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Chatterbox Winter 2016-2017

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  • Member since
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  • From: Defiance Ohio
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Posted by JoeKoh on Saturday, January 7, 2017 11:48 AM

Ns was busy when I got off work.They had an eastbound powder river train with BNSF Norange power in the siding.A westbound autorack train had UP power.The other eastbound frieght had NS power.Going to help Matt later with with Driver's observation.

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 Saturday, January 7, 2017 3:52 PM

Joe - something in the back of my mind sez there is an Alphabet City in US?  Maybe you should think about renaming that area....?  

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by zugmann on Sunday, January 8, 2017 11:26 AM

Been with the railroad for 10 years this week.

Time flies, when you're having... that can't be right.  I'm older, heavier, grayer, more jaded,  but I don't think any wiser.

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 JoeKoh on Sunday, January 8, 2017 11:42 AM

afternoon

variety and all kinds of power today.CSX,BNSF,UP and CN.Frieght,Ethanol,Sand,Grain,Produce and Intermodal.Snow was blowing.Matt got practice on driving in a little snow.Going to warm up and see how the teams do in the cold and snow this afternoon.

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 Paul of Covington on Sunday, January 8, 2017 12:15 PM

   Congratulations, Zug.   I'm thinking back to when I had 10 years seniority and still figured I'd never last long enough to retire.   Another 10 years and I was afraid I would.

_____________ 

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

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Posted by CShaveRR on Sunday, January 8, 2017 3:19 PM

Congratulations, Zug!  You've already been through a lot in your young career (been there--to YM and back by ten years, both by my own choice).

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 BaltACD on Monday, January 9, 2017 7:06 AM

zugmann
Been with the railroad for 10 years this week.

Time flies, when you're having... that can't be right.  I'm older, heavier, grayer, more jaded,  but I don't think any wiser.

Whipper snapper - just getting started.  Congrats!

Wisdom sneaks up on you - you don't realize it until you have utilized it.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, January 9, 2017 10:15 AM

By George, methinks grasshopper has gotten a grasp on it!

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 Murphy Siding on Monday, January 9, 2017 10:18 AM

10 down 40 to go.Mischief

You might not realize how much 10 years experience is worth until you start working with others who don't have that much.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by edblysard on Monday, January 9, 2017 12:09 PM

zugmann

Been with the railroad for 10 years this week.

Time flies, when you're having... that can't be right.  I'm older, heavier, grayer, more jaded,  but I don't think any wiser.

 

Yep, time flies when you have to live by someone else's clock....Surprise

23 17 46 11

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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, January 9, 2017 2:43 PM

afternoon

work not so busy today.Ns has another eastbound coal train in the siding.this one has a norange and a citirail unit.Guessers say some stuff is coming overnight and then change to rain tomorrow.Going to do 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 Tuesday, January 10, 2017 2:38 PM

afternoon

Mother nature sent ice this morning thus Matt was cancelled today.Now it is alll melted.Maybe more ice coming this weekend.Coal train still waiting to go east.Need to do 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 mudchicken on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 3:45 PM

(1) Wanna go skiing in Colorado? First, you gotta be able to get there. Avalanche problems in the extreme are closing I-70 and some other roads. (US Mail truck collided with a 15' tall wall of snow this morning on I-70)

(2) Once you get "there", "there" is closed because of too much snow. Sounds a little weird to hear about closed ski resorts with "too much snow"... Meanwhile, 50 degrees in Denver with 70MPH Chinook winds and there's this large glowing orb in the sky. Go figure.

Finners crossed that the roadmasters and their troops get through this safely.

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 MikeF90 on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 4:08 PM

Speaking of too much snow, the UP Roseville sub and Interstate 80 (over famous Donner Pass) have been closed intermittently.  Haven't had time to listen closely to the radio feed for more clues. The usual snow removal equipment has been very busy; three feet or so is forecast for Blue Canyon (MP 164). The last storm front was a warm 'pineapple express' that dumped a lot of rain but melted some of our critical water storage (the Sierra snow pack).

UP Roseville sub: http://goo.gl/maps/gWLpF

Placer County radio feeds: http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/213

Caltrans traffic cams - Roseville to Truckee: http://dot.ca.gov/d3/cameras.html

One Yahoo! poster claimed to see / hear a rotary snowplow running at the Roseville yard - a rare event.

At this time the traffic cams at Alta and Blue Canyon show a lot of snow and no road traffic. ATCSMon shows one eastbound train at Bowman and possibly two others waiting to the east.

Growing up, when we rented a cabin in the winter it required digging down to the second story entrance; an eight to twelve foot snow pack was common most years.

UPDATE: just heard flash flood warnings on the Martinez and Niles subs (SF East Bay). Should have built that ark ..... Whistling

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Posted by JoeKoh on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 2:36 PM

afternoon

last night winds froze the water on the road creating black ice in spots.Foremans daughter was on the way to school and she hit a bad spot.She has bumps and bruises.The vehicle found a pole.Something to think more about as Matt continues his drivers ed studies.Coal train still waiting to go east.Need to do some chores 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").

 

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 3:14 PM

JoeKoh
afternoon

last night winds froze the water on the road creating black ice in spots.Foremans daughter was on the way to school and she hit a bad spot.She has bumps and bruises.The vehicle found a pole.Something to think more about as Matt continues his drivers ed studies.Coal train still waiting to go east.Need to do some chores here at home.

stay safe

Joe

If Matt is behind the wheel - get him out on as big of a ice & snow covered parking lot without obsticales and let him try to do any and every dumb thing he can think of and deal with what the car does and what it is necessary for him to do to regain control.  Cars are tools, unless one learns the limits of the tools they use they are more likely to misuse the tool.

