question above and not the animal
http://www.akrailroad.com/OnlineCatalog/Frogs/tabid/89/Default.aspx
That point at which the rails cross within a switch, as indicated by the diagram linked above.
As illustrated here:
a frog is the built up pieces of trackwork that allow 1 rail to cross another with an opening for the wheel flange…found on turnouts and diamonds were 1 rail intersects another…some can be cast as 1 piece others are built up
the “guardrail” oppisite the frog helps guide the flange thru the frog area
i see thanks alot, that ? had irritated me for a long time
There are also self-guarding frogs. These are usually in low-speed applications, no extra guard rail.
Another type is a spring frog. These have a continuous running rail when straight, and the rail moves a bit when using the diverging route.
The upper rail of the frog moves when a wheel goes through. Maybe somebody has a better picture. These fell out of favor when manganese insert frogs came into use. However, CN installed some recently, at Sussex. They ride pretty good, as the rail is continuous, no dropping into a hole.
That reminds me…recently, a railroad guy I talked to was talking to his pals about a loco engineer that kept asking his conductor if he got a turtle cleaned off yet. The conductor kept asking what turtle…eventually, he pointed to it and said something like, “You mean the frog?”. That engineer never escaped the jokes about him until he retired from the railroad after a mistake like that. Just thought I’d share that…
Always wondered where the name “Frog” originated for this? Was it the shape that resemebled a frog?