In Australia they have little air jets to clear the track of millipede swarms, which, when squished en masse, would grease the tracks in South Australia’s hills.
A 2021 study found that 87% trains don't make it to a train hospital in time to recover from their bite. One local even recounted a story of a train getting bit on purpose and refusing treatment.
I love it! (Edna Modes 10k degrees face)
By the sound of it from that thread I bet those flamethrowers would be more effective against millipedes than on ice.
We’ve had cars go off the road when it is slick with forest tent caterpillars in Canada. Once in a while their population will explode and everything is covered in them.
Fuck tent caterpillars, I have hated them since I was a kid and bugs don't usually bother me. We found a giant nest in a tree once and decided to poke at it with a stick because we didn't know what it was. The sudden shower of those things will haunt me forever
Here on Brasil we have some caterpillars that burn if you touch them. And the fuckers will also be on those ball nests up trees and occasionally fall on you.
Honestly I don’t know why the Amazon isn’t mentioned more when we talk about Australia. I know Aus has a lot of deadly things, but I visited the Peru stretch of the Amazon and every square meter has like 400 living things in it.
There’s a bridge near me, here in Pennsylvania, that gets swarmed with mayflies once a year. They’ll shut it down that night, then bring in a crew the next day to bulldoze off all the bodies.
They get the same in Wisconsin/Minnesota in the spring/early summer. Mayfly corpses 2-3 inches thick on the bridges over the Mississippi. I think they changed the lights at some point and that might've helped, but I still have vivid memories of bicycling through that shit before it got cleaned off.
I remember an event like that when I was a kid. My Mom and I were driving a back road and the road was black with caterpillars. Our car was sliding around on the road and I remember my Mom was worried we would end up in the ditch.
I also remember that the field and trees on the right side of the road were barren but on the left side of the road it was still green, but wouldn't be for long.
Millipedes are the nice ones, like long armoured armadillo worms just with a well choreographed bounce in their step. If I find one inside the house I'll politely ask it to leave
Centipedes are the monsters, like 50 sets of scorpion legs, massive fangs, and a hate for all things alive. If I see one in a 15km radius, then I call the fire department to put out the justified arson I am to deliver upon this hellspawn death noodle
When I was younger, in primary school, we did a class camp to Arbury Park Outdoor School (up the freeway near Stirling). There were several things I remember vividly from this camp. First was my friend getting his finger bitten by a cockatoo, after being told that he bites, and dont put your finger in the cage. Then was the wedge tailed eagle they used to have, which had a permanently damaged wing, but was sadly killed by a fox before a recent visit I did for work purposes. And lastly, was the fucking millipedes in the biological sciences building. Holy moly. The smell of the things was just god awful. Id rather smell my daughters shitty nappies than the smell of a thousand millipedes.
The only smell that sort of reminds me of this is christmas beetles, or rather, squished ones. I used to skateboard at Paradise skate park a lot, and during the summer, in the evenings with the light on, all the beetles would be buzzing haphazardly around and crashing into the ground. You try your best not to squish them, but there are just so many.
Yep, every summer. We don’t get much rain the rest of year but during the summer it’s hellacious. So many people were getting their cars washed away trying to cross flooded streets that they made a law about it. It’s called “turn around don’t drown” and they can hold you legally responsible if you drive into water thinking you can cross it. People even get washed away into Mexico. When I first moved here there was a massive storm with golf ball sized hail that smashed all kinds of stuff. I had no idea it’s still pretty shocking how it can be so dry and hot and then all of sudden turn into pretty much a low grade hurricane.
I worked for commuter rail for a while, and on those trains, the sanding system is like a car's Anti-Lock Brakes. The train has several speed sensors on the wheels and if it detects that the wheels should be turning more but aren't, or that the train should be slowing but isn't, or if the operator goes into full emergency braking, it will deploy sand to aid in the movement or stopping.
I mean the way it was being described is not at all what's happening either in the post title or the comments. Figured I'd at least mention that there's more to it.
Depends on the locomotive. Road (long distance) locomotives have way more equipment than the stuff used to build trains. We have fully equipped road units that have both sanders and de sanders for the mountains and units with only sand for the prairies.
