Update to yesterday's MBTA post

[cintyber.livejournal.com]

It seems that a tamping machine much like this

Become stuck on the tracks after some overnight work.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Was this on the Longfellow?

[modlin.livejournal.com]

Seems that it was. I came across this article http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/16/summer_of_discontent_on_red_line/ describing the problem and discussing other Red Line woes while waiting for my sandwich today.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

Is that actual MBTA equipment?

Anyways, cars break down, revenue trains break down. I guess work trains can break down too.

(*is thankful that he now drives to work*)

[tober.livejournal.com]

The tamper pictured above almost certainly does not belong to the MBTA, it looks far too clean and shiny. Essentially all of the MBTA's maintenance of way equipment looks old and rather worn. Indeed, I remember seeing some of the equipment, possibly including a tamper, sitting near the tracks on the Longfellow the other day, and, as far as I recall, it was all painted white. Sometimes the MBTA leases maintenance of way equipment or contracts for the use of that equipment and that equipment is usually orange and fairly clean. One example would be the rail grinder that can sometimes be seen sitting on the siding between BU East and Blandford on the B branch of the green line.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

dang that's a cool piece of equipment, but I can see how it would be really in the way if it broke. Someone at my work said there was supposedly hydraulic oil spurting out of it.

[farwing.livejournal.com]

Poor thing, accustomed as it is to working in the dead of night, caught out in the open on the tracks. How humiliating.


...and now I shall stop writing MBTA fanfic and go do some work.

[tolchocky.livejournal.com]

I can't decide "MBTA fanfic" is hilarious because it's scary or just hilarious.

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

Coming soon: Red/Green Line slash.

[skexy.livejournal.com]

so...ummm.....what exactly does it do?

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Tamps, presumably. :)

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

unless it's been tampered with!

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Who would do such a thing? A tamper tamperer?

[tober.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. The physical structure of railroad tracks (usually) consists primarily of the rails themselves, ties which are attached to the rails and which hold the rails the proper distance apart, and "ballast"[1] (gravel) which holds the ties (and hence, indirectly, the rails) in place. In order to do the job, the ballast must be compacted around the ties so that it is as free of voids as possible. A tamper is used to compact the ballast. During the recent maintenance, some ties have been being replaced and probably some new ballast put down as well, and this necessitates tamping.

[1] Sometimes, particularly on bridges or in tunnels, ballast is not used and the ties are bolted or otherwise mechanically connected to the structure of the bridge or tunnel floor... or sometimes there aren't even ties as such and the rails are directly attached to the bridge or tunnel through some kind of vibration-damping material. The red line over the Longfellow has traditional wooden ties and ballast, though.

I was on that first train when they finally opened up the bridge.

[nyyvonne.livejournal.com]

The conductor said that we would go to our "Final Destination". I debated getting off the train at that point since I was not sure if the bridge would collapse or not. It was rather amusing.

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

OMG< and HP FAN????? *hands you some butter beer*

Nice to meet you!

*dances*

[ron_newman]

So, did someone from Tampa tamper with the tamper?

[spud.livejournal.com]

I swear, I didn't touch it!