Do railways still use those torpedoes that explode to warn of dangers ahead?? this post must surely show my age.
tatansDo railways still use those torpedoes that explode to warn of dangers ahead?? this post must surely show my age.
Current operating practices do not have situations that require manual flag protection as was required in the days before official radio linked operations and two man Operating crews on trains.
Without the need for manual Flag Protection, there is no need for torpedos to give trains warning of a Flagman that the train is approaching.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
We haven't used torpedoes for years. GCOR rule book no longer has a rule for their use. We still have a flagging rule that without torpedoes is relatively useless. The last use was mostly by officers for effeciency testing.
The last use for protection that I know of was over 15 years ago. A track foreman was protecting a track defect because he was unable to contact the dispatcher via radio.
The last torpedo I saw on an engine was on a foriegn line (CSX I think) engine running through. That's been a long time ago.
Jeff
I think they fell out of use in Canada between 15 and 25 years ago, certainly they were gone by the time I hired on.
Going through a 1990s era rulebook, it appears their last use up here was protecting equipment that had been left unattended on the main track. In this case a GBO must also be issued informing crews of its presence.
Eventually they must have decided that the GBO by itself was enough, and the CROR no longer contains the torpedo rule.
CIL still manufactures them:
http://www.cilexplosives.com/torpedoes.html
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
I frequently operate at IRM. One of the trolleys I run (Illinois Terminal lightweight 415) has a rather conspicuous cabinet at one end labelled "Torpedoes". Naturally, I frequently get questions from passengers as to what this means. I have two alternate responses: (1) They are in case we run into enemy shipping, or (2) I describe the situation in which a torpedo would be used, explaining that it was an explosive strapped to the track by the crew of a stopped train, and that, if a following train ran over it, it would trigger the explosive and blow the train off the tracks, thus preventing a collision. The normal reaction to either of these explanations is surprise and consternation. Then I accurately explain what it really did. A streak of madness runs in my family.
Heard/read a yarn some years ago about someone putting several torpedos in a row on the track ahead of a speeder. Apparently, the spacing, etc, of the torpedos was enough to roll the speeder off the track...
Gotta watch those railroaders, they'll do anything for a laugh...
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...
All kidding aside, track torpedoes can be pretty dangerous and are nothing to play around with. The detonation of a torpedo can send shrapnel flying (like remnants of the lead straps), which can be lethal to anyone nearby.
Falcon48All kidding aside, track torpedoes can be pretty dangerous and are nothing to play around with. The detonation of a torpedo can send shrapnel flying (like remnants of the lead straps), which can be lethal to anyone nearby.
Has there ever been a documentated case of "death by torpedo"?
I know certain commuter agencies had used them until fairly recently (maybe they still do?), and if you happened upon one of their engines, legend told of the bounty that may or may not be present in the magical red box.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Falcon48 All kidding aside, track torpedoes can be pretty dangerous and are nothing to play around with. The detonation of a torpedo can send shrapnel flying (like remnants of the lead straps), which can be lethal to anyone nearby.
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Torpedos were nothing to play around with, but that never stopped anyone from doing so. I recall that the rule said that two torpedos were required in succession, but one meant the same as two. Placing a torpedo on a hard surface and hitting it with a hammer would surely detonate it, although it should never be done. But apparently, just an application of sufficient squeeze pressure will fire them off.
Euclid Torpedos were nothing to play around with, but that never stopped anyone from doing so. I recall that the rule said that two torpedos were required in succession, but one meant the same as two. Placing a torpedo on a hard surface and hitting it with a hammer would surely detonate it, although it should never be done. But apparently, just an application of sufficient squeeze pressure will fire them off.
What a torpedo signal meant depends on the specific railroad and/or rules in effect at any specific time. Rules change over time, even on the same railroad.
Once upon a time under the rules, a single torpedo detonation was a signal to stop. Two torpedo detonations was a signal to reduce speed and look out for a flagman/obstruction for a specified distance.
Many rules for years required two torpedos were to be place a specified distance (150 ft is what I'm used to) apart on the engineer's side. The last editions of GCOR required four torpedoes to be placed, two on each rail staggerd by 50 ft. That is one on rail 1, second on rail 2 50' from the 1st, third on rail 1 50' from the second, and the fourth on rail 2 50' from the third one. A train doing a lot of flagging in this manner would use up the rule specified supply of torpedoes (and fussees) quite fast. I'm sure that: A-most cabooses/engines carried more than the rule book minimum, and B-very little flagging against following trains was done by the time GCOR came out.
jeffhergert I'm sure that: A-most cabooses/engines carried more than the rule book minimum,
If I remember Bill Knapke's book "The Railroad Caboose" correctly in Bill's era ( Pre-WW2) carrying much more than the rule book minimum was typical. Better to have too much than too little. Railroad management usually didn't mind as long as you didn't go overboard.
Flintlock76 jeffhergert I'm sure that: A-most cabooses/engines carried more than the rule book minimum, If I remember Bill Knapke's book "The Railroad Caboose" correctly in Bill's era ( Pre-WW2) carrying much more than the rule book minimum was typical. Better to have too much than too little. Railroad management usually didn't mind as long as you didn't go overboard.
I would suspect the 'old head' Conductors would not let the Flagman on the caboose unless the Flagman had stocked it with at least a case of Fusees and a case of Torpedoes. When the protection of the train depends upon the Flagman going back a sufficient distance with the proper tools to permit notifying and stopping a following train - the Flagman had a REAL JOB to peform.
When lugging around a couple of "six packs" was actually encouraged by the railroad and had nothing to do with rule G.
Main problem with those torpedoes was walking back to remove them before a train got to them first. Many a foreman or welder cleared a train through his limits before the front and rear flagmen pulled the torpedoes.
We often put them in the turntable pit rail. The control cab didn't have a solid floor so the cab filled with smoke.
I grew up next to the 4 track main line on the NYNH&H RR in Connecticut and had a friend with whom I would construct various explosive projects using fire crackers of numerous sizes. One day he handed me a small gray rock looking object with two lead ties and explained to me that it was a loud explosive. Heading home on my bicycle I became pursued by the local bully who really had it in for me. Flying down a long hill, I frantically turned and hurled the small gray object onto the street ahead of my pursuing tormentor. The explosion was quite gratifiying and I was never bothered by the bully again. I am sure he thought I had magical powers!
northeasterI grew up next to the 4 track main line on the NYNH&H RR in Connecticut and had a friend with whom I would construct various explosive projects using fire crackers of numerous sizes. One day he handed me a small gray rock looking object with two lead ties and explained to me that it was a loud explosive. Heading home on my bicycle I became pursued by the local bully who really had it in for me. Flying down a long hill, I frantically turned and hurled the small gray object onto the street ahead of my pursuing tormentor. The explosion was quite gratifiying and I was never bothered by the bully again. I am sure he thought I had magical powers!
The railroad torpedos I saw were always a dirty dark red - while I expect riding around for who knows how long in the torpedo container on a caboose, mixed with coal dust and other forms of railroad dirt could turn one gray over time.
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