Western Railroad Discussion > 44 spikes pulled from tracks in Bellingham, WA

It looks like this story hit the wire last night, the link is below. Someone pulled up a bunch of spikes and fortunately an inspector found the problem.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015589026_apwatrainvandalism.html

article does not say if they were pulled consecutively ... now knowing how reported stories get a little stretched from the real facts ... the article doesn't specity if the track was wooden ties or concrete which both can be equipped with clips ... clip removal if they are of pandrol type are as easy to knock off as walking down the track ... with any type of heavy hammer and one or 2 good swipes the clip is off ... they are spring loaded and when hit they go flying with a real good whack ... clips on concrete or wooden ties have a more stringent standard because with the use of clips there are no rail anchors to prevent the rail movement in the heat ... if they were wooden ties with spikes then they needed more effort to remove the spikes ... it also doesn't specify whether it was main line or siding or yard trackage which makes a difference on class of track(speed and track specs >>> spikes per tie needed for that speed of track )... on main line tangent track with welded rail FRA class 4 (60 -80) and above requires 6 spikes per tie ... 3 spikes on each side consisting of 2 rail spikes 1 inside and 1 outside and 1 back up spike on the outside ... on class 5(80-90) track and above on curves of 1 degree and over 4 spikes are required with and aditional back up spike on the inside of the tie ...

class of track dictates how many ineffective ties can be allowed in so many inches ... an ineffective tie is one that doesn't meet the FRA standard for that class of track ... ie. spikes missing or tie is defective to the point it doesn't hold gage ... so if a track has ties that have had spikes pulled it depends on the class of track to determine how many ineffective ties there are to make it not meet the FRA standard for a certain class of track ... if a track doesn't meet the standard for that class of track ...the intended speed for that track is adjusted to the class of track it does meet ... and it 44 rail spikes were consectively pulled that track is ... AHEM ... Out Of Service ... no train movement allowed ... now if it was main line track and the spikes pulled were all back up spikes and no rail spikes the track is not deemed ... Ahem ... Out Of Service ... the speed would be reduced to the class of track that it fdoes meet per FRA standard

so depending on the speed of the track they could have pulled 44 spikes and the track still be in class depending on the consecutive spikes pulled and the class of track ... if it was a siding or yard trackage with a track class for low speed the amount of spikes pulled and the effect of class differs ... however if all the rail spikes were pulled consecutively then the track is not deemed safe for any movement on any class of track ... also there's only one manual spike pulling tool that can be used to pull spikes effectively ... that tool is called a claw bar ... and if the spikes are tightly driven and down low on the tie plate sometimes an added assistence is needed by a hammer to get the claw bar under the spike by banging the claw bar to get it under the spike to lift it out of the tie ... that's a lot of work for kids to do for fun ... so they either have access to railroad tools and or found it laying around the railroad ... it's not something kids just happen to do ... it's something done with premeditation and malice ... my guess a disgruntled person ...somebody holding a grudge against the railroad ... maybe a family was killed by a train ... employee who got fired or disciplined ... to me acts like this aren't like putting a boulder on the track ... they're calculated actions with a motive of intent ... it's not like cutting a lock and throwing a switch ... it's hard work ... and i'm not saying it's not possible but i'd be very surpirsed to find out it was kids that had nothing to do


let's see how many times i have to edit this from my mistakes ...

