Icy this morning. Curiously, when I got up to run the daily "Rooster Roster" on two meters (amateur radio), it was raining, although the rain guage on my personal weather station was reading zero.
The temperature was right at freezing - apparently the tiny hole that feeds the measuring apparatus was plugged. It thawed out later and made up for lost ground. Just short of half an inch since this time yesterday.
It's a little breezy out, but not bad.
Those to the north of us got the ice worse, with numerous closings (schools are already closed for vacation).
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...
Good Morning
Mother nature has made it white outside.Going to run errands and see what Csx or the ND&W can bring by.Matt has to do dishes tonight but he should be home before the clock hits 12.Happy St.Ed's day.Stay frosty.
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").
JoeKohHappy St.Ed's day. Stay frosty.
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)
We're quiet for the moment, but expect weather later tonight - just in time for NYE celebrations... A couple I know is getting married tonight. I'll be there.
Watching Deshler turn whiter by the hour. I was just thinking, though - given respite from the wind and a little heat (say, a canopy with windows and a heater or two), I wouldn't mind being there today.
Where I live (assisted living), we have a "Happy Noon Day Celebration"--so we do not have to stay up late and miss some of our beauty sleep.
Johnny
A happy 2020 to everyone (I don't expect to be awake when the clock strikes twelve...and I won't be one of the twelve that are struck!)!We are in a hotel in Des Moines, headed to KC in time for the post-wedding celebration of our niece to a nice guy from Joplin (nobody's invited to the actual wedding). I wasn't expecting to see much today, but we stopped for gas in this city called Rochelle, Illinois. The result was a relettered series I hadn't known before, and two series containing 254 prviously-unreported new (2015) cars to finish out the decade for me.Daughter Linda is still hanging in there, and in the last two days she's gotten farewell columns from the San Francisco Chronicle, and a a professor who writes for the New York Times and the New Yorker magazine. They're revealing and touching at the same time.
Wishing all of you on the forum a prosperous and healthy 2020. May all your trains stay on the tracks and every one stay safe. Johnn, I think your living facility has got a great idea. I anticipate moving into a senior facility in the near future and I will need to check out what they do.
Had the pleasure of attending a friend's wedding for NYE. And it was punctuated by a fire call, with the groom driving the engine to the scene.
The call was minor and we were back in no time.
I doubt I'll be up at midnight, unless something wakes me up...
Welcome to 2020
Cleaned house and put lights and things away.Going to watch the Rose bowl parade.Matt gets to do dishes tonight.Tomorrow it's back to work.
JoeKoh Welcome to 2020 Cleaned house and put lights and things away.Going to watch the Rose bowl parade.Matt gets to do dishes tonight.Tomorrow it's back to work. stay safe Joe
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/semi-truck-loses-control-crashes-in-high-winds-on-i-25-near-colorado-wyoming-border
Will put away the electric scottie when the electric reindeer comes down. Duncan has a full time job warding off a young squirrel trying to access a bird feeder by crawling up a sliding glass door screen.
Might have watched the Rose Bowl parade (there was a fire truck float, possibly a real antique fire truck, and a high school band from our region in the parade) but I was either sleeping or running fire calls.
First call was at 0122 for a mutual aid structure fire. It was going to beat the band when we pulled in, and not much was saved. The family got out OK, though, so there's that to be thankful for.
Got back to the house about 0700, got some breakfast, then ran a daily amateur radio net at 0730, followed by crashing in my recliner, dead to the world until the next call at about 10 AM for a rekindle at the previous scene. Got cancelled on that one, so after putting the truck back in the station, again crashed until the second call for a rekindle.
This time they got all the hot spots, but drained the tanker I was driving in the process, so I had to head out for 2000 gallons of water and a fill-up of Diesel (we try to keep all the trucks above 3/4 tank at all times).
Finally home, again, and still bushed.
Some New Years Day...
afternoon
Ns local was uptown after work.Nice to have sunshine.Watching a football game down south and it's pouring rain there.Chores to do.Matt has to do dishes.
ps knock knock delivery from MC at the door.
UPS, in "herd of turtles Mode", gets it done!
Go Bearcats! (looks like Boston College's offense is a complete flop)
For a guy who prides himself on the places he's been, I was pretty much humbled by having to say that this was my first visit ever to Kansas City Union Station. We just spent some time taking it all in, and had a good lunch at Harveys. I saw a couple of freight trains when we went out back and onto the bridge. We might go back tomorrow to take in the Science Museum with our niece and grand-nephews, before heading back home.P.S. As a big city, Kansas City rates pretty high in my book after today's look at it.
Ns local uptown with some cars to move around after work.Conductor buddy of mine was to be on todays Csx 508.They run it straight north through Deshler now instead of turning and going through Fostoria.He got bumped off so he'll try again tomorrow.He's run east/west through Deshler but not north south.Going to do chores here.Matt has to do dishes.
joe
good morning
Chores done here.Going over to Deshler to see what Csx can run today.Matt has homework and dishes to do tonight.Crockpot full of chili will be waiting for supper tonight.
evening
Chili is tasting good right now.Csx had some problems today here and there.Friend got to be a conductor for 508.Made new friends and helped clean in the historical society.Going to download pictures.Matt is doing dishes.
We made it home from Kansas City this evening, spending the night in Des Moines and taking a side trip to Muscatine on the way home today. I am bushed, but we have to be in church tomorrow.We saw no trains arund Muscatine; didn't really expect to, on account of that derailment in LeClaire. (There used to be a yard in between--Nahant--but I don't know whether anything happens there any more.)We will spend much of tomorrow resting up.
