[Magdalen] ATTN The Scotts !!!

[Marion Thompson]

When I saw the photos I realised that there was a system in place to keep the switching places in working order.  It’s not ties being burned like firewood.  LOL  Consider the later disruption of replacing ties if that were so!

Marion, a pilgrim

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Scott Knitter
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2019 11:36 AM
To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] ATTN The Scotts !!!

I think I read that there's an actual system of gas lines to provide fire
to the tracks near switches (where a piece of track moves to divert the
train one way or another). The main thing is to get rid of ice and snow
that might block the switch from switching, which would make it impossible
for the train to take the intended route, or worst case, might derail a
train.

I think there's also an issue with the flexibility of the rails...Normally,
rails have some "give" to allow for shifts in weight, different train
speeds, etc., and that's why the tracks have to be periodically measured
and adjusted to maintain a precise width apart (I think there are devices
that ride the rails and help do this, or at least the measurements). Some
tracks are continuously welded, so there are no gaps, but others are bolted
in in sections, with tiny gaps. If ultra-freezing weather happens, the
flexibility the rails have goes away, and sections of rail can go out of
alignment with others, with danger of derailment.

There are people whose whole job it is to measure the width between tracks
and to adjust the rails, or at least to order their adjustment and by how
much. Mind-boggling!

On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 8:28 PM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I suppose that being soaked with creosote (do they still do that?) the
> creosote might burn and the wood not be seriously consumed  But what a task
> to get each one lit!   The whole thing  boggles the imagination as a
> solution.  I’ve never heard of such a thing in all my life of cold Canadian
> winters.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
> Sent from Mail for Windows 10
>
> From: Lynn Ronkainen
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 9:18 PM
> To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] ATTN The Scotts !!!
>
> Meant to say RR ties were burning on purpose....
> Julie, I'm from MI but never expected this kind of cold, even during
> college in early '70s in Houghton, only 30 or so miles from the tip of the
> upper peninsula!!
> Stay safe.
> Lynn
>
> On Jan 29, 2019, at 8:13 PM, Juli Tarsney <juli at tarsney.net> wrote:
>
> I’m in Minnesota. The post office has canceled all mail delivery in our
> state for tomorrow. That never happens… Many local businesses are also
> closing tomorrow or having truncated hours.
>
> > On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 8:12 PM Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Scott- saw pictures on the evening news of the RR ties under the tracks
> in
> > Chicago to keep them from freezing - never heard or seen of such a
> > solution. I have Farmer friends just across the border in MI and in
> > Minneapolis MN who are getting the same or worse. I hope this cold
> doesn't
> > linger.
> > Lynn
> >
> > On Jan 29, 2019, at 7:58 PM, Juli Tarsney <juli at tarsney.net> wrote:
> >
> > Scott, I thought you lived in an apartment? Or condo? But you have to
> worry
> > about your furnace? We replaced ours last week – the blower stopped
> > working, and we naïvely thought it could be repaired – but it wouldn’t
> have
> > been worth it; the furnace was too old. Nice to know the one we have now
> is
> > under warranty for a while :-)
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 7:11 PM Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> 7pm CST: Temperature in Chicago is -1F, wind chill -22F.
> >> So that's -18C, wind chill -32C.
> >>
> >> Max temp tomorrow (Wednesday): -11F. Wind chills tonight down to -60F. I
> >> think at some point Fahrenheit and Celsius converge, or maybe it's just
> >> that below a certain point on both scales, it just doesn't matter.
> >> I'm running the bathroom faucet on a dribble (with a plastic cup placed
> >> sideways beneath it to lessen the noise) to help prevent the pipe from
> >> freezing. May dribble the kitchen faucet as well, and the bathtub too.
> >> Furnace has fresh filter and I'll set it down a couple of degrees for
> the
> >> night so it gets some rest occasionally. Would be no worries if we still
> >> had the hot-water radiator heating. Still got the neato old radiators in
> >> each room but the system behind them is long gone. We used to have to
> > warn
> >> people not to burn their left leg as they used the loo. LOL
> >>
> >> On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 12:39 PM Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> BTW, they're saying five minutes to frostbite once the wind-chill
> > warning
> >>> goes into effect at 6 p.m. CST today, and throughout tomorrow. That
> > means
> >>> it's even dangerous to go to the local market on foot without covering
