too) I'd lash out on upgaded motors, but it looks like I'd be the one getting the lashing. On the Mashima site (that's the maker) they are about US$80 each, It actually might work out better to get 2 off them direct. (A) because I could probably specify the lesser International Parcel and (B) they probably haven't enacted a GST collection. There's a little window of opportunity (otherwise called a loophole) at the moment. Whether an agreement with paypal has been done, seeing it's not now owned by ebay, is something else.
Our $ isn't helping either. Predicted to drop further. All to do with the interest rates being charged by the central bank, we're on 1.5% and holding.
 
tootnkumin said:
No, it's just got the open one in it (I've actually got two SD45's). I thought while I was upgrading them (the other will need a decoder too) I'd lash out on upgaded motors, but it looks like I'd be the one getting the lashing. On the Mashima site (that's the maker) they are about US$80 each, It actually might work out better to get 2 off them direct. (A) because I could probably specify the lesser International Parcel and (B) they probably haven't enacted a GST collection. There's a little window of opportunity (otherwise called a loophole) at the moment. Whether an agreement with paypal has been done, seeing it's not now owned by ebay, is something else.
Our $ isn't helping either. Predicted to drop further. All to do with the interest rates being charged by the central bank, we're on 1.5% and holding.
Click to expand...
Kato motors fit in those SD's without any real modification. They go for $35 regularly on Ebay, plus you can find complete engines relatively cheap.
The motor you would need is the HM5. Try to get it with the double two mounting hole mounts and hex flywheels.
 
bnsf971 said:
Kato motors fit in those SD's without any real modification. They go for $35 regularly on Ebay, plus you can find complete engines relatively cheap.
The motor you would need is the HM5. Try to get it with the double two mounting hole mounts and hex flywheels.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info, I'll look.
 
Good morning everyone. 71 and partly cloudy out my window. How are things in your neck of the woods? Hope all you model rr folks in Florida are okay. We lived in Lakeland for five years (2002-2007), including 2005 when four hurricanes hit our state. To this day I hate the smell of wet plywood :(

Willie, Curt, Garry, anyone I may have missed - thanks for the encouraging comments on the DPM structure. Almost ready to put on the layout.

In the trainroom, continued cleaning track, running the cleaning car and cleaning engine wheels - engines are still running sluggish. Did some more scenicking around the lake. Will post photos soon. Pretty satisfied with results, but it is my only water feature on the layout and I want the surrounding area to look great.

Have a good day everyone.
 
Good Morning All. 73° and cloudy. That's as warm as it's going to get today, Thunderstorms in about another hour or so. Headed out for an early doctors appointment in a few minutes, for him to look at the swelling on my neck. Got started on the "shiplap" wall in the current bathroom remodel, it looks like I'm inside a large wooden crate.
Trainwise yesterday, I took a day off from the chain-link fence. Did some layout vacuuming and freight car dusting. Ran out of metal wheels. I still have roughly 30 (out of almost 800) cars left to do, 10 of which are in the MOW train which will be the last to get upgraded. I also ran trains for quite a while, doing two out and back switching runs in two separate towns. I have to admire real conductors back in their heyday when blocking trains.

Sherrel - Thanks for the update on David. Glad to read that everything is OK even though he has slowed down posting.
Johnny -
Raincoat2 said:
Willie - The guy who had that messy workbench you posted photos of over the weekend, the guy with the 16' extension ladder behind the door - - that guy owes his tolerant wife a big bouquet of flowers - - every month, I would think!!
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She mentioned to me and another gentleman that she hadn't been upstairs in over ten years.
There's four museums with model railroads that we visit on these trips. I have posted many pictures before but I will still be taking and posting more. We're only planning to visit two on this trip, a large O scale one in Foley AL and multiple layouts in several scales in the historical museum in Vicksburg MS.
Chet - Nice rail picture yesterday. Doesn't look like that line gets much use!
Curt - Thanks for the well wishes. Fortunately the hurricane should be gone by the time we arrive. It will most likely hit shore east of where we will be going anyway. Watch out in your neck of the woods.
Greg - Nice job on the power lines.
Garry - We're staying in Gulf Shores from Saturday afternoon until Thursday morning. Not too sure whether we're heading over to Pensacola FL to revisit the Naval Air Museum on this trip, depends on what kind of havoc this hurricane brings to that area.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good morning. 34 degrees with a predicted high in the upper 40's.

