Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
thanks. and if you were a passenger in my van at the time, you'd probably get startled cuz as soon as i saw what i was looking at, i went "OH MY GOD A GP60!!!!!!" and gbot all excited. ah i get such a kick out of this hobby
6936...didnt it come here once? like...almost a decade ago shortly after the merger? it'd be nice to see it here, but i'm not holding my breath. i'm with dan. i'd go see that thing for sure. with or without my parents' permission. "mom i will take any punishment you throw at me, but i had to sneak out. this is NOT something you pass up on"
reminds me of the time i snuck out of the house at 3:00 AM because SSW 7281 was in Altoona. glad i did, because the next day butler patched it.
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Max, those GP60s aren't even common down here. Nice catch!
As for the 6936, I missed it--it's in Global 1 or thereabouts as I sit here.
I remember when CNW ran some of UP's eight-axle U50s as far up as Butler. The DDA40x has a more rigid single truck on each end, so I wouldn't hold out too much hope for the unit to go that way. Of course, track has probably improved a bit.
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)
shootings sicken me. how could someone be so cruel as to kill the innocent to vent their frustration only to then commit suicide? that's so twisted.
my thoughts go out to the friends and families of all the victims of this shootout. and my pleas go out to all authority and government figures to try and prevent these tragedies from happening.
well i saw something unique in Altoona. I can safely say this was my first sighting and i feel quite lucky to have caught it:
GP60s in Altoona. this was a first for me. quite a nice surprise too.
Prayers for NIU...very sad...
6936 would be a neat catch. I wonder what the odds of it ever getting sent up the Adams line would be...lol.
Dan
This was posted on the IC Yahoo group-
UP 6936 DD40X is on an UP Engineering special (Mr. Wimmer) with 10 passenger cars. Today it is the S CBYC 15. Tomorrow, it is the S YCPB (Special Yard Center, IL (Dolton) to Pine Bluff Arkansas).Last report is 302pm @ Clinton, IA with a 715pm ETA for Yard Center.Tomorrow (SAT) it leaves Yard Center/Dolton @6am, with ETA @ Villa Grove 807am, Salem, IL 956am Dexter Jct 1pm and arrival at Pine Bluff, IL 450pm.
I was shocked and saddened to hear about NIU tonight. While I didn't go there, I may as well have for the amount of time I spent there. My friend Amanda went there, and I usually made the drive between Aurora and DeKalb at least 3 times a week for a couple of years. It's about as close as I get to an Alma Mater.
The victims and their families will definately be in my prayers.
-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
Our news this evening was about nothing but a shooting on the campus of Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb. DeKalb is along the UP's main line, and has been traveled to, and through, on many occasions, lying as it does between us and Rochelle. The campus borders Highway 38, which is the principal east-west street through the city.
NIU is also the home for the archives of the Chicago & North Western Historical Society, or at least was such at one time.
Since we know some people who had attended NIU, and have friends and relatives (including a daughter) who spend considerable time on college campuses as students or instructors, our hearts go out to all college students. It appears that something is being learned about dealing with such incidents, as this incident was supposedly over within only a few minutes and the campus secured. I hope our students on the Forum can take some encouragement from that.
Chris, of course Elmhurst is a great place to watch at night, too! What I was saying was that in rough weather one can go inside the station to wait, and to watch trains (if watching is all you're doing!). They lock the place up at night, though.
I had to run some payday errands in Elmhurst today. Both times I had to cross the tracks (to and from the post office) I was "detained" by a pair of trains. That was four in about ten minutes (two were scoots). And when I drove home to Lombard, I was blocked at Elizabeth Street by two more freights, one in each direction.
CopCarSS wrote: Thanks. You guys are too kind.Dan, the blob directly above the station in the sky is what a dust spot looks like on a DSLR image. I must've been asleep when I was post-processing the image to miss one that large. I like my Pentax, but because it uses a CCD instead of a CMOS sensor, it attracts more dust than my Canon equipment used to. It's kind of a pain. Thankfully, the K20D is going to have a CMOS sensor. I can't wait!
Thanks. You guys are too kind.
Dan, the blob directly above the station in the sky is what a dust spot looks like on a DSLR image. I must've been asleep when I was post-processing the image to miss one that large. I like my Pentax, but because it uses a CCD instead of a CMOS sensor, it attracts more dust than my Canon equipment used to. It's kind of a pain. Thankfully, the K20D is going to have a CMOS sensor. I can't wait!
LOL I thought that was a bat or something!
