HI it is Railfan Landon here with a picture from 11/27/22 on scene at a small CSX Switch fire that started from debris on the warm par of the Heater on the switch and I talk with another Railfan he called CSX and they said it is fine.
I will post a picture of it
Re: Holland MI Station CSX Switch on fire
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2022 9:19 am
by Schteinkuh
What're you waiting for? Go get some hotdogs and marshmallows
I just read on facebook that it only takes one spark to start a creosote fire.
I've known that it only takes a spark to get a fire going since I was a child.
I also learned (from another source) that "only you" can prevent forest fires.
That is a lot of responsibility for a kid. The number of forest fires in states I never visited must make me a failure.
I just read on facebook that it only takes one spark to start a creosote fire.
I've known that it only takes a spark to get a fire going since I was a child.
I also learned (from another source) that "only you" can prevent forest fires.
That is a lot of responsibility for a kid. The number of forest fires in states I never visited must make me a failure.
Speaking of forest fires, how come it takes only one match to start a forest fire, but a whole box of matches to start a campfire?
Re: Holland MI Station CSX Switch on fire
Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 10:03 pm
by Saturnalia
Creosote is by itself flammable, but creosote-treated wood isn't significantly more flammable than the regular wood alone. I've seen a lot of railroad hot work, from welding, thermites and "heat tape", and I've never noticed additional flammability above what I would expect from any random piece of wood in similar conditions. When it's wet, it doesn't light on fire, and when it's bone-dry at midsummer it'll light rather easily. Once it starts, I doesn't burn faster than one would expect from regular wood, either, again per my observations.
What I've observed is that creosote is more like rubber when it comes to burning: it takes a lot to make a really hot fire before it really takes off. We have no problem putting out "heat tape" fires in the winter, which usually do catch the ties on fire to a degree, with water or a dry chemical extinguisher. The ties don't smolder well at all, unless it's bone dry outside.
Switch fires are usually from garbage or dried leaves in the switch. The switch heaters in Holland are the propane-burning type, with a flame that obviously likes to catch trash on fire. The electric resistive heaters I'm familiar with can also start trash fires, but direct contact is typically required and it is pretty rare.
Where I work, we "winterize" switches in the fall, and a part of the process is removing any trash and leaves from the switch point areas. Turnouts by roadways tend to be the worst. We also make sure there isn't too much ballast around the points, to make cleaning snow out easier as well, and gives the melted snow a place to go if it is going to refreeze. That's why you'll usually find the ballast section to be a bit bare around the points.
My guess is litter from the area collected, and wasn't cleaned out before the burners were activated for the season. No big deal, unless there is a lot of stuff, as usually these fires burn themselves out quickly since the trash and leaves burn at relatively low temperatures and extinguish themselves before the ties catch.
