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Trackside Lounge: 2Q 2010

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Posted by The Butler on Saturday, May 15, 2010 1:11 PM

Can someone tell me where in Chicago this photo was taken?

Exec train at Chicago

It is my laptop's wallpaper.  It looks as if there is a road or walkway really near the tracks.  I am guessing it is a public road/walkway.  Also, is that the Chicago River in the background?

James


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Posted by Lord Atmo on Saturday, May 15, 2010 2:35 PM

nanaimo73

 

 

Ehhh 1995 has been in other accidents before this one. Poor thing can't seem to avoid them. I caught this special when it made its way through Altoona too. Hope they can fix it up. 1995 is the only heritage unit that will probably ever be seen in Altoona

Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.

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Posted by CShaveRR on Saturday, May 15, 2010 7:54 PM
That's true--the 1995 is definitely the most accident-prone of the Heritage units: everything from this to getting the handrails crumpled in a yard sideswipe.

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)

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Posted by CShaveRR on Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:06 PM
The Butler

Can someone tell me where in Chicago this photo was taken?

Exec train at Chicago

It is my laptop's wallpaper.  It looks as if there is a road or walkway really near the tracks.  I am guessing it is a public road/walkway.  Also, is that the Chicago River in the background?

That photo is taken a short distance north of the north throat of Union Station. I don't think that's a public road down there; it might lead to the interlocking tower (Lake Street, I think it's called--you can see the roof of the tower over the top of the third E unit). And yes, that's the Chicago River in the background--it's about at the point where the north and south branches come together.

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)

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Posted by The Butler on Saturday, May 15, 2010 11:41 PM

Thanks, Carl. Bow

James


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Posted by CShaveRR on Sunday, May 16, 2010 7:32 PM
Frustrating day, both at work and at home. At work, we could hump a few cars, but the trains all had cars for the same few destinations, so we eventually had to take a few long breaks until tracks got pulled (and they had extreme difficulty with that on the other end, for some reason).

Coming home, no trains in sight. But, due to the Lilac Festival activities in town, trains were sounding their horns at the crossings nearest the park. Guess what I've been hearing all the time since I got home. Figures...

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)

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Monday, May 17, 2010 11:28 AM

On page 65 of the June 2010 issue of Trains, it says the July issue will contain a Trackside Guide to Milwaukee. Has anyone heard if this will be a 16 page pullout section, like those 5 guides that appeared while Mark Hemphill was the editor?

Dale
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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, May 17, 2010 1:22 PM

Happy to see that the STB is finally gonna start looking at some of the "creative" ways that Conrail cooked the books and take some of that smurf blue shine and halo away. (EP-695)

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, May 17, 2010 2:17 PM
nanaimo73

On page 65 of the June 2010 issue of Trains, it says the July issue will contain a Trackside Guide to Milwaukee. Has anyone heard if this will be a 16 page pullout section, like those 5 guides that appeared while Mark Hemphill was the editor?

I never pulled out these guides. But one for Milwaukee sounds like a good idea. There was a lot there that isn't any more; let's see if they can make it persuasive enough to pry me away from here for a day (by train!).

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)

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, May 17, 2010 2:20 PM

nanaimo73

On page 65 of the June 2010 issue of Trains, it says the July issue will contain a Trackside Guide to Milwaukee. Has anyone heard if this will be a 16 page pullout section, like those 5 guides that appeared while Mark Hemphill was the editor?

That'd be good.  One of these weekends...I'm actually going to be able to go south and spend some time looking around.  Hopefully it'll help!  Sad to admit I've never been to Duplainville or Butler Yard yet...sheesh...

Dan

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Posted by The Butler on Monday, May 17, 2010 2:28 PM

mudchicken

Happy to see that the STB is finally gonna start looking at some of the "creative" ways that Conrail cooked the books and take some of that smurf blue shine and halo away. (EP-695)

Where did you hear about this?
Tags: Conrail , STB

James


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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, May 17, 2010 3:16 PM

For the first time since the 3rd week of March, I got trackside today and there was an amazing sight. After years of talk, the original CPR yard in Calgary, built in 1883, has had all of the track removed and it is being graded for some new non railway construction. There is only the double track mainline left.

Alyth was built in 1899 and the original yard became known as the Industrial Yard, although it was never a station in the timetable. One of the first photographs ever taken in Calgary shows a windmill being used to pump water out of the Elbow River into the water tank, which was at the east end of the yard. Kind of amusing when you hear about all of the windmills RR's are carrying around the country in this Green Craze.

