Magnet fisherman hoists tens of small explosive devices from Northampton canal

[Alan de Enfield]

Magnet fisherman hoists tens of small explosive devices from Northampton canal | The Independent

 

 

A magnet fisherman has described the “gut-wrenching” moment he pulled 52 track explosives out of a canal in Northampton

Track explosives are, according to the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), small explosives that can be placed on the surface of train tracks and, when run over by trains, cause a loud bang to alert the driver.

[tree monkey]

If that was gut wrenching the bloke has no imagination, loads of fun to be had with Dets 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by tree monkey

[BEngo]

More fun to be had with a few metres of Cordtex and/or some C4.  Beats chainsaws for knocking over trees.

 

N

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

If that was gut wrenching the bloke has no imagination, loads of fun to be had with Dets 

 

 

There are however differing levels of stupidity.

 

Many years ago we had a static caravan on Anglesey (Holyhead Bay) and we started to hear huge 'explosions'. It turned out that there was a WW2 wreck between the 'mainland' and the Skerries Lighthouse rocks.

A group of divers, diving on the wreck, had found a stock of the big ships-guns ammunition (the enormous stuff with 3 foot long brass cases that folks use as walking stick / umbrella stands. They had taken the rounds onto the Skerries island and wedged then into the rocks - hitting the primers - they set them off with the resulting 'explosions'.

 

 

Shell cases from the Castillian.

 

The Navy subsequently sent a ship to anchor up near the wreck and keep divers away. The ship was on station for a couple of years whilst the decision was made what to do with the wreck (military graves).

Diving now banned.

 

WRECKSITE - CASTILIAN CARGO SHIP 1919-1943

 

 

[tree monkey]

21 minutes ago, BEngo said:

More fun to be had with a few metres of Cordtex and/or some C4.  Beats chainsaws for knocking over trees.

 

N

I am just a little jealous.

 

There was a new approach to removing broken limbs hanging on power lines a few years a go that involved stuff that went bang, unfortunately the elec companies decide they couldn't trust us with explosives, tbh knowing some of the characters in my business I could understand that but I wanted to play 

[Laurie Booth]

51 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

If that was gut wrenching the bloke has no imagination, loads of fun to be had with Dets 

 

And Jetx fuse

[Hudds Lad]

Do they still use these things on the railways? It seems like a bloody stupid idea to alert a driver to danger with nothing but an explosion. If someone has had to take the time to go lay them on the track, why not stick up a flag/banner instead? Probably less traumatic for the passengers too who would no doubt fear the worst upon hearing a loud bang.

[tree monkey]

4 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

Do they still use these things on the railways? It seems like a bloody stupid idea to alert a driver to danger with nothing but an explosion. If someone has had to take the time to go lay them on the track, why not stick up a flag/banner instead? Probably less traumatic for the passengers too who would no doubt fear the worst upon hearing a loud bang.

3 bangs if I remember right, i think the flag waving was closer to the danger

[Laurie Booth]

5 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

3 bangs if I remember right, i think the flag waving was closer to the danger

Please note at the end the train is actually going backwards from the girl, the film has been run backwards

[Mike Todd]

31 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:

Do they still use these things on the railways? It seems like a bloody stupid idea to alert a driver to danger with nothing but an explosion. If someone has had to take the time to go lay them on the track, why not stick up a flag/banner instead? Probably less traumatic for the passengers too who would no doubt fear the worst upon hearing a loud bang.

I thought (when a child so memory may be an issue!) that they were used in fog and when flags or semaphore signals were not visible in time.

 

We tend to forget today just how bad fog/smog could get in past times.

[tree monkey]

5 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

I thought (when a child so memory may be an issue!) that they were used in fog and when flags or semaphore signals were not visible in time.

 

We tend to forget today just how bad fog/smog could get in past times.

I only ever had my basic PTS to work trackside but I think if there was ever a track obstruction or other danger it was the lookouts job to lay out the dets at an appropriate distance from the obstruction as a warning to the driver

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, tree monkey said:

I am just a little jealous.

 

There was a new approach to removing broken limbs hanging on power lines a few years a go  

Arms or legs?

[Athy]

35 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

I thought (when a child so memory may be an issue!) that they were used in fog and when flags or semaphore signals were not visible in time.

 

 

That's my memory too, I think they were referred to as "fog detonators".

I suppose that all modern trains have either radio or a mobile phone in the cab. so these detonators are now superfluous.

