The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!!
(01-21-2021, 05:14 AM)ezdays Wrote: Good morning everyone, woke up very early, laid there for a hour and finally got up before 3:00. It should have rained last night, didn't. Some rain in the forecast every day clear into next week. We'll see...

Did go to Hobby Depot with Woodone, he got what he wanted, all I got was a few scraps of plastic and lots of disappointment. N scale was just track, no kits, very little scenery and even less scratchbuiding material. Their website looks like they're well stocked, they even advertise in Model Railroader, but the whole place looked like it hadn't been restocked in a very long time. Stopped by the pawn shop, at least I can get some ammo. Nope, another disappointment, no 9MM, he dug into some containers and found a few boxes of .22LR, "I can sell you one"...... One box of 50 rounds of .22 wasn't worth the effort you have to go through there to purchase it, so we left. My son, "Duffy" said he went to order some 9MM on line, it was in stock, but by the time he registered, it was gone. Got some up in Prescott, only $90 a box plus a two-hour ride to get there. No wonder I couldn't sleep this morning. Waiting

Well, like they say, when things are at the bottom, there's only one direction they can go...

Wow, never heard of Hobby Depot.  I was reminded the other day about the train stores near me from the 1990s - all gone now.  There were three train-dedicated hobby shops within about 15 minutes of my house when I was in high school.  Then there was a general hobby shop that had a good train department 5 minutes away in the mall, and for a short while a Hobbytown USA within walking distance, and they actually had enough of a train selection to be worth the walk.  Then there was Affair With Trains at the old cramped location that had just about everything, and Roys Trainworld that was pretty well stocked.  Now I can think of only about 4 places in the whole metro area that sell trains, and we have more than most cities.  There is a newer train place out in Apache Junction that seems to be pretty good.  Lots of used stuff.  There still are the two Hobby Bench locations, and I guess the place you just went to.
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Kevin
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(01-21-2021, 12:06 PM)nachoman Wrote: Wow, never heard of Hobby Depot.  I was reminded the other day about the train stores near me from the 1990s - all gone now.  There were three train-dedicated hobby shops within about 15 minutes of my house when I was in high school.  Then there was a general hobby shop that had a good train department 5 minutes away in the mall, and for a short while a Hobbytown USA within walking distance, and they actually had enough of a train selection to be worth the walk.  Then there was Affair With Trains at the old cramped location that had just about everything, and Roys Trainworld that was pretty well stocked.  Now I can think of only about 4 places in the whole metro area that sell trains, and we have more than most cities.  There is a newer train place out in Apache Junction that seems to be pretty good.  Lots of used stuff.  There still are the two Hobby Bench locations, and I guess the place you just went to.

I saw their ad in Model Railroader Magazine, and so when Jerry said he was going there, and I saw photos on their website, we decided to go together. Obie's Trains in Apache Junction is the only shop in the area dedicated to model railroading. No R/C, no basket weaving. When Roy's closed in Mesa, I suspect all that stock went to Obie's since they opened shortly after Roy's closed. I wish they were closer, Hobby Depot is around 48 miles from my house, Obie's is close to 70. I do miss all those other shops, An Affair With Trains was so cramped full you had to go outside to breath. Even after they moved they still had a lot of trains. There was another one on Bell/I-17 that was open for a while, then Roy's in Mesa, all of them, just trains, nothing else. Did buying on the Internet cause all of them to go away, or is it the hobby that's declining..... or both????

Cannot support local businesses if they don't have what you need, so I'm ready to send an order to Walther's, either that, or drive to Obie's and hope they have what they show on their website. Let's see, drive 140 miles round trip and hope they have something you can use, or just order exactly what you want and have them drop it off at your front door.... tough choices.... Nope
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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(01-21-2021, 01:28 PM)ezdays Wrote: Did buying on the Internet cause all of them to go away, or is it the hobby that's declining..... or both????

