Weekend Update 12-2-07

[Denver Road Doug]

BTW, John, those are OUTSTANDING pics!

[Robbman]

Message deleted

[inkaneer]

Also writing employee appraisals .. yuck ..

That's the part of my job I hate the most ...

I refer to them as psychologigal abuse.  At least in my company that is what they are.  Supervisors prepare them subject to Higher management approval.  So they end up being the product of upper management.  They are always negative never positive.  Employees are called in to "discuss" them.  Some discussion.  The very first time you see the evaluation you are presented  with an evaluation typed in four copies.  This is not a draft and nothing will be changed so what is there to discuss?  I once received a rating of "good" in a particular area.  The supervisor wrote that I do a "very good job..."  I asked why then wasn't I rated as "very good" if I do a "very good job"?  I was told point blank, "It doesn't work that way."   Then you are told of every thing you did or did not do in the last two months.  You could have saved the company from finacial ruin in March or April but what makes it to the evaluation is what occurred in September or October. Employees will get about a 2% raise and management will get 10-12%.  Then when you retire they will tell you how much of an "important asset" you were to the company.   I'd leave and go elsewhere but for two reasons, I'm too close to retirement and it is no better in any other company in this industry.  After four decades of work in insurance I'm glad I had a hobby to keep me sane.

[chuck geiger]

My grandson is getting the bug:

[Mark5]

I purchased my first FVM freight car, a Cotton Belt 5283. ($11.20) It reenforced my contention that FVM is my new favorite mrr company.

I've yet to see one FVM box in person.  :-[ One thing seems for sure though, if you snooze at all on these you lose (they seem to sell out really fast!).

[Denver Road Doug]

Indeed.  This vendor probably had two dozen, and all were gone within two hours.

[txronharris]

Nothing new to show .. been working on the paper mill module to make it "museum quality" .. whatever that is .. for the B&O show setup next week.

Also writing employee appraisals .. yuck ..

You wouldn't want to post a picture of the paper mill you're referring to would you? I love me some paper mills!

[John]

This was it at the show in October

[img width= height=]http://lh5.google.com/acsxfan1/RxH84Ga_07I/AAAAAAAAB6Y/S6l74jqdiVg/s400/IMG_2297.jpg[/img]

[Atlanticflier]

My grandson is getting the bug:

Indeed Chuck - he looks like he is mulling over some changes to the layout !!

I suppose that YOU are his transportation, as like a good grandson, he has Granddad providing him a 'bird's eye view'........   
What a Joy .......

[Iain]

I still need to add the doors, detail, and weather the thing.

[atsf_arizona]

My grandson is getting the bug:

Chuck, congrats on the cute grandson.

Got any pics of the layout in the background? 

[chuck geiger]

John - I sent some to your email - Great website and the PEAVINE rocks. I spent sometime
when I was a teenager in Prescott and The Grand Canyon with my aunt and railfanned the
area.

[Puddington]

I built a Canadian National Lounge-Observation car - the "Pacific"..... : It was used in the early 1970's to run behind CNR 6060- "Bullet Nosed Betty" and had a long and storied history on the Canadian National. It's my first attempt at scratchbuilt car sides and an observation end. I cribed an Atlas observation frame and kept the "b" end....



Not 100% perfect by any means but I think I captured the flavour.....



This is the paint scheme they painted her in 1973 for her work with the 6060 - perfect for my era....



I hate the end diaphram, but they used her as the second last car ( the LW observation lounge "Burrard" was the marker car - and I've got her on the builders list too) so she had that stupid diaphram - leave it to CN to mess up a classic !



"Pacific" was a learning experience - I've got the roof technique almost down and have learned how NOT to make sides; I "almost" know HOW to make them now.......

Hey; she passes the 3 foot rule so she can run on my pike anytime ! What's next ( as Jed Bartlet would say.....)