I see tanks on a platform next to tracks where a switch is .Are they for propane?
Probably fuel for switch heaters.
Gee, I'm disappointed. When someone named "Rambo" asked about tanks next to tracks I was expecting something like this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELZMc7mvgw
There was an article about a military tank struck by a train in PA in one of the railfan magazines not long ago. Not a good outcome for either the tank or the train.
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...
Yeah good point! Best be careful how you answer a guy named Rambo2...
" It's not fuel, it's a water cooler for the crews"
Rambo2I see tanks on a platform next to tracks where a switch is .Are they for propane?
If the tank is on a raised platform the area is most likely a flood plain with the tracks subject to being flooded.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
As I was growing up, Rambo was my best friend--his mother's family name was Rambo, and he was named for her.
Johnny
tree68 There was an article about a military tank struck by a train in PA in one of the railfan magazines not long ago. Not a good outcome for either the tank or the train.
Right, it was either in the last issue of "Classic Trains" or the one before that. I don't remember all the particulars but it was a National Guard M-4 Sherman hit at a grade crossing. They didn't "Stop, look, and listen."
There were five men in the tank crew, three were killed, two badly injured if I remember correctly. The locomotive was damaged but no-one on the train was killed.
BaltACD If the tank is on a raised platform the area is most likely a flood plain with the tracks subject to being flooded.
Deep snow might be the reason rather than flooding. Or it could just be the design flavor of whoever in the track department was responsible for the design or installation.
Allowing any type of tank storage near main tracks has some risks. In the 1980's a railroad leased a portion of its Station Grounds to a RR customer (a very comon occurance) who happened to be a supplier of ammonia to local farmers. This customer established a large storage tank too near the main line and it happened that there was a minor derailment at this location. One of the derailed cars ruptured this tank with the result that a large amount of ammonia was released at a location where there were several people who were overcome. Fortunately there no serious or permanent injuties.
Flintlock76Right, it was either in the last issue of "Classic Trains" or the one before that. I don't remember all the particulars but it was a National Guard M-4 Sherman hit at a grade crossing. They didn't "Stop, look, and listen."
A bit like this T-64 in the DDR of the late '80s:
I guess the DDR's National Volksarmee wasn't like the old Wehrmacht...
"You VILL schtop at der railroad krossing, und you VILL look und lissen!"
In my area, switch heaters that are in accessible locations are connected to the municipal natural gas system. Only the ones in outlying locations have propane tanks.
The section forces in my area use a truck to fill the tanks, as nearly all are accessible by road.
I can't find it right now, but I recall seen a photo of a Brandt truck pulling a single tank car somewhere in northern Ontario, stopping at each switch to fill the tank.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Deggesty As I was growing up, Rambo was my best friend--his mother's family name was Rambo, and he was named for her.
Johnny, I wouldn't be suprised if when your friend's ancestors "Got off the boat" the original spelling of the name was probably "Rambeau."
Wayne
Flintlock76 Gee, I'm disappointed. When someone named "Rambo" asked about tanks next to tracks I was expecting something like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELZMc7mvgw
Backshop Flintlock76 Gee, I'm disappointed. When someone named "Rambo" asked about tanks next to tracks I was expecting something like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lELZMc7mvgw Kelly's Heroes--my favorite movie of all time!
Kelly's Heroes--my favorite movie of all time!
I'll tell you, I never met a veteran of any of the services that didn't love "Kelly's Heroes."
High praise indeed!
There used to be air tanks next to interlockings around here when the switches were air-powered. I think just about all are now electric.
They used to make the coolest "ka-chunk, hissssssss" sound when they threw.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmannThere used to be air tanks next to interlockings around here when the switches were air-powered. I think just about all are now electric. They used to make the coolest "ka-chunk, hissssssss" sound when they threw.
And when there was a failure at a 'air plant' - NOTHING MOVED, until the Signal Maintainer arrived and corrected the problem. Without air, the switches could not be considered in the 'locked' position - either normal or reverse.
BaltACDAnd when there was a failure at a 'air plant' - NOTHING MOVED, until the Signal Maintainer arrived and corrected the problem. Without air, the switches could not be considered in the 'locked' position - either normal or reverse.
Of course that's when there were actually more than one maintainer for an entire division.
zugmannThey used to make the coolest "ka-chunk, hissssssss" sound when they threw.
Sounds like a "what the heck was that?" moment if you were near one and not familiar with the operation. You know - you're out at that neat new spot you found for trainwatching, it's quiet, and you hear "ka-chunk, hissssssssss."
Ka-chunk, hisss--yes, I heard that often when I was at the station in Bristol in the evening and cars were being added to #42. Somehow, I identified it immediately. I would be up by the J where it was waiting to be moved over and coupled to the train.
I remember hearing the same sound from the Roosevelt Road overpass when the switches at Dearborn Station were aligned for a move.
I did not think of military tanks but I did think of tank cars, maybe parked someplace where they could leak or catch fire. Good one with the scene from Kelly Heroes.
Is a switch in "normal" position when lined for straight, and "reversed" when lined to curve away?
Or are switches assigned a Normal and a Reverse position based upon usage patterns? If so, are these designations listed and described in the ETT?
Lithonia Operator Is a switch in "normal" position when lined for straight, and "reversed" when lined to curve away? Or are switches assigned a Normal and a Reverse position based upon usage patterns? If so, are these designations listed and described in the ETT?
It's generally based on normal usage. It might be listed in the ETT if it's unusual.
A short line near here has a switch that would normally be thought of as being reversed, and is. But the ETT instructs crews to leave it in the reversed position.
Still not sure I get this.
Normal is the straight-on position?
Lithonia Operator Still not sure I get this. Normal is the straight-on position?
Usually, that will be the case but it is not absolute. Normal position is the position that lines the track for movement on the "main" track. At the typical double ended siding, that almost always will be straight on. The case Larry refers to is a switch that directs trains in one of two directions (think fork in the road). In that case, the timetable dictates that normal position is the diverging (curved) position. If the switch is lined straight, it is in the reversed position.
Lithonia OperatorStill not sure I get this. Normal is the straight-on position?
On CSX CADS model board displays - Straight is Normal - Bent is Reverse. How the switches are configured in the field may not be as straight forward.
Othere conventions of the model board are also followed - West or North is the top left position of a model board screen, depending on the railroad being defined in the Timebable as being E-W or N-S. Screens where E-W & N-S interact at a specific location for more than just a railroad crossing at grade can be truly mind boggling to decipher.
adkrr64 The case Larry refers to is a switch that directs trains in one of two directions...
Actually, I was referring to Lyons Falls siding. But "Snow" does fit the bill for "normal" being the curved direction..
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