Ready for a long winter's nap...

This should keep me busy through the coming winter, a boxlot of goodies for the price of postage to get it here. It contains everything from the complete to the mostly destroyed, I'm already pleased and I still have one more box on the way.

Marklin HO scale HR800...

Note the "blind" or flangeless center driver. This is to help negotiate the exceptionally tight radii of Marklin's "M" track. It was not unusual to find this on full size locomotives either.

Wednesday's Word---A.W. Tozer...

Failure and Success: Paralysis From Past Mistakes

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.---Psalm 103:11-12

Do not let any of the things of the world or past mistakes paralyze your hearts. I believe there are Christians who have allowed some of their past mistakes to paralyze them. You were so bright and cheerful in your spiritual life once, and then you made some tragic mistake or had something happen to you. You got out of it somehow, and prayed and wept your way out of it. But it did something to you, and now you cannot lick it. Past wrongs that have been done to you, past failures, times you thought you were going to win and did not, or present sins or discouragement-these things are not mental at all. They are deeper than that; they are subconscious, and they prevent us from believing.

I most urgently exhort you, and I trust God Almighty to deliver you; to sponge that out of your spirit; to sponge that out of your heart so you are not hindered by unbelief.---Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church, pp. 162-163

Bachmann HO scale Beano 2-8-2 with vanderbilt tender...

The Wooten firebox tells me that the model has a Reading RR locomotive for a prototype. It was part of a 5 loco lot on Ebay that I got for $40. I simply matched up the tenders to their respective engines and turned around and resold this one and two others, doubling my money while giving me two additional engines to my fleet.

An interesting thread started in another forum, centering around the current global financial situation and its impact on the hobby on a personal level. Some time back, I found myself sitting down, taking a long, hard look at what I've accumulated in light of the recent events. Did I have too much? Did I spend monies that could have better served elsewhere? Because I'm at the bottom of the food chain work wise, will there be any regrets if my job goes away?

I've since discussed it with my beloved and we both agree that this hobby has paid for itself several times over, both financially and mentally. I've made wise purchases, bought low, sold high, enjoyed myself and never denied my family anything to get another model. In short, I have no regrets, regardless of the coming storm.

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah.

His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah.

Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.

When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

The influence of ads...

Of all the ads in Model Railroader I've read over the years, these two from the October 1973 issue stand out as the most influential for spurring my creative imagination at the time in my life that the hobby was going from "playing with trains" to model railraoding.

This PFM ad just screams wall art...



I was surprised to see how little scenery was in this Cox ad, I thought there was much more but then again, ours is a hobby that relies on perception and illusion.

Luke 12:16-40

(16) And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

(17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

(18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

(19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

(20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

(21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

(22) And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

(23) The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

(24) Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

(25) And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?

(26) If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

(27) Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

(28) If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

(29) And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

(30) For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

(31) But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

(32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

(33) Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

(34) For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

(35) Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

(36) And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

(37) Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

(38) And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

(39) And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

(40) Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

No hobby is worth having...

...if you can't share it with your kids. I do my level best to replace "Don't touch." to "Hold it carefully now." It may cost me a stray part here and again, but I'll never have children with bitter feelings towards my models should the time come to part out my estate when God calls me home...

December 1967 Model Railroader magazine...

...the one that started it all. I was 8 years old and it was spring 1968 when I found this on the magazine rack at the Baltimore County Public Library. Guess I should be glad it wasn't R/C Modeler or...shudder...Golf magazine.

Aristo-craft Distinctive Miniatures...

...Model Railroader magazine, September 1962. Anybody got one o' them 4-2-2 Baldwin 1880 "Bicycle types" or that 0-4-4 Mason Bogie lyin' around? I assure you, there are few that can afford two of those today without some financial pause.

This guy's got it bad...

Newcomer's non-comprehensive HO scale coupler guide...

Horn/hook a.k.a. X2f or NMRA type, neither of which is correct. Comes standard equipment with most toy and low end trains. Without it, HO might not have gotten to where it is today so speak of it in hushed, reverential tones...



Knuckle type, magnetic or otherwise. Generally compatible with each other---if it has a plastic "whisker" on the side, toss it far, far away. Brought out in the early '60s by Kadee, then duped in a myriad of ways when the patent ran out, it has been the standard of HO for many advanced modelers for a very long time. However, operations oriented modelers like to spend money on them, then clip the trip pin for a more realistic look and enhanced ops...go figure...



Since neither of the above shall meet, behold the Magic Mate coupler. It is designed to couple both knuckle and horn/hooks together, making for an effective transitional coupler. Some HO cars need serious modifications to change over from horn/hooks---an undesirable idea on a rare collectible---and so this makes a great way to put a train of both types together as well.



The European hook/loop types I'll tackle another time as they are not too common stateside...

Lima...



Marklin...

Wednesday's Word...

