I should not be suprised as the Romans still have arches standing after 2000 years. But That bridge looks like it could take anotherr 100 + years of trains going over it.

I know there has been upkeep to it, But well done, That it has lasted to this day.

---

[/quote]

Old James

That and the Romans are reputed to have invented and pioneered the use of concrete, there is a building in Rome that's still being used after 2000 years.


The Thomas Viaduct Bridge in Maryland though is the oldest of it's type, it was started in 1833 and is a National Historic Landmark, oh and I think it is still used by the CSX today.

It remains the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Oy.

Saturday: assigned to ride the Chicago Surface Lines 3142 streetcar, just as an observer, since it's a one-man car (converted from two-man ca. 1940). This is the kind of car my mother always told me she remembered hating as a child.

First thing (after going to the office and signing in on my hours of service sheet), unlock the doors and open them, which is tricky from the outside, especially with no air pressure. Make sure you have a first aid kit and fire extinguisher; if not, steal them from a car that's not running today. Check the oil level in the air compressor. Make sure the wheels are properly chocked. Turn on the power in the barn (after shouting out "POWER COMING ON IN BARN 7!" three times. Raise the trolley pole. Air compressor starts running (probably causing one of the doors to close again). Fill out your car card: motorman's name, conductor's name if there is one, date, car number, starting time, air pressure (when it gets up). When there's enough pressure, set the brakes and check each brake shoe. Then release and check each one again. Don't walk between cars to get to the other side. Set the brakes and remove the chocks. Release the brakes, step on the gong twice, and give it one point of power. Kill the power and set the brakes as soon as the front end sticks out between the barn doors. Look around again for people and proceed all the way out of the barn. Stop and go back inside to turn off the power, unless another crew is also using it (today, there is a crew taking CTA 4391, the last remaining Green Hornet, out of the next track, so they will turn off the power). Call the dispatcher for permission out of Yard 7, into the trail track, and onto the Car Line. He gives permission into the tail track, onto the Car Line, and around in the normal direction to Depot Street and call for orders. Repeat it back. He confirms a correct repeat. Proceed to do it, stopping to throw any switches that are against you and aren't spring switches. In the tail track, change to the other trolley pole. Out of the tail track on the Car Line, change the poles again. Back-poling is not good and easily leads to problems and even damage, to the pole, the car, and worst of all, the wire.

So the motorman, a good teacher and the Assistant Superintendent for Weekend Operations (and apparently Acting Superintendent, since the Superintendent is laid up), explains how to operate the car... you can always take another point of power, but if you need to cut back, you have to go all the way to 0 and start over... never go above point 5... this car has straight air -- turn the brake handle to set and then back to lap, and if you need to you can give it another small set. There are certain places where you shouldn't draw power from the wire, because of circuit breakers or whatever... there are marks painted on the track to show where you're clear of these points.

At Electric Park, give the big speech... welcome to the museum, this car is, we are at Electric Park, named for our electrical substation behind you, the trolley bus barn, and the park, but mostly to tell you about electric parks. At the turn of the last century, when most people travelled by trolley, ridership was great during the week when everybody commuted to work, but it was lousy on weekends. So the electric railway executives came up with electric parks, weekend destinations where people could go by trolley, sometimes ONLY by trolley. In the Chicago area, some electric parks were...

Springfield Ave., named for the warming shelter you see here. It's from the interurban railway in Rockford, Illinois. When they shut down, it went to a farmer's field as a storage shed. One of our members found it there, recognized what it was, bought it, moved it here, and restored it. The Board of Directors was so impressed, they named this little bit of street Springfield Ave.

Barn Nine North. This is where we keep our collection of large steam engines, diesels, heavy electric locomotives, and the Zephyr. Also, Barns 6, 7, and 8 house our streetcars, interurban cars, the Electroliner, horse car, just about anything that ran in the street.

Proceed with caution past the stuff sitting out in front of Barn 9, watching for visitors coming around and not watching out for you. Safety stop at Central Ave. because a little kid could come running out from behind the low brick wall.

Central Ave. Get off here for the diner; Yard 5, the open air display; Barn 4, the Electric Car Shop (often closed to visitors because of active restoration work going on inside); and Barn 3, the Coach Department (where a longtime friend of mine often sleeps in the sleeping car he's working on restoring; his room has a very inauthentic air conditioner sticking out of the window). Also, the 50th Ave. L station, where today our newest acquisitions, the CTA 2200 series cars, are running in air conditioned comfort out to Jefferson St. in Union and back to 50th Ave. As recently as a year or two ago, these cars were running on the Blue Line out to O'Hare.

Depot St. All mainline trains depart from East Union Depot. Mark off a trip on the Car Line on your car card.

