Looks like some new / additional PTC antennas near the BNSF signal bungalow
MKT Dave Approx 1846, an orange vested 'person' stood by the track, and 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. Still crossing now at 19.15 highballing at 5 - 10 mph.
Approx 1846, an orange vested 'person' stood by the track, and 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. Still crossing now at 19.15 highballing at 5 - 10 mph.
Just as I hit enter, a maintenance truck pulled up to the diamonds.
CShaveRRNow, if it looked like it was the same size as surrounding tank cars, and in a decent string of same, it may have been one of the rebuilt cars with head shields and jacketing added. That would require major changes to the ladders and other appliances that are/were alog the sides, and possibly new requirements for manways and outlets as well.
If it was jacketing, it would have been very thick. There were about a half dozen or so cars, one group of three next to what you would call "normal" sized DOT-111 cars and the rest sprinkled throughout the consist. There didn't seem to be any room around the dome for any kind of safety railing and still stay within the clearance tolerances.
I didn't mention it yesterday, but the ends were unusual. I don't know what the right terminology is, but the ends seemed almost flat, and joined the sides in what seemed almost a square joint. Like a flat screw top lid on a glass food jar.
I now wonder if the extra size was thick insulation to keep some fluid either very hot, or cold, which would also explain the very small exposure of the dome.
The kind of mystery I like.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Looks like BNSF let their executives out of their holding pens(offices) for a EB road trip on the Private Car fleet that crossed the diamonds at 1429 CDT. A very big train, with many different types of passenger cars and one car that looked like it was full of equipment. Possibly a power car or test car.
cefinkjr MrLynn REMINDER (shameless self-promotion): If any readers missed the dramatic DIAMOND REPLACEMENT at the end of May, I wrote a blog post about it, complete with screen shots. See HERE. It doesn't happen very often. /Mr Lynn You are hereby forgiven for the sin of self-promotion; in fact, I want to thank you for writing this blog post in the first place and then telling us about it in this thread. VFW activities surrounding Memorial Day took me away from the web cam at the critical time and my travels afterward apparently made me miss any previous links to your blog post. Thanks again for a great job of documenting the diamond replacement.
MrLynn REMINDER (shameless self-promotion): If any readers missed the dramatic DIAMOND REPLACEMENT at the end of May, I wrote a blog post about it, complete with screen shots. See HERE. It doesn't happen very often. /Mr Lynn
REMINDER (shameless self-promotion):
If any readers missed the dramatic DIAMOND REPLACEMENT at the end of May, I wrote a blog post about it, complete with screen shots. See HERE. It doesn't happen very often.
/Mr Lynn
You are hereby forgiven for the sin of self-promotion; in fact, I want to thank you for writing this blog post in the first place and then telling us about it in this thread. VFW activities surrounding Memorial Day took me away from the web cam at the critical time and my travels afterward apparently made me miss any previous links to your blog post.
Thanks again for a great job of documenting the diamond replacement.
Thanks, Chuck. I was thinking of starting a separate thread in the General forum, but didn't know if it would be permitted. I figured a lot of folks might have missed the diamond replacement because of the holiday.
And thanks for your service.
ChuckAllen, TX
That's kind of up my alley.I have no idea what was seen, but, given a reporting mark and number, I might be able to help. If it was on UP, this is pretty much home territory, and I probably have seen something similar. And if I haven't...well, man, it sounds interesting!I'm no longer privy to origins or destinations (and I miss that aspect of my job--at least having it available to me), but tank cars are often commodity-specific.Now, if it looked like it was the same size as surrounding tank cars, and in a decent string of same, it may have been one of the rebuilt cars with head shields and jacketing added. That would require major changes to the ladders and other appliances that are/were alog the sides, and possibly new requirements for manways and outlets as well.
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)
BaltACDIf you can catch a car number it can be looked up in UMLER
The unfulfilled dream of all Rochelle Cam viewers.
I was pretty vague in my statement. I guess what I would like to see is a site somewhere between endless lists of Reporting Marks and car numbers, and a compendium of Car Builder press releases. Something like a who and why they need it, of the more uncommon types of cars we see.
AgentKidUP just had a WB mixed consist train clear the diamonds at 1536 CDT with some very interesting tank cars. These things were huge. The diameter was way bigger than what looked like typical DOT-111 cars which were next to them. This had to be testing the limits of clearance definitions. They had what were probably normal sized domes on top, but on these cars they looked like pimples. Interestingly, they didn't look any longer than the cars next to them. I imagine that was a backwards compatabily concession to allow loading and unloading of cuts of cars at existing facilities. I wonder where we could find more information. Bruce
These things were huge. The diameter was way bigger than what looked like typical DOT-111 cars which were next to them. This had to be testing the limits of clearance definitions. They had what were probably normal sized domes on top, but on these cars they looked like pimples. Interestingly, they didn't look any longer than the cars next to them. I imagine that was a backwards compatabily concession to allow loading and unloading of cuts of cars at existing facilities.
