The Trackside Diner

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 42 and cloudy. The high today will be in the high 50's and there's talk of a 20% chance of rain this morning working it's way up to 60% by 6 pm. Just what we need, more rain. The whole state is about to slide away as it is.

Not much happening today. I'll be tearing down the new Roundhouse FMC covered hopper I got recently. Things that will be done is the couplers will be changed out and weight will be added as the car is currently 1.2 ounces shy of what it needs to be. If the weather cooperates I'll add a coat of my black acrylic and alcohol mix. The wheels will also be getting some rust and the trucks will get some rail tie brown as well as a little rust.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 31 and sunny. The high will be around 50 with an occasional cloud or two.

Today I'll be applying a coat of Clear Flat to the new hopper. One thing I've learned about this stuff is if the coat isn't thick enough it won't knock down the gloss like it should and if it's too thick it fogs up and is almost impossible to fix. It's not like Dull-Cote where you just spray over it. I also have a structure that needs a roof, so I'll likely be making one for it. I found a use for one of the Gramps tankers. Strip the trucks and couplers off it and it's an instant bulk fuel tank for the maintenance building/car barn.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 29 and clear. The high will be around 50 with passing clouds.

I got the roof into the DPM structure and sprayed the FMC covered hopper down with Clear Flat, effectively killing the gloss. The Clear Flat fogged up in a few places but on the gray coloring of the hopper it looks good. Today I'll be following my father to a repair shop in town, same one I took my car to to have the brake system fixed. He needs to take his truck in for front end work, the first it's had since 1992. Not bad for an 18 year old Ford F150. He'll need a ride back home so that's why I'm following along. I'll also have a camera with me in case I come across anything worthy of a shot.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 28 and sunny. The high should be 55 with no sign of clouds.

Yesterday I got freed from the grip of the wound vac and got an orthopedic boot to help support my ankle. Now I can start concentrating on layout work again now that I don't have to be worried about splitting my ankle joint apart. It's going to be slow at first as I get used to the limitations imposed by the boot but I should be able to get a quick list of what I can and can't do. One thing on the list already goes without saying. No fancy gymnastics. I can't turn my foot unless I turn the entire leg. The left and right twist of the lower leg that everybody else finds so simple to do is physically impossible for me. Vertical climbing is pretty much out for now. Going into a squat position or rising from said position has to be done with the majority of the weight supported by the good leg. That's a minor limitation. It shouldn't take me long to round out the list. No distance walking for sure. It does feel good to be able to walk around a bit though without feeling like I'm going to fall over any second.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 30 and clear. The high will be in the low 60's and it will be partly cloudy.

Well yesterday I went through my exercises and determined the range of movement the orthopedic boot allows me. I will be able to get under the layout to get to the access holes but any vertical movement, as in rising from a squat to standing position will have to be done with my right foot flat on the floor and most of the weight carried by my left leg and it will have to be a straight ascent. That makes it a little hard but not difficult. Today I have to get the wound vacuum and it's associated equipment together and box them up for shipment back to the provider. Once it's boxed all I have to do is call the provider and they'll have UPS come and pick it up at their expense. That's a relief to me as I don't have two spare pennies to rub together. Other than that there's nothing special going on around here. There was a little action on the layout earlier this morning. A small beetle had gotten in somewhere and made the mistake of crawling across the north-west quadrant of the layout, just to the west side of the park. A wolf spider suddenly darted out of the station and snared the offending beetle then carried it's catch back into the station where I would assume it enjoyed a good meal. I didn't think something that big could get through an HO sized window but it seems to do it quite easily.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 36 and cloudy. The high will be in the mid 60's and it will be partly cloudy.

