Running Bear's October 2018 Coffee Shop


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The big 70, huh, JOE?
Congratulations!


Looks as if I was overly generous with the "Sox" in 6?

There will be no joy in Mudville tonight. If it ever rained - maybe that would be "joy"?
Cooler in the mid 80's with mostly cloudy all day long.
Watched the Green Bay guys give away that game today -- NOT good playing by a long shot.
I sure hope that someone buys the Boston players a few razors! Have never seen such a scruffy bunch.

JOE -- Here is a card for you!
birthday dogs singing.jpg
 
Good morning, y'all. 50° and cloudy. We had over 2½" of rain yesterday. This week should be relatively mild.

Louis: Thank you for the nice presentation.

Everyone: Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Everyone enjoy your day!

Boris

Boris/Joe Happy Belated 70th! May you have many more !

David
 
I got this locomotive new and it hasn't really had a lot of use. The brushes shouldn't be worn out that quickly.

Chet Your right, motor brushes shouldn't wear down all that fast. Sounds like a poor wire connection, maybe a poor ground connection ??

Thanks for asking about me and the glad to see me back.

One of your prior rail pictures appeared to show heavy pipe being used for toes with the strangest clamping devices I've ever seen !?
 
Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 52° this morning. Rain in the forecast for after lunch some time. Cooler today and tomorrow and then back into the 70's for a few days. I'll spend the morning sawing "shiplap" strips for the bathroom remodel before it starts to rain. Surgery yesterday was postponed by a week to give the cyst more time to shrink. I think that the doctor just wanted an extra office visit payment from Medicare.
TV! I gave up on most TV over 25 years ago, but I still watched pro football until about ten years ago although I have since given up on that too. Wife is a TV junkie though, it's on 16 hours a day when she's home. HGTV, Hallmark, that station with the old black and white movies, The View (to see what the Hollywood "elites" think), some network soaps, pro football, college basketball, pro hockey, and Fox news in between everything else. I have no clue to what we pay for all this and she has Roku as well. It's probably greater than my modeling budget! But it keeps her happy and she needs the companionship when I'm out in the train shed or garden!:D
Speaking of being out in the train shed, I cut the last strip of tulle for the chain-link fence yesterday. Twice. Just wasn't happy with the first attempt even though the imperfections probably wouldn't be visible to most without benefit of a camera shot. Started gluing some of it in place. In between, I made a few trees that are drying overnight. More to come today. Ran a number of trains incident-free. Careful trackwork is a real key to enjoyment. I even quit using my "derailment log" a few months ago since they are almost non-existent, or due to human error.

Chet - I'm in a similar situation being in the boonies with the TV. My wife also periodically contacts Direct TV and expresses thoughts about switching and always ends up with reduced payments or freebies. This last time she got the NFL Ticket free for two years. She is a rabid football fan.
Justin - Great news regarding your family addition. I know from reading your posts over the years that this means a lot to you and your wife. Great to read that she was able to go full term this time. Prayers for a healthy boy and a rapid recovery for your wife. Don't worry about railroading going on the back burner. It's just a hobby. Devote your time to your wife and family, the layout isn't going anywhere. You might consider removing some stuff and covering it with a sheet in the meantime to keep the dust off.
Sherman -

Yep, we've been through that already this month, after years of no problems with DirectTV. Had not used ATT before except landlines in the previous century, until this special offer with the two for one cell phones. That's why I reluctantly have a cell phone now. You even have to pay sales tax on the free phone!
Terry - Get well soon.

Let me give credit where it's due, Sherrel sent me that "Sing, Sing, Sing with Swing" video a day or two before it was posted here in the Coffee Shop. Thanks Sherrel.
Another food day today, it's National Bologna Day. I have always pronounced it as baloney though. Get your local deli to cut you some 1/4" thick slices and fry it. Best way to eat it. I always top it with a slice of cheddar or American cheese after flipping it and eat it with a knife and fork. Dip it into your favorite mustard.
Everybody have a wonderful day.


Willie: Thanks for all your past comments they are appreciated. Sounds like you really took extra effort on your chain link fence. I'm sure you'll appreciate it that much more in the future!
 
Louis .... Yep. My wife is considerate. .... Now she does a lot of shopping on the internet. .... She actually, does not have to pay for clothes with her strategy. ... Hypothetical example: She purchases five items for a total of $60. .... She receives them, and tries on all five items. She keeps one and sells remaining four items on eBay for at least $60.

