Puzzler

[zardoz]

There is an interesting web site that is run by auto mechanics that also do a Public Radio talk show about cars and car repair. Lots of information on the site and a very entertaining radio show.

Each week they have a "puzzler", which is a little riddle needing a clever answer. And the winner gets a prize. Not much, but it's kinda fun.

The (railroad) point of all this is this weeks "puzzler" has a railroad theme. For those interested, go to the following site and look for the puzzler link.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/puzzler/

[Mookie]

something to do with slack?

[edblysard]

The trains have already cut off part of the train, and are shoving the rest back into another track.
Or, they are dragging through, then shoving back into the receiving tracks.
Ed

[Anonymous]

The engineers are boozers.

...they are probably just clearing a switch or something.

[mudchicken]

They dropped somebody off so they could spot the last car(s)....or........in-motion scale/ AEI car reader...or......


Zardoz: see what answer those two knuckleheads come up with and report it.......The next time somebody complains about a front end alignment and a railroad crossing, I hope those clowns tell the whiner to buy a real car with a real suspension instead of a riceburner with bicycle tires......



Roasting squirrels?

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

in-motion scale/ AEI car reader...or......


Roasting squirrels?

That would have been my guess. As for the other, you know the answer...tastes like chicken.

[Modelcar]

....Yes Click and Clack are two of the funniest fellows on radio in my opinion....and it's not tra***alk to be funny either...Just honest to goodnest funny. But I don't have a clew to the puzzle.

[jchnhtfd]

I'll go with dharmon and mudchicken... I would think if they were dropping someone, they would just slow way down...

[vsmith]

Ah Yes, Caw Tawk, on N. P. awR, Wit doez guyz Click and Clack from Baston, Maass.

I Love da shaw. Da wife, she Haates it doe. I doe no whay?

I'm ganna post da Puzzla raght heear, so wez all caan see it:

RAY: My brother has always been a keen observer of people and surroundings. Lately, he's taken to hanging around the train yard, where the guys are hanging out with the big barrels with the fires in them, roasting squirrels.

Not much changes from day to day. Trains come and trains go, cars get loaded and unloaded, sometimes cars get taken and sometimes cars get added. After a few days, Tommy begins to notice something odd — a pattern, so to speak. Just about every freight train that enters the yard seems to overshoot its intended target. The engineer then puts the engine in reverse and moves the entire train backwards some distance. It's hard to believe the engineers could miss their targets with such regularity, especially considering how excruciatingly slowly the trains are moving.

None of Tommy's SRCs — Squirrel Roasting Comrades — can come up with an explanation. But, there is one. What is it?

Think you know? Drop Ray a note!

Since I'm not a RR guy I'l just throw out my own stupid idea and see if it ratttles a few cages...


My answer...
Could this have something to do with pulling far enough ahead so the train registers as occupying that trackblock, to let the dispatcher know "hey theres a train her!" so another train doesnt come along and hit the train switching down the line, cause I know those accident things have a way of ruining everyones day...

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken


Roasting squirrels?

Mmm MMMmmm Goood!!!

Taste Just Like CHICKEN!

[Big_Boy_4005]

This one may be as simple as the crew stopping for lunch.

[Mookie]

Hey! You guys are treading in my territory with the "taste's like chicken". He's mine and you go find your own squirrel!

Having said that - I think King ala chicken is probably right. I was think just a short back up like they seem to always do right after stopping in front of us - just a slack adjustment. But went back and re-read and this is not just a short distance. In involves the part of the yard I can't get to and see what is really going on!!!!![|(]

[cherokee woman]

I figured they're either bringing car(s) into the yard to leave them, or adding car(s) to the
train.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey gang, remember this is a puzzle not intended for railroaders like us!! We may need to take off our engineer's hats to get this right.[%-)][swg]

Roasted squirrel for everyone!!! Yummy!!

[Anonymous]

Might this backing up be necessary to "put some slack in" to make it easier to uncouple the cars (pull the coupler pins, if those exist, or am I just talking nonsense)?

No such thing as knuckle couplers here in Croatia. [sigh]

[BentnoseWillie]

QUOTE: No such thing as knuckle couplers here in Croatia. [sigh]

Maybe not, but you can find North American roller-bearing trucks on CSD's ballast cars! The cars were manufactured by a North American builder, who put the usual trucks under them. I found a set of these in the CSD yard in Sokolov about 13 years ago.

