The Train Thread 2

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Profile Bernie Vine
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Message 1802573 - Posted: 14 Jul 2016, 18:41:57 UTC

I am going to post a few different pictures today.

These new cameras take a while to work out how log a train takes from the last stop before the camera to appearing. So I have spent a lot of time watching cars, people, wildlife and skies.

As I mentioned Folkston GA is about as far south as you can get and not be in Florida, today while waiting for a very very late southbound Auto Train, I noticed the clouds.

Here looking north.



And here south



I assume the clouds are forming over the Atlantic coast which is about 40 miles that way.

Eventually 53 did arrive over 6 hours late and in daylight!!



Clouds a bit thicker then.

The most picturesque camera is no doubt the Cajon pass.

As best just before sunrise.

Looking east



And looking west



Just occasionally a late Southwest Chief complements the actual sunrise. It normally arrives at 4 am in the pitch dark!!



As to wildlife, well I have seen a coyote, some very large birds(no idea what they were) and most often jack rabbits.

Can you spot the jackrabbit in this pic.



Hint, bottom left by the bush.
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Message 1802650 - Posted: 15 Jul 2016, 4:55:28 UTC - in response to Message 1802573.  

I assume the clouds are forming over the Atlantic coast which is about 40 miles that way.

As a broad generality, weather in North America moves eastward. However, your assumption is certainly possible. Did you notice which way the clouds were moving?

As to wildlife, well I have seen a coyote, some very large birds(no idea what they were) and most often jack rabbits.

How big are the birds? Huge is probably vultures. Truly monstrous could be California condors, although I'm not sure if they're that far inland.

BTW, if I haven't mentioned it before... if you're used to listening for horns to tell you when trains are approaching the Rochelle cam, pretty soon you won't have that. The city is making all the downtown crossings a quiet zone.
David
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Message 1802652 - Posted: 15 Jul 2016, 5:26:47 UTC - in response to Message 1802650.  

I assume the clouds are forming over the Atlantic coast which is about 40 miles that way.

As a broad generality, weather in North America moves eastward. However, your assumption is certainly possible. Did you notice which way the clouds were moving?

Cam may be far enough south to be in the Trade Winds, which blow the opposite direction of the majority of US and Canadian weather. It is why hurricanes impact the coast of Florida and Georgia.

As to wildlife, well I have seen a coyote, some very large birds(no idea what they were) and most often jack rabbits.

How big are the birds? Huge is probably vultures. Truly monstrous could be California condors, although I'm not sure if they're that far inland.

You won't see condors at Cajon pass. You can see vultures, eagles bald and golden, hawks, seagulls, crows, owls and likely some other big to large birds.

Glad you enjoy the desert southwest. For something entirely different
https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams-depot.htm
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Message 1802659 - Posted: 15 Jul 2016, 6:30:28 UTC
Last modified: 15 Jul 2016, 6:33:11 UTC

Thanks Gary,
...the sky line is quite something, not quite sure which way (compass direction) that is. Low sun, mist and mountains and pine forest in the foreground makes for an atmospheric scene.


Edit:
...next frame had a caption - looking to the South East.
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Message 1802692 - Posted: 15 Jul 2016, 14:01:54 UTC - in response to Message 1802652.  

I assume the clouds are forming over the Atlantic coast which is about 40 miles that way.

As a broad generality, weather in North America moves eastward. However, your assumption is certainly possible. Did you notice which way the clouds were moving?

Cam may be far enough south to be in the Trade Winds, which blow the opposite direction of the majority of US and Canadian weather. It is why hurricanes impact the coast of Florida and Georgia.

As to wildlife, well I have seen a coyote, some very large birds(no idea what they were) and most often jack rabbits.

How big are the birds? Huge is probably vultures. Truly monstrous could be California condors, although I'm not sure if they're that far inland.

You won't see condors at Cajon pass. You can see vultures, eagles bald and golden, hawks, seagulls, crows, owls and likely some other big to large birds.

Glad you enjoy the desert southwest. For something entirely different
https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams-depot.htm

I see crows and sparrows out here, Grace likes sparrows, but then She's a cat, as big as or maybe a bit bigger than a crow.
The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's
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Message 1803211 - Posted: 18 Jul 2016, 0:12:17 UTC

Well there I was waiting for Amtrak 79 to pass through Thomasville NC, when a fairly ordinary NS freight came through, after a minute or so I became aware that there were gondolas filed with something that was white and powdery and this was happening.



As the train put on a bit more speed it got worse.



And worse.



Now whatever was in those wagons I doubt it should be breathed in.

I assume it must have been breaking some rules surely??
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Message 1803325 - Posted: 18 Jul 2016, 17:58:31 UTC

More briefly than my recent accounts of the museum...

Saturday: dispatcher and 3142. Electric guy comes over in the morning and says he will want to put up another pole later. <sigh> Tell 1630 conductor how we handled working out of the west end of 2 last week. This is complicated by an extra car having been added to the train. Signal guy is leading some Track guys finishing up the work on the east end of 2; he agrees to move the orange cone marking the Out Of Service limits to make room for the longer train. When 1630 returns from its 3rd trip, he wants it to come through the OOS section to test it. 1630 goes through to East Switch and back to where it had been working from (there's a lot of tie plates and other hazards on the platform that we don't want visitors to trip on), and is authorized to make its final departure through there.