Close the doors, hit the gong twice, release the brakes, take a point, pull past the spot where the signal is supposed to be automatically triggered for us, watch it flash to yellow and back to red again. Stop. Call the dispatcher. Ask for permission past signal 104 displaying Stop. Dispatcher gives permission past signal 104 displaying Stop. 3142 copies permission to pass signal 104 displaying Stop. That is correct, 3142. Copy good repeat, 3142 out. Gong twice, release the brakes, proceed slowly through Car Line Junction, listening for the trolley pole to come off because it tracked the wrong way at the frog (it never did, all day). 5 MPH over the tail track diamond, and back to Electric Park.

Repeat, all day.

After a while, the Signal Department goes to look at signal 104. They announce that there's a broken bond wire, and they're going to lunch and will fix it when they come back. A good two hours later, they finally come back and weld the bond wire, which takes all of about five minutes. This does indeed fix it and they head off down the mainline to see why all the eastbound signals are red as far as Seemann Road. Eventually, they fix that too, leaving the dispatcher only having to give trains permission to pass the dark signal 461.

At one point, the steam crew will call the dispatcher for permission to come out of the steam shop lead, onto the Car Line, and into the steam lead to get coal and water. The dispatcher calls us and says to hold at Barn 9 North for this move. We acknowledge. The dispatcher then gives 1630 the requested permission and they repeat it back. I tell the motorman I want to take a Personal Electronic Device break. He says okay and I grab my phone and shoot video of 1630 making this move. Then I put the phone away in my grip again. Personal Electronic Devices while on duty have not been permitted in the entire railroad industry, including museums, since 2008. 1630 calls the dispatcher to say they're in the clear on the steam lead, and he gives us permission to continue around the Car Line.

Later, as my motorman has just finished his speech at Electric Park, we hear on the radio, "1630, with great pleasure, highball!" Motorman gets up from the stool and goes to the door to watch the train leave. It's 1630's first trip with passengers in about 10 years. Just writing about it now, three days later, still moistens my eyes.

Finally, ridership is waning and we tell the dispatcher we want to put her to bed. He gives us permission into the tail track, out of the tail track into Yard 7, and call when we're clear of controlled track. We repeat it. That is correct. We pull down to the tail track switch and I get to use my switch key for the first time. Dispatcher instructed us to leave the switch open for 4391, so I do. I verify that the other switch is set so we can just spring through it, and I walk up the lead, throwing the switches leading back to track 704, where we started that morning. I watch the trolley pole to make sure it tracks properly at each frog, giving a hand signal each time it does. Motorman rolls past me, up to the doors. By the time I get there, he has already gotten off to turn on the power ("POWER COMING ON IN BARN 7!") I watch him roll just through the door and make a safety stop, then creep into place. Set the brakes, chock the wheels, take down the pole, remove the brake and door handles, sweep out the car, face the seats in the proper direction for the next day, if you stole a safety kit from another car, return it (and put on your car card that there wasn't one), make sure you have your grip and anything else you need, lock the doors, bleed the air tank until water stops coming out (drain it completely in the winter). By this time, 4391 has also come in, so we check with them and turn off the power (no announcement needed). Close and lock the barn doors. I'm parked nearby, so I drive back to the office. Motorman walks back. He finishes the car card and signs it, then drops it in the box. I sign out on my hours of service sheet.

One last visit to the euphemism. Go home. Some of the guys are discussing going to dinner, but I want to go home. I need to wash my shirt and get some sleep for the next day.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Wow! Now that's a detailed post David, also since most don't know a Green Hornet looks and sounds like I found a few videos of it, Here and of course a still image. If I didn't know better I'd think where's Kato? ;)

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Wow! Now that's a detailed post David, also since most don't know a Green Hornet looks and sounds like I found a few videos of it, Here and of course a still image. If I didn't know better I'd think where's Kato? ;)

Yep, that's our Green Hornet. It's cool to watch old films of them gliding around corners on the city streets.

Chicago had 600 of these. When they ended streetcar service, 598 had some of their components reused in new L cars. One ended up at IRM. What happened that allowed this one to be saved? One of them ran into a gasoline tanker. Everyone inside burned to death (one of two times Chicago learned the lesson of doors opening inward). L cars come in pairs. So they didn't need to reuse the 599th car.

I won't get to operate that car for at least a year; you have to work a whole season on a simpler car before getting trained on that one.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Got back on Sunday from an extensive railway tour in Holland organized by Bluebell Railway. On Saturday 17th May, we left St. Pancras 10:58 Eurostar to Brussels where a coach met us to take us to Kerkrade in South Holland (or really I should say the Netherlands, as Holland is name of two districts in the Netherlands). The next day (Sunday 18th May) we travelled to Simpleveld to visit the South Limburg Railway or ZLSM. After a conducted tour of the sheds, we had reserved use of the recently restored 2nd Class Pullman coach where we travelled to Kerkrade, and back amply served with coffee and Limburger Tart on the way. We also took trip from Simpleveld by diesel railcar to Vetschau which is actually in Germany! The ZLSM must be the only heritage railway line that is in two countries. At the border you could see the remnants of the Siegfreid Line or Westwall as the Germans called it. In the evening the Pullman car was parked in the station and we had a very nice 3 course dinner on board. We were privileged to be the first group to do this.

