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Chatterbox winter 2015-2016

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, December 28, 2015 2:44 PM

rvos1979
Parked the semi and drove the pickup home today, knew it was going to be a long drive when I cracked the throttle and the truck went sideways. Made it to Burlington before I had to engage the four wheel drive, though..........

Snow has changed to sleet now, roads are very slick, so I'll just stay home today.........
 

GOOD DEAL.  (you could be in Clovis, NM where possibly two standing stack trains got themselves rocked off the rail by 80+ MPH blizzard conditions)

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 Monday, December 28, 2015 1:46 PM
Parked the semi and drove the pickup home today, knew it was going to be a long drive when I cracked the throttle and the truck went sideways. Made it to Burlington before I had to engage the four wheel drive, though..........

Snow has changed to sleet now, roads are very slick, so I'll just stay home today.........

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 JoeKoh on Monday, December 28, 2015 12:09 PM

Our ice has changed over to rain.Mamma has made a great lunch.Garbage man has made his pick up.Still going to stay in and "aggrivate" Matt.

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 CShaveRR on Monday, December 28, 2015 11:03 AM

It sure is pretty out there, until one realizes that that white stuff isn't snow.  In our case, one of the garbage trucks has made it; the recycling guy hasn't yet (not out of the ordinary, though).  

I'm sittng here with what my friends are calling The Crud (officially it's bronchitis).  I was a hit at the urgent-care center yesterday when I wrote my symptoms down as "Old-man's cough".  It actually sounds like Jack Benny's Maxwell trying to start.  Needless to say, I don't think I'll be scraping our sidewalks today.

The airports are starting to feel the effects of the weather here.  But, as Paul suggested, no problems with Metra.  The two lines I monitor had no delay reports at all this morning.

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 tree68 on Monday, December 28, 2015 9:51 AM

Cold and sunny, and windy here today, but that's supposed to change tonight and we're supposed to see all that other junk.

Drove to daughter's house for Christmas with them Sunday in the rain, drove back on wet roads with scattered snow flurries.  

A local attraction in Syracuse this time of year is "Lights on the Lake."  Not having any snow didn't help any, but I wasn't all that impressed.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
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There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, December 28, 2015 8:10 AM

rvos1979
Ok, who ordered the ice storm?!?

Think I'll be parking the truck later today, ice, snow, 40 mph winds and an empty trailer are not a good combination. Luckily, I'm close to the house this morning.........
 

Smart move. Stay put. -Our people in Illinois and St. Louis are saying there is a stupid driver convention in their back yard, heading your way.

3 degrees at 6AM.

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 CSSHEGEWISCH on Monday, December 28, 2015 7:32 AM

I got lucky this morning.  The freezing rain didn't really begin until after I got to the station and parked the car in the commuter garage.  Forecast suggests that it should be regular rain by the time I head for home.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, December 28, 2015 6:54 AM

Our state looks like it had a bag of skittles dumped on it.Wonder if the garbage man and mail will make it today.Home is where we are staying today.

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 rvos1979 on Monday, December 28, 2015 6:44 AM
Ok, who ordered the ice storm?!?

Think I'll be parking the truck later today, ice, snow, 40 mph winds and an empty trailer are not a good combination. Luckily, I'm close to the house this morning.........

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 Paul of Covington on Saturday, December 26, 2015 10:02 PM

  Snow just in time for Chistmas!  Murphy, are you making a Hallmark or Lifetime channel Christmas movie?

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, December 26, 2015 8:41 PM

     All you folks wishing for a white Christmas should have been a little more specific about where the white stuff was to be deposited.  Starting about 5:00 pm on Christmas day we got about 5-6" of the winter white stuff.  Our TV weather dorks had a great Christmas.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Mookie on Saturday, December 26, 2015 8:05 PM

tree68
 A lot of dogs will walk around a puddle, but not this one...

 puddle - poodle - hmmm....

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Saturday, December 26, 2015 7:57 PM

Last night another " rainy night in Georgia "  .  Mild as only1.6 " .  The ground is so wet that any slight breeze is bringing down trees.  One just missed a friends home.  Chain saw time if ground ever gets dry enough.  Right now footprints are 1 inch deep.

CSX and probably NS is doing a lot of exra patrols looking for trees.

 

 

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, December 26, 2015 7:08 PM

Raining lightly here as well - just enough to get things wet.

Finally convinced the poodle to come inside.  She's been outside for the past hour or more - in the rain - wanting for me to come out and play.  Daughter said they're water dogs, and they seem to be.  A lot of dogs will walk around a puddle, but not this one...

LarryWhistling
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...

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Posted by JoeKoh on Saturday, December 26, 2015 3:36 PM

Rain has arrived here in Nw Ohio.Did check things out around Toledo and Mamma got some items she wanted.Csx and Ns seemed to be hungover from there Christmas break.Track inspector for CSX decided to go off the tracks and come back on instead of waiting for clearance from the NS dispatcher at Vickers.

Carl certain associate editor did the hot spot.No input from us.However if you come anytime soon you will need to come by boat.

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 CShaveRR on Saturday, December 26, 2015 8:46 AM

Christmas, with the help of a couple of grinches disguised as cold germs, has wiped me out.  I got through the celebrations on Wednesday (Pat's family) and Thursday (my family) evenings up in Michigan, slept in yestreday, got us back home here, then slept around the clock last night.  I have no desire to go anywhere today.

Our weather is supposed to get interesting now.  It wasn't bad over the past few days, unless you're one of those who requires snow to have a good Christmas (give me grandchildren and little cousins, and I'm fine!).  But now the wind is supposed to kick up, with a chance of rain today and tomorrow, and rain/snow/sleet on Monday.  We have a birthday party to go to Sunday (my oldest grandchild--whom I mentioned excitedly in this Forum when she arrived--is turning eleven!), but I would love to be able to stay under a blanket or a hoodie until the sun reveals itself.

