Bachmann Trim-a-TrainJay Ducharme2024-10-23 | Bachmann Trim-a-TrainMountain Park lectureJay Ducharme2022-10-21 | In the fifteen years that I had been giving Mountain Park presentations, I never recorded any until this one at the South Hadley Council on Aging, on October 20, 2022.
0:00 - In the beginning 15:06 - 1911 19:38 - 1929 36:09 - The Valley Players 38:07 - 1952 49:58 - Community 51:26 - 1960s 1:04:08 - 1971 1:12:52 - People 1:21:27 - Games 1:26:06 - 1987 1:46:34 - Rebirth? 1:49:14 - Remaking Mountain ParkUnveiling the Mt. Park modelJay Ducharme2022-10-01 | On October 1, 2022, my scale model of Mountain Park was revealed to the public at a special event in the Visitor Center at Holyoke's Heritage State Park.Eastern States Exposition Roaming RailroadJay Ducharme2022-09-27 | Take a short ride around a portion of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA. As you can see by the seat, the "train" is simply a John Deere tractor with a fiberglass shell on top.Eastern States Exposition Walk-thru 2022Jay Ducharme2022-09-27 | A stroll through the largest state fair in the northeast
Avenue of the States - 0:00 North American Midway - 17:00 Mallary Complex - 24:00 International Plaza - 33:00 Industrial Avenue - 37:00 Better Living Center - 41:00 The Front Porch - 44:45 Farm-a-Rama - 49:30 The Coliseum - 52:30 New England Center - 57:00 Storrowtown Village - 1:00:00 Big E Museum - 1:06:30Remaking Mountain Park Step 20: the Installation at Heritage ParkJay Ducharme2022-08-31 | For the final part of the series, the model is installed in the Visitor's Center at Holyoke's Heritage State Park.
If you'd like to read a trip report, you can find it here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/niagara22/niagara22.htmlIron Horse miniature railroad (2022)Jay Ducharme2022-08-29 | All aboard the re-opened Jack Murray Express at Niagara Amusement Park (formerly Fantasy Island) in Grand Island, NY. The new owner Gene Staples and his crew got as much running as they could for their first full season, but you'll notice in certain areas the enormous task ahead of them for next season.Mini Tin ManJay Ducharme2022-08-22 | This is a build of Robothut's scale model of Remco's Tin Man robot. It's the simplified version without lights or reverse movement and is running off of 2 AAA batteries. For the build files, go here: thingiverse.com/thing:5409626
You can find Blender here: blender.orgCedar Point Walk-thru (2022)Jay Ducharme2022-05-13 | A windy tour of this giant park in Sandusky, Ohio, this time beginning at Lighthouse Point. A more detailed trip report can be found here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/cp22/cp22.htmlCedar Point Perimeter RoadJay Ducharme2022-05-12 | This is a view that not all guests get at Cedar Point, a drive north and then south along the park's Perimeter Road and alongside the Blue Streak, Valravn, Millennium Force, Maverick and Steel Vengeance.More powerJay Ducharme2022-03-23 | Adding a second battery to the wind turbine setup.
The connection resources at Missouri Wind & Solar can be found here: windandsolar.com/diagrams-and-wiring-resourcesRemaking Mountain Park Step 17: Back to BuildingsJay Ducharme2022-02-16 | Two more buildings get completed: the office and the Pirate's Den. You can find the blog here: http://www.karenandjay.com/mtpark/mpmodel/mpmodel.htmlPintastic New England 2021Jay Ducharme2021-11-21 | After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, Pintastic New England returned to Sturbridge in fine form. During this walk-thru, I spend a little more time looking at each machine.Southwicks 250th Anniversary Grand ParadeJay Ducharme2021-10-16 | Postponed a year by the pandemic, the town of Southwick, MA, finally was able to celebrate their 250th Anniversary. It processes down College Highway near the intersection of Granville Road.Lake Compounce Walk-thru 2021Jay Ducharme2021-10-11 | A tour of this colorful and historic theme park
And for comparison, here's a walk-thru I made in 2014: youtu.be/lAjDYPzZjqQZoltarJay Ducharme2021-09-21 | This entertaining performer was at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA, and would appear on the midway every few hours. Apparently, there are many of these at fairs across the U.S. I don't know the real name of this particular performer, but he was really good.Waldameer Park Walk-thru 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-31 | A tour of this charming family park in Erie, PA
If you'd like to read a trip report about the park, it's here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/wald21/wald21.htmlSeabreeze Log FlumeJay Ducharme2021-08-31 | Though it looks older, this flume was built in 1984 and has one of the steepest drops in the U.S.Seabreeze Bobsleds 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-31 | A ride on this unique hybrid coaster, built in-house by George LongSeabreeze Jack Rabbit 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-31 | Take a ride on this venerable John Miller wood coaster on its 100th anniversary.Waldameer NAPHA awardJay Ducharme2021-08-30 | Jim Futrell presents Paul Nelson with a plaque from the National Amusement Park Historical Association commemorating Waldameer Park's 125th anniversary. Also Bill Linkenheimer III, representing the American Coaster Enthusiasts, presents a plaque honoring dedicated park manager Steve Gorman.Waldameer Pirates Cove 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-30 | Walking through Bill Tracy's classic fun house (with the lights on) at Waldameer ParkWaldameer Comet 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-30 | Take a ride on this classic Philadelphia Toboggan junior woodie, in HDWaldameer Whacky Shack 2021Jay Ducharme2021-08-30 | An HD trip through Bill Tracy's classic dark rideWind Turbine Update 2Jay Ducharme2021-08-12 | The final update, with everything hooked up and functioning.Sylvan Beach Amusement Park Walk-thruJay Ducharme2021-08-01 | A tour of this classic retro New York destination. You can find the Laffland video here: youtu.be/gB-QlI5P-0g
