What are the oldest rails you've seen, still in service on main track?

Wyhog posted:

"Main track" is not really meaningful in this regard. What is the speed limit on the track you show? 10mph? 25mph? ...

These old rails are in the "main track" of an active shortline railroad, as compared to old rails in little-used sidings or spurs of mainline railroads. It's carrying trains with actual tonnage, regardless of speed. "Main track" does not mean "main line".

There's a primary yard track in Centralia, WA where most of the rails are 1944 dated. 70+MPH Amtrak trains whizz right by it in the adjacent track. Yes, it's yard track but anything can be sitting there at any given time.

I, too, have seen 19th century-dated rails on short lines within recent years. BNSF abandoned some track around Lake Union in Seattle for a spur line to downtown and when the rails were being ripped up in 2001/2002, many of those rails were 1800s dated.

I volunteer with the West Chester Railroad. I've seen a 1915 tie-plate in use on our engine storage track in West Chester Yard. I'm very sure the rail is newer.

Sometime back in the early 70's I remember seeing a Carnegie 1898 mark on the main line of the NF&D where it crossed the Durham branch of the N&W.  The crossing was on a bridge though, not a diamond.

George Lasley

Western Maryland Scenic RR, several years ago.

Part of the Marcellous/Utica Shale Gas development in Western PA was a new rail spur to the Westland Shale Gas collection site.  Done with (used) continuous rail dated 1966. 

These continuous rail pieces are 1500 ft.  my bike odometer measured .3 miles, end to end.   Apparently a lot of very good/like new, used, rail is available as the nation wide system shrinks. 

The Canadian prairie branch lines saw the EMD /GMD-1 diesels with their A1A trucks due to the age and lightness of the track. There was a lot of original 1890s rail, maybe even some late 1880s stuff.

The Milwaukee Road West line from say Elgin to Savanna, IL. was up to a few years ago using jointed rail and the dates I seen on it were like 1927. CP has recently replaced it all with ribbon rail, new ties, new block signals...heck they even removed all the old telegraph poles.

Wymore, NE CB&Q/BN(SF) yard......1880's rail. Former mainline, very secondary today.

We have a plant site in Moses Lake, WA that is served by the CBRW.  I've seen rail on their line out there that is dated mid- to late 1890's.

Curt

I don't have the exact info but there was a requirement to date rail as they transitioned from Cast rail to steel rail. 1880 or 1890. It was a method of tracking rail lots in case there was a defective lot and could then be found. So I'm told.

WSRR is mostly 1896 and 1899 rail with a 1915 rebuild. We just replace 5% of the rail and it is 2015 dated rail. Tie plates are mostly 1921 when dated, most are older and probably 1872 original build 

I did find this rail on the DMVW near Havana SD. 1886

 Also was Krupp also German made track? 

At least as of two years ago, In Milford Junction Indiana where the CSX B&O main crosses the NS former NYC Marion Branch at grade, just south of the diamond on the NS side there was this section of 1951 former PRR 155LB rail.  This is a heavily used main line, (10-15 trains a day) not a backwoods branch line.  This former NYC line received major upgrades late in the Penn Central era including PRR position light signals which have just recently replaced.  The signals came from a former PRR line that was torn out, so maybe this piece of rail came from the same place the signals did.  I have a picture of a  NS train using UP power on a former NYC line running on PRR rail and governed by PRR signals.

CSX FAN posted:

I don't have the exact info but there was a requirement to date rail as they transitioned from Cast rail to steel rail. 1880 or 1890. It was a method of tracking rail lots in case there was a defective lot and could then be found. So I'm told...

That's interesting. In later years I think it was also usual to also show the rail weight on the rail itself.

I believe I saw some old rails years ago (possibly on a logging railroad) that said "GN line" with 1890's dates. I wondered if special batches of rail for major projects sometimes had additional info like that.

On the BNSF/UP main line through Chehalis, WA (which sees 70+ MPH Amtrak and slightly slower freight), I recently saw some 1960s-dated rail. That kind of surprised me.

There is a park near Elkridge, MD that still has the granite slabs used to hold the rails on the original B&O mainline c 1830 or so.  They were later re-used to construct a retaining wall along the trail near the track ROW.  You can still see the holes in the granite where the rails were pegged into them.  The park also contains the original stone viaduct railroad bridge on the main line as well as a few large 1860's era drainage tunnels beneath the main line.  I doubt the rails are very old though, CSX has had a few derailments at the park over the years, and I've seen them changing them out the rails periodically during walking trips.

Andy