Modelcar Boy Carl, extend that break in the "hot streak" down here.....Terrible here. Everything is drying up....The massive corn crop of Indiana too. The forecast is for us to get a "break" down to the 90's, next week.
Boy Carl, extend that break in the "hot streak" down here.....Terrible here. Everything is drying up....The massive corn crop of Indiana too.
The forecast is for us to get a "break" down to the 90's, next week.
I guess a weather report from down here in South Central kansas would be appropriate. Our weather broke this morning. About 73 deg. at 0600. Great Coffee drinking weather on the back porch. Couple of pair of Cooper's Hawks moved in to a Cottonwood across the creek, they are giving the smaller birds fits. The Transcon was relatively light only a Z, and a Stacker this morning. Been pretty quite for a Sunday.
Supposed to have Thunderboomers coming in later in the day and tonight . Neighbor ( he's Agronomist) said that Friday Corn was pushing $7.00 a Bushel. 'Cause of what Quentin indicated, HOT weather is burning the crop up, up North. Sounds like our Corn Flakes will have another price rise.
Everyone have a great week and stay cool.
Places like that - where break-in-two's (or three's) are inherently and inevitably more common because of a troublesome profile - ought to be a priority for the installation of an ample walkway or even a parallel access road alongside to expedite and make more safe the subsequent inspection and repairs.
- Paul North.
CShaveRR Just three separations? Any idea as to the cause(s)? Everything on the rail?
Just three separations? Any idea as to the cause(s)? Everything on the rail?
I don't think they had any derailed. This is the second time I've happened to see the salad shooter come apart at the same location, and we were deadheading that time, too. In both cases, the train had a DPU on the end.
The Blair bridge is "humped" over the river to clear any barge traffic. Eastbounds come off Blair hill, bottom out about a mile from the bridge than start back up to go over the river. I think with the DPU pushing in the slack has the train climbs over that hump, there is a point where the head end starts to pull the slack out and if there is a car with a misbehaving pin lifter, they come apart. I think the first time I saw that, all they had to do was recouple the train. With them being in a few more pieces, one separation may have just been a pin lifter. The others probably required replacing some iron. The approaches to the bridge aren't the best places to have to walk, or work on a train. Eventually, it will be double tracked, but where they were having problems, they hadn't started the dirt work yet.
Jeff
Boy Carl, extend that break in the "hot streak" down here.....Terrible here. Everything is dryihg up....The massive corn crop of Indiana too.
Quentin
Our turnaround in temperature came right around lunchtime. I don't put too much stock in those privately-owned time-and-temp signs, but the one at the restaurant we visited went from 105 to 98 while we were in there. My Weather Bug went from 95 to 87, and now says 73. In fact, after supper I broke out the bike for a quick trip trackside (one scoot, one freight). It felt great!Now that the hot streak has been broken, please don't anyone try and fix it for a while, huh?
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)
jeffhergert Currently it's 76 degrees in Fremont, so the cool down is coming. Deadheaded out this morning. As we were crossing the Missouri River bridge, we noticed the eastbound salad shooter on the adjacent railroad bridge, in three pieces or so we thought. We heard a bit later the train telling the dispatcher there was a third separation. Jeff
Currently it's 76 degrees in Fremont, so the cool down is coming.
Deadheaded out this morning. As we were crossing the Missouri River bridge, we noticed the eastbound salad shooter on the adjacent railroad bridge, in three pieces or so we thought. We heard a bit later the train telling the dispatcher there was a third separation.
Hope the salad shooter was ok.
Dan
Shooting for four triple-digit days in a row now. There's supposed to be a cooldown sometime this afternoon, but it's 95 already.
Something "police related" happened in Villa Park this morning. The inbound scoot was delayed, and since then all trains have been proceeding very slowly through whatever, wherever, in vicinity of Villa Park and Lombard.
