in Britain this would've been replaced a while back. The Flying Banana (proper name New Measurement Train) would pass over it every 13 weeks and detect a difference in loading, which would then be visually inspected. Of course, we don't use spikes or wooden ties (sleepers). Instead we use clips and concrete sleepers, which cost more but require less maintenance
I have seen worse . I grew up around government owned tracks and for decades nothing was done till they needed to use it. They literally had to repair the line just to run shipments to a navy base every other year. this was back in the 1970/80's It was the old Indianhead Maryland naval warfare base line.
My uncle lived in Plant City, Fl. I'm in Wisconsin and visited him a few times. I assume the station was Plant City, Fl. Anyway, he went to vote and I went with him, and the tracks ran about a block or less from where he voted. About a minute after we got there, the AmTrak came through like a rocket on wheels. It was a great site to see. I'll bet that thing was doing nearly 90 mph.
It is kind of amazing how bad the tracks can be and still hold all that weight, and also maintain the proper width. It's must be some huge forces at work on those ties and the rickety spikes that somehow hold the tracks on them.
+Scott Taylor Look at some of the new rail being laid today. They use concrete ties and steel tie clips. Railroads share your sentiment and strive to keep the track in place as best they can. I remember reading an article about track issues in the powder river basin a few years ago. That portion of railroad has a unique problem with a massive amount of heavy loads going one way and light traffic in the opposite direction on the same rail. The coal loads were actually moving or "worming" the rail southbound. But the light, empty traffic coming back northbound wasn't moving the rail back in the opposite direction. This constant action ended up squeezing the switches and causing issues with those switches operating properly. BNSF recognized this and attempted to balance the load to empty ratios on each mainline track. I don't know if they still have this issue today but i'm certain it is something they continue to monitor.
This is NOT horrid, scary or a threat to anyone's life or security. It is a simple matter of needing to be tamped. All track gets pounded down by traffic, every railroad has track inspectors that check these things. The work was not done because of this video, it was done because it was planned months prior. This is cheap media like garbage reporting.
Awesome Video Alan! This is an accident waiting to happen. CSX better come fix these tracks asap! I've seen worse. There is a section of track by me that is barly used and the tracks are all warped and missing ties. When a train comes over it, the rails bounce up and down and ties become worse. Since the line is rarely used, I don't thing there gonna fix it anytime soon. It's the old NY&GL rail line.
We had a similar problem at a tourist trap where I worked. The ties were all rotten and the spikes could be pulled with your fingers. Even worse, the biggest problem was near a station, where a derailment and roll over would have killed people waiting for the train! When I reported it, the GM yelled at ME, claiming that I was needlessly scaring the rubes! Profits trumped safety every time!
@@stupideronjupiter This was at Edavile Railroad in Carver, Massachusetts. They went broke in the '90s. New owners bought it and probably fixed it up. I wouldn't know, I'll never go back there!
Railroads are classified, this looks like a lower class track. My division had several different lines with different classes. Speed is not the only indicator of class. I worked on one line that only had one train daily, we went 55 mph but it was a class C railroad, the maintenance was not nearly as up to date as the class A line I worked on. Traffic has a lot to do with maintenance, one train daily doesn't get the maintenance of 50 trains daily. Not being negative just passing on my experience.
Actually this is a high class line Speeds of 60 MPH and about 25 trains a day. The track has been replaced about 20 miles of ties last couple months ago. This is a heavy traveled main line.
Millenniumforce I just had a thought, good job on your videos. If that one crosstie was replaced it wouldn't look so bad. I enjoy looking at train videos brings back memories. I started at Southern Railway in 1971 and enjoyed every minute of my career. We had a good time and it didn't seem like a job until the big mergers started and ruined everything. I didn't mean to trivialize your video. Thanks!
brainerdrebel1 week ago Railroads are classified, this looks like a lower class track. My division had several different lines with different classes. Speed is not the only indicator of class. I worked on one line that only had one train daily, we went 55 mph but it was a class C railroad, the maintenance was not nearly as up to date as the class A line I worked on. Traffic has a lot to do with maintenance, one train daily doesn't get the maintenance of 50 trains daily. Not being negative just passing on my experience. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dude with the misinformation you just spewed in your post i KNOW you never worked for a railroad ... class of a railroad has NOTHING to do with track speed ... first off railroads are classed numerically not alphabetically ... secondly a railroad's class designation has nothing to do with the trains speed and has everything to do with annual tonnage carried and annual revenue thirdly the speed that a train is allowed to travel is dictated by the CLASS of TRACK which is also classed numerically with ... class of track is dictated by track conditions that follow standards set by the FRA ... the speeds per class of track i've listed below: excepted track 10mph Frt - Passenger trains not allowed class I max speed 10 mph Frt -15mph Pass class II max speed 25mph Frt -30mph Pass class III max speed 40mph Frt - 60mph Pass class IV max speed 60mph Frt - 80mph Pass class V max speed 80mph Frt - 90mph Pass class VI max speed 120mph Pass class VII max speed 125mph Pass class VIII max speed 160mph Pass effective tie spacing is the biggest dictator for class of track ... track condition such as in the video is the other biggest dictator for class of track ... the track in question in the video altho looks bad and is need of much needed attention it falls into class ... without me knowing what the class of track the train is the video seems to be traveling around 40mph which would designate the class of track as class III ... there are no ties missing in the video ... the spikes are holding gage but if not addressed real soon that piece of track will become a definite problem ... the ties aren't the problem ... the ballast being fouled with dirt creating a soft mud spot is the problem ... if the weather was hot 80 degrees and over that piece of track would be weak spot due to steel rail expansion and not being stabilized as it is pumping under load and would definitely have to be restricted to a lower class of track
Trainchaser55 Fuck You, you little Goober! I was giving a generalization not a cut and paste response from a Train Chaser. As a real railroader we always thought Train Chasers were Queer. I won't cash my railroad retirement check this month.
Attention About This Video. I will be releasing a video on April 1st 2016 on this same location on what it looks like after they improved the ties and bed surface. now trains are running 60 mph on them.
