Afternoon
Tomorrow starts the first day of winter.We'll have warming tempratures.Guessers say a green Christmas here for sure.Ns was clear when I left work.Next week we are set for a trip over to Deshler and one down to Cincinnati.Young great nephew likes trains so we are going to help with that.Tonight Sis and I are taking brother to the zoo lights at the Toledo zoo.Hope she doesn't try to leave us with the monkeys.Matt has to go do dishes tonight.
stay safe
Joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
Art by Darrell D. Hartle - Engineer, B&O Defiance, OH yard job in the 1950's.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Cold enough tonight that the mechanical department didn't trust the hot starts (block heaters) on the locomotives - so we left them running overnight.
Watched the thermometer in the truck range from -1F to -7F on the drive home, where it's currently-3.4F.
Not a cloud in the sky.
OTOH, we're supposed to see the 40's in a couple of days...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
CSX, in honor of the first day of winter, promptly throws a freight train in the river at Harper's Ferry, Va.....COWABUNGA!
mudchicken CSX, in honor of the first day of winter, promptly throws a freight train in the river at Harper's Ferry, Va.....COWABUNGA!
Johnny
Deggesty mudchicken CSX, in honor of the first day of winter, promptly throws a freight train in the river at Harper's Ferry, Va.....COWABUNGA! EB freight or WB freight? I wonder how Amtrak is handling the situation--running buses out to Harpers Ferry to bring #30's passengers in, and detouring #29 this afternoon? Wait, surely there is equipment in Washington for #29 this afternoon?
EB freight or WB freight? I wonder how Amtrak is handling the situation--running buses out to Harpers Ferry to bring #30's passengers in, and detouring #29 this afternoon? Wait, surely there is equipment in Washington for #29 this afternoon?
EB grain empties from Winchester to Brunswick, derailed on the Shenandoah Sub bridge. Main Line Brunswick to Cumberland not affected.
BaltACD Deggesty mudchicken CSX, in honor of the first day of winter, promptly throws a freight train in the river at Harper's Ferry, Va.....COWABUNGA! EB freight or WB freight? I wonder how Amtrak is handling the situation--running buses out to Harpers Ferry to bring #30's passengers in, and detouring #29 this afternoon? Wait, surely there is equipment in Washington for #29 this afternoon? EB grain empties from Winchester to Brunswick, derailed on the Shenandoah Sub bridge. Main Line Brunswick to Cumberland not affected.
I I wonder if grain-eating aquatic life had a good feed.
afternoon
Did chores and ran errands today.Was able to see a few trains and have lunch at a new place in Sherwood Ohio.It's Stacey approved so we can go back.Matt has been working on his layout.He has to go do dishes tonight.Going to go check the mailbox.
Sunrise today in Northern Saskatchewan was at 9:30 am , Sunset was at 4:30 pm. Go to work in the dark, come home in the dark. Yeesh.
Yes, as Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "In winter I get up and dress by candlelight....In summer, quite the other way, I go to bed by day."
CSX had quite a spectacular fail in Cincinnati (Saylor Park, line that goes to StL) this morning. Can #3 be in the wings?
https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/riverside/pd-train-derailment-closes-river-road
(Hope there isn't a twelve days of x-mas theme here)
Wow MC they will probably be still cleaning that up by the end of the week.Balt thanks for the picture.Trying to figure out which curve that is around town.Called in a False partial activation for the ND&W crossing on Davidson st.Went to a voicemail system.Csx was busy.Local had a rebuit sd 70 ah for power.The had bad order cars in the yard plus the switch to Gm needed fixing.Also the Nd&w still had cars from Friday in the siding so they squezzed in one more.Heard on the scanner that Ns 289 pulled a drawbar and they were working on that.Matt has to go do dishes tonight.Tomorrow it's Deshler.
mudchickenCSX had quite a spectacular fail in Cincinnati (Saylor Park, line that goes to StL) this morning. Can #3 be in the wings? https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/riverside/pd-train-derailment-closes-river-road (Hope there isn't a twelve days of x-mas theme here)
When I was a operator on the B&O St.Louis Division, I worked Storrs Jct., which is hard by River Road - in fact you had to access a ladder on the retaining wall that separated River Road from the railroad and climb down about 15 feet to railroad level.
