Railroaders' Nostalgia > Dragging rail Question

For those who worked MoW trains: Did you ever drag ribbon rail between the gauge?

Seems like a lot could go wrong if the cable snapped.

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Wouldn't be tied down on one end? What year is this?

Dragged many pieces of rail and couple time over twenty miles and that was with no road crossings..With a road crossing slowed down to make sure the base of the rail would not get caught on the road surface. Caught the second day of one job and after getting moving picked the speed right up with no problem. The Foreman was happy as we did twice the rail than the Engineer on the first day. On sharp curves could watch some sparks when the rail touched spike heads.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/21 13:19 by PCCRNSEngr.

Coming down through Blue Cut in Cajon. I don't have the original slide handy to date it, but it was in a batch from late 1976 to mid-1977.
2-10-2

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Did it more times than I can count on work trains out of Oakridge; real easy for the Roadmaster to get rail where he needed it.

I think the only hazard if the chain broke would be if you were in the snap back zone when it broke.

We used to do it on BNSF up intil about 2008 or 2009. It was always on the outside. They (BNSF mow) would anchor it up to the existing rail and we would just drive out from underneath it. Now they use a Herzog rail unloading machine they call the "RUM" truck.

I've pulled rail like that a few times on a work train. I remember slowing down a little to make sure it ran up over a road crossing,  I remember the blue & white smoke as we drug it across, and on a few high ties here and there that caught most of the weight for a while.

I shot CR 2914 dragging rail up the east slope on #4 Track at CP Benny in Tunnelhill,PA. on 4/20/80. They had a track supervisor keep a close eye as they drug the rails through the interlocking. It sounded almost like fingernails on a chalkboard as it rounded Bennington Curve.

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Good accurate descriptions. I have done it too. Always inside the gauge. The strangest was when CSX was takung up the Evertte sub, the roadway dept. would measure 1500 feet with a wheel/ as one person was measuring, 2 more were knocking off rail anchors. AT the 1500 ft mark they would unbolt the joint, it was all jointed rail, I would hook on the 2 rails with a chain, and pull it out of the spikes to wgere it was being loaded on a rail train.

I could be wrong but I think C&O invented the welded rail train....so normally that's how we do rail (I'm CSX on the C&O lines)....you start a piece coming out the rear of the train, and tie it off...and then move ahead....dragging would only be done if a piece of rail was set off in the wrong spot and needed to be moved...and usually that would only be a short distance....we try not to throw out rail willy nilly....

Got called for a work train on the San Jose branch, (ex WP), and pulled a number of pieces of CWR about two miles account rail was originally dumped in the wrong location.  If I remember was told to run about 8 mph.  Friction on the ties made a lot of smoke.  At crossings, there were two we crossed, signal maintainers kept the gates down after the engine cleared the crossing till the rail cleared.  This was about 1996.

Yep, been there done that on Santa Fe's Harbor District.
JB

Count me in with the "been there ~ done that" gang. I remember one afternoon riding that rear car with the M.O.W. boys to help keep an eye on the rail draggin session. We were dragging 2 rails as I recall. Listening to the uneartly sounds being made was quite an experience. The bottom (web?) of the rails would grind down on loose ballast and the hi-pitched scratching/screeching sound was certainly attention-grabbing. I was thinking a film maker could use that noise for background sound effects for some horrow flick...

Lance/199

Sparks - I guess that explains the water cars.
...Lorenzo@ConejoCopier.com

Beowawe Wrote:
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>  At crossings, there were
> two we crossed, signal maintainers kept the gates
> down after the engine cleared the crossing till
> the rail cleared. 

I was wondering about that.  I would think the gates would go up before the rail cleared.
 
A real surprise for the autos, I would bet!
.

A slight correction, the bottom is the "base" and the "web" is the section of rail between the base and the ball .

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ldstephey Wrote:
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> Beowawe Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >  At crossings, there were
> > two we crossed, signal maintainers kept the
> gates
> > down after the engine cleared the crossing till
> > the rail cleared. 
>
> I was wondering about that.  I would think the
> gates would go up before the rail cleared.
>  
> A real surprise for the autos, I would bet!

This happened on the BNSF once.  I believe it was somewhere in the Pacific Northwest but I could be mistaken.  Several autos hit the rail causing lots of damage.  I don't know the details of how this ended up happening however.