You will also find a warning "do not ground to coupler assembly when welding" on a lot of boxcars and flat cars with hydro cushion drawbars.
Hydraulic fluid does funny and dangerous things when it boils.
One reason some car owners want to be contacted before repairs are done is that they may have their own shop, or may simply want to provide information on specific repairs they will allow foreign shops to perform.
Running the current from an arc welder through metals like aluminum rivets and cast steel parts can set up corrosion problems also.
Gas welding is normally used to cut and remove damaged parts, the preferred manner to repair and add parts is electrical arc welding, it is more precise and the heat dissipation can be managed better...arc welding only heats a small spot around where the weld is being performed, gas (flame) welding heats a larger area.
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About 2 minutes into this video the Herzog cars are distributing ballast. Normally Herzog trains are followed by MofW personnel to ensure that switches and road crossings are cleared of any potential overflow or ballast within the switch points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMEi71GpxE
Also the Herzog promo video
http://www.hrsi.com/railroad_services_plus_train.php
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD Herzog ballast cars, for the most part, are used in computer controlled, GPS guided ballast train service where the entire train can be dumped in a hour or less as the ballast train is moving at 15 MPH, the cars have a lot of electronics on board. .
Herzog ballast cars, for the most part, are used in computer controlled, GPS guided ballast train service where the entire train can be dumped in a hour or less as the ballast train is moving at 15 MPH, the cars have a lot of electronics on board. .
I never would have imagined that ballast cars had so much tech onboard.
mudchicken If you set the spray-on lining on fire or mangle/short out the mechanical working innards (including solar powered battery controls for GPS dumping system, etc.), the job you save might be your own.
If you set the spray-on lining on fire or mangle/short out the mechanical working innards (including solar powered battery controls for GPS dumping system, etc.), the job you save might be your own.
Wow!! those little A-frame panels on top sort of looked like a solar array, but I figured that unlikely since I never would have expected to see solar panels on a ballast car...
So then I guess the cars dump the ballast automatically (on top of the ties) , and some other critter must follow along and raise the track long enough to tamp the ballast in underneath?
Electric arc welding and electronics are not compatible.
Herzog ballast cars, for the most part, are used in computer controlled, GPS guided ballast train service where the entire train can be dumped in a hour or less as the ballast train is moving at 15 MPH, the cars have a lot of electronics on board. When welding is required on equipment that contains electronics, the electronic equipment must be disconnected to protect it from electrical fields that are created in the welding process.
The ballast trains are used prior to the arrival of surfacing gangs, with track time on Main Tracks being a scarce commodity the use of the Herzog (and Georgetown), computerized continuous motion ballast trains have facilitated getting ballast laid better than any prior operations the carriers have used..
The current used for arc-welding is a few million times what it would take to fry and vaporize the microscopic wires and chips that comprise the electronic/ electrical components and controls for them . . .
Also, you'll often see a similar warning on the frame rails of truck tractors and trailers. There, the steel is a special alloy and/ or heat-treated, and the intense heat will change the metallurgy and strength and ruin it - even to the point of making it brittle and prone to shattering under impact loads ! So that could also be a secondary concern here.
Later on I may try to find a good photo of that warning on railcarphotos.com or a similar website.
MC, I didn't know they had a "spray-on" lining. What kind, and what for ?
- Paul North.
If a car is bad-ordered, or perhaps damaged in transit, I believe it's normal procedure for the railroad in question to perform repairs and bill (if appropriate) the owner for the work.
I'd presume that if the cars are being ferried between jobs they may not be accompanied by Herzog personnel, so could be exposed to repairable damage and the possibility of repairs thereon.
Linings could sustain damage from either arc or gas welding, as MC points out. Arc welding could turn electronics into useless junk, never mind the possibility of physical damage to said equipment if cutting or welding takes place near wiring and components.
I'd imagine that the cost of a case of spray paint and a couple stencils may be less than the cost of recoating or re-wiring a single car.
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...
Warning: before welding on this car, contact Herzog Contracting" said the sign painted on the sides of dozens and dozens of ballast cars.
Why the sign? More specifically, is that a frequent peril that car owners need to worry about? That 3rd parties will weld on cars that don't belong to them, without being asked/told to? I'd be mad as can be if I was a fleet owner,and started getting cars returned to me with the paint blistered off the sides of them.
Or is this just protection from people who might perform spot repairs that they would like to invoice the owner for?
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