Looks like a lot of weeds and dirt to be new. Wouldn't new ones be assembed on-site near the crossing?
The OWLS daimond they installed in Durand, MI in 09 was pre-assembled and dropped right next to the old one. Looks like UP has enough room to do that. I vote for that one being old.
Norm
BaltACD rdamon Diamonds in the rough .. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.92089,-89.07018&z=20&t=H&marker0=41.92392%2C-89.06871%2Crochele%5C%2C%20il&marker1=41.92089%2C-89.07018%2CRochelle%20IL Looks like an old set was dragged here. Or maybe a new set!
Diamonds in the rough .. http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.92089,-89.07018&z=20&t=H&marker0=41.92392%2C-89.06871%2Crochele%5C%2C%20il&marker1=41.92089%2C-89.07018%2CRochelle%20IL Looks like an old set was dragged here.
Diamonds in the rough ..
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=41.92089,-89.07018&z=20&t=H&marker0=41.92392%2C-89.06871%2Crochele%5C%2C%20il&marker1=41.92089%2C-89.07018%2CRochelle%20IL
Looks like an old set was dragged here.
Or maybe a new set!
Mightly long time for a "new set" to be there... On Google Earth it shows up in 2011. Was still there in 2013, but more recent images are too blurry to tell for sure if it is still there.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
November 20, 2010, the last big changeout. I bumped a forum thread from that time about the replacement. Also, there is an interesting collection of stills on YouTube of the installation. Apparently the replaced diamonds were ten years old when replaced.
ChuckCobleigh November 20, 2010, the last big changeout. I bumped a forum thread from that time about the replacement. Also, there is an interesting collection of stills on YouTube of the installation. Apparently the replaced diamonds were ten years old when replaced.
If 2010 was the last replacement, then the intervening 5+ years of traffic would have the current diamonds approacing the end of their economic lives. With welders working on the diamonds weekly or more frequently, the end is near. Diamond replacment at such a location is a big time job that will require the full cooperation of both carriers and will most likely consume a full weekend to accomplish.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Thanks for bumping the thread.
This photo looks close to the location of the abandoned set.
rdamon Thanks for bumping the thread. This photo looks close to the location of the abandoned set.
Is the photo current or historical?
Historical ... The Flikr user has some newer photos on his photostream as well as photos of the installation. Note that the UP code line is still installed in this photo.
There are some good shots of the diamond taken with a drone as well.
(1) Considering it takes 2 years from order to delivery of a custom built crossing frog (and they all are), somebody is on the ball. (any faster and it's an emergency plus you are paying a premium for "crisis" work and to step in line ahead of the others....)
(2) the old frog will remain in reserve, just in case something stupid happens and the crossing frog gets destroyed in a derailment like the BNSF/UP screw-up in the Missouri Bootheel.
(3) The best parts of the old frogs will be held onto for use as future band-aids
(4) wondering if the subgrade survived this time, the drainage worked?, the 4-foot mucking out of a mudhole fixed the problem in 2011 and why haven't they tried an asphalt underlayment here?
mudchicken wondering if the subgrade survived this time, the drainage worked?, the 4-foot mucking out of a mudhole fixed the problem in 2011 and why haven't they tried an asphalt underlayment here?
Has an asphalt underlayment ever been used successfully under rail diamonds? I understand what you mean but I've never heard of it being used under rail. US 75 near here was rebuilt a few years ago with 12" of asphalt under reinforced concrete. US 75 is a very heavily traveled highway (THE route between Dallas and eastern Oklahoma) with lots of truck traffic but nothing approaching unit trains of 100+ ton cars. I just wonder if asphalt would hold up long enough to do its job of providing better drainage.
ChuckAllen, TX
Multiple places.
I was ATSF Roadmaster in LA when we did DT Jcn. in 1992 ...It now has an additional crossing frog vs. when we did two. (and the mudmonster was retired). BNSF, UP, CN-IC and NS have used asphalt underlayments. Jerry Rose at Kentucky has championed asphalt underlayments for railroads for decades. Along with crossing frogs, an awful lot of big turnouts have the extra help.
mudchickenchampioned asphalt underlayments for railroads for decades
No need to get personal and nasty, mud; it's only been . . . OMG . . . five decades since I've been that up-close and personal to a RoW. I'll take your word for it.
Pardon me but it's time for my mid-morning nap.
Nice Cascade green unit on the local today.
MC, how thick and how deep would be effective? You'd still want ballast on top of it, right? If you're digging out anyway, would concrete be better or worse than asphalt, aside from the obvious drying requirements? (My observations as one who worked by a diamond for most of his career say that the "geotextile" fad was pretty much a bust, at least in our envronment.)
