Just In Time For Warm Weather…

Charlie stopped by this afternoon with his portable air compressor. We filled up my bike tires with air. I am set to start riding again. I’ve got bike fever like I did when I first got this bike back in the fall.

Charlie also brought four Chick-fil-A sandwiches on his journey here. They were very well appreciated. Two for me, the big guy, and one for Tracy and one for Maggie.

“Hey, I want to ride, too!” Tracy told me, feeling left out after Charlie had departed.

“We will have to drive down to the bike shop in Auburn and look for you a bike,” I told her in reply. “Unless you want to buy a bike at Walmart?”

We might drive down to Walmart in a wee little bit and see what kind of bikes they have for sale. We really don’t need anything fancy. Just a women’s bike that Tracy can ride around the neighborhood with me. I am thinking cruiser like mine so that is what we will probably buy.

A Train a Day Keeps the Blues Away…

I spent much of the day down at the railroad tracks watching trains and photographing them. The weather was just absolutely gorgeous. A fine spring day. I think I’ve wrote this on the blog before, but Tracy says that has to be the most boring hobby a man could have.

“What do you do when there are no trains passing by?” she asked me this evening.

“I listen to music on my iPod and read magazines and books,” I replied.

Lunch was some fried chicken livers and a chocolate milk I bought at the Qwik Mart across the highway. I got chided for eating those as well.

Trains and Mr. Winkle…

Tracy told me tonight that the most boring thing for her would be to sit on a cold bench all morning and wait for and watch trains pass.

“What do you get out of it?” Tracy asked mystified.

“I’ve always been fascinated with trains ever since I was a little boy,” I told her in justification.

I am enjoying my extra time away from volunteering and spent the morning looking at trains in downtown West Point. I told Tracy just to look in the computer room at my massive collection of Trains, Railroad Model Craftsman and Model Railroader magazines. I told her I was a dedicated fan.

“I’ve actually worn out Model Railroaders I’ve perused them so much,” I told Tracy. “They would fall apart.”

“Does that explain the stack of Model Railroaders in the bathroom?” she asked.

I laughed and said yes.

“I will read on the toilet until my legs go numb and I can’t get up.”

Tracy laughed, sighed and rolled her eyes.

Well, I came home from rail fanning to take a very long nap and slept until about time for Tracy to get here which meant pretty much all day. We had beefy tacos tonight – something easy to fix and they were delicious. I don’t care much for Mexican seasonings used in those taco seasoning packs. I fixed my savory beef filling with a bottle of A1 sauce and Tracy really liked it. You have to boil the ground chuck for a good thirty minutes to get it good and tender after adding a medium sized bottle of A1 and a good dash of salt.

It Never Fails…

I was sitting on my bench behind the bank waiting for trains this morning. A mangy looking old fellow with a wild looking beard came walking down the tracks. I couldn’t put out my cigarette fast enough. I was too late, though. He had seen me smoking. He made a beeline right to where I was sitting.

“Hey man,” he said to me. “Could I borrow a few smokes?”

I gave him three cigarettes and he continued on into downtown. He didn’t even tell me thanks.

“You have a good one,” is all he said to me.

I don’t know what the lure is to me as far as the tracks are concerned, but I do know it is cathartic to me. I love to read a new issue of Model Railroader magazine while I smoke, drink sodas, and wait. To sit there and watch the signal go from green to yellow and then to red brings forth a great deal of excitement. 

Comment Replies...

Blogger Summer said...

Very interesting. So the diesel powers the alternator which supplies the electricity? How many miles to the gallon?

Blogger Andrew said...

Summer, I know this sounds like propaganda, but trains can move a ton of freight over 470 miles on a single gallon of fuel. They are much more efficient than moving freight by trucks on the interstates.

Railroading 101...

Blogger Summer said...

Do trains run on diesel?

Andrew Replies...

Summer, yes they do. Some engines hold up to 5500 gallons at a time. (General Electric AC4400CW 4,400 hp locomotive)

Most people don't know this, though, that trains are electric vehicles much like my brother's Tesla electric car. The engine drives a generator (or alternator) which supplies electricity to traction motors at each axle. The traction motors are what moves the locomotive and the train behind it.

My favorite all-time locomotive is the Alco (American Locomotive Company) RS3...

The Fabulous Franklin and South Manchester...

A Chicken Snack Box or Beer?

I walked across the highway heading from the railroad tracks to the convenience store this afternoon. I had in mind to purchase a fried chicken snack box which this convenience store is reknowned for.

For curiosity's sake, I ended up peering into the beer cooler and was aghast at how much the price of beer has gone up over the years. "Idiot," I muttered to myself for even looking. I only had $10 to spend. I walked out of the store with a box of inexpensive chicken livers and a regular Coke on ice.

