Curious Hound on the move

[Curious Hound]

I've escaped the hurricane ravaged Carolinas for a few days. Camping at Cass State Park in West Virginia. The area has no cell phone or other radio communications. It's a radio blackout are due to a giant space radio telescope observatory nearby. There is free WiFi in the town of Cass. So every time I drive through town, I stop and link up for a few minutes. Haven't found any good unpaved roads yet for offroading. But the scenery is stunning.

Uploading pictures is proving difficult. I'll try again later.
Here is the best site in the campground where I'm staying. Right next to the tracks. Wish I had know about this one before I set up camp.

Found a radio antenna for @sgtsandman

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Looks relaxing, are the tracks active? They kinda don't look like they are.

 

[Curious Hound]

Looks relaxing, are the tracks active? They kinda don't look like they are.

Yes. They are active. The whole town of Cass is a State Park/live museum. They run train excursions daily, using old logging locomotives. These locomotives, the Shays, Climaxes and Heislers are special geared locos, specially designed for steep grades and sharp curves. They are the "4x4's of the train world".

A shay with train at the station.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yes. They are active. The whole town of Cass is a State Park/live museum. They run train excursions daily, using old logging locomotives. These locomotives, the Chays, Climaxes and Heislers are special geared locos, specially designed for steep grades and sharp curves. They are the "4x4's of the train world".

A shay with train at the station.
View attachment 118473

Well that won't be so bad.

Not like you will be getting an Amtrac blowing thru at 80mph at 3am...

 

[pjtoledo]

that dish looks like "the big ear" that used to be near Columbus Ohio.

 

[Brain75]

being an avid astronomer, Green Bank is on my list (I managed to get to the Lowell Observatory and Chamberlain Observatory so far, and very few others..) I am into the classic old observatories. I had a booking to meet Jack Schmidt and tour Arecibo the VLA, but covid cancelled that.

edit: I am an idiot, I can't even remember where it was correctly... I had tickets and hotel to go to the national Astro Convention in 2020... which that year was in NM south of the VLA, which included yada yada... I have a passport and have been to puerto rico, but that was 30 years ago, no interested in astronomy back then.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I came across the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico on my way home from Overland Expo. Pretty cool place.

The 2019 'Loan Ranger', and 2019 Ranger Adventure

Ya, the tent is Ford's. Although, I joked with them and said they probably wouldn't want it back if they knew what I've done in it. I wish I could keep the whole truck. If anything, I wish they'd let me keep the tent. Either would make a nice 20th Anniversary gift. These mods have been done...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[Jazzer]

Yeah, VLA is way cool. Out west of Socorro a ways.

There’s a nice campground in Water Canyon east of the VLA.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Arecibo, is long gone and completely dilapidated, very sorry condition. Some of the radio astronomy engineers still live down in the area and operate on amateur bands. Very interesting to speak with. china has taken over with the next big thing they built. The VLA, incredible work they do there. VLBI. Turned down an offer to work there building millimeter wavelength radio circuitry. Socorro is a sleepy little town, going to Magdalena is good 4wd up to the mines rock hunting. Found my first gold sample there a few years ago.

Shay #1 & 4 up at the Roaring Camp Redwood Forest behind Santa Cruz, CA. I have 2 that I hand built, one HO & the other a true all brass 077 narrow gauge HO. Love those Shays which employ a true ring & pinion drive gears.

 

[Curious Hound]

Figured out the schedule so I could be at the tracks at the right time twice this morning. I got video of the other side where the working driveline is on the earlier train. Took stills of this one with the better lighting angle.

 

[Jazzer]

Rollin’ coal…..

 

[MaicoDoug]

My friends & I were riding our mtn bikes and came up on a Shay & cars coming up a blind pass, it was a straight down 150 foot long trail that leveled out 5 feet away from crossing the tracks at a 90 degree angle, and I hear this chug-chug-chug-chug right at the bottom coming down the tracks, I can tell, but can't actually see this locomotive screaming rpms, but when I land at the bottom of this "shoot", I know I can look to the right IF I'm not run over by then IF I can stop at all...friends keep saying go go go, You got time to make it. I finally said, ok, I land sideways at the bottom (in the gravel), probably scare the diapers off all the savages on a date. (Santa Cruz). I landed sideways, bottoming out my front & rear suspension. Actually looked like I knew what I was doing, rare instance. I looked up, & straight down the tracks after 3 seconds of near unconsciousness & loss of vision, to see the Shay still screaming RPMs, and going slower than average walking speed. It was still 50 feet away and we had all day to get down the "shoot" & cross. But it sure sounded like it was moving 70 MPH at least!

 

[Curious Hound]

Home, at last. Cell phone service is better than before the hurricane. Internet service (AT&T fiber) still fubar.

Anyways...

Livvy thought that if she lays on the sleeping bag, I can't pack up and we won't have to go home. Nice thinking. But didn't work.

This little church is just a few miles north of White Sulphur Springs, WV.

 

[Curious Hound]

And my air conditioner is out. I'll make a couple more checks in the morning, simply because I like to know before I call in the pros. But it looks like either the compressor or the capacitor. Both fans are working, contactor is pulled in and sending power to the compressor and the led's on the circuit board are signaling that everything is normal. I'll do a capacitor check and ohm out the compressor. And I'll take pictures of important info so I can text it to the techs and they'll know what they're working on before they get here.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Yeah. Our compressor died right before the roundup.

Luckily the old farmhouse never had a/c upstairs so we can still sleep with window units.