Train rails1/25/2024 ![]() If you’re into charts, here are some of the general properties of the steel: Characteristic A more ideal hardness is around 60-62 Rc, where the metal is sufficiently tough to resist cracking.Īt that hardness, the steel has a really good wear resistance. This will get rid of any “mushrooming”, wear or deformation of the metal.ġ084 steel can usually be heat treated up to 65 Rockwell C, but at that hardness it’s very brittle. That’s not to say that the rails are untouched for that amount of time – as the rails wear out, they can be “dressed” – a grinding process that will recondition the rounded top of the rails to restore its performance. Depending on the size of the trains and rate of use, a track could be expected to last anywhere from 5 to 100 years. Basically, it’s less likely that there would be surface cracks that would propagate over time.Īs you can imagine, trains are heavy and put an extraordinary amount of stress on anything below them. The deeper heat treatment allows the steel to have higher strength properties. This is a requirement for good reason – it allows for deeper heat treatment.įor railroad tracks to perform well in the long term, there are two really important qualities that the steel needs to have: high wear resistance and resistance to fracturing. One of the noticeable features of this steel is the high manganese content. Tips for Working with Railroad Track Steel.Interestingly, relics can still be found out there, particularly on tourist railroads that can contain railroad track dating back to the late 1800s and be no heavier than 90 pounds. Today, the major rail arteries around the country employ track that weight at least 120 pounds but some can weight up to 140 pounds. However, warm temperatures are needed when installing CWR as doing so in cold weather when the steel tends to contract can result in buckling and warping when warmer weather prevails.ĭuring the late 19th century railroad track could weigh less than 80 pounds (typically measured per yard) but as the decades passed and locomotives and cars grew larger the rails have had to follow. Known as sun kinks this phenomenon can result in either slow orders or the movements to be suspended entirely until the night or late evening when cooler temperatures allow the track to settle back into place. The one drawback to CWR is its tendency to kink, or turn into spaghetti, during the high heat of summer. If a rail line already contained the desired track weight (such as 100, 110, or 120-pound rail) it could simply be welded into strings and re-laid costing only the maintenance time required. Railroad track and by the 1970s most of these routes employed it.īetter for railroads was the fact that CWR did not necessarily have to Replacing its most heavily trafficked main lines with the new type of Once the benefits of CWR were realized the industry quickly began Millions in maintenance costs and derailments CWR does not buckle,īecause it resists thermal expansion and contraction. Rather than 39-foot track bolted together. Which is laid in lengths of 1,500 feet or so (roughly a 1/4-mile), That decade saw the first use of continuous welded rail (CWR), also known as ribbon rail, It was not until the 1950s that railroad track would see another major change. Railroads were willing to pay a little more for it as in the end it Only much stronger than iron but because it had a longer lifespan However, in theġ890s the much stronger and durable steel was introduced. Railroad track and every other structure being built. Throughout most of the 19th century iron was the primary choice for The result was a can opener-like effect when the next car passed over the broken rail as it easily tore through the wooden floor, killing or maiming anyone in its path. That came loose behind passing car/locomotive and peeled upward. (which was simply thin pieces of iron attached to wooden planks) thatĬaused the deadly phenomenon of "snake heads." The "T"-rail replaced the unstable and dangerous strap-rail & Amboy Railroad, it was a revolutionary design still used to this Was developed by Robert Stevens president of the Camden This type of track remained in use as late as the 1840s (by this point strap-rail was the norm) until solid iron "T"-rail Mines had been using horses or mules to pull carts that used flanged wheels to operate on wooden or strap-iron rails (which was essentially a wooden rail with a piece of flat iron attached to the top). The earliest aspects of railroad infrastructure are, of course, the track and roadbed.Īs with railroading itself, has its roots in England where years coal
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