assume combination of RR cranes and sidebooms are used but that sidebooms are preferred because they don't block access from track
are cars removed as soon as they are put back on trucks if needed
if a truck is damaged, is a replaced carried by a sideboom from an outside position accessible by another loco to an inside position where it is needed?
how might a damaged truck or car that can't be put back on trucks removed? flatbed
assume car/loco can be positioned on undamaged track for removal?
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
gregcassume combination of RR cranes and sidebooms are used but that sidebooms are preferred because they don't block access from track
The wrecker crane sitting on the track "blocks" the main less than the pile of cars and the gaping hole in the track.
The big advantage of side booms and mobile cranes is they have a wider "reach" and are more versitile. Sidebooms can pick up a a car and walk away with it. A on track wrecker can only swing the car to someplace in the radius of the boom. The big advantage of an on track wrecker crane is it doesn't need a firmsemi-level surface to work, so it can work on high fills and in really wet and swampy (or flooded) areas.
gregcare cars removed as soon as they are put back on trucks if needed
"removed" and "as soon as" are relative. Cars can be rolled away from the working area, which could be a hundred yards or a mile. They will be moved far enough to not block further work. At some point they will be moved far enough to not block the main to allow access for track material to come and eventually to clear the main track to allow train traffic to resume.
Rerailed cars are going to be speed restricted untill they can get to a rip track to be inspected and repaired. When the railroad opens, generally the last thing they need is a hospital train floundering around out there so often the hospitcal train will be sidelined until the flood of backed up traffic can be worked off. That can be a few ours or days.
gregcif a truck is damaged, is a replaced carried by a sideboom from an outside position accessible by another loco to an inside position where it is needed?
Freight car trucks are pretty tough, they are commonly disassembled in a wreck, but rarely destroyed. If they can gather up the springs, they can pretty much put the truck back together (minus brake rigging) at the derailement site.
Locomotive trucks pretty much the same.
Derailed cars fall into 2 categories, rerailed and cleared. Rerailed cars are in good enough shape and close enough to the tracks where they can be put back on the tracks. Cleared are cars that are too damaged, too far from the tracks to quickly rerail, would take an extraordinary amount of time to rerail or have to be unloaded to rerail. They are just set over to the side, in the clear of the track structure and will be dealt with later ("later" being days, weeks, months later).
If a truck is damaged or can't be reassembled they will bring in "shop" or "wrecker" trucks that go under the car or locomotive to get it to a shop for repairs.
gregchow might a damaged truck or car that can't be put back on trucks removed? flatbed
Three basic methods: loaded on a flatcar or gon and taken out by rail, loaded on a truck but that's not as common. Railcars are very big and very heavy, finding a truck and rout that can handle the loads and clearances can be difficult and then getting the loaded truck away from the derailment site can be iffy (most heavy duty trucks aren't really designed for off-roading) and finally cut up on site and loaded out in a gon or by truck in pieces.
In the picture the two engines can most likely be rerailed. There are a couple cars that look to be bent, they will be most likely cleared. The hard part about that derailment is that access will be pretty tight. There is the road embankment on the left side of the track and its low on the right side of the derailment and a house close to the tracks. Depending on the road arrangement, it might not be possible to get equipment in by road until the boulder is removed (for example the road leading off the bottom dead ends out in the woods someplace), the off track equipment might have to be driven down the tracks to get into the site. This might a be a case where an on track wrecker or a mobile wrecking crane has an advantage.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Do any of the major railroads use the big hooks at wrecks anymore, or is it now usually outsourced to outside contractors?
I live outside Chicago. I knew a childhood friend who did a lot of work cleaning up derailments for the bnsf and the UP among others. He said the railroads just want the stuff off the tracks as it costs a million dollers per hour that its blocked.
MIKE
This was an interesting cleanup scenario and bridge replacement completed in less than a month!
https://www.railwayage.com/freight/short-lines-regionals/reports-cleanup-investigation-under-way-after-bridge-collapses-under-mrl-train/
THIS is a fascinating photo slideshow of the cleanup work and bridge replacement. Somebody knew what they were doing —
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/39cfab281e6f4df08311b7e59a3b811a#n-MIhBCH
Scroll down to view the timeline. Also scroll far enough to see the car storage area documentation.
Good Luck, Ed
The coal cars in the photo are full, so the train might be going from the mine back to the mainline. The problem is that the rockslide is blocking the line back to the mainline, so it would need to be removed before the big hook could practically get to work the wreck.
MidlandMike The coal cars in the photo are full, so the train might be going from the mine back to the mainline. The problem is that the rockslide is blocking the line back to the mainline, so it would need to be removed before the big hook could practically get to work the wreck.
Yes, but my question is do any of the current large railroads actually use their big hooks at this type of cleanup, or is it now all sub-contracted?
maxmanYes, but my question is do any of the current large railroads actually use their big hooks at this type of cleanup, or is it now all sub-contracted?
There also has existed a hi rail truck crane from at least the 60s. Out of business Cline made some as well other crane and railroad MOW manufactures. These are no small machines and needed a permit to travel on roads because of their weight.
Lee