Just got back from a good time in northwestern Ohio--Joe and Matt took us to dinner in Bryan, Ohio, and we had cake made from old recipes after the lecture in Archbold. It was a late night, but I'm told that Matt made it to school all right today.
On our way home, we drove through Hillsdale, Michigan, which seems to be the headquarters of the Indiana Northeastern Railroad. Lots of motive power sitting there, and the railroad's primary industry seems to be storing surplus freight cars for The Andersons--lots of AEX and BAEX cars all around, including groups of woodchip hoppers and aggregate hoppers I hadn't seen (as AEX cars) before.
The neat thing about Hillsdale is that it looks like it could inspire a lot of model railroads--streets in every direction, a large industry no longer served by the railroad, but once having several spurs, a couple of smaller factories that had freight doors that were once trackside, a neat factory that appeared to have a large house kitbashed onto one end of it, an old brick passenger station, a brick freight house (now the railroad's headquarters, from the looks of things), and the railroad entering town and curving around the entire town, which would pretty much be on the hill centered on the layout. Other "scenery" included the St. Joseph River (barely a creek up here near its source), houses and commercial buildings dating from the 19th century, a brick road or two, and a county fair in progress. Hillsdale College is somewhere in town, but we didn't see it (stuck fairly close to M-99).
Max, I can't comment on the policies of one humane society as opposed to another in a different area, but I definitely agree with your feelings.
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)
CShaveRR wrote: The dog was taken to the Little Rock Humane Society, where policy dictated that if not adopted over a period of time, he would be euthanized.
The dog was taken to the Little Rock Humane Society, where policy dictated that if not adopted over a period of time, he would be euthanized.
Happy ending for that dog perhaps, but not for others. Sounds like a cruel shelter to me. The one I volunteer at will NEVER euthanize an animal if it remains there for a long period of time. We will only euthanize if the animal is sick with no hope of recovering. Only to put them out of their misery.
That shelter really needs to rethink their policies ASAP. If ours has no trouble making room for strays, then there's no way that one can't. Ugh.
On the upside though, I don't suppose switch gets to come work with Carman on the RR?
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Alex
A quick, cheerful story from our employee web site (I couldn't post the picture, but he's a cute little thing):
Dog Rescue Has Happy Ending
Locomotive Engineer Richard Carman, Jr., was running his 110-car train through Little Rock, Ark., when he observed a small dog between the rails. He appeared to be caught in a switch.
Carman contacted railroad police, advising his train had passed over the dog. Special Agent Richard Carman, Sr., who happens to be the engineer's father, responded and found the pup still between the rails, visibly shaken but uninjured. He contacted a dispatcher to stop an approaching train until the pup could be rescued.
After several days, Carman visited the Little Rock Humane Society. Finding the dog still available, he adopted him. His name is "Switch."
Nice work, Alex, both in problem-solving and presentation!
We take a short "weekend" trip, starting tomorrow, which should be the envy of people over at the Cafe--we'll land at a hotel near the ex-Wabash main line of the NS in western Ohio, then join up with Joe and Matt for a lecture, with samples, on "300 years of Cake" tomorrow night. Tuesday should be a more leisurely return home, and may include hot spots like Elkhart, or perhaps something closer to home.
Neither Pat nor I really need cake, but we do need to get away from the routine, and the presenter of the lecture is an authority on food history, knowledge of which might help Pat as a board member of our local historical society--which maintains both an 1837 pioneer house and an 1870s Victorian cottage as museums. Our thanks to Joe for tipping us off to this event, taking a day off to do some train-hunting, and for pointing us toward what we hope will be a good hotel--the location sounds promising, anyway!
In a little over an hour today at Elmhurst, we saw a couple of manifest trains, a unit ethanol train, a stack train, and a westbound intermodal, as well as a couple of scoots and a locomotive move that used the control point at Park to move from one track to another. A train of empty coal gons was waiting around the curve to go west, but never did show up (the second unit on that one was a patched SP; the only other somewhat exciting power we saw was an SD60m on the ethanol train and SD70M 4000 on MCBPR.
