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Chatterbox Winter

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Posted by samfp1943 on Monday, February 16, 2015 9:00 AM

Woke up, this morning...Couple of inches of snow on the ground..Temp was somewhere around 17 deg ( officially?)  thermomter on the back of the house said 10 deg...Wind was blowing about 15 mph...Not sure whetere the proper description is "..It' Blowing or it just plain Sucks?..."   The morning JBH COFC/TOFC is running late(?), just went thru i  a cloud of snow. Even the dog did not want to go for our morning walk today. It was a 'two bush' wwalk and back inside.  Hope everyone can stay warm and Safe ! Captain....

 

 


 

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, February 16, 2015 12:37 AM

Had a high of +10F today, and as of 1:30 AM, my weather station is showing -18F, with -30F up on the mast.  The sensor on the fence outside my bedroom is showing -24F.

Summing that all up:  It's COLD!

The new hotel in the neighboring village had a water pipe freeze on the second floor.  Reports from the scene involve inches of water on the floor, running down through the first floor to the basement.  My FD was called, but we ended up standing by in the home department's station while they sorted things out at the scene.

My big event for the day went well - just over 40 firefighters got their annual OSHA safety refresher.  I ended up doing two of the segments as one presenter cancelled, and the other possible presenter was in the hospital.  It's not like I've never done it...

 

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Posted by Norm48327 on Sunday, February 15, 2015 6:21 PM

Got up to a whopping two above here today and they're calling for 16 below tonight. Florida is sure looking good right now. Huh?

Norm


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Posted by mudchicken on Sunday, February 15, 2015 6:21 PM

Getting pretty jaded around here. (Way behind in the moisture department - dealing with range fires all over the place right now)

Weatherliars predicting 3-6" tonight, but all it's doing now is spitting. Even the the weatherdog is going "I'll believe it when I see it"...Ship all that excess New England biblical stuff back here where it'll do some good.(It was 60+ here all week)

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, February 15, 2015 5:38 PM

We get plenty of that "first snow" action as well.

A bigger problem this time of year is drifting snow - you can be rolling along with confidence, then suddenly you're upside down in a snowbank, wondering how the heck you got there.

It's the Interstate that gets the worst of it, especially in the lake effect areas.  Generally clear, then suddenly zero visibility and a trip to the ditch.

It was noted by a friend on FB that we never got a January thaw this year...

Sam - I'm not as quick out the door as I used to be, at least at night.  I do have a built-in timer for the fire calls - the fire siren, which runs for two minutes.   Medical cars are pager only.

It wasn't bad out today (although I spent very little time outside.  The high was only +13.7F, but the sun was out all day.  We're back down to zero as I write this.  Gonna be a chilly one...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by samfp1943 on Sunday, February 15, 2015 1:41 PM

blue streak 1

All you posters that are having a real winter should get a chuckle about this. 

The Atlanta area is suddenly in a full panic as the possibility of snow, ice & a mix predicted for Monday night for definitely north of I-20 and probably 50 - 60 miles south of I-20. The paniced people remember snow jam Jan 2014.

Had 60 degrees today but down to 20 - 22 tonight which sets us up for maybe freezing rain.  This poster knows to stay off the roads as it will be one monster demolition derby.  A southern tradition!.    

 

 

 

Blue Streak 1:

Lived several years in the ATL area ( Fayetteville), and was always amazed at how many people from out of that area; every year had to undergo 'Motorist Retraining'  with the advent of the Winter Weather.  Seemed that many believed that the way icy road conditions were conquored was to build up plenty of velocity.

Generally,burning off that excess of velocity was cured by crashing into another vehicle.  I-285 was a skating rink with the first freeze and ice.  The local governments seemed to expend all their monies, and road cleaning budgets on the various Interstate roads. Other roads were cleared by the largess of Mother Nature, and the Good Lord.  Whistling

 

 

 

 


 

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Posted by Mookie on Sunday, February 15, 2015 6:22 AM

blue streak 1

All you posters that are having a real winter should get a chuckle about this. 

