? !!!!!

[Mookie]

You know - we have had 172 readers on silly postings like Mookie grows a new leg, so it occurs to me (duh) that we have a few people out there that we never hear from.

My thinking is that if they can operate a puter to get to this forum, they can type - sorta....

So I was wondering if there are some people out there that maybe have a question that they haven't seen yet and would they post it? If you don't want to start a topic, then post a question in answer to this one. Or if no question, maybe a comment - keep it clean!

Would like to see some new names in with the old ones and if you care to - where you live - either city or state or at least the section of the country. [:X]

Mook

[edblysard]

Yeah, it does seem like the same group of people, not to many new "faces" in quite a while...not that the current group is no fun, or stale...
Well, maybe Kevin is getting stale, but if Christa would just put him back in the wrapper when she's done with him...[:D]

Ed

[Anonymous]

Mook and Ed,

I have been online here for a few years and when a question comes up I ask it and the readers out here have helped me - like I recently bought a digital camera which is great but i am now seeing the trains through the view-finder, and not really enjoying the experience as much - how to get a balance??? I didn't get 20 replies but I did 5 or 6 and some of them helped me (I hope) to get this balance.

Some replies I make I add questions to them but to this date, that has never worked as no one as ever replied - like where are the main Data Centers for the Railroads and is being age 50 too old to think about entering this field.

******************************************************

My name is Bill and I'm from Worcester, MA (about 40 miles west of Boston) on the old Boston and Maine line (now CSX's mainline), with Providence and Worcester RR headquartered here, and a spur line to the Guilford system. I go to Ontario, Canada 5-6 times per year to watch trains (CP/CN).

I just don't like to post a topic that I don't think will have much appeal to the masses.

Since you have posted many times, is there a way to post pictures? recently a work train was in Worcester that had a CSX caboose on it. I got pictures of it, but it really was all beat up (sad). Another post showed a nice looking caboose in Georgia. I wanted to reply and show the extreme but couldn't figure out how to post my picture. Can it be done?

I like reading your 'leg' stuff. It is nice to see the cameraderie between people.

Bill (ww)

[Anonymous]

No wander why the dogs wont stop barking.
Because the woman won't stop talking.........my cousin that is.

[JoeKoh]

Mookie matt is getting his letters down I'll see if we can teach him totype too
stay safe
jOE

[Big_Boy_4005]

You never know what topic will bring people out of the woodwork.

Over on the MR forum, one of the guys I know from the Classic Toy Trains forum posted a topic about Z scale. I was the first one to jump on it and made a comment about how Z wasn't a scale for serious modeling. A dozen guys showed up to tell me off!!! Some had been regiseterd for a long time but only had a couple of posts, and some just joined out of spite.

We'll take fresh blood where ever we can find it.[swg]

[edblysard]

Hi Bill,
Dont know for sure if 50 is "too old", they hired me at 38.
I would imagine baring physical defects, you have a shot at it, go to whatever railroad you were interested in, and check their website, most allow you to apply online.
I can tell you that where I work, the PTRA, the average age is 55, so...

As for posting pictures, yes you can.
On the format bar that shows up when you post a reply is a link, 11 buttons from the left,( or four from the right) that will insert a photo, but the catch is the photo had to be on a website with a url address. I will ask Nora, another frquent poster, how she does it.

You will find that most of us here are just shy of being goofy full time, and dont mind people asking questions that are outside the norm...sorta like talking to old friends in a way.

Ed[:p]

[M636C]

Mookie,

(And any interested others)

An average topic seems to get ten visits for every posting, give or take a few percent.

What does this mean? Does only one person in ten make a posting, or does the system count your automatic return to the topic after posting, so it is one in nine. Do posters check back to see new comments without making a new posting, which would bring it back to one in five or six?

However, you can tell topics that few people are interested in, if the viewers are a lot less than ten per posting, as was the case for the topic on car identification outside North America. The last three words halved the number of viewings!

Of course, the forum can be viewed by people not logged in, who by definition can't make a posting, but I can't determine how big that group is. When viewing at work, I often view without logging in, because it speeds up the very slow loading of pages (much slower than the usual dial up because of the extensive security precautions - I work for the Australian Defence Department!).

Peter

[fuzzybroken]

Peter, what kind of people do you de-fence? Man, that Australia sure is a crazy place!!! [:o)]

I'm sure a few of you have seen it, but for those of you who haven't, check out my website:
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
I've got train pictures, links to railroad-related subjects, and a page with information on biking the many rail-trails and other trails here in southeastern Wisconsin.

(This seemed like a good topic ? !!!!! to put this under [;)])

Enjoy!
-Mark Hintz
Milwaukee, WI

[Anonymous]

I tend to me more of a lurker.

I really only post when I really feel like I have something to add to the conversation.

