The Rail's on Fire! plus a Crankshafted Track Bolt

[@garykuipers2696]

Love your laugh! Cumberland is blessed to have a man of your talents. Track maintenance is not only labor intensive, but is also a science in itself.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Gary, really appreciate the very nice comment. And you are so right about it being a science.How the train interacts with the rail in different locations always fascinates me and how the metals react and wear, I'm still learning. Really glad you are enjoying my friend.

[@rickaser2383]

All my years working on machinery, never heard the term, 'crankshafted bolt;' so of course I had to stick around to find out. thanks. enjoy your channel very much.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Ric, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend. Guess crankshafted bolt is a term maybe exclusive to the RR industry? I've never heard it used in any other application, but you can see why it's called that.

[@ismaelcoronajr]

Haha literally reason I clicked to. I was like "Huh crankshafted bolt?"

[@joshgibson742]

Exactly

[@redvoter3076]

Now when they start talking about blinker fluid that's when I tune in

[@bigred1247]

Same here

[@LarryDMitchell]

Back in the 70's I was on a track gang right out of graduating high school in Flint, Michigan. I worked for the C&O and in the cold winters we often would find broken bolts and joint bars that were cracked. Back then we would roll out long pieces of insulation along the rail, douse it with diesel fuel and light it. As soon as the rail was close we would pull away the burning insulation and replace the bolts or bars. Our foreman always had us put new bolts in every hole. I left the railroad in 1975 and your video brought back some great memories.

[@ccrx6700]

We do appreciate your tuning in and watching the home movie tonight Larry. Glad you enjoyed the show. Good man that foreman was, all new bolts is a wise thing. Thanks for sharing your story with us my friend.

[@wes5150.]

What a treat finding your 'Rail's on Fire' video. Hadn't seen that for 40 years when I was a kid and hitchiked cross country and found myself working in the track dept for the Penn Central 1973. I will never forget 'What A Sight' it was. We were wild and crazy so we just poured(LIBERALLY) burning fuel oil on top of the ball of the rail in each direction about a rail length(39') and one guy in position to shove the bolt in as the holes lined up. It's insane to actually watch the rail MOVE after setting it ablaze. And, of course that was the problem the railroads in So Calif experienced when they put in 'Continuous Rail' across the Mojave Desert ! I'm native to SoCalif but big adventure out of high school sent me east. Needless to say the climate was over whelming for me and I thought the World Was Coming to an End durring a violent electrical storm. Hopped Amtrak back home after a year and the Santa Fe hired me as a conductor. Thanks for the video !

[@ccrx6700]

Pretty cool story Wes, thanks for sharing that with us. We used to have rope that we kept soaked in a 5 gallon bucket of diesel fuel. It burnt hotter and had a lot of smoke, and I would sometimes go along with a sprayer and continually spray more fuel on it to feed the fire. Snake is a lot less messier, but man the fumes will put you on your knees if you breathe it in. Really appreciate your checking out the show today my friend.

[@thomasglessner6067]

Thanks for showing us all things that happen on the railroad. You are a good teacher. Your enthusiasm is fun to watch. Please be safe out there.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the show Thomas. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend

[@kudlok1]

Sure, ppl are watching and enjoying. Even on the other end of the globe :) Well done, thanks for sharing!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show. We do appreciate your writing in and watching my friend.

[@mr1ybbob3214]

I would have never thought to fix this by heating up the rails. It's incredible to see and amazing it takes only one guy to fix

[@ccrx6700]

Really glad you enjoyed the home movie Bob. Fire Snake has been a life saver here for sure with us having 17 miles of jointed track. I usually get 5 to 6 pull aparts a year where I have to use the Snake. Appreciate your writing in and watching my friend.

[@ed12151]

A man that loves his job!!

[@ccrx6700]

I'm very blessed Edward to be able to do this work and get to share it with you guys. And very blessed to have wonderful subscribers like yourself who support this channel. Thank you very much my friend.

[@Garcansdad]

Heat and cold are our friends. I recently had to freeze a motor shaft to remove a failed bearing. At -34 the bearing came right off. I installed the new bearing and let it warm up for a nice, tight fit. Honestly, I'd prefer to be using fire.

[@ccrx6700]

Interesting! We freeze the tamper work head pivot pins to get them to slide in easier also. Do appreciate your writing in and sharing and for watching the video today my friend.

[@ericsikma4764]

That's the first crankshafted bolt I've ever seen. The mind-boggler is to not only try and imagine how pressure is involved but also over the course of a year, stuff like that occurs over and over and over again. Quite the mind-blower!

[@aprilgeneric8027]

tension from temperature expansion and contractions, but mostly from braking rail shift during those temp swings 180 wheel sets at 80tons does alot of damage and friction vibration which when there isn't horizontal rail tension is acceptable, but any pinch is not nearly as bad as any gap as 20T of force on a gap forces rails to widen millimeter by millimeter per wheel axel set. takes a very watchful eye to keep it all together. locos with their wheel spin can cause alot of track shift tension as well when they first encounter a new section of rail. it's like ply wood on top of snow, when the ground is wet the plywood wants to drag with the wheel tread and shoots out the other side from the direction of pull. really good physics lesson.

