Gardner Gawking

They get the operational reports that show speed changes, no need for them to make a visit. If the trains start to show up late they will do something.

atholrail wrote:TC 1612 gave out 2 more speedo's to D3 this afternoon. 362-361 #2 10. Other I can't remember, but it was between 361 and Wrights on the #2.

If I may ask, what does TC stand for?.

I went to high school with one of Pan Am's TCs", sounds like he managed to eke out a decent career. A tip of my hat to him!

Track Car 1612

It wasn't exactly "The Centuries Pass at Night," but EDPO did run by POED at Parkers on 01-27-2012. The WB on 2 was far enough to the east to remain invisible, but the EB got by on 1 with OldPaints 618 and 328 and NewBlue 603 plus 38 with a no defects and a length of 2310' from the 346.6 talker at 0855. It was slow running through Gardner itself, getting east of CPF-345 at 0906. The yard had racks and general freight and was mebbe quarter full. The lower lot, however, was totally crammed. Yellow track critters were on and off the stub, a yellow front-ender looked like it was itching to do some work, and a small convention of TCs was there. A dumpster was in the wedge between 2 and the PW, presumably carrying the tie-plates and rail-anchors that had been there on the ground. The signal bridge was still in place. Earlier, D-3 had asked if 603 was isolated, and when it went by, it seemed quiet, which might account for the creepie-crawlie progress on the single east of 345 towards the summit. EDPO was east of Wachusett on 2 at 0948, interrupting a track crew on 1.
Today was a good day to stay inside the cab or car. The rain was like a carwash for much of the morning.
On the speedo scene, D-3 told POED he'd be giving some more as the train got further down the hill, but while I was listening, I heard no details.

CPF 381 to MP 382 25

A fair number of racks, but no visible general freight was the yard scene on 01-30-2012. The lower lot was busy with a TC crew and contractors getting ready. D-3 gave all tracks CPF-346 to MP338 to the TC, with G301 effective at 0805. The TC and the DWA Rail boom hy-railer which had been on the stub were east of the Heywood turnout at 0822. D-3 had said that there was an EB out of Deerfield, but that it would be a couple of hours before it would be in the picture. There was no mention if the cause was work at Millers or speedos or both.

Around 0900 on 02-02-2012, the OOS signal bridge obeyed gravity with the assist of company TCs and the contractor boom hy-railer. While I was listening, didn't hear any limits on how long CPF-345 to CPF-346 1 and 2 would be out of service. By radio, AYMO was supposed to be on duty at 1000, and FI-1 was going to be in the the foreman's territory, but if it was Heywood or yard business, the remains of the bridge getting cut up and hauled away shouldn't have been a problem. In a change from past practice, there were 4 boxes on the Dead, and in keeping with past practice, the rest of the yard, at least before FI-1 showed up, seemed mostly racks.
Just to prove all the new ones aren't white, a gray Suburban TC with a white PAR decal (not the Winged Globe version) rolled west of Wachusett on 1 at 1021.

The 02-03-2012 No Trains Moving While Your Correspondent Was There Show did have some interesting viewing at 0745. A crew with tired -- mebbe even (cue the rimshot) fatigued -- equipment was cleaning out the pile of old rails in between the CPF-345 equipment cases and Rte. 2. A bit to the east, the 4 boxes were still on the Dead. The yard itself had more and more diverse cars than yesterday. Sitting on 2 a bit west of the westerly limits of CPF-345 was a string of cars that included a solo rack and then, further west, a short block of racks. A number of the cars still had shiny sidewalls, indicating a probable RJED origin. The radio was remarkably quiet -- not even MBCR TCs were getting permits -- so I headed east.
Later and easter, I heard D-3 acknowledge a speedo from a TC and then tell ED495 about a 10 on 2 at MP-355 at 0959.
At Ayer, outside the normal range of this thread, EDPO told D-3 that it had finished doubling its train, and after some paperwork got done and IB and OB Ts were gone, NewBlue 501 and OldPaint 515 got 75 out of the yard and onto 2 at 1015. There were a few blocked strings of MT spines, mebbe indicating Maine lumber loadings are up.. Tying Ayer events back to Gardner, at 1048, D-3 told ED495 that it would be doing some moves in Gardner with the cars on 2 for later PW pickup. The exact moves got stepped on by the Slab City talkers. Mebbe the cars on 2 got dropped there by EDPO?
The spike-puller was back on the CPF-335 MOW stub, and a new or newly-painted bucket with a loader attached was nearby on the ground.

