Hey, as long as they keep it in your neck of the woods, it isn't likely to get patched or painted. Hang onto it!
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)
oh OH! So THIS is how you reply to a topic on these boards. Ah-HA! Now if I could just get my other topic merged into this one as per my original intention...
*COUGH* where was I?! Ahem, so I thought I'd share some pics of Altoona's recent goings-on with y'all here. Things in my neck of the woods have...well....changed.
It all started at a crossing on Centre Street in Eau Claire. Thanks to the sand boom, this once-near-dead line thrived once again. And of all the units to see on this line, I find this rare little gem.
A few days later, I drove through Altoona. Well lo and behold, that number sure looked familiar!
Sometimes when I hear a train rolling by my apartment, I'd drive out to catch it. One night about a month later, look what I saw!
Why, even as I was headed out on my trip to Stevens Point last May, look what was just sitting in Altoona, waiting to be photographed again!
Oh sure, I've seen other SPs on sand trains in Eau Claire...some even leading!
Others trailing as well
But never has one kept coming back to often, so frequently, that it rose to becoming my favorite SP of all time. In fact, as I type this, I can almost guarantee SP 177 is either sitting in Altoona right now, or running a sand job and will soon be returning to the yard.
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Interesting day today...lots of SD60s, EJE SD38s plus BCOL Dash 9 & 8s with a little WSOR in the mix...including an SD40-2 and E8A/B set. Details tomorrow...I'm beat!
Dan
This would appear to be "Stack-train Saturday" out in due-west-of-Chicagoland. I took a scoot into Elmhurst five hours ago to pay bills, and was skunked, train-wise. Two hours later (give or take) I was headed back west. I didn't get off at home, but stayed on to the end of the line at Elburn. We met one stack train west of Lombard, and while we were at Elburn (same train-set, just changing ends), stack trains went by in each direction, We passed that eastbound stack train again before we got to Geneva (he was waiting for us to get through the station, I guess), and met a westbound stacker at West Chicago. I got off the train at Lombard, but didn't go home. In fact, I'm sitting out of the cold breeze here at the deli. And we've had three freights through--all stackers!The crossovers at Wheaton have not yet been placed in service, nor does it look like much has been done at the pedestrian underpass at Chase Street (of course, this is the untrained eye observing there). However, steel has been placed over the tracks on about half of the Route 38 overpass being built between West Chicago and Geneva. More girders are ready to be put in position soon.Guess it's time to give up and go home...it's not going to get any warmer out there.
Ughh! Heavy research tonight...I'm finally at a breaking point (in more ways than one!). Report sent out, new requests for info sent out, and I'd better get to bed. There may be a train ride in my future tomorrow.
BC - this won't be as fun since they have photos to work from....
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I'm sure that gave him extra incentive to keep the ring bright and shiny, too!Hey, Mookie, I just saw a new thread asking about some "yellow thingies"!
Jeff: I love your reporting. Dad used to tell us all kinds of things from the railroad. Like the engineer that bought a new 1 carat diamond ring, but had to wear gloves while at work and couldn't show it off. So he cut a hole in the glove. Everyone got to admire it!
Had a normal day on the railroad yesterday.
While waiting outside at the motel for the van to take us to the yard office, a conductor came out and joined me. He was wearing coveralls, went across the drive and laid down on the ground and started squirming around, working dirt into his coveralls. Then he got up and started pouring fake blood onto them. He was working on a costume for: 1 an up coming party, and 2 to give his daughter nightmares for the next few years. He also had a hockey mask and fake machete, which also was soon covered with blood stains.
After pouring the blood on his coveralls, then he says to me (and a couple others who came to watch), "I wonder if this stuff will "bleed" through the coveralls to his regular clothes and if it might make permanent stains?" It did and it can. Luckily for him, the clothes he had on underneath were work clothes, nothing really important.
