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Semi-official Rochelle webcam discussion thread

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Posted by AgentKid on Thursday, September 14, 2017 2:28 PM

Had an EB UP intermodal go by at about 1420 CDT.

There was one 20' box without chassis loaded on a TOFC spine car. It looks like there is one spot, and one spot only, where you can do that and secure it to the car. Both very tricky, from a design standpoint and actual loading of the car.

I'm not sure I've seen that particular combination before.

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 trainmaster247 on Thursday, September 14, 2017 9:27 AM

Would you look at that, we almost hit 100 pages!

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Posted by alpinemike on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 10:10 AM

me too     wish they could bailey yard web cam on this site but still can get on bailey yard site  pretty cool if u havnt seen it yet

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Posted by CShaveRR on Sunday, September 10, 2017 7:47 PM

Thanks, Balt, for the video on the diamond replacement at Deval!

Deval was the first Chicagoland location I visited for railfanning purposes, back in 1969 when I still was a college student living with my family in Michigan.  I was glad to see all of the action there, even if the Soo Line wasn't particularly busy back then (C&NW and MILW didn't disappoint).

For those who aren't familiar with the spot, Deval is a control point where three railroad lines meet and form a triangle.  The three-track line in the video is UP's Harvard Subdivision, known to many as Metra's UP Northwest Line.  It has very heavy rush-hour action...for me the magic time used to be at the conclusion of the rush hour, when...

...the trains that had been waiting to get across this line on the Milwaukee Subdivision (the two-track line) through here would come across.  UP and CP aren't nearly as busy on this line as their predecessors used to be--it leads from their classification yards (Proviso and Bensenville, respectively) to Milwaukee and points north and west from there.

The third side of the triangle is the single-track line of what used to be the Soo Line.  It wasn't very busy at all back in the day, but once it became the Wisconsin Central things got exciting here, with many trains making their connections over the line.  After CN took over, it was still good, and it received a big boost in action when Metra established its North Central service on the line.  I watched that business grow from scratch to a decent weekday schedule (they still don't run on weekends).  When CN took over the old EJ&E, much of the freight business dried up, going instead over the J and around the Chicago area to connections in Indiana and connections to the east, west, and south.

There was a tower there at one time, and the interlocking was guarded by semaphores on the two lines that weren't the Harvard Sub (it had color lights of CNW's unique horizontal design); those would allow someone at the plant to see what was coming next.  The tower was damaged by a fire and later demolished; I think the plant is controlled by the operator at Clybourn, close in to Chicago.

I neglected to mention that where the Milwaukee Sub (two tracks) crosses the CN (one track), the diamonds are on top of a highway underpass that takes a heavy beating.  They rebuilt everything a few years ago, but I still would be wary of walking under it when trains were going overhead.  None of these diamonds would be candidates for replacement with OWLS frogs!

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)

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Posted by AgentKid on Sunday, September 10, 2017 6:15 PM

BNSF Rail Test Train just cleared diamonds at 1813 CDT EB. One unit, buffer car, and coach.

Hope everything is good.

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 MrLynn on Friday, September 8, 2017 3:58 PM

BaltACD

 
Many thanks Balt.  I added an update with a link to that UP article to my post on 'Replacing the [Rochelle] Diamonds' here:
 
 
I searched the UP site for mention of the Rochelle replacement, but found nothing.
 
/Mr Lynn 
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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, September 7, 2017 8:02 AM

rdamon
This is the one I have been using ... I set the balance to just hear the right side.

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/11742/?rl=rr

Excellent!

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by trainmaster247 on Thursday, September 7, 2017 7:46 AM

rdamon

This is the one I have been using ... I set the balance to just hear the right side.


http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/11742/?rl=rr

 

 

 

 

Yep that is the same one I use, it was down for a while last year though.

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Posted by rdamon on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 9:50 PM

This is the one I have been using ... I set the balance to just hear the right side.


http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/11742/?rl=rr

 

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Posted by cefinkjr on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 9:35 PM

trainmaster247
 
USCGR Tom

Yes, it's down for me also.

 

 

 

]

 

 

Darn I like using it to go with the scanner while I'm working.