Colin and friend Alex had seen about four trains there before I showed up (in just a few minutes); their friend Dan arrived after I did. I also got to meet Dan's father and Colin's mother. Also present, but not part of our group, were an older genleman from Valparaiso (a teacher; I should have asked if he knew you, Ed), and a younger man (presumably his son) who lives in Omaha.
All three of the younger folks had some good photographic equipment, and seem to know how to use it; perhaps Colin ("Metra Kid 2") will post some of his shots here--they're good! There may also be some interesting videos on YouTube from this afternoon's session.
CShaveRR wrote: Railfan Alex wrote:Hi Guys!Got a video for ya!Here is CN 308, CN's counterpart. They both met at Coteau. 308 pulls from Coteau Ouest, in what I think is notch 4. Later, he departs, and we catch that at the Coteau station. There he departs in notch 8, and that SD40u sure sounded good! Shot on July 20th, 2008.http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZEdvpZtKI www.ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZEdvpZtKI Sorry, the link is not clickable ... It's yet another Google Chrome bug...Alex, all you have to do is type in a space after the web address to make it "hot".
Railfan Alex wrote:Hi Guys!Got a video for ya!Here is CN 308, CN's counterpart. They both met at Coteau. 308 pulls from Coteau Ouest, in what I think is notch 4. Later, he departs, and we catch that at the Coteau station. There he departs in notch 8, and that SD40u sure sounded good! Shot on July 20th, 2008.http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZEdvpZtKI www.ca.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZEdvpZtKI Sorry, the link is not clickable ... It's yet another Google Chrome bug...
Alex, all you have to do is type in a space after the web address to make it "hot".
Ahh ok. Yeah I go to Duluth once every year. It's just now I'm finally allowed to branch off and do my own thing. My mom was all paranoid about internet predators and wouldnt let me meet anyone from the forum. I reminded her I'm 20 years old and knew you guys were legit. And she finally caved. So yes, my wings have spread. I also was able to tour the Oshkosh area with CNW 6000 in June. I think I posted those photos already though. It certainly has been an amazing summer.
And if all goes accordingly, I may be allowed to drive down to St Paul on the 26th when 3985 is supposed to be in the area. Once more I must twist my mom's arm into letting me. Reminding her that UP steam may not come to the midwest for a decade after this. So far so good though
Thanks for the congratulations, everyone. And don't forget to thank TrainboyH-16-44 for editing that photo. You should see his pics on the site. He's incredible at editing. Even eliminating high sun!
OFF TOPIC: speaking of decades and an amazing 2008...
They're back! I was in 3rd grade when they last were here. After what seemed like forever, Eau Claire finally put on another air show! And I discovered just how useful cropping photos is! But I was so happy when I heard they were finally coming back to Eau Claire! I was right there at the airport watching them practice every day.
Man what an awesome summer!
CShaveRR wrote:Max, I think Chad's referring to a couple of years ago, when you were lamenting the fact that you couldn't get out too far beyond Altoona to good train-watching spots. If that's the case, I echo his sentiment; hope you can do it more often!Nice job on that CN/DMIR shot--and congratulations!
Max, I think Chad's referring to a couple of years ago, when you were lamenting the fact that you couldn't get out too far beyond Altoona to good train-watching spots. If that's the case, I echo his sentiment; hope you can do it more often!
Nice job on that CN/DMIR shot--and congratulations!
Yes, that's what I was refering to
Hi Carl,
Won't be able to make that one, but Amtrak will be dropping me off in the area for Thanksgiving and Christmas again. Dates aren't firm yet, but I should have them figured out by this weekend. I'll let you know when I do!
-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
Emphasizing the "Trackside" in the Lounge:
I plan on stopping off in Elmhurst Saturday afternoon, on my way home from work. Colin ("Metra Kid 2") plans on being there, with a couple of his friends. If anyone else local wishes to show up, the more the merrier! Figure about 2:30 to maybe 5:00.
Max,
Nice shots and congrats on getting one accepted into RailPictures!
chad thomas wrote:Nice shots Lord Atmo, thanks for shareing. And glad to see you are expanding your horizons
I'm not sure what you mean. I've always loved trains.
