Kiwirail in New Zealand needs this, they are replacing this during no lockdown in Central Auckland while juggling a City Tunnel Boring for new rail in peak time.
Nice to see Chris again and meet Darren. Informative and will help those non-railway people understand why engineering work is needed and how it happens. Nice googling of Effluvia insert.
It's so interesting to see how it's really done, my local line has had works done and I was lucky enough to see the line with no tracks! Well done on 200k!
What a fantastic vidio very informative I never thought so much work went into replacing the rail track regarding renewal of all the ballast. What a great vidio thank you 👍👍
Wow, I learned a new word from Chris. And also, he's wearing a very nice hat at 6:03! I always love infrastrucual works, so thanks for this awesome video, Geoff!
When New York City Transit replaces elevated subway tracks, you can literally find them stacked on the streets before hand in pre-assembled units. A bit like someone unpacked model train tracks. They take the old sections out by crane from the street.
On this side of the pond, 1972 rail would be considered the “new” rail outside of the main line network. Just recently I was looking at some 1896 rail that is still in service on a shortline. Passenger rail demands a higher level of vigilance of course. A broken rail under a passenger train can have far more tragic results than dumping over car load of grain in the middle of a corn field.
It’s nice to see London Underground laying their track to network rail standards the ride is light years ahead of not so long ago when you would bounce to Acton Town from Hammersmith now more of a swoosh ,but the D stock still rode better ,but that just maybe me
Hi Geoff. Great to see your rail videos like this one and the one you did with the NR Air Ops (Helicopter team). I actually work for one of a limited number of companies on the Air Ops Drone framework. It would be great to chat some time!
To elaborate on this: The method used here is know as 'classic' renewal, if the to be renewed track is long enough (say, 5 kilometres) a track renewal train is more efficient. These trains are hundreds of metres long and can completely renew the ballast, sleepers and rails at a slow walking pace. (For some example images, search for RU800S.) As for lifespan, it really depends on the use of the line and the used track parts. For example, concrete sleepers have a much longer lifespan than wooden sleepers. Generally, anything that needs to be replaced within 20 years is quite early and after 50 years is quite late, but I have seen rails that have been in use for even over a hundred years!
I remember seeing a train being demonstrated at Railfest back in 2004, made up of bogie wagons carrying track panel. Each wagon had three or four cranes on it that could pick the panels up and move them sideways on to the adjacent trackbed. The train could lay about quarter of a mile of track in a matter of minutes, then move along and do it again. I wonder what became of that idea...
It would be interesting if you were able to look into the work to clean up and repair the Heart of Wales line at Llangennech where the fuel train de railed and caught fire earlier this year.
Geoff, can we have more of this type of video. Would love to have seen a second part with the rail being installed and ballast laid and tampered. I was fortunate to get in invite to walk the new Stevenage turnback with the contractors back in February, having documented the project from the start (check out the vloggs on my YT channel) and found the process really fascinating. Regretfully I had to edit out conversations with the lovely people form Spencers due to privacy reasons, but it still gives an interesting viewpoint.
We should have Maglev / monorail or any other system that doesn't need continues maintenance. The continuous maintenance is counter productive, and debilitating 2 anyone who is dependent on transport. The quarter of a century waisted on crossrail would have been better spent on replacing current transport networks with a system that doesn't require continued maintenance.