From the crossroads give, it sounds like the incident MAY have been near a location the railroad identified as CW Cabin which was the West End of Double Track. I haven't been in the area for over 50 years.
Csx did have some trains in Deshler today.Plenty of Mow was around to tighten things up before the holiday.Did get word that the depot and tower are on Csx's knock down list.Met new and old friends in Deshler too.Matt has to go do dishes.
Good Morning
A few chores to do here.Matt can help do dishes at G+G's house.Have a Merry Christmas.
It's time for a celebration of Christmas spirits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHqcVro7BAY
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Paul, be careful in your use of Christmas spirits--Christmas Eve in 1719, one Rawleigh Chinn and a friend went over to the home of Rawleigh's father-in-law, who was a King's Justice, and began to abuse him verbally. When Mr. Ball rebuked them in the name of the king, they proceeded to abuse the king in their speech. Each on of them was fined 5 guineas for his disregard of the king's majesty. (note: these were not guinea hens)
The account does not say so, but I do not doubt that both men were full of Christmas spirits.
DeggestyThe account does not say so, but I do not doubt that both men were full of Christmas spirits.
I was wondering where you were going with that story.
Found posted by BaltACD, but I believe properly attributed to the late Ed Blysard:
Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the yard,All the switchmen were switching, some working quite hard.
The grips were all hung by the shanty with care,In the hopes that a time slip would soon show up there.
The trainmasters were nestled, all snug in their beds,While visions of test failures danced in their heads.
The hogger in his kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled down for a sneakey quick nap.
When out in the yard there arose such a clatter,I sprang from our motor to see "what's the matter?"
Away from the cab, I flew in a flash,To line all the switches, and stop a bad crash.
The moon on the field of new-fallen snowGave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a worn out SD40, dragging eight old reindeer.
Run by an old hogger, who looked like St. Nick,I knew in a moment, I had to act quick.
At yard speed the 40 down my lead he now came,And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
"To the top of the yard, we'll cross over them all,Now drag away drag away, drag away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,So up to the top end the old 40 flew,With a gon full of toys, and Saint Nicholas too!
And then in a twinkling, I heard an old horn,Blowing for the brakes, soft and forlorn.
As I threw down my lantern and was turning around,Down the old 40s steps the old hogger bound.
He was twitchy and wormy, from his head to his feet,His yard list all folded and sorted, quite neat.
A bundle of time slips he had flung on his back,He looked like a peddler opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,He filled all those grips, then turned with a jerk,And laying his finger aside of his nose,And giving a nod, to the seat box he rose,He notched out his 40, to his team gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
I'm still looking for the story about the young man. It's not necessarily Christmas, but it may cause one to rethink one's priorities.
And I finally found this classic. Grab a tissue or two:
Got a good reality check today.
Everyone has a bad day once in a while, you know, those days where you could care less about any and everything, catch a good case of the blues, and end up feeling really sorry for yourself?
Had one of those yesterday, and it looked like a repeat for today.
The yard is jammed to the gills with cars, no place to switch them to, more work than we could ever get done, knee deep in gators...that along with some personal issues keeping me down in the dumps, having a real good pity party for myself....
There is a young man, 16 now, who shows up just about every day it isn't raining...he sits across from our yard entrance watching the action on the old SP line, and watching us switch.
The thing is, he sits in a wheelchair.
His Dad brings him up there in the afternoon, around noonish, and they sit, him in his chair, Dad in the van he has, watching, taking the occasional photo, waving at the crews as they go by.
I have never really talked to either one of them, other than giving them a few cans of water during a scorching summer day, and sneaking a gimmie cap out to the kid once...didn't really know his story, other than he shows up all the time, and a few of the other regular fans seem to enjoy sitting with him.
Well, we were sitting there on the lead, blocked by another inbound, while we were trying to go grab another switch cut from the receiving yard...just piddling away time really, when I noticed the van drive up.
Dad unloads the kid; they have one of those hydraulic lifts in the side door.
