Hi Barry,
A few points in addition to Ray's answer - the "heavy feet" (which both
supported the rail and held it onto the sleeper) were called 'chairs',
though I have seen them called 'pedestals' in accounts. They were usually
fixed to the sleepers by dogs (big nails) and not bolts.
The system was undoubtedly more expensive than bridge section or jubilee
would have been, but the rails were often in the same place for a long time,
whereas many rails in coal mines were not. The amount of early C19th
fish-bellied rails which can still be seen rather supports that. They were
also widely reused.
The early rails, being made of cast iron, were not susceptible to much
bending by a Jim Crow. I have seen strip rails set into slot cut into the
sleepers (to avoid using a chair), but that was in a dirk drift where
traffic was lighter.
Regards,
Mike Gill
|