Trackside Lounge: 1Q 2010 Edition

[CopCarSS]

They did get some snow out of the last storm, but points east got the worst of it. It may not be the prettiest time of year to go, but I'm definately still looking forward to it!

[CShaveRR]

Have a nice time in western New York, Chris--I know you will, and I hope to see some photographic results posted here, too! From what I heard, Buffalo got hit in this latest storm (they've had less snow than New York City this winter, I think), but there shouldn't be any effects lingering that long, I'd think.

[CopCarSS]

CShaveRR

(I didn't see the power, but the westbound train could easily have been the West Chicago local, running with the two Dash 9s still in full CNW lettering)

Those two are still out there kicking? That's nice to know!

Meanwhile, there's not too much to report out here. I guess the Moffat Line is seeing some new activity -- BNSF Coal Drags and a detoured PASKCKs -- but I've been too busy shooting basketball games lately to spend any time trackside. Additionally, I'll be headed out kinda in Tree's neighborhood (though not quite all the way there) later this week.

Oh! One good piece of news, though! It looks like the GLRR will be finally running steam again this year! The Hawaiian Prairie, #12, is finally up to snuff and ran last week! She's got a fresh coat of black paint and a new headlight. She may not have her Hawaiian charm anymore, but she does look more at home on Coloradoan Narrow Gauge rails.

I have a feeling this is going to be a great steam summer for me!

[CShaveRR]

A trip to a couple of suburbs west of here shows that UP has erected two more of its new signal bridges, one in downtown Glen Ellyn and another between Glen Ellyn and Wheaton. Both of these bridges have new signal heads already in place--two signal heads per track for one direction and one for the other. The signal bridge to be erected at Lombard (Finley Road) seems to have the same configuration.

However, none of this really gives me a clue to exactly where the anticipated crossovers will be installed. At those points, I'd expect a pair of bridges fairly close together, with signals on the entering side only. Nothing I've seen so far appears to be like that. There are reportedly going to be two sets of crossovers installed--one at Lombard and one at Wheaton.

We saw a number of trains in our trip. Two manifests met each other on the stretch between Lombard and Glen Ellyn (I didn't see the power, but the westbound train could easily have been the West Chicago local, running with the two Dash 9s still in full CNW lettering). While stopped for lunch in downtown Glen Ellyn, we saw both scoots for that hour. And coming home, we waited for a coal train at Finley Road--moving right along, with two units on the point and a DP unit at the hind end. The cars were NORX gons, so it was probably headed to Michigan City or Wheatfield, Indiana.

Can't wait to have a look at the page on West Chicago in the current issue of Trains. They make it sound so appealing, but it's something we just kind of take for granted around here. And for personal reasons, I still prefer Elmhurst for my train-watching.

[CShaveRR]

Found another good one this morning, on the Railway Age news page (just don't think about it too hard):

Sound Transit begins work addressing rail noise

(If they're too successful, will they have to change their name?)

[AgentKid]

Congratulations, Carl!

I never got to hear my father's first day stories but I did hear some of his early days one's. He never spent a minute of classroom time learning how to be an operator or agent, but that isn't how it was done in 1947. He spent a number of months learning how to telegraph and all of the other duties involved from the Station Agent at Meyronne, SK. And he did it all on his own time after his regular job at the local post office. He started hauling mail bags back and forth to the station and realized that was going to be his way out of Saskatchewan. Mom and me were just talking about Dad's railway career yesterday and as she has said many times before, he never regretted a minute of it.

Deggesty

As I have commented before, when I was in high school, I thought that the best ever work was that of railroad conductor, but I made it only half way, spending 31^1/4 years in the semiconductor industry.

 

GREAT JOKE, Johnny!

Bruce

 

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

Today is the 39th anniversary of the beginning of my professional railroad career. It was also a Saturday back in 1971 when I got my first call. The preceding Monday through Friday had been spent in classroom training, culminating in a rule test on Friday.

 

That first call was for a pulldown job in the Middle. I knew the mechanics of what I was doing--couple up a few tracks in the bowl, double them together, take them all out. But I didn't realize or understand what we did with them then (we were shoving them out onto the departure tracks--being on the head end, I may have thought it was yet another double, so cutting the cars off and leaving them came as a surprise to me every time). It was an interesting crew--Carl the "pigeon", Carl the engineer, and Carlos the conductor (we had one other brakeman whom I can't remember by name). Carlos complimented me on how well I did for the first time out.

 

My second job was on a transfer run--at least I understood that one! We went to Wood Street with cars twice, and brought two trains back, barely finishing with the second one within 14 hours (the limit back then), and well into March 1.

