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.
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
Boy.....that is an interesting and good "as it's happening" shot.
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.
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.
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....
Be sure and give it a trial run, Larry, before you take it with you to work! Sounds like a mighty nice find!
Pat and I went to a craft fair on Chicago's near north side after church today; we met the daughter of one of my high-school classmates (isn't Facebook wonderful?). Didn't buy anything, though--neither Pat nor I heard anything calling our names, either at Meredith's place or any other of the hundred or more booths there.
We took the scenic route home--straight down Western Avenue past the ex-MILW tower and the Metra/UP diamond, past Global 1 (power on the bridge overhead), under the BNSF, past Brighton Park (two UP trains crossed over us just south of there--one stack, one empty coal train), under the CTA Orange Line three times, past NS (Landers--lot of construction!) and CSX (59th Street) intermodal yards, and on out to Blue Island, where we saw a BNSF hopper train on the IHB at the Broadway crossing (steel hoppers, with rotary-coupler ends--numbering suggests that they have a few thousand of these!). When it cleared, we discovered a couple of railfan photographers in the shade of the crossing tower.
Thanks to part of our regular route home from Blue Island (127th Street) being closed for construction, we found some interesting streets that had occupied industrial spurs appropriately adjacent, so I could get some good information off a number of tank cars by just pulling over. Might visit these places more often, now that I know about them!
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)
Larry 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...
CShaveRR C&O never converted the old Pere Marquette wrecking cranes from steam to diesel, so they had their biggest and best steam-powered derrick (DK-8) on the scene.
C&O never converted the old Pere Marquette wrecking cranes from steam to diesel, so they had their biggest and best steam-powered derrick (DK-8) on the scene.
Oh man, if I had known about that I would have paid good money to go see it. It would have been both historic and cool.
I should have expanded my earlier post. I do remember CNR steam engines in regular service through Irricana, as they used steam on their Calgary-Edmonton line right up to the last weeks of CNR steam in Canada. The spring of 1960. You get a steam engine running at the right speed in a TV show or movie and the memory comes right back to me.
As to that pile driver, my Dad said that crew were as much fans as operators of it. The bridge job they were on was going to be the last ever job for that machine under steam power. Branchline work, you see. When the job was done, that machine was going to Ogden Shops to either be refitted with diesel power or scrapped. The foreman said it was likely headed for the scrap line because of its' age. The bridge job started seven weeks behind schedule so they had been enjoying their summer operating the last of its' kind machine between breaks waiting for other issues to clear up.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Bruce, I do have some vague memories of GTW steam in Grand Haven, but nothing particularly memorable. My last steam experience (other than fantrips, tourist lines, or whatever) was watching the C&O clear up a wreck at East Saugatuck, Michigan, in the middle 1970s. C&O never converted the old Pere Marquette wrecking cranes from steam to diesel, so they had their biggest and best steam-powered derrick (DK-8) on the scene.
Haven't listened to the NS song yet...sounds like a lot of thought was put into it, though!
__________________
It took our tech guy about 15 minutes to restore our computer's e-mail to operation. It was interesting to listen to him check things out before he fixed it: "OK.......OK........OK......That's interesting!...."
And now for something completely different.
Did anyone check out the News Wire story about the opening of the NS Heartland Corridor project, and the related music video. The song is surprisingly good. I got a laugh when the actors/employees were dancing in front of the RR equipment. A lighthearted 7.5 out of 10 on the entertainment scale.
I have had a really interesting past few weeks train watching on DVD's. I purchased Canadian Vintage Steam, and Canadian Steam 1957, 1958, and 1959, from an advertiser in Classic Trains. Has looking at those tapes ever brought a flood of memories.
It is not just the locomotives and rolling stock pictured, it everything in front of, beside, and behind the subject matter that looks so "right". I looked at each DVD on my TV first, and then on my computer several times. When you are up close to a computer screen you pick up more details every time you watch.