Finally got my new rust colored paints yesterday. As previously stated they are satin latex in the colors of 'rusty rail', 'rusted earth' and 'rustica'. They are each a slightly different shade so I'll be able to more easily create different levels of rust from surface to severely pitted. They're in 7 ounce sample cans at $2.94 a can, substantially cheaper than 7 ounces of a similarly colored acrylic would be. While latex may not be the best thing to use it serves my purpose. It cleans up with water, can be thinned with water and works well with my external mix airbrush though I usually use it with a small brush. It can also be thinned to be used a wash and if need be I can get a lot of it in less than 30 minutes although 7 ounces will last a long time. Nothing special on the schedule today unless something pops up, so I'll likely be doing some weathering work on some freight cars and maybe a locomotive or two.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 38 here. A bit cooler than the weather guesser said it would be. The high will be in the mid 60's and it will be partly cloudy.

Not much going on here today. The Home Health nurse will be around about noon to check my feet. I got the wound vac all boxed up yesterday and called the provider. UPS will come Monday and take it away. I will be so happy to see that thing gone. I received a bunch of freight cars in the mail yesterday so I'll likely be working on them today. Many will work as is and require only a little updating. Some of the others require more work, such as a Bachmann Bicentennial caboose. It needs trucks and body mount couplers. A Mehano caboose requires shims in the coupler pockets to cure a severe case of coupler droop. A brown box Tyco caboose simply needs a change of couplers. An AHM covered coil car will need body mounted coupler boxes added.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 55 and cloudy. The high will be in the mid 60's and there's a 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Today I'll be giving my attention to two identical boxcars I recently received. They're both Slovenian made IHC offerings with roller bearing trucks fitted with flat tread pizza cutter wheels. They appear to have been painted with an enamel type paint that was on the verge of obscuring what little rivet details the cars have. Both of the cars have both plug doors and sliding doors. The roof and doors may have been done with an airbrush. It's a bit hard to tell at this point. If I decide to strip them the evidence of whether it was done with an airbrush or a rattle can will come out as the rattle can paint will tend to be thicker. They have Life-Like type truck mounted knuckle couplers. Right now I'm not sure if I'll do away with them and body mount Kadee's or change out the the car bottoms altogether.

[Running Bear]

Here are two cars I've been working on since early this morning. Both have Slovenian made (IHC?) bodies and Athearn floors and trucks. Both are fitted with Kadee #5 couplers. As a result of the floor change the cars now sit a little lower and look better. Before with the talgo trucks they looked like they were made for going through flooded areas.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 40 and cloudy. the high will be 48 and there's a 60% chance of rain.

I'll be going to town this morning for my weekly visit with the foot doc so he can poke and prod me some more. Afterward I'll likely be working on the ends of the boxcars. I've already done one this morning with a combination of a wash and a dry-brush effect with latex rust paint. Great thing about the stuff is if I make a mistake I can just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 34 and mostly cloudy. The high is supposed to be in the low 50's and it will be mostly sunny.

I spent a couple of hours this morning doing some work on one of the boxcars with several shades of rust. I like the result and I will see if I can do a similar job on the other two cars. Nothing special going on today so I'll just be getting some rest.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 42 and wet. The high will be in the mid 50's and will it continue to be wet as we have a better than 65% chance of rain all day topping out at a better than 80% chance.

There likely won't be much MR work today as my sister wants me to be at her place to sign for some packages coming in by FedEx sometime between 10 am and 4 pm. I can think of more pleasant ways to spend my time. Get dental work done, listen to my off-key neighbor attempt opera, etc. I guess it could be worse. It could be raining. Oh what's that? Yeah, it is raining. That lets out any outdoor paint work as well. At least I'll have a chance to attack her fridge.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 42 and cloudy as well as damp after a day and a night of rain. The high today will be in the mid 50's and it will be partly cloudy.

Got out to Lowe's yesterday and got two new latex paint colors to add to my collection. Sundown and Cocoa Rose. Both are in the rust color category. I resisted the urge to buy more tools or solar lights and escaped from the store with only $6.44 added to my Lowe's card. Today I'll likely be experimenting with the two new colors. I don't have anything else on my schedule for today an dhopefully nothing else will be added to it.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 42 and sunny. The high is due to be in the mid 60's and mostly sunny.

