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Chatterbox Summer 2016

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Posted by JoeKoh on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 7:00 PM

evening

Ns had an autorack train waiting to go west when I left work.Mother nature provided some showers and wind gusts.Blew over a dead ash tree in the park area.Matt and I cleaned up the small stuff.Neighbor will get the big stuff tomorrow.Hey Larry I would hope that the band still knows how to play"Long Train Runnin'".

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, July 14, 2016 1:22 AM

Well, the concert is over.  Dave Mason and the Doobie Brothers were great.  When Journey hit the stage, it was immediately obvious who most of the attendees had come to see (I was there for the Doobie Brothers, Dave Mason was a bonus.  Journey was just part of the package.).

There were times when you couldn't hear the band because of everyone (else) singing along.  I would have left after the Doobie Brothers, but my daughter drove, and bought the tickets, too.

The facility where the concert was held is new, and they are definitely working out the kinks.  They have a policy that chairs cannot be more than 9" off the ground (beach chairs, essentially), but obviously most of the attendees didn't get the word, so we could barely see the stage itself, much less the performers.  Good thing they had big screens up.  But that made it like watching the concert on TV.

They've got issues getting everyone back on the buses after an event, too.

 

I wrote them a letter with my concerns... 

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, July 14, 2016 6:08 AM

Carl,

So, you were in the US131 / I96 area. We just sold the house which was off Bristol and 3 mile, west of 131 along south side of 96, about mile 29.  Are you ex G/R ? 

Bob

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Posted by CShaveRR on Thursday, July 14, 2016 9:32 AM

Bob, Pat is a Grand Rapids native, and we know that area well (she was closer into the city, and went to GR Union back in the day...the south end of Bristol was a short distance from their house, which was sold away from the family only this year).  

For me, it was not U.S. 131, but U.S. 31--I'm from Grand Haven, and we spent a bit of time in Muskegon on this last trip.  Pat and I both went to GVSU back when it was GVSC.

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 Thursday, July 14, 2016 7:26 PM

evening

Ns was clear when I left work.Ran errands in Defiance.Csx sent a stack train westbound.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 tree68 on Thursday, July 14, 2016 7:34 PM

We had not one, but two opportunities to get some rain this morning, but both petered out over the lake.  So we're still awful dry - near drought conditions.

Speaking of that, I better go out and water the flowers.

Off to the railroad tomorrow.

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 CShaveRR on Friday, July 15, 2016 4:02 PM

Larry, I'd have gladly given you the sprinkles we're getting...I was twenty-percented into the building while watching trains earlier today.  

Otherwise the weather and the train-watching were fine.  I got on the scoot in Lombard, off at Bellwood (where I walked as much of a good train as I could), on to Oak Park for lunch (no trains), then back to Elmhurst (for trains, rains, and letter-writing), and finally back to Lombard where I was waiting for a freight that I thought would be closely following our scoot (before it came, though, we got two more eastbounds).

Trains Associate Editor David Lassen was in Lombard, ready to shoot all comers at the Elizabeth Street curve; I was able to briefly chat with him before running to catch my train.  Hope his day was as successful as mine.

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 Friday, July 15, 2016 6:10 PM

evening

Ns was clear when I left work.Dropped of pictures at Stacey's Aunt and Uncles house.Going to enjoy this weekend.

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, July 16, 2016 4:37 PM

evening

Matt wanted to look at the wabash.We stopped in Bryan Ohio on the way.The Bryan local was ready to go west to Elkhart Indiana.A crew came so we waited just west of Bryan to see him.All units(gp60,gp38-2 gp38-2 high hood and gp38-2) were long hood forward.We did some signal searching and found a couple trains too.On the way back in St.Joe Indiana csx had a bad car set out in a siding.Turns out to be a flat car with trash containers on it.Not sure when the car will be moved.Hope everyone else has a great day.

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, July 16, 2016 5:20 PM

JoeKoh

...In St.Joe Indiana csx had a bad car set out in a siding. Turns out to be a flat car with trash containers on it. Not sure when the car will be moved.

Probably not too long after the locals get wind of it.

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 Lord Atmo on Saturday, July 16, 2016 8:45 PM

Mookie

Lord Atmo!  Long time, no see.  Welcome back.

 

 

Thanks! I've been busy since I started working full time and such. But boy have I ever been out catching trains! It's good to be back Smile

Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.

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Posted by tree68 on Sunday, July 17, 2016 7:53 PM

Decent weekend on the railroad - good weather and reasonable ridership.

We could use the rain, though.  If I run the mower through the back yard, it will be to even up the weeds...

Always fun to get fans on the trains - they have lots of questions and appreciate learning the history of the line.

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 NorthWest on Monday, July 18, 2016 11:30 AM

CShaveRR
Trains Associate Editor David Lassen was in Lombard, ready to shoot all comers at the Elizabeth Street curve; I was able to briefly chat with him before running to catch my train. Hope his day was as successful as mine.

I don't know if you regularly follow the Trains blogs, but he's posted one about that day:

http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/archive/2016/07/17/twenty-five-minutes-in-naperville.aspx

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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, July 18, 2016 4:25 PM

afternoon

work busy.Ns had an autorack train in the siding when I left work.Mother nature provided the alarm clock this morning.Could have used more rain but we'll take what we get.Time to get cleaned up.

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 BOB WITHORN on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 5:51 AM

Carl,

So, does she remember SANDY's Donut shop on Leonard west of Covell ?

Bob

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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 7:19 PM

She heard plenty about it, as it was one of her dad's favorite places (and before anyone jumps to conclusions, her dad was a phys. ed. teacher and the pro at the local Elks' lodge).  Pat herself didn't partake.