Congratulations, Carl! I don't know when you were promoted to conductor, but you certainly beat me. As I have commented before, when I was in high school, I thought that the best ever work was that of railroad conductor, but I made it only half way, spending 31^1/4 years in the semiconductor industry.

 

[CShaveRR]

Today is the 39th anniversary of the beginning of my professional railroad career. It was also a Saturday back in 1971 when I got my first call. The preceding Monday through Friday had been spent in classroom training, culminating in a rule test on Friday.

That first call was for a pulldown job in the Middle. I knew the mechanics of what I was doing--couple up a few tracks in the bowl, double them together, take them all out. But I didn't realize or understand what we did with them then (we were shoving them out onto the departure tracks--being on the head end, I may have thought it was yet another double, so cutting the cars off and leaving them came as a surprise to me every time). It was an interesting crew--Carl the "pigeon", Carl the engineer, and Carlos the conductor (we had one other brakeman whom I can't remember by name). Carlos complimented me on how well I did for the first time out.

My second job was on a transfer run--at least I understood that one! We went to Wood Street with cars twice, and brought two trains back, barely finishing with the second one within 14 hours (the limit back then), and well into March 1.

[CShaveRR]

I just love it when a couple of headlines are fortuitously posted next to each other.

On UTU's website:

"Expect Delays on Northstar Commuter Rail"

"Northstar Rail Exceeds Expectations."

Actually, the Northstar news is almost all good, thankfully: the delays are a temporary thing, due to a BNSF derailment.

___________________

Very brutal day at work today. The snow we got overnight wasn't the culprit, but nobody was left out. Tower A (that's me!) inherited a plugged potty, and suffered a dislodged retarder beam that interrupted things for a while. Tower B inherited a switch problem and a retarder failure. And Tower C inherited a broken furnace and suffered a switch that fell apart under two loaded cars, derailing them, "sewing in" one of the locomotives, and taking three tracks out of service. This was on top of a similar incident yesterday.

In spite of all that, we got over 600 cars over the hump, and reduced the receiving yard count by 500 in the process. I suffered three in-wrongs, so that was a .995 average.

__________________

Looking on the bright side...well, it was bright out there! It was great to see blue skies for a change, and the cloud bank off to the east was impressive, as long as we didn't have to travel through northwestern Indiana!

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, folks! I had found the website earlier, James, and the interior (and exterior!) looks nice. The cabooses also require a two-night stay, so I'm not sure this would be a place for us peripatetic types. Were we to land in the area, the only things we'd make use of would be the bed and probably the TV. Not sure what we'd do during the intervening day, but I guess the park would have tours.

Signal bridge components have been placed by Finley Road. The horizontal portion of the bridge has the signals pre-installed--hope they don't put it up backwards!

[blhanel]

Joanie and I just missed out on being there when the loco arrived- it came a week after we left in mid-August.  She has no interest in a return visit, regardless of what accommodations we choose.

[The Butler]

CShaveRR

We stayed indoors (except to clear away snow) yesterday, so nothing to report on area railroads. All I know is what I read in the "papers". And this morning I happened across two gems: First, yet another plan about what to do with Chicago's Union Station. I hadn't known that the other plan had fallen through: http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=50882 And then, a neat place to stay, if you have the fortitude and the funds: http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=50869 Now we'll be off for shopping and grandchildren (not necessarily in that order). See what gems we can buy, see, and hear.

Carl, here is the Inn's website:

http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/gn441.html

They show a floor plan of the locomotive suite.

[Deggesty]

Paul_D_North_Jr

Website for the ''GN 441 Luxury Locomotive Lodging'' [an ex-ATSF F45, extensively refurbished] -

http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/gn441.html 

At $299 per night, 2-night minimum - nicely done, and a novelty, but I think I'll pass - too much 'lodging' for just the 2 of us anyway.  Also, not authentic at all, other than the cab.  I'd prefer one of the 4 cabeese, which are about $230 per night, 2-night minimum, though again more than we need - which I've done elsewhere a couple of times - or better yet, a Pullman of some type at the site.  But hey - they deserve kudos for a novel idea, and successfully pulling it off.    Hope it works out for them financially, too.

- Paul North. 

 

Paul, I agree with you. Now, if we were offered a night or two in a Pullman, with the Pullman berths, we would be interested. Indeed, Ricki wishes that we had a Pullman to put in our backyard (the fact that our backyard is not long enough to hold the car does not deter the wish).

Right after a hotel was opened in the Chattanooga Terminal Station, I was interested in the possibility of spending a night in one of the cars--until I learned that the berths had been taken out and replaced by beds.

It is another matter to stay in a well-established hotel such as the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island or the Del Coronado in Coronado, Cal., the Palmer House in Chicago, the Brown Palace in Denver, or the various former CP and CN hotels in Canada.

