For most of the years I went train-watching, I was totally obsessed with the train count. It wasn’t very important to me to note the origins, destinations, types of trains or why they were going by. All I wanted to do was spend the maximum amount of time possible alongside the tracks, notebook in hand, counting every train I saw. In the summer of 1987, I decided to go for the ultimate trip. I was determined that on this trip, I was going to set my all-time train count record. I took Thursday and Friday off from work and was going to spend four days and nights "living" at the tracks. I purchased a voice-activated tape recorder, a couple of spare tapes and a large analog clock just to help me count trains during the night. Included in the preparation was ice, food, cokes, extra notebook paper, extra pens, three large jugs full of water and the pump sprayer. I also had a tire-plugging kit which unfortunately, was needed a lot. Wednesday morning, I loaded up everything I needed and headed for work. At the end of the work day, I bolted from the office and headed straight to South Bend, Indiana, intending to stay there until late Sunday night. This was going to be fun!
| Wednesday, July 22, 1987 | |||
| 16:35 | Head to South Bend from work. | ||
| 17:10 | Go past the NW tracks, where I had to wait on a train last trip. No train this time. | ||
| 17:30 | Driving thru Kokomo. Again, traffic isn't as bad as I thought it would be. | ||
| 17:45 | Go past Grissom AFB. What I think is a C-130 is coming in to land. | ||
| 18:55 | Hit the bypass. | ||
| 19:00 | START at where the bypass goes over the tracks. | ||
| 19:10 | Arrive at Olive. | ||
| 19:20 | Weather: Warm & humid. Hazy. Temp about 85. No breeze. | ||
| 19:25 | CSS Interurban from West (#1). That white powder still gets kicked up. | ||
| 19:30 | Eat dinner. Lunchmeat, mustard, potato chips & a Big K diet cola. | ||
| 19:40 | CR train from East (#2). | ||
| 19:55 | CSS Interurban from East (#3). | ||
| 20:05 | Fast Amtrak from West (#4). | ||
| 20:15 | I wonder what the frequency will be like. I've never been up here in the middle of the week. | ||
| 20:20 | CR train from West (#5). Also CR train from East (#6). | ||
| 20:30 | Lubricate the pump sprayer. | ||
| 20:45 | The pump sprayer works much better. Must take care of one of the most valuable pieces of train-watching equipment. | ||
| 21:10 | CSS Interurban from West (#7). | ||
| 21:15 | Change out of my work clothes. Feel normal, now. | ||
| 21:20 | A "rail car" at the nearby plant has come down & hooked onto one of the covered hoppers on the siding. | ||
| 21:25 | CR piggyback from West (#8). 3 U-boats. | ||
| 21:35 | CR train from East (#9). Fairly short freight. | ||
| 21:40 | The mosquitoes are getting fat tonight. | ||
| 21:45 | CSS Interurban from East (#10). Has his light off until just before the crossing. Didn't blow his horn. I think I know why they have so many accidents. | ||
| 22:05 | Put some OFF! On. | ||
| 22:15 | Long CR piggyback from West (#11). | ||
| 22:35 | CR land bridge train from West (#12). An extremely long train. | ||
| 22:55 | I'm out for the first time with my voice-activated micro cassette recorder. I'm trying to figure out what the best volume setting is for middle-of-the-night train counts. I also bought a large clock so I won't have to keep turning on the dome light to see the time. | ||
| 23:15 | CNW train from West (#13). A very long freight. FREQUENCY = :19:36. | ||
| Thursday, July 23, 1987 | |||
| :20 | CR piggyback from West (#14). | ||
| :30 | Well, I have a voice activated recorder & an enormous clock right next to me, so I shouldn't have any excuse for missing any trains during the night. | ||
| :45 | "In for the night". Sleep in the car. | ||
| :55 | CNW train from West (#15). | ||
| 1:15 | CR piggyback from East (#16). | ||
| 1:25 | CR piggyback from West (#17). | ||
