Covid 19 Check-In, Vaccine Edition

[Jim Courtney]

Time for everyone to check-in, make sure we haven't had any casualties. John Greenly, you haven't posted for a while, are you OK in upstate New York??  And how about you, Doug Heitkamp? Have you fully recovered from your awful brush with Covid?

My wife and I received our second Moderna vaccination on February 10th. The second dose knocked us on our butts for a few days.
Here in Kitsap County, Covid case numbers are rising again, but hospitalizations and deaths are slowly falling. Maybe it's just the young folks giving each other Covid, with mild illnesses. There is a lot of traffic now, folks traveling from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula, now that Spring has arrived and the weather nicer.

There is a new tendency for folks wanting to escape the city and live in a more rural setting. The upside is that my little 5 acre farm's property value is up 25% year-over-year. I'm getting unsolicited phone calls from real estate agents, wondering if I'd like to sell!

Otherwise, not much has changed, people still wearing masks most places and social distancing. My wife and I actually ate out last week for the first time since November. Restaurants are open at 50% capacity. Medical appointments still are limited due to the back-log during the shut down, and if you need a procedure (surgery, MRI, CT scan, simple x-rays) one still has to have a negative Covid test 72 hours prior, even if you're fully vaccinated. (Doesn't confer much confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccines -- you take the risk of the side effects of the vaccine, only to find that your life doesn't change!)

I spend most of my time now mowing my 5 acres, picking up and burning deadfall from the winter. I'm also working on C&S models and selling off major portions of my train collection on eBay. I wish I had purchased more lumber for my layout benchwork last summer--the price of lumber is skyrocketing!!

So everyone, please check in, tell us how things are going in your part of the world . . .

[Jeff Young]

Not much happening in Ireland.  Numbers are OK, but vaccine rollout is pretty poor.  We'll be lucky to get our first dose by summer.

We're hoping to get outdoor dining open next month, but right now it's take-out-only.  On the other hand, the weather's been wonderful for the last couple of weeks.

[Lee Gustafson]

Lee, Barbara and our son have all had both Pfizer vaccinations with minimal side effects. Suburban Chicago is beginning to resume some “normal” activity. We continue to maintain social distance with masks in doors. I’ve used the time to remoter some locomotives and continue work on my Tiffany reefer. I’ve decided to use the Leadville Designs brake rigging diagram as my guide. I’m going with white sides as a traditional and safe approach. Working on models and trying to stay safe.

Lee Gustafson

[Paul R.]

Here in Ballarat,AU all seems to be ok at the moment, we are in autumn so the weather is getting cooler. No covid except in some people coming from other countries who are in quarantine. Kathy and I are getting our jab next month. so all good. Been fencing in the last couple of weeks, just have to finish painting it .!! Paul R.

[Robert Stears]

My wife and I have had both doses and all three of our adult children have had the jab. No problems.

Hope you all are doing well.
Robert Stears

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 26, 2021, at 7:40 PM, Paul R. [via C&Sng Discussion Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:
>

[Ken Martin]

I am doing well, I got my second Pfizer shot in March.

Haven't done much modeling but had done some drafting.

Not phone calls but getting a lot of mail to buy my house.
Lots of people leaving San Francisco and moving to Sacramento.

Ken Martin
Sacramento

[Dave Eggleston]

Across the water from you in Ballard, Jim, the home prices are going up and the realtors are sending unsolicited requests. Got my J&J 3 weeks ago but still masking and distancing. Seattle seems to be a "high danger" zone these days. Got a van conversion to avoid hotels and am doing some camping and a couple trips to CA to visit my grandson in his equally safe "bubble."

About to draw up plans for the Alpine Tunnel engine house coal dock (the one inside, not the 1906 one we all know so well)--itching to do some wood cutting and modeling. Not sure why the Tunnel has grabbed my attention this last year, maybe something to do with isolation?

[Todd Hackett]

Tourism is back here on Hawaii Island - not quite up to pre-COVID levels, but still quite a few tourists. Our daily new cases have generally been in the single digits, so the tourism upswing doesn't seem to be having much affect (all tourists need to have a clean test before coming). A few high-risk business types are still closed or restricted, but nothing that impacts me. Some restaurants are still take-out or outdoor dining only, but most have re-opened indoor dining. Masks are still required inside public places and outside where distancing can't be maintained. I'm scheduled for my second Moderna shot in a week. I haven't been doing any modelling, but am starting some planning and doing some preliminary work for a possible garden railway. I have been getting out a lot (see https://www.toddh-photo.com/Recent-Activity), so overall life here is pretty good. I haven't been getting any solicitations to buy my house, but according to Zillow the value is up about 33% since I bought it four years ago, and local prices on the few properties that are on the market seem to confirm that.

[SteveG]

Down here outside Austin, life is slowly returning to whatever passed for normal before. Locally, we're over 60% fully vaccinated, and even more locally, my household and Jennifer's kids and grandkid are all fully vaccinated as well.
Housing prices for both this house and the one I sold back in Redmond, WA are up more than 25% which, given the avarice of the tax assessors down here, is not necessarily a good thing--property taxes for roughly the same level of housing are twice what they were in WA.
Following up on an observation Jim made a while back about sawdust and layouts not coexisting well, I decided to create a floor-to-ceiling dust curtain around my woodworking tool area. Unfortunately, in the course of hanging the curtain to the ceiling track, I managed to go three steps up the ladder, but only stepped down two, So, as of Thursday, I now have three very small screws in my left pinkie, and a cast that should come off this Friday.
On the plus side, I have the initial panel for the Como roundhouse and approach tracks laid out, along with the base for the turntable. I've got the kits for the six-stall stone section; will probably do a little selective compression on the wood additions.