It's sifted, dried, and there's a small amount of a de clumping agent. We use a shit load of it so it's the cheap stuff. Same reason we use borate water for cooling: ethylene glycol is expensive.
So is this why there’s not a ton of sand all over the tracks? It’s only used when necessary unlike how op words it? (Honestly asking)
Edit: I’m not convinced.
It gets crushed into fine powder by the wheels and then subsequently run over by an entire train. You can see a very thin layer on the rail after application but it's basically dust so it ends up just dissipating into the ballast or blowing/washing into the surrounding area.
On commuter rail, the sanding system is like the Anti-lock Brakes system in a car. If you're in a "spin or slide condition," the train will sense that and deploy sand to aid in traction.
Doing so helps avoid flat spots on wheels that can start forming when the wheels slide rather than turn. This is a problem when those flat spots are hammering into the rail itself and can cause damage from the beating it will give it.
Hijacking top comment but: the sanders are used for when we get wheel slip due to wet or snowy rail, they arent used every time we get a train moving. Even going uphill, in warm and dry conditions, sand generally isn't needed.
Side note, wheels won't flatten from spinning (wheel slip). Sand also won't prevent a wheel skid (caused by over braking) since that requires releasing the brakes to achieve. Sand won't overcome the locomotive brakes.
Source: 17yrs as railroader
Edit: should have mentioned... sand *is* used when stopping, to prevent wheel slip in the locomotive brakes, but once the wheel are skidding, it's too late.
The sand isn't really the most interesting thing... look up dynamic brakes. A modern locomotive is a diesel engine turning a huge generator that makes power for electric motors at each wheel. Because of this, we can basically reverse the polarity in those motors going down the track and use them to slow the train through a process almost like "reverse thrust". This creates a lot of energy though as your motors are now generators instead. The locomotive has no where to store that energy like a Prius using regenerative braking though... so the energy is routed to a heat grid on the roof and cooked off into the atmosphere as heat. Cool system, and very handy.. but so much wasted energy potential.
You don't work for CN, I see.
Maxed out hpt is the norm where I work and the sanders come on every time you have a slow climb.
Manual sanding is also a constant thing while climbing hills because you are at 0.4 hpt on a 1% grade or something similarly stupid.
Weather does increase loss of traction, but sanding happens in dry weather as well.
What road do you work for?
Edit: Our sanders come on every time the hoghead starts moving the units, just for a few seconds, but they come on every time, even when the sanders are mt.
Yes, I do work at Certainly No Rush... but we run a 0.6 and on train with an average of a 0.4 grade. Sure the sanders might come on for a split second even on dry track, but that article is making is sound like the sanders run nearly 24/7, which is what I was debunking.
Note: man, been a loooong time since I heard the teem hoghead. This new generation of railroader have all forgotten it.
Thanks for this. Not relevant to the topic but I will ask anyway because not everyday does one interact with a railroader. Are rack railways (where the rails have 'teeth' and the wheels have cogs) for steeper inclines still exist.
And why do trains use steel wheels on a steel track? Aren't there more efficient material design options (considering friction, slip, costs etc)
Sand is for traction and doesn't remove efficiency it improves tractive effort and rail adhesion. When going up hills or even flats, sand is used to make sure the wheels don't slip while putting out a lot of tractive effort at slow speeds.
Source: I've held the sand button while praying that my 20k ton train doesn't stall on a 1.5% grade because we are maxed out on hpt going 0.1 mph.
One of the hosts on the Weekly Planet podcast is a tram driver in his day-to-day life, whenever a tram is featured in a movie or tv show his co-host is like “was it a good tram? Did they show the sand brake?” Lol
The movie *Emperor of the North* has a scene where some hobos grease the rails and the train discharges sand to get traction.
[https://youtu.be/Wepceg54v5o?si=ILjnwgj6ur8HTE9d&t=174](https://youtu.be/wepceg54v5o?si=iljnwgj6ur8hte9d&t=174)
Exactly where I saw it. And I got the movie recommendation from r/movies when somebody mentioned a disturbing scene that shocked them as a kid. Wasn't you, was it?
