I'm doing some scenery details around my engine house and along the logging right-of-way. Specifically some rusty rail in a pile and individual pieces dumped on the edge of the track. How long would a section of 56 pound rail be? Jim Krause
kitsune said:56' rail is awful light, and would probably have been rolled in the 1870s or 1880s. A more likely length of the time would be 30'.
Rail will be piled haphazardly even when intended for re-use. A better indicator is if it's a single stick laying randomly, or a pile. Piles tend to be re-use rail, individual stiucks more or less forgotten scrap.