BlockLine_4111 wrote:Very minimal activity in this forum. Any suggestions for soliciting more feedback?Lead the way dude.
Perhaps this forum should be deleted if it does not pick up soon.
Railroad Forums
Forum Inactivity
- Pertaining to all railroad subjects, past and present, in the American West, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and The Dakotas. For specific railroad topics, please see the Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.
Moderator: Komachi
by UPRR engineer
by Komachi
(Holds a plaquard reading "Western Railfan" above his head with the American flag flying in the background)
(Best Charlton Hestin impersonation) YOU CAN DELETE MY FORUM WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously. This forum isn't as inactive as some would think. Let's not speak of deletion just quite yet.
(Best Charlton Hestin impersonation) YOU CAN DELETE MY FORUM WHEN YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously. This forum isn't as inactive as some would think. Let's not speak of deletion just quite yet.
~Erik Paulson
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
by TB Diamond
Was up at the Ames Monument last month and then on down to Hermosa via county road. Wanted to go over to Hermosa Tunnel, but this area is not as accessable as it was thirty years ago account road closures. Will go up again maybe next week and take another look by going in from the Dale side.
You can't go home again- Thomas Wolfe
by Komachi
"I was trying to get Block to kick start it, not kill it there buddy. 
"
I know, but I've been waiting for an excuse to use that line.
(Haven't seen "Sling Blade" yet, oterwise i'd probably have used something fitting from there.)
" I know, but I've been waiting for an excuse to use that line.
(Haven't seen "Sling Blade" yet, oterwise i'd probably have used something fitting from there.)
~Erik Paulson
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
Moderator: BNSF :: CN :: CP :: Rock Island :: Rebuilders & Small Loco Works :: Worldwide Railfan :: Western Railfan
by UPRR engineer
pennsy wrote:HI UPRR,Alan, i work out of Green River (southwestern Wyoming), my district is between Granger (about 27 miles to the west) and Black Butte (51 miles to the east). Occasionally i venture out past those points to go dogcatch a train or two. I never really enjoyed watching trains roll by, although i did have a strong desire to run one back before i hired on. I have no desire to see Sherman Hill, the rails from the Wyoming border to Salt Lake City are alot more interesting and scenic, if i did feel like train watching. Geology and vertebrate paleontology is my bag. Old Union Pacific coal mines and towns, although i havent found a book that can hold my attention yet on that subject.
Well then, tell us all about Sherman Hill. I assume you never saw a Big Boy challenge it, but how about some contemporary horsepower ?
by pennsy
Hi UPRR,
Soda Ash is solid Sodium Hydroxide. It is a concentrated Caustic, ie has a Ph approaching 14. Extremely dangerous and must be handled with specialized equipment or whatever touches it will be chemically eaten up. So, you probably see it hauled away in covered hoppers, hoppers with special linings that will not be attacked by the caustic. I would not want to be around there should there be a serious derailment, where the hoppers were cut open and the caustic spilled out. There would be Hazmat teams all over the place, wearing space suits.
Soda Ash is solid Sodium Hydroxide. It is a concentrated Caustic, ie has a Ph approaching 14. Extremely dangerous and must be handled with specialized equipment or whatever touches it will be chemically eaten up. So, you probably see it hauled away in covered hoppers, hoppers with special linings that will not be attacked by the caustic. I would not want to be around there should there be a serious derailment, where the hoppers were cut open and the caustic spilled out. There would be Hazmat teams all over the place, wearing space suits.
by UPRR engineer
This is what soda ash is from: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS ASSOCIATION - NORTH AMERICA
--------------------------------------
Soda Ash
What is Soda Ash?
Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), is an alkali chemical refined from the mineral trona or naturally occurring sodium carbonate-bearing brines (both referred to as natural soda ash), the mineral nahcolite (referred to as natural sodium bicarbonate, from which soda ash can be produced), or manufactured from one of several chemical processes (referred to as synthetic soda ash).
