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In Search of a Fired Locomotive
Oct. 18th, 2020 06:53 pmLast night, shortly before I went to bed, I heard a one-sided radio conversation, with the side I could hear being the Union Pacific dispatcher responsible for the stretch of track between Sparks and Winnemucca (the Nevada Subdivision). The second locomotive of several hauling very a long train (>13,000-feet, and therefore longer than the sidings on Nevada Sub) apparently had caught fire! The train had come to a halt near milepost 319, which means the train might have also been blocking the US-95 grade crossing. Worse, the crew said the locomotive may have been on fire from as far as Hazen (MP 288). The dispatcher called for the fire department (which probably had to come from Fallon, about 30 mi / 50 km south) and also called one of the track maintainers who lives in Fernley, who had to use his rail-equipped truck to get onto the track at Hazen and inspect the 30-plus miles of track for any damage. I did not hear the rest of the story, but I do note that the only train I recall coming through today was a train of maintenance-of-way equipment. Whether that means repairs were required or it was only a coincidence, I do not know.
This afternoon, Lisa and I drove to Fallon, where I had some store credit from Ace Hardware in that city that we wanted to use before it expired. Unfortunately, as soon as we entered the store, Lisa noticed that the employees were all wearing their face covering below their noses, below their chins, or just hanging by one ear, and we turned around and walked out, with Lisa giving them an earful about why they lost our business. (And we expected to spend a lot more than $5 worth of store credit there, too.)
Having made it as far as Fallon, Lisa asked if we could go look at the site of where the train fire was, as it's road accessible. So instead of going straight home, we went the long way around the triangle formed by Fernley, Fallon, and I-80/US-95.
( Not the First Fire at that Spot )
A short distance down the tracks we could see what appeared to be a locomotive. The trackside access road was in good enough condition that I could drive down to it, saving us about a 1 km walk.
( Locomotive Setout at Ocala )
Our curiousity satisfied, we headed home via the rest area at US-95/I-80 and the fast way home west on I-80, passing the Land of Boiling Death (the geothermal plant and steam-powered onion-drying facility) and on to Fernley, where we stopped at Lowe's to try and buy some sanding sealer for the front porch, for as it turns out we had less than a pint of it left in stock. Unfortunately, they were sold out of gallon cans. We may go into Reno tomorrow to see if Sherwin-Williams has some.
This afternoon, Lisa and I drove to Fallon, where I had some store credit from Ace Hardware in that city that we wanted to use before it expired. Unfortunately, as soon as we entered the store, Lisa noticed that the employees were all wearing their face covering below their noses, below their chins, or just hanging by one ear, and we turned around and walked out, with Lisa giving them an earful about why they lost our business. (And we expected to spend a lot more than $5 worth of store credit there, too.)
Having made it as far as Fallon, Lisa asked if we could go look at the site of where the train fire was, as it's road accessible. So instead of going straight home, we went the long way around the triangle formed by Fernley, Fallon, and I-80/US-95.
( Not the First Fire at that Spot )
A short distance down the tracks we could see what appeared to be a locomotive. The trackside access road was in good enough condition that I could drive down to it, saving us about a 1 km walk.
( Locomotive Setout at Ocala )
Our curiousity satisfied, we headed home via the rest area at US-95/I-80 and the fast way home west on I-80, passing the Land of Boiling Death (the geothermal plant and steam-powered onion-drying facility) and on to Fernley, where we stopped at Lowe's to try and buy some sanding sealer for the front porch, for as it turns out we had less than a pint of it left in stock. Unfortunately, they were sold out of gallon cans. We may go into Reno tomorrow to see if Sherwin-Williams has some.
