CShaveRR Johnny, are you and Ricki home from your adventure yet?
Johnny, are you and Ricki home from your adventure yet?
Where did I last post? Memphis? Monday, we had a quick trip down to Jackson where I took Ricki and the baggage to the railroad station (we were remembered by people who had helped us when we arrived the previous Thursday, and they helped us again) before turning the car in to Enterprise. The next morning, my nephew and niece-in-law met us when we arrived in Chicago, and we had a good visit in the Metropolitan Lounge (the two non-passengers were let in with us). We left Chcago almost an hour late because Amtrak apparently misplaced the engine which was to take the train west, and we alternately made up and lost time along the way. Our attendant was quite helpful (indeed, almost of the Amtrak personnel were helpful, including the man at the station in SLC who transported our baggage across the street to the parking lot even though he was not supposed to leave the station property)
As to the arrangement at the station in SLC: before FrontRunner (SLC to Ogden) came into service, Amtrak passengers could park right at the station, and it was possible to board and get off the train close to the station. Now it is necessary, not only to cross the street and the two Trax (the local rail transit) tracks in front of the station, but also to walk to the end of the Amtrak train and cross two Front Runner tracks and the track the Amtrak train is on and then walk down to your railroad car before you can board. It is difficult enough if you have only baggage to worry with, and even more so when you are pushing a wheelchair. The people who decided on this arrangement had no thought at all of the inconvenience afforded passengers who are disabled. Apparently, they have never heard of the ADA. When we left, another passenger pushed Ricki and I pulled the baggage (all in the falling snow; the suitcase wheels left deep tracks in the snow on the platform); when we returned, the station baggage handler took our baggage and I pushed Ricki.
We are glad to be home.
Johnny
I forgot to mention that I saw, somewhere, a large number of what looked like to be new covered hoppers that were lettered CMO. Does the UP acknowledge the existence of the Omaha Road or is this an entirely different road?
Johnny, UP resurrected the CMO reporting mark for quite a few new (and sometimes secondhand) freight cars. It has to do with some leasing arrangement (don't let anyone tell you that there's no room in the UP numbering system!), and I know of several CMO series that have already disappeared by being relettered and renumbered elsewhere.
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)
CShaveRR Another ... I suppose it's for the best, but I now hear that Lambert Airport could be back to 70 percent capacity as soon as tomorrow, depending on whether power is restored. Terminal 1 is the one that lost its roof; they have other terminal(s).
Another ...
I suppose it's for the best, but I now hear that Lambert Airport could be back to 70 percent capacity as soon as tomorrow, depending on whether power is restored. Terminal 1 is the one that lost its roof; they have other terminal(s).
Carl i've had a few hundred flligts into that terminal. When TWA was operating they built out to the east and expanded operations greatly at STL. their terminal was closer to the light rail station. Can not remember for sure but I believe terminal 1 would be the original one to the west?? Walk from ene to end over 1-1/2 miles. Terminal 1 had a very high ceiling much like NY GCT.
When Americn (AA) took over TWA there was a large reduction in operatioons and I suspect the STL terminal still has a vast unused capacity and that may be the announced 70%??
Happy Easter!
I'm studying again, still in 'The Railroad...' by J.H.Armstrong. In Ch. 6, it talks about draft gear. What is that bc I can't quite figure it out and don't want to keep going until I find/figure it out. I think possibly it's meaning the couplers? Also, are drawheads the knuckles? I will have a few more questions after I get through this chapter. Thanks!
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
Nance:
Look at everything behind the knuckle going back to that big sliding pocket attached to the center frame. A big shock absorber if you will.
blue streak 1 CShaveRR: Another ... I suppose it's for the best, but I now hear that Lambert Airport could be back to 70 percent capacity as soon as tomorrow, depending on whether power is restored. Terminal 1 is the one that lost its roof; they have other terminal(s). Carl i've had a few hundred flligts into that terminal. When TWA was operating they built out to the east and expanded operations greatly at STL. their terminal was closer to the light rail station. Can not remember for sure but I believe terminal 1 would be the original one to the west?? Walk from ene to end over 1-1/2 miles. Terminal 1 had a very high ceiling much like NY GCT. When Americn (AA) took over TWA there was a large reduction in operatioons and I suspect the STL terminal still has a vast unused capacity and that may be the announced 70%??