[@ericsikma4764]

@@aprilgeneric8027 Ahh...Brainiac stuff. Ear music! Hehe! That comment has "In-part physics, in-part Law of Thermodynamics, In-part chemistry, in-part engineering, in-part railroading, in-part mathematics", etc. written all over it. NICE!!!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the show Eric. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend. It is amazing the pressures that are involved with a heavy train over the tracks, sure would love to know just how much there was that caused that bolt to bend like that. And don't feel bad, not too many folks have seen a crankshafted track bolt either, that's why I wanted to show it.

[@ericsikma4764]

@@ccrx6700 I'm glad you DID show it. After reading that comment by Павел Олейников (No, I don't speak Russian so I have NO idea how to pronounce that name, LOL!) and knowing what he means by it being what it is to simply bend an M4 bolt, one looks at that crankshafted RR bolt and right about then is where one's head explodes.

[@ccrx6700]

@@ericsikma4764 Russian? I had no idea what that comment said. Appreciate your reply back Eric, and have no idea what an M4 bolt is either!

[@tomeasley5979]

Dave, another great video. Your enthusiasm for your job is just the best! Thanks for explaining every step in fixing the pull apart. It just makes my day to get to ride along on your journey.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Tom and for the very nice comment. We do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@PlanetMojo]

Thanks for the shoutout Dave! That crankshafted bolt was pretty insane! Just imagine the force it took to do that - mind boggling! …and fire is always good 🔥😊

[@ccrx6700]

Your welcome my friend. Glad you enjoyed the show and wish I knew exactly what torque it took to do that to a bolt that size. It is a grade 5 bolt so it does have some flex in it, as you can see, it was right at the breaking point. Appreciate your continued support of the channel my good man.

[@wilburroth5150]

I watch several train fans videos but yours is the only one I learn and totally enjoy watching! Great job and keep up the good work.

[@ccrx6700]

Wow Wilbur, what a very nice thing to say, I am flattered to say the least. You made my day. Cannot thank you enough for the very nice comment and your support of this channel my friend.

[@jimpokorny4598]

Watching that fire snake doing it's thing is relaxing. It still amazes me every time. Plus reading the comments while watching the rail expand is educational too. Dave you is a smart cookie !!

[@ccrx6700]

Really glad you enjoyed Jim! We do appreciate the very nice comment and for watching today my friend.

[@waynedavidson4452]

Hey Dave this is Wayne from Tennessee I enjoy your videos especially the working on the track I was a track laborer and wound up being a Track Inspector on the I C G RR back then I had to use a motor car I was a Track Inspector I'm sure as long as you have worked you have had to use a one-man motor car with a 1 cylinder engine that you had to push off to get it cranked anyway I like your videos especially working out on the track by yourself like you're doing now and you're showing and explaining things that people will never know about keep up the good work and be safe watch those trains we know how easy it is to get run over out there be careful

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the show Wayne. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend. Would be cool if we could get together sometime and talk railroadin! Never had a speeder here, sure would be fun to have on tho!

[@billsmith3195]

Aaah Dave. We really enjoy your vids. Your happy disposition adds to the pleasure of watching and learning. Great one again.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Bill, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@Steven-bs6tp]

I work for a private corporations rail road in eastern Tennessee. I've seen many of those crankshaft bolts several times my self. We usually take a pay loader and drive the rails close enough to get a bull root started and drive it together. The can snake is a great idea as well!

[@ccrx6700]

So much of our line is isolated so that a loader can't get to it.But you're right, once you can get that drift pin started, you can drive the rails home. We used to have an old Simplex mechanical rail puller, what a struggle it was. When they got us the snake I threw that thing in the dumpster, but don't tell anybody I did that.... Thanks for sharing with us Steven and for watching the video my friend.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

@@ccrx6700 Was it a screw puller, or hydraulic puller?

[@ccrx6700]

@Jeffrey Young hydraulic I wish 😊 nope the old chiropractor visit screw puller 😪

[@briankemp5206]

Dave, you need to buy the track crew a cold one for all their hard work! Nice work. :)

[@ccrx6700]

Great minds think alike Brian. I am the track crew and I did buy myself a cold one (s). Thanks for taking in the show today, we do appreciate that my friend.

[@hughsherer8747]

You’re always such a happy guy Dave.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Hugh, I try. I've learned in life one thing, the energy you put off is the energy you get back. I have my off days like everyone else tho, but that's life. Cannot thank you enough for your very nice comment and for checking out the video my friend.

[@jamesivey24]

My grandpa worked for IC RR for 40+ years, I just found this channel and I'm really enjoying it.

[@ccrx6700]

Thanks for the very nice comment James, we do appreciate your being on board with us and glad you are enjoying. How cool it would be for me to be able to listen to some real railroadin stories from you grandpa, I still see once in a while an old IC car in some videos out there, that turns me on.

[@brianhickey5949]

It really is a hidden world this railroad maintnenance. We never see much maintenance on the commercial rails - some rail grinding and some tie replacements. Some interesting work recovering from a derailment and such - but never a fire snake or a crankshafted bolt! Granted commercial rails mean bigger budgets and such, but I have only seen thermite welds done on those. This is fascinating and it show how engineering is really done in the field. Thank you for the excellent lesson on tie plates and bolts and how to repair the shrinkage :)

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Brian and for your very nice comment. We do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend. And yes we are all very fortunate I am able to make these videos, so much behind the scenes stuff that no on ever realizes what all it takes to keep a train running.

