Let us help you identify that mysterious object you’ve found.
Currently in CHALLENGE mode: If you've got something obscure knocking about, post a picture, and let's see how we do. Please prefix such posts with "CHALLENGE:" so we know we've got a fighting chance.
Stenciling says "6 & 7TH / PDE & 3RD" It's the only pink tie on this track.
It’s marking the joint between two track segments. Look just above it. On both tracks there’s a series of bolts indicating that two track segments have been bolted together.
Not sure why the other joints aren’t marked.
if that was an insulated joint for track circuit separation there would be cables attached at each side and the two bolted plates would be aligned?
You can see 3-4 wires connected on either side of the plates.
I'm not sure if those particular plates are insulating connections though. Doesn't really look like it, but I'm no expert on rail connections.
good spot, those wires are smaller than I am used to seeing - so it is a track circuit boundary as well as whatever the pink means.
Rail is most often welded together, not joined like this.
So you likely don't need more than one marking.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
I'm more aware of breast cancer now.
Oh well that's a funny coincidence, this month was about it being aware of you
Lmao at that completely ineffective ladder lock...
One side's harder to climb I guess.
It's got a cover to keep people from climbing it I believe
They were saying the cover is ineffective since you can just climb up the back
You still have a much smaller area to place your feet, it definitely makes it harder.
It appears to have been painted after it was placed and after the track was laid. If you zoom you can see the paint does not run under the rails. Also there is paint on the rail clip that ties the rail to the sleeper. The bolted connection is called a fish plate I think.
That's a good point. I was wondering how I'd walked past this so many times and not noticed a hot pink railroad tie before. Looking closer, there is even a stray rock in the middle of the tie that also go painted pink, so I think it was pretty recent.
Just a stab in the dark but they may occur at regular intervals, and similar notation may be on the poles and other infrastructure. In the event of a rail emergency you give the operator that info and they will halt all trains that could be affected by the emergency
I was gonna guess a memorial like a union member passed or something, because it seemed odd it'd be pink and not orange or red like the little wireflags I usually see. Is there a pink infrastructure marker?
Not sure, my experience with this is in Australia, they're all over the rail corridor but not on the sleepers as far as I know. There's usually a specific phone number you call to alert, say emergency x3, your location and the nature of the emergency.
It's the starting block for the train relay races.
This one is my favorite.
At least in the U.S., pink paint on the ground or features, pink flagging, or pink pin flags are mostly used by surveyors. Pink is used for its high visibility to mark the ground and it's likely this paint isn't meant to last long.This could be marking project limits of a railway survey, upcoming maintenance, or a construction project. There could be other ties painted, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were miles away. It could be an indication of nearby ground control. Does "6 & 7th / PDE & 3rd" have any meaning locally? Could PDE be a street name abbreviation, considering that the other parts sound like street names? Railways are long and if it's a limit of one project or the dividing line between two projects, some of those streets might be far away.
possibly a change of measurement system? Look at the mileposts each side to see if there is a discontinuity in the numbers (although those would be painted yellow here in the UK - maybe search "golden tie")
That's a good idea, I will check when it's not pouring rain out.