The train derails in Manheim.

The local Norfolk Southern freight train derailed on the wye in Manheim this morning. I am an avid railroad fan and things like this don't happen very often. The train was making its exchange of tank cars with Ferrellgas when the one rail gave out and the train ended up on the ground. The track on the wye wasn't the greatest so I had a feeling this was going to happen sooner or later. I hear the horn of another train coming into town from the west so I am wondering if that is the wreck train from Lancaster. I think I'll go check it out. For now, here are a few pictures:

Videos of Michter's Distillery

Here is an overview of the site:




Here is the first warehouse that had collapsed showing our cleanup efforts:




Here is the second warehouse that collapsed and our recent cleanup efforts:

The Capri turns 24.

Today marks the 24th anniversary of my 1986 Mercury Capri coming off the assembly line at Ford's Dearborn plant. 1986 also marked the last year for the Capri and carburetted 2.3L 4 cylinder engines. Why is this car worth keeping? In 1986, only 20,869 Capris were made. Of those, only 1,774 were made in the Shadow Blue Metallic color- most of which were ASC McLaren coupes. The options package on my Capri is what really makes it unique. It has power locks, power windows, a 3 speed automatic, premium sound, a flip-up sunroof, and rear defrost, BUT no air conditioning and only the cloth interior. This options package would have had to have been pieced together, which would have made it very expensive. You could have gotten a decent V6 or base V8 engined car for the price. I have owned the car since July of 2000 and I've done an awful lot to it. When I bought the car, it had an Earl Sheib paint job, smoked a little, and needed a few other repairs. I fully repainted the car while in college and since then have done quite a bit of engine work. The Ford 2.3L OHC engine in it has 221,000 miles on it (From what I suspect. However, there is no 100,000 marker on the odometer so it's hard to say.). I put a rebuilt head from an 89 Mustang on it, the carburetor is a rejetted Motorcraft-Weber 5200 2 barrel from a 77 Pinto, I replaced the camshaft with a roller cam out of a 90 Ranger, the ignition was modified to a Duraspark-MSD hybrid system, I removed the air pump and a bunch of other emissions junk and also reworked most of the vacuum system. My modifications replace a computer controlled 1 barrel Carter carburetor and lots of other old, worn out, pathetic parts. Here's a few pictures of the car today:

The Official PA Wine And Spirits Inventory Search!!

Two posts in one day. I have no life I guess. ANYWAY, the other day while tooling around on the State's website I came across the holy grail that many of us PA liquor drinkers can't ever seem to find. Posted below is the link to the PLCB website's inventory search. This allows you to not only see if the state handles your favorite wine or spirit, but also how it is available, where it is available, and how many units a store stocks (plus the store's hours and address!!). VERY easy to use and an awesome way to track down your favorite drink! Enjoy!


http://www.lcbapps.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/Product_Management/psi_ProductDefault_inter.asp?plcbNav=|32369|

This blog thinks this is not a valid link so you will have to copy and paste this into your browser.

One of my other collections...

This one probably isn't worth as much as my Michter's stuff, but it's actually usable on a daily basis. I collect records. LP's and 45's. What all do I have? Lots of stuff, mostly from the late 70's to the early 90's. Lots of Genesis, Rush, The Police, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Cars, and plenty of others. I've got everything from regular albums to special pressings, radio broadcasts, UK pressings, and promo albums. I've got an old Technics direct-drive turntable that is plugged into my old Pioneer silver-faced receiver. Here are 2 quick pictures:

How I finished 2009.

Today my wife and I braved the ice and snow and traveled down to the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, DE. They have in their possession the entire business collection of Mr. Louis Forman, creator and owner of Michter's until 1979. What I found was amazing. We took some photos and scans of selected documents (I managed to screw up a bunch and only got parts of the pages.) for me to read and analyze later. But what I quickly discovered was the Mr. Forman, though he was a businessman, loved his product and really put everything he had into it. He had heavily researched not only the PA Dutch way of life, but the history of the distillery and the surrounding area. Through his research, he was able to develop Michter's into a truly unique stand out in the whiskey world. He believed his product was the best out there. To see how much time and money Mr. Forman put into his beloved product makes me appreciate Michter's even more. There will never be anything like it again. I plan on going back down again sometime to make better scans and copies of these historic documents. I can't post them up on here as I have signed a paper saying that I would not share them with anyone. If you would like more information, shoot me a message and I would be glad to share what I do know. For now, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Be safe and know your limits!

My Michter's research.

I mentioned a few minutes ago in my inaugural entry that I do and am doing research on the famous, but abandoned Michter's Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. To get everyone up to speed and informed, I'll do a real quick history and rundown of the place. It was until it closed the oldest operating distillery in the USA, starting in 1753.

This PDF from the government should give you all a great idea about it's history into the 1970's:

http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/75001649.pdf

It is still listed as a National Historic Landmark and National Historic Place.

There's much more to it than this and I will post it up over time. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the history and current status of the distillery and as I "connect the dots" I will post up more information.

For an idea of its current state, see:

http://forgottenpa.blogspot.com/2009/11/inside-michters.html

These are a sampling of my pictures I took back in November. I have several more and am always taking more.