CShaveRR: Another ... I suppose it's for the best, but I now hear that Lambert Airport could be back to 70 percent capacity as soon as tomorrow, depending on whether power is restored. Terminal 1 is the one that lost its roof; they have other terminal(s).
MC, thanks! I'm tied up on a different project but I appreciate that bc now when I get a chance, I can move forward! Take care. Hastily, me
mudchicken Nance: Look at everything behind the knuckle going back to that big sliding pocket attached to the center frame. A big shock absorber if you will.
Very good, MC. Nance would certainly learn the difference between replacing a broken knuckle and a pulled drawhead (or "lung" as some old heads called them). How many employees does it require to lift a drawhead and put it into place? "Draft" from "draw."
Perhaps this diagram will be helpful, though maybe a bit challenging to visualize the missing pieces:
http://www.sergentengineering.com/FAQProto.htm
These photos may help:
http://www.wcwrail.com/product.wml/productid/70278/WCWRail-com/Draft-Gear-Assembly-Table.htm
And these instructions:
http://www.tpub.com/content/railroad/TM-55-2210-223-34/css/TM-55-2210-223-34_272.htm
- Paul North.
Thanks to you all, as always! I've been pulled off in another direction right now on a non-RR related project, so not sure when I'll be able to get back at it, but at least I'm ready now when my time opens up!
Hi!
Haven't had any railroady stuff to post lately (still winding down from our vacation, which has to rank as about the best ever). When I get through all of my sightings I might have some statistics to post about what I've seen. I can say with conviction that I saw equipment from only one "new" railroad, the Hainesport Industrial Railroad (I know nothing about them, except that they own a bunch of secondhand woodchip gondolas), which is apparently somewhere near Philadelphia, in Hainesport, New Jersey. I probably got about a dozen new private-company reporting marks.
Nance, glad you got the answers you needed. I always figured that anything behind the coupler was the drawbar (drawhead), and the part of the car that held it and cushioned it was the draft gear. No gears involved.
Our rain managed to hold off over the Easter weekend, but is now supposed to continue fairly steadily throughout the week. We appear to be on the way to avoiding most of the violent stuff here (and I hope those aren't "famous last words"!).
Feeling kind of smug: so far, we haven't had to buy any four-dollar gas. Our last fill-up was a week ago, in Indiana, at $3.98.9. In fact, we haven't even used the car since Good Friday...don't think we'll need it today, either. I suspect, though, that the next time we travel any distance in the car we'll be needing more gas, and will be hit with a severe case of pump shock (Chicago has some of the highest gas prices in the country, and the suburbs aren't that far behind).
Carl, glad you enjoyed your vacation so much. I/ we did too - vicariously - via your more-or-less 'real-time' trip reports on where you where and what you were seeing.
I had not heard of the Hainesport Industrial Railroad, LLC - reporting marks HIRR - before, either. See http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=HIRR for some photos of its cars - apparently all high-side gons, as you say. A little Internet research discloses that it filed with the STB to go into operation in 2005, apparently by obtaining rights to about a mile of industrial track - no more than 3 or 4 longish spurs in a fan-shaped configuration - in the Hainesport Industrial Park, which is about 15 miles east of Philly, about 6 - 7 miles SE of the Delaware River and NorthEast Phila., a mile or so SW of Mount Holly, NJ, and accessed via Exit 43 off I-295, and New Jersey Turnpike Exit 5 (which can be sufficient unto itself for a location . . . ). Its motive power is apparently just a Track-Mobile, and interchanges with a ConRail Shared Assets Operation (CSAO) branch line, which is served 3 - 4 times weekly. Although it was represented to the Hainesport Township Joint Land Use Board in 2005 that it was going to be a lumber transload operation, it now appears to handle dirt, sludge, bulk wastes such as "Construction & Demolition" ("C&D") waste, a/k/a "clean fill" - but no haz-mats. From aerial photos available on the Internet, the gons and 20-ft. long trash containers and the like are about all that's visible - nothing that looks like a flat, center-beam, boxcar, or any other lumber-carrying car.
