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Chatterbox Winter 2019-2020

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Posted by CShaveRR on Friday, February 28, 2020 10:42 PM

I'm knocking on wood right now.  We should make it into March without any further winter problems.  And the precipitation for early next week is expected to be rain.

That's good news.  Tomorrow night we're taking about 20 people to our favorite pizza/Italian place in Elmhurst (a few people here know the place).  Thank Goodness we don't have to buy for everyone!  Then Monday we take some friends down the block for brunch.  I hope there be trains...

Wednesday I have a "nuclear bone scan" to see where the scourge has spread.  Friday we discuss this with the oncologist.  After that...chemo?  I'm hoping I can still get out from time to time.

Carl

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CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, February 28, 2020 10:35 PM

tree68
Well, we made national news, with over 30" of snow in many areas.  Even the Weather Channel sent a crew.  Look up "Watertown, NY" and "Snow."  A little village called Copenhagen had some of the highest accumulations.

The lake effect band came north this morning, resulting in about 8" of snow at my house for the day, and lots of wind.  I started a trip into the city about noon, but a half mile in the curtain closed, so I hightailed it back home.

This is the most snow we've gotten from one storm in quite a while.

Are the Great Lakes frozen over? - normally large snow accumulations happen when the Great Lakes have yet to freeze over

A acquaintance from racing calls Watertown home.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, February 28, 2020 9:18 PM

Well, we made national news, with over 30" of snow in many areas.  Even the Weather Channel sent a crew.  Look up "Watertown, NY" and "Snow."  A little village called Copenhagen had some of the highest accumulations.

The lake effect band came north this morning, resulting in about 8" of snow at my house for the day, and lots of wind.  I started a trip into the city about noon, but a half mile in the curtain closed, so I hightailed it back home.

This is the most snow we've gotten from one storm in quite a while.

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, February 28, 2020 4:40 PM

mudchicken

(seems that threads are vanishing again?Confused

 

Yes. Odd that you can't have a thread about a mislabeled map but you can have thread by a well known forum troll advocating a competitor's magazine over that of the forum host's magazine. Sigh

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by tree68 on Friday, February 28, 2020 3:42 PM

Started out the day with the sun peeking through a high overcast.

Then the lake effect band wandered north, instead of south.  Thought I'd make a quick trip into town and quickly gave up on that idea when I hit the proverbial "curtain" of lake effect not far from home.  Turned around and I'm staying home.

Our school didn't close (many did), and I think the northern travels of the lake effect band surprised them.  They held the kids at the schools until the highway departments told them it was safe for the buses.

Given a relative lack of snow this year, this is actually somewhat welcome.

Areas with persistent lake effect have seen a couple of feet, plus.

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by JoeKoh on Friday, February 28, 2020 2:49 PM

afternoon

Ns had a westbound Carl special in the siding.Also 3 stack trains passed after work.Mother Nature has blown plenty of the white stuff around on the back country roads.Going to be careful tomorrow.Taking my brother out to see trains.At least there should be some sunshine.

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 Friday, February 28, 2020 2:20 PM

(seems that threads are vanishing again?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, February 27, 2020 2:43 PM

We're part way through day 1 - tomorrow is supposed to interesting, too.  

Currently showing a wind gust of 38 MPH on my home weather station, which is keeping the snow on the move.  Good day to stay home.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, February 27, 2020 2:32 PM

afternoon

Mother nature came and went.Left us some ice and snow.Now we have westerly winds still blowing it around.Ns had track equipment tucked away uptown.Going to run errands.Glad tomorrow is Friday.

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 26, 2020 9:11 PM

CShaveRR
 "Beware the Ides of March!"  

Not many people are aware that the Ides occur every month.  March is, of course, the best know thanks to old Julius.

The Ides: the 15th day of March, May, July, or October or the 13th day of any other month in the ancient Roman calendar.

Aside from some freezing rain, our weather isn't here yet.  The military installation decided it wasn't worth stranding a lot of people and has closed for Thursday.  The schools haven't joined that chorus tomorrow, but I expect they will by morning.  

This storm has it all, if you believe the forecast (and I'd say the NWS confidence is pretty high) - heavy snow and high winds combining to make for blizzard conditions.

Based on the Deshler railcams, Joe looks to be getting a pretty heavy dose of the white stuff right now.

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 5:02 PM

You know what they say, Joe:  "Beware the Ides of March!"  And this year, March 15 is six weeks to the day after Ground Hog Day.  

We woke up to snow on everything, but it quickly melted off the paved surfaces.  It's still shaking powdery stuff out there, but as of now it's of little consequence (might be leftover sugar from the Paczkis).  If my phone is to be believed, we'll be safe from snow or rain for the rest of the month.

A day without trains, following visits to Elmhurst three days in a row, during which several good trains were checked out.  Sometimes the cars I see aren't new ones, but lead to series that hadn't previously been reported...over the past week I've uncovered and documented over 300 such cars.  Still more cars have been missed for over 20 years, and go into another table.

Carl

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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 Wednesday, February 26, 2020 3:16 PM

afternoon

Ns was clear after work.Just finished cleaning up round 1 of mother natures mess.Tonight more snow cold and wind.Matt is off tonight.Have chores to do.Why do we trust groundhogs with the weather forecast anyways?

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 26, 2020 2:26 PM

Current forecast:  Yuk.

Tug Hill will see upwards of four feet of Lake Effect, pushed by winds approaching 40 MPH.  I'll probably see 4" or so at my place, just 30 or so miles north of the main Lake Effect band.  And that will depend on how the wind wanders, too.  And we're supposed to see the wind all over the area.

