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I love hearing the stories about old-time rail. And as an ex-SEPTA commuter I love reading that board to hear about the ins-and-outs of the system. It's the people who literally obsess over seeing certain cars, bitch about transit line expansions that will never happen, and jabber on about pointless subjects that even pedantic train nuts don't give two shits about that drive me crazy. I used to read/post every day but now I stop by once a week at best. And yes, Otto was a gigantic douchebag. He closed threads for no reason and sent me numerous warning PMs after I posted very tame complains about certain posters/threads. E: It also makes me kind of  when I realize that a lot of the foamers on RR.NET must not have jobs, children, wives, or anything else interesting in their lives, because all some of them do is go take pictures of trains all day (calling chuchubob).
Fixed Gear Guy fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jun 16, 2011 |
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Jun 16, 2011 01:24
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Here is my set of wonderful units. I have some flooding pictures I will pass along soon.
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Jun 16, 2011 02:15
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:bitch about transit line expansions that will never happen, If you have time to bitch about transit line expansions, you aren't using them. :-) I clock something like 8hrs a week on commuter rail. ... which is down from what it used to be. I used to spend almost 20 hours a week on trains. I did a good portion of my normal sleeping on them. I do hope they'll expand our rail lines out here. You can't beat Metra to downtown Chicago during rush hour. And I have tried.
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Jun 16, 2011 07:00
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:I live only a couple blocks from the NEC and, trust me, there's nothing more of a rush then sitting around at one of the SEPTA stations for a couple hours and waiting for Acelas, Regionals, and stuff coming up from the South to rush by at near 100 mph. I love how you can hear the catenary vibrating before the train comes, and all of the sudden -- WHAM! The entire ground rumbles.
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Jun 16, 2011 09:13
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Nerobro posted:You can't beat Metra to downtown Chicago during rush hour. And I have tried. Hah. I take the MBCR to work 5 days a week too, an hour and a bit each way, and the few times I've driven in it takes half again to twice as long to drive! Boston metro area traffic really is the worst.
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Jun 16, 2011 11:29
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porkfriedrice posted:It's gotten a little better since Jeff Smith took over as admin. Otto Vondrak seemed like a whiny bitch in some of his posts, and loved to close threads while making huffy little comments. I like hearing the stories some of the old timers tell of their days on the job, usually pretty interesting stuff. You're right though, there's a lot of people on there who think they know everything. I told them just because some foamer takes one of MY pictures and they label it on their site doesn't change ownership from me to them. loving tools.
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Jun 17, 2011 13:38
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B4Ctom1 posted:some foamer haha, I'd forgotten about that term. Foamers and whackers!
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Jun 17, 2011 16:27
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Hermansen posted:I'm starting my last training in driving now the CE119 looks ALOT like the ALP-46A's seen down in NJ and NYC on NJ transit. Also -- Shortline Conductor for a few tourist and light freight operations in the Northeast US, feel free to ask me any questions you'd like... Don't even get me started on foamers...
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Jun 17, 2011 19:08
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Dacheat posted:Also -- Shortline Conductor for a few tourist and light freight operations in the Northeast US, feel free to ask me any questions you'd like... I'm asking you to get started. I'd like to hear how crazy train nuts get.
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Jun 17, 2011 19:11
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Goddamn, that sounds like such a cool job. What's the job market like in Colorado (NOT Wyoming)for train drivers? What's the process you went through that landed you such a job offer?
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Jun 17, 2011 19:44
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Boomerjinks posted:Goddamn, that sounds like such a cool job. What's the job market like in Colorado (NOT Wyoming)for train drivers? What's the process you went through that landed you such a job offer? BNSF is hiring in Denver. Best thing to do is apply online, when you get an invitation, PM me, I will help you every way I can. Do not rule out being in the signal department or car repairer (carman). This is one of the few blue collar jobs out there that makes a nice living. Sure you won't break the bank, but you will make a nice pay check with some great benefits.
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Jun 17, 2011 20:05
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You may have to apply over and over. I know some guys who signed on with me had been trying for a year or more, others got it on the first try. Just keep trying, and don't take rejection to heart, its part of getting the job.
