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994
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Railroad after earthquake (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by RoTTaaX

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[–]MexicanRommel 61 points62 points ago

This isn't a photoshop, this is the result of the September 2010 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/earthquaketrakcs2.jpeg

[–]Zambah 23 points24 points ago

I was in Christchurch, New Zealand for these earthquakes and can confirm this photo is real. It is EQ damage, not shopped or heat kinking.

[–]NZthrowawaysis 6 points7 points ago

I live in Christchurch,

Can confirm the picture is nothing compared to what else got damaged.

[–]wild-tangent 1 point2 points ago

Like your rights?

[–]jaker1013 1 point2 points ago

um?

[–]wild-tangent 0 points1 point ago

http://knowyourcensor.com/tag/new-zealand/

Pushed through copyright bill during the earthquake under the "necessary urgency."

[–]NZthrowawaysis 1 point2 points ago

That bill isn't so bad,

The way I see it is that ISP's arent going to give out warnings and look for people this way, maybe if they get informed of a person then they will for publicity sake, but they would lose money by giving out warnings, a lot of people will just change ISPs and even then the law doesn't seem too bad people are just freaking out over how it was passed under as an emergancy.

[–]AhhhClem 2 points3 points ago

The new welded tracks can do that when a transverse compression wave has nowhere to go. Older sectional tracks will not do this.

[–]mc_stormy 1 point2 points ago

The plate boundaries are probably somewhere down the line and pushed the tracks, otherwise the ground surrounding them should be messed up, right? Is it convergent?

[–]Zambah 1 point2 points ago

There was damage to the ground in the surrounding area but none in this photo. Surrounding area was fields and had cracks big enough for multiple people to get in http://imgur.com/vt8J8

[–]somanylulz 5 points6 points ago

fun fact. you can die from a dirt cave in that only reaches your bellybutton post failure.

fuck ever getting into a crack like that.

[–]nothing_clever 1 point2 points ago

How does it kill you? Is this just because you can't get yourself out?

Because if somebody was there to help, it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal.

[–]somanylulz 0 points1 point ago

the weight of the dirt crushes your legs and squeezes on your abdomen so hard that you suffocate and shatter most the bones in your legs. dirt is roughly 120lbs per cubic foot. its not fun to fuck with. on job sites, the side walls of a hole is terraced out away from the center to prevent a total collapse, and or a steel reinforcement box is placed into the hole.

[–]nothing_clever 0 points1 point ago

It seems to me that just that weight wouldn't be enough to crush you. That's almost twice the density of water, so to feel the same amount of pressure from water on your feet, all you'd have to do is be submerged twice as far (pressure from a fluid equals density times depth times 9.8 m/s2 so to get the same pressure from half the density you need twice the depth.) Although, that assumes dirt pressure works like a fluid..

[–]somanylulz 0 points1 point ago

in the words of my old professor. everything is a fluid. some of it just moves really really slowly. the pressure density isnt (mostly) what gets you. its the dirt falling that gets you. ive had the unfortunate pleasure of watching the wall fall in on a 6ft hole that slammed one of the workers into the other side and filled up to his chest. he died very quickly.

best way to describe it is think of being buried in sand and how just like 4-5 inches of sand increases the difficulty to breathe. now increase that to even a foot of much denser dirt (+added water content to make it worse) and it suddenly becomes very bad.

[–]nothing_clever 0 points1 point ago

Ok, that makes more sense to me. Thanks for taking the time to explain. What do you do?

[–]ItsDaves 2 points3 points ago

I'm trying to think of a situation that I can't get out of a four foot hole, and I just can't do it. Please explain.

[–]tornadoRadar 2 points3 points ago

Weight of dirt on your legs.

[–]ItsDaves 0 points1 point ago

Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[–]amuhammed82393 0 points1 point ago

?

[–]kuroyaki 0 points1 point ago

A slight avalanche and your shins are inhumed. And you're not really able to bend over or pull yourself out, because you didn't get lucky. As Jubal Early said: "Well... here I am."

