Trains

[Dric902]

987C163D-3393-444D-8329-F758CBE2F83C.jp2

[Dric902]

Double tap

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Dric902

[railfancwb]

Pikes Peak Cog Railway. This is their preserved and restored steam locomotive with car. Once such went all the way to the top, but most water stops were eliminated after dieselation, so only limited runs are now possible. 

[railfancwb]

The Pikes Peak Cog Railway is in the process of a ground up rebuild. It is expected to be hauling passengers again in 2021. An old car being hauled away. And their book cover style picture. 
 

[railfancwb]

The East Broad Top Railroad in Pennsylvania is a narrow gauge - three foot - in southwest Pennsylvania. It shut down and was sold as scrap in the 1950s when the coal mines it served played out. Rather than remove it, the buyer left the property largely intact and ran a limited tourist operation until 2011. It has now been sold to a not-for-profit organization which plans to restore it to full operation. 
 

https://eastbroadtop.com/

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by railfancwb
Add pictures.

[railfancwb]

Replacing steel tires on steam locomotive drivers. This is a necessary maintenance activity for the locomotives. A number of shops do this with some regularity. Don’t know the circumstances of the large driver, but the small drivers on jack stands belong to one of the Shay locomotives at Cass WV. 

[railfancwb]

 Chesapeake & Ohio steam turbine. Pennsylvania Railroad and Norfolk & Western also built steam turbine locomotives. None were successful. 

[railfancwb]

Oil or ethanol moving toward your vehicle.  

[Dric902]

4 hours ago, railfancwb said:

Oil or ethanol moving toward your vehicle.  

Took one of those a couple days ago

 

[tous]

You plan to give it back?

[Dric902]

11 hours ago, tous said:

You plan to give it back?

They took it from me

but it’s ok, I was getting tired of it

.

[railfancwb]

Rail breaks come in several styles. 
 

[Dric902]

1 hour ago, railfancwb said:

Rail breaks come in several styles. 
 

The top of that rail looks pretty worn, the holes tell me it was at a joint. Cold breaks are generally straight and a clean break 

Physics tells us that the rail pushes on the engine as much as the engine pushes on the rail, but the force from the engine is a torque from trying to turn the wheel. The rails force is more af a linear force along the length of the rail.

thats why the webbing is important, a ‘road rail’ (or hi rail) is taller. The railhead is the same but the web is higher because it actually flexes with the force and breaks along the ‘line of force’ when it gives due to stress or wear.

the one I posted was a cold break on a mainline rail. In the “old days” of jointed rail, there was enough movement to not be an issue. When you have hundreds of miles of welded main, a few millimeters of constriction due to temperature build up along the track and at some point snaps. Curves usually aren’t a problem as the rail will pull toward the inside of the curve (stringline) and it doesn’t break. But the wheels may make a lot of screeching on the curve. Long and straight welded rail is when the forces build up to fracture somewhere.

this one has large stone and shorter web, likely not a main and broke at a joint.

seen that from time to time

 

.

[Eric]

[railfancwb]

More White Pass & Yukon...

[janice6]

21 minutes ago, Dric902 said:

The top of that rail looks pretty worn, the holes tell me it was at a joint. Cold breaks are generally straight and a clean break 

Physics tells us that the rail pushes on the engine as much as the engine pushes on the rail, but the force from the engine is a torque from trying to turn the wheel. The rails force is more af a linear force along the length of the rail.

thats why the webbing is important, a ‘road rail’ (or hi rail) is taller. The railhead is the same but the web is higher because it actually flexes with the force and breaks along the ‘line of force’ when it gives due to stress or wear.

the one I posted was a cold break on a mainline rail. In the “old days” of jointed rail, there was enough movement to not be an issue. When you have hundreds of miles of welded main, a few millimeters of constriction due to temperature build up along the track and at some point snaps. Curves usually aren’t a problem as the rail will pull toward the inside of the curve (stringline) and it doesn’t break. But the wheels may make a lot of screeching on the curve. Long and straight welded rail is when the forces build up to fracture somewhere.

this one has large stone and shorter web, likely not a main and broke at a joint.

seen that from time to time

 

.

When I blow up the broken segment in the picture and sharpen the detail, you can see the weld just on the right edge of the break you refer to in you description.

Interesting!

Edited February 26, 2020 by janice6

[Dric902]

 

 

 

these are due to wear and stress;

if you look at the other rail, you see the start of a good divit from wheel slip

 

these are both yard rail, where the web is shorter

.

.

[Dric902]

The red line is a thermite weld, good catch.

the yellow line is where you can see a stress point, probably not the first or only one

.

[janice6]

When I was getting into welding I got a 1918 (or thereabouts) Welding manual.  It told you how to weld "stuff" from huge gears to train stuff.  At the time of the welding manual they had chemical or gas welding only.

In Blacksmith manuals I learned how to do Hammer Welding that was popular long ago for it's hard and long lasting abrasive resistant beads, commonly  used to repair broken plows and farm equipment.

Among other information was the segment on welding railroad rails together.  They used a mixture of powdered Aluminum   and Iron oxide.  The packed it around the rail to be welded and stuck a magnesium strip for a fuse.  The temperature was amazing and you didn't need any other equipment or materials.  You lit the Magnesium strip with a match.

I don't remember how they ground the final product to shape in the middle of nowhere, but the welding was astounding.  And they didn't have electric arc then to use either.

I read instructions on how to bury a large gear or structure outside the welding shop in the ground under a window.  The they showed the gas welder sitting in the second story window sill while welding the top of the mechanism. 

One technique I learned was how to gas weld Aluminum.  I used the technique to make interior trim for a car I built.  It is relatively easy, and no TIG.

Now, welding is quite different of course.  But the techniques back then are good things to know when you don't have all the modern stuff like now.

[railfancwb]

Impromptu thermite welding sometimes takes place in home (and possibly other) shops when a wheel is used to first grind aluminum then iron or steel without thoroughly cleaning up the aluminum dust.   

[G21H30]

BNSF Bridge fire 2/22/20 Medicine River East of Kiowa,KS. Makes me glad I'm retired. It was actually put out in a little over an hour. They will have to replace all the X bracing on the piling and some ties.Currently slow ordered to 25 mph. Timber approach will be replaced later this year with steel piling and precast concrete bridge caps and decks

 

 

[Dric902]

 

[janice6]

On 2/26/2020 at 5:18 AM, Dric902 said:

 

It would appear that the text within this video is a literal translation from another language describing this process.

Regardless, thanks for the video!

[railfancwb]

Daughter and I have been in New Mexico and Colorado photographing a Narrow gauge steam powered rotary snow plow in action, pushed by a couple of steam locomotives. This is on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. 
 

[railfancwb]

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is one of two operating remnants of the once vast Denver & Rio Grande Western 3’ narrow gauge empire. The other segment, the Durango & Silverton, is the more famous.