Help please on research on past 'rail trains'

[prbharris]

Any suggestions for pictures or drawings of the flat cars that held [or hold - but this is 'Classic Trains'!] lengths of rail for transport around the system, would be very helpful.

Information on how these types of train ran would also be very welcome - and the mix of cars and roads in one consist would be interesting. Did they always run with head end equipment for unloading etc. or did they run without unlading cars?

Thank you for the collected wisdom.

Regards

Peter Harris 

[TomDiehl]

Any suggestions for pictures or drawings of the flat cars that held [or hold - but this is 'Classic Trains'!] lengths of rail for transport around the system, would be very helpful.

Information on how these types of train ran would also be very welcome - and the mix of cars and roads in one consist would be interesting. Did they always run with head end equipment for unloading etc. or did they run without unlading cars?

Thank you for the collected wisdom.

Regards

Peter Harris 

Are you looking for info on the cars for handling continuous welded rail or the standard 39 foot sections? For the 39 foot pieces, a standard gondola car was used, and is reputed to be the reason that the 39 foot meausrement became the standard length. Supposedly, at the time, the 40 foot gondola car was a standard size, so a 39 foot piece of rail would fit inside and the ends would provide protection from shifting forward and back, and the sides would keep it from swinging out.

[prbharris]

Are you looking for info on the cars for handling continuous welded rail or the standard 39 foot sections?

It was the long rail that was interesting me - but I'm not sure that is really classic - when was long rail for welding introduced? The short rail practice info is helpful - but I am really looking for details, photos and drawings of the long rail cars. I am also interested in finding out what the idler or spacer cars were/are -I think that they are likely to be old flats, but again, details of practice would be very helpful.

Thanks to all

Peter 

[TomDiehl]

There was a quick reference to these type rail trains for CWR in the August 2001 issue of Model Railroader. According to this, they're about a quarter mile long and consist of flat cars with special racks. Unfortunately, this is the only published reference I've found to them. I recall seeing one at Tobyhanna, PA when Conrail was pulling out one track of the old Lackawanna Cutoff, and I may have pictures around somewhere of it.

[TomDiehl]

Photos on the internet:

http://www.akrailroad.com/contin_weld_rail.html

http://www.wsorrailroad.com/projects/projects02.html

If you do a web search under "continuous welded rail" you should find more.