N1EY: I am N1EY. This is the webpage about the adventures through time and space of Bill O’Hara, N1EY. My email is n1ey@n1ey.com

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Sun
15
Aug '10

Maine 2007

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

I went to Maine in 2007 to catch some pictures of Guildford in action.  They now call themselves Pan Am Railways.  However, I took my time and followed the old B&M lines to the north of Boston.  These are former Guilford tracks and they still run on them.  Here is a picture of a MBTA southbound(inbound) commuter train.  Check out the Maine album by clicking here.  KB1PBT & WA1NYC accompanied me on this trip.  We had a voyage of self-discovery as we learned that Chinese buffet restaurants can serve italian food.
The Downeaster also runs on these same tracks towards New Hampshire and Maine.

The Downeaster is the Amtrak service which provides runs from North Station ( Boston) and Portland, ME.  Sadly, no train travels to LL Bean at this time.  You will have to take a bus to make the rest of the trip. The Downeaster and the Guilford freight activity do not run on the set of tracks through Newburyport.  The B&M had several right of way which went northwardly.  The bridge connection through Newburyport was severed.  This has rendered that line useless and it has little online traffic.
The main line to Maine is via Exeter, NH.  On the way you can also see the Boston Sand & Gravel train operation which brings materials from New Hampshire to Boston. I have stopped for pizza several times at a spot adjacent to the tracks in Dover.
It can be a fun area.  There are some scenic spots to review.  There are a lot of outdoor activities to consider as well.  You could have plenty of time to try other things as you wait for the next train.  Or while you wait for the PAR train to roll by you.  Some spots are dreadfully slow.  The mainline south of Portland has been rehabilitated by Amtrak.  The remainder of the Pan Am Railways network has many problems.  Business has also been slow for the railroad.

Guilford has slowly been retiring the older power.  The older units had consisted of EMD power, which had been removed from service on CLASS I railroads many years, ago. Some just like to see the power in action.  Much has already faded into history at this stage.
N1EY

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Sat
10
Jul '10

Weekly Road Races

Part of webmaster's adventure in Cycling

I have made a list of the weekly road races and circuit/criterium races across the country.  This might come in handy next year, when traveling. All of these races are held on a weekly basis.  Check out USA cycling for more details.  All of these races are sanctioned.  You generally need a license unless you want to try as a CAT 5 in which case you must purchase a temporary license.
Some courses such as the ones up on Loudon or Wompatuck are very nice since they are closed to traffic.
N1EY
See this excel file. weekly races.xls

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'

Biking

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News

I have been mostly biking!  I have a stack of QSL cards which I forgot to send.  They never went to bureau.  If you are waiting for them, then please be more patient.  I lost track of them.  They have not been sent, but they have been sitting for a year and they are ready!!
N1EY

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Sat
26
Jun '10

Three Villages Race

Part of webmaster's adventure in Cycling

I raced in the CAT 4 in the Three Villages Race.  I saw McCormack, super racer, start in the Masters 35+ field.  It was a tough course.  It was more fun to ride in a road race.  The cat 4 field was much larger than the Cat 5 fields.  You had more draft.
The basic loop is 10 miles long.  It consists of a one mile section of rollers to get you started.  It is followed by a turn to the right at such an angle that it would be forbidden on a CRW ride.  We had a hill which seemed to never end.  It felt easy in the pack.  We had a great downhill and we crossed the railroad tracks which head for Jewett City.
We went past the pond and downhill section was nice.  We had a bit of breeze.  It was approximately 85 degrees.  We had to traverse a bridge and fly up a hill.  The hill had a really sharp turn with banked pavement.
I was doing pretty good until we reached the end of the first loop.  The pack accelerated after we crossed the railroad tracks again.  We rolled around to the beginning.  The pack just kept moving out.  I could not maintain the pace.  I kept going and I gained some of the distance in one of the rollers, but I could not make it in the next one.  Eventually the official car drove past me.
It was fun.  I made it all around for a second lap by myself.
The officials had seemly no intent to pull me, but I knew that I was done.  The field would over take me in minutes.  I stopped to recuperate.
The course was fun and challenging.  IT was more interesting than a criterium.  There was a crash in the CAT 4, but it seemed to safer than some of the crits.  The officials let some of the fields overlap, which I do not think was a good idea.
N1EY

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Sat
12
Jun '10

Chinese invasion

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News

Today, most of the hams gathered around the laptop as one programed one of those new chinese radios.  Everyone was buying these radios in Dayton.  They are handhelds which offer 2 meters and 70 centimeter capabilities.  They are not full duplex. These can be had for a good price.  The radios have some features such as voice identification of memory channel, which might be helpful for those with visual impairments.  One ham gave his experience in regards to battery life.  In real terms these radios seem to be performers.
N1EY

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Sat
8
May '10

LoTW

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News

I am having some difficulty with Logbook of the World.  Are other people experiencing these issues?  I am using N3FJP’s program.  The LoTW website has stated there are some issues with the URL’s.  I replaced the URL’s with seemly current valid URL’s.  I downloaded four confirmed contacts, today.  However, the program still stated that login had been unsuccessful.