 

Are you using the internet to listen to that scanner?  If so, please post the URL.  Thanx

Chuck
Allen, TX

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Posted by jeffhergert on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 5:46 PM

AgentKid

A UP unit, followed by FIVE(5) CSX units, another UP unit, and a mid-train DPU, also UP, were working an otherwise unremarkable WB mixed consist train that crossed the daimonds at 0625 CDT.

Bruce

 

 

And I met that train a couple miles east of Missouri Valley IA a little over 12 hours later at 645pm. Or 1845 hrs if you prefer.

Jeff

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Posted by USCGR Tom on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 1:38 PM

It's back up now, but I was having to re-boot the screen about every min., but the last time, the site is staying up.

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Posted by trainmaster247 on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 1:36 PM

Take that back it is now back up.

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Posted by trainmaster247 on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 1:36 PM

USCGR Tom

Yes, it's down for me also.

 

]

 

Darn I like using it to go with the scanner while I'm working.

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Posted by USCGR Tom on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 1:31 PM

Yes, it's down for me also.

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Posted by trainmaster247 on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 1:22 PM

Camera down for everyone or is it just me?

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Posted by trainmaster247 on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 10:26 AM

Caught the Local passing

 

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Posted by rdamon on Wednesday, September 6, 2017 7:24 AM

Great find ... If you look at 1:32 in addition to the elaborate drainage it looks like they have some sort of expansion joints (painted red).

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 9:37 PM

   Thanks, Balt.  That reminded me--when I was watching the Rochelle diamond replacement late into the night, I kept thinking about a local highway bridge replacement project nearby.   They're into the third year working on it.

_____________ 

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 5:52 PM

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by AgentKid on Tuesday, September 5, 2017 6:29 AM

A UP unit, followed by FIVE(5) CSX units, another UP unit, and a mid-train DPU, also UP, were working an otherwise unremarkable WB mixed consist train that crossed the daimonds at 0625 CDT.

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 rdamon on Friday, September 1, 2017 4:07 PM

The fire pit is being used ...  Fall is here :)

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Posted by alpinemike on Thursday, August 31, 2017 3:53 PM

yep wow just saw about every type of car on train that came through at 150 pm pdt

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Posted by rdamon on Thursday, August 31, 2017 3:50 PM

Still seeing a lot of rocking and rolling on UP Track 2

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Posted by AgentKid on Thursday, August 31, 2017 12:33 PM

The MOW people did their jobs well yesterday. An EB UP coal train just crossed the diamonds at 1226 CDT, on the near track, at track speed, steady as she goes.

Only one car in the entire train emitted that squeaking bed spring sound as it crossed the diamonds, and not very much at that.

Hope it stays that way.

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 tree68 on Wednesday, August 30, 2017 6:18 PM

AgentKid
I'm not sure what the crossover situation is like west of the diamonds, but it looked like the type of thing you would see at a meet on a single track line.

Except for the stretch through Rochelle, the BNSF line is single track.  The double track runs from about 5 miles SE of Rochelle (Steward) to 3 miles NW of Rochelle (Flagg Center) - probably 8 miles, total. 

There's a short siding at Chana (west of Rochelle), and one east of Rochelle at Shabbona.

 

LarryWhistling
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Posted by DennisHeld on Monday, August 28, 2017 6:53 PM

Was able to catch it crossing.  Thanks for the heads up!

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Posted by AgentKid on Monday, August 28, 2017 3:27 PM

MKT Dave
a EB BNSF coal train, pulled up within a couple hundred feet of the diamonds track #2, shut down. Approx 19.00 it's lights came on, with it crawling at 1 to 2 mph, it crawled across the diamonds

I was watching for quite a while yesterday afternoon and several times WB BNSF trains crawled across the diamonds. Every time though, it was met by a EB train. Once most of the EB was by, the WB would begin to speed up. I'm not sure what the crossover situation is like west of the diamonds, but it looked like the type of thing you would see at a meet on a single track line.

I wonder if it was all part of the same construction mentioned above.

I can't believe I saw the back windows of the office train disappearing behind the trees when I first logged on today.

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 xjqcf on Monday, August 28, 2017 1:33 PM

xjqcf

Westbound BNSF Officer's Special due shortly

 

By at 1:30; 60 axles with one GE T4 and 12 cars

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Posted by xjqcf on Monday, August 28, 2017 12:31 PM

Westbound BNSF Officer's Special due shortly

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