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Fishplate rail being welded together

GLC

GLC

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Joined
21 Nov 2018
Messages
356
I saw a bit of rail which caught my eye the other day, which was a bit of rail that looked like it had previously been (designed atleast to be) held together with fishplates, but was now welded together. What would be the reason for changing how the rails were attached, without replacing the rails themselves?
 

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RailUK Forums

themiller

themiller

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4 Dec 2011
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1,251
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Cumbria, UK
To reduce the number of fishplates that need maintaining. This was done at Ravenglass some years ago before it was relaid with lwr.
 
P

Parham Wood

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Joined
13 Jun 2011
Messages
377
I think this practice was quite common in the early days of CWR from my own observations.
 
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Ploughman

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15 Jan 2010
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Near where the 3 ridings meet
As already mentioned it reduces maintenance by reducing the amount of joints.
However not all jointed track is suitable, depending on rail wear and fastenings, type and condition.
Welds need to be a set clearance from Bolt or Bond holes this may mean that the only way to weld up is to crop a rail by one bolt hole per joint and once enough joints are cropped and reset a closure rail can be inserted.
 
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