Just to close this one out, a link to the new thread:
Trackside Lounge--First Quarter, 2012
James
......Two holiday $$$$$ days should make up quite a bit for making a fellow work on them, and next to his birthday.
Enjoy yet another one Ed.....Should have many more to do the same down the road...{railroad}.
Quentin
$$$$ for your troubles sure beats a penny for your thoughts, Ed! In the olden days (before you hired out, I'm sure), operating railroaders received their birthday as a holiday (later replaced by Veteran's Day, which was itself replaced by the day after Thanksgiving). Just think...you could have had three holidays in a row this year (don't know how that would have worked in other years). For those who are celebrating at venues other than at home, be careful and safe while traveling. From Pat and me, best wishes for happiness, health, and prosperity during the coming year. May your train-watching venues stay busy, may your railroad stocks outperform the markets, may you get to the places you want to go, and may you enjoy life, love, and laughter throughout 2012!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
You haven't been on vacation up here have you Ed? We're still missing our snow...just checking. Many happy returns for your birthday.
Managed to sneak out a bit today...caught X116 meeting M347 just outside of Oshkosh. That'll about do it for my trains until...next year...yep. I'll be ready with the next version of the TSL for '12 shortly after midnight.
Dan
Thanks Carl..
Plan on keeping them up right and on the rails today...gotta do the same Sunday and Monday, both holidays, so $$$$ for my troubles!
No rest for the wicked!
23 17 46 11
Time to catch up on birthdays...we missed Bob "Spokyone" Vaughn's birthday yesterday; hope it was enjoyable.
Today we celebrate the birthday of Ed Blysard, probably the most eloquent writer I know on the Forum, and a good railroader, woodcarver, herpetologist, snow-hater, dad, and grandpa besides! Many happy returns of the day, Young Feller! Keep 'em upright!
My "morning showers" are going to turn into an all-day affair...so much for my biking and train-watching plans!
It could have been snow, though...snow is much prettier, but has an uglier aftermath.
Plenty of computer work to keep me busy. (My own barometer of activity in the research department is that my four-color pen has run out of green ink ahead of everything else, suggesting that I'm clearing sightings faster than I'm writing them down.)
And the forecast is for better weather tomorrow.
Thanks much, Carl - that indeed was it - quite a few months ago ! (March - April 2009) . . .
I did receive your PM, and will respond in a few days (after the holidays and some very out-of town guests from Phoenix depart . . . ).
Happy New Years's to everyone ! (Be safe, too !)
- Paul North.
I've been around exCNW people too long. Last night we went past Woody (small yard in western Omaha) where a westbound manifest was making a pick up and a local/yard engine was still working in the yard. One of the trainmen was standing next to a UP baywindow caboose, now used as a shoving platform.
I said to the conductor as we went by, "Look they have their way car out tonight."
Jeff
Could this have been the thread, Paul?
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/148930.aspx?PageIndex=1
By the way, Paul, I have sent a PM to you. I know how hard it's been for me to check and see when I have them, so I'm giving you the heads-up.
I am hoping that the year isn't over for me yet. We've had uncommonly warm weather; I was actually doing a little outside work today. If the morning rain (unusual in itself for December 30) doesn't last too long, I might just hop on the bike again and try to conjure up some trains.
Some months ago there were a few posts regarding a World War II trainload of German Prisoners-Of-War ("POWs") in transit from around Pennsylvania Station, New York to Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and then over the Horseshoe Curve to Pittsburgh, etc. I know it wasn't this thread, but I can't find which one it was, and I believe most of the other participants in that thread are regulars here (Deggesty, Modelcar/ Quentin, jeffhergert, Carl, and others). I thought it might have been one of Conductor William Moedinger's reminiscences of his days as a Pullman Conductor, or possibly those of C. Grattan Price.
But no - it was an article by Al Rung, then a PR guy with BN. He worked directly for the PRR as a military "MAIN" train liason officer for a few months towards the end of World War II - very similar to Conductor Moedinger, who however was directly employed by the Pullman Co. instead - and hence the confusion, at least in my mind. Here's the citation:
The article related his experiences during that time, such as how the diesels would not cover the passengers with smoke and soot during the night, obtaining ice for the air conditioning in the cars, etc. He too greatly admired the GG1's, and thought that the PRR's electrification had helped to end the war sooner. That was the context for the comments, despite the title. If anyone wants more details, let me know - I could retype a few words of it, I suppose.
