Yard Safety

[KaBar]

Third Rail

 

If you don't live up in the Northeast Corridor, you're not likely to ever see a "third rail." Subway systems and "elevated" systems (like in New York and Chicago) have a system where there are two rails that are gauge (that is, that the subway cars wheels roll on) and one rail that is "energized" i.e. charged with electricity. The third rail is "hot." If you touch the third rail while you are grounded, you get electrocuted. In order to protect the public, access to subway systems that use a third rail is always pretty limited with fences, gates and elevated platforms providing a sort of barrier to people accidentally wandering onto the tracks and stepping on the rail. They very rarely run a third-rail-type system on grade level--it's much too dangerous. Grade-level streetcar and LRV (light rail vehicle) systems (like in San Francisco) use a trolley system with overhead wires. The San Francisco MUNI system has LRV's that are convertible. They operate as trolley streetcars on grade, and then can go "into the tunnels" under Market Street and operate as "subway" cars of of a third rail type system underground. A set of long poles with electrical contacts on them extend up from the back of the streetcars and touch the wires. Electric trolley bus systems use the same idea, but without the trackage.

[Guest GorbortOrman]

Re: Third Rail

 

Originally posted by KaBar

A set of long poles with electrical contacts on them extend up from the back of the streetcars and touch the wires. Electric trolley bus systems use the same idea, but without the trackage.

 

Just like some the buses in Seattle....

[Boring Bastard]

Originally posted by FLiPWriTeR

damn. thare are some pretty crazy stories on here. well heres mine..

i scope the yard for like a g00d 10 minutes. everything is calm, no action. so i walk down the line. as i pass maybe two or three cars, i hear some shit. im like what the fuck is that continuing noise? so now im walking slower and fully aware now. as i hit the fourth car (coal car), i look up and guess what.. a fucking rail worker or bum or whoever the fuck he/she was walking along with me on top of the fucking cars!! without any thinking, i ran my scared, timberland boot wearing, walmart shopping bag carrying ass to my fucking car.. it was about a two hundred yards and i think i got there in like 3 seconds.. damn, but um, yeah thats some crazy shit for yall to ponder on..bo0oO0000

 

I would have shit myself honestly!!

[Bevis]

these fucks use to chase us in golf carts, haha, i like when your hiding behind a wheel and the worker is on the other side flashing lights at the numbers, you just wanna jump out and scare him, one time we where painting this yard in the middle where it's open and this engine pulled in and just sat there and it's main light started going in circles like there was a fuckin party goin on, anyone ever see those trains that clean the tracks, looks like the 4th of july in your layup, hella sparks flying everywhere and theres a worker on the back spraying the tracks with water as the train is rolling, anyways, ive seen and heard alot of crazy shit in yards from skunks trying to spray you to girls screaming, but there's no one there? i believe some yards to be haunted because some shit is just to fuked up to understand, but no matter what just be on your toes and ready to roll the fuck out(if you paint westcoast yards anyways)j/k

[FLiPWriTeR]

nah, i havent seen one of those but ive seen those tractor thingys that clean the dirt that is in between the railings. those things run on the tracks and have these pitch forks that come down on the side and remove the dirt away from in between the spacings..holla

[Guest BOSTONIAN]

THANKS FOR ALLTHAT INSIGHT KEEP IT COMMING...

[Guest Asid]

STL Yard

 

Yea that yard by the flood gates is fucking insane, I go do my shit somewhere else around...They run that 24/7.

[Guest Asid]

Yard

 

I think its from barges and that heavy traffic, think its for coal for a power plant nearby, any way ink do you know how far those trains go out west or not?

[Guest BABYWANTOKIL]

cracked ass...please don't mention newark. keep it on the d.l.

[sectorTVA]

Re: slack action and other tidbits

 

Originally posted by fr8oholic

all by kabar.

