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Add me to the UP dislikers club

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:08 PM

You know it's a good thing red is in UP's paint scheme.  That way when any of you UP loyalists and "company men" stick a pin in your finger you can bleed the corporate colors.  Yes, the CNW is gone and nobody can restore it, but to go as far the other way in this debate about defending UP's honor when it's insulted borders on disturbing.  Like any company, Union Pacific is a companyIt's not your family no matter how you slice it.  You can work for it, you can like working for it, you can even prefer to work there rather than anywhere else and if so then more power to you, but in the end you are a resource to the corporation, and they are your employer - nothing else.  Company loyalists have always been a bit worrisome to me - they're the ones that make others watch their backs.  Sooner or later, the day may come when that beloved corporation of your's tells you they don't want you as a member of the "family" anymore - you've outlived your usefulness.  Would you tell your dad that because he's 93 and needs help to/from the toilet that because he's no longer useful to you, he's no longer your dad?  No, but any employer could.  And yes - that's happened to me once in my 23 years as a software engineer and there was no union there to back up me or the other 100+ employees who got whacked at the same time (though the severance was a blessing).

This is it for me on this thread.

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Posted by magicman710 on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:26 PM

I have never understood this of people on this forum.... I here all the time on here about "maturity" and "growing up" on here. People on here love to point out the kids and teens of these forums, for whatever reason I dont know. What I think is this: People saying "This is my last post on this thread" or "Im dont with this thread". You know what? To me, saying that is very immature and childish. If you want to quit, just forget it and dont post anymore, dont announce it. And, if you create a thread, if you dont like it, just dont post. I see hundreds of negative posts on all these forums, its like youtube. If you dont have anything better to say, dont say it at all. I see so many negative posts on here, just dont post them! If you dont like the thread, ignore it and move on, nobody probably wants to here what you have to say.

My My 2 cents [2c] I'm not trying to make enemies here, Im just trying to tell people what a kid thinks of some of the stuff they do, which is alot more immature than what I see many kids here do.

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Posted by zugmann on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:37 PM

Someone needs a wave....

 

Sign - Oops [#oops]  (don't get mad.. just a joke!)

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by coborn35 on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:41 PM
I like trains.

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Posted by magicman710 on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:42 PM
 zugmann wrote:

Someone needs a wave....

 

Sign - Oops [#oops]  (don't get mad.. just a joke!)

I beleive your a engineer.... Will you give me a wave next time I wave at you while I'm video taping your train? Wink [;)]Big Smile [:D]Smile,Wink, & Grin [swg]

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Posted by zugmann on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 8:57 PM
Wrong side of the cab - but I will still wave! 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by magicman710 on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 9:01 PM

Ahhh, a conductor, thats a boring job isnt it? Wink [;)]

Zugmann: "Wah wah, I dont get to blow the horn, wah wah!!!" Big Smile [:D] Wink [;)] Big Smile [:D]

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Posted by zugmann on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 9:07 PM

Yeah.. it's a tough job.  But someone has to do it!  Blowing the horn kind of loses its appeal after the 3,000th grade xing. 

 

 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

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Posted by edblysard on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 9:08 PM

Ok everybody...Group wave time...Sign - Welcome [#welcome]Sign - Welcome [#welcome]Sign - Welcome [#welcome]Sign - Welcome [#welcome]Sign - Welcome [#welcome]

 

23 17 46 11

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 10:20 PM

 edbenton wrote:
Atmo called grow the HECK UP.  You remind me of a kid that has had EVERYTHING handed to him on a SLIVER PLATTER THEN ALL OF SUDDEN IS THROWN TO THE REAL WORLD AND GETS A WAKE UP CALL when they find out what the real world is like.  Try living my life never knowing when I will end up on the floor with a seizure.  I had to give up almost everything I love in order to do this and lost everything I had twice now yet I keep coming back for more.  The CNW was a small RR and was going to be bought out sooner or later by someone GET OVER IT.

this issue was done and finished before your post. you saw that, didnt you? and i hardly would describe seeing a railroad at work "getting stuff on a silver platter". it's more like.....watching trains. look i made a promise i wasnt gonna whine anymore. and i have to keep that. so now that you know i'm done, everyone please stop attacking me

Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.

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Posted by Andrew Falconer on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 11:16 PM

 edbenton wrote:
Atmo called grow the HECK UP.  You remind me of a kid that has had EVERYTHING handed to him on a SLIVER PLATTER THEN ALL OF SUDDEN IS THROWN TO THE REAL WORLD AND GETS A WAKE UP CALL when they find out what the real world is like.  Try living my life never knowing when I will end up on the floor with a seizure.  I had to give up almost everything I love in order to do this and lost everything I had twice now yet I keep coming back for more.  The CNW was a small RR and was going to be bought out sooner or later by someone GET OVER IT.

