Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! Chicago dyed its river green, as usual (I understand there may have been a splash of pink this year in commemoration of the former mayor's late wife Maggie), and held its parade.
As far as I know, Metra did not run any extra trains to the city today, but BNSF had to run one in two parts...by the time it got to Hinsdale, it was "filled to capacity", and expressed from there to Chicago, then came back west as far as Western Springs to pick up the people it left behind the first time.
My bicycle was retrieved from the shop today, and it was great to be able to ride it home (via the "scenic route", of course!). There are cautions I'll have to take in my present condition, but a normal bike trip shouldn't be much of a problem.
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)
Today's been "Non-CN Day" on CN...at least as far as power goes. Seen two blue/red GTWs leading, blue IC, black IC and an orange J SD38-3 leading. Only missing some WC and Missabe...man this weather sucks!
Dan
The weather may not agree with you (can't understand why not!), but it sounds like a neat day up in Oshkosh!
I've been hearing about what a hot spot West Chicago is becoming, with CN trains going through at a rate of 12-20 per day now (some other railroad there might account for four or five per hour besides). I'm hoping to be able to resume bike trips out that way this year, once this most recent issue is resolved. I'll use a different route than I used to, one that incorporates the new pedestrian bridge over the UP tracks west of Wheaton (current practices occasionally dictate that a freight will be stopped there for staging at times).
CNW 6000 ...man this weather sucks!
...man this weather sucks!
I bought myself a new pair of insulated bibs before last winter. I never even took the tags off them, much less wore them.
Last year I spent several months wearing my old insulated bibs. I'm not complaining, though...
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
zardoz CNW 6000: ...man this weather sucks! Did you get in to the snow-removal business last fall?
CNW 6000: ...man this weather sucks!
Plus the lack of snow this year really put a damper on photography. I can only be excited about everything being brown/grey for so long...I feel like it's June already. All the windows are open, t-shirts & shorts are the norm...and it's almost 80. Again.
CNW 6000 Plus the lack of snow this year really put a damper on photography. I can only be excited about everything being brown/grey for so long...I feel like it's June already. All the windows are open, t-shirts & shorts are the norm...and it's almost 80. Again.
....Winter weather apparel....I too invested in a quality "parka" with fur{faux} edged hood, and modern super effective insulation....and pockets to accept all kinds of hand held modern communication gagets....And it's still hanging in the closet. Certainly not needed this Winter season. {I'm sure the coat will hang on until next season}.
That's ok with me. I'm not complaining about our weather...{Actually mowed the yard on the 17th}...love it. That's 8 days sooner than I've ever mowed it before. But hopefully it doesn't draw up conditions to excite tornado action more so than we see in this part of the country normally.
Quentin
Pat and our pastor are both saying that they feel deprived of a good winter. I wouldn't take it quite that far. Today we had a little rain go through, which has apparently deprived us of our sixth consecutive day of record-breaking, above-80 highs. This may be the magic touch that we need to make things really green up around here. Portions of our lawn (the parkway by the street in particular) look like they could use a mowing. The crocuses have all disappeared already, and violets are coming out in certain places on our lawn. In the neighborhood, the daffodils are at their peak, and the magnolia trees are blossoming. Lilac bushes (very important to our locale!) are leafing, as are tulips.
We had to go to the museum-by-the tracks yesterday, for an awards ceremony (Pat was among those on the giving end--several fifth-graders were on the receiving end). My reward for biking there was a string of three freights that came by as the ceremony was concluding. One of these was a grain train, and it had a few secondhand hoppers (CHTT reporting marks replacing CEFX) that UP has recently begun leasing.
Sun's out now; that should steam off the streets from the shower.
........Just now checked our instrument. 82 degrees at 4:40. Believe 85 is the all time high for this day. Everything that gets green is well on the way doing so.
Happy birthday to Stacey ("Mamma") Kohnen today. My apologies for not getting in here sooner today...we were busy with computers in other locations, trying to produce our Historical Society's letter in-house. It may work, giving us a lot more bang for the buck. After that bit of excitement (to be continued!), we had to go fabric shopping for some material for Civil-War-era costumes for one of the staffers at LHS, then attend a dinner/fundraiser for our grandchildren's Park District (responsible for preschool, swimming, hockey, and other lessons they take).
Tomorrow is examination day for the Shaver Family: MRI and MRA for me, an exploratory exam of my older daughter to check something out, and the oral exam for my baby girl in anticipation of her PhD. The only one not doing anything of this sort is Pat...poor kid!
Just be sure to let the doctor know that you were a railroader. A few screws loose up there is normal.
And for today, we had an old GATX tank car full of molasses. Very aromatic.
They said I did well at the scan.
I haven't been able to see my pictures (though they're on a disc that I brought home with me), but I did get the good news that there are no loose screws, bolts, or nuts.
The not-so-good news: no marbles, either.
I should have results by the weekend.
