Wapsi Square Forum

This is the project i mentioned at the hawk photos (well, one of them). Sperry Rail Service is a company founded in the 1920s by Dr Elmer A. Sperry, inventor of the rail flaw scanner car, which spots cracks in rails that are not visible but can lead to serious accidents.
 
Sperry's original plan was to build and sell the cars and to also offer contract services, but the railroads for the most part preferred to simply contract with Sperry for scanning services and not own the cars themselves.  (I'd guess that was a cost/benefit thing.)

















Hi Rail vehicles are neet. You pull up to the track, get the front tires on the rails, drop the front track wheels, and then pull forward until the rear lines up and them you drop the rear wheels. (At least, that's how the process has been described to me.) The track wheels steer and (on this unit) brake; the rubber tires run on top of the rails and drive and brake.





Some Hi Rail vehicles don't have brakes on the track wheels - they use the regular rubber tires for driving and braking. I suspect this thing is heavy enough that it needs a bit more. (From the looks of it, there is a second engine in the box to power the equipment.)

Interesting. Most likely, that box at the front (behind the front bumper) only contains a hydraulic pump, run by the truck's motor, to activate the up and down motion of the rail wheels. Garbage trucks also place their hydraulic pumps at the front, just like that, so it can be easily activated by the truck's engine. That's why you'll often hear them rev up their motor, while activating the mechanism to push the garbage further back into the truck.

I've often seen a pickup at the garage (sorry, "transportation center") I work at, that has those wheels (for going on the subway line's rails). I don't recall whether they had brakes on the rail wheels or not, though. Wouldn't be surprised that they didn't, since it was only a pickup, not a big truck carrying heavy equipment, like that one... Now I'll have to check, next time I see it.

Bar none that is COOL!. Thanks for the great pictures and descriptions.

I spotted it parked at a Super8 motel, took a few insurance shots with ghe phone and went home and got the Nikon.

Note the next-to-last shot ... Where we can see that the front bumper is held on one side by a come-along and a zip-tie.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:I spotted it parked at a Super8 motel, took a few insurance shots with ghe phone and went home and got the Nikon.

Note the next-to-last shot ... Where we can see that the front bumper is held on one side by a come-along and a zip-tie.

And there are other parts that are held by a bungee cord or some safety pins.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Note the next-to-last shot ... Where we can see that the front bumper is held on one side by a come-along and a zip-tie.

I think we know what The Dubious Brothers decided to do, after retiring from the music scene. They went into railroad maintenance.

Polar Bear Plunge postponed because of low lake levels
 

The Gainesville Times wrote: Those looking to ring in the new year with a splash will have to wait a few weeks.

The annual Polar Bear Plunge at Lake Lanier has been postponed again this year.

The plunge was delayed last year because of flooding. This year, the opposite has occurred. Dangerously low water levels because of drought have forced the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club to postpone the event until early February.

I've gone canoeing on New Year's Day any number of times. But I stay in the boat.

This is one of the other projects i was out shooting for when the hawk distracted me.
 
Someone here in Gainesville (his name is "Heath", apparently) has a set of stencils, and seems to make about 75% of his annual operating profit in the month of December.















This is Chik-Fil-A



PetroFast gas/convenience store

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Polar Bear Plunge postponed because of low lake levels

So the Polar Bear Plunge failed to get the seal of approval.

That seal's a slippery bastard, ain't he? Maybe he should join the Navy...

Thanks to my parents going out of the state for a week for Christmas, I had time to get them a blu-ray player. Finally... I got it less than an hour ago. Talk about last minute shopping!

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Note the next-to-last shot ... Where we can see that the front bumper is held on one side by a come-along and a zip-tie.

Are you sure the come-along and the zip-tie are what's holding the bumper? Were you able to confirm that?

The way I see it, which seems to be corroborated on a few of the earlier photos where we see the side of the bumper, is that the end of the strap is tied to the bumper via the zip-tie, then the strap is folded on itself several times (as a storage method, that is), and the other end is hooked on the part that holds up the hydraulic pump, so as to avoid having the ratchet portion loose. This is quite clear on the 10th photo in. Even on that second to last photo, which you pointed out, you can see that the loops of the strap are not under great stress, so it cannot be what's holding up the bumper.


I am looking at the second to last photo again, and I concede that IF the come-along was holding up the bumper (which I am still not convinced is the case), the loops of fabric could be the leftover beyond the portion doing the holding.

lake_wrangler wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Note the next-to-last shot ... Where we can see that the front bumper is held on one side by a come-along and a zip-tie.

Are you sure the come-along and the zip-tie are what's holding the bumper? Were you able to confirm that?

The way I see it, which seems to be corroborated on a few of the earlier photos where we see the side of the bumper, is that the end of the strap is tied to the bumper via the zip-tie, then the strap is folded on itself several times (as a storage method, that is), and the other end is hooked on the part that holds up the hydraulic pump, so as to avoid having the ratchet portion loose. This is quite clear on the 10th photo in. Even on that second to last photo, which you pointed out, you can see that the loops of the strap are not under great stress, so it cannot be what's holding up the bumper.


I am looking at the second to last photo again, and I concede that IF the come-along was holding up the bumper (which I am still not convinced is the case), the loops of fabric could be the leftover beyond the portion doing the holding.

You could well be right. Just an assumption on my part...

Santa Delivers

So, Christmas, the girls got scooters and skateboards, as requested. They went out to try them immediately they finished opening presents.

Helen had to gently point their attention to the back yard. Scooters and skateboards were soon forgotten:











Santa's Elves hard at work, Christmas Eve











"Some assemble required" didn't use to be like this

















Lightweight elf checks the set of the springs.

Waaaaiiiit a minute! I smell a rat! There's something fishy going on, here...


Santa doesn't deliver to non-snowy-on-Christmas places, does he???

*looks at photos further down*

HA! I knew it! Undocumented workers are involved! And I bet they not only weren't paid for it, they actually had to pay for the "privilege" of helping Santa!

Where's the labour board's phone number, when you need it...

AnotherFairportfan wrote:"Some assemble required" didn't use to be like this

Did it come with a "Batteries not included" sticker?

Hey, do elves drink Guinness on the job? And don't elves always wear those red hats with the pompoms?

I suspect this is a team of leprechauns called in for the crunch.

Other hand, all the leprechauns I know would wake the kids with high-volume cussing, assembling a thing like that.

Santa probably provided an elven sound-suppression field for the delivery. Santa thinks of everything.

lake_wrangler wrote:Santa doesn't deliver to non-snowy-on-Christmas places, does he???

He subcontracts those deliveries to Befana. Unfortunately, the kallikantzaroi sometimes sneak in after she leaves... if the "some assembly required" present turns out to be missing two or three small but essential parts, the kallikantzaroi are the ones to blame.

Now, how long before Al works one of those rail trucks into a story?

AnotherFairportfan wrote:wings.jpg

Es Bueno! More items for the Fan Art section!

Now if I can just get my tablet pen working again....