CNW 6000 Hope you're trackside today Jim...CN's been running things like crazy. Between 9 AM and the next hour I know of about a dozen 'through' trains that have moved through the Waukesha and Neenah subs plus a couple locals too...
Hope you're trackside today Jim...CN's been running things like crazy. Between 9 AM and the next hour I know of about a dozen 'through' trains that have moved through the Waukesha and Neenah subs plus a couple locals too...
My wife says that the CN has some way of knowing when I'm trackside, and that they hold all of their trains as long as they can waiting for me to go away.
CShaveRRHeaded out east to Lowell, Michigan, for our family reunion. Lowell was on two railroad lines back in the day (PM and GTW). Later, both were spun off to related companies, and I'm not sure if they're one railroad now or not--or even if anything's left.
Carl, you may know the answer by the time you read this, but according to SPV's atlas of the Great Lake East states, (2005 edition), both lines through Lowell are operated by Mid Michigan Railroad, a RailAmerica subsidiary.
Happy family gathering!
Johnny
Dan
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)
Ok, trivia time: What's an O.O.P.S. on the railroad? (hint: nothing to do with wrecks or crashing).
Rail employees (esp. yardbirds): let the fans have a try at it first...
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
It's lonely in here.
CShaveRRI would have bought it for my grandkids on the spot, but daughter didn't want me taking anything away from their Saturday plans...going out to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union to spend a day with Thomas.
Paul_D_North_JrCShaveRR [snip] (This gal was something else--she normally is sweet and has a timid little voice over the speaker. But she always managed to find her voice--and the choicest words--when she was ticked off! . . . )  Kind of like Cadet Laverne Hooks as played by actress Marion Ramsey in the first Police Academy movie (1984) -
CShaveRR [snip] (This gal was something else--she normally is sweet and has a timid little voice over the speaker. But she always managed to find her voice--and the choicest words--when she was ticked off! . . . )Â
Kind of like Cadet Laverne Hooks as played by actress Marion Ramsey in the first Police Academy movie (1984) -
CShaveRR [snip] (This gal was something else--she normally is sweet and has a timid little voice over the speaker. But she always managed to find her voice--and the choicest words--when she was ticked off! . . . )
Kind of like Cadet Laverne Hooks as played by actress Marion Ramsey in the first Police Academy movie (1984) - see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087928/ and http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005092/quotes
Life on the railroad - thanks for sharing, both of you, zug and Carl.
Although, in the instance related by Carl, 'some people I know' would've also taken the bottles out of their carriers and stacked them on their sides with the long-ways left-to-right to fill the fridge in such a way that when the door was next opened, most of the bottles would suddenly tumble out on the floor, a la 'Fibber McGee's closet'. And maybe even taken the caps off a few and left them standing upright on top of the stack, so that the offending person was sure to get an ample splash of the cold water that he must have really wanted so badly to leave a note like that . . . Probably would've bought a case or two of a different brand to make it abundantly clear that the official 'company property/ supplies' wasn't being wasted or misused, either, in the effort to assure that he got enough water. And even the floor gets washed . . .
- Paul North.
CNW 6000Pretty funny Zug!Â
Pretty funny Zug!Â
Pretty funny Zug!
A Zugmini Tale:
The Cooler God.
_________________
(Note: this story is not meant as a dig at any religion, theology, demonology, or anthology. It's just the rantings of someone that has been up all night working):
Anyone that has ever worked on the railroad and doesn't have exlcusive use of their locomotives has come to known the Cooler God. This supreme being also takes the form of the "Refrigerator God" on other less hill-billy roads that believe in mechanical refrigeration. For this little story though, I will speak of the Cooler God and only the Cooler God as my deity.
Every once in a great moon you will board a locomotive. Perhaps it has been parked with its train for a few hours. Or maybe the locomotive is on the shop outbound tracks. Or perhaps it was laying over in some yard track. Part of the normal beginning-of-the-shift ritual is to dump out any melted ice in the cooler, add some fresh ice, and maybe some more bottled water. But every once in awhile, you will find an unopened bottle or can of soft drink (or soda, or soda pop, or pop for yinz Pittsburgher folk). Left over by other crew members? I think not. A railroader would sooner jump out of a moving train at 75 mph (with trailing foot first, or was that last???) than leave something that costs as much as a $1.59 in a locomotive cab. We may be beautiful, but we're cheap.
No, this was the work of the COOLER GOD. All hail. The Cooler God took pity on us that hot day, and rewarded us with a caffeinated, carbonated beverage, already chilled. As we drink it's goodness, we must thank the Cooler God for the gift.
But thanking is not enough. You must occasionally leave sacrifices for the Cooler God. The Cooler God may be omnipotent, but he also gets thristy. And one thing, and only one thing, will satisfy Him - an unopened can or bottle of soft drink. Offer such to the Cooler God, and when you least expect it, your generosity will be rewarded.
Please my friends, make sure the can or bottle is unopened! Even though the Cooler God is generous, He can also be vengeful! If the Cooler God is merely annoyed, he may make your ice melt fast, or have the cooler leak all over the cab floor. But if the Cooler God is severely angered, the cooler could disappear, and not be found when you board the locomotive. When tha happens, get on your knees and repent, and offer twice the sacrifices for the next several days - especially if I'm going to be relieving you...
--zug.
Another just went south Jim.
Zardoz,
Get trackside soon. BNSF 9806 is SB with WPSX coal empties. The light behind it went red again after going dark. I was on two-wheeled human-power and cruising home for lunch (where I am now). PM me if you get a chance.
