ROANOKE RAIL CAM

Thank you gentlemen for the solution to the EPIC saga.

Many, like me, have probably wondered about them.  Now we know it seems.

It certainly has been an interesting time on the webcam of late.  I did see some very fine 'photos on the VFRS Yahoo Group pages of the initial wreck.  Switching and signaling does seem to be very much what is still under scrutiny at present.

So, what happened with that NS coal thingy?  And I still see guys commonly around, running small machines in the area.  I wonde what they're still doing?

BTW, today, I saw a blue and white loco of the type I've seen a few times before, and another train had a UP loco on it.

UP power is getting to be fairly common on the NS . Not much going on today or at at least not when i have been online .  RON

Gentemen,

Just my personal observation of the happenings at Roanoke. I've been watching it since Monday morning,, and being more interested in MOW then train ops I've tried to be observant.

It appears to me that three auto-racks going on the ground did considerable damage and taking out the ability of the dispatchers to control either the switches or signals. Been watching this since Monday morning, and it is apparent slow orders will be in effect till things get back to normal.

MOW and signal crews have been on location 24/7 since the derailment. That leads me to believe some serious damage was done even though the train was moving at low speed.

I'm a fan of the MOW and signal people. Rather take photos of them than locomotives because they earn their keep through backbreaking work. I've been allowed to photograph them with the caveat their identieties are not revealed. I hope my photos are preserved like the pictures of the past were.

I bet the MOW guys are nervous  . There is a train of autoracks going through right now .   RON

Hee hee hee... I have been thinking the same thing for every train that I have seen lately.

I noticed that there has been a car or truck show up and park about mid-scene, and then a train goes by -- SLOWLY -- and after it is gone, the vehicle leaves too.  I figure MOW and Inspection people are there in force for a while.

I have noticed that too. One or two of them seem to show up for every train. They are finally back to running trains regularly over the problem track .  RON

Haven`t seen much traffic today , at least when i have been on line . I haven`t seen any NS MOW people today . I guess they feel they have taken care of the problem .   RON

.....Just now, a coal train {W B}, pulled by 5 NS engines.  Moving right along too.  Saw no MOW cars / trucks.

I have seen a lot of trains lately with large amounts of power up front . one with 8 , 2 with 7 and quite a few with 5 engines on the point.   RON

I only managed to catch 2 trains tonight, being busy with other things.  I noted that neither one stopped before entering the area like they have been the last few days.  And no escorts tonight, though there were a couple this afternoon while I was watching.  I also noted that the signals for the one westbound I saw were working like I have seen them do in the past.  So, yes, I think they have it fixed up. Good on them!

I see they left the floodlights there just in case.    RON

Whups, may have spoke too soon.  Just saw a WB pause at the far signals which were showing what appears to me to be a do not enter indication, then it proceeded.  Dunno if it was associated with the apparent signal problems after the derailment or not.

Very long autorack train passing over the problem track .It is traveling at normal speed. I bet they have their fingers crossed on this one. No MOW vehicles present . Apparently everything is back to normal .  RON

Watching a tofc train go by at normal speed on the problem track . there were 7 units waiting on the nearest track. As soon as they got clearance and started moving , a huge shower of sparks and flame began shooting from the top of the number 3 unit . It continued doing this until it was out of sight . Apparently no one saw it or knows what is happening . Could be a bad situation on down the road .   RON

I saw it!!!!

I saw the train sitting there and decided to get my PC setup to record an image if the signals were working.  So I had the VMT cam on the left and the Roanoke Hotel Cam on the right and the Windows Magnifier app occupying the majority of the upper portion of the screen.  The Magnifier is showing a portion of the Hotel Cam.

While waiting I noted that the 3rd engine would periodically spit some sparks that sometimes would bounce on the roof and down to the walkways or all the way to the ground before stopping the glow.

I waited for 3 EB trains to pass, trying to catch the sparks in a screen capture.  But could not time my key press just right and then it quit doing it.    So when I saw the signal lights change (proving they are now working, because yesterday I saw a similar scene and the train proceeded without a change in the signals), I waited just a split second after the engines started to move and pressed Ctrl-PrtSc to capture the image.

In the image below you can see the sparks somewhat in the gray smoke that accompanied them (in the Red circles) and the signals (in Yellow diamonds) showing the usual aspect when trains are allowed to proceed from the near track to go under the pedestrian walkway and enter the north most track opposite the VMT site.

I have seen worse spark showers, but at night even the smallest ones are like fireworks on the 4th of July!

MOW trucks are back today . May have been a problem last night . Don`t know if it has anything to do with the unit that was showering sparks and smoke early this morning.   RON

Been seeing quite a variety of foreign power lately . Good sign that traffic is picking up considerably . ROANOKE is supposed to get more snow in the next few days .     RON

Most people are idiots when it comes to trains . I would bet that this women will do the same thing again if the same situation arises again . The sad thing is that the railroad is the one that will get the bad publicity from this .       RON

Somebody got hit here in Charlotte NC last week,they were jogging on the tracks.

The majority of people have absolutely no common sense .  RON

Traffic seems a little light tonight . Looks like the snow is almost gone but they are predicting more for the end of the week . Everything seems to be back to normal .   RON

More cabooses tonight . They seem to be using them more frequently . More trains than usual tonight , also.   RON

Well... the work light has been removed and I haven't seen a MOW truck in the parking area nor a hardhat wandering around, so the only thing left to do is for MOW's Mother to come clean up the mess they left behind.

They were a messy group , weren`t they . I guess the excitement is over for now and i am sure they don`t want a repeat anytime soon .      RON

Roanoke is dead . That white minivan hasn`t been moved in a while . Wishing everyone a merry christmas and happy , train filled new year .    RON

Mayhaps the bugs from last fall finally got to them?

...That is unusual for the white van to be parked in that spot this amount of time.  Generally, at 5 pm, the people come out from their work place and hit the road.

Just wonder why one would leave a vehicle in such a spot for that amount of time.

And all certainly does seem quiet in the panoramic view from the web cam.

Looks clear enough that the distant radio towers should be visible tonight out on the mountain.   Raindeer should be safe, and not fly into one of them.