How big of a gap between two rails is safe? I found a gap large enoufe for me to stick my hand in. Is that to big? 
It is close to being a reportable defect all right, but it would have to be checked by a qualified inspector and then that employee would decide what to do. Now, way back when the Lehigh Valley was still running, that joint would have been considered one of the good ones, since the joint bar I can see is intact. I’d slap a 15 MPH passenger, 10 MPH for freight restriction notice on that stretch and put it on my report.
Nope. Track speed all the way. Not a bad joint, the wheels will clack, but thats about it.
you see the angle bars that are holding the “gap” together… unless the bars get lose to the point where they fall off …its fine… the gap will also grow near closed if not all the way when the rail warms up… also… just for and FYI to you…its not exactly a good idea to be putting your hand between the gap… should a freak thing happen in which you would get your hand pinned…you will find yourself in a world of hurt if a train came along…
csx engineer
Most of the track is CWR but there are a few big gaps here and there (looks like they put new rail in parts of the track but diden’t have a welder with them. The trains or at least Amtrak trains travel at a pretty good pace 45-50 m.p.h. maby. I have also found other things about the track. some playces seem to lack ballest and the tracks haves mounds of dry mud between the ties, the mud and tracks aren’t very packed together also it looks lose hmmmm. Maby I will post more pictures.
Its fine. BTW, arent you tresspassing to get these pics…?
…maby[:D]
Ham, Can you work on your spelling and grammer a bit? It’s rather annoying and hard to read some times.
You can always run your post’s in microsoft word or some other spell checker before posting. [;)]
And you can watch that apostrophe [:p]
I found another gap big enoufe to put a spike through. Is that a bad thing?
NO. I wouldnt keep messing with this. Its gonna get you in trouble. I can just see you testing out a metal bar in CTC territory, laying it across the tracks and then the dispatcher sh**ing himself and spilling coffee allover the crew caller. LMAO jk of course
Hummmm, dont know much about this kind of stuff, i have to admit, however from a complete novices point of view, as a passenger on a train seeing this i would be very worried. Very interesting forum this though 
With trains going buy smashing the rail the crossbar thingy will ware out fast.
Haven’t you finished english yet?
You have to think about the forces in a rail joint. It’s not like it’s impacting the railhead at an angle on the other side, and think about the size of the wheels, you’d have to have a very large space in the rail for the flange to be able to slip out, even if it was on a curve.
NOW LET IT DIE
It does ba***he rail head.
I may not know my spelling but I do know my physics. Ever time the wheel hits the gap it pushes the rails apart. This will start to weaken the bar holding the two rails together. The bigger the gap the greater the impact.
Whoopee.
First of all you were trespassing to do that and sticking your hand in the rails is pretty darn stupid if I do say so myself.
Second of all, it always bugs me when railfans who think they know it all concern themselves with these things. If you think its a problem call the railroad. Let them decide.
The first 3 feet of a rail where there is a joint always take the most impact from passing trains. Thats why with recycled 39’ sections, they cut 3 feet off each end and reuse it making a 33’ section.
Thirdly, there needs to be a gap for EXPANSION.
If your the expert you claim to be, you know that in the summer, if the expansion gap is not big enough there will be a HEAT KINK there, and that will cause the train to derail more than a gap!
Fourthly, rails aren’t rigid, so your little diagram is mis-leading, the rail will compress under the weight… Find a place where the trains roll by slow and watch the flexing.
So your ideas and concerns are as flawed as your spelling…
Dave, took the words right out of my mouth.
Ham, your picture also clearly shows the damage on the RAIL, not on the joint bar. When the RAIL is damaged, that takes ENERGY out of the impact.
Well it’s not like I go down to the tracks to look for problems, I walk down the track to get to a bus stop and I just happen upon this stuff on my journey. Oh and about your comment “Thirdly, there needs to be a gap for EXPANSION.” What about CWR? I do know about railroad tracks and how they work I have even helped build railroad tracks, not rebuild, not fix, but put down new tracks.
What about CWR?
Its heated and expanded when its installed, and then its secured to prevent movement. It still expands and contracts.
Here, I Googled it and even found a link that explains it for you:
http://www.vre.org/feedback/frequently_asked_questions/faq_heat_orders.htm
As for working on railroad tracks - congratulations! I’ve fixed track, reguaged it, etc., and will have put down new very soon…
I speak from experience - I don’t make things up…