Indeed. Best wishes, Carl.
afternoon
Ns sent a westbound stack train after work.Matt and I had to run an errand after he got out of school.Chores to do here.Always keep our friends here on our prayer list.
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").
Ns was clear after work.Chores to do here at home.Matt has to go do dishes tonight.
Never forget...Pearl Harbor, yes, but this is also St. Mookie's Day!BC
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)
Madam LaMook. She is missed.
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...
tree68 Madam LaMook. She is missed.
Johnny
Johnny:believe he is back in southern CA with family now. Since Miss Mooks passed away we have lost track of him and letters have come back to us.
Just staggeredback into town again, this time from Minneapolis and an AREMA/MSPS obligation. Encroached into BrianH's and LARamsGuy's turf (went to dinner with Alex).....All kinds of feathers scattered between Des Moines and Denver on the trip home. Uncle Pete looked really slow and anemic this trip. BNSF coming down into Denver along I-76 actually looked moderately busy with coal traffic.
Getting busy putting up lights today while I have the chance before the snow comes back. Still stiff from being cooped-up on the long ride back - playing roof-monkey is gonna do a number on the old muscles. Oof-da!
good morning
Worked some Ot this weekend.The ND&W has put another Sante Fe gp-20 to work.Work this week then Saturday Christmas party at G+G's house.This elf is going to be busy.
Holy Thaw, Batman! Almost forty degrees (above!) as I write this, after sub-zero temps over the weekend. It's supposed to get cold again tomorrow evening, though. Might melt some of the snow. What was on the roof slid off. Unfortunately, when it hits the driveway, it turns into concrete...
A bunch of sold-out Polar Express trains this weekend, and plenty of happy passengers. Worked on the train as conductor Friday and Saturday and got to meet many of the passengers, as I do in that situation. We had folks from Saratoga, Binghampton, and Buffalo, and other groups with members from out-of-state as well. It's a popular trip.
Sunday I was again one of the engineers (we use two engines, one on each end). We had several slow orders along the line that have now been lifted, so it was pedal to the metal all the way to the North Pole!
Mother nature has filled the swamp again.Ns had a couple cars uptown.Mrs.Claus and I were talking about what to get Matt's cousins for Christmas.We did get a list.Will be checked twice.Chores to do and supper to make.
We had a decent wamup for today, too--at least 50º for a high before the temperature plummets tonight. Drizzle all day, so we may get some icy roads (no snow to worry about here).Wednesday will be my last day of cardiac rehab. We'll celebrate by going to Michigan Thursday for lunch with the classmates on Friday. Linda update: simply put, she's in Hospice now, kicking back and appreciating the attention she gets, both from family and staff and from her followers on Facebook and Twitter and followers of her blog (which I guess is done for). She found out yesterday that she will have some sort of musicological academic award named in her honor. Two things not to say: "She's in a better place"...we don't want any impressionable people thinking they should go join her. And "lost her battle with cancer.": As she puts it, "I did not lose in this. I gained the privilege of making new friends and renewing old friendships. But describe it in my obit as: "Assasinated by cancer." Please!"
Carl, thank you so much for the advice. We each have difficulty handling these situations. Linda's own words make it easier. Bless you both. With genuine love. DC
Carl, my heart goes out to you, Pat, and others in your family.
Ns had more cars uptown to move around.Mother nature has opened up the freezer door.Going uptown to watch a local group prform Christmas music.Matt has to go do dishes.
Ns has cars uptown to shuffle.Mother nature giving us some snow flurries.Chores to do.Matt has to do dishes tonight.
There - did my duty by attending the town/village holiday celebration. Oh, and had my fill of the food offerings. Who ever heard of a mashed potato bar? Yum!
Five inches of snow at the house today, from a fairly narrow band of snow. Periods of zero visibility, heavy snowfall, snow covered roads. Lots of folks found ditches. My FD was dispatched to one roll-over call at the peak of things. I was pushing snow with the pumper on the way to the scene. No one was hurt.
Now the moon is shining bright, but stiff winds are blowing the snow around, making the roads hazardous. I was just at the St Lawrence River (for the party) - boy, did it look angry...
Carl,
How are things going for you these days? How was the Michigan trip?