 

Everybody has heard about Slack Action, but not everybody understands exactly what it is. The railcars are built with couplers that automatically close when two cars are banged together in humping, when humped over a hump crest, or by "flat-switching" the cars in a small yard with no hump. When a switchman cuts out a car on the crest of the hump, he has to do it at just the right moment. The unit powers up in reverse (humping is done in reverse--the unit pulls the string over the hump, then starts backing up so the cars can be cut out, humped, retarded and switched into their new string) and gets the string rolling, then he slacks off the accelerator and the car to be cut (called a "cut") rolls up slowly to the hump crest. When the switchman sees the unit is off the power, he pulls the pin (it's a lever that goes out the side of the coupler) opening the coupler, releasing the "cut" and allowing gravity to roll it into the hump and the master retarder. As the car rolls down the hump, the switchmen in the crest tower hit the MR, and you can hear the squeal of the retarder shoes rubbing the outside of the train car wheels to slow it down. Couplers can handle an impact of about 5 mph, no more. There is another retarder farther down the hump line, called a "group retarder" but I think my local yard doesn't have one. The car rolls until it hits the string of cars in it's CONsist. When it hits, the impact closes the coupler, and it locks automatically.

There is about 1"-3/4" slack in the couplers themselves. The couplers are connected to the "draft gear." The draft gear isn't really gears, it's like "gear" in terms of somebody's stuff, rather than a transmission gear. The draft gear can move in and out about 12"-14" max. So when a unit starts to pull a train, the first car hits slack action after a foot. The second car, after two feet, and so on. On a long train, say 80 cars, the unit may move 85 feet before the FRED moves an inch. Slack action is much more violent in the back half of the train, like the tail on a bull whip. As the train "stretches out", you hear slack coming down the string b-b-b-b-B-B-B-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-BOOM-BOOM-BANG! and all the sudden your car is jerked into motion. Stretch out is also called "draft" like in "draft horses." It means "pull." Then, if the engineer gets on the brakes, the train starts contracting the same way, but it's called "buff." It sounds the same b-b-b-B-B-Boom-Boom-Boom-BOOM-BOOM-BANG! and suddenly your car is slowing down. It is now "buffed in." What this means to people in railyards is that they need to be aware that trains can move at any second, especially a long string. The units way down on the other end of the yard may suddenly get powered up and told to move, or get "called." Or the string your car is on can be hit by a midnight rambler at any time, as the hump crew suddenly starts making up a consist. BE ALERT AS TO WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND YOU. Really tight crews have at least one guy (maybe a rookie) serving as a spotter, watching for ramblers, bulls, cops, etc. If you're hopping, you definately need to understand slack action to the nuts. ALWAYS HANG ONTO SOMETHING. Don't ride freestyle or skylining. Only FNG wannabes do shit like that. HIDE. "No exposure without purpose." That's what I think, anyway. (Yo, Collinwood, your shit rocks. "CK, rock like him," and Ride Safe.)

 

this is great info....a brakeman i was talking with was saying how slack made the ride in a caboose very nerve racking...we were talking about FRED and cabooses...he said when cabooses were in use comming around a corner the slack in the line would snap the caboose extremely violently esspecially on longer trains...he said some cabooses were better than others though since some had some sort of cushioned coupler or something and that made caboose travel quite a bit better...

 

question about brakes...

 

how do they operate?

when pressurized do the brakes activate?

i read someplace in this thread that when a train dynamites the brakes lock...that would lead me to think that when there is no airpressure the brakes activate and lock...

[Cracked Ass]

Train brakes were invented/innovated by George Westinghouse. He devised a method to apply brakes using compressed air, also called a pneumatic braking system. A compressor in the engine got up the necessary air, which was pumped back through hoses on each car to apply the brakes. Trouble was, if something went wrong with the compressor, you had a train that couldn't stop. So he went back to the drawing board and made it so you needed compressed air to RELEASE the brakes, which were otherwise locked. That way if there's a problem with the compressor or a busted hose, the brakes go on automatically. That's what you're hearing when you're next to a train and there's that steady hiss, which spills over to the next car in line. They're pumping air to get ready to release the brakes.

[sectorTVA]

perfect answer to my question...thanks cracked...

