Thund3rbolt
120921
1952
35
Railroad Thermite Welding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3pWYMnpJ-c
May 3, 2017 6:16 AM
Thund3rbolt
120921
1952
35
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3pWYMnpJ-c
Phischstaebchen
oh, that bucket is clad with stone. I wondered how the cheapo buckets would stand the heat at all :)
railgap
I assume that's not just any old thermite, but a sophisticated mix that results in a high tensile steel and not just , you know, iron.
evbrew
If the buckets a-rockin don't come a-knockin
jacksparrow31415
When I first read the post I thought it said railroad themed wedding. I watched the first quarter thinking when does the wedding start.
betterave
I kept looking for the ant.
trinori
borgmaster
Lets just casually brush off this excess pile of red hot metal.
herbapet
so neat
DroolingYeastman
I've seen this up close in Denmark. You can hear the metal boiling
AZRAELSBLADE
Fuck, yeah, thermite!
Puddingninjah
I thought it said termite I was like why would you need to weld termites?... Ha... I should go to bed.
icecreamlorry
My favourite bit was the specialised rail sander with little wheels. That thing looked dope.
schaldebob
Here's what happens when you toss the bucket in water https://youtu.be/LOMWI1vSFaQ
BobKelsoDoesntGiveACrap
Ok, one down! 43 million to go.
ivm4
Termites? Why the hell would you want to weld tiny termites to railroads? And wouldn't they just burn off? And ... oh, thermite. Sorry.
PianoandPads
Fascinating Stuff Indeed
fastdoggo23
why doesn't the bucket melt?
thedeg
Its lined with insulation
Cabletwitch
Lined with a one-use ceramic lining that crumbles away after use. Other types are made entirely from it, and can be smashed up after.
Pommo
wouldnt it be easier to just like, weld it like normal?
thedeg
Probably wouldnt be up to code, and with all the grinding involved this is probably a lot faster
Cabletwitch
It takes a lot of metal to fill the half inch gap between the rails, and to do it solidly would take too long using other methods (1/2)
Cabletwitch
(2/2) Plus you don't want air bubbles or gaps in the filled joint, or you have to cut it out and start allll over again. Takes 2-3 hours...
Spitinfinity
So does this mean no more clickity clack, clickity clack on the train? sad face.
Smartzombie
No, it still goes clickety clack. It just means the train can go faster.
ATimeTravellingRobotFromTheFuture
Like, how much faster are we talking here, because this seems like a lot of effort for something that didn't seem that broken before.
Bmwwallace
7... 7 faster!
SomeGuyWhoSaysStuff
How do you make a gif this long?
thedeg
Its not a gif, its webm, so a video without sound
SomeGuyWhoSaysStuff
Okay, great, how to I put something like it on imgur? Just upload a webm?
thedeg
Imgur has the tool you want https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/203852829-Make-a-GIF
EmyLightsaber
what's that hole in the bottom for?
Cabletwitch
The 'hole' is actually an aluminium plug which melts when all the thermite has turned to molten steel, allowing it to flow into the mould.
thedeg
The molten metal goes through there
ematic
I never would have thought there is a specialized grinder for this kind of repair. Neat.
Cabletwitch
Yeah, it profiles the railhead after the weld is done. 60 degree outer slope, 30 degree inner, and flat on top. It takes a lot of skill.
ematic
Hadn't a clue! I would have thought it would clamp to the rail ahead of the weld, and then be wheeled in slowly, to a perfect angle grind.
Cabletwitch
They do several passes, building up the profile as they go. Incidentally, the wheel has the same profile in reverse, which increases contact
LarnRegis
How brutal to burn millions of these tiny bugs just to get the railroad fixed.
Icedpryo
Read that as railroad themed wedding...
Isorikk
You telling me the blow torch twin exhaust engine of hell wasn't enough?
Snowman25
That was only for pre-heating, so the molten metal won't cool too quickly.
missleadinginiformation
More so that when the super heated metal doesn't touch the cold metal and go ????
thedeg
When you weld large amounts of steel together you need to preheat it for various reasons such as lowering the risk of cracking
missleadinginiformation
Yes that too. Those question mats was supposed to be an explosion emoji
NumberOneFelixFan
I'm glad Thatcher was able to help with this.
Arhangelus
And unlike jet fuel this did melt steel beam
[deleted]
[deleted]
NoUserNamesLeftToChooseFrom
They should use jet fuel. Would be easier.