Great footage to show CSX maintenance. Everyone knows that steel rails that bend this much are causing major stress cracks that we can't see. Just the kind of cracks waiting for a major derailment.
Millennium force where to start. For one class one railroads choose their capital programs by division. So it could have been getting upgraded for a few reasons that have nothing to do with the state of that track. Was there a traffic increase coming? Or upgrading the rail? Or doing away with wood ties? Lots of reasons they do track work. You can tell they already rebuilt the approach in recent history. It has big rail with double shoulder plates. Every other tie is box anchored. That low spot you are seeing is from the historic track meeting up with the crossing rebuild that was done not that long ago. You can see where a couple of ties need replaced. But none of them are plate cut at all. Don't look down at the track as much as you watch the top of the train go thru that section. No wobbling of the cars equals good solid track. Was not sure if you knew much about track at all?(there is that question mark you wanted)
Reminds me of a PC (ex-NYC) crossing near South Bend, IN, in the early '70s. Thanks to deferred maintenance, the rails in the crossing had about 6 inches of vertical movement, even with slow orders. It scared the hell out of me. I never stopped closer to that crossing than about 100 ft. after that.
I have worked on track, trains and signals for nearly 10 years and I have helped with track inspections. I agree, there are a few old ties at this location, but they are solid and there is nothing to worry about. Pumping may lead to problems months on down the road, but there is no problem here now to worry about at this time. Line, surface and gauge all look good to me as evidenced by the way the train glides over the track and the wear patterns on the track. And as for weeds? I have run trains over heavily weeded track and have had a hard time keeping the train moving as per wheel slippage. It takes a hayfield for it to reach that point, but even that is not dangerous at low speeds, just annoying and hard on track. These couple of weeds are NOTHING and barely have so much as a theoretical effect on either the train or the track. All these other professionals are right. No problems here. I suggest you learn a little bit about track and trains before you post videos like this.
Hey Dave thank you for answering the question in a through and respectful manner. You are a value asset to your company. Some folk should take a sip of your kool-aid before answering an important question such as this!
+David Bush I would renew some of old ties with a few new ones, and give it a good tamping. Otherwise, it looks 'safe' for now. I am a retired Track Inspector for Metro North.
+wilber53 What about the TC 81? The TC 81 is similar (only by looks) but has a different function. The TC 81s function is to detect rail defects, e.g. broken rail that is not visible, head web separation, etc.
David Bush I see his point of view. This is dangerous. I was a Firefighter/Paramedic for over 17 years. I have worked many derailments over tracks that was like this and tracks just like this is what caused the derailment. I don't care what you say, this is very dangerous and very dangerous to the community in this area. This man is trying to stop a disaster before it happends. You my friend need to understand why he is doing this! He is trying to get the word out before a derailment happends!
You know I've actually seen this often times on the NYC Subway, as the express passes through the center track at full speed. The rails lift as the trucks/cars pass over them, cooking at what looks to be about 50-60 mph. Nothing's happened yet ....
Its good that the railway industry is very important in these places and safety is really centered. Sadly, that is not the case in our country. The bad tracks you show here is still good compared to tracks here. Many passengers ride on the trains everyday and they just let the tracks that way.. Imagine the danger brought by negligence.. Anyway, thanks for the videos!
Each car on this freight trains is one less truck on our highways!!! They do need to fix this track though, because as is, it's not safe. It's amazing that the train is still coming through at highway speed.
It is obviously that the City has an under the table business with either the funeral home or the insurance company or both. Those tracks are going to crack any second, unreal. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, it needs to be fixed up, but it's really not too bad. Trains can run over rough spots like this without any problem at all. As long as most of the track is good (which it appears to be) and the bad track segment is short, it won't start the cars rocking much and almost certainly won't cause a wreck.
Wow. That is the most horrific thing I have ever seen! You have a duty, some would say a sacred obligation to make sure no train goes over that spot until it meets your high standards.You are obviously a highly skilled, extensively trained professional. Best bet is to stand between the rails and vigorously wave something red. I guarantee that train will probably stop.
For many years in the '70s-'80s I photo'd the PRR/PC/CR “Corridor” electrified mainline (NY-Wash, DC)... sometimes more than 20-25 trains per hour, 80+ mph, GG1's with passenger and freight trains, many M-U passenger units, E44's, all kinds of Diesel lash-ups, etc. The rails normally flexed downward a bit on wooden ties... but when a heavy freight would take a siding leading to an industrial yard, with heavy loads, the poorly maintained track would sink into the ground on one side, making the cars tilt radically... so the limit was about 10 mph... several times I was caught between such a train and a steep embankment with thorn bushes... and the cars looked like they were going to squash me like a bug... and at 10 mph it took for-EV-er for those trains to get by. In those years freight derailments on the nearby poorly maintained CNJ were daily occurrences. I was surprised to see this CSX freight, a rather longish one, take that track at that speed. But that looks like welded rail (“ribbon rail”), perhaps somewhat less prone to flip... the freight siding track I was describing above was the old 39-foot sections before it was replaced.
In the late '60s there was an infamous spot on the declining Penn Central's line in Jersey, I believe it was, where the inexcusably shitty trackage caused train cars to lurch from side to side so badly that they were restricted to an absurd 5 MPH to hopefully avoid derailment.
It depends. Loaded trains and empty trains have different weight and length. trainn can be nearly twice as long when carrying empty train cars, then loaded ones.
Congratulations foamer you saved the townfolk from a certain doom with an LPG train BLEVE. I said it was fine but could use some tamping. If you are dumping rock and lifting rail to tamp then you are going to get that much more efficiency out of dropping a few ties as well. But whatever...it was YOU that got CSX to "fix" their railroad.
U need 3 bad ties in a row for the track to be taken out of service, this defect is called a "mud hole. It can be fixed fairly easy with fresh ballast.
