We trust our contractor...the standing joke is that the architect, electrician, drywallers, painters, plumber, floor guys, tree specialist, and concrete contractors should have a little sign on their truck doors saying "Al's guys". Even in the middle of things, when Al was in for bypass surgery (pre-emptive, thankfully!), his sons and nephew handled things. We're likely to have him back...smaller projects being lined up now!Happy birthday today to Sam, as in "SamFP43". Does the "43" have some significance as to age (ears on, Mookie?)? Today is also my son-in-law's birthday (daddy to my current grandkids), and we just welcomed the arrival of a grand-niece this noon...the Charmageddon has begun (a bit early)!
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)
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2013/0713/20130713_025331_20130713.pdf Going to add on to Carl's frustration (along with a few others) with those who went off on the "tanker" idiocy by the (not so) professionals of the news media describing railcars, The Denver Post did a nice front page blurb on activities at CRRM in Golden today. How many ways can a reporter/ neophyte butcher the descriptive noun "train"? (a locomotive, a steam locomotive, is not a train by itself)
I do not recall ever having seen, or heard, the expression "railroad locomotive." I had understood that locomotives are used only on railroads.
By the way, if an engine is running light, does it have to have a FRED on the rear? What description of train is now in rule books? It used to be that a locomotive with markers on the rear was considered to be a train when running light.
Johnny
By our rules, a train is one or more locomotives, with or without cars, displaying marker, blah blah blah...
So a single lite engine can be an official "train". As far as a marker, an engine move (singular or plural) can have a EOT (FRED), a dimmed headlight, marker lights, or a flag depending on time of day.
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
Johnny, I believe that a locomotive headlight displayed dim to the rear constitutes a marker according to the rules, both for light locomotives and for trains concluded by a distributed-power locomotive.I just got back from the Land of No Trains again, where we dropped off quilts at an upcoming show. I also got to have breakfast with some high-school classmates, and got to hold the grand-nephew to which I alluded in my previous post on this thread.Then, when we returned, we went to a baby shower of sorts for my daughter in California. My other daughter organized an Oovoo shower, and Linda's friends and relatives from Illinois (us), Michigan (including the new grand-niece, my sisters, nieces, and mother), and Wisconsin showed up on a TV screen and watched her unwrap shower gifts and show off her only-weeks-away-from-delivery-she-hopes profile.On the way home, we saw a westbound Amtrak Wolverine Service train slow for the junction at Porter, Indiana, then hasten past an eastbound crude-oil train west of town.
CShaveRR Johnny, I believe that a locomotive headlight displayed dim to the rear constitutes a marker according to the rules, both for light locomotives and for trains concluded by a distributed-power locomotive.
Johnny, I believe that a locomotive headlight displayed dim to the rear constitutes a marker according to the rules, both for light locomotives and for trains concluded by a distributed-power locomotive.
Congrats on the newest additions to the clan. Sounds like you've had a very busy weekend thus far. Got the house in order yet?
Dan
Congratulations, Carl, and to Pat and your builder for "Getting 'er done" successfully in spite of the weather and his medical challenges ! May you enjoy it all for many years to come.
And while chatting with a newly-engaged co-worker the other day, I observed that perhaps the reason his prospective father-in-law was willing to consent to the marriage is that . . .
with 5 daughters in the house, marrying them off was a cheaper way to gain extra space than building an addition !
- Paul North.
As an aside, passenger trains must have a lighted marker. A flag doesn't meet the requirement.
When my kids left I ended up with a storage room and a guest room, which I eventually refurbished with a new paint job and a nice king-sized bed.
I also use the "storage room" for model work. If I can get that room hoed out, it's going to get a futon for backup guest room work.
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...
You might be right, Paul...losing five daughters (don't even suggest that the guy's gaining five sons!) might help clean out a house. We had two daughters, hereafter to be known as guest/emergency bedroom and quilt storage room.As for the expansion of the clan, little Sydney (actually named after my father, Sidney) was just the first of four second-cousins due within the month. Next up should be the daughter of Pat's brother, who's expecting a boy any day now. Then my other sister's daughter-in-law should be having a girl in about two weeks. Finally, our daughter's boy is due in three weeks. Charmageddon!
Dan, we won't be settled in for a long time. We're putting things in place slowly, trying to figure out the most lo0gical places for them (or, in some cases, deciding that things are no longer necessary). Last Thursday we replaced the defective chandelier in our dining room with a new one (old one had one socket that wouldn't stay lit). Note to do-it-yourselfers: opening the circuit which turns off the light in question might not be enough, when it's on a three-way switch...I found that out the exciting way! We also replaced a 35-year-old lampshade in the living room that was falling apart.
