USA - railways, public transport, services and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

This type of switch heating has been used for decades in cold climates. Inefficiency, rather than safety, is the main reason why it's becoming less common. If it weren't safe it wouldn't be used. This type of switch heating is always monitored locally by a human.

There's an alternative method that also uses propane. Gas is burned in a chamber next to the rails and a high pressure hot air blower feeds  it to the switch through ducts and nozzles. These forced air systems can be controlled remotely or by temperature/precipitation sensors.

[Electric train]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60177979

Looks rather alarming ! And also far from efficient as most of the heat looks to be wasted in large luminous gas flames that heat the sky.
The light output looks distracting to the train driver at night.
Possibly a fire risk to any train that stops with flames underneath. Risk of igniting waste paper or leaves caught on the underframe ? Damage to rubber hoses or plastic insulated wires ?

We used to use gas heating of points in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), and few installations may remain in use. These however used non luminous blue flames, carefully directed to the parts needing heating.
Generally burning propane, but mains gas was used in a few places including Waterloo station.

Electric heating of points is now the norm.

There are according to a recent NR^» (Network Rail - home page) internal meeting I recently attended there are less than 5 sites on the National network operating on gas all LPG^▸ (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

Electric point heating on the UK National network has quite a clever control system, which has been in use for around for 30 years.   There 'hot' and 'cold' rail temperature sensors which work in conjunction with a humidly sensor and some locations a blown snow sensor.  Most installations have remote monitoring which detect if one on the heater strips has failed and report it back to the Route 'flight engineers'

[grahame]

There are according to a recent NR^» (Network Rail - home page) internal meeting I recently attended there are less than 5 sites on the National network operating on gas all LPG^▸ (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

Electric point heating on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) National network has quite a clever control system, which has been in use for around for 30 years.   There 'hot' and 'cold' rail temperature sensors which work in conjunction with a humidly sensor and some locations a blown snow sensor.  Most installations have remote monitoring which detect if one on the heater strips has failed and report it back to the Route 'flight engineers'

That is very interesting, thank you.  Not asking you to name the 4 ( ?  ) sites - but can you comment on Bradford Junction, where the line towards Swindon has on occasions been put out of use in inclement weather when (it seems) all the other junctions up and down the line remain in service?

[Electric train]

There are according to a recent NR^» (Network Rail - home page) internal meeting I recently attended there are less than 5 sites on the National network operating on gas all LPG^▸ (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

Electric point heating on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) National network has quite a clever control system, which has been in use for around for 30 years.   There 'hot' and 'cold' rail temperature sensors which work in conjunction with a humidly sensor and some locations a blown snow sensor.  Most installations have remote monitoring which detect if one on the heater strips has failed and report it back to the Route 'flight engineers'

That is very interesting, thank you.  Not asking you to name the 4 ( ?  ) sites - but can you comment on Bradford Junction, where the line towards Swindon has on occasions been put out of use in inclement weather when (it seems) all the other junctions up and down the line remain in service?

Bradford Jcn is not on the list of gas heated points.   There may be operational reasons elsewhere along the line that cause a problem, perhaps a turn back siding that does not have point heating

[paul7575]

I can’t help feeling that the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) probably ran the story on the basis of implying that Network Rail give up when it gets cold.

They probably never considered the possibility we’d moved on from that type of heating many years ago…

[broadgage]

Did we EVER use the type of gas points heating pictured in the O/P ?
I certainly recall gas heated points but these used non luminous blue flames, invisible in daylight and barely visible after dark.

Usually propane burning, the metal mesh cages each containing four large propane cylinders were once a familiar sight beside the track. These propane cylinders had many other other uses and theft was a recurring problem.
Also if fire broke out from some unrelated cause there was a risk of explosions.

A few large installations used mains gas, including the approach to Waterloo station.

[Electric train]

Did we EVER use the type of gas points heating pictured in the O/P ?
I certainly recall gas heated points but these used non luminous blue flames, invisible in daylight and barely visible after dark.

Usually propane burning, the metal mesh cages each containing four large propane cylinders were once a familiar sight beside the track. These propane cylinders had many other other uses and theft was a recurring problem.
Also if fire broke out from some unrelated cause there was a risk of explosions.

A few large installations used mains gas, including the approach to Waterloo station.

There was a mix of mains gas and propane.  Paddington was all mains gas, it was not uncommon to see flames licking out of the ballast due to PVC pipes having holes and cracks.  The gas being lit by the sparks from the brake blocks.

The problem with gas heaters is the burners can get blown out by passing trains, PW^▸ (Permanent Way) staff could often be seen patrolling an area with a small propane bottle and gas torch to relight the burners.


