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Chatterbox Fall 2021

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  • Member since
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  • From: Defiance Ohio
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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, November 18, 2021 4:41 PM

evening

Ns was clear after work.Ran errands when we came home.Tomorrow after work Matt can have his car back.(doctors cleared him to drive).Got a notice from the beancounters in Columbus. Not only did we file our taxes we had to pay in as well.At least 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 JoeKoh on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 4:34 PM

evening

Ns sent a sand train eastbound after work.They also have some cars uptown as well.Came home and was able to mulch up so leaves with the mower.Time to eat some supper.

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 Tuesday, November 16, 2021 4:42 PM

evening

Ns was clear after work.Ran errands in town.I did go by the ND&W yard.Seems the ND&W was talking to a state engineer about the crossing at fith street.In the yard there were Herzog ballast hoppers and some tonka toys as well.Waited for the J 715 on csx to come west.They had plenty of cars for the ND&W.The J 715 took 30 cars back to Garrett with them.Time to eat supper.

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 Monday, November 15, 2021 6:50 PM

I was in Utica today when a CSX inspection train came through.  At first I thought "OCS," but then realized it had the wrong power...

LarryWhistling
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Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
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Posted by JoeKoh on Monday, November 15, 2021 2:20 PM

afternoon

Matts appointment went well.He has a follow up appointment next month.This weekend he will be able to drive again.Went down to Deshler after his appointment and saw the CSX special come by.My pics are okay but I have seen others that are just fantastic.Back to work for me 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 JoeKoh on Sunday, November 14, 2021 6:20 AM

Defiance also had a loud "roar" last night.Two local teams battled it out in the football playoffs.Liberty Center avenged it's early season loss to Archbold.The game winning field goal was made by a third string kicker.She also played soccer for Liberty Center as well.They will face Carey next week.Place TBA.I owe a co worker a pop at 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 JoeKoh on Sunday, November 14, 2021 5:50 AM

morning

Had to replace some fuses in the light strands for outside.Chopped up the leaves yesterday.Our park has some dead trees to take care of in the real swampy area down by the creek.Csx is going to send the bosses train from Chicago tomorrow.The route will be the B&O to Fostoria then turn south on the C&O.I will be up in Toledo with Matt as he gets his stiches out.Snow right now is on the other side of Ft.Wayne according to the radar.Shovel and broom are on the porch.

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 Saturday, November 13, 2021 10:29 PM

Average date for first freeze here in NW GA including ATL and south about 60 miles.  It is right to the average day.  Expect around 30 F tonight.

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, November 13, 2021 6:08 PM

NKP guy
 And now...more lake effect snow?

What I'm reading from various sources is that there is a big "maybe" involved.  IF we get the right weather patterns, watch out.  Otherwise...

We haven't had a "good old fashioned winter" here in quite a few years.  I used to have to ask the town plow crews to wing off the top of the banks by my driveway so I could see.  Hasn't happened in a while.

The big downside to that is that we have a lot of people who have never experienced such a winter.  It'll be interesting.

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 NKP guy on Saturday, November 13, 2021 3:56 PM

tree68
A big concern this winter will be the temperature of the Great Lakes, as they are quite warm for this time of year.  Given conditions, that could make for a lot of lake effect precipitation.

   The lake temperatures this year have already made it nearly impossible to find yellow perch in our grocery stores.  And now...more lake effect snow?  Is there no justice in this world?

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Posted by tree68 on Saturday, November 13, 2021 2:52 PM

Snow is being mentioned here, mostly for the higher elevations.

Just a lot of rain here today, although I encountered several downpours enroute to a train show.  An inch and a quarter over the past two days.

A big concern this winter will be the temperature of the Great Lakes, as they are quite warm for this time of year.  Given conditions, that could make for a lot of lake effect precipitation.

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 CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, November 13, 2021 9:52 AM

Winter is definitely on the way around here.  Had a few spurts of rain-sleet mix yesterday and the temperature has been dropping.  About an inch of snow is predicted for tomorrow.

