New garden layout

Now that you're in fighting shape... chiseled kite and all, plundering and claiming victors rights to the large green property immediately behind your back garden, just might be the thing to do. Good thinking, Joe.

Rally the clan and attack! Expand your empire... at all costs.

Make sure you post pictures of the battle...; and lay some track quickly to protect the coveted spoils of war, the land. England used to have "squatters rights" laws. Maybe, Scotland does too?

Beware of those white things, on the stone patio, with two wheels on the back, they'll **** up your steel kite.

I can already hear the pipes playing, as I visualize you, kilt clad, leading the charge...

Aye lad, it's the right thing to do!

Later me bold son,

Rick

Davy

Your Garden is truly unique and a work of art. I know it is a physically demanding one to build and at the same time a joy. I have done considerable stonework in my time and have maximum respect for your results. I really look forward to your future progress-posts. 

Hi Guys,

          Joe,Rick,Dewy, aye I'd like fine to expand into that green space BUT I don't think the local council authorities would be too pleased as its council ground,or for that matter my Mrs. See,I have no way of disguising the big parcels from America that keep turning up with O gauge locomotives and rolling stock plus the boxes of turnouts and track from England,so she knows that theres money gettin spent....and well you know how women are about us guys being good to ourselves...ha ha !. AND my wife is NOT a railway enthusiast AT ALL. Anyway guys glad you are enjoying the thread. I'm desperate to get trains running BUT the groundwork must come first. Believe me Dewey sometimes it feels like a never ending grind. I do all the cement work with my bare fingers between the stones as I'm no use with a trowel. Between the abrasion of the sand particles and the effect of the lime in the cement my fingers get in a sorry state,however I just stick some insulating tape over the hacks and raw skin and get on with it. Soon heal up again. I've tried wearing gloves but its no use. Anyway not so much more to do now.Just that back cornerwitht he flat stonework. I'm looking forward to doing the right hand side of the garden where I want to split the parallel double tracks away from each other. Haven't quite figured out the exact plan but its kinda formulatin in my brain. I'll start them seperating away from each other as they come out of the back run one climbing one heading downgrade then at some point over and under X 2 then back to double track in parallel again. Anyway guys,we sure as he-l have plenty water here tonight, passed thru four major road floods  to get home from Edinburgh . Its WET ! Anyway guys I'll say goodnight   Cheery   DAVY

Do ya need a good smack round the earhole, lad? What are ya doing putting your bare hands in wet cement?

There's warning labels for good reasons!

If you keep that up... a chronic condition, dermatitis, could develop or chemical burns...

Learn to work safely, Davy. You'll probably enjoy yourself more, too.

I know a little about this stuff..., because I was trained in Industrial First Aid. I had a "C" ticket.

BTW, you don't want to be inhaling the dry cement powder, either... made airborne by pouring and mixing the cement powder; and you should wear eye protection. Accidents can happen.

No point in doing all this work and not being able to enjoy it...

Lectures over.

Take care lad,

Rick

Hi Rick, my fingers are healing right now from the chemical burns from the cement but I'm fine. Just a bit more patio work to go and that will the last major cement work done. Anyway rain's off right now so I'm away to see if I can get some of that track laid. Worst that can happen there is me smacking myself on th fingers with the hammer....I think  ha ha !   catrch you later Rick,by the way how are you post your op ?     DAVY 

Aye Davy, you say your Mrs. is not interested in the railway in the least?! She must be a right fair lass to put up with the complete rebuilding disarray you have been causing about the house.

Hi Chris,inside the house is her domain ,outside is mine. Only thing is I think I'll be gettin asked to live outside too ! ha ha .  wee log cabin next to the pond would do me fine ! .    Davy

I tell you what, I wouldn't mind living out in that backyard. Not one bit. I'm sure the wife will enjoy sitting back there when it's done. Thanks for keeping us posted. I'm enjoying the ride.

Hi Joe,

          My father started off his life as a baby in a woodcutters hut (and I literally mean a small hut) in the Scottish highlands, my granny showed me how she used to clean her dirty pots and pans back then in the 20s  without liquid detergents and stuff.And with pride she explained that she used to take her pots/frying pan etc to the burn(stream).She'd pull a grass divot complete with roots and soil and scour away the burnt debris , said she'd have matched her pots for cleanliness with anything modern today. (I since tried that and it works!) Anyway, comin off country stock like that maybe gives me the love of the country, open spaces /rocks /water etc. Think I'd have made a good rail hobo had I been born in America  ha ha ! So aye, log cabin would do me fine. Anyway ,still have a log fire in the house and go cut my own firewood.So I still lead a kinda semi-country-suburban lifestyle today. See you come from New Jersey Joe. Was there a few years back. Liked it fine. In fact on the train front I just bought an MTH 2 rail jersey central Green Bullet 4-6-2 pacific,but I don't like that colourscheme so its gettin painted black and done in the late steam era black. Know where I can get O scale late era steam decals by any chance ?   Cheers  Davy 

Hi again Joe ,just took this picture of the bullet sittin on my turntable, 2nd picture shows the black livery I'm goin to paint it in. Might be sacriledge to some folk but I don't like that green and its the wrong era for me anyway.

