No problem at all, Jim--as Larry said, that's what we're here for!
I can't find your "CB&Q thread" to see what exactly you're talking about. However, there's a bit of a difference between "out of service" and "abandoned". My gut feeling is that an out-of-service line could be restored to service with little oversight from the Government (assuming that they do it right and bring it up to the appropriate FRA track standards).
Perhaps if you direct us to your post, one of the real track guys (Mudchicken) will weigh in with a positive answer.
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)
......I wonder if creator, Harold Gray may have developed "Daddy Warbucks" from his own appearance.....It seems our local creator of "Garfield", Jim Davis...may have done so with his main charactor, Jon Arbuckle.
Quentin
TB - Legit question. That's why we're here. Sorry, I don't have the answer, but I'm sure it will be along shortly.
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...
Does the government need to be involved when a railroad takes a line listed as o/s (out of service(?)) and starts running trains on said line?
I thought the Lounge would be a good place to ask these simple questions (see my CB&Q post). If the regular visitors don't like it , let me know.
James
CShaveRR As for the "X-ray Hotel", I suspect that the crews were referring to Procedure XH, which must have been in force......The dispatcher would inform all trains to follow Procedure XH (or X-ray Hotel) when approaching the crossing until the Signal Department could get out there to repair it.
As for the "X-ray Hotel", I suspect that the crews were referring to Procedure XH, which must have been in force......The dispatcher would inform all trains to follow Procedure XH (or X-ray Hotel) when approaching the crossing until the Signal Department could get out there to repair it.
Some dispatchers use the military version of the phoentic alphabet
and some use the police-style codes.
Here's a few sites that shows the various 10-codes used:http://morsecode.scphillips.com/alphabet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet
Me, either (I preferred sweeter things, like Quik). Ovaltine used to make a sweeter drink mix, PDQ, in several flavors; that wasn't bad.
Oh--and the creator of the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip, Harold Gray, lived in Lombard and commuted by train to Chicago.
CShaveRR Yesterday, Pat and I rode our bicycles into an apartment complex in neighboring Villa Park, on the grounds of the old Ovaltine plant (Villa Park was the headquarters for this concoction, best known for sponsoring "Little Orphan Annie" in the golden days of radio).
Yesterday, Pat and I rode our bicycles into an apartment complex in neighboring Villa Park, on the grounds of the old Ovaltine plant (Villa Park was the headquarters for this concoction, best known for sponsoring "Little Orphan Annie" in the golden days of radio).
.....Now you're taking me back a ways with that story Carl....My mother used to want me to drink that stuff back in the 30's. I didn't seem to care for it much.
Yesterday, Pat and I rode our bicycles into an apartment complex in neighboring Villa Park, on the grounds of the old Ovaltine plant (Villa Park was the headquarters and principal manufacturing facility for company that made this concoction, best known for sponsoring "Little Orphan Annie" in the golden days of radio).
The Ovaltine factory was the biggest landmark in Villa Park, and received freight service from both the Chicago Great Western (which ran to the north of it) and the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin (which ran to the south of it--east of the plant, the two lines began to parallel each other all the way into Forest Park). The CGW track was remarkably straight, and the plant's 225-foot smokestack could be seen looking ahead on the right-of-way from as far west as Carol Stream, or from as far east as Cook County.
Of course, the CA&E ceased freight operation in 1961, and became a bike path in the early 1970s. I well remember biking past the plant, inhaling deeply at the chocolate (and sometimes strawberry!) aromas that would come from it.
Ovaltine ceased production at Villa Park in about 1984. Prior to that, through most of the 1970s and early 80s, this was the only industry that kept the former CGW line in operation from Carol Stream to Elmhurst (it crossed in to Elmhurst only to provide "tail-room" for switching Ovaltine). CNW abandoned the line (it's now a bike trail), and the factory sat in neglect and disrepair for over ten years, until it was finally converted into condos. The massive rehabilitation, required due to vandalism and illicit occupancy, retained and restored the original decor as much as possible, but the doors that once opened to loading docks along the CA&E were eliminated and replaced by windows. Some of the smaller buildings on the property were taken down, including the power house of which the smokestack was a part, but the smokestack itself remained until last week, when a blast of dynamite brought it down (not without a little damage to one of the newer buildings in the complex). It had been thought that the stack would remain as an historical landmark, but reportedly it needed extensive work to keep it structurally sound. This was evidenced when it fell--instead of coming straight down, it broke apart about halfway up, and the top portion split away part of the lower portion, resulting in the damage to the lower level of one nearby place (we saw a couple of boarded-up garage openings).
CopCarSS Meanwhile, here are couple quick shots I grabbed while waiting for Jay and Amtrak #5 yesterday morning:
Meanwhile, here are couple quick shots I grabbed while waiting for Jay and Amtrak #5 yesterday morning:
Chris, I always look forward to your shots of the Denver Station. The subject of large cathedral, architectual type stations has always been a keen interest of mine, and you really do capture the beauty in them as well as the feel of their RR ambience.
