Trackside Lounge: 1Q 2010 Edition

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Carl -

The good news is, I found my photos of that C&O truck - and took some more on my way into the office this morning, before it started raining.

The bad news is - as you'll see in a moment - my memory from 2-1/2 years ago seems to be pretty poor, and I'm imagining things, it seems - no leaf springs in it, and no ''Huntington'' cast on the sideframes.  I have no idea what I've been thinking since back then . . .  

 

Although, the spring arrangement looks a little unusual to me, with those plates on the bottom, and what I supposed is called a 'spring plank' under and parallel to the truck bolster.  Also, the journal sizes are supposed to be 5-1/2'' x 10'' - is that a caboose or freight car size ?  (Oh yeah - ignore the stuff above the top of the bolster level in this photo, and maybe a few other places, too.  It seems that as part of the 'artistic license', the fabricator of this sculpture welded on a coupler shank turned sideways up there, as well as some kind of cylinder on top of the center plate, and a few other abstract added-on pieces.)

Whatever kind of truck this is, it presents a unique opportunity to view and illustrate view and dissect its various parts.  So maybe once we've confirmed that, I'll start a new thread and post some detail photos and we can get expert comments on what's being shown, what iot does, and whether it's still in use or not, etc.

- Paul North. 

[CNW 6000]

Jim-
I know I hear dynamics all the time...so that's pretty likely.  What's "power braking"?

CShaveRR

Dan, it might take a lot of experience to determine loads according to the car type. You have to know a bit about the geography--paper products probably go south in the box cars, kaolin comes north (to coat the paper) in small tank cars, or possibly covered hoppers. If you see the flat cars with lumber on them, it's probably coming from northwestern Canada. Covered hopper cars of smaller capacity (up to 4750 these days) probably have potash in them, from Saskatchewan. Tank cars from Canada: sulfur (sorry...sulphur!) in small ones, lp gas in the great big ones. Tank cars are more specific in what they carry, so you won't see, for example, tank cars carrying Kaolin north and sulfur south.

 

That makes sense for the majority of what I see.  Thanks Carl.  I will begin to keep a sharper eye out.

[CShaveRR]

Trip report:

As mentioned in the thread about the restaurant/tavern with a view, Pat and I decided that our day could be kept clear enough for us to take a day trip up that way, and possibly see some of those long CN freights that Dan keeps mentioning. We were looking forward to eating at that Marina, but it was closed. There were no signs on the entrances to suggest its hours (we'd gotten there between 11:00 and noon or whether it was closed on Mondays). With a controlled siding in the area, it was possible to see how two trains could be seen so quickly on this single-track line.

We decided to follow the tracks (more or less) up to Burlington. In the downtown area we took a turn toward the tracks--sort of a reflex action whenever lowering crossing gates are seen!) A southbound CN train went through--I don't think it was one of those 800-axle jobs, but it was decent-sized. Lots of box cars and potash covered hoppers. When the train cleared, we saw the Charcoal House just over the tracks! As we were finishing our meal, a northbound train came through--about the same mix of cars and roughly the same size. The view toward the track wasn't the greatest, but it was still good enough to see car numbers. Outside the other window was a patio for outdoor dining in the season, overlooking a river-walk and the White River. They had a Monday special--buy a burger and get one free: Pat and I each had different burgers (these were big things--probably half-pound; Pat's was a turkey-burger), and we got out of there for under twenty bucks, including a tip based on the higher price. I think this place more suited us than the restaurant at Silver Lake would have.

We then went to Elkhorn to visit a quilt shop, and decided to continue west to Beloit, where we found another quilt store in the downtown. From there, we decided to head down to Rockford, then Rochelle, before heading home. Would you believe that we discovered a freshly-opened Dog-'N'-Suds in Rockford? It was the wrong time for a dog, but we had to stop in for a drink!

We got to Rochelle just after the house/gift shop had closed (4:00). But we stayed at the park for a little while, and caught two trains while sitting there (one UP in each direction). The diamond was UP's the whole time we were there--as soon as the first westbound cleared the diamond itself there was a lunar-white signal for the next one. A BNSF train was being held east (south) of town for all of this.

The park now includes an informative kiosk for the Lincoln Highway. Would you believe that this, the first major "rock road" across the country, was initiated by the Federal government in the 19-teens with incentive money, and the road was named the Lincoln Highway to get the votes? Some things never change...and why on earth do people think that this is such a radical idea when applied to high-speed rail?

