The Steamboating Forum

How is everyone fairing during all this? Starting new projects? Organizing your taps and dies? Taking up watercolours?

Sitting tight and putting up with at the moment. Strangely the desire to get on with stuff seems to have deserted for the time being.

Food in the cupboard, booze in the cabinet, things'll be fine for a while!

I'm in sales and my company has asked me to not go on the road so I'm spending mornings talking to customers on the phone. At least the ones who are working. It's hard to imagine some of the 40 to 50 story commercial buildings I deal with being completely empty except for skeleton crews. My wife and I have set up camp at my son's house where my daughter already lives so we're working by day and having great family meals each night. I'm very happy where I am under the circumstances.

We're doing fine here near the Columbia River, Oregon.
Hood River County just got its first covid-19 case confirmed, but I expect many more are on the way, nation-wide.
We're all stocked up and happily home, with endless projects and entertainment.

Unfortunately, we just spent the past 2 week helping my Mother-in-Law move on from life.
At age 94 she fell and broke her neck. Yikes! Final act. So we stayed with her and kept her comfortable to her peaceful end.
Not our idea of fun, but so goes life and death.

I just pity those families who lose members to corvid-19. Not a peaceful end.
And so many deaths might have been avoidable if our Gov. had performed the recommended actions when advised to do so.

Everyone stay safe, please!
RussN

I have a verry hard job - as a cashier in a supermarket nearby. I had started it for my own pleasure and to come out of the workshop, but right now it's a bit like war. In the evening I sit in the garden and the cat sleeps on my knees. Pause the projects.
Stay safe and hope the best
Dietrch

We're doing OK here in central Oklahoma. We haven't been hit too hard yet, and people are taking social distancing generally seriously.

My fiancee and I also just bought our first home, so I've been plenty busy chewing through the honey-do list.

Hi Folks

Glad to hear that so many of you are all set up to ride out the storm so to speak. Well done to Dietrich with the 'hobby' job. What would we do without the folk who serve us in the shops and supermarkets?

Kath and I have decanted to Wales to join Kath's sister who was rather poorly over the Festive season and beyond. Happily the medics have done their tests, prescribed their magic powders and she now has her bounce back. Indeed so much so that we are keeping her in check rather than 'supporting' her.

The downside is that there is no workshop, no boat to play with and a strange sort of lethargy - Manyana is the word that springs to mind.

Hope you all manage to keep safe.

Regards

Pete

I'm happy to hear most are doing their part and are generally safe and sound.

I hope you're still doing well and are in good health Dietrich.

No workshop at my current place and I don't dare go to my parents place and potentially get them sick. My sister works in the ER, and I work as a first responder, so taking pathogens home is a very real risk. Days just consist of work, then home trying to start a victory garden with limited availability of seeds around here. Once in a while I take a quick crack at editing some videos. Got to keep young people interested while they can't see these things in person.

Hi Wes,

I hope you're still doing well and are in good health Dietrich.

yes, i picked up an old project again - a STUART Twin Launch Steam engine for a little 5" geared steam loco.

Here a video of the todays first steaming, hope it enjoys.

https://youtu.be/W4FJkkoTM3Y

Regards
Dietrich

Railroad work, so I'm working hammer and tongs ...

Days free are spent piping Iona. The pressure and suction manifolds are in place. All the pumps are in place. All the feeds are in place except the two boiler feeds and the feed water make up tank. I had hope to launch this year but details might push it into 2021.