Think of all the passengers and freight moving across our nation's tracks. Ultrasonic rail testing is so important to catch defects at an early stage thus improving significantly the safety of those passengers and freight to help decrease serious accidents which may cause serious injury or loss of life. Rail mills are constantly trying to improve the quality of their rails. Every batch of rails is tested and rails must conform to certain industry standards before they are allowed to be sold. Controlled cooling for each rail is a requirement, however it is not 100% effective 100% of the time in eliminating hydrogen deposits, but it is a far cry better than before controlled cooling was invented.
Really makes you question the wisdom of programs like "Six Sigma" when they teach you to simply be perfect so you can skip doing quality control checks!
Dave, although it might not be you doing any of the ultra-sonic testing, I would think that you could use a tool, like a small hammer, that will peen the rail just by hitting the rail with it, and you should be able to determine whether the rail is sound or not just my the report after the hammer taps the rail: if the report is not a ring the rail has a defect. It is like a goblet that will ring, but if the goblet is defective it will tick or clink, but it will not ring.
@@Mr1fish2fish yes .. that was the...old school way... if you hear a...clunk...or a dull sound... as the wheels pass over it...instead of a clickety clack...theres a problem!
I’m actually very proud of my wife right now. When you uttered “Doctor Howard” she blurted out “DOCTOR HOWARD! DOCTOR FINE! DOCTOR HOWARD!” before I could say it.
I am very familiar with metal fatigue. When I was in my early 20's a 500 ton press I was running started rocking side to side by several inches. I shut it down immediately and informed my supervisor. Once they cleared away equipment at the base it revealed a crack that was nearly through the entire base. It was down for several weeks for repairs.
It sounds like you got lucky that things didn't 'go south' on you without that warning. Good on you for paying attention, you probably prevented much worse damage plus serious injury or death.
That sounds pretty scary harpintn, glad I wasn't there, but it would have made for a good video....:-) Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Had a similar thing happen on the press I ran. I never knew the tonnage, but we used to blank .475" thick steel into two 22" diameter blanks. So it was pretty heavy duty. Unknown to us, the shock absorbing material under the feet had compacted over the years, so stress eventually created a crack in one of the feet. It was spotted accidentally by an outside contractor. Interestingly, the same issue with the shock absorbing material (a series of alternating steel and rubber plates) caused vibrations in a house about 3/4 of a mile away. Just one house. Not in the houses either side. We thought that malarky, but sure enough when they were at the house measuring vibration, it matched up perfectly to when we started and stopped the press. Replacement of the shock absorbers on the feet solved that problem. As to why it was just that house, that's a head scratcher.
To accomplish control cooling of the rail, after the rail is finished being rolled, it is loaded into an insulated box which is then closed to allow the rail to slowly cool from about 1200F down to about 650 to 700F. This gives time for such things as hydrogen gas and other gases to escape from the rail which was found to cause shatter cracks in the rail if the cooling was done faster by being left out in the open. Modern steel-making usually uses vacuum degassing then the molten steel is poured into a vat that feeds a continuous bloom caster from which the rails are rolled. Modern steel is much cleaner in manufacturing than it used to be.
I never knew a tiny defect like That would grow like a cancer. Amazing how much has to be monitored to keep the tracks safe. You do excellent job explaining all this.
I will address you then as Sir, my dad taught me to respect my elders... :-) Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Hi Dave. Considering the millions of tons of material that rails carry everyday, it is truly amazing that there isn't more failure than there is. Keep up the good work. I enjoy every video.
You are certainly right about that Charles. Mills have done and continue to do a fantastic job of trying to make pure steel, but it's not 100% effective 100% of the time, so a few impurities slip thru now and again. That's why testing is so important to catch these at an early stage before failure and a serious accident occurs. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Boy, something that small as a fissure sure can grow into some major trouble for the train. Thanks for sharing all this info with us Dave I'm really enjoying your videos.
It certainly can Morse, think of all the passenger and freight RR across the country running on these rails. That's why ultrasonic testing is so important to help ensure safety. Really pleased to hear you are having a good time with us. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
With all these high tec inspections and dedication to safety i see why travel by rail is considered safer than travel by automobile. Dave i thank you and all railroad workers that keep the trains on track and keep us safe. People forget how much technology and people are actually involved with railroad safety. Dave please tell your colleagues that they are truly appreciated for me.
This is becoming one of my favorite websites for watching rail activity. I’m bored with long trains rolling through the countryside with little to no commentary. It’s pretty but it’s boring. Maybe it’s because I’m a mechanical engineer but I love watching what goes on with your videos. There’s a lot of technical explanation in depth analysis of issues. This is real rail roading. And it gives me a great appreciation for what really goes on in the business. Thanks Dave.
Great to hear. Yes watching trains is nice and I show trains also, but I'm like you, prefer the mechanical stuff behind what all it takes to keep those trains running. And also one of my goals is to have Mr. Joe Railfan gain a greater appreciation for what it takes to run trains and all that goes on behind the scenes.
That vertical split is really scary! So many things can contribute to a derailment. I'm really glad you are paying attention like you do. You walk on water, Dave!
Saw a youtube video las night of a guy who had bought up several stacks of really old rail. He was turning them into hatchets. Someone posted the medical suppliers loved the older rails for products they were turning out.interesting end for the older rails
Well there was only 1 person in this world who ever did that Shirley and I sure am not in the category he was! But thanks for you well intentioned compliment. Appreciate very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Good explanation of rail defects, what is really cool is how a rail quench is done to hardened the steel, if not done consistent these defects become prevalent. Friction generates heat, track surfacing, right size rail for the traffic. Rail checking, spauling, burns and plastic flow is a good measure to the condition of the rail. I always enjoy watching the videos Dave, keep up the good work bringing the Road to us retired brothers in track!!
Appreciate the info Billy, keep writing in, I love to read your comments. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Absolutely amazing. What an education you just shared about track wear. Imagine the potential derailments or those that have occured because of "Rail Head Cancer"!!!
Hi Dave, now I have to run a sonogram on all of my "N" scale track, I don't want any derailments. People say I have OCD, but I don't know :) Anyway thanks for this video, I enjoy all of your stuff. Blue Mule
Can't ever go wrong testing your rail, just have a hi rail truck with joint bars and a rail drill to follow him to make temporary repairs to your track....LOL Let me know how the testing works out, hey great idea get yourself an N scale testing truck Blue Mule! Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
@13:00 Whoa whoa whoa there... you can't just have a meeting like that!! First you need a pre-meeting to decide what you want your meeting for... and big companies aren't allowed to have pre-meetings without a pre-pre-meeting!! That's the only way you can be sure nothing gets done until you have a 'post meeting'! lol
And a sub committee to appoint a pre meeting, how could I be so careless with my words Mike :-) You got me rolling with that one but you're also right in many cases
Wow! I guess that those could put a knot in your bolo tie! With several different factors affecting little imperfections in the rails, it's no small wonder keeping the railways safe! So glad for the lessons! Please keep them coming, and stay safe and well.
