Rescuing the Lounge from oblivion to wish my Sister Jen (a.k.a. Mookie) a happy birthday. Hope you can chase whatever your heart desires today--trains if the weather is good, zzzs if it's not, and cake rergardless. Stay happy, and healthy, this coming year!
We were locked out of the Lounge, literally, Sunday evening. I guess Chicago's large Internet outage made the national news (my California daughter heard about it), but we only heard a casual mention locally, with no details. Our provider's telephone system was apparently swamped, because it was "experiencing technical difficulties", even into the wee hours. By Monday morning things were back to normal, though.
My "railroading" during this cool weather has been restricted to updating the freight-car sightings files. This is now consisting of cleaning up the files transferred from the old computer (minor, but tedious, format changes), incorporating my sightings from the past five or six years or so that had never been put into the computer, and re-writing typewritten pages that had not previously been computerized. Some of those are nearly 40 years old! Sometimes, that's pretty stark evidence of changes that have been made in the country's freight-car fleet. I find myself dealing with cars that are long gone, and can remember what they looked like back then...and think about what little things are no longer around. Stuff like domes on tank cars, offset-side hopper cars, smooth-side 40-foot box cars, ice-bunker reefers, standard 85-foot and 89-foot piggyback flat cars, cattle cars, cabooses...
Today, though, Pat and I will be getting out to visit the city, and taking the train. You can bet I'll be getting a good look at the construction projects from this vantage point. This will also be the first time I use one of my retirement benefits--a free ride on the train. Retired former CNW employees can ride the UP-operated Metra trains for free, presenting a special ticket for each trip. Poor Pat still has to pay, though.
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)
C'mon out, Jim! Just let me know when!
CShaveRR Thanks for weighing in, Jeff! I'm going to have to hire a photographer to come out and shoot these things, so folks can see them. I know just the person, and hope she can make it in, come January!
Thanks for weighing in, Jeff! I'm going to have to hire a photographer to come out and shoot these things, so folks can see them. I know just the person, and hope she can make it in, come January!
Well, Dan, I'll just have to come visit that way again sometime! That's a lot of business!
I've been working feverishly on my freight-car logs, before the computer is repossessed (Pat will need it for the Lombard Historical Society Newsletter, Board minutes, etc.). Today is payday, though, so we'll probably get out into the snow-flurries to run errands, do the shopping, and have lunch in Naperville with the grandkids and their mother.
CShaveRR Fire on the rail suggests that they're heating it to the ambient temperature for installation in the track (or expanding it to the proper length to weld after a pull-apart).
Fire on the rail suggests that they're heating it to the ambient temperature for installation in the track (or expanding it to the proper length to weld after a pull-apart).
Dan
CShaveRR I got a closer look at some of the switches: the frog definitely has a movable point of some sort, but there doesn't seem to be a separate motor connected with it. The points of the switch ride on rollers when the switch is thrown--something I hadn't seen before; there are three of them on each side (these are very long points!) Also, the throw rods and the hot-air duct seem to be incorporated into steel structures that also serve as ties, and are attached to the stock rails with Pandrol clips.
I got a closer look at some of the switches: the frog definitely has a movable point of some sort, but there doesn't seem to be a separate motor connected with it. The points of the switch ride on rollers when the switch is thrown--something I hadn't seen before; there are three of them on each side (these are very long points!) Also, the throw rods and the hot-air duct seem to be incorporated into steel structures that also serve as ties, and are attached to the stock rails with Pandrol clips.
On my last trip (just got home) to Clinton and back, I tried to check out the main line switches. Some I couldn't see because of trains on the other track, many of the power crossovers have their winter covers on. Some I just plain forgot to look.
Of those I did see, most of the power crossovers for higher speed moves (30 and 40) that don't have moveable point frogs have a standard frog with flangeways for both routes. Most main line hand throw and a couple of low speed power crossovers that lead to yard tracks (Beverly) have the spring loaded frogs that have been discussed.
Most of the power crossovers also seem to have points with rollers on them. I even noticed a few hand throws (ones that would get used a lot more than others) had rollers. The hand throws seemed to only have one roller instead of 3 like Carl has described.
So that's the switch and frog situation that I saw on the east end.
This last holiday weekend has been unusual, for the railroad anyway. I worked on Turkey day, getting home at 845PM Thursday night. I tied up 38 times out and didn't get called back to work until Monday at Noon. 87 hrs and 15 mins off over a holiday weekend, on the extra board. Train traffic was reduced, but they were still some running. We just didn't have the guys laying off like most holidays.