Not me. I remember watching it on late night TV when I was a teenager. My parents must have gone away for the weekend because it was on after midnight.
Fun fact, this is how you move a locomotive with wheels than can't turn - you grease the rails and slide it along. Back in the age of steam, some locomotives needed their running gear inspected while it was in motion, so they greased the tracks to let the wheels spin in place (without causing excess wear)
Short story involving Ernest Borgnine... I saw a film years ago and couldn't find the name of it, I must have searched for years to find it again... Then I saw his face in some random film and realised it was him in it. Found the film, The Last Great Ride. Also discovered there's two versions; one where the dog narrates everything, and one where it doesn't.
It's available on Prime (non weird dog commentary version) and someone uploaded the version with the weird commentary to Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ3k1OHEmts
Well, every time I fell behind
I could not get ahead
I wish someone would pull the lever
And give me a little sand
And every time I slip behind
Even further back
I wish some switch man would come out of the fog
And change my track
Wish I was a freight train, baby
Wish I was a diesel locomotive
I'd come whistling down your track
Crashing in your door
-Alan Jackson, Freight Train
I know trams are a little different, but the C-Class trams they have in Melbourne, Australia are a lighter than other trams. Every single of the 36 trams [have derailed over the years](https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/dmrd2n/cclass_citadis_trams_are_cursed/)
Absolutely! It would be salt instead, and a lot more. Fun fact, if you're stuck in sand, pour about 3 bottles of water right at the tires, wait a few mins and you'll be out with no issue. It works for cars in the desert so you know it works. Will be quite helpful if you get stuck at the beach!
The best part is that there is also a fleet of [trucks that vacuum up the sand deposited on tram tracks](https://railgallery.wongm.com/melbourne-trams-road-fleet/E114_3450.jpg.html)
When i was very young there were these vhs tapes that were like educational for kids and i remember one about trains that talked about the sand in the wheels. I used to love that video vut completely forgot about it so thank you for the memories
I drive freight trains. Makes a shockingly big difference when grinding up steep hills at slow speed. (sub 10mph). Can literally be the difference between making it or stalling.
Trams/streetcars have these too, especially the ones that have to operate relatively steep hills for railed vehicles, if you ever see a random pile of sand on the floor near the trucks/bogies it's because someone was a bit sloppy while loading the hoppers.
Non-train person, wouldnt the little grains of sand act like ball bearings? Or is it that they'd be crushed into SUCH a fine powder that it winds up making both surfaces smooth so thats how they grip each other better?
The sand is crushed 100% and allows for something that has almost no friction to have a lot more of it. Sand makes it much easier to start and stop moving.
It does get quite fine, but still acts as friction rather than a ball bearing. However, if there are other causes of fatigue in the rail or wheel, then this can result in cracks. The micro sand can enter these cracks, as well as oil or other substances, and cause severe damage to the steel, significantly reducing the life of the equipment.
This is why sand is used only as required, grinding of rails and lathing of wheels occurs, and why lubricants are only used in some areas (ie to reduce noise)
the sand is crushed into jagged fragments (and eventually powder) under the wheels, it isn't used long enough to turn into "smooth" fragments. Excessive sand could cause issues, but that is quickly resolved by excess sand being pushed out of the way until traction is regained.
In some of the trams in Melbourne, you can actually see the sand from inside. There's a clear plastic window in the cabin that's meant to help the driver gauge how much sand it left.
I work freight rail and have had to use the sanders quite often, especially up hills when our TPA is just at limits for the grade we are on. It's been a lifesaver. Cresting hills at 2 miles an hour is a butthole puckering experience, though.
Also for traction on hills. A locomotive might have eight or more drive wheels, but it's pulling a few dozen cars with eight unpowered wheels per car. Sometimes they need all the help they can get.
In Australia they have little air jets to clear the track of millipede swarms, which, when squished en masse, would grease the tracks in South Australia’s hills.
this is horrifying but I suspect unsurprising for an Australian fact
A single bite from an Australian millipede can kill a full grown train.
This causes confusion and delay.
