Good morning, everyone. I had to crawl out from under the quilts to open the place up today. We were on the road yesterday, so I was hoping someone else would do it.
But our usual "opener", Dan "CNW6000" Braun, seems to be busy this weekend--today is his birthday. Happy birthday, young feller! Pay no mind to those people in helmets and jerseys...go out there and catch some trains!
This is the start of birthday season here in the Lounge, which is not to say that you can go out and shoot 'em...we'll try and remember them all as they come up--the first two weeks in October are pretty full of them.
We got home from the Land Of No Trains yesterday. It lived up to its reputation for us, in spite of us encouraging them by having lunch in a railroad station (Silver Beach Pizza, in St. Joseph; the building also still houses the Amtrak waiting room). However, we found a surprise in Michigan City...a train of coke gondolas, apparently stored, by the power plant there. I strafed it in a couple of spots, gathering former numbers (sometimes two of them) off some NYC and CSXT gons. There could have been a method to their madness, such as a sequential or in-order (not the same thing) renumbering, but nooo...CSX had to take two (maybe three) different batches of gons and lump them together, renumbering them at random.
(Will someone else please post the link to the summer version of the Lounge? Thanks!)
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 Pay no mind to those people in helmets and jerseys...go out there and catch some trains!
Pay no mind to those people in helmets and jerseys...go out there and catch some trains!
Glad to comply with that request, Carl !
Link back to "The Trackside Lounge 3Q 2011" edition, last "Page 22 of 22":
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/193809.aspx?PageIndex=22
October already? I'm still writing September on everything.
My new, official Engineer's License will say October, though...
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...
You GOT it??!! Well that's just beyond-AWESOME!!! Big congrats to you!! WOO-HOO!! I hope somebody else won't be too far behind, although they changed horses in the middle of the stream, so....all bets are off now.
And..a very Happy Birthday to Dan!!! Hope it was SUPER!!
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
OK, so now my question:
Anybody know why the grab irons near the stairs on a caboose are curved in a big arc? Is it bc way-back-when, guys would be getting on and off while it was moving and that shape would help facilitate this? TIA
Congratulations, Larry ! May all your runs be safe and good ones !
Got all the de rigeur 'engineer' regalia yet ? Kromer cap, goggles, red bandana, flip-cover pocket watch, Lone Star gauntlets, long-neck oil-can, bib overalls, garters / elastic trouser leg straps, etc. ?
Hope you can enjoy the falls season up there !
- Paul North.
P.S. (completely unrelated to the above except for locational proximity): Have either you or Nance (or anyone else here) ever eaten at the Moosewood Restaurant, the vegetarian place in Ithaca ? See: http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/about/ If so, just curious what you thought of it, that's all. Thanks. - PDN.
Nope, not me, Paul. Sorry I can't help you on that one. It looks kind of interesting, though.
Absolutely! What Paul North said! Congratulations, Larry!
"...Congratulations, Larry ! May all your runs be safe and good ones !
Got all the de rigeur 'engineer' regalia
yet ? Kromer cap, goggles, red bandana,
flip-cover pocket watch, Lone Star gauntlets,
long-neck oil-can, bib overalls, garters /
elastic trouser leg straps, etc. ?
Hope you can enjoy the fall season up there !
But I know the REAL Reason got his Engineer's Ticket!
So he would not have to call out this station!
The name is :
LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROB-WLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH
Well, our fellow Poster here , Larry( Tree68 ) works part time as a conductor on the ASRR. I think i would pay money to hear him call out this new name as the next station stop!
Congrats, Larry!
WHAT ON EARTH--are the keys sticking on your computer or what??!! HOLY SMOKES??!!
BTW Can someone PLEASE tell me WHY people STILL insist on being on or too near RR tracks??!! Thx!
Paul_D_North_Jr Congratulations, Larry ! May all your runs be safe and good ones ! Got all the de rigeur 'engineer' regalia yet ? Kromer cap, goggles, red bandana, flip-cover pocket watch, Lone Star gauntlets, long-neck oil-can, bib overalls, garters / elastic trouser leg straps, etc. ? - Paul North.
Nah, all you need is a coffee thermos. And maybe just a sleeve off a raincoat in case it rains. Plus a book. Oh, and be sure to only talk on the radio when the air is blowing.
Sheesh... I get paid to do this and I'm still years away from my (real) hogger license.
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
Thanks, all.
I do have my Kromer cap (and a ticking striped version as well), but sometimes I go "Class 1" and wear a baseball cap...
Because we are a tourist operation, it's part railroad, part theater. Eventually I'll probably have some coveralls (several of our engineers do), but for now it's just Dickies and an orange T shirt (weather permitting).
Of course, I'd like a few bucks for every time I've been conductor and have been asked "If you're here, who's driving the train?"