Cannot support local businesses if they don't have what you need, so I'm ready to send an order to Walther's, either that, or drive to Obie's and hope they have what they show on their website. Let's see, drive 140 miles round trip and hope they have something you can use, or just order exactly what you want and have them drop it off at your front door.... tough choices.... Nope

I think internet buying did some in.  But I don't think it is that simple.  Some had owners that wanted to retire.  I don't think they are very profitable businesses compared to others, and I think younger people have no interest in owning such a business because there are much better ways of earning more money.   I think people in general are busier, and would rather shop online and have it come to their door.  Younger people don't enjoy walking into a store as much.  Remember, just about all brick and mortar retail is dying with the exception of a few big boxes.  I think the heyday of this hobby was probably 1960s-1970s, but I don't think it is declining much right now.  I see plenty of online interest, and interest from some pretty young adults.  They are mostly on social media groups rather than discussion boards like this.
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(01-21-2021, 02:17 PM)nachoman Wrote: I think internet buying did some in.  But I don't think it is that simple.  Some had owners that wanted to retire.  I don't think they are very profitable businesses compared to others, and I think younger people have no interest in owning such a business because there are much better ways of earning more money.   I think people in general are busier, and would rather shop online and have it come to their door.  Younger people don't enjoy walking into a store as much.  Remember, just about all brick and mortar retail is dying with the exception of a few big boxes.  I think the heyday of this hobby was probably 1960s-1970s, but I don't think it is declining much right now.  I see plenty of online interest, and interest from some pretty young adults.  They are mostly on social media groups rather than discussion boards like this.

There are generations now that will never savor the thrill of browsing. Spending hours in a store just looking, smelling and touching things that you have no intention of buying, or possibly could afford. Ladies "shopping" for clothes or checking out cosmetics, men trying out sporting goods. I remember I was at a trap meet and picked up a shotgun with a price tag of almost $100,000. Couldn't afford it, wouldn't buy it if I could, but I had it in my hands, try that on the Internet. I can watch an engine going around on a track and pick one up and admire the details, when all I can see on the Internet are pictures of it. I drive though our small neighborhood and see UPS, FedEx, Prime and other delivery trucks, they all represent missed sales by local businesses and lost opportunities by buyers to shop the old fashion way. But I need parts, so I guess I join in and shop the new fashion way.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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There is an old joke about the farmer who won a million on the lottery. The newspaper asked him what he planned to do with it. "Well. I reckon I'll just keep farming until it's gone."
I fear the same may be true with hobby shops.

In the local 3-cities (regional municipalities?) area, there have been a small number of hobby shops with a substantial train area and they're all gone. (I can think of about 5 in the last 50 years.)
City of Toronto used to have 3 or 4 substantial train shops -- this was 60s and 70s. The only one left of them is George's and they moved out to the suburbs on the far side from us.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
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Good morning all, managed to make up for just a bit of my lost sleep, but not a whole lot. It did rain a bit early yesterday and just about every forecaster says more on the way.

Talking about losing hobby shops, how about all the other brick & mortar stores, small mom & pop to giants like Montgomery Ward and Levitz Furniture are gone, Trying to find a Sears, Macy's or JC Penny is tough anymore, finding one that is fully stocked is even harder, all replaced by computers and delivery trucks. I remember a friend of mine had a business in a large shopping center, and around 2008 when the economy was in the dump, he and others begged the owners to ease up on the rent for a while. They did not, he had to move, other small stores just closed. Home Depot and Walmart are still there because they can adapt. I wonder if we could get either of them to get into the hobby business? Waiting Too slow paced for them to even think about it.

Going to place my Walther's order today before prices go up or they sell out of what I want. One thing that's fairly unique in our hobby is the "advance ordering". Manufactures know what will sell and how many to make. How they get by with doing that in a "must have now" society, is beyond my comprehension.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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Greetings, gang.

Clear and cold this morning headed for clear and not as cold. 8 now headed for 19 this afternoon.

All my plans came together yesterday afternoon. Son-in-law called and pickups and trailers are all set for the weekend. With a little luck we should be finished with my son's apartment by tomorrow afternoon. Most things are already boxed up/labeled. People will show up this evening to finish most of that. Tomorrow should just be a matter of loading. Also have a roll off set up so we can dispose of the junk. Gonna be a good/bad day.

