Interesting questions (in italics). Here are my responses:
Do the side forces on the rail train car’s wheel flanges limit the number of rails that can be carried on a specific train?
Not generally. Keep in mind that even for large (heavy) rails, once they’re jointed together a single trackman with a lining (pry) bar can push the loose end of a single 39 ft. long stick of a couple of feet to the side so as to bow it into a curve. With all of the lateral and vertical restraints of the rail racks on the roller cars in a CWR train and the weight of those cars, I’m sure that those rails can be bent as needed while in transit.
As I noted above, in my experience we got onto some curves in the 14-degree range = 400 ft. radius; RWM says they’re good for 25 MPH through a 16-degree = 360 ft. radius curve, and I have no problem believing that. I’d want to be real careful going through a curve as sharp as 22 or 23 degrees (radius = 250 ft.) though - and then only as an expedient to get through a yard or to detour around a derailment or some such thing. That’s such a sharp curve* that it would not usually be in any main line or other track that has enough heavy traffic that it needs welded rail - unit train coal mines, for example - or that would be the only access to another track or route that likewise needs welded rail, so you wouldn’t normally have a rail train there in the first place. (* - Industrial track specs for most Class I railroads limit the curves even there to 12-degrees or about 475 ft. radius.)
One possible exception would be the odd world of transit lines - both light rail and heavy rail (subways/ elevated lines), where such sharp curves are more the norm. I’ve installed rails on curves as sharp as a 45 ft. radius - the rails have to be pre-curved (bent) to do that, so for sure that’s way below the lower limit for a CWR train. But even for those systems,
In 1966 or 1967 (June or July, possibly August) they had an aerial view of a derailed CWR train (they were using it as an example of a sine-generated curve-- meandering rivers tend to assume that same shape, and a pic of a river is on the cover of that issue). The rails had two or three 200-degree bends-- what on earth would one do with such a situation?
Start cutting, either with torches or composite saw blades. Have to watch out for the tension, though. I wouldn’t want to get batted by 132lb rail straightening itself out.
From your description, it seems as though the cars cars had “accordioned” next to each other, at about right-angles to the track. If so, then the rails within those bends is probably permanently bent and kinked, and hence scrap, so Larry / tree68 is right on with his assessment and recommendation above.
The first critical issue is get the main reopened quickly (see my signature below). After that, the core problem is how to unload those CWR cars so they can be cleaned-up and either rerailer or scrapped (as the case may be), and salvage as much of the rail as is practical. CWR trains are unique in that regard as the load is spread out continuously over all the cars, not just on a “per car” or even several cars basis. Unless there’s a whole lot of rerailing equipment there, it’s going to have to be 1 car at a time, which in general means cutting the rail between each car.
However, if they were fortunate enough that the “folds” of the accordion were at least a couple of cars long, then the rails might not have been bent too much between the cars. If that seemed to be the case, then I’d cut the rails only at those sharp bends, and then pull as many as possible out of its slot or “pigeonhole” (so to speak) with a large piece of equipment and a chain or cable. Any that are stuck or damaged would have to be cut apart into smaller pieces, of course. As each rail is pulled out, I’d have it assessed for condition and dragged into 1 of 2 piles - “Salvage” and “Scrap” - parallel and next to the main track a little ways away, to facilitate future pick-up.
Once that is accomplished, rerailing or scrapping the empty CWR cars would not be much different than at any other derailment. If they were lucky enough that some of the derailed CWR cars were still parallel and close to the main track - say, within 10 or