Christmas will probably be different. I heard many say they'll give the railroad Thanksgiving, but not Christmas. Oh well, I did get almost all of my Christmas shopping done while home.
Jeff
Slow day on CN while I was out and about. There was a "Planned Work" which other rails may know as a "Form B" on the Neenah Sub near MP186. A tamper and other 'critters' were present and the crew was working in the curve on the mainline. They had 'fire on the rail' in the curve at times...maybe realigning the curve? Anyway...nothing was moving. Last night I did see CN 2323 (a newer GEVO) that has what looks like LED backlights in the numberboards. HOLY COW are those things bright!
The other day was my most profitable on the railroad. I'll spare the details, but ended up making 2 and a half day's pay for one 7 hour shift. Not too shabby.
Other than that... it all still sucks.
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
Well, sat around for a couple of hours trackside waiting for the CSX business train to come through town, only to find that it didn't leave Massena until 5 pm. That means it won't be here until around 9. I might run back into town to see if I can catch it, but it's way to dark for any sort of photo. Darn...
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...
Installation of the second switch on Track 3 apparently took place as expected Sunday; they're both in, and the track is being used again (today that had Track 1 out of service for shifting and surfacing). I was out on the bike for a vampire session in Glen Ellyn (my semi-annual blood draw for the cardiologist), and had a bit of a novelty while in town--the ability to see two active block signals on this line (a novelty because this is the only place so far where the track is straight enough for this!). Must have missed a train, as the more-distant signal changed from flashing-yellow to green while I was able to see it. I did catch four other trains in the 40 minutes or so that I was along the track and checking things out.
The first switch was put in on Track 3 today. The other switch on Track 3 will be put in tomorrow, then next week those two crossovers will be completed with the installation of switches on Track 2. The grade crossing was supposed to be open this weekend, but it isn't yet. Today a tamper was making a final adjustment to Track 3 at the crossing--the machine was being used to move the track out just an inch or so, after which a couple of men were using a tape-measure to ensure the 15-foot distance from that track to Track 2.
I was told today that the switch has an ordinary frog--no movable parts. This does not agree with my observations. I'm convinced, after another look today, that the normal route will have rail covering the gap over the frog, and I can now see how a reverse move from either direction will force open a gap at the frog. I was also told that these are No. 24 switches, which compare very favorably to the No. 20s that are used on the crossovers out in double-track territory. Using the old rule of thumb (double the frog number to get the speed), the reverse route should be able to be taken at 45 to 50 m.p.h., which will mean that bystanders will not notice too much of a speed reduction for most trains (most scoots will be slowing down for speeding up from the station, anyway, and freights are no longer allowed more than 50 through town).
My bike trip this afternoon, in barely-above-freezing temperatures, took me to Elmhurst, where the "ghost train" signs have now been installed at the crossings on either side of the station, but not yet placed in service. After I got home, I thought I was just rosy-cheeked from being out in the nippy air (little bit of a headwind coming home), but Pat assures me that this is sunburn.
That's correct, Zug--one roller at each of three locations along the switch points. It hadn't occurred to me that this would not require lubrication--I'd been thinking that the only advantage would be that the rollers might make it easier for one machine to throw those huge points.
In a few minutes I hope to take a trip over to the tracks and see what has transpired in the three days we haven't been around. I'll have to bundle up, since it's cooler than ideal biking weather out there. We saw (in the distance) a stack train moving slowly through the area, so perhaps something significant has happened.
If I remember correctly (I may not), I believe the rollers were attached to the actual points, and not the swithchplates. Same concept though.
"Roller switch plates" - see: http://www.schwihag.com/en/products/switch-roller.html
- Paul North.
Bruce, it wasn't a security guard of any sort--we suspect that he's a member of the local group of volunteers responsible for the museum inside--someone who has a key to the place and knows how to reset the alarm when notified that it had been tripped.
As anticipated, there weren't many trains to see on our trip home. The weather cooperated, though, and we took our time, going through some downtowns that we usually don't see when we're driving past on I-94: Jackson and Marshall. The latter, especially, will warrant a closer look. We also swung down to Hillsdale, where the collection of stored freight cars (nearly all of which are owned by The Andersons) didn't disappoint. We basically followed the "Old Road" (see this past week's installments of "what happened today in railroad history") from Hillsdale to Coldwater--the track is still there, but not used very much apparently. We caught one of the Indiana Northeastern Railroad's locomotives practically in the middle of nowhere. Between Porter and Gary we drove along the NS and SouthShore main lines, and jumped on the Toll Road to get through Gary. There seemed to be a logjam on CSX, as we saw three freight trains, all standing still, in the couple of miles that we were along their line next to the Toll Road.