That's rough, Larry. Sorry for your loss.
Ouch - Just found out that the folks in one of the cars in yesterday morning's accident were a well known (and popular) county fire investigator and his wife. The wife didn't make it.
It's bad enough when someone you know is in a bad accident. It's a lot tougher when you're on the call in person.
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...
edblysardHere's hoping Larry doesn't have a call out tomorrow,
That, of course, means I haven't had to run any calls. Other agencies around the county weren't so lucky, owing to a very bad accident late Christmas morning and some rain/mixed precip this evening that apparently froze on some road surfaces, including the Interstate. One accident was reported to be "with entrapment," although it turned out the driver was simply trapped inside her car by the trees she'd ended up in the midst of...
Tomorrow (Monday) is "Boxing Day."
Better give Mom a call (she's in AZ).
I just found an excellent Christmas present for everybody in the Lounge. A video of Royal Hudson CP 2816 EB coming out of the valley at Medicine Hat, AB, unassisted by diesel power, taken in 2010. This is the transcontinental line, and if they continued this trip forty more miles east, they would pass Hatton, SK, the site of our first station. This is the type of thing we would have seen 55 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHR4C9GgiP8
Merry Christmas,
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
edblysard Here's hoping Larry doesn't have a call out tomorrow, Mookie has all the trains she wants, Carl finds that one car he has been looking for, and Mudchicken gets the day off.... Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!
Here's hoping Larry doesn't have a call out tomorrow, Mookie has all the trains she wants, Carl finds that one car he has been looking for, and Mudchicken gets the day off....
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!
That's why you have to give the T&E folks the day off. That way they won't mess up anything, and everyone else can stay home, too!
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
Here's hoping that your holiday (whatever you choose to celebrate) is safe, and happy.
Merry Christmas to all.
I will be spending Christmas at my sister's place. My Mom will be over as well. The trip to my brother's place hasn't been scheduled yet.
Merry Christmas.
......Time does not diminish it's meaning....Just as powerful as ever.
It's a good message for all of us each Christmas....or anytime..!
The long wait of Advent season will soon be over. We have traveled to our usual gathering place in western Michigan, and are waiting for other people from our extended family to arrive. Our grandchildren are here (they brought their parents, of course). It won't a large gathering for dinner this year; this is the off year for the "every other year" portions of the family, who are instead in other parts of Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico (actually having a white Christmas!--the laugh's on them, because they were looking forward to escaping the snow), Florida, and California.
Christmas Eve is a holiday for some railroad employees, so we didn't expect too much traffic. We left a little early so I could catch the most scenic portions of our trip. It yielded three westbounds: a stack train on NS at Gary, a NICTD train at Burns Harbor, and an Amtrak at Michigan City. There were several sets of UP power at the NIPSCO power plant in Michigan City; it appeared that a coal train had just arrived.
For the past several years, we've posted the most touching Christmas story I can think of, experienced and presented by Ed Blysard:
Got a good reality check today.
Everyone has a bad day once in a while, you know, those days where you could care less about any and everything, catch a good case of the blues, and end up feeling really sorry for yourself?
Had one of those yesterday, and it looked like a repeat for today.
The yard is jammed to the gills with cars, no place to switch them to, more work than we could ever get done, knee deep in gators...that along with some personal issues keeping me down in the dumps, having a real good pity party for myself....
There is a young man, 16 now, who shows up just about every day it isn't raining...he sits across from our yard entrance watching the action on the old SP line, and watching us switch.
The thing is, he sits in a wheelchair.
His Dad brings him up there in the afternoon, around noonish, and they sit, him in his chair, Dad in the van he has, watching, taking the occasional photo, waving at the crews as they go by.
I have never really talked to either one of them, other than giving them a few cans of water during a scorching summer day, and sneaking a gimmie cap out to the kid once...didn't really know his story, other than he shows up all the time, and a few of the other regular fans seem to enjoy sitting with him.
Well, we were sitting there on the lead, blocked by another inbound, while we were trying to go grab another switch cut from the receiving yard...just piddling away time really, when I noticed the van drive up.
