Good one Dave. Its nice being in railroading. So many different interesting things going on. In my early days as an apprentice i would look at a clerk sitting at his desk all day pushing a pencil and I would shudder. Not for me. Ok sone guys like it but for me the open air is just great. Some of my time i spent in an automatic telephone exchange. Work was ok but the confinement wad terrible. First chance i got i moved on. Became an Apprentice Tutor. Hell of another nature.
Thank you Bill really glad you are enjoying these. I started out from high school wanting to be a draftsman, after 2 college semesters I went to my parents and told them a desk job is not for me the rest of my life. So I perfectly understand where you are coming from.
When you first introduced Richard, I thought you said he was an *apprentice* loader operator instead of *Prentiss* loader operator. Then you said that he was 70, which immediately cleared up my confusion!
Haha - I thought the same until he said he was 70. I thought “wow, he’s 70 and only an apprentice; why would Dave have said he was the best apprentice?” Then I was like OH… :-)
I know about the weight of those ties. One time the supervisor gave me about 15 of the old ones they took out of the mainline here in Fresno about 6 years ago, because the apartments where I lived went right up to the railroad property. I told the supervisor I needed a few to fix the back yard fences on the complex units. (Each unit had a little fenced in yard/patio area). I used a shopping cart to move each one to where I needed to use them.
You mentioned that you’ll weld the blanks onto pieces with the holes drilled. Will you do that with the thermite rail welding setup, or are there other ways you weld rail? I know the big continuous rail laying machines have enormous electric welders built into them that butt-weld the pieces together, but I’m curious if there’s some other method besides thermite that you’d use when you have a bunch of sections to do like this. (It’s also interesting to me that it’s easier to cut and weld, vs just punching the holes yourselves. I was at a local steel yard a few years back and saw them punching holes in I-beams. It was kinda amazing, they had this little (well, pretty hefty, actually) hydraulic punch that they’d just position where they wanted the hole to go and then feed it the hydraulic fluid. It’d chug away for a few seconds (maybe 10-12 or so?) and then there’d be a loud “POING” and the plug would pop out. It was a very fast and efficient way of making holes, even in 1/2-3/4” steel. I guess the downside is that it needs hydraulics and the unit itself was pretty heavy - they had to use a hoist to position it. Still, I’d think it would be easier to have one of those and just punch holes in the rail in the yard ahead of time, vs all that cutting and welding.)
All we have ever done is thermite Dave, some RR's use flash butt welding. I never saw that type of machine to make holes, bet it wasa awesome, we use a rail drill which is pretty quick, an old timer RR man told me he used to shoot holes in rail with a rifle! Appreciate your watching sir
I used to operate a truck just like that,I would never load over the cab like that always from the back.One rail on each side,one at a time equal the load.Always grab the center of the rail.
The cab has a headache rack that the rail sits on so you have to put rail over the cab anyways. Putting two rails weighing around 3000 pounds total on one side will do nothing when loading the truck. A truck like that can handle over a 15000 payload.
I may not be the first to ask, but why do you folks handle that rail so many times? Couldn't you just load it the first time on a flatcar and leave it on a siding until you need it?
Not yet Tony, sometime way in the future I'll do one. All rail comes straight, then we bolt one joint together and use lining bars to bend the rail, it's really easier than you might think. On sharper degree curves usually takes 2 or 3 guys using the bars. Some transit rails are however pre bent for really sharp degree turnouts and cross overs. Very good question you have posed and one that I wonder why more folks aren't asking. Way back when I started RR I thought the curved rail came that way, but it doesn't
@@ccrx6700 Thank you! It would be interesting to see what formula is used to figure the degree of the curve and how the rails are bent on site. I've walked many miles along the tracks and that one question always popped into my mind. I'll be watching for a future video. Thanks again!
@@tonyf.8858 gonna have a vid out sometime this fall on the narrow gage track we are volunteering rebuilding that shows you how to figure degree of curvature. It simple, take a 62 foot string line from the rail head, then at mid ordinate, 31 feet, measure out to the string line, that gives a fairly close figure for degree of curve
That huge rail section, all being twisted around...it's like a scene from a 3 Stooges sketch! Imagine Curley controlling the crane, and Moe and Shemp standing truckside... Why does every piece of equipment you use have the ability top kill a man in at least a dozen gruesome ways? You sir deserve a tip of the cap and a free beer for the work you do.
Much respect for Richard and yourself, they don’t make them like you guy’s much anymore! Please stay safe and and always be awesome 😎
Thank you Michael, glad you liked watching
That's a fact. Sad to say the way the world is going, everything may become mechanized in the not too distant future.
Nice I love it
Great to hear Ruben, so glad you enjoyed and we do appreciate
your watching the show today my good man.
We had to use a shop crain to load the rail on the railroad i used to work for.
Gotta use what you got to get the job done Jason, appreciate
your writing in and for watching sir
Another great video
Thank you Donald!
Good one Dave. Its nice being in railroading. So many different interesting things going on. In my early days as an apprentice i would look at a clerk sitting at his desk all day pushing a pencil and I would shudder. Not for me. Ok sone guys like it but for me the open air is just great. Some of my time i spent in an automatic telephone exchange. Work was ok but the confinement wad terrible. First chance i got i moved on. Became an Apprentice Tutor. Hell of another nature.