[Modelcar]

....Interesting article on Chicago's Union Station.....Hope success will be forthcoming to do appropriate renovations. 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Website for the ''GN 441 Luxury Locomotive Lodging'' [an ex-ATSF F45, extensively refurbished] -

http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com/gn441.html 

At $299 per night, 2-night minimum - nicely done, and a novelty, but I think I'll pass - too much 'lodging' for just the 2 of us anyway.  Also, not authentic at all, other than the cab.  I'd prefer one of the 4 cabeese, which are about $230 per night, 2-night minimum, though again more than we need - which I've done elsewhere a couple of times - or better yet, a Pullman of some type at the site.  But hey - they deserve kudos for a novel idea, and successfully pulling it off.    Hope it works out for them financially, too.

- Paul North. 

 

[CShaveRR]

It might be nice for a second stay at Essex. I haven't been anywhere near there yet (another post-retirement bucket-list thing), but would actually want to see the locomotive before I committed to it for a couple of nights. Maybe one of the cabooses would do us.

We're getting some big, fluffy flakes right now, but the roads and sidewalks are wet and the temperatures above freezing, so no real worries there (as long as it falls at this nice, lazy rate).

[tree68]

I recall seeing the story about the locomotive/hotel room a while back.  IIRC, it's painted in the Big Sky Blue scheme.

Last night we got about an inch of snow, nice and fluffy, which I cleared off the driveway before I called it a night.  Overnight we probably got another inch, but by the time I got to it, it was mush and heavy as all get out.  Had to switch to the "little" snow shovel - it was too much to push with the big one.

[CShaveRR]

We stayed indoors (except to clear away snow) yesterday, so nothing to report on area railroads. All I know is what I read in the "papers". And this morning I happened across two gems:

First, yet another plan about what to do with Chicago's Union Station. I hadn't known that the other plan had fallen through:

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=50882

And then, a neat place to stay, if you have the fortitude and the funds:

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=50869

Now we'll be off for shopping and grandchildren (not necessarily in that order). See what gems we can buy, see, and hear.

[The Butler]

Well, yesterday I saw a flock of Robins in my yard when I got home from work.  That was around noon.  This morning, I saw a small flock of Wood Ducks in the pond here.  These are all good signs, I think.

[CShaveRR]

Pat and I shoveled three inches of heavy, wet snow (no doubt it settled and compressed from the ten inches or so that actually fell!) off our driveway, sidewalks, and neighbor's sidewalk. I think more fell on the street than on our surfaces, judging from what the plow deposited in our apron (knocked over our trash bin, and practically buried the recycling bin). On more than one occasion while shoveling this stuff I thought about offering it to the tunnel relining crews at Tehachapi.

[CShaveRR]

Hey, Quentin! I also see from the Diner that today's your birthday. Hope you've gotten an enjoyable day in, and have many happy returns.

No fireplace here--but I arrived home ahead of the snow (which is still not falling) with a full tank of gas. Unless we go visit grandchildren, we'll be home all day tomorrow.

We're on the southern edge of the snow line, but there will be rain south of us. It's possible, with the temperatures close to freezing, that we may get some stuff worse than snow. Should be really pleasant for the signal department at work tomorrow--they have a retarder beam to replace.

Seems a little early for robins in these parts, but thanks for the "warning"--we'll be on the lookout!

[Modelcar]

Carl....when arriving home from work today, possibly ahead of the oncoming snow, perhaps you can make it be just a nice relaxing day or two by your fireplace and watch it pass from that vantage point.

It does look like we are going to luck out rather well, being on the southern fringe at best......and we've been melting snow here for several days now.  Hope it continues.   As I mentioned in the Diner this morning, Jean saw a Robin outside here under a nearby evergreen tree where the ground is bare.

[CShaveRR]

The winter storm watch is still in effect, but now they're saying 8-10 inches of the stuff, starting tonight. Once I get home, we might just stay in for a day or so (today is my "Friday").

Finally got to read some interesting details about the CREATE project nearest Proviso--where the third main line will go in, how some trains will "fly over" the main line to get to the IHB, and so on. The TIGER grants mean that this will be reality. I don't see it affecting my work this year, so whether I work or not will have no effect on my keeping tabs on this project. I suspect there will be a few added scoot trips into Chicago for us when things start to get interesting.

http://www.createprogram.org/PDF/NEW%20PAGE%20PDFS/Stimulus%20Project%20Descriptions%20FINAL.pdf

The Proviso-area project is Project B2 ("B" for "Beltway", suggesting that most of this work is really in connection with the IHB enhancement).