On Monday 19th May we left Kerkrade and drove to Arnhem for our only non railway day. After a spot of lunch we visit the city cathedral and then visited the John Frost Bridge (as the bridge in the film A Bridge too Far’). We then went Oosterbeek to visit the Airborne Museum, 2014 being the 70th anniversary of the Market Garden Battle. On our way to our hotel in Zutphen we made a brief stop at Commonwealth War Cemetery to pay homage to those who lost their lives in battle.

Tuesday 20th May. Before we went on our travels a guided tour of St. Walburgis church was arranged. We then drove to Haaksbergen to visit the MBS or Museum Buurtspoorweg where we did a return trip to Boekelo with lunch being provided on board. We then moved on to Beekbergen to visit the VSM Appledoorn Dieren Line. The line was not running this particular day but did view the ex German locomotives that are used on the line. We then drove to Hoorn crossing Isselmeer on a causeway.

Wednesday 21st May. We visited the Museum Stoomtram Hoorn Medemblik. This line is twinned with the Bluebell Line. We took train to Medemblik which was pulled by a locomotive that was celebrating its 100th birthday. At Medemblik we had a quick walkabout the town before catching a ferry to Enkhuizen where we visited the Zuiderzee Museum.

Thursday 22nd May. The itenery called for a visit to the Museum of Twentieth Century Life in the Harbour area of Hoorn but my partner and I decided to duck out of this and spend a gentle visit around the town centre. In the afternoon we did a return trip to Medemblik this time the train was pulled by recently restored tram engine No.8. In the evening we had a three course meal in the train shed, the smell of coal and steam oil adding an extra dimension to the meal.

Friday 23rd May. We left Hoorn by NS railway to Lieden where we visited the Valkenburgse Meer or National Narrow Gauge Museum. From here we went by coach to our hotel on outskirts of Dordrecht. In the evening we went to another hotel by the river in Dordrecht for our meal. After the meal we went onto the hotel balcony where we had a grand stand view of parade of steam and other sailing vessels on the river. For me this was the highlight of the whole trip.

Saturday 24th May. Back in Dordrecht for bi-annual ‘Dordt en Stoom’ festival, where steam train rides from the railway station, model exhibition, boat trips on steam boats, fullsize and model traction engines of all decriptions along the river front, all linked by rides on vintage buses, a bit like the Dorset Steam Fair but in the middle of town. A brilliant day.

Sunday 25th May. We left Dordrecht and went to Goes to visit Stoomtrein Goes-Borsele Line visited the sheds then took the train as far as Hoedekenskerke and back. After a light lunch it was back to coach for our trip to Brussels to pick up the Eurostar for the trip back to London.

The tour was quite hectic, but thoroughly enjoyable, made even better by a great bunch of people. As I am not yet home I have yet to download photos from my camera, but I hope to post some pictures on Thursday or Friday.

---

.


A person who makes no mistakes, creates nothing.

Sounds like fun, Luigi.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Well, if you thought Saturday was interesting 9or not), wait until you read about Sunday.

I asked to be assigned to the coach train, because I wanted to work the steam train and because the same guy who was my motorman on Saturday was assigned as the conductor of the coach train on Sunday. I got there nice and early, around 9:00. First walked over to the steam shop, where they were getting 1630 ready for the day. They say they'll be ready to run around 1:00. Noticed they already moved another engine into the shop (1630 won't go through the door with the steam dome cover attached, so occupying the space is not a problem). Then I went to the office and signed in, about 9:15. After that, I wandered down to the depot to get a bottle of water. Empty. Sit on the bench outside.

Track Department calls the dispatcher. He is informed there is no dispatcher on duty yet. He calls for anyone near the depot to help him out. I don't respond because I'm not qualified even as a non-revenue dispatcher.

After a while, the assigned conductor comes by and tells me he's been reassigned and the new conductor won't be here until about 12 or 12:30. He calls Track Department back and asks if he still needs a dispatcher. Track Deptment says all he needs is someone to write his name on the dispatcher board. (Is that all? I could have done that for him. Next time, I'll know.) Ex-conductor writes it for him. I asked him who's responsible for the water. He says he'll go find out. A little while later, he comes back with two cases of water in the back of a golf cart. Another trainman has arrived, so I stay out of the way while they stock the fridge. Then I take the one bottle that wouldn't fit inside.

10:00. Ex-conductor comes on the radio, calling himself dispatcher. Calls Track Department, who says he's done with his move and off controlled track. New dispatcher comes over, erases Track Department's name, and writes in his own.

Visitors are showing up, asking when the trains will run. I say the steam train is expected to run about 1:00, but there should be an electric earlier than that.

North Shore train calls dispatcher, wanting to come out of the yard and into the station. Permission given. 100+ year old CTA wooden L cars call for the same reason. Permission given. These trains start alternating runs on the main line as move people show up.