Anyway, the next westbound came through as we were headed out, and on the way home we encountered three more westbound moves. Then, after DeKalb, everything was eastbound and stopped (presumably due to the rush-hour curfew). The one eastbound we had seen at Rochelle was just outside DeKalb, and there were three more eastbounds sitting between there and Elburn--and a coal train sitting at LaFox on the triple-track. We stopped to do some shopping in Geneva, and were caught by an eastbound stack train east of there (it may have been part of the backup we'd seen earlier). We also saw three scoots on the trip, east of Elburn.

If spontaneous trips like this are among the possibilities when I'm not tied to a work schedule, that retirement gig might not be so bad after all!

[blhanel]

CShaveRR

The diamond was UP's the whole time we were there--as soon as the first westbound cleared the diamond itself there was a lunar-white signal for the next one. A BNSF train was being held east (south) of town for all of this.

Carl, this has me somewhat confused- I thought that the Rochelle diamond interlocking was totally automatic; as such, if the BNSF train had been waiting, he should've gotten preference over the second UP westbound, unless there's a wrinkle in the controlling software that gives preference to UP in some situations?

[Mookie]

Owner's rights? 

[CShaveRR]

It is automatic, Brian, and I suspect that it was just lucky that the UP dispatcher got this chance. After the first westbound train cleared, I saw the lunar light, but before the following westbound (all empty well cars, by the way), an eastbound manifest came through. He probably got the green while the westbound was going through--after the westbound had gotten the green, at any rate. And so forth. That lunar signal, however, has to be given (or at least encouraged--by the UP dispatcher. Perhaps someone with more dispatching experience (wake up, RWM!) can chime in here. All I think of when I see a lunar signal at a control point is, boy, how I love a parade!

I don't think it would be practical to treat an automatic interlocking like a four-way stop. I'm sure that as soon as UP's fleeting possibilities evaporated, that BNSF train got a signal. By the way, they were holding him clear back by the BNSF's yard--something made possible by the fact that the grade crossing south of that yard is in the process of being replaced with an overpass (had the crossing still been opened, it would have been blocked).

[CopCarSS]

Dumb question time. What's a lunar signal?

[blhanel]

CShaveRR

It is automatic, Brian, and I suspect that it was just lucky that the UP dispatcher got this chance. After the first westbound train cleared, I saw the lunar light, but before the following westbound (all empty well cars, by the way), an eastbound manifest came through. He probably got the green while the westbound was going through--after the westbound had gotten the green, at any rate. And so forth. That lunar signal, however, has to be given (or at least encouraged--by the UP dispatcher. Perhaps someone with more dispatching experience (wake up, RWM!) can chime in here. All I think of when I see a lunar signal at a control point is, boy, how I love a parade!

I don't think it would be practical to treat an automatic interlocking like a four-way stop. I'm sure that as soon as UP's fleeting possibilities evaporated, that BNSF train got a signal. By the way, they were holding him clear back by the BNSF's yard--something made possible by the fact that the grade crossing south of that yard is in the process of being replaced with an overpass (had the crossing still been opened, it would have been blocked).

Ahhhhh... the part of your story that didn't initially register was the presence of the eastbound coming through.  Makes sense now- might as well give opposite direction traffic the green as long as they've got the diamond tied up anyway.

Chris, I believe that lunar is just a white light from the signal, but I don't know what it means versus a green light.

EDIT:  BTW, I remember watching on one outing to Rochelle when a BNSF stacker proceeded westbound through the diamond only to be stopped at the next signal, which left the rear of his consist blocking the diamond for about 20 minutes.  It was obvious from the scanner traffic that UP was getting antsy, and just before the stacker got the green you could hear UP trains approaching from both directions.  The diamond finally cleared, and within a minute two sets of UP engines hit it at the same time from both directions.  I was impressed...

