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Chatterbox winter 2015-2016

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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, January 7, 2016 5:49 PM

18 above on Sunday.  Might want to gather twigs and logs if you are east of us!

Plus high winds between now and Monday.  Ah winter has arrived!

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, January 7, 2016 5:54 PM

Tree - did you monitor the Lansing Salt Mine problem?  That turned out great!  

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, January 7, 2016 6:27 PM
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 Thursday, January 7, 2016 11:09 PM

Mookie

Tree - did you monitor the Lansing Salt Mine problem?  That turned out great!  

Heard about it after the fact.  Sounds like they were never in great danger, but being stuck in an elevator 800 feet below the surface isn't really anything like being stuck in an elevator between the third and fourth floor, either...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, January 8, 2016 4:06 PM

evening

Ns still has the autorack train in the siding.Saw a track inspector go by today.Mamma says lets eat out for supper.Might turn white on Sunday.

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 Saturday, January 9, 2016 2:53 PM

Rain has arrived in Nw Ohio.Sun was out this morning.Matt and I took care of our recycling.Our normal place was closed so we improvised with a trip to Garrett.Csx was busy changing crews and getting the long distance trains around the big frieghts.Even had a local that picked up cars at the steel mill and came back to the yard.Brought home some of Indiana's dirt roads on the truck but the rain is going to wash most of it off.Tomorrow it's church and Sunday school.(if we aren't frozen!!)

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 Monday, January 11, 2016 11:03 AM

    We're having a hard time staying above zero here.  Seems every time we get a blast of cold Canadian air, we have to wait for Nebraska to send us some warmer air to push it back out.  Nebraska seems to be holding back on us this time.Angry  

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, January 11, 2016 11:11 AM

The sun is out at my house, although it's cold - about +26F with a touch of a wind chill.

Just to the south, however, the lake effect machine is in high gear.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by CShaveRR on Monday, January 11, 2016 1:46 PM

Folks east of Rail Center, who have been basking in unseasonable January warmth, should expect to get some of what we're experiencing now.  We went below zero this morning (not as far below as Rochelle apparently did!), and are being snowed on.  We don't expect much snow (2-3 inches by tomorrow morning), but the previous snow fell on what was warm ground, so there is going to be some scraping involved to clear the walks.

No railroady stuff to report since my foray of last week.  I have another file that's being difficult, and I'm going to have to break it apart, assuming it will load again (if it doesn't, I may have to "wing it" for 45,000 words or so).

Carl

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Posted by Mookie on Monday, January 11, 2016 3:13 PM

Murphy Siding

    We're having a hard time staying above zero here.  Seems every time we get a blast of cold Canadian air, we have to wait for Nebraska to send us some warmer air to push it back out.  Nebraska seems to be holding back on us this time.Angry  

 

Wish in one hand... not sharing this 32 degrees.  You didn't want any of our 3 below....looks like you can make a snow angel - map shows snow in your area  (I am happy for you!)  Mischief

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, January 11, 2016 4:49 PM

evening

work still busy.Frozen trailers in the docks.Ns got it's autorack train.Everything was clear when I left work.Snow and wind for tonight and tomorrow.Winter has come to NW Ohio.

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, January 12, 2016 3:04 PM

Ns had an eastbound when I left work.Wind still blowing the snow around.Had to remove a mini drift off the neighbors driveway when I got home.Good thing we didn't get more snow than we did.Reports of many cars with their ditchfinders on today.Matt was closed today too.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 tree68 on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 3:30 PM

Snowing lightly, after an inch or two overnight.  A small squall line just made its way through, so it's time to give the shovel a workout again.

More of the same for the rest of the week, although most of the lake effect will be staying south of me.

Running a local amateur radio net tonight.  Should be interesting to see how many we get checking in.

 

LarryWhistling
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 7:11 PM

Our bone-chilling, windy, "blustery" day wasn't all that bad.  By the time I was up and functional, there was a bright, cloudless sky, and snow was still on top of tiny branches and the fence, so the wind wasn't that bad.  Pat had shoveled part of the driveway before lunch, while I was attending to some important correspondence.

