Jeffrey's Trackside Diner, February 2018

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Live from the Monongahela Valley in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Welcome to Jeffrey’s Trackside Diner. It’s a place where you can come in, relax and talk about most anything except religion, politics, immigration, or any other hot button topic that may ruffle feathers or is deemed inappropriate for a family-oriented hobby. Please see forum rules if you have any questions.

RIP Track

  • Barry Arnold aka BlownoutCylinder
  • Jerry Cox aka Cox47
  • Wolfgang Dudler aka Westport Terminal
  • Bob Hartle aka cmrproducts
  • Ed Murphy
  • Bill North
  • Stein Rypern, Jr. aka Steinjr
  • Andy Sperandeo
  • Jeffrey “Running Bear” Wimberley
  • Alan B

The staff here is very friendly and able to serve. There’s Zoe, Chloe, Flo, Janie, and Brunhilda. They’ll serve up plenty of virtual food with a smile and a friendly “See any nice trains today?”

Southwestern PA has a rich history of railroads, which is why I couldn’t nail down one exact location. As Trains Magazine said several years ago, Pennsylvania is one of the best states in the USA to railfan on, and the western side of PA is great. We have the class ones of course, NS,CSX, and the occasional CN train on the Bessemer. We also have several shortlines and industrial railroads such as the Wheeling and Lake Erie, Union Railroad, Alleghany Valley Railroad, Southwe

2

You misspelt Jeffrey’s!!! I am not the only one!!! I madeven the same mistake last month and I just figured it out, with the help of another forum member…

Whew, coast to coast in one day?!

No modeling projects today…

Please check out my "History of the NWP-SWP System thread in the General Discussion forum…

Well since I’m the first visitor, put everybody’s drinks on my tab…

3

“misspelled”

Who took the XML file earlier?

Not much going on this morning, It is supposed to be cold again this weekend with a chance of snow showers. I have to go to Chicago tomorrow.

4

The spelling error has been corrected.

5

Good morning …

A few things.

(1) … Thanks to Kalmbach for hosting this site and to Steven O who administers the MR Forum …

(2) … Jimmy … Thanks for starting the February 2018 edition. I am looking forward to Keystone State railroading.

(3) … EVERYBODY IS WELCOME !.. Those who have not previously posted in the Diner are more than welcome to come aboard and tell about themselves and their model railroading.

(4) …OBEY the RULES … Please take time to read the Forum Policies posted by Steve O at the top of the main page of “General Discussion (Model Railroader)”. … Reveiw them from time to time. … Contact Steve O if you think a rule needs to be better explained. … Always remember Steve O’s job is to enforce the rules if necessary. Don’t argue with him. … EDIT … I just re-read Steve O’ s forum policies thread. It took less than five minutes to do that. I encourage everybody to do the same.

(5) Jeffrey … I used to call him Jeff, and that was fine with him. That way I did not accidently type “Jeffery”. He liked using his Native American name, “Running Bear” and he was very proud of his heritage. … (My spelling is terrible)

(6) HAVE FUN ! … I hope February 2018 is fantastic month for each of you.

HAPPY MODEL RAILROADING !

6

Good morning Diners,

Brunhilda, I’ll have an extra large coffee with lots of cream, please.

Pennsylvania is an excellent choice this month. Of course, one of the most famous RR attractions in the world is Horseshoe Curve near Altoona. And there’s lots of other things as well.

We’re supposed to get back into single digits again. Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday, which is often the coldest day of the year. Oh well, it’s February. Whaddya expect?

Jimmy: Thanks for starting this month’s diner.

Nothing to report MRR wise today.

Hello to everyone, and I hope everyone is OK, safe, and warm.

7

Garry: Thanks for the gentle reminders. Your comments are spot on.

8

Good morning from the wet gloomy West Coast.

Steven is buying so I will have a really expensive, aquarium sized, hoity toity Moca with sprinkles, thanks, Steven.

I am on puppy duty today as the wife has many medical appointments today. They are going to rebuild her right hand as it did not heal properly. She gets lots of scar tissue when she heals and that pushed all the bits out of place. There will be lots of new parts going in. They think March may be when they do it as they are still waiting for it to settle down.

