Trackside Lounge: 2Q 2010

[blhanel]

  Making good time- must not be anything in the way.  I think I'll pass on trying to eyeball him at 10:30; kinda defeats the purpose of getting a mug shot of 30517.

[tree68]

Well, I'm ready for another year on the railroad - rules class was today.  Aside from spending five hours on the road to get it (the class was in Saranac Lake - 2/12 hours each way), it wasn't too bad.  Even the scenery is nice on that trip.

Hopefully, however, I saw my last snowfall of the season up there today.  It didn't stick, but it did snow...

[CShaveRR]

Hope you did all right on the rules test, Larry--good scenery or no, that's probably a trip you wouldn't want to have to repeat!

We have a frost advisory for much of the area tonight--this morning made the heat kick back on, and was jacket weather for me, and tomorrow will be even more extreme. Tomorrow after work we're going to see a play put on by the kids at our church (these productions now get two performances--one at the church service and one in the afternoon!), then dinner at a local outlet of a slightly-less-local chain as a benefit in honor of a friend of ours who has multiple sclerosis.

[tree68]

CShaveRR

Hope you did all right on the rules test, Larry--good scenery or no, that's probably a trip you wouldn't want to have to repeat!

It's two hours to where I normally run, so it really wasn't a bad trip.

If I have any problems with the tests, make-ups will be done at our Thendara station.   Last year, with all the human factors stuff added, some folks did have a problem and there were a couple of make-up sessions.  I'm confident I did well.  Hope so - I'm working opening weekend.

[CShaveRR]

We'll be anxious to hear how well you did, Larry!

The church kids did well, and Buona does good ribs!

Tomorrow we head to western Michigan to celebrate Mom's birthday (hope you've got your ears up, SJ!). We'll visit Pat's mother first, spending the night in Grand Rapids. Tomorrow will be a leisurely trip up--among other things we'll check our facts on U.S. 12 east of Gary, to see whether I knew what I was talking about when I mentioned this stretch on the biking thread (the memory isn't always reliable, I'm afraid!). Tuesday will be a mad dash home after dinner with my mom and both sisters. That will be somewhere between three and four hours, including a fuel stop in (relatively inexpensive) Indiana. I hope to be home by bedtime; the hour time difference will work in our favor.

[Deggesty]

tree68

Well, I'm ready for another year on the railroad - rules class was today.

Larry, that reminds me of my having to take three or four different classes--forklift, hazardous materials, hazardous tools, etc. (in house) each year because of my responsibilities. Once, I had to bring the instructor up to date on the quantity of sulfuric acid we used; our usage had been reduced because we had about stopped using piranha baths, and were using tools that required much less, in one section of Production. I also had to be re-certified in air transport of hazardous materials every other year and I needed to be re-certified in ground transport of the same every three years.

Once a Federal inspector came to the plant and looked at our handling of hazardous materials (he had been called into the area to check on another company)--and I could not find my latest certificate. I requested a copy from the certifying compnay, and faxed it to him--and, of course, I found the original after that.

[CShaveRR]

Here, from the Railway Age website (Railway Track and Structures Magazine) is pretty much the entire story of what's going on in my neck of the woods:

Upgrades planned for Metra's UP West line

Monday, April 19, 2010

Improvements to Metra's Union Pacific West Line this spring and summer run the gamut from expediting freight trains to stopping pedestrians from zipping around lowered crossing gates, the Daily Herald reports. The joint Metra/Union Pacific project started in 2009 and will finish in 2011, but commuters in DuPage and Kane counties should see some significant changes this year, officials said at a Metra board meeting.

The West Line between Union Station and Elburn is UP's gateway to Chicago, serving about 25 percent of its freight. It's also one of Metra's busiest lines with 60 commuter trains daily competing with 40 to 60 freight trains.

Union Pacific gives precedence to Metra trains during morning and afternoon rush hours, which means "freight trains are backed up to Iowa," Deputy Executive Director of Operations Bill Tupper said.

