...forgot my Friday Night Christmas lights post...

...as always, best served loud...

Wednesday's Word, Psalm 40:1-6...

(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

I often hear concerning people who have passed away in their sleep; "Man, that's the way to go." Really? And if your eternal destiny is not forever with Christ? I couldn't imagine a more wretched wake up call...

No, give me Jacob's...my hand on my children's heads blessing them and telling them that God's hand is upon them---even when they're screwballs like eleven of his son's were---then pulling my legs up into bed as I go home, my favorite son closing my eyes...check it out in Genesis 49. That's the way to go.

Estes Model Rocketry...

When I was in the sixth grade and then again when I was in my late 20s, I actively participated in the hobby of model rockets. I miss many of those classic kits, the Orbital Transport being one that comes to mind. Once built, it had a shuttle that would separate from the main ship, then both would return to earth, the shuttle gliding and the transport by parachute.

Recently, I had picked up a small Beta Series "Wizard" kit at a local flea market, intending to introduce my son to the hobby...model trains don't really click with him but Star Wars surely does.

The kit was one thing but when one tosses in the price of engines, wadding and a launch system, a clear threat to my already small hobby budget was in the making...'til one of the teenagers on the property got their learner's permit and wanted to know if Mr. Shaygetz would like to have 'this stuff'...



"Why thank you son, yes I would..."

Franklin Mint 1:24 scale Rolls Royce Silver Ghost...

...one of the harder parts about my job is losing a resident. This one was an unimposing gentleman who had been here for a little over a year. One learned quickly not to get him started on any discussion of current national politics. He also owned a small collection of diecast cars.



I post this in his memory, purchased at a yard sale for very little money, shown dusted off and the one broken lamp reattached.

Isaiah 40

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

New Column: Original Ad Saturdays...

...to recapture memories for some, and to give a perspective on where the hobby as I practice it comes from.

From the November 1973 Model Railroader magazine...

1:35,000 Scale Working Model Train Might Be The World’s Smallest...

...what do you think?

Lionel Christmas 2009...

Company Christmas party lineup getting lubed and ready...

...from the upper left going clockwise...

Tyco GP20/Athearn redux, Con-Cor Cotton Belt GP40, Bachmann N&W Class "J" 4-8-4 and Bachmann 4-8-4 AT&SF Northern...



...I miss those Christmas gardens I grew up around, there are so few nowadays that I'm looked on as a genuine oddity. I blame Dept. 56 ceramic houses...sigh...

Wednesday's Word, Psalm 4...

(To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David.) Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

TYCO GP20 remotor project...ongoing...

...no one can ever accuse me of hurrying a project along...what's this? 6 months now?

Handrails, metal ones are a must on my TYCOs...



...and a new air bell. Let's see what I can get done by Christmas...

Jeremiah 11:6-15

Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not. And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

Barebones model railroading...

...if we hafta explain, you just really wouldn't understand anyway...

Model Railroader magazine...

...has been the hobby mainstay for many years and now my massive pile is slowly being beaten into order.

I personally believe its golden years were from the late '60s up until the early '80s when it started going from a treatise on the craft of model railroading into the glossy industry rag it is today. Nothing wrong with that if that is how you choose to enjoy the hobby. My collection, though far from complete, runs right up to 2007. I'd rather learn how to tune up open frame motors and make scenery from asbestos powder, Rit die and hemp rope while painting my stable of steam with stove black...

JMC/Con-Cor N scale N&W 2-8-8-2 Y6b circa 1977...

Got a question from a reader asking how to remove the boiler shell on this model. As with all things Rivarossi, the mechanism is a marvel of simplicity. The boiler is held on by pins that pressure fit into holes on the shell near the firebox, very similar to diesel model body shells...



...just carefully pry the shell apart at those points, slide the cab end up and then forward and the shell will come right off, revealing the mechanism...



Hope that helps...

Wednesday's Word, Ephesians 2:4-22...

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Athearn HO scale L&N U30c...

A gift from an online friend...

TYCO 2-8-0 Chattanooga Choo Choo, part V...

In my initial test runs, I found the motors to be exceptionally fast...I mean, like put-an-Athearn-Hustler-rubber-band-drive-to-shame fast. To remedy this, I wired a 1/4 watt 1000 ohm resistor into the circuit, reducing the speed at least 70%. Coupled with a transistor throttle with pulse and I have a nice running---albeit noisy---locomotive.



NOTE TO SELF: Work on noise issue like, now...

UPDATE: Gonna need to experiment with different resistors. There appears to be a wide range of reactions according to the various brands of motors I'm using. The one above will probably work better with say, a 1/4 watt 330 ohm unit...

Aster live steam in Italy...

Psalm 90

A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.