Actually for a while there between 1920-1959 the UNION PACIFIC and the CHICAGO & NORTH WESTERN were equal partners. C&NW took over railroads like Chicago, Minneapolis & Omaha, Chicago Great Western, and Minneapolis and St. Louis. The only reason CNW was "small" in the 1990's was the large amount of abandoned tracks due to competition from short haul trucking. You might want to check the back and forth history of the two railroads.

By the Way, the best way to good health is emotional support from relatives, but that is not likely in these days.

Andrew

Andrew

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Posted by n012944 on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 11:43 PM
 Lord Atmo wrote:

ALCO isnt EMD and 411 and the commuter cars arent a freight train with spartan cab units

I am not sure why I am posting this, as it seems like it will fall on deaf ears, but the IRM also has a CNW GP7 in CNW paint,  Its both an EMD and a freight unit.

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Posted by oskar on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 11:52 PM

First of all. CN&W has 2 engines left, I would take that anyday. I would take that in a second, one is better than zero(example CSX 4617). You can't blame UP for everything, thats just like blaming Hank Aaron for the Braves losing last week against Houston, and he hasn't played for 25-30 years. UP has a ex SP switcher that I saw 8 years ago that is still the same way. Just happens that hasn't seen a paint shop in a long while. Just the way it is. I was not yet born when Southern and Seaboard roamed around here. I am just glad to see 4610 and 4617 around the system or since Wick got the F-units, I would like to see 4270 here again(April 2008). Can't have everything in life. If we did, oh boy.

Just had to post this an give out my My 2 cents [2c].

Kevin

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 11:59 PM

i'm sorry...i really dont care at all about 8646 or 8701. you like them? great. i'm happy for you. but they dont mean much to me.

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Posted by Gluefinger on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 12:26 AM
 Midnight Railroader wrote:
 Lord Atmo wrote:

call it what you want. because of omaha, i can never railfan my favorite railroad.

but i AM a teenager. i'm 19!

No surprise there.

That hurts! 

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Posted by oskar on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 12:27 AM

No I am not making you to like them. I don't know how you got that, but I am just saying that I would be glad that my favorite company has 2 engines left instead of none.

 

 

Kevin

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 12:29 AM
oh..well to each his own then

Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.

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Posted by silicon212 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 12:53 AM
Go raise $50-60 grand and buy yourself an old SD40-2 and paint it CNW - problem solved.
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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 5:42 AM

Lord Atmo,

You seem to have toned down your anti-UP rhetoric in response to the replies posted by others here. That's good.

The first 150 years of railroading were characterized by the big fish swallowing the little fishes. In the natural world that would be described as "survival of the fittest". Recently the trend has been reversed and there is now a proliferation of shortlines with their added diversity.

Where I live we once had the MoPac (nee T&P), the EssPee, the Cotton Belt and the IC. All now a part of either the UP or the KCS. Do I miss them? - yes and no. Yes because of their lost diversity and heritage. No because the two remaining roads still run all of the former lines and the number of trains is greater than ever before. The old IC line was in a sorry state of repair and would probably have been abandoned by now if the KCS hadn't acquired it and remade it into what today is known as the "Meridian Speedway". Regretably we can't turn back the clock and live in the past. If only we could I'd go back to the days of steam when I was a youngster without a worry in the world. My only advice to you is live in the present and enjoy the sometimes seemingly questionable progress that has been made in the railroad industry.

Hate the UP? - how can you hate the only railroad that maintains an active steam program. Thanks to them I've seen both the 844 Northern and the 3985 Challenger in mainline operation. I can't do anything but praise the UP for affording me that opportunity.

Best wishes for a lifetime of railfanning.

Mark 

 

 

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Posted by csxengineer98 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 6:22 AM

and some rail fans wonder why they dont get "respect" from railroaders... i am shaking my head and rolling my eyes after managing to sit and read all of this... and what i took away from this is...there goes 15 mins of my life i will never get back... but i have to add this....get over it..and get a life... 

csx engineer 

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Posted by coborn35 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 9:04 AM
 Poppa_Zit wrote:
 TimChgo9 wrote:

Okay, I'm done.

Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person.  Bowing out before it gets more preposterous.

Zug said it best..... 

 zugmann wrote:

It's true.  Can't argue sense with the senseless.

