Replacing a diamond in real life

[Terry Toenges]

Last week, I spent many hours watching them replace a double diamond in Houston. This video is a fast forward version. I was amazed at how they got the exact placement of the new diamond correct when they set it down.

[Len]

There you go! Even a prototype for sectional track.

Len

[jward]

They prebuild stuff like this in order to minimize the amount of time a busy junction is out of service. I have seen them do the same thing with switches as well. They will build as much as they can transport by rail offsite, then assemble those parts alongside whatever it is going to replace. They will schedule a day and time for the replacement to take place, and quickly slide to old component out of place, and the new one into place. In the case of switches, the goal is to get the track back in service as quickly as possibly. They will come back later and connect the switch motors to get it working, as those tasks aren't as disruptive to traffic as the actual replacement.

[Terry Toenges]

I would have liked to have seen how they transported that diamond on the highway. That's pretty huge. Probably 15' from outer rail to outer rail. Then you have the ends sticking out past that. That looks like at least 5' on each side. 25' wide?
The old diamond is still laying there. I wonder if they will leave it. The crane and excavators are all gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKLbXPwb1ZY

[jward]

I would have liked to have seen how they transported that diamond on the highway. That's pretty huge. Probably 15' from outer rail to outer rail. Then you have the ends sticking out past that. That looks like at least 5' on each side. 25' wide?
The old diamond is still laying there. I wonder if they will leave it. The crane and excavators are all gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKLbXPwb1ZY

I don't know about diamonds, as they are pretty rare where I live. Overpasses are how lines cross each other here.

But the switches are transported to the worksite on specially equipped gondolas. The switch itself is pre-assembled in 2 or 3 sections depending on what number frog it uses. The gondola has a rack on one side, and the switch sections are tipped on edge and leaned against the rack. Once at the worksite, the sections are unloaded and bolted together alongside the switch they are to replace. Prior to the scheduled day, work crews have disconnected the switch motors and prepared the old switch for removal. On the scheduled day, the rails are cut and it is quickly removed and the new one inserted in its place. At this point, the new switch is still made of traditional jointed rail. The idea is to get it in place as quickly as possible to keep delays to trains to a minimum. The next priority is to get the switch motors connected and working, which can be done between trains. Ae a later date they will come back and weld all the rail joints, which is in itself fascinating to watch. Ever seen them do a thermite weld? Two men in a truck can do a thermite weld in less than an hour, causing minimal delays to trains. I would imagine the process is similar with the diamonds.




Thermite welding process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxsFglz2ig


Gondola for transporting switches. https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/photos/cr-64976-class-g26c-2

[Terry Toenges]

I didn't get to see the diamond arrive. It was already there on the ground when I tuned in.

[emde5]

When the diamonds in Rochelle are replaced they are built next to the ones in service then replaced on the big day.  Not a lot of extra room 

[Terry Toenges]

The old one is still there on the ground. The MOW crew is now working on the new one.

[jward]

The old one is still there on the ground. The MOW crew is now working on the new one.

Yeah. The old track components usually sit there for awhile. Salvage is secondary to running the railroad. They'll come back for it later when they have time to disassemble it. It could be weeks until they do.

We had a blitz a few years back when they went over the entire PRR mainline east of Conway, PA replacing signals. Up to that time, many of the switches were thrown by compressed air. As part of the signal upgrades, they converted these switches to electric motors and replaced many of them at the same time. The old switches lay on the ground for a long time, and many of the old compressor houses are still standing years later.

[Terry Toenges]

They are out there doing something to it this morning.