mudchicken Spectacular Failure Time: BNSF shoves 9 cars into a 5 car, stub-ended track here in Denver this morning. The last 2 car spots were in a building. There are three cars and a piece of track machinery in the back yard and the building has an extra door it it after this morning. Oops.
Spectacular Failure Time:
BNSF shoves 9 cars into a 5 car, stub-ended track here in Denver this morning. The last 2 car spots were in a building. There are three cars and a piece of track machinery in the back yard and the building has an extra door it it after this morning. Oops.
who says BNSF can not do very fast construction ? New door in 10 seconds ?
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
CNW 6000 Gonna dish on how you came up with that one Jeff?
Gonna dish on how you came up with that one Jeff?
Bruce, that is something like the house where one of my sisters-in-law was born: there are five doors opening on to the front porch (the house, except for a room on the backside, is one room wide) which is eighty feet long, a door to the porch off the downstairs backside bedroom, the kitchen door and pantry room door opening on to the kitchen porch, and one door opening on to the upstairs porch. I don't know if they made sure that all doors were locked before leaving the house.
The house that Ricki and I lived in here had only two doors, and when we left by way of the front door, we looked in the kitchen to see if the back door key was hanging on its nail--the sign that the door was locked. Now, I trust that Katie and KJackie take care of the upper exterior doors, and I lock my door.
When I lived in Reform, Alabama, I did not bother to lock my doors unless I were going to be away for a day or more. My mother had told me that her uncle who lived in Petersburg, Virginia, never locked his house.
Johnny
CShaveRRI wish I'd had a little more experience with unlocking our new front door...it took a while to get in.
Everyone always talks about the small town where no one ever had to look their doors. It was never that way when you grew up living in a RR station, like I did in Irricana. When we left to go anywhere, there were 7 doors that had to be checked to ensure they were locked. This was because there would be cash in the safe and sometimes express that had yet to be picked up.
First, there were three sliding freight shed doors. On the end of the building was one door which trucks could back up to, which had a hasp on the inside which was locked with a large nail. There were two sliding doors trackside. One door, which was no longer used, was locked in place with a rail spike jammed into its' slide track. The other door was locked on the outside with a hasp and a standard CPR switch lock, so trains could put anything in if the train came after hours.
Trackside there were two identical doors. One led to the waiting room, the other to the heated freight room. These were locked with both a deadbolt and a door handle lock which used a skeleton key. Dad said those deadbolt locks would have been the best money could buy in 1910. One the back of the building were two more doors. One was built when the station was, and locked the same way as the trackside doors. The other door had been added later, and had a deadbolt that would likely have been paid for by the Agent at the time, as well as having a door handle lock that used another skeleton key.
There was a standard interior door between the office and the dwelling which could be locked with a skeleton key, but never was.
I always remember leaving our house was something of a production!
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Dan
Pay no attention to those nay-sayers, Jeff...I thought that was grrr-r-r-r-eat!
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)
tree68 billio jeffhergert ...Then it hit me. Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes." Hisssss... Yeah, where's the "groan" smiley when you need it.....
billio jeffhergert ...Then it hit me. Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes." Hisssss...
jeffhergert ...Then it hit me. Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes."
...Then it hit me. Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes."
Hisssss...
Yeah, where's the "groan" smiley when you need it.....
There will be a slight pause, while we bury the joke that just died......
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
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...
jeffhergert ...Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes."
...Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes."
I've been noticing some C R England Tempstack containers and Central Refrigerated Services trailers being carried on our intermodal and Z trains. Thinking about the discussions that have centered on reefer traffic, I thought I would see if I could find out what they are hauling. Looking at a consist, mostly they just said "mixed freight," no specifics. I did see a couple that said "cereal" and maintain 0 degree temp.
That kind of threw me. Why would cereal have to be kept that cold? Than it hit me. They are probably loaded with "Frosted Flakes."
Jeff
When we moved into our house, in 1974, both the front door and the kitchen door were hollow wood doors, with locks in the doorknobs. As soon as I could, I replaced them with solid doors and two-cylinder deadlocks. Since there was no window in the front door, we could leave the inside key in the lock, but we hung the back door key on the wall about eight feet from the door--a burglar would have had to have a long arm to reach the key.
The idea of the keypad locks is interesting, but we have not considered such at all. We could put one on the front door and one on the laundry room door, but, so far as I know, it would be difficult to put such on the three patio doors.
zugmann tree68 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.... If you're getting new locks, I'd really consider the ones that also have a keypad. It's really nice to not have to dig your keys out of your pocket (esp. when carrying something) to unlock the door. Plus if you are away and need someone to water the plants and walk the dog (or water the dog and walk the plants), you just can give them a code instead of getting a key to them. Model I have even lets you assign 'temporary' codes for that situation. Cool stuff.
tree68 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....
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....
If you're getting new locks, I'd really consider the ones that also have a keypad. It's really nice to not have to dig your keys out of your pocket (esp. when carrying something) to unlock the door. Plus if you are away and need someone to water the plants and walk the dog (or water the dog and walk the plants), you just can give them a code instead of getting a key to them. Model I have even lets you assign 'temporary' codes for that situation. Cool stuff.
I installed about 6 sets of outside locks. All of them were 2 way so for all dead bolts the top always turned toward the door jam to lock the door & turned away from the jam, to unlock. Same with those handle locks.
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
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).
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.
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.
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?"
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.
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...
Deggesty Say, Carl, what does it take now to get in through your front door? A password?
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.
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.
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.
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 !
- Paul North.
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.
Inserts ought to be helpful to me, too. I rarely think about them, so they don't get bought.
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.
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.
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