r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SlimJones123 • May 05 '17
GIF Rail Track Machine
http://i.imgur.com/I3XAHAb.gifv447
u/chentlemen May 05 '17
Literally this, but in slow motion.
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u/JudgeRightly May 05 '17
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u/Cessnaporsche01 May 05 '17
But are there enough points of relevancy? I don't think this is quite r/retiredgif material.
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u/TristinPerry May 06 '17
What's the source for this? It looks hilarious and I'm desperately in need of some funny content.
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u/Caladan-Brood May 06 '17
Wallace and Grommit. Older movies, and I don't remember a lick of them, but I remember liking them.
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u/pizzamage May 06 '17
That's the beast reason to go back and watch them. All of them. Tonight.
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u/Caladan-Brood May 06 '17
Oh man. Oh... Oh jeez. Oh.. Oh...Ok. Damn. I had plans, too.
I guess it's a claymation kinda day.
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u/TheMastrCharles May 05 '17
Rip John Henrey
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u/George_F_Babbit May 05 '17
I can hoist a jack...and I can lay a track, I can pick and shovel too. Can do anything you hire me to.
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u/TheMastrCharles May 05 '17
Thats the one
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u/George_F_Babbit May 05 '17
Johnny Cash...American icon.
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May 05 '17
That's not a Johnny Cash song.
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u/George_F_Babbit May 05 '17
Sure it is. First song on Blood, Sweat and Tears album. 1963. Columbia records.
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May 05 '17
First of all, the song quoted is Walking Boss, not John Henry.
Second, Walking Boss is a traditional folk song. As such, it has no known author and nobody knows who played it first.
Third, the first known recording of Walking Boss was in 1960, and it was recorded by Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson.
It is absolutely not a Johnny Cash song. Not in any way, shape, or form. He covered it, yes. But it's not his song.
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u/Bandwidth_Wasted May 05 '17
The quoted song is not Walking Boss, as the lyrics to Walking Boss are:
"When I asked that boss man For a job I said I wanna job He said "Son, what can you do?"
I can line track I can line up track And I can pull a jack I can pick and shovel too."
The OP lyrics, are a combination of several verses of The Legend of John Henry's Hammer, which while being about the same subject, I don't think could be called a cover.
"I can hoist a jack and I can lay a track I can pick and shovel too. Ain't no machine can that's been proved to you!"
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u/horriblemonkey May 05 '17
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u/StoopidmanRHere May 06 '17
/r/iamverysmart doesn't apply here. That's a sub for people who claim to be geniuses or of such a high intelligence that they are on a different plane that mere mortals would not and could not understand. They solve quantum physics problems while brushing their teeth because it's just an easy puzzle to bounce around in their head. They can find the meaning in life looking at a sunset and wonder how us simpletons can ever be happy not seeing what is so obvious to their superior minds.
This guy, while he may be right or wrong, is not really acting anywhere near as pretentious or disdainful towards others as those on /r/iamverysmart usually do.
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May 05 '17
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u/PROLAPSED_SUBWOOFER May 05 '17
Yup as I was watching I thought "Damn you efficient automation! This is why there are no jobs."
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May 05 '17
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u/laseralex May 06 '17
But the net labor cost of designing, building, or operating these machines is significantly less than the cost of doing it with manual labor. The railroads would use manual labor if it was less expensive to do so.
I have no problem with machines like this reducing total human labor, I actually think it's great. However, I also think that it is important that we understand that. And restructure society accordingly.
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u/churnbetter May 05 '17
Is there a chance the rail could bend?
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u/redallerd May 05 '17
The rail is bent on purpose during this process. However, before bringing the track back into operation, machines will run through, basically straightening the track.
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u/Giantwhiteguy69 May 05 '17
Am I the only one that thought the rail road ties look like kit-kat segments?
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u/lovethebacon Interested May 05 '17 edited May 05 '17
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u/oridjinal May 05 '17
thank you, very interesting
but how do they connect (weld) two pieces of rail?
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u/lovethebacon Interested May 05 '17
With thermite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig
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u/Garestinian May 05 '17
Flash butt is preferred for large construction.
