Today's Train of Thought- Whoa Whoa Whoa Waterloo, Feb 13th, 2014

Today's train of thought takes us to Waterloo, IA where a flood-damaged bridge nearly proved to be a successful shortline's Waterloo- for lack of a better term.

Started up in the 1980s from an abandoned and largely unwanted portion of the bankrupt Rock Island, the Iowa Northern operates more than 160 miles in northern and central Iowa between Cedar Rapids and Manly, IA. Although it's fortunes improved considerably with the advent of the ethanol boom in the mid-2000s, it all came to a grinding halt in June 2008 after an important bridge used by the line collapsed into the Cedar River, cutting off the Iowa Northern from their southern interchange with the Union Pacific, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, Canadian National and Iowa Interstate. This necessitated lengthy detours across the DM&E and Canadian Pacific of up to 300 miles that increased fuel and labor costs for the line. To make matters even worse, the IANR didn't even own the damaged bridge- it was part of a lightly used former Chicago Great Western branchline now owned by the Union Pacific. The IANR simply exercised trackage rights over the bridge and the UP was in no hurry to repair it.

After much political wrangling, an estimated $5.9 million was secured- including more than $3 million in state and federal funding- for repairs to the collapsed bridge, which reopened in time for the 2009 harvest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Scott Marsh caught Iowa Northern GP38-2 #3802 trundling across the Cedar River into Waterloo, IA with a southbound freight destined for the IANR's Bryant Yard in the middle of a snowstorm on December 20, 2012. Trailing the #3803 are a pair of rebuilt former Amtrak F40PHs that have seen service on both the Iowa Northern and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic predecessor Canadian Atlantic.

According to the photographer, the storm was in the middle of dumping some 10-12 inches on that part of the Hawkeye State.

Today's Train of Thought- The Rockford Files, October 25, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Hawkeye State right around harvest time, not to mention Hawkeyes football season.

While not an Iowa alumni himself, Iowa Northern President Dan Sabin has been operating the Hawkeye Express shuttle, taking fans from a station in Coralville, IA to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City for Iowa Football home games since 2006.

Besides the seasonal Hawkeye Express shuttle, the 163-mile Iowa Northern earns its keep hauling ethanol, corn, RV parts, grain, fertilizer, windmill components and farming machinery. The ethanol boom of the last decade has been particularly good to the Iowa Northern, although management and most industry observers typically caution against a carrier being overly-dependent on a single commodity. Still, inbound trainloads of grain and outbound unit trains of ethanol keep the Cedar Rapids, IA-based line busy.

Here, railpictures.net contributor James House caught a freshly re-crewed Iowa Northern train powered by GP38-2s #3801 and #3805 accelerating as they leave the town of Rockford, IA on a gorgeous, sunny afternoon on October 5th, 2011.

Even in the heart of corn country, there's still some fall foliage to be seen.

Today's Train of Though- (Iowa) Interstate Love Song, July 24th, 2013

Today's Train of Thought takes us to the Hawkeye state and features the somewhat quirky Iowa Interstate Railroad. The 580 mile regional got its start in late 1984 from the ashes of the Rock Island, operating between Chicago and Council Bluffs, IA.

For nearly 20 years, motive power for the IAIS consisted of primarily former Illinois Central Gulf GP10s and GP8s along with former CSX GP16s, ex-Providence & Worcester M420s and ex Illinois Central SD20s showing up long enough to get a coat of paint before being scrapped or re-sold.

By 2003, with traffic on the rise thanks in no small part to the growth of ethanol and the fleet of IAIS rebuilt geeps were beginning to show their age, the units were gradually replaced with former Conrail GP38-2s purchased through LLPX leasing, followed by ex-Reserve Northshore Mining SD38-2s also purchased through LLPX.

The motive power selection for the Iowa Interstate only got more interesting after the acquisition of the 6-axle EMD's- by the summer of 2006, the IAIS purchased two 2-10-2 QJ Class steam locomotives from China's national railways for use in excursion service. Two years later, the Iowa Interstate broke with tradition and purchased brand new ES44AC GEVOs from General Electric- joining Montana Rail Link and Indiana Railroad in purchasing new locomotives from GE or EMD instead of using secondhand power purchased from Class 1 lines or other regionals.

Here, railpictures.net contributor BA Tiemann caught Iowa Interstate SD38-2 #150 leading mixed freight ICCR [Iowa City to Cedar Rapids- NANESB!] around the curve on the former Milwaukee Road line between Cedar Rapids and the interchange with the IAIS Council Bluffs-Chicago line at Homestead, IA on May 9th, 2007. The line is actually owned by the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, but is subleased to the Iowa Interstate and is the IAIS access to interchanging with the CRIC, Canadian National and Iowa Northern in Cedar Rapids.

While the lead unit has been repainted, some of the trailing units are still in their blue and white Reserve Northshore mining colors. Although the CRIC originally had a more direct former interurban line between its namesake cities for interchange with the IAIS, it was surprisingly hilly considering that its Iowa and is seldom used to this day. Today, the much newer GEVOs are likely to appear on the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids run either in solid sets or working in tandem with the older 6-axle EMDs.

Today's Train of Thought- Met His Waterloo, March 27, 2013

I gotta say, since the calendar flipped over to springtime last week, I was thinking about shifting to a more 'seasonal' train of Thought. However, even tho the calendar might say its springtime, Mother Nature had other designs for the Great Plains and midwest last week.

Today's Train of thought takes us to a fallen flag that officially ceased to exist earlier this year. Ever since the Canadian National acquired the Wisconsin Central in 2001, the Canadian National had been looking for a way to circumvent the congestion in and around Chicago. That opportunity came in 2009 when after years of speculation, the Canadian National acquired the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern which looped around Chicago instead of heading into the Windy City.

At the time, the EJ&E was one of three railways that looped around Chicago- including the Indiana Harbor Belt and Belt Railway of Chicago- and was the only US Steel Railroad that hadn't been acquired by Canadian National during their 2004 acquisition of Great Lakes Transportation's Bessemer & Lake Erie and Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range.

Like the B&LE and DM&IR- as well as the Illinois Central, British Columbia Railway and Wisconsin Central- the motive power from the EJ&E showed up throughout the Canadian National system, with some units being repainted into CN colors and others getting sold off for scrap or shortline railroads.

Here, railpictures.net contributor R. Scott Marsh caught EJ&E SD38-2 #673 pulling yard duty at the former Illinois Central yard in Waterloo, IA in the middle of a late snowstorm on April. The #673 started out life on the Bessemer & Lake Erie as #890 and saw briefly saw service on the Union Railroad before being moved between US Steel Railroads. As of 2012, the EJ&E #673 was still in "flying J" colors and has occasionally appeared on 'home rails' even though the Joliet ceased to be on January 1st, 2013.

Sports Chowdah Update, Intercep-ticon Edition- Last Second Calls in Seattle, Baltimore Cause Stir; Mighty MAC has 'Big' Weekend; Northeastern Sweeps All New England V-Ball Tourney

 

ESPN.com Photo

NFL- Three weeks into the regular NFL season and I've apparently made little to no mention to the fact that the league is operating with replacement referees due to an NFL lockout. Rather naiively, I thought it was a non-issue that would be quietly resolved before anything substantial could take place.

However, after Monday night's game it looks as though I was wrong on both counts. The nationally televised game from the Emerald City pitted the host Seattle Seahawks against the Green Bay Packers.