MC, I'm with Dan--that is an interesting detail, both from the firefighting and operating standpoint. Thanks!Day 3 of triple-digit, triple-H here. We hit 90 by 0900. I'm still home this morning, but expect that we will move into an air-conditioned Historical Society Museum's offices for the afternoon (Pat's there already). Then our basement ("The Dungeon") for the evening, and our air-conditioned bedroom for the night. Tomorrow is supposed to be "only" into the 90s, with a cool-down promised for later in the day (that's been shoved back once; it might happen again).If anyone is a big fan of the music of Gustav Mahler, check out wfmt.com, and listen in (it's free). All day today they're playing the nine symphonies in order (on #2 right now).
Not much to report on the railroad side of things. We aren't going to get to Northbrook/Deerfield/Shermer before the trains are back again. I wonder if the Roadrailer detour showed up on the Rochelle Webcam yesterday (I suspect it went through in early afternoon).
mudchicken CNW 6000: MC - how common is it for those Loram trains to be used as firefighting apparatus? I realized they had water and nozzles...but not how effective they are. I suppose the effectiveness depends on how accessable the area is or the availability of air assets to reach too. Very unusual for the train to be pulled off line and sent elsewhere, several hundred miles, to fight a fire. Never saw it happen in my experience working between Kansas and the west coast. Roadmasters would fight tooth and nail to keep those machines running on their territory. The above being said, I was around when the fire protection started with just a small fire hose (2" line) in the 1980's , with one line run to either end of the train and lashed to the host railroad's waycar and pilot locomotive. Snorkels, water cannons, ground spray covering the ballast section and additional pressure all added to the capabilities. On occasion we would back up to put out a tie fire or R/W grass fire that late ignited. (and the trailing inspection crew in hi-rails could not handle themselves) ... rarely see that even happen anymore. All being said, the railroad willingly pulled up stakes in Wyoming and cleared a path for it to go all the way to Academy/Monument until relieved by the special fire train from the Pacific NW to protect an asset. Expensive, but prudent move in an unusual set of circumstances.
CNW 6000: MC - how common is it for those Loram trains to be used as firefighting apparatus? I realized they had water and nozzles...but not how effective they are. I suppose the effectiveness depends on how accessable the area is or the availability of air assets to reach too.
MC - how common is it for those Loram trains to be used as firefighting apparatus? I realized they had water and nozzles...but not how effective they are. I suppose the effectiveness depends on how accessable the area is or the availability of air assets to reach too.
Very unusual for the train to be pulled off line and sent elsewhere, several hundred miles, to fight a fire. Never saw it happen in my experience working between Kansas and the west coast. Roadmasters would fight tooth and nail to keep those machines running on their territory.
The above being said, I was around when the fire protection started with just a small fire hose (2" line) in the 1980's , with one line run to either end of the train and lashed to the host railroad's waycar and pilot locomotive. Snorkels, water cannons, ground spray covering the ballast section and additional pressure all added to the capabilities. On occasion we would back up to put out a tie fire or R/W grass fire that late ignited. (and the trailing inspection crew in hi-rails could not handle themselves) ... rarely see that even happen anymore.
All being said, the railroad willingly pulled up stakes in Wyoming and cleared a path for it to go all the way to Academy/Monument until relieved by the special fire train from the Pacific NW to protect an asset. Expensive, but prudent move in an unusual set of circumstances.
mudchicken It would appear the operating bubbas got bored/lonely and invited the Track, B&B and Mechanical troops out to a party (at double time of course, with the supervisors just getting cheaper)
P.S. - Thanks to Jeff et al. for reviving the 'fenceposts' story - a great example of when logic and common sense fail (due to a lack of management communication). I've only seen it in A Treasury of Railroad Folklore, edited by Bodkin and Harlow, as best as I can recall. - PDN.
CNW 6000 MC - how common is it for those Loram trains to be used as firefighting apparatus? I realized they had water and nozzles...but not how effective they are. I suppose the effectiveness depends on how accessable the area is or the availability of air assets to reach too.
