Brian Evans Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hello, first off I am sorry that I do not have any pictures at the moment, I will update with pictures when I am able. I would like to know what kind of steel railroad track connectors are made from (to be clear this is not railroad track). From what I have seen on the web my guess is that it is made from the same high carbon steel that railroad track is made from. However I was not able to get an actual confirmation on it. I was hoping that I could make hardy hole tools from it as well as other items that require good steel. For those who are curious as to how I got a railroad track connecting rod: I work at a place that uses railroads and it was leftover junk that I was permitted to take. thank you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Easiest way to test your guess would be spark testing the connector and a piece of rail and compare them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Evans Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Easiest way to test your guess would be spark testing the connector and a piece of rail and compare them. I completely forgot about that. I guess problem solved, Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 I'm not entirely sure what you're calling a connecting rod. Most rail is welded, but jointed track will have a fishplate on it. Looks like a thin piece of rail and has a bunch of holes in the side that bolts go through to connect the tracks. It's around 1060ish I believe, but with a ridiculous amount of boron. The bolts themselves don't have a lot of carbon for the most part, they want them to give, not work harden and break. Or maybe you have one of the rods they use across the gauge to keep it from spreading? This may not hold true for areas near turnouts and switches, as they have to meet tougher standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Evans Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 On 10/8/2017 at 10:04 PM, Nobody Special said: Most rail is welded, but jointed track will have a fishplate on it. Here is an image of one of the pieces. It weighs aroun 30-40 pounds (maybe more). Is this the piece you are meaning? I also have square plates that each have 4 holes in them of varying sizes that came from the same area where the railroad scrap came from. It has a very similar sparking to railroad tracks but not exactly the same. It actually took me longer to cut through a piece than it took for me to cut through a railroad track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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