Things About to Be Scrapped
Jun 12, 2022 09:51:19 #
StanMac
Loc: Tennessee
Curmudgeon wrote:
OMG Ice tongs. I'm old enough (barely) to remember the Ice Man coming to our house
I’m with ya on that, although we didn’t have an icebox but I would go with Dad to town and the ice house to get a block of ice to break up to keep our picnic drinks cold. There was no such thing as crushed ice in a bag back then.
Stan
Jun 12, 2022 10:12:14 #
RUST REMOVAL
In one of the TV home shows recently, it showed how to remove rust. Submerge the item(s) into vinegar for 48 hours. Then brush with a steel brush. Rust all gone!
In one of the TV home shows recently, it showed how to remove rust. Submerge the item(s) into vinegar for 48 hours. Then brush with a steel brush. Rust all gone!
Jun 12, 2022 11:04:48 #
wrangler5
Loc: Missouri
In my limited experience with a steam engine restoration, those tie tongs are a 2-man tool and it took 2 teams to lift and move a tie. I have one in my garage, and can hook and drag a garden-size tie alone (or could, 20 years ago) but railroad-size ties are real monsters. Today there are machines that roll along the tracks and can remove existing ties from under tracks and replace them with new ties from a supply on the deck behind the mechanical arms doing the work, or previously left next to the tracks. There are lots of youtube videos showing the process.
Jun 12, 2022 11:18:21 #
wjones8637 wrote:
Thank you Frank, Since the painter said that most of the scrap was railroad things I wondered if they were used to move ties. Is this something that might still be used or is everything now too mechanized?
Your welcome, I doubt they use them these days since everything is mechanized, I have seen them replacing ties and they have a special car that cuts the ties into two or three pieces then pulls the pieces out and slides a new tie in place, gauges the width and spikes the tracks in place then tamps trap rock in place to level the tracks.
Jun 12, 2022 11:25:47 #
wrangler5 wrote:
In my limited experience with a steam engine resto... (show quote)
When I lived in Palm Springs I had a dog who would pick up a garden-sized (about 6' long) tie and run around the yard with it. He was a Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound); when he stood up could look over my head, and I'm 6' tall. I never let him know he could do it, but a breeder in Chicago told me he had one who could stand next to an 8' fence and jump over it!
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
Jun 12, 2022 11:26:51 #
Manglesphoto wrote:
Your welcome, I doubt they use them these days since everything is mechanized, I have seen them replacing ties and they have a special car that cuts the ties into two or three pieces then pulls the pieces out and slides a new tie in place, gauges the width and spikes the tracks in place then tamps trap rock in place to level the tracks.
There are several pieces of equipment out there than can lay out sleepers (ties) and place the rails while using radar and lasers to true fit the line. It is in miles when everything is set.
For perusal, see https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=railroad+tie+and+rail+placement+equip&fr=yhs-mnet-001&type=type9045647-spa-6246-84501&hspart=mnet&hsimp=yhs-001&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FyZtIow9_UOU%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg#id=2&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FyZtIow9_UOU%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&action=click
Jun 12, 2022 11:45:46 #
I can remember our ice box. We lived in a second-floor apartment, and it sat in the hallway. Several times a week, the "iceman" would climb the stairs, and replace the blocks, which were water by then. He had a set of ice tongs that were large enough to pick up a 18"x?x? block, then sling it over his back, resting it on a very thick leather pad.
The icebox was insulated, and there was a "tin" lining to the interior. No idea what the insulation material was, but I'd guess maybe mineral wool(?). We did have a "freezer" compartment, although I have no idea how well it worked. On the appointed day, mom would empty the pan.
Mom's greatest joy was when we moved to a rented house, and it came with a "real" refrigerator. This one was a GE with the top-mounted compressor.
My grandparents had a top-mount GE in their basement that they used as a second refrigerator. They moved into the house in 1952, and when it was sold in 2010, that GE still worked.
The icebox was insulated, and there was a "tin" lining to the interior. No idea what the insulation material was, but I'd guess maybe mineral wool(?). We did have a "freezer" compartment, although I have no idea how well it worked. On the appointed day, mom would empty the pan.
Mom's greatest joy was when we moved to a rented house, and it came with a "real" refrigerator. This one was a GE with the top-mounted compressor.
My grandparents had a top-mount GE in their basement that they used as a second refrigerator. They moved into the house in 1952, and when it was sold in 2010, that GE still worked.
Jun 12, 2022 12:43:41 #
pendennis wrote:
I can remember our ice box. We lived in a second-... (show quote)
I have one of the old GE fridges sitting on my front porch to be used for packages delivered when I'm not home.
Jun 12, 2022 13:02:46 #
JFCoupe
Loc: Kent, Washington
I remember the ice truck in Missoula, MT in the early 1950's. The delivery guy would give us chips on hot summer days.
Jun 12, 2022 13:52:39 #
wrangler5
Loc: Missouri
My grandparents always had an electric refrigerator but they called it an icebox, and so did my parents. That's what I learned, and that's the word I still use automatically.
Jun 12, 2022 22:59:10 #
hookedupin2005
Loc: Northwestern New Mexico
wjones8637 wrote:
We are having some exterior painting done on our h... (show quote)
I always called the jack a "Simplex"(from the name, of course)....Used several of them when we moved our house from town, to our property, many years ago....
Jun 12, 2022 23:44:44 #
wjones8637 wrote:
I'm not sure it ever had a top plate. When retracted the post barely clears the top of the housing and it does have a "foot" at the bottom.
I have seen many that had a top plate, if you tried to lift anything with the top I am sure it would kick out and tip over and crush everything below it.
Jun 12, 2022 23:51:36 #
wjones8637 wrote:
Thanks for the information, the low foot made me wonder about how it was used. Do you think crews could still be using this equipment.
yes to use it you would shovel the stone out from between two ties on each side and put the bottom of the jacks under the rail to lift it up either to crib the ties up or to replace them.
Jun 13, 2022 04:19:39 #
I remember going to the ice house and seeing those big blocks of ice rolling out. You don't see that today, although they must make ice somewhere.
Jun 13, 2022 08:40:08 #
We used to have and use an old simplex jack when I was working for a towing company and we would have a recovery call for a semi truck.
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