Leaves on the line: Fact or Friction?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ย. 2024
- Leaves on the line. The age old cliché, surely it’s not a real thing…well, it is. In today’s video we take a look at why it’s such a problem and what we do to deal with it.
Planning a festive get together? Tickets are still available for our ever popular Steam Illuminations, find out more and book here:
One of the most incredible experiences on your line was witnessing 506 on illuminations come to a stand prior to Medstead in the up direction, and the footplate crew spending 40 mins easing her up the bank. Likewise on the return from Alton, some superb skill on show. Great video, as always.
I was patrolling the length at Farnborough, heading towards Brookwood, a loco with a rake of salmons slid gracefully through the cutting and platform , straight through the red starter finally stopping half in and half out of the platform . The disbelief of the general public is only due to the lack of information shared by BR . That and the public's urge to pour scorn and contumely on anything they don't want to hear .
When I was working with Adrian C down at Four Marks we spoke of this quite a bit. It was a specialist subject of mine. When I was at Wimbledon I worked each autuam season with the sandite trains. We had several converted to push-pull and 3rd rail capable 2HAP units for both this and 3rd rail deiceing duties. We ran at night so as not to interfere with normal traffic. Thanks for posting....
Very well explained, well done. All the best!!
And it's not just leaves.... I have experienced the wrong kind of rain, the wrong kind of snow, and even the wrong kind of heat!
We have 2 of the same locomotive (seemingly differing only in colour and detail differences), but they are polar opposites to drive - especially in adverse conditions. To make matters worse they don't have active sanding gear, so we have to stop and hand sand if we get stuck climbing our 1 in 100 (just for clarity, I'm talking about a miniature railway here 😅).
Another great video 👍
Excellent video thank you Mid-Hants! Rgds from Holland, Joachim
Easiest way to explain is
1.). Steam loco would disintegrate leaves
2.). Lightweight moderns units crush the leaves and so oily residue left on track.
Oily residue causes trains to slip.
Not to mention that in the height of steam days then the trees etc cut back much further.
Some leaves are worse that others too! Ash tree leaves can still have loads of sap left in them and sycamore have a larger surface area which makes them more likely to stick on the railhead.
When I was training at Salisbury in 1999 the drivers talked about a 'black rail' sometimes in leaf fall. I had never seen one but about a year later I did. Instead of a shiny silver rail in most places between Basingstoke and Salisbury it was completely black where so many leaves had been crushed onto the rails. I lost 40 minutes trying to get going and then stopping safely at each station. No sand then on the units just a 1 shot emergency sand.
I loved leaf leaf fall though because it really tested your skill. The sound of the WSP, running brake tests to test conditions and basically just braking earlier and being more aware. Before reaching a double yellow I would knock a third of the speed off and single yellow two thirds even if I had to use Step 3 to do so and risk wheel flats.
And here I was thinking you had a small army of elves living in the cutting that would scrub the railhead between services. These elves of course, as in all good tales, only work for a fee and if you fail to pay that's when you get wheelslip. So, always remember to close your eyes and bow your head and say thank you to the elves as you go over the Alps!
It's still under investigation at the moment, but the initial indications from Talerddig are that Low Railhead Adhesion was responsible for the collision and subsequent fatality.
Leaves on the line really are no joke.
really interesting
I had it once train lost all its grip and just let loose as I slipped all the y way back down
Trains: Give us evergreens and low shrubs.
Humans: We much prefer deciduous trees - they're more attractive and support more wildlife.
Pretty true but evergreens shed their leaves all year round so maintenance is always required.