??????'s about MOW's

[Anonymous]

This past summer I drove out of the way to see the backwoods of the UP through central Iowa. As I drove i started noticing UP trucks loaded with crews. And then i found them. For about a 3-5 mile span, there were Maintence of Way equipment every 500 or feet or so tearing up ties and replacing them. They were also redoing the roadbed. Any way, are MOW equipment leased or owned by the railroads? Also, is there any typical time schedule for maintence, such as replacing ties, roadbed, rails,etc.? Being the big train fan i should know this but, i figured I would ask and try to get some answers from all of you. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

This past summer I drove out of the way to see the backwoods of the UP through central Iowa. As I drove i started noticing UP trucks loaded with crews. And then i found them. For about a 3-5 mile span, there were Maintence of Way equipment every 500 or feet or so tearing up ties and replacing them. They were also redoing the roadbed. Any way, are MOW equipment leased or owned by the railroads? Also, is there any typical time schedule for maintence, such as replacing ties, roadbed, rails,etc.? Being the big train fan i should know this but, i figured I would ask and try to get some answers from all of you. Thanks!

[mudchicken]

UPRR-MDC

To get you started:

(1)MOW equipment is both owned and leased by the Class 1's. The Class 2-3's tend to have scant machinery and will bring in a trackwork contractor for any major work. The larger the equipment is, the more likely it is a lease machine. The technology on the big machines is changing so fast that it pays to lease instead of buy. Things as huge as P8-11 concrete tie changeout machines, undercutters, continuous ditchers CAT-09 Tampers, flashbutt welders and rail& switchgrinders tend to be rental/lease units. You can't afford to have a piece of machinery like that sitting idle for any length of time. You also have to have the expertise to keep that stuff running and efficient.

(2) maintenance scheduling is both an art & a science compounded by the fact that the budget, controlled by an operating guy usually, only allows you to fix so-ooo much. Each railroad's philosophy on how things are done is different. The only similarity many times is the machinery used to do the work and there are quirks there too. A lot of replacement work is based on train frequency, part of the country you're in (swamp, desert, mountain, plains, the great white north, etc.), tonnage, detector car failure rate and so on. The FRA becomes a trackman's friend many times when the issue comes down to buying and installing 20 new switches vs. a shiny new locomotive. If the operating guy has his way, track replacement takes a back seat until that nice shiny new technotoaster is on the ground because the track structure buit for 1950's railroading can't handle the load and stresses created by those grossly overweight monsters towing 125 Ton cars. The railroad industry, especially shortlines, has not come to grips with the ever expanding size of railcars. Bigger & heavier cars?-The operating guys say yes, the maintenance guy gets ill, the beancounter whacks a little more out of the track dept. budget and the railroad sacrifices its future for present ton/miles. If somebody could infalibly predict the precise time to replace track and rail, he'd make Bill Gates' wealth look like chump change.....

[mudchicken]

UPRR-MDC

To get you started:

(1)MOW equipment is both owned and leased by the Class 1's. The Class 2-3's tend to have scant machinery and will bring in a trackwork contractor for any major work. The larger the equipment is, the more likely it is a lease machine. The technology on the big machines is changing so fast that it pays to lease instead of buy. Things as huge as P8-11 concrete tie changeout machines, undercutters, continuous ditchers CAT-09 Tampers, flashbutt welders and rail& switchgrinders tend to be rental/lease units. You can't afford to have a piece of machinery like that sitting idle for any length of time. You also have to have the expertise to keep that stuff running and efficient.

