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packman

(16,296 posts) Wed Sep 7, 2016, 11:07 AM Sep 2016

Covering Your Tracks - Railroad, that is...

Think about the engineering challenge faced by running miles of narrow ribbons of steel track on top of the ground: they are subject to heat expansion and contraction, ground movement and vibration, precipitation buildup from rough weather, and weed and plant growth from underneath. Now keep in mind that while 99 percent of the time they are just sitting there unburdened, the remaining one percent of the time they are subject to moving loads as heavy as one million pounds (the weight of a Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive and its tender).

Put all this together, and you have yourself a really, really interesting problem that was first solved nearly 200 years ago, and hasn't been significantly improved since."

How to build a railway, its tracks, rails, and all that stuff:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/85234/why-are-there-crushed-stones-alongside-railroad-tracks

5 replies

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Covering Your Tracks - Railroad, that is... (Original Post) packman Sep 2016 OP

Thanks for this interesting info, packman! elleng Sep 2016 #1

It seems like a continuation of the Roman method of road building. denbot Sep 2016 #2

...and STILL the width of two horses' asses! lastlib Sep 2016 #5

I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine............ mrmpa Sep 2016 #3

I come here to learn and I learned. rurallib Sep 2016 #4

elleng

(130,908 posts)

1. Thanks for this interesting info, packman!

Reply to packman (Original post)

Wed Sep 7, 2016, 11:33 AM

Sep 2016

Gives ideas about labor-intensive nature of railroading.

X-post @ 'Economy,' for others also interested in rails?

denbot

(9,899 posts)

2. It seems like a continuation of the Roman method of road building.

Reply to packman (Original post)

Wed Sep 7, 2016, 04:08 PM

Sep 2016

The Romans borrowed techniques from the Etruscans, and others.

lastlib

(23,236 posts)

5. ...and STILL the width of two horses' asses!

Reply to denbot (Reply #2)

Thu Sep 8, 2016, 11:06 PM

Sep 2016

mrmpa

(4,033 posts)

3. I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine............

Reply to packman (Original post)

Wed Sep 7, 2016, 04:45 PM

Sep 2016

probably 20-25 years ago. I learned from this article, that it wasn't until after the Civil War that the gage(s) of railroad track became uniform.

Prior to this, each individually owned railroad had their own gage, so what would happen is that materials and passengers would have to be transferred from railroad company to railroad company.

So an example if material was going from Boston to Albany NY, there were probably 2 if not 3 different companies that owned the tracks, so 2 or 3 times the material would have be loaded on & off.

This was a big problem during the Civil War for the Union Forces, when they were trying to move troops and machinery.

rurallib

(62,416 posts)

4. I come here to learn and I learned.

Reply to packman (Original post)

Thu Sep 8, 2016, 09:38 PM

Sep 2016

have always wondered what the process was that was used to put that railway highway together

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