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I’ve been watching some of the California High Speed Rail construction progress videos, and it seems like a lot of the effort (and cost) is building giant viaducts to cross over existing freight rail lines. Is this what other HSR countries have to do too?
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Nov 4, 2022 13:19
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smackfu posted:I’ve been watching some of the California High Speed Rail construction progress videos, and it seems like a lot of the effort (and cost) is building giant viaducts to cross over existing freight rail lines. Is this what other HSR countries have to do too? Yes, the idea is to reduce the amount of level crossings of any kind. It is for speed and safety.
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Nov 4, 2022 13:34
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SwimNurd posted:Yes, the idea is to reduce the amount of level crossings of any kind. It is for speed and safety. See also: the constant railwork projects in Victoria, Australia to excise a shitload of them over recent years.
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Nov 4, 2022 13:37
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smackfu posted:I’ve been watching some of the California High Speed Rail construction progress videos, and it seems like a lot of the effort (and cost) is building giant viaducts to cross over existing freight rail lines. Is this what other HSR countries have to do too? Pretty much the definition of HSR is a line (or network of lines) physically and operationally separated from the rest of the 'conventional' network and dedicated to running one type of train (fast passenger trains) all travelling at the same speed on the same service pattern. That's what allows you to get the fast journey times and the regular, frequent service that makes it attractive to users. There was nothing that technically adventurous with the original Japanese Shinkansen - they were just very powerful streamlined electric train sets fitted with advanced signalling equipment. The big change was that they had a dedicated line to themselves, with no freight trains or slower passenger trains stopping at intermediate stations getting in the way. That's a key part of the saga that is HSR in the UK - the 'High Speed' bit is actually something of a misnomer since the reduced journey times are really more of a bonus over the huge capacity increase it provides. Put all the long-distance express trains on HSR and they can zoom along at 220mph. The old main line now has room for the freight trains rolling along at 60mph and the stopping passenger trains which average 60mph between stops. You don't need to leave huge headways in the timetable to keep different classes of train out of each others' way, so you can pack more slow services onto the old line and offer faster, more frequent journeys on the HSR.
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Nov 4, 2022 16:36
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An interesting short video about a collision, the collision itself pops up a lot on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaOt_nUGUoo
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Nov 6, 2022 18:57
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Pigsfeet on Rye posted:An interesting short video about a collision, the collision itself pops up a lot on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM The only mention of the crew is that one bailed out and at least one tested positive for cocaine, nothing on if they were injured or killed, or anything else that may have contributed to the collision
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Nov 6, 2022 23:47
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GotLag posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInDH2FeXaM I found different video about the accident, all personnel involved in the collision survived it, though some had significant injuries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyuxWR5G1h8
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Nov 7, 2022 01:32
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https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/732/hq200648.pdfquote:Probable Cause and Contributing Factors
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Nov 7, 2022 01:49
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There’s one line in the video where he says “when rail fans looked at the damage to the engines, they thought almost all of them were goners” and I thought it was about the crew but it’s about the actual train.
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Nov 7, 2022 01:51
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Meanwhile, in Ukraine... https://twitter.com/AKamyshin/status/1589353970283446272
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Nov 7, 2022 19:30
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steam locomotives are so loving cool
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Nov 7, 2022 19:31
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smackfu posted:I’ve been watching some of the California High Speed Rail construction progress videos, and it seems like a lot of the effort (and cost) is building giant viaducts to cross over existing freight rail lines. Is this what other HSR countries have to do too? it's also cheaper and faster if you do it at a large enough scale. everything can be pre-cast and assembled on site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XZOXRgVBMI
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Nov 7, 2022 20:53
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I'd heard a lot of the CAHSR route will be built on viaducts as a compromise with the owners of the land that it would pass through, thus minimising overall land take (costs, time, environmental & legal issues), but that could just be Internet chatter. The Colne Valley viaduct portion of HS2 seems to have followed a slightly different process, building outward from the piers and then casting the remaining gap filler sections in situ once they reach each other: https://i.imgur.com/R4uKbW2.mp4 ...like fitting Lego together, and then gluing the final portions. The Victorians would have just walled-up the Irish navvies inside the thing, nowadays I assume they simply throw a couple of plastic skeletons in high-vis into the void before sealing it up.
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Nov 7, 2022 23:57
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so I could say that I finally figured out what this god damned cube is doing. Get well Lowtax.
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Awesome cold start of an Alco RSD-1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3lzdaC8yQ4 These things had massive 6 cylinder engines with some of the largest cylinder displacements of any locomotive engine at nearly 1,600 cubic inches per cylinder (for only 1,000 hp). For comparison a modern 12 cylinder producing 4400 hp is around 1,000 cubic inches per cylinder. Great turbo noises too.