When I was learning to drive, my dad took me to the local shopping center and let me have at it.  Wonderful learning experience.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 3:46 PM

It's a lot easier to figure out how to handle the back end kicking out if you've done it on purpose a few times...

Just remember the old Bill Cosby routine about turning into the skid...

Had a chance to practice the skills yesterday on the two hour trip to Utica (and two hours back).  It wasn't bad - it was just winter driving...

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 Electroliner 1935 on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 4:43 PM

I'l second (or is that third) the suggestion. Told my son to do that back about 38 years ago. So one night after a snowfall, he took his date to a grade school parking lot to try it and some nearby residents called the police (because they had learned of some previous vandalism at the school) who came. When the police ran the plates, because of a Secretary of state office screw up, they came back to a different individual. I got call and had to show title to retrieve the plates which police had removed from the car. But he did learn how to put the car into a skid and get out of it. 

Having learned to pump brakes back in the fifties, it took a little time adapting to the antilock brakes on the newer vehicles.

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Posted by Norm48327 on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 5:27 PM

Balt,

I do that regularly each winter. Problem is, I'm used to rear wheel drive. Front wheel drive is a whole 'nuther critter on ice and snow. I want my truck back. My 2 Cents

Norm


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Posted by blue streak 1 on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 11:09 PM

All of us that have done the ice in a parking lot routine needs to remember to refresh that learning each time in a different car.  This poster didn't and a 720 on the highway almost got this one in big trouble.

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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, January 12, 2017 6:46 AM
Streak - A 720!! - now that's some special effects for your nerves. If it ends ok, you most certainly are wide awake! - trust all ended ok. Kind-a makes my little oops this am a simple dummy moment.
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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, January 12, 2017 6:59 AM
Norm, Not much better than having 7000 pounds of 4 wheel drive H.D. pickup with extra weight over the rears. Does take a bit more to get that mass to STOP.
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 12, 2017 11:21 AM

BOB WITHORN
Norm, Not much better than having 7000 pounds of 4 wheel drive H.D. pickup with extra weight over the rears. Does take a bit more to get that mass to STOP.

That seems to be a problem with many 4WD owners - they now have four-wheel-go, but forget that they still only have four-wheel-stop...

Add to that "four wheel drive hockey puck syndrome" and you've got a real recipe for disaster.

For those who haven't heard of that, recall that on a two-wheel-drive car, two of the wheels are free-wheeling - hence turning into a skid.  With a 4WD vehicle, none of the wheels free-wheel - they'll all just slide unless the driver is lucky and can match wheel speed with road speed at just the right time... 

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 Thursday, January 12, 2017 2:55 PM

afternoon

yes Matt is learning about ice and snow too.Had a lesson last Sunday in our driving area.(Industrial park area,some areas have buildings some are ready to be built on wide area).Going to let him take the back way for great niece's birthday Saturday.After yesterdays winds we got plenty of rain today.The creeks and farm fields are full.Ns has moved the coal train.Had a westbound stack train when I left work.Need to get at the 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 blue streak 1 on Thursday, January 12, 2017 3:22 PM

BOB WITHORN
Streak - A 720!! - now that's some special effects for your nerves. If it ends ok, you most certainly are wide awake! - trust all ended ok. Kind-a makes my little oops this am a simple dummy moment.
 

 
What made it even a more stupid pet trick was had made it down a sag and all the spin out happened going uphill.  Waited ~ 6 hours for highway dept to get ice cleared ( temp helped by going up ) before rolling back down hill to make a very tenative retry.
Did find a parking lot few weeks later and learned what had done wrong. One reason for the blue streak name,
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, January 12, 2017 5:09 PM

blue streak 1
the spin out happened going uphill.

Once placed myself in the ditch (after at least one complete 360) on icy roads because I instinctively accelerated on a little upgrade.  Broke the back end loose and that was all she wrote.  Troopers gave me a ride home, and I came back the next day with a friend with a 4WD and pulled it out.

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 zugmann on Friday, January 13, 2017 6:28 AM

Murphy Siding
You might not realize how much 10 years experience is worth until you start working with others who don't have that much.

In my lil' terminal, I am pretty much the middle person on my roster.  Now in respect to the larger seniority roster that comprises of all the places I can hold in the division, it looks like I'm in the top half.  Scary.

 

Been a heck of a 10 years, with a lot of changes esp. in the past few.  Will I last another 10?  Who knows. 

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 Paul of Covington on Friday, January 13, 2017 1:50 PM

zugmann
In my lil' terminal, I am pretty much the middle person on my roster. Now in respect to the larger seniority roster that comprises of all the places I can hold in the division, it looks like I'm in the top half. Scary.

    Wait'll the day you look around and realize that you are THE senior man.

_____________ 

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

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Friday, January 13, 2017 1:54 PM

   Is any one here suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia?

_____________ 

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

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Posted by Mookie on Friday, January 13, 2017 2:01 PM

 

Paul of Covington

   Is any one here suffering from paraskavedekatriaphobia?

 

nope - actually went to train watch in 12 degree morning....however, did see one black cat doing a race car imitation down a long sidewalk and behind a fence.  Maybe someone ran a can opener.....

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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