Come on back to the caboose and get a cup of coffee [or sweet ice tea] - Part VII

Chief Eagles

Active Member
In the teens, not getting above freezing all day but sunny, single digits tomorrow AM and 34 for high. Off to the lake house until Monday. Stay warm.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 40 and cloudy, a darn sight warmer than it was this time yesterday. The high should be around the upper 50's and it will be partly cloudy with a chance of rain late tonight.

I had so many plans for yesterday but Murphy had different ideas about that. First I had to help the nephew get ready for a trip to Houston. He and some friends were going there in two trucks with two trailers (one trailer loaded on the other) and will come back in a couple of days with the two trailers loaded and four vehicles (the two trucks, a small car and a U-Haul van). Went to the nieces place where the door (remember the dog door fiasco?) was being repaired and done right this time. My sister got her new car yesterday so had to make time for the obligatory checkout. By now it's sunset and I figure I'll finally have some time to get something done on the layout. That however was not to be. I got a call telling me that the family was going to dinner at the local Tex-Mex place that my niece likes (Las Margaritas) and my presence was required. After all, my brother in law is home from Iraq for a couple of weeks and that counts as a special occasion. So now yesterday's plans are today's plans.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 1/17/2009


Wind Chill: 40°F
Humidity: 54%
Dew Point: 25°F

So Far Today
High: 40°F
Low: 39°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 5mph S

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Today High: 58 Mostly cloudy. Not as cool. Highs in the upper 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

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Tonight Low: 50 Mostly cloudy. A 40 percent chance of showers after midnight. Warmer. Lows around 50. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

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jefelectric

Member
Good day,

It was cold here also this morning 2.7 on the digital thermometer. That is quite cold enough for me. Haven't been outside yet today. About to look for something to make for lunch as wife is away all day today.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
I was working under the layout today not on something that I had
pre-planned but rather on something that I decided to do on the spur of the moment. My layout has two access holes, one on the west side and one on the east side. Well, the east one, the one the Shell station is on, has always been a bit narrow and getting my 260 pound bulk up through it isn't always easy. So today I fitted a
Roto-Zip bit to my new
Dremel tool, and took it, my drill with screw bit, screws and some assorted odds and ends under the layout. There's just room enough under there for me to sit up, if slouched over somewhat, to have space to work. First I measured a piece to cut out that was as long as the access panel and would make the hole four inches wider. At this point I put on my safety goggles. I then screwed two pieces of 1x2, each five inches long, to the bottom of the access panel so it bridged the already existing cut. I then used the Dremel to quickly cut the piece loose along the new line I had drawn. I took the barrel lock and hasp (one of three) loose from it's old location and moved it over to the new cut and locked it into position. Prior to that time all that was holding that side of the access panel up was the foam up above. Now that the panel was secure I pushed a knife up through the new cut and cut the foam all along the new line, removed my goggles, then using one hand to brace the panel I used the other hand to pop the three barrel locks loose so I could drop the panel down. It was then that a bunch of sawdust from the Roto-Zip bit fell out of the cut and smack into my face. It would have been a priceless moment for anybody watching and any preacher within earshot would have had his ears horribly burned. Blind as a bat, I had to set the access panel aside, crawl out from under the layout and get over to the kitchen sink, all by touch, to flush the sawdust out of my eyes. Boy, did that hurt. Note to self: Keep safety goggles on until the project is done idiot! Once I could see again I went back under the layout and completed the project. That entailed cutting off a thin sliver of the foam along the cut so the panel would fit into the hole easily without being forced. Once that was done I pushed the panel into place and closed all three of the barrel locks to secure it. All that took about two and a half hours. Now I can get up through the access hole easily.
 

sir james

Member
Good Evening, cold here too +4 when I got up at 8am, but TV news said it was -9 during the nite. glad I missed it. 15 now but snowing all day looks like about five inchs and still at it. Did some reading and a little TV today. stayed in.
TTFN...S.J.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 55 and partly cloudy. The high should be in the upper 60's and it will be partly cloudy.