Its called profile and im sure csx has the appropriate slow order in place if it needs it. After all Csx loses money on each derailment. And if it is that bad the train crews report it to the dispatcher and the dispatcher contacts the help desk and the help desk contacts the track inspector and the track inspector comes out puts a level board on it or a string line and applies the correct slow order if needed.
Lester Hartness The economy might,but everything else not!There would be enormous economic damage because the roads werent maintained,or the bridges would crumble under our wheels.Lots of people would die of desease or hunger.There would be riots in the street because people hungering,etc,etc.. The state has to have enough income to do all this maintenance and preventing of people dying.Money to maintain bridges so the trucks can still use them and by that maintain the economy.In short,your idea of less and less tax is a road to hell..
not sure if anyone mentioned this but some tamping would help that problem some if they weren't planing on doing an overhaul. the true danger would be if that was every tie for say a couple hundred feet then it might be unsafe. i do have to say nice explaining of the situation and error on the side of caution.
Damn, I dream to move to US, and the only thing holding me back in Europe are trains! Damn, what's wrong with railroads in Western hemisphere? Why, damn it! A so awesome country as US could have been moved to maglev like 50 years ago already! But yeah, the charm is there.. That jumping track is well worth filming and admiring. Cool vid!
Whats wrong with railroading in the Western Hemisphere? Simple, with the exception of operating subsidies for Amtrak and some state owned trackage, the bulk of our government investment in transportation goes to highways and aviation infrastructure.
srenchin Yeah tell me that... But with air travel becomes so shitty due to embarrassing scans, 3-4 hrs waiting time for each flight and a possibility of some shitload just shoot you off the air with a rocket, I think trains will win after all ;)
The tracks where I live are much worse. But that's because kids vandalize the tracks. They somehow got a hold of the tools to rip out spikes, remove ties, and one time someone did that and knocked the rail over! Luckily the line was repaired before it was used later on. If a train derailed there, the gas pipeline running along the tracks would've ignited and wiped out half the town. The vandals were never caught, unfortunately.
In the Netherlands a track in this state would have been taken out of service immediately. Also happy that they don't use the horn all the time when approaching a crossing.
I have see way worse areas of track near my home here on a UP line at a small trestle section. trains run over the section at around 55 MPH heading out of town and some trains are heavy loaded coal trains with mid train and end train DPU's and one track section has alot of spikes missing from it almost a good 10 - 15 feet worth. This section I mention I have personally called the UP offices locally and addressed the section by milepost and what I saw. The reason i have such a concern is this part of the line runs through the middle of a residential neighborhood and aside from coal trains this line frequents chemical tanker cars carrying methanol and LPG gas. I do not know to date if the tracks have been maintained yet or not but nothing has derailed either.
We have track like that here in Connecticut, operated by the Providence & Worcester Railroad. They really need to put in concrete ties, but I haven't seen much movement on that. There are stockpiles of concrete ties here and there, but they just sit and wait.
First of all, thank you for videotaping for all to see. I like the way you took time out to explain this before the train came through. I do not see why they will not do a way with wooden ties and go to cemented ties....
Split ties and loose spikes don't make it a bad section of track. You could split every tie for 70 feet and the train most likely wouldn't derail. Loose spikes happen everywhere and it would take a lot of missing spikes for the train to derail. I love your videos but this track isn't really that bad at all lol. Just some minor tlc and it would look more aesthetically pleasing to the railfan, not something a railroad is really worried about.
It could have been but dropping fresh ties to replace a few bad spots doesn't mean that there was any greater chance of derailment. Maybe the ties were reaching the end of their lifespan in that area. You still need a lot of bad ties to put something on the ground. This wasn't any danger to the trains passing through
There is nothing wrong with the track. Every tie doesnt have to be good to meet safe track standards. For the ones that think it is bad track you read the FRA track standards Part 213 might help you to sleep better at nights.
+Retired Railroader well there must have been something wrong with those tracks because within 2 months they went through and replaced the ties and new ballast.
+Millenniumforce I'm sure they did. The idea is to fix it before it requires a slow order. And from what i could see it was close to being a defect but the track was safe at the time the video was taken for at least 40 MPH. A place like that with mud in it would be a fouled ballast issue with an issue like fouled ballast an FRA inspector only needs half the measurement that he would normally need to wright a defect. So if this was 40 MPH and this is just an example it takes 2 inches of profile in a normal situation without mud to be a defect that would require a slow order but this one has the mud so 1 inch is all that's needed with both rails pumping for it to be wrote up as a defect. But if its not pumping 2 inches it does not require a slow order FRA will write it up as a fouled ballast issue and you have 30 days to fix it or they can give you a violation. Its been 5 years since I have been around it but when I was working the fine for a violation like this was 5 thousand dollars. I actually got a couple violations over the years. I don't know if its changed or not now I don't keep up on it anymore. I have 31 years in track dept was an Asst Roadmaster for 2 years and a Roadmaster for my last 11 years of service so I have dealt with things like this daily.
+Retired Railroader Got a question for ya... I live about 100 feet from the tracks. Usually they go by fairly slow cuz they're coming out of the refinery, and the track is real sound, so the trains are pretty quiet. But once in a while I'll hear a car banging like crazy, and then sometimes I can actually see that wheel hopping as it goes down the track. At what point is that a problem? I know they have a checking mechanism at the rail yard, but sometimes I've wondered if I ought to report that car.
This is going to sound strange but it is a flat tire. There's a strip of metal on the outside of a train wheel called a tire. Sometime the brake malfunctions and it drags a wheel causing a flat spot. When the wheel starts rolling again it produces this sound.
Yeah, sometimes I've heard brakes really screaming (they're braking when they go past me northbound, coming up on a 15mph limit area, and some brake harder than others). I suppose that's a thumper being made, heh.
If this is part of the S Line, the whole thing is being improved. Because CSX sold part of the A Line to SunRail, freight traffic is being permanently diverted from the A Line to the S Line and the whole route is being upgraded to handle the increased (and faster) traffic.
