cudaken ?
?
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 hate Rust
Chris: Find a way to slide over to Grant, NE on the way "north"
US-6 east out of Sterling to Holyoke ; North on US-385 about 1/2 mile to just north of the trax; then east on CO/NE 23 to Grant ....You can go north on NE-61 to Ogalalla(I-80) or continue east on 23 to US-83 North into N.Platte
Chris - etch my name somewhere in North Platte and tell them I will be there to read it in May!
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
CShaveRRFurther north...like, maybe, Cheyenne?
That's what I was thinking, yes. And then east to, let's say...North Platte?
On a serious note, your friend's wife and his family will be in my prayers.
-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
CShaveRR The TV channels were talking about the fire and police heroes in Westmont, Illinois, that pulled a couple of victims out of a retention pond that their car had gone into. The emphasis of the story was on the two heroes, and rightly so.
....This type of story is so wide spread and so often....Just a few days ago, in our Indianapolis area, a Mustang was pulled out of a side of the road pond and it also included a fatality.
Why oh why isn't there regulations regarding these {retention ponds near streets in additions, as well as ponds near highways}....stating a guardrail structure must be in place on the side that faces the street or highway....!!
Quentin
I like the shot, too, Dan! There's nothing like finding one's old stomping grounds and figuring out what has changed. It's why I stop at Eola every time I'm back in Aurora!
CNs train #340 had a UDE yesterday. Hearing some of the comments from motorists at crossings "The d@#$ railroad only does this to tick off the City and show that they don't care!" was pretty amazing. Once I explained to them what actualy was going on and that the conductor had a very long walk ahead of him...they were like "Oh, that sucks for him" and calmed down. Turned out that the gladhands not far from the rear of the train got knocked apart - easy fix. The crew was pretty nice...
It's "Friday" for me today. I will definately be out 'fanning over the next 6 days. I'd actually like to go see the diamonds at Duplainville if I get the chance as I've never been there. A trip to Rochelle would be awesome...but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
I'm taking Aedan to the hunting grounds for the first time (it'll be in the 70s) carrying on the tradition my father started with me. He took me there when I was about Aedan's age for my first visit. It'll be interesting to see how he does. The little squirt is trying so hard to stand up and take itty bitty steps...pretty amazing process to watch.
One of my most recent shots from trackside is below. I used to railfan here as a kid. Of course...things were different then. Trees were barely big enough for shade, CNW ran the rails, and there was a siding! Still...I like the shot.
Dan
Good Morning!
I don't have a whole lot to report from this weekend. However, next weekend looks to be a good one. While I'm still on 4 day work weeks and disliking it, it'll be nice to have this Friday off. There's something big happening a bit further north.
Carl, how nice of you to have stopped in Burlington, sadly, I was not home at the time, I live in that apartment complex that is just down from the Charcoal Grill. We have an apartment on the river side, which does not bother us at all.
Have noticed traffic is up a bit, both rail and road. Was at MillerCoors in Eden, NC, a while ago, and saw that two of the three rail loading dock tracks had been turned into more warehouse space, not sure if that's a good sign or not for either rail or truck shipping (like the business, but four or five trailer loads fit into one boxcar).
Scary to think what would happen if UP ever decided to completely rebuild Proviso......
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
Hearing these work week / days off changes seems to really be stiring the work week pot. I wonder if this might brighten the thoughts of Carl and his upcoming ?? retirement.
What is fostering all these changes....?
BC - weren't you on T-W days off a few years back? Seems like you were T-W and Houston Ed was R-F when I started on the forum.
Driver has to work a Sat about the 2nd week in April (his last weekend) and it about kills both of us. It is 6 on, 1 off and then 5 on. Not enough time to recover. They are going to miss him, too!
CShaveRR But the brightness is relative. Sunday used to be the end of my work week. But they changed our days off, so we all have to come in and do it again tomorrow before taking our weekend.
CShaveRRSunday used to be the end of my work week. But they changed our days off, so we all have to come in and do it again tomorrow before taking our weekend.
blue streak 1Carl: You may not want to answer these questions. 1. Is this normal for all humps? I can't speak for any other hump yard. I'd like to say not, but I'm sure that they all have their own dirty little secrets. 2. How old are the retarders? Not very. They are replaced every few years, especially the intermediate retarders (such as the one in my latest comments), which see the most use. 3. Is a bad design? They were better when they had electric motors, but those were "enhanced" with hydraulics a while back, possibly to reduce energy use. The hydraulic motors present their own problems, and seem to have a built-in delay. And believe me, those couple of seconds could make a precious amount of difference at times! 4. Is PM not scheduled enough? Ah, now we may be getting somewhere! The Signal Department here seems to be understaffed, and it's often hard to get a maintainer quickly. I think they do a good job within the constraints they have, but we have to hump, and they take an amazing beating. I think the problems got worse when the gross rail load was increased to 286K from 263K--I can still handle the cars, but we never used to bend and break as many shoes as we do now. 5. Best of all what would you do different in design if you had your way? Redesign isn't my thing--I'm a master at making do. I'm sure that the entire hump would have to be redesigned for things to change.
Carl: You may not want to answer these questions.
1. Is this normal for all humps?
2. How old are the retarders?
3. Is a bad design?
4. Is PM not scheduled enough?
5. Best of all what would you do different in design if you had your way?
Carl: Youmay not want to answer these questions.
