Here in NY I havenever seen anything other than wood ties. About 20 years ago I saw CSX replace the ties and lay new rail when they came through town. It was pretty neat seeing how it was done.

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[/quote]

Old James

Interesting that we're sending steel ties to Europe. They don't get much use here, that I'm aware of.

Seems like steel ties would be noisy with debris from a passing train. The synthetic ones are probably actually even more expensive than the steel. I would imagine the old-fashioned creosote soaked ones are the cheapest to make and maintain in the long run.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Ok, I just woke up from a nap and decided to wander down the alley behind my house and take a picture of what's going on. It appears the preliminary work at least is being done by robotic track machines. They seem to be pulling up the stakes. You can see a bin behind the machines. There looks like a driver's cab, but I can't see anyone in it, and yet the machines are moving. An RJ Corman engine is coming from the opposite direction track.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Some of the functions performed by those machines: pull the old spikes, pick up the rail a little, remove the old tie (usually by shooting it out the side), pick up the spike plates (not sure how or what they do with them), insert the new tie, insert new spikes into it (through new or reused spike plates, I'm sure), push the ballast in around the tie, vibrate the ballast a bit to tamp it down around the tie. Probably a couple other things.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially ArthursPass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for exploring Arthur's Pass National Park. Arthur's Pass township is about 5 km south of the mountain pass with the same name. Its elevation is 740 metres above sea level surrounded by beech forest. The Bealey River runs through the township

​Full screen is best​

​Click here: Spectacular footage Train ploughing through deep snow Arthurs Pass - Safeshare.TV

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.


A person who makes no mistakes, creates nothing.

Thanks Luigi. Im suprised they didnt have a plow on the front end. Unless I could'nt see it.

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[/quote]

Old James

Just read the one-page summary of Cross-Rail in the new issue of Trains magazine. Wish they'd included a map.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Here you go....
http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

I rode behind Big Jim again today - he's had a paint job since we saw him last, and returned (I presume) to his native colors.



And sounded in fine voice, on an intensive shuttle service catering for the thousands of spectators watching the Tour de France pass through our little corner of Yorkshire.

And on the Tender, I think it says in part(the part that I can read) USA...

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Built as works number 8758 by the Lima company of America in 1945, No. 5820 was shipped to Britain and then almost immediately to France to help with the World War II war effort. After the war had ended, it went to Polish Railways where it was numbered Tr203.474 and allocated to Katowice shed.
During the 1970s, Polish steam was in decline while the British preservation movement was growing. No. 5820 was brought to Haworth in November 1977 and became known as 'Big Jim'. It reverted to its USATC number the following summer and starred in 'Yanks'.

No. 5820 was withdrawn from service in 1992. After a heavy overhaul, the locomotive returned to service in early 2014 in inauthentic BR unlined black livery as No. 95820. Boiler ticket expires in 2023.

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

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I rode behind Big Jim again today - he's had a paint job since we saw him last, and returned (I presume) to his native colors.



And sounded in fine voice, on an intensive shuttle service catering for the thousands of spectators watching the Tour de France pass through our little corner of Yorkshire.

I can't say the gray paint does much for me, but if it's authentic for the US Army (and I presume the railway did proper research), then I won't object.

It's amazing how many people are complaining that IRM hasn't put the name FRISCO on the cab sides of 1630 yet. A nine or ten year restoration, almost entirely by volunteers, barely completed for a holiday weekend, and it's still not good enough for the whiners...

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

And on the Tender, I think it says in part(the part that I can read) USA...

In full, it says 'Transportation Corps USA'. Enlargement of a shot I took during the run-around at the end of the line:

And on the Tender, I think it says in part(the part that I can read) USA...

In full, it says 'Transportation Corps USA'. Enlargement of a shot I took during the run-around at the end of the line:

It that what the US sent overseas at the end of the war to replace engines we had shot to pieces or was that for the UK to help them replace engines that were destroyed? Or both?

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[/quote]

Old James

Your answer is back here James, http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=71694&postid=1536984. ;-)

Cheers.

