CSX GRE MQT Train Location Update 10/19/09

[C&OGP75745]

L39919 5269 1524 by Plymouth @ 06:09 with 84 empty gons

[Raildudes dad]

Small cut of inbound CH's for GRE from GDLK from last week, 75 pushing 371, that's about it.

[i995impalass]

Z151-19 GLLX 3001, GLLX 3003, GMTX 2652, and GMTX 2676 still dead in tow going by-by SB @ White Cloud 0845

[AARR]

L39919 5269 1524 by Plymouth @ 06:09 with 84 empty gons

For scrap loading?

[RailCanon]

L39919 5269 1524 by Plymouth @ 06:09 with 84 empty gons

For scrap loading?

Storage cars would be my guess.

[odave]

FWIW, I just missed a NB through Holly at ~08:10 and couldn't catch up with them. The HBD at MP 46.5 called out 284 axles.

[i995impalass]

Z151-19 SB working Grant 0935

[~Z~]

Q32719 - set to leave detroit at 10pm tonight(guessing at a 9:20am departure west out of GR tomorrow)
Q33519 - set to leave Toledo at 2pm today
D70019 - WAVERLY MI CG 24 10-19-2009 09:07(30+ cars to set off in the holland pass, dispatcher wasn't aware of the new call time)
Amtrak P37119 - RIVERSIDE OS MI CG 80 10-19-2009 09:27
Q15019 - WALBRIDGE OH CDA118 10-19-2009 09:01
Q13219 - INDIANAPOLIS IU IN QI 284 10-19-2009 09:21
Q27218 - NE CARLISLE OS OH BE 45 10-19-2009 09:28
no q32118, q32218, q33419
N90319, E94919 annulled
E94918 - not moving yet
L39919 - WE YARD D OH CDA116 10-19-2009 09:28
N90717 - PEACH CREEK WV CLS 63 10-17-2009 22:00(coal to west olive)
Q24119 - set to leave detroit at 10:30
D00619 - not moving yet(working between GR and Plymouth)

[amtrak1007]

GRE East about 0815 and west about 1210 today.

[~Z~]

Q32719 - set to leave detroit at 10pm tonight(guessing at a 9:20am departure west out of GR tomorrow)
Q33519 - set to leave Toledo at 2pm today
D70019 - RIVERSIDE OS MI CG 80 10-19-2009 12:27(probably going long mon/wed/fri during the day now, instead of early tues/thurs/sat morning)
no Q15119
Q13219 - QUINCY OH QI 153 10-19-2009 12:37
Q27218 - PIQUA NORTH JCT OH BE 88 10-19-2009 12:34
E94918 - not moving yet
L39919 - WE YARD D OH CDA116 10-19-2009 09:28
N90717 - PEACH CREEK WV CLS 63 10-17-2009 22:00(coal to west olive)
Q24119 - TOLEDO GTW CROSSING OH CTT 0 10-19-2009 12:37(departed detroit at 10am)
D00619 - not moving yet(working between GR and Plymouth)
D70819 - set to leave lansing at 16:00
MQT Z15119 hasn't arrived to GR yet

[Mr. Tops]

Oh and Muskegon got a load of Plywood the other day. Fleet Engineers was the usual reciever but I didn;t look this time.

That must've been the BNSF box that went to the Mart Dock. With Sappi closed now, it'd be nice if the Mart could pick up some extra business like this and be as busy as the Bay warehouse.

GRE East about 0815 and west about 1210 today.

Interesting. Right after you posted this, I thought "well, tonight's train is going to be small as they worked in GR today and not Muksegon", then minutes later I hear horn. They are working at Nugent right now (1250). Obviously used 2 crews today. Ty and Steve are working in Muskegon, so Elliott and ? are probably in GR. It's usually Steve and Elliott in Muskegon during the day.

[anumber1]

Dok Wrote:"Why do I spell PERHAPS as PERAHPS all the time? Why FRIST instead of FIRST? Freudian problems?"...

I can't even describe the frustration of working with engrs that never learned more than the four basic handsignals that are in the book. Fer chrissake! I can call lunch to the hogger from 10 cars away without using the darn radio. Most jobs in the A1 pool out of CGGA end up in clearing... home of the overcrowded radio and endless BS robotloco transmissions walking on your 1...1/2... that'l do's...

I tried to hold "class" with a fella about just what the heck I was doing with my lantern. In the end he sez.... yer gonna confuse every engr you work with with that.

The guys that went right to engine school in the mid 90's really got cheated on RR skill building when the electronics are unavailable and ya gotta go back to no-radio railroading. I think the guys that have never worked cndr that have been CQ-ing out of grr will be really, really careful and pick it up quick...

I hope that DET shakup makes it so I can come home....

That whole deal (DET) really true?