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Jun 17, 2011 21:33
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AI pic. One of my two rides gets good mileage and does well off road Nerobro posted:I'd like to hear how crazy train nuts get. Conversation: I get off the locomotive last at the crew change point. We roll up and the conductor walks in to job brief the oncoming crew. I cant leave the train unattended, so I step to the bottom step with my backpack on and wait for them to walk over from the office. This crew change location is only 5 feet from public property so occasionally there are foamers around taking pictures and asking questions.  - "Hey does that locomotive have a 26L brake stand?" - "I'm sorry I don't even know what that is." - "Who is the engineer, is he around?" - "I am the engineer." - "How can you be the engineer if you don't even know anything about your train?" - "I also don't know what kind of yellow paint they use, what kind of steel the wheels are made out of, the specific gravity of the fuel, or who makes the stairs I am standing on." - "hmpf" (walks off)
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Jun 17, 2011 21:48
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BrokenKnucklez posted:BNSF is hiring in Denver. Best thing to do is apply online, when you get an invitation, PM me, I will help you every way I can. Do not rule out being in the signal department or car repairer (carman). This is one of the few blue collar jobs out there that makes a nice living. Sure you won't break the bank, but you will make a nice pay check with some great benefits. Awesome! Any more details on that? The only places hiring that I saw were Trinidad and Sterling.
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Jun 17, 2011 21:54
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B4Ctom1 posted:AI pic. One of my two rides gets good mileage and does well off road Well that's all kinds of additude. Why would you need to know about what sort of parts are on your train so long as it behaves as it's supposed to.
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Jun 17, 2011 22:43
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That is correct. I am more interested in what kind of seat my rear end is going to be in for 8-12 hours. I felt like saying, "hey do I come to your work and ask if you use a sink or toilet plunger?"
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Jun 18, 2011 01:08
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Every time I hear stories of people like that, my mind just goes  and wonders what type of person actually gives a poo poo about those minute details.E: for content. From some pics I've seen of freight loco cabs, it seems many engineers and/or conductors smoke like fiends. Do you ever enter a cab and find it filthy disgusting with cigarette ash, leftover food, or other junk?
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Jun 18, 2011 06:57
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Every time I hear stories of people like that, my mind just goes There is a strict no smoking policy. But as you could imagine that doesn't mean they wont. The newish wide cab locomotives have two doors in the nose. They stand in that little room with the front door cracked and smoke like a train. So when you get on in the winter especially, that area is unbearable. The other thing is climbing on and having the cab reek like orange air freshener or Ozium. What really grosses me out is finding a bottle full of chew spit laying around. Or sunflower seed husks all over. The first thing most of us do is take handy wipes and wipe everything we will come in contact with down.
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Jun 18, 2011 08:25
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Fixed Gear Guy posted:Every time I hear stories of people like that, my mind just goes The Onion is hit or miss these days, but this is so spot-on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM
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Jun 18, 2011 09:03
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Das Volk posted:The Onion is hit or miss these days, but this is so spot-on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM Holy crap that is utterly perfect. Trainspotters are massive sperglords who literally stand around with notebooks and relay sightings of trains to one another. That is to say, sometimes it was faster for me, as an employee, to talk to the local rail sperg who could tell me exactly where a locomotive was, than it was for me to find out from the guys who are paid to know. They were able to tell me the precise time it departed a depot 1.5 hours drive away and could tell me that it was in a consist with 2 or 3 other locomotives and coming up to where I was. They're goddamn crazy.
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Jun 18, 2011 10:52
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Das Volk posted:The Onion is hit or miss these days, but this is so spot-on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM That was absolutely perfect  .
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Jun 18, 2011 14:35
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Speaking of railroad employment opportunities, I'm looking to change jobs, and was wondering if anyone knew if any of the railroads were hiring in the central Florida area.
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Jun 19, 2011 05:09
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ExplodingSims posted:Speaking of railroad employment opportunities, I'm looking to change jobs, and was wondering if anyone knew if any of the railroads were hiring in the central Florida area. CSX and Norfolk Southern are you big boys down there. I think the FEC is running around there but they had some major furloughs. Advice to every one regarding to rail jobs. Class 1 are the big boys were you make the big bucks. Class 2 railroads are smaller and generally more family friendly. Class 3 and Short lines.... please don't bother, they really are a shamble outfit and your safety is at risk, plus they pay very poorly. Class 2's are starting to pay decently but still low compared to class 1's. The best paying railroad is the Canadian National. 33/hr, over time after 10 hours. So basically its 330 dollars to show up to work. With 12 hours that makes it 429 a day. A couple friends of mine work for them and last year they cleared around 130,000 give or take. But you are working for it, keep that in mind. Oh and the locations are terrible. Who the hell wants to work in north Wisconsin.
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Jun 19, 2011 09:01
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Northern Wisconsin is serene and scenic. Also, ticks and mosquitos.
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Jun 19, 2011 14:29
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Nam Taf posted:Holy crap that is utterly perfect. How they have so much time (and gas money) to chase trains? What do they do for a living?
