The ones in hi-rail pickup trucks who keep us safe. What kinds of things are they typically looking for? Do their trucks have electronic detection devices, either onboard or portable? Is a large part of their job having a sixth sense?
Dont they inspect mainline track 1x week?
ed
The list of things they’re looking for is actually quite extensive, but generally comes down to the condition of the rails, the condition of the fixings, the condition and positioning of the ties, the condition of the ballast, the condition of the roadbed (wet spots etcl.) the condition of lineside fencing, etc., etc…
MP173: Number of inspections per week is determined by the number of passenger trains and tonnage. If a dispatcher doesn’t let the track inspector out on the track often enough, the track inspector/ roadmaster can put the track out of service until until he makes his run. (really ticks off the operating people).
Backtracks and yard tracks have to be inspected by the railroad or track owner at least once a month. (wish I had a nickel for every industry, grain elevator and power company that fails to do this)
One of the big things they look at (around here at least) are the crossing gates/lights.
(1) Those track inspectors have to have a minimum of a year of track maintenance supervisory experience. They usually also have several years in as a trackman. You can’t put just anyone out there. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get in trouble quick. (shortlines discover this the hard way with frightening regularity)
(2) The trucks don’t have any special onboard electronics - it’s all trained eyes and experience plus diciplined notekeeping for FRA reports. (the rail detectors and geometry cars are another story)
(3) Much over 10 mph and you are not inspecting track.
(4) A good track inspector on a hi-rail is constantly in and out of his truck. (The toes of his steel toe-ed boots are scuffed and worn from kicking otm.
(5) His equipment, beyond the truck and radio, includes a ball of string, a $500 RCAT track gage & Level, a pocket tape, a track defect book, a defect recording device, a goop gauge, a magnetic track thermometer, boat spikes, a 6 foot straightedge, a taper gauge, a heat stick and a small assortment of track tools. The best tool he has is mounted above his shoulders, between the ears.
that’s a signal inspector, not a motor track inspector. (rarely, if ever, the same person)
Can you expand on what some of the odder tools are, and what they’d be used for? Goop gauge, for example? Thanks
Interesting stuff. With all the testing equipment out there, it still comes down to human judgement. How much of what they are doing is based on “feel” or how the track rides? Or can they tell from their truck?
Also, do train crew members fill out reports on each run about track conditions?
I stopped and talked to a signal maintainer last week, interesting job they have.
ed
Goop gage is a metal gage that measures how far up the side of the ball of rail the grease is getting. If the grease film gets over to the top of the rail, better turn down the amount of grease getting dispensed. (Otherwise the trainmaster and the train crews will be whining for days[:D])
I am amused constantly about what non-railroaders think of a crosslevel gage or RCAT gage & level tool. (Why am I carrying that funny looking gun around?)
(1) Train crews will let the DS or the local trainmaster know if they encounter something unusual. Depending on the severity, the track forces will check out what the problem is and remediate if required. (there is the usual whining about hard to throw switches and other false alams in there - you still go out and investigate)
(2) Feel rarely becomes an issue with a light truck. You can’t get the “under load” effect with a light truck. Most roadmasters ride their territories on a freight train at least once a month to see what it’s like under load. You do the best you can with limited $$$ and forces to keep-up the plant. It’s a constant juggling act.
(3) That “judgement” only comes with experience and an infomed decision. There is a lot of stuff that there is no empirical formulae for. You either know it or you don’t.
(4) FRA standards are very forgiving for certain things, others will bite you. Just because it looks bad does not mean that it is. The opposite is true as well.
Case in point - I know of a joint, adjacent to a road crossing, that takes a beating (the track department is quite aware of it, too). At it’s worst, it flexes significantly as each wheel passes, yet I’m sure that a hi-rail vehicle could pass over it without much more than a “clickity clack.”
There are several issues with it, from what I can see, but there’s only so much that can be done given the location.
Mudmonster at work! - Drain it, feed it some new ballast and tamp the bejeebers out of it. (Voids are a pain to deal with- especially where dynamic structure track suddenly becomes “fixed” in place by a road crossing or an open deck bridge. The change in track modulus (stiffness) can be a huge pain in the keester.)
This is an excellent topic and one I have come to gain a decent amount of experience in my short days as a dispatcher. One of the most annoying parts of my job is being the diplomat between M&W supervisors and Operations Supervisors. The Chief will go “What the heck is that track car doing holding up our trains?” OR I get the Division Engineer visiting my desk asking (very politely, I might add) about when his welder can get time. It’s a constant battle especially on 1st shift. Operations is going to run the same number of trains no matter how much track work is going on. The most I can hope for is a train curfew so that the M&W forces can work undisturbed and get their work done more quickly. Track Inspectors on the lines I dispatch have to see the rail every other day 2-3 times a week. I try to be as informative as possible telling them how many trains they’re waiting on ,etc. Post more later gotta go.
OK, thanks for clearing that up.
Yep - signs of pumping in the area!
And this is one of those modern rubber crossings, with the concrete foundation…
Make no mistake that if he see’s it he will report it and visa versa. Everyone on the payroll is charged with reporting any unsafe conditions. [2c]
We switchmen whine a lot about switches being hard to line!
In all seriousness, as rrandb pointed out, everyone is charge with reporting unsafe conditions.
We even have a function in our tie up (employee time keeping) computer you have to go through, called BSAFE, where you report any unusual conditions or problems with tracks and structures.
You have to complete this function before it will allow you to tie up.
Most railroads have something similar…where the operating folks, T&E guys can make notes of things they think need attention…such as pumping, soft spots, sun kinks, loose or missing track clips, hard or dry switches, missing or broken switch locks…rail grease dispensers gone nuts, broken crossing arms and malfunctioning lights and such…
Here on the PTRA, if you input anything in the BSAFE, you will get a response via text the next day from the appropriate person, be it the signal maintainer, the MOW foreman or Roadmaster, or Trainmaster, advising you of what they found, or what they intend to do to correct the problem.
Here, each of us in the T&E is empowered to bad order a track, switch or gate if we feel it is not safe.
Now, you better be sure there is a real problem, other than you not wanting to work in the heat, but if you pull a tracks or industry spur out of service for maintenance problems, it WILL get attention ASAP.
No one likes putting one on the ground…or getting them back on the rail, not in this heat, even mudchickens!
Ed
Amen.
Gee…You weren’t one of da’ guyz whose sed : " All switches in yard hard to throw" ?
(especially with the wheels of the car or locomotive about 12 inches ahead of the switch points? [:D])
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