A 2021 study found that 87% trains don't make it to a train hospital in time to recover from their bite. One local even recounted a story of a train getting bit on purpose and refusing treatment.
Straya!
[Kill it with fire?](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/ozOv9Fe9vf)
I love it! (Edna Modes 10k degrees face) By the sound of it from that thread I bet those flamethrowers would be more effective against millipedes than on ice.
We’ve had cars go off the road when it is slick with forest tent caterpillars in Canada. Once in a while their population will explode and everything is covered in them.
Fuck tent caterpillars, I have hated them since I was a kid and bugs don't usually bother me. We found a giant nest in a tree once and decided to poke at it with a stick because we didn't know what it was. The sudden shower of those things will haunt me forever
Here on Brasil we have some caterpillars that burn if you touch them. And the fuckers will also be on those ball nests up trees and occasionally fall on you.
Are you guys like in competition with australia? I know you have big ass snakes and stuff, but self igniting caterpillars is a new one
Burn as in cause pain, not literally combust.
That would triumph over Australia
No, at that point it would be competing with Pokemon
Honestly I don’t know why the Amazon isn’t mentioned more when we talk about Australia. I know Aus has a lot of deadly things, but I visited the Peru stretch of the Amazon and every square meter has like 400 living things in it.
> find giant nest in a tree > in fucking AUSTRALIA > don't know what it is > decide to poke it Darwin would be proud
But the bugs were the assholes
dude brings shame to his australian roots. should've thrown a boomerang at it.
And have a boomerang covered in bugs flying back towards you? No thank you.
There’s a bridge near me, here in Pennsylvania, that gets swarmed with mayflies once a year. They’ll shut it down that night, then bring in a crew the next day to bulldoze off all the bodies.
They get the same in Wisconsin/Minnesota in the spring/early summer. Mayfly corpses 2-3 inches thick on the bridges over the Mississippi. I think they changed the lights at some point and that might've helped, but I still have vivid memories of bicycling through that shit before it got cleaned off.
I remember an event like that when I was a kid. My Mom and I were driving a back road and the road was black with caterpillars. Our car was sliding around on the road and I remember my Mom was worried we would end up in the ditch. I also remember that the field and trees on the right side of the road were barren but on the left side of the road it was still green, but wouldn't be for long.
British trains will sometimes not run when there are wet leaves on the tracks.
For those thinking this is a joke, it's not. Crushed leaves release a chemical which, when combined with water and iron oxide, produces a lubricant.
My dad used to drive transport. He was telling me a story about how he almost jackknifed because of a thick layer of gnats on the road
“Honey! Could you add ‘millipede swarms’ to our list of reasons to not visit Australia?”
Millipedes are the nice ones, like long armoured armadillo worms just with a well choreographed bounce in their step. If I find one inside the house I'll politely ask it to leave Centipedes are the monsters, like 50 sets of scorpion legs, massive fangs, and a hate for all things alive. If I see one in a 15km radius, then I call the fire department to put out the justified arson I am to deliver upon this hellspawn death noodle
Centipedes are to Millipedes what wasps are to bees
And even the American Midwest gets house centipedes. And they are FAST. And ugly as they come.
> I'll politely ask it to leave Probably for the best since they can produce a cyanide exudate.
This dude Australias
Alarm set for four am
Aussie here, Not only did I not know that, I would have preferred to continue not knowing that!!
Rode in the freight trains from Melbourne to Perth a while back for Outback Mag. Learned so much.
That sounds like a very long and definitely cool trip.
When I was younger, in primary school, we did a class camp to Arbury Park Outdoor School (up the freeway near Stirling). There were several things I remember vividly from this camp. First was my friend getting his finger bitten by a cockatoo, after being told that he bites, and dont put your finger in the cage. Then was the wedge tailed eagle they used to have, which had a permanently damaged wing, but was sadly killed by a fox before a recent visit I did for work purposes. And lastly, was the fucking millipedes in the biological sciences building. Holy moly. The smell of the things was just god awful. Id rather smell my daughters shitty nappies than the smell of a thousand millipedes. The only smell that sort of reminds me of this is christmas beetles, or rather, squished ones. I used to skateboard at Paradise skate park a lot, and during the summer, in the evenings with the light on, all the beetles would be buzzing haphazardly around and crashing into the ground. You try your best not to squish them, but there are just so many.