Saturday we took the advice of my sister and a friend and stopped at the Holland (Michgan) Bar Stool Company to look at and price bar stools. The bar stools aren't much taller than chairs, but their prices can reach the ceiling! We expected to be ordering something special, but instead walked out of there with a couple of clearance stools. I'd been envisioning padded stools with rotating seats and backs, but that would not have been right for our place. Instead we got a couple of finished wooden stools--no backs, no swivel--that fit very neatly under the counter overhang when not in use. We saved a lot of time by knowing in advance the height of the stools we needed.Our goal isn't so much to get moved in quickly as to be able to get the car back into the garage by winter. Or perhaps by October, when our daughter--with our new grandson, we hope!--comes to spend a couple of days while presenting a paper at a seminar at DePaul University.Back to research...lots to do, and time's a-wastin'!
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
Checking in post-mainenance shutdown. All seems to be in order thus far. Aside from that...it's friggin' hot...and I'm going to sit in the pool in the shade.
My laptop wouldn't take well to a pool, or I'd give that a thought. I biked about five miles today, and the breeze is the only redeeming characteristic of the weather out there. Officially it's 89 now, the computer says 91 (observation station about a mile away), and Arthur says 94.2.I caught a coal train and a manifest while trackside (doing my chores, eating lunch in an air-conditioned venue, etc.), in addition to the two scoots scheduled in that time.The ceiling fan is making the new room tolerable, while I take this research break. Tomorrow I plan on going into the City for a concert near the Lake. I'm hoping that the forecast middle-90s temperatures won't apply down there.
I need to vent.
I swear I can't find a decent work boot to save my life anymore.
I've had several pairs of the cheaper brands - all crap.
Had a pair of Red Wings that was decent, then the next pair I got was complete crap (most uncomfortable thing ever).
Have a pair of Chippewas, and they turned uncomfortable real fast (even with new insoles to replace the ridiculous things they came with).
Went to a store to try on some Danner's (of course the selection was pitiful - and they wonder why retail stores are suffering????) Their Quarry line boots seemed ok, but the toe part was a little narrow. And since I spend 8 hours a night on the ballast, that would get old real fast.
So I am at a complete lost. Ordered a White's catalog. I'm willing to spend some real bucks if I can just find a boot that actually lasts more than 6 months out here and doesn't kill my feet in the process. Of course our "walking ballast" is a joke. Too large to be walking ballast, too small for mainline, and sharp as a knife. Or I can walk on the road, but that asphalt gets old real fast, too. We don't get boot allowances, but discounts on a couple brands through our website. All cheaper brands. See my comment about those above.
Just frustrated.
My last three pairs were Red Wing, and I still have two of them.UP gave out a shoe firm toward the end of every year. You filled out your part of the form, took it to the Red Wing store (we have two less than ten miles from here), got yourself fitted, and that was it. Red Wing submitted the form to the railroad, you paid 50 percent of the price via payroll deduction, and UP covered the rest. I still use them on hikes, and also use them when I visit the yard or am involved in some serious railfanning.
_____________I spent the entire day in the house today. We don't have a/c (save in the bedroom), but the ceiling fan in the new room made things bearable as I watched the temperature go up to 94 outside, then drop quickly when a thundercloud dropped a little bit of water on us as it passed overhead. Tomorrow looks to be another day like today, except I'm going into town for another concert in the evening (I'll bring my umbrella for this one--last night gave me a couple of heavy downpours in the city, while Pat said nothing at all fell out here).Tomorrow the inspectors come, and the contractor caps off the project by replacing our front door.
___________________Nothing new on the railroad construction projects, to speak of. Around Proviso, Track 3 is being rebuilt from Bellwood station east--a lot of rail on new concrete ties up to the Provo Junction switch, and Wednesday night a ballast train, with the power at the wrong end, was on the track. I think they might connect the two ends--the gap is getting smaller--before pulling that trainload across. The roadbed for the connecting track between our main line and the IHB is level; ties will be the next step.At Wheaton, still no new progress on the crossovers. They were surfacing Track 1 in the area of the new control point, but that's the track with the switches already installed. They still need the two crossovers connecting tracks 2 and 3, and signals. I expected this stuff a year ago.Also no progress at all on the walkway under the tracks here in Lombard. I wish they'd get it done, or perhaps redesign it so it would be more effective in the case of a scoot on Track 2 needing to make a stop.
ZUG;;;
Bought a pair of Dr. Comfort steel toes 3 years ago. Wear them about twice a week for 6-8 hrs. Break in took a while but really like them now.