Out_Of_Service Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------W-
> article does not say if they were pulled
> consecutively ... now knowing how reported stories
> get a little stretched from the real facts ... the
> article doesn't specity if the track was wooden
> ties or concrete which both can be equipped with
> clips ... clip removal if they are of pandrol type
> are as easy to knock off as walking down the track
> ... with any type of heavy hammer and one or 2
> good swipes the clip is off ... they are spring
> loaded and when hit they go flying with a real
> good whack ... clips on concrete or wooden ties
> have a more stringent standard because with the
> use of clips there are no rail anchors to prevent
> the rail movement in the heat ... if they were
> wooden ties with spikes then they needed more
> effort to remove the spikes ... it also doesn't
> specify whether it was main line or siding or yard
> trackage which makes a difference on class of
> track(speed and track specs >>> spikes per tie
> needed for that speed of track )... on main line
> tangent track with welded rail FRA class 4 (60
> -80) and above requires 6 spikes per tie ... 3
> spikes on each side consisting of 2 rail spikes 1
> inside and 1 outside and 1 back up spike on the
> outside ... on class 5(80-90) track and above on
> curves of 1 degree and over 4 spikes are required
> with and aditional back up spike on the inside of
> the tie ...
>
> class of track dictates how many ineffective ties
> can be allowed in so many inches ... an
> ineffective tie is one that doesn't meet the FRA
> standard for that class of track ... ie. spikes
> missing or tie is defective to the point it
> doesn't hold gage ... so if a track has ties that
> have had spikes pulled it depends on the class of
> track to determine how many ineffective ties there
> are to make it not meet the FRA standard for a
> certain class of track ... if a track doesn't meet
> the standard for that class of track ...the
> intended speed for that track is adjusted to the
> class of track it does meet ... and it 44 rail
> spikes were consectively pulled that track is ...
> AHEM ... Out Of Service ... no train movement
> allowed ... now if it was main line track and the
> spikes pulled were all back up spikes and no rail
> spikes the track is not deemed ... Ahem ... Out Of
> Service ... the speed would be reduced to the
> class of track that it fdoes meet per FRA standard
>
>
> so depending on the speed of the track they could
> have pulled 44 spikes and the track still be in
> class depending on the consecutive spikes pulled
> and the class of track ... if it was a siding or
> yard trackage with a track class for low speed the
> amount of spikes pulled and the effect of class
> differs ... however if all the rail spikes were
> pulled consecutively then the track is not deemed
> safe for any movement on any class of track ...
> also there's only one manual spike pulling tool
> that can be used to pull spikes effectively ...
> that tool is called a claw bar ... and if the
> spikes are tightly driven and down low on the tie
> plate sometimes an added assistence is needed by a
> hammer to get the claw bar under the spike by
> banging the claw bar to get it under the spike to
> lift it out of the tie ... that's a lot of work
> for kids to do for fun ... so they either have
> access to railroad tools and or found it laying
> around the railroad ... it's not something kids
> just happen to do ... it's something done with
> premeditation and malice ... my guess a
> disgruntled person ...somebody holding a grudge
> against the railroad ... maybe a family was killed
> by a train ... employee who got fired or
> disciplined ... to me acts like this aren't like
> putting a boulder on the track ... they're
> calculated actions with a motive of intent ...
> it's not like cutting a lock and throwing a switch
> ... it's hard work ... and i'm not saying it's not
> possible but i'd be very surpirsed to find out it
> was kids that had nothing to do
>
>
> let's see how many times i have to edit this from
> my mistakes ...

Posted from Android

When we got Osama, it was pretty clear that railroads were a prime target since aircraft were too difficult to attack. Who knows the motivation here, but 44 spikes sounds very fishy.

Posted from Android

I would wonder if the "anti-coal" contingent was trying to make a statement about the safety of additional coal trains that are proposed to Cherry Point or Roberts Bank.

Home-grown activists are far more likely than Furrin Terrorists in this case. The locals have a habbit of "making statements" of this sort, whereas AQ seems fixated on international trade and Federal facilities.

Railfool03 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would wonder if the "anti-coal" contingent was
> trying to make a statement about the safety of
> additional coal trains that are proposed to Cherry
> Point or Roberts Bank.

Or stopping American mined coal from being transported to Canada for shipment. Maybe the FBI should be involved (if they are not already).


AM



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/11 16:51 by bradleymckay.

bradleymckay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe the FBI
> should be involved (if they are not already).

Have heard that they are...alot of police-type activity up there these last couple of days.

Railfool03 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would wonder if the "anti-coal" contingent was
> trying to make a statement about the safety of
> additional coal trains that are proposed to Cherry
> Point or Roberts Bank.

No one would be happier than I if authorities did trace this to an environmentalist wacko or covey of wackos, who then ended up in prison.

However, it could also be the work of someone trying to steal rail to sell for scrap. Not as likely, and the action of someone even less intelligent, but nonetheless a possibility.

Paul Schmidt

bradleymckay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Railfool03 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I would wonder if the "anti-coal" contingent
> was
> > trying to make a statement about the safety of
> > additional coal trains that are proposed to
> Cherry
> > Point or Roberts Bank.
>
> Or stopping American mined coal from being
> transported to Canada for shipment. Maybe the FBI
> should be involved (if they are not already).
>
>
> AM


Many groups will make some statement taking claim for their terrorist / freedom fighter (take your pick) activities. It's unusual for them to go to the trouble of doing something and not seek recognition.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:

>
> Many groups will make some statement taking claim
> for their terrorist / freedom fighter (take your
> pick) activities. It's unusual for them to go to
> the trouble of doing something and not seek
> recognition.


No doubt, but I'd think they'd take credit after an incident, rather than because of a blown attempt. If quiet now, they might stay out of the hoosegow long enough to try again.

Heck, just speculation on my part anyway. Just know there has been a lot of contentious talk in the Bellingham area because of the possibility of increased rail traffic. Might just as likely be kids or as Paul said, someone looking for scrap.

I do think the FBI would be involved, either way. I believe its a federal offense to tamper with interstate commerce, so if anyone out there reading this did it, keep a sharp eye out for those black helicopters! <lol>