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  • Derailer?

  • General discussion about locomotives, rolling stock, and equipment
General discussion about locomotives, rolling stock, and equipment

Moderator: John_Perkowski

 #44072  by flynnt
 
At the end of a commuter rail line, there is a metal apparatus by the track. It is yellow and from a distance looks like a set of clamps. As a train is approaching the end of the line, it stops, the conductor hops out and pulls a lever on the yellow apparatus, and the train then proceeds the last 200 yards the the end of the line. I have been told it is a derailer. The idea is that if a train is out of control, the derailer will derail the train...the thinking being a derailed train is better than a train the barrels through the end of the line.

Is it really a derailer, or something else?
 #44079  by AEM7AC920
 
flynnt wrote:At the end of a commuter rail line, there is a metal apparatus by the track. It is yellow and from a distance looks like a set of clamps. As a train is approaching the end of the line, it stops, the conductor hops out and pulls a lever on the yellow apparatus, and the train then proceeds the last 200 yards the the end of the line. I have been told it is a derailer. The idea is that if a train is out of control, the derailer will derail the train...the thinking being a derailed train is better than a train the barrels through the end of the line.

Is it really a derailer, or something else?
Yes it is called a derailer, it's use as a safety device designed to guide a car off the rails. Normally it's used to prevent collisions or other kinds of accidents. They can be found in a lot of places where there are yards or trains on sidings.
 #46150  by Ham549
 
A derail comes in handy when you have a main line with a siding if there are lets say some empty hoppers on the siding and some kids realse the brakes the hoppers could roll onto the main line and be a nasty surprise for the next train. So railroads put on a derail so if the hoppers start rolling tords the main line it will run over the derail derailing it causing it to stop (derailed trains don't tent to roll very far) before it goes onto the main line. A railroad would rather jack up a car and re-rail it then cleaning up an all out train wrek blocking the main line.

 #61443  by F40
 
Several years ago, a runaway freight train at full throttle decided to 'kick' a derailer off its track, leaving its hazardous contents to spill over into the small town of Canton, OH. Heroically, several crew made the story by saving this train from doing so. Anyone who hasn't read the story (I read the Reader's Digest "version") should. It's hands-down incredible. And even this word doesn't cover the heroism of those men.