Chatterbox Winter 2019-2020

[BaltACD]

tree68

Well, we made national news, with over 30" of snow in many areas.  Even the Weather Channel sent a crew.  Look up "Watertown, NY" and "Snow."  A little village called Copenhagen had some of the highest accumulations.

The lake effect band came north this morning, resulting in about 8" of snow at my house for the day, and lots of wind.  I started a trip into the city about noon, but a half mile in the curtain closed, so I hightailed it back home.

This is the most snow we've gotten from one storm in quite a while.

Are the Great Lakes frozen over? - normally large snow accumulations happen when the Great Lakes have yet to freeze over

A acquaintance from racing calls Watertown home.

[CShaveRR]

I'm knocking on wood right now.  We should make it into March without any further winter problems.  And the precipitation for early next week is expected to be rain.

That's good news.  Tomorrow night we're taking about 20 people to our favorite pizza/Italian place in Elmhurst (a few people here know the place).  Thank Goodness we don't have to buy for everyone!  Then Monday we take some friends down the block for brunch.  I hope there be trains...

Wednesday I have a "nuclear bone scan" to see where the scourge has spread.  Friday we discuss this with the oncologist.  After that...chemo?  I'm hoping I can still get out from time to time.

[CShaveRR]

Balt, speaking for southern Lake Michigan, there doesn't seem to be much ice at all here.  I don't think we got enough snow to aid with the freezing of the Lake.  That should be good news, suggesting that near record water levels might go down a little.

[tree68]

BaltACD

Are the Great Lakes frozen over? - normally large snow accumulations happen when the Great Lakes have yet to freeze over.

No - they aren't.  Even Lake Erie, which is usually the first to completely freeze over (it's the shallowest of the Great Lakes) is wide open.  

And that means that when we have an event like the past few days, where the winds are running the length of the lake, will be especially bountiful, snow-wise.  Lots of "fetch."

Shipping on the St Lawrence has been delayed until at least April 1st so the powers that be can continue dumping as much water as possible out of the lake and river.  The problem is that ALL of the lakes are high.  The only Great Lake with any modicum of control is Ontario - the rest flow unimpeded (by man) from one lake to the next.  Huron and Michigan are essentially at the same level, via the Straits of Mackinac.

As noted, I got about 8" of snow here at the house.  Not far south of me totals are up to four feet.  Such is the nature of our lake effect - a very narrow (10-20 miles) strip of intense snowfall while outside the band the sun (or stars) is out.

The funny part is that even with this massive dump of snow, it's barely starting to look like the winters we got when I moved into this house some 40 years ago.

BaltACD

A acquaintance from racing calls Watertown home.

I have some friends who race locally (DIRT).  There may well be a "six degrees of separation" thing there.

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Took brother out today.We leaped around Willams county and into Indiana.Truck needs a bath soon.Ns was asking trains if they could hold here or there as they(and cp run through trains) were extra long today.Saw Ns and CP trains using Dpus today as well. Ns 289 was told to ring up the CSX RM(Garrett sub) dispatcher about going south at St.Joe.The Ns dispatcher left a message with Csx but didn't hear back from them yet.One train I did miss was a westbound at Edgerton.Had Ns in the lead and everyone else behind it.Can't catch them all.Matt has to do dishes tonight.

stay safe

Joe

[NorthWest]

Ran into some two-pack container flats today that I've never seen before. GIMX 200120 and GIMX 7022. Interesting pair carrying two sets of 20-foot hazmat containers.

Learn something new every day.

[CShaveRR]

Interesting that you saw one from both sets of green ones!  GIMX is a reporting mark for General American Marks Company; both of these sets were inherited from Greenfield Logistics.  Depending on the weight of the "dirty dirt" those containers carry, they can carry a second layer of one (but not two) containers on each unit, mounted over the end trucks.  Cars of this type were built by the Johnstown America Corporation (originally Bethlehem Steel, now Freight Car America...guess which cities they moved out of!), around the turn of the century.

