In times gone by a railroad track pan was an item that brought to mind thoughts of steam trains. Because they converted water to steam to create power they had an on going requirement for water. This dependence on regular top ups of water had a restricting effect on the total distance a steam train could travel without stopping.
Of course one solution was to stop and take on water from a tank next to the line. Unfortunately though, this would lead to delays because the train needed to wait while its water tank was filled up. Stopping regularly for water caused delays and lengthened the overall time a train took to complete its route.
The usual solution to this problem that was commonly practiced was to use track pans. These were essentially a type of open tank constructed between the rails on an open stretch of line. If a train approached one of these pans and needed to take on more water a custom type of scoop would be lowered into the pan and the motion of the train would force water into the locomotives water tanks.
In modern times however the term is generally used to describe a type of pan with a different function. The primary function of a modern railway track pan is to help keep the environment clean. These pans are used to collect fuel, oil, chemical and other substances that may drip out from a locomotive or railroad car.
These pans are mostly to be found at places where fuelling, loading and unloading or washing takes place, or any other location where contaminants can leak from locomotives or rail cars and lead to pollution. The basic purpose of track pans, also referred to as drip pans, on these sites is spill containment so that the potential contaminants can be easily removed and discarded with no pollution taking place.
A variety of materials can be used in the construction of drip pans like concrete, steel and HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). The type of substances that are to be contained as well as whether they are to be used on a temporary or permanent basis can influence the materials used to construct the pans. Their layout and design may also be affected by the same factors.
Because railways usually operate on very tight time schedules it is important that the pans are easy to install so they do not cause long shut down times. Also because of time considerations modular systems are very popular. These systems make it easy to replace only the damaged section of a pan system if damage occurs. This cuts down on both down time and expense as only the affected parts need to be replaced.
Each railroad track pan can either be used on its own, in which case it is basically intended only for incidental spill containment, or connected to other pans or a secondary tank installed below the level of the track. If several pans are used together they are usually connected together by a manifold that runs across all of the pans. This gives the overall system a much higher carrying capacity because if a high amount of material is collected into one of the pans it is spread out among the rest of the pans in the system.
Of course one solution was to stop and take on water from a tank next to the line. Unfortunately though, this would lead to delays because the train needed to wait while its water tank was filled up. Stopping regularly for water caused delays and lengthened the overall time a train took to complete its route.
The usual solution to this problem that was commonly practiced was to use track pans. These were essentially a type of open tank constructed between the rails on an open stretch of line. If a train approached one of these pans and needed to take on more water a custom type of scoop would be lowered into the pan and the motion of the train would force water into the locomotives water tanks.
In modern times however the term is generally used to describe a type of pan with a different function. The primary function of a modern railway track pan is to help keep the environment clean. These pans are used to collect fuel, oil, chemical and other substances that may drip out from a locomotive or railroad car.
These pans are mostly to be found at places where fuelling, loading and unloading or washing takes place, or any other location where contaminants can leak from locomotives or rail cars and lead to pollution. The basic purpose of track pans, also referred to as drip pans, on these sites is spill containment so that the potential contaminants can be easily removed and discarded with no pollution taking place.
A variety of materials can be used in the construction of drip pans like concrete, steel and HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). The type of substances that are to be contained as well as whether they are to be used on a temporary or permanent basis can influence the materials used to construct the pans. Their layout and design may also be affected by the same factors.
Because railways usually operate on very tight time schedules it is important that the pans are easy to install so they do not cause long shut down times. Also because of time considerations modular systems are very popular. These systems make it easy to replace only the damaged section of a pan system if damage occurs. This cuts down on both down time and expense as only the affected parts need to be replaced.
Each railroad track pan can either be used on its own, in which case it is basically intended only for incidental spill containment, or connected to other pans or a secondary tank installed below the level of the track. If several pans are used together they are usually connected together by a manifold that runs across all of the pans. This gives the overall system a much higher carrying capacity because if a high amount of material is collected into one of the pans it is spread out among the rest of the pans in the system.
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