Semi-official Rochelle webcam discussion thread

[Paul of Covington]

   Thanks, AgentKid.    Makes sense.

[Jjohnieray]

What is that unit in the fenced area that is moved around alot.Looks like wheels sticking upwards.Cant be too heavy as it is moved often.Just curious.

[william6]

antique 2-wheeled hand truck/cart for moving freight (boxes, bags, etc)? It's laying down on it's back, maybe.

[Ulrich]

did anyone else see the bear on the tracks this morning? 

[MP173]

Bear....in Rochelle?

[TrainsRMe1]

I was just wondering, is anybody enjoying the new Web Cam at the Rochelle Diamonds as much as I'am?? I'm finding myself watching it more and more each day!! One thing though, is there by any chance that more lights could be added so we can rail fan the diamonds at night?? Thanks for the great Webcam!!

[MickEnright]

The Rochelle web-cam is great! 

Not to pick nits, but...perhaps some fine railfan in Rochelle could clean the spider web off the lens...(That's taking "WEB" cam a bit too far!)

< rimshot, rimshot, cymbal >

 

 

Mick

[Brian Schmidt]

We are aware of the spider web and are looking at ways to deal with it. Remember, our office is 100 miles away. The webcam is on the roof of the Rochelle Railroad Park, which provides a great view, but not easy access.

[Deggesty]

Can you equip a drone with a cloth and a spider trap and send it?

 

I do miss the spell check; sometimes my fingers move faster thanthe keys can.

[MickEnright]

Thanks, Brian. Please understand, that was no criticism...the web cam is cool! (And appreciated!)

Mick

[blhanel]

Just caught the east-bound salad shooter going through with three engines elephant-style...

[TrainsRMe1]

Did anybody notice the action last night on the diamonds??? I was watching the webcam, and eventhough it was dark there was alot of action!!! did anyone notice the campfire by the tracks and two VERY SPICEY mouthed campers???? it made the wait in between trains very entertaining,( at least to me), comical at best, let me know your thoughts if you saw and heard the conversation, seems like in this day and times one would watch what they say and where they say it!! 

[AgentKid]

Been a really interesting afternoon. UP has been repositioning units big time today. Every EB train I have seen since about 1:00 PM CDT has had at least five to eight units on the point. You can tell they are deadhead moves because the engine sound from the microphone drops off before the last unit disappears from the field of view. I won't speculate as to types, but I have seen both the modern flared radiator types as well as the old school vertical SD40-2 type.

Getting the right units where you need them has been a problem since the first RR bought its' second steam engine. Locomotives are like policemen, there is never one around when you need one.

Bruce

 

[MikeF90]

Brian Schmidt

We are aware of the spider web and are looking at ways to deal with it. Remember, our office is 100 miles away. The webcam is on the roof of the Rochelle Railroad Park, which provides a great view, but not easy access.

I barely noticed it even when some post mentioned it. The light rain in the last few days has driven the pesky arachnid away temporarily.

[Semper Vaporo]

I saw the spider briefly yesterday when a BNSF Westbound coal train had just entered the scene.  The spider ran down from the top and then reversed and went back up and off the scene.  The scary part was that it was nearly in direct line with the girders of the signal bridge support on the right side and that made it look like it was about 2 to 3 feet long and a foot around... HUGE SCARY SPIDER.  I set up my PC to record the scene if it came back, but it never did.  Sure wish I had captured that video!

 

 

[Buxtehude]

I saw a beetle the other day.  

[Deggesty]

I haven't seen the spider yet, but I did notice the sunlight shining on the web yesterday--and late in the day the web provided a small prism.

[Deggesty]

Maybe the sun is not just right now, but it appears that someone or something made a clean sweep of the lens--perhaps a witch out two weeks early?

[Deggesty]

I think I saw an interchange movement from the BNFS to the UP a few minutes ago. A train came in from the west with a few cars; those that were open to view were empty; it stopped and backed onto the UP. I had other matters of interest, so I did not see the engine return from the UP.

Just now, I saw a two car train coming east on the BNSF--what looked like a baggage car and a UP business car. 

[Paul of Covington]

Deggesty

I think I saw an interchange movement from the BNFS to the UP a few minutes ago. A train came in from the west with a few cars; those that were open to view were empty; it stopped and backed onto the UP. I had other matters of interest, so I did not see the engine return from the UP.

