All Rail is Not Created Equal! Here's Why!
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- When most people watch trains go by they don't think about the rail itself but rail is almost as diverse as the industry it serves. There are different types, sizes and functions and different ways the rail is laid, put together, maintained and changed out.
So join me for as much an explanation of rail as a signal guy can give!
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Bakersfield yard GPS 35d 23" 11"N 119d 00' 53"W
Famoso GPS 35d 36' 12"N 119d 12' 34"W
I'm not even a "train" guy, but I find RR stuff interesting due to it's history in building our country. Thanks for taking the time to make these vids!
My pleasure! Stay tuned, much more to come!
working for passenger rail is much less glamous. haveing people hide in the bathroom lol
Nice stuff, MCMc. Been around or near RRs all my life, but you showed me stuff that I didn't even know that I didn't know! Thank you for sharing!
Merely a point of information and not trying to out-do anyone, I'm a retired engineer. As a young kid, I worked in an amusement park with a 12" gauge steam railroad. They used both 8 lb and 12 lb steel rail that was salvaged from local coal operations.
Also, while watching a steam powered sawmill in action, I noticed the log carriage was rolling back and forth on actual 2 lb steel rail. Live steam models generally run 9n extruded aluminum rail, but as models have grown in size, they have turned to using 1" tall rolled steel rail, not sure of it's weight.
Thanks for the informative videos, I'm sure that non-railroaders find them very beneficial!
Since making this video I've run across, in reading and research, about standard guage lines over time running on rail as light as 30 pounds! That seems pretty sketchy but I guess they worked with what they had!
Where do you do your live steam? I'd love to do a piece on that when the world opens up again!
Being offered new information is never upstaging. I love learning!
Thanks for checking it out!
Great information. We at the Orange Empire railway museum in Perris CA are using jointed rail obviously. We just picked up about 1000 feet of 112 pound rail for the museum at the old Kimberly Clark facility in Fullerton. It was my first experience doing the removal about two weeks ago, of the rail, spikes, ties, tie plates & joint bars as well as the anchors or anti creeper. We’ve got quite a selection of hardware at the museum but can always use more. As well as ties we were able to collect about 300 plus hardwood ties, from this project.
I LOVE your museum! I hope you caught the piece I did there during our visit on Memorial Day weekend.
I was a trackman in the 1970's.In the training video they showed not to sit on the rail at a joint.When the rail heats up and expands the joints will slam together,taking a half moon out of your butt.We used mostly 127 lb rail.The new rail would come in quarter mile sections.They would roll the rail off a train beside the track and use backhoes to straighten the long snake out.
When I was a kid I worked on an amusement park railroad built by my stepfather. It was built in the 50's and 60's just West of Albany, N.Y. It ran on 12 lb. per yard rail supposedly salvaged from mines in the West. When the railroad expanded the rail was 16 lb. also supposedly salvaged. I doubted that because it was dead straight when it arrived on the truck. The bigger rail was much more difficult to work and to bend around the curves. You should cut 10 : 1 switch points in this stuff by hand. They take a couple of after school days each.
A couple of years ago a relatively local Maine 2 foot gauge railroad, the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington in Alna, Maine bought a huge amount of 54 lb. Rail. This is heavier than they need but it was cheap. It came from a siding somewhere out West. That is a great railroad museum with several operating steam engines.
When the original Maine two-foot railroad was laid, they used 20 lb rail.
In New Zealand , like UK. we refer to "Fish Plates" . For rail to sleeper (tie) fastening we use Pandrol Clips. Under the rail is the Pandrol plate with an eye for the clip. The plate is attached to the sleeper with screw fasteners. Concrete sleepers have the plate cast in. A plastic pad is installed between the plate and under-side of the rail.
David Field
You are a legend, good sir! I'm learning an incredible amount from your videos! Thanks for posting all of this!
My pleasure! I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for checking it out!
EXCELLENT --- informative. I would like you to look into:
1. Homeless tent encampments along the tracks in between Bakersfield and Fresno, such as in Tulare.
2. The train accidents
in the SJV area such as the death yesterday in Tulare of a homeless person and his dog on the tracks.
3. The train explosion accidents in Goshen in recent months.
4. The Tulare derailment of an entire train from its tracks, which threw the train onto a field. The field is now a homeless encampment. Some tents are only feet away from the same tracks, where they could get killed. Was the "Why" ever found for the derailment? Was it then fixed?
5. Accidents caused by railway track construction or aging parts coming apart at the level of nuts and bolts.
6. The abandoned train cars along homeless encampments in Tulare
and in industrial regions and truck stops in Goshen.
7. La Bestia (The Beast), the train from across the border that smuggles people. The cars are painted with very recognizable art designs. An entire line of them was parked in a side track in Goshen last week under the overpass where silos load grain onto train cars nearby.