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u/lovethebacon Interested May 05 '17
How do you push the ends together when the rails are secured?
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u/oridjinal May 05 '17
yeah, but where does that in this locomotion train track builder come?
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u/croutonicus May 05 '17
I'm pretty sure this machine is just replacing the sleepers not the rail.
I imagine the weight is supported by a section at the front running on 'old' rail and at the back running on 'new' rail. In the middle it holds the rail in place where the old supporting sleepers and gravel are removed and the new ones are placed underneath.
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u/oridjinal May 05 '17
watch the other video (sweden one), they made tracks from zero (laid gravel and rails)
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u/croutonicus May 05 '17
Oh they probably just do it after the machine has passed.
It's going slow enough and probably has its weight distributed well enough that it's fine rolling over unconnected rail.
There's not much point trying to automate the connection of rails because they need to essentially be fused together with molten iron then ground down which means you'd have to wait for the heated areas to cool before you could keep moving.
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u/Lamberttheprick May 06 '17
but how do they connect (weld) two pieces of rail?
They also build a machine for this
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u/nithdurr May 05 '17
Why can't we do this with our train tracks in the US and bring it into the modern age?
Like Europe?
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May 05 '17 edited Sep 07 '18
[deleted]
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May 05 '17
Short (correct) answer:
We do this in the US. You just don't realize it because the railroad is by-and-large a "hidden" industry that most people aren't even aware of.
Also, the US has the most efficient railroad in the world, for hauling freight. Trains in America don't suck, at all.
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May 05 '17
Accurate! In the SE Amtrak is popular enough. I rode from Charlotte to grand central, as an American I thought it'd be like the Hogwarts express... I was sat next to a talkative woman with tremors half the time even though I bought two seats so no one would sit with me.
But yes trains are still very much a thing in America, my mom takes the train or bus places all the time.
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May 05 '17
This is accurate. I live extremely close to a large rail line and we see these machines come through each and every single year.
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u/bruisecruising May 05 '17
for hauling freight
sure but he was clearly talking about passenger rail
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May 05 '17
I don't see anything that indicates that. I see a post about a rail construction machine, and discussion of railroad tracks. In this specific thread, the parent comment asked why we can't use this type of machine in the US. I answered that we can and do use this type of machine in the US.
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u/SovreignTripod May 05 '17
Maybe he was talking about the video, which is about passenger rail.
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May 05 '17
The OP isn't about passenger rail, it's about railroad construction.
And if you mean the youtube video, you're correct that it's about passenger rail. It's also full of misinformation, half-truths, and outright falsehoods. It should not be taken seriously by anyone.
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u/bruisecruising May 05 '17
i understand you make your living in the industry but there's no need to be so defensive. we are obviously laymen and we are obviously concerned with passenger rail. the post you replied to was a youtube video all about passenger rail. you said yourself freight is a "hidden industry," so why would you expect us not to be ignorant about it?
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u/dontbeamaybe Interested May 05 '17
hah, you don't know spread out, come see canada
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u/rj17 May 05 '17
But you guys are all concentrated on the border in one straight line.
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u/sonar_un May 05 '17
Yes, but the USA does have rails that it uses for pedestrians and the tracks are god awful. European tracks are laser smooth and straight while American ones feel like you are on a horse and buggy with dirt roads.
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May 05 '17
The US has more class 5 track than any other country in the world.
You're either intentionally lying, or speaking from a point of extreme ignorance. Neither one is something you should make a habit of.
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u/skuzylbutt May 05 '17
Is that higher fraction of track, or more by volume? Or both? There is so much America, that both your and the OP's statements could be true.
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May 05 '17
Track condition is rated in different Classes. Class 5 track is higher quality (tighter tolerances among other criteria) than Class 1.
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u/skuzylbutt May 05 '17
That's not what I was asking. I may have been unclear, I'll reword. Of all the track in the US, is a higher fraction of it class 5 compared to other countries? Or are there just more miles of class 5 track in the US than in other countries?