We're safely back home now, and still sluggish from eating 'way too well. It wasn't supposed to be as much a food-fest as a family get-together, but everything was so good! I think we'll sleep well tonight!
CNW 6000 GTW's 5846 and 5847 taken just a few days earlier How's that grab ya? Two of those sets within a week!
GTW's 5846 and 5847 taken just a few days earlier
How's that grab ya? Two of those sets within a week!
Dan, doesn't the weight of those lucky horseshoes in your camera bag get tiring to lug around?
Carl, you were lucky it wasn't one of those railfan unfriendly security guards we have been reading about on some of the other threads rushing in waving a weapon around. You had an all to rare example in this day and age of a problem being dealt with in a calm adult manner.
Hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Zug, it probably was a spring-loaded frog. I'll be anxious to see it in service.
Hoping to see a little action on the way home today, but it is another holiday, so I won't hold my breath on that one.
I stopped at the manufacturer's booth at the AREMA Conference and picked up some literature and a DVD on the roller switches, but I wasn't aware that any of the Class I's had them in service. I'll pull that info out and post a link and a summary, etc. sometime over this weekend.
I've dealt with some of those roller switches already. But I've been wracking my brain since yesterday and can't remember where they were. But they were longer points as you have said.
As far as the frog - could it be a simple spring-loaded frog? We have a bunch of those. Normal position is in line with teh main, of course, but the wheel flanges shove them aside when making diverging moves (or coming back out to the main). I always have about 2 seconds of uneasiness when going over them, though. You just hope they don't get "stuck". We also have some powered frogs out here as well - so you can probably see the reason for my uneasiness in the spring-loaded ones.
Hope all had a good Thanksgiving (and enjoy what is left of it).
And to you, Dan (and Misty and Aedan)! Hope your foot is healing well.
I agree with you on those 2100s--the CN paint scheme, IMHO, it at its handsomest on those Spartan-cab units!
We'll be sitting down to turkey and trimmings in a few minutes. I'm on the other side of the state, at my sister's soon-to-be-vacated place outside Detroit (they're moving to North Carolina next--a whole new part of the country to investigate!0.
As planned, we stopped at Durand to check out the OWLS crossings there. We also caught a yard move and a train moving over the connection from Chicago toward Detroit. It was a trip down Memory Lane for me, looking at names of long-ago friends (GTW Detroit Division employees), both on granite stones embedded in concrete on the platform and on the memorial wall inside. Something to be very thankful for...pleasant memories of my pre-career, which came along at one of the lower points of my life.
And talk about serendipity--Pat tried the door to the station and found it open. So we went in, admiring the darkened Christmas trees around the waiting room, and just walking through what had been very familiar halls (the memorial wall was in there, too). We left just in time to talk to the guy who drove up to investigate the security alarms we'd set off! The building wasn't supposed to be open. So we apologized and complimented him on the interior before we left.
Thanks Bruce. If you think that's cool...I'll double ya down:GTW's 5846 and 5847 taken just a few days earlier
Carl-The remaining crossover has to be left there. It's the entrance from the siding (center track) to the south yard lead (left track) and if removed would almost make the yard a stub ended yard. I don't think that's what CN had in mind!
I also caught CN 2117 today. Why is that significant? It's an ex-UP, exx-CNW C40-8 that CN bought, repainted, and put in service. I now have 2103, 2106, 2111, 2115, 2117, and 2120. Pretty sharp looking units IMO.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy the day, whatever it brings you.
CNW 6000 One neat part was the two lead locos had sequential numbering: BNSF 9994 & BNSF 9993!
One neat part was the two lead locos had sequential numbering: BNSF 9994 & BNSF 9993!
You know that is something I have waited my whole life to see. I've seen combo's two or three numbers apart but I cannot recall ever seeing two pieces of equipment in sequence. Good on ya!
And at this time I would like to wish American readers an enjoyable, thankful, and safe Thanksgiving.
Dan, is it safe for Bambi and company to come out of hiding again this season? (We were down in Missouri on what was obviously opening day there. Got reports of a number of successes the following day.)
They might be leaving that other crossover there...otherwise, I would have expected both switches on the center track to go while they had it out of service.
Meanwhile, I keep hoping that the next time I visit the work site in Lombard that they'll be dropping one of the crossovers in. So far, they've been surfacing the roadbed, and no doubt shifting it for the wider track centers.
A happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We've been on the road for much of the day today, and have miles to cover tomorrow as well. I'm hoping that we can get to Durand to check out those OWLS diamonds there, and still not be too late for dinner. We've planned on taking most of Friday to return home, primarily because the weather forecast is iffy (we missed the sleet in Lombard by a couple of hours). Things should be sunny when we get home, though, regardless of what we've driven through.
CNW 6000 Time for a couple of updates: CN is further rearranging the Neenah Yard. There were two crossovers within a quarter mile on the south end of the yard-Cecil St (manual controlled) & Byrd St (dispatcher controlled). The Byrd St crossover are also the 'control point' at Neenah South, having a cantilever signal structure with lights for north and south bound trains on the Neenah Sub mainline and the entrance to the Neenah Controlled Siding. L-R: Mainline, Neenah Controlled Siding, South yard Lead/Industrial Lead. The Neenah Controlled siding swings to the ESE and joins/becomes the Dixie Controlled siding past the CP. Looking at the bottom-center of the picture you can see a white sign on the West side of the tracks. That was the site of the Cecil St crossover. Both sites had/have duplicate features. A close-up of the Cecil St plant reveals that the mainline switch has been pulled. I will be heading to the area to see if there is any other work done on this plant. I believe that the "plan" is to remove the entire Cecil St plant and use Byrd St exclusively. We also have two PTC towers up: MP 180 and 196.8.
Time for a couple of updates:
CN is further rearranging the Neenah Yard. There were two crossovers within a quarter mile on the south end of the yard-Cecil St (manual controlled) & Byrd St (dispatcher controlled). The Byrd St crossover are also the 'control point' at Neenah South, having a cantilever signal structure with lights for north and south bound trains on the Neenah Sub mainline and the entrance to the Neenah Controlled Siding. L-R: Mainline, Neenah Controlled Siding, South yard Lead/Industrial Lead.
The Neenah Controlled siding swings to the ESE and joins/becomes the Dixie Controlled siding past the CP. Looking at the bottom-center of the picture you can see a white sign on the West side of the tracks.
That was the site of the Cecil St crossover.
Both sites had/have duplicate features. A close-up of the Cecil St plant reveals that the mainline switch has been pulled.
I will be heading to the area to see if there is any other work done on this plant. I believe that the "plan" is to remove the entire Cecil St plant and use Byrd St exclusively. We also have two PTC towers up: MP 180 and 196.8.
I got pictures of the last of the work from 11/16 when the Siding switch was removed. It looks "wierd" seeing only one crossover now.
A view of the entire site now:
I was in the Waupaca area for the annual attempt to get venison but a sprained left foot put the kibosh on those plans. It took almost 2 hours to walk one mile! I aggravated the foot on the walk in 3/4 of the way there, so I figured I may as well stay all day. The walk out wasn't fun. I tried to stop by Stevens Point but timing never worked for me...so another day I'll have to do that.
I'll close with a picture I took about a week ago that turned out ok. One neat part was the two lead locos had sequential numbering: BNSF 9994 & BNSF 9993!
It turns out that I was in a good spot for watching trains, and didn't realize it, on our trip. We stopped in Eureka, Missouri, on our way back home, because there was a quilt shop there, showing in Pat's book. She spent a bit of time in that shop, and I was in and out of it, walking the block or so to where the tracks went through town. I'd expected to see the same BNSF train we'd been stalking from Cuba, but we'd obviously gotten too far ahead of it. However, there was another main line going through town, parallel to BNSF. It was a UP line, two tracks, block signals. (BNSF had a single track, and this was the west end of a CTC siding.) What I hadn't realized until looking at the railroad atlas just now, was that the UP line was the same one that goes through Kirkwood! I could see all of those freights, added whatever was running on BNSF, and Amtrak.
So, other than the thrill of seeing freights climbing the grade, I stand a better chance of seeing trains at Eureka than at Kirkwood. We'll be back there next summer, you can be sure. We'll just make sure we don't go on a Monday, because all of the local restaurants were closed this time around.
(Also got reminded that Eureka is still in the Ozarks--one of several law firms in town had a storefront office, and the large windows had a couple of pellet-gun holes in them. I was told by a lawyer friend of mine that a really good Ozark lawyer would have rated holes of a higher caliber.)
Track 3 2 1 | | | X (Somewhere near here is the “Lombard” garage at the east | | | end of the Hammerschmidt parking lot), roughly Milepost 19.5. | | | XXXXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. |\ | | | \| | | | /| | |/ | | | | | | | Grace St. Crossing ------> North | | | | |\ | | | \| | /| | |/ | | XXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. | | | | | | Milepost 19 | | | Track 3 2 1
OK, Carl, now that you started talking about points and heaters, the farthest eastern and western points on tracks 1 & 2 could line up with only one heater and the possibility of sharing signal and electrical conduits. I don't know if all of that cabling runs underground along the side of the right of way or not.
