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Semi-official Rochelle webcam discussion thread

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Posted by AgentKid on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 2:15 PM

Interesting to see how a situation evolves. Two days ago I saw one of the trainmen on the local pacing around the switch looking agitated, and now two days later, there are two machines, between four and six trucks, and numerous personnel. No wonder railways are so expensive to operate. Nothing is easy.

On another note, what is up with that second unit on a WB BNSF train that passed about half an hour ago. It was all blue with a CN wet noodle on the side. Not the usual red, black and white. It didn't look like a GTW colour and you would think it would have a GTW version of the noodle. Is it some kind of patch job on a recent CN loco purchase? Inquiring minds want to know.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

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Posted by CShaveRR on Thursday, April 12, 2018 10:42 AM

Was it more like a Conrail blue?  Back in the day, there were a bunch of widenose GE units that had been leased to Conrail, painted CR blue and with "LMS" lettering (if memory serves).  When the lease was over, I believe CN got about half of those.

Carl

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Posted by AgentKid on Thursday, April 12, 2018 11:22 AM

CShaveRR
Was it more like a Conrail blue?

Thanks for that, it does make more sense than a GTW colour. It was not quite Conrail blue, but that could just be the effect of sun bleaching since the "back in the day" paint job.

Thanks,

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, April 13, 2018 6:02 PM

BNSF has a stack train stopped on the diamonds...blocking a UP EB and a UP WB stopped just beyond web cam range.

So how do I know this?  Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjbfHprf28 for another live web cam looking at the Rochelle diamonds from a different angle.

Chuck
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Posted by blhanel on Friday, April 13, 2018 8:53 PM

cefinkjr

BNSF has a stack train stopped on the diamonds...blocking a UP EB and a UP WB stopped just beyond web cam range.

So how do I know this?  Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjbfHprf28 for another live web cam looking at the Rochelle diamonds from a different angle.

 

WOW!!!

I think Kalmbach aughta make a deal with Railstream to host that one and pitch the one on the shelter.  Muuuch better night view and sound, plus you get some indication of what's coming from the signals...

OTOH, it appears to be delayed by about 30 seconds- but I couldn't care less about that.

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Posted by cefinkjr on Friday, April 13, 2018 9:37 PM

OK, UP experts; what's a Flashing Yellow signal?  In my day on the NYC, you would only have seen Red over Flashing Yellow over Red, Red over Flashing Yellow, a dwarf Flashing Yellow over Red, or a dwarf Flashing Yellow. The Name was Approach - Limited (Rule 281D).  [No, I don't remember all that; I still have an NYC Rules of the Operating Department.]

I also notice that when I have seen a UP Flashing Yellow aspect, it has changed to Green well before the approaching train gets to the signal.

Correction: Just saw a UP WB (empty hoppers?) drop a Flashing Yellow to Red without the signal changing to Green.  

Chuck
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Posted by CShaveRR on Friday, April 13, 2018 11:50 PM

Advance Approach...means the next signal will be an Approach.

Carl

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Saturday, April 14, 2018 12:49 AM

blhanel
OTOH, it appears to be delayed by about 30 seconds- but I couldn't care less about that.

Time delta between Trains webcam and the other feed seems to be almost exactly one minute this evening.  I noticed on the Flagstaff feeds tonight that the displayed time was a minute or more behind actual time, but the reported arrival and departure times jibed with what I saw on the feed's time display.  A brisk 36° in Flagstaff at boarding time tonight.

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Posted by xjqcf on Saturday, April 14, 2018 7:12 AM

blhanel

 

 
cefinkjr

BNSF has a stack train stopped on the diamonds...blocking a UP EB and a UP WB stopped just beyond web cam range.

So how do I know this?  Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjbfHprf28 for another live web cam looking at the Rochelle diamonds from a different angle.

 

 

 

WOW!!!

I think Kalmbach aughta make a deal with Railstream to host that one and pitch the one on the shelter.  Muuuch better night view and sound, plus you get some indication of what's coming from the signals...

OTOH, it appears to be delayed by about 30 seconds- but I couldn't care less about that.

 

 

I've been watching this cam during its freebie week, goes back behind the paywal after Sunday. They also have another cam at the diamonds facing east, but not sure of its field of view.

Two things about cam  quality: 1. Resolution is better. 2. Nighttime performance is "night and day" better than Earthlink's cam. Our cam at night is pitch black except for direct light sources, headlights, FRED's etc. but I can't make out anything about moving trains (visually); Railstream's cam makes good  use of available light without dropping to a black and white night vision mode. I'd settle for such a night vision mode on Train's cam. As for cam position both have pluses and minuses; Railstream's is ground level looking west along UP  from ground level with a good view of UP's westbound signals, view of BNSF is only so-so (maybe better on their east-looking cam?) Trains cam is more balanced and, with its elevated position, gives a better overview. A final observation is that I perceive train speeds to be higher on Train's cam than on Railstream's for both railroads, a function of both location and focal length.

 

It appears to me that in the burgening railfan cam market (mainly Railstream and Virtual Railfan) Trains needs to step up its game again, although, not being solely a cam service, might not quite feel the urgency.

 

PS One other nice feature (At least on the freebie YouTube trial feed) is real time chat. Using this forum topic is just not the same (that said I don't know if Railstream or Virtual Railfan have a chat feature on their web sites.

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Posted by cefinkjr on Saturday, April 14, 2018 11:07 AM

CShaveRR

Advance Approach...means the next signal will be an Approach.

Thanks.  Advance Approach on the Central was Yellow over Yellow over Red or just Yellow over Yellow (Rule 282A).