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
There was a piece in Trains a while back about a flyover being built somewhere on which they used asphalt as a sub-base. I don't recall that they specified the thickness in the article, or what preparation was done under the asphalt.
I would opine that the ballast on top of the asphalt would be akin to that on a ballasted bridge in term of thickness, as a minumum.
I would think that asphalt would be fairly easy to remove with a backhoe, inasmuch as there's no reinforcement involved, as there would usually be with concrete.
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...
I believe the Colton flyover used a mix of concrete and foam as a fill.
CShaveRR MC, how thick and how deep would be effective? You'd still want ballast on top of it, right? If you're digging out anyway, would concrete be better or worse than asphalt, aside from the obvious drying requirements? (My observations as one who worked by a diamond for most of his career say that the "geotextile" fad was pretty much a bust, at least in our envronment.)
Our crossing at DT took a pounding from both mains having high tonnage (and had a mixed blessing of a "roof" (605 Freeway) and a major drain (San Gabriel River)following the SP)...It still comes down to being to have good drainage and keeping water out of river bottom fill or all the asphalt in the world won't help.
On top of the asphalt, we came up with 4"-6" of waste (screenings) and then 24" of main track ballast and french drained the diagonals (amazing how many generations of dead signal cabling we dug up!)
Like asphalt, geotextiles have a place .. the struggle is using the application properly and getting the basics right. Getting accross to some folks even basic drainage concepts is a struggle. Do it right or you might be doing it again, a lot sooner than planned .... plus the fastest way may just be creating future problems (regardless of how fast the short sighted operating bubbas want the track back)
mudchickenGetting accross to some folks even basic drainage concepts is a struggle.
Seems like I recall you (or someone) once saying here on the forum that the three most important things to consider when building track are drainage, drainage, and..... drainage.
tree68 mudchicken Getting accross to some folks even basic drainage concepts is a struggle. Seems like I recall you (or someone) once saying here on the forum that the three most important things to consider when building track are drainage, drainage, and..... drainage.
mudchicken Getting accross to some folks even basic drainage concepts is a struggle.
I don't know about "building track" but the three biggest problems in maintaining track (or anything else outdoors) are drainage, drainage, and..... drainage.
cefinkjr ...maintaining track...
That, too...
This afternoon it looks like a little (or not-so-little) lens-cleaner is required...
I seldom watch the Rochelle camera because the quality is so low, but I thought it used to adjust from day to night. If so, it's not doing that now.
I can't say I've been "watching" the Rochelle web cam. It would be more accurate to say I've checked it frequently over the past couple of years; frequently enough that it has a prominent place on my task bar -- one click and I'm there. I've checked it at all hours of the night and day and never saw it adjust for ambient light levels. That would be nice but I'd rather see a higher resolution.
Chuck,
I have a $200 Garmin dash cam that has far better resolution. S'pose Trains could buy one?
It is not the camera's resolution that makes the image so bad, it is the level of data compression to reduce the network bandwidth required for the high resolution camera. The crispness of the image is lost due to the compression.
If they reduced the compression to improve the image they would have to reduce the frames per second or go to a lower resolution camera to keep the same level of bandwidth required.
Norm48327I have a $200 Garmin dash cam that has far better resolution. S'pose Trains could buy one?
Probably. Do I want my subscription rate to increase to pay for it? No.
Or, to put it another way, would Kalmbach sell enough additional subscriptions to pay for increased resolution or, as Semper described it, additional band width? I don't think we have anywhere near enough information to suggest an answer to that.
This Web cam is by far the best American Web cam I have personally come across. This is not to say others don't exist. Of course the night time is difficult, but I agree with the owners about not causing issues with neighbors. Lights would only cause issues and possibly end the cam out right and speaking for myself, I just got here and I love this cam and I don't want to see it go because of something petty.
I wasn't on here for 2 seconds and caught two UP trains going opposite directions. Waited about another thirty minutes or so and another UP train came by. This is one busy camera folks compared to others. I love the view, the sound and of course that awesome power heading up all these consist. ☆☆☆☆☆ Across the board☺
The current cam is far, far better than its predecessor.
Although the format is larger, it's possible that the bandwidth available is the same.
Unless you're trying to read car numbers or something along that line, it's pretty good.
My picture is a little snowy today :)
I, for one, would love to be able to read car numbers on passing trains. Perhaps that's too much to ask, but locomotive numbers might appeal to more fans. aI'm sure it's costly, but I'm wondering whether it's pay-per-view costly (not interested) or sponsorship costly (maybe someone would be).
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