glibby2 Wrote:
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> A basic question: How do these cattle guards
> work? Where do cattle cross the tracks, and what
> is the function of the triangular framework on
> either side of the tracks?
The point of the cattle guards is to deter the cattle from walking parallel to the rails at that point. There are fences on either side of the cattle guard, and the guard is an alternative to having a gate across the tracks to keep the cattle within the fenced area.
So the triangular area is a transition between the upright fence and the flat guard between the rails. Nobody wants to make the train crew open gates for the train to pass, but still the cattle have to be contained in the fenced area.
The theory of the cattle guard is the cattle are not happy about walking on the irregular surface, so they go a different way.
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- Graham