Good evening all. A day of showers.
Oldest grandson has visited after school.
Now to take the evening at an easy pace.
Caernarfon Station, North Wales with Garrett locomotive
David
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Mark, welcome back. Good to see you once again.
Rich
Good morning all. A cold, showery day with a little sunshine.
A coffee on the go please, Zoe.
Youngest grandson visiting after school.
Daughter & SiL are enjoying their stay in Canada.
Old crane seen at Beamish Museum
David
Good morning diners. Brunhilda, coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar in it.
Oldest daughter came home last night (Yay!) Sheāll be home until Sunday. Itās always so nice having the house full again. At least until everyone wants to take a shower about the same time at night. Water heater canāt handle that! 
We bought a rowing machine to replace a recumbent bike I couldnāt use as it hurt my knees. So far, so good. I honestly wasnāt sure it was providing much benefit for me as I could get on it and go and thought my heart rate went up a little, but wasnāt sure, and my breathing really doesnāt. I bought a cheap smart watch ($30) that has a heart rate monitor so I could see the effect. While it sometimes reads a bit wonky, it is showing Iām getting a decent increase on my heart rate while Iām on it. Itās just weird to be able to go on it for 30 minutes, increase my heart rate, have a light sweat going, and not be breathing hard. Maybe as I get used to it and am able to go harder on it that will change.
Quite possibly the prettiest diesel ever.
Have a good day everyone!
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Prettiest American diesel ā 
David
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It is the prettiest diesel ever!
Rich
Fair enough. Whatās your prettiest European diesel?
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Iāve been similarly blessed with a treasured gift from Daveās wonderful workbench!
McKeen Car DRW by Edmund, on Flickr
This McKeen motor car is an absolute museum piece. I marvel at the work that went into its construction and all the additional touches Dave put into it. Iāve yet to power it up but I believe he put an ESU sound decoder in there.
Dave Warnica and his family are truly generous folks and I will remember this kind gesture for all of my remaining years.
Cheers, Ed
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Good evening. Spring is here for a couple of days before we head back into Winter.
That Santa Fe loco is sure great-looking. I regret not ever having ridden some of those great trains, like the Super Chief.
My wife is on an obsessive quest today. She still believes she can outwit the squirrels at the bird feeders. She made four separate trips to the hardware store today, and spent about $250 
on a variety of things she thinks will work. I told her just to live and let live with the squirrels, but my opinions donāt mean much in bird feeder land.
Has anyone heard from CNCharlie? Did he move to the āotherā forum? I hope he is doing well.
Have a great evening, everyone.
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I have grackles that will swarm the feeders and practically empty them in a matter of hours. They dump most of the sunflower seed on the ground where the squirrels feed on it without ever having to climb a tree or venture out to the feeder hanging from a chain. The Blue Jays will do that, too, but not as bad.
I just came home today with another $80 worth of sunflower seed. That money comes out of the Model RR fund!
When the Bluebirds come around it all seems worthwhile, though.
Bluebird_crop_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
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York1 John,
Iām out in Portland, Oregon and got an interesting Christmas present from a niece two years ago. She knew we fed the birds in the backyard but had problems of some sort. Sheād picked up a feeder and three cylinders of sunflower seed hearts compressed together with a gelatin binder. The only other ingredient was - chili powder! The label said that squirrels would avoid them like the plague but birds paid no attention to the heat whatsoever. I was initially skeptical. No more. āTruth in advertisingā was well-served in this case. These come in two sizes (with a hole down the center for a wire shaft) and they also come in a mixed-seed version. Made by a company in Texas called Mr. Bird. Looks like there may be similar products from others. Available on line from multiple sources. If you guys have any stores nearby that specialize in bird feeders they may carry them, too. Warning: youāll pay a fair bit more than bulk seed (but definitely less than $250!!), but thereās absolutely NO mess; just be sure to get a feeder they fit that has a has at least a minimal roof. Or make or modify your own. Easy, peasy. One other caveat: theyāre a sure fix for the squirrel problem, but they donāt deter nuissance birds like starlings. Continual attention by larger birds? - eh, your mileage will vary.
Attuvian1 John
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BTW, wash your hands after handling. If you donāt and end up getting your fingers near your eyes, youāll pay the price! 
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Yes. Wash your hands no matter what bird food.
David
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Good morning diners. Flo, can I have a large coffee, a cappuccino, an espresso, and a latte please. Did NOT get much sleep last night.
That is really special Ed. Dave was a wonderful person. Iām glad to see his modeling efforts carry on with you and Brent. I couldnāt think of two better individuals to receive them.
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Ed , I am delighted to see you got Daveās McKeen Motor Car. In the months leading up to his passing I had some lengthy conversations with him about where all his works of art were going and he was delighted to be sending the Mckeen your way.
I remember his build thread on it and particularly one night when we ended up chatting into the wee hours about it. He was determined to find a photo of the control stand and quite by accident I stumbled upon one, he was not shy about showing his appreciation. His kindness is missed.
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Good morning Diners. A day of sunshine and showers.
A large coffee please, Brunhilda.
Family have arrived safely from Canada, so no āschool runā to collect grandchildren.
Some new rolling stock has arrived, so (hopefully) in the train room later.
David
If you are looking to move to a new area become a neighbour. I live not far away.
Saughtree: Former Scots railway station for sale for over Ā£500,000 | The Herald
David
Hi everyone!
Iām new here and this seemed like a decent enough place to say hello without clogging up the forums. Iām very new to model railroading, and I figured I should get involved in a forum so I can have a place to ask questions when I inevitability mess something up.
A bit of background- a few years ago I rediscovered a love of trains for when I was a kid, especially steam locomotives. My fiance has been very supportive, especially as I have most recently dragged her along to the B&O railroad museam and Steamtown National Historic Site over the holidays (although I think she enjoyed it almost as much as me).
I am working on a railroad with B&O and PRR steamers, but to date I have managed mostly to work on the dreaming phase and the spending money phase. Its the finding time part that eludes me!
Anyway, I look forward to getting to know everyone here.
Sincerely,
Mdm
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Welcome on board, Mdm. A good crew here.
A little advice if I may. Buy what you need and not what you want. Plan what has to be on the layout. Stick to a timeframe.
Off course if you stick to Rule 1 forget my advice.
Enjoy the journey. Have fun and model railroading will repay you more than you will ever know.
David