Dad unloads the kid; they have one of those hydraulic lifts in the side door.
He gets the boy all covered up with a blanket, and they are taking in all the sights.
The boy keeps looking over at us, we are literally just across the street from them, when I get one of those ideas that usually end up with me having to try to explain to someone higher up why and what I was thinking and doing.
I talk with my helper a minute, and he thinks it is a great idea also, so we get down, trot across the street, and ask the kid if he wants to see the locomotive up close. I don't think I would have gotten a better response if I had given him the lottery numbers for tonight!
We roll him across the street, Dad grabs the handles, and my helper and I get the wheels, and we carry the chair over the ballast to the side of our motor.
This young man is just ecstatic, starts asking a million questions. We are kinda tickled, too, so my helper and engineer begin to answer his questions, when they can get a word in edgewise.
I was busy watching Dad...the look on his face was worth any trouble we might get into...I led him away from the locomotive, far enough where normal conversation can be had lower than at a shout.
I ask a few questions of my own, and it turns out the kid was riding his brand-new bike on his 12th birthday when a drunk driver clipped him...destroyed the spinal cord in his lower back; he is paralyzed from the waist down.
His Dad is beginning to cry a little now, seems the boy wanted to grow up and be an engineer, has always been a train nut, since childhood...Dad swears the kid can hear the trains miles away, you get the idea.
Dad and son have a model railroad and do the railfan bit together every chance they get.
Dad had tried to buy tickets for the UP 844, but just couldn't afford to get the tickets or the time to drive out to where it was.
He is really getting carried away thanking me for letting his son this close to a real locomotive, when my engineer, Booger, comes around the end of the motor, and points over to the dirt access road.
Great! Our daylight trainmaster is standing there, looking at me with that look that usually means I have to think faster than I normally do.
So I wander over, he gives me the third degree, then the speech about liability, injury, getting sued, blah blah blah... The whole time, I am thinking what a Scrooge he is--all the kid is doing is asking questions, and touching the lower handrail and steps...
Suddenly, I realize the trainmaster has quit talking--maybe a long while ago, in fact-- because he is looking at me like I am supposed to be giving him either an answer to a question or a load of BS, or both.
Now, my mouth and my brain sometimes run at different speeds, the mouth is usually faster of the two, and I usually regret that...today has been a crap day, my feet hurt, it's really cold outside....
Before I even thought it through, I just looked at him and said, "Dude, what a Scrooge you are! That kid will never get a chance like this again, ever...all he wants to do is look and ask questions...he should be glad he isn't one of your kids!"
I didn't wait for a reply, but just went back to Dad, walked him over to the kid, and was about to tell them the party was over when the trainmaster came walking up to us.
I was sure I had managed to get myself and my crew pulled out of service, just sure of it...and right before Christmas, to boot.
The young man, who had no idea who this guy was or what he was going to do, stuck out his hand and introduced himself, grinning from ear to ear...the trainmaster had no real choice but to shake with the kid...he then tapped me on the arm, and motioned for me to follow him...we go about 10 or 15 feet away, when the trainmaster turned around, and had the oddest look on his face I had ever seen.
By now the inbound had cleared us up, so the noise level had dropped a lot, and I swear, the guy sounded like he was about to cry...he pointed toward the receiving yard, and said, "You can get to your switch cut now....of course, you might want to run your helper down an empty track to the other end to check for brakes and see if there is a Fred on the end."
Now this make little sense, as the car department bleeds off these cuts, and removes the EOTs before we ever get a list on the stuff. I look at him, he nods towards the kid, then cuts his eyes up to the locomotive cab...no way...he is telling me to take the kid for a ride, just no way..."I will be downtown for a while, maybe an hour or so, if you need anything" he says, then looks at the kid again, and looks me straight in the eyes, "Be careful, OK?"...spins around, walks over to his truck and leaves.
So when he is out of sight, I walk back, grab my engineer, clue him in and check to make sure he is good with it...he thinks it is a great idea...we ask Dad if they wouldn't mind going for a ride...I swear the kid looked like he was about to faint...Dad was a little stunned...said he didn't know how we would get the boy up there...
Booger is not the brightest light in the harbor, but he is one big son of a gun. He just reached down, grabbed the kid, flipped him over his shoulder, and walked up the steps, problem solved.