"Can I have some extra ketchup?" I asked the server before paying and she put about twenty packs in my box which made me smile. Can you say overkill? I put them in my condiment drawer at home and will eventually use them. I am always running out of ketchup.

I saw lots of trains today which thrilled me to death. A lot of interesting and odd locomotives. There were even some new Union Pacific locomotives on lease that were pulling freight for CSX. The Union Pacific is a western/midwest railway and seldom seen in the South. The locomotives of my youth were so much more varied and interesting than the modern locomotives today, though. I miss seeing an occasional EMD GP38-2 matched up with a GP30, or a  GE U33C (or U-Boats as we always called them).

Chicken livers are an aquired taste, but I knew Maggie would scarf some down. She was prancing as I opened the front door wondering what treats I had brought her today.  I had about six chicken livers left in the box and she consumed them with zest. Yes, chicken is a good thing.

Waiting for the Sun to Shine in...

Gosh, it gets so dark so very early that it can be depressing. As a child, I suffered terribly and severely from SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder. It still gets to me as a grown man sometimes. I want summer, warmth, and lightning bugs back from their hiatus.

I spent two hours this afternoon hoping to see some trains and didn't see not one freight come roaring through town. I sat on the same bench my homeless friend, Ferret, slept on years ago.

"If you ever get homeless and have to sleep on that bench," he would tell me. "Get some cardboard out of the Pig's dumpster to insulate you. That cold concrete will sap the heat and life right out of your ass."

He would also complain about all the trains that would wake him up at night. I wonder sometimes what happened to all of them -- the gang that George and I hung-out with in Cherry Valley Shopping Center.

Lots to See Down At the Tracks Today...

I parked at the bank and walked over to the tracks as a train roared through downtown. Perfect timing. It had the traffic backed up quite a ways and I am sure a few people were cursing under their breath to be caught by this train. I always love it when that happens. Front row seat to a freight.

I was interested in the loading operation down by where the old cotton mill stood. They were loading gondolas with debris from the demolition. The build date on the gondolas was in the 1970's and they were quite beaten up looking like relics from another time with years of graffiti adorning their sides.

I noticed way down the tracks that the block signal had slowly turned from green, to yellow, and to red. Another train was on the way. I gave the tracks a wide berth as the engineer waved at me from the cab of the lead locomotive. I waved back vigorously. The second train was full of empty automotive carriers no doubt headed to the massive Kia automotive plant on the outskirts of town.

I was getting hungry so I walked across the highway to the new and nice independently owned convenience store downtown. I walked out with milk and several packages of cheese on wheat crackers. The Papas will ask me about this debit charge in the next day or so when he surveys his financial empire on his computer.

This Locomotive, an ALCO RS-3 Unit, has Seen Much Better Days...

The Hamster is in His Wheel...

This is how I want my front facia to look. The other two photo with the darkened valences are nice as well.

It's Almost Summer Time and Hopefully the Living Will Grow Easy...

The General Electric BQ23-7. One of the oddest locomotives I've seen so far. I am sure it passed through downtown a few times or another over the years.

Global Warming...

I know of a sweet gal named Summer and she is a very, very special Southern lady. Sometimes, I think she reads my blog and even comments. She has stuck by me through thick and thin despite all the controversies about my blog and myself throughout the years.

Let's Give a Standing Ovation to Mother Nature...

Well, it feels like summer time outside. We are supposed to get up to 82° degrees today. After all the long, uneventful winter weather we had, we are finally seeing some relief from the doldrums and the complete mediocrity of Mother Nature this year.

Gamecube Controller $5.99

One Controller, Two Controllers, Three Controllers Four...

I just called my friend and cohort in computers. Matt at the pharmacy. I was calling about my birthday. I am ordering a whole slew of game controllers from Newegg -- controllers to play my favorite retro games on my retro gaming computer and how they were meant to be played. The order totaled $75 and yes, I am a big kid at heart.

"They are shipping from China," I told my friend Matt. "We may need to go ahead and order them to get them here on my birthday next month."

Matt said he would run it by my father and was going to order it if he got the go ahead.

I know what my father will think when Matt tells him,..

"Just what in the hell is he ordering from China?"

U-Boats...

This was the railroad of my youth until they merged with CSX.

Bobby Burgers Delight...

My father gave me a big surprise tonight. You know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach right? That certainly applies to me as well. Dad brought bobby burgers or more widely known as Manwiches. He cooks them from scratch saying the stuff in the can tastes funny and has a twang.

