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Broken Rails

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northernchris

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My usual service to work was cancelled this morning due to a broken rail, although the disruption was compounded by a signalling failure further down the line. Besides thinking how unlucky it was for both incidents to occur at the same time I didn't really give it much thought until when I got off the train on my return journey when staff were handing out leaflets apologising for the earlier cancellations. In the leaflet it explained it was a freight service with a damaged wheel that caused the broken rail, but was wondering how this would cause a broken rail? And are there any procedures in place to limit the chances of faulty wheels damaging the rail?
 
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GB

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Broken suspension, severe wheel flats and handbrakes left on can all cause rail damage.
 

Trog

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In the leaflet it explained it was a freight service with a damaged wheel that caused the broken rail, but was wondering how this would cause a broken rail? And are there any procedures in place to limit the chances of faulty wheels damaging the rail?

The wheel damage may well have been a wheel flat, where skidding the wagon with the wheels locked by the brakes wears a flat section on the wheel tyre. Once the wheel is released and starts rotating again, the flat section hammers down on the rail head every time the wheel rotates, giving a repetative banging sound. As each wheel can be loaded by up to 12.5 tons, this is quite a blow on the rail head. If this were to coincide with a small defect in the rail head it can cause a break in rail that would be OK for years of normal traffic.

Staff hearing a bad wheel flat on a passing train should report it, to the local signal box so a stop and examine can be required. There are also some automatic recording sites where transducers attached to the rail measure the impact of passing wheels on the track. Recording and reporting the results, these are called wheel chex.
 

Boodiggy

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My usual service to work was cancelled this morning due to a broken rail, although the disruption was compounded by a signalling failure further down the line. Besides thinking how unlucky it was for both incidents to occur at the same time I didn't really give it much thought until when I got off the train on my return journey when staff were handing out leaflets apologising for the earlier cancellations. In the leaflet it explained it was a freight service with a damaged wheel that caused the broken rail, but was wondering how this would cause a broken rail? And are there any procedures in place to limit the chances of faulty wheels damaging the rail?

Hi,
Aside from the maintenance of the wheel sets on locos and wagons that the operating company will be responsible for, there are things such as WHEELCHEX that will detect a fault and the train may be stopped for it to be inspected depending on the severity or hot axle box detectors that will flag up and hot axles, indicating which axle it is, so this can be check by the driver. There are also rail lubricators at curves that are located at the bottom of the curve are will lubricate the 'high rail' of the curve
 

edwin_m

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Another cause of broken rails is "wheelburn", when a train spins its wheels particularly when starting away on a slipperly rail. This is kind of the reverse of the wheelflat described above, as the wheel is OK but it grinds a piece out of the top of the rail and if it is severe enough it can start a crack.

Sometimes a broken rail can cause a signalling failure, because the break may cause a track circuit to show occupied when it isn't. This is a potentially useful feature of track circuit, but it's a bit hit and miss whether a break will be detected as it depends on the type of track circuit and how the rails are bonded together. I was reading the Hatfield accident report the other day and rather suprised that wrong side track circuit faults were being noted just before the accident (track reported clear when it was actually occupied), caused partly by the first rail break and partly by some other previously hidden problems it revealed.

Oddly enough rail breaks aren't normally as dangerous as you might think. The sleepers and clips tend to hold the two halves of the break reasonably close together and they are normally detected before they can deteriorate, either by track circuit failures or by a train driver reporting a severe jolt. Hatfield was an exception because the whole length of rail was full of fatigue cracks and as soon as one of them broke through the stress on the others increased enough for them to fracture as well, and several metres of rail disintegrated into many pieces.
 
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northernchris

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Yep, it was the Airedale line! The initial info given was that the freight train had possibly damaged the signalling at Shipley too, but the info kept changing and conflicted with what was stated on Northern's website so chose not to hang around
 

jnty

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All this has reminded me of an episode of that Railways documentary the BBC did recently, where they covered a track gang replacing wires that a "faulty freight train" had cut. Frustratingly, they didn't give any details. How on earth does that happen? I initially remembered it as a broken sleeper, and thought it could perhaps be because of impact on the rails, but cut wires? The only thing i can think of is basically a partial derailment - but surely they'd say that? Something trailing from the bottom?
 

Trog

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Probably something hanging off the underside of the train, part of the brake rigging maybe. The most likely wires to get cut would be the track ends, the cables for the track circuiting which cross the track to reach and connect with the rails.
 

GB

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IIRC, Im sure it was a freight train that derailed and then rerailed itself.
 

Mugby

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Oddly enough rail breaks aren't normally as dangerous as you might think. The sleepers and clips tend to hold the two halves of the break reasonably close together and they are normally detected before they can deteriorate, either by track circuit failures or by a train driver reporting a severe jolt. Hatfield was an exception because the whole length of rail was full of fatigue cracks and as soon as one of them broke through the stress on the others increased enough for them to fracture as well, and several metres of rail disintegrated into many pieces.

I would agree with that, the trouble is, a broken rail nowadays sends NR management into panic mode because their first priority is backside covering. Their first reaction, inevitably, is 'block the line' when the reality is, as edwin_m rightly says, it would be quite safe to pass traffic at reduced speed.

I think it's unlikely though that a wheelburn would be the cause of a broken rail, it's much more likely to be a failed weld, a bolthole crack or a taché ovale.
 
