We are starting a new thread, the last one has almost 5,000 posts and has been around about 3 1/2 years.

Hello,

yesterday i found bad news of my picture hoster:

⚠️ Abload geht offline.
Wir haben leider traurige Nachrichten zu verkünden:
Abload.de und alle hochgeladenen Bilder und Verlinkungen gehen zum Ablauf des 30.06.2024 offline.
Weitere Informationen findet ihr bei Bedarf auf der Startseite von abload.de.



Quoting:
"
In case of discrepancies between the German text and the English text, the German text shall prevail.


Dear Abloaders,

We regret to inform you of some sad news. After four indescribably intense months during which we racked our brains and explored every conceivable alternative for our possible future, the decision has been made: Abload, along with all uploaded images and links, will go offline at the end of June 30, 2024. It pains us deeply, but we are certain that there is no other viable option. Please understand why we took so long with our considerations and calculations and why we have not been able to provide meaningful updates since our last blog entries on this matter. We wanted and needed to ensure that nothing was overlooked and that we were making the right decision.

For those interested in the background, you'll find it in the text that follows. To all those reading just these first few paragraphs, we would like to say: Thanks that you have been part of this wonderful solidarity project, which for 17 (nearly 18) years has enabled everyone to share their images on the internet for free. A special thanks to all users who have supported Abload with their voluntary contributions or continue to do so to this day. You are truly heroes. The donations from the past weeks have been used, among other things, to provide you with the option to download your uploaded images if needed. More information on this can be found after logging in under the menu item “Bilder sichern”.

We would be (very) grateful if you do not yet discontinue your support, as this feature and the work over the past few months have incurred incredibly high costs for us (in addition to those that we always incur). We will be making the final direct debit withdrawals around June 20, 2024 either way, without requiring an active cancellation from you. However, if anyone wishes to cancel their direct debit donations already before this, we kindly ask you to send us a brief note via our contact form (instead of revoking the direct debits through the bank, as this would incur high fees for us). Anyone who would like to thank us again for the past years or the download option can do so with an additional donation via PayPal or bank transfer. You can find more information on our donation page.

Finally, we ask you to keep an eye on our blog in the coming weeks if needed. If we have any important information for you, we will publish it there. Please especially check this entry if you come across any technical errors or issues in the coming weeks – as we will post everything that is already known to us and does not need to be reported again right there. Also, please check this entry first if you have any questions, even after reading the following text – as it contains the most frequently asked questions and our answers to them. Thank you!

P.S.: Those looking for an alternative for uploading images might consider checking out the advertisement from Directupload (directupload.net) at the end of this text.

Background
There are essentially three reasons for the shutdown of the service. The first reason has been discussed on our blog for twelve years: While operating costs have continually increased, revenues have steadily declined: User-friendly advertisements have long since stopped paying off; and the number of donors has been decreasing for a long time as well, as more and more people opt for personal clouds, for example. The second reason is that our obligations have become increasingly comprehensive, especially due to continually new legal requirements. We have reached a point here where it would definitively become too much for a comparatively tiny project like ours if we did not pull the plug. Just the costs of legal consultations in this regard, which are becoming ever more complex and extensive, are proving to be prohibitive already. The third reason is related to the first two but also stands on its own: We have always been a small team, working almost on a voluntary basis, and our private life situations have changed significantly (especially in recent years). The "good old school and university days," when Abload went online and had its heyday, are long gone. By now, we naturally have completely different tasks – and these simply do not leave enough capacity for the continued operation of this project.

Some users have asked us why we don't simply make the service paid to save it. The short answer is that doing so would not address the challenges of increasing obligations and our personal situations, especially since, after many reviews in the past weeks, we do not believe there would be sufficient interest in a paid version. Also, we have been asked why we do not hand Abload over to someone else. This is mainly because we do not want someone else to continue the service in a way that would not be compatible with Abload's user-oriented philosophy, which we have always lived by. No matter how one might agree on paper in the event of a handover, someone else would have control; including over your images and links. And to us, the risk of a wrong development seems simply too great. Therefore, we have opted for "an end with dignity" – and hereby announce it well in advance, so everyone can prepare. We understand that this is only a small consolation. We know how accustomed one can become to services like Abload. But one should never forget that we have always been a free offer, run by a handful of people in their spare time. We really would have liked to continue, but times have simply changed a lot. We hope that you place your trust in us at this point, just as you have been able to over the past nearly 18 years – and that we and Abload remain in your positive memory.