A written trip report with more details is here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/sylvan/sylvan.htmlNorfolk Southern 8165, Vermilion OHJay Ducharme2021-08-01 | A long oil freighter flies past Main Street (Route 60) in Vermilion.Cedar Points Snake River ExpeditionJay Ducharme2021-08-01 | Climb aboard with Trapper Dan and help him smuggle gold on Cedar Point's new-for-2021 comical boat ride.Cedar Points Antique Cars 2021Jay Ducharme2021-07-31 | A relaxing excursion on the now defunct auto cars in Cedar Point's Frontier Town. The ride was removed at the end of the 2021 season to make room for a restaurant.LafflandJay Ducharme2021-07-31 | A ride on this classic Pretzel dark ride at New York's Sylvan Beach Amusement ParkLegoland New York Walk-thruJay Ducharme2021-07-31 | A tour of this Goshen, NY park during its opening season. A detailed trip report can be found here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/legolandny/legolandny.htmlSix Flags Great Adventure Walk-thruJay Ducharme2021-07-13 | A tour of this New Jersey park, the second-largest thrill park in the U.S. If you'd like to read a detailed trip report, you can find it here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/sfgradv21/sfgradv21.htmlClementon Park Walk-thruJay Ducharme2021-07-10 | A tour of this classic New Jersey trolley park, which had just been saved from extinction. If you'd like a detailed trip report, you can find it here: http://www.karenandjay.com/trips/clementon/clementon.htmlWind Turbine updateJay Ducharme2021-06-23 | It turns out that the problem was me, not the turbine.
ebay.com/itm/184518916889Going solarJay Ducharme2021-06-21 | Since the turbine was such a disappointment, I went to Harbor Freight and got myself one of their 100 watt solar panels. It was easy to install on the roof of the shed, and the battery there is finally getting recharged. I did finally get the turbine to work: youtu.be/-si0ugS4KFA
I finally located online the manual for the Xantrex display and discovered that the readout for "Current" is actually amps, not volts. That would explain why it almost always read zero, because even at its maximum I couldn't get the turbine to go much beyond a quarter amp. And that explains why when the display would briefly flash 1 amp, the readout would then show 12 watts. (Volts times amps equals watts.)
I finally did figure out what the problem was, though, and it wasn't the turbine. youtu.be/-si0ugS4KFA
The entire video series is in a playlist: youtube.com/watch?v=5o-u2OK-nz8&list=PLPBzgmlyinKmMD-Wwuqla5gqu5F0nFW4YI Heard My MotherJay Ducharme2021-05-09 | Karen and Jay performed this African-American spiritual on Mother's Day.ForeverJay Ducharme2021-03-16 | Karen and Jay perform this upbeat song by Chris Tomlin at Second Church.Jesus Walked This Lonesome ValleyJay Ducharme2021-02-21 | A performance of this spiritual by Karen and Jay at Second Congregational ChurchThe Holyoke Merry Go Round Needs YouJay Ducharme2021-02-20 | The 2020 pandemic forced the closure of the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round. We need your help to reopen. http://www.holyokemerrygoround.orgComet updateJay Ducharme2021-02-01 | I fixed a few problems with the pinball machine and (mostly) sorted out the rule sets. I still got something wrong: dropping all shooting gallery targets twice lights the outlane specials. Dropping them a third time lights the alternating extra ball opportunities on the cycle jump. Please note that this video includes lots of flashing lights.Remaking Mountain Park Step 16: The Coaster StationJay Ducharme2021-01-28 | Constructing the station of the Mountain Flyer. You can read more about the process here: http://www.karenandjay.com/mtpark/mpmodel/coaster-station.htmlGuide My FeetJay Ducharme2021-01-17 | A performance of this African American spiritual from January 17, 2021Six Flags New England Holiday in the ParkJay Ducharme2021-01-10 | The only park we visited during the year of the pandemic was seen through our car windows. Six Flags New England extended their Holiday in the Park event through January, as a drive-thru only experience. It was both heartening to finally be back in a park, and sad because we could only view it from a distance. But at least we got to experience it. As usual, there was a lot of holiday pop music playing in the background. So to avoid content matches I reversed it. Evidently, I didn't catch everything. A Britney Spears song slipped through and got tagged, so YouTube helpfully overlaid a completely incongruous track on top of it.Nautical disco lightJay Ducharme2021-01-03 | I rigged a nautical light from Put-In-Bay with an old disco light spinner. Set this on loop at your next disco party.Give the gift of LithophaneJay Ducharme2020-12-21 | Here's a simple gift you can quickly make that leaves a good impression on the recipient -- a lithophane. I'll show you how to make one, provided you have access to a 3D printer.
Here's the website that allows me to create the lithophane: https://3dp.rocks/lithophane/