[@studiow.o.r.m.5292]

I came to see the rail on fire. I stayed because of how nice and real this dude is. I absolutely admire his laugh.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much for the very nice comment and kind words. Glad you enjoyed the show.

[@kens.3729]

Fire Snake is a Great Method or Technique and it works extremely well. Interesting flame 🔥 doesn’t bother Ties. Thanks Dave, 👍

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the show Ken. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend

[@gardengnome3249]

Nothing better than seeing a subject matter expert doing his/her stuff.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you, really glad you enjoyed the show today. We do appreciate your checking it out my friend.

[@jg2072]

Sir, I appreciate your honest effort in everything. You give good effort and do an honest day's work. Also as a former wildland firefighter who fought railroad caused fires I appreciate your caution when working with heat on your line. Keep it up.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the show J G. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend. And also thank you for being a brave person to go out and fight those fires, a very dangerous and hard job to do. My hat is off to you sir.

[@Slide164]

Old school railroading! Have to do a lot of that in Canada with such wild temperature changes. That’s why it can be so dangerous when you remove bolts from angle bars.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show Todd. We do appreciate your writing in and for checking out the video sir.

[@edwarddavis507]

Thanks for another great video! Great tips for working safe on a Saturday. Serious stuff!

[@ccrx6700]

Your welcome Edward and I really do appreciate the very nice comment and for your watching the video today my friend.

[@michaelharris3296]

Great video. Love the flare. I can smell it and hear it from here. My grandfather used to keep a good supply of those in his trunk. It was a treat to get to light one.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Michael, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend. And it is cool to lite those flares, gotta keep them dry tho! Bet your grandfather didn't have a handy dandy flare holder stick tho, he would have loved having one of those.

[@DEtchells]

Wow, when the rail cools down again, there must be an *insane* amount of force on the bolts and track plates! (!!) They’re basically stretching the steel rail, to keep the section the same length. Given the tensile strength of steel and the cross-sectional area of the rail, the forces must be enormous. I’m surprised the rail-joining plates don’t stretch out themselves. Are the joiner plates and bolts perhaps made out of a special high-strength alloy? (Pause) Thinking about it a bit more, an inch contraction on a 40’ rail section is only an 0.2% elongation, so it’s maybe not such an extreme situation. Still, the idea of *stretching* a 40’ length of rail by an inch seems like it’d take a crazy amount of force! (Another pause…) Hmm, the forces may not be as high as I’d thought. I did some quick back of the envelope calculations, and it looks like would take about ~~4,200 lbs of force to stretch a piece of 140lb rail by 0.2% of its length. So it’s a good bit of force, but nothing *too* crazy, unless I got the numbers wrong. (I used the elasticity of 1045 steel as an approximation, and calculated the cross-sectional area from the density of steel and the fact that 140lbs is the weight of a 36” chunk of rail.) Super-interesting video as always, thanks for sharing!!

[@robertstimmel9718]

It's called a joint bar, not a rail joint plate!!

[@robertstimmel9718]

And a 136lb rail on main lines!

[@zak-palmer7915]

Gee one hell of a comment bud to be honest I have no way to reply

[@ericwright5]

Not uncommon to stretch rail with forces of 100-160tons while laying track

[@helium5912]

They are not stretching the rail LMAO>

[@DrJonez]

I love how happy you always seem in your videos! I wish you could bottle some of that up and send it to me somehow!

[@ccrx6700]

Appreciate the very nice comment Wheezer, railroading makes me happy. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to visit with us and watch the video my friend.

[@290wayne]

As usual another great video... If I remember correctly. In the fire dept. We were taught a 100 foot I - beam will expand almost 1 foot at 1500 degrees. Have a great day buddy...

[@ccrx6700]

Wow Wayne, that's awesome to learn that. You gave me a very good idea, next time I light the snake, am gonna take a heat gun and see what the rail temp gets to be, had never thought of doing that before. Thanks for sharing that with us. I'm glad you enjoyed the show tonight my friend. I Know when they roll rail it's hot sawed at 39 foot 8 inches, then when cooled the rail stick contracts to 39 foot.

[@rickszabo4312]

So true, I'm no expert but one of our track workers up here in Northern B.C. told me a few years ago that the heavy rail they used going up the Tumbler Sub had the potential to expand up to 27 feet per mile in very hot weather conditions, you wonder if cement ties would transfer the heat of the rail to the ground better. I love the look of those fire snake cans , hard to find one's that are not all dented up. They don't smell to pretty and you don't want that stuff on your clothes.

[@jackkerouac6186]

Being a son , grandson and great grandson of railroaders we always had flares in the garage in the trunk of all cars and at 4th of July for fireworks. I have never seen or heard of the fire snake. Thank you

[@ccrx6700]

Excellent heritage there Tim! Thanks for sharing and glad you learned something new. We do appreciate your watching my friend.

[@jackkerouac6186]

My parents and grandpa all worked for the IHB, the Indiana Harbor Belt RR

[@ed-gw3ov]

Great Job.....I enjoy watching you, a man who loves his work! Take care...

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much Ed, really glad you liked tonight's show, we do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend.