It was a low-scoring affair, and Seattle's defense punished Green Bay QB Aaron Walker by saking him 8 times in the first half. Despite the relentless harrassment of Rogers, the Packers were leading 12-7 late in the 4th and pinned deep in their own territory with less to two minutes to go. After going three and out, Green Bay was forced to punt from their own 4 yard line. The ensuing kick gave the Seahawks the ball at mid-field with 46 seconds to go in the 4th quarter.

Seahawks rookie QB Russel Wilson got the ball as far as the Packers 24 yard line as the clock ticked down. As time expired, Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to WR Golden Tate in the end zone where the ball was momentrally lost among a sea of defenders and when everybody hit the ground, one official was signalling touchdown while another had signalled interception & touchback [shown above- NANESB!].



A further review of the replay showed that Packer's safety MD Jennings had snatched the ball out of the air as Tate was pushing off, but the touchdown call was upheld and after 10 minutes, the Packers were summoned out of the locker room for the point-after attempt to seal the Seahawk's controversial 14-12 win over Green Bay.

Before the game had even technically ended, the replacement officials game-deciding call had prompted fans, coaches, players and sports columnists to demand the NFL bring the ongoing lockout with the original officials to a close. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John Gruden and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young- both working as commentators for ESPN- voiced their displeasure with the in-game officiating right away both in-game and on the Monday Night Football postgame shows.

There is still a considerable gap between the NFL and the locked out referees over the issue of salary, but the call to close out Monday Night's game could prove to be the catalyst to take it off the back burner. Reportedly some of the replacement officials used by the NFL this season had been dismissed by the Lingerie Football League [a league which by rights I should probably know more about but am only marginally aware that it even exists- NANESB!] earlier this year.

It's also worth pointing out that the call on the field by the replacement referees was subject to review by NFL replay officials who weren't replacements. Earlier in the game there had been a number of penalties that kept what would turn out to be scoring drives alive.

The replacement officials issue will no doubt be revisited countless times before Thursday night's game between the Browns and Ravens.

Nick Wass/ AP Photo

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Should Monday Night's game proved to have been uneventful, the sports media would no doubt still be discussing New England's Sunday Night Game against the Baltimore Ravens and the officiating that was done there.

Sunday night's game between two perennial division leaders would be the Patriots' first prime-time contest of the 2012 campaign. After the Patriors got out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, the Ravens came back to briefly take the lead in the 2nd thanks to two lengthy, sustained drives led by QB Joe Flacco to give Baltimore a 14-13 lead with less than two minutes to go in the opening half. However, after getting the ball back on their own 19 with 1:41 left in the 2nd quarter, New England hit paydirt on a short Brady pass to WR Julian Edelman with 2 seconds left to make it 20-14 at the half.

The Ravens opened up the second half by re-taking the lead on a three and a half minute drive that was capped by a short TD rub by RB Ray Rice to make it 21-20. The Patriots replied in kind, taking nearly 5 minutes off the clock as they marched down the field thanks mostly to relatively short passes by Brady or short runs by RB Danny Woodhead who was finally able to punch it in from the Ravens three yard line and give the Patriots the 27-21 lead. Although the Patriots would make a return trip to the Ravens end zone on their next posession, they would have to settle for a short Gostkowski FG to make it 30-21. The score would remain that way until the 4:01 mark of the 4th when the Ravens managed to punch it in for a TD after starting off on their own 8 yard line, making it a 28-30 Patriots lead.

New England would get the ball back and advance as far as midfield before Brady was sacked and the Patriots had to punt right around the 2 minute warning. With just under a minute to go in the game, Patriots CB Devin McCourty was called for a pass-interference penalty, giving the Ravens the ball inside the Patriots 10 yard line with the clock ticking. After calling one timeout in an attempt to freeze Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker [his first kick DID unambiguously split the uprights, too- NANESB!], Tucker's next kick soared over the right upright and was ruled good, giving Baltimore the 31-30 win as time expired.

Unsurprisingly, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was unsatisfied with both the officiating and result of the game, leading him to track down an official and grab him while asking for a review of whether or not Tucker's kick was good. Much was made of the on-field confrontation until Monday Night's 'Touchdeception' in Seattle. Both Belichick or Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had made clear their displeasure with the officiating from the replacement referees during Sunday night's game as well. Belichick can reportedly expect a fine and some sort of reprimand from the league this week.

Sporting a rare losing record, the Pats will travel to Orchard Park, NY next Sunday to take on the 2-1 Buffalo Bills- their first AFC East matchup of the 2012 season. The game gets underway at 1:00 PM ET and will be televised on CBS.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- Although there was one overtime game in week 1, Week 3 of the NFL season featured no less than three contests that went to overtime. The Tennesee Titans made a key stop on 4th and 1 to get their first win of the season- a 44-41 victory over the Detroit Lions at Nashville on Sunday. The Miami Dolphins scored late in the 4th to tie the game up at 20-20 before the Jets would get the Game winning FG with just over 6 minutes remaining in OT. And the Kansas City Chiefs stunned New Orleans by scoring 11 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to climb out of a 24-13 hole to beat the Saints on a 31 yard Ryan Succop FG with 6 and a half minutes to go.

This has been the first time there has been two or more overtimes since the NFL modified the rules for OT. Beginning this season, there will be no more sudden death overtime- each team will have at least one posession. If a team scores on their opening posession, the other team will have the opportunity to match or beat that score. If neither team has managed to score, then the next team to score will win [unless the clock runs out, meaning the game will end in a tie- NANESB!] making it 'sudden death' of sorts.

Charlie Niebergall/AP Photo

NCAA FOOTBALL- Saturday turned out to be a good day for much of the supposedly lowly Mid America Conference. The Central Michigan Chippewas pulled off what was easily the biggest upset of the day. Trailing the Iowa Hawkeyes 23-31 with less than a minute to go at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, the Chippewas managed to score nine unanswered points in the final 50 seconds- including a 13 yard TD pass from QB Ryan Radcliff to WR Titus Davis followed by a 47 yard FG from David Harman with 3 seconds left to give Central Michigan the narrow win over the Hawkeyes. Prior to the game, the Hawkeyes had been favored to win by as much as two touchdowns.

The Chippewas wouldn't be the only MAC team from Michigan to take down a favored oppoenent on Saturday. The narrowly-favored UConn Huskies fell to the Western Michigan Broncos thanks to a 4th quarter sack and strip of Huskies QB Chandler Whitmer. The loose ball was picked up by Broncos LB Desmond Bozeman and returned all the way for a TD to make it a 30-17 lead for Western Michigan.

The visiting Huskies would score a late TD with just 1:15 left in regulation, but UConn would fall to Western Michigan by a 30-24 final.

Over in DeKalb County, IL the Northern Illinois Huskies staged a come-from-behind win over the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas opened up the 4th quarter by running back a Jordan Lynch interception for 54 yards for a touchdown and a 23-13 lead over the Huskies. However, Northern Illinois would go on to score 17 unanswered points and pin the Jayhawks deep in their own end to close out the game and 30-23 win.

Of course, not all the games went so swimmingly for teams in the MAC on Saturday. While Eastern Michigan managed to keep the Michigan State Spartans out of the end zone for the first half and headed into the locker room with a 7-3 lead, the Spartnas scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to a 23-7 win over the Eagles. Meanwhile, in Knoxville, TN, the Akron Zips looked like they were too much for the Tennesee Volunteers to handle for most of Saturday night's contest, heading into the locker rooms tied 23-23 at the half before the Vols pulled away in the 4th quarter to make it a 47-26 final.

