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Chatterbox Spring 2017

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Posted by blhanel on Sunday, May 21, 2017 11:37 AM

Forgot to mention in my previous post that, later that same evening, Joanie and I became grandparents to twins.  Boy and girl, William Oliver and Margaret Joyce.  Babies, big brother Stuart, and parents are all doing well.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, May 20, 2017 10:27 PM

     Just got home from graduation. Youngest son now out of high school. 'Going to work the 12:00-2:00 shift at the senior all-nighter party.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Mookie on Saturday, May 20, 2017 9:46 PM

Norm, I can do a lot of things but ignoring you would not be one of them!  Shy

Weekends tend to be a little dull, so a little snap on the forum is always appreciated.

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by Norm48327 on Saturday, May 20, 2017 9:00 PM

Mookie

It's the weekend and the forum is a tad on the spicey side!  Thumbs Up

Mookie,

Without spice life would be dull and spaghetti wouldn't be Italian. Wink Just funnin' ya girl. I'm in one of those raucous moods tonight. Ignore me and carry on.

Norm


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Posted by blhanel on Saturday, May 20, 2017 4:40 PM

MC's ride on the Iowa Northern that he enjoyed a week ago last Thursday...

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Posted by Mookie on Saturday, May 20, 2017 4:02 PM

It's the weekend and the forum is a tad on the spicey side!  Thumbs Up

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, May 19, 2017 11:00 PM

Where?   Might have an idea or two...

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 mudchicken on Friday, May 19, 2017 9:32 PM

81 degrees in Tucson, Talked out and headed home at  Oh-Dawn-Thirty.

Have to see if tree or LC or somebody in NY knows a good local railroad historian that can put on a 90-minute chat for a bunch of wannabe mudchickens.

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 CShaveRR on Friday, May 19, 2017 8:23 PM

We had rain for much of the day today, with strong breezes and temperaures that didn't get out of the 40s.  Naturally, that would be the day that we had to (1) take two guided tours through Lilacia Park in the morning (doubly disappointing...the weather and the fact that the lilacs themselves are pretty well past their prime), and (2) use our tickets to the annual House Walk in the afternoon.  If I don't have a cold after this, I'll be amazed.  We've had about a half-inch so far today.

Yesterday was a day for train-riding and signal confusion.  I wanted to get a video of a scoot going through the crossovers at Grace.  This is complicated by the fact that I wanted to do it from the cab car.  So I was waiting in Glen Ellyn for a block signal to display an Advance Aproach Clear Fifty for a scoot to go through the crossover (this signal gives an Advance Approach for the control point; it has a second head that should have displayed a green under the flashing yellow).  What I was getting every time a scoot would come along was a clear signal, which suggested to me that the train would not be crossing over two signals ahead.  

Well, as it turns out, there's no such thing as an Advance Approach Clear Fifty.  I had finally given up on getting the signal I wanted, and went back home, only to find that the signal at Finley was displaying an Approach Clear Fifty (yellow over green), and I wasn't taking the video I wanted.  So, I'll do without the full sequence in my presentations next week.  

Fun fact:  Tropicana got fifty mechanical refrigerator cars from Wisconsin Central in 2000 (yes, WC had mechanical reefers), and transferred them all to UP in 2002.  At the same time, UP also got the other 50 WC mechanical reefers.

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, May 19, 2017 7:05 PM

evening

Had some rain pass through Nw Ohio.Last night was a bad night for counties just south of us.Tomorrow we are helping nephew.Ns still had a coal train and some switching to do when I left work.

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 Friday, May 19, 2017 6:32 AM
switch, Yes I do remember. For the milk cows we ran a chopper and wagon daily in a hay field. We also 'opened' the corn fields by chopping a path and feeding it to them, we had a pull behind corn picker, then as you discribed, chopped corn just as it started to change color to fill the silo for winter.
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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:53 PM

Murphy Siding

 

 
Mookie

 

 
Murphy Siding
Baked beans? Fireworks?

 

phones, notebooks, wife?

 

 

 

 

Um.... huh?

 

you know, cell phone & notebook batteries & Mookie when she has a short fuse - (which fortunately, has diminished with age...Zip it!

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:08 PM

Mookie

 

 
Murphy Siding
Baked beans? Fireworks?

