Steel Rail Selection Guide: Types, Features, Applications
Railroads have shaped the course of history and industry by changing the way people and goods are transported. The emergence of the mass market in the United States had a major impact on the construction of railroad networks connecting rural areas to distant urban centers. In the era of industrialization and the rise of the mass market, track design and manufacturing no longer used wood, cast iron, or wrought iron. Alloy steels have replaced other materials for the production of medium and heavy-duty structures. Engineering innovations, metallurgical advances, and improved steel manufacturing processes have standardized the available grades of steel rails . Conformity to standards varies by geographic region. The US, UK, EU, Russia, China, and India have each developed their own standards. Each standard grade is designed to meet specific load-bearing, mechanical, and operational characteristics. Units of measure vary from region to region between metric and imperial, with i...