Congratulations on 200k subscribers! Do you think the next goal is going to be 250k? Well congratulations anyway! Oo class 66! Geoff! You should play Roblox mind the gap! ↓
I remember when I was waiting for a train on one platform with trackwork on the other. They had just replaced the old wooden sleepers with concrete ones. A side effect of this is that you cannot have gapped rails-the shock from the train will damage the sleepers over time. So anytime you see concrete sleepers, the track is necessarily continuously welded, or CWT I believe it's called. Anyway, I showed interest in what they were doing, and they brought me down to have a closer look. That wasn't the best part though. The best part is that they let me do a weld! They basically attach single-use ceramic pots to the track ready to be welded, then fill the pots with thermite. They light the thing with a huge torch (can't remember if it's propane or oxy acetylene, though) which I got to do, which melts the whole thing and leaves behind a big chunk on the rail. The ceramic pot is smashed off with a big sledgehammer and you're left with a big chunk on the rail. This is cut off and the surface of the rail ground smooth with a rail grinder, although it still takes several months of track wearing and probably several grinder passes in order to completely smooth out the bump after welding has been complete. Track grinding can sometimes be done while the line is operational, or at least overnight. There are some high speed rail grinders out there which will do the job at something like 60-80km/h, while the line is operational. But long story short, I got to do a weld on a main line that has had thousands of trains go over it since, and probably even a million passengers. It hasn't caused a derailment yet and this was a good decade ago, so I'm guessing I didn't screw it up, which is nice. What an experience though. Even in "winter" (Australian winter, so maybe like 5-10c), the heat from the torches and the welding was enough to keep you relatively toasty. Was a pretty awesome experience as a kid.
Great video. As ProRail employee (The Dutch Network Rail) I recognize the pride of these guys. These works aren't seen much by public but it is really great to see all the plans made in advance work out so very well in just a few days. All the machines, trains and people operating like a giant ballet performance. By the way, Geoff, congratulations on 200K subscribers!
Very interesting look at what is going on when the railway is closed for track work. Would have liked a question about how much of that removed material gets recycled (or even a whole video).
That sounds like an interesting topic for a whole video. Maybe starting with quarrying the new material, then its transport to site and the removal of waste followed by its recycling.
I would guess the old fill goes to a dump site as "suitable cover" for the daily operations, as it is otherwise classed as hazardous waste from the bacterial counts. But on a dump perfect to cover the current working layer.
@@dan30308 You can do that, but the old rail is generally melted down as high grade steel scrap, and might end up as new rail, though it is far more likely to end up as reinforcing steel, a vehicle body or as part of a building instead. Steel is eminently recyclable, and has a large use base.
Some insider knowledge here : ) all the ballast and spoil that is removed during works like these is taken away and recycled and used for other projects in the country. Things like creating wildlife reserves, building up embankments that sort of thing. A number of things can happen to the rails, switches/points. They could be melted down and resused if appropiate, donated to railway charities/trusts that run their own private tracks, sold on to make some money back or used in sidings.
My parents were from Workington. I always look out for Workington made rails. Back in 2005 a colleague said he wanted to show me something, drove me about six miles out from the office we worked at to a remnant of an abandoned line, cleared a length of rail and sure enough there was the stamp of the Workington steelworks. The thing is, this was on the Laguna Indian Reservation in the New Mexico desert, 50 or so miles west of Albuquerque, and about 5500 miles from Workington.
Increasingly rare now, except on the quieter rural lines. There was also Glengarnock and Colvilles rail, before BSC, Corus and TATA rolling mill impressions replaced them.
From what I remember of Ballast Sampling there was little if any biological material - the bacteria have destroyed it. As one of the people from Thames Water said when I was working for Metronet the ballast is very similar to what happens in a Sewage Farm the surfaces are coated with bacteria and eat the human waste quite quickly. The danger was the other materials in the dust - lead, phenols and remains from ash from coal trains amongst other things
I'd tend to agree with this, as the problem is just as great if not more so on North Am railways, and perhaps it's lax health and safety regs (whether they'd be state/provincial or federal would be a good question, as most mainline rail is regulated federally in both Canada and US) but I've yet to see masks used for sanitary purposes in that application. Only reference I can find, and it's from the UK! [Effluent is just as much of an issue for the rail industry as for any other industry sector. Contaminated with cleaning chemicals, fuel and lubricants from rolling stock maintenance and human waste from trains, this wastewater can pose a hazard to the environment, as well as to health and safety, if not correctly treated.] www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-Industry-Focus-/eliminate-rail-track-pollution-and-protect-your-railway-ballast-and-our-environment- And for Rails to Trails: (North America) [...] Types of Contaminants The type and extent of contamination along rail corridors fall into two general categories: residual contamination that may be found along any stretch of corridor and contamination associated with industrial uses alongside it. Before and after acquisition, you should be aware of the following potential contaminants: Railroad ties, usually treated with chemicals such as creosote Coal ash and cinder containing lead and arsenic Spilled or leaked liquids such as oil, gasoline, cleaning solvents, etc. Herbicides Fossil fuel combustion products (PAHs) Roofing shingles (asbestos) Air compressors Transformers and Capacitors Metals [...] www.railstotrails.org/build-trails/trail-building-toolbox/acquisition/environmental-contaminants/ Curious...
