Gotta get up there some year for the Scotty Festival
2014 Door County Scottie Rally dates are: Friday May 16 and Saturday May 17 (actual rally). It's only a 20 minute drive from our woods and the Bailey's Harbor area is very nice.
Dan
mudchicken Dan & Zug for your OLI efforts. (When we teach, we give OLI a five minute plug in the middle of our railroad presentation during the day)
Dan & Zug for your OLI efforts.
(When we teach, we give OLI a five minute plug in the middle of our railroad presentation during the day)
Dan gets the thanks, not me. Just looking into it in case I actually do move to daylight. I know some guys here that used to do OL, but they had too much trouble trying to get the odd day off from work to do a presentation, so they gave it up.
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 could (and probably should) do that. With the death I was talking about pretty much narrowed down to accidental (his dad said that police and coroner evidence pointed away from suicide), it becomes obvious that the message isn't getting out as much as it should.
Speaking of messages not getting out, I still hear evidence of the "people don't ride trains any more" myth. There was a rare-trackage tour announced by Amtrak not that long ago for the Philadelphia-Harrisburg area. I informed my friends in SE PA about this...but now, despite their adding extra coaches, the trip's already sold out.There are supposed to be public meetings in Chicago, Indiana, and Michigan concerning the route selection for high-speed service and projects on the Chicago-to-Michigan corridor, taking place starting September 17 here in Chicago. I want to go...this is the route that has had the most done to it recently, but on which there's so much left to be done.
http://greatlakesrail.org/~grtlakes/documents/Public_Meetings_Announced_SOTL_Alternatives_Sept2013.pdf
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, can you fill me in these public meetings? Would there be one in Chicago on Thursday, 19 July ( I am leaving on the Cardinal that evening), or will the Chicago meeting be on the 17th or 18th?.
Johnny
It's all on the Newswire, Johnny. But no, the 17th of September is the only meeting at Chicago. On the 19th (July?) is the meeting in Porter, Indiana. If you wanted, we could go to Gary on the 18th for that meeting...Actually not as laughable as it sounds: it might be doable via the South Shore.
Still waiting for fall to feel like it's here. It's been in the upper 80's or low 90's lately with humidity to match. I thought that's what August was for?
CN decided to bless us with one of the ex-Oakway SD60's for local power. Nice change of pace from a worn out geep.
On and on...
Our weather has been hot, too: yesterday's 96 set a record for the date. The humidity is not quite so bad, though, and it was breezy. It's supposed to get cooler as the week progresses; we're planning on bringing our jackets for possible use when we visit the Land of No Trains over the weekend.
Yesterday, I managed to get in a train trip to Chicago, for embarrassing personal reasons. Some commuters have it really good on our line! For the trip home I was able to catch a Metra train departing Ogilvie at 5:09. First stop: Lombard, at 5:38.As we left, we encountered plenty of scoots going to the station for their turn to load commuters. Most of the units were gone from M19A by that time, and California Avenue was pretty empty as well. It looked like a stack train was headed into Proviso from the west at Park, and a hopper train was ready to go west whenever he was allowed (after the fleet, hopefully). We had the inside track (track 2) all the way from 25th Avenue to Grace, took the crossover smoothly and came in for a landing at Lombard in time to unload a whole bunch of passengers and depart at 5:38. Not even close...dead on time!The train had only three more stops to make--Glen Ellyn, College Avenue, and West Chicago. It looks like this is one train that could make full use of the new crossovers when everything is ready--using the center track as far as Lombard, Track 3 (the platform track) for the next three stations, then back to the center track if necessary to avoid the platforms at Wheaton and Winfield. A quick look at the timetable shows that so far, this is almost the only rush-hour train in either direction that could do this (except for the express to Wheaton, which can stay on Track 2 all the way to Wheaton when those crossovers are placed in service). The vision that Metra has is to someday increase service on the West Line to an approximation of what BNSF has on its line to Aurora, with much more frequent rush-hour trains, express trains running around locals making station stops, etc.Thanks to Conductor Johnson (he's Number One in seniority these days) for presiding over a smooth trip, and thanks to a nice gal from my church for being my seat-mate on the trip out.
Hmmm. Just got notice on another thread that posts had to be moderated....
A change? Have I been a bad kid? Or just a fluke?