As an aside, I have to laugh at the comment someone made about buying the UP to make them expand trackage. Look at this, look at the work at Houston mentioned in another thread, K.P. Harrier's long-running thread about expansion on the Sunset, and the recently-completed High Bridge in Iowa last year, as well as the added track on St. Louis to Kansas City and the new intermodal terminal going in near Joliet. Doesn't sound like UP is doing too badly in a recession economy!

[CShaveRR]

One of my cohorts is taking a vacation day today, Dan. Guess he knows something about the weather that I don't. Right now we have a little snow out there; the sidewalk contains something under an inch of it. But there's a Winter Storm Watch out there for tomorrow night into Tuesday, for which they're predicting up to six inches of the stuff, mostly on Monday. Warmer temperatures will make this the heavy stuff.

I'm sure the bridge, wherever it's located, will make some good new photo opportunities. I doubt that I'd ever use it to get a look at the trains, though, as I'm perfectly happy with locations that get me close to them at ground level.

[CNW 6000]

I hope the overpass will be good for pictures Carl.  We hit 37 today...felt like a heat wave!  I confess...I did spend most of my day at work in shorts and a t-shirt.  If I'm lucky this weekend I'll be able to stay away from work.  OT is nice...but so is time off!

[CShaveRR]

Today we actually hit 40, in spite of starting out lower in the morning. I've now seen the moon two nights in a row, possibly a record for 2010. Snow is likely for the next several days, though the current forecasts disagree on whether it will amount to anything.

Two error-free days in a row. Should have been watching more closely, though--I might have been able to prevent an error or two in the lower towers, had I been able to let them know.

I had thought that the issuance of the TIGER grants would be more of a story around here than it seems to have been. According to the Trains Newswire, funding for the grade separation by the West Colton Yard has also been secured, thanks to the TIGER.

Local news, too: the bike trail on the former Chicago Great Western Railway will get its own right-of-way through the most complex (and tricky for bikes!) intersections in town. This involves three new overpasses--two over busy streets and one over the UP main line. The old CGW bridge over the CNW disappeared very quickly after the line was abandoned, because it posed close clearance problems to the then-new double-stack trains. The tracks, which had dipped to go under the CGW bridge, were leveled at this point, so a bike bridge is going to have to be a lot taller than the railroad bridge ever was. UP seems to have a standard design for bicycle/pedestrian overpasses, visible in many towns along the Overland Route in Nebraska. Wonder whether we'll see an adaptation of that design here.

[CShaveRR]

Beautiful day today--sunny and near 40 degrees out there. Today was nice, and interesting on several counts.

At our Ash Wednesday service last night (joint between the two local churches from our denomination), I ran into an old friend and bicycling buddy who retired from work last September. He is loving the heck out of retirement, and says that I have a lot to look forward to--and none of the worries that have scared me. He offered to bike to work with me when the weather improves--just so he can turn around at the property line and go back home!

Very good day at work today. No mistakes, I did a few of the clever things I'm notorious for, we kept up with the business, and even got a couple of breaks. And no problems with retarders or switches!

A sister of mine has put me on Cloud Nine this evening. I can't say any more.

[tree68]

I'm active (a moderator no less) on a local forum.   Since there is no real focus such as we have here, the topics are all over the place, and so is the scholarly quality of the writers.  Some are apologetic, some haven't a clue.

NY recently mandated CO (carbon monoxide) detectors in residences.  The title one poster used when starting a thread on the topic was "Carbine dioxide detecters."  Three words, three completely different errors (well, two and one-half).  

Dan - enjoy Aedan's limited mobility while you can.  Granddaughter took some of her first sure steps on her first birthday (and now, at almost 2, is a whirlwind).  Grandson is crawling with great abandon, and would be walking at 10 months if he could just work out the details.  He sure wants to.  I'm not sure either grandchild has been in "open water."  Granddaughter might have been, though.   I'll have to check with the daughter on my grandson.

[CNW 6000]

CShaveRR

"Just a manifest train"?

Did I just "miff the Carl"?  LOL!  I meant no harm...I know there're the most interesting to look at and serve a very important purpose.

CShaveRR

I trust you have Aedan swimming by now as well, Dan, My grandkids have all been in swimming lessons already (the oldest is five). Considering that they spend a lot of their summers on Green Lake (not that far from you!), it's probably wise.

He's been in the pool a little more than 12 times to date and he loves it!  Heck, you should see him kick and splash at bath time!  Having taught swim lessons for 16 years, Aedan has a pretty good teacher...IMNSHO anyway.

[CShaveRR]

Now this is more like it!

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=50805

The most interesting thing is that this $100 million is going to provide impetus for a lot of projects around Chicago (I wish I knew what some of the others are), for one third of the cost of one expressway interchange. (And I am one of the people who sees the value of that particular interchange as a timesaver, but wow!)