Woke up to a dusting of white on hard surfaces in Central Maryland. Not enough to show on the grass.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
morning
So far about 2 inches of light snow and no wind.More on the way.Going to catch up on things here at home.
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").
[quote user="CShaveRR"]
Small accomplishment...
Today was my last day of physical therapy. The condition that precipitated my sessions seems to have all but dried up.[/quote]
Congrats on the PT!
evening
Ns was clear when I left work.Had a dusting of snow when I got home.The "BIG" storm the guessers say will come Sunday.When it comes to the resident kitten be quiet,leave chocolate and no one gets hurt.Chores to do.
Joe
I had a frustrating afternoon trackside yesterday. There were quite a few trains, and almost everyone (else) would have been happy with the variety. It wasn't too bad, but that isn't what was bugging me...
Soon after an eastbound scoot departed the station, a lady came in, apparently lost and a little concerned. I offered to help, but she didn't speak English. From her appearance, I'd guess she was more eastern European. She attempted on a couple of occasions to ask me something, but I couldn't help except to explain that the next train to Chicago would be here in about an hour, and it would likely board from Track 3, on the opposite side from the station. It looked like some of the other passengers took her under their wing; she boarded the next eastbound.
I had a better personal experience an hour later. I'd guess that the confusion about which track the trains board from exists as far away as Metra or the UP in Omaha. The eastbound train, which is shown in the timetables as boarding from Track 3 in Elmhurst, was coming in on Track 1. I knew that, because that's what the home signals at Park told me. Anyone looking at the lighted message board could see that, too, because it specified that the train would be boarding from Track 1, with "The station side" added for good measure. But the Voice of Metra, which is usually tied in with that sign, was silent.So I walked over to the other platform and informed a couple dozen passengers of the track change. Some people were pretty incredulous, but I pointed out that I'd seen the message, and the signal backed it up. So I "rescued" all of the people (they probably would have caught the train anyway, but at least I saved them from having to make a mad dash through the tunnel to do it).
Here's the kicker, though: the lighted sign also showed the westbound scoot as departing from Track 1. Had they both been on time, this wouldn't be a problem. But the westbound came first--and it came into view on Track 3 and held to Track 3 for the stop. I didn't see anybody making the dash, so the sign must have been ignored (and a lot of folks still can't figure out how both trains can stop at the same platform).
So it's really time for somebody (or some entity) to get their act together. Had the Voice of Metra made the announcements, it would have saved all of those people a couple of crossings of (under) the tracks. But then, the part of the message about the outbound train might have caused more confusion than it actually did. And finally, why can't the railroad adhere to their change, which was done to help them smooth out operations (yeah, like that has worked!), instead of leaving passengers guessing which side their train is going to be on?
(Although, if I go there often enough, I might get to make signal readers out of a whole heap of midday commuters!)
Small accomplishment...Today was my last day of physical therapy. The condition that precipitated my sessions seems to have all but dried up.
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)
Mookie Murphy Siding tree68 Natives here often drop some t's for some reason. Watertown becomes Wa-ertown. I still haven't figured that one out. Why isn't it Wa-erown? Say good night, Murphy...
Murphy Siding tree68 Natives here often drop some t's for some reason. Watertown becomes Wa-ertown. I still haven't figured that one out. Why isn't it Wa-erown?
tree68 Natives here often drop some t's for some reason. Watertown becomes Wa-ertown. I still haven't figured that one out.
Natives here often drop some t's for some reason. Watertown becomes Wa-ertown. I still haven't figured that one out.
Why isn't it Wa-erown?
Say good night, Murphy...
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
23 17 46 11
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Deggesty tree68 Murphy Siding Wasatch- Way-satch or Waz-atch? I always thought it was wah-satch... Sorry, Norris; go to the foot of the line--Larry got it right.
tree68 Murphy Siding Wasatch- Way-satch or Waz-atch? I always thought it was wah-satch...
Murphy Siding Wasatch- Way-satch or Waz-atch?
I always thought it was wah-satch...
Sorry, Norris; go to the foot of the line--Larry got it right.
Gosh, I'm not sure how long it will take to appear on any Forum; all I got were pictures of Airline Flight Attendents, a Lady in a parka, and some wayward pets......
Being Crazy,keeps you from going "INSANE" !! "The light at the end of the tunnel,has been turned off due to budget cuts" NOT AFRAID A Vet., and PROUD OF IT!!
If Mother nature drops the temps as far as the guessers say,MOW guys will be real busy.Also Csx will need to change crews in Defiance while it's monster frieght gets its air back after dropping off cars.Ns was clear when I left work.Chores to do here at home.
Test: How long until this appears over on the other side of the forum? http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/45-years-of-amtrak-locomotives/ss-AAkF984?li=BBnb7Kz#image=55
Having a big giggle here on what happens when a toy railroad (RTD's A-Line) encounters a broken rail* and a good guffaw of the local newsworkers covering the issue.
(*) You mean we might have to have a track gang handy instead of calling a contractor? Our busses don't nead road crews?!
Johnny
mudchickenCopCar might cut in sometime about how Pueblo gets slaughtered by certain locals there. (or Huerfano just south of there)
Between the French and native place names here, folks are always making a mess of things.
