I have made a detailed study of the NorthWestern RR of SC, which ran from 1889 through 1935. One of the things I found was that almost all of the hardware was second hand, and sometimes chair rail was used. Could somebody enlighten me about what this type of rail is(was)? Thanks
A cheap, lightweight T-shaped rail that sat in cast-iron chairs. The chair was a small casting with a slot in the upright part to accept the desending arm of the T that was spiked to the ties. The horizontal arm of the T was the wearing surface. It was a very lightweight system that quickly fell apart starting as soon as a train ran over it.
RWM