Aw bummer, Carl; that's too bad. At least you know you could have 'better luck next time.' And maybe the weather guessers will be proven wrong once again.
I'm still crazy-busy! But hey, it beats 'bored' or just plain 'crazy.' (Disclaimer: I never said I wasn't a bit crazy. We all are in our own way; it's what makes the world go 'round, or so they say. ) I hope to get back to my RR studies before too much longer.
Nance-CCABW/LEI
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” --Will Rogers
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right! --unknown
Rather than put an early start on the new thread with a downer, I thought I'd put the report here:
The report is, next to nothing! Spent a few minutes biking trackside this morning (and seeing nothing close-up), then went on a bit of a shopping trip with Pat this afternoon (she needs a new dress for July, so it's time to buy the pattern now!)
They've put a lot more of those piers up at Provo Junction, but I'm beginning to wonder if they are temporary--they'd be mighty ugly if they don't cover them up with concrete or something.
Continuing east through Forest Park, it was sad to see the CSX line that used to be the main artery of the Wisconsin Central. Where we crossed it, both tracks had copious amounts of rust. Further east are the stack cars that have been stored on one of the tracks for at least a year.
We saw a train of ethanol tanks at LaVergne, but there was no power at either end. Clyde Yard doesn't afford too many good views from Ogden Avenue (certainly not if you're interested in the power at the diesel shop!).
No real luck at the IHB at Summit, or McCook,or LaGrange. And, along the BNSF from LaGrange to Downers Grove, we encountered only one dinky.
Well, tomorrow's another day, another month, another Lounge, and we have to be out again, along the UP. But the forecast predicts that we aren't going to enjoy being out there for any length of time.
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)
Hey Don,
Several reliable sources informed me that the location for unloading was changed from Neenah Yard to the Appleton WC Yard because Neenah was "too busy". Some of the trucks being offloaded are being towed to an old KC facility just SE of the Winchester exit from US41.
On a side note, a friend and I caught another U780 heading south. Our speculation is that will be the last one with the locks now open. CN 2592 was the leader.
Dan
Dan, I went over the College Avenue viaduct in Appleton last night and there was a crane that had been used to load DOD flatcars with military trucks from Oshkosh truck. Looked like they were about half done, as there were quite a few empty cars. Two weeks ago they were doing the same thing in the Neenah yard.
Don
We're supposed to be near 50 today...so glad to finally feel that again, if only for a couple days. I've been busy trackside again and will probably post links to some more shots I've taken once I finish processing a couple of them.
Reminder-look for Trackside Lounge: 2Q 2011 tomorrow. No, it's not an April Fool's joke.
That is all, carry on.
Paul, that just might work...if the logs were thin enough and loaded just right!
Thanks for the link! The cars I saw looked just like that (color of the rotary-coupler end, placement of logo), but were lettered AEPX. I had been expecting to see stuff like this on my trip into C&O country next month, but it was nice of them to come visit me first.
I don't know if we'll get trackside today, but we do have to go out, and I'll probably lobby for lunch at one of our favorite places on the other side of the tracks. It's cold for the season (we might make it to 40; we should be hitting 50 or more by now), but we'll try not to use the car today.
CShaveRR [snip] Had an unusual train of hoppers go west today--cars I'd never seen before. They were AEPX rapid-discharge hoppers of two varieties, including some Trinity Industries "RDL" hopper, that apparently have a large single hopper with gates hinging off the center sill. They're AAR Mechanical Designation HMA, same as an ore jenny! Only they're about four times as large.
https://www.trinityrail.com/productdetails.aspx?id=22&catid=26
And a link to webpage for TrinityRail's "RDL-A" Aggregate Hopper - 2,402 Cu. Ft. Longitudinal Rapid Discharge Hopper car:
https://www.trinityrail.com/productdetails.aspx?id=26&catid=25
- Paul North.
What we didn't do yesterday, and should have done, was check out the progress on CP Y019, the new Lombard crossovers. Two more switches were installed this past weekend, both west of Grace Street. Now three more switches (one on Track 2, two on Track 1--one west of Grace and two east of Grace) need to go in, as does the connecting track on the crossover routes.
Had an unusual train of hoppers go west today--cars I'd never seen before. They were AEPX rapid-discharge hoppers of two varieties, including some Trinity Industries "RDL" hopper, that apparently have a large single hopper with gates hinging off the center sill. They're AAR Mechanical Designation HMA, same as an ore jenny! Only they're about four times as large.
We drove to Eola after church today (we visited a church in Naperville where an old railfan friend of mine is now an associate pastor). Not much was happening while we sat at the railfan parking lot, but we caught an empty hopper train on the CN moving into Eola wile we were going there (we expected to see it go out the other end, but it was apparently a CN crew that brought it--they shut things down, got into the messenger van, and left). No freights (just a dinky) went through while we were there just before noon, but as soon as we left for lunch, we saw an eastbound stack train and another westbound string of gons (DEEX/DETX empties).
