Improvements in track maintenance have been made. Among them are a more balanced track structure,
with the subgrade, ballast, ties, rail, and fastenings so designed that under traffic they do not become permanently
distorted; roadbeds stabilized by grouting water pockets with pressurized concrete; and ballast that serves as a
reservoir for rain water to keep it from saturating the roadbed. In addition, longer service life for ties is assured
through more effective wood preservatives and better tie plates, and new rail sections provide better distribution
of stresses and reduce the problem of shelling--flaking of the top surface. New machines and power tools for
lightening and speeding track work are increasing in variety and adaptability. One is an all-purpose loader for
heavy track jobs; another raises and lowers tracks; a third cleans ballast. In short, mechanization of track
maintenance has become a reality. Pick-and shovel methods have been replaced by machines that lay, repair, and
maintain track better than ever before. And even maintenance scheduling is being done by automatic data
processing. Rail-welding techniques have advanced, and electric butt welding, first tried in Switzerland and later
brought to the United States by the Santa Fe, has proved a boon to many lines. In service now are more than
11,000 miles of main-line track consisting of continuous sections of welded rail up to 1 mile long. And such rail
is completely "clickless-clackless." Improved welding techniques foretell nearly universal use of welded rail on
main-line tracks.
New tools and machinery have made track work easier to perform, and current techniques make for safer,
stronger, and smoother track and roadbed. Knowing how and when to use the tools and apply the new methods is
nevertheless vitally important. This is the chief concern of the men charged with maintaining track. They must
know the elements of track and the general procedures employed in rail and tie replacement, in the upkeep of
roadbeds, and in similar jobs. In addition, they must also know how to handle more difficult work, such as the
installation of switches, turnouts, crossings, crossovers, curves, and guard rails. They must also know how to
cope with many special problems, situations, and devices, and be well versed in maintenance-of-way
management, in making track charts, and in programming. How they deal with the more advance and complex
phases of rail renewal and right-of-way repair is explained in this text.
Reference Text 671 contains five chapters. The first, titled track rehabilitation, is about general repair
work done on tracks. But track is not the only part of their section the track maintenance men must maintain.
They have to understand how turnouts and special switches are operated and maintained, as discussed in
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