Boeing-powered T-bucket

Along with the Ford Eifel we spotted at one of the stops during the Great Race, we also spent some time looking over this fiberglass Model T roadster with a rather interesting drivetrain: a Boeing 502-6 turboshaft engine that was re-purposed from a US Navy minesweeper.

First used by the Navy in the Fifties, two of these turbine engines would power a magnetic generator that produced an electric charge that blew up underwater mines. A Boeing 502 engine also powered the world’s first gas turbine powered helicopter, a modified Kaman K-225 in December of 1951. Surprisingly enough, the Boeing 502-6 gas turboshaft engine only produces 160hp at 23,725 RPM and has a super low 3:1 compression ratio. The engine’s two through-flow combustors are ignited by glow plug igniters. Fuel consumption is 15 GPH kerosene or Jet A at idle and 18 GPH at full throttle. Acceleration is regulated by a quadrant-type throttle as is used in modern jets. A reduction gearbox spins the output shaft at 2,750 RPM.

The engine is only 43 inches long and weighs around 250 pounds. In the T-bucket here, it’s oil cooled by a confiscated John Deere 8760 tractor oil cooler and an auxiliary fan. The transmission is hydrostatic, out of a 715 International combine, and hydraulic oil is supplied by a 30-gallon tank under the seat. The fiberglass T-bucket body sits on a tube frame, with front and rear spindles from a 1968 Fiat 124. It uses front rack and pinion steering from a Mustang. Two beer kegs in the bed of the truck supply the needed kerosene.  The car uses 24-volt electrics as is the standard for military equipment.

All that said, the engine and transmission package will only do about 70 MPH, but you sure would have a fun time getting there.

Thanks Kerry C

Marcia’s Soo Line Caboose

Marcia Weber lives full-time in a Soo Line train caboose that was built in 1909. She purchased the caboose with her husband at the Tunerville Station in Whippany, New Jersey in 1975 from an ad in the Wall Street Journal that simply said “wooden cabooses for sale.”

For years, the caboose was just a vacation home for Marcia and her husband. After a divorce and a job loss, she decided to move permanently into the caboose. She said the first winter was tough with no indoor plumbing and only space heaters available for heat. Electricity had been installed in the caboose years before, but there was no bathroom. In the following years, Marcia was able to add a bathroom to the back of the caboose (to retain the look), indoor plumbing and electric heat. She also replaced the siding on the cupola and put in some gardens and a lawn. She also had a deck built which added an additional “room” to the caboose.

The caboose sits on a 30 foot train track on Marcia’s 5 acre parcel in Northeast Pennsylvania. Her 337 square foot living space also includes a washer/dryer, refrigerator, stove, microwave and a dishwasher. The cost of the caboose and the track cost about $6,000 (in 1976).
Marcia calls the caboose “a 36-year labor of love”, and is proud that nearly everything on the inside is still in its original 1909 state. She did replace out the floor with a laminate. She will also be replacing the siding on the outside with beadboard to resemble the original wood.
She loves the light that comes in through the windows (including the six in the cupola) and has decorated the caboose with colorful accessories. She thought that going from a 2,500 square foot house to a 337 square foot caboose would be difficult, but she absolutely loves it.
“I sold 95 percent of my belongings and feel very free as a result,” Marcia said. “Plus, I can clean the whole place in fifteen minutes. The area here is absolutely beautiful and I spend a lot of time sitting on the deck reading and just looking at my surroundings. It’s all mountains, ponds, and open space.”

Photos courtesy of Marcia Weber

Thanks Kerry C

THE VETERINARIAN

One Sunday, in counting the money in the weekly offering,

the pastor of a small church 

found a pink envelope containing $1,000. It happened again the next week! 

The following Sunday, he watched as the offering was collected and saw an elderly woman put the distinctive pink envelope on the plate. This went on for weeks until the pastor, overcome by curiosity, approached her. 

"Ma'am, I couldn't help but notice that you put $1,000 a week in the collection plate," he stated. 
"Why, yes," she replied, "every week my son sends me money, and I give some of it to the church." 

The pastor replied, "That's wonderful. But $1,000 is a lot; are you sure you can afford this? How much does he send you?" 

The elderly woman answered, "$10,000 a week." 

The pastor was amazed. "Your son is very successful; what does he do for a living?" 