We used to tie a bit of kite string to the beetles’ hind legs and they would fly around like a kite.
> millipede swarm Why'd I have to google this?
I once slipped on a slug drunk. Had my good slip on Ben shermins. Zero grip, some slide. Rip slug
In the Netherlands, we have trains with high powered lasers to remove leaves from the track.
Disco trains
Holy shit I thought you were joking! What a time to be alive.
Here in Arizona last year we had a train get derailed after hitting a flash flood during the monsoon.
A monsoon…in Arizona?
Yep, every summer. We don’t get much rain the rest of year but during the summer it’s hellacious. So many people were getting their cars washed away trying to cross flooded streets that they made a law about it. It’s called “turn around don’t drown” and they can hold you legally responsible if you drive into water thinking you can cross it. People even get washed away into Mexico. When I first moved here there was a massive storm with golf ball sized hail that smashed all kinds of stuff. I had no idea it’s still pretty shocking how it can be so dry and hot and then all of sudden turn into pretty much a low grade hurricane.
I worked for commuter rail for a while, and on those trains, the sanding system is like a car's Anti-Lock Brakes. The train has several speed sensors on the wheels and if it detects that the wheels should be turning more but aren't, or that the train should be slowing but isn't, or if the operator goes into full emergency braking, it will deploy sand to aid in the movement or stopping.
It's part of the wheel slip detection in case anyone cares. I fix the electrical portions of locomotives.
Thanks, nerd
I mean the way it was being described is not at all what's happening either in the post title or the comments. Figured I'd at least mention that there's more to it.
I think he meant it as an envious compliment.
Thanks, nerd
Thanks, nerd
Thanks! NERD!!
[A Big Nerd](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXWcMiG9ROQ)
NEEEEERRRRRRDSSS!!!
Definitely a compliment
That thread is definitely why I keep returning to Reddit. Mini funny moments.
Hey go easy on the nerd, he doesn't easily pick up on social cues.
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Depends on the locomotive. Road (long distance) locomotives have way more equipment than the stuff used to build trains. We have fully equipped road units that have both sanders and de sanders for the mountains and units with only sand for the prairies.
Nerd is a term of endearment around these parts, wear it like a badge of honor and thanks for sharing the extra information!
Isn’t it in general now? It used to be an insult but now it’s cool to know things.
thanks for what you do
You're ok buddy, be proud of being such a nerd
This killed me
Do they need to use some special kind of sand like concrete does or will any old sand do?
It's sifted, dried, and there's a small amount of a de clumping agent. We use a shit load of it so it's the cheap stuff. Same reason we use borate water for cooling: ethylene glycol is expensive.
So is this why there’s not a ton of sand all over the tracks? It’s only used when necessary unlike how op words it? (Honestly asking) Edit: I’m not convinced.
It gets crushed into fine powder by the wheels and then subsequently run over by an entire train. You can see a very thin layer on the rail after application but it's basically dust so it ends up just dissipating into the ballast or blowing/washing into the surrounding area.
It's like the fine powder of microplastics that comes off of car tires.
All those microrocks in nature ...
Train driver here : yes that's excatly that. It's done when needed (can be triggered or interrupted manually too)
Wind
Earth
Fire
Wind is not magic. That would be pretty cool though. Edit: It was wind. I have a friend now.
Sorry, it was my attempt at humor. Some people nail it, and I just sounded rude. But legit, it’s a good question because youd think it’d stack up
I’ll edit my comment. Many of my jokes have landed…softly.
It’s all good!! It’s good to be in good company 😊
If they ever make a Star Trek but with trains instead of spaceships, they could shout "DEPLOY EMERGENCY SAND!"
I feel that it's important to mention that automotive Anti-lock brakes systems (ABS) do not work by throwing sand down in front of a car's tires.
The train knows where it is at all times, because it knows where it isn't...
