| Diamond Crossing |
Website Links For Level |
Information AboutDiamond Crossing |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LEVEL JUNCTION | |
| rail infrastructure | |
| rail junction types | |
| railway track layouts | |
|
In U.S. Railroad practice, a level junction (or in the United Kingdom a '''flat junction''') is a Railway Junction that has a track configuration in which merging or crossing railroad lines provide track connections with each other that require trains to cross over in front of opposing traffic At Grade . The structure is sometimes called a '''diamond junction''' or '''diamond crossing''' in reference to the diamond-shaped center. Routings must be controlled by Signal s and an Interlocking plant, or by an automated Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system. The two tracks need not be of the same Gauge . Level junctions, particularly those of fine angles or near right angles, create Derailment risks and impose speed restrictions. The former can occur as the flanges of the wheels are momentarily unsupported and unguided and can slip through the gaps in the rails, and the latter due to the fact that the assembly contains elements that can break or vibrate loose. Level junctions are considered a maintenance issue by railroad companies as the inherent gaps tend to be hard on locomotive and rolling stock wheelsets. Switched diamonds partially solve these problems, but introduce some new problems. If possible, diamonds should be replaced by a pair of turnouts. The opposite of a level junction is a Flying Junction , where individual tracks rise or fall to pass over or under other tracks. A diamond crossing is also used as a component of a Double Junction . IN PICTURES |
Image:DiamondcrossingjpgA Fully Assembled Level Junction Sits In The Foreground It Will Replace The One In The Background Where
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Union_Pacific_Railroad" class="copylinks">Union Pacific and Kansas & Oklahoma tracks cross |
|
Image:SSRR - UPRR Level JunctionJPGThis Temporary Level Junction Allows
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Sacramento_Southern_Railroad" class="copylinks">Sacramento Southern Railroad trains to pass over the Union Pacific tracks in Sacramento, California The components must be installed, railroad cars moved, and the assembly dismantled in less than 30 minutes so as not to impede UPRR freight and Amtrak passenger train movement along the Main Line |
|
|
|