11-05-2009, 11:39 AM
Buffet bought a railroad. Turns out that we all know exactly which railroad, despite all the resultant hullabaloo about exact semantics, which merely proves that railroad enthusiasts know a lot more about railroad specifics than some clueless media hack, which is a given at any time, anyway.
Since the BNSF runs down the valley a mile or so from my home and right through nearby Palmer Lake, I'll be watching it to see what changes, if any, take place. Which reminds me, can someone tell me why a diesel loco is left parked on a spur along a heavily traveled mainline? Is it a spare to replace a breakdown? It's not a helper, because it isn't added or subtracted from the consist at Monument Pass, which coincides geographically with Palmer Lake.
For a while, it was an older unit, but recently a brand new EMD unit was set out. It displays low level lights at night, but isn't running and doesn't seem to move until it is swapped out for a different unit. I'm sure the explanation is simple, but I'm a 1900's steam guy, not a 21st century diesel operations type.
Since the BNSF runs down the valley a mile or so from my home and right through nearby Palmer Lake, I'll be watching it to see what changes, if any, take place. Which reminds me, can someone tell me why a diesel loco is left parked on a spur along a heavily traveled mainline? Is it a spare to replace a breakdown? It's not a helper, because it isn't added or subtracted from the consist at Monument Pass, which coincides geographically with Palmer Lake.
For a while, it was an older unit, but recently a brand new EMD unit was set out. It displays low level lights at night, but isn't running and doesn't seem to move until it is swapped out for a different unit. I'm sure the explanation is simple, but I'm a 1900's steam guy, not a 21st century diesel operations type.