Lineside yellow cylinder???

[Christmas]

Does anyone know what the large yellow cylinders I keep seeing around the network are for?
The seem to lie on their sides, with heavy duty black cable coming out and are attached to the rails in some way. I've seen a lot of grease around them too which sticks to the rails.

 

[8A Rail]

The grease is applied to the inside of the rails to assist with train wheels (flange's) to make them pass by smoother especially on curved track. It helps to cut down on wear and tear on the wheel flanges.

 

[swt_passenger]

Does anyone know what the large yellow cylinders I keep seeing around the network are for?
The seem to lie on their sides, with heavy duty black cable coming out and are attached to the rails in some way. I've seen a lot of grease around them too which sticks to the rails.

They’re the container for the rail grease that the nearby applicator is putting on the track to be picked up by wheel flanges. What you’re describing as a black cable contains hoses.

 

[Gostav]

How to monitor if they are empty?

 

[LBMPSB]

They are rail flange lubricators. They are used to apply graphite to the the rail's running edge as the train passes over them . The grease contains the graphite and it is spread by the wheel along a length of rail's edge. Can be on the edge of a running rail, or the edge of a check rail, in both cases usually on tight curves. Under BR there used to be dedicated staff who's sole job was to go around to keep them maintained and full. No idea who does them now.

 

[Meerkat]

Why doesn't the grease end up on the railhead and cause issues?

 

[unlevel42]

If the lubricant is graphite then it has excellent electrical conductivity. It is also very hard and can be applied as a powder and spreads extremely thinly.

 

[trundlewagon]

Can't for the life of me think whether they've got a yellow barrel too - I think probably not, actually - but you also have traction gel applicators which, during the autumn, apply a paste to the railhead that gets spread along the rail by the passage of trains to improve railhead adhesion.

 

[The Puddock]

Can't for the life of me think whether they've got a yellow barrel too - I think probably not, actually - but you also have traction gel applicators which, during the autumn, apply a paste to the railhead that gets spread along the rail by the passage of trains to improve railhead adhesion.

A traction gel applicator is a battleship grey metal cabinet with a large solar panel. The gel is actually intended to be picked up on the wheel tread rather than be spread on the rail, although it does a bit of both.

 

[snowball]

If the lubricant is graphite then it has excellent electrical conductivity. It is also very hard and can be applied as a powder and spreads extremely thinly.

Yes, but if its purpose is to provide lubrication between the wheel flange and the side of the rail, it presumably follows that if it gets on the top surface of the rail, it will provide lubrication between the wheel tread and the rail, which is highly unwanted if any of it gets transported away from the tightest curves.

Is it normally used on the inside of a curve, or the outside, or both?