"He is a veterinarian," she answered. 
"That's an honorable profession, but I had no idea they made that much money," the pastor said.. "Where does he practice?"

The woman answered proudly, "In Nevada   ... He has two cat houses, one in Las Vegas and one in  Reno"

Thanks Kerry

Tuesday"s Car

The Hawkins Gang

Conflict In Burlington Ontario - on my back fence

 Basking in the sun

 The intruder

 The confrontation

The leg lift

 The reverse hip lock

 The power push

The kiss off

Ainsworth (Cripple Creek) BC project photo's circa 1896

The following photographs were taken by Charles H Taylor in 1896. This was a hydraulic air compressor plant that he built to supply the local mining industry. Interestingly he told both the first family (mine) and his second family that the project, after completion, never really operated due to the railway not building a spur line into the mine area. Both families were told that he had to pay back the investors out of his own pocket.... at least he was consistent in his stories.

If you go to the blog site shown in the top right corner you will see an email I received from the Historical Society in the area stating that the plant operated up to 1916..... Hmmmmm

(To explain the confusion between 1st and 2nd family, Charles never divorced my great grandmother, with whom he had 3 children, but went on to marry another woman in 1910 and had a family of 5)

Photo's are the property of Robert Hawkins and shall not be copied or reproduced without express permission of the owner.

 The relief tower at Cripple Creek BC

 Blow off from relief tower

 Cripple Creek

 Feeder pipe for compressor

 Spillway on Cripple Creek

 Pipeline winding through the Rockies

View out the front window of his shop on King St in Toronto

Mercury. (my Dad had One)

Thanks Kerry.... what a honey of a car

Why Men are Seldom Depressed

WHY MEN ARE SELDOM DEPRESSED:


Men Are Just Happier People --
What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be President.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.  
One mood all the  time.  
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own  jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you,
He or she can still be your friend.  
Your underwear is  $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough..
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes..
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.  
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.  
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives
On December 24 in 25 minutes.
No wonder men are happier.  
Send this to the women who can handle it
And to the men who will enjoy reading it.


  Men Are Just Happier People


Thanks Norman M.... now ladies I don't write them ... I only post them

A Wee Scottish Tale

A Wee Scottish Tale.

A golfer is cupping his hand to scoop water from a Highland burn on the St Andrews course.

A groundskeeper shouts: "Dinnae drink tha water! Et's foo ae coo's shite an pish!"

The golfer replies: "My Good fellow, I'm from England . Could you repeat that for me, in English!?"

The keeper replies: "I said, use two hands - you'll spill less that way!"

Thanks Ellen

A Texan's Solution For Welfare

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco, TX, Nov 18, 2010

Put me in charge...

Put me in charge of food stamps.  I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away.  If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid.  The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants or Tubal ligation (Hmm).  Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos and piercings.  If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing.  Ever live in a military barracks?
You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair.  Your "home" will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried.  If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a "government" job.  It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you.  We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good.”

Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary.  If you want our money, accept our rules.  Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices.  The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

AND While you are on Gov’t subsistence, you no longer can VOTE!  Yes that is correct.  For you to vote would be a conflict of interest.  You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a Gov’t welfare check.  If you want to vote, then get a job. 

Now, if you have the chutzpah - PASS THIS ON.

Thanks Margaret.... some novel ideas

Monday's Car

Post On Facebook

A DYING GRANNY WAS TALKING TO HER GRANDDAUGHTER. SHE SAID, I MAY DIE ANY MINUTE AND I WANT YOU TO HAVE MY FARM, MY VILLA, ALL MY FAR00EQUIPMENT, MY LIVE STOCK AS WELL AS THE $22, 879, 328L.00. WOW, SAID THE GRANDDAUGHTER, i DIDN'T KNOW YOU OWNED A FARM WITH ALL THAT STUFF, MUCH LESS ALL THAT CASH. WHERE IS YOUR FARM GRANNY AND WITH GRANNY'S LAST DYING BREATH, SHE WHISPERED, ON FACEBOOK.

Thanks BJ

Sunday Morning In Bronte

Surfs up on Lake Ontario

As the sign says "Fireman's Park

Dock 16 Bronte Harbour Marina

A favorite eating and watering hole at Bronte and Lakeshore

Whats a day without Timmies Eh!