I got hold of four solar powered lights yesterday that look like Tiki torches. I was looking for some lights similar to some accent pathway lights I already had when I chanced to look up at the top shelf where a bunch of different lights were in operation. I saw a couple that looked very similar to what I was looking for then I saw the Tiki torch and all the others paled into insignificance by comparison. It didn't just light a small area underneath it, it lit the area around it. I thought 'The heck with the pale blue ones I thought I wanted. I'm getting these!'. A box of two cost $24 and some-odd cents, so I grabbed two boxes. The lights are adjustable up to 52" in height. I set them up yesterday, two at the end of the driveway and the other two along a path that goes past my neighbors trailer. I saw them in action last night and they made their pale blue counterparts look like garbage. Each Tiki light has a flickering yellow LED that mimicks a flame and looks quite realistic. I'll be getting more of those Tiki lights in the near future.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 46 and cloudy with rain imminent. The high will be 50 with a 90% chance of rain.

Gonna be a wet one today! And why not? This is the day I gotta go out and pay bills. Yesterday I put up four more of the solar Tiki torches. That's a total of eight now. On two of them I took out the factory installed NiCd batteries which are rated at 1.2 V, 600 mA and replaced them with Eveready NiMH batteries rated at 1.2 V, 230 mA. Just after sunset all eight lights came on as they should. Six ran down during the night and went out but the two with the NiMH batteries were still lit up at 6:45 this morning and didn't go off until sunrise. Take a wild guess at what kind of batteries are going into the others. I figure the NiCd batteries will work OK in my remotes, postal scale, LED tester and magnifier. Nothing much on the schedule today except paying some bills that can't be paid by mail or internet and I have to get the grocery shopping done before my cupboards look like those of Mrs Hubbard. I may be able to get some more weathering practice in today but it'll probably be late.

[Running Bear]

Good evening. It's current 47. The low tonight will be 33 and partly cloudy.

Had a busy morning at the docs office. They went through the usual thorough cleaning of the feet and the usual assessment of the wounds then did a series of tests to ascertain how much oxygen was present in my feet. If there wasn't enough I would have to be set up for treatments via hyperbaric therapy. It seems the tests came out in my favor and I won't have to go for those treatments. Part of the test (15 minutes) was done while breathing ordinary room air. The second part (5 minutes and 10 minutes) was done while breathing pure oxygen. After I finished there I came back home and changed out the NiCd batteries in the remaining yard lights with NiMH batteries. One of my neighbors was so impressed with results of the test that he's going to change out the batteries in his too. He only has a few so it won't cost as much as mine did.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 29 and sunny though a tad on the frigid side. The high will be in the high 50's and it will be partly cloudy.

Yesterday I changed out the batteries in the remaining six Tiki lights but I hadn't taken into account the possibility that some of the new batteries had possibly discharged while on the sales rack. Two of the lights ran down rather quickly last night. The batteries in them all came from the same four pack. The others were a mixed bag pretty much, some running down before 2 am while others continued almost to sunrise. The best performers were the two I initially changed out at first. So this morning I'm removing the batteries from all the lights and will recharge them then reinstall them into the lights. That should put them all on an equal footing and tonight we'll see what's what. In case you're wondering how I know when the lights ran down, let's just say I have a neighbor who's a serious night owl. He has an interest in this also as he wants to see if it will be advantageous for him to change out the batteries in his lights as he's commonly awake at those hours when they'll be on.

The Home Health nurse will come by today to change the dressing on my feet then I'll head out to get some grocery shopping done. I'll also be looking at some Athearn blue box kits I received in the mail yesterday. From a cursory inspection yesterday they appear to be in Great Northern livery. There is some passenger equipment in Chicago and Northwestern livery. Not exactly sure what I'll be able to do with it. All three cars need some minor work and they need to be weighted as they are exceedingly light. There were also two ATSF single dome tank cars still equipped with horn hook couplers. Those will of course be replaced with Kadee's as soon as I get some more.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 30 and sunny. The high is supposed to be 63 with not a cloud in the sky. We'll see.