The UMass Minutemen's debut in MAC intraconference play was a little less noteworthy. They travelled to Oxford, OH to take on the Miami of Ohio Redhawks. While the final score was a bit more respectable than losing their first three games by a composite 145-19, the Minutemen still remain winless after their latest trip to the Midwest, falling to the Redhawks by a final of 16-27. This upcoming weekend, the Minutemen will host the undefeated Ohio Bobcats at Foxbourough. The Bobcats are currently favored in by as much as 24 points.

In fact, all three New England FBS teams will be playing at home this upcoming weekend. 2-2 UConn will host the 1-2 Buffalo Bulls at noon eastern time in East Hartford while Boston College comes off their weekend off to host the Clemson Tigers in ACC play. Kickoff in Chestnut Hill gets underway at 3:30 ET.

Georgia Tech Yellowjackets Librero/Defensive Specialist Nicki Meyer- Photo via Georgia Tech Volleyball on Facebook

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- After an all-New England tournament hosted at Northeastern earlier this month, most of the participating schools- UConn, Boston College, Northeastern and Harvard- began intraconference play in earnest [altho BC already has a win over Maryland from the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational earlier this month- NANESB!].

Although Boston College dropped the first two contests to Northeastern and UConn, they managed to salvage a win in the New England Volleyball Challenge Tournament over Harvard on the final day.

The Eagles opened up ACC play against the Georgia Tech in Atlanta last Friday, challenging the Yellowjackets early but ultimately getting swept in 3 straight sets. BC Outisde Hitter Katty Workman- who had already garnered Freshman of the Week honors from the ACC had 13 kills in the losing effort for Boston while Ramblin' Wreck Librero Nicki Meyer (daughter of Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Urban Meyer) was uncharachteristically quiet as Senior Bailey Hunter had 9 kills, leading the Yellowjackets. The Eagles then travelled to Clemson the following day, only to once again get swept, leaving them with a 7-8 record and 1-2 in ACC play.

This weekend, the lady Eagles will play host to Virginia (5-8) and Virginia Tech (9-4)at Chestnut Hill.

Meanwhile, the Northeastern Huskies managed to sweep the New England Volleyball Challenge Tournament defeating Harvard, Boston College and UConn before going on to face opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association. The 12-3 Huskies are 1-0 in CAA play (defeating Hofstra immediately after the New England Challenge Tournament) and will host UNC Wilmington and William & Mary at Solomon Court in Boston this upcoming weekend. Currently, only the 14-3 Towson Tigers sport a better record in CAA Volleyball.

UConn came away from the New England Classic with a 2-1 record and has gone 3-0 since then, defeating Sacred Heart, Villanova and Georgetown. Their overall record is 11-6, good for 3rd overall in the Big East behind Seton Hall and St John's- their upcoming opponent this weekend, as it turns out.

MLB- While nobody in the American League has clinched a playoff berth yet, at least two Division pennant winners came through this weekend.

Over on the West Coast, the San Francisco Giants secured the NL West pennant after taking two out of three from the San Diego Padres while the Cincinnati Reds secured the NL Central title after shutting out the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0 at the Great American Ballpark- their only win in the 3 game weekend series against LA.

There will be no less than two playoff teams coming from the NL East as the Washington Nationals- sporting the best record in the league with 93 wins- are four games up on the Atlanta Braves who still aren't mathematically eliminated frmo winning the NL East pennant. The worst case scenario for the Braves currently is thet they'll secure the next-to-last playoff spot.

With just under a week to go in the regular season, the St Louis Cardinals currently hold the lead for the final NL Wild Card berth. With eight games to go for each team, the LA Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers are 4 and a half games behind St Louis.

Steamy Iron Horse Roundup For July 2011

Iowa Interstate's Chinese manufactured 'QJ' 2-10-2 #6988 is seen passing the former Rock Island Iowa City, IA depot on the return leg of its round trip excursion between Cedar Rapids, IA and Rock Island, IL on June 19th, 2012. Erik Rasmussen photo

IOWA- For the second year in a row, the Hawkeye state and regional Iowa Interstate played host to a large gathering of rail enthusiasts and historians with their 2012 convention in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Like last year's Trainfest in Rock Island, IL, this year's NRHS convention featured steam and diesel powered rare mileage excursions on former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific and Milwaukee Road lines that only see freight traffic these days.

In addition to a day out at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion at Mt Pleasant, IA where attendees got to see restored trolleys, interurbans and steam as well as vintage steam powered tractors and farm machinery, the convention featured a steam powered excursion between Cedar Rapids and Rock Island, IL with IAIS Chinese QJ #6988 doing the honors.

Cedar Rapids and Iowa City MP15DC #122 seen powering an excursinon on the original interurban line between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City at Cou Lake, IA on June 22nd. FJ Grizel photo.

Attendees also got to ride behind rare mileage excursions over Dan Sabin's Iowa Interstate and former interurban Cedar Rapids and Iowa City- also known as the CRANDIC and owned by Alliant Energy [NYSE- LNT]. In addition to Iowa Interstate's Chinese made QJ, excursions were also powered by F40PH's from Iowa Northern's Hawkeye Express passenger trains that shuttle football fans to and from University of Iowa home football games and some of CRANDIC's yellow and grey EMD endcab switchers.

Interestingly, a few days before the NRHS excursions, the Iowa Interstate operated a series of trips between West Liberty, IA and Durant, IA to benefit those towns' respective fire departments.

The 2013 NRHS convention is scheduled to take place in September 2013 in Anchorage, AK.

Alaska Railroad's former Army 2-8-0 steam locomotive seen returning home from the lower 48 in January at Anchorage, AK. Michael Dinneen- Alaska Business Journal

ALASKA- Speaking of Alaska, the restoration of the Alaska railroad's last steam locomotive got a huge assist thanks to a $350,000 grant.

The Rasmuson Foundation announced the grant to the newly-formed non profit Engine 557 Restoration Company in early July. This is the first substantial donation that went towards the full restoration of Alaska Railroad #557. The unit last saw service in the early 1960s running shuttle trains to the Alaska state Fair before being sold to a scrap dealer in Washington State. However, instead of cutting up the former Army steamer, the scrap dealer took a shine to the Baldwin and displayed it in front of his business. As it turned out, the cool and relatively dry climate of east-central Washington State was almost ideal for preserving a steam locomotive.

Restoration is currently estimated to cost between $600,000 and $700,000. Major costs include initial tooling, asbestos removal and abatement, replacing galvanized steel cladding, new insulation, boiler and tubing replacement and repair, gear inspection and repair, painting and positive train control electronics.

In order to establish a funding mechanism, project supporters recently turned to The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), which oversees and has helped establish nearly 300 funds and endowments that support philanthropic endeavors that benefit Alaskans. ACF agreed to establish and administer a new fund to accept donations, while the Restoration Company will coordinate the project, including fund-raising, hiring subcontractors, recruiting volunteers and overseeing the restoration work.

While the narrow gauge White Pass & Yukon continues to operate a pair of steam locomotives out of Skagway, Alaska #557 would be the first operating standard gauge steam engine in the Last Frontier on nearly 50 years. While one time roster-mate #556 remains on static display in an Anchorage park, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has a sister locomotive to Alaska #557 & #556- former US Army #610, which was one of the last American steam locomotives made for an American customer.

