Show Busy Rails Dont Don't Rust T has often been observed that the rails on the IT I main track of a railway are not so liable to rust as those of sidings The railheads on the main line keep bright while those on the sidings are soon badly corroded Attention to this fact fa t was drawn by George Stephenson as fax far back as 1843 It has been suggested that freedom from rust ruston on the part of the main track rails was due to some Borne galvanic action which was intensified by the vibration of the rails in use However one would naturally expect that the vibration would increase rather than decrease tho the oxidation The true explanation as given by the Scientific Scientific Scientific American is probably that the railhead is ia kept clean by the traffic and is kept hard by the hammering of the rail while whilo the wheels pass over it also that a certain amount of oil is spattered on the rail from the wheels all of which assist in preventing oxidation Rust forming on the siding siding sid sid- ing would collect and hold moisture causing further further fur fur- ther rust A paper on this subject was presented before the American Electric Chemical Society by Oliver P. P Watts |