Working rail roads and their tracks.

[WinterDeere]

Why on earth would on stop on tracks behind another vehicle?? Then do you hope n pray a train doesn't come?

Could have been that it was too late to stop ahead of tracks, when light changed and car in front of him stopped unexpectedly. Drivers of cars rarely consider the position into which they're putting any truck in their rear view mirror... if they even ever look at their rear view mirror.

 

[ArlyA]

One heck of a good video on how a modern stream locomotive worked. I wonder the volume of man hours it took per year to keep them running?

 

[ArlyA]

When I talk to schoolkids about tornadoes, I sometimes mention that there hasn't been an EF5 tornado in the US since they've been alive — 12 years.
That's not the case anymore.
After months of analysis, the NWS determined a North Dakota tornado back in June did meet EF5 criteria.
The EF5 tornado near Enderline, ND on June 20th produced winds of at least 210 mph. The most notable damage was a tanker car weighing ~40 tons thrown nearly 500(!) feet off some railroad tracks.
Three people were also killed.

 

[BravoXray]

One heck of a good video on how a modern stream locomotive worked. I wonder the volume of man hours it took per year to keep them running?

A few years ago I read an article that said the large locomotives of the 40s and 50s required as many hours of maintenance as the number of hours the were operated, and some even more.
When diesels arrived, it was a whole new ball game, check the oil and water and drive it.

 

[ArlyA]

A few years ago I read an article that said the large locomotives of the 40s and 50s required as many hours of maintenance as the number of hours the were operated, and some even more.
When diesels arrived, it was a whole new ball game, check the oil and water and drive it.

I believe it, and if you don't keep them up, they blow up!

 

[Cub 7274]

Lots of RR jobs gone with the invent of the diesel

 

[oldtimer 66]

From what I have read, a steam locomotive only went around 60K miles if working in mountains, a few more miles in the flats, 80K before rebuild. A heavy repair would take 6 to 7 weeks.

 

[oldtimer 66]

If I remember correctly, the "Blue Card" still has a check for "Hammer and Hydro"

 

[BravoXray]

Speaking of railroad maintenance, do you remember when freight cars used bronze journal bearings, and they had journal boxes with a big wad of cotton or something similar, that was soaked with oil to lubricate the journal bearing?
Back in the late 60s, there was a row of grain hopper cars sitting on a siding at a local feed mill, and one weekend some thieves using hydraulic jacks jacked up the truck side frames which freed up the bronze bearings, and stole all of them out of 10 cars. 10 cars with 8 bearings per car times about 20 lbs per bearing, that's 1600 lbs of bronze.
Never did hear if they caught the culprits.

 

[ArlyA]

By the time I was working as a carmen, the bronze bushings were gone but did see them on retired cars.