Ron Keagle Wrote:
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> It is interesting that RGS placed guardrails
> outside of the stock rails. I wonder how
> widespread this practice was with other railroads.
> I can see the logic of placing the guardrails
> outside in order to clear the flanger, and also to
> avoid creating a pocket for ice in the flange
> area. Were these RGS guardrails bent outward at
> their ends to guide dragging wheels inward, or
> were they just stub ended?
They were angled out so as to catch anything drifting off to the side and funnel it back toward the centerline. Many RGS briges didn't have any guard rails. It appears they only put them on the longer and higher bridges. The high bridges of the Ophir Loop and Gallagher area, 160A near Durango and the three big bridges 9A, 19A and 22A on the north end all had guardrails but the smaller ones didn't.