8. That very, very, very long train from Bakersfield heading north was mainly tankers of gas. Is there any reason why that train never has gone east and only north, as you mentioned?
Does that gas go to shipping ports to sail to Russia and China? Does Bakersfield send gas to our East Coast and Deep South where they are
totally out of gas due to the Russian cyber attack of Colonial Pipeline two weeks ago?
*************************
MY BACKYARD WAS LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO AND TOUCHING A RAISED TRAIN TRACK IN FRESNO. I GREW UP THROWING BREAD UP TO HOBOS ON TOP OF TRAINS. EVERY DETAIL OF TRAINS FASCINATES ME. MY NEIGHBOR OWNED TOM'S TRAINS, ORIGINALLY A TINY SHOP IN HIS HOUSE. THANK YOU FOR OFFERING TO LOOK INTO OUR QUESTIONS.🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃
In the Netherlands (and most of Europe) we use UIC 54 Rail - weight is 54 kg per meter.
In addition, the NP 46 is still often used on older tracks (46 kg/m.)
UIC 60 is sometimes used for heavy freight train tracks.
(54 kg/m ~ 109 lbs / yard ?)
I really never knew I was so interested in trains and what makes them tick. I’m subscribed and going to get learning. Thank you for taking the time to show all of us how this all works.
My pleasure and thanks for checking it out!
This was really interesting. I’m going to be down in the Valley tomorrow and hopefully can identify some different types of rail (safely, of course).
What a great video! It's obvious you know your stuff.
Can't wait to check out your other videos...Great stuff to reflect on while sitting at a RR crossing.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have two How Things Work playlists. "How Things Work on the Railroad" and "How the Signal System Works". Check them out!
Most modern rail is either 115RE rail with a 5 1/2" base for transit and moderate traffic or 136RE rail with a 6" base for heavy traffic. 119RE is also 5 1/2" base, and the 141RE is 6".
Prior to the 1940s rail was open hearth steel, afterwards came the 'Controlled Cooled' steels which (I believe) eliminated or lowed the hydrogen content that caused brittleness and cracking.
Other enhancements can be done to the rail during/after rolling to improve durability and longevity.
On the side of the rail opposite the side with the raised manufacturer and rolling date information are embossed (stamped) letters and numbers that indicate the heat (melt), ingot and any further treatment to the rail. 'SS' means standard steel, good for tangents (straights), 'FT' means fully heat treated (most durable in a curve, harder to drill, too expensive to use in straight track), 'HH' means head hardened (durable and suitable for use in curves and tangents), 'CH' means end hardened to control rail end batter in jointed track. I think there are a couple more too, but HH is how most rail is ordered now because it can be laid anywhere with good results.
As always outstanding video. Love all your work
Very interesting information . UP has a rail welding plant in the San Fransisco Bay area that welds new rail that's imported from Japan . UP and the Japanese partnered to build special ships for the 440 ft. sticks of rail and they weld 4 sticks to make one string . The last I read there's a loaded ship enroute to the U.S. and an empty ship headed back to Japan for a load of new rail . The ships dock right next to the welding plant and is unloaded and stacked until it's needed . The rail trains were extended to accomidate the extra rail from the standard 1440 ft. rails . UP has other welding plants but I'm not sure where they are located now . We had a welding plant here in North Little Rock , Arkansas and it was shut down and sttarted getting rail out of Denison , Texas and then that plant was shut down as well as the plant in Laramie , Wyoming . There's a welding plant in Pueblo , Colorado that's in line with the steel mill that makes the rail and is welded in the welding plant . We used to take the used rail to Denison and Laramie where the rail would be pulled off the trains and inspected , bad sections would be cut out and then the good rail would be rewelded into 1440 ft. strings and loaded on rail trains that held 50 strings of rail . This used rail would be used in locations such as sidings , yard tracks and subdivisions that didn't have heavy trains or light traffic . Rail on the mainline was also changed after years of use and ton miles of train use . So yes there is an age factor for replacing rail . Lots of factors go into the reason rail is changed out . Great video Mark .
Thanks for the info!
What you call angle-bars in the USA, we call 'fishplates' in the UK. Has something to do with a derivation of a French word meaning fasten.
Extremely educational. Definitely film more of these ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Did you catch the one about frogs?
Definately good videos. Thank You for making theses videos for all of us.
Thank you for checking them out!
I loved this, this was great thanks!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for checking it out!
Some of the rail is really old. You showed one from 1970, about 51 years old. On another channel (jawtooth) he found one dated 1898. So yeah, rail can last a long time.
Cool, do you have a link to the video? Thanks.
@@originalm3233 just search for "jawtooth" on RUclips.
In the UK we had Rails in mainline track from 1963. I’ve also seen components like Bullhead Rail Chairs from 1908 in sidings. Often it’s leftover stock which is perfectly serviceable but it hasn’t necessarily been in track that long.
