We were down into the 30s overnight, and I thought I felt a couple of wet flakes this morning. We won't get out of the 40s today up here in the hills.
Dan, my grandchildren all enjoy the water, and the youngest has been going to their park district's pool since he was around Aedan's age. Their mother didn't enjoy it so much, but married into a family that practically lives on the water during the summer...so she not only swims well now, but enjoys water skiing and wakeboarding. She also got hired by the park district as a swimming instructor for little kids.
This morning we made our obligatory pilgrimage to the Curve. Pat and I climbed the stairs, as the funicular wasn't ready to start its day yet. We were able to provide a little geographic and technical information to interested sightseers at the top (though I had to explain to Pat that the pushers here aren't DP units). One intermodal train stretched out of sight at both ends of the curve. Some trees have been cleared to increase visibility, but I think more could be done on the part of the curve above the center--that's the most dramatic view of the grade these trains are climbing, in my opinion. We were able to ride down on the funicular.
The three grandchildren will receive railroad books. Kates will get a comic-book version of the story of Kate Shelley that she should be able to read herself, and the other two will get stories that need to be read to them. Nico's book, amazingly, combines trains and dinosaurs!
Oops, there goes another one--PPLX gons and hoppers this time. Yes, Dan, we're having fun! We've really managed to fill this trip with the stuff we both enjoy, and each of us is actively participating in the other's enjoyment.
Postscript, for Dan: Just caught some POTX covered hopper cars for myself!
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)
Woke up this morning to several more trains art Cresson (including the first Roadrailer train I'd seen go through there). A couple of young railfans staying there with their mother and grandmother were equipped with scanners, cameras, tripods, and really had a good grasp of which trains were which.
This spot is, in my opinion, the busiest stretch of tracks I've seen. I tried something today: as soon as a train went by, I made an attempt to log all of the good stuff from it. I don't think I got more than halfway done with them before another train came through.
I hope someday to make sense of how the helpers work around there--we saw plenty of the pairs of rebuilt SD50s going in both directions by themselves. One coal train I saw had three helper sets: one ahead of the regular power and two pushing.
Today was the mad dash--we covered nearly 400 miles, with only a couple of breaks. One was for lunch in western Pennsylvania, where Nora showed us a nice place for quiche (Pat and Nora) and Fish and chips (me). Nora's doing fine, but is quite busy dealing with work, college, and two growing boys.
We also made a quick stop in Willard, Ohio...first time I've been to this old B&O division point. We found a grade crossing where first a westbound, then an eastbound, then another eastbound all blocked us. And they all stopped! As soon as we gave up on this, a couple of them started moving again. Rumors that their yard here is plugged are believable.
Tonight we're in Tiffin, not too far from Fostoria. Tomorrow we'll go there, pay our respects to the Erie-Sistible, wave into the webcam, and maybe catch a train or five. We may check out North Baltimore's new yard, and maybe Deshler, too. But both of us are getting a little antsy to get back home. So I'm pretty sure that tomorrow night we'll be in our own bed...however long it may take us!
CShaveRR Postscript, for Dan: Just caught some POTX covered hopper cars for myself!
The last B786 (all potash) that I saw had some of those POTX cars with build dates of 02/11. Actually a fair amount of them did. Seems like there was a large batch done from 10/10-02/11 and I suspect we're going to see some 03/11's too.
A couple of sources confirmed for me that we're going to only see a few UP coal trains to the Green Bay, WI WPS power plant. Seems the price of coal produced electricity is pretty high compared to natural gas produced power. As a NG plant is running at about full power near Kaukauna, WI so has the demand for coal dropped. The last train north was in February! The train was finally fully unloaded about a week ago and went south - but with CN power.
Dan
There are a thousand of those cars total, Dan, POTX 1000-1999. Thanks for the build dates--that's helpful!
Going to be a long, wet drive today, from the looks of things.
Here's one for Paul that I talked about a few weeks (months?) ago. One of the PRR (note the lettering) containers now used for storage. I heard these were used in some of the earliest COFC service.