BarrackHusseinIslamabama
Jet fuel isn't even real, it's all mind altering chemicals designed to make you complacent! Invented by the soviets to get to our fluids
Hulkhulkthehulkinghulk
must explain why my frog is gay. damn
Fredfinks
*precious fluids
BarrackHusseinIslamabama
Word limit
Foxplay
As a dispatcher - guaranteed 90minutes to 2hours before I get my track back from these welders =p
Cabletwitch
Hah. These jobs are usually done overnight unless it's an emergency, even then you'll get a TSR over a closure.
Foxplay
I work Class I , double main, Chicago also has triple main in some locations , and have given track for thermite welds during the day.
Cabletwitch
These guys are working in the UK, but I guess it's a similar procedure to the states. Bear in mind we have a LOT more passenger traffic.
Foxplay
However after watching this video its pretty amazing they get all this done in 90minutes or so. Id take all fing day lol
Cabletwitch
Takes a lot longer to prep the rails for the join, assemble the mould, etc. 2-3 hours per joint usually in my experience.
Foxplay
May take them longer for set up, all I know is its typically 90min to 2hours when they take the track authority
Cabletwitch
Depends on the P-Way crew they have. Some are slow, some are not. Same with the welders.
ILikeCoffeeAndCats
"Oh shit my mallet" - That guy
KaJuN
"Oh sweet the grill's ready" - That guy pulling out the tray of hot stuff
ShotgunFiend
I was more impressed by the guy wiping down the still red-hot weld with just a glove on.
Ruhig
He seems remarkably casual around that amount of fire and molten metal.
2strokeChase
As a welder, if you wipe fast enough it doesn't burn you, your glove may smoke a bit.
RoswellM
My dad's been welding for like 30 years. His hands are so calloused, I'm pretty sure he's a little flame retardant.
2strokeChase
Been welding for 10 years. Getting burnt doesn't bother me anymore. I've dug molten metal out of my hand, after finishing welds.
IncandecentSun
That's pretty metal.
MajikMessiah
Is this a common practice?
Phischstaebchen
the look of some US-railroads: no. Seen tracks screwed together with a gap between them.... welding is more stable for high-speeds.
SL4pthePANCAKES
Seems to be a hot topic
JackZwiebel
It is common for small repairs - for whole tracks there are Robots welding with electricity
Updoodilydoo
welding has replaced jointed rail in most applications, although they typically use more standard forms of welding.
Smartzombie
Yes this is the standard way to attach 2 pieces of rail.
ceandros
It also smells pretty bad.
trollsack
Yep!
Hoop66
Oh you gotta practise, yeah.
CrunchyLookingLeaf
in aus we just place them near each other and use gaf tape to stick them together
airmack
If you walk around some rail lines you will sometimes find left over slag or the sand forums they use for this.
HippDeutschMan
Even tram lines are repaired like this in Germany. Pretty common practice.
Maxgaap
Very common, I myself do it twice before breakfast
hunkragor
Take my upvote
CyriousLordofDerp
Yes, and its almost required for very high speed rail.
barrettsmithbb
And most continuous rails in the US. that's why you don't hear the clickity-clack anymore.
Phischstaebchen
you can have all the clickity-clack if the guy driving the train brakes the wheels flat. :)
mwwrx2
It helps push track circuits farther for signaling too. I work signal for BNSF. It also upped track speed significantly.
PettyOfficerII7
Rails can also be welded electrically which is the common way to lay them, thermite like this is used for repairing
YourFriendBen
that's what i wanted to confirm on my guess +1
SantaKillsPotatoes
It enables the weld to go to the center of the track without having to have a V snapped gap. It's cleaner, stronger and smaller
RustyNeX
And doesn't require a big ass generator for a welder
Harropotamus
Is it faster?
LtColThorin
Faster doesn't mean better
alexburgers
Yes, including grinding off the edges, it probably takes less than half an hour per joint.
phyr3start3r
Ha, so do I pal
JesusChristBackAgain
I take less than half an hour per joint...
Thund3rbolt
Yup ...common in the EU and in Russia apparently.
AntiProtonBoy
'Straya tooo. Invented in Deutschland.
TheOneTrueRing
Work for railway can confirm, lovely and warm on a cold night :-)
TechnicallyRight
Wouldn't this take a considerable amount of time and money?
thedeg
Welcome to making rail roads?
TooLazyToDoThat
Or we could just use some duck tape. Itll be fast and cheap right?
SimpleGoings
I don't know about that, TooLazyToDoThat, we might need to add something to make it super sticky like add some elmers glue.
Fisicboy
We have machines in the Netherlands for this
Fisicboy
Enjoy this 80's dutch demonstration video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HhhLCrzWIRM
Stigmartyr762
That's some nifty shit right there. LOL
Liveonline
The Netherlands is far more advanced with it's infrastructure than the rest of the world. something to be proud of!