Any idea about this pattern on the top of the rail?

[Old Timer]

Thanks. Is rail grinding not common in the UK? in my 10+ years of commuting in the UK I don't ever recall ever seeing anything other than shiny rails on regularly used rail - hence I was a little freaked out by the pattern!

My first dealings with rail grinding were with the old Speno rail grinding train, on the West Suburban Line in Birmingham.

The train was brought in from Italy and was manned by Italians, who actually lived in accommodation vehicles which were integral to the train. It was even rumoured that they kept WOMEN in there as well !

The train was operated by the Italians, with a Driver acting as a route conductor.

My best (worst) memory is trying to get one of the Operators to understand that he was to stop at the PLS on the A&D at Kings Norton as we sped towards it at a rate of knots. I recall a Spad was only avoided when I started to shout and he finally took notice. I still think that took a number of years off my life !

 

[boing_uk]

The first time I noticed rail grinding in the UK was on a stretch of the ECML between Wakefield and Donny back in 2003. It wasnt until my train came to a stand one day that I was able to see out the window exactly why the track was making the unusual sound I'd never heard before...

Now it seems to be commonplace on most of the main speed lines Ive travelled and even some local lines. The Blackpool line has some short lengths done.

 

[Old Timer]

Rail grinding helps to prolong the life of the rail, especially when there is rolling contact fatigue.

Different trains and traffic patterns give rise to slightly different manifestations of RCF but all can be taken out in the same manner.

Early methods of grinding took down only a little off the top. Nowadays the latest top of the range grinders run everything by computer and take the rail down to clean metal, they also re-profile the complete head and there is none of the roughness you maybe experience in the UK.

My colleagues who are on the maintenance side like to play about with these machines, which are like the Kennedy space centre control room inside.

Me I just like to play with BIG BIG renewals trains and schemes.

Currently perfecting a plan to relay a big switch in two hours.

By big I mean 200 odd meters long

With one BIG BIG crane

Happy days, happy days

 

[boing_uk]

Rail grinding is, in effect, surface retexturisation which is what we do in highways for reinstating the microtexture of the aggregate on a suitable surface, such as hot rolled asphalt.

Vehicle wheels will polish the aggregate to a point where skid resistance becomes severely reduced. To repair we either re-surface, surface dress, apply high friction surfacing, or retexturise.

Actually, given that grinding is actually there to preserve the structure of the rail from defects, it is more akin to surface dressing - but in reverse.

On the subject of "patterns on rails"... in Preston on Platform 1, adjacent the platform office, there are some what look like small chunks (cresent in shape, about 30-40mm long) missing from the gauge corner on the railhead, which appears with a semi-regular pattern (some about 1000mm apart, some about 400mm). I'll try to get a photo next time Im there, unless someone can beat me to it. Just wondering what may have caused it...

 

[jrhilton]

Good job you never saw the track at Wimbledon on the down fast a couple of years ago, it started bouncing when a train got to the Waterloo end of the platform with mud geysers all over the place. Linespeed 75mph.

It seems NR have been working hard down here and apart from one or two locations where it seems a bit lively, the track's in pretty good nick.

A good point, standing on the platform you could always see the trains jolt a bit about 5m from the north end of the platform! It was actually like that for years and years....

They did a lot of work either last year or the year before and replaced all the track to the north of Wimbledon, finally!