And another thing I always found interesting is how some traditions went on, even though RR's are always looking for new ways of doing things. From the time Alyth was built and all of the servicing facilities for engines, cars, and cabooses were moved there, during slow times surplus cabooses were stored on what was the original yard caboose track. One author I read said he believed that there were cabooses stored on that original track for at least a few weeks or more a year, from 1899 to the end of cabooses in 1991.

They have been talking about it for so long I kind of thought it was never going to happen.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, May 17, 2010 3:17 PM

Butler:

Look at the STB website under today's decisions...EP-695....(Ex-Parte Hearing 695)

The shine is off the cow-pie...

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by The Butler on Monday, May 17, 2010 3:55 PM

mudchicken

Butler:

Look at the STB website under today's decisions...EP-695....(Ex-Parte Hearing 695)

The shine is off the cow-pie...

From what I've read here: STB EP_695_0 , it sounds like Conrail, in 1996, discontinued service to and sold parts of the Lehigh Valley Main Line.  Conrail did this without proper filings with the Surface Transportation Board.  Now, Conrail, CSX and NS want to discontinue service and abandon what is left.  The paper trail for this joint effort has stirred up some muck from Conrail's past.

MC, are you implying that this is the tip of an iceberg, not an isolated incident? 

James


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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 5:35 AM
Pat and I had to spend most of the afternoon in the Naperville area yesterday. We wound up with a little time to kill, and Pat had her knitting with her, so we went to Eola. In just 40 minutes we caught a westbound Amtrak Superliner train (I can never tell those two apart), a couple of dinkies, two stack trains, and a manifest of sorts (still being put together, apparently).

Carl

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CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, May 24, 2010 3:32 PM

Had to get out the GPS to find this place...

What's new with everyone?

Dan

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, May 24, 2010 3:38 PM

CNW 6000
What's new with everyone?

Same ol' same ol'.  Eat, sleep, work, watch trains....

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, May 24, 2010 4:04 PM
Not much railroady new here, and the other stuff usually goes to Facebook now.

90 and sticky here, but I got the lawn mowed. It needed it. Our lawn is the best-looking it's been in years, probably due to the warm, wet spring we've had (oh, and Tru-Green!)

All three of the grandchildren were baptized yesterday, and a lot of the family from Michigan came down to witness it. The minister let Katelyn (5) give the benediction for the service. She thought that was big stuff (and so did we!). We then went to an Italian restaurant in Naperville where they stuffed us with a country-style dinner. Seven kids seven and under were present, so it was anything but a calm dining experience. We enjoyed it, though.

As a result of attending the baptism service, I'm on a three-day weekend, and haven't seen a train since I got home Saturday. One thing exciting in the yard is that UP is getting back some of the SD60Ms it sent to EMD for rebuilding. They're unrepainted so far, and have large, new flared radiators at the hind end. No new number series, so far.

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)

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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, May 24, 2010 4:50 PM

Nothing too much going on with me this long weekend. I hope my fellow Canadian readers enjoyed their Victoria Day holiday.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by switch7frg on Monday, May 24, 2010 9:36 PM

Whistling In spite of things that happened today;  life is still good and trains will still roll on by. ~~~ LOL    albiet a bit jerky.    Jim

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:40 AM

I came across this interesting article, which mentions the 5 foot gauge railways of the south converting to standard gauge during the 1880s. This has left me wondering how long the 5 foot gauge would have lasted if the Confederate States had gained independence. Anyone have an opinion?

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/3/1993_3_54.shtml

Dale
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 7:00 AM
Interesting to think about. Unless the CSA remained very isolationist, I think they'd probably have to convert to survive economically, probably by the time World War I rolled around. It's so hard to think about things like that, because if they had become independent so much else would be different as well.

Not as hard to think about wishing Kathi Kube a really happy birthday. This young lady was born just before Pat and I graduated from high school--amazing! Hope your day--and the upcoming year--goes very well for you, Kat!

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)

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Posted by zardoz on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 9:04 AM

CNW 6000
One of these weekends...I'm actually going to be able to go south and spend some time looking around.  Hopefully it'll help!  Sad to admit I've never been to Duplainville or Butler Yard yet.

If you want a guide, let me know.  I can either give you some suggestions, or if you want, I could meet you somewhere, and I'll give you the tour. You may reply either here, or you can PM me.
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:23 PM

zardoz

CNW 6000
One of these weekends...I'm actually going to be able to go south and spend some time looking around.  Hopefully it'll help!  Sad to admit I've never been to Duplainville or Butler Yard yet.

If you want a guide, let me know.  I can either give you some suggestions, or if you want, I could meet you somewhere, and I'll give you the tour. You may reply either here, or you can PM me.

