Derailers - bolt on and built in

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I just thought I’d share a picture I took recently of a site with several derailers at one place, and am looking for any more general information someone can give me about what they see in the picture. The picture is pretty poor quality because I took it with my phone… I can try to get a better one with my camera.

There are at least two derailers in this picture… one bolted onto the left track which can be seen in the left-center of the picture. The track itself has a pseudo-switch with switch stand but it only controls one rail. As you can see just above the bolted-on derailer, the left track is split like on a switch, but there is no switch here, The rail just splits to serve as a derailer. As you can see from the red switch stand, it’s in the derail position. My main questions are about the diagonal rail in the top-center of the picture and the yeloow item bolted on the right rail in the lower-center of the picture. What is the diagonal rail for? It doesn’t touch either rail, it’s just bolted between them. As for the yellow thing bolted to the right rail, you can’t really see them, but there are two more up around the diagonal rail, one on each rail. They are not very large, about a foot long and don’t reach the rail head and only stick off the rail about an inch, but it looks like it would be enough to interfere with the flanges. Are these another type of derailer, or are they just oversized connectors of some type? Since they’re painted yellow liek the left rail is at the derailing switch, I just assumed they were another derailer. Anyone of any insight on this picture?

Thanks!

2

What you took a picture of is a “split point derail”. If a car rolls out of the siding and hits the derail, one set of wheels will go to the outside of the rails (to the ledt in the picture) and the other will go inside the rails. If they keep rolling, the then wheels inside the rails will hit the “diagonal” rail and it will deflect the wheels even further to the left steering the truck and derailed car sharply away from the main track.

The yellow things are insulated joint bars. They electrically separate the spur track from the main track for signalling purposes. They are painted yellow so the crews know not to leave any cars with even one wheel over the insulated joint. If they do, it would cause the signals on the main track to display stop.

Dave H.

3

Just to add to Dave’s response the switch handle on the right
controls the movement of the “split point derail” or split rail derail
as I have heard them called. The other derail just in front of the
point on the left rail would control any movements entering the
siding from the mainline in the background.

Terry,

4

Are these three devices (the two derailers and the insulated rail joiners) common to see? Either by themselves or together tlike this, are they rare? And how about the diagonal rail, what is it for?

5

Actually, the device on the left rail appears to be a ‘Replacer’ which is used to rerail cars.

Normally replacers are used in pairs, one on each rail, and they are removed from the track after the derailed car is rerailed.

6

The device on the left rail is definately a derailer. Or, more to the point, if it’s a rerailer, it’s being used here as a derailer.

7

I have always wondered on the derail device is just when it was invented–both on rail and split-point type. Who invented them?

8

The “rerailer” is also a derail but for the opposite direction. It protects whatever is on the track behind the photographer from anything coming into the spur. This type of arrangement is common at piggyback ramps and hazmat loading tracks.

The term used for a “rerailer” is a rerail frog. However, what is in the picture is NOT one of those.

Dave H.

9

Currently, the split point derail is set to derail anything leavinging the plant, the manual derail, (the thing on the left) is set to derail anything entering the plant.

Without the manual derail, something entering the plant could force the split point derail closed, and continue on into the plant or industry.

It would appear there is one more derail, on the left rail, closer to the main, where the guard rail meets the left rail.

Its the yellow thing on top of the rail.

It might be the railroad’s own derail, it is painted yellow for visiability, as are the points of the split point, along with the joint bar across from the near derail, as warning devices to crews, to let them know the location of both.

In the dark, you could easily miss either one, or both of them.

Go back and see if the handle of the switch from the main has a yellow handle, that is also a warning to crews that derails are present on the diverging track.

The derail on the left side is a flop over derail, it is hinged, with a lock eyelet to allow the plant or the railroad to lock it open or closed with a lock.

We use both of these quite often down here, to protect our main from industry roll outs, and to prevent us from entering plants without their knowledge.

Often, the flop over derail is locked by the plant, we have no keys, so entrance is at their pleasure.

Which makes sense when you consider the chemicals they use and manufacture.

Ed