Well, had a couple of locomotives "red tagged" and we sat around until some operable power showed up. I've had to thaw switch locks with a fusee, almost couldn't get a hand-throw switch to the mainline restored at Rochelle IL. We had to stop the move and the conductor had to come out and the two of us had to chop ice out of the knife rail area. Actually the biggest thing that ever prevented us from doing anything was people, like yardmasters or trainmasters or dispatchers. Every rail with a week's seniority can tell you of many incidents where you board a train and 12 hours later haven't turned a wheel. That is usually a dispatching problem aggravated by trainmasters who scheduled too many trains on top of each other and yardmasters who build trains longer than the sidings. I love those 12 hour days where you dont move or move just a short distance. The clock ticks and the gold continues to "clink" in your pocketbook! Charlie
That was my biggest concern! The fertilizer supplier had been warned repeatedly by the railroad and the railroad had the gummint on their side. That is just plain dangerous and a genuine hazmat concern. That area was getting "built up" so that leak was causing a drift into developed areas. Charlie
there was one other time at Eola on the afternoon "Nabisco" job where the crews refused to service a customer's siding because the weeds were too high and presented a tripping and a riding hazard. This was a major manufacturer of plastic bottle caps. The carrier notified the customer and told them that they would not be serviced until they cut the weeds down. They did! Charlie
Keeping the thread current... I hope everyone has been having a good summer and enjoying the hobby! Charlie
Hello Gang, just updating the thread. Time for all to be thinking about what they want to put on their gift list to Santa. So all of you be good, you don't want to be on the "Big Guy's" NAUGHTY list! Charlie
Charlie, After the major flooding around here, have you ever had experiences with major flooding and track(s) washed out? 3 days and the BNSF here is almost rebuilding the washed out trackon the south end of town. Photos and video later. As I can get stuff uploaded.
The only problem I ever had with high water was as a conductor on a Saturday evening dinky. It was about this time of year and we had a really wild thunderstorm with some really heavy rainfall in a very short time. It flooded over some low-lying areas along the "Racetrack".In fact it was so deep and extensive, it shunted a track and reversed a crossover switch in Clarendon Hills. It was an X-over from MT 3 to MT 2. The DS radioed our hogger and told him to be alert for a mis-aligned switch at that point since his board was showing the switch reversed. Sure enough it was. Since I was the conductor I was ordered to flag the road crossing just beyond that X-over. Fortunately I had my rain gear with me but it was still storming pretty hard with brilliant,frequent lightning. And there I was... out there in the open! The hogger and the brakemen kept the passengers appraised of the situation. I had to wait for the track man to get out there and re-line the X-over. They have a special wrench for that. There is no other way to manually line those X-overs. We were delayed about 2 hours. There was some flooding in the Fox River Valley in 1993(?)and other major rivers in the midwest and major parts of Eola(freight yard)and Hill Yard(commuter) were under water from a severe storm in the spring. A couple of the guys told me about it. Their personal autos were under water in the employee parking lot. I could see where there had been washouts along some of the small tributary streams and creeks, a lot of rip-rap had been dumped to rebuild and shore-up the ROW. Amtrak had major problems with that flooding as it included the Mississippi River. Amtrak wasn't transporting anyone west of Chicago for about a week. They were sending them by plane or bus if they were already ticketed or rescheduling their trips if possible. I feel sorry for those folks in Colorado as well as the railroaders. The biggest storm problem in this "Tornado Alley" portion of the midwest is high winds. Strong straight-line or cyclonic winds mixed with a 70mph train doesn't make for a very desirable scenario! We were either stopped or reduced to restricted speed a couple of times. Normally in an average T-storm the train's speed is it's best defense. We could often outrun a storm and make it to a terminal before the worst of it hit. Charlie
Keeping the thread current. Are there any prototype questions? I'll try my best to give you an answer. Charlie
Just keeping the thread current. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now is the time for all hobbyists to get their "letters to Santa" ready! I just got the Colorado Railroad Museum's catalogue. There are some great gifts in there for the railfan. Charlie
Speaking of prototype railroading, I got a job offer to work as a conductor in Pennsylvania, with a February 1 start date. Dieter Zakas Nervously Excited, NJ
Charlie: When train crews check other trains on a "rollby," do they always get off their train and stand at ground level to watch the other train rollby? Why do they stand at ground level? Thanks.