[View:http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/:550:0]
And... a old N&W hopper because I think it is cool.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Zug - thanks much for that photo ! Definitely 'one-of-a-kind'. Looks like it's rusting out along the bottom of the near side sheets - though even if that continued, it looks like the 'frame' and those hinges would be there forever ! Really needs to be preserved . . .
- Paul North.
Paul_D_North_Jr Zug - thanks much for that photo ! Definitely 'one-of-a-kind'. Looks like it's rusting out along the bottom of the near side sheets - though even if that continued, it looks like the 'frame' and those hinges would be there forever ! Really needs to be preserved . . . - Paul North.
I know of at least one or two more around here, and I think there's probably a few more hidden within some of the bigger yards. This one pictured is on land that is soon to be developed for non-RR purposes. Don't know what will happen to it.
http://www.mountvernonshops.com/
Check out the 2nd photo... that be them.
Der wasser es tief here, but hardly stille! We just had a thunderstorm come through that dumped over an inch of rain in some places.
Back home, with enough data to keep me busy for weeks! Offhand, I think I might have seen at least a dozen private-company reporting marks that I hadn't seen before, and many unusual series under the more familiar reporting marks. Some of these I'd seen in photographs, but now have the experience to call my own.
That is indeed an interesting container, different from those used by the other railroads back then. I'm sure I'd seen pictures of those things in service somewhere, but probably couldn't find them now if I had to! Add my vote to those suggesting preservation.
(I do believe that with this post, I join the elite five-digit family!)
Got a 4:30 AM wakeup call....Acid leak at Monument on the UP/DRGW single track portion of the Joint Line between Pueblo & Denver, 250 homes evacuated, the railroad wants a survey crew on standby.
Can you share with and enlighten us on what need, purpose, or goal might be served by that ? I can see why a survey crew would be wanted at a major derailment - such as that tragic one on BNSF in Iowa on Sunday morning - to expertly locate, document, and preserve the final positions of the locomotives and cars involved, and also to locate/ confirm the track geometry (curves and grades), features, topography for sight lines to signals or the other train, etc. - pretty much the same as some of my staff and policemen do for accident investigations and forensic work, etc. Those services would take that time-cosuming and tedious burden off the railroad's supervisors and FRA and/ or NTSB investigators, leaving them to devote full-time to their specialized work and techniques, and clearing the wreckage and re-opening the line, etc. But I'm not seeing the same benefits for a tank car leak. Or am I already missing or mis-understanding something this early on a fine day ?
We're still standing by...I'm assuming we have to locate the affected area for claims and remediation documentation purposes. From the hysteria & mis-information cranked out by the media, you'd think this is a replay of Bophal India and the entire contents of the car hit the ground (doubtful)
They are now saying it's a Burlington Northern train on bn tracks. (neither is true, multiple gufaws here...picking myself off the floor eventually.)
Hasn't dawned on these folks yet that BN is dead as a dodo.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17890167
Related article on how "Hydrochloric acid likely poses little threat to Monument residents" at:
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17891413?source=pkg
Despite the disarming title, the article reads like the usual "parade of horribles" to me. But as the lone comment to the 1st article pointed out, "It's only HCl". More to the point, high school kids and college freshmen are allowed to 'play' with the stuff (Deggesty & others who are 'in the know" - you should have seen the cloud of steam that erupted when I emptied an only-partially reacted flask of it into a wet lab sink almost 40 years ago . . . ) Heck, I believe limestone will neutralize it - bet everyone out that way knows where to get some of that, right ? You might have a hard time discerning where it actually leaked . . .
I'm often reminded of the scene in the Steve Martin movie Roxanne (1987) where he portrays a Fire Department Chief - one morning he pays for and opens a sidewalk newspaper vending box, scans the headlines, lets out a scream, and quickly jams the paper back in !