As much as I appreciate on line shopping for some things that are not available here in town there are certain things that can't/shouldn't be bought on line. Clothes are a good example. Trying to find the right size can be hard. Furniture is another example. In fact my son had purchased a sofa and love seat on line. Looked great. It was the first thing into the roll off last week. Absolute torture to sit on.

I'll check in when I get back from my son's place, hopefully tomorrow evening or Sunday morning.

All stay safe.

Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
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Morning. 44 and sun coming out. High 50's to 60 guessed.


Got to rush. Suddenly drawn into a mess in one of my adopted daughter's back yard. She has owned the house for over 2 years. Suddenly developer shows up and takes a chunk of her back your and install deep storm drain. She was gone. Neighbor stops them [he is an engineer]. Now Wake Co Environmental is coming with developer. Wrong!! I have to represent her as she is quarantined as her teenage daughter has COVID [acquired by going to a national cheering event undefined].

Have a good one.
TCA 05-58541   American Legion  NRA  Retired Mayor of Rolesville NC
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Good morning folks,

It is 39 in the Philadelphia suburbs. High is predicated to reach 43.

Finally got the last of the Christmas tree bins back into the attic. I still have the window candles and bows to pack. Someone nearby was burning some rancid smelling wood last evening. The smell crept into the house and set off my wife’s asthma. The rescue inhalers and breathing treatment worked and her breathing returned to normal.

She has spent the last couple of days trying to get information on the vaccine. Her school district registered but they are saying that they are scheduled to get the vaccine after February 13th. My daughter’s school district has said it will be available by the end of the month. Both districts are covered by the same County Department of Health, so someone is misinformed. My money is on my wife’s district. They had to close the middle school today to clean it again due to the number of student infections. The students were all in school on or about January 7th and the district just informed the staff yesterday after knowing about the positive results for over a week. The district says the infections are due to community spread but the one thing they all have in common is they were in school. Makes you wonder.

My son and I spent some time last evening brain storming track plans and building locations. He drew up a first draft track plan which is pretty good. It will need some tweaking. I still need to remove the stained sections of foam and think about expanding the width.

I hope everybody has a good day.
Tom
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Good morning everyone, happy Saturday to you all. We've had rain each of the past three days, but according to a sensor about two miles from the house, we've only got a total of 1/4". Some areas only half that. According to some though, we have a really good chance of a lot more coming this weekend and maybe through to next weekend.

I'm kind of confused, I see where they are having problems scheduling second virus shots here because of lack of vaccine, yet I saw another article where they are giving shots to anyone that is riding in the vehicle with someone that does have an appointment. Doesn't make sense, but then again, I'm not running the show, just a spectator. I'm scheduled for Wednesday, let's hope they have enough left by then.

Placed my Walther's order yesterday, just bought a bunch of kits I can use for parts. Maybe kitbash one or two, but after that last scratchbuild, I don't think I want to use that soft plastic anymore. I agree with Tom, there are certain things one needs to touch and try before they buy, you can't tell fit and finish, nor exact color from a page on a website, and sending stuff back is always a hassle.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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Afternoon.  48 and cold due to wind chill.  Blowing.  Glad sun is out.  Been driving Miss Daisy most of the morning.  Glad to be back home.  Will not do anything outside.  Did finish the big door on end of shelter project late yesterday.  Caulked and painted [twice].  Tools put up and all cleaned up.   May tinker in the Train Box.  Did get internet extender in greenhouse house and now Train Box laptop has internet.  YA!  3 bars.

News media and Wake elected officials finally exposing State's lack of organization to get vaccine out.  Wake the largest Co. [well over 1M people] in NC.  Also the largest health care facilities in the state.  Getting the smallest allocations.  County Commissioners and Legislators raising cane with the State DHHS.  Its a mess.   

