Titus 2:11-3:11

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.

Let no man despise thee.

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Matthew 15:21-28

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word.

And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Jesus said [to the Syrophoenician woman], “O, woman, great is thy faith.” She had not heard of the prophecies concerning Jesus; she was not bred and born and educated in a way in which she was likely to become a believer, and yet did become a believer of the first class. It was marvellous that it should be so, but grace delights in doing wonders. She had not seen the Lord before in her life, she was not like those who had associated with him for many months: and yet, with but one view of him, she gained this great faith. It was astonishing, but the grace of God is always astonishing. Perhaps she had never seen a miracle: all that her faith had to rest upon was that she had heard in her own country that the Messiah of the Jews was come, and she believed that the Man of Nazareth was he, and on this she relied.

O brethren, with all our advantages, with the opportunities that we have of knowing the whole life of Christ, and understanding the doctrines of the gospel as they are revealed to us in the New Testament, with many years of observation and experience, our faith ought to be much stronger than it is. Does not this poor woman shame us when we see her with her slender opportunities nevertheless so strong in faith, so that Jesus himself commending her says, “O woman, great is thy faith.”

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Little Dogs," delivered August 6, 1876.

Keyser Model Kits P.O./P.O. Tours 4-6-0 locomotive in HO scale...

...and even all that may be wrong. I have found very little information on this other that the original owner and photographer's pictures. It will be on its way here shortly to join my growing stash of kits set aside to keep my fingers busy when work runs out. I have found nothing on the net except for a few auction listings and so would appreciate any history out there if you readers would know of it...

Luke 12:42-50

And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Sorry I'm not posting with any regularity...

...it's going to continue to be a very busy summer, I hope to be settled into the new home by fall.


...the old logging road that basically cuts our property in half...


...my train room will be nestled into that grove of pine---surrounded by a 4 bedroom/2 bath house...

II Corinthians 6:14-18

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

And the band plays on...the Great Gaffiti Debate...

I hope this turns out well...

No one will be able to stand before eternity's final bar and say, "So and so made me do it." Some yutz made a conscious decision to go out and vandalize something, already knowing full well that it's wrong. That society has accepted the idea that outside forces motivate an individual's actions only gives the offender a guilt free pass to go out and do more...after all, it ultimately isn't his fault, it's those miscreants at the train club down the street that made him do it, right?

My putting a bar on my layout does not mean I condone the drinking that led some drunk to hit the road last night and kill a family of five just up the road from my house. My putting a nude of a girl swimming does not mean I condone the adultery that led to two divorces I know of.*** The tank cars I model carry the same chemicals used to make crystal meth in some wannabe chemist's lab. Does my modeling fire hydrants mean I condone the actions of the arsonist that necessitates their presence in my neighborhood?

How many have hobos on their layout? Do you understand that they used to light their fires with grease stolen from the journal boxes on the trucks? This often robbed wheelsets of important lubricant which, if not spotted in time, would lead to a hot box, which would then lead to sheared axles, the resulting derailments costing untold thousands in damages, fires and even the loss of life? Their graffiti was and is a road map of suckers willing to cater to their panhandling.

I model what appeals to my sense of reality because it enhances my models. My N scale reflects a tinplate heritage, my HO goes two ways, collector model and scenicked realism. That other people enjoy my work is a plus but not a driving force. I lose no sleep over those who may be offended...there's always plenty, no matter the topic. Our national motto should be changed from "E Pluribus Unum" to "Perpetuo Offensus Ad Infinitum".

Don't get me wrong, watching one's work get destroyed on a daily basis is something I too have to deal with. It plainly sucks eggs. I deal with graffiti and vandalism every day making my rounds. Sometimes my job requires carrying a ballistic clipboard. Take a ride with me and you might understand why I have little patience for self-righteous indignation. But I've long ago learned to separate my modeling from what I work with. I own the cars, I "tag" the cars so therefore I accept full responsibility for damaging railroad property and regularly sentence myself to community service cleaning the railroad shops (read that: clean the workbench).

***BTW, my removing these elements from my layout was more in keeping with Godly virtue in that I did not want a weaker brother or sister to stumble at a liberty I have, something much more pleasing to Christ.

Memorial Day 2012...

...some others gave all too...

Titus 2

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.

Let no man despise thee.