(2) maintenance scheduling is both an art & a science compounded by the fact that the budget, controlled by an operating guy usually, only allows you to fix so-ooo much. Each railroad's philosophy on how things are done is different. The only similarity many times is the machinery used to do the work and there are quirks there too. A lot of replacement work is based on train frequency, part of the country you're in (swamp, desert, mountain, plains, the great white north, etc.), tonnage, detector car failure rate and so on. The FRA becomes a trackman's friend many times when the issue comes down to buying and installing 20 new switches vs. a shiny new locomotive. If the operating guy has his way, track replacement takes a back seat until that nice shiny new technotoaster is on the ground because the track structure buit for 1950's railroading can't handle the load and stresses created by those grossly overweight monsters towing 125 Ton cars. The railroad industry, especially shortlines, has not come to grips with the ever expanding size of railcars. Bigger & heavier cars?-The operating guys say yes, the maintenance guy gets ill, the beancounter whacks a little more out of the track dept. budget and the railroad sacrifices its future for present ton/miles. If somebody could infalibly predict the precise time to replace track and rail, he'd make Bill Gates' wealth look like chump change.....

[Anonymous]

I heard one MOW crew, talking about a ballast cleaner. Why is it so important to have clean rocks??
TIM A

[Anonymous]

I heard one MOW crew, talking about a ballast cleaner. Why is it so important to have clean rocks??
TIM A

[kenneo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TARGUBRIGHT

I heard one MOW crew, talking about a ballast cleaner. Why is it so important to have clean rocks??
TIM A

If the track does not drain, it will lose its alignment (vertical and horizontal), sink down into the mud, and that shiny technotoaster will look like it has spent a week or two out muddin'. The ballast is the most important single component to a railroads ability to carry tonnage. The rail is second. Ties are third. THEN comes that technotoaster and the cars it pulls.

[kenneo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TARGUBRIGHT

I heard one MOW crew, talking about a ballast cleaner. Why is it so important to have clean rocks??
TIM A

If the track does not drain, it will lose its alignment (vertical and horizontal), sink down into the mud, and that shiny technotoaster will look like it has spent a week or two out muddin'. The ballast is the most important single component to a railroads ability to carry tonnage. The rail is second. Ties are third. THEN comes that technotoaster and the cars it pulls.

[mudchicken]

Attaboy Kenneo!

Old axiom: The only thing a roadmaster needs to know is drainage, drainage & drainage!

Keeping the mudmonster at bay is a full time, thankless job....Somebody's gotta do it!

[mudchicken]

Attaboy Kenneo!

Old axiom: The only thing a roadmaster needs to know is drainage, drainage & drainage!

Keeping the mudmonster at bay is a full time, thankless job....Somebody's gotta do it!

[Anonymous]

Hi All,
I once saw a railfan video that showed the construction of a new siding at the Detroit Edison coal-fired power plant south of Detroit. After the rails were laid, a crew was going along welding the joints. What was different, was that they were using a device that had a hopper full of something that was ignited. As it burned, whatever was in the hopper melted and flowed in to some sort of form clamoed to the rails. Can anyone explain what this technique is and how it works?

Thanks,
Admiral

[Anonymous]

Hi All,
I once saw a railfan video that showed the construction of a new siding at the Detroit Edison coal-fired power plant south of Detroit. After the rails were laid, a crew was going along welding the joints. What was different, was that they were using a device that had a hopper full of something that was ignited. As it burned, whatever was in the hopper melted and flowed in to some sort of form clamoed to the rails. Can anyone explain what this technique is and how it works?

Thanks,
Admiral

[mudchicken]

Boutet/Thermite Welding Charge (very common on most large railroads)

Rail is preheated by gas welder & air injector

Boutet form is molded to the rail with clay and & a steel jig form & mold.

Large pot on top is initially heated by flame. Inside the pot is pure refined steel ground into dust surrounded by chemical thermite charge

Flame in the pot starts a superhot chemical reaction with boutet thermite charge. Thermite charge melts pure steel dust into liquid steel. (in your best Austin Powers, can you say "Hot Liquid MAGMA"? - thought you could!). Pot is swung over molded rail joint, opened on the underside and poured into the mold.

Wait 20 minutes or so, break the mold away after the steel cools down enough. Grind remainder to the proper finish. A really hot, dirty job.

Whatever you do, don't allow water anywhere near the boutet charge!

