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Semi-official Rochelle webcam discussion thread

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Posted by MKT Dave on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 3:35 PM

Heard for the first time, the mile post detector, had two hotboxes, she (the voice is female) call the car number, truck number. 2nd hotbox, the same way of identifying the which box was hot.

I forgot to mention, a MOW truck, with weilding on the diamonds, waiting on trains to continue work. They had thier speakers volumn up, was able to hear what I assume the engineers and the dispatchers. I'm gonna have to get me a scanner.

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 11:19 AM

Well, that was interesting.  Got on the cam, saw a light engine sitting on the far BNSF track, on the far side of the diamond.  Shortly thereafter, the headlights went to bright and the ditch lights came on and it crossed the diamond and stopped.  Turns out they were headed into the siding.

The light engine didn't stay long, and they're back out off the siding just a few minutes later, still running light.

And as the light engine was blowing for the crossing just out of sight of the diamond, a BNSF eastbound stacker came through on the near track.

Plenty of MOW vehicles in view - I originally thought the locomotive was somehow involved with them.

While it was quiet, you could hear it raining, and the radar looks like they're going to get a good soaking soon.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by chrisjmiller on Saturday, May 23, 2015 2:20 PM
It's now gone up to 72F. Perhaps someone at Rochelle reads these forums - or maybe the temperature is updated twice a day?
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Posted by chrisjmiller on Saturday, May 23, 2015 11:33 AM

I'm a huge fan of the webcam, but have a small query about the weather and temperature display at the bottom right.  It's currently showing 46F, but there are folks sitting around in T-shirts and shorts.  Either they breed 'em tough in Rochelle, or the number's wrong!

Looking at a few weather apps, they're showing just over 70F, which sounds more plausible.  Perhaps the system is picking up minimum overnight temperature, rather than the current value?

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Posted by MKT Dave on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 12:18 PM

BaltACD
 
CatFoodFlambe
rdettmer

the rail on the rail train is not moving to much because its bolted down in the middle

So what happens if the Big E pulls a knuckle or a drawbar along his/her merry way? Hmm

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I see these videos of train and the camera Man is as close to the train as can be, I sure hope no one got hit by that.

I know, thier fault for being so close. but still, thats gonna hurt.

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Posted by joegreen on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 6:17 PM

That train you saw today was the B-CHCSTP. Headed to St Paul.

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 5:22 PM

Re:  Color of leased vehicles.

It's often really easy to spot the vehicles that used to be owned by certain companies - their distinctive paint scheme or color being the reason, of course.

I'd opine that said companies may not want the public to see a run-down, third-owner vehicle still in their livery.  With white, you might still see a shadow of their markings, if the adhesive didn't all come off...

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Posted by cefinkjr on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 2:42 PM

AgentKid

Are there still problems and delays at intermodal ports on the US west coast? I just saw a completely empty WB train of well cars and TOFC cars on the BNSF.

Bruce

That sounds to me like a lot of boxes sitting on the dock (or expected) with not enough rail cars to move them out.  It's also indicative of east-west trade imbalances; doesn't take a container to ship dollars westward.

Chuck
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Posted by AgentKid on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 1:45 PM

Are there still problems and delays at intermodal ports on the US west coast? I just saw a completely empty WB train of well cars and TOFC cars on the BNSF. I haven't seen that since there were stories on the Newswire about problems a few months ago.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

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Posted by AgentKid on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 12:05 PM

Edit to my previous post:

Oil companies started making the change in '82 or '83. I was talking to a CPR signal maintainer once, after he had just gotten his first white truck around 2003-5. Before that CPR MOW crews had used the same odd shade of yellow since you could buy trucks in anything other than black.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 11:55 AM

cefinkjr
AgentKid
Dakguy201
Around here at least BNSF vehicles are also white. 
  

CPR MOW equipment is also white.

The truck makers have said if you want to lease instead of buy, you get white trucks. White trucks have a significantly higher resale price for the manufacturers after the lease has expired than any other colour. Or else the lease price will have to be higher.

Bruce

I'll take your word for that, Bruce.  But, when I was managing vehicle leasing on part of the Penn Central, all of our vehicles were leased from a wholly owned subsidiary that we had inherited from PRR, not from the manufacturers.  Those vehicles were ugly PC green with white lettering.  On top of that, we required so many special modifications that the leasing company bought cab-chassis trucks and had a local body shop add the custom bodies.  But that's a whole other issue.

So is UP responsible for maintenance or is BNSF?  The definitive answer to that question probably lies in the original deal that was hammered out when the second road reached that location and needed to cross the other.

The normal maintenance responsibility normally falls to the 2nd carrier to the crossing point.  If the second carrier had not come to the location the crossing would not be necessary, thus the 2nd carrier gets 100% of the crossing maintenance and upgrading costs.  However, each crossing may have it's own maintenance agreement that may be different for reasons that make sense to the carriers involved at the time the agreement was negotiated and signed.

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Posted by AgentKid on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 11:43 AM

cefinkjr

 

 

But, when I was managing vehicle leasing on part of the Penn Central,

Up here the change occurred in either '82 or '83, so it would have been much later than you remebered.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by cefinkjr on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 11:33 AM

AgentKid
Dakguy201
Around here at least BNSF vehicles are also white. 
  

CPR MOW equipment is also white.

The truck makers have said if you want to lease instead of buy, you get white trucks. White trucks have a significantly higher resale price for the manufacturers after the lease has expired than any other colour. Or else the lease price will have to be higher.

