Do Hi-rail (MOW) trucks, in particular 1/2 - 1 ton pickups have shorter wheel bases to accommodate them for use while riding the rails? if so, what happens to them after their usefulness on the railroad is over? Are they legal with the shorter wheelbase?
They are pretty normal - just a regular pick up with hi-rail wheels installed.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Wheelbase almost never changes, the front and rear track change a bunch so that the steel wheels (ie-rims) can center enough of the tire over the rail for traction and braking.
(It is fun to watch the smaller (midsize) trucks require fender surgery to accommodate the high-rail wheels in the up (highway) position. First time I saw it was in the late '80's with the first Dakota Jeep and Ranger vehicles. - Fairmont, Mitchell. Dymax Martin and the others all manage it slightly different)
Your turning radius goes to pot because of the tire & wheel changes and if somebody has not modified the suspension to handle the extra weight and height differences you wallow around like a lumber wagon.
Used hi-rails usually are scrap-bait at the end of their careers with engines, brake systems and especially transmissions shot.
Half ton trucks should not ever be converted to high-rails IMHO. The suspensions on those are already maxed out (and then some) when you add the extra weight of the high rail gear.
(Operating supervisors, Trainmasters, RFE's, Supt's etc tend to be hell on hi-rail gear (esp shunts, hi-rail wheel tread, swing arms etc and they don't get that those small guidewheels over 35MPH with almost no flange are a risky proposition.)
Speaking of high-rails, how is the traction in wet weather? It seems to me that traction between wet rubber tires and polished rails must be practically non-existent.
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"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
I rode a 1965 Pontiac Hi-Rail Station Wagon. We hit wet leaves. It was a challenge!
While a Hi-rail, on track, may handle 'as if it was on rails', it doesn't withstand the G loadings of high speed operation.
They also don't have much braking power when their bed is loaded with rail supplies and they are towing a trailer of rail in territory with grades.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BOB WITHORNBeing from Flint, Mi., where they build a 'few' pickups, mostly the HD series. I know GM had an option code for HI-Rail pickups, probably still does. It shortened the the rear axle to match the rail gauge. Years ago I believe they told me they were the only mfg that offered it as an option. Other brands were modified by custom converters after assembly.
The largest chunk of BNSF's fleet comes from Auto-Truck at Bensenville (Chicago). Still see product from Kansas Truck (Wichita) and O J Watson (Denver) around here. Plenty of others out there.
BaltACD They also don't have much braking power when their bed is loaded with rail supplies and they are towing a trailer of rail in territory with grades.
Some Bondo™ and a couple of cans of Duplicolor™ and nobody will ever suspect a thing.
ChuckCobleigh BaltACD They also don't have much braking power when their bed is loaded with rail supplies and they are towing a trailer of rail in territory with grades. Some Bondo™ and a couple of cans of Duplicolor™ and nobody will ever suspect a thing.
BaltACD They also don't have much braking power when their bed is loaded with rail supplies and they are towing a trailer of rail in territory with grades. Some Bondo™ and a couple of cans of Duplicolor™ and nobody will ever suspect a thing.
That was a Peterbuilt.
I had a 1980 GMC 3/4 ton pick-up hi rail that I used in NARCOA excursions for a while in the late '90s. The rims were the inside half of Bud duels which narrowed the tire spacing to fit the rails.
RobertSchuknecht I had a 1980 GMC 3/4 ton pick-up hi rail that I used in NARCOA excursions for a while in the late '90s. The rims were the inside half of Bud duels which narrowed the tire spacing to fit the rails.
Johnny
Deggesty RobertSchuknecht I had a 1980 GMC 3/4 ton pick-up hi rail that I used in NARCOA excursions for a while in the late '90s. The rims were the inside half of Bud duels which narrowed the tire spacing to fit the rails. "Bud duels"? Who was fighting with Bud? Oh, you mean "duals." Johnny
"Bud duels"? Who was fighting with Bud? Oh, you mean "duals."
See a more detailed explanation at this linked site @http://dailydieseldose.com/dayton-or-budd-the-eternal-question/
The Budd-style mounting is favored in Hi- Rail applications due to the way it is mounted on vehicles, and gives a treadwidth that matches closely to the 4' 81/2" distance of rails.
Wheelbase almost never changes, the front and rear track change a bunch so that the steel wheels (ie-rims) can center enough of the tire over the rail for traction and braking.Your turning radius goes to pot because of the tire & wheel changes and if somebody has not modified the suspension to handle the extra weight and height differences you wallow around like a lumber wagon.
Mudchicken is correct about these items. People often mistake gauge with wheelbase. I'm on my 7th privately owned hyrail now and have dealt with just about every issue that can get bite you. Turning radius for the 3/4 or 1 ton trucks is ridiculous; it takes a block to turn my F350 around. Present rig is a crew cab with a long bed and here's one place wheelbase is an issue. The distance from the front guide wheel to the rear guide wheel is the vehicle's rail wheelbase and it can be longer than a 6 wheel passenger or locomotive truck, so if you decide to go jetting off on curvy (and curve worn rail) track slow down as you're asking for a derailment. Proper alignment, weight adjustment and guide wheel condition make a huge difference but hyrailing and running motorcars are not the same. I've been running hyrails since 1981 and motorcars since 1973.
