90 yesterday; 53 today.
Fan on/fan off
Happy St Patrick's Day!
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
mudchicken(and we are dealing with HUGE grass fires/ rage fires gobbling-up hundreds of acres per hour right now.)
I know you meant "range fires", but somehow I got a scenario involving Irish eyes not smiling.
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)
evening
work still busy.ns had a freight in the sidng,then it left.Also had a stack train and it left as well.The local came by and left as well.Chores to do.
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").
Yet another reason to kill all vegetation within the track and subgrade section (10 to 15 ft. each side of the center of the track).
From Jeff's post on the previous page: "ice cream truck" ?!?
As Ed King once wrote a column, more like the "@#$%&* Sperry Car !".
- Paul North.
On us, the "ice cream truck" was the early form of corrugation analyzer.
"@#$%&* Sperry Car !" was always a "rail sniffer" from the early Dapco advertising. (ironic because Santa Fe (now Herzog, but pioneered by IC) and Sperry had the honors, Dapco never got any major ATSF business)
In California, we had a dispatcher who would bury the Sperry car in the hole for hours because he didn't want to deal with it and hoped to dump it on the next trick. After four days of this, the Division Engineer took the main track out of service. That stunt ended the DS' manipulation of the D-car on the west end of the transcon after setting off alarm bells in Chicago (and reminding the operating department who the ultimate owner of the track was, and to play nice in the corporate sandbox).
mudchicken On us, the "ice cream truck" was the early form of corrugation analyzer. "@#$%&* Sperry Car !" was always a "rail sniffer" from the early Dapco advertising. (ironic because Santa Fe (now Herzog, but pioneered by IC) and Sperry had the honors, Dapco never got any major ATSF business) In California, we had a dispatcher who would bury the Sperry car in the hole for hours because he didn't want to deal with it and hoped to dump it on the next trick. After four days of this, the Division Engineer took the main track out of service. That stunt ended the DS' manipulation of the D-car on the west end of the transcon after setting off alarm bells in Chicago (and reminding the operating department who the ultimate owner of the track was, and to play nice in the corporate sandbox).
Johnny
There's a Division Engineer who deserves a lot of respect (and whom I'd be willing to work for, no matter how tough he was).
Reminds me of a line from the Trains article about 20 - 30 years ago about the Peoria Rocket - sometimes it takes an extraordinary (annoying/ show-stopping step or action) to get the attention of top management to fix a problem. There - as I recall it - a train had to back up to pick-up a flagman who was inadvertently left behind after 'closing' a switch back to the 'Normal' (straight) position at the originating station. That led to the train being reported by a 'diligent' (stubborn ?) substitute operator as OS ("On Sheet", or having departed) twice - an entry that was guaranteed to raise eyebrows and cause questions to be asked. The 'fix' was to issue a bulletin or local rule or similar to the effect that departing passenger trains did not have to reline the switch - it could be left in the 'open' or 'Reverse' (curved or diverging) position, and the yard crews would deal with relining it.
"Tales of the Peoria Rocket" by Brunner, Edward J. & Eidson, Stu
from Trains, December 1981, pg. 45 &etc.
Hey Mookie,
Chatterbox Spring begins in two days. If not the weather, the calendar says it will be Spring.
Norm
Csx Mow has had those (getting track time)issues as well. Sorry to hear about F tower closing in Fostoria.Matt is on spring break that week.(road trip) Work was better today.Ns had an eastbound in the siding.Tonight is lenten service.Will see if Dayton can go to the big dance.
Paul_D_North_Jr There's a Division Engineer who deserves a lot of respect (and whom I'd be willing to work for, no matter how tough he was). Reminds me of a line from the Trains article about 20 - 30 years ago about the Peoria Rocket - sometimes it takes an extraordinary (annoying/ show-stopping step or action) to get the attention of top management to fix a problem. There - as I recall it - a train had to back up to pick-up a flagman who was inadvertently left behind after 'closing' a switch back to the 'Normal' (straight) position at the originating station. That led to the train being reported by a 'diligent' (stubborn ?) substitute operator as OS ("On Sheet", or having departed) twice - an entry that was guaranteed to raise eyebrows and cause questions to be asked. The 'fix' was to issue a bulletin or local rule or similar to the effect that departing passenger trains did not have to reline the switch - it could be left in the 'open' or 'Reverse' (curved or diverging) position, and the yard crews would deal with relining it. "Tales of the Peoria Rocket" by Brunner, Edward J. & Eidson, Stu from Trains, December 1981, pg. 45 &etc. ("Maagazine Index" 'keywords': humor passenger RI rocket) - Paul North.
The "Manifold Chef" -
I've since met "tar buggy" (paving sealant) and paving machine cooks, as well as a few guys with microwaves in their work trucks or vans . . . but it's just not the same !
-Paul North.