The same streetcars as Saturday also want to come out of the yard and start running on the Car Line. Permission given.

CTA 2243 wants to start running from 50th Ave. to Jefferson St. and back. Gets an order for his first trip. I keep answering questions.

Around noon, 1630 calls to come from the steam shop lead onto the Car Line and into the steam lead for water. Dispatcher calls streetcar 3142 (the one I was on yesterday) three times. No response. Dispatcher tells 1630 to proceed, watching out for 3142. Wood L cars call in from Johnson Siding, where they were ordered to call for orders. Dispatcher extends their order. 3142 calls out "EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY!" L cars don't hear and repeat the order. Dispatcher waits for them to finish, then says "Stop all radio traffic. What is the emergency?" 3142 says he is at Barn 9 North. A woman fell off the platform and is bleeding from the head and he needs help. Volunteers start moving, some over there, others to the main gates. After a couple minutes, dispatcher says he called EMS and they're on the way. I decide to go to lunch. This may seem callous, but the diner is near the scene of the incident and I figure there are other people better able to assist than I am. As I finish my two hot dogs, one of the other coach trainmen comes running over. I find out later he was a paramedic who got tired of it and went to work for the railroad. I tell him that whether he wanted to or not, he probably just volunteered to be the museum's new medical expert. Someone calls from the front gate that the chief's car is on the property and the ambulance should be here in ten minutes. I walk out to the incident scene as the chief arrives. He is waved down, parks out of the way, and comes to see what's going on. The ambulance shows up in just another three minutes or so and is also directed to the scene. I continue to stay out of the way. I won't go into detail about the injury, but I will say that she eventually walked into the ambulance. The motorman on 3142 (another guy I've known for years) tells me what happened, but I won't put that here either.

Meanwhile, 1630, which had stopped on the Central Ave. crossing, moved off of it back onto the shop lead. When the woman is in the ambulance, 3142 calls the dispatcher and says he wants to go out of service for a while to write up his incident report. Dispatcher asks where 1630 is. 3142 says 1630 is in the clear on the shop lead. Dispatcher tells 3142 to proceed to Depot St. and tie up in Barn 4 West. (That's a backup move on a very tight curve off the Car Line.) I ride along with him, intending to throw the switch for him. However, the crew of 4391, which has been holding all this time, handles that for him. I go back to the depot, where people are now demanding to know when the steam train will run. I explain that it was originally expected about 1:00, but it's been delayed by the medical emergency. Maybe 2:00.

Meanwhile, once the ambulance was on the scene, trains started running again. So about this time, the wood L train calls in to say it's stopped near the bridge with no power. Dispatcher calls some guy, who immediately heads out there to see what he can do.

to be continued...

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Good morning David and thank you good post.

Well, if you thought Saturday was interesting (or not), wait until you read about Sunday.

I asked to be assigned to the coach train, because I wanted to work the steam train and because the same guy who was my motorman on Saturday was assigned as the conductor of the coach train on Sunday. I got there nice and early, around 9:00. First walked over to the steam shop, where they were getting 1630 ready for the day. They say they'll be ready to run around 1:00. Noticed they already moved another engine into the shop (1630 won't go through the door with the steam dome cover attached, so occupying the space is not a problem). Then I went to the office and signed in, about 9:15. After that, I wandered down to the depot to get a bottle of water. Empty. Sit on the bench outside.

Track Department calls the dispatcher. He is informed there is no dispatcher on duty yet. He calls for anyone near the depot to help him out. I don't respond because I'm not qualified even as a non-revenue dispatcher.

After a while, the assigned conductor comes by and tells me he's been reassigned and the new conductor won't be here until about 12 or 12:30. He calls Track Department back and asks if he still needs a dispatcher. Track Deptment says all he needs is someone to write his name on the dispatcher board. (Is that all? I could have done that for him. Next time, I'll know.) Ex-conductor writes it for him. I asked him who's responsible for the water. He says he'll go find out. A little while later, he comes back with two cases of water in the back of a golf cart. Another trainman has arrived, so I stay out of the way while they stock the fridge. Then I take the one bottle that wouldn't fit inside.

10:00. Ex-conductor comes on the radio, calling himself dispatcher. Calls Track Department, who says he's done with his move and off controlled track. New dispatcher comes over, erases Track Department's name, and writes in his own.

Visitors are showing up, asking when the trains will run. I say the steam train is expected to run about 1:00, but there should be an electric earlier than that.

North Shore train calls dispatcher, wanting to come out of the yard and into the station. Permission given. 100+ year old CTA wooden L cars call for the same reason. Permission given. These trains start alternating runs on the main line as move people show up.

The same streetcars as Saturday also want to come out of the yard and start running on the Car Line. Permission given.

CTA 2243 wants to start running from 50th Ave. to Jefferson St. and back. Gets an order for his first trip. I keep answering questions.

