Trackside Lounge: 3Q 2010

[CShaveRR]

I just heard from a friend about five blocks from us that her rain gauge gathered 9.25". That means, of course, that ours is worthless because it would have overflowed.

I'm seriously thinking we should go back home rather than to the cottage, at least to check things out. I'd take Amtrak, but I was told that they are having code line problems (on CSX) here in western Michigan.

The grandchildren were full of exciting tales about their vacation at the cottage this week--everything from the ride on the ferry to the ride on the horses, including the ride on the Dune Scooter!

[Willy2]

CShaveRR

Actually, right now the outing is a little scary. We saw that Chicagoland was hit hard by storms yesterday and overnight, and our house is in a low-lying area. We'd been dry, for the most part, for many days before that, so the ground should have been able to absorb some, if it didn't fall like it did in Milwaukee. The dungeon, however, is among the lowest of the low...

I hope everything is ok, Carl. Midway Airport got 9.09" of rain last night alone, and O'Hare got about 6.00". Those totals are coming close to what you would typically get from a tropical cyclone.

[CShaveRR]

Actually, right now the outing is a little scary. We saw that Chicagoland was hit hard by storms yesterday and overnight, and our house is in a low-lying area. We'd been dry, for the most part, for many days before that, so the ground should have been able to absorb some, if it didn't fall like it did in Milwaukee. The dungeon, however, is among the lowest of the low...

It's rainy up here in Michigan, too, but a gentle, steady rain. Right now we're at my mother-in-law's place, waiting for her great-grandchildren to arrive..I suppose I'd better sign off. If your two-year-old grandson can send me a text message on a cell phone, no telling what he'd do when given a crack at a full-fledged laptop!

Quote from a Facebook friend: "My computer beat me at chess...but it didn't do so well at kick-boxing."

[CopCarSS]

Enjoy your outing, Carl!

[CShaveRR]

We'll shortly be off for a few days of R&R (this is vacation, not retirement--and was planned well before the retirement date was set). As usual, railroads and railroading will have to be brought up there with me, because Oceana County has nothing of its own, save for the bike trail and whatever might be found in antique stores and museums. We might be able to have Internet access some of the time, but this is really a getaway!

[Deggesty]

CShaveRR

Well, it's official. I have attained the title and rank of Railroader Emeritus.

 

That sounds better than what I came up with--Executive Gopher Emeritus. Of course, "emeritus" may sound like an old man, which does not quite fit Carl.

[CNW 6000]

jeffhergert

Although, a regular assigned day off would be nice.  We had them for a while about 7 or 8 years ago on the extra boards.  

CN's got that on some boards on the WC side that have regular rest days.

[jeffhergert]

Hey Carl,

I like your new, revised signature line.

Jeff 

[CShaveRR]

CShaveRR

Pat and I will get out for a short bike ride this morning (errands around town); we're hoping that the rain will hold off long enough.

We did...it didn't.

Jim, thanks! Yesterday it was pretty happy--lots of nice things were said, both at the party and afterwards on Facebook. But then it begins to hit. This morning I found that they've already revoked my computer access! That wasn't much of a happy event, and I'm going to try to get something back.

The bike trip trip out, besides being a soaker, yielded an inbound coal train, followed in about 15 minutes by two simultaneous inbound manifests, the second one (by virtue of being about ten carlengths behind) with a DPU. I think he stopped a little further down the line to let the first one get into the yard ahead of him.

[jeffhergert]

blhanel

CNW 6000

Now that I am up at 4 on a regular basis (sometimes earlier if called) 7 is sleeping in to me...and that's crazy.

5 AM every weekday- welcome to my world.

Gee, a regular schedule. With regular days off.  Must be nice.

I must admit that I actually, for the most part, like working the "schedule" of an unassigned railroader.  I'm not sure I could take sleeping in my own bed every night (or day).

Although, a regular assigned day off would be nice.  We had them for a while about 7 or 8 years ago on the extra boards.  

Jeff

   

[zardoz]

CShaveRR

Well, it's official. I have attained the title and rank of Railroader Emeritus.

Wow. 

Is this a happy/sad type of occasion, or is it more sad/happy?  I would guess that when one has done something for so long, there is/was some trepidation when deciding whether or not to "pull the pin".

Either way, Congratulations.

