SD70Dude jeffhergert zugmann mudchicken Zugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation. We are not talking about the same dutchman. Are you talking about the short air hose extensions? (A short piece of air hose with a glad hand at both ends.) I had to look it up, we don't use the term for them. We call them "dummy" hoses. Probably not PC (not Penn Central) anymore either. Jeff I agree, never heard them called that before, and I've actually used them a few times. We just call them hose extensions. All the times I used them involved rotary dumping equipment where at least some of the cars were facing the wrong way. These cars have their air hoses on the same side at both ends of the car. My idea of a Dutchman: "Wooden head, wooden shoes, wouldn't listen."
jeffhergert zugmann mudchicken Zugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation. We are not talking about the same dutchman. Are you talking about the short air hose extensions? (A short piece of air hose with a glad hand at both ends.) I had to look it up, we don't use the term for them. We call them "dummy" hoses. Probably not PC (not Penn Central) anymore either. Jeff
zugmann mudchicken Zugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation. We are not talking about the same dutchman.
mudchicken Zugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation.
We are not talking about the same dutchman.
Are you talking about the short air hose extensions? (A short piece of air hose with a glad hand at both ends.) I had to look it up, we don't use the term for them. We call them "dummy" hoses. Probably not PC (not Penn Central) anymore either.
Jeff
I agree, never heard them called that before, and I've actually used them a few times. We just call them hose extensions.
All the times I used them involved rotary dumping equipment where at least some of the cars were facing the wrong way. These cars have their air hoses on the same side at both ends of the car.
My idea of a Dutchman:
"Wooden head, wooden shoes, wouldn't listen."
Zug comes from a area of the country where 'Pennsylvania Dutch' are common and various things in common parlance have 'Dutch' associated with their naming.
On my division the short 'extension' air hoses were referred to as 'shortys'. YMMV! My understanding is the use of 'shortys' is not sanctioned by FRA Air Brake Rules.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
NS is down to only two wyes in Fort Wayne.
One is downtown at MIKE tower (crossing of ex PRR and ex Wabash) where the west side is signaled and has dispatcher controlled switch. The east leg is unsignalled and has hand-throw switches. It was used to spin Triple Crown power or trailers that were still coupled.
The second is spread across town using the ex NKP and Wabash Mains as two sides of the triangle and the last is the ex NKP New Castle District.
Muncie, In also has a wye arrangement downtown. Two sides of the wye cross the two-track CSX (ex Big4) main.
Zug, Are you referring to a dutch drop or a funny rail joint?
mudchickenZugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Captain ChrisIs this considered a 'wye'?
Absolutly, Positively, THAT IS a Y.
Zugs: FRA frowns on that thar practice. Better hope it was head-web separation.
.
Yes, your photograph shows a wye as used by railways and railroads. Shapes can vary somewhat, but the essence is that tracks from three directions connect with each other in a manner which allows a train arriving from one direction to leave via either of the other two directions, or the train can be turned around and leave via the direction from which it arrived.
= = = =
I know very little about actual railroad terms.
At Gibbon, Nebraska, the UP mainline from Omaha meets the mainline from Kansas City.
Is this considered a 'wye'?
York1 John
Guess we probably whouldn't use the term "dutchman" anymore. That's if you can find anyone that knows what a dutchman is anymore....
Overmod Paddy M "Siamese" together ? Really ? It's a piping term. Of course, so is the old term for a steam takeoff on top of a boiler... the term that begins with "n" and ends in "head" ... and I won't use that one for certain now. Can it be long before 'fudging the numbers' becomes a slur?
Paddy M "Siamese" together ? Really ?
It's a piping term.
Of course, so is the old term for a steam takeoff on top of a boiler... the term that begins with "n" and ends in "head" ... and I won't use that one for certain now. Can it be long before 'fudging the numbers' becomes a slur?
To make you feel a bit better, that old term for the turret was also used up in the Great White North, not just in the deep south.
At this point I'm reminded of a bit South Park did years ago, where Tom Cruise was working at the end of the production line in a fudge factory, placing the finished product into boxes......
Paul MilenkovicBack to the subject of wyes, the discussion seems to indicate they are going the way of turntables. I understand that most freight cars do not need to be turned, but most diesel locomotives in the U.S. are not double cabbed and have an "F" end. Even if you pair diesel units back-to-back, there still must be circumstances where you need to turn a locomotive?
