Unconnected question: Why do railway tracks often (usually?) have gravel around them? Surely it makes it hard to get vehicles in for maintenance, and it’d be hard for workers to stand on if they have to do repairs. Why not just leave bare compacted dirt?
No this is not photoshopped. The reason the signal is mounted there is that the track it sits on it unused currently (it isn’t finished) and applies to the track on teh right. There will eventually be a Gantry signal erected which will eventually replace this. Until this happens this signal will remain.
This I willadd was intentional, otherwise the signal will be miles to the left to the track to which it applies, whish would look even more stupid and would create confusion! Which would you prefer?
Obi, track ballast is the most important part of keeping a railway track properly aligned. Without it, there would be no way to keep the tracks aligned for any speed much above 10km/h. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_ballast
Thanks Geoff! I’d assumed the sleepers sat on compacted earth and they spread the gravel around once they were finished, so I’ve learned something new.
Another completely unrelated question: why do the speeds on the Auckland rail network seem so low and why do the trains always wobble when on some sections of the track?
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Photo credit to Geoff from here.
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That’s not for real surely. That’s a Photoshop trick. Mounting a signal in the middle of a laid track is pure madness. Tell me its not real…please!
Unconnected question: Why do railway tracks often (usually?) have gravel around them? Surely it makes it hard to get vehicles in for maintenance, and it’d be hard for workers to stand on if they have to do repairs. Why not just leave bare compacted dirt?
No this is not photoshopped. The reason the signal is mounted there is that the track it sits on it unused currently (it isn’t finished) and applies to the track on teh right. There will eventually be a Gantry signal erected which will eventually replace this. Until this happens this signal will remain.
This I willadd was intentional, otherwise the signal will be miles to the left to the track to which it applies, whish would look even more stupid and would create confusion! Which would you prefer?
It’s obvious the track isn’t used, because the tops of the rails aren’t shiny. A comparison with the rails to the right makes it pretty clear.
Obi, track ballast is the most important part of keeping a railway track properly aligned. Without it, there would be no way to keep the tracks aligned for any speed much above 10km/h. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_ballast
Thanks Geoff! I’d assumed the sleepers sat on compacted earth and they spread the gravel around once they were finished, so I’ve learned something new.
Another completely unrelated question: why do the speeds on the Auckland rail network seem so low and why do the trains always wobble when on some sections of the track?