[CNW 6000]

blhanel

CNW 6000

Now that I am up at 4 on a regular basis (sometimes earlier if called) 7 is sleeping in to me...and that's crazy.

5 AM every weekday- welcome to my world.

More like "subject to call, 3:30 AM to 9:30 PM, no less than 5 days per week"...but yeah.  I hear ya.

[CShaveRR]

Pat and I just went through the ceremonial resetting of the radio alarm...from 5:15 to 5:45! (For work, I'd be up before the radio came on, usually by 4:30--that's when I got up today, but I've already taken a nap.) And now we'll be able to stay in bed and listen to the radio for a while--or fall back asleep!

Pat and I will get out for a short bike ride this morning (errands around town); we're hoping that the rain will hold off long enough.

[blhanel]

CNW 6000

Now that I am up at 4 on a regular basis (sometimes earlier if called) 7 is sleeping in to me...and that's crazy.

5 AM every weekday- welcome to my world.

[CNW 6000]

That's like "tenure", right? 

Another round of wet heading this way and a short day means I may get to catch up on sleep.  My cousin (22 yrs) was complaining of getting up "early" at 9 AM for a job that started at 11 and went until 7.  Now that I am up at 4 on a regular basis (sometimes earlier if called) 7 is sleeping in to me...and that's crazy.

[CShaveRR]

Well, it's official. I have attained the title and rank of Railroader Emeritus.

[CShaveRR]

Well, I'm done but I'm not done. I go back in tomorrow for some as-yet-unspecified light-duty work. Basically all I'm doing is shoring up a weak half (railroaders won't have to have that one explained!). If I'm cool with it tomorrow, I might do it again Friday.

However, the farewell festivities were today. Patrick and Russ did a great job on the grill, and there were enough burgers, brats, salads, watermelon, and (of course) cake to go around. No chocolate, for those who wanted to drool on the sidelines. I received a gold watch, and the best wishes of many people whom I hadn't seen or worked with for a long time. Also scored a few hugs...

I was able to show a pin-puller the proper technique for making a clean cut, give a CRO student (and the experienced guy training him) some good advice, and told the hump conductor about a shortcut he hadn't known about before. Did a bit of reminiscing, too.

So, for tomorrow, I'm going to be vewy, vewwwy quiet...

[jeffhergert]

Carl,

Congratulations and Best Wishes on your retirement.  I'm happy (and a bit sad) for you.  Even though we didn't work directly together, everytime I saw or had a manifest train that came from Proviso I would wonder if you had worked it.  From here out, I won't have to think about it.  The railroad isn't going to be the same without you.

The very happiest thought is that even if you aren't with the UP anymore, you're still here with us on the forums.  I think of all the guys that I've known on the railroad who've retired, and then lost touch with.  I'm glad to know that won't happen in this case.

Jeff   

[CShaveRR]

Again, Bruce, thanks for the kind words! Comparing me to your father has to be the best tribute I've gotten, or am likely to get.

Just packed away the company-owned radio handset to return to its rightful owner tomorrow, along with its charger. The radio is fully charged and ready for someone else to use.

Pat and I took a 15-mile bike trip this morning, hoping the dark, threatening skies would hold off. Unfortunately, they did--the sun came out and the rain's nowhere to be found...again! Anyway, the Salt Creek Greenway, as currently laid out, crosses both the UP and CN main lines at grade along Villa Avenue in Villa Park. Three UP trains were seen, but none within a mile of us. (CN...fuggidabahtit!). Total time elapsed on the bikes was only slightly longer than the 12-mile trip we took last week. Adjustments have been made to make it easier for her to ride, and we're looking forward to doing it again on pleasant mornings, before the temperature gets too high.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Couldn't someone re-post it, and/ or edit it to remove the offending word, instead ?  Considering the inadvertent ocurrence and tangential nature of the problem, and the entirely proper and pro-railfan nature of the event, that kind of a corrective 'fix' seems a more appropriate remedy than the summary execution or 'tranportation' into cyberspatial oblivion to which the thread was evidently sentenced, apparently ex parte to boot . . .  

- Paul North. 

[CShaveRR]

Thanks so much, Bruce!