[@richardbause2453]

Good job Dave 👏 👍. High school 🏫 science class on expansion and contraction, alot of people forget these two simple rules that pretty much apply everything in our day-to-day lives. Coffee ☕ time 😋.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Richard, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@richardbause2453]

@@ccrx6700 thanks Dave. Never ending topics to cover in what it takes to make a Railroad operate. Captain Morgan says take care of that tooth my friend 🍻😁..

[@darnoldie]

That is an amazing amount of movement in a short section of track. I've always wondered how you can manage the expansion and contraction of continuously welded rail. Interesting stuff Dave. Thanks for another great video.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@ke6gwf]

On CWR, when it's laid it basically has to be heated to get it to the length determined by the "average temperature" where it is installed. I think the average temperature, or Ideal, or Neutral temperature, is calculated based on the local temperature high and low averages, as well as the grade of the track, etc, and varies widely between Arizona and Montana. Once the ideal temperature is determined by the engineers, the track crew measures the temperature of the rail being laid, and do the math of how much longer the rail will be at the "ideal temperature." They then cut the rail to length based on its current temperature, so it will be shorter than the desired length. I have heard it can be up to 4 feet short if it's being installed at -30 degrees for instance. Then once the length is determined, a stretching jig is attached between the ends of the rails pulling them together, and a heat cart starts at the far end of the rail, using burners or other means to heat the rail up to the ideal temperature. At this point the rail is only lightly secured to occasional ties so it can slide, and as the heat cart moves along it also vibrates the rail to help it slide down the ties. Then right behind the rail heater cart you have the crew putting the anchors or spikes on and securing the rail to each tie at the ideal temperature so it can't slide back as it cools. Then, because, Math, when the rail heater gets to the joint, the rail ends now match and can be welded together. The ideal temperature and finished length are designed so that at the hottest expected day, the rail will be under pressure, but just below what the anchors and system can hold and prevent it from buckling. Then on cold nights it will be under extreme tension, but the anchors and systems are designed to handle it. Periodically it will have expansion joints, especially at bridges etc, but they are specialized and can allow several feet of movement. The high speed systems will often have strain gauges along the rails to give warning if they are getting to long or short and may buckle or break, so it can be checked before there is a problem.

[@darnoldie]

@@ke6gwf That is an amazing explanation and I thank you very much !!

[@garybridgham5432]

@@ke6gwf Thanks, I was just wondering about that after I saw a CWR train on another rail video.

[@dlsimes]

It’s people like you that keep the rails safe. Thanks for you videos! Be safe out there.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much Dan for the nice comment. We appreciate your visiting with us and watching. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@Brett3am]

This is a fascinating video! Please keep making videos like this... you are documenting railroad history. This is important stuff!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much Brett for the very nice comment, we do appreciate your tuning in and watching the show my good man.

[@everydayhero5076]

I like this guy. He seems cheerful and his laugh is infectious. Thank you for the video, sir.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show. We do appreciate your tuning in and watching today EveryDayHero.

[@russelltrupia4479]

I am so amazed at how that snake works great video Dave

[@ccrx6700]

It never gets old seeing and using the snake. it amazed me the first time I ever used it, actually could watch the rail grow longer as it expanded. Really glad you enjoyed tonight's show Russell, we very much appreciate your support my friend.

[@waldmyer]

Sounds like a man who is sincere and honest with his profession, good at his job. Shout out to u sir

[@waldmyer]

And i forgot to mention someone who enjoys his work also. Good luck sir

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much waldmyer for the very kind words. I am sincere and honest and try to do my job best I can. Really appreciate your stopping by and taking in the video today my good man.

[@johnsmart964]

The fire snake is a very impressive product, just the job. You always make these things look so easy. One hopes that the rail will learn the error of its ways and not pull away again. We are glad that the other pull apart was not as serious as this one. The work you do is fascinating for us to watch, it is much appreciated that you take the time to produce these wonderful videos.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today John, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend and for your very nice comment. The Snake is amazing, I never cease to watch it in action, just gotta be careful not to breathe the fumes in, they are wicked.

[@marcholtz7582]

Cool repair...that 'Snake' must really put out some heat to expand all that rail when it's so cold out! Thanks for sharing!

[@ccrx6700]

Thanks Marc, glad you enjoyed. Appreciate your tuning in to the home movie today. I'm curious now, next time I light the snake hope I have my heat gun with me, I don't know at what temp it burns.

[@johnreed8336]

Thanks for another good video . Very interesting to see how it's done in the US . When working on heritage rail in the UK there is a strong emphasis on the ' buddy system ' where you never work alone but always work with at least one other person as a safety precaution . Because that's so ingrained for me , I feel quite uneasy when I see somebody on their own . Keep safe & well . Regards from Derbyshire, England.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed John, we do appreciate your tuning in and watching the show sir. Your way of railroading safety is excellent sir. I really do wish I did have a buddy with me a lot more, specially me being almost 68. I've worked by myself a lot and am always extra careful, but you know how railroading goes, you just never know. They are going to put GPS on the truck here sometime so if something does happen and I'm alone, at least they can find me. And one thing also to add, when I get track and time, the train is not allowed to leave either portal unless I specifically give them track time.