The Atlanta area is suddenly in a full panic as the possibility of snow, ice & a mix predicted for Monday night for definitely north of I-20 and probably 50 - 60 miles south of I-20. The paniced people remember snow jam Jan 2014.

Had 60 degrees today but down to 20 - 22 tonight which sets us up for maybe freezing rain.  This poster knows to stay off the roads as it will be one monster demolition derby.  A southern tradition!.    

 

 

 

You are experiencing what we in Nebraska have had almost all my life.  It would warm up to above freezing, making us think we might have an early spring, then rain and drop below freezing for a few hours and then snow and freeze the whole mess to ice sheets under snow.  And those relatives of your demolition drivers would get on the streets just as fast as possible.  But our weather is changing - we are going to less moisture, less snow, some warm, some really cold and always wind.  Our weather has definitely moved to the southern tier of states.  You have my sympathy.  

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, February 14, 2015 10:33 PM

All you posters that are having a real winter should get a chuckle about this. 

The Atlanta area is suddenly in a full panic as the possibility of snow, ice & a mix predicted for Monday night for definitely north of I-20 and probably 50 - 60 miles south of I-20. The paniced people remember snow jam Jan 2014.

Had 60 degrees today but down to 20 - 22 tonight which sets us up for maybe freezing rain.  This poster knows to stay off the roads as it will be one monster demolition derby.  A southern tradition!.    

 

 

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Posted by Norm48327 on Saturday, February 14, 2015 3:28 PM

Negative double digit temperatures forcast for the next three nights. I don't wanna see my next gas bill. Crying

Norm


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Posted by samfp1943 on Saturday, February 14, 2015 2:46 PM

Norris(Murphy Siding): First of all: You need to get with Larry (tree68) get him to instruct you how to set up clothing for 'speed dressing' when you get a 'ring down' at Zero Dark Thirty! Zzz Sigh 

Secondly: Any Teenagers at home? Particularly of the fair sex?  Your answer might reside with them, or teen age male resident...Sounds like something that might have been cooked up there...Mischief

As to the gazelles in Tenny's.. That species must be indigenous to South Dakota??   At least they did not leave a bag of flaming dung on your doorstep...THAT gets really messy, and can lead to a commission of homicide by the resident. Crying Bang Head

It was in the 40's here this AM...now about 59 and SUNNY.. TV weather dudes blew their predictions for today...Sunday they are promising teens and sleet or snow... Hope they miss it again..I hate walking the dog in that kind of nastyness... Seems they need to sharpen the points on the darts they use for predictingBlindfold

 

 


 

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, February 14, 2015 2:20 PM

Murphy Siding

Allright- let's hear those alibis!

     At exactly 2:46 this morning we was awakened by the doorbell. Ding-dong! Ding-dong!  In the time it took me to bolt out of bed (I'm a light sleeper), put on some pants and rush to the door, our *visitor* had departed.  He (presumably a he) had left the gift of 6 empty beer bottles on our front steps.  They were neatly arranged, standing up in a row.  Now mind you- these weren't your run of the mill, Old Milwaukee long necks There were two bottles each of 3 more expensive brands, something more appropriate for a nice, quiet, suburban neighborhood I suppose.

     Of course, our visitor was nowhere in sight.  Further sluething this morning provided a few clues.  From the footsteps, our visitor wore tennis shoes, several sizes smaller than my size 10 feet.  He appears to have walked through the fresh snow from the street, up the edge of the driveway, accross the front of the house on the sidewalk, then up the 2 steps to the entry.  He must have been rather tall, as it appears that after neatly arranging the bottles and ringing the doorbell, he ran like a gazelle down the steps, across the sidewalk, across the snow covered yard, throough a big snowbank by the street and into a getaway car.  I say like a gazelle, because the tracks were about 6 feet apart.  Did I mention that it was about zero with a -20 wind chill factor overnight?