I may just take you up on that Jim.  I'll PM with more details...however, I may have business related reasons to visit Milwaukee-land...too early to tell yet though.  I'll keep you posted.

Anyone remember "Poppa Zit" from on here?  I haven't seen him in forever.

Dan

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Posted by zardoz on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 3:52 PM

CNW 6000

I may have business related reasons to visit Milwaukee-land...too early to tell yet though.  I'll keep you posted.

Anyone remember "Poppa Zit" from on here?  I haven't seen him in forever.

Poppa? Yeah, I remember him.  He is one of the more interesting posters we have lost over the years.  I know that many more have left, but right now I can't think of any.

Regarding your business-related reasons for being in Milwaukee, I think we can work around that.  Lots of other stuff for me to do in town.

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Posted by nanaimo73 on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 1:35 AM

zardoz
Poppa? Yeah, I remember him.  He is one of the more interesting posters we have lost over the years.  I know that many more have left, but right now I can't think of any.

There are a few of the older members I'd like to see around again, Overmod, arbfbe, Dan Harmon and Ed King (Old Timer) come to mind. Perhaps I'm the only one that misses Futuremodal?

Dale
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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 5:29 AM
I think Phil Z popped in somewhere not too long ago, but he certainly not the regular he used to be. A very intelligent guy, who could be a lightning rod at times.

Dale and Jim, you two are folks that I miss when you're not on for a while. I always look forward to your posts. There are a few people (I won't mention names) who are missed around here like a toothache would be, and some who turn my stomach whenever they do post. But then, people might say the same about me, in which case I may be one of the better stomach-turners around!

Time to return to work, after a three-day weekend. I don't expect the yard to be a pretty place this morning.

Carl

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CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by AgentKid on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:39 AM

I was down at my local Safeway store yesterday evening and had an interesting experience. There was one lady talking to one of the store staff about the money she had just wired by the Western Union service provided in the store. Fifty years ago people would have come to our station to do that. There was a bit of a line at the cashier, so I had a few minutes to listen to them and have memories rolling in at the same time.

CPR stations all had money orders sales and wire transfers as well as telegraph service. And compared to today's credit cards and Interac debit cards, was it ever complicated. If you wanted to wire money in Canada the recipient could receive it at any other CPR station or if you wanted to send a money order in Canada the recipient could cash it at any CPR station in Canada.

Although it could be done outside of Canada, that is when it got really complicated. Each country outside of Canada had its' own corresponding financial institution to deal with and each station had different money order forms for many of the most common destinations. Since Canada was a member of the British Commonwealth, sending money orders or wire transfers to the UK was fairly straight forward

Sending money to the US however, was way more complex, as there were a number of financial institutions involved. You had to figure out which bank would be closest for the recipient to cash his money order or receive his wire transfer at, and these banks were not created equal. There was a bank in Boston that was supposed to serve the New England area, but if you were from the other end of the city, not to mention all the other states in the area, it could take weeks to get your money. There was a bank in New York City that seemed to work not too bad for a large area, but if you could, you sent these items through a particular bank in Chicago that would be fast and efficient. And that bank handled all the business to the west coast. There were more banks in the SE US.

As these women were talking I also remembered Dad could send flowers to people through FTD, Floral (Florist?) Telegraph Dispatch, I think it was. He had a a colour 8.5 x 11 tri-fold pamphlet that he kept in the cash drawer. When someone wanted to send flowers, they picked an arrangement out of the pamphlet, and the catalog number was sent to the nearest flower shop anywhere in Canada or the US. We had a small decal of that famous logo in one of the windows, but I forget where.

This would commonly happen after someone would receive a telegram about the death of a loved one, and sometimes right when they picked up the telegram. Now there is a flower shop right in the Safeway.

As I have told younger friends many times, there are not as many new things in this world as you might think, it was just a lot harder to do them then.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by zardoz on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 8:19 AM

nanaimo73
Perhaps I'm the only one that misses Futuremodal?

Nah.  I miss him too. 

The forums may be 'safer' and less crontroversial with FM and the others like him gone, but at the same time the forums have become more bland.  There is nothing like a spirited discussion to generate interest.  I remember back when many threads would get ten pages or more long with the back-and-forth diatribes.  Nowadays, most threads die out after one or two pages.

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Posted by Mookie on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 9:05 AM

There are a few people (I won't mention names) who are missed around here like a toothache would be, and some who turn my stomach whenever they do post. But then, people might say the same about me, in which case I may be one of the better stomach-turners around!  (Carl

Ahh - BC - your sensitive side is showing.....Mischief

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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