Bernhards Random Ramblings BACKUP

After yesterday's more detailed post , here's a lucky snapshot from the moving car through the bushes.

From Florence, OR to Eugene we took State Highway 126 which mostly follows the Coos Bay line to Eugene.  As luck would have it, along the way we passed the CBRL Local on its way to Eugene. We drove ahead a bit to get on the south-side of the train at Central Rd, halfway between Veneta and Eugene. I knew I was not going to get a great shot, but at least I wanted fully lighted locomotives. In the lead was CBRL 1859, an EMD MP15DC switcher. This locomotive was built in 1982 for the Missouri Pacific, came to Union Pacific through merger acquisition, and was eventually purchased by CBRL in 2018. CBRL 2018 is a GP38-2, built in 1965 for the New York Central and came to CBRL from Union Pacific in 2019. The train today consisted of a couple two-bay hoppers, about 10 empty log cars, and more than 20 loaded centerbeams. l don't know how the operation on the Coos Bay line works. Based on what I'm seeing in this train, I'm guessing the log cars come loaded out of Eugene Yard and moved ...

CBRL 1909, a GP30, tied down in North Bend The Port of Coos Bay purchased 134 miles of rail line between Coos Bay and Eugene in 2009 after the Central Oregon and Pacific (CORP) shut down the Coos Bay line with no advance notice in 2007. The port is now operating the line as Coos Bay Rail Link (CBRL) with a fleet of second and third hand locomotives.  As we drove on US101 through North Bend on our way to Florence, OR, we stopped at the CBRL office because Patricia saw locomotives from the road before me! While I took a few photos she grabbed Fish&Chips at The Boat, which is conveniently located right across from the CBRL office. CBRL 1916, a GP38-3, is also tied down in the yard The Oregon Coast Historical Railway Museum is right next to the rail yard. Looks like a work of love. Sadly nothing's going to move here again. The tracks in the museum have no connection to the yard rails.

There are still tracks on most of the right of way of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad which was formed jointly by the Southern Pacific and the ATSF and used to run from Sausalito to Eureka. Present-day SMART is using the southern end of the right of way for modern passenger service and maybe the section in the photo might see passenger service again in the future.

For Easter weekend we went on a two-night trip to Yosemite. We stayed at Curry Village and hiked the Mist Trail all the way to the top of Nevada Falls with the detour via John Muir Trail and Clarks Point. Lunch on top of Nevada Falls never tasted this good. The crowds were plentiful at Vernal Falls and the lower section of Mist Trail. We still enjoyed it the scenery and had some fun. On the second day we hiked half of Four Mile Trail which offers spectacular views of the other side of the valley. In the evenings we hung out in a meadow and watched the sunset. A great trip!

The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority opens the Coyote Ridge preserve at the east end of Bailey Rd only a few times a year. Normally, they only offer docent-led group hikes. However, due to COVID they switched to a reservations-only model and we got to enjoy a self-led hike with very few people around us. We used the opportunity to take it very slow and enjoy plants, animals, and the views.  The climb from the parking lot to the top of the ridge via the switchbacks is strenuous, but spectacular due to the wildflowers in full bloom and the many Bay Checkerspot Butterflies. The trail along the top of the ridge meanders between the rolling hill tops, and has some nice views. It's mostly flat and provides some welcome respite and variety. A great way to spend a Sunday morning.

CabCams tested and ready to go With Santa Clara County back in Red Tier we started to plan for an end of the month remote ops session. This week the county upgraded to Orange Tier and California announced availability of vaccinations for everyone in April, so things are definitely improving with regard to the pandemic. This month's Ops was for club members, and became sort of a shake-down session. The layout hadn't run since the November Open House , and we wanted to try out using Zello Personal instead of FRS radios to facilitate remote operator communications with Dispatch and Yards, including the ability to have multiple sub-channels for focused communication. Extra 200 is staged in Dodge Siding for a trip to Tracy Somewhat to my surprise, we had a lot of problems with Zello. The app is very slick, and easy to use. It does project the feeling of being on a radio link, which I think adds to the realism of communication. However, multiple participants reported problems with a ...