Trackside Lounge, Milepost 0906.01--no defects

[Mookie]

Congrats to new Daddy and Mommy!

Sounds like Misty is well on the road (hallway) to recovery.  We women are a hearty group!  And a bacon cheeseburger sounds like the correct medicine to me! 

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

Mama Mook

 

[CNW 6000]

I'm not going to say "out of the woods" just yet but I think we can see the treeline.  I won't go into details (this is a family place after all) but two opportunistic infections, shock, BP crash (x 3), dehydration, fluid loss, and an allergic reaction to top things off made for quite a long night and scary early morning.

Almost everything is cleared up and pending results from a couple tests she'll be back with baby late tonight or tomorrow AM.  He misses her (and so do I-she was in quarantine).  She is walking short distances, eating, and can move with much less pain.  She asked for a bacon cheeseburger today at lunch which I took as a good sign.  She had to settle for hospital food tho!

Aedan (our son) is cute as a button.  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!  Thanks everyone for the thoughts and prayers.  I'm not overly religious but I'm sure they helped.

[bubbajustin]

Hi all.

Congrats Dan! We will be praying for the baby, your wife, and you!!!

Well, me and grandpa got the back side of his old shed re-sided. Working on making those darn doors now.

 

[CShaveRR]

Larry, I'm somewhat used to being close to fast-moving trains. This wasn't too bad a sensation, as the speed was picking up, and we were a safe distance away, first out behind the crossing gates. We crossed the tracks as soon as he cleared, and by the time we could travel less than a mile to the street we turned on, the hind end of his train had disappeared around the Addison Street curve, near the eastern village limits of Lombard, three miles from where we watched him.

[tree68]

CShaveRR

All that's necessary is for the engine to clear that speed restriction around the yard--he opened up east of the station, and the hind end could have been up to 70 when it got by us.

And that's a sensation, being relatively close to a train moving that fast...

[CShaveRR]

He's kind of busy, so I'll bring it over here for him:

Dan Braun ("CNW 6000") is the proud father of Aedan James, who arrived just before 7:00 this morning. Mom isn't entirely out of the woods (extra well-wishes for her, please!), but the little guy seems to be doing fine. Congratulations!

Nothing at all to report on the railroad front, over a couple of days off. We just got back from Elmhurst, where we watched the Bird take off through town. All that's necessary is for the engine to clear that speed restriction around the yard--he opened up east of the station, and the hind end could have been up to 70 when it got by us.

[TimChgo9]

 Thanks Chris....

 I just noted that "flare ghost" that you mentioned.  I'll see if I can clone that out.  

I haven't been doing much shooting lately, busy summer with the kids being out of school, that coupled with a computer problem that resulted in the purchase of a new motherboard, I am hoping to get out and get a few shots in the coming weeks......  

 Welcome back, you haven't been around for a while....(Frankly, neither have I....) 

 

 

[CopCarSS]

Carl,

Thanks for the kind words! I'm not sure what the deal with the windows in the building is. I know it's under construction, but I don't know why they'd install almost all the windows in save those few.

The line is part of the Moffat Sub as it heads west through Arvada and then up into the Rockies. It sees a fair amount of traffic. Lots of coal, a couple manifests, a couple BNSF trackage rights trains and the CZ every day. Sometimes if I'm not looking to get pictures but just watch trains, I'll head down there with the scanner and just watch what happens by.

Just out of the frame to my left is the line out to Golden. The Beer Runs usually sit at Tennyson St. waiting to go through C&S Junction, so I see them quite often. Unfortunately, there wasn't one there on that evening with that spectacular sky. Oh well, sometimes a railroad shot doesn't need a train.

Anyways, back to the salt mines. Because of the economy, we've expanded our territory a bit! I'm bidding jobs in places like Vail, Hayden and even Rawlins, WY now!

[mudchicken]

Carl: Joint line where he's at (busy). I could throw a rock at him as many times as I've been by concrete madness lately. At least we know he's still here and OK (he was too quiet)...

[CShaveRR]

Nice shot, Chris! Make that Times Four!

I like the way you've solidified the broken water in the shot of your cousin--it looks almost crystalline.

Are those broken or missing windows in the shiny building downtown? I, too, liked the sky reflection.

Tell us about the line by your house--see much traffic?

Rough day at work today--heavy bowl (as many as 1200 cars), with enough tracks out of service to make classification difficult. Then a different conductor who wanted to take a shortcut with the lockout procedure (you never heard anyone jump on him so fast as the three of us CROs did!). Highest temperature I saw on my thermometer at work was 94.7. The promised afternoon showers haven't happened, so far, though we're under a watch for another three hours.

[CopCarSS]

CShaveRR

Welcome "home", Chris--you've been missed!

