Prayers for Willy! I had a cousin go through that a few years back...not fun.
Nice report Carl. Bonus for catching CNW 8701 leading. 8646 was last in KS on a rock train last I heard.
CN was to run a customer special w/passenger equipment late yesterday/today...but one car had a hot box and last I heard the people got bussed back to Markham. Not sure if it'll run today or not.
Dan
Just got word that a crane installing a new signal bridge on BNSF in Westmont, Illinois, has collapsed, blocking all three tracks.Nobody injured.This effectively puts an end to Metra service on that line, at least west of Westmont. We hope they can get it cleared off in time for the Dinky Parade.
Update: Dinky Parade is definitely going to be affected--some trains have been halted, others turned around. People are being advised to use the UP West Line as an alternative.
Further update: the line was reopened at about 4:40 p.m. I'm writing this over four hours later, and there are still delays and schedule modifications going on. However, Metra assures us, the public, that things will be back to normal tomorrow. TV coverage showed a few grousing commuters, but most acknowledged that this was an unusual occurrence, and not Metra's fault. Union Station was described as "congested, but not chaotic".
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)
Carl: Was in the area when that happened, was interesting to listen to on AM 780. They had to cut the crane up on site, which took four hours. The UP west line got a lot of use, the normally half-full trains were leaving standing room only......
Might be on here a bit more, figured out how to post via my phone, so should see a bit more of me if I see something interesting.
See everyone later....
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
Cut up, huh? That must have gotten pretty costly. It couldn't have been too kind to the signals and crossmember they were installing, either.
Good to hear that you'll be around a bit more often. I know the quality here is better, but still don't like to see the Lounge dropping off the first page under this revised Forum design.Now the bad news: so far Willy hasn't recovered from his lung problems. Tomorrow will be two weeks since he entered the hospital, and every time they remove the tube his lung collapses again. It sounds like the doctors are somewhat befuddled. Also, watch out for the mosquitoes this year. We just got word that Lombard's Village President has passed away, at least in part due to West Nile Virus. It's not a kind disease to older folks, particularly those undergoing treatment for other ailments.
Love this weather!
Saw the former-UP fuel tender "CNW 1" go through last night on Q196. It's being repainted/shopped for use with some experimental locos for CN. Will be interesting to watch what happens with that.
CNW 1? Not familiar with any CNW fuel tenders. What's with that?I got a nice surprise this morning--Chris "CopCarSS" May wanted to meet me for lunch in Oak Park, where he was visiting to pay homage to Frank Lloyd Wright and his architecture. I took the scoot in, we ate at Five Guys (very good burger there!). We caught a westbound manifest before getting off the platform. While at lunch we talked about mutual friends, people we'd like to meet, and plans for future trips. Great conversation!
(Heads up in Waukesha--Chris will be visiting Kalmbach one of these days!)The tracks were busy in both directions--we met two westbound freights on the trip in, and met two trains and overtook one more on the trip out. One of the departure tracks west of Proviso has been severed; I suspect a switch might be going in at that point. Alongside the yard, the third track has rails and ties from Berkeley to Wolf Road, and a well-defined subgrade as far east as the Mannheim bridge. From there, I still lose track of it. New tracks have been put in around there, and I think that the existing tracks will be shifted to the new alignments between Bellwood and the Mud Creek bridge before too much longer.One thing bothers me about the construction at the Berkeley Station. It looks like the commuter platform and pedestrian tunnel will go between the new track and the two existing tracks. Is this going to limit all access to the platform from the north? I can understand the scoots using only the existing track and the new one being for only freights, if that's what's intended. But it would have been very upsetting to me, in the course of my employment, if I could not walk to the north from the platform to get to work, or if I couldn't legally take my bike across the tracks there.
CNW 1 is a former UP LNG fuel tender. CN acquired it. Here's a shot of it:
I need to do a thread about some of my recent adventures & catches...
Wow--I hadn't realized that this car had been relettered. By all means, write your escapades up when you have time. I'm still waiting to hear about Chris' foray into Wisconsin.
No word yet on Willy. Something should have happened yesterday--either a successful removal of the breathing tube, or surgery.
Spousal medical examinations being done today in Glen Ellyn. It was supposed to be a bike trip, but it's actually sprinkling out there. So it will be driven (which means that it could be extended to check out construction along the tracks in Wheaton).
We didn't let a little rain stop us from biking, after all. And it was a good trip!As we were crossing Finley Road on the bike path, an eastbound stack train that had been sitting there started up.We got to Glen Ellyn, and I was able to make the railroad work for us: a westbound scoot arrived at the same time we did, blocking two busy main streets so we were able to cross them unhindered. We got to the third grade crossing in Glen Ellyn as the scoot was starting across (using Track 3, as is normal). Before it was across, an eastbound manifest came through on Track 2. Then, before it had cleared, we got another westbound... this one--another stacker--was on Track 1, of all places!