I rode both Rockets in late February of 1972. I had gone up to Milwaukee from Chicago and then rode the Abraham Lincoln from there to Joliet. I regret that I atre a Hamburger for my supper while waiting for the Peoria Rocket, for I could have eaten dinner in the diner. I did have a seat in Golden Divan (no one else rode in there; all the other passengers were traveling coach). After spending the night in Peoria, I rode a bus to Rock Island--and the weather became colder and colder the farther we went. The next morning, I went back to Chicago, eating a good breakfast in the diner on the way.
Paul_D_North_Jr The "Manifold Chef" - I've since met "tar buggy" (paving sealant) and paving machine cooks, as well as a few guys with microwaves in their work trucks or vans . . . but it's just not the same ! -Paul North.
Was he the one who had a can of Spaghettios explode in an F unit?
The trucking community has cookbooks for food prep on the manifold.
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...
tree68 Paul_D_North_Jr The "Manifold Chef" - I've since met "tar buggy" (paving sealant) and paving machine cooks, as well as a few guys with microwaves in their work trucks or vans . . . but it's just not the same ! -Paul North. Was he the one who had a can of Spaghettios explode in an F unit? The trucking community has cookbooks for food prep on the manifold.
I think it was another railroad and on a F45.
Many years and a couple of computers back, I received an e-mail forwarded by a co-worker that was an extensive how-to cook on a locomotive. Where and how on the locomotive to cook specific items, including pictures.
All I've ever done is to warm a can or toast a sandwich on the side-wall heaters. At times, some parts of the railroad have banned that practice. If left heating too long, cans would sometimes get hot enough that when opened, the contents would 'explode' out, sometimes causing minor burns.
Maybe they could have a show on one of the food networks on cooking in industrial settings.
Jeff
I am sure there are a few of us around here who have (while in the Military) cooked our food in some strange ways,' C-ration cans tied to a vehicle manifold; used a 'steel pot' to cook ramen noodles using C-4 to heat it up ( frowned upon, officially, but a field expedient).
Paul_D_North_Jr
We have diesel fired heaters in the sleeper, it's not uncommon to set something in front of the outlet and turn on the heater. If it's hot enough to burn the hair off your legs, it'll heat up food........
Never cooked on the engine, but used a Burton oven many times. Also called a lunchbox oven, the nicer ones are thermostatically controlled, and work very well........
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
PDN: That same DE came to my rescue during the world series earthquake. I'd still work for him anywhere. DC and I were both around him at some point in our careers. (his management style was unique, but effective)
Johnny: DS got a severe case of humble pie after that, but he got over it. The operating bubbas don't stay civil for long.(and he rubbed off on some of the newer trick dispatchers prior to consolidation)
From sunshine and 60 degrees to heavy snow in 15 hours. Springtime in the Rockies! - gotta love it.
Nice and sunny this morning - but all of seven degrees above zero. Spring, my foot.
The snow certainly isn't melting...
The truck started to lug a bit when starting earlier in the week. Last night the battery decided it had done it's part (it's six years old, like the truck), so a trip into town for a new battery was in order this AM.
It may not be spring, but I'm starting some spring cleaning...
Quoting MC: "Johnny: DS got a severe case of humble pie after that, but he got over it. The operating bubbas don't stay civil for long.(and he rubbed off on some of the newer trick dispatchers prior to consolidation)"
I have talked with two retired dispatchers (UP and CN), and enjoyed the conversations. I, of course, told them of the C&O DS and the conductor who was plagued by a carload of mules, and they appreciated the story--perhaps each one had known such conductors?
I never had any conversation with a working DS, but fifty and more years ago, I listened to the IC's Lousisana Division man's wire, and the man on the day trick sounded tired every time I heard him. Once, when I wanted to know how late #25 was running, I called the relief operator in Brookhaven and asked him what he had on the train; he told me he did not know--so I switched to the DS's line for I knew the operator would call him (the agent in Wesson had given me a key to the station so I would not have to wait outside). I do not remember noticing anything special about his voice.
A classic tug-of-war: The track's not just a sandbox/ playground for us MOW folks - we know that trains do need to run on it to make money, otherwise it serves no useful purpose and is just an expensive hobby - but it does also need to be inspected and maintained well from time to time for the trains to be able to do their thing fast and safely.
One of those 'balancing acts' that looks easy in theory but can be tough to achieve sometimes in the real world.
Johnny (and others) - For more on the DS and wire lines, see also this article:
"Recollections of an Omaha brasspounder - learning and using the telegraph", by Brovald, Ken C., from Trains, June 1982, pg. 22 &etc.
As an aside: That's where the "set-out any dead freight cars (except fence posts)" story is - I had thought it was in A Treasury of Railroad Folklore someplace.
on the other side of the coin, you have formen that may try to run the sPerry truck/car the entire length of the line and leave about 34,000 slow orders that will take weeks to fix. A good DS will allow the inspections, but also have the MOW guys fix what is broken* as they go. I mean, they already have the occupancy authority.
*-within reason.
Paul_D_North_JrA classic tug-of-war: The track's not just a sandbox/ playground for us MOW folks - we know that trains do need to run on it to make money, otherwise it serves no useful purpose and is just an expensive hobby - but it does also need to be inspected and maintained well from time to time for the trains to be able to do their thing fast and safely.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
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