Who is going?
…and for the future …
Who went?
If it’s a nice day I’ll probably think about going.
CC
Go to Franklin Park Railroad Days today–then go out to the Rochelle Railroad Days this evening. There will be a few Forum readers in Rochelle, I suspect.
Uh, Carl, about what time this evening will you all be there? So that we who
can’t physically be there, can pull up the web cam and try to see you all THAT
WAY!!
yea, cherokee women is right, because Franklin Park to Rochelle, it just isn’t happening with me.
Well, I liked seeing the MOPAC UP# 1982, and the CP ES44DC, but otherweise it kind of wasn’t all that good. I say the best part was when I was driving I saw an NS SD70m-2 and SD70 hooked together without UP engines in the Proviso yard.
Just got back from Rochelle Railroad daze nothing there, but Sunday there is going to be a swap meet.
I found the new (and extrememly clean) Metra unit very interesting but the cab was ot as roomy as I thought it would be. The IC E-8 was dirty, you wouldn’t believe all the oil she had blown onto her roof and sides. The CN private varnish was really luxurious and made me want to take a trip. I was suprised that the CSX unit was as dirty as it was and was dissapointed that they would not let anybody into the cab of Amtrak Genesis unit (Amtrak also had a single level snack/coach car). They also had a Harbor Belt GP40-2 (rebuilt by G.E.), a Best Railway of Chicago switcher and an almost brand new UP Gevo unit (G.E.) in additon to MoPac #1982 which was running (wow, did she sound awesome) and a newer CP Rail G.E. unit. All in all a nice day in Franklin Park.
I was supperised to see the GP40-2 made by GE, so yea…
What to you mean by a “swap meet” cpsmo?
It was a very nice day today, for a change it wasn’t raining. I liked the CN private cars… I tried to buy them but they wouldn’t sell them to me (gee, I wonder why?). Also, it should be posted that the near brand new UP Gevo was an interactive display. Usually, everything on display, and open to the public, has everything turned off. I guess somebody forgot about the horn on the UP unit. Every little kid let that horn fly every minute or so. I might have been a little irritating if it wasn’t for the ear-to-ear grin on thhe face of every little kid.
CC
twas a good time… i really wanted to see inside IC101!!!
Although I have been inside the cab and engine compartment of several E units over the years I would also have liked to see the cab (at least) of IC number 101, but would not have wanted to go inside the engine compartment if it was even close to the condition of the outside! The outside was nearly covered in oil spewed by the engine (yuk), I can only imagine the condition of the engine compartment. Perhaps THAT is why she was closed up. I would also have liked to see the cab of the Amtrak Genesis…she was “eat off of the floor” clean I should point out.
Oil out the stacks does not necessarily indicate oil in the engine room. Often, but not always.
On the Metra E8’s & F7’s, the part that was really bad was in the back by the auxiliary power unit. The Cummins engines were by far the worst. Some were so bad that most engineers (at least those that cared about their appearance) would not walk past it. The Detroit’s they put in later weren’t quite so bad. Otherwise, those trusty old EMD’s were usually fairly clean inside.
Ive been inside and its not all that special…is nice tho.
My guess as for the reason she was all dirty was because she and her sister had just gotten out of revenue service for CN on the New Orleans area. They were pressed back into service.
The Amtrak P42 just came out of Overhaul on Wednesday, that’s why she was so clean. It was ok but I would have liked more unusual Equipment and more things of the neat things opened.
A GE-rebuilt IHB geep was there last year, as well. The CN biz cars were truly awesome! The purpose of the IC E-unit escapes me, since you couldn’t climb or look in and, not being on the point of the loco string, you couldn’t take any pix of your kids or friends in front of that bulldog nose. Interesting to compare the desktop cab of the CP ES44 with the quasi-AAR cabs of the dirty CSX and clean UP GEVOs. An oddity was the sanders of the UP MoPac 70ACe and ES44AC spraying continuously. The truly “different” cab visit was in the BRC SW-1500, something one seldom gets to do.
Franklin Park has been quite lucky, weather-wise, for several years running.
I enjoyed it too. I thought the choice of Amtrak car was a little odd. The Metra bilevel was sweet! First time I’ve been inside one, seen 'em a few times here in Milwaukee. (link) CP 8742 was neat, I got to sit in my brother’s chair (he’s an engineer). Neat sight seeing UP 1982 sanding itself – will be one of the very rare times that I get a picture of a sander up close and personal, and in action, without risk of great bodily harm!
Got a nice little sunburn too… But all in all, a great day.
Klahm, good point about the IC E unit position in the string…at least they could have positioned her with her back to the CN business cars for a more “traditional” appearance. I believe the E unit is a former BN/Metra unit formerly in service on the Aurora/Chicago line and it is hard to believe she has been in IC colors for about ten years now and out of BN service for more than fifteen years! We out here in Aurora certainly miss the E-9’s pounding through here daily! I also noticed the sanders working on both UP units (wonder if some kid or adult touched the sander controls unintentionally?). Did you notice U.P. Gevo G.E. was less than a month old, being delivered in April?
Anyone got any pictures? Sounds like a lot of fun to me!
how many years has this been going on? thanx