OK here is a topic where the railroaders and railfans can both chime in.
on the sides of rail is a rolling date (also info on weight of rail and, if I am not mistaken, the month it was rolled and where).
To further some posts on the rail grinding topic, what is the oldest rolling date anyone has seen? I will start the ball rolling by noting some 1888 rail I found in Ripon WI near the old C&NW depot there. It was badly worn – the top hung over the sides like a mushroom. I saw this around 1980. More recently I saw some 1910 rail on the former C&NW in Neenah/Menasha WI
Dave Nelson
Krupp 1884 near Hemet, CA (also in an abandoned industry track near Redondo Jcn. Tower in LA…54# rail similar to the original rail laid by Santa Fe between Cajon and San Diego, before they built towards LA.
You most likely will find older rail back east somewhere where the railroads first started.
Before 1900, the markings on the rail are not so uniform as they are today. The rails raised letters now show month/year when rolled/ section as rolled / treatment/ who made it…depressed numbers on other side are the “heat number” for that rail, i.e. its pedigree (additives, place in the ingot, etc) and also can be looked at as a kind of serial number (except more than 1 rail may have the same heat number, but not many)
T