Trackside Lounge: 2Q 2010

[CShaveRR]

Thanks for passing that along, Paul! Pat "Oohed" when she saw the picture, and "Ahhed" when she read the article.

Sad news--the wife of my long-ago friend passed away after the ordeal with their car in the retention pond in Westmont. The reason the car went into the pond still hasn't been made public, if it's known. Roy, on the other hand, was released from the hospital yesterday.

http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=7EF79CBA3EEAB38B04EC.352?view=breakingnews_article&feed:a=chi_trib_1min&feed:c=latest_breaking_news&feed:i=966C6A0FC1C455031A1F9AE2FFC4826A&nopaging=1

Paul_D_North_Jr

...but the good part is, I remembered it before I said anything to her about it, so she'll not know how forgetful I was about that.   

Unless, of course, she reads the Forum over your shoulder (something I don't discourage)!

May everyone's celebration of Holy Week be meaningful and ultimately joyous!

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Carl - Before I forget this or get distracted by other matters:  When I read the following article in the Wall Street Journal the other day, it causedf me to think of you - and Pat: 

Idle Pastime: In Off Hours, Truckers Pick Up Stitching

With Less to Haul, Drivers Try New Hobbies; Quilting in the Cab

By JENNIFER LEVITZ - PAGE ONE - MARCH 29, 2010 - at:  

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704896104575139990857438962.html#articleTabs%3Darticle 

Do you suppose Randy and edbenton might be taking any of that up in the near future as well ? 

Related, you had asked about quilting shops for Pat near our Allentown yard.  Dumb me*, I totally forgot about the nearby Kemerer Museum for the Decorative Arts in the old historic Moravian section of Bethlehem, just up from City Hall. See:  http://www.historicbethlehem.org/index.cfm?organization_id=127&section_id=1925&page_id=7996 

An excerpt from that webpage [emphasis added]:  

''In 1951, Bethlehem resident Annie S. Kemerer left her collection of antique furniture, textiles, porcelain, folk art, paintings, Bohemian glass, and other significant historical objects to the City of Bethlehem. Her collection served as the core for the establishment of the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts. The collections, exhibitions and educational programs of the Kemerer Museum tell the story of the Lehigh Valley region throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries.'' 

*Because my wife Marie is a (very) part-time Museum Teacher for the Historic Bethlehem Partnership, and Kemerer is one of the locations she's trained for and teaches regularly; but the good part is, I remembered it before I said anything to her about it, so she'll not know how forgetful I was about that.   

More about railroading matters and CRO duties later on.  Otherwise, have a good wekeend and a joyous Easter.

- Paul North.

[CShaveRR]

Presumably our ABC outlet was the only one of our five major channels to commemorate the RI's demise. Sad, especially because I'm sure our PBS station would have done a good job if they'd tackled the assignment.

I remember that for a good week or so after the shutdown we (CNW) were flooded with nearly-new ROCK box cars. We also got lots of other freight equipment from them, notably covered hoppers, but they must have been shipped elsewhere for assimilation.

UP also got a lot of ex-RI cars--notably the stuff they financed for the company back in the 1960s and early 1970s. I think they turned a bit of it loose pretty quickly.

________________

The news was good at work today--relatively few tracks were out of service, and those were usually not the result of the FRA inspection. We're still a bit plugged in the bowl, though.

________________

As for Sarcastics Awareness Month, I mentioned at work today that both of my granddaughters have already earned their Black Belts in sarcasm. A week ago Katelyn got me with a putdown that few adults would have been able to pull off as well as she did (syrupy-sweet smile and all!), and Emily's response to one of my bad puns was as pointed a "Ha, Ha, Ha!" as I've ever heard from a person younger than middle school. She's three, by the way. (Can you tell how proud I am of both of them?)

[AgentKid]

No train watching to report. I haven't been near the tracks in almost two weeks.

I sure did enjoy that video on the 30th Anniversary of the demise of the Rock Island that was posted yesterday.

Bruce

 

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, Dan, for setting us up.

No news yet, except that I got a Facebook message saying that 25 tracks in our yard were out of service yesterday. It was probably an FRA inspection--those rarely go well (I've not had any problems, though, when they've checked in on me). I suspect that most of the repairs will be made quickly, but there will still be quite a few tracks out when I get to work in less than an hour.

Lunch with the grandkids yesterday was good. I got to see firsthand how my grandson reacts when a train appears. Half of me hopes he calms down a little...

Hmmm...first day of Sarcastics Awareness Month. I'd better get ready.

[CNW 6000]

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/166037/1885302.aspx#1885302

A link to the 1Q Edition. 

First chance to sleep in was today...someone forgot to remind Aedan!  I was in Neenah last night and almost did a big no-no.  While chatting with a fellow railfan I set my camera on my bumper.  Tail of train we were watching/discussing passed and we got set to leave.  I was about to shift to 'drive' when my brain said "Hey, where's the camera?"  YIKES!