SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

El productor de café Carlos Orlando Santos Gómez, de 58 años, muestra un cultivo de canavalia asociada a una nueva plantación de café resistente a la roya que tiene en su finca en la Comunidad San Jerónimo, Jesús de Otoro, Intibucá, Honduras. La canavalia tiene fijan el nitrógeno en el suelo con sus raíces, sirve como control de malas hierbas y aporta bio masa cuando es cortada y dejada como mulch para conservar la humedad en el suelo. Estas prácticas agrícolas son promovidas por el programa Cosecha Azul de Catholic Relief Services que trabaja con pequeños productores de café para promover prácticas de conservación del suelo y del agua productiva en ellas para alcanzar mayor productividad y resguardar el medio ambiente.

Coffee producer Carlos Orlando Santos Gómez, 58, shows canavalia cover crop associated with a new coffee plantation of a leaf rust resistant variety that he has in his farm at San Jeronimo Community, Jesús de Otoro municipality, Intibucá, Honduras. Canavalia fixes nitrogen its roots on the ground, it serves as weed control and provides biomass when its cut down and serves as moisture retainer in the soil when used as organic mulch. This practices are promoted by Catholic Relief Services Blue Harvest program that works with small holder coffee producers to promote conservation of soils and productive water in them to boost the productivity of the coffee lands and protect the environment.

Anchila, a subsistence farmer from Mwagala village in Tanzania, was struggling to feed her 7 children with their sorghum crop due to poor yield. In 2005 she became involved in a sorghum research programme with The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Department of Research and Development, Ministry of Agriculture,Tanzania (DRD). She received training on sorghum crop husbandry such as planting, spacing, weed control, variety selection criteria and microdosing fertilizer application. Photo: Alina Paul-Bossuet

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

The Alliance for Grassland Renewal provided an educational school to assist producers with successfully converting Kentucky 31 tall fescue to novel endophyte varieties at Wurdack Research Center in Cook Station on April 1. The School began with understanding fescue toxicosis, then walked producers through the conversion process. Conversion topics included establishment practices, fertility needs, smother crops, weed control, stand maintenance and variety selection. The school provided hands-on training for drill calibration in addition to pasture walks to observe different novel endophyte varieties. The workshop is a combination of MU, NRCS, Agribusiness and Producers presentations to give participant the opportunity to get answers to questions from a variety of perspectives and information sources.

Wurdack Farm Manager Brent Booker talks to the crowd about what he had to do to convert the pasture into non-toxic fescue. He also shared the plans the center has for foraging the field.

Photo by Kyle Spradley | © 2014 - Curators of the University of Missouri

Sebastián Jardón, principal assistant to the superintendent at CIMMYT's Toluca experiment station, demonstrates tractor use during a field practice session using tractors with different implements at CIMMYT's new Boximo site, as part of a training course on wheat cropping hosted by CIMMYT at Toluca during 01-05 March 2010. The course was part of an agreement between CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) to collaborate in science and technology transfer. Thirty-three farmer leaders with high levels of knowledge and skills participated, from different wheat producing areas in Mexico, with the expectation that they would share what they learned with other farmers in their respective production areas.

Toluca station superintendent Fernando Delgado conducted the course, covering land preparation, planting alternatives, weed control, efficient use of planting machinery, and diverse farming implements. A second course held in August 2010 focused on crop management, identification of common plant diseases, seed health, and grain quality.

Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.

For more information, see CIMMYT's blog story at: blog.cimmyt.org/index.php/2010/03/wheat-cropping-course/.

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

A farmer checks measurements during a practical session using tractors with different implements, part of a training course on wheat cropping hosted by CIMMYT at its Toluca experiment station during 01-05 March 2010. The course was part of an agreement between CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) to collaborate in science and technology transfer. Thirty-three farmer leaders with high levels of knowledge and skills participated, from different wheat producing areas in Mexico, with the expectation that they would share what they learned with other farmers in their respective production areas.

Toluca station superintendent Fernando Delgado conducted the course, covering land preparation, planting alternatives, weed control, efficient use of planting machinery, and diverse farming implements. A second course held in August 2010 focused on crop management, identification of common plant diseases, seed health, and grain quality.

Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.

For more information, see CIMMYT's blog story at: blog.cimmyt.org/index.php/2010/03/wheat-cropping-course/.

Lowland rice weeds / POACEAE (grass family)

Weed name: Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees

books.google.com.ph/books/irri?id=tqRtCQ9WMLUC&pg=PA2...

Part of the image collection of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

Dr. Mark Williams,Horticulture Professor in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, discusses weed contol and the stale seedbed cultivator he is standing on during the Cultivation and Weed Control Field Day at the University of Kentucky Organic Farming Unit, part of the UK Horticulture Research Farm in south Lexington.

Wannian traditional rice is a remarkable old and prototype variety, firstly grown in Heqiao village during the North and South Dynasty (420 AD - 589 AD). Formerly called “Wuyuanzao”, this rice is now commonly known as “Manggu”. Wannian rice varieties can only thrive in Heqiao Village due to its combination of cold spring water, special soil conditions and climate which is only found in this village.

In Asia fish farming in wet rice fields has a long history. A Chinese clay plate dating to the Han Dynasty 2000 years ago shows a fish swimming from its pond into a rice field.

Ecological symbiosis exists in the traditional rice-fish agricultural system: fish provides fertilizer to rice, regulates micro-climatic conditions, softens the soil, disturbs the water, and eats larvae and weeds in the flooded fields; rice provides shade and food for fish.

Furthermore, multiple products and ecological services from the co-ecosystems are beneficial to local farmers and the environment. The high quality food of fish and rice are helpful to maintain farmers’ nutrient and living standard: the reduced cost and labor increases the productive efficiency, and, especially by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides for insect and weed control, helps in agro-biological conservation and field environmental protection. The rice-fish system in Longxian village of Zhejiang province demonstrates an ingenious approach to generating ecological, economic and social benefits through encouraging essential ecological functions.

Photo credit must be given: © FAO/Min Qingwen

More information:

Wannian Traditional Rice Culture, China

This herd of goats were out doing their thing on the hill above Shaganappi Trail last month.

Class 20 No.20904 Janis at Ipswich on 9th July 1997 with a weed control train.New as D8041 at 32A Norwich on 6th November 1959 and under TOPS became 20041 in april 1974 and withdrawn on 27th November 1988.Sold to Hunslet Barclay and renumbered to 20904 on 29th March 1989.Sold to Harry Needle in November 2004 and moved to Corus Steel works Scunthorpe for use internaly on 10th April 2006.The chopper is currently stored at Nemesis Rail Burton on Trent.

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

Specialist remote area weed controllers from Wild Rivers Environmental Contractors, spraying Prickly Pear, while abseiling, at the Molonglo Gorge Forest Reserve.

Prickly Pears (Opuntioid Cacti) are Weeds of National Significance because of the serious impact they have on native vegetation and agriculture. At this site the Prickly Pear was starting to spread rapidly along the Gorge , so it was time to act and destroy the infestations.

Many thanks to the Wild Rivers crew and Chris Condon from ACT Parks and Conservation Service for their hard work controlling this environmental weed under difficult conditions.

Photo by: L. Padgham, ACT Parks and Conservation Service

A farmer practices tractor operation in the field during a practical session using tractors with different implements, part of a training course on wheat cropping hosted by CIMMYT at its Toluca experiment station during 01-05 March 2010. The course was part of an agreement between CIMMYT and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food (SAGARPA) to collaborate in science and technology transfer. Thirty-three farmer leaders with high levels of knowledge and skills participated, from different wheat producing areas in Mexico, with the expectation that they would share what they learned with other farmers in their respective production areas.

Toluca station superintendent Fernando Delgado conducted the course, covering land preparation, planting alternatives, weed control, efficient use of planting machinery, and diverse farming implements. A second course held in August 2010 focused on crop management, identification of common plant diseases, seed health, and grain quality.

Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.

