BNSF to test dual flange wheels on oil trains

[Boyd]

I live in a Twin Cities suburb and I have a friend who works for BNSF. With all of the worry of an oil train derailing, exploding and possibly making thousands of people evacuate. BNSF has ordered 10 of the new safer tank cars with special wheels on the that have flanges on the inside AND outside, side of the rail. He said they theorize that these new special wheels will better "hug" the rails and reduce "string lining". These cars will all be painted bright orange and will be placed just behind the buffer car that is federally mandated. These cars are scheduled to arrive in North Dakota around July 1st for their 1st trial run.

[Wizlish]

I think your friend has partially misunderstood the BNSF approach.  As described to me by a Government official, the second set of 'outer' flanges is slightly less than 1.5" less in diameter than those in the gauge, so there will not be any issue with picking switches or other difficulty.  This is a fruitful example of cross-disciplinary thinking, in this case from the health-sciences field, he said.  What worked for Hahnemann also ought to work in other fields.  The hope is that at some perceived reduction of outside flange diameter, perhaps 6x to 9x, the self-restoring and other effects of flange action will still manifest themselves without any deleterious allopathic side effects.

There is apparently a parallel research effort in flange lubrication, using biodegradable and metatribological oleum serpente spp. derived from biorenewable sources.  Remarkable economies over traditional methods are anticipated.

[ericsp]

What day is it?

[mudchicken]

[petitnj]

We have a painting in the offices of the Jackson Street Roundhouse where the flanges are on the outside of the rail for a logging railroad. Apparently the artist was good at trees but never looked at the train's wheels. So perhaps BNSF's idea has merit. 

[gardendance]

Mudchicken seems to me to think today is fancy smiley emoticon day.

[Murphy Siding]

     The local putt-putt train through town- the Ellis & Eastern- all 4 miles of it, has already figured this out.  They haul rock from a quarry on the west side of town to an asphalt plant on the east side of town.  Because of track quality through the center of town on old CNW track, they had problems in the past.  What they did, was simply turn the wheels around on the inner axles.  Each car then has 4 axes.  Starting from the front, the flanges go: innie, outtie, innie, outtie.  They don't operate at high speeds, and since they have virtually no steep grades, big turns, or many switches, I don't know if their application would work on a big railroad.

**Without spellcheck, I can't tell if I spelled innie and outtie correctly.  I may have to go on www.belly-buttonidentification.com to research that a bit.

[schlimm]

Wizlish

There is apparently a parallel research effort in flange lubrication, using biodegradable and metatribological oleum serpente spp. derived from biorenewable sources.  Remarkable economies over traditional methods are anticipated.

Oleum serpente spp., indeed!  Very good.   Happy April Fools Day!

[dknelson]

Actually what the BNSF intends to do is install the outside flanges before going through larger metropolitan areas at 35 mph, and then remove them again at the outskirts of the city.   Sort of like winter chains on tires.

If you want to see a bewildering photo, take a look at page 12 of J.B. Snell's classic book "Early Railways," showing the double flange track work at the Oakley (U.K.) quarries, Blaenau Festiniog.  As Snell writes "its intricacy shows why this system never became popular."

Best regards of the day to you.

Dave Nelson

[samfp1943]

Murphy Siding

     The local putt-putt train through town- the Ellis & Eastern- all 4 miles of it, has already figured this out.  They haul rock from a quarry on the west side of town to an asphalt plant on the east side of town.  Because of track quality through the center of town on old CNW track, they had problems in the past.  What they did, was simply turn the wheels around on the inner axles.  Each car then has 4 axes.  Starting from the front, the flanges go: innie, outtie, innie, outtie.  They don't operate at high speeds, and since they have virtually no steep grades, big turns, or many switches, I don't know if their application would work on a big railroad.

**Without spellcheck, I can't tell if I spelled innie and outtie correctly.  I may have to go on www.belly-buttonidentification.com to research that a bit.

 

Somehow, I think we are being" HAD"...

  What with this being April 1st?  The Date reserved for celebrating of Strange, Weird, Stuff usually reserved for April Fools....

[carnej1]

I am not surprised as BNSF has long been at the forefront of technological progress.

