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Semi-official Rochelle webcam discussion thread

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Posted by blhanel on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 4:23 PM

What's up at the diamonds today?  I see a red board on UP #2, and several MOW vehicles parked next to the diamonds, but nothing happening...

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Posted by Deggesty on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 1:42 PM

Balt, I get what seems to be a good picture with Windows 10 and Chrome--perhaps you have some base metal in your Chrome?

Johnny

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 1:24 PM

phkmn2000
Stuttering in Chrome as well the last few days.

With Chrome all I am getting is the 'loading flower'.

Trying Edge and I am getting the big time stutter - 3 seconds real time and then the image advances 3 seconds or so.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by MKT Dave on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 12:54 PM

BaltACD

Been watching the Horseshoe Curve cam!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmCkBPm7ICk&feature=youtu.be

La Plata MO cam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l06NXHeXIs8

Of all the cams on the youtube system, I like the la Plata MO cam the best, for one, the eastern default cam is about four to five feet from the track at cab level, look carefully, you'll see the engineer. The trains there are at speed. Not only is there BNSF, but you'll see about six to eight UP trains, and Amtrak which stops at La PLata MO twice a day. Note, the station is on the North side of the track so the cam is facing east.

...
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Posted by phkmn2000 on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 9:42 AM

Stuttering in Chrome as well the last few days.

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Posted by ABQJim on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 9:06 AM

I got up excited today to see what was going on.  I saw them bring in the small construction office trailer yesterday.  I am curious too.

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Posted by Nuttyrr on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 7:40 AM

Any word on happenings today.  Large number of trucks a the diamond this morning

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Posted by jscott on Thursday, March 8, 2018 6:01 PM

I had this same problem last week and the web team told me everything was working well.  So I went back to Firefox (55) and NoScript and killed all the trackers, leaving only Trains.com, Kalmbach.com and the Google APIs.  Everything returned to normal.  But starting late yesterday, image started stuttering.

Scott

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Posted by AgentKid on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 2:46 PM

Semper Vaporo
I just watched a train go past (U.P. EB). With Edge, the train was "jumpy", pausing for a fraction of a second every 5 or 10 seconds

That has been my experience with Firefox 58.0.2 on Windows 7, for the last couple of weeks. It has been occuring so randomly though, I haven't called attention to it.

Microsoft has decided my computer is to old to upgrade from 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 Angela Pusztai-Pasternak on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 1:16 PM

Semper Vaporo

The problem is definitely worse with IE-11 than with Edge.

I just watched a train go past (U.P. EB).  With Edge, the train was "jumpy", pausing for a fraction of a second every 5 or 10 seconds, but with IE-11 it froze for almost 1 minute, then the image changed to a Black&White highly pixelated (rectangular pixels!) of the scene and then another 10 or 20 seconds later the image returned as normal.

Iam reporting this thread to call attention to the problem.

 

 

Semper Vaporo: I sent your complaint to our web team. Thanks for letting us know.

 

Ang

Angela Pusztai-Pasternak, Production Editor, Trains Magazine

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 1:08 PM

The problem is definitely worse with IE-11 than with Edge.

I just watched a train go past (U.P. EB).  With Edge, the train was "jumpy", pausing for a fraction of a second every 5 or 10 seconds, but with IE-11 it froze for almost 1 minute, then the image changed to a Black&White highly pixelated (rectangular pixels!) of the scene and then another 10 or 20 seconds later the image returned as normal.

Iam reporting this thread to call attention to the problem.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 12:54 PM

Is anybody else experiencing freezing of the video feed?  I am using Windows 10/IE-11 and it is very bad.

I am presently trying Winders 10/Edge and it seems to be a bit better, but I won't really know until a train comes by and see if the train comes to a screeching (albeit silently) halt and then a minute later it jumps forward a couple dozen cars or disappears altogether.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by wkrass on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 12:34 PM

Now that we have a bright day, it almost looks like a camera of the type used at highway intersections mounted at the top of the pole.

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Posted by rdamon on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 7:27 AM

Or we are about to get a cool upgrade to the Webcam!! Big Smile

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Posted by wkrass on Monday, March 5, 2018 6:27 PM

That pole was "set" in mid 2016 during the signal replacement project.  Today's work may be topping the pole with antenna equipment for PTC.

Wayne Krass

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Posted by phkmn2000 on Monday, March 5, 2018 4:11 PM
Working in Chrome again too, thanks.
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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Monday, March 5, 2018 3:27 PM

I tend to look only at the track and what is on it!  But, now that you mention it... hey!  There is a new pole there!  I figure the tower is about 70-ft tall.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, March 5, 2018 2:45 PM

Why hasn't anyone commented on the new tower that was erected this morning? That fellow up there now is looking really small.

It must be a very high tower.

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 Semper Vaporo on Monday, March 5, 2018 2:40 PM

Display is again working in Windows-10/IE-11.  Maybe EarthCam reverted to a previous version of the video player.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by ChuckCobleigh on Monday, March 5, 2018 12:47 PM

Well, this morning the temperature display in the corner has returned, though it is delayed from what the weather service is reporting.  Also, a heavy MOW truck is parked at the diamonds, maybe for some welding today, which I have caught more of lately, and I note that while typing this a BNSF westbound stacker with lots of J.B. Hunt (exclusively, it turns out) came through and three more MOW pickups appear to have shown up.  I guess we are getting back to the regular diamond maintenance routine now that the "new" is wearing off the replacement from last May.