The infrastructure fixes include: modernizing signals between Elmhurst and West Chicago to allow trains to run closer together; installing two crossovers at Lombard and Wheaton; and constructing triple tracks in sections where it's just two tracks between River Forest and Elmhurst as well as West Chicago and Geneva.

"This will increase the fluidity of the line," Tupper said.

To save pedestrians from themselves, Metra plans to erect fencing alongside crossing gates so people can't skirt the barriers. Fencing will also go up beyond the platform areas.

"This will reduce the opportunity for pedestrians to enter the track area at unauthorized locations," Tupper said.

Work on the safety measures should finish up this year at stations in Elmhurst, Villa Park, Glen Ellyn, College Avenue, Winfield and Geneva.

More significant changes involving a pedestrian tunnel in Lombard and overhead bridge in Wheaton will be completed in 2011.

In addition, signs advising commuters when another train is approaching will be installed along with an audible warning system.

Metra and UP are splitting the cost of the $112 million upgrade.

Can anyone spot the big mistake in the story?

_________________

I'm in Michigan today; we're celebrating my mother's 86th birthday. She's in reasonably good health, still active at home and away. We hope to catch up with her for lunch today,and we'll have a family dinner tonight, after which we'll be making a train-free mad dash home, arriving (we hope!) by bedtime.

[CShaveRR]

Nobody found the error? It's in the second paragraph...

Celebrate Earth Day...support your local railroad!

[CopCarSS]

CShaveRR

Nobody found the error? It's in the second paragraph...

Are there other upgrades going on on the far east end of the line I didn't know about?

[nanaimo73]

Hey Carl!

This just came up on the C&NW Yahoo Group. Your railroad, and your speciality. Surely a job for you!

Folks -

I'm trying to determine what exactly these 3 C&NW boxcars were and what series they were from:

2042
2092
2150

All 3 are listed on a PRR Delmarva Division local on April 16, 1956. The 1953 ORER I have doesn't list them (so the C&NW got them after 1953) and I don't know what they look like or what series they are from.

I've researched both publications and online and can't locate photos.

Can anyone shed some light on these cars and maybe where I can find photos?

[mudchicken]

Not coming into town on the C&EI, no increase in traffic thru ab-Normal on the St. Louis Line. Somebody building an armour yellow tunnel under Chicago?(who needs CREATE anyhow?) Metra's in the freight business?

Will have to tell you an interesting tale about your Irondale Yard someday.

[CShaveRR]

I'll be all ears, MC!

As for the tunnel in Lombard, I hope it isn't Armour Yellow. Lilac purple's the color, if it's not going to be raw concrete.

Actually, Chris, my understanding is that Western Avenue is supposed to be replaced sometime by a new crossing between the two lines, closer to what we used to call Noble Street. From the sound of things, that would involve a swap of trackage between UP and Metra between the new crossing and the old. The advantages would be that the crossing could be a higher-speed one, and it will be further away from the coach yards of both operations, probably allowing faster moves.

Of course,MC, all of those freights leave this line at either West Chicago, Proviso, Provo Junction, or Kedzie--there are none (other than an occasional yard job) that go east of Kedzie to Ogilvie Transportation Center, much less Union Station.

[CShaveRR]

nanaimo73

Hey Carl!

This just came up on the C&NW Yahoo Group. Your railroad, and your speciality. Surely a job for you!

Folks -

I'm trying to determine what exactly these 3 C&NW boxcars were and what series they were from:

2042
2092
2150

All 3 are listed on a PRR Delmarva Division local on April 16, 1956. The 1953 ORER I have doesn't list them (so the C&NW got them after 1953) and I don't know what they look like or what series they are from.

I've researched both publications and online and can't locate photos.

Can anyone shed some light on these cars and maybe where I can find photos?

Hi, Dale! Long time no see!

I found them in the 4/57 ORER: CNW series 1855-2254, a block of 400 steel cars that CNW apparently leased from somewhere. They had 6-foot side doors, an inside height of 10 feet, and a capacity of 3716 cubic feet and only 40 tons. Compare these to the PS-1 box cars (starting with number 1) that CNW was buying new beginning in 1953: They had a 50-ton capacity, around 3900 cubic feet, and an inside height of 10'6".