NOTE: Dr. Comfort is a name for diabetic shoes. Had to go to a poidiatrist to order them but had a week to try them out. Foot inserts are great. They are rather expensive.
Loved Chippewa's , but don't have steel toes in their boots.
Live in a pair of Red Wing 4406's. Redwing replaces the original sole (ain't worth crap) with Vibram Soles and I'm in good shape. Re-sole the shoes 3-4 times before replacing. Have 2 pair in rotation, just about to replace a pair with the original soles right now (the heels, as usual, are dying)....Have never seen any sole outlast vibram soles.
Not quite sure about what Zuggy is calling "walking ballast"
3-1/2" = Main line ballast
1-1/2" = Yard Ballast
3/4" = Chips
Less than 3/4" and not gap-graded = Waste/chat/"fines"
Waste will not drain and is abrasive (duh), so it gets used sparingly, only in walkways on leads and only where it can be rolled (won't use that crap in the track (kills ties), under ties or in the body of the yard, Will spread it to keep down weeds in open area and for access roads. Don't see much waste anymore because you need scarce air-dumps to deliver it and equipment to place it. Mechanical (pick a railroad) does a lousy job of maintaining air-dumps and the beancounters purge them from the fleet every chance they get. Air dump fleets are less than half of what they were in the 1990's . If you have flooding or major rip-rap projects like bridges or slope protection, getting air dumps for yard work is virtually unheard of. Waste is a byproduct of making ballast and you are a lucky roadmaster if you are close enough to a ballast quarry and can send your hi-rail bob-tail pivot dump truck after the stuff...
If you work in a yard that used steel mill slag as ballast, that stuff never quite goes away and is super abrasive. Cuts through everything, even steel.
Some places here they use finer stuff for walkways (not under the tracks, but alongside them). We have it alongside the stone-paved RIP tracks here, and it is a lot finer than up in the ladder. I wish they would have dumped some alongside the access road that runs along the one ladder, but oh well. I know I'm complaining, but I wouldn't be a RRer if I didn't.
We still have air dumps... side and bottom. Those seem to get used for smaller projects now, with the Herzog trains getting the mainline stuff. From what I've seen, who knows what the official policy is.
I think I'm going to try some inserts next. May still order some Whites for myself before winter. We'll see. How well did the re-sole on your redwings last, MudC? I do have an older pair that were my backup boots... sole was originally a Vibram, but is pretty much worn to the nub.
Inserts ought to be helpful to me, too. I rarely think about them, so they don't get bought.
The Redwing Vendor here bends over backwards to make sure the shop does a good job on the re-soles. (he's retiring, hope his successor follows his lead) Never had an issue here. Usually the leather uppers die or I expose the steel toe from kicking all the braces around the switch points looking for loose OTM. (i'm hard on workboots) The repaired shoes from a month ago (latest reshod job) are just fine.
Seems like we need a farrier for the iron horse's men as well . . .
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal in the last week or so about using aluminum (or plastic, carbon-fiber, etc.) shoes on racehorses instead of the traditional steel !
Nights like tonight I'm happy that I no longer have to work for the railroad, but can still enjoy the excitement. There isn't normally as much activity east of Proviso as there is to the west, but tonight was pretty interesting-looking from the scoot. When we were slowing down for the stop at Oak Park, I noticed that all three of our tracks had something moving on them: eastbound manifest on 1, westbound manifest on 2, and westbound scoot (us) on 3. We were going again before the eastbound got by, and we had the westbound alongside us for our stops in Oak Park, River Forest, and Maywood (in the days before Centralized Traffic Control, one of us would have had to follow the other at Vale, since putting that freight on track 1 of 2 would have been running him against the current of traffic).We finally passed the locomotive consist of the westbound freight before Melrose Park. But when we stopped at Bellwood, there was ANOTHER westbound freight moving past us. This one, all auto racks, had just been coming down from the IHB, and used the flyover to get onto our main line--again, he would have had to wait for us in the days before this flyover was built. We caught up to and got past his power before we got to Wolf Road. At County Line there was another westbound manifest--this one was waiting, but that was probably more for the eastbound scoot (which we met at Elmhurst, right on time) than for us. By the time we got to Elmhurst, there was a lot of lightning in the sky.Pat came and picked me up at the station, and we went over to the Dairy Queen for a quick snack. By the time we were finished and back in the car (a) the westbound manifest from County Line was going through town and (b) the rain had started coming down. By the time we got home, it was pouring. I wish I'd had a little more experience with unlocking our new front door...it took a while to get in.