[Guest montanaman]

bump been there seen this happen a lot especially in a bizzy yard ... im glad someones taking the time to post these threads i kno some kids that got hurt at a yard and they werent even graffers ... this brings a lot of concern to us graffers and im glad that some ones taking that time... its one of the best threads so far thanx a mill man be safe

[valek13]

Originally posted by HESHIANDET

i got the p.w. for deadtrainbums.com if anyone wants it-hit me back.

how about that password?

[KaBar]

DeadTrainBums.com

 

Valek--DeadTrainBums.com is one of Eric Jackson's sites. His passwords are usually pretty simple and direct. In this case, they are "dead" and "bums." The opening pic is pretty gross--a teenaged boy that was killed under a train, severed limbs and a huge gash in his head with his brains out on the ballast. I think Jaks got tired of it after a while--the last addition was like in 1999. It's still pretty sobering. SAFETY FIRST. And like old Rufe used ta say, "This ain't no fucking hobby!"

[MULIT]

YA

 

Keep posting info like this. it saved my ass!

[aederone]

not that anyone would.... but never throw things.....rocks etc.. at a moving train... my friend for some odd reason found joy in this....and if you didn't already know.... the rocks will come shooting back...usualy right at you. i just wanted to add my 2 cents...and thats all i could come up with. i feel like i was back in school with all the things i learned about trains. good work.

[aederone]

i've never painted in a yard before and i found one today (middle of nowhere) and i was wondering if anyone cold give me some advice.....like how to see if its chill to paint and all that....i'm used to rollin up to a building/wall and just goin at it....but i know yards have security and stuff.. so......go forth..advice.........

[sectorTVA]

Originally posted by aederone

i've never painted in a yard before and i found one today (middle of nowhere) and i was wondering if anyone cold give me some advice.....like how to see if its chill to paint and all that....i'm used to rollin up to a building/wall and just goin at it....but i know yards have security and stuff.. so......go forth..advice.........

 

not much to say...just scope it out for a while....its better to find a layup...how big is the yard you are talking about? some smaller yards arent 24-7 and you could be able to hit it late night and possibly weekends....i can only recommend you drive past it alot and see what they are up to various times of the day...other than that, read this thread on saftey, which you probably already have done right?

 

as far as security at yards, i suggest finding a layup, alot more chill....some smaller yards may not even have security though....

[Cracked Ass]

Recon, recon, recon. Aeder, you sound inexperienced to me in writing period - no offense, and I could be wrong, just a guess based on some of your other posts on these forums. I speak for a lot of heads when I say, if you don't have some skills and some styles down solid, then wait awhile on freights.

Whether you're ready stylewise or not, you can still recon your yard. Go there many times - several hours a week or more if you can - and just watch the place from several different angles (with NO graff supplies on you). Try to learn the entire perimeter: nearby streets, dirt access roads, where the office building is, where the engines generally park, paths, woods, nosy neighbors, possible ways to get in and out. Then learn the habits: when it's busy, when it's not, and maybe after a while you'll notice that a certain side or section of the yard is the quietest. That may eventually be your target area.

There's no rush, the trains will be there. I agree with sector, try to find layups first, they are safer than yards and often easier. Don't try working that yard until you know it well, and make sure you've read the rest of this thread.

[aederone]

thanks. i'll do that.

[*die*]

hey and don't run with scissors pointed towards you make sure that they point toward someone else so if you fall you don't miss an opportunity to stab an innnocent mutha fucka

[JonJacob]

InBetweenCars

 

a)What safety precautions should be taken when painting in between two lines that are right next to eachother?

 

c)Should you avoid touching still cars? If one suddenly started moving would it rip off what ever was touching it?

 

B)I've always though that painting in between two lines is safer than painting a line next to an empty track. When you are between two lines there is something occupying the track behind you, so nothing can really sneak up on you. I always figured too that if the line behind me was about to move, I would hear the slack being taken up way down the line before the car behind me actually started to move.

 

comments?

[Cracked Ass]

I'm glad this came up. Being in between two lines carries a number of hazards.