Waves out on Lake Ontario are forecast for 17 feet, and they expect lakeshore flooding as well.

March will be coming in like a lion at this rate.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
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Posted by Erik_Mag on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 2:20 PM

73 to 78 degrees outside, bright sunshine, breezy with low humidity (Santa Ana winds).

Spent a few days in Helena where the warmest was 48. Amusing thought when waiting at the airport on the way home: Announcements were being made about reporting suspicious activity, and the most suspivious thing was the TSA agents being downright friendly. Smile (Do have the say that the TSA personnel in Dubuque were also very pleasant.)

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 11:05 AM

33 degrees with bright sunshine here right now.

Johnny

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 10:16 AM

We're getting wind and some snow today, but less snow than originally predicted since the weather system involved is moving further south.  The snow is the heavy wet kind so less snow is definitely appreciated.

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 tree68 on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 7:24 PM

There'll be plenty of whitecaps on Lake Ontario Thursday night.  Sustained winds in the 35+ MPH range will result in 16 foot waves on the east end of the lake.

Too bad it'll be dark (and likely snowing like the Dickens) or I'd head out to the lighthouse at the mouth of the St Lawrence River and check it out.  I've seen some pretty wicked surf there before.

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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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 JoeKoh on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 3:01 PM

afternoon

Hopefully only white lids and no white caps MC. Ns was clear after work.Cold drizzly kind of day today.Guessers are saying snow for tomorrow.How much? not sure yet.Matt has to go do dishes.Chores to do myself.

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 Tuesday, February 25, 2020 12:47 PM

The Chinooks have come to visit Colorado and the plains. (trucks along I-70 from Denver to Salina KS are getting blown over.) No snow or other moisture here, but snow squalls are the order of the day out east with white-out conditions happening.

 

Getting rocked to sleep up here on the 11th floor, here at Faulty Towers. The hanging light fixtures are swinging and there are waves in the toilet bowls.

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 Monday, February 24, 2020 2:30 PM

afternoon

Ns Mow was uptown working in the siding again with a tamper.Has started raining here in NW Ohio.Have 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 CShaveRR on Monday, February 24, 2020 11:42 AM

We got up into the middle 50s yesterday (McArthur said 56, and an outside "time and temp" agreed with that).  It was a nice day for catching a couple of freights in LaGrange and Bedford Park.  The Bedford Park trip uncovered a PROX tank car built in 2020.  Research led to finding 265 new cars.

Today we'll be lucky to break 40º.  Tonight it rains, and by tomorrow we may be getting a bunch of snow (though the brunt of the storm will go to our north).

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 Sunday, February 23, 2020 6:34 PM

BaltACD

Didn't hit 50 degreestoday in NE Florida, but the wind did hit 50 MPH - with the Sun out.  Going to near freezing tonight.  Florida Winter.

We got to about +45F today, but without the high winds.  It was breezy though - my weather station shows a peak gust at 21 MPH.

Daughter and her family just got back from Disney.  She says that while the temperatures there and here are similar right now, in Florida that's cold, but here in the north country, it's positively balmy.

Good syruping weather, though.

There's still enough snow on the trails to the south of us to allow for several injury accidents on snowmobiles.

 

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 JoeKoh on Sunday, February 23, 2020 4:07 PM

afternoon

Sun was nice but still windy here in Nw Ohio.Met a person interested in Deshler today.Gave him a good tour.Found some interesting cars as well.Matt has gone to do dishes tonight.Time to get things around for work tomorrow.

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 BaltACD on Friday, February 21, 2020 8:32 PM

Didn't hit 50 degreestoday in NE Florida, but the wind did hit 50 MPH - with the Sun out.  Going to near freezing tonight.  Florida Winter.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by CShaveRR on Friday, February 21, 2020 7:30 PM

In spite of a huge backlog of research projects, I took a saunter today, going to Oak Park to check progress on the Des Plaines River bridge (despite track closures, it appears to me to be a stealth project).  It can't be easy getting a deck for ballast underneath a mostly-active track on a bridge!

I then stayed at Elmhurst for an hour, and was treated to one manifest, three intermodals, and an auto-rack train (and one scoot, in addition to the ones I got off from and boarded).  Just missed another manifest after I walked away from the platform in Lombard.  Honest, signals and sight-lines didn't tell me anything about that one!

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 Friday, February 21, 2020 4:32 PM

Sunny today, but cold - started out just above zero and got up to about freezing.  Supposed to warm up more over the weekend, though.

Still fighting with an update on this computer - who knew it would be such a pain.  

Digital net tonight on ham radio - I think we'll be sending some pictures around, too.

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, February 21, 2020 2:41 PM

afternoon

Ns was clear after work.Matt has to go do dishes tonight.Niece has baby shower tomorrow.Glad work is done for today.

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 JoeKoh on Thursday, February 20, 2020 2:38 PM

afternoon

Ns had some mow equipment on the siding track uptown.Called and wished "Big" sister happy birthday.She is going to be busy grandsons birthday this weekend.Matt has to go do dishes.Chores for me to do as well.

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 blue streak 1 on Thursday, February 20, 2020 7:19 AM

MikeF90

 mudchicken

let it snow, let it snow, aw-c'mon!
 

Sorry that we have taken all your moisture. Have a 5 gallon bucket as rain guage started Feb 1.  It became full and empried it 3 days ago and now another 3 inches in it.  Our town has a flood warning going on for about 4 days. 

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Posted by MikeF90 on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 4:45 PM

mudchicken
let it snow, let it snow, aw-c'mon!

Amen!  Unfortunately, the Sierra snowpack is way down already and the NWS one month forecast is for below normal precipitation; it's looking like another drought year here.

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