MOW guys have their own philosophies, too. I remember one time a MOW foreman having a fit because a crew was doing 10mph over a yard track that had a speed limit of 10.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
23 foot clearances. Now that sounds suspiciously like something going between the 20'2" present rail car heights and the 23 feet ? Of course that might be 40 or more years in the future ?
Maybe some wires ?
blue streak 123 foot clearances. Now that sounds suspiciously like something going between the 20'2" present rail car heights and the 23 feet ? Of course that might be 40 or more years in the future ? Maybe some wires ?
mudchicken I believe is the authority in this area. I believe the current requirement for 'new' or replacement construction is 25 feet. The State of Maryland rebuilt I-70 bridges over some CSX owned tracks - form observations of the difference in elevations during the project 25 feet would visually appear to have been the height of the reconstructed bridges. I can concieve of no possible way that the reconstructed bridges will ever see double stacks pass under them as the are a part of the track that MARC uses to service downtown Frederick, MD
10 inches between a 20'2" high car and a 23 foot structure would not allow sufficient space for electric catenary.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Most states are guided by a suggested model clearance regulation that goes back to about 1958. Some states adopted it verbatim, some states modified the thing to match what they already had in some form or another. The bulk of the modified states are back east.
The model law and most freight railroad clearances are set at 22'-6". Add a reasonable 6" for normal surfacing operations and you get 23' which is what is commonly required for clearance over railroads.
For railroads considering catenary, FRA/DOT/FHWA set the magic number at 24'-6" for catenary over railroads with an industry agreement and DOT committee edict back in the mid-1980's. Add 6" for surfacing cushion and you get 25'. FRA wanted ALL new construction set at 25' where regenerative braking was even a modest consideration.
Highway department engineers, because they can't railroad, frequently don't get it. Nothing new to me; see it frequently where highways and railroads intersect. The extra expense of raising overhead crossings and running them (road approach grades) off sets off the rubber-tired bubba tribe like nothing else.
In one aspect, this is a "come to jesus" moment for the townies and the consultants in the CSX incident. But I don't think the CSX public works folks or the operating department wanted to prove their point quite this way. I have no idea of the local agreements on the existing bridge or how the state regulatory agency handles this one, but I suspect CSX just bought two bridges and is going to have a fight running off the aproaches on this older, non-compliant hump bridge.
All you have to do is look at the Delaware DOT freeway bridge incident to see how clueless and arrogant the rubber tired tribe can be. (IIRC-Also CSX)
Good Morning
Partly Sunny/Cloudy rainy day in Deshler.The tonka toys of the tie gang are on flat cars.They are waiting for a pick up.Csx was having trouble getting a train over the hill at Botkins Ohio(South of Lima).They also asked the crew of 165 if they could go all the way to Chicago instead of changing at Garrett.Going to enjoy the last day of vacation.Work comes Monday.
stay safe
Joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
mudchickenAll you have to do is look at the Delaware DOT freeway bridge incident to see how clueless and arrogant the rubber tired tribe can be. (IIRC-Also CSX)
?
4 lane freeway south of Wilmington got raised almost two feet. (after completion)... Delaware Hwy 332/ Marshallton Rd......Built 2011, raised and run off in 2016 for another $500K .... Some news reports just blamed a surveying mistake by the Hwy department, but it went a little deeper than that. (There also were a couple engineers who did not know the law and the difference between B/R base of rail and T/R top of rail......an additional 6+inches of oops (more like 7 5/8" if you wanna get picky))
mudchicken 4 lane freeway south of Wilmington got raised almost two feet. (after completion)... Delaware Hwy 332/ Marshallton Rd......Built 2011, raised and run off in 2016 for another $500K .... Some news reports just blamed a surveying mistake by the Hwy department, but it went a little deeper than that. (There also were a couple engineers who did not know the law and the difference between B/R base of rail and T/R top of rail......an additional 6+inches of oops (more like 7 5/8" if you wanna get picky))
Cumberland police closed the Fayette Street bridge — the only West Side bridge that was open to vehicular traffic until Thursday’s incident. The deteriorating Washington Street bridge and another on Cumberland Street had previously been closed..."
Apparently, the two bridges hit, had been questionable(?) for some time. The local detours caused by their condition were know to the community. Possibly, they were not open, and repaired for any number of reasons; money/time scheduling,etc(?). An error at whatever level in the CSX organization, seems to have fortuituously, for the community? Has brought that situation to a head; for the community's civic authorities. Who gets the 'Bill"?
It now becomes a battle between the management of CSX, and the local governing authorities; to decide on how deep they will get into CSX's finances, or how long the court battle ( mano a mano- Lawyer vs.lawyer(?).
In about any way, one looks at this situation, CSX is now looking down the barrel of a 'public relations canon' pointed right at the railroad. Not a pretty thing for a railroad struggling on many fronts.
samfp1943 In about any way, one looks at this situation, CSX is now looking down the barrel of a 'public relations canon' pointed right at the railroad. Not a pretty thing for a railroad struggling on many fronts.
The actions taken by CSX since the day EHH's control arrived on the property shout that the have no regard for the publics perception of company's actions.
The division super for Cumberland right now is going I need the Checkbook and no one in Jacksonville better scream when I have to write this one. Your the idiots that changed how we run the trains out of here and such. Now we just bought this town new bridges. I hope your happy because everyone in this town wants your heads on a pike right now.