Tom, I followed your advice, and they just smiled patronizingly at me. However, in honor of that, if they have to go in there for something, I'll have them replace the old idea bulb with one of those newer screwy ones.We used to get a lot of tank cars of industrial-grade "molasses". Later on, they went by another name: lignin liquor, and most recently still another name: calcium lignosulfonate. All pretty much the same stuff. I'm sure that there is/was some food-grade molasses shipped as well; companies like Cargill used to have cars lettered for it.
Need the LED light bulb, now.
This is food-grade - going to a sweetener company. They also occasional get barrels of molasses in boxcars. Those smell better (the tank car is a little strong).
zugmann Need the LED light bulb, now. This is food-grade - going to a sweetener company. They also occasional get barrels of molasses in boxcars. Those smell better (the tank car is a little strong).
What was even more amazing, was watching the employees during lunch at the facility where these guts cars were being delivered eating and drinking like they were on a picnic.
Carl,
Good to hear that you're getting good results; good thing you studied prior to taking the tests.
Just heard through the grapevine that Lombard, Illinois, will be receiving the "Train Town U.S.A." designation from the Union Pacific, as part of their sesquicentennial celebration. I wonder how that happened...
Well, congrats there, Carl!! That is fantastic!!! WOOT WOOT!!
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
Friday at work I had the chance to see:
A. The CP's geometry train at Council Bluffs, complete with Soo Line engine over on the Iowa Interstate.
B. The UP 844 coming into CB. The bad thing is I was pulling out of town as it came in, blocking the view of spectators that were waiting for it on the wrong side of the tracks. I felt bad about having to do that, but that's the way it is sometimes. Also was able to see a business train waiting at Heritage Park (up at the old CNW yard) that had a dolled-up flat car loaded with 8 or 9 civil war era type (they looked pretty new so were probably not original) cannons as the last car. There was a sign on the car saying something about Shiloh.
Last but not least, C. Amtrak No.5 detouring over the UP because of bridge work at Burlington on the BNSF. I think after this weekend's round of detours there will be one more time before the bridge is done.
I wonder what the next trip will bring.
Jeff
Some sort of Civil War re-enactment is going on at Shiloh, Tennessee--one of our local Historical Society staffers is planning on going down there (next weekend, I think she said). I'm not sure about why the UP would be so involved with that, though. (I heard a little about that "cannon car", so it's not a complete surprise.)
That is a fantastic haul for one trip, Jeff!
Weekend is here, it's raining, but I did add 3 more cars to my small but growing O-scale fleet.
Today I welcomed three church members into my world for the day. At our church's annual auction last month, I offered a day of train-watching (including lunch and gas). One person bought it (for a steal, it turns out), and invited two guests, one of which drove, taking a fantastic load off me, particularly since he had an idea of what I wanted to do.
We saw little while going around the EMD plant at McCook, then heading down I-55 between the premier passenger route of the past (ATSF) and the route of the future (CN's portion of the Chicago-St. Louis route, which will eventually be upgraded to higher speeds). Little seen along the Skyway, and nothing seen going through at Griffith (one train headed toward us from the east on the former GTW, but stopped and doused lights before it even got close).
From Griffith it was on to Porter, where we saw two westbound Amtrak trains on the Michigan line (giving no clue at all about how fast they had been going within a mile or so of the place), A westbound pulled up on the Water Level Route and stopped short of Chesterton until the second Amtrak disappeared, then he came through--a train of empty crude-oil tanks. Whoever told me that crude is being shipped in 30000-gallon tank cars nowadays is absolutely correct!
We then went to Michigan City, taking a drive down the street where South Shore trains still ride, before going to lunch at Swingbelly's (the old NYC station in Michigan City). Our good view of Lake Michigan from the waiting dining room was blocked by, of all things, a train! Two SouthShore GP38-2s had just pulled a few cars off the Amtrak main line and into the clear on what must be a connecting track between Amtrak and the SouthShore's tracks by the NIPSCO power plant.
CSX was somewhat busy when we caught it west of Gary after seeing only a couple of NICTD trains on the SouthShore line up to then. We passed a train of coal gons from Michigan City (no wonder the yard there was so empty!) and met a manifest not too far away from State Line. We were headed to Dolton Junction, which was once the busiest hot spot in Chicagoland. Today, it was the story of our life: the only move through was three light UP units going back to Yard Center from Barr Yard. And CSX and IHB had held trains out that didn't so much as wiggle while we were there.
We then crossed over and went to Blue Island, which looked at first like it wasn't going to be much better. But we had a manifest from the west, a stack train from out of Barr Yard, and a manifest out of Barr Yard up the line into the city. Just as we were leaving, a welded-rail train (C&O style, using cut-down gons instead of flat cars), complete with a caboose on the end, shoved out toward the crossing, then went back in. While we were there, two Metra trains went by on the Rock Island District line, above the other proceedings.
Feeling a little disappointed at the lack of trains seen per hot spot, we went toward home. But then I decided to play the ace up my sleeve, and took the tour into Proviso. We watched one of the young kids I trained once (now pretty high on the seniority list) do his job for a while, and swung around to check out some of the power at the diesel ramp. It was at Proviso that I had my sighting of the day: Gensets are invading the hump! UPY 888 and another six-axle, three-engine unit were sitting behind the hump tower. The CRO we visited said that they are extremely quiet and powerful, but they don't always work right, yet.
