In MMTB days, some curves were laid with heavier flanges, obviously
intended to function as check rails, on the inside of the curve, sharing
the load with the outer rail of the curve. Such rails were much more
difficult to bend, and could not be bent on site to fit the curve. I seem
to remember a remark by Doug Wiseman (track foreman in Ballarat in the
final years) that they obtained some offcuts of rail from Melbourne, which
were used for repairs, and he found that one piece of heavy flanged rail
simply could not be bent with Ballarat's equipment. On such rail, the
running surface was narrower than normal rail, so the mass per yard (or
metre) was not much different from regular rail; the stiffness was another
matter.

The top surface of this heavy-flanged rail was polished by tyres passing
over it, and stayed brighter than ordinary rails; I suspect it was
manganese steel, and therefore would wear better than ordinary rails. From
memory, the curves from Glenferrie Rd to Cotham Rd, in Kew, were of this
type of rail (before the Glenferrie Rd terminus was eltered to a Y layout;
there were other sites too, but I can't now recall where.

Hal Cain

On Wed, Mar 20, 2024 at 6:03 PM Mark Skinner emessk@...> wrote:

> For imterest's sake, here's a shot showing rail wear in Victoria Square

> near the old GPO. This is after 17 years.

>

> Mark Skinner

>

>

> On Wed, 20 Mar 2024, 4:32 pm Mal Rowe, mal.rowe@...> wrote:

>

>>

>> On 20/03/2024 05:30, 'Matthew Geier' via TramsDownUnder wrote:

>> > The groove is too wide now, I didn't take a photograph, but on the

>> > other rail the back of the groove is ground out to match.

>> >

>> > The standard European profile used has what looks to be a wider groove

>> > than Melbourne uses. Certainly MUCH larger than the 'traditional'

>> > Sydney track used in the 'old days'.

>>

>> Dave Hinman told me that Melbourne's RI57a profile has a narrower groove

>> - apparently to be a little more bicycle friendly.

>>

>> The 'check rail' in tramway rail is mainly to stop asphalt migrtaing

>> into the groove, not to serve as a check.

>>

>> See https://tdu.to/i/63074 for a comparison of old and new profiles

>>

>> Mal Rowe - amateur (mostly) Civil Engineer

>>

>> --

>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups

>> "TramsDownUnder" group.

>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

>> email totramsdownunder+unsubscribe@....

>> To view this discussion on the web visit

>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/472e506d-db30-43f3-983a-90890e19853d%40gmail.com

>> .

>>

> --

> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups

> "TramsDownUnder" group.

> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

> email totramsdownunder+unsubscribe@....

> To view this discussion on the web visit

> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/CAPUC4X8j9nAWNesT9Orxz45h%3D_aW8h3993-owyEfiOsBxs6cOg%40mail.gmail.com

> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/CAPUC4X8j9nAWNesT9Orxz45h%3D_aW8h3993-owyEfiOsBxs6cOg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer

> .

>