Any ideas what the second set of rails were for? They are approximately 52 and 62 inches apart and were behind an old foundry that got tore down though I think they were abbandoned long before the foundry.
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@Dave Ripp. posted:Any ideas what the second set of rails were for? They are approximately 52 and 62 inches apart and were behind an old foundry that got tore down though I think they were abbandoned long before the foundry.
Looks like flange-way guard rails, used to prevent derailments in paved street trackage.
Standard gauge is 56.5 inches. This looks like a gantlet track, which was designed to move two tracks together in order to coexist on this stretch with the road. Gantlets were more common on bridges that were not wide enough for two tracks, but were used in other situations, too.
Two tracks running parallel overlap using a single frog; they then run as shown in the photo, until they separate, again using a single frog.
I followed this pretty far and it stayed a double track. I've seen the doubles on a bridge before this looks different. Also doubled where there is no road.
Looking at the math, it appears to be gauntlet trackage.