Joe, that looks like a neat place in the next issue...maybe you'll have to take us there sometime!  ;-)  Did you have any input?

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 blue streak 1 on Friday, December 25, 2015 3:34 PM

Well what a weird past few days.   Temps were  up to the 60s Monday.  Rain started Tuesday and Wedensday with about 2.7".  Not bad says spouse.  Thursday morning Tree's fire hose came all the way here with about 3" rain in an hour and another inch later on.  Had to do my civic duty by taking the lawn mower and a chain and pull a couple used cross ties out of street that floated out to a culvert that could not drain fast enough.  Temps went up to 69.2 degrees. 

OK enough is enough.  Last night Tree used 2 fire hoses and when got up had to remove a few limbs and horrors more cross ties.  Pulled 8 out of street and culvert. About 2-1/2 feet deep water at culvert.  Note culvert is usually a dry creek if no rain for a week. Clearing took about 3/4 hour and the work was shirt sleeves and temp now 73.9 degrees and still going up as finally sun out.  Rain ?  best estimate 7.2" in about 4 hours. So total of 11.5" this past 2 days

Whole state under flash flood warnings and expect many wash outs both road and rail.  MARTA rail (Atlanta) shut down for flooding for a few hours but did not here what time.

My sump pump auto failed so am trying to get the water out of basement but have to be careful as drain has some dirt blockage so only can run about 30 seconds at a time.  Note sump is 400 gallon capacity.

 

 

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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, December 25, 2015 12:56 PM

Merry Christmas

hope everyone is having a great day today.Off to G+G's house soon.40's and sunshine here.Saw a preview for next month's magazine.That hotspot looks rather familiar.

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 The Butler on Friday, December 25, 2015 12:38 PM

Merry Christmas

Santa was good to our cats.  He brought a veriety of boxes for them to play in.  Wink  48 degrees and sunny here.  They are calling for rain for Saturday 'til Monday.  They say 3" to 6" could fall over the three days.  I just say to the locals, be glad it isn't snow.  Smile

James


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Posted by wanswheel on Friday, December 25, 2015 9:45 AM

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Posted by schlimm on Friday, December 25, 2015 9:16 AM

zugmann
Merry Christmas.  May the Belsnickel only bring you cakes and candies (and no whippings).

 

And then there are these two fun Christmas guys.  The second is Knecht Ruprecht, who gives out lumps of coal to naughty kids.  The first is Krampus (from Alpine regions) who carries and uses either chains or a birch branch as a whip.

C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan

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Posted by AgentKid on Friday, December 25, 2015 9:04 AM

Merry Christmas to one and all.

We have a white Christmas here with the temperature running just above 0º F. There is enough snow that you need to break out the shovel but not enough to cause any real difficulty walking around. Too many cars are operating in fender bender mode with the ditchfinders turned on however.

I will be heading up to my sisters place for Christmas dinner. Mom will be there, although it is a bit sad as she is only a shadow of her former self. I haven't worked out when I will see my brother yet.

Other than the Rochelle thread I haven't been posting much lately. This whole CP-NS business has me changing my mind on the subject a couple of times a day. If I were to post an opinion I would probably have changed it before I could finish typing.

Once again, Merry Christmas to everyone.

Bruce

 

So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.

"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere"  CP Rail Public Timetable

"O. S. Irricana"

. . . __ . ______

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Posted by zugmann on Friday, December 25, 2015 8:22 AM

Merry Christmas.  May the Belsnickel only bring you cakes and candies (and no whippings).

 

From https://www.byerschoice.com/christmas-traditions/pennsylvania-dutch:

 

Pennsylvania Dutch Traditions

...

But before children could receive any gifts, the children were visited by Belsnickel. He would arrive unannounced on an evening in December, usually portrayed by a masked uncle or grandfather clad all in furs and make himself known with a rap on the window pane with the wooden switch he used to beat naughty children. “Der Belsnickel!” screamed the children as they ran from the frightening creature, but soon enough, their parents would gather them up and sit them down in front of Belsnickel. In a rumbling voice, Belsnickel would ask each child if they had been naughty over the past year; an honest admission of guilt would earn you a rap on the knuckles, but lying resulted in an even worse punishment! Once every child had been judged, each was asked to recite a prayer or prove something they had learned in school to earn a small treat from Belsnickel’s bag.

Even after Belsnickel and the Christkindl were replaced by the Santa Claus we know today as Christmas gift-bringer, the tradition of “Belsnickling,” where groups of masked young people went door to door entertaining on the nights preceding Christmas, continued for many years.

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

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, December 25, 2015 8:07 AM

Mookie

 

 
BaltACD

Merry Christmas to all.

 

 

 

Thank you sir and same to you!

 

 

A merry Christmas to all!

Johnny

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Posted by Mookie on Friday, December 25, 2015 8:03 AM

BaltACD

Merry Christmas to all.

 

Thank you sir and same to you!

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, December 25, 2015 7:09 AM

Merry Christmas to all.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by CShaveRR on Thursday, December 24, 2015 9:44 PM

tree68

 

 
zugmann
but the other way had a certain RR flare...

 

That would certainly make for a bright tree...

It would give me a warm, fusee feeling!

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 tree68 on Thursday, December 24, 2015 6:48 PM

zugmann
but the other way had a certain RR flare...

That would certainly make for a bright tree...

 

LarryWhistling
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...

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Posted by edblysard on Thursday, December 24, 2015 6:07 PM

True...!

23 17 46 11

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, December 24, 2015 4:50 PM

edblysard

CowboyWhy?

 

It'd be like you having to shift when it's -2 degrees.  It just ain't right!

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

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