He gets the boy all covered up with a blanket, and they are taking in all the sights.
The boy keeps looking over at us, we are literally just across the street from them, when I get one of those ideas that usually end up with me having to try to explain to someone higher up why and what I was thinking and doing.
I talk with my helper a minute, and he thinks it is a great idea also, so we get down, trot across the street, and ask the kid if he wants to see the locomotive up close....Don't think I would have gotten a better response if I had given him the lottery numbers for tonight!
We roll him across the street, Dad grabs the handles, and my helper and I get the wheels, and we carry the chair over the ballast to the side of our motor.
This young man is just ecstatic, starts asking a million questions, we are kinda tickled, too...so my helper and engineer begin to answer his questions, when they can get a word in edgewise.
I was busy watching Dad...the look on his face was worth any trouble we might get into...I led him away from the locomotive, far enough where normal conversation can be had lower than at a shout.
I ask a few questions of my own, and it turns out the kid was riding his brand-new bike on his 12th birthday when a drunk driver clipped him...destroyed the spinal cord in his lower back; he is paralyzed from the waist down.
His Dad is beginning to cry a little now, seems the boy wanted to grow up and be an engineer, has always been a train nut, since childhood...Dad swears the kid can hear the trains miles away, you get the idea.
Dad and son have a model railroad and do the railfan bit together every chance they get.
Dad had tried to buy tickets for the UP 844, but just couldn't afford to get the tickets or the time to drive out to where it was.
He is really getting carried away thanking me for letting his son this close to a real locomotive, when my engineer, Booger, comes around the end of the motor, and points over to the dirt access road.
Great! Our daylight trainmaster is standing there, looking at me with that look which usually means I have to think faster than I normally do.
So I wander over, he gives me the third degree, then the speech about liability, injury, getting sued, blah blah blah...the whole time, I am thinking what a Scrooge he is, all the kid is doing is asking questions, and touching the lower handrail and steps....
Suddenly, I realize the trainmaster has quit talking, maybe a long while ago in fact, because he is looking at me like I am supposed to be giving him either an answer to a question or a load of BS, or both.
Now, my mouth and my brain sometimes run at different speeds, the mouth is usually faster of the two, and I usually regret that...today has been a crap day, my feet hurt, its really cold outside....
Before I even think it through, I just looked at him and said, "Dude, what a Scrooge you are! That kid will never get a chance like this again, ever...all he wants to do is look and ask questions...he should be glad he isn't one of your kids!"...
I didn't wait for a reply, but just went back to Dad, walked him over to the kid, and was about to tell them the party was over when the trainmaster came walking up to us.
I was sure I had managed to get myself and my crew pulled out of service, just sure of it...and right before Christmas, to boot.
The young man, who had no idea who this guy was, or what he was going to do, stuck out his hand and introduced himself, grinning from ear to ear...the trainmaster had no real choice but to shake with the kid...he then tapped me on the arm, and motioned for me to follow him...we go about 10 or 15 feet away, when the trainmaster turned around, and had the oddest look on his face I had ever seen.
By now the inbound had cleared us up, so the noise level had dropped a lot, and I swear, the guy sounded like he was about to cry...he pointed towards the receiving yard, and said "You can get to your switch cut now....of course, you might want to run your helper down an empty track to the other end to check for brakes and see if there is a Fred on the end."
Now this make little sense, as the car department bleeds off these cuts, and removes the EOTs before we ever get a list on the stuff...I look at him, he nods towards the kid, then cuts his eyes up to the locomotive cab...no way...he is telling me to take the kid for a ride, just no way..."I will be downtown for a while, maybe an hour or so, if you need anything" he says, then looks at the kid again, and looks me straight in the eyes, "Be careful, Ok?"...spins around, walks over to his truck and leaves.
So when he is out of sight, I walk back, grab my engineer, clue him in and check to make sure he is good with it...he thinks it is a great idea...we ask Dad if they wouldn't mind going for a ride...I swear the kid looked like he was about to faint...Dad was a little stunned...said he didn't know how we would get the boy up there...
Booger is not the brightest light in the harbor, but he is one big son of a gun, he just reached down, grabbed the kid, flipped him over his shoulder, and walked up the steps, problem solved.
