Talk:Rail tracks

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Contents 1 Exclusive UK Usage is Gibberish to North Americans 2 US Rails Jointed? 3 track spacing 4 4 feet 8 1/2 inch track width - why? 5 Edit 6 Feste Fahrbahn? 7 Jointed Track 8 Maintenance question 9 How does a rail work?

[edit] Exclusive UK Usage is Gibberish to North Americans

This article is utterly incomprehensible to a North American reader -- Unless one is from the UK, the word "sleeper" refers to a Pullman sleeping car. A mere paranthetical explanation of this or that term is insufficient -- there are so many that the entire article might as well be in Swedish. It's current "B" rating is overly generous.

I suggest that two separate articles be maintained, one in each dialect.Scott Adler 00:34, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

Good heavens! What an unusually belligerent observation. As a North American reader who had no difficulty getting used to the sleeper/tie nomenclature, I'm inclined to disagree with you. If you feel absolutely certain that an improvement is warranted, maybe you should give it a shot. Geoff NoNick 01:18, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] US Rails Jointed?

The article states that most US rail is jointed; I spent some time trying to find a source for this and could not. I believe, but could not substantiate, that most of the big US railroads have converted their main lines to continuously welded rail. Measured in miles of rail, it may be true that more of the US rail is jointed than welded, but I doubt it. I'm quite confident that, measured by usage, most of the US rail is welded. Also, the article states that the jointed-welded rail question is less important in the US because of the low train speeds. I think it's important to remember that the rail system in the US is primarily freight - it carries much more weight at lower speeds.--38.112.11.10 13:45, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

It's likely true for the Class I railroads, but I don't think CWR is so common on Class II railroads yet. Iowa Interstate Railroad, for example, is currently working on a project that will replace jointed rail with CWR in preparation for higher passenger train speeds in Illinois. I haven't seen a specific reference yet (there might be something at the AAR website, but I haven't found it there yet), but I suspect that CWR still isn't in the majority in US track miles. slambo 14:02, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

A note about the Hatfield disaster, which is mentioned towards the end of the article. Gauge-corner cracking does not refer to something that happens on curved track. Instead, it refers to the gauge corner of the rail - that is, the corner of the rail profile adjacent to the wheels' flanges. I believe that this section needs cleaning up to avoid the ambiguity.

[edit] track spacing

Is there a standard distance between tracks? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.100.40.174 (talk • contribs).

This is normally set by the individual railroads depending on the volume of traffic a track receives. Tracks in classification yards are closer together than railway sidings in remote locations, and sidings are generally closer together than double track mainlines. There are some sections of UP's mainline across Nebraska, for example, that appear far enough apart to allow a third track to be laid between them. Slambo (Speak) 11:42, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

I meant, is there a standard distance between the two rails on a single track? ie, is there a standard train weel-width that can be used on all tracks? There seems to be no information on the page.

Ah, that would be standard gauge, 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in). Curious that it's not mentioned... Slambo (Speak) 11:55, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 4 feet 8 1/2 inch track width - why?

Why such an arbitrary number? How was this width originially chosen? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.192.239.51 (talk • contribs).

The common story is that this gauge is derived from the gauge of Roman chariots, but that is now disputed; I've seen other stories describing why this gauge was chosen that seem a bit more plausible. I'll have to look through my references again. Slambo (Speak) 15:10, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

There are many stories to account for this gauge. To me, the most convincing is that the traditional gauge for horse-drawn carts was 5 feet (and that has to do with the width between the shafts of your typical carthorse!). In the northeast of England, where Stephenson learnt his trade, wooden tracks had long been laid to ease the haulage of laden carts from the coalmines, with wheels 5 feet apart. Later these wooden tramroads had iron plates fitted on top of the wooden tracks to make them more durable. The next stage was the provision of inside flanges (on the plates, that is, not on the wheels) to keep the carts "on track". The final development was the idea of transferring the flanges to the wheels and running the carts on top of the raised part of the plate, or "edge-rail" as it now came to be known (this not only reduced friction but overcome the problem of tracks becoming "clogged" with stones and dirt). Since these new rails, which replaced the inside flanges of the old plates, were 1 and 3/4 inches wide at the top, the space between their inside edges when placed on the old five-foot alignment was 5 feet minus twice 1 and 3/4 inches, i.e. 4 feet 8 and 1/2 inches. -- Picapica 17:26, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Edit

Rails in Canada, the United Kingdom, and United States are still described using imperial units. The examples in the diagram opposite are 113 and 95 pounds per yard (56 kg/m and 47 kg/m) respectively.

Removed the foregoing as Canada and the United Kingdom use metric units, and the article contains no "diagram opposite". -- Picapica 16:49, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Feste Fahrbahn?

Is there an english term for the German Feste Fahrbahn? Something like "solid track" perhaps? [1] shows tracks on the German Cologne-to-Frankfurt line (300 km/h) which was built without any track ballast. --Qualle (talk) 07:18, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Babelfish translates it as "Firm roadway." I suspect something like "fixed roadbed" is more accurate. Slambo (Speak) 11:05, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jointed Track

It is mentioned that the holes in fish plates (or joint bars) are oval to permit expansion. In US practice, the bolts have an oval section just beneath the head; this prevents the bolt from turning while the nut is tightened, and eliminates the need for a second wrench. I will also edit the info re: US jointed track, as this is not accurate.LorenzoB 05:00, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Maintenance question

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007.

How long do rails last? Are there pieces of steel laid down in the 1800s that are still carrying trains today, or must they be replaced on a more frequent basis? Does lack of use help or hurt longevity? -- Beland 15:42, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How does a rail work?

In discussions of rail technology, I often see mention of "flanges" being either on the wheel or on the rail. This article could use a quick basic discussion and probably a diagram of one or more configurations of wheel and rail, showing how the train is kept from falling off the track. It might also be worth discussing why flanges are apparently so small - forces involved, etc. This article mentions 75-degree flanges and 1:20 tapers, and it would be helpful to explain such terms. -- Beland 17:11, 13 January 2007 (UTC)