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Chatterbox Spring 2018

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, April 9, 2018 5:40 PM

JoeKoh
evening

Ns had a Bnsf coal train go west.Then they had a freight following him with the PRLX"C&O" unit. The local was also uptown.We are under a buzzard warning here.Brother has landed safely in Dayton and will make his way up here for supper tomorrow night.will visit more with him on Wed. too.Chores to do.

stay safe

Joe

Didn't think you lived in Hinckley to observe the return of the buzzrds!Devil

https://www.ohiotraveler.com/hinckley-home-of-the-buzzard/

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Posted by NorthWest on Monday, April 9, 2018 4:57 PM

Looks like a NS Top Hat standard cab Dash-9 made it out to the West Coast. Never thought I'd see one.

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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, April 9, 2018 4:48 PM

evening

Ns had a Bnsf coal train go west.Then they had a freight following him with the PRLX"C&O" unit. The local was also uptown.We are under a buzzard warning here.Brother has landed safely in Dayton and will make his way up here for supper tomorrow night.will visit more with him on Wed. too.Chores to do.

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 Monday, April 9, 2018 11:53 AM

Oh, they decided to give you our storm. Give it back. They are dragging out the D-word (drought) instead of the S-word here in the last 24 hours. Did Weatherliar U. get an extra ration of locusts and silly-sauce this year for the freshman to play with?

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, April 9, 2018 11:26 AM

 

We got about 4" of snow and rain yesterday and last night. Today there is some sunshine and a little melting. The weather dorks are saying 50 tomorrow, 60 on Wednesday and that Friday we should expect the biggest snowstorm of the season. Is there an 800 number I can call to alert the looney bin to report strays?Dunce

 

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, April 9, 2018 10:34 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH
...they don't usually interchange.

A novice watching the Deshler rail cams might have trouble figuring out which railroad owns the track there.  Seems like there's as much BNSF, UP, and to some extent NS and KCS power as there is CSX crossing the diamond and using the transfers.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
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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 Monday, April 9, 2018 10:04 AM

Carl, the nice thing about your specialty is that it's a lot easier to stumble onto something new since there are a lot more freight cars than locomotives.  I've tended to track locomotives over the years and it gets harder to find something new since there aren't as many and they don't usually interchange.  Nonetheless, I also enjoy stumbling onto something new or different when I get out or just on the ride to and from work.

Like you, I don't underestimate the value of dumb luck.

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 CShaveRR on Sunday, April 8, 2018 10:27 PM
Suffering from an embarrassment of riches today!
 
After church we went to our favorite trackside spot in LaGrange for dinner. All it took was one good freight train, and now I have:
 
—a new-to-me railroad—the Cloquet Terminal—that has some thirdhand pulpwood flat cats.
—20 new covered hoppers for a company that deals mostly in used equipment.
—over 100 new-to-me HCl tank cars for a company that hadn’t gotten any new cars in decades!
—a new series of LP Gas tank cars that I still need to check out. There are 600 cars in this bunch!
—a group of tank cars for a company that I thought had only covered hoppers. Ancestry TBD
—Gondolas—some formerly for coal and some built new--for a scrap metal company I'm not familiar with.
—a 300-car series of covered hoppers that had been reported but which were new to me.
—secondhand covered hoppers in a series I'm not familiar with...size of series and ancestry TBD.
 
 
A pretty good couple of hours out; probably a day or two with my friend the laptop as result. Some pretty good fodder for a new report (thankfully I sent out a report just last night--it would be a delay of days if I had to add some of this stuff to it!).
 
Yes, I may be easy to please! But a carchaeologist's work is never done.

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 Sunday, April 8, 2018 2:46 PM

afternoon

Ns was busy this morning.Saw plenty of coal hoppers.Had one with 2 Bnsf aces and loaded coal train in the siding.Off to the Ymca.

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 Sunday, April 8, 2018 8:28 AM

CShaveRR

Do you like Joplin?

(I don't know; I've never Joppled.)

 

Mother Nature's instant "urban renewal job" did quite a number there. You can still see the results some 9 years later. Incredible number of abandoned railroad lines in that area.

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 JoeKoh on Sunday, April 8, 2018 6:38 AM

morning

Still chilly out today.Our church has the local Ymca reserved for tonight.Going to play basketball and such.Stacey has the medcine and ice packs ready to 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 CShaveRR on Saturday, April 7, 2018 11:08 PM

Do you like Joplin?

(I don't know; I've never Joppled.)

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 rvos1979 on Saturday, April 7, 2018 9:53 PM

Deggesty

"recapped hours"?

I am limited to 70 hours of work in any eight day period, normally how my account works is we run hard from Sunday morning until sometime on Friday, and then go home for at least 34 hours to reset the 70 hour clock. The other way to work this 70 hour clock is to only work enough each day so that by the time you reach the ninth day, the hours you worked on the first day are again available for you to use. I'm not quite sure where the term recapped hours came from, it's what was taught to me, and I've used it since. Basically what I'm thinking of doing is using the hours I worked on April 1st and adding it to what I have left on my 70 hour clock, and only working that many hours on Monday the 9th. Then for the rest of the week, I use the hours I worked eight days previous (I use the hours on the 2nd on the 10th, and so on the rest of the week).........

