How much does a section of rail road track weigh?

Question

I own land and I have an old railroad bed in it. I want to remove it and take the rails to a scrap metal yard. Basically I would like to know how much a section of it weighs. This is a standard railroad bed like they use today. Not one of those old skinny ones. Also if I were to cut through it what kind of saw would I use? I know a plasma cutter would be best but I'm trying to save money. Also does anyone know what you would get per pound for the steel at a scrap yard? Thanks. Appreciate your answer.

Answer 1

Doubtful this would be high-carbon steel.  Too expensive to leave behind.  But, were it so, carbide, diamond studded saws are the only thing that will cut it.

It's also unlikely this is 132# rail, for nearly the same reason.

As far as the price of scrap, give a call to your nearest scrap dealer.  In some instances, they'll come to you to pick up the rail

You may also wish to advertise you have it for sale.  Cattle ranchers are always looking for this stuff for cattle guards where there are open gates or roadways through their property.

Either way, you're sittin' on some cash.  If the ties are in good shape, there worth a chunk o' money, maybe as much as $18 to $25 each, depending on where you're at and the quality of the ties.  Good luck.

Answer 2

Cutting rail with an acetylene torch can be tricky because of the high carbon content of the iron. That is why gandy gangs usually use hack saws.

Oh yes the weight answer is correct. Rail is measured in pounds per yard and usual weights are 85# - 100# - 120# - 132#

Answer 3

Step 1, make sure the rail belongs to you, lol!  Don't laugh, it happens!

Step 2, Find out what size the rail is, as this affects its value. Look at the sides of the rails for the rail size.  There will be many figures, but some like  "80 AS" or "90RE" or "105DY".  or "112 RE".

A full list of rail sizes here

http://www.akrailroad.com/OnlineCatalog/...

the second-from-rightmost column is the section designation (90 RE).  The second-from-leftmost column is the designer of the rail.  AREA, ASCE, ARA-A ARA-B are common, most others indicate a rare type of rail.  If it's 105DY, drop me a private note!

The number is pounds per yard, the weight of the rail when rolled. (not counting wear and corrosion).  

Step 3, call around to local railway museums and short lines and see if anyone wants it.  **they may come out pull it up and haul it away for you**.  Pulling rail is hard work, especially if you don't have the right tools.

Step 4, call up A&K Railroad Materials or LB Foster and see if they want it, as they do trade in used rail.

If it's 80 lbs. or more, it's probably worth more as non-torched rail.  Once you cut it with a torch, it is scrap.  The torch destroys the strength.

If you want to cut it up yourself I recommend either unbolting or torching off the square ends of the track bolts holding together each 33-39' section. Don't even try to torch off the round end, that won't work :)  Try not to gouge the joint bar with the torch if you can as joint bars are also valuable. Often there's a fat lockwasher which makes it easier not to gouge the joint bar, and try laying a tieplate there too.   Then bang out the bolts with a sledge, and pop the joint bars off with a sledge and/or prybar.

As you pull spikes and track bolts, put them in buckets and keep track of every one.   At my railway museum, a spike tore a hole in a loader tire, $500.  Ouch.

The valuable materials here are:

- Rail of 80 lb. size or greater

- Joint bars to match

- Tieplates not badly corroded

- Special trackwork of any rail size, i.e. switch points, frogs, or rail/rail crossings aka "diamonds".

Spikes and track bolts are garbage, unless they look new.

I have heard that scrap metal yards are obliged by law to report anyone who attempts to sell railroad parts.

Answer 4

The older rails like you have are probably 100 pound rails in that a yard (3 foot section) weighs 100 pounds.while new heavier rails may be 140 pounds per yard.  The best way to cut the rails is with an acetylene torch.

5 cents per pound is about the going rate but varies from time to time.

Most scrap yards will require proof of ownership for scrap rails before they buy them.  I think you can figure out why.