It’s probably not something you have ever really thought about, however, the next time you are near a railway track, take a closer look at what sits

Why do railway tracks have crushed stones alongside them? - Alpha Rail

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2023-06-04 08:00:05

It’s probably not something you have ever really thought about, however, the next time you are near a railway track, take a closer look at what sits beneath and alongside a railway track, no matter where you are in the world: crushed stones. These crushed stones are known as ballast, and they serve a number of crucial roles in helping to maintain railway tracks and ensure the safety of the railway vehicles travelling along them.

Track ballast is the name given to the rough, sharp-edged stones that are found underneath and alongside railway tracks. They basically form the track bed on which the sleepers are then laid. The track ballast is initially laid on the bare ground, helping to raise the track level (more on this later). Once the ballast has been laid, the sleepers are put into position at equal distances apart and more track ballast is then packed between the sleepers and to the side, ready for the railway tracks themselves to be laid on top.

A railway sleeper, sometimes known as a “cross tie” in the USA or simply “railroad ties”, are beams that were traditionally made from hardwood that are laid perpendicular to the direction of the track at equal spacing apart. They are extremely heavy, weighing up to 90kgs and you can fit around 2,000 of them for every kilometre of track.

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