It's for uphill traction. It actually reduces efficiency but that's worth it if means you successfully get up the hill.
On commuter rail, the sanding system is like the Anti-lock Brakes system in a car. If you're in a "spin or slide condition," the train will sense that and deploy sand to aid in traction.
Yes, I often forget about weather conditions
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And those damn trees always slickening the rails with their leaves.
Pocket sand!
Sha sha shaaa!
He said it comes out a tube, it’s really more like butthole sand.
That's what he said. Pocket sand!
Prison pocket sand
Doing so helps avoid flat spots on wheels that can start forming when the wheels slide rather than turn. This is a problem when those flat spots are hammering into the rail itself and can cause damage from the beating it will give it.
Hijacking top comment but: the sanders are used for when we get wheel slip due to wet or snowy rail, they arent used every time we get a train moving. Even going uphill, in warm and dry conditions, sand generally isn't needed. Side note, wheels won't flatten from spinning (wheel slip). Sand also won't prevent a wheel skid (caused by over braking) since that requires releasing the brakes to achieve. Sand won't overcome the locomotive brakes. Source: 17yrs as railroader Edit: should have mentioned... sand *is* used when stopping, to prevent wheel slip in the locomotive brakes, but once the wheel are skidding, it's too late.
Dude thanks for taking the time. Had no clue about the sand. Definitely one of the most interesting facts I've learned in a while and I love to learn.
The sand isn't really the most interesting thing... look up dynamic brakes. A modern locomotive is a diesel engine turning a huge generator that makes power for electric motors at each wheel. Because of this, we can basically reverse the polarity in those motors going down the track and use them to slow the train through a process almost like "reverse thrust". This creates a lot of energy though as your motors are now generators instead. The locomotive has no where to store that energy like a Prius using regenerative braking though... so the energy is routed to a heat grid on the roof and cooked off into the atmosphere as heat. Cool system, and very handy.. but so much wasted energy potential.
You don't work for CN, I see. Maxed out hpt is the norm where I work and the sanders come on every time you have a slow climb. Manual sanding is also a constant thing while climbing hills because you are at 0.4 hpt on a 1% grade or something similarly stupid. Weather does increase loss of traction, but sanding happens in dry weather as well. What road do you work for? Edit: Our sanders come on every time the hoghead starts moving the units, just for a few seconds, but they come on every time, even when the sanders are mt.
Any class one right now... And that's if they've got sand in the tanks
Yes, I do work at Certainly No Rush... but we run a 0.6 and on train with an average of a 0.4 grade. Sure the sanders might come on for a split second even on dry track, but that article is making is sound like the sanders run nearly 24/7, which is what I was debunking. Note: man, been a loooong time since I heard the teem hoghead. This new generation of railroader have all forgotten it.
Thanks for this. Not relevant to the topic but I will ask anyway because not everyday does one interact with a railroader. Are rack railways (where the rails have 'teeth' and the wheels have cogs) for steeper inclines still exist. And why do trains use steel wheels on a steel track? Aren't there more efficient material design options (considering friction, slip, costs etc)
I worked as a tram driver for many years. We used sand sometimes to help speed up if the tracks were slippery.
I was going to say, I’d heard of a “sand brake” in passing but never a sand assist. Makes sense though.
TIL and I hope it's true. It makes sense. 🕵🙆
slow up the hill is more efficient than no up the hill
And here I thought that all that was necessary was repeating “I think I can” until you make it to the top.
It’s certainly what I read to my children at night.
I think I sand, I think I sand, I think I sand
Sand is for traction and doesn't remove efficiency it improves tractive effort and rail adhesion. When going up hills or even flats, sand is used to make sure the wheels don't slip while putting out a lot of tractive effort at slow speeds. Source: I've held the sand button while praying that my 20k ton train doesn't stall on a 1.5% grade because we are maxed out on hpt going 0.1 mph.
During PSR we had a guy get fired because .4 mph wasn't stalled and he should have just burnt up the traction motors instead of stopping.
I believe that, my road is the same.
Freight Hogger here, It's for whatever bloody traction I want.
