The Royce Files

I think I have owned over a dozen pairs of New Balance shoes in my lifetime.  That is not much by some standards, but I have found the shoes to be durable more or less and have worn out many pairs. Plus New Balance shoes tend to fit better for people like me who have wide feet.  That is probably why I gravitate toward the brand when looking for running shoes.  My first pair of New Balance I believe were a gray and blue pair of NB574s my mother purchased for me when I took up track and field in the seventh grade. They lasted through my greatest athletic period- junior high. I grew out of them by high school, left track behind, and wore Converse All-Stars instead.  I do not recall when I returned to the New Balance fold. I remember using quite a few junky sneakers through college for sports that did not fit my feet well or breathe. Those shoes may have been from Wal-Mart or Pamida. I also started wearing more luggy outdoor recreation style shoes- Nike All Condition Ge...

 As the cases increased in the Dakota-land (and Minnesota too) the previous Fall, one annual train event did not want to fade away. The Spud Valley Model Show went on as scheduled in October 2020 with the common public wardrobe amendment. I arrived early and the place was hopping despite the additional face coverings. Many of the same vendors displayed their model trains and hobby wares with one addition from the Twin Cities. Mass gatherings like model train shows in Minnesota pretty much got the kibash, so this one in Fargo was of particular interest to modelers and train enthusiasts. I think it may have been the only show to go on in the 5 state region (ND,MN,SD,IA,WI) since February 2020. A lot of the shows cancelled like Granite City down in St. Cloud, that Upper Midwest show at Century College in the Twin Cities, and the Trains at Christmas Show in Sioux Falls. So what did I see? Let's take a look. A Marx set. Seems like a double switcher set. K-line acquired the molding of th...

 2020 certainly will certainly pass with no one grieving its' departure. What felt like nearly a whole decade of ordeals and intrigue and unrest, I will gladly place that volume on the backside of the bookcase never to be opened again. One hopes 2021 will not be the sequel although in some respects it could be and perhaps for years to come. The impact was a large meteorite in the groin. Methinks I rambled on too much. It is was it is. In this new covidian era, you better watch out and you better not cry, 'cause the Santa drones are coming to town. And man are they ticked!    This is quite honestly the pandemic Santa we needed- harmless and antiseptic. That is unless you believe this is the ticked off Santa drone. Then you can just stay home. Coal for you.  On to other items. Namely signs of beer. A mid-century clock promoting the beer of choice of your fathers and grandfathers if they lived up in Minnesota or the Dakotas. As a child I only recall 3 brands of bee...

Last year's family fall tour included part of Minnesota's Iron Range. There are 4 distinct ranges in the state-Cuyuna, Mesabi, Vermillion, and Gunflint. They extend from Crosby, just east of Brainerd, to the tip of the Arrowhead of NE Minnesota. The Gunflint actually continues into Canada. I have been to all four. There a handful of museums dotted throughout the region. Only the Mesabi range has any active mines. In Mountain Iron, there is a small park near a former pit mine. According to the interwebs , iron ore was first discovered near the park. In the park there is a display of some old mining equipment. Under a canopy sits an old switch engine that is marked for the Oliver Iron Mining Company. You can actually climb up on it and go into the cab. Some local youths were occupying the cab so we just climbed around the boiler.  It is a Baldwin 0-8-0 built in 1910 that originally served the Duluth, Missabe, and Northern Railroad. Oliver Iron Mining Company acquired the engine i...

Hustle Muscle GN 400 Wow. I cannot believe it has been over a year since the last post. And double wow, what a year it has been and now continues to be -except for all the masks. But now for the trains. Last year Fargo hosted the Great Northern Historical Society's annual convention. The organization brought their prized asset Hustle Muscle GN 400, the first SD45 produced by EMD. Some major maintenance was completed on the historic SD45 in February 2019. From what I recall it needed a new diesel engine. I believe it was thought Hustle Muscle might have been out of service for quite some time. Then BNSF stepped up with some shop help to get the engine back in service. Like many of the 1st and 2nd generation diesels, Hustle Muscle's cab is pretty spartan:a control panel, brake and a throttle. Yes there is also a horn and a seat. I don't recall seeing the bathroom. But then there is also this control panel on the rear of the cab. Rear Control Panel in Hustle ...

Chicago is the railroad crossroads of America. All the class I roads have a presence in Chicago and  its suburbs. I lodged near a large yard for the Belt Railway of Chicago , a terminal road that does a lot of the switching and interchange for the other railroads. It was loud and I was over a half a mile away. Further from my lodging were a handful of hobby shops that specialize in model trains. I scouted out these shops online to see which one would be closest. I found one- Golden Spike Train Shop- that would be close to the hotel where I would be staying. Unfortunately, I came to find out it had closed up a few years earlier. I looked further and realized I would need use public transit to get to the others. I attempted to Uber to one but no Uber wanted to pick me up. I was pretty flustered since I was seeing Uber drivers all over the area. I gave up and decided to schedule one in the morning. It got cancelled. Finally I decided to bus it out to Berwyn's. I only had a small wi...

As winter melts away the taste for hot dogs grows. I found myself in Chicago at the end of May for business. Hours after landing I was in pursuit of a delightfully delicious dog from one of Chicago's famous stands (at least those accessible by public transit.) But in doing so, I kind of got lost downtown trying to find the Elevated and then I got off at the wrong stop. It pays to do deeper research when getting on the L train. Apparently on the line I took, it had stations on the same road but about 3 miles apart because the route is U-shaped. I spent a lot of time walking and running to get to The Red Hot Ranch  to order a double dog. Fortunately the right "L" station was a few blocks away and I returned to downtown. Red Hot Ranch on Western On my way back to the hotel I spied Devil Dawgs . Actually I knew it was there before I had just wanted to try something outside of the Loop first. The Ranch really is a small stand. Some would consider it a hole in the wall...