Thank you for the nice comment Trena, safety on the RR is a never ending thing and ultrasonic testing is just one of those measures we do. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
If I dare say, your subscribers are all very smart people. "Smart" being defined, at least in part, by a general curiosity with regard to everything. I have always loved trains, but I never dreamed of all of the intracacies of rail maintenance, etc. that go along with them. Fascinating! This knowledge that you impart, extends belyond the railroad and into other fields requiring knowledge of metalurgy.
Thank you for the nice comment Jeff. You are right I get some really intelligent comments and questions and yes these videos do peak their curiosity along with being presented in a way that is not talking over anyone's head, well for the most part anyway. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Jay. Wish I had examples in real rail, but I don't so the pics are next best thiing. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Always know I'm going to see and learn something interesting when a new video comes up Dave. Thanks for sharing not only the video, but your knowledge too!
I knew you were kidding about the meeting thing, but there really is some truth to it. I love your videos, very informative and entertaining and the laugh is very infectious. Happy rails!
Thank you for the nice comment Dave. Sadly tho in many instances that is the way it goes it appears. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
You may have enough trains, but consider getting a rail testing truck for your track? Of course you'll need me to follow in a hi rail truck to fix any defects they may find..... I can see a high quality video coming out of that suggestion! And the wheels are now turning aren't they LOL Always a pleasure my friend to have you visit with me.
A very good segment Dave thanks for the explanation of it all including pictures. You do a really good job on this channel Dave we all enjoy listening to what's going on with the railroad or maybe something else you find that's interesting to talk about. Until the next video, have a good one stay safe my friend. Bye for now.
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Timothy. Thank you very much for the nice comment and for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Yes sir Pete next year I will do a series of videos on rail and that will be included in that series. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
That was a really cool video. I enjoyed the information, and learned a few things. Metallurgy is a wild thing, and you are 100% correct about corporate meetings. Have a great day!
Thank you for the nice comment Matt. You me and Pappy are going to have to get together to plan a meeting where we discuss where to have our next meeting..... :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Excellent examples of fatigue in steel, and description, the initial fracture steps are called striations, only visible under Spectroscopy, optical microscopy is limited by glass properties. Thanks for sharing Dave. Stay safe. Best regards from the Black Country UK.
I like the educational videos Dave! From what you've said, and some of the pics, I think its very important, especially for the main line rail companies to be replacing wheels/axles with flat spots sooner than later. Lots of miles of rail getting pounded daily can't be good. Excellent video my friend! 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃💯👍🇺🇸
Appreciate the nice comment Jim, you are right on the flat spots, we do here on a pretty quick basis. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Dave,you have done s great job of explaining (TDC) and (TDD). You might want to mention the Rail now is controlled cooled compared to rail before 1935 which was Air cooled. This really reduced internal rail flaws. Keep up all the great info
Thank you for the nice comment Thomas. You are right about the CC process. I had planned to do a video on controlled cooling sometime to explain the process and why it is done, just haven't gotten around to making it yet. Very much appreciate your watching the cancer in the rail head video my friend.
I was absolutely fascinated when I saw a rail stretcher stretch the rail like a rubber band!!! It's too bad you can't get the electric welder in there to start turning your jointed rail into CWR???!!! End batter is almost always the culprit in jointed rail derailments like in Weyauwega Wisconsin. Rails can hold up only so long sitting there pumping up and down in the mud!!! You do some very good work Dave!!! I'll bet it's hot as hell back there?????
It would be lovely to hav welded rail but because we have the 3 bolt holes the welders will not weld those rail together because the 3rd hole is to close to the weld, to ahve welded rail here would mean replace each stick with blind ends ( no holes) Now we are talking major expense and time to replace all those rails. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Manchester, N.Y. is only 5 miles south of where I live and was home to one of Lehigh Valleys biggest yards ! Unfortunately that's all gone now but the trackage that is left is used by Finger Lakes Railroad !
Very interesting to hear that 326dad, appreciate your sharing the info. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
that was so interesting! never seen such details about the tiny defects and how they grow! it is really scary how such a small flaw can cause such damage to the rails integrity. as always very educational and informative videos! thank you for your time and knowledge!
Yeah, we had some lectures about this in school. How a tiny defect can be beniegn for a while and then as it's 'work hardened' it gets more and more brittle and bang! Even just "ordinary" steel is a complicated thing, between flexing, work hardening, the heat treatment used during manufacture... whole world of details and stuff.
Steelton has a vacuum de gasser as they call it. Some rails are marked VT for vacuum treated. I didn't work in the metallurgical dept. but i assume some of those internal failures are caused by trapped gas in the rail. Another great video Dave i can relate to what you are explaining.
Did you know Michael that about 7 years ago the RR;s AAR and the mills had a big meeting to figure out when to have another big meeting! LOL LOL.. But at that meeting they decided that if a rail is cooled via VT then it need not be stamped as such. So now only rails that are cooled by a method other than VT need be stamped. None of our newer rails since then are stamped VT and yes you are right steelton degasses their rails. They would have quit stamping that right around or just after you retired so you would not have known that.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave i did not know they discontinued that on the brand.I'm sure you seen the H H on the brand. I assume they still use that on rail. Rail Roads pay a premium price for that rail. The head hardened rail will last longer.
Wonder how many of these types of flaws back in the day resulted in catastrophe. Always an education with you Dave, appreciate you going over all the pictures of each type.. Great post
Most likely a very high percentage of them before ultrasonic testing no way to tell if there was an internal defect. But that's railroading. Appreciate the kind words and for watching my friend.
Jan 4th, 87 ... when I was in the fire dept. We had a train accident in Chase Maryland. Amtrac ran into 3 freight locomotives at 128 mph. Killing 16. The freight locomotives ran a stop signal, they stopped on the main line.
I remember that Wayne. That brought about a whole bunch of new safety regs and rules. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Thank you for the nice comment Zalmagflash, but you deserve more pay than you are getting.... :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
I don't know how long they have been testing rails with this kind of machine but it sure does a great job at it. Kind of like getting x-rayed. Very interesting video Dave. And today's kids are growing up on video games, good luck kids. 😵
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Bob. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation and for the nice comment my friend.
Hi Dave! With all due respect to you and your very informative railroading content, I CAN NOT WAIT A YEAR for your video on the cooling process of rails! LOL!
Sorry to disappoint Jim, now I feel bad..... Lot's of other good stuff to come your way in the meantime tho, please be patient. :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Another great informative video. Thank you for all the time you spend explaining about rail and ties. With all the derailment on other railroads lately and see pics of the track, in my unprofessional opinion several could have been prevented by proper track maintenance. I think they could use tour experience and expertise. Thanks again and your trains rolling.