     So....A couple questions:  Do you all have alibis? Mischief  How did our visitor know that we recycle glass at our house?Laugh

 

Are gazelle's wearing 'athletic' shoes native to SD?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, February 14, 2015 1:13 PM

Murphy Siding
So....A couple questions:  Do you all have alibis?   How did our visitor know that we recycle glass at our house?

That was 0446 at our house, so I was likely sound asleep.  Besides, my warp drive is out of commission, so there's no way I could have gotten there and back in time to go shopping for tomorrow's class.

Besides, given my usual rate of consumption of such adult beverages, it'd take me several weeks to amass that quantity...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by JoeKoh on Saturday, February 14, 2015 9:16 AM

morning

snow has arrived and so has the wind.helped Mamma with the grocery shopping.It's nice to watch if you don't have to drive in it.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, February 14, 2015 8:54 AM

Allright- let's hear those alibis!

     At exactly 2:46 this morning we was awakened by the doorbell. Ding-dong! Ding-dong!  In the time it took me to bolt out of bed (I'm a light sleeper), put on some pants and rush to the door, our *visitor* had departed.  He (presumably a he) had left the gift of 6 empty beer bottles on our front steps.  They were neatly arranged, standing up in a row.  Now mind you- these weren't your run of the mill, Old Milwaukee long necks There were two bottles each of 3 more expensive brands, something more appropriate for a nice, quiet, suburban neighborhood I suppose.

     Of course, our visitor was nowhere in sight.  Further sluething this morning provided a few clues.  From the footsteps, our visitor wore tennis shoes, several sizes smaller than my size 10 feet.  He appears to have walked through the fresh snow from the street, up the edge of the driveway, accross the front of the house on the sidewalk, then up the 2 steps to the entry.  He must have been rather tall, as it appears that after neatly arranging the bottles and ringing the doorbell, he ran like a gazelle down the steps, across the sidewalk, across the snow covered yard, throough a big snowbank by the street and into a getaway car.  I say like a gazelle, because the tracks were about 6 feet apart.  Did I mention that it was about zero with a -20 wind chill factor overnight?

     So....A couple questions:  Do you all have alibis? Mischief  How did our visitor know that we recycle glass at our house?Laugh

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, February 13, 2015 8:00 PM

My home weather station hit -20F this morning at 7 AM and never got above +15F, just before sunset.  Down to -4F right now...

Went out on a rollover this morning about 8AM.  It's a good thing it wasn't windy...  There was nothing there to break the wind but the fire truck...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, February 13, 2015 4:23 PM

8 when I got home this morning.  Didn't make it above freezing for the day.....lower tonight.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, February 13, 2015 2:57 PM

Brrrrrrr.....

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, February 13, 2015 2:53 PM

afternoon

work done for this week.Ns still has a train in the siding.No cars uptown for the local.Seems people were excited to leave work and bent some fenders.Going to pick up Matt from his school dance and go eat with G+G.Ma nature is going to kick in the freezer big time tomorrow.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, February 12, 2015 3:32 PM

mudchicken

Staggered back into Denver today. After a week of running between Philadelphia and Charlotte, it was time to go home. Would love to know why my bags keep getting to Denver 3-4 hours before I do. The pillow gets a workout tonight after the furry black velcro gets his walk.

 

Always happy when chicken comes home to roost!  Nigel seems to be your nightly martini!  No olives necessary!

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, February 12, 2015 2:54 PM

afternoon

Ns had a train in the siding.Couldn't get a view of the power.Tomorrow is Friday.Chores to do.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, February 12, 2015 9:58 AM

Staggered back into Denver today. After a week of running between Philadelphia and Charlotte, it was time to go home. Would love to know why my bags keep getting to Denver 3-4 hours before I do. The pillow gets a workout tonight after the furry black velcro gets his walk.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by rvos1979 on Thursday, February 12, 2015 7:48 AM

tree68

The guy that used to do a lot of the maintenance on our fire apparatus wouldn't have bothered trying to get those batteries charged up.  They would have been replaced forthwith.  He felt that once a battery was taken to zero, it was shot.