I think our trip to the yard redeemed it for us. It did for me, anyway--it was the first time I'd been into the yard in about a year and a half. A few things have changed, but an awful lot appears to be about the same as always. 'Twas a nice place to visit, but I don't think I'd want to spend 40 hours a week there any more!
Gee Carl, that was quite the tour you gave. Perhaps if you get too bored in retirement you might start up a little money-making venture: Train tours around Chicago. Get yourself a nice minivan for your customers (with maybe a moonroof for photo ops) and you'd be all set.
Carl - I was sorting through the pictures we use with our 'show kit' and ran into one that might interest you.
I have no idea what happened to the car. I don't believe it's on our line anywhere any more.
The 705 was L&N 14, then Hercules Powder. The last actual NYC SW1 was 704.
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...
Last night was one of those nights that I wished I hired out with the circus. Probably be more professional.
Unbelievable what passes as a manager anymore.
And said manager is probably saying much the same, thinking he (she) had to serve as "Ringmaster" to keep all the Bozos, other clowns , and wild animals in line . . .
Have you ever read F.H. Howard's article from Trains in the 1980's titled "The Way It Was" about his time as a yardmaster for the CP ? It's good for a case of what you've got now. If you don't have it, I'll scan it and figure out a way to get it to you.
- Paul North.
You get a few of those. It's amazing what people expect you to be able to perform do when they have no idea what you do to begin with, or what it takes to do it.
What's worse, though, is when a guy who was in your ranks is "officially" made your superior. It goes to their head pretty quickly (I think they give them shots or something). And if they ever "throw it up" and come back into the ranks, the indoctrination somehow stays around, and they're no longer very enjoyable to work with. We ran one of those completely out of town a few years before I retired. The job had gone to a lot more than his head, unfortunately, and he died of a heart attack in his mid-30s, working his "new" job.
And yes, Paul, we had one guy who thought he was the ringmaster, another who thought he was a babysitter (turns out he was the biggest baby of all!), and the usual drill sergeants, pit bulls, and whatever.
But, in all fairness, some folks are pretty good guys that you hate to see leave when they do (but whether it's through retirement or promotion, you have to be happy for them, and are often unable to blame them for wanting to get out of town!).
_____________
Larry, I didn't know you had a coach like that. From the paint job, I'd guess that it had been part of the C&NW business train at one point, and was probably unloaded by the UP soon after the merger (the UP liked our "theater car" and the full-length dome car, but that was about it). I have no idea about how to research it. It shouldn't have been in bad shape.
I might be able to narrow down the year, but it's hard to say. I think the picture was taken at Minnehaha. I'll have to ask around.
------------------------------
Some promotions run smack into the "Peter Principle," wherein a perfectly competent {name your occupation} finds out that he/she has reached their level of incompetence as a supervisor (or even just the next step up the ladder). All too often, though, in their zeal to be the best {name your position}, they don't realize that they don't have a clue that they don't have a clue.
In their defense, though, one has to wonder if the system might not share part of the blame for not adequately preparing them for the promotion - like letting them see how the position works. I suspect that's often due to supervisors who hoard information, for fear that if somebody knew how to do the job, they could do it, too, lessening the super's importance...
Been there, done that.
From the guy who was the engineer that day (he even remembers the purple fleece jacket...):
I think this was Car 400 on CNW - been along time........ It was at one time named "Sea Level" and originally I think was on the NYC RR (B&A). It ended up with CNW and became CNW President James Wolfe's car. TRAINS Magazine November 1993 had an article about this as the "Haunted Car"
tree68 In their defense, though, one has to wonder if the system might not share part of the blame for not adequately preparing them for the promotion - like letting them see how the position works. I suspect that's often due to supervisors who hoard information, for fear that if somebody knew how to do the job, they could do it, too, lessening the super's importance...
Nice to be back after a too long absence.
My Mother was talking a couple of weeks ago, about how she had talked once with one of my dad's co-workers, about how both of them should have taken the company up on their offers of promotion. It was a very disruptive style, you had 24 hrs. or less to decide if you wanted to take them up on an offer that literally came out of the blue. The guy had decided that the few years of disruption to your family was more than compensated for by the bump in your pension payout. That system of go now, or forever hold your peace, must have cost them a lot of potential good supervisors.
I was going to come here earlier this year and mention that the last of my Dad's age group of co-workers had passed away. Dispatchers that started out hooping steam engines out in front of bunkhouse stations, in places with non RR populations at or near zero. Mom had mentioned at the time, she was the last of the widows still standing.
Carl, or anybody else, I have been meaning to ask this for a while, what with all of the crude oil moving by rail, do you see any of it moving in the US in Procor (reporting mark PRCX) cars? The Canadian affiliate of Union Tank (UTLX). If it is petroleum or petrochemical related, Procor has some type of specialized car to move it, up here. I was reading an article on the weekend that the shortage of suitable equipment is starting to become a factor in this new crude-by-rail business. I would think business on both sides of the border must be going like gangbusters for Procor.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
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