Rail fan net of July 27 2006

Last nights rail fan net turned out to be very interesting. One of the new stations to check in was Mike, KB3LMF, who stumbled across the net for the first time. Now we get newcomers all the time, what was exciting about Mike coming on board is that he is an engineer for Amtrak. Needless to say there were numerous questions for him before the close of the net.

There was no trivia question for last week since we held the first ever Rail Fan Fest at Steel City Amateur Radio Club. I think Bill, N3BPB, did go in the radio room and bring up the net at 09:30 but I did not participate and Craig, KB3KBH, who supplies us with our trivia questions each week was out in the main room with me. I will have a more complete blog entry on the Rail Fan Fest latter complete with pictures.

Here is the trivia question for this week.

What is a railroader talking about when speaks of “the six foot”.

Check back here next week for the answer and a new trivia question.

Fireturck riding the rails

Pierce's Rail Rescue Vehicle is a walkaround heavy-rescue unit built on an Enforcer chassis that deploys hydraulic railway gear,allowing it to operate on railroad tracks.


I want to thank Bob, KB3MOJ, for the pointer to this story.

PIERCE

Pierce's usual big showing of new products included the premier of a commercial multi-cab design that can be built on the Kenworth T300 and T800 heavy-duty chassis in both the Pierce and Contender lines. The vehicle features a 6', 4" cab height and can be configured to operate as a top-mount pumper, a command center or a crew cab. As an enclosed top-mount pumper, the cab has windows on all sides, providing the pump operator with a better view of the entire fire scene and pump operations. The pumper also provides space to rehab the crew if needed. As a command center, the cab can be configured to include a workstation and EMS compartments.

The enclosed-cab design protects pump operators from the elements, allowing them to concentrate more on operating the vehicle safely. A pumper that operates in both severe cold and high heat environments is a great asset to the fire service.

Pierce also displayed an addition to its aerial product line: a 100' aluminum aerial ladder with a tip load of 750 lbs., the largest in the industry. The ladder features H-style stabilizers with a 12' spread; it also has a replaceable egress section. Options include mounted breathing air at the ladder tip, a quick-lock waterway, creeper controls and various tool-mounting configurations.

Another unique offering from Pierce: the Enforcer Rail Rescue Vehicle. A walk-around heavy-rescue unit built on an Enforcer chassis, this rig deploys hydraulic railway gear in the front and rear of the vehicle, allowing it to operate on railroad tracks for easy movement. The response areas of many fire departments feature major rail lines. For such departments, the Rail Rescue Vehicle will increase operability and reduce response times for incidents in hard-to-reach areas.

What a great evening!

If you missed the first ever Pittsburgh Rail Fan Fest you missed a very good time. Linda and I went out for dinner this evening after I picked her up at work and then motored our way up to Steel City Amateur Radio Club for what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening.

Thanks to Art, WA3BKD, for setting this up and to Steel City for allowing us the use of their club house for the meeting. Check back latter today or tomorrow for some pictures and a more detailed description of the evenings events.

You never know what you will see on the way to work

While I haven't been able to work so far this year because of health problems I am back to driving and have been acting as chauffeur for my lovely wife Linda each day. She works in one of the buildings behind St. Margret's Hospital so twice a day I travel old Rt. 28 with a view of the Conemaugh line for a good deal of my trip. It is rare that I don't see at least one Norfolk Southern freight on the line, usually going east, during the daily commute. Once in a while I notice a pick up truck with “outrigger” wheels designed to run on the tracks or other service vehicles.

I have been carrying a small “point and shoot” digital camera in the car with me for a while now so when I saw a number of odd looking machines traveling up the line the other day I was somewhat repaired and caught the following images.

Please note that being a neophyte rail fan I have NO clue as to what each of these do!






I will try to captuer some additional images in the future as there seems to be an ongoing project on this line.

Rail Fan Net trivia for July 13 2006

First the question from this weeks net.

Who was the “wreck master” and what was his job?

Check back next week for the answer.


And now, here is the answer to last weeks question.

When you ride an excursion train with a steam locomotive they are usually supplied water by local fire department pumper. This lead to tonights trivia question.

Why do they call the fire hydrants “fire plugs”?

In the early days of fire fighting in England an underground water distribution system was installed using wooden pipes buried far enough below the surface so as not to freeze in the winter. When the firemen arrived with a pumper, usually hand operated and sometimes hand drawn, they would locate the nearest “water pipe”, dig down to it and drill a hole to which they would attach a hose. When the fire was out or the building burned down which ever came first they would remove the hose and drive a wooden plug, called a “fire plug”, into the hole. Eventually they began to place markers at the places where past holes had been bored into the pipes making them easy to find. When an above ground device was made to access the pipe below the term “fire plug” stuck and remains until this day.

You just never know what you are going to learn on the weekly Rail Fan Net now do you?

Good times! Mark your calendars!

We are going to have our first “face to face” rail fan net and like the on the air version everyone is welcome to join in. On Thursday, July 20th 2006, though the generosity of the Steel City Amateur Radio Club we have a physical place for the gathering of our group.

The plan at this time is to bring some video material on DVD and VHS to watch. Others are bringing items of interest from their collection of railroad memorabilia some of it historic in nature. Should be a very good meeting. Dennis, KB3HPC, the conductor of the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net plans to have a few goodies that he will give away as “door prizes” for the trivia question that evening and also some hand outs that will be of interest for rail fans.

The time is not completely firm yet but I believe that we plan to arrive at the club around 07:00 PM. Watch this blog or listen in on the Rail Fan Net next Thursday evening at 09:30 PM on the 146.880 repeater for additional details.

Rail fan net trivia for July 6 2006

Our thanks to Craig, KB3KBH, for researching interesting questions for the net each week.


First the question from this weeks net.

When you ride an excursion train with a steam locomotive they are usually supplied water by local fire department pumper. This lead to tonights trivia question.

Why do they call the fire hydrants “fire plugs”?


Check back next week for the answer.


And now, here is the answer to last weeks question.

What was a boiler wash and why was it done?

A boiler wash was to get the sediment and impurities out of the bottom of the boiler. Done with chemical compounds it was a long hard, hot and dirty job.

The Rail Fan Net for June 29th 2006

As promised here is the answer to last weeks trivia question from the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net and a new question posed this week.

First the question from this weeks net.

What was a boiler wash and why was it done?

* * * *
Now last weeks question.

At one point in time on the railroads there was a whistle signal given by the engineer for the command “down brake”. Why was this signal given and what happened when it was?

At that time there were a number of men on the train assigned the job of “break man” and each car had a mechanical brake system activated by hand. When the “down brake” signal was given they would turn a wheel in a clockwise or “down” direction applying the brakes.