| 1:45 | CR piggyback from West (#18). | ||
| 1:50 | It's a very warm & humid night. Having trouble sleeping. | ||
| 2:45 | CR piggyback from West (#19). | ||
| 2:50 | CR piggyback from East (#20). | ||
| 3:05 | CR piggyback from East (#21). Also CR/UP train from West (#22). | ||
| 3:15 | CR piggyback from East (#23). Fairly short. | ||
| 3:20 | CR land bridge train from West (#24). | ||
| 3:25 | CR piggyback from East (#25). | ||
| 3:40 | CR piggyback from East (#26). | ||
| 4:05 | CR piggyback from East (#27). | ||
| 5:00 | CR land bridge train from East (#28). | ||
| 5:10 | CR train from West (#29). | ||
| 5:15 | CSS Interurban from West (#30). Also CR piggyback from East (#31). | ||
| 5:40 | CR piggyback from East (#32). | ||
| 6:00 | CSS Interurban from East (#33). | ||
| 6:05 | CR steel train from East (#34). | ||
| 7:05 | CR piggyback from West (#35). | ||
| n.t. | Piggyback from West (#36). I was completely incoherent when I gave the time. | ||
| 8:40 | Wake up. | ||
| 8:45 | CNW train from West (#37). All hoppers. | ||
| 9:10 | Weather: Warm, sunny, hazy. Some breeze. Forecast is for hot & humid weather all weekend. | ||
| 9:30 | CR train from West (#38). | ||
| 9:40 | One CR U-boat from East (#39). | ||
| 9:45 | Well, I missed 5 trains last night. With the recorder running, at least I know how many I've missed. | ||
| 9:55 | A CR maintenance truck drives down along the tracks from the east towards me. He goes south on Smilax road. | ||
| 10:15 | CR train from East (#40). | ||
| 10:25 | Drive back to Olive + one-half. | ||
| 10:45 | CR train from West (#41). | ||
| 10:50 | Have shaved & taken a shower. Feel better. The only evidences of a future steel mill here are two poles with yellow streamers in the field across from the CR tracks. | ||
| 10:55 | CR train from East (#42). Also CSS Interurban from West (#43). | ||
| 11:00 | Weather: Sunny, hazy, hot & humid. Going to be a very sweaty weekend. | ||
| 11:35 | Leave Olive. | ||
| 11:40 | See Amtrak from distance. From East (#44). | ||
| 11:45 | At Quince Rd. UP train from east (#45). | ||
| 12:00 | Stop at the Amoco station for ice. | ||
| 12:05 | CR train from East (#46). Arrive at Arnold St. | ||
| 12:10 | GT train from East (#47). | ||
| 12:15 | Leave Arnold St. | ||
| 12:30 | Pause briefly at Pine Rd. | ||
| 12:35 | At Pear Rd. Conrail is doing some kind of construction on the crossing. | ||
| 12:40 | At Olive. CR train from East (#48). FREQUENCY = :22:05. | ||
| 12:45 | Arrive at Olive + one-half. | ||
| 12:50 | Weather: Clear, but hazy. Hot & humid. Temp about 90. A good day to sweat. | ||
| 12:55 | A South Shore "hy-rail" goes by from the west. | ||
| 13:00 | CR train from East (#49). Either a small bumblebee or a large sweat bee was pestering me. | ||
| 13:05 | Looks like the frequency is down a little at this time of the week, but not by much. | ||
| 13:15 | Starting to cloud up a little. Good. Maybe it will cool down. | ||
| 13:40 | Find some date nails on the South Shore tracks from 1959. | ||
| 13:55 | A CR hy-rail goes by from the west. He got off the tracks down at the crossing. | ||
| 14:00 | Back at Olive. Weather: Still hot & humid, but looks like it's getting a little grayer. Hard to tell. | ||
| 14:05 | Another CR hy-rail goes by from the east. He was on the same tracks as the first one. They must be using this "quiet" time to check out the tracks. | ||
| 14:20 | CNW train from East (#50). | ||
| 14:25 | Eat lunch. | ||
| 15:15 | Changing my oil. | ||
| 15:30 | Nothing like a lot of trains to pass the time. | ||
| 15:35 | I can't figure out why all these flies like to hang out in my car. | ||
| 15:45 | CR train from West (#51). 4 engines, 96 cars. 51 trains in 20:45. FREQUENCY = :24:25. | ||
| 16:20 | CR train from West (#52). One chugging big U-boat & 120 hopper cars. | ||
