We're both thinking about our dads, both gone for years, but both of whom served in World War II (mine in the Army, Pat's in the Navy).Our own day will consist of a walk up to the cemetery later this afternoon, when a new gravestone for a former veteran will be dedicated (that will be the last of about seven or eight unmarked veterans' graves in that cemetery--ranging from the War of 1812 through World War II--that have received new monuments thanks to a program by schoolchildren to raise funds for this). There will also be a 21-gun salute and Taps performed by the local VFW for all of the veterans laid to rest there.We had another great train-watching day yesterday, this time in Indiana. We met a fellow railfan and his wife (contributors to Trainorders.com from Ohio) and had dinner with them, then showed them a few sights around Michigan City and Porter, Indiana). Over the past four days I've gotten pages and pages of freight-car sightings to check out, two reporting marks I hadn't seen before, added hundreds of cars to the new-builds table that my fellow carchaeologists maintain, and solved a mystery or two.
So there will be quite a report to finish today. Our "picnic" will be indoors and Pat and I will probably be at our respective posts (me on the computer here and Pat on her sewing machine, where a dress for a high-school friend of ours is being finished now. Beautiful holiday weather this morning, though we're expecting rain in the afternoon and evening.
I hope everyone's Memorial Day is fun, exciting, meaningful, memorable, or all of the above!
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)
good morning
Deshler was nice yesterday.There were 2 trains waiting to get through when we left.Going to "Remember" why we have our freedoms this morning.Have a great day.
stay safe
Joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
Raising my glass of - milk! Toasting Memorial Day weekend. So much and so many to remember.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
wow Jeff didn't know you came by my workplace.Will keep an eye out for you if we can.There is a westbound train still in the siding.Looks like some of the cars would come for uptown.Yardwork is done and truck is loaded.Tomorrow we go to see what csx can move through Deshler.Going to be a perfect weekend.Willy don't change the setting on the machine.
I know in the past we've discussed color blindness and the tests for them. At the time I found a story on line about those tests where you pick out the number, I forget the name for them or actually the spelling for it, and how they may not be the best tests for color blindness.
I've read how in the old days they used to use pieces of colored yarn. I think now that way of testing is specifically forbidden by the CFR. Probably because it doesn't require a professional to give that type of test. Neither does the field test, just have a company officer take him out to look at signals.
Just don't use a couple of the block signals out in western Iowa. At night until you get fairly close to them, the green is a very blue color. Even when going past them, they still have a strong bluish tint to them.
I'm surprised they let him go out after the failure. Even if the test or conditions it was given under were highly suspected to lead to the failure, if something bad had happened it would give some lawyer an opening when the trial came. Even if it would have had no bearing on the incident.
Jeff
Norm48327 Jeff, Lots of discussion going on on the aviation forums regarding the color tests. Seems the indoor test under fluorescent lighting is flunking pilots as well. Outdoors, under natural light the same folks don't have a problem. Something wrong with the tests perhaps?
Jeff,
Lots of discussion going on on the aviation forums regarding the color tests. Seems the indoor test under fluorescent lighting is flunking pilots as well. Outdoors, under natural light the same folks don't have a problem. Something wrong with the tests perhaps?
Many color tests rely on those weird patterns from which one is expected to pick out numbers. Flourescent lights might well skew the results thereof.
We have a crew member that has trouble with those tests. Given placards of primary colors, he can pick them out in a flash.
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 Those who fail are taken out to look at signals in the field. If they can distinguish the different colors on the signals, they are deemed OK. Jeff
Those who fail are taken out to look at signals in the field. If they can distinguish the different colors on the signals, they are deemed OK.
Why don't they just use the field test to begin with?
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Norm
JoeKoh got to go on a field trip uptown at work today.looking for a new piece of equipment.Ns had some big $$ on the rails.A set of Case combines was waiting to go east.They still have a westbound in the siding.Time to go into town and then finish painting when I get home.tomorrow is friday. stay safe Joe
got to go on a field trip uptown at work today.looking for a new piece of equipment.Ns had some big $$ on the rails.A set of Case combines was waiting to go east.They still have a westbound in the siding.Time to go into town and then finish painting when I get home.tomorrow is friday.
The other day a single engineer was deadheaded home. No corresponding conductor went home with him. At the time no one knew why. Last night they said he had failed the color blind test, but was allowed to take a train out. (I imagine he had his hearing and vision tested by the UP's visiting occupational nurse while waiting for his train. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have been called to duty. Boone has the equipment to do those tests. I still use a medical clinic in Ames myself.) I guess there is a new color blind test and more people are failing it.
Tree: Happy start of a new season. Have a good time. And whine all you want! Won't get you into trouble at all!
JoeKohtomorrow is friday.
I'll bet you're enjoying having a calendar the same as most everyone elses...
Who says tourist railroading isn't exciting? Got a call a little while ago about some switching we need to do tomorrow night during the wine train... Wheeeee!
I'm expecting to be working trackside for a few hours today. It ought to be a welcome change from the brutal lifting and climbing of Tuesday and the 16-mile bike trip yesterday.On that note, the bike trip was to include a visit to the hobby shop in Elmhurst. So when I got there, I was stunned to find that they had closed earlier in the month...out of business. They'd been the best around!Question for Eolafan Jim, if you have your eyes on: were you successful in catching NKP (DLMX) 190 when it went through Sunday afternoon? I would have loved to see it, but visiting grandchildren took priority. I got to see a few trains with my grandson, so it was good.
Nice day here today. The thunderbumpers that were forecast don't seem to have materialized.
