Down by the River
After a wonderfully delicious dinner at Fribley on Friday night (properly cooked rice and pineapple teriyaki sauce make anything delicious), Paul S., Luther W., and I decided to explore some of downtown Cleveland.
After a quick train ride to Tower City, we set out to explore the banks of the Cuyahoga. On our way down to the river, we passed by a coal power plant. As our luck would have it, a coal train had just arrived to deliver a fresh supply of coal to the plant. Interested in seeing how these huge machines work, the three of us went to see if we could learn more from a train operator.
We were fortunate enough to get a chance to talk with one of the engineers who hopped out of the engine car to flip a track switch. After finding out some basic information (the engine car weighs 200 tons, each coal car weighs about 100 tons), Luther inquired about what the box, covered in lights and switches, around the engineers neck was. We received the answer of "...a remote control."
Apparently most freight trains are now operated by remote control with the engineer being able to stand outside the train. This blew my mind; I never imagined such a huge piece of machinery being controlled by a joystick.
Soon the engineers (two for the whole train) had to get back to work, and we continued walking around the riverfront. We walked around an industrial district and stumbled upon some cool factories and no longer functioning bridges. After some walking around, we got to a bend in the river where we could see downtown Cleveland all lit up by lights. I really wish I had brought a tripod with me becasue the dusk sky colors behind skyscrapers was really beautiful. The best shot I could get was of the Federal Court building above.
Soon after I got the shot above, the sky was being lit up with lighting more and more frequently. By that time the three of us decided it would be good to start heading back to the dorms.
We made it back to the E 120th street station just in time to get soaked with a sudden downpour. Fortunately, we all were equipped with rain gear and made it back to the rooms without getting too soaked. Having had an exciting and tiring night (lots of walking around the river), we decided to go to a party and keep ourselves entertained with bar puzzles and Rubiks' cubes.
After a quick train ride to Tower City, we set out to explore the banks of the Cuyahoga. On our way down to the river, we passed by a coal power plant. As our luck would have it, a coal train had just arrived to deliver a fresh supply of coal to the plant. Interested in seeing how these huge machines work, the three of us went to see if we could learn more from a train operator.
We were fortunate enough to get a chance to talk with one of the engineers who hopped out of the engine car to flip a track switch. After finding out some basic information (the engine car weighs 200 tons, each coal car weighs about 100 tons), Luther inquired about what the box, covered in lights and switches, around the engineers neck was. We received the answer of "...a remote control."
Apparently most freight trains are now operated by remote control with the engineer being able to stand outside the train. This blew my mind; I never imagined such a huge piece of machinery being controlled by a joystick.
Soon the engineers (two for the whole train) had to get back to work, and we continued walking around the riverfront. We walked around an industrial district and stumbled upon some cool factories and no longer functioning bridges. After some walking around, we got to a bend in the river where we could see downtown Cleveland all lit up by lights. I really wish I had brought a tripod with me becasue the dusk sky colors behind skyscrapers was really beautiful. The best shot I could get was of the Federal Court building above.
Soon after I got the shot above, the sky was being lit up with lighting more and more frequently. By that time the three of us decided it would be good to start heading back to the dorms.
We made it back to the E 120th street station just in time to get soaked with a sudden downpour. Fortunately, we all were equipped with rain gear and made it back to the rooms without getting too soaked. Having had an exciting and tiring night (lots of walking around the river), we decided to go to a party and keep ourselves entertained with bar puzzles and Rubiks' cubes.
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