Now, let us reflect on the passing of the year, and the coming of the new one, and the ways to better living through railway preservation.

10. Remember that new (yellow lens) safety glasses are not reflective when female visitors are near locomotive cab.
9. Quit wearing scrap yard cap to shop on Saturdays.
8. Make travel plans for Chama as soon as snow falls and operator named.
7. Find location of Food Lions (FL) in Baltimore area for summer road trip.
6. Seek patent for SPF 48 sunblock made with real coal dust.
5. Come up with memory trick to remember differences between 6, 24, 26 brakes.
4. Look into “comfort grip” for favorite needle scaler.
3. Finally try cooking on the scoop for visitors but have backup lunch... just in case.
2. Buy new set of overalls before old ones walk away or spontaneously combust.

And my top New YearÂ’s Resolution for 2003...

1. Name tool car, tool box, lunch box or something “Yes Dear."


http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

> 6. Seek patent for SPF 48 sunblock made with
> real coal dust.

How about SPF 4449? :)

> 1. Name tool car, tool box, lunch box or
> something “Yes Dear."

Oh, Pam . . . :-O

JAC

What a loaded question.

Lose weight again. Fat chance.

Faithfully read every update on John Craft's site. Not much of a time commitment there.

Continue to try to work on the patience/anger thing. You got a problem with that?

Finish cleaning up after the ice storm before new ice storms happen next winter.

As far as preservation stuff goes, just continued slogging through the same old trenches and whatever other ones get dug.

BTW Jim, 6ET brakes are the ones that work reliably and require skill. The others are inferior modern designs so the RRs can cut down on training. I already got two new pair of bibs for Yule, you should have dropped less subtle hints.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

Jim -

Keep us posted on your search for Food Lion's in the Baltimore area.

Dave -

I wonder if someone out there would be willing to make some brand new UC brake parts, including entire valves?

G. Mark

TVRM Shop Updates by Steve Freer
aw90@comcast.net

I still maintain that anything more complex than the old Combination straight and automatic brake with plain triples is unnecessary. Cast iron and bulletproof, some are still in service after more than a century. Probably why they stopped making them - too durable!

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

> 7. Find location of Food Lions (FL) in
> Baltimore area for summer road trip.

Ah, come on, Jim!! It's Bal-mer, man! I doubt you'll have any trouble finding an "FL" or equivalent. Didn't you ever hear of "The Block" and Blaze Starr?? We even heard of it in Noo Yawk!

hpincus@mindspring.com

My answer to the air brake thing may make some of you mad, but the only thing I want out of a 6 system is the pig and a 6NR. Give me a 26c and an SA26 in the cab any day. I like the 26NL better than 26L. I feel It combines the best of both worlds.
No one's mentioned the 14 systems? They worked fairly well, but still not the 26NL. the 14 shares the same pig and distributing valve as the 6 system so maybe that makes it easy.
AS for the 24's phoooeyy! our E-unit has it and I can handle the train as well or better than anyone with it, but it's way to complex and costly to maintain. The owner of the E-unit belives it's the Cadillac of brakes but what do you expect from someone who's never used anything else.
The 6 automatic SUCKS, everyone we have has rags tied around it becuse the train crews hate the exhaust. I have seen some creative use of rubber, P.C.V. pipe and hose clamps to make an exhaust.
This all being said for the new year I will contiune to convert everything I can to 26NL.
(Ohio Central's 4-8-4 has 26NL)

irss@eriecoast.com