Now, I’m a real railroad expert. I should know the answer to this.
But I have a marked disadvantage. I’m hearing-impaired. Audiologists call it “severe,” but I can tell if a bagpipe is in tune if I have my hearing aid on, though I wouldn’t count on me to keep a violin tuned properly.
There has long been a legend that someone (typically an Indian guide in those old movies) could hear a train coming by putting an ear to the rail.
Now, this is improbable enough in the modern era of continuous welded rail. I have no doubt that if one were to hook up sonic-detection instrumentation to the rail in 2013 that it could detect vibrations of an approaching train, at least within a quarter-mile or so. But not with the ordinary ear.
Add in the fact that before the latter half of the 20th century, long after this legend got started, railroads were constructed with jointed rail of 39’ lengths, and the prospect of that much vibration passing through any length of rail long enough to not get you run over while you’re down there listening is ridiculously far-fetched.
Does anyone know how/where this malarkey started?
NOTICE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EXPERIMENT WITH THIS CONCEPT FOR YOURSELF!!! DO NOT LISTEN FOR TRAINS ON YOUR LOCAL RAILROAD, SUBWAY, OR TRANSIT LINE!!! LEAVE ALL EAR-ON-TRACK LISTENING TO TRAINED TRAIN PROFESSIONALS!!!
And, of course, everything Hollywood shows is true. Burning cars ALWAYS explode; you can blow up a car just by shooting it; only bad guys run out of bullets; etc.
And, oh, yeah, by the way, if you remember the movie that well, he didn’t hear the train that ultimately “threatened” them. Right, like no engineer wouldn’t have hit the brakes upon the first sight of those trespassers.
Don’t even get me started on the balderdash in “Unstoppable.”
It actually does work to some degree. When I was a kid back in the 70s we used to walk along the train tracks to school because it was shorter (and more interesting). At some point we decided to put this to the test and kept listening for trains by putting our ears to the track.It worked. We were able to hear the vibrations in the rail before we could hear the train coming without our ears to the track, but I wouldn’t say it worked at a terribly long distance. You’d hear the train vibration in the tracks and maybe a minute or two later you’d hear the sound of the train in the distance.
This was in the hills of West Virginia in an area where the track snaked around some mountains and went across a couple of trestles. I can’t say how well it would work in the typical TV or movie setting of the Midwest.
And once the train gets within a certain closeness (I don’t know how close this would have to be), you can hear the tracks “singing” even without your ear to the tracks.
You can hear the sound traveling down the track just by standing next to it. the high pitched scuffing sound seems to travel a fair distance (half mile or better). Not sure what causes the sound but it’s a metal on metal sound. Never listened for the low rumbling sound which should travel further. The tracks have grease on them and I was never THAT interested in learning if I could hear it farther away.
Does this work better on continuous welded track than on traditional jointed rails? I would think that CW track transmits sound better, because it has fewer joins, but for the same reason, there’s less vibration and no clackety-clack from the wheels passing over the gaps between tracks, so it could actually be more difficult to hear.
I’m not a ‘railroad expert’ like FlyingScotsman, and I honestly can’t say that I can remember ever, ‘putting my ear to the tracks’.
BUT… I have spent a lot of time around trains, switching yards and train tracks in general, over the course of my life. (My Dad retired from the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway after 21 years of working as a Chief Clerk, in the various switching yards in and around Houston. During the summer, when school was out, he would take me to work with him whenever he worked the ‘graveyard’ shift. Consequently, I spent a LOT of time, around trains and train tracks. :D)
This, I do know… Railroad tracks are not ‘greasy’.
If a track gets even moderate usage it will be shiny, relatively clean, smooth, steel.
Probably, the only time that railroad tracks ever become ‘greasy’ is when a leaking tank car, has just went down the track. And that won’t last for very long, with all of the wheels that are rolling down that track.
That’s something that isn’t commonplace either, modern tank cars (the last 40 years, or so) have their discharge valves located directly under the center of the tank. Which would place anything that leaked out of them, between the rails.
Another thing, railroad tank cars are designed/engineered to be as ‘leak free’ as possible, because of the fact that some of the stuff in those tank cars is absolutely deadly! :eek:
If the average ‘Joe’ knew what was inside of some of those tank cars, that are rolling by just a few feet away from them, they would/should be very scared, and ever so glad that said tank cars are designed as well as they are. Just sayin’…
For that matter, if railroad tracks were inherently ‘greasy’, the engine would have trouble getting traction.
Granted, this does occasionally happen, hence the locomotives ability to ‘spread’ sand ( IIRC, it’s actually, powdered garnet) just in front of the driving wheels to gain traction.
Such skepticism. Tell me, how many cars have you set on fire? How many have your shot at? Have you ever run out of bullets before the bad guy did? :rolleyes:
The tracks probably don’t get greasy to the touch by this, but I’d like to point out the existence of a contraption called a flange greaser. I’ve seen these on the ‘L’ near sharp curves; the idea is to prevent screeching noises near curves, as such noises would disturb people living nearby. Take a look.
Well, slap me on the ass and call me Silly! :smack:
Thanks, BorgHunter! I can’t say as I’ve ever seen one of those.
Granted, we don’t have any “L’s” here in Houston, but I will consider myself educated now, about something that I didn’t know.
I’m still going to stand by my post, that railroad tracks, for the most part, aren’t ‘inherently’ greasy.
I am reminded of the Far Side cartoon where the Indian has his ear to the ground and is telling his (vanished) comrade about the size of the soldier troop he has detected.
Sir! What kind of pervert do you take me for? Slap you on the ass, indeed! I’ve never heard of such a thing. This just confirms my suspicion that the SDMB is full of deviants lacking in moral fiber.
My services, I’ll have you know, are strictly limited to flange greasing. I’ll still grease your flanges, even after your disgusting suggestion, but I think I shall charge you double after this transgression. Ten bucks a flange, for you, knave. And I shall not, NOT, call you “Silly” in the process. The nerve of some people…
^ Senegoid speaks wisdom, especially the newer lines with concrete ties. When I go out to photograph trains, I can hear this sometimes 20 to 30 seconds before I hear those big motors.
A number of years ago I was riding my bicycle in a parking lot next to the Metrorail line here in the San Fernando Valley. There wasn’t much traffic around and so was relatively quiet for a few moments. I suddenly began to hear what I would describe as a loud sizzling sound. Not knowing what it was I stopped my bike and looked around when one of the trains came flying by. Time elapsed? Ten, maybe fifteen seconds.
I think in the times where Indians laid their ears to the track to hear a train coming they could have just looked in both directions to see the train coming, and if it was around the bend they could still see the smoke billowing out of the locomotive.
I can’t say as I’ve ever seen one of those.
