Chatterbox Spring 2022

afternoon

Ns looked clear after work.Mamma got her new drivers license in the mail.She wasn’t too excited.Time for chores.

stay safe

Joe

Living hard by the St Lawrence River, it’s not uncommon for uncommon ships to garner some attention as they pass through the Thousand Islands. So it was with the Coast Guard Buoy Tender “Spar.”

Did a little checking today, and the Spar is about to lock through the Soo Locks. MIght even be able to catch it on a web cam there.

Unless they tie up at the locks for the night, of course,. They’re headed for Duluth.

Edit: Looks like they tied up just below the locks.

Any idea on when they’ll arrive at Duluth? Lots of webcams there…

I’d be guessing, for sure. They definitely tied up at the Soo Locks Monday night.

A major issue for them may be the ice that remains on Lake Superior. The USCG Mackinaw escorted two 1000 footers across the lake today - an indication that the ice on the lake is still pretty significant.

The Spar apparently has icebreaking capabilities, but this may be over their head. My guess, anyhow.

The Mackinaw is currently laying off Whitefish Bay, and the Arthur Anderson is anchored nearby. USCG Griffon looks to be breaking ice in that general area as well. The other 1000 footer (Edgar Speer) is tied up above the locks.

Boatnerd.com shows anticipated arrival times. Once the Spar gets underway again and clears the locks, it may give an idea of when they’ll hit Duluth.

Wish I’d thought of it earlier - I could have watched the Spar pass Marine City and Port Huron. They posted a vide

City mice or country mice doing the complaining?

You leave enough of that stuff in the road and the country mice complain, too…

Does Spar get the Alders crew or keep their Aleutian crew? Seems like it would be easier to train a crew for a new ship than for the nuances of a new locale.

Rick

I think she just went through a refit, so regular rotations may have changed much of the crew.

As of 8 AM, Spar was clear of the Soo Locks and headed out into Whitefish Bay. It’s around 390 miles across Lake Superior from the Soo to Duluth. One site suggested she would arrive in Duluth tomorrow about 9 AM. I’ll have to remember to check the Duluth cam.

Update: As of 1:30 PM EDT USCG Spar has cleared Whitefish Point, headed for Duluth.

afternoon

Looked like Ns had some cars for uptown after work.Got a message after work asking me what schedule the ND&W runs nowadays.Got my mower blade back after it was sharpened.Mower is all set for this year.Got a few things around for Chicago this weekend.Mostly just need college boy home so we can get stuff too.

stay safe

Joe

For those following along at home, the Coast Guard buoy tender “Spar” is in the home stretch to Duluth. I’m guessing noonish at the harbor entrance. I could be wrong.

Not far behind her is the “Arthur Anderson” ore carrier of Edmund Fitzgerald fame.

Storms in KC area last night with funnel clouds sighted but none on the ground. About two inches of rain at my home.

We’re due for rain, but nothing severe that I know of.

CG Spar cleared the bridge at Duluth Harbor at about 10:30 AM local time.

evening

Had a little shower just after work.More tonight.Ns has some cars on our side of the street for across the way.Went for a walk.Did see a Csx manifest go west.Think it was q 369.It had 5 pullman standard sand hoppers.Some had the"NW" block lettering.Also had a rio grade boxcar as well.Chores to do.Tomorrow after work it’s time to pack for Chicago.

stay safe

joe

Update

Sorry to hear Mr.Wrinn passed away.Prayers for his family.

stay safe

Joe

afternoon

Ns was the same uptown.They also sent a westbound stack train after work.Power was out multiple places today.Mamma needs to go to a different store as they are still without power.Nothing major here in the swamp.Getting stuff ready to go for Saturday.College boy should be home soon.

stay safe

Joe

archilogists gettting information about Chinaese workers that built transcontinental RR.

What Archaeologists Are Learning About the Lives of the Chinese Immigrants Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad | History | Smithsonian Magazine

Good morning

Back home and unpacking.Gave plenty of hugs yesterday in Chicago. Got to meet people from here too.We were able on Friday to go to places that Carl had shown us on previous trips.Noticed UP crews working on a switch near JB Tower.Saw some work that needed to be done in Downers Grove.Chores to do here.Back to work tomorrow.College boy needs to go back to school too.

stay safe

Joe

Well, rules classes out of the way for another couple of years. Now I just have to get back on the trains. Can’t do that till the doc clears the ankle.

Got to the RR office this morning under gloomy skies. Looked out a little later and it was snowing. They got about an inch. I don’t thing we got anything here at home.

Had a nuisance fire call the other night. Someone was driving past one of the local Amish farms where they were boiling sap. Plenty of smoke, of course, and you could see the wood fire through the windows. Clearly the place was on fire - not. Didn’t take long to sort things out and send everyone home.

If you’re going to call 9-1-1 to report something, make sure it’s something that actually needs to be reported. Virtually every winter storm, there will be multiple calls about cars off the road on the Interstate. There may be 3-4 calls for a given vehicle, but because people don’t know where they are, responders end up chasing each report.

Worst part about communicating with the public as a Chief Dispatcher when they call in to report a incident. Where is here? Virtually everything on the railroad is discribed in Milepost and the public, if they have any reference at all, is in hundred block of a street. Or maybe ‘next to the Quickee Mart’.

When you’re talking Interstates, where it might be 7-10 miles between exits, “north of Podunk” can be vastly different than “south of Podunk.”

Or it’s near “Podunk Corners,” which, in our case might place it in any of three different fire department first dues.

We’ve had times when we had to close a road for some reason. It’s amazing how many long-time residents have no idea of how to get where they want to go by some other route.