I really like the difference between the blue and white helmets. Here in America, a lot of drivers would need the "blue helmet" on top of their cars because they're completely incompetent.
It is! As well as a partially removed Metronet logo. There was previously a contract between GBRF* and TfL for works trains on the Metropolitan/Picc branches towards Uxbridge, which are accessible to a Class 66 Loco + ballast wagons. You can also get a 66 into LUL Ruislip Depot, but only on the ballast reception road.
lot of the roads in Ruislip Depot should have clearance for National Rail trains though I am not sure if the track would stand the axle loads. There was a rail exhibition at Ruislip 20 - 30 years ago and a lot of British Rail vehicles were parked in the depot - if I remember correctly this included the APT.
My guess is that that's a leased cart, but licenced for use also in underground. Doesn't worth it to get it mainly just for underground use since there's only so much rail renewal works there anyway...
@@PrograError There were several locomotives as well as a couple of trains of wagons that had Metronet & LU logos on them. They were the result of the contract between Metronet & GBrf to provide works trains for track renewal. ON one of the first weekends Metronet arranged for all sorts of important people to attend - the idea was that publicity pictures would be taken with the 'Metronet' trains in the background. The plan went well until GBrf pointed out there was nothing in the contract to specify that these wagons must be used on the Metronet contract and their present plans would result in a scatter of Metronet wagons among others. It took quite a bit of work for GBrf to marshal all the Metronet Branded wagons into a train and ensure it was on site when the pictures were taken.
The still functioning mainline rail in my old college town (where we walk the track on football Saturdays to get to the stadium) bears the date "1938."
Thanks Geoff for a brilliant insight to the work of Network Rail, 3 trains in one possession takes some working out and needs everybody working well together
Sorry I still do t get it. The nighttime bit was a dream inside another dream and then you dreamt the day bit again after that? Or is this not a Christopher Nolan film?
Spoilt buggers, we did all that by hand. When I were a lad lol. Loved working on Pway. Nothing like ducking, as the Efluvia was flushed as the train approached at 75mph. Passengers never appreciate any Pway work . Great vid Geoff. 👍
In additon to Geoffs answer, some of the big termini that are used by multiple rail companies, such as London Liverpool Street or Edinburgh Waverley, are also looked after by Network Rail.
I remember oh so well going to the beach at the bottom of the road where we lived and crossing over the line to reach the beach and the trains discharging the effluent between the rails plus we used to dive off the sewage pipe that also discharged the waste into the sea , it’s a wonder we survived as kids the amount of stuff we swam through and trod through, much better system now, no sign saying do not use when the train is at the station 💩
Recycled and used on non railway project, ballast works due to the sharp lines and edges to hold the track in place, after a few years the edges round off and it’s no good for railways after that
Curious as to what happens to the rail when it's lifted and taken away, is it melted down and used in another industry, reused in the rail world or just scrapped?
some of it will be good enough to reuse on the network, some will be suitable for use as sidings and the rest is sold or scrapped. www.networkrail.co.uk/stories/recycling-recovered-railway-materials-at-our-whitemoor-facility/
Sidings and check-rails (on bridges etc) are often built from reused rails. You can swap left/right and reuse for repairs/upgrades on lines with less traffic. Museum railways are often looking for used rails of the right vintage. Other than that rails get sold for scrap value and recycled in a steel works.
Fun fact, rails on high-speed lines in France are changed more frequently (every 15~20 years instead of the usual 40) and after a thorough inspection they are reused on branch lines. As there are still a few lines with rails dating from the 1930s (though they're becoming rare nowadays), even 20 year-old rail is a major safety and reliability improvement.
