Steam & Excursion > 765 Ferry Move through Chicago?

What will be the route of the ferry move to/from Franklin Park for the weekend of June 11/12 activites with 765?

I would suspect that 765 would come into Calumet Yard on NS, then use the IHB line around the city, to the CP Yard in Bennsonville, which is on the western outskirts of Franklin Park.

I would suspect that too. Maybe we'll hear from someone who knows.

The carriers may have asked them not to publicize it and ditto the timing which they may not know precisely as it may depend on traffic.  So, while not expecting any official response are we thinking the day before, or many days before?

Why don't we just sit tight unitl and if someone who knows replies?

stuporchief Wrote:
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> Why don't we just sit tight unitl and if someone
> who knows replies?

Good idea. I was only relating the method that we used with SP4449, back in 2009, when we returned from the big Train Festival in Michigan. We cut off from the Amtrak special, at the junction that IHB connects with the old NYC main line, over in Indiana, then took the IHB all the way around the city (behind the EMD plant in McCook), to the interchange with the CP in Bennsenville. The next day, we backed into Franklin Park.

As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department policy and with respect to the railroads involved, we do not publicize 765's deadheading routes.

Rich Melvin
Columbus, OH
My Web Site

Rich_Melvin Wrote:
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> As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department policy
> and with respect to the railroads involved, we do
> not publicize 765's deadheading routes.

Thank You Rich. Have a safe journey.

Thus the official response.  So that leaves intelligent, unofficial speculation for those who would like to see it. 

So that also leaves unintelligent, unofficial speculation as well.....

Rich_Melvin Wrote:
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> As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department policy
> and with respect to the railroads involved, we do
> not publicize 765's deadheading routes.

Do other steam operations execute deadheading routes without letting the public in on the info?  Just curious....

JLW2K Wrote:
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> Rich_Melvin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department
> policy
> > and with respect to the railroads involved, we
> do
> > not publicize 765's deadheading routes.
>
> Do other steam operations execute deadheading
> routes without letting the public in on the info?
>  Just curious....

Maybe it's an eastern railroad policy, i.e. NS.

HotWater Wrote:
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> JLW2K Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Rich_Melvin Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department
> > policy
> > > and with respect to the railroads involved,
> we
> > do
> > > not publicize 765's deadheading routes.
> >
> > Do other steam operations execute deadheading
> > routes without letting the public in on the
> info?
> >  Just curious....
>
> Maybe it's an eastern railroad policy, i.e. NS.

Maybe it is because the few ruined it for the many by not behaving properly. 


You are always going track speed with RF NOCOM !

> JLW2K 
> Do other steam operations execute deadheading
> > routes without letting the public in on the
> info?
> >  Just curious....
>
> Maybe it's an eastern railroad policy, i.e. NS.

This is a Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society policy. It has nothing to do with any of the railroads we operate on, other than respecting their wishes not to attract a crowd on a deadhead move when they do not have the extra security staff on hand to watch the crowd.

Rich Melvin
Columbus, OH
My Web Site

It is a good policy.  When 765 did the publicly announced Elkhart to Bryan runs NS practically shut down the railroad to keep it safe for the unwashed masses yearning to snap photos. (All the freights parked between crossings away from areas most people gathered until 765 passed and the crowds left the track.)  They don't want to do that for deadheads.

I wish there were more steam runs so the unwashed masses would not risk their lives to get their "once in a lifetime" bucket list snapshots. I believe people would be less likely to take risks if the opportunities were not rare.

Thank you for the official reply.

Rich_Melvin Wrote:
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> As a matter of FWRHS Operating Department policy
> and with respect to the railroads involved, we do
> not publicize 765's deadheading routes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/16 13:57 by stuporchief.

justalurker66 Wrote:
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> It is a good policy.  When 765 did the publicly
> announced Elkhart to Bryan runs NS practically
> shut down the railroad to keep it safe for the
> unwashed masses yearning to snap photos. (All the
> freights parked between crossings away from areas
> most people gathered until 765 passed and the
> crowds left the track.)  They don't want to do
> that for deadheads.
>
> I wish there were more steam runs so the unwashed
> masses would not risk their lives to get their
> "once in a lifetime" bucket list snapshots. I
> believe people would be less likely to take risks
> if the opportunities were not rare.

It would be great if there were more trips and they were not quite so rare. However if steam locomotives didn't atract people, how many would run trips on the main line at all?

justalurker66 Wrote:
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> It is a good policy.  When 765 did the publicly announced Elkhart to Bryan runs NS practically shut down the railroad to keep it safe for the unwashed masses yearning to snap photos...They don't want to do that for deadheads.
>

BINGO! You've got it exactly right.

When an excursion is running, every division company officer and railroad police officer is working that day. Some company officers ride the train while others patrol the track. The railroad police department shadows the train for the entire day. EMT's are on standby. Lineside police departments are informed about the train. In the dispather's office, they have a completely different set of rules for dispatching trains when an excursion is running on the division. My point is that on excursion days there is a lot going on behind the scenes that you don't know about.

It is very expensive and it takes a lot of company resources to provide that level of security. It is not in place for a deadhead move. That's why we don't publicize our deadhead moves.

Rich Melvin
Columbus, OH
My Web Site

So, one presumes, no GPS tracking.  Just the fan grapevine.

Rich_Melvin Wrote:
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> It is very expensive and it takes a lot of company resources to
> provide that level of security. It is not in place for a deadhead
> move. That's why we don't publicize our deadhead moves.

I have also noticed that railfans (not just the unwashed) get annoyed when the train doesn't follow the expected path or doesn't "stay on schedule". Publisize the deadheads and you just get annother way of annoying people when the route changes. People guessing for themselves only have themselves (or the fellow guessers) to blame.

Volunteers running ATCS tend to get raked over the coals if the servers happen to be down on days a steam train runs. It is amazing how rude people can be to fellow hobbyists and the people running the special trains that they want to see.