At 01:30 this Thursday morning was awakened by what sounded like an oversized refrigerated truck. Upon investigation saw a train on an CSX - A&WP sub siding with lots of lights. Further investigation revealed a Harsco (HTT) Track Technologys rail grinding train that had just entered the siding. (HRSX 0901 - HRSX 0912). Appeared to be waiting for a northbound manifest and after manifest passed workers started inspecting the main track side of the train ( workers had been inspecting other side before manifest passed). When inspections completed including changing several grinding wheels rail grinding train proceeded.
RWM: Mudchicken: Anyone else :Have you known or heard of these units working in the middle of the night??
That’s an operation that’s really controlled by sensors and measuring devices down on the level of the rail head, so close visual inspection by the operators isn’t involved and hence daylight isn’t necessary for good visibility to do that. Artificial illumination to see where they’re going and to inspect the grinding wheels for gross wear condition is sufficient for most needs - and they have plenty of generating power for more lights if needed.
Track time constraints being what they are, 24 x 7 operation of the rail grinder is often the result - or if only a single shift each day, then at hours that are more convenient for the ‘slack’ time in the revenue traffic at that location, which can be anytime - day or night - depending on the traffic density and patterns, etc.
Some years ago - like 20 to 25 ? - Trains had a 2-page photo and short essay on a rail grinder working on Amtrak in the middle of the night - in Connecticut, I think it was - by one of the regular contributors. I believe it was captioned something like ‘‘Things that go ‘bump’ in the night’’, or similar. I’ll see if I can find the citation for it.
EDIT - I think this is it - PDN.
Like a giant Lionel train set gone wild Trains, December 1980 page 56
brief description of the Speno rail-grinding train
( “CROSSLEY, ALAN M.”, GRINDING, MAINTENANCE, RAIL, SPENO, TRACK, TRN )
It is actually prefered that Rail Grinders work at night…the sparks from the grinding operation can create wild fires behind the opeation of the train. The ability to view the start of flame against the darkness of night helps in putting the flare ups out. The rear end of the rail grinders normally have one or more water filled tank cars and various water discharge methods in order to combat the potential for fire. Even so, the local fire departments have work to do, from time to time, after a pass of the rail grinder.
The normal calls that come into the railroad when a rail grinder is observed by the general public goes to the variety of ‘I just passed at train at X and all it’s wheels were on fire!’
I got the grand tour of LORAM’s RG-8 in tehachapi about 15 years ago. Very impressive machine. Dureing the night it was out grinding, but during the day / evening there was lots of maintainance activity. Guys were changeing grinding wheels and who knows what other maintainance, a water truck came and topped off the water tanker, ect., There was a crew of 4-6 guys busy doing stuff for about 4 hours before it went out on the high iron.
(Generally speaking) The railroad doesn’t car about the surrounding communities when it comes to track work. (this is from my area of the woods) Whenever the railroad can get it done, they will do it.
PS, I’m not saying that the railroad doesn’t care about the communities it serves. I’m just saying that they can’t control weather or not they wake them up at night doing track work.
Found train today and they were having a “shift change” with some workers getting in a van that had brought others to work… Evidently working 24/7 right now
One of the coolest things I’ve seen: I was waiting at the Westmont IL Metra station one evening to go into Chicago when a rail grinding train came thru on the center track. It was right at dusk. The lights, the noise & the sparks! It was fun watching the reaction of others waiting on the platform
Update #2 . Train passed the original post location going south direction once again grinding rail. Some one called the local fire department! Surprized that they would make another pass.
LIRR also runs its MOW trains late at night. I used to spend nights in a Queens apartment at eye-level with the LIRR Main Line/City Terminal. Something came by that appeared to be adjusting guage. It wasn’t grinding, but it was squeezing. It was amazing. It was loud. It was 1:30 in the morning.
This was Friday afternoon at 1345. And they also operated today Saturday. Definitely appears to be a 24/7 operation. Actually at this location the night time traffic is much heavier especially 0030 - 0730. Seveeral UP and BNSF intermodals at that time.
The longer the period between grinding sessions, the more wear that occurs to the rail. With increased levels of wear it is necessary for the Rail Grinder to make more than one pass to end up with the desired rail profile. Many carriers have increased the trips that rail grinders make to specific locations so that the desired profile can be ground in one ‘quick’ pass rather than having to devote several passes to get the rail back in shape.
At 2210 tonight Oct 10 the rail grinder passed going north but not working.
Noticed that HRSX 902 and 903 were old 10-6 converted pullmans and the rooms were occupied by the various workers. One way to keep your workers with the rail grinder.?
One humorous thing. As a southbound manifest passed the fire suppresion water cannon fired at the engineers side of the loco passing.
The Harsco units are the original SPENO trains (Then Jackson, then HARSCO)…those trains will work whenever there is a window. If the predicted “window” is at night, that’s where they go - and if the operating department puts them in the hole after promising them track time, they pay the delay penalty at several thousand dollars an hour.
We (ATSF) frequently worked at night for the reasons BaltACD and Paul North described. If you have badly corrugated rail and it takes multiple passes for those 120 stone arrays to clean up the top of the rail and shape it to its proper profile shape - you’re gonna be going back and forth for hours in the same curve(s). Having the fire department or the AQMD nutcases called out on you is one of the headaches that comes with the job.Taking the grinder down the Pasadena Sub in the LA Basin in the median of the 210 freeway was always a thrill. (The reports of a train dragging a boxcar back and forth with sparks and flames coming out by the traffic reporters on KNX/KFWB was a good snicker[(-D])
The money those things save in fuel economy and extending rail life makes them well worth the track time you can get for them at any time of day
Here’s a link to a sequence of about 9 photos that I stumbled across while looking for something else, showin LORAM rail grinder ‘RG 15’ in action during the day circa 2007 along the ‘Meridian Speedway’ - note the hose/ water cannon being used to squirt down the ROW in the last one:
Paul good find. The only difference from the Harsco and this one is the Harsco had two converted pullmans for the crew. I think that is a great addition.