 
What are folks recommending for spikable yard area materials, now that Cascade Rail Supply is gone? I have some samples of sound foam roadbed, but have doubts as to how well it would hold spikes. And I'd really prefer not to cut mass quantities of full Homasote sheets. Did that many years ago with my dad, and remember the dust all too well.

Steve Guty
Lakeway, TX

[Jim Courtney]

Yep, Travis County sure does love its property taxes.

Sorry about the finger, Steve. At least it's your left pinkie, so you can still type the "enter" key . . .

I haven't seen the stuff, but one of our local train group fellows shared this link:
https://www.cwhomaroad.com/

Product thicknesses appear to be in scale inches (actual thickness 3.5 mm and 5.0 mm). I'm skeptical that this is thick enough for even micro-spikes.

I've received, but not opened and inspected, some Micor-300 board, a mineral board used in fireplace construction, discussed on one of the model RR forums. It is half-inch thick, supposedly cuts much cleaner than homasote, said to hold spikes just as well. Will report back.


PS: Steve, contact me off site (jcourtmd<at>aol<dot>com. I have some things you might find useful for your "Como" project.

[Richard Farmer]

I am very grateful to report that my entire family and I have been vaccinated with no side effects. As for myself I continue to work on 1008 in my back yard and workshop, unfortunately by myself. My brother Bob in Phoenix, Arizona who represents half of the crew, has not been able to travel yet although he says he is ready to go. I hope that some of the recent covid restrictions which have been changed will encourage him to come for a visit.
I’m thankful to hear that so many of you are doing well,
Richard

[Doug Heitkamp]

Hi Folks,

I'm alive and well. Michelle and I each received both of our Moderna vaccinations. I did get ill about 12 hours after each one. The first time it lasted for a day, the second time, 2 days. Fever of 101, chills, aches, headaches, and general fatigue. But when it ended, it literally stopped over night.

We both still go to work everyday as "essential" aerospace defense contractors. No change there since all of this started. Denver as a whole is fairly wide open. You can go to any restaurant you want. Some are stricter than others regarding social distancing. Either way, once you get seated, everyone takes their mask off.

As far as trains, the big news is that I now have real electricity in the train room and shop! We had an electrician come in and install a basement subpanel, along with new lighting and wall receptacle circuits. All of the old fluorescent lighting has been replaced with 4000K/7000 Lumen LED lamps. What a difference!

That's all for now....

[Keith Hayes]

All is good in Leadville. Al and I are both vaccinated. The entire office made it 14 months before someone tested positive. We are cautiously starting to get out and about Denver. In the meantime the railhead continues to move south towards Fremont Pass.

We are checking with investors back in Boston to see if we can raise some capital to import a few sheets of Baltic Birch plywood to continue construction.

[South Park]

  I am 3 cards short of a deck for calling total "bullsh!t on this COVID
nonsense.  While I really don't question that there is *something* out
there making some people sick, the hype and fear mongering and endless
shifts of "what we know" has me very skeptical as to what really is virus
and what is political posturing.  That said, my wife is a fear freak and in
a gesture of "whatever", I went and got the shots.  It isn't like the military
didn't stick eleventy-thousand needles in my arms when they had me.
The first shot had me feeling poorly about 12 hours later.  The next day
I felt OK.  The 2nd round had me feeling like hell for a couple days.

  My full scale modeling involved a new intake, carb, and choke for the
truck, and a number of neat period signs and other items have appeared
to grace the shop since my last post on this.

[pizlinard72]

We, on the other side of the Pond, except the UK, have been lagging behind in vaccination. I‘ll get my first shot in two weeks.
I‘m currently scratch building a couple of flat cars for the Reatian Railway in 1:45. Looks like a 6500 Series flat. I tried to use a styrene sandwich construction but that started to warp. Will now do a brass frame, styrene decking and body, and 3D printed detail parts.
Here some pictures:
Prototype and 3D printed trucks in the foreground


Underbody detail with 3d printed parts


Sorry for non C&S content

Stay healthy everyone

Christian

[Mike McKenzie]

Here in Chicagolandia, Eileen and I have had our shots for awhile now, myself more recently. I had the Pfizer with almost no side effects. Suspect I'll get a booster in 6-9 months, this thing is going away but it ain't going away. Still wear my mask when out in public, just seems like the right thing to do. Been working from home for over a year and my boss says that can continue if I want, so I got that goin' for me... for now the next best thing to retirement.

Work sessions beginning to resume (hey Lee!). Been helping one of my buddies for a while with his layout, with only two of us in a 30' x 50' basement I figured it was relatively safe. Our Monday night Mudhens group has resumed as well. Have registered (again) for the Albuquerque Symposium in August, got my room, still working out the travel. All this is great, but it could be yanked out from under us if the virus heats up again...



Still working on the two water tanks. One is the PBL tank for myself, will paint mineral red and put a flat roof on it, need to get back to it. The other is a Crystal River On3 tank modified to be Hermosa for another friend (we'll call him 'Jerry'), neat kit. 3D printed new footings (not shown, but cool) and the round roof in 8 sections.

We've gotten used to the pandemic, we've adapted to the new normal as best we can, to the point where I think this ain't so bad, what's the big deal. When we saw our son at Christmas, it had been a year, when he pulled in the driveway that hit me harder than I expected. Then I see a story about the young Chicago woman who had a double lung transplant because of covid, or much worse and much closer, a new friend in our work sessions who we met this summer and was taken by covid this fall. It's real... and sometimes it really sucks.

Like we always tell our daughter, stay safe, but have fun...

Mike