Soo Line 2-8-2 #1003 seen crossing the Rock River in Edgerton, WI in August 2000 on the Wisconsin Southern. Barry Moore photo.

WISCONSIN- Reports of Soo Line 1003's demise are apparently premature, as the 1913-built Baldwin underwent a series of test-firings in May. The locomotive last operated pulling a Santa Train in November 2010 before her mandatory 15 year FRA boiler inspection.

After being taken out of service, the venerable ALCo steamer was kept on the grounds of the Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford, WI. Returning #1003 back to service carried an estimated pricetag of around $400,000, although some of these costs were reportedly picked up by Wisconsin Southern President and CEO Bill Gardner. When in operation, the Soo Line #1003 had operated almost exclusively on the Wisconsin and Southern.

Today's Train of Thought- First Light, March 14, 2012

Today's Train of Thought takes us to a frigid and snowy Hawkeye State to a line that's changed hands no less than three times since 1996.

In 1985, the Illinois Central Gulf spun off a series of lines throughout the Midwest and Deep South that they deemed redundant. Many of these lines exist today as regionals like the Indiana Railroad or Paducah & Louisville. Around that same time, the ICG's former Illinois Central Chicago to Omaha, NE line went to the newly-formed Chicago Central & Pacific. In addition to the main line across northern Iowa, the CC&P also had a branch to Sioux City, IA and the Cedar River line, which went north from Waterloo, IA to Albert Lea, MN and south from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids, IA.

The CC&P lasted a little more than 11 years when the Illinois Central made the somewhat unusual move of reacquiring the railway lock, stock and barrel in 1996- about two years before the Canadian National would acquire the IC.

Here, railpictures.net contributor R Scott Marsh catches Canadian National local freight L575 with Illinois Central SD40-2 #6201 leading and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern SD38-2 #678 trailing along with a Canadian National GE trailing. The train is seen just outside of St Ansgar, IA with a lengthy cut of grain cars for a customer on the Osage sub north of Waterloo at daybreak on Jan 30th, 2012.

Former Obama Campaign Operative Charged With Attempting To Steal Iowa Secretary of State's Identity

A 29 year old Des Moines, IA man was arrested on charges of identity theft after attempting to use the identity of Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz earlier this month.

Zachary Edwards was arrested Friday and charged with identity theft.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a news release saying Schultz's office discovered the scheme on June 24, 2011 and notified authorities.

The criminal complaint says Edwards fraudulently used or attempted to use the identity of Schultz or Schultz's brother with the intent to obtain a benefit. No other details were given.

Edwards had reportedly worked for the Obama campaign in Nevada in 2007 before moving to Iowa to become the new media coordinator in the Hawkeye state in early 2008. After the campaign, Edwards joined the Des Moines-based consulting firm Link Strategies, who's clients include Democrat Senator Tom Harkin.

Edwards had reportedly stolen Schultz's identity in a scheme to falsely implicate the Secretary of State in engaging in unethical behavior. According to the Iowa Republican blog, Edward's alleged crime took place in June 2011, around the same time a Democrat-connected blog called Under the Golden Dome launched a 3-part article citing open-records requests from 'a tipster' that was highly critical of Schultz.

Earlier in the month, the Iowa Democrat Party had filed an ethics complaint, claiming Schultz used public resources [i.e. a Secretary of State Letterhead- NANESB!] to campaign against GOP Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman. The complaint was dismissed by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board a month later.

Iron Horse Roundup For December 2011/Jan 2012

Aftermath of 3-way CSX collision and derailment in Valparaiso, IN on Jan 6th Photo- Jimmy Herrick/Valparaiso Post-Tribune

Two CSX crewmen were treated for injuries and approximately 200 people were evacuated after a collision and derailment involving three trains in northwestern Indiana earlier this month.

The trains crashed about 11 miles northeast of Valparaiso, on the CSX line, according to David James, assistant highway supervisor with the Porter County Highway Department.

James said one train rear-ended another one, causing it to jack-knife, and a third passing train the "got caught in that jack-knife." All the trains derailed

James said there had been a fire concern since one of the trains was carrying ethanol, an alcohol, but the tanks turned out to be empty. Diesel fuel from the engine was burning, but as of 4:50 p.m. local time, "things are starting to quiet down somewhat," James said.

About 100 to 200 residents evacuated from the area north and east of the crash, James said.

The two hospitalized crewmen were released within days of the collision. Immediately after the wreck, the NTSB was conducting interviews, combing through the wreckage and checking the line's signalling- but the agency warned that it could take months before reaching a finding on the cause of the collision.

Workers seen installing a frame with grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling from a chain in West Java, Indonesia. The balls are high enough for the train to pass through untouched but would knock down anybody riding on the rooftops. This is the latest measure to prevent 'train surfing' in Indonesia. Achmad Ibrahim / AP Photo

Authorities in Indonesia are cracking down on 'train surfers' and people riding the rooftops of trains by installing frames that hang over the tracks with weighted, grapefruit-sized concrete balls dangling down low enough to knock stowaways off the roofs of train cars.

Authorities hope the balls — which could deliver serious blows to the head — will be enough to deter defiant roof riders.

"We've tried just about everything, even putting rolls of barbed wire on the roof, but nothing seems to work," said Mateta Rizahulhaq, a spokesman for the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api. "Maybe this will do it."

Trains that crisscross Indonesia on poorly maintained tracks left behind by Dutch colonizers six decades ago usually are packed with passengers, especially during the rush hour.

Hundreds seeking to escape the overcrowded carriages clamber to the top. Some ride high to avoid paying for a ticket. Others do so because — despite the dangers, with dozens killed or injured every year — "rail surfing" is fun.

The first dozen or so balls were installed Tuesday hundreds of yards (meters) from the entrance of a train station just outside the capital, Jakarta. Painted silver, the balls hung by chains from what looked like the frame of a giant soccer goal.

But there was a glitch: the chains were too short, leaving a gap of about 16 inches (40 cm) between the balls and the roofs of the passing train carriages. Rizahulhaq said adjustments would be made.

If successful, the project will be expanded, with balls also set up near railway crossings.

Asked about worries that the balls could hurt or even kill those who defy the roof-riding ban, he insisted that wasn't really his problem.

"They don't have to sit on top," he said. "And we've already told them, if the train is full, go to the office. We will be happy to reimburse their tickets."

The commuters, known as "Atappers" or "Roofers," meanwhile are hardcore in their determination to stay on top.

"I was really scared when I first heard about these balls," said Mulyanto, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, who rides between his hometown of Bogor and Jakarta almost every day for work. "It sounds like it could be really dangerous."

"But I don't think it'll last long," he said. "They've tried everything to keep us from riding ... in the end we always win."

"We like it up there, it's windy, really nice."

Many of the roof riders — and regular passengers — say the main problem lies with Indonesia's dilapidated railway system. There are not enough trains to meet demand, they say. And there are constant delays in service.

"People have jobs! They can't be late," said Parto, a trader at the Jakarta stock exchange, who can usually be found sitting inside. "If the train is late, they'll do whatever they have to."

Several years ago, paint guns were set up to spray those riding on the top of carriages so authorities could identify and round up the guilty travelers. But roof riders destroyed the equipment soon after. The exhortations of clerics didn't work. Neither did the dogs.

Overcrowding has been an issue with commuter and passenger trains on Java- Indonesia's most populous island. In 2010, Indonesian passenger carrier PT Kereta Api introduced "Women's Only" train carriages in an effort to thwart other passengers who took advantage of the overcrowding to grope and fondle female commuters [similar trains operate in Mumbai and Tokyo- NANESB!].

