Broken Track

Call the state police!

1) Contact the Federal Railroad Administration at frapa@dot.gov or 202-493-6014

2) Contact the National Transportation Safety Board

https://www.ntsb.gov/about/Pages/contactus.aspx

ntsb.gov

MELGAR

Is this track defect on the main track or is it on a siding or spur?

How fast do trains pass over it?

Is there a rail joint at the location?

All track "pumps" a little bit when railroad equipment passes over it.  However, if there is a real problem due to the ballast or the sub grade eroding away, then it could become serious.  And, of course, if there is a broken rail right there, then it is urgent that you get somebody's attention immediately.  If there is severe rock and roll motion when a train passes over the location, then the local police should be called to meet you there and watch a train pass over it.

I guarantee you that the local police will be interested if severe rocking occurs, because all communities are jittery right now, due to the recent NS flaming hazmat derailment in Ohio.

Here are pictures of the track.

If anybody has any input on these please let me know

This appears to be reasonably good FRA Class 4 track, good for 60 MPH.  It has wood ties and the rail is held in place on Pandrol tie plates attached with 4 bolts per plate and using Pandrol track clips, instead of conventional tie plates and spikes.  There is a signal system, as the bond wires are visible where they are attached to the rail near the frog.

The assembly of parts where one rail crosses the other is called a frog.  The frog is held in place by clips spiked to the tie with 4 spikes per clip.  The guard rails adjacent to the frog on the outside rails are held in place with Pandrol clips on brackets attached to each tie with 4 bolts.  The frog shows some wear, but this is normal, as they take a beating when wheels pass over them.  I can't tell if anything is loose, from a photo, but the overall condition appears normal.

Ballast appears to be adequate and tie condition is good.  One or two split ties is not a problem.  The tie with the orange cable attached to it is cracked, but the adjacent ties are all good, so that in itself does not appear to be a problem.  The place that excessive tie wear would show up would be where the tie plates are attached, with the plates cutting into the ties, and there is no plate cutting on these ties.  This looks like decent track.  Ballast is maybe a little thin under the frog, but one would have to personally inspect it to be sure.  The real test would be to observe the track under stress as a train passes over it.

The banging noise you described would be likely coming from the frog, or -- if the train speed is slow and a car is rocking -- from the center plate of the car shifting laterally within the dish on the truck bolster.  If the track gauge is tight or wide at the frog, then the wheels might make a banging noise, but only at low speeds.

How fast do trains pass over this turnout?  Is there a temporary slow order in effect on the track where the photos were taken?  If all trains move slowly here, then there probably is a slow order.  There is a curve a few hundred feet down the track, and the speed at this location would be limited by the permeant allowable speed of that curve.

@Number 90 The trains are still going pretty fast, I think around 40, but it’s hard to tell. I honestly have no idea why the train started rocking over this spot, but it started about a month ago. It’s freaking some of the guys in the shop out, and I am trying to figure out what is going on for them. I definitely notice more rocking than anywhere else in Lapeer. I wasn’t able to catch a train going over it today though😔

Most likely culprit is a low frog, based on your 40 MPH observation.  Something is low, if rocking occurs at that speed, and the frog is the most likely place to look.

I don’t see any broken track in those photos

Since I never modeled broken track I can't help you

@Lehigh Valley Railroad posted:

I don’t see any broken track in those photos

nothing broken there

Railroads are private companies and this is on private property.  You can't compel them to fix something they don't think is broken.  Railroads run regular ultrasonic and track geometry test trains and should pick up any problems outside their acceptable parameters.  Further, they are required to run a daily track inspection truck in most areas.  So I think if this was a problem they would know about it.  Derailments are much more likely to occur from a broken axle or bad bearing than broken track although it does happen.