100 Years Ago In - Brief Article

Railway Age, March, 2000

(MARCH 1900)

RE-NEWED RAILS FOR IMPROVED SERVICE

During the first annual convention of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association, one of the most interesting features not directly connected with the convention was the visit to the plant of the McKenna Steel Working Company at Joliet (pictured). Considerable time was spent in observation of the various processes by which a worn steel rail is rerolled and converted into a rail which is practically new, of perfect section and of but slightly decreased weight per yard. The process of rerolling steel rails, which was first conceived in 1891 by Mr. E. W. McKenna, owes its origin to the unsatisfactory results obtained in use of the original process of repairing battered rail ends by sawing off. In 1894 the present system was devised and machinery constructed. At the present time there are now in use over 80,000 tons of the renewed rails in the main tracks of eight or ten different railway systems. It has been generally agreed that one of the most prolific causes of the deterioration of st eel rails is due to a lack of sufficient working during the process of rolling. This will account for the very satisfactory results which have followed the use of renewed rails, since the additional working which they receive not only reduces badly worn rails to the original correctness of section, but also gives the metal the benefit of this additional working.