Railroad Track

The track is one of the basic features of a railway. It is also called the permanent way. The permanent way consists of rails, ties and ballast.

The railroad track today is quite different from that used in early days of railways. The first tracks had no ballast, the rails were made of wood and rested on heavy blocks of granite. Then the wooden rails were replaced by iron ones, and the granite blocks were replace by wooden ties or sleepers. This kind of track, however, was not strong enough for heavy steam trains. The discovery how to make cheap steel was of great importance to the railways for, when placed in the same track, steel rails had a life 15 times as long as the iron ones.

The distance between the rails is called the gauge. The standard gauge in most countries is 1,435 mm while in Ukraine the railroads have the gauge 1,520 +\- 4mm. The place where the ends of the rails meet is known as the rail joint. The rail joint has always been the weakest part of the track for nearly all the rails were out first at the ends.

Some railroads have two or more tracks. In order to make the train pass from one track to another the railroads have a switch, which is a very important element of the track.

The rails differ greatly in weight according to the kind of traffic, which they have to carry when placed in the track. The largest and the heaviest rails are placed in the main-line tracks for it is that tracks which carry the largest volume of traffic.

The ties on most tracks were almost all of wood and in order to make them to last longer they were treated with creosote.

The ties are not laid upon the earth for the earth cannot support the track structure. They rest upon a bed of crushed rock or gravel, which is called ballast. Ballast is a very important element, which supports the track structure, holds the track in position and provides needed drainage.

1. What is one of the basic features of railways?

2. What were the stages of railroad building in the early days?

3. What does the word “gauge” mean?

4. How many tracks do railways have?

5. What is the standard gauge in most countries?

6. How many tracks do railroad have?

7. What does the ballast mean?

8. What are the functions of ballast?