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 rvos1979 on Friday, November 12, 2021 6:31 PM

Drove home from Sturtevant in a snow squall, was heavy enough for long enough to cover the road, even with temperatures in the mid thirties. Some people found out about it the hard way, judging from the tracks on the road. By the time I got past Union Grove, it was just wet road.......

Normally, this is the weekend for Trainfest, but it was canceled again this year. I have my doubts that the show will return at all, the NMRA division that hosts it is having internal issues.........

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 Friday, November 12, 2021 6:07 PM

Evening

Ns was clear after work today.Gave hugs and ran errands in town.Got some hardware so I could put a sign back up.Also saw some train cars as well.The one B&O car was like one that I have except for all the extra details on mine.Tomorrow going to test the lights for outside and inside.Some around here already have their lights up.We like to give thanks before we put the lights out.Time to do some other 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 Friday, November 12, 2021 2:31 PM

An inch of rain overnight, and the sun is out now.  Surprisingly mild, sitting at +52.4F as I write this.

It was windy, but not bad here - peak gust was only 21 MPH.  There were some reports of trees and wires down, but not a lot.

Had to run into town this afternoon, and as I was leaving home a nearby FD was toned out for a garage fire, heavily involved.  It was an attached garage and fire did get into the house.

I stopped at the scene on my way and assisted briefly.  Looked like they lost a classic (1930-ish) car as well as the damage to the house.

Looks like more weather coming our way, but not as intense as the band that came through this AM.

Graupel (snow pellets, corn snow) can hurt, especially if there's any wind behind it.  Had some here last week that was very wet - like getting hit with tiny, slushy snowballs.

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 CShaveRR on Friday, November 12, 2021 1:45 PM

We had a little bit of graupel come into our area from the south.  We could see the cloud envelop the school yard before it hit us.  The kids at recess were screaming...might have been excitement, or maybe it hurt.  It didn't last long...if anything at all is falling now it's rain, and not very heavy.  The Big Event should come at us this weekend, from the north or northwest...and that's not supposed to last very long, either.  Back into the 50s by the middle of next week.

UP must have seen me coming--we shopped and dined within sight and sound of the tracks this noon, and nothing came through except a very late scoot.

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 blue streak 1 on Friday, November 12, 2021 10:29 AM

CSX unit 6317parked on siding.  Idle sound had a chugging sound. Sounded like a fishing boat with a one banger engine.

Several Jrsx refrigerated box cars on a south bound .  All cars except one without any  graffiti .

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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, November 12, 2021 12:23 AM

blhanel

Got home this evening, got out of the truck and was pelted by ice pellets.  Ughh...

 

But you were at least off the road before the corn snow/ gropple started playing havoc with the traffic ... I-70 here in the high country turned into bumper-car zones today and Vail Pass closed for several hours. None of that stuff is getting east of the front range (Denver remains dry)

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, November 11, 2021 10:13 PM

Waiting for the wind and rain to arrive, although I see I've had a gust of 20 MPH so far today...

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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  • From: Cedar Rapids, IA
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Posted by blhanel on Thursday, November 11, 2021 9:22 PM

Got home this evening, got out of the truck and was pelted by ice pellets.  Ughh...

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Posted by JoeKoh on Thursday, November 11, 2021 4:26 PM

evening

Well Mother nature sent me some leaves from the woods today!! Ns was clear after work.Went to Fc in Defiance.K 706 had the BC rail heritage unit on the point.Heard them call Bend bridge MP 95 and it was still raining.Then the wind picked up and blew the rain away.Someone above must have helped get the clouds out.Got some good pictures.Need to give hugs after 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 tree68 on Thursday, November 11, 2021 5:03 AM

BaltACD

Trees still have too many leaves on them for me to 'cut the grass'.  Intend to make the last mowing of the year the leaf mulching cut of the year.