James
Okay, James, I see what you're saying. I don't know what the point-to-point distance would be between the switches on Track 2 on your proposal, but--having seen actual drawings of the crossover--I suspect that the two switches might be considerably closer. That would translate into a control point shorter by perhaps a carlength overall.
Nothing has been installed yet on the site. However, I noticed what appears to be ductwork near the points of a couple of switches lying by the tracks (installed between some of the ties). This is undoubtedly for snow melting at the points. I'm wondering if the same hot-air source can be used for two switches directly adjacent to each other. I'm sure that the crossovers could somewhat overlap otherwise, further shortening the control point.
I should also point out that I haven't really been able to see any of the frogs involved for these switches. I've seen switch machines installed by the points, so I'm forced to believe that there are no machine-powered movable-point frogs at these crossovers.
The new signal bridge at Finley Road is almost completely lit up. Eastward signals, however, use only their top heads for now. The head below will be used when preparing trains to take a diverging route at the next signal, but for now, the next signal--and the crossovers that will be connected with it--aren't there, hence this is just an intermediate block signal.
CShaveRR Here's the plan for the crossovers they're building here... Track 3 2 1 | | | X (Somewhere near here is the “Lombard” garage at the east | | | end of the Hammerschmidt parking lot), roughly Milepost 19.5. | | | XXXXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. |\ | | | \| | | | /| | |/ | | | | | | | Grace St. Crossing ------> North | | | | |\ | | | \| | /| | |/ | | XXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. | | | | | | Milepost 19 | | | Track 3 2 1 As reference, the Lombard commuter station is at roughly Milepost 19.9. The signal bridges are nowhere to be found yet, and my statements about signal heads are just speculation. I'm thinking that three heads would be desirable if they wish to differentiate between crossing to Track 2 or crossing all the way over. But if just "diverging" signals are all that's required, two heads would be sufficient. (Sorry--the top portion of the map looks just fine until it's posted, so I have no way of editing it.)
Here's the plan for the crossovers they're building here...
As reference, the Lombard commuter station is at roughly Milepost 19.9.
The signal bridges are nowhere to be found yet, and my statements about signal heads are just speculation. I'm thinking that three heads would be desirable if they wish to differentiate between crossing to Track 2 or crossing all the way over. But if just "diverging" signals are all that's required, two heads would be sufficient.
(Sorry--the top portion of the map looks just fine until it's posted, so I have no way of editing it.)
Track 3 2 1 | | | X (Somewhere near here is the “Lombard” garage at the east | | | end of the Hammerschmidt parking lot), roughly Milepost 19.5. | | | XXXXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. |\ | | | \| | | |\ | | | \| | | | | | | Grace St. Crossing ------> North | | | | | /| | |/ | | /| | |/ | | XXXXXXXXX Signal bridge—either two heads on all tracks or 3-2-3. | | | | | | Milepost 19 | | | Track 3 2 1
C&NW had a crossover like the lower one at Seeger to get the freight traffic from the inbound track of the Harvard commuter line to the North/South route to Proviso.
I understand your drawing isn't to scale. Maybe there isn't enough room for this.
We're back home again from our trip into the Ozarks. 'Twas a great time, but we're glad to be back. Sunday morning we actually walked down the hill to a church in the valley by the Wildwood (my sister-in-law's family owns the Wildwood Springs Lodge in their town).
Last time I mentioned a couple of concrete-tie trains we saw at Elkhart, Illinois. An empty welded-rail train was also in Elkhart, after having placed rail from there northward. And in Lincoln we saw a third concrete-tie train, this one without power. Sorry to go on and on about track work that may seem mundane or even normal to some folks, but to see one railroad tackling all of these things simultaneously in just one corner of the system is impressive, if not amazing, to me.
We were going to head up to Rochelle to check out the new diamonds ready to go in there, but the museum tour we took in Bloomington went on for much longer than we expected (and was anything but boring). So instead we made a stop in Chenoa to see the flange-bearing ("OWLS") diamond where the TP&W crosses the UP. Flanges have worn small grooves into the UP railheads at this point, but it doesn't look like much to worry about. Pat and I hadn't seen one of these diamonds close-up until now.
We'll check on progress at the local crossover site later today, and see if the new signals to the west are railfan-friendly.
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