Outer banks are awesome. I can't wait to go back out there... I usually go once a year or so. Did I buy something from you on eBay at some point? I seem to remember a wolfpack fan from VA...
So far, we've got a nice variety of hobbies here! John, there's so many types of construction equipment out there they are all my favorite! But, who can argue that a plain old backhoe isn't the most versitile machine there is! I love them! Dig, dump, lift..........so cool! I love seeing 4 or 5 backhoes working on a street at the same time! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRASH! BOOM! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JT, I know. anything diggin' in the dirt is interesting with how the hydrolics work and so on and just how powerfull they are to do it in hard dirt thats tough to get through. And then only to hit clay! Its something! I have now gotten into alot of the Railroads machines, Tampers, ballast regulators, tie cranes, wreck cranes, etc... Although I have to say my all time favorite railroad machine goes to the Jackson "6700" surface tamper.... I'm going to model one of them one of these fine days! Custom Finishing has them, but at $80 some for one and a non-powered one thats kinda steep but I am going to take that plunge one day! Altho, mine will run the rails. I'm going to power the wheels in mine. And being they're casted models. I won't have to worry about adding weight! Anyway, John you'll see when you come to visit Pete and Sandra... I'll have my MOW train at the station with 2 double headed B&O EL-5's on the point!
That sounds good! I love all that stuff! First comes the demolition phase! An old building with BOBCATS spewing rubble out of a large hole in the building ten flights up! BOBCATS with drills taking down walls 10 floors up! Old beat to death trucks with old beat to death men throwing old bricks into them. Loading an entire dump truck one used brick at a time. Cat loaders loading brand spanking new dump trucks with all kinds of rubble while one driver yells he has too much metal in his truck and dumps it right back out! Someone is hosing the dust down but forget about it! People and traffic passing by as the old Sidewalk Superintendents stand by and watch the process! People walking under massive wooden scaffolds as the sounds of jack hammers and crashing metal and brick fills the air! Old nails litter the street as well as a piece of a broken porcelin faucet that you just stepped on! Within a month, you can't remember what that building used to look like! The next time you look, it's an even layer of old brick and scrap. Just a lot. Gone. Digging! I've seen "claws" slammin' on Manhattan's Bedrock trying to break it up! Sometimes it works and sometimes not. The whistle blows 2 times. Two minutes later, the whistle blows 3 times. The compressed air, tracked drills stop. The big machines stop. All is quiet except for the half dozen massive compressors on the street feeding lines into the pit. They keep humming! That's when the next thing you know............KABOOM!!!!!! WINDOWS RATTLE!!!!!!!! A nice dynamite explosion! A big poof and the heavy steel mats fly up and tons of dirt and rock bulge up and settle down in a nice lump under the mats! The whistle blows all clear and a guy in a hard hat climbs up as the machine comes back and finds the hooks on the mats and one by one they are removed and neatly spread out near where the next blast willl be. The sound of machines starts all over again. The crane scoops rock and the already waiting dump truck backs up until the crane operator drops it's bucket of rock into the truck signaling him to stop! The trucks that do stay in the hole during a blast, never face their windshields in that direction. Then the excavator moves to the spot where he was before, and he goes back to his digging. The dump truck struggles up the earthen ramp onto the muddy street scaring little old ladies walking by while waving their canes up in the air at the guy who is at such an angle and can't see her anyway! What machines! GROWLLIN'! POWERFUL! Mud and muck cover the streets as well as oil and whatever! The truck stops, the driver rolls his canvas tarp over the top of the load and gets his paper work "John Hancocked" and rumbles out into traffic while the foremen stops traffic to back another empty down into the hole. The dump trucks are lined up maybe 12 in a row waiting to get in. Macks, Volvos, Scanias.................A little while later you see the same truck return empty. You can see lots of rooms that had been part of the building's basement. They go under the sidewalks. Some were coal bunkers at one time and others were FALL OUT SHELTERS. All different faded colors. makes you wonder what was once in them.......... The pit gets lower and lower. The building comes now. Then come the concrete and steel guys. You watch them lay the foundation and watch the steel rise until one day you look out your 10th floor window and you can no longer see the top of the building and you can't watch the parade of little three wheeled tractors full of fresh cement running along a wooden ramp to where the concrete needs to be dumped. A guy turns the big wheel and the bucket dumps cement actually right onto the feet of the cement guys as they shovel it side to