I wonder where we could find more information.
If you can catch a car number it can be looked up in UMLER
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
UP just had a WB mixed consist train clear the diamonds at 1536 CDT with some very interesting tank cars.
Doing more work on the BNSF Siding .. looks like the gravel pile on the far side is gone as well.
Might have been a light power move to get a heavy train and that car needed to get to that same place (for repair, or maybe had been repaired and needed to catch up to the rest of the train), so it was tacked onto the end of the light power move.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
MKT DaveTwo Engines One Container car just crossed the diamonds EB... Very heavy can???
I've seen that a couple of times on the CSX Chicago line through Utica. Either a "hot" can or some sort of contract requirement...
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...
An unremarkable EB BNSF intermodal train just crossed the diamonds at 1310 CDT, but...
On the third of four units there must have been a particularly unacceptable piece of graffiti on the side. At which point someone applied what had to be the most slapdash looking white coverup paint job I have ever seen. Somewhere between rapid brush work and throwing a couple of cans of paint at the problem. No doubt a story to be told there.
Two Engines One Container car just crossed the diamonds EB... Very heavy can???
fumble fingers me couldn't get a picture of it.
AgentKidWell this is impressive. The sixth train, a EB UP has just crossed the diamonds alternating with BNSF trains just like any traffic light in any city. No muss, no fuss, no waiting. schmaltz I believe that many trains hstill have cabooses at the end. They are just shaped like full sized locomotives now. I think so. Sure seems like it. Bruce
The sixth train, a EB UP has just crossed the diamonds alternating with BNSF trains just like any traffic light in any city. No muss, no fuss, no waiting.
schmaltz I believe that many trains hstill have cabooses at the end. They are just shaped like full sized locomotives now.
I think so. Sure seems like it.
Remember - where trains get stopped (because of road crossings) because they don't have a 'straight shot' across the diamonds are out of view of the camera - by upto several miles. What you are seeing across the diamond may not be all that fluid and well timed as it seems.
Or, to put it another way, both the UP and BNSF dispatcher's "Big Pictures" must have been in focus.
Maybe they have a new sync app.
Well this is impressive.
schmaltzI believe that many trains hstill have cabooses at the end. They are just shaped like full sized locomotives now.
I believe that many trains hstill have cabooses at the end. They are just shaped like full sized locomotives now.
DeggestyQuoting Balt: "After the first cold night of the season the track circuits would diminish as the physical plant becomes accustomed to cold weather." That sounds as though the track circuits were flesh and blood. You did mean "...the problems of the track circuits woul diminish..." did you not?
You did mean "...the problems of the track circuits woul diminish..." did you not?
In CTC territory when a train occupys a track segment, it 'turns on' the track occupancy light that corresponds to that track segment on the Train Dispatchers model board or other display. The track occupancy light is commonly referred to as a 'track circuit'. Broken rails and pull-a-parts, among other defects, also turn on 'track circuits'.
The normal chain of events is that a train operates over a track segment and goes onto the next track segment. The track occupancy light for the original track segment stays lit, even though there is not a train occupying it. The Dispatcher notices the 'track circuit' staying lit and reports it to Signals and MofW. Signal maintainer and/or Track inspector inspect the territory covered by the track circuit and discover the reason it stayed on - in cold weather it is more likely a broken rail or a pull-a-part. Once the defect is properly repaired, the track circuit display on the model board goes out. To the Train Dispatcher, the experience of seeing unexplained track circuits is akin to feeling a flesh and blood occurence on 'HIS' railroad.
Another frequent cause of a track circuit staying on is a 'broken bond wire' - a wire that is welded directly to the rails where joint bars join the rails together. The bond wire insures the electrical connection between the rails and doesn't rely on the metal to metal connectivity of all the parts that constitute the joint bars, as over time all those parts will develop a rust surface and rust does not a good electrical conductor.
My statement was meant to infer was that once the weather turns cold and stays cold - through a variety of actions - the components of the track structure adjust their stresses and defects that are caused by temperature change diminish. By the same token, the first hot day of Spring will present it's own issues account temperature change.
Deggesty "Firing crowbars"? What in the world could the system have meant?
"Firing crowbars"?
What in the world could the system have meant?