 The same holds true of it's predecessor railroads;Why just today I read that, back in the early 20th Century the Great Northern and the ATSF were the first major railroads in the world to issue all fireman with Left Handed Smoke Shifters, which made their jobs much easier..

[Murphy Siding]

carnej1

I am not surprised as BNSF has long been at the forefront of technological progress.

 The same holds true of it's predecessor railroads;Why just today I read that, back in the early 20th Century the Great Northern and the ATSF were the first major railroads in the world to issue all fireman with Left Handed Smoke Shifters, which made their jobs much easier..

 

  How did they know if a fireman had a left handed smoke shifter?

[Victrola1]

BNSF Testing Hydrogen Braking System

"The signs seem to be pointing towards the creation of a new generation of LNG-specific locomotives that would, in Thompson's words, "stop or substantially hold back the transition to hydrogen", but as hydrogen production continues to gather momentum and researchers find new ways to create hydrogen without emissions, the industry might look back on this as a short-sighted decision."

http://www.railway-technology.com/features/featurehydrogen-powered-rail-time-convert/

BNSF Railway today announced a further development as part of its ongoing committment using hydrogen to protect the environment. 

A company spokesman said research into hydrogen as more than a fuel shows promising results. Hydrogen may make the railroad's braking systems greener. According to the spokesman, "Hydrogen weighs less than air. Using compressed hydrogen in place of air in our braking systems reduces the tare weight of rolling stock. This will allow us to carry more cargo on existing equipment and reduce our environomental impact."

Politicians and company officials inspected a locomotive and attached tank car. Compressed hydrogen from the tank supplies fuel for the locomotive and powers the train's brakes. All appeared impressed with what the saw. 

Some have expressed concern about hydrogen's safety, especially where the railroad goes through populated areas. A mayor of a major midwestern city at the event was asked about hydrogen's safety, "Special permits for hydrogen trains passing through my city will be necessary. As long as permit fees cover city budget shortfalls, hydrogen powered trains present no great concerns."

Next stop Lakehurst, NJ? Time will tell what the future holds for hydrogen's use on America's Railroads. 

 

[Murphy Siding]

     Wouldn't helium offer the same advantages as hydrogen in the braking systems, but be safer, considering that helium doesn't-you know- explode?

[erikem]

Another advantage for using hydrogen in the brake lines is that brake reductions will propagate faster than with air as the speed of sund in hydrogen is almost 4 tims faster than in air.

[Victrola1]

"Helium’s non-flammable nature makes it the only practical lifting gas for manned lighter-than-air flight, but it is scarce and expensive, and the use of helium can reduce a rigid airship’s payload by more than half."

http://www.airships.net/helium-hydrogen-airships

Helium is totally impractical as a locomotive fuel. Helium has far less lifting power to reduce the tare weight of railroad stock. 

Electricty used to extract hydrogen may be generated using wind and solar energy. Hydrogen also burns extremely clean. 

In case of an accident involving hydrogen, hydrogen burns completely. Ground water and water shed pollution is not at issue. The same may not be said for diesel, nor crude oil. 

[tdmidget]

Thers's the April Fool Joke. Hydrogen IS NOT PRODUCED BY ELECTROLYSIS!!! It is produced by reformation of natural gas and from catylitic cracking.

[tree68]

Hydrogen can be manufactured locally from anhydrous ammonia, using a retort.  This means that with some minor modifications, locomotives would be able to generate their own hydrogen.

USAF used to use just such equipment for filling weather balloons.  (The date notwithstanding, that is true.)

[BaltACD]

tree68

Hydrogen can be manufactured locally from anhydrous ammonia, using a retort.  This means that with some minor modifications, locomotives would be able to generate their own hydrogen.

USAF used to use just such equipment for filling weather balloons.  (The date notwithstanding, that is true.)

 

Which the flew at Roswell, NM.

[ChuckCobleigh]

When I saw "dual flange" I knew someone was pulleying my leg.

[mudchicken]

Ya missed it ..  Warren B was at the amusement park, 6 Flags Under Nebrasky, and saw the local roller coaster hanging down from the rail. Picks up the phone, calls the NOC in Ft Worth and the rest is history.

And he gets all the pocket change that hits the ground.

