Misplaced Pages

#822177

58-652: Typically miniature railways have a rail track gauge between 5 in ( 127 mm ) and under 15 in ( 381 mm ), though both larger and smaller gauges are used. At gauges of 5 in ( 127 mm ) and less, the track is commonly raised above ground level. Flat cars are arranged with foot boards so that driver and passengers sit astride the track. The track is often multi-gauged, to accommodate 5 in ( 127 mm ), 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ), and sometimes 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) gauge locomotives. The smaller gauges of miniature railway track can also be portable and

116-508: A slipformed (or pre-cast) concrete base (development 2000s). The 'embedded rail structure', used in the Netherlands since 1976, initially used a conventional UIC 54 rail embedded in concrete, and later developed (late 1990s) to use a 'mushroom' shaped SA42 rail profile; a version for light rail using a rail supported in an asphalt concrete –filled steel trough has also been developed (2002). Modern ladder track can be considered

174-599: A train track or permanent way (often " perway " in Australia or " P Way " in Britain and India), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails , fasteners , railroad ties (sleepers, British English) and ballast (or slab track ), plus the underlying subgrade . It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers; since

232-440: A "clickety-clack" sound. Unless it is well-maintained, jointed track does not have the ride quality of welded rail and is less desirable for high speed trains . However, jointed track is still used in many countries on lower speed lines and sidings , and is used extensively in poorer countries due to the lower construction cost and the simpler equipment required for its installation and maintenance. A major problem of jointed track

290-539: A carriageway are the criteria used by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), at which a railway is no longer classed as miniature and is therefore subject to formal regulation: they may be minor railways and/or heritage railways; the concept of minimum gauge is not recognised for the purposes of regulation. There are over 1,000 miniature railways open to the public around the world, not counting private railways, with 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) gauge being by far

348-415: A continuous reinforced concrete slab and the use of pre-cast pre-stressed concrete units laid on a base layer. Many permutations of design have been put forward. However, ballastless track has a high initial cost, and in the case of existing railroads the upgrade to such requires closure of the route for a long period. Its whole-life cost can be lower because of the reduction in maintenance. Ballastless track

406-481: A development of baulk road. Ladder track utilizes sleepers aligned along the same direction as the rails with rung-like gauge restraining cross members. Both ballasted and ballastless types exist. Modern track typically uses hot-rolled steel with a profile of an asymmetrical rounded I-beam . Unlike some other uses of iron and steel , railway rails are subject to very high stresses and have to be made of very high-quality steel alloy. It took many decades to improve

464-637: A smaller model gauge, although this is rare. 'Miniature railways' are railways that can be ridden by people and are used for pleasure/as a pastime for their constructors and passengers. In the US, miniature railways are also known as 'riding railroads' or 'grand scale railroads'. The track gauges recognised as being miniature railways vary by country, but in the UK the maximum gauge is 350 mm ( 13 + 25 ⁄ 32  in ). A ' minimum-gauge railway ', which generally starts at 15 in ( 381 mm ) gauge,

522-465: A temperature roughly midway between the extremes experienced at that location. (This is known as the "rail neutral temperature".) This installation procedure is intended to prevent tracks from buckling in summer heat or pulling apart in the winter cold. In North America, because broken rails are typically detected by interruption of the current in the signaling system, they are seen as less of a potential hazard than undetected heat kinks. Joints are used in

580-471: Is 115 to 141 lb/yd (57 to 70 kg/m). In Europe, rail is graded in kilograms per metre and the usual range is 40 to 60 kg/m (81 to 121 lb/yd). The heaviest mass-produced rail was 155 pounds per yard (77 kg/m), rolled for the Pennsylvania Railroad . The rails used in rail transport are produced in sections of fixed length. Rail lengths are made as long as possible, as

638-408: Is a manual process requiring a reaction crucible and form to contain the molten iron. North American practice is to weld 1 ⁄ 4 -mile-long (400 m) segments of rail at a rail facility and load it on a special train to carry it to the job site. This train is designed to carry many segments of rail which are placed so they can slide off their racks to the rear of the train and be attached to

SECTION 10

#1732780761823

696-494: Is cracking around the bolt holes, which can lead to breaking of the rail head (the running surface). This was the cause of the Hither Green rail crash which caused British Railways to begin converting much of its track to continuous welded rail. Where track circuits exist for signalling purposes, insulated block joints are required. These compound the weaknesses of ordinary joints. Specially-made glued joints, where all