Around noon, 1630 calls to come from the steam shop lead onto the Car Line and into the steam lead for water. Dispatcher calls streetcar 3142 (the one I was on yesterday) three times. No response. Dispatcher tells 1630 to proceed, watching out for 3142. Wood L cars call in from Johnson Siding, where they were ordered to call for orders. Dispatcher extends their order. 3142 calls out "EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY!" L cars don't hear and repeat the order. Dispatcher waits for them to finish, then says "Stop all radio traffic. What is the emergency?" 3142 says he is at Barn 9 North. A woman fell off the platform and is bleeding from the head and he needs help. Volunteers start moving, some over there, others to the main gates. After a couple minutes, dispatcher says he called EMS and they're on the way. I decide to go to lunch. This may seem callous, but the diner is near the scene of the incident and I figure there are other people better able to assist than I am. As I finish my two hot dogs, one of the other coach trainmen comes running over. I find out later he was a paramedic who got tired of it and went to work for the railroad. I tell him that whether he wanted to or not, he probably just volunteered to be the museum's new medical expert. Someone calls from the front gate that the chief's car is on the property and the ambulance should be here in ten minutes. I walk out to the incident scene as the chief arrives. He is waved down, parks out of the way, and comes to see what's going on. The ambulance shows up in just another three minutes or so and is also directed to the scene. I continue to stay out of the way. I won't go into detail about the injury, but I will say that she eventually walked into the ambulance. The motorman on 3142 (another guy I've known for years) tells me what happened, but I won't put that here either.

Meanwhile, 1630, which had stopped on the Central Ave. crossing, moved off of it back onto the shop lead. When the woman is in the ambulance, 3142 calls the dispatcher and says he wants to go out of service for a while to write up his incident report. Dispatcher asks where 1630 is. 3142 says 1630 is in the clear on the shop lead. Dispatcher tells 3142 to proceed to Depot St. and tie up in Barn 4 West. (That's a backup move on a very tight curve off the Car Line.) I ride along with him, intending to throw the switch for him. However, the crew of 4391, which has been holding all this time, handles that for him. I go back to the depot, where people are now demanding to know when the steam train will run. I explain that it was originally expected about 1:00, but it's been delayed by the medical emergency. Maybe 2:00.

Meanwhile, once the ambulance was on the scene, trains started running again. So about this time, the wood L train calls in to say it's stopped near the bridge with no power. Dispatcher calls some guy, who immediately heads out there to see what he can do.

to be continued...

Where was I?... Oh yes. The North Shore train already has an order to depart as soon as the L train passes East Switch, and it has a full load of passengers. People are continuing to ask me when another train is going to run. Now I have to explain the broken down train as well as the medical emergency, and I just have no idea when anything will run. But one streetcar is still running on the Car Line and 2243 is still running shuttles out of 50th Ave.

After a while, someone decides to unload the passengers from the North Shore train and send it out to rescue the passengers from the L train. Their previous order is annulled and they are issued a new order for immediate departure east to where the L train is near Boot Creek bridge and transfer the passengers over. Call for orders when that is done. Ding ding. Toot toot. Start moving. Stop. Call for permission to pass the temporary absolute signal 121 displaying stop. Permission given, repeated, confirmed. Toot toot. About twenty minutes later, they call to say the passengers are on board. Order is extended to proceed west to West Switch, short turn, and return to Station Track One, center berth. Repeated, confirmed, done. Passengers applaud when it arrives.

But still nothing can move on the main, except for 2243's shuttles to the west end. North Shore motorman decides to go run 3142 and takes the North Shore train's reverser key with him. After he's done a few laps, someone decides to take out the Army critter, with a coupler adapter, to bring in the L train. An order is given for this. North Shore motorman is told he will need to move the train west some to make room for the critter to bring the L cars in and shove them into the Car Line and off controlled track. He leaves 3142 at Depot St. and does this, then returns to 3142, this time leaving the North Shore key with his conductor, who is not a qualified motorman, just in case another motorman comes along. He gets in maybe two more laps and hands 3142 off to its original motorman, then returns to the North Shore train, which can finally go out on the main again.

Meanwhile, 1630 has finished taking water and coal and gotten an order to come out of the west wye, past West Switch, east on the main to East Swtich, and back into Station Track Two. North Shore motorman gets on the PA and announces he is departing soon, but if you ride it you will not be back in time for the first run of the steam train. North Shore train leaves.

I finally get into action, standing near the front of the coach train as 1630 backs down. I tell myself I can direct the coupling, but of course there are several other guys to accomplish this. I finally meet the replacement conductor, who turns out to be the same guy who went out to see what was wrong with the L train. Once 1630 is coupled on, conductor goes to the end of the train. I go to the third car (we're not opening the first two). Conductor calls for a set of the brakes. Nothing happens. After the fourth call, the dispatcher calls the engineer and asks if he hears the conductor asking for a set. Engineer sets the brakes. We trainmen watch the brakes nearest to us set, even though earlier in the day a diesel had been brought out to pump up the air and do an initial brake test, so now all we need is a set and release. Conductor calls for a release. Again, engineer not listening. Finally does it. We load passengers, quickly filling up. Conductor opens the front car, which we weren't using because the interior paint all came off during the winter. Dispatcher issues an order, conductor repeats it. Confirmed. Engineer repeats it, not exactly but close enough. Highball at 2:12.

