On 1/24/2010 8:25 PM Beachbum spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 1/24/2010 2:44 PM bladeslinger spake thus:

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:43:34 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

Read all about it: http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=213

(seen on another newsgroup)

torpedoes are no longer used by any of the major carriers that I know
of.

and for sure, I can tell you that NS stopped using them about 8 or 9
years ago.

Well, yeah; I think that was covered in the article.

And they seem to have gotten at least one thing wrong: they probably
never used actual dynamite in them. (As someone on that other newsgroup
said, they were probably using the term dynamite in the sense of
"something that makes a really big bang when ignited".)

I can vouch for the "big bang". I worked for Uncle Pete in the wheel
shop at Omaha. We had a 10 or 20 ton bridge crane operated by a man in
the open cab for moving the traction motors and setting in the wheelsets
during assembly. Horseplay was the norm back then (70s -80s), and
someone decided to place a torpedo on the rail of the crane while the
operator was on the floor for lunch. They went to the trouble of placing
it strategically right outside the second floor wall of the foreman's
office, so when the operator climbed up into the cab and made his first
pass to the far end, just as he passed the office, the torpedo blew! I
would swear the bridge of the crane rose a foot in the air on that side,
and of course the foreman and office staff came running out. The
operator's cab was on the opposite side of the bridge from the office,
and two stories off the floor, but you could see his face go white
nonetheless. Ahhh, for the good old days!

By the way, the torpedoes were about 2" square and 1" thick, somewhat
pillow shaped with spring metal straps on the bottom for securing to the
rails. Normally, you would place several in a row. There may have been a
code too it seems, with regard to how many you placed. They were not
"ignited", but rather were set off by the compression of being run over.
They were pretty stable otherwise, judging by the way they were
handled/stored. I am also fairly certain they were not flammable, as
they were always kept on the loco, usually in the cab or toilet room, in
the same portable holder as the fusees.

I'm crossposting this back to the NG where I first saw this. I think
they might appreciate your little story there (I know I did).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
On 1/24/2010 8:25 PM Beachbum spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 1/24/2010 2:44 PM bladeslinger spake thus:

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:43:34 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

Read all about it: http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=213

(seen on another newsgroup)

torpedoes are no longer used by any of the major carriers that I know
of.

and for sure, I can tell you that NS stopped using them about 8 or 9
years ago.

Well, yeah; I think that was covered in the article.

And they seem to have gotten at least one thing wrong: they probably
never used actual dynamite in them. (As someone on that other newsgroup
said, they were probably using the term dynamite in the sense of
"something that makes a really big bang when ignited".)

I can vouch for the "big bang". I worked for Uncle Pete in the wheel shop
at Omaha. We had a 10 or 20 ton bridge crane operated by a man in the
open cab for moving the traction motors and setting in the wheelsets
during assembly. Horseplay was the norm back then (70s -80s), and someone
decided to place a torpedo on the rail of the crane while the operator
was on the floor for lunch. They went to the trouble of placing it
strategically right outside the second floor wall of the foreman's
office, so when the operator climbed up into the cab and made his first
pass to the far end, just as he passed the office, the torpedo blew! I
would swear the bridge of the crane rose a foot in the air on that side,
and of course the foreman and office staff came running out. The
operator's cab was on the opposite side of the bridge from the office,
and two stories off the floor, but you could see his face go white
nonetheless. Ahhh, for the good old days!

By the way, the torpedoes were about 2" square and 1" thick, somewhat
pillow shaped with spring metal straps on the bottom for securing to the
rails. Normally, you would place several in a row. There may have been a
code too it seems, with regard to how many you placed. They were not
"ignited", but rather were set off by the compression of being run over.
They were pretty stable otherwise, judging by the way they were
handled/stored. I am also fairly certain they were not flammable, as they
were always kept on the loco, usually in the cab or toilet room, in the
same portable holder as the fusees.

I'm crossposting this back to the NG where I first saw this. I think they
might appreciate your little story there (I know I did).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

AFAIK they still use them in the UK (we call then 'detonators') - There was
a rather good vid of a train operating in a track relaying areas on u-tube
but couldn't find it.
The link below works okay but doesnt really give a sense of how loud they
are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbMtM6IIp8

Regards

Mike

"Mike Smith" wrote in message
...

