Passenger Trains > Rail Replacement Chicago Union Station

Mystery solved, the rail from the welded rail cars mentioned in two earlier thread is being used to replace rail at CUS. I noticed strings of new rail adjacent to tracks 5 & 7
on the north side (Image 1) and tracks 6  and 8 on the south side (Image 2) yesterday. 

I've been riding Metra so long I can remember when the current rails were installed about 27 years ago. 

Earlier threads here: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4933511 and here: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4935693

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Do the rails in a stub end station really need replacing???  Low speed arrival and approach.  Seems like that rail would last at least 50 years.

I seem to remember the rail that was put down 27 years ago was 2nd hand. It had been from the IC 2nd main track.

Posted from Android

Much of the rail on Amtrak's PH line west of Paoli is stamped 1949, with fishplates stamped in the late 1930s. It its newer on the 110MPH parts west of Parkesburg.

Posted from Android

coach Wrote:
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> Do the rails in a stub end station really need
> replacing???

Nope, they just do these things for fun.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> I seem to remember the rail that was put down 27
> years ago was 2nd hand. It had been from the IC
> 2nd main track.
>
Didn’t IC sell that rail to GTW? Maybe they sold some to GTW, some to Amtrak, and maybe some to others? I had only heard of the IC rail being sold to GTW.

coach Wrote:
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> Do the rails in a stub end station really need
> replacing???  Low speed arrival and approach.
>  Seems like that rail would last at least 50
> years.

Probably a lot of base corrosion from poor drainage conditions. They replaced all the clips and had the debris removed back in 2010 in ARRA, before that, it was pretty bad.

You will notice the design doesn't leave much room for water to pass under the rails from melting snow and ice off the trains.