@@altair738 pêle-mêle "Le Ferrovipathe" et "Urban Traveler" (et j'ajoute "Parigo" qui parle pas mal de ferroviaire) mais aucune chaine n'a la quantité de vidéos ni la diversité de lieux que propose Geoff. Les vidéos de la Vie Du Rail/Rail Passion dans la presse sont d'excellente qualité (beaucoup de "cab ride" avec moults explications)
Yeah, rail from 1972 ain't that old lol. I noticed while stopped at a siding that had been built in 2012 that rail in the siding was from 2011, and the main line rail was from 1941. The oldest rail I've seen still in use on a 10 mph branch line was from 1898.
When I was little I always thought it was scary when you "flushed" the toilet and could see the tracks fly by underneath. Didn't help that my older siblings told me stories about how you could get sucked down through the toilet when the train went fast. In Denmark they started rebuilding the train toilets in the late 1980s to use a contained system instead of dumping it on the tracks, but that meant there were still a lot of cars with the old toilets till well into the 90s.
"Can you do a Bane impression?"
"Noooooo"
Underrated moment.
Yes, actually not too bad an impression...
Only half a second long but that was hilarious :p
Richard the RRV op is a top bloke and I have worked with him for years railway brotherhood.
I've got nothing else to say other than what a thoroughly excellent, informative and well-explained film this is.
Kiwirail in New Zealand needs this, they are replacing this during no lockdown in Central Auckland while juggling a City Tunnel Boring for new rail in peak time.
Thanks Geoff. Fascinating. The 10-yr old me was so pleased. The spider was awesome!
Nice to see Chris again and meet Darren. Informative and will help those non-railway people understand why engineering work is needed and how it happens. Nice googling of Effluvia insert.
I watched all the (these) track renewal works at Whitstable over November
Good vid , I'm starting my 10 week training in a week to work on the rail :) can't wait
I live next to the busiest rail in Canada - probably 6 trains per hour, mostly passenger but freight as well. That rail is dated 1977.
It's so interesting to see how it's really done, my local line has had works done and I was lucky enough to see the line with no tracks!
Well done on 200k!
What a fantastic vidio very informative I never thought so much work went into replacing the rail track regarding renewal of all the ballast. What a great vidio thank you 👍👍
Congratulations on 200k!🥳
What a fascinating video - very apt to celebrate 200K. You’re the go-to person to give Joe public info on our railways. Love it!
Wow, I learned a new word from Chris. And also, he's wearing a very nice hat at 6:03! I always love infrastrucual works, so thanks for this awesome video, Geoff!
Congrats on 200k.:))
When New York City Transit replaces elevated subway tracks, you can literally find them stacked on the streets before hand in pre-assembled units. A bit like someone unpacked model train tracks.
They take the old sections out by crane from the street.
Very interesting Geoff, thanks.
What a fascinating video! Thank you Geoff
Enjoyed the video thanks Geoff
Well done! 200,000 Subscribers
Always wondered about this kinda stuff, so cool to fully understand the purpose of projects like these. Awesome video!
Congrats on 200K!
Great vid very interesting
Also saw you have 200k subscribers congrats you deserve it
Effluvia will probably be my next cat's name. Or Stalin. Haven't decided yet...
do both just decide what comes first or just have this as options 3 and 4
Just don't go all Hitler...
On this side of the pond, 1972 rail would be considered the “new” rail outside of the main line network. Just recently I was looking at some 1896 rail that is still in service on a shortline. Passenger rail demands a higher level of vigilance of course. A broken rail under a passenger train can have far more tragic results than dumping over car load of grain in the middle of a corn field.
That is a brilliant video indeed. Do love engineering trains and the video was very interesting indeed!
It’s nice to see London Underground laying their track to network rail standards the ride is light years ahead of not so long ago when you would bounce to Acton Town from Hammersmith now more of a swoosh ,but the D stock still rode better ,but that just maybe me
Interesting video thanks.
Hi Geoff. Great to see your rail videos like this one and the one you did with the NR Air Ops (Helicopter team). I actually work for one of a limited number of companies on the Air Ops Drone framework. It would be great to chat some time!
wait, this was over a year ago? Wow, just wow.
Very interesting video. Sleepers are spaced 600 mm apart and are 2 and a half m long.
