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Trackside Lounge: 3Q 2010

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Posted by CopCarSS on Thursday, September 16, 2010 8:41 AM

Morning All,

Thinking of Chicago politics, did I hear correctly that King  Mayor Daley the Second is not seeking recoronation re-election?

Meanwhile, there was a fire along the Joint Line yesterday. Nothing too bad, but everyone's a bit jumpy after the Fourmile Canyon and Reservoir Road fires. It'd be really nice to get some precipitation, but it doesn't look like that wil happen anytime soon...

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 6:49 PM

The computer has been keeping me busy.  One of the three groups of freight-car information files has been transferred to the laptop from the Macasaurus and affiliated floppy disks.  Two more groups of these files to go, a couple of disks of sightings reports (the original blogs, pre-Internet!), and a few miscellaneous files.  I'm going to have to do some different organizing for the files remaining, because some companies are too large to stand alone (my files for General American take up four disks, for example).


The circus train went through Chicago in the late evening on Monday, and the train was in Grand Rapids by Tuesday morning, after what appears to be a five-hour run on CSX.  Not too shabby!


Rumor has it that in a couple of weeks, the other Ringling Brothers circus train (the blue unit) is going to have UP 3985 for power on one segment of its run.  Reports say that the 4-6-6-4 will take the train from Speer, Wyoming, to Denver on September 28.  Stay tuned!

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, September 14, 2010 9:25 AM

CShaveRR

We don't have any hitches on our car, darn it!  But one of those would look good on a bike, don't you think?

If you could reinforce the front and rear fenders, then you could mount the couplers at the very front and rear of all of your bikes.  Then when you went on a family ride, you could couple all of them together and be your own little train.....how cool would that look going down the street!
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 8:35 AM

No offense taken, Randy!  I think Chicago's "colorful" history is part of what makes it such a neat town.  I have to say that I'm not a native Chicagolander, and I don't really live in Chicago, but I don't think that you'll find a more people-friendly large city anywhere.  This past week, on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," they were having a little fun at Chicago's expense, comparing it to other cities "where mayors are elected", on the occasion of Richie announcing that he won't run again.  (Love him or hate him, he's done some amazing things to and for the city.)

 

We don't have any hitches on our car, darn it!  But one of those would look good on a bike, don't you think?

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 Tuesday, September 14, 2010 2:05 AM

tree68

Another source for the coupler/hitch cover: http://www.raildriver.com/products/hitch.php.

That's where I got mine.  One for the rear and one for the front hitch on my pick-up truck.

James


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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, September 13, 2010 10:20 PM

Awesome Larry...thanks (you too Jim)!  I will get one ordered tomorrow after work. 

Dan

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Posted by rvos1979 on Monday, September 13, 2010 8:09 PM

AgentKid
 rvos1979:

 

I believe the "vote early, and vote often" came from the kinda great state of Louisiana.....

 

 

I checked on Google and the origins are a little unclear. The consensus seems to be a tossup between former Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson and Al Capone. Richard J Daley also comes in for mention.

Bruce

Now that I think about, Mr. Capone does seem to come to mind.....

No offense to Carl, but I don't think the Chicago area has ever been quite right since the fire....

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, September 13, 2010 8:09 PM

Another source for the coupler/hitch cover: http://www.raildriver.com/products/hitch.php.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, September 13, 2010 6:51 PM

rvos1979

 

I believe the "vote early, and vote often" came from the kinda great state of Louisiana.....

I checked on Google and the origins are a little unclear. The consensus seems to be a tossup between former Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson and Al Capone. Richard J Daley also comes in for mention.

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 Monday, September 13, 2010 6:46 PM

CNW 6000

 tree68:

 Paul_D_North_Jr:

I just want to know how Larry got that "ballast hopper" home . . . Smile, Wink & Grin

 

http://www.tree68.net/Railroad/hitch.jpg

 

I want one...or two.

http://www.historicrail.com/product_info.po?ID=9999

 

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Posted by rvos1979 on Monday, September 13, 2010 6:38 PM

AgentKid

 

 CShaveRR:

 

you'd think he was a Chicago politician!

