| Posted by on December 21, 2011 | |
Looks like it was at a Thermite weld spot. Notice it's about an 80 percent new break, as most of the head of the rail is an old break (marked by the rusted area). It was just a matter of time (and temperature) before this thing broke at that point. It's fortunate it didn't cause a derailment. And---this is a nice shot, I might add.
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Wow, it looks like that weld had a nice inclusion to precipitate the break. It's almost 100% of the head!
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Oh, man, this sight makes my back hurt. I worked on the track gang at work an eon and a half ago. We did not have the same resources that Conrail when it came to fixing a break. We had to do it the hard way-by hand. But when the place closed the other day, the rail we'd put in was still there, still as good as it was when we put it in.
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Nicely captured with an interesting and informative storyline. Thanks Frank!
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Ooh jeez.
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Very neat, and certainly an element of railroading often overlooked, photographically at least.
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What is the purpose of the copper wire running through the middle of the rail?
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Josh - Probably was added for the temporary purpose of maintaining the track circuit for signaling.
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You are correct Eric.
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