Woo hoo! Did the official Initial Training on Chicago Surface Lines 3142 today and got signed off on my authorization for line training. Line training means I run the car around the loop with a qualified operator watching me until I feel I'm comfortable enough doing it to try to qualify.

Need to brush up on my rules and my safety and car talks.

Next Saturday I take the air brake class and then I can also start line training as a conductor on the coach train. But I think I'll enjoy the streetcar more.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Today was good too, except right at the end when I got a bit of an ouchy. It was the first time this year my old friend Mark has conducted, so it was also my first chance to work with him. Everything was fine until we were locking up the train. For whatever reason, his key wouldn't lock the door, but mine would. But on the last door, my key went all the way around and didn't lock it. Then it wouldn't go all the way around either way, so I went inside the car to try it from there. It worked fine, so I went outside to try again. The damn door slammed on my hand REALLY HARD. I gave an initial yell of pain, then repeated it when the pain didn't subside any after a couple of seconds. My thumb took most of it; that's the only thing that still hurts now, 6 hours later. It's not broken or even visibly bruised, and the pain is now minor, but YAAAAAAA!

I don't like car 561.

I put in a request for training on the streetcar two weeks from today. The two weekends after that are Day Out With Thomas. The place is incredibly busy and crowded and they won't let anyone do line training. Then comes Labor Day, which is also a special event. I asked for a day of training then, but I don't know if I'll get it.

(The museum makes more money from the four days of Thomas than from the whole rest of the year.)

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Dragging this thread from the second page, just a quick comment on a pic I snapped by chance yesterday while returning from my walk, I always glance over the railway bridge and most times there is nothing really interesting.

Yesterday however there was one of the 15 diesel freight locos that was responsible for changing the freight hauling business on the UK railways.




At first glance it looks like a class 66 that is the mainstay of UK railway freight hauling.

However it is a class 59, 59202 to be precise.

Which have an interesting story.

Back in the mid 80's a compay called Foster Yeoman were fed up with the reliability of the then British Rails freight engines, and as they owned an EMD SW1001 and were very happy with it, persuaded British Rail to allow them to approach EMD to see if they could come up with a design. Well apparently EMD sensed they might be onto a good thing and pulled out all the stops in designing the JT26CW-SS or class 59 in the UK. Foster Yeoman ordered 5 (59001-59005)and after seeing how powerful and reliable they were. Hanson's ordered 4 (59101 - 59104) Finally National power 6 (59201 - 59206).

The general reliability and cheaper running costs were a large factor when the UK freight was privatised and Wisconsin Central Transportation Systems (Later EWS now DB Schenker) brought up a number of the newly privatised companies and was looking for new and more reliable freight loco, they saw the class 59 and approached EMD and the class 66 was born, it differs from 59 in being slightly less powerful but faster.

To date EMD at their London Ontario plant have built 466 locos for the UK. Unfortunately that looks like the total as new emission regulations are not able to be met within the UK loading gauge.

EMD also went on to build 651 "Series 66" locos for the European market, and it all started with one company looking for a reliable freight loco, pity it was an American company built in Canada!! That's life.

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Very interesting Bernie. FYI, EMD London shut down a few years ago. Cat bought the plant, and then moved all the production to their existing US facilities. If you need a bit more room, there is a "for sale" on the plant now. I drove by there this morning, and the sign says there are 590,000 square feet under one roof, available immediately.

This general body style of loco was in production at the plant right up to the end. A lot of these locos left the plant on a flat car, having been built with a non-standard (in North America anyway) wheel gauge. They were test run on the plant track on temporary trucks, and then switched to the narrow trucks before shipping.

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A lot of these locos left the plant on a flat car, having been built with a non-standard (in North America anyway) wheel gauge. They were test run on the plant track on temporary trucks, and then switched to the narrow trucks before shipping.

I wonder why, as apparently USA, Canada UK and Europe share the same standard gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in, and I can find no mention of the truck swap.

I know that the Flying Scotsman toured for several years in the USA and again I can find no mention of gauge problems and that would have been quite a job to convert that!!

I suspect the answer is out there somewhere.

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