I liked this video only because I wanted you to get credit for a good post in reporting this issue. I see this happening all over the place. What ever happened to the idea of replacing the wooden cross-ties with the concrete ones. I am in Rockingham - Hamlet Area of North Carolina. Here the railroad crossings are so bad the automotive garages are making a killing, with the repair of front end alignments and bearing replacements. Some of the old wood between the rails and asphalt aren't even tied down to the ground. They bounce up and hit your car when you go over them. I already had to replace my manifold pipe leading to my cat.converter, I wish the authorities would make the railroads accountable for this. My Dad worked for the railroad for over 30yrs. and I really hate to say this, but I see a great deterioration with the CSX Brand. They better shape up!
I’ve seen worse, I’m near CP’s main line and their track just south of Toronto are missing ties and screws. Plus there are broken rail joints that forces CP to go only 30 mph. They run usually 2 times a day on the track.
you should call CSX and look at the crossing # and tell CSX to try to fix it. Be sure to tell them whats wrong so they may prepare better. Just helping. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will... Anyways, good luck and GREAT videos.
Interesting, in India and Europe they are using pre-cast steel reinforced concrete railroad ties versus in the USA wooden ties that are subject to rot and decay are used almost exclusively.
India and Europe don't have anywhere near as much fright rail traffic which is detrimental to concrete ties. However, commuter railroads have been in the process of converting to concrete ties for some time now.
Dude...you do realize that railroad track is designed to move on it's roadbed. It acts as a suspension does on a vehicle. If that track was completely rigid THAT would result in a derailment. The track HAS to have give. I hope this adds to your understanding of physics just a bit. Action and reaction.
+Sandman Kelley Um no. Its not supposed to bounce up and down smh-_-. Thats gonna wear out the wood and bolts. Track i supposed to sit there and not move lol
***** Exactly Trains have there own springs and such just like any other thing on wheels. Well most things. Cars, motorcycles,bikes, plane landing gear. You name it
Unfortunately, this is not only one example of bad tracks in USA. In Illinois same situation. They don't recover tracks already for long time. They basically dont have money for it.
Sort of like the stress cracks in aircraft structures that are marked for repair but left in service. Got to know when it's really dangerous or just on the attention list. Diff between a red x and fix when able.
Looks like the track did just fine. You know they send track inspection crews out regularly, looks bad us, but probably no big deal. You should see the 10 mph track in my town with trains crawling down it every week.
You can hear every time it goes over that crack it makes a huge noise. It would be scary to drive a train like that if it bounced off the track cause it moves like that.
You should have kept focus on defect? This is pumping - and the evidence is clear in the mud stains on the sleepers. the ballast has become corrupted and waterlogged probably on a fine base soil (usually clay) as the ballast gets loaded and can move so it grinds down to a paste, and the paste/clay pumps up accelerating the process - it may overstress the weld which appears to be at this point in one rail. On a wet day you'll probably see muddy water squirting up around the sleepers.
Watches trains for fun, becomes expert in track conditions and all thing MOW
That would have been considered freshly-repaired track back on the PC track I lived near in the 1970's. At least there were spikes and ties.
in Britain this would've been replaced a while back. The Flying Banana (proper name New Measurement Train) would pass over it every 13 weeks and detect a difference in loading, which would then be visually inspected.
Of course, we don't use spikes or wooden ties (sleepers). Instead we use clips and concrete sleepers, which cost more but require less maintenance
You can go almost anywhere on tracks and find the same thing. I've live near 3 lines for 30 years and often walk on the tracks. It's normal. Chill.
I have seen worse . I grew up around government owned tracks and for decades nothing was done till they needed to use it. They literally had to repair the line just to run shipments to a navy base every other year. this was back in the 1970/80's It was the old Indianhead Maryland naval warfare base line.
My uncle lived in Plant City, Fl. I'm in Wisconsin and visited him a few times. I assume the station was Plant City, Fl. Anyway, he went to vote and I went with him, and the tracks ran about a block or less from where he voted. About a minute after we got there, the AmTrak came through like a rocket on wheels. It was a great site to see. I'll bet that thing was doing nearly 90 mph.
Ric Trexell
I don't understand why your comment was just my name. Did you intend to write more? Ric.
It is kind of amazing how bad the tracks can be and still hold all that weight, and also maintain the proper width. It's must be some huge forces at work on those ties and the rickety spikes that somehow hold the tracks on them.
+Scott Taylor Look at some of the new rail being laid today. They use concrete ties and steel tie clips. Railroads share your sentiment and strive to keep the track in place as best they can. I remember reading an article about track issues in the powder river basin a few years ago. That portion of railroad has a unique problem with a massive amount of heavy loads going one way and light traffic in the opposite direction on the same rail. The coal loads were actually moving or "worming" the rail southbound. But the light, empty traffic coming back northbound wasn't moving the rail back in the opposite direction. This constant action ended up squeezing the switches and causing issues with those switches operating properly. BNSF recognized this and attempted to balance the load to empty ratios on each mainline track. I don't know if they still have this issue today but i'm certain it is something they continue to monitor.
It's amazing how tough it is to derail a train from just bad track work
This is NOT horrid, scary or a threat to anyone's life or security. It is a simple matter of needing to be tamped. All track gets pounded down by traffic, every railroad has track inspectors that check these things. The work was not done because of this video, it was done because it was planned months prior. This is cheap media like garbage reporting.
kop_*())
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Awesome Video Alan!
This is an accident waiting to happen. CSX better come fix these tracks asap!
I've seen worse. There is a section of track by me that is barly used and the tracks are all warped and missing ties. When a train comes over it, the rails bounce up and down and ties become worse.
Since the line is rarely used, I don't thing there gonna fix it anytime soon. It's the old NY&GL rail line.
We had a similar problem at a tourist trap where I worked. The ties were all rotten and the spikes could be pulled with your fingers. Even worse, the biggest problem was near a station, where a derailment and roll over would have killed people waiting for the train! When I reported it, the GM yelled at ME, claiming that I was needlessly scaring the rubes! Profits trumped safety every time!
Until a lawsuit happens.
