10-09-2015, 05:44 PM
(10-09-2015, 02:47 PM)GtwoK Wrote: Track is almost completely laid out at Benton — NB and SB. It looks very very good, really cool to see it getting done. The NB track has 3 rails though, not sure why this would be.
I'm pretty sure it's an interior flange guard rail, here's why:
-The rail profile is different (the lower part of the "I" is cut away, suggesting it could be mounted much closer to another rail than if the bottom part was as wide)
-The two rails closest to each other on the interior of the curve both have cross-drilled holes, at locations that approximately align, suggesting they'll be directly fastened to each other with a spacer in between
-The interior rail is made of segments bolted together, while the outside rails (running rails) are continuously welded. So the interior (guard) rail is made cheaper since it's not used except in an emergency/derailment.
I'm a bit surprised if that really is what this is, because I've never seen a modern LRT system that uses guard rails in embedded track before. It could very well be a requirement due to the geometry of the intersection; a derailment here would mean a train could theoretically careen right into the front window of the pastry shop at the Benton garage! A delicious tragedy, for sure.