Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

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Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

So in the aftermath of railroads alluding to shutting down over PTC implementation, it looks like the railroads may be getting a break.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-congress-positive-train-control-met-20150930-story.html

# ¿ Oct 3, 2015 01:19

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 00:54

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

HERAK posted:

gently caress. Any one got a link to a write up on what happened or a video? I'm hoping that was on purpose tonmake a demolition easier.

Sherwood, OR rail trestle. Apparently a grass fire began nearby and spread to the trestle.
http://www.oregonlive.com/sherwood/index.ssf/2015/08/burning_railroad_trestle_conti.html

# ¿ Oct 3, 2015 20:21

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

It looks like the FRA is blaming a broken rail for that huge derailment and fire in WV in February. They say that inspectors missed the break on two separate inspections. How does this happen? I assume there are automated ways of track testing, are they just not foolproof? Or are the alarms not automatic?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/us/west-virginia-train-derailment-investigation/index.html

# ¿ Oct 9, 2015 18:44

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

B4Ctom1 posted:

New Russian Tier 4 low emissions locomotive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG0N58_dUuY

Wow, the new rubber tire-electric locomotives are looking good!

# ¿ Oct 24, 2015 22:02

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

I found myself looking up and reading about SmartConsist, since I had never heard of it (non-railroad employee / railfan here). During my readings, I looked at how railroads are trying to cut fuel costs, and one of the ways mentioned involved lubricating the rails to lessen track adhesion. Isn't that somewhat counterproductive for safety, since it seems that it would lessen braking forces from the locomotive and the cars when slowing down? Also, wouldn't it lessen the ability of the locomotive to accelerate, causing wheel slipppage when it's trying to accelerate the train? Also, do railroads care about pollution on the roadbed, or do they not really give a poo poo?

# ¿ Jan 9, 2016 22:15

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

I'm conflicted: it's always sad to read how totally the UK government and BR hosed up the railroads in the UK, but on the other hand, I always love reading your posts about BR and the amazingly messed up things that they whelped.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2016 02:31

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Wilford Cutlery posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp-b4Ce4Mf4

I can't believe how little comes out of the stack, I always thought that steam engines belched gigatons of smoke.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2016 16:08

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Rabid Anti-Dentite! posted:

So what you are talking about is call top of rail lubrication. Basically there are two main types of railroad friction management (lubrication). Gage face, which is a thick graphite based grease that is applied between the flange of the wheel and the gage face (inside) of the rail. There are a few reasons for this. One is it greatly increases the life of the rail, simply because as a truck goes through a curve, the flange of the wheel is applying a great amount of wear on the rail. Second is increased fuel savings, the less friction and the less wear, the less work the engine has to do. Third is it makes the curves quiet, if you have ever been around a train going through a curve with a decent degree of curve, it is a terrible noise. Typically these units are based off wheel counts, on average about 16 wheels per revolution of the grease pump. There is a layer of carpet that is designed to catch the grease, and it should be changed out at least every six months to help keep everything clean. There are also plastic trays that sit under the grease bars (where the grease come out) to catch the over flow.

The second type is a top of rail (TOR) lubricator. This applies a biological friendly grease to the top of the rail. The grease has the consistency of vegetable oil, and a organism called bio mat is laid on the ties and ballast that eats the oil to prevent it from soaking in. The main idea behind top of rail is fuel usage reduction. A steel wheel on a steel rail is very low friction, I've read that people can push a train car on a flat piece of track. Now lets say a train is running through arizona, with very little grade, very gradual curves, and no real reason to stop. A TOR makes perfect sense in nice stretches of tangent track. A thin layer of lubrication between the rail and the wheel reduces friction and decreases rail and wheel wear. These also work on a wheel counter, and may only cycle once every 32 wheels.

If traction becomes an issue, the engineer can use sand to gain traction, and if it is a common problem, then the unit may be turned down. The railroad I work with has done an extreme amount of research on friction management, and I spent a while in the field with the systems. I can speak first hand that on the track side, the amount of rail defects, rail wear and rail breakage is much less when greasers are used.

Remember that when a train is moving efficiently, its momentum allows it to coast for periods of time, making traction for acceleration irrelavent. When it comes to braking, the brakes on the motors are only half the method to stop, the electric motors also assist in slowing the trains.

If a train dumps into emergency, the brake shoes are going to get so hot that anything on the wheels will burn off or be removed from force.

There are some areas where we don't lubricate. Road crossings and grades are the main areas. Grease near road crossings can cause activation issues, and on grades you want traction.

This was really interesting and cleared up the questions, thanks much!

# ¿ Jan 27, 2016 04:18

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

this it?

