Re: Old versus Modern Track laying methods

James,
Half the problem of that is the people at the Park railways don't usually have any knowledge, experience or skill other than enthusiasm to lay track. They may also be constrained by having to reuse secondhand rail, probably can't afford to cut off the ends of the rails to square the joints if the line has heavy curvature either given a set number of rails available and not have the tools to shorten or cut joints. They certainly won't have a surveyed line either, just a trackplan dictated by just where the track can go usually by City Officals who have no comprehension of railways, and are most likely to lay the rails where they fall.

All of the above has been most apparent at our local 10.25" Park railway. Poorly laid new rail resulted in extreme wear on the railheads at joints, alignment wouldn't keep as the expansion and contraction forces at work in an offset staggered joint tended to rack the joint into a more exaggerated angle. Add to this the driving skills of the operators that pound the curves on their quest for even faster lap times.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2014 12:46PM by Chris Walker.