Spent a significant part of the day replacing the brakes on the truck. One was definitely in bad shape, which would tend to indicate that the others might be as well. In fact, it was the metal-on-metal that clued me into the problem in the first place.
So, new pads all the way around. Now it stops on a dime and gives change!
Opening weekend on the railroad this weekend. There have been some trips already, but the official start of the season in Memorial Day weekend. I'm kicking things off with a wine/beer train on Friday night (none for me, please - I'm driving). I've got Saturday off, but I'm sure I'll end up helping the on-duty crew somehow. Gotta get the camp car going, too.
Sunday I'm conductor for the Thendara local.
Monday I think I'll chase down a parade or two around home.
Set the thermostat up for AC. Just have to flip a switch.
Wonderful only spring day today. Very low humidity and low 80's. North breeze blowing thru our north facing abode. Opened both front and back doors and my south office window and enjoyed nature's AC. Ah - no waiting for the thermostat to decide whether we need air or not. Rest of week might be a little humid. Blah!
had thunderboomers this morning.about floated to work.sand train replaced by a westbound frieght in the siding.Went uptown and bought some "Tinora" green paint. We are repainting some outdoor chairs.Will do the bottom side tomorrow.Time to get some chores done.Guessers are saying weather near "perfect" for coming weekend.
BC - if you find night crawlers, e-mail them to me! Fishing getting close!
SJ
Sorry I couldn't enlist in your war there, MC--still scratching my head; no luck in retrieving the copy. We're beginning to get rain from a storm we were warned would be severe. It has severely darkened the outside. I finished my yard work just in time. 320 pounds of topsoil spread (could have used a half-ton!); perhaps 100 pounds of gravel and rock removed from back lawn (construction debris from last year). Ran out of grass seed; hope this little shower doesn't wash it away. Can-ful of twigs cleaned up as well, including some limbs that had spent the winter on the roof. Gutters are also empty, and the rain barrel is ready for testing. Work has begun on the Lombard platform project; it looks like they're getting ready to relocate some cable to a PVC line between Tracks 2 and 3. Frustrating, because the trains have to whistle themselves by...made me wish I wasn't working in my yard.
Tell Willy he missed. Better luck next time I'm outside.
Off to continue my little war with the scrapman.
Cat not a duck. Millie in stone house.
Willy getting something right now.
Hail balls! Get ready to duck every night cat!
(jawbreaker sized rascals - wild to watch 'em bounce off the eighth floor ledge!)
afternoon
sand train still in the siding at work.Ns had a stack train stopped for awhile today too.guessers say thunderboomers tonight.need to get chores done and check Matt's homework.
Furnace was running on Sunday. Today 85. Blankets off!
busy day.saw amtraks capitol limited split 2 stopped ns trains at work upon arrival.when I left it looked like a sand hopper train was still waiting for a crew.Had errands to run into town.Saw 3 oil trains and a coal train on CSX.Heard the dispatcher calling a q 500-18 and a s 500-19 trying to get them both to Garrett. Chores to do here at home.
I mowed the yard and trimmed some branches, today. Mid 60s temps. made it a nice day for it. Last of the cool nights here, too. The temps. for the rest of the week are to be in the 80s.
Yesterday, I was in Festus, Missouri, and was able to watch a BNSF manifest cross the bridge over US 61/67. I saw a Southern boxcar with SOU reporting marks and, I swear I saw gondolas (?) with ATSF reporting marks. Those cars had short side, weren't very long, and the sides looked recessed.
I was the first train I had seen in months. I just enjoyed the sight.
James
Spent most of the day at our county fire training center, looking for stuff we need to fix (our county firefighters association operates the center), and watching a fire training class do searches in the smoke tower, then "fight" a fire in the burn building (they didn't actually put the fire out until the end of the day). I still smell like hay and pallet smoke, and I didn't even go into the building during the burns.
The class finishes up tomorrow night, and we'll have about 20 more trained firefighters in the county.
It was a nice, sunny day, but the wind was cold. The short sleeves didn't last long, I can tell you.
Looking like some possible scattered showers tonight, then seasonal temps for the rest of the week.
Next weekend starts the official "season" on the railroad. I'll be engineer on our Friday night wine/beer train...
Today was the last day of the Lilac Festival in Lombard. After the parade (all two hours' worth!), I gave my last tour of the season at Lilacia Park. The Historical Society wasn't conducting official tours today, but I couldn't very well not give a tour to my daughter and her family...This tour took about an hour, including the side trip to Dairy Queen for cones dipped in a lilac shell (actually white chocolate dyed the appropriate shade of purple). But a lot of the time at the park was spent at the north edge, because no fewer than six westbound freights went by (nothing east). Nico and his grandpa were enraptured, of course! The trains included two frac-sand loads, an empty train of WPSX coal cars, two manifests, and a ballast train.
Last "cool" nite is gone, now. Will be mid to upper 80's all this week.
Train yard fairly quiet. Did see two NS and one GATX/GMTX. GATX on hood; GMTX under window. Really bright blue. GP-38?
Nice & quiet. Even trains seemed to whisper by. Love it!
JoeKohguessers say frosty in the morning.
Frost warning here for the overnight. Might do the tulips in for this year, but probably won't hurt the weeds any...
Stopped today to take a couple of pictures of an old school where my grandmother taught many, many years ago. Also had a nice chat with the fellow across the street (who owns the property), who was wondering why I was poking around and peeking in the windows. Turns out he knows one of my cousins, who had filled him in on the family history a while back.
guessers say frosty in the morning.Csx was backed up at usual.tomorrow will be better.
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