Have they fixed the rails there yet?
@@stupideronjupiter This was at Edavile Railroad in Carver, Massachusetts. They went broke in the '90s. New owners bought it and probably fixed it up. I wouldn't know, I'll never go back there!
Railroads are classified, this looks like a lower class track. My division had several different lines with different classes. Speed is not the only indicator of class. I worked on one line that only had one train daily, we went 55 mph but it was a class C railroad, the maintenance was not nearly as up to date as the class A line I worked on. Traffic has a lot to do with maintenance, one train daily doesn't get the maintenance of 50 trains daily. Not being negative just passing on my experience.
Actually this is a high class line Speeds of 60 MPH and about 25 trains a day.
The track has been replaced about 20 miles of ties last couple months ago. This is a heavy traveled main line.
Millenniumforce I just had a thought, good job on your videos. If that one crosstie was replaced it wouldn't look so bad. I enjoy looking at train videos brings back memories. I started at Southern Railway in 1971 and enjoyed every minute of my career. We had a good time and it didn't seem like a job until the big mergers started and ruined everything. I didn't mean to trivialize your video. Thanks!
brainerdrebel CSX doesn't repair stuff in a timely matter. I report a lot of stuff and it goes on for months before they fix something.
brainerdrebel1 week ago
Railroads are classified, this looks like a lower class track. My division had several different lines with different classes. Speed is not the only indicator of class. I worked on one line that only had one train daily, we went 55 mph but it was a class C railroad, the maintenance was not nearly as up to date as the class A line I worked on. Traffic has a lot to do with maintenance, one train daily doesn't get the maintenance of 50 trains daily. Not being negative just passing on my experience.
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Dude with the misinformation you just spewed in your post i KNOW you never worked for a railroad ... class of a railroad has NOTHING to do with track speed ...
first off railroads are classed numerically not alphabetically ...
secondly a railroad's class designation has nothing to do with the trains speed and has everything to do with annual tonnage carried and annual revenue
thirdly the speed that a train is allowed to travel is dictated by the CLASS of TRACK which is also classed numerically with ... class of track is dictated by track conditions that follow standards set by the FRA ... the speeds per class of track i've listed below:
excepted track 10mph Frt - Passenger trains not allowed
class I max speed 10 mph Frt -15mph Pass
class II max speed 25mph Frt -30mph Pass
class III max speed 40mph Frt - 60mph Pass
class IV max speed 60mph Frt - 80mph Pass
class V max speed 80mph Frt - 90mph Pass
class VI max speed 120mph Pass
class VII max speed 125mph Pass
class VIII max speed 160mph Pass
effective tie spacing is the biggest dictator for class of track ... track condition such as in the video is the other biggest dictator for class of track ...
the track in question in the video altho looks bad and is need of much needed attention it falls into class ... without me knowing what the class of track the train is the video seems to be traveling around 40mph which would designate the class of track as class III ... there are no ties missing in the video ... the spikes are holding gage but if not addressed real soon that piece of track will become a definite problem ... the ties aren't the problem ... the ballast being fouled with dirt creating a soft mud spot is the problem ... if the weather was hot 80 degrees and over that piece of track would be weak spot due to steel rail expansion and not being stabilized as it is pumping under load and would definitely have to be restricted to a lower class of track
Trainchaser55 Fuck You, you little Goober! I was giving a generalization not a cut and paste response from a Train Chaser. As a real railroader we always thought Train Chasers were Queer. I won't cash my railroad retirement check this month.
still meets FRA requirements and congrats you found a mudhole
Attention About This Video. I will be releasing a video on April 1st 2016 on this same location on what it looks like after they improved the ties and bed surface. now trains are running 60 mph on them.
Sweet
Are you married? Do u have kids?
Never Married but have 1 daughter that is 27 years old and she will be in my tour videos in California and Washington
+branman81794 Ok
What? That he has a daughter?
Great footage to show CSX maintenance. Everyone knows that steel rails that bend this much are causing major stress cracks that we can't see. Just the kind of cracks waiting for a major derailment.
you are brave standing close to that track !!!
Millennium force where to start. For one class one railroads choose their capital programs by division. So it could have been getting upgraded for a few reasons that have nothing to do with the state of that track. Was there a traffic increase coming? Or upgrading the rail? Or doing away with wood ties? Lots of reasons they do track work. You can tell they already rebuilt the approach in recent history. It has big rail with double shoulder plates. Every other tie is box anchored. That low spot you are seeing is from the historic track meeting up with the crossing rebuild that was done not that long ago. You can see where a couple of ties need replaced. But none of them are plate cut at all. Don't look down at the track as much as you watch the top of the train go thru that section. No wobbling of the cars equals good solid track. Was not sure if you knew much about track at all?(there is that question mark you wanted)
It's really not as bad as you think, there are rails in far worse condition than that being used everyday.
They just dropped off thousands of railroad ties for a few miles. The line is getting a major over haul soon.
I bet that bump rattled some of the material inside those hoppers! Nice video.
Reminds me of a PC (ex-NYC) crossing near South Bend, IN, in the early '70s. Thanks to deferred maintenance, the rails in the crossing had about 6 inches of vertical movement, even with slow orders. It scared the hell out of me. I never stopped closer to that crossing than about 100 ft. after that.
I have worked on track, trains and signals for nearly 10 years and I have helped with track inspections. I agree, there are a few old ties at this location, but they are solid and there is nothing to worry about. Pumping may lead to problems months on down the road, but there is no problem here now to worry about at this time. Line, surface and gauge all look good to me as evidenced by the way the train glides over the track and the wear patterns on the track. And as for weeds? I have run trains over heavily weeded track and have had a hard time keeping the train moving as per wheel slippage. It takes a hayfield for it to reach that point, but even that is not dangerous at low speeds, just annoying and hard on track. These couple of weeds are NOTHING and barely have so much as a theoretical effect on either the train or the track. All these other professionals are right. No problems here. I suggest you learn a little bit about track and trains before you post videos like this.
