Since the railroad’s genesis in the 1830s, there has always been a type of fastener that has held the rail firmly onto the tie plate, preventing the motion known as lateral movement, which is when an object, in this case the rail, moves from side-to-side, therefore, bringing the track out of gauge.
What are railroad tracks made of? Railroad tracks are made of rails, spikes, and railroad ties. Each component contributes to the vital infrastructure, ensuring rails remain in place, ensuring any lateral motion is prevented.
History
A fastener of a sort has been commonplace on the rails since the early 19th century. During the primitive days of the railroad, wooden rails were commonplace, thus, wooden pegs or nails would oftentimes be seen holding rails in place. These types of rails were commonly utilized in mines or on other early horse drawn railways. Iron plate-ways were also commonplace on many early mine railways, as they were inexpensive to construct, and horses could easily haul carts to the canals.
As the early railways continued to evolve iron rail containing flanges became commonplace, and utilized and sat on a “chair”, holding the rail in place. Some of the most popular type of rail during the late 18th and early 19th century was “fishbelly” rail, which was quite revolutionary at the time.
Various innovations in fastener technology were introduced in the following years, such as the “T” rail, which was bolted directly to the sleeper, and later bolted to a tie plate, which is common practice in the modern day. In addition to spikes, tie clips have become commonplace on various high speed rail lines, such as France’s TGV system.
In many instances, spikes have been utilized to mark momentous occasions, such as the competition of a revolutionary rail entity. The most prominent use of spikes in this manner was the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, where Leland Stanford drove a golden spike into the tie plate to complete the line.
Throughout the years of innovation in railroad technology and infrastructure, th