Interesting Consist Discussion for the North Side

1440 feet, per an article from TRAINS last year.

Saw the welded rail train on the siding in front of Riverworks tonight on the Eastern. Quite a impressive site.

Fully loaded with what looked like a whole bunch of endless rails.

How does this train navigate turns without damaging the rails?

Rails are surprisingly flexible. I've seen video of a loaded rail train doing track speed on the former Rio Grande main line with no problems.

MBTA3247 » Wed May 10, 2017 7:38 am
...Rails are surprisingly flexible.

One of the things that has stuck with me since the 1950s was a display at the Museum of Science. Tens of 2nd and 3rd graders -- me among them -- were each able to push down on a short section of rail and bend it, at least by whatever decimal amount the dial indicator showed.
A couple of decades later in the mid 70s, there was a spectacular fire that destroyed the Rail Shop near Sullivan Square. The shop's purpose was to heat and soften rail to make street-running curves, particularly for turnouts, but street rail has a different and far stiffer profile than standard rail.

Welded rail is secured at one point on the cars,all the racks have rollers ,that allow the rails to "flex" while the train is moving.
Unless dropping of picking up rail strings,there're Box cars used as "barriers" if a rail "string" breaks loose it's anchor point .

The welded rail train was at Salem tonight parked on the Peabody Branch.

First time I have every seen any MBTA equipment parked here.

Where are they working. Is this train crossing the Beverly drawbridge and going up to rockport where they are doing trackwork?

The rail train worked the Western Route, Gloucester Branch, and Boston Terminal dropping spot sections. It is now headed on the Worcester Line. I am not sure if that's where it will finish up.

Remaining rail should be for the Back Bay area

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Picture of it here:
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MBTA3247 wrote:1440 feet, per an article from TRAINS last year.

Apparently 2200 Feet for this years train. Wow

That large box-like structure is the anchor point on that welded rail train,to the idiot that climbed over,next time WALK around NOT over!

That bridge was close enough you could have been knocked off that platform if the train was moving!

Just saw a 5xdouble-decker MBTA train pass through Ayer - no singles. First time for me.

johnpbarlow wrote:Just saw a 5xdouble-decker MBTA train pass through Ayer - no singles. First time for me.

That's the passenger count train that's been on the North Side for most of this month.

1711 was the next-to-last car of a 74-car WB freight west of Depot Street, Fitchburg at 0601/05-24-2017. Mebbe ED-9, mebbe POED.

Saw a set pull into north station tonight while my train was pulling out that contained car MBTX 631.

I thought that was odd seeing MBTX in front of the car number. Only ever seen it on Engines / MOW equipment.

What is the significance of MBTX / what does it stand for. And does that make car 631 a odd ball in a revenue train?