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...
tree68 Hmmm. Just got notice on another thread that posts had to be moderated.... A change? Have I been a bad kid? Or just a fluke?
I have been as well Larry.....
Hey, I'm part of the moderated club, too.
So, is one allowed to make off topic posts in a dedicated non-railroad off topic thread?
RRKen Thanks to Slim and Bucky! And you thought oppression died with the USSR. NYET! The whole world is watching.
Thanks to Slim and Bucky! And you thought oppression died with the USSR. NYET! The whole world is watching.
zugmannSo, is one allowed to make off topic posts in a dedicated non-railroad off topic thread?
zardozAlthough I've never been a moderator, I would imagine it's not as easy as it seems to us plebes.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
zugmann . . . So, is one allowed to make off topic posts in a dedicated non-railroad off topic thread?
I think I lost a comma in there, somewhere.
Of course, being moderated, means someone has to read and allow each of my posts. Kind of feels good to be a job creator.
zugmann Hey, I'm part of the moderated club, too.
Gee, I haven't been offered membership in the club. I'm beginning to feel left out.
Jeff
jeffhergert Gee, I haven't been offered membership in the club. I'm beginning to feel left out. Jeff
That's ok, I was kicked out of that club. Even they didn't want me.
I guess I'm too moderate for moderation, so far.Looking at the etymology here, though, I think that some people are choosing annihilation over moderation. Come back, Bergie! Or Mark!
I was away for most of the fun here. You folks who PMd me and otherwise wrote about this, thanks. I'll be getting back to you. We have a busy week ahead of us, though, so it might take a while.Before we reached the Land of No Trains, we went through the Area of Occasional Bonanzas, where I got former numbers (sometimes two of them) off a couple dozen CSXT steel Bethgons that are being used in coke service on the SouthShore, I think.By the way, somebody somewhere (not here, I don't think) mentioned that the towers at Blue Island had been torn down. It ain't so. The gate tower by Broadway Street is still standing (didn't see if it was occupied), and the interlocking tower across the channel is also still up, though we know that one is no longer in use, and probably won't survive. There is a sign for the street advising of "increased train traffic" here. Naturally, it never shows up when I do...Going to make the trip to the city tomorrow for the public meeting on SOTL high-speed rail. I hope I can take home a few good talking points or solid plans.
zugmann jeffhergert Gee, I haven't been offered membership in the club. I'm beginning to feel left out. Jeff That's ok, I was kicked out of that club. Even they didn't want me.
That being said, this place (these forums as a whole) sure have changed over the years...and definitely not for the better.
The jeffrey-wimberly moderator just shut down anohter thread..........
Carl: Bridge that collapsed was former TP&W west end that was taken away from A&K Materials by the STB (not Tazewell & Peoria)...Whilst cheap shot from a retired railroader on there can't be substantiated, it will certainly raise the attention of the 4 FRA bridge & track guys in Chicago who will be wanting certain reports and credentials provided by the holding company with the anything but stellar reputation in the industry.
CShaveRR Looking at the etymology here, though, I think that some people are choosing annihilation over moderation. Come back, Bergie! Or Mark!
Looking at the etymology here, though, I think that some people are choosing annihilation over moderation. Come back, Bergie! Or Mark!
Word
mudchicken Carl: Bridge that collapsed was former TP&W west end that was taken away from A&K Materials by the STB (not Tazewell & Peoria)... I knew that, MC...they said the train was going to be interchanged with the Tazewell, Peoria & Western, which, as far as I know, is not nor ever was the name of the former P&PU.
Carl: Bridge that collapsed was former TP&W west end that was taken away from A&K Materials by the STB (not Tazewell & Peoria)...
I knew that, MC...they said the train was going to be interchanged with the Tazewell, Peoria & Western, which, as far as I know, is not nor ever was the name of the former P&PU.
The public meeting on SOTL high-speed rail (south of the Lake) was time that could have been put to better use by me. Except that seeing the Gallery Room off the Great Hall at Union Station was a neat experience.
Basically, what they said has been accomplished at this point has been narrowing down the choices to basically one of two major alignments between Chicago and Porter, neither of which is perfect. One would basically be parallel to the existing route, using the NS (ex-NYC/PRR) between Porter and Chicago, possibly with some routing over South Shore right-of-way thrown in; the other would use a combination of the St. Charles Air Line, Illinois Central (CN) and IHB/Michigan Central between Kensington and Porter. An alternative would route the line over the former PRR right-of-way down to the crossing of the MC in Gary, then back up to Porter.
