RANT THREAD?

[Pontiacguy1]

The grim reaper is gaining on EVERYONE, young and old alike! That's why you need to go run when you have the chance to, do something fun while you have the chance to, play with the kids when you have the chance to, etc... I always think: well, I'll make it next year, or, I'll come back next time, or, I'll visit with my dad next week, or, my son and I will go fishing next month... There just might not be a next time.

[cbrew]

ha, while i sit here at the office, not one else in the building. ( i arrive at 5 am, why because i can and i hate Portland Or traffic)
i am reading about all you old guys and gals talking about retirement. i reflect back to my decision to not wait for retirement to enjoy my hobbies. I learned this by watching my father lose his battle with cancer before seeing any of his steam projects coming to completion.
I took steps to make time for them, striking a good balance between family, work and hobby. I finished my first steam locomotive at the ripe old age of 27. 16 years later, 5 locomotives and over 20 cars later. i have come to really enjoy my time in the shop. I tell people my time in the shop is my version of therapy for dealing with the everyday BS you see working in an office.
I still have 20 years before i hit retirement age and i have realized there is a really good chance i will never see that point in life. maybe i will, maybe i will not. as its been said, the grim reaper is hot on our tails..

Since we are on the rant topics, It really gets old about people bitching about what others decide to burn on their steam locomotives. I have even been told i don't have a real steam locomotive because i picked to burn Dino farts. who gives a crap, if it boils water. lets play...

Here is the Allen american i first finished in 2002 after a full rebuild (fixing all the noob mistakes i made when i didn't know anything about machine work) this was shot on state boiler test day at Kitsap Live steamers, good news the 17 year old boiler passed the Washington state inspection as is now approved for 150 psi, operating at 135 (safeties set 135 and 140). raising the operating pressure from 110 to 135 really woke the ole girl up, i can not wait to get the 7 passenger cars coupled up

[ccvstmr]

When this thread was 1st posted...thought contributors were going to "air" issues they see (or have seen) in the hobby from the building or operating aspects. Didn't realize it would morph into comments regarding computers, retirement and other. The environment...environmental policies have touched many areas in this country (and world for that matter). Detroit and their suppliers were able to develop "work arounds" to eliminate claimed hazardous materials. But, life goes on...albeit, maybe not as easy or convenient as it used to be.

In this hobby, you'd think courtesy and decency would prevail at all times. Not true. Common sense...as it turns out is NOT so common. People have heard me make the following observation...the hobby is full of people that love trains, but know little about railroading. This is not meant to be a derogatory remark. There are persons on this board that have and/or still work in the railroad industry. Engineers don't have to be a real railroader to enjoy the hobby. Hobbyists do NOT have to memorize a Code of Operating Rules. However, when it comes to train ops... some basic knowledge or experience goes a long way so everybody can enjoy the hobby. Having said that...here's a few things that raise my blood pressure...

1) throw turnouts against your train when parking. There's no better way to protect the front and rear of your train than making sure other trains don't venture onto you track.

2) in conjunction with #1...short trains should park on short yard or stub tracks...leaving the longer tracks for long trains. Else, you might find a short train gets blocked in.

3) DO NOT BLOCK ACCESS to water tanks or hoses for steam locomotives. When a steam loco needs water...IT NEEDS WATER!

4) don't stop on the mainline to start a conversation and block any traffic behind. This is what yards and passing tracks are for.

5) leave sufficient distance between the front of your train and the train you're following. You can be sure the engineer ahead does NOT want his caboose reduced to a pile of kindling.

6) figure out a way to quickly load or unload your equipment when visiting other tracks. This is a sure way to kill an experience when you're stuck behind someone taking his time to get on/off a railroad. If nothing else, load the equipment, secure it so you can move out of the way to finish tying everything down. Looking for ideas? See what other people have done. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery.

7) for steam locomotives...make sure your feed water hardware (injectors, steam pumps), safety valves, whistles and brakes are in working order BEFORE leaving the steaming bay area. It'll be easier to resolve issues in the bays than on the mainline.

8} carry a loco/equipment lifter/re-railer on your train. Have a portable one in my caboose. Don't leave the yard without one!

Are there more? Sure there are. This was enough to start. Time to go calm down...Carl B.

[cbrew]

6) figure out a way to quickly load or unload your equipment when visiting other tracks. This is a sure way to kill an experience when you're stuck behind someone taking his time to get on/off a railroad. If nothing else, load the equipment, secure it so you can move out of the way to finish tying everything down. Looking for ideas? See what other people have done. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery.

7) for steam locomotives...make sure your feed water hardware (injectors, steam pumps), safety valves, whistles and brakes are in working order BEFORE leaving the steaming bay area. It'll be easier to resolve issues in the bays than on the mainline.

these two are big for me also.
I have been chasing the best transport methods for a while, this is the latest one. it copies what i did in the cargo trailer by allowing to load the truck so i can tow the travel trailer.
I just finished applying color last night. i will be loading it for the first time this weekend.
Loco and tender on the lower center. the other six spots get a passenger car each

[SteveHGraham]

I installed sling studs on a Marlin Model 60 rifle...wait; let me rant about the gun first.

