Plate Train

[kevin_standlee]

Union Pacific is doing a rail replacement project on the Nevada Subdivision that runs in front of Fernley House. Some days ago a rail trail dropped lengths of rail alongside the tracks. We've seen piles of ballast appear as well, but that must have happened while we weren't looking. Today, a different sort of train dropped the next set of supplies.



This train of four gondolas pulled by a heavy-duty road-rail truck came through this morning making a lot of clanking noises.



These pieces of equipment are equipped with magnets and are used to pick up tie plates and drop them alongside the tracks. A tie plate, in case you were wondering, is a metal plate that sits on the wooden ties (sleeper in British parlance). The rails sit on the plate, and the spikes that hold down the rail are driven through holes in the tie plate. This spreads the load better onto the ties and then down into the ballast.

This train makes a lot of racket while unloading all of that metal. I took some video to give an idea of how loud.

"Plate Train" (Watch on YouTube)

I assume that a train similar to this one will be through in a few days dropping bundles of ties, after which the crews that turn rails, ties, tie plates, ballast, and spikes into a railroad track will arrive.

This being a main line, it has to be relaid every few years. Typically the main line rails, if not obviously damaged, can be re-used for lighter-duty tracks. But if the rails are shot, they can of course be melted down and re-rolled, and lots of the metal pieces can similarly be recycled. Only railroad ties are a problem. They're toxic, being creosote-treated wood, and it takes specialty installations to dispose of them safely.

Comments

[delosharriman]

It's kind of absurd to me that American railroads still haven't broadly adopted concrete crossties. The NdeM, from what I can find out, is all concrete, & has been for years!

[kevin_standlee]

There are lots of different strategies on ties. Concrete is more expensive but lasts much longer. There are also steel and composite ties out there. Wood costs less but doesn't last as long. On the other hand, in areas where wood isn't subject to rotting quickly and when wood is relatively cheap, wood ties may be economically a better answer. Also, even in areas where concrete ties are used, you'll sometimes see wood ties used around switches and other "special work." There not a one-size-fits-all solution, as far as I can see.

[delosharriman]

At the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, there's an exhibit extolling the virtues of concrete slab trackwork. As I understand it, that was tried on the line between Chicago & St Louis when they were upgrading it for higher-speed passenger running, & failed miserably because freight trains were using the same tracks. Apparently quite a number of the slabs just broke, & all the completed work had to be taken up & relaid with concrete crossties, which really blew up the budget & schedule. Considering that a Superliner is a great deal heavier than the typical European passenger carriage, that looks to me like a decision taken without proper evaluation.