Riding between the tracks

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>> But steam
>>engines... let's hear a story from somebody about a steam engine sneaking
>>up
>>on them!
>
> The steamers on my local excursion railroad are nearly silent when
> coasting. They bark under power, but might be the quietest of all
> when not.

Fair enough. OK, then let's hear from somebody who's had a steam engine
sneak up on them while climbing a 3% grade (about as steep as a mainline
engine could possibly muster, albeit for a short distance... while at the
same time, not so steep that a cyclist would have to be breathing so hard
that they couldn't hear anything else).

Oh, and it has to be pulling at least 50 ore cars, all loaded to capacity.

And it has to be night, with the train having standard, fully-operational
running gear.

But I shouldn't let the joking obscure the seriousness of being on or near
railroad tracks. Unless you absolutely know they've been abandoned, you
could find yourself in a dangerous, unforeseen situation.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Pete]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> But I shouldn't let the joking obscure the seriousness of being on or near
> railroad tracks. Unless you absolutely know they've been abandoned, you
> could find yourself in a dangerous, unforeseen situation.

When I was in Germany in the late 80's early 90's, the US Army had a spate
of guys getting hit by trains.
Walking along the tracks, Walkman blasting...splat!

Pete

 

[Muttley]

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 06:21:49 GMT, "Pete" <ptr@ThievingBastardsWorkAt_usaf.com>
wrote:

>
>"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>> But I shouldn't let the joking obscure the seriousness of being on or near
>> railroad tracks. Unless you absolutely know they've been abandoned, you
>> could find yourself in a dangerous, unforeseen situation.
>
>When I was in Germany in the late 80's early 90's, the US Army had a spate
>of guys getting hit by trains.
>Walking along the tracks, Walkman blasting...splat!

I trust they were all nominated for Darwin awards.

 

[the black rose]

Mike Schwab wrote:
> the black rose wrote:
> <snip>
>
>>... I've had a headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that,
>>I'm starting to lose track) and it's making me testy.
>
> <snip>
> What is the cause? Sinus infection? Migranes? Cerebal anurism?
> Have you seen an MD?

Oh, long since, I've had chronic headache for 30 years. I get classic
migraines; this headache is just the aftermath of one. All in all, I'm
grateful it's just a headache and not a migraine, but I do get a little
irritable now and then from it.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

 

[the black rose]

Mike Schwab wrote:
> the black rose wrote:
> <snip>
>
>>... I've had a headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that,
>>I'm starting to lose track) and it's making me testy.
>
> <snip>
> What is the cause? Sinus infection? Migranes? Cerebal anurism?
> Have you seen an MD?

Oh, long since, I've had chronic headache for 30 years. I get classic
migraines; this headache is just the aftermath of one. All in all, I'm
grateful it's just a headache and not a migraine, but I do get a little
irritable now and then from it.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

 

[Pat]

>
> When I was in Germany in the late 80's early 90's, the US Army had a spate
> of guys getting hit by trains.
> Walking along the tracks, Walkman blasting...splat!
>
> Pete

When I was in Germany 84-88, the US Army had a bunch of guys getting killed
by rocking soda machines until the machines fell---on top of them! That is
why today's soda machines have that false front with the rounded surface.

Pat in TX
>
>

 

[Pat]

>
> Here in CT, we had a small family get wiped out by a Metro North train
> a few years ago. They were crossing a short bridge at night and the
> train was doing about 80, they never had a chance.
>
> Metro North runs electric trains on mostly welded rail. They don't
> make much noise.
>
> Then again, I once heard a comedian talk about how no train has ever
> swerved to hit anyone! You've got to be on the track to get hit. <G>
>
> Barry

When I was at Fort Meade, in Maryland, there was a cyclist killed crossing
the Metro tracks just outside of Odenton. The tracks there curve right
before the station and the train is not visible until it is right on top of
you. It is exciting to watch because one minute there is no clue--and the
next---Whoosh! Anyway, this 15 year old boy was crossing the tracks with
his bike instead of going under the tracks through the little tunnel built
for just that possibility of a train appearing suddenly.

Pat in TX

 

[Pete]

"Pat" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> >
> > When I was in Germany in the late 80's early 90's, the US Army had a
spate
> > of guys getting hit by trains.
> > Walking along the tracks, Walkman blasting...splat!
> >
> > Pete
>
> When I was in Germany 84-88, the US Army had a bunch of guys getting
killed
> by rocking soda machines until the machines fell---on top of them! That
is
> why today's soda machines have that false front with the rounded surface.
>

Yup...I remember those accidents.

Pete

 

[The Real Bev]

the black rose wrote:
>
> Mike Schwab wrote:
> > the black rose wrote:
> > <snip>
> >
> >>... I've had a headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that,
> >>I'm starting to lose track) and it's making me testy.
> >
> > <snip>
> > What is the cause? Sinus infection? Migranes? Cerebal anurism?
> > Have you seen an MD?
>
> Oh, long since, I've had chronic headache for 30 years. I get classic
> migraines; this headache is just the aftermath of one. All in all, I'm
> grateful it's just a headache and not a migraine, but I do get a little
> irritable now and then from it.

