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Chatterbox Winter 2016-2017

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, February 16, 2017 4:49 PM

JoeKoh
...the marsmallow kind...

I understand they're great toasted over a campfire...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, February 16, 2017 3:50 PM

Oh, Joe!  Say it isn't so....

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, February 16, 2017 2:43 PM

afternoon

Ns was clear when I left work.Have errands to run.Waiting for Matt to get home on the bus.(won't be saying that for too much longer).Mamma reports no cavities in the tooth department.Someone at work was talking about rabbits.I personally like the marsmallow kind.They don't make a peep.

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 Norm48327 on Thursday, February 16, 2017 1:29 PM

After reading the article, watching the videos several times and looking at the crossing in GE Street View, I'm going to vote with Larry. It certainly looked intentional. Note that he crossed the UP tracks long before those gates came down. Then he paused for a long time waiting for the train to arrive before driving in front of it. The other possibility is he was too stoned to realize where he was, in which case he shouldn't have been on the road. Have to wait for toxicology report to determine that.

Regarding the exit gates: it's a given they were placed there to prevent northbound traffic from entering but their location could also hinder southbound traffic trying to escape. Yes, I'm aware they were not down at the time of the collision.

Norm


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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, February 16, 2017 1:25 PM

mudchicken
Decide for yourself...

As heartless as it may seem, I'm calling a spade a spade, and I'm still going with intentional.

While the near gates were dysfunctional (or were they? - planned that way to allow trapped motorists to escape?) , they would be part of a four-quadrant system - the gates for the right lanes (northbound on Chambers) appear to have worked properly, from what I can make out on the video  So did the southbound crossing signals on Chambers.  All of the lights appear to have been working properly.

The fact that he crept up, waited, then pulled out in front of the train is a key.  Most people trying to beat a train would have zipped right out of there.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, February 16, 2017 12:44 PM

tree68
 
mudchicken
...impatient motorist...

 

My vote goes to the "intentional" mentioned in the story.  If he was simply impatient, he'd have been long gone by the time the train got there...

No matter how perfect the timing is, someone like that will find a way to do what they want to do.

 

Decide for yourself: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/16/rtd-a-line-fatal-collision-video/ Couple of things here that make you swallow hard, including the no-mans land between UPRR and RTD and a very late gate. No wonder why FRA is uncomfortable with the outcome here and the 90 day probation.

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 BaltACD on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 5:57 PM

tree68

We were called out several years in a row to pump out a basement on a back road.  The basement was set on bedrock, with a concrete veneer added at some point.  

The problem usually came during a January thaw or the like.  Water would percolate through the soil in a field across the road as the snow melted and run along the bedrock.

It was interesting that the fuel oil tank was in place when they put the concrete veneer on.  One time we were down there I noticed that water was shooting up along the legs of the fuel oil tank.

It was apparent that water was a regular problem in that basement - there was a 4" tile running out of the basement.  We were there because that tile had at some point along it's length had collapsed, so it wouldn't drain.

My condo community in Jacksonville for serveral years had problems with the ground floor level units flooding on several of the buildings.  In front of the units was the community driveway and beyond the driveway was a drainage 'ditch' that works it way to a tributary of the St. Johns River.  The local 'engineers' attempted several 'fixes' over the years to protect the units from the drainage ditch.  All their efforts failed with the next sustained heavy rain.

Then the 'professional engineers' was called in.  Their findings were that the courtyard area behind the units was getting saturated and flowing through the buildings to the drainage ditch.  A project to install drains from the courtyard, under the buildings directly to the drainage ditch solved the flooding issues.

GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out.  Once the real facts were known the problem could be solved.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Electroliner 1935 on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:21 PM

I remember the story of a house in the Chicago suburbs that had the fire dept pump his basement out. Unfortunately, the water (pressure) in the surrounding soil then broke the basement wall. 

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Posted by JoeKoh on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 3:27 PM

evening

Ran errands past couple days.ND&W had a few cars jump off in the swampland near Jewell Ohio.They were re-railed and good to go.Ns dropped off some cars for uptown.Looks like they have a couple more for us.Going to catch up on 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 tree68 on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 7:13 AM

We were called out several years in a row to pump out a basement on a back road.  The basement was set on bedrock, with a concrete veneer added at some point.  

The problem usually came during a January thaw or the like.  Water would percolate through the soil in a field across the road as the snow melted and run along the bedrock.

It was interesting that the fuel oil tank was in place when they put the concrete veneer on.  One time we were down there I noticed that water was shooting up along the legs of the fuel oil tank.

It was apparent that water was a regular problem in that basement - there was a 4" tile running out of the basement.  We were there because that tile had at some point along it's length had collapsed, so it wouldn't drain.

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 CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 7:03 AM

I'm all too familiar with what happens when the pumps aren't operating.  My parents' house was built in an area with little to no natural drainage, like much of the rest of Chicago.  There is a pumping station for the storm sewers in the neighborhood, but if the pumps weren't started promptly, you had better make sure that the standpipe was placed in the basement drain or you would be getting out the mops and buckets in short order.

For you out-of-towners, a standpipe is about a four-foot length of cast iron pipe, threaded at one end to allow it to be inserted in the collar of the basement drain.  It would allow the water to find its own level without flooding the basement.

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 edblysard on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 6:21 AM
Government building, State Attorney General’s Administration Office, they can afford the pumps to keep the basement dryish.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 9:06 PM

edblysard

Tornadoe at the wife's work, they evacuated to the basement for a little bit.

A few buildings in Rosenberg lost roofs, and of course, at least one trailer home bit the dust!

Then it got a little wild, winds got up there a bit, and the rain got heavy some, but it's all back to normal now, just a little cooler.

 

Basement?  In a swamp?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 6:57 PM

I have a steel roof - nice and shiny and slippery.

