Yellow cone-shaped things beside rail?

[rockford]

The title says it all really... Lol.
What are they?
They're bright yellow cylinders with a cone-shaped top which points down under the track with a black tube sticking out which runs under the rails.
I did try searching, but I have no idea where to start with that ^ description!
They seem quite random in their placement and they don't seem to correspond to any other infrastructure.
Thanks!
Andy.

 

[driver9000]

Sounds like it might be a flange greaser.

 

[142094]

Ones I normally see are small barrels with a flat top. Guess there is no standard design.

 

[driver9000]

Ones I normally see are small barrels with a flat top. Guess there is no standard design.

I have seen at least 3 different designs of flange greaser, the most common is the flat topped barrel round here though.

My other thought was that it could be a sandite bin although they are quite big and I've never seen a cylindrical one.

 

[The Planner]

Quite possibly the best named piece of equipment in any industry.

 

[rockford]

Quite possibly the best named piece of equipment in any industry.

After ensuring that SafeSearch was turned on, that is indeed what I've seen!
Thank you all.
Curiosity satisfied!

 

[142094]

Quite possibly the best named piece of equipment in any industry.

Need something to keep the flange squeal down on a Pacer

 

[Wyvern]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rail_track_lubricator.jpg

They may often be used on quite high speed lines in difficult conditions.

 

[142094]

Any ideas:

1) How much lubricant is actually used either per passing train or day/week?

2) How often they are refilled?

3) What kind of lubricant is used (assuming that it is something that is not harmful to the environment if it gets into the soil/water)?

 

[DarloRich]

Do you mean a flange greaser or a "mushroom"?

 

[Hydro]

Any curve satisfying certain conditions in terms of radius/speed will generally require a lubricator.

They are filled up, and I don't mean to sound like I'm being patronising, when they are below a certain level/empty. They should be checked on patrols for the levels of grease in them. I think it's the same lubricant that we apply to fishplates before the summer. I don't think it's especially harmful, but it is very messy. Thick, black and smelly.

 

[Wyvern]

So what do you mean by a mushroom?

 

[DarloRich]

So what do you mean by a mushroom?

Yellow squareish box about a foot off the ground on little legs normally stood next to the track by , for instance, an axle counter

 

[TheSlash]

Serviced and refilled every 6 weeks.

 

[Wyvern]

Yellow squareish box about a foot off the ground on little legs normally stood next to the track by , for instance, an axle counter

So what does it do?

 

[Hydro]

They are for the axle counters, containing the electronic bits that keep count of the axles passing over the counter heads.

 

[Wyvern]

Many thanks

 

[142094]

Serviced and refilled every 6 weeks.

Cheers for that.

 

[DarloRich]

They are for the axle counters, containing the electronic bits that keep count of the axles passing over the counter heads.

beat me to it! Here is a picture:

 

[es373]

Post deleted.

 

[rosswilson]

beat me to it! Here is a picture:

Is that what those yellow boxes are? Axel counters? I always thought they were just junction boxes for the wiring.

There are literally dozens of these all within 100m at Cardiff Station.

Why would there be so many axel counters at a station?

Ross

 

[brillopad]

Is that what those yellow boxes are? Axel counters? I always thought they were just junction boxes for the wiring.

There are literally dozens of these all within 100m at Cardiff Station.

Why would there be so many axel counters at a station?

Ross

No they aren't axle counters - axle counters are located close to the rail and sense the passage of a wheel rather than the axle.
I don't see them very often but one place is Dawlish seafront where the sea can inundate the track and make track circuits unreliable.

 

[142094]

Is that what those yellow boxes are? Axel counters? I always thought they were just junction boxes for the wiring.

There are literally dozens of these all within 100m at Cardiff Station.

Why would there be so many axel counters at a station?

Ross

They look similar to point heaters, which may be what you find at Cardiff.

 

[Hydro]

They're not axle counters themselves, they're the counter electronics for the axle counter. 1 wheel = 1 axle, which is why they're called axle counters and not "Half the number of wheels on a train counters".

 

[es373]

LOL half the wheels on a train countererers hahaha