Thanks, Carl. Been a busy spring/summer. I haven't done a lot of shooting, and almost no train shooting. Here's a couple non-train things that I like, though:

Some orchids at one of the local greenhouses. A friend and I will be chronicling the greenhouse throughout the season. Should be a fun project! - K20D, FA 50mm f1.4

My cousin, Courtney, has been swimming competitively all summer. I used to swim a lot when I was younger, so I've been attending some of her meets. Unlike last year, she's been at a lot of outdoor pools this year! That's been key for me, because I've finally been able to get some decent light on her. Here she is in the 'Fly, which is one of her specialties (the other being the backstroke). - K20D, Tamron SP 300mm f2.8

I've been doing some storm chasing lately. I haven't had a lot of success, but I did find a couple funnel clouds a few weeks back. I had to chase more than halfway to Kansas to find them, though. It was also late at night when I found them, and couldn't get enough light to get any decent shots. Little did I know that I could've just stayed in town. The storm before the one pictured here dropped a funnel very near Union Station! I was a little too late for that, but I found these dramatic clouds and the it was kind of amusing to see blue skies reflected in the building. K20D, DA 21mm f3.2

I've got some shots waiting to be ULed from an outing this past weekend to Roxborough Park on the SW side of the Denver Metro area. Alas! the video card died on my laptop. It's integral to the motherboard, so I've got a used MoBo coming and hopefully I can get the stuff post-processed and ULed soon.

One other interesting little tidbit. I've started shooting 35mm film again. I figured that every good Pentaxian needs to have a K1000 in his or her arsenal, so I added that fabled body. There's something supremely satisfying about the simplicity of the camera, and the lovely sound of that mechanical shutter. Music to my ears!

I put a roll of the new Kodak Ektar 100 through it this past weekend at Roxborough. I have divided feelings on the film. It's really nice, and the grain is really, really fine. I'm hating the cyan skies I'm getting from it, though. It doesn't matter, though. I'll probably be shooting Kodachrome almost exclusively for the next 18 months. I had been considering shooting some anyways. Kodak's discontinuance notice just reinforced my desire.

Speaking of which, anybody got any Kodachrome laying around that they don't want to use? I'll gladly buy it from you! Ever since Kodak's announcement, it's been hard to find. Catch me off list if you have any!

Thanks!

EDIT: Since this is a railroad forum, I should probably add at least one railroad shot. Here's a sunset as seen from Tennyson St. (the street I live on):

K20D, FA 50mm f1.4

[CShaveRR]

Welcome "home", Chris--you've been missed! Ah, grandchildren! We were having lunch with all of 'em (and our daughter) yesterday. I touched the chin of my grandson (newly one full year old), and said, "Let me see your teeth, Nico."

I think there were four of them. He never did let me see them. But I sure felt them!

[CopCarSS]

TimChgo9

For some reason, I can't get photos to post on here now, so here is a link to one of my latest.....

http://www.eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=1151603

Tim,

That's a lovely image. If it were mine, I think I'd probably clone out the flare ghost on the left side of the signal bridge, though.

Very nicely done, though!

[tree68]

CShaveRR

they put out an extremely informative booklet on the line's history, including that of all of their locomotives and passenger equipment

I put together several brochures about our operation - one for each of the two out and back trips we do, one for kids, and one for railfans.  They don't last long in the rack.  The fan version has info on all of our locos as well as some operations notes.  The two trip versions give landmarks and limited history.

We try to narrate the trips, but if we can't get to it (short crew, etc) they sure come in handy.

Great minds think alike!

[CShaveRR]

Nice shot and play-by-play, Bob (and Barbara!). Funny--the open-air car didn't look too well patronized.

We'll get out there sometime, post retirement, when we visit some of the states we've so far missed.

My weather bug showed a high temperature of 97 here today, with a heat index of about 103. Pat and I have deferred the yard work, and are fanning ourselves indoors (we'll sleep in /c tonight). Still over 90. There's a line of storms over Iowa now, which might hit us, or might go south--post-bedtime. Even if we get the rain, it's only likely to make things steamy tomorrow.

[spokyone]

I know you grandkids had fun. Barbara & I ride it every year in September. Here is a video I shot with my little point & shoot Canon. Barbara did the unrehearsed play by play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SC1lu-f3Y8&feature=channel_page

[CShaveRR]

That is an interesting-looking beast there, Bob! Almost makes me wonder if you could m.u. a bunch of them and...never mind!

My grandchildren made me jealous today. While they were on their trip to the Dakotas, they rode the Black Hills Central Railroad. It might be "just" a tourist operation, but they put out an extremely informative booklet on the line's history, including that of all of their locomotives and passenger equipment. Katelyn presented me with that booklet and a big hug today.

[spokyone]

I had always thought coal trucks were made by Komatsu, like the ore trucks we see on the History Channel. This is in North Dakota somewhere. The photographer has forgotten which mine. Any ideas?

 

[CNW 6000]

Modelcar

TimChgo9

http://www.eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=1151603

Beautiful silhouette train / signal bridge photo....crisp and clear....

+1 on that Tim.  Nice shots in that album.

