Heya,
I was railfanning a bit this past weekend (actually we were hunting geocaches and one happened to be right next to the tracks) in between Flagstaff and Williams, AZ and came across some interesting little bits I thought somebody on here could tell me more about. Each piece is labeled in the first photo with the second and third photos being closeup rail plate connections.
#1 - obviously a bolt but is it bent like that on purpose and what does it bolt together?
#2 - A spike.
#3 - A neat little curly cue attachment doo dad. I see how it attaches as in photo 2 and it seems to be a different way of holding the rail down as opposed to using the spikes but why?
#4 - I'm not sure what this is or where it is used but it's shape resembels that of #5 which can be seen in the third photo. Clear as mud?
#5 - Seen in the third photo.... This appears to be some way of keeping the track from sliding along the ties and does not appear to be connected to the rail plate. Wouldn't heat expansion work these things loose after a while or is that what they are trying to prevent.... heat expansion?
#6 - not a clue as to what this is or where it was used.
#7 - If you can't figure this one out, your on the wrong site.
#8 - Not a clue as to what this is either. It has a little wiggle (hard to tell in the photo) right under the #8. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was something to do with brakes of some sort.
#9 - again, some sort of attachment piece but I could find no immediate examples of how it was used.
Our conclusion was that the railroad was very wasteful and could make a lot of money on salvage steel if it just cleaned up a little. All of these pieces were found within 20 feet of each other and my sister loaded up the back of her truck before finally getting scared off at the thought of being busted by the rail police. I did get one picture of the freight coming through but my little boy stuck his hand up to wave right as I clicked the button and all you can see is a little bit of one engine in between his fingers. Fun weekend!
I was railfanning a bit this past weekend (actually we were hunting geocaches and one happened to be right next to the tracks) in between Flagstaff and Williams, AZ and came across some interesting little bits I thought somebody on here could tell me more about. Each piece is labeled in the first photo with the second and third photos being closeup rail plate connections.
#1 - obviously a bolt but is it bent like that on purpose and what does it bolt together?
#2 - A spike.
#3 - A neat little curly cue attachment doo dad. I see how it attaches as in photo 2 and it seems to be a different way of holding the rail down as opposed to using the spikes but why?
#4 - I'm not sure what this is or where it is used but it's shape resembels that of #5 which can be seen in the third photo. Clear as mud?
#5 - Seen in the third photo.... This appears to be some way of keeping the track from sliding along the ties and does not appear to be connected to the rail plate. Wouldn't heat expansion work these things loose after a while or is that what they are trying to prevent.... heat expansion?
#6 - not a clue as to what this is or where it was used.
#7 - If you can't figure this one out, your on the wrong site.
#8 - Not a clue as to what this is either. It has a little wiggle (hard to tell in the photo) right under the #8. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it was something to do with brakes of some sort.
#9 - again, some sort of attachment piece but I could find no immediate examples of how it was used.
Our conclusion was that the railroad was very wasteful and could make a lot of money on salvage steel if it just cleaned up a little. All of these pieces were found within 20 feet of each other and my sister loaded up the back of her truck before finally getting scared off at the thought of being busted by the rail police. I did get one picture of the freight coming through but my little boy stuck his hand up to wave right as I clicked the button and all you can see is a little bit of one engine in between his fingers. Fun weekend!