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[Anonymous]

Does anybody know who came up with the idea for the tie and ballast method of railroad construction?

[Anonymous]

Necessity is the mother of invention: the rail had to be attached to something, and
wood is strong, and easy to shape and attach things to. The need of a very stable
base to hold it all in place during the pounding a train gives requires a form of
ballast.

[Anonymous]

In the beginning rails were wood with a iron strips attached with flat head screws; held up with stone sleeper pads set in a square pattern when the screws and iron strip would ware down the strip would come loose and peal off like a cook screw and work its way up into the pasanger compartment it was called a snake head and some times fatal. glennbob