Gardner Gawking

1055-1215/07-06-2024 was the span of a truncated -- no Fitchburg -- Gardner Gawking. Yard Channel was a generally hashed and sometimes garbled presence throughout, including at 1109 when 2 or 3 were in a broken convo about somebody doing something that made the next reception clear on his hand-held and somebody saying about AY-5 having been clear to him. Selfishly, I felt better about my own receptions -- with greater distance and intervening topography -- being not so bad, but if the folks who are pretty much line-of-sight at Hill Yard are having trouble, then that's trouble indeed.
1 before that, a breaking P&W Dispatcher St. Albans called 427 clear of wherever. If I heard earlier XNG noise correctly, musta been a Burncoat or New Bond tie-down.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop and the yard MT of cars, crews, and equipment. The ties staged on the House and old platform didn't seem diminished.
EB, there was occasional Dispatcher-side hash with naught Road-side in response, the 1143 Dispatcher-side hash quickly followed by Keolis 1403 calling out a Slow Approach for CPF 333.

0625-0820/07-10-2024 was a bit active. P&W Road started hashing, but hashed so much I locked it out even though there might be 427 involvement .
There was 0645 Dispatcher-side hash that would clear just enough for "fulfilled" to come through.
Heading WB up Da Hill, there was either a low cloud or high fog, and at 0708, EB power was heard about 1/4 mi. E of Pearson Boulevard. Racks were crawling EB and the marker mebbe got onto the Single at 0715, but the cloud/fog was too dense to see for sure. EDSA? Mebbe. They hadn't left anything at an MT yard, so dunno if the creeping meant that they were entering and/or exiting a restriction. Or mebbe even a recrew. There was also no track equipment or crew visible.
EB at 0721, there was the start of Yard-Channel hash, clarities to be mentioned lated. 3 after that, there was strong clarity from Boston West. Again -- why not similar clarity from the more local sources?
At 0736, there was more hash , but this time Road-side. Dunno if it was related, but 4 later, NewBlue 5974 was on East Side getting some engine-compartment attention, the ID of the easterly NewBlue blocked by the T coaches. Except for covered hoppers at the transload, East Side looked MT, but that other transload -- RVJ --- would have 4 covered hoppers on its stub.
The Yard-Channel hash would clear just enough to ID some AY-4 involvement, and at 0754, D-2 would say something to somebody about North Wye. The last semiclarity came at 0815 when AY-3 answered somebody.

0805-0955//07-14-2024 was heavy in Yard-Channel hash, the rare clarities allowing "AY-1" to be heard. There was some Dispatcher-side hash at 0853, mebbe to or about a Track Car + 1, and 3 after that, Boston West -- again-- proved I could get loud and clear receptions, this time about the Sunday diversion for the Western Route.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop and the yard MT, except for a boom truck and tracked mini-excavator by Pratt's. The staged ties were still just that.
EB, the Yard-Channel hash resumed, and post refueling stop at Cleghorn, NewBlues 5930 (E) and 5974 were on the W end of East Side, otherwise MT save for a solo --set-out? -- rack by the transload.
In another transload sighting, the same 4 covered hoppers or their clones were on the RVJ stub.

EDPW had 53 for the P&W today.

1027-1225/07-24-2024 got busy at the start with P&W St. Albans Dispatcher garble that cleared enough to be business with 427 that included a garbled FGLK in the power consist and 24x81 for the car count. A check on the Worcester rail cam showed the consist was CSXTs 465, 5481, and 136 plus FGLK 2308. The tailing MTs were CWR cars. 11:12:30 to 11:22:45 will provide the view. There was equally garbled follow-up between 427 and the CSX Dispatcher. Dunno what the Palmer and Chester cams might add.
Later and further N at 1045 was the start of occasional Yard-Channel hash. 4 After that, a mostly- clear FI-1 talked to a far-less clear B&E about a 12-car runaround at or for Arrowhead. At 1058 came a totally clear -- again -- Boston West.
At 1100, the 333 WLs were at Stop. There was no noise, but there was a white pickup to the NE, so guessing there was work ongoing. 1/2 hour later, things would be the same.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop and the yard MT except for the W end where the mini-excavator and boom truck were busy. 2 pickups -- 1 with a G&W-style logo -- were in the Pratt yard. The tie supply on and by the House seemed the same.
EB at 1140, Keolis 414 called to the B&E with ? about whether or not it was OK to proceed E at GL with a Restricting cab signal. The answer musta be a yes, cuz 414 called a North Leominster arrival at 1148, 8 late. There was a service advisory on the Keolis site of 15-25 delay between Lincoln and BON, cause not given.
411 -- a few behind -- ran W through EFitch, the East Side MT save for the solo rack by the transload and the West Side with even more T flats.
4 covered hoppers still sat on the RVJ stub, tie bundles to the W.
At 1202 a broken Form D G314 Line 4 -- deets lots and time effective 1205 -- went to a TC. Other than that, not much..

