The sun is 35 degrees off the horizon and sinking on what was another beautiful warm day.
I was a deadbeat today as one tiny job lead to another, I did take the brakes and derailers off the kids BMX bike and serviced them all so I guess that is something.
Both kids finished their last assignments on Saturday so University is done. With limited jobs prospects they have sign up for the Summer taking three courses each from their perspective Universities. The kid is taking a movie industry course as well, with that industry shut down he has been talking to some of the directors he has become good friends with and they recommend he take the course.
They have also been doing some captioning for TV/movies as well. You can make decent $ if you can type like the wind with no mistakes which they can in both cases.
Terry, sounds like you have some good trips planned. Here’s what you do, fly to Calgary take the Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver, rent a car and drive down the coast where you can visit the kids and then board the Empir builder home. Your welcome.[(-D]
I will probably go to PWRS and get my purchases tomorrow, they said I could come in the store but I will do the deal in the parking lot out front gangster style.[(-D] May as well be safe as can be. It is paid for, so there is no reason to go in other than to drool at all the stuff on the shelves. I have the willpower to stay outside, I hope.[:-^]
I got all my nickels, dimes and quarters rolled up finally, that was a big job considering that is the kind of thing I would do watching hockey. I had weighed the quarters and there were almost 19 kilos of quarters. I figured out how much money it was worth by weight and I was out by only 3 quarters in the end. I also had almost $300.00 in U.S. coins that I rolled as well. The total was just over $1600.00 in spare change. I have about 15 kilos of pennies[:|] I just don’t think they are worth the effort. I will take it all to the bank tomorrow on the way to PWRS, I
GMT wrote: “I used a Walthers kit for my curved platform.”
That’s Danbury station, eh…?
By the time I worked there, the canopies were gone. And your freight house should be wood, just like the old one! I spent a number of nights there, with coffee from the Holiday Diner just across the street…!
All true and the whole thing is not even close to the original. The station is restored and a museum now and of course of the rest of it, the only thing left was the turntable and that had been buried. The freight house is my second attempt as the wood replica was a disaster. One needs to know ones limitations. As far as the rest of it is concerned, Armstrong Rubber in the backround was in West Haven, Miller Machine was in South Norwalk, Bekins was in Bridgeport and Hudson Wire was in Ossining, New York. that’s a lot of selective compression but it fits the space I have.
You’d like the restored station though and Uncle Sam from the old Fairgrounds looks out of the parking lot now. J.R.
Good Tuesday morning, everyone. Later this week I’ll be going in to the office for the first time in more than a month. Not everything we do on the magazine can be done electronically, it seems, and I’ve put this off for as long as I can.
There won’t be enough people there to make it worthwhile to bring in donuts, so I’ll give them to you instead.
Help yourselves.
So anyway, the end of the month is coming up. Where’s the Diner going? California’s nice this time of year, and they’ve done a good job flattening the curve.
D O N U T S … ! ! ! … [C=:-)] … Yummy ! … Thank you Steve O !
JR … Your tall building is very impressive. I like the station on a curve. … My platfoem does not have a shelter, and it is primarily a sheet of Evergreen plastic with grooves which I cut to fit around the curved track. My station is a small one.
Old Engine Man … Thanks for sharing your experiences with us about Danbury.
Ray … Glad you are saving power. I think the costs up front for solar are high. Any government assistance to acaquire solar equipment is really other peoples money.
Terry … Great to hear you are considering a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer. We paid a lot extra for dome seating at the time. I don’t know about their pricing now. I justified the extra cost because it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We flew to Vancouver, and we rented a car to see sights in that area. We spent 3 nights in Vancouver and two nights in Whistler. Our trip was in September 2002.
The train was slow as it was between freight trains in the mountains. That was okay becasue there was so much scenery to see. It took two full days with an overnight stay in a hotel in Kamloops. We spent a night in Calgary, and flew home from there.
I like the idea of taking the Empire Builder in one direction for your trip.
Donuts! I haven’t had any in weeks. Thanks, Steven!
I just finished cutting grass – my most unfavorite thing I do. What’s even worse is that I am surrounded by neighbors who do nothing all day but work on their yards. It makes my weedy lawn stand out even more.
I am finishing the log cabin of my dreams, except in my dreams it is a full scale one. In reality, the one I’m working on is N Scale.
Up until about five years ago, I still had dreams of owning a cabin in the woods somewhere. Reality and age set in, and that dream went out the window.
Yeah, but all infrastucture development is done (I would say) with all our money one way or another. (Without getting into politics) The grant was actually state funds that were given and administered through the power companies. There was a fairly complicated agreement that had to be signed and approved in order to get the grant. One item was that I had to agree to have them producing power for a fairly long period of time or I would have to pay the state back. Besides, I would say I was just getting back money I had already given to the state and for a change had some say in how it was spent… The grant, I believe, helps all of us to benefit in terms of a better environment and does allow the utility to access more, cheaper, electric. If I produced more than I used in a year (or at the settle up time) I would get paid 3¢ per kWh… Whoopie! In some ways it ultimately saves tax dollars as it is cheaper to support rooftop or property solar than to build new dirty power plants or even pay for the total cost of solar or wind power development (which we all pay when we get electric bills)… At least that was the opinion of the state when I put up solar. So… “other peoples money”? I would say our money as a citizen. Also anyone can try to qualify to do the same thing as a citizen in my state. Just my 2¢.
Rain day all day here and things are sure Greening up[Y]
My friend and condo manager that feeds me jobs around here is going to Remer Minnesota next to Leech Lake for a fishing trip. I’m both happy for him and envious at the same time whatever that feels like[(-D] I told him to come back with a good fish story.
I’ve always had my best luck grouse hunting in Remer and hope to find some friends to go this fall. Although I look forward to something like that, I hope fall takes a long time to get here.
Terry, Congratulations on your retirement!!! I have a ways to go to catch up with you on that wonderful achievement but I sure am happy for you[:D] Taking on small jobs here and there to pick and choose sounds great. A little craftsmanship once in a while doesn’t feel like work when you don’t have to do it[Y]
Taco Tuesday for Judy and I tonight as we remembered the fixings on Saturdays grocery trip[dinner]
Flo, give the gang and I a [B] please and Dirk half a dog treat.
Last few day’s have been beautiful! Today it has gotton up to 80 degrees so I turned on the A/C in the garage for a few minutes.
Ankel / yard front. Ankel is doing much better and I got the front yard cut for the 3rd time this year? Ankel as a small amount of discomfrort I would rate it as a 1.
I know what started the Corona Virus Pandemic! Dog’s! I am sure of it, they where just sick of there owner’s leveing them for 8 to 10 hours a day, so they came up with this! Pretty sure Dirk Pip was the master mind behinde this caper. He has been to a park 13 days in a row, he is in doggie heaven!
Garry belated [bday] to Shelly (I hope it is Shelly) Sorry I have been all wrapped up in my own life.
Time to sit out with Dirk Pip.
Later, Ken and the Dirk say’s Yes Daddy I was the master mind Woof, Woof!
Well, I took my heavy load of coins to the bank and was the only one in the place. I thought I would get the stink eye for hittin them with the kilo’s of coins I was packin but they were happy to see someone and have something to do.[:O]
I then headed over to PWRS to do my parking lot drug train deal and get my two new FP7s. All the girls/ladies that work there are adorable just because they laugh at my attempt at humour[:D] when my own family only groans.[|(]
I got there at courier/Post Office P/U time and judging by the loads going into all the trucks, corona ain’t hurting PWRS much if at all.
I need to unwrap the layout so I can take these babies for a spin. It is sealed to guard against construction dust, however that is on hold as we cannot get a shower pan.
I watched the final episode of John Adams and I loved at how he balked at the artist rendition of history. So true whether it is through fictional writing or through an artist rendition of what really happened. If we could go back in time and witness what really was going on throughout history, the world would be a far different and less delusional place.
Garry, the fire dept is also funded with other peoples money and like solar power both designed to try and save the planet and all her creatures. We have already had a bunch of local forest fires and it is still early days.
Must be happy hour, I have no idea what kind of shape the bar is in, I’ll find something.
I scraped all the popcorn ceiling texture in the garage. That made a tremendous mess. The guy came and retextured the ceiling yesterday and it looks pretty good now. I will start painting it tomorrow.
Moving everything from one side of the garage to the other, then back again, has been a huge pain. My main toolbox weighs 11,000 pounds, and it does not like to stop once it is moving, plus it has not moved in eight years. I crashed it into the wall right where the washer hook-ups are. Now I have another repair project.
Everything in the house is covered in tarps. It will be a few more days before all the tarps can be removed. The bathroom drains are being relocated right now.
I had to change the bathroom plans again. I originally planned to take 12 inches away from the bedroom that will become my wife’s closet so we could have a 72 inch long tub. That wall has one stud that is load bearing for the short roof trusses that come in from the side of the house. The engineer came up with a plan that would add $3,000.00 to the job to move the wall. The trusses in the ceiling would need to be reenforced in place to become self-supporting.
With no income from work anymore, I decided we will leave the wall where it is.
The grand master bedroom suite is becoming less grand, but I do not want to go back to work.
I got to tell you I’ve had a lifetime of remodeling people’s houses. They were always happy to see me when I finally showed up to do the job. The happy to see me and liking me seemed to fade a little bit more every day as I made progress and a mess of their house.
Not always but it was usually the same. By the middle of the job and almost all the way to the end they hated me.
It was always hard to get through all of that but in the end, with all the beautiful work, they always loved me.
I don’t do big remodeling jobs anymore, like I said I had a lifetime of it and it came to the point where enough was enough.
I do know where you’re coming from Kevin[;)] I’m confident in your hard work yourself and the work you’ve hired out. Your job will be just as beautiful in the end, just like mine always were[Y]
Kevin, when I cut through some concrete in our basement to move some plumbing, our air conditioner froze up. I forgot and the filters were clogged with the dust. Be sure to change your filters often!
I just saw MR posted in Facebook about the upcoming June edition. My friend in Michigan, Dan Lewis, is having an article published about his N-scale layout featuring Milwaukee Road.
Ken … Thanks for the belated birthday wishes for Shelley.
Brent … Congratulations on your purchase of CP FP7’s . The original CP paint scheme is very attractive.
My passneger station project is nearing completion.
After 5 weeks in lockdown, for the last two days, the Bear got to get dirt under his finger nails again, YAHOO! Now I’ve just got to get the paperwork done![sigh]
“It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Thoughts and Best Wishes to all the need them. Stay Safe.
Cheers, the Bear.[:)]
Thanks Ed, er, not for the scrapple…[+o(] but that plastering video was great. That’s what my grandpa ( on mom’s side) did, along with brick laying. He learned the trade when everything was wood lath strips. I still have his tools.
We have that on the interior walls of our early 40’s cape cod, which was built by grandpa. His dad had a good sized masonry construction business, which employed all the men in the family, along with others.
The exterior walls of our house are brick on the outside, 4" block on the inside, with a 1" space between, laid up at the same time.
The interior surface of the block is covered with 3 coats of plaster. The little alcove in the video with the rounded corners is exactly what is over our bathtub.
I used to go to their jobs when I was a kid, and get yelled at for playing in the sand pile.
I guess I am all done ordering scrapple at Crackerbarrel.
Until the fire and flood we had plaster and lath on our walls. Glad they came up with 4 x8 sheets since Eds video. The part I have the most trouble with is the tape and fill. Can’t imagine doing that many 2 x 4 sheets.
TF We never had a problem with the mess and dust. Workmen leaving debris all over inside and out when they were “finished”, yes. I always expected “broom clean” and sometimes had to say something.
Bear, bet it was good to get your self dirty again.
Mostly did “tidy up” last night. Started planning for the last of the backround area at the back of the balloon track. I will go with doing some type of compressed Sperry Rail Works instead of the gravel and aggregate buildings I already have. Sperry is a couple of miles from the yard but I will make it all fit.
That’s a rough idea of where it will go. The Sperry buildings are a long clerestory workshop and then a large office building adjacent. The latter will probably end up as a backround flat so I can have all the tracks to the complex represented.
All for now, back into the shop for now. Ciao, J.R.
