Is this a rail defect ?? Found it on a nearby NS line after hearing wheels banging over it. Called NS but not too responsive. A bad place for a derailment.
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Yes.
It's called "shelling". It should be looked at by the Track Supervisor. It does not appear to be critical yet, but eventually -- and this could take time -- it will be troublesome.
As a lay-person I have seen all three: spalling, shelling and wheel burn. That is assuredly shelling and as such, a serious flaw. I spent time as a kid walking bits of the B&O (BR&P) Butler-Buffalo/Rochester line. This was late '50s to late '60s when wheel loadings were rapidly increasing so I saw lots of spalling and wheel burn but occasionally shelling. Did not know the names for spalling or shelling but they were distinctive from one-another.
Lew
The old BR&P !! Familiar with that old road. This defect is more than a burn. NS MOW & signal people are pretty busy right now so it will have to wait. There are other wear marks etc on this track too. It is a straight down grade for about 3-4 miles and they go 60 Mph on it. Where the defect is the track is 30Ft above the ground on an embankment.
What is wheel burn?
jim pastorius posted:The old BR&P !! Familiar with that old road. This defect is more than a burn. NS MOW & signal people are pretty busy right now so it will have to wait. There are other wear marks etc on this track too. It is a straight down grade for about 3-4 miles and they go 60 Mph on it. Where the defect is the track is 30Ft above the ground on an embankment.
Dad went to work for the BR&P in 1928 at age 16 after graduating from Butler HS. He rode the BR&P train every day to and from school.
Lew
RJR posted:What is wheel burn?
Marks left from wheels spinning trying to start. Always paired on both rails of course. Often four or six marks spaced apart by the distance of the truck wheelbase (both or all three axles slipping). You don't see it much these days what with road engines having slip control, AC traction motors and high-adhesion trucks. This is a big advantage to AC traction motors. Once adhesion is lost a series-wound DC [traction] motor tends to "run off", hence slip control which applies brakes to individual slipping axles. With AC the motor turns at a speed determined by the frequency of the three-phase current flowing in the stator windings minus the amount of [electrical] slip required to establish the auto-induction current in the rotor. I.E., they don't run off.
Lew
Thanks, Lew