The car in the picture holds about 20,600 gallons--not the 25000-30000 they're scaring people with. If there was a "plume" coming from the car when it was first observed, the acid probably spilled out for some distance before the train was actually stopped. I don't know if there would be evidence of that along the right-of-way. My question: would it have made more sense to stop at an area clear of housing but still accessible to responders? Is there such an area anywhere around there?
Keep us informed, and thanks for the on-the-spot reporting!
I never recounted our last day on the road. There really wasn't much to report, but we did hit some of the northern-Ohio hot spots...
Most of the time it was rainy, but we did have a couple of good moments. As I promised, I located the Erie-Sistible in Fostoria (that is what’s left of a small boat that used to be stored near one of the diamonds—that area has been leveled for the projected railfan park in town). We also stopped at the crossing at the other end of the triangle to wave at the webcam. And we saw only one train there...an extreme disappointment. It came south on the old C&O, and hung a right to head west on the old B&O. We wound up following it out of town, and caught it a couple of times on our way west. We saw the new intermodal yard at North Baltimore (they have bigger cranes than Global 2 has!), and got to Deshler well ahead of the freight. While we were at Deshler, a train of covered hoppers came in from the west and headed south. There were some standing gondolas in town, and I was able to check them out for prior numbers before our target train came into Deshler and also headed south. When it was making the turn, it was moving slowly, and I was able to accomplish something: the first time I saw the train, back in Fostoria, I'd observed an auto rack car that I knew was secondhand to TTX. When we saw the train again I got a better fix on its position in the train, so when we saw it the third time, I was ready to look in just the right spot to obtain a former CN number off it. That’s the kind of moment someone like me lives for! (As it turned out, I’d been able to project the old number earlier, but this sighting was still confirmation, which helps.) Moving on, we got to Defiance, home of Joe, Stacey, and Matt. I had texted Joe earlier (he works nights and I didn’t want to wake him) to see if he could do lunch with us, but he didn’t get the message in time. Still, we had lunch at The Station, a place he showed us, where the Muncie & Western and the CSX main line can be seen from the dining room (barely...it’s a much better view from their outdoor dining area, which couldn’t be used because of the cold and rain). After dinner we paid our respects to the notorious Clinton Street viaduct (which fillets the tops of trucks driven by drivers who can’t read or otherwise see the numerous warning signs), then went up to the Turnpike for the fast trip home. The hour we picked up with the change in time zones was appreciated. A fuel stop in the Chesterton/Porter area yielded nothing in the way of railroad activity.
Today (Thursday) has dawned sunny but cool. I'll wait for the grass to dry, then handle a couple of banking errands on my bike. That will involve a trip to either Wheaton or Elmhurst (the latter is more likely, I think) and contact with the UP main line. I do know that all of the crossover switches and connections have been installed in Lombard, and one of the footings for the home signal bridges is in. I guess I should check out the other signal bridges--I know that at least two of the three intermediate bridges are up.
CShaveRR There are a thousand of those cars total, Dan, POTX 1000-1999. Thanks for the build dates--that's helpful! Going to be a long, wet drive today, from the looks of things.
Sounds about right, Dan.
A very interesting bike trip today!
What I thought was going to be a footing for a signal bridge at Lombard is not--by today they had plopped one of the signal bungalows on this area (the other one had also been moved, to the opposite end of the control point). The materials for the bridge footings are still in their old pile, some distance west of the bungalow.
As I came up to the work site, I heard a train horn, and a foghorn used to keep the workers back from the tracks. Then I saw the hole--track 1 had about 150 feet of track missing! It appears, as I may have mentioned before, that all of the rail and ties in the control point (whether part of the crossovers or not) will be changed out. As soon as the train--a westbound on Track 2--went through, the crews were at it again, and within five minutes four front-end loaders had picked up a length of new track, slid it down a few feet to line it up, then lifted it all into the hole, in one swift move! The work train with its ballast cars were at the ready west of the hole, and the tampers and surfacers were east of the hole. I didn't wait around to see them do their stuff.