Garry,
not only is she considerate, she is brilliant!
 
Louis Ah, I think it's a tad big for your Lionel track ? How have you been doing, well I hope.

Hey David! We missed you, glad to have you back! The place is not the same without you.

Unfortunately you are right. The track radius need would not even fit in my entire yard! I had I won that billion dollar lottery... :)

I'm doing good, thank you. I hope you are doing good too.
 
Yes, it is morning, again and I'm lucky enough to have awoken to another day! Here in Park Rapids, MN, it's 39 and cloudy. They (the Weather Underground) are predicting mostly cloudy today! Then they are predicting some sun Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and the possibility of snow showers on Friday and Saturday, even though everyone knows that any more than two days off, predicting the weather is a Crap Shoot! How our weather is, has little to do with Model Railroading, unless you model outside. However, it sure seems that Running Bear's Coffee Shop is where we all seem to get our bread buttered every day!
 
Good morning y'all. 48° and cloudy.

So, it's "Wait until next year". That's why they were called "dem Bums".

Again, thank you all for the kind birthday wishes.

Curt: The printing company really looks good. Well worth the time and effort.

Louis: Baltimore fans are no more "fair weather" than anywhere else. Fans can only reward poor performance by withholding their support. The exceptions are the Chicago Cubs fans and the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. I bought a "Season Subscription Package" with the Devils in 2009 -2010. The seats were great "lower bowl" seats and were relatively pricey even though discounted. That was Johnny Mac's season as head coach, and the team sucked. I felt cheated, and did not renew. Keep in mind, that I did not incur parking fees, as I took the NJT Coaster from Red Bank to Newark. Secure parking in "Brick City" would have added additional cost. Spectator Sports is a consumer commodity. While the television networks may view sports as another outlet to promote their social / political agenda, most fans are consumers who are only interested in the product. If the product does not please the consumer, they go elsewhere. No different than the market for model railroad supplies or cars for instance. The diehard fan will pay all sorts of fees to maintain his status as a STH, but this year all the NYC Metro teams have run "Good Seats Still Available" commercials to fill empty seats.

Boris
 
Good morning everyone. 40 and clear out there, but the coffee is fresh and hot in here!!

Long tiring weekend (sign of aging??) - went to a Teen Challenge fund-raising banquet Saturday evening about 2 hours west of here. Excellent presentation. It's very moving to hear from former addicts and alcoholics who have gone through the program and come out clean and are back in society as productive members.

Da bums, da bums! Two years in a row?!? Is that a reverse dynasty? Congrats to Boston - the "curse of the Bambino" is evidently long gone now!

Not much progress in the train room, although the lake area is coming along. Here are a couple of photos - whadya think?
LakeLayout1.jpg
LakeLayout2.jpg

Plans are to put some more trees on the landscape, add a playground for kids, and get a couple of fishermen out there, 'cause you know there will be some nice 1:87 trout in that lake!!

Have a good day everyone.
 
Good Monday Morning All. 57°and clear. Looks like there's still cake left over from Joe's birthday yesterday. Should we save some for Johnny?
Ground is still too soft for the tractor, so after church I just did bathroom remodeling. It's going slowly but consistently. About 1/3 done with the walls.
Out in the train shed, more progress was made on the fence project. While waiting for glue to dry, I cleared stuff off a section of layout that only has a main line and a 16' passing siding running through, no scenery, structures or solid plan. I built shelves for this stuff (kit remnants, things from the old layout, paint bottles, half-finished projects etc) nearly a year ago, but never got around to clearing it. Since there are already switches in place, I added some temporary storage tracks for freight cars. The area itself is 2' x 24' and while I have envisioned several things for it, I haven't really formulated a plan yet. As projects go, this one's probably good for fall or winter 2019. On another note, now that I can do continuous running on the upper level, I timed a number of freights making laps. At a scale 25 mph, it takes about 7:30 to make a lap.

Louis - Forgot to comment, but I liked the CG-1 pictorial.
Garry - My wife also gives Amazon a workout along with other companies. At least UPS knows how to find us, FedEx not so much. Still not too sure we get our money's worth out of Prime though.
Chet - Busier now than before retirement? I seem to be!
Terry -
I think I've mentioned the most important thing about birthdays is to continue having them.
That's my goal.
Mark - I look at the Coffee Shop as our version of Facebook with a lot less BS and ads; and there is a lot of model railroading topics discussed. I do think that some of our discussions really deserve a separate topic elsewhere on the forum, and I am at fault for this as much as anyone. In addition, this forum doesn't collect our personal data to sell to others.
Johnny - About time we saw some pictures!:p Looks really good. You've done your homework really well.

Among other days, today is National Hermit Day, a description that aptly fits me and a few others on this forum.
Everyone have an awesome day and a great week.
 
National Hermit Day???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
I know it's America, but c'mon?
 
Good Morning Everyone....Sunny in Wisconsin this morning.

Sherrel: I agree that the Packers gave away yesterday's game. The bad decision to run the ball near the goal line resulting in a safety was a poor judgment call on the Head Coach's behalf and the fumble on the return, just not good ball handling. Will Mike McCarty be around next year as Head Coach of the Packers?

On to model railroading....

Today, I plan on making a permanent programming track setup and attach my Digitrax PR4, programming track and wiring together as one unit. The PR4 is used to load sound files into Digitrax decoders or just change CV's. The one problem is that the PR4 must be connected to a computer, which in my case is upstairs. So making a portable programming track will be a benefit.

I'll mount all the components on a piece of finished 1X3 pine board.

Johnny: My wife just purchased the Woodland Scenic's canoes for my layout. Your lake is larger than the one my canoe people with be having fun in on my layout.

Willie: I only wish I had a 16 foot passing siding. My retirement is busier than when I was working, but at least no need to go to the office and put up with the corporate life and its hassles.

My mini-camera should arrive today or tomorrow. It will be fun to see the layout in a different perspective as the camera travels via flat car around my layout. I really enjoy watching Chet's video of the Livingston Model Railroading club.

Have to run and do some domestic work and then model railroading.

That's all for now.

Greg

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Good morning ....

David Trussrod .... Good to see you here.

Johnny ..... Your lake is fabulous ! ... I recall it was a lot of work for you... Results is great.

Greg .... Your programming track sounds impressive.

Willie ..... Let's have a big party to celebrate National Hermit Day !

Cheers.
 
Afternoon fellers. Today is baby day! We are playing the hurry up and wait game. He is definitely being a stubborn one. I meant to post a few days ago just been really busy this past week. Thanks to everyone for the kind comments this past Tuesday. Of course I can't leave out my trains. At the moment I'm eyeing a trio of C&O yellow cabeese to add to my fleet. They were really predominant in my neck of the woods. No I don't need that many but it's the best bang for the buck for me. My handrails are in for the GM50 project as well. Haven't started on the paint for those as of yet either. Vacation this week due to the baby coming so maybe I can work the handrails in. Probably not but I can keep it in my mind atleast.
 
I'm back, at least for a few.

Willie, Garry, Greg, anyone else - - Thanks for comments on the lake and surrounding area.

A quick note: my wife, Dena, has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her breast. She goes for a biopsy this Thursday. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Forgot to mention earlier - the tub/shower surround (walls) that were delivered last week don't go with the tub - all ordered by the same person from the same company - go figure. Needless to say, we're pretty fed up with that company and that employee. Waiting to see what the company agrees to do. This delays completion of the guest bath another week or two. Still waiting for the glass door system to come in for the master shower.
 
Finally, back to track work!
In 2016, health issues convinced us to begin construction in June of a new house with the wheel chair accessible two car garage and living space on one level. The sloped lot let us add a partial basement with two car garage, small wood shop and 16' x 28' train room. We moved in Feb. of 2017 and took a couple months to get the old house on the market.
In August, 2018, a young couple looked at the house and made a offer, which we rejected and made a counter-offer. Their parents looked at the house with them and they countered back. After a home inspection, they asked for the aluminum wiring to be replaced, an additional $15 to $20,000 repair we rejected. Seven revisions to the contract before the Oct 26th closing date to satisfy their lender and insurance company, the last issue resolved on the 25th. The house closed on Friday and we were wealthy for a few minutes. Now, the new house belongs to us and the tax collector.

I have regained a lot of time I spent doing grass cutting and keeping the home ready for real estate buyers. It feels great to be able to keep the spider webs off my railroad.

Today, I will finish laying the mainline track work on my layout. I broke for lunch with six feet to go.
I need to get back to it!
 
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