Krick Model 2 two cylinder marine steam engine...Part VI, the base...

My marine engine friends would rather it be mounted into a boat. Alas, that is not possible...owning a piece of property and putting a home on it are now top priorities.

A base was necessary though as, once polished, it gets hard to handle without smudging it all up. I could think of no more fitting base than a reminder of God's continued grace poured out on me and my family. This is a scrap drawer front from one of the subsidized housing units I work with, a place my family and I could just as easily be residents of were it not for His unmerited favor and lovingkindness on us.





The area we are moving to is quite beautiful, the nearby town as small as they can get without disappearing off the map, a mere crossroad with a smattering of buildings that include a post office and grocer, yet a major hospital is not far at all.

While I have given up on the other denominations, there is a local Baptist church that I will look into. Sucking on a green persimmon should help me fit right in. I'm sure the nearby Pentecostals will be more than happy to swing from the rafters for us but I've grown weary of that show. There's a UMC just down the street as well, but I've already been fired from them once.

Here's a faith tester---would His unmerited favor and lovingkindness be any less were we to have to live in one of those subsidized units? I can think of at least one Pepsodent smile wearing TV preacher that would say 'Yes" to that...and be wrong.

Looks like it's gonna be an interestin' summer...

I am now a land owner...

...1.998 acres, the highest piece of ground in this part of the state.

Northwest Short Line 18 ton HO scale Shay...yet again...

...October 1973 Model Railroader magazine ad...

Hebrews 10

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam forum Engine of the Month...

...alas...my Krick Model 2 did not make the cut...

Northwest Short Line 18 ton HO scale Shay...again...

...the original introductory ad, October, 1973, Railroad Model Craftsman magazine...




Contrary to the ad, it does not come with all wheels driven...a production glitch that never was rectified as far as I know. Since most brass locomotives are sold to collectors who then turn them into shelf queens, it's highly unlikely few owners even knew of it--then or now.

May you and yours have a blessed and safe Resurrection Day...

I've never forgotten the story a fireman tells of a fire he was in charge of as captain. Knowing that the house was fully involved and not salvageable, he noticed the family, a mother, father and small boy standing nearby. Slowly he walked up to them to break the news..."I'm sorry folks, there's no way we can save your home." The child's response surprised him when the boy grabbed his parents by the hands and said, "Oh no mister, this is my home, we just lost our house..."

...the time has come for me to yet again look for a house for my family--not a home, a house. It is going to require me to sell down more of my models to finance the incidentals, and walk in a faith heretofore untested. Quite frankly, a mortgage is out of the question to me, yet another reminder that I've never owned a house and that years of toil and improvements on the places I've lived in and "owned", have only been to the ultimate benefit of others--something that doesn't inspire me a whole lot moving forward. Rent is absurd around here, and the current career track looks foggy...in short, it's been a long two weeks... Never mind that there are a couple of radio preachers telling me to just claim my material blessing by faith..."Lord, please bless those two circus clowns with padlocks on their mouths...may their Mercedes Benz be found running over their Edward Greens with their feet still in them instead of their mouths, Amen"

Posts will be sporadic from here on out, my prayer is that the Lord bless and keep each of you, my readers and your families...

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

And they remembered his words...--(Luke 24:4-8)

Isaiah 8:11-22

For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.

Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Oil can alcohol burner...

Two weeks back I bought 2 nice small oil cans for my engines. This one had a great deal of rust in it and, while cleaning it out, I managed to take the temper out of the bottom that removed the familiar dome button action that facilitated oiling. Irked at my ignorance, I nearly tossed it...until I came up with this sweet burner.

I simply removed the spout and mounted it to be used both as a handle and a vent for the reservoir. The wick comes up through the remaining spout and, because of the taper, is a natural fit and easy to install. The vent is through the end of the handle, mounted into a hole in the reservoir and sealed with JB Weld. Works like a champ...


LITIGIOUS SOCIETY DISCLAIMER: Denatured alcohol is nasty because it burns nearly invisible. Because life's lottery has unfairly distributed technical skills and knowledge among folks, leaving more than a few with the mechanical aptitude of a grape, and few with the fortitude to take responsibility for their actions, you take your life, family and house into your own hands if you follow through with this or any technical advise I offer on this blog.

Wilesco factory tour...

Psalm 36

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.