Miami - Guard Rails

I was in Miami FLA recently and as we traveled along a highway in the city, we noticed a rail line paralleled the roadway. A recently replaced section of ribbon-rail was lying on the shoulder of the roadbed. About a mile later, the rail sections were no longer on the ground, but were welded (still in long sections) to posts (also rail) and were serving as Guard Rails along the highway.

A+ for recycling on that one!

Canberra ARHS coaling stage fence

Hi all, probably one of the most innovative uses for old rail I have seen was on the edge of coaling stage platform of the Canberra ARHS (Australian Railway Historical Society) museum. The photo below was taken earlier this year. The 4th rail from the left has "80Lb G & C H Ltd Lithgow 1913 " rolled into the side of the web. Freely translated "80 pounds/yard (rail weight and section) rolled by G & C Hoskins Ltd at their Lithgow steelworks in 1913".  So this piece of rail was over 100 years old when photographed.   

I have a 28 inch length of

Barrow Steel rail given to me, some years back, when the CNR rail yard at South Devon, New Brunswick, Canada was closed down.

On the side of the rail it reads Barrow Steel, 1886  67.  Historic, since it goes back to the "Canada Eastern Railway" days prior to the Intercolonial Railway (ICR) which was before the Canadian National Railways (CNR)

I'm waiting for someone were to open a railway museum in Fredericton - I might consider donating it for display as a piece of local history.

G. T.

Then again, it might make for a display in my train room.  But... it's a tad to heavy for my layout.

Armor

Going back a ways, it was also used as armor for ironclads, when nothing else was available.

Uses for old track

  I have a piece of old rail in my yard as a planter edging. It's marked A&RI&SCo TROY STEEL 1876. It measures about 3 5/8 " tall . It was originally laid on the SP Donner summit line then was sent down to the Visalia electric around the turn of the century and stayed there till it was removed as the VE pruned back their track. Here's Pelsea's 44 tonner at the end of the tracks :> ) .....DaveB 

I saw a neat use for old rail

Traction Control

Soo Line> WC> CN Burlington depot...

... has short lengths of rail installed vertically as bollards around the doorways and corners, track-side.  Not sure which railroad actually installed the rail pieces, but I noticed them while delivering/picking up there last week.

-Fuzzy
DM Rail Group
 

I've seen

the guard rail around here. Not as the rail, but holding it up. Also sleepers used to edge garden beds.

Also, while I couldn't work out where I remembered seeing it, I have a vague memory of an image of rails being used as bracing for a retaining wall somewhere.

Uses for old track, off the railroad line

The short line by my apartment uses pieces if old light rail probably from their electric line days as posts for the mile and bridge markers. Also along the CSX main line and some of their yards seen it used as posts for guardrails and stuck in as sorta markers or guard poles to protect things from being hit when they're plowing snow in the winter. My favorite use for old rail is suprising amount of people who have bought old caboose's and have restored them around here and have probably 40 feet of old track and ties with the caboose on the track.

Trestle abutments

Here's a picture of rail being used in concrete abutments to support a plate girder trestle on the old E&N (CP) now Southern Railway of Vancouver Island. This is on the grade along the north side of Cameron Lake on the way from Parksville to Port Alberni.