On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:43:34 -0800, David Nebenzahl
torpedoes are no longer used by any of the major carriers that I know
of.
and for sure, I can tell you that NS stopped using them about 8 or 9
years ago.
Well, yeah; I think that was covered in the article.
And they seem to have gotten at least one thing wrong: they probably
never used actual dynamite in them. (As someone on that other newsgroup
said, they were probably using the term dynamite in the sense of
"something that makes a really big bang when ignited".)
--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.
I can vouch for the "big bang". I worked for Uncle Pete in the wheel
shop at Omaha. We had a 10 or 20 ton bridge crane operated by a man in
the open cab for moving the traction motors and setting in the wheelsets
during assembly. Horseplay was the norm back then (70s -80s), and
someone decided to place a torpedo on the rail of the crane while the
operator was on the floor for lunch. They went to the trouble of placing
it strategically right outside the second floor wall of the foreman's
office, so when the operator climbed up into the cab and made his first
pass to the far end, just as he passed the office, the torpedo blew! I
would swear the bridge of the crane rose a foot in the air on that side,
and of course the foreman and office staff came running out. The
operator's cab was on the opposite side of the bridge from the office,
and two stories off the floor, but you could see his face go white
nonetheless. Ahhh, for the good old days!
By the way, the torpedoes were about 2" square and 1" thick, somewhat
pillow shaped with spring metal straps on the bottom for securing to the
rails. Normally, you would place several in a row. There may have been a
code too it seems, with regard to how many you placed. They were not
"ignited", but rather were set off by the compression of being run over.
They were pretty stable otherwise, judging by the way they were
handled/stored. I am also fairly certain they were not flammable, as
they were always kept on the loco, usually in the cab or toilet room, in
the same portable holder as the fusees.
These (although usually round rather than square, and less than 1"
thick) are still in common use around the world, known as detonators or
audible warning devices.
for instance
http://railsafe.org.au/xmlBasedDocument.jsp?id '14
I big bang indeed! I too can vouch for that!
I was doing volunteer work at the IRM perhaps 30 years ago. After a hard
day's work, a bunch of us were trying to sleep in one of several old
cabooses they used as crew cars. It was late at night.
A bunch of guys from the trolley group apparently went into town and got
drunk. They came back and got one of the trolley cars out of the barn,
and were running it around the "trolley loop", which ran very near our
caboose. They were yelling and hollering, ringing the bell, flanges
sqealing, and generally making quite a din. We couldn't sleep.
A couple of our guys went outside and tried to get them to stop, with
little effect. If anything, they just got louder and ruder.
Eventually somebody got several track torpedos and clipped 'em on the
track while the car was on the far side of the loop. The car came
around, hit the torpedos, and produced an amazing series of "bangs".
Some of the trolley bunch said they thought he car was gonn'a be blown
off the track!
That was the end of all the noise for that night.
Dan Mitchell
==========--- ---
AFAIK they still use them in the UK (we call then 'detonators') - There was
a rather good vid of a train operating in a track relaying areas on u-tube
but couldn't find it.
The link below works okay but doesnt really give a sense of how loud they
are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbMtM6IIp8
I recall reading somewhere that in some cases there *were* complex
torpedo signals, but my old S.P. rulebook says only:
"15. The explosion of one torpedo is a signal to stop. When an
unattended torpedo is exploded, the train, after stopping, may then
proceed to a point not less than three-fourths of a mile from point
where torpedo was exploded.
The explosion of two torpedos is a signal to proceed with caution for
not less than one mile.
Torpedos must not be placed on public crossings, and must not be
placed near station buildings, nor on yard tracks, except in an
emergency. (6-26-45)"
~Pete
Well, they *do* need to be clearly heard over the sounds of a steam
locomotive and it's train operating at full tilt...
~Pete
To be heard INSIDE the locomotive, they must have been very loud.
Steve
Thanks for the cool story. I did a search on youtube for train
torpedos and found this excellent play list of videos of explosions.
I particularly like the one where they dynamited that whale. The
Oregon shakey bridge video is in there, too. Good stuff.
Thanks for the cool story. I did a search on youtube for train
torpedos and found this excellent play list of videos of explosions.
I particularly like the one where they dynamited that whale. The
Oregon shakey bridge video is in there, too. Good stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p àDB4964DD46211F
Mike
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps you are referring to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which, not
surprisingly was in Tacoma, Washington - and as is the new crossing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, the dead whale was in Oregon. Close.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it was. I knew some fools who rushed down there for the event ...
Polytechforum.com is a website by engineers for engineers. It is not affiliated with any of manufacturers or vendors discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.