Nope, that's EMD's new cryptolocomotive, designed to look just like a gondola car. It comes pre-graffitied so scumbags ignore it and tag other stuff.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2016 14:15

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

MassivelyBuckNegro posted:

yea drat those corporations trying to justify the multi-billion dollar ptc programs they've had to develop and implement.

i'm agnostic on the subject but its silly to get pissed off at a corporation for wanting some return on their investment. that's kind of how capitalism works.

But is PTC about reducing crew size, or is it about enhancing safety on the railroad lines? Disclaimer: IANA railroader.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2016 02:29

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Looks like CN lost a rail trestle due to a fire of unknown origin, and it happened in a spectacular fashion:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tm_content=link

# ¿ Apr 27, 2016 02:31

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

So often with crimes, the criminal is someone that you trust: a volunteer firefighter is charged with a boatload of fires, including the one that destroyed a CN trestle.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/02/teen-volunteer-firefighter-charged-with-setting-string-blazes-helped-extinguish.html?intcmp=hplnws

# ¿ May 2, 2016 22:12

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

The NTSB apparently released information on the Amtrak crash in Philadelphia, and it seems like they're blaming distraction as the prime cause. Is it really possible to get so distracted for so long that you forget that you're in an accelerating train. A few seconds I can see, but entire minutes?

Bonus: NTSB Press release as of 5/16/2016:

NTSB to Meet on Amtrak 188 Derailment Accident
5/11/2016

WASHINGTON - The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the May 2015 fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia during a board meeting scheduled for May 17, 2016.

On May 12, 2015, at 9:21 pm ET, northbound Amtrak passenger train no. 188 derailed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after entering a curve at 106 mph where the speed is restricted to 50 mph. The locomotive and all seven passenger cars derailed. Eight passengers were killed and more than 200 others were transported to area hospitals.

Event: Board Meeting
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 9:30 a.m. ET
Location: NTSB Board Room and Conference Center
Address: 429 L�Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC
Participants: NTSB Board members

# ¿ May 17, 2016 00:20

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Looks like the time is ripe to form a goon corporation and start a goon railroad!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/07/25/texas-city-tries-to-sell-historic-108-foot-steam-locomotive.html

# ¿ Jul 25, 2016 22:14

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Cygni posted:

https://i.imgur.com/E5gGrgl.gifv

Idgi, what am I missing with this? What's going on here?

# ¿ Sep 3, 2016 15:20

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

JuffoWup posted:

Well for one, the people stopped on the bridge just got a giant dousing of water. Then there is the people under the bridge that just ate a wall of water and will be completely drenched (hope they weren't going to work!). Other than that, it is a train plowing through a puddle of standing water.

Duh, sorry, I posted from my phone and the .gif didn't play, so I assumed that it was a photo. Got my interwebs back from the storm for a few, so now it makes sense.

# ¿ Sep 3, 2016 18:57

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

McDeth posted:

So my Dad is a retired road foreman for Amtrak and the last time he was in town was showing me some unpublished videos of accidents captured by onboard cameras (this was back in like 2012). One that really stood out was a train with Genesis locomotives hitting a tractor trailer and then derailing and ramming into some sort of DoD/Defense contractor facility with a ton of Bradleys and Abrams at about 80 MPH. It looked pretty intense but I can't for the life of me recall any news articles or videos of the incident.

Does that ring any bells for anybody?

Was it this?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/locosteve/galleries/72157626422604751/

# ¿ Oct 26, 2016 22:24

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

IPCRESS posted:

Signals failed to operate, leaving the driver to assume that things were safe and cross in front of the train. Sad.

If there were no level crossing signals, drivers would check the crossing themselves and cross only when safe, averting this tragedy.

Later today I will be signing an executive order banning the installation of new level crossing signals, and the removal of existing level crossing signals.

This is a great plan, a great plan, that will lead to thousands of tremendous jobs as well as returning freedom to you, the American people.

Why not just remove all the at-grade crossings everywhere and rebuild them as over- or underpasses? This would truly lead to a job explosion.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 01:11

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

An interesting article about an abandoned English railroad and decaying town in... Brazil
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4222838/The-abandoned-British-train-station-Brazilian-jungle.html

# ¿ Feb 23, 2017 03:21

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Terrible Robot posted:

skip to about 2:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhraoVIJ1OE

I see now what was meant.

# ¿ Mar 12, 2017 01:34

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

According to commentary on other forums, the wheel is for controlling the throttle. Brakes and forward / reverse controls are elsewhere.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2017 12:39

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

B4Ctom1 posted:

https://www.gofundme.com/repair-ns-4001

That thing took a real beating.

http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/ns-wreck-at-mattawanna-pa

# ¿ Apr 26, 2017 01:56

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

ExplodingSims posted:

Swimming pool in a train, what could go wrong?