 

 

LaughLaughThumbs Up

Are these the same people who would vote early and vote often?QuestionOops

Bruce

I believe the "vote early, and vote often" came from the kinda great state of Louisiana.....

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, September 13, 2010 6:11 PM

zugmann

 

What?  You don't have the frequent voter card??

Oh MAN, that is all I need.

We have a Mayor's race in Calgary that is really turning into something. I worked as an Office Manager in election campaign offices in the mid eighties and nineties. I never stopped being interested in the issues, but I stopped working there because I became disenchanted and disheartened with the people I was working for. Now I have the feeling I may get drawn back in before this race is over in mid October.

What is the line from the movie? "I keep trying to get out, but they keep sucking me back in".

If I disappear from the forum for the next month, that is what happened.

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 Deggesty on Monday, September 13, 2010 5:47 PM

AgentKid

 CShaveRR:

you'd think he was a Chicago politician!

 

LaughLaughThumbs Up

Are these the same people who would vote early and vote often?QuestionOops

Bruce

 

Don't some vote every election day--after being resurrected?Oops

Johnny

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Posted by zugmann on Monday, September 13, 2010 5:21 PM

AgentKid

 

 CShaveRR:

 

you'd think he was a Chicago politician!

 

 

LaughLaughThumbs Up

Are these the same people who would vote early and vote often?QuestionOops

Bruce

 

 

What?  You don't have thew frequent voter card??

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, September 13, 2010 5:12 PM

CShaveRR

you'd think he was a Chicago politician!

LaughLaughThumbs Up

Are these the same people who would vote early and vote often?QuestionOops

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 CShaveRR on Monday, September 13, 2010 2:36 PM

I'm still trying to get my head around the "buying people" thing...you'd think he was a Chicago politician!

Carl

Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, September 13, 2010 2:09 PM

tree68

 Paul_D_North_Jr:

I just want to know how Larry got that "ballast hopper" home . . . Smile, Wink & Grin

 

http://www.tree68.net/Railroad/hitch.jpg

I want one...or two.

Dan

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, September 13, 2010 1:24 PM

zugmann

 Deggesty:  Larry, you bought PEOPLE?!Smile

And he does that at every trainshow!  A little free advice: if you would feed them, you wouldn't have to keep buying new ones.

I probably ought to let them out of those little plastic packages they come in, too...   Stick out tongue

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 tree68 on Monday, September 13, 2010 1:22 PM

Paul_D_North_Jr

I just want to know how Larry got that "ballast hopper" home . . . Smile, Wink & Grin

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 Paul_D_North_Jr on Monday, September 13, 2010 1:02 PM

I just want to know how Larry got that "ballast hopper" home . . . Smile, Wink & Grin

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by zugmann on Monday, September 13, 2010 11:49 AM

Deggesty

Now to quote Tree68: "Aside from that, I bought a calendar, a ballast hopper, and some people (something I do at every train show)."

Larry, you bought PEOPLE?!Smile

 

And he does that at every trainshow!  A little free advice: if you would feed them, you wouldn't have to keep buying new ones.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, September 13, 2010 11:42 AM

Now to quote Tree68: "Aside from that, I bought a calendar, a ballast hopper, and some people (something I do at every train show)."

Larry, you bought PEOPLE?!Smile

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, September 13, 2010 11:39 AM

After posting the above, I remembered how the "Blondie" program on radio began sixty or so years ago--"Ahnt, Ahnt, Ahnt now, don't touch that dial! It's time for 'BLONDIE!'" Don't touch that button!--unless you want to repeat your post.Smile

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Monday, September 13, 2010 11:33 AM

Modelcar

Carl:

Yes, as you can see, I now have a dupplicate post here too...either {above or below}, depending how one has his progression set.  I saw that last night and went thru the process of deleting one of them, and thought I did....??   Yes, I went thru the process of answering why:  And of course my response was:  "Dublicated the post"...Although I don't know how I'm doing it....So, seems to be some kind of problem....I'm either overlooking something, or there is a problem in this new system.

Noting your remarks this morning, I checked and found it was still there....Sometimes it seems one can delete a dublicate and other times not....??