Caffeine withdrawal by any chance? Husband had headaches for decades --
each day they stopped as soon as he'd ingested enough Tylenol/Pepsi.
When he stopped drinking caffeineful sodas the headaches stopped too.

--
Cheers,
Bev
=========================================================================
If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small
country.

 

[Michael J. Klein]

On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 14:36:25 GMT, the black rose
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Leo Lichtman wrote:
>> "the black rose" wrote: "I don't mean to offend, but ..." I've always
>> wondered why people say that right before doing something they have a good
>> idea will do just that.
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> I said that because I wanted it to come across as a good natured wisecrack.
>> I'm sorry--evidently it didn't work.
>
>I'm sorry. My sense of humor was on vacation because I've had a
>headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that, I'm starting to
>lose track) and it's making me testy.
>
>Please accept my apologies for snapping at you.
>
>-km

Rose, Laura Brannigan died a few weeks ago. She had a headache for 2
weeks and never sought medical attention. She could have been treated
if she had sought medical attention. 3 weeks is way too long!

Michael J. Klein [email protected]
Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

 

[the black rose]

The Real Bev wrote:
> the black rose wrote:
>
>>Mike Schwab wrote:
>>
>>>the black rose wrote:
>>><snip>
>>>
>>>>... I've had a headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that,
>>>>I'm starting to lose track) and it's making me testy.
>>>
>>><snip>
>>>What is the cause? Sinus infection? Migranes? Cerebal anurism?
>>>Have you seen an MD?
>>
>>Oh, long since, I've had chronic headache for 30 years. I get classic
>>migraines; this headache is just the aftermath of one. All in all, I'm
>>grateful it's just a headache and not a migraine, but I do get a little
>>irritable now and then from it.
>
>
> Caffeine withdrawal by any chance? Husband had headaches for decades --
> each day they stopped as soon as he'd ingested enough Tylenol/Pepsi.
> When he stopped drinking caffeineful sodas the headaches stopped too.

Caffeine is one of my preventatives. I very carefully consume the same
amount of caffeine every day. About a month or so after I wean myself
off caffeine, the number of migraines I get sky-rockets. If I miss a
day's caffeine, yeah, I'll get a withdrawal headache, but trust me, they
feel different.

I get classic migraines with the "flashing lights" aura (it's not really
flashing lights, more like a blob with bright edges, but more folks are
familiar with the flashing lights phrase), the light and sound
sensitivity, the hormone cascades, the whole package.

Been to the specialists, gotten the head scans, all that long since.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

 

[the black rose]

Michael J. Klein wrote:
> On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 14:36:25 GMT, the black rose
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Leo Lichtman wrote:
>>
>>>"the black rose" wrote: "I don't mean to offend, but ..." I've always
>>>wondered why people say that right before doing something they have a good
>>>idea will do just that.
>>>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>>I said that because I wanted it to come across as a good natured wisecrack.
>>>I'm sorry--evidently it didn't work.
>>
>>I'm sorry. My sense of humor was on vacation because I've had a
>>headache for going on 3 weeks (or something like that, I'm starting to
>>lose track) and it's making me testy.
>>
>>Please accept my apologies for snapping at you.
>>
>>-km
>
>
> Rose, Laura Brannigan died a few weeks ago. She had a headache for 2
> weeks and never sought medical attention. She could have been treated
> if she had sought medical attention. 3 weeks is way too long!

30 years is way too long.

Thank you for your concern, but my problem is chronic, not acute. I'm
just one of many migraine sufferers. I've been to the specialists,
gotten the scans, done most of the usual meds, gotten addicted to them,
been detox'ed -- just like with so many other people with migraine,
there's no organic disease process going on that anybody can detect.
Nobody knows what causes it, although there are theories, and they think
that hormones are involved. Beyond that? Eh, I'm lucky. Most of my
headaches can be ignored. I'm so used to living with a low-level
headache that waking up without one is bliss (but that doesn't happen
very often).

I've heard of people with constant *migraine*-level pain for months and
even years at a time, and actually, my longest migraine lasted 30 days
(my kids got away with murder that month) -- I haven't had a migraine on
that level since I discovered that a constant blood level of caffeine is
a preventative for me.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

 

[Pat]

> > When I was in Germany 84-88, the US Army had a bunch of guys getting
> killed
> > by rocking soda machines until the machines fell---on top of them! That
> is
> > why today's soda machines have that false front with the rounded
surface.
> >
>
> Yup...I remember those accidents.
>
> Pete
>
Can we, should we, call them accidents? After all, a grown man who gets
angry at a soda machine and pulls it on top of himself....well, that's a
Darwin moment for sure!

Pat in TX

 

[Curtis L. Russell]

On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 09:35:40 -0500, "Pat" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Can we, should we, call them accidents? After all, a grown man who gets
>angry at a soda machine and pulls it on top of himself....well, that's a
>Darwin moment for sure!

