Tuesdays with Morrie

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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Monday’s with Mookie - Well, what do you want for free?

In the event you didn’t wander through the diner - Mr & Mrs Mudchicken, Esq. were here in Lincoln. He was last seen heading east, going to ground until hunting season settles down.

But the brief time he was here, he did visit the watch site - in the dark, mind you, and wouldn’t you know it! We are trying to have a conversation and a coal train went roaring by! BNSF does have good timing!

Only came up with 2 questions from the weekend:

UPS pig traveling on by - has “fringe” or a “brush” over the back wheels and where the front tractor wheels would be - if one was attached. Is this like a mudflap, only for the sides? These aren’t huge trailers and the biggies don’t have them. So why UPS?

And

Difluorothane

This was marked on the side of a smaller than a propane, tank. Probably about 4 feet long - maybe same height. Google sez refrigerant. What would use this size “refrigerant”?

(I know this is not spectacular in the spectrum of the spellbinding questions now on the forum, but humor me! )

And certain visitor left behind some bird cage paper that I am finding most interesting. But that will be our secret!

Mookie

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Mookie,
Ever ridden beside or met a transfer truck at highway speeds in the rain? The black brushes on the UPS trailer reduce the thick mist thrown up by the truck’s wheels when moving in the rain. I don’t know if UPS’ intentions are to help motorists’ or, more likely, the UPS truckers’ visibility, but in the long run it helps both. I don’t know why more freight lines haven’t adopted these since the brushes seem to work rather well.

Jay

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Since the floor of UPS trailers is actually below the tops of the wheels, the brushes help reduce rock and debris damage to the trailer. Most highwya trailers have the floor above wheel level.

dd