But before I let the pictures do the talking, let me say that despite the nasty rain and wind here in New Jersey last Friday, the guys did their best to slog through it and the ensuing traffic and pile into the basement, with one operator in particular coming from as far away as Hershey, PA! (that's a good 3 hours away if you aren't familiar with the NJ/PA area).
We identified some new trouble spots and more than anything, identified that I need to spend the summer working on my engine and car fleets, making sure coupler "airhoses" aren't too low (they just LOVED picking the crossings and turnouts the other night!), and that the cars are properly weighted. As crew member Tom Callan liked to yell at me across the room last Friday, "I found another Helium Car!" (his crafty name for cars with absolutely no weight, if you haven't already guessed)
So, without further ado, enjoy the photographic hijinx!
It takes three to tango.........Float yard switcher engineers Neil "The Happy Viking" Henning and Ted "C&O" Pamprin are under the iron fist of Washington Street Yardmaster Jim Dalberg , aka "Herr Dalberg"
"Where's my train?"......Oak Island/East Claremont staging Yardmaster Dave "NY Harbor" Ramos takes a tour of the property during a lull in the action.
No, it's not a hobo........It's Harbor Master Craig "1892" Bisgeier, who is the guy in charge of staging the carfloatsfor the evening, seen here keeping the chair warm, and the beer safe in between carfloats (I think he was really busy Facebooking or eBay'ing....Slacker!)
"We gots ourselves another Helium Car, Ralphie!......Here we see West Yard switcher engineer Tom "Scotch" Callan hard at work rerailing......Something!
"MORE cars? Just where do you want me to put them?" Here we see West Yard Yardmaster and Communipaw Ave. Block Operator (the guy who controls trains going into and out of the yard on the other side of the backdrop in front of him) Jim "I'll go anywhere for an op session" Schweitzer, hard at work directing the transfer of cars between his yard and Washington Street Yard.
Apparently, I'm not keeping these guys busy enough........"Scary" Ted DiIorio and Dave Ramos are seen here busy debating the finer points of car forwarding.....Yeah, sure they are.
Is it me, or does Dave look like he just saw a ghost train? That, or Ted just dropped some LCL, if you catch my drift......
A busy crew is a happy crew. Neil, Ted P, and Jim D are hard at work at Washington Street, while straight ahead, Bob Rose is seen working the CNJ Henderson Branch.
Team work at Grand Street....Seen here on the new connecting track I recently installed in this location, Ted assists Tom in cutting off some TOFC and reefer cars to place for loading.
Well, that about wraps it up. The guys had fun, I had fun, and I have a nice big bunch of things to fix before the next session in April! Yay me! Until next time..................
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