Shadow the Cats ownerThe division super for Cumberland right now is going I need the Checkbook and no one in Jacksonville better scream when I have to write this one. Your the idiots that changed how we run the trains out of here and such. Now we just bought this town new bridges. I hope your happy because everyone in this town wants your heads on a pike right now.
And EHH from the grave is shouting - Yes Yes Yes - Right On - screw the suckers this is a great example of the precision I want.
evening
Back to work today.Ns has an autorack train in the siding.Matt and friends are back in Ohio.Just need to get to this corner.Chores to do.
Ns was pulling out of the siding eastbound when I got off of work.Matt is back home.Catching up on laundry.His work crew included people from Celina.He gets to play mailman tomorrow.
C A V U to you BOB.
Y6bs evergreen in my mind
Ns was clear when I left work.Matt is going to mow tomorrow in town.Mother Nature wants to warm us up this weekend.Chores to do.
Ns had a westbound in the siding when I left work.Had reports of a bad accident west of Defiance this afternoon.Mother nature going to warm us up.Chores to do.
Looks like we're going to be stuck with Texas weather for the next couple of days, temps in the 90's with humidity to match. I don't think that anybody is going to be doing too much of anything.
afternoon
Triple H day alert.Ns had a westbound going in the siding when I left work.Looked like an eastbound was coming into town as well.At home doing chores.Working 1/2 day tomorrow before it gets too hot.Matt gets to do dishes on Saturday and Sunday.Going to get back to work.
CSSHEGEWISCH Looks like we're going to be stuck with Texas weather for the next couple of days, temps in the 90's with humidity to match. I don't think that anybody is going to be doing too much of anything.
Well, everybody was complaining that it wasn't hot enough, so I brought the Texas and Alabama weather back north with me this week......
And the first one to complain that it's too hot will get a ride back to Texas. In the trailer........
Randy Vos
"Ever have one of those days where you couldn't hit the ground with your hat??" - Waylon Jennings
"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV
rvos1979 CSSHEGEWISCH Looks like we're going to be stuck with Texas weather for the next couple of days, temps in the 90's with humidity to match. I don't think that anybody is going to be doing too much of anything. Well, everybody was complaining that it wasn't hot enough, so I brought the Texas and Alabama weather back north with me this week...... And the first one to complain that it's too hot will get a ride back to Texas. In the trailer........
Johnny
Deggesty Is your trailer refrigerated or is it dry?
Is your trailer refrigerated or is it dry?
Dry, very dry.........
I do not know if this story is true or not; it was told me several years ago by an OTR driver. A certain driver picked up a load of frozen dough--and somehow his refrigerator was not turned on. When he reached its destination, the trailer sides and top were bulging--and his company buried the trailer without unloading it.
(Got stuck on I-20, west of Talladega, with an overturned trailer on I-20 over the Coosa River ...put an end to my day, but I couldn't go anywhere for 3+ hours and cold not get off the freeway. So humid, the water just hung in the air looking like a swarm of white gnats. Storm that did -in the trailer toppled trees and knocked over road signs)
Mud in Moody
Happily escaping back to Denver tomorrow from B'ham. Wet blanket to scorched earth.
Well I know my husband's got some stories to tell about reefer trailers being shutdown by other drivers on super hot weekends. He says he was at a trailer wash out when a driver pulled in with a loaded trailer that someone had shut the reefer off for 5 days on a load of beef after he quit the company under load. Even the local rendering plant refused to accept the meat on the trailer when it was found. The washout boys he says were puking and it took 4 times to get the stench out of the trailer. They were using acid rinsing then bleaching the trailer each time.
Oh yeah crap like that happens.
Might it have been cheaper to scrap the trailer?
The sauna opens here this afternoon through mid week. Nice now - 70-ish in the Central Adirondacks. At least the rain that was headed this way fizzled out, which will help keep the humidity down some.
Gonna stock the fridge on our old ALCO (those Canadians know how to equip a locomotive) with plenty of appropriate beverages.
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...
CSSHEGEWISCHMight it have been cheaper to scrap the trailer?
In the pre-EPA days when I worked B&O's FY Tower in Pittsburgh (which was bolted to the side of the 33rd Street bridge) over the Yougheheny River with Herr's Island being the foundation for some of the supports before reaching the other bank.
The business that occupied Herr's Island was tannery that was also dealing in other animal protiens. Every day at 6 PM they pumped their 'waste fluids' directly into the river. How long dead and decayed those that generated the fluids were, lord only knows - the fluids were RIPE, very very RIPE. If the wind happened to be from the North it was periously close to cookie tossing time. If your lunch had not been eaten by 6 PM, you would carry it home.
I can't comprehend the smells that had to have existed in the plant. I don't know if their employees still had functioning olfactory systems.
tree68Gonna stock the fridge on our old ALCO (those Canadians know how to equip a locomotive) with plenty of appropriate beverages.
Not allowed to do that anymore.
Sun starting to go down now.Ns had trains running today but too warm to watch.Wonder how many more dishes Matt got to do at work because of the hot weather.
joe
Back in Colorado - still burning. (smell of burnt grass an cedar very obvious while letting Duncan mark the hood and check for a weeks worth of dogmail.)
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