# Six month reflection



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me over the past months. As the title says I have never picked up or worked on a model train before November of 2012. Since then I have made great strides in learning ( and acquiring) knowledge on my Lionel Trains. I started this endeavor in an effort to help my arm heal. I hurt it on the job. I will finally go under the knife to reattach my tendon this week. But, like many others, I got caught up in the hobby. Along the way, I met great people on this forum, who helped me with hard and easy questions alike, I still need some basic questions answered! I've also gave advice, some worthless and some worthwhile! (hopefully more of the latter then the first!). I've designed and come to terms that I will never finish my first layout! (I believe this is a requirement for having a model railroad, I'm still not sure!). I've over paid on e bay for junk, ( lessons learned, I hope). And have underpaid for stuff that no one else wanted( more junk). Along the way I did encumber some really nice stuff for good prices. ( I'm learning!). I've learned how to solder( it doesn't fall apart anyway), and rebuild trains that no one else (except for the guys here) would want. I've painted, and restored (my way), a few engines and cars. He'll I just removed a battery fused to its frame. I've come a long way, learned a lot and have this fourm to thank. As I have to put my projects on hold for a bit, I look forward to my recovery and the time I can spend (not doing Heavy lifting) but regaining dexterity in my hand and arm. What I started as a distraction became a favorite hobby of mine. Thanks everyone. Some pictures of my stuff. (O scale guys saw this allready)


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

My top pictures


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Switch the last one for this


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## eljefe (Jun 11, 2011)

Looking good. You've made more progress than me!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

WOW, that's a lot of progress for six months! :thumbsup:


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Good luck to ya regarding the upcoming surgery. As my FIL used to say to me 'ya done good'.
I'm also awaiting the call for a upcoming hospitilizion for surgery.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

You could be the poster child for reasons why kids (young and old) like to have fun with trains! You've tackled some wonderful projects in a short time, and it's great to have you onboard the forum with our other pre- and postwar cohorts-in-grime!

TJ


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

I hope you have a speedy recovery.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks guys, I did a bit of cleaning up today. Boxed up the heavy post war stuff and broke out the light plastic can motor trains. This way when I have nothing to do I can at least run a few trains without the fear of having to recover the big stuff if it derails! I also put in my oil towers, while I'm all drugged up they might be fun to look at! The last picture doesn't do the tower justice.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Oh, Jack, a speedy recovery to you also.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Your thank you thread reminds me of another member when he first joined. 
That member is TJ. 

Look at him now he is our official TIN-MAN. :thumbsup:
Not to mention being a Super Mod.
And he is still learning.

He has learned among other things,
How to hump a train.
What a trackmobile is.
Where the fifthwheel is on a truck.
And that there is such a thing as a Halloween lobster. 










The layout is looking nice. :thumbsupo you have a layout build thread? I look at so much stuff I can't remember, I will check.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Halloween lobster?!? Did you spray that ed? How did you tape off the right side? Now I've seen everything! 
I do have a layout thread, but I built it a week or two before I joined this site. I didn't take pictures along the way as I had a hard deadline of Christmas to get trains running and everything painted. I think It took like 10 days to build it. I still haven't hooked up all the switches, but the wiring has been sitting there waiting for me to finish!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

sjm9911 said:


> Halloween lobster?!? Did you spray that ed? How did you tape off the right side? Now I've seen everything!
> I do have a layout thread, but I built it a week or two before I joined this site. I didn't take pictures along the way as I had a hard deadline of Christmas to get trains running and everything painted. I think It took like 10 days to build it. I still haven't hooked up all the switches, but the wiring has been sitting there waiting for me to finish!


See you sounded just like TJ when he first saw it. 

In My Where have I been thread, http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showpost.php?p=165130&postcount=593

It is real.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thank you, Ed ... I have learned a LOT, with a tip of the hat to so many gracious members here ... yourself included.

As for that crazy lobster ... well ... I'm still a bit suspect with the facts on that one! 

I appreciate the kind words!

TJ


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## ktcards (Sep 22, 2012)

tjcruiser said:


> Thank you, Ed ... I have learned a LOT, with a tip of the hat to so many gracious members here ... yourself included.
> 
> As for that crazy lobster ... well ... I'm still a bit suspect with the facts on that one!
> 
> ...


I live in Maine and we see crazy lobsters from time to time. There are bright blue, red (Like they were already cooked), black, Dark green, white (albino), and also the two toned lobsters which can be any two color combinations split right down the middle.
Unfortunately these weird combinations don't don't survive well since they have lost their natural protective coloring.

Ray


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Yellow one was caught locally a few years ago.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Ed, I'm only at page 19 of that thread, it's 60+ pages long. ( I did click on your spoiler though.). 
Tj, glad you weren't insulted by Eds comparison of me to you. I'm actually flattered. I guess my tinkering isn't as bad as I thought! ( I still have a lot to learn, slowly but surely). 
I still think Ed painted that lobster! If you look really close you can see blue painters tape!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

sjm9911 said:


> Tj, glad you weren't insulted by Eds comparison of me to you.


