Thursday January 16

[TomO/Tloc]

Good morning from the wilds of So. Central Wisconsin where the miserable chilly weather might become a day for shorts. It is +16f degrees heading to 35. The cool temperatures return on Saturday.

We needs food and drinks! The coffee is the ever faithful Ashpit blend. Teas, milk, juices and sodas are in the cooler. You'll have to make your own hot chocolate. The food today is an English Muffin with grilled ham or bacon, a hard fried egg and cheeses of choice.

Today is a day of rest from looking for a new vehicle. I have been searching since New Years to beat the rush of tariffs. We started out with cars but Terry and I both came to the realization that a compact SUV would be best for us. This week we've tested 9 vehicles and nothing has tripped the trigger. Today I will be in the train room

Have a great day
TomO

[PRR Modeler]

Good Morning All,

Thanks for breakfast Tom. I hope I never have to car shop again.

Started out with a walk today with a feel like temp of 47F. Today I have floor chores then taking down HOA decorations.

I hope everyone has a good day.

[MartyO]

Brr Morning,

It is going to be in the -16c range for the next week. I do need the coffee.

[deemery]

It was an even dozen (+12F) when I took the dogs out, but it's warmed up now to 22.  I should get a fair amount of bench time today.

The first 10 day forecast is in for Springfield weekend, 12" 3" of snow on Friday from one weather app    Another shows no precipitation and high around freezing.  

dave

[jerryrbeach]

Good morning.

Fifteen degrees with a low single digit wind chill and light snow.  Forecast high around twenty degrees with another inch or so of the white stuff. 

Freight car research much of yesterday and thus far this morning.  Ordered some detail parts for boxcars yesterday.  Still waiting for two other purchases to arrive, now up to three. Cannot move forward on a couple projects without the parts I ordered.  Hopefully I can shift gears and make some progress on an actual model today.

i hope everyone has a safe warm and enjoyable day!

[jbvb]

South of Dave it's a little warmer and high clouds are dimming the sun.  My stepson brought "Flu A" home from school Tuesday and has been in his bedroom almost all the time since. My wife and I are masking when we go near him and haven't felt symptoms yet.  Given how it knocked a teen down, I give it AVOID.

I touched up the rivets on the first side of my PRR flat car last night, hope to do the other side this afternoon. But first get a room for the Amherst Club show in West Springfield, MA.  I'll be at the Flying Yankee Association table in the Young Building on Sunday the 26th.

[KentuckySouthern]

Cold and off and on snow in the lower mid central lower MI.  Temps in 20s later, "warm" 30s tomorrow and serious decline over the weekend into next week.

A couple bills need paying and bench and layout projects are a default in the intended realm.

Be well all.

[GPdemayo]

Morning all.....

[Jim Donovan]

Good morning from the wilds of So. Central Wisconsin where the miserable chilly weather might become a day for shorts. It is +16f degrees heading to 35. The cool temperatures return on Saturday.

We needs food and drinks! The coffee is the ever faithful Ashpit blend. Teas, milk, juices and sodas are in the cooler. You'll have to make your own hot chocolate. The food today is an English Muffin with grilled ham or bacon, a hard fried egg and cheeses of choice.

Today is a day of rest from looking for a new vehicle. I have been searching since New Years to beat the rush of tariffs. We started out with cars but Terry and I both came to the realization that a compact SUV would be best for us. This week we've tested 9 vehicles and nothing has tripped the trigger. Today I will be in the train room

Have a great day
TomO

Tom;
My bride and I just bought a new car the Pacifica by Chrysler. Trust me I am no Chrysler fan but it appears they got this one right. This will be the second we owned. The first one had all the whistles and bells that we found we rarely if ever used. This one is the so called 'select' model, seats (except driver) are manual but it has the active noise canceling system which makes it as quiet if not more so than the various Lexus I owned most of my business career. What I love about them is you fold the seats into floor and you can stuff sheets of 4 x 8 plywood in back. We paid $37,000 out the door with a $13,000 trade in on the 7 year old Pacifica we had with about 80,000 miles on it. If I was a better negotiator I am sure I could have got perhaps another 500- 1000 off. Car has no navigation but carplay connects with your phone using bluetooth automatically which works a lot better anyhow. Worth a look if you haven't seen them. Weakest link is transmission, always has been so get warranty on it. After 70,000 miles we were feeling car shift more, same as other old Chryslers I drove in past. Happy hunting.

Jim

[Jim Donovan]

Good Morning;

A fun day or me today. Wife is out with girl friends and I am at a stage o my latest model where the fun begins, does not get much better than that. Oh, did I mention it is cold out? Therefore I must stay in (darn) and have a second cup of coffee. Hope everyone has a great day.

Jim

[BandOGuy]

Good morning from the wilds of So. Central Wisconsin where the miserable chilly weather might become a day for shorts. It is +16f degrees heading to 35. The cool temperatures return on Saturday.

We needs food and drinks! The coffee is the ever faithful Ashpit blend. Teas, milk, juices and sodas are in the cooler. You'll have to make your own hot chocolate. The food today is an English Muffin with grilled ham or bacon, a hard fried egg and cheeses of choice.

Today is a day of rest from looking for a new vehicle. I have been searching since New Years to beat the rush of tariffs. We started out with cars but Terry and I both came to the realization that a compact SUV would be best for us. This week we've tested 9 vehicles and nothing has tripped the trigger. Today I will be in the train room

Have a great day
TomO

As a semi-certifiable car nut and experienced car shopper, you might make a visit to a Carvana or similar used car emporium. You can try all the minivans they have and let someone else take the big hit on first- and second-year depreciation which can be BIG bucks. Roger Penske who has been in cars forever runs an operation on the east coast called (currently) CarSense. He may be in your area under a different name, but our dealings with CarSense have never been a problem.

[westtexjohn]

Good afternoon to all........

I have a drafting project for an old customer to work on today. I'll need today and next Sunday to have it finished on Monday.

Got an e-mail saying my 5 MP4 switch machines are shipping today. I hope to get them and 4 other servo motor turnouts installed next week.

Headed to Plano Texas tomorrow for train show on Saturday. Looking forward to that. I don't need a thing but it is good to get away for a day or so and visit with others who share the hobby. Weather is supposed to be good but turning cold again for the next week. I was out in a tee shirt yesterday.

At my age and with the vehicles I own, I hope to never have to purchase another. No way I would buy a new car these days. It sure pays to do research on the interweb and a lot of good info is available on YouTube. No way I would ever buy an electric car. While an electric car may work well as an intercity commuter vehicle, taking a long trip is out of the question. Just my 2 cents.

Have a great day....John