Another newbie here. Question: I understand straight section track - I guess it’s made easily. How do rail manufacturers create varying curved track? Not all curves the same degree. Thanks.
Good question. I’d guess that rail is not curved. It is manufactured straight and then “bent” into place as it is laid.
I guess to clarify, How do they bend the rails?? when installing them? How do they bend two rails to fit the gauge together? On site or by survey then taken back to a factory?
Big come-along…
Seriously, railroad rail is quite flexible, the welded rail trains carry quarter mile sections of rail, which bends through the curves quite nicely. Most of the time, a crane is used for placement in a rail changeout project, but for final adjustments or small jobs, a come-along setup has been used.
Yeah - I’ve seen these large pieces of “sectional” track. I can’t believe how flexible they are. Gives new meaning to the phrase “ribbons of steel rail.” LOL
…Understand very well that “ribbon rail” does “bend” very well when it is layed down on main lines, etc…but I’ve always thought about the sharper curves in installing them at turn outs, etc…And another application would be rails that must negotiate a 90 degree turn in a street running rail system…{Streetcar track}. Surely track benders of some sort have to be applied in those cases.
for heavy rail – anything but streetcars and that sort of thing – the curves involved are not so sharp as to cause any significant problem laying the rail to the required curvature – including stock rails for switches (although these are often pre-fabricated). The difference in length even on a very sharp (say 20 degree) for ‘sectional’ (panel) track isn’t that large. For any normal curvature – say 5 degree – the difference is about 1 inch between the inside and outside rails.
Light rail is another matter, and for really sharp curves the track may be pre-bent – but even there, it is possible to bend it on site, although some cutting might be involved for length.
The biggest problem isn’t bending the stuff, it’s bending it uniformly so you get a nice smooth curve.
Where’s Mudchicken when you need him?