Elliot´s Trackside Diner - November 2013

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
101

Morning All,

Not much happening this way except later we are getting a stove and refrigerator delivered. Last weekend MOH went out and purchased them[:'(]. In all fairness they both need replaced. Both have been repaired several times but continue to have issues.

Did a time swap at w**k this week so instead of working on Tuesday this week it will be Friday. My Dad called last night and we made plans to go out to supper on Saturday. My Mom’s surgery will be early next Monday. She was told to expect a hospital stay of 3-4 days then either moving to a rehab facility or home for the knee rehab.

Hope everybody has a great week and prayers for those in need.

102

Good morning. It’s 69° with 96% humidity. The high will be 78° and will feel like 83°.

Looks like it might be wet today. I’m expecting my Apple //c disk drive to come in this morning. Odds are that my my Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 2 DVD will arrive today too.

I plan on doing more work on Paradise Cove (file 2) today. My hope is to get Nelson Street completed then I can start on the train room the character found earlier. I still haven’t made up my mind. Should I put him on the layout as a willing participant viewing the action from the perspective of the railfan? Or do I put him on the train as an unwilling participant who has to search the train in order to find the item that will return him to reality before the train is beset by whatever fate awaits it. Gomez Addams beckons!

103

Morning All,

Currently it is 30 with an expected high of 61 under mostly sunny skies.

Day off today, so I will get a load or two of laundry done, and do some grocery shopping. I tried to paint the church I am w**king on yesterday, but I used some old paint and gummed up my air brush. Took quite awhile to clean it out, so I will try again later. My sil and husband are up from AZ and want to come by for a vist today also, so it looks like a busy day for me.

Paul, thanks for the kind wishes.

I meant to ask you if you have seen the size of the Scheels store they are building in Billings ?

It is humungeous, looks like the taj ma hal

I have seen and been to the head office complex of Bass Pro Shops in Springffield ,Mo. But this I’m sure will out size that.

Johnboy out…and on my way back to Canada in an hour.

Johnboy, if you can imagine it, our store is even bigger than the one going up in Billings. When we built it in 2008 it was the biggest, and decided to never build one that big again. In my usual daily 8 hour shift, I walk about 7 miles covering the areas I have to cover. It is a BIG store. We have a 62 foot Ferris wheel inside.

Prayers to all in need.

Paul

104

The day is slowly coming to an end. Started on learning Google Sketchup, but my mind was not really set on it. So I fired up my old WinRail for a new layout idea - just for fun.

Here is my latest creation:

It´s just one square-meter of model railroading fun. I am going to discuss this layout idea with my new MRR friend Reiner tomorrow.

Have a great day!

105

Gidday Ulrich, you realize that in that scale I expect a working lock.[:-^] Looking forward to the future photos. [swg]

Thoughts and Best Wishes to All that need them.

Cheers, the Bear. [:D]

106

Evening guys

Since I’m in my twenties, would I be a bigenarian, dualgenarian, duogenarian, or something else?

Didn’t do a think today. Just didn’t feel like doing anything. Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day. Change oil, wash, my car, take a new girl out on a date* (more on what happened with the last on in a bit), get packed for my weekend trip to Ohio (I don’t really want to go that much, but my father is making me go). Since we’d be leaving early in the morning and wouldn’t get up there till around 5 or so, I doubt I’ll be able to check out a hobby shop.

As for the last girl, apparently she got married to someone else behind my back. Her loss as far as I’m concerned.

My MBklein order should be here tomorrow via UPS. Kind of unusual I put in the order on Thursday afternoon and it didn’t ship till Monday…

107

Good evening …

Would some of you be willing to volunteer to find out about Barry? I don’t have his email address. He has been absent too long.

Bama … Good to see you. Hope Amy’s check up was fine. Sounds like you watch a lot of CSX.

Karl… A senior in HS? They grow older quickly.

Jeff … The Seaboard Alco looks nice. What building is in the second photo?

Brad … Good to see you in the diner. Thanks for the update on your layout and your DCC programming. I’m still on the DCC learning curve myself.

Galaxy … Funny limerick.

Lee … Good to see you! I was tempted to get a BLI grab bag myself. I finally chickened out.

Inch … I should have know American Legion… Brain cramps are striking me more often.

PA Tom … Enjoy the Greenberg show. Sorry you missed the Timonium show.

Ulrich … Congrats on post 6000. We should buy for you!.. I like your layout plan.

Ray … I hope you have a nice visit with your sister. (We won’t tell how untidy things were before your cleaning.) … How many sisters do you have? brothers?.. I have 2 sisters; no brothers. Plus I have a female cousin who is like a sister to me. Her parents died in an accident when she and I were in 8th grade, and she moved into our family.

Todd … You had afull day evidently.

Curt … Hope you and Mrs Curt enjoy the new appliances.

Paul … What kind of store are you talking about with a Ferris wheel inside?

Bear … Glad to see you in the Diner.

Packer … Where are you going in Ohio.? … Sounds like a lot of travel for just a weekend.