The essentially brand new CSX IM facility at North Baltimore has a wye.
Watchers at Deshler have seen the transfers there used to turn locomotives and entire trains (as in rail trains).
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...
SD70Dude 54light15 I had a wye on an N scale layout about 40 years ago. It was a pain to wire and to operate, probably the main reason I scrapped that layout. The hell with reversing loops too. Insulated joints are your friend!
54light15 I had a wye on an N scale layout about 40 years ago. It was a pain to wire and to operate, probably the main reason I scrapped that layout. The hell with reversing loops too.
I had a wye on an N scale layout about 40 years ago. It was a pain to wire and to operate, probably the main reason I scrapped that layout. The hell with reversing loops too.
Insulated joints are your friend!
Before I get scolded "take this discussion to the (MR) Forum", a wye or a reverse loop on a 2-rail model railroad is a lot more than insulating rail joiners.
The trick is having a way to reverse the polarity of the whole-rest-of-the-layout when on the wye or the reverse loop track. Otherwise, you need to bring the train to a stop and both reverse the polarity of the wye/reverse loop along with reversing the polarity of your power pack. DCC, however, can handle this double reversal automatically with a special accessory module feeding power to the wye or reverse loop track.
Back to the subject of wyes, the discussion seems to indicate they are going the way of turntables. I understand that most freight cars do not need to be turned, but most diesel locomotives in the U.S. are not double cabbed and have an "F" end. Even if you pair diesel units back-to-back, there still must be circumstances where you need to turn a locomotive?
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
mudchickenThe trail is only temporary, RFTA's long term goal is to place commuter rail in service if they can ever fund it (Glenwood-Carbondale-Aspen). Preserving future rail service is what drove the local entities to purchase the freight rail corridor in 1997-1998 under the NITU/CITU statutes. Almost immediately, Glenwood decided it could do as it pleased, ignoring the STB and Colorado PUC. Corridor manager RFTA has had a fight on its hands ever since. The corridor is held under federal statute as a FREIGHT rail corridor.
I followed this story in 2005 when RFTA was dithering on what to do with the corridor. They were looking at rail with trail, but when they compaired the cost of that with just using the rail bed for a trail, they ripped up the rails. I looked at the present "Destination 2040" plan, and I don't see any schedule for putting the rails back in within the next 20 years.
Paddy M"Siamese" together ? Really ?
Paddy M"Siamese" together ? Really ? A prejorative term the last 82 years. We now use the term Conjoined Twins in a civilized society.
Unless you're in the fire department. Last I knew, this was still called a Siamese:
(Click on the little square.)
"Siamese" together ? Really ? A prejorative term the last 82 years. We now use the term Conjoined Twins in a civilized society.
Overmod Two kinds of 'wye' here. The kind epitomized by Keddie is where two main lines siamese together -- Harper's Ferry and a couple of places on the Reading come to mind as examples. The other kind of wye is the full triangle type that is used to reverse engines or consists where a turntable will not serve. This can be put many places, including where a diverging line or branch is involved.
Two kinds of 'wye' here. The kind epitomized by Keddie is where two main lines siamese together -- Harper's Ferry and a couple of places on the Reading come to mind as examples.
The other kind of wye is the full triangle type that is used to reverse engines or consists where a turntable will not serve. This can be put many places, including where a diverging line or branch is involved.
steve24944 MidlandMike Also on the Moffat: wye at East Portal was the former split between the original route over the pass and the tunnel; at Tabernash where the line splits for a short distance, there is a wye at one end of the split that also forms a loop, this was a helper base in steam days; wye at Bond to turn engines where D&RGW met original "Moffat Road", as there was no room for a wye at the junction. There are also the remains of a wye at Glenwood Springs where the Aspen branch took off. That WYE in Glenwood is now all gone. A few years ago most of the WYE was in place except for the East switch, then the West switch was removed, and now most of the track that made the WYE is gone. A new road was cut through the south portion of the WYE. Some portions of track remain, and there is still about a 1/2 mile of track going south until it reaches where the Aspen Branch was made into a bike trail. Steve
MidlandMike Also on the Moffat: wye at East Portal was the former split between the original route over the pass and the tunnel; at Tabernash where the line splits for a short distance, there is a wye at one end of the split that also forms a loop, this was a helper base in steam days; wye at Bond to turn engines where D&RGW met original "Moffat Road", as there was no room for a wye at the junction. There are also the remains of a wye at Glenwood Springs where the Aspen branch took off.
