Barlow rail
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Barlow rail was a kind of rail used on early railways. It has a top-hat or saddle-back kind of cross-section. [1]
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[edit] Advantages
One of its supposed advantages is that it could be laid on the ballast without sleepers.
[edit] Disadvantages
In practice, the lack of sleepers made it difficult to keep the gauge. The rail also had a tendency to tip over.
[edit] Inventor
It was invented in 1849 by W.H.Barlow, engineer of the Midland Railway. The design was patented (12438 or 1849) [2]
[edit] Usage
- New South Wales Railways - 1855 - Sydney to Parramatta [3]
[edit] Secondary usage
The unsuccessful Barlow rail found a secondary use as fence posts, and in the construction of bridges, etc.
- South Devon Railway - underbridge [4]
- Conwy Valley Line - underbridge [5]
- Shipton on Cherwell Halt - fencepost [6]
- Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum [7]
- Fairford branch - structures [8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Barlow's description of the rail
- ^ Brits at Their Best science timeline
- ^ Gunn, John (1989). Along Parallel Lines: A History of the Railways of New South Wales. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, p62. ISBN 0522843875.
- ^ South Devon Railway bridge replacemenr
- ^ The Conwy valley line - Cwm Prysor to Bala Junction
- ^ Great Western Railway - Kidlington TO Blenheim & Woodstock
- ^ List of other exhibits
- ^ Lechlade station description
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