What do you do to make two different things come together and work as one?... "COMPROMISE" That's exactly what is done to join two different size rails. A 136 lb rail and 100 lb rail a... (more)

On the east side of Joliet around the turn of the century, and in the heyday of railroads, there were four rail yards within one mile of each other. The Elgin Joliet & Eastern, The Michigan Centr... (more)

77 years and still doing it's job

After 63 years of millions of tons of freight and the constant temperature changes, (as the ice crystals form on the rail) I suppose a little wear would be expected on these rails.

OLDEST RAIL on Railpictures? Left to rust in the New Hampshire woods is what I believe to be the oldest stick of rail portrayed on this site. Perhaps it is the rarest, too. The St. Alban... (more)

Sitting alongside the mains just west of the B&O Station lay new track sections of crossovers waiting to be installed. The stamp on the side indicates this section was prefabricated by Progress Ra... (more)

Out of service.

Arcade, NY 7/20/2012 - Sometimes the simplest details of the railroad provide for an insiring image. With no trains to watch and a dreary rain falling over this classic shortline in western New Yo... (more)

The morning fog accentuates the rough surface texture of rail.

Six degrees of Steelton
A hexad of rails from the famous Bethlehem Steel rail mill in Steelton lay in unison off the CSX mainline in Notasulga at the railroad’s spare parts area as ... (more)

An up-close look at the results of rail burn at sunset

With the concept for this type of frog created in 1893, the spring rail frog has had numerous improvements to its design but the overall idea has remained the same; a continuous running surface fo... (more)

Rolling rails since 1901, the Japanese Yawata Works of Nippon Steel continues to manufacture rails to this day using the 1970’s French inspired “Universal Rolling” procedure which rolls the ... (more)

Patent Pending
Invented by George R. Burkhardt in 1940, the Torsion Resistant rail was created to improve upon torsional rigidity at the head of the rail thus giving greater resistanc... (more)

Southern Steel
With the opening of its rail mill at the Ensley, Alabama steel works in 1902, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company would start the production of rail for the f... (more)