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Track lubrication systems and implementation query please

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Lost property

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Apologies if this is the wrong Forum.

I would be interested to learn, please, if tracks are lubricated in some way, and, if so, why, apart from corrosion prevention. I was under the impression the metal used, Mangalloy ?? had properties which reduced corrosion and am interested, being an engineer, albeit not rail related, as to why track is lubricated and how along with the frequency of application.

I am obviously aware of slipping / sand boxes for extra adhesion hence I was surprised to learn track is lubricated

Thanks in advance
 
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snowball

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I think certain very tight curves are lubricated on the side of the rail. I don't think anywhere else is lubricated.

Others who know better than me will be along shortly.
 

Bald Rick

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Yes, at tight curves. Reduces rail and wheel wear, nothing to do with corrosion. Also helps with noise (flange squeal).

type ‘rail lubricators’ into google for more details.
 

GC class B1

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Track lubrication is a matter of lubricating the wheel flange, (the part that runs on the inside of the rail on tight curves) whilst not getting lubricant on the wheel tread (the part that runs on top of the rail). Lubricant on the wheel tread will reduce the friction between the wheel and rail and result in the wheels slipping when accelerating and sliding when braking.
 

thenorthern

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One thing to remember is that steel on steel actually creates very little friction much less than a tyre and tarmac. James May can describe it better than me.

 

edwin_m

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The flange is further out from the centre of the wheel so moves slightly faster than the wheel tread as the wheel rotates. So on a curve tight enough for the flange to be touching the rail, there is relative motion between the two, which causes the wear and the noise.
 

Lost property

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Many thanks for the replies. The reason for the query was, on another site, an "expert ".. in any topic you care to name... opined tracks were, seriously, lubricated by microscopic leakage from wheel bearings...amongst other inane suggestions. However, more responsible contributors commented that tracks were lubricated, one cited work experience with Network Rail as an exemplifier, which got my interest. And to be honest, the engineering aspects of the railways, be they civil / signalling or locomotive maintenance, have always held more than a passing interest for me.
 

pdeaves

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I suppose, in a sense, most tracks are 'lubricated' if you consider moisture (rain/condensation), leaf mulch, etc. That kind of lubrication is what you don't want. Controlled lubrication that you do want is on flange surfaces (side, not running surface) on rails, but only in extreme cases (not run-of-the-mill, generally applied).
 

Bryson

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I was under the impression the metal used, Mangalloy ?? had properties which reduced corrosion
The steel grades used for rails are not highly alloyed and don't have significant corrosion resistance (as you will see if you observe lightly used lines, the head of the rail rusts surprisingly quickly).

There are many grades available for rail use, broadly they contain 0.8 to 1.8 % Manganese - this provides a little strengthening of the steel but it is far too little to provide a boost to the corrosion resistance. "Mangalloy" usually refers to Hatfield steels which contain 12.0 to 14.0 % Manganese, this is a very different animal.
 

Ploughman

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If you are referring to NWR then you may be correct.
However the NYMR's PW Gang does do Fishplate oiling correctly and even removes the plates to clear the crap(often literally) and examine the joints. Takes roughly just over a year to get from Pickering to Grosmont 18 miles.
Thankfully this task is reducing gradually as more track goes over to CWR. 80 or more pairs removed last winter.
 

alxndr

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Switch blades should also be lubricated. It was with three dabs of grease, but there is now an aerosol spray version.
 

Rescars

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In addition to track mounted equipment, I believe that some modern vehicles have flange lubricators fitted to the bogies.
IIRC, back in the 1880s, Stroudley's Gladstones had the flanges of their leading driving wheels lubricated by exhaust steam.
 

themiller

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Not only the tread side of the flange sometimes needs lubrication but also the back of the flange where check rails are fitted.
 

Dstock7080

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Not only the tread side of the flange sometimes needs lubrication but also the back of the flange where check rails are fitted.
check-rail lubricator and just beyond flange lubricator.
Still required although S Stock have lube-sticks fitted.
 

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kermit

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If a lubricated flange is on a wheel that is turning at speed, it's presumably quite difficult to devise a system where the lubricant stays where it is needed, rather than being flung outwards off the wheel?
 

John Webb

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If a lubricated flange is on a wheel that is turning at speed, it's presumably quite difficult to devise a system where the lubricant stays where it is needed, rather than being flung outwards off the wheel?
I understand that if the curve is sharp enough to require flange lubrication then there is likely to be a limit on speed anyway to minimise wear and tear on both rolling stock and the track. If a check rail is fitted then the speed limit will be even lower.
 

DelW

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If you are referring to NWR then you may be correct.
However the NYMR's PW Gang does do Fishplate oiling correctly and even removes the plates to clear the crap(often literally) and examine the joints. Takes roughly just over a year to get from Pickering to Grosmont 18 miles.
Thankfully this task is reducing gradually as more track goes over to CWR. 80 or more pairs removed last winter.
I realise that minimising the workload of p-way maintenance is as important to preserved lines as to Network Rail, but I miss the traditional "clickety-clack" of wheels on jointed rails when CWR is used instead. Of course there are still quite a few places where it can be heard, including on NR.
 

CEN60

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I realise that minimising the workload of p-way maintenance is as important to preserved lines as to Network Rail, but I miss the traditional "clickety-clack" of wheels on jointed rails when CWR is used instead. Of course there are still quite a few places where it can be heard, including on NR.
Try Dingwall to Kyle and you’ll have around 2 hours or so of it!
 

DelW

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Try Dingwall to Kyle and you’ll have around 2 hours or so of it!
I'd love to do that line again, I travelled along it on the 100th anniversary of its opening* in the summer of 1970.

These days I can still get a fix of rail joint sounds on the Heart of Wales, though it works better in the middle of a 150 than on a single 153.

*The last section to the Kyle opened later IIRC.
 

CEN60

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I'd love to do that line again, I travelled along it on the 100th anniversary of its opening* in the summer of 1970.

These days I can still get a fix of rail joint sounds on the Heart of Wales, though it works better in the middle of a 150 than on a single 153.

*The last section to the Kyle opened later IIRC.
Doesn’t matter where you sit on a 158 - still can’t sleep on the 6.ish am from Kyle
 

CEN60

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I'd love to do that line again, I travelled along it on the 100th anniversary of its opening* in the summer of 1970.

These days I can still get a fix of rail joint sounds on the Heart of Wales, though it works better in the middle of a 150 than on a single 153.

*The last section to the Kyle opened later IIRC.
It did - there is an interesting book on the line called "The Skye Railway" - there was also a plan to have railway from Armadale (South end of Skye opposite Mallaig to Kyleakin (Opposite Kyle of Lochalsh) as well as a branch to Ullapool (all discussed in the book)
 
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