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Are all of you working at a "big" railroad or are any of you guys transit workers?
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Dec 21, 2013 00:06
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| # ? May 9, 2024 13:57 |
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I saw a train today. 
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Dec 21, 2013 02:38
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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Train graffiti owns.
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Dec 21, 2013 06:20
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A bridge collapsed near me yesterday. While a train was going over it  http://rapidcityjournal.com/photos/train-derails-in-black-hawk/collection_5a198748-7b30-55ac-ab0c-5fb57048e76c.html#22 Don't think anyone was hurt, but that's going to be a mess to clean up.
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Dec 21, 2013 08:08
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Especially Ichabod, or ICH as he writes sometimes. The man is simply a legend. I'm not sure if it's confirmation bias or that his work is distinct and more legible than most, but I found it wasn't out of the ordinary to see 10-20 of his cars come through the yard on a given day. I would also take a mental tally of chalkings I'd see from from writers like whistle blower, IMUGLY and Colossus of Roads.. hobo chalk is like the pre-war version twitter, and I find it endlessly interesting. The graffiti is definitely one of my favorite things about the railroad besides the work itself. I'm not talking about lazy tags from a bored teenager who happened to find a can of spray paint, but the pieces that took considerable planning, effort, creativity and skill. In a bleak environment of steel, stone, splinters, grease, dust, speed and noise, the graffiti is a dynamic and fleeting reminder of the human element. It's almost like an organic growth.. I swear that you could leave a box car parked on the moon, and within a month the bottom 3 feet would be covered in tags. You can call it vandalism if you like, and the artists will always be trespassers, but at the end of the day it's still just paint on the side of railcar. As long as the reporting marks and placards aren't covered up, it can still do its job of carrying cargo for the railroad just as well. I would actually prefer to see graffiti up on something mobile rather than a fence or a wall in my neighborhood, and I'm sure the artists get a kick out of the nationwide exposure they get for their work.
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Dec 21, 2013 08:11
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Yes there is nothing cooler than being halfway across the country from home and seeing a train roll past with the same familiar names tagged onto it that you see on your neighborhood train tracks.
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Dec 21, 2013 13:51
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Minto Took posted:Train graffiti owns. Its like a moving art museum. I love it.
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Dec 22, 2013 02:36
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Once more the UK is about to get a new locomotive class: And again the bar for 'most powerful diesel locomotive' on british rails will be lifted a step more (well, unless we count the prototype Kestrel) at 3800hp
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Dec 22, 2013 10:58
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25556061 Another crude derailment
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Dec 31, 2013 08:29
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Hey that's near where my grandma lives. Haven't heard train cars called "wagons" before.
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Dec 31, 2013 08:33
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jamal posted:Hey that's near where my grandma lives. Haven't heard train cars called "wagons" before. The UK calls them wagons. News link is BBC, more'splosions at that wreck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny4jBIxrYqQ
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Dec 31, 2013 20:10
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So, if a train is 10,000 feet long and goes into emergency, do you have to walk the entire drat-near-2-miles to find the problem?
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Jan 1, 2014 00:22
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Yep! Its always fun in the winter with snow up to your butt hole.
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Jan 1, 2014 01:09
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gently caress thatttttt bring a bike or something man
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Jan 1, 2014 01:18
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So on the tail of UP reaffirming their commitment to their steam program (and insanity) by deciding to resurrect a big boy, NS has given the railfans a bit of a token apology for canceling their steam program by donating 1.5 million dollars to the effort to restore 611 to operation. I have it on good authority from an inside source that this meant the difference between "This may happen" and "This will definitely happen". So if you like steam locomotives, this should make you happy. http://fireup611.org/ They do still need money for a maintenance facility, but at this point they're pretty positive that they'll be able to get it, now that they have enough to restore the locomotive.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:01
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25556061 Is that on the same track as the Amtrak Empire Builder (Chicago to Seattle)? They were already complaining the rails are completely congested due to the oil boom in ND.
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Jan 1, 2014 08:00
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CharlesM posted:They were already complaining the rails are completely congested due to the oil boom in ND. Bakken shale oil, I love it because it means Big oraNge is spending money for line improvements system wide. We were pulling out jointed rail from the 1940's on the line from southern Oregon to Northern Cal only a few months ago. The oil boom has added more trains to a subdivision that only saw 3-4 trains a day.
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Jan 1, 2014 08:54
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Disgruntled Bovine posted:So on the tail of UP reaffirming their commitment to their steam program (and insanity) by deciding to resurrect a big boy, NS has given the railfans a bit of a token apology for canceling their steam program by donating 1.5 million dollars to the effort to restore 611 to operation. I was unaware that the 21st Century Steam Program had been canceled. What's the story behind that?
