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)
CShaveRRPicking a couple of nits, Paul... The "Little Joe" has to be either ex-Milwaukee or ex-South Shore. They're mutually exclusive. The other nit (and how you tell a local or an historian): there's absolutely no comma in Chicago South Shore & South Bend (nor was there one in Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee).
The "Little Joe" has to be either ex-Milwaukee or ex-South Shore. They're mutually exclusive. The other nit (and how you tell a local or an historian): there's absolutely no comma in Chicago South Shore & South Bend (nor was there one in Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee).
Points noted, Carl - thanks [though I actually expected to hear from Paul /CSSHEGEWISCH instead if there were any corrections to be made]. So I gather that the CSS&SB purchased its 'Little Joes' directly from GE [or Uncle Sam, or the USSR's international trading agency, or whomever else was handling the sale of those then export-prohibited units], not as 3rd-hand-me-downs from MILW. Frankly, I'd never studied or thought about the precise 'chain of title' for them - just knew that they were 'orphans' from the aborted sale to the USSR that then needed a home, and that the CSS&SB took advantage of that opportunity to get a good deal - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Joe_(electric_locomotive) The one at the Lake Shore Railway Museum is lettered for the 'SOUTH SHORE RAILROAD' in the photos from there, so I presume that's its lineage. Above all, I'm just glad that several of those fairly modern cab-type 2-D+D-2 articulated units was preserved for us to look at - and this one is the closest to me. Notably, it is now within about 15 miles from where it was built, at GE's Erie, PA plant, which may be why this museum has one. Here's a link to a 2005 photo of it, No. 802 - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=139458
I'll have to remember the comma thing for a trivia or history quiz some day. One of my minor missions/ obsessions in life is to add/insert commas where none are but should be - interesting that I got faked out by this one.
By the way, I know I still owe you an answer on the 'Repo' questions about RailBox, NRUC, and the Rock Island liquidation from a couple weeks ago. No two of those 3 are alike - as you surmised - and I want to look up a couple of things to refresh my recollection and be on pretty solid ground when I do reply. So if you're in no hurry, I'll get back to you on that one in due course.
- Paul North.
LA - Good stuff there.
More Deshler -
WB went south, stopping with marker just off the island circuit while he waited for a NB for Toledo to move. That train went straight across the diamond, headed north.
Some fans in from SC, after visiting Fostoria. CSX graced them with a manifest EB, with another due in soon.
Still no rain - the fun continues!
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...
Hey guys. Been a while since I posted here. So I thought I'd share my 4449 trip report!
So my alarm goes off at 4:30 AM. And I'm excited as all get-out to get going. I gathered my camera equipment, grabbed 2 sodas and some goldfish crackers, and was on my way before dawn! I was so excited the whole time I was driving. I must say I'm a fan of night drives and glad my mom allowed me to do this! But anyway, it was just starting to get blue on the horizon when I arrived in Alma. I took a pit stop there to enjoy the cool summer breeze and watch a barge go through the lock:
Just to give you an idea of how dark it still was. After an hour of nothing on the BNSF, I gave up and drove to Winona (And saw nothing on my way either. Whats the deal, BNSF?) I waited by the CP for an hour for my friends to show up. The CP was just as dead too. It's like they knew I was coming! I was getting sick of everyone playing the UP game at this point. But about then, my friends arrived and we huffed it back north to wait on the BNSF for 4449 to arrive. When we arrived at our waiting spot, we were greeted by a southbound intermodal:
Sometimes I really hate my camera..... But we decided that after this train passed, we would continue North for a better spot. Arriving at some farm area, we found our location! Back to the waiting game. Not much was happening..Of course the CP sure got busy as soon as I left it! What a shocker! Anyway, the same NS train Noah saw passed us. And I got a sub par video of it that I still need to upload onto youtube. After that, 4449 finally arrived. We were at a private crossing and each of us shot videos. Mine was angled too low and we didnt get any whistle action! So like true railfans, we gave chase! All the way to Lacrosse we went! They stopped there to take on water and grease it. We took this opportunity to head it off at Stoddard. And it was there that we got some excellent whistle. My video had a great angle too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZFLukm_fAc
Check it out! I only had one camera on me, so I only got video and no photos....Save for this dreadful still I took from the video:
I'm catching it again when it heads back up North anyway, so no problems! I'll get photos then!
Anyway, we headed back north to check out railfair and see what was stirring in the yards. First was the BNSF yard:
This was cool. MOW equipment, BN caboose, EMDX geep, and a BNSF GP35-then-GP38 rebuild!