Actually, that's the rule. Some guys get lazy and stay in the cab but you don't get a view of both sides of the train. You need to be at ground level to watch for dragging or low slung equipment. It's easier to see sparks flying from brake shoes that way, also it's easier to read car numbers. When I worked as a brakeman, I would be the outside guy on the side opposite my train at the meet. The hogger and conductor would inspect the inside of the passing train. One day I caught two WB trains in a row with unreleased handbrakes. Those folks at Cicero yard were getting a bit lazy in their train prep! You want to stay as low as possible too and about 50' away from the train you are doing the "rollby" on. If you have a lumber rack car, loaded or not, you might catch one that has a loose cable and they are highly dangerous. Like a flying knife! You don't wanna meet one of those! Charlie
Hi Charlie,its been a looooooong time since Ive been here(life eh?),Anyhoo,a fews posts back you have used words very foreign to a fella from downunder,"Gummint"?????I have no idea what that could possibably mean.Also you were riding/doing a "Dinky"?????hboy: Some reckon us Kiwis have some strange slang.............Im not so sure about that!!!!! Cheers Stu
Ok been a while for me to. I just seen on C&I line a flashing yellow light near (but not at the switch) what is different with flash? Sent from my LG-US780 using Tapatalk
My friend Dieter has explained "gummint" for you. The term "Dinky" or "Dinkie" is somewhat of a disparaging term for a commuter train on the BNSF/METRA route between Chicago and Aurora IL. The term goes waaaaayy back into dim history. As I understand it, the commuter trains, when measured against the mainline,long haul passenger trains, were just a dinky train as opposed to the panache of a mainline passenger limited. If you should come across any historic photos of Chicago Union Station showing the Burlington Route operation you can actually see the physical difference between the commuter trains and the passenger limiteds. The motive power for the commuter trains,during the steam era, was noticably smaller and the passenger coaches more spartan. Somehow the old terms just never seem to go away. As to the poster questioning the flashing yellow signal aspect, that is an "Approach Medium" indication. It instructs the crew that they should reduce speed to a certain level and be prepared to pass the next signal(Approach)no faster than that speed and prepare to enter a diverging route. If you saw that signal on single track the next signal may have a solid yellow aspect(Approach indication)but depending on circumstances ie. you are following another train rather closely, you may encounter another Approach Medium. This is not unusual when traffic is heavy. If you saw a red over flashing yellow aspect, that is a diverging approach medium meaning you must reduce your speed to a certain level(35mph) and be prepared to enter a diverging route.If the aspect was red over solid yellow,that is a diverging approach. Reduce your speed to a certain level(30mph) and prepare to enter a diverging route. "Diverging route" could mean that you will take a siding or on multiple main track you will be crossing over to another track. None of those signal indications are anything out of the ordinary. Railroading is not a "high green" situation all the time. Another method of showing an Approach Medium indication(mostly on former ATSF lines)is a solid yellow over solid yellow. Charlie
In Texas, I have heard "Dinky" used as a name for any short local train in rural areas. From talking to old timers in Sugar Land, they would catch the T&NO Dinky west bound in the morning to go shopping in Richmond or Rosenberg and ride it home in the afternoon. I heard a story about an old woman who rode the Dinky on the BRI (Burlington-Rock Island) from North Zulch into Houston on weekends to visit her daughter. The T&NO had a dinky that was made up of a Doodle Bug motor car, a baggage car and a coach that ran over the old SAAP (San Antonio & Aransas Pass) route between Houston and Kenedy, Texas, a full day trip each way. Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2