Time to move on.  

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

I resent that.

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Posted by Midnight Railroader on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 9:29 AM
 coborn35 wrote:
 Poppa_Zit wrote:
 TimChgo9 wrote:

Okay, I'm done.

Everyone has tried talking sense here....but....well, it does not appear to be having an effect on a certain person.  Bowing out before it gets more preposterous.

Zug said it best..... 

 zugmann wrote:

It's true.  Can't argue sense with the senseless.

Time to move on.  

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

I resent that.

You mean, you resemble that.
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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 9:33 AM
 Poppa_Zit wrote:

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

See, now this is where I start to get worried. It's additudes like this that come out of discussions like the one that's been going on here, and often ruins it for the rest of us. I'll admit, I'm a teenager too, just turned 16 about a month ago. But some of us teen railfans actually try and act like the adults we are to become instead of like the children we once were. And it's when one or two of our fellow teenagers get into a thread like this, I'm always afraid that even a couple of people reading this will write teenage railfans off entirely. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm. And those are the people I hope will get something out of what I'm saying here. I know quite a few other teenagers that act with a good level of maturity and try and learn from those around them; but don't let your opinion of teenage railfans as a whole be ruined by one person.

And Max (Lord Atmo Max, not Coborn), as far as I'm concerned, you really need to learn to deal with something that we all face every day and will for the rest of our life. It's called change. Not everything is going to stay exactly like you want it. Sure, I'd love to have seen the CNW myself. I'd love to have seen the Green Bay and Western with their burbling ALCos. I'd have loved to have seen a trio of WC SD45s leading a train over Byron hill with two more pushing on the rear, but they were sold to the CN before I even realized there were tracks in places other than a mile from my house. Sure, sometimes I get a little bit sad that I don't have pictures of these things and that I was born too late to see them, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't go around compaining the UP or WC or CN (respectively) ruined my life and that I'll never get to railfan what I want. Instead, I've decided that I'm here now for a reason, so I take pictures of things that are here and now. Even though I never saw them in person, I enjoy seeing photos of the things I mentioned above. So I figure if I take pictures of the new CP ES44ACs and the BNSF SD70ACes to what would appear to be the end of the SD40 era on class ones and everything in between, someday I'll be able to share those photos with a teenager who wished he would have been born a little earlier. It's called learning to act with a little bit of maturity and learning to deal with change. I'm told by those who have, um, "gained more wisdom through experience" than myself that change will come often as I go through life, so I figure I better start learning how to dealing with it now. And I'd say it would be a good thing if you would do the same. I think all of us here on the forums would appreciate it.

Noah

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 9:50 AM
Well said, Noah.
Dale
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Posted by KCSfan on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 10:49 AM

Hi Noah,

You have cut right to the core of the matter and given Lord Atmo what is probably the best advice of any of the prior replies. Hopefully he will heed your advice coming as it does from one teenager to another instead of from some of us old heads. You have wisdom far beyond your years and I congratulate you on expressing it so well.

Best wishes-

Mark

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Posted by youngengineer on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 11:16 AM
 Noah Hofrichter wrote:
 Poppa_Zit wrote:

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

See, now this is where I start to get worried. It's additudes like this that come out of discussions like the one that's been going on here, and often ruins it for the rest of us. I'll admit, I'm a teenager too, just turned 16 about a month ago. But some of us teen railfans actually try and act like the adults we are to become instead of like the children we once were. And it's when one or two of our fellow teenagers get into a thread like this, I'm always afraid that even a couple of people reading this will write teenage railfans off entirely. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm. And those are the people I hope will get something out of what I'm saying here. I know quite a few other teenagers that act with a good level of maturity and try and learn from those around them; but don't let your opinion of teenage railfans as a whole be ruined by one person.

And Max (Lord Atmo Max, not Coborn), as far as I'm concerned, you really need to learn to deal with something that we all face every day and will for the rest of our life. It's called change. Not everything is going to stay exactly like you want it. Sure, I'd love to have seen the CNW myself. I'd love to have seen the Green Bay and Western with their burbling ALCos. I'd have loved to have seen a trio of WC SD45s leading a train over Byron hill with two more pushing on the rear, but they were sold to the CN before I even realized there were tracks in places other than a mile from my house. Sure, sometimes I get a little bit sad that I don't have pictures of these things and that I was born too late to see them, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't go around compaining the UP or WC or CN (respectively) ruined my life and that I'll never get to railfan what I want. Instead, I've decided that I'm here now for a reason, so I take pictures of things that are here and now. Even though I never saw them in person, I enjoy seeing photos of the things I mentioned above. So I figure if I take pictures of the new CP ES44ACs and the BNSF SD70ACes to what would appear to be the end of the SD40 era on class ones and everything in between, someday I'll be able to share those photos with a teenager who wished he would have been born a little earlier. It's called learning to act with a little bit of maturity and learning to deal with change. I'm told by those who have, um, "gained more wisdom through experience" than myself that change will come often as I go through life, so I figure I better start learning how to dealing with it now. And I'd say it would be a good thing if you would do the same. I think all of us here on the forums would appreciate it.