[–]J_G_B 14 points15 points ago

I work for a railroad. When they lay rail down and before they get the ties and ballast the way they want it looks like a big long noodle. The flexible nature of steel always amazes me. That damage might take a day to straighten out, but it's entirely fixable.

The next time you are stopped at a railroad crossing, focus your eyes on one spot of rail and watch it bend as the wheels go over it...

[–]kyleyankan 7 points8 points ago

As a kid who played near a railroad line: this

[–]GeneralBS 0 points1 point ago

my great grandma's house was famous for being able to go and put coins on the tracks with the slow moving trains. Tried to do it around here with the fast moving trains and would never find the coins.

[–]Demojen 0 points1 point ago

Until one snaps off of the rail and embeds itself in your face.

[–]GeneralBS 2 points3 points ago

battle scars

[–]clumsymechanic 0 points1 point ago

Steel is pretty elastic. That's why we make springs out of it.

[–]MrDorkESQ 9 points10 points ago

From the September, 4th 2010, Christchurch, NZ Earthquake.

[–]username_win 15 points16 points ago

Could be compressional rather than lateral forces.

[–]kgflash1 10 points11 points ago

It has to be, because if it were to cover the same distance, adding in curves would require more rail. If it was just lateral there would be a break and gap.

[–]FOR_SClENCE 0 points1 point ago

The gravel is also kicked out at the bends, which implies that the rail itself was pushing the rocks around.

[–]Ragnalypse -5 points-4 points ago

You underestimate Earthquakes... they'll stop at nothing to confuse and divide us. Remember those lost on 8/23/2011.

[–]kgflash1 0 points1 point ago

damn trolls

[–]GeneralBS 1 point2 points ago

would you shut up about your small ass earthquake

[–]Ragnalypse -2 points-1 points ago

You would never understand. It wasn't just a shake. It shook our pride. Our sense of peace. Imagine you're sleeping peacefully, when out of nowhere, your bed rumbles a bit. Where is your God now?

[–]GeneralBS 0 points1 point ago

"our pride" are you saying earthquakes make you feel less of a person inside?

[–]chewp911 1 point2 points ago

No he was celebrating his pride, and the earthquake made it hard for him to keep his feather boa on while still wearing the leather cowboy hat. Add waving a giant rainbow flag around and an earthquake can be a tricky situation.

[–]Ragnalypse 0 points1 point ago

Sounds like you're talking about gays, not people.

[–]chewp911 0 points1 point ago

Gays aren't people?

[–]B-mus 2 points3 points ago

also note the lack of sheer in the landscape. the only thing changed here are the rails. they were compressed from farther up the line and bent out at a week point.

[–]Scarecowy 5 points6 points ago

They should start adding these to train lines. I would commute by train a lot more often if every few miles or so there were a roller coaster portion of the track.

[–]clumsymechanic 7 points8 points ago

OR- you would commute exactly once by train.

[–]Sunkern 4 points5 points ago

Everything still looks connected, what seems to be the problem?

[–]AlexWagner 3 points4 points ago

eh, just leave it.

[–]GeneralBS 0 points1 point ago

only because you aren't yelling out that it's your cake day

[–]AlexWagner 0 points1 point ago

TIL - It's my cake day

[–]PR3CiSiON 2 points3 points ago

Also, it looks like that person is naked...

[–]Janet_Coquette 1 point2 points ago

I'm confused... that doesn't seem to make sense. For the tracks to be bent in each direction, wouldn't it need to pull more track from the top and bottom of the picture?

[–]clumsymechanic 2 points3 points ago

Not if it was caused by excess track being in pushed in from the top and/or bottom.

[–]OriginalityPolice 2 points3 points ago

Anyone seeking more info might also check here:

title comnts points age /r/
Railroad after earthquake 5coms 18pts 5mos pics
Shit guys, who forgot the ruler? 1com 7pts 1mo pics
Not sure how this is ever going to work. 6coms -1pt 2dys WTF
Why? 8coms -1pt 12dys WTF

source: karmadecay

[–]kwah 2 points3 points ago

oh good, i thought it was another ios6 maps street view

[–]vacant-cranium 0 points1 point ago

Welded rail can buckle during hot weather.