After Pat's lab checks (no problems, thankfully!), we dined at the 2Toots in Glen Ellyn. Our lunch was interrupted only by a westbound scoot and an eastbound WPSX coal train (Are these the ones that go to Weston, Dan?).I then had to do my volunteer work for the historical society. As I was preparing to cross the tracks, a westbound Railex reefer train came through. I was then hailed by Colin "MetraKid2" Mucha, who says he doesn't post much anymore, but lurks from time to time. He was 12 when I met him; he's now 18 and in college...he hopes to be able to get a job with the UP sometime. While we were talking, another westbound manifest came through.I plan on spending the rest of the day keeping cool--it's nearly 90 out there. Time to hydrate...
Looks like we got our posts counts back, but they stole some. I was just over 3000 before the revamp.
Hmmmm/
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
I guess we go for the color of the stars, not the count. It's been about three incarnations of the Forum since we've had stars to complain about (some people who posted all the time saying next to nothing were known as "star-chasers"). Now all we need are the seniority dates--very important for anything that has to do with railroads, right?The one thing I still miss the most is a "Mark All Read" feature, as a memory aid to what I've seen or want to see._________________
Just got a message on Facebook: Willy's expecting to go home tomorrow. It's hard to type this with crossed fingers!
A little something for the Lounge to enjoy from my recent blog entry...
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
I think those things would take first prize in "ugliest diesel" contest.
In other news, I think I know what it feels like to be drawn and quartered. The things we do for another seniority date.
zugmann I think those things would take first prize in "ugliest diesel" contest. In other news, I think I know what it feels like to be drawn and quartered. The things we do for another seniority date.
Johnny
CShaveRR Just got a message on Facebook: Willy's expecting to go home tomorrow.
Just got a message on Facebook: Willy's expecting to go home tomorrow.
CShaveRR I guess we go for the color of the stars, not the count. It's been about three incarnations of the Forum since we've had stars to complain about (some people who posted all the time saying next to nothing were known as "star-chasers"). Now all we need are the seniority dates--very important for anything that has to do with railroads, right?The one thing I still miss the most is a "Mark All Read" feature, as a memory aid to what I've seen or want to see._________________ Just got a message on Facebook: Willy's expecting to go home tomorrow. It's hard to type this with crossed fingers!
James
My camera decided to take a dive off the table, assisted by my chair snagging its strap. I only had it out to do a firmware update to it.
sd card door is busted off (and in half). That door is what presses a "deadman's" button on it to keep it from operating with the door open. No clue what internal damage it has. Luckily it only had the kit lens on it (and not my limited 15mm) lens seems ok either way. Camera is probably fixable, but I don't know if I really want to spend the money on it... never been too happy with this body.
Thanks, James--finally found it. I have to check it out and see how it works.
My condolences to you, Z-man, or congratulations if you were looking for an excuse...Willy's been home for a couple of days now; he's looking at hurricane predictions, so I'd say the recovery's probably going smoothly.Any railfanning I had planned for today (Pat gave me permission, since I went to the big quilt show with her yesterday) was washed out by over 1.5 inches (so far!) of rain! We had biked to church this morning and the rain began while we were there.
CShaveRR My condolences to you, Z-man, or congratulations if you were looking for an excuse...
My condolences to you, Z-man, or congratulations if you were looking for an excuse...
Not needed.
Camera is just a thing. I'm not emotionally attached to it at all. I may just pick up a cheap(ish) used body to use for now. Then maybe send this in the shop to get an estimate. i really don't use the camera enough to justify spending a lot of money on a new one.
Zugs: Understand that helpless feeling as the piece of pricey technology collides with the ground in slow motion. Some of the angst is that lighter feeling in the 'ol wallet.
MC, I'm with you on that slo-mo thing. But I don't carry expensive equipment...my slo-mo times used to come in those seconds when I realized that the wheels were not going to land back on the rails.
Today in Council Bluffs as we were coming off the 12th Street line at 10 mph, a car went around the gates in front of us. We weren't anywhere close to hitting him, but there was a marked police car right behind him! That cop really wanted to go after him and you could tell he thought about going around the gates to chase that car down. He didn't, but he did turn around to head toward the nearby overpass. I'm sure he got the license plate so I doubt the driver is going to get away with it.
I had just remarked to the conductor about some of the vehicles that had stopped for us at the cross streets on the 12th Street line. (The busy streets have flashing lights, no gates. The less busy ones only have cross bucks.) Most that waited could've safely made it across after stopping.
Jeff
CShaveRR MC, I'm with you on that slo-mo thing. But I don't carry expensive equipment...my slo-mo times used to come in those seconds when I realized that the wheels were not going to land back on the rails.
This wasn't slo-mo, it was just a THUD, then I realized what fell. But with a little work with the pliers and some *ahem* handyman's secret weapon, I think I brought her back from the dead. Ain't pretty, but as long as she shoots good (have to give her a test), I'll be happy. Wasn't excited about spending a lot of money to replace an itty bitty plastic part.
Overland Route Three-Track updates
Part deux (open-ended): Work at Wheaton
This forumist observed a number of switches in the process of being built along the tracks on both sides of Chase Street. The crossovers here, if they're anything like the ones at Lombard, will require eight switches, and nothing has been installed yet.