[Mookie]

I love Warren B.... he is so....entrepreneurial

[Wizlish]

Murphy Siding

What they did, was simply turn the wheels around on the inner axles. Each car then has 4 axes. Starting from the front, the flanges go: innie, outtie, innie, outtie.

A proper attempt at verisimilitude would be more consistent -- it would be innie, outie, outie, innie by your own description.  Not very much additional by way of additional track appliances might be necessary -- but weren't we warned to beware flange bearing frogs like Greeks bearing gifts?  Which reminds me -- a fellow named Bucyrus has adapted a principle from, of all places, model railroading which is reminiscent of the resolution of the siege of Troy.  I refer to the use of artificial-intelligence and servo technologies to create a large robotic hand, carried by a multirotor drone system, which can be lowered to stabilize a derailing train or remove derailed cars quickly from the path of opposing movements.  I understand he is having some difficulty trademarking the phrase "Giant Hand Action" and will be asking for alternatives in the course of the next six hundred or so posts.

[Murphy Siding]

Wizlish

 

 

Murphy Siding

What they did, was simply turn the wheels around on the inner axles. Each car then has 4 axes. Starting from the front, the flanges go: innie, outtie, innie, outtie.

 

 

A proper attempt at verisimilitude would be more consistent -- it would be innie, outie, outie, innie by your own description.  

  I don't think we do verisimilitude this far north, on account of the freeze-thaw cycle.  The line runs east-west.  When the gravel train goes east, it's innie, outtie, innie, outtie.  When going west. it's, outtie, innie, outtie, innie.  This assures that the flanges wear evenly.  Apparantly it works pretty good. Since the inception of the innie-outtie program, the Ellis & Eastern has not had a Bakken crude oil pile up, fire and explosion.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

petitnj

We have a painting in the offices of the Jackson Street Roundhouse where the flanges are on the outside of the rail for a logging railroad. . . . [snipped - PDN.]

Actually were such things, used on 'pole roads' where small trees were used as the rails of the track.  Usually on very backwoods, primitive, small-scale logging railroads.  Hard to find an illustration today or on-line, but there were some back in the 1960's - 70's - in either "Along the Iron Pike" or "Believe It or Not" in the old Railroad magazine, or maybe one of John T. Labbe's logging railroad articles in the NMRA Bulletin back then.  See:

http://www.reliance-foundry.com/blog/single-and-double-flanged-metal-wheel-difference - "While employed for many of the same uses as single-flanged wheels, double flanged models offer an extra layer of protection from mishaps in some applications due to the added guidance the provide." 

http://www.gearedsteam.com/dunkirk/components.htm - top half of page.

http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-1BA -  from about the middle of this page on "Climax Locomotives Historical Marker": "Lumber companies could purchase their Climax Class A with three types of wheels: concave wheels with double flanges to run on track built from rough-hewn logs; geared wheels for traction on wooden rails; and conventional flanged wheels for steel-rail track." [emphasis added - PDN.]  See also this photo: http://www.gearedsteam.com/climax/images/ark-trvlr-willamette.jpg 

See also the 2nd heading of this web page: https://saveitforparts.wordpress.com/tag/steam-locomotive/  and

http://www.freerails.com/gallery/5632/5632_171128_020000000.jpg 

- Paul North. 

[Boyd]

[quote user="Murphy Siding"]

     Wouldn't helium offer the same advantages as hydrogen in the braking systems, but be safer, considering that helium doesn't-you know- explode?

 

[/quote

Imagine the brakemen getting addicted to breathing the helium coming out of the brake line hoses and how they would sound. Soon transients would be doing it to. Listening to the RR scanner while they are switching will never be the same. 

[carnej1]

My sources tell me that the new BNSF braking system operates on Hot Air: the same substance powering this discussion thread..

 

[Boyd]

Dual flanges are the perfect solution to oil train hysteria. 

[Paul of Covington]

   To add to Paul North's entries, here is one from "Early American Locomotives" by John H. White, Jr.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulofcov/16390518314/in/set-72157626021256880

[tree68]

"Do you pretend to tell me that you could stop trains with wind?  I'll give you to understand, young man, that I am to busy to have any time taken up in talking to a damned fool."

Cornelius Vanderbilt, ca 1869.