I saw a section of rail trackside in Oroville one time dated 1903. Had 'Krupp' on it.
I am a Civil Engineer, who spent over 20 years in a Division Engineer's Office, consulting engineering firms, rail contractors, and tourist railroads designing, laying out, inspecting, building, maintaining, and operating trains on track. I have a booklet compiled by a scrap dealer that lists all of the known rail sizes, at the time, of rolled steel rail in the US from 8 lb to 155 lb plus crane rail of 105 to 175 lb. This booklet shows the sections, the steel companies rolling them, and the dimensions of the height, base, head, web, fishing, and bar height.
I have worked with 8 lb and 155 lb rail, not at the same time. I even have small pieces of U-rail, pear-head rail, and bi-metal rail as collection pieces.
The Central Pacific RR used 60 lb rail for their track coming from Sacramento while the Union Pacific RR used 56 lb rail coming from Omaha. Many narrow-gauge railroads were built with 20, 25, and 30 lb rails in the 1870s and 80s to reduce construction costs. U rail and pear-head rail were used before and during the time of the War Between the States in 1861-65. Wrought iron was used for rail until about the 1870s after the Bessemer process for making steel became prominent.
Head-free rail was developed to hopefully reduce the friction of the flanges against the rail by reducing the contact face of the two. Of course, it didn't work, but it was tried.
The sections of 112RE, 115RE, and 119 all have the same fishing or web height for the angle or joint bars. The 112 section experienced a lot of head-web cracks due to high stress from small-radius transitions between the head and web which the 115 section overcame. The 119 section just added more metal in the head of the rail for more wear and beam strength.
The Pandrol clips you were describing earlier are shown at 12:14 and just after with the traditional spikes on the right.
The head bonds are welded by a Thermite bond. The web bonds are made with Thermite or a hole drilled through the web and a pin driven into the holes. For a track that is electrified such as a trolley or NEC, etc, the bonds are much larger and doubled between the rails of a joint to handle the larger current. I had to take care of 3 crossings at a tourist railroad.
Originally, rails were wood, then pieces of iron straps nailed on top of the wood, cast iron bars 3 feet long supported by chairs, wrought iron rolled into a section of about 15 feet long to about 30 feet long at which time steel became the preferred choice, then 33 feet long, 39 feet long, and welding the individual rails together, and the 78-foot and/or 10-meter rails when continuous bloom casting of vacuum-degassed steel was instituted to produce cleaner steel. The length of individual rails got longer as the cars carrying them got longer until plant welding of rail and the welded rail trains were developed. Cars to carry rail were flats and gondolas, so as the cars grew in length from 25 feet to 79 feet, the rails followed in what could be carried. In the 1920s &30s, control-cooled rail was developed where the newly rolled rail was stacked in an insulated box at the mill to slowly cool from the red-hot rolling temperature of 1200-1500 F down to 700 F which let the hydrogen gas in the steel escape improving the steel so not as many defects formed in the rail steel to cause broken rails.
I think I would enjoy an afternoon spinning stories with you but I am in northeast Texas and 76.
You could have pointed out the rail clips near the end of the video, when you were showing the wire connections for the crossing... Great video!
Hey Mark, head free rail was an experiment to eliminate material flow as the rail wears down, and it is easier to grab as they work on it during tamping. It did not work the way they wanted it to. The rail simply went wide on the gage as it wore down. This is why it is not preferred in curves.
Thank you for the info! I know they got rid of it on the mainline around here by the early 90s. I love learning things!
You and I both love learning, and that's why we are so damn smart!!!!
An old PRR branch line near where I lived was laid with 70 and 85 pound rail. Surprisingly, the 85# rail sections had an earlier date than the 70# rail. Where the branch met the mainline there were 3 or 4 comp joints to go from 70# branch rail to 141# mainline rail.
I find it amazing how a solid piece of steel wobbles like rubber when being moved by machinery.
Wait until I post the video of the ribbon rail train laying off rail and video from the Cable bridge changeout! You really get to see it there!
Over the road trucker here: I have hauled used rail a few times. I've seen rail dated in the 1890s 🤯. Talking to those who buy/sell it say it's still good, adding that USS Ensley (long since razed 😢) rail was the best. They just tranverse it and could probably run it for another 50+ years or so. Amazing.
A lot of old rail under 110 lbs along with any too beat up to be rewelded gets re rolled in to t posts and shit.
As well as the rail profiles the chemical opposition of rail tracks differs around the world. I worked in thermit welding track all round the world and our blends had to be tailored to suit the tracks we were working on. Generally track is about
Rail in yards can be there for a looong time. The TC&W’s yard in Hopkins, MN has some active rail that dates from 1942!
Mark, I had the experience of knowing different types of rail when I worked on Caltrain work train. SP still had old joined rail on the Commutes. When the CWR and concrete ties were installed, the ride was much much smoother. I know at one time, Tracy had a CRW plant.