Revival: Not Just Intensity of Prayer

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.---John 14:21

Intensity of prayer is no criterion of its effectiveness. A man may throw himself on his face and sob out his troubles to the Lord and yet have no intention to obey the commandments of Christ. Strong emotion and tears may be no more than the outcropping of a vexed spirit, evidence of stubborn resistance to God's known will....

No matter what I write here, thousands of pastors will continue to call their people to prayer in the forlorn hope that God will finally relent and send revival if only His people wear themselves out in intercession. To such people God must indeed appear to be a hard taskmaster, for the years pass and the young get old and the aged die and still no help comes. The prayer meeting room becomes a wailing wall and the lights burn long, and still the rains tarry.

Has God forgotten to be gracious? Let any reader begin to obey and he will have the answer. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him"---(John 14:21).

Isn't that what we want after all?---The Size of the Soul, 20-21.

-----<<<<<>>>>>-----

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.---(Ezekiel 37:1-14)

MRC ad, Great Model Railroads 1993...

When I was growing up, reading Model Railroader magazine took the place of comics. Early on I found I had an eye for things askew in the photographs. To this day, it never ceases to amaze me what can get past an editor...


How many gaffs can you find?




Note the U-boat in the rear with its rear truck "in the cinders". How about the front driver on that Southern 2-8-2? Not going far like that, is it? Note the tender---which should be following the engine---isn't a Southern unit, but rather is lettered for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its truck is off the rails also.


That CSX unit is busted...not a good prop to push your product with. And that Southern 0-4-0...its on the cinders, too.

I'm not knocking MRC, I've long ago been a loyal customer, since the days when they offered N scale motive power. I just wonder who was at the wheel the day the final proof was pushed across the desk to go to the printers.

Tyco HO scale Virginian 4 bay open hopper...

...with a little weathering, replacement ladders and grab irons, Kadee couplers and Proto 2000 wheelsets. I only do this if the car is damaged, don't want any hate mail from the Tyco collectors.

John 17

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,

Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

LSU 26 Auburn 21...

Sorry, Mike, just had to rub THAT one in reeeeeally deep...

Can you believe...

...that it's time to oil up the trains for Christmas. Mine get 50-70 hours of running during the holidays so now's the time they get their yearly clean and lubes. About half of my fleet will get run at one point or another during Christmas.



Can you believe that Bachmann N&W Class "J" negotiates 17" radius curves?

Soviet Serkisof Demiryolu (Railway) pocket watch...

One of the interesting benefits of my work is the relationships I develop over the years with long term residents. When the older women find out I like model trains, well, let's just say I get some pretty intriguing items as thank you gifts. This one came to me today. I don't know much about it except that it's Soviet era, "Made in U.S.S.R." being printed on the face. The locomotive has surprising detail for its age and usage. I know they manufactured one HO scale train set in the Soviet Union (I will find one someday). Any further information would be greatly appreciated. It will be a treasured prayer reminder for my brethren in Russia.

UPDATE: From a reader;

This watch was made for export to Turkey.

"Demiryolu" means "railroad"/"railway" in Turkish.

The capital "i" in Serkisof and Demiryolu is dotted, because this is a letter in the Turkish alphabet.

Thank you very much, now I have a treasured prayer reminder for Russia AND Turkey.

Homemade HO scale ground throws...

...for about $2 each. Materials needed:

---DPDT switch
---length of KS tubing (the smallest they make)
---length of .020" and .015" KS brass rod
---scrap pieces of 1/8" aircraft plywood
---.010" shim brass
---2 match sticks or Campbell's bridge ties

Wiring any signal work and power routing will be a snap with these. I drilled holes through the nubbins for the throwbars then I made bases out of 1/8" aircraft plywood, cutting out where the switches set. This was necessary because of the foam base material I use on my layout, which doesn't hold up to regular pressure in a small area too well.





I then glued the switches in place. I corn fangled into center then angle down throwbar thingies from .020" brass rod and sleeves from .030" brass tubing. After throwing the switch towards the sleeve side, I placed the throwbars in their brass sleeves then glued them down. I put a drop of oil in each end of the sleeve to ensure that they don't get glued shut.





Dummy targets were made with a paper punch, .015" brass wire and shim brass...and several very crispy fingertips...sigh. They are only there for photographic use and pull out for operating the layout. The throwrods are bent upwards 90 degrees and will be then mounted under the switch through a hole in the points.



Cut, fit and glue, making sure that they will work before scenery and the rest of the track go in.





When I mount my turnouts, I first prepaint the roadbed with a dark grey as I don't care for ballasting my points. I can do it but it's tedious work and can make for additional headaches I don't want if not done carefully.

I extended the ties for the switch stands using Campbell's ties stained with a black Magic Marker.

Life-Like N scale billboard...

...or, what does an LSU fan give a Buckeye fan when their team folds like a cheap lawn chair under your team's defence in the BCS Championship game...



It simply amazes me the work one can do from your own computer with a basic graphic program. No more cheezy pre-printed billboards for me.