+David Bush I agree Dave..Ive also seen it thousands of times! Even the geometry car would pass it..
Hey Dave thank you for answering the question in a through and respectful manner. You are a value asset to your company. Some folk should take a sip of your kool-aid before answering an important question such as this!
+David Bush I would renew some of old ties with a few new ones, and give
it a good tamping. Otherwise, it looks 'safe' for now. I am a retired Track Inspector for Metro North.
+wilber53 What about the TC 81? The TC 81 is similar (only by looks) but has a different function. The TC 81s function is to detect
rail defects, e.g. broken rail that is not visible, head web separation, etc.
David Bush I see his point of view. This is dangerous. I was a Firefighter/Paramedic for over 17 years. I have worked many derailments over tracks that was like this and tracks just like this is what caused the derailment. I don't care what you say, this is very dangerous and very dangerous to the community in this area. This man is trying to stop a disaster before it happends. You my friend need to understand why he is doing this! He is trying to get the word out before a derailment happends!
You know I've actually seen this often times on the NYC Subway, as the express passes through the center track at full speed. The rails lift as the trucks/cars pass over them, cooking at what looks to be about 50-60 mph. Nothing's happened yet ....
Interesting. Good work, Millennium. Makes one wonder what the rest of the track looks like.
They were moving along pretty good!
Fantastic road surface,with a nice looking 4x4 going to next town to pick up beers.
this video was part of a show called raging rocket on tv
+Millenniumforce never heard of it, what's it about?
+Millenniumforce If those cars had jumped the tracks while you were filming you would have had a week of wet dreams, wouldn't you?
(I would have!)
Its good that the railway industry is very important in these places and safety is really centered. Sadly, that is not the case in our country. The bad tracks you show here is still good compared to tracks here. Many passengers ride on the trains everyday and they just let the tracks that way.. Imagine the danger brought by negligence.. Anyway, thanks for the videos!
all our tracks here in australia look like that. totally safe!
You wouldn't catch me standing that close to a train for ANYTHING!
I walked away while the train was passing I left my camera that close
Don't get me wrong, I love trains, but only from a distance, or in model trains, lol! I'm glad you walked away and left the camera that close.
Yuck! That would scare me too being that close to a tracks as bad as shape as you shone us all. Very video catch, Alan
The ties look like the ones here on cp's waseca subdivision they don't really now they replaced them. Good to se cp keeping up the track
Each car on this freight trains is one less truck on our highways!!! They do need to fix this track though, because as is, it's not safe. It's amazing that the train is still coming through at highway speed.
I went to plant city this summer it’s a great place
It is obviously that the City has an under the table business with either the funeral home or the insurance company or both. Those tracks are going to crack any second, unreal. Thanks for sharing.
They have since been fixed.
Good news, thanks
Cool train video
It's hauling grain.
Yeah, it needs to be fixed up, but it's really not too bad. Trains can run over rough spots like this without any problem at all. As long as most of the track is good (which it appears to be) and the bad track segment is short, it won't start the cars rocking much and almost certainly won't cause a wreck.
That's crazy how much it bounces!
Wow. That is the most horrific thing I have ever seen! You have a duty, some would say a sacred obligation to make sure no train goes over that spot until it meets your high standards.You are obviously a highly skilled, extensively trained professional. Best bet is to stand between the rails and vigorously wave something red. I guarantee that train will probably stop.
Wait, that was sarcasm, wasn't it?
quite delicious, biting sarcasm.
For many years in the '70s-'80s I photo'd the PRR/PC/CR “Corridor” electrified mainline (NY-Wash, DC)... sometimes more than 20-25 trains per hour, 80+ mph, GG1's with passenger and freight trains, many M-U passenger units, E44's, all kinds of Diesel lash-ups, etc. The rails normally flexed downward a bit on wooden ties... but when a heavy freight would take a siding leading to an industrial yard, with heavy loads, the poorly maintained track would sink into the ground on one side, making the cars tilt radically... so the limit was about 10 mph... several times I was caught between such a train and a steep embankment with thorn bushes... and the cars looked like they were going to squash me like a bug... and at 10 mph it took for-EV-er for those trains to get by. In those years freight derailments on the nearby poorly maintained CNJ were daily occurrences. I was surprised to see this CSX freight, a rather longish one, take that track at that speed. But that looks like welded rail (“ribbon rail”), perhaps somewhat less prone to flip... the freight siding track I was describing above was the old 39-foot sections before it was replaced.
They have just replaced 10 miles of track and ties and this location was done
Be sure to catch their next Video......" Skate Board runs fast over really bad Sidewalks " LOL
A little pumping of the track wont hurt nothing.
Glad to hear the tracks were fixed. Nice vid!
In the late '60s there was an infamous spot on the declining Penn Central's line in Jersey, I believe it was, where the inexcusably shitty trackage caused train cars to lurch from side to side so badly that they were restricted to an absurd 5 MPH to hopefully avoid derailment.
Besides the bad tracks,that was actually a really long train man.
American trains are SOOOOO long
It carries cargo, why not bring a lot of it than multiple trips.
It depends. Loaded trains and empty trains have different weight and length.
trainn can be nearly twice as long when carrying empty train cars, then loaded ones.
yeah but our passenger rail sucks, that basically goes for all of north America.
America is sooooo BIG!
The only downside is that it's a nightmare for traffic sometimes, but it's necessary for the industry.
In my video " loud and fast freight train" I saw the last containers bouncing :) so cool
Congratulations foamer you saved the townfolk from a certain doom with an LPG train BLEVE.
I said it was fine but could use some tamping. If you are dumping rock and lifting rail to tamp then you are going to get that much more efficiency out of dropping a few ties as well.
But whatever...it was YOU that got CSX to "fix" their railroad.
This amount of rail movement is not unusual. Have you ever watched trains go over tracks before??
U need 3 bad ties in a row for the track to be taken out of service, this defect is called a "mud hole. It can be fixed fairly easy with fresh ballast.
I think that you understand tracks much better than do the permanent way.
