Gloat first...
Don't know if I mentioned this but a couple of weeks ago I picked up a 2-8-2
Mikado work in progress from the estate sale of long time GGLS member and
former IBLS west coast secretary Dick Thomas.... It's a rolling frame (pilot
truck,drivers, trailing truck) with the saddle/cylinders/valves finished and
mounted, plus all the unfinished casting to complete it, (rods, link blocks,
bla,bla,bla) this is from the Railroad Supply castings and all work to date
is "Class A". I won't say the price, but it was less than half of what the
castings alone cost.

Brag next...
My birthday was also last week (don't ask how old.. too old)... and I was
bitching to my wife that I had to weld up a stand for this beast and wasn't
looking foreword to it, I just have a 20 year old funky welding mask for my
MIG. Sooo.. my B-Day comes and in with the sixpack of MicroBrew she also
gives me a 12 inch square card board box.... I open it and ... damned if the
woman didn't hit the welding store and buy me a top of the line Jackson Boss
auto dimming helmet, even sprung the bucks for the big window... For those
of you who weld and don't have an auto-dim all I can say is go buy one! Man
it sure is slick... I zapped that stand together in record time.

And the brag ain't about the helmet, it's about having a wife who buys you
cool stuff like this. :-)

--.- Dave

"You can tell the rich live steamers, they are the ones with two or more
unfinished locomotives in their shops".