I am wondering if there are any standards for the depth (top of rail head to bottom of the pit) for railroad inspection pits in use today that might service a combination of diesel locomotives and passenger & freight cars. If you have a pit, how deep it is it and is the depth optimal or would you have changed it?

Also, does anyone have a pit that has both the typical inside the rail access and outside the rail access? If you do, is the pit floor for the inside and outside parts at the same height or are the outside pieces higher? I have seen evidence of both.

Looking forward to your help.

Thanks!

Until later,
Chris


crhauf@frontiernet.net

The diesel pits I've seen are usually around 4 feet deep so you can walk under the traction motors easily.

The ones I've seen for steam engines aren't much more than 3 feet deep because you have to reach higher up inside the drivers to service sellars, inspect thrust collars, etc., and there are no traction motors to walk under.

Depth varies as the floors in the pits need to be pitched towards drains. An average steam era depth would be about 42" or thereabouts. I have worked in pits with less deep trenches on the outer sides of the rail, maybe 28" or thereabouts average depth. The outer pits drained through the entrances connecting them to the inner pits which were then drained. Probably some sort of oil seperator system would need to be incorporated in the drainage system for a pit built new today. The old roundhouses used a combination storm and sanitary system and never gave it another thought.

Dave


irondave@bellsouth.net

The GE Industrial Locomotive Instruction Manual contains a section for building your own shop. In this section they recommend pit depths of 60" to 72" from the railhead to the crown of the pit floor.

lamontdc@adelphia.net

Dave,

As for drainage, we have been encouraged to have a simple sump to collect any fluids which could be pumped for collection by a professional disposal company or pumped into containers that would then be pushed through some type of separation system.

My vote is to pay to have it pumped, taken away and treated by professionals. However, I am not sure of the volume of fluid we might need to handle and thus the cost to dispose of it.

How do other groups handle this? Also if you are careful to drain any fluids into dedicated containers and assume little or no groundwater permutation into the pit, do you really have that much liquid in a pit when it comes to diesel engines? I could see some water if the engine comes in out of the rain, and I can see steam engines (which we also have although not running) draining more liquid into a pit when serviceable.

Thanks for the help and discussion.

Until later,
Chris



crhauf@frontiernet.net

>

> Also, does anyone have a pit that has both
> the typical inside the rail access and
> outside the rail access? If you do, is the
> pit floor for the inside and outside parts
> at the same height or are the outside pieces
> higher? I have seen evidence of both.

Chris,
This is the style of pit that is in our shop. The pit is 54" from the bottom of the pit to the top of rail,and outside is 38" from shop floor to top of rail.If you go with this design, you will also need platforms on either side of the equipment, at frame height of the equipment so that you can work on the inside of the equipment.

B. Allan

http://www.cvsr.com
cvsrkahuna@aol.com

54" is a good depth. Shallower and you'll have to do a lot of stooping. Use some sort of rolling stepstool to get into traction motors, etc.. If you're careful and don't drain or wash any engines inside, a closed sump at one end will probably suffice. If you do washing, etc., you'll need some sort of separator and way to dispose of the water. One place I worked, having run afoul of the EPA and neighbors (who objected to an oil slick on their back lawn) eventually had to invest in a fiberglass oil spearator tank, from which the separated water was pumped into a burner (natural gas) that evaporated the water into steam.

ryarger@rypn.org

Remember to kick the water from the locomotive outside the shop if at all possible and you'll save 200 plus gallons of pretty clean water you have to treat or dispose of. That is of course if you are able to with out creating a problem.

irss@eriecoast.com

> This is the style of pit that is in our
> shop. The pit is 54" from the bottom of
> the pit to the top of rail,and outside is
> 38" from shop floor to top of rail.If
> you go with this design, you will also need
> platforms on either side of the equipment,
> at frame height of the equipment so that you
> can work on the inside of the equipment.

About 10 years ago, I saw and measured a maintenance pit once used by the Tonopah & Goldfield in Tonopah, Nevada. As I recall, the pit was about 42" to 48" deep while outside the rails the concrete slabs were about 12" to 18" lower than the rail. This would allow the valve gear and rods to be worked at a comfortable level.

I think I know where my notes are. When I find them I'll post the dimensions.

Brian Norden

bnorden49@earthlink.net