Trackside Lounge, Milepost 0906.01--no defects

[AgentKid]

Well here I am sitting under a TORNADO Watch. Two things I thought I knew since I moved to Calgary 45 years ago were that because of the altitude compared to places even 30 miles away like Strathmore and Irricana, where we lived in the station, 1) Calgary has never achieved a high temperature of 100 degrees F. and 2) we can't have a tornado.

Then last summer, some scientist was on the TV saying there was no valid reason for Calgary not to be able to receive a tornado, and now this summer we have a tornado watch. Watch is less serious than a warning. That scientist should have kept his mouth shut and if this is climate change, STOP IT.

I just received my TRAINS issue with the CN story so I am going to sit down and read it while paying attention to the radio.

AgentKid

 

[CShaveRR]

I'd take anything that showed the ACI labels with enough detail for me to "scan", so I could match a BN number with the WC number on the car. Thanks for offering!

[CNW 6000]

Thanks Carl.  I see those cars around from time to time.  How many shots or WC numbers do you want?

[CShaveRR]

Solid food will change the diapers...no, scratch that: you'll still change them, but it won't be nearly as easy.

Nice shots, there, Dan! I would have liked to have been around for that coal train. Those cars with the BN logos probably now have WC reporting marks, and I wouldn't have minded trying to get some old BN numbers off them.

A Georgetown Dump Train is on its way to Milwaukee this afternoon; should get in before dark. And the schnabel car move has left the yard, on its way to western Iowa via the Twin Cities. Might get to Adams before dark, and should be in southern Minnesota during daylight hours tomorrow.

[CNW 6000]

You know...I always thought the diapers would be the hard part.  Sleep (and occasional lack of) is the challenge!

So here's some of what I was able to get processed.
In Neenah, WI late in April '09 I was watching a pair of SD75Is heading slowly south on the mainline at Neenah when I heard the sound of another SD70.  Here IC SD70 1026 and a CN SD70I crept past the SD75Is on the main.  Made for a nice melodic purr (coming from a GE fan!) from these 4.

A couple weeks (or was it 10 days?  Picky, picky!) later I was headed to meet a friend who lives near the yard.  Seeing lights for a SB on the Dixie siding I quick pulled over at Kampo Road, snagged a shot and left (didn't want to be late).  I don't think it turned out too bad.  Power was another SD70I and a C44-9W on a manifest train.

A day later I headed to Byron Hill (near Lomira, WI) to see if CN was running in the rain (again!).  I only heard one heading south out of Shops and caught it as it neared the overpass I was parked on.  I really need to spend some time down there one of these days again.  This train was all GE powered...and boy did it thunder!  The mid-train helpers were working pretty hard as well.

Around mid-June (no rain!  WOO HOO!) I headed back up to Neenah with a little time to kill.  I heard a manifest getting ready to leave the yard SB so I set up at Kampo Road again.  As I waited for him to come out of the yard the RTC told him to hold north of the Byrd Street crossovers for a SB coal train.  Bonus!  I didn't have to wait long for the BNSF GEVO and SD70MAC to come rumbling by.

After the coal train went by the crew of the manifest took forever to get clearance onto the main to follow the coal train.  So I snuck up near the crossovers (on public streets!) to get a better shot of the CN GEVO notching up their train.

I might have a couple more but they didn't turn out well enough to share in here.  It was nice to get through my picture pile though!

[tree68]

CShaveRR

...and then up again for Dad, Mom, and Aedan, a few short hours later. Won't be long before only one parent gets up (but both wake up).

My daughter, who has been doing child care for a number of years, thought she was ready for motherhood.  Then she gave birth to Owen.  Owen is, by all accounts, a great baby, but daughter came right out and admitted that being a mother wasn't what she thought it would be.  Those near-sleepless nights take a toll...

I'll be seeing the little duffer on Sunday. 

[CShaveRR]

...and then up again for Dad, Mom, and Aedan, a few short hours later. Won't be long before only one parent gets up (but both wake up).

Glad everyone's doing well, Dan! Continued best wishes.