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Jan 1, 2014 09:27
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History
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Jan 1, 2014 18:14
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Tex Avery posted:I was unaware that the 21st Century Steam Program had been canceled. What's the story behind that? Sorry that isn't what I was referring to. I meant their steam program in the 80s and 90s using 611 and 1218. I don't think they intended this as any kind of apology for anything, I just sort of view it making amends for the fact that they canceled the program in the first place.
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Jan 2, 2014 00:09
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SybilVimes posted:What everyone is describing is basically micro-sleep. It has a long and bad association with train drivers It's named after Moorgate station because, well, that's where the crash which forced the introduction of the system happened. tl'dr version: Train driver just doesn't stop at the platform and ploughs through the buffers into the unused tunnel beyond. This wouldn't be so bad except the tunnel was originally built for surface loading gauge (rather than the Underground) so the first car does a vertical jackknife, the next two ride up over the top and, well, 41 people died including the driver and it took the better part of a week to get the bodies out in 40 degree (celsius)/100 degree farenheit heat. What does that have to do with the crash earlier? Nobody knows why the driver didn't stop. The wiki summary is pretty when you think about it:quote:The Department of the Environment report on the collision was published on 4 March 1976 and tests showed no equipment fault on the train. Postmortem evidence indicated that at the time of impact the driver's hand was on the brake handle, rather than in front of his face to protect it. Witnesses were interviewed; some passengers on the train reported that the train accelerated when entering the station, and some witnesses standing in the station reported that the driver, 56-year-old Leslie Newson, was sitting upright in his seat and looking straight ahead as the train passed through the station. The state of the motor control gear as found after the accident indicated that power had been applied to the motors until within two seconds of the impact. "akinesis with mutism, where the brain continues to function and the individual remains aware although they cannot move physically". Jesus. Just imagine that.
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Jan 2, 2014 00:59
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Sounds like sleep paralysis.
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Jan 2, 2014 01:18
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Here's a nice photo album of railway porn: http://jonathanrleephoto.virb.com/
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Jan 4, 2014 00:41
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Wilford Cutlery posted:Here's a nice photo album of railway porn: http://jonathanrleephoto.virb.com/ This is better because the guy is also an engineer and a fashion photographer. vaguely  http://www.andychabotstudios.com/
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Jan 4, 2014 09:13
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Here are some train pictures for you guys. Taken in Seattle, here-ish http://goo.gl/maps/8OijI     I determined this car had Toyota Siennas inside.
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Jan 5, 2014 00:57
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:This is better because the guy is also an engineer and a fashion photographer. Way to ruin perfectly a perfectly good railway site with pictures of ladies 
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Jan 5, 2014 01:07
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MassivelyBuckNegro posted:This is better because the guy is also an engineer and a fashion photographer. This man is the best man that ever lived
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Jan 5, 2014 08:09
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Just because you can HDR doesn't mean you should HDR. (Is it bad that I went to the train pictures before I looked at the ladie pictures?  )
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Jan 5, 2014 09:18
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How is he taking a picture from the rail without getting squished? Or is the train not actually moving?
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Jan 5, 2014 10:08
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Jan 6, 2014 10:03
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If you're wondering what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V250_%28train%29
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Jan 6, 2014 15:01
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Who painted that? Government? Railroad? Artist?
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Jan 7, 2014 01:49
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Railroading in arctic cold. Last night I was called on a train around dinner time. Lets call it the "first" train. It was -15F here in Wyoming. They even built the train nearby and knew the cold was coming, long, conventional (no DP), decision making table failure. So the inbound crew is instructed to cut the train to make a setout and pickup. No fucks given. They knew it might not go well, so they even had a manager watching over the crew with a whip in each hand. I guess the idea is that the presence of a manager can somehow miracle the air back into the mile and a half long train. Since it must be the fault of the crew when there are delays. After 4 hours on duty, they traded my call onto the next train. We will call it the "second" train. This was a decision made mainly because the "first" train terminates at the next terminal and they are afraid I will not have enough time to yard it. This "second" train started a long ways away, it had only a single entrained DP unit. For no good reason it was turned into a nearly 3 mile long monster at a nearby terminal by people who should also know better. "Second" train finally rolls in, comes to a stop and the air goes to hell before I even climb on. inbound crew on this one says it went from bad to crap on them. Mechanical forces work on it for 2 hours in a -44F wind chill. Mechanical force guys deserve a lot of credit for their hard work because they had to walk it because of trains on adjacent tracks. They did a great job of finding tiny leaks that act like huge ones in this cold. Dispatcher decides "first" train will be parked until the next day when the temperature improves. That crew behind me will get my "second" train, and haul me home on it. While "first" train is being secured "third" train comes in. "Third" train is a simple empty grain train. Kind of hard to mess up. Light, not too terribly long, good power, DP pumping on the rear. Pretty hard to mess up. That "third" train leaves, that crew has a smug smile on their face as they fly by us. A short time later, the "first" train is secured, relief crew boards "second" train with us, and they let the dispatcher know we are ready to go. We sit there for a few minutes, and we hear "third" train 20 miles ahead of us calling out that the cold has frozen up their DP. The smugness is now far from their voices, they report that the air is dropping and the train is stopping on it's own. "Third" train is dead in the water now too. A short time later we on "second" train pass "third" train at its final resting place. "Second" train is making it, but not with flying colors. At least it is moving. Late in the morning, 14 and a half hours after my day began, it finally ends. But I still have a 40 minute commute home in a 55 mph wind ground blizzard. The sun is up, the roads are open, so I got that going for me. I get to try again tomorrow. Just another exciting day on the railroad.