For more information, see CIMMYT's blog story at: blog.cimmyt.org/index.php/2010/03/wheat-cropping-course/.

non-woven landscaping (ground cover, weed control) membrane, weatherings, encrustations and other cumulative stutterings and insults

Niihama / Cambridge

20 August 2018

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

Not sure "'elf & safety" would approve of this form of token exchange - no hard hat, high-viz clothing or safety harness for this signalman as 104 enters Ballymena with the weed control train.

No doubt everybody survived to enjoy their well-earned retirement.

All photographs are my copyright and must not be used without permission. Unauthorised use will result in my invoicing you £1,500 per photograph and, if necessary, taking legal action for recovery.

37423 Spirit of the Lakes

at Ipswich with a test train 9481,977997,5981,1256 and 37610. 21/10/2011. Looks like a little weed control is required.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

A kerosine flamegun - Sheen x300.

I have a lot of gravel around the house and I dont like using herbicides (but do use them) for weed control so this is a great alternative. It should also be great for clearing raised beds.

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

Aerial images of Bradford Research Center in Columbia.

Bradford Research Center has the largest concentration of research plots in crops, soils and related disciplines in Missouri. As a laboratory, faculty and students investigate wastewater management; entomology, pest and weed control; alternative crops; organic transition techniques and the impact of hailstorms. Bradford engages the community through workshops, field days, native plants and pumpkin giveaways, corn mazes and the annual Tomato Festival, held around the first of September. The research center also partners with University organizations, including Campus Dining Services, to improve MU’s sustainability. | © 2013 - Curators of the University of Missouri

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

This bush adorns a median street in Albuquerque. Like the vast majority of plants and trees found on Albuquerque’s medians, it is drought tolerant but also supported by drip irrigation. The city has done a very good job of landscaping medians. Weed control is a big problem for the city but medians with weed barriers, drip irrigation, rock mulch and drought tolerant plants like this help the predicament. I did a Google image search and the closest one I found was Undaunted‰̣ۡå¢ Ruby Muhly Grass

Muhlenbergia reverchonii. If I found the wrong name identifier , kindly please advise.

Regarding the title:no offence to the Don King intended, but the hairstyle draws the obvious comparison.

104 and the weed control train pause in Ballymena before heading for Belfast York Road.

All photographs are my copyright and must not be used without permission. Unauthorised use will result in my invoicing you £1,500 per photograph and, if necessary, taking legal action for recovery.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

SF Bay RR, 21 June 2018

The San Francisco Bay RR operates on the southeast side of San Francisco on and near the port. It uses two Alco S2 switchers that were built for the State Belt RR, later the San Francisco Belt RR, the line that served the piers of the Port of San Francisco for many years.

As shipping companies moved to containerization, the Port of Oakland became the big northern California container terminal and most of the piers of the Port of San Francisco were abandoned or converted to uses other than marine freight, so the SF Belt RR found itself out of a job. After 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Embarcadero Freeway, which had run over the SF Belt for most of its length, the freeway was removed, opening up San Francisco's waterfront and much of the Belt's trackage as converted for use by the Muni F line, which runs historic streetcars to Fishermen's Wharf, and the Muni lines that now server the Caltrain station.

Meanwhile, Pier 96, near Hunter's Point was converted to a container facility and the railroad's operations survived there. The line was renamed the San Francisco Bay RR and continued to use Alco S2s 23 and 25 to switch its customers.

Today, the railroad's main business is transloading dirty dirt from constructions and clean up sites in the Bay Area from trucks to railcars. It is owned by Waste Solutions Group, which also owns a fleet of hopper cars. The SF Bay and UP interchange on an as needed basis, with UP's South City job running into the SF Bay's yard on Cargo Way with empties and taking away loads.

A couple of railfans, Ryan and Ben, work for the railroad and Ryan invited me to come by for a visit. I had stopped by one afternoon a couple of years ago, and lucked out to see an S2 running around the yard a bit, but the railrroad usually goes on duty betweeen 4 and 5 am, switches cars for a few hours and then is done for the day. So, a visit to the SF Bay from Sacramento entailed a night in a hotel. It took a few tries for me to get time off from work scheduled on the same day the railroad was running.

Eventually, it all lined up and my alarm went off at 0315 at a hotel in Daly City, just south of the SF city limit.