Now, I thought we would just give them a ride, but when we got into the cab, Booger had the kid in the engineer's seat, explaining what the controls did...I told him let's get over there before anyone notices...he runs standing up behind the kid, who is wild-eyed at all of this.
We get in the track, pretty much hidden from the yard by the cut of cars, and Booger stops the motor....steps away from behind the kid, and tells him which handle to move, to press down on the independent, move the throttle over here....and we take off, with the kid running the motor.
We have close to 120 cars' worth of running room, so the kid gets to run back and forth a pretty good distance...we get down and start to give him hand signals, while Booger stand behind him, telling him what to do...pretty much we screw off for a good 30 minutes, but time well spent...we run Dad back to his van, tell him to meet us at the other end of the yard, let the kid notch it out a few more times, and end up at the north end, where there is a whole lot of nothing but trees and the access road...Dad shows up with the van, we get the wheelchair off the front porch, Booger does his human bench press routine again, and we gotta get back to work before the yardmaster figures out we are doing not a whole lot...
The young man looks like he is about to explode he is so happy, Dad is crying a little, my helper is suddenly real interested in the rocks around his feet, I am getting a little leaky too...the kid shakes hands all the way around, they get loaded up, and as they are pulling away, the kid yells out the window, "Thanks again, and you guys have a great Christmas"...
So we skipped beans to make up the time, and when we tied up, I ran up to the tower to talk to the yardmaster, as I was kinda curious as to why the trainmaster did what he did...turns out that, yup, you can guess, his 8-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver.
Boy, do I owe someone an apology or what...
So I am driving home, feeling more like an idiot than usual, half of me thinking what I need to say to the trainmaster next time I see him, and half of me feeling pretty good about what we did for the kid, when it hits me...this kid will never get to do the things I take for granted every day...he most likely will never see the inside of a locomotive again, never line a switch, or tie a hand brake...never get to dance with his girlfriend, go surfing or ride a horse...and our trainmaster will never get to go watch trains or build a model with his son, or show him how to run a locomotive.
It smacked me so hard I had to pull over and sit a minute, smoke a smoke and think about it all.
So you know what?
Maybe nothing in my life is really wrong after all, I mean all my kids are healthy, my wife loves me, I am all in one piece, mostly, and in comparison...
Hey, ya know what?...I ain't got no problems, none at all...
I received a gift from the young man also...doing this for him taught me something else...
I had forgotten how to "play"...it was as much fun for us as anything we have done in a while.
And I thought about something late last night...what his Dad does for a living that allows him to spend as much time with his son as he does?
Whatever it is, it must be worth the sacrifice, because it allows him to do something a lot of us never do...spend a lot of time with his kid, and watch--really watch--him grow up.
Now, how cool is that?
I know the Dad works with his hands, you could see the callus, and every time I see him, he is always dressed in khakis or jeans and work shoes.
His watch is a Timex, his van is an old 70-something Dodge...but his kid was dressed in the "latest" cool clothes, the Nikes on his feet were the real deal, the kid's camera was a Canon Rebel, so I could see where Dad spends his money...
Anyway, when I got home last night, and after I typed all that...I took my kids and we went and played...we walked down to the BN main and watched a few trains, took a stroll through the woods near here, chased a wild rabbit, (rabbits win every time) then sat out in the front yard and watched stars, talking about all kind of stuff.
See, I realized that maybe the young boy's Dad is the real hero here...after all, it can't be easy.
But he is the one getting the reward; so to speak...the looks between him and his son made me realize how much I wish I had taken the time to really talk to my Dad, and how much I miss him.
It also made me realize how much the boy and his Dad love each other...you could see that no matter what happens, they will always be there for each other, you could see the boy trusted him completely.
I get it now...buying the new plasma TV for the house, or getting the next Playstation hasn't made me a "good" parent anywhere near as much as chasing a rabbit with a 7 and 13 year old did....Now I know things about my kids, and how they think, what they really want, what scares them and what doesn't.
Things I thought I knew didn't really matter, what I thought they wanted, and what they really wanted turned out to be different things after all.