| 16:25 | CSS freight from West (#53). 2 engines, 3 cars & a caboose. | ||
| 17:00 | Very long CR land bridge train from West (#54). | ||
| 17:30 | CR train from West (#55). | ||
| 17:45 | CR train from West (#56). | ||
| 17:50 | CR train from East (#57). | ||
| 17:55 | CSS freight from East (#58). Horn sounds like Amtrak. | ||
| 18:00 | Weather: Sunny, warm & humid. Temp about 85. Breezy. | ||
| 18:05 | CR train from West (#59). 9 engines & 42 gondolas & various types of flat cars. FREQUENCY = :23:28. | ||
| 18:20 | I start killing off some of these flies. No more mister nice guy. | ||
| 18:45 | Arrange things in the car. | ||
| 18:55 | Yawn. | ||
| 19:00 | 59 trains in 24:00. FREQUENCY = :24:24. | ||
| 19:15 | Go check out the CR access road between Olive & Terre Coupee. | ||
| 19:20 | CR train from East (#60). I'm on the access road & the engineer gave me the "thumbs up" sign. | ||
| 19:25 | CSS Interurban from West (#61). | ||
| 19:30 | There is a hotbox detector here at Terre Coupee. Wonder why I can't hear it on the scanner. | ||
| 19:35 | Back at Olive. | ||
| 19:40 | This evening is exactly like last evening. Hazy, humid, still air. The sun is an orange ball in the sky & will disappear long before reaching the horizon. | ||
| 19:50 | CSS Interurban from East (#62). | ||
| 20:15 | CR piggyback from West (#63). | ||
| 20:25 | Put a "plug" in the left front tire. My tire plugging tool broke, but I managed to get the tire fixed. I doubt if it will last long. | ||
| 20:30 | Just realized that I haven't seen the Amtrak yet. | ||
| 20:50 | Amtrak from West (#64). | ||
| 21:10 | The Conrail has definitely been slow today. | ||
| 21:40 | Very fast one car CSS Interurban from West (#65). | ||
| 22:00 | CR train from West (#66). Also CSS Interurban from East (#67). | ||
| 22:05 | CR train from East (#68). FREQUENCY = :23:54. | ||
| 22:10 | Weather: Clear, but very humid. Temp about 75. Slight breeze. A pretty nice evening. | ||
| 22:35 | CR piggyback from West (#69). | ||
| 23:10 | Very long CR piggyback from West (#70). | ||
| 23:35 | CNW/UP train from West (#71). Going fairly slow. | ||
| 23:55 | Long fast CR piggyback from West (#72). | ||
| Friday, July 24, 1987 | |||
| :00 | Have moved the car back to just west of the milepost signs. | ||
| :05 | Looks like the crossing gates at Terre Coupee crossing are stuck on. | ||
| :15 | CR steel train from East (#73). 2 chugging U-boats. | ||
| :35 | "Hit the sack". Sleep in the car. | ||
| 1:00 | CR train from West (#74). Also CR train from East (#75). | ||
| 1:05 | #74 has come to a stop. | ||
| 1:20 | CR piggyback from East (#76). | ||
| 2:05 | Slow CR piggyback from West (#77). All eastbounds are coming to a stop for some reason. | ||
| 2:25 | CR train from East (#78). | ||
| 2:45 | CR piggyback from East (#79). | ||
| 2:55 | CR piggyback from West (#80). Also, slow CR piggyback from East (#81). | ||
| 3:45 | CR piggyback from East (#82). | ||
| 3:55 | CR piggyback from East (#83). | ||
| 4:20 | CR piggyback from East (#84). | ||
| 4:30 | It's more comfortable sleeping weather tonight. Not as warm & humid. | ||
| 4:50 | I thought mosquitoes had a bedtime. | ||
| 5:10 | CR land bridge train from East (#85). | ||
| 5:30 | CR train from East (#86). I said some things I couldn't understand when listening to the tape. | ||
| 6:00 | CSS Interurban from East (#87). | ||
| 7:20 | CR train from East (#88). I think that was the time. | ||
| 7:50 | CR train from West (#89). | ||
| 8:45 | CR piggyback from West (#90). | ||
| 8:50 | Up for the day. Weather: Clear, sunny & hazy. Temp about 75. Some breeze. | ||
| 9:10 | CR train from East (#91). | ||
| 9:20 | CR train from West (#92). | ||
| 9:35 | I missed 6 trains last night. The tape recorder doesn't lie. | ||
| 9:40 | ATSF train from West (#93). FREQUENCY = :24:57. | ||
| 10:05 | Have shaved and cleaned up a little. | ||
