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In 1958, the laying of long welded rail, the use of which was being extended on British Railways, presented difficultys.The method used was to unload them from the carrying wagons on to the permanent way and then to manhandle them into their chairs.That was difficult enough with welded lengths of rail up to 300ft, but with 600ft long rail it was even more so and in 1958 a start was made in laying 600ft lengths.
After experiments in the N.E.R. Chief Civil Engineers Department, a method was devised for laying those long rails in one single operation.Bullhead section of rails of 95lb were chosen because they are more difficult place in their chairs than flat- bottom rails and it was considered that, if the method succeeded with bullhead rails, there would be no difficulty with fb rails.
The Flash Butt welding plant was not yet in operation at this time, and for the purpose of demostration lengths of rail had to be welded together.to form two 600ft lengths while loaded on ten bolster wagons.Special equipment was designed for holding the sections of rail upright on the bolsters ; for guiding them off the wagons at normal rail spacing of 4ft 8and a half inches, and for lowering the rail ends.
The ends were anchored to the track by 60ft steel wire ropes and the ten wagons were then drawn forward by a 350hp diesel shunter until the first 70ft of rail was clear, and the ends of each length had deflected down to the level of the rails in the track.The train was then brought to a stand and the wire ropes removed. One pair of the existing short rails were then tipped out manually from their chair seatings and the ends of the long rails were placed in postion in the firsttwo or three empty chairs. and fishplated to the end of the existing track. Then the train was kept moving at a constant speed of about 30ft a minute and the 600ft rails were guided into their chair seatings by men using bars.The whole operation required assistance of 22men in each gang.

Pretty hard work in those days.


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