We took the highway north from Naperville to West Chicago, and had a little better luck on the UP, with a westbound stack train and hopper train catching us in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, respectively. The hoppers, by the way, were on a "throwback" train--everything there was lettered either CNW or CMO, but none of these cars existed as such before the CNW-UP merger!
UP seems to be having a very rough time west of Nevada...
CShaveRR I'm banking on it being the question asked by the politician in Bruce's post, Jim--that's the one I was responding to, anyway.
I'm banking on it being the question asked by the politician in Bruce's post, Jim--that's the one I was responding to, anyway.
CNW 6000 That question is so foolish I'm not surprised where it came from...and I'll shush on politics at that.
That question is so foolish I'm not surprised where it came from...and I'll shush on politics at that.
Well, good wishes all around then!
Forgot to mention that today is our beloved magazine's Associate Editor's birthday, and it's a significant one.
Happy 30th, Andy!
Also, Editor Jim Wrinn's 50th birthday was this past Monday (shares a birthday with Johann Sebastian Bach and Modeste Mussorgsky). Sorry, Jim, for missing this momentous occasion!
Hey, Dan! I just saw you on TV, with somebody who looked like Wonder Woman!
You and Bruce are right--that comment was a real head-shaker, regardless of political affiliation. Does he pilot his own commercial planes? I'll bet he doesn't drive his own car in DC, either.
Glad you got those pictures, Dan, in bright but chilly weather (I saw those temps showing on the TV spot!). It's hard to catch in the pictures, but that Pumpkin's Santa Fe heritage can be distinguished by the indentations in the slopes of the cab roof (some people call it a "gull-wing" profile), reportedly so the unit could fit beneath the coal loader at York Canyon, New Mexico.
I was lucky today...I got a heads up call from a friend whose camera broke just as the train came into view. On today's A446 (originates at Green Bay, WI) the power was kinda neat (to me anyway).http://flic.kr/p/9tbWLP
CN 2196http://flic.kr/p/9tepoW
CN 2122http://flic.kr/p/9tbqLi
That made me smile! I haven't yet seen a picture of one of the CN-pumpkins with an ex-CNW Dash 8 yet. Crazy lineage here: ATSF->BNSF->CN and CNW->UP->CN. I'll take this stuff all day long!
zardoz How is it that the other forms of transportation receive the subsidy $ and not the railroads? And to add insult to injury, the railroads have to pay property taxes! That justy seems so unfair. How did this develop thru history? Or would this be a better subject for a different thread?
How is it that the other forms of transportation receive the subsidy $ and not the railroads? And to add insult to injury, the railroads have to pay property taxes! That justy seems so unfair. How did this develop thru history? Or would this be a better subject for a different thread?
You raised a lot of valid questions, and this topic could very well deserve its' own thread.
This situation is the same in Canada, although a book called "The Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" by Ron Brown goes into it very well. It does go on to explain why none of my childhood homes, with the exception of the one my mother lives in, is still standing.
One thing that still has my head shaking is that during one of the annual AMTRAK funding requests in the last couple of years, some Republican asked why railroads should receive taxpayer support when only railroad employees could drive the trains. And they were unionized employees at that! I think that kind of thinking prevails in both countries, and means rail supporters have a lot of work ahead of them yet.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
zardozOr would this be a better subject for a different thread?
I suspect that would be an interesting thread in and of itself.
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...
mudchicken The taxpayer subsidized water and trucking people have done in another one, abeit not a very big one.
The taxpayer subsidized water and trucking people have done in another one, abeit not a very big one.
Sad News/ Sign Of The Times:
Manufacturers Railway (St. Louis) has filed to discontinue service. It reads like the tracks will remain (for a while) and the common carrier will cease to be. No more beer going out on trains and next to nothing coming in. The taxpayer subsidized water and trucking people have done in another one, abeit not a very big one.
AB 1075_0 over in the filings for today at STB. Who will ever forget those pristine Alco switchers?
Carl, great news!! I'm very happy for you; better safe than sorry. (Must be all the hard work 'studying for your test' was worth it after all! )And yes, that would have been my first question.
Speaking of which, anyone know why a relatively short train would be sporting 12 locos? Are they repo'ing them? That was my guess.
Yes, both weather and drivers were amazing!!
Just got back from podiatrist; he's happy with the progress my foot is making, which, in turn, makes me happy!!
Good news all the way around, which makes us all happy!!
Yes, I did - that's the one from Canada (CN), right ? Narrated by the middle age guy with the dark hair, and of course featuring the grieving widow, kids, and co-workers, etc. About 20 mins. long or so. I forgot about that detail, but not the message, of course: Don't let noisy equipment drown out the watchman's ability to hear a train coming, esp. if it can't be seen well in advance, such as in blowing snow. Thanks for the reminder.