Sunday: dispatcher and 1630 conductor. Trackwork zone on 2 is officially removed, but the crap is still on the platform, so I tell engineer we will still work from the west end for passenger safety. Also running (as it was Saturday) is the wood L train. Complication for me as dispatcher is the special 50th anniversary trip of 415. I have to send it out to West Switch at 11:15 so it's on the main at Olson Rd. (the original boarding platform location) and ready to go at 11:27, the exact time of the first trip. I issue orders for all this, but decide my duties as dispatcher preclude me from riding. 1630 had told me they'd be ready to come out to the train about 11:00, but as that time approaches they say it will be more like 11:20. They are aware I will probably hold them until after 415's trip. When they do come out, I change my mind, tell 415 to hold at Karstens until I call them, and let 1630 go to the train. Mistake. 415's crew doesn't talk as long as I'd hoped and will have to wait. Without going into details, the Law of Unintended Consequences kicks in and results in a volunteer being injured and departing in an ambulance. Furthermore, Superintendent is there and pushes me to run 1630 before the L train because that's what the people want. I do, and as soon as we get back he yells at me because nobody is able to answer "when will the steam train run again?" I finally send the L train out and he tells me to run 1630 again at 90 minute intervals. I work that out, with 415 doing a full mainline trip in between. I make A-Sup dispatcher while I'm out on a trip so he can move L train out of the way to let 415 go to bed. After my last trip, Super and Electric Car Curator want to talk to me about last Tuesday. They have decided that I was not adequately trained on 415 and I need 3 more weekdays with 2 good trainers. This is not punishment and I'm not being suspended, but I need to know better what to do in unusual circumstances and be more self-reliant if I have a problem. I was supposed to go today, but I'm just too tired and honestly I'm reconsidering my ability to work weekdays.

The other guy normally does Fridays, but A: it's supposed to be 97F this Friday, and B: I only have 2 Fridays left before I have to go back to work, so even if I do this extra training I won't be able to use it.

Saturday will be a mere 92F, and I'm trainman on the air conditioned CNW bilevels. That should be easy enough that I can handle coach conductor on 87F Sunday.
David
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Message 1803400 - Posted: 19 Jul 2016, 3:02:04 UTC - in response to Message 1803325.  

David, hope the injuries aren't serious. FRA and OSHA paperwork?
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Message 1803408 - Posted: 19 Jul 2016, 3:57:02 UTC - in response to Message 1803400.  

David, hope the injuries aren't serious. FRA and OSHA paperwork?

Nobody asked me to fill out any paperwork, but I suppose someone had to do an incident report, which realization reminds me that I shouldn't talk about it.
David
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Message 1804629 - Posted: 24 Jul 2016, 11:33:56 UTC

Long hot humid day on the caboose train, cut short by a big thunderstorm. Night photo shoot canceled. Off to the shower to do it again. Hope I don't get stuck back on the coach train -- it's a monster.
David
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Message 1804761 - Posted: 25 Jul 2016, 4:04:34 UTC

Longer hotter humider day on the caboose train, NOT cut short by a thunderstorm. Moreover, I had to do more work. In the morning, I helped with taking 1848 off the train and putting 1605 on. This involved riding the back step of both of them. Had a different conductor and lost both other trainmen, with only one replaced, so one caboose was closed. Yesterday the sky was never clearer than a medium overcast; today was mostly clear and therefore hotter, and I was feeling it. So, when the train was sent out to wait for its turn in the parade, I went for lunch in the diner. The air conditioning and the frozen strawberry bar both really helped. End of the day, we had to put the cabooses away in Barn 13, territory none of us had worked in before. However, the hardest part of it was all the other radio chatter. Finally got it done and changed out of my sweat-soaked shirt, which is now in the washer. Have not ruled out going for 415 training tomorrow.
David
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Message 1804943 - Posted: 26 Jul 2016, 4:07:07 UTC

Woke up and decided I felt more alive than last Monday. Put the laundry in the dryer and myself in the shower. Got there about 9:50, wearing the same shirt as yesterday, sans the soaking of sweat. Today was less hot and much less humid, although it was still enough to induce sweat without airflow.

A-Sup is the regular Monday guy. His preferred operation is to go around the Car Line, West Wye, to Jefferson St. (or as close as we can get, with all the junk stored down there) and back to the depot at 11, 12, 2, and 3, with a normal weekend-type mainline trip at 1. Other weekday guys have other schedules. I'd prefer more mainline.

Afterward, I went to the truck stop again for dinner and drank a lot of water, with a different result. I peed hardly anything as I left, but was in distress a few miles short of home. I had to stop for gas anyway and held out until I got there, then had to go again by the time I got home. If nothing else, I'm fairly sure my body is as hydrated as it wants to be and my kidneys got a good flush-out.
David
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Message 1805215 - Posted: 27 Jul 2016, 22:31:51 UTC
Last modified: 27 Jul 2016, 22:34:07 UTC

Rather than fill this thread with pictures of grey trains.

