(erielack) CWR - made in Salamanca

["Elaine and John Redden" <ejredden_@_frontiernet.net>]

My Dad tells the story of watching a machine weld stick rail into welded
rail,
in the Salamanca Yard.

I called to ask for details on this today:  He said that it was some sort of
semi-portable machine, that was placed towards the East end of the Yard.
"It had a set of jaws that resembled large pipe-wrench jaws, that held the
ends of the rail together."

It used a lot of electricity - "You could hear it hum loudly".  They would
take
a piece of cropped rail, and the machine would force the two ends together.
"You could see the waves of heat coming off of the spot where the ends of
the rails were butted together, and the rail would be a little discolored at
that
point.  It made a sort of a (welding) bead all the way around the joint"

He did not remember the year that he saw this, but guessed late '50s or
early
'60s.

One other related story - he saw them putting welded rail down in Hinsdale.
They got the rail just a little too far one way, so that they couldn't make
the
joint.  So they picked up a 39' stick of rail with a crane, and a gang of
guys
used the stick rail as a battering ram in order to move the CWR an inch,
or so.

John R.


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