There were various scenes that I could refer to in various threads currently and recently discussed on this and the Classic Trains forums. Then there was one scene that brought back a conversation my Dad had with one of our neighbour's at Irricana, AB that I don't think I had ever thought of since we left there in 1965. They were standing on our platform watching a CN train go by on their tracks a couple of hundred feet from our station.
One item I will mention. Back near the start of this quarter's Trackside Lounge thread I had mentioned High and Low Forty boxcar's. Were those low forties ever low, they look like they were only six or eight inches higher than the low roof, non cupola portion, of the caboose following them. Seeing those kinds of detail's on video has been a real treat.
Seeing how everything on these DVD's looks so right, it brings up one interesting point. I cannot actually remember seeing a CPR steam engine in revenue (not tourist or museum) service. It is like my memory banks kick in a couple of weeks after these movies were made, when I saw Geeps for the first time. As a young child with no sense of history, I must have been impressed with how new and clean looking diesel's were. I know my memories go way back on this, because I can remember my Dad telling me how one engineer can control two engines. And double heading on that line ended only a couple of years after we moved to Irricana, after the collapse of the household coal market. That would have been when I was about six or seven. For the record, the last steam powered device I ever saw in company service was a steam powered pile driver, sent to work on a bridge north of Irricana when I was seven or eight.
It has been an enjoyable experience.
Today's the birthday of classical composer Antonin Dvorak, born 1841. WFMT is broadcasting nothing but Dvorak from 6:00 this morning until noon (perhaps more later). One thing that he is known for is having been a railfan (probably more akin to a locomotive-spotter), both in his native Bohemia and in the United States. (While at New York, however, he was more fascinated by the ships in the harbor.)
We have the wind here today (not a very bicycle-friendly breeze when one's headed west!). If there were fires in our area, they'd be difficult to contain. But we've had a bit of rain over the past week or so, so there isn't too much danger of that. August was below average on rain, but September should be about average, so far.
The temperature has dropped from even a week ago, so it's great weather for being out in something other than the car (didn't use it at all yesterday; don't expect to today). I got trackside today while Pat was in a meeting, and caught four trains in about an hour. One was the regular scoot, and there were two manifests (one in each direction) and an empty NIPSCO train (NORX gons) with a DP. Nice to see distributed power going to some off-line destinations.
Only two more days without e-mail, I hope. Transfer of freight-car-sightings files continues smoothly, though, and I even was able to speed up the process further on this end.
Quentin - Thank you for the kind words about the photos! It was definitely a great trip, and I'm lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend.
Carl - Thanks for the information regarding the station. I was poking around the web and found some old maps and came to the same conclusion about the NYC&HR. I'm going to look into it a little further. I'll let you know if I find anything.
Bruce - Thank you for the kind words! The architecture around Albion was all very, very interesting and the railroad stuff especially so! I had a fantastic time there, and hope to spend more time there next time I'm in the area.
Meanwhile, after a spring and early summer full of rain and a big lack of it recently, things have gotten interesting with fires. There was a small one (less than an acre) near my house a couple of days ago. And now, the Fourmile Canyon fire is burning west of Boulder. Some houses have already been destroyed. A fellow Pentaxian is among those in the mandatory evacuation zone. He thinks his house should be OK unless there's a major wind shift, so I'm crossing my fingers for him.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
Sounds like that project will keep you busy for quite some time Carl. Looking forward to updates on it when you can.
CN kept busy this afternoon. Swung by Neenah this afternoon. Caught:-Q198 loaded intermodal bound for Chicago (SB),-C703 (WPSX loads for Weston) NB,-A491 (also NB) working at Neenah, then departing for Stevens Point,-L595 returning to Neenah (SB),-M335 waiting it's turn to get to Neenah (NB),-M340 just north of Oshkosh heading to Fond du Lac (SB).
Not bad for a little over 75 minutes! If I get time tomorrow I'll get pics and videos done.
Dan
Neither, Bruce. It didn't even crash. But I should have!
CShaveRR due to a self-inflicted computer wound
due to a self-inflicted computer wound
The question I want know before anyone else thinks to ask is; did it fall or was it pushed?