 

Ordinarily, I would have said the same thing, however, it looked like these were brand new batteries, so they charged them up.  Started just fine this morning when it was 5 degrees out, still getting used to this Detroit engine (as well as everything else with this company)........

Randy Vos

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 9:50 PM

Perhaps at Rochelle they could have a variant on those "doors" they use at perpetually-open facilities like freight-car repair shops--thick panels of plastic, maybe a foot wide, hanging downwrd to floor level.  They would definitely cut the breezes down (though not eliminating them), but could also be pushed apart to be shot beyond (these might be helpful at other similar places).

My favorite indoor railfan observation point is the station at Elmhurst, which is open for much of the day, even after the agent is gone (at least on weekdays).  I have a table with an electrical outlet nearby to set up the computer, a bathroom, and trains close enough for observation of most details while they pass by at a slow speed.  Some people would appreciate the coffee shop that's open until mid-morning.

Carl

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 7:49 PM

rvos1979
Picked up my current truck at Freightliner in OKC Monday, apparently, somebody didn't shut the door tight enough, because all four batteries were stone dead.  After almost two hours on a charger, push starting, and six hours of run time, we are now good. The fact that the truck sat for a month didn't help, either.........

The guy that used to do a lot of the maintenance on our fire apparatus wouldn't have bothered trying to get those batteries charged up.  They would have been replaced forthwith.  He felt that once a battery was taken to zero, it was shot.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by rvos1979 on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 6:53 PM

CSSHEGEWISCH

Hope that you've got a fairly fresh battery on the car.  With all the electronic doodads on modern cars that are always drawing some power, it doesn't take much time for the battery to drain, especially in cold weather.

 

Picked up my current truck at Freightliner in OKC Monday, apparently, somebody didn't shut the door tight enough, because all four batteries were stone dead.  After almost two hours on a charger, push starting, and six hours of run time, we are now good. The fact that the truck sat for a month didn't help, either.........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 3:19 PM

Paul_D_North_Jr

So who needs a outside "railfan viewing platform" then, esp. in this kind of weather ?!?  - PDN.  

My most active "railfan viewing platform" is already nicely enclosed - the bridge at Utica Union Station (or the front seat of my truck).  

Cost notwithstanding, enclosing a spot like Rochelle might be nice for the winter months.  Even without heat, getting out of the wind would be useful.

Of course, there's the issue of putting the panels up in the fall and taking them down in the spring, and storage, not to mention the possibility of vandalism.  Definitely wouldn't use glass...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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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 JoeKoh on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 2:50 PM

afternoon

mother nature was giving us some sprinkles this afternoon.Odot was out pre-treating the roads too.NS was all clear when I left work.Matt has confirmation class tonight.Chores to do too.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 8:59 PM

So who needs a outside "railfan viewing platform" then, esp. in this kind of weather ?!?  - PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 7:53 PM

Thanks for your concern...the car started right up, and gave us some trouble-free transportation today.

We had lunch at our favorite tavern this noon.  (You should be saying, "Tavern?  Carl??").  Pat drank water and I had Diet Coke.  The food helpings are great, and the trains go by close, fast, and often.  We were there for an hour, and had six trains (two scoots, the Salad Shooter--with a few old 57-foot reefers in it!, a westbound intermodal with two units on the point and two DPUs on the hind end, a WEPX coal train, and the Troy Grove local westbound, pulled by a pair of GP15-1s).

The name of this marvelous establishment:  Cabooses Bar and Grill, in Geneva--it's in the same building that houses the Metra station.  The scoots stop at the station, but the freights come right on through at track speed, which for them is 50, last I checked (a few miles to the west, at Elburn, it increases to 70 if the equipment qualifies).

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 JoeKoh on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 2:32 PM

afternoon

ns had a train in the siding when I left work.In the consist of cars it looked like they had some cars for us.Uptown there is quite a few cars for the local to re-shuffle.Don't know if something happened yesterday with the crew or not.Chores to do and need to check Matt's homework.

stay safe

Joe

Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").

 

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