Installment #14 - Retirement Trip

4-13-06

While we're still visiting relatives and friends in Alliance, Nebraska, I thought you might like to hear a few stories of some of the not-so-good moments. For instance even before we left the house in February we had everything prepared - the RV was at the end of the driveway near the street, the tow dolly was hitched onto the back, the car was firmly strapped and chained onto the tow dolly and everything we thought we would need was loaded. We jumped aboard eager to go south to get away from the bitter weather that morning, I put the RV in 'drive' and noticed a reluctance for the rig to roll, jumped out and walked down to the car at the back, opened the door as far as it would go and noticed the parking brake was still on, squeezed one hand through the door, released the brake and the whole thing started to roll towards the street. I'd obviously left the RV engine running and in 'drive'. I did fortunately manage to get on board again and stop everything but couldn't help but wonder if we were really meant to go on this trip.

Back to current events: Since we are almost totally surrounded by long coal trains (125 cards each), it seemed a good idea to Tony to tour the rail yards. Tony and Archie were shown around by the yard superintendant. They saw the control room, the storage yards, and car maintenance sheds. Some of the main facts that emerged are: each car carries 240 tons of coal; maximum number of cars per train is 150; maximum train length is 8000 feet; maximum tract speed is 65 mph; five locomotives (four pulling, and one pushing), all controlled by only two engineers (engine drivers) in the front engine. Every feature and facet of a train’s journel is controlled by a master controller in Fort Worth (approximately 1000 miles away). Average frequency of trains in the Alliance area is one every 20 minutes. The train yard draws most of its staff from Alliance and nearby towns. Railroad is now recruiting 400 more personnel.

Last Saturday there was a large derailment where 28 cars fell off the track because of a fractured rail. We went to see the clean-up operation just outside of town. We photographed mangled rail card that had been detached from their axles and wheels (axles and wheels were stacked together beside the road)(picture). Apparently the coal dust that these trains carry can not be left alone for any length of time due to spontaneous combustion, so 4,200 tons of coal had to be picked up immediately.

We are still visiting friends and relatives and still eating steak nearly every day and enjoying 85 degree daytime temperatures.

Sharon spent an evening with seven other classmates from high school.

We spent time at the Alliance cemetery – they have a kiosk that enables you to look up names and find the exact location of friends or relative’s graves. Visited car henge ouside of Alliance. (picture). And...no visit to car henge is complete without a visit to the "rest area" just up the road (picture).

We went to a machinery auction. Tony had never heard a live auctioneer. Sharon took a ride on an ATV driven by 3 year old second cousin Coulter (picture). We rounded up cattle on 4-wheelers and moved them through two gates to another field (no horses any more for the local ranchers).

Had a tour of a mission store (similar to a thrift store). We learned amazing things about the "thrift store" business….all the clothes that were unsaleable were bundled and put in basement waiting the next shipment out…700 bundles (about 80 pounds each) were down in the basement – 1400 pairs of jeans – because they put a pair of jeans at the top and bottom of each bundle.

Took aunt and uncle Jean and Maxine over to Scottsbluf, Nebraska, to see another aunt and uncle, Leo and Zetta. We will return to Scottsbluff next Sunday for another visit.