The Last Person To Post Here Wins - 22

Oh what a weekend at the museum.

Saturday: nothing special, really. I was conductor on a nice, air conditioned L train. Budd, 1969, retired 2013. We just ran an occasional shuttle trip from 50th Ave. to Schmidt and back. 1630 came out and ran a few trips after BN-1 did a couple with the coach train.

Sunday: 3142. The real excitement was after hours. Union Pacific finally scraped up some power to take the last coal train out, crew on duty at West Chicago at 1600 (meaning the very soonest we could expect them to show up was 5:00). 504 went down in the morning to pump up the air. Several hours later, it moved light to Schmidt and into the interchange. Then, after no word from UP for a while, 1630 went down and tied onto the coal train to pump it up again, just so our official photographer (and a huge gaggle of foamers) could shoot some action in daylight. After a lot of pumping and then some steam building, at about 7:45 she marched right out with 128 cars. 768MB cell phone video. The videography is for snot, but the sound is beautiful; listen to it with decent speakers. Spoiler alert: just as the end of the train cleared Seeman Road, UP showed up on their track. Both trains stopped at Karstens to discuss the plan. I skipped the foamfest there and went back to the museum grounds, and was the only person to shoot it from Electric Park. 369MB video after she starts from Karstens. Again wonderful sound. For those with limited bandwidth, I will probably post these to Youtube later. UP's plan was that the regular auto rack train to Belvidere had extra power tacked on the front. These units cut off at Karstens, ran west, and backed into our interchange. Then the rest of their train headed west. 1630 pulled the hoppers all the way into Schmidt, then cut off and back over to our main, and 504 backed out of the interchange and tied onto the train. UP moved out of the interchange and east on their track. Just like with the first train, 504 pulled it onto UP and all the way west of town, where UP tied on and took it back east. By this time it was dark and the mosquitoes were out in force, so I headed home to get some sleep for Monday.

Monday: in Spaulding Tower, training as revenue dispatcher. Officially, the east end was still out of service and Block Rules in effect. The first few trips ran like they have since opening day. Track Department walked the entire length of where the hoppers had been, over 7000'. Signal Dept. put back some fuses they had pulled and replaced a couple of burned out lamps, then asked us to send a train down to try it. The next train out happened to be IT 1605 with four cabooses. The signals east of Johnson automatically reverse their direction when a train gets to the east end, but when it was activated it came up the wrong way, so I had to talk 1605 by a couple of Absolute Signals displaying Stop Indication. Everything worked and we started dispatching all trains to the Grove. Yay! Meanwhile, I got my first appreciation of how hectic dispatching multiple trains is, with writing down their orders as you issue them and lining up switches and signals on the CTC panel. Ah, the panel. Different sections of it do not operate consistently with each other, and you have to do things in a certain order or they happen wrong or not at all and then train crews call you and ask for lineups and everyone knows you screwed up. Add in the 50th Shuttle that you gave orders out and back and then whichever train is westbound has to stop at signal 91 because that's as far as you authorized him and meanwhile you have to give the next departing train a lineup and aaaaarrrrgghhh!!!

Then there were the problems. First, CA&E 308 came to a sudden stop in front of the tower with its leading trolley pole up in the air and its rope broken (guessing they forgot to pull it when they changed ends). 2243 (the shuttle) was coming in right behind it, operated by one of the Electric Car guys, so I advised him 308 would need assistance. 308 was able to discharge their passengers right there. Car Dept. arrived with a rope and tried tossing it over the pole, but the other end wouldn't come back down. Then a ladder arrived and someone set it against the side of the car and climbed up to manually put the rope over the pole so the guy on the ground could pull it down. He managed to put it under the hook and the train moved into the station. (I didn't think about it at the time, but someone must have gone up to reattach the rope to the pole before the next trip.)

But that wasn't the end of the fun with 308! A trip or two later, they called to say they were stopped westbound east of signal 201/2 and the pole on 319 (their other car) had completely come off. The controls won't operate with no power in the car you are controlling from, so their options were shove it from 308 or wait for Car Dept. to come out again. 1630 had built up steam for departure as soon as 308 passed East Switch and had to let it settle down again. 2243 was out again, so I ordered him to return and prepare to take Car Dept. and a jumper out to 308. "2243, you are authorized for immediate departure out of 50th Ave., short turn at West Switch, east on the main to train 308 east of signal 202." "That is correct." "2243, you are authorized to pass signal 112 displaying Stop and continue your mission." "That is correct." "Yes, 1630, you may let passengers board and deboard as you see fit." "All crews at the depot, be advised that when we resume operation, the first train to depart will be 1605." (This was to get it out of the way so 308 could go to the Pit Lead.) 2243 calls to say all passengers have transferred and they are ready to return. "2243, you are authorized west from your current location, short turn at West Switch, and return to 50th Ave." "That is correct." 308 calls to say the jumper is connected and they are ready to go. "308, you are authorized to proceed west from your current location, short turn at West Switch, and return to station track one." "That is correct." Dispatcher to 1605, you ready to go?" Yes. "1605, you are authorized for immediate departure. Meet 308 at East Switch, no meet at Johnson, to the Grove. Westbound, meet 1630 at Johnson Siding, to signal 91 and call." "That is correct." "Dispatcher to 1605 head end, keep an eye on the wire for damage near 202." After 1605 departed, we let one streetcar proceed and then authorized 308 from station track one to the Car Line and reverse into the Pit Lead.

