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Rusting equipment

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, February 17, 2018 7:24 AM

Warning systems don't penetrate the minds of idiots.

http://11foot8.com/

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Firelock76 on Saturday, February 17, 2018 8:57 AM

Interesting video on that "11foot8.com."  I'll tell you, I held my breath when that bus went under the bridge, I'll bet the dust got brushed off the bus' roof!

So the driver went AWOL?  Two things, either he went looking for a pay phone ( Good luck on that in this day and age!)  or he panicked and ran.  More than likely the second option. 

Amazing what I see on the roads in my daily travels.  I remember back in the 60's there were some road safety commercials on TV  that ended with "Watch out for the other guy!"

Just as true now as then.  Maybe more so.

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Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, February 17, 2018 9:47 AM

On King Street in Toronto between Dufferin street and Shaw street is a railroad overpass. There are electric eye warning lights for trucks on either side. On the west side between the sensor and the bridge is a side street called Atlantic Avenue. There are no sensors on Atlantic. A brewery was being dismantled at the foot of Atlantic. A truck hauling brewing kettles turned to go under the bridge. You can figure out the rest. 

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Posted by ruderunner on Saturday, February 17, 2018 7:49 PM

BaltACD

Warning systems don't penetrate the minds of idiots.

http://11foot8.com/

 

 

Dang, beat me to it.

Modeling the Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the PennCentral era starting on the Cleveland lakefront and ending in Mingo junction

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Posted by Big Bill on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 11:57 AM
Most roads today are strictly freight, and you and I have no pressing need to know whose trains are on that bridge. I can't book passage on BNSF, so why should BNSF care if I know which road is theirs? As opposed to days past, when I could book passage on Santa Fe or Burlington Northern. As I see it, anyway.
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Posted by Theminer on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 12:22 PM

I was a mine construction manager in Western New York a number of years ago.  We contractedwith a specialty heavy haul trucking company to deliver an over sized mine hoist drum through Hornell.  The trucking company hired a pole car to ensure there was clearance for the many underpasses along the route.  At the final underpass the pole driver alerted the truck driver there was insufficient clearance.  What did the driver do? He put the pedal to the metal and the mine hoist hit the bridge damaging teo girders plus dropping about 50 tons of mine hoist onto New York route 36 causing traffic delays, damage to the mine hoist, bridge and roadway surface.  And we got our names in the news paper.

There isa no cure for stupid.

 

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Posted by Theminer on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 12:26 PM

We engineers put in a design safety factor to account for things we can't directly identify as loads.  Of course there is no way to economically design for stupid.  A dump truck driving down the roadway with the bed raised is a good example.  

 

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Posted by Theminer on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 12:30 PM

Remove the old paint, rust etc down to "bright metal."  Get your grabs on a product called Chlor Rid (might be clor rid) and apply that prior to priming.  It is supposed to remove the chlorene iont that makes the rust.

 

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Posted by Theminer on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 12:33 PM

Every time we make something fool proof, they come up with a better class of fools.

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Posted by SD70Dude on Thursday, February 22, 2018 9:07 PM

I agree that railway rust is mostly a purely cosmetic issue, but sometimes it grows into a bigger issue.  The city of Edmonton is finding that out now, which is throwing a monkeywrench into some future light rail expansion plans:

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/rust-never-sleeps-high-level-bridge-too-weak-for-lrt-engineers-say

Makes one wonder about all the other large steel bridges of the same age that are still handling mainline tonnage, nothing lasts forever...

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

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Posted by cx500 on Friday, February 23, 2018 12:30 PM

Since the High Level bridge also carried road traffic, there may also be winter salt accelerating the rusting.  Nothing lasts forever, which is why some of the large railway truss bridges have had quite a few components replaced over the years, especially the floor system.  We are not told which specific members were of particular concern in the Edmonton article.

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Posted by ccltrains on Friday, February 23, 2018 5:14 PM

In structural design it common practice to design for 125-150% of the anticipated load.  I guess in Edmonton the cat used up its nine lives after 100+ years.

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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, February 23, 2018 5:29 PM

When it was originally built, they didn't expect it to last that long. Think they got a good return on their investment?

Always is amusing how the dime store lawyers can pass judgement on what engineers and surveyors do. The current generation of coddled buttonpushers (many are i-Zombies) is dumber than the previous group. (and a lot less reserved or understanding)DunceDunceDunce

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west

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