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
s.com...
On 1/24/2010 8:25 PM Beachbum spake thus:

David Nebenzahl wrote:

On 1/24/2010 2:44 PM bladeslinger spake thus:

On Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:43:34 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

Read all about it: http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=213

(seen on another newsgroup)

torpedoes are no longer used by any of the major carriers that I know
of.

and for sure, I can tell you that NS stopped using them about 8 or 9
years ago.

Well, yeah; I think that was covered in the article.

And they seem to have gotten at least one thing wrong: they probably
never used actual dynamite in them. (As someone on that other newsgroup
said, they were probably using the term dynamite in the sense of
"something that makes a really big bang when ignited".)

I can vouch for the "big bang". I worked for Uncle Pete in the wheel
shop at Omaha. We had a 10 or 20 ton bridge crane operated by a man in
the open cab for moving the traction motors and setting in the wheelsets
during assembly. Horseplay was the norm back then (70s -80s), and
someone decided to place a torpedo on the rail of the crane while the
operator was on the floor for lunch. They went to the trouble of placing
it strategically right outside the second floor wall of the foreman's
office, so when the operator climbed up into the cab and made his first
pass to the far end, just as he passed the office, the torpedo blew! I
would swear the bridge of the crane rose a foot in the air on that side,
and of course the foreman and office staff came running out. The
operator's cab was on the opposite side of the bridge from the office,
and two stories off the floor, but you could see his face go white
nonetheless. Ahhh, for the good old days!

By the way, the torpedoes were about 2" square and 1" thick, somewhat
pillow shaped with spring metal straps on the bottom for securing to the
rails. Normally, you would place several in a row. There may have been a
code too it seems, with regard to how many you placed. They were not
"ignited", but rather were set off by the compression of being run over.
They were pretty stable otherwise, judging by the way they were
handled/stored. I am also fairly certain they were not flammable, as
they were always kept on the loco, usually in the cab or toilet room, in
the same portable holder as the fusees.

I'm crossposting this back to the NG where I first saw this. I think they
might appreciate your little story there (I know I did).


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

AFAIK they still use them in the UK (we call then 'detonators') - There
was a rather good vid of a train operating in a track relaying areas on
u-tube but couldn't find it.
The link below works okay but doesnt really give a sense of how loud they
are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbMtM6IIp8

Regards

Mike

Listening to that, they could have almost set them to indicate Morse code
symbols. Either a one or a two/three for dot dash.

Steve

On Jan 27, 7:34*am, "Mike Smith" wrote:


The link below works okay but doesnt really give a sense of how loud they
are.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbMtM6IIp8

Well, they *do* need to be clearly heard over the sounds of a steam
locomotive and it's train operating at full tilt...

~Pete

On Jan 27, 9:01*am, "Steve B" wrote:


Listening to that, they could have almost set them to indicate Morse code
symbols. *Either a one or a two/three for dot dash.

I recall reading somewhere that in some cases there *were* complex
torpedo signals, but my old S.P. rulebook says only:

"15. The explosion of one torpedo is a signal to stop. When an
unattended torpedo is exploded, the train, after stopping, may then
proceed to a point not less than three-fourths of a mile from point
where torpedo was exploded.

The explosion of two torpedos is a signal to proceed with caution for
not less than one mile.

Torpedos must not be placed on public crossings, and must not be
placed near station buildings, nor on yard tracks, except in an
emergency. (6-26-45)"

~Pete

On Jan 25, 2:00*pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:
snip
I'm crossposting this back to the NG where I first saw this. I think
they might appreciate your little story there (I know I did).

Thanks for the cool story. I did a search on youtube for train
torpedos and found this excellent play list of videos of explosions.
I particularly like the one where they dynamited that whale. The
Oregon shakey bridge video is in there, too. Good stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...DB4964DD46211F

Mike

"Twibil" wrote in message
...
On Jan 27, 7:34 am, "Mike Smith" wrote:


The link below works okay but doesnt really give a sense of how loud they
are.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orbMtM6IIp8

Well, they *do* need to be clearly heard over the sounds of a steam
locomotive and it's train operating at full tilt...

~Pete

To be heard INSIDE the locomotive, they must have been very loud.

Steve