can someone decode this for me?

[orangeline]

Yesterday I was at the La Grange Road Metra station waiting to pick up my son. I got there early to watch the train activity. At one point I noticed some stencilling on the rails which read as follows:

141 NEW NORTRAK B0556992(3) 132 1/4 LOSS

If figure NORTRAK manufactured the rails and B055... was a lot number. But what do the other two entries, "141 NEW" and "132 1/4 LOSS" mean?

[scharnhorst]

Yesterday I was at the La Grange Road Metra station waiting to pick up my son. I got there early to watch the train activity. At one point I noticed some stencilling on the rails which read as follows:

141 NEW NORTRAK B0556992(3) 132 1/4 LOSS

If figure NORTRAK manufactured the rails and B055... was a lot number. But what do the other two entries, "141 NEW" and "132 1/4 LOSS" mean?

NORTRAK- Company who cast the rail
B055 - Lot Number
141 - Line number meaning it was 141 section done for the buyer.
132 is rail weaght - meaning 132 pound rail or 132 pounds per yard or 3 foot section. 1/4 loss - depicts expantion/contraction loss allowed for that rail.

[GOLDEN-ARM]

132 pound rail is weighed by the yard, not by the "three yards".

[pennsy]

Hi All,

Correct; rail size is expressed in pounds per three FEET, or one yard.

132 lbs/yd is a fairly hefty piece of rail and will take considerable loads, and by today's standards, quite a bit of SPEED.

[scharnhorst]

Outher poundages for rail that I have seen are:
40lbs. found it at a near by industry rail dated 1869 and still being used!
60lbs. Commonley still found in Alberta, Manatoba, and Saskatchewan
80lbs. being used at the Old Auburn Agway Yard in Auburn, NY rail is dated for the late 1880's!
100lbs.
125lbs.
132lbs.
135lbs
140lbs.
145lbs.
150lbs.
155lbs. Spotted it being used in Branch Lines
157lbs. spotted it being used in Branch Lines
160lbs. Spotted it being used in Branch Lines

[Tadman]

To my knowledge Nortrak does not have a rail mill - there are two in the US, neither of which is Nortrak (although I can't remember their names); there are two in Japan with japanese names that I can't remember. Nortrak generally buys rail and shapes and machines it, and builds pre-engineered turnouts and diamonds that can be dropped in place and bolted in. Their Chicago Heights factory was a block south of my office in Chi Hts, on state street.

About a year ago Trains Mag wrote an article about the two mills in USA and two in Japan, if you're interested in finding the names of them. I also heard Steel Dynamics of Columbia City, IN, was contemplating rolling some rail.

[scharnhorst]

Please fill us in on these 2 companys as I've never heard of them till now. I have seen rail from outher makers befor from the following steel companys:

American:
Bessimer
Bethlahem
Lackawanna
Nucor-->Cast Rails on occation but rare

Australuia
BHP

Canadian:
Stelco
Dofasco

Russia:
OAO Serverstal Steel

[snmkline]

What you saw was a (Transition Rail) often used when you are connecting two segments of track together but the Rail sizes are different. In this case one end of that particular piece of rail was 141# and the other half was 132 1/4". These are used a lot when Rail Gangs are relaying new rail into used rail.

[Wanderer]

Please fill us in on these 2 companys as I've never heard of them till now. I have seen rail from outher makers befor from the following steel companys:

American:
Bessimer
Bethlahem
Lackawanna
Nucor-->Cast Rails on occation but rare

Bessemer
Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel - Steelton Mill (Cast as BETH STEELTON)
Carnegie
Lackawanna
Nippon