| 10:10 | Leave Olive. | ||
| 10:15 | On Pear Rd. Train from East (#94). | ||
| 10:30 | At South Bend station. CR train from West (#95). | ||
| 10:35 | Get a South Shore schedule. | ||
| 10:55 | Have stopped at K-Mart to get another tire plugging kit & stopped at Kroger for more cokes, ice & breakfast bars. | ||
| 11:00 | Arrive at Arnold St. That pitiful plugging job I did last night on the left front tire seems to be holding up fine. Amazing. | ||
| 11:10 | Arranging things. The 20 liter water jug leaked a bunch of water last night. | ||
| 11:15 | A GT maintenance truck drives up. | ||
| 11:20 | CR train from West (#96). He had been sitting down by the station for awhile. Also Amtrak from East (#97). | ||
| 11:25 | The GT maintenance truck gets on the tracks, heading west. For some reason, he waited until the Conrail train was gone. Leave Arnold St. | ||
| 11:30 | At South Bend station. The South Shore is here. | ||
| 11:35 | CR piggyback from East (#98). | ||
| 11:40 | Leave South Bend station. | ||
| 11:45 | Behind Kroger throwing trash in a dumpster. Hear train from East (#99). CR. Paced him all the way to Pine Rd. | ||
| 12:00 | Arrive at Olive. | ||
| 12:05 | Drive down to Olive + one-half. | ||
| 12:15 | My left front tire is flat. I guess I just asked too much of that "plug" I put in last evening. | ||
| 12:20 | CSS Interurban from East (#100). | ||
| 12:30 | A CR crane & a hy-rail goes by from the east. | ||
| 12:50 | Have plugged the left front tire again. More successful this time. I'm still amazed how long the other "plug" lasted. Also I had to clean out the back of the car which had a lot of water in it. | ||
| 13:10 | CR/CNW train from East (#101). | ||
| 13:30 | Take a shower & wash my hair. | ||
| 13:35 | CR train from East (#102). | ||
| 13:45 | Lounge about in my swim trunks & spray myself with water. Weather: Sunny/cloudy with a pretty good breeze. Also humid. Temp about 85. | ||
| 13:50 | CR train from East (#103). Chugging U-boat. | ||
| 14:05 | CNW train from West (#104). Fairly short. Also CR train from East (#105). | ||
| 14:10 | A bi-plane flies by then does a few fancy turns. | ||
| 14:15 | Drive back to Olive. | ||
| 14:20 | CR train from East (#106). | ||
| 14:25 | Eat lunch. Lunchmeat & potato chips. | ||
| 14:30 | CR/CNW train from East (#107). | ||
| 14:45 | Getting windy. | ||
| 14:55 | CR train from West (#108). | ||
| 15:00 | ATSF train from East (#109). FREQUENCY = :24:13. | ||
| 15:35 | CR train from West (#110). | ||
| 16:10 | CR train from West (#111). Jim Drives up. | ||
| 16:45 | Fairly short CR train from East (#112). | ||
| 17:00 | Weather: Sunny, breezy & warm. Temp about 85. There is more actual blue sky now, than since I've been here. | ||
| 17:10 | CR train from East (#113). | ||
| 18:00 | CR train from West (#114). | ||
| 18:20 | Put some more air in the left front tire. The base broke off from the pump. | ||
| 19:00 | 48 hours, 114 trains. FREQUENCY = :25:15. | ||
| 19:25 | CSS Interurban from West (#115). | ||
| 19:45 | CNW train from East (#116). | ||
| 19:55 | CSS Interurban from East (#117). Also CR piggyback from West (#118). A loud motorcycle blasts by. | ||
| 20:05 | CR train from East (#119). | ||
| 20:10 | Jim heads for home. | ||
| 20:15 | Fast Amtrak from West (#120). | ||
| 20:45 | CNW train from West (#121). | ||
| 21:10 | CSS Interurban from West (#122). | ||
| 21:25 | CR/CNW train from East (#123). | ||
| 21:30 | Weather: Clear, calm, still humid. Temp about 75. I can see some flashes of lightning to the north. | ||
| 21:40 | CSS Interurban from East (#124). | ||
| 22:00 | CR piggyback from West (#125). | ||
| 22:05 | Listen to some music. | ||
| 22:20 | CR piggyback from East (#126). I could see him to the east for awhile. I wonder if he was picking up or setting out cars at the South Shore yards at Pine Rd. | ||
| 22:55 | CR train from West (#127). | ||