To elaborate on this: The method used here is know as 'classic' renewal, if the to be renewed track is long enough (say, 5 kilometres) a track renewal train is more efficient. These trains are hundreds of metres long and can completely renew the ballast, sleepers and rails at a slow walking pace. (For some example images, search for RU800S.)
As for lifespan, it really depends on the use of the line and the used track parts. For example, concrete sleepers have a much longer lifespan than wooden sleepers. Generally, anything that needs to be replaced within 20 years is quite early and after 50 years is quite late, but I have seen rails that have been in use for even over a hundred years!
We still have rails on our Eastern USA lines that were put down during the Lincoln administration.
I remember seeing a train being demonstrated at Railfest back in 2004, made up of bogie wagons carrying track panel. Each wagon had three or four cranes on it that could pick the panels up and move them sideways on to the adjacent trackbed. The train could lay about quarter of a mile of track in a matter of minutes, then move along and do it again. I wonder what became of that idea...
I lived in Whitsable when that line was electrified. At first it was odd to see trains with no locomotive.
I want to see the machine that you set to anti Effluvia to wash and reuse the ballast. This word must make it to a quiz.
I was going to ask this for environmental reasons really, whether all of the ballast gets reused or whether the effluvia renders it single use?
It would be interesting if you were able to look into the work to clean up and repair the Heart of Wales line at Llangennech where the fuel train de railed and caught fire earlier this year.
This is awesome would love to be part of the orange army
For a moment I thought that tracks were being replaced with Network Rail...
very interesting
I’d love to work on track maintenance
Brilliant video! Curious what extra cautions you were subject to due the presence of an electrified 3rd rail....?
It’ll be isolated prior to renewal works so it’s more of a trip hazard than anything else
Geoff, can we have more of this type of video. Would love to have seen a second part with the rail being installed and ballast laid and tampered. I was fortunate to get in invite to walk the new Stevenage turnback with the contractors back in February, having documented the project from the start (check out the vloggs on my YT channel) and found the process really fascinating. Regretfully I had to edit out conversations with the lovely people form Spencers due to privacy reasons, but it still gives an interesting viewpoint.
seen this one? th-cam.com/video/UuSrkz2PVOc/w-d-xo.html
@@geofftech2 Yup :)
WooHoo for 200k
I need a mizer for the people at work who get to close to me lol
8:46 who knew that apples grow in bushes aswell as tree's? 🤔
What happens to the old ballast, is it washed and reused or sold off for other construction uses, such as crushed for aggregate?
Washed and reused, when the stones become too round then they will not be used again
Just realised Chris looks like Steve Kornacki! How much of the vote is in from Georgia?
So, could you re-use or extend the life of worn railway tracks by switching them over from left to right?
The new track is bigger called cen 60 instead of 113lb longer life and better for heavy freight
We should have Maglev / monorail or any other system that doesn't need continues maintenance. The continuous maintenance is counter productive, and debilitating 2 anyone who is dependent on transport. The quarter of a century waisted on crossrail would have been better spent on replacing current transport networks with a system that doesn't require continued maintenance.
Peter Cushing lives in Whitstable
I have seen him buying vegetables
200K YEEESSSSSS
I have a strange affinity for Class 66 locomotives. Must be something with it being American EMD power running in Britain. :P
We call them Sheds 😃
Train 😎
How does it make you feel, Geoff, to see something that was made in 1972 getting replaced because it's too old?
Can we have that in Sweden? It's not really done here anymore since they decided to make train companies private...
3:11 was that an underground logo?
looked like it but i actually dont know
Yes
So ture!
Congratulations on 200k subscribers! Do you think the next goal is going to be 250k? Well congratulations anyway! Oo class 66! Geoff! You should play Roblox mind the gap!
↓
I officially love Chris. Just so happy about everything
Lots of beer!
I'm glad that this is official
The man should make his own channel
@@Hendrik-jan-de-tuinman Honestly, I'm shocked Network Rail hasn't decided to produce their own videos
@@kicksledkid Plenty of NRs own videos floating around on TH-cam. Their time-lapse videos are particularly good.
