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Chatterbox spring

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, April 10, 2015 1:23 PM

Carl - I recall seeing a shove move toward the plant back in the 70's.  

It's too bad you can't get on base - some of the shoreline there is absolutely spectacular, and the railroad basically follows the shoreline.  We were headed for the old Coast Guard rescue boat house once and saw a southbound Amtrak.  I have no idea what train it would have been.

Best of luck - and think positive!

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Posted by CShaveRR on Friday, April 10, 2015 12:21 PM

That update is the latest and best we can offer...she's still figuring on being out on Monday.  We're going down to visit in a little while.

We went down to Surf in our first day's explorations; the yard and wye were visible from the road to the station, and they were empty. 

However, yesterday we actually saw a train right in town on the branch.  It was headed toward the yard down the middle of the street.  Linus wasn't scared, but he also wasn't excited beyond pointing at it.  My guess is that the loads behind the pair of GP38s were from the Imerys plant (used to be Celite, previously Witco or Manville).  There were about six loads.  They would have had to have backed down the hill from the plant (quite a trip...might explain the old caboose we saw on Sunday--a shoving platform).  There's a tail track at the east end of town that couldn't accommodate too much more train than that.

Tornadoes.  It doesn't look, from the map that Larry provided, that much happened east of Rochelle or thereabouts.  I'll be anxious to hear reports about how much rain we got.  We probably have filled both rain barrels already.  They'd be a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed out here.


Carl

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Posted by rvos1979 on Thursday, April 9, 2015 8:55 PM

Okay, who ordered the twisty thingies?!?

Good sized tornado went just north of Rochelle, several others sighted in the area as well.  I'm okay here in West Allis.......

Randy Vos

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, April 9, 2015 4:05 PM

Carl - Thanks for the update.  You should take a ride out to Surf if you get a chance.

We've got a flood watch and a high wind warning on the table.  Much of the snow is gone, but there's the promise of an inch or so of rain, which could have detrimental effects.  At least the trees don't have leaves yet, so the wind won't be the problem it could be.

Finding out all sorts of stuff about ham radio that I didn't know.  With some of what's out there, you don't even need a radio, and can talk cross country even if the propogation isn't favorable.  The Internet is a wonderful thing!

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, April 9, 2015 3:38 PM

afternoon

watched the reds sweep the pirates.Very muggy outside right now.Ma nature filled the ditches alot today.Swamp is coming back. Saw in tonight's paper the clinton st viaduct came out of retirement and nabbed another truck. (need more signs)Work was ok.Ns local left some cars uptown and split the crossing as well.Chores to do.Need to check matt's homework as well.Tomorrow is Friday.

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 blownout cylinder on Thursday, April 9, 2015 6:18 AM

Good Morning

Heavy rain warning in effect...up to 3" expected around here...higher in thunderstorms. High around 45-50F expected today...

Got a bunch of photos I took into the computer...this time around the CP/CN crossing in Woodstock...took them a few days ago...when we actually had some sun out.

Having an indoor kind of day today...too much rain fallin' out here

 

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 10:30 PM

Today, for the first time since we arrived here last Saturday, I saw a train--northbound Amtrak--on the ex-SP Coast Line.  North of Goleta and not Superliners suggest that it was bound for San Luis Obispo from LA.

We saw Linda reunited with her son for a short while today, but now Linus is ours to take care of.  Linda has also been fitted with a back brace, and is being encouraged to use a walker and/or a wheelchair.  The plan is to have her out of the hispital and back home Monday.  Chemo and hormones can be administered at another hospital less than half the distance away.  Radiation (which would require daily trips to Santa Barbara--close to 100 miles round-trip) is not being used; the rough ride would probably counteract any positive effects on her spine.  Today--seeing Linus and taking a couple of walks--has probably been one of her best days since she was diagnosed.

Carl

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 3:04 PM

It's been a good day so far--there were ten of us at lunch today, from three different classes, and we all had a good time. After lunch, I stopped in the cemetary in my home town, and walked through half it; I found the grave of one of my ancestors who had served in the Revolution.

I will head for Greensboro, N.C., tomorrow, to see a nephew whom I have not seen since 2007. 

Johnny

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Posted by JoeKoh on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 2:27 PM

afternoon

siding an uptown clear when I left work.Got to see an eastbound frieght.Near the end of the train saw 3 hoppers cars.One orange that said Amtrak and the last two said Sultran.Matt starts confirmation classes again tonight.

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 JoeKoh on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 4:59 PM

evening

local had some empties uptown.work is caught up for now.time for chores.

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 Deggesty on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 4:47 PM

My trip yesterday was interesting. We left New Orleans in good order, and had little trouble until late last night--when we had to wait above Gainesville, Georgia, because two cars on a freight ahead of ua (I don't know which way it was traveling) became tired of staying where they were supposed to, and they were psuhed all the way off the track to make way for cars that wanted to behave. At Toomsuba, in m Mississippi, we ran in behind a northbound that was already waiting patiently for a souuthbound, and, after the southbound went its way, we backed out (after, of course, the dispatcher gave us permission) and continued on our way.