On the Southern they also have conrail heaters.  The heating strips being powered by the 750V.   They are place at certain signals and platforms and are between 50m and 100m long 

[grahame]

National (USA) train day - USA

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/train-day/

But do look out for one or two events in Wiltshire, co-incidentally, being planned for the same day!

[grahame]

From The Guardian

New York City will begin removing homeless people from subways at night

Mayor says public fear of subways is driving riders from the system and announces more mental health support to homeless

A much most substantial issue than fare evasion - a symptom and it sounds from the rest of the article rather that they're treating the symptom much more that the issue itself, in spite of what the little bit I quoted says.

We do have a rural homeless population, and one in towns and smaller cities here about, and the variety of cases as I understand it is that some are by choice, some are not, and some can't manage their choice.  I do hope the handful of people who were on the street in Bath last night had some option of shelter before it turned really nasty.  And then we have a substantial number of "sofa surfers" ...

[grahame]

Or as the Daily Mail puts it

New York leaders pledged Friday to clear homeless people from the city's subway following a spike in violence on the underground transit system since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mayor Eric Adams said he was instructing police officers and social workers to remove anyone sheltering inside train cars and on station platforms.

"The system was not made to be housing, it's made to be transportation," Adams, 61, told reporters.

Homeless people sought refuge in the subway system after shelters closed at the height of the pandemic in spring 2020 and as workers stopped commuting to offices.

Adams said police officers would work with outreach workers who would help take homeless people to shelters or towards hospital help if they appear mentally ill.

Article continues.  Also offers links if any of the following is of interest:

Here Is What Full Mouth Dental Implants Should Cost You in Frome
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A 24-Hour Live-In Carer in Frome?
The Cost Of Hair Transplant In Frome Might Surprise You
Single over 50 in Frome? See who's on Ourtime!
Drink This Before Bed, Watch Your Belly Fat Vanish
How much will it cost to replace your roof in 2022?
Bowels: A Simple Trick To Empty Them Completely

[Celestial]

Or as the Daily Mail puts it

New York leaders pledged Friday to clear homeless people from the city's subway following a spike in violence on the underground transit system since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mayor Eric Adams said he was instructing police officers and social workers to remove anyone sheltering inside train cars and on station platforms.

"The system was not made to be housing, it's made to be transportation," Adams, 61, told reporters.

Homeless people sought refuge in the subway system after shelters closed at the height of the pandemic in spring 2020 and as workers stopped commuting to offices.

Adams said police officers would work with outreach workers who would help take homeless people to shelters or towards hospital help if they appear mentally ill.

Article continues.  Also offers links if any of the following is of interest:

Here Is What Full Mouth Dental Implants Should Cost You in Frome
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A 24-Hour Live-In Carer in Frome?
The Cost Of Hair Transplant In Frome Might Surprise You
Single over 50 in Frome? See who's on Ourtime!
Drink This Before Bed, Watch Your Belly Fat Vanish
How much will it cost to replace your roof in 2022?
Bowels: A Simple Trick To Empty Them Completely

I do hope those adverts weren't personally targeted at you Grahame.

[grahame]

Article continues.  Also offers links if any of the following is of interest:

Here Is What Full Mouth Dental Implants Should Cost You in Frome
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A 24-Hour Live-In Carer in Frome?
The Cost Of Hair Transplant In Frome Might Surprise You
Single over 50 in Frome? See who's on Ourtime!
Drink This Before Bed, Watch Your Belly Fat Vanish
How much will it cost to replace your roof in 2022?
Bowels: A Simple Trick To Empty Them Completely

I do hope those adverts weren't personally targeted at you Grahame.

If targeted, it was poor, I can assure you.   I have just been out to check on damage from Storm Eunice, and can report just a few twigs down. We had repairs to a roof last year - not a full replacement, but that could be relevant in a decade or so.

[broadgage]

I get very similar adverts, but with a different location.

[broadgage]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61958813

Reported as being due to collision with a truck on a level crossing.
Dramatic images from the scene show the location as being rather remote but in flat open farmland, relatively benign conditions without large trees, substantial buildings, bridges, or embankments.
About 50 reported injuries, and many of the uninjured being accommodated in a school.

Very sad.

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

US freight rail companies and unions representing their workers have reached a "tentative agreement" to avert the first national rail strike in 30 years.

The deal follows months of back and forth negotiations and 20 hours of overnight talks on working conditions.

Reading and hearing about these potential strikes, the threat of them comes across as utterly understandable when you read what the main "grouch" was/is.     I'm also struck by what appears to be a strike threat has resulted in further negotiations to avert the strikes and to avoid an actual shutdown - is there a lesson there for folks in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) to learn from and follow?