Thank you for the nice comment Gary. You giv e me too much credit tho.... NS dreams at night about having me work for them....LOL LOL. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Fascinating subject Dave. There can be so much hidden inside what looks to be a simple piece of rail. I will sure be thinking of all these things on my next trip out LOL. That vertical split head failure looks a scary thing to find on inspection day, the guy who saw that was very lucky not to be getting a call to a derailment. Take care out in the heat Dave. I see on the news it is roasting hot in some places there. I'm glad UK has been a bit cooler and rainy than the rest of Europe like you I cannot stand the heat well.
Highest we got so far is 90, Arizona and Cal. are getting burnt up tho. Glad you enjoyed today's show Cedarcam. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Thank you for the nice comment Broadwayltd1. Really appreciate your taking the time to check out the video my friend and may you have a very good day. And, if you haven't already done so, check out my second channel with more cool railroad videos and other stuff I get into on it. Your the kind of person I would love to have as a subscriber to it. www.youtube.com/@ThatsDavesOtherDoings
As I understand this, that nucleus doesn't necessarily have to begin at the edge of the rail. It looks as if the nucleus can ge generated within the rail and expand outward. Very interesting. Thanks for your detail. :)
My original Lionel set in early 1960 had a LV hopper car, I still got it on display right beside me stretch. Thank you for taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Was a lot of derailments back then Johnny, appreciate your sharing that. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
6:52, the pictures being shown in the book, are those also not good examples of badly worn rail? Looks to me like the head is completely worn away on one side.
Yes they are Kleetus, a whole lot of other pictures also in the books of worn rail I did not show, but you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
We had some specialty steel assemblies that were carefully heat treated. But then in order to finish the welding in the field, they had to preheat the thing to like 250 F before they could weld. Welding itself can cause local high temperatures and rapid cooling that messes things up as well. Crazy stuff they've come up with. One place you see this is some semi-trailer beds, you'll see warnings along the main frame, 'do not weld'. The hi-tech, specially heat-treated steel they use you can't just grab a stick welder and 'tack' on something after the fact.
Resembles what we call a .505 pull test specimen… a destructive material test where we take a sample of material and cut a thread on either end and turn the O.D. To .505 inches and use a hydraulic mechanism to pull the sample apart to catastrophic failure noting the yield, and tensile strength of the material. The crystal looking surface is referred to a “frost” or “satin” you will also see the “polished “ area in some samples.
Some fissures are polished dp, this was black because of oxidation. The one rail we used a hydraulic mechanism called a tamper to break the rail when the jack beam picked the rail up ....LOL
@@ccrx6700 You are welcome and thank you, I forgot to ask you another question. Why do those hopper cars have 4 air lines on them? You can see it when they are passing by in the video
Got to love the fact that rail companies came together with the rail manufacturers to create the best solution to increase the superiority of the product. So which rail is better VT or CC?
The geometry of the top and sides of the head are interesting. Can you explain what the shape indicates? Like the obvious edge rollover in one photo or the sloping top in many. Love your videos and details.
Those are different pics of rail wear, they are not indicative of what normal or new rail profile looks like. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend and great to hear you are enjoying the home movies.
I've seen rotary coal cars but what I'd like to know is how exactly does the rotary coupler on a rotary coal car work. And by the way I am a really big fan of yours and I love and look forward to every video that you post. I never get tired of seeing your videos as I am a rail enthusiast and my grand father was a breakmen for the long Island railroad many years ago. My dream was to work for the railroad but I am disabled,and unfortunately when I tried to apply to work for the rail road I was turned down and denied my dream so I never applied again. But it's ok I live my dream through you each time I watch your videos. So thank you very much for sharing your videos your enthusiasm is just as much as my enthusiasm. 🙂👍😎👍
Thank you for the nice comment James and the suggestion for a future video on rotary couplers. It's very heart warming to read your kind words my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome my friend. I love the railroad this country wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for the railroad. My heart my bloodline has the railroad in it. I love watching you you remind me so much of my grandfather you have the same joyful spirit as he had. Your a real blessing and hopefully one day I'll have the honors of meeting you in person just so I could sit and hear all your story's of the one thing we both love the most. The Railroad. God bless you always my friend,and above all please keep your self safe out there. Your friend always James Maclary. 🚂🚋🚃🚋🚃🚋🚃
I remember seeing coal hoppers from Lehigh Valley, NYC, PRR, B&O, NKP, and others in Newport News, Va. All going to the coal piers. They humped them with brake men on each cut.
Appreciate your sharing that Jim, my original Lionel set in the 1960s came with a LV hopper car and I still have it! Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Thank you for the nice comment Clark. No I do not have one of my hi rail truck yet but great suggestion for a future. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Really good of you to try to answer so many questions. What's a mud spot------assuming it's not just a spot of mud? And do those growth rings indicate years, months, days? Lastly, there must be other factors that cause cracks in your track, no?
A mud hole where there is a bunch of mud in the tracks shopshop enough to cause rail deviations from normal track geometry. Those growth rings are not like tree rings, yes they grow over time but are not indicative of a certain span of time. The internal defects original cause is from an impurity in the rail milling process, it may develop over the years into a larger problem and it may just lie dormant in the rail and never amount to anything.
Well I really appreciate you getting in that with the metallurgy report I guess is what you would consider it I guess I'm probably in the same class you are you're definitely not an idiot but you probably haven't attended any colleges but maybe certifications and job classes kind of like me I do believe you
Railroads used to have rail breaking parties, that would be really cool to take part in, but I don't know if anyone does that anymore or not. The ultrasonic testers do a pretty good job at sizing defects, as we've had several rails break either by the tamper or train and the defects are really close to what they said they were.
another super interesting video, thanks Dave! Am I wrong, most of those fractures seemed to be on the inside part of the track where it is curved (I guess by wear?), I mean that would seem to be intuitive. Some of those photos were spectacular!
You are very welcome Dean. The defect I showed in part 1 of this mini series was a 30% growth and it was in tangent track. The one I'm going to show you in the next video out was in tangent track also. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Given all the repeated problems with mud-contaminated ballast and resulting loss of roadbed support, has your road ever considered progressively completely removing and then replacing ballast over heavy geotextile fabric in order to eliminate the “pumping” of mud infiltration from the sub-roadbed up into the ballasted roadbed structure?
