Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

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Steggy
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by Steggy »

stickfigure wrote:What do folks use to electrically isolate blocks on hobby-sized railroads? I mean literally, what are the isolators and joiners made out of?
Here is how we do it at our club.
Insulated Joint
Insulated Joint
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ccvstmr
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by ccvstmr »

Dino...have you got a break out photo of all the parts that make up that insulated joint? There's more there than meets the eye...isn't there? Carl B.
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rkcarguy
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by rkcarguy »

^ Each bolt is going to need an isolation bushing on it as well, between the two layers of flat plastic.
That UHMW?
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Steggy
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by Steggy »

ccvstmr wrote:Dino...have you got a break out photo of all the parts that make up that insulated joint? There's more there than meets the eye...isn't there? Carl B.
Yep!
Exploded View of Insulated Joint
Exploded View of Insulated Joint
The screw insulators are McMaster-Carr parts—eight are required per insulated joint. The "fish plates" are our standard parts drilled to 1/4 inch to fit the screw insulators. The side insulators and the butt end insulator were fabricated from Delrin acetate. Hardware required to assemble the joint consists of:
  • (4) 8-32 × 1-3/8" socket head capscrews, 304 or 316 stainless
  • (4) 8-32 self-locking nuts, 304 or 316 stainless
  • (6) #8 flat washers, 304 or 316 stainless.
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Music isn’t at all difficult.  All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!  :D
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Atkinson_Railroad
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

Building and modeling a miniature railroad will always require prototype reference material from time-to-time for
additional ideas and information.

Here’s a recently revised PDF published by the Union Pacific Railroad on the subject of Insulated Joint Plugs.

https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@up ... d_0960.pdf

Scrolling the notes on the drawings... notice the requirement stating:

“Buy America insulated joint plug rails to be manufactured using American rail and components.
To be used only in projects that require American manufactured goods.”

Can you imagine trying to build a house or even just a dog house using only American made products today?
(American saw, American nails, American screws, American door knobs, etc. ; )

John
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Steggy
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by Steggy »

Atkinson_Railroad wrote:“Buy America insulated joint plug rails to be manufactured using American rail and components. To be used only in projects that require American manufactured goods.”

Can you imagine trying to build a house or even just a dog house using only American made products today? (American saw, American nails, American screws, American door knobs, etc. ; )
In 1997, one of my clients ordered some PC workstations from my company and in passing conversation, said (more-or-less), "Call me a jingoist but I want as much American-made content in those PCs as possible." His request was impossible to meet.

Then, as now, virtually nothing that goes into a computer is made in North America, let alone the USA. At one time, the USA was the world-leader in the manufacturing of silicon devices ("chips"), hard disks and other basic pieces used to build up a computer. Thanks to hyper-agressive environmentalism and oppressive EPA regulations, chip and most other forms of computer manufacturing were driven out of the USA. If there is any American content in that new Dell or HP desktop machine you just acquired it will be in the labels and the assembly labor.
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Music isn’t at all difficult.  All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!  :D
ccvstmr
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by ccvstmr »

John...have to believe the UP side notes go way beyond good ole American flag-waving! More to the point, the UP (and most likely other Class 1 railroads) tried some inferior foreign made materials that did NOT hold so well. Yes, a corporate bean counter looked good as he/she saved the company a few bucks. But in the end...did he/she really save the company money?

A corporate expression comes to mind..."there's never enough time (or money) to do the job right the first time, but always enough time (or money) to do the job over a second time. Question is...how much lost time was incurred from inferior products used to support the RR infrastructure? Railroads are a business...and their business is delivering product (bulk or other). Can't deliver product(s) in a timely fashion if the RR breaks down due to less than acceptable foreign products...by means of materials or quality control. Loss of customers means loss of potential future revenue/profits. As such, might be better to buy locally...support the local suppliers...ensure highest standards of materials and quality. In short...it's amazing how expensive "cheap" can be! Better believe the purchasing department was told about the inferior products they were buying and had to amend their buying practices.

Closer to home, as hobbyists we USUALLY look for the low cost provider. A problem I particularly detest...is waiting 3 to 4 weeks for delivery for anything from SE Asia. In that case, it's worth it to buy US made or at least stocked on US shelves. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
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Steggy
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by Steggy »

ccvstmr wrote:Dino...have you got a break out photo of all the parts that make up that insulated joint? There's more there than meets the eye...isn't there? Carl B.
BTW, here are the drawings for the insulators.
Rail Joiner Insulator
Rail Joiner Insulator
Rail End Insulator
Rail End Insulator
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Music isn’t at all difficult.  All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!  :D
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SZuiderveen
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by SZuiderveen »

The “Buy America” term is not a patriotic wish or a quality control issue. It is for a project with federal government subsidy, likely a Metra project, or the 110 mph project Chicago to St Louis.

Steve
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Re: Track Circuit Occupancy Detection

Post by rkcarguy »

I am well versed with "buy America" and "buy American" in regards to metals. One is materials from an approved country list, the other is materials that are melted and manufactured in the USA, but can be foreign ingot or raw materials, usually termed as USA M+M. Third, and super rare, is "Triple M", which means the raw materials are mined here, then melted and manufactured here. These are typically on projects with federal funding, although we have been seeing more and more project owners go with some form of "buy America/American". With $346 Billion dollars of trade deficit with China annually, it's good to see this happening. Its un-imaginable to me, that we allow that much trade deficit. Warren Buffet bought BNSF for $39 Billion for example. We're going into debt nearly 10X the entire BNSF infrastructure, annually!
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