I think it was playing with somebody who should have let his frustrations with translating a couple of problem files (in which he succeeded) let the task take him well past his bedtime. Suspect that something went out with the trash that shouldn't have.
Today we took out some of our frustrations on the bicycles and our back yard (four miles and two 30-gallon cans of yard waste, respectively!). It's raining now, or I'd be pushing the lawn mower of doom!
CShaveRR Just a quick note: due to a self-inflicted computer wound, we haven't been getting e-mails. So if you've been awaiting a reply, we aren't being snooty--we just haven't gotten it. I'm hoping it can be repaired later this week.
Just a quick note: due to a self-inflicted computer wound, we haven't been getting e-mails. So if you've been awaiting a reply, we aren't being snooty--we just haven't gotten it. I'm hoping it can be repaired later this week.
Johnny
You're probably right, Z, when you cite that reason. I'm pretty sure this engineer, an older head, knew what he was doing, on a brutally cold day when he knew that the passengers involved wouldn't have gotten in front of him no matter how hard they tried otherwise. I apprised the conductor (who didn't know why the train had stopped short), and he didn't seem upset.
This happened on the pedestrian walkway that will eventually be replaced by a tunnel in the same spot. I think that, had the tunnel been there back then, the passengers probably could have made it without much problem. The trainmen might have had to hold back on closing the doors a few seconds for them...
CShaveRR And folks, the crews don't do this to be mean. I've seen some of the same engineers, when observing passengers running toward the crossing to catch the train, stop their train short of the crossing, motion the people across, then move the rest of the way in to the platform.
And folks, the crews don't do this to be mean. I've seen some of the same engineers, when observing passengers running toward the crossing to catch the train, stop their train short of the crossing, motion the people across, then move the rest of the way in to the platform.
I sure hope they are not doing this at crossings with any type of protection. Really, they shouldn't do this at all. It's just going to encourage people to try to run in front of a train (after all, Mr, Engineer stopped for me last time!)
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
Paul, here's a link to the story you may have heard about:
http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=53040
I wish Metra would adopt the practice systemwide. I'm sure the engineers are in on it, giving a description of the offender(s) to the conductor, who's too busy doing his own job to go watch at the approach to the stations.
Now, Paul, in answer to your questions, on the UP, as it now stands, trains are not allowed to come past the platform area when a passenger train is stopped to load or unload passengers. This applies to freight and passenger trains. Scoots coming into a station from the opposite directions may, after conferring via radio, enter the platform area simultaneously (that's what I saw in Elmhurst--since there are grade crossings at the ends of the platforms, there was considerable horn-blowing in what's normally a quiet zone. so everyone was aware to look in both directions.
I don't believe that BNSF has a similar policy--I think their trains just blow on by, whistling as necessary. A rule such as that might be a real hardship over there, since they have stations more closely spaced than ours on UP West.
A lot of this work that's presently going on along UP West is, I believe, a precursor to dropping those rules about conflicting movements--they want to keep everything moving whenever possible. As I mentioned, the work on grade crossings is to keep pedestrians away from the tracks. Additionally, a pedestrian overpass is being built at the Wheaton station, a tunnel will replace the pedestrian walkway at the station in Lombard, a pedestrian tunnel will replace a grade crossing in Wheaton that is heavily used by college students (Wheaton College), and an overpass for the Great Western Trail will be built by the crossing of St. Charles Road and Grace Street in Lombard--that should be able to be used by people just trying to get across the tracks, not just trail users. The new signals are being erected for new crossovers, which will not only keep trains moving and permit express scoots to bypass the locals during rush hour, but will minimize the number of stations at which a given train has to stop on other then the expected track.
There has also been some talk about a "second train" warning signal to be used at all crossings on this line. I've seen nothing of that yet, so can't describe what it will look like or sound like. UP West is not the busiest Metra line in terms of commuter operations, but it has to be the busiest in total train count when the UP freights are taken into consideration, and Metra has plans to substantially increase daily train frequency through here (and UP will increase freights as business warrants). In five years we may not recognize this railroad!