Most of these cars were still around in 1960, but apparently began disappearing shortly after that. The 4/57 ORER specifies that these cars were "leased" (no idea from whom), but that note didn't exist in 1960.

Hope I didn't disappoint...just lucky in this case!

[AgentKid]

CShaveRR

6-foot side doors, an inside height of 10 feet

CShaveRR

only 40 tons

 

Man, those spec's really make them sound like grain boxes. Perhaps there was a bumper crop in the area C&NW served, and they needed boxcars in a hurry. They were then were able to release them when demand returned to normal.

Bruce

 

[CShaveRR]

That could be what they leased them for, Bruce, but I suspect that they were probably older wooden box cars, sheathed with steel in the 1930s or thereabouts. C&O did something similar with some of its cars.

[nanaimo73]

Thanks Carl, good job!

This came up as well-
'59 ORER says 40' class XM, all steel, wood lined.  386 total in series

[CShaveRR]

I'm hoping that "all-steel" doesn't preclude my theory about these once being wood-sheathed cars. A single-sheathed car could have had the steel sides put over the steel frame (which, of course, holds things up and together); on a double-sheathed cars the outer sheathing would have been removed and replaced with steel sides.

_____________________

I had to say it...when somebody wondered out loud whether any people still get paid weekly any more, I said, "I do...very weakly!" (and only twice a month)

[CShaveRR]

The word "train" is now recognizable in Grandson Nico's limited vocabulary (he's 22 months old). Make that "TRAIN!". It's usually accompanied by a series of shrieks to get people to look where he's pointing (which he does for anything that excites him). We accompanied our daughter and three grandkids on a walk through Lilacia Park this afternoon, where the lilacs and tulips are close to their peak for the season. The railroad is basically across the street from the park, and two trains went through while we were there. A third one had to have gone through while we were in the nearby library for a potty stop.

Bedtime for a thoroughly worn-out, but happy, grandpa.

[spokyone]

Barbara & I were in Florida recently. Near Lake Okeechobee we viewed a sugar cane train headed to the mill. The SCFE 9025 was pulling very high-sided gondolas stacked with cane. A car was lettered USSC378 and was also lettered "Internal use only" or something similar. Do these cars have rotary couplers? I did not see that lettering like it is on coal-cars.

 When the gates went up, I saw a piece of cane on the roadway. I opened my door & reached out and picked it up & handed it to Barbara. Two seconds later she was screaming. It was covered with fire ants. She threw it out and then we jumped out & slapped each other like in a old-time movie. We managed to get rid of all of them. Lesson learned.

[CShaveRR]

I think that "internal use only" refers to the fact that they're restricted to trackage of the sugar company. The reporting mark would have to end in "X" if they were allowed out of the plant on anything other than very dedicated service.

So these cars won't be listed in any source I can look up to see how they're equipped. I doubt that they've got rotary couplers. I'm curious about those sides, though, whether they have some sort of opening mechanism. Otherwise, I suspect that they're just unloaded with a purpose-built crane going at the load from the top.

Never had an up-close encounter with fire ants, though I remember seeing some tall nests of them once in Louisiana. I understand that they can leave some pretty good scars. That cane you found must have been some good eating!

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

The framing on the sides of those cars is pretty elaborate - I too would suspect that's part of a mechanism of some kind, perhaps a 3-segment side door that either is hinged at the bottom to fold down to form a ramp to drag the cane out over - most likely, or else is hinged at the top to tilt outwards and let the load fall out when the car is tilted off-center - less likely.  Let's see what we can find out about that . . . Ted Marshall, maybe ?

On fire ants - need to re-read that again in about 9 months, at the end of January, when I'm shoveling snow again . . .   When my daughter was doing well drilling and yield tests, etc. in the field in Florida a few years ago, fire ants were one of the hazards if you stood in one place too long - also one of the subjects of a few common-sense and OSHA-required job safety/ orientation briefings, the others being such things as sunstroke, dehydration, snakes, and my all-time favorite - 'Alligator Safety Training'  - taught by one Sue, of whom one of my daughter's colleagues said, ''She's a good man . . . ''  

- Paul North. 

