Rail thermite welding in Storfors, Sweden
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very cool. (or in this case, hot!)
Very interesting. The yellow gadget that was clamped onto the rail after the welding procedure, I presume it helped trim the excess weld material which was hammered off before final grinding.
In contrast to the expedient modern methods, I remember seeing video with Chinese railway workers cutting a rail with a hand saw, possibly as recently as the 1980's.
It is called a weld shear. It helps trim the weld down closer to the rail head. Saves on grinding and reintroducing heat to the weld.
Nice simple process 98% of the time.
I saw this being done on the Conrail main line here about 15-16 years ago. It's an impressive sight to say the least.
On a somewhat related subject ...
http://www.pacaero.com/product...losive-hardening.htm
The most common application of explosive shock hardening is to cast high-manganese steel rail frogs and switchings.
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedi...+Hardening+of+Metals
Explosive metal hardening is used for increasing the wear resistance of the cores of railroad frogs, the teeth of power-shovel buckets, rock-crusher jaws, and bearing bushings. The service life of parts hardened by explosion is increased by a factor of 1.5 to 2.