No violent weather here, fortunately - but a lot of rain. Lately I'd say 5 days out of 7 have been cloudy and/ or wet. We're now at about 17" of precipitation Year-To-Date since Jan. 1st, as compared to about 12' for a 'normal' year, so it's not just opinion or perception . . .
Gas around here is $3.859 per gallon now. Because my faithful '95 Olds Cutlass Supreme sedan was hit (no injuries, thank goodness !) a few weeks ago by a box-van driven by a guy in a hurry to make a left turn across multiple lanes of traffic so that he could get home and start on his 2 cases of beer, we now need to obtain a replacement vehicle of some kind. If I could buy a battery-electric car here such as the Chevy Volt (test drove one at an auto show a few weeks ago - pretty nice !) or a Nissan Leaf, I would - but none are now currently available in Pennsylvania (pun !). So I'm in the market for a used Prius, which could then be converted to a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle ("PHEV") some time in the future. My daily commute and errands are short enough that a single 'charge' would give me enough range, and we're on a recent "Time of Day" rate with PPL (same folks as PPLX coal hoppers), so recharging overnight would be pretty cheap. It's theoretically possible I'd never have to buy gas again . . .
I'm pretty sure we'll never buy a 100-percent gas-powered vehicle again. Since we've been married, we've always monitored the efficiency of our cars, and have steered (pun!) our purchases in the economical direction. We'd need one car that would be good for anything from cross-town to cross-country, though. The price we saw today was $4.259 at the only downtown station.
But, we did all of our errands--Historical Society, library, train-watching, lunch out, and groceries--without using our car, so the streak goes on. We'll probably have to break down (please, no pun!) and use the car tomorrow for a visit to some further-out specialty shops, and maybe daughter and grandkids.
We were lucky to run our errands between the drops...it had rained while we were at the historical museum, and we saw it coming down pretty good when we were having lunch, but we never got much on ourselves while we were walking (over two miles total). And while Pat was looking things up at the library, I was trackside, with no rain falling...unfortunately not much in the way of trains, either, except for a WEPX coal train overtaking a manifest--fairly spectaculer, and a nice surprise.
The HIRR gondolas are ex-GFSX, same numbers (they own 50 of them, out of the 150 originally in the GFSX series); I'm pretty sure they originated as woodchip cars on one of the western, or maybe southeastern, railroads. Something to look for this evening...
I'd be tempted toward a hybrid - and fortunately, they're getting up into sizes my 6'5" frame will fit in. Still, I tend to carry a fair amount of "junk" with me (my truck has been referred to as a rolling "Home Depot"), so until I can match that in a hybrid, I'll have to stay conventional.
And, as Carl notes, there's the cross-country aspect to consider as well. One kid lives 85 miles away. The other is 500 miles.
That said, I tend to walk to the post office and local convenience store whenever possible. The mountain bike will be coming off it's hook in the garage soon, too. The nearest 'real' grocery store is 15 miles, so walking/biking is out of the question there.
Maybe I could borrow a horse and buggy from the Amish up the road....
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...
I'm just wondering if it would be worth it to buy a hybrid vs. a small econobox (focus, cruze, hyundai or kia micros) and use the money saved toward gas?
I hear rumors of a diesel chevy cruze in 2013 - now that would be cool!
zug - who still has two V8 trucks.
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
I'm sure we'd look into the economy of a new purchase (cost vs. fuel) when the time comes. I'd be concerned about the mileage we sometimes put on, and how nice the ride would be. We would not be interested in having one car for the city and another for vacations.
Z-mann...still headed his way next month?
CShaveRR I'm sure we'd look into the economy of a new purchase (cost vs. fuel) when the time comes. I'd be concerned about the mileage we sometimes put on, and how nice the ride would be. We would not be interested in having one car for the city and another for vacations. Z-mann...still headed his way next month?
There is that one car company with the 10 yr/ 100,000 mi. warranty.
I haven't made any plans at all. Been a weird month.
