Slip Slide problems

While getting ready to leave work this evening train # 654 was pulling into the Smithtown RR station on the siding track. It was going slow but making a loud banging noise. I thought it was a flat wheel but the noise didn't travel with the train so after the tracks were clear I went out back and looked at the rails I noticed this big defect in the rail. Actually it is on both running rails and there are also more spots down about 50 feet (lenght between a set of trucks?).

not caused by leafs but by a locomotive spinning its wheels.
Rail burn is caused when a train tries to pull out with still brakes on train.

With absolutly no knowledge of the severity of track defects at all I wonder is something like this a condition that would require immediate repair or is it something that could wait for a period of time, and would something like this be something that could cause severe damage or would it be just an annoyance?

If its on a siding track youprobably will see it for months untill a new piece of rail is patched in.
If it were on a mainline the pounding of many wheels could leave a rail fracture, which would cause a signal fault most likely before it would lead to a derailment.

Don't worry, that branch is walked daily by track (MofW) who would fix it immediately (put a speed restriction, call out a gang, they'd weld, grind or replace). If an engineer feels/sees something wrong, they'd turn it in and it would get looked at immediately. A signifigant defect would also affect the signal system, which would be turned in and checked out by a maintainer.

Happy Turkey Day y'all!

how long dose it take to fix

sorry I ment how long dose it take to fix railburn

Judging from the picture, that case of rail burn would probably not cause a signal malfunction. It would, however, be noticeable to the crew when then run over it.

Jay

I think that rail burn is worse than it may look. The smart thing to do is:
1. Speed restriction of 5 MPH until inspected by M of W dept.
2. Repair or replace the rail at that spot ASAP.
This would certainally be very noticable to a crew running over it.
Noel Weaver

That wouldn't take long, if the gang is nearby and they have what they need close at hand. During leaf season, extreme cold or hot conditions, they pre-position materials necessary what ever pops up, and if you have an experienced crew nearby, they'll request foul time and power outage for usually less than an hour, and give it back MAS even sooner. I usually work with the gang out of Hall and they go back and forth from the gang at Jay, and it's amazing to watch these guys make short work out of cracked rail, pull-aparts, rail replacement and the most outrageous jobs, usually without the normal track machines usually used too. If you see those guys working in Jamaica near a platform, check it out.

Usually when the SRS or a geometry track car rolls, they'll also be a gang following nearby. The only time it takes longer is if the gang is on another job, or waiting for a part, such as a switch component.

Yes, that's a nasty one. The FRA requires that track to be walked and inspected weekly. When a defect like that is noted, track forman should be called to look at it. I'd go with 15 MPH, but that's a judgement call.

The crew should turn the condition into the Movement Bureau. Then, as krispy said, a track gang could probably replace the thing rather quickly with a bolted length of rail. Later on, the joints could be replaced by welds.

Spinning wheels are usually attributed to poor train handling on the part of the engineer, but the new engines have taken so much control out of the engineers' hands, and are so buggy, the problem can just as likely be a mechanical one. In fallen leaf season, rail is very slimy and these things happen more often.

Clem