Not at all. We're all travelers here, on the road of fun and learning! :thumbsup:


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## eljefe (Jun 11, 2011)

tjcruiser said:


> As for that crazy lobster ... well ... I'm still a bit suspect with the facts on that one!


Well, it did make it into National Geographic...

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/01/halloween-lobster-sports-orange-and-black/


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I just hope this guy doesn't show up the the local Red Lobster super hungry ...

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/l...iving-a-thumbs-up-sign--isolated-on-white.jpg


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## ktcards (Sep 22, 2012)

tjcruiser said:


> I just hope this guy doesn't show up the the local Red Lobster super hungry ...
> 
> http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/l...iving-a-thumbs-up-sign--isolated-on-white.jpg


Not a chance, There isn't a Red Lobster within 150 miles of Maine.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Red Lobsters are all over the place down here. That's because they can get $20 for a pound and a quarter lobster from the locals and the tourists. In Maine they can get tier own lobsters and cook them at home for cheap. I was amazed that the lobstermen only got $3 a pound for their efforts and here I pay $15 for one uncooked to take home from the market. I don't get to eat many Maine lobsters. 
Mostly we get shrimp from another country and that's in a place where shrimping is big business. Our shrimp go all over the country but not sold here.There is a local seafood guy that sells local shrimp right off his boat for $12 a pound with the heads on which I prefere. The headed shrimp are $18 a pound. They are big enough so that they weigh out at a dollar each. Pete


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

$7.99 A pound Pete, right around the corner from me. 









As kids we would go clamming, both hard shell quahogs and soft shell steamers, netting blue claw crabs, spearing flat fish in the back pond and being under 16 we all had "lobsta" pots. Our Dads would take orders then take our catch o' the day to work and sell. That gave us the cash for gas to go water sking. Work in the morning, ski all afternoon. $2.10 for 6 gallons of gas and a quart of 30w oil....at Snug Harbor Marina!
Later in life we'd go over by boat to Point Judith as the boats came in, throw them a beer and they'd throw a 'lobsta' back.
I remember my Dad begging my Mom for hot dogs, "please no more seafood".


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

As I kid we did a lot of crabbing too. No lobsters here. We also used to walk to the beach and take the mussels off the rocks.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

sjm9911 said:


> As I kid we did a lot of crabbing too. No lobsters here. We also used to walk to the beach and take the mussels off the rocks.



There are lobsters here in NJ you know?
You ought to read my Jersey thread and brush up on it's history.
Here after you get done with the other one,
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3808










Lobsterman Adam Horvath sorts the catch for size on his father's boat, the Baby Doll, in the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey.

This guy gets over 50,000 lbs a year. Between all of the NJ lobster fleet they harvest around 700,000lbs. That represents around 2 percent of the lobsters harvested.

http://articles.philly.com/2010-08-09/news/24970998_1_lobster-fishing-joe-horvath-adam-horvath


Scuba for some this summer?
http://njscuba.net/biology/sw_lobster.html


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Ok, no lobsters that can be easily caught without a 40+ foot boat and a license that was handed down by the family. Ed I didn't know they caught lobster here and my father lived down there when I was a kid! Blue fish (yuck), fluke, fishing in the inlet but never heard of lobsters!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I once caught one from Shrewsbury rocks while fishing off Monmouth beach. I ate it! I had no license. 18' boat used. :thumbsup:

You know about the rocks?
Here the same scuba site,

http://njscuba.net/sites/site_rocks.html

There are plenty of wrecks off the Jersey coast, also man made fishing artificial reefs. There are railroad cars placed out there to you know?


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Rr cars or subway cars? You scuba ed? Nice pics on that site but an 18 foot boat out there, you must have beached it a few times! Next thing you'll be telling me is that there is a concrete Ship beached off of Cape may!
Forgot to add the lead weights in the rocks reminded me of my grandfather, he used to go to the manisquan inlet and throw a grappling hook out there and bring up all the rods and fishing gear people lost. We had tons of poles and such when we were kids!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Once again on that site, over 800 sunk.
http://njscuba.net/reefs/site_nj_redbirds.html

I had that 18' more then 20 miles out off our coast.
But I had 10 other boats with me from my boat club in case one of us broke down we could tow the other one back.
And we only ventured out that far when all the conditions were just right.
No chance of storms and light winds.

I have done a little scuba diving, but I had problems with my ears so I stopped.
Plus the movie Jaws came out, I did not want to be a meal for a great white.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Did you look up the concrete Ship or is it in your nj thread? I don't know how to link it from my phone. I new someone who took an 18 foot boat out there, let's just say the seatow was expensive!


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## icolectto (Nov 28, 2012)

Really nice work. I hope your recovery is as smooth as your work.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks, I'm scheduled for the am, this lobster/ nj stuff is a welcome distraction.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hoping the snip/sew thing goes as smoothly as possible. Speedy recovery!


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks all appreciate the support , the surgery is over and I am still here. Only time will tell if it works. I can barely move my arm and have some nice drugs to take. I wish I had a few more ice packs, like 20!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Glad to hear all went well. 
Whatever they did to you.


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

Good. I hope you have a speedy recovery.


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