At least I got some layout work done yesterday. I cut one of the access holes out so it's 4 inches larger. That kept me occupied for a couple of hours. When I went under the layout to start work I had shifted around until I was in a comfortable position and had just started to mark out the area I was going to cut when one of the neighbors came knocking on the door. Have you ever wished for a handy button you could push and zap them? I had to drop everything, crawl out from under the layout and go to the door only to find that the person was looking for my next door neighbor. I simply pointed to his trailer then closed the door. That was almost as irritating as finding an encyclopedia salesman on the doorstep. I crawl back under the layout and get back into my comfortable spot and wouldn't you know it, the phone rings. I crawled back out, picked up the phone and it was a recording from a pizza place telling about their specials. Oh, this was getting irritating. So, under I go for the third time. This time I was able to get the bulk of the work done. I got all the cutting done and just had to pull the access panel out to do a little work on it. Since there wasn't anymore sawdust flying around I took my safety goggles off, popped the three barrel locks that hold the panel in place and dropped the panel down and dropped what seemed like a half a ton of sawdust right into my eyes. That was the real capper. After getting to the sink and flushing my eyes I went back under the layout and completed the work. I didn't have anything to do with the layout for the rest of the day.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 1/18/2009


Wind Chill: 54°F
Humidity: 94%
Dew Point: 52°F

So Far Today
High: 58°F
Low: 54°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 9mph W

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Today High: 68 Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

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Tonight Low: 38 Mostly clear. Colder. Lows in the upper 30s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
I had fun today. Replacing a toilet seat. What was fun was the bolts were rusted in and I had to cut them off with the Dremel. It was slow and noisy but I eventually got them out. Putting the new seat on was a snap.
 

sir james

Member
Good evening, Cold but sunny, very tired of removing snow from the walks. Big train show today, crowded in spite of the weather. Big spender that I am paid $5.00 for two plastic coal loads. Have a great tomorrow...S.J.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 42 and partly cloudy. The high should be in the low 60's and it will still be partly cloudy.

Didn't get much done on the layout yesterday. I used a little expanding foam to fill in a gap where two pieces of foam come together. I removed the wing wall from the O.L. King & Sons building so I could fit it into a narrower space. Still plenty to do.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 1/19/2009


Wind Chill: 42°F
Humidity: 65%
Dew Point: 31°F

So Far Today
High: 43°F
Low: 41°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 0mph NNE

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Today High: 62 Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

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Tonight Low: 35 Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

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sir james

Member
Good Evening, A sunny20 degrees today. If the sun shines I'll take it. I ran a couple of trains today but just for a short time as I passed by. Could not resist.
Have a great tomorrow...S.J.
 

Chief Eagles

Active Member
Had to run up to lake house yesterday. Got back last night before it started SNOWING. Snow everywhere and roads covered. Still snowing hard. Told Town Manager to close Town Hall today. Canceling Town Board meeting. Later
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 42 and clear. The expected high should be in the mid 50's. The low this morning was 33.

Went to see the foot doc this morning. My feet are doing better. The wounds on each of them have closed up by several millimeters. I'm still trying to figure out the problem with my car. It's still running rough. The computer said the problem was a bad EGR valve. I replaced it and there was no difference. This morning, on a hunch, I disconnected the O2 sensor. No difference whatsoever. I thought that would have made some difference.

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sir james

Member
Well Jeffrey, it sure is cold in here. the fire is going out. Spent some time running trains and took my wife to the Dr. this PM. It was sunny but cold today. S.J.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 28 and clear. The high should be in the upper 50's and it will be clear.

Yesterday I made a structural change to my Model Power fire station. It wasn't deep enough to house my pumper and tender so I extended the back of the structure (1st floor only) by an inch and three quarters using parts made from the wing wall I removed from the O.L. King and Sons building. It isn't the greatest looking job but it does what I need it to. Now the pumper and tender (both from Boley) fit all the way inside. The balance of the day was taken up with working on the car and having dinner with the parents. They know tacos are one of my favorites and made sure I knew about them.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 1/21/2009


Wind Chill: 28°F
Humidity: 91%
Dew Point: 26°F

So Far Today
High: 31°F
Low: 28°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 0mph NNE

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Today High: 58 Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

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Tonight Low: 38 Clear. Lows in the upper 30s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

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