For all of You Train Lovers

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[j-c-c-62]

I can't imagine the equipment or effort they needed back in the day to reset those derailed cars.

 

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[Photon440]

I can't imagine the equipment or effort they needed back in the day to reset those derailed cars.

It's not that hard. We used to re-rail cars several times each week with a pile of hardwood blocks and a machine to pull the car.

 

[F4R/T]

If they aren’t off too bad they will usually walk back up the blocks and back on, sometimes you may need another locomotive to help pull. If they are really far off they use side cranes on big cats to lift them back on... I’ve seen it turn track into spaghetti sometimes.

 

[YY1]

There's a piece of hardware called a "rerail frog".
Shaped like a "Y" and about the size of a stop sign.

For cars that are farther away from the rails or damaged.....

the "big hook" crane.

 

[F4R/T]

Is that an old American crane? That’s cool!

 

[Photon440]

One of the entrances to the yard I used to work. I don't remember everything that went in on that gray building but part of it was the radio repair shop. Those aluminum hopper cars are for carrying coal.

 

[j-c-c-62]

Nice, Thanks.
So, I am wondering some commuter's trains in So Fla have very large disc brakes. My question is, do freight ever use discs brakes?
My thinking is all the wheels screeking is wasted energy/heat at each wheel, and with that many cars, that adds up.
Now if a lubricant was used in very small amounts, that friction waste would be reduced. Of course that would negate the used of the standard
clamping brake shoe solution. The lubricant could be anything from plain water to water-soluble oil dispersed from the last power mover and or farther down the line.
A quick test, has anyone been able to hear a difference between the wheel screeking noise when raining vs dry?
As a side note. a TF dragster operates at approx 33% efficiency, meaning 1/3 gets the dragster down the track pushing air, 1/3 is lost to heat, and 1/3 is lost to acoustic energy (think of having a 20,000,000 Watt RMS stereo that does the 1/4 mile in under 5 seconds)

 

[YY1]

Wrong forum?

 

[j-c-c-62]

The proceeding reply had a six-minute video attached with audio only of passing freight train cars screeching, which forum should that be discussed?

 

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[polywideblock]

On a frosty morning in August 1965, No.12 Glen Innes Mail - comprising MHO, ACS, CR (Barraba cars), FS, BS, TAM, MHO (Glen Innes cars) - roars through Ourimbah led by 3825 and 3508, the latter fitted with a turret tender.

 

[polywideblock]

 

[trishhritz]

Are those videos in real time? They weren't on train tracks when imploded, correct?
It is interesting I believe how apparent it is how much stronger/thicker the tank car end caps are proven to be in these videos, being they are designed to resist puncture damage in train mishaps.

I believe there was a Myth Busters edition on this.

 

[polywideblock]

The Yass Tram 1963

 

[polywideblock]

 

[Photon440]

Nice, Thanks.
So, I am wondering some commuter's trains in So Fla have very large disc brakes. My question is, do freight ever use discs brakes?
My thinking is all the wheels screeking is wasted energy/heat at each wheel, and with that many cars, that adds up.
Now if a lubricant was used in very small amounts, that friction waste would be reduced. Of course that would negate the used of the standard
clamping brake shoe solution. The lubricant could be anything from plain water to water-soluble oil dispersed from the last power mover and or farther down the line.
A quick test, has anyone been able to hear a difference between the wheel screeking noise when raining vs dry?
As a side note. a TF dragster operates at approx 33% efficiency, meaning 1/3 gets the dragster down the track pushing air, 1/3 is lost to heat, and 1/3 is lost to acoustic energy (think of having a 20,000,000 Watt RMS stereo that does the 1/4 mile in under 5 seconds)

Of the thousands of freight rail cars that I serviced and repaired, I recall only one equipped with disc brakes. Most of the passenger cars used them though. Standard shoes that press onto the wheel tread are easier to access and change out compared to internally mounted disc pads. Also, the disk for the brakes is an additional component that has to be bolted onto the inside hub of the wheel. When in good condition (not burnt into the backing plate and half melted) I could change out a brake shoe in about 10 or 15 seconds.

And yes, the screeching is much more noticeable when the tracks are dry.

Since you bring up lubricant, there are lubricants, usually in the form of a solid stick, used on some locomotives. Being much heavier, usually twice the weight of standard loaded freight cars, the locomotives benefit from reduced noise, wear on both the wheel and rail and it can reduce the chance of a derailment by keeping the wheel flange from riding up the rail in tight curves.

This diagram shows how a stick lubricator is applied to the wheel flange.

However, more common is the use of wayside lubricators on the tracks themself, primarily in high wear areas. Long straight stretches generally have no issues and can run dry.

Another friction modifier is the use of sand being released on the track just before the wheel, to help gain traction on wet rails to prevent wheelslip when starting out and while braking. This is pretty much used on every locomotive and was also on the small switching trackmobiles that I used to drive. The photo below shows a pipe connected to a hopper filled with dry sand. These hoppers get topped up every time the locomotive is serviced and refueled.

This yellow tower was the sand hopper where I worked at Thornton Yard (same yard as the earlier video). I climbed up that tower once and got some nice photos. This is an older picture, as the building (diesel maintenance) is now painted gray.