derails

[wisandsouthernkid]

what is a derail?(not when a train tips over) but the portable things on rails. i have seen them and they make no sense at all to me becuase dont they send the wheels to the ground? and if so then doesnt that wreck stuff and could even kill somebody? These are what i am talkingabout

[Noah Hofrichter]

Derails are meant to intentionally derail the train to prevent further damage with possibly greater consequences to men or equipment. One common use of derails is where a maintenance crew is working on a car in a yard. They may be crawling under or between equipment. If a train were to connect up to that cut of cars and move it, it could be potentially deadly. But if a derail is placed in front of the cut, any cars moving towards the other cut will go on the ground, avoiding a collison. Sure, now you have a car on the ground that you must rerail, but it's better than having someone seriously killed because the train rolled over them.

They are also commonly used in locations where a industry siding connects with a mainline to prevent unauthorized movement out onto the main, especially at an industry that has it's own car mover. Which would seem worse to you: one car going on the ground because it ran over a derail, or a run away car hitting a train on the main line at full speed? In most cases I think you would pick the first scenario.

Noah 

[J. Edgar]

the idea behind the one you pictured is to protect people working on standing equipment..as both a physical warning and visual indication...meaning its a blueflag...blueflags mean someone is working on the cars....a carman replacing a brakeshoe...an inspector inspecting....a non RR employee hooking up hoses to a covered hopper..sure it might not stop a speeding train but it will stop whats likely to be in the yard in question and at slow speeds your highly unlikey to roll over ....in short its better to have a truck on the ground then be ground by the truck

[J. Edgar]

lol...too much time eating ice cream .....Noah beat me

[Anonymous]

The one you pictured is a common hinged derailer. They do their job, although I have heard of wheels rolling over them and staying on the rails. Do a search for a split-rail derailer, and you'll see the most effective piece of equipment on the railroad.

[mudchicken]

SAFETY DEVICE/ APPLIANCE 

Back up a few pages here and look at the MBTA incident where a lumber car got loose and found a passenger train to run into... 

In the 1980's, KYLE Railroad had a tragic incident where a freight car was turned loose at night (no derail on an old CRIP passing siding) at Arriba, CO ....It found the crew of a westbound freight at 2AM at a speed in excess of 60 MP in the bottom of a sag, Killing the crew and destroying former SDAE #104 (shredded it)

[Anonymous]

SAFETY DEVICE/ APPLIANCE 

Back up a few pages here and look at the MBTA incident where a lumber car got loose and found a passenger train to run into... 

In the 1980's, KYLE Railroad had a tragic incident where a freight car was turned loose at night (no derail on an old CRIP passing siding) at Arriba, CO ....It found the crew of a westbound freight at 2AM at a speed in excess of 60 MP in the bottom of a sag, Killing the crew and destroying former SDAE #104 (shredded it)

That's scary stuff. These things serve a purpose when used correctly. More storage tracks and industrial spurs/cutomer spurs should have them.