In some places we have done that Eric in the past, it takes time and that is one thing we don't have a whole lot of. They like to run trains here and it's pretty steady. We always did that kind of work on down times. I do love the geotextile under track what a difference it makes. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Hey Dave,Glad to see you got the old girl to cooperate remotely not gonna ask which tack you used lol,well gotta get another beer headachce isnt as bad as last time but it hurts lol,just kidding its amazing how a small imperfection can cause so much damage but guess thats the nature of the beast,thank you for taking time to show and explain the defects in the rails very interesting,until next adventure take care my friend
Yes it is amazing how that small thing grows inside the rail head over time Grec. Hopeyou head feels better....:-) Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Ironically, my father, a WWII USN veteran, worked for Bethlehem Steel in the factory in the area where liquid steel was poured. He then went on to work with the PRR and PennCentral. There are some very serious derailments happening with hazardous materials. Communities have asked RR's to notify about these types of loads. We are learned my about rails and we need to learn about hauling safety. The production of tanks to haul liquid and gaseous chemicals safely is something that we need the Bureau of Transportation and Safety to demand RR's to spend money on car design and conform with strict guidelines. Giving RR's a well-defined timeline would give residents hope that a serious hazardous spill into a community's water source will be less likely to happen. No one wants their land to become valueless because of pollution. BNSF spill response at Anacortes was outstanding. Many communities do not think that something will happen and then don't spend money on response training😮.
Appreciate your sharing that with us Madeline. I would have loved to talk with your father, I'd have been all ears listening to his railroad stories. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Dave, in welding they have a term called slag inclusion! Where slag that protects the molten weld can sometimes get included in the weld, this has to be ground out and new weld laid down. Is this a cause of these problems when the rail is formed and impurities get included in the steel creating weak spots hidden but vulnerable.
Very good comment ferstuck. Yes not only can an internal defect begin from a hydrogen deposit, it can be from a slag inclusion. Also I have seen a thermite weld break because of an inclusion in the welding of those rails, in fact about 2 years ago I shared that in a video but I can't remember the title of that video or I'd share a link. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Thanks for the wonderful info Dave! If the defects at there since manufacture of the rail, are their manufacturers that produce more defect free rails? Are their known manufacturers that produce garbage rail? 🤔
Appreciate the nice comment Mojo. Glad you enjoyed. Mills are constantly trying to improve their product, a lot of lives depend on the rails they make, think passenger trains.... Steelton where we get our new rail from is known for it's high quality. China produces garbage rails just ask the UK who bought a bunch of their rail and within 10 years was replacing all of it. Always a pleasure to have you visit my friend.
Hello Ðave You shoot good instructional videos. Re the faults in the rails could not this fault be found after the cooling process. Say by modern electronic instruments. Thanks for the video. Keep it up.
Thank you Anthony. Yes these minor fractures are most likely caused by the cooling process not eliminating hydrogen. They are minute enough at the rolling mill to escape any ultra sonic inspections tho at that time, they are sometimes molecular in size. Rolling contact by the trains and the stresses of weather make them grow over time. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video my friend.
You'll have to wait for the video or try google it firefightin. Too long a discussion fora comment reply. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
We get our rail from Steelton Marty and it is high quality rail. Rolling mills are constantly testing their product and also trying to improve on it. Just think of all the lives involved running over rails in this country, passenger and freight RR. So the better they make their steel the more improved safety. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Another great one Dave! I watched a video where a coal company watered down te coal as it was being loaded into the cars. O don't seem to do that. Why would one water the coal and another not? Pros and cons? Is there a trick to getting your truck onto the rails? Have you covered that on any of your videos? I always look forward to your great posts! Thanks
Appreciate the nice comment Michael. No I do not yet have a video on putting my truck on the rails, I will do that sometime just be patient with me on it. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Think of all the passengers and freight moving across our nation's tracks. Ultrasonic rail
testing is so important to catch defects at an early stage thus improving significantly
the safety of those passengers and freight to help decrease serious accidents which
may cause serious injury or loss of life.
Rail mills are constantly trying to improve the quality of their rails. Every batch of
rails is tested and rails must conform to certain industry standards before they are
allowed to be sold. Controlled cooling for each rail is a requirement, however it is
not 100% effective 100% of the time in eliminating hydrogen deposits, but it is
a far cry better than before controlled cooling was invented.
Your sooo right...work safe dave!
Really makes you question the wisdom of programs like "Six Sigma" when they teach you to simply be perfect so you can skip doing quality control checks!
You need a big furnace to control the cooling of railroad track rails.
Dave, although it might not be you doing any of the ultra-sonic testing, I would think that you could use a tool, like a small hammer, that will peen the rail just by hitting the rail with it, and you should be able to determine whether the rail is sound or not just my the report after the hammer taps the rail: if the report is not a ring the rail has a defect. It is like a goblet that will ring, but if the goblet is defective it will tick or clink, but it will not ring.
@@Mr1fish2fish yes
.. that was the...old school way... if you hear a...clunk...or a dull sound... as the wheels pass over it...instead of a clickety clack...theres a problem!
I’m actually very proud of my wife right now. When you uttered “Doctor Howard” she blurted out “DOCTOR HOWARD! DOCTOR FINE! DOCTOR HOWARD!” before I could say it.
LOL I love that! Calling Dr. Howard, Calling Dr. Fine I so well
remember that episode. Thanks so much for giving me a big smile
tonight my friend.
Your wife has a great understanding of the classics.
I am very familiar with metal fatigue. When I was in my early 20's a 500 ton press I was running started rocking side to side by several inches. I shut it down immediately and informed my supervisor. Once they cleared away equipment at the base it revealed a crack that was nearly through the entire base. It was down for several weeks for repairs.
It sounds like you got lucky that things didn't 'go south' on you without that warning. Good on you for paying attention, you probably prevented much worse damage plus serious injury or death.
Way to be there buddy! Too many folks these days could care less. Just wait'n on that next break.
That sounds pretty scary harpintn, glad I wasn't there, but it
would have made for a good video....:-) Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Had a similar thing happen on the press I ran. I never knew the tonnage, but we used to blank .475" thick steel into two 22" diameter blanks. So it was pretty heavy duty. Unknown to us, the shock absorbing material under the feet had compacted over the years, so stress eventually created a crack in one of the feet. It was spotted accidentally by an outside contractor. Interestingly, the same issue with the shock absorbing material (a series of alternating steel and rubber plates) caused vibrations in a house about 3/4 of a mile away. Just one house. Not in the houses either side. We thought that malarky, but sure enough when they were at the house measuring vibration, it matched up perfectly to when we started and stopped the press. Replacement of the shock absorbers on the feet solved that problem. As to why it was just that house, that's a head scratcher.
@@rodchallis8031 The press I ran made slabs that were turned into brakes for 18 wheeler. I doubt it was as heavy as the one you ran.
To accomplish control cooling of the rail, after the rail is finished being rolled, it is loaded into an insulated box which is then closed to allow the rail to slowly cool from about 1200F down to about 650 to 700F. This gives time for such things as hydrogen gas and other gases to escape from the rail which was found to cause shatter cracks in the rail if the cooling was done faster by being left out in the open.
Modern steel-making usually uses vacuum degassing then the molten steel is poured into a vat that feeds a continuous bloom caster from which the rails are rolled. Modern steel is much cleaner in manufacturing than it used to be.
