Western Railroad Discussion > Between the rails-what is this?

Photos sent by a friend that visited Weiser, ID last week. On the UP mainline but there were several of these devices on a siding near a grain elevator. I have never seen one of these and have no idea what.. Anyone?
Roger B

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Maybe to mount a stop sign. Some grain sidings or industrial sidings have spots to put in such signs.

SantaFeRuss

Posted from Android

Clearance marker. Cars left on the track must be behind that marker. Standard on the Roseville service unit. Most employees call them " clearance cones". After hearing that term used I told a manager that it was not a ""cone" but a "cylinder". He gave me funny look. Used at the clearance point where one track meets another.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/17 23:00 by Beowawe.

It also looks like the point where the track circuit begins/ends

Mike Root
Madras, OR

It must be a mortar for launching shells at railfans (although they may want to change the angle).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/17 22:45 by EricSP.

The cone of shame

Fouling Point...

Oh, come on. Everyone knows that is a rain gauge.

It's easy to see the yellow painted ties for the clearance point when you are standing on the ground, but it is nigh impossible for the engineer to see them, é specially when the get spilled grain and dirt on them and it's night. So, they put these extra markers out for enhanced visibility. Makes it much easier for the engineer to tell when the equipment is properly in the clear.

Since railway torpedoes have been long outlawed, maybe the local employees are getting ready for an early July 4th with an aerial bomb here. Ha!

What does the white paint on the joint bar nuts/bolts and on the opposite rail indicate? For the bolts, I assume it's a positive check indicator related to tightening/torque on the bolts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/17 06:46 by rrman6.

Yep, clearance marker. Although I've never seen two ties painted like that, usually only one. Makes it ambiguous. Which tie indicates the FP, the one without the abbreviated candle stick, or the one with? Think it doesn't matter? Wait until the day a car gets cornered there and some manager is asking the crew, "So, did you leave the car behind the first painted tie, or the second one?". Then, after the crew gets fired, regardless of their answer, there will be a General Order with 1,500 words to clarify WHICH tie represents the FP at that location. LOL!

rrman6 Wrote:
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> What does the white paint on the joint bar
> nuts/bolts and on the opposite rail indicate? For
> the bolts, I assume it's a positive check
> indicator related to tightening/torque on the
> bolts.

Nothing. It means nothing. The original clearance mark was painted white. Mark was refreshed with yellow paint. The white is just what is showing through behind bots that have probably since be retightened.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> Yep, clearance marker. Although I've never seen
> two ties painted like that, usually only one.
> Makes it ambiguous. Which tie indicates the FP,
> the one without the abbreviated candle stick, or
> the one with?

Both. Best to just go half car farther in than the painted mark and not even leave a knuckle or air hose hanging over the line. If you have to double over a car to another track, so be it. Woah be the employee who leaves something in the foul.

Here are pictures of cones that I took last September at the small Klamath Northern yard at Gilchrist Junction, Oregon, where it connects with the UP Cascade Subdivision. I've never seen the cones anywhere else. Each one is associated with two yellow ties, with the cone on the tie farther from the switch. I never got around to posting the pictures and asking what they are, so I'm glad finally to learn.

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BTW, the cone/candlestick is there so the FP can be seen in the snow. Well, sometimes anyway.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> BTW, the cone/candlestick is there so the FP can
> be seen in the snow. Well, sometimes anyway.

Not with snow levels in North Dakota! :-)

It's a shot glass.

Posted from Android

Night time tripping hazard.

Well as far as most FRA guys I've met are concerned leaving ANY part of a piece of equipment touching or past a fouling point is considered equipment left in the foul. Best to leave equipment clear to where no part is over any of the yellow paint or markings.

Side note one of the yards I've worked at has clearance points painted and while the paint was wet glitter was sprinkled over it. Actually works well at night with a lantern.

trainjunkie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yep, clearance marker. Although I've never seen
> two ties painted like that, usually only one.
> Makes it ambiguous. Which tie indicates the FP,
> the one without the abbreviated candle stick, or
> the one with? Think it doesn't matter? Wait until
> the day a car gets cornered there and some manager
> is asking the crew, "So, did you leave the car
> behind the first painted tie, or the second one?".
> Then, after the crew gets fired, regardless of
> their answer, there will be a General Order with9
> 1,500 words to clarify WHICH tie represents the FP
> at that location. LOL!

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/17 15:24 by jointauthority.

nighttime tripping hazard??? so who is walking in the gauge these days?? i thought that was a big no, no. dave, out.

Its a bong.