Good Morning
First day of Fall is tomorrow.Summer isn't giving up yet.Deshler had rain yesterday.Didn't look like we had any here at home.Plenty of visitors to the park and Museum this weekend.Going to have the museum open for people to check out.Brother is doing ok.Matt saw an Ns coal train with 3 dpus in the middle heading north to Sandusky.Next weekend is the Fostoria train show.Our California pen pal will be in the area as well.We also are invited to Muncie for an open house at progress rail.New great nephew and big brother are getting settled in.New great niece to arrive soon.As brother said we need a bigger boat.Time to load up the truck.
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").
It show Joe created this thread at 5:37 AM.
I have been attempting to access the Forum since approximated 0930. Finally got something other than a 504 Error just now. Making this post - hope it goes through!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Fall has fell,
The leaves as well
Have fallen to the ground.
And everyone knows, when the cold wind blows,
Jack Frost will soon be 'round.
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...
October 4, 2024 at 1613 ET and the forum is accessable.
10-4!
Yesterday 10/4 was the first dry day after 12 consecutive days of measurable precipitation. Today 10/5 it was discovered that the Sun still exists - who knew?
Hopefully they bought enough sunflower seeds this time to keep the hamster going for more than a week.
BaltACDHamster has been keeping the wheel turning for 3 dqys so far.
Shhhhhhhh!
afternoon
Glad to enjoy the fall weather.Farmers are out big time getting the crops in.Made many day trips on our mini vacation.Found a former GTW switcher in RJ corman paint in Spencerville Ohio.Nothing running on the other line in Celina.Today found a gp 15-1 in the NDW siding here in town.The sante fe 2026 has been put aside the past few weeks.Was able to check on new great nephew.Great niece will have to wait.Going to grill out tonight for our 30th(yea 30) anniversary.College boy is doing great at school and looking at offers after graduation.Watching thins down south as well.Back to work tomorrow.
Great article in the latest issue of Trains about Houston's PTRA. Too bad Ed's not still around to share some color about the line.
tree68 Great article in the latest issue of Trains about Houston's PTRA. Too bad Ed's not still around to share some color about the line.
I haven't read the article yet; just looked at the pictures and maps. Still thought of Ed while doing that and reflecting on how a lot of us still miss him.
Best wishes to CSX and all the short lines in FLORIDA with the approach of Hurricane Milton.
evening
The GP 15 is in the NDW yard.Crews just said the Sante Fe 2026 was broke.Saw a couple Csx eastbounds at Fc.Mother nature going to send rain and a cool down for next week.Maybe will be awake enough tonight to see the northern lights.Chores to get at.
I saw one report that said we may see snow next week (or the following week).
Locally the wearthermen stated that Oct. 10, 1979 was the earliest measurable snow in Central Maryland.
Morning
Ns is dealing with a shifted load in a trailer near Elkhart Indiana that caught fire.Csx local was having problems getting cars into a plastics place near FC.The new fertilizer plant is having loads dropped off as they fill the storage tanks.First frost this week according to the guessers.
Ended up working one of the trains (Utica-Thendara) as engineer on Sunday. Wet rails, 1 to 2% grades, leaves, and a big train don't play well together. Yes, I was on sand for most of the trip up the hill.
Keep in mind that we were climbing from ~475' elevation to 1712' over the course of fifty miles. That's an average grade of just under 0.5%... (If I did my math right.)
Just experienced a 504 error in accessing this thread - tried again and had success. ???????
Larry, your math is right.
The wife and I had our daughter home this last weekend to celebrate my wife's birthday from last month as well as my upcoming birthday. Looking forward to the trip over Cumbres as my birthday present. I remember seeing a picture of a model of the west portal of Toltec Gorge tunnel in '67 - though didn't have a clue at that time what was being modeled - so it will be fun to finally see the prototype.
Other narrow gauge nostalgia was remember reading about changing engines at Sargents from the Oct 1964 MR - 60 years later...
My avatar is of the the High line north of Durango taken in 2012.
Rode the C&TSRR today, spent last night in Antonito got the bus from Antonito to Chama this morning - just before departure the driver said "Anyone who is not on the but is supposed to be on the bus, raise your hand".
It was sweet hearing the stack talk from 489 as she went up the 4% grade, along with the coal smoke. There were a lot more trees than I expected, made taking photos a bit tricky as a tree would block the view while lining up for the shot. I was also intrigued with all of the blue signs on grade crossings - with number to call in case of problems with the grade crossings - good to know that the powers that be are concerned about malfunctioning Yield signs and crossbucks.
The view of the Toltec Gorge was spectacular.