Anger doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it. If you've put
in your 50 cents (back then) and you hear the can slip, but not fall,
then rocking a machine will often give you what you paid for. The
trick is to not rock it too much.

The issue with some machines was that the door was thick and heavy and
the actual base started well behind the door line. The machine would
tip with far less effort than expected. Candy machines were even
worse, designed with a four leg base well back from the front.

The irritating ones were the pull up soft drink machines - where the
bottles were pulled up through an opening by their necks. If you
weren't paying attention, it was easy to have the bottle slip from
your fingers and drop back - and lose your 25 cents. Only way to be
killed by one of those machines was to have two hefty guys pick it up
and drop it on you.

I'm guessing there aren't more than a couple of people on the list
that can remember those things, though.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

 

[Raoul Duke]

"Curtis L. Russell" <[email protected]> wrote in message

> The irritating ones were the pull up soft drink machines - where the
> bottles were pulled up through an opening by their necks. If you
> weren't paying attention, it was easy to have the bottle slip from
> your fingers and drop back - and lose your 25 cents. Only way to be
> killed by one of those machines was to have two hefty guys pick it up
> and drop it on you.
>
> I'm guessing there aren't more than a couple of people on the list
> that can remember those things, though.

Weren't those the ones where the soda bottles were chilled by standing in a
pool of ice water? When you pulled the bottle up it was dripping wet?

Remember the soda vending machines that had a rack on the side where you
were supposed to return the bottle after you finished it? When I was a kid
we would look for those machines, steal whatever bottles were there, and
take them to the liquor store and return them for the deposit, usually two
or three cents.

Dave

 

[Curtis L. Russell]

On Tue, 7 Sep 2004 09:53:35 -0700, "Raoul Duke"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Weren't those the ones where the soda bottles were chilled by standing in a
>pool of ice water? When you pulled the bottle up it was dripping wet?

That's the one. Probably the source of the dank water smell I always
associate with them.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

 

[David Reuteler]

Raoul Duke <[email protected]> wrote:
> Remember the soda vending machines that had a rack on the side where you
> were supposed to return the bottle after you finished it? When I was a kid
> we would look for those machines, steal whatever bottles were there, and
> take them to the liquor store and return them for the deposit, usually two
> or three cents.

huh, when i was a kid (21 or so .. a senior in college) we used to raid the
trash cans of the dorms and frats for beer bottles and do the same thing.
5 returned cases == 1 fresh case of cold spring.

ohh, that's living.
--
david reuteler
[email protected]

 

[Bob in CT]

On 07 Sep 2004 17:23:50 GMT, David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

> Raoul Duke <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Remember the soda vending machines that had a rack on the side where you
>> were supposed to return the bottle after you finished it? When I was a
>> kid
>> we would look for those machines, steal whatever bottles were there, and
>> take them to the liquor store and return them for the deposit, usually
>> two
>> or three cents.
>
> huh, when i was a kid (21 or so .. a senior in college) we used to raid
> the
> trash cans of the dorms and frats for beer bottles and do the same thing.
> 5 returned cases == 1 fresh case of cold spring.
>
> ohh, that's living.

Personally, I think that deposits are idiotic. I like it much better in
AZ, where you had a trash can for recyclables and you put everything in
it. Here in CT, I still do that, as I don't have time to take back my
cans/bottles.

--
Bob in CT
Remove ".x" to reply

 

[David Reuteler]

Bob in CT <[email protected]> wrote:
> Personally, I think that deposits are idiotic. I like it much better in
> AZ, where you had a trash can for recyclables and you put everything in
> it. Here in CT, I still do that, as I don't have time to take back my
> cans/bottles.

you should leave them out front for the high-school/college students. no
use letting them goto waste.
--
david reuteler
[email protected]

 

[Jacques Moser]

Fritz M wrote:
> I was riding to a nearby town northwest of my destination, taking a
> north road then a west road, when I looked down between the tracks of
> a rarely-used railroad spur that's a diagonal hypotonuse to these
> roads. The gravel is piled up even with the ties, so I considered
> riding between the RR tracks to my destination.
>
> In spite of the 30% difference in distance, I decided against it
> because I'm a weenie when it comes to trespassing. But it got me
> thinking, does anybody do this? I'm not talking about rail-biking, but
> riding between the rails over the RR ties. What are the practical
> considerations of doing this?
>
> RFM

I regularly commute and travel using railroad tracks, even frequently
used ones. There is practically no danger if you ride fast enough and in
a vehicular fashion. The only limitation is to use only double-track
sections, as you don't want to be riding head-on against a train. Wrong
way riding is, as usual, not recommended. By the way, trains ride on the
left, not on the right.
I usually manage to keep ahead of most trains, except perhaps TGVs. In
this case, I hop to the side, allow the train to pass, then quickly
catch up and draft the TGV for a while.

Jacques