[Modelcar]

TimChgo9

http://www.eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=1151603

Beautiful silhouette train / signal bridge photo....crisp and clear....

[CShaveRR]

Thanks to the folks at the Diner, I'm reminded that today is (also) Joe Kohnen's birthday. Hope you're keeping cool over there, joe, and devouring the chocolate whatever before it melts! I know a guy who might be able to steer you toward some good train-watching sites--he's about eight years old...

[CShaveRR]

Nice shot, Tim! I'm usually under the BNSF in that area when I go there.

[TimChgo9]

For some reason, I can't get photos to post on here now, so here is a link to one of my latest.....

http://www.eyefetch.com/image.aspx?ID=1151603

[AgentKid]

CNW 6000

Or he simply could have taken his grapple (if so equipped) and yanked it (via nice, expensive rims) out into an easy to access spot.

I like your thinking!

It might have been the only justice these guys see. The reason I mentioned that there was so little discussion during the arrest relates to what a local newspaper columnist had to say about how the justice system is working lately. These guys couldn't seem to wait for the arrest process to be over so they could get bail and get back to their "job". The columnist said it's like they open the back door of the Crown Vic themselves and say "Let's go!"

AgentKid

 

[CShaveRR]

Deggesty

CShaveRR

(For example, we block cars for Selkirk--I happen to know what Selkirk is, and where it is, and what traffic should be routed through it from here, but a lot of my co-workers don't have a clue to any of that, and some don't even know what "SELK" on the hump list stands for!)

Carl, could these co-workers of yours handle anything like a mule leg that is hanging out a car? Or does a loose or missing slat bring them to a standstill? I'm sure that they are good in what they are paid to do, else they would not still be working.

Johnny

Let's put it this way: these guys look good, but there's a reason. Two of the most frequently-heard words on the speakers are "Thanks, Carl!" Don't know about the slat or the mule leg, but nobody else knew what the Schnabel car was when it showed up in a hump shove, or what (not) to do with it!

[CNW 6000]

AgentKid

If only he had known the bad guys came in from the west, he could have simply replicated their route into the lot in reverse, instead of towing the car out going east. And as per usual in a thing like this, a couple of drunks wandered over from the bar across the road and wanted to know what was going on. The tow truck driver said he was taking away a drug dealers car.

Or he simply could have taken his grapple (if so equipped) and yanked it (via nice, expensive rims) out into an easy to access spot.

[AgentKid]

Had a bit of excitement right outside my living room window last night. I live in a second storey apartment and not 25 feet away from my place, in the building parking lot the police arrested some bad guys driving a beautiful white Nissan 350Z. The bad guys seem to be driving nicer cars than the law abiding citizens, that was one pretty car. Fortunately, there was no gun play and surprisingly little discussion.

They took these guys away and a tow truck arrived right away to take the car away. Now that was interesting to watch. It seems when one is pulled over by the police one doesn't take care to make sure the car is parked correctly between the white lines. So the car was stopped with the front left tire in a dip where the storm drain is. Those cars seem to ride about a 1/3 of an inch above the ground as it is, and watching the tow truck driver try to get the bar under the car to hold the little dolly wheels on was something. Then because the dolly wheels are wider than the car he had to try get the car and the dolly wheels past a power pole at the edge of the lot. I thought at the time this whole thing would have made a good exam test for tow truck driver school. If only he had known the bad guys came in from the west, he could have simply replicated their route into the lot in reverse, instead of towing the car out going east. And as per usual in a thing like this, a couple of drunks wandered over from the bar across the road and wanted to know what was going on. The tow truck driver said he was taking away a drug dealers car.

All in all it was more interesting than the TV show I was half watching at the time.

AgentKid

 

[CShaveRR]

Happy Father's Day, to all to whom that pertains (all you need do is have been a father, or have had a father).

I'm happy to say that I was able to be a father to my two girls. They survived, too. I hope to see one of them, and her kids, today. But I might get stuck working twelve hours, from the looks of things. We shall see.

[CShaveRR]

We were lucky--just a couple of large branches down in our back yard. The cemetery up the street has an entire tree toppled. We had three-quarters of an inch of rain in the evening storm--little more than the bottom of the gauge was covered from the storm that knocked O'Hare for a ground loop (that was a spectacular thing to watch pass north of the yard--while I was watching another one came up from the southwest and soaked us--no kidding!).

On the way to work we encountered a couple of dark traffic lights. In the yard, we encountered Hulcher...

Guess that's slightly better than what that CN crew encountered.

[bubbajustin]

Morning all!

4 trash barrels in our yard this mornig. Will need to go out there and place for sale sighns on them... Also lots of shigles from other neibghors houses in our yard to pick up. That stinks. I will just throw them in my nebighors yard and say it was the wind. Well, now on to more serious issues. Oh Dad just got home from work, and he says the rivers are way out of their banks.

Going to be another scorcher today. Be safe,

Justin