Re: [CBQ] snow removal from suburban platforms

[dhartman@mchsi.com]

Ah yes, the fun of deadheading back to Aurora.

The major stress of the last dinky at about 130 am, engineer plodding along thru switches at east end of yard (he had a car, no worries for him, but he didn't go to Aurora), indifferent yardmasters, running with a grip, already dead tired, the mile+ from roundhouse to Clyde "station", knowing how screwed you were if you missed the last one because you were going to get called again in 8-10 hours.

And catching a westbound freight? Some of those snuffies had strange ideas of how slow they had to go by the platform at Aurora for a "safe" dis-embark.

I remember one winter night, snow on the platform, going for an unplanned slide into a column......I think back in horror on some of the really stupid things when I was young and green and tired and "invincible"........

Doug

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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From: STEVEN HOLDING <sholding@sbcglobal.net>

Sender: CBQ@yahoogroups.com

Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 07:11:25 -0700 (PDT)

To: <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>

ReplyTo: CBQ@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [CBQ] snow removal from suburban platforms

 

We had a dispatcher in Cicero who was born and raised in Chicago and had never been outside the city limits until he came to Cicero as a dispatcher.  So one nite it started to snow and he called in and said he could not get to work.  SO I had to work an extra four hours till I died on the hours of service.  Now HOW am I going to get home as I of course rode the commuter trains when ever I could.  Saved by the bell there was a freight about ready to depart so I hot footed it down to Clyde and crawled up on the head end.  In the late '70-early  80s in a cost cutting effort the section was not called out till about an hour before the morning rush.  So most of the burners were not lit and the only track this freight could run on was West on Main 3.  The only crossovers working were at Downers Grove so we went hustle-ling West on Main 3 and as we started thru Western Springs the city crew had just finished cleaning the platform on the South side.  Remember the "new" depot was all clear plastic and of course the snow was all shoveled on to the tracks so we blew it all back onto the platform with the crew shaking their fists at us for undoing their work.  Got home and had to dig out my drive so I could get in off the street and hit the hay as the sun was coming up only to have to be on the 2:05 PM Back to work.
Steve in SC

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From: "qutlx1@aol.com" <qutlx1@aol.com>
To: "CBQ@yahoogroups.com" <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sat, May 18, 2013 1:37:02 PM
Subject: Re: [CBQ] snow removal from suburban platforms

 

Roy

Even into pre-Metra days the section could be found clearing snow off the platforms. Problem was they didn't always get to every station by rush hour.

Today the municipal workers take care of that chore.

Leo Phillipp

Sent from my iPhone

On May 18, 2013, at 12:05 PM, "zuch2rew" <zuch2rew@yahoo.com> wrote:

 

In the forties on, who was responsible for snow removal from suburban platforms for the morning rush? I'm sure the station agents didn't (unions and such), but was it section hands, contractors, or did they wait for the first melt?

Roy Wojahn

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