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Nov 23, 2022 04:18
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nhFVQFnOltY Came across this great atmospheric video of traditional signalling operations in Serbia. Love the chain-driven crossing barriers with the half-hearted warning gongs. And the resident railway dog
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Dec 15, 2022 12:15
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BalloonFish posted:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nhFVQFnOltY look how happy the train is! 
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Dec 17, 2022 18:23
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Interesting video of how a diesel-electric locomotive works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ0yIZgQeE
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Jan 2, 2023 01:37
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Pigsfeet on Rye posted:Interesting video of how a diesel-electric locomotive works: You know, a couple days ago I was bored and decided I wanted to know how exactly an AAR coupler worked. Searched YouTube for a while and came up with unsatisfying answers like "oh, there's a pin that drops when they couple together..." describing the function, but not HOW they work. This video scratched my itch. Thanks!!
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Jan 2, 2023 02:53
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So I've started working for SBB Cargo. Tons of new things to learn, many new people to meet, new tools to discover. It's a whirlwind, but it's a lot of fun. Please feel free to ask questions about railroading in Switzerland in general, and freight transport in particular. I'll answer to the best of my abilities. I can't dive into the details of most activities, since I have a managerial position and am therefore somewhat removed from the actual railroading work. In the meantime, here's a picture of one of our brand new bi-mode heavy shunters (type designation Aem 940) : 
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Feb 9, 2023 21:30
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I went through the new Moynihan train hall in NYC and it’s undeniable much nicer than the old Penn station basement. But it still has the terrible Amtrak thing where they only announce your departure platform as the incoming train is arriving, unlike every other rail system. Does anyone know what’s up with that?
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Feb 10, 2023 13:43
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Noosphere posted:So I've started working for SBB Cargo. Tons of new things to learn, many new people to meet, new tools to discover. It's a whirlwind, but it's a lot of fun. Hey, congrats! I've only ever been exposed to the passenger side of SBB but they seem extremely competent. Do the freight routes cover the same beautiful passes and such as some of the passenger trains, and if so do you ever get an excuse to ride along?
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Feb 10, 2023 16:51
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shocked at this threads silence re: the derailment in ohio
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Feb 10, 2023 19:30
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Stairmaster posted:shocked at this threads silence re: the derailment in ohio Well, it's Ohio.
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Feb 10, 2023 19:50
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Stairmaster posted:shocked at this threads silence re: the derailment in ohio who cares about Ohio
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Feb 10, 2023 20:01
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Not only that, anybody who's even semi-interested in trains knows this stuff happens all the time. It just finally happened in a populated area with a dangerous cargo. The train isn't even the notable part of it it's like how the Ever Given was all over everything for a month even though there are hundreds of shipwrecks a year. to people with no interest it's a shocking failure. To people who have even a passing interest, it's an inevitability. Powershift fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Feb 10, 2023 |
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Feb 10, 2023 20:08
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Norfolk Southern was just trying to do their part to help more Ohioans get out of Ohio and to the moon by launching them up there via hazmat explosions
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Feb 10, 2023 20:48
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The only reason this Sandusky, Ohio derailment back in October '22 didn't get a poo poo ton of mainstream press was 1) the tankers were full of food-grade wax, and 2) nobody got covered in it. Took out a 100+ year-old underpass, which in Feb '23 still remains closed to vehicle traffic.
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Feb 10, 2023 21:24
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NoWake posted:The only reason this Sandusky, Ohio derailment back in October '22 didn't get a poo poo ton of mainstream press was 1) the tankers were full of food-grade wax, and 2) nobody got covered in it. food-grade  wax 
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Feb 10, 2023 21:39
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:food-grade I googled it and now i only have more questions. 
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Feb 10, 2023 22:08
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Mmm-mm. Really adds a sheen of flavour to an everyday wood-stone-metal-concrete-plastic sandwich, you know?
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Feb 10, 2023 23:44
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Presumably it’s for food contact surfaces. (Food grade wax also gets used a bunch directly - everything from coating fruits and candy to keeping chocolate from melting as easily.)
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Feb 11, 2023 00:49
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Powershift posted:I googled it and now i only have more questions. This is basically what Starbust candy is.
