European Railroad Discussion > Hot Enough?

Here in the US National Public Radio is reporting awave of train cancellations due to sun kinks (potential or actual) caused by the heat dome over Britain and France: https://www.npr.org/2022/07/22/1113067617/climate-change-is-making-extreme-heat-around-the-world-more-common
also: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-62237776
Can any TO members from the area give us any further information?
 

Old news really, the super high temperatures occurred on Monday & Tuesday this week in the UK, today temperatures were in the low 20s (Centigrade).

Certainly caused some disruption with both the Weat Coast Mainline and East Coast Mainline being closed on Tuesday when temperatures hit an unprecedented 40C. Elsewhere trains ran but speed restrictions increased passenger journey times and disrupted freight flows.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/22 16:45 by 86235.

Sounds like Network Rail needs to talk to their US and Australian friends on how they deal with Sun Kinks. Especially on how to avoid them.

PHall Wrote:
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> Sounds like Network Rail needs to talk to their US
> and Australian friends on how they deal with Sun
> Kinks. Especially on how to avoid them.

The NPR story I linked above has a mention that in China rail workers have been seen sliding giant blocks of ice along the rails to cool them. I have not been able to find any pictures of this. FOIDH?

PHall Wrote:
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> Sounds like Network Rail needs to talk to their US
> and Australian friends on how they deal with Sun
> Kinks. Especially on how to avoid them.

Because the UK has a generally mild climate the track is stressed to take "normal" temperatures into account. I don't know precise numbers but I might guess -5C to about 30C. In the USA your temperature range is much broader and the track is therefore stressed in a different way. Network Rail is aware of this and is already working out how to proceed. I'll be interested to see how they proceed; can existing track be "re-stressed" in situ? I doubt it so they're going to have to combine regular track replacement and higher temperture stressed track.

Hartington Wrote:
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> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sounds like Network Rail needs to talk to their
> US
> > and Australian friends on how they deal with
> Sun
> > Kinks. Especially on how to avoid them.
>
> Because the UK has a generally mild climate the
> track is stressed to take "normal" temperatures
> into account. I don't know precise numbers but I
> might guess -5C to about 30C. In the USA your
> temperature range is much broader and the track is
> therefore stressed in a different way. Network
> Rail is aware of this and is already working out
> how to proceed. I'll be interested to see how they
> proceed; can existing track be "re-stressed" in
> situ? I doubt it so they're going to have to
> combine regular track replacement and higher
> temperture stressed track.

Network Rail will undoubtedly lay rail in a preheated state....problem will be as we find in parts of the US...if you lay rail to take the heat...it breaks left and right in the winter...there is no panacea if you have dynamic weather as we do in the Mid Atlantic states.....all four seasons.....every day of the week. There is a middle ground where you accept some rail breaks in the winter and place heat related speed restictions during the hottest hours of daylight in summer. Superior maintenance goes along way to keeping tracks temperature stable. 

Everyone seems focused on the track, NR also had issues with the OHLE (Overhead Line Equipment) and some lineside control cabinets which over heated and in at least one case, the grade crossing control boxes at Tempsford on the ECML, burst into flames.

Have checked all the Railcam sites that I have and nothing seems to be running today.

Sharon Evans
Glen Allen, VA

RNinRVR Wrote:
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> Have checked all the Railcam sites that I have and
> nothing seems to be running today.

Strike action.

Is not some of the problem also created with rapid temperature changes?

Can someone knowledgeable comment on the reports elsewhere about road tar melting?  I suppose it's a little off topic,  it it does relate to alternatives that might be available. 

             Everything has a temperature where it begins to change and/or cause problems that were a few degrees more or less than what were 'calculated for. When we were kids we called it summer or winter. Now people are planning to make $Billions off this. And people have been saying the world is ending for centuries!!!

How many deniers here?