Just now, I saw a two car train coming east on the BNSF--what looked like a baggage car and a UP business car. 

   I think it's the same one I saw about that time.   It did come back out a few minutes later with fewer cars.   I've seen it before on previous days.   Its single locomotive sounds to me kinda like a steam locomotive with a loud "chug, chug, chug."

[xjqcf]

Paul of Covington

 Not sure if this is (or is just) an interchange, although the trackage does have a connection to UP's track two immediately east of the switch into UP's Global III yard. There a a number of industries served by this track; the switch off BNSF's main track 2  (in the automatic interlocking but hand thrown) is referenced alternately as "199" or "Del Monte" The engine you see/hear putting around is the Rochelle local which seems to work the trackage from south Rochelle to the wye connection with the shortline Illinois Railroad at Flagg Center.

 

As a side note the scanner feed at http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/11742/?rl=rr is a good companion to monitor while looking at this web cam.

Deggesty

I think I saw an interchange movement from the BNFS to the UP a few minutes ago. A train came in from the west with a few cars; those that were open to view were empty; it stopped and backed onto the UP. I had other matters of interest, so I did not see the engine return from the UP.

Just now, I saw a two car train coming east on the BNSF--what looked like a baggage car and a UP business car. 

 

 

 

   I think it's the same one I saw about that time.   It did come back out a few minutes later with fewer cars.   I've seen it before on previous days.   Its single locomotive sounds to me kinda like a steam locomotive with a loud "chug, chug, chug."

 

[Paul of Covington]

Thanks for that link, xjqcf. I'll have to try listening in the future.

[vsmith]

I think the cold snap finally did in the spider

[cefinkjr]

vsmith

I think the cold snap finally did in the spider

I don't know about the spider but it looks like her lunch is still swinging in the breeze (in the upper left part of the screen).  Yuck!

[Deggesty]

I wish there were some way we could communicate with the people who are at the crossing. A while ago, I watched as a UP train came east--and the engineer was giving a series of short blasts with the horn, which is the warning for someone or something to get back from the track. It seemed to me that some unknowing person, east of the crossing, was too close to the track and was unaaware of the danger to himself. The engineer turned the bell on (which I had not heard before), apparently in a further effort to warn the person.

When a BNSF train came east, its engineer also sounded the warning--and the engineer of the UP train now passing also sounded the horn warning.

I hope that no person interested in watching the trains pass gets hurt because of ignorance of the danger of standing too close to the track.

A light BNSFengine just went west; I did not hear any warning blasts. It was not as interesting as a long train?

[Semper Vaporo]

It is possible that there is track work going on to the east of the camera.  "Bell and Extra whistle" is often called for in work areas. I have been hearing east bound U.P. trains with the bell on for a couple of days now.

[Deggesty]

Thanks, Semper. Should it have taken as much warning as the engineer gave? Is the engineer required to continue giving such warning when the work crew is well back from the track?

[Semper Vaporo]

From what I have observed over the years; yes, the bell and whistle are to be sounded through the entire work zone.  There is also usually speed restriction, but I have seen that voilated a few times (as well as the bell and extra whistle requirement).

[CShaveRR]

The warning required according to UP System Special Instructions is a long and a short on the horn, followed by a series of two shorts, sounded as long as the locomotive is passing workmen.  It doesn't matter how far away from the tracks they are, or whether they acknowledge that they hear the signal.

The bell would also be sounded as a matter of course--it's rung at quiet zone crossings and through Form B (work zone) territory.

I'm not certain whether UP's bell is interlocked with the horn, but some railroads (CR, CSX, Metra) had controls rigged up such that when the horn was sounded the bell would ring (and on some of those, the ringing of the bell causes the ditch lights to flash as well).  UP doesn't have the flashing ditch lights.

[BaltACD]

Semper Vaporo

From what I have observed over the years; yes, the bell and whistle are to be sounded through the entire work zone.  There is also usually speed restriction, but I have seen that voilated a few times (as well as the bell and extra whistle requirement).

 

I am not familiar with UP rules.  On my carrier the train must communicate with a person in charge of the work zone before entering the limits of the work zone and comply with that persons instructions.  Those instructions may include a slow order or they may permit the train to proceed at maximum speed for the train or the person in charge may withold permission until a work action has cleared the track.