I saw many, many cars loaded with non-odorized liquefied petroleum gas go by, headed south. Yes, the tanks were marked with the warning that you could not smell the gas if it escaped.

One of my classmates, who cannot meet with the rest of us tomorrow, drove up from Columbia this morning, and ate lunch with another classmate, who lives much closer to where we will eat tomorrow, and me. I hope to see three or four who could not meet with us last year. I spent some time in the afternoon at the cemetery where my grandfather's parents were buried--I could not find any stones for them, but did find stones for some members of the family.

Off to supper.

Johnny

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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, April 6, 2015 4:29 PM

afternoon

work is playing catch up with the holiday.Ns has a westbound in the siding.Nothing for the local yet.going to help Matt finish up his 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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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, April 5, 2015 8:28 PM

Had a great Easter afternoon with daughter and family.  Showed grandson my collection of fire die cast models, and let him keep the "transformer" truck, which he played with the rest of the day.

Found out I've still got my touch - some back rubbing with the two month old got her past fighting to stay awake (and avoid a nap), and she was soon snoozing.  What a sweetie!

LarryWhistling
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Posted by JoeKoh on Sunday, April 5, 2015 6:56 AM

good morning

Happy Easter

Off to church and G+G's house.

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 Deggesty on Saturday, April 4, 2015 9:36 PM

Mookie

Well, we did receive rain.  Not the storm of the century by a long way, but definitely is wet and falling in the right places.  It has hovered in the mid 30's all day so we are a whisker away from having snow.  

Just a nice spring shower(s).  

Was reading some of the replies on how people got to be railfans.  Some of the "boys" got train sets for Xmas.  I wanted one.  I got dolls instead.  

Now as an adult - I would like a full size engine.  Like in one hand - want in the other....

It's ok - I can watch the Tonka Toys work in the Netherlands.  Digging an underpass under the railroad tracks.  So much better than tv!  And a lot cheaper than a train set or locomotive!

 

Coming down to the Crescent City (Oh, for a Crescent Limited to take to Charlotte!) the sleepers (transition and standard) are right behind the engine, so the engineer can keep people awake during the night (I did sleep, though).

We were delayed leaving Memphis this morning, because the northbound waas late coming in last night, and the engine crew needed to rest (they run Jackson-Memphis). We lost some more time with a meet with a northbound at Swan Lake while we were following a southbound--the pass track was not long enough for both of us, so our last car hung out until the northbound had cleared the south switch and the southbound was able to move back onto the main and let us come in and clear the north switch; then we followed the southbound to Yazoo City. I don't remember how many nb freights we met; I think it was at least four in the twelve hours from Memphis. I counted the cars in only one--about 150; fifty years ago the IC ran 180 in each of the three daily through freights.

In Jackson, I saw at least two sets (three cars and four trucks to the set) of the prisoner cars that have small holes instead of slots for breathing air; they were lettered CMO.

 

Johnny

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Posted by CShaveRR on Saturday, April 4, 2015 9:28 PM

I didn't sleep across any state on our way out here to my new western headquarters.  We did, however, sleep through much of all of the states on the usual route except Illinois and Iowa.  I managed to be awake to see some tall grain elevators in Kansas, to see lightning by the horizon before a fierce thunderstorm caught us later in Kansas (we were told it was severe--we didn't see or hear that aspect), to see some California desert under the light of an eclipsing-but-nonetheless-bright-enough full moon (something I've always visualized, but the reality exceeded any imagination I had!), and was able to stay up to see from the Sightseer Lounge the entire descent as we floated down Cajon Pass.  Pat recognized Hill 582 right away (thanks again, Chad Thomas!).  

BNSF apparently has plans to rehab the line over Raton Pass for Amtrak's use.  But we lost plenty of time on that stretch...from being nearly on time in Dodge City to down by an hour and a half by Trinidad.  We lost more time going into Albuquerque because of several of "those beautiful Rail Runners" that were running their schedules.  (One of the Amtrak employees may have been a little sarcastic on the speaker there...)  We were 2.5 hours late out of Gallup...but we'd picked up an hour by the time we got to Barstow, and another hour with the padding into LA.

It is nice to be able to fall asleep by counting opposing freight trains instead of sheep...after I settled down out of Albuquerque, I got up to 14 before we got out of New Mexico.  Might have missed a few...  Cajon was also spectacular, as we met at least six stack trains beginning their ascent before reaching San Bernardino.

Much terrible track along Uncle John's route, I'm sad to report, including what felt like rough jointed rail, and switches, grade crossings and other such that seem to have taken a bit more of a beating than the rest of the roadbed.

