DB rail lengths
Hello, Someone asked the question, what was the prototype length of rail? It was manufactured in the following lengths. Epoche III = 30 meter Epoche IV = 50-60 meter Epoche V = 120 meter David

How did they transport a 30m length of rail? That's longer than longest piece of rolling stock permitted. Was it placed on two Flachwagen and allowed to bend in the middle? In North America, the standard rail size for many decades was 39 feet, because that was the longest piece which would fit in the standard 40 foot gondola of the early 20th century. That grew longer over the years as well; I think 90 feet is normal now. Jurgen

AFAIK Continuous rail lengths are transported on coupled flat wagons which allow lateral movement of the rail. Remember that the rail is not attached to sleepers at the stage and the track formation is normally built on site. Why this should work without bending the rail is a mystery, presumably the wagons are not allowed to traverse any tight radii? Do newer processes deliver ready-made section of pre-built track to the site? Tim

For "quicky" or emergency repairs, I've seen whole turnouts and sections of track complete with sleepers (it looks like Snap Track) being hauled around in gondolas, but these components are sized to fit in the cars. Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) is hauled on specially modified or purpose-build cars with racks which carry the rail. The end cars have bulkheads to prevent the rail from sliding out the end of the cars. As for bending the rail, rail is actually quite easy to bend laterally. I watched a crew unloading a piece of rail from a gondola with a crane and the rail was twisting around like it was made of rubber while they tried to maneuver it; so it would pose no problem with a CWR train on curves, I would think. I know DB has such trains. It would be interesting to see what waggons the DB employed for the shorter lengths, though. Jurgen