I’ve wondered how railroads (past and present) handled cars, that were spotted at an industrial spur, that had some mechanical defect that made it unsafe to move back to the shops for repair. Is/was it repaired in place? Jarrell
Yes.
But pretty much the only way a car could go bad order at an industry sufficient to prevent it from moving is if the industry damages it or its there long enough for the brake system to corrode or condesnsation to freeze.
The car would be moved, safe or not, if it was blocking the industry in question. Though it may not be moved all the way back to a car shop, it would be limped along to the nearest area where it could be repaired by a mobile mechanic, perhaps the next siding over or at the end of a spur. Both railroads and the industries they serve can be quite creative with “band aids” to get a piece of equipment moved. They would drag it with a tractor, lift it with a crane, or bull doze it off the track if required. The mentality being that it’s better to loose a car than a customer.
there was usually no defect developing at an industry siding that could not be taken care of by a couple of car knockers with the tools and equipment on their “block” truck. they would be sent out from the nearest railroad repair facility. i worked summers in the ic car shops while going to school. i remember going out to industries just to open or close an occasional stubborn box car door after the customer’s workers had bashed it badly with a forklift or gotten the rollers off the track. we used a chainfall or comealong to pull the door. occasionally a customer would try to move a car around with a tractor and get it on the ground. that usually called for a few hardwood blocks, a rerailing frog and a very large jack. we also replaced a few knuckles journal brasses when the local inhabitants figured out how to steal them for scrap. brasses mostly on empty cars since they were easy to get at if you had a concrete block or two and a long hardwood 4x4 to pry the truck sideframe up. (no longer a problem with roller bearings) on occasion the thieves would leave the blocks and lever behind and we didn’t have to even get any tools off the truck except for a hook and tongs. (only an idiot would stick his fingers in the journal unless he wanted to spend the rest of his life picking his nose with his feet.)
grizlump
Local crews are usually hard press for time since the DS always had “trains to run”. 98% of the time the only thing we checked on pickups was to insure the wheels wasn’t chocked,a dock plate still in place or other unloading devices still in place,made sure all employees was clear, check the retainer valve,check for debris under the car etc…Seldom did we check for damage.Of course we would notice a missing door or if the door was off the track,broken coupler…
Should we note a SAFETY issue or other major defect then the car would not be moved until carmen could repair the car…
Thanks fellas, I appreciate the information.
Jarrell