Interesting about that stack train, Brian. I've seen short trains handled with one unit at each end, but not something like this. As they say in the railfan biz: "It could be a power move." (I'd say, yup, power's moving, all right.).Perhaps, though, this is a train that will fill out its consist at Global 3 (Rochelle). It's not impossible to envision this train going past the yard, backing in, and bringing out a whole bunch of tubs behind what you saw as the rear unit, for delivery to North Baltimore, Pitcairn, or wherever stack trains go on the eastern railroads nowadays.(Today we saw a westbound stacker similar to what you describe--three units on the point, only about ten or so cars, a DP unit, then considerably more cars behind that. They probably aren't getting all of the advantages of a DP unit that they could be, but if it saves time in the operation down the road it's probably a good thing.)
jeffhergert A train was overtonnage and had to reduce before leaving the yard. Certain loads are more important than others, like perishable or livestock, high value merchandise etc. Looking over the train list for what could be set out, the yardmaster came across a load of fence posts. Now in the scheme of things, it's hard to imagine fence posts being a hot item. So the load of fence posts, along with other low priority freight was set out. A few days later, the yardmaster got a reprimand for setting out the most important car in the train. It seems the superintendent had personally guaranteed delivery to the consignee on a certain date, and setting out the car it missed that date. So after that, whenever a train had to reduce tonnage, the instructions were to set out anything except fence posts.
A train was overtonnage and had to reduce before leaving the yard. Certain loads are more important than others, like perishable or livestock, high value merchandise etc. Looking over the train list for what could be set out, the yardmaster came across a load of fence posts. Now in the scheme of things, it's hard to imagine fence posts being a hot item. So the load of fence posts, along with other low priority freight was set out.
A few days later, the yardmaster got a reprimand for setting out the most important car in the train. It seems the superintendent had personally guaranteed delivery to the consignee on a certain date, and setting out the car it missed that date. So after that, whenever a train had to reduce tonnage, the instructions were to set out anything except fence posts.
Oh man, does that ever sound like railway logic as practiced by the CPR. Thank you for that. I have heard many, many railway stories in my 58 years, but I have never heard that one before. You really can learn something new every day.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
In my post about holiday operations, the railroad always says it will slow down operations except for certain lines of business. The exceptions for things that still must move means just about everything except the lowest of the low manifest, locals and yard jobs. Sometimes even they still work, too.
In my listing of the business lines, I threw in fence posts for a couple of reasons. One to illustrate how the exceptions render a holiday slow down kind of moot, that we're only going to move "priority" things but everything is a prioritiy. Also to reference an old joke about fence posts.
I've heard it told years ago on the Rock Island. I've seen it in print in Trains about 25 or so years ago (IIRC the author, Ken Brovald in his story about an Omaha Road Brasspounder, I know Bruce knows what that is.) and an even older Railroad Magazine story by Peter Josserand, Night Chief Dispatcher on the Western Pacific. I'm sure many old heads on many railroads will claim it happened on their railroads, too. The story goes something like this.
A few days later, the yardmaster got a reprimand for setting out the most important car in the train. It seems the superintendent had personally gauranteed delivery to the consignee on a certain date, and setting out the car it missed that date. So after that, whenever a train had to reduce tonnage, the instructions were to set out anything except fence posts.
Our trip to Des Moines yesterday afforded me a glimpse or two of the UP Transcon along the way, and one of those opportunities just east of Tama yielded an unusual sighting- an eastbound stacker with three or four engines up front, not much more than a dozen wells, and a DPU bringing up the rear. Can you say "overpowered"?
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
Bruce, Jeff and I were being a little facetious there. I haven't heard of fencepost extras, either. Consequently, between that and the air-conditioning, I slept just fine.There is a plant in Chicago Heights that recycles steel rail into fenceposts--rather ingenious, actually...the rail is heated to the point that it can be rolled into the new form, but not hot enough to melt.
