Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

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TheSteamChannel
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Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by TheSteamChannel »

Once in a while things go wrong- it happens to all of us.






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Benjamin Maggi
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by Benjamin Maggi »

I am not sure if we actually want to publicise/highlight these types of incidents on this forum. There are already enough on YouTube I bet.
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WJH
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by WJH »

Showing the video of the mishap is one thing, however a video on WHY trains derail, especially around switches would be much more beneficial to the hobby.
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Lovesthedrive
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by Lovesthedrive »

I can remember Dick Priests Daylight going on the ground at LALS one morning. It was all hands on deck using dirt shovels to get her wheels back on track. The track was repaired and the Daylight never had a problem there again.
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John_S
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by John_S »

Oops! Wayne Godshall's 2-10-2 at CSPPRY back in the spring.

The switch in the background had a worn out frog and wheel flanges were riding up over it. If I remember, it took three of us about 30 minutes to re-rail her.
springMeet052012_02.jpg
TheSteamChannel
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by TheSteamChannel »

John_S wrote:Oops! Wayne Godshall's 2-10-2 at CSPPRY back in the spring.

The switch in the background had a worn out frog and wheel flanges were riding up over it. If I remember, it took three of us about 30 minutes to re-rail her.
springMeet052012_02.jpg
I bet, that really came off there. Thanks for sharing!
ccvstmr
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by ccvstmr »

RB211 wrote:Showing the video of the mishap is one thing, however a video on WHY trains derail, especially around switches would be much more beneficial to the hobby.
Had one today...put three of four trucks of a A-A set of F-7 units on the ground. Turns out, one of the club members decided to blow the leaves off the track today (leaves are already falling in the Northern parts of the country). Evidently, a piece of branch or small pine cone got lodged in an open point. When the turnout routing was changed, the points didn't quite close all the way. The front of the loco want to go straight...the rear...to the left. Not good. Fortunately, a loco lifter and assistance was not far away.

Word to the wise...if people are going to use leaf blowers to clear the track, be particularly careful around switch points, frogs and guardrails. In fact, after you blow the leaves clear, make sure the points still operate smoothly and spring ALL THE WAY back. Make sure rocks and other ground matter are clear of the frog flange ways and guardrails. Your fellow hobbyists will appreciate the efforts! Carl B.
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10 Wheeler Rob
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by 10 Wheeler Rob »

Regarding the coment about the worn out frog. My understanding of swithches is that guard rails and the back to back wheel dimensions of eqiument should prevent excessive wear on frogs, which means both should be checked and maintained properly.

Many new comers do not understand how important proper wheel gage and the back to back dimensions are for not only reliable switch operation, but for wear on track and switches also. Many clubs require equipment checks on wheel profile and gaging prior to operating at there tracks for a very good reason.

Rob
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John_S
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by John_S »

10 Wheeler Rob wrote:Regarding the coment about the worn out frog. My understanding of swithches is that guard rails and the back to back wheel dimensions of eqiument should prevent excessive wear on frogs, which means both should be checked and maintained properly.
Rob
Rob,

The frog in question is one of the originals from over 12 years ago. The wear on it is on the top where the wheel tread has worn (or deformed) the aluminum. The problem was that because the top surface was no longer the correct dimension, flanges would bottom out in the grooves in the frog, lifting the wheel up and out of the frog.

I'm not sure which supplier that frog originally came from, but it has seen major traffic over all those years as it is a mainline switch.

A good argument for fabricating steel frogs :)
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Fender
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by Fender »

I have derailed a couple of times by backing up when straddling a spring switch that was thrown the other way.
Duh. :oops:
Dan Watson
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John_S
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by John_S »

Fender wrote:I have derailed a couple of times by backing up when straddling a spring switch that was thrown the other way.
Duh. :oops:
I have (cough) NEVER (cough) done that. Ever! I swear! :)
FredR
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Re: Railroad Mishaps & Derailments

Post by FredR »

Maybe it's just me or the way I was raised, but I don't think it's very proper for someone to run around without a shirt on unless your a kid. Especially at a public event :) Then being around a steamer seems like this could be a downer as well ... Just my pennys worth.... not sure if it would make 2 cents :-)
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