ED495 333, 345 set off 23 P&W's on top of 18 sitting on track 2.

WOGR 4002, 3906 arrived about noon, light power. Went back to Worcester with 50 cars.

Yard was a mess, empty racks and freight on every track except track 1.

MOAY was instucted to drop their 6 loaded P&W's onto track 1 though around 530pm.

Wonder what's going on with the ED190 job, given how bad Gardner yard was looking and the fact ED495 was doing their work.

Like I said....

Like you said!

The 02-07-2012 0900 viewing showed a couple of tracks worth of racks with a smattering at the westerly end of the yard of general freight. Per the radio at 0845, ED495 was already down Da Hill. There was a representation of contractor trucks and private vehicles in the upper and lower lots, but no crews visible. Also in the lower lot was the PW truck for the morning eye-balling. The dumpster was still across from the Jade, and the 4 boxes were still on the Dead, and the stub and the Heywood were MT -- still. At CPF-335, the spike-puller was towards the west end of the MOW stub, and a couple of carry-cars were on the east end. The shiny bucket and claw attachments were on the ground, but there still was no front-ender for them to attach to.
Per the radio, FI-1 would later be coming up Da Hill to go to Otter River, but nothing would be coming west for a while because 1 and 2 between 361 and 362 were given to a TC until 1200. While I was listening no speedos were added or lifted.

The 02-09-2012 0745 viewing did show some changes. The Boxcar Quartet that had been in residence on the Dead for a week +/- has gone on to livelier quarters. The dumpster that had been between 2 and the yard leads across from the Jade is also gone. Still there were the scrapper/contractor trucks and personal vehicles in the lower lot. None of the crew was visible, but D-3 told a TC looking for time to check the Gardner handthrows that all tracks between MP-340 and CPF-354 had already been given to another foreman, probably a good explanation of where the crew might be. It was also probably a good explanation of why I didn't hang around for long. The stub and the Heywood were still MT. While I was listening, there were no audible speedo adds or lifts.
Racks continued to be the dominant species, with a few general freight for variety.

On 02-10-2012, the FRA was in town, keeping an eye on the TC and the contractors the TC was supervising. D-3 had given the TC control from MP-343 to CPF-354, but FI-1 had business in town, so the TC and the scrapper's boom truck and carry-car -- with all sorts of old steel -- got onto the stub at 0959. FI-1 with NewBlue 354 plus 4 stopped at the Heywood turnout at 1010, and a job-briefing with the foreman got going. FI-1 had to pick up an MT off the branch, go to Otter River, and then come back to do work in the yard, which was reasonably well occupied with racks and general freight. EDPO was already in D-2, but ED495 was still not ready to head east and upgrade.

The 02-15-2012 viewing brought some surprises. At 1015, the yard was pretty well full, but NewBlues 612 and 603 were pulling MT racks from the west end to tie onto the rest of their train, which extended east to the Jade. When complete, the train stretched from the Jade to the Pleasant Street OHB. After that, nothing seemed to move for more than 1/2 hour, and there was nothing on the radio, making it seem like a pre-arranged recrew was happening, so I took that as a hint to do what the train -- IDd later over the air as POED -- couldn't yet do: get out of town.
The PW inspector's truck was there, but the scrapper's trucks, both company and personal transportation, weren't. The Heywood and stub were MT, but there was a gon-and-hopper string on the Dead, mebbe for later ties.