Also on the Moffat: wye at East Portal was the former split between the original route over the pass and the tunnel; at Tabernash where the line splits for a short distance, there is a wye at one end of the split that also forms a loop, this was a helper base in steam days; wye at Bond to turn engines where D&RGW met original "Moffat Road", as there was no room for a wye at the junction. There are also the remains of a wye at Glenwood Springs where the Aspen branch took off.
That WYE in Glenwood is now all gone. A few years ago most of the WYE was in place except for the East switch, then the West switch was removed, and now most of the track that made the WYE is gone. A new road was cut through the south portion of the WYE. Some portions of track remain, and there is still about a 1/2 mile of track going south until it reaches where the Aspen Branch was made into a bike trail.
Steve
The wye was the third and last wye in Glenwood. (Previous wye and Funston yard were buried under I-70 in the 1970's and the Rio Grande moved onto the Colorado Midland Grade from Glenwood west to Chacra)
Eighth Street (new road) has now gotten Glenwood Springs in trouble with the Colorado PUC because the city can't abide by the agreement that created it. It may be removed.
The trail is only temporary, RFTA's long term goal is to place commuter rail in service if they can ever fund it (Glenwood-Carbondale-Aspen). Preserving future rail service is what drove the local entities to purchase the freight rail corridor in 1997-1998 under the NITU/CITU statutes. Almost immediately, Glenwood decided it could do as it pleased, ignoring the STB and Colorado PUC. Corridor manager RFTA has had a fight on its hands ever since. The corridor is held under federal statute as a FREIGHT rail corridor.
rob plum I think the point was that there are wye tracks whose main purpose is to accomodate the movement of traffic from one segment to another where three lines come together. That is not to proclude them from turning equipment like locomotives and snow removal equipment. The other specifically exists to turn equipment whether it be coal cars with rotating couplers, snow removal equipment or the most common, turning locomotives.
I think the point was that there are wye tracks whose main purpose is to accomodate the movement of traffic from one segment to another where three lines come together. That is not to proclude them from turning equipment like locomotives and snow removal equipment. The other specifically exists to turn equipment whether it be coal cars with rotating couplers, snow removal equipment or the most common, turning locomotives.
I believe the "official" name on CSX for the first example (moving traffic from one line to the other) is a "transfer," although many, if not most, still call them "wyes."
I could be wrong.
"How common is a wye?"
Why do you want to know??
(I'll just show myself the door...)
The wye I was most familiar with, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been taken out somtime in the last several years. The tail track went to the old GTW passenger station along the river, but the tracks remained for a lot longer than the station. The local train from Durand to Grand Haven used to turn its engine on the wye every trip, to keep from running in reverse more than one way between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.Grand Haven used to have a wye on the Pere Marquette, but the one leg was removed quite a bit before my time.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
There are two wyes in downtown Harrisburg, PA. One is the previously mentioned former PRR trackage. The third leg of the wye once crossed the Susquehanna, but today it's truncated at the river, and is used by Amtrak for turning consists. The other wye is close by, where the former Reading Company main line from Reading/Allentown crossed the former PRR mainline on its way to Gettysburg and points west. NS now operates both. The line east via Reading is still a main route, but west of Harrisburg it's a lesser route today.
The wye at Dotsero has been used to set a passenger car out--once, when coming home, as we approached on the Dotsero Cutoff I saw an Amtrak car set out; I did not learn why or whether it was eastbound or westbound when it was discovered that it needed to be set out.
Johnny
The Port of LA and Port of Long Beach operated by Pacific Harbor Line have at least 5 wyes in the harbor and I think they are working on one on Terminal Island. UP and BNSF have wyes near the hardbor in addition to those. I am not sure if they are used to turn trains, but probably are. In some cases, they are used to get trains into the Alameda Corridor as quickly as possible. I think they are also used to route trains around each other. There is also a loop in the harbor connected by a wye. I think the loop is to build large container trains.
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