I remember when I was waiting for a train on one platform with trackwork on the other. They had just replaced the old wooden sleepers with concrete ones. A side effect of this is that you cannot have gapped rails-the shock from the train will damage the sleepers over time. So anytime you see concrete sleepers, the track is necessarily continuously welded, or CWT I believe it's called. Anyway, I showed interest in what they were doing, and they brought me down to have a closer look.
That wasn't the best part though. The best part is that they let me do a weld! They basically attach single-use ceramic pots to the track ready to be welded, then fill the pots with thermite. They light the thing with a huge torch (can't remember if it's propane or oxy acetylene, though) which I got to do, which melts the whole thing and leaves behind a big chunk on the rail.
The ceramic pot is smashed off with a big sledgehammer and you're left with a big chunk on the rail. This is cut off and the surface of the rail ground smooth with a rail grinder, although it still takes several months of track wearing and probably several grinder passes in order to completely smooth out the bump after welding has been complete. Track grinding can sometimes be done while the line is operational, or at least overnight. There are some high speed rail grinders out there which will do the job at something like 60-80km/h, while the line is operational.
But long story short, I got to do a weld on a main line that has had thousands of trains go over it since, and probably even a million passengers. It hasn't caused a derailment yet and this was a good decade ago, so I'm guessing I didn't screw it up, which is nice.
What an experience though. Even in "winter" (Australian winter, so maybe like 5-10c), the heat from the torches and the welding was enough to keep you relatively toasty.
Was a pretty awesome experience as a kid.
That is absolutely awesome. It must be an incredible story to tell people about.
Thank you.
Hi mate im a network rail track maintenance engineer im glad you came to see our world and show people what we do thank you
What has your experience been like? Thanks
Congratulations on 200k. You deserve it
If you ever turn up on a site where im the train driver, l’ll have to let you on board for a nose around.
Great video. As ProRail employee (The Dutch Network Rail) I recognize the pride of these guys. These works aren't seen much by public but it is really great to see all the plans made in advance work out so very well in just a few days. All the machines, trains and people operating like a giant ballet performance.
By the way, Geoff, congratulations on 200K subscribers!
Very interesting look at what is going on when the railway is closed for track work. Would have liked a question about how much of that removed material gets recycled (or even a whole video).
That sounds like an interesting topic for a whole video.
Maybe starting with quarrying the new material, then its transport to site and the removal of waste followed by its recycling.
I would guess the old fill goes to a dump site as "suitable cover" for the daily operations, as it is otherwise classed as hazardous waste from the bacterial counts. But on a dump perfect to cover the current working layer.
Good questions. Do then melt down the old rails, remove any impurities, and then recast them as new rails?
@@dan30308 You can do that, but the old rail is generally melted down as high grade steel scrap, and might end up as new rail, though it is far more likely to end up as reinforcing steel, a vehicle body or as part of a building instead. Steel is eminently recyclable, and has a large use base.
Some insider knowledge here : ) all the ballast and spoil that is removed during works like these is taken away and recycled and used for other projects in the country. Things like creating wildlife reserves, building up embankments that sort of thing.
A number of things can happen to the rails, switches/points. They could be melted down and resused if appropiate, donated to railway charities/trusts that run their own private tracks, sold on to make some money back or used in sidings.
Peter Cushing lives In Whitstable, he goes shopping on his bicycle, you can see him buying vegetables
Thanks for the earworm.
That's quite interesting ...
Sadly he died a few years ago.
@@neilbain8736 But his bench is still on the seafront
Chris is very good at explaining things. Love to hear more from him!
1:42 Workington 1972 - My hometown! My Grandad worked at the steelworks so he could of made that piece of track.
My parents were from Workington. I always look out for Workington made rails. Back in 2005 a colleague said he wanted to show me something, drove me about six miles out from the office we worked at to a remnant of an abandoned line, cleared a length of rail and sure enough there was the stamp of the Workington steelworks. The thing is, this was on the Laguna Indian Reservation in the New Mexico desert, 50 or so miles west of Albuquerque, and about 5500 miles from Workington.
Increasingly rare now, except on the quieter rural lines. There was also Glengarnock and Colvilles rail, before BSC, Corus and TATA rolling mill impressions replaced them.
Yay! Congrats on 200k, Geoff!