Shopping used to be done at the Meijer store at Walker and Leonard, Tom's Standard station west of Walker/Bristol/Leonard was where their cars were filled up and serviced, the Union Bank north of Leonard between Walker and Bristol was their branch office of choice (I think there's still a post office branch nearby), and Hub's Pizza (not far from the gas station) was an infrequent but special treat.

And, of course, all of the roadways mentioned had "NW" after their names!

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, July 19, 2016 9:13 PM

evening

Ns was clear when I left work.Meeting at Historical society was good.Csx had a parade of tonka toys and trains too.Triple h's are coming for sure.Need to get to bed.

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, July 19, 2016 9:48 PM

The computer at the fire station decided to update itself to Windows 10.  So far, no problems, but that one doesn't get used much.

This seems to be a trend with MS - not even asking permission to do an upgrade/update - just push it out.

Took part in a county fair parade in the next county, representing our firefighter support organization.  The parade is still a big deal in that community - the streets were lined with spectators.

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 BOB WITHORN on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 6:34 AM

The bank is there just with a new name and Post Office is next door to the north.if the gas station was west on the south side of Leonard it's no longer selling gas, I think it's a repair shop of some sort. Sandy's is 'THE' place to get REAL donuts, not made in some factory somewhere, frozen, shipped, thawed and presented as fresh. The nearest Meijer is on Alpine south of 3 mile now. Have teased my wife for years that each time we relocated she picked the house based on how far away from a Meijer store it was.

 

Edit:  You have Meijers stores by you now, Bloomingdale, Melrose Pk., Aurora, Berwyn, and they're all still privately owned by the Meijer family!!

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 9:55 AM

The gas station was on the north side of Leonard--still is, although it's now more of a convenience store than a service station.

Pat worked at the Meijer ("Thrifty Acres") on Alpine (at that time the biggest in the chain and the one Fred Meijer was most likely to pop into), until I liberated her and brought her to Illinois.

The Meijer in St. Charles is the one we're most likely to go to, when we're headed west (to Rochelle, for example).  Bolingbrook, the town where my daughter lives for the moment but is soon to be leaving, has two stores; we pass them both on our way to their place.  (Son-in-law has a fantastic new job in Peoria, site of their Alma Mater, and they want to be in the area for the start of the school year.)

For the record, I don't know how Meijer pays its employees now (as compared to the more notorious big-box store), but Pat was a union employee when she was there, and did pretty well, thank you.  And the merchandise quality, appearance, and everything else at Meijer is far better than you-know-whose.

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 BOB WITHORN on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 3:41 PM
So that would be the BP station. A good friends mother worked at Alpine in the 60's and he and his brothers would stop there after school and often saw and talked with Mr. Meijer. There is a genuine difference between a Meijer store and Walmart. We go out of the way to avoid Walmart, just seem 'grungy' on the inside.
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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 5:06 PM

Meijer stores are anything but grungy, for sure!  I wish we had one closer; it would quickly become our regular shopping spot.  (We also avoid Walmart, for labor and esthetic reasons).
______________________

I know that one season is supposed to be like another for us retirees, but I've just had the rest of my summer pretty well shot.  This is after a June spent on the road (doesn't really qualify as "shot", because it was a great trip, but it was far from our accustomed and appreciated routine).  We have a weekend in Michigan that will start tomorrow, but come Monday, I'll be in and out of examination rooms, offices, etc., in anticipation of surgery to remove a cancerous prostate on August 10.  Post-op stuff will last well into September.  If anyone were to ask me "Boxers or briefs?", the answer might well be "Depends!" for some of that time.  Appointments are scheduled into September for various followups; how I feel (and how far out we venture) remains to be seen.

Daughter Linda is also starting a new chemo regimen after her miracle drug quit working (I think this happens from time to time).  The new one may require getting used to, but it should have fewer long-term negative effects than normal chemotherapy.

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 Wednesday, July 20, 2016 5:11 PM

evening

warmer today.Ns put a westbound autorack train in the siding when I left work.Need to get to 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 Mookie on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 6:27 PM

JoeKoh

evening

warmer today.

stay safe

joe

 

Joe - there was a song back when - "The Heat Is On"....98 here today w/heat index of 108.  Well, ok, so that is a typical summer, but I get to whine about it every year.  Then this winter, more whine.  So this looks ok, compared to the bitter cold.  

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 6:55 PM

Mookie
JoeKoh

evening

warmer today.

stay safe

joe

Joe - there was a song back when - "The Heat Is On"....98 here today w/heat index of 108.  Well, ok, so that is a typical summer, but I get to whine about it every year.  Then this winter, more whine.  So this looks ok, compared to the bitter cold.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 7:52 PM

CShaveRR
Meijer stores are anything but grungy, for sure!

The flagship stores in this area are the Wegman's chain.  Pretty much better than anything else, period.  When I'm in MI, Meijer's is on the list when I'm looking for Vernor's...  The old hometown Kroger's isn't bad, though.

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 Mookie on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 8:06 PM

Glenn Frey; the Eagles; yesssss! Vitamins for the ears!

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 10:26 PM

Mookie

 

 
JoeKoh

evening

warmer today.

stay safe

joe

 

 

 

Joe - there was a song back when - "The Heat Is On"....98 here today w/heat index of 108.  Well, ok, so that is a typical summer, but I get to whine about it every year.  Then this winter, more whine.  So this looks ok, compared to the bitter cold.  

 

 

It's not the heat.  It's the humidity.Whistling

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, July 21, 2016 6:56 AM
TREE, There is something about Vernors Ginger Ale that sets it apart. There was, maybe still is, a 2 store tall wall mural, maybe 20 ft x 50 ft, in downtown Flint for Vernors showing the leprechauns / elves making Vernors. How about a Vernors float??
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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, July 21, 2016 7:00 AM
Carl, I truly wish you and your daughter the very best. Bob

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