For knuckle couplers, though, I think you gotta go further - to Russia. Too cold to go there this time of year [:)].

And yes, I know that CSD is spelled with a hacek - my browser won't let me do it. [:(]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Well gang, the answer is posted, and I guess I'm "out to lunch" as usual.[#oops][%-)][banghead][dinner][swg] It seems that all of you "slackers" know your stuff.[bow][bow][sigh][swg][swg]

[Anonymous]

That's interesting.

I never realized that the loco needed to move all the cars "one at a time" so to speak, making the slack necessary....

I always wondered why the railroad hadn't come up with a solution to that jerky start on the passenger trains.

[Modelcar]

....But in theory passenger trains don't have built in slack....Or am I thinking wrong...

[Anonymous]

I suppose it depends on the train.

When I used to ride the Royal Hudson (old steam train) it always gave a good jolt.

[Mookie]

Now Mookie is puzzled! What was the answer - ? Plain and simple...?

[Modelcar]

....I believe the "jolt" one felt on whatever passenger trains was the skill or care the way the engineer put the power to the rail to start the train....Maybe the heck with being smooth...."I'm late, and this thing has got to move".....

[zardoz]

Here is the "official" answer, direct from cartalk.com
RAY: When a train is moving along the track, the coupling, those parts that hold the cars together, get stretched out. They have the ability to compress and then decompress, so to speak.

When a train is moving slowly stops, a situation exists where all the couplings are pulled out against each other, so that if the train were to start up again, it would be moving the last car at the same instant that the locomotive started to move. In essence, it'd be like one big car is being moved.

Now even though locomotives are very powerful, if the locomotive tried to move all the cars at once, it would be unable to move them. So, they back up the train and compress the couplings, one at a time. When they go forward again, the locomotive has to move only one car at a time. So, the train moves the first car, then the next car, as each coupling gets stretched out, so that by the time it has moved a number of feet, the last car starts to move. In other words, all the cars don't have to get moved simultaneously.

So who's our winner?

TOM: The winner this week is Tom Kanouse, from Sherwood, Oregon, and for having his answer selected, at random, from among all the correct answers that we got, Tom is going to get a $26 gift certificate to the shameless commerce division of cartalk.com, where he can get our brand new Car Talk baseball jersey, just in time for spring training.

[vsmith]

OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH....

Now I see...

[rrnut282]

I thought it wasn't that hard to bunch the slack when stopping.

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrnut282

I thought it wasn't that hard to bunch the slack when stopping.

Nor is it hard to stop a bunch of slackers.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrnut282

I thought it wasn't that hard to bunch the slack when stopping.

Nor is it hard to stop a bunch of slackers.

[:(!] Go to your room!

[oltmannd]

Back in the in the steam and friction bearing days, taking slack was about the only way to start a train. Steam engines, by design had very low starting tractive effort and friction bearings have natural "stickiness" to them compared to roller bearings when not rotating. That is, it take more force to get them rolling from a stop than a roller bearing. So, getting a train moving car at a time was a normal technique to get a train rolling.

But in the diesel/roller bearing era, things are different. Staring tractive effort is what DC diesel-electrics do best (and AC units do even better) and roller bearing don't take much force to get them turning, so is is possible to start long heavy trains w/o taking slack. In practice, it allows slackless or nearly slackless trains. Think Roadrailer, ATSF "ten packs" and 5 well stack cars.

There are times when the train is too heavy or the power is mismatched when taking slack to get rolling is can still be a necessity, but it isn't std practice these days like it was 60 years ago.

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrnut282

I thought it wasn't that hard to bunch the slack when stopping.

Nor is it hard to stop a bunch of slackers.

[:(!] Go to your room!

I was wondering where you was.......

Headed to the couch for time out. If its any consolation, I just left a meeting not too long ago and managed to walk away with a pad full of little trains driving around. I'm not sure what the meeting was about anymore..........sigh[zzz]

[Mookie]

Sympathy in order here - had one of those [zzz] yesterday - 8:30 to Noon!

Time wasters!

And don't wonder to far - you will get lost out there!