Right now, I have a little chore to do. On another thread (which got yanked), Joe Kohnen was announcing a railfan event for this Saturday at the Deshler (Ohio) Crossroads Park. Since the nickname given to the barbecued chicken cooked by the "Deshler Railfan" somehow has acquired a less-than-pleasant definition in the Urban Dictionary (never mind the other two less-offensive definitions that it has in addition to the one that we railfans are interested in), the thread got yanked. Nonetheless, the event will go on, and people who come to Deshler this Saturday with a contribution for the chicken and/or a dish to pass will have a great time. The people with the foul, gross thoughts need not attend (probably sorry they can't go, as am I). But if they do, they'll probably eat their word(s), and like it.

Moderators, please note that I did not use the word involved, less it offend some of the less-cultured minds here. I swear, no one who's been to Deshler for one of these functions thinks that way! In my years as both a railroader and a journalist, I never came across that definition.

[AgentKid]

CShaveRR

come what may, I go down the stairs for the final time in a professional capacity

 

Carl, congratulations on your retirement. I hope you and your wife Pat have many years to enjoy it. I would have posted earlier, but the finality of your statement above kind of threw me off my game.

Of all the posters on this forum, your years of service, coupled with your understanding as well as your enjoyment and passion for railroading, reminds me the most of my father.

Like Johnny said above, I too will be unable to make it to your at work retirement party tomorrow. I certainly hope someone is dispatched from the Kalmbach mothership to record this event.

There are so many more things I would like to write, but I will conclude with CONGRATULATIONS.

Bruce

 

[Deggesty]

Sorry, Carl, I can't make it to your party; I have a dental appointment that morning.

From your description, UP does a great deal when a long-term, excellent employee says, "Bye-bye." My party was nowhere as elegant as yours, but Ricki and her children and their families came. Also, my next-door neighbor (who hired me back in '75) and his wife came. I trust you will have to address the crowd, tell them you will miss them, and give a brief history of your employment (along with the joys and some of the sorrows).

Kudos to Pat for being the featured quilter.

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, Chris!

Well, we made our little shopping trip, and the new signals were lit. We even saw a flashing yellow on the westbound approach signal for Turner, something we'd never seen with the old bridge (that means that the home signal at Turner was showing Approach for the signal at Washington Street Tower, which would have been at Stop).

The new signals mark the end of an era (as far as I know) on UP's former CNW lines. The eastbound signals at Turner had contained the only remaining examples I can think of of the CNW-style color lights arranged horizontally. We saw them, now shrouded, slated for eventual removal (downloading?). There were clear signals eastbound on two of the three tracks, and, even though there weren't trains immediately taking advantage of them, the potential for two trains moving together in the same direction is always exciting. On our way home we were soundly overhauled--twice--by a stack train. The second time was because he had to stop for a westbound scoot to clear the platform at Glen Ellyn. High point for me was seeing the train snaking around the S-curve west of Glen Ellyn. Pat's favorite thing seemed to take place at about the same time when the two DP units came abreast of us.

[CopCarSS]

Congratulations on your retirement, Carl! Uncle Pete's got some big shoes to fill in a tower now. I hope you and Pat enjoy your retirement to the fullest! Take care!

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, Cannonball! I have had a bit of that already. My student yesterday was talking about trips she'd made on transfer runs, and the signals she'd encounter...I haven't done that in years!

But I'm lucky--I'm just to longer getting a paycheck for partaking in my hobby. When I hear that lonesome whistle calling, I can decide whether I want to take a few hours to go trackside, with (or without) my best girl by my side...leaping from crossing to crossing, and we'd sing...sing....SING!...

Why, just today, Pat decided to get some new clothes for our upcoming trips to the cottage (she isn't into making these articles for herself). So we'll get them at a Meijer in St. Charles, and be able to see if they've successfully completed the signal cutover...

Besides, if you attempted to pay me to sing, sing, sing, I might charge you more to stop, which you'd also fork over willingly!

[switch7frg]

Carl;  welcome to a new way of life. I hope after your ( vacation ) time is over you won't feel like the old fire horse who was retired to the pasture.  He would run the fenceline when he heard the fire wagon go by . Old habits are hard to let go. I know myself, being ret. OTR driver. Some times when I hear that ( Goodyear tire chorus) singing on the slab, a hankering comes back.    ~~~ Good luck to ya'.     Cannonball

[chad thomas]

 Hey Carl, Sorry I missed your call yesterday. It's been a crazy week (one 26 hour work day and another 18 hours), but it looks like I get this week off to make up for it. I'll call when I get a chance. By then I should have a date set for our Chicagoland railfanning trip.