[mudchicken]

Boutet/Thermite Welding Charge (very common on most large railroads)

Rail is preheated by gas welder & air injector

Boutet form is molded to the rail with clay and & a steel jig form & mold.

Large pot on top is initially heated by flame. Inside the pot is pure refined steel ground into dust surrounded by chemical thermite charge

Flame in the pot starts a superhot chemical reaction with boutet thermite charge. Thermite charge melts pure steel dust into liquid steel. (in your best Austin Powers, can you say "Hot Liquid MAGMA"? - thought you could!). Pot is swung over molded rail joint, opened on the underside and poured into the mold.

Wait 20 minutes or so, break the mold away after the steel cools down enough. Grind remainder to the proper finish. A really hot, dirty job.

Whatever you do, don't allow water anywhere near the boutet charge!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Boutet/Thermite Welding Charge (very common on most large railroads)

Rail is preheated by gas welder & air injector

Boutet form is molded to the rail with clay and & a steel jig form & mold.

Large pot on top is initially heated by flame. Inside the pot is pure refined steel ground into dust surrounded by chemical thermite charge

Flame in the pot starts a superhot chemical reaction with boutet thermite charge. Thermite charge melts pure steel dust into liquid steel. (in your best Austin Powers, can you say "Hot Liquid MAGMA"? - thought you could!). Pot is swung over molded rail joint, opened on the underside and poured into the mold.

Wait 20 minutes or so, break the mold away after the steel cools down enough. Grind remainder to the proper finish. A really hot, dirty job.

Whatever you do, don't allow water anywhere near the boutet charge!

Thanks Mudchicken,
Its kind of like a portable foundry. I was curious about how it was done, because I have a little project going where we are restoring a 1917 3inch field gun. When it was "decomissioned", the Army took a cutting torch and cut a line from the muzzle all the way through the breech. We are looking for ways to fill in the cut. It looks like the good old arc welder is going to be our best option.

Thanks again for the info.
Admiral

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Boutet/Thermite Welding Charge (very common on most large railroads)

Rail is preheated by gas welder & air injector

Boutet form is molded to the rail with clay and & a steel jig form & mold.

Large pot on top is initially heated by flame. Inside the pot is pure refined steel ground into dust surrounded by chemical thermite charge

Flame in the pot starts a superhot chemical reaction with boutet thermite charge. Thermite charge melts pure steel dust into liquid steel. (in your best Austin Powers, can you say "Hot Liquid MAGMA"? - thought you could!). Pot is swung over molded rail joint, opened on the underside and poured into the mold.

Wait 20 minutes or so, break the mold away after the steel cools down enough. Grind remainder to the proper finish. A really hot, dirty job.

Whatever you do, don't allow water anywhere near the boutet charge!

Thanks Mudchicken,
Its kind of like a portable foundry. I was curious about how it was done, because I have a little project going where we are restoring a 1917 3inch field gun. When it was "decomissioned", the Army took a cutting torch and cut a line from the muzzle all the way through the breech. We are looking for ways to fill in the cut. It looks like the good old arc welder is going to be our best option.

Thanks again for the info.
Admiral

[Anonymous]

Thanks Mudchicken,
Its kind of like a portable foundry. I was curious about how it was done, because I have a little project going where we are restoring a 1917 3inch field gun. When it was "decomissioned", the Army took a cutting torch and cut a line from the muzzle all the way through the breech. We are looking for ways to fill in the cut. It looks like the good old arc welder is going to be our best option.

Thanks again for the info.
Admiral

[Anonymous]

Thanks Mudchicken,
Its kind of like a portable foundry. I was curious about how it was done, because I have a little project going where we are restoring a 1917 3inch field gun. When it was "decomissioned", the Army took a cutting torch and cut a line from the muzzle all the way through the breech. We are looking for ways to fill in the cut. It looks like the good old arc welder is going to be our best option.

Thanks again for the info.
Admiral