CShaveRR Chris, do other tracks memorialize other passenger trains in Denver's past?
Chris, do other tracks memorialize other passenger trains in Denver's past?
Yup! Many of the named trains of Denver's past are listed.
I, too, thought your interior shot was stunning. There aren't many stations left with open spaces like that, and that one has to be the cleanest I've ever seen--well captured!
Thanks! I really like DUS for it's simple, but elegant look. I tried to capture a little bit of that in this shot.
-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
Thanks, guys, for the kind words!
Chris.... I used something called "Noiseware Community Edition" it's free, and it works, the only problem is, you lose the EXIF data in the photo, and there is some slight detail loss, but otherwise it works okay.
I like your 2nd shot, very well done. I agree with Larry, that looks like a magazine quality shot.
Chris - the second shot has "hang me on the wall" and maybe "magazine centerspread" written all over it (well, not really, but I did manage to get the ink off my screen).
Morning All!
Did my civic duty as well this morning. Was at the polls right as they opened at 7:00. Looked like a good crowd. It's good to see the big increase in voter participation this year!
Tim - How did your noise reduction do on the original shot? It looked good to me at web resolution, though I did notice that you lost a little detail in the tree areas.
I've got a couple other ones, too, but I really like both of these. Both with the K20D. First with my SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4 and second with the Zenitar 16mm f2.8 Fisheye.
tree68Number 17 at the polls this morning.
Number 17 at the polls this morning.
By the time I left the polling place, there were about 25 more people who were waiting. I used the new touch screen ballot... it was very cool!.
Good morning!
If you didn't participate in early voting, today's the day--get out there and change America!
(Then pray that the changes will be positive.)
TimChgo9 The Butler Which Burlington (what state) is the namesake in CB&Q? Isn't it Burlington, Iowa? That's what I always thought......
The Butler Which Burlington (what state) is the namesake in CB&Q?
Which Burlington (what state) is the namesake in CB&Q?
Isn't it Burlington, Iowa? That's what I always thought......
Yep!
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
The ButlerWhich Burlington (what state) is the namesake in CB&Q?
CShaveRRThanks, guys! I think I get it now, but I probably wouldn't see it unless I were really looking for such things, and I still might not be able to put my finger on it. Tim, I drove to work yesterday, and would have been coming home across Elizabeth a little before 3:00. (Would have come down to Finley if I'd known...). Didn't see any trains when I crossed, but the Bears had just taken the lead for the final time. As for the "X-ray Hotel", I suspect that the crews were referring to Procedure XH, which must have been in force at the Finley Road grade crossing. I know that this afternoon there were a large number of trucks and MofW forces by Finley Road (I was on the wrong side of the tracks, so I couldn't see what they were up to). If your trains were moving slowly across the crossing, that's the result of the XH. The crossing was reported to have operated improperly, so crews were advised to approach it prepared to stop until they could see that the signals were working properly. Once the signals were determined to be properly operating, the trains could cross at no more than 15 mph, resuming normal speed once the crossing was fully occupied. The dispatcher would inform all trains to follow Procedure XH (or X-ray Hotel) when approaching the crossing until the Signal Department could get out there to repair it.
Thanks, guys! I think I get it now, but I probably wouldn't see it unless I were really looking for such things, and I still might not be able to put my finger on it.
Tim, I drove to work yesterday, and would have been coming home across Elizabeth a little before 3:00. (Would have come down to Finley if I'd known...). Didn't see any trains when I crossed, but the Bears had just taken the lead for the final time.
As for the "X-ray Hotel", I suspect that the crews were referring to Procedure XH, which must have been in force at the Finley Road grade crossing. I know that this afternoon there were a large number of trucks and MofW forces by Finley Road (I was on the wrong side of the tracks, so I couldn't see what they were up to). If your trains were moving slowly across the crossing, that's the result of the XH. The crossing was reported to have operated improperly, so crews were advised to approach it prepared to stop until they could see that the signals were working properly. Once the signals were determined to be properly operating, the trains could cross at no more than 15 mph, resuming normal speed once the crossing was fully occupied. The dispatcher would inform all trains to follow Procedure XH (or X-ray Hotel) when approaching the crossing until the Signal Department could get out there to repair it.
Thanks for the info, Carl.... Never heard of the "Procedure XH" before, thanks for clearing that up. Westbound trains were a bit slow, but eastbound trains were moving faster.
Okay, here we go.... Here is the same photo, with noise and without.
First up: The image before some postprocessing to remove the "noise". If you look at the darker sections of the photo, you can see a "graniness" to it.
Now, here is the same photo, after post processing. Note that in the darker areas, the graniness is mostly gone, and the detail appears a bit better.
Enlarge both images to see it better.