Based on what was said by Chris at 4:18, the "clay" seen and handled at 2:49 may not have been clay...
Was great to meet you out on site during the renewal! Awesome video, hope to see you at future projects!
@@geofftech2 Also waves!
Love a fresh Geoff Marshall vídeo to cheer up my afternoon (in Brazil)
From what I remember of Ballast Sampling there was little if any biological material - the bacteria have destroyed it. As one of the people from Thames Water said when I was working for Metronet the ballast is very similar to what happens in a Sewage Farm the surfaces are coated with bacteria and eat the human waste quite quickly. The danger was the other materials in the dust - lead, phenols and remains from ash from coal trains amongst other things
I'd tend to agree with this, as the problem is just as great if not more so on North Am railways, and perhaps it's lax health and safety regs (whether they'd be state/provincial or federal would be a good question, as most mainline rail is regulated federally in both Canada and US) but I've yet to see masks used for sanitary purposes in that application.
Only reference I can find, and it's from the UK!
[Effluent is just as much of an issue for the rail industry as for any other industry sector. Contaminated with cleaning chemicals, fuel and lubricants from rolling stock maintenance and human waste from trains, this wastewater can pose a hazard to the environment, as well as to health and safety, if not correctly treated.]
www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-Industry-Focus-/eliminate-rail-track-pollution-and-protect-your-railway-ballast-and-our-environment-
And for Rails to Trails: (North America)
[...]
Types of Contaminants
The type and extent of contamination along rail corridors fall into two general categories: residual contamination that may be found along any stretch of corridor and contamination associated with industrial uses alongside it. Before and after acquisition, you should be aware of the following potential contaminants:
Railroad ties, usually treated with chemicals such as creosote
Coal ash and cinder containing lead and arsenic
Spilled or leaked liquids such as oil, gasoline, cleaning solvents, etc.
Herbicides
Fossil fuel combustion products (PAHs)
Roofing shingles (asbestos)
Air compressors
Transformers and Capacitors
Metals
[...]
www.railstotrails.org/build-trails/trail-building-toolbox/acquisition/environmental-contaminants/
Curious...
Congratulations for 200K! :)
2:25 Most railway TH-camrs: "THRAsH AnD ToNeZ!!!"
Geoff, with trepidation: "Is he about to sound his horn very loudly as he goes past?"
Fascinating !! Only ten minutes happly would have watch an hour or two ! Enjoyed. More please
I really like the difference between the blue and white helmets. Here in America, a lot of drivers would need the "blue helmet" on top of their cars because they're completely incompetent.
Fun video to watch, I'm just about to finish my 12 week training to be to become a railway maintenance engineer
0.49 that magic click from normal clothing to PPE. That is genius Geoff 👏👏
Nice one on hitting 200k subs!
3:10 is that a london underground roundel i see there?
It is! As well as a partially removed Metronet logo. There was previously a contract between GBRF* and TfL for works trains on the Metropolitan/Picc branches towards Uxbridge, which are accessible to a Class 66 Loco + ballast wagons. You can also get a 66 into LUL Ruislip Depot, but only on the ballast reception road.
lot of the roads in Ruislip Depot should have clearance for National Rail trains though I am not sure if the track would stand the axle loads. There was a rail exhibition at Ruislip 20 - 30 years ago and a lot of British Rail vehicles were parked in the depot - if I remember correctly this included the APT.
@@SportyMabamba umm that was gbrf which was operating trains for metronet...
My guess is that that's a leased cart, but licenced for use also in underground. Doesn't worth it to get it mainly just for underground use since there's only so much rail renewal works there anyway...
@@PrograError There were several locomotives as well as a couple of trains of wagons that had Metronet & LU logos on them. They were the result of the contract between Metronet & GBrf to provide works trains for track renewal. ON one of the first weekends Metronet arranged for all sorts of important people to attend - the idea was that publicity pictures would be taken with the 'Metronet' trains in the background. The plan went well until GBrf pointed out there was nothing in the contract to specify that these wagons must be used on the Metronet contract and their present plans would result in a scatter of Metronet wagons among others. It took quite a bit of work for GBrf to marshal all the Metronet Branded wagons into a train and ensure it was on site when the pictures were taken.