[@iowa_don]

Fascinating way to make a rail repair. I'm impressed with whoever thought that up!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show, we do appreciate your watching. Snake far better than that old Simplex rail puller we used to have, it was a struggle with that thing. This is the easy way, lite it and stand back and watch.

[@kleetus92]

So here's a question for you Dave, when you get a pull apart like this... Is that indicative of a change in track elevation or conditions? Somehow the rail got shorter... Yes, when it gets cold it will shrink, but if the track is bowed down or arched up somehow, the chord length will increase. Was this a section of track that was reballasted? The other side of this is I understand that whenever track is cut or added, or in other places welded in, the track crew is very interested in the temperature the splice is made because it can either be too short or two long for the rest of the existing track when the new piece is added. I've often been curious what the tension is on a piece of rail like that, because what, on a 40 foot stick of rail, you expanded it an inch to be able to bolt it. Once it cools off, it's going to try to shrink back... putting itself into tension again. How much is too much? I know at extreme cold, like around the 0F mark and below, it tends to get brittle and it will crack and move an inch or two... How do you combat this?

[@mikefochtman7164]

I think it's a bit more than just a 40 foot (or 39 foot) piece of iron shrinking. There are 'anchors' to keep each section of rail from sliding lengthwise, but nothing's perfect. Imagine a section of track where trains habitually use brakes. Those many tons trying to slow down are 'pushing' the rail along. Over time it's going to creep along. Certainly reballasting where they lift and re-level the track will 'ease' some of that. Notice how Dave had to 'bang' on the rail to get it to creep back into place? Probably several sections of rail 'creeping' along over time.

[@tsufordman]

I get the impression from past videos it is mostly an issue of the trains only pulling heavy loads one way down the line repeatedly and braking forces and other loads being unevenly distributed as a result.

[@ccrx6700]

Very good questions my friend! Usually with pull aparts they are caused by contraction and then the forces of the train going over it do not help. Although I like the way you think and yes a very severe dip in the track will put stress on the bolts and could cause them do break and cause a pull apart, although we have never experienced that here. The rails contract and pull against the bolts. And then if the contraction is severe enough and the bolts are weak they will shear off. Bringing the rail back together, cold will still cause the rail to shrink but with the new bolts it will be much much harder for them to break than older worn bolts would. Hope that helps explain some better.

[@marktiitto7616]

Bolt too long even with washer. Thread bottomed out

[@donscheid97]

@@ccrx6700 In my limited experience, engineers will often purposely build something with tension built in to accommodate temperature changes so it is still in tension when warm or cold to prevent cracking from "cold working".

[@lonewolf025]

Your laughs were infectious. Made me smile. Have a wonderful day

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed and thank you for the very nice comment. We do appreciate your watching the video today Renol

[@davejones7856]

How do you know which rail to expand? Is it the sheared bolt side of the parting? And how do you check the bolts on the other side of the joint bar for pulling? You're teaching us things we never even knew we needed to learn. Love It!!

[@ccrx6700]

Very good question Dave. Here all our track "runs" (creeps) to the east, so if possible we put the snake on the east side of the pull apart to get it to run back west. It doesn't matter which side of the joint bar the bolts are broken in for us. If we had bi directional load traffic, then we would most likely put the snake on the side of the joint that had the sheared bolts. You better check your track for a pull apart before running one of your trains over it! Appreciate your watching and the great support you give to this channel my friend.

[@tomharrington1393]

“That’s Railroading “. 👍👍🚂🚂🚂

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Tom we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@paveloleynikov4715]

Knowing how hard actually is to bend even tiny-smally M4 bolt, that bolt looks crazy

[@ccrx6700]

Took a lot of pressure to do that for sure. I've tried bending track bolts by hitting them with a sledge, it ain't an easy task. Do appreciate your writing in and for watching the show today my friend.

[@tommybritton9273]

Thanks again Dave 👍👍another great video of the behind the scenes of railroading.. keep them coming my friend.

[@ccrx6700]

Really glad you enjoyed Tommy. Appreciate so much your very nice comment and for watching my friend. And I will do my best to keep some interesting stuff coming your way!

[@4everdc302]

With a thumbnail like that who's not gonna watch?lol I can't model that firesnake on the inside layout but might be able to on the outside one😋Awesome work Dave 🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲

[@ccrx6700]

Oh how cool would that be to model that!!!! You'd be a first. With your ingenuity and skills I think you can do it. I'd send you a can of Fire Snake but the gel packs would be bigger than your locos....LOL Cannot thank you enough for your great support of our channel my friend. We do appreciate you.

[@4everdc302]

🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲👷‍♂️🔥🔥 🤔🙋

[@liamwilson1058]

I’m a model railroader and also a big rail fan. Love watching these videos and how much I learn from them. Thanks !

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Liam for the nice comment, glad you enjoyed. We really appreciate your taking the time to stop by and check things out. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@jonwatt678]

Is there a reason that you heat the rail only on one side of the gap rather than half the distance on both sides? Great vid as always!! As others mentioned get a tripod to free your hands up and a mag mount to stick the cam on the hood, bumper, rail, girder or what ever piece of junk may be handy. It would open up a bunch of possibilities. Thanks and as always Stay Safe!!

[@bobwellman9717]

Those are great suggestions under normal circumstances, but remember, he is not allowed to show workmates faces. I think it would be too much editing and/or running around setting up and removing because other workers got into frame. He's doing a fine job.