Secured to a flatcar, Alaska Railroad 2-8-0 #557 passes by the Cook Inlet en route to Anchorage from the lower 48 in December. Photo- David Blazejewski/Columbia Basin Herald

After a nearly 50 year absence, the Alaska Railroad's last steam engine has returned home to Anchorage, AK this month.

The Baldwin 2-8-0 was built for the US Army in 1944 and went into service for the Alaska Railroad after WWII. The locomotive was in regular service for the Alaska until 1957 and was sold for scrap to a dealer in Washington State in 1962. However, instead of getting cut up, a Moses Lake, WA scrap dealer named Monte Holm took a shine to the old steamer and put it on display and would occasionally operate it on a short stretch of track.

Holm passed away in 2006, and a personal friend purchased the #557 from his estate before donating it to the Alaska Railway. Interestingly, the tender for the #557 never left Alaska and served in Maintainence of Way service along with a former US Army Corps of Engineers steam crane until 1974, at which point the railroad donated the tender to the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry.

The AKRR plans to fully restore #557 to operating condition and use the steam locomotive for excursions out of Anchorage.

The railroad has eight years to put it in service but Aadnesen is aiming for as early as 2013.

“We have a business case to put it back in a restricted kind of passenger service as a tourist attraction during the summers,” he said.

The project will depend on volunteer and foundation donations — money from the railroad can’t pay for it. It will cost more than $500,000 to refurbish the locomotive and get it back into service, then it will need to pay for itself. All that remains is to finish the regulations of establishing a foundation to receive such funds.

“We have no doubt that it can be done,” Aadnesen said.

Engine No. 557’s needs concern cosmetic issues like cleaning and painting. It will be completely disassembled and put back together to satisfy survey and inspection requirements for federal agencies.

After that, 557 will require annual maintenance plus periodic Federal Railroad Administration recertification, which will also have to be covered in the business case.

Last month, the Alaska Museum of Transportation and Industry in Wasilla, AK donated the 1700 gallon tender for the oil burning #557 back to the Alaska Railroad.

Sister Baldwin 2-8-0 #556, also a former US Army unit, remains on static display at a public park in Anchorage.

A pair of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic B39-8s are seen hauling freight westbound between St Leonard, New Brunswick and Madawaska, ME near Keegan, ME in March 2009. Photo- Kevin Burkholder

The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic announced a tenative deal to sell off 25 miles of track between Madawaska, ME and St Leonard, NB. The northernmost portion of the MM&A was left isolated from the rest of the system after the railroad sold the 230 miles of track between Madawaska south to Millinocket, ME that were slated for abandonment to the State of Maine last year.

If the Federal Rail Administration and Maine Department of Transportation approve, J.D. Irving subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway will purchase the Madawaska-Van Buren-St. Leonard railroad line for an undisclosed amount. The governmental agencies have liens on the property. The sale could be completed next month, said Robert C. Grindrod, MM&A’s president and CEO.

“We have an isolated piece of railroad there that doesn’t seem to be generating a lot of traffic,” Grindrod said Tuesday of his reasons for the sale, “and there seemed to be little or no prospect of regaining traffic from Twin Rivers.”

Twin Rivers Paper Co. executives claimed a year ago that the Madawaska mill’s future was threatened by MM&A’s failure to maintain its railroad tracks and by its missed delivery and pickup deadlines — often forcing the coated and uncoated papermaker to hire trucks on the fly to make shipments — because of miscommunication or an insufficient number of railroad runs.

MM&A officials countered that they were trying to meet demand but that the use of trucks and declines in production by Twin Rivers and its predecessor, Fraser Paper, made running more trains uneconomical and helped create the conditions that led to the company’s loss of $4 million to $5 million annually.

Shortly after the sale, the state of Maine subcontracted operations of the line to New Brunswick Southern- a Canadian company owned by J.D. Irving. New Brunsiwck Southern's subsidiary, Eastern Maine Railway, operated the section of the former Canadian Pacific line between the US/Canadian border at Vanceboro, ME to the current MM&A interchange at Brownville Jct, ME. New Brunswick Southern/Eastern Maine also interchanges with Pan-Am Rail at Mattawamkeag, ME.

Birmingham Southern GP38-2 #704 leads a southbound taconite train at Ensley, AL on Dec 30th 2011- Just days before WATCO assumes operation of the Alabama steel hauler. Photo- David Stewart

Within a few weeks of its announcement that it would be a majority shareholder for the regional Wisconsin Southern, Pittsburgh, KS based WATCO announced they would be purchasing Transtar's Birmingham Southern Railroad in Alabama.

Birmingham Terminal Railway has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Birmingham Southern Railway, which operates more than 75 miles of track in the region.

The railroad has access to the area's steel-making and manufacturing operations and connects to several major railroads, including Norfolk Southern [NYSE- NSC], CSX [NYSE- CSX] and Berkshire-Hathaway's [NYSE: BRK-A] BNSF.

Transtar is a holding company for some of the former United States Steel railways such as Pittsburgh's Union Railroad or Detroit's Delray Connecting. Transtar will still handle in-plant switching at US Steel's [NYSE: X] Fairfield, AL works and retains ownership of the Warrior & Gulf Navigation company

A pair of Iowa Northern gensets bracket a GP38 while hauling the IANR's first train on the former Union Pacific Garner sub in Garner, IA in November 2011. Photo- Craig Williams

Beginning in November, the Iowa Northern has taken over operations of the former Union Pacific [NYSE: UNP] Garner subdivision between Forest City and Belmond, IA.

FOREST CITY — The 28 miles of former Union Pacific railroad track from Forest City to Belmond has seen more traffic in the last three weeks than in the past five years, according to new operator Iowa Northern Railway Co. President Dan Sabin.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Gov. Terry Branstad and other local and county officials was held Monday afternoon in Forest City.

Union Pacific intended to abandon the line because it was reluctant to operate trains with fewer than 100 cars, making access to businesses along the 28 miles of track difficult.

The North Central Iowa Rail Corridor LLC purchased the track for $1.5 million and signed a 10-year lease-to-own agreement with Iowa Northern Railway to operate the line.

“Most of us know in this day and age when you lose a railroad you never get it back,” said Dave Kingland, manager of the North Central Iowa Rail Corridor and president of Forest City Economic Development Group.

The 30-mile line is isolated from the rest of the IANR, but Canadian Pacific has granted the regional trackage rights between Nora Springs, west through Mason City and on into Garner.

The first IANR train on the line ran on November 4th with a pair of new gensets bracketing an Iowa Northern GP38-2, with 35 empty grain cars and a single auto-rack for the Winnebago [NYSE: WGO] plant in Forest City. Besides the grain elevators in the communities located along the ex UP line, Iowa Northern is hoping the RV manufacturer will be a regular shipper.

Sports Chowdah Update for October 30, 2011- 11th Title in the Cards for St. Louis; If You Sell It, They Will Come? Pats Get Steel Toed Boot

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

WORLD SERIES: It seemed to have that air of inevitability around it almost as soon as David Freese's bat made contact with the ball in the bottom of the 9th of Game 6 with 2 outs and a 1-2 count.

Despite Texas getting out to the early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the Cardinals- unsurprisingly and inevitably- came back to tie the game up in the bottom half of the 1st frame on a 2 out, 2 RBI double from none other than David Freese.

