Sitting and wishing....

gcav17 Sep 19, 2013

  1. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    So today I am just sitting on my arse feeling the effects of yesterdays work. Herniated disc or not, I still gotta work. Self employed ain't for wimps!
    So while sitting here I watch my MP Mike and the Bachman ten wheeler run around the track. And its interesting to see the differences in performance of new locomotives and old. And is it amazing.
    Ok, so I am geeking out because my first good runner, believe it or not, was an old atlas/riv Milwaukee road chippewa Pacific I got off of eBay. Came with four matching passenger cars too. It was a good learning tool for me then..
    But now, with experience and dcc I say to myself, 'wow! What was I missing!!'

    Sent from my Commando
     
  2. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    What I forgot to mention in all this is that all the manufacturers have earned their kudos. N-scale has come along way.
    Now, if I can just get my fingers to work to fix things! :confused:

    Sent from my Commando
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    No. It sure isn't!

    Do you also remember the late 1970's, with Con-Cor steamers that emitted real smoke- From their motors as they fried, so frequently? :( Things are so much better today!
     
  4. SP&S #750

    SP&S #750 TrainBoard Member

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    so does that make me as a younger guy part of the "next generation?" ;)

    I guess I'd have to say thanks to manufacturers and N scalers before me for paving the road and getting us these great Ngineering feats!
     
  5. montanan

    montanan TrainBoard Member

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    Hey box cab, sounds like you had the same locomotives I had. I was really frustrating to be in N scale back in the 70's. I had about 20 or so locomotives back then and only 2 ran decently. I believe they were Trix. That's one of the main reasons I had to get out of N scale. It hurt to tear out a nice railroad with about 16 scale miles of main line.

    Todays N scale locomotives are so far ahead of what primitive locomotives were back then. It's a great step forward for the hobby. Locally, there is a group of N scalers that have a modular layout that they put on exhibition with. I have seen it a number of times and I was amazed at how well they ran, and the improved details.
     
  6. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Well I was just a whipper snapper back then. But having experienced some of the old atlas locomotives and seeing some of the older freight equipment, has demonstrated all the improvements. And now I don't know what to do with the atlas stuff.. Hmm... Possibly I can convert them to dcc...

    Sent from my Commando
     
  7. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yup. Especially for steam engines. I used Sagami can motors to solve the problem with mine. That change, plus a little lube and cursing, I ended up with some smooth runners.
     
  8. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    So when did atlas redesign the motors? Of the four I have, one is sagami, one is unknown but fast, the other two are stock. And the stock ones are still working well. All I had to do was some filing on the frames to get out the binding that Zamac is famous for..

    Sent from my Commando
     
  9. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Well finally got things done yesterday to get myself fixed! Surgery on my neck at the end of the month. And then that collar round my neck for some time.. Blah! The worst part was having to quit smoking.... I got that accomplished! And there are no bodies to hide!

    So I have been doin some things. But soon I will not be able to look down. Which.will make some things difficult. I am a busy body, ( made worse quitting smoking) so i need some suggestions for keeping myself from lookin down. I thought about a lower chair or a raised bench. But kinda lookin for some other ideas...

    Sent from my Commando
     
  10. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Congratulations on quitting smoking! And, you now have more money for hobbies!
     
  11. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    I figure its time to update this. My surgery on that disc went well. The nurses might say otherwise. When I woke up the nurse said she was gonna be strict, and I called her a Nazi! Lol! Ain't anisthesia great! I now have a piece of paper to carry with me, so I can get through metal detectors. I got the go ahead to go back to work a week ago. And it feels good!.
    Now my next wish is that all of us stay healthy. Surgery is no fun. The collar is gone and I can sorta in back to my hobby. Lookin down is still a challenge some days. But getting better. I have done a few things when my right hand allows me to. But mostly, I am running trains. I do need to find a better way to un couple cars. What do some of you all do?

    Sent from my Commando
     
  12. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'm looking at the possibility of some surgery in coming months. I can handle the pain, but the way my motor skills in both arms is rapidly declining is really scary.

    For uncoupling I use a Rix Pick. When I misplace those items, a small screwdriver is fine.
     
  13. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Misplaced items...... hmmmm... Lots of that lately...... :p

    Sent from my Commando
     
  14. mtntrainman

    mtntrainman TrainBoard Supporter

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    Rix pick...dental pic...tooth pick...small jewlers phillips screwdriver...bamboo skewer. Just about anything pointed stabbed in the middle of the couplers will work :)
     
  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I even painted them red, and still they hide from me.
     
  16. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Dang it all! The pain radiating from the ulnar nerve in my arm is and has not improved. Sometimes its worse. I did everything I was supposed to. So now they found a pinched nerve in the elbow. Wow! Whatever did I do??! I tried to do some work on a GHQ Baltic shell for my Hiawatha and really struggle with the little stuff. So that went back on the to do shelf. I can do scenery, and other things, but the fine tuning stuff is out.
    So, I guess I will just run some trains!! :) Not all is lost!

    Sent from my Commando
     
  17. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Gettin' a bit older is sure a lot of fun. NOT. This morning I could barely stand up and walk. Good thing for a pleasant distraction such as model railroading.
     
  18. cosmic

    cosmic TrainBoard Supporter

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    So sorry for you older guys!
     
  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I may be younger than your stated age, but the process has probably been different. Born with health issues, add to that numerous injuries, including three back injuries, a broken neck, being accidentally shot, years on end of working looooooooooooooooooong hours, (try 110-120 hours a week), two times having bacterial infections in my spine, the last which nearly killed me, plus enduring side effects from that. I've had to learn to walk again twice. It has not been a 'normal' aging process. According to my neurosurgeon, I have the body of a 95 year old, and should not even be alive.
     
  20. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Holy cow Ken! What were you in your younger days? A stuntman for Bruce Willis? Jumping and diving off of skyscrapers airplanes and trains?

    Sent from my Commando
     

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