[@ccrx6700]

Well Jon, guess what, after this video I did order a camera mount and tripod for it off Ebay, should be here any day now. Dummy me why I didn't do that before....??? Glad you enjoyed the show my friend. Great question. Here because we have all one direction load traffic the rail always creeps to the east. Thus I use the snake on the east end of the pull apart to run the rail back west. if we had bi directional loads, then I would use the snake on whatever end of the joint where the bolts had broken. Hope that explains it for ya.

[@cristianbeeman9560]

Your laughter is one of the best! Happy life full of More Of the same Laughs! Not many people get to set things on fire, stand back, watch & laugh! .... At least not if they want to stay free! And your even get Paid for it!

[@ccrx6700]

We really appreciate your taking the time to pay us a visit and check out the video my friend.

[@missyd0g2]

Dave, does the rail pull apart due to temperature change or train pressure running over? Will the rail pull apart again in the same place? The video on welding the rail was amazing too. Stay warm. 68 and sunny here in Prescott Valley Arizona.

[@ccrx6700]

Cold temps start the process and can break all the bolts, however the train running over it does not help matters once it starts to pull. But just a train going over a joint won't cause a joint pull apart. Very good question my friend. Thanks for writing in and watching today, we do appreciate that.

[@MrWirebrain]

You sir made my day. What a pleasure to find you. Kind of person I’d love to have for a friend. Have a great day pal

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed Joe. Appreciate the very nice comment and for watching the home movie my good man.

[@johndanaher6371]

Thanks for showing us how that works. Nothing like having a snake in a bucket either, lol.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today John, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@richardtovar127]

Cool video, Love your laugh!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Richard. Glad you enjoyed. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.

[@jamesmclaughlin6886]

Nice job Dave, that will make the wheels very happy!

[@ccrx6700]

We do appreciate the nice comment James and for watching the video my good man and your right, it will keep the silly cars happy for awhile....LOL If you watched Thomas the Tank Engine you know what I mean.

[@erzahler1930]

You have created fire! 🔥 This is what the old heads used to call "burning the rope."

[@ccrx6700]

Actually before the Snake we had a real rope, it was kinda like a candle wick and soaked it in a 5 gallon bucket of diesel fuel, so burning the rope is where that came from. Now the new heads call it burning the snake.....LOL Appreciate your writing in and for watching the show today.

[@albertbatfinder5240]

Such a satisfying job you have. I live in a big city near where the commuter trains are come in on an 8 lane highway of track. Whenever I see trackwork, it’s like an invading fluro army. Fifty hi-viz blokes, track lifting machines, ballast trucks, inspection vehicles, foremen with clipboards, and at night, enough floodlights to light a runway. It’s actually impressive, but I think I prefer your “office”.

[@davidmunro1469]

Thank you man. That is a brilliant repair.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you David, glad you enjoyed and we appreciate your tuning in and watching the home movie my friend.

[@Josh-of-all-Trades]

I saw some guys burning a rail about a week ago, I had no clue what they were doing. Now I know and it makes complete sense now. I learned something today! Thanks!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed Josh. Friend of mine saw CSX lighting the rail on fire someplace in Ohio, he said he wanted to show them this video so they would learn how to do it.....LOL Appreciate your writing in and for watching my friend.

[@OverlandOne]

God bless all of those great folks that keep out trains running.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you and there are a ton of folks who are involved with keeping trains running from the car maintenance guys to dispatchers to engineers, track maintenance, electricians, office people and on and on. it's a team effort. We do appreciate the nice comment and for watching today Pirate Labs.

[@brucefowler3371]

You are so happy. Good for you 😊

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Bruce, appreciate the very nice comment and for watching the show my friend.

[@brucefowler3371]

@@ccrx6700 really laugh and feel good with your giggle

[@lawrenwimberly7311]

I love the fire snake cans... they make great metal melting furnaces

[@ccrx6700]

Wish I could send everyone of my subscribers an empty can, if I had enough cans and enough postage money! Everyone here wants the empty cans for their garage at home.

[@lawrenwimberly7311]

@@ccrx6700 relax, the local guys are good to me

[@CSltz]

Dave thanks this reminds me of the little bit of time that I worked maintenance of way for U.P. Probably the best job I ever had . I was very proud of the work that we did. Although I admit I was just leaning the ropes, and probably didn’t add all that much. Still and all I was very proud to cash that check with there logo on it. Wish I could go back in time. That was a high point.

[@ccrx6700]

Nice Nevin, thanks for sharing that with us. Even if for a short time, working RR is something one will never forget. I really liked what you said about being proud to cash that check with UP on it.

[@kentjackson5995]

Did you mention moving anchors back

[@scotabot7826]

Very Interisting video. Thanks!!!!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Dan, your support is very much appreciated my friend.

[@mamaof1319]

My kids loved your laugh😂we’ve listened to it several times already. We listened at .5 speed and 2X speed.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad they are getting a kick out of it Mamaof13. Did I sound like Woody Woodpecker at 2X? LOL Thanks so much for stopping by and watching the video today.