Much of the CWR used here was from the Tracy plant too. I always wanted to go see how that was done.
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkClayMcGowan There's a CWR plant in Stockton, IIRC. That would be a fun place to go see. If you need a cameraman, lemme know!
Excellent video. Thanks
I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for checking it out!
I believe the largest rolled rail for railroad track was 155.# used by the Pennsylvania Railroad
From my experience as a track dog on the S.P. in Oregon the largest rail I ever saw was 155 lb. mud channel rail from inter urban line in the streets of Independence Ore. also I heard that head free rail came about to save steel for the war effort in ww2, and then the rail road continued wanting it to save $. almost forgot nice job on the video Mark.
Wow, that's heavy rail for an interurban! The old ones around Fresno were 110.
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkClayMcGowan Hi Mark glad to hear you got through the Covid stuff o.k., it got a lot of great musicians as you know, yeah I don't know how they forged the rail with the channel attached but regular rail tongs for the speed swings wouldn't open wide enough and after we cut the asphalt we had to take cutting torchs and cut the mud channel off in spots well I've prattled on enough oh yeah I've been retired almost 10 yrs. so enjoy it, thanks for a great channel.
Yep, we have 155-pound Rail where I work.
The rail you call mud channel is termed girder rail or flanged rail for trackwork in pavement areas like streets and piers so the rail does not flex much under traffic to help keep the pavement from flexing and breaking.
Fascinating video! Where I'm from (UK) standard rail length was 60ft and you could work out the speed you were doing from the clickerty-click (900 / seconds per 22 joints = mph). When CWR came along in the 1970's you could still just about hear the welded joints. But then came today's really long rail with no clickerty-click at all. Tis sad but it's progress I suppose. It's now manufactued in 108m lengths and generally suppied as two of these welded together. So there's no clickerty-click but instead you hear a noticeable humming sound caused by rail reprofiling. They seem to do that about once a year using rail-grinding machines.
The other UK/US difference in jointed rail is that UK practice is to have the joints aligned, so both rails have a joint in the same place. US practice is to offset the joints so the joint in one rail is in the middle of a length of the other rail.
I’m in Stillwater Minnesota. I got one rail from the Minnesota Zephyr line when it was being removed for a bike trail. I asked a crew member if I could buy a piece and he said no. I had several friendly conversations with him plus I live right next to the ROW. One day I walked out to my truck and a 5’ piece of rail was left right next to my truck so I loaded it up. April of 2018 the 1/2 mile or so tracks between the south end of downtown Stillwater and Sunnyside Marina were being removed for a bike trail. I stopped and talked to a crew member and I was able to buy two pieces of rail each under 3’ long. One is dated 1899.
Very cool. The oldest I've seen was 60 pound 1890 rail. It was being used as a barrier of sorts on an old industry track in Merced, Ca.
Thanks for checking it out!
Great video Mark
Really informative video! Thank you
Thanks for checking it out! Here are the links to two of my "How Things Work" playlists. Lots of informative stuff there!
ruclips.net/p/PL6ge3RoxmyvpcyRZPKJKl6W4l5IdiC-Ps
ruclips.net/p/PL6ge3RoxmyvqBUZL-pzdFNCD9ZwWeAxwA
In NZ I have not seen insulated joints in the main center, as most of the rail here is welded. But rather some sort of magnetic pickup, 2 of them per track spaced a few feet apart I guess for speed and direction detection.
Great video about rail types. Does UP do thermite welding of rail? Especially fond of Famoso and the Idle Spur Cafe - also stop at El Taco Loco just south of there when I gas up at Flying J.
Yes, they still do thermite field welds quite often. It there is a broken rail or defect changed out they will bar it to get things moving but weld out ASAP.
Thanks for checking it out!
Great stuff, thanks
My pleasure!
Just for information. There are larger rail shaped structural steel sections commonly called 'crane rail' used for heavy lift travelling cranes and similar devices which can be up to 1000mm deep with a head on which a (very) large wheel can roll and be located by single or double flanges on one side and single flange or plain wheel on the other. Steel works cranes go for the double flange/ plain to allow for expansion over furnaces.
thanks mark
You're welcome and thanks for checking it out!
Great video, thank you!
The smallest rail I've seen was also the oldest, it was a 67.5 pound rail stamped 1896 that was still in use in a siding.
I was just reading in one of my books (can't remember which one!) about a line laid with 50# rail iron. I can't imagine it would have supported much weight!
Thanks for checking it out.
The smallest mine rail is 8# (1-1/2" from base to crown) the largest rail was 152 PS (152# Pennsylvania Special). This was used on the Pennsylvania Railroad main line. Today the Finger Lakes Railway in Upstate NY has some 152 PS rail on its Auburn Road between Syracuse and Auburn, NY.