Hope all OK.
TCA 05-58541   American Legion  NRA  Retired Mayor of Rolesville NC
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On the vaccine front. My State Senator called and told me how to cheat the system on MyChart for WakeMed. Didn't have to. Asked for appointment for vaccine. Got the date of 28th and I selected the time. Got immediate reply confirming appointment. undefined 28th at 12:30 PM. MyChart is not telling us what to do. The claim they will email you.


Later.
TCA 05-58541   American Legion  NRA  Retired Mayor of Rolesville NC
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Greetings, gang.

25 and cloudy outside my window this morning head for 26. Just gonna be a gloomy day.

The weather kind of fits my mood. My daughter, son-in-law, and their sons helped me empty out my son's apartment. Major effort by all but that part is now complete. Only thing left to do is call the company tomorrow to get the roll off taken care of. Also need to call his internet provider to get that canceled. Maybe one more trip to his town to take care of banking stuff. Not sure at this point how that will work. Today will be a day of rest interrupted by occasional bouts of eating.

Frank - I installed a range extender last summer. Makes it much nicer to use the laptop on the patio while watching operations on the Backyard, & Southern Railway Co. The catch is that I only plug it in when I'm going to be out there. No point in handing out free internet when I'm not there.

All stay safe.

Tom
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

Occupation: Professional Old Guy (The government pays me to be old.)
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Good morning everyone, the Weather Channel says 100% chance of rain today. Easy to make that "prediction" when it's pouring rain out. Others forecast a lesser chance, but they can't go wrong that way. So far today, we've already gotten more rain than we have the past four days total, and there's more to come. Mother Nature is making up for last year. Starting to see a few weeds popping up, I hope I got them before the HOA weed police drive by.

Working on  a small cabinet for tool storage. My work table is cluttered and so I need something to hold my tools and other things while I'm building something. Right now, they're sitting on a cardboard box. Got enough scrap plywood in the garage to do what I want, just needed to buy a drawer slide. I have a Home Depot credit card that the only time I use it is when they send me a coupon for 10% off. Went to Lowe's yesterday and found that they give a 10% discount to military and veterans, so I registered. Now I get 10% off of everything, no coupons, no store credit cards required. Just in case you vets out there didn't know this, it's a great payback for those who served.

Tom, I'm glad you're getting things cleared up, the bank will be a difficult thing to work through. I had one account that they essentially froze because my wife was a signer on the account. I had to bring them proof of her passing and sign some paperwork before they'd release the hold. I will eventually close that account, but need it to stay open for now. I guess I don't understand the complexities of banking...  Nope I hope things go easier for what you have to do.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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Good morning. 
It's 14 here and not much movement in the temp predicted. Snow coming Tuesday slushiy and wet but no mention of how much. We have no where to go so it won't be a problem as long as we have clear roads for early Wednesday morning because the new furkid is going to the vets for the neuter. 

Still working on those old photos of steam locomotives and I will share them when I get them cleaned up and labeled. There is some nifty stuff there. 

I have a wifi extender that I use when I am on the porch. I get a kick out of it because one of the selling points comcast used was the availability of wifi everywhere. The modem has a second section of wifi that can be turned on for public access that is isolated from the home network. You can turn it off but I liked the idea, and on paper it sounds good, drive somewhere and sitting trackside find a network and it is automatic. One time in 5 years did I find a network that worked. My modem broadcasts about 75 feet max and that is without walls. The ATT modems have a longer range but they don't have the speed I get with Comcast, however, it is about time for cable to raise my rate again and when they do I call them and tell them I am going to go with AT&T and they bring the rate back down if I resign for another 2 years.  It is nice to have that option but I pay too much for internet because I don't get TV or Phone. We get 1.3 tb per month which is plenty, we have never gone over 500gb even with all the streaming shows and I watch different shows than my wife at the same time. 

More scanning today. My daughter is coming down. We are working on some of my mothers albums. My daughter removes the pictures and places them then while she changes the pictures I try to lable the ones just scanned so we know who is who. I don't know all of my mothers friends and most of them have passed too, but I try to identify them and post their picture to find a grave. 

Have a good day all.
Charlie
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