[Anonymous]

fuzzybroken--

hah. ya misunderstand. He fixes de fence. As we say in TX, he be a war-man (Say it slow, and if that doesn't work, Ed'll splain it to you).

Sorry Peter, couldn't resist.

Back to the real world:

By the way, guys and Mookie, drove (ugh!) TX to LA last week on I10 (what a drag) but all the current tales re the UP seem to be true--train after train stuffed in sidings on the Sunset Route with no place to go. Some w/o power--clearly robbed to get some others over the road, and a lot of foreign power. 7 in a row EB in NM literally on each others markers but nothing else was really moving. Clearly they were fleeting them but it wasn't really working well. Same for Beaumont Pass, where the EB's were all stacked up on both main tracks end to end literally going nowhere, with a clear track all the way at least as far as Indio. I can't see how they're keeping their accounts happy at that rate. Word off the competition via my staff's connections is that they low-balled everything to get the business, got it, and are now paying the piper. The good news is that there were lots of signal crews out there setting up new eqpt.

For those of you who go both ways (!?), walked into T5 @ LAX Sun AM to get the 11:50 DFW home and, lo and behold, they had a little exhibit and a bunch of balloons @ gate 50 so dropped by to see what was going on--got accosted by a flight attendant serving some great cake (DL 75th birthday) who allowed I should drop by the window as they had the DC3 (DL ship 41-the real thing) out and were flying it around every hour. For those of you not of that other persuasion, this is original eqpt, restored to the extent that it won the first National Trust for Historic Preservation award ever given to an airplane. Absolutely beautiful restoration--looks like it came right off the factory floor--and it flies! The FA had been out on it and told me they had the seats covered w/ plastic and you were given cloth slippers if you went on board to avoid carpet damage. Sort of like the 3985 with wings and props. Face it guys and Mookie, this is almost as good as a steam locomotive, but not quite. FYI, they are reenacting the 1st commercial DL flight with the DC3 and I think a 1926 TravelAir (another real relic) from DFW to ATL via Tyler, Shreveport, Monroe, Jackson on 6-17 and 6-18. If you can't see a vintage train those days and you're in the area, this one is definitely worth a look. For more on the tour go to www.deltamuseum.org

Back to RR's. My sources tell me a certain work train crew decided they had been in the hole too long so they went ahead and took the main w/o authorization. Crunch! Don't know if true or not as I don't think NTSB is done and, besides, the RR runs on rumors.

Back to the salt mines..........

[tree68]

I often check a topic of interest repeatedly, if only to see what everyone is saying about it. I may not have anything to add, but am always eager to learn. Of course, the same applies to something I have posted to, especially if I anticipate a reaction or a reply.

I frequently see usernames listed as browsing the forum, but that don't often (if ever) show up in threads.

[edblysard]

Heard they were 8.5 mile past their authorization.
Humm....
Rumor only, from our train master, who used to work that sub...
Ed

[Anonymous]

Hey Ed, what's a little matter of a piddly 8.5 miles among friends, anyway?? Whoops!

[edblysard]

Exactly....

Ed

[Puckdropper]

I read more posts than I post in... Why? A Biblical proverb: It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth (or in this case, type) and remove all doubt.

[M636C]

Guys,

I just work here, I didn't name the organisation, and if you use the American spelling of "defense" on an e-mail it won't arrive (although, some of them with the correct address get caught up in the firewall anyway and are never seen again).

drephpe,

One past advantage of my employment was that I got to go to the big air shows at Avalon, Victoria, every odd numbered year. There usually was quite a bit of work involved, but if you were able to stay on to the public displays, Qantas and Ansett used to appear with restored DC-3s, and there was a really nice Lockeed Model 10(?) Electra about as well. I probably won't get paid to go there again, sadly.

One of my aunts (now sadly deceased) was a journalist, and she apparently flew on the inaugural Douglas Sleeper Transport service from New York to Los Angeles. Apparently this flight was forced down somewhere in Kansas by bad weather. She described the scene as the VIPs in their night wear were taken to a hotel while the local population looked on in complete astonishment!

But back to railroads: a few years ago I came across the former Commonwealth Railways GM-10, a sort of F-7 with A1A trucks and a pressurised air system to keep dust out. It had just been overhauled for operation with a private operator, Great Northern. I climbed into the cab and it looked like 1952! All the equipment was either freshly painted, properly cut back, like new, or in black crinkle finish as EMD used on equipment at the time. They had even provided a replica builder's plate on the door to the nose! It would have won a prize for museum restoration, but it was just going back into service!

I hope the connection is clear with these otherwise random thoughts!

Peter

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M636C

Mookie,

(And any interested others)

An average topic seems to get ten visits for every posting, give or take a few percent.

What does this mean? Does only one person in ten make a posting, or does the system count your automatic return to the topic after posting, so it is one in nine. Do posters check back to see new comments without making a new posting, which would bring it back to one in five or six?

However, you can tell topics that few people are interested in, if the viewers are a lot less than ten per posting, as was the case for the topic on car identification outside North America. The last three words halved the number of viewings!

Of course, the forum can be viewed by people not logged in, who by definition can't make a posting, but I can't determine how big that group is. When viewing at work, I often view without logging in, because it speeds up the very slow loading of pages (much slower than the usual dial up because of the extensive security precautions - I work for the Australian Defence Department!).

Peter

Peter - being irreverant that I am....I was half way through reading your posting and came to the conclusion no one reads postings except the author! Then that sent me into fits of giggles and well, I am ready for the rest of the day! [:D]

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by fuzzybroken

Peter, what kind of people do you de-fence? Man, that Australia sure is a crazy place!!! [:o)]

I'm sure a few of you have seen it, but for those of you who haven't, check out my website:
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
I've got train pictures, links to railroad-related subjects, and a page with information on biking the many rail-trails and other trails here in southeastern Wisconsin.

(This seemed like a good topic ? !!!!! to put this under [;)])

Enjoy!
-Mark Hintz
Milwaukee, WI

I never did get an answer to what a fuzzybroken is - but it still sounds like something a cat should play with......

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Puckdropper

I read more posts than I post in... Why? A Biblical proverb: It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth (or in this case, type) and remove all doubt.

Mookie has never learned that, but she has definitely incited a lot of conversations because she hasn't. And if you are writing to a cat - who is the fool?[:o)]

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

I tend to me more of a lurker.

I really only post when I really feel like I have something to add to the conversation.

Almost said the world needs more lurkers, but then remembered it is Be Alert - the world needs more lerts! [B)]

[Puckdropper]

QUOTE: Mookie has never learned that, but she has definitely incited a lot of conversations because she hasn't. And if you are writing to a cat - who is the fool?

The cat is, for wasting his/her talent on reading such posts! Think of the cat food endorsements they could get if they'd just show they could read! No more of that dry stuff, it's pure cooked turkey, meat loaf, fish (our cats don't like sushi), etc... ;-)

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Puckdropper

QUOTE: Mookie has never learned that, but she has definitely incited a lot of conversations because she hasn't. And if you are writing to a cat - who is the fool?

The cat is, for wasting his/her talent on reading such posts! Think of the cat food endorsements they could get if they'd just show they could read! No more of that dry stuff, it's pure cooked turkey, meat loaf, fish (our cats don't like sushi), etc... ;-)

To quote a wise chicken - "the boy, ah say, the boy has a point theyah"!!

[:D]

[fuzzybroken]

Ok, here's a good question. I spotted an ex-SP GP38-2 in Milwaukee today, and I'm wondering how many GP38-2s SP had? (number was either UP 371 or 571, don't remember right now...) Anybody got the heritage on this unit?

Thanks,
-Mark
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken

[Anonymous]

MOOKIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we having withdrals from not enough chocolate cake or are we just cranky !!!!!!!!!![soapbox][:-^][:-^][dinner]

THE QUEEN OF THE FORUM HAS SPOKEN [bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow] LOL

[Junctionfan]

I saw a CN train not that long ago coming back from the club. It had a CN unit, IC unit and CSX unit hauling mostly autos and srap metal. It's rare to see CSX moving around where I live since most of the foreign power we see is only NS stuff. 4 days ago on a CN train there was a Buffalo and Pittsburgh unit as well as an Alleghaney unit-don't know how they originally got on the Toronto to Buffalo train.

[pimpz26]

I've been watching this board for close to a year, and I like what I see. I'll post when I fell my $.02 is needed, other wise I just sit back and watch things happen. I like to take in as much of the info flying around as I can. I am learning soo much from you guys. Keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

I am posting more and more as I go along...right now I am still jsut learning the lingo and the different personalities and characters that inhabit this forum. I'm sure that once I know half as much as some people here I will be contributing much more. But until that day comes I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drailed1999

MOOKIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we having withdrals from not enough chocolate cake or are we just cranky !!!!!!!!!![soapbox][:-^][:-^][dinner]

THE QUEEN OF THE FORUM HAS SPOKEN [bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow] LOL

Marty - glad you are still checking in on us!

Did you notice we gained some new "reporters"? Now I have to go find the old ones and get them back on here! It's a busy, busy, busy job, but someone has to do it!

Mook

[Modelcar]

pimpz26.....Wonder how many relate the z26 to something on here....Have had many Chevy's over the years and one of them was a GT of the kind in your pics.....10 years without any decline in performance...Did require a one time replacement of the computer brain and it was salty. Even the A/C did not need topping off.....