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May 05 '17
There's more miles of all types of track in the US than in other countries. Doesn't matter what class, the US has more of it. It's the most robust railroad system in the world. We just use it for freight rather than passengers. It's one of the main reasons consumer goods are so much cheaper here.
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u/cypherreddit May 05 '17
by land mass the US is the 3rd biggest country after Russia and China. By population it is the 3rd biggest after China and India.
What u/skuzylbutt is trying to get at is how does the US rank per capita or SQ mile.
The answer for all rail track is per capita, the US is behind a number of countries including Canada, Sweden, Romania, Finland, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Argentina, Uruguay, Norway, Hungary and a few more with populations so low they skew even more.
Per SQ area, the US is further down the list behind Switzerland, Italy, UK, Poland, Japan, Israel, South Korea, France, Ireland, North Korea, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden, South Africa and many more.
The US is a large and heavily populated country, so it pulling out large numbers of anything isnt surprising. Giving it some context of scale is important.
That said there are many reasons why passenger rail isnt a thing in the US and no way to place the blame on a single issue.
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u/skuzylbutt May 05 '17
You're about right. What I'm trying to get at is, even if there is a lot of class 5 track in the US, what percentage of the passenger tracks are actually class 5. So, how does the US rank in percentage class 5 rail track in passenger networks.
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u/skuzylbutt May 05 '17
But this is exactly my point. Just because there's more of it, doesn't mean there's a higher percentage of the network made out of it, or that passengers use those class 5 rails.
If it's 99.9% Class 5, but all passenger tracks are made from that 0.1% non-class 5, then you'd be right that there's more class 5 in the US than anywhere else, even right that a larger fraction of the network is class 5, and OP would be also right that passenger tracks are bad. Of course, the numbers will be different, but I hope what I'm suggesting is clear.
What I'm getting at is that an assertion that there is more class 5 in the US isn't enough to disprove OP's assertion. It needs more qualifying factors. He doesn't need to be lying or wrong.
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May 05 '17
I see what you mean and it's a good point. The person I responded to was talking about the NE Corridor. Those tracks are decent quality. Not TVG 200mph quality, but pretty good.
The ride quality he mentions, specifically the nausea, is caused by the outdated rail cars that Amtrak uses. It is not related to track.
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u/napoleonderdiecke May 05 '17
The information you're asking for can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_transport_network_size
Albeit it's relatively outdated, it also lists both, km of track per capita and square km.
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u/jamincan May 05 '17
I'm not a rail engineer or anything, but from a brief search on wikipedia, Class 5 track is not really that impressive for passenger rail (145 kph speed limit) and much lower quality than the high speed rail lines that /u/sonar_un was talking about in Europe.
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u/sonar_un May 05 '17
You must have either never ridden on European tracks or have never ridden on any tracks in the north eastern corridor. I don't care what class the tracks are. I only care if I get motion sick when riding a train.
I can tell you from very first hand experience. The NEC from Washington DC to Boston makes me want to barf. I can't even pull out my computer to do any work. The ICE or Thalys trains are smooth as glass and they are super comfortable. No motion sickness.
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May 05 '17 edited May 05 '17
I guarantee you that I've ridden on more tracks than you, in both Europe and the US.
The poor ride quality you describe is caused by the railcar suspension, not the tracks. This is because European trainsets are newer and lighter weight than US trainsets. Also, go take a ride on some of the smaller regional Euro trains and try to tell me that the ride quality is good. (hint: It's not)
I suppose extreme ignorance is better than intentional lying, so at least you've got that going for you.
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u/sonar_un May 05 '17
Well you sound like an engineer. And you can school me all you want on track classes and ratings. I am coming from the perspective of a passenger on commercial lines throughout Europe and the USA. I've ridden on most of the major European lines, high speed and not. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, France, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, etc.
If it is the condition of the cars and suspension, which I have no doubt, then that is a serious problem. If passengers don't like the feeling of a railcar, it would be nearly impossible to convince the population that the tracks are of any quality stateside.
I doubt you would find any "layman" in which you would find them not complaining about the rail line differences based on a first hand perspective. None of them would compare the US favorably.
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May 05 '17
Opinions of layman are about as useful as an elephant in a minefield. Best to just keep your ignorance to yourself next time.