Well, I have not owned a vehicle with spark plugs since 2001, when I bought a Ram 2500 Diesel. Average fuel economy is about 20-22 MPG, not bad for a 7,000lb truck. Next vehicle will probably be a diesel offering from Volkswagen, the ride will be much better in that......
Have been meaning to tell you this, Carl, but when I was down in Columbia, SC, saw some six-axle flatcars on a siding, could not get numbers or marks (was rolling down the interstate), looked to be privately owned, ex-BN and TTX colors.
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
Green or yellow six-axle flat cars would probably be DODX--Department of Defense. They aren't secondhand; the yellow is newer paint than the green.
CShaveRR Green or yellow six-axle flat cars would probably be DODX--Department of Defense. They aren't secondhand; the yellow is newer paint than the green.
Dan
rvos1979 [snipped] Have been meaning to tell you this, Carl, but when I was down in Columbia, SC, saw some six-axle flatcars on a siding, could not get numbers or marks (was rolling down the interstate), looked to be privately owned, ex-BN and TTX colors.
EDIT: Here's the link to it: http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/171368/1881151.aspx#1881151
From looking at some of the links there - and the 2 sets of flat car photos in the one below - GE appears to have flatcars in both BN green and TTX yellow colors . . .
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=GEGX - PDN.
Paul, I've got to admit that they're yellow and green (and wouldn't have occurred to me, since I have never seen a GEGX car). But Randy said six axles, and these had a few more than that.
Daughter was letting the grandkids burn off energy by splashing in the puddles after lunch (the rain had let up). They had some good-sized boots on, but would have needed waders to keep from getting their clothes soaked. Nico was probably asleep before they got home.
This guy was described as a "Midwestern Icon"...I suspect Mookie would be surprised at how far the Midwest stretches when/if we get reaction to this:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/chicago/article_79dfc386-fced-5309-98c9-80e1635d56e5.html
I know I was seeing those commercials everywhere we went on our trip!
Happy birthday today to Don Oltmann ("Oltmannd" on the Forum)! Hope his Atlanta neighborhood has survived the onslaught of bad weather to hit the Southeast (surprisingly deadly tornadoes hit Alabama yesterday evening).
Happy Birthday, Don.
Death toll, last I heard, has now risen to 213 just from the storms these last two days, not counting the death toll from a few days ago. So very sad. Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.
EDIT: (about 3pm ET) CNN is now reporting at least 250 have perished and nearly 1,000 treated at hospitals. So very, very sad.
CShaveRR This guy was described as a "Midwestern Icon"...I suspect Mookie would be surprised at how far the Midwest stretches when/if we get reaction to this: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/chicago/article_79dfc386-fced-5309-98c9-80e1635d56e5.html I know I was seeing those commercials everywhere we went on our trip!
My day:
Trainmaster had a fit because I put cars where the yardmaster wanted them.
Some severe wx in the area (but nothing compared to down south). We lucked out... just got soaked to the bone. Great RRing weather.
Looks like Sperry lost a track test vehicle:
That's from this site.
Just got a call from a fellow RR volunteer reporting that a dam in the eastern Adirondacks is under significant stress and it is feared it may fail. The outflow empties into the upper Hudson River about 15 miles downstream from the dam. While most of that area is woods, there are some settlements and highways that could be impacted.
Many rivers and reservoirs in this area are at or above capacity/flood stage, and are as high as some folks can remember them ever being.
Doesn't match the devestation down south, but when your house is floating down a river, that doesn't make much difference.
An "armored delivery vehicle", huh? I guess they defend themselves by zapping attackers with ultrasound!
Some of those pictures are spectacular! LaPorte, Indiana, isn't all that far from here (it's on the ex-NYC main line from Elkhart to Chicago).
We've had weather here, but nothing as severe as most of the rest of the eastern half of the country. The major rivers around here (Fox, Des Plaines) are at or near flood stage, and last week I had to detour around a flooded portion of the bike trail along Salt Creek.
Today is a day of clear skies here (for a change), and temperatures are supposed to be more normal for the season...they have a bit of climbing to do through the morning, though! I think we'll be doing our errands via bicycle today.
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