Noah

 

And sometimes it takes the railfan living at home with his parents to remind us what railfanning is really about. To share your memories with the next generation is the best reward any of us can ask. Thank you Noah for the best response on the thread.

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 11:22 AM
 Noah Hofrichter wrote:
 Poppa_Zit wrote:

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm.

That's what the laughy-thing means, Noah. At least you got it.

Those hoping seeking who might be to be offended will interpret it any way they want. 

Of course, everyone new that comes to these forums starts with a clean slate. And that includes people of all ages. But, over time, some people do "mark" themselves through repeated foolish behavior and childish attitudes. It is hard to have patience with  those people and take them seriously.

Age makes no difference. And it doesn't require "acting like an adult", either. It all has to do with how a person carries himself or herself (decorum -- some adults act like children, and many teenagers here could be an example for them.) 

Your response to the CNW-deprived youngster was dead on. Best he hear it from one of his peers, and not one of us. 

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Posted by samfp1943 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 11:30 AM

 nanaimo73 wrote:
Well said, Noah.

Sign - Ditto [#ditto]  I have to agree with Dale...

                                 Noah has pretty well laid it out...'How the hog ate the turnip!'

                                                                                                       Thumbs Up [tup]Thumbs Up [tup]

 

 


 

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Posted by selector on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 11:33 AM

And would that it is the last word on the issue.

Thanks, everyone, I'll move on.

Noah, nice writing and thinking.

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Posted by TimChgo9 on Wednesday, August 8, 2007 2:57 PM
 Noah Hofrichter wrote:
 Poppa_Zit wrote:

Yes. Me, too. From now on I'll try to carry on discussions only with railfans who are not living with their parents. Laugh [(-D]

See, now this is where I start to get worried. It's additudes like this that come out of discussions like the one that's been going on here, and often ruins it for the rest of us. I'll admit, I'm a teenager too, just turned 16 about a month ago. But some of us teen railfans actually try and act like the adults we are to become instead of like the children we once were. And it's when one or two of our fellow teenagers get into a thread like this, I'm always afraid that even a couple of people reading this will write teenage railfans off entirely. I'm guessing there was a little bit of sarcasm written into that post Poppa Zit, but perhaps there are others out there reading this who have the same sentiment without the sarcasm. And those are the people I hope will get something out of what I'm saying here. I know quite a few other teenagers that act with a good level of maturity and try and learn from those around them; but don't let your opinion of teenage railfans as a whole be ruined by one person.

And Max (Lord Atmo Max, not Coborn), as far as I'm concerned, you really need to learn to deal with something that we all face every day and will for the rest of our life. It's called change. Not everything is going to stay exactly like you want it. Sure, I'd love to have seen the CNW myself. I'd love to have seen the Green Bay and Western with their burbling ALCos. I'd have loved to have seen a trio of WC SD45s leading a train over Byron hill with two more pushing on the rear, but they were sold to the CN before I even realized there were tracks in places other than a mile from my house. Sure, sometimes I get a little bit sad that I don't have pictures of these things and that I was born too late to see them, but I've learned to deal with it. I don't go around compaining the UP or WC or CN (respectively) ruined my life and that I'll never get to railfan what I want. Instead, I've decided that I'm here now for a reason, so I take pictures of things that are here and now. Even though I never saw them in person, I enjoy seeing photos of the things I mentioned above. So I figure if I take pictures of the new CP ES44ACs and the BNSF SD70ACes to what would appear to be the end of the SD40 era on class ones and everything in between, someday I'll be able to share those photos with a teenager who wished he would have been born a little earlier. It's called learning to act with a little bit of maturity and learning to deal with change. I'm told by those who have, um, "gained more wisdom through experience" than myself that change will come often as I go through life, so I figure I better start learning how to dealing with it now. And I'd say it would be a good thing if you would do the same. I think all of us here on the forums would appreciate it.

Noah

Noah, very articulate, and very well put.....Great post..  I rather enjoyed reading it.  

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