The pedestrian underpass at Chase Street, which looks like a bridge from the top, is completed. But the approaches for pedestrians and cyclists are not--in fact, the south "portal" is still pretty much buried up to ground level. The bridge is wide enough for a service road along the three tracks, but the grade crossing that it replaces will eventually be closed (one assumes that the street will survive as far north as the service road, still crossing the bike path).
_________________That concludes this report from C.S.Harriest.Those sightings were made on a 33-mile bike trip today from Lombard to West Chicago and back. We had the usual four trains or more per hour, including the regular contingent of scoots.Once I arrived at West Chicago (after some medical labs at Glen Ellyn, a look around the Wheaton work site, and brunch in downtown Wheaton (looked a lot like lunch, but I was breaking my required 12-hour fast before the blood draw at this point), I found my place in the sun (unfortunately) where I could sit and write a letter to a friend in Oregon (who hasn't discovered computers yet). During the hour or more I was there, a number of trains went by. The scoots seem to meet somewhere very close to here, according to reality (timetable suggests that they should meet east of the station, toward Winfield).The first freight I saw at West Chicago was a westbound stacker, with a KCS GEVO as its third unit.For the second day in a row, I saw an eastbound manifest with a block of CP/SOO/DME grain cars, and other things that look like they were more likely to come off the CP than our lines, directly behind the power. Jeff, would you know anything about this?Had a nice train of empty UP/MP/DRGW/CNW/CTRN steel hoppers head west. Most of the smaller-bodied MP and CNW hoppers have had extensions of three or four inches to their height, bringing them more in line with the other cars, holding 4000 cubic feet of coal.After getting my letter done, and hearing the timer (another pair of scoots) tell me that I was well baked in the sun, I moved off to the old BNSF yard by General Mills, where I saw a couple of AEX covered hoppers (among nearly a dozen cars) that yielded their origins to me. Also discovered, along the BNSF right-of-way there, was a thriving cactus plant--I kid you not! If anyone needs proof that we've had a hot, dry summer, here ya go...
The next stop was a trip over the bridge that crosses the EJ&E yard, which I used to get close to a couple more covered hoppers I needed to check out (one of them has given me a lot of transcribing work for tomorrow!), then went to the UP yard office there. I probably looked weird, with no PPE whatsoever (my gloves and hard-hat were non-regulation, no ear plugs, no glasses, and my Crocs and shorts weren't too useful, either). But I met a former co-worker there, so it seemed like I kind of belonged (the UP water is as wet as ever!). While at the yard, I saw MPRCB head west, and a train at the auto-loading yard had CNW 8701 as one of its units.After I left the yard office, I went under the bridge, next to the UP main line. But before I did that, I went up on the bridge to see something that had been whistling on the CN (ex-EJ&E). It was two locomotives (one an old BCOL 4600-series unit) and three freight cars, which they set into the interchange yard, coming from the north. I think they were also going to continue south with some dirty-dirt gons that were in the yard, but I left after getting information off more covered hoppers, and went back to the UP main line.(A word about the covered hoppers...I visited three places in West Chicago, researched three batches of covered hoppers, but I couldn't have gotten these cars anywhere else in West Chicago except where they were...the first bunch were grain cars for General Mills, the second bunch were plastics cars at a local industry, and the third bunch were sand cars, probably bound to or from Troy Grove, eventually.)
More letter writing before the trip home (since my correspondent is also interested in freight cars, it was worth a postscript to the letter). After seeing another pair of scoots right at the West Chicago station (they would have met west of there again!), I made a slow trip home, stopping for mailing the letter, then more hydration, then a rest at the zero-marker on the Prairie Path (at which time I assured Pat that I was on the way home). More scoots on the way home (early components of The Fleet), but no more freights, save for one westbound stacker stopped on the center track at Winfield station.33-plus miles...a far cry from what I used to do, but not too bad for someone as shapeless as I have become. And I will sleep well tonight, I suspect--unless my glowing arms and legs keep me awake!
Gee, go away for a long weekend and the Lounge drops to Page 3!
Not much railroad-wise happened to me on this particular trip to Michigan, though I "harvested" a few more secondhand (or thirdhand, as it turns out) cars at Muskegon.
On the way home, just a few hours ago, we made a point of driving under the brand-new, bright-blue truss bridge over Torrence Avenue near 130th Street in Chicago. The videos and photographs do not do it justice--this thing is a monster! Work is being done on the eventual relocation of 130th from the Little Calumet channel to Torrence and beyond.
Starting to wonder if the decision I made was a wise one...
Sorry to hear about the misgivings, Z-man! I hope you have a decent exit strategy, but remember...If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
If life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic.
Don't worry, I hear there's dyslexia for a pill now.
Dyslexia would be a real - umm, handicap ? - for someone in zug's current position: "Is that train really there on the screen - or over here ?!?"
Old joke:
Q: Did you hear about the dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac?
A: He lay awake at night wondering if there really was a doG.
- Paul North.
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