Lots of chances for a kiddie wave pool when changing velocity.

# ¿ May 6, 2017 15:16

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

B4Ctom1 posted:

Whoops
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/massive-missouri-train-collision-takes-down-highway-overpass/

I'm at a loss here: aren't railroad-railroad intersections controlled in some fashion? I can't imagine why it would be just a "I got here first, yo" kind of priority.

# ¿ May 26, 2017 15:13

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Talk about having a suck day: a guy got hit by both a UP train and an Amtrak train. Apparently still alive.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/06/man_hit_by_2_trains_in_se_port_1.html

# ¿ Jun 26, 2017 22:06

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

A train in India derailed, six cars left the track. Two of them telescoped into each other, while four others toppled over after the derailment. :smith:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/19/train-derails-in-northern-india-killing-at-least-23.html

# ¿ Aug 19, 2017 20:10

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

The Locator posted:

Given how crowded most trains seem to be in India, I'm fairly shocked the casualty count isn't a lot higher.

Yeah, usually what I see on the news are poo poo-tons of people on the roofs because the cars are so packed.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2017 21:40

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Speaking of locomotive insanity, a guy in Phoenix was released from jail in the morning, ended up going to a rail yard and trying to steal a locomotive. Busted again.

http://fox6now.com/2017/11/18/police-man-nearly-steals-two-trains-from-phoenix-rail-yard

# ¿ Nov 19, 2017 16:19

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Mental Hospitality posted:

This was a lengthy video, but it held my interest the entire time. Very fascinating stuff to someone that knows the basics of steam locomotives, or even someone that doesn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx9Q8PphAVo

Yeah, that was amazing to watch to see all the effort that goes into firing up a locomotive like that.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2017 02:45

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Yeah, it's on various news services that he died from unexpected complications from illness.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2017 22:28

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Cygni posted:

photoshop.

I wanted to believe. :smith:

# ¿ Jan 20, 2018 03:53

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Interesting articles on the restoration of the UP Big Boy

https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/steam-update-01-03-2018.htm

https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/steam-update-03-22-2018.htm

# ¿ Mar 25, 2018 01:16

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

B4Ctom1 posted:

Locomotive burned up in Green River Wyoming
http://www.sweetwaternow.com/two-employees-from-union-pacific-railroad-went-to-mhsc-for-treatment-of-smoke-inhalation-in-locomotive-fire/

post fire drone footage
https://www.facebook.com/sweetwaternow/videos/1023485767800052/

So is the locomotive now scrap, salvage, or do they try to remanufacture it?

# ¿ Apr 19, 2018 00:23

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

vains posted:

like bovine noted, there is a massive difference between a passenger line curtailment or shutdown and the penn central bankruptcy. gigantic differences. penn central serviced something like 50% of the population of the united states. had the govt not stepped in to form conrail, the economy would have been wrecked. further, the penn central, as conrail, proved that the market it serviced could be profitable but it was constrained in such a way that it couldn't make money until legislation changed.

read: the men who loved trains and the great railroad revolution. they both do a much better job of explaining the situation.

Also, if you're into it, the "Rail Act of 1980 Background Materials", which was prepared for the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce during the build up to the Staggers Act, is interesting reading into how the whole mess evolved and how bad it got.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015081188693;view=1up;seq=22

# ¿ May 16, 2018 23:14

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Megillah Gorilla posted:

From the OSHA thread, this thing is just incredible:

Thing of beauty!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_Steam_Log_Hauler

# ¿ Dec 16, 2018 17:23

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Someone caught dashboard video of a train derailing as it crossed a highway in Saskatoon. Pretty intense video.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/hot-topics/Tags/Train%20derailment

# ¿ Jan 24, 2019 01:32

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Stupidity around trains has always been a thing.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2019 15:07

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

FuturePastNow posted:

IIRC there was some plan to design a modern steam locomotive that burns biowaste fuel. It would just use a steam turbine to power traction motors and wouldn't look much different from a diesel. Probably stinkier.

https://csrail.org/3463

https://csrail.org/

# ¿ Apr 8, 2019 22:16

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

# ¿ Sep 25, 2019 16:20

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 00:54

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

Big Boy 4014 is on the move, coming into Arkansas as part of its tour.
https://5newsonline.com/2019/11/14/490831/

Steam locomotive tracking website

# ¿ Nov 17, 2019 21:38

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Locomotive Insanity: Murder on the BNSF Mixed Consist doesnt have the same ring to it

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