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Athy said:

That's my memory too, I think they were referred to as "fog detonators".

I suppose that all modern trains have either radio or a mobile phone in the cab. so these detonators are now superfluous.

I think a drive on FB said they are still on the cab check list when you take over a train. 

[tree monkey]

7 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Arms or legs?

After seeing the demo I doubt it would have mattered 

6 minutes ago, Athy said:

That's my memory too, I think they were referred to as "fog detonators".

I suppose that all modern trains have either radio or a mobile phone in the cab. so these detonators are now superfluous.

A quick Google suggests they are still in use

[BEngo]

33 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

I only ever had my basic PTS to work trackside but I think if there was ever a track obstruction or other danger it was the lookouts job to lay out the dets at an appropriate distance from the obstruction as a warning to the driver

I had a quick look at my 1933 LMS Raiway rule book (amended to 1943).  There are few pages on which the rule book does not require the laying of detonators for some reason or another.  Fogging, train failures and obstructions,  work in progress, signal failures. The list is long.

 

It is interesting that in many cases where the LMS used a single detonator the GWR would use two spaced 6 feet apart.

 

N

[mrsmelly]

3 hours ago, BEngo said:

More fun to be had with a few metres of Cordtex and/or some C4.  Beats chainsaws for knocking over trees.

 

N

I was thinking that. Years ago in another life, we did an explosives course as part of the job. To show us the power of plastics such as Semtex, c4 etc etc the first " Bomb " we made was half an ounce ish of plastic, attached by various basic means onto the side of a metal, one gallon tin of petrol. Bloody hell!!! to say the least.

[Captain Pegg]

They are most definitely still in use today and everyone that holds track safety certification to enable them to go on track is trained in their usage. However, almost no-one has ever had cause to deploy them in that capacity.

 

Traditionally they were called "fog signals" as that was a direct circumstance in which they were deployed. Today as well as for emergency use in warning of an obstruction on the line they are used to protect the rear of a disabled train, and as part of the demarcation of a line under engineering possession. In the latter case that is in addition to visual indication.

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Captain Pegg

[Mad Harold]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

That's my memory too, I think they were referred to as "fog detonators".

I suppose that all modern trains have either radio or a mobile phone in the cab. so these detonators are now superfluous.

I used to know them as "maroons"and were used in night time fog.

When I was at college and had a flat   in the town centre close to a railway viaduct,they used to be going off all night long.They were I think used to warn the driver that they were close to the railway station.

[Mike Todd]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I think a drive on FB said they are still on the cab check list when you take over a train. 

I seem to recall that it was the driver's responsibility, in the event of a breakdown, to walk back down the track and lay a detonator to warn any oncoming train. Is it still so? (I know see that the q has just been answered above!)

Edited February 4, 2022 by Mike Todd

[ditchcrawler]

18 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

I seem to recall that it was the driver's responsibility, in the event of a breakdown, to walk back down the track and lay a detonator to warn any oncoming train. Is it still so? (I know see that the q has just been answered above!)

I think that is what he said.

[pete.i]

Detonators were still used on the railways last year. We lived in a Yorkshire village called Thorpe Willoughby very near to a railway and the Selby canal. We were still hearing detonators going off on the line even though there was no fog. However at the time there were extensive signal repairs/upgrades going on. We have since moved to Wales in May last year and we are now no where near a railway line or a canal now unfortunately.

[Hot bulb]

Standard PTS training.

Basic Emergency Procedure

From Point of Danger 

walk  towards oncoming trains for 1 1/4 miles and place

3 Detonators 20yards Apart on the running rail and move at least 30 yards away from Detonators.

 

[Captain Pegg]

22 minutes ago, pete.i said:

Detonators were still used on the railways last year. We lived in a Yorkshire village called Thorpe Willoughby very near to a railway and the Selby canal. We were still hearing detonators going off on the line even though there was no fog. However at the time there were extensive signal repairs/upgrades going on. We have since moved to Wales in May last year and we are now no where near a railway line or a canal now unfortunately.

 

It's pretty rare that they are actually exploded, although I once experienced that when the train on which I was a passenger was used to assist another that had slipped to a stand on the Lickey incline. I was told on my initial training in York in 1990 that out of date detonators were sent to the on-track machine training facility at Selby and were exploded on the former ECML route if I remember correctly. Maybe that's still the practice. 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Captain Pegg

[AndrewIC]

Some signal boxes had levers operating detonator placers.