Ya know what, there is a meteor shower due here on the 12th...think a road trip to the beach with the kids sounds like a great idea.
So the kid got a cab ride and a quick locomotive lesson, but I think I am the one who got the real gift...
Turns out there are a lot of closet modelers on the railroads, and the young man and his Dad are currently being asked to join a local club, which has as one of its founding members the former president of the local chapter of the NHRS...the boy should be in hog heaven...they are the folks who provide the car attendants and such when UP runs the specials down here.
As an addendum to the story, I went to apologize to the TM...he wouldn't let me...said I didn't know, so no apology needed,
He told me about his getting the kid in touch with the club, then handed me an envelope.
Said the young man had asked him to give it to me.
Inside was a simple plain paper hand written note, thanking my crew for the "fantastic afternoon" he and his Dad had.
Imagine that, some new school kids still have old school manners!
Even better, I have an artifact to show my kids when they get all down and blue.
I don't normally preach, and I lost my soap box a long time ago, but just this once...
Do yourself, and your family a big favor this Christmas, and New Year's Eve...if you go out to party, and you drink...take a designated driver, or call a cab if you have even just a little more than normal...'cause trust me, you really don't have any problems, none at all.
Thanks for that Larry.St.Ed's day is Dec 31st.Merry Christmas.
Record high for today.Hope our friends up north had a happy boxing day.Packing for tomorrow.
Well thank you! Indeed Happy Boxing Day or as it's known in the USA...Thursday.
tree68And I finally found this classic. Grab a tissue or two:
Larry, While I remember seeing it some time ago, it was good to see it again. Thanks for reposting it. It really reminds one to put things in perspective and to enjoy the good things of the season. I know you enjoy the PEX, as do I. I'll always remember a young boy getting off of one of our trains and saying, "THAT WAS SUPER PEACHY NEATO"! Made both the motormans and my day.
Had some fog to deal with on the way home.Sunshine now.Found some new areas to explore.Csx has one more set of CPL's to replace in Covington.The poles are set but the heads are not on the signals.The platform in Ludlow KY on Ns is nice.Ns needs to send a brush cutter through.Great nephew had a good time and wants to go back to Tower A.Going to catch up on laundry.Matt has to do dishes tonight.
We arrived at our own house after another Amtrak trip where the curse hit us. Those hits are getting a little milder each time, thankfully. And in both directions we made up time after the initial hit.Met a slightly snow-covered hen and chicken at LaJunta while we were still over two hours late. It was great to see them, and we thank them for making the trip down from the Denver area ahead of a nasty blizzard.We got to Naperville about 1:45 off the mark. I wonder how often a coach attendant gets hugs from her passengers (both of them, in our case). A lovely lady from our church met us and brought us home. Oh, the weather outside is......going to get up near 60 in the morning, before temperatures fall and the rain arrives by evening. That's okay...we had our share of real winter from Cajon on up through Colorado. Before anyone says, "That was nothing!", I didn't say it wasn't...I just said it was "our share".
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Glad you're home intact, although it sounds like you might be dragging that weather in behind you.
We're supposed to get freezing rain late Sunday, if not right here where I live, then at least in the area.
morning
Rain moving through our area now.Rough night for the home team in the desert.After church going to go give hugs.Matt has to do dishes tonight too.He is going to be very busy next week.
It was nice to be able to go to church and dinner without a coat on December 29. Pat wanted dinner in a place in LaGrange, along the BNSF main line--what a pity! No trains at all while we were there, but we couldn't get back to our car until two freights cleared.Went to Bedford Park just as a freight was departing. I didn't see the power, so I miscalculated where I could catch him to see the whole thing. Fortunately, though, "Plan B" was a winner, and we saw him back in LaGrange, along the IHB. Worth the effort.
Mother nature filled the ditches and fields last night.Some areas water had come onto the road.The temprature is dropping and they are calling for snow tomorrow.Took brother out today.Not too much on Csx or Ns today.Ns does have orange ballast hoppers in the siding at Edgerton.The leftovers from lunch took Matt 5 seconds to find.Going to do some chores.
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