Pu-lask-EYE' (as opposed to the more common pu-lask-ee)
MA'-drid (I'm not even sure how to represent the first syllable - it's like in "mammy", not "Ma")
Shah-MO' (Chaumont - after a region in France)
Ir-ah-QUAH' (although "Ir-ah-QUOY is usually also acceptable for Iroquois - you don't usually hear Ir-oh-quoy)
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...
Murphy SidingWasatch- Way-satch or Waz-atch?
Deggesty MC, I'm sorry, but according to the weather map I jsut saw, we along the Wasatch Front are not to be blamed for the cold weather you now have--it came across to the east of the Uintas (You-IN-intas for the benefit of the flatlanders) and not to the west of the Wasatch Front (the back range of the Rockies in these parts). The first time I saw the Uintahs (from the City of Portland), I asked the conductor if they were the YOU-in-tahs, and he corrected my pronunciation.
MC, I'm sorry, but according to the weather map I jsut saw, we along the Wasatch Front are not to be blamed for the cold weather you now have--it came across to the east of the Uintas (You-IN-intas for the benefit of the flatlanders) and not to the west of the Wasatch Front (the back range of the Rockies in these parts).
The first time I saw the Uintahs (from the City of Portland), I asked the conductor if they were the YOU-in-tahs, and he corrected my pronunciation.
Any relation to Amtrak's new pet friendly policy on trains?
Yup!!
Self preservation.
Pssst...
How'd we get so far through the day without anyone mentioning that it's the birthday of our favorite Forum Kitten?
Saw Ns local when we went to company Christmas lunch today.Ran errands when I got home.Need to work on projects.
mudchicken(Looks a lot different than Tree's vantage point from the "Polar" train cab, especially when key actors almost miss the train and the que to set events in motion. Cookies, PJ's and hot cocoa were in abundant supply at CRRM-Golden )
I spent last Friday on the train as the conductor of record, and Sunday as a trainman, so I do get to see the chaos first hand. We've got most of the operation down to a science, even the cocoa and cookies for the coach passengers, a new feature this year. In the past, only "Cocoa Class" got cocoa and cookies on the train.
But when you have over 550 people on each train, there can be those moments. Don't recall if I mentioned that we had a proposal on the train Friday night (she accepted). We get one of those almost every year.
Our biggest challenge operationally is getting the train back to the station just when all of the "big guys" have finished. Some nights they are able to get through the cars quickly, some nights not...
We run with two engineers - one takes the train to the North Pole at track speed, the other takes instructions from the conductor based on progress on the train enroute back south. Sometimes we're right down to a creep.
mudchicken Johnny apparently propped the freezer door open so us to the east could get a reminder of winter with a 35 degree drop in temperature and the coldest day in 2+ years. (negative numbers the next two days) The scottie pup (fur factory)is absolutely frisky in the cold. He should be looking at his first significant snowstorm tonight (but the weatherliars can't agree on how much as they ogle the "european model" ....) . Hung the lights on the roof a week ago with the cat stalking that "really big" squirrel wandering around on the roof. Survived my first night of 2016 "Polar Express" duty last night. Regular, to be expected, all non-sense view of backstage operations played out. Madhouse. (Looks a lot different than Tree's vantage point from the "Polar" train cab, especially when key actors almost miss the train and the que to set events in motion. Cookies, PJ's and hot cocoa were in abundant supply at CRRM-Golden )
Johnny apparently propped the freezer door open so us to the east could get a reminder of winter with a 35 degree drop in temperature and the coldest day in 2+ years. (negative numbers the next two days)
The scottie pup (fur factory)is absolutely frisky in the cold. He should be looking at his first significant snowstorm tonight (but the weatherliars can't agree on how much as they ogle the "european model" ....) . Hung the lights on the roof a week ago with the cat stalking that "really big" squirrel wandering around on the roof.
Survived my first night of 2016 "Polar Express" duty last night. Regular, to be expected, all non-sense view of backstage operations played out. Madhouse. (Looks a lot different than Tree's vantage point from the "Polar" train cab, especially when key actors almost miss the train and the que to set events in motion. Cookies, PJ's and hot cocoa were in abundant supply at CRRM-Golden )
Just seeing those two adoable granddaughters of yours is proof positive that Winter hasn't arrived yet.
We got several inches of snow Sunday, and nothing since. Warm temperatures have cleared off the roads, but we begin the inexorable plunge into the deep freeze tonight. Next snow is scheduled for the weekend, and this one won't be as warm. By this time next week the highs will be in the single digits.Less than three weeks before the California contingent arrives, chemotherapy regimen permitting. They've booked their flights, so I'm pretty sure we'll be okay.Other than physical therapy, I'm not getting any fresh treatment for my own cancer at the moment. In a couple of weeks, I go to the medical dungeon to be measured and tattooed for radiation treatments, which will begin in January (five days a week, 36 total treatments).Nothing about trains to mention this time, except that I'm working on a couple sets of complicated freight car histories. One series I saw has cars on their sixth operator now!
Got the Wranglerdeer out and handlers ready…
Today, it got above freezing, snow melted on the bush, so got the lights up. Polar invasion forcast for tomorrow. So things do work out.
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