We deadheaded by van down to Omaha to pick up a train. While on the way I watched a woman in a car with a cell phone in one hand and gesturing in the air with the other. (Also posted on the Driverless Trucks thread.) All this while going down a busy highway on the western edge of Omaha. Riding in the van really gives one a chance to see how many people are on or using some kind of device while driving.
Also while riding in the van, there's a stretch of I-80 that parallels the UP main line. The tracks here are on a high embankment with a couple of tall bridges over creeks and streets. I noticed on one of these bridges, 3 deer going across the bridge. While it's not unusual to see deer and other wild life in an otherwise urban area, you don't often see deer going across a tall bridge. I thought about calling in the "trespassers," but didn't.
Our trip was otherwise uneventful. However, a westbound reported that their EOT had went to 0 pressure on the train line but they weren't in emergency on the head end. We had met them but by then we were about 10 miles away from him and I didn't hear any details like unusual air flow. It sounded like it was just an EOT failure rather than something more serious.
As I said, just another normal day on the railroad.
Jeff
Got a couple more birthdays to mention today. Happy birthday to Larry! Pat would have loved to have been a Tree-hugger today, but we kind of had to hang around here.We took the Senior Friends church group (I'm still a junior in that bunch!) to the Peck Homestead for a tour. Nothing much happened during the tour itself, but a couple of good freights went through beforehand. Pat and I contributed most of the refreshments: an edible fruit arrangement (it didn't get "eded" quite enough), pumpkin bread, cider (plain and spiced), and coffee...oh, and birthday cake.
It's like my posts didn't take today. I posted one here and elsewhere on this Forum; no sign of them.Linus and his mother are safely home in California, in time for the Chargers game on Monday night. He was dressed as a football (brown onesie with appropriate lacing), and Daddy was in his jersey. I sure hope Chris didn't spike him in the end zone! (Daughter posted a shot of the two of them...the "Huh?" look on Linus is priceless!)
Now that they're no longer here, I can get back to freight-car logging. I'm over a week behind in recording sightings, still filtering out the ones I need, and barely started on the report. I'm not going to get much done tomorrow; I'll be otherwise occupied.Birthday greetings today to Jim Ribar, known to the Forum as "Zardoz"! Hope the sun shone somewhere for you!
zardoz tree68 Psst - Need some help. Kindly head over to this site and cast a vote for completing the restoration... You can read about the "battle" in another thread here on the forum... Done. I hope others follow....
tree68 Psst - Need some help. Kindly head over to this site and cast a vote for completing the restoration... You can read about the "battle" in another thread here on the forum...
Psst - Need some help. Kindly head over to this site and cast a vote for completing the restoration... You can read about the "battle" in another thread here on the forum...
I hope others follow....
Did my duty over there, Larry, along with a few encouraging words.
Jim, we've been to the Schoolhouse a couple of times, and Pat likes it, though most of the material seems a bit drab to me. There's one in Thienvllle we've also hit, and she especially likes to see the museum in the barn near Cedarburg. I'm sure there will be folks asking about when the group photo will be taken at Trainfest, and I'd like it to be a good showing. We need to get more actual staffers there. I've mentioned it to Pat, so we'll see how things go.Today is Chris May's birthday ("CopCarSS" on this site). Hope it's a great one for you, Chris!Linus got his first train rides today, into the city via Metra. Crowded trains, due to the Chicago Marathon. We had to be over on the other side of the Loop, and the route between the station and Linda's venue was crossed by the Marathon route two or three times. That problem was solved by the CTA, whose Green and Pink Lines took us above the commotion. Going in, we saw the runners crossing over the Kinzie Street Bridge and up Franklin Street beneath us. Before we went home, we saw some runners with medals around their necks--some of them looked like they barely made it; one had a bag of ice on his head. I know Metra ran some extra trains out of town this afternoon.Linus was pretty unimpressed by his train trips, either nursing or sleeping most of the way.
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...
CShaveRR ...the quilt shop in Cedarburg, etc.).
...the quilt shop in Cedarburg, etc.).
BTW, Carl, if you do attend Trainfest, please let me know; we might be able to make it there this year.