| 23:15 | A car pulls in on the access road on the other side of the South Shore tracks. | ||
| 23:25 | The car leaves. | ||
| 23:45 | Things have slowed down considerably. | ||
| 23:55 | CR piggyback from West (#128). | ||
| Saturday, July 25, 1987 | |||
| :20 | The lightning to the north is getting closer & brighter. | ||
| :25 | CR train from West (#129). | ||
| :40 | The lightning is more towards the west, now. A storm could foul my efforts to count trains with the voice activated recorder. | ||
| 1:05 | Things sure are slow on the Conrail tonight. | ||
| 1:25 | Long fast CR piggyback from East (#130). 3 U-boats. N.L. | ||
| 1:35 | CR train from West (#131). | ||
| 1:45 | Another long fast CR piggyback from East (#132). Also CR piggyback from West (#133). | ||
| 1:55 | CR piggyback from East (#134). Also CR piggyback from West (#135). 6 trains in 30 minutes. Amazing. | ||
| 2:10 | Long fast CR piggyback from East (#136). | ||
| 2:20 | In for the night. | ||
| 2:30 | CR piggyback from East (#137). Also CR piggyback from West (#138). | ||
| 2:40 | CR piggyback from East (#139). Makes 10 trains in 1:15. | ||
| 4:05 | CR piggyback from East (#140). | ||
| 4:25 | Train from East (#141). | ||
| 6:15 | CR train from West (#142). | ||
| 6:40 | CSS Interurban from East (#143). | ||
| 7:15 | CR train from East (#144). | ||
| 7:20 | Up for the day. Weather: Mostly sunny, breezy. Temp about 75. | ||
| 7:45 | Well, I missed 7 trains last night. Seem to do a little worse each night. | ||
| 7:50 | CR piggyback from West (#145). FREQUENCY = :25:10. | ||
| 8:10 | Leave Olive. | ||
| 8:20 | At Pear Rd. CR train from East (#146). Mostly hopper cars. | ||
| 8:35 | Stop at the Amoco station for gas & ice. | ||
| 8:40 | Arrive at Arnold St. | ||
| 8:45 | CR land bridge train from West (#147). Had 23 articulated flat cars, or 115 individual flat cars. 230 containers. | ||
| 9:00 | CR steel train from East (#148). Also CNW/CR train from West (#149). The CNW was an SD45. | ||
| 9:15 | CR/CNW engines on GT tracks. From East (#150). | ||
| 9:20 | CR train from East (#151). | ||
| 9:25 | CR train from East (#152). Also, the CNW/CR engines with a short train on GT tracks. From West (#153). | ||
| 9:30 | I think I smell a bakery somewhere. | ||
| 9:35 | CR piggyback from West (#154). | ||
| 9:40 | Have been talking to Bill Boyce, a railfan I met here two weeks ago. | ||
| 9:50 | CR piggyback from West (#155). | ||
| 9:55 | Leave Arnold St. | ||
| 10:10 | At Pine Rd. CR train from West (#156). | ||
| 10:20 | Arrive at Olive. Just missed the CSS Interurban. From West (#157). Also, very fast hy-rail on CR tracks from west. | ||
| 10:30 | Weather: Sunny, hot & humid. Temp about 80. | ||
| 10:50 | One-car CSS Interurban from East (#158). FREQUENCY = :24:14. | ||
| 11:15 | I'm waiting on the Amtrak, so I can take a shower. | ||
| 11:30 | Amtrak from East (#159). | ||
| 11:35 | Arrive at Olive + one-half. There has been a helicopter flying back & forth. Flying pretty low. | ||
| 11:45 | CR train from East (#160). | ||
| 12:05 | Have showered, shaved, washed my hair & brushed my teeth. Feel much better. | ||
| 12:10 | That helicopter is crop dusting. | ||
| 12:15 | CR train from East (#161). | ||
| 12:20 | Have lunch. Lunchmeat. | ||
| 12:30 | CR light engine move from West (#162). | ||
| 12:35 | CR train from East (#163). | ||
| 12:40 | Weather: Hot & humid. Still sunny, but it’s trying to become overcast. | ||
| 12:45 | CR train from East (#164). Slowing. 2 SD50s. | ||
| 12:50 | CSS freight from West (#165). | ||
| 12:55 | My old tennis shoes should be declared a health hazard. | ||
| 13:00 | CNW/CR train from East (#166). FREQUENCY = :23:51. | ||
| 13:35 | I wonder just what these flies find so interesting about my ankles. | ||
| 13:40 | CR train from West (#167). Also CNW/UP train from East (#168). | ||