First of all, the amount of clearance you THINK you have can change if one line starts moving. If you're standing next to a tanker or other car that doesn't take up as much room as it could, you could be in for a nasty surprise when a much wider box, hopper or lumber rack rolls up and cuts your space in half. Make sure you know what the ABSOLUTE clearance is between the lines you're in between, which can be done by walking up the line far enough to see the width of the gap between the widest cars (boxcars, lumber racks and some hoppers, but don't be fooled by "kind" hoppers that allow a little extra breathing room down low).

Even "absolute" clearance is a problem for two reasons:

1.SNAGS. This is worker slang for anything hanging off of a car that could "snag" and drag a worker (or you) along between lines, which is a good way to get injured or killed on the railroad. These occur often enough to be worried about at all times between lines. There are lots of types of snags: metal strapping used to secure loads hanging loose, wood or trash sticking out of log cars or boxcar doors, cable tiedowns on lumber racks. You can easily get hung up on the ordinary projections sticking off of cars - plug door bars, door track ends, a ladder which has been dented or damaged so as to stick out a little. If you have ever walked between lines and gotten your jacket or backpack caught on anything, that's what can snag you if you're standing still and the line is moving.

2.JOINTED RAIL. I've been between lines (stupidly) in spots where the clearance was already narrow...and then it got WORSE when one line moved, because the cars leaned toward each other as they passed over low spots on the poorly maintained joints in the rails. I've seen cars almost touch at the tops due to this lean. It has less of an effect down near the ground. (Really, if this factor is enough to matter, you shouldn't get between those lines at all, it's too narrow to be safe.)

Here's another issue: VERTIGO. If for some reason you're between lines and BOTH of them start moving, your brain can fall prey to a strange phenomenon called "loss of horizon line". Your brain almost always relies on being able to tell what is moving and what is stationary by comparing it to what it knows to be solid ground, but it needs a few feet or more of open space to compute this. In between moving lines, your brain can get disoriented, resulting in dizziness and a tendency to fall over. If you're ever in this situation, GET ON THE GROUND in the exact middle of the space you have and look back and forth at both lines, watching for snags. When one line stops, climb across it USING THE LADDERS AND WALKWAYS, never at the coupler or underneath, and get the fuck out of there. Don't go back, either - you're obviously in too busy a part of the yard to be painting or walking if lines on both sides of you are moving. (This has happened to me twice over the years in places I didn't belong.)

In general, there is more room down on the ground when you're next to a moving line, but that's not reliable with some low-hanging intermodal cars, and the danger of snags is always present at any height.

Another reason not to make a habit of being in between active lines: workers will be PISSED to catch you alongside their moving line in the yard. They don't want to see fresh ground hamburger on their shift, and they have no idea how smart or dumb you are about train safety when they see you in that dangerous situation, and they'll assume dumb if you're anybody but a trained worker. In fact, they are obligated to find out what's up and get you the fuck out of there before they continue to move their train.

CLEARINGS. These are "holes" in the middle of a yard where there's a stretch of empty track, but trains surrounding you on three or four sides (both adjacent tracks, and short lines of cars further down one or both ends of the stretch of empty track). Nice to paint in, because you can stand back and look at your shit and get flicks, yet you're hard to see from any direction. But if shit starts moving around you could have problems. The biggest threat is that one of the lines will start moving toward you, shrinking the clearing and likely making it disappear. This brings up 2 rules of thumb: if you want to paint in a clearing, first check out what the clearance is going to be like if a line moves and the clearing closes up. Second - and this is a rule of mine at all times in any yard - DO NOT stand or walk within ten or fifteen feet of the END of the last car in a line, and don't paint any car in a clearing less than one FULL carlength from the end car in any line. If that line suddenly moves toward you, and clearance is poor between lines, you could be fucked. You never want to be in a situation where you have to run ahead of a moving line in order to reach the next gap between cars to climb up and out of the way.