CShaveRR wrote: Trains--and usually lots of them!The control point east of the station is (at least figuratively) the start of UP's Overland Route for freight, with coal trains to and from Wisconsin and intermodal or connecting-line freights from the city joining the trains that arrive and depart Proviso and Global 2. And you have all of the Metra service on the UP West line--most rush-hour scoots stop in Elmhurst, and a couple originate/terminate there. You can't take many good shots from the depot, but the platform is good, and there's an underground walkway to get to the south side of the tracks if the sun is a problem. Go out to the platform and look east at the control-point signals for Park to see what will be coming from the west. Trains from the east announce themselves by headlights.
Trains--and usually lots of them!
The control point east of the station is (at least figuratively) the start of UP's Overland Route for freight, with coal trains to and from Wisconsin and intermodal or connecting-line freights from the city joining the trains that arrive and depart Proviso and Global 2. And you have all of the Metra service on the UP West line--most rush-hour scoots stop in Elmhurst, and a couple originate/terminate there. You can't take many good shots from the depot, but the platform is good, and there's an underground walkway to get to the south side of the tracks if the sun is a problem. Go out to the platform and look east at the control-point signals for Park to see what will be coming from the west. Trains from the east announce themselves by headlights.
That sounds like a fabulous place to go. I'll have to try it sometime.
Chris-what dusty spot?
Here's an idea (Bergie-listen up!) I think we should try. Mike Yuhas vs. Chris (CopCarSS) in a Trackside episode.
It's good at night too, Carl!
(Please ignore the nasty dusty spot, though. I'm not sure how I uploaded it with that on there. I'll be headed home at lunch to take care of that!)
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...
CopCarSS wrote: Hmmm...it was 56ºF a couple days ago here in Denver. Then again, I'm more of a winter fan anyways, so if you guys want to swap, it's cool (gads, another bad pun) by me!
Better watch that stuff, Chris! I found a new critic last week--my older granddaughter was talking about something, and I made some sort of wordplay out of what she said. My wife laughed, my daughter laughed (it had to be good!), but Kates just smiled and said, "You shouldn't say that, Grandpa!"
We're getting more snow here. They keep issuing revised forecasts, but they don't matter as long as this stuff keeps falling. I shoveled the driveway and sidewalks this morning, but they've got more on them now than before I started. Roads are also pretty slick around here--had a couple of "Wheeee!" moments.
Hmmm...it was 56ºF a couple days ago here in Denver. Then again, I'm more of a winter fan anyways, so if you guys want to swap, it's cool (gads, another bad pun) by me!
On a rail-related note: A few years back, my cousin and I took a mutual friend out railfanning on a bitterly cold day similar to what the midwest has been experiencing lately. He had gone to museums and such, but had never been out hard core railfanning. To this day, that experience lives as legend among our friends. I guess some people don't understand just how far some railfans will go!
Here's a little something just sent to me by my second-cousin, dedicated to Mr. Falconer and others who haven't yet emigrated when they could:
Michigan Poem It's winter in Michigan And the gentle breezes blow Seventy miles an hour At twenty-five below. Oh, how I love Michigan When the snow's up to your butt You take a breath of winter And your nose gets frozen shut. Yes, the weather here is wonderful So I guess I'll hang around I could never leave Michigan 'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!
I should point out that my brother-in-law (to whom I also sent this) points out that the meter of the poem sounds like some Michigander stole it from Wisconsin--if you read it aloud, it sounds better if you slip Wisconsin in there in place of Michigan.
The MADWI (Adams, WI to Winona, MN manifest that goes via to UP from Adams to Tunnel City and gets on the CP to Winona) used to always run with a ex-CNW caboose. But what I don't know is what they are currently using for a caboose. There used to be a CNW cab at Adams all the time (maybe even two), but I was told the MADWI or it's counter part managed to wreck one of them last year, so I don't know if they are using another CNW one or a different caboose all together. I still want to get up and catch that train coming out of the tunnel at Tunnel City sometime this year and see if it has the caboose with it. It was on my list for last year too, but I never quite got to it...
Noah
Poppa_Zit wrote: Carl -- Any CNW cabeese still around?
Any CNW cabeese still around?
Pretty sure there are none in service, but I seem to remember Max or Noah reporting on a derelict one somewhere in Wisconsin. I also recall seeing one in Boone, being used as a tourist center or something.
There is a caboose used by the pilot on the American Crane, but it's not one of the traditional bay-window waycars, and it's painted in the non-revenue red-and-gray paint scheme.
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