| 13:55 | CR train from West (#169). Also, slowish CSS Interurban from West (#170). | ||
| 14:00 | CR train from East (#171). | ||
| 14:05 | ATSF/CR train from West (#172). Had a "SF" cowl unit leading. FREQUENCY = :23:24. | ||
| 14:20 | CSS "piggyback" from East (#173). One engine running long hood forward, one flat car with two truck trailers & CSS&SBRR caboose #001. | ||
| 14:25 | CR hy-rail goes by from the west. | ||
| 14:30 | Earlier, I put a breakfast bar on top of an ant hill. They don’t seem too interested. | ||
| 14:35 | The CR tracks right here don’t seem to be in very good shape. The cars bounce & rock a lot. | ||
| 14:50 | A motorcyclist rides by. | ||
| 14:55 | Weather: Has returned to all sunny. Hot & humid. Breezy. | ||
| 15:05 | Drive back to Olive. CR train from East (#174). Had all NW hoppers loaded with coal. | ||
| 15:25 | CSS Interurban from East (#175). Ties the record. | ||
| 15:30 | Frequencies: Wednesday, 13 trains in 5:00 = :23:05. Thursday, 59 trains in 24:00 = :24:24. Friday, 56 trains in 24:00 = :25:43. Today, 47 trains in 15:30 = :19:47. Simply busier on the weekend. | ||
| 15:35 | CR/CNW train from East (#176). A new train watching record. Another CNW SD45. | ||
| 15:45 | CR land bridge train from West (#177). | ||
| 16:15 | I’ve gotten somewhat sunburned. | ||
| 16:50 | At Olive + one-half. CR train from East (#178). | ||
| 17:00 | Back at Olive. | ||
| 17:10 | Just noticed that my speedometer needle doesn’t come to rest on the peg. | ||
| 17:25 | CR train from West (#179). Had a loud horn. | ||
| 17:30 | CR light engine move from East (#180). | ||
| 17:45 | CR train from West (#181). | ||
| 17:50 | CR train from East (#182). | ||
| 18:05 | CSS Interurban from West (#183). One car. FREQUENCY = :23:18. | ||
| 18:15 | I’ve seen 23 trains in the last 6 hours. Amazing. | ||
| 18:20 | A CR maintenance van drives along the access road from Terre Coupee to Olive. He starts to drive towards me, then hesitates, then drives on up to the highway. | ||
| 18:30 | Weather: Clear, warm & humid, although not as bad as it’s been the last two days. Breezy. Temp about 85. Very nice. Should be a pleasant evening. | ||
| 18:40 | CNW train from East (#184). | ||
| 18:50 | CSS Interurban from East (#185). | ||
| 18:55 | CR train from West (#186). | ||
| 19:00 | 72 hours, 186 trains. FREQUENCY = :23:14. | ||
| 19:10 | I go off to get rid of 12 ounces, then go to the cooler & open up another 12 ounces. | ||
| 19:20 | Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Bob drive up. | ||
| 19:40 | I’m walking all over the place with the tripod & 400mm lens trying to line up shots. | ||
| 19:50 | A jogger jogs by. | ||
| 20:00 | Shooting pictures of the sunset. | ||
| 20:05 | CSS Interurban from West (#187). | ||
| 20:15 | Amtrak from West (#188). | ||
| 20:30 | The left rear tire is suddenly almost flat. I couldn’t find the leak, although I did find three nails. Wonderful. | ||
| 20:35 | CSS Interurban from East (#189). Didn’t blow for the crossing. | ||
| 20:45 | CR piggyback from West (#190). | ||
| 20:50 | Put air in the tire & put the tire back on the car. Must have parked on one of the nails just wrong. I’ll leave the tire tools & jack out where I can get to them. | ||
| 21:00 | CNW/UP train from West (#191). | ||
| 21:05 | Leave Olive. | ||
| 21:20 | Stop at the Amoco station to put air in all of my tires. | ||
| 21:25 | Sure looks like a shady side of town here. | ||
| 21:30 | Swing thru McDonald’s for something to eat. | ||
| 21:50 | Arrive at Olive. I drive on past, because I want to see what it looks like to drive up to this place at night. | ||
| 21:55 | Back at Olive. It looks like I’m lit up by the headlights of cars approaching from the south. CR piggyback from West (#192). FREQUENCY = :23:25. | ||
| 22:20 | CR piggyback from West (#193). | ||
