Dan Silbaugh

A smiling DSilbizzy standing in front of a steam locomotive undergoing restoration.

An oil firing valve attached to the boiler of a steam locomotive with a cutout for the water glass valve.

Inside the cab of a mostly disassembled steam locomotives. The hydrostatic lubricator has been relocated higher up and farther forward to aid in the lubrication of the cylinders, and improve the ergonomics of the cab.

As promised: Played with TRAIN!

Obligatory selfie, plus some details. Mounted the oil firing valve, relocated the hydrostatic lubricator, among other things today.

A smiling DSilbizzy with a Mohawk stands in front of a decent sized lathe on a trailer, in front of the stone Como roundhouse. There is a little snow on the ground (about 1”) and the roundhouse doors are all closed.

Well preparing to play with trains more today. Today I hauled a donated old lathe, a really nice Regal LeBlond 19” lathe up to the roundhouse. Tomorrow we will unload it and start setting it up, plus other train fun!

I mean I could change my mind, but both of those are BIG projects, and getting the days off I want is just worth a lot more than the money I’d get by upgrading right now.

The vast majority of pilots who put off upgrade are in a similar situation.

And those reserve days would be wherever I could hold (which isn’t much as a captain) so invariably I’d be working on days I would rather be home.

For the schedule, I’m staying out as an FO with great seniority until a couple big projects are done—finishing my house and restoring a train.

It’s just that good what I can hold every month.

If I were a captain on say the 757, I’d be pretty senior too, but it doesn’t have as good of schedules to choose from for us. Or if I weee a captain on the same plane I’m on, I’d be on reserve. Not just not getting what I wanted, but reserve.

I think I got my 3rd choice once last year. Maybe. Which means that amongst the lines offered in the monthly bid pack, I pick the one or three that get me all the days off I want, and I get that. We can trip trade to improve our schedules, but I don’t—because I cannot improve it.

I’ll give you my answer. Me: an FO on a wide body fleet, who could have held any position in the company (including 777 Captain) if I had wanted.

I bid around 20% in my seat, which is a smaller fleet of our wide body aircraft. But when I get the monthly bid pack, I get my 1st or 2nd choice.

I’m SOOOO glad my taxes are paying for this. /s

“Us. We’re the ones who paid for the bombs. Us. We build the planes that they’re on. Us.” —Sweatshop Union

Boy that’s some hopium. “In case we get same”. It’s EWR and they are handing our EFCs. You’re getting one too, buddy.

If a single passenger had demanded to be let off, we would have had to deplane everyone. Would have been a big mess. But everyone was cool, and we were out of there in maybe 30 minutes for our ridiculously long pattern into EWR.

So yeah, these things happen. Hope everyone is safe!

With no station there, it turned into a minor goat rope. Took almost an hour for the company to arrange for us to pull into an FBO for fuel, and the only one allowed off was me (the captain) to sign for the fuel and get a new release.

We were then told to go around and state intentions. Which it was a beautifully clear night, so we had been dispatched with maybe 20 extra minutes of fuel. Maybe. We elected to go to JFK. Now, the WEEK before United had pulled out of JFK entirely.

These things happen. I was once just over Teterboro when a 757 landed in front of us and got a fire indication or something. We heard them declare and state that they would evacuate on the runway, and we watched the slides come out.

I love my many phases of Grinch shirt. It’s so comfy. Plus grünch!

That’s a good airplane to have. Just knowing how delicious the bread and cheese they just served is makes it an even better airplane.

I once went through the Owens valley, including camping out a bit before I realized why all the SPNG books talked about the Owens Valley, and suddenly I got it. It’s a magical place, right up there with the South Park in my book for really amazing landscapes and sunsets and stars.

Why, I DO need some Hepcat in the CD collection, AND I’m sure I have to go to town next week at some point….

Shoot. Stone silent might be even more epic.

Sounds like it was worth it.

I mean, you could have yelled “let’s test that theory” while throwing the desk and it would have been *chef’s kiss.*

I love it.

BB is awfully quiet, isn’t he? Guarantee there’ll be a Duffy in front of the cameras day today.

Damn straight. I will note however, that the “pride” side of the scale is FAR from empty. Seeing people in MN especially fighting back is really heartening. And they are far from the only ones, just our elected class is failing us all miserably right now.

You know when Descendents sang “I’m proud and ashamed, every Fourth of July?” I feel like our country is wildly overfilling the “ashamed” side of the scale lately.

That does sound like a great time. Like, really, really great. Ugh.

I just want say thank you Erik for posting such digestible Labor History stories.

A crooked smile from DSilbizzy with a gorgeous pink sunset over the South Park, with Kenosha Pass in the distance. In the foreground, there’s a turntable, and some railroad tracks. Twobold railroad cars are also in the background.

Looking in the front of a steam locomotive boiler. The front tube sheet has 136 holes for flues, and the sheet has just had its welds completed.

A smiling guy wearing safety glasses and a little Mohawk stands in front of a narrow gauge steam locomotive undergoing restoration. On the backhead, a guy is welding or grinding on the boiler.

One more day or trains! First, the sunset in the South Park was unreal tonight. The new front tube sheet is fully welded in. And bonus selfie while Scott welds a stud on the backhead for me.

A smiling DSilbizzy standing in front of a partially disassembled steam locomotive undergoing a rebuild.

DSilbizzy (with a Mohawk and safety glasses) pointing out the tapered valve stem rod wedge.

More roundhouse shenanigans! More welding on the tube sheet by the welding crew, and meanwhile I did somebody’s and ends, like finished making tapered wedges for the valve stem rods.

A smiling guy named Dan with safety glasses and a Mohawk standing in front of a boiler with a front tube sheet about to get welded in.

Today’s Roundhouse shenanigans. If you know—you know today was a big day. Literal months of planning and work came together for this picture.

Yessir! If I play my cards right, it stays until march, or maybe may if I’m feeling real saucy. 🤘

Also for anyone who needs to know, the roundhouse is jamming with The Slackers today.

Middle aged guy with a small Mohawk, wearing safety glasses standing in front of a steam locomotive getting rebuilt.

Yep! Old guy playing with trains pretty much all week!