"30 Years Over Donner...Through the Eyes of a Signal Maintainer" is a good look at railroading in the 1940's. When crews traveled on motor cars, when they only could communicate with occasional phone boxes, when they only had hand tools.
By Bill Fisher. (1990. Trans Anglo Books.)
12:09 E-clip. Some of the plates that employ E-clip rail fasteners are secured to wood ties with screw spikes.
Having been retired for awhile it's incredible the simple things I can't remember! Thanks for the heads up and thanks for checking it out!
I love your videos! In CTC territory are the track circuits inside the rails for the entire territory or do you only find track circuits at Control Points? For example, if some cut a piece of rail in half in CTC territory, would the signal system detect it?
Except on non signaled territory all tracks have circuits so trains can always be tracked by dispatchers and signals will always display the proper indication
At 6:48 it looks like an old Flying "J" Tanker across the street. Just after HS Graduation I had 6 mos. before I was to go to basic training. During that time I worked for the Erie Lackawanna RR in Buffalo, NY. I loved the out of yard work, but hated the yard, with the fermenting grain and stuff, ha ha. I ruined a pair of booths stepping into a large and deep pile of that crap.
You need to do a piece on your guitars. I follow the BR, LNER, and GWR among others. I love riding trains. Much better than flying and driving. I wish that the US would have auto trains so you can take your car cross country whilst enjoying your trip on a train. That Autotrain from VA to FL is not enough and too far away if you live more than 150 miles from the terminal.
East of New London, Ohio in 2020, CSX replaced 60 MPH main line rail on #2 track which was NYC 127 lb. dated 1945. Yes, 75 year old rail in daily use on a major main line.
NYC 127 rail has a 6 1/4" base. Kind of unique now as 5 1/2" and 6" base rail predominates.
Changing out that 6 1/4" base rail for one of the other sizes requires new tie plates to match. The hard part, is that to maintain 56 1/2" track gauge, the new plates must be spiked down to the ties, not exactly where the old ones were, but so close that the tie may not have enough 'meat' in the right place to hold the new spikes.
@@MsCriticalthinker201 The 127 lb rail was a Dudley section used by the NYC and the KCS. It was designed in the 1920s or 30s. Changing rail sections does have its disadvantages if the bases and heads don't match.
I work on bowling pinsetters and we do something very similar by flip-flopping the flanges that we can use the other side and it comes to a cone when they're ready to be changed but I guess it's all mechanical stuff so it's related somehow
What a cool job! I've always wanted to see how those systems work. The closest I ever get is just hearing them work and seeing my ball come back!
You're right though. It's all mechanical.
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkClayMcGowan I think what you do is pretty cool I Like Trains stuff
Gracias
What you called an angle bar, we call a fish plate where I work. In my case its rail for bridge cranes inside of buildings (steel mill, AK Steel) Not sure if the difference in terms is geographic, different industry, or different use. If I can remember, and I have opportunity, I'll have to ask any of our railroad dept. guys what they call them. I'm a millwright. I always had a bit of interest, and certainly have enough seniority to bid a RR job, but the discipline( punishment) they hand out in that dept. is on a whole different level than other areas. Pretty similar to what I think you were referring to in your "miss/won't miss" video. The threats...rang very familliar. Trains, steel mills, very dangerous which is partly why they drive the safety, but I knew exactly what you meant when you said you "won't miss the threats."
Enjoying the vids, very informative. I recognize many of the same controls, but obviously different application where I am. But its clear to me signaling would be my easiest fit if I were ever to hire into RR. But too old to be changing careers, about 6-7 yrs left to retire.
A belated congrats on retirement!
I've heard similar comments on different names for things in different industries. I have no idea why they're called angle bars.
Thanks for checking it out!
They're called fish plates in the UK too.
@@MarkClayMcGowan Look at the joint bar at 8:32, looking at the end of it, it looks a lot like a piece of steel angle. That area is also called a "toe". Most modern joint bars are made toeless to be stronger.
That was a nice lesson on rails. Can I assume the reason for different weights is strictly cost? Why would one put a heavy rail on a side line that is rarely used and does not carry much weight, like delivering cars a few times a year that haul cotton?
Surely you would not use light weight rail in an area like Altoona, PA where Horseshoe Curve is located.
Thanks for posting this great video.
Barry
Its cost. Also just easier to work 90lb and under rail by hand. But most of that stuff isn't made any more so it is cheaper to stick with the current sizes.
Keep track of when it was made. Track. I get it.
one day i passed along a stopped train that had continous rail about 30 train cars long. as i passed by it you could see the rails running from one car to the next from the first one to the last one.
Ribbon rail (or continuously welded rail) train. The segments are 1/4 mile long and are laid along the tracks to replace existing rail. A cable is used to secure the end of the rail and the train just slowly moves out from under it. It's pretty cool to watch.
