The Decapod
Member
I know that engineers have always been in the habit of leaving lengths of rail beside the track during work and that sometimes it got left for a while.
But these days everywhere there seems to be lengths of rail beside the track - either old rail or what looks like new replacement rail. Even in railway magazines, when you look at photos of trains on the national network, chances are there's some bits of unused rail beside the track.
Is it current practice to leave old rails beside the track indefinitely? Today, while travelling by train, I saw some sections of rail that looked short enough for a group of strong young vandals, intent on causing damage, to be able to manhandle onto the track as an obstruction. I know rail is very heavy, but if permanent way gangs can move it, then so, presumably, could a vandal gang with the aid of levers and ropes.
But these days everywhere there seems to be lengths of rail beside the track - either old rail or what looks like new replacement rail. Even in railway magazines, when you look at photos of trains on the national network, chances are there's some bits of unused rail beside the track.
Is it current practice to leave old rails beside the track indefinitely? Today, while travelling by train, I saw some sections of rail that looked short enough for a group of strong young vandals, intent on causing damage, to be able to manhandle onto the track as an obstruction. I know rail is very heavy, but if permanent way gangs can move it, then so, presumably, could a vandal gang with the aid of levers and ropes.