Well done. Glad to see some of your night shots with your new rig.
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It is really like night and day compared to the old technology. - this was hand held at 1/10 of a second at f-9. A full frame sensor and twice as many MP's make a big difference. Thanks for taking a look!
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I used to weld for the Burlington Northern in Montana, and our operation was a lot different. We had a welding power unit, hooked with cables to a wire-feed stick. The joint was pre-heated with a propane heater. But, that was in the early 70's, and the technology is a lot different. Love to see pics of working men. We owe a lot of respect for them and their sometimes very dangerous work! Great pic!
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When they do a large project, particularly with ribbon rail, they will use a continuous feed arc welder that is mounted in a truck that high rails on the track (I am sure you have seen these). With smaller projects such as this, they (UP and BNSF) use the Thermite method to fuse the rails. The joint is pre-heated with an Acetylene torch and then the clay crucible with the powdered Thermite is placed on the mold and the whole deal is lit up and let go until molten iron flows into the mold and fills the joint. Once the iron has cool past its flowing point (but still glowing red) the mold is removed and the excess iron is pinched off with a hydraulic nipper, or knocked off with a spike maul. The joint is then ground top and sides with a hydraulic grinder (one tool for the sides, and another for the rail head) and the foreman will record with a paint pen, the date, outside air temperature and his name on the side of rail near the joint. This process always entertains me since I have made, and experimented with Thermite many times in the lab. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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