@@MarkClayMcGowan & arewebeing hoodwinked There are several videos showing welded rail being unloaded onto the ground and onto ties when laying new track.
The video showed the date on an 80--pound angle bar, but I was hoping to see an example of a date on a modern piece of ribbon rail. Also, do the date codes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer? Or do they all use an industry-standard date code?
BTW, hope you're feeling better.
Industry-standard is AREA or American Railroad Engineering Association now AREMA or American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance Association developed suggested specifications and practices by committees of member railroad engineers. The compiled recommended specifications, practices, and procedures occupy two volumes of over 1000 pages that are continually gone over and updated as needed plus a volume of drawings of rail sections, track components, tools, etc. including bridges. The signal department has its own group. The mechanical department has its own group.
What is considered to be an acceptable up-and-down range of movement for track when a train is passing over it? Most of the time it only appears to move an inch or so. But one time I was at a grade crossing waiting for a UP eastbound to pass and noticed that the track just east of the crossing had a travel of several inches, which seemed excessive. I was able to get a guy at the local UP MOW department on the phone and told him what I'd seen. He thanked me but also sounded a bit skeptical.
Zero is obviously the best but most places will pump at least a small amount under heavy trains. I have seen places where the rail pumped a few inches. Track Inspectors are supposed to watch for loose ballast and other factors that can cause it. Pumping track at switches is bad as it can damage the equipment and at crossings it can damage the pads. When it gets bad trains will report rough track. They're so low on manpower these days that there is no real preventive maintenance happening. Thanks for checking it out!
Always wondered (and you seem to be the perfect guy to ask) - take a look 16:30 in your video. From time to time I sometimes see either orange, red and even green spray painted vertical stripes on the rail sides. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN???
Orange is generally used to by track forces for various reasons like marking a defect or designating surfacing issues.
Green is generally used by signal forces to mark wires or equipment during track work so the equipment operators don't hit those things.
I don't know about red but white is sometimes used to keep an eye on rail movement.
At least around here! Could be totally different in your neck of the woods!
Thanks for checking it out!
Notice that on the side of each rail where the paint is, there is a wire connected to the relay box for the signal circuit connection.
Mark Clay McGowan
Are you related to the McGowans in Las Vegas Nev?
Very interesting. Couple questions. How is old rail recycled and is there actual movement involved to cross tracks with those frogs? What if the train doesn't want to cross at that point. I couldn't quit grasp how they work.
Most times it is scrapped, cleaned, melted and turned into new rail. It is sometimes purchased by museums or class II or III roads or repurposed as barricades, etc.
If you're talking about the jump frogs, the distance across the frog isn't enough to cause problems. It's amazing what enough weight can accomplish!
@@MarkClayMcGowan Find several videos about frogs and turnouts. The definition of a frog is the track structure that allows the flange of one wheel to cross the rail for the other wheel on a railroad track. In other words; the X in the frog is where one gauge line crosses the other gauge line, this can be in a turnout or where one track intersects another track at a larger angle, a diamond.
Hey Mark good video. I have seen rail here in western Canada stamped 1897 on a lightly used siding not far from our home. Pretty old stuff. My question is on ballast cleaning. They do it for a good reason I'm sure. So what happens if the ballast is left uncleaned as it seems to be just dust or sand?
The ballast is what secures the track structure. If it becomes fouled with dirt and debris it will weaken the structure and can cause severe problems.
@@MarkClayMcGowan I'm guessing that the fouled ballast when wet will turn into a sort of slurry then it can't support the track anymore as it flows away from the crossties? THX
@@briansumner2700 The ballast can wear down to make dust then a slurry when wet and also dirt can pump up into the ballast if the drainage is bad. When this happens the bad spot just gets worse until the drainage is improved or rectified (fixed). Working on the track is a never-ending proposition as the track is always moving under the load of moving trains.
Itd with a phone in your hand lol up signalman here as well just thought it was funny. Enjoy your content though!
A phone, a shovel, a bonding tray. We're still not really paying attention!
What does the insulated joint insulate? Electric current?
Did you watch the whole video? He explains it all.
I haven't read all of the comments, but was wondering about curved rail of different angles.
Rail curves to match the track without much problem until the curves get down to streetcar and subway/el trackage curves then the rails need to be curved mechanically.
A little late but do the railroad typically leave the frogs and turnouts disconnected when replacing a junction? I once saw a BNSF work crew at Kirkland TX pull a whole junction piece( ties and everything) out of a gondola and set it next to the R.O.W to eventually replace the existing junction.
Sorry for the lateness of the reply. Things have been hectic! Usually, if they're lengthening a turnout or doing a major replacement project they will use pre built turnouts. It's a lot easier and faster but they still just change frogs and switch points and stock rails in smaller jobs.
Great video! Learned so much...