 

phones, notebooks, wife?

 

 

Um.... huh?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by switch7frg on Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:06 PM

Big SmileBob do you remember those not so strenious days of cutting silagewith a tractor and blown into a side discharge gravity (v) shape buggy and hauled to the silo to theconvayer to fill the silo. The corn was still green and wet .That silage kept the livestock warm in the winter when fed to them.~~~~~ One other benefit was a gallon jug with a cob stuck in the neck to filter the juice as the silage   above was squeesed into the jug. The jugs were placed at levals by the silo doors.   From June toDecember  the juice fermented, it wasn't till Feb . the first  jug was "harvested" .   Somehow, the cold did not seem so bad as we watched  the train head for Circleville as we sipped the squeez. There seems to be something about a distant steamers whistle on a cold winter night. Days long gone by  as well for the Y6bs doublehead coal drag to Columbus.

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:59 PM

Mookie
BaltACD

I was really thinking like Norm; can't wrap my mind around missles racing thru the middle of Nebraska heading to the west coast behind canned peaches...

No matter if you can wrap your mind around it - there are large quantities of military ordinence that move by rail on a routine basis for a variety of military reasons.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:54 PM

....carefull, the cat is gonna make me 1.6 placcard the Frod Exploder every time I get into Nebrasky.Confused

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, May 18, 2017 9:37 PM

Explosives can fall into any of six classes:

1.1  Explosives with a mass explosion hazard

1.2  Explosives with a projection hazard

1.3  Explosives with predominantly a fire hazard

1.4  Explosives with no significant blast hazard

1.5  Very insensitive explosives with a mass explosion hazard

1.6  Extremely insensitive articles

All use an orange "explosives" placard.  The number is what makes the difference.

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 mudchicken on Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:29 PM

Think about pheasant season in the fall or Wyoming getting ready to invade Nebrasky (get the ammo consession for both sides)

 

 

 

 

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 Thursday, May 18, 2017 9:19 PM

BaltACD
Cruise Missles headed to the ports to replensih the Navy's supply that was launched against Syria?

I was really thinking like Norm; can't wrap my mind around missles racing thru the middle of Nebraska heading to the west coast behind canned peaches...

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, May 18, 2017 8:54 PM

Mookie
Saw Hunt train - a few containers w/explosive marked on side.  What might this be?

Cruise Missles headed to the ports to replensih the Navy's supply that was launched against Syria?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Norm48327 on Thursday, May 18, 2017 6:07 PM

[quote user="Mookie"]

Saw Hunt train - a few containers w/explosive marked on side.  What might this be?

 [quote]
 
Given the Fourth of July is not too far in the future fireworks may be a good guess.

Norm


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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, May 18, 2017 5:52 PM

Murphy Siding
Baked beans? Fireworks?

phones, notebooks, wife?

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, May 18, 2017 4:41 PM

Mookie

Saw Hunt train - a few containers w/explosive marked on side.  What might this be?

 

Baked beans? Dinner Fireworks?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, May 18, 2017 4:40 PM

[quote user="BOB WITHORN"]

tree68

 

 
Murphy Siding
I got paid $10 a day,

 

We got a buck an hour - other farmers paid a penny a bale.  I was actually on vacation - the $19 I made seemed like gold.

Sometimes we loaded directly off the baler - easy.  Other times we had to load off the ground.  Trying to get a bale up 4 layers high on the wagon was a chore.

Unloaded to an elevator - I never had the "opportunity" to work in the mow.  Thank goodness...

 

Tree, you missed so much not going up there. We NORMALLY baled directly to the wagon and I was ok until the wagon was just about full. It took all I had to hook the last few bales off the baler and lift them up, stack them under myself, repeat until loaded. Really a challange when we turned just as a bale was ready to come off, dead lift a 50 lb bale straight up with one arm!!  When we finished the field, I got the pleasure of going up in the mow to catch the bales 'thrown' up from the conveyor by the hired hands so I could stack them all over again.   I was also the one that got to cut the field then rake it over twice before we ever started baling.  Darn hard work but very fond memories of the farm in Romeo, Mi.

 

 

ADD on:   My brother and I got $25.00/week, for 12 hours/day and 7 days/week. Do not understand how he got the same, all he did was help unload the wagons onto the conveyor.  Grandma's favorite, and I'm the middle child I guess.