My only tree is a locust - small leaves, and I blew them all the fence line last week.  We've had a number of overnight frosts now and most trees are bare, or close to it.  I've probably exercised the mower for the last time.  Even though it's only a few years old, it's kind of cold-blooded, so that's probably a good thing.

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 BaltACD on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 10:43 PM

Trees still have too many leaves on them for me to 'cut the grass'.  Intend to make the last mowing of the year the leaf mulching cut of the year.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by CShaveRR on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 10:19 PM

We got the front yard swept.  We could have gotten the back yard done, too, but I wore out amazingly quickly.  I couldn't get a decent nap, because of one phone call and the heating/AC people coming for our annual checkup (we're good).  This evening I participated in a Zoom Bible/Torah study, then installed a transplanted lamp over Pat's sewing machine.  If the "Whoa!" at the light it sheds is any sign, she's happy with this.

We didn't move the car today; I have Physical Therapy tomorrow, so that's one trip out (and errands between hospital and neurosurgeon, which can be accomplished on the same trip).  This has nothing to do with cancer; I find out my progress in that area next week.  I have no idea what to expect.

Back to needing 275 prior identities for some rebuilt covered hoppers tonight...I want to have all 300 done, plus about 200 box cars from my major project (anywhere from 1 to 6 prior identities per car, with little rhyme nor reason as to how they were renumbered).  If I'm lucky, I can get about 6500 tank cars checked out to see whether they got relettered and renumbered after the General Electric Rail Services Corporation breakup (those renumberings at least will be fairly straightforward, but I can only look at 200 at a time).

Time for bed, right after my (ugh!) PT exercises.

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 Wednesday, November 10, 2021 4:26 PM

evening

Ns had a stack train in the siidng after work.A herzog ballast cleaner was working on track 1 and an eastbound frieght was on track 2.Came home and blew some leaves around before the rain/snow this weekend.Time to get stuff for supper.

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 Wednesday, November 10, 2021 3:42 AM

Track department (track supervisor or track foreman) is out there somewhere playing detective looking for an open gate or hole in the fenceline to shoo Mr. White Horse back through the fence and off the R/W. (The fence break may be on the other side of US-30 and totally out of UP jurisdiction. Wonder what forced the message to wind-up being in the track bulletins in the first place (story there?)).

Hope the Brand Inspector doesn't get called-out post mortem.

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 Tuesday, November 9, 2021 11:41 PM

jeffhergert
There's a white horse grazing north of the tracks near Grand Island NE.

Given an image posted by Al Krug, that could be valuable knowledge.  The image in question showed the result of a horse hit by a locomotive at speed (probably 60 MPH).  Not much left but oats...

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...

  • Member since
    June 2001
  • From: Lombard (west of Chicago), Illinois
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 10:33 PM

I never liked the rules classes.  Intentional or not, there always seemed to be some intimidation going on, words about how tough the exam would be with the new rules, etc.  I believe I retired just before another one.  I had a few 100-percent scores during my time, but that didn't stop me from worrying about them.  I'm sure when PTC came around, there would have been a whole lot of new stuff to cover.  My particular position in the yard had no bearing on what I was expected to know for the tests.  And, as I found out toward the end, it was easy to nod off during the "presentation."  Another good reason for an old geezer to get out of there.

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 jeffhergert on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 9:20 PM

There's a white horse grazing north of the tracks near Grand Island NE.

At least that's what the track bulletin said the other day.  I don't go that far, but we asked the inbound crew from North Platte if the horse is OK.  They said there's a hole in the fence and this horse has been seen grazing there.  When it's had it's fill, it finds it's way back to the field it came out of.

I had rules class today.  I get to keep playing for a few more years.  First time in 23 years, 100% on everything. 

Jeff

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Posted by JoeKoh on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 2:28 PM

afternoon

Ns still has autoracks uptown.Put the grill inside the shed here at home.Got out the shovels just in case this weekend.

Larry other ideas make us wonder as well.Along with CSX needing a fence along its mainline too.

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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