Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
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Train delays due to high temperatures .... what!!!
- Thread starter goldstone
- Start date
You'll be given cushy jobs!
This is correct and has been happening for years unfortunately I am on call this week! its one of the issues with continuous welded rail which gives a much better ride as opposed to jointed rail of years ago and happens everywhere in the world. CWR rail is normally stressed so that it can handle higher temps but the problem lies when maintenance at night does not allow for this procedure and a new rail is installed without restoring the stress. It is better to have a speed restriction so that trains have a chance if a buckle happens, but we do have watchmen on site at known unstressed sites. This photo shows what happens in hot weather and quite common, I think you would rather a slight delay than go over this at line speed!
As a matter of interest, what temperature do you think the rail reached on Saturday just gone with air temp of 26 degrees?
Jimmy Grimble
Well-known member
Were you sent here by the devil?
beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 35,332
i'm going to hazard a guess its the change that has more impact than outright temperature?
wowzers, shirley thats not really from heat affect, either a photoshop or the laid it pissed?
HawkTheSeagull
New member
Metal/Rail temperature is ALWAYS much higher than air temperature - just feel your metal car bonnet on a hot day and you will find that out.
Apparently in the area yesterday, the rail temperature just outside Vauxhall on the Clapham - Waterloo line was 30 degrees hotter than the air temperature (air 25C, Rail 55C). Running over these lines at line speed can result in the rails buckling and major accidents. New rails arent affected as much but its the old rails being affected - it also affects overhead power lines which "sag" in hot temperatures as the wires expand.
Apparently in the area yesterday, the rail temperature just outside Vauxhall on the Clapham - Waterloo line was 30 degrees hotter than the air temperature (air 25C, Rail 55C). Running over these lines at line speed can result in the rails buckling and major accidents. New rails arent affected as much but its the old rails being affected - it also affects overhead power lines which "sag" in hot temperatures as the wires expand.
bn1&bn3 Albion
Well-known member
No, good sir, I'm on the level
The highest on Saturday was in Eastbourne where it always seems to get hotter than others and was 48 degrees and rail temp at 18.00 tonight there was 41 degrees. Heat affects new and old rails the same, it all depends if it has the correct stress when installed or maintenance carried out.
I was at a site of railway work many years ago and watched a gang cut a rail on the hottest day of that year(wouldn't happen now), when the rail was lifted out and 200 yds of clips removed that secure it to the sleeper, it was overlapping 2 1/2" such was the expansion and could not be put back in until 10 hours later at 2 am!
- Thread starter
- #29
Wow! You obviously know your subject, but I am still amazed that in 2013 we cannot find a solution to the problem.
So in the California desert where temperatures regularly reach over 100F presumably the track is not continuous welded? and of course the trains, mostly freight, travel at a much slower speed.
arkan
Active member
The ring came off my pudding can 
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
arkan
Active member
There is a solution to the problem but when a defect rail has to replaced and it is not stressed, you need to plan in restressing but as you probably realise its not as easy as that with time restrictions at night. if hot weather occurs before this then it can become an issue. The solutions are in place, there are lots of expansion switch rails dotted around which allow for movement in hot and cold weather and in west sussex there are only 2 watchmen sites with the lowest at 43 degrees so its a very low percentage.
This video shows how quick it happens and its not speeded up!
Garage_Doors
Originally the Swankers
beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 35,332
Jimmy Grimble
Well-known member
I beat you to it my good man
Take my pen knife, my good man!
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
I beat you to it my good man
You and I are sworn enemies. I'm not playing any more.
cloud
Well-known member
It's not just the trains, but the buses as well - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23203806
Mental Lental
Well-known member
Quite. It gets pretty close to 40 degrees C every summer in Tokyo. I never have to wait more than 10 minutes for a train (in the suburbs!) and The Yamanote (Tokyo's circle line) manages to run a train every THREE MINUTES.
The only time they are ever late is when some stressed out overworking salayman jumps in front of one them and even then it only takes about 20 minutes for them to clean up the mess and get the trains running again.
Oh and the trains were also running less than 24 hours after experiencing a major EARTHQUAKE.
How the British public just accept these levels of incompetence is quite beyond me frankly.
British Bulldog
The great escape
- Feb 6, 2006
- 10,899
I think the main difference is other countries have had the intelligence to invest the time, Money and the land in creating decent rail networks where as in this country we're still trying to run a modern railway on an old fashioned network. Another difference being that again in other countries they seem to just get on and do things but here we spend most of our time looking for reasons why things can't be done.