754-637: Is generally 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm )/ 5 in ( 127 mm ) gauge on raised track or as 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm )/ 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 260 mm ) on ground level. Typically portable track is used to carry passengers at temporary events such as fêtes and summer fairs. Typically miniature lines are operated by not for profit organisations - often model engineering societies - though some are entirely in private grounds and others operate commercially. There are many national organisations representing and providing guidance on miniature railway operations including

812-466: Is graded by its linear density , that is, its mass over a standard length. Heavier rail can support greater axle loads and higher train speeds without sustaining damage than lighter rail, but at a greater cost. In North America and the United Kingdom, rail is graded in pounds per yard (usually shown as pound or lb ), so 130-pound rail would weigh 130 lb/yd (64 kg/m). The usual range

870-516: Is one that was originally conceived as a commercial railway with small gauge track, with a working function as an estate railway, an industrial railway, or a provider of public transport links, such as the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway , Fairbourne Railway or the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway . In the UK, a gauge of 350 mm ( 13 + 25 ⁄ 32  in ) [or above] or crossing

928-402: Is scarce and where tonnage or speeds are high. Steel is used in some applications. The track ballast is customarily crushed stone, and the purpose of this is to support the sleepers and allow some adjustment of their position, while allowing free drainage. A disadvantage of traditional track structures is the heavy demand for maintenance, particularly surfacing (tamping) and lining to restore

986-456: Is starting to paint rails white to lower the peak temperatures reached in summer days. After new segments of rail are laid, or defective rails replaced (welded-in), the rails can be artificially stressed if the temperature of the rail during laying is cooler than what is desired. The stressing process involves either heating the rails, causing them to expand, or stretching the rails with hydraulic equipment. They are then fastened (clipped) to

1044-476: Is the world's oldest private miniature railway , with a track gauge of 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 241 mm ). The railway was built and opened in 1925 under the guidance of Geoffrey Hoyland (Headmaster) as a 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) gauge railway, for the principal purpose of education. The railway is located within the grounds of The Downs Malvern , a private school in Colwall , near

1102-767: Is to bolt them together using metal fishplates (jointbars in the US), producing jointed track . For more modern usage, particularly where higher speeds are required, the lengths of rail may be welded together to form continuous welded rail (CWR). Jointed track is made using lengths of rail, usually around 20 m (66 ft) long (in the UK) and 39 or 78 ft (12 or 24 m) long (in North America), bolted together using perforated steel plates known as fishplates (UK) or joint bars (North America). Fishplates are usually 600 mm (2 ft) long, used in pairs either side of

1160-435: Is usually considered for new very high speed or very high loading routes, in short extensions that require additional strength (e.g. railway stations), or for localised replacement where there are exceptional maintenance difficulties, for example in tunnels. Most rapid transit lines and rubber-tyred metro systems use ballastless track. Early railways (c. 1840s) experimented with continuous bearing railtrack, in which

1218-674: The Ordnance Survey map circa 1880 does not show the railway itself, it does show two tunnels and two signal posts. However, the online map archive of the National Library of Scotland includes a map of 1914 from the 25 inches to the foot series (Derbyshire XLV.9) that shows the full extent of the railway. Sir Arthur wished to explore the possibilities of minimum gauge railways for mining, quarrying, agriculture etc. He believed that they would be relatively easy to build, and to move. He saw possibilities for military railways behind

SECTION 20

#1732780761823

1276-588: The 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel. The first railway in Britain was the Wollaton Wagonway , built in 1603 between Wollaton and Strelley in Nottinghamshire. It used wooden rails and was the first of around 50 wooden-railed tramways built over the next 164 years. These early wooden tramways typically used rails of oak or beech, attached to wooden sleepers with iron or wooden nails. Gravel or small stones were packed around

1334-596: The Australian Association of Live Steamers and Southern Federation of Model Engineering Societies. The first miniature railroads were built in the United Kingdom , as actual methods of transportation, such as the Jaywick railroad. The Duffield Bank Railway was built by Sir Arthur Percival Heywood in the grounds of his house on a hillside overlooking Duffield, Derbyshire in 1874. Although

1392-400: The bolt heads on the same side of the rail. Small gaps which function as expansion joints are deliberately left between the rail ends to allow for expansion of the rails in hot weather. European practice was to have the rail joints on both rails adjacent to each other, while North American practice is to stagger them. Because of these small gaps, when trains pass over jointed tracks they make

