a few questions about some track objects

[Anonymous]

This was an industry-heavy region of the town, so around that spot there were at least 3 industrial facilities, each had its own siding going from the station (which is near)
but this track does not lead into any of them. This track was a very busy mainline before it closed because of the war.

[edblysard]

Did these tracks serve the place?
Reason for the question...my railroad serves quite a few heavy industries...and a lot of them have private switchers that work inside thier plants...they often use a signal system on their spurs that not only warns them when they are about to foul the main, but the same system can count cars and trigger a scanner that reads the AEI tags, so the shipping manager gets an accurate, real time count of the cars entering his plant, and their contents...

Ed

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard


The industry in the background in your last photo, what is it and what do they produce?

Ed

They were making furniture for more than 100 years. The buildings around the tower were built in 1884 when the company was first opened. The metal tower was built in 50's.
The plant stoped working in early 90's. Now it is playground for kids even though someone did buy the place. They just haven't done anything with it yet.

[Hugh Jampton]

IT looks like what we call an axle counter. A device that works by inductance and counts every wheel that passes it. They do away with track circuits and the associated relays and maintenance.

[edblysard]

It’s a warning circuit of some type, to trigger crossing gates or a signal system...might be a car or axel counter...the parts against the rail are electro-magnetic or inductive sensors, when the wheel passes between the sensor and the rail, it triggers a circuit.
The steel triangle plates are to protect the sensor from debris and dragging equipment, like chains or banding.
And I agree with Mike, your written English is very, very good...which is a good thing, English is one of the most spoken and written business languages world wide.
The industry in the background in your last photo, what is it and what do they produce?

Ed

[Murphy Siding]

What time is it in Croatia? Wee hours of the morning?

[Anonymous]

no, we don't have hotbox detectors around here

[dehusman]

It isn't a derail, its probably a wheel impact detector or a a hotbox detector.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

Not just that, in school you are passive, you can never learn a language without the kind of motivation you get when you are actually using the language with people that don't have your mother language for backup.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by electro-ortcele

QUOTE: Originally posted by mehrlich

First, Mr. Electro, I want to compliment you on the questions you ask. I've learned a lot from them myself. Second, your written English is excellent. Have you been bilingual since you were young, did you learn it in school, etc.? I can speak a little Spanish, but I sure can't write it like you write English. I'lm glad you're a member of the forums.


mike

thanks [:)][:D]

Well, english is an international language, so you have to know it in order to communicate on a world level. I've started to learn english by watching Cartoon network on cable when I was little, at first it was all these toons speaking gibberish, then it started to make sense. [:D]
Later on it continued with movies, internet etc. when I grew up, and now I can finally watch DVD movies without those darn subtitles. And as for writing, I have been a member of all kinds of forums, so I practiced writing that way.

p.s. They do teach English in our schools, but It is my opinion that you can't really learn it that way. Those who didn't know it before by learning it themselfs never really learned to use it for any real conversation.

I think I've heard somewhere before that a good way to learn English is watching cartoons. But I know what you mean about learning a foreign language in school. In this part of Texas there are a lot of Spanish speaking people and they don't speak Spanish like you learn in books.

m

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mehrlich

First, Mr. Electro, I want to compliment you on the questions you ask. I've learned a lot from them myself. Second, your written English is excellent. Have you been bilingual since you were young, did you learn it in school, etc.? I can speak a little Spanish, but I sure can't write it like you write English. I'lm glad you're a member of the forums.


mike

thanks [:)][:D]

Well, english is an international language, so you have to know it in order to communicate on a world level. I've started to learn english by watching Cartoon network on cable when I was little, at first it was all these toons speaking gibberish, then it started to make sense. [:D]
Later on it continued with movies, internet etc. when I grew up, and now I can finally watch DVD movies without those darn subtitles. And as for writing, I have been a member of all kinds of forums, so I practiced writing that way.

p.s. They do teach English in our schools, but It is my opinion that you can't really learn it that way. Those who didn't know it before by learning it themselfs never really learned to use it for any real conversation.

[Anonymous]

First, Mr. Electro, I want to compliment you on the questions you ask. I've learned a lot from them myself. Second, your written English is excellent. Have you been bilingual since you were young, did you learn it in school, etc.? I can speak a little Spanish, but I sure can't write it like you write English. I'lm glad you're a member of the forums.


mike

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by adrianspeeder

Dang, all this time I thought you were in the US.

Adrianspeeder

What made you think that? You even participated in my EMD export locomotives thread when I talked what export locos we have here

[adrianspeeder]

Dang, all this time I thought you were in the US.