Thank you Roy for sharing that information with us, excellent comment. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
I never knew a tiny defect like
That would grow like a cancer. Amazing how much has to be monitored to keep the tracks safe. You do excellent job explaining all this.
Thank you for the nice comment Beverly. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
70yr old senior.. following you for more than 1yr.. 👏👏👏👏💕✍
Another 70 yo man, and I’ve been following you for a bit now. You’re very knowledgeable and love your job. Keep up the good work.
I will address you then as Sir, my dad taught me to respect my elders... :-) Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Hi Dave. Considering the millions of tons of material that rails carry everyday, it is truly amazing that there isn't more failure than there is. Keep up the good work. I enjoy every video.
You are certainly right about that Charles. Mills have done and continue to do a fantastic job of trying to make pure steel, but
it's not 100% effective 100% of the time, so a few impurities
slip thru now and again. That's why testing is so important to
catch these at an early stage before failure and a serious accident occurs. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Boy, something that small as a fissure sure can grow into some major trouble for the train. Thanks for sharing all this info with us Dave I'm really enjoying your videos.
It certainly can Morse, think of all the passenger and freight RR across the country running on these rails. That's why ultrasonic
testing is so important to help ensure safety. Really pleased to hear you are having a good time with us. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
With all these high tec inspections and dedication to safety i see why travel by rail is considered safer than travel by automobile. Dave i thank you and all railroad workers that keep the trains on track and keep us safe. People forget how much technology and people are actually involved with railroad safety. Dave please tell your colleagues that they are truly appreciated for me.
Thank you for the nice comment zillboop, you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
hello dave it's is randy and i like yours video is cool thanks dave friends randy
Thank you for the nice comment Randy. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
This is becoming one of my favorite websites for watching rail activity. I’m bored with long trains rolling through the countryside with little to no commentary. It’s pretty but it’s boring. Maybe it’s because I’m a mechanical engineer but I love watching what goes on with your videos. There’s a lot of technical explanation in depth analysis of issues. This is real rail roading. And it gives me a great appreciation for what really goes on in the business. Thanks Dave.
Great to hear. Yes watching trains is nice and I show trains also,
but I'm like you, prefer the mechanical stuff behind what all it
takes to keep those trains running. And also one of my goals
is to have Mr. Joe Railfan gain a greater appreciation for what
it takes to run trains and all that goes on behind the scenes.
That vertical split is really scary! So many things can contribute to a derailment. I'm really glad you are paying attention like you do. You walk on water, Dave!
Saw a youtube video las night of a guy who had bought up several stacks of really old rail. He was turning them into hatchets. Someone posted the medical suppliers loved the older rails for products they were turning out.interesting end for the older rails
Well there was only 1 person in this world who ever did that Shirley and I sure am not in the category he was! But thanks for you well
intentioned compliment. Appreciate very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Good explanation of rail defects, what is really cool is how a rail quench is done to hardened the steel, if not done consistent these defects become prevalent. Friction generates heat, track surfacing, right size rail for the traffic. Rail checking, spauling, burns and plastic flow is a good measure to the condition of the rail. I always enjoy watching the videos Dave, keep up the good work bringing the Road to us retired brothers in track!!
Appreciate the info Billy, keep writing in, I love to read your comments.
Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
I really enjoy how you give us a history lesson on how different processes came about. Have a great week my friend.
Thank you for the nice comment Lewis. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Absolutely amazing. What an education you just shared about track wear. Imagine the potential derailments or those that have occured because of "Rail Head Cancer"!!!
Appreciate the nice comment kwamesha. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Hi Dave, now I have to run a sonogram on all of my "N" scale track, I don't want any derailments. People say I have OCD, but I don't know :) Anyway thanks for this video, I enjoy all of your stuff.
Blue Mule
Can't ever go wrong testing your rail, just have a hi rail truck with
joint bars and a rail drill to follow him to make temporary repairs
to your track....LOL Let me know how the testing works out, hey
great idea get yourself an N scale testing truck Blue Mule! Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Always educational!
You should video the processes of “ getting on and getting off track” as those would be interesting.
Glad you enjoyed Eric, Thank You
@13:00 Whoa whoa whoa there... you can't just have a meeting like that!! First you need a pre-meeting to decide what you want your meeting for... and big companies aren't allowed to have pre-meetings without a pre-pre-meeting!! That's the only way you can be sure nothing gets done until you have a 'post meeting'! lol
And a sub committee to appoint a pre meeting, how could I be so
careless with my words Mike :-) You got me rolling with that one but you're also right in many cases
Wow! I guess that those could put a knot in your bolo tie! With several different factors affecting little imperfections in the rails, it's no small wonder keeping the railways safe! So glad for the lessons! Please keep them coming, and stay safe and well.
Thank you for the nice comment Trena, safety on the RR is a never
ending thing and ultrasonic testing is just one of those measures we do. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
If I dare say, your subscribers are all very smart people. "Smart" being defined, at least in part, by a general curiosity with regard to everything. I have always loved trains, but I never dreamed of all of the intracacies of rail maintenance, etc. that go along with them. Fascinating! This knowledge that you impart, extends belyond the railroad and into other fields requiring knowledge of metalurgy.
Thank you for the nice comment Jeff. You are right I get some really intelligent comments and questions and yes these videos
do peak their curiosity along with being presented in a way that
is not talking over anyone's head, well for the most part anyway. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Hi it's nice to see it in the pics
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Jay. Wish I had examples in real rail, but I don't so the pics are next best thiing. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Good Sunday evening Dave.
Good evening Robert hope you are doing well. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Always know I'm going to see and learn something interesting when a new video comes up Dave. Thanks for sharing not only the video, but your knowledge too!
You are very welcome Richard. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
I knew you were kidding about the meeting thing, but there really is some truth to it. I love your videos, very informative and entertaining and the laugh is very infectious. Happy rails!
Thank you for the nice comment Dave. Sadly tho in many instances
that is the way it goes it appears. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Dave👷♂️👍Class is in. A great indepth view of whats what. Thank you for sharing this for everyone to enjoy
🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲
You may have enough trains, but consider getting a rail testing truck for your track? Of course you'll need me to follow in a hi rail truck
to fix any defects they may find..... I can see a high quality video
coming out of that suggestion! And the wheels are now turning
aren't they LOL Always a pleasure my friend to have you visit with me.
Thank you so much… I never realized the stress on the rail was important !
You are very welcome Ron. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Thank you for another interesting video Dave! You are certainly well informed Dave, you will never be bored working on the railroad!
Thank you for the nice comment Raymond. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Never knew this about the rail. Thanks.
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Rex. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
A very good segment Dave thanks for the explanation of it all including pictures. You do a really good job on this channel Dave we all enjoy listening to what's going on with the railroad or maybe something else you find that's interesting to talk about. Until the next video, have a good one stay safe my friend. Bye for now.
