I have finally built something different from cars.

   

We are a week away from thanksgiving here in the US, so I would think next Thursday and Friday are out for another video chat. We could do one earlier in the week if it works for enough people, or we could do it any day the following week. Anyone have any thoughts, post them here.

BTW, Zoom apparently is suspending their 40 minute time limit for the holidays, so no need to change venues right now.

This past weekend I spent in Nelson, BC with a side trip to Kaslo. I thought I might share some pictures if people are interested.

   

   

Nelson still has it's very handsome CPR train station. It's now their visitor information center.  It would be a bit large to model it on an average layout but you could compress it and still get the same feel.
And outside the station:
   

   


One of the last Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 and from my understanding the last CFA16-4, A C-liner. This was one of my reasons for travelling to Nelson. I always wanted to see one of these up close. 
I'll post more photos in my next post.

The Ontario Southland Railway is an active short-line railroad located in south-western Ontario approximately an hour and a half from my hometown.The main shop is located in Salford Ontario.It's a rail-fans dream road as the motive power for the OSR consists of many first generation diesels including F9 cab units,GP7's,SW1200 RS switchers and many MLW/ALCO models.The shop is like a museum and the staff have always been very receptive to the fans taking photos.Bruce,Wayne and I visited the site around a year ago and took many pictures.I recently came across an un-named photographer's picture of one of the road's SW1200RS that received a very attractive paint job. 

   

On November 14, 2020 Canadian National Railway 6167 was moved from its home by the Guelph Central Station to John Galt park, to make way for the expansion of the GO train station.I wish I had been in Guelph to witness the move but I found these pictures capturing the action.

       

http://railfan.com/canadian-pacific-fire...UMr3lOW7cA
Charlie

I've decided to list my 2 new books here and donate the profits to Big Blue.

These are black & white photo books of the areas around Philadelphia PA. All taken by me.

Random pictures In Black & White
A monochrome photo record of interesting places in southeastern Pennsylvania. Since we view the world in full color most of the intricate details escape us in our day-to-day movements. The pictures within, focus on the details of everyday life, things that you never have a chance to pay attention to, in the Philadelphia suburbs. In order to show the most details the photographs are all in black and white.  Over 60 pictures  $12.99

Black & White Photography in Southeastern PA
A Black and White photo book of sights to see in the Southeastern, PA area. Pictures are from Delaware, Chester, Berks and Montgomery counties. Each picture contains the camera settings that can be used as a guide to take better pictures, both color and black & white, without using the "Auto" setting. 35 B&W Pictures  $9.99

The links will take you to Lulu.com where you can order the books.  The first book has a few local railroad pictures in it. The second is mostly scenery and interesting items.

These would make nice Christmas gifts too!

CR 9602 idling at RailPort.

Bruce

   

Adding another car to my roster. A CPR Double Door Boxcar by Sylvan Scale Models.

   

Some parts added.

   

   

Next step will be the underframe.

My wife & I own a 2011 Mazda3, and it has about 165,000 km or just over 100,000 miles on it.

We bought it used and it's been running fine with usual wear and tear. About two weeks ago, we were driving on one of our major highways (the 401) and, whenever we hit a bump, the back end would sway slightly. Recently, the problem has become a little worse in that we now notice it on city streets, travelling around 30-40 mph. 

Here are a few things I've found out:
-- my local garage -- whom I've used for years & trust -- says it's probably the shocks. However, they're totally booked up until the end of the month, which is when I have it booked to go in. The owner assured me the car was still safe to drive.
-- as an experiment, today I also took the car to my local oil change outlet. I realize these guys aren't experts but thought I'd see if they noticed anything unusual. They checked and couldn't find anything wrong -- the suspension seemed good & solid.
-- a friend of mine, who is a retired mechanic, suggested that the sway bar links might be loose or need replacing. There is also a rattling or clunking noise when going over bumps, which might be indicative of a loose sway bar.

BTW, the car otherwise performs normally and does NOT pull to one side of the road or the other.

At any rate, my question is this: Is the car really safe to drive (between now and the end of the month), especially on the highway? Recently, we've been limiting it to local trips, and I'm checking b/c it's a very weird feeling when the rear of the car sways after hitting a bump.

Thanks in advance ... I've actually received more and better car advice on this train forum, than on actual car forums!

Rob