[@mamaof1319]

@@ccrx6700 they’ve been trying to imitate your laugh all day. They want to know how you did that lol

[@michaelf6232]

Your laugh is contagious I like it 😆

[@ccrx6700]

Thanks for checking out the video today and writing in Michael, we do appreciate that my friend. And good you enjoyed the show.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I get bolts like that on the 7-1/4" gauge. Didn't know they had a name. We use aluminum rail and joint bars and zinc plated steel #4-40 machine screws, lock washers and nuts. The hardware stretches and sometimes breaks off. Loads downhill, empties uphill. Great video as always!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the video, we do appreciate your watching. You got a totally unique RR there!!!

[@keen1957]

It’s amazing that a section of rail will expand that much.

[@ccrx6700]

You are right Keen, it is amazing to watch that steel grow in length, but it does. Thank you for checking out the video and may you have a very good day my friend.

[@robertpimpo4698]

I watch because I've done it for 20 years since retired once a rail guy always a rail guy great job guys

[@ccrx6700]

That's great to hear Robert. Hats off to you sir for all your years of service. We appreciate your visiting with us and watching my good man.

[@raymondsprengelmeyer1278]

Great job Dave! You do great work! It is a tribute to good old made in the USA bolts too. Thank you for sharing!

[@ccrx6700]

Thanks Raymond and yep I highly doubt a bolt made in Mexico or India would have withstood that much stress. Really appreciate your checking in today my friend.

[@d.vaughn8990]

I maintain/repair a roller coaster at a major theme park. The structural bolts are made in Germany, which makes sense, because the coaster is also made in Germany! The bolt heads are marked "HV" for preloaded structural bolts. The quality of these bolts is incredible! I mainly see these break when a joint is under torqued. Don't worry - breakage is fairly rare!

[@TheyCallHimDietSeth]

Fantastic video, thanks so much for sharing!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today my friend, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my good man.

[@rayshutsa6690]

Thank you for another awesome video it was great to see how you pull the rails together. Thank you for showing us a crank shaft bolt😀❤🔥🇨🇦 looks like.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Ray, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@cliffcorbitt9494]

It's amazing what a train can do stretching the rails constantly at great speeds.

[@ccrx6700]

Never ceases to amaze me either all the forces a train puts on rail. Make you wonder how any track stays together. Do appreciate your writing in and for watching the video Cliff.

[@johntolbert4566]

love your vids you are always so Jolley its always fun to watch them thanks always brings a smile to my face to face and some times even makes me chuckle right along with you

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today John, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@Robbie31]

thankyou for sharing so interesting to see rail repairs

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Robert for the nice comment. Really appreciate your visiting with us and checking out the video. May you have a most blessed day my friend.

[@andrewb2717]

You’re positivity and upbeat nature is so refreshing keep up the great work really enjoy you’re videos

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much Andrew! really appreciate the nice comment and for taking the time to write in and watch the video my friend.

[@carlp3032]

Dave, Always great watching a person who loves their job! Great job & thanks for sharing!

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Carl, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@rebelrailroader]

Great video, Dave. I used to find bolts like that all the time. Some I would save and use to help line the holes up-others I had created to get the joint back together again.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Zach. I saved some of them from before for the very same purpose as you describe, but for whatever reason they grew legs and ran away. I've tried to bend bolts before on purpose, risky business, they always went flying when I hit them....LOL Great to hear from a fellow railroader who's been there, done that. Thanks my friend.

[@rebelrailroader]

Haha yes they do tend to fly sometimes. More than a couple have been reloacated to the weeds trackside. Yes, no matter how many bolts saved they always seem to have grown legs.

[@dave1455]

First time for me seeing this repair of a track .That fire snake is amazing .Thanks for filming the work you carried out .Think i'd be sticking a frying pan on the track too and a kettle and have a drink plus sausages -bacon and egg .

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the nice comment Dave. Glad you enjoyed the show. Really appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and may you have a very good day my friend.

[@dd1862]

Thanks for making these videos. They are awesome and I look forward to watching them. I've lived my whole life along side RR tracks in SE Wis. (They belonged to C&NW until 1995 when the UP bought them out) You've answered questions I've had for years about railroading!

[@ccrx6700]

You are certainly welcome Traveller. We really appreciate your very nice comment and for stopping by and watching my friend.

[@bobwarner9952]

Always a pleasure to watch your videos.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show today Bob, we do so appreciate your watching and the support you give to this channel my friend.

[@billbeckett1021]

You definitely enjoy your job!

[@ccrx6700]

Most of the time I do Bill, but with any job, as you know, there are those days when you don't. Do appreciate your writing in and for watching the show today my friend.

[@ronhelman3985]

Hey Dave, stretching some track. Great video Sir. Now that's Railroadin.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much Ron for the very nice comment, great that you liked tonight's show and we do appreciate your tuning in my friend.

[@onemat2000]

Fire snake, what a cool product. I enjoyed watching you work and educate on this repair.

[@ccrx6700]

Glad you enjoyed the show Matt. We do appreciate your writing in and for checking out the video sir.