Cards outfielder Allen Craig put St Louis up for good with a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd. In the 5th, the Cardinals would get some insurance when catcher Yadier Molina drew a 2 out bases-loaded walk, followed up by Rafael Furcal getting hit by a pitch with the bags STILL loaded to make it a 5-2 game.

Although Texas would get the occasional leadoff runner on, the 2 runs they got in the first inning would be it, and Molina would get another RBI- this time in the form of a single that plated Berkman- to put St Louis up by 6-2. Jason Motte, who put the 2 Rangers baserunners on in Game 2 that ultimately cost St Louis the game, came on for a one two three top of the 9th to seal the Cards 6-2 win and the World Series.

Chris Carpenter went 6 complete innings for the win for St Louis while Matt Harrison was hung with the loss for the Rangers. Molina went 2-3 with 2 RBIs for the Cards while local hero David Freese went 1-2 wirh 2 RBIs and 2 walks. Thanks in large part to his role in both Game 6 and Game 7, Freese was named the 2011 World Series MVP.

Game 6 was such a difficult act to follow- even though I knew better, I was a little disappointed that Game 7 didn't end in a similar manner. I remember the last time the Cards were in the World Series (2006), all the East Coast sports figures and yammering heads on ESPN were bemoaning that it would be an all-Midwest World Series, thus boring.

Unfortunately Detroit proved them correct by basically air-mailing a bunch of pivotal innings away. I haven't been watching or listening to alot of the 'personalities' on ESPN, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were saying the exact same things five years later.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not particularly passionate about either one of the teams in the 2011 World Series [lest anybody forget, Red Sox Nation had their day against St. Louis 7 years ago- NANESB!] but the quality of the games was something to behold- well, most of the games at least.

It seemed as though I found myself asking 'What can they do to one-up this?' every time I was watching or listening. Even in the one true blowout, viewers got to see Albert Pujols put himself in some very distinct company. Texas kept themselves in it with some small ball in Game 2 and a heroic outing by Derek Holland in Game 4 as well as Napoli's bat in Game 5.

But all that was left in the dust once Game 6 wrapped up.

Congratulations to the 2011 World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals and congratulations to both teams for treating us to some very exciting October baseball.

OTHER BASEBALL NEWS: The family farm complete with a baseball diamond hewn from a cornfield in Dyersville, IA that was used for filming the 1989 film Field of Dreams will be sold.

The land, which has been in the Lansing family since 1906, had been on the market since May 2010 with an asking price of $5.4 million. The parcel includes the baseball diamond, a two bedroom farmhouse, a half dozen other buildings and 193 acres- primarily cornfields.

The Lansing family said they were committed to finding a purchaser that would maintain the legacy of the site. Although the exact amount wasn't disclosed, the northeastern Iowa farm and baseball diamond will be sold to Go the Distance Baseball LLC, operated by Mike and Denise Stillman.

The property is about 20 miles west of Dubuque, IA and has been open to visitors during the summer months for the past 20 years.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

NFL: Damn- is it too late for me to blame the porn starlet that Gronkowski (allegedly) hooked up with?

I can't even say New England came out of the bye week looking rusty, because it was hard to make an informed statement on how the looked with Pittsburgh dominating time of possession. The Steeler had the ball for just under 40 minutes while New England had possession for just over 20- not really a winning formula.

Even with that disparity in time of possession, the Patriots headed to the locker room at halftime trailing by 17-10 thanks to a 46 yard Gostowski FG with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

While the Pats would keep Pittsburgh out of the end zone for the 2nd half, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would manage to move the ball fairly effectively while eating up the clock and the Steelers were still able to come away with FGs on two trips inside the red zone.

After being stymied for much of the game, Brady would drive New England down to the Pittsburgh red zone where he would connect with Rob Gronkowski, where no doubt driven to distraction thanks to his tryst with Bibi Jones [just kidding...jeez], he was stopped just shy of the goal line. Now while he had possession of the ball and both feet appeared to be in the end zone, Gronkowski was ruled down inside the 1 yard line with 4:15 to go in regulation.

With all three time outs remaining, instead of throwing out the challenge flag, Belichick decided to punch it in from there on 3rd and 1. Kevin Faulk was knocked back for no gain, and while New England got a fresh set of downs on 4th and 1 after a Pittsburgh holding penalty, precious time was burning off the clock. Although Brady would complete a pass to Aaron Hernandez in the end zone, there was all of 2:38 remaining on the clock.

Even if The Patriots had demonstrated an ability to hold Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense to a 3 & out, that rosy scenario STILL would've left the Patriots with precious little time. Also worth noting that the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was 1994- and after today, the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was....1994.

As it turns out, the Steelers got a first down, bleeding off precious seconds from the clock and forcing New England to use up their time outs. New England did manage to sack Roethlisberger twice before the Steelers had to punt from mid-field, but that was a day late and a dollar short.

The Patriots got the ball back on their own 22 with all of 8 seconds left in regulation, only to have Steelers DE Brett Keisel strip the ball from Tom Brady and batted into the end zone by shaggy Safety Troy Polamalu for the safety.

Pittsburgh wins this one by a 25-17 final. Brady went 24-35 with 198 yards and two TDs while Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would go 36-50 with 365 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. New England's offense was held to just 213 yards altogether on the day.

This sets up a showdown with the NFC east leading New York Giants next week at Foxborough. The Giants are coming off come-from-behind victory against the winless Miami Dolphins at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

NBA: With no deal in sight between the player's association and the owners, the league has cancelled two more weeks worth of regular season games, leaving most of November with no scheduled regular season NBA contests.

NHL: OK....so a couple of weeks in and its becoming apparent that the Bruins need to come up with something else aside from pointing out that they won the Stanley Cup and hoping their opponents are sufficiently dazzled.

So far, the Canadiens have shown themselves to be underwhelmed. Saturday night was the away half of a home-and-away series against Montreal. Les Habs got off the the quick start in the 1st with goals from Brian Gionta and Lars Eller for the early 2-0 lead. Dave Desharnais would make it a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period on a power play goal before the Bruins got on the board thanks to a Milan Lucic tally.

About 55 seconds into the 3rd period, Boston would make it a 1-goa game thanks to an even strength Tyler Seguin goal, but late in the 3rd, when the Bruins pulled Rask for the extra attacker, Tomas Plekanec managed to get the empty-netter for the 4-2 win.

The Bruins will head back to the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday to take on the scalding-hot Ottawa Senators, who have won their last 6 consecutive games. Puck drops at 7PM ET.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Understandably lost in a couple of great games Saturday night was the fact that the struggling BC Eagles had managed to notch their first win against a non FCS team this season- not only that, but an ACC opponent!

The Eagles came into a snowy College Park, MD to take on a marginally better Maryland Terrapins. Eagles RB Rolandan Finch drew first blood as Boston College managed to score on their opening drive to take the early 7-0 lead.

The Terps would reply with a FG to get on the board just inside the 10 minute mark. Boston College would take a 21-3 lead to halftime, and although the Terps would get on the board once again in the second half, it would turn out to be not nearly enough.

Boston College goes on to win by a 28-17 final and Finch gets 39 carries for 243 yards and 2 TDs in his productive afternoon. The Eagles are getting ready to host the Florida State Seminoles on Thursday night at 8 PM.

BIG EAST: Earlier this week, in leiu of being treated to World Series Game in St Louis, those of you inclinced to watch some college football were treated to the UConn Huskies getting stomped by Pitt by a 35-20 final after getting picked apart by Junior QB Tino Sunseri. UConn was held to a field goal for the first half, trailing 21-3 at halftime. The Huskies did manage a couple of big plays in the 2nd half, but it wasn't nearly enough.

