Rail Field Welding

[Hytec]

CSX made four field welds at the renovated golf course crossing. I am posting a sequence of 13 photos that show the weld process from start to finish. I have to open two separate posts, since a single post only permits a max of 8 images.

High-Rail truck providing support for the weld crew. It contains the supplies for the weld and the hydraulic pump for the grinders.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldHiRail.JPG


A 1 inch gap is burned between the rail ends to be joined.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldGapPrep.JPG


The rail ends and gap are now ready for welding. Wedges are forced under each rail to correctly position them for the weld.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldGapReady.JPG


The weld is created by pouring molten steel into a mold that forms sides for the gap between the rail ends. Here the mold is in place, and wet sand is being packed around the rail/mold interface to prevent molten metal from leaking out during the pour.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldMoldSand.JPG


The mold is now ready for the pour. The can that contains the steel/magnesium mixture is seen to the right of the mold. It has a reddish cone-shaped top.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldMoldReady.JPG


The rail ends are then pre-heated to nearly white heat. This permits the molten steel to alloy with the rail ends, creating a strong continuous rail through the welded joint.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldPreheat.JPG

Continued on the next Topic.

[ 10. November 2002, 01:17: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]

[Hytec]

Field weld - continued from previous post.

The metal can containing the steel/magnesium mixture has been placed on top of the mold, the magnesium ignited, and the steel is pouring into the mold. I was told that the steel pours at about 5,500 degrees Farenheit.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldPouring.JPG


The pour is complete and the can has been removed. The still liquid steel can be seen at the top of the mold and in the overflow pots on either side.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldPourComplete.JPG


The mold has been removed, showing the white-hot metal in the gap, and poking out to each side where the overflow pots were.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldMoldRemoved.JPG


The rail head, still red-hot, is being ground to shape using a grinding jig mounted on the rail.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldGrindingHead.JPG


The rail web, on the other hand, is ground by hand.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldGrindingWeb.JPG


Here is the completed field weld, fully shaped and ready for traffic, although still glowing dull red.

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldComplete.JPG


Northbound traffic (east by compass) came through just 3 minutes later while the weld was still very hot. The crew said the weld was probably(?) cool enough to support the traffic. (it was!)

http://www.railimages.com/album/Hank%20Coolidge/WeldInUse.JPG

[ 10. November 2002, 01:20: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]

[Pete]

Cool story, and pics, Hank. Thanks! 3 minutes sounds like they were cutting it close!

[Hytec]

Originally posted by Pete:
Cool story, and pics, Hank. Thanks! 3 minutes sounds like they were cutting it close! The welding crew thought it was a little close also, but Dispatch/Jacksonville told them to go ahead and perform the weld .... :rolleyes: And, like I said, the weld held, and is still holding.

[Alan]

A fascinating photo-story! Thanks for showing us how the job is done smile.gif

[7600EM_1]

Hank,
I too have seen this first hand as it was done 4 different times on 4 different rail joints... in different locations... Its something to watch! BUT they didn't run a train throught for at least a half hour to 45 minutes!

3 minutes is cutting it close to me.... PHEWWWW I wouldn't think a weld such as that would hold the weight being still "red-hot" as the train past. I would have thought it would have pinged the weld and it would have snaped from the fact of it still being hot. But I guess they got lucky on that field weld! graemlins/sure.gif

I have a few of the older 135 pound rail "moulds" used to pour the hot molten into that you had shown around the rail! I used one to grind it down into a redish colored powder. Works good for making ore loads in HO... You just take 2 pieces of it and rub it together. It makes like a sandy stuff and can be glued to a base thats shaped like a load for in a ore hopper.

[ 16. November 2002, 19:14: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]

[UNION_PACIFIC_STEVE]

Great pictures smile.gif I would like to see work like that undertaken in person.
Its a good thing that the weld didnt break when the train passed over it, i would think 3 mins to be a little risky.

[David Rowe]

Great stuff there Hank. How long did it take to complete the process?

Cheers
David

[ 16. November 2002, 09:40: Message edited by: David Rowe ]

[Hytec]

Originally posted by David Rowe:
Great stuff there Hank. How long did it take to complete the process?

Cheers
David I can't remember for sure, but I would guess about 30-45 minutes from start to finish.

BTW, I could have been mistaken about the "3" minutes from completion of the grinding to the first train. It may have been as much as 10 minutes ... but it was NOT very long, and the crew was really rushing to finish!!!! :eek:

[Peirce]

Excellent photo story.