Adrianspeeder

[Anonymous]

The stain is on the inside of the tracks, and its on every track everywhere I've been. But that was a totally separate question, not realted to this.

and yea, this is European railway. I've written my location under my nickname (Croatia)

Ok, back to the relay. There is one more object around in proximity to these two.
here it is:




And here is a shot from another angle showing the angled plates, I just realized that there are 4 of them not two, because there is a same device on the other side too.

Pardon the scratches and grain on this one, it's a detail enlargement from a negative scan.

[edblysard]

Your stain...inside the rails or outside?
Outside could be just about anything, if the track is "old" as in its been in use for several decades, and the stain is outside the rails, its just spills and drips from all the tankcars that has built up over the years...inside, I would agree, its from the locomotives...
Look around where you found the detector and the activator/ relay, (the round thing) and see if there is a box or bucket looking container, partially buried, that could have contained the lubricant...if you don’t find one, a guess is it’s part of a signal system or occupancy detector....
I assume from the way the rail is fastened to the ties this is a European or British railway?

Ed

[Anonymous]

here is where the cable goes into

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard

Its a dectector, either for a signal, a crossing gate, or a flange oiler...which also explains your dark stain...the oil from the flange oiler can get spread for up to a mile near where it is located...
This is not a derail...

Ed

ok, few things to clear


the dark long stain is a long dark line, about 30cm wide, "sprayed" on the TIES, and ballast for miles and miles, curves or straight tracks, not on rails. In fact I haven't seen any active railroad tracks that don't have it.
I think the most logical explanation is the one ndbprr gave, that it's oil from the locomotive gear transmision area on the right (or left) side of the loco.

The object on the picture is on an older track that is not used right now, this track is clean, and doesn't have this stained area since trains haven't been passing here.
But you could be right, this could be a greaser. I just think these devices are not connected with the right-side stain that goes throghout the country.

[edblysard]

Its a dectector, either for a signal, a crossing gate, or a flange oiler...which also explains your dark stain...the oil from the flange oiler can get spread for up to a mile near where it is located...
This is not a derail...

Ed

[BaltACD]

QUOTE: Originally posted by electro-ortcele

Here it is, good thing I took this picture.

The two oposite 45 degree plates are not visible in this picture, they are just outside the shot left and right, but you can see a piece of both on the endes of the image.

This is an old abandoned track (for 15 years), as you can see by the old rotten wooden ties. Only a local switcher pulling 2 chemical cars goes by now and then. This track is waiting to be reopened in the following years.

Not fitting across the top of the rail, the device is not a derail. Looks like it might be some form of inductive signal equipment that may have been a part of a train control signal system that may have been in effect on the track at one time.

[Anonymous]

Here it is, good thing I took this picture.

The two oposite 45 degree plates are not visible in this picture, they are just outside the shot left and right, but you can see a piece of both on the endes of the image.

This is an old abandoned track (for 15 years), as you can see by the old rotten wooden ties. Only a local switcher pulling 2 chemical cars goes by now and then. This track is waiting to be reopened in the following years.

[videomaker]

I dont think its a derail,It would not be on the main line if it was..You say its near a signal ,it sounds like some sort of a trigger device for the signal to me..There would be no cables either if it were just a derail..A derail is designed to derail a car to keep it from entering the main.. As for the dark fluid on the rail,thats anyone guess..Videomaker

[Anonymous]

The object is place in a curve, so that's what made me think it's a derail. But I didn't know these things are remote operated.

But if that is a derail, then they sure found a hell of a place to put it. the "target" area is
a bunch of private little gardens where people grow their vegetables near their houses, and behind that is a bunch of houses.Allthough, this thing was placed there a long time ago (minimum 20 years) , so it is possible that at the time, there was nothing there at the target area.

I'll see if I can find some pictures of the thing, so that we can confirm what it is.


thanks for the explanation of the stripe, I was afrait that I've been walking over crap from the passanger cars :-)

[ndbprr]

I suspect you did see a derail. That is a device to absolutely prevent a train from going any farther. The reason for the stripes is the traction motor pinion gear that engages a gear on the back of one wheel. You are seeing the lubrication that flings off of them with speed. SInce this is off to one side that is where it falls.

[Anonymous]

I was just wondering if someone can indentify for me this object:

It is placed on the inside side of one rail it is made out of 3 major parts.
Two of them are metal plates tilted by some 45 degree towards each other, and between them is a circular metal object from which a cable goes under the rail somewhere beside the tracks.
The whole thing is placed near a signal.

Is this something for derailing trains?


and one more thing. Wherever I see active tracks, there is a dark "stain" on the right hand side of rails The stain is a long line goes for kilometers as if something is driping from the train on the right side. It looks like oil. It is on every track, everywhere I go. What is that?