CShaveRRJim, that's easy: Oshkosh is north of Fond du Lac, and Dan's hoarding them all! (Remember the days when we used to have two daily freights to Fond du Lac? You can't even get there from here any more!)
(Remember the days when we used to have two daily freights to Fond du Lac? You can't even get there from here any more!)
Jim,I've had days like that too...from my house (if the atmosphere cooperates) I can hear detectors at MPs 169.1, 181.1 on a regular basis. If I'm lucky...really lucky...I can hear 194.6. I have had the scanner on in the house with the big antenna all day and only heard a couple of locals and trains being 'kicked' around in Neenah and/or Shops.
Next time I get a flood heading SB I'll LYK.
[Quote from Carl]" I don't know the first thing about phase breaks or their significance--or whether this is a signal that's always lighted or lighted intermittently as needed (enlightenment welcome!)."
Carl, one of the links I posted gives a little information concerning phase breaks. Since the railroad used three phase power from several sources along the way, it was possible that the power from one source would not be in phase with that from the next source. There is no discussion of what damage would result to the electric components if the two sources were greatly out of phase (ask your friendly local electrical engineer about this); there is the comment that if there is little difference between the two, it would not be necessary to coast through the break. and the signal might not be lit. So, it would be lit only if the difference were so great as to cause damage. Apparently, the rotation of a generator or convertor is not precisely controlled so that all sources could remain in phase with one another--and the power would not be exactly 25.00000000000 Hz.
I have had little occasion to study three phase power since the winter of 1956, when I was taking my required course in physics. I do remember enough to know that you can usually tell the difference between a three phase motor and a single phase motor by looking at the housing: the single phase motors that I was concerned with were like camels--they had one or more humps that housed the capacitors that started the motor--and the three phase motors were like llamas--they did not need capacitors to give them kick starts so they had no humps; the phase differential took care of that. I had to instruct the techs who were responsible for replacing such motors on the various tools that needed them.
Randy ; do you ride the wave on the traffic lights? Depending on speed limits , the lights usualy change in 19sec. Maybe times have changed. ~~ A " funny" thing turned bad for a driver in a 4 wheeler some years past. He tossed a piece of 2in.x 2ft. pipe at the cab and the drivers ran over it and flipped it back at him. It stuck the rt. door frame at the windshield breaking it. The passenger was busted by the police for not doing a nice thing. I wonder if passenger had to pay for the damage he caused?? Have fun and keep on truckin'. Cannonball
Y6bs evergreen in my mind
But what I do remember is coming down Eden hill with the usually heavy train coming around the curve at the bottom of the hill to the absolute signal at tower NW (you never knew if the signal would be clear, as the distant signal was changed to a fixed approach after an ice storm took down the code lines on almost the entire sub). Then after passing the signal, going thru FDL at 30mph with just the dinky little bell on the front of the locomotive making noise (city had a no-whistle ordinance even back then), going over crossings that were totally blind due to the buildings built right up to both the road and the tracks.
DeggestyI wonder why there is no disc behind the head; this arrangement certainly strikes the eye as being bare.
I remember somewhere, seeing a manual where the full circle meant "lower pantograph". Maybe it was the absence of the disc that made it a "phase break" signal instead? (I'm just guessing).
Here's some lit phase break signals on SEPTA: http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/05-06-17_R8_FOX_CHASE/SEPTA_RDG-Main_Phaze-Break.html
And one on MNRR, with a disc...http://palter.org/~brotzman/03-27-03_MNRR_TRIP/MNRR_Phaze-Break-Signal+SubStation-Gantry.jpg
Like I said, I'm not sure... just guessing.
zugmannAlthough I think that phase break signals just require the hogger/motorman to "coast through" the section, and do not require the pantograph to be lowered. I'm not an expert on electric operations, though.
Thanks, Zug. My saying that the aspect called for the pantograph(s) to be lowered came from what I remember reading fifty or more years ago in Trains, in an article or item about the PRR signals. I cannot say what year this particular item was published, but I do not think it is worth my going back and trying to find it.
I wonder why there is no disc behind the head; this arrangement certainly strikes the eye as being bare.
Good thing I don't use electrics...I'm kind of embarrassed I missed that one considering:
Phase break signals are still in use. There's one on the Amtrak Main at Thorndale, PA, and another at Perryville, MD, and there's a couple on the other electric roads. (Septa, MNRR, maybe..) The pennsy one at Thorndale didn't have the solid black disc behind the yellow lights, so the signal looked like a star (or skeleton).
Here's one at Perryville: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/4509479059/ (not my photo, byt belongs to Mr. Blaze).
Although I think that phase break signals just require the hogger/motorman to "coast through" the section, and do not require the pantograph to be lowered. I'm not an expert on electric operations, though.
zugmann CShaveRRI'll have to check, but I believe the full circle (minus the center light) also had an indication. I believe that was an indication to take the siding...
CShaveRRI'll have to check, but I believe the full circle (minus the center light) also had an indication.
I believe that was an indication to take the siding...
In my search, I first found two links that did not have the full circle or the "X," but I did find this one that shows both the "take siding" and "phase break (LOWER YOUR PANTOGRAPH!)" arrangements. Note that we had these two backwards; we could really have fouled up.
http://www.railroadsignals.us/signals/pl/pl.htm
Apparently, in 1950 those two were no longer used: http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/railway/prraspec.htm
Wikipedia gave some history of the signals, but did not give all of the PRR signals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_railroad_signals
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