I had a Nylon 66 rifle. I wanted to shoot squirrels with it, but I found out you can't scope it because the receiver flexes and moves the zero. People said I should get a Model 60 or a Ruger 10/22. I read that the Model 60 was more accurate, so I bought one.

The gun shot 5" groups at 50 feet. I had to send it back to Remington, which is the company that owns Marlin. They gave up on it and sent me a new one. This took a month.

I learned some disturbing things about the Model 60. It won't shoot hypersonic .22 rounds, so you can forget about CCI Stingers (which I bought before I learned of the problem). It also has the worst trigger in the history of firearms. It seems like it has half an inch of take-up, and then it's so hard to make it go off, it feels like the safety is on.

The Nylon 66 has a great trigger and will shoot anything short of nuclear cartridges. But that makes sense, because it was made in 1973, when mankind had superior technology (?).

Another fine thing: because the Marlin has a tube magazine, you can't use ordinary sling studs on it. They make ridiculous studs that clamp to the tube, so when you wrap the sling around your arm, you're bending the magazine!

I had to install a new trigger apparatus and recoil spring, at a cost of about $70, just to make the gun work. Then I had to invent my own way of modifying a stud so it would attach to the forestock without attaching to the magazine.

I thought I was out of the woods when I got that stud attached. I started working on the rear stud. The wood in the stock chips and tears very easily, so I took pains to avoid ripping up the new screw hole. It was supposed to be a 5/32" hole with the first 1/4" opened up to 7/32". I drilled the small hole without problems. Then to prevent tearing, I took a Dremel-type stone and opened up the top of the hole. I put the 7/32" bit in, and it tore the wood anyway.

Really annoying.

Now the gun has a tiny chip no one can see, which drives me crazy. I'm going to have to fill it and stain it.

[Greg_Lewis]

And furthermore....
WHY IS IT that any piece you have saved as a leftover from some other project will always be a half-inch too short for what you currently need?
And WHY IS IT that the industrial supply company has a $25 minimum order and you will ALWAYS find one more $2 item you need just after you placed the order?
And WHY IS IT that when you drop a tiny part, it will ALWAYS bounce under the workbench to be forever lost among the dust and detritus that lives under there?

[Steggy]

And WHY IS IT that when you drop a tiny part, it will ALWAYS bounce under the workbench to be forever lost among the dust and detritus that lives under there?

Don't get me started on floor drains. They are like parts magnets.

...here's a few things that raise my blood pressure...

Furthermore to Carl's rant:

9) Don't dump your ash pan in the middle of the mainline.

10) Coal is supposed to go into the firebox, not onto the right-of-way.

11) "Oiling around" refers to lubricating the locomotive's motion, not the rails, ties and ballast.

☻

[Greg_Lewis]

....
6) figure out a way to quickly load or unload your equipment when visiting other tracks. This is a sure way to kill an experience when you're stuck behind someone taking his time to get on/off a railroad. If nothing else, load the equipment, secure it so you can move out of the way to finish tying everything down. Looking for ideas? See what other people have done. Copying is the sincerest form of flattery.
....
Time to go calm down...Carl B.

My favorite story about that is arriving at a meet to find the unloading spot taken, which isn't a problem except the taker took 45 minutes to unload one locomotive and two riding cars. Oh well. After a good two days of running, I decided to load up after dinner to be ready to leave in the morning. When I pulled around to the loading area, there he was again. And it took him another 45 minutes to load up the one locomotive and the two cars. (This is also the one who parks his truck for the duration of the meet in such a place that it makes it harder to back into the loading zone.)

[Greg_Lewis]

And another thing:
Slow runners who won't take sidings. I've been at meets where the whole track is backed up behind a slow poke who refuses to let traffic pass. Here in California, on the highway, you can get a ticket for that!

[DianneB]

And another thing:
Slow runners ....

HEY! I resemble that remark!

I run a 7.5" Ga. 1962 LE American that will run at prototypical speed all day long (like 30 scale MPH) but if I open it up, even 'notched up', I can't maintain steam pressure (not that I would want to run at those speeds)! That's why I go to the club EARLY - so I can have a good run before the 7.5" Ga. Pacifics and electrics are ready to go. When they come off, I'll go back out on the Main.

[DianneB]

And WHY IS IT that when you drop a tiny part, it will ALWAYS bounce under the workbench to be forever lost among the dust and detritus that lives under there?

That's why I keep my shop floor swept! Not that I am a "neat freak" but that I hate crawling around on my hands and knees looking for a tiny nut!

[SteveHGraham]

Why is Imodium--a pill you take when seconds matter--the hardest pill to get out of the package? Can someone explain this to me?