The Minnesota Zephyr had an 83 F350 chassis cab truck for spraying the weeds. Years ago some hoodlums set the cab on fire around 2:45am the week of Stillwater's LumberJack days. It was totaled for $14,000. I bought it for I believe $400 with plans to replace the cab and use it for my lawn service. The company that swapped the hirail axles to the new truck cut open the frame ahead of the front wheel. I started researching the legal and inspection process for it and deemed it would be a huge pita to go through and eventually parted out the truck. The Zephyr organization couldn't find the title and had to get a replacement title. The wheels on it were all stock.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
When I worked for a Ford dealer in the 80's, they had an optional wheel for pickups that was for hi-rail. It was inset, so the tire would match the track gauge. It could be ordered by anyone for any truck.
Ozark Mountan Railway usually has used hi-rail trucks for sale, along with cars and engines, etc. They give the condition and mileage.
Cotton Belt MP104...what in the world do you think that object is lying below the front left wheel in the last picture? Looks to be the same size/shape as the tire.
My vote is that it is a manhole cover. I suspect it is a hollow ribbed casting with a peripheral 'collar' which gives it the solid disk appearance, but it is probably relatively thin in any section to save overall mass and material cost, like most streethole covers. I think I see the very end of one of the internal ribs just below the 'collar' and an offset bracket at the back of the visible portion.
Cotton Belt MP104Balt: .....just happened to revisit your post ....Posted by BaltACD on Friday, April 21, 2017 7:53 AM I am curious, what in the world do you think that object is lying below the front left wheel in the last picture? Looks to be the same size/shape as the tire. Not being THAT familiar w/high rail stuff is that a weight that was attached to the wheel? Curious and am sure you know the answer. thanks endmrw0509171154
Might it be an electromagnet? If the highrail had a crane it possibly would use a magnet to load/unload the tie plates.
DS4-4-1000 Cotton Belt MP104 Balt: .....just happened to revisit your post ....Posted by BaltACD on Friday, April 21, 2017 7:53 AM I am curious, what in the world do you think that object is lying below the front left wheel in the last picture? Looks to be the same size/shape as the tire. Not being THAT familiar w/high rail stuff is that a weight that was attached to the wheel? Curious and am sure you know the answer. thanks endmrw0509171154 Might it be an electromagnet? If the highrail had a crane it possibly would use a magnet to load/unload the tie plates.
Cotton Belt MP104 Balt: .....just happened to revisit your post ....Posted by BaltACD on Friday, April 21, 2017 7:53 AM I am curious, what in the world do you think that object is lying below the front left wheel in the last picture? Looks to be the same size/shape as the tire. Not being THAT familiar w/high rail stuff is that a weight that was attached to the wheel? Curious and am sure you know the answer. thanks endmrw0509171154
Considering the number of tie plates scattered about, that is a good possibility!
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Zooming in, I see what looks like one or two links of chain around what may be an electrical cable of some thickness (it looks as though one of the reinforcing ribs is resting on it and it may be continuing behind the rock there).
But that chain is way too small-gauge to be either a primary lifting chain or safety chain for an electromagnet that size. What we need one of our Google mavens to do is find a picture of a Brandt unit with an electromagnetic setup and compare that with the upside-down item in the picture...
Cotton Belt MP104RME reference your post and suggestion of the mystery part
For the record, it was DS 4-4-1000 who suggested it was an electromagnet.
Good, quick and effective work contacting them!
Deggesty"Bud duels"? Who was fighting with Bud? Oh, you mean "duals."
Johnny,
Although I'm not an English major even by the loosest definition it never ceases to amaze me that some can't come to terma with words that are homonyms; ie, those that sound alike but have different meanings. That fault is by no means relgated to those who failed theit English classes. I think we all have a 'pet word' that sometimes leaves us in the lurch.
I guess you and I went to school when readin' writin' and 'rithmetic were taught. Just the basics and good spelling and being able to differentiate between words that were spelled alike but were of different meanings. Context, context, context. Is 49 north a border or is it a boarder? I guess, in this day and age thanks to our schools we'll never know the answer to that. LOL.
Norm
I get even boreder seeing some of the drivel that passes as our mother tongue, particularly on the 'social' sites....
"Dueling Duals" - sounds like a trucker's movie...
But, yes, some folks do have a problem with homonyms. Worse, though, is the person who tries to substitute a more important sounding word into a place it has no business - an intentional version of the malapropism.
One place I worked required us to place our initials on our time cards (IBM cards) for any leave we took during the pay period. One particular supervisor always came to us asking us to "initialize" our card. I refrained from breaking out an eraser to remove all the markings on the card...
Larry,
As I understand it, the English Language is a "work in progress" and subject to change. That doesn't mean us "old farts" have to go along with it. LOL.
I wonder about some of the changes which have taken place since I studied English grammar (grades 1-12 and four years of college).
When I read "it's" I immediatly think it is the contraction of "it is"--and not the possessive form of "it." which I learned is "its"--which distinguished it from the contraction. Also, I learned that, unless a word ends in the letter "s," you simply add, in most cases, the letter "s," and not an apostrophe and then the letter"s."
Homonyms are another matter.
DeggestyHomonyms are another matter.
What pair of homonyms can also be antonyms?
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