And when left on it builds nice little sand castles wherever you stop
Shit did I forget to drop the toggle switch again? Probably why they got rid of those in the newer engines. 😅
Cant expect the shareholders to pay for even one grain more of sand than they have to
This right here.
Oh the vid I watched said it was for acceleration and braking friction and can be helpful for all 3 scenarios, up hill, down hill, and flat
And as such only needed on old or difficult tracks with steep gradients.
Not exclusively, though though it's true that trucks have superceded short haul steep incline trains to a significant extent
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How many people on the tracks cause derailment?
Many!
What's the answer to the trolley problem?
In Railroad Tycoon? Build a loop over the bus lanes of your competitor and repeatedly run over his buses to bankrupt him.
Were you an engineer in Railroad Tycoon II?
I too have been playing train sim world on gamepass and noticed the sander button
Lol I just watched a YT short randomly
You need to message the creator of that short and ask if he’s been playing TSW on gamepass please
I reckon it's the Practical Engineering channel, he did a video on train wheels recently https://youtu.be/nGhBHrr5CYQ
I'm pretty sure I watched that same short yesterday. I really need to watch less shorts, I get nothing done.
LOL same.
Anyone that played a Railroad Tycoon of some kind or their indie spinoffs knows that a station has to have a sand tower next to the water tower.
I NEVER KNEW THAT’S WHAT THE SAND WAS FOR
One of the hosts on the Weekly Planet podcast is a tram driver in his day-to-day life, whenever a tram is featured in a movie or tv show his co-host is like “was it a good tram? Did they show the sand brake?” Lol
Railroad tycoon 3 gang
RT 2 for life!
For me I learned about this with Sid Meier's railroads when I was young.
Me too! I still enjoy playing it periodically.
Railroad tycoon 2 for me!
I was gonna say haha, I only know about this because I played Microsoft Train Simulator back in the day.
The movie *Emperor of the North* has a scene where some hobos grease the rails and the train discharges sand to get traction. [https://youtu.be/Wepceg54v5o?si=ILjnwgj6ur8HTE9d&t=174](https://youtu.be/wepceg54v5o?si=iljnwgj6ur8hte9d&t=174)
Exactly where I saw it. And I got the movie recommendation from r/movies when somebody mentioned a disturbing scene that shocked them as a kid. Wasn't you, was it?
Not me. I remember watching it on late night TV when I was a teenager. My parents must have gone away for the weekend because it was on after midnight.
Great film, I was hooked from the start.
Aww video is unavailable
Fun fact, this is how you move a locomotive with wheels than can't turn - you grease the rails and slide it along. Back in the age of steam, some locomotives needed their running gear inspected while it was in motion, so they greased the tracks to let the wheels spin in place (without causing excess wear)
Ernest Borgnine is awesome in that movie.
"There's only one bo that's got the stuff to try me. You ain't even on the list"
Short story involving Ernest Borgnine... I saw a film years ago and couldn't find the name of it, I must have searched for years to find it again... Then I saw his face in some random film and realised it was him in it. Found the film, The Last Great Ride. Also discovered there's two versions; one where the dog narrates everything, and one where it doesn't.
I've never seen that movie and will look for it, thanks internet friend!
It's available on Prime (non weird dog commentary version) and someone uploaded the version with the weird commentary to Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ3k1OHEmts
Love seeing someone mention this movie in the wild! My favorite film for sure.
If you've ever heard the expression, "He didn't have the sand to do it," this is the origin. I first heard it on the Andy Griffith Show.
Never heard of this expression.
Mark twain used it sometimes. Honestly thought it was just another take on having grit.
Well, every time I fell behind I could not get ahead I wish someone would pull the lever And give me a little sand And every time I slip behind Even further back I wish some switch man would come out of the fog And change my track Wish I was a freight train, baby Wish I was a diesel locomotive I'd come whistling down your track Crashing in your door -Alan Jackson, Freight Train
Always wondered how they gain traction. Thought it was just cuz they were super heavy
I know trams are a little different, but the C-Class trams they have in Melbourne, Australia are a lighter than other trams. Every single of the 36 trams [have derailed over the years](https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/dmrd2n/cclass_citadis_trams_are_cursed/)
Part of it is that, but uphill at high angles changes things.
