Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
preservative. Occasionally you'll also see one cross tie painted
bright yellow. That tells the engineer where to stop the train
so he or she won't activate crossing lights and barricades at a
grade crossing up ahead. There's no sense in stopping all that
automobile traffic if the train isn't ready to proceed across the
intersection.
The Wheel
More precisely, perhaps, it's the
flange
on the wheel
that's the
important element and what makes a train's wheel different from
all others. The flange is that one-inch ridge projecting from the
inside edge of the wheel. In combination with the flange on the
wheel at the other end of the axle, it's what keeps the wheel on
the rail and the train on the track.
Two things make a railroad different from other forms of transportation: the flange on
the inner edge of the wheel and the welding of the wheel to the axle.
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