Fiddy

[Mr. Tops]

Hey, I'm just an FNG but I can tell my engineer it's time for beans or time to go home and see mama That's all I can remember right now without looking them up. Well...obviously I can remember the half dozen commonly used hand signals.

Couldn't agree with you more about Clearing Yard. To get from the shop to our train, your on 4 different radio channels...the diesel shop channel, hump channel, road/dispatcher channel and yardmaster channel. And always seems like there's 5 trains working on each channel (with the exception of the diesel shop channel). We had a crew (I'm positive it's happened more than once at Clearing) that got through a switch because conductor and engineer were on different channels...engineer forgot to switch...conductor ended up running inside the trailing unit and pulling the plug, but it was too late. Sure, an honest mistake, but it's just too easy to do something like that there. Reminds me of the movie Smokey and the Bandit when Bandit and the Snowman are talking about radio channels and the Snowman says, "If I say channel 9, forget it, we're going to 6", and if I say 6, we go to 3!" and then Bandit says, "or on the other hand we could use even channels, start in the basement, and switch every time".

Even at Yard Center where there's only one yard channel, if we get one train working 8 yard and one working 9 yard or over at the ramp, your still stepping on each other. Your engineer is 50 cars ahead of you and your counting him down, 2 cars, 1 car, 1/2 car like you said, and then somebody is "smart" enough to step on you to say "okay, we're lined in for 20 track, bring it ahead". Then to top it off, you can look over from 8 yard to 9 yard and see the guy who just stepped on you is standing on the front of the unit....Really, guy? Do you not know the hand signal for "ahead"? Or you could've even gone inside the cab and told the engineer to come ahead. Because of that, we'll switch over to our carman's channel if there's too much action on the yard channel.

[C&OGP75745]

Q33519 7524 564 stopped Beck Rd north side @ 16:17

[Bentrail]

Z62719 SOUTH THRU GRAND HAVEN

[~Z~]

Z62719 SOUTH THRU GRAND HAVEN

JT is already in Holland, enroute north to intercept, as well as Tlout..thanks much Bentrail!

[AveryRdhouse]

Hey ANumba 1. How are things in the great town of Garrettucky? BRC Clearing....I used to love that place. It was rare to make it in there and even more rare to leave Rock Island jct. and get on to the Conrail/NS. when comming home on 336. The train was NEVER built right. More than 6000 tons behind an empty autorack. Forced to leave the yard with a CN GP40 and a dead CSX SD50 with 12,000 tons and stalled at Hayford. Yup.. Thats right. cant even pull it out of the yard. Many more issues with power, tonnage, paperwork, car placement and my favorite, Charles Dunbar. Has anyone put a cap in his A.s yet? There were the good times too. Arming your HTD to a Hot Willard job and dumping em when they start to pull. Ha Ha. Waiting for a ride that never shows up to take you to the hotel. LOTS of OT there. $$$$$$$.
Watching a yard job put'em on the ground in front of you on the lead. And A#1, you will remember this one. It took six hours to cab from the hotel to Clearing in a snowstorm, we put the power on the train and died. So much for X534 that night.
Moving on to the Mighty Marquette. Hand signals are taught to all new hires. YOU WILL LEARN them. Radio's do and will crap out on you. Mr. Knocketower see's to it that when this happens, you got a back up. Incidently, he can put on quite a light show himself while switching out a train in the middle of the night.

[SD80MAC]

On C&M, we're supposed to always use hand signals, unless we're shoving or in a position where the engineer can't see you. It's more for historical purposes than anything, but I think a hand signal is a bit more reliable than a radio communication because, let's face it, some guys didn't ever learn how to talk. "Uh, what'd he say?" "Uh, I dunno, back up?" *SMASH*. Radio transmissions can break up or get garbled, too. But then you get the engineers who don't wait for your signal, be it hand or radio. Hey buddy, it's in the book, you can't move this engine unless I say so! But I digress, here I am, a volunteer railroader, and I'm already turning into a cynic.

[Tlout]

Summary of todays railfanning:

Caught Amtrak just a little way west of Helper.
Tried to catch D700 west, but slow traffic by the Fennville detour confounded me.
Took some pics of a highrailer getting on the tracks to head north from Grand Junction.
Stopped at Wells to take some pics of the coal train sitting there - BNSF and KCS power on it.
Missed D700 as they slipped back up through Holland.
Caught up with Y121 at Holland Depot, then followed them to Zeeland.
Was going to call it a day when Zack called with the Z62719 alert - headed north and decided to stop by Hemlock Crossing to get some shots - ran into JT there.

Too bad this was the only decent day we've had this fall - the rest of the week looks dismal.

(And I'm a native of Garrettucky!)

[TrainWatcher]

L39919 5269 1524 by Plymouth @ 06:09 with 84 empty gons

For scrap loading?

Storage cars would be my guess.

My Guess.... The Cars from one of those K556/K557 Slab Trains