Thanks for your video. Maybe you can help in locating a film I saw on TV about 30 - 40 years ago. To my best recollection it was a documentary (maybe on public TV) that chronicled the evolution of railroad safety. It may have been a British produced documentary. It went something like this.... Using actual case history it talked about signal men using lanterns until the time a light failed resulting in a crash. As a result colored lights were implemented which worked until a certain set of conditions exposed a flaw in that method and new measures were implemented to correct that. As time went on certain safety measures which had worked for years revealed a flaw resulting in yet another accident. It spanned the beginning of railroading up to current time (30-40 years ago). It was a very interesting show and I've tried to locate it using the internet with no success. I guess the investigators were the FAA of the railroad industry. If you know of or able to suggest a way to find this film it would be greatly appreciated.
I have never seen or heard of it. You might contact the Federal Railroad Administration or National Transportation Safety Board. Thanks for checking it out!
The FAA of the rail industry was the Interstate Commerce Commission or ICC until taken over by the NTSB and FRA.
The rail on the GC&SF branch near my house that was removed around 1994 was built in 1886. I have a piece of 39 foot 90 lb rail manufactured in 1913 from it in my back yard. I cut it in half and built a rolling mining cart to sit on 19 1/2 feet of track, beside my Santa Fe code line cross arms and insulators that I found buried in overgrowth. I have Also found wood rail insulator bars out there. Brought home the least rotted example I could find. How old would those wood rail insulators be?
Sounds like a cool setup! I'm not sure what a wood rail insulator is though.
Like an endpost?
Mark Clay McGowan
They look just like the steel connector bars. But made out of wood with 4 holes drilled into them.
@@msnow22000 I've never even heard of that! Can you send me a pic? Motopoet59@gmail.com
@@MarkClayMcGowan I have one I scavenged from the NYCTA during a signal upgrade project I was on in the 1980s. It is a piece of machined ironwood that was used at an insulated joint. Very heavy and very hard.
@@MsCriticalthinker201 incredible! I'd never heard of wooden IJs but it makes sense, especially if there is a plentiful supply of that type of wood. The oldest stuff I worked with was from the 20s and made of fiber. There are still some in service on old yard tracks.
I live in Bakersfield Ca.
What determines the type of rail to be used, Train weight, traffic etc.?
All of the above and, of course, cost!
what is that squeal the wheels make in some places sometimes?is that a load around a corner causing friction of some sort?
It's the wheel flanges against the inside of the rail. It can be ear piercing! Here is the link to a video I did about the curve oilers that help keep both from wearing too quickly. Thanks for checking it out!
ruclips.net/video/pB-5t5kS2V4/видео.html
@@MarkClayMcGowan wow thats great thanks
You go over a spring frog VERY carefully in a motor car.
I noticed that!
So I was watching your vid on rail and thinking about the weight per yard. I did some digging and found out that rail is rolled into weights of 171 and even 175 pounds per 3 feet. But its not used in railroading its used for the tracks for heavy duty overhead cranes. Here is where I found the info along with a bunch of other great info on tracks and fasteners. Thought you might want to take a look. www.wabtec.com/uploads/outlinedrawings/Track-Components-Section.pdf Thanks and greetings from Rochester NY.
I normally work with 66 ft jointed rail. ;)
I see that you are a fellow gentleman of fine taste. N'yuk! N'yuk! N'yuk! :D
Soitenly!
like Your T-shirt at end,,,,,body by BACON....!
15:21 Haha a Hoosier truck for a Hoosier watcher.
Tidbit: Rail weight is every 3 feet is what is marked on rail
Mark: I have heard that they grease the rails to keep the wheels from squeaking and extend the life of the rails
Yes they do. Here is a video I did about them.ruclips.net/video/pB-5t5kS2V4/видео.html
I have a playlist of How Things Work on the Railroad and another of How Things Work in the Signal Department.
You should check them out!
How does welded rail absorb heat expansion/
That's more a question for a track guy but as long as neutral temperatures are right during installation and repair it seems to do well but we do still get sun kinks in the hotter climates.
Thanks for checking it out!
Usually the rail is heated as it’s laid. The temperature depends on the climate, as far as the extreme between winter and summer temperatures. In the winter the rail is in tension. If the rail was laid too hot, then it might contract to the point of breaking in the cold weather.
Rail and track is held in place by the ballast. Anchors help restrain rail expansion too. If it gets too hot, then the rail can expand to the point where the anchors and ballast don’t hold it anymore. A heat kink can happen. Sometimes railroads put on restrictions above certain temperatures.
@@brianburns7211
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Yes, the neutral temperature of the steel rail is between the lowest temperature and the highest temperature for that area. The temperature of the steel is the important one, not air temperature as the steel will get much higher than the air.
If curved can it be made to one piece? interesting!