Hope that explains it, hours of service regulations can get confusing sometimes..........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, April 7, 2018 7:45 AM

rvos1979

Well, so much for being able to make it home tonight........

Nobody bothered to call the tow company until they were supposed to arrive, so was almost 11am before we arrived at the International dealer in Joplin. Was after 10pm before I got the truck back, and by the time I returned to the truck stop, it had started snowing heavily. Will be Sunday afternoon before I get home, and I'm debating running on recapped hours next week to help dispatch out......

Such is life in the trucking industry..........

 

"recapped hours"?

Johnny

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Posted by rvos1979 on Saturday, April 7, 2018 7:24 AM

Well, so much for being able to make it home tonight........

Nobody bothered to call the tow company until they were supposed to arrive, so was almost 11am before we arrived at the International dealer in Joplin. Was after 10pm before I got the truck back, and by the time I returned to the truck stop, it had started snowing heavily. Will be Sunday afternoon before I get home, and I'm debating running on recapped hours next week to help dispatch out......

Such is life in the trucking industry..........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, April 6, 2018 4:00 PM

I could have added that the powered carts that were used in Washington are no longer there; they apparenly have died of old age. Infirm people are given rides in simple wheelchairs, and the redcaps push carts. The redcap did take my baggage to my car, so the trip was not as onerous as it would have been is I had carried it on my walker.

Johnny

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Posted by Deggesty on Friday, April 6, 2018 3:53 PM

Carl, I am sorry I will miss you this trip. I may be wrong, but I have the impression that I missed MC, also.

I don't know just how cold it was in Washington yesterday, but it was chilly as I walked to the business car  (on the rear of the train) I rode to Charlottesville. This morning, I took the 0655 Dog which which I took to Bristol--and found that the station did not open until 0800. So, I was unable to stay inside until the bus arrived about forty minutes later.

Johnny

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, April 6, 2018 3:43 PM

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 Friday, April 6, 2018 2:24 PM

afternoon

There were some cars uptown for the local on Ns when I left work.Chores to do.Talking with Sis about plans for when Big Brother comes from Virginia.

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 Thursday, April 5, 2018 9:06 PM

Johnny, as of right now, a week from Friday is supposed to be the warmest day of spring so far, but with April showers.  We may be out of town, sadly--Pat's contributing to a quilt expo north of Milwaukee.

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 rvos1979 on Thursday, April 5, 2018 7:13 PM

mudchicken

Keep it up and there's gonna be a pup trailer full of parts following you around everywhere you go.

I hope not, only 75,000 miles on this truck right now.........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by mudchicken on Thursday, April 5, 2018 7:09 PM

Keep it up and there's gonna be a pup trailer full of parts following you around everywhere you go.

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 rvos1979 on Thursday, April 5, 2018 4:37 PM

Must be one of those weeks........

Rolling down I44 near Joplin, MO, when I begin to hear an unusual noise. Pull into a truck stop, and discover that the belt tensioner on the main drive belt failed. Getting towed to a repair shop tomorrow morning because it's warranty work.

Hopefully, this will be quick tomorrow, because I have a family dinner to attend on Saturday night........

Randy Vos

"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings

"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, April 5, 2018 2:25 PM

afternoon

Guessers say there might be some accumulation of the white stuff tonight.Only going to be in the 40's this weekend.They say warmer for next week but also thunderstorms.Ns local was uptown when I left work.Time to do some 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 tree68 on Thursday, April 5, 2018 12:52 PM

zugmann

 

 
BaltACD
At least I haven't had to pick up a snow shovel!

 

Why did you say that?  Now I better go get more gas for the snowblower. 

Central NY got measurable snow last night.  We lucked out and had to settle for wind damage.  I hear there's another system headed this way...

 

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 switch7frg on Thursday, April 5, 2018 10:22 AM

Big Smile Bob that sounds a clever stunt my old pal "Pin Jumper" did , hence his nickname came to be.

Y6bs evergreen in my mind

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Posted by zugmann on Thursday, April 5, 2018 9:57 AM

BaltACD
At least I haven't had to pick up a snow shovel!

Why did you say that?  Now I better go get more gas for the snowblower.

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 BaltACD on Thursday, April 5, 2018 9:42 AM

Returned to MD after 3 months in FL.  Sometime during the Winter power went out in MD.  Furnace didn't refire after the power was restored.  $900 in plumbers bills later the leaks caused by the freeze have been fixed.  Found a leaking hose to the washing machine and replaced it, only to find out that somewhere in the machine itself something froze up and broke it's container.  Guess I'll have to buy a new washer.

At least I haven't had to pick up a snow shovel!

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by BOB WITHORN on Thursday, April 5, 2018 8:03 AM

rvos1979 wrote the following:

You would think grease in a fifth wheel would be a good thing....

That's what I thought and always used on our trucks.  Just got out the trusty grease gun, cranked up the trailer and pumped in the grease??  Did screw up once and didn't have the trailer low enough before before backing in, kind of put the king pin in no-mans land, took awile to separate the two.

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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, April 5, 2018 7:42 AM

rvos1979
You would think grease in a fifth wheel would be a good thing, but apparently it's a bad thing........

I found that with the tailgate on my truck...

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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