P.S. - Links to a clip and catalog: http://www.visualarity.com/video/9304E.htm and http://www.visualarity.com/video/safety.html
"This award winning video packs a powerful message regarding the need to employ available protective measures against train traffic. Using four recreations of MOW fatalities on CN in recent years, it deals with the necessity of taking proper protection."
23 mins., $391 US. - PDN.
Paul: In your railroad safety training, you never had to sit through "Funeral For A Friend" in your On-Track Safety awareness training? (leaf blower/ snow blower incident featured prominently)
Smoky Feathers
"Good to go!" is great news ! But now you'll perhaps need to find some other excuse - er, reason - to not do something that's distasteful . . .
I was remiss on not complimenting you on your photographic efforts (and the excellent results!), Dan.
You must really have some rough weather out your way, Nance! I can't believe that people would have forgotten how to drive on wintry roads so quickly.
My chore combined nicely with something Pat was doing, so we went to Elmhurst for lunch after we finished our projects. We arrived about the same time as a coal train did, found a "loaded" manifest (meaning that I got lots of good stuff off it) just before we went in to eat, then a scoot, an inbound stack train, and a rare inbound "repo" move...empty stack cars being brought to one of our Chicago terminals (probably Global 1). Usually the balance of business makes westbound repo moves more likely.
(Before you ask, Nance , a "repo" move is exclusively empty stack cars being repositioned to where they're needed for loading. Over on BNSF they're called "baretables".)
When we got home just now, I had a message waiting for me: the nuke test turned up nothing abnormal in terms of heart function, heart rate, heart rhythm, blood flow, or blood pressure. Someone slightly more cynical than I (Pat, for instance) might say that it was a waste of time and money. We shall see.
Yea, I agree. Found out that there was a total of three cars involved, in addition to the tanker. All this adds to at least two school bus accidents this week locally. I guess Emergency Services have been real busy this week.
[EDIT: Oops, double posted with you, Paul. I was responding back to Larry's message.]
Yeah - what I was also trying to say is that, "Doing the safe, right, and smart thing is also the better thing for the photo, too !"
Good luck with today's photo ventures, too !
WMNB4THRTL Calling Larry!
Calling Larry!
Sorry, I'm only trained to the hazmat "operations" levels these days - which means I can run the scene, but I can't go anywhere near the "hot zone."
We use the "rule of thumb." If I can hide the scene behind my thumb, I'm far enough away (usually).
I'm sure the hazmat techs took care of it just fine, though.
Paul_D_North_Jr Nice photos, Dan - thanks for sharing ! In the caption for "CN 2196 South as L576", you commented about facing into the north wind and sleet/ snow/ ice mixture. But how'd the camera make out ? More seriously - I really like the photos of the MOW guys at work. I've not seen them using the back-pack type 'leaf blowers' for snow removal before - I suppose they work better with a dry, light, fluffy snow than the heavy wet version that we sometimes get around here, which is more prone to compact into frozen slush or ice anyway. I was tempted to say that it's too bad you couldn't get closer - but then you would not have had the amount or density of snow between you and them, which blurs and obscures and so emphasizes the conditions better than a clearer shot would. So the adversity worked in your favor that way, too, in my opinion. Thanks again for sharing. - Paul North. P.S. - How about a photo of that Pettibone SpeedSwing with the jet engine attachment sometime ? Even if it's at rest . . . - PDN.
Nice photos, Dan - thanks for sharing !
In the caption for "CN 2196 South as L576", you commented about facing into the north wind and sleet/ snow/ ice mixture. But how'd the camera make out ?
More seriously - I really like the photos of the MOW guys at work. I've not seen them using the back-pack type 'leaf blowers' for snow removal before - I suppose they work better with a dry, light, fluffy snow than the heavy wet version that we sometimes get around here, which is more prone to compact into frozen slush or ice anyway.
I was tempted to say that it's too bad you couldn't get closer - but then you would not have had the amount or density of snow between you and them, which blurs and obscures and so emphasizes the conditions better than a clearer shot would. So the adversity worked in your favor that way, too, in my opinion.
Thanks again for sharing.
P.S. - How about a photo of that Pettibone SpeedSwing with the jet engine attachment sometime ? Even if it's at rest . . . - PDN.
Paul-I should be able to get that. That piece usually doesn't go too far...may even be able to find it today, if I'm lucky. I didn't get closer to the MoW guys for a couple of reasons:1) Safety. I would have to almost get in their way or distract the Safety Officer/Spotter. Not gonna happen unless doing so would save someone's life.2) Trespassing. I was on public road or sidewalk for every picture. No picture is worth trespassing.3) They look better, as you indicate, with more flying snow in the picture.
Off on my new mission...thanks!
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