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Jun 20, 2011 06:50
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Wedesdo posted:How they have so much time (and gas money) to chase trains? What do they do for a living? I've no idea what they do for a living but they're not actually driving around chasing them so it's not really expensive. They hook up with other trainspotters and share details on sightings of locos. For example, the place I was referring to was in a small town of about 75,000 people, where the depot is only a few minutes drive from the "CBD", and across from the passenger station for the long-distance trains there. As such, they'd just stand on the platform and look in to the depot as they either run through the city on the main line, or in to the depot for servicing. At the same time, their peers would do the same in the town over 100km away and be in constant communication with each other, so the guy in the town where I was would have heard that a loco had just departed from the depot 100km away on the north line heading towards the town where I was. Hence he'd know. They're goddamn crazy. That said, it's also hilarious how big some of the gaps in their info is. They'll have huge detail on some aspects which makes you wonder how the hell they know about some stuff, but then they are completely off the mark on other stuff that, as an employee, you think is pretty general knowledge even in the public domain. Fun fact: One of the biggest rail fan forums here in Australia had to enact a forum rule that 'sightings' of trains had to be phyiscal sightings, rather than simply guys listening to the control radios and basically regurgitating every detail they heard, as the 'sightings' megathread was just getting overwhelmed. They're that obsessed.
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Jun 20, 2011 07:02
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Nam Taf posted:That said, it's also hilarious how big some of the gaps in their info is. They'll have huge detail on some aspects which makes you wonder how the hell they know about some stuff, but then they are completely off the mark on other stuff that, as an employee, you think is pretty general knowledge even in the public domain.
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Jun 20, 2011 07:16
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Nam Taf posted:I've no idea what they do for a living but they're not actually driving around chasing them so it's not really expensive. They hook up with other trainspotters and share details on sightings of locos. For example, the place I was referring to was in a small town of about 75,000 people, where the depot is only a few minutes drive from the "CBD", and across from the passenger station for the long-distance trains there. As such, they'd just stand on the platform and look in to the depot as they either run through the city on the main line, or in to the depot for servicing. And people wondered what aspies did before the internet. 
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Jun 20, 2011 07:47
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Who the hell wants to work in north Wisconsin.
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Jun 21, 2011 00:23
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Das Volk posted:The Onion is hit or miss these days, but this is so spot-on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM Holy gently caress I am showing that to my fellow railroaders.
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Jun 21, 2011 06:59
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Nerobro posted:Got any examples handy? I wanna laugh. None off-hand and I couldn't find any in 10 mins of looking, but this entire site is pretty amusing to read how obsessed they are. Like, guys contacting the manufacturers of the new passenger trains to get drawings so they can hand-build models of them, but then saying they need more detail because they don't know the exact positioning of the coupling hoses on the front end.
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Jun 21, 2011 16:17
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Something that would change from train to train............ "I wanted the trash can in just the right spot" This could be an anthropologists playground.
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Jun 21, 2011 16:27
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Saw this on Yahoo earlier today. Skip to about :40 to see a twister take out a train. http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/fierce-tornados-caught-on-tape-in-midwest-25695965
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Jun 21, 2011 21:19
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Two Ton 21 posted:And people wondered what aspies did before the internet. I remember reading about some guy who knows a lot about the NY subway, sometimes more than the staff and he would pose as one or something. I think he really was autistic or something.
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Jun 25, 2011 12:46
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bus versus train http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=29e_1309541162
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Jul 1, 2011 20:26
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B4Ctom1 posted:bus versus train drat. At least where I live they have to come to a complete stop, open the door, and their window before proceeding across tracks, presumably so they can hear better... Which is always fun at lights, "Welp, the bus just started moving when the light went red."
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Jul 1, 2011 20:50
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What the hell, it looks like he was stopped 20 ft from the tracks (unless that's just the way the video is).
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Jul 1, 2011 21:21
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Here's what an ALCO RSD-15 "Alligator" (actually the same one pictured on the top of the wiki page) looks/sounds like while being fired up after hibernating for 20+ years. Lots of "Alco smoke" and audio diesel bliss. Edit: kathmandu posted:...was there supposed to be a youtube link here or something?  Oh, right!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_YbT2nLQcQ bytebark fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Jul 12, 2011 |
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Jul 12, 2011 03:24
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bytebark posted:Here's what an ALCO RSD-15 "Alligator" (actually the same one pictured on the top of the wiki page) looks/sounds like while being fired up after hibernating for 20+ years. Lots of "Alco smoke" and audio diesel bliss. I know the guy (well one of the guys) who restored that. I remember listening to him talk about parts, and figuring out what was wrong with it.
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Jul 12, 2011 03:55
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bytebark posted:Here's what an ALCO RSD-15 "Alligator" (actually the same one pictured on the top of the wiki page) looks/sounds like while being fired up after hibernating for 20+ years. Lots of "Alco smoke" and audio diesel bliss. ...was there supposed to be a youtube link here or something?
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Jul 12, 2011 04:12
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