I was at the yard by 4 and met Ben, who went out and started Alco 23. 25 is out of service with a bad bearing on the radiator fan drive shaft. Ryan explained that the SF Belt had done a jerry rigged repair of the shaft at some point and it was never documented, so nobody knew about the bearing until it failed. As a new low emission unit will be delivered in the next few months, there is no reason to repair 25. 25 will be put on display somewhere, perhaps near the Ferry Building, while 23 will be held as backup for the new unit.

But for now, an S2 built in 1944 is doing the job it was built to do. If you think about it, that is as though the Virginia and Truckee had still been using the Reno and Genoa during WW2.

Shorty after I got there, Ben went out and fired up the 23. It has a block heater, so it started easily with a puff of white smoke. He did an inspection of the engine, including checking the journal boxes. We then went back into the office and waited for Ryan, brakeman Johnny, and engineer Nick to arrive. The crew plotted their switching moves for the day. Ryan, who is yard operations manager, suggested that I get some blue hour photos from the ground as empties were switched and then we rode 23 while they switched loads.

Each car has dirt from one particular construction site and the dirt from sites cannot be mixed as different sites will have different contamination. UP ships it to a dump site in Nevada, where it is processed. Ryan explained that sometimes they can use dividers in a car to separate dirt from different projects if there is not that much.

Right now transshipping dirty dirt is the SF Bay's only business, but there a couple of other industries are interested in bringing new business. The line that crosses the Illinois St. bridge has been out of service for a couple of years as there currently no customers north of Islais Creek.

We rode the S2 for a while after the day brightened, then got down and Ryan drove me around in a company car to get some more angles as they switched. He then had other work to do and I shot the end of 23's work day as well as 25, some spare Alco parts and another project of Waste Solutions, goats that are leased out for natural weed control. Ryan said that since Waste Solutions got more cars, they can't use their goats as much for weed control in the yard as most of the yard tracks are occupied.

The crew called it a day for switching about 0800 and then would be doing other work in the yard for the rest of their work day.

All of these photos were taken with permission after signing a release and while wearing required PPE.

I want to than Ryan, Ben, Johnny and Nick for their hospitality. I had a great time.

While the Kingscourt line did get an annual visit from the weed control train, that was not evident around Castletown. 131 & 162 approach Castletown station with their Kingscourt - Drogheda gypsum.

All photographs are my copyright and must not be used without permission. Unauthorised use will result in my invoicing you £1,500 per photograph and, if necessary, taking legal action for recovery.

Tree Ring Spraying. October 2017. Photos by Tony Ventouris.

Dr. Jason Norsworthy, Division of Agriculture weed scientist, right, and graduate student Michael Houston examine soybeans used as biodetectors in a dicamba volatility study. The project also uses electronic sensors to detect dicamba in the air over a field treated with the herbicide. Norsworthy said the soybeans are more sensitive than the electronic sensors and cupping of the leaves could indicte volatized dicamba even if the sensors don't show any in the air.

Division of Agriculture photo by Fred Miller.

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

On June 8 at 5:00 p.m., 409 yearling domestic goats were off-loaded on the Bozeman Fish Technology Center (BFTC) campus. Thus begins a 3-4 year project of monitored targeted grazing and applications of friendly insects to control noxious weeds and manage brush overgrowth on property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BFTC.

Purposes of this effort are to reduce the presence of undesirable vegetation, promote restoration of native plants, and assist with fire protection by reducing burnable plant biomass.

The cooperative venture involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Outdoor Science School, Friends of the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, U.S. Forest Service, and Prescriptive Livestock Services. Integrated Weed Control is supplying the insects as an in-kind contribution to the project, and has applied insects on the BFTC’s "hot spots" in previous years.

Photo credit: Eli Cureton / USFWS

With all the gates to open and close south of Kingsbog Junction, it was not difficult to get ahead of 104 for a final shot of the weed control train crossing Bleach Green Viaduct.

All photographs are my copyright and must not be used without permission. Unauthorised use will result in my invoicing you £1,500 per photograph and, if necessary, taking legal action for recovery.