[@krisdrinkwine6045]

Thanks Dave for another great video. When I was a much younger man I had a chance to do what you are doing. I wish now I would have taken it. All I would have had to say is yes, and I would have been in like Flynn. My bad. One of them things I guess. See you on the next one.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you Kris for the very nice comment. I don't like to tell other people how to be, but one thing I've learned in life is never regret your decisions. Life is amazing and the path's we all choose to go down provide us with such an interesting array of contrasts and learning experiences. You are the person you are now because of the choices you have made, and that is wonderful just as you are now. You and me, we are as John Lennon sang, some of the beautiful people. The choices you made were best for you and what you wanted to experience in this life. Be at peace with yourself my friend. Following what if's is stressful. We appreciate your sharing with us tonight and for watching the show and your support of this channel.

[@subjectofgov]

Interesting. Every industry has its own tips and tricks as well as its own language. Never heard of Fire Snake. Never thought about rails drifting apart end wise. Thanks!

[@ccrx6700]

Your welcome and really glad you enjoyed the show. We do appreciate your tuning in and watching.

[@jayhopkins6990]

That used to happen on Crane runways that were Tied down with Hook bolts . In the morning when it was cool there was A gap in the joint . But by lunchtime the rail would expand from the sun and there would be no gap. I really appreciate your Down home fun videos. From Southern Ontario Canadian Fans Have a wonderful night.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you for the very nice comment Jay. We really appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the presentation my friend.

[@milomilo6404]

I started out as a track man in 94 wit da cnw b4 u.p took over!! My heart is wit da track dept.😍✌👍

[@ccrx6700]

Awesome! Railroading a great career to pursue. Thanks for writing in and watching the video today Milo Milo.

[@dougney3026]

Back in the '50s my dad worked for Southern railroad . In the sixties he worked for Amtrak and we had a bicycle that rode on the tracks . We used to ride on the tracks in Fort Belvoir .

[@ccrx6700]

Southern was a great RR in days of old. Stanley L Crane was CEO then in 1981 he took over a failing Conrail and turned it around into a viable operation. He was one of the greatest minds in the RR industry back then and few now could match him. That guy Hunter Harrison of precision railroading fame borrowed many of his ideas from Crane.

[@opieshomeshop]

I never get tired of seeing this, setting tracks on fire. One thing to remember, you only catch your pants on fire if you're a liar. If you aren't a liar, you're good. LOL.... When I was in high school, we were playing softball, and I was outfield, center field I think, (It's been a looooooooong time) and the batter hits a ball up in the air in my direction and I got under it, raised my mit and the sun blinded me, and the ball hit me right smack in the forehead. Knocked me down. I got the ball to second base then the coach removed me from the game, and I had to go see the school nurse. Earlier people in the class had been grumbling why can't we play baseball, as I was leaving for the nurse's office, the coach was yelling at everyone, THIS IS WHY WE DONT PLAY BASEBALL!!!!!

[@ccrx6700]

I will make certain I tell that to my buddy! He did ask me why I didn't throw a bucket of water on his pants, I told him I didn't want it ending up like what happened in the Wizard of Oz.....LOL Great baseball story! I used to love baseball as much as I do railroading now. Do appreciate your watching the video and for the great support you give to this channel my friend.

[@opieshomeshop]

@@ccrx6700 Would have been funny just to throw the bucket of water on him and not the pants at all. LOL...

[@maxclark11]

Just came across your page a few days ago and love it. You make it seem like I was riding in the cab with you. You have a passion for your work and it shows. Please keep it up.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much and great to hear you enjoyed the videos. And we welcome you aboard and hope you will continue to enjoy. We do appreciate your nice comment and for watching my friend

[@paulbush7095]

Any job openings for a middle aged & out of shape rail road service apprentice with absolutely no related experience? Your enthusiasm for your work is infectious Dave and I’m sure I’m not the only person that would be glad to switch careers and go work for you! If only more people had the positive attitude you display while working so diligently to keep our infrastructure safe. Thank you for your service!

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you so much Paul for the very kind words. We do appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend. Unfortunately here to start out you'd have to hire in underground and then work your way up thru about 700 union guys until you had enough seniority to bid on a track job. Might be a few years before you'd get to work with me.... :-)

[@paulbush7095]

@@ccrx6700 I couldn’t keep up with you guys even if I tried so I’ll just resign myself to being a grateful spectator. I can’t swing a sledge hammer to save my life anyways😂

[@ricksanchez3176]

I worked with an old pipefitter that had all the thermal expansion in his head. Neat to see it applied.

[@ccrx6700]

LOL, I understand the thermal expansion in a co workers head Rick! Got one of those myself to deal with. Thank you so much for watching and writing in. May you have a wonderful day my friend.

[@ricksanchez3176]

@@ccrx6700 lol

[@michaelball760]

Another job well done. I still envy you getting to use the fire snakes 😜

[@ccrx6700]

If shipping wasn't so darn expensive I'd send you out a can so you can play in the fire. Dang, it would probably cost a hundred bucks to send you 1 can, if even anyone would do it knowing what the contents were. Thanks for watching Michael, we do appreciate your support.

[@fried2099]

Great video. I'm C&S but always love to watch track guys work their magic.

[@ccrx6700]

Thank you very much for the nice comment. Really appreciate your watching and writing in my friend.

[@fried2099]

@@ccrx6700 My pleasure. I've been hooked on your videos.

[@ccrx6700]

@@fried2099 👍😊

[@RealMelodyBlue]

The world needs more people like you

[@ccrx6700]

To make more videos....? LOL Thank you Melody for the very kind words. We really appreciate your taking the time to watch and write in my friend.