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Not too much on Csx this morning.Local did drop off some AEX grain hoppers for scrapping at Omni.Conductor complained about his switches being in ditches.Truck did get a wash.Matt is off with his youth group to watch a hockey game.

stay safe

Joe

[blue streak 1]

Carl . Heard it is national quilting month.  Ever been to the quilting capital in Missouri ?

[NorthWest]

Carl,

Thanks! They're interesting cars. There are two packs in Australia and Europe, but these are the first ones I've seen here.

We've had several threads about why well and spine cars usually come in odd numbered sets, so I thought them a bit odd.

[CShaveRR]

blue streak 1

Carl . Heard it is national quilting month.  Ever been to the quilting capital in Missouri ?

No...but my Missouri cousin just sent me a post about them.  We'll have to take a close look at it and see where it is.  We have a lot of spots in Missouri that we don't mind visiting.  However, probably not this March, pending scans and treatments.

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Snow is mostly gone but the swamp and ditches are full.Ns local was uptown after work.Chores to do here.

stay safe

Joe

[tree68]

We have a lot of snow to get rid of in most places around here.  Still plenty in my yard, and we only got about 8 inches in the big storm.  The places that got upwards of four feet are going to see white for a while.

Then, again, it's raining right now - a third of an inch so far today.

[Deggesty]

We had snow almost all of yesterday; except where the sun did not get to it in the morning, and on roofs, it isa about gone this afternoon.

[blue streak 1]

Wow.  Canot believe the wreck on I-80.  Haven't found a link yet 140 TTs + how many cars?  Just one more reason to not drive on ice. 

[CShaveRR]

The links I found (Google is my friend) say there were two separate wrecks about three miles apart on I-80, Sunday afternoon.  Three known fatalities from the larger wreck, which involved 80-100 vehicles; the other wreck, at about the same time, involved about 30-40 vehicles.

I think the Coronavirus is responsible for bumping this news out of the headlines. 

[tree68]

CShaveRR

I think the Coronavirus is responsible for bumping this news out of the headlines. 

As bad as the Coronavirus is, the coverage is still way overblown.  Wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, and don't hang around with people just back from their Chinese holiday.

Incidents like this crash just point up how much of a hurry everyone seems to be in.  The worst part is that they are overdriving their ability to stop, both regarding visibility and traction.  And by the time they figure that out, it's too late.

We see that here with the intense lake effect bands.  We don't often get the multi-vehicle crashes, but virtually every lake effect event is a real money maker for the wrecker operators.

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Swamp drying day today.Ns local was uptown when I got off work.They also sent a westbound stack train as well.Matt has to go do dishes tonight.Chores to do here.

stay safe

Joe

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Had to run errands in town.Looked like some NS MOW trucks were by the tracks after work.Matt and his youth group are doing supper tonight before church.Need to get cleaned up.

stay safe

Joe

[jeffhergert]

tree68

 

 

CShaveRR

I think the Coronavirus is responsible for bumping this news out of the headlines. 

 

 

As bad as the Coronavirus is, the coverage is still way overblown.  Wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, and don't hang around with people just back from their Chinese holiday.

Incidents like this crash just point up how much of a hurry everyone seems to be in.  The worst part is that they are overdriving their ability to stop, both regarding visibility and traction.  And by the time they figure that out, it's too late.

We see that here with the intense lake effect bands.  We don't often get the multi-vehicle crashes, but virtually every lake effect event is a real money maker for the wrecker operators.

 

The last I heard, the current strain of Coronavirus has claimed 9 people in the US so far.  Today on one of the local TV news broadcasts they said the Flu has claimed 35 people in Iowa alone since October.  I did see one national broadcast within the last week or two that noted how many people die from the Flu every year when comparing the two viruses.  Not that it stopped that network and all the others to keep the sensationalized reporting on Coronavirus.

Jeff

  

[tree68]

jeffhergert

The last I heard, the current strain of Coronavirus has claimed 9 people in the US so far.  Today on one of the local TV news broadcasts they said the Flu has claimed 35 people in Iowa alone since October.  I did see one national broadcast within the last week or two that noted how many people die from the Flu every year when comparing the two viruses.  Not that it stopped that network and all the others to keep the sensationalized reporting on Coronavirus.

