Weekend Update 10/16/16

[up1950s]

[basementcalling]

That simply cannot be a very efficient way to load a train.

[tom mann]

 Hmmm, I don't see any foamers with tripods on that gravel pile

[Dave V]

[Hamaker]

LOVE the background music !

[tehachapifan]

That simply cannot be a very efficient way to load a train.

He certainly has his work cut out for him! I hope he has a stereo in that thing!

[alhoop]

My latest Picaxe project.

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Added a better video.
This was taken with a Samsung J3 smartphone as I didn't want to break out my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30.
Now I have to port the Picaxe code to Arduino and I don't know that very well - have two books on order.
Al

[mandealco]

Hi
When Tranzrail began large scale coal moves from our West Cost to the East Coast port of Lyttleton, they were unloading equally as crudely, using an excavator.

Another update on my 2 ex-Cartier 'Bigs'. Truck mods are done and a couple of other bits tidied up.

This shows how I modified the Atlas Dash-8 trucks to resemble Alco's Hi-Ads. This is the best of 3 versions I've made over the years.

Cheers
Steve
NZ

[wazzou]

A couple more trucks completed.

[mopacaustin]

Hi
When Tranzrail began large scale coal moves from our West Cost to the East Coast port of Lyttleton, they were unloading equally as crudely, using an excavator.

Another update on my 2 ex-Cartier 'Bigs'. Truck mods are done and a couple of other bits tidied up.

This shows how I modified the Atlas Dash-8 trucks to resemble Alco's Hi-Ads. This is the best of 3 versions I've made over the years.

Cheers
Steve
NZ

Those trucks look nice! Those cabs too!

[nkalanaga]

I've seen places where the "dirt' didn't have large rocks.  The Tri-Cities area of Washington is one, as it sits on lake deposits from Ice Age floods, and is largely sand.  Gravel pits simply screen the larger chunks from the sand, and don't have to crush anything.

Another similar area, but with real soil, rather  than sand, is the Red River valley of North Dakota, which, again, is an old lake bed.

River deltas and flood plains are another good place for large-rock-free fill.

[ryan_wilkerson]

Al, that's pretty cool. How did you do it?
-Ryan

My latest Picaxe project.
Al

[alhoop]

author=ryan_wilkerson
Al, that's pretty cool. How did you do it?
-Ryan

Measure the time between 2 IR emitter/detecter pairs spaced two feet apart and read the
speed from a table - not extremely accurate. After the first axle that stops the timing, an
interrupt driven routine is entered to count the axles. That has always given a count that
is dead on so long as there are no dragging trip pins, truck sideframes riding the rails, etc.
A Picaxe 14M2 microcontroller does the work - timing,axle counting and readouts with an
Emic-2 text-to-speech module providing the audio.
Pictured is the waveforms from a short train comprised of an F3 diesel, two shorty  Atlas
ore cars and a 40' boxcar with a cleaning pad underneath.

Al

[C855B]

... Pictured is the waveforms from a short train comprised of an F3 diesel, two shorty  Atlas
ore cars and a 40' boxcar with a cleaning pad underneath. ...

Oh, my, that 'scope screen shot brings back memories of reading hotbox detector strip charts back in the '70s.

Does the cleaning pad trigger a dragging equipment warning?     

[SP-Wolf]

SP F7 6332 exiting the new bridge over the Santa Clara river.



Thanks,
Wolf