and he notes - According to the American Society For Non Destructive Testing, 51% of rail in use today is in the 130-140 lb per yard range. But that doesn't tell the height. Interesting site though as it has statistics on rail usage through the years (up to 1993) and weights carried:
http://www.asnt.org/publications/materialseval/solution/septsolution/septsolution.htm I found a good chart on the site below that gives scale equivalents where 140 lb rail is 7 6/16" high or about 18lbs per inch equating to .114" high in S. So adding another .011 (up to .125") would add about another 3/4" or so to the prototype rail height, making it close to a theoretical 8 1/4" which would be close to 150lb rail. http://www.trainweb.org/crocon/sinfo.html (It's an interesting site and has other stuff and photos on S.) But rail weight isn't all height. Based on load bearing surface and compressibility charts, the size of the plate as well as the web and bullhead would contribute to the weight too. So an 8" high rail could be heavier than the theoretical weight of 144 lbs per yard used by the Pennsy. This could account for the note in a site entitled "Mike's Railway History - Railways as they were in the years until 1935 - No. 9 The Pennsylvania RR" where rail is compared to the original 40 lb to the yard rail as compared with "132 and 152 lb. rail weights on the Pennsylvania Railroad to-day". Scroll down to the last paragraph before the chapter entitled: "A British-Built Engine" for the text: http://mikes.railhistory.railfan.net/r009.html In any event, code .125 rail is about ten to fifteen pounds heavier than mainline rail in use today. If you want to know how much it costs to build a railroad there's some interesting figures on this page: http://tacnet.missouri.org/~mgood/trains/rrcosts.html Incidentally, the other end of the spectrum was the 2 foot gauge railroads here in Maine laid with 25 lb rail. That would equate to painting the rails on ties in S Gauge!... Raleigh in Maine where it's still foggy! At 11:02 PM 10/5/2005, Tom Hawley wrote: >----- Original Message ----- >From: [somebody] > The BNSF main line is closer to 148. > > > > > > > > > > > >This doesn't tell us anything about the BNSF mainline, but it does tell us >about somebody's observation skills. As Don Thompson has already pointed >out, there has never been track out there in the real world with a rail >height greater that 8 inches. If you don't carry a tape-measure with you >when rail-fanning, pick up a weed-stem, set one end at the bottom of the >rail and break it at the top of the rail-head, and measure it when you get >home. > >I don't endorse trespassing, but if you can get down and read the rail >weight in pounds/yard, cast in the side of the rail, you can look that >number up when you get home and get all the dimesnions. URLs for two good >data sheets have recently been posted on this list with all the data you >need. I did that a couple years ago (try to read a rail) at an operating >outdoor trolly museum (St Paul MN area I think) and ladies in the tour group >said that man must be looking for his contact lens. But most modellers (I >hope) knew what I was doing. > >As a reminder, our scale factor is 64. So you multiply 0.148 inch by 64 and >you find 148 rail represents rail about 9½ inches high. Not to be found on >the BNSF or anywhere else. I believe all the rail on the PRR that was 8 >inches high (8 in ÷ 64 = 0.125 in = code 125 rail) has been replaced. >Improved metalurgy has developed stronger rail without that much height. > >Tom Hawley -- Lansing Michigan > > > > >To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL; to reply to the sender, use >REPLY. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list >(remember to edit the SUBJECT of your message). > >Change message settings, use our CALENDAR or LINKS, view shared files or >photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To REPLY to the list, use REPLY ALL; to reply to the sender, use REPLY. For those of you on DIGEST mode, all REPLY messages go to the list (remember to edit the SUBJECT of your message). Change message settings, use our CALENDAR or LINKS, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