I think this is heat kinking rather than earthquake damage.

Plate slip looks more like this.

[–]Poop_Slow_Think_Long 9 points10 points ago

Plates could have slipped closer together forcing the rail to buckle in the place - could be a mixture of the both scenarios, heat and earth wobbles.

I find it unlikely that rail construction wouldn't have taken into account a bit of heat.

[–]Mackinstyle 0 points1 point ago

Read up on P waves and S waves. In this case it looks like the prorogation force of an earthquake has caused the rails to buckle.

[–]clumsymechanic 0 points1 point ago

I'm not a railroad engineer (just a clumsymechanic) but if heat caused the tracks to expand lengthwise and then buckle like this: wouldn't they have to mostly straighten when the track cooled and contracted later? Or does the track just break, at that point?

[–]Team_Braniel 1 point2 points ago

Not just the rails, the gravel and slats and everything has shifted.

I think there may have been a compression, maybe even a subduction lower down below the surface. The surface material had no where to go so it compressed and shifted to the side over the top of the deeper subduction.

If it was just the rail buckling then the gravel and other surface material wouldn't have shifted so evenly with it.

[–]AlSpeer 0 points1 point ago

It was caused by a rupture on the Greendale Fault

[–]walrusoreoanw -2 points-1 points ago

Haha you're an idiot

[–]CormacOney 0 points1 point ago

I want to ride a roller coaster like that now

[–]weasleeasle 0 points1 point ago

The railway equivalent of speed bumps. Slow 20 zone.

[–]PR3CiSiON 0 points1 point ago

Before I read the title, I thought this was due to expansion from heat. We did a geometry problem a long time ago about a train track doing this, always wanted to see it in rel life. So close.

[–]WeldingMouse 0 points1 point ago

So can they heat and straighten those ties after using OFC to cut out the extraneous lengths, or do they just remove the entire section and splice in fresh rail?

[–]GeneralBS 0 points1 point ago

im sure if they were to heat them they would lose their integrity.

[–]eyabs 0 points1 point ago

That railroad has the same shape as the wave function I have studied in my Intro to quantum mechanics class. Mind = Blown.

[–]lurkinglikeabauce -1 points0 points ago

Trust me I'm an engineer

[–]tinkerbellteacher 0 points1 point ago

for those saying this cant happen from an earthquake, you bet your arse it can! ask anyone from Christchurch that was here 2 years ago during our quakes and we could probably drive you straight to this exact spot

[–]sloweskimo 0 points1 point ago

How does a train ride on those rails?

[–]GeneralBS 2 points3 points ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aS3WKckqKM

[–]salivalnz1983 0 points1 point ago

FYI Guys, I live in Christchurch, New Zealand where this photo was taken, this IS what happened, among other things.

[–]BigNigHugeRig 1 point2 points ago

Pretty sure it was just designed using Apple Maps

[–]snigelfar 0 points1 point ago

What do you mean "Trains can't drive there"

[–]MerryMortician 1 point2 points ago

TO THE TRAIN SIMULATOR!

[–]Tom_Haverfart 0 points1 point ago

The curves appear too sharp for a train.

[–]Chiveronreddit 0 points1 point ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnAMDg7IVWs

[–]IronPirate 0 points1 point ago

Looks like everyday on the Red Line in DC!

[–]packrat31306 0 points1 point ago

All I can hear when looking at this picture is Tony Stark talking about riding in the "Fun-vee"

[–]Nalincah 0 points1 point ago

Still works

[–]drivingplayer1 0 points1 point ago

This is false I work for the railroad this is known as a sun kink where the rail super heats up and then expands to cause this

[–]brillo90 -2 points-1 points ago

Looks like the guy in the middle of the picture isn't wearing pants.

[–]paelf8 -2 points-1 points ago

Lookout Thomas! Sir Topham hasn't fixed the rickety-splits!

[–]Biggie39 0 points1 point ago

It's a good thing they found it before the train did. Do they check the entire track after every earthquake?

[–]dumbbutterfly -4 points-3 points ago

On first glance I thought those two people were naked!

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