side. All day the ramp is moved from one area to another. Two ramps with 4-6 tractors going at once! Guys with long poles smoothing out the cement until it's perfect. All day and into the night you watch them laying cement to create a new floor about every 2 days or so. The cement trucks come until 7 at night. The men work until midnight on that floor. You watch the 45 -50 story crane taking those massive buckets of concrete up into the night sky. Soon, the big machines go away. Trucks get smaller then smaller and range from trucks that deliver drywall and pipes to the very near end when you see two dozen contractors vans parked all around the building. One by one they leave. Oh, I forgot that the big MOVING TRUCKS come next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My better half..Natalie I love you always and forever Trains-History of Trains-HO Models Trains-Photograhing History-US and World 1900-now really intruge me Country music Oldies Making my Baby Smile
Ridgrunner............ no, I haven't sold anything on ebay. Heck.. ebay was up and running for years before I even knew what it was! Anyway.....you have good taste in beaches. the Outer Banks are great indeed. Mrs. Kitbash and I usually take the family to Hatteras, Ocracoke, or Emerald Isle. Although, Emerald Isle is not quite the same as Hatteras or Ocracoke. But a FABULOUS beach. We are going to Emerald Isle in July for a week. Yep.. .you may have seen me down there. With my Wolfpack hat and Wolfpack CLub decals on the back of the "veeehickle". -Kitbash [ 10 May 2002, 09:34: Message edited by: Kitbash ]
This is just a short list... 1. My wife and five children. 2. Trains (all sizes!) 3. Playing guitar 4. Reading 5. Surfing the web 6. ? Like I said, it's a short list! Pat
Besids Trains of all sizes: -The other half, also known as the "War Department" -Hunting -Fishing -Hiking -Camping -Compitetion Shooting -Gardening -Cooking -Kicking back on a warm sunny day with a cool "Wet One" in hand Cheers! Terry
One night a couple of weeks ago I gave in and let the TV suck my brain out, but I did see some interesting stuff. Where I was going with this is i saw a show on demolition equipment and that said that demolition equipment operators have the highest job satisfaction of ANY profession. I'll let you draw your own implications from that.
Watching wrecking crews is interesting. In New York City wrecking balls have been outlawed for years, until parts of the remaining buildings at the Trade Center had to come down. I had never seen one in real life before. If the crane operator didn't swing it, he dropped it causing major floor cave-ins. Then he take a couple of swings again until the steel girders finally gave way. It seemed to be a one floor at a time process. Anyway, everything from Bobcats to massive Cats really makes me watch in awe! I love that stuff!
#1: Railfanning. BN mostly, but BNSF and CP Rail also tickle my fancy. I tend to like the SD90MACs and AC4400CW's that CP runs thru town every day. #2 Computer games/ebay/internet music I just got cable internet, and I'm on cloud 9! Ebay is my weak link...... #3 The cats: Mopar and Chessie--Keeping them out of trouble is almost a full-time job. #4 Drag racing; I hve 96 Dodge Dakota v8 that scoots..... #5: Discovery channel, and movies on HBO, etc. Digi-cable is great! Last, but certainly NOT least, my wife. Kristal is not a hobby, she's an obsession. She doesn't rank on the list, as she doesn't belong on it! Sometimes the trains get on her nerves when I spend 6 hours *they go by so fast!!* in the basement with nary a peep to her....
One last thing, I almost forgot.... Cleveland Indians Detroit Red Wings Go Wings!!!! NASCAR Winston Cup
No particular order Trains Photography Nascar Outer Banks been far to long since I have been there. Oh well maybe next year. Pets 2cats and a spoiled Yorkie Wife Net surfing Listening to police scanner Reading true crime
I debated posting this for everyone to see since I have already responded privately both through email and snail mail. But the gesture was so nice I want to thank him publicly too. Bill {IRONHORSEMAN} sent me something not only from his collection but something very personal. Thank you Bill and man, may I say you are a Top Shelf guy! JT
Johnny, I don't know how I missed this thread (travelling I guess). Your assessment of Ironhorseman is right on. Can I split this into "Usetodo" and "Nowdo"? As ancient as I am, have dropped the following: Work (4 letter word) Tennis Raquetball Wrestling Hockey Flying Still do: Real trains, steam only Family, wife of 41 years, kids, grandkids Photography Watching hockey Music (listening) Catholic Airplanes History Making videos (trains and grandkids) This durned computer Volunteer work I forgot the rest [ 26 May 2002, 23:30: Message edited by: fitz ]
Fitz, from one Catholic to another, you are a Top Shelf guy too! I seem to remember that during the aftermath of 9/11 we all had some emotions that were something no one had ever felt before. You said if I needed to talk I could give you a call. I don't forget things like that. There are some darn good folks in this place, TrainBoard. Thanks to all of you I can sit here and talk trains and tell jokes and share moments. Until the rolling pin comes out that is.................
