Wow, it's been a slow weekend on here! Everyone must be out riding or something?  :dunno:  I've been pretty busy, off and on this weekend but noticed it's been pretty quiet. Sometimes that is a good thing.

Just for "gits and shiggles", here are some random photos.

Me pretending to be cool when I know otherwise...  



...dunno what the hell this actually is, do you?


..same thing, different shot...



:dunno:

By the way I love my Suzuki GS500F  :kiss:

Looks like a train car of some sort. Maybe a mobile train fire-putter-outer thing?

where's your posse man?  :lol:

Quote from: JetSwingwhere's your posse man?  :lol:

They were chillin at the crib, yo.

i like the last 2 shots!

Isaac all geared up and ready to go


The moon over my house last night at about 3:30am.

That's a yard-built ballast spreader.  Or what's left of one...  The reservoir on the back is an air accumulator to operate the air-powered cylinders of the the moldboard and wing.

If it's on standard gauge track, it's built on what appears to be an AAR 30' standard flatcar.  The flatcar probably dates from before the turn of the century.  It was probably retrofitted as a spreader in the 20's due to the riveted construction of the air resevoir.  Arc welding started to take over pressure vessel manufacture by 1930.

This is supported by the truck style.  They're called "archbar" trucks due to their fabrication.  They're built out of a steel arch and a steel bar with the journal boxes bolted in-between.  They were outlawed in exchange service in 1941 due to the nasty tendency for the bolts to work loose causing "messes".

Closer examination, such as length, wheelbase, and journal size could narrow it down significantly.  If it still has a painted on car number, a little research will probably tell you the day it was put into service.

This was probably more information than you wanted...    

Oh...  I'm BORED.  But then you've figured that out by now.   :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Hah, thanks GeeP. I guess I am going to have to google "Ballast spreader" since I don't even know what that is.    Thanks for the information!

Ballast Spreader was my nickname in college.  

Your posse is dope.

Quote from: Jake DPhaedrus, you're a dope.

Fixed!  :mrgreen:

Mmmkay, if anyone cares, I think a ballast spreader is the machine that spreads the rocks/gravel on the railroad bed evenly. That's what I gathered from Google.   We've got some smart fellers on this site.  

Phaedrus, you have the crappiest title  :lol:

:nana:  Whatever  :lol:

Quote from: Phaedrus:nana:  Whatever  :lol:

i would be crying if my title were "Wants Phaedrus' Boobs"

but do you really want my boobs? if so, i'll let you touch them  

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Quote from: PhaedrusMmmkay, if anyone cares, I think a ballast spreader is the machine that spreads the rocks/gravel on the railroad bed evenly.

Yup!  They were also pressed into uses as snowplows.

It's a very early example of a Jordan-type spreader.  Here's what it would have looked like in service.  (Link due to copyright):

Jordan Spreader

BTW:  Nice title.   :lol:

seen a slightly smaller ver of that  used by the F.E.C.

2 cars working together, one maps out the track with long telescopic riggers on wheels and lazers, this same machine also picks up the track and ties, and scoops rock under the ties and sets it back down.   rolls on, the other scoops the sides up into the middle and uses a chain flail (for lack of a better term) that spins around slapping the rocks out  kinda leveling the layer between the rails and just to the outsides.  both operators were sitting in nice AC cabs sipping drinks.

I have been bored this weekend too.  I only got out for about 2 and a half hours Saturday afternoon.

Random pics?

Which contacts are better?


or

The cat eye ones look stupid. Go with the blue, if you absolutely need colored ones.

Yellow.

I got them for Halloween.  I used the yellow banshee eyes for my werewolf costume.  They freaked a lot of People out at the bar too