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Another kind of railroad, courtesy of EnglishRussia.com What is this thing? It looks like a building or a boat, not a train.  What it is, is how you solve the problem of how to get barges bringing supplies from downriver up to the top of a dam for a new hydroelectric power plant under construction. The machine is a giant lift that runs on rails and is powered by the dam itself. Here you can see the tracks and the machine at the top of the rail line, beginning its descent.  Down it comes. Note the two people standing next to it for a sense of scale.  Also, the two large platforms sticking out the top are part of the machine, too. They connect the machine to the power lines running alongside the tracks, like the trolley pole on a tram:  Doesn't even pause, but goes straight in!  Close-up, here you can see the massive gears wheels that propel it along.  Once all the way in, it comes to a stop and waits for the barges to float right on in.  And here they come. No special modifications are needed for the barges. Just straight in, no mess, no fuss.  Up we go! You can just make out the red turbines from the first barge sticking out over the top of the machine.  Big bastard, isn't it.  A close-up of the gears. I would not want to get caught up in those.  And because nothing is ever easy, the whole thing has to cross a road on its way up.  Once it finally gets to the top, the fun doesn't stop there. Obviously, it can't just open the front hatch and let the barges out, it's facing the wrong way. Cue the massive turntable:  Finally, sweet release! 
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Aug 10, 2011 15:43
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Gorilla Salad posted:Another kind of railroad, courtesy of EnglishRussia.com I could love Russia for no other reason than their absolutely insane engineering projects.
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Aug 10, 2011 16:03
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Tracked funicular drydock with turntable... that's incredible.
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Aug 10, 2011 16:14
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Holy poo poo, that thing belongs in an 'Incredible Engineering Feats' style thread!
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Aug 10, 2011 17:25
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Those are generally called inclined planes (that being a caisson type), you find them in quite a few canals on a smaller scale. I think the Hay inclined plane near Ironbridge is one of the earliest, though that uses crades for the carrier, rather than a caisson. Speaking of caissons, it's nothing to do with railways, but if you want to see a full-on  idea for moving boats from one level to another, check out Sealed Caisson Locks. We got a couple of them to work (sort of) in the late 18th century, and nothing's been seen of the idea since, but I guess as soon as the Russians find out about it...
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Aug 10, 2011 18:04
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Again, a boat, but I always though this was cool. Falkirk Wheel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX6kJKjg4y0
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Aug 10, 2011 22:31
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Red Marx posted:This is the perfect opportunity to post one of my favorite train pictures I've taken. It's not really going to give you an engineering boner, but it does well to represent the great relationship that some places have with rail.
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Aug 13, 2011 17:09
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Does anyone happen to have a decent visual breakdown of the evolution of train design from locomotives to the more modern/boxy electric train. I'm about to start work on a project that involves creating 3d models of a BUNCH of trains, and I would love if I could show some decent progression from the classic Locomotive to a more Modern look. The focus is mainly going to be on the mechanical changes from the old style bulky/super mechanized locomotive look to the more sleek and efficient trains of today. I know its a long shot but I'm starting to exhaust my resources(I've got books and flickr images saved like crazy).
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Aug 13, 2011 21:25
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I keep forgetting to upload these. I took an excursion on the CPR back in 2007, on restored Hudson 2816 Watching it pull into Okotoks was loving incredible. Almost silent.      This fellow was waiting for us to clear the track.    We got out near Lethbridge (we didn't go over the bridge there  )so they could water and turn around on the wye.  Love this machine. 
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Aug 14, 2011 10:42
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Back to the trains = spergs discussion, this article in the NYT is amazing: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/nyregion/children-with-autism-connecting-via-bus-and-train.html quote:The ability of children with autism spectrum disorders to remember details can be astonishing. Lauren Hough, an adviser to the “Subway Sleuths” program, said that when she asked how to get anywhere in the city, some of the participants could tell her not just which train to take, but the exact number of stair steps in each of the stations.
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Aug 15, 2011 18:36
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Saw this today. NOT SURE WHICH THREAD IT SHOULD BE IN OH GOD OH GOD
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Aug 15, 2011 21:04
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Gorilla Salad posted:Another kind of railroad, courtesy of EnglishRussia.com Who thought that was the best way to solve that problem?!?
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Aug 16, 2011 02:46
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rcman50166 posted:Who thought that was the best way to solve that problem?!? A Russian. It's what they do.