I give the quick safety speech ("keep your hands, head, and small children inside the car, and remain seated while the train is in motion"). Same thing in the baggage compartment, adding "don't go out the front door" because the conductor told me so. Once we clear East Switch, I punch tickets. Then I enjoy the ride until we stop at Kishwaukee Grove, where I give my brief "welcome to the museum, we are being pulled by, the railroad we're on is..." speech. More enjoying the ride, out on the dangerous open vestibule, on my aching feet.

Back into Johnson Siding and call for orders. Ordered to meet another train, the proceed to Jefferson St. and return to Station Track Two. Meet occurs and we go. A lot slower than we went forward.

to be continued...

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Well, if you thought Saturday was interesting (or not), wait until you read about Sunday.

I asked to be assigned to the coach train, because I wanted to work the steam train and because the same guy who was my motorman on Saturday was assigned as the conductor of the coach train on Sunday. I got there nice and early, around 9:00. First walked over to the steam shop, where they were getting 1630 ready for the day. They say they'll be ready to run around 1:00. Noticed they already moved another engine into the shop (1630 won't go through the door with the steam dome cover attached, so occupying the space is not a problem). Then I went to the office and signed in, about 9:15. After that, I wandered down to the depot to get a bottle of water. Empty. Sit on the bench outside.

Track Department calls the dispatcher. He is informed there is no dispatcher on duty yet. He calls for anyone near the depot to help him out. I don't respond because I'm not qualified even as a non-revenue dispatcher.

After a while, the assigned conductor comes by and tells me he's been reassigned and the new conductor won't be here until about 12 or 12:30. He calls Track Department back and asks if he still needs a dispatcher. Track Deptment says all he needs is someone to write his name on the dispatcher board. (Is that all? I could have done that for him. Next time, I'll know.) Ex-conductor writes it for him. I asked him who's responsible for the water. He says he'll go find out. A little while later, he comes back with two cases of water in the back of a golf cart. Another trainman has arrived, so I stay out of the way while they stock the fridge. Then I take the one bottle that wouldn't fit inside.

10:00. Ex-conductor comes on the radio, calling himself dispatcher. Calls Track Department, who says he's done with his move and off controlled track. New dispatcher comes over, erases Track Department's name, and writes in his own.

Visitors are showing up, asking when the trains will run. I say the steam train is expected to run about 1:00, but there should be an electric earlier than that.

North Shore train calls dispatcher, wanting to come out of the yard and into the station. Permission given. 100+ year old CTA wooden L cars call for the same reason. Permission given. These trains start alternating runs on the main line as move people show up.

The same streetcars as Saturday also want to come out of the yard and start running on the Car Line. Permission given.

CTA 2243 wants to start running from 50th Ave. to Jefferson St. and back. Gets an order for his first trip. I keep answering questions.

Around noon, 1630 calls to come from the steam shop lead onto the Car Line and into the steam lead for water. Dispatcher calls streetcar 3142 (the one I was on yesterday) three times. No response. Dispatcher tells 1630 to proceed, watching out for 3142. Wood L cars call in from Johnson Siding, where they were ordered to call for orders. Dispatcher extends their order. 3142 calls out "EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY!" L cars don't hear and repeat the order. Dispatcher waits for them to finish, then says "Stop all radio traffic. What is the emergency?" 3142 says he is at Barn 9 North. A woman fell off the platform and is bleeding from the head and he needs help. Volunteers start moving, some over there, others to the main gates. After a couple minutes, dispatcher says he called EMS and they're on the way. I decide to go to lunch. This may seem callous, but the diner is near the scene of the incident and I figure there are other people better able to assist than I am. As I finish my two hot dogs, one of the other coach trainmen comes running over. I find out later he was a paramedic who got tired of it and went to work for the railroad. I tell him that whether he wanted to or not, he probably just volunteered to be the museum's new medical expert. Someone calls from the front gate that the chief's car is on the property and the ambulance should be here in ten minutes. I walk out to the incident scene as the chief arrives. He is waved down, parks out of the way, and comes to see what's going on. The ambulance shows up in just another three minutes or so and is also directed to the scene. I continue to stay out of the way. I won't go into detail about the injury, but I will say that she eventually walked into the ambulance. The motorman on 3142 (another guy I've known for years) tells me what happened, but I won't put that here either.