Johnny - Al's Market is looking good.

Greg - I really like the power lines. Thumb up.gif Sure make a scene look better. I would like to do something similar, but I know for sure that I would drag my paw through the scenery and possibly damage them.

Ray - $80 for a motor? Ouch! I think I have one or two Kato motors in one of my parts drawers. Love the Kato motoers. All of my Atlas RS units have them and they can't be beat. I have seen the SD45's pass through the Livingston yard.

Spent some time running trains yesterday taking locomotives out of the hidden staging tracks and giving them some running time. I pulled out all of the Northern Pacific locomotives that I had and posed them in the yard. Started custom painting an F-7 and a geep almost 30 years ago because nothing was available for the NP. Over the years,, I was able to get a hold of a few more NP locos, but there is a real shortage of NP power available.

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F-7 9794 along side the round house is going bye bye. I thought the number as wrong because F-7's painted for the NCL were numbered in the 6700 series. The snow plow pilot also had me wondering until I came across a photo of it. It was post BN merger, out of my time period. I'll take it to the train show next year in Livingston. 2 of the geeps are old LifeLike proto 2000 units probably about 20 years old. the third geep, on the right, is one that I custom painted and remotored years ago. The F-9 is the opne recently painted and detailed and the F-7 was a custom paint around 30 years old. Only 3 of them are DCC to run at the club, the NW2, RS-1 and the F-9. I thing I may now have enough NP power. I do have some Milwaukee Road power, but very few compared to the NP.

Here's a rail picture for today.

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Later
 
Good Morning everyone......Sunny and warm here in Wisconsin with more storms tonight lasting into tomorrow. We need to dry out.

Chet: Great photographs of your Northern Pacific motive power.

The EZ Line when glued to utility poles that are secure will stretch to 5X the lines length so breakage shouldn't be a concern. The only concern I would have is the accessibility to install the lines and be able to glue them in place using instant AC. I've already tested this theory.

Thanks everyone for your comments about the EZ install on my layout. Next step is the main line, but will be limited to three lines maybe four??? Once you start a section its best to complete the section using the entire length of line without cutting it and later adding an extension. I like to unwind the entire length of EZ Line I think I'll need and temporary hang in the utility poles. The EZ Line loves to get tangled in scenery.

Curt: Awesome work shop and boy is it organized and clean!!!

Tomorrow replacing the basement sump pump is my top priority. The one I'm using is old and the spare that I purchase 20+ years ago was defective. Funny, seldom will the water rise too far in the sump since the house sits on top of a hill, but why take chances.

In Fact, two interesting facts about where our house is located. The lot sits on the edge of the sub-continental divide and water from one side of the lot runs to the St. Lawrence water shed and the other side of the lot, the water runs to the Mississippi water shed. The second fact is our lot sits on top of the Waukesha Fault Line. This fault line was discovered in a lime stone quarry on the edge of Waukesha and runs all the way to our house. I believe this lime stone formation is part of the Niagara Escarpment that runs away from Wisconsin to New York State. The water runs over the escarpment and forms what we know as the Niagara Falls. We once had a minor earthquake which is a rare experience in Wisconsin.

No more geography lessons for today.

That's all...

Greg

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Afternoon All,

Ran an errand in South Orlando this morning. After getting home I cut the windows and doors off the sprues, primed them, gave them a coat of Field Grey (Green) and some Buff highlights (wood). It looks like Phil and I dodged a bullet with the hurricane.

Greg- Great modeling.

Chet- Great photos of your motive power and track photo.

This is about half of the windows and doors.

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Good Afternoon.....home early from the MD's office. Getting old is no fun.

At least I can spend an hour or two working on the layout this afternoon. Have to check the paint match so I touch up my glue spills on the black fascia.

Sent the Mrs. to Menard's for a sump pump....see likes to shop for just about anything and makes wise decisions so I have to trust her when I need some items. Broke the news to her that she will have to do some staining to do at the cabin next week, but I'll help so it goes faster. I do not like interior painting, but the staining I do enjoy mainly because I'm outdoors. Just waiting for another bear to walk through...we have a large fellow in the woods just several hundred feet from ours.

That's all for now...

Greg

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