We had to make a quick run to western Michigan over my "weekend". Not much railroad-related stuff to report... CSX has dumped what appears to be a lot of ballast between Holland and Grand Rapids...we were blessed with a slow-moving CSX freight while dining at the trackside Culver's in Jenison...the Grand Elk Railroad's yard in Grand Rapids looks empty without any of those GM auto-parts cars sitting there (bulk unloading terminal seems to be doing all right--both open-top and covered hoppers there).

[CNW 6000]

Thanks Noah.  We're all doing pretty well now.  Aedan is back up to 8 lbs (near birth weight) and was given a clean bill of health.  Misty has a Dr. appt. on Thursday and she'll probably get a clean bill of health there.  She's doing pretty well.  Thanks, again, for everyone's well wishes.

I had some down time tonight, so I went and processed some shots going back to April...sheesh...I'll post them tomorrow.  It's off to bed, for dad, mom, and Aedan.

[Modelcar]

Enjoyed the good clear photos....

[Noah Hofrichter]

Let me wish a belated congratulations to Dan, Misty, and Aedan! He picked a good month to be born in, in my book anyway (I'm a June birthday too). Glad to hear Mom is doing much better. I can't even begin to imagine what you must have been going through there for a while, Dan.

I come bearing a few new photos too. On Sunday I went after the UP's Operation Life Saver special at Adams.

 

They ran trains every two hours west out of Adams, with a round trip that took about an hour. We arrived in time to catch the 11am train returning at Dellwood. The WP heritage unit was supposed to be on this end of the train, but I was told it had a problem and was cut off a couple of weeks ago, so we were stuck with a dirty UP unit on the east end of the train:

 

 

Passing a part of the CNW's old telegraph line. It's neat to see the line still in place, but runs along the railroad like this for a loooong ways. It tends to get in the way of good photos more than I'd like, but what can you do:

 

 

The Katy unit was on the other end, but I have better shots of it that shall come later.

 

We had picked up tickets for the 1pm on train on the way over, so we went back to await boarding and take a good up close look at the train. The view after boarding from inside the first coach behind the 1988, the City of Salina:

 

 

The UP has raised track speed to 50MPH from Adams to Wyeville, and it made for a wonderfully smooth ride. The train made it a little ways west of Necedah before they had to turn around. While I've photographed the OLI specials before I've never ridden behind one, so it was nice to get the chance.

 

After arrival back at Adams, we staked out photo locations and waited for the 1988 to run west with the 3pm (and last) train. Right on time he backed out of the siding and headed for Necedah, seen here at the west end of the yard:

 

 

We attempted to chase, but chasing on the Adams Line has always been hard. The roads run mostly North-South and East-West, while the railroad cuts generally cuts diagonally through the countryside. With track speeds having been raised to 50mph, it was hopeless to catch up. We ended up settling for shots as the train arrived back at Adams. The E9B 963 was in the consist providing HEP:

 

 

Following it was the business car Feather River, Coach Sunshine Special, Dome Columbine, coach City of Salina, and the 1988. The Katy unit isn't my favorite Heritage unit (I would have rather had the CNW unit myself, or the Rio Grande unit), but it's better than a regular UP unit. After lining the switch into the yard, the train proceeded ahead to drop off it's final load of passengers:

 

 

 

We knew they would be making a deadhead move towards the Twin Cities in an hour or so, but the clouds were thickening, and as we'd just found out, chasing would be pretty much impossible anyway, so we decided to head home. It was a good day though, and it was nice to take a train ride over track that one seldom gets a chance to be on.

 

I should have some photos from the Lake Superior and Ishpeming to share sometime soon. Last week a friend and I made a trip up to Marquette, MI to photograph the railroad before they retire all of their GE UBoats. The weather wasn't perfect, but we did get a good selection of trains. I'll share those once I get them processed and uploaded.

 

Noah

 

 

[AgentKid]

I would like to wish all my fellow forum members who line in the USA a happy Independence Day.