OTHER BIG EAST NEWS: West Virginia made it official this weekend that they would be leaving the Big East conference for the Big 12, likely replacing the Missouri Tigers who are finalizing plans to join the SEC.

Like Syracuse and Pittsburgh (who announced their plans to join the ACC), Big East plans on retaining the Mountaineers until 2014.

Joe Mahoney/ Richmond Times-Dispatch

COLONIAL: UMass rebounded from their loss at Foxbourough's Colonial Clash versus New Hampshire last week with a very convincing win over the Richmond Spiders in the Old Dominion State by a 28-7 final. Three of those TDs against Richmond came in the 1st quarter and three out of the 4 were from RB Jonathan Hernandez, who had 3 of the UMass TD's on the day and 103 rushing yards.

The Minutemen will next play host to Villanova this coming Saturday.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: In case you missed it, some of the late games Saturday night actually lived up to the hype.

Granted it wasn't as time expired like last week against Michigan State, but the Wisconsin Badgers had their hearts ripped out for the second week in a row with less than a minute left on the clock. Trailing 14-26 late in the 4th quarter, the Badgers came back to score two TD's and take a 26-29 lead on a successful two point conversion.

The Buckeyes had gotten the ball as far as mid-field when Ohio State QB Braxton miller heaved a 40 yard pass with 43 seconds left in regulation. The pass looked a little wobbly, but somehow managed to find freshman Ohio State WR Devin Smith in the end zone for the TD and the 32-29 lead with less than 45 seconds to go.

That would be the final, as the Badgers couldn't score with their final possession.

Meanwhile, out west, the Stanford Cardinals needed triple OT to get past the USC Trojans. Stanford had already scored and successfully pulled off the 2 point conversion in their half the the third OT when USC got the ball back. However, on the Trojan's first possession, RB Curtis MacNeal fumbled and Stanford recovered, giving them the 56-48 win.

How President Obama Spent The Summer- Not to Mention Our Precious Money and TIme

After the unprecedented sovereign credit rating downgrade from Standard & Poors earlier this month, President Obama took it upon himself to allay concerns over the economy and high unemployment rate by embarking upon a multi-state 100% NOT-a-campaign-tour "listening tour" through the Midwest.

Eager to demonstrate to midwestrners that he was no out-of-touch limousine liberal, Obama left the Presidential limo back in Washington D.C. and instead embarked upon his midwest road trip with two new motorcoaches that the Secret Service ordered in July 2010 for $1.1 million apiece.



And what better way to show the people of the midwest that you are serious about the economy, American job creation and living within your means than by pulling into town in a brand new, armoured Canadian made motorcoach escorted by a 40+ vehicle motorcade?

After a terse exchange with a local Tea Part activist in Decorah, IA and botching the name of one of the companies that was hosting a town hall, it was off to Martha's Vineyard- that summertime playground of the wealthy and powerful- for some well deserved R&R! But not to worry, as President Obama would manage to find time between golf games to issue two executive orders- one was regarding diversity in the federal workplace while the other would reportedly allow nearly 300,000 illegal immigrants to avoid deportation and receive work permits- not word on whether or not this amnesty-through-executive-order will include his uncle. He also hinted at announcing a new jobs plan when Congress returned from summer recess.

When he wasn't spending time with his family or golfing on Martha's Vineyard, the President managed to work in visits to wealthy donors on the island. Alas, with Hurricane Irene's approach, the President and First Family had to cut their vacation short by about 12 hours so that Obama could swoop in and take charge at the National Hurricane Center.

Despite the strong Democrat voting bloc in the Northeastern states struck by Irene, the President has made no plans to visit those states to view the damage firsthand or meet survivors, despite Democrat lawmakers in New Jersey urging the President to visit the stricken areas. Instead, Obama will be travelling out to California for more fundraising in Hollywood and silicone valley next month.

As for that highly anticipated jobs speech that President Obama had been promising since his Midwest road trip, the Administration attempted to schedule it before both the senate and House the same night as the GOP Presidential debates next week. Speaker of the House John Boehner declined the President's initial September 7 deadline pointing out that it would be their first day back from the summer recess and offered Sept 8th as an alternative. Although the White House seems receptive to that date, that Thursday is also supposed to have the season opener for the NFL with the Saints taking on the Packers.

Man's Best Friend Until the Very End

Tumilson and Hawkeye in happier times

In the same vein as Hachiko in Japan or Greyfriars Bobby in Scotland, a photo taken at the funeral of one of the Navy SEALs killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by an RPG shows a dog laying quitely by the SEAL's casket.

Lisa Pembleton, a cousin of SEAL Jon Tumilson photographed the Petty Officer's loyal Labrador retriever Buckeye at his master's side one last time as the dog lay motionless next to the casket at Tumilson's funeral throughout the service. The funeral was held in Tumilson's hometown of Rockford, IA.

Pembleton wrote on Facebook that Hawkeye was Tumilson’s loyal pet who wouldn't leave his master’s side during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa.

“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote.

Tumilson lived in San Diego for eight years before becoming a member of SEAL Team 6. A memorial fund has been set up in his honor and donations can be sent to Frogman 238 Memorial Fund at:

First Security Bank and Trust
201 West Main Ave.
Rockford, IA 50468

Buckeye will remain with friends of Tumilson's in Nebraska who had watched after the lab during the SEAL's previous deployments.

Today's Train of Thought: Is this Heaven? No, It's Iowa- July 21, 2011

While no ghosts of baseball legends were able to appear for Today's Train of Thought, there's still plenty of rail traffic originating in Iowa thanks to the various ventures in ethanol in addition to the more traditional application of corn.

In the northwestern corner of the state, the Dakota & Iowa has earned its keep hauling gravel, ballast and aggregates from the LG Everist quarry in Dell Rapids, SD to interchange with the BNSF in Sioux Falls, SD and Canadian National and the Union Pacific in Sioux City, IA while operating on ex-Milwaukee Road tracks owned by the state of South Dakota and tracakge rights on BNSF south of Sioux Falls. The D&I has gotten by with chopnose GP9s and GP7s until fairly recently, when the ethanol boom and longer trains from the Dell Rapids quarry called for bigger power. Unlike many other railroads, the D&I retained many of their 1st generation Geeps, using them for switching the yards in Dell Rapids or Sioux Falls. With that in mind, though, the newer power seems to be the norm out on the road.

Here, railpictures.net contributor John Leopard caught D&I SD39 #4028 leading GP50 #2512 northbound through Westfield, IA with a load of tank cars bound the the ethanol plat at Hawarden, IA at the end of June 2009.

Today's Train of Though- Wedge Strategy, Dec, 29, 2010

Today's train of thought comes to us with plenty of ice to go around, between the frozen West Fork of the Des Moines River and the reporting marks on equipment from the Illinois, Chicago & Eastern.

The IC&E Predecessor was the I&M Rail Link- a sister company of the Montana Rail Link which purchased the former Soo Line trackage between the Twin Cities and Kansas City and the former Milwaukee line across Northern Iowa and on into Chicago back in 1997. In 2002, the line was purchased by the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern and renamed the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern before both the DM&E and IC&E themselves were acquired by Canadian Pacific in 2008.