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Aug 16, 2011 03:10
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Russians will have giant loving robots before us. Also Amtrak is completely falling apart in Nevada, first truckers start ramming them, then the other day I saw the Amtrak getting a tow from the oldest loving SP engine I've ever seen running on the main tracks, you know, working. Why a single freight engine was moving the whole Amtrak train, I dunno, but it was lead engine. I guess that's a railroader's roadside service?
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Aug 16, 2011 03:39
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Wedesdo posted:Back to the trains = spergs discussion, this article in the NYT is amazing: I never knew that was a common thing, my step-cousin is autistic and loves trains. Every time I talk to him he wants to know what train I took.
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Aug 16, 2011 04:35
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InterceptorV8 posted:Why a single freight engine was moving the whole Amtrak train, I dunno, but it was lead engine. I guess that's a railroader's roadside service? Usually if Amtrak has engine issues the GE Genesis can only put out so much power for head end power and traction motors. If you lose a leader, then its pretty much done especially if the others are facing backwards. Easier to just get another leader. Plus freight engines do not need to share power for the coaches so the full amount of horse power is available. Probably an old GP40-2... those things pull like an ox.
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Aug 16, 2011 04:55
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Muffinpox posted:I never knew that was a common thing, my step-cousin is autistic and loves trains. Every time I talk to him he wants to know what train I took. I think it's the whole 'gigantic complex system designed to run perfectly on time' thing. They probably also blow their loads over old mechanical watches too.
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Aug 16, 2011 12:28
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Wedesdo posted:Back to the trains = spergs discussion, this article in the NYT is amazing: I instantly thought of this: Autistic Reporter: Train Thankfully Unharmed In Crash That Killed One Man
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Aug 16, 2011 19:36
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InterceptorV8 posted:Why a single freight engine was moving the whole Amtrak train, I dunno, but it was lead engine. I guess that's a railroader's roadside service? Passenger cars weigh considerably less than freight ... a fully-loaded freight car can weigh either 263,000 or 286,000 lbs (depending on when it was built) whereas an Amtrak Superliner only weighs about 150,000 lbs. And there's only going to be ten or so of them on a given train.
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Aug 17, 2011 00:31
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I saw a thing and brought it to you. Discuss.
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Sep 4, 2011 18:09
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B4Ctom1 posted:I saw a thing and brought it to you. Discuss. OK, I'll bite. How does a locomotive engine run for 2 solid years without having to stop for maintenance? Oil changes? Replace broken parts? I know they're built for reliability, but honestly, not a single part needed adjustment/cleaning/replacement while driving around the world 13 times? Please tell me that, in fact, locomotives can't go that long without maintenance, and that there's gnarly pictures of a large ruined engine over in the "Horrible Mechanical Failures" thread.
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Sep 4, 2011 22:15
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Boomerjinks posted:Saw this today. NOT SURE WHICH THREAD IT SHOULD BE IN OH GOD OH GOD I live right across the street from that train's final destination (737 Assembly Plant, Renton, WA). It's pretty awesome living next to where 737s are born, but those loving trains, man. One is OK, I actually don't mind a solitary horn blowing. But when there are two of them at the same time, I swear they carry on complex conversations with their horns. At 3am. It's like listening to two giant retarded whales.
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Sep 4, 2011 22:59
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Bow TIE Fighter posted:OK, I'll bite. I assume it's just an hour meter. It counts how long the engine has been ticking. When the engine is off, it isn't counting. you'll see hour meters instead of odometers on a lot of heavy equipment.
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Sep 5, 2011 01:52
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17354 hours is about 60% of the hours since May 27, 2008.
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Sep 5, 2011 02:00
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Bow TIE Fighter posted:OK, I'll bite. They don't, they are brought in for maintenance and inspection on a rigid schedule. At my terminal, all the power is inspected and minor repairs done daily, and when major stuff is required, they are sent west to a bigger shop. You don't spend millions on a locomotive and not change the oil or check the water. Some of our yard engines are almost 40 years old, and run well. They get used hard every day, 3 shifts and its rare to see one out-of-service.
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Sep 5, 2011 05:52
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9axle posted:They don't, they are brought in for maintenance and inspection on a rigid schedule. At my terminal, all the power is inspected and minor repairs done daily, and when major stuff is required, they are sent west to a bigger shop. You don't spend millions on a locomotive and not change the oil or check the water. Some of our yard engines are almost 40 years old, and run well. They get used hard every day, 3 shifts and its rare to see one out-of-service. Unless you work in a terminal that is the "red headed" step child.. then you get junk power. Seriously, the old SD40-2's are from the 1970's and they are still working in revenue service. Heck even in my terminal it was pretty usual to see 3 SD40s running regular service. The use has been cut down lately because of fuel consumption. Though for entertainment, we had an engine blow an oil cooling line. That was pretty bad rear end, minus the oil every were. It was a relatively new engine, GE Evolution Series, and it dumped about 60 gallons of oil. Which is the equivalent of loosing a couple of quarts in your engine. Most of the newer road engines contain roughly 450-500 gallons of lubricating oil.
