Sunday, March 18th

[dolari]

We'd had plans that evening to have dinner with Dean and Jill again, so we decided to stay local to Austin.

Our morning consisted of what seemed to be the quickest Dim Sum breakfast I'd ever had. Not that it was short on food, not at all, but from the time we sat down to the time we finished, only 20 minutes had passed. I'm used to having it go longer, but we weren't unsatisfied at all.

I took a pic of our menu, then later asked for an actual menu so I could get a good clear shot of the chinese lettering off the menu. I've got a good lead on a recipe for this already thanks to tygerlander and it doens't look hard to make at all. If I can't make it, at least I know what to ask for next time I'm at a Chinese Grocery (more often than you think).

We had planned to go to Bastrop, because Emily was interested in looking at "Street Trackage" which is railroads that were laid on streets. I mentioned that Ausitn used to have some trackage on fourth street, and before we left for Bastrop, we headed down that way.

We ended up spending most of the day downtown, tracking down evidence of loops, spurs and tracks on 4th, 3rd and 2nd street, as well as tons and tons of old railroad loading docks masquerading as patios, restaurants and sidewalks. We even walked on some old trestling where the railraod used togo over Waller Creek (take that, you fear of unstable surfaces at great heights!)

We then flipped around I-35 heading into East Austin where the tracks currently die out, tracing trackage, loops and spurs down that area as well as loading docks and freight doors. EVERYWHERE! Including in spots that my 1977 map didn't show.

We jumped down Perdenales street towards the river, where the power plant is, to see some on-the-road trackage which is no longer used (but is in good shape). We found a manual switch there for the tracks going into the plant. No longer used, but in good shape. We decided we needed to play with it.

Emily is a tiny little thing. Five foot eight, 140 pounds at the most. I'm five foot seven and can fit more than two of her in me. After she'd played around with moving the switch (and don't get me wrong, she's strong as hell), I planted my Big Fat Ass on the across the switch lever and pushed all 280 (I'm so lying about my weight here, which direction is up to you) against that switch and, after about an hour of pushing and pulling and tugging, nearly got the switch latched in place. 90% there. Ah, well, it was fun.

We then moved onto a wye, exloring some of the loops and spurs there...and then it happened.

While stepping off a railtie on to the ground, my foot lightly clipped the edge of a railtie and my foot folded inward. Usually, I'm quick enough to catch this by putting my left leg down quickly to catch my weight (when I do that my ankle will hurt, but only for a few minutes) Unfortuantely, there was no place to polant my foot anywhere, all my weight pushed on that ankle, I heard three snaps, and I fell forward.

For thge next ten minutes I just sat there holding my foot in intense pain and could barely move it at all. We limped back to the truck and after a few more minutes where Emily explored on her own, and I sat in the truck feeling the ankle numb up. After a while it didn't hurt so much, and I was, from there, able to drive into Bastrop.

We saw a few crossings, but no street trackage, and at one point, I had to hit the brakes pretty firmly which cause my ankle all sorts of grief again. We went into Austin, had dinner and ice cream at Freebirds and MArble Slab, and Emily, god bless her, Emily drove us home.

That night, I couldn't sleep with bumping my ankle into something shooting pain up through my leg. Just before bed, I took a Darvocet from my Gall Bladder Emergency and fell asleep.

If it got bad on Monday, I'd go to the Doctor.

Comments

[labrat78.livejournal.com]

Didn't you know that you aren't supposed to play around railroad tracks?

Sorry I couldn't resist and I know how painful one of those are, I have one myself that was torn apart in 1981 and relly has not healed since, in fact as I grow older it gets worse. I now have to wear a brace on it daily at work just to keep it from "wandering" especially when walking on ties and uneven ballast such as what happened to you. I suggest that when you get healed up as best as you can that you get one at the store, Walgreens or Wal-Mart, they are a life-saver to have around.

I am surprised you got the switch to line at all. Most switches bind up in no time without maintainence. They have to at least be greased just to make them move and line properly.

Old railroad tracks are neat to look at and trace. I call it railroad archeology. What is really fun is if you can find an old roadbed and follow it and find out why it was abandoned and who built it.

I really do hope ya get better

hugs

Traci

[jenndolari.livejournal.com]

>I now have to wear a brace on it daily at work just to keep it from
>"wandering" especially when walking on ties and uneven ballast such as what
>happened to you. I suggest that when you get healed up as best as you can
>that you get one at the store, Walgreens or Wal-Mart, they are a life-saver
>to have around.

::nods:: This upcoming paycheck is going to have an air-cast from Amazon.com, just like I had in middleschool. I loved that thing, mom threw it away....

>I am surprised you got the switch to line at all. Most switches bind up in
>no time without maintainence. They have to at least be greased just to make
>them move and line properly.

This was in a park, on some abandonned lines. I'm sure they were actually cleaned up and made usable for the kiddies (like me!)

>Old railroad tracks are neat to look at and trace. I call it railroad
>archeology. What is really fun is if you can find an old roadbed and follow
>it and find out why it was abandoned and who built it.

That's what we did for three days! Followed the old Fredericksburg and Northern, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass and M-K-T lines. :)

And various loops and spurs. :D

[labrat78.livejournal.com]

You'd have a ball up here. Where I am from there are tons of old trolley lines scattered all over. Thats how folks got from the mines to the towns. When the mines played out they did too as well as a lot of freight branches.

I have an old map of the MKT that I got while in Sedelia , Missouri. There they have turned the old Katy depot into a museum and this map reproduction they sell is dated 1923.

Part of our Texas Subdivision from Greenville to Karnack is actually old MKT track that they sold to us in 1923 after they emerged from bankruptcy.

Traci

[shadow-mib.livejournal.com]

Get that ankle looked at. I popped mine playing vollyball when i was 17 and it hasn't been the same since.

[http://users.livejournal.com/strangelv__/]

I seem to remember some tracks on probably Oak near the town square in Denton, but that was more than 25 years ago, maybe 30. May still be there, under inches of asphalt...