| 23:15 | I’m pretty tired. I’ll probably miss a lot of trains tonight. Also I’d like to be at Arnold St. as early as possible in the morning. | ||
| 23:20 | Very long CR train from West (#194). The whole train was auto racks. | ||
| 23:25 | My left rear tire is nearly flat. I’ll wait until tomorrow to fix it. I must have driven thru a nail farm somewhere. | ||
| 23:40 | CR train from West (#195). | ||
| 23:50 | CR piggyback from East (#196). Also, I think I’ve just broken the record for the longest trip. Last May I had a trip of 76:45. | ||
| 23:55 | CR train from West (#197). One engine, running long hood forward. | ||
| Sunday, July 26, 1987 | |||
| :00 | Weather: Clear, very still, fairly cool. Temp about 75. No moon. | ||
| :05 | CR train from East (#198). | ||
| :10 | CR train from West (#199). | ||
| :20 | CR piggyback from West (#200). Also CR train from East (#201). FREQUENCY = :23:05. | ||
| 1:00 | In for the night. Sleeping in the car. Put out the daddy long leg spider, first. | ||
| 1:10 | I miss Butterscotch. | ||
| 1:25 | CR piggyback from West (#202). | ||
| 1:55 | CR piggyback from East (#203). | ||
| 2:05 | CR piggyback from West (#204). | ||
| 2:10 | CR piggyback from East (#205). | ||
| 2:20 | CR piggyback from East (#206). | ||
| 2:40 | CR piggyback from East (#207). | ||
| 4:00 | CR piggyback from East (#208). | ||
| 6:45 | Up for the day. Weather: There is a big storm rolling in. | ||
| 7:00 | CR piggyback from West (#209). | ||
| 7:05 | Raining very hard. | ||
| 7:10 | Looks like it could do this all day. | ||
| 7:15 | Missed 7 trains last night. | ||
| 7:20 | There is a little bit of a lull in the rain, so I jump out of the car & air up the left rear tire as quick as I can. Also, the South Shore signals look like they are messed up. Leave Olive. | ||
| 7:25 | Seeing lots of neat lightning. | ||
| 7:35 | At Pine Rd. CR train from East (#210). | ||
| 7:45 | Stop at McDonald’s for something to eat. | ||
| 7:55 | Stop at the Amoco station to put air in the left rear tire. | ||
| 8:00 | Arrive at Arnold St. Bill Boyce is here. | ||
| 8:25 | Once again, I try to find the leak in the left rear tire. | ||
| 8:45 | Tire is plugged. Could only find one nail. | ||
| 8:50 | Leave Arnold St. | ||
| 9:00 | Stop at Pine Rd. | ||
| 9:05 | Fast CR/CNW piggyback from West (#211). | ||
| 9:10 | Move on. | ||
| 9:15 | At Pear Rd. CSS Interurban from West (#212). Going very slow because of signal problem. FREQUENCY = :24:25. | ||
| 9:25 | Arrive at Olive. Weather: Clearing up. The sun will be shining soon. Temp about 75. | ||
| 9:35 | My left rear tire is going flat again. | ||
| 9:40 | CR train from East (#213). | ||
| 9:50 | CR piggyback from West (#214). | ||
| 9:55 | CSS Interurban from East (#215). | ||
| 10:00 | CR train from East (#216). | ||
| 10:05 | CR train from West (#217). Had a Santa Fe caboose. | ||
| 10:10 | CNW/UP train from East (#218). Both engines were smoking. | ||
| 10:15 | Drive down to Olive + one-half. CR train from West (#219). | ||
| 10:20 | Weather: Sunny, warm & humid. Temp about 80. Also, I hear a bunch of sirens towards New Carlisle. | ||
| 10:25 | CR train from West (#220). All center door hoppers. Also extremely long CR land bridge from East (#221). He’s slowing down. Wish I had counted the cars. | ||
| 10:30 | Well, I had the left rear tire off the car AGAIN. Still couldn’t find the leak. Apparently, the nail I took out of it wasn’t the problem. | ||
| 11:00 | CR train from West (#222). Had a Chessie caboose. | ||
| 11:05 | CNW train from West (#223). | ||
| 11:20 | CNW/CR train from West (#224). | ||
| 11:45 | Go back to Olive. | ||
| 11:50 | A CR crane & a gondola go by from the west. | ||
| 12:00 | One car CSS Interurban from west (#225). | ||
| 12:10 | Amtrak from East (#226). FREQUENCY = :23:40. | ||
| 12:20 | CR train from east (#227). | ||
| 12:40 | CNW/CR train from East (#228). Going fairly slow. | ||
