What to do with left over rail.?

Discussion in 'Hints & Tips' started by gormo, Nov 27, 2020.

  1. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    G`day Folks,
    Have you got some spare rail left over from your model railway that you don`t know what to do with.?...:scratchchin:
    A perplexing problem that most of us deal with by throwing it in the spares box.
    Well here`s an option I came up with whilst in Bathurst recently..........a telegraph pole.........yes a telegraph pole made from rail.

    DSC00204.JPG


    DSC00205.JPG

    I just hope those insulators are well insulated.......:facepalm:

    :tophat:Gormo
     
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  2. Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Well, if there is a prototype ....... why not. Nice one. You have just given everyone the perfect excuse.

    Maybe if you had enough, you could use the rail as the signal conductors ....... no ...... that's just silly.

    Sorry Gormo....... I'll go now .... hat ..... coat ..... door

    Toto
     
  3. gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    :scratchchin:
     
  4. Walkingthedog

    Walkingthedog Full Member

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    At least the termites won’t eat it.
     
  5. Dr Tony

    Dr Tony Full Member

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    I've made some of that typical fence that is all over NSW. Measured the prototype and made these with the Dremel and soldering iron.
    I'm just in the process of installing these on my Peate layout.
    Cheers
    Tony
     
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  6. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Some of the UK railway Companies/Regions used rail as the basis of buffer stops, also signal posts. I'd guess this originated pre-Nationalisation purely as a cost saving measure, using worn out rail rather than scrapping. As Tony points out, other companies in different countries also utilised it for whatever purpose saved money, an early form of 'Recycling'!
    Keith.
     
  7. Walkingthedog

    Walkingthedog Full Member

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    A lot of buffer stops are made of rail. Of course Peco make plastic versions of them.
     
  8. Echidna

    Echidna Full Member

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    Hello All,

    using old rail for railway telegraph poles was common to most Australian railways, primarily due to steel's low value as scrap compared to its removal costs for scrap.

    Old mainline rail was re used on secondary lines, and in sidings, as wear had reduced its head height, and thereby lowered its weight per foot measure.

    The VR used old rail offcuts for fences and fence post runs, especially so in the suburbs, however, there was a spate of such posts falling over due to rot, so a lot of them were removed in the late 1970s. early 1980s onwards, though some still survive .

    The ( British ) Southern Railway, later BR-SR used pair of bullhead rails bolted together for signal posts. This was usually thought to be second hand rail, however, a BR-SR PW Engineer has said that new rail was actually used. If this was so, it may have been a batch of lighter weight rail that was re utilized rather than scrapped.

    BR-SR also used old rail for steam shed replacement roof trusses, bolted together with triangular steel joining plates. The BR-LMR also did this for some steam shed renewals.

    Again, in the 1960s, the VR found itself stuck with lightweight rail that was too light, and no longer suitable for, running rail use, so alternative uses were found. Some VR built road over bridges utilized rail lines encased in concrete , this meant a strong and thin road deck that was highly unlikely to deform under road traffic weight.

    Regards, Echidna
     
  9. Andrew Laing

    Andrew Laing Full Member

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    Just don't build it with flexitrack! :hammer:
     
  10. Andy_Sollis

    Andy_Sollis Staff Member Moderator

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    I’ve actually got a light rig in one building that uses old rail as the live for one side of the lighting circuit.
     
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  11. Bernie

    Bernie Full Member

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    The Yarra Valley Railway (outer east of Melbourne) uses reclaimed rail to rebuild bridges during the restoration of the line. http://www.yvr.org.au/ rail bridge.JPG The blog pages have details.
     
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