And one more....Trying to place a quote in a response to a post, the result {at least for me}, it provides the total post one tries to take a few lines from to answer to....Another...???

Also.....How does one tell when a poster is on line.....?

Yup, it is quite easy to duplicate a post, especially if you click on the go back to the thread button. I tried that the first time I posted with the new format--and it put me into a circle into a circle...with the post being repeated each time. Now, I simply go back (ALT + left arrow key or Back Arrow at the upper left of the screen) after posting--and my post takes no more than the necessary room on the thread.

And, if I want to quote just a part of a previous post, I block it, copy it, acknowledge whom I am copying, paste it, and enclose it between quotation marks.

I trust that these problems will be taken care of soon.

Johnny

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, September 13, 2010 11:18 AM

The option to delete has been restored--but whether or not you can use it depends on whether a reply to your post has been posted.  If one has, you can't delete yours.

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 zugmann on Monday, September 13, 2010 9:36 AM

never mind, I guess you have to check the who's online link on the right. 

 

(I thought there was another way...but it's not working now).

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by Modelcar on Monday, September 13, 2010 9:29 AM

Carl:

Yes, as you can see, I now have a dupplicate post here too...either {above or below}, depending how one has his progression set.  I saw that last night and went thru the process of deleting one of them, and thought I did....??   Yes, I went thru the process of answering why:  And of course my response was:  "Dublicated the post"...Although I don't know how I'm doing it....So, seems to be some kind of problem....I'm either overlooking something, or there is a problem in this new system.

Noting your remarks this morning, I checked and found it was still there....Sometimes it seems one can delete a dublicate and other times not....??

And one more....Trying to place a quote in a response to a post, the result {at least for me}, it provides the total post one tries to take a few lines from to answer to....Another...???

Also.....How does one tell when a poster is on line.....?

Quentin

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Monday, September 13, 2010 8:36 AM

zardoz

 Paul_D_North_Jr:

CNW 6000 and others here -

Thought you might be interested in this photo (not mine) recently posted to RailPictures.net - a unique 'in-the-cab' photo of M340 SB on Byron Hill - here's the link to it: 

  http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=336970 

- Paul North.  

 

Looks like the train is just south of ChurchRroad.

The engineer looks relaxed because there isn't much for him to do while the train growls up the hill--just put it in the 8th notch and sit back and hope everything keeps working....

That is a nice shot and that kind of HP working that hard makes for nice video on the 175 overpass...I wish to high heaven I could eventually get a shot to sit in that seat.  Fate, sadly....

Dan

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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, September 13, 2010 8:14 AM

Anyone else here notice how easily messages can be duplicated on this reincarnated forum?  And we've lost the option to delete our own messages. 


The Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Red Unit circus train is moving from Kansas City to Grand Rapids today and tomorrow.  Reportedly the routing is via the old BN (at least east from Galesburg) to Chicago, then CSX up to Grand Rapids.  If anyone sees it, please let us know where and when--there's a lot of leeway in the operation as of now, and we wouldn't mind getting out somewhere (Eola?  LaGrange?  Blue Island?  Porter?) to see it, especially if it came through in daylight.

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 Modelcar on Sunday, September 12, 2010 9:29 PM

tree68

Speaking of steam -

Spent most of the day at the local train show, looking around and occasionally getting my picture taken (I was in uniform).

One of the vendors had a New York Central marked RR lantern for sale, marked at $50.  He told me to make an offer, and I did, $40.  He accepted.

All indications are that it's authentic, a Dietz Vesta manufactured in Syracuse in 1922.  It has "New York Central" stamped into the lid as well as cast into the globe.

I'm thinkin' I really scored on this one.  From what I can tell, I can put some oil in it and light it up (and may well do so for Polar Express).  It's in excellent condition.

Aside from that, I bought a calendar, a ballast hopper, and some people (something I do at every train show).

I'm ready for a nap.

Larry..........Sounds familiar to one I have....{actually it's on display in our former C&O depot here now used as a Trail Head}.  Depot is fully restored...{Carl's been there}....and mine has  C. C. C & St. L. cast in the clear globe....It too is in good shape.  The wick winds up real easy,etc....

Quentin

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