Mountain Railroading: A glimpse of the difficulties...

Thanks to our gracious host Jerry, I have been allowed to sub-in on a new class.

Since I have become so captivated by mountain railroading, and in particular, the old D&RGW thru the Front Range of the Rockies (Denver, CO to Moffat Tunnel), I have amassed several hundred photos, and some are of the effects of maintaining a mountain right-of-way. The curves, the grades, and the tonnage play a huge role in the job the track gangs do,a nd have to maintain.
Not all track on this line is in tip-top shape, like for example, the UP thru Nebraska, on the 60+ train-per-day racetrack. The curvature in particular takes a huge toll on the rails, wheels, and all equipment in general.

The South Draw area in particular, boasts a 2% ruling grade, and adds to that a 180* horseshoe curve, several tunnels, and reverse curves after another. The frictional toll that takes on trains mandates the multi-unit lashups of big AC units on nearly all trains.
Witness a empty coal train in South Draw, curving around the remains of Old Tunnel 17, which collapsed during construction: (yes, that is ONE train!)



Another prime example is the 12.08* curve east of Tunnel 29, east of Pinecliffe, CO. Witness a loaded coal train screech aound the brutal curvature:



How does the railroad cope with the atrocities that the grade and curves create?
Stay tuned for more!
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

The number 1 way that the UP copes witht he grade is to add horsepower. Thousands of horsepower. Here's a WB coal empty at Tunnel 2, headed back to the mines on the Craig branch. Note that there are 8 units on this train, not at all uncommon on this line:



'Uncle Pete' as I call them inserts a couple midtrain units to help keep the slack bunchedsharp eyes will note them burind deep in the train near the East Portal)



And Distributed Power pusher units on the tail end, for the same reason.



The railroad cannot put all the power on the head end on the heaviest trains, if they want to keep them on the rails. Heavy coal trains, manifests and such need DPU's, otherwise the head end power will pull the train right off the rails on tight curves. The DPU's help keep slack bunched. They also lend dynamic brake effort to keep a train on a downgrade under control. For the same reasons, the train has DPU's.

OK, ya'll prolly knew that, but the next installment may be some new info for you!
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Looking forward to the continuation
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Are any manned helpers used, along the old Rio Grande? Or are they now all DPU?



Boxcab E50
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

All DPU, unless a train stalls, and that has happened. I recall a trip I made, when I shot the Blizzard Shot, where an eastbound coal load stalled on the western side of the Divide, and a westbound empty stalled in between Crescent and Rollinsville, CO. Must have really been icy on the rails, since the roads were snow covered as well.
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

How else does the UP and its predecessors cope with the grades and curvature?
Flange greasers. That's right, grease is applied to the inside of the railhead to reduce friction. It works to a point, as lots of locomotive sand is required to maintain traction. A flange greaser is nothing more than a big can of grease, with hoses connected to an apparatus installed on the insides of the rail, to apply a thin film of grease when a train passes over it. A funny-looking 'rug' of material is installed in between the rails, my guess is to contain the grease spatter. (Jerry?)

At Tunnel 30's west portal, a series of tight curves follow one after another, and a greaser is installed a few dozen yards from the portal proper. It's the small black box, about 8-o-clock on the photo:



I neglected to get a closeup of the apparatus, but here's a better view of the greaser installed between Tunnel 4 and 5:



Next up, what happens on curves with or without flange greasers!
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

When trains traverse tight curves, a lot of friction is encountered. The flange greaser can only reduce a small amount of friction, so the rest takes its toll on the railheads. When a train takes a tight curve, you usually hear the flanges 'singing' a high-pitched squeal, one that is almost deafening on some curves on the old D&RGW. That squeal is metal-on-metal, friction-induced noise. The inside of the railhead contacts the flange and the friction causes a lot of drag to overcome. That friction creates a lot of tiny shavings and slivers along the rail.



Also, like a hammer and chisel, the hammering effect mushrooms the head of the chisel. The same effect is recreated on the railhead. The rail mushrooms down along the iside of the railhead, mostly on the outside rail on a curve. The rail eventually shears off in a razor-sharp sliver, that's many feet long: (near the west portal of Tunnel 2)





Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Last one for tonite:

In mountainous territory, where the scenery dwarfs the trains, where the right-of-way was blasted right out of a mountainside, how do you protect the ROW against falling rocks, landslides, and rockslides?
The answer: slide fences.

Basically not much more than telephone poles in the ground, strung with electified wires. If the wires are broken due to a slide, or falling rocks, the electical circuit is broken, and a warning is sent to the dispatcher, changing the block signals to red.

Here's a set of fences at the site of Old Tunnel 9, which collapsed during construction:



Another view, near Tunnel 10:



Slide fences between West Crescent siding and Tunnel 19:



A slide here, at T26 in '91, killed the crew of train, when it derailed into South Boulder Canyon:


Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Thanks for the very clear pictures to explain the text JS Very cool detail for model railroads
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Well, remove, and replace, yes; but sometimes the track gangs just toss it off the side of the ROW...
Thanks guys, for your attendance, and attention! Today, I'm chasing a little steam loco, number thirty-nine-eighty-five... So the next addition to this class will be later today...
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Well, I'm exhausted, and the update I planned will have to be postponed till tomorrow. I did manage to get some more detail shots of a flange greaser, and different installations on Sherman Hill west of Cheyenne.
Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene

 

Great class and great pictures!

 

Here's some pictures I took on a trip to California in Franklin Canyon of the slide fences there.

 

While not as mountainious as Hemi's line, slides can happen in CA too.

 

Here's the approach to a slide fence, and the signal if there is a slide.

 

Close-up of the signal......a simple red light on top of a pole.

 

And some Alabama slide fences.