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Timothy. Thank you very much for the nice comment and for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
How about a video on rail manufacturing and date codes and stuff. Thank you Dave and keep em rollin.
Yes sir Pete next year I will do a series of videos on rail and that
will be included in that series. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
That was a really cool video. I enjoyed the information, and learned a few things. Metallurgy is a wild thing, and you are 100% correct about corporate meetings. Have a great day!
Thank you for the nice comment Matt. You me and Pappy are
going to have to get together to plan a meeting where we discuss
where to have our next meeting..... :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
This is the most interesting video ever.
Thank you broadwayltd1, very glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent examples of fatigue in steel, and description, the initial fracture steps are called striations, only visible under Spectroscopy, optical microscopy is limited by glass properties.
Thanks for sharing Dave.
Stay safe.
Best regards from the Black Country UK.
Very nice comment bostedtap. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
I like the educational videos Dave! From what you've said, and some of the pics, I think its very important, especially for the main line rail companies to be replacing wheels/axles with flat spots sooner than later. Lots of miles of rail getting pounded daily can't be good. Excellent video my friend!
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃💯👍🇺🇸
Appreciate the nice comment Jim, you are right on the flat spots, we
do here on a pretty quick basis. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Very educational Dave. You are a very good teacher!
Thank you HugsBach for the very nice comment and for taking the
time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
This is amazing how tiny imperfections can cause all that damage fantastic vid Dave thanks hope your wife is doing well.
You are very welcome Lawrie, she is sir. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Dave,you have done s great job of explaining (TDC) and (TDD). You might want to mention the Rail now is controlled cooled compared to rail before 1935 which was Air cooled. This really reduced internal rail flaws. Keep up all the great info
Thank you for the nice comment Thomas. You are right about the CC
process. I had planned to do a video on controlled cooling sometime
to explain the process and why it is done, just haven't gotten around
to making it yet. Very much appreciate your watching the cancer in
the rail head video my friend.
Great explanation of fisher the tempering of the rail also is a big factor great video thanks Dave
You are very welcome Gary. Thank you for taking the time to write in
and for checking out the video my friend.
I was absolutely fascinated when I saw a rail stretcher stretch the rail like a rubber band!!! It's too bad you can't get the electric welder in there to start turning your jointed rail into CWR???!!! End batter is almost always the culprit in jointed rail derailments like in Weyauwega Wisconsin. Rails can hold up only so long sitting there pumping up and down in the mud!!! You do some very good work Dave!!! I'll bet it's hot as hell back there?????
It would be lovely to hav welded rail but because we have the 3 bolt holes the welders will not weld those rail together because the 3rd hole is to close to the weld, to ahve welded rail here would mean
replace each stick with blind ends ( no holes) Now we are talking major expense and time to replace all those rails. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
You're a wealth of information. Thanks for another installment about defects in rails. Can`t wait for the next!👍
Thank you for the nice comment Wilbur. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Super interesting subject.
Thanks for the insight!
Really pleased to hear you liked this one John. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Thank you for the video. Happy Dave.
Your quite welcome Brad, glad you liked this one. Appreciate your paying us a visit and checking out the video today my friend.
Manchester, N.Y. is only 5 miles south of where I live and was home to one of Lehigh Valleys biggest yards ! Unfortunately that's all gone now but the trackage that is left is used by Finger Lakes Railroad !
Very interesting to hear that 326dad, appreciate your sharing
the info. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
i never knew that this could happen to a steel rail . thanks for shareing dave have a great day dave .
Glad you enjoyed and found something out David. Thank you very much for taking the time to check out the video my friend.
Educational fun stuff learned a lot thanks
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Daniel. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
that was so interesting! never seen such details about the tiny defects and how they grow!
it is really scary how such a small flaw can cause such damage to the rails integrity.
as always very educational and informative videos! thank you for your time and knowledge!
Great to hear you enjoyed this one Barry, it is interesting stuff. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Thanks for another great and interesting video Dave
Your welcome Ian. Glad you enjoyed watching. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Very interesting. Who knew rails could be so complicated!
Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the
video, glad you enjoyed.
Yeah, we had some lectures about this in school. How a tiny defect can be beniegn for a while and then as it's 'work hardened' it gets more and more brittle and bang! Even just "ordinary" steel is a complicated thing, between flexing, work hardening, the heat treatment used during manufacture... whole world of details and stuff.
Very nice comment Mike. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Steelton has a vacuum de gasser as they call it. Some rails are marked VT for vacuum treated. I didn't work in the metallurgical dept. but i assume some of those internal failures are caused by trapped gas in the rail. Another great video Dave i can relate to what you are explaining.
Did you know Michael that about 7 years ago the RR;s AAR and the mills had a big meeting to figure out when to have another big
meeting! LOL LOL.. But at that meeting they decided that if a rail
is cooled via VT then it need not be stamped as such. So now only rails that are cooled by a method other than VT need be stamped.
None of our newer rails since then are stamped VT and yes you
are right steelton degasses their rails. They would have quit stamping that right around or just after you retired so you would
not have known that.
@@ccrx6700 Thanks Dave i did not know they discontinued that on the brand.I'm sure you seen the H H on the brand. I assume they still use that on rail. Rail Roads pay a premium price for that rail. The head hardened rail will last longer.
@@BeeLineEast 👍😊
Wonder how many of these types of flaws back in the day resulted in catastrophe. Always an education with you Dave, appreciate you going over all the pictures of each type.. Great post
Most likely a very high percentage of them before ultrasonic testing
no way to tell if there was an internal defect. But that's railroading.
Appreciate the kind words and for watching my friend.
This was really interesting! I never knew that rails could fracture like that. Thanks for the explanation.
You are very welcome John. Thank you for taking the time to write in
and for checking out the video my friend.
Jan 4th, 87 ... when I was in the fire dept. We had a train accident in Chase Maryland. Amtrac ran into 3 freight locomotives at 128 mph. Killing 16. The freight locomotives ran a stop signal, they stopped on the main line.
I remember that Wayne. That brought about a whole bunch of
new safety regs and rules. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Now that was different and interesting Dave.
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Hugh. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Very educational Dave.
Thank you Derrick glad you liked this one. Appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
As always an awesome video and very educational video, too
Thank you for the nice comment Eugene. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
awesome info you provide, love all your videoes , thanks
Thank you Ron for the nice comment. Appreciate your dropping by to check out the video my friend.
Now I know more than my pay grade allows.
Thanks Dave.
Thank you for the nice comment Zalmagflash, but you deserve more pay than you are getting.... :-) Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
I don't know how long they have been testing rails with this kind of machine but it sure does a great job at it. Kind of like getting x-rayed. Very interesting video Dave. And today's kids are growing up on video games, good luck kids. 😵
Thank you for the nice comment Jim. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Thanks Dave 😊
Always you are welcome Frank.. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Thanks for this video!
