Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

Union Pacific was doing maintenance of way work on the line through Fernley. I happened to be getting ready to go to the grocery store as they were storing their equipment off the main line.

( Specialty Equipment )

The work these pieces of equipment do used to require a large team of workers with hand tools taking much longer to keep the ballast (and the track on top of it) tidy and the track aligned properly.

Meanwhile, today (or rather late tonight) is when Lisa and Chris weigh anchor from Munich, board an overnight sleeper to Hamburg (with a continuing train to Copenhagen) and start the more than two-week trip back home, which will involve trains, ferries, and (unfortunately but unavoidably at times) airplanes. I know that Lisa has checked out of the apartment because the charge for the last half of the rental (it was split into two stays for complicated reasons) hit my credit card overnight. All of the hotel rooms, ferries, and airline flights are booked. It's just a bunch of moving parts that have to all work.

Some of you may recall that back in June, Union Pacific came through and replaced the track and the mainline switch leading into the Fernley House Tracks across from our house. In the wake of that job they left a pile of junk railroad ties (sleepers). Yesterday, UP finally cleared the ties, using a variety of interesting equipment.

( Round 1: The Crane and the Flatbed )

Later in the day, a set of small self-propelled maintenance of way equipment consisting of a mini-gondola and a transport car holding an excavator that appeared to also supply the power for the transport car eased into the Fernley House Track, after which I got to see equipment moves that I'd not seen before.

( Giant Claw Action )

This morning, the crew were back to get moving down the railroad to their next job. After negotiating a work window with the dispatcher after Amtrak came through (running almost ten minutes early), it was time to reverse the steps from yesterday.

( More Heavy Equipment, with Video )

Having put itself back together and with a maintenance window in which to work, the crew slowly rolled away to their next task.

I'm glad to have the ties gone, but I suspect that the chipmunks and rabbits that appeared to be have been using the pile as a nest were less than pleased.