My suburban coaches had a test run, and are doing okay. I need to add details and lettering.

Cheers!

108

I believe that’s part of an old Walthers Cornerstone Lakeside Shipping kit. I don’t know if they carry it anymore.

109

The Apple //c drive came this morning. Unfortunately it’s non-op. It lights up and runs but other than that all it does is erase the DOS from track zero of any diskette I put in it. I opened it up for a look inside and right away I could smell fried circuits. I contacted the seller about it and he offered a fair refund. And I keep the drive as a curiosity. Even though it doesn’t work it’ll look good in my Frankenstein collection. It can be used as a paper weight or a door stop too.

I finally finished Nelson Street! Most of the addys were pretty easy to program as they were north to south or east to west. The last one had to be the odd bird! It runs northeast to southwest and should give the players mind a workout. I can’t wait to spring it on Mr Raintree! He should get a blast out of it.

Maybe tomorrow or this weekend I can get started on the train room segment. I’m still debating on whether to make the character a railfan watching the trains pass or making him as someone who’s a victim of foul play and is trapped on the train and has to search for the item that will set him free from the enchanted layout. I could have some serious fun with this.

Well it’s time to call it a night. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.

110

morning coffee in the diner…

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING!!!

Today is Thursday, November 6th, 2013!

MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!!

Today’s fun limmerick:

There once was a man from Spain,
who often stood out in the rain.
He said with a grin,
“I should do this again,”
as his money washed down the drain.

Today’s weird words:

pogrom:(puh-GROM, POH-gruhm)(n.):: An organized massacre, officially tolerated or encouraged, against a particular group

ecorche</

111

Good morning. It’s 44° with 93% humidity. The high will be 62° with some clouds.

No real plans for today. I may start on the planning for the train room at 1020 Nelson Street but what I plan out depends on what I do with the games character who for now will be known as Oliver. In any case Oliver will be transported onto the layout and it will become his world until he can figure out how to leave it. Right now I have two options.

#1. I can make Oliver a willing participant in what’s going on. He can search for the objects he needs while going from place to place witnessing the rail action from a railfans perspective. This means he’ll be searching trackside structures and locations.

#2. I can make Oliver an unwilling participant in what’s going on. He’s trapped on the train which may or may not be under control due to an act of foul play. Oliver must overcome obstacles and those who are very willing to do him harm while searching the train for the objects he needs to escape from it and from the layout.

Right now both scenarios look good to me but I can only use one and I just can’t decide which one.

112

Good Afternoon, Folks!

Well, the meeting with the new MRR friend did not take place. He called this morning to call it off, as he is not feeling well today. I hope we can meet next week.

With some free time available unexpectedly, I did - guess what?

Another little layout!

This time with an attempt to catch a 3-D view:

Needs some improvement, though!

Make it a great day!

113

Thur. 85 Fri. 76 Sat. 72 I’m going shooting in a little bit.
California is a sanctuary state and the cencus beaura says it has more poor people than any other state 23 %, of our population.

A 2 bedroom 1 bath house in Malibu goes for 2.4 million, the same house in Cleveland 64 thousand.

Since 8:30 last night only 3 posts, Galaxy, Jeffrey, and Sir Madog and Sir Madog just posted, its 8:10 in the morning.

The origins of bowling can be traced back 4,000 years back to Rome and Greece.

A post on MR caused my computer to freeze up yesterday and I had to turn my computer off. And they fly airplanes with these things.

114

Good Morning!!!

Coffee and oh, just coffee I guess.

Sunny, with a high near 52.

Decided to get a few things done before I stop in in case the phone rings and I don’t get them done. Now that I have done that, the day will be quiet until I have to wo*k at 5.

The Scheels in Springfield is ominous. It is situated such that the road from town curves around and there is a tree line in the way of seeing it until you round the bend and when the building comes into view[:|]….it just looks HUUUUGE! Just plain huge. Gigantic even. It even looks large coming from the interstate, but that direction it just gets bigger as you approach. The other direction it just explodes there and wow. Big building. Tall. Huge. It’s got a ferris wheel inside too but I don’t know how big.

Jeff- [^o)] I’m reminded of a show. Movie maybe, television episode possibly. Twilight Zone? Not sure it may have been a dream too. But anyway this guy gets on a train and it takes him back in time, I think not knowingly, to maybe his home town? Not sure….Can’t remember what the plot was because I only saw it once and I bet I only caught part of it, as per tradition. I kinda like the search the train idea. If he hasn’t found the item by the time he reaches the other end. Well, I guess he meets an untimely demise at the hands of another train wanting to go in the opposite direction. Or how about, he has to find a remote for the turnout switch to avoid that situation in addition to finding some article later, to insure they have to get on the train in the first place.

Welp, best do something. Took care of the restaurant all yesterday afternoon and then sat there all night in case the owners daughter had trouble with the crowd. She didn’t and I didn’t think she would, but sometimes you get extra busy and what happens is, A couple tables straggle in. Then, after a bit, the door swings open and it almost doesn’t clos

115

Morning All,

Currently it is 43 with an expected high of 67 under variable clouds.

I have to go for a stress test this afternoon. It is just a precaution, and I have not had one since after my by-pass surgery in 2004, so I guess it is about time. I feel fine, so not too worried about it. My big concern is no food and no coffee this morning.[8o|]

Garry - i work at a place called Scheels. It is a family, and employee owned all sports store. Most are in the mid-west, so kind of regional. Ours in the Reno area is the furthest west, and is the biggest of all 24 stores, 300,000 plus square feet. It has a 65 foot Ferris wheel in the middle. I have some pictures someplace from when the store was under construction, If I can find them I will post a few.

Prayers to all in need.

Paul

116

Jeff - here’s my suggestion. Why not have the character do both? Have him arrive on the train as an unwilling victim, who has to find some way to stop it? After it’s stopped, he can safely get off and railfan while looking around the place for clues and some way back to “reality”.

Dennis - I had a similar problem with a post on my computer. Didn’t have to reboot, though.

Did a little more on the layout last night. I seem to do that lately, accomplish some small task, then take a break at the computer. Such as relocating the DCC control panel, drilling holes through the benchwork for wiring, and such. Next I think I’ll drill holes in a scrap piece of 1/4" plywood to mount some DPDT switches for the staging yard tracks. I have a few sheets (cut-offs) of leftover aluminum which I think I’ll use as a more permanent control panel later.

Brad

117

I think you’re thinking about A Stop at Willoughby.

As I said earlier I’d like to do that. But it involves entering the base programs for both scenarios. Due to space and memory constraints I can only use one. If I was writing it to run on a modern computer which easily has many thousand times the memory of my //e (128k) I wouldn’t be limited by those factors. I’m writing it on a //e because it’s supposed to run on the Apple // series machines. There’s a lot of people who still use these dinosaurs.

118

Some of you may know my basement flooded this summer and for the third time I’ve had a few thousands of gallons of water in my basement since the layout has been built and I think it’s time to re design everything.

The current layout was never intended to last this long in one place. When I started it I was an E6 on active duty and thought I was going to be transferred shortly after starting the layout. So the layout was built with 3’x4’ tables joined together with 4’x 4’ corner tables. This is a great idea unless it becomes exposed to tropical humidity levels. Currently the tables are all misaligned due to minor warp age and it’s becoming troublesome to try and keep things in running order. I also didn’t have a lot of money as I started the layout right after my divorce so several of the second hand turnouts I bought are starting to fail not to mention some experimentation I did on this layout wasn’t conducive to easy maintenance of the main lines and yard. I will be saving everything from this layout and transferring it to the new layout. I’ll let you know if there is anything I can’t use.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit several talented people’s layouts and I’ve been paying attention. I plan to take some of their great ideas and incorporate them into my next layout. I’m also a lot smarter with DCC and automatic block detection so those ideas will be added to the next project.

Since I have a center descending stair case the layout will be expanded to 20’ x 22&r

119

Todd, I think you’re referring to “A Stop at Willoughby” from the first season of “The Twilight Zone.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Stop_at_Willoughby

I, too, had only a dim memory of this episode, which aired in 1960, when I was 13. Perhaps the train made it more memorable. As it happens, one of our cable TV channels does a Twilight Zone marathon every year. I think it’s on New Year’s Eve, so I saw the original show a few years back. And yes, it’s every bit as good as you remember.

We had a “voluntary layoff offer” about a month ago. I was kind of surprised that over 400 people took them up on it, enough (so I was told) that we will not have “involuntary” layoffs. Basically, they offered to keep paying you for one week for each year of service, up to 26 weeks. It was a tempting offer for anyone anticipating retirement in the next 6 months. (Actually, it’s exactly the same as the standard layoff package anyone who is “involuntarily” layed off gets.) I gave it some thought myself, but I’m not ready to go yet. A year from now? Yeah, maybe. But, I’m not quite ready to get off the train at Willoughby yet…

120

Good Afternoon,

A pleasant sunny day here in Winterpeg with a current temperature of 1C.

Well the first week of retirement has been going fine. I have managed to to a clear out of my dresser/desk which took a surprising amount of time so no RR. I do have to go into the office tomorrow to pick up my pay to the end of December. The rest I get in January which helps with the income tax.

Mr. Beasley, I’m not surprised you didn’t take that offer as it seems rather skimpy at least to Canadian standards. At our company a voluntary early retirement offer depends on salary grade and years of service with a 20 year limit. Nonetheless I did get 64 weeks pay so as you can imagine I did take it considering I turned 66 last Sunday.

Garry, I checked Barry’s last post and it was Oct. 15th. He said he was at his cottage so who knows, he could still be there but it is getting rather cool for being at a cottage. I have his cell number and will call him next week if we haven’t heard from him by then.

I hope to get some RR time in tomorrow but who knows considering how busy I am now that I have retired. Getting tired of that word, I know I am.

CN Charlie