Rails of two tales! Stamped with their production info, two side by side rails on the mainline where rolled and produce by two different companies and two different years. The 141 LB rail signif... (more)

Looking like glitter sprinkled along the rails, is metal shavings. In the side track at Broughton, a curved portion of rail is littered with metal flakes from the wheel flanges rubbing against th... (more)

The Lineville Subdivision is a heavy haul line with 136lb RE Rail installed for a strong road for trains to travel on. Maintenance is needed to provided a reliable and efficient surface that keep... (more)

Damaged rail can be caused by flat spots on wheels and high tonnage. Defects like this one can eventually give way and cause a derailment, especially in cold weather. Railroads are usually thorou... (more)

Just a little over a year from their rolling date, a pair of 115# strings of rail from the ArcelorMital rail mill in Steelton, PA have been installed along the former Western Railway of Alabama li... (more)

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)

WHOOPS!!.... No traction!... A combination of steel wheels, massive weight, and locomotive power has created an imperfection to the rail head. It can take only a brief absence of traction (especi... (more)

Holding the weight of mammoth trains and allowing them to travel for vast distances, the rail I guess you could say is the backbone of the railroad. The letter "I" typically represents its shape.... (more)

Now that's HOT!... The fusion of rails has just been made through the process of "Thermite Welding". Part of the hardened sand mould (which incloses and promotes the welding process) an... (more)

If only these rails could talk, one wonders what over 100 years of history would say? Overnight rain and early morning sun hi-lite the details of this piece of rail on the WSOR just north of Adell... (more)

"Locomotive Burnout"... After a train stalls in Roanoke with 110 loads of coal, power from another train was brought in to pull it over the hill. During the rescue attempt, wheel slippage occurre... (more)

Located in different sections throughout railway systems, rail joints provide room for expansion whenever necessary. To keep electrical continuity between the rail at the joint, a "bond wire" is ... (more)

Resting on some 4x4 pieces of wood, a 6ft. section of rail has just undergone the process of Flash-Butt welding. The operator of a Chemetron hi-rail truck which houses the welding equipment, just... (more)

Little is left of the C&NW's line between Fond Du Lac and Clyman Junction when this photo was taken in February of 1990. The fog and frost only add to the sense of abandonment.

No one wants to see rails be abandoned, especially when the become a tripping hazard! A tunnel of grass has formed, higher than the rail itself, on this out-of-service portion of track that used t... (more)