Bruce

I'll take your word for that, Bruce.  But, when I was managing vehicle leasing on part of the Penn Central, all of our vehicles were leased from a wholly owned subsidiary that we had inherited from PRR, not from the manufacturers.  Those vehicles were ugly PC green with white lettering.  On top of that, we required so many special modifications that the leasing company bought cab-chassis trucks and had a local body shop add the custom bodies.  But that's a whole other issue.

So is UP responsible for maintenance or is BNSF?  The definitive answer to that question probably lies in the original deal that was hammered out when the second road reached that location and needed to cross the other.

Chuck
Allen, TX

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Posted by AgentKid on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:47 AM

Dakguy201
Around here at least BNSF vehicles are also white. 
 

CPR MOW equipment is also white.

But it is not the RR's choice. Up here oil company servicing equipment is also white. The truck makers have said if you want to lease instead of buy, you get white trucks. White trucks have a significantly higher resale price for the manufacturers after the lease has expired than any other colour. Or else the lease price will have to be higher.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by chrisjmiller on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:44 AM

UP stacks with the "Salt Lake 2002" loco on the front just gone through, heading to Global III.

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Posted by Dakguy201 on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 9:55 AM

cefinkjr

I've been assuming from the white MoW vehicles that maintenance here is UP's responsibility (UP MoW equipment in this area is always white).  Can anyone confirm that or tell me I'm wrong?

 

 
Around here at least BNSF vehicles are also white. 
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Posted by cefinkjr on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 9:48 AM

MoW gang working on the near diamond ... again.  I imagine that Track Supervisor wishes he had never heard of Rochelle.

I've been assuming from the white MoW vehicles that maintenance here is UP's responsibility (UP MoW equipment in this area is always white).  Can anyone confirm that or tell me I'm wrong?

Chuck
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Posted by MKT Dave on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 7:30 AM

UP WB, track inspector with all sorts of blinky lights, two yellow MOW equipment running on tracks, I didn't recognize this pair. at 0723am.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Saturday, May 16, 2015 7:34 PM

AgentKid

Just saw what looks like three generations of one family.

Grandma didn't realize you don't need to wave to mid-train DPU units!

Bruce

 

Maybe that is why so many railfans complain that the Engineer didn't wave back!

 Laugh

 

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by AgentKid on Saturday, May 16, 2015 2:03 PM

Just saw what looks like three generations of one family.

Grandma didn't realize you don't need to wave to mid-train DPU units!

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by cefinkjr on Friday, May 15, 2015 8:10 PM

54 "stacks" EB on UP OS 8:09 pm

And I do mean "stacks" - all double.  How does one count cars in such a train with some single wells, some articulated?

This one was notable because it was handled by one unit.  I'm not in to modern Diseasels enough to know even who built it, much less its HP, TE, or any other important detail.

Chuck
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Posted by USCGR Tom on Thursday, May 14, 2015 4:11 PM

UP business train with 3 or 4 each UP business passenger cars just passed over the diamond heading west, 5PM est

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Posted by Brian Schmidt on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 3:06 PM

If the weather this weekend proves to be better than the forecast I will trek to Rochelle to take an inventory of the work for News Wire.

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 4:50 PM

Lots of MOW activity at the diamonds today: arc welding, grinding, impact wrench work.  Three, maybe four heavy trucks, and they're still at it coming up to 5 PM.  At least the temp is up to 50° now.

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Posted by MKT Dave on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 6:44 AM

dknelson

A crew this morning seems to be attending to the switch off the main that allows the BNSF to serve the Del Monte plant to the west.   It has been a long time since I have seen any BNSF action on that switch lead - back in the day the BN and C&NW used to alternate for which railroad served the plant.  Is there a chance the old BN switch is being removed?

Dave Nelson

 

the siding is used every workday, most of the time a GP38 with a number of various cars. One time saw a number of center line cars come out full of skids. (pallets). I've also caught them a various times, but the 11am to 12am seems to be the usuall time for it. Mon morning the switcher backed down it about 9am.

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Posted by David1005 on Monday, May 11, 2015 11:32 PM

It looks like the UP installed a new aluminum signal bridge just beyond the existing black signal bridge on the far side of the crossing.  The camera does not include the same area on this side of the crossing, so can not see if there is similar work going on. It looks like the days of the CNW steel signal bridges may be numbered. 

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Posted by rdamon on Monday, May 11, 2015 12:16 PM

Maybe they are going to power the switch?

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Posted by MrLynn on Monday, May 11, 2015 11:11 AM

northwesterner

I was watching the feed about 30 minutes ago. A BNSF engine and three cars just backed down the DelMonte lead.

A BNSF local, often running long-hood forward (a GP40? sounds like an old, two-cylinder John Deere tractor), uses that switch late morning every day I've been on at that time.

Looks like the crew there has installed a new telephone pole at the switch.  They were digging with a back hoe, and now have moved the tractor up by the tree.

Here comes a covered-hopper train eastbound on the BNSF near track, led by two Norfolk-Southern locomotives. . .  Now gone.  Everybody hunkered down till the train passed.

Have to check back later.  What's with the pole?

/Mr Lynn

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Posted by alpinemike on Monday, May 11, 2015 11:04 AM
yea I saw two trains running side by side one being oil
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Posted by northwesterner on Monday, May 11, 2015 10:16 AM

I was watching the feed about 30 minutes ago. A BNSF engine and three cars just backed down the DelMonte lead.

C&NW - Route of the Kate Shelley

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