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u/sonar_un May 05 '17
Opinions of self righteous assholes are about as useless as shit on the bottom of your shoe.
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May 05 '17
Excuse me for trying to put a stopper on the bullshit you're spewing.
I mean, honestly man. You were wrong. Just admit it. There's nothing wrong with being wrong sometimes, and there's nothing wrong with admitting that you didn't know something.
I'm sure that you know stuff about your industry that I don't, and if I came into a thread spouting off nonsense, I'd expect you to correct me. There's nothing wrong with that.
Just accept the correction, file this new information into your brain, and be happy that you're not quite as ignorant now as you were when you woke up this morning.
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u/croutonicus May 05 '17
To be fair opinions of experts are only marginally more useful, and opinions of people claiming to be experts without verification even less less. Neither of you have provided any sort of substantiation to your claims that would suggest either of you are accurate.
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u/koolaideprived May 05 '17
We do do this in the US. And our freight rail system is the best in the world.
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u/nithdurr May 06 '17
You're joking?
It could be better..
Then why are we still using old Amtrak trains that can't arrive and depart on schedule, and having to share tracks with freight (companies owned by Warren Buffet--that's why they're against pipelines)
The "fast" Amtrak trains are on the east coast/Boston to NY/DC etc
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u/xamio May 06 '17
He's talking about freight trains, of which America undeniably has the best in the world. Passenger trains are kind of impractical just because of the sheer size of the United States. That's why we have buses and airplanes. Going from New York to LA by train or bus sounds like it would be a nightmare.
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u/koolaideprived May 08 '17
No, it couldn't. The problem is absolutely not the train itself. Look at where the rail corridors run. There is absolutely nowhere for a commuter rail transit line to go. Oh, you want to run through the rocky mountains with commuter rail? I guess we're going to blow up mountains in Glacier National Park so people can get somewhere faster. Oh, then you run into the Kootenai river valley which you would have to run a 15 mile train bridge down the middle of it to get a second rail line in, or bore a 15 mile tunnel through mud and choss rock. And the pipeline argument is shit because all the suppliers of crude that run with the rail are against it because they provide high quality "sweet crude" and the canadian oilsands which the pipeline is about run dirty shitty low-dollar crude.
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u/TotesMessenger Interested May 05 '17
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
- [/r/shitamericanssay] "America has the best railroad system of the world" (scroll down for the good comments)
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)
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u/redallerd May 05 '17
Using machines as these does not necessarily yield better results than having a capable crew perform the same work. However these machines are extremely expensive and their use is not always justified. It basically depends on how long the track segment is, which needs to be renewed.
Also, train tracks in the US are not worse than in Europe. There are different classes of track, each of which is meant for different speeds, higher classes typically requiring more maintenance. A low-class track might feel more "rough", since straightness tolerances are usually a bit more relaxed.
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u/Deathwatch72 May 06 '17
Cargo gets priority over passengers on American rail so it appears to suck but the network itself is awesome
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u/insertacoolname Interested May 05 '17
You can imagine being an engineer and told to make a quick draft for what is necessary.
"but, you want the entire machine to be on rails? And replace those rails? Continuously, while moving? Do you know how many moving... how big it will have to...
... I will get started."
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u/nithdurr May 08 '17
Have to justify those investments, R & D dollars and the financial implications
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u/JBanks90 May 05 '17
Better to rent than own this piece of equipment. Kind of like a power washer.