During the trip we'd gotten word that Linda had been transferred to a hospital in Santa Barbara, so we were able to catch an earlier train there and get there around noon.  Poor kid looks good, but this disease has wiped her out, and the fight has hardly begun.  We're here to help her, though, making certain aspects of family life easier for her and her husband.

Carl

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, April 4, 2015 8:07 PM

A busy Easter Saturday on the railroad - over 1300 riders between the four trips on the Easter Bunny trains.  I wasn't on the schedule, but had to return some materials to Utica after the outdoor show last week, and took the opportunity to give the conductor of record a check ride.

Unfortunately, the take for the day also included two deer (one on each of the first two trips), one of which temporarily disabled one of the locomotives.  Mechanical got that fixed fairly quickly, but they've still got a mess to clean up...

Off to daughter's for Easter service and dinner tomorrow.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, April 3, 2015 6:50 AM

Good Friday Morning

Foggy this morning.Had to go milk the cow.Guessers say more rain this afternoon.Read article that most semi truck tires are rated for 70-75 mph.You get those big boys going 80 might be asking for blowouts.I watch for them and most watch for us.

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 tree68 on Thursday, April 2, 2015 9:31 PM

Deggesty
For some reason, the conductor could not get the door at the rear of the last car open (it was locked, and even with his key he could not unlock it) as we were backing into Denver; he had to tell the engineer when to stop because he was unable to get to the monkey tail to dump the air (the usual practice).

Heck, that's normal procedure for us - two cars, one car, half a car, 20 feet, 10 feet, far enough...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by switch7frg on Thursday, April 2, 2015 8:53 PM

WinkThere would be enough per mi. to call T-Roy and Joe Lafon out . Otherwise ,when hit the car behind will feel the full force damage.Seen that happen here in Az.  quite often.

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, April 2, 2015 7:54 PM

Johnny - I did too!

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Posted by Deggesty on Thursday, April 2, 2015 5:30 PM

It snowed in Fraser, Colorado (just west of the Moffat Tunnel), yesterday in the afternoon; I do not doubt that the cloud had the energy to give MC a white coat today. We sat there for an hour because the UP was  doing something (we were not told what) inside the tunnel. We still arrived in Chicago five minutes early this afternoon, making some time up as we came down the Front Range (twenty-two minutes late into Denver), and we make up another twenty-four minutes after leaving Naperville.

For some reason, the conductor could not get the door at the rear of the last car open (it was locked, and even with his key he could not unlock it) as we were backing into Denver; he had to tell the engineer when to stop because he was unable to get to the monkey tail to dump the air (the usual practice). As we back in, the conductor continually tells the engineer what his line of sight is (so many cars).

Sorry,Mookie, I slept all the way across Nebraska last night.

Johnny

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, April 2, 2015 12:48 PM

Lompoc - The Valley of the Flowers!

LarryWhistling
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Posted by CShaveRR on Thursday, April 2, 2015 11:45 AM

Feel good about that, Larry!  You're warmer than we are at the moment.  And where we're going, it isn't much warmer...last night we had Lompoc beat by a degree or two.

Hitting the trail in an hour or less.

Carl

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CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, April 2, 2015 11:37 AM

Wow!  +55F right now!  Maybe spring is finally actually arriving!

LarryWhistling
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Posted by blue streak 1 on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 9:36 PM

80 MPH?.  lets see.  Most tractor trailer tires rated for 65 MPH MAS with a few to 75 MPH.  Now how many gators will we see on the roads ?

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 9:02 PM

Murphy Siding
 Today is the first day of the new 80 m.p.h. speed limit on the Interstate highways in South Dakota.  Now all the fools that drive like idiots can do it faster.

The Interstates were designed for such speeds.  Even if some drivers can't handle them (most of that ilk can't handle 65, either)

A problem I foresaw with the raising of the speed limits back to pre-gas shortage levels was folks whose practical experience was all at or about 55 MPH.  I feel there's a threshold around 60-65 mph where the needed skill set changes, and we had a generation with no experience at the higher speeds.  There didn't seem to be any carnage, however.

Back when the national speed limit dropped to 55 MPH, the death rate on the highways actually increased.

In weather news, our snow isn't going to melt very fast if the temperatures stay as cool as they are.  I suspect any Easter services planned for outdoors will be moved inside.

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Come ride the rails with me!
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 8:19 PM

Mookie

After seeing Balt's Spring - I looked at the title and now wonder if Chatterbox's have springs? 

Inquiring minds, you know.

 

 Is there a big difference between a Chatterbox and a Jack-in-the-box? Clown

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 8:18 PM

Mookie

How about MN to NE?  Shy

 

 Well, I guess you could save 6 minutes, but who wants to go to Nebraska? Mischief

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Posted by Mookie on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 8:15 PM

After seeing Balt's Spring - I looked at the title and now wonder if Chatterbox's have springs? 

Inquiring minds, you know.

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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