Despite the sign (a gift from that community in Wales), we still call the station in question "Remsen," it's given name. At one time, it was a pretty busy junction.
One thing I've learned from my time in the seat so far is that (additional territory notwithstanding) I've still got a lot to learn.
Next step territory-wise is another 20+ miles of our line and 22 miles of the shortline we run on to get to our rails from Utica.
Oh! I've been both TO Remsen and THROUGH Remsen--guess I missed somethin' tho'
WMNB4THRTL OK, so now my question: Anybody know why the grab irons near the stairs on a caboose are curved in a big arc? Is it bc way-back-when, guys would be getting on and off while it was moving and that shape would help facilitate this? TIA
How much different things are today! Not only are there no waycars, but it is illegal to get on or off moving equipment except in case of emergency.
I only had about a dozen trips in a caboose on a road job. Most of the time the other brakeman was only too happy to ride the caboose, because most of the 'work' was on the head-end. But I preferred to rride the head-end, because not only was I an aspiring engineer, I wanted to be up front where the action was. (Other brakeman called it 'work', I called it 'action'; I guess they wern't quite as FRNny as I was.
Jim, I'm with you...not so much that I was aspiring to be an engineer, but I preferred to be able to see where I was going--it was rare enough that I got out on the road.
To this day, when I ride the scoots, I go for the cab car on the inbound run, so I have the option of looking ahead. I've been able to treat Mookie, Joe, and Matt to that view on occasion; others would probably be welcome, too--it's even more fun with clear block signals on our line (cab signals are slightly harder to see out the front window).
As for those grabirons, I can vouch for what Jim said--they're very efficient in assisting one up onto the platform of a fast-moving waycar (that's Midwestern for caboose, Nance!). Most of the time I was able to get up onto a non-moving waycar, but on a couple of occasions, the hind end was moving right along when it went past, and I was surprised at how well I swooped up!
CShaveRR... but I preferred to be able to see where I was going...
Since we're using an F unit for our local runs, we're doing a push for half of each trip. (Anyone who's spent time in an F knows what a great view you have running backwards...) Fortunately we've fashioned a wind/snow screen for the end door in our baggage car, so whoever is calling the trip gets some respite from the weather, especially this time of year.
On topic, however, the usual reaction when a passenger comes to said location during a push move, the usual reaction is "Oh, wow! This is great!"
It's a pain doing the push moves, but I wouldn't know the territory half as well as I do if we didn't.
tree68Since we're using an F unit for our local runs, we're doing a push for half of each trip. (Anyone who's spent time in an F knows what a great view you have running backwards...)
So what did we do? I went back to the locomotive (F7) that was pushing our train. The brakes worked fine from there. So I took over the braking for ALL the scheduled stops from Lake Bluff to Chicago by using the little 3" square mirror (it was WAY too cold to stick my head out the window). The engineer kept in radio contact with me to advise if I needed to sound the reverse horn for any reason.
We got the train into Chicago safely, although approaching the bumping post was a little dicey (visions of Silver Streak dancing in my head). I'm sure we violated about two dozen rules that day; the alternative was to tie up the entire suburban fleet for a few hours.
Ah, yes, those were the good old days. No cameras on board; no speed recorders; rule G was a mere formality; 4-person crews; and a much more relaxed attitude.
We got to Elmhurst briefly in the course of doing some payday errands yesterday. The inbound manifest I saw had a couple of brand-new Metro-North commuter cars on the hind end. They were lettered for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. So you eastern folks should be getting them in a day or six.
Had I been thinking quickly enough, I would have looked at the coupling between those two cars and the rest of the train. The coupling between the cars was pretty unusual--it didn't look like the transit cars I'm used to, but it definitely wasn't a typical AAR type H (or whatever) passenger coupling, either.
At any rate, but for the fact that we haven't had a hard frost this year yet, this would be (native American) summer for the rest of this week. I plan on going back to Elmhurst for some trains after lunch, on two wheels instead of four.
At our village's request (and on their tab), UP is going to be installing some landscaping in the vicinity of the signal bungalows at the new control point to conceal the bungalows from the adjacent street and possibly some back yards on the opposite end. Nothing there yet.
One hour, two scoots, three freights. Four...that's probably when I'll stay until.
They're announcing a construction project on this line that will last from October 9 through November 6, affecting the line from West Chicago to Elburn, during which time a modified Metra schedule will be in effect.
Trying to write a letter; not having much success...too much going on!
(Second hour, one scoot...so far! Make that two...)
Jim,I love reading about the "good old days" so if you feel like sharing more...I'm all ears (or in this case, eyes).------------------------------------------------------------------Carl,Thanks for "opening up". I've been pretty busy and have had a hard time getting in here. Seems like its working ok today though.------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. One of the things I treated myself to was a new (to me-it's used) Canon 300D with a pair of lenses: 28-90mm and 75-300mm. I love this camera & lens combo as they are allowing me to finally take the pictures I've seen but couldn't get with my older camera.