Our best wishes to Aimee Blysard, who's been celebrating her birthday today! I haven't been around to wish anyone much of anything, but I know she's a proud grandparent, too, so she'll forgive me for devoting much of the day to all of our grandchildren (the "usual suspects" met their California cousin for the fist time today); we all shared Linus' first experience at Portillo's.
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
The plane rides went remarkably well, and he slept all the way home from the airport, too. Certainly not this weekend, Dan...whenever that show is in Milwaukee we might make it that far, anyway (and all that that entails--like Duplainville, the quilt shop in Cedarburg, etc.). Gee...last time I saw Aedan he was about as big as Linus is now!
I hope the rides go well Carl. When are you and Pat up this way again?
I'm back awake again as I got called in to my "extra" job for a few hours of special runs...at least it pays well but I could use the sleep. Hi-ho...
Today has been a waiting sort of day. We were first waiting for daughter's friend to drop off some baby clothes for our California grandson, who is going to encounter brisk fall weather for the first time.
Then wait for the tech guy to plug in and bring up our new PC. I'm back on the Mac right now; it has also survived an upgrade to this week's standards (it was the first time this computer has been described as being "long in the tooth"!).
And now, we have to wait a few hours for the plane to arrive. Ironic--they're coming from sunny California on Alaska Airlines. Baby seems to have taken to flying all right. The car seat is ready for the midnight ride from O'Hare. Tomorrow Linus meets his aunt and cousins; Sunday I get to accompany him on his first train ride!
Happy Birthday to Pat and Willy. If this nice, albeit unseasonable weather, is due to Willy being off of work...then I hope he has lots of vacation.
Working on sorting some train lists for a friend...then out to cut the grass and who knows?
Two more birthdays to celebrate today. I have to put Pat's first...she's now older than I am for a little bit. Happy birthday to the love of my life, and my favorite co-conspirator!(I'm up early because there's an apple crisp in the oven to be finished in time for breakfast.)And Willy's another year older today. Still furloughed, judging from the total lack of clouds and bad weather we've been having here. Happy birthday, Willy!
mudchicken BossHen intends to celebrate "the day that won't be acknowledged" in NY next week. (Hopefully two birds and a certain tree cross paths in Syracuse)
BossHen intends to celebrate "the day that won't be acknowledged" in NY next week. (Hopefully two birds and a certain tree cross paths in Syracuse)
Just gotta figure out when and where...
Got it.
SJ, remember 'way back at Mookiefest, when we discussed the numbering scheme used on a lot of the utility-owned coal cars, and what you could often tell from the numbers?
MC, ! And, as long as we're being cryptic, he's the other guy I was referring to in my post.
"Holy coal cars, Mookie"
Well, Mookie turned her collar around backward, but didn't get any revelations from it.
We have two birthdays to remember on the 16th (and the guys are only a year apart)! We have two for tomorrow as well (with a much wider spread in age).And today we extend our best wishes to Pat, A.K.A. Boss Hen, who is celebrating (we hope!) her birthday.Once again I am swamped with freight-car stuff, and have to fit it in around preparations for our daughter and grandson's arrival this weekend. Pat is out shopping for more supplies right now, and I have to leave for trackside...I mean, my chore with the Historical Society, which will entail two crossings of the tracks. The past two days have yielded me a new-to-me reporting mark for my records, and three series of nearly-new cars. And I just discovered what I think is the secret of the strange numbering system of the Mosaic Company's MOCX covered hoppers! Holy coal cars, Mookie (that's a hint)!
CShaveRR And I remembered it, too, back on the second!
And I remembered it, too, back on the second!
Got the rail pursuit vehicle back from the fixer yesterday...there went $1500. I did get new ball joints, alignment, tires and shocks out of the trade though. Almost like having a new car! The downside is I now have to start saving for a new camera/lenses again.
We had 4 ex-Oakway SD60s thru here on CN yesterday, so far today it's been three container trains (all SB) plus one empty coal train (CC marked hoppers) and another (WPSX) is due out today as well.
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