We ate lunch at a local restaurant with a distant view.  We were there for exactly one hour, during which we had one westbound auto train, one westbound scoot (it was the eastbound skip-hour), one eastbound WEPX coal train, and stack/intermodal trains in both directions.

After lunch I let Pat stay in while I finished the driveway and did the patio, side walk, the parkway sidewalks for us and our neighbor, and the school crosswalk on our side of the street.  Then I went back to work on my latest discovery about the origin of a bunch of tank cars.  It had been sort of a "Yahoo!"/"Well, duhh!" moment when I realized that we'd accounted for almost 100 old smaller corn-syrup tank cars' disappearance...they, too, had been rebuilt for sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide service, relettered once, then relettered and renumbered again.  


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 rvos1979 on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 9:37 PM
Amazing how people drive like it's 70 and sunny in a snow storm.........

Lots of wrecks today, worst I saw online was a fatality accident on the PA pike at Somerset, major pileups also at the Indiana/Ohio line on both I70 and I74. I kept to the US highways today, and nothing much happened........

Randy Vos

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 10:42 PM

Mookie

 

 
Murphy Siding

    We're having a hard time staying above zero here.  Seems every time we get a blast of cold Canadian air, we have to wait for Nebraska to send us some warmer air to push it back out.  Nebraska seems to be holding back on us this time.Angry  

 

 

 

Wish in one hand... not sharing this 32 degrees.  You didn't want any of our 3 below....looks like you can make a snow angel - map shows snow in your area  (I am happy for you!)  Mischief

 

 

 Aha! Proof that those naughty Nebraskonians are keeping all that hot air to themselves.Crying  I would have no difficulty making snow angels, as I have the build for it!Angel

Boring story from when I was (much) younger:  In college I had a friend from Florida.  The first snowfall he was late for our first class.  When he showed up, he was soaking wet and shivering.  He had never seen snow before, and was making snow angels on the way to class.

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 11:03 AM

rvos1979
Amazing how people drive like it's 70 and sunny in a snow storm.........

That's the problem with our lake effect bands - it may not be 70, but it's sunny.  And then suddenly it's not.  Add to that folks not familiar with driving in snow, and folks who are convinced that their four-wheel-drive gives them super powers, and watch out!

Nightly chats on ham radio indicate that temps in central Florida are hitting the 30's overnight, albeit rising into the 60's during the day.  

The temp sensor on the anemometer here showed +7F last night, while the ground temp was around +18F.

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, January 13, 2016 4:21 PM

snowing here in Nw Ohio.Ns was clear when I left work.need to get supper.Matt has confirmation class.

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 Wednesday, January 13, 2016 7:56 PM

We had a few flakes this morning; it started out from zero; it's now 20 and still rising.  We may hit the upper 30s tomorrow.  And I might make another foray to train-watching heaven (the nearby one...Elmhurst).

My high school classmates and I lost one of our own yesterday when his car went out of control on an icy state highway and was hit by two others (he was drivng at a reasonable speed given the conditions).  We're all somewhat shocked--he was one guy who had everything going for him back in school:  smart, good looks, athletic, funny, personable.  I may go up to Michigan for services, if my schedule and travel conditions will allow (and Pat would come with me if hers does).

Carl

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 8:21 PM

After a quiet day, snow-wise, it started again while I was in a meeting, so I got to drive home in it.  At least it's cold  (+18F), so the snow is pretty dry, hence the roads aren't too bad.  The main body of lake effect is still well south of us, though.

Carl - Sorry about your loss.  We've lost a number of members of my class, including one or two for interesting reasons.  Since we've only located about half the class or so (for reunions), we really don't have a firm idea of how many, though.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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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 JoeKoh on Thursday, January 14, 2016 5:11 PM

evening

Carl sorry for your loss.Ns was clear when I left work.Work still busy.Found out I am a great Uncle again.She is going to be the hospital for awhile but she is in good hands.Told nephew welcome to Fatherhood.Chores to get at after supper.

