shadyjay wrote:So who retracts the edge for an incoming freight? Station personnel? The freight crew itself? Do they get out and hit a button or just radio to the station agent to go out there and drop the edge?
And do all freights need it retracted? When the platforms at OSB were built "early in the 21st century", a gauntlet track was put in for the freights. But for at least 5-10 years, I don't think it's ever been used. What makes the decision to use the gauntlet vs the regular iron through a station with full highs?
Just for Plate F cars. Those are the only ones that won't clear a full-high that has so much as 1 degree of curvature in it because the cars are longer than Plates B-D freight cars and can be up to 17' tall, which both require allowances for more lateral movement on the axles. In cases like Hartford where there's a curve right up to the foot of the platform, but the full-high itself is tangent...there's still a harmonic rocking strike risk on the cars passing the tangent platform from the lateral movement of the freight cars 1 or 2 cars behind still rounding the curve. In all other cases where it's tangent track passing tangent platform it's reasonably safe to pass...but the freight train will get hit with a speed restriction to minimize its lateral movement. Hence, the gauntlets and passers being installed elsewhere as a traffic management measure...and the full passer that will be installed at the relocated Hartford station up the block in the I-84 trench.
The Springfield Line, now that it's getting its first-ever full-highs, is an analogue to the NEC in Rhode Island between Central Falls and Davisville after its retrofit for the FRIP track and the RIDOT infill stops. P&W autoracks currently pass restricted-speed through the single T.F. Green full-high platform as a temporary measure, but when full-build RIDOT commuter rail comes that stop will get a gauntlet installed and all of the other infills north of the Quonset turnout in Davisville will be done up with full passers so all traffic can go at full speed without getting entangled.