Meanwhile, 1630, which had stopped on the Central Ave. crossing, moved off of it back onto the shop lead. When the woman is in the ambulance, 3142 calls the dispatcher and says he wants to go out of service for a while to write up his incident report. Dispatcher asks where 1630 is. 3142 says 1630 is in the clear on the shop lead. Dispatcher tells 3142 to proceed to Depot St. and tie up in Barn 4 West. (That's a backup move on a very tight curve off the Car Line.) I ride along with him, intending to throw the switch for him. However, the crew of 4391, which has been holding all this time, handles that for him. I go back to the depot, where people are now demanding to know when the steam train will run. I explain that it was originally expected about 1:00, but it's been delayed by the medical emergency. Maybe 2:00.

Meanwhile, once the ambulance was on the scene, trains started running again. So about this time, the wood L train calls in to say it's stopped near the bridge with no power. Dispatcher calls some guy, who immediately heads out there to see what he can do.

to be continued...

Where was I?... Oh yes. The North Shore train already has an order to depart as soon as the L train passes East Switch, and it has a full load of passengers. People are continuing to ask me when another train is going to run. Now I have to explain the broken down train as well as the medical emergency, and I just have no idea when anything will run. But one streetcar is still running on the Car Line and 2243 is still running shuttles out of 50th Ave.

After a while, someone decides to unload the passengers from the North Shore train and send it out to rescue the passengers from the L train. Their previous order is annulled and they are issued a new order for immediate departure east to where the L train is near Boot Creek bridge and transfer the passengers over. Call for orders when that is done. Ding ding. Toot toot. Start moving. Stop. Call for permission to pass the temporary absolute signal 121 displaying stop. Permission given, repeated, confirmed. Toot toot. About twenty minutes later, they call to say the passengers are on board. Order is extended to proceed west to West Switch, short turn, and return to Station Track One, center berth. Repeated, confirmed, done. Passengers applaud when it arrives.

But still nothing can move on the main, except for 2243's shuttles to the west end. North Shore motorman decides to go run 3142 and takes the North Shore train's reverser key with him. After he's done a few laps, someone decides to take out the Army critter, with a coupler adapter, to bring in the L train. An order is given for this. North Shore motorman is told he will need to move the train west some to make room for the critter to bring the L cars in and shove them into the Car Line and off controlled track. He leaves 3142 at Depot St. and does this, then returns to 3142, this time leaving the North Shore key with his conductor, who is not a qualified motorman, just in case another motorman comes along. He gets in maybe two more laps and hands 3142 off to its original motorman, then returns to the North Shore train, which can finally go out on the main again.

Meanwhile, 1630 has finished taking water and coal and gotten an order to come out of the west wye, past West Switch, east on the main to East Swtich, and back into Station Track Two. North Shore motorman gets on the PA and announces he is departing soon, but if you ride it you will not be back in time for the first run of the steam train. North Shore train leaves.

I finally get into action, standing near the front of the coach train as 1630 backs down. I tell myself I can direct the coupling, but of course there are several other guys to accomplish this. I finally meet the replacement conductor, who turns out to be the same guy who went out to see what was wrong with the L train. Once 1630 is coupled on, conductor goes to the end of the train. I go to the third car (we're not opening the first two). Conductor calls for a set of the brakes. Nothing happens. After the fourth call, the dispatcher calls the engineer and asks if he hears the conductor asking for a set. Engineer sets the brakes. We trainmen watch the brakes nearest to us set, even though earlier in the day a diesel had been brought out to pump up the air and do an initial brake test, so now all we need is a set and release. Conductor calls for a release. Again, engineer not listening. Finally does it. We load passengers, quickly filling up. Conductor opens the front car, which we weren't using because the interior paint all came off during the winter. Dispatcher issues an order, conductor repeats it. Confirmed. Engineer repeats it, not exactly but close enough. Highball at 2:12.

I give the quick safety speech ("keep your hands, head, and small children inside the car, and remain seated while the train is in motion"). Same thing in the baggage compartment, adding "don't go out the front door" because the conductor told me so. Once we clear East Switch, I punch tickets. Then I enjoy the ride until we stop at Kishwaukee Grove, where I give my brief "welcome to the museum, we are being pulled by, the railroad we're on is..." speech. More enjoying the ride, out on the dangerous open vestibule, on my aching feet.

Back into Johnson Siding and call for orders. Ordered to meet another train, the proceed to Jefferson St. and return to Station Track Two. Meet occurs and we go. A lot slower than we went forward.

to be continued...

Okay, almost done. When we stop, I announce "East Union, end of the ride." Passengers get up, I take the step box and get down on the ground, then watch them get off. At some point in three trips, I helped a little kid get off.

As soon as everyone is off, we load again. Next trip is at 3:15. Last trip is at 4:15. All pretty much the same. Could have been 45 minutes apart if we had backed up a little faster.