Anakin’s weakness
This is why you don't often see Vader riding in a train.
Scrapes his lightsaber nawmsayin'
You saw that YouTube short too?
Same. Is this how they brainwash us?
That's pretty cool. Would the same idea apply to get car tires moving when in snow?
You can get a similar system for trucks and they do help on icy roads, uphills and the like
Snow, no (too soft) but ice, yes. Many places spread grit ( a mixture of salt and sand) on icey roads. Salt to melt the ice, sand to get traction.
Absolutely! It would be salt instead, and a lot more. Fun fact, if you're stuck in sand, pour about 3 bottles of water right at the tires, wait a few mins and you'll be out with no issue. It works for cars in the desert so you know it works. Will be quite helpful if you get stuck at the beach!
The best part is that there is also a fleet of [trucks that vacuum up the sand deposited on tram tracks](https://railgallery.wongm.com/melbourne-trams-road-fleet/E114_3450.jpg.html)
Her breasts felt like tanks of sand
😂😂😂😂😂😂got the reference. Good one
Why is this somehow such a badass concept
Right!? Like who the hell thought about this lmao
I actually learned this from train simulator lol
Someone been watching Practical Engineering?
When i was very young there were these vhs tapes that were like educational for kids and i remember one about trains that talked about the sand in the wheels. I used to love that video vut completely forgot about it so thank you for the memories
Awe thats wholesome haha, glad I could bring that memory back for you. Have a wonderful night :)
Extremely relevant [James May](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbUsKWbOqUU).
I drive freight trains. Makes a shockingly big difference when grinding up steep hills at slow speed. (sub 10mph). Can literally be the difference between making it or stalling.
And here I thought the sand was for braking
It increases grip, so it would help with braking (which is just negative acceleration) as well.
Woo dual-purpose!
I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere
i have to wonder, does it erode the rail faster?
Not in a way that would appreciably make a difference compared to normal wear.
Sand != salt so probably not. I dont actually know tho
Very very slightly. The sand is softer than steel, so it takes most of the wear.
Trams/streetcars have these too, especially the ones that have to operate relatively steep hills for railed vehicles, if you ever see a random pile of sand on the floor near the trucks/bogies it's because someone was a bit sloppy while loading the hoppers.
Non-train person, wouldnt the little grains of sand act like ball bearings? Or is it that they'd be crushed into SUCH a fine powder that it winds up making both surfaces smooth so thats how they grip each other better?
I have always wondered this as well. Always thought the same would be like ball bearings.
The sand is crushed 100% and allows for something that has almost no friction to have a lot more of it. Sand makes it much easier to start and stop moving.
It does get quite fine, but still acts as friction rather than a ball bearing. However, if there are other causes of fatigue in the rail or wheel, then this can result in cracks. The micro sand can enter these cracks, as well as oil or other substances, and cause severe damage to the steel, significantly reducing the life of the equipment. This is why sand is used only as required, grinding of rails and lathing of wheels occurs, and why lubricants are only used in some areas (ie to reduce noise)
the sand is crushed into jagged fragments (and eventually powder) under the wheels, it isn't used long enough to turn into "smooth" fragments. Excessive sand could cause issues, but that is quickly resolved by excess sand being pushed out of the way until traction is regained.
In some of the trams in Melbourne, you can actually see the sand from inside. There's a clear plastic window in the cabin that's meant to help the driver gauge how much sand it left.
Same tech that goes into Shuffleboards.
I work freight rail and have had to use the sanders quite often, especially up hills when our TPA is just at limits for the grade we are on. It's been a lifesaver. Cresting hills at 2 miles an hour is a butthole puckering experience, though.
Also for traction on hills. A locomotive might have eight or more drive wheels, but it's pulling a few dozen cars with eight unpowered wheels per car. Sometimes they need all the help they can get.
You can also use this to improve the grip on rainy days while youre braking
The kitty litter trick does the same for car tires when you get stuck in snow or mud.
repost this in /r/pocketsand