Enjoy: http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/805mxbyu.asp
Bergie
Eric
The Mudchicken will either note that the shimming is common or it’s a pass the duct tape time. Either way his response should be interesting.
Jay
PS You guys should check into John Gruber’s get together next year. Meanwhile, I’ll put in my vote shortly.
Not common - More like bubblegum, baling wire and band-aids…(fixing one problem at the risk of creating another)…first guess is I’d suspect the ballast section is frozen solid (like concrete…drainage,drainage drainage!) and at the first thaw, that rascal is coming out when they can tamp or dap the other side. FRA frowns on that and the first FRA rock & switch kicker that sees this is going to look at the ties under the end of the crossing really hard. (As in possible Code 1 violation $$$$$ depending on what he finds out of the “gray area” in the 49cfr213 rules & non-standard appliances)…you can shim open deck bridges, interpretation of the rule(s) on non-standard regular cross ties is quite another matter. I’m not going to allow it around me and err on the side of safety for gage-holding and possible rail cant reasons.[ie- at first blush, that does not appear to be stable under load over time] Immediate question that comes to mind is - “is there a slow order and reduction in FRA class of track here”? and I hope to god that isn’t plywood!? …There is too much that I don’t know here based on one photo to comment any further on.[V][V][V]
Does anyone have a clue what the MC just said?
But I get the feeling he isn’t too crazy about the “fix”.
And - if you look at the picture closer - there is a “reinforcing rail”? Is that what that piece of rail is bolted to the side of the other one?
I noticed this same reinforcement on our broken rail problem awhile back after they fixed it. Any explanation of it, Sir Chicken?
El Gato
Just a gage side compromise joint (step joint)…larger weight of rail to the right, into the crossing. (look under the bar)
With step joints you have 4 types : gage/inside right, gage inside/left, field/outside left, field/outside right…(All variations are stamped in the bar face in full or abbreviated form)…Lord help you if one is applied in the wrong place (FRA exception)…all are made to fit snuggly/ exact up against the rail section at the base, the web, the fillets and the underside of the ball (head of) the rail…mismatched joints are a capital bozo no-no[:o)][:o)][:o)]…parts is parts, bubba! -don’t get 'em mixed up!
[banghead][banghead][banghead]
ps - Don’t call them fish plates! (railroaders will drop you back down the mineshaft from whence you came!!!)[}:)] those rascals are called angle bars or joints!!!
What!!!??? They’re just fixing a pothole on a railroad!!! [}:)]
???