Looks like we're going to have a damp 3rd here, although the rain may stop long enough for the fireworks. No watches or warnings here, yet, so it may just be wet with a few rumbles...
Our storm in Old Forge last week left some canoers bruised after the heavy rain with a touch of pea sized hail came through.
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...
I was going to say that at least you got to see your storm and hailstones, and feel the cool rain, but then I began to get the real horror stories from here. Our Historical Society president said that it was horizontal rain, and the hail lasted for a good 15 minutes. Not sure I would have enjoyed that. I was also told that the Main Street underpass (under the UP) flooded during the storm (no power, no pumps, I guess--the water would have gotten about 4-5 feet deep in the street, but sidewalks may have remained above water).Still blistering hot out there. Power was restored to the stores we'd wanted to visit yesterday, so we finished our errands. They are talking about highs near 100 for today and tomorrow.Not much on the train-watching front. Dan, it looks like you got good shots in a good spot there. Wish I had time to run on up for a while.Fondly recalling Andy Griffith, who passed away this morning at 86. He was the only guy I know who could get a UP passenger train to make a station stop in North Carolina!
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)
Cripes Carl...that storm sounded like the one we got today...didn't last for 2 hours though. Rain was nice!
Here's my "trip report" from Sunday July 1 when I got to see one of CN's "new" SD60s. CN 5433 led A491 north into Neenah, WI where I was waiting. Here are some of the shots I took.
A closeup of A491's leader:http://flic.kr/p/cpq8HG
Closer to me...and a little wider view:http://flic.kr/p/cpq943
Pulling ahead to an easy stop:http://flic.kr/p/cpq9j1
Crew conducting a rollby inspection (always wanted to try this shot):http://flic.kr/p/cpqa2h
Pulling ahead to do work (one of my favorites of the day):http://flic.kr/p/cpqazu
Doubled up and ready to depart:http://flic.kr/p/cpqboQ
That wasn't the only train I saw. A416 had a couple of cars get nailed by a HBDE detector and the resulting work & confusion led them to die on hours in Menasha, WI on Stroebe Siding. The relief crew had to "normalize" the train by putting all the power on the head end, instead of the "push pull" fashing the train normally is. A nice catch of a pair of IC SD70s.
Crew running power around:http://flic.kr/p/cpqaYU
Tied in and about ready to go north to Green Bay, WI:http://flic.kr/p/cpqb8f
Thanks for looking!
Dan
Too hot to even think about outside exploration today--94 as of 3:40 p.m., and tomorrow will probably be warmer.The trip home from Cedar Rapids yesterday was fairly uneventful. We had a great time chatting with Brian and Joanie for a good hour and a half over brunch. We had a bright, sunny, clear day, with more 90-degree weather anticipated. Despite the fact that we kept the main line within our sights for most of the trip back, little was seen. Nothing at all in Iowa until we got to Clinton, where an eastbound manifest was in the yard, and a westbound went by us at the old station, coming off the bridge.In Illinois, we paced a Com Ed coal train from west of Morrison to about Galt (he'd get ahead of us as we slowed down for cities, then we'd catch up). We had beaten him to Sterling, though.A break was taken at Rochelle, where--in a good half-hour--nothing at all was seen. It was relatively cool in the shade of the pavilion, though, with an occasional breeze. They have wi-fi, but I didn't bring the computer with me to the pavilion. I should have...East of DeKalb, we passed what I think was a Wisconsin Public Service coal train, standing still. We didn't go into Elburn and take the road closer to the tracks. Again, perhaps I should have...We got to Geneva, where we encountered traffic signals out in the downtown area. East of the Fox River, some were on, some were off. The signal at the county line (where UP also crosses Illinois 38) was blinking red in both directions. A UP signal employee was in the bungalow there.At West Chicago, we encountered downed tree limbs, many hampering our progress on the streets. The little park area between the street and the UP tracks, west of the tower, had major limbs separated from their trees. More destruction in Winfield, and in Wheaton. At Wheaton, we met a westbound manifest, and noted that the overpass for the Chase Street pedestrian tunnel appears to be in place, but needs to be excavated beneath.East of Glen Ellyn, more downed trees, with crews hard at work to clear the road. Lombard welcomed us with more of the same, and traffic lights and store lights out. We came home to no power, some small branches and leaves littering our back yard, and 1.2 inches of rain in the gauge. Fortunately, no other damage. Keep in mind that all of this was in spite of virtually cloudless skies for our trip.After searching for an open place to have supper, we cleaned up the yard a bit. Then I went out to see about damage further east, and to run a couple of payday errands if possible. I was able to "knock over" an ATM in Elmhurst, and buy a Sunday paper there, too. But that was lucky--nearly every other place in Elmhust's downtown was closed, and there were trees, branches, and leaves all over the place. Coming back home from there, I found one open gas station, with lines practically out to the highway (later heard that other gas stations that had been open had run out of fuel).The story is that a fierce thunderstorm had popped up and clobbered various places around Chicagoland. It had lasted about two hours in Lombard. Highest winds in Lombard were clocked at 82 m.p.h. (Winfield reported 90), and we heard about quarter-sized hail. The destruction continued all the way out to the lake--kayaks on the Chicago River were overturned, but the occupants were okay.Trains on Metra's UP West line and the BNSF line were both affected--even though a light Sunday schedule was in effect, trains were annulled as the delays on the prior trains went on beyond their schedules. BNSF was still having problems this morning.We couldn't do our grocery shopping today, because the stores we wanted to visit had no power yet. Some places are not expected to have it before the Fourth. We were able to see an on-time scoot on our line, and only the usual delays for heavy passenger load and track construction are being reported.
22dec Dan, how is the bridge project going? I haven't been to Oshkosh to see how it is progressing. Hope you are taking pictures so the old bridge will not be forgotten and to post here also. Don
Dan, how is the bridge project going? I haven't been to Oshkosh to see how it is progressing. Hope you are taking pictures so the old bridge will not be forgotten and to post here also.
Don
Don,
Yeah I am. CN isn't doing much on this yet save for pouring pilings. It's pretty hard to see what's going on unless you're out in a boat...and I've not had a chance to get mine on the water yet.
Thanks all for the birthday wishes for Aedan. He's certainly one happy little guy today!
And happy Canada Day to those among us who reside north of the border. (I remember when it was called "Dominion Day"!)
Hey, a very happy birthday to Aedan!! Hope it is filled with fun there, big guy!!
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
So far, so good!
"Trains for breakfast" (Mickey D's in DeKalb) scored us one eastbound manifest. We encountered three more eastbound trains in the 17 or so miles to Rochelle, and another one or two west of Sterling. Not much in Iowa.
I'm up a little earlier than I expected to be this morning. Later on it's breakfast with Brian (and Joanie) Hanel before we head home.Happy third birthday to the little guy! He probably doesn't remember when I held him at age only a few months.
A link back to 2Q 2012:http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/204574/2271643.aspx#2271643
Off we go! I hope your trip goes well Carl. Still have vacation at work so I should be able to get at least one train between now and Wednesday. Had to take a break from railfanning activities today to celebrate Aedan's 3rd Birthday. Wow...time flies.
Later.
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