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Jan 7, 2014 03:29
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From a dispatching stand point - 1430 start time, 3 trains dead, 2 trains with less than 2 hours to work, and a train with power issues. Theres 3 broken rails, 2 with no routes around said broken rail. 10 radio towers are going off, and the director is behind you saying we need to get this train moving because the power plant needs it. What do you do? 1. Get the CETBP (coal train to power plant) on the move, hes "hot", and the crew has 5 hours to work, its a 4 hour run to the yard. In and out him through sidings and park other trains. 2. Get maintenance out to fix the broken rail on your sub that there is 5 trains that need to go south on with 2 north bounders. It takes 2 hours to get the broken rail fixed and its a 1.5 hour crew change, so by the time they are fixed, the crews and trains will be in position to start traffic flowing. 3. Take up the 3 dead trains warrants and protect them with dispatcher warrants so that way you can run trains around them in the next siding 4. Hold off on coming traffic by making the sub division handing off trains to me, and get 2 hour spacing while telling the director that we need spacing. 5. get some recrews called against 2 trains, because the 2 of the 3 trains are short and can be doubled together to move traffic (both trains are only 1400' each) 6. Get out of the god drat cube because all this happened in 4 hours and your bladder is about ready to explode. Grab a drink, microwave your dinner, get back to the desk because there is 5 radio towers going off. 7. Do some quick thinking and try to figure out which train is going to be your sacrificial lamb to the railroad gods. Tell your director we need to kill this train off because lets face it, we can fleet south with the 5 south bounders, 1 will make it in with no issues but trying to get 1 train north with only 6 hours left to work to meet all the south bounders is spelling disaster. Director agrees, order up a van and tell the crew to tie it down as she sits. 8. Recrews coming on duty, give out warrants to the recrews, get the north bounder in while the recrews are getting their trains untied. Maintenance tells you that every thing is fixed, but they need to put a slow order out for 10 mph. Crap, give it to all the trains that will need it. 9. Listen to the whiners on the train you told to tie down how we can make it, blah blah blah. 10. CETBP breaks down. Second unit dumps its water and its not making the hill. Luckily the local job is near by switching out the elevator. Tell them to leave their cars, head up and give them a shove up the hill, and high ball the rest of the work for the night, because they only have 3 hours left to work. 11. Its 22:00, your brain is now mush. Your relief walks in at 22:20 and give turn over.
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Jan 7, 2014 03:48
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BrokenKnucklez posted:From a dispatching stand point - As a non train person, I can figure out most of the stuff here, but what does a radio tower going off mean? Also, why are the rails broken, cold contraction snapping them?
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Jan 7, 2014 04:03
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The Locator posted:As a non train person, I can figure out most of the stuff here, but what does a radio tower going off mean? Its called an AvTech screen. Basically when some in the field needs the attention of the dispatcher, they dial a code on a pad (exactly like your phone) and it "tones up" or "dials up" the dispatcher. It notifies you that some one is trying to notify you from the field. As a dispatcher, theres about 1 tower per 20 miles of railroad, so knowing where your trains are at gives you a good idea of whos calling in, but it could be a completely different person, depending on the weather, etc. Yes, the rail is so cold that its turning brittle. Weight, defects in the steel, weather, etc can cause breakage.
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Jan 7, 2014 04:17
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BrokenKnucklez posted:From a dispatching stand point - At least you're not working in the Great Lakes. Chicago, Northern Indiana and Northern Ohio are currently hosed. I have a train that will be close to 30 hours late(at best) by the time it gets in.
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Jan 7, 2014 05:29
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I honestly can't think of an AnsaldoBreda customer in the last 20 years happy with their units... no idea how they still get contracts.
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Jan 7, 2014 06:04
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Very good at schmoozing the politicians in charge of public transport, I'd guess. How else do any lovely companies stay in business?
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Jan 7, 2014 06:42
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| # ? May 9, 2024 13:57 |
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They probably underbid everyone else and governments love that poo poo.
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Jan 7, 2014 12:54
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