A series of refining steps are required to produce soda ash from trona ore. First the raw ore from the mine is crushed and screened. The material is then fed to rotary calciners and heated. In this process, the trona decomposes to form crude soda ash, which is dissolved in water. The insoluble shales are separated from the solution by a combination of settling and filtration steps, and the resulting insoluble tailings are taken back into the mine as backfill. The soda ash solution is treated to remove organic materials yielding a high-purity saturated solution of sodium carbonate.
Next, the solution is fed to crystallizers where water is evaporated and sodium carbonate monohydrate crystals are formed. The industry-familiar term "mono-process" originates from this process step. The crystals are dewatered and washed using cyclones and centrifuges, and the solution is recycled to the evaporator units for further recovery of soda ash. The monohydrate crystals are fed to rotary kilns where they are dried to finished soda ash. Finally, product is screened and sent to storage silos awaiting rail and truck loadout.
Where is it used?
Soda ash has a number of diversified uses that touch our lives everyday. Glass manufacturing is the largest application for soda ash whether it is in the production of containers, fiberglass insulation, or flat glass for the housing, commercial building, and automotive industries. Soda ash also is used to clean the air and soften water. As environmental concerns grow, demand increases for soda ash used in the removal of sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid from stack gases. Chemical producers use soda ash as an intermediate to manufacture products that sweeten soft drinks (corn sweeteners), relieve physical discomfort (sodium bicarbonate) and improve foods and toiletries (phosphates). Household detergents and paper products are a few other common examples of readily identifiable products using soda ash.
---------------------------------
Its pretty harmless in a dry state when its loaded into RR cars. Its laying all over the place out here along the tracks, from derailments and just from the cars getting beat around making the gates leak. They still do make a small amount of liquid caustic and ship it by railcar, but not as much as they did in the 90's.
--------------------------------------
Soda Ash
What is Soda Ash?
Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), is an alkali chemical refined from the mineral trona or naturally occurring sodium carbonate-bearing brines (both referred to as natural soda ash), the mineral nahcolite (referred to as natural sodium bicarbonate, from which soda ash can be produced), or manufactured from one of several chemical processes (referred to as synthetic soda ash).
A series of refining steps are required to produce soda ash from trona ore. First the raw ore from the mine is crushed and screened. The material is then fed to rotary calciners and heated. In this process, the trona decomposes to form crude soda ash, which is dissolved in water. The insoluble shales are separated from the solution by a combination of settling and filtration steps, and the resulting insoluble tailings are taken back into the mine as backfill. The soda ash solution is treated to remove organic materials yielding a high-purity saturated solution of sodium carbonate.
Next, the solution is fed to crystallizers where water is evaporated and sodium carbonate monohydrate crystals are formed. The industry-familiar term "mono-process" originates from this process step. The crystals are dewatered and washed using cyclones and centrifuges, and the solution is recycled to the evaporator units for further recovery of soda ash. The monohydrate crystals are fed to rotary kilns where they are dried to finished soda ash. Finally, product is screened and sent to storage silos awaiting rail and truck loadout.
Where is it used?
Soda ash has a number of diversified uses that touch our lives everyday. Glass manufacturing is the largest application for soda ash whether it is in the production of containers, fiberglass insulation, or flat glass for the housing, commercial building, and automotive industries. Soda ash also is used to clean the air and soften water. As environmental concerns grow, demand increases for soda ash used in the removal of sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid from stack gases. Chemical producers use soda ash as an intermediate to manufacture products that sweeten soft drinks (corn sweeteners), relieve physical discomfort (sodium bicarbonate) and improve foods and toiletries (phosphates). Household detergents and paper products are a few other common examples of readily identifiable products using soda ash.
---------------------------------
Its pretty harmless in a dry state when its loaded into RR cars. Its laying all over the place out here along the tracks, from derailments and just from the cars getting beat around making the gates leak. They still do make a small amount of liquid caustic and ship it by railcar, but not as much as they did in the 90's.
Last edited by UPRR engineer on Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.