It's very crazy of a train that contains nearly 100 coaches passing through the track!
Its called profile and im sure csx has the appropriate slow order in place if it needs it. After all Csx loses money on each derailment. And if it is that bad the train crews report it to the dispatcher and the dispatcher contacts the help desk and the help desk contacts the track inspector and the track inspector comes out puts a level board on it or a string line and applies the correct slow order if needed.
LOL! dang the train is so long that it looks like a never ending train!
Krystin Korn The longer the train the better the economy is doing, you can play the stock market off of it..
thedrloboski stevens Imagine what it would be like if Obama wasn't holding the economy back so strongly.
Lester Hartness Imagine what it would be like if the the republicans didn't want less and less and less taxes!
Less taxes equals stronger economy. It really works.
Lester Hartness
The economy might,but everything else not!There would be enormous economic damage because the roads werent maintained,or the bridges would crumble under our wheels.Lots of people would die of desease or hunger.There would be riots in the street because people hungering,etc,etc..
The state has to have enough income to do all this maintenance and preventing of people dying.Money to maintain bridges so the trucks can still use them and by that maintain the economy.In short,your idea of less and less tax is a road to hell..
Awesome video as always!!
not sure if anyone mentioned this but some tamping would help that problem some if they weren't planing on doing an overhaul. the true danger would be if that was every tie for say a couple hundred feet then it might be unsafe. i do have to say nice explaining of the situation and error on the side of caution.
They are doing major track work and tie replacement in anticipation of more freight traffic that will start in 2 weeks.
Good video
Damn, I dream to move to US, and the only thing holding me back in Europe are trains! Damn, what's wrong with railroads in Western hemisphere? Why, damn it! A so awesome country as US could have been moved to maglev like 50 years ago already! But yeah, the charm is there.. That jumping track is well worth filming and admiring.
Cool vid!
Whats wrong with railroading in the Western Hemisphere? Simple, with the exception of operating subsidies for Amtrak and some state owned trackage, the bulk of our government investment in transportation goes to highways and aviation infrastructure.
srenchin Yeah tell me that... But with air travel becomes so shitty due to embarrassing scans, 3-4 hrs waiting time for each flight and a possibility of some shitload just shoot you off the air with a rocket, I think trains will win after all ;)
Don't miss: Railfan Crushed by CSX Train at Site of Bad Track.
2013 Goes To Heaven.
Ah yes. CSX 855. I like that one, along with 5391.
The tracks where I live are much worse. But that's because kids vandalize the tracks. They somehow got a hold of the tools to rip out spikes, remove ties, and one time someone did that and knocked the rail over! Luckily the line was repaired before it was used later on. If a train derailed there, the gas pipeline running along the tracks would've ignited and wiped out half the town. The vandals were never caught, unfortunately.
That up and down is like my grandpa driving but instead of up and down, it's go and stop..
In the Netherlands a track in this state would have been taken out of service immediately. Also happy that they don't use the horn all the time when approaching a crossing.
Glad it didn't fall off!
I have see way worse areas of track near my home here on a UP line at a small trestle section. trains run over the section at around 55 MPH heading out of town and some trains are heavy loaded coal trains with mid train and end train DPU's and one track section has alot of spikes missing from it almost a good 10 - 15 feet worth. This section I mention I have personally called the UP offices locally and addressed the section by milepost and what I saw. The reason i have such a concern is this part of the line runs through the middle of a residential neighborhood and aside from coal trains this line frequents chemical tanker cars carrying methanol and LPG gas. I do not know to date if the tracks have been maintained yet or not but nothing has derailed either.
We have track like that here in Connecticut, operated by the Providence & Worcester Railroad. They really need to put in concrete ties, but I haven't seen much movement on that. There are stockpiles of concrete ties here and there, but they just sit and wait.
Looks like the train went over fine
First of all, thank you for videotaping for all to see. I like the way you took time out to explain this before the train came through. I do not see why they will not do a way with wooden ties and go to cemented ties....
Split ties and loose spikes don't make it a bad section of track. You could split every tie for 70 feet and the train most likely wouldn't derail. Loose spikes happen everywhere and it would take a lot of missing spikes for the train to derail. I love your videos but this track isn't really that bad at all lol. Just some minor tlc and it would look more aesthetically pleasing to the railfan, not something a railroad is really worried about.
Well it must have been because they replaced all the ties their 2 weeks ago
It could have been but dropping fresh ties to replace a few bad spots doesn't mean that there was any greater chance of derailment. Maybe the ties were reaching the end of their lifespan in that area. You still need a lot of bad ties to put something on the ground. This wasn't any danger to the trains passing through
Definitely but nothing that needs immediate
attention. But CSX fixed it anyway lol
There is nothing wrong with the track. Every tie doesnt have to be good to meet safe track standards. For the ones that think it is bad track you read the FRA track standards Part 213 might help you to sleep better at nights.
+Retired Railroader well there must have been something wrong with those tracks because within 2 months they went through and replaced the ties and new ballast.
+Millenniumforce I'm sure they did. The idea is to fix it before it requires a slow order. And from what i could see it was close to being a defect but the track was safe at the time the video was taken for at least 40 MPH. A place like that with mud in it would be a fouled ballast issue with an issue like fouled ballast an FRA inspector only needs half the measurement that he would normally need to wright a defect. So if this was 40 MPH and this is just an example it takes 2 inches of profile in a normal situation without mud to be a defect that would require a slow order but this one has the mud so 1 inch is all that's needed with both rails pumping for it to be wrote up as a defect. But if its not pumping 2 inches it does not require a slow order FRA will write it up as a fouled ballast issue and you have 30 days to fix it or they can give you a violation. Its been 5 years since I have been around it but when I was working the fine for a violation like this was 5 thousand dollars. I actually got a couple violations over the years. I don't know if its changed or not now I don't keep up on it anymore. I have 31 years in track dept was an Asst Roadmaster for 2 years and a Roadmaster for my last 11 years of service so I have dealt with things like this daily.
