The Home Machinist!

In reading about the history of logging railroads, I have read that it was not at all uncommon for wooden rails to be used. Obviously the wooden rails were not as durable as iron rails, but a logging company probably only cared about using the track until they had harvested all of the lumber from that particular tract of land that they wanted. I have read that the Climax company actually offered a couple of different wheel sets for its locomotives based on whether the logger wanted to use squared off rails or even simply round logs laid end-to-end.

Anyway, this got me to wondering... I could imagine something like "groovy" track with the rails made of 1x2s set on end into slots in the ties. Even if it worked it would probably only be appropriate for a few types of locomotives (Shay, Climax, etc...). Anyone ever try wooden rails?? (At least it would probably cut down on wheel wear... )

JY

My wife's father had a sawmill in the 50's that used a small railroad with wooden rails. The engine was a modified Fordson tractor and the thing used rubber tired iron wheels. They still have the thing sitting in front of his shop.

Oh, I remember a guy in the late 70's in Michigan we called 'the farmer' that had a Jeep Outline, gp7 or something, that was quite good, and all built out of #10 gauge. It had doors that opened with little flip lock wide head screws and many hand made things built with patience and time. The body had the curves formed with 3/4 water pipe split in 4rths on a band saw and welded to the sheet and smoothed out. very good workmanship. He had a fairly extensive layout, that was based on wooden 1x2 and 2x2 with just a steel strap on top. Not even groovy track. I got the impression that it was all sheared from #10 gauge leftover sheet. but I dont know for sure. He was like me, saves too much, but spends little on toys, money is for important things.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

I have read about wooden track capped with a steel strip also. It was apparently once fairly common, but suffered from the problem that after a while, with the wear of the train wheels passing over it, the heads of the spikes tended to wear off and the passing train wheels tended to curl up the steel strip. If that happened, it was known as a "snake head" and could sometimes puncture the floor of a later passenger car. Enough people were hurt and enough equipment damaged that eventually that type of rail was no longer used.

It is still interesting to me, though, to recall what *can* be done. Railroading can and has been done with less than might commonly be thought possible...

JY

Ya, quite true about the snake heads. This idea was not new, it was used extensively in English and Welsh coal mines for their push cars. Of course the loads got heavier and began to roll out the metal, so much heavier sections of Cast iron beams were used next, and finally rails approximating the shape we know today. The transcontinental railroad of the mid 1860's used what was wrought iron rails, that were spongy and good for the use, but had cracking issues. During Shermans march to the Sea, one of his favorite calling cards were Sherman Neckties. Gangs ripped up the tracks in town, heated the center of the rails over burning crossties, and the same 8 men would wrap a heated rail around a telegraph pole and hit it with a bucket of water. Treated thusly, the rail was scrap, and the pole usually burned to the ground from the heat of half dozen neckties left smoldering there.

It was very common for woods roads to have cupped wheels on small engines that rode on no more than poles cut from between the 'good' wood. They must have been a rough ride.

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Big Dave

Be Alert! The world needs more Lerts.

I might wonder about the durability of wooden rails, but on Ed Vasser's wonderful Climax locomotive website, there is reference to a small section of wooden rail used by D. H. Eastin & Company in Kentucky having been found recently. That is rather amazing since the company has closed its operations in 1902. See http://www.climaxlocomotives.com/articles/dheastin/

So back to the original question: Has anyone here tried using wooden rails for a riding scale railroad, and if so, how did it work out?