Yup, up here in Sussex county New Jersey (Yeah I know, wheres that?) I didn't feel a thing. Our Managing Editor said she felt it when she was at the local Quick Check gas station in Newton. I guess years of driving a CJ-7 has numbed my backside. I did check the layout last night as I have been running impromptu operation sessions and not one car was in the dirt. Nothing amiss in the apartment either. No doubt this will get the 2012 people all excited.
I'm glad no one was seriously injured or killed. Now Irene is on her way. She could be alot worse than a little earthquake. When we end a running session, we put our trains in earthquake position. Meaning-away from the layout edges. That's California for ya. Stay safe, Wolf
I was oblivious. I am so used to the bi-level commuter cars shaking my place that I never even noticed. No trains were affected but they are sitting on several layers of foam which would have adsorbed it. I'm glad no one was hurt.
Uh, Steve, how did the T get all its bi-level commuter cars up on several layers of foam before the quake? :tb-tongue:
John, I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, is that Hurricane Irene escaped Florida, is nailing the Bahamas, and the cone of concern is headed in your direction. I would have never believed an earthquake happen in that area of the US. I learned in school that the land there has been stable and dormant for millions of years. My prayers are extended to you Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
A little update. Got another rock and roller early this AM and I had a few cars I had just finished dumped of the shelf onto the floor. Fortunately it was onto carpet and I tend to overbuild so other than having to reinstall some trucks and rotate a 1015 body mount back into position I got off lucky. They are now in their storage box surrounded by bubble wrap. I have my Son and his family in Nags Head along with some of my Wife's relatives and they are leaving out now under a emergency evacuation order and heading home. Unfortunately we are in the red zone for the hurricane for wind and flooding, and for the last week or so this area has been receiving some nasty storms, and flash flooding and will again tommorow. That means saturated ground. Fortunately I'm on one of the highest points in this area but the wind may be fun, (not). So when the power goes out I can keep on railroading. Going to a show Saturday so I can pickup another book and some more supplies and maybe a 2-10-2. Have a nice stock of candles and a number of kerosene lamps, plus ample batteries for the radio. So I could end up decaling some of my large pile of stuff on the workbench and reading my newest mags and RR books by candle and kerosene lamp light and gently rocking and rolling to either the occasional afershock or good gust of wind . Model railroading 1900s style. As far as vittles go I have two butane stoves and enough feul to last several weeks so I can have food and coffee. Even have some 9 volt batteries so if I want to test a couple of locos on my portable test track I can even do that with the power out. Have enough capability to even heat water for a bath when I come out of my man cave/workshop and decide I've gotten too grungy. So bring it on Mother Nature I'm ready to keep on railroading.
Welcome to the world of aftershocks. Depending upon the circumstances of that initial quake, they can linger for some time. They can be some where between un-nerving and irritating.
Oh that's right, the Greenberg show is this weekend. Well, as long as the weather doesn't kill the power and cancel it, that is. I'm in the same position as John. Thankfully, I'm on high ground, but the ground is saturated and one of the big pines next to the house isn't in the best condition. Guess I'll be keeping the van out on the street. Better ready the downstairs storm hide-out... Stay safe everyone.
Saturday A.M. side of the show should be alright weatherwise. However by the P.M. side it may start to get dicey, but all depends on how fast this big gal moves up the coast. Sunday could be a wash out though. Don't spend a lot of time at this show anyway and I'm usually out the door with my goodie bag by around noon. I've never found a reason why they have such a late opening at these shows. My experience at other shows in the area is that if they open at 8:30 there will be a line at the door. Always was at the Gaithursburg Model Society show and others.
I just learned that Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel is now in Rhode Island. As many of you may already know, if nasty weather is approaching your area and you find out that Cantore is also in your area, just bend over and kiss your posterior farewell. Cantore showed up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast about three days before Katrina struck. At the height of the storm, he was broadcasting live from the ground floor of a 15 story building about 1/4 mile from my house when the storm surge came ashore, quickly flooding the ground floor. Cantore and his crew rapidly scrambled to the third floor still broadcasting. They were panicking to say the least.....
Forgive me, but when it comes to TV and news I'm not really "up" on the latest, but how big is this Irene? Angela told me from Illinois yesterday I really need to watch this. Do they think it's going to hit Northern Jersey? I stopped watching main stream weather and news when they started a panic over snowstorms of the decade and they turned out to be dustings, at least by New Hampshire standards. The whole "Sky is falling" mentality of most broadcast news companies is annoying at best.
Irene is currently Category 3, which is pretty big, though not Katrina-sized. The bad part, I think is that the central storm track keeps the eye just offshore sweeping up the entire East Coast, which means much of the storm will be able to feed off the Gulf Stream and remain strong, rather than making a solid landfall and falling apart, as most hurricanes do... the latest track I looked at still had it at tropical storm strength as it passes through Maine... It's probably not going to devastate a single population center like Katrina did, but the long path, staying offshore, and heavy population along the coast could make things fairly messy.
Thanks TwinDad, you gave me more useful information than the weather guy on TV:thumbs_up:. I looked at WeatherBug on my phone. There is a big track of T-Storms from West Virginia, through PA and into Jersey today. Looks like I need to put the top up on the Jeep.
A lot is still iffy on this storm as far as wind speed as it is yet to move over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, however the best bet is it will reach a cat 4. The storm is already a 500 pound gorilla in size and that means impact a lot further inshore. Originally my area, I live just south and west of DC, was on the edge of the red zone for wind and rain, now we are firmly in it. New York City is preparing for flooding so measure where you are in line with New York. Biggest problem is probably going to be power outages. Now for the folks with the layout in the basement and a need for a sump pump in that basement, a battery back-up for the sump is a good investment. Next to that a small generator that can be used to power the sump when needed and run the frig to keep the beer cool when not. Other than that for those with a leaky basement in the zone, and the layout in the basement, is to strap flotation devices on the layout sides. I can now see somebody at the local surplus store buying an inflatable life raft and stuffing it under the layout (insert big grin here). As far as the Weather Channel goes they are danged near accurate in thier stuff to about a 95% rate of accurancy. Far more so than the local idiots in this area for a forecast where I'm at. So if you are in the zone I would have a contingency plan for what if. My Son and his family and other family members got in last night about 2AM from Nags Head, NC where the were under mandatory get out of Dodge orders. Just in time for another aftershock of 4.5. Everything was secured this time so no stuff hitting the floor from the workbench. Storm timeline looks like I can make the trainshow Saturday AM, visit my favorite discount book purveyor and contribute to his bottom line, then with hand keeping wallet firmly in back pocket check out some of the same recyled crap that has been at the show now for the last five years, and is worn out just from packing and unpacking, and marked up over the origianl cost by 50%, while looking for a decent bargin on something I might like. Then I'm heading home to hunker down in my 2nd floor workroom where I can watch the trees swing back and forth to the wind, and be gently rocked by the aftershocks.