1450-467: The canefields themselves. These tracks were narrow gauge (for example, 2 ft ( 610 mm )) and the portable track came in straights, curves, and turnouts, rather like on a model railway. Jaywick Miniature Railway The Jaywick Miniature Railway was a 18 in ( 457 mm ) narrow gauge railway running along the seafront of the Essex coastline, connecting Clacton on Sea to

1508-465: The continuous welded rail when necessary, usually for signal circuit gaps. Instead of a joint that passes straight across the rail, the two rail ends are sometimes cut at an angle to give a smoother transition. In extreme cases, such as at the end of long bridges, a breather switch (referred to in North America and Britain as an expansion joint ) gives a smooth path for the wheels while allowing

1566-440: The desired track geometry and smoothness of vehicle running. Weakness of the subgrade and drainage deficiencies also lead to heavy maintenance costs. This can be overcome by using ballastless track. In its simplest form this consists of a continuous slab of concrete (like a highway structure) with the rails supported directly on its upper surface (using a resilient pad). There are a number of proprietary systems; variations include

1624-440: The end of one rail to expand relative to the next rail. A sleeper (tie or crosstie) is a rectangular object on which the rails are supported and fixed. The sleeper has two main roles: to transfer the loads from the rails to the track ballast and the ground underneath, and to hold the rails to the correct width apart (to maintain the rail gauge ). They are generally laid transversely to the rails. Various methods exist for fixing

1682-422: The finest examples of its type, the railway is now private but still attracts thousands of visitors from the UK and abroad during its two public charity events each year. A ' model railway ' is one where the gauge is too small for people to ride on the trains. Due to the use of mixed gauge tracks, passengers may ride on a miniature railway which shares the same gauge as, and is pulled by, a large model locomotive on

1740-428: The gaps are filled with epoxy resin , increase the strength again. As an alternative to the insulated joint, audio frequency track circuits can be employed using a tuned loop formed in approximately 20 m (66 ft) of the rail as part of the blocking circuit. Some insulated joints are unavoidable within turnouts. Another alternative is an axle counter , which can reduce the number of track circuits and thus

1798-626: The intrinsic weakness in resisting vertical loading results in the ballast becoming depressed and a heavy maintenance workload is imposed to prevent unacceptable geometrical defects at the joints. The joints also needed to be lubricated, and wear at the fishplate (joint bar) mating surfaces needed to be rectified by shimming. For this reason jointed track is not financially appropriate for heavily operated railroads. Timber sleepers are of many available timbers, and are often treated with creosote , chromated copper arsenate , or other wood preservatives. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers are often used where timber

Ridable miniature railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-480: The iron came loose, began to curl, and intruded into the floors of the coaches. The iron strap rail coming through the floors of the coaches came to be referred to as "snake heads" by early railroaders. The Deeside Tramway in North Wales used this form of rail. It opened around 1870 and closed in 1947, with long sections still using these rails. It was one of the last uses of iron-topped wooden rails. Rail

1914-402: The joints between rails are a source of weakness. Throughout the history of rail production, lengths have increased as manufacturing processes have improved. The following are lengths of single sections produced by steel mills , without any thermite welding . Shorter rails may be welded with flashbutt welding , but the following rail lengths are unwelded. Welding of rails into longer lengths

1972-468: The line, with financial backing by Sir Wavell Wakefield , Member of Parliament (MP) for Marylebone and owner of the Ullswater Steamers . In September 1960, the society made the winning bid and saved the railway from closure. Control of the railway passed to a new private company, with the backing of the preservation society, an arrangement that is still in place. The Downs Light Railway

2030-554: The lines carrying ammunition and supplies. The original Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway was a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) line opened on 24 May 1875 to transport hematite iron ore from three mines near and around the village of Boot to the Furness Railway standard gauge line at Ravenglass. In the early 1880s, a tramway was built between Beckfoot and another mine at Gill Force. Locals and railway enthusiasts formed Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Preservation Society to save

2088-888: The mid- to late-20th century used rails 39 feet (11.9 m) long so they could be carried in gondola cars ( open wagons ), often 40 feet (12.2 m) long; as gondola sizes increased, so did rail lengths. According to the Railway Gazette International the planned-but-cancelled 150-kilometre rail line for the Baffinland Iron Mine , on Baffin Island , would have used older carbon steel alloys for its rails, instead of more modern, higher performance alloys, because modern alloy rails can become brittle at very low temperatures. Early North American railroads used iron on top of wooden rails as an economy measure but gave up this method of construction after

