Fuzzy Feathers

[Mookie]

[dinner] Hey chick chick!

Man in hardhat and vest (obviously an employee) walking along tracks with a long stick in hand. Lays stick on rails periodically. Checking for changes in.....
width of rail, width between rails or warping of rails?

He just appears out of nowhere (maybe a hole in the ground) and walks away from us - up the tracks. No blue flags, either. What gives?

Mz Kitty

[Anonymous]

was he poking at the dead animal lying beside the tracks, the the city was supposed to have picked up months ago?

maybe it was Stevie Wonder trying to find his way into your building...?

Mr Magoo did a similar thing in his movie once...

Joking aside,

I saw a CP rail guy with one of those once. He was testing the wires underground with a stick shaped thing, to find where the short was so it could be repaired and the RR lights to become functional again.

What a gadget let me tell you...

was it a plain stick, or did if have a red LED light on the top with a beeper.. then that might have been the underground Circuit detector, otherwise called.. I don't know.. it must have on official name.

is their a crossing near by?

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

[dinner] Hey chick chick!

Man in hardhat and vest (obviously an employee) walking along tracks with a long stick in hand. Lays stick on rails periodically. Checking for changes in.....
width of rail, width between rails or warping of rails?

He just appears out of nowhere (maybe a hole in the ground) and walks away from us - up the tracks. No blue flags, either. What gives?

Mz Kitty

He's a member of the Ferrous indian tribe. He is tracking great iron beast and places magic spear on tracks to draw from it's power. When he finds he will slay beast and bring horns back to village as rite of passage. Beast hard to find, for it often changes colors from green, black and white to silver and red and sometimes orange. And they sometimes travel in packs of three or more. [:o)]

[tree68]

If he was laying the stick on the rails he might have been checking on the track circuits. Maybe he was checking the guage!

Story, attributed locally, many years ago, but indoubtedly repeated. Short line operator showing off his line to a big railroad exec. It's discovered that the rails are too far apart. Short line op to bigwig - "your railroad may be longer, but mine is wider!" Or something like that.

Maybe the stick was just too heavy...[:P]

[Mookie]

Thanx guys - you livened a busy afternoon! He was just past a very busy xing - heading away from it. (One of 6 right there together) He was spotted twice, different days - doing same rail both times. I was a block away from him both times and couldn't see what he was doing. Driver said he had white stick and would lay it on thetop of the rail. I could hear it, but not see it very well [:D] Remember - he sees, I hear!

And if there is ever an opening to go look for those colored beasts - well, I am going to apply for it! Beware of man with big stick!

[tree68]

QUOTE:
He's a member of the Ferrous indian tribe. He is tracking great iron beast and places magic spear on tracks to draw from it's power. When he finds he will slay beast and bring horns back to village as rite of passage. Beast hard to find, for it often changes colors from green, black and white to silver and red and sometimes orange. And they sometimes travel in packs of three or more. [:o)]

The great iron beast is a dangerous beast indeed. It's been known to attack the rubber tired zipper as well as people who venture into its lair. Of course, you have to wonder about these interlopers, since the great iron beast almost always warns of the impending attack by making prodigious noises.

The Ferrous Tribe (and their ally, the Trackwatcher Tribe) is usually safe from attacks by the great iron beast as it heeds the warning signs and is careful to watch for indications of the beast's approach. Not so members of many other tribes, and the little rubber tired zippers, who feel that the beast poses no threat. How often they are wrong, for the beast shows no mercy.

[Anonymous]

Great Iron beast roars big; tells when is coming; warns when is in villiage. Great beast halts for pow-wows at magic longhouse called "Station". Great warriors join clubs and follow beast around world. Many great warriors build small plasteek beasts and join NMRA!

[Mookie]

MudChix - hurry up and read this - the natives are getting restless -

Mook

[mudchicken]

Mookie:

Most likely is a track supervisor on a walking inspection with his trusty combination track level & track gauge. He would be looking for wide gauge problems, dips in the tracks, curve cross level variations, frog check gauge and or frog face gauge, or any of a host of problems that a geometry car found (and squirted a streak of yellow or blue grease paint to identify)....

The fact that he was looking around the crossings probably means the ties and surfacing (ballast) around the crossings is wearing out. (Common headache for railroads, another reason to get rid of at-grade crossings).....If he's looking for dips, tell him you already found tree, dharm, kevin and company.... Watch a train approaching the crossing and see if it "bounces" just before or just after the crossing. If it does, you know what the track inspector is looking for the cause of. (railroad version of a pothole)

That "white stick" by the way is a Magnum RCAT-A1track level (about $600.00 worth) that any track inspector, mudchicken included, guards with his life.

Mudchicken was in far southern Colorado yesterday (Trinidad) and among other things was startled to see NS 9815 and NS 8836 leading a bunch of empty pig flats from Amarillo to Denver on the old BN/C&S/FW&D main track. Odd to see an entire engine consist out here that is pure Norfolk Southern over 600 miles from their home railroad.

Well Travelled Bird[banghead]

[dharmon]

I think I liked the indian hunter explanation better[:-,]

[mudchicken]

How much wampum you got? Maybe Mudchicken change story....

and NO!, canNOT have'um mudchicken feather for head dress![}:)]

[Mookie]

Gonna get in here and out before we have to fight the French and Indian War - yes, I have heard and seen a big problem in that area - when incoming trains go over that area, the knuckles jump! They are quite loud on some of the connections, not so bad on others. It is the spot just a few feet west of the grade at 1st and J st - if the chicken wants to check it out personally.......be sure you let the Mookie know - so she can gather up your relatives from KFC - er - have you for dinner...ah - well just personally welcome you to her dish, no, no - CITY - that's it!!!!

Mookie

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

Gonna get in here and out before we have to fight the French and Indian War - yes, I have heard and seen a big problem in that area - when incoming trains go over that area, the knuckles jump! They are quite loud on some of the connections, not so bad on others. It is the spot just a few feet west of the grade at 1st and J st - if the chicken wants to check it out personally.......be sure you let the Mookie know - so she can gather up your relatives from KFC - er - have you for dinner...ah - well just personally welcome you to her dish, no, no - CITY - that's it!!!!

Mookie

DON'T DO MC!!! ........it's a trap..........that kitty is gonna make you the guest of honor at dinner...in the center of the table.........[xx(]

[Mookie]

As Judge Judy sez - SPEAK NOT! You're ruining my table decoration and main course at the same time!

[dharmon]

warning.......kitty is speaking with forked tongue[}:)]......and that's not the only fork you're gonna encounter[xx(][C=:-)][dinner]

[mudchicken]

Mudchicken will continue to travel incognito through Lincoln after dark at a legal high rate of speed long after Kentucky Fried Rat has closed for the day....avoiding the chocolate cake stands along the way.....

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Mudchicken will continue to travel incognito through Lincoln after dark at a legal high rate of speed long after Kentucky Fried Rat has closed for the day....avoiding the chocolate cake stands along the way.....

Chicken...

[mudchicken]

I am what's I am!