Where I worked we had some power supplies that had a feature known as a "Crowbar"... if the power supply recognized an over Voltage or over current state, to save the circuit it was supplying power to, it would Short Circuit the output of the power supply... the term "Crowbar" came from the action being similar to laying a "Crowbar" (yes, a big metal wrecking tool) across the output of the power supply.
I assume the "Firing crowbars" may have been something similar... a means to protect the traction motors from over Voltage/current, or to immediately remove any power to the motors to bring them to a stop quickly.
Quoting Balt: "After the first cold night of the season the track circuits would diminish as the physical plant becomes accustomed to cold weather." That sounds as though the track circuits were flesh and blood.
Johnny
jeffhergert BaltACD rdamon Looks like they were set up to do some work today ... but the rain may have other plans There are very few railroad work operations that a little rain will stop. One day I was having electrical problems with my lead unit. It would reduce it's load and give the message (going by memory) something about firing crowbars. When I reported to locomotive maintenance, the EMD desk asked what the weather was like. Partly cloudy, but there had been rain west of where we got on. The tech said that it was likely that water was getting into the electrical gear somewhere. After that I told the conductor that I guess we are no longer an all weather railroad. (IIRC, the traction motors on the one of the trucks was causing the fault. The only thing we could do was determine which truck and cut it out.) Jeff
BaltACD rdamon Looks like they were set up to do some work today ... but the rain may have other plans There are very few railroad work operations that a little rain will stop.
rdamon Looks like they were set up to do some work today ... but the rain may have other plans
There are very few railroad work operations that a little rain will stop.
One day I was having electrical problems with my lead unit. It would reduce it's load and give the message (going by memory) something about firing crowbars. When I reported to locomotive maintenance, the EMD desk asked what the weather was like. Partly cloudy, but there had been rain west of where we got on. The tech said that it was likely that water was getting into the electrical gear somewhere. After that I told the conductor that I guess we are no longer an all weather railroad. (IIRC, the traction motors on the one of the trucks was causing the fault. The only thing we could do was determine which truck and cut it out.)
Jeff
During my working days, I always featured that CSX was 'The Fair Weather Line'. If the weather was anything outside of 'pleasant' - problems mounted - rain caused trains to stall on grades, thunderstorms damaged signal equipment, heat caused slow orders and sun kinks, cold caused broken rails and pull-a-parts, snow caused frozen switches and difficulties for MofW personnel trying to get to the frozen switches. Hurricane cause routine line closures and sporatic line damage (Katrina caused several hundred million dollars of damage and 6 months of expeditied reconstruction activity to rectify the damage.) Fortunately CSX is not located in an active earthquake zone and has not experience a tsunami. Tornados have caused damage from time to time.
The first 'cold snap' night would generally leave 10 - 20 'track circuits' - track circuits that were inspected and found to be broken rails and pull-a-parts. After the first cold night of the season the track circuits would diminish as the physical plant becomes accustomed to cold weather.
xjqcf A trespassing incident just occurred. Three people and one dog were walking east right along the south rail of UP #2 track just north of the connection track off of BNSF #2 just as a west bound UP stack train pulled by a single engine entered the crossing, blasting the horn. a BNSF track gang was working around the swiitch but were only aware of the trespassers due to the horn blasting. The idiots did not move clear of the track until the engine was ON the diamonds. The engineer plugged the train which, of course, did not come to a stop for several car lengths past where the trespassers had been. Meanwhile the trespassers proceeded around the connection track along the BNSF, passing the track gang. One or more of the track gang talked to them, but did not not otherwise confront them. They continued along the BNSF tracks, still trespassing rigtht out of the camera frame. The train reported the incident to the DS, who replied that, by coincidence, he had swithed on "the camera" and had seen the incident. I wonder if the camera is our EarthCam or if UP has their own camera?
A trespassing incident just occurred. Three people and one dog were walking east right along the south rail of UP #2 track just north of the connection track off of BNSF #2 just as a west bound UP stack train pulled by a single engine entered the crossing, blasting the horn. a BNSF track gang was working around the swiitch but were only aware of the trespassers due to the horn blasting. The idiots did not move clear of the track until the engine was ON the diamonds. The engineer plugged the train which, of course, did not come to a stop for several car lengths past where the trespassers had been. Meanwhile the trespassers proceeded around the connection track along the BNSF, passing the track gang. One or more of the track gang talked to them, but did not not otherwise confront them. They continued along the BNSF tracks, still trespassing rigtht out of the camera frame.
The train reported the incident to the DS, who replied that, by coincidence, he had swithed on "the camera" and had seen the incident. I wonder if the camera is our EarthCam or if UP has their own camera?
rdamon Back out 2 hours later ...
Back out 2 hours later ...
And Turned.
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