I have created a couple of Flickr albums for the VR Cameras

Cajon Pass

and

Folkston GA

I will add new pics when I see something worth uploading.

PS there are a couple of blue trains and I think an orange one as well :-)
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Message 1805714 - Posted: 29 Jul 2016, 23:50:51 UTC

Owie ow ow.

On my way out the door for an extra day of training on 415, I slipped on the back stairs. The outside of my left leg is sore and stiff, just below the knee, and my right back hit the railing. The back will have a bruise, and my shirt has a large dirt streak that I hope will bleach out.

I picked up several new tidbits on running 415 (which is the whole point of the extra training), and I hope I can remember them long enough to write them down.

At the end of the day, I was barely able to get my leg into the car. I'm now in my recliner with a pillow under it. I think it will still be very stiff tomorrow. I'm going to ask to switch from 3142 to coach.
David
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Message 1805759 - Posted: 30 Jul 2016, 3:55:24 UTC - in response to Message 1805714.  

At the end of the day, I was barely able to get my leg into the car. I'm now in my recliner with a pillow under it. I think it will still be very stiff tomorrow. I'm going to ask to switch from 3142 to coach.

Take the day off, medically unfit, see urgent care to get some good pain killers.
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Message 1806365 - Posted: 1 Aug 2016, 14:02:25 UTC - in response to Message 1805759.  

At the end of the day, I was barely able to get my leg into the car. I'm now in my recliner with a pillow under it. I think it will still be very stiff tomorrow. I'm going to ask to switch from 3142 to coach.

Take the day off, medically unfit, see urgent care to get some good pain killers.

It turned out to be more comfortable without the pillow. It was stiff (and still[end of what I wrote before falling asleep Saturday night]

[continuing Sunday night]

The knee was really stiff Saturday. A-Sup agreed to switch with me when I told him about my knee and said coach conductor would be easier for me (especially with an eager trainee to do most of the work). It's amazing how exhausting limping can be. However, I think limping around on it may have been better for it than sitting in my recliner all day would have been.

Sunday, it felt a little better, good enough to do 3142, although it still hurt a lot when I stood up from the motorman's stool (which itself is literally a pain in the ass). Right now, my feet hurt as much as they ever do after a day on them, more than the knee.

Saturday had an unexpected wrinkle in the morning, but I dispatched it about as well as anyone could without bullying trains through a crowd of people waiting to board the coach train.

All right, posting before I fall asleep again. [Well, I thought I clicked Post, but here it is 8.5 hours later and still not posted.]
David
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Message 1806534 - Posted: 2 Aug 2016, 3:05:52 UTC

Question for the British contingent: How does a guard indicate to the driver to start moving? Is there a term used on UK trains that means "go!" equivalent to "highball" in North America?
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Message 1806543 - Posted: 2 Aug 2016, 4:30:12 UTC

Question for the train aficionados:

Eric loves vintage planes. Every time we travel to a new city, Eric manages to find an aviation museum for us to visit.

So......... what is your favorite train museum and what keeps you going back there again and again?
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Message 1806554 - Posted: 2 Aug 2016, 5:29:37 UTC

National Railway Museum, York.
It is a five minute walk form the station, so one can just pop in for a few minutes, has some amazing exhibits, the main displays change regularly, has a decent tea room (that is better than those at the station) and it is free!!


(For Eric, if he ever manages to get over here I would suggest the two RAF museums, Hendon on the outskirts of London, and Cosford near Wolverhampton - you could successfully loose him for days in either of them...)
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Message 1806566 - Posted: 2 Aug 2016, 6:29:19 UTC - in response to Message 1806543.  

Question for the train aficionados:

Eric loves vintage planes. Every time we travel to a new city, Eric manages to find an aviation museum for us to visit.

So......... what is your favorite train museum and what keeps you going back there again and again?

I can't really answer that. I haven't been to many, and most of them only once. Illinois many times, obviously. Fox River Trolley Museum is even closer to me, but my visits to it are few and far between. Silver Creek & Stephenson in Freeport once. Monticello a few times. I drive through Mendota occasionally, but I've never stopped to visit the museum. The one in St. Louis once. Indiana Transportation Museum once. Hesston once. I'd like to see the one in Green Bay. Last summer, I spent a week in Ohio and checked out several museums; the nicest of them was the Mad River & NKP, but it's also the one I'm least likely to see again, because I saw pretty much all of their collection, whereas most of the others were closed at the time and I saw little, if anything. There are many others around the country I'd like to see: all the museums and tourist lines in Colorado; California State in Sacramento; Orange Empire in the L.A. area; Hoosier Valley; Tennessee Valley; Strasburg and its neighbor across the street, Pennsylvania State; Spencer; Steamtown; Nevada State; a few in Texas (the Dallas streetcar guys would probably let me run, in service); Seashore in CT; Gold Coast in FL; and I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of.

What attracts me to any particular museum is the size, quality, condition, and uniqueness of its collection, plus the extent of their operation (if any).
David
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