> >>> every bit of skin. Goggles would be good. Glad I won't need to make
> that
> >>> short trip.
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 12:35 PM Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com
> >
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Right...One of the joys of full-time telework (and there are many) is
> >> the
> >>>> ability to work even when somewhat ill or when snowed in, as long as
> > the
> >>>> data pipes don't freeze. :)
> >>>>
> >>>> On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 11:40 AM Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com
> >
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Glad you're safe with provisions! Wish it were a day off for you as
> >> well
> >>>>> but I'm thinking not : (
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Stay warm! It's unseasonably cold here but no freezing yet. I'm
> amazed
> >>>>> at some of the temperature variations all over the country.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Lynn
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Jan 29, 2019, at 9:27 AM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> >>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Hi from Chiberia! Here cometh the Polar Vortex. <ominous chord>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I did trudge the two blocks to our nearest supermarket last night to
> >> get
> >>>>> some potentially essential provisions: a frozen pizza, mac & cheese,
> >>>>> pancake syrup, sliced gouda, and high-fiber cereal. And a freshly
> made
> >>>>> Bosnian cheese-filled pastry thing (like a spinach pie only without
> > the
> >>>>> spinach, I guess). Obviously I did not run my shopping list past a
> >>>>> nutritionist. But I feel prepared not to leave the house until at
> > least
> >>>>> Thursday. Cats have enough food, wet and dry.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the historic record-low wind chill day. The
> >>>>> lowest
> >>>>> I can remember experiencing is -56 while a student at Michigan State
> U
> >> in
> >>>>> East Lansing. There was something so essential I had to brave the
> wind
> >> to
> >>>>> walk a block to the Mini-Mart convenience shop. Can't remember what;
> >>>>> perhaps generic chicken franks? Rum? Cans of Tab? Anyway, that level
> > of
> >>>>> wind chill defies all thicknesses of sweaters and multiple shirts and
> >>>>> undershirts. Not to mention the exposed bits of my face. But I did
> > have
> >>>>> to
> >>>>> expose my eyes to see where I was going, at least periodically.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Won't be venturing out in that tomorrow. I pray for any who have no
> >>>>> option:
> >>>>> no place to go, or heaven forbid a fire or something that requires
> >>>>> evacuation. But the city is doing a great deal to make warm places
> >>>>> available: every police station, 66 field houses in city parks,
> >> off-duty
> >>>>> CTA buses, libraries, our neighborhood's wonderful indoor park/gym
> > (The
> >>>>> Broadway Armory), and I'm sure more will open up as needs arise. Some
> >> of
> >>>>> the kinder bus drivers are amenable in such weather to bend the rules
> > a
> >>>>> bit
> >>>>> and pick people up who wave them down, even if they're not strictly
> >>>>> standing at an officially marked bus stop. Actually, I hope they all
> > do
> >>>>> this. (Normally, even in torrential rain, a driver will point to the
> >>>>> stop a
> >>>>> block ahead and make the person run to it if they want to board, or
> >> wait
> >>>>> for the next bus...a few do have more mercy than that, but some draw
> >> the
> >>>>> line sharply either because they're a-holes or because of safety
> >> concerns
> >>>>> with nonstandard boarding points.)
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Anyway, lots of school closures (the Chicago Public Schools are
> > waiting
> >>>>> until tomorrow to close...I'm sure they'll get angry responses from
> >>>>> parents
> >>>>> about being open today). Current conditions: 1 degree Fahrenheit;
> wind
> >>>>> chill is minus 16F (what it feels like in the wind).
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Thank you, Mike, for thinking of us Scotts here in
> >>>>> soon-to-be-historically-cold Chicagoland!
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On Tue, Jan 29, 2019 at 7:09 AM M J _Mike_ Logsdon <
> mjl at ix.netcom.com
> >>
> >>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> It's 3:30 am here, so you might already be in the thick of what's
> >>>>> being
> >>>>>> predicted for Chicago "tomorrow".  -51 degrees !!!<<<
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I must have misheard.  But still, damn cold!
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> M J (Mike) Logsdon.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --
> >>>>> Scott R. Knitter
> >>>>> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> Scott R. Knitter
> >>>> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Scott R. Knitter
> >>> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Scott R. Knitter
> >> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> >>
> >
>
>

-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA