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
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").
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.
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.
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
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)
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
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
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.
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!
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...
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
"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
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 - 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!
work is done.Ns was all clear.swamp is draining.Nephew wants some pictures from the old neighborhood.Going to take Matt with me when he gets home.Chores to do.
Today we caught a southbound (or is it still eastbound?) freight on the Coast Line a few miles east of Gaviota. It was nearly all auto racks. Nothing else new to report, except that our grandson seems to be adjusting to us. Getting him into or out of his car seat is still a struggle at times, but it usually turns out to be a gigglefest. And we're seeing a lot more of that open-mouthed, scrunched-up-nose grin.
Randy, do you run the central tier states? I have a friend who just signed on, and he starts on 4/21. Here in Az. I see 4or 5 trucks a week heading south from Flg. on I 17 at the Shell station / Cordes Jct. Keep the painted side up.
Y6bs evergreen in my mind
Thursday, I drove to Greensboro to see another nephew and his wife (and their nine cats), and we enjoyed the time together. On the way up, I noticed that two branches of the former Southern still have the whistle posts that tell the engineer what to blow--but I noticed Monday that those on the main line down to New Orleans have been replaced with posts much like the old N&W posts which had just a "W" on them, and a distinctive shape to the sign itself. Mileposts have also been replaced. Standardization for the main liines?
To here, Bristol (my hotel is in Virginia, but I spent this morning and early afternoon at my college in Tennessee), yesterday. I saw an NS train going west through the Narrows of the New River while on the way, and I saw another one going southwest on the Radford-Bristol line later. If you want to know where the Narrows are, look for the town of Narrows in Virginia.
Breakfast and lunch today, with classmates, were good. I also saw several who finished before I did, and one man, Bill, who graduated from college the year I finished the eleventh grade. He and his wife, Joy, had an interesting courtship--he fell in love with his freshman chemistry lab instructor and they married just before the start of his sophomore year, and they graduated together. I never asked, but I expect tht the parents of one or the other probably held their son during the exercises. I was told, more than fifty years ago, that the dean of women did her best to discourage them from marrying, and I asked Bill today if she ever apologized for her efforts when she saw that their marriage was lasting; he said that she did indeed apologize. They married in 1950, and Joy died in the last year or so. Bill's youngest son, John (also an alumnus), and his family were here also; I told him that the only time I had seen him, he was a babe in his mother's arms. How the years go by!
Church here tomorrow, and then to Charlotte on Monday.
Went and saw brother today after chores.NS was kind of quiet.Went to Delta Ohio and saw the I&O shove a train above the former NYC line(now NS).An eastbound stacker told a westbound oil train to comb their hair.There were picture takers ahead.Leading the oil train was NS 8025(The Red M unit).Brother asked if they were talking about us and I said they were.As far as we could tell thier hair was perfect.Going to relax.Busy day tomorrow.
CShaveRRGetting him into or out of his car seat is still a struggle at times, but it usually turns out to be a gigglefest. And we're seeing a lot more of that open-mouthed, scrunched-up-nose grin.
I swear that is what it like everytime we have a conductor trainee.
They are all 12 years old. Has to be.. I can't be getting that old.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
This morning saw the PRR heritage unit helping on a westbound NS stack train. Everything was clear when I left work.Need to go to town after Matt gets his homework done.
zugmann CShaveRR Getting him into or out of his car seat is still a struggle at times, but it usually turns out to be a gigglefest. And we're seeing a lot more of that open-mouthed, scrunched-up-nose grin. I swear that is what it like everytime we have a conductor trainee. They are all 12 years old. Has to be.. I can't be getting that old.
CShaveRR Getting him into or out of his car seat is still a struggle at times, but it usually turns out to be a gigglefest. And we're seeing a lot more of that open-mouthed, scrunched-up-nose grin.
23 17 46 11
Daughter is home from the hospital. Boy, was her son glad to see her home (so was her dad, but I don't think he flipped out quite as badly)! Long weeks and months of treatment and recovery ahead. We're here to help.
Carl - Great news! Best of luck with all that goes with this.
Spent a fair part of yesterday on the road, on railroad business. Between our upcoming Thomas event and radios, they're keeping me busy.
On my way home I took the "road less travelled." In the process, I followed much of the old Black River Canal. With no leaves, and some snow on the ground to provide some contrast, the canal was easy to follow, and the locks (there were a lot of them) were more visible. The most impressive installation on the canal is/was the "flight of five," five locks in a row. There are several flights of four locks on the canal, but only one flight of five.
CShaveRR Daughter is home from the hospital. Boy, was her son glad to see her home (so was her dad, but I don't think he flipped out quite as badly)! Long weeks and months of treatment and recovery ahead. We're here to help.
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
saw the westbound capitol limited when I got to work.Ns ran a westbound frieght and the local was uptown when I left work.Chores to get at.
JoeKoh afternoon saw the westbound capitol limited when I got to work.Ns ran a westbound frieght and the local was uptown when I left work.Chores to get at. stay safe Joe
What was the Capitol doing in Defiance?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Defian' analysis, Balt!(Joe works in Archbold, where the Capitols and Lowercases (Lakeshores) fly.
CShaveRRLowercases (Lakeshores)
We tend to call them the Lateshores... Especially the eastbound.
CShaveRR Defian' analysis, Balt!(Joe works in Archbold, where the Capitols and Lowercases (Lakeshores) fly.
Defiance was on the route of the REAL Capitol Limited run by the B&O. Amtrak is just a facsimilie.
BaltACD CShaveRR Defian' analysis, Balt!(Joe works in Archbold, where the Capitols and Lowercases (Lakeshores) fly. Defiance was on the route of the REAL Capitol Limited run by the B&O. Amtrak is just a facsimilie.
Even though I rode the real Capitol Limited only once, I agree, and what goes by that name is not even a reasonable facsimile.
I had a good trip back to Charlotte yesterday (not even a close call on the highway), even though I was confused in Asheville for a little while.
I left Charlotte at seven this morning, and arrived in WIlmington on time. On the way up, I noticed, while we were on the North Carolina Railroad, there is a mixture of both old Southern whistleposts and mileposts and new whistleposts and mileposts. I even saw some ancient ACL whistleposts (two broad stripes, a narrow stripe, and a broad stripe painted on the posts) after we left Selma. I did not notice any whistleposts above Richmond. As I commented on another thread this evening, the catenary supports are still by the tracks south of the Virginia Avenue/Union Station tunnels in Washington.
The last time I rode between Greensboro and Fetner (Carey) was in 1969 (detour because of a hurricane takeout of a bridge), and the line was dark. Now CTC rules, rather than train order and TT.
Both NS and CSX are doing quite a bit of track work. We had one of the new baggage cars, and engine #613 was put on the point in Washington. We flew, once we left Washington, crept through the B&P tunnels, and flew again on up to Wilmington. On to Bean Town tomorrow.
BaltACD sorry for the confusion.Ns local had a load to go to Delta and was spotting cars for us when I left work in Archbold.Matt has confirmation class tonight.Projects and chores to do.
edblysardAnd they all stare at you with that "Do what?"look on their face
The comapny is rushing their training. It's a shame. There's some real good guys and gals, and they are getting the extremely short end of the stick. Now others - well... I'll leave it at that.
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