I had plans to do some model railroad work today but my sister popped up last night (don't relatives have an infuriating habit of doing that?) and told me I have to be at her place today to sign for a package that's coming by FedEx. I can't do any MR work there on account of all the dogs and cats, especially the great dane and the pit bull who wrestle with each other constantly. Well, she does take me to dinner once in a while and helps me out when money is tight so I guess I can give up my plans for a day. One project I'm looking at for the near future is repainting the three Rivarossi passenger units (Pullman roomette, RPO and parlor/observation) into my L&A tourist color scheme.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 37 and partly cloudy. The expected high is to be 64 and it will be partly.

Well I knew it would happen. I put up all those new lights in my yard to light a path where I know there's nothing for me to trip over. Yesterday my next door neighbor put in his bid to keep Lowe's in business by purchasing a bunch of solar lights for his yard, a few are the same type I have. I helped him get some ready while he put them where he wanted them. I looked at them last night and it looks good with the two yards lit up. Now maybe some of the neighbors will get off their duffs and put some up in their yards. After all, if a 50 year old cripple with all the mobility of the average 85 year old and his neighbor, a 57 year old with severe heart problems can do it, why can't they? I figure we've set the mark, it's time to see if some of the others can meet or beat it.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 54 and sunny. The high should be 68 and mostly sunny.

Woke up this morning with a blood sugar level of 60. Guess I shouldn't have had that Sam Adam's beer last night. A good starch breakfast has things back in good order now. It's a nice sunny day today but I think my activities are going to be limited to inside the house. My ankle is cutting up pretty bad and I can't walk but a few yards at a time. If it improves later I'll see if I can get out to change the EGR valve on the car. That's a simple job that would take about 20 minutes but I can't do it standing on one foot. I have a very nagging suspision the EGR valve on the car at this time is bad. It's an electronic type that doesn't have a vacuum. I tested it the other day. It has three electromagnetic plungers. One goes up and down cleanly as it should but another one is stuck in the down position and the third has a habit of sticking in between the full up and full down positions. It way just need a good cleaning but I'm seriously doubting that. It's for that reason I got another one and the asbestos seal that goes with it. Yeah, I know all the horror stories about asbestos, but it's OK as long as it's not disturbed, and believe me, I have no intention of disturbing it.

[Running Bear]

My ankle has been hurting bad all day today. After dinner tonight my sister got me some oxycodone tablets to take, one every eight hours. I tell you what, I can hardly feel my ankle now. If it's like this tomorrow I'll have no problem fixing the car. The stuff works good.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 41 and cloudy. The high will be in the mid 60's and it will remain partly cloudy. Well, you can't have everything.

If the oxycodone I got yesterday continues to work as well as as it did last nigh I should be able to fix my car today then maybe I'll be able to get some model railroad work done. I have a list about half a mile long that's clamoring for attention. Probably the easiest thing to do will be to note the more important things then pitch the list. Or have I done that already? Could this long list be the shorter one? I certainly hope not! Humpty Dumpty didn't fall off the wall. He was pulled off by the weight of the list he was trying to read. It looks like I have a taker for the Athearn GN caboose and Athearn GN boxcar kits I have. I still have a 40' "Snicker's" billboard reefer kit and a 'shorty' SP 40' flatcar kit. Both are Athearn blue box. I may be able to use the flatcar in a MoW train but the billboard reefer is way too old. Billboard type cars were banned on US railroads in 1937. That didn't keep toy train makers like Tyco, AHM, Life-Like and Bachmann from introducing many foobies over the years using more modern cars.

[Running Bear]

Good morning. It's 50, dreary and overcast. To top things off it's cloudy. The high will be 60 and it will continue to be cloudy and dreary.

I'll be going to town later today to get some refills on several meds including more pain pills. I'll also go by the docs office so he can make an assessment of the pain I'm having. Other than that there's not much going on.

[Running Bear]