Calgary Stampede Week started here yesterday and there are free Pancake Breakfasts all over the city every morning until next Sunday. All sorts of businesses and non-profit and political groups hold them. As the Board President of a non-profit housing association I will be getting out and networking, or pressing the flesh, if you will, of various political types who may be helpful to us later. Being a Saturday, I will be going to two of them this morning. Then I will be going to one on Monday, a free Stampede Lunch on Tuesday, and then our association will be hosting our own breakfast on Thursday. So, to any forum member in this part of North America, come on down to the corner of Kensington Road and 10A Street NW and enjoy FREE pancakes, sausages, coffee and OJ. YEEE-HAW!

AgentKid

 

[CShaveRR]

This train has been losing time. Poor Willy and his mother waited for several hours at Fremont before stormy skies and early-morning work schedules forced them to give up. Had they been there three more hours, they might have seen it. And it's only made it as far as North Platte as of now.

I think the weather might hit us today--it may stay completely dry, yet the threat will be here throughout the day. With a high in the low 70s, it will be one of the coolest Independence Days on record around here. No complaints in that regard!

Amen, Johnny!

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

It's tomorrow night that this big train should be in your neck of the woods, Johnny. I didn't realize that it would mean a long trip for you, though.

 

Can't take credit for those pictures--it wasn't I who forwarded them

#1--that's okay, we have no extended trip planned for tomorrow night either.

#2--Senior moment--it was Walt who sent me the pictures.

To all you who have contibuted actively to preserving our freedom, Thank you.

Johnny

[blhanel]

Thanks for the heads-up, Carl, but due to other pressing issues (company/relatives coming!), I wouldn't have been able to go catch it, even if I had seen the post in time (I just saw it now!).

[CShaveRR]

Tastes change--there was a house not far from us (owned by friends of ours) that was painted in three colors (olive green, dark brown, and terra cotta) until a couple of years ago--now everything is one color, a dark brownish red (think about those Hocking Valley glazed bricks, if that means anything).

It's tomorrow night that this big train should be in your neck of the woods, Johnny. I didn't realize that it would mean a long trip for you, though.

Can't take credit for those pictures--it wasn't I who forwarded them.

Willy, I'm monitoring it--it's still in Iowa, but I think it's losing time, for some reason.

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

Willy, it would now appear that this train will be there closer to sundown tonight. It ought to be going through most of Wyoming during the day tomorrow, but won't be to Salt Lake City until around midnight (sorry, Johnny!).

Thanks for your concern, Carl. We really hadn't planned to go anywhere tonight (we seldom have more than one trip a year; last year, we had to have a second trip--by air ) except to bed. Even though the CZ crosses our latitude about five miles east of here, I do not hear it blowing for the public crossing that is just a trifle south--maybe there is a no horn ordinance in effect there--, and it is pretty far north as it wends it way between Salt Lake City and Wendover.

I had a note from my navy niece today; she appreciated the pictures of the Blue Angels.

My painter helper came out today and worked on the upper level of the house. He has to come back to put a second coat on the trim. Ricki decided that we should go back to a light color and not keep the dark brown she asked for eleven years ago.

Johnny

[Willy2]

Carl, Thanks for the heads up, but I don't think I'll be able to see it. It's just not an ideal situation tonight for me to go and watch it.

Dan, congratulations and I'm happy to hear that mom and baby are both doing well!!

EDIT: On second thought, Carl, could you keep me posted (if possible) on the train's progress. The temptation to go see it is strong.

[CShaveRR]

Willy, it would now appear that this train will be there closer to sundown tonight. It ought to be going through most of Wyoming during the day tomorrow, but won't be to Salt Lake City until around midnight (sorry, Johnny!).

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Wow, that is one long monster!  Wish I could be somewhere on U.S. Highway 30 trying to chase that thing.

Meanwhile, I notice that Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder has yet to show up on my employer's (CPRS) River Sub as it's really running late for whatever reason.  The best guess here is that it got delayed on BNSF but have no clue as to why. 

[CShaveRR]

Just got word this morning that a train out of Global 1 is being powered by UP Heritage units 1983 (WP), 1995 (CNW), 1996 (SP), and two other units. The train is stopped at Global 3 now. Headed for Los Angeles. Brian, probably by you about 10:30; Willy, around 5:00 at Fremont. It's going to be a monster west of Rochelle, over 12,000 feet long! (I had mentioned the sighting of 1995 and 1996 on a train from Global 1 to Global 3 on July 1; they returned to Global 1 after dark that evening.)

