USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
Originally posted by paulsafety Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Monday, July 11, 2005 10:35 PM My most memorable cab ride huh???? My last trip before calling it quits. Virlon save your ticket..... the P.E. will rise again. Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 1:28 AM I volunteer at a railway museum, so I get "cab rides" sometimes, but the only actually on a railroad was in January. I was riding the southbound Surfliner from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. The train was P-A-C-K-E-D with UCSB students, so they opened up the cab car, and the engineer left the door to the cab compartment open, so I waltzed over with my timetable and scanner. The train was late because of all the rain, and then we operated at restricted speed for a while because of a joint track-and-time authority, and we were even later. I talked with the engineer quite a bit, and at the end of the run, he gave me the track bulletins we had been operating under (there were quite a few). I technically had my feet on the floor of the passenger compartment, but it was essentially a cab ride, though I was standing. -Daniel Parks Reply Edit chad thomas Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Ely, Nv. 6,312 posts Posted by chad thomas on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 9:43 AM Can't cop to em'. If I did I could get someone in trouble. I'll just say there is nothing like cruzin' down the main at speed in a brand new loco in run-8. Can't wait to do it again. Reply coborn35 Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Duluth,Minnesota,USA 4,015 posts Posted by coborn35 on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 1:54 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel I have yet to get a cab ride in any loco [:(], but it's one of my goals in life. A ride in a mainline safety cab would be like winning the lotto, but at this point (I'm 51 years old) I'd take anything. Hey, coborn35, if I show up in Duluth someday, could I get a ride in that Geep? Come down on a friday between 8:30 and 2:30 and sure. Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..." The Missabe Road: Safety First Reply coborn35 Member sinceJanuary 2005 From: Duluth,Minnesota,USA 4,015 posts Posted by coborn35 on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 1:55 PM Ask for Max. Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..." The Missabe Road: Safety First Reply markpierce Member sinceApril 2003 From: Martinez, CA 5,440 posts Posted by markpierce on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 5:49 PM As a retirement gift from my fellow workers in 2002, I rode in the "Dixie" shay on the narrow gauge railroad at Roaring Camp (near Santa Cruz, CA.) Most memorable is that I was the engineer operating (that is, controlling throttle, whistle, etc.) on an uphill segment of the run on each of three roundtrips the train made that day, carrying several hundred passengers. There was also a trainee fireman (a young woman) on the board (so there were four of us in the cab), who managed to blow the safety valves as we were leaving the summit on the third trip. I concluded that the job of fireman was more difficult than that of the engineer. Reply railfan619 Member sinceMarch 2004 From: Somewhere near the tracks 927 posts Posted by railfan619 on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 6:22 PM My greatest cab ride was when I was little I got to move an amtrak train. Up to the station so passengers could start to load the train. It was soooooooooo fun to do that. I wish I could do something like that again[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D] Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 15, 2005 2:12 PM My second (or equal because any cab ride is awsome) would be riding the shay at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR. Reply Edit TrainFreak409 Member sinceDecember 2003 From: Dallas, GA 2,643 posts Posted by TrainFreak409 on Friday, July 15, 2005 3:13 PM Well, last year, in Historic Sykesville, the Loram grinding train of the ISO 9001 division just so happened to be maintaining the CSX main after I got of work. And the crew was nice enough to show me around, let me get pictures, and so on. The crew chief allowed me to go into the cab, and I got to sit in the big engineers chair, and blow the horn. Well, I didn't get to go for a ride, but it was fun to say the least. I have pictures of it at www.freewebs.com/trainfreak409 . Scott - Dispatcher, Norfolk Southern Reply PNWRMNM Member sinceMay 2003 From: US 2,593 posts Posted by PNWRMNM on Friday, July 15, 2005 6:30 PM Westbound Empired Builder on GN between Seattle and Mukilteo WA summer of 1969. The engineer ususaly worked freight between Seattle and Wenatchee and was reported to be the best man in the pool. It was said he could stop a freight train anywhere on the line within 10 feet without roughing up the boys in the