Your always welcome Robin. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
That's pretty interesting Dave! Lots of factors that can cause that phenomenon to happen! Wow!
Thank you for the nice comment Eric. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Very interesting and informative. Thanks for the insight Dave! Great vid as usual!
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Bob. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation and for the nice comment my friend.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the nice comment BackyardProspector, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Great video Dave thank you!😊
Really pleased to hear you liked this one Michael. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I rather fall in ,not to sure either way us great idea not knowing what you might land on or in!
This is so interesting Dave!
Thank you for the nice comment Terry, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Hi Dave! With all due respect to you and your very informative railroading content, I CAN NOT WAIT A YEAR for your video on the cooling process of rails! LOL!
Sorry to disappoint Jim, now I feel bad..... Lot's of other good stuff to come your way in the meantime tho, please be patient. :-)
Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the
video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Please don't feel bad. ..I love your content. I'll be very patient.
Thank you for the video!
You are very welcome. Thank you for taking the time to write in
and for checking out the video my friend.
Another great informative video. Thank you for all the time you spend explaining about rail and ties. With all the derailment on other railroads lately and see pics of the track, in my unprofessional opinion several could have been prevented by proper track maintenance. I think they could use tour experience and expertise. Thanks again and your trains rolling.
Thank you for the nice comment Gary. You giv e me too much
credit tho.... NS dreams at night about having me work for them....LOL LOL. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Fascinating subject Dave. There can be so much hidden inside what looks to be a simple piece of rail. I will sure be thinking of all these things on my next trip out LOL. That vertical split head failure looks a scary thing to find on inspection day, the guy who saw that was very lucky not to be getting a call to a derailment. Take care out in the heat Dave. I see on the news it is roasting hot in some places there. I'm glad UK has been a bit cooler and rainy than the rest of Europe like you I cannot stand the heat well.
Highest we got so far is 90, Arizona and Cal. are getting burnt up tho. Glad you enjoyed today's show Cedarcam. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Pretty cool stuff😁
Thank you for the nice comment Broadwayltd1. Really appreciate your taking the time to check out the video my friend and may you have a very good day. And, if you haven't already done so, check out my second channel with more cool railroad videos and other stuff I get into on it. Your the kind of person I would love to have as a subscriber to it.
www.youtube.com/@ThatsDavesOtherDoings
As I understand this, that nucleus doesn't necessarily have to begin at the edge of the rail. It looks as if the nucleus can ge generated within the rail and expand outward. Very interesting. Thanks for your detail. :)
You are correct in that Mustraline. Glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
The Leigh Valley RR ran through the town I grew up in.
My original Lionel set in early 1960 had a LV hopper car, I still
got it on display right beside me stretch. Thank you for taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
There's a 1928 Grand Central derailment and 1918 both subway. That's what I found.
Was a lot of derailments back then Johnny, appreciate your
sharing that. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
6:52, the pictures being shown in the book, are those also not good examples of badly worn rail? Looks to me like the head is completely worn away on one side.
I was wondering the same thing. It's almost like a different shaped rail, more or less square on one side and nearly fully rounded over on the other.
Yes they are Kleetus, a whole lot of other pictures also in the books of worn rail I did not show, but you are right. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Great video and info Dave, always amazes me, your Great content! (Dave).
Thank you Dave for the very kind words. Always is a pleasure
to hear from you my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome and same here. Have a nice Tuesday.
Interesting.
Great to hear you enjoyed RFMCabooseNP. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
We had some specialty steel assemblies that were carefully heat treated. But then in order to finish the welding in the field, they had to preheat the thing to like 250 F before they could weld. Welding itself can cause local high temperatures and rapid cooling that messes things up as well. Crazy stuff they've come up with.
One place you see this is some semi-trailer beds, you'll see warnings along the main frame, 'do not weld'. The hi-tech, specially heat-treated steel they use you can't just grab a stick welder and 'tack' on something after the fact.
Appreciate your sharing that info Mike, interesting to find out. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Resembles what we call a .505 pull test specimen… a destructive material test where we take a sample of material and cut a thread on either end and turn the O.D. To .505 inches and use a hydraulic mechanism to pull the sample apart to catastrophic failure noting the yield, and tensile strength of the material. The crystal looking surface is referred to a “frost” or “satin” you will also see the “polished “ area in some samples.
Some fissures are polished dp, this was black because of oxidation.
The one rail we used a hydraulic mechanism called a tamper to
break the rail when the jack beam picked the rail up ....LOL
This is really cool and great information to know brother
Thank you for the nice comment doctordeath. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 You are welcome and thank you, I forgot to ask you another question. Why do those hopper cars have 4 air lines on them? You can see it when they are passing by in the video
@@doctordeath.5716 2nd line is air to dump cars
Got to love the fact that rail companies came together with the rail manufacturers to create the best solution to increase the superiority of the product.
So which rail is better VT or CC?
Yes it certainly is MJ. Most all mills now use VT. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
The geometry of the top and sides of the head are interesting. Can you explain what the shape indicates? Like the obvious edge rollover in one photo or the sloping top in many. Love your videos and details.
Those are different pics of rail wear, they are not indicative of
what normal or new rail profile looks like. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend and great to hear
you are enjoying the home movies.
I've seen rotary coal cars but what I'd like to know is how exactly does the rotary coupler on a rotary coal car work. And by the way I am a really big fan of yours and I love and look forward to every video that you post. I never get tired of seeing your videos as I am a rail enthusiast and my grand father was a breakmen for the long Island railroad many years ago. My dream was to work for the railroad but I am disabled,and unfortunately when I tried to apply to work for the rail road I was turned down and denied my dream so I never applied again. But it's ok I live my dream through you each time I watch your videos. So thank you very much for sharing your videos your enthusiasm is just as much as my enthusiasm. 🙂👍😎👍
Thank you for the nice comment James and the suggestion for
a future video on rotary couplers. It's very heart warming to read your kind words my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome my friend. I love the railroad this country wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for the railroad. My heart my bloodline has the railroad in it. I love watching you you remind me so much of my grandfather you have the same joyful spirit as he had. Your a real blessing and hopefully one day I'll have the honors of meeting you in person just so I could sit and hear all your story's of the one thing we both love the most. The Railroad. God bless you always my friend,and above all please keep your self safe out there. Your friend always James Maclary. 🚂🚋🚃🚋🚃🚋🚃
@jamesmaclary8441 awesome reply James 👍😎😊
I remember seeing coal hoppers from Lehigh Valley, NYC, PRR, B&O, NKP, and others in Newport News, Va. All going to the coal piers. They humped them with brake men on each cut.
Appreciate your sharing that Jim, my original Lionel set in the 1960s
came with a LV hopper car and I still have it! Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 I had the same one !