One important thing I've noticed about my father lately is that he is no longer drinking all that wine. The boozy visits have ceased. He was playing with hell-fire with a family history of Uncles and Aunts on both sides of his family who were all severe alcoholics. My fall from grace would have been several years ago if I tried that stunt.

Pluses and Minuses...




The photo above is how far along I want to be in two or a few more months. I want to have the benchwork up and the trains rolling.

Charlie called me tonight just after my father left.

"Did Jimmy James ever show up?" Charlie asked.

Charlie was fixing to come over and see his handiwork.

"He never showed," I told Charlie -- his aggravation apparent. "I stayed close to home hoping he would be here any moment."

"He's a pain in the ass, but he sure does damn good work!"

Let's Get This Alco RS-1 Looking Good...

The CHV bought this Alco RS-1 locomotive to help build West Point Dam carrying rocks, cement, sand, and such.

The Man With A Black Shirt As Dark As Night...

I was going to greatly surprise my father tonight. I made my most sincere and best efforts to do so. I took a shower, put on some nice clothes, cleanly shaved my scruffy face, and straightened up the house all the while freshening things up with some Febreze air freshener.

Charlie's car came pulling up to the curb around 7:45 PM as I walked out to help bring in all the food and sodas. Wouldn't it be my luck that all my tiresome efforts were met only by Charlie's ever watchful eye? My father had something to do with my sister and the Grand Kids. Charlie was also more interested in my trash and not my composure and togetherness in this matter. Bless Charlie anyway for bringing me supper and cleaning the kitchen. I will try again tomorrow night when my father arrives for the medication ritual.

Chattahoochee Valley Railway Modeling...

Jimmy James, Charlie's nephew, will be here next week to tear out the train room closet. Charlie says he is a goofball and a pain in the ass but does damn good work. They bicker like siblings.

Tonight's project is painting an undecorated SW1500 locomotive in CHV livery -- the mainstay locomotive many years for the CHV.

My Model Railroad Project Tonight...

This undecorated GP30 locomotive is going to soon see some new livery. I am painting it in the Chattahoochee Valley Ry. paint scheme.  The GP stands for general purpose and the 30 stands for 3000 horsepower.

I Don't Mind the Wait...

http://condrenrails.com/

"What are all these cars piled up in downtown for?" my father asked as we sat at a standstill in downtown West Point, Georgia at lunch.

"There is a slow dragging freight train plodding through town," I replied as I perfectly enjoyed the view. "One of the longest freights I have ever watched."

Dad was aggravated about the wait, but I loved getting to see the train. Soon, the freight had passed through downtown and traffic started to move again despite being in a quagmire.

My father and I were headed to Roger's Barbecue across the Chattahoochee to eat lunch.

"Don't let me forget your mother's catfish plate," my father told me.

For the longest time, Rogers only sold their catfish plate on the weekends. They proved to be so popular that they now serve them every day. It is truly some of the best fried catfish I have ever eaten.

For Summer...

  Summer said...

I asked you a while back and never got an answer. Do you know how much land on either side of railroad tracks is considered owned by the railroad?

Railroad ROW (right-of-way) widths vary from state to state, and can vary within the state due to the railroad’s sale of land adjacent to the tracks. Inside city limits, the railroad ROW could be as narrow as 20 feet from the centerline of the tracks, or could extend from the centerline of the tracks to the ROW line of the nearby public street. 

 http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2654675

Summer, generally here it is from a few feet to 20 to 30 feet from each side of the tracks.

A Good Day is a Train Spotting Day...

There was a William's Bros. unit ballast train parked on our railyard's passing siding today. I walked a mile down the tracks to see if an engine was attached and there were two. I wish I could tell you what kind of engines they were, but they were modern engines which confound me. I think they were built by EMD? SD90MAC? Both were actually dissimilar when I think about it.

Well, I am exhausted after walking that mile down and the mile back to my car. I am so out of shape. My legs feel like jelly as I sit here and I rubbed a big blister on my big toe. Maggie? Honey? Get the leash because we're both going to start walking as soon as this blister heals. I also have to remember that I am no spring chicken and have surpassed the age of 44. A decade ago I could've walked six miles without breaking a sweat.

Good Graces to Follow...

It is edging much closer to that magical hour of 7pm and the close of the pharmacy and my father's arrival around 9pm. Maybe he will be early tonight much to my elation. I will be so glad to see my father as I have felt what I call "mentally interesting" all day. The symptoms are hard to describe. An edginess? Anxiety? Restlessness? I've kept busy all day to keep my mind off of it all. I will take my medications and will feel right as rain in a short seeming hour after they have been absorbed. Bedtime will soon follow after that as I do believe the Klonopin and the anti-psychotic make me sleepy.