Erik_MagRode the C&TSRR today, spent last night in Antonito got the bus from Antonito to Chama this morning - just before departure the driver said "Anyone who is not on the but is supposed to be on the bus, raise your hand". It was sweet hearing the stack talk from 489 as she went up the 4% grade, along with the coal smoke. There were a lot more trees than I expected, made taking photos a bit tricky as a tree would block the view while lining up for the shot. I was also intrigued with all of the blue signs on grade crossings - with number to call in case of problems with the grade crossings - good to know that the powers that be are concerned about malfunctioning Yield signs and crossbucks. The view of the Toltec Gorge was spectacular.
I believe the blue plates at road crossing are a FRA requirement and contain the speific FRA crossing identification number - so callers can identify the correct crossing.
https://railroads.dot.gov/railroad-safety/divisions/highway-rail-crossing-and-trespasser-programs/crossing-inventory/rail
I'm pretty sure you're right about the FRA requirement, though not sure how much you report about a Yield sign or a crossbucks other than damaged or missing. There were a number of blue plates in areas where there is zero cell phone coverage, and some of the "roads" are something that I would only drive on with a 4WD.
Quite a bit of the country that the C&TSRR traverses has not utilities whatsoever. There are perhaps 5 to 10% of the D&RGW poles standing and those are the only poles visible for much the line.
Erik_MagI'm pretty sure you're right about the FRA requirement, though not sure how much you report about a Yield sign or a crossbucks other than damaged or missing. There were a number of blue plates in areas where there is zero cell phone coverage, and some of the "roads" are something that I would only drive on with a 4WD. Quite a bit of the country that the C&TSRR traverses has not utilities whatsoever. There are perhaps 5 to 10% of the D&RGW poles standing and those are the only poles visible for much the line.
EVERY (authorized) road crossing of a railroad is supposed to be identified in the FRA Road Crossing database - every identified road crossing is supposed to have the blue tags with the FRA Identity designation and contact information on the crossing protection on both sides of the track(s).
Having worked as a CSX Asst. Chief Dispatcher for 26 years - the biggest problem in communications between civilians and railroad personnel is coming to the correect agreement of where HERE actually is. Civilians deal in road names and hundred blocks of those roads; railroaders deal in Mileposts on whatever the line and road crossing locations. The reality is that both side are communicating in different languages. The FRA crossing tags are something of a Rosetta Stone in getting both languages understood by all concerned.
I can understand the rationale for having an identifier at every crossing, but it does seem kind of funny when, for example, comparing a quiet zone crossing on the Surf Line that may have more vehicles crossing in one hour than some of the trails crossing the C&TSRR will see in one year. There's a lot of things that can go wrong with a quiet zone crossing than a simple sign. What does go wrong with a quiet zone crossing usually needs to be fixed faster than a simple sign.
I'm not arguing aginst the rule, but still find the application of the rule with respect to these isolated crossings to be a bit humorous.
We have a number of trail crossings/farm crossings, etc that are placarded, but for which we don't sound the prescribed horn sequence.
They are listed in the timetable.
The signs are more for reporting a vehicle stalled, hung up or fouling the tracks at the crossing. Also to report vegetation or blocked crossings.
Jeff
Erik_MagI can understand the rationale for having an identifier at every crossing, but it does seem kind of funny when, for example, comparing a quiet zone crossing on the Surf Line that may have more vehicles crossing in one hour than some of the trails crossing the C&TSRR will see in one year. There's a lot of things that can go wrong with a quiet zone crossing than a simple sign. What does go wrong with a quiet zone crossing usually needs to be fixed faster than a simple sign. I'm not arguing aginst the rule, but still find the application of the rule with respect to these isolated crossings to be a bit humorous.
You have never had to 'odd man out' with a civilian where 'Here' actually is. As a railroader 'next to the Jiffey Mart' is not a location I can identify for either railroad personnel or civilian authorities that may not know their own area 'that well' (when dealing with 911 operators - they rarely have a total grasp of all areas they get involved with),
jeffhergert The signs are more for reporting a vehicle stalled, hung up or fouling the tracks at the crossing. Also to report vegetation or blocked crossings. Jeff
That makes a lot more sense - thanks!
One issue with the signs on the C&TSRR is that many of the crossings are where there is no cell phone coverage. OTOH, there is likely to be some sort of VHF radio coverage that would enable prompt reporting of a problem at the crossing, and satellite phone coverage is getting easier to come by.
I suspect that at the speed the C&SRR normally runs, there aren't many places where the train couldn't be stopped short of an obstruction.
BaltACD You have never had to 'odd man out' with a civilian where 'Here' actually is.
You have never had to 'odd man out' with a civilian where 'Here' actually is.
That's a good follow to what Jeff said about reporting obstructed crossings.
A fair amount of the discussion about crossing problems have been about reporting malfunctioning crossing signals and gates, so that's what prompted comments about malfunctioning signs...
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