What they want to have is a two-track route all the way, dedicated only to high-speed rail, and with curves and other obstacles ironed out so that 110 m.p.h. would be achievable over most of the route. They have planned for diesel-powered operation at present, but would design it so that electrification could be looked at in the future, if business warranted it.Here's the interesting part: they are projecting that this corridor would be needed to have a capacity of 56 trains per day, half of which would go to Michigan (not sure whether this includes current or expanded Pere Marquette or Blue Water operations), and the remainder to corridor service to Indianapolis and to Fort Wayne. Those corridors aren't part of the discussion, but somebody is looking for them.What was frustrating was the number of questions that were asked, to which the answer was that they weren't far enough along in the process to be studying that yet. They don't know what kind of cooperation they'll get from NS or CN. I haven't looked at the website that shows what's been done yet, but it's www.greatlakesrail.org. The boards, slides, and such that were presented in the room were not made available in hard-copy, so the website is probably the only source for that material.End of report.
One further report, closer to home: I believe that all of the tracks for the CREATE project that built the third track around Proviso and the revised connections to the IHB are in service now. There was one stretch of main line that I was in doubt about when I rode the route a week ago (track 3 from Provo Junction to 25th Avenue), but our train rode over that stretch at a decent speed this evening.
CNW 6000 That being said, this place (these forums as a whole) sure have changed over the years...and definitely not for the better.
zardozCNW 6000 That being said, this place (these forums as a whole) sure have changed over the years...and definitely not for the better. Good thing there are still, at least for now, a few of the old heads still around to keep things on the level (or at least from getting too far 'off-track').
Amen to both of the above revered friends. I think a lot of the change is that we now have other outlets for our more sociable, or human, side in many cases. That's part of the reason both the diner and the lounge probably aren't as busy as we could be. For example, you no longer see menu listings in the diner like you used to, and they certainly don't lead to the commentary on food preferences, or even the exchange of recipes, that once occurred here. I don't mind the absence of food, but the missing camaraderie does hurt a bit.And Jim, one has to realize how bad things are when nobody posts on the humor thread...or is that something that has been banned? I'm assured that things will improve here soon, if they haven't already.Having said all of that, today I'm feeling embarrassed. I completely forgot to check on Johnny's progress today, and he consequently got into Union Station below the radar. He was bustituted in portions of Colorado...even the UP Overland Route is having problems from this flooding.The good news is, I'll get to see him tomorrow before he presses on eastward, and I think we're going to do a little exploring of the CN, by way of Metra's North Central line.
Yes, I was dismayed when Carl did not greet me at the gate in Union Station when I came in, even though we were more than an hour late (tie replacement was largely responsible, but a computer problem kept us from being lined up to enter the station for about ten minutes.
I forgot to tell Mookie that I would be passing through Lincoln this morning, but I slept through both Lincoln and Omaha, so I would not seen her to wave at her--and my roomette was on the north side of the train, so I would not have seen her anyway.
The trip from Grand Junction to Denver was not really bad, even though it was by bus and not train. I was hoping that sleeper passengers would be treated to lunch at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs, but we stopped at a fast food mecca well east of there, and had to pay for our lunches.
I'm looking forward to the trip to Antioch and back tomorrow, with Carl.
I leave for Washington tomorrow afternoon, on the Cardinal, which will give me a daylight trip across West Virginia and Virginia.
As a friend in South Carolina says, Toodle
Johnny - everyone sleeps thru Lincoln & Omaha!
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I'm up, at this hour, so I can catch a train into the city to meet Johnny. It's a gray day, with thunderstorms this morning.Last night a freight-train derailment completely blocked the UP West Line at Kedzie. No details, but my vivid imagination pictures a stack train with cars going every which-way over the plant there. In spite of added tracks through there, there's no way for mainline trains to get to them and go around the wreck through the yard. Anyway, trains were on the move an hour or so later, so I expect no problems today (maybe a good visual of some cleanup, though).See you in a couple of hours, Johnny!
CShaveRR See you in a couple of hours, Johnny!
See you in a couple of hours, Johnny!
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