EDIT: Well, apparently they do dump the cars - see photo linked below, from 1999 I believe - but exactly how, I'm still not sure - it looks more like an 'end-dump' thatn a 'side-dump' ???  - PDN.

  http://www.ussugar.com/press_room/gallery/sugar/last_car_dump.html 

[nanaimo73]

I think I have a CTC Board from several years ago detailing that operation. I'll have to take a look for it.

Hmmmm...  It is a good thing that the Blackhawks and the Canucks don't have to use Amtrak to travel back and forth. They'd probably use buses between Vancouver and Everett. Both teams would have to share the same trains, and they already don't like each other. With 23 players, several coaches and a few reporters following along, perhaps both teams would have charter trains?

[CopCarSS]

Hey Gang,

Been a few days since I stopped in here. I haven't been up to too much, but I did have a frustrating evening on Monday. Here's the description I put on my 365 shot:

Railfanning can be a diffcult hobby. After work, I noticed that there were some interesting clouds out west and that it might make for an interesting shot. I was monitoring my scanner and found out that I had two Eastbounds aruond Leyden. I packed up my gear and headed over to Pierce St for a shot there.

Because I've started driving like an old man to save gas and avoid tickets, I missed the first eastbound by about 30 seconds. I set up for the second and waited, and waited, and waited until I had almost no light left. In fact, I was starting to wonder if I had screwed up about there being two trains. I decided to call no joy and head home. Lo and behold, as soon as I pulled in my driveway, I heard the engineer call out the signal at Arvada.

Alas, railfanning can be like that, I guess. I was livid at the time. I'm a little cooler today. Still, can you imagine this shot with a silhouetted train with the triangle of headlights/ditchlights in the lower right hand corner of the shot?

And here's the shot, sans train:

Oh well...I've got plans for tonight, too (assuming the weather cooperates). It's the type of shot I think I can make work without a train if I have to, so at least I won't have to worry about missed opportunities.

[CShaveRR]

Chris, I feel your pain! But look on the less-cloudy side: The odds of getting the sun to come out from under clouds like that just when the train shows up is mighty slim!

[CShaveRR]

Chris, I feel your pain! But look on the less-cloudy side: The odds of getting the sun to come out from under clouds like that just when the train shows up is mighty slim! And you got a gorgeous shot anyway, even without the train.

Dale, if you find that issue of CTC Board, let out a yell. It's down in my dungeon somewhere, I'd bet!

[mudchicken]

CShaveRR

Chris, I feel your pain! But look on the less-cloudy side: The odds of getting the sun to come out from under clouds like that just when the train shows up is mighty slim!

 

If he's up there now, he's scrambling to find cover. Almost black up that way.

[nanaimo73]

CShaveRR

Dale, if you find that issue of CTC Board, let out a yell. It's down in my dungeon somewhere, I'd bet!

Carl, I screwed that up. There is an article in a CTC Board from around 1999 about a narrow gauge (2 feet?) sugar cane railway overseas, perhaps Australia?

Good news though, there is an article on the Florida operation in the September 2009 Trains, which actually has a picture of one of those cars in a rotary dumper. It looks like the cars are only rotated 45 degrees to dump. I think that "internal use only" refers to the friction bearings.

[mudchicken]

Does anyone  else see the defective thinking in the North Dakota/Amtrak newswire story? (OK- I know the press has the collective IQ of a rock, but...)

[CNW 6000]

CN's been busy lately.  This morning in Neenah:
-Coal loads NB to GB
-Coal empties SB to Chi -> BNSF -> PRB
-4 locals around the yard
-2 manifest trains NB
-1 stack train NB probably to Prince Rupert Sound

This was a morning when the scanner seemed to be more for torture as I didn't have time to swing by or even drive past and watch.  Win some and lose some I guess.

At least we're going to get some rain over the next couple days.  Will make things a little greener and help keep the fire danger down a tad.

[tree68]

mudchicken

Does anyone  else see the defective thinking in the North Dakota/Amtrak newswire story?

If they want the service, maybe they can do like so many other states have and pony up some cash...