 

And I agree with Paul, we want to see the retirement party pix  Hopefully in the employee newsletter with a nice corprate 'thank you' for your years of service 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

CShaveRR

  Johnny, the retirement party will be held on Wednesday. I'll be shown as working my job, but there will be an extra job called to actually do the work. I have to get in there somehow, because I shorted myself on my last timeslip (forgot to claim the extra pay for having the student). There will be a cookout (burgers and hot dogs), salads, and the obligatory cake. The cook (and my union rep) says my wife should be there, so Pat will come along. The boss will make some remarks and presentations. And afterwards, they'll sweep away the crumbs, myself included. 

  Hey, Carl (or Jeff, or Larry, or somebody else with good connections out that way) - How's about seeing if somebody can take some pictures of the ceremony and the guest of honor, and post them here ?    Or, I would hope that the UP employee magazine/ newsletter sends a reporter/ photographer to record the event for posterity ? 

CShaveRR

  As for the student herself, I'm pretty sure she'll do all right. She has a healthy attitude for showing up for work (witness her presence right at the expiration of her federal rest, before she could be called), and, as I mentioned, she was watching everything I did and asking plenty of questions. Today will be the first day of her actual training, in one of the lower towers (and she'll have a real task-master--I had to prepare her for that, too!). I thought it over, and I really don't think I told her anything that will be helpful (or harmful) in her training about throwing switches or operating retarders. But once she gets the job, she's going to have a lot better knowledge of what she's really doing than many people with much more experience.

Providence works in mysterious ways.  Here you were, thinking they'd have a tough time filling your shoes - and it seems as if another 'Little Sister' has shown up and appears to be up to the tasks.  (I had a more sentimental/ nicer way of stating that last night, but unfortunately it's slipped my mind this morning.   ) 

Carl - if you don't mind, from time to time I'll try to think of some intelligent questions (and maybe sometimes provocative, too) about your earlier days on the railroad, and trtain and yard operations, too.  There's likely a wealth of history and insights there, and a mind that comprehends it well enough, which ought to enjoy a wider circulation.

In the meantime, best wishes for you and Pat to enjoy your vacation trips !  There are lots worse places to be than Michigan in the summertime.

- Paul North. 

[CShaveRR]

Thanks, everyone!

Johnny, the retirement party will be held on Wednesday. I'll be shown as working my job, but there will be an extra job called to actually do the work. I have to get in there somehow, because I shorted myself on my last timeslip (forgot to claim the extra pay for having the student). There will be a cookout (burgers and hot dogs), salads, and the obligatory cake. The cook (and my union rep) says my wife should be there, so Pat will come along. The boss will make some remarks and presentations. And afterwards, they'll sweep away the crumbs, myself included.

As for the student herself, I'm pretty sure she'll do all right. She has a healthy attitude for showing up for work (witness her presence right at the expiration of her federal rest, before she could be called), and, as I mentioned, she was watching everything I did and asking plenty of questions. Today will be the first day of her actual training, in one of the lower towers (and she'll have a real task-master--I had to prepare her for that, too!). I thought it over, and I really don't think I told her anything that will be helpful (or harmful) in her training about throwing switches or operating retarders. But once she gets the job, she's going to have a lot better knowledge of what she's really doing than many people with much more experience.

Johnny, it's still a vacation because I'm getting paid out of that pot. After mid-August, Railroad Retirement will kick in. And we're still treating it as a vacation--the trips to Michigan will be pretty much the same as they would have been if I'd had to return to work on August 16. I think that then is when it will start to sink in. Anyway, we will be going up to Michigan at least three times in those three weeks. Can't just stay there, because we have to come home to pick up our daughter and son-in-law from the airport, then bring them back five days later so they can return to California. We have an open house for the quilt exhibit in Coopersville (Pat's the featured quilter) and a folk concert featuring our nephew to attend before Linda and Chris arrive, a family reunion while they're here, and another possible reunion of high-school friends after they've gone (this time a gal from Washington, D.C., is coming back for a visit). That trip may not be necessary if we're busy elsewhere when the get-together takes place (we could be taking the kids back to the airport, or home for the Princess Bride's wedding on the 14th).