BACKPACKS. Remember that if you're between lines wearing a backpack, you are wider when you turn sideways (the opposite of wearing no bag), and you can get stuck or snagged easily. Also if you're painting in between lines you don't want to have a whole lot of crap unloaded on the ground, you want to be ready for a fast exit if lines start moving. I have only one can at a time out of the bag, and the bag in easy reach at all times.

Basically, if you are between lines and one line starts to move, and you don't have a deathwish, you must stop whatever you're doing and either get out or at least pay close attention to what's going on. Move to the nearest end of the car you're next to of the stopped line, climb the ladder and either cross over and wait, or stand on the back walkway with a FIRM handgrip (in case that line also moves suddenly). DO NOT stand on the ground in between two stopped cars at the coupler waiting for the other line to stop. If that line also moves, you're fucked.

[Cracked Ass]

Which is a good lead-in to a reminder of the big rule in all yards: ALWAYS assume that ANY line may jerk into motion at ANY time.

[KaBar]

Cracked---Last weekend I saw a good example of what you are talking about. A train came into the wye where I have my favorite jungle, and it had a bad order car in the middle of the string. They stopped near "my" leg of the wye with the bad order car just short of the switch, broke air, and left the bad order there as the head end. Then the unit pulled the remaining string onto the next leg of the wye, and stopped with the unit just short of that switch. The unit dropped that string, passed over the switch, threw it, and backed around the wye to the third switch, passed over it, then threw that one and came back along "my" leg of the wye again. They then threw the first switch the other way, passed over it, and picked up the bad order car and towed it backwards with the unit onto "my" leg. It was dragging brake gear and hoses, and had no brakes at all. They actually held it in place by putting a piece of dunnage under a wheel, like blocking up a pick-up on a hill, LOL. Then the unit went back around the wye in reverse, "un-doing" what they had just done, until it could back up to the front section, couple up, air up, then back it up and pick up the back section, couple up to that one, air up again, and push it on down the main.

I watched it all from my jungle, fascinated. I had never before seen a unit go all the way around a wye like that. During this entire deal, a switchman or some member of the train crew had to get on and off the train about six or eight times, and EACH TIME HE CROSSED FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK TO THE OTHER, he did it by climbing the ladders and passing over the top of the coupler, or over the catwalk on the unit. Not once did he cross over the track itself, even when he was on the very last car in the string.

It was a good object lesson. Imitate the railroad workers, and one is unlikely to be hurt. Of course, as soon as they left, I tagged the bad order car. About fifteen minutes later, a goat showed up, and they towed it off to the Yard's RIP track.

[Guest eessee]

i love graffiti intelligence "GIA"

Graffiti Intelligence Agency.....:D :D :D :D :D

[deformatron]

"On a long train, say 80 cars, the unit may move 85 feet before the FRED moves an inch"

 

what does FRED stand for? is this the last car in a string?

[imported_joewelcome]

FRED, as i'm told, is the actual term used by the railroads. It stands for Flashing Rear End Device. naturally slang prevails, as was proven twice by Papa Cracked, so Fuckin Rear End Device is probably used just as much.

 

gesundheit

[*die*]

whoa

 

Originally posted by Cracked Ass

I'm glad this came up. Being in between two lines carries a number of hazards.

First of all, the amount of clearance you THINK you have can change if one line starts moving. If you're standing next to a tanker or other car that doesn't take up as much room as it could, you could be in for a nasty surprise when a much wider box, hopper or lumber rack rolls up and cuts your space in half. Make sure you know what the ABSOLUTE clearance is between the lines you're in between, which can be done by walking up the line far enough to see the width of the gap between the widest cars (boxcars, lumber racks and some hoppers, but don't be fooled by "kind" hoppers that allow a little extra breathing room down low).