We might be able to do that in the sun today. The temperature is supposed to get up to 105, which is currently the warmest temperature ever recorded in Chicago.
CShaveRR those fencepost extras?
those fencepost extras?
I couldn't sleep, I had to know what a fencepost extra is. I haven't heard that one before.
CShaveRR Ouch...my condolences, Jeff. You gonna get the call for one of those fencepost extras?
Ouch...my condolences, Jeff.
You gonna get the call for one of those fencepost extras?
No, I caught an empty grain train. We spotted it at the elevator just east of Boone right about midnight. While the conductor was back tying handbrakes, an elevator employee drove up to the head end. He asked if we got anything extra for working on a holiday. I told him I got go for a train ride.
As a consolation prize for working the 4th, plus the preceding 5 days, I do get 48 hours off.
CShaveRR Ouch...my condolences, Jeff. You gonna get the call for one of those fencepost extras?The two hopper trains I saw would have gone through Shermer before the wreck there this afternoon (based on news reports we were just about coming home from lunch when it happened).
You gonna get the call for one of those fencepost extras?The two hopper trains I saw would have gone through Shermer before the wreck there this afternoon (based on news reports we were just about coming home from lunch when it happened).
CShaveRR Well, that was a surprise...I didn't expect much rail traffic today, as the railroad says it likes to keep its road crews around home for the holidays.
Well, that was a surprise...I didn't expect much rail traffic today, as the railroad says it likes to keep its road crews around home for the holidays.
Reduced operations, unless they need to recover from service disruptions or have a business opprotunity. Reduced operations across all business lines except for automotive, coal, grain, intermodal, premium manifest and fence posts.
Jeff, first out at Fremont.
CShaveRR And happy Canada Day to those among us who reside north of the border. (I remember when it was called "Dominion Day"!)
And happy Canada Day to those among us who reside north of the border. (I remember when it was called "Dominion Day"!)
Thank you, Carl. And I will return the favour by wishing all US readers and my forum friends a happy Independence Day.
Dan, I liked your last batch of photos. I kind of smiled looking at the first two loco shots of that "new" CN unit. It was still clean in nooks and crannies that will soon never be clean again, no matter how much power washing they do!
I thought I would mention one thing I have been seeing on the Canadian forums. If you remember a few months ago I said that CP had retired their SD9043MAC's in the 9100 series. Well things are changing for those units, as well as many other "Canadian" units.
A number of years ago, rules were standardized to make it easy for US and Canadian roads to run through their power into the other country. But as they say the big print giveth and the fine print taketh away. And the devil is in the details. Everyone started from the same point, but it turns out that loco airbrake inspection and rebuilding cycles are different. Canada has a 48 month cycle and the US has a 36 month cycle. As time marches forward, this is causing things to get out of sync, and making it more difficult for shops to have the properly qualified units on the ready tracks, at the right time.
And there is another wrinkle, These EPA Tier(whatever) anti-pollution regulations, and which units are grandfathered and which are not. The combination of these two issues is what has led to the sidelining of the 9100's, or maybe not. CP has recently bought and installed the necessary parts to make the 9142 compliant for use in the US, and sent it south for use on tracks possibly near you. I guess it is a test to see if it is going to be cost effective to upgrade the rest of the series, or sell them off and let somebody else pay for the upgrade.
The same issue will also apply to CN as well. I think photographers would do well to get photos of older Canadian motive power while the getting is good, because I think the days of power crossing the border routinely are about to change. In CP's case especially, old non Soo Line origin, DC units. Happy hunting.
If TRAINS is still looking for article ideas, I think this might be an opportunity for the right technically qualified author.