| 12:50 | ATSF train from East (#229). Had two engines with the new SF paint scheme. | ||
| 13:10 | Weather: Mostly clear, sunny, warm & humid. Nice breeze. | ||
| 13:20 | CSS Interurban from East (#230). Horn seemed very loud. | ||
| 13:25 | CR train from East (#231). | ||
| 13:40 | Fast CR hy-rail from west. | ||
| 13:45 | Eat lunch. Lunchmeat. | ||
| 13:50 | CR train from East (#232). | ||
| 14:00 | Try once more to find the leak in the left rear tire. | ||
| 14:35 | CSS Interurban from West (#233). | ||
| 15:05 | Found the hole in the left rear tire. It’s in the sidewall. Put a plug in the sidewall. Wonder if I can do that. | ||
| 15:10 | CR train from West (#234). | ||
| 15:20 | CSS Interurban from East (#235). | ||
| 15:25 | CR light engine move from West (#236). | ||
| 15:40 | Weather: Has become mostly cloudy. Breezy. Temp about 85. | ||
| 15:45 | I’ve gotten pretty sunburned on this trip. | ||
| 15:55 | Slow CR train from East (#237). | ||
| 16:00 | A big CR maintenance truck & a pickup truck drive by me & go down the access road. | ||
| 16:05 | Talking to the guy in the pickup truck. He asked me if I was a trainmaster! He said that they are setting out a bad gondola a mile west of here. He & the other guy are going to "assist" & help with the air test. | ||
| 16:10 | CR train from West (#238). | ||
| 16:20 | I’ve changed the oil, & put 3 plugs in two tires. I should open up a service station. | ||
| 16:40 | CR train from East (#239). Had an ATSF caboose. FREQUENCY = :23:31. | ||
| 17:40 | The left rear tire seems to be holding up. | ||
| 17:45 | Weather: Mostly clear, breezy. Temp about 75. | ||
| 17:55 | Just saw the biggest leaf I’ve ever seen. Must be about 14 inches long & 12 inches wide. | ||
| 18:00 | A cloud cover is moving in & the wind is starting to kick up. CSS Interurban from East (#240). | ||
| 18:25 | Arranging things in the car. | ||
| 18:35 | Having a real lull. | ||
| 18:45 | I wouldn’t mind staying out here another night. | ||
| 18:50 | CSS Interurban from East (#241). | ||
| 19:00 | 96 hours, 241 trains. FREQUENCY = :23:54. | ||
| 19:10 | Looks like there’s going to be neat sunset, after all. | ||
| 19:30 | CR train from East (#242). | ||
| 19:40 | Long CR freight from West (#243). | ||
| 19:55 | CNW/CR train from West (#244). Had 6 engines. Another long freight. | ||
| 20:00 | I never know when to leave. | ||
| 20:05 | CSS Interurban from West (#245). | ||
| 20:30 | The Amtrak is running late. | ||
| 20:35 | Amtrak from West (#246). | ||
| 20:40 | CSS Interurban from East (#247). FREQUENCY = :23:43. | ||
| 21:05 | CNW/CR train from East (#248). | ||
| 21:10 | Leave Olive. | ||
| 21:20 | Pause briefly at Pine Rd. | ||
| 21:35 | STOP at Olive St. crossing. | ||
Well, there it is. Notes of my all-time train-watching record of 248 trains. Even with the voice-activated tape recorder and a large clock, I still missed 25 trains. Two years later, Dave and I went on a trip to Bolo Hill where I learned that an analog clock was not the best way to tell the time in the middle of the night. A digital clock is better. I spent a total of 98 hours and 35 minutes at the tracks which is a train frequency of one train every 23 minutes and 51 seconds, and I still didn’t know when to leave. I actually wanted to stay another night! Notable events of the trip were all those flat tires and the hot, humid weather. Earlier in the year, I bought four "premium" steel-belted tires from a major oil company and I really don’t know if it was the design of the tread or if I constantly drove through nails, but I remember having many flat tires during the summer. The pump sprayer was very handy for keeping cool in the hot weather. With the weather being what it was, I went through a total of nine 12-packs of Big K diet cola! It was a fun trip but I don’t think I could ever do that again…