Now I thought we would just give them a ride, but when we got into the cab, Booger had the kid in the engineer's seat, explaining what the controls did...I told him let's get over there before anyone notices...he runs standing up behind the kid, who is wild-eyed at all of this.
We get in the track, pretty much hidden from the yard by the cut of cars, and Booger stops the motor....steps away from behind the kid, and tells him which handle to move, to press down on the independent, move the throttle over here....and we take off, with the kid running the motor.
We have close to 120 cars' worth of running room, so the kid gets to run back and forth a pretty good distance. We get down and start to give him hand signals, while Booger stands behind him, telling him what to do...pretty much we screw off for a good 30 minutes, but time well spent...we run Dad back to his van, tell him to meet us at the other end of the yard, let the kid notch it out a few more times, and end up at the north end, where there is a whole lot of nothing but trees and the access road...Dad shows up with the van, we get the wheelchair off the front porch, Booger does his human bench press routine again, and we gotta get back to work before the yardmaster figures out we are doing not a whole lot...
The young man looks like he is about to explode he is so happy, Dad is crying a little, my helper is suddenly real interested in the rocks around his feet, I am getting a little leaky too...the kid shakes hands all the way around, they get loaded up, and as they are pulling away, the kid yells out the window, "Thanks again, and you guys have a great Christmas!"
We skipped beans to make up the time, and when we tied up, I ran up to the tower to talk to the yardmaster, as I was kinda curious as to why the trainmaster did what he did. Turns out that--yup, you can guess--his 8-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver.
Boy, do I owe someone an apology or what...
So I am driving home, feeling more like a idiot than usual--half of me thinking what I need to say to the trainmaster next time I see him, and half of me feeling pretty good about what we did for the kid--when it hits me...this kid will never get to do the things I take for granted every day. He most likely will never see the inside of a locomotive again, never line a switch or tie a hand brake, never get to dance with his girlfriend, go surfing or ride a horse...and our trainmaster will never get to go watch trains or build a model with his son, or show him how to run a locomotive.
It smacked me so hard I had to pull over and sit a minute, smoke a smoke and think about it all.
So you know what?
Maybe nothing in my life is really wrong, after all. I mean, all my kids are healthy, my wife loves me, I am all in one piece, mostly, and in comparison...
Hey, ya know what?...I ain't got no problems, none at all...
I received a gift from the young man also. Doing this for him taught me something else...
I had forgotten how to "play"...it was as much fun for us as anything we have done in a while.
And I thought about something late last night...what does his Dad do for a living that allows him to spend as much time with his son as he does?
Whatever it is, it must be worth the sacrifice, because it allows him to do something a lot of us never do...spend a lot of time with his kid, and watch--really watch--him grow up.
Now, how cool is that?
I know the Dad works with his hands--you could see the calluses--and every time I see him, he is always dressed in khakis or jeans and work shoes.
His watch is a Timex, his van is an old 70-something Dodge...but his kid was dressed in the "latest" cool clothes, the Nikes on his feet were the real deal, the kid's camera was a Canon Rebel, so I could see where Dad spends his money...
Anyway, when I got home last night, and after I typed all that...I took my kids and we went and played...we walked down to the BN main and watched a few trains, took a stroll through the woods near here, chased a wild rabbit (rabbits win every time), then sat out in the front yard and watched stars, talking about all kinds of stuff.
See, I realized that maybe the young boy's Dad is the real hero here...after all, it can't be easy.
But he is the one getting the reward; so to speak...the looks between him and his son made me realize how much I wish I had taken the time to really talk to my Dad, and how much I miss him.
It also made me realize how much the boy and his Dad love each other...you could see that no matter what happens, they will always be there for each other, you could see the boy trusted him completely.
I get it now...buying the new plasma TV for the house, or getting the next Playstation hasn't made me a "good" parent anywhere near as much as chasing a rabbit with a 7 and 13 year old did....Now I know things about my kids, and how they think, what they really want, what scares them and what doesn't.
Things I thought I knew didn't really matter, what I thought they wanted, and what they really wanted turned out to be different things after all.
Ya know what, there is a meteor shower due here on the 12th...think a road trip to the beach with the kids sounds like a great idea.