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, January 14, 2016 5:19 PM

Joe - I have no doubt that you're a great uncle.... Smile, Wink & Grin

Woke up to 9" of the white stuff in the driveway - time to put the snowblower to use.  We spent the night under a band of lake effect - a rare phenomenon.  Several schools that don't usually have to deal with lake effect ended up closing.

By 10 AM, I had blue skies over the house...

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 CShaveRR on Thursday, January 14, 2016 10:06 PM

Thanks, guys, for your condolences.  Pat and I plan on going up for the memorial service next week Tuesday, if the eastern shore of Lake Effect will allow it.

I think we have lost over one eighth of our graduating class.  The first, while I was still in college, was a girl who was hit by a train while snowmobiling with her husband.  Thanks to Facebook, a lot of us are keeping in touch about this and other things, including planning our 50th-anniversary reunion next year.

We had blue skies (mostly clear) for much of the day, and it got up into the low 40s.  I took a little train ride to Elmhurst and Oak Park, just to watch trains and hope for interesting equipment.  A marvelous grain train went through while I was at Elmhurst, but by "through", I mean through, on a high green, and I couldn't take any notes because of his speed.  Also, a good-looking manifest went west through Elmhurst...as I was departing eastbound for Oak Park.  So not much of interest gets added to the book, but plenty of at-home research is keping me busy.

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 mudchicken on Friday, January 15, 2016 11:23 AM

Carl: Sorry to hear that, especially to a vehicle accident. there is a lesson or two in that for the rest of us.

Not a good day for Amtrak ... Them rubber tired things keep getting in the way and the JBHunt irony at Mesquite TX is noted.

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 JoeKoh on Friday, January 15, 2016 2:39 PM

afternoon

MC a big rig decided to play with a CSX autorack train on US 6 in wood county the other day.Rain here in NW Ohio.Ns was clear when I left work.Getting Matt on the homework.I'll be doing 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 JoeKoh on Sunday, January 17, 2016 10:47 AM

Snow squalls here in Nw Ohio.Wind chill getting colder too.Should be a Cargrill locomotive coming Chicago way from CSX.It's headed to South Dakota.Best to stay inside and stay warm.

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, January 17, 2016 4:54 PM

Went to the toy train show in Utica today.  Lake Effect was forecast, but I only encountered a few flurries.  Spent a little money, but not too much.

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 CShaveRR on Sunday, January 17, 2016 7:46 PM

MC, I don't understand it.  A BNSF welding truck was out to foul (for whatever reason) on the "Racetrack" near Lisle last night, and of all of the possibilities, who clobbers it?  Amtrak, of course!

I was following Metra's delay reports--everything was blocked by debris; it happened in the control point.  A few dinkies were annulled.  Early this morning, when things were opened up again, Metra sent out announcements (several of them!) that included the line:

"Train movement has been restored due to the earlier late arrival of equipment due to earlier delays."

Huh?

CopCar Chris summed it up best:  "That sentence is train wreck enough to cause delays."

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 Deggesty on Sunday, January 17, 2016 8:02 PM

CShaveRR

MC, I don't understand it.  A BNSF welding truck was out to foul (for whatever reason) on the "Racetrack" near Lisle last night, and of all of the possibilities, who clobbers it?  Amtrak, of course!

I was following Metra's delay reports--everything was blocked by debris; it happened in the control point.  A few dinkies were annulled.  Early this morning, when things were opened up again, Metra sent out announcements (several of them!) that included the line:

"Train movement has been restored due to the earlier late arrival of equipment due to earlier delays."

Huh?

CopCar Chris summed it up best:  "That sentence is train wreck enough to cause delays."

 

Triple "Huh?" Is English the third language of whoever wrote that? I can somewhat comprehend " the earlier late arrival of equipment due to earlier delays," but the whole sentence(?) falls apart, and fails to make sense (thus, it is NOT a sentence).

We not only need Spel Czech here; we need education reform in the schools. 

Johnny

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, January 17, 2016 9:17 PM

Our weather tonight can be described in 2 words: brr-rrr!

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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