Topic: High Ballin' on the Norfolk & Southern -plus "bird bonus"

[gerhed]

Recently storming down that ribbon of steel ! (sort of)
 
Bird Bonus from the Temple at Karnak

[333]

Way Cool!!!

[BobbyR]

Just truly amazing. let's hope they down reopen the line. 

[tramp]

how fast can you get that bike off the track?

[tsp37]

Can you get a picture of yourself scootin' down the track like Wile E. Coyote with a freight train a few feet behind?

[Steve F]

How do you approach the railroads for permission to cruise their rails? Or don't you)  I have a seldom used spur line in town here, and is part of the Burlington Northern line.  When I was a kid, I used to have a neighbor that had a hand car that we would ride for a few miles on a Sunday morning.  Was way fun, and I'll never forget it.  If this is possible, I'd like to try building something like you did and could ride the line for probably 10 miles or more before it joins up with the busy part of the road.

[BobbyR]

Railroads will not give you permission to use their rails. One reason is liability, the other is that every vehicle running on the rail needs to be certified at the time of manufacture. I work for a Railcar builder and cars we delivered to a client last year could not be delivered to them this year under a new contract since the regulations have changed. When you run your vehicle on the right of way you are trespassing at the least. Running down an abandoned right of way is probably a nothing. The rail cops can either ask you to leave or lock you up. Now with all the Homeland  Security stuff, they may be more proactive. If you do this do it out in the boonies you will probably not be hassled.  Be real certain that it is in fact dead rail. This is no joke. We have to brake test trains all of the time and they best can do deceleration is 2 MPH per second. The second reason is that Trains are quieter than you would think when they are coming at you. We have to be re trained each year on track safety. This year NYC Transit lost two men in 3 Months, both experienced men. In Mass men were killed when a Commuter train hit a work crew. I assure you they did not hear them in time to react.

I think the rail bike is way cool and we have pics of it tacked up in engineering and everyone is amazed at the design, and we would all like to take a ride on it! 

[gerhed]

How do you approach the railroads for permission to cruise their rails? Or don't you)  I have a seldom used spur line in town here, and is part of the Burlington Northern line.  When I was a kid, I used to have a neighbor that had a hand car that we would ride for a few miles on a Sunday morning.  Was way fun, and I'll never forget it.  If this is possible, I'd like to try building something like you did and could ride the line for probably 10 miles or more before it joins up with the busy part of the road.

Steve,

I'd say "don't ask, don't tell"
You definitely don't want to ask anybody for permission.
maintain ignorance--easy for me.
I used to ride the Burlington Northern from Hinsdale into Chicago.
I never got tired of that ride. seemed like an adventure every morning--
even at 5:30 a.m.!!
I had to be the very first person off the train inorder
to get the one cab at Union Station which took me over
to McCormick Place where I took photographs at trade shows.

Phil--be glad to provide pointers on railbike construction.--it's a blast!

[BobbyR]

I am not without sin. As a kid I would walk the NY Central Line and pick up all kinds of artifacts like insulators, spikes, etc in the more remote areas. One day I came across a rotted out wooden box with cylinders inside I did not recognize. I pulled them out and went on my merry way toward the next station. Every train that passed me was moving at walking pace in both directions. Wheni reached the station I overheard one of the Conductors telling someone they had to go so slow becaue all of the signals in the area had gone Red. I got on the train and went home. Upon my return to the area that rotted wooden box had been repladed with a metal one with a big lock on it. It seems I had pulled the barrel fuses for the signals and they defaulted to red.

[gerhed]

Can you get a picture of yourself scootin' down the track like Wile E. Coyote with a freight train a few feet behind?

These guys came up real fast !

[cleveland]

That's pretty cool! 

We used to walk the tracks a lot when I was a kid.  It's a bit different in the city though.  You run into drunks, junkies, etc. but we never got bothered.  I did get warned that you could get shot with rock salt from the engineer, but I never knew anyone that did.  It was mostly just a cool place to go for a walk, check out all the graffiti, that sort of thing.

I am not without sin. As a kid I would walk the NY Central Line and pick up all kinds of artifacts like insulators, spikes, etc in the more remote areas. One day I came across a rotted out wooden box with cylinders inside I did not recognize. I pulled them out and went on my merry way toward the next station. Every train that passed me was moving at walking pace in both directions. Wheni reached the station I overheard one of the Conductors telling someone they had to go so slow becaue all of the signals in the area had gone Red. I got on the train and went home. Upon my return to the area that rotted wooden box had been repladed with a metal one with a big lock on it. It seems I had pulled the barrel fuses for the signals and they defaulted to red.

LOL, that's too funny!

[Steve F]

Can you get a picture of yourself scootin' down the track like Wile E. Coyote with a freight train a few feet behind?

These guys came up real fast !

WOW C&NW!!!     Haven't seen those for quite a while.  Is that a recent photo?
Living in West Chicago, we have a rail yard that housed the commuter trains in the "off" hours, and now it's nothing but METRA.  Since the Union Pacific took over the C&NW, train traffic through town has easily tripled or more in volume.  Nothing but train after train after train. 

[gerhed]

Can you get a picture of yourself scootin' down the track like Wile E. Coyote with a freight train a few feet behind?

These guys came up real fast !

WOW C&NW!!!     Haven't seen those for quite a while.  Is that a recent photo?
Living in West Chicago, we have a rail yard that housed the commuter trains in the "off" hours, and now it's nothing but METRA.  Since the Union Pacific took over the C&NW, train traffic through town has easily tripled or more in volume.  Nothing but train after train after train. 

Steve,

This pic was taken in the early '70"s
At a rail yard out in Joliet, Ill.
I believe these were the diesel/electrics that replaced steam !

Phil