What is ballast?

[Anonymous]

I have just read an article belonged to AA Krug. He is talking about "ballast" train which I have no idea what it is. Being a Maritime College graduate, vessel sailing in ballast means vessel is sailing with "empty" hold. Is it something about the same?

Karn[:)]

[Anonymous]

Ballast is the rock on the roadbed, under the ties and rails. A "ballast train" would be a train made up of hoppers (that are designed for this purpose) loaded with ballast.

[Anonymous]

The ballast is actully there to soak up the water when it rains. If there wasnt ballast, a huge puddle would form and it would most likely cause a derailment.

[Anonymous]

Seems like I've read a bit about ballast being a "shock absorber" of sorts too, or more specifically about how some of the granger RR's with ties laid flat on dirt were very undesireable due to the rough ride

[PNWRMNM]

Mike,

Ballast is not to soak up the rain. That is what a sponge does. Ballast is intended to be both porous and permiable so water goes through it which keeps the ties dry which lengthens their life as oppose to if they were burried in clay which holds the water against them.

Mac

[daveklepper]

Originally, tracks were just laid on dirt. Rain makes dirt into mud which isn't very firm or rigid support for tracks. And wood ties rot faster . So we have the use of ballast. Ballast occasionally was cinders, not too much better than dirt (the entire West Penn interurban line system had cinder ballast, but manage to keep smooth track to the end of service), slag from steel processing as mentioned in the latest TRAINS on the newsstands, and rock pebbles, often crushed rock. Keep the ties dry, offers a firm but sligtly resilient support, and lasts, and is heavy enough not to blown by the wind.

Ballast is also as a word to describe weight added to locomotives, both diesel and electric, to improve the Factor of Adhesion to allow full theoretical tractive effort to be delivered to the rails . This is really the same use of the work as used on ships.

[Hugh Jampton]

Ballast has 5 recognised functions:
1: It holds the track in place
2: It drains water away from the ties
3: It spreads the load of the train into the ground
4: It provides some resiliance
5: It allows easy repositioning of the tracks

Ideal ballast material should be hard enough that it does not break up under traffic and it should have a high frictional resistance so that it holds together.

Granite is the most popular material, although anything from limestone to clinker can be used for lightly trafficed lines.

[Mookie]

Ballast - if you are walking on ballast and not a railroad employee, you are too close. Get back. You will know because your feet hurt!

Mook

[rrnut282]

QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper

.

Ballast is also as a word to describe weight added to locomotives, both diesel and electric, to improve the Factor of Adhesion to allow full theoretical tractive effort to be delivered to the rails . This is really the same use of the work as used on ships.

Close, but not quite right. Ballast in a ship is used to lower the ship's center of gravity, making it more stable in rough seas and less likely to capsize. Having sailed in a sailboat with and without ballast, I can tell you it makes a noticable difference.

[mudchicken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hugh Jampton

Ballast has 5 recognised functions:
1: It holds the track in place
2: It drains water away from the ties
3: It spreads the load of the train into the ground
4: It provides some resiliance
5: It allows easy repositioning of the tracks

Ideal ballast material should be hard enough that it does not break up under traffic and it should have a high frictional resistance so that it holds together.

Granite is the most popular material, although anything from limestone to clinker can be used for lightly trafficed lines.

Hugh Jampton:

Come on over to this side of the pond if you ever need a job. A large number of track contractors & hughway engineers cannot get it through their thick little pea-brains that river run gravel is not acceptable ballast. (Won't lock up, hold position and is every bit as unstable as a pile of ball bearings)

Ballast from ships is how the railroad term got its name. Early on, one was synonimous with the other...

Amen Mookie on your comments......After walking around on main track 3.5 inch ballast for 8-10 hours, you look and feel like Tim Conway's "little old man" routine the next morning.....

Rock Kickin' Mudchicken
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[Anonymous]

Rocks that support the track structure and most of the other stuff these guys said...

LC

[Train Guy 3]

Big rocks that hurt your really bad if you fall in them tring to jump on a train. Just ask the guys at my school.... they learned their lesson.

[Kozzie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hugh Jampton

Ballast has 5 recognised functions:
1: It holds the track in place
2: It drains water away from the ties
3: It spreads the load of the train into the ground
4: It provides some resiliance
5: It allows easy repositioning of the tracks

Ideal ballast material should be hard enough that it does not break up under traffic and it should have a high frictional resistance so that it holds together.

Granite is the most popular material, although anything from limestone to clinker can be used for lightly trafficed lines.

Hugh, thanks very much for a concise and informative definition [:)] - that's going into my Railway Info file for sure! [;)][:)]

Dave