2146-2370: The most numerous. Many layouts have dual-gauge track combing two, three or even more different gauges. 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 64 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) Mixed raised gauges: 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 89 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) Torrance , California 2⁄ 2 in (64 mm) 3⁄ 2 in (89 mm) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 5⁄ 32 (145 mm) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) 2⁄ 2 in (64 mm) 3⁄ 2 in (89 mm) 5 in ( 127 mm ) 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 184 mm ) Track (rail transport) A railway track ( British English and UIC terminology ) or railroad track ( American English ), also known as

2204-620: The number of insulated rail joints required. Most modern railways use continuous welded rail (CWR), sometimes referred to as ribbon rails or seamless rails . In this form of track, the rails are welded together by utilising flash butt welding to form one continuous rail that may be several kilometres long. Because there are few joints, this form of track is very strong, gives a smooth ride, and needs less maintenance; trains can travel on it at higher speeds and with less friction. Welded rails are more expensive to lay than jointed tracks, but have much lower maintenance costs. The first welded track

2262-404: The outside of sharp curves compared to the rails on the inside. Rails can be supplied pre-drilled with boltholes for fishplates or without where they will be welded into place. There are usually two or three boltholes at each end. Rails are produced in fixed lengths and need to be joined end-to-end to make a continuous surface on which trains may run. The traditional method of joining the rails

2320-423: The quality of the materials, including the change from iron to steel. The stronger the rails and the rest of the trackwork, the heavier and faster the trains the track can carry. Other profiles of rail include: bullhead rail ; grooved rail ; flat-bottomed rail (Vignoles rail or flanged T-rail); bridge rail (inverted U–shaped used in baulk road ); and Barlow rail (inverted V). North American railroads until

2378-682: The rail by special clips that resist longitudinal movement of the rail. There is no theoretical limit to how long a welded rail can be. However, if longitudinal and lateral restraint are insufficient, the track could become distorted in hot weather and cause a derailment. Distortion due to heat expansion is known in North America as sun kink , and elsewhere as buckling. In extreme hot weather special inspections are required to monitor sections of track known to be problematic. In North American practice, extreme temperature conditions will trigger slow orders to allow for crews to react to buckling or "sun kinks" if encountered. The German railway company Deutsche Bahn

Ridable miniature railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-425: The rail ends and bolted together (usually four, but sometimes six bolts per joint). The bolts have alternating orientations so that in the event of a derailment and a wheel flange striking the joint, only some of the bolts will be sheared, reducing the likelihood of the rails misaligning with each other and exacerbating the derailment. This technique is not applied universally; European practice being to have all

2494-500: The rail to the sleeper. Historically, spikes gave way to cast iron chairs fixed to the sleeper. More recently, springs (such as Pandrol clips ) are used to fix the rail to the sleeper chair. Sometimes rail tracks are designed to be portable and moved from one place to another as required. During construction of the Panama Canal , tracks were moved around excavation works. These track gauge were 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) and

2552-655: The rail was supported along its length, with examples including Brunel's baulk road on the Great Western Railway , as well as use on the Newcastle and North Shields Railway , on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway to a design by John Hawkshaw , and elsewhere. Continuous-bearing designs were also promoted by other engineers. The system was tested on the Baltimore and Ohio railway in the 1840s, but

2610-604: The recently-opened holiday resort of Jaywick . It opened in July 1936 and closed in September 1939 following the outbreak of World War II . After the war three coaches were sold to the New Brighton Miniature Railway . The latter closed in 1965, and the coaches were then transferred to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway . The vertical boiler steam locomotive survives, in much rebuilt form, preserved by

2668-562: The rolling stock full size. Portable tracks have often been used in open pit mines. In 1880 in New York City , sections of heavy portable track (along with much other improvised technology) helped in the move of the ancient obelisk in Central Park to its final location from the dock where it was unloaded from the cargo ship SS Dessoug . Cane railways often had permanent tracks for the main lines, with portable tracks serving