Here's some examples of what it can do (click on picture for bigger view):Saturday October 1's A446 heads south in Oshkosh, running between E and W Broad Street (Link: http://flic.kr/p/asG5aA)
X116 holds at Winnebago Siding waiting for the Fox River Swing Bridge to lock (Link: http://flic.kr/p/asG5um)
Sunday October 2's A446 shows just how close the "dimensional" load flags are to the sides of the bridge (Link: http://flic.kr/p/asDsdX)
One of the Neenah Sub local trains, L535 runs for the Manitowoc Sub & the "Neenah Wye" in the mid afternoon sun (Link: http://flic.kr/p/asZLy5)
Another Neenah Sub local, L595 runs past the L535 on its way to Waupaca. Nice EJE power in bright sun. You almost don't need scotchlite! (Link: http://flic.kr/p/asX8Hr)
As always, C&C welcome. I'm still getting used to changing lenses for shots but I love having more than a 4x optical zoom.
Dan
CNW 6000 Jim,I love reading about the "good old days" so if you feel like sharing more...I'm all ears (or in this case, eyes).
Jim,I love reading about the "good old days" so if you feel like sharing more...I'm all ears (or in this case, eyes).
CNW 6000As always, C&C welcome. I'm still getting used to changing lenses for shots but I love having more than a 4x optical zoom.
One thing I discovered early on with DSLR shooting was that when you change lens you invariably get some dust on the sensor, especially if you are outside when you do the swap. If you do start noticing dust on the sensor (little tiny grey dots or blobs in the image), might I suggest at the very least you do the lens swap inside your closed vehicle, and always make sure the camera body is pointed down (so the dust cannot settle in the open camera). I was amazed to learn just how much dust is in the air, especially near the tracks.
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OK, 'dumb question' alert here:
What are "dimensional" load flags? Why are they there? Are they common? Thanks.
Nance,
Dimensionals are loads that are high, wide or both. CN calls these particular loads "D5R" for their type and width. Different classes of "dimensional" will have different rules for meeting/passing other trains, speed restrictions or other train handling issues. D5Rs are common on this train. The flags are to mark the outside edge. Different roads will have different terminology for them but they are all similar.
Here are two other views of that train...you can see better what they look like in this particular instance.http://flic.kr/p/asDsy8
http://flic.kr/p/asG6PY
Make sense?
Got it; thanks! I had an idea it was something like that, but no time like the present to find out. Those 2 photos show them much better. Thanks again!
Nice photos, Dan ! I like the 2nd one, too, as you do, for the same reasons.
Note also in that one the pink or red paint that's been applied generously on the portions of the steel slabs that extend out beyond the car sides.
That's what I'm used to seeing...that phosphorescent red paint on the corners of those slabs. I don't remember humping any of the loads that wore flags.
Great shots, Dan'l! You spend so much time around that bridge that we're going to have to start calling you "MP173"! , guess that name's already taken!
Thanks for the comments Carl, Jim, Nance & Paul. Jim - I got some similar advice from a pro photographer who's a client of mine. They are different animals but fun ones nonetheless.
Carl I've been shooting that bridge because the project to replace it is finally getting started. Nothing's down yet but material and equipment is staging. Yes, I'm going to shoot it. I'm no KP but I'll try.
BNSF/ATSF INSTRUCTIONS on Form "C" for extra dimentional loads was "SAPOHS" (Stop And Proceed On Hand Signals) driven by milepost location and what the obstruction was.
Early computer line modelling was a pain as Diningcar can attest. Fortunately the computers, measuring tools and software are much better. I can still remember coding the old ENCLOG and ENCLEP parameters in the old mainframe IBM 360 computer
Hey Carl, and/or anyone else in the know, today I saw some RR cars for the first time. They were cream and had lots of gray squares that looked from afar like they would/could be windows (they are not, of course, but...).
Are they Auto Racks? I think most of the rest of the train (that I saw) was. They might have been carrying CSX markings but I am not sure. There were 3-4 horizontal rows of those gray squares. Thx.
WMNB4THRTL Hey Carl, and/or anyone else in the know, today I saw some RR cars for the first time. They were cream and had lots of gray squares that looked from afar like they would/could be windows (they are not, of course, but...). Are they Auto Racks? I think most of the rest of the train (that I saw) was. They might have been carrying CSX markings but I am not sure. There were 3-4 horizontal rows of those gray squares. Thx.
FEMA CARS!!!!
They're autoracks, unless you subscribe to the conspiracy theory that we are hauling UN prisoners to a prison camp in Beech Grove. I think if we did do that, we'd qualify for a penalty day.
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