Bucket Trams

PC190010.JPG
Originally uploaded by Engineer Z.

It's been a while since I've posted... With the holidays and all, haven't had much of a chance.

Before I left work for the holidays, I visited one of our substations that serves a sand processing facility in rural central Ohio.   Sandstone is mined a couple of miles away and transported to the facility via a bucket tram.  I guess bucket trams were (are?) somewhat common in mining areas out west, but I had never seen such an operation before and found it pretty interesting.  Think of a ski lift, but instead of skiers, the tram moves buckets of sandstone.


Update: I have posted a short video on YouTube.

Norfolk Southern T&S work train comes through town

PC010010.JPG
Originally uploaded by Engineer Z.

This is my first attempt to blog via flickr. Let see how it goes...

Yesterday as I headed into work, a Norfolk Southern work train passed by the parking garage. It was carrying the equipment, tools, supplies, and camp cars for a "Tie and Surface" gang. The T&S gang replaces old, crumbling cross-ties with new ones while cleaning and retamping the ballast to provide a stable roadbed for trains to run on.

Interestingly, NS is apparently the last major railroad to house traveling crews in camp cars and the Teamsters aren't happy about it. They all looked to be pretty modern and in good condition, but then again, I'm not living out them either. A number of the cars had over-the-air television antennas, but surprisingly I didn't see any satellite dishes; perhaps those are small enough to take down when they move the cars.