In Elmhurst, the missing track was really manifesting itself. For whatever reason, eastbound tracks were using Track 3, the track usually used by westbound scoots. Westbounds, as mentioned, were on Track 2. When it came to scoots, trains in both directions would cross over at Park, just east of Elmhurst. I did my banking, bought lunch, and settled down by the tracks to watch a while.
Metra was doing its best to keep passengers informed of the track changes (passengers for the westbound scoots had to board off the crossing east of the station, and passengers for the eastbound had to go over to the opposite platform). Freights would come by on the same tracks, same directions, as the scoots. And there were plenty: three manifests, one EDGX empty train, an auto train, and three scoots, in a little over an hour. I stayed around for the eastbound scoot, and was able to tell about a half-dozen passengers to get over to the other platform in time to catch their train. As soon as that train headed in toward Chicago, a stack train started out of Global 2. I didn't wait around for it, but probably should have...the next eastbound, almost as soon as the stacker cleared, was a blade-runner...the long, multi-car-long windmill blades. I was only able to see that train from a distance.
The site of the signal bridge at Villa Avenue was getting a lot of attention, but no bridge yet. The bridge at Addison Road was up, with signal heads (two heads per track westbound, one eastbound) still covered. (When the bridge at Villa Avenue goes up, I expect two heads per track in both directions.) By the time I got back to Lombard, the hole in the track couldn't be found--ballasted, lined, and just some guys putting the contact wires on the joints. Things should be back to normal by now, in time for the evening Fleet.
Paul_D_North_Jr Related article on how "Hydrochloric acid likely poses little threat to Monument residents" at: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17891413?source=pkg Despite the disarming title, the article reads like the usual "parade of horribles" to me. But as the lone comment to the 1st article pointed out, "It's only HCl". More to the point, high school kids and college freshmen are allowed to 'play' with the stuff (Deggesty & others who are 'in the know" - you should have seen the cloud of steam that erupted when I emptied an only-partially reacted flask of it into a wet lab sink almost 40 years ago . . . ) Heck, I believe limestone will neutralize it - bet everyone out that way knows where to get some of that, right ? You might have a hard time discerning where it actually leaked . . . I'm often reminded of the scene in the Steve Martin movie Roxanne (1987) where he portrays a Fire Department Chief - one morning he pays for and opens a sidewalk newspaper vending box, scans the headlines, lets out a scream, and quickly jams the paper back in ! - Paul North.
Yes, Paul, any basic compound can be used to neutralize the acid, but make certain that you do not overreact and use more than enough to take care of the hydrogen ions, though some basic compounds, such as limestone, are not strongly basic.
And speaking of interesting reactions, when I was in college, we sent empty reagent bottles back to be reused. On one occsion, I ran only a little water into a sulfuric acid bottle which was sitting in a sink. When I picked the bottle up, the bottom stayed in the sink because the heat of hydration was great enough to make a clean break all the way around the bottle.
Johnny
WOW--I'm quite surprised I got right in. It's been not letting me in lately.
I was in fire/EMS and I bought some training videos many years ago. One of them showed a fireman (as differentiated from a real, professional firefighter--nothing to do with pay status) walking up to a leaking tanker car, sticking his bare hand in the drip stream, and then sniffing it!!!!! I could never decide if it was better to show the film as this is what you never should do or skip it altogether so the image doesn't train them wrong!!!
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
I remember developing an orange fingertip from nitric acid once in high school.
Nance, your video is one of the best arguments ever for being able to interpret the placards (or actually read the chemical name) on the sides of tank cars! If I remember right, the "corrosive" placard shows a partially-eaten-away thumb, or similar.
All I need to know about chemicals is stay upwind and don't touch 'em! That and to call ChemTec (sp?) if I need.
Thought I'd share a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.
Train L576 is about to enter the 1899 Bridge in Oshkosh. The process to replace the bridge is underway but nothing's visible on site yet.http://flic.kr/p/9z3ffP
A couple of brave CATs hitched a ride with CN. Impressive beasts.http://flic.kr/p/9z3fxX
With it's nose looking like it's sad and shabby, a Dash 9 leads an intermodal south in the snow. Taken this month, for the record!http://flic.kr/p/9A8knX
A day later we get more. Yes, more. It felt like a mini-blizzard, but the steel wheels keep on rolling.http://flic.kr/p/9A8kvg
Thanks to all the construction in the area there's plenty of radio chatter as trains prepare to enter a "Planned Work" on the CN or a "Form B" on other roads. Here, L576 meets A491.http://flic.kr/p/9ApBor
Fading light and "pink" potash hoppers make for a strange combination. Another "wedge" but I liked it.http://flic.kr/p/9ApBwP
CNW 6000 All I need to know about chemicals is stay upwind and don't touch 'em! That and to call ChemTrec (sp?) if I need.
All I need to know about chemicals is stay upwind and don't touch 'em! That and to call ChemTrec (sp?) if I need.
Up hill, upwind, and apply the "rule of thumb" (if your thumb covers up the problem, you're far enough away).
Sometimes we send in the "gray canaries" (state troopers), although we don't usually have to - they've already gone in on their own...
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...
Amen to the "Rule of Thumb" Larry. Around here the FD calls the PD "blue canaries" for much the same reason.
On a side note, a reliable source indicated to me that there is a good chance the work to replace the 1899 Swing Bridge in Oshkosh and subsequently rearrange the Oshkosh "Yard" will begin within a month. If anything dries out, that is...
CShaveRR I remember developing an orange fingertip from nitric acid once in high school. Nance, your video is one of the best arguments ever for being able to interpret the placards (or actually read the chemical name) on the sides of tank cars! If I remember right, the "corrosive" placard shows a partially-eaten-away thumb, or similar.
The most dangerous thing I ever worked with was hydrofluoric acid--the flouride ion loves to combine with all sorts of elements, including the calcium in your bones, and you will not feel its working for some time after you have put your hand into it.
I also worked with arsine and phosphine, which can kill you quickly (they are used in posioning particular areas on microchips so as to change the electrical characteristics of those areas).
Yes, Larry, keep away from such stuff unless you are qualified to handle them safely.
Johnny, are you and Ricki home from your adventure yet?
DeggestyYes, Larry, keep away from such stuff unless you are qualified to handle them safely.
I've got training up to Hazmat Incident Commander and just refreshed my hazmat operations. Trust me - I know.
I am allmost trackside today. Am helping son-in-law sell a bunch of tools that are good stuff. His home is on an abandooned FEC ROW on Railroad Ave naturally. HAS A COOMPLETE TRACTOR 1/2 inch drive farm tracktor socket set $1400 for $425 in almost mint condition. Must have $10,000 of items here on yard sale!!!.
Heard this morning how the airport in St. Louis was damaged by a tornado last night, and is out of commission indefinitely. No fatalities, thankfully.
Perhaps they'll finally be able to utilize that white-elephant airport in Illinois to serve the St.Louis area until the regular airport is rebuilt. (No, I don't fly--that's why I can't remember the names of these airports.) But wouldn't it be nice if Amtrak were able to step up and provide some added service to St. Louis from Chicago and Kansas City, and perhaps from other origins? Unfortunately, the corridor is in the process of being upgraded, and runs have been cut back for the duration.
CShaveRR Heard this morning how the airport in St. Louis was damaged by a tornado last night, and is out of commission indefinitely. No fatalities, thankfully. Perhaps they'll finally be able to utilize that white-elephant airport in Illinois to serve the St.Louis area until the regular airport is rebuilt. (No, I don't fly--that's why I can't remember the names of these airports.) But wouldn't it be nice if Amtrak were able to step up and provide some added service to St. Louis from Chicago and Kansas City, and perhaps from other origins? Unfortunately, the corridor is in the process of being upgraded, and runs have been cut back for the duration.
Carl: good ideas. Probably support structure will only do so much at Mid-America. airport..
Maybe some way to add many horizon cars to what is operating? Ok you guys keep us posted. Excuse typos today am out in sun for yard sale.
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).
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