From: ce11son@yahoo.ca

On Sat, 2 Aug 2014 00:46:58 +0000 (UTC), David Lesher
 wrote:

>John Albert  writes:
>
>
>>Yes, George, they still use them.
>
>>Blocks, or chocks.
>
>>After you tie down a piece of equipment with the hand brake,
>>you find something (wheel chock, or just a piece of wood)
>>and wedge it between the wheel and rail.
>
>Is there such a thing as a chock that is bolted to the rail; and
>restrains a consist, not just a sole car?
>
I've seen devices on television programmes (in German marshalling
yards and/or sidings ?) like a pair of scotches hinged longitudinally
so that they rest on the railheads when in use which should hold a
fair number of vehicles; out of use they swing down on to the
sleepers. They were similar to some derailers but designed without
that function in mind.
I don't recall seeing a more mobile version (i.e. something suitable
for carrying on a locomotive) but even a basic wooden scotch which
isn't secured to the rail has been observed to put up a fair bit of
resistance when I watched someone trying to move a train without
removing the scotch first. On roughly 50% of occasions, carrying such
devices (the heavy duty version not the Mk1 piece of wood) on a
locomotive will guarantee they are at the wrong (uphill) end of the
train anyway; the amount of metalwork to be moved probably won't do
the crew any good either (before worrying about lack of daylight,
weather etc.) so in the end you're back to securing individual
vehicles. The traditional "fail safe" is a hand brake but plan B could
be something that depends on a locking/pinning action rather than
clamping a wheel/disk; if it is easier to apply than a handbrake then
there is also less incentive not to use it.

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