@@jimlangley840 👍👍😎
Great video Dave! I'm really enjoying this series on rail defects. Do you have a video about how you get your HI-rail truck on the track?
Thank you for the nice comment Clark. No I do not have one of my
hi rail truck yet but great suggestion for a future. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Really good of you to try to answer so many questions. What's a mud spot------assuming it's not just a spot of mud? And do those growth rings indicate years, months, days? Lastly, there must be other factors that cause cracks in your track, no?
A mud hole where there is a bunch of mud in the tracks shopshop
enough to cause rail deviations from normal track geometry. Those growth rings are not like tree rings, yes they grow over time but
are not indicative of a certain span of time. The internal defects
original cause is from an impurity in the rail milling process, it
may develop over the years into a larger problem and it may
just lie dormant in the rail and never amount to anything.
Well I really appreciate you getting in that with the metallurgy report I guess is what you would consider it I guess I'm probably in the same class you are you're definitely not an idiot but you probably haven't attended any colleges but maybe certifications and job classes kind of like me I do believe you
Appreciate the nice comment Kevin. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Dave ,you should go to a rail breaking. You would get s kick out of seeing how good the test car operator is whe he sized the defect in track.
Railroads used to have rail breaking parties, that would be really
cool to take part in, but I don't know if anyone does that anymore
or not. The ultrasonic testers do a pretty good job at sizing defects,
as we've had several rails break either by the tamper or train and
the defects are really close to what they said they were.
Interesting
Glad you enjoyed MrJeep. Thank you very much for taking the time to tune in and watch the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.
another super interesting video, thanks Dave!
Am I wrong, most of those fractures seemed to be on the inside part of the track where it is curved (I guess by wear?), I mean that would seem to be intuitive. Some of those photos were spectacular!
You are very welcome Dean. The defect I showed in part 1 of this
mini series was a 30% growth and it was in tangent track. The one I'm going to show you in the next video out was in tangent track also. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Given all the repeated problems with mud-contaminated ballast and resulting loss of roadbed support, has your road ever considered progressively completely removing and then replacing ballast over heavy geotextile fabric in order to eliminate the “pumping” of mud infiltration from the sub-roadbed up into the ballasted roadbed structure?
In some places we have done that Eric in the past, it takes time
and that is one thing we don't have a whole lot of. They like to
run trains here and it's pretty steady. We always did that kind
of work on down times. I do love the geotextile under track what
a difference it makes. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Hey Dave,Glad to see you got the old girl to cooperate remotely not gonna ask which tack you used lol,well gotta get another beer headachce isnt as bad as last time but it hurts lol,just kidding its amazing how a small imperfection can cause so much damage but guess thats the nature of the beast,thank you for taking time to show and explain the defects in the rails very interesting,until next adventure take care my friend
Yes it is amazing how that small thing grows inside the rail head
over time Grec. Hopeyou head feels better....:-) Thank you for
taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Ironically, my father, a WWII USN veteran, worked for Bethlehem Steel in the factory in the area where liquid steel was poured. He then went on to work with the PRR and PennCentral. There are some very serious derailments happening with hazardous materials. Communities have asked RR's to notify about these types of loads. We are learned my about rails and we need to learn about hauling safety. The production of tanks to haul liquid and gaseous chemicals safely is something that we need the Bureau of Transportation and Safety to demand RR's to spend money on car design and conform with strict guidelines. Giving RR's a well-defined timeline would give residents hope that a serious hazardous spill into a community's water source will be less likely to happen. No one wants their land to become valueless because of pollution. BNSF spill response at Anacortes was outstanding. Many communities do not think that something will happen and then don't spend money on response training😮.
Appreciate your sharing that with us Madeline. I would have loved to
talk with your father, I'd have been all ears listening to his railroad stories. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Just watched on DangerTV, What went wrong/The Eschede Train Disaster.
@@madlinerose5038 👍😊
Dave, in welding they have a term called slag inclusion! Where slag that protects the molten weld can sometimes get included in the weld, this has to be ground out and new weld laid down.
Is this a cause of these problems when the rail is formed and impurities get included in the steel creating weak spots hidden but vulnerable.
Very good comment ferstuck. Yes not only can an internal defect
begin from a hydrogen deposit, it can be from a slag inclusion.
Also I have seen a thermite weld break because of an inclusion in
the welding of those rails, in fact about 2 years ago I shared that
in a video but I can't remember the title of that video or I'd share
a link. Thank you for taking the time to write in and for checking out the video my friend.
Thanks for the wonderful info Dave! If the defects at there since manufacture of the rail, are their manufacturers that produce more defect free rails? Are their known manufacturers that produce garbage rail? 🤔
Appreciate the nice comment Mojo. Glad you enjoyed. Mills are
constantly trying to improve their product, a lot of lives depend
on the rails they make, think passenger trains.... Steelton where we
get our new rail from is known for it's high quality. China produces
garbage rails just ask the UK who bought a bunch of their rail
and within 10 years was replacing all of it. Always a pleasure
to have you visit my friend.
Hello Ðave
You shoot good instructional videos.
Re the faults in the rails could not this fault be found after the cooling process.
Say by modern electronic instruments.
Thanks for the video.
Keep it up.
Thank you Anthony. Yes these minor fractures are most likely
caused by the cooling process not eliminating hydrogen. They
are minute enough at the rolling mill to escape any ultra sonic
inspections tho at that time, they are sometimes molecular in
size. Rolling contact by the trains and the stresses of weather
make them grow over time. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video my friend.
How does one accomplish that? Cooling the rail all at the same time? I’d like to learn more about that please!
You'll have to wait for the video or try google it firefightin. Too long a discussion fora comment reply. Appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
Dave, so where, you buy the steel make such a difference?
How can the RR know they are buying quality products?
We get our rail from Steelton Marty and it is high quality rail.
Rolling mills are constantly testing their product and also trying
to improve on it. Just think of all the lives involved running over
rails in this country, passenger and freight RR. So the better they
make their steel the more improved safety. Thank you very much for taking the time to drop in on us and check out the presentation my friend.
Hey Dave I have a 1947 Pennsylvania railroad spike
Cool Thomas! I'm jealous....:-) Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Dave I love your videos they are educating
@@ccrx6700 if you are looking for an old Pennsylvania railroad spike there’s a lot of them in sugar creek ohio
Another great one Dave! I watched a video where a coal company watered down te coal as it was being loaded into the cars. O don't seem to do that. Why would one water the coal and another not? Pros and cons?
Is there a trick to getting your truck onto the rails? Have you covered that on any of your videos?
I always look forward to your great posts!
Thanks
Appreciate the nice comment Michael. No I do not yet have a video
on putting my truck on the rails, I will do that sometime just be
patient with me on it. Thank you for taking the time to write in
and for checking out the video my friend.