Paul_D_North_Jr Carl's employer is really missing a learning and teaching opportunity by not doing something to preserve and pass on that institutional knowledge - another example of the ''10,000 hour principle'', you know. - Paul North.
Carl's employer is really missing a learning and teaching opportunity by not doing something to preserve and pass on that institutional knowledge - another example of the ''10,000 hour principle'', you know.
- Paul North.
Johnny
According to my 1993 edition of the Burlington Northern "Northern Corridor" ETT, the lunar signal could have many meanings, sometimes in conjunction with other heads. It could be used for an "Approach Restricting", "Restricting Proceed", "Take Siding", "Spring Switch Indicator", "Failed Equipment Indicator" and "Slide Fence Indicator", depending, too, on whether it was flashing, or not. In the latter case, the flashing lunar was a good sign! We still have one in daily use, here in Shelby, MT (BNSF)governing movements onto the Great Falls Sub.. I'm sure the signals, using lunar, vary by railroad. I never saw one on the New York Central or New Haven, but....
Hays
Bruce,
That CP unit was probably a CEFX leaser. A 'reliable source' I have on CP tells me that those units are pretty prevalent in certain subs lately.______________________________________________________Jim,
Thanks for the info. I will have to check with some sources I have. Maybe they can give me some insight.______________________________________________________CN has been pretty busy today. Seems like my timing has been off a bit (for pics) but I've seen 12 through trains today plus 3 or 4 locals. Makes up for a quiet Tuesday (yesterday). I also can't believe that 1Q 2010 is almost over. A week from today we'll open up Trackside Lounge: 2Q 2010.
Just a few random thoughts.
My train watching record is intact for the third day in a row, on Monday, although I did have to fudge it a bit while I was killing time between a doctor appointment and meeting a friend for lunch downtown. It was a double stacker, and boy he didn't sound good. There were two GE AC units, the lead one CP and the second a blue and white leaser. I wasn't close enough to get reporting marks or numbers. Oddly enough it was the CP unit that didn't sound good at all. If it was a car you would say it was not firing on one cylinder but I don't know what would cause that sound in a diesel engine. The oldest of these GE's were purchased in 1995 so I guess you could expect trouble in a fifteen year old unit. He was just above idling through downtown toward the signal at Sunalta where he stopped to wait for a green signal to leave town. When he got the green I don't know if the rough running smoothed out, or did he die before he got to TrainBoy H16-44's posted location! 7.3 miles down the track!
The next thing I will mention is the Ford Women's World Curling Championship from Swift Current, SK. There have been some really pretty shots of grain and stack trains around the yard and elevator. I think they are called mood shots that they use at the end of commercial breaks before they get back to the action. If you have access to TSN on satellite or whatever, the pictures are worth checking out. There would be nothing to differentiate Swift Current from the "two elevator" villages on either side of it, except it has been a CPR crew change point since the beginning, and is now a city of 16,000.
Finally a follow up to a post Carl made back on the 12th.
I forgot to mention that we were out with our daughter and all three grandkids for a trip into Chicago on Monday (by mom-mobile, not by train). I had to be in the far back of the van, sharing the seat with Katelyn, age 5. I mentioned to her that sometime when the weather was good, I'd like to take her down to the tracks somewhere and look for trains. You should have seen her eyes light up! She actually remembered the time over a year ago that we walked across the street from the restaurant in Downers Grove (2Toots), and stood trackside for about five minutes. She remembered that I showed her the signals. But we didn't see trains then...whenever we do it again, we hope to change that!
When Carl talks about his granddaughter I think of an incident with my father. My sister wasn't born until after we left the station in Irricana, AB, so she never had that experience. When she was 13 or 14 my parents took her to Disneyland. They were heading toward Frontierland when they could hear the clicking of the telegraph in the Frontierland Station. My sister had never heard that sound before. It was a repeating message that said something like "Welcome to Disneyland, blah, blah,..." Years later, after my Dad got sick, he said watching her watching him copy that message was one of the best days of his life.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
CNW 6000Jim-I know I hear dynamics all the time...so that's pretty likely. What's "power braking"?
"Power braking" is the term used for when an engineer uses small reductions in air brake pressure to control the speed of a train, instead of using the locomotive's dynamic braking.
During power braking, the locomotives stay in power mode (usually 6th notch and above) with the engineer continually bailing off the locomtive air brakes. Power braking is used to keep the slack stretched, as opposed to dynamic braking which entails all the slack to be bunched.
If the track profile is such that the constant adjustment of slack would be dangerous, it is better to just keep the train stretched as tight as possible.
"Hogbacks" are the worst, due to the fact that with a lengthy train you might have your train going both up and down numerous hills at the same time. Without keeping the train slack completely stretched (or bunched), a block of cars on a uphill or downhill portion of the hogback will sometimes acquire a 'group mentality' and behave as one unit; and if this 'unit' decides to run in or out at the wrong time, knuckles and/or drawbar failures are likely. Of course, if the majority of the track profile is hogbacks, (like it seems the CN in Wisconsin is), then there isn't too much you can do, as one cannot run the train constantly with the brakes applied.
The downsides to power braking are that it wastes fuel, and you risk activation of 'dynamiters' (cars with defective air control valves that cause an emergency application of the air brakes when any reduction of air occurs). And of course if you do it too often, you risk depleting your air braking capability.
CShaveRROne thing that's missing from this truck is the brake beams and brake shoes. I wouldn't be surprised if the brass bearings that supported the truck frame over the axles are also missing (we had people at work who got busted for stealing those for their scrap value).
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