Re: Indian Pacific Lithgow

["Paul Jones" <dj_argon@geocities.com>]

I was wondering why there is a stack of crumbled sleepers sitting in a heap
there near the railway line!!!

---
Paul Jones
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/6776



Matthew Geier wrote in message <79lgau$bob$1@metro.ucc.usyd.edu.au>...
>>>>so what about concrete sleepers? Are there any pressing reasons for
>>>>not using them?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Concrete sleepers, while great for holding CWR in place and lasting
>>>a long time are not derailment proof. They crack and then are useless.
>>
>>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>snip snip
>>
>>īs this a purely Aussie phenomenon, due to the heat? The only case of
>>heard of concrete sleepers cracking in Europe is that of those made by
>>the former East German State Railways (DR), using sand from the Baltic
>>beaches (actually, I think crumbling is probably more correct).
>>
>
> Im not aware of any of the concrete sleepers used in NSW just 'crumbling'
>in normal traffic. However there have been quite a number of instances of
>derailed wagons being dragged many kilometers before the crew notices,
>leaving a trail of cracked sleepers. This is particulary a problem with
>loaded coal trains. One derailed axle might not get noticed for a while
>(ie until it hits a set of points and pulls the other axle off and parts
>the train!), and with a quarter of the weight of a load of coal bounceing
>along the sleepers, a lot break...
>
> There was a case a few years back when a load coal train was dragged down
>the hill to Emu Plains with a derailed wagon. Probably due to the curves
>the crew never noticed the dust being kicked up by the drailed wagon.
> After the crew were notified something was wrong , stopped the train and
>appropiate wagon repair action taken, the perway maintence crew went back
>up the montain and placed a wooden sleeper between every 5th or so concrete
>sleeper. Most had been cracked by the derailed wagon, so there was concern
>that they couldnt hold the guage properly anymore. (But they could still
>support the rail - hence '1 in 5' timber to hold the guage). I think that
>line then went another year before they relayed the lot again.
>