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Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I Lean said:
WTF happened there?
Click to expand...

Work happened there... ;)

Let me teach you a little MOW Engineering. :p We changed out 2000' of rail today, continous welded rail (CWR) has a designated temperature that it's supposed to be laid at, on every territory. Up here (Green River, WY) the designated rail laying temperature is 95*. Heat & cold really effects rail, with it expanding and contracting in extreme temps. We needed to heat up the rail because the ambient temp was 9*. If we installed it at those low temps, once it started to warm up, the track would probably end up buckling and causing a derailment, as there would be too much rail in the track.

So we used sawdust mixed with diesel and burned it, to heat up the rail and make it expand. We needed about 6" of total length, spread out over that 2000'. The rail is measured out in 360' "stations" and we burn one station at a time, then put the rail clips on to keep it in place. Once one is done, we move onto the next station, until we tie the new rail into the old rail at the end.
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
Vendor
Location
Utah
Greg said:
Work happened there... ;)

Let me teach you a little MOW Engineering. :p We changed out 2000' of rail today, continous welded rail (CWR) has a designated temperature that it's supposed to be laid at, on every territory. Up here (Green River, WY) the designated rail laying temperature is 95*. Hot & cold really effects rail, with it expanding and contracting in extreme temps. We needed to heat up the rail because the ambient temp was 9*. If we installed it at those low temps, once it started to warm up, the track would probably end up buckling and causing a derailment, as there would be too much rail in the track.

So we used sawdust mixed with diesel and burned it, to heat up the rail and make it expand. We needed about 6" of total length, spread out over that 2000'. The rail is measured out in 360' "stations" and we burn one station at a time, then put the rail clips on to keep it in place. Once one is done, we move onto the next station, until we tie the new rail into the old rail at the end.
Click to expand...
Ah, very cool! I was thinking something happened accidentally, leaking out of a tank car or some such. :)
 
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