Let's get the weekend started. UP 9900 the SD59MX (SD32-ECO as EMD would have it called) basks in the morning sun on the Cal State Railroad Museum turntable. She's an experiemental unit with EGR (Exhaust Gas Recycling) under the hood and Giant Exhaust Scrubbers on the roof. They were trying to hit Tier 4 with her, they get about Tier 3.5. 9 other SD59MXs have the EGR. The rest are just straight ECOs. She was there to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Pacific Railroad Act Along with UP 844, A GEVO, an SD70ACe, the UPSteam Business train, The UP training Train simulator, The museum car and a stage hosting local musicians and acts. Sacramento was the biggest celebration on the system. UP spent a lot of money and the Museum went all out. UP also sponsored a new exhibit in the Museum. It's their through Dec and I have a membership, so we skipped it this time. The museum was free for the weekend and so were train rides.
This is from a few years back, probably late 80s/early 90s given the age of my cousin in the picture. This is my Grandpa as a volunteer motorman for Willamette Shore Trolley. The double-decker car here is now at Brooks at Antique Powerland. My cousin lives in Kansas. My Grandpa just almost a year ago caught the westbound. At one point he and I were both volunteer motormen on the WST, one of us almost 60 years older than the other. I realize now that not everyone has had the chance to operate historic trolleys with a grandpa. I count myself lucky.
Some interesting views so far! Just got back from a little railfanning. Must download from the camera and see what I ended up with, so to post something tomorrow. Keep 'em coming, everybody.
Iowa Interstate's CRIC03 passing a field of corn, ready for harvest; south of Walford Hill. 10/3/12 Iowa Interstate's CRIC03 passing by a forest of colors north of Amana, IA. 10/3/12 Iowa Interstate's CRIC03 climbs up to Paul's Crossing with some color to the west. 10/3/12 There was a bit of color on the CN Cedar Rapids branch as the L563 heads north out of Hiawatha, IA. 10/3/12
An eastbound "Q" train has a new GEVO serving as a mid-train DPU at Beverly, IA on the UP Clinton Sub. 10/3/12
Montana Rail Link is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this weekend, with employee special trains. Yesterday was two round trips west of Missoula, today two going east. This is the first trip yesterday, outbound at Ravalli, Montana:
Ken, sure glad to see you got out for some railfanning! Nice MRL shot. Buddy, that corn "ready for harvesting?" Looks like it's ready to burn. Drought results?:question:
Jim, that looks like the feed corn I helped harvest in upstate New York some 60 years ago. Those cobs really hurt when the machine picker slung them back into the trailer where I was told to keep the load level.
Ken, truth be known, I was working for the joy of spending a crisp fall Saturday afternoon on a neighbor's farm...sorta like Tom Sawyer and whitewashing the fence.
Hank, that brings up a feud my wife and I have been going through. We have had some excellent corn this summer. I keep telling her that the yellow corn was called "sweet corn" back in NY, and she insists that it was the white corn, which I called "pig corn" or as you called it, feed corn. We had some white corn tonight and I must admit it was very sweet. What are your memories other than getting clobbered by the ears? :question:
Darren, that is great photo, though sadly the F's appear to be stuffed and mounted based on the stub track at the pilot. Jim, I remember most the corn we ate being yellow and called yellow corn. Occasionally we had some white corn. I remember it had smaller kernels and was sweeter than yellow. Like your wife, I remember it being called sweet corn, but I won't swear to that because the local stores and farms had only yellow for eating. In both cases, yellow and white, the ears were picked while the stalks were still green with a few more ears still maturing. On the other hand, feed corn wasn't harvested until the stalks had died and withered as shown in Buddy's photo. You sure couldn't eat feed corn because the kernels would break your teeth, but the animals, dairy cows mostly, loved it. Some of it could have been sold feed mills also, but that's just a guess.
Jim- I grew up on a small farm. We would have an assortment of corns every summer. There were mostly yellows, but my grandfather liked to have some white. Either way, it was sweet when young. The "feed" corn I recall was yellow, on larger ears, which had a tougher skin, less flavor, were less juicy- closer to almost dry, etc. There are so many varieties of corn..... I sure recall so many tiems grabbing an ear, husking it and eating raw. Yum.