Last trip, my car isn't full. Better yet, no one is in the baggage compartment. Although I could sit down and rest my aching feet, the urge is too strong to take advantage of the open baggage doors, and I go back and forth between them at will. At the end of the last trip, I make the rookie mistake of getting off my car before the engineer whistles that we're stopped. Conductor asks him four times and again the dispatcher has to get his attention before he finally whistles and we let the passengers get off. I grab a broom from the toilet and start sweeping the floor. Conductor comes in, notes my activity with approval, and starts closing windows. We finish and he releases me from the crew, with thanks.

I go to the office to sign out, not even watching 1630 make its way back to the steam shop. One last trip to the euphemism and I'm gone.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Some pictures of the first day when we visited the South Limburg Railway. The first picture is of a diesel shunter which external controls so it can be operated outside the cab.



The second picture is the recently restored 2nd Class Pullman coach which was originally built in 1927.



and the interior of the coach



The train was pulled by this loco



Finally as I said in my previous post part of the line crosses into Germany at Vetschau were the part of Siegfried Line could be seen.



I will post more pictures when I finishes cataloging them.

---

.


A person who makes no mistakes, creates nothing.

I notice on train cars in Europe They all have thos two round dics on each side of the car. What are they? Shock absorbers?

---

[/quote]

Old James

I notice on train cars in Europe They all have those two round discs on each side of the car. What are they? Shock absorbers?

I think they're called 'buffer bars'... They are described Here...

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Thanks Vic. I had no idea that there were that many ways to hook a train together.

---

[/quote]

Old James

Thanks Vic. I had no idea that there were that many ways to hook a train together.

Link and Pin, shudder, the best way to lose fingers, a hand or ones life... And you're welcome James.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I think they're called 'buffer bars'

In the UK we just call them 'Buffers' and they are sprung loaded. For coaches and wagons fitted with automatic brakes coupling was done by a screw link. The link from one wagon/coach is fitted over the hook on the next wagon/coach and then tighten so that the buffers are constantly touching.

A pecularity to UK is that we had stock that was unfitted (no automatic brakes), these wagons did not have screw link to couple but just a chain of 3 links, this of course meant there was a gap between the buffers. So when a train came to a stop the wagons would bang into each other in a series of clangs.

Unfitted trains were phased out sometime in the 1980s.

---

.


A person who makes no mistakes, creates nothing.

I think they're called 'buffer bars'

In the UK we just call them 'Buffers' and they are sprung loaded. For coaches and wagons fitted with automatic brakes coupling was done by a screw link. The link from one wagon/coach is fitted over the hook on the next wagon/coach and then tighten so that the buffers are constantly touching.

A pecularity to UK is that we had stock that was unfitted (no automatic brakes), these wagons did not have screw link to couple but just a chain of 3 links, this of course meant there was a gap between the buffers. So when a train came to a stop the wagons would bang into each other in a series of clangs.

Unfitted trains were phased out sometime in the 1980s.

I'm surprised they lasted that long.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Hectic day of slowness at the museum yesterday.

I won't go into every gory detail. The line crew was out working on the wire, so most of the day we could only go about .6 of a mile east. (The first time I went out there as a little kid, that was as far as the track went.) And the track crew was out on the west end, so we had to short turn at West Switch. After they both came in for lunch, each train (diesel coach and CA&E electric) got one run all the way east before the line crew went out again, and the westward trip was extended to the west end of Schmidt Siding. Looks like they put new ballast out beyond that point.

I was conductor on the CA&E, and learned that I don't want to do that again. Those cars are a PITA. 431 has these really nice loveseat-type seats in it, but the aisle is so narrow I have to go down it sideways.

The worst part of raising trolley poles is staring RIGHT into the sun to see the shoe and the wire. We lost a pole out on the line once, which may or may not have been my fault. I don't feel bad, because my screwups were minor relative to my motorman's screwups. Twice when we changed ends, he forgot to pull down the front pole. Amazingly, this did not result in any damage to anything.

Air brake class in 3 weeks. With that training, I can start line training to be a coach conductor.

Right now, I *must* overcome the urge to go back to sleep and at least take a stab at mowing the back yard before it rains.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

My friend Mike is on his way home with 3 private cars on the back of Amtrak 8, the Empire Builder. It's been quite the adventure (which I'm sure his passengers are enjoying, even if the rest of Amtrak's aren't). First, they left Seattle nearly 2 hours late. The delay shrank and grew and shrank and grew along the way, until they got to Fargo. It seems BNSF derailed a freight train at Elk River, MN, during the night (thereby cancelling the North Star commuter service for the day). So 8 sat for a few more hours until a BNSF pilot engineer arrived to take the train on a detour via Breckenridge, Morris, Willmar, and Wayzata, MN. Bonus for me, I discovered I can follow it on ATCS Monitor all the way in from Clontarf, MN.

I really wish now that I had gone ahead and ridden out to Fargo and back. Amtrak has been detouring in one direction between Fargo and Minot while BNSF works on adding track capacity. I'd really like to ride that rare mileage, and getting today's rare mileage would have been a bonus.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.