On my last trip via Amtrak my sleep was interupted many times by a very loud “BANG” when passing through a switch after changing tracks. Could it be caused by the high speed? This happened many times. Artisimm5
Artisimm5-
My best guess would be the drawbars re-alighning themselves after binding during the wide swing through a turnout. If the drawbars were to ‘hang up’ on anything (such as the bracket holding them), then when the stress was finally overcome, they would let loose rather abruptly.
Mr. Artisimm5
Autoracks make the same sound when changing tracks here in Defiance.because you have a large car turning on a small radius.
stay safe
joe
Every time you go over a worn frog with a flangeway gap in it, you’ll get a bang. If you get a gage problem with the turnout, say an extra inch, you get a bigger bang when the guardrail opposite the frog pulls the wheel away from the point of frog. Add speed to either with a long passenger car and the bang gets bigger.
Just as long as things do not go bang, ka-boom, splat! you are dooing good. If you are riding anywhere between the two coasts, chances are you are on a freight railroad with very different dynamics and maintenance practices than the NE Corridor. Both are safe, but one costs a lot less to maintain at the lower speed and without all the special trackwork.
On my last trip via Amtrak my sleep was interupted many times by a very loud “BANG” when passing through a switch after changing tracks. Could it be caused by the high speed? This happened many times. Artisimm5
Artisimm5-
My best guess would be the drawbars re-alighning themselves after binding during the wide swing through a turnout. If the drawbars were to ‘hang up’ on anything (such as the bracket holding them), then when the stress was finally overcome, they would let loose rather abruptly.
Mr. Artisimm5
Autoracks make the same sound when changing tracks here in Defiance.because you have a large car turning on a small radius.
stay safe
joe
Every time you go over a worn frog with a flangeway gap in it, you’ll get a bang. If you get a gage problem with the turnout, say an extra inch, you get a bigger bang when the guardrail opposite the frog pulls the wheel away from the point of frog. Add speed to either with a long passenger car and the bang gets bigger.
Just as long as things do not go bang, ka-boom, splat! you are dooing good. If you are riding anywhere between the two coasts, chances are you are on a freight railroad with very different dynamics and maintenance practices than the NE Corridor. Both are safe, but one costs a lot less to maintain at the lower speed and without all the special trackwork.