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classictrains — Grain Train
by-nc-nd
Published: 2008-08-01 19:21:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 659; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 21
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Description
The Union Pacific North-South line through Des Moines is seeing a lot of traffic. This Southbound train of mostly grain cars is approaching the NS crossover at CP Market Street. It's blocking Dean Avenue and the west lead of Shortline Yard.My telephoto and the heat distortion makes it obvious that the roadbed needs a bit of attention.
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Comments: 17
Excellent shot! A lot of the sidings and branches for elevators out here look just like that.
You should swing out this way next time and holler at me.
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I'd love to... but first I gotta get away from this office where I am reduced to catching up on devArt during lunch 5 minutes.
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There are a lot of places in North America that still have jointed rail. Unlike the rest of the world, North American railroads lay jointed rail with the joints offset half a rail length. The belief behind it is that the track ends up stronger because there can only be one stripped joint at any given point along the track; however, it also introduces trains to harmonic rocking if the track gets "low joints" due to insufficient maintenance. Between 13 and 21 MPH, trains can start swaying so hard that the wheels can lift off the track. Keep that up for too long and you'll have cars on the ground.
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needs help ? wow it looks like the rail melted and bent in some spots lol
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That is the effect of the telephoto lens combined with heat distortion which forms a lens in the air between my camera and the object being photographed. The train is nearly a half mile away.
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its only the rails though
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yep... the rails and ties are dark coloured and dead and radiate heat back into the air. The live green organic matter is moist and wicks heat away into the ground and to the shady side of the plant. This is why you see hawks soaring up over highways. The heat rises and gives them lift. Over the fields to the side of the road they slowly sink. My dashboard thermometer tells a similar story. On average the air temp on a summer day is 5 degrees warmer on the highway than it is parked off road.
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ow ok and you didnt have to take time to tell me lol but thank you for doing so lol
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Ho-lee-shit... That rail looks like an iminent change is in order... I often hafe the feeling that many branchlines and sidings in the US are in an appalling condition... Even the siding of a transformer station that might get used once every few years looks better [link] This looks like a damn offroad train of some sorts... What is the max speed for such a siding?
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Max speed here is 5mph.
See my other responses. The long lens and the temperature makes you think it is worse than it is. BTW... this isn't a siding. It sees different traffic loads with the seasons. Some of the trains I saw today are full grain cars all the way from Alberta heading south to the Gulf Coast.
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I'd probably have to see it without the heat distortion to know in what shape it really is. This shot just makes me think that it must be an uncomfortable ride ^^
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needs more than a little attention, more like lots of TLC....i'd think it gets to be a safety concern when the lines get to be so rough and uneven
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