I was reading a thread about a train wreck on the Sunset Route and I was wondering if they have a wreck they probably have to check the rails for allignment issues and any damage. And when i thought of that I imagined a huge NMRA gauge, like 5 guys trying to hold it up![(-D]
I just had to laugh at the picture of it in my mind. A 5 finger sky crane to hold it while workers steady it? Then do they check the wheels with it?
They probably use something like the O scale version - it checks wheels and rails but doesn’t fill the full clearance diagram…[:-^]
(Would you believe a small-wheeled rig like a three point track gauge, assembled from steel tubing? Of course, it’s used in conjunction with a GPS-fitted laser theodolite…)
Chuck
[(-D] that would be funny and awesome at the same time!
I don’t know what you guys are “smoking” but I’d like to have some as well…know what I mean “maaaaaan”?
Mark
Is this what you’re looking for? I’ve seen different types but these people have one that fits on a pick up truck.
http://www.railway-technology.com/contractors/track/ensco-inc/
Hardly as impressive in appearance as a gigantic NMRA gauge, the real world device I’m most familiar with for measuring track gauge tolerances is seen in the video at the URL provided below. Only needs just one man, using one hand, to move from place to place…not the 5 for employing that over-sized NMRA guage. [;)]
http://www.graw.com/DTG_en.htm
CNJ831
I’ve seen on simlar to that on a local trolley route that’s being overhauled. It works fine for going at the pace of new track laying but it would be a long walk on a mainline [:)]
I’m sure the one I posted is for covering a long distance on current track to check that it hasn’t gone out of gauge.
Or bring a big hook in to hold it up for the crew.[8D]
Or use something like this:
I want to see the giant needle-nose pliers they use to fix the rails.
On a more serious note, while we model railroaders have a few gages to check our layouts the prototype guys have literally hundreds. Before I moved to Colorado in 1998, I was general manager of Precision Gage & Tool in Dayton, Ohio. They are the largest manufacturer of railroad gages in the country, producing everything from coupler and wheel gages to tank car dent gages.