[CShaveRR]

Meanwhile, the grisly list of fallen entertainment personalities lengthens. Yesterday we lost Karl Malden. This morning it was Norman Pellegrini. Norm's name isn't a household word like some of the others, but many people who are fond of classical music across the country will remember him as the announcer on the programs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He also was the program director (for 43 years) of WFMT, which survives as the best classical-music and fine-arts radio station in the country. I'd met him a couple of times. He died just shy of his 80th birthday.

[CNW 6000]

Thanks again for all the wishes.  Mom is doing much better and is released from ICU back to the OB room.  Baby Aedan is healthy and doing well.  Both might even be able to come home tomorrow!  Quite an improvement from where things looked on Tuesday morning.

[CShaveRR]

My favorites as a kid were the kind of semi-educational books in which a freight train was built with the different types of freight cars. There were several of them out there. But I did have a worn-out copy of The Little Engine That Could, which had been given to me by my Grandpa Shaver. I don't think it was read to me too often, since I was a reader at the age of three. We bought another copy when it came time to read to our daughter--who was also reading it herself by age three, and took better care of her copy. I think she bought one to read to her kids, too.

Another favorite of mine was The Little Red Caboose That Ran Away. That, I believe, was my sister's book, so I didn't touch it. But I remember it being read to her. "Then came the car that was old, the car that was new, the car that was yellow, and the car that was blue. And the little red caboose was at the end."

[AgentKid]

CNW 6000

I've been reading some books to him and he knows my voice now.  I think I'll take a Trains back with me this afternoon.  He seemed to like "The Little Engine That Could" when I read it to him.  Maybe that's a sign!

Congratulations.

If you can find it, you should read him "Choo Choo, The Little Switch Engine". My parents used to joke they read that book to my brother and me so many times their eyes wore the printing off the paper. And my brother and me are still railfans.

Best wishes to all.

AgentKid

 

[CShaveRR]

I hope I can persuade Colin (MetraKid 2") to post the video he should have gotten this afternoon. A westbound UP stack train (ICHG3X-01) had UP 1995 and 1996 for power (the CNW and SP Heritage units, in that order). He tipped me off to the move, and also informed me when the train had passed him in Elmhurst. By the time he got off the phone, the train was catching up to me in Lombard!

Several days ago, UP sent another neat train west from our area--it was headed by UP 1982 (the MoPac Heritage unit), followed by UP 2001 and 2002 (the Olympic SD70s). This train eventually was expanded to about 12,000 feet in length, given a pair of brand-new GEVOs as mid-train DPUs, and (unfortunately for us fans), a yellow UP unit on the point. I think it should have made it to LA by now...hope they return the Olympic units!

[CShaveRR]

When our first daughter was born, Pat developed a postpartum infection, and, though she came home when Ellen did, had to return to the hospital and be separated from her for several days (not pleasant for a nursing mother!). We ferried frozen milk from the hospital to home. My girls both got to know about trains fairly early, and were pretty enthusiastic about them at one time.

Continued best wishes to both Misty and Aedan.

[CNW 6000]

Mookie

Don't forget to whistle for Aedan - you know - 2 longs, a short and a long......

Thanks Mook!  I might try that when I'm pushing him in the cart.  I wonder what the nurses will do...but I better be nice.  They have to put up with me for 2.5 more days...

[tree68]

Dan - That's good news!  Best hopes for a continued recovery.

That bonding with Aedan is really important, and very cool.  I was at my son's house when my granddaughter came home from the hospital, and make visits with them as often as the 8 hour drive allows.  She knows who I am, and that's very gratifying.   I'm hoping my relationship with my grandson goes the same way.

[bubbajustin]

Mook,

2 longs a short and a long...  I agree!!!

Mook,

Did you send a video into AFV? I saw a video last night that had a cat named Mookie in it. Kind of funny!

[bubbajustin]

Dan,

I'm sure you and Aedan will have many happy trackside memories made in the cumming years. My family is still praying for your wife.

Well, a dreary day today. Evan a little cool. Drizzled a little around noon. Supposed to be nicer tommrow.

Have a good evening!

Justin