 

We also had the thrill of being in western South Dakota that has rattlesnakes. We'd usually disturb a couple of rattlers every time we baled hay. The farmer was a tough guy. All you had to do was yell “snake!” He’d stop the tractor, grab his shovel and kill the rattler. Oddly, the man scared to death of mice.

 

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Mookie on Thursday, May 18, 2017 4:36 PM

Saw Hunt train - a few containers w/explosive marked on side.  What might this be?

She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, May 18, 2017 4:12 PM

evening

Coal train still in the siding.Local was uptown moving cars again.Came home and mowed the swamp.Felt a few sprinkles but the rain for now is to our south.Glad tomorrow is Friday.Saturday Matt and I are going to help nephew put finishing touches on his property.First great niece graduates high school this year.Where does the time go??

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 Thursday, May 18, 2017 12:01 PM

[quote user="tree68"]

 

 
Murphy Siding
I got paid $10 a day,

 

We got a buck an hour - other farmers paid a penny a bale.  I was actually on vacation - the $19 I made seemed like gold.

Sometimes we loaded directly off the baler - easy.  Other times we had to load off the ground.  Trying to get a bale up 4 layers high on the wagon was a chore.

Unloaded to an elevator - I never had the "opportunity" to work in the mow.  Thank goodness...

 

Tree, you missed so much not going up there. We NORMALLY baled directly to the wagon and I was ok until the wagon was just about full. It took all I had to hook the last few bales off the baler and lift them up, stack them under myself, repeat until loaded. Really a challange when we turned just as a bale was ready to come off, dead lift a 50 lb bale straight up with one arm!!  When we finished the field, I got the pleasure of going up in the mow to catch the bales 'thrown' up from the conveyor by the hired hands so I could stack them all over again.   I was also the one that got to cut the field then rake it over twice before we ever started baling.  Darn hard work but very fond memories of the farm in Romeo, Mi.

 

 

ADD on:   My brother and I got $25.00/week, for 12 hours/day and 7 days/week. Do not understand how he got the same, all he did was help unload the wagons onto the conveyor.  Grandma's favorite, and I'm the middle child I guess.

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:39 AM

Murphy Siding
I got paid $10 a day,

We got a buck an hour - other farmers paid a penny a bale.  I was actually on vacation - the $19 I made seemed like gold.

Sometimes we loaded directly off the baler - easy.  Other times we had to load off the ground.  Trying to get a bale up 4 layers high on the wagon was a chore.

Unloaded to an elevator - I never had the "opportunity" to work in the mow.  Thank goodness...

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 Murphy Siding on Thursday, May 18, 2017 7:13 AM

BOB WITHORN

 

 

When we baled, there was only the standard 16" x 18" x 36" bale, none of the jumbos or rounds. Baled about 100 acres at around 65 bales or so per acre in the 1960's. Guess who got to stack the wagons. Man, I was in great shape by the end of the summer.

 

I remember those days from high school. I was one of the guys on the ground walking alongside the hay trailer. You'd pick up each bale, bounce it on your knee and throw it up on the trailer bed about chest high. Guys on the trailer would then stack it up there. It was also hand unloaded from the trailer into the old barn and restacked again. With all the sweat and the dust, your clothes could stand up on their own when you took them off. I was skinny as a rail and I got paid $10 a day, plus the farmer's wife fed us lunch and supper.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, May 18, 2017 6:08 AM

[quote user="Deggesty"]

Sixty-five years ago, I would occasionally sell a bale of hay where I worked. If you needed new shoes (and nails) for your horse or mule, a new point for your plow, a sack of Portland cement, a peck of cornmeal, a pack of cigarettes, a cut or plug of tobacco, canned goods, dried beans, overalls, school notebook paper, a sack  (100 pounds) of flour, a sack of cow feed, yard goods for your wife, and so on, I could help you.

 

Johnny,

 

A General Store, I miss those. Sears came close but not the same. In the 50's into the 60's my grandmother, (farm boss), would take us to one to get jeans, T shirts, socks, leather boots and gloves and pick up cat food, dog food, baling twine, maybe a pitch fork and thermos. I think it was in Armada, Mi. Oh, by the way, it's ArmAda, long a not short like the Nisson truck thing.

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