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Sep 5, 2011 06:37
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Gorilla Salad posted:Another kind of railroad, courtesy of EnglishRussia.com This is a very cool page. It has huge machines and boobs.
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Sep 5, 2011 17:21
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This is far too  to not share...http://books.google.com/books?id=xyADAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&pg=RA1-PA37#v=onepage&q&f=true  Oh 1950s, you're so ambitiously rubbish.Google books will be the death(by starvation) of me.
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Sep 6, 2011 15:35
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Sponge! posted:This is far too .... this is a necessity. Defeat NIMBY by putting reactors in EVERYONES yard.
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Sep 6, 2011 15:49
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I believe the Russians (shocker) did actually try it to some degree for the Trans-Siberian Railway. Not sure if they ever actually made a working one. If I remember right, it was the reactor out of the Tu-119 after that was cancelled.
Cygni fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Sep 6, 2011 |
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Sep 6, 2011 19:42
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Someone needs to put atomic engines into OpenTTD.
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Sep 6, 2011 20:04
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Some track maintenance photos, cause hey the trains have to run on something! Cutting out the existing rail on a bridge to place onto a panel with new ties and plates, at 3 in the morning... Rabid Anti-Dentite! fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Sep 6, 2011 |
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Sep 6, 2011 20:12
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how do I put more than one picture in a post, why is everything so difficult!
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Sep 6, 2011 20:13
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dropping in a newly made bridge panel (160 feet long)
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Sep 6, 2011 20:14
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A ballast regulator off to the right, passed by a west bound on main 1
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Sep 6, 2011 20:15
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Adding ballast and tamping the newly laid panels
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Sep 6, 2011 20:18
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If you want to post more than one picture at a time, you have to host it elsewhere - http://imgur.com/ - you can upload a whole set, then just copy/paste the full picture in between [timg]http://i.imgur.com/ew9r9w3resr.jpg[/timg] tags
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Sep 6, 2011 20:18
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9axle posted:At my terminal, all the power is inspected and minor repairs done daily, and when major stuff is required, they are sent west to a bigger shop. You don't spend millions on a locomotive and not change the oil or check the water. Some of our yard engines are almost 40 years old, and run well. They get used hard every day, 3 shifts and its rare to see one out-of-service. Aaaaaahahahahaha wow. Once a day? Our locos run 24/7 until they break and get dragged in dead or they hit their ~3-week maintenance block and come in for inspection. That is to say, they go mine<->port in a constant loop, stopping every 10-12 hours (as they pass the stations near the ports) to do a crew change but otherwise run literally 24/7 (or close to it) in most cases. New crews will bring in replacement water for the bar fridge onboard and will cook their meals onboard in the ovens, etc. we give them. Fun fact: a colleague of mine came in to the tech room on site one day laughing because he'd seen a loco come in with a fault. Looked up the fault code, turns out it's the fault that says you haven't had a fault in 28(? or so) days and to check poo poo to make sure it's still working.
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Sep 7, 2011 15:00
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That atomic locomotive scares the poo poo out of me. Not because of the technology - I don't mind nuclear power - but because a nasty incident, such as one where the radiator car becomes separated, seems like it could... do bad things to an area.  Nam Taf posted:Fun fact: a colleague of mine came in to the tech room on site one day laughing because he'd seen a loco come in with a fault. Looked up the fault code, turns out it's the fault that says you haven't had a fault in 28(? or so) days and to check poo poo to make sure it's still working. So kind of like the "maintenance required" light in my last car that lit up every so many miles? 
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Sep 7, 2011 15:36
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some texas redneck posted:That atomic locomotive scares the poo poo out of me. Not because of the technology - I don't mind nuclear power - but because a nasty incident, such as one where the radiator car becomes separated, seems like it could... do bad things to an area. however.. it's also liquid, and soaking into your ground. Eep! That's why I like pebble beds. But they have their own issues. quote:So kind of like the "maintenance required" light in my last car that lit up every so many miles? Every 28 days huh? Does it get cranky, want ice cream, and the company of other locomotives for a week too?
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Sep 7, 2011 15:56
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