It's currently shedding the weekend's snow.  Whoosh, plop.  But it's like avalanche snow - when it hits the ground, it packs up hard...

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 Tuesday, February 14, 2017 6:46 PM

Hello, young (and forever young) lovers, wherever you are!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Still reelng from Daughter Linda's bad news.  Radiation may be affecting her brain soon.  

We had to mind the store at our local historical society's Sheldon Peck House museum this afternoon.  I love the location, with the UP's main line just across the street.  It was a dull afternoon until the last hour, when we almost had a three-fer.   The westbound scoot came past on Track 3, with a slow-moving westbound manifest on Track 2,  The manifest was "loaded" for me, with plenty of new equipment.  No new series, but a few new build dates from last summer or fall.  Then, while he was still going past, we had an eastbound ethanol train containing a bunch of tank cars built in 1/17...my first personal sighting of 2017-built anything on rails!  There had to be a place further west where all three trains were passing the same spot simultaneously.

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 Tuesday, February 14, 2017 4:46 PM

mudchicken
...impatient motorist...

My vote goes to the "intentional" mentioned in the story.  If he was simply impatient, he'd have been long gone by the time the train got there...

No matter how perfect the timing is, someone like that will find a way to do what they want to do.

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 BaltACD on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 2:27 PM

mudchicken
If you hear about a "Drive-By-Slapping" incident at Oklahoma City at ODOT, then you know dirty-feathers hit town. (highway people should never be allowed to touch railroad record databases or GIS, oh man can they screw things up)

Won't be surprised if a crossing incident in Denver makes the national news today or tomorrow. Makes the Salt Lake City train-FedEx truck incident look tame by comparison. Dead impatient motorist and two flagmen lucky to be alive after trying to stop the offending truck. All of this in an area under MAJOR scrutiny of the FRA already for faulty crossing signal design.Confused

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/14/rtd-a-line-train-crash/

56 passengers on a train at 3:49 AM - AMAZING!

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Norm48327 on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 1:47 PM

It's on KDVR. Sad  and bad news indeed.

Norm


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Posted by mudchicken on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 1:35 PM

If you hear about a "Drive-By-Slapping" incident at Oklahoma City at ODOT, then you know dirty-feathers hit town. (highway people should never be allowed to touch railroad record databases or GIS, oh man can they screw things up)

Won't be surprised if a crossing incident in Denver makes the national news today or tomorrow. Makes the Salt Lake City train-FedEx truck incident look tame by comparison. Dead impatient motorist and two flagmen lucky to be alive after trying to stop the offending truck. All of this in an area under MAJOR scrutiny of the FRA already for faulty crossing signal design.Confused

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/14/rtd-a-line-train-crash/ 

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 Mookie on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 12:19 PM

I have to interject some nice weather here  Sunny and 50 with light wind - so far.

But it blew into town a....WB Detroit Edison with a NS 3631, CR (yes, unpainted Conrail) 8098, and NS 3627.  Happy Valentine's Day!  A bit of traffic and saw the Hunt train headed down the Amtrak Line and then a "right turn" to head west!  

I would hope they used their turn signals for those confused folks along the rail....Mischief

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by edblysard on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 12:12 PM

Tornadoe at the wife's work, they evacuated to the basement for a little bit.

A few buildings in Rosenberg lost roofs, and of course, at least one trailer home bit the dust!

Then it got a little wild, winds got up there a bit, and the rain got heavy some, but it's all back to normal now, just a little cooler.

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Posted by Norm48327 on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 11:47 AM

edblysard

Payback today...thunderstorms and tornadoes expected for the am....lots of lightning and thunder so far, not much rain, yet but it is early so....

The radar loop I just looked at says "Don't forget your rain gear".

Norm


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Posted by edblysard on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 8:15 AM

Payback today...thunderstorms and tornadoes expected for the am....lots of lightning and thunder so far, not much rain, yet but it is early so....

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, February 13, 2017 11:24 PM

edblysard
Murphy Siding
edblysard

73, and grilled steaks in the backyard yesterday...had to mow first!

Yeah, it feels like 73, but what's the wind chill factor?

71...I know, it's rough down here....but we will make do!

71 - that is what some of the wind gusts were measured at yesterday

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by edblysard on Monday, February 13, 2017 11:17 PM

Murphy Siding

 

 
edblysard

73, and grilled steaks in the backyard yesterday...had to mow first!

 

 

 

Yeah, it feels like 73, but what's the wind chill factor?

 

 

 

71...I know, it's rough down here....but we will make do!

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, February 13, 2017 9:42 PM

Carl - Our heart is with you on your daughter.  All we can do from afar is hope for the best, and we certainly do.  We know it's been a long road so far.

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 Monday, February 13, 2017 9:33 PM

I don't wish to tease anyone about their weather or lack of same, because Karma can be a b***h!

We've so far had a virtually snowless February.  It's been cold enough on some days, but when we get precipitation it's on the warmer days, and it's been rain.  Between those two alternatives, there's been little opportunity to do anything.

We've gotten the worst imaginable news about our daughter Linda's cancer.  She may live, but life will not be the same for her.

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 Murphy Siding on Monday, February 13, 2017 7:23 PM

edblysard

73, and grilled steaks in the backyard yesterday...had to mow first!

 

Yeah, it feels like 73, but what's the wind chill factor?

 

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by edblysard on Monday, February 13, 2017 7:13 PM

tree68

We'll remember that when you're grilling steaks on the sidewalk and cutting chunks of humidity for later use...

 

Thats next month....Wink

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Posted by Mookie on Monday, February 13, 2017 6:55 PM

tree68

We'll remember that when you're grilling steaks on the sidewalk and cutting chunks of humidity for later use...

 

I love this!  Mischief

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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