caboose. Since this subivision has the toughest main line grandes on the entire Great Northern, this was high priase indeed. The SDP-40's were brand new and typically replaced the F units on a two for one basis so we probably had two SDP-40s and one F unit with 14 or so cars. We left Wenatchee about half an hour late. That would put us out of Wenatchee at 3:40AM. Between Merrit and Berne we saw forest fires on the ridge to the south. At Skykomish I noticed we were only about 10 minutes late, which means we had made time up on the 71 mile crossing of the Cascade Range. I was riding on the Fireman's side and had not noticed any unusual speed. In retrospect I think he was running 5-10 MPH over the speed required to make scheduled speed. Below Sky the grade moderates to not more than 1% (generally descending) and curves are generally good for 50-60 MPH. The line had been extensively reworked within the previous few years from above Index to Gold Bar to eliminate sharp curves. About a mile below Index the line crosses the River on a new bridge, climbs 20 feet or so and then drops on about .4% grade for five or six miles to Gold Bar. Speed over the bridge was about 50 MPH and it is tangent track from the top of the little rise to the West end of Gold Bar where there is a 60 mph curve. Shortly before we crosssed the river, the engineer went from dynamic to power for the little hill. Over the hill he stayed in power down the grade. After a couple of miuntes I got curious and walked over to the other side of the cab. The speedometer was peged at 80. The engineer had his watch out and was studying it intently. He made a comment to me about how nice the new power rode, "better than an automobile" as I recall. It did ride well on six axle trucks and welded rail. When we hit the East switch at Gold Bar, about 2 miles short of the curve just West of the West switch, the fireman announced that we were on time and the engineer went for a bit of air and then began to slowly throttle down. About half way through the siding the spedometer began to drop and we entered the curve right at 60 with no air and the train still streched. If anyone was up in the diner I am sure there was not a ripple in their coffee attributable to train handling. I was to get off at Mukilteo, and as we pulled in I asked how fast we had been going. He side stepped the question and I did not press. After saying my goodbys, and with my hand on the door he said "Hey kid", finishing as I looked back over my shoulder. "in another couple of seconds we would have been doing 100 Miles Per Hour." Second best was running the Mansfield Turn through the terminal moraine belt south of Mansfield, but hat is another story. Mac Reply CopCarSS Member sinceAugust 2002 From: Turner Junction 3,076 posts Posted by CopCarSS on Friday, July 15, 2005 6:57 PM Towards the end of the "old" (meaning the older of the new incarnations) Georgetown Loop RR I had the opportunity to get a couple rides in Shay #14, and Consolidation #40. Not only did I get to ride in these locomotives, the crew let me off the train at the passing siding to grab a couple "meet" shots of the two trains. That was a great railroad. I like the new version, and the new operators are making a determined effort to make it a really great trip again. However, I still have a little grudge with the CHS over losing the last operators. Still, the circumstances led to some fond memories, and the opportunity to meet some great railroaders. -ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams Reply morseman Member sinceJuly 2004 From: Ontario - Canada 463 posts Posted by morseman on Friday, July 15, 2005 7:28 PM when I was eleven or twelve years old, I took a steam fan trip from Montreal to Huberdeau in the Laurentian Mountrains, with my dad. At Huberdeau I climbed up to look in the cab, & the engineer asked if I wanted to ride in the cab? Most exciting trip a young kid could ever ask for. My father did not know I was in the cab, thinking I was in another coach. What a story I had to tell him also rode in the fab of an interurban from Quebec City to Ste,Anne de Beaurepaire. Most of the passengers took the train to see Montmerency Falls (Taller than the Niagara) or they went to the Shrine at Ste.Anne. I was not interested in either, Just to ride in the cab was another experience I'll never forget. Reply Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login » Register » Search the Community Newsletter Sign-Up By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR Austin TX Sub
QUOTE: Originally posted by blhanel I have yet to get a cab ride in any loco [:(], but it's one of my goals in life. A ride in a mainline safety cab would be like winning the lotto, but at this point (I'm 51 years old) I'd take anything. Hey, coborn35, if I show up in Duluth someday, could I get a ride in that Geep?
Scott - Dispatcher, Norfolk Southern
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
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