Re: Rail sizes
Author: Agent 99
Date: 06-09-2014 - 20:17
Something like that might work but the cost would almost certainly rule it out.
Just the weight of the rail is not the only factor. Some rail just wasn't as durable as others due to the design of the cross section and the steel used. In my experience 56, 60 and 65 lb rail held up far better than 75 lb. The 75 lb would break easily when the lighter weight rails had more give in them. Of course any rail with insufficient support will only "give" so many times before it "gives out".
My first RR job was on the Bessemer & Lake Erie who uses 155 lb rail on the mainline. Absolutely massive rail with a head like no other. That rail holds up to a lot of abuse but loaded ore trains in those short, heavy ore jennys will pound a RR like nothing else. Watching a loaded ore train on a crossing diamond at track speed amazed me that it could even stand up to the passage of one train, much less hundreds and hundreds.
99