Carl,
Noise is kind of like grain back in the film days. As ISOs increase, the imaging engine has to boost the signal from the camera's sensor. Sometimes in that boost, the signal can get some pixels that are radically different from their surrounding pixels. There's a lot of factors that go into it, but three can really screw things up: 1) Photosite size. 2) Heat. 3) Length of Exposure.
Photosite size relates to how many photosites are put on a given sensor. That's why DSLRs usually do better with noise. The sensors in a DSLR are much,much bigger than a digicam.
Heat also plays a big part in it. I've noticed that going out in extreme cold (well below zero) can net a stop or two difference in noise reduction. Of course, battery life gets to be a pain, but there are ways to combat that pretty easily.
The time of exposure is critical on digicams. I think most of them only allow maximum exposures in the neighborhood of a few seconds. I can shoot all night long with my DSLR provided I have the battery for it. I haven't tried that yet, but I intend to do some star trails one of these nights with my K20D.
Here's a shot I was able to quickly dig up showing what noise looks like when pushed to the extremes:
Carl. "noise" is the graininess that appears on some photos, especially with higher film, or ISO speeds. The fact that I got noise on that first photo I posted at an ISO of 200, is a surprise to me, especially with my new camera. Anyway....
So, I was in your neighborhood?? I was wondering how close I was to you while I was out there. As I was coming up Finley Rd, I saw some folks on bicycles talking on the sidewalk, and I wondered if one might have been you.... We were out there until about 3:00 or so yesterday, we only caught 4 trains.... Also what is an "X-Ray Hotel" procedure??? They were talking about that on the scanner, had to do with something going on between MP 22.0 and 22.5. I wasn't sure what it was all about.
I ran my freeware noise-reductiion program on the first photo, and I will post the results later.
Oh yeah, I was going through some older photos, from my film days, and found a few worth scanning and posting, so perhaps I can get those done by the end of the week.....
Would one of you guys please define "noise" for me?
I'm not sure about what might be wrong with the first photograph, with the definite exception of the fact that Tim didn't tell me he was going to be in the neighborhood! Both of those shots were taken at Finley Road in Lombard, and the crossing visible in the distance in the first shot is Elizabeth Street, the one nearest our house. Chances are I was on my way home from work when you were out there, Tim, so I'm not really all that upset.
Speaking of noise, our line was very noisy today. Just trying to get across Lombard, we encountered two freight trains--then we went to Elmhurst and encountered two more freights and a scoot--simultaneously! Then, back home to Lombard and saw two more freights. Each of the freight-train pairs was a manifest freight and a stack train. Two of our total--a manifest freight and a stack train--had distributed power units on the hind end. I don't think we were by the tracks for more than 15 minutes total when we encountered these eight trains. A ninth was seen early in the afternoon at Glen Ellyn, slowing down for a scoot in the vicinity. This was a stack train, with lots of empty cars moving westward.
Thanks Chris, and Larry I appreciate the advice .. I downloaded a noise reduction program that was free-ware, so we'll see how good it does. The train wasn't going all that fast, (under 20mph, I think) so I did have some time, had I thought about it, to drop the shutter speed. But, when I looked at my initial shot in the LCD screen, I figured I had a "keeper" ...
Yesterday was one of those days with the high clouds and diffused light that seems to happen alot in the fall. I had a bunch of other shots from yesterday, where the sky was so blown out, that they weren't even worth saving. I did post one to my photo page, after some post processing to bring down the brightness and etcetera.... you guys be the judge...
Shot at ISO 200, f/4.5 1/1000. Adjusted in GIMP 2.6.1 for brightness, contrast and saturation....
Tim - Nice shot.
I'll echo Chris's note about dropping the ISO. In fact, I'd be willing to bet you could have gone below 100 quite nicely. I suspect this train wasn't really moving all that fast (I could be wrong), so an even slower shutter speed might have worked.
I don't recall whether you mentioned a tripod, but a lot of cameras are equipped to use one (even some at the lower end of the spectrum), so that would help reduce any hand movement issues lower shutter speeds might otherwise introduce.
Tim,
Because of the physics of sensor design and the way manufacturers are cramming as many pixels as possible onto a given sensor anymore, noise is going to be part of the game. With a few notable exceptions, all non-DSLR cameras use pretty small sensors, so cramming a lot of pixels on them mean that individual photo sites are pretty small. Because of that, you'll start to get noise at anything except the native resolution of the sensor on many cameras. This might be a case of that.
You can fight it a little bit by trying to expose the scene a little more and bringing the exposure back in post-processing. You'll have to be careful about not clipping highlights, but sensors do better at recording higher light intensities than lower ones. You'll see noise in shadows long before highlights.
Also, with head on telephoto shots, you can afford to sacrifice some shutter speed. In this case, dropping the ISO and shooting at 1/500th at ISO 100 should have been OK (unless the train was really flying).
If all else fails, noise reduction programs are pretty good these days, too. I use NeatImage, but there are other programs like Noise Ninja, too. This shot would clean up nicely in either of those. Let me know if you want me to run it through NeatImage for you to show you what it can do.
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