However, one would be hard pressed to tell that CP was running the show for over a year in this shot taken by railpictures.net contributor Scott Marsh. Here, IC&E SD40-3 #6442 is in charge of a plow extra as it cautiously treads its way over the West Fork of the Des Moines River at Emmetsburg, IA on Dec 27, 2009. The train was sent out to clear the line and retrieve any cars along the Mason City line that were left out in the snow. It's slow going on the 90 pound rail, and the crews must also clear any highway crossing they come to by hand, as the accumulated snow there is packed down by passing cars and could cause the plow to derail.

Quickie Cuppa Sports Chowdah- Free Agent Cliff Hanger; Ocean's River's Eleven; B's Hit w/Stafford Infection; WWII Vet, HOFer Feller Passes Away

Image: USA Today

MLB: WWII Navy Veteran and Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller passed away in a Cleveland area hospice on Wednesday night. The 92 year old was suffering from acute leukemia and pneumonia.

Feller, a first ballot hall of famer, first appeared with the Indians at the age of 17 in 1936 and stayed with the Indians his whole career. His career totals of 266 wins, 3,827 innings pitched, 2,581 strikeouts and 279 complete games remain a franchise record to this day.

The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Feller enlisted in the United States Navy and ended up as a Gun captain serving on the USS Alabama until 1945.

"I'm proud of that decision to enlist," Feller said. "It was important to serve your country. I didn't worry about losing my baseball career. We needed to win the war. I wanted to do my part."

Feller never considered himself a war hero: "The soldiers that didn't come back were the heroes. It's a roll of the dice. If a bullet has your name on it, you're a hero. If you hear a bullet go by, you're a survivor."

Feller also was on the last Indians team to win a World Series title. Although he went 0-2 in the 1948 World Series against the Boston Braves of the NL, Cleveland would go on to win the series 4 games to 2.

Feller would retire in 1956 and go on be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1995, a museum in his hometown of Van Meter, IA opened up and in retirement, 'Bullet Bob' or 'The Heater from Van Meter'- as Feller was sometimes referred to in his playing days- was a regular fixture around Cleveland's Jacobs Field.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Just when it was looking like highly prized free agent pitcher Cliff Lee had to choose between the Yankees or Rangers, the Philadelphia Phillies swooped in- seemingly from out of nowhere- and signed Lee to a 5 year $120 million deal.

In taking the Phillies offer, Lee leaves an estimated $30 million on the table that the Yankees were offering and leaves the Bronx Bombers scrambling to try and find any big-name free agent they could sign this offseason. I imagine this signing is a particularly bitter pill to swallow in the Big Apple, not only for the blow to the Yankees, but also the fact that the NY Mets are on the same division against a team that features a starting rotation of Roy Halliday, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and....um......Joe Blanton? OK....you gotta admit the first four are pretty formidable.

*The Washington Nationals have signed free agent right-fielder Jayson Werth to a 7 year, $126 million contract this week. In his final season with the Phillies, Werth had a .296 batting average with 27 homers and 85 RBI

NFL: Brett Favre's streak of consecutive regular-season starts was snapped Monday night in Detroit when the Vikings home field was moved from the collapsed roof of the Metrodome to Detroit's Ford Field. The streak that began on September 13, 1992 on the road against Tampa Bay unceremoniously came to and end as backup QB Tavaris Jackson and the Vikings offense sputtered in their 21-3 loss to the NY Giants.

That was actually Game 1 of a rare late-season Monday Night doubleheader (although unless you had DirecTV or Sirius/XM, the Vikings/Giants game was only broadcast in NY and the Twin Cities). The regularly scheduled Monday Night game got underway in Houston's Reliant Stadium shortly after Favre's streak was snapped

And while I have not rooting interest in either team, the nationally televised Monday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans got very interesting very late.

The Ravens took a 21-7 lead into halftime and almost immediately added to that with a 103 yard kickoff return by Baltimore's David Reed to make it a 28-7 game. At this point, the casual observer would've figured it was over, shut off the TV and found something else to do.....clean up around their place, go to a Christmas party, update their crappy blog.....anything but continue to watch this one-sided ass kicking.

In all honesty, I didn't tune in until the score was 28-13 Baltimore, but wouldn't you know it? That Reed kickoff return was it for the scoring for Baltimore in the second half. Texans QB Matt Schaub engineered two drives in the 4th quarter- including one from their own 5 yard line with 2:42 remaining in regulation- to tie the game with a successful 2 point conversion attempt with 21 seconds left in the 4th.

So on to overtime- Baltimore's offense gets the ball to start off the OT, but the drive sputters when Ravens QB Joe Flacco [who just happens to be a Colonial Athletic Association alumnus- NANESB!] was sacked for an 11 yard loss on 3rd and 10 from Baltimore's own 41 yard line. Texans get the ball back, but thanks to a pretty good punt and shoddy return by Texans special teams, they're pinned inside their own 10 yard line. Schaub's first pass attempt falls incomplete. His next pass attempt is complete to Ravens CB Josh Wilson, who runs the interception back 12 yards for the Ravens TD in a 34-28 OT win.

NHL: The only Sabre to get on the board against the Bruins on Wednesday night was returning RW Drew Stafford, but that's all Buffalo would need. Stafford injured his shoulder in a November game against Montreal, and while returning in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Stafford re-aggravated the injury. The Wednesday night game would mark his first time back on the ice since Dec 3rd.

And apparently he decided to celebrate with a hat trick. David Krejci would open up the scoring in the first with a goal just two and a half minutes in, but Stafford got Buffalo on the board with a power-play goal to tie the contest up at 1-1 with less than 90 seconds left in the 1st. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Bruins briefly took the lead in the 3rd on a Micheal Ryder power play goal. Stafford would knot the contest back up with an even strength goal to make it 2-2 30 seconds after Ryder's tally and then put the Sabres up for good on his 2nd power play goal of the night midway through the 3rd with what would prove to be the game-winner.

Stafford scored his 3rd career hat trick and the Sabres win by a final of 3-2 at the HSBC arena on Wednesday night. Tukka Rask stopped 32 of 35 shots faced while Buffalo's Ryan Miller let in two on 34 shots faced.

This is the second straight loss for Boston, although they're still only two points behind Montreal for 1st place in the Northeastern division.

Speaking of Montreal, the Bruins will travel there for Thursday night's game. Puck drops at 7 PM Eastern time.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL: The Glendale, AZ City Council approved a 30 lease agreement with new Coyotes owner, Chicago financier Matt Hulsizer.

The City council's decision comes a few weeks before a December 31st deadline to find a new owner for the team or have it relocated. The city also asked the council to authorize the sale of up to $125 million in municipal bonds to accommodate the terms of the lease.


NBA: Yikes...they don't come much tighter than that.

Instead of rolling over as they had done so many times before for so many teams, The New York Knicks put up an uncharacteristically tenacious fight on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

And since I missed most of the game, might as well fast forward to where it really counts, with Paul Pierce hitting what he thought would be the game winning with all of 0.4 seconds left in the 4th. However, the Knicks Amare Stoudemire immediately heaved a 3 pointer that was good, but after the referees reviewed the videotape, they determined that the ball left Stoudemire's hands after the final buzzer had sounded.

Boston hangs on to win this one by a final of 118-116 for their 11th straight win. The Wednesday night win brings to an end the Knicks own, respectable win streak of 8 games.

The Celtics will next take on the Atlanta Hawks at home on Thursday night. For the 2nd week in a row, the C's will be broadcast nationally on TNT at 8 PM Eastern, 5 Pacific.