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

See this short  thread - 1 page, 13 brief posts, some from familiar characters here - RE: Lunar Signal from late April 2003 -

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/5071/29249.aspx 

And from Al Krug's generalized explanation of Railroad Signals at -

http://www.alkrug.vcn.com/rrfacts/signals/signals.htm  

 - so ''Your Signalage May Vary'': [emphasis added - PDN] 

"The 5th speed is Restricted speed. Restricted speed is defined differently by different railroads but the core element is that a train must be operated in such a manner that it can be stopped before it hits another train or anything else on the track. Restricted speed usually also has a maximum allowable speed associated with it. Maximum speeds for Restricted speed varies from 10 mph to 20 mph depending on the individual railroad. Restricted speed is shown by one of 3 methods. The first way is to use a Lunar colored light instead of a red light. Lunar color is a bluish white or a silverish white. If any one of the red lights in a 3 head signal is replaced by a Lunar light it changes that signal from a Stop to a Restricted signal."

- Paul North. 

[CShaveRR]

Paul_D_North_Jr

If any one of the red lights in a 3 head signal is replaced by a Lunar light it changes that signal from a Stop to a Restricted signal."

Any time a lunar white signal appears, it is a restricting signal. The westbound absolute signals at Rochelle have only two heads, so red-over-lunar is what I saw. That signal, by the way, changed to an Approach (yellow-over-red) before we left. The Restricting signal, in this case, had to be granted by the dispatcher to allow the following train to proceed into an occupied block. The approach signal just indicated that the preceding train had moved out of that block. For whatever reason, the dispatcher really wanted that second train to get through there.

Chris, a lunar-white signal is projected by a pale blue lens. With an incandescent light behind it, the light is as white as snow. A clear lens would project a white signal (used by some railroads for various reasons--actually an incandescent yellow).

[Modelcar]

CShaveRR

The park now includes an informative kiosk for the Lincoln Highway. Would you believe that this, the first major "rock road" across the country, was initiated by the Federal government in the 19-teens with incentive money, and the road was named the Lincoln Highway to get the votes? Some things never change...and why on earth do people think that this is such a radical idea when applied to high-speed rail?

 

Carl....Interesting day trip you described.  On the Lincoln Highway.....Just a bit of trivia:  The little home town of ours back in Pennsylvania had the Lincoln Highway {route 30}, as it's main street until 1938 when a 7 mi. bypass took it just outside of town.  And to this day, there remains one of the famous concrete Lincoln Highway markers still standing in that little town.  {Stoystown}.  I believe the Boy Scouts were involved in installing them back in the late 20's....And at the same time Dad decided to incorporate a new ESSO Station adjacent of the town, on the new stretch of highway....Our home property fronted the new highway right of way.

[CShaveRR]

Paul_D_North_Jr

Carl -

The good news is, I found my photos of that C&O truck - and took some more on my way into the office this morning, before it started raining.

The bad news is - as you'll see in a moment - my memory from 2-1/2 years ago seems to be pretty poor, and I'm imagining things, it seems - no leaf springs in it, and no ''Huntington'' cast on the sideframes.  I have no idea what I've been thinking since back then . . .  

 

Although, the spring arrangement looks a little unusual to me, with those plates on the bottom, and what I supposed is called a 'spring plank' under and parallel to the truck bolster.  Also, the journal sizes are supposed to be 5-1/2'' x 10'' - is that a caboose or freight car size ?  (Oh yeah - ignore the stuff above the top of the bolster level in this photo, and maybe a few other places, too.  It seems that as part of the 'artistic license', the fabricator of this sculpture welded on a coupler shank turned sideways up there, as well as some kind of cylinder on top of the center plate, and a few other abstract added-on pieces.)

Whatever kind of truck this is, it presents a unique opportunity to view and illustrate view and dissect its various parts.  So maybe once we've confirmed that, I'll start a new thread and post some detail photos and we can get expert comments on what's being shown, what iot does, and whether it's still in use or not, etc.

- Paul North. 

Finally getting back to you, Paul. Sorry for the delay.

The 5 1/2 x 10 journal is the size used on 50-ton freight cars. Cabooses usually rode on 30-ton trucks (4 1/4 X 8).

The springs look funny, but may have been normal for 50-ton cars. We're used to seeing heavier trucks, which may have as many as nine group of springs, each with one spring inside another.

One 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).

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

One 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).

I had noticed this, and thought it is well that the wheels ae chocked. Since you mention the brasses, the wheel on the left seems to be off-center horizontally, yet centered vertically, and the wheel on the right seems to be centered all the way around.  Am I right that if the brasses are missing, the wheels will be off-center vertically?

[zardoz]

CNW 6000

Jim-
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.