And shortly after the BNSF cleared an EB UP manifest comes through with a lot of white "shackle cars" that the railroad has been kind enough to air condition.

And the weatherguessers are saying that Rochelle should get a dusting of snow tonight.  Good times.

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, March 2, 2018 6:45 PM

It works when using "Edge" in Windows 10, but not in IE-11.  Another Microsoft "Do it OUR way, or else we won't let you do it at all."

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by cefinkjr on Friday, March 2, 2018 6:34 PM

MKT Dave
 
Semper Vaporo

That is a polar bear in a snowstorm.

 

 

 

it's working with firefox, white screen on explorer

 

Ditto with Chrome and IE 11.

Chuck
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Posted by MKT Dave on Friday, March 2, 2018 6:23 PM

Semper Vaporo

That is a polar bear in a snowstorm.

 

it's working with firefox, white screen on explorer

...
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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, March 2, 2018 3:36 PM

That is a polar bear in a snowstorm.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by phkmn2000 on Friday, March 2, 2018 3:22 PM

Camera down? All I get is white screen. (Chrome browser)

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, February 26, 2018 12:58 PM

MKT Dave
My problem with the dual cams is they are not in sync, sometimes as much as two minutes.

I've switched cams at Deshler a few times only to find that the train going by on one is no where in evidence on the other.  Taking a look at the progress line at the bottom of the screen usually shows that the video is several minutes behind.  Simply clicking on the far right end of the progress line brings it up to date.

While there's plenty of traffic on the Curve, I like Deshler better, as there is variety, and I can walk away from my computer to do other things, returning when I hear a horn.

Some sort of shielding on the mics would be nice, though.  It was very windy in Deshler yesterday, and the noise was distracting.

OTOH, I'm looking forward to a live look at the diamond replacement when it occurs.  I was in Deshler when they replaced one track over Main Street.  I didn't sit and watch it, but it was quite the operation...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by cefinkjr on Monday, February 26, 2018 12:13 PM

BaltACD

Did I thank you for tipping us to the Horseshoe web cam?  Can I take that back?  My productivity has gone down the tubes.

Chuck
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Posted by MKT Dave on Monday, February 26, 2018 11:06 AM

I watched the cams from Deshler OH, La Plata MO, La Grange KT, Flagstaff AZ, and Ashland VA. I still like Rochelle. I only wish one thing, that the Rochelle Cam had a volumn control. I could care less for the chat. I detest having to deal with Google, so I stay logged out.

My problem with the dual cams is they are not in sync, sometimes as much as two minutes.

They also don't want anyone mentioning trains on other cams, especially Rochelle, or the Trains.com cams.

...
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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, February 25, 2018 2:42 PM

Railfan ATCS originally came directly from the radio feed that the railroad used.  It probably still does, so if the UP information is wrong, it may have something to do with the reliability of the radio signal to the server.

Early iterations of railfan ATCS involved modifications to scanners to pull off the information.  Then local users started setting up servers that allowed fans to pull the same information via the 'Net.

In some places the railroads have moved from terrestial radio to satellite.  The Deshler feed suffered that issue when the intermodal yard opened, causing a hole in the coverage.

LarryWhistling
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Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by xjqcf on Sunday, February 25, 2018 12:55 PM

I have been watching the Virtual Railfan Horseshoe Curve Youtube webcam since November, and it has pretty much replaced Trains Rochelle cam for regular viewing. Much of what Balt has related I concur with. Contributing to my almost total replacement of Rochelle was the contemporaneous failure of the Northern Illinois Railroads scanner feed on Broadcastify, which was really the only way I could get any hint of what might be getting near and for getting wind of problems and interpreting "strange" movements on the cam. The chat feature is really nice and a community of friendly (mostly) people participate. There are moderators and administrators who are either on the chat or who can be summoned to clean up problems that arise.

 

Among the regulars is someone who is an Altoona resident who hosts both a scanner feed and an ATCS feed. The latter is part of scheme to capture and "narrowcast" radio code line data to end users having special software that provides track occupancy and controlled signal status on a simplified dispatcher screen display. This gives a "heads up" for westbound movements. A second scanner feed and webcam are located at The Station Inn at Cresson PA (not part of VR), which is west of Horseshoe Curve gives some warning of eastbound moves.

 

Incidentally concerning Larry's suggestion about improving the Rochelle cam by adding views of the signals there is something almost as good: the above mentioned ATCS program (if you have a Windows computer). There are packages for both the UP Geneva subdivision and BNSF Aurora Subdivision, plus a special Rochelle package that covers both railroads in the local vacinity. I've tested them but find the UP coverage is very weak causing the display to show much misleading data making it to me mostly frustrating and worthless; the BNSF package, on the other hand, is very good, I'd stay 80-90% accurate and is what I've used the few times I've had the Rochelle cam up. It's fun to trace follow trains from Aurora and Savanna and see meets (and the occasional pass!) set up and executed. You do get a little warning of UP since their signals at the diamond are present as well as one track circuit on each approach.

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