N1EY

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Tue
27
Apr '10

Mattoon 2009

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

Mattoon(situated in Coles County near the eastern central perimeter of Illinois)  had one been at the cross roads of the predecessor to the modern Canadian National Railways and the long vanquished New York Central Railroad System.  However, the remnants of the cross roads is almost invisible to the average observer.  The City of Mattoon was founded due to the convergence of the predecessors of the modern day railroad and the former New York Central System, whom initially crossed at grade in Mattoon.  There had been a bet between the engineers about who was going to name the town.  The town had been eventually named after one of the railroad engineers.  Some interesting developments have happened in Mattoon over the years.  The line for the New York Central System disappeared in the middle of the twentieth century due to its increasing irrelevance in the Era of Conrail.  Conrail had another line which went to the same town; this other line was originally created by the Pennsy railroad  I should also mention that the Illinois Central absorbed another line which had been long started after the development of the charter line and the Chicago branch.  This railroad provides another mainline from Mattoon for which the CN uses to send coal trains to Decatur.  Decatur is the town with the large processing center for AMD; the Wabash line through Tolono goes to Decatur as well.
The City of Mattoon’s downtown layout was changed to improve railroad operations.  The impressive Illinois Central Division Headquarters and station had been constructed after a major change to the right of ways.  The New York Central line retained its’ original grade, but the Illinois Central right of way had been depressed through the heart of the city.  This had eliminated any conflict at the crossing and provided an easier grade to the Illinois Central.  I am not sure about whom had the responsibility for the bridge maintenance. The Illinois Central Division Headquarters had multiple levels and had been situated immediately adjacent to the crossing.  The former New York Central station was also a block away from the crossing.  One level of the IC Headquarters had served as an entrance to the track level.  The third floor of the building had the main entrance at street level.
The Coles County Historical Society has been working diligently for many years to lead a restoration of the facilities.
Another interesting note is the lack of a Burger King within the city limits of Mattoon or one anywhere near the vicinity of the city.  This icon and staple of American culture has seemly been missing from the city for no apparent reason unless you happen to know about the other Burger King. The propreitor of the Burger King endured lawsuits with the iconic and gigantic franchise and he has retained the right to continue using the Burger King name.  The massive national franchise has agreed to stay away from the City in order to prevent any harm to the other Burger King business.  The other Burger King happens to have nice soft serve ice cream, which is great eating after a nice burger.
During 2009 I have made a return visit to Mattoon.  I have been in Mattoon on several prior occasions.  The seminal IC has now become part of Canadian National Railways.  The former New York Central building has now vanished after an apparent demolition project.  I was able to capture a glimpse of the former new IC as the Champaign-Mattoon turn rolled into the city limits with a former IC unit still wearing its IC colors. I had also been able to grab some pictures of a coal train headed for Mattoon later in the evening in a small town south of there.  It is a very interesting town to visit.  There is a nice lake and national forest land is really not too far away.  You can also see other cultures.
N1EY

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'

Shout-out

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News

Just to say hi to all of the guys from Deshler, OH!!!  I hope that you are seeing a lot of trains.

N1EY

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Sat
17
Apr '10

Illinois 2009

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

Illinois has a lot of trains.  The commercial hub of Illinois is Chicago.  Chicago is affectionately referred as the capital of railroading. Saint Louis and Kansas City are also considerable interchange points.  Most of the traffic routed through those cities does make a voyage through Illinois. There is a ton of switching traffic and through traffic in the Chicagoland area.  However, sometimes you have to know where to seek these trains.  During the 2009 summer season the business has suffered through a economic slump.  The UP had started a lot of MOW work on the UP Villa Grove Sub.  CSX had little traffic.  NS had been hard to photograph, as well.  You have to rely on the old stalwarts heading west from Chicago such as the BNSF triple track.  It can becomes so easy on that line; a lot of traffic is funnelled through there.  I also some saw neat stuff roll through such as special anniversary paint scheme.  You really should go to West Chicago or further west to take advantage of spots that do not run entirely on an east/west heading in order to handle the sun as it shifts through the day.  I did not want to travel so far from Chicagoland! 40 miles out from the Loop is fine with me.  The triple track of the ex-CBQ BNSF line is fantastic with lots of freights.  You can see coal trains, intermodal trains, and general manifests.  The coal trains have all sorts of coal from PRB coal to eastern coal.  The intermodal trains feature TOFC for domestic traffic or double stacks for international containers.  The race track is readily accessible.  I once took a train from Union Station to the Hinsdale station.  You can use the $5 Metra weekend pass to traverse the system and cover a variety of subjects.  This time I was driving the Railfan 3 with all of the radio equipment.  There are starting to slowly transition to digital radio in the Chicagoland area.  However, I did manage to catch quite a bit.  Railroading in Illinois is easier as signal intelligence is much more useful.  There is more to manage and thus you can hear more radio traffic.  Plus, signals travel further in the open areas of Illinois versus the hill country of West Virginia.