[CShaveRR]

Johnny, your theory that a journal sans brasses would be off-center vertically seems plausible enough, but I can't confirm, having never seen a car in that condition. I suspect that such a car wouldn't travel very far.

Brutal times ahead at work. Flooding (and flood anticipation) around the Twin Cities have disrupted a number of our lines into the area, so manifests are being adjusted to get the stuff into and out of the area any way possible. We've gotten a new block to build, at least one new daily manifest to the north, and are expecting several hundred additional cars per day. Today we started out with over 1000 cars to hump in the receiving yard (and also over 1000 in the bowl, so there wouldn't be many places to hump into). We did manage to get the count down to under 900, but not before it had gone over 1100 in mid-morning. I think our hump count was in the 600s.

The good news is that except for a four-to-eight-hour maintenance window every week, the hump is back to continuous operation, at least for the duration. For some reason, they found it necessary to change everyone's days off (first shift could have escaped the change, and it's slightly frustrating). Fortunately this won't cost me any earnings--the guy who relieved me today just got back from his weekend, and he'll be on another one starting tomorrow, apparently (unless he changes jobs--he gets a bump out of the deal).

[AgentKid]

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

 

[CNW 6000]

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.

[CShaveRR]

Interesting day today: not only did we have 1000+ cars in the receiving yard, but more trains were coming in, like streetcars (saw a CN train close on the marker of an IHB train first thing this morning, and later on had guests from NS and CP). The receiving-yard count had been increased by a serious wreck on and below one of "my" retarders yesterday evening. It took seven or eight hours to clean up. I looked at the report of the derailment, which said that a "broken brake shoe" in the retarder was the cause. It showed that two cars had derailed, and gave their numbers and contents.

That info was enough for me: when my relief came in, I told him which train he was humping, which hump lead he was working from, where the two cars had been destined, and the fact that the load had caught up to the empty, which the retarder didn't release quickly enough, possibly dislodging a retarder beam (not a "brake shoe"). He just stood there with his mouth open.

Boy, they're gonna miss me when I'm gone!

[BNSFwatcher]

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

[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. 

[Deggesty]

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. 

Perhaps Carl should be on call for a year, being paid a retainer fee? I imagine that his knowledge of dealing with surprise situations cannot be easily passed on in a classroom environment, but has to be applied at the time when it is needed.

[CShaveRR]

I could make a fortune if I could bottle it and sell it, but experience is the best teacher. I, on the other hand, am not--I make the job look too easy, and can't offer a good reason verbally for the little things I'm doing all the time.

If I were to be brought in after I retired, it would have to be as a private contractor--I believe that once I've retired, I'm not allowed to work at a job that pays into the Railroad Retirement system.

There's really no way to deal with a situation like this. I've had cars fail to roll out of the retarder for whatever reason (uneven shoes, brake on the car, retarder won't release or releases slowly), and the same thing may or may not happen--the following car is too close to be diverted, and if it's a load coming against an empty after the slight curve ahead of the retarder, you may have a problem. And, unless you have the presence of mind to divert them while dealing with this, there's another car (or two) that have been cut off and might roll into the ensuing mess. It probably could have been worse than it was, which was plenty bad.

[blue streak 1]

Carl: Youmay 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?

 

[CShaveRR]

blue streak 1

Carl: 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.

 

[CShaveRR]

Today was an interesting day--we had three tracks out of service that hadn't been out last night. Turns out that an engine derailed due to wide gauge on one of the tracks, and somehow caused all three to be taken out (maybe it affected the switch on that lead). Anyway, the bowl had over 1100 cars in it, with these three tracks (among others) out--three of the longest tracks in the yard. We were running out of places to put cars. Then the section people arrived, and shortly two of the three were restored to us. It was absolutely amazing how much brighter the day got after that happened!

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.

[CShaveRR]

CShaveRR

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.

Oww! My body is protesting this sixth start. But I'm not alone--the whole shift of CROs is in the same boat. Maybe it will be a quiet day--the car count in the receiving yard was slowly trending downward. (Still, I don't care if there were only twenty cars to hump up there--it would still somehow translate into eight hours' work!)

[CNW 6000]

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.

Just finished one weekend...three day workweek...then 6 days off...then 3 day workweek...then another weekend.  Looks like my 6 days off will come at a nice stretch too.  Gotta use the vacation before I change jobs and lose some.

[Mookie]

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! 

[Modelcar]

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....?

[rvos1979]

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......