Re: Rail length chisel to size

Before the power saws or todays cutting wheels, some may think the rails were hand sawed. Not true, as they were most often chiseled if they were not cut with a torch. Torched rail is very unsafe and not ever allowed by any respectable railroad as it causes heat flaws.
To chisel a rail, it is nicked first at the junction of riser to the base and then up the riser to the bottom of the head. Then it is nicked on the top of the base to the edge, laid over a tie and given a wack with a sledge. Boom, you have two pieces with a flat end and no heat flaws. I have see as little as a foot come off a rail. The smaller the harder. Rail is brittle and cuts like glass. PRR