Chuck
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Posted by jeffhergert on Saturday, April 14, 2018 12:37 PM

cefinkjr

 

 
CShaveRR

Advance Approach...means the next signal will be an Approach.

 

 

Thanks.  Advance Approach on the Central was Yellow over Yellow over Red or just Yellow over Yellow (Rule 282A).

 

To be technical, Advance Approach means be prepared to stop at the second signal, trains exceeding 40 mph reduce speed to 40 mph.  

Advance Approach signals can also be used in advance of 40 mph turnouts lined for the diverging route.  On the exCNW side in Iowa, our 40 mph crossovers have two flashing yellows in advance of a crossover movement.  Before they went to approach-lit signals, where you could see the next two flashing, you knew you were going to crossover.  If one flashing and the next not, you were going to stop.  If you were crossing over, the ATC cab signal stays at clear.  If you are going to stop, it goes to restricting and above 40 mph passing the signal will make a penalty brake application.  Below 40 mph you have 70 seconds to get under 22 mph before getting the penalty.  It's getting these penalty applications and/or being forced to slow to restricted speed on a signal that only requires 40 mph that makes ATC unpopular with UP. 

Yellow over Yellow is our Approach Diverging signal.

Jeff

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Posted by cefinkjr on Saturday, April 14, 2018 5:34 PM

jeffhergert
Yellow over Yellow is our Approach Diverging signal.

I was going to say we're talking about a "diverging approach" here but I hate puns so let's call it a different philosophy (or something).  From Day 1 on the NYC, mentors told me over and over again that signals don't tell the engineer where he's going; only how fast he is permitted to go there.

Chuck
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Posted by cefinkjr on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 12:41 PM

I can open a YouTube video showing Rochelle from a low, trackside angle.  Works very nicely, first time, every time.

OTOH, I can open the TRAINS web cam feed for a high angle view, have to position it within the small frame where I can monitor it, and then see an ad telling me to subscribe to TRAINS.  (How did I get to the web cam without being a subscriber????)

Now which web cam am I going to watch?

SoapBox

Chuck
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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 1:10 PM

That YouTube cam is a TEMPORARILY free camera to watch... it will go away soon and be replaced with another one.  To watch it after it goes away from the URL you know, you will have to PAY a fee to the people that control it.

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by Pjangis on Sunday, April 22, 2018 8:09 AM

I have great video but no sound- audio is fine on the computer.

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Posted by MrLynn on Sunday, April 22, 2018 8:38 AM

Pjangis

I have great video but no sound- audio is fine on the computer.

Ditto.  No sound from the webcam.  Also the video keeps freezing.  Pretty hopeless if there are no trains, as I can't tell if the picture has frozen (no wind so the trees aren't moving).  Have to reload the site to unfreeze.  What's wrong?  Running Safari on MacOS 10.12.6.

/Mr Lynn

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Posted by AgentKid on Sunday, April 22, 2018 3:49 PM

Pjangis
no sound- audio is fine on the computer

I think this is a genuine physical problem with the camera as opposed to a software program.

It happened yesterday afternoon. I had the camera on, watched one train, and turned to something else. I then noticed there was no sound, so I thought I just needed to push the button. There was no button and people were moving around, but there was no sound. I think this time the camera may need some physical attention.

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 Brian Schmidt on Monday, April 23, 2018 1:56 PM

Folks, we are aware on Monday of a problem with the audio and have opened a work order to look into it. You'll know when it's fixed because... you'll have audio once again!

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Monday, April 23, 2018 9:55 PM

Sound this evening but the level seems a little lower than before.  Or maybe the diamonds are just quieter.

EDIT: Tuesday, 12:54 pm CDT loud and clear with an EB BNSF stacker coming through.  MacOS, Safari 11.1.

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Posted by kenotrainnut on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 9:27 AM

For the benefit of the techies working on this: No audio on my Mac (Chrome) Tuesday morning, however I do have audio on my iPhone (Safari).

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Posted by wkrass on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 11:08 AM

The full screen option is not working.  Does anyone else have this problem?

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 11:20 AM

just tried it... werks fer me. Win 10, ie-11

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 11:35 AM

But... whether full screen or not, the image is jumpy and freezes often.  Make watching it sort of frustrating.  (Sound seems to work now, though!)

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by phkmn2000 on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 10:19 AM

Full screen not working on Chrome Win 10 and no sound 3/25 AM.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 11:00 AM

Working better for me this morning... lots less jumpy (but still 'some' stuttering), full screen okay.  Sound is low, but present.  The Pause, Sound and Full Screen icons are partially off the bottom of the screen (not bad, but low).

Winders 10, IE-11.

 

Semper Vaporo

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Posted by AgentKid on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 1:13 PM

I've had the camera on for about 3 hours now, and even from this distance performance has basically been flawless.

Firefox 59 on Windows 7.

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 Wednesday, April 25, 2018 2:31 PM

All black screen when accessed with W10 & Chrome

Works OK with W10 & Firefox on same computer.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by MrLynn on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 4:10 PM

Safari is still just giving me still images--no video.

Firefox (also on my Mac) is working, video with sound, but is jerky--ever few seconds.

What's wrong with this cam?  The YouTube cams work all right in Safari.

/Mr Lynn

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Posted by AgentKid on Thursday, April 26, 2018 11:26 AM

Just saw a GATX boxcar on a EB UP manifest train in a shade of red any fire department would be proud to have on their truck. It seemed to be brand new and graffitti free.

It certainly stands out.

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 kenotrainnut on Thursday, April 26, 2018 9:28 PM

A note to those experiencing audio issues: I just noticed there's a sound mute button in the bar underneath the video panel and it is muted by default on my Mac. This may not be so for everyone, but if you're not getting any audio, it's something worth checking!

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