by Safetee
In the good old days, say 1975, if a railroad or transit company wanted to acquire relay rail they could call an LB Foster or an A&K type rail supplier and order anything they wanted to keep their rail inventory down. There were at least 35 different varieties of rail to be had. So if you wanted a mile or more of 100NH, or 85AS or 105DY etc etc, if a supplier couldn't get what you wanted directly from their inventory, they usually knew where to find it on the ground and then would remove it and ship it to your site.
In the 1980s, many overseas countries Including China discovered this easy source of steel ingots, ie US relay rail, and started buying it by the boatload. All of a sudden, rail suppliers had virtually no out of track inventory. If a railroad wanted 105 DY or similar the suppliers would look to see what they were picking up in the field and say "well we've got 17 miles of 100 RB in Staten island at such and such a price". And it was basically take it or leave it, because if it didn't immediately go to a railroad user, the 100RB went to the boat.
The bottom line on it is, as long as the head of the rail is in good shape and a minimum of other problems the would be rail needer would take the rail being offered along with all the necessary tie plates, joint bars, etc etc and buy a bunch of comp joint bars to match the new rail to the adjacent rail sections they already had in place.
If a railroad or transit company can afford to buy new rail they can typically get the standard sizes being rolled these days. But for the relay market, it's any port in a storm. The only real problem with the current relay rail market is if you have a major derailment on an obscure rail section. Finding replacement rail that exactly matches your obscure rail in a hurry can be a problem unless you thoughtfully bought additional rail for inventory.
In the 1980s, many overseas countries Including China discovered this easy source of steel ingots, ie US relay rail, and started buying it by the boatload. All of a sudden, rail suppliers had virtually no out of track inventory. If a railroad wanted 105 DY or similar the suppliers would look to see what they were picking up in the field and say "well we've got 17 miles of 100 RB in Staten island at such and such a price". And it was basically take it or leave it, because if it didn't immediately go to a railroad user, the 100RB went to the boat.
The bottom line on it is, as long as the head of the rail is in good shape and a minimum of other problems the would be rail needer would take the rail being offered along with all the necessary tie plates, joint bars, etc etc and buy a bunch of comp joint bars to match the new rail to the adjacent rail sections they already had in place.
If a railroad or transit company can afford to buy new rail they can typically get the standard sizes being rolled these days. But for the relay market, it's any port in a storm. The only real problem with the current relay rail market is if you have a major derailment on an obscure rail section. Finding replacement rail that exactly matches your obscure rail in a hurry can be a problem unless you thoughtfully bought additional rail for inventory.