And you're welcome
......That photo of the train climbing Spirit mountain is really great....Colors, and composition and sharpness.
Quentin
I need to get the place to resurface a lot too.
But also, I have photos!
The Altoona of tomorrow is shaping up nicely. Look at all the SD70Ms!!!
United, we pull.
But that's definitely my ACE of spades. The empty menards train kept me from shooting the whole consist, but I got the good stuff all in 1 shot. We really need more of those C44ACCTEs around here. And ESPECIALLY more of those ACEs. That still remains as the only UP ACE in armour yellow I have ever seen. 1995 being the other of course.
But my true prize was yet to be seen...
Need I say more?
And here's some highlights from my trip to Duluth. Coborn shuttled me around. Yes, 2 Maxes fanning together. dun dunnnn....:
I needed a GP50 in my life. Especially one in BN's big logo scheme!
2 PREX GP20s hiding out in a grain elevator at Superior.
Proctor's got some nice Missabe power...
Holy crap how many of these are even left out there?!!?
LSRM's brand new CNW Bi level. and when I say brand new, i MEAN brand new. It was delivered AFTER I arrived!
WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
I never thought it would happen, but sometimes even the impossible becomes reality! That's right, I got a photo accepted into railpictures.net!!!
DMIR's MRF climbs up Spirit Mountain.
This photo's succes would not have been possible, however, without the help of some of my friends. And so I thank them both.
Special thanks to Max (coborn) for taking me railfanning in the twin ports and pulling over here for this great shot.
And to Matt (trainboyH-16-44) for editing the photo into RP standards!
Alex, welcome! And thanks for finding this place--I was afraid it was going to be lost for good.
The lounge is a quiet place, a lot like the Cafe, except that the wheels are round and there's no fake cyber-food. By all means, come on in when you just want to talk, ask questions, talk about your trips, or whatever.
People have a tendency to post their photographs more over here, which is delightful. But you don't have to feel bad about not using a camera--my avatar photograph is the only illustration I ever posted here, and that was taken by my wife!
You'll find a few teenagers here, too, including Willy, whose other hobby is the weather. Quite the subject in the Midwest and South Central states recently!
Even Mookie shows up on occasion (she's not really a cake-eating cat!).
Do well in school, and if you have any questions about railroads in general, this can also be the place to post them.
CShaveRR wrote:Without making snide remarks about CSX having yet another derailment, may I submit that Tipp City, Ohio, was a singularly appropriate place for it to happen?
Indeed....
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...
.....I realize Rochelle is a location for many visitors, probably most from out of town. That atmosphere {from the photos I've seen}, seems to be an adult "entertainment" location for us fans....and I'm sure kids are part of the people makeup too. So...most then might be surpervised there.
And if the description of the Deshler location is something different than "a young people's playspace"....my thoughts don't apply....It's just if kids meet trains at a "play space" as kids moving about on their own.......that is a bad mix.....!!
Acknowledging that it could happen, Quentin, I've not seen any unsupervised kikds at either Deshler or Rochelle. The crossing at Deshler is "behind" the downtown, and is somewhat out of the way for people to routinely wander past. I suspect that most of the "regulars" there would straighten out any errant, unsupervised kids who seemed unaware of the dangers.
Not sure I could say the same about Rochelle: it's surrounded by residences, and whatever "regulars" are there don't compare in numbers to the strangers who come in, and have little control over themselves. I haven't seen any local kids come by, wandering aimlessly around the tracks.
Perhaps in both communities the local folks have more of a respect for trains because they're so much a part of the life around the city.
.....My point exactly....The trains....
As I said before, kids will be kids and unsupervised.....??
As I've said several time above....not considering any danger to or for Matt and the other kids present with parents.
The kids in the picture were playing in the gravel around the fire ring - and getting suitably dirty! Both moms were right there, and the oldest boy didn't even cross the street to the port-a-jon without mom (no tracks involved). Later all five (as well as the rest of us) wandered over toward the SW wye to watch a train pass over it.
Matt is far more likely to wander into the road than on to the tracks.
There is no playground-type equipment there - the entertainment is the trains.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.