1040-1215/08-01-2024 was -- as the interval indicates -- a demi-trip. Radio was broken on Yard and P&W Yard channels, as well Boston West.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop. Dunno if work is done, but no crew and no equipment was visible, but it coulda been lunch. A goodly amount of stone had been put down, so mebbe work is done until the next time, and mebbe the House is now the default B&E tie-staging area. 4 in the yard had -- E-W -- wrapped centerbeams, scrap gons, LPGs, coil cars, and a Cryo-Trans up to Royal Steam Heater and then the rest W trash, odor-free so mebbe MTs. 2 in the yard had -- E-W -- a covered hopper, 2 coil cars, 4 unplacarded tanks, a covered hopper, and a clear-tented centerbeam.
The EB trip didn't yield up any clear receptions except for an unattributable "good for 25" at 1210.

0805-1005/08-09-2024 offered up the usual hash from the usual originators, and in the interest of conserving energy, only the semiclear will get mentioned. At 0823, AY-5 called the B&E, but both then went into garble mode. 2 later, there was a both-sides broken exchange between NS 6959 and probably the B&E about the Camp being clear, and 6 after that FI-1 -- more about whom later -- was breakingly talking with each other.
1 puzzling piece of garble came at 0847. It was on the MOW channel that had been used for San-Vel ops, but went out of use cuz D-3 and then the B&E didn't have access to that frequency. Dunno if it's been reactivated for San-Vel or if it was an encroachment.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop, 2 and 4 in the yard had Clean Harbors tables, MT centerbeams, LPGs, and trashes among the visibles. From the W end of Chair City Oil, the #2 had full-size and shortie covered hoppers, more Clean Harbors tables, unIDable tanks, whatever was behind the ambulance company, and then trashes however far W of the Timpany Boulevard UGB. Tons of ties on the House and old platform? Atzafact!
EB and post refueling stop, D-2 gave a broken a broken Line 4, time effective and other deets lost, but mebbe 0921.
East Side was MT except for the solo rack by the transload and the T coach convention continued on West Side.
At 0931, the B&E told FI-1 he wanted to talk to then about the signal at Derby.
There were now 6 covered hoppers on the RVJ stub, the 4 long-timers and 2 noobs on the E end.
At 0935, FI-1 called the B&E, eventually get permission to pass the Stop signal on 1 at Derby and proceed W. The permission was originally given to the 5930, but FI-1 corrected it to the 5974, so the same power couple was still on FI-1/2. I was moving and some deets were lost both on the original and readback.
The last semiclear of the trip was mebbe the P&W St. Albans giving the Gardner Switcher Barber to Gardner at both sides of 0948.

I can confirm I have heard B+E crew using 161.25 again in the San Vel area lately.

Tnx. Always good to know that I'm not hallucinating.

0635-0820/08-15-2024 was another hashapalooza, the server-ups being the P&W St. Albans, B&E, D-2, Yard Channel, NECR, AMTK and even -- x2 -- Keolis OC.
The 1st clarity came at 0704 from 406's C telling the E that the air was good and that there were no messages, and 5 later, the 406 E let listeners know that the 334 was at a Medium Approach. 0715 was when a breaking B&E advised 5414's Foreman that 406 was leaving Wachusett and he'd call when they'd cleared.
Up Da Hill, the 345s were at Stop and the yard MT. The ties were still in place, and parked between those on the House and the MART fence was a CSX pickup, suppositions to follow.
EB, a still-breaking B&E fulfilled Form D G303 to 5414 + ? at 0726, adding more breakage about Heywood, so mebbe the CSX pickup was waiting for them.
Dunno if FI-1's crew had been repurposed, but the T coaches on West Side were blocking the ID of the E NewBlue with the 5974 to the W on East Side. There were also numbers of racks on East Side.
The last visual was the lineup of the same 6 covered hoppers on the RVJ stub, and the last audio was more occasional hash from a variety of sources.

Dear KittyCat, I am appreciative of all you've down for the firmware part of infrastructure improvement, but I hope similar attention will be paid to comms and other of the softer -- but still necessary -- side of things.

EDPW went in the dirt again at Gardner yard today. Nothing major, just a set of wheels.

I COULD USE AN EXPLANATION OF JAYMAC GAWKING AND I HAVE BEEN AROUND RAILROADING FOR 40+years.He has interesting observations ,BUT sometimes I I ned an explanation

copcars wrote:I COULD USE AN EXPLANATION OF JAYMAC GAWKING AND I HAVE BEEN AROUND RAILROADING FOR 40+years.He has interesting observations ,BUT sometimes I I ned an explanation

If you post what you want translated, I'll do it.

What was the discussion about the Heywood last week? I thought it had been OOS quite a while.