It is a good thing I told her to retire years ago as the injury would have ended her career as a Veterinary Surgeon, that’s for sure. That being said, she went in to supervise a rather intricate reproductive surgery that someone else was performing a couple of days ago.

I never thought I would say it but Facebook is a great way to communicate. I had a long video chat with the kid in Ottawa last night and just now he called while I was typing. He has a lot going on this summer and is getting lots of calls for movie and TV work. That pays so well he cannot turn it down. I think last year he did nine TV shows and three movies. This will likely be his last summer doing it as he will get work in Ottawa the following summer in what is likely to be in international affairs of some type. Last night he told me all about his day spent at the U.S. embassy. Unfortunately, this is not the place to be discussing policy on world affairs. He loved it though. He could end up working there or at another Embassy.

Enough yap from me, time to go glue something.

All the best to all.

9

Good afternoon all.

I see we got the diner’s “pesky handbrakes” released so she could be moved again. [;)]

SteveO - Incase you wondered, your fine job as from admin is appreciated. Thanks!

Janie - A nice slice of that brownie sitting under the counter, and a glass of milk to go with it please. Thanks.

Grammer topic - Can I play the Jeff Foxworthy joke? “If you think Grammer is who’s married to your Gramper, you might not be smarter than a fifth grader.”

I miss that show…

The best line ever from that show, in my opinion, was when he once said this - “I like that answer. (Long awkward pause.) It’s wrong, but I like it.” [:D]

Ok, ok, enough with the Foxworthy stuff, as that’s another thread…

W*^k - Emergency meeting held today, and it did not go well. (The owner is ticked off big time…) The building owner is breaking the lease with the store owner, so we will be closing no later than March 4th. (Move everything out no later than the 6th.) Nevermind the lease is paid up through August and runs through Dec… Seems to me there should be a law somewhere about that… Oh, right. There is.

So… Yippee. Job hunt 2018 is officially started.

There goes my plans to attend the next railfest show…

Hope all are well, and all enjoy the day!

10

.

Yes, a well deserved Thank You to SteveO.

.

I am leaving in about an hour for a four day SuperBowl Weekend! I am looking forward to this.

.

Maybe even might do some model railroading.

.

-Kevin

.

11

Your coming up here to the game? OK, just some shorts, a couple of T shirts and your flip flops, and you’ll be fine. [(-D][(-D][(-D]

Mike.

12

Anyone notice the forums went down last night/morning at about midnight?

13

Eveing Diners

Flo, the gang and I will have a [B], give Rick and Steven a RBF and leave a Stein outside for Ulrich.

Rick Sorry to hear about job search 2018. Any chances the owner may open a new store? I know my self it will be coming up sooner than later. Company I am working for is dying. Thank goodness SS starte kicking in on April 3rd!

Glouse Levels Not sure what is going on! I pretty much eat the same thing day after day. For about the last 6 days when I get up I have been in the 200 range with a high of 246? More than likely to much Sweat Baby’s Ray BBQ Sause! Had not been a problem before? [:-^]

Last night I had baked salmon with fresh vetatables and had a 126 GL. Guess I will be eating more salmon.

Steven Don’t worry about spelling mistakes! You don’t have anything on me! One of my freinds on a Mopar Sight posted he was selling Cuda Ken Decoder Rings! [(-D]

Later, Ken

14

Afternoon all!

Hobby Front: When I got home from work this afternoon, I discovered that I had parts for a couple of projects waiting for me. (The pair of spark arrestors that I had ordered for the SW1200. I had started to wonder where they were. They have been glued into place and will be painting the shell this evening. The other project is yet another freight car. Found it via an online forum. Looks like an older Walthers car but I could be wrong.)

The weather looks like I’m not going to get anything dome on the layout next week as it will be too cold. I, however, will need to grab one of my drywall screws so that I can get another box when I get the lumber and the rest of the hardware. (I’m pretty sure that I don’t have enough to assemble all the pieces for the expansion.)

15

Hi everyone:

I just got an email from Photobucket offering me 3rd party hosting for $99.99/year. I guess their $500/year fee didn’t go over too well. I sent a note back asking if they were planning on restoring all the photos that they blocked on previous posts. The address on their website didn’t work. I’ll try again and let you know what happens.

EDIT: I seem to have been able to send an email to another Photobucket address. I might start a thread on this to see what peoples’ response is to the $99.99 offer. I suspect it will go over like a lead balloon.

Dave

16

Yea, the original post that moderator Tom, (Tstage) is gone, but yes, the web site, and all their other web sites worked, just NOT the Model Railroader forums, as I was in the Trains forum, no problem.

It all came back about 7:30 or 8 ish, CST.

Mike.

17

Good evening all.

Yes, I’m still hanging out over in the corner.

Zoe - I will take that RBF Ken got for me. Thanks.

Erie PA Snowfall record watch - Only about 5" to go before they hit the all time record for snowfall in a single season, and it is only February 1st. (And it is snowing currently…) Forcasters say the record most likely will fall before the end of the game Sunday.

So, a few more details about Job search 2018 -

The owner is totally not happy with the landlord, as he is paid in full through Aug. He also has the franchise contract through Aug of 2019, so, if he can’t open elsewhere, he will be forced to pay a huge (just shy of 6 figures) penalty on closing a franchise location early. He is currently looking at a location west of here, but too far west for me to travel there. (It would be almost 70 minutes one way if the location works out.)

He is also seriously considering a full legal response against the landlord. (I have given my support that he does just that, as this is totally not right.) He has decided, either way, he will not stay where the location is now, and I do not blame him one bit! It’s a “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” type thing.

The owner has offered to transfer me to his other location south of me, as he would really like to keep me. While it is a bit closer (50 minutes travel time, compared to the 70 minutes above, give or take) than where he is currently looking, it is still quite the travel.

I told him we will have to discuss it, as at my current pay, it would not be worth it. (Almost 4 times the distance mile wise, and adding 35-40 minutes to what I currently travel.) He did say he will put a package together to offer me, so I will see what he comes up with.

I did tell him, and my stores manager, that I would stay on as long as possible, but, as I am unable to collect on unemployment compensation due to a prior mix-up (on their end

18

Rick do hope you get your employment figured out, I have a friend that has lived in Louisiana for 11 years and her dad has worked for a company 10 years last year they told them they might be moving his position in about 3 or so years maybe right after the new year they told them that they are moving his position this year to NC and he can either keep the job and leave or quit and stay right now they’re planning on leaving, my friend isn’t too happy about it but she’s going to college anyway so it won’t change her plans too much… (and no all those snickerers <is that a word? She is not my girlfriend just a friend right now [(-D][:-^])

19

Ricky:

I have some very simple advice for you - put your future first!! It’s nice that you are considering helping your current employer but putting “I stayed to the bitter end” on your resume won’t do you much good.

There was a spectacularly nasty example of misplaced loyalty here in Canada recently. Sears Canada just folded. Everyone knew what was about to happen, but a few brave and loyal employees stayed until the end. What did they get out of it? They got (imagine the act of turning a screwdriver). They lost their pensions and severance payments outright! They got nothing!!

Look after yourself! If you want to stay on that’s fine, but start looking for a new job now, and explain to your current employers that you will be taking whatever time off that you need in order to find a new job.

Good luck! Your work ethics are extremely good. You will do fine!

Dave

20

Good morning all.

Flo - I will take a nice Apple Danish and a glass of OJ please. Thanks.

Dave (hon30critter) - I am starting to look already, and have informed them that, if need be, I will be leaving prior to closure date. While I trust that the issue you referenced would not occur here, as I work for a independent owner, I also realize that I can’t wait to start looking for employment this time of year.

Clarification of a couple points -

I did edit above on a point on travel time, as the south of me location is about 50 minutes from my home, compared to the 70 minutes where the owner is looking at moving too, give or take a few minutes on both.

Another point I should clarify, is on the unemployment comp mix-up. It was made by the unemployment compensation office, not my employer, nor me. (Seems they think that I was over-compensated on a prior claim, but in that instance I had filed due to loss of employment, and was initially approved. They have stated that it was “non-fault over-payment error”, but also that, until that is corrected, I am “ineligible to collect unemployment compensation benefits.” So…)

Well, off to w*^k.

Hope all are well, and all enjoy the day!