Cleo Graham, operator, forges a hold down horn for the spring rail. This is one of many frog components that are forged. |
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At Southern Railway, a spring frog is not an amphibian coming out of hibernation. It's a mechanical, spring - loaded switching device used to help guide the wheels of the locomotives and cars of a train from one track onto another.
Where are our spring frogs made? At our frog shop, naturally. Previously located at the Charlotte Roadway Shop, the frog shop is now in Birmingham.
Cleo Graham, operator, forges a hold down horn for the spring rail. This is one of many frog components that are forged. |
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Completed in 1981, the frog shop has two inbound tracks - one grade level track and one recess track for material receiving and distribution. There is also a 94,000 - square foot storage area for stocking track materials and a 25,000 - square-foot shop area. The shop was designed with future expansion in mind, both in size and rate of production.
The shop is under the direction of John L. Stubbs, superintendent, maintenance equipment; John W. Dellinger, assistant shop superintendent, and Harold M. Jessen, shop supervisor.
Jim Bentley, operator, machines four rail flanges on 132 pound frog points. |
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Nineteen shop craft people in shop production, one maintenance electrician and one shop laboror see that our track people have plenty of spring frogs.
In addition to frog production, the facility maintains all switch stands and repairs switch points. Bed plates, toe plates and heel plates, tie bars and car stopper assemblies are also made at the shop.
Heel plates are flame cut, with the center section being used for stops and clamps. |
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But the major product is spring frogs. More than 800 frogs come off the assembly line each year. How are spring frogs made?
These filler blocks will go through six different machining operations before they are ready for the frog assembly area. |
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An automated rail line brings rail inside from the storage area. Then an easy - glide table eases 46 - foot lengths of rail to a conveyor that carries the rail into a saw house. There the rail is cut to desired lengths depending on the size of the frog.
Next the rail proceeds to a marvel saw where bevels are cut on each end. Then the rail moves into easy - glide storage in preparation for drilling on a horizontal rail drill programmed by computer to determine the location and size of the holes.
This frog is positioned in the final assembly area where Harold Cooper, welder, will assemble, gauge and weld it. |
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Four rails - wing rail, spring rail, splice rail and point rails - are needed to manufacture spring frogs. At this stage, the rail either goes into storage or it continues along the assembly line to the hydraulic 400 - ton rail bender. Here rail is bent at the proper angle prior to machining operations. The rail is then transported to one of five planers.
This track panel that was prefabricated in Atlanta includes a spring frog made in Birmingham. The frog is the X in the middle of the panel. |
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From the planers the rail moves to a storage facility or moves to pre assembly points. There the final planing operation is completed.
An aerial view of Southern's new spring frog shop in Birmingham. |
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When all subassemblies are complete, they are transferred to a final assembly point where the frogs are attached to the bed plates and tested for alignment and spring action. The frogs then go into a stocking system ready for distribution. Southern's spring frogs are always in season.