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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Railroad rail

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chris smith

11-16-2003 14:30:13




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Anybody know what a 12 foot piece would weigh?? I drug in a piece from a long ago abandoned railroad bed down from my house. That thing was heavy, not to mention dragging it home with a lawn tractor. So any idea what it weighs??

Thanks guys!!




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Ludwig

11-22-2003 06:26:35




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
I spent a winter surveying in a rail yard. Got to look at lots of rail and we had to note the weight of EACH rail. Thats part of why it took us an entire winter to survey 1 mile.
Anyway I saw rail in there from 100# all the way down to 40#. The 100 was the mainline through the yard, the 40 was way off in the bushes on the side of the yard half buried in leaves and crud. Still had to mark it as it was still tied into the mainline. I joked with the railroad inspector that that stuff was just waiting for the recycler. The next day that joker had an ancient boxcar spotten ONTO the rail. Watched them use that old box to push down about 40 little poplar trees that had grown in around the track. It was quite the sight. The railroad guys were a blast to work with, always pulling pranks and such.

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Jim in michigan

11-19-2003 15:21:43




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
roughly 300lbs,,when I was about 15 I worked tearing out the railroad here, it is now a ATV/Snowmobile trail,, I used a torch for a while cutting rail and then I used a special tool for pulling spikes,, I was paid almost 8 bucks a hour and that was great money then,,,guys who picked up the spikes we pulled were paid 50 cents a spike,, you know how many spikes you can pick up in a hour? me either, but I bet those guys were the highest paid,,,Jim

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4020dt

11-18-2003 04:10:42




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
All the information is stamped near each end of the rail , manufacturer , date and weight . Your piece may not be long enough though and may be too rusty . Depends on age amd use . Like said before branch line and mail line are lots different . We bought an old branch line that went through our timber to a coal mine , it was put in around late 1890's from what I can gather , it's weight was in the upper 80lb/yd range and stamped made in late 1880's . That's the lightest I have seen around here . Main line rail today is in the mid 130lb/yd and is continuous or ribbon rail comes in 1000ft or so lengts and has welded joints except for at switches and I think every so many sections they put a bolted joint . My best guess on this , Jim

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Slofr8

11-17-2003 18:05:56




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
Chris,
When they talk about 50lb,60lb,70lb,etc... they are talking about wheight per yard. On a job I'm on once and a while we cross into Canada and for a very short time we ride on very well maintained 130lb CWR (continuous welded rail). It's like riding on silk!.



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ralph

11-16-2003 20:40:05




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
A lot depends on the age of the line, and its use. Narrow guage used very light rail and most of the slower lines still have some 50 to 60 lb rail. Anything that goes cross country has at least 90 lb rail and heavier. Our 38 miles of short line rail has about half the old 50- 60 lb rail and it has been in place for just over 100 years. The smallest piece of rail I have is about 2 1/2 inches high and came from a narrow guage possibily from a mine.

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big fred

11-17-2003 14:33:00




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 Re: Re: Railroad rail in reply to ralph, 11-16-2003 20:40:05  
That weight per yd is for new rail also. It will wear considerably on a heavily traveled line, and by the time it's replaced it could be several pounds lighter.



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bob

11-16-2003 20:56:51




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 Re: Re: Railroad rail in reply to ralph, 11-16-2003 20:40:05  
sawmill carriages run on small rail also



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kraigWY

11-16-2003 16:43:18




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
Rails in the US normaly come in two weights. 115 and 90 lb. I think that was 115 and 90 lbs per yard respectively. Should say somewhere on the rail if its long enough. Weather its 90 or 115 lbs. rail.



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Bob

11-16-2003 15:15:44




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 Re: Railroad rail in reply to chris smith, 11-16-2003 14:30:13  
Here's a link to a railroad museum website showing some old rail.

Weight of rail is apparently measured per yard of rail, and starts at 40lbs, or so, and goes up from there!



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Ray,IN

11-16-2003 20:56:10




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 Re: Re: Railroad rail in reply to Bob, 11-16-2003 15:15:44  
Here is a link to a rail chart and what RR used each size. Bob is right about weight/yard.



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