# Tracks Below Grade?



## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

Hey guys,

Can tracks ever go _below_ grade for any reason? Is that ever done in the real world?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

xrunner said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Can tracks ever go _below_ grade for any reason? Is that ever done in the real world?



To go through a tunnel under a river.
Or a subway train.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

They do it all over up here! sometimes it's just nessasry to keep the grade easy.
I have seen them go below grade as a means of easy loading for coal and sugar beats too!


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Yes, quite often in the real world. They're called "cuts" and only require consideration for drainage and erosion.

One of the more famous ones... http://www.civilwarintheeast.com/Places/R/RailroadCut.php


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Shay,
Thanks for the history lesson. I've always loved Cival War information. :thumbsup:
Bob


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

raleets said:


> Shay,
> Thanks for the history lesson. I've always loved Cival War information. :thumbsup:
> Bob


You're welcome...I've always found the Civil War battlefields haunting, Gettysburg especially as I grew up near it.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Shay,
A few years ago I was in Nashville and took the opportunity to visit a couple of battlefields south of there. One of them had an adjoining cemetary and it was incredibly interesting reading the tombstones. I was there all alone that day. Hauntingly quiet. I swear I could hear gunfire and screams.
An amazing part of American history.
Bob


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

shaygetz said:


> You're welcome...I've always found the Civil War battlefields haunting, Gettysburg especially as I grew up near it.


same here... grew up in York, PA... close enough that every year in elementary school I had at least one field trip there. love Gettysburg.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Stop by Miami sometime. You can hear gunfire and screams just about any time. Pete


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Pete,
Sadly, Flint, MI has become "murder city U.S.A.".
Desperate people do desperate things!
Bob


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Yup. Same everywhere. We have muggings and bank robberies and store robberies every day here in peaceful little Ft. Myers. The people are desperate that's for sure. 
If you want to see how things are in your area go and find out how many people sign up for permits to carry a weapon every week. Here the classes are sold out every time. Anybody who tries to take over this town is in for a real surprise. Everybody I know has at least one hand gun or a rifle. I have two hand guns and a rifle. I'd like to have a M-16 or an M-14 too. pete


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I've experienced Flint first-hand Bob.....I got jumped in the parking deck at my school (GMI - now Kettering) by a crack head. Unfortunately for him he jumped the wrong engineering student AND was he must have been pretty high at the time - he moved in slow motion. I beat the tar out of him until he stopped moving (figured I had neutralized the threat at that point.) I went and informed security and when they went up into the deck to get him he was gone. Apparently he stopped moving to get me to stop pounding on him. Smart move.

On-topic - There's a great example of below grade trackwork here in Detroit where a mainline goes into a tunnel to go under the Detroit River between Canada/US


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

norgale said:


> I'd like to have a M-16 or an M-14 too. pete


Here you go, one of four that I have.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

No fair john....you're making me jealous. My wife won't let me have any REALLY cool toys like that. That's exactly what I need to reduce my local groundhog population.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Some wives are like that, mine didn't seem to mind all that much as I amassed my 100+ WW1 and WW2 pistol collection, so I figured a few AR's wouldn't upset her.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

I was leaving a clients place of business and got robbed at knifepoint by a group of "youts" in beautiful, sunny South Providence.

Got a CC permit and was never approached again.

I agree that desperate people will do desperate things.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Did you say utes?.....yeah utes.....oh....I'm sorry.....the yoooooooths. 

After my incident I carried my gun without a permit when I felt I needed it. (Going over to study sessions at night, etc.) Just kept it in a concealed holster in the small of my back.

I don't carry anymore as I'm out in the country now where it really isn't all that necessary unless you count the packs of coyotes causing trouble. They seem to respond better to a visible weapon anyway.

Too many places where you can't carry around here would cause me to leave it in my car (which I won't do) I wish we could all just carry visible without getting harassed.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've come close to needing the gun a couple of times. The closest was when we were down in Phila for a show, and we were walking back to the parking garage. Two guys started shadowing us from the other side of the street. When we stopped, they stopped. Finally, when we got close to the parking garage, I just wrapped my hand around the gun in my pocket holster and started staring them down. They stood there for about five minutes and I suspect finally figured out I just might be a "hard" target. They moved on and we did too. I would have chosen the run option at some point, but my wife was in high heels, and I really doubt we could outrun a couple of young punks.

I have a piece of advice for anyone that might be in an armed confrontation. Retreat if at all possible! The aftermath of a shooting incident is something you never want to experience! I have a close friend that is still dealing with it, and the incident was three years ago! He's spent over $50,000 in legal fees, and the thing is still dragging on. You can be assured no matter how low a scumbag you shoot, that someone is going to sue you. While you may prevail in court, just the legal expenses can be horrific! Also, given the mamby-pamby attitudes of many of our populace, you may end up losing the civil suit!

The gun is your last resort, not your first.


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## xrunner (Jul 29, 2011)

How did we get into guns? fftopic1:

LOL - I don't care, it's funny how one subject can lead to another on a forum. :laugh:


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

xrunner said:


> How did we get into guns? fftopic1:
> 
> LOL - I don't care, it's funny how one subject can lead to another on a forum. :laugh:


You guys get a "below average grade" for drifting so far from the "below average grade" original topic! 

Hee hee ...

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, we're below average at following the thread, so we had to talk about something.


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## raleets (Jan 2, 2011)

Scott,
Congrats on graduating GMI. You've certainly got more than rocks in your head and are for sure "above grade"! :thumbsup:
As for Flint, I've been here since 1965 and have watched it go to hell in a handbasket. I simply know where NOT to be around town in order to keep the odds in my favor. Don't carry my gun, but have seriously considered it lately.
Bob


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

How long ago was it?

In 1994, the body of a Confederate soldier was found in the woods near Little Round Top, in the Gettysburg Battlefield (_that alone is quite a feat after all these years_). In 1996, he was buried in the nearby National Cemetery with full military honors. In attendance were 2 of 3 surviving Civil War veterans widows, still drawing their husbands pensions---in the 1920s, these girls married those vets...who were themselves in their 80s at the time. One of those vets had some spark left in him because, also in attendance was the then 65-year-old son of one of those same vets.

Those cries of the battle were closer than you thought....


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

LOL Pete, I am going to guess it was the April fools joke of that issue. If you have not ever noticed that the MRR staff likes to make an article each year that is actually a joke but they do their best to make it look real. The best one I have seen is the 5 DCC system. IT stood for 5 digit command control. Here is the video of the system

http://mrr.trains.com/en/News and R...ive New universal command control system.aspx

Massey


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Shay,

Very interesting post above, re: the 1996 civil war widow/son. Amazing that "ages past" are so nearly in our grasp.

I visited my father this weekend ... he's 86. He was telling me about a family relative that he knew when he was a boy ... his great aunt ... who was born in 1840! That floored me ...

We're all connected to the past in ways much closer than we may think!

TJ


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