The still functioning mainline rail in my old college town (where we walk the track on football Saturdays to get to the stadium) bears the date "1938."
Boggles at the concept of "functioning mainline rail" and members of the public walking the track...
Thanks Geoff for a brilliant insight to the work of Network Rail, 3 trains in one possession takes some working out and needs everybody working well together
Is this the ballast replacment on paddington 24/7?
Sorry I still do t get it. The nighttime bit was a dream inside another dream and then you dreamt the day bit again after that? Or is this not a Christopher Nolan film?
Spoilt buggers, we did all that by hand. When I were a lad lol. Loved working on Pway. Nothing like ducking, as the Efluvia was flushed as the train approached at 75mph.
Passengers never appreciate any Pway work .
Great vid Geoff. 👍
What is the difference between network rail and national rail? Cause I always hear those two terms
In additon to Geoffs answer, some of the big termini that are used by multiple rail companies, such as London Liverpool Street or Edinburgh Waverley, are also looked after by Network Rail.
I remember oh so well going to the beach at the bottom of the road where we lived and crossing over the line to reach the beach and the trains discharging the effluent between the rails plus we used to dive off the sewage pipe that also discharged the waste into the sea , it’s a wonder we survived as kids the amount of stuff we swam through and trod through, much better system now, no sign saying do not use when the train is at the station 💩
YESS GEOFF GOT 200,000 SUBSCRIBERS
What becomes of the broken ballast?
Is it washed and reused, or put to rest in a giant toilet?
Recycled and used on non railway project, ballast works due to the sharp lines and edges to hold the track in place, after a few years the edges round off and it’s no good for railways after that
Curious as to what happens to the rail when it's lifted and taken away, is it melted down and used in another industry, reused in the rail world or just scrapped?
some of it will be good enough to reuse on the network, some will be suitable for use as sidings and the rest is sold or scrapped.
www.networkrail.co.uk/stories/recycling-recovered-railway-materials-at-our-whitemoor-facility/
Sidings and check-rails (on bridges etc) are often built from reused rails. You can swap left/right and reuse for repairs/upgrades on lines with less traffic. Museum railways are often looking for used rails of the right vintage. Other than that rails get sold for scrap value and recycled in a steel works.
Fun fact, rails on high-speed lines in France are changed more frequently (every 15~20 years instead of the usual 40) and after a thorough inspection they are reused on branch lines. As there are still a few lines with rails dating from the 1930s (though they're becoming rare nowadays), even 20 year-old rail is a major safety and reliability improvement.
@@remicardona_poly sais-tu s'il y a des chaînes comme celle de Geoff en français/en France ? Or I suppose this is just a very British obsession...
@@altair738 pêle-mêle "Le Ferrovipathe" et "Urban Traveler" (et j'ajoute "Parigo" qui parle pas mal de ferroviaire) mais aucune chaine n'a la quantité de vidéos ni la diversité de lieux que propose Geoff. Les vidéos de la Vie Du Rail/Rail Passion dans la presse sont d'excellente qualité (beaucoup de "cab ride" avec moults explications)
Yeah, rail from 1972 ain't that old lol. I noticed while stopped at a siding that had been built in 2012 that rail in the siding was from 2011, and the main line rail was from 1941. The oldest rail I've seen still in use on a 10 mph branch line was from 1898.
Yay Omg congrats for 200k I love your vids
When I was little I always thought it was scary when you "flushed" the toilet and could see the tracks fly by underneath. Didn't help that my older siblings told me stories about how you could get sucked down through the toilet when the train went fast. In Denmark they started rebuilding the train toilets in the late 1980s to use a contained system instead of dumping it on the tracks, but that meant there were still a lot of cars with the old toilets till well into the 90s.
Thanks Geoff! You found my phone!!
Right at the beginning you can see the abutments of the bridge that carried the old Canterbury and Whitstable line over the railway.
Today was the last pacer run.
what do they do with the Effluvium coated material can it be reused?
This info is priceless, just about to start a course on this. Good to have an insight!
How's it going? I'm 1 week into an 8 week course so far!