I just got back from Eola Yard (BNSF) and I’m perplexed. I noticed a windsock by the west lead of the west yard, south of the yard office. Why would you need a windsock in a railyard?
NIce aftenoon BTW - 2 METRAs, 2 intermodals, a unit open hopper train, a unit autorack train, a mixed freight and the Southwest Chief, all in a little under 90 minutes.
In switching rail cars, motion, momentum and gravity are the normal method to propell rail cars…cars that are moving into the wind require more mechanical energy to move than cars that are being aided by a following wind.
In hump yards, car retarder operator have to pay attention to the wind direction and velocity in order to set the correcty retardation factor in the retarders. No enough of a retardation factor has cars rolling into tracks too fast for safe, damage free couplings. Too much reardation and the cars don’t roll into the designated tracks and can then cause sideswipes and derailments for following cars. The wind is a big factor in siwtching.
To tell the direction of the wind in case of HAZ-MAT spill.
Exactly.
So I know which way not to run when something goes boom, bang, crunch, crash or you hear the yardmaster say “Oh ****” over the radio…
So far, havent had to use it.
And as was pointed out, the wind can make a big difference in how we switch cars…you would not believe how little it takes to get a empty bulkhead flat car rolling back at you.
Empty covered hoppers are next on the list, followed by boxcars.
Tanks seem pretty immune to all but the most severe wind.
Ed
In that situation wind direction is critical information for the railroaders as well as the Haz-Mat Response folks.
Sam
I’m surprised. I would have thought it would take close to a tornado to push freightcars around. You do learn something new every day…
Have you ever pee’d into the wind ?
No Randy - I can’t say I ever have?
[(-D]
Or Tugged on Superman’s Cape ?![}:)][(-D][(-D]
Try it, you’ll like it. [:D]
In LA (Hobart) we had windsocks in several parts of the yard. Usually we were more concerned about our industrial neighbors (Sinclair Paint, Gould Battery recycling, Amvac Chemicals, Ski Bandini (Fertilizer Pile), Farmer John & so on)… screw-ups at the battery plant had us bailing out of 26th Street more than once[xx(][xx(][xx(]
That is what I always heard too.
Umm, no. I did change a light switch once without doublechecking that the circuit was truly off. That was probably almost as exciting.
[:D]
I have had winds as low as 25 mph roll a bulkhead flat back at us…it sat perfectly still for over a hour, just in the clear in the track we kicked it to…and waited till my helper was shoving toward the track right next to it to start rolling out…lucky for us he saw it start back, got off the shove and jammed a chunk of wood under the wheels for a chock.(read PTRA emergency hand brake)
One of the things that amazed me when I first came to work at this was how easy, and how quitely these things can move.
At night, thay can flat out sneak up on you…loads, once you get them moving on CWR, can scare the crap out of you with how quite they are and just how far they will roll.
Ed
nah…it’s just God playing with his model trains…
Do not beleive him Mookie. He is lying. I had to one time in a huricane. no matter which way you faced there was wind. The only saving grace was there was more water coming out of the sky than me. Still bad. [(-D] [swg]
Ahhh…
One of the benifits of being male…standing whiz and handwriting practice, both at the same time![:D]
Ed
No; but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express!!!
Brian (KY)
It takes very little to get a car to start rolling. I’ve pushed by hand, an empty boxcar if it dies on the switch while kicking cars.