So the kid got a cab ride and a quick locomotive lesson, but I think I am the one who got the real gift...
Turns out there are a lot of closet modelers on the railroads, and the young man and his Dad are currently being asked to join a local club, which has as one of its founding members the former president of the local chapter of the NRHS...the boy should be in hog heaven...they are the folks who provide the car attendants and such when UP runs the specials down here.
As an addendum to the story, I went to apologize to the TM...he wouldn't let me...said I didn't know, so no apology needed.
He told me about his getting the kid in touch with the club, then handed me an envelope.
Said the young man had asked him to give it to me.
Inside was a simple plain paper handwritten note, thanking my crew for the "fantastic afternoon" he and his Dad had.
Imagine that, some new school kids still have old school manners!
Even better, I have an artifact to show my kids when they get all down and blue.
I don't normally preach, and I lost my soap box a long time ago, but just this once...
Do yourself, and your family a big favor this Christmas, and New Year's Eve...if you go out to party, and you drink...take a designated driver, or call a cab if you have even just a little more than normal...'cause trust me, you really don't have any problems, none at all.
A very Merry Christmas to all of our many friends on the Forum here, from Pat and me.
On sister road ICE (ICE & DME are now in CP's camp)...I see DME power in Iowa & Illinois along the river all the time....old MILW/Soo/CRIP properties)
Oh, re:1. DME poss. MP, it says it was taken in Marquette, IA. Any help?
PS There, Carl!! Now we got the dust brushed off the place!
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
Whippet - a member of the greyhound family (dog, not bus).
No, the mistake was mine. I'd forgotten that units other than the "Barf Bonnet" also employed the red stripe to separate the colors. Again, though, that's a very dark green there. BN (and later BNSF) used this paint scheme on most, if not all, of its SD70MACs, at least until the various orange paint schemes came along.
Hhmm, do I have my RR's mixed up? This is def., clearly 9468 but is not the one you ref. and I got when I Googled.
This one has an 'N' cut out of the middle of its 'B" and a chevron design.
PS Found it here:
www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=223503&nseq=7
not my photo, of course
Weird, same unit but 'my' nose has N out of its B, but one I linked to has the blue cross (but no blue shield ;-) ) on its nose.
Oh, this second calendar is put out by "Brown Trout,' if anyone else happens to have it also.
WMNB4THRTL1. I just learned that DME is a shortline. Next to the track, there is a black metal 'flag' on a post numbered 11594. Is that a milepost marker?
It could be, with miles expressed either in tenths (1159.4) on something like a signal mast, or in hundredths (115.94) to mark a culvert or bridge. Someone familiar with the photo location might be a better guide here.
I think "regional", rather than "shortline", is/was a better description of the DM&E. The classic definition of a shortline was a railroad under 400 miles in length...DME was over 1000 miles long--and that was before the IC&E was merged into them.
WMNB4THRTL2. I have a loco marked WTLR (and I know who that is) but it's also marked "RailAmerica.' What is the relationship between the two, pls?
RailAmerica is a company that owns more than 40 shortline railroads in North America (Florida East Coast is probably the biggest). The West Texas & Lubbock (WTLR) is just one of them. www.alpharail.net/railamerica/ralines.htm
Edit: According to Mudchicken (see above), RailAmerica has gotten rid of WTLR now, and perhaps others. My Googled link must be an old one.
WMNB4THRTL3. I see a UP loco with an ID of "Y721." Is it common to see letters with their numbers like that? Does it mean something specific or just their system, or...?
This is one of UP's yard locomotives. UP lettered these switchers, GP15-1s, SD38-2s, slugs, and genset units UPY to free up number series for various locomotives. So the locomotive would be carried on the books as UPY 721, but the number boards carry the numbers with the Y prefix to make sure employees don't confuse it with UP 721.
WMNB4THRTL4. This one might be for you Carl, we'll see. The is a car shown, it appears to be "BLT 8-24" (lunch, anyone?) but above that it reads, "Route of the Whippet." Can you enlighten me, pls?
I'll take mine on white, not toasted, with Miracle Whip.
The Rutland Railway had a passenger train named the Whippet, if I'm not mistaken. The Rutland was abandoned in 1963, but its trackage eventually became the Vermont Railway and the Green Mountain Railroad Corporation, which both remain in operation. I believe the VTR even hosts Amtrak trains these days (Ethan Allen).
