Railroad Australia
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King Herald

Original Poster:

23,501 posts

245 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
I’ve been watching this series on and off, not too exciting, but they are regularly referring to rain water on the lines causing big problems with loss of traction with huge trains on long gradients.

Several of them have grit they dribble onto the tracks to get grip.

Somehow I can’t imagine why they do not have some sort of rubber wipers ahead of the train wheels to wipe water off the rails. Is this a crazy idea, or have I just thought up a good invention?

Today’s adventure is replacing 100 metres of track, in four hours. They slice the rails with a massive angle grinder, rip the whole section out to one side with diggers, compete with the concrete sleepers.

Then they level the gravel with a grader and drop a complete 100 metre section into place, rails already clipped to new concrete sleepers.

Then it is thermo-welded and away they go. biggrin

Shakermaker

11,317 posts

129 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
King Herald said:
Somehow I can’t imagine why they do not have some sort of rubber wipers ahead of the train wheels to wipe water off the rails. Is this a crazy idea, or have I just thought up a good invention?
I don't think you would be able to fit them such that they would be effective to clear enough water away from the rails to prevent this issue, because they would have to actually touch the rail in order to do this, and after only a few kilometres the rubber will have been worn away by the friction of doing this.

AJB88

15,710 posts

200 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
King Herald said:
Today’s adventure is replacing 100 metres of track, in four hours. They slice the rails with a massive angle grinder, rip the whole section out to one side with diggers, compete with the concrete sleepers.

Then they level the gravel with a grader and drop a complete 100 metre section into place, rails already clipped to new concrete sleepers.

Then it is thermo-welded and away they go. biggrin
Panel installation, we do this in the UK, Mainly with S&C panels though.

King Herald

Original Poster:

23,501 posts

245 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
Shakermaker said:
I don't think you would be able to fit them such that they would be effective to clear enough water away from the rails to prevent this issue, because they would have to actually touch the rail in order to do this, and after only a few kilometres the rubber will have been worn away by the friction of doing this.
I would imagine the rails are polished almost to a mirror finish, from what I remember as a kid playing on the tracks, and if the wipers were lowered only when wet, that would provide lubrication to a degree.



eccles

14,366 posts

251 months

Friday 5th January 2018
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King Herald said:
Shakermaker said:
I don't think you would be able to fit them such that they would be effective to clear enough water away from the rails to prevent this issue, because they would have to actually touch the rail in order to do this, and after only a few kilometres the rubber will have been worn away by the friction of doing this.
I would imagine the rails are polished almost to a mirror finish, from what I remember as a kid playing on the tracks, and if the wipers were lowered only when wet, that would provide lubrication to a degree.
I'm sure they could fit high pressure air jets just in front of the wheels to blast the water away.....

King Herald

Original Poster:

23,501 posts

245 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
eccles said:
I'm sure they could fit high pressure air jets just in front of the wheels to blast the water away.....
Even simpler. And they have all sorts of compressed air onboard for braking systems etc.

Steve_D

13,801 posts

287 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
eccles said:
I'm sure they could fit high pressure air jets just in front of the wheels to blast the water away.....
Or pipe the exhaust down there and have heat and blast. I've got a spare EGR valve they can have.

Steve