Just down the line was this pair of SD40-2s too. Good to see some of them still around. Especially those classy yellowbonnets!
Of course the common stuff was never far from the yard. I guess this GEVO was added to the train as its new leader. Soon the train was on its way.
After that, we headed to the north end of the yard from a tip-off that a neat consist was coming. Well...It never came, but this intermodal did!
We waited for the other train, but it just wasnt coming. So off we went to check on the CP!
This was all we saw there really. CP was never very active the whole day.
After all that, we scoped out railfair. I got to blow the CBQ steamer's whistle and operate authentic CNW semaphore signals! After all the excitement, we headed back for Winona...But on the way, we saw a DME trio crossing the river. So we HAD to go after them. But even after THAT, we noticed something even better sitting on the outskirts of the CP yard:
It's been so long since I've seen a bandit. Last time was when Alec took me to the St Paul yard back in 2006.
So we then went back to go after that DME train. As fate would have it, they were stopped! We got to the head end with ease just as they were pulling out. One of my friends knew of a neat bridge just south of where we were so we chased them down there.
I'd say it came out rather well! But the fun didnt end there! After that, we paced them and headed them off at a crossing. I videotaped both
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uATxq70nlSwPace vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoMjNjKV1L0 Crossing vid
So after all that excitement, we hightailed it back to Winona, our adventure almost complete. But on the way, we found something else...
The colors, Duke! The colors! What a railroad rainbow! And look how crappy the UP unit looks with all the other flashy neat paint schemes! But nonetheless, an ex-GECX AC44 is always a nice roster addition!
Finally we went back to Winona and parted ways for a little while to eat dinner. I had the usual Little Caesars. We then met up again to watch Amtrak come through.
My first Amtrak shot too. Not bad eh?
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Caught a westbound using the SE wye - lots of shiny new Fords. While I was across the tracks, shooting across the pond, thus trapped, a WB stack roared through.
CShaveRRWell, Larry, you've gone and done it now...all of that diamond talk... Willy, I hope to have a surprise for you guys this morning.
Willy, I hope to have a surprise for you guys this morning.
Always the instigator....
The really late show included two stacks (one east, one west) on the diamond at the same time, and they weren't dallying. The really early show included a train heavily laden with autoracks turning south from there westerly journey. The regular morning show began with an easterly which held up a northbound turning west. And I know I've forgotten and/or missed a few.
ATCS is pretty quiet right now, so we'll have a lull. That's a good thing - the truck needs some straightening.
Well, the late show is even better than the matinee (if not conducive to picture taking). Since dark we've had an eastbound turn north, two westbounds turn south, and a northbound (which had to go in the hole at South Deshler) turn east. Not to mention the westbound manifest that blew through as the northbound was rounding the SE wye track. Busy, Busy, Busy.
Finally managed to get into the forums via my laptop at the motel. Today was certainly a good day for all of us, except for my dad. He had to leave for Omaha a day early. He was a little confused about the concept of the dinky parade, but I got lots of photos to show him what it's all about. I may also have to post some on here once we're back in Omaha. It's a good thing we don't have commuter train service in Omaha, especially on the scale of Metra, because I'd probably be lured to the tracks every day.
In any event, I'm looking forward to a few more trains tomorrow before we head back to little old Omaha on the Zephyr.
Chris: If your travels bring you into the Omaha area, let me know. Perhaps I could show you a few good railfanning spots around the area, or at least meet for lunch.
Willy
Hmmm Haven't been keeping track. One westbound that turned south, a couple of stacks. Big rush after MOW cleared up, but it's looking quiet for now. Almost time to call it a night.
Westbound coke train followed in close order by and eastbound stack. And the weather is nice, too.
Evening.
Been figuring out Facebook. Not much to talk about
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
EB Grain Train held briefly at West Deshler for MOW. Leading was CP 8800.
Speaking of stops:
LIVE - FROM DESHLER
The tent is up, a "K" train EB and a container train WB so far...
