Large Scale Central

The good ole' US of A

General Discussion
#21

Hello , chaps , Martyn is now out of hospital and fit enough to get the photo sticks for me , here is a taster of the mischief he gets up to . He went into this quarry yard , and two chaps were doing a wheel change . Next time you’r sweating and cussing changing wheelsets , think of this ----------

Just look at the groove worn in that wheel .

These are the spares , ready to fit . Note the differing sizes–apparently not a problem , they all fit on the same wagons. If you are interested , there are more pics , taken on a Sunday when the wheel changers could get at their work . Very helpful chaps , who made Martyn quite welcome–they were surprised that anyone would be interested . Mike PS a thought just struck me , perhaps he breathed in the kidney stones from this quarry . They have yet to pass through .

#22

Ken ,
Martyn got some super truck pictures , he used some of the info you sent. He will write more fully when he is recovered a bit .
He found the truckers most helpful .

Mike

#23

Glad to hear that Mike. Some of those guys are downright proud of the rigs they drive. Me, well, it’s just another work vehicle to me. Boss has to threaten me just to get it washed…:wink:

#24

The pic of the wheels looks like it was taken somewhere along Interstate 10 in California, northwest of Palm Springs. Possibly near Cabazon. Correct?

#25

I hope he managed to get to Cajon and Tehachapi while he was in the area. When I was there a few years back the train action was non-stop!

#26

Ray , yes , the shopping centre of Cabazon is in some of the shots he took from the quarry .

Ken ,
Martyn saw a lot of trains when he couldn’t stop . When he did stop , there were none . He has one shot of two BNSF diesels taken from the driver’s seat of his hire Jeep—super looking vehicle , it had 28 miles on the clock when he hired it —,the BNSF things were partly obscured , I may post the shot . As I said before , if anyone is interested .

Mike

#27

Well , whether you are interested or not , here’s some more --let me know if you don’t like pictures such as these . In another thread , I made a point about observation of things —what do you see on the photo ? A wagon . Yes ,OK , what’s those funny dark spots in the grey paint ? It’s the grease flung out by centrifugal force from the adjacent wagon’s axle . Aha ! Observation .

Observe again , the back end of a hopper . Up at the top of the ladder area is a series of patches of rust , note the pattern is not random , rather it has a definite cause—a swinging chain inside the body perhaps , a chain for holding the cover down ? I don’t know , but it is worth a think about it .

Just a general shot , but note the pickup close to the hopper denoting work in progress . A little thing that brings a layout to life

This shot shows how the rust shows up on a coupler . Just a slight hint of brown.

A jack shoved under the other end of the axle from the first photo . Hardstanding by track seemingly for this purpose—jacking hard point .

Detail of jack . Odd bits of paint on hopper .

More detail . This wheel has less spalling than the one shown up top .

General shot showing extent of jacking area .

Finally , apologies for getting two of the titles mixed up .

#28

Still in the quarry , a slight change of subject for those interested in engineering solutions to weight problems .

So what , you may say , a truck and trailer . Yep , got it in one , but this one’s a bit special . It’s called a “Cassette System” , the Tractor unit’s body is wider than the one on the trailer . This allows for the tractor to tip without his trailer on , then he backs up to the trailer and hauls the trailer body , still loaded , inside his own body . This allows the truck to tip the trailer without the trailer having to have hydraulic rams and associated piping for tipping . You may see the haul hooks on the front of the trailer . Not a lot to do with trains , but hey , we all need a bit of educating in other engineer tricks , don’t we ? Cassette system invented in Sweden . Latest Jeep on hire by Martyn , who is truck mad . That’s the white thing to the right of the truck . Mike ----with no apology to the “it’s not railways” brigade .

#29

Mike, All:

Thanks for the great pix! Looks like Martin had a really good trip. Please keep them coming, as the details he captured are of real interest to modern transport and technology modeling.

Your “cassette” truck is called a “transfer unit” in the western U.S. They are perhaps the most common transport units for sand, aggregate and asphaltic materials in our part of the country. They can move around 20 to 25 yards of material (depending on the weight of the material) per load.

