Talk:Railway track

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The article states that most US rail is jointed; I spent some time trying to find a source for this and could not. I believe, but could not substantiate, that most of the big US railroads have converted their main lines to continuously welded rail. Measured in miles of rail, it may be true that more of the US rail is jointed than welded, but I doubt it. I'm quite confident that, measured by usage, most of the US rail is welded. Also, the article states that the jointed-welded rail question is less important in the US because of the low train speeds. I think it's important to remember that the rail system in the US is primarily freight - it carries much more weight at lower speeds.--38.112.11.10 13:45, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It's likely true for the Class I railroads, but I don't think CWR is so common on Class II railroads yet. Iowa Interstate Railroad, for example, is currently working on a project that will replace jointed rail with CWR in preparation for higher passenger train speeds in Illinois. I haven't seen a specific reference yet (there might be something at the AAR website, but I haven't found it there yet), but I suspect that CWR still isn't in the majority in US track miles. slambo 14:02, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

A note about the Hatfield disaster, which is mentioned towards the end of the article. Gauge-corner cracking does not refer to something that happens on curved track. Instead, it refers to the gauge corner of the rail - that is, the corner of the rail profile adjacent to the wheels' flanges. I believe that this section needs cleaning up to avoid the ambiguity.

track spacing

Is there a standard distance between tracks? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.100.40.174 (talk • contribs)

This is normally set by the individual railroads depending on the volume of traffic a track receives. Tracks in classification yards are closer together than railway sidings in remote locations, and sidings are generally closer together than double track mainlines. There are some sections of UP's mainline across Nebraska, for example, that appear far enough apart to allow a third track to be laid between them. Slambo (Speak) 11:42, 2 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I meant, is there a standard distance between the two rails on a single track? ie, is there a standard train weel-width that can be used on all tracks? There seems to be no information on the page.

Ah, that would be standard gauge, 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in). Curious that it's not mentioned... Slambo (Speak) 11:55, 3 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

4 feet 8 1/2 inch track width - why?

Why such an arbitrary number? How was this width originially chosen?