2726-426: The sleepers in their expanded form. This process ensures that the rail will not expand much further in subsequent hot weather. In cold weather the rails try to contract, but because they are firmly fastened, cannot do so. In effect, stressed rails are a bit like a piece of stretched elastic firmly fastened down. In extremely cold weather, rails are heated to prevent "pull aparts". CWR is laid (including fastening) at

2784-617: The sleepers to hold them in place and provide a walkway for the people or horses that moved wagons along the track. The rails were usually about 3 feet (0.91 m) long and were not joined - instead, adjacent rails were laid on a common sleeper. The straight rails could be angled at these joints to form primitive curved track. The first iron rails laid in Britain were at the Darby Ironworks in Coalbrookdale in 1767. When steam locomotives were introduced, starting in 1804,

2842-540: The sleepers with base plates that spread the load. When concrete sleepers are used, a plastic or rubber pad is usually placed between the rail and the tie plate. Rail is usually attached to the sleeper with resilient fastenings, although cut spikes are widely used in North America. For much of the 20th century, rail track used softwood timber sleepers and jointed rails, and a considerable amount of this track remains on secondary and tertiary routes. In North America and Australia, flat-bottomed rails were typically fastened to

2900-480: The sleepers with dog spikes through a flat tie plate. In Britain and Ireland, bullhead rails were carried in cast-iron chairs which were spiked to the sleepers. In 1936, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway pioneered the conversion to flat-bottomed rail in Britain, though earlier lines had made some use of it. Jointed rails were used at first because contemporary technology did not offer any alternative. However,

2958-511: The ties (sleepers) in a continuous operation. If not restrained, rails would lengthen in hot weather and shrink in cold weather. To provide this restraint, the rail is prevented from moving in relation to the sleeper by use of clips or anchors. Attention needs to be paid to compacting the ballast effectively, including under, between, and at the ends of the sleepers, to prevent the sleepers from moving. Anchors are more common for wooden sleepers, whereas most concrete or steel sleepers are fastened to

SECTION 50

#1732780761823

3016-695: The town of Malvern, Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is owned by the 'Downs Light Railway Trust. It is maintained and operated principally by the school children, aged between 7 and 13 years. It is part of the Heritage Railway Association membership. The Jaywick Miniature Railway was built by FC Stedman, who owned the Jaywick Sands Estate on the Essex coast just south of Clacton-on-Sea. This railroad

3074-406: The track then in use proved too weak to carry the additional weight. Richard Trevithick 's pioneering locomotive at Pen-y-darren broke the plateway track and had to be withdrawn. As locomotives became more widespread in the 1810s and 1820s, engineers built rigid track formations, with iron rails mounted on stone sleepers, and cast-iron chairs holding them in place. This proved to be a mistake, and

3132-499: Was built in order to transpoirt indiviudal potential buyers to view the homes for sale. It was built in 1935, by Miniature Railway & Specialists Engineering, of Terminus Road, Eastbourne. Stapleford Miniature Railway is an historic steam locomotive -hauled 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ( 260 mm ) gauge railway at Stapleford Park , Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire , England. Considered one of

3190-467: Was first introduced around 1893, making train rides quieter and safer. With the introduction of thermite welding after 1899, the process became less labour-intensive, and ubiquitous. Modern production techniques allowed the production of longer unwelded segments. Newer longer rails tend to be made as simple multiples of older shorter rails, so that old rails can be replaced without cutting. Some cutting would be needed as slightly longer rails are needed on

3248-432: Was found to be more expensive to maintain than rail with cross sleepers . This type of track still exists on some bridges on Network Rail where the timber baulks are called waybeams or longitudinal timbers. Generally the speed over such structures is low. Later applications of continuously supported track include Balfour Beatty 's 'embedded slab track', which uses a rounded rectangular rail profile (BB14072) embedded in

3306-466: Was soon replaced with flexible track structures that allowed a degree of elastic movement as trains passed over them. Traditionally, tracks are constructed using flat-bottomed steel rails laid on and spiked or screwed into timber or pre-stressed concrete sleepers (known as ties in North America), with crushed stone ballast placed beneath and around the sleepers. Most modern railroads with heavy traffic use continuously welded rails that are attached to

3364-505: Was used in Germany in 1924. and has become common on main lines since the 1950s. The preferred process of flash butt welding involves an automated track-laying machine running a strong electric current through the touching ends of two unjoined rails. The ends become white hot due to electrical resistance and are then pressed together forming a strong weld. Thermite welding is used to repair or splice together existing CWR segments. This

#822177