We had several working on the airport that is my front yard during a culvert replacement project late this summer. The haul on our project was ~100 miles round trip, taking around 4 hours over our winding country roads. Two round trips / day on straight time.

It’s interesting to watch them work. Their operation is fully mechanized and controlled by the truck driver using a remote control box. No pushing or pulling on the operator’s part. It’s amazing how quickly and smoothly the unitching, emptying the truck, doing the transfer, emptying the trailer, returning it to the trailer chassis and rehitching the truck all happens. Even the hitch frame is spring loaded to align with the truck’s pintle type hitch, so there is no danger to the operator.

Perhaps invented in Sweden, but I think some truck manufacturing folks out here in the western U.S. might disagree . . .

Happy RRing,

Jerry Bowers

#30

Interesting pics, thanks for posting! A bit gratifying to hear that I nailed the location, too. :slight_smile: Been through there many, many times over the years.

#31

Interesting pics, thanks for posting! A bit gratifying to hear that I nailed the location, too. :slight_smile: Been through there many, many times over the years.

#32

Jerry ,
Thanks for your input . It is pleasing to know that there are folks around who , like yourself , take an interest in engineering in general . I get a little bit tired of the "not railway stuff " brigade , they don’t want to learn , it seems .
Your input ,giving a more detailed insight into these vehicles , may give someone the idea of using them as “scenery” on a layout—after all , these vehicles are an essential feeder to the rail network ,via the hopper wagons shown previously .
And , yes , I bet there will be those who say that they were invented on the West Coast . I certainly wouldn’t argue . You have to be there , on the spot to see it born , so to speak , for absolute proof .
With regard to the integration of the cassette trucks with the railway , the blokes working on the wheel change showed Martyn where to park safely in the truck park so’s he could take photos , they worked on the road vehicles as well .
Talking of inventions , way back in the early fifties , my Dad designed the tail lift for trucks , there was always a queuing problem at the factory where he was works engineer . One of the delivery drivers said the problem could be solved if the trucks were self loading . So Dad came up with the tail lift , his company set up a separate concern to make and sell them when their self advertising became effective .
Neither he , nor the driver , got a penny out of it.
Plus ca change , as the froggies say . We stole that saying as our invention .

Mike

PS Didja know that an Italian chappie did a successful powered flight a few years before the Wright Brothers ? True , but nobody wants to rewrite history , do they ?

EDIT____ sorry , Ray , I meant to say—Martyn is still stupified by drugs to stop the pain of the stone passing(pissing?) syndrome , and could not quite remember where he took the pics . When I said it could be the place you said , he said "Yes that’s it " . He was quite chuffed .
I also note that you went through it so often , you had to tell us twice !!! It’s ok , I believed you first time . Thanks for the input .

#33

---------------------- And talking of looking for detail , here is a preview of some more pics , this one demonstrating that there is a prototype for everything ---------------------------------------------------------------

Large black steamer in Nevada . Tender bogie with differing size of wheels front and back . Presumably to clear the box structure . Different axle boxes too . I wonder if the deeper axle box gave the wheel its displaced centre to keep the bogie frame level ? . Knowledgable engineers needed here . And any other comments , too , please .

#34

Here’s a partial view of the rest of it

There’s more where that came from , but if it’s already well documented , let me know and I shall leave space for other stuff .

#35

And the one next to it .

#36

Good pictures, Mike. Thanks for posting. The last two of the engines, prompts my statement. I’ve always disliked engines where you can see between the boilers and the wheels. Maybe it is the love of the narrow gauge engines that sit squatted on their frame or something, but that sure is a geeky looking engine.

#37

Ric , I am inclined to agree with you , but a loco with daylight showing between boiler and frame is better than one with daylight showing through the boiler . Here’s a bit more of the same .

There’s more to come , mainly detail . Mike

#38

I do like that tender, with the tank car rear area. Quite a different look. Does anyone know the reason that the boiler is set so high off the frame and drive wheels on some of these engines?

#39

If the boiler is short enough then there isn’t clearance for the drivers and the firebox. If you look you can see that the last driver wouldn’t clear the firebox thus the locomotive is raised so it will.

#40

Thanks Warren, good simple answer that I never really took in to consideration.