+Retired Railroader Got a question for ya... I live about 100 feet from the tracks. Usually they go by fairly slow cuz they're coming out of the refinery, and the track is real sound, so the trains are pretty quiet. But once in a while I'll hear a car banging like crazy, and then sometimes I can actually see that wheel hopping as it goes down the track. At what point is that a problem? I know they have a checking mechanism at the rail yard, but sometimes I've wondered if I ought to report that car.
This is going to sound strange but it is a flat tire. There's a strip of metal on the outside of a train wheel called a tire. Sometime the brake malfunctions and it drags a wheel causing a flat spot. When the wheel starts rolling again it produces this sound.
Yeah, sometimes I've heard brakes really screaming (they're braking when they go past me northbound, coming up on a 15mph limit area, and some brake harder than others). I suppose that's a thumper being made, heh.
If this is part of the S Line, the whole thing is being improved. Because CSX sold part of the A Line to SunRail, freight traffic is being permanently diverted from the A Line to the S Line and the whole route is being upgraded to handle the increased (and faster) traffic.
Yes you are correct But they better hurry May 1st is not far away
I liked this video only because I wanted you to get credit for a good post in reporting this issue. I see this happening all over the place. What ever happened to the idea of replacing the wooden cross-ties with the concrete ones. I am in Rockingham - Hamlet Area of North Carolina. Here the railroad crossings are so bad the automotive garages are making a killing, with the repair of front end alignments and bearing replacements. Some of the old wood between the rails and asphalt aren't even tied down to the ground. They bounce up and hit your car when you go over them. I already had to replace my manifold pipe leading to my cat.converter, I wish the authorities would make the railroads accountable for this. My Dad worked for the railroad for over 30yrs. and I really hate to say this, but I see a great deterioration with the CSX Brand. They better shape up!
It would have been nice to see how the line reacted when the locomotives went over them as well and not just the freight cars.
I’ve seen worse, I’m near CP’s main line and their track just south of Toronto are missing ties and screws. Plus there are broken rail joints that forces CP to go only 30 mph. They run usually 2 times a day on the track.
you should call CSX and look at the crossing # and tell CSX to try to fix it. Be sure to tell them whats wrong so they may prepare better. Just helping. If this doesn't work, I don't know what will... Anyways, good luck and GREAT videos.
They just laid new rail ties down on the side of the tracks for miles. Soon they will be doing the whole line.
That's good.
I would spray paint the rails bright orange so someone comes out to look at the track....
JJ
Great video!
The covered hopper express. The railroad needs to replace those old worn out ties on that track real soon.
how does this train not derail, its a miracle in mechanics and gravity.
Half an hour with some fresh ballast, a couple of men with shovels and maybe a jack - that track would not move !
At least it was in better shape than the whole Maumee & Western line was.
Seen one like this my area a few years ago. The next time I saw it, the repairs were done. That's very dangerous when trains are flying very fast.
Why is it dangerous?
Great video. So did you make an updated video with the new ties as promised ?
+Amulke Yid Yes it was released end of March titled CSX Repairs Bad Track Bed Before And After Video
this is how tracks look all over kentucky
Interesting, in India and Europe they are using pre-cast steel reinforced concrete railroad ties versus in the USA wooden ties that are subject to rot and decay are used almost exclusively.
India and Europe don't have anywhere near as much fright rail traffic which is detrimental to concrete ties. However, commuter railroads have been in the process of converting to concrete ties for some time now.
Great sounding horns....
NYC subway tracks bounce like that a lot where the tracks are in cuts or elevated. Not as bad as in the 80's but they do it.
Yeah that's America for you. I've seen some beautiful new tracks laid with cement ties, so it's not like it can't be fixed.
You mean concrete ties, not cement. there is a difference.
When you see trains swaying back n forth as they travel, thats bad track!
2:30 dang, those tracks are bending almost as much as my mattress...
Since you posted this video, has CSX been out to make any repairs?
No repairs needed, just normal maintenance. I've lived around trains my whole life, and they sounded normal. I also live about 15 miles from Kathleen
Dude...you do realize that railroad track is designed to move on it's roadbed. It acts as a suspension does on a vehicle. If that track was completely rigid THAT would result in a derailment. The track HAS to have give. I hope this adds to your understanding of physics just a bit. Action and reaction.
+Sandman Kelley Um no. Its not supposed to bounce up and down smh-_-. Thats gonna wear out the wood and bolts. Track i supposed to sit there and not move lol
+Sandman Kelley "It acts as a suspension does on a vehicle." Trains have suspension. They don't need the track to help that.
***** Exactly Trains have there own springs and such just like any other thing on wheels. Well most things. Cars, motorcycles,bikes, plane landing gear. You name it
***** -_- ok man
***** No i just know that that doesnt happen with the track.
in councill bluffs, tracks were bad, BNSF actually had some cars bouncing around on it, they got it fixed pretty quickly though
Watch the rails state on argentina at 2012, these are tracks on bad state, good video.
Unfortunately, this is not only one example of bad tracks in USA. In Illinois same situation. They don't recover tracks already for long time. They basically dont have money for it.
Sort of like the stress cracks in aircraft structures that are marked for repair but left in service. Got to know when it's really dangerous or just on the attention list. Diff between a red x and fix when able.
Looks like the track did just fine. You know they send track inspection crews out regularly, looks bad us, but probably no big deal. You should see the 10 mph track in my town with trains crawling down it every week.
Cool, I do think they should fix that before someone gets heart!!! Keep the great videos coming!!!
hurt*
You can hear every time it goes over that crack it makes a huge noise. It would be scary to drive a train like that if it bounced off the track cause it moves like that.
You should have kept focus on defect? This is pumping - and the evidence is clear in the mud stains on the sleepers. the ballast has become corrupted and waterlogged probably on a fine base soil (usually clay) as the ballast gets loaded and can move so it grinds down to a paste, and the paste/clay pumps up accelerating the process - it may overstress the weld which appears to be at this point in one rail. On a wet day you'll probably see muddy water squirting up around the sleepers.