strap rail questions

1. How long were Iron-strapped wooden rails used in the USA?
2. How fast did trains go on them?
3. How heavy were the trains(weight per axle)?
4. How long did strap rails last?
5. Is it possible to make some sort of strap Vignoles rail?

Well, the Wiki entries (Rail Track and Rail Profiles) is fairly lame, so here's a few interesting links in regard to strap rail:

Colonel Melnikov's Report (~1840)
Gives some interesting info on strap rail usage of US railroads at the time (in addition to T rail), including dimensions & weaknesses

A discussion of Southern Michigan straprail trackage with an (all too small) cross section, and also a image & description of the dreaded 'Snake-Head' syndrom (i.e. when the iron strap worked loose, got snagged by the wheels of the car, and then was pushed up and through the car floor.

Image of strap rail

Googling around, you find general indications that strap rail for 'steam' rail service in the US disappeared as soon as conditions for T rail replacement existed (1840s - 1850s depending on the road and its finances), but in certain light-duty instances (such as Michigan streetcars or Western mines, strap rail remained in use well into the 1890s (if not later, although I couldn't find any info on this).

At any rate, strap rail keep speeds low, loads light, and passengers in terror of snake heads, so it went as soon as the road could afford to (and was able to) replace it.

Di they ever use Bullhead type rail in the USA ?as is still in use in parts of England ? , mainly the underground i think

Thanks Sir Ray, you don´t happen to know train speeds, weight and so on on cast iron rails?

Markus B wrote:Thanks Sir Ray, you don´t happen to know train speeds, weight and so on on cast iron rails?

Well, no I didn't, although reading this site about early American locomotives (meaning 1820s-1850; I believe UK railroads were more advanced and better built during this era), you find engine weights of 9-12 tons & speeds of 28mph with trains (up to 60mph engine alone!) by 1840 (you have to infer from that article here and there, but it's not too difficult).
By 1853 it looks as if Rogers Locomotive works had introduced a proto standard American 4-4-0 (this type of loco more or less ruled American railroading for the next 4 decades)

Another factor involved with the longer use of strap rail in the US was the fact that the process for rolling steel ( the Bessemer process, I believe) wasn't available in the US for a significant period of time after it was adopted in the U.K. I think an early version of franchise or licensing problems caused the delay. Once this process became available in the states, strap rail fairly quickly went the way of the dinosaur.