Just got back from taking Aedan to the local 4th festivities. I figured we'd beat the heat of the day at "only" 93 degrees and matching humidity. Supposed to flirt with triple digits today. I'm glad there was a squirt gun game for kids...we spent plenty of time there...dad got wet too. Felt good I might add. Now we're home in the A/C and chilling (literally) until tonight when we can go see fireworks. Man...I can't wait for snow!
CN sent another pair of SD60s this way yesterday. One of them is on the north end of A415/416, the "push-pull" train from Green Bay, WI to Stevens Point, WI. The south end is handled by a former BNSF Dash 8-40CW. Neat to see...and I noticed that the windows are staying closed. A/C is working it appears.
Well, that was a surprise...I didn't expect much rail traffic today, as the railroad says it likes to keep its road crews around home for the holidays. But we went to Main Street Cafe to eat lunch (big meal in a cool place...should do us for the day). And in the 40 minutes or so we were in there we saw four freight trains. All of them (manifest, empty coal gons, stack--with a mid-train DP unit--and another manifest) were westbound, which means they were freshly crewed at Proviso. As we left, another empty coal train went west. And as we crossed Grace Street, we saw the lights of still another westbound off the curve. He didn't come through while we were along the tracks; he could have been holding for a more favorable signal indication. So that was six freight trains in under an hour, all in the same direction. No eastbounds, no scoots. Maybe we were just lucky.Just got a note from Metra saying that the most recent eastbound scoot had filled up with passengers, and would be expressing to Chicago from Berkeley, with an extra scoot following it and running on its schedule. Now that's how to run a railroad!Just heard over the radio that our official temperature made it to 100, with the (typically) warmest hours yet to come. My next communication might be from the dungeon.
mudchicken Lost in the hoopla out here is how both railroads threw resources, money and manpower at the fires and continue to do so. (Including the shutting down of a Loram Grinder train (at $1000 + per hour) and sending it [with it's water cars, four water cannons and fire suppression systems] south out of Wyoming to aid with the Waldo Canyon Fire on the USAFA grounds)
Lost in the hoopla out here is how both railroads threw resources, money and manpower at the fires and continue to do so. (Including the shutting down of a Loram Grinder train (at $1000 + per hour) and sending it [with it's water cars, four water cannons and fire suppression systems] south out of Wyoming to aid with the Waldo Canyon Fire on the USAFA grounds)
That's a story that really needs to be told! Good call, by somebody!
mudchicken Still holding out my tin cup looking for rain.
Still holding out my tin cup looking for rain.
So are we. I figure that the only reason we didn't have a flood here in the Green Valley (ha!) is that the ground drank it up almost as quickly as it came down. Now we're back to where we were before the storm.
Actually Carl, now that I've seen that other thread, it kinda applies to both. (people who are so into the "shiny things" that forget about what those shiny things run on and the related science of how you get them to run.)
Lost in the hoopla out here is how both railroads threw resources, money and manpower at the fires and continue to do so. (Including the shutting down of a Loram Grinder train (at $1000 + per hour) and sending it (with it's water cars, four water cannons and fire suppression systems south out of Wyoming to aid with the Waldo Canyon Fire on the USAFA grounds)
I hope you're talking about the Denver area and not the Forum when you're referring to local know-it-alls, MC. I'll bet you'd be an imposing warrior!It is so nice to see everyone shoot off fireworks, hold picnics, parades, etc., for my mother-in-law's birthday! (Or is it some other occasion? I'm confused.)
Seriously, everyone have a safe, sane Independence Day celebration. Stay safe on the roads, stay cool and hydrated, and don't go crazy with the pyrotechnics (we have a neighbor who kept us up past our bedtime last night...the window a/c didn't drown out the racket).
(1) Calling Malaprop Man! MSnbc puts out drivel about fire causes and can't figure out the difference between a radial saw and a 120 stone rail grinder.
(2) Hoping for rain all day. All we got were drops that spotted the ground. Most of it evaporated before it hit the ground.
(3) [ comment withdrawn] -about to declare war on some self declared local know-it-alls.
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