Thank you to everyone "out there". We sincerely wish you all the best!"

On behalf of all current and former team members,
Jens

"
At least for this forum Big Blue it means, that nearly all of my photos embedded in threads and postings will disappear after June 30, 2024.
For me, my photos are not lost as i have several copies on hard disks and memory chips. From this sources it is possible to reload photos and restore postings by editing the postings.
Unfortunately editing older postings is not possible in Big Blue.

I am sorry to tell you that.

anyone see this. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tra...4980&ei=22

Continuing with the Trainmaster. This time it is Reading #803 bringing in a passenger train from Pottsville.

anyone see the photo of the Indonesian volcano? nothing man can do can compare. hope reposting the photo don't violate any rules.
Jim

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Well, here we are again, these are really interesting, challenging and fun, and I know I'm hooked. I may have to see a shrink to shed my addiction. So, I have one more of these wooden "puzzles", (or really, models). This one is a trolley car that has a spring-wound drive motor. It also has tracks, and a catenary system with overhead (wooden) wires for use as a static display. I already have the steam engine on a floating shelf I built next to my rolling stock display case, and so that's my plan, to build another shelf for the trolley.

This one has some 370 parts, but will take more time because of the drive engine and the fact that parts used aren't in sequence. In some kits, you use parts from sheet A before you go to sheet B, but this one starts off with parts from sheet H, then E, then G, and so on, mainly because each sheet is a different thickness plus assembly starts off with the gear train. Learning from the steam loco built, I will double and triple check the gears as they are installed. One loose gear or broken shaft negates all efforts to run this thing.

Anyway, this is what I'm trying to build, and the instructions are in a book rather than a large sheet. There are only 10 steps to building this, but.... I counted over 170 sub-steps, so I'm thinking 20 or 25 hours to build just as long as there are no real issues.


The objective:
   

The instructions:
   

The parts:
   

I've completed five of these wooden puzzles or models and I can't help but learned a few things as I go along. The first one, the steam locomotive, was suppose to run, but didn't. If I was to build it today, it might run because of what I've learned doing the ones that I've done. I've read quite a few of the star comments on Amazon describing mostly the problems folks have putting these together. So if you think you'd like to try to do one of these (be careful, you can get hooked), just a bit of advice to save the heartaches that have caused some people to give up quickly.

I think you could put these together without using tools, but without them, it can get frustrating. All parts are laser cut, but some are difficult just taking them off the sheets others can break if you use force to get the tabs into the slots. Here's what I use in all facets of building these.

   

Two types of small pliers to grab parts either off the sheets or to snap into place. The hammer can drive a stubborn part home without excessive force or twisting a part and breaking it. The kits come with a screwdriver if there are screws and they also include a file and/or a piece of sandpaper to clean up parts. I have a set of small files that I use instead. I also use the pliers and channel locks to squeeze parts together when I can't use the hammer. The instructions also say, "no glue required", but at times that's the only way two parts will stay together. BTW, all these kits have spare parts for some that are very small or tend to break easily. They also say that you can get free replacement parts by contacting them.

The instructions are normally very concise and accurate. There are major steps with many sub-steps and when I finish a step, I go back and make sure I didn't miss anything and then put a check-mark next to each sub-step. It doesn't take talent as much as patience, most folks that give up seem to be a bit short-tempered and trash the kit after just a few minutes of trying. I've also mentioned that some parts are suppose to be bent, and spraying them with water helps keep them from breaking.

Those are just a few pointers, many kits are in the $20US range and are sold all over the world, some are a bit more expensive if they have mechanical or electronic part, like the pinball machine does.

A Fairbanks & Morse Reading Trainmaster (Atlas Master Locomotive Series) leads a coal drag through Leiperville Union Station and over the new bridge.

Well, here we go again, I just can't get enough of these wooden puzzle pieces. They call them puzzles, but they're really models with a lot if specific instructions to follow. A puzzle would be, "here's 368 pieces of wood, you figure out how to put it together". Never could happen, so I'm glad that the instructions are accurate, and the end result is as intended as long as you don't miss a step. This one has 30 steps, with many sub-steps as you can see from this instruction sheet #1, I figure around 15 to 20 hours to complete.

   
   

To start things off here are B&O F7A and F7B (Walthers Proto) pulling a mixed freight over the newly installed bridge.



I am currently using this as test train for the bridges. If all goes well I will be turning it into a run by.