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The following Minutes to be read at the next meeting
of the C&NW Veterans Association / NARVE -- Green Bay
chapters. To be held at the National RR Museum on Wednesday, March 17,
2010.
MINUTES:
A joint meeting of the Green Bay
-- C&NW Veterans and the local NARVE chapters were held at the
National RR Museum on Wednesday,
Feb. 17, 2010.
Meeting opened at 9:00
am with the reading of the Minutes of the previous meeting by the
President of the Green Bay
chapter of the C&NW Veterans Association.
Legislative representative Dick Piontek
gave his report, noting that a reduction in payments to
physicians by Medicare is to take place on March 1st.
Advice centered around not to change doctors until the fall out
from these Medicare changes are known as regards reactions to
these reductions by physicians.
NARVE president Dick Jobelius
gave his report. With some discussion about the upcoming NARVE national
convention and the possibilities of the local NARVE chapter sending a
delegate.
In light of Wisconsin law makers
giving their approval on Feb 16 to spend the entire $810 million in federal
stimulus funding for a high speed rail line between Milwaukee
and Madison, discussion followed
concerning other rail options that may have served Wisconsin
taxpayers better. Such as rail commuter needs as well as the
indirect route (via Watertown) to
be followed by this approved high speed rail line, between Madison and
Milwaukee.
Discussion also focused on the Union Pacific
dispatching one of its five system wide brush cutters to clear
the right of way north of Sheboygan, from Roths to the Sheboygan County line, north of Haven. The brush cutter
operator reported that the line is to be rebuilt and as of now, this line has
around 3 cars of freight weekly to Richardson Lumber in Haven,
population 50. The line north of
Haven is intact, but has not been used since 1988, or for 22 years,
except to store surplus freight cars. We will continue to watch this
activity in the future.
On February 5-6, approximately 24 inches of wet snow fell
in the Pittsburgh, PA
area. It was noted that a 130 car unit coal train became a runaway,
derailing 113 of the loaded cars, with 30 to 40 cars badly off the rail
and tipped over. Discussion followed as to the possible causes
of having a break failure under these weather conditions, to such an extent
the train would ran away. As the newer type of composition brake shoes
are known not to work effectively in wet and or heavy snow as compared to the
older and once standard cast iron brake shoes. This was one
consideration. Discussion also included the braking capabilities of
both high friction and low friction composition shoes, with some type of
composition brake shoe being standard on all
freight cars today. It was also pointed out that over 25 years ago, the
C&NW had a total brake failure on a unit coal train on the double main
lines in Iowa, and the
cause was never discovered. It remains a mystery today. Other less
orthodox reasons for brake failures were also
considered. Retired Car Department foreman Fred Dorn lent his
expertise in this matter.
10 members attended this meeting and the discussions
were so lively that we did not adjourn until 10:15AM.
Our next monthly meeting (after our March 17 meeting)
will be held on Wednesday, April 21, at the Titletown (old
depot) at 200 Dousman St.
near downtown Green Bay.
Minutes taken by chapter
Vice President Herb Hessil and
submitted by chapter
President Truman Koehn.
02/17/10
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