Thank you Bill really glad you are enjoying these. I started out from high school wanting to be a draftsman, after 2 college semesters I went to my parents and told them a desk job is not for me the rest of my life. So I perfectly understand where you are coming from.
Keeping on going that's the only way to do it.
When you first introduced Richard, I thought you said he was an *apprentice* loader operator instead of *Prentiss* loader operator. Then you said that he was 70, which immediately cleared up my confusion!
Ohhhhhhhh!... Thank you. Now I get it. Man, I've been confused by that every video he mentions it. Now it all makes sense.
Nice. 71 years and still an apprentice.
Haha - I thought the same until he said he was 70. I thought “wow, he’s 70 and only an apprentice; why would Dave have said he was the best apprentice?” Then I was like OH… :-)
Wow didn’t realize the rails weighed that much. Interesting.
There you have it and now you know Alaina. Thank you my friend.
I know about the weight of those ties. One time the supervisor gave me about 15 of the old ones they took out of the mainline here in Fresno about 6 years ago, because the apartments where I lived went right up to the railroad property. I told the supervisor I needed a few to fix the back yard fences on the complex units. (Each unit had a little fenced in yard/patio area). I used a shopping cart to move each one to where I needed to use them.
They ain't easy drag round by hand, we have tie tongs which help, they like giant ice picks
Each stick of rail is 39 foot in length and weighs 1740 pounds, 132 pound rail, which means it weighs 132 pounds every 3 feet
You mentioned that you’ll weld the blanks onto pieces with the holes drilled. Will you do that with the thermite rail welding setup, or are there other ways you weld rail? I know the big continuous rail laying machines have enormous electric welders built into them that butt-weld the pieces together, but I’m curious if there’s some other method besides thermite that you’d use when you have a bunch of sections to do like this.
(It’s also interesting to me that it’s easier to cut and weld, vs just punching the holes yourselves. I was at a local steel yard a few years back and saw them punching holes in I-beams. It was kinda amazing, they had this little (well, pretty hefty, actually) hydraulic punch that they’d just position where they wanted the hole to go and then feed it the hydraulic fluid. It’d chug away for a few seconds (maybe 10-12 or so?) and then there’d be a loud “POING” and the plug would pop out. It was a very fast and efficient way of making holes, even in 1/2-3/4” steel. I guess the downside is that it needs hydraulics and the unit itself was pretty heavy - they had to use a hoist to position it. Still, I’d think it would be easier to have one of those and just punch holes in the rail in the yard ahead of time, vs all that cutting and welding.)
All we have ever done is thermite Dave, some RR's use flash butt welding. I never saw that type of machine to make holes, bet it
wasa awesome, we use a rail drill which is pretty quick, an old timer
RR man told me he used to shoot holes in rail with a rifle! Appreciate your watching sir
I used to operate a truck just like that,I would never load over the cab like that always from the back.One rail on each side,one at a time equal the load.Always grab the center of the rail.
The cab has a headache rack that the rail sits on so you have to put rail over the cab anyways. Putting two rails weighing around 3000 pounds total on one side will do nothing when loading the truck. A truck like that can handle over a 15000 payload.
Wow Dave, it's been three years already?
Time flies by when you're having fun Dennis! I look back and
thing just where did it go. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
I bet he could untie your boots with that grapple!
Lol, I'll be sure tell him your compliment, he will get a real kick out of that one! Thank you Dave for watching
Odd question-----but since you aren't connected to the outside raol world, how were the rails delivered to you? Any idea what a rail costs?
Rails come in via tractor trailer. Last I heard a new 39 foot stick rail
is right around $900 plus trucking, and it is a very good question
I may not be the first to ask, but why do you folks handle that rail so many times? Couldn't you just load it the first time on a flatcar and leave it on a siding until you need it?
Good question Bob. Would be great to do that If we had a flat car but we dont
@@ccrx6700 Maybe you could put that on your Christmas list😁
Is there a video on how you bend the rail to fit the curve? Is it bent at the site or at some factory where they're made and transported to the site?
Not yet Tony, sometime way in the future I'll do one. All rail comes
straight, then we bolt one joint together and use lining bars to bend
the rail, it's really easier than you might think. On sharper degree curves usually takes 2 or 3 guys using the bars. Some transit rails
are however pre bent for really sharp degree turnouts and cross overs.
Very good question you have posed and one that I wonder why more
folks aren't asking. Way back when I started RR I thought the curved
rail came that way, but it doesn't
@@ccrx6700 Thank you! It would be interesting to see what formula is used to figure the degree of the curve and how the rails are bent on site. I've walked many miles along the tracks and that one question always popped into my mind. I'll be watching for a future video. Thanks again!
@@tonyf.8858 gonna have a vid out sometime this fall on the narrow gage track we are volunteering rebuilding that shows you how to figure degree of curvature. It simple, take a 62 foot string line from the rail head, then at mid ordinate, 31 feet, measure out to the string line, that gives a fairly close figure for degree of curve
That huge rail section, all being twisted around...it's like a scene from a 3 Stooges sketch!
Imagine Curley controlling the crane, and Moe and Shemp standing truckside...
Why does every piece of equipment you use have the ability top kill a man in at least a dozen gruesome ways? You sir deserve a tip of the cap and a free beer for the work you do.
How do you determine the rail "size" for the application? For example you are using 132 lb rail. Why not 110 lb rail?