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Tomnick

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The requirement to stop the job is a Rule Book (so RSSB, but carried forward from previous incarnations) one, not Network Rail. Once the job's been stopped and the broken rail 'assessed' (quite a few people being competent to do so) against various criteria, it's entirely possible for trains to pass over the break if certain conditions are met. I don't think it's an overreaction on Network Rail's part, but rather a sensible response to establish the nature of the break and then carrying on playing trains if it's safe to do so.
 

Dieseldriver

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It is far easier to start a train after unnecessarily stopping it than to deal with a major incident...
 

Tomnick

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Indeed it is. It doesn't take long to get someone out to inspect the break - far less than the time you'd take recovering a derailed train!

The following is the relevant part of the signalling regs - seems entirely sensible to me:
17.1 Broken, distorted or damaged rails or broken fishplates

17.1.1 Signaller’s actions
If you are told about a broken, distorted or damaged rail or that both fishplates are broken on the same rail, you must:
• stop trains from passing over the affected line
• tell Operations Control
• arrange for a rail defect examiner (RDE) or rail defect nominee (RDN) to examine the rail or fishplates concerned.

17.1.2 Authority to run trains
When the RDN or RDE has examined the defective rail or fishplates, and gives permission for trains to proceed at a specified reduced speed, you must:
• stop each train over the affected line
• tell the driver what has happened
• tell the driver the location of the defective rail or broken fishplates
• instruct the driver not to exceed the specified reduced speed over the defective rail or broken fishplates.

You must not allow a train to pass over any adjacent line when a train is passing over the defective rail or broken fishplates.

You must continue to instruct drivers to proceed at the speed authorised by the RDN or RDE until one of the following applies.
• The RDN or RDE advises that the condition of the defect has worsened and train movements must be stopped.
• An emergency speed restriction is imposed over the line or lines concerned.
• An RDE authorises that normal speed of trains may be resumed.
 

9K43

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This type of incident can be stopped by the person who dispatched the train onto the main line.
It is called train preperation, if this is not done or not done properly anything can happen.
The TP should include a roll by inspection, before the train goes on the mainline.
This roll by will highlight any problems with the train if done poropelry
If no roll by is performed, you put your head in a sling, and take what may happen.
This will be apparant if the loco has a download, the roll by and BT will show on the loco down load.
If any vehicle on the train is found to be a cripple, it is up to the TP knock out any defective vehicles and red card the vehicle for the fault rectifying.
The drivers slip has to be stamped by the person who prepared the train as fit to go.
This stamp has the name of the TP, and goes with the train to its destination.
I have prepared hundreds of trains in my time on the railway, and I did it by the book, cos if you dont, all hell will be coming your way.
Safety must be the first priority for everyone working on the railway.
 
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GB

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Roll by does not show up on the data download. The Roll by is the last line of defence but in no way guarantees something will be spoted and doesn't preclude the train being interfered with enroute.
 
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9K43

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Roll by does not show up on the data download. The Roll by is the last line of defence but in no way guarantees something will be spoted and doesn't preclude the train being interfered with enroute.

Is the rollby shown as a reversing movement followed by the forward movement
and application of the brake, eg brake test.?
 

GB

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Is the rollby shown as a reversing movement followed by the forward movement
and application of the brake, eg brake test.?

The brake test certainly shows up on the download, but 99% of the roll by's are done on departure (ie no pulling up and setting back), so all that will show on the recorder is the train moving forward. No actual proof that someones is actually watching the train as it goes past (unless there happens to be CCTV in the area).

As you say, it will be our head in a sling if something goes wrong and its proven you didn't do a roll by but as we are all proffesional and know the ramifications, its done without question where required.
 
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9K43

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The trains I dealt with were trains where the roll by had to be done in a propelling mode with the driver and myself.
We had Managers watching you from afar and recording your use of roll bys and correct
Safety Critical speak on a back to back radios.
I am not that easy to fall into thier games that easy.
 

edwin_m

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All this has reminded me of an episode of that Railways documentary the BBC did recently, where they covered a track gang replacing wires that a "faulty freight train" had cut. Frustratingly, they didn't give any details. How on earth does that happen? I initially remembered it as a broken sleeper, and thought it could perhaps be because of impact on the rails, but cut wires? The only thing i can think of is basically a partial derailment - but surely they'd say that? Something trailing from the bottom?

Chapter and verse is here.

http://www.raib.gov.uk/latest_news/news_archive/news_archive_2013/130128_pn_reading_west.cfm

At 13:42 hrs on 28 January 2012 a wagon on a container train derailed, and then re-railed, when crossing a section of track connecting two lines (a crossover) at Reading West Junction. No-one was injured. ... The cause of the derailment was that there was insufficient load on the front right-hand wheel of the wagon to prevent its flange climbing over the railhead. This was the combined result of the uneven loading on the wagon, specifically the lateral offset of the payload in the container, and the effect of the twist fault on the crossover. The RAIB concluded that the pallets had moved during the road journey to the freight terminal where the container was loaded onto the train.
 

9K43

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you cannot play games with safety on the railway.
If it means getting wet through to inspect a train this should be done.
Cutting corners in train preperation can cause chaos on the railway.
Think safety, now, tomorrow/ next week and forever.
If a train has to be rolled by and is an hour late, the train needs a roll by.
[ B]Enough said[/B].
 
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