The local was uptown when I left work.Chores to do.Matt has to do dishes.Matt's cousin has a Christmas performance to do tonight as well.glad tomorrow is Friday.Wait ugh!!!! Friday the 13th.
zardozCarl, How are things going for you these days? How was the Michigan trip?
Jim, the Thanksgiving trip was a good time. Right now we're in Michigan again, for lunch tomorrow with about a dozen of my high-school classmates. These trips usually are made via the scenic route through northwestern Indiana (sane people wouldn't think it's scenic, but it's the best part of the trip to me).Anyway, we're here in Michigan now, and we leave for California via Amtrak on the 18th (we modified our schedule to get out there more quickly). I usually can keep my mind occupied, but I find myself tearing up from time to time, and we're hoping we can get out there in time to give hugs. I'm just glad that she's lucid enough to actually enjoy her days now. People are writing tributes now, and she's happy to know that her life has been worth it...that she's left her mark.
Carl, I'm saddened to hear about Linda's and hence your and Pat's situation. Words fail me other than to say you're all in my thoughts and prayers to help you get through this difficult time. I hope your final days together are good ones.
Respectfully,
- Paul North.
A caboose we've had on the property for several years has been sold by it's owner and is headed out tomorrow. In preparation for that, we had to move it from it's spot on one of our tracks over to the short line's yard where a crane can lift it onto a flatbed.
We did it after our Polar runs were over for the night, and I moved from the RS18u I spent the evening running over to our F10, which we used for the move.
The move was uneventful. The caboose got spotted where it was needed, and all the other cars that were stored on the siding were put back on the siding where they started.
But - that's not the reason for posting. That's just back story. While we were leaving the short line yard, the westbound Late Shore came in to Utica (late). And on the tail end were not one but two private cars. Can't remember the names (although someone mentioned "99"), but one was a round end obs (complete with tail sign), and the other was a dome...
What a way to travel!
evening
Ns was clear after work.The shopping is done for the most part.Plans changed for a party for this weekend.So Matt and I are going shopping and to Grandpa's shop for building.He is building a modular layout train yard.It will be in Ho scale.Going to relax.
Benchwork for Matt's layout is done.He just has to do the trackwork and wiring.Since it's a nicer day today did a final clean up of leaves for us and neighbor.Stacey made some cookies for Matt's youth group when the go caroling tomorrow.They tested fine.Have more projects to work on myself.Matt does dishes again tonight.Mother nature sending us some stuff on Monday.
Another night of Polar Express trips in the books. Despite the wet rail, we didn't have any major slipping problems. Actually, while wet rail (as with rain) is more slippery than dry rail, it's still worlds better than snow/ice, and especially leaves on the rails - our fall bugaboo here on the scenic.
Sunday morning is the fire department Holiday Breakfast, complete with a visit from the big guy (and that's not me).
Ns has a Detroit edison coal train in the siding waiting to go east.Matt is out caroling with his youth group.Going to watch some football.
Well, the drive home was just plain nasty. Slush leaving Utica (fortunately I didn't get behind any echelon plows), then things cleared up for a while.
About half way home, though, that changed - heavier snow, the stuff on the roads was like wet concrete. A couple of side roads were nearly impassable. Not a lot of snow, but you got pushed all over the place by the wet mess that was there.
So my usual two hour trip took almost three...
That cut short my sleep before heading to the FD for the holiday breakfast. But not as much as the young lady who slipped and slid onto the guardrail on another side road. The guardrail has a sloped and and she launched off that, rolled over, and ended up about 30 feet below the road in a wet area.
I think her injuries were minor, although she made a trip to the hospital.
When the wrecker operator finally got there (well after we left) he decided the recovery job could wait until morning...
On the other hand, the Holiday Breakfast went very well.
Ns still has a coal train in the siding at work.This mornings mess caught people off guard.Were reports of a person sliding into a train at a crossing east of work.Roads are much better now.Chores to do.
Well the snow came a little further north but it was much better this afternoon.Ns still has a coal train waiting to go to Detroit.My Grandma blanket maker finished up one for my niece who is expecting next spring.The brownies she sent as well will be lucky to last until tomorrow.Chores to do.
I think we have everything we need for our trip, except I have to fold this laptop and put it away. Starting about an hour from now, our "home" will be various trains and stations until we get to Santa Barbara. Linda is lucid, coherent, and comfortable...we should make it on time.
Carl - Safe (on-time) travels, and our thoughts are with Linda.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.