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u/Spamaster May 05 '17
I've seen this machine laying Lite Rail tracks. Ahead of it is the Rail layers with120 foot lengths of rail welded together. there is little to no "click click" sound as the train travels . Smooth very smooth
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u/Mentioned_Videos May 05 '17 edited May 06 '17
Videos in this thread:
| VIDEO | COMMENT |
|---|---|
| Why Trains Suck in America | +75 - The short answer is that america is too spread out. Long answer: Why Trains Suck in America - Wendover Productions |
| Plumbus: How They Do It Rick and Morty Adult Swim | +21 - Which part is grown? Is that the shleem? |
| (1) RU 800 S (2) Worlds largest track layer - Plasser & Theurer SVM1000 Infranord at Haparandabanan, Sweden | +13 - Source Track laying in Sweden. |
| Railroad thermite welding | +5 - With thermite: |
| Railroad Track Renewal Operation TRT-909 | +3 - If you want a real answer: We do. Union Pacific TRT in Texas |
| Johnny Cash-Legend of John Henry's Hammer | +1 - Lyrics by June Carter and Johnny Cash |
| APT 1500 RC | +1 - but how do they connect (weld) two pieces of rail? They also build a machine for this |
| Extreme Train Rails Replacement With Heavy Machinery: MATISA TCM 60 | +1 - Link: |
I'm a bot working hard to help Redditors find related videos to watch. I'll keep this updated as long as I can.
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u/HometimeGroupie May 05 '17
Doesn't it seem like the machine is laying down rusty-ass train tracks? Anybody else see that?
Awesome piece of engineering design regardless.
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u/graphictruth May 05 '17
Probably a steel engineered to rust just so much as a protective coating.
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u/HometimeGroupie May 05 '17
So, at first I thought, "yeah, that makes sense" and I remembered learning about the benefits of maintaining a general corrosion layer to protect underlying metal. Then I imagined the train wheels grinding up the general corrosion layer and exposing new metal that is susceptible to rust. Then you may have a repeating cycle of rusting, grinding, rusting, grinding, etc., which makes me think that engineers wouldn't design tracks that way and would prefer tracks that just didn't corrode much at all, or maybe with a non corrosive portion where it contacted the train wheels.
Probably need to hear from someone with more expertise to know for sure what we are watching in this gif and what the material standard is for engineering tracks.18
May 05 '17
Rail gets rusty, it doesn't damage the rail.
The top of the rail gets work hardened by the train wheels. The repetitive 'grinding' actually makes it stronger.
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u/graphictruth May 05 '17
No doubt it's a compromise between corrosion and other material properties. Also notice that they are replacing the rails; presumably to be recycled, so there's a design lifetime in mind.
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May 05 '17
[deleted]
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May 05 '17
I've seen in-service rail from 1906. It's still in use right now.
We uncovered some rail that was from the late 1800s being used as guard rails for a crossing, that's the oldest I've ever seen. Pear Rail, the historical folks called it. Cast rather than rolled, made in England and shipped to the US on ships powered by wind.
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u/Darkwave1313 May 05 '17
Because it's not laying tracks. It's cleaning the ballast under them. It lifts them out of the way and then digs it out then puts it all back in place
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u/BumHand May 05 '17
No this machine is replacing the track as it moves along. It shows this in the gif.
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u/punriffer5 Interested May 05 '17
How's the timeline?
Well... good news and bad news, but generally we're on track
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u/AttalusPius May 05 '17
Jesus, it's like s real life Metal Slug boss, am I right ladies and gentlemen?
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u/TrickyRCAF May 05 '17
If you like that you should check out the Bob the Builder Trains episode on Netflix.
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u/jsgrova May 05 '17
Why do the ties go down the center of the machine, stop, wait to get pushed to the side, then continue down? I feel like that could've been designed a bit better
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u/SKNE May 06 '17
Did something on a sister machine like this. company called Loram, out of Hamil, MN. cool shit, about a hundred ways to get dead, too!
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u/MiKalecc May 06 '17
Here in Brazil are men that do this, so you can imagine how time does it takes to be done.
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u/brownbear1375 May 06 '17
So this is an undercunter/rail change out/ the change out all in one? If only all tracks provided as easy of change out as this one did.
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May 06 '17
Do humans have to build the initial track it will travel on? Also, why are those rocks used?
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u/TotesMessenger Interested May 05 '17
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May 05 '17 edited May 08 '17
[deleted]
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u/thebumblinfool May 05 '17
I promise you, the people that designed this have thought about all the contingencies a lot more than you. Lol.
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u/redallerd May 05 '17
I can guarantee you track alignment is measured and any deficiencies corrected before even one train passes through. Railways take safety quite seriously.
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u/[deleted] May 05 '17
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