For the record, in the past two days the ballast train appears to have been unloaded on Track 3 between Bellwood and Provo Junction, and Track 3 is completely tied and railed east of there. The new Provo connection is getting its concrete ties laid, starting from the top (IHB) down. When those are all in place, the ribbons of rail are ready for them.
Say, Carl, what does it take now to get in through your front door? A password?
Sometimes, I forget that to unlock a patio door (I use the one from my dining room out to the porch; I can use the laundry room door, but prefer not to) you turn the key towards the jamb, and not away from it. The floor of the deck over the porch leaks, which is not quite as annoying a situation as that of being directly in a downpour, but it is annoying.
Deggesty Say, Carl, what does it take now to get in through your front door? A password?
Those keycode door locks are awesome. Well worth it, IMO.
I'm beginning to think there's something in the water around here...about 40 minutes ago a motorcyclist tried to speed ahead of a southbound on CN. Driver didn't make the first crossing so he accelerated to try for another one. Ended up dumping the cycle on the ballast and getting dinged by the pilot of the locos. Cycle was recycled under a gondola. Driver alive and on way to hospital. Train crew to be relieved. It just blows my mind why people insist on testing Darwin's theories...
It's in the water here, too.
Locally, we had a driver decide to play ghost car and launch a car into the rear of a passing train. Hit the train a few cars from the rear (taking out the brake line), then bounced over to the other track and was finished off by another oncoming train. Driver ran off; don't think they found him. Car may have been stolen, never heard for sure.
That's truly crazy. This is the third train accident in the last two months. We had two suicide-by-train incidents within days of each other and then this. When I was on scene someone said "they couldn't blame the guy" because the wait is so long. I replied with "Is two minutes saved worth your life and the sanity of others?"
Good response, Dan!Right now, the local Catholic church is holding its annual "Germanfest". Lots of Bingo, beer, food, amusement park rides, etc.--with just a fence to separate all of this frivolity from UP's main line! So for the past three p.m.s (and one more), all of the trains are sounding their horns in the area. I hope we don't get any problems to report on.Johnny, nothing quite that fancy. I used to be able to unlock our door with barely a flick of the key. I still haven't determined whether "lefty loosey, righty tighty" works on the door now. But we eventually got in last night. Today I just used the back door--which is unlocked with the same key.
Carl, it is truly convenient to have but one key for two or more locks; before I moved to here, we had a deadbolts on the front door and on the back door--and one key fit all four cylinders (there was a window in the kitchen door). Now, I have one key that fits all four back door locks (two down and two up), and one key for the front door; the laundry room and front door locks work in the usual manner; the other three work in the opposite direction.
Pat made the mistake of suggesting that we drive somewhere for dinner today. We were on our bikes (having gotten our exercise in after church by visiting the new Great Western Trail bridges), so I had a little time to think about this. I decided (she did, after all, leave it up to me) that we'd eat wherever we felt like, on our way to a different railfanning spot. We then drove down to Park Forest and (after dinner) visited the new observation deck at their railfan park, overlooking the new connection on the CN between the former IC and the former EJ&E. We'd caught a train on the J while looking for the right roads to take in, but nothing but a Metra Electric train while we were there.The park is obviously a work in progress. A long wooden walkway leads to the top of the hill, where a deck overlooks the new connecting tracks. A small enclosure covers a bench there, and the overlook is high enough that we were able to experience a nice breeze when the air down below was calm and oppressive. There are interpretive signs showing how Chicago is a bottleneck for rail traffic and this connection is the answer. Then the usual misinformation about railway signals, together with a good reminder of grade-crossing safety and etiquette. At the foot of the incline is an ex-EJ&E steel caboose. I don't know what use is planned for it, but it was locked today, and no steps led up to the steps on the caboose. In fact, much of the landscapng isn't done yet. Also, there is no place to park for just going up to have a look. We parked in the commuter lot, and gladly paid the buck.This is a good place for a railfan to go and hope he can see, or show off, a train. It's not very good for my purposes, because only the connecting tracks are close enough for me to retrieve data from passing trains (which should be traveling slowly enough!). Both the EJ&E and IC main lines are a considerable distance from this overlook. One might be able to go over to the IC for a look, as there's a Metra stop right there (I think you still have to pay just to get on the platform, though).Returning home, we stopped at the Railroad park in Homewood. That one has more equipment on display, but I'm not sure it has the potential of the park in Park Forest any more. We didn't get out and investigate, though we probably should have. It might have been close enough to the IC main line for my purposes (though Metra Electric tracks stand between us and the main line).
DeggestyCarl, it is truly convenient to have but one key for two or more locks;
Wholeheartedly agree, although that's still on my list of projects for the house....
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