And that sensationalized reporting is the problem.  

I found one stat that showed that 70+ die of the flu every day in this country.

I've also seen it suggested that the reported death rate from COVID-19 may be showing higher than it should be because there are some who may have been sickened by the virus who did not seek treatment, thus have not been discovered/reported.  A healthy person may blow it off as "having a bug," spend a few days home and never give it another thought.

All in all, it's being handled, and pretty well.  

And someone has apparently noted that these crisis outbreaks seem to happen in election years...

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Ns was clear after work.Matt is off tonight.He is going to Montpelier to run some trains.Glad tomorrow is Friday.

stay safe

Joe

[blue streak 1]

Flood warnings all over the map south of Atlanta thru Saturday.  Rain bucket ( guage overflowed again ) says approximately 21-1/4 " of rain since FEB 1.  Yard is turning into a rain forest !  Corp of engineers doing good job of releasing water from lakkes between rains but that means Columbus river walk on the Hooch has been under water since feb 1 

[BaltACD]

tree68

Shipping on the St Lawrence has been delayed until at least April 1st so the powers that be can continue dumping as much water as possible out of the lake and river.  The problem is that ALL of the lakes are high.  The only Great Lake with any modicum of control is Ontario - the rest flow unimpeded (by man) from one lake to the next.  Huron and Michigan are essentially at the same level, via the Straits of Mackinac.

Video on the 1950's optimisim in creating the St. Lawrence Seaway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDYfNUrjs0w

 

The 27 foot shipping depth mentions sound archaic today.  In the past 20 years or so the Port of Baltimore has been dredging the channels from 39 feet to 51 feet of draft.  Recently watched a salvage video of a ore carrier that ran aground with a draft of 73 feet.

[Deggesty]

My daughter got out of bed this morning in time to take me up to the University's eye center for a catract removal (be there at 6:30) (I go back in two weeks for the second operation). The sight in that eye is still a little fuzzy, but that is supposed to clear soon.

When it is all done, I will need glasses for close work only--after 76 years of wearing glasses to compensate for myopia.

[JoeKoh]

afternoon

Ns local was uptown after work.Truck much better now after finding an Indiana backroad pothole last week.Mother nature sending a cold Northwest wind today.Matt has to go do dishes.Don't forget to spring ahead this weekend.Also change your smoke detector batteries too.

stay safe

Joe

[tree68]

JoeKoh

Also change your smoke detector batteries too.

Even better than changing the batteries in your smoke detectors is changing your smoke detectors themselves.  Replace them with the ten year models now available and you won't have to worry about the batteries for a while.

You should still test your detectors periodically, though!

[CShaveRR]

Did some train-watching today on our way home from my oncologist appointment.  First, we stopped in Glen Ellyn so Dr. Androcles could remove a piece of wood from Pat's foot (she noticed the difference right away!).  Then we went for BLT sandwiches at 2Toots (hey, they serve decent adult food, too!).  I was treated to two manifests, a stack train, and a couple of scoots while we were there.  The second manifest, a westbound, stopped short of College Avenue in Wheaton to wait for a lineup at University.  That came after the westbound scoot came through, and the stopped train could cross over from 2 to 3.  And, having finished lunch, we were back at Metra's College Avenue station so I could watch the entire train again.  I think I got some good stuff.

[mudchicken]

Going to a Chinese Restaurant tonite that serves Corona Beer. (exception made in this case for that watered down stuff, not normally my once-a-week barley-pop of choice....it's the principle of the thing and all the dumb lemmings)

[ChuckCobleigh]

Deggesty

When it is all done, I will need glasses for close work only--after 76 years of wearing glasses to compensate for myopia.

I wondered why my brother had cheap readers scattered around his house. I got the answer three years ago. I also found out that even Medicare is urging cataract surgery earlier than they used to, as apparently those who have it done earlier have a much easier go of it, as do the surgeons.

I'm sure you are looking forward to the end of the eyedrops; that sure gets old quickly.