CShaveRRWe will spend much of tomorrow resting up.
Boy, do I know that feeling...
Back to a full week a work.Ns sent an eastbound and westbound after work.They still have cars uptown to shuffle as well.Went into town on an errand.Csx decided to send 5 trains by while I was on the errand.Just so happened my stop was by the tracks.Time to start supper.Chores to do too.
Ns sent an eastbound stack train after work.Chores to do here.Guessers say 3 inches of rain Saturday? Yikes.
Bad accident near here early Tuesday killed two teens. Although the crash doesn't appear to have involved alcohol, speed does appear to have been a factor. The two who died were ejected from the back seat. The two in the front seat were injured, suffering broken bones and other injuries.
A small town and a school in mourning.
tree68Bad accident near here early Tuesday killed two teens. Although the crash doesn't appear to have involved alcohol, speed does appear to have been a factor. The two who died were ejected from the back seat. The two in the front seat were injured, suffering broken bones and other injuries. A small town and a school in mourning.
Seat Belts save lives and prevent premature ejection.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Ns was clear when I left work.Chores to do.Matt has to do dishes.
It's gonna be a fun 2020. One full week in and it's already getting wierd.
(1) Three railroads claiming they own the same junction switch and control access to an industry. (Thank you STB attorneys and Rock Island Trustee Gibbons)
(2) County Park District claiming rails-to-trails and ZERO documentation. (and the railroad abandoned in the second last year of PC's existence and two years before the first R-T-T statute and eight years before the practical application of the law.)
(3) Relocating industry can't get rail service, won't sign contract with BNSF declaring who owns/operates/maintains the sidetrack (and who is liable party) - Walking away from this outfit, hope BNSF reads them the riot act. (more to this, but this outfit has to learn it has contractual and environmental obligations).... Keep on dreaming about increasing loose car business ... Clueless shippers are their own worst enemies and there are not enough railroad people left to coach witless wonders or hold their hands.
(4) Brand X consultant took on a project, figuring they could bluff their way thru, that involved crossing a railroad. (Whaddya mean no easements allowed and the city street isn't covered by an easement or a deed in their favor? - Funny what happens when the railroad gets there first.
(5) Civic utility people with buried pipeline and cable suddenly discover that railroads don't rubberstamp anything (and there's the matter of mandatory casing for liquid pipelines under presssure and cable of any voltage)
and (6), EagleOne pisses off another Class One, making it really hard to come up with some baseline information. Someone needs to lay waste to certain places in Alabama and western Missouri.
Hope that first car full of aspirin and adult beverages is on the way.
Cheers!
Lots of work for people like you MC. Glad I no longer have to deal with some of these things.
Mc sounds like you got your hands full.Ns has an eastbound detroit edison coal train in the siding at work.The local was uptown as well when I left work.Chores to do here.Matt has to do dishes.
No recent onsite observations of RR operations, just trying to stay warm in my uninsulated co-op.
RR webcams are a good winter substitute, especially the Tehachapi trio on YT. The 'west' Cable cam often shows meets due to westbounds waiting at the CP; the Loop now has a cam with never before seen views and the depot cam is right at CP Tehachapi.
I just checked a item shipped via FedEx and the current location shows as Norden CA, must have close to real time GPS based monitoring on truck or train.
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
MC -
I know what you mean. Watching one where a warehouse developer wants to break ground real soon (no immediate plans for rail service), but the adjoining (barely 2 lane) local road over a NS secondary needs to be widened per the approval resolution. They're just now getting to looking at the agreement that NS sent to them for engineering review (only) of the "AGX" ("At Grade Xing") improvements. Estimate for review is $16K. I'm trying to find somebody to take a bet that the crossing reconstruction won't happen this year . . .
Same project contemplates the Township granting an easement for developer's private drainage pipes across a different 'historic' (pre-Revolutionary War) public road that is without the benefit of being formally laid-out and opened, or otherwise documented (kind of like a common-law marriage, see previous phrase . . . ). I have to explain to people why that shouldn't happen and the Township should grant - at best - a license or permit, just like a utility occupancy or crossing. Around here in these circumstances the abutting property owners retain significant present subsurface rights under the road, plus the future possibility of reverter in the event of vacation/ abandonment of the road - Township can't 'reserve' an easement for the utility (City of Altoona case, coincidentally). Also, while the Township can drain its water off the road - and even an uphill developer can discharge some water in the direction of the surface of the road - nothing says that the Township can allow the uphill developer go under the Township's road through someone else's land to empty onto said abutting landowner without that landowner's consent. (Unrelated, but what makes this funny is that said landowner once claimed condemnation damages from a sewer line parallel to the railroad because it allegedly prevented him from developing his abutting land for a rail-served businesses. Not only was it possible to shift and case the sewer line deep enough to meet RR specs, but his land was so steep and irregularly shaped that it was unusable for that anyway. He lost, justifiably.)
- PDN.
MikeF90RR webcams are a good winter substitute, especially the Tehachapi trio on YT. The 'west' Cable cam often shows meets due to westbounds waiting at the CP; the Loop now has a cam with never before seen views and the depot cam is right at CP Tehachapi.
The loop cam has had some great pictures of fog this week. Today the fog made it into the town during the day. As I post, it has lifted in town but some ground dampness remains.
On a good note, the Flagstaff cam is back up, finally. The picture is a little snowy right now but I don't think adjusting the rabbit ears will help.
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