N1EY

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Sat
3
Apr '10

The Speedy New York Central in Ohio and Indiana!

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

Below is a shot of the Lake Shore Limited as she rolls through the farmlands of Ohio. This part of its’ route receives very little through freight traffic.  There is little competition to her schedule over this portion of the railroads which comprise its’ route from New York City to Chicago.  Other sections feature significant hurdles due to poor scheduling on those sections by the underlying freight railroads.
The New York Central had once staked its’ reputation of providing the fastest passenger service between New York City and Chicago.  It also provided speedy and frequent service for intermediary points.  Now, little remains of the elite passenger service since the embarkation of the New York Central to that final switching yard in the sky.  Amtrak makes a trolling stop in the wee hours of the morning at many places which time has simply forgotten.  I took a picture of the State of Ohio plaque which placed was in recognition of the NYC’s attempts at high speed passenger train service.
N1EY

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Sat
20
Mar '10

Lighthouse operations

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News

I saw K1WCC and K1VV at the lighthouse activiation for today.  They were at The Minot site.  The station had been active since 1850.  The first lighthouse at the station is the famous lighthouse that featured the open leg foundation.  The replacement had been errected in 1860 after the failure of the foundation of the first lighthouse.
Whitey told me that he was working a lot of russians.  Henry and him looked like they were having a lot of fun.  They were both using their custom verticals.
N1EY

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Fri
26
Feb '10

Bike clothing

Part of webmaster's adventure in Cycling

Someone asked me about shoes recently.  Just so you know…your bicycling shoes should be smaller than your regular sneakers or shoes.  You need room to flex your feet in regular shoes.  Bicycle shoes are stiff.  Your feet do not move around the shoe.  In general cycling shoes have less material in the rear and the front.  If you take my road cycling shoe from Sidi and compare it to my brookers sneaker, then you can see a big difference.
Remember to wear base layers and layers over your head, hands, neck, and feet.  A good base layer is very important.  I can take all of the same clothes and go XC skiing with them.  I am nice and warm.
N1EY

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Sun
21
Feb '10

amtrak’s real problem

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

I was talking to someone.  She was a very bright and articulate person.  She told me that the largest problem with Amtrak was its’ failure to provide baggage service.  She could not take a trip to some place and carry her things such as a bicycle or a ski.  Amtrak provides an inconsistent service.  She was willing to take a long transit time to reach a place in Vermont.  Yet, Amtrak does not offer baggage service most of the time on the Vermonter when they taut it in advertising.
N1EY

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Thu
4
Feb '10

Winter cycling

Part of webmaster's adventure in Site News, Cycling

We are back to winter cycling.  Did you Notice the collection of snow?
N1EY

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Sat
23
Jan '10

Paxton 2009

Part of webmaster's adventure in Railroading

Paxton, IL is the home to the Illinois Central Historical Society.  It was once a large historical society dedicated to the preservation of the legacy of the Illinois Central Railroad.  The Society is located in the former Nickel Plate depot in Paxton, IL.  Paxton is the site of several major improvements on the railroad right way, which occurred in early part of the 20th century.  In order to eliminate the grade into town, the railroad had a cut created.  This also allowed the Nickel Plate to cross on its’ own elevation and eliminated a diamond crossing.
The old bridge for the Nickel Plate is finally being replaced with a pedestrian bridge.  Paxton is also the location of one of the few Dairy Queen’s immediately in the vicinity of the IC along the right of way from Homewood to Champaign.  A typical chase pattern often involves following a Norfolk Southern auto/parts manifest to Gibson City.  A short ride from Gibson City to Paxton returns you to the mainline.  You can stop for some Ice cream, too!  You just might be able to catch the Gilman Roadswitcher heading south and not really miss any of the action while you are chasing the Norfolk Southern, if you just time everything perfectly.
Here is a picture of some us at the Nickel Plate Depot in 2009.  We have been there many times.  Sometimes Chuck is there to greet you.  He is a great guy and he is the under-appreciated backbone of the Illinois Central Historical Society.  The Illinois Central Railroad Heritage Association has since supplanted the former ICHS.  The Heritage Association has been publishing a fine magazine known as the Mid-American, which has been improving with quality as each issue reaches my desk.  My friend, Paul Burgess, has continued to edit this magazine.  He was the former editor of the Green Diamond.  The Illinois Central Railroad Heritage Association’s website is located at http://icrha.com/.  I would recommend that you join as a member.  This organization and the two museums in McComb and Monticello are the principal organizations involved in retaining the memory of the former Illinois Central Railroad.
N1EY

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