I'm working on a scene which includes a freight house with lots of heavy duty 18 wheel truck traffic. I could use some suggestions on a heavy duty railroad crossing. I'm thinking about an asphault entrance and lot, but with concrete either side of the rails and maybe metal plate or grating between the rails. Maybe both the entrance and lot will be raised so they are entirely level with the rail head. Suggestions? Photos?
Thanks,
Jim
CSX (West shore Hudson) uses a full concrete crossing on its New Salem road crossing. This road leads past a large rock crushing plant and carried HEAVY truck traffic. They tried rubber a few years ago and it didn't last too long. Your concrete idea is a good one.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
I think you'd be more likely to find concrete used instead of asphalt for a freight house/trucking terminal. 18 wheelers would tear up an asphalt lot in a matter of days. I used to drive a truck and never saw anything other than concrete used for all of the locations I visited for deliveries.
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
Don Z wrote: I think you'd be more likely to find concrete used instead of asphalt for a freight house/trucking terminal. 18 wheelers would tear up an asphalt lot in a matter of days. I used to drive a truck and never saw anything other than concrete used for all of the locations I visited for deliveries.Don Z.
I do not disagree with you, and I can see your perspective. With the heat of Austin, Texas, or any other area of the South or South West you make a very valid point. However, here in the North East, generally speaking, most Truck Terminal lots are infact ashalt. Most, if not all of those though, DO have a concrete "pad" at the loading dock doors so the trailers don't sink into the ashalt when parked for extended periods while loading/unloading. I have also seen concrete "strips" placed in the trailer parking areas away from the building. These are intended to have the Landing Gear/Jacks placed on them for the same reason, so they don't sink, because of the small footprint of the jack pads. Another consideration is cost also, a large concrete drive/parking area can get very expensive when compared to asphalt.
That said, I think the determining factor for that area of the scenery should be dictated by location modeled.
As for the Original Post, Most modern grade crossings I've seen intended for Heavy Truck traffic are indeed concrete. If the crossing is of older Era, probably heavy wood timbers (easily replaced if damaged by traffic) would be appropriate.
I saw a pile of pre-fab grade crossings in Willlcox, Arizona where the Union Pacific is adding a second main line, and they use heavy steel plates that are custom made to fit between the rails on concrete ties, and on the outsides of the rail. Nearly all grade crossings in Arizona are using these steel plates now. The bottoms are formed to exactly fit the profile of a concrete tie, and the tops are ribbed.