Aye... Davy friggin Crockett... are ya,

Mrs Crockett will be keeping score, Davy, and she'll be wanting what's coming to her. BEWARE!(Joking)

Re: the old ways... Some won, some lost. Generally speaking, though... our quality of life and longevity has improved, significantly, by effort and making good use of our acquired knowledge.

I don't buy into the belief that everything will work out just fine, on it's own, that something is looking out for us...

I was born with a degree of intelligence and the ability to think and learn; and a **** load of common sense. That, and some luck, is what's going to keep me in the game. Including, acting prudently when the opportunity arises.

Occasionally, some have said to me... you worry needlessly, or have suggested that I might be being a bit paranoid... Ignorance and simple laziness can spawn that type of approach. I'll continue to try and make the best possible prudent decisions, by keeping myself educated/sufficiently informed; and by doing what I can... when I can.

I naturally favor a preventative approach to life.

Re: the excision -  I had the surgery on June 21st, and the biopsy results won't be available for a few weeks. The pathology department has a heavy workload.

BTW, for those that get diagnosed with squamous cell cancer. I recommend complete surgical removal(excision). Sometimes, only a small portion of the tumor is visible, when looking at the affected area of skin. In some cases, the actual tumor is like an iceberg...i.e. it's much larger than it appears on the surface. Superficially treating just the tip, what is visible, can be very dangerous. When the skin regrows over the wound site and if there are any remaining cancer cells hidden, undetected, then the tumor can spread/grow downward, through the basement membrane; and become "invasive squamous cell carcinoma". An extremely serious medical condition, where the tumor can metastasize. This can be lethal!

Hope this post provides some useful information.

Cheers,

Rick

Hi Rick, Davy Crockett was of Scots descent too ,did you know that ? ,thats true. And there were a few Scots died at the Alamo alongside him too. I might die at my Alamo too if my wife finds out how much I've actually spent on trains lately ha ha !! 

Well been laying track between showers ,have the engine terminal sidings about halfway there.      catch you later    DAVY  

Lad,

You might be surprised with how well-versed your Mrs Crockett is... when it comes to what you've been blowing, selfishly I might add(a bit more kidding), on your wee toy train addiction. 

I am my own hero! Who needs Crockett? BTW, There was an even more famous Crockett, on M.V. Sonny.

Another BTW, have you ever caught Mrs. right sporting a look of utter contempt, while you're off in the clouds with your trains? That's when her internal calculator is mentally auditing you.

As long as there are a few cans of baked beans in the pantry you should have nothing to worry about, right???

Get back to that silly layout and sleep lightly my friend(with one eye open).

Peace,

Rick

Davy,

I don't know who would carry those decals. A lot of people would like to find them.

Many people didn't like the green livery MTH used for The Bullet. I say paint it any color that makes you smile.

Well your new locomotive is certainly colorful. I guess if your were to keep it green it might grow on you and or remind you of all the green, money your spending.  I take that back I do not know the color of UK Money.. Great photos.

Hi Guys, horrible green that loco eh ?nah George that colour won't grow on me ,no chance, never mind it'll look good in the later black get up. I've seen the CNJ decals on ebay but not the numerals. Not to worry I'll find something somewhere no doubt. Oh well ,all the track in the engine terminal is almost in place as I finished tonight ,just a wee bit to do tomorrowto finish... weather permitting. Was too late to take pictures. Anyway guys I'm tired tonight so heading to bed.  Gdnite   DAVY 

Hi Davy, I agree about the "colour" to green. What about exchangaing it for a CNJ Blue Comet? If they make that model,  I remember your G scale B&O blue.

Hi George, I bought the green loco with the intention of painting it black.MTH do both versions. But both the Green Bullet and the Blue comets were history by the 1950s. All the engines were by then painted black. The B&O P7 President pacifics were blue right till the end in 1957 with one exception 5308(latterly 106). Apparently she was in an accident in late 1956 and received a coat of black paint after being repaired and spent the last few months of her working life in black. I have one Westside Samhongsa 2 rail B&O P7 which is currently being refurbished by a mate of mine and I have another 3 Williams 3 rail versions.The Williams versions use the same Samhongsa body and tender top as the Westside model but have less detail and very crude 3 rail chassis an running gear. I am putting 2 rail chassis on them and will be detailing them as individuals of the P7 class. 3 will be blue and one will be done up as the solitary black 106 By the end of their lives every single B&O P7 was different form its sisters in some respect. Once I get the layout and garden done I'll be turning my attention to working on my loco fleet.   DAVY   

Correction on that, Davy!  Once you get the layout and garden done, you're going to turn your attention to photographing a lot of your gorgeous roster on that layout for a magazine article!  Right? 

I'll vote for that!