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What kind of steel are railroad tracks made from?

I heard Russia made their railroad tracks different widths ...Is it true ?

  • during the cold war era so enemy trains could not use them in case of an invasion. What is the standard width for American train tracks ?

  • Answer:

    Yes, this is true. Standard gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) was chosen for the first main-line railway. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a gauge of 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm), which is known as the standard or international gauge. Gauges wider than standard gauge are called broad gauge, those smaller are called narrow gauge. Some stretches of track are dual gauge, with three (or sometimes four) parallel rails in place of the usual two, to allow trains of two different gauges to share the same path. The term break-of-gauge refers to the situation at a place where different gauges meet. For other uses, see Gauge. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Scotch gauge was the name given to a 4 ft 6 in (1371 mm) rail gauge, the distance between the inner sides of the rails, that was adopted by early 19th century railways in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. ... A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) of standard gauge railways. ... Minimum Gauge Railways are narrow gauge railways that run on extremely narrow gauged rail tracks, below 2 ft (610 mm). ... // This is the Standard or international gauge Medium gauge railways are narrow gauge railways of approximately 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge and above. ... Sunlight reflects off dual-gauge tracks near Chur, Switzerland Mixed-gauge track and pointwork (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)) at Odawara in Japan Dual-gauge tram tracks in Katwijk, The Netherlands Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway is a special configuration of... Gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one gauge to another. ... With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. ... Rail tracks. ... Light rail tracks with concrete railroad ties. ... Parallel is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. ... It has been suggested that Vignoles rail be merged into this article or section. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... For other uses, see Gauge. ... A narrow gauge railway (or narrow gauge railroad) is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) of standard gauge railways. ... Sunlight reflects off dual-gauge tracks near Chur, Switzerland Mixed-gauge track and pointwork (4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) and 3 ft 6 in (1067 mm)) at Odawara in Japan Dual-gauge tram tracks in Katwijk, The Netherlands Dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway is a special configuration of... With railways, a break-of-gauge is where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. ...

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It has nothing to do with cold war, though. It's been the same ever since railroads were built in 19th century Russia. Finland (that was a Grand Duchy under Russia at the time) uses the wider gauge, too. The Germans relaid the important tracks in the parts of the Soviet Union they occupied in both world wars, I think - and then the Soviets changed it back again.

tessan_bc

The selection process for the gauge was undertaken chiefly by Colonel Pavel Petrovich Melnikov (1804–1880). Probably, a combination of the following arguments was used: * Easier construction of locomotives * Better stability * Wide gauge was seen as a new standard that was emerging in the United States * Since the gauge was wider than standard road track it was easier to use horse carriages for railroad construction and maintenance. * Defensive concerns In the 19th century, Imperial Russia chose a gauge broader than standard gauge. It is widely believed that the choice was made for military reasons, to prevent potential invaders from using the Russian rail system. Others point out that no clear standard had emerged by 1842.

Dmitry

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