WMNB4THRTL5. GT- I'm finding a bit of confusing info on them. This photo was shot in MI, if that means anything. (Gee, carl, maybe 2 in a row special for you?)
GT was the Grand Trunk Railway System, historically a component of the Canadian National. After the CN was formed, the lines of the former Grand Trunk in Maine became the Grand Trunk Railway Company, and the lines in the Midwest (primarily Michigan) became the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The logo for both of these railroads in the modern era was the "GT" brand. GTW still survives as the company for some of CN's operations in the U.S., though everything operates as the CN nowadays.
WMNB4THRTL6. Here's a shot with the following locos hooked together: Bnsf; CSX; (poss. SF); NS; and (def.) SF. Really? How on earth could all of these get together in one train?
The lack of UP units in the mix suggests that it was somewhere on BNSF. They would get power from the eastern railroads on run-through trains, and probably put them together on a train to one of their eastbound terminals for breakup and distribution to their respective railroads. Or not.
WMNB4THRTL7. MRL, another new one in my book.Oops, along with WC, I now see.
MRL is the Montana Rail Link.
WMNB4THRTL8. OK, next up we have a few BN. First is green with white (looks a lot like a gas station chain with Christmas toy trucks many of us know) but the next photo shows them with a black with white and a stripe of red. How many different color schemes are out there? I know their best in their fall/Halloween get-up.
Are we talking BN, or BNSF? Your description sounds like BNSF 9647, an adaptation of BN's latter-day "Grinstein Green" and white paint scheme to the outline of ATSF's Warbonnet paint scheme. That "black", by the way, is an extremely dark green. They tried this with only the one unit, and if you were to Google "barf-bonnet" you'd probably come up with more pictures of this very unit!
Thanks much, as always!
Re: 8--The second paint job looks black to me, with white, maybe cream, and the red is a stripe that appears in a chevron above the lights, along the nose, down the side. It is number 9468 if someone can dig it up. (Sorry, I am not tech-savvy--sadly!) Thanks again!
PS Oops, my bad, I guess--one in the series near it is green, of course. I knew you would know but this one looks...well, you know.
CShaveRR Modelcar: Carl, that's quite a lineup of complicated action you just layed out in your last post. Is it the Dispatcher that is responsible for this success...? I would say that yes, most likely he is. That coal train move (2 to 1 in Lombard, into the yard from Track 1 at Elmhurst) had been lined up well in advance, witness that I saw the eastern part of the lineup before we left Elmhurst and it took a minimum of ten minutes to drive back to Lombard after that. The original plan was probably to have the coal train move right along and get off track 1 before the scoot got anything but clear signals. But (perhaps) because of the bad DP, he was moving slower than expected, so this crossover for the scoot was probably planned more or less on the spot (he could tell when the coal train cleared the crossovers at Lombard, and how close the scoot was). He would have had to be in touch with Metra to get in touch with passengers waiting at Villa Park and Elmhurst. I have no way of knowing how things evolved after the scoot left Lombard and crossed over, but that sure opened up the options for keeping things moving!
Modelcar: Carl, that's quite a lineup of complicated action you just layed out in your last post. Is it the Dispatcher that is responsible for this success...?
Carl, that's quite a lineup of complicated action you just layed out in your last post. Is it the Dispatcher that is responsible for this success...?
I would say that yes, most likely he is. That coal train move (2 to 1 in Lombard, into the yard from Track 1 at Elmhurst) had been lined up well in advance, witness that I saw the eastern part of the lineup before we left Elmhurst and it took a minimum of ten minutes to drive back to Lombard after that. The original plan was probably to have the coal train move right along and get off track 1 before the scoot got anything but clear signals. But (perhaps) because of the bad DP, he was moving slower than expected, so this crossover for the scoot was probably planned more or less on the spot (he could tell when the coal train cleared the crossovers at Lombard, and how close the scoot was). He would have had to be in touch with Metra to get in touch with passengers waiting at Villa Park and Elmhurst. I have no way of knowing how things evolved after the scoot left Lombard and crossed over, but that sure opened up the options for keeping things moving!
Johnny
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