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Feb 11, 2023 03:08
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JohnCompany posted:Hey, congrats! I've only ever been exposed to the passenger side of SBB but they seem extremely competent. Thank you ! Concerning competence, one of our primary objectives is punctuality. That is to say, that over 92% of freight loads must arrive within a 30 minute delivery window at the customer's site. I will indeed be given the opportunity for a few cab rides, which I'm greatly looking forward to. Freight routes are quite varied. There are short routes from small customers to the shunting yards (and the reverse of course) : edit : in this case, it's a large customer, but the principle is the same. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfRTsxdbKRQ There are routes from shunting yard to shunting yard : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwj-8qhmy7o And finally there are the real money makers, the routes from the German border to the Italian border. Either through the Gotthard base tunnel, or the Lötschberg base tunnel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se6ESNEuho4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CRKUJxFNDw The scenic routes through the old tunnels are still in use, but their steep grades make them less efficient. As an example, this video is of a solo locomotive going over the old Lötschberg route. Since it's not hauling any wagons, the dispatchers didn't use their precious base tunnel train paths on it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BwsDJpRQrs Noosphere fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Feb 11, 2023 |
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Feb 11, 2023 09:47
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tired: private railcar wired: private streetcar
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Feb 11, 2023 14:59
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Powershift posted:Not only that, anybody who's even semi-interested in trains knows this stuff happens all the time. It just finally happened in a populated area with a dangerous cargo. So FEMA does this thing called a National Level Event exercise every couple years. A few years ago, 2016 I think, one component of the disaster was a freight train derailing at CP Virginia in downtown Washington, DC and tank cars of phenol rupturing. I was killed 
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Feb 18, 2023 22:12
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GujoYkaQf8 Some railway hired a locomotive and crew to shuttle around a couple thousand tons of ballast. Initially the work would be done with a diesel. The crew showed up with a steam locomotive. Turned into germans They pulled about 1000 tons with it. 20 flatcars with ballast. Sounds gooooood. The three cylinder steam loco has an interesting rhythm to it. LimaBiker fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Feb 19, 2023 |
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Feb 19, 2023 19:38
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Sash! posted:So FEMA does this thing called a National Level Event exercise every couple years. A few years ago, 2016 I think, one component of the disaster was a freight train derailing at CP Virginia in downtown Washington, DC and tank cars of phenol rupturing. I was killed The [company] I was hired at held a disaster exercise much like this for one of the last days of group training. We used hand-held radios to go through a manifest, identity hazards, talk to crews on the ground, first responders, and notify the "general public". Of the trainees spammed the hand-held channel with a constant click-click-click-click so nobody could communicate, it devolved into a shitshow, and ended up being more realistic than the staff had anticipated.
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Feb 20, 2023 03:59
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Sash! posted:So FEMA does this thing called a National Level Event exercise every couple years. A few years ago, 2016 I think, one component of the disaster was a freight train derailing at CP Virginia in downtown Washington, DC and tank cars of phenol rupturing. I was killed goondolences
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Feb 20, 2023 08:04
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Noosphere posted:So I've started working for SBB Cargo. Tons of new things to learn, many new people to meet, new tools to discover. It's a whirlwind, but it's a lot of fun. How often do you clean the graffiti off freight cars? Does DB's abysmal passenger rail on time numbers reflect any underlying issues that also impact you? How many derailment's does SBB freight have a year? Are there any cool photos of tons of food grade wax pouring over an alpine meadow?
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Feb 20, 2023 13:41
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distortion park posted:How often do you clean the graffiti off freight cars? Hardly ever. It's a sysephean task and is only cleaned if it impacts safety or operational capability. On this picture, you can see that the areas of the wagon that bear important text or pictograms are clean, and the rest is left to the graffiti artists.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/40826712@N00/albums/72157629631973358 quote:Does DB's abysmal passenger rail on time numbers reflect any underlying issues that also impact you? No major impact on the cargo division, but the passenger division decided this autumn to stop most german trains at the border because they are consistently late. This way, their lateness won't have knock-on effects on the rest of the network. quote:How many derailment's does SBB freight have a year? Are there any cool photos of tons of food grade wax pouring over an alpine meadow? There's derailment, and then there's derailment. What happens sadly too frequently is a missed signal during shunting, which leads to either a derailer or a catch point to derail the train, sometimes with spectacular results. Or a switch may be run through, which will lead to trouble during subsequent shunting operations.   Here are the 2 most notable derailments in Switzerland in the past 30 years : Lausanne in 1994 : 13 wagons, among them some full of epichlorohydrin derailed, leading to a chemical spill, but fortunately no fatalities.  Daillens in 2015 : 25 tons of sulfuric acid were spilled.  There have been many other accidents (over 10'000 trains run every single day), but those are the two that stand out by far in their severity. Noosphere fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Feb 20, 2023 |
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Feb 20, 2023 21:11
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