Welcome back Paul. Weather decent down there? I think I studied the wrong stuff in college and got the wrong job. Those seminars sound informative and fun.
____
After being in the 90s the past few days, it's only 76 at 1pm here. Too bad I have to work today and tomorow. (2nd shift yard job). That's OK - I like working Sat and Sun here. We'll be the only crew working, so the yard will be nice and quiet. Then everyone is laid in for Labor day, then I'm going to end up stuck on the night shift robo-engine all next week it looks like.
I'm back from almost a solid week in Orlando attending the AREMA Conference, so I've got some serious catching up to do here. Met many nice railroaders, suppliers, and consultants, as well as a few from here. Attended all the general sessions and as many technical sessions as I could squeeze in - there were 6 different 'tracks' running at half-hour intervals simultaneously almost all day Tuesday, about 55 altogether - plus 4 seminars, and got certificates of completion from 3 - the Roadway Worker Protection one conflicted with the 'case study' portion of Bulk Terminal Design seminar, so a difficult choice had to be made . . .
The quote below from Carl's post above relates to a portion of the Track Alignment Design Seminar yesterday morning. A question was asked as to whether or not the Class I's - BNSF, CN, and UP - completely halt freight operations during the commuter train rush hours - esp. on the BNSF's triple-track 'Raceway' - or instead continue as normally as track availability allows ? (I thought they continue.) And if freight trains do continue to operate, will a freight pass a commuter train which is stopped at a station that has a grade crossing nearby ? There was some doubt about that, too, because of the policy of through or express trains not passing trains that are stopped in stations, so as to try to prevent the pedestrian fatalities of that sort that occurred earlier this year.
Finally, one participant in the Track Alignment Design Seminar said that the UP crews seem to have instituted a practice of - whenever a commuter is seen dodging around the down gates or climbing over or through a stopped freight train to get to their desired commuter train - of not letting them onboard, but instead giving them a red or orange card about those fatalities and safety around trains, and making them wait until the next train to give them more time to think about their misdeed. Anyone here know anything about that ? Thanks in advance for any answers or insights.
CShaveRR [snip] . . . I then returned for the two scoots (simultaneously) and another coal train. . . . A lot of work is being done along our line in the western suburbs so that people using the station platforms cannot walk between the gates and the tracks at crossings. This involves either removal of parts of the platforms, repositioning of the pedestrian gates, or both. Where there are gates (and we expect more of them!), they want no excuse for pedestrians to be in front of them!
A lot of work is being done along our line in the western suburbs so that people using the station platforms cannot walk between the gates and the tracks at crossings. This involves either removal of parts of the platforms, repositioning of the pedestrian gates, or both. Where there are gates (and we expect more of them!), they want no excuse for pedestrians to be in front of them!
Today holds a grand tradition in these parts--a Labor Day (well, close enough!) picnic for railroaders thrown by four Proviso locals (one Carmen, three UTU). The food is free to members and their families, and there are rubber-tired train rides, cotton candy, and other things for the younger kids. This is a bit nicer than the old days when one would attend these things almost purely for the beer that freely flows. I'm hoping to see a lot of my former co-workers, both active and retired.
Since I'm no longer subject to the random testing, I'll have to fall back on my other excuse for not hitting the keg: I simply don't like the stuff!
Back about 100 years ago (according to the Official Guide download I have), Albion was served by the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. My guess is that this station dates from before then, and could have been an NYC&HR design, or possibly an original New York Central (pre-NYC&HR) design.
CopCarSS An old station not too far from where the grain elevator was.
An old station not too far from where the grain elevator was.
Oh man, did I ever like the picture of that station. It really set my imagination running, thinking about what it would have been like back in the day. They must have had a serious lcl freight and express trade.
I wrote a post several years back on the Classic Trains forum about how I enjoyed looking at pictures of stations large and small and trying to pick out where the operator/agents office was. And there it was on the second floor nicely centred in your photo.
That photo of the stone grain elevator is an interesting one as well. I am going to have to give it more study. All in all, great photo's.
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