Even "absolute" clearance is a problem for two reasons:

1.SNAGS. This is worker slang for anything hanging off of a car that could "snag" and drag a worker (or you) along between lines, which is a good way to get injured or killed on the railroad. These occur often enough to be worried about at all times between lines. There are lots of types of snags: metal strapping used to secure loads hanging loose, wood or trash sticking out of log cars or boxcar doors, cable tiedowns on lumber racks. You can easily get hung up on the ordinary projections sticking off of cars - plug door bars, door track ends, a ladder which has been dented or damaged so as to stick out a little. If you have ever walked between lines and gotten your jacket or backpack caught on anything, that's what can snag you if you're standing still and the line is moving.

2.JOINTED RAIL. I've been between lines (stupidly) in spots where the clearance was already narrow...and then it got WORSE when one line moved, because the cars leaned toward each other as they passed over low spots on the poorly maintained joints in the rails. I've seen cars almost touch at the tops due to this lean. It has less of an effect down near the ground. (Really, if this factor is enough to matter, you shouldn't get between those lines at all, it's too narrow to be safe.)

Here's another issue: VERTIGO. If for some reason you're between lines and BOTH of them start moving, your brain can fall prey to a strange phenomenon called "loss of horizon line". Your brain almost always relies on being able to tell what is moving and what is stationary by comparing it to what it knows to be solid ground, but it needs a few feet or more of open space to compute this. In between moving lines, your brain can get disoriented, resulting in dizziness and a tendency to fall over. If you're ever in this situation, GET ON THE GROUND in the exact middle of the space you have and look back and forth at both lines, watching for snags. When one line stops, climb across it USING THE LADDERS AND WALKWAYS, never at the coupler or underneath, and get the fuck out of there. Don't go back, either - you're obviously in too busy a part of the yard to be painting or walking if lines on both sides of you are moving. (This has happened to me twice over the years in places I didn't belong.)

In general, there is more room down on the ground when you're next to a moving line, but that's not reliable with some low-hanging intermodal cars, and the danger of snags is always present at any height.

Another reason not to make a habit of being in between active lines: workers will be PISSED to catch you alongside their moving line in the yard. They don't want to see fresh ground hamburger on their shift, and they have no idea how smart or dumb you are about train safety when they see you in that dangerous situation, and they'll assume dumb if you're anybody but a trained worker. In fact, they are obligated to find out what's up and get you the fuck out of there before they continue to move their train.

CLEARINGS. These are "holes" in the middle of a yard where there's a stretch of empty track, but trains surrounding you on three or four sides (both adjacent tracks, and short lines of cars further down one or both ends of the stretch of empty track). Nice to paint in, because you can stand back and look at your shit and get flicks, yet you're hard to see from any direction. But if shit starts moving around you could have problems. The biggest threat is that one of the lines will start moving toward you, shrinking the clearing and likely making it disappear. This brings up 2 rules of thumb: if you want to paint in a clearing, first check out what the clearance is going to be like if a line moves and the clearing closes up. Second - and this is a rule of mine at all times in any yard - DO NOT stand or walk within ten or fifteen feet of the END of the last car in a line, and don't paint any car in a clearing less than one FULL carlength from the end car in any line. If that line suddenly moves toward you, and clearance is poor between lines, you could be fucked. You never want to be in a situation where you have to run ahead of a moving line in order to reach the next gap between cars to climb up and out of the way.

BACKPACKS. Remember that if you're between lines wearing a backpack, you are wider when you turn sideways (the opposite of wearing no bag), and you can get stuck or snagged easily. Also if you're painting in between lines you don't want to have a whole lot of crap unloaded on the ground, you want to be ready for a fast exit if lines start moving. I have only one can at a time out of the bag, and the bag in easy reach at all times.

Basically, if you are between lines and one line starts to move, and you don't have a deathwish, you must stop whatever you're doing and either get out or at least pay close attention to what's going on. Move to the nearest end of the car you're next to of the stopped line, climb the ladder and either cross over and wait, or stand on the back walkway with a FIRM handgrip (in case that line also moves suddenly). DO NOT stand on the ground in between two stopped cars at the coupler waiting for the other line to stop. If that line also moves, you're fucked.

 

damn you typed a whole lota words. i hate typing alot because it makes my hands hurts so i just have homeless people do my typing for me and it save me a whole a hand hurting