Meanwhile, Signal guy had requested and been granted permission to set his hi-rail truck on the main at Seeman and go down to 4 Mile to investigate a track light left on behind a train. Conveniently, he fixed it and set off before 308 was fixed. I think he said it was intermittent contact within a fuse, which he replaced.

1630 ran another trip. 9911A ran another trip. 1605 ran yet another trip, getting a half dozen riders from 1630 when it returned. 1374 (streetcar instead of 3142) went to bed. 2243 went to bed. 4391 went to bed. 308 reported repairs complete and wanted to go to bed; "we'll put you in line." 8537 started doing some switching out of the south yards, then requested dispatching authority at South Junction. "8537, you have dispatching authority on the Car Line from Electric Park to Barn 9 North." "That is correct." After 308 went to bed, VC 19 asked to go from yard 4 west to the Pit Lead; granted. 9911A returned to 1 so it would be able to go to bed, but took its time preparing. 1630 also took its time asking to go to bed and had to wait longer because I had given 1605 an order for a full trip, no meets, return to 1. "9911A, you are authorized from station 1 to the Car Line for headroom, then reverse onto the East Wye and hold." "1630, you are authorized east from two. Meet 1605 at East Switch, short turn, west to signal 91 and call." "1605, hold at signal 94." 9911A finally starts moving. "1605, clearing 9911A, permission past 94 into one." Complication: Track Dept. had left a cart loaded with spike plates on the South Yard Connector, protected by orange cones, and he and his girlfriend were riding 1605. When it stopped at 94, he got off and walked down to yard 10 to get a track machine to go get the cart. "1605, authority past signal 91, short turn West Switch, into the West Wye." 9911A groused to each other that they were blocking people at Depot St. "9911A, you are authorized to continue reverse on the Car Line, into the South Yard Connector, to the cart." Repeated correctly, although he obviously didn't know what I meant. Proceeded with the move and found out what I meant. "9911A, you may leave the switch off the Car Line open." "9911A, when the cart has been removed, contact the South Yard Dispatcher to continue your move." (The Zephyr is currently living in the brand new barn 14 while 9 is being renovated.) "1630, clearing 9911A into the South Yard Connector, you have authority from the West Wye into the Steam Service Leads." "1605, you have authority to the Car Line for headroom, reverse on the Car Line, and following 1630, into the South Yard Connector. Contact the South Yard Dispatcher for the rest of your move."

And that was about it. A-Sup had been training me, and showed me how to put the panel back on full automatic, then set the tower thermostat to unoccupied.

Almost everyone said I did a good job (especially after the Sunday trainee didn't). I definitely need more practice on the paperwork and situational awareness and panel, but A-Sup said I get the concept and with a few more sessions he'd see about qualifying me. He seemed surprised when I mentioned I'm not eligible because I haven't been qualified on the mainline for 2 years.

Perhaps the best part of it all was that I ended the day with my feet not aching. The 19 steps up to the tower will still give me some exercise, though.

Yes, but when she created men she was just having a bad hair day!

On the definite upside :

- number of Godzilla clones rampaging across the valley : 0

- number of original Godzillas rampaging across the valley : 0

- number of Godzillas ( original or clone based ) preparing to rampage across the valley : 0

But then again I am known to be an optimist.

Cheers, Mike.

( edit ) You should all sign up for my Godzilla Awareness classes : Get in touch with your inner Godzilla today ! :-)

That's the Aussie base case. If lethal venoms are your thing then come on down.

Sadly an overseas visitor was taken by a salty croc last week up where I usually holiday. But then I do remember a conversation, on a lovely but isolated beach, I had with a European guy up there in about 2013 :

EuroChap - Excuse me sir. Could you tell me where I can find a crocodile ?

Me - You don't want to find a crocodile.

EuroChap - But I do want to find a crocodile.

Me - NO, I'm serious. You do not want to find a crocodile !

.... he looked at me strangely, swore I think in his own language, and walked off. To this day I'm not sure if he viewed me as helpful or unhelpful. So if you like danger in an insane kinda way .... crocodiles are just a funny looking log in a creek away.

Cheers, Mike.