Come on over into the weeds for a minute. Rail is "classified" for several reasons as new, second hand, and scrap, and as a capital asset has a dollar value. Once a new piece of rail is installed and used by a wheel, it is not new. When a piece of rail is used and becomes second hand rail, it can be reused again and again (unless defective) , or "cascaded" to sidings or yards. Thus the head free rail being in a less used track at Famoso.. Broken rail , defective rail, bent and unserviceable rail, or anything the Roadmaster decides might get gim fired, goes to scrap. It his pile of money in the budget to manage, and a piece of rail worth $10 second hand reclassified to$5 scrap is not gonna get him fired.
Enjoy your info.
Kind of like a whole new world. Great video. Question,can high snow close the track circut and mimic a train in the block?
it can but if there's steady train traffic it tends to keep the snow away from the rails. Mud is a generally a bigger problem. The biggest issue with snow is it packed into switch points and they won't close.
Thanks for checking it out!
How can I get from Ontario Canada to California by freight train
Pack yourself in a crate, then ship it. Make sure you have plenty of food and water, it will be a while. DO NOT HOBO!!
What kinda music are you into . . ? Those guitars . . : >)
I'm a classic rocker at heart but play many different styles. Country, bluegrass, folk, whatever tickles my fancy!
I have a few videos on here of me playing songs and one of me playing all of them in a tour of the room.
Those are in the "Other Stuff" playlist.
Thanks for checking it out!
Then again, there's Bullhead rail (Legacy UK type, has its own hardware, called 'chairs', to hold it upright).
Too many separate parts.
I was wondering how an electric loco would ground if the rail is used for signaling or other purposes?
Track Circuit segments are staggered by length. Only a few feet of track circuit rail need be opposite each other.
The eartihng cables are buried under the track circuit segments, going 'around' the track circuit.
Signalling an electrified railroad is a whole lot more complicated than this. The overhead or contact wire is positive and the rails are negative or the return part of the power circuit. This is the domain of the electrical engineers who earn their money figuring that out. I am just a lowly track man.
All rail is not created equal. Oh, how true. I saw Mark's former employer several years ago being it's usual cheap self, purchase rail made in China. Oh, that surfacing gang from Omaha made that rail look mighty fine in that yard. If i remember i think they replaced four yard tracks with the finest cheap steel from China. Not even one week later those tracks which were about 3800 feet long each were taken out of service only to be re-resurfaced by the surf gang. I've seen nothing but Nippon Steel from Japan ever since that fiasco. Now, going along with the common belief of many items produced in China are cheaply made purposefully to swindle us, you joke with your co-workers and say ," yeah, that rail is made in China and it's gonna break", is one thing. But, to say it and it actually happens is a different experience.
Por la información
I've heard that you can actually stop a real train like you would do on a model train layout. by shorting out both rails.
You can't actually stop a train by doing that but, if the line is signaled, shorting the rails will cause the signals to go to stop and that will stop the trains. If it isn't signaled, it will have no effect on anything unless there is a crossing nearby.
Thanks for checking it out!
@@MarkClayMcGowan You used the term "shunt", which is correct, which is changing the length of the circuit not shorting it. I am sorry, it is my COPD or PTSD about using the correct terminology to avoid confusion. People get to talking with others about subjects and forget that some of the terms used may not be known or understood by the other person.
*Hot Rail!*
About the same as column or I beam.
Looks like The crossing works JUST LIKE The Lionel train crossing
Where exactly would a spring frog be used?
It's getting to be that they're everywhere but originally at high use turnouts. They don't wear as quickly and the point of the frog never breaks and has to be welded up. A very time consuming process.
@@MarkClayMcGowan The Shore Line Trolley Museum (www.bera.org) has been using them for a few decades now, since they run streetcars and rapid-transit cars, which have substantially different tread and flange widths.
@@RailRide that certainly makes sense!
Thanks for checking it out!
In the main line where the spring part is to the turnout side that is not used much so the ride over the frog will be better than a regular frog; the wheel treads are supported by the sprung part of the frog. Spring frogs are right or left and can't be swopped.
What was or is the code line?
Code line is from back in the days of CTC machines. The dispatcher, or whoever was in control at the control board, would set up the route for a train by changing the position of different switches for turnouts, signals and other things. It's pretty much just programming the machine. Once it's programmed the operator pushes a button that sends the code out to the different control points over the wires. If you've seen videos of these older CTC machines then you've probably heard the machine clicking as the multiple relays involved click out the code as well as receive similar code back from the control points. Probably not the best explanation but it's the best I could do as I'm not that good at explaining stuff. Hopefully someone can come along with a better explanation.
We got rid of our code machines in the late eighties and replaced them with PENTA units. They were early microprocessor control units but the code line itself was still used to run them until the advent of the wireless communications systems that now operate the control systems (Genisis and Microlok) since the installation of PTC.
I have a question. How do you start up a SD40-2 or an ES44AC
There are videos about starting up locos.
1:47 höhöhö