The (excellent) thread about plastic ties made me think about the other staple of railroad construction-spikes. Anytime you’re near rail lines, there are spikes laying around, here and there. Don’t they just re-use temhem, once they’re pulled out of a tie? For the most part, every one I’ve seen is about the same shape and size. Is there a shelf life to them?
All the track “jewelry” such as spikes, bolts, plates, angle bars, anchors, clips and such are sorted and sold for scrap. They come back as the same or other products.
I suppose this is easier than sorting through each piece looking for wear and cracks to recycle the parts.
So, there is no re-using? Everything that gets pulled off hits the recycle bin?
Never say “never”! Sunday I was witness to a derailment cleanup in front of my place of business, in which a rail had to be changed out. Any loose spikes were pulled, and the holes were plugged with the wooden fillers. New spikes were driven in the same place–except in some cases where completely straight spikes were reused–maybe two or three of the twenty or more on the side of the rail I could see.
However, the bolts on the joint bars (one of which was adjacent to a switch frog) were torched away–they obviously had no intention of reusing those again!
With today’s highly mechanized production track maintenance gangs it is more effieient to use ‘new’ spikes, angle bars, tie plates etc. They will have been arranged for efficient oprations by the men and machines that need them. At the conclusion of the production maintenance, a work train with an electo-magnetic crane will traverse the work area picking up most if not all of the ‘used’ track pieces that have been left behind by the production gang. These ‘used’ pieces will then be loaded onto a car(s) and taken to the railroad’s reclamation center where every thing is inspected with the good pieces being packaged for future maintenance projects and the bad pieces being loaded off to the scrapper to get the scrap metal value.
Don’t they use a crane with a magnet to go down the track on a gondola to collect the scrap?
I would think for safety and quality purposes new would be they way to go. You are not going to inspect all that equipment in the field to see if it is still useable. It would be easier to collect it, sell it for scrap, and have them melt it down and recast it good-as-new. Eliminating conerns over whether or not it is in good enough condition to be reused.
Was that on the hump tracks, Carl, or elswhere in/near the yard?
[:-^]
Is there such a thing as smaller switching or private railroads buying used spikes to save a buck? Would they cause a problem on some little used siding? Just for fun, what does a spike cost new?
That’s funny Carl
Old OTM frequently shows up in yards and backtracks. Most roadmasters get it in by the 55 gallon drumbarrel. Spikes (main track or industrial grade) normally cannot be easilly handled by track machines unless they are uniform and rust free (i.e. new) so they don’t jam the mechanism.
It costs $$ to pick up and sort the OTM. Most roadmsters have limited budgets and won’t pay the rental fee to keep a magnet and Burro Model30/40 or speed swing crane around all year. Thing get picked up in cycles either by the railroad or scrap contractors.
Things that can be recycled: Tie Plates, spikes, switch plates, rail braces and heel blocks, angle bars (joints - need to be tested for breaks with an audigage device [sonic] before reuse )
Things that normally are not re-used: nuts & bolts, screws, anchors, pandrols/D-E clips. (IF IT required some spring tension to work and it’s now worn, its utility is much diminished)
Just because OTM works on one railroad, it may not be standard to the outfit next door due typically to different bolt hole spacing, rail size, different tools, etc…
Angle bars and certain tie plates for smaller rail sections less than 115# are getting scarce in some areas.
Yeah, why worry about safety when there’s $$$ to be saved.
It is so nice of roadmaster to leave those fun little items lying around for the youngsters to play with, and put on the tracks, and throw at the train crews.
There’s nothing like hitting a spike laid lengthways on a rail while going 70mph. The spike squirts out from under the wheels and becomes a rather lethal projectile. Tie plates fly quite far as well. Ties are fun, too.
I’m sure then that you can donate $130,000 a year to each roadmaster coming toward you with zilch in his budget for the rental & operator[;)] then…
[:)]
Another approach might be for the track gangs to take all the stuff back to the yard. That should cost a lot less. I even see new tie plates, spikes, nuts and bolts, and joiners lying around after a track gang has left.
[:)] [:)]
May I please ask a history question about spikes?
Back in the day when spikes were driven by strong men swinging mallets –
how was a spike “started” into a tie?
When I start hammering a little nail into a board, I hold it with my finger and tap it with a couple light blows. When it’s started, then I can whack it.
Back in the day of hammer blows - how was the first blow controlled?
John
Same way. Thats why spikes have the bevelled ends.
Index & middle finger wrapped around spike.
Tap the spike until it stands on its own.
Take a moderate set of blows to set firmly.
Start windmilling, letting the maul do the work.
Poetry in motion is two good trackmen working as a team to drive a spike.