Another possible stop for Chris/ CopCarSS on his upcoming eastern trip - and anyone else heading that way - is the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society's Museum in the borough/ town of 'North East', PA, which is about 14 miles northeast of Erie, PA, and about 4 miles before reaching the New York state border, along I-90 [exit 41, then take PA State Route 89 = S. Lake St. northwards for about 1.6 miles], U.S. 20 = Buffalo Road, then Main Road / Main Street [then take PA State Route 89 = S. Lake St. southwards for about 1/2 mile], and/ or PA State Route 5 = Lake Road to Freeport [then take PA State Route 89 = 'Freeport Road', then 'N. and S. Lake St.' southwards for about 2 miles]. Specifically, the Museum is in the northwesterly corner/ quadrant of where S. Lake St. underpasses the 2 sets of railroad tracks, though you'll have to go in a little bit of a round-about route to get there - take Clinton St. to the west, then Pearl St. to the south, which turns into Wall Street as it turns west to go past the Museum's grounds.
The Museum's website is at - http://www.velocity.net/~lsrhs/museum.html
Note that it is along both the CSX and NS mains, and so sees about 60 to 80 trains per day. It has an ex-MILW and former Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend 'Little Joe' electric locomotive on display, and I believe a PRR GG1 as well.
There's more info on another thread here - ''Conneaut Ohio Railroad Museum And Lakeshore Railroad Museum(?)(?)(?)(?)'' - at -
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/157256/1738123.aspx#1738123
You could also go by and 'see whatever you can see' from the public roads at General Electric Transportation Systems [= the locomotive building arm of GE] and its 'East Erie Connecting RR' on the eastern side of Erie, which is generally east of Franklin Ave., and between the aforementioned U.S. 20 = Buffalo Road on the south, and PA State Route 955 = Iroquois Ave. on the north.
CShaveRRRemember that the line is CTC--that train was perfectly legal going on Track 2.
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
CShaveRRLate news from Steamfest: Pere Marquette 1225 is out of commission for the rest of the festival, due to some serious flue problems. I guess something blew last night after the festivities were over--no injuries, except that it's sad to see the host locomotive out of it.
765 took up the slack on the all-day trips.
As bad is it was to have 1225 out of action, the resulting use of the saddletankers there for the show almost made it worth it. The first night they tried doubleheading them to move 1225. Wasn't there, but I guess it was pretty interesting. Also covered everything downwind with soot...
Saturday night they used all three saddletankers to move 1225 into position for another evening photo shoot. There couldn't have been a clean sheet on a clothes line for a mile downwind. In the process one of the engines managed to clean out the accumulated soot from the day, showering everyone with black rain. I managed to duck into one of the tents, but still had some washing up to do.
Once I get the chance to do some post processing, I'll try to get some pictures posted. I actually shot more video than anything else, but I'm a real novice at processing that. Give me time!
CShaveRRNormally these things come down at us from Wisconsin
If the sulfur was coming from west of Brian's position, instead of from the northwest(?), as Carl suggests, I suspect it came directly south from Alberta. It would have crossed the border at Coutts, AB/Sweetgrass, MT and then proceeded on BNSF to Great Falls, MT. From there I have no idea how it got to Brian's viewing location.
This line is almost as old as the CPR transcontinental line. It was a narrow gauge line from Lethbridge, AB to Great Falls. It was standard guaged about the same time Alberta became a province in 1905. The American side of this line became a part of the Great Northern Railway.
If you look at a map of Alberta you will see the SW boundary between us and BC follows the Great Divide. If you draw a parallel line 200 miles to the east, all of Alberta's sulfur is produced between these two lines.
AgentKid
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Hey Carl, I managed to make it trackside to the UP transcon for a quick 15-minute railfan outing yesterday, and your employer rewarded me with an interesting consist- saw a shorter (maybe 40-50 cars?) eastbound made up entirely of tankers, which I initially thought was an ethanol train. After looking closer, though, as he went by (being pulled by two newer engines), I saw that all of the tankers were marked "Molten Sulfur". He was moving along pretty smartly on Track 2- normal eastbound traffic uses Track 1, and a loooonnng eastbound coal drag did arrive just after him on that track.
So what did I see, and where was he headed to/from?
Carl,
Do you know what happened to the CNW 100 ton 3 bay hoppers? I think a lot of them went to HLMX and INRD, not sure if anyone else got 'em. I'm asking because I've been seeing tons of them on CN lately, I think loaded with coke NB.
Dan
Oh man! 1225 is out! The host just took sick… That really is sad news.
Carl, thank you for the info! I imagined that most of them did have RC’s. About half of